Closest To Heaven That I'll Ever Be. *Complete*

42. Press Release and More

The press release was a huge success. Not that I remember most of it. 

All I remember is being dressed up in a formal looking dress by Narcissa and Hermione wearing something similar in a different colour. The boys wore fancy suits, and we all wore wizarding robes over our clothes. All our family and friends were sitting in the audience supporting us. Even Lucius got special permission and with an Auror beside him and his wife, he was allowed to attend. 

All the Weasley's were there with Hermione's parents and brother, Daphne and Harry, in the front row with Taron, Laurie, Pansy and Theo. After our little reminising about the Yule Ball, I think Draco and Theo had words. Draco was annoyed that Theo knew exactly who his mystery woman was and didn't let him know but let him spend month looking for her, not giving anything away. But they managed to clear the air and put the past to bed. Thank Merlin. 

There were also several professors from Hogwarts and most important to me, my grandfather. I didn't tell him of the press release so I can only assume one of my friends did. He had been travelling for well over a year and a half so I have not got to see him in a long time. We have been writing of course but it's not the same. But he sat next to Professor McGongall and waved at me proudly.

Although it didn't do anything to add to my nerves.

When it was time to speak I honestly lost feeling in my legs. They betrayed me anyway by stepping up to the podium with Blaise, Hermione and Draco. Kingsley introduced us first, talking about the machine and its primary goal. He then handed it over to us. 

Thankfully, Blaise went first. He was cool and calm and obviously well-used to speaking in front of crowds. He spoke about where the idea for the machine came from and what made us want to start the project in the first place, talking about how each of us got involved in turn and how we began to plan, taking our machine from a pipe dream to a reality.

Hermione then took a deep breath and wowed everyone, talking about the research that was done. How we researched what type of machine we needed before deciding on the model we ended up using. She talked about the materials we required and some of the problems we had early on and how each were overcome. She also touched on the legal side of things, making sure everyone knew our invention was protected and copyrighted so no one could try and invent their own, pulling teh rug from under us so to speak.

Then it was my turn to talk. I was a nervous wreck, palms aweating and shaking uncontrollably but standing with the others did give me a boost in my confidence and Draco held onto me the entire time. My part was to talk about how the machine actually worked. The ins and outs, explaining how it scanned, what the scanning does and how the machine obtained and showcased the results. Obviously I didn't go into specifics as these were trade secrets as it were. But I gave enough detail so people at least understood the benefits of the machine to the modern witch or wizard. 

I was so glad when I finally stepped back and Draco finished off the talk mentioning the beta testing that had been done in St. Mungo's and going over the success rates of the testing. He then spoke about timelines in terms of how long it would take to get manufacturing up and running and the jobs that this machine would create and more legal bits that honestly went over my head. But I was damn proud of him as everyone burst into applause when he finished and he stepped back and wrapped an arm around me before kissing the top of my head. In front of hundreds of people. It was so bizarre to me that someone would kiss me like this, show any affection in public but he did, with a smile on his face too. 

Next up to speak was Valência Santos who sung our praises and praised the machine we had created. Honestly I was hardly listening to what she said. I was watching Draco's face. He was nodding along as she spoke but he kept casting his eyes down to me and blushing when he caught me eye. He still managed to take my breath away. He pinched me at one point and leaned down to whisper in my ear. "You're terribly distracting you know." He smiled at me. I smiled back and winked up at him before turning my attention back to Valência who turned at us and smiled.