Draco Malfoy and the Seven

Pub Night

After two days of running the shop, Hermione desperately needed a few glasses of wine and quality time with her friends. She surveyed her snug burgundy turtleneck top in the mirror, choosing a matching shade of lipstick to round out her look. Running her hands down her sides, she took in the way the top accentuated the deep curve at her waist, meeting the deep blue of her favorite jeans. Turning to the side, she let her eyes roam over how the jeans hugged her backside. She had put on weight from her days at Hogwarts and being on the run. She very rarely partook in the practice of appraising herself, preferring to ignore anything that stood out on her body. She found that she liked what she saw. She wondered if this could be considered exposure therapy. She was highly uncomfortable with the idea of her body being seen in the sexual sense, so maybe noticing the changes in herself was a good thing, forcing herself to notice the positive things about her body. Accepting the full breast, curvy waist, and ample backside that most seemed to find attractive could be a step in the right direction. She would need to talk to Pansy more about this later.

Running her hands through her wild curls one last time, she exited the small bathroom attached to her modest bedroom. Throwing on a dark jean jacket and her chunky black boots fit for the January weather, she made her way out of her London flat. The nearest apparition point was just around the corner from her flat, which was part of the reason she chose the location - that and because it was inexpensive and, therefore, in her price range. She had used almost all the reparation funds she was awarded to purchase the building her bookstore now inhabited. Despite having been open for just over a year, her business was successful, but she still preferred to live on the frugal side. 

The brisk January air nipped at her skin as she walked down the quiet residential street. A few houses down, she started to feel an altogether different chill slither up her spine, and she knew it wasn't from the cold. The feeling of being watched sent goosebumps up her arms and caused her breath to quicken. She planted her feet and looked around. Nothing caught her eye upon her initial survey of the neighborhood. Casting a quiet 'finite incantantem' revealing nothing out of the ordinary. Deciding her paranoia was getting out of hand, she walked past the last few houses to the apparition point.

Feeling the familiar tug at her naval and the slight spinning sensation, she landed in a dark alley outside Hogsmeade Village. The group had found that pub nights in Diagon Alley tended to draw more unwanted attention to them. They preferred the less crowded Finnigan's location in Hogsmeade. Seamus and his wife, Padma, had opened up the first location in Hogsmeade with their portion of the reparation funds. They had found much success in the small village, so much so that they had opened a second, even more successful location in Diagon Alley.

Pushing open the heavy wood door to the pub, she was bathed in the soft light from the multitude of floating lanterns in the rafters; she moved around the wait staff wearing black tops with small bronze F's located over the right breast pocket, her senses were overwhelmed by the aroma's wafting off of the various dishes being served around the pub. She caught sight of Harry's unruly black hair beside Ginny's trademark Weasley fiery red locks. She leaned in from behind to hug Harry and Ginny before sitting next to the redhead. She smiled at the rest of the table occupants. Neville sat across from Hermione with an empty chair to his left, which she could safely assume was saved for Pansy; Luna and Blaise sat chatting idly while waiting for the other occupants, and George and Angelina were enjoying a platter of fish and chips, probably enjoying a rare night away from their three lively offspring. That just left Pansy, Theo, Charlie, and Malfoy to complete the grouping for the evening.

She gave her wine order to the petite blonde waitress before turning to Harry. "How are things going over at the DMLE, Harry?"

He rolled his eyes before huffing out a quick breath. "We are struggling to find a connection to the rise in break-in reports. You know how the Ministry can be, though. Limited resources and red tape everywhere. It makes investigations more difficult than they need be." He took a sip off his firewhiskey before continuing. "Don't ever repeat this, but I can tell you that having Malfoy around this past year and a half has been a huge help to the department. His knowledge of the inner workings of the underground death eater movements has been invaluable to the department. He may no longer be a death eater, but he knows exactly how their minds work and is a genius at calculating their movements. We've managed to arrest and prosecute five wanted death eaters this year alone because of him."