Author's Note: This story was written for The Houses Competition Year 3.
I don't own Harry Potter; it solely belongs to J.K. Rowling!
House: Ravenclaw
Year: 7
Category: Short
Prompt: [Action] Stealing from the kitchen, [Speech] "Would you do me the great honour of raising a puppy together?"
Word count: 1720
Tonight was the big night, the night when Draco decided that it was time to finally take their relationship to the next level, his relationship with Hermione.
Hermione, the eight letter word which defined his whole universe an and Draco wouldn't want it any other way. He truly loved her and - if he was being honest - he always had.
He'd loved her since the day he saw her on the train, but was tongue-tied in her mere presence. He'd admired her even when he'd called her a mudblood, not meaning it in the least though. He was forced to put up the façade of hating her, truly loathing her, and Draco Malfoy fell in his own eyes. He continued to pass the snide and crude remarks, sometimes pointing out her dressing or her outsmarting others. In reality, though, he would always agree that Hermione Jean Granger was the most beautiful and smart woman he had ever met.
He pulled the mask off, not being bothered by her, pulled it well enough that Hermione even started dating Ron. But his act wasn't good enough to hide his true feelings from the famous scar-head.
So when the war was over, and things were finally coming out to be as normal as they could be, Harry had literally tackled Draco to one side, told him to stop being a coward and tell Hermione about how he felt. Draco had never been that embarrassed in his entire life, not even by his crazy aunt Bellatrix, as he was at that moment. After a night full of self-doubts and a good yelling session from his friend, Daphne, he got the courage to do what he always wanted.
His palms were sweaty as he made his way towards her.
Draco had been ecstatic that Hermione shared his feelings, and the duo had been inseparable since then. That was one year ago, and now the whole dynamic of their relationship had changed.
He looked into the mirror, one last time, making sure he was presentable enough. He took the basket of things, double-checking everything in it and paled drastically. His hands moved frantically as he searched for the special chocolates he's ordered for the special occasion; they were Hermione's favourite.
Salazar! Tonight was supposed to be special and it had already started going downhill.
Draco was on the verge of screaming in frustrating when the door to his room opened and Daphne walked in, uninvited.
"You're not dressed yet!" She exclaimed. What was he even doing there? He was supposed to meet Hermione in almost 10 minutes.
"The dark chocolate I ordered from France, especially for her are missing. What am I going to do?" Taking pity on the pathetic state of her friend, and the ridiculous pout he was adorning, Daphne came up with a stupid plan; a plan which brought a grin on her face and uncertainty on Draco's.
"Come on." She took the basket in one hand while trudged him with the other. Draco had no idea what he had gotten himself, so he let her take the lead and soon found himself standing in front of a painting of a fruit bowl.
"What are we doing here?"
"Watch and learn, Malfoy!" Daphne winked and leaned forward, tickling the pear. She would have laughed at his shell-shocked expression, had the situation not been so crucial.
"Welcome to the Hogwarts kitchen." The blonde-haired girl proudly announces.
"These are the kitchens?! Morgana, they aren't what I expected."
"What did you expect?"
"Never mind that! Why are we here? You better have a plan, Daph or I won't forgive you."
"Relax, lover boy. The house elves always stock some exotic chocolates and assortments in the cupboard over there. The only problem is that they won't give it to us, even if we ask them, claiming that those assortments are only for special occasions."
Draco quirked an eyebrow at her ridiculous explanation, still not seeing the point. Daphne huffed an irritating breath at the incredulous gesture.
"How does this solve my problem?"
"One of us is going to distract the elves and the other is going to steal the chocolates from the cupboard." Draco stared at her as if she had grown another head; he'd known that the Greengrass family was crazy but not this mental.
"Malfoy's don't steal!"
"Greengrass' don't either. But I'm trying to help you. You either taket it or leave it, the choice is yours."
Rubbing his hand on his face, he finally agreed.
"Okay, okay! You go ahead and distract them. I'll check out the cupboard."
Daphne was a pro at handling the house-elves, giving them clear instructions of what she wanted and how she wanted it done. But she didn't push their limits too far, acutely aware of the part the elves had played in the war, and how they were to be respected equally.
Draco on the other hand, had slipped out if his seat when the elves had busied themselves to make the lemon cake Daphne asked for. The cupboard was in the very corner of the room, totally away from the prying eyes. Although, he had some difficulty to reach the top shelf where the real treasure was kept, managed it in time.
BINGO! They were the same ones Hermione loved.
He pulled some bars and carefully placed them next to the sleeping bundle in the basket. With that being done, Daphne quickly shooed him off for his date. Draco raced towards the doors of the Great Hall where he had asked Hermione to wait for him.
He could barely take his eyes off of her, as he closed the distance between them. She looked absolutely gorgeous in the red dress she chose to wear that evening. He was so entranced with his girl, that he didn't notice Potter standing beside her. Looking at the scar-head, annoyed Draco to no end. Can't he leave his girlfriend's side for once?
Meanwhile, Hermione was in her own little world until Harry nudged her. She looked around to see Draco looking as dashing as ever, in the three-piece tux he was sporting. She was confused when Draco had told her to dress fancy in the letter, but obliged anyway. The basket in Draco's hands, however, piqued her curiosity and she didn't notice when Harry left her side and moved towards her boyfriend.
They were talking in hushed tones, and Hermione was bewildered as to why Harry and Draco of all people were being civil to each other?
"What were you guys talking about?" She asked just as they made their way towards the carriages. Though it being a Hogsmeade weekend, not many students opted to step out of the warmth of the castle, because of the chilly weather.
"Nothing you need to concern yourself with." He replied. Draco explained to her that they will apparate away once they reach Hogsmeade, and expertly dodged all the questions she asked about the whole outing. He could only smile when out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Hermione trying to peek into the basket.
"What is wrapped in the towel? And why is it moving?"
"Relax, darling. You'll get answers in time." He made sure to hold the basket in his hold firmly.
Despite not getting any hints, Hermione couldn't hide the excitement bubbling in her chest. She was smiling and laughing, and Draco knew he would do anything to keep her this happy. She was shell-shocked when they finally arrived at their designated destination.
The sound of waves crashing was like music to the ears, the slight breeze flowing calming the beating heart, the sand beneath her foot tickling their sensitive skin. The sea water illuminated brightly, in the darkness of the night. She was speechless and words were not enough how elated she was, so she did not stop the happy tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
"What's wrong? Do you not like it?" Draco asked, panic obvious in his eyes.
"It's perfect Draco! How did you know I wanted to visit the Maldives?"
"I may have overheard your conversation with Luna, sometime." He blushed with a sheepish expression on his face. He pulled her towards the small table that was already set up. She felt her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Yes, she had Draco for a long time and their relationship had not been an easy one, yet she didn't know that he was such a hopeless romantic.
The whole night was filled with love. It was a bit cliche, but Hermione loved every part of it- from the candlelight dinner to the slow dancing beneath the starry sky. At one point, she ran towards the waves crashing on the shore, and let all the worries drift off of her. She looked around when she spotted Draco standing a few feet away from her, with a nervous expression on his face. Meanwhile, Draco could sense the confusion on her face. But he was nervous as hell, because he knew it was finally time.
His palms were sweaty as he made his way towards her.
He inched closer to her, ignored the gasp she left when he bent on one knee, a puppy in his hand and finally spoke,
"Hermione, you are the best thing that could have ever happened to me, and I was an utter idiot of not telling you this sooner. But I don't want to repeat my mistakes and so I'll keep it short. Would you do me the great honour of raising a puppy together?"
"As Mrs Malfoy?"
"As Mrs Malfoy!" The confirmation was enough for Hermione to flung her arms around him and kiss him sweetly.
"I'll take that as a yes."
"YES, you idiot." He slipped the ring, his mother had selected, into her ring-finger while his fiance cooed at the little bundle in her arms.
"Um... Draco. Why is his face smeared in chocolate?"
"Oh! That is where the chocolate vanished to!" He chided the puppy playfully and the rest of the night was spent with his girl in his arms.
Candlelight dinner, stolen chocolates from kitchens, and a puppy. Hermione didn't care what others thought about their relationship but she was sure about one thing, Draco Malfoy definitely knew how to make a girl's heart flutter.