The Marriage Decree

Chapter 103: I Forgot She Was There

Every morning, for the past four days, Hermione and Draco woke up to a cooked breakfast with freshly squeezed juice, all lovingly made by Blaise as thanks for letting him and Pandora stay. They'd told him it wasn't necessary; they were happy enough making some toast or eating in the Great Hall. Blaise insisted though, explaining he was already up at five o'clock with Pandora. Once she was settled, he didn't have anything better to do than cook.

It was a surprise, however, to return home from work on Thursday night to find dinner already on the kitchen table. Draco was happy to see his best friend had made spaghetti Bolognese, one of his favourites that he hadn't had the chance to prepare himself for months.

"What's the special occasion?" Draco asks once the three of them were sat at the table, enjoying the meal.

"I wanted to thank you again for allowing us to stay here," He starts.

"Blaise, we've told you that you're both welcome whenever you want," Hermione tells him. "You don't need to be cooking for us all the time, although we do appreciate it." She adds.

"Thank you; I also wanted to tell you both that we'll be moving out on Saturday." He smiles.

"You found a place?" Draco asks, knowing his friend and Benjamin hadn't had much luck the previous day.

"Kind of, Benji suggested I move in with him for a couple of months, to make sure I'm ready to commit to moving into the city before I buy my own place." He explains.

"Does he have the space?" Draco asks, not liking the idea of Blaise spending so much time with his other friend, in the Muggle world, a place he doesn't fully understand. Draco himself wouldn't be able to live comfortably in the Muggle world after experiencing it for over a year.

"Yeah, he had a roommate, but they moved out a few months ago, and he's been struggling with the rent but didn't want to offer the spare room to a complete stranger," Blaise explains further. "It's perfect, and the room is the master, so there's plenty of room for Pandora's crib." He adds.

"Shouldn't she have her own room?" Hermione asks.

"She's only three-months-old, I don't think it matters until she's at least eighteen-months-old, and by then I'll have my own space. This is just for four months or so." He answers.

"Well, you sound excited, so I'm happy for you," Hermione tells him.

"Thank you." He smiles. "If you're both not busy on Saturday, I could use your help moving. I wouldn't want you lifting anything, Hermione, so would you look after Pandora for the morning. I would normally shrink and then restore my furniture in the room, but Benji will get suspicious." He says.

"Of course, the two of us will have a lovely morning," She smiles over at the Moses basket beside them, with a sleeping Pandora resting inside.

"How does Benjamin feel about living with a baby?" Draco asks curiously.

"He's fine; before he moved in with his old roommate, he lived with his sister and brother-in-law, you remember that DJ Ollie from Harry's stag night?" He asks, but Draco shakes his head. "Well they had two children under three years when he was living with them, so he's used to it," Blaise explains.

"That's great." He mutters, eating his dinner.

That night, the three of them invite Pansy over for drinks, a butterbeer for Hermione, as they celebrate the next step in Blaise's life.

On Saturday morning, the household woke up early at seven o'clock, ready for Blaise's moving day. Hermione made the two men breakfast, while dressed in her pyjamas and dressing gown, a babbling Pandora lying in a Moses basket next to the counter, while they made a plan of how they were going to get Blaise's furniture to the flat without Benjamin noticing they didn't have any means of transport. They finally decided to arrive five minutes earlier than what they told Benjamin so they could enlarge the furniture in the foyer of the flat under the guise of the driver of a moving van having helped them.