Work Text
The Leaky Cauldron, one evening
"Hey, Blaise!" Harry called across their table, ensconced in a snuggly corner of the pub. "Bet you can't beat Ron in a game of wizard chess."Blaise threw a glance at Harry's smug mug, then over to his ginger mate, who was presiding over a pristine chess board and looking innocent.Draco snorted into his Firewhisky. "Care to put your money where your mouth is, Potter?""What do you need my money for? It would be like Scrooge McDuck robbing a child of its pocket money."Draco, Blaise and Ron looked blank. 'What's a Scrooge McDuck?' Ron asked.Harry banged his head on the table a couple of times. "Never mind." To Draco, he said "Fine. Bet's on, Croesus."Draco looked pleased. "I know that reference." He turned to Blaise. "You're on, son. Don't fuck up."Blaise rolled his eyes. "Oh, please."All four men expected a trouncing walkover, albeit at the hands of different players.Yet four hours later, Ron and Blaise were still hard at it, neck-and-neck.Harry was slumped in the corner, asleep, snoring softly, dribble escaping from his lips. Draco really wished he had Hermione's Smart Fone so he could take a photo of this epic portrait. Aside from that, the novelty of sitting at this table watching a wizard chess game had worn off long ago, much like any feeling he once had in his shapely bum.He stood and stretched, yawning like a lion. "I'm off, Blaise," he mumbled, shrugging into his coat. "If I stay any longer, I'll be sleeping on the settee."Blaise didn't lift his head up from the board. "Uh-huh.""See you, Weasley."Ron didn't move his eyes from the board. "Yup."Draco leaned over the table and gave Harry a friendly shove."Argh!" Harry sat bolt upright. "I'm not sleeping, honey, I'm just resting my eyes!"Draco burst out laughing. "Good night, dearest," he cackled, blowing Harry a kiss. "I'll be merciful when I come to collect my winnings.""Ass," grumbled Harry, then looked at his watch. "Shit! I've gotta go!"Draco apparated to the home he shared with his girlfriend, Hermione. He found her curled up on the settee, nose-deep in a book, looking like a beautiful, bookwormish angel. Crookshanks was snoring at her feet.Draco kissed her gently on top of her head. "Sorry I'm late, love. Ron and Blaise were playing chess and time got away on us. They were still at it when I left."She smirked. "Blaise will lose."Draco paused in the middle of taking his coat off. Since he had now learned by painful experience that not listening to Hermione usually resulted in something bad happening, he faltered. "You think so?" he asked doubtfully.Hermione put her book away, got up from the settee and switched off the reading light. "I know so.""Crap." Draco hated losing. "Why are you never around when I do silly things like make bets?"She laughed; a low, sexy laugh that Draco's interest rising. "At home, patiently waiting for you to make love to me."He grinned and drew her into his arms. "Are you done with being patient?" he asked, drawing his lips down her neck and kissing her pulse."Oh, yes," she breathed, undoing his tie."Good. I've never been known for my patience," he smirked. He scooped her up and carried her to their bedroom.It was late. Not that Draco cared about his job, since he owned his company, but Hermione had to get up at an indecent hour to lawyer away her existence in a pro bono dump of a flea-bitten tenement office, where she represented the poor, the downtrodden and the often smelly.So, no swinging from the chandeliers tonight. Instead, Draco slowly entered the woman he loved, loving how her body rose to meet his, how she tossed her head back and exposed her throat to him on his initial thrust. He moved languidly inside her, looking into her eyes, lowering them only to kiss her lips.He could tell from the slightest hitch in her breath that she was on the path towards release. He sped up, whispering into her ear how she made him feel, what he wanted to do with her. She begged him to touch her, and he did, moving his fingers over her clitoris – and capturing her cry of release with his mouth.Then he gave in to his body.Giving thanks that she chose him.
Next day, Draco's office
Despite Hermione's prediction, Draco's jaw dropped. "You what?"Blaise rolled his eyes. "Lost, Draco. I lost.""But you were the best chess player Slytherin's ever seen!""Yeah. And Ron's the best chess player Hogwarts has ever seen.""Merlin's marbles. I'm going to have to pay the smug wanker." He contacted his secretary. "Colleen, can you book me out for half an hour, starting now? I need to sulk.""Certainly, Mr Malfoy.""I'll leave you to it, then," said Blaise, hopping up and heading to the door. "See you in the pub after work?""You'd better believe it! Oh. After I check with Hermione."Blaise smiled to himself. Somewhere along the way, we got thoroughly pussywhipped by our girlfriends, he thought. And it happened so subtly that I can't even begin to figure out when it started.Which reminded him. He'd better check with his girlfriend, Pansy.
That evening, the Leaky Cauldron
"I can't believe you're trying to welsh out of paying a bet! I tell you, Ron," Harry teased, "now I know how the rich get richer. They don't part with any of their money!"Draco looked at Blaise and rolled his eyes. "Remind me why we hang out with these idiots.""For the entertainment value.""Ah, right." To Harry, Draco said "Look, I'm good for it, you know I am. I just thought you might be interested in making it best two out of three.""Three chess games?""Merlin, no," Draco shuddered. "I thought we'd try a different activity each round."Ron and Harry leaned forward. So did Blaise, who had no idea what his mercurial friend had in his head at the best of times."What did you have in mind?" asked Ron."For round two, I propose a broom race."Aha! Draco didn't miss the glint in Harry's eye. "When and where?" Harry asked."No time like the present.""Now? But we've been drinking."Draco leaned into Harry's space, smirking. "Scared, Potter?"Harry snorted."All right, then. Twice up and down the length of Diagon Alley. How does that sound?""Fine.""Fine.""Fine.""Well, then ladies?" Draco smirked. "On your brooms!"Everyone sculled the rest of their Firewhiskeys and hurtled out the door.
Later...
"Oh, my gods!" shrieked Hermione. "What on earth happened to you?"Draco propped himself up against the bedroom doorway. "Um, I fell off my broom."Hermione hopped out of bed and approached her boyfriend with caution. "So, you're just covered in mud, then?" she asked. "You're not injured?"Draco looked down at himself. Luckily he had more suits than he knew what to do with, because he was pretty sure this one was buggered beyond redemption. "Well, there might be a few bruises, and some scrapes under the mud," he said vaguely."What were you doing on a broom in the first place?" demanded Hermione. "You apparate everywhere. Or Floo if you're desperate enough to risk getting soot on your clothes."Draco dragged himself to the bathroom. "The boys and I had a bet," he began."Oh, gods, another bet," muttered Hermione, turning the shower on.Draco slowly unburdened himself of his swamp monster costume while standing in the empty bath. "We flew twice around Diagon Alley. It was pretty even for most of the race, so it became a bit of a scrum for the finish line."Hermione looked over her shoulder. "Did someone push you off your broom?" she asked hotly.Nude, but still muddy, Draco eased himself into the hot shower, wincing when the water enveloped his lumps and bumps. "Sort of..."Hermione was baffled. "What does that mean?""Everyone tried to shove each other off our brooms, so we all fell off."He thought he heard Hermione mutter "God grant me the patience not to slap the shit out of every one of them," but that didn't make sense. Why would his darling Hermione want to slap him?He submerged himself under the faucet, finding the water swirling around his feet significantly browner than it was before. Hmph. Must have collected a ton of mud in his hair. "But that's not important, darling,' he called out. 'I won!"Silence. She must have gone into the bedroom.After stepping around in diluted mud and letting his imagination go a little nuts with visions of Caesarean laurel wreaths being placed upon his golden head, Hermione appeared by the shower again. "So, is this the last of the bets, then?"Draco spat out water and turned around. "Not yet, my dulcet dove," he smirked. "It's best two out of three, and Gryffindor and Slytherin are equal. The next bet's the decider!" Then he frowned. "Except I don't know what we should do for the final bet.""Don't the others have any ideas?"Draco looked at her."Ah. Sorry. Anyway," Hermione said, "you're not going to get any cleaner in there. Time to hop out."Draco leered. "I love it when you get all bossy.""I'm always bossy. It drove you mental in school.""Yeah, but now it makes me horny."He strutted out of the shower, showing himself off to his fullest advantage.She started laughing. Gods, she loved him so.
Still later…
"Hermione?"She snuffled and turned over in their bed to cuddle up closer to Draco. "Hmm?""Do you have any ideas for a third bet?"Out of his line of sight, she rolled her eyes. "Why don't you all get your penises out and see whose is the largest?""Hmm. That's not bad…""What if you're not the biggest?"Draco snorted. "Darling, please."Hermione looked at him. "You do recall I know what Ron's penis looks like, right?"Draco contemplated that statement with a shudder. "No, surely not," he said dismissively.Silence."Hermione?"Shit. She'd gone to sleep.Still awake, a little, Hermione allowed herself a tiny smirk.Draco stared at the ceiling for a jolly long time.
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Next morning
To Hermione's immense surprise, Draco was out of bed when she woke up. She discovered him in the kitchen, sipping coffee and poring through a comprehensive medical tome, one she referred to when conducting wrongful injury claims on behalf of her clients."Good morning!" Hermione kissed his cheek on the way to make herself a cup of tea. "Enjoying the book?""Uh, not really," Draco mumbled. He closed the book and set it down, looking a little green."Were you after something in particular?""Oh, no, no. Not at all, in fact. Just interested in the, er…" He shot out of his chair. "Oh, no!' I'm late for a… thing! See you later, love." He aimed his kiss Hermione's cheek but missed and kissed air instead."Okay, darling," Hermione said as she stirred her tea. "Will you be going to the pub to-"Pop! Draco had apparated.- "night?" she finished in bewilderment.She made a mental note to send out some owls when she got to work. Time to have a chat with the girls.
Later that morning, Draco's office
"Yikes, Draco. You don't look so good."Draco stared at the wood markings on his walnut desk. "I can't get those images out of my head."Blaise sat opposite him and handed over a takeaway coffee. "What images?"Draco shuddered. "Do you know how many malformations of the penis exist?"Blaise was used to all sorts of odd questions coming from his best mate, but this one was a doozy. "No," Blaise replied shortly. "And I don't want to know."Draco nodded sagely. "Wise.""Why are you looking at pictures of deformed penises, anyway? Because if this has something to do with the next bet, you can count me out," Blaise warned. "My ears are still ringing from Pansy's telling-off last night.""Just a side project," Draco muttered hastily. "To be honest, I can't come up with a decent third bet. Guess we'll have to brainstorm it tonight in the pub.""It might be easier to pray for an intervention," suggested Blaise."We can do both."
Evening at the Leaky Cauldron, again
Four heads – two dark, one red and one blonde - bowed in concentration over their drinks as they tried to come up with a third bet that was satisfactory to all parties.Sometimes prayers are answered."Hi, boys!"All four heads popped up in surprise as four lovely ladies made their way through the pub to their table."Hello, love!" Draco smiled his first genuine smile of the day as Hermione sat next to him. The others happily made way so that Pansy, Ginny and Lavender could sit next to their respective partners. "Fancy seeing you here!""Well, it appears that some bets have been keeping our men from coming home at reasonable hours, so we thought we'd stop by where the action is," Hermione smiled. She kissed Draco, glad to see he looked happier than he did this morning."And, to be honest, we don't want to see a repeat of last night," added Ginny. "I've never seen so much mud inside a building in my life."Harry turned red."Which is why," Pansy said, signalling the bar for some Butterbeer, "we've decided to help you select your last bet. Unless you've come up with one already." She looked at Blaise apprehensively. "You haven't, have you?""Not yet.""Excellent," Hermione said happily. "Why don't you all try growing a beard for thirty days? Longest, fullest beard wins. And not even you four could possibly come to physical harm from doing it."Silence."Don't applaud me all at once," said Hermione archly."Who would judge the beards in the end?" Ron asked. "It can't be any of you. You're all biased towards at least one of us.""We'll ask the wizard with the best beard of all to judge them!" said Ginny."Who's that?""Dumbledore!" said Lavender.The boys started laughing. "As if he'd be interested in a stupid beard competition!" Blaise cackled, until he saw Pansy's face. "Sorry, sweetheart.""I Floo-called him today," Hermione said smugly. "He said he'd be delighted to."The table lapsed into silence again as the boys looked at each other."You know," Hermione said idly, "beards were traditionally regarded as a sign of virility and dominance in men."Four pairs of male ears pricked up. "That so?" asked Draco, oh-so-casually."Oh, yes," Ginny continued. "Men with full, lush beards always got the pick of the women over men with ratty little beards."The ladies sipped their Butterbeers and waited."Sounds like a good idea to me," said Draco. "All in favour?""Aye.""Aye.""Aye.""Carried!" said Draco."Oh! One thing I forgot to mention," said Hermione. She stared down each and every man. "No magic. You must grow your beards naturally. Professor Dumbledore has been instructed to scan for magic on the final day. If he finds the slightest smidgen of it, you lose."That's the trouble with an intelligent girlfriend, Draco lamented. She's so damn intelligent."We wouldn't dream of it," said Blaise courteously.The girls beamed. "Good!" said Hermione. "Ladies, fancy a curry and a movie at ours while the boys grow their beards?""Sounds perfect!" They got up, kissed their boyfriends goodbye, and shashayed out of the pub.The boys watched their respective girlfriends' arses as they departed."Now," said Draco, returning his gaze to the trio. "What are we going to do for an actual bet?"They put their heads together.
The Leaky Cauldron, following evening
Blaise, Ron and Draco stared at the box that Harry plonked on the pub table."That's it?" Ron asked uncertainly."Sure is." Harry prised the top of the box. "Gentlemen, welcome to Jenga."Draco pulled a block out. "It's just a bunch of short, stubby sticks.""That's right," Harry said. "We stack the blocks on top of each other in sets of three. Each player uses one hand to pull a block out from the tower and put it on top. The last person to stack a block without toppling the tower is the winner. And without using magic, as agreed."Draco smirked. "Easy."Harry smirked back.Turned out, it wasn't as easy as Draco thought.Battle Jenga ended up taking over three hours, after Blaise, Draco and Ron insisted on some 'practice' games first, so the Muggle-raised representative didn't have an advantage.The landlord was in two minds about whether they approved of this particular bet. One the one hand, the boys were keeping more or less quiet. On the other, they were concentrating so hard they kept forgetting to drink up.He was relieved in the end when the final battle was completed and Blaise emerged from the metaphorical dust and debris as the winner.Slytherin two; Gryffindor one.Hermione was in the kitchen going over some statements for a court hearing in the morning when Draco apparated in."Hi love, how was the pub?""Exhausting," groaned Draco, and dragged himself off to the bedroom.Hermione followed him five minutes later – only to find him out cold, face down on the bed, still clothed.She looked at the time. It was only nine-thirty.She looked up to the heavens. "When I said I wanted him home earlier, this wasn't quite what I had in mind."
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A week later
Draco inspected his face in the bathroom mirror. Curse his aristocratic forebears and their generations of pale hair! His beard was coming in; he could feel it – it was just damn hard to see it.He Floo-called Malfoy Manor."Father, have you ever grown a beard?""Good gods, no.""Why not?""Because Malfoys look stupid with beards."Oh."Okay, thanks anyway," Draco said hastily."By the way, Mother wants you and Hermione to come to tea on Sunday.""All right, I'll let Hermione know.""She also wants to see a wedding and some grandchildren.""Uh, I think someone's at the door. Bye, Father!"Hermione entered the living room, pulling an irritating earring from her ear. "Who was that, love?""Oh, that was Father. He says beards make Malfoy men look stupid.""Aww." Hermione smiled and hugged Draco. "You don't look stupid," she purred. "You look virile and manly."Draco puffed his chest out. "You think so?"She smirked. "I know so." She leaned in and kissed him. "Although, kissing you with a beard coming in takes a bit of getting used to.""Takes a bit of getting used to just wearing one. It's damn itchy.""The itchiness will pass," Hermione intoned solemnly."Speaking from experience, are we?"She swatted him. "I can't bear itchy legs or armpits or… other places… so I never let them get to that stage."He pulled a face. "Sweetheart, I'd prefer not to know how you keep looking so beautiful and smooth. I'd rather it be all an unfathomable, wonderful mystery."She giggled, then looked coyly at him. "Want to spend the evening in bed?"Draco froze. "Um… I have some stuff to… oh, Mother wants us over for tea on Sunday."Hermione sighed. "Will we be spending the entire time ignoring her not-so-subtle hints about weddings and grandchildren?""Without doubt."Hermione huffed. "She doesn't seem to understand that I want to get some experience in my career first before having children, does she?""Nope." Draco rubbed her nose with his own. "But I do."She leaned into him. "And that's what's important."
A few days later, at the Leaky
"One last bet, gents, what's it going to be?" Draco rubbed his hands together."If we were still single, we could have a bet on the first person to get a girl's Floo number," Ron said."That would be pointless," Draco pointed out."Why?"Draco smirked. "Because I would win. Every time."Blaise snorted. "Speak for yourself.""True, true," Draco conceded. "But it's definitely safe to say that Slytherin would have kicked Gryffindor's arse in that endeavour."Harry glanced at Ron. "Now I know what Hermione sees in him. It's his all-encompassing humility."Blaise sighed. "Look. Has anyone got work tomorrow?""Nope.""Nope.""Nope.""Good. Last man standing after the most potent shots the pub can make wins. How does that sound?""Now you're talking," said Ron, rubbing his hands together.
Later…
Draco stumbled out of the Floo, tripped and fell face-down onto the living room floor.Hermione was on the sofa, reading. "Who won?""'Arry," Draco mumbled to the floorboards.She put her book down. "Is this the last stupid bet you boys are going to do?""Still growing beards.""I said stupid bet.""Oh. Yup.""Good." Hermione hopped off the couch and left the room, followed by Crookshanks, who stopped to sniff Draco's prostrate form. He smelled like a fire hazard."You're sleeping in the spare room tonight!" she called.No I'm not, he thought rebelliously. I'm going to sleep right here. So there, missy!
Two weeks later
In bed one night
Hermione walked her fingers slowly up Draco's arm. "Honey?" she purred. "Want to put that book away?"Draco gripped the book tighter. "Um, not yet, I'm at a really exciting part at the moment."Hermione looked at the book's cover. 101 Uses for Eyes of Newt.Frowning, she extended a finger and pulled the book down to Draco's lap.He looked at her over his reading glasses, which he didn't really need. They just looked cute. "Yes, dear?""Draco, am I imagining it, or are you avoiding having sex with me?""Me?" Draco looked somewhere slightly over Hermione's head. "Of course not, why would you think that?""Because for the past two weeks you haven't initiated sex once, which is very unusual for you. And every time I try to initiate it, you fob me off with ridiculous excuses, such as wanting to read the climax of 101 Uses for Eyes of Newt. Which I've read, by the way, and I can promise you there is nothing in that book worthy of a climax!"Deflating, she held his hand. "I'm worried, darling." She bit her lip. "Don't you find me attractive anymore?""What?" He tossed the book away and took her hands. "You're the woman of my dreams," he whispered, and kissed her slowly, gently.She gave him a watery smile. "So, what's happened?"Draco sighed and touched his forehead to hers. "You're going to think it's dumb."Hermione traced his lower lip with her thumb. "I promise I won't think it's dumb.""Well, okay. Remember a couple of weeks ago you said that you'd seen Ron's – you know, and, well, possibly implied it was, um, bigger than mine?"Hermione closed her eyes briefly, then opened them again. "Draco," she confessed, "I was joking. Ron is not in your league. At all. There is nothing for you to feel self-conscious about. I'm so sorry if I made you feel inadequate."Draco's eyebrows raised. "Well, that's good news," he said archly. "But that was a pretty mean trick you played. Researching penis enhancement is not a thing I'm ever going to forget. I'm not sure whether I should kiss you or spank you.""How about you kiss me, then spank me?" Hermione murmured sexily.He smiled as he kissed her. My cunning little trickster, he thought.Hermione smiled as she kissed him. My gullible idiot, she thought.
Next day
"Hermione?""Draco?""You remember how we decided not to have children until your career was established?""Yes..." Hermione put down the spoon she was using to stir some soup and turned to him, sitting quietly at the kitchen table. "Why? Have you changed your mind?" she asked, a tad defensively."No, of course not!" Draco looked taken aback."Oh."Draco traced a pattern on the kitchen table. "I was just wondering if there was anything in particular precluding us from getting engaged."Hermione pondered, tapping her chin. "I can't think of anything" – wait a second… She looked closely at Draco, who seemed a little jumpy. She approached the table and sat next to him. "Are you proposing to me?""Proposing?" Draco squeaked, then cleared his throat. "No! No. More like a" – he searched for the word – a "pre-proposal, as it were."Hermione tried not to laugh. "A pre-proposal?""Yeah." Draco gently took her hands. "When I actually propose, it will be the most romantic experience of your life, I promise. But that takes organisation, and I wanted to get a ballpark idea of what your response might be before I organise it."Oh my gods, this is too cute, Hermione thought dizzily. He's actually blushing while he pre-proposes to me!"I have to say that's a relief," Hermione said as solemnly as she could muster. "I'd hate to think that if I said 'yes' here that I'd be denying myself a romantic spectacle somewhere else."Light shone in Draco's silver eyes. "Are you saying 'yes' to my pre-proposal?" he asked hopefully.Hermione beamed. "Yes, I'm saying 'yes' to your pre-proposal."Draco whooped and gathered her up in a hug that left her breathless. They kissed passionately, until Hermione struggled and pulled away."What's wrong?""Beard rash," Hermione said, gingerly touching her face.He inspected it. "Oh. That doesn't look good.""Doesn't feel good, either."He kissed the tip of her nose. "Sorry, pre-fiancée. Tell you what. You can choose the venue for my actual proposal."Hermione perked up. "Anywhere in the world?"'Anywhere in the world.'"Well, I hear Tahiti's pretty lovely…"' she looked up hopefully.Draco kissed the ring finger of her left hand. "Whatever my lady wants," he smiled."Can I ask one teensy favour?" she asked."Sure, darling.""Can you give me the ring after Dumbledore's judged the beard bet? Right after?""I'm not even going to ask why, but sure."Hermione hugged him. "I love you so much."Draco threaded a hand into her curls. "I love you, too."
Judgement day – for beards, that is
It was a solemn occasion in the Leakey, for the day of judgement had arrived. Four men stood tall and strong in a line in front of the bar. Professor Dumbledore strode slowly up and down the line, peering at the beards as solemnly as if he were inspecting a recently-discovered copy of Merlin's original grimoire: blots, spelling errors and all.Their girlfriends sat at a nearby table, chatting over the latest Witches' Weekly.Draco, Harry, Ron and Blaise stood silently as they put up with Dumbledore's inspections. Their masculinity and virility was on the line, after all. Ron was particularly panicky. His attempt at a beard resulted in an anaemic, scraggly effort, with visible patches in between the fuzz. His worst fears came to fruition when Dumbledore looked at him kindly, patted him on the shoulder and shook his head.He hung his head and slunk off to the ladies' table, where he was comforted by Lavender's ample charms.Harry was now the sole Gryffindor representative. It was two all in the betting stakes. This was the decider. Who would Dumbledore pick?The remaining boys reined in their sighs when the good Professor whipped out an ancient dressmaker's tape measure, and started meticulously measuring their beards.
Eventually…
Professor Dumbledore held up his hands, and the entire pub fell silent. Not for nothing was he the best headmaster Hogwarts ever had."Wizards and witches," he announced. "After lengthy consideration, I have decided on a winner of the beard competition."Then he launched into a long and rambling monologue about the art of cultivating facial hair that even had Hermione's eyes glazing over with ennui."Professor," she eventually pleaded, "who is the winner of the beard contest?""Ah! Of course," Dumbledore chuckled. "While none of the entrants came remotely close to the splendour of my own effort" – he patted his whiskers proudly – "I declare the winner of the beard contest to be – Mr Potter!""Omigod!" Ginny shrieked and jumped up to hug her victorious man, in amid a chorus of moans and groans from everyone else."Everyone! Everyone, please! I have an announcement to make!" Draco called, albeit smarting from his defeat a little.Many pairs of eyes turned to him skeptically.Draco took Hermione's hand and smiled at her fondly. He opened his mouth and said:"Drinks are on me for the rest of the evening!"Everyone cheered and dashed for the bar.Amid the scrum and clamour, Draco pulled a beautiful ring out of his pocket and placed it on Hermione's finger. "And I would also like to announce my engagement to Ms Hermione Jean Granger," he said softly, gently kissing her.She laughed and hugged him. "Freshen your drink, mister?" she asked coyly."Don't mind if you do," he smirked and swaggered back to the table.Hermione shouldered her way to the bar and squeezed in next to Ginny. "A Firewhisky and a mulled wine, please!" she called to the harried landlord."What's that, luv?" he hollered.Hermione cupped her hands around her mouth and shriek-repeated the order.Suddenly, her left hand was caught in a death-snare. Ginny was staring down at Hermione's hand in shock."Tell me that's not what I think it is," she growled.Hermione's smirk was truly worthy of a Malfoy. "It is."Ginny stamped her foot. "Ah, hell!"When all were gathered around their usual table, Ginny sighed and said "Pansy, Lav, we owe Hermione a Galleon each."Hermione put her left hand on the table and tried not to look ridiculously happy. Which, of course, she was.As Galleons started being flung desultorily in Hermione's direction, Draco pulled her close and asked "Why are women throwing money at my fiancée? Not that I'm complaining."Hermione nuzzled Draco's ear. "We had a bet of our own.""First to get engaged?""You were as solid as Gringott's bank, darling."
The End