"Your mother?" Hermione asked. "Narcissa is a ghost?"
"The first time she showed up, I lost it. She isn't a very strong ghost, at least not yet," he explained. "She's where I got the idea about imprinting from. I'm not surprised you haven't seen her. She's very picky about where she haunts."
"That sounds like her. I didn't know your mother well, but she obviously cared a lot about you, and she was clearly a woman of distinctive taste," Hermione said.
"She would have liked to hear that. Actually," he turned and looked behind him. "Just kidding, she doesn't like it in here. I don't either."
"Why would you eat every meal here then?' Hermione asked incredulously.
"Because it's how things are done," he tried to explain. "I've always eaten all three meals in here."
"Have you ever thought about branching out once in a while?" Hermione suggested with a small smile.
"I don't know," he said a little shyly. "It would be weird."
"Maybe one day I'll surprise you," Hermione said with a secretive grin.
"Can…" Draco started, and then cleared his throat. "Can I show you something?" He stood and offered Hermione a hand up out of the chair.
Hermione nodded and took his hand, and he pulled her towards the entrance to the dining room. He pulled her down the hall and she jogged lightly to keep up with his large stride. After a few twists and turns, he pushed open a glass door into a greenhouse of sorts. It was October, so the weather had been starting to chill, but in the greenhouse it was warm. She tried to think of what this room in a Manor would be called.
"This is the conservatory," Draco said, pulling her farther in through the exotic plants and flowers. There were even trees there! She pulled a palm branch and a group of bright orange butterflies scattered. Hermione giggled, but kept up with Draco, following just behind him.
"The Conservatory is nice," he said as they exited into the cool evening air. "But this is what I really wanted to show you." He pulled her into the maze, and Hermione was dizzied by the twists and turns he took her on, but he seemed confident that he knew the way in. Finally he stopped in the very center of the maze, where there was a stone bench with black iron detailing.
"It's so strange, seeing this sea of green in every direction," Hermione commented looking from side to side at the maze around her.
"And yet the sky above doesn't give you pause?" he asked, coyly. Hermione followed his gaze and saw the most beautiful starscape overhead. It was almost as detailed as what she'd seen over Hogwarts at night. Here there were just about as few lights as there were at Hogwarts. Nothing could detract from the shining of the stars.
"Sit," he whispered. Hermione obeyed and he sat next to her. His arm was casually resting on the back of the bench. It didn't touch Hermione, but she was a bit chilled in her sleeveless dress, and almost wished he would. "Just keep your eyes on the sky until I tell you to look down," he whispered in a reassuring voice.
Hermione had no problem obeying that order. The sky was so vast and beautiful above her. She hadn't had the time to see it lately, especially not with this detail. She hadn't had a vacation in over 4 years. Working with the Order had really taken a toll on her life, and now, sitting in a garden maze with Draco Malfoy of all people, she felt like she could finally relax.
"Ok," Malfoy whispered. "Now look, but be very still."
Hermione lowered her head slowly and came eye to eye with a winged creature holding a teeny tiny lantern. She held her breath, trying not to screech, but as her eyes adjusted, she saw a bunch of the creatures floating around, playing on the maze walls, dancing amongst the grass.
"Are they fairies?" Hermione asked in a hushed tone, not wanting to spook the one near her face.
"Yes, they're actually quite famous," Draco said rather proudly. "They're the Cottingley Fairies. Some nasty little girls took photographs of them and Arthur Conan Doyle used one of the photos, so all the tourists ruined the fairies' natural habitat. They traveled around for years, never having a home, until one of them made friends with my Mother. She had this maze built so their fairy circle could be safe, and in return, the fairies grow the garden on the other side of the maze. They use their magic to make it the most beautiful garden in Britain, because they knew my mother had a brown thumb."
Hermione smiled at the fairy in front of her nose, and held out her hand. The fairy eyed her warily, then sat cross-legged on Hermione's outstretched palm, at eye level. She set down her lantern, and Hermione could feel the tiny heat waves radiating from it, but it did not burn her. The fairy then grabbed a lock of Hermione's hair and started braiding it.
Hermione giggled and the sound made Draco smile. He hadn't been out to see the fairies at night since his Mother had died. They just didn't trust men as well as women. He was glad he could introduce them to a new woman, and vice versa. Hermione seemed happy as a clam, watching the fairy braid her hair, moving her palm down like an elevator every time the tiny hands needed more hair.
When the fairy finished braiding, she tied the end of Hermione's hair into a knot and grabbed her lantern. She blew Hermione a kiss, which seemed a very human gesture, and flew away, blending in to the cacophony of lights around them.
Hermione leaned into Draco, feeling too happy to worry about touching inappropriately or being too forward. "Thank you for showing me the fairies," Hermione said softly.
Draco wrapped his arm around Hermione the rest of the way, pressing his palm against the cool skin of her shoulder. "You're welcome. They like women better than men, anyway."
"Some muggles believe in them, you know. They believe that only those who have engaged their third eye can see fairies," Hermione said, remembering an article on Theosophy.
"Sounds like something Trelawney would say," Draco commented, resting his head on hers.
Hermione's insecurity got the best of her and as always, when confronted by an intimate situation, she started spouting off facts. "Actually, their depictions of fairies were pretty similar to what these fairies look like, but theosophists think fairies are the size of humans. That would be crazy, right? A human size fairy with big honkin' wings walking around?"
"Hermione," Draco said, putting a finger up to her lips to silence her. "Shh." He kissed her forehead, and laid it back on the crook where his shoulder met his chest.
Hermione closed her eyes and inhaled his scent slowly. It was intoxicating, and made her want to nuzzle her head into his chest and feel its warmth, but she felt that might be going too far. She still felt like she was walking on eggshells with Draco. She knew that this would not be the kind of situation she'd ever find herself in if she were back in the real world. They simply weren't destined to be in that way.
Draco looked down at the woman in his arms. Sitting like this, together, seemed almost perfect. It was the closest to feeling whole he had in a long time. He was so surprised when she didn't shudder at his touch. It was almost like she trusted him.
He felt a warm tingling feeling overcome his body. No! he thought to himself sternly. You can't get involved with her. You just need to make her trust you enough so that she can be the sacrifice. You have to break the curse. He tried to focus on the matter at hand, but his heart was confusing his mind with thoughts of Hermione.
He moved to get up, but Hermione's weight was dead against him. He realized she must be asleep. Wow, she really did trust him. The idea was really shocking to Draco. If only tonight were the full moon, he'd be set. Too bad he had two weeks to go.
He lifted her up into his arms, and began to walk out the way he'd come in the maze. Then, thinking better of it, he whistled to the nearest fairy. She came near his mouth and he whispered to her. She giggled and flew in front of them.
The fairy exited the maze in a beeline, the walls moving away from her as she went, leaving a straight path for Draco to leave. It would have taken too long to find his way in, anyway. He wondered for a moment if Hermione would remember the fairies. He imagined they had to be much more pleasant than the nightmares she was bound to be experiencing in that room. He almost felt a pang of guilt at leaving her up there, but he pushed it out of his mind. If she was well rested and on her game, it would be harder for him to do what he needed to do.
The little bit of guilt he felt a moment ago cut at his stomach again. He decided to leave her in one of the docile guest rooms. He dropped her on the first floor, in the room next to the library. If she asked, he would tell her he couldn't carry her up to the tower, but in all honesty, he hadn't wanted to set foot in there. As he looked down at her slumbering face against the silvery white pillows, he almost wished he could keep her. But no, that wouldn't be possible.
It had to be done, no matter how much he enjoyed her company.