Broken

Planning

Invitations were soon sent out, and the RSVPs came pouring in. Hermione was the first to respond, including a note to Scorpius dictated by Rose. Ginny's reply soon followed, as did the entire Weasley family's. Teddy responded in person, when his grandmother brought him to the Manor for Sunday lunch.

'But the real question is,' Teddy said, leaning forward intently, as the two sisters gossiped on the other side of the room. 'When are you taking Hermione out on your date?!'

'How do you know about that?'

'Everyone knows,' Teddy smirked. 'I won good money off it. Fred Jr said you wouldn't ask her out until next year. Victoire bet it would be closer to Christmas. I had more faith in you than that.'

'You're all mad, you know that?'

'Duh. So. Where are you taking her?'

'I have no idea!' Draco groaned, running his hand through his hair. 'That's the problem!'

'Huh. That is a problem.' Teddy pondered for a moment. 'You need to talk to Ginny. She'll know.'

*****

The hall they had rented sparkled with pale green and silver decorations. The Healer's symbol tastefully adorned everything.

Head-Healer Shadowens, Draco's mentor during his time as a volunteer, shook Draco's hand heartily.

'Congratulations,' he smiled. 'I knew you could do it! I hope you'll consider doing your residency with us? There'll always be a place for you on my team.'

'Thank you, sir,' Draco beamed. 'I may just hold you to that!'

'I certainly hope so!'

'Squawk!' A tiny figure in a blue dress hurtled into the room.

Draco hurriedly adjusted his suit and smoothed his hair, as Hermione hurried in after her whirlwind daughter.

'You look amazing,' Draco smiled, gallantly kissing Hermione's hand.

'Thank you,' she blushed. 'So do you! Sorry we're late. Rose kept changing her mind about which outfit to wear, and then Hugo threw up just as we were leaving.'

'Oh no! Is he ok?' Draco lay a pale hand on the baby's dark forehead.

'He's fine. He found Rose's stash of sweets from Honeydukes.'

'Ah, that would do it.' Draco tweaked Hugo's nose, earning a brilliant smile from him.

'Oh, Ginny said to tell you she's running late. A deadline at the office got moved up, so she had to finish her article before she could leave. They'll be here as soon as she's done.'

'That's good, Scorpius has missed his friends.'

'Hermione, you made it!' Angelina swept over to them, leaving her husband and children by the food-table.

Hermione left Draco to greet his guests, grinning as Percy pompously shook Draco's hand and congratulated him.

Andromeda chatted animatedly to Narcissa, who was looking stunned at the number of Order of the Phoenix members who filled the room. Her eyes glistened as she watched them congratulate her son, accepting him. She watched Scorpius dive into the midst of children, all of whom had befriended him gladly.

*****

'Hey, um, Ginny?'

'Sup?'

'I need your help with something...' Draco shuffled from one foot to another, examining the contents of his wineglass.

'You don't know where to take Hermione on a date, do you?'

'How did you guess?'

'I didn't. Teddy told me.'

'Oh.'

'It'll be tough to top the circus. She talked about that for weeks!'

'I know,' Draco groaned. 'I peaked too soon!'

'You did set the bar pretty high for yourself,' Ginny agreed, grinning. 'But you have to think outside the box. Hermione isn't like most women. She's intelligent, independent, and financially secure in her own right. She won't be impressed with cliches or pointless displays of wealth.'

'I know that,' he protested.

'So you have to consider...what does Hermione like?'

'Books?'

'That's too easy, what are you going to do, take her to fancy libraries...?'

They both stopped and stared at each other.

'I hear there's some beautiful libraries in Europe,' Draco said with a slow smile.

'It's meant to be gorgeous this time of year,' Ginny agreed, her face lighting up. 'Good food, fancy wine...'

'Visit some art galleries, a romantic picnic...'

'You're onto a winner here, Malfoy!' Ginny grinned, gesturing for him to give her a high-five. 'Just give me enough notice so we can be on babysitting duty.'

'I'll see when Hermione's free but...how does next weekend sound?'

'Perfect. Good luck!'