Disclaimer: I do not own the harry potter series or any of the character mentioned in it. Some of the characters in here are OC. I do not own the concept of the bachelor/ bachelorette show either.
Hermione's Wednesday morning started great. She was brimmed with excitement over her date today. She took a quick shower before donning herself in denim shorts and a cotton tee. She grabbed her sunglasses and was ready to go.
Today's date started early so her group was to take off right after breakfast with the rest of the males.
She came in to the dining hall where the breakfast spread was laid and smiled brightly at everyone. No one could ruin her mood today. Her peachy mood attracted the contestants as there was a greater fight to sit next to her at breakfast, or maybe it was because of her shorts.
At breakfast she made light conversation with the contestants seated around her. She did not want to give away the location of todays date just yet. She wanted to judge their reactions by herself! Glancing around, she noticed Donal, Alexandre and Francis eyeing her like they would rather have her for breakfast. Usually she'd be rather flattered, but she didn't feel anything for these men yet. And not to mention, Donal's ogling was more than just slightly uncomfortable. It unnerved her to have a man so much older look at her that way.
Wrapping up breakfast, she informed the men going on todays date to meet at the main doors in ten minutes. She needed to retrieve her portkey before heading out.
This was his chance. He could finally speak to her. Merlin knows he wanted a chance to talk to her about her stupidity ever since the damn ceremony but never got the chance. Stealthily, he headed towards the direction Hermione left towards, silently praying to Salazar no one would interrupt him this time. There were some things he needed to get off his chest.
Hermione was so caught up in anticipation for her date, she didn't feel a presence behind her before it sneaked a hand over her mouth, another around her waist and pulled her into a closet nearby. She shrieked and bit down on his hand hard.
"Ow! Shit! What the hell was that for?!" Draco grumbled while shaking the pain in his hand away
"Malfoy? That was for trying to kidnap me! What the hell are you doing?" She almost yelled. She was about to lecture him some more when he interrupted.
"Will you shut up for a second and let me speak?" Draco narrowed his eyes.
Hermione stomped her foot in anger before conceding. "You have two minutes."
"What the hell are you trying to pull?"
Baffled, she eyed him curiously "Me? What did I do? You're the one attacking people and stuffing them in closets!"
"You know damn well what you've done, Granger" He snarled her name. "Why did you keep me around when I clearly told you that I'm not at all bothered with this ridiculous show?"
Hermione leaned back and crossed her arms smugly. Draco inwardly gulped as this action only pushed out her chest more. He shook his head and tried to remember why he was here in the first place.
"Payback" and with that, she pushed him back so hard that he fell over before leaving the broom closet and slamming the door shut. How could he forget the strength that tiny girl had? She was small but she sure did pack one mean punch, a lesson his cheek learnt the hard way back in third year.
Hermione left Draco to wallow in his own misery and faced the five contestants of the day. All were dressed in shorts and a tee, except for Donal, who looked out of place in his buttoned shirt and long brown pants. Did he not get the dress code?
She took them by the arm and they portkey-ed to one of Hermione's favorite places on earth - Universal Studios in Los Angeles. Yes, Muggle America. She took in the faces of her dates. The half-bloods in her group were either excited or expressionless whereas the purebloods were a little more than frightened. It was likely that they've never had much chance to interact with muggles and were terrified to face this many of them at one go.
Theodore and Kieran were rooted firmly to the ground, staring around like lost children. Hermione rolled her eyes before looping her arms around both of theirs and pulling them to the first ride. She decided to start with something mild, and then work up on the difficulty level. Better not scare off the purebloods just yet, she chuckled.
Theodore and Kieran began to relax and realized the place was more fun than frightening. After a brief stop for lunch, Hermione wanted to ride something that made Donal and Bobby sit out. It was an indoor extreme roller coaster. Oh pfft, such babies. How bad can an indoor ride even get?! It was finally their turn and they took their seats in the cart. Hermione was seated in between Seamus and Kieran with Theodore on the other side of Kieran. Kieran, ever the smooth man, gracefully put his arm around her shoulder, on the pretense of keeping her safe on the ride, earning him glares from Seamus and Theodore.
Then it began. The cart moved in all directions possible and continued to pick up speed as it carried on. Kieran even had to remove his arm from Hermione to place a death grip on the bars in front of him. Hermione was too lost in her own bliss to notice the expression on Seamus's face. The ride finally came to a halt but before they could stand up to leave, Seamus turned and puked his lunch all over Hermione's lap. Hermione didn't know whether to scream or cry. She was wearing shorts! His lunch was touching her skin. She cringed and ran away.
Seconds later, Theodore appeared at her side. In her panicked state, Hermione seemed to forget that a simple spell would clean the mess right up and just stood there, grumbling about her ruined clothes. Theodore grabbed her by the arm, pulling her away from any muggles before casting a Scourgify on her clothes and it became as if nothing ever happened.
Hermione was overjoyed. Her day wasn't ruined after all. She jumped and hugged Theodore tightly "Thank you so much, Theodore!" She smiled as his cheek turned a shade of pink. "Theo. Just call me Theo". Smiling, Hermione pulled on his hand "Come on Theo! We have so much more to do!" and took off to where Kieran was waiting.
After his little accident, Seamus decided to wait out while Theo, Kieran and the bachelorette explored the rest of the place. Hermione decided to turn things up a notch. There, standing in front of the trio, was the tallest and biggest ride in the whole arena. Theo gulped as he could hear the screams of the people currently on it. This girl is going to kill me, he thought as he got pulled along to join the queue.
The queue was taking quite some time to pass when Theo decided to make a trip to the loo. His nerves were frayed in anticipation for this death ride, and he left Kieran and Hermione alone for a few moments.
Kieran bumped her shoulder playfully "Finally! Thought I'd never get time alone with you."
"Well, We're alone now, at least until Theo gets back" Hermione stated matter-of-factly.
"Let's make the best of it. Tell me something interesting about yourself no one else knows" He suggested.
Hermione raised an eyebrow "And just why should I do that?"
"Because you're here to give everyone a chance, and I'd love to be here for a long time so I just have to know everything about you, don't I?" and he smiled innocently.
Chuckling slightly, She replied "Fine, but you tell me one too. Umm.. Okay, no one knows this since I'm supposed to be the brightest witch of my age and all that, but I cheated on a test once in second year. Sorry, can't think of anything juicier to tell you right now, just my lame school stories" while laughing nervously.
Kieran dropped his jaw mockingly "NO! The Hermione Granger cheated?! I don't know what to believe in this world anymore!"
Hermione hit his arm playfully before joining in his laughter. Theo reappeared and soon it was their turn. Theo and Kieran shut their eyes tightly throughout the whole ride but came away admitting it was probably the best of the day.
Portkey-ing back to the manor, she pulled out the rose of the day and had a mental debate between Kieran and Theodore, before presenting it to Theodore, who beamed proudly and accepted it. All six of them were about to head back to their rooms when someone tapped Hermione on the shoulder. She turned and came face to face with Kieran.
At her curious expression, He simply stated "You told me yours, but I never got to tell you mine, and I always keep my end of a deal."
Realization dawned on her as she recalled their last conversation. "Oh! I completely forgot. Alright, go on then." she prompted.
He leaned in to her ears before whispering softly "I've never told anyone this but I think no girl I've ever met even comes close in comparison with you. Good night, Hermione." and he kissed her cheek before walking off.
Hermione stood, unable to move. This guy sure had his special charms. Something in Hermione fluttered slightly before she headed to her quarters for a much needed shower.
Hermione decided to spend most of the next day in her own quarters, as the group date of the day was to take place in the evening. She spent her day writing owls to Harry, Ron, Ginny and Pansy before picking out her outfit. She decided to go with a sleeveless long red silk gown. She left her hair down this time and after a few more accessories, she was ready to go. She opened the door only to bump into a hard body and almost fell back if not for the arms that helped to right her.
Draco was on his way to the kitchen for an apple when he felt something, or someone, bump into his side. As if naturally, His hands went out to stop the figure from falling. Then he looked up. It was her. But gone was any remaining thoughts in his head of her being the same stuck up know-it-all from school, as what he saw now was a full grown woman. She looked amazing, not that he'd ever admit to thinking that.
Hermione pulled away and thanked him briefly. She was embarrassed enough at being such a klutz, she didn't want to wait around for him to throw insults in her face. She met with the boys and left for the venue, the newest Italian restaurant in Hogsmeade that she was dying to try. She was going to speed date all of the five guys, giving each 15 minutes and one course of the meal.
First up was Neville. There was nothing awkward in the air as they caught up like the long lost friends they were. Hermione felt slightly uncomfortable when Neville attempted to flirt with her because she basically knew the boy for years. The transition from friends to more than that was not easy.
After Neville sat Collin. Hermione barely knew the him, other than the fact that he used to be on Harry's trail back in Hogwarts. He was much more grown up now and that much was evident. The boy was sweet but just could not stop talking. Whether it was just his nerves or otherwise, Hermione did not know. Seems some habits stick through the years.
Pierre took over his seat and shared his knowledge on culinary arts. Hermione loved an intelligent man, especially one she could keep a conversation with. She liked someone she could learn from and someone who was not intimidated by her intellect. That was usually the problem she faced in getting decent dates. She would be able to see right through their pretentious facades. Pierre was like a breath of fresh air.
Gustav, the poet extraordinaire, began speaking in limericks and haikus. It was amusing at first but Hermione was slowly getting frustrated. Does this man ever speak in proper sentences?!
Ronan was the final one of the night, and what a way to end the third group date! This man surely lived up to his name. Hermione could not stop laughing even for a second. Her sides were starting to hurt. She hadn't laughed like this in years! Pleased with himself, Ronan offered Hermione his hand and together with the rest of the contestants, they took off back to the manor.
The third rose went to ronan who did a little happy dance, to the amusement of the others. It really was great having someone like him around.
Draco groaned as a noise in his dorm woke him the next morning. Adrian was up and fretting about his date. Apparently, the poor lad had fancied the bushy-haired witch since fifth year but was too much of a coward to go against his deatheater father to befriend a muggleborn. Now, the boy couldn't believe his luck. He was actually getting a second chance!
For a reason unknown to Draco, it was a little unsettling to see a person so infatuated with the bookworm. He just tossed a pillow at the pacing Adrian, yelling at him to get his arse back to sleep.
In the early evening, Adrian was dressed in a simple pair of jeans, a tee shirt with a jacket to top it off. He was desperately hoping he matched well with the dress code. He wanted to give her a good first impression. He watched as she descended down the stairs and smiled shyly. Hermione was equally nervous today. It was her first date completely alone with another contestant. The other dates weren't too bad as she had the others around. But not today. Maybe that's what influenced her decision on the activity for the date.
He took her arm in his, as Hermione side-apparated him to a dark alley. Adrian was confused. What is she planning? Before he could voice this out, she pulled him into a brighter area and he looked up. A Cinema. What in Merlin's name is this? He guessed it must be something muggle but he went along with it.
Hermione was secretly pleased Adrian did not protest the muggle activity. She bought two tickets to a movie she heard appeals to both males and females. She didn't want to bore him with a chick flick, but she wasn't too fond of an all out action movie either. She chose some snacks, which he graciously paid for and they went to find their seats.
"So, What am I supposed to be doing?" Looking around, all Adrian could see were people seated like he was, staring up at a large black wall. These muggles are so weird.
"It's called a movie. It's like a long moving picture with sound that tells you a story. Just sit back and wait for it to begin" Hermione explained and threw a piece of popcorn at him.
With that, Adrian loosened up and laughed. They got to talking and realized they had more in common than they thought.
"I always admired you back in school. You were basically the reason I never believed in all that I'm-pureblood-and-better-than-you shite. You basically kicked everyone's arse with your grades and literally with Malfoy in the face! Yeah, he was the laughing stock of Slytherin house for quite a while after that." Adrain laughed at the memory.
Hermione looked up at him in awe and regretted judging him to be one of those typical evil little Slytherins. He seemed like the total opposite. "Im glad you don't feel that way anymore, or else this" she gestured to the both of them "could never work out."
Adrian muttered so softy, he doubted she could even hear "That is the last thing I'd want to happen." Hermione did hear him, but just as she was about to question him, the screen came to life and they watched the movie in silence.
Adrian gushed over his first muggle experience on the way back to the manor. It was more than he expected. He bid her goodbye before heading to his room, bummed that he had not received a rose. Hermione was curious over his sudden mood change when she remembered. She ran up to him and placed her hand in his.
"Im so sorry, Adrian, it totally slipped my mind. Sometimes I forget I'm even on this show. Here" She said, handing him a rose. "You earned it."
Adrian was so relieved and enamored by her affectionate expression that he couldn't help himself. He leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips before pulling away and running, ashamed at his impulsive actions, all the way back to his dorm.
Hermione's face flushed brightly. The show was getting more interesting and she couldn't help think she could come out from this with the right guy after all. She mentally reminded herself to apologize to Ginny and Pansy for being so short with them over this whole thing. She headed back to her room, oblivious to a pair of grey eyes watching her.
ahhhhh! I'm done! How was this chapter? Tried to show the building of Draco's feelings and the internal battle he's fighting while also building on Hermione's relationship with some other contestants. Draco needs competition after all! Apologies for any small mistakes I may have overlooked along the way, will sort them out asap. this chapter may be a bit lengthy but I had to get all these dates out of the way first. Comment! Criticize! Review! Thanks guys! ;)
UP NEXT:
Day four of group dates and the second rose ceremony. Who will be sent home this time?