It had been 4 years since the end of the war and 3 since she and her friends finished school. Hermione was walking through the muggle streets of London, during the Christmas holiday, wearing a pair of blue jeans, a red long sleeved shirt, white boots and a white beanie covering her braids, listening to her iPod, when she bumped into someone. "Sorry," she said as she took off her headphones, looking up, surprised at who she saw. "Malfoy?" she asked, confused.
"Granger?" He asked, slightly shocked. She had changed so much in only 4 years. He didn't know why, but he was happy to see her. He gave her a soft smile, proud of the person he had changed into.
"Yeah, it's me. What are you doing down here?" Last she had heard, Draco had been living up north in a large mansion.
"I live down the street now." He said and pointed. "Moved there about 4 months ago." He looked at her. "What are you doing here then?"
"I live back over there!" She laughed and gestured behind her. "Since I moved out of the burrow, after Ron and I, well..." she trailed off.
"Anyway," she said, picking back up, "it's been about 2 years now. Wanna walk and catch up?"
He was actually happy that it hadn't work out for her and Weasley, but he had no idea why. "Yeah sure... that would be nice." He replied and offered her a smile.
Hermione began walking. "So what have you been up to?" she asked, looking up. He had grown since school had ended, but so had she, keeping them about the same height difference, around a foot.
"I've got a job as a healer, actually..." He said and looked over at her while they walked. "I got together with Astoria Greengrass for some time, but that didn't work out so now... now I'm well, single." He laughed. "And you?" He asked her.
"Same," she said. "Well, I mean, I didn't go out with Astoria," she added quickly, "but I'm riding solo too, right now."
He laughed slightly at her. "Well good, I hope you didn't. Nice isn't it, all on your own?"
"It's," she paused, thinking. "Refreshing. The whole time I was with Ron, I felt quite burdened, all the time. Like I was always trying to be something I wasn't."
"Never change for a person, if he truly loved you, he will love you for who you are." Draco told her and chuckled. "I have no idea where that came from, honestly..."
"He wasn't trying to change me, I just felt like I wasn't good enough. Which I guess isn't any better than changing for someone." She laughed.
"No... no it isn't..." He didn't know what to say. He had never had a conversation with Hermione like this. It had always been stupid comments to each other or fights that weren't even necessary.
Her stomach rumbled. Smiling, she glanced up at Malfoy and asked him, "Do you want to grab a bite to eat?"
He laughed lightly. "I would like that. Where to go?" He asked,
"Do you like fish and chips? There's a really excellent street vender down by the river."
"That sounds great." He replied and together they walked down there, talking of what had been going on these last years.
By the time they got there and were waiting in line, they were conversing like old friends. "Don't laugh," she began, "but in my spare time I've taken up dance lessons."
He looked at her and then spoke: "Sorry... but I have to." And he broke out in laugher.
"I know, it's totally ridiculous. But it's nice to have a break from magic, sometimes, and just hang with muggle friends, and be normal."
His laughter calmed. "Yeah... guess it is." He smiled at her.
They scooted up in line. "Maybe, if you want, you could come over to my place and I could show you, or even give you a lesson. Have you ever been to a ballet?"
"Oh no..." He laughed again. "Don't say it's ballet." He turned to her, looking into her eyes.
"Yes, and jazz and tap, too. What's wrong with ballet?" Her voice had a defensive tone too it, but she was still smiling.
He raised his hands in defense. "Sorry I just... it's too calm for me. Ballet I mean." He smiled at her.
Hermione laughed. "All right, I know just the dance to show you, then. I think you'll like it." She stepped up to the counter, ordered, paid, and then stepped out of line to wait for Draco.
She had just the dance in mind. It was a hard one, on pointe, to a hip-hop song. She had choreographed it herself, and was quite proud of it.
He ordered the same as her, paid and then stepped down, standing next to her. "Wanna take the food home to your place? You can show me your wonderful dance..." He smirked.
"Sure, but you best be prepared. You have never seen anything like what I'm about to show you."
They continued joking back and forth, until Hermione stopped outside her house.
It was small, with a garden in the front yard and a green awning above the front porch.
"Wow, I like this place..." He said and smiled at her. He took off his shoes and coat and walked inside with her.
Hermione gestured to the living room. "You can sit in there. I'm going to change into something I can move in." She walked towards the back of the house.
"Great." He grinned and sat down on the sofa in the living room, looking around and waiting for her to come back.
Once in her room, Hermione walked to the small bathroom and splashed her face with cool water. What was she doing? She hadn't even shown this routine to her teacher, and now she was going to do it for Draco, whom she hadn't seen since school, where he made fun of her for 7 years. Calm down, she told herself. You can do this. She changed into black yoga capris and a pink stretch cotton shirt. Nothing fancy, she told herself. Then she grabbed her pointe shoes and walked back out to the living room.
She sat down on the couch next to Draco, and offered him one of her pointe shoes to hold, as she began to put the other on.
He looked at her and smiled when she was back, he held the shoe while she put the other one on, feeling the hard box that she would soon jam her toes into. "Have you showed this dance to anyone before me?" He asked her.
"No," she said nonchalantly. "This is its debut." She grabbed the shoe from him and shoved her foot in, and wrapped the ribbons around her ankle.
"Wow okay... I feel special." He laughed and leaned back against the couch.
She stood, pushed the coffee table out of the way, and stretched her shoes out as she walked over to the stereo system she had beneath her TV.
Pressing play, she turned around and began dancing.
His smile faded and went over to an impressed facial expression. She was actually really good, he never thought that of her, Hermione Granger. He relaxed into the sofa, only watching her. She had grown up to a beautiful woman, he couldn't deny it, he loved watching her like this.
(When you imagine this dance, think of it as strong and powerful, like the ballet portion of this one watch?v=Db2W_65M3uI)
Hermione lost herself in the dance. She stretched her legs, long and slender from the years of training. She pressed her arms through the air, making sure they had energy, rather than just hanging from her body. She spun and stopped on her toes, her legs separated slightly in front of and behind her, with the right arm behind her and the other bent at the elbow, her hand almost touching her right ear.
Breathing heavily, she walked to turn the music off, and glanced at Draco. "Well, what did you think?"
"That was honestly bloody good." He said truthfully, still a little shocked at how good she was at dancing.
She laughed. "Well, what did you expect? Did you think I would fall on my face?"
"Yes... yes I did." He teased and laughed at her.
"Well, I don't want to disappoint you!" She promptly did a pirouette with a drop to one knee, making it look like she had fallen on her face.
"Oh it doesn't matter if you fall on your face or whatever; you still make it look beautiful..." He smiled at her. "You're making me like dancing more and more, Granger."
She laughed. "Everyone should love dance in some way, whether it be doing it or watching it, or admiring it from afar. So it's not awful?"
"Awful? Are you kidding me? I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm sitting here watching you dance. You really think it's awful?" He asked her and laughed.
She sat down next to him on the couch. "I wasn't sure. I was trying to play to a variety of audiences in that one, so I wasn't sure if I ended up trying too hard."
"No... it was perfect." He turned his head, smiled slightly at her.
Hermione was caught off guard by the intensity behind his blue eyes. "Thanks. I guess it all paid off then..." Her voice trailed off. She sat there, looking up into his face.
"Yeah... guess so..." He whispered, not letting her gaze go, he wanted to look away but he couldn't. He kept staring into her beautiful brown eyes.
Suddenly she realized what she was doing. "Well," she said abruptly. "This was fun. Do you want some ice cream?" She hopped off the couch and bounded into the kitchen, her pointe shoes slipping slightly on the floor as she rushed into the kitchen.
He sighed, just realizing what had happened. He cleared his throat. "Um... yeah, that would be nice." He said and followed her into the kitchen.
She opened the freezer and grabbed the ice cream out. "Is chocolate okay?" She asked over her shoulder, avoiding eye contact with him.
"That's great." He said. He realized that she was ignoring him. "Hermione...?" He asked.
"Hmm?" She was reaching for two bowls in her cabinet, standing en pointe. Hermione set them down on the counter and grabbed two spoons out of a drawer.
He sighed quietly, went over to her and grabbed her waist, making her turn around, he pressed her against the counter, looking into her eyes.
She gasped, not expecting him to be so close. Glancing at the counter, she mumbled quietly, "The ice cream's right there, when you want it."
Her eyes returned to his.
"I changed my mind... I want something else instead." He whispered and as soon as the words were out, he was kissing her on her lips, gently and softly, still holding her waist.
She wasn't sure what was happening. She made to push him away, but she wasn't strong enough. "Draco," she tried to say through his lips.
He stopped kissing her and let go of her, backing away. "I'm sorry... I don't know why I did that..." He told her.
"No, wait." She walked closer. "I liked it, I just want to know. What is this?"
She gestured to both of them.
"I have no idea..." He admitted. "But... I like it." He laughed slightly, looking up at her again.
She laughed softly, and stepped closer again, her body almost touching his. With a smile, she said, "That ice cream is going to melt if we don't do something with it."
"Well... what do you suggest?" He asked and looked down at her lips, smiling.
"We forget about it." Her arms snaked around his neck and she rose to releve again, putting her at the same height as him.
"Sounds great." He smiled and put his arms on her waist again, he leaned in, once again kissing her gently and soft.
She smiled into his kiss, moving with his mouth. Her hand draped down behind his shoulder, drawing shapes on his back.
He turned them around and backed a little bit so he had her pressed back against a wall, he smiled against her lips, kissing her with more passion now. He wrapped his arms around her, just like in a hug and pressed her body closer to his.
She felt his strong arms wrap around her waist, and couldn't help but compare him to Ron. He had always seemed to be in it for him, while Draco was here for her. She probed his lips with her tongue, asking for entry.
He opened his mouth slightly, letting her tongue in. He had never felt like this for a girl, not even Astoria. This was love, he could feel it. He didn't ever want to let this girl go. He started moving, dragging her with him but never ending the kiss, he went the same way that she did when they arrived to the house and she was going to change clothes. They came in to her bedroom; he broke the kiss off, leaning his forehead against hers and looking into her eyes.
"How far are we going with this?" she asked, sounding a little breathless. "Because I've never," she paused, "and I don't want to," she paused again. Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze. "I'm a virgin, and I wasn't planning on changing that for a long time." She held her breath, waiting for his reply.
"You-you're a...?" He asked. "But you were with... Weasley, for four years I mean... wow okay." He sounded shocked and looked over at her, frowning.
She looked back up at him, with worry this time. "We were only together for about 6 months before he started becoming obsessed with the fame. And after he became so popular, he sort of lost interest in me. I don't think he was too upset when I broke it off."
"Oh..." He said and looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry..." He went to her and embraced her, keeping her in his arms. "And I will wait for you, if you're not ready now, or in years, I will still be here, waiting for you to be ready, okay?" He asked and let go of her only so he could look into her eyes. He tilted his head to the side a little and smiled down at her, stroking some hair behind her ear.
"Thank you, Draco." She pecked his lips softly, and rested her head on his shoulder. "You could probably have a lot more fun somewhere else," she said, with a hint of a smile in her voice.
"But... I'd rather stay here and have fun with the girl I have loved for years..." He replied and smiled at her again. "Watching you dance and all that." He laughed teasingly.
She pulled back slightly. "Years? Really? Didn't we just meet this evening?" Her smile grew as she teased him, although she was seriously curious.
He looked up, away from her. "Well you know... first we had all those years at Hogwarts, me being really really mean to you..." he started and looked down at her again. "Sorry about that." He said and gave her a sad smile.
"It's all right, Draco," she said softly, brushing hair out of his face. "You have changed since then. And that's just how you were brought up. You are a better person now, and the present is all that matters to me."
"That makes me glad." He said and gave her one more kiss. "And I... I promised myself that if I ever met you again, I would talk to you about this... thing..." He said. "Can we sit down? I need to say this." He said, with a serious tone in his voice.
Nervously, she replied, "Of course." Holding his hand, she pulled him over to the bed. She sat down indian style, and pulled a pillow into her lap, hugging it. She looked expectantly up at him.
"Do you remember that night, at Malfoy Manor when the snatchers had captured you, Potter and Weasley?" He asked. "That night when Bellatrix... you know..." He said. He didn't want to say anything more what happened that night when Hermione was being tortured. "I just wanted to say sorry... for not doing anything. I was so scared, I thought you would... die." He whispered 'die' and looked at. "I was so scared for you, Hermione. Right now, I really wished that I did something before she..." He trailed off and looked down at her arm where the word 'mudblood' was inscribed.
She looked away for a minute, forming her response. She wanted it to be just right, to make him understand that she forgave him, but she didn't condone anybody's actions of that night. Subconsciously, she traced her finger over her scars.
She began slowly. "Like I said earlier, I forgive you for your past actions. I'm not saying I can forget them, or that I won't ever accidentally bring them up, but I will certainly never hold you to them, unless you return to that path." She stopped, thought for a minute, and looked up at him. "Sorry, that sounded really Pocahontas of me." She smiled.
He laughed at her last words. He looked at her for a while then leaned up to her ear and whispered: "I'm really sorry though." He kissed her cheek, then her shoulder and down her arm until he reached her scar 'mudblood' and he kissed around it and then on it, and last he leaned up again and gave her a peck on her lips.
She caught her fingers in his hair, and held his face close to hers. Kissing his cheekbone and jaw, she whispered, "Want to stay over tonight?"
He turned slightly and whispered against her lips: "I would love that."
She pulled back slightly, smiling, to say "I'm not promising anything. But I don't want you to leave."
"What do you mean?" He asked and smiled at her, stroking her cheek lightly.
"I mean, I don't think I'm ready to sleep with anyone yet," she explained. "Especially on the first date," she teased.
"I know... I promised I would wait." He smiled lovingly at her.
She lay back, pulling him down with her, kissing him hard. She didn't ever want to let him go. It was irrational, she knew, and just plain strange to fall in love with someone who had made fun of her mercilessly all throughout school, and to do so so quickly was even less like her normal, stubborn self. But if Draco had managed to change his ways and become a wonderful person, he deserved love. She sighed, realizing she was thinking about this way to deeply, and all she had to do was enjoy the moment.
Draco smiled against her lips and broke the kiss off for a moment. "Hermione?" He asked and smiled down at her.
Her eyes still closed, she searched for his face with her lips. "Hmm?" she asked, lazily, and she began kissing his neck, just under his jaw.
"Hermione?" He asked again, louder this time to get her attention. He laughed slightly at her.
Laying her head back down on the pillow, she opened her eyes, looking at him as if to say, "What do you want?"
"Oh okay, I'm sorry if I made you angry..." He said sarcastically and laughed at her again. "But, sweetheart, you need to stop thinking so much, I can feel it in your movements, you need to relax." He said and leaned down to kiss her again.
She pushed on his chest and feigned offense. "Well, I'm sorry I'm not so experienced at this as you are!" She held his gaze with a goofy, not-truly-angry look on her face.
He removed her hand from his chest and rolled so he was on top of her. "Well, Miss Granger, not my fault." He smiled and kissed her hard on her lips, he made small circles around her waist with his fingers.
She sighed, letting the sensations ripple through her body. It was totally different than with Ron, just as the kisses had been, earlier. Draco somehow had a yearning to please her body, a desire she didn't think even he realized at the moment.
He broke off their kiss again and leaned into her ear and whispered: "Do you know what I've heard?"
"What?"
"Dancers are very flexible." He smirked and started kissing her cheek and jaw.
She blushed, but smiled. "You heard correctly," she replied, leaning her head over to expose more of her neck and jaw.
"Great." He said and began kissing down her neck, sucking lightly on it and then kissing again.
She smiled. She reached her hands down to the hem of his shirt, then slowly slid them up to his stomach, reveling in his smooth, warm skin. "Are you going to be putting that theory to the test, tonight?"
"I don't know..." He said while he started kissing up to her lips again, reaching her lips he whispered against them: "Am I?"
Sliding her nails softly over his skin and reaching around to hug him tighter, she replied, "I love you."
He moved up so he was looking down at her with a smile. "I love you too," he whispered. "So much." He stroked her cheek gently and pressed his lips to hers again softly.