Morning from my part of the world. I hope you'll enjoy this chapter! I've got a bit of momentum now, so I'm hoping to continue updating once a week until the very end. Please read the note at the bottom if you don't mind. (No bad news, you'll probably like this chapter quite a bit.)
Thank you to Emma Watson's Instagram post captioned, "Friends capture you best." It gave me some inspiration for this chapter.
Beta love to Courting Insanity for editing this chapter this morning when I gave it to her last night. She is truly the best.
"Just give it a try," he coaxed, his lips pursed as he held back a laugh. "Granger, it's just tea. You're acting as if it's poison."
She stared at him from her side of the table, shaking her head as she clasped her hands. Her face was a mask of exasperation, and all she had really wanted was to study. Not that she expected to get much done with Draco accompanying her. "See, you say that, but the fact remains that it tastes like absolute garbage."
He rolled his eyes, scooting the cup closer to her. "I'm convinced you said that you hated Earl Grey all those months ago just because it was me that gave it to you."
Hermione shot him an obscene gesture and averted her eyes as a grandmother across the Leaky caught the motion. She settled for kicking him beneath the table. "Contrary to your skewed outlook of me, that's just not true. Even though you were a massive prat, I still gave it a chance. It's just terrible."
His nostrils flared and the top of his boot lightly knocked against her shin. "It's an acquired taste, then."
She grinned. "Oh? I'm not sure why anyone —"
"You know," Pansy's playful voice cut Hermione off. She stood at the edge of their table, her hands on her hips. "If you're insistent on snogging, it would be much easier if you sat on the same side of the table."
Draco chuckled when Hermione's cheeks grew red, and she scrambled back into her side of the booth, just realizing how they had been leaning in to one another.
"Morning," Draco said.
Pansy slid into the seat beside Hermione, tossing her bag to the empty space beside Draco. "Good morning. Harry and I were just leaving to visit my grandparents, but I saw the two of you in the window."
"Do you carry bricks in your handbag?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow as he glared at the offending object.
"Don't be ridiculous." Pansy snorted. "Anyway, I don't want to make Harry wait long. I just wanted to drop in and say hi. Angelina is making our drinks to go right now."
Hermione shifted in her seat, sitting with her back to the window and drawing her knees to her chest. "How are you feeling? Any morning sickness?"
A dark look flitted across her face. "I'm not sure we'll be having any children after this one." she muttered. "Harry wants an entire rugby team. I'm not sure he comprehends how much it sucks to share your body with a fetus."
"Well, you're not instilling the hope in me that I want children either." Hermione laughed. "Have you told your grandparents about the baby yet?"
Pansy shook her head, fingers tapping against the edge of the table anxiously. "I think my mother has hinted at it, but they're holding out the hope that I haven't done something as stupid as getting knocked up before graduating."
Hermione winced. It was no secret just how traditional the Parkinson's were, and just how untraditional Pansy was. "How badly do you think it will go?"
"Pansy!" Angelina rang the bell at the counter and hollered her name.
"On a scale of one to ten, I'd say a six. Grandmum will be furious, but my grandfather adores me far too much to stay angry. I expect one of them to try wrangling Harry into proposing on the spot." Pansy sniggered as she stood, taking her handbag from Draco. "I've already informed him if he even tries to appease my family by getting on one knee, I'll turn him down faster than he can say rugby."
Hermione smiled. "When do we find out if it's a boy or a girl?"
"A few weeks, I'd say. Harry and I want to be surprised together. Would you mind coming to the ultrasound? You'd have to keep the secret to yourself, of course, and that's if you don't mind planning a party."
She blinked. "Of course. I'd love to."
Pansy tilted her head to the side. "I was so hoping you would agree, considering it really is the Godmother's job, I would think."
Her lips parted as the oxygen left her lungs. Hermione's eyes widened, an ecstatic grin curling across her face. "Really?" Her high pitched voice floated through the cafe, and there was no one who hadn't heard her.
Pansy grunted as Hermione enveloped her in a tight hug. "Of course, you bint. Who else would I choose?"
And Hermione thought of all of the people she could have chosen. She'd known Ginny and Luna for probably the majority of her life, and here she was, having only been in the country for five months, being asked to be a godmother. It was dizzying to think she could have left such an impact, but Hermione didn't say anything of that at all. Too wrapped up in the happy moment to voice her insecurities, she spun Pansy around in a fierce hug that was probably too tight.
They hadn't focused on the list yet, though it was always with her, whether in her bag or her memory. But he had asked her what she wanted to do, and she'd murmured that she'd like to be able to drive on England roads. And really, it couldn't be that difficult. It was just switching sides of the roads, wasn't it?
Then again, Hermione thought that if she reverted to what she'd been initially taught, the results would be disastrous.
"Are you sure you want to teach me?" she muttered glumly as she screwed up again. They were on a country road in the middle of nowhere, which he assured her was somewhere, and it was on another Malfoy estate.
She really shouldn't have been surprised that there was another property, but she'd glanced at him in wonder.
"This is a disaster," Hermione mumbled when the engine died again. "I can't do this!"
He chuckled from the passenger seat. "You can. You're thinking too much, Granger. You need to relax a bit. It's just like driving any other automobile; all you're doing is sitting on the other side," Draco murmured, brushing a lock of hair from her shoulder.
She huffed. "I know I'm thinking too much. I'm always thinking."
Draco snorted. "Don't I know it. Tell me what's on your mind." He reached across the car, and pulled the keys from the ignition. "Come here, Granger. Come into my office."
Laughing uncontrollably as he pulled her into his lap, Hermione found herself straddling his waist, and there was little doubt how quickly everything would escalate.
They couldn't keep their hands to themselves.
"Your office?" she wheezed, grinning down at him.
While he shot her a sharp glare, the desired effect was lost as his thumbs rubbed circles on her hips. "What's on your mind?"
Oh, everything, she supposed. The end of term, wondering what would happen when she realised she needed to pack her things, but she didn't want to talk about it at all. It was a dense weight on her chest, slipping into her mind while they were doing the most mundane tasks, and Hermione couldn't bring herself to ruin the collective moments by discussing something as fragile as the future.
Was she a coward for it? Probably.
Hermione cleared her throat, more than aware that several seconds had passed. He was staring at her curiously, his hands having moved to her back as he rubbed slow but sure circles.
"Exams," she murmured.
He had the gall to laugh at her as he leaned his forehead to hers. "Did you know," Draco whispered, one hand cupping her face as he looked directly at her, "that you are an atrocious liar?"
She didn't mean to headbutt him when she laughed, but she most certainly had. "I'm so sorry!" Hermione gasped, her sides aching from laughter as he leaned back. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you?"
"Well, it didn't hurt as much as when you punched me in the face," Draco commented dryly.
Sometimes, it was easy to forget about all of the things that had happened since September, all too easy when it felt like her life had been put on fast forward. Still, the memory of nearly breaking Draco's nose was quite crisp and it brought a satisfied look to her face. "I'll be sure to try harder next time then."
"Cheeky," he mused, and then he was tickling her sides.
Hermione shrieked, wriggling to get away from him. "Draco!" She laughed, gasping for air. "Oh, please stop, I can't breathe,"
Draco didn't relent one bit.
"I'll punch you!"
"I'll duck," he replied.
Hermione fought a bit dirty, elbowing him sharply and taking the chance to scramble between the seats. She landed haphazardly in the back seat, her foot still caught on the center console. Whatever he was planning to do to her, it couldn't be anything good with the look he shot back at her. "What are you—?"
He tugged her shoe off, tilting his head to the side. "I wonder if your feet are ticklish?"
Her eyes shot open in fear. "Don't you dare!" she yelled, freeing her feet and crawling over the second row seats into the trunk. "Don't think I won't jump out of this window, Malfoy." Hermione warned.
"Oh? Am I Malfoy again now?" he asked.
She didn't even have time to form a response because he lunged between the seats, rushing after her. Hermione looked like a deer stuck in headlights as she suddenly had nowhere to go, and she didn't know how, or if she even could, open the trunk from the inside. Laughing breathlessly as his fingers found her sides again, Hermione was pinned to the floor of the car.
Hermione grabbed a fistful of his shirt, hauling him forward and pressing her lips to his. His hands were still on her hips, only holding her in place now as his tongue sought entrance to her mouth. She whimpered quietly as he nipped her lower lip, angling his head as his lips slanted against hers.
"Draco—"
"Am I Draco again now?" He chuckled.
Hermione groaned as he hitched her leg around his waist. "You're so fucking insufferable."
"Did you curse this much before you met me or have I just rubbed off on you?" he asked, his lips skimming her jaw.
She ignored the question, her breath catching as he nipped her throat. A low moan spilled from her lips and she arched into him. "You're always Draco," she muttered. "I just like to call you Malfoy because I know how much it irritates you when I do."
He'd never said as much, but she was observant. He was far more playful when she used his first name. "And you say I'm the insufferable one."
"Well, you are. Have you met yourself?" She snorted.
"Tell me what's on your mind," Draco whispered, and she froze. "What?" He laughed lightly. "Granger, did you think I would forget something was bothering you just because you let me snog you? I'm disappointed you think so little of me."
He was teasing her, and while she knew that, something sharp lodged in her chest when she wondered if he actually thought that.
"I don't think that."
Her chest deflated when he gave an easy laugh. "You're easy to rile up. Of course I know you don't think that, but I'm certain—" his hand slid up her side, his long fingers brushing the sedge of her breast "—that you were hoping it would conveniently slip my mind."
She arched an eyebrow. "Are my feminine wiles not enough to distract you?"
He barked a laugh. "Princess, I hope you never uncover just how much power you hold over me," Draco rasped. "But no, it won't work this time. It's been bothering you for several days, and I'd like to help if I could, but—" he held a hand up at her parting lips "—I understand if you would rather not talk about it."
"I am frustrated with exams, and I am a bit worried about them, but as for everything else…" she trailed off, looking away and letting her head fall to the floorboard. "I don't want to talk about it. I'd really rather enjoy the day with you."
He nodded. "Easily done." Draco leaned down, his lips skimming her collarbone. "Somehow, I assumed this was how this driving lesson would go."
Hermione smiled lazily, combing her fingers through his hair. "Are you complaining?"
"Certainly not," he rasped, "but unless you want to shag in my car rather than a bed—"
She pressed her lips to his again. "This is the part where I should rationally say that we've been moving too quickly and we should probably slow down."
He stilled and looked up at her, his gaze softer than she'd even seen it. "You know I don't mean to—"
Hermione leaned forward, kissing down his throat and biting just enough to leave a mark. She smirked as he groaned. "I don't feel much like being rational."
He growled and her shirt was over her head in seconds. "Thank fuck."
She laughed, her head falling back before she grabbed the hem of his shirt and tore it over his head. "Want to touch you this time." She gasped.
He unsnapped her bra with one hand, his large palm flattening again the small of her back and pressing her to him as he sat against the seats. "You can."
His hands were everywhere, sliding down her back, cupping her bum through the soft jeans she was wearing. His thumbs swiped across her nipples and she moaned loudly.
Hermione responded just the same. Her nails but into his shoulders as she rolled her hips against his, desperate to be even closer to him, to be skin to skin.
Her lips were surely bruised as he pulled away from her, and her eyes were slowly falling shut. "Did it feel like this last time?" she whispered.
He chuckled, his nose bumping hers lightly. "It must be all of the emotions."
She'd never laughed as she did with him. It was a sobering thought that made her tilt her head up and an admission that she had no desire to say was right in the tip of her tongue.
Hermione's nose crinkled. "Maybe you shouldn't sound so surly when you talk about your feelings, Malfoy."
His eyes darkened and his hand rose to her breast, punching her nipple and drawing a throaty moan from her. "Am I Draco again yet?"
She hissed. "You are such a git."
He grinned. "Am I?"
Words were lost to her after that as his head dipped down. Hermione tried to insist that he had given her all of the pleasure the last time, that he should let her pleasure him, but he wouldn't hear it.
Draco laid her across the floor of his car, grabbing his shirt and balling it up before sliding it under her head. "Not right now, Hermione." He groaned as she reached down, her fingers closing around his cock. His, "fuck," was guttural and it echoed in her ears as she strained to cause that sound again.
"Thought you said 'not right now, Hermione,'" she mocked, a wry grin curving her lips.
His head fell forward, soft blond hair tickling the top of her nose. His shoulders were shaking with laughter. "I have never met anyone who talks as much as you do during sex."
"Meet many silent ones, do you?" Hermione laughed
"Hermione." He sighed, shoulders still shaking. "Do you ever stop talking?"
She glanced up at him, drawing her lip in between her teeth. "Is that a rhetorical question? Because I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that."
"Oh, yes." He hung his head, pressing kisses down her stomach. "I'm well aware of your incessant need to talk."
Hermione stared at him, her heart hammering in her chest while he tugged her jeans down her legs, quickly followed by her knickers. Calloused fingers trailed over her skin, and she said so quietly, "Draco, come here."
In a tangle of limbs in the back of his car, giggling when he accidentally tickled her, Hermione was quite certain that she had never been as happy as she was then.
Hermione's head fell back as his arms locked around her waist, perfectly timed with him thrusting into her. "Oh!" She whimpered, wrapping her legs around his hips tightly.
She said a lot of things, things that would make heat rise to her face later when she thought about them. Like how his cock felt so good inside of her, that she liked the way his fingers tangled in her mess of hair, or how she liked how he pinned her hands above her head a bit too much.
She was writhing as he returned the favor in kind, murmuring in a low rasping tones that kept her gripping his forearms.
He might have murmured that he should have lasted longer, that it was selfish to have spent himself so quickly in the end, but Hermione swatted his chest and curled into him when he let her. Draco kissed the top of her hair. "You could make a man stupid, Granger." He laughed, smoothing her hair.
She snorted. "What is that?" Hermione caught sight of a hat wedged in between the seats, and it was curious to her considering she'd not once seen him wear a hat. "Is this yours?" She held up the black cap, twisting it to see the front.
"It is."
"I don't think I've ever seen you wear a hat," Hermione said, twisting in his arms to look up at him. "Let me just—" She stretched up, securely placing it on his head and leaning back to take a look. "It doesn't suit you at all."
She would never tire of his laugh, the rumbling baritone. "Let's see…" Draco trailed off, snatching it off her head and placing it on her head. "Much better."
Hermione blinked. "Really?"
"Of course, it hides that bird nest you call hair." He smirked. Draco yelped when she smacked his bare chest, leaving a welt the size of her hand. "Bloody violent."
In the end, they got dressed, despite enjoying the naked cuddling - even if he would never admit it to anyone but her, Draco did indeed like cuddling - and they were right back where they started, with Hermione wanting to drive his car off of a bridge while she was still overthinking everything.
He snapped a picture of her while laughing, and Hermione took his phone, sending the photograph to herself.
She almost didn't recognize herself. On the one hand, it was so obviously her from the shape of her nose, and the smile that curved her lips, but she was a picture of happiness she didn't think she'd ever seen before. Hermione posted it to her social media accounts, leaning into Draco while she typed a caption.
Friends capture you best.
He snorted, tilting her chin up. "Hermione—" that got her attention "—I'm offended you'd call me a friend," he murmured, muffling his laugh against her shoulder.
Her eyes narrowed. "I wouldn't like to presume, just in…"
Draco kissed her slowly, and her phone slipped from her grip as she turned into him. "I realize that I've been a complete and utter prat, but you do realize that you're my girlfriend, don't you?"
She had to admit she liked the sound of it. "I just didn't want to assume." Hermione sighed. "Of course that makes absolute sense, given… well, everything. It would have just gutted me to be wrong."
He nodded. "Do I have to ask you to be my girlfriend to make it official? I could make a very public display, you know. Malfoys don't do anything by halves."
Hermione didn't want to even think of what he might do, so she only shook her head. "That's okay." She grinned. Her phone vibrated in the floorboard, and she bent down to grab it. "Pansy texted me - is it that obvious we had sex?" Her voice shot up several notches. She showed Draco the message on her screen.
You two are disgustingly adorable. It's bad enough that I vomit all of the time. I don't need you to be the cause of it, too! Kidding, obviously. Though I'm not sure you should let the world see you when you've clearly been so thoroughly shagged.
Draco's laugh made her jump in her seat, and he reached over. "Your shirt!" He wheezed. "It's inside out."
Well, fuck.
Theo had not spoken to her, or Draco as far as she knew, since the day outside of the library. Hermione wasn't upset, though a tiny bit of guilt ate at her for that. Theo had been her friend too, and it stung terribly to lose said friendship, but she didn't believe there was any repairing the damage between the two men.
And it wasn't her obligation to fix them as Pansy told her repeatedly to assuage her guilt, even though she should have been more focused on the ultrasound appointment they were in, and her unborn child. She laid on the bed, clad in the flimsy gown and she reached over to slap Hermione's shoulder. "You're worrying about this too much. What does Draco think?"
Hermione sighed, her shoulders deflating as she slumped into her chair. "He constantly reminds me how I wear my heart on my sleeve."
She nodded. "I'd drink to that if I didn't have a crotch gremlin inside of me."
Hermione's hand flew to her mouth to muffle the obnoxious laugh that came from her just as the door opened, and the nurse quietly stepped inside.
"Hello," she greeted, grabbing the chart and taking a seat on the stool before rolling the chair toward them. "How are you today, Miss Parkinson?"
"I feel bloated all the time," Pansy remarked dryly, and Hermione laughed lightly. "This is Hermione."
"Hi," Hermione said quietly, offering a small wave.
"And she's who I would like you to tell the gender to." Pansy grinned.
"Will do." Nurse Pomfrey - Hermione peeked at the tag fastened to her scrubs - replied.
Hermione sat back in her seat, often laughing quietly as Pansy would often complain about the finer - terrible - parts of pregnancy.
Such as the fact that she needed to drink so much water before her ultrasound, and then hold it to get an accurate read.
When Hermione snorted softly, Pansy's head snapped to hers. "You just wait, Granger. This will be you eventually, and I will be there to make sure you remember laughing at my misfortune."
The appointment itself passed quickly. Seeing the black and white picture on the screen, Hermione's voice caught in her throat. This was a baby, and all at once, it seemed to strike her just how majorly Pansy's life was going to change.
Obviously, it was hard to miss that she was pregnant, with her now showing a minuscule bump through her clothes. And Hermione knew that eventually, she would meet the bouncing bundle of joy, and she knew from a purely factual standpoint that Pansy was happy.
Nothing came close to the look of awe, love, and just a bit of fear that was in Pansy's face. Her lower lip trembled as all of her complaints of wanting to run to the nearest loo all but vanished.
The nurse was smiling ear to ear, rubbing the instrument across her belly. "Have you ever seen an ultrasound?" Pomfrey asked Hermione.
She shook her head, leaning forward in her seat. "I can't believe that's a baby," she murmured and grabbed Pansy's hand. "No wonder Harry never misses an appointment."
Pansy gave her a watery smile. "Yeah, he was upset he had to miss it today."
And Hermione could understand why.
Nurse Pomfrey gave Pansy one envelope, ultrasound pictures inside. "And this," she said, turning to Hermione and pressing the second envelope into her hand, "is for you. The baby was quite cooperative with us today, so the sex is inside."
"Don't look," Pansy quickly said. "I'm afraid I'll beg you to tell me." She looped her arm through Hermione's as they exited the clinic.
Between studying - which was a hard task to complete when all she really wanted to do was be with Draco - planning a gender reveal party with Narcissa, and actually spending time with Draco, Hermione didn't even have time to think about anything else.
Which was for the best.
Part way through the afternoon, Draco came into the kitchen, leaning on the back of Hermione's chair as she discussed party plans with Narcissa. "Ready to take a break?" he asked.
Narcissa arched an eyebrow and the corner of her mouth twitched. "By all means." She waved them off. "Take a break."
Hermione shook her head. "No, we should finish what we have left. Plus we're picking up decorations and party favours in a couple of hours—"
Draco pulled sharply on one of her curls. "Granger, we can still pick up everything after we take a break."
She turned in her seat, staring at him. "What do you need to take a break for? Haven't you just spent the entire day having a lie in?"
"If you really must know, I was actually on a call for my father, and I only had a lie in until noon," he replied.
"Only noon?" Hermione asked dramatically. "You poor thing, you must be exhausted."
Narcissa cleared her throat. "Well, I was worried you two wouldn't be so entertaining anymore as you're grossly head over heels for another, but it's nice to see that you still bicker."
There was a beat of silence and then Hermione said flatly, "Draco started it."
"Are you twelve years old?" Draco snorted and tilted her chair back.
Flailing her arms was the worst thing she could have done right then, but Draco prevented her from falling.
Narcissa sighed. "I find that I am a bit tired. I think I'll go lie down and watch the telly. The two of you should do something." She rose from the table with a flourish, wrapping her shawl tightly around her frame and padded out of the kitchen.
Draco looked down at her. "How do you feel about ice cream?"
She paused. "I'm bringing my work with me."
"Absolutely not."
She had never taken note of the ice cream parlour just a few streets over from the book shop. It was a small building sandwiched between two rivalling boutiques. There was an awning over the display window, painted a pretty turquoise.
"This is cute," she said, slipping her hand into Draco's and pulling him off the sidewalk in a hurry.
White walls welcomed them, with a long counter in the back of the room. A teenage girl behind the counter waved and called out a hello as she carried pans to the back of the shop.
Standing side by side, shoulders bumping together, Hermione ordered an ice cream sundae, sans sprinkles, and with extra caramel sauce. Draco ordered a sundae that was at least double the size of hers and slid a wrinkled bill across the counter. "Pick a seat," he told her.
Hermione turned away without preamble, popping her cherry into her mouth as she took the seat by the open window. Sunlight poured through it, sprawling across the white tile. In the booth, Draco sat directly beside her, gaping in a mock offence when she snatched his cherry away from him. "Girlfriend tax," Hermione muttered. "Can you tie the stem in a knot?"
"Can you?"
Rolling her eyes at the obvious challenge, she nodded. "Want to see?"
"Are you really asking?"
Biting the inside of her cheek, Hermione didn't offer an equally snarky response. Instead, she settled for proving him wrong and waving the recently tied cherry stem in front of her. "In your face."
He smirked at her enthusiasm, leaning back against the booth, and popping his cherry stem into his mouth. Not one to be outdone, he did just the same in half of the time. "Well, that certainly explains some things." Draco murmured against her ear.
Hermione flushed, casting a long glance across the room. "There are children here. You can't just allude to things like that!"
He shrugged. "I did nothing of the sort."
"And you say I'm the terrible liar."
He chuckled under his breath, leaning forward to wipe the corner of her mouth. "You had something, and you were too angry to point out that your ice cream was dribbling." Pleased with the little bit of colour spiralling down her neck, Draco shrugged. "Tell me more about you."
She stared at him, her spoon halfway to her mouth. "There's not much to tell. I'm really rather boring, and I'm not at all sure how I bagged you for myself."
Draco snorted. "Boring? You must be joking."
"Please don't bring up the mugger."
"Fine. What did you do as a child then?"
"Are you asking me seriously? I've told you before I didn't have friends." And she hadn't, which was the biggest reason her entire trip had felt more like a dream than reality. "As a child, I went everywhere my mother went. As lame as it might sound, she was my best friend, too." Though Jean Granger never let her forget that she was her mother first and friend second. "I read a lot, and summer breaks were always stretched out, and I couldn't wait to be back in school."
He smiled. "That sounds a lot like you. As you grew up then?"
There wasn't an awful lot to tell. She had come to terms with more or less being a blank slate when her plane had touched the tarmac. Hermione Granger who lived in a small town centred in Oklahoma felt like a completely different person than the Hermione Granger who had actually lived.
"I went to church with my mum every Wednesday and Sunday, though as I got older I wasn't as firm in my faith as she was. I attended piano lessons once a week on Mondays with the preacher's wife, and those were lovely. I sang in the choir when my mum begged me to..." Hermione could have gone on with the mundane, miniscule parts of her childhood, but she cut herself off.
"What is it?"
Hermione was used to smirks and lopsided grins that always surprised her. So, each time that Draco smiled at her like she was the best part of the moment, it sent her heart out of rhythm.
"You're always smiling at me," she whispered, and her eyes widened once she realized that it hadn't only been an internal monologue. "I didn't mean to say that. It's not a bad thing, oh, hell," Hermione muttered as he laughed, sliding an arm around her shoulders. "Stop laughing at me!" She growled, pinching his arm.
He yelped, headbutting her, and still laughed. "I'm not laughing at you, I swear."
"It sure seems like it."
"You're just so fucking cute that I can't stand it," he breathed, looking at her once more. And she fully recognized that look - it was the one that had raked over her as fingers wound into her thick hair and backed her down a corridor. "I smile at you because I can't help it," he murmured, raising her hand and pressing his lips softly to her knuckles.
Her ice cream was long forgotten as she let that sink in.
The two of them spent an hour more in the shop, huddled close together on one side of the booth. Seemingly, Draco had told the truth when he said that he wanted to know all about her. Down to the most embarrassing things.
"Blue is your favourite colour?" he asked, peeking down at his shirt.
She laughed. "Don't go flattering yourself."
"I'm most certainly not. I was just thinking how I could go pick up more blue clothing," Draco retorted, a broad smile stretching across his lips. "What's your favourite animal?"
It was an otter, but she wasn't sure anyone had ever asked such a silly question after she'd left elementary school. They talked about her family, which always brought out the best in her; she murmured how losing her mother could probably be put into words, but she just hadn't found them yet. They discussed American politics, and it was clear he enjoyed riling her up...
...Liked the way red sprang to her cheeks as she flushed with indignation as he played devil's advocate. He loved sweets, mostly chocolate. Draco liked to talk about his mum, a fond expression crossing over his face and smoothing out the lines where he frowned as he recalled the distant memories of his childhood.
By the time either of them thought to take another bite of ice cream, they realized that it had already melted. Sighing, Hermione grabbed a napkin and attempted to clean the stain that dripped down the front of her jumper. There would be no hiding it. "How long have we been here?"
Draco looked at his watch. "Couple of hours. Are you ready to leave?"
Unprepared for the unfamiliar beat of her erratic heartbeat, she shook her head before she even thought to. "No, not really. I have plenty of time for planning, I suppose."
It was a moment where he probably could have kissed her, and she was waiting for him to lean in. Instead, tilting his head to the side and resting his arm on the table he said, "What's one item on your list that you want to do the most?"
Instinctively, her eyes flicked to the space where a tattoo was sitting on her flesh, just beneath the sleeve of her maroon jumper. In the beginning, it had been her number one thing to do. "Um..." She stalled, hauling her backpack into the seat and pulling the zipper open. There, in the smallest compartment was her copy of the book with the list neatly tucked inside.
Hermione laid the book in front of them, careful to move the dish out of the way first. Unfolding the square piece of paper, she flattened it on the table. "You're not going to believe me," she muttered, already laughing softly to herself as she slid the paper toward him, her index finger below her mother's handwriting. "I would have never written it down, but Mum knew me best, and she encouraged me to do it."
Draco choked on his laugh, and when she whacked him on the back it didn't help matters at all. "You were right. I can't believe it. Skydiving?"
She held her hands up, shrugging. "I think it would be exhilarating, don't you?" Not that she expected him to; jumping out of a plane - even if you were strapped to someone - should terrify anyone.
"I think it'd be bloody terrifying." He chuckled, sliding the list back to her, not peeking at the other items. "You showed me one thing. I'm not going to go a mile when you give me an inch."
Hermione swallowed. "I might be an adrenaline junkie."
His eyes were bright beneath the faux crystal chandeliers in the ice cream parlour. "Might be? I'd say you are." Draco gave a dramatic pause. "Let's do it; this weekend?"
She gaped at him, a strangled sound coming from her throat. "Really? But you just said —"
His air of nonchalance made it seem like he pondered this sort of thing every day. Plummeting toward the ground from thousands of feet up seemed normal, and she was immediately cut off. "Do you want to do it alone?"
"Well, no, but I wouldn't want to force you into coming along, intentional or unintentional." Hermione swallowed. "You said yourself it would be bloody terrifying."
"And it will be." He chuckled. "But it will make a fantastic story."
"This weekend then, so long as we can actually do it so soon. There may be classes we have to take before they let us take the jump. We'll be attached to instructors as well."
"Oh, fuck, I cannot wait to see your face when you jump." Draco smirked, clearly thrilled with the outcome.
She snorted, her hand flying to her heart. "I'd be more worried about yourself, sweetheart." Hermione was tired of her cheeks growing hot, which they infinitely did around this man. She clapped her hand over her mouth as the sound of her drawl, much more pronounced met her ears.
"Was that an accent?" he asked slyly, eyes cutting to her as they stood, and he left a tip on the table. Larger than to be expected, sure, but they had taken up the lobby for hours.
"I try not to let it be very pronounced."
"It's very cute."
Her midwestern drawl was decidedly not cute, she assured him.
Pansy's baby shower marked exactly two and a half months until she would return home. And Hermione would be lying if she said she still thought of America as home, and if she said the reality setting in didn't scare the hell out of her.
Hermione met James and Lily Potter on the steps of the manor, and Hermione took an instant liking to Lily. For one, she had apparently been quite the bookwork when she was in school, but they also shared a long running dislike of Horace Slughorn.
Despite meticulous planning, it wouldn't have been a party if something hadn't gone wrong. Harry tripped and dropped the cake. So it was a last minute rescue mission to make sure Pansy didn't see the blue cake batter inside the blasted thing, and she yelled at Harry in the middle of the kitchen that if he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't tell Pansy that he had been right all along.
She'd dragged Draco to a gift shop in the middle of the party, snatching a pinata off of the shelf - which happened to be the ugliest fucking llama she had ever seen - and she stuffed it full of candies wrapped in blue foil.
Watching Pansy's hands fly to her face as blue rained down around her and Harry, her eyes filling with tears, had to be one of the most humbling experiences Hermione had undergone since arriving. Pansy lunged for her, forgetting that her ankles popped with every movement as she flung her arms around Hermione's neck. "Thank you for this," Pansy whispered.
Later, they would tell her the pinata had been improvisation. For now, Hermione stood amidst the chaos that was all of her friends and wondered how on earth she was going to leave them so soon.
This story either has three chapters left and an epilogue, or two chapters left and an epilogue. I haven't decided if what I originally had planned will be enough to split chapter twenty-two and twenty-three. That being said, we're really close to the end. I expect to have some difficulty writing the next chapter, and definitely the epilogue since it's hard to end a story.
Thank you for coming on this adventure with me. It's bittersweet to know how close I am to finishing. But thank you for all of the follows, and the most reviews I've ever had on FFN. I can't wait to see where this finishes. I hope to see you in the next week-ish.
MrsRen.