Draco found that he liked the weekends much better than he liked the weekdays. Hermione was attending muggle school during the weekdays, so he didn't get to see her as often as he liked. If he had his way, she would be tutored with him.
The good news, for him at least, was that Blaise and Theo were being tutored alongside him which made classes much less boring. And he was glad that Pansy and Daphne were taking lessons. It was better than having them all grouped together all the time.
He did enjoy the dance classes that his mother had signed them up for. She said that everyone needed to know how to dance. And she'd even managed to get Mrs. Granger to sign Hermione up. So that was one day during the week he got to see her.
He was nervous as her birthday party approached. The previous year had been interesting, but he wasn't sure if the same kids were going to be there. He'd noticed that muggles moved far more frequently than wizards. He guessed it had something to do with the houses not just changing to fit their needs.
He shuffled awkwardly outside her house on the day of her actual birthday. It was a Thursday, and a school night. He didn't know why his parents were so insistent on going that night, but he wasn't going to argue. He liked any excuse to see Hermione.
She opened the door, a bright smile on her face. "I'm so glad you guys could come."
"We wouldn't miss it," Narcissa said smoothly. "We love spending time with you and your family."
"And I wanted to give you this," Draco said. He held up the carefully wrapped box. It had been all him that time, the way each of her gifts had been.
Hermione smiled as she took the box and put it in the sitting room. "You didn't have to give it to me today," she told Draco.
"I wanted to," he said. "I know you'll get more presents on Saturday. And my parents will have one for you then. But this one's from me, and I wanted you to have it today."
Hermione laughed softly. It would be just like him to be so impatient about her opening a present. Especially one from him. He just wanted to see if she liked it.
She had to admit that it was the same for her. She liked to see what Draco thought of the presents she had given him. And she was always nervous that he wouldn't like what she had given him. And since she had made them, that feeling was magnified.
Draco had always told her that he would like anything she gave him, just because she had given it to him. That didn't do much to ease her nerves, though she knew how he felt. Anything Draco had gotten her would be more than wonderful.
"Why don't we go see what our parents are talking about?" she suggested.
"Probably some weird grown up thing," Draco said.
"Or quidditch."
"I guess it could be rugby," Draco said.
It was neither. It turned out that their parents were discussing quadpot. It differed from quidditch in a manner similar to the way American football differed from rugby. But with more explosions.
"Quadpot sounds weird," John said.
"It's American," Narcissa said as if it explained everything.
Draco joined in the conversation every now and then. He hadn't ever played, but had seen a few games when his parents had taken him to exhibitions. And he loved quidditch to the point where he had taken it upon himself to learn everything about the sport that he could.
Hermione was quiet, listening intently. Draco explained as best he could in whispers and promised to get her a book that would do a better job. He might have a vague understanding of the game, but that didn't mean that he could explain it to a point where Hermione could understand.
Dinner came soon after that, and the conversations swung around to traditional quidditch. Hermione teased Draco about being a better chaser than he was. Everyone knew that they were the best on the same team.
"I can throw the quaffle with more accuracy than you."
"Well, I can throw it farther than you."
"I almost wish Blaise and Theo were here so you could team up against them instead," Helena muttered.
"That's no fun mum," Hermione said. "We know we're better than them. We trounce them every time we play. We know it."
"More importantly, they know it," Draco added.
"But Draco won't admit that I'm the better chaser."
"I won't admit it because you aren't."
The adults all shared a look as the two children continued to lightheartedly squabble over who was the better player. They just continued eating, knowing that the discussion would run itself out soon enough.
Dessert was cake and ice cream. Chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. It was Hermione's favourite, and one of the few times her parents willingly let her have sweets. As dentists, they didn't think that sugar was a great thing.
The Grangers herded Draco and Hermione into the sitting room. They figured that Draco would want to be there when Hermione opened her gift from him. They were right.
He watched practically enthralled as Hermione carefully unwrapped the paper around his present. She could tell that this was something he had done himself. The elves did things in a way that it always felt different. And he used a lot more tape.
Not that it was a bad thing. Hermione had always insisted that she be the one to do everything involved with Draco's gifts. And she was glad that he was reciprocating.
She took her time unwrapping the box. There was something satisfying about getting the paper separated from the tape without ripping it. And it was nice to see Draco squirm as he got more and more anxious.
Inside was a set of quills. Not just any quills. Quills that were designed for everything. There was one for writing. There was one specially designed for sketching, and could be erased just like a pencil. There was one that was supposed to be specifically for learning how to use a quill.
Hermione launched herself out of her chair and into Draco's arms, throwing herself around him in an embrace of gratitude.
"Thank you. Thank you. Thank you," she repeated.
"I was hoping you'd like it," Draco said.
A/N: So I'm sorry, but my life got busy. I'm in a play. I'm the lead in a play. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but I am going to be using my time for learning lines, blocking, and rehearsing. Unfortunately I think my writing is going to get a little slower.
