Hermione refused to speak to Ron that night. She locked herself in the bedroom when she got home and would not let him in. She apparated out of the house the next morning without a word, grateful for the distraction work would provide.
It helped right up until she walked past the newspaper, and saw Draco on the cover, with a single word headline underneath.
Werewolf.
That was it. That was all they needed to say, apparently.
The picture they used must have been old. It looked like it was from when he was still at school. She could barely recognized him. Smug and condescending, this Draco scowled out from the newspaper, apparently unconscious of the derision leveled at him. He bore no resemblance at all to the man Hermione had gotten to know over the last year.
She snatched up the paper and apparated to her flat. "Did you do this?" she shouted, storming toward Ron and shoving the newspaper in his face.
"I did, yeah." He responded, folding his arms and looking self-righteous. "I thought people had a right to know."
"You absolute-"
She broke off as Dean Thomas cleared his throat. Glancing around, she realized that her living room was filled with people. Harry and Ginny sat together on a chair. Dean, Seamus, and Neville were all scattered about the room.
"We should probably get going," Neville said.
"No." Hermione took a breath. "Stay. Please." She turned on her heel and walked to the bedroom.
Two minutes later she was back with a bag packed.
Ron rolled his eyes. "You can't run off to your mum's every time we have a fight."
"You know how I feel about werewolf identification," she snapped.
"And you know how I feel about it. Not to mention how I feel about Malfoy." He glanced around at his friends. "She's been 'helping him' for nearly a year."
He was obviously expecting some sounds of support, but everyone was trying very hard to pretend they weren't there.
Hermione walked to the door, but before she could open it, a knock sounded. She found Draco on the step, looking nervous.
"Hi," he said, hands in the pockets of yet another absurdly expensive suit. "Sorry, I'm sure you're busy, but-
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Ron roared, lunging toward the door.
Hermione ignored him, but pulled the door half-closed, to protect Draco from her boyfriend's rage. She looked apologetically at Draco. "Have you seen-"
Draco nodded. "I get The Prophet."
"I am so sorry. I had no idea he would-"
"DON'T APOLOGIZE TO HIM. HE'S A BLOODY DEATH EATER!"
Draco waved away Hermione's apology, and followed her lead in ignoring Ron. "It was going to come out eventually. That's not why I'm here."
She raised her eyebrows.
He held his arms out wide, half turned to each side. "Do I pass?"
"Oh! Your date! I completely forgot."
Ron scoffed behind them. "You have a date? Who would go out with the likes of you? She'd have to be mad."
Hermione flicked her wand and Ron went silent.
She took the time to study him carefully, gave a slow nod. "Everything except the bowtie," she said, reaching forward to untie it. In a flash, she'd transfigured it into a pocket square, folded it, and slid it into his pocket. "Perfect."
"He has a point," Draco said, frowning at Ron.
"No, he hasn't. Not in the least. I think you're actually quite likeable."
At his disbelieving look, she sighed.
"I mean it. You are scrupulously polite. Even when you hated having me there, you always held doors and offered refreshments. You're unexpectedly considerate. And you're actually quite funny. You'll do just fine."
Ron, in the background, had taken to trying to shout. He was waving his arms madly and mouthing what appeared to be profanities. When it looked like he might charge, Hermione casually petrified him.
"The tie was . . . ?" Draco asked, deciding to pretend he hadn't heard the thump of her boyfriend hitting the floor.
"Not impossible to pull off, but not terribly common either."
"I see."
She gave him the once over. "I approve. I'm sure Annie will as well," she said, smiling as though her boyfriend was not currently petrified and silenced on the ground beside her.
"Alright." He breathed out. "Good." He wiped his hands on his pants. "I'm nervous."
She smiled. "Excellent. That just means you like her enough to be worried."
He pursed his lips, clearly unsure how he felt about that idea.
"Good luck," she said.
"Thanks." He started to turn away, then paused. "I pay, correct?"
"Yes. Well, not necessarily. You could go Dutch, but I'd say – especially considering, you know," she gestured to the suit, "that you should offer to pay. If she offers to split it, decline the first time. If she insists, accept gracefully." She closed her eyes and shook her head. "The feminist inside me loathes me for saying all of that."
He smiled. "Doors and chairs?"
"Yes," Hermione decided after a moment. "She was charmed by the hand thing, so she will probably like that." She paused. "Doors are definitely safe. Play chairs by ear."
He took a deep breath. "Ok."
"You'll be fine. Just be yourself."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Don't be Hogwarts you," Hermione said. "That would be a trainwreck. But current you should do just fine."
The moment he walked away, Hermione did the counter spells to free Ron. Then she picked up her bag and walked out the door.
"I thought we were done with this breakup makeup bollocks," he shouted after her.
"No one said anything about making up," she said quietly as she walked away.
a/n Thanks for the reviews. I'm crazy busy at the moment, so I probably won't be responding to them, but they get sent to my e-mail inbox and give me a swift kick in the pants to hurry up and edit/write/post the next chapter :-)
