Chapter 1: Strangers
Sometimes Hermione wondered how things would've gone if she was a pureblood wizard. It was one thing to verbally refuse to argue or discuss differences in bad blood as he had in the old days. But it was another to propose to one and have an affair… or whatever this was called… with her. A mudblood.
One thing that kept coming up was his concept of marriage. His hesitancy to be fully committed and involved with one woman in his life. Hermione Granger sighed.
It was a cold night. The feelings and thoughts that she had refused to think about hit her all at once.
"So how's it going with Astoria?" Hermione held a glass of red wine in her right hand, watching as the steady stirring of the glass made hypnotic ripples within. She slowly brought it to her lips, avoiding Draco's steady gaze on her.
"How do you think its going?"
"Oh Malfoy, you know its all denial. You know, when you get married-" Hermione grinned from ear to ear as her excitement grew from the concept of marriage. She almost bounced from her seat, imagining her own wedding.
"Married? Marriage? " Draco's eyes widened as his pale gray eyes penetrated her light hazel orbs.
"Well, you are getting married, aren't you?" She shrank back down as her bubble was burst.
Draco tucked both hands into the pockets of his robes and felt something he had forgotten about throughout the whole conversation. He was so absorbed by her.
"Of course I am. Do you think I'll live my life as a pedophile who buys young girls for sex?"
Hermione pretended to think about what he said. "Yeah, pretty much sounds like you." Draco rolled his eyes but said nothing.
"Hermione." He glanced at Hermione
"There's- there's something I want you to have."
He brought out a medium sized box from his pocket and slid it across the table with his hand, being extremely careful to avoid her eyes.
"…Malfoy?" Hermione replied holding on to the sides of her chair in anxiety and tilting her head to the side.
Draco in contrast crossed his arms across his chest but left the box on the table. "Hm." he shrugged.
"Well?" he said, motioning to the box. Hermione raised a brow and chuckled.
She slowly reached out for the box and opened it revealing a 16 carat heart shaped diamond necklace in platinum. At its base, it had a subtle slytherin trademark of a serpent wrapped around a key with an emerald eye.
"Very subtle." She thought aloud.
Draco smirked.
Hermione observed the necklace, noting how it seemed to reflect every light that was in the room, making it seem even more beautiful.
"This seems very…" Hermione had a hard time describing her new treasure.
"Slytherin?"
"Yes…" She trailed off absorbed in her own thoughts.
Hermione stared at a chandelier that was glowing over a man in his early twenties. She found him quite attractive. She was surprised when she found him staring back at her and giving her a smirk.
Draco traced Hermione's eyes and found her observing a chandelier.
"Hermione!" he snapped her out of her trance as she jumped a little in her seat, her head snapping to the owner of the voice.
"Jeez, Malfoy you didn't have to scream! I'm right in front of you!"
Draco shrugged and walked over to Hermione's side of the table, grabbing hold of the opened box that had been ignored.
"What- What are you doing, Malfoy?"
"Stop calling me the same name you called my father."
"I called him Mr. Malfoy. You're just Malfoy or just Draco, sometimes."
"I can be just Draco, even if its sometimes."
He took out the necklace that Hermione had the strongest urge to put on and unclipped it.
"Hermione." A chill went up and down her spine as he breathed out her name. She closed her eyes as she felt something cold wrapping around her neck. She instinctively reached for the object and realized that it was the necklace.
"This- This is... a piece of my heart." His usual dark stormy grey eyes had turned a lighter shade, seeming to emphasize his sincerity.
"Draco, I-" suddenly she felt tears forming in her eyes.
'I thought you didn't have a heart.' She thought. She bit her tongue from saying it out loud.
"Are you crying?" Draco looked almost horrified.
"No, am I crying?" Hermione, herself looked shocked as she searched her face with a hand for tears frantically. Draco almost genuinely smiled and almost reached out to touch her hand.
"Stop. You look ridiculous."
"You really do know how to ruin the moment, don't you, Draco?" Hermione frowned as Draco smirked.
'I really wish I could keep this moment forever-' She thought '-just me and you here, now, everything else just fading in the background.' But she knew it was an ignorant thought and tried her best to brush it off.
The restaurant they had been dining at was the highly acclaimed "Lolovivi" where they served food along with varieties of music. Lolovivi was the first to start playing muggle music in its restaurants, purebloods were unable to tell the difference until told.
"Does Astoria know about this?" Hermione asked, although she knew the answer.
After a momentary pause, Draco seemed hesitant to speak. Hermione was about to take off the necklace.
"No. A-and keep it on." He spoke quickly, avoiding her gaze.
"I just...Malfoy, I think we need to end this before it gets too serious-" Hermione avoided his eyes.
She could feel his gaze steady on her, every movement she made she felt his eyes follow.
Whatever this is…"
"Really?"
"Yes, I mean-"
Draco raised an eyebrow at Hermione's sudden nervousness.
-you know what? Its getting late. I think... I think I've better go. I have work tomorrow."
The waiter who had been nearby offered to assist her out of her chair, but Hermione refused to be helped by a stranger to get out of her own chair and grabbed her purse, and slinged it on her shoulder.
"I don't understand?" Draco looked at Hermione with a thoroughly confused look running a hand through his hair and giving it a tug in frustration.
"You never did." Hermione whispered, more to herself and left him standing confused, and well confused! What the hell? He just gave her a diamond necklace and she just runs off like that.
He collapsed in his chair as she continued to make her way out of his sight.
It was a Friday. Since when did people care about staying up late on Fridays and who actually has work on Saturdays?
Hermione Granger, that's who!
"Go after her!" a man, who was watching the whole scenario cried, already out of earshot of Hermione.
"What do you know? Get the hell out of my bloody business, you little camp!" he yelled at the young man and mumbled some words under his breath that were inaudible and disapparated to Malfoy Manor, not turning back.
Hermione went to the charmed garden of Lolovivi where there was various music playing in different areas of the garden.
She sighed. Just then a familiar song caught her ear. It was a muggle song she had heard often.
There's no combination of words
I could put on the back of a postcard
No song that I could sing
But I can try for your heart
Our dreams, and they are made out of real things
Like a, shoebox of photographs
With sepia tone loving
Love is the answer,
At least for most of the questions in my heart
Like why are we here? And where do we go?
And how come it's so hard?
It's not always easy and
Sometimes life can be deceiving
I'll tell you one thing it's always better when we're together
Hermione fell in a trance like state as she fell in to a dreamworld created partially by her imagination and partially by her past memoirs.
"I think I'm going mad." she muttered and started talking to herself, staring at her feet which felt blistered and beaten by wearing heels for 3 hours. She had vowed never to wear such degrading things that made her walk funny in front of anyone, but it was always Draco Malfoy. Always Malfoy that made her break rules, vows, even her own morals!
"Merlin, he would've been the end of me." Hermione murmured and was surprised when she felt a tapping on her shoulder.
And all of these moments
Just might find their way into my dreams tonight
But I know that they'll be gone
When the morning light sings
And brings new things
For tomorrow night you see
That they'll be gone too
Too many things I have to do
But if all of these dreams might find their way
Into my day to day scene
I'd be under the impression
I was somewhere in between
With only two
Just me and you
Not so many things we got to do
Or places we got to be
We'll Sit beneath the mango tree now
"Oh, hello Ron. What brings you here?" Hermione was glad to see Ron, but wasn't really in the mood to talk.
"Just meeting with some co-workers and friends. We're all at table number 3. Do you want me to tell the others you're here?" Hermione could see a flush of crimson spread about his freckled face.
"Um, no its alright. I just want to be alone for a bit." She sat back down on the classic wooden park bench. The only difference was the bench had no legs to support itself and had the ability to float in any direction.
"Oh, well Ginny and Harry are here too if you want to talk to anyone else." Ron gave Hermione a slightly disappointed, yet awkward half-smile as Hermione nodded in response. He turned to leave as Hermione bowed her head almost as if in prayer.
She reached up toward her neck blindly and found the sizable diamond that was the main focus of the necklace and ran a finger over it.
But I will still tell you one thing
It's always better when we're together.
Few minutes passed as the sound of crickets engulfed the beautiful garden. The music paused briefly signaling the next song, but Hermione's heart beat harder, faster in her chest. Something she had never known before, something she had never learned, indecisiveness, was the cause of her distress.
Hermione slowly turned back toward the exit of the garden, leading back to the restaurant. She went up a charmed elevator, crossed what seemed like an endless red velvet floor and silk curtains that were draped over handcrafted Victorian windows. She passed a tired looking greeter who smiled at her and finally rejoiced when she heard the sound of Mozart.
She realized she had been walking briskly and slowed down to catch her breath before she went near the area they had been previously. She slowly walked towards the table where they had been seated earlier, cautious and a bit hesitant, not knowing why she had even decided to come back.
Hermione took a seat where the two (Draco and Hermione) had previously been seated. She was somewhat disappointed that Draco had not gone after her, choosing to head back home- to Astoria.
"Is there anything you'd like to order?" a menu appeared in front of her as a waiter stood by her to take orders.
"Warm water, thank you." The waiter reappeared with a big bottle of wine and warm water on his tray.
"I thought I only ordered warm water.." She looked at the waiter in confusion and looked at the Royal Demaria, a little worried at how much it might be worth.
"Oh, not to worry. Its a complementary wine." the waiter gave her a nod towards a lone man seated on a love seat, eating the last of his dinner.
The waiter uncorked the wine and poured her a bit to taste. Hermione's eyes fluttered as she tilted her head back slightly to gulp down the last of the bit of wine he had poured, satisfied. She noted that it was the best wine she had ever tasted in her life.
She couldn't quite see who the stranger was, but thought it would only be right to thank him for the wine. Hermione walked over to his table just as he picked up his dessert utensils and began cutting a piece of his strawberry and chocolate layered tiramisu. Hermione found it entertaining to watch him cut his dessert because he looked like he was concentrating deeply on cutting perfectly in just the right angle to get it to a perfect slice.
"Staring is rude, you know." he said suddenly with an American accent, causing her to snap back in to reality. She realized he was the man who had winked at her.
"I wasn't staring."
"Mmhm." he replied, forking a slice into his mouth.
"Well, what are you doing just standing there?"
"What do you mean?" Hermione stood startled, still standing near his table awkwardly watching him eat.
"Well aren't you going to take a seat?"
"Well-
"Let me guess. "Mum" told you not to talk to strangers."
Hermione didn't respond. It was true, her mother told her not to converse with strangers. Was he considered a stranger?
"Anyway, my name is Lawrence. Lawrence Grey." Hermione sat down on a seat across from him. He was a handsome man; with his light brown curls, distinctive green eyes, a slight California tan and a broad, aristocratic nose.
"Hermione Granger." she said with a smile, and shook hands. She liked the way his hand fit hers just right. She mentally kicked herself at how she was fantasizing about this 'stranger' that she just met.
He ran a hand through his light brown curls that were not as light as Malfoy's, and seemed well managed the way they seemed to shine from the fantastic lighting in the room. They reached just above the nape of his neck and Hermione had the urge to just run a hand through the dark mass of golden locks. She squirmed in her seat, noticeably and avoided his eyes. He watched her curiously, his enchanting green eyes, twinkling suggesting a mischievous nature.
"I wanted to thank you..." Hermione said, trying her best to avoid his eyes. She looked to the side, both hands gripping the seat for comfort.
"For what?" he took a bite of his tiramisu which had been forgotten. He looked thoroughly lost, as a pregnant pause began to form, Hermione furrowed her eyebrows and looked up to meet his eyes.
She thought she saw a trace of a smirk, but ignored it as she was very much absorbed in his pale green eyes, which on closer observation happened to have specks of blue.
"Oh, for the wine?" he gave out a chuckle with his mouth closed.
"Yes." Hermione took a sip of cold water which made her entire body go cold.
"Not a problem." he smiled and leaned forward with his utensils still in both hands.
"Are you alright? You don't look too well." He asked with concern, this time with a definite smirk.
"It depends on what you mean by that.." she mumbled as she met his eyes again. There was just something familiar, so déjà vu about his presence that she couldn't quite put a finger on. She looked down as the stranger pursed his lips.
"Well if it helps I was listening to the conversation-"
"Conversation?"
"You were eavesdropping?" Suddenly Hermione who had been zoning out again, her eyes which were glazed over with day dreaming (or nightdreaming) stared at "Mr. Lawrence Grey" with half surprise and half disdain.
"Now, it was just a coincidence. I mean you can't just not hear someone when they're at a table a mere foot or two away from you. Besides, your conversation was going better than mine." he motioned to the other side of the table, suggesting nobody had been dining with him prior to her arrival.
Hermione placed a hand on her forehead as she felt a migraine forming, slowly.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Lawrence started as he raised a brow.
"Brilliant." Hermione sighed sadly.
"Why, thank you?" He replied in good humor, raising his wine glass to her with a nod.
Hermione smiled.
"You sound a lot like someone I happen to know. I actually wouldn't be surprised if you were related."
"Is this someone that you speak of named Draco?"
Hermione's eyes widened because she didn't recall ever telling him his name. He opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. Hermione raised a brow suspiciously as the handsome man's eyes twinkled once more. "Were you going to say something?"
"I just overheard you mention his name once." The new acquaintance shrugged nonchalantly with a sly grin, helping himself to another glass of wine.
Hermione crossed her arms.
"No good ever comes from a Malfoy." She mumbled.
"That's true… I must say…" He gave a slight nod and studied the chandelier that hung over them with uttermost interest.
Hermione looked at her watch, which she had charmed to look the same tone as her skin. She was wearing a black strapless, formfitting dress that clung at the bust, cinched at the waist, and loosened towards the front was significantly shorter than the back, revealing her naturally tan legs.
"That I never thought strangers could be so… entertaining." he smirked as he lifted his robes to look at his own watch, which surprised Hermione because most wizards did not own muggle devices. "Well, I wouldn't want to be wasting any more of Ms. Granger's precious time now, would I?" They were both still seated but Hermione was the first to rise.
Hermione gave him a small smile and grabbed her purse. She headed towards the fireplace situated where only wizards were allowed to loiter. She saw him coming her way and grabbed a hand full of floo powder and lingered a bit, not knowing why but regardless, waiting for him to catch up.
"I just wanted to say I had a wonderful evening, thanks to you. " he said, looking deep into her eyes. Making her feel nauseous from the pit of her stomach.
"You gave me a really nice first impression, Mr… Grey. " she said, leaning on the mantel of the fireplace. Mr. Grey. Where had she heard that name?
"The pleasure was all mine." Mr. Grey gave a curt nod to Hermione and made a hand gesture that signaled her to wait. He pulled out his wallet in the front left pocket of his robes and handed her a business card.
"What's this?" Hermione said curiously, although she knew exactly what it was.
"I just thought it would be nice to meet again."
"I'll think about it." She said with a smile as she felt her cheeks turn crimson.
"Diagon Alley!" Hermione cried and felt the similar queasy feeling she always got when she traveled via floo. Hermione landed with a pop right in the middle of one of the busiest streets known to wizards, and felt a curious smile tugging at her lips.
Draco didn't know what he was feeling. He hated this feeling. What was it called again? Guilt? Malfoys don't get guilty. He stepped into his home, a cold chill went up as the marble tiles and bare white walls had a cooling affect on the already cold weather.
"Joel, three bottles of scotch. It better be good." Draco mumbled as he threw his robes across his comforter.
"Isabella's Islay, limited edition Dalmore, and the usual Macallan." Joel said gently settling the tray down.
Draco glanced at the décor of the bottle of Isabella's Islay and was reminded of the diamond necklace he had given Hermione. It was adorned with a said 8500 diamonds and featured a handsome amount of white gold, along with a generous spread of some 300 rubies encrusted all over the bottle.
"Rubies. I should've gotten her red instead of emerald. I knew it. It was that green." he muttered to himself.
"Merlin Granger and that blasted Gryffindor pride." He rolled his eyes he looked at his muggle watch… something she had given him as a present. It was so he would stop being late to their meetings.
He took his fourth shot of whisky as Joel waited for another order.
"I wonder how you're feeling." He reached out to touch the rose as a dry petal fell from it, joining many other dry brown rose petals which were once shades of beautiful deep red.
"Blast you!" He cried and threw the entire vase on the ground in a satisfying shatter.
He motioned for Joel. "Don't tell Miss Greengrass I'm going to Diagon-"
"Draco!" Draco's ears perked up at the sound of her voice, his eyes closing for a brief moment to think of how to react.
What are you doing-" his said frowning, suddenly.
"Here?" Astoria finished his question with a chuckle, as Draco looked a tad annoyed by the interruption.
"Draco, I've been waiting for you to speak to me!" Draco winced at Astoria's high pitched voice which rose an octave with every word she spoke.
"Oh." Draco responded stoically finishing a bottle
"I thought I heard you say Diagon… which can only mean Diagon Alley, so were you going to go to Diagon Alley?"
Draco sighed.
"I was."
"So you aren't anymore?" Astoria furrowed her eyebrows, apparently disappointed at the change of plans.
"Well-"
"Let's go! We need to get you out of the house today anyway. You look terrible! Besides I need to get some shopping done. We just need to get out of this place for a bit, you know…"
"Why would you want me going out if I look terrible?" Draco said with a scowl
Astoria linked her arm energetically with Draco's now limp arm. Her elegant black robes trailed behind her gracefully, reminding him of Hermione and how she had looked so beautiful starting from her almond shaped hazel eyes, her perfect little button nose, and thin lips that were just plump enough for …
"Astoria."
"Yes?"
"What do you think of muggles, or mudbloods-" Draco stopped midway when he remembered he was talking to a fellow pureblood Slytherin, not a Gryffindor, and returned to his pureblood senses.
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Astoria looked at him like he had gone bonkers for, how many times that day, she could not recall.
"You know what?"
Astoria stared blankly at Draco waiting for him to speak.
"It is." He finished, noticeably disappointing Astoria.
"You've been acting really odd lately… is there something I should be aware of?" Astoria put her hands on her hips, raising a brow.
"What are you talking about, darling?" Draco brought Astoria close to him in an embrace.
"I mean suddenly you're questioning where my loyalties lie." Astoria looked Draco straight in the eye, blue eyes meeting grey.
"Why don't you get yourself something to drink. You're so tense." He chuckled and stopped almost immediately.
"We're not going to Diagon Alley." He said finally which made her almost jump.
"Then where are we going?" Astoria said with the same perky voice.
"Let me get something clear through your little brain. We're not going anywhere. You're staying here. Do something beneficial for a change." He sneered grabbing his outer robes as he flood to his original destination.
Astoria sat in silence as she absorbed all that had happened in the last few seconds.
"I need a drink."
Hermione took out the business card from her purse and skimmed through the address, using her finger.
"Hmm. I've never seen this address before." She mumbled to herself as she tapped on the written address with her forefinger. She decided not to think much of it late at night and tucked it back in her purse, heading for the Three Broom Sticks after muttering a body warming spell.
She sat in the furthest corner of the room, shying away from the hustle and bustle of witches, wizards, and Hogwarts students talking about the latest gossip. She heard an obnoxious sigh somewhere near her in the darkness.
"Lumos." Hermione muttered. She was able to make out a body but not a face which was quite ridiculous. She pointed her wand out a bit more towards the curious figure, cautiously, the Gryffindor in her getting the better of her.
Music: Better Together-Jack Johnson.
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