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"Draco!" Hermione yelled after him as he walked down the street.
"Sorry I interrupted whatever that was, you know he's got a girlfriend? I didn't peg you as the home wrecker type Granger." Draco drawled, turning around to face her.
"You didn't interrupt anything you prat. Fred is just my friend, he was just trying to say thank you for saving his life in the final battle."
"Funny way of saying thank you if you ask me."
They both stood there, glaring at each other on the street, until Hermione took a step forward and pulled the bag from his hands.
"What's it to you anyways?" She asked, rummaging through the bag to see what he had brought.
Draco didn't know how to answer that question. He hadn't even thought it through before storming into the shop. He didn't know why she was stirring up these feelings in him, they were foreign and he'd never felt them before. The fact that it was Hermione Granger that was invoking them scared him.
His purpose of going down to Australia had been to simply get her to help him convince the Centaurs to let him build on their land. But after he had arrived, and he had found out about her parents, he couldn't just simply leave her. One thing had led to another and after they had ended up in bed together the only thing Draco was sure of anymore was that what he was feeling for her scared him.
"The last thing I need right now is for a scandal to interrupt all the work I've been doing for the lab. Your reputation with Rita Skeeter, and situations like that, are going to land you on the front page of the Prophet if you aren't careful." He said, turning to walk back towards his office so that he could floo home.
"There's no scandal we're just friends!" She yelled after him.
When he didn't respond or stop walking, she turned her head back towards the joke shop and saw that the light had been turned off. She let her mind wander to what Fred was about to tell her before Draco had burst into the shop. Sighing, she headed back to her flat with the bag of food in hand. She smiled as she looked in the direction that Draco had gone, it had been very sweet of him to bring her food.
"Come in!" Hermione yelled from the bedroom when she heard knocking on the door at exactly nine thirty the next morning.
Draco walked through the door and was met by Crookshanks who was sitting there waiting for him. He bent down to pet him before moving to the cabinet to give him a treat.
"I already gave him one this morning!" Hermione's voice grew louder as she walked down the hall.
He brought a finger to his lips in a "don't tell" motion before handing the cat the treat. When he stood up from his crouched position he turned to look at Hermione and his breath caught in his throat.
She was wearing a white pencil skirt that stopped just above her knees and had a small slit in the back, paired with a burgundy blouse that was tucked under a fitted white business jacket. She had pulled her hair back into a messy French twist and a few curls were hanging around her face. She had applied mascara and a light pink lip gloss to her face, and he found himself gulping at the sight of her.
"Tad dressy for breakfast?" He raised an eyebrow at her.
"Well I figured that we were going to be going right to the office afterwards, that way we can go over what needs to be taken care of in this first meeting with Firenze, before the actual meeting. Is it too much?" She asked.
"No, you look very nice." Was all he said in return.
He wanted to say beautiful, hell the word Pureblooded even crossed his mind. If he hadn't known her and had randomly seen her in public he would have assumed that she was indeed of pure blood. The way she carried herself, the way she looked, everything about her screamed Pureblood.
"Ready to go then?" She asked.
"As ready as I'll ever be to have breakfast with Potter and the Weaselette." He drawled, offering her his arm. She hit him lightly in the chest.
"Can you at least try and be nice?" She said, as they walked down the stairs and onto the street.
"That is me trying." He said in mock defense.
She laughed and shook her head as they walked down the street towards Rosa Lee's tea shop. She frowned quickly when she noticed out of the corner of her eye there was a photographer snapping their picture. She pulled her arm out of Draco's and turned her head so that the photographer couldn't see her face.
"What's wrong?" Draco asked when she pulled her arm away from his.
"There's a man taking photographs of us across the street." She said in a whisper.
Draco looked over her head and saw the man that she was talking about with his camera pointed in their direction.
"Ashamed to be seen with me?" He asked her. Her eyes shot up to his and she shook her head.
"No, I'm not Draco. I just don't like having camera's in my face. It's an evasion of privacy." She said.
"Technically he's across the street and not in our face. Now that you're back you ought to get used to it. Being a war heroine, finally being back after all these months, and now stepping out with me? It's no secret how we felt about each other back in school. It's going to cause a lot of gossip Granger."
"Oh so it's ok to be on the front of the Prophet if the scandal includes you hmm?" She raised an eyebrow up at him.
"Of course, my Mother will love it. Me being seen with Hermione Granger, the brains of the Golden Trio, London's sweetheart…it will do wonders for the family name." He said jokingly.
"Ah the truth comes out Mr. Malfoy! You're using me for my name! Who would have ever guessed that the great Draco Malfoy would need the lowly Hermione Granger to gain good status again in the social hierarchy?" She joked back as they stepped in to the tea shop.
"Good morning Mr. Malfoy! Your table is almost ready just give us one second please." The hostess said with a bright smile. As she turned to check on the table Draco placed his hand on Hermione's causing he to look up at him.
"You know that I wouldn't do that right? Yes it's true that the Malfoy's have fallen out of favor around here because of my Father, and Mother and I are trying to make our name one that has meaning and purpose again. But I wouldn't use you like that." He spoke softly. Hermione smiled up at him and nodded.
"I know Draco." She said, as the hostess returned and had them follow her.
Their table was set in the back of the shop, away from the others, and Hermione was grateful that Draco had asked for the privacy. They sat on the same side of the table and looked over the menus in silence as they waited for Ginny and Harry to arrive.
Ten minutes later they both stood as the hostess showed Ginny and Harry back to the table. Hermione came around and hugged them both while Draco just nodded to them out of politeness.
"How is Ron?" Hermione whispered to Ginny.
"He'll get over it eventually he's just being a hot headed dimwit right now. By the way, you look amazing!" Ginny said. Hermione blushed and looked down to the table.
"Thanks Gin." She said.
"You do look beautiful 'Mione. Even Ron mentioned something about it last night." Harry said, smiling at her from across the table.
Draco stiffened at Harry's words and both Ginny and Harry noticed the slight change in his body language. They watch as he shifted himself slightly towards Hermione and they both gave each other a curious glance.
The waitress came over and took their orders and brought them tea. Draco and Hermione had ordered a different kind from Harry and Ginny so they had separate pots set in front of them. Ginny watched with a raised eyebrow as Draco made Hermione's tea for her, while Harry watched with furrowed brows as Hermione buttered some toast and added marmalade to it. Hermione hated marmalade, so it was his turn to raise an eyebrow when she passed the toast to Draco and took her cup of tea from him.
"So you guys have a meeting with Firenze today?" Ginny asked with a beaming smile.
"Yes, I'm going to speak to him first and he's going to take back what I propose to the Council. We should hear back by later tonight or tomorrow what they decide and if we can move forward with another meeting with the entire Council, and finally get this lab underway." Hermione explained while making her own toast.
"Have you decided what you're going to do if they don't let you use their land Malfoy?" Harry asked.
"We have a backup plan, but it's going to end up costing a lot more money. We would need to get investors on board and finding people to work with us right now has been…difficult to say the least. I have a lot of money but not enough to completely fund the backup plan, continue funding it for the few years it will take to see any returns, and not go bankrupt." Draco explained.
"Have you thought about reaching out to the public to try and get back in their good graces? I know your Mother is on the committee for the Ministry Ball coming up. I think people seeing that she wants to help has been really good." Ginny said.
"My Mother enjoys those kinds of things and I definitely do not. It took her ages to get me to even agree to go to the ball, and the only reason I agreed is because it's for the re-opening of Hogwarts. I feel like I owe it…to the school to go." Draco said.
"Not to mention the generous donation you and your Mother made for the rebuilding of it." Ginny prodded.
Draco nodded and fidgeted in his seat, uncomfortable with talking so openly to the red head. She seemed nice enough, much more accepting than her brothers. Something he noticed Potter was having a hard time with as he watched different emotions flicker over Harry's face during the conversation.
"What ball are you guys going on about?" Hermione asked, as the waitress brought their food over.
"The Ministry has decided to throw a ball in honor of the school re-opening soon. The invitations were sent out months ago but you've been gone. I guarantee their going to want you there though." Harry said.
"When is it?" Hermione asked.
"Next week. Mother has been having dresses delivered from all over, I swear the drawing room at the Manor has turned into a dress shop." Draco said.
"Speaking of dresses I still need to get one. Hermione you should come with me! I was planning on going tomorrow with Angelina and Katie. We can get you one too!" Ginny exclaimed happily.
"Oh I don't know Gin, there was already a photographer taking pictures on our way here. There's bounds to be tons of photographers there and I don't need to give Rita Skeeter a front page story if I show up alone." Hermione said.
"Show up with me then." Draco said nonchalantly. All eyes turned to him.
"Don't you already have a date?" Hermione asked him. Draco shook his head.
"Like I said these types of events aren't really my thing. I hadn't planned on staying long and I was going along with Blaise and Pansy, Theo and his date. You should just accompany me." Draco said.
Hermione seemed to think about it for a few seconds before Harry opened his mouth and replied for her.
"I think it's a great idea 'Mione. Give Skeeter a real shocker of a front page. Not to mention the more you two are seen together the more attention it will bring to the lab project. Knowing that you are working on it as well will hopefully bring in investors if you need to use plan b." He said. Now all eyes were on him.
"Ok." Hermione said in a small voice, surprised to see Harry speaking in Draco's favor.
Ginny reached over and grabbed Harry's hand while smiling at him. He squeezed her hand and smiled back. After all, he did say he would try.
"Granger you're positively killing me in that outfit." Theo said, placing his hands over his heart, as Draco and Hermione walked into one of the meeting rooms in the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Department.
Draco shot him a narrow eyed look while Hermione just shook her head and laughed. Theo moved around the table to pull her chair out for her, earning an eye roll from Draco who took a seat next to her. Theo took a seat on the other side of Hermione just as the door opened again and the Department Head walked in with Firenze following close behind.
"Firenze it's so good to see you." Hermione greeted warmly, standing to give the Centaur a hug.
"You as well Hermione. I hope that we can reach some sort of understanding today, though I was surprised to hear that you are championing for Mr. Malfoy here." Firenze said, moving to stand across the table from them.
"It's for a very good cause I assure you. I understand completely where the Council is coming from, but if you would just take this proposal back to them I'm sure they will see reason. Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Nott are being more than fair offering to pay for the expansion of the Centaur territories if they will not take the winter shelters. This particular plot of land just happens to be rich in ingredients needed for the particular potions this lab is meant to be creating." Hermione explained. She slid the thick proposal across the table and watched as Firenze thumbed through it and nodded in approval.
"All I can do is try and convince them that this is a good idea Hermione. I can't promise anything other than that. I may have risen quickly through the Council ranks but there are still some who think the colony shouldn't have accepted me back." Firenze explained.
"We completely understand your situation Firenze. Any help would be greatly appreciated." Draco said. Firenze turned his gaze towards Draco for the first time and seemed to appraise him for a few moments.
"You seem to have changed a great deal since I saw you last Mr. Malfoy." He said.
"He has changed Firenze, this lab is for St. Mungos, and it wouldn't even be possible without him and Theo financing it." Hermione said. Both Theo and Draco looked at her and smiled in appreciation.
"And if the Council says no? What will your plans be then?" Firenze asked.
"If the Council says no then we will have to move the lab elsewhere. It will end up costing more in growing and harvesting ingredients and we will have to build the lab farther from St. Mungos. The more expensive it gets the more investors we will have to bring in. The more investors, the less control we start having. In the end it may not being helpful for the hospital at all. We know the Centaurs don't care much for humans but St. Mungos treats them as well at times do they not?" Theo calmly explained.
"They do, and trust me when I say that I am fully behind you in support of the lab. If they end up not agreeing to this simply because they do not wish to work with the two of you what should I propose then?" Firenze asked.
"We will cross that bridge when the time comes." Draco said simply. Firenze nodded and moved to go around the table.
"Well you will be hearing from me sometime tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest hopefully." He said, reaching out to shake hands with both Theo and Draco.
"If there is anything we can help with at all on either sides just let me know." The Department Head said.
"Thank you so much for everything." Hermione said, as she hugged Firenze and shook hands with the Department Head.
"Well that went better than expected." Theo said, once it was just them three left in the meeting room.
"I guess we will just have to wait and see what he comes back with." Hermione said.
"Anyone fancy a pint?" Theo asked.
"Theo it's barely past noon." Draco drawled.
"We had a late breakfast with Harry and Ginny." Hermione said. Theo raised an eyebrow towards Draco who just rolled his eyes at him.
"Well then, guess I'll just go down and bug Blaise for a bit before heading back to work." Theo said.
"Oh, I'll walk down there with you. I actually have a meeting with their Department Head here in a bit. I thought that this meeting would take more time." Hermione said, following Theo out the door.
"Meeting with the Department Head? I thought we discussed you overseeing the lab after it was created?" Draco said in a hushed voice, grabbing her arm gently to stop her.
"I said I would think about it. But I got an owl earlier this morning from the office asking for a meeting about a potential job here. I just want to weigh my options Draco." Hermione said softly. He pulled his hand off of her arm and a look Hermione couldn't quite place flashed in his eyes.
"It's just a meeting Draco, and even if I did take the offer, I made it clear that I wouldn't be available until after this was finished." Hermione said.
"I guess I just figured that you would take my offer. But of course you would want to be near your friends." Draco said, his voice taking on a tone he hadn't used with her since their school days.
Hermione frowned at him and opened her mouth to say something when Theo calling her from across the floor interrupted her. She turned to look at him and when she turned back towards Draco she realized that he was walking away from her towards the opposite lift for the floos. She turned and walked towards Theo with a sad look on face.
"Everything ok?" He asked.
"Yes, everything is fine." She sighed, stepping in to the lift.
"Is he upset about your meeting?" Theo asked, following her in.
"He's always upset about something." Hermione muttered, shaking her head. Theo laughed and nodded his head in response.
"You got that right." He said.
They stepped out of the lift and she followed him through the room lined with small cubicles until they came to one with Blaise Zabini's name on it. The dark skinned Italian looked up from his desk and smiled when he saw Theo, his smile faltered however when he saw that Hermione was with him. She raised a hand in a half wave and smiled softly at him, remembering Draco's confession that Blaise used to have a thing for her back in school.
"Hi Blaise." She said.
"Hermione Granger. I heard you were back, to what do I owe the pleasure?" Blaise said smoothly.
"She's here for a meeting with your boss. I'm here to bug you." Theo said, sitting down in a chair and propping his feet up on the table.
"His office is around that corner and three doors down." Blaise smiled at her, pointing her in the right direction.
"Thank you. Theo I'll meet you back at the office?" Hermione asked.
"I'll wait till your done and we can go back together." Theo grinned at her. She nodded and walked away towards the office she needed to be at.
"She sure grew up." Blaise said, watching her walk away.
"Amazing what new clothes and a little makeup can do for a woman. If only it were so easy for blokes like you." Theo joked.
"Ha ha ha." Blaise deadpanned.
"Why do you sit here day in and day out doing paperwork? You own a fortune Blaise, why are you working some odd job at the Ministry?" Theo asked, rifling through the things on Blaise's desk.
"Because believe it or not I find this kind of work meaningful. I start the next round of Auror training soon and then I'll be out in the field. I like doing this kind of stuff." Blaise responded. Theo gave him a funny look and shrugged his shoulders.
"Whatever makes you happy I suppose. Speaking of happy, how is Pansy?"
"More annoying than ever. She wants me to propose now, but I want to until after I'm finished with my training. It's not like she's after my money, her family has plenty of their own, so I really don't know what her rush is." Blaise answered.
"And this is why I'm single." Theo laughed.
"Speaking of being single, is there something going on between Draco and Granger?" Blaise asked. Theo swung his legs off of Blaise's desk and leaned forward in his chair.
"Why do you ask? Do you know something I don't?" Theo asked excitedly.
"Well Narcissa stopped by here the other day and asked me to tell her anything I could about Hermione. I thought it was an odd request that was coming out of no where. Until she told me that Draco had spent a few weeks with Hermione down in Australia and that she was coming back to help you guys with the Centaurs." Blaise said.
"I think something totally happened between them. You should see them together. Talk about sexual tension." Theo laughed leaning back in his chair.
"There's something I literally never thought I would hear." Blaise whistled.
"Yea it took me by surprise too. I get him asking her to help in this case, especially when I found out she knew someone on the Council, but I'm telling you when I found them in Australia they looked like they were about ready to shag each other on the dance floor."
"The dance floor? Draco was dancing? He never dances!" Blaise said.
"He was dancing Blaise I swear it. He bought her a flat, one that Narcissa oversaw the design of, put in a library for her and everything." Theo said, looking at his nails absentmindedly.
"What has she done to him?" Blaise asked with an incredulous look.
"What's who done to whom?" Hermione asked, walking back up to the cubicle.
"Talk about fast meetings this morning, done already Granger?" Theo asked standing up from his chair.
"Yea done already. What are you guys talking about?" She asked, leaning against the frame of the cubicle.
"Oh just talking guys talk. It was good to see you Hermione. Will we be seeing you at the Ministry Ball next week?" Blaise asked, changing the subject. Hermione blushed and smiled a small smile.
"Yes actually, I'll be attending with Draco." She said. Theo and Blaise gave each other a knowing look as Theo backed out of the cubicle and reached out to guide Hermione away.
"See you guys later." Blaise called after them, shaking his head and laughing.
Draco tried concentrating on his paperwork but found himself unable to stop thinking about Hermione. He gave a frustrated growl as he ran his hands through his hair and leaned back in his chair, turning it around towards the giant window behind him. He suppose he didn't really have a reason to be upset with her. After all she was right, she hadn't agreed to anything, she had said that she would think about it.
"Get a grip on yourself mate." He said to himself.
"Draco darling is something the matter?" His Mother's voice came from behind him. He swiveled his chair back around to face the front of his office where he found Narcissa standing.
"No Mother nothing is wrong. To what do I owe this pleasure?" He drawled, grabbing a pen and leaning back over his paperwork.
"I just wanted to stop by and see how the meeting went, and how Miss Granger liked her flat? I haven't seen you since you showed it to her." Narcissa said warmly, sitting across the desk from him.
"The meeting was short, Firenze can't promise anything, but he did say that we would hear from him by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest, so he's not wasting time which is good because we're down to a few precious days." Draco said, leaning back in his chair again.
"And Miss Granger?" Narcissa prodded.
"She loves the flat, although I haven't exactly told her that you designed it." Draco said softly.
"That's quite alright I plan on meeting her at some point, I wanted to personally invite her to the Ministry Ball." Narcissa said.
"She's going with me so there's no need for that." Draco said, a small smile appearing on his face. Narcissa's face brightened with this news and seeing her son smile.
"Well I must take her shopping for a gown then!" She exclaimed.
"She's planning on going tomorrow with Ginny Weasley and a few other girls from school that she knows." Draco said.
"Oh, well I'll just owl over to Twilfitt and Tattings in the morning and make sure they put her gown on my tab." Narcissa said.
"Mother what is your obsession with trying to buy Granger's approval? If you are planning something to try and use her to better the Malfoy name because of her status I would stop right now. I will not have it." Draco's voice was hard and final.
He stared into Narcissa's eyes from across the table and softened his hard expression when he saw the hurt flash in her eyes as her shoulders slumped. After a few moments she regained her posture and spoke.
"I am not your Father Draco. I respect Harry Potter and his friends for what they did for the wizarding world. I am not trying to buy anyone's approval or use anyone's status to make our name grand again. I am simply trying to befriend the girl who has besotted my son."
"I am not besotted by her." Draco shook his head and furrowed his brows. Narcissa gave him a warm smile and gently laughed.
"Draco you forget I am your Mother, I know everything about you Son. You may try and fool yourself but you certainly are not fooling me. You've gone through great lengths to make her come back and make her return comfortable."
"Merlin Mother she lost her parents, I would have done the same for anyone else in that situation that was coming back here to help me. What makes you think I have feelings for her?" Draco said.
The second the words left his mouth he heard laughter coming from the hall and looked up to see Hermione walk through the door with Theo following right behind her. Narcissa turned and looked behind her before looking back at Draco.
"Mother's intuition." She whispered with a wink, standing and turning to face Hermione and Theo.
A few minutes earlier
Hermione stepped out of the floo into Theo's office with Theo following right behind her. He dusted the soot off his robes before inspecting that she had gotten none on her white clothes.
"How is it that you don't get anything on those white clothes at all? Being careful is one thing but getting through a floo with no soot?" Theo asked incredulously.
"It's a simple charm I learned back in third year. I'll teach it to you sometime." Hermione laughed as they walked down the short hall to Draco's office. The door was slightly opened so she gently pushed it as she walked in, and quickly froze as she met the silver eyes of Narcissa Malfoy.
"Miss Granger. It's a pleasure to finally meet you properly." Narcissa said.
"And on that note I'll be in my office if anyone needs me." Theo said, walking right back out.
Hermione's eyes shifted from Narcissa to Draco, who was staring intently back at her, waiting to see how she would react. After a few moments Hermione looked back to Narcissa and gave a small nod.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Mrs. Malfoy…properly." She said. Draco let out the breath he had been holding when he saw a small smile cross Hermione's face.
"I hear you're going to be accompanying Draco to the ball next week. I'm glad he found a reason to go, he usually refuses to attend these things." Narcissa said.
"Mother!" Draco scolded.
Hermione laughed at the look on Draco's face and took a few steps closer to the desk, forming a triangle between herself, Draco and Narcissa.
"I think he had planned on attending this one already. We decided that it would be beneficial for the new lab to perhaps get some press on the two of us working together. It was Harry's idea honestly."
"Hey I asked you before Potter opened his mouth about the press." Draco frowned.
"You suggested I tag along with you and your friends. It's not the same as actually asking." Hermione said.
"I dare say not. For your sake Draco you should hope that someone else doesn't ask Miss Granger properly, or you will find yourself without a date." Narcissa laughed.
"The ball isn't until next week, there is plenty of time for a suitable man to ask me." Hermione goaded, as Narcissa nodded her head in agreement.
"As a matter of fact Miss Granger, I happen to know that Terence Higgs still doesn't have a date for the ball. His Mother and I are on the committee together."
"I remember Terence from school. He was always such a nice boy, especially for being in Slytherin." Hermione said, giving Draco a smirk.
"You two are absolutely ridiculous." Draco said incredulously, as the two women started laughing at the look on his face.
"Mr. Malfoy you have a floo call from St. Mungos." A lady's voice sounded from a device on Draco's desk.
"I'll let you get back to work darling. Miss Granger it was a pleasure, I would love if you would join us for dinner sometime before the ball?" Narcissa asked.
Hermione looked at her and shifted uncomfortably. Seeing her distress Narcissa immediately straightened and shook her head.
"Of course I understand that coming to the Manor wouldn't be comfortable for you." She said softly. Hermione relaxed instantly and smiled at her.
"Thank you for understanding Mrs. Malfoy, I'm honestly not sure if I'll ever be able to go there again." Hermione said.
"Of course dear." Narcissa nodded.
"Perhaps dinner at my flat would be more preferable?" Draco offered softly. Narcissa looked at Hermione hopefully and smiled when she nodded her head in agreement.
"Till then Miss Granger. I look forward to it." Narcissa said, before turning and disappearing through the floo.
Hermione turned to walk back out of the office so that Draco could take his call but Draco called out after her.
"Where are you going? I'm interested to hear how your meeting went." He said. Hermione stopped with her hand on the door and looked back at him.
"You have a floo call Mr. Malfoy." She quipped.
"So wait till it's over. I'm sure it won't take long." Draco argued. Hermione smirked at him as she opened the door.
"I think I'll go and research just what Terence Higgs is up to these days." She said, before disappearing out the door.
Draco just stared at the spot where she had just been with a look of shock mixed with annoyance. He shook his head as he went to allow the floo call to come through. A couple weeks of hanging around him and Hermione was starting to act like a Slytherin.
Hermione looked up from the book she was reading as she heard a tapping at the window. She was currently curled up in front of the fireplace in her library, Crookshanks in the chair opposite her. She stood and went over to the window, opening it to reveal a large Eagle Owl carrying a letter.
"Well hello handsome. What do you have there?" She asked as the owl settled on the sill of the window.
It held out its leg for her to take the letter as she scratched its head. She took the letter and set it on the sill, turning to go retrieve a treat for the owl from the kitchen. When she came back she found Crookshanks sitting on the floor looking up at the owl who was staring down at the cat with its feathers ruffled.
"Crookshanks leave the handsome boy alone." She scolded her cat as she held her hand out for the owl to take the treat. It hooted happily at her and nuzzled her hand before taking off after one last stare down to Crookshanks.
She shut the window, picking up the letter and turning it over to open it. She didn't recognize the owl, and there was no writing on the outside of the letter, but when she opened it she recognized the writing on the inside immediately. She smiled and shook her head as she read the familiar script.
Hermione,
Will you do me the honor of accompanying me to the ball next week?
Yours,
Draco
P.S. Terence Higgs has been called out of town that evening. Seems that Puddlemere United finally decided to give him a tryout. So sorry he's not available to take you.
P.P.S. Did I mention that their manager is a friend of mine?
"Prat." Hermione shook her head and laughed to herself as she went back to her place by the fireplace and picked up her book.
She tossed the letter into the fire, much to Crookshanks' distress, and laughed as she watched the cat try to catch the letter in midair before it landed in the flames.
"You're giving in too easy Crooks. It's fun to make him squirm." She laughed, opening her book and continuing where she had left off.
Crookshanks sniffed at her and walked out of the library.
Author's Note: Please please please review! Your guys' reviews are literally what keep me going!
