Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters/concepts from it. I make no money from the writing/publishing of this story.

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Draco Malfoy stood in the middle of the garishly lit living room and looked out over the party goers with a frown. He glanced up at a clock on the wall and his scowl deepened. His eyes returned to searching the crowd and found the host of the party.

He wove his way toward her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Have you seen Astoria!?" he shouted over the din of the loud hip-hop music that was blaring.

The host waved her hand impatiently in Draco's general direction without breaking her liplock on the enthusiastic man that was in front of her.

Draco huffed and rolled his eyes as he turned away from them to try another patron.

"Has anyone seen Astoria!?" he called out, his anger mounting at how foolish he felt at having misplaced his fiancée.

So involved in their own frivolity, no one paid him any attention. With another irritated huff, Draco snatched a bottle of booze from the hand of a random passing guest and stalked out to the back garden of the property.

"Fucking, stupid Muggle party," he groused as he trudged across the large lawn. "Honestly...I use the loo for two minutes and she disappears."

He took several large swigs of the cheap liquor in his hand as he made his way to a dark, quiet-looking back corner of the garden and away from the loud chaos of the party. He plopped down on the ground beside a large, strange apparatus set up there. He didn't really bother looking at it.

"Weirdo Muggle things," he mumbled to himself as he leaned against one of the apparatus's metal legs. He furrowed his brow at the brightly lit house full of people and sighed.

He was at a Muggle party. At a Muggle house. In a Muggle neighborhood. Listening to obnoxious Muggle music. Drinking terrible Muggle booze. Pouting to himself as he leaned against a foreign Muggle thing while his fiancée was lost in a crowd of simple Muggle people.

"Why in the bloody hell did I let Astoria talk me into this?" he questioned himself out loud.

"Because you wanted to make her happy?"

Draco startled at the quiet female voice that floated down to him from over the apparatus and he spilled a portion of his pilfered drink down the front of his shirt.

"Damn it all," he cursed as he brushed at the wet spot and set down the bottle. He turned and looked upward. "Do you take delight in scaring the wits out of people, whoever you are?"

A small laugh answered him and he stood up.

"Who do... oh Merlin's saggy arse," Draco said as he recognized the girl lying in the center of the bizarre circular structure. "What the hell are you doing here, Granger?" he demanded as he watched Hermione Granger fold her hands behind her head to gaze skyward.

"Nice to see you too, Malfoy. What's it been? Five years?" she said pleasantly, eyes still to the stars above and face glowing in the bright moonlight.

"Six," Draco said coolly. "Are you stalking me?"

"You'd never have known if I was," Hermione replied evenly as she finally turned her face to him. "Never thought I'd see you again. Certainly not at a Muggle party of all places."

"This was not my idea," he said sulkily. "And I'd have been quite content to have never seen you again if it's all the same."

Hermione laughed. "Still the charmer."

"Why are you here?" Draco asked again.

Hermione shrugged where she laid. "I am here because I was invited...well...I'm at this party because I was invited. I'm out here lying on this trampoline because I've been reminded that I don't belong."

Draco frowned a little. "Trampleen?" he asked, steadfastly avoiding whatever other nonsense she was trying to bring up. Hermione sat up and her sullen expression lifted a tad.

"You've never seen a trampoline?" she asked with a mean little smirk.

"I'm sorry, I've not made a habit of familiarizing myself with useless Muggle equipment," he said with a defensive sneer. Hermione simply laughed again.

"From what I've heard, you don't familiarize yourself with a whole lot of anything beyond what's inside your Manor."

"I like things quiet," Draco replied with an annoyed glance back at the house. He wrinkled his nose a bit. "Can I expect the joy of running into the Weasel here as well?"

Hermione's shoulders slumped ever so slightly. "No. We don't see much of each other anymore," she said quietly.

"Potter?" Draco asked, looking down and brushing at the wet stain on his shirt again.

"I'm not here with anyone you'd know," Hermione said as she shifted to kneel on the trampoline. Draco looked up at her as she did so and raised a curious eyebrow at the way the entire surface beneath her dipped and sprung back up as she moved.

"What is this tramoline?" Draco asked, eyeing the edge of the circular base warily.

Hermione gave him a small smile. "Trampoline. It's something Muggles do for fun. You jump on it."

"Jumping for fun?" Draco asked incredulously.

"You don't think jumping is fun?"

Draco scoffed at her question. "I've only ever jumped when required."

"And mostly through metaphorical hoops?" Hermione said with a tilt of her head. Draco narrowed his eyes.

"Still like to sound swotty with large words, I see."

"I used a large word?" Hermione asked innocently as she steadied herself on the unstable mesh of the trampoline with her hands and got to her feet. Draco turned back to frown at the house.

"Damn it, where is that woman?"

"Congratulations on your engagement, by the way," Hermione said lightly. Draco looked back up at her and his eyes went wide as she held out her arms to balance and then jumped. She sprung high from the surface and came back down only to rocket back up higher.

"Jesus, Granger! Get the fuck down from there! Are you daft?"

"Worried I'll get hurt?" she asked idly as she bounced on her bare feet. "And here I thought you never cared."

Draco shook his head with an irritated growl. "Just…will you get down? I'd prefer not to be found at the scene of a famous war heroine's death when you break your stupid neck, thank you. Plus you're making me dizzy."

"I'm not a heroine. And I think you'd enjoy this," Hermione said simply as she continued to jump. Draco looked slightly queasy and shook his head.

"There is no fucking way I'd get on this death trap," he said as he backed a step away at the sight of the springs straining around the edge of the trampoline each time Hermione landed.

"Still a coward too then?" she taunted. "Some things never change I suppose."

Draco gave her a cold steely glare. "And you still think that blindly plunging one's self into danger without question is the only thing that equates to bravery. Excuse me…" He started to walk away.

"I'm sorry," Hermione called out suddenly, halting her legs to bob to a stop. Draco stopped midstride and turned back to her.

"What?"

Hermione pursed her lips and gave him a quick scrutinizing look. "I'm…I'm sorry I called you a coward. That wasn't fair of me."

Draco inhaled deeply and stepped back up to the trampoline. He looked up at her silently for a moment.

"Not the worst thing I've been called, I assure you," he said quietly as he leaned forward on the trampoline's edge.

"Nor I," Hermione said with a distant gaze at the ground. Draco frowned with a resigned sigh and after a long minute began to pull himself up onto the trampoline.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked surprised as she snapped her attention back to him.

"You said I'd enjoy this and I'm having a shit night so…show me what the bloody hell to do before I change my mind," he blurted out in a nervous rush as he struggled to get over the edge. Hermione gave him an uncertain look, but offered out her hand for him to take.

"I'm not quite that out of shape, Granger," he said with a hesitant glance at her hand, "I think I can still manage to lift my own legs." He hoisted himself the rest of the way onto the trampoline without help.

"Afraid of catching my Mudblood cooties?" Hermione teased as she let her hand fall back to her side.

"Don't say that word," Draco said seriously, "and no. The only thing I'm sure to catch for being with you is a whole mess of shit from Astoria. But seeing as how I'm going to give her hell for abandoning me at a Muggle party, I think we'll be even."

"Never thought I'd live to see the day when Draco Malfoy would denounce the use of his favorite racial slur," Hermione said, making sure to keep her voice friendly.

"Yes, well, I never thought I'd be at a Muggle party, standing on a tramampoline at eleven at night with Potter's golden girl either. Tonight's just a whole lot of peculiar. Now are you going to show me what to do or what?" he said as he took a few wobbly steps into the center of the trampoline.

Hermione gave him a crooked smile as she watched him inspect the springy plane beneath himself by pressing a foot tentatively into it.

"First, take off your shoes," Hermione said. Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but unsteadily toed off his shoes and kicked them over the edge. "Now you simply jump," she continued. "Just try to keep away from the edges so you don't accidentally jump off, and to start I would do small jumps. Sometimes these things can propel you quite high if you go too hard."

Draco gave her an uneasy look. "Show me?"

Hermione nodded. "Small jumps to start," she said again, taking a small hop to begin a steady bounce where she stood. Draco twisted his lip anxiously as he studied her form. "Go on," Hermione encouraged.

Draco sucked in a deep breath and then held out his arms. He took a tiny hop and a huge grin spread across his face when he bounced successfully.

"Keep going," Hermione smiled back as she increased the force of her jumps. With obvious caution, Draco slowly began to allow himself to bounce a little higher.

"Well, what do you think?" Hermione asked as she watched him wave his arms a bit to keep steady as he landed each jump.

"I think Muggles are either certifiably insane," Draco answered with a laugh, "or complete fucking geniuses. At this point I can't be sure."

"Then you need to jump higher," Hermione laughed back as she coiled her thigh muscles tightly and rocketed upward. Draco's knees buckled as he hit a bad bounce and he braced himself on all fours as he was jostled when Hermione landed and shot up again. He tried to get up, but found it nearly impossible to do so as Hermione continued to send the tight mesh of the trampoline dipping and springing with her movements.

"Will you stop?" Draco called desperately, cringing slightly at the screechy squeaking of the springs all around them. Hermione slowed to a stop.

"Sorry," she said as she looked down at him. She stepped up to him and offered out her hand again. Draco glanced up at her and then looked guardedly at the hand. He swiveled his head around to look about the lawn as if to see if anyone was watching and then tentatively reached up and took it. He allowed Hermione to help pull him to his feet and then went to pull his hand away. Hermione clasped it tighter.

"It might be easier if we jump together," Hermione suggested, holding out her other hand to him. Draco tensed a bit uncomfortably.

"This seems inappropriate," he said with another glance around the garden, "I don't think…"

"We are only jumping," Hermione reassured, "Astoria is more than welcome to join us if she comes out here."

Draco shifted awkwardly as he continued to stare out over the lawn uncertainly. "Or you can get down if you feel uncomfortable," Hermione offered, loosening her grip on his clammy hand. "Would you like me to help you find Astoria?"

Draco snapped his attention back to her and shook his head slightly. He retightened their grip and took her other hand.

"Show me how to jump," he said determinedly. Hermione gave him a weak smile and nodded.

"Just follow my lead," she said as she began to bounce slightly. Draco looked down to watch her legs and mimicked her movement. His hands gripped hers a little tighter with each increasing jump and Hermione squeezed his fingers.

"Try to relax," she said. "I won't let you get hurt."

Draco looked her in the face at that. "Why are you doing this with me?" he asked seriously as he jumped in time with her. Hermione shrugged a little.

"You're the only person I know here….well, besides the person who brought me."

"And who was that?" Draco asked.

Hermione's expression hardened a bit. "His name is Bryce."

"Should I be worried of what this Bryce will try to do to me if he finds us holding hands and jumping together on a trampampoline?"

"No. He made it quite clear that he no longer cares what I do, thank you," Hermione answered shortly. "If you'd like to meet him, he's probably still in the house. Just look for the guy in the green shirt with his tongue down Marissa's throat."

Draco furrowed his brow back at the house. "I saw him," he said quietly, recalling the sight of the party's host mauling a green-shirted man.

"So who do you know here?" Hermione asked, eager to change the subject. Draco cleared his throat.

"Marissa is one of Astoria's best friends," he replied uneasily. Hermione made a surprised face.

"The future Mrs. Malfoy is best friends with a Muggle?"

Draco laughed as they jumped a little higher. "Fuck me, right?" He shook his head. "Found a lovely pureblood girl to make mummy and daddy proud and she ends up being a Muggle lover."

"So you still buy into that blood status rubbish?" Hermione asked casually.

"My parents do, but I should think the fact that I'm at a Muggle party, holding hands with you would be proof enough that I don't," he answered with a smirk. "You're getting thick in your old age, Granger."

Hermione shook her head at him. "I'm less than a year older than you."

"Still older," he teased. They both went quiet then with only the squeak of the springs and the distant thumping bass of the music in the house breaking the silence of the night air around them.

"Then…why did you say you'd have been content to never see me again?" Hermione almost whispered after a time. Draco swallowed hard and looked at Hermione's exposed left forearm.

"The nightmares are enough," he said flatly. Hermione followed his gaze to the scars on her arm.

"I see," she whispered back. She started to slow her bouncing, but Draco pulled at her hands.

"I think I want to go higher," he said firmly. Without speaking, Hermione looked him in the eyes and added the extra movement to her jumps to go higher. Draco kept their eye contact as he copied her and after a moment they were both being thrust high in the air by the trampoline's taut surface after each landing. After a few minutes, Draco gave a final squeeze to Hermione's hands and released her. Looking decidedly more confident he vaulted himself ever higher.

"I am so buying one of these," he commented as he sprung skyward.

"So Muggles are geniuses, then?" Hermione smirked at him.

"When it comes to jumping for fun they are," he answered, allowing himself to start jumping around the trampoline more freely. Hermione laughed and began to leap around as well. They were soon both laughing and trying to out do one another with the height of their jumps.

"Harry is never going to believe me when I tell him about this," Hermione grinned as she pushed off of Draco after falling into him and beginning a new jump.

"I thought you said you don't see him much anymore?" Draco replied as he took a small breather and unashamedly admired Hermione's brown curls bouncing wildly about her head.

"I said I don't see much of Ron anymore. Harry and I still see each other quite often. He meets me for lunch most days."

"Ah," Draco said, "Makes sense what with you both working at the Ministry."

"Indeed," Hermione said lazily. "So, what's it like not having to work for a living?"

"Oh, I keep busy enough," Draco smiled back.

"With Astoria?" she asked playfully. Draco's smile faltered a bit and he glanced back at the house.

"When she's around," he said half-heartedly. "I …"

There was a sudden loud rustling from the tall shrubs near the trampoline and Draco fell silent while Hermione halted to a stop. They both looked curiously at the large shaking plant until two people ungracefully tumbled out of it.

"John! You prat!" Astoria shrieked gleefully as she rolled over on the ground beneath the man that had fallen out from the other side of the shrub with her. "I told you there wasn't a fence behind it."

"Worked out better this way," John growled as he leaned down and captured Astoria's lips in a hungry kiss.

"What the fuck!?"

John and Astoria both startled apart at the sound of Draco's furious voice.

"Dra…Draco!" Astoria cried, her eyes comically wide at the sight of him lowering himself off the trampoline. "I…I didn't know you were out here."

"Clearly," Draco snarled coldly with a glare at the man called John as he and Astoria both got to their feet.

Hermione had quickly sat and shrunk far back on the trampoline. She watched silently as John puffed out his chest and gave Draco a condescending smile.

"Draco? What the hell kind of a name is that?" he laughed. Hermione cringed to herself as Draco looked momentarily like he'd been slapped in the face before giving John one of the scariest scowls she'd ever seen.

"This is that loser boyfriend you were telling me about?" John asked, ignoring Draco's look and turning to Astoria.

"Fiancé," Draco corrected.

"Like it matters," John said, looking Draco up and down with a sniff.

"Give me my ring," Draco snapped, looking to Astoria. Even in the moonlight, she paled and clutched her left hand protectively in her right.

"Draco…" she pleaded, "I…I don't…"

"My. Ring."

"Please don't do this," Astoria begged in a panic, her fingers trembling as she pulled the large diamond ring from her left hand. Tears began to run down her smooth face. "This…he means nothing, Draco. Draco…I love…"

Her words were cut short when Draco reached forward and snatched the ring roughly from her as she held it out. He pocketed it and turned on his heel without a word.

"Draco, please," Astoria called out as Draco marched past the trampoline, bent over quickly to grab up his shoes and then walked off into the dark without a look back at anyone.

Hermione watched him go sadly as she hugged her knees at the edge of the trampoline. When he was out of sight she turned to look back at Astoria and John. They muttered angrily to one another for a moment before both starting back up toward the house.

A loud crack echoed in the night and Hermione looked back over her shoulder in the direction that Draco had gone. With a heavy sigh, she glanced back at the house and then climbed down and off of the trampoline. She brushed at her jeans and then picked up her sandals that were lying nearby in the grass before slinking into the shrubs and turning on the spot to create her own echoing crack as she apparated home.