I am so completely and terribly sorry for not updating sooner. I have been swamped with school and have not had time to sit down and write anything worth posting. Hope you'll all keep reading!
Chapter 10
It was altogether different to talk about having Draco in her apartment, than to actually have Draco in her apartment. She could feel her hands clamming up slightly as her nervousness reached a whole new peak. Why in the bloody hell was this so nerve wracking?! It's not like anything was actually happening. Or going to happen. No matter how delectable Draco looked in his suit. Nope. Nada. Nothing happening.
So why was she clamming up? It was so simple; make dinner, serve dinner, turn on telly, watch Star Wars. Except it wasn't that simple at all. It wasn't just dinner, it was dinner with Draco Malfoy. In her apartment. And it wasn't just watching the telly, it was watching Star Wars with Draco Malfoy. In her apartment. And that was just a whole level of potentially awkward that Hermione simply did not want to reach.
Oh, for the love of god. She hadn't realized that her courage had apparently taken an unauthorised leave of absence. Telling Draco that she would just be a moment, Hermione turned towards the kitchen of her moderate flat and bent to take a pizza out of the refrigerator.
But naturally, Draco Malfoy being Draco Malfoy, did not heed her advice and had promptly followed her into the kitchen and asked what a refrigerator was, making her jump and become expressly aware that her arse had only moments before been on display, sticking up into the air. And she had said that nothing was going to happen.
Deciding not to dwell on the moment, she began to explain the inner workings and functions of a refrigerator, however, not before she heard him almost inaudibly clear his throat. Like she said, nothing was going to happen. No matter how much she seemed to affect him.
To her surprise, Hermione found Draco to be quite interested in all the muggle appliances that she had pointed out to him. And when he told her that he finally understood all the weird boxes in his own apartment, her jaw noticeably dropped.
"Y-yo-you live in a muggle neighbourhood?" She stuttered at him.
Draco looked slightly affronted for a moment, "Yes, I do. Why is that such a revelation?"
Hermione stuttered even more. "Wh-why is that a revelation? Because you're Draco Malfoy!" Thankfully, Draco dropped the affronted look and laughed again. Merlin, her was doing that a lot.
"Yes, I do realize that Hermione, thank you," He told her still chuckling and she looked past her confusion to glare at him. Conceited prat. "After the war, my mother and I refused to live in the manor, so she bought a cottage by the sea where we both lived for a while. However, I began craving independence and decided to purchase a flat for myself. Muggle London was a perfect choice – anonymity, after all, is my best friend, Hermione. So there. Now you have my entire life story."
She could understand that – it was, after all, the exact same reason why she lived in muggle London. But wait, something didn't add up. "How could you live in muggle London and not know what a refrigerator is, Draco? What on earth do you eat?"
To her increased confusion, he just laughed at her. But as she watched him laughing, she recognized more of the fundamental differences between Draco and Ronald. While Ronald had often laughed at her as well, it was often condescending and with slight derision. Draco laughed because he generally found her remark amusing. The difference was spectacular.
"Hermione, I think you might have greatly overestimated my expertise. Just because I live in a muggle flat, does not mean that I have clue about anything involving muggles.
When I don't eat with my mother, I usually just grab something in Diagon Alley."
Ah yes. "The Malfoy fortune makes another appearance, does it?" She asked him.
"Precisely, Hermione, precisely," Draco answered chuckling still. "I have only been living there for three months so the effect still hasn't been felt but I think I really should start eating at home more."
"Well, we're having pizza today, so you can start today. You don't mind eating pizza from the oven, right?" Please don't be like Ronald, please don't be like Ronald. It would be really nice to be with someone who's okay with eating pizza.
"Hermione, I don't know what pizza is. Or an oven for that matter. Although seeing as you're going to be eating it as well, I can safely assume that you are not poisoning me," Draco replied evenly.
Chuckling Hermione replied, "I am not poisoning you, Draco. Honestly, do you have so little faith in me?"
"Of course! I remember what a hellcat you used to be in school, Hermione. My personal motto has become 'proceed with caution,' " he answered, chuckling.
Hermione laughed outright. Hellcat. That was a new description. She didn't mind being known as a hellcat. "Wait, how do you know that muggle saying, Draco?"
"I may not know anything about all those muggle boxes that you have, Hermione, but I am not completely clueless when it comes to muggles. My company, Malfoy Enterprises, works in the real estate market here in London. That sign was mandatory to put up on the entrance to one of my construction sites according to muggle laws," Draco replied.
Her jaw dropped. Again. How was it possible for one person to continually astonish her at every street corner? First it was living in a muggle neighbourhood – that she could understand as Draco's own need for anonymity was most likely higher than her own. But running a company that operated in muggle London? That just blew her away. Introduce dropped jaw.
"You run a company in muggle London?" Hermione asked disbelievingly.
At these words, Draco sighed audibly and looked a bit affronted again. "Look Hermione, I know that my current life choices are likely to be a great shock to you considering my past but I am really trying to start anew and I would appreciate it if you would give me the benefit of the doubt."
"Oh Draco, I really didn't mean anything by it – I was just momentarily astonished because the information was so out of the blue. I think it's wonderful that you've gone so far to try and start anew. Why don't you tell me about what your company does while the pizza finishes baking?"
And so, while the pizza finished off in the oven, Hermione listened as Draco explained his company's dealings in detail, describing the different properties he owned and projects he was interested in. She was particularly flabbergasted, again, to hear that he hired an older gentleman, a squib, to act as his company liaison as he didn't understand the muggle world all that much. Fishing two wine glasses and a bottle of elderflower wine out, Hermione asked him about how he managed to control his business without being too involved in the muggle world.
Draco replied eagerly, and one could clearly see how enthusiastic he was about his work. "Well, when I first began working, I put in an advertisement into the Daily Prophet looking for an assistant who had knowledge of the muggle world to help me out. I used an alias of course, since otherwise I doubt I would have found anyone to help me. Thomas was the first person to apply for the position, and after explaining my reasons for using an alias, he agreed to work for me. Thomas brought me some books on muggle contract law, which gave me the knowledge I needed to write up my various contracts. So basically, now he acts as the company liaison, going to meet with clients and such, while I do the background work and gain a reputation for being that mysterious, brilliant, and wealthy CEO," he finished grinning.
When you put it that way. She was still a bit astonished at how much Draco Malfoy had really changed. At the restaurant, it was more like she noticed that he talked and laughed more and seemed more at ease. And was much, much, much nicer. Much nicer. But talking to him now, Hermione realized that he was pretty much a different person – so much about him had transformed that she barely recognized the man in front of her as the Draco Malfoy that she thought she knew.
He was completely intriguing. Taking the pizza out of the oven, Hermione asked, "So, Draco. What things have you learned about the muggle world from your escapades as a mysterious, brilliant, and wealthy CEO?"
"OH!" His eyes lit up in merriment. "A couple of weeks ago I discovered this fantastic thing called coffee! I was at a business lunch with a couple of American hotel owners and they were drinking it. Being the well mannered person that I am, I partook and was given the heaven that is cofffe," Draco finished grinning a hundred-watt smile.
Hermione almost doubled over from laughter. Draco Malfoy getting this excited over coffee?! What a sight to behold. "You mean to tell me, Draco, that you have never had coffee up until this point?"
Draco shook his head vigorously and leaned over the counter towards her. "Indeed I have not. But no worries, my lady, I am most definitely not giving it up now."
"Ooh! The pizza is ready!"
Draco looked sceptically at the large, round, cheese covered monstrosity currently sitting on Hermione's countertop. "This is pizza?"
Hermione sighed. "I know it may not look particularly appetizing, but I promise you that the taste is to die for, Draco. Just try some!" Cutting her dinner partner a piece, Hermione watched in anticipation as he eyed the piece critically before letting out an audible sigh and taking a bite. She grinned in triumph when Draco's eyes widened and he hastily took another bite of his pizza. So the little pureblood did like it.
"Hermione, this is really good! I didn't think that something that looked so disgusting could taste so good, but wow!" He proceeded to virtually gobble down the entire piece, looking exceptionally silly in Hermione's opinion. She couldn't help but let out a small giggle, drawing Draco's attention away from his thorough devouring of his piece of pizza.
As soon as his eyes met hers, he closed them in absolute mortification, picking up the napkin to hide the stretching blush on his cheeks. "Oh merlin, Hermione, I am sorry. Where the hell have my manners gone. I most likely looked like some kind of animal eating like that. Oh merlin, what on earth came over me?"
Frankly, to her he just looked like Ronald did during every meal. The fact that he was mortified at his own behaviour, led Hermione to believe that she might have finally found someone with better manners than she was used to. What a concept.
Draco was still muttering to himself, refusing to lift his head and look her in the eyes. "What would mother say if she saw me like that… way to royally fuck it up, Draco."
Deciding to take pity on the pitiful display in front of her, she reached out to put her hand on his bicep and used the other to lightly raise his chin, forcing him to lift his head. Still, the boy was extremely stubborn and kept his eyes downcast. Without even thinking, she brushed a hand over his cheek, startling him enough to open his eyes.
"Draco, what say we just forget that anything ever happened, ya?" He nodded quickly, his eyes never leaving hers and she suddenly found herself virtually unwilling to tear her hand away from his cheek. They, however, were far too close for comfort. It was when her eyes dropped down to his lips for a mere moment that she took her hand away from his cheek and stepped back, licking abruptly dry lips and clearing her throat. As Hermione chanced one more glance at Draco, she thought she noticed a faint longing in his eyes before he too cleared his throat and schooled his expression. She had been saying something about nothing happening? Right.
Without further ado, Hermione grabbed a plate, two pieces of pizza, and her wine glass and headed towards her couch where Star Wars awaited, motioning for Draco to come along. "Okay, so remember what I was saying about movies, Draco?"
"Yes, you told me earlier that they were like books with moving pictures and sound."
"Right, well this is Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. I'm not going to outline the plotline as you can gather that from the actualy movie, but I am going to warn you that there are going to be a lot of things moving, loud sounds, and bright pictures. I know it sounds like I'm treating you like a child, but the last time I showed a wizard a movie, they fell off the couch in shock. I'm taking precautions," Hermione told Draco matter of factly.
Draco smiled at her and moved to grab his other piece of pizza. "Hermione, I appreciate you letting me know. I am beyond intrigued by this black box that's supposed to show me a moving book."
She smiled and her heart warmed a bit. Ronald had never really been interested in anything from her muggle life. When she had begged him to watch some tv with her once, he had dutifully sat by her but proclaimed every few minutes that he could be spending his time playing quidditch. Nevertheless, she hadn't pestered him into watching the telly with her again. To have Draco sitting next to her, enthralled and excited to watch a movie, did very funny things to her heart.
They settled down to watch and Hermione found herself frequently looking over at Draco, amused to no end to see his eyes wide and trained on the screen. It was as he let out a small wow, when some complicated stunt move was executed, that she let out a giggle – Draco's head snapped up to look at her and a huge smile took over his features. Smiling in return, she turned her eyes back to the movie and let out a small gasp as she felt Draco's arm move around her and give a little tug to pull her closer to him. Not trusting herself to look into his face, Hermione steeled the butterflies in her stomach and leaned against Draco's side, resting her head on his shoulder, and placing her hand lightly on his stomach. On his very, very, hard stomach. She could honestly feel the ridges of his abs through his shirt. Dear Merlin.
How was a girl supposed to think with abs like that right under her fingers? Fuck. She thanked whatever deity looked over these types situations that her face was hidden from view so that the extraordinary blush creeping across her cheeks remained unseen. The rest of the movie passed in a blur for Hermione as the little draws of breath that Draco took every time she moved were much more interesting. Much more interesting.
As the credits rolled, Draco moved a little so that he could see her face and donned a contemplative look. Her curiosity peaked, Hermione asked him what was on his mind.
"Do you remember when I mentioned that I wanted us to get to know each other better? Well I was thinking that there was no better way for us to get to know each other than for you to give me a muggle education!"
She looked at him enquiringly. What in the name of merlin? "A muggle education?"
"Yes! I don't really know much about muggles, so I thought that we could you know, spend time together with you teaching me about the muggle world. Instead of me taking you out on dates to merlin knows where, you could show me around a world that I've never had a chance to thoroughly explore."
He truly was fantastic. She had barely spent two days with him, and Hermione Granger was already attached. "Draco, that is a splendid idea. Absolutely splendid."
"You can show me where you can get pizza and coffee!" He remarked with a laugh.
"Sounds like a plan, Draco."
Placing a kiss on her cheek that made Hermione suck in her breath, Draco tightened his arm around her and settled down to watch the next instalment. The last thought that crossed Hermione's mind before she became to captivated with the movie, was that this was how it was supposed to be.