Disclaimer: Not Mine!
Hermione Granger had never particularly care for Valentine's Day. It was a perfectly lovely holiday, but the garish pink and red decorations put up as soon as New Year's celebrations were over got a little suffocating after the first week. Of course the idea behind it is great, a day to celebrate love, but more often than not, it ended up being a day to taunt the single. Which is where Hermione found herself this particular Valentine's Day, 5 years post-Hogwarts, working as a Healer at St. Mungo's with none other than Draco Malfoy. The two were unusually close now, even if things were a bit awkward when they started training together four and a half years ago, but working together nearly every day had brought them closer. Though not as close as Ginny Potter hoped they would be. She had tried setting Hermione up with every available wizard she knew, to no avail. So as the last of her friends, besides Draco, to be single, Hermione was understandably bummed this Valentine's Day. Little did she know how things were about to change.
It started with waking up before her shift at St. Mungo's to find an owl impatiently pecking her window. Hermione opened the package from the owl to find hot croissants and coffee from her favorite café with a card in the box. The card read, "Even though you don't like Valentine's Day, that doesn't mean you shouldn't start it out right. – Your Secret Admirer" Hermione was hesitant to eat or drink anything from such a mysterious source, but a few spells revealed the food was safe. She happily enjoyed it, going to the shower with an extra bounce in her step and a few ideas as to who her secret admirer was. When she was about to leave her flat for work, she came upon another owl, this one bearing flowers. Hermione accepted her favorite flowers, daffodils, no roses for her, from the bird and read the card, "I know how much you detest clichés, so I thought these would suffice," mid sentence one of the flowers changed with a "pop" into a rose. Marveling at the impressive magic, Hermione continued the note, "but every beautiful girl should get at least one rose today, no matter how cliché they are. –Your Secret Admirer." She smiled at the note; this guy obviously knew her well, which narrowed down the possibilities of who it might be. Hermione decided not to dwell too much on it though, as she was almost late for work.
As almost every day, Draco and Hermione arrived at almost precisely the same time. Today though, Hermione's smile was even brighter than normal, causing Draco to wear a suspiciously smug look on his. Of course, Hermione pretended to not know who her secret admirer was, to let Draco have his fun. And of course, Draco pretended to not know that Hermione knew it was him. To anyone less brilliant the whole thing would be too confusing.
"Having a good morning, Granger?" Draco asked, still calling her Granger after all this time.
Hermione smiled, playing along. "Perfectly passable. I've had better though," she shrugged nonchalantly. Draco's grin grew wider. They went their separate ways to begin rounds, and Hermione was left a little disappointed that he hadn't said anything else. A normal day ensued, and she almost forgot it was Valentine's Day, until she went to her usual spot for lunch and the décor reminded her. Draco and Hermione usually met for lunch here every time they worked together, if able. It seemed that Draco couldn't make it today though. Feeling a little let down, Hermione placed her order and sat in the usual spot. This time though, along with her order, she received a large package from the waitress, who had a twinkle in her eyes. As much as she tried to stop it, Hermione's excitement rose as she opened this new present; she was not disappointed. It was the newest edition of Hogwarts, A History, not even on shelves yet. It was all she could do not to squeal aloud. She almost forgot the note, until it fell out of the book. "I'm sure this appeals to you much more than flowers; still the Gryffindor bookworm after all these years. –Your Secret Admirer" Hermione couldn't help but grin. Draco regularly teased her about her reading habits, although he was a closet bookworm himself. Hermione stroked the cover of the book before shrinking it down to fit in her pocket and returning to the hospital.
Near the end of her shift, Hermione was a little surprised to realize she hadn't seen Draco all day, which was highly unusual. Even stranger, when she went looking for him, her boss Healer Whitby, told her to go home early. Hermione was more confused when she got home to find Ginny there, grinning mysteriously.
"Gin? What are you doing here?"
"Oh hello Hermione, nice to see you too. Yes, I'm having a lovely day, how about yourself?" the redhead said.
"Ha-ha. It's good to see you to Gin, but seriously, why are you here?"
"Helping your secret admirer, of course." Ginny produced a large garment bag and a large array of beauty products much to Hermione's displeasure.
Hermione groaned. "You mean not-so-secret- admirer. Honestly, if he knows me so well he should know how I feel about all this nonsense."
"Of course he knows. But I and my charming ways talked him into letting me do this. You know I can't resist a makeover!" Ginny grabbed Hermione's hand and drug to the bathroom, pushing her in. "Shower first, and then the fun begins!" Hermione groaned, but complied; there was no escaping Ginny when she was in one of these moods, besides, Hermione wanted to look good for her secret admirer. An hour of plucking, primping, and all over beautifying later, and Hermione was looking more gorgeous than ever. The dress revealed from the garment bag was a deep purple, pairing well with her brown eyes. It fell to the floor, but had a long slit going up to her thigh on one leg. Hermione felt sexy and confident, thought still nervous and unsure about what was going to happen; she hadn't heard from her secret admirer since lunch. "There. Now you are perfect," Ginny said, spraying just a hint of perfume on Hermione. "All you need is this," she held pointed to a single red rose, "and I need to get home to Harry," she said smiling.
"Thanks Gin. I really appreciate-," but her words were cut off as she grabbed the rose and she felt the familiar tugging sensation of a portkey and she crash-landed into something. Hermione opened her eyes; make that crashed into someone: Draco.
"Hello, Hermione," Draco said softly, his grey eyes dancing in amusement with just a hint of nervousness visible. Hermione was momentarily dazed from her crash and how handsome Draco looked in a tux, but she managed to stutter a soft "hello," in reply. She quickly realized she was still in his arms. Looking around at the beautiful setup, she tried to cover up her embarrassment. What she saw shocked her once more. They were on the roof of Draco's apartment building. There was a beautiful table set for two, with candles and flowers and every cliché imaginable. Draco must have had the sense to place a Warming Charm around the place, because Hermione was quite comfortable in her strapless dress and it was February, after all. When her eyes finally made their way back to Draco, he looked almost sheepish, as she had never seen the always-confident Malfoy look before. "I know you don't like clichés, but I was hoping to maybe change your mind about a few of them tonight. That is, if you'll allow me."
"Well I would love to Draco, but the thing is, I have this secret admirer I was hoping to meet tonight," she teased him.
"Ah, well, I'm sure I can make you forget that cheesy guy. I am much more suave and much less corny." He teased back, relieved that she wasn't upset at him for being too forward.
"I don't know, Draco. He seemed to be charming me pretty well. I was so looking forward to meeting him, but I guess you'll have to do." She allowed him to lead her to the table, where for two hours they dined on Hermione's favorite foods, drank her favorite wine, and had some of the best dinner conversation she had ever had. It was getting late when there was a lull in the conversation and things seemed more serious.
"Hermione, I know you know I'm your secret admirer. I was counting on you to figure it out and save me some embarrassment. I hope from today, and tonight, you've gathered I like you, quite a lot. And please, if I'm making a fool of myself and you don't feel the same, let me know. It's just; I'm crazy about you, Hermione. And I am a Malfoy, so if this seems elaborate, remember we never do anything halfway"
Hermione laid her hand on his arm to stop him, "Draco, breathe. Today has been the single best Valentine's Day I have ever had. You have single-handedly made me change my opinion about this day and all the clichés that go along with it. I am quite crazy about you too. And honestly, it is about time you've told me. If you hadn't made a move today, I was going to ask you on a date myself." Her eyes were dancing.
"That would have been something to see. Although, I don't know if my pride, or our friends, would let me live that down. Thank Merlin I wizened up. Since you seem to return my feelings, I feel confident enough to ask you this: Hermione Granger, will you be my girlfriend?" Hermione laughed at his mock seriousness, before answering.
"Yes, Draco Malfoy, I am quite honored to accept."
"Excellent. Now I can finally do what I've wanted to do for quite some time." And with that, Draco grabbed Hermione from her chair and kissed her passionately, his hands placed on her waist. She returned his kiss with enthusiasm, wrapping her arms around his neck, her last coherent thought being, "maybe Valentine's Day isn't such a bad holiday after all."
AN: hello FanFiction! This is just a little one-shot I threw together for the holiday. Not my best work, but some nice fluff to read for fun. Please enjoy, and please review! :)