It’s another few hours before Blaise comes over again, and the guests have mostly trickled away. Hermione hasn’t been watching the clock, caught up in the long-running verbal spar between Theo and Draco, and she can barely get a word in edgeways. Theo seems to take joy in winding Draco up, lavishing Hermione with gratuitous displays of affection that Draco can’t match in public. Hermione doesn’t complain—only batting Theo’s hand away when he tries to slip it up her robes.