A/N: Thanks for the response guys! So I'm working on chapter twenty right now and I think there's about two more chapters left in me. Check out my story Love Affairsit's my new baby.
Chapter Fourteen
The next day, Christmas eve, was a quiet affair. The air was thick with tension and awkwardness. Hermione cooked a ham, mashed potatoes, and green beans. During dinner, she brought up the topic of tomorrow.
"I'm going to stop by the Weasley's." She said, taking a gulp of her wine. Her nimble hands played with the napkin on her lap, a sign of nerves.
"Okay." Draco said.
"Can you manage here by yourself?" She was completely serious. Draco bit back his resentment silently.
"Actually, I have somewhere to be tomorrow." Hermione looked up and raised an eyebrow.
"Okay." She said softly. She took a bit of her dinner and stared up at the ceiling. Once they were both done, Hermione quietly picked up both plates and set them in the sink.
"Hermione, we should talk." Draco said.
"About?" She muttered. She began to scrub the dish harder. It shattered, and a shard cut her palm. "Dammit. Reparo."
The dish fixed. Hermione walked into the living room, picked up her beaded bag, and shook out a bottle of Essence of Dittiny. She dropped a small amount of the steaming liquid onto the cut, and hissed. The cut smoked and healed quickly.
"Hermione." Draco muttered, moving over to her. "I have a proposal."
"I sincerely hope not of marriage." She snapped. Hermione realized the retort was uncalled for and instantly felt apologetic. Draco ignored the jab and pursued on.
"I think we should just forget last night. Erase it from our minds."
She was silent. Finally she sighed and nodded. "Fine. It didn't happen."
"Happy Christmas!" Hermione cheered. She brandished a bag of gifts and a big smile as she entered the Weasley home. Molly Weasley kissed her cheek and ushered her in, taking her coat and bag from her.
Hermione looked extremely pretty. Her hair was curled in a 1940's fashion and she wore a crème colored dress with a red belt, to match her red lipstick. She smiled, revealing her pearly white teeth. Harry and Ginny rushed to embrace her, followed by the Weasley brothers in a line of succession. Ron's failure to greet didn't go unnoticed by the pretty witch.
"Ginny, come on let's go upstairs. I have to uh show you something." Hermione said, grabbing her best girl friends elbow. Ginny, who looked quite pretty herself in a green dress, nodded. Once inside the young girls room, Hermione began to speak.
"Draco kissed me."
"He what!"
"Yeah, and told me he liked me and wanted to love me." Hermione moaned. "And you know what I did? I hit him. Like, slapped. Then I told him that I could only ever be his friend because of his past. How twisted is that?"
"Pretty dark and twisted." Ginny agreed.
"What do I do?"
"Nothing. Just, don't. Leave it be. What else can you do?" She asked rhetorically.
"Nothing I suppose." Hermione sighed. "Alright, thanks."
Hermione got up and threw open the door and walked out, not noticing who she was walking into. "Oh, sorry!"
Ron Weasley looked down and snorted. He then stomped up the stairs. Hermione shook his head, thinking about how much of a child he was being. She walked back into the living room and took a seat next to George. She assumed he was hurting because it was the first Christmas without Fred, something all the Weasley's were trying to ignore.
"Hi George." She said, smiling. He grunted. Hermione sighed. "How are you?"
"Bad." He responded dully. Hermione nodded. George finally looked at her. "How are your parents? I heard they're home now."
She sighed and shook her head. "No. They were...not well enough to leave. They actually relapsed."
George's eyes widened. "I'm so sorry Hermione-"
"It's fine." She said shortly. "Fine."
After quiet mingling, the family sat down for a delicious and seemingly never ending supper. Gifts were open and kind words exchanged. Everyone there was a family. Except, there was still a big, gaping hole inside of Hermione's heart. It was Christmas, but she was missing the people she wanted to be with most.
Later on in the night, Hermione decided to talk to Ron. Reluctantly, he followed her out into the snowy back yard. "I think we should just forgive and forget."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Forgive and forget? What do you have to forgive of? It's me who's been an ass."
Hermione was surprised. "Really?" Usually it took a lot of time for Ron to admit he was wrong. Maybe he was maturing.
"Forgiven and forgotten." Hermione said. She leaned in and hugged him tightly. "I'm glad we can be friends Ron."
"Friends? Hermione, I thought you wanted-"
"To get back together?" She finished. "No, Ron. I think we should just..be friends."
He looked down and kicked a small bit of snow. "Fine."
Hermione frowned. She really just needed a break from the men in her life.
December came and went in a flurry of New Years Resolutions and a lot of champagne. Draco and Hermione slipped into a familiar routine, until the day Hermione was to start her internship. The young witch got dressed in blue blouse, black pencil skirt, and a silver jacket. She strapped on her mary jane style heels and put on a simply pair of earrings. Her hair was tamed and curled. Hermione looked pretty and professional.
"Good morning." Hermione chirped, stealing a piece of toast off Draco's face. She poured herself a cup of coffee and ate the toast. She picked up her briefcase and drained the rest of her coffee.
"Good luck on your first day." Draco said as she left the house.
Hermione smiled just before she apprated. The eerie familiarity of the toilets came over her, but she pushed in. The hustle and bustle of the Ministry had a homey kind of feeling. Hermione arrived on the Magical Law office.
"Hi, I'm here for Mr. Block." She said, smiling. The harried secretary nodded, then jabbed her thumb over her shoulder toward a long hallway.
A man appeared in a obviously expensive suit. He was tugging on his tie.
"Miss Granger, you're late." He barked.
Her smile dissipated quite quickly. "Uh, I'm sorry sir...I thought you said eight-"
"It's eight oh two." He said stonily. She looked at him in disbelief but nodded anyway.
"I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
"Whatever, we're needed downstairs in court. Come on and be prepared to take good notes."
Hermione scurried along side of him. He was gorgeous. He was an asshole. But, he was her boss.
After about two hours of writing and scribbling, Hermione's hand cramped and her eyes were sore. However, if she was going to absorb all that information everyday, then she was going to be set.
"That was very interesting." Hermione said as they got in the elevator.
"A day in the life of Block." He replied. Hermione nodded. They rode in silence all the way up. Hermione was showed to a small office, which was her new office. Henry Block didn't show it, but ever since the Malfoy trial he had been very taken to the young witch. She was very intelligent, spunky, and beautiful. Perfect for an ideal coworker. Perfect for maybe more...
A/N: Short sorry dolls. Oh well. So I'm soooooo sooo sooo sooo soo obsessed with Grey's Anatomy. Patrick Dempsey? Absolutely gorgeous. But, ironically, a younger Patrick Dempsey is kind of how I imagined Henry Block before when I wrote him in the trial chapter. I seem to do that a lot, subconsciously associate things I'm going to like in the future in my writing. Like I hadn't even started Grey's yet. Anywho, so look him up and drool. I do.