Aftermath [On Hiatus]

I Set The Record Straight

“Lizzie!” Hermione exclaimed softly as Elizabeth turned to her with a quirked eyebrow.

“Yes?” She asked, unconcerned with her friend’s hysterics.

“He’s your boss!” Hermione cried out as the two women appeared at the sides of their dates.

“Hey Liz. Did you meet Malfoy?” Harry asked with a smile. Ron frowned and the expression deepened when he saw his fiancee’s expression.

“What happened, Hermione?” Ron questioned. Hermione turned to him with a scowl.

“Lizzie just told Malfoy that he was cruel and didn’t know the difference from right and wrong!” Hermione announced as Elizabeth rolled her eyes.

“I did not. He asked why I confunded him in fourth year and I told him why. Is it my fault he doesn’t know his own faults?” She inquired to the group as Harry stared at her before chuckling.

“Maybe you oughta stick close to me the first couple weeks of work, Liz,” He commented while laughing. Ron’s frown fell before he too was laughing. Hermione seemed to be the only one unimpressed with Elizabeth’s first encounter with Draco Malfoy.

“Were you hoping for an office romance?” Elizabeth asked quietly when Harry and Ron went to tease Draco about the encounter.

“Well, in all honesty, yes,” Hermione confessed as a blush settled across her cheeks. Elizabeth giggled softly.

“Hermione, I know you mean well, but please do not meddle in my personal relationships,” Elizabeth pleaded as Hermione sighed before nodding.

_____________________________________________________________________________

“Hey, Malfoy!” Harry greeted as the blonde glared at him and his companion. Ron chuckled as he brought his butterbeer to his lips.

“Evors is nothing like you said!” Draco countered as Harry smirked.

“Sure she is. I told you she was witty, sharp-minded, impartial, and honest. From what Hermione just told me, she was all of those things and more,” Harry replied with a shrugged. Draco scowled at the dark haired man.

“Stop laughing Weasley! It’s not funny. That woman disrespected me in front of my friends!” Draco growled as Ron’s laughter intensified.

“Malfoy, do you hear yourself? You’re whining almost as bad as Parkinson!” Ron exclaimed as Draco cringed at the thought. Pansy had become somewhat of a joke amongst the Ministry departments. And he did not like to be compared to her.

“I am not,” He rebuffed quietly. Harry shook his head before patting the blonde’s shoulder.

“You’ll get used to her, Malfoy. I’ll admit she’s a bit off-putting at first, but once you get to know her, you’ll see she’s perfect for the job,” Harry explained as Draco shook his head and threw back a shot of firewhiskey.

“I don’t think I want to get to know her,” Draco sighed. Harry and Ron chuckled as they left the blonde alone.  Draco followed them with his eyes and watched them interact with the woman who had so blatantly stepped on his pride. They seemed to get along well. Harry seemed the best equipped to deal with her, he decided as he watched the pair interact separately.

“Harry, honestly,” Elizabeth muttered lowly as her friend chuckled. He easily moved closer to the woman and Draco watched in envy as Harry tucked a stray strand behind Elizabeth’s ear. The brunette seemed unconcerned with the proximity of her date. Hermione and Ron had escaped from the pair a few minutes ago. A soft laugh escaped Elizabeth as Harry whispered a joke into her ear. Draco frowned.

“Potter, what are you doing?” He growled to himself.  Were the two dating? The dark haired man had not mentioned being romantically involved with anyone since his breakup with the Weaslette, Draco noted.  The rest of the night went by fairly quickly for everyone, even Lizzie. She found herself laughing and smiling far more than she had expected to. It had been so long since she had been with people her own age; she had almost forgotten what it felt like to have age-appropriate fun.

“See? Aren’t you glad I dragged you out of your house against your will?” Harry joked as he returned with two shots of fire-whiskey. Elizabeth smiled and giggled before nodding. She took the offered alcohol and the two clinked their glasses together before tossing the drink back. Elizabeth shivered as the fire-whiskey burned down her throat before warming her entire body.  Harry shuddered before he chuckled.

“Been a while since I’ve had some of that,” he remarked as Elizabeth nodded.

“I think the last time I had some Miles was three and I had just broken up with that guy from Accounting,” Elizabeth mentioned as Harry laughed.

“Oh yeah! Uh, McCormick, right?” He asked as the brunette nodded, giggling.

“He was a toad!” She replied as Harry shook his head.

“No, no. Worse than a toad! He was a Blast-Ended Skrewt!” He corrected as Elizabeth burst into a fit of laughter at the thought. As Harry and Elizabeth conversed, they were oblivious to the sets of eyes that watched them.

“Lizzie and Harry seem to be gettin’ along well,” Neville mentioned as Ginny leaned around her brother to see what her companion was talking about. Hermione sighed.

“She’s been cooped up in that house for too long,” she remarked as Ron chuckled from beside her.

“Then it’s a good thing she’s with Harry. I swear him and Malfoy have been working each other ragged,” He commented. Ginny giggled.

“Even work is a competition for those two,” she joked as Neville joined in her laughter. Ron chuckled as Hermione smiled.

“Besides it’s about time the two of them got back into the dating scene. They’re not getting any younger!” Hermione announced as Ron snorted.

“As far as I remember,  we’re the same age, ‘Mione,” He responded flippantly. Hermione waved him off.

 ****

“Draco, what has captured your attention?” Pansy asked as she followed the blonde’s line of sight and found Harry with Elizabeth, laughing.

“Are you still sore about what Evors said to you?” Blaise’s voice brought Draco’s attention back to his own group. His friends all looked at him expectantly.  He shook his head, quickly thinking of a lie to deceive his friends.

“Of course not. I was trying to figure out a way to get under Potter’s skin at work,” he lied as Blaise laughed.

“Breathe, mate. That’s all you have to do,” he responded as the group joined in his laughter.  Draco scowled before stomping away to drown himself in a bottle of fire-whiskey.