Hermione woke up around noon on Saturday. She was feeling absolutely refreshed. She had gotten a decent nights sleep and her dreams were pleasant. She was ready to face the day. As she was walking to her kitchen to make herself some tea she spotted Narcissa's owl sitting on her dinning room table. Hermione felt the tingles of excitement run through her body as she went to take the letter from the feathered creature. Not even bothering to wonder how he got inside her flat.

She quickly unrolled the piece of off white parchment and ran her fingers over the elegant script.

My Dearest Hermione,

I had a truly wonderful evening last night. Thank you for accompanying me. I know this is terribly rude of me, but we're having a small get together at Malfoy Manor this evening and I was hoping you would join us? I'm sorry for inviting you last minute and I will understand if you have prior engagements. You may bring a date if you wish and you don't need to bother dressing up. It's just an informal get together with some of our friends. It starts at 8 p.m. but being fashionably late to these things is quite normal.

Yours,

Narcissa

Hermione didn't need anytime to ponder her decision. She would be going. She briefly considered bringing someone, but thought better of it. She was now fully admitting to herself that she wanted Misses Malfoy and there was also the small problem of Draco. She paused for a moment. She couldn't believe she had forgotten about Draco again. She had told him that her schedule would be terribly full this weekend and that she didn't know when she would be able to see him. She would have to come up with some sort of story about how her schedule had suddenly cleared. In the back of her head she knew that she needed to let Draco down and be honest with him. But she figured she would have plenty of time for that…later.

Hermione went to make herself breakfast after she sent off her response. She checked the clock hanging on the wall. She had seven hours to get ready. She knew that she had plenty of time to waste the day away before she had to start getting ready. She spotted the book that Narcissa had bought her on the couch. She decided that she would spend her afternoon reading it and relaxing until it was time to get ready.

Four hours passed without Hermione even noticing. She jumped up from her comfortable spot on the couch when she saw the time. She knew that she always got lost in time when reading and she scolded herself for not setting an alarm.

She briskly walked to her room and spent thirty minutes picking out some clothes. Although Narcissa said that it would be casual, that word had an entirely different meaning to pure bloods. She would never consider showing up in something casual to a Malfoy party. She finally decided on something that she had bought when she was out shopping the Narcissa. It was fancy but it didn't look like she was trying too hard.

Hermione then started a bath and took to getting ready for the night. By eight o'clock she was nearly ready to walk out the door. However Narcissa made it seem that it was expected that she show up late. If only she had told her how late would be acceptable. As if on cue an owl appeared at her window.

8:30 was all the note had said, and Hermione smiled to herself at how well the blonde knew her. It was surprising how close the pair had become in such a short amount of time. She had always thought of Misses Malfoy as untouchable but after spending time with her she realized that the older witch was more human then she would have ever thought possible.

Hermione sat back down with her book, picking up where she had left off. This time she made sure to set a timer. At 8:25 the buzzing noise filed the room. Hermione walked over to the mirror and smoothed out her attire. It wouldn't do her well to show up in a wrinkled mess. She smoothed down a few irreverent strands of hair. Taking a deep calming breath Hermione stepped into the fire place and called out her destination.

The world flashed before her and the sight of the now familiar Malfoy foyer came into view. Hermione stepped out and brushed a few smudges off of her blouse. To her surprise Narcissa Malfoy was waiting there for her with a huge smile plastered on her face. Hermione felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. She also was grateful that she had decided to wear an outfit that was more than casual, as she took in what Narcissa was wearing.

"I'm glad you could make it."

"I wouldn't of missed it," Hermione replied with a half smile.

Narcissa offered her arm and led Hermione away from the fire place.

"Can I get you something to drink?"

"Sure...I mean yes, please."

Narcissa started to raise an eyebrow in question to what she wanted but Hermione caught up, "I'm sure whatever you order for me will be great."

Narcissa led them over to the bar. The elf behind it was quick to rush to the older woman and fulfill her order.

There was a slight lull in their conversation and Hermione took the time to look around the room. There weren't nearly as many people as there was at the last party she had attended here. There was also something different in the air this time, but Hermione choose to ignore it and focus on her drink. She could certainly use something to take the edge off of the tension she was feeling.

"Thank you for inviting me."

"Honestly it was my pleasure, I wanted you here."

Hermione felt her insides warm up at that statement she grabbed her drink firmly and downed the rest of it in one go.

"I'll grab you another one, don't move."

Hermione seemingly had no choice. She waited right where she was told, she was almost afraid to move a muscle. The time alone gave her a chance to survey the room a little more in depth. She noticed Mister Malfoy standing off to one side of the room talking to a blonde that looked to be only slightly older than herself. From their body language it was clear that the pair was flirting with each other. There were only four other people in the room. They were off to one side having what seemed to be a very intense debate.

Hermione looked over her shoulder when she heard a door open behind her. Her stomach instantly dropped as she saw who had just walked in. She was sure fate hated her when Draco spotted her immediately and walked over to her.

"Hermione, what a surprise to see you here," the excitement on his face was unmistakable.

"Your mother was kind enough to invite me, and my schedule had seemingly cleared up."

"That's terrific. Can I get you a drink?"

Hermione had never been more grateful for a conversation to be interrupted in her life, she was terrible at lying and she didn't know how much longer she could pretend that she had any interest in what Draco had to say. She was waiting for her enthralling blonde to show back up.

"No need Draco," Narcissa said in a flat tone as she handed the drink in question over to Hermione.

Hermione took it and started to consume it at a rate that was far from lady like. Narcissa smirked to herself at how well she knew the girl and she was glad that she had actually ordered two more drinks. If the brunette was to keep up her current pace then Narcissa would be spending the whole night at the bar ordering drinks for her.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Draco queried.

"Yes," Hermione's answer was quick but Narcissa was the only one who noticed the edgy tone in her voice.

"May I get you something to eat?"

"No thank you."

Narcissa's mind started working in overtime and she came up with a devious plot to keep Draco away from Hermione. She really just wanted to spend time alone with her girl. The plan was no where near perfect, and given more time she was sure she could of thought of a better one, but this would suffice for now.

"Draco would you be a dear and grab me some hors d'oeuvres? Make sure to get enough incase Hermione changes her mind."

Draco being raised as a pure blood was more than happy to assist in anything that his mother would ask him, "It would be my pleasure."

Hermione shot Narcissa a thankful look.

"Did you have a pleasant day?" Narcissa said in attempts to start a conversation.

"Quite. I got a chance to read the book you purchased for me."

"That sounds lovely. I'm glad you are enjoying it."

"Most definitely. It's perfect. Did you have a nice day?"

"It was okay. I had some last minute errands to run to, finalizing the menu for this evening, and making sure everything was in order for tonight."

Hermione didn't have a response so she brought her drink to her lips, to her surprise it was empty. She didn't recall doing that.

Narcissa chuckled at the confusion that was written on Hermione's face. "Here, I got you another one," she said as she exchange the empty glass for a full one.

Hermione knew that she should slow down on her drinking, she could feel the buzz starting to swim around her body. She felt looser and she noted that she didn't feel nearly as tense as she had when she arrived.

They continued in conversation for a few more minutes before Draco arrived with a small plate filled with different foods. Narcissa took the plate and stared carefully at it. She selected something that looked like a cracker with different spreads and garnishes on it.

"Here try this," she said. Instead of handing it to Hermione she held it out so she could take a bite. Narcissa's eye's grew darker as Hermione let out a soft moan and licked the taste off of her lips. Unbeknownst to the two who were caught up in their little world, Draco was starring intently at Hermione.

After a few minutes of tense conversation Narcissa turned to her son, "Draco be a dear, go see if everything is coming along with the elves."

"Of course."

As Draco wandered off to the location of the nearest elf Narcissa held out her hand to Hermione, "How about a tour of the gardens."

Narcissa was pleased that the brunette had agreed, she was hoping that it would take a little longer for Draco to find them if they were out of sight.

As they walked out into the cool night air a slight shiver ran through Hermione. Without a second thought Narcissa wrapped her arm around Hermione and pulled her in close trying to help warm her up. They stayed like that as the older woman led them around pointing out the different rare flowers that littered the garden. She was almost certain that Hermione wouldn't remember most of it from the way she was swaying on her feet.

They finally reached the inner most part of a garden. The house wasn't visible from this spot. There was a tree with a bench under it that faced a small fountain. "This is beautiful," Hermione breathed out.

"I'm glad you enjoy it. It's one of my favorite spots to sit and enjoy nature." The first stars of the night were becoming visible and Hermione took a seat on the bench. Narcissa following. Hermione leaned into the blonde's side and Narcissa instinctually wrapped an arm tightly around her.

The two sat in silence letting time slip by them, Hermione looking at the night sky while Narcissa was content to sit and look at the expression on the brunette's face. As Hermione turned to speak she was taken aback by how close the other woman was, but she was more surprised at how comfortable it felt.

"I'm having a lovely time."

"I'm glad. I'm having a much better time now that you're here," Narcissa purred out as she swept a strand of hair away from Hermione's face letting her hand linger longer than what could be considered platonic. Hermione felt every ounce of alcohol she had consumed running through her veins. It was putting everything into a haze and all she could seem to focus on was the older woman.

Unsure if it was the liquid courage that was provoking her to speak what was on her mind, Hermione felt an overwhelming need to blurt out what she was thinking, "You're so pretty."

It was Narcissa's turn to blush. "Thank you."

"I mean it." Hermione said through a giggle. She was getting braver and she let her hand rest high up on Narcissa's thigh. "I like you"

Narcissa let out a slight chuckle at how the usually eloquent girl was behaving. She couldn't say that she minded though. "I like you too."

Hermione did a small fist pump, she was excited to be reassured that she wasn't misreading the signs that she had seen.

"I want to kiss you." Hermione half slurred.

"Oh yeah," Narcissa stated. She was enjoying the lighter side of Hermione and she was making a mental note that maybe she should make Hermione drink around her more often. It certainly brought out what the girl was really thinking instead of leaving her shy and embarrassed.

Narcissa's eyes darted to the younger woman's lips as she was closing in she heard the noise of heavy foot steps on gravel. In a moment of clarity she pushed Hermione back just in time to see Draco rounding on them.

"There you are."

"Yes I was just taking Hermione for a tour of the gardens."

"I could of done that," Draco said with a pout.

Narcissa was relieved to notice that Draco was acting like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. She was positive that he hadn't been privy to their conversation and actions moments before he showed up. Narcissa choose not to respond to him. If she had her way she would be the only one taking Hermione for tours of anything.

"It's almost time for dinner. May I escort the two of you back to the house?"

Hermione was unusually quite during this exchange. She choose not to look at Draco but instead choose to focus on the curves of Narcissa's body. Narcissa stood up pulling Hermione up with her. She grabbed her son's arm and waited for Hermione to grab the other one so he could take them to the house.

Hermione stood staring at the pair for a moment. She didn't want to be led anywhere by Draco, she missed the warmth that came with Narcissa. She ignored the arm that was being offered to her and choose to grab Narcissa's free arm instead. The older blonde couldn't help but notice the way Draco was pouting. Then she noticed the smile that was playing on Hermione's lips and she couldn't help but feel lighter on the inside.

The trio walked back to the house in near silence. As they entered they heard an elf announcing that dinner was served. Draco led them to the dinning room Where he pulled out a chair for his mother. Hermione not wanting to see where Draco would seat her plopped down in the to the left of Narcissa. She was clever enough to make sure there wasn't an empty seat on the right side of her. Narcissa chuckled at this while Draco stormed off to the only available seat further down the table.

As the first course was being served Narcissa felt a light pressure running up along her thigh. She was slightly startled but kept her composure as she investigated. When she looked down she saw that Hermione was raking her nails up and down her exposed skin. For Hermione's part she was acting like everything was normal. She was vaguely listening to whatever boring thing the man across from her was saying.

Narcissa gingerly picked the brunette's hand up and set it back in it's owners lap. Giving it a few soft pats in hopes that Hermione would understand and leave her hand there. For the most part Hermione behaved herself, but as she downed yet another strong drink she found herself caring less and less what was appropriate. Her hand slowly found it's way back over to Narcissa's skin.

After a few round Narcissa gave up trying to make the girl behave. At this point she was just trying to keep her composure through dinner and willing it to be over already.

I'm aware that this is probably a terrible place to stop. However I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer and I have to stop writing for the day. I am also aware that I flat out suck at updating. I will say that I want to update more often but I am not finding the time to do so. Therefor I have no idea when the next update will be. I'm hoping to have this story finished up in about the next three chapters though.

As always thank you so much for reading, I sincerely mean that. You guys make me want to finish this story for you.