Ginny had decided to take Hermione out to lunch the next day for a little girls' time, which Hermione was very happy about after the disastrous attempt at lunch the day before with Ron. They walked arm-in-arm down the sidewalk, laughing together.
"You should've seen George's face!" Ginny said between laughs. "He was not expecting it to blow up in his face during the demonstration, but he took it in stride and was able to quickly recover from it!"
Hermione shook her head, trying to imagine the sight. "Oh, that sounds hilarious! I'm just happy George is releasing products again."
"I know," Ginny nodded. "He's been working on these for the past year. It was good to see him distracted but you could tell something was off. I wanted to be there to help but Angelina says he's doing a lot better now."
"That's good," Hermione said quietly.
They both fell into silence as they continued walking aimlessly down the sidewalk, both of them looking off in different directions. Hermione then felt Ginny freeze suddenly next to her, and she looked over to see Ginny staring ahead of them, wide-eyed.
"Gin? What's up?" Hermione asked, looking forward as well to see what she was looking at.
"We need to go somewhere else," Ginny said quickly, taking a few steps back. "Like, now."
Hermione gave her a confused look and then looked ahead again to try and see what Ginny was so unnerved by. "I don't understand."
And then she saw the last person she wanted to see at that moment walking towards them with someone that she recognized but couldn't quite figure out.
Ginny immediately turned away and started walking in the opposite direction, constantly looking to see if she could cross the street. Hermione caught up to her and asked, "Ginny, what's going on?"
"I don't want him to see-"
"Well, if it isn't little Red!"
Ginny groaned and stopped in her tracks, looking up at the sky. Hermione looked over her shoulder to see that both Draco and the new wizard had stopped a few feet away, and they were both smirking.
"Hello, Zabini," Ginny muttered before turning around and casting a glance up at him.
She wasn't surprised that he was still just as handsome as ever. He was wearing a well-fitted three-piece suit that was in a dark charcoal color, whereas Draco's was all black again. Blaise's face hadn't changed a bit in the five years since they had last seen each other, and Ginny tried to ignore the rush of butterflies that suddenly filled her stomach.
"Granger," Draco greeted curtly with a nod. "How is the decision making process going?"
Ginny gave her a curious look and Hermione scowled at him as she answered, "Would be a lot faster if you weren't sending owls every few hours checking on it."
He smirked again. "I told you I wanted to be involved."
"Well, if you two don't mind," Ginny interrupted, avoiding Blaise's eyes. "Hermione and I were headed off to lunch. If you'll just excuse us..."
She started to turn around when Blaise said, "What a coincidence; we were on our way to lunch as well!"
"I'll alert the Prophet," Ginny said sarcastically.
Blaise clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth a few times, shaking his head. "Goodness, you'd think we were never friends with that attitude."
Hermione gave Ginny a surprised look and Blaise smirked at this, while Ginny avoided looking at both of them. Before either of the girls could say anything, Blaise straightened up and said, "How about I treat you two to lunch? Catch up and all that. And I'm not taking no for an answer."
Hermione glanced over at Draco, who seemed unfazed by Blaise's suggestion. In fact, he seemed to be looking Hermione over with slightly more interest than usual, which caught her off guard. But before they could protest, Blaise gestured to a nice restaurant across the street.
"Well, come on!" He urged, smiling at the two of them.
"I really don't think that's the best idea," Ginny said reluctantly, finally meeting his eyes.
His expression softened slightly and he leaned in a bit to ask, "What, we can't have one lunch? For old time's sake?"
Both Hermione and Draco stared between the two of them in shock. It was clear that something had happened between the two of them in the past, and Hermione couldn't help but wonder exactly what it was. She was confused at their different reactions too; Blaise seemed delighted to see Ginny again, while Ginny seemed more...nervous and upset.
"Just one," Ginny answered quietly after a few moments of silence, turning on her heel and taking off towards the restaurant.
Blaise chuckled and followed after her, leaving Hermione and Draco behind. Draco then gestured for her to go first and Hermione didn't need to be told twice as she went to catch up with Ginny.
"You have a lot of explaining to do," She said quietly to the red head when they entered the restaurant.
Ginny didn't say anything, instead watching Blaise out of the corner of her eye as he moved forward. She cringed slightly when he gently brushed against her arm and tried to ignore the chills that went down her side as memories came flooding back.
"Table for four, please," Blaise said to the host, who nodded and led them back into the dining room.
The four of them walked in silence after the host, and when they stopped at the table, Blaise immediately went to hold a chair out for Ginny. She ignored his offer and took the chair next to it, at which he shrugged and offered it to Hermione. Hermione gave him a small smile and took the chair, watching both men as they sat down opposite of her and Ginny.
"So, Ginny," Blaise started, looking across the table at her. "Enjoying quidditch?"
She avoided his eyes by nonchalantly skimming the menu in front of her. "Yes, it's been wonderful."
"You've been on quite the winning streak lately," Blaise said proudly.
This made Ginny look up in surprise. "You've been paying attention?"
"Haven't missed a single game," He answered with a smile.
She stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. His smile widened into a grin and she tried to hide her own smile by chewing on the inside of her cheek, though it was a very unsuccessful attempt.
Hermione looked between the two of them, her eyes narrowing. "What is going on?"
"Blaise is a huge Harpies fan," Draco answered.
"Sounds more like he's a Ginny fan," Hermione said while raising an eyebrow.
Draco's mouth twitched slightly, but she couldn't tell if it was in annoyance or amusement. Blaise simply shrugged and said, "Am I not allowed to enjoy watching the best chaser they've had for a while?"
"I never said that," Hermione countered.
Ginny groaned suddenly and everyone looked to see two photographers snapping a picture of the table. With a sigh, Ginny rubbed her cheek and said, "That's going to be front page on the Prophet tomorrow. Harry's going to have a fit..."
Hermione's eyes went wide as she said, "I need to stop them before Ron sees that photo. He's going to be furious."
She cast a quick glance over to Draco and was surprised to see that his brow furrowed as she mentioned Ron. He looked over at the photographers who were still snapping pictures and then stood up silently, making his way over to them.
The other three watched as he spoke to the two men, and though it was too far to be within earshot for them to hear what he was saying, the looks on the two photographers' faces was enough to tell them it wasn't pleasant.
When Draco returned, everyone looked at him curiously and he shrugged as he sat down. "I simply told them that if any pictures of the four of us got out, I would personally see to it that the next front page story would be about their bodies being found."
Hermione stared at him. "That's a bit excessive, don't you think?"
"Not when we all have reputations to protect," He answered. "I doubt my girlfriend would appreciate me being seen with the two of you, just as your husbands would very much not like hearing that you two spent lunch with us."
Ginny and Hermione both shifted uncomfortably at this and looked at each other before looking down at their menus. Hermione was hardly paying attention though to hers; she was focused on when exactly she had started becoming frightened of angering Ron.
Of course, Ron had always been angered easily. Out of all of his siblings, he had the worst trouble controlling it. Not to mention that he was always jealous of any man who would try to talk to her, even her own coworkers. It had grown tiring and eventually she just stopped trying to interact with anyone she didn't need to.
"So, Ginny," Blaise started, catching everyone's attention again. "How long ago was it that you got married?"
Ginny shifted uncomfortably and looked away. "It's been a little over two years now."
"I'm surprised you two waited so long," He said, though based on his tone he didn't sound surprised at all.
"Yes well," Ginny said quickly. "We wanted to wait until after he had finished Auror training."
Blaise simply watched her, hardly any expression on his face. They made eye contact for a few moments before Ginny shook her head and looked away. "I'm sorry, we have to go."
She stood up then and looked at Hermione imploringly, and she immediately stood up after her friend and looked at the other two. Blaise was still watching Ginny, while Draco leaned against the arm of his chair, raising an eyebrow at Hermione.
"We will speak later regarding our business," He said then.
Hermione nodded and gave Blaise a quick wave before following Ginny out of the restaurant quickly. The moment they stepped outside, Hermione took Ginny's arm and asked, "What in the name of Merlin was that about?"
Ginny gave the sky a frustrated look and blinked a few times before looking at Hermione. "Can we go to your cabin tonight and talk, please? I don't feel comfortable speaking about it anywhere else."
After a few moments Hermione nodded curiously. "Yeah, of course. Just let me know when and we can meet up there."
The rest of the day nearly flew by as Hermione sunk herself into her work, but thoughts of Ginny and Blaise were in the back of her mind. Something clearly happened between the two of them, and she hoped that it wasn't a recent happening.
Ron sent her a note saying that he was going to be a little late getting home since he had an errand to run, and she was somewhat relieved when she stepped into her living room and was met with peace and quiet.
It wasn't that Ron was necessarily loud or anything; she just enjoyed having a little bit of time to unwind between work and home, and usually Ron would always try to talk to her about her day immediately after she got off work. And he took it personally when she brought it up, so she decided it was best to just let that argument slide.
After taking a quick shower and changing, she waited patiently for a note from Ginny while waiting for Ron to come home. The fireplace then lit up with a green flash and Ron soon stepped out from the hearth with a bouquet of flowers and a smile on his face.
"Oh, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed, standing up and smiling as he handed her the flowers. "They're beautiful! But what's the occasion?"
He shrugged. "I just know we've been arguing a lot lately and I wanted to do something nice for you."
She smiled at him and took the flowers into the kitchen to put them into a vase. "Thank you! I love them!"
He followed her into the kitchen, his hands in his pockets and leaned against the counter. "Did you have a good day?"
She hesitated slightly and then nodded. "Yes, it was another long one. I'm still having trouble deciding between brewers."
"What's the issue?" He asked, going straight to the pantry for food. "There can't be that many to decide from."
"There aren't," She said. "It's mainly a matter of sources for the wolfsbane plant that these brewers have. One doesn't even have a source, and the other two have a very limited one so I don't know how much they'd be able to brew, and considering all of my clients..."
"That does sound like a problem," Ron said absentmindedly as he crouched down, still searching the shelves.
She looked up from the flowers, frowning at him slightly. He never really was interested in hearing about her work, which bothered her somewhat. She always made sure to listen to him when he talked about his day, but he never quite bothered to put in the same effort as she did.
"Daniels is really trying hard to get me to take more missions," Ron said then, changing the subject.
"What's wrong with that?" She asked.
He shrugged and stood up, grabbing a bag of pretzels and opening it. "I mean, nothing really, I suppose. It's just that I'm not really sure if I have the time for all of it. I know he's looking for a new Head Auror to train since he's retiring soon but that's a lot of work."
"Well, you can't really be Head Auror without putting in the work," She said, raising an eyebrow at him.
"I know." He shoved a pretzel into his mouth and said while chewing, "It's just that I didn't think it would be this much work."
She scrunched her nose up at his manners and looked away, rearranging the flowers in the vase. "What did you expect it to be?"
"I don't know, I mean, horcrux hunting was easier than this," He shrugged. "I figured it would be more like that. Me and Harry figuring out everything together."
Raising an eyebrow, she said, "Did you forget I was there too?"
"Of course not!" He said quickly, waving at her slightly. "I just meant that, you know, since Harry and I are the only ones that are Aurors here, it's just the two of us pretty much. And he's busy taking every good mission so I don't really get to help much."
She could hear the slight resentment in his voice but she was distracted by a note that suddenly flew into their kitchen. Ron stared at it as it soared over to Hermione, and she snatched it out of the air. She already knew it was from Ginny, but when she looked up she saw that Ron was giving her a suspicious look.
"What?" She asked.
"Who is that from?" He nodded towards the note.
"Ginny," She said quickly. "She just wants to meet up to discuss Harry's birthday."
She felt somewhat bad for lying, but she couldn't think of anything else on the spot. It didn't seem to appease Ron though as he said, "His birthday isn't for three more months."
"She said some of her ideas require some extensive planning and she wants to try and get started as soon as possible," Hermione shrugged.
He watched her suspiciously for a few moments before nodding. "Alright. Let me know when you're on your way back home."
She nodded and ran up the stairs to grab a bag before saying goodbye to Ron and apparating away.
A/N: Alright, I actually just finished the fourth chapter so decided to upload it since it had some Blinny action finally :) hope you all enjoy! <3