Disclaimer: - I do not HP =(


It's been two days since Blaise last visited, she was starting to get anxious as Christmas was around the corner. As Hermione descends the stairs, with a cup in one hand and her wand in the other. With her wand, she opens the curtains at the front of the shop, and unlocks the door. Seating herself at the cashier point and setting her cup down, she pulls out a locked box and starts cashing in the float for the day. Drumming her fingers as she ponders on what to do next, she notices an owl flying in towards her, dropping a bunch of letters and the daily prophet. Petting the owl, she gives it a treat from the jar that she kept behind the till and watches as it happily coos and flies off.

Frowning at the letters as there wasn't anything important to her, she opens the daily prophet. Once again, Harry Potter was splashed all over the cover, capturing another death eater, tutting out loud she flips to the article, it seems to be one of the minor death eater, not one that she knew off.

'Of course he Harry would get all the glory, even though he sits behind the desk more these days' Hermione snorts to herself.

"That's not very lady like now is it" She hears a female voice from the door way.

Snapping her head up, her face softens as she sees a girl with long black hair smirking at her with her arms folded. Suddenly aware of her bearings, she composes herself, sitting up straight and frowns.

"Can I help you Parkinson?" Hermione says

"Yes, I need to find a book for Theo, preferably from a back shelf" Pansy says closing the door behind her

"Right. Follow me" Hermione sniffs, taking Pansy to the back of the shop

Once they were out of sight, Pansy squeals and hugs Hermione with a squeeze, making her giggle.

"Pans, watch it, we can't risk anyone seeing" Hermione says standing a respectable distance, but couldn't help smiling

"You make us sound like we're having an affair Mina" The dark-haired witch says with a wink

"Oh, Miss Parkinson, I didn't know you felt that way" Hermione plays along, fluttering her eyelashes

"Okay stop, now it's just going to get weird" Pansy laughs

"It's been so long, I've missed you!"Hermione says pretending to search for a book

"We've missed you too, Theo is going crazy because I told him he couldn't come today" Pansy giggles

"Did you come by to just have a sneaky talk or was there something else?" Hermione asks her

"My, Blaise was right, you do go into business straight away" Pansy says shaking her head

"Oh Pans, you know I would love to just hang out and talk, but it's dangerous for us to be so...intimate in public" Hermione says in a hush tone

"Intimate huh?!" Pansy smirks raising an eyebrow

"Okay, I walked into that one. So any news?" Hermione rolls her eyes

"Yes, there's a meeting tomorrow at 8pm at Malfoy's manor, Nott Snr apparently has a plan figured out for Christmas" Pansy replied, while checking her nails

"About time" Hermione huffs

"I know ri-" Pansy was cut off by a voice from the front

"Mione?!" A male voice calls out

"Damn...why is it always a Weasley that interrupts" Hermione whispers loud enough for Pansy to hear, who held in a laugh

"I think this is what you're looking for Parkinson" Hermione says out loud in a bold tone.

Picking up a random book from the shelf, she swings it into Pansy's hands. Just at that moment Ron pokes his head round the corner and frowns at the black-haired woman. Pansy looks at the book then holds it out with her thumb and finger far away from her towards Hermione.

"I rather have one you didn't touch mudblood" Pansy snarls dropping the book at Hermione's feet

"Then you shouldn't be in here you bat!" Ron yells at her

"Please, she should grateful to have my presence around" She sniffs

"May I remind you Parkinson, that you are standing in my shop, I suggest if you are not happy with my services, you are welcome to leave" Hermione snaps

"I will have to, and here I thought you would have something useful, silly me" Pansy says picking up a book and flipping through it

"Get out pug face, you're not wanted in here" Ron says angrily

"Watch your mouth Weasel, you never know who's listening" Pansy growls, snapping the book shut

Hermione didn't miss a beat, she grabs the book out of Pansy's hand.

"There will be no fighting in my shop, please leave" She looks at Pansy, she could almost see the smile in her eyes, even though the girl was frowning.

"Talk about customer service Granger, you should go study that in a book or something" Pansy laughs and strolls out

Sighing out loud as Pansy closes the door behind her, she straightens up and walks over to the cashier point, sliding the book in the draw, she was well aware that Ron had followed her while ranting, and now standing in front of the cashier leaning on the counter.

"Stupid rotten slag, who does she think she is" She hears Ron still ranting

"Let's not let it ruin the day, how are you Ron" She forces a smile on her face

"I'm alright thanks, I just dropped by to see how you were, Ginny said you weren't coming to Christmas dinner again" Ron says sadly

"Sorry Ron, I have plans for Christmas" Hermione says apologetically

"Yeah, she said that too. I was hoping that you would come for the evening, I can save you some food" Ron asks hopefully

"That's sweet of you Ron, but I can't promise anything" Hermione replied with a small smile

"Listen...I was hoping we could talk-" Hermione breathes a sigh of relief as someone walks into the shop.

"Welcome!" She says out loud as Ron turns around to see that there was customers in the shop.

"I..uh...guess I'll talk to you later about it" She hears Ron say, not missing the disappointment in his voice

"Sure Ron, we'll talk later, owl me if it's serious" Hermione hears herself reply before she could think.

Ron leans over the counter and kisses her on the cheek before leaving, Hermione smiles all the while cringing inside thinking about what she had just said. Rubbing her forehead, there was nothing she can do about it now. Pulling out the book from under the counter, she flips through the pages until a note drops out, slipping the piece of parchment into her jeans pocket she heads over to the customers to busy herself.

It was a lot busier this Christmas than last year, just as she was about to close the curtains she notices Ginny and Harry outside waving to her frantically. Smiling back with a wave she mutters to herself 'Great!' Unlocking the door for the couple, they stroll in hand in hand. Hermione felt a pang of jealousy of loneliness, quickly pushing the emotions aside she hugs the two in front of her.

"Hi guys, what are you two doing here?" She says automatically

"We're here to drag you out to dinner tonight" Harry says with a grin on his face

"I don't know, it's been a busy day" Hermione replies tiredly

"You're not getting out of this one missy, if we can't have you on Christmas, we are going to keep coming in till you come out for a meal with us" Ginny snaps

Hearing Ginny's words, she remembered the meeting the next day, giving them another smile, she holds her hands in the air.

"Okay, okay, I give. Just let me go change and we'll go for dinner" Hermione says with a laugh

"Good, now let's get you dressed" Ginny says pushing her to the stairs

"I can do that myself Gin" Hermione giggles

"Well with my fashion tips, you'll look even better tonight" Ginny says with a hint of excitement

With Ginny pushing Hermione up the stairs and Harry following behind them chuckling. She let the red-head girl drag her into the bedroom and start rummaging in her wardrobe. Hermione was glad that her mother had taught her to pick up after herself, now it was just second nature and she didn't need to worry about having left something out that shouldn't be seen. Ginny starts throwing dresses all over her bed, while Hermione sits there with her legs crossed, her mind starts to wonder. How she missed her parents, her mum telling her off for small things, and her dad for tidying her other things before her mother would find out.

~Flash back~

"Hermione! What did I tell you about leaving your things lying around?" She hears her mum say from the door way, looking over from her desk she sees her mum holding up some magazines, potion vials and parchment.

"Sorry.." Hermione cringes as she takes the items from her mums hands

"The Malfoy's will be here soon and you're still in your pyjama's!" Her mum gasps

"It's only the Malfoy's, it's not like they've never seen me in my sleeping clothes before" Hermione says

"That doesn't mean you should wear your sleeping clothes in the afternoon, get dressed and come down" Her mum snaps closing the door behind her

A few seconds later, just as she was standing from her desk, she hears a quiet knock on her door, as it opens her dad pops her head in and tosses some quills and books onto her bed, giving her a smile before closing the door behind him. She smiles at the thought of her dad sneaking around the house with her items from her mum.

Hermione grabs the first set of clothes she sees on her chair and quickly changes into it, checking herself in the mirror, satisfied that she looked presentable, she heads downstairs. She could hear voices as she gets nearer to the bottom, she smiles as she recognises who was talking.

Turning the corner she sees the Malfoy's standing there with her parents chattering.

"Ah, there you are Hermione" Her dad says as she walks over to them

"Good Afternoon Mr and Mrs Malfoy..Draco" She says curtsying to them

"Miss Granger" Lucius says nodding his head with a smile

"Hermione!" Narcissa says smiling holding her arms out for a hug that she returned happily

"Granger" Draco smiles taking her hand and kissing it lightly

"Come, let's go to the sitting room" She hears her dad say

It was then in her third year, that she started seeing Draco in a different light, and her assumptions were that he was also feeling the same. She thanked Merlin silently as their parents wanted to talk about business and asked the pair to take a walk in the garden, leaving them alone.

"So...Malfoy! How is your summer?" She says with a smirk as they walk side by side

"It's not bad, Granger! It could be better" Draco replies with a smirk matching hers

"Oh? Care to share?" Hermione asks taking a seat at a bench

"Well, you know, I got punched at the end of school term and I'm still pretty wounded by it" Draco says faking pain, making her laugh

"Don't be such a wuss" Hermione says giving him a playful shove

"That was a hell of a blow though, I gotta give you props" Draco says shoving her back

"Well, it was believable" She replied leaning back

"That it was" She hear him reply with a sigh

"Drake, is something on your mind?" She asks him

"No! Nothing!" He replied quickly, too quick, she narrows her eyes at him

"It's nothing to worry about, I'll tell you another time" Draco smiles at her

"What do you think our parents are talking about?" Hermione changes the subject, knowing well that if Draco wasn't going to say anything, he would not be persuaded.

"The return of the Dark Lord" He replied casually

"What do you mean return? He's still around, sort off" Hermione asks

"Physically, returning physically" Draco explained

"Really? How do you know this?" She questions him, she watches as he leans back with his hands behind his head.

"I overheard my parents talking about it, they're getting close to getting his physical form, or as much of it as they can" He says proudly

"You mean you eavesdropped" She raises an eyebrow at him

"Overheard, eavesdropped...what's the difference" He shrugs at her

"I wonder if they'll tell us, I mean to prepare us" She wonders out loud

"Probably, I mean, why wouldn't they?" Draco questions

"A lot of factors, we're too young, we're still in school, we're -" Hermione counts but her sentence was cut short

"Minor details" Draco waves his hands like he's batting a fly away

"And still facts" She snaps

"Wouldn't you want them to prepare us? To tell us what's happening? Don't you want to find out about your parents?" Draco says all too quickly, catching her off guard

"First off, yes, I would like it if they kept us in the loop. Secondly, don't get ahead of yourself, I do want to find out more about my parents, but they said they will tell me when they're ready to, and that has nothing to do with the dark lord returning." She snaps at him

"I'm sorry..I didn't mean to blurt that out. I'm just curious" He apologises, noticing that she was still slumped with her arms folded, he could tell she was still upset with him, the silence after his apology was his confirmation.

"Hey.." Draco gently tugs on Hermione's sleeve, she doesn't move but still frowning

"Hey...I'm sorry" Draco tries again, this time leaning his head on her shoulder, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes

"That's not going to work..." Hermione says looking down at him, trying hard to hide her smirk

"Really? How about this" He says and starts pouting with puppy dog eyes

"I hate you" Hermione says pushing him away with a smile

"Lies" Draco chuckles leaning back

"I missed this" He hears her sigh as her head now leans on his shoulder

"Me too, everyone misses you too" He replies putting his arm around her

"Send them my love, I was hoping to see them during summer, but I'm starting to think it's not possible, Weasley's have invited me over for a few weeks again, and my parents think it's a good idea to keep tabs on their end" She says sadly

"Well, that makes sense since the dark lord is returning, you have one of the most important jobs, I'm actually jealous" She hears him say

"Jealous of me because you have a crush on the Weasleys? Or because you're not in Gryffindor?" She jokes, giving him a poke

"Do not joke about that, I feel sick.." Draco says pulling a face making her giggle

End of flash back

"HERMIONE!" Ginny snaps loudly

"Yes?" Hermione replies

Focusing on reality again, Ginny was standing there holding an outfit in each hand in front of her. Ginny looked like she was about to blow, she silently cursed the young woman in front of her as she noticed the mess that Ginny had also caused by going through everything in her wardrobe.

"Are you listening? Where are you? Try these on!" Ginny rambles, shoving the outfits into her arms

Without letting Hermione reply, the young Weasley was already pushing her into the en suite to change. Ginny closes the door behind her loudly, Hermione looks at the outfits that she had chosen, they were a lot fancier than she would have liked. She knew instantly that there was something going on. Groaning to herself she puts on the outfit that showed the least flesh and tried to look as casual as possible, leaving her hair down and light make up. Not forgetting the note that Pansy had left her, she fishes it out of her jeans pocket and puts it in one of the drawers. Happy with her appearance, she enters back into the bedroom where Ginny was wearing the carpet out by pacing back and forth. She watches as the red-haired girl stops in her tracks and looks over, then frowns.

"What?" Hermione asks

"That won't do Mione, come here" Ginny says, pulling her by the arm and sitting her in front of her dresser

"What are you-" Before Hermione could finish, her hair was magically put up in an elegant twist, with a few strands of hair on either side.

"There, that's better" Ginny smiles, dragging her out of the chair and out the bedroom

"Finally! We're going to be late" She hears Harry say, standing by the fireplace

Hermione pulls her arm off Ginny abruptly, stopping them all.

"Mind telling me where we are going and why do I have to dress so formal?" She say folding her arms

"We don't have time for this Mione, we're already late, he'll be waiting" Harry says grabbing her hand

"Who is?" Hermione asks pulling back

"You'll see when we get there" Ginny smiles and throws some floo, as Harry pushes her into the fireplace.

Landing in a one of the upper class restaurants, she looks around and sees everyone else all dressed up. She silently thanked Ginny in her head for picking something relevant. Within seconds, Harry and Ginny arrive behind her, not hiding their grin and excitement as they lead her to their table. She could already make out who 'he' was that was waiting. Just a flash of the red hair gave it away. Getting closer to the table, Ron stands up with a big smile on his face. Pulling a chair out for her, she wondered if he suddenly learned a new set of manners.

"Hermione, you look beautiful" Ron says giving her a kiss on the cheek

"Thank you Ron, you don't look too bad yourself" She replied with a smile, he was wearing a nice tuxedo for once.

She could feel her stomach twirl, not in a good way. Sensing that the evening will not go smoothly at all, she hoped that it would be at least quick.


Thank you for being patient, I know that it's starting slow, it'll build up, I promise x