Chapter 2:

"Blaise Zabini? Really Draco?" Hermione asked him as they shopped together for something to wear on their double date.

He had finally cracked and told her who she would be attending dinner with that evening. "What's wrong with Blaise? He's a charming, good looking and intelligent wizard. He is independently wealthy, beyond his mother's money. He's been scorned and he's just about seen the rest of England's eligible witches."

"So why don't you go on the date with him?" Hermione replied exasperatedly.

"I haven't given up enough hope in finding a woman to test the penis filled waters just yet, thanks," Draco told her, rolling his eyes and lifting a navy-blue dress up to look at the quality of its stitching. "Plenty of muggle women when I finally run out of witches."

He held the dress out, looking at the color against her skin tone. She swatted him away. "He's been your friend forever. Tell me why he would even agree to go out with me? We've never seen eye-to-eye."

Draco shrugged, handing the dress to a nearby waiting attendant. "She'll be trying this one on," he told the young woman, who was staring at him as though she'd never seen something so breathtaking in her life.

"I don't want to try a bunch of dresses on," she said, nearly stomping her foot.

"Then try that one on. You would look stunning in it. Perhaps tame that nest of snakes you call curls into a pretty knot," he told her, exasperated with her attitude.

Hermione glared at him and he shrugged and smirked. "I'm teasing, love. And exactly which witch did you select for me?" he asked curiously, moving through the doorway and into the men's half of the clothier.

Hermione looked down at a row of silk ties displayed handsomely next to where Draco was walking toward dress shirts. "Luna Lovegood."

Draco spun around and groaned. "Lovegood? She positively barmy! What on earth do you expect me to talk to her about? Nargle infestations in her neighbors' flower beds?"

She gave him a look. "Luna is a bright witch, and her…eccentricities make her that much more charming."

"Charming," he scoffed, running his fingers over a gorgeous set of cashmere black robes. "She's certifiably insane."

Hermione glared at him as he walked to where she stood. He selected a navy-blue tie, one that nearly matched her dress. "This will look good with my grey suit," he commented.

Draco often opted to dress more like a muggle these days, enjoying a few of the muggles' finer things—handsome suits, cell phones, the food. Hermione was proud to say that she'd rubbed off on him. "You just want to match. Claim me for your own," she teased and she could have sworn the silver of his eyes darkened to a lovely shade of storm cloud.

"Go try the dress on," he instructed, turning her around and pushing her toward the dressing room.

Hermione sighed and entered the dressing room, knowing full well that he would be waiting for her to show off the find. She slipped her clothing off and pulled the dress on, retrieving her wand to magic the buttons together in the back. Both the front and back were cut into deep 'v' shapes and her modest cleavage was just visible in the front. It had sleeves of lace that fell to just below her elbows and flared out and was swishy from her hips to where it fell just below her knees.

Draco always had a knack for selecting items for her that would look great, which was one reason she only protested half-heartedly whenever he suggested shopping. He was more agreeable than Ginny, usually selected one or two items for her to choose from and was always spot on, and he never allowed her to pay for her own purchases—a fact she'd been hard pressed to accept initially.

She twirled and watched the dress swish about her knees. "How does it look?" he asked lazily from the other side of the door.

For some reason Hermione felt as though she didn't want to show him this particular dress while still in the store. She would rather he see her when she had her hair and face primped as well. "I like it."

"Well, let's see it then," he replied.

"Later," she told him, undressing and redressing quickly.

She exited and handed the dress to the attendant and Draco pouted. "I wanted to see just how good my taste is."

o-o-o

Hermione gave herself a once over, butterflies battling just below her diaphragm. She over-analyzed the sliver of her breasts visible in the low-cut dress, nearly removed all of her cosmetics, had restyled her hair three times before settling on the elegant twist she currently sported. She chalked it up to being nervous about her date with one of Draco's best mates.

She decided to get away from the mirror before she continued ripping every aspect of her look apart. She knew she looked fine, better than she had for her date with Garrett. She took a deep breath and apparated to the restaurant.

Hermione landed and Draco and Blaise were already standing out front, waiting for their respective dates. Blaise looked round Draco's shoulder, his face breaking into a wide smile. Draco whirled around to see what had grabbed Blaise's attention and Hermione watched his lips part slightly. He closed his mouth quickly and smiled slightly, watching as Blaise stepped around him and walked up to Hermione. Blaise handed her a single red rose, leaning in to kiss her cheek. "Granger. It's nice to see you again."

"Blaise," she nodded in his direction, feeling incredibly strange.

Draco was still standing in the background, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a bouquet of what appeared to be pink cymbidium orchids and white roses. He was staring now at the ground before him, a slight frown gracing his features. Hermione knew that look—he was disappointed. But in what? She smoothed a hand over the skirt of her dress. Did he hate it?

She was getting ready to walk up to him and straighten his tie when Luna apparated between them. "Oh, hello, Hermione," she said demurely, giving Hermione a large smile and a hug.

Hermione silently thanked Merlin that Luna had opted for something muted and normal to wear—a turquoise dress with white strappy sandals that climbed up her calves and her hair pulled into French plait. Hermione gestured behind Luna and Draco plastered what Hermione knew to be a fake smile on his face. "Miss Lovegood. You look positively radiant this evening," he told the blond, leaning in to kiss her cheek just as Blaise had done to Hermione.

Blaise came up behind his date and put a hand on her lower back, guiding her toward the entrance to the restaurant. "I really think you'll all enjoy this. Best French cuisine in all of wizarding England," Blaise told the group collectively.

Hermione could feel Blaise's warm fingertips brush against her bare back where the low-cut dress came together and buttoned. For some reason she couldn't quite pinpoint, it felt all wrong. She allowed herself to be led, just as Luna did, to a private area of the restaurant in the back corner. Blaise pulled her chair out and Draco did the same for Luna. It was the first tandem date she'd gone on and it was strange to watch both pureblooded men go through the motions. Hermione had never witnessed Draco on a date, but thus far, he was dashing and charming.

Blaise ordered wine for the table and took his seat next to Hermione. Draco was across from her and Luna across from Blaise, a move Draco seemed to have planned. Blaise turned to her and leaned in close. "So, tell me, Granger, what made you agree to see me tonight?" he asked, curious.

"I suppose the same thing that brought you here. Sheer desperation," she replied, taking a sip of wine.

Blaise let out a laugh and nodded. "Fair enough. What about you, Luna? Why on earth would you want to see Draco?"

Draco leaned back in his chair, running a single fingertip over the rim of his glass. Luna smiled at him and he placed a hand on her shoulders and rested his arm on the back of her chair, giving her a wink. "Well…I hadn't ever had much interaction with him. But Hermione assures me he is quite the gentleman and I'm not opposed to giving anyone a chance."

"Things not go well with Neville, then?" Blaise asked and Draco glared at his friend's audacity.

But Luna was unfazed. "No. He's a sweet man, truly. But there wasn't enough chemistry between us. I want bright fireworks to go off in my head, you know?"

Blaise smiled widely at her. "I do. I couldn't agree more."

Hermione watched the interaction between the two and it became rapidly clear that they were more interested in each other than Draco and Hermione. Draco stretched his legs a little father under the table, tapping the toe of her heel with his foot. Hermione looked over at him and he smirked, taking a sip of his wine. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and turned to Blaise. "So, tell me, Blaise. How is it at St. Mungo's?" she asked, purposely turning to him a little more.

Draco stared at her over the rim of his wine glass, his eyes narrowing as she brought a hand up and put it on Blaise's arm. The Italian smiled over at her, his green eyes sparkling brightly against his mocha skin. "I would say things are going very well. The team of Healers I'm working with to create this sunlight welcoming draught for vampires—they're absolutely brilliant."

"Is that so?" Hermione asked, smiling at Blaise brightly.

"Luna, do tell us more about what you've been up to," Draco said, smiling widely at his date.

"Well. I just got back from Madagascar. I was there studying the fizzling jungle flies, you know," she told him, clearly proud of herself.

"I saw the write up in The Quibbler," Blaise mentioned.

"You read The Quibbler?" Luna asked him excitedly.

"Oh. Every month. It's nice to just get away from the more somber stories of the Prophet, you know?" he asked and Draco raised an eyebrow.

Hermione looked to her blond best friend once more. Draco had a terse set to his jaw as everyone ordered their food. She ran the toe of her heel over his clothed calf. He looked to her, training his eyes on hers and raised an eyebrow. Hermione used one finger and subtly gestured between Blaise and Luna. Draco nodded. They'd mucked this up royally. Their dates were more interested in one another than in them.

They ate, a cordial and interesting conversation settling over the table about Blaise's recent travels to France. At the end of their dinner, Luna cleared her throat. "I hate to be a bore. But I do need to wake early tomorrow. I'm headed to Beijing in search of the illusive azure mini dragon."

Blaise rose as well. "I've got to head out, too. Would you like me to walk you out?"

"That would be lovely, Blaise," she replied.

Draco stood and retrieved her coat, helping her into it. He leaned in and kissed her cheek as Blaise thanked Hermione for a lovely time. The two bid Draco and Hermione adieu and the friends looked at each other and laughed. "You want to split a piece of cheesecake?" he asked, pouring the rest of the wine into her glass.

"Have you ever known me to turn down sweets?" she replied, rubbing her temples.

He ordered and turned back to her, frowning. "This was not one of my better ideas."

"How were you supposed to know our dates would like each other more than us?" Hermione asked him.

Their dessert was brought to the table and Draco moved to sit next to her instead of across to share it. He leaned on the table, placing his head on his hand and took a bite. "I know you like the crust," he mentioned, turning the widest part toward her so she could have the crumbly bits.

"Honestly, Draco. This is getting ridiculous. I think I'm just going to go celibate and stave off men completely," she told him, noticing the way his lips formed around the fork as he drew it from his mouth.

He pointed his fork at her as he chewed and contemplated his words. "You might be on to something there."

She laughed. "Are we agreeing to a celibacy pact?" she teased, giving him a grin.

Draco shrugged, returning her smile with one of his own. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. You never know—the right wizard might sweep you off your feet one day."

o-o-o

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