Thanks again for the reviews! Here it is :)
Hermione was incredibly nervous. She'd never really been on a date before, not properly, because she and Ron were already friends.
The cream dress fitted her perfectly, and she put in some golden dangly earrings and a gold necklace to finish the outfit off. She had tried to make the effort, and so wore a little more make up and straightened her hair (a lot harder than she thought it would be!).
As always, Hermione was ready early. She perched herself on the edge of her bed, deep in thought. The idea of going on this date was incredibly nerve-wracking, and her stomach was twisting itself in knots. Of course she was excited though, because Will truly was a handsome guy. Her certainly knew how to wrap her around his little finger.
Maybe that was what Zena had warned her about. Perhaps he was just too much of a charmer. But Hermione could deal with that, surely? She had faced death, what could be more difficult?
A knock on the door signalled his arrival, and when she opened it, he looked her up and down and gave an impressed whistle.
"Someone's looking sexy," he grinned.
He was wearing an outfit not too dissimilar to Malfoy's every day wear, except of course he looked much different than when she had last seen him.
He proffered his arm to her and she slipped hers through it, feeling important and, well, special. Nobody had ever noticed her for her looks before. If anyone wanted to spend time with her it was to finish their Transfiguration homework or research something for a Charms essay.
Will took her to a rather flashy looking restaurant somewhere in the centre, and she tried not to gaze in awe at the place around her. It was just so... expensive looking. She'd never been taken anywhere like this before.
Will had made a reservation and they were shown to their seats immediately, but Hermione was a little disappointed when he didn't pull out her chair for her. He wasn't being deliberately rude, but she was just disappointed that men didn't seem to have those kind of mannerisms towards women any more.
"So, Hermione," he said while they waited for the menu, and winked. "How are things with you?"
"They're going ok, actually," Hermione said, smiling. "It's been difficult, but I'm finally coming to terms with it all and trying to get over it."
Hermione waited for an answer, and then realised that Will was conversing with the waiter about his starter and wasn't even listening to her. He didn't even offer for her to order first!
She was beginning to wonder why he was acting so differently than he seemed to yesterday. Most of his manners had seemed to waltz right out of the window and he didn't look as if he cared in the slightest.
As the waiter walked away, Hermione shot a confused glance at Will. "I didn't get to order anything..." she began.
Will waved his hand airily. "Don't worry, I ordered for the both of us."
Ignoring her shell shocked expression, he poured some red wine into his empty glass and swirled it around before taking a sip and humming appreciatively.
Hermione was getting a little annoyed already. "So what has happened for you to work here then? Is it permanent, or do you 'go on' too?"
"We're like your friend Sirius Black. Special cases, because the Ministry needs people to work there. If your friend decides to stay longer, then he'll probably be offered a job too. Although we can hardly make our way around there without getting lost!" he joked.
Hermione laughed, finding herself relaxing as his manners seemed to return a little and he was polite and attentive.
Mid-way through their fishy starter, which Hermione wasn't particularly fond of, she spotted something. Or someone.
The restaurant was adjoining to the bar next door, clearly owned by the same people, and the connecting wall had been knocked through so you could see the bar next door. Hermione's chair was facing this way, and over Will's shoulder she could see the definitive blonde locks of the boy who lived next door sitting alone at the bar, chatting to the bartender.
She put her head down quickly so he wouldn't spot her and continued eating, although the food was starting to make her feel sick so she pushed it away and hoped that Will had picked a nicer main dish.
He hadn't. Yet again it was something Hermione didn't enjoy, and she was confused as to why he hadn't let her choose her own food in the first place. It was really rather odd in her opinion.
As she looked up from pushing her food around her plate, trying to hide the disgusted look on her face, she made contact with those grey eyes and they looked at each other for a moment. Then she saw his eyes flicker to Will and back to her and he realised she was on the date that he'd seen Will ask her to. He looked away.
She sighed, annoyed that she wasn't keeping her promise to Sirius because Malfoy was acting strangely. Actually, now she came to think of it, he was acting like the spoiled, fussy brat he'd always been.
"... and so I told him that he couldn't just waltz into my department and order me around like that. He soon got the message after I threw the folder he was trying to shove into my hands at his head."
Hermione pulled herself back into focus and saw Will looking at her expectantly, so she let out a not all that convincing laugh, but it seemed to please him and he winked at her again.
Why was he acting like such a letch?
The final straw came for Hermione when she realised he'd ordered a chocolate sundae for desert and he wanted them to share. Normally she wouldn't have minded, but he kept trying to spoon the ice cream into her mouth as if they were romantically involved already.
He didn't notice the look of utter disgust on her face as she tried to avoid his advancing spoon, but Draco Malfoy did over at the bar, and he was laughing so hard she wouldn't be surprised if he had tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Will," she said abruptly, standing quickly. "I must go and use the bathroom. Please excuse me."
"Not at all," he said, trying to hide his disappointment at not being able to force-feed her anything else. "Don't be too long!"
Hermione shivered as she rushed through towards the toilets, which were located in the pub side of the establishment. She didn't need the toilet at all, but she needed a break from Will for a few moments, and sat down at a table in the corner that was out of the line of sight of their own.
She was just about to sigh in relief when Draco settled himself down into the seat opposite, a smirk playing across his face.
"Enjoying yourself are you, Granger?" he mocked, knowing she was doing anything but.
Hermione glared at him. "He's weird. Really weird. I thought that maybe I was outdated in my idea of mannerisms towards women but I don't think I am, I think he's just a creep."
Malfoy looked interested. "What did he do wrong?"
"Well he didn't pull my chair out for me," - Malfoy looked surprised - "he ordered all of my meal for me," - Malfoy looked scandalised - "and he tried to feed me. In a restaurant. On a first date. And only date!" she added, the thought of a second horrifying her.
"Yes, I saw your most unfortunate dessert predicament a minute ago. However, that man really needs to be taught some manners. You were right, Granger. Your ideas aren't outdated at all."
Hermione nodded, knowing that the Malfoys prided themselves on their etiquette.
"When he picked you up," Malfoy ventured, circling his whiskey glass. "Did he tell you that you looked beautiful?"
"I - what?" Hermione stuttered, surprised. "No. He said - he said I looked sexy."
The word made her cringe and Draco could quite agree. "That just proves your point entirely then. You cannot welcome a girl on your very first date by using any other word than 'beautiful'. It's just wrong."
Hermione nodded thoughtfully, but didn't reply. She was lost in thought. For a moment there, she thought Malfoy was telling her that he thought she looked beautiful, not just asking a simple question. Not that it bothered her, obviously. She just would have liked for someone to call her beautiful. Not 'sexy'.
She was about to turn and say something else when she saw Will stood behind them both, an unreadable look on his face.
"I thought you were going to the toilets?"
Oh dear! What is Will going to have to say about this?
