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The potion had been on the market for two weeks and already the response was more than they could have hoped for. While they knew that the potion wouldn't be a necessity forever, since there was only a select group of people that actually had need of it, it seemed that those who did need it were eager to try it and had found the results quite satisfactory.
With Hermione's check in hand, Draco walked into St. Mungos and headed to the ward where both Jasmine and Hermione worked. Jasmine sat behind the desk as he approached, scribbling away at a pile of charts before her and didn't look up at him until he was standing directly in front of her desk.
"Hey, what brings you here?" She asked warmly.
"I've got something for Hermione. Is she around?"
"She's with a patient at the moment, but she should be done here in a minute. In fact, both of our shifts are over in a few minutes and we were planning on going dress shopping, you want to come?"
Draco quirked a brow at her, "Dress shopping for what? And why would I ever want to go dress shopping?"
Jasmine rolled her eyes, "Dress shopping for my wedding; my Mom wants me to start looking and since Hermione is my maid of honor we're going to look for a dress for her too."
"Wait a second…Hermione is your maid of honor?!"
Jasmine nodded with a smile plastered on her face.
"When did this happen?"
Jasmine waved a dismissive hand, "I've gotten close to her and since I don't really have girlfriends she was my best choice since I couldn't have you. And the reason I want you to come today is so that we can have a male perspective."
"What's in it for me?" Draco asked, ever the Slytherin.
"Well, whatever color Hermione's dress is will be the color tie and vest you have to wear."
"Fine, I'll go."
Hermione emerged from a patient room at that minute and walked to the desk where Draco and Jasmine were waiting. Draco still wasn't sure how Hermione Granger had become Jasmine's maid of honor, but then he never did pretend to know what was going on in a woman's mind; even if that woman was his best friend. Not that Hermione was a bad choice, it was just strange.
"Draco is going to come shopping with us." Jasmine announced happily as she sorted through some things on her desk and pulled her bag from a desk drawer.
"I've been forced." Draco inserted. "Also, I have a check for you. The success of the potion has been wonderful and we expect to see these numbers every month when a new bottle will need to be purchased."
Hermione nodded and accepted the check from Draco. She didn't want to seem rude by checking out the amount, but she couldn't stop herself; she was just too curious to know. What she saw shocked her; the reach of Malfoy's company was truly vast, because she never even imagined such a number from just England.
"Now you can plan that trip to Australia to see your parents, right Hermione?" Jasmine asked.
Hermione just shook her head dumbly, still blown away by the amount on the check.
"I can see your shock and let me just assure you that the potion is selling for a reasonable price, nothing too expensive."
"I know; it's just…not what I expected."
"Well, get used to it, Granger." Draco grinned. "Now let's go get this bloody shopping excursion out of the way so I can go home and relax."
Xxx
It seemed easier for both girls to try on dresses simultaneously while Draco sat on the overstuffed sofa before the wall to ceiling mirrors on the opposite wall. Both girls had just disappeared into two separate rooms, each with an attendant, with their first selections. Draco hadn't bothered to look at either one of their choices before they took them in, so he was going to be truly surprised when each of them emerged.
Hermione came out first, dressed in a green dress that reached just above her knees. He, of course, liked the unexpected Slytherin color on the Gryffindor's skin, but wasn't too thrilled with the cut of the dress that hinted at sort of being maternal wear. It was an empire waist, gathered just below her breasts, with just one strap made of ruffles, which he wasn't too thrilled about either.
"So, what do you think?" Hermione asked as she stood up on the little pedestal in front of the mirrors.
Draco grinned, "I like the color."
"I don't think Jasmine is thrilled with the green color." Hermione replied. "I don't like this dress, do you?"
Draco shook his head, "It looks like you could be pregnant."
Hermione's eyes widened, "Do I look fat?"
Draco wanted to slap himself. That was not what he meant. "No, it's just not a very attractive cut for someone who isn't pregnant and has curves."
Thankfully Jasmine emerged then, effectively breaking the awkwardness that had filled the area when Draco stuck his foot in his mouth.
"Whoa, did you pluck a swan to make that dress?" Draco laughed.
"That's what I was thinking." Jasmine agreed, looking down at the dress disdainfully. The cut was similar to Hermione's and the skirt was complete fluff and basically just hideous. She had no idea why she had even tried it on; she certainly had not liked it on the rack any more than she did on herself. But the attendant had been so sure that it would look great on her. No more listening to her apparently.
"I don't like yours either, Hermione."
"Good." Draco said. "How about for this round, I go find something for each of you to wear because from what I can see of what your attendants have picked out its going to be a lot more of this trash."
Jasmine sighed, "Fine, but be serious. I know you do have good taste, Draco, so use it. And remember this is a September, outdoor, wedding."
The girls waited patiently while Draco stalked around the store searching for a dress for each of them. Jasmine was pretty confident of him, but Hermione didn't know what to think. She knew that Draco had style, but that was mostly in men's wear.
A few minutes later Draco came back with a wedding dress in hand.
"I want to see this before I find one for Hermione." He said as he handed the dress over to Jasmine.
Since they had abandoned their attendants, Hermione followed Jasmine into the dressing room to assist her in getting the ugly dress off and Draco's choice on.
The girls both gasped at what they saw once in the dressing room. It certainly wasn't what either had been expecting, but both were excited to see what it looked like on Jasmine. When the two emerged from the dressing room, Draco was patiently waiting on the couch and when he saw Jasmine, he smiled wide; no trace of arrogance in sight, just a pure smile at how beautiful his best friend looked.
The dress was very classy, something Jasmine had never imagined for herself, and something her mother would love. Usually she would love the opposite, but at the image of herself in this dress, she knew it was the one for her wedding. The dress was full skirted with crystal embroidery and gathered at the left side of her waist, making her waist look even smaller than it already was. It was a sweetheart neckline; however, lace ¾ length sleeves laid overtop covering the tops of her breasts as well as her arms.
"You look beautiful, Jasmine." Draco beamed.
"This is the one, Jasmine." Hermione agreed.
Jasmine nodded, still staring at herself in the mirror. Once she snapped out of it she walked over to Draco and threw herself into his arms. The two friends held each other for a moment until Jasmine pulled away, tears of happiness shining in her eyes.
"You are the best friend a girl could ask for."
"No need to get sappy."
"Shut up and let me enjoy this moment." Jasmine laughed as she slapped his chest lightly. "Okay, now go work your magic and find Hermione a dress."
"Any color preference?"
"Something that will compliment both of you."
When Draco returned with something dark burgundy in his hands both Jasmine and Hermione looked at each other quizzically. Draco Malfoy had actually picked out something remotely close to red?
"Before you say anything; this is dark burgundy and nowhere near Gryffindor color. Plus, this color happens to go well with my pale skin and light hair and will also look good with Hermione's dark hair and eyes. Now go put it on and see that I'm right."
When Hermione emerged from the room Draco did smirk in satisfaction. He had been completely been right about this dress, just as he had been with Jasmine's. The dress fit Hermione like a glove, giving no allusion of pregnancy whatsoever. The dress was strapless and floor length and gathered from breast to mid-thigh pulling towards Hermione's left, making her waist look tiny. He could barely take his eyes off of her.
"Looks like we need to take you shopping more often, Draco." Jasmine commented. "Hermione, you look amazing. I love that color on you!"
Hermione still couldn't believe her eyes as she gazed into the mirror at herself. She loved it and was hoping that Jasmine would decide that was the dress she wanted her to wear. As her eyes lingered on herself in the mirror, she caught Draco's eyes watching her from his reflection and blushed at his close scrutiny.
"I love it." Hermione stated simply as she turned away from the mirror. "Is it what you want for your wedding, Jasmine?"
"As long as you like it, this is absolutely what I want. I can't believe we've gotten this done in one trip! And with the help of Draco no less! Wait until Theo hears this!"
"There will be none of that." Draco said sternly. "We are to tell no one that I found these dresses; especially Theo."
Jasmine laughed, "You know I'm going to tell him anyway. Besides, it isn't a bad thing Draco, you have a good eye for what looks good on a woman and there is nothing wrong with that. Is there, Hermione?"
Hermione shook her head as Draco's eyes turned to her again; frankly scanning her from top to bottom appreciatively. She would be lying to herself if she said she didn't like it, because every time she caught him doing so she felt a rush of pleasure as well as a rush of embarrassment.
After Jasmine and Hermione put down the minimum payment on their dresses, Jasmine left in a hurry saying that she needed to be home for Maggie leaving Hermione and Draco alone. The two gathered their things and put their coats on in silence until with a look the two of them headed for the door together. After holding the door for Hermione, the two of them stepped out into the still chilly air of April and began to walk down the sidewalk.
"I have to say, you really do have impeccable taste, Draco." Hermione said, breaking the comfortable silence that had descended upon them when Jasmine left.
"Thank you."
"When did you develop such an eye for woman's dresses?" Hermione asked, half joking.
But Draco was serious when he replied thoughtfully, "I suppose from my Mother. She never did have a daughter, and often I would find myself in her room watching her try on dresses for her evenings out with Father. While I was there she would make comments about certain cuts and colors that went well with her body and those that didn't."
"Are you close to her?"
Draco shook his head, "As a child I was, but as soon as I hit puberty I was forbidden by my Father to enter my Mother's chambers. After that we lost our easy companionship."
"Where is she now?"
"After Father died she took off for France. She hasn't said anything, but I'm sure she has a lover there. As long as she's happy, I'm happy for her. But we aren't close. What about you and your parents? Jasmine mentioned that they're in Australia?"
Hermione nodded, "I obliviated them before the war and sent them to Australia. Once I restored their memories they decided that they liked it down there and decided to open an office down there, they're dentists, muggle teeth healers."
"I think I knew that." Draco smirked. "That's why I couldn't understand why you had buck teeth for the first four years at Hogwarts."
Hermione blushed at the memory of her unfortunate front teeth, but when she remembered why she no longer possessed them she had to smile. "I suppose I have you to thank for that. If it wasn't for that jinx I would still have them. When Madame Promfrey was fixing them I had her fix them a little bit more than necessary to get them back to normal."
Draco laughed out loud at that. He was happy to see that she had benefitted someway from his horrendous behavior towards her.
"Anyway, as an only child I was always very close to my parents in the first eleven years of my life. Hogwarts disrupted a bit of that, but we were still very close up until the point that I had to obliviate them and send them away. While we don't talk as much as we used to, we still manage to stay in touch quite often. That's why I want to go visit them this fall; after Jasmine's wedding of course."
They continued on in a comfortable silence again for a while until they turned down an ally to what was a designated apparation point within the muggle streets of the city. They both turned to look at each other once they halted and began to speak at once.
"Fancy an omelet?"
"Want some dinner?"
The two laughed at their antics, and then Draco signaled for Hermione to speak first.
"Well, I was going to suggest going to my flat and getting some take out, but I think I heard you say omelet and that sounds much more appealing."
"Omelet at my place then?"
"Sounds good."
With that said, Draco took Hermione's hand and apparated them into his flat.
"You're becoming quite a pro at this omelet making thing, huh?" Hermione asked as Draco headed to the kitchen and washed his hands. Hermione worked on taking off her coat as Draco started to pull ingredients from his refrigerator.
"Are grape tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions okay?" He asked.
Hermione nodded, "I think that's what you did last time and it was delicious."
"I like making omelets." Draco admitted as he went to work and Hermione sat at one of his bar stools. "However, it is the only thing I've really mastered in that cookbook Jasmine got me. I did try a meatloaf, but it didn't work out too well."
"I make a pretty good meatloaf." Hermione stated. "I'll have to show you my method sometime."
Draco looked up from the skillet and grinned at Hermione, "What about tomorrow night?"
Hermione was caught off guard by that question, but recovered quickly and said: "I do have the ingredients on hand."
"Good, I'll be there at six."
"Bring the wine."
"Done."
Xxx
Somehow Draco found himself roped into shopping again the very next day after the very successful first shopping venture. The only difference was this trip was less enjoyable. Not only was Jasmine's mother, in complete mother of the bride attitude, in attendance, but so were Jasmine's two nieces and Maggie. It was chaos, and Draco was expected to help wrangle the rascals. How he got roped into this he had no idea. One minute he was dozing in his bed wondering what wine to take to Hermione's tonight and the next Jasmine had flooed into his flat with Maggie yelling that she wouldn't suffer alone.
He needed to be paid for this job as her best friend.
The point of the shopping trip was to find dresses for the three little girls and Jasmine hoped that Draco's sense of style would step in and save the day once again. Mostly she wanted this to be over with as soon as possible. Her nieces were wild and when Maggie was around them, she was too.
Currently the three little girls, aged six, five, and two, had locked themselves inside a dressing room and had refused to come out. The oldest had declared she was sick of trying on scratchy dresses and the two younger ones had been quick to go along with her. Jasmine and her mother were standing on the other side of the door doing their best to coax the girls out, but to no success.
With a sigh, Draco stood up from his place on the overstuffed sofa and went to search the racks for appropriate flower girl dresses. Anything that could be scratchy was immediately eliminated and hating over fluffy dresses himself, even on little girls, he set about searching. When he finally found the right dress he grabbed three in the appropriate sizes and marched back to where the girls were still locked inside.
"Girls," He said sternly, "if you don't come out now and try on these dresses, there will be no ice cream after this shopping trip and you can believe me on that. Your Grandmother may be a push over, but I'm not. Come out now."
Mrs. Bishop, while appalled at what he had called her, had to admire what he had just done. Because only a second later the door opened and three very chastised looking girls came out. Draco stared back at them evenly and handed each one their respective dress. He then took his seat back on the couch and waited while Jasmine and Mrs. Bishop helped get the girls dressed.
When the three of them came out again, Draco smirked in his triumph yet again. The girls looked adorable in dresses of crème with a burgundy sash around their waists that tied in a big bow in the back. The skirts flared out and both of the older girls were twirling around, watching the dress flare out around them and giggling.
"See, what did I tell you Mum? Draco has good taste."
Shortly after that Jasmine, Draco, and Maggie left Mrs. Bishop and Jasmine's nieces and headed back to Jasmine's new flat for Maggie's nap time. After the incident in the dress shop and the constant rubbing of her eyes, it was apparent that the little girl was tired and grumpy and in need of a good nap.
It was Draco's first time at the new flat since she and Theo had moved in, and he was pleasantly surprised when he walked through the door.
"Hermione helped you with the furniture?" He asked curiously.
Jasmine nodded, "She has a good eye, just like you. But I needed a woman's perspective for the warmth. If I wanted the sophisticated leather look I would have gone to you."
With that said, Jasmine headed down the hall with Maggie to put her down for her nap. Draco followed her out of the living room and into Maggie's purple room. All her furniture was white and her ceiling had been charmed so that every once and a while a dragon would fly in the blue sky, when it was day, and the stars, at night.
"Who did the ceiling?" Draco asked. "It's brilliant."
"Theo did; he's pretty good at that sort of thing apparently."
While any other time, Maggie would have insisted on a story, this time she didn't and instead immediately shut her eyes and snuggled down in her blankets. The two took that as their clue to leave and headed back out to the living room.
"So, what are your plans for the day?" Jasmine asked casually as she bent to pick up the bag she had dropped when they'd arrived.
"I'm actually going to Hermione's for dinner."
"Really?" Jasmine asked with a pleased smile and quirked eyebrow.
"She's making meatloaf and I'm bringing wine."
Jasmine had to fight hard to keep her mouth shut; she wanted to make a lot of innuendos about his relationship with Hermione, but figured that would only hinder her cause and not help it along. Instead she smiled passively and nodded her head in understanding.
"I just don't know what kind of wine I should bring."
"Hermione doesn't like dry wine." Jasmine said. "Actually we were just talking about this the other day when the topic of wine came up for the wedding. She likes real fruity wine."
"So that means no Merlot."
"Exactly."
Xxx
After having searched all over the place for a suitable wine, Draco finally arrived at Hermione's flat with a bottle of wine in hand. He had been assured by the guy at the shop that this was a very fruity wine that seemed to be popular with many of his female customers. Draco wasn't sure if he would like it, but that didn't really seem that important to him in the end anyway. He was getting a home cooked meal, so the least he could do was provide the drink of the cook's choice.
Hermione opened the door to Draco with a smile, the delicious aroma of her meatloaf and potatoes wafting out of the flat and into Draco's nose. He returned the smile and held up the bottle of wine in offering.
"Oh, that looks good!" Hermione exclaimed as she accepted the bottle from him and let him into the apartment.
After the door was shut behind him, Hermione headed into the kitchen, leaving Draco to stare down Crookshanks who had just sauntered into the living room as if he was the king of the place.
"Cat." Draco greeted coldly and watched as Crookshanks pranced past him without a care in the world and boldly claimed his spot on the couch.
Hermione let out a laugh as she walked back into the living room, "You two are ridiculous."
"I can't help that your cat doesn't like me."
"Well, you don't like him either."
"Very true."
Hermione shook her head, a small smile playing about her lips as she did so. Draco had always been funny around animals. Just the thought of Buckbeak brought an even wider smile to her face, but she said nothing. Of course, considering his incidents with the peacocks, she really couldn't blame him for his behavior towards other animals.
"Maybe someday you will find an animal that you do like, besides an owl." Hermione commented.
"It's doubtful."
"We'll see." Hermione grinned. "Anyway, dinner is ready if you are."
"Sounds wonderful, I'm famished. Jasmine made me go flower girl dress shopping with her mother, two nieces, and Maggie."
"And let me guess: you saved the day again by finding the perfect dresses for the girls?"
Draco smirked, "You are smart, Granger!"
"Well, that's what I'm told anyway." Hermione laughed as she placed the platter of meatloaf on the table, followed by the bowl of potatoes, and the bowl of green beans. "It's not too fancy of a meal, but something I enjoy nonetheless."
"It all looks and smells delicious." Draco assured her as he speared a piece of meatloaf.
Sure enough Draco found Hermione's meatloaf pretty tasty. Their meal passed by with small chatter and even when their plates were cleared they sat there, the wine flowing, just talking about any and everything that came to mind. He even found himself opening up about what happened in the Slytherin common room; knowledge that was only supposed to stay between Slytherins.
"You seriously sat around and planned ways to take down Gryffindors?" Hermione laughed.
"Not all the time. We threw massive parties as well and on occasion had a good game of truth or dare. In fact, that's how I found myself with Pansy attached to me for my whole Hogwarts experience."
"Wait… what?"
"First year I was dared to kiss her on the lips; after that moment she was stuck to me like glue. Of course me being a Malfoy also helped that along."
Hermione laughed, "Well, I sort of knew about the plotting about us Gryffindors. Ron and Harry took polyjuice in second year to look like Crabbe and Goyle to see what you were up to. And while you weren't exactly plotting, you weren't very complimentary."
"Did they really?! I had no idea!"
Hermione nodded her head enthusiastically, "Yes! I was supposed to go with them, but let's just say my polyjuice experience didn't go as planned."
Draco quirked a brow, "What does that mean?"
"I'd rather not say."
"You have to now!"
"No, I don't."
"Oh come on, Hermione. It can't be that bad can it?"
"I accidentally got a cat hair and turned into some cat mutant thing."
"Oh wow, it can be that bad."
Hermione threw her napkin at his face.
A little while later, Draco had to interrupt their conversation and seek out her bathroom. Once inside, he took care of business and tried to stop himself from looking through her stuff. She kept the bathroom very neat; the only things out on the counter were a soap dispenser, bottle of lotion, and a little bowl of potpourri. It was tempting to open the cupboard above the sink, but he stopped himself.
Coming out of the little bathroom he noticed the open door of the room across the hall. This time he let his curiosity get the better of him and walked into the room. It only took him a minute to realize where he was; he was in Granger's private library. The walls were covered with bookshelves filled to the brim, and in the middle of the room were a desk and a few comfortable looking arm chairs.
Draco moved around the room, taking in book titles as he did so. There was a whole shelf full of different editions of Hogwarts: A History and he had to laugh at that. His laughter drew Hermione's attention and a few seconds later she appeared in the room.
"I see you found my library."
"And your shelf full of the same book."
"They're different editions." Hermione said defensively.
Draco chuckled, "Meredith is obsessed with that book as well."
Hermione nodded, "Well, when one grows up without any knowledge of the place the book is quite fascinating."
"Understandable. I guess I grew up taking the place for granted because I knew all about it already."
"I wouldn't say you knew all about it; Hogwarts has many secrets."
Draco grinned, "Very true."
Silence descended upon them, causing Draco to take a look at the clock on the wall above the doorway. It was getting late.
"Well, I better take off."
Hermione nodded and gestured to the fireplace in the room. Draco took a handful of the powder and stepped into the fireplace with a last smile at Hermione.
Xxx
Draco woke up the next morning earlier than he would have liked, but when he remembered his lack of exercise lately he realized it was probably for the best. While he hadn't been eating as much of Meredith's sweets lately, he still could use a good swim this morning.
Draco rolled out of bed, grabbed his swim trunks, and headed into the bathroom to change. One of the deciding factors in choosing this complex was the pool located in the basement of the building. Growing up at the Manor, they had had an indoor swimming pool and he had learned to swim at a very young age. As he grew older, he realized it was the perfect exercise for him; working all the regions of the body he wished to at one time without even realizing it thanks to the coolness of the water.
As usual, the pool was empty when Draco arrived. Most of the people in his complex were older and while there was a pool aerobics class it was generally held in the afternoon, which left the pool empty for his morning and late night swims.
Throwing his towel onto one of the chairs, Draco jumped in, the sound of the splash echoing off the tiled walls in the room. He immediately went into doing laps around the pool, his arms slicing through the water cleanly and propelling him forward.
He'd completed about a dozen laps when he heard the door to the pool open. He didn't pay much attention to it, however, because it wasn't unusual for one of the cleaning people to come through to check the filters and the towel bin. So he continued doing his laps as usual.
Finally satisfied with his workout, he stopped and hauled himself out of the water. Standing there at the side of the pool dripping, he noticed that the person that had entered the room was not a cleaning person. Instead, Hermione Granger stood there staring at him openly and appreciatively, clutching what looked like a man's jacket in her hands.
Hermione had seen him doing his laps when she first entered and decided to wait him out instead of trying to gain his attention; he looked pretty focused. However, she was not prepared for what she saw when he hauled himself out of the pool right in front of her. His shoulders and arms were finely sculpted from his efforts in the pool, leading down to an equally impressive chest. He was pale, but that hardly mattered when she noticed the slightest hints of a six pack. Then her eyes caught on the waistband of his short black swimming trunks. She was used to trunks that went down to the knees, but he wore trunks that only reached his mid-thigh, showing off finely sculpted, yet pale, legs.
When her eyes finely ventured back up to his face, he was grinning which meant that she had been a bit too obvious with her gawking.
"Good morning, Hermione." He practically purred as he reached past her to grab his towel. She almost sighed in disappointment as he toweled himself off; taking away those enticing droplets that clung to his muscled chest. "What brings you here this early?"
She swallowed heavily before she was able to reply, "Um…I have some errands to run today and I noticed you left your jacket last night and thought I'd bring it to you before I went on my way. Instead of just flooing into your place, I went to the front desk and they told me you were in here."
"Well, thank you for bringing it back." Draco smiled, wrapping his towel around his waist. "Where are you headed off to today?"
"I'm actually going to my parents' house."
Draco's brow wrinkled in confusion, "I thought your parents were in Australia?"
"They are, however, they didn't sell their home here. Instead, I've been renting it out for them. The tenants just moved out and I need to go in and clean things up and make some repairs."
"New tenants?"
Hermione shook her head, "My parents suggested I move in, but I'm not sure how I feel about that yet. Instead, I'm just going to go over there and make sure things are alright. The house will probably sit empty for a while; I might decide to sell it."
"Would you like some help?" Draco asked. "I don't have anything on my agenda today."
Hermione looked hesitant. She really would enjoy his company, but she was sure that they would have their work cut out for them even with the aid of magic and she didn't want to treat him as some form of common labor.
"It's going to be a lot of work; I wouldn't want you feeling like a common laborer."
"No, I want to. Look, let's go back up to my flat so I can get dressed and we'll go."
"If you're sure…"
"Yes, I am."