Chapter 2

"So, I have this...thing," Hermione stated, entering Draco's office.

He looked concerned as he cleared his desk. "What kind of thing?" he wondered. "Are you dying?"

Shaking her head, she closed the door behind her. "No, it's a muggle thing," she explained. "An event. Each year, my parents host a dinner for their associates and friends, and each year I'm forced to go too. In the past, I had Ron to go with, but we broke up last year. Harry's busy, George is engaged, Neville is...well, Neville. I love him dearly, and he's been such a good friend to me, but I don't know that I can trust him in a room full of muggles."

"But you're subtly asking me to go with you because I can be?" he inquired. "Honestly, Granger, I thought you knew me better than that."

Sitting down, she frowned at him. "You said you wanted to be friends," she reminded him. "Right now, Malfoy, I need a friend."

Sighing, he shook his head. "How were you not in Slytherin?" he wondered. "Why me though? You're really not afraid that I'll embarrass you or insult all the muggles?"

She shrugged, considering his questions. "No, I guess I'm not," she decided. "You've stopped putting me down for being muggleborn. I guess I do trust you to behave yourself around others."

Draco smiled. "Thanks, Granger," he replied. "Okay, fine. I'll go with you."

"Welcome home," Draco said, greeting his mother-in-law at the door.

Helene hugged him tightly before shifting her focus to her eldest granddaughter. "Nana, when's Pop Pop coming?" Athena asked as she was picked up.

"Athena," Draco said through clenched teeth.

Hermione stepped in. "We've tried explaining it, but she doesn't seem to understand," she told her mother.

"You didn't understand it at that age either," Helene pointed out sadly. "It's fine, sweetheart."

Draco took her bags and led her upstairs to settle in. "Tiny isn't thrilled that she's living in the nursery again," he commented, placing her luggage beside the bed that had to be magically enlarged for an adult. "She has already lodged several formal complaints against Clara, mostly in the vein of excessive noise. I told her I had the same complaints about her at that age, but her mother made me keep her. Needless to say, Athena was not amused by that."

Helene chuckled. "She's her mother," she replied. "Always so serious. I don't think Hermione smiled until she was six. Nothing in life amused her."

"What changed?" he asked.

Sighing, she shrugged and sat down. "There was this book, Little Women," she recalled. "She was in love with it. She took it everywhere - school, the store, the dinner table. It slept in her bed every night. She loved that book, and would smile whenever she read it. Did you know that the first time she did any magic was when the book began to fall apart and she repaired it?"

Draco chuckled. "Sounds like Hermione," he mused. "She still has it, you know. Keeps it on the nightstand. I don't know if she intends to pass it down to the girls or be buried with it." He stopped short, catching his mistake. "Merlin, Helene. I'm sorry."

She smiled as she patted his shoulder. "Think nothing of it," she replied.

He apologized again and excused himself to give her time to settle in. Returning to the first floor, he found Hermione and Athena seated on the sofa with a picture book between them. "I'm an idiot," he declared, taking a seat beside his daughter. Athena's light brows rose in alarm, ready to tell her mother that he had said a bad word.

"What happened?" Hermione asked, cutting off her daughter before she could tattle.

Draco sighed. "Just said the wrong thing in front of your mother," he replied.

"Wouldn't be the first time," Hermione remarked.

Draco was beyond embarrassed. Nerves had gotten the better of him, and he hadn't thought about what he was saying. He had been so cautious all night, fearful that a wizarding term might slip. He chose his words carefully, making sure to use only the muggle vernacular. And he thought he had done well.

Standing alone amongst a group of the Grangers' colleagues, he tried to say as little as possible. It wasn't until Mrs. Granger joined him that he relaxed slightly. That had been his first mistake. When her guests peppered him with questions regarding his relationship with Hermione, he made his second mistake.

"Oh we hated each other. Still do most of the time," he told them. "We constantly picked on one another. Her teeth, for some reason, I always teased her about them. Huge teeth, I tell you." Helene cleared her throat to remind him that she was there. Draco's cheeks turned a bright, warm red as he murmured an apology before quickly slipping away.

"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked when he found her.

He looked down sheepishly. "I said something stupid in front of your mother," he admitted. "About you."

"She doesn't think we're sleeping together, does she?" she asked, panic in her voice.

Draco shook his head, and assured her that wasn't the issue. "I seemed to get it in my head that discussing your formerly giant teeth in a room full of dentists, including your mother, was a good idea," he told her.

Hermione laughed louder than she expected herself to. "I'm sure it's fine," she replied. "My parents have a good sense of humor. Besides, they even agreed that my front teeth looked better after that...incident."

"Still, I'm sorry," he murmured.

Smiling, she patted his arm. "For making a fool of yourself or for fixing my teeth?" she wondered.

"Both," he replied with a shrug. "I feel like I let you down. You trusted me to behave, and instead I insulted you in front of your mother and her friends."

Her hand stilled on his wrist. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Listen, I'm getting a bit tired. What do you say we grab a piece of pie from the bakery near my flat?"

Blond brows furrowed in confusion. "Do you find it at all odd that your reaction to fatigue is to eat pie?" he wondered.

She placed her hand in his. "No, it seems perfectly natural to me," she said simply. They said goodnight to her parents and left the party. She breathed in the cool night air and sighed. "I really appreciate you coming with me. I had a nice time with you."

"Really?" he asked incredulously. "I insulted you in front of your mother, I dropped my roll on your lap and proceeded to retrieve it myself, and I'm pretty sure I tripped an old woman as we were leaving. I was a disaster. And that's probably why you had a good time."

He took hold of her, allowing her to Apparate them back to her flat. "I'm sorry it was so miserable for you," she replied.

They left her building for the small bakery around the corner. Sitting down at the counter, he studied the menu. "Maybe it wasn't all so bad," he decided. "I liked being with you. When you're not tossing shoes at my head to get rid of me, you're quite a nice companion."

Hermione snorted. "Companion? Who are you? Mr. Darcy?" she teased.

"Honestly, I don't know what to call you," he admitted.

She ordered a slice of chocolate pie and two forks. "We're friends," she said simply.