I know, I know, it's been a little while! I've been realllly busy lately because I've just started uni, but I was desperate to get this chapter up before the weekend was over so I'm sorry if there's a few mistakes. I haven't had time to reply to any of your reviews so I'm going to do that this chapter if need be. As always thank you so much to everyone who took the time to review, I love you all! And don't hesitate to do it again :)
This chapter has a LOT of Draco/Hermione interaction, so enjoy :)
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If Hermione thought that Malfoy had been joking about his promise to be back she was terribly - and hastily - mistaken. The morning after his shock visit, she was awoken much too early for her liking by an incessant knocking on the front door. After trying to ignore it for a few minutes Hermione groaned and rolled out of bed.
'Alright, alright, I'm coming!' she called grumpily, stomping from the room and down the hall. The only person she could think of who would be up this early was the postman - and what the hell would he want?
Hermione stumbled sleepily down the stairs grumbling angrily about the letterbox and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. As she approached the front door the insufferable knocking didn't end so she opened her mouth to yell some more.
'I'm COMING!' she roared at the postman, who was probably about to be strangled to death. Hermione reached the door and ripped it open, preparing to yell a bit more, when she saw that it wasn't the postman - of course.
Hermione had been hoping that Malfoy's little visit yesterday had been some kind of warped dream. But now as he stood before her, this time wearing faded denim shorts and a plain grey singlet, their strange conversation came rushing back to her.
She scowled at him, squinting slightly in the bright morning sunshine.
'What the hell are you doing here?' she said crabbily, crossing her arms quickly over her chest when she remembered that she was still wearing the old faded singlet that she slept in and hadn't stopped to put on a bra.
'I brought you breakfast,' Malfoy grinned at her winningly and held out a large brown paper bag. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him but said nothing, still trying to orientate herself.
'Donuts,' Malfoy went on when she was silent. 'Lots of round, fatty, chocolate donuts.'
'I only like strawberry,' Hermione retorted, not moving from the doorway.
'Good thing I brought them too, then,' Malfoy said pleasantly, and before she could stop him he pushed straight past her and walked into the house.
'Hey!' Hermione cried indignantly to his back as he strolled off down the hall, evidently searching for the kitchen. For a moment she considered dashing upstairs to retrieve her wand and blasting his sorry ass back into the street. But honestly she couldn't really be bothered. And she sort of missed the company.
'They better be really big,' she muttered crossly as she closed the front door and followed him to the kitchen.
When she entered the room Malfoy had already made himself at home, as he had found the cupboard with the plates and was in the process of emptying the contents of his bag on top of it. He hadn't lied - there were plenty of donuts there. Chocolate, strawberry, passionfruit, plain, sugared, jam…just looking at them made Hermione feel fat.
'Drink?' Malfoy asked innocently, rifling through the cupboards for a glass.
'Why are you here so early?' Hermione demanded as she slid into a seat and watched him through narrowed eyes. Malfoy found what he was looking for a pulled out two glasses before turning to face her.
'Um, I'm sorry but I was under the impression that most people were up by eleven o'clock on a weekday,' he said sarcastically as he sat down opposite her and pulled out his wand. Hermione started and raised her arms to defend herself, but Malfoy merely chuckled quietly and pointed it at the two empty glasses. The tip of his wand spouted a pink coloured, thick liquid, which filled their glasses quickly. He pushed one towards her and she picked it up to sniff it suspiciously. It smelt like strawberries…her favourite.
'It's not eleven,' she complained, still looking at him mistrustingly. Malfoy smirked and shrugged, picking up his own glass and draining it in seconds.
'You always answer the door looking like that?' he said conversationally, pointedly examining his empty glass. Hermione quickly crossed her arms over her chest again and looked down to make sure she was all covered…only to realise that she wasn't actually wearing any shorts. She always wore nothing but a singlet and underwear to bed in the summer.
'Not that I'm complaining,' Malfoy grinned devilishly, quirking an eyebrow at her. Hermione glared at him and reached over to the nearest drawer, pulling out the biggest apron she could find. She tied it securely around her waist and was satisfied to see that it covered her from neck to ankle - it was her dad's.
Malfoy took one look at her and his hand shot to his mouth as he turned a slightly red colour.
'What?' Hermione said angrily. Malfoy shook his head, unable to answer without letting the desperate laughter escape from within him. When he had calmed down enough to speak, he pushed the plate of donuts towards her. She eyed them angrily as if they too were laughing at her appearance and didn't move.
'They're not poisoned,' he smirked at her. Now scowling at him instead Hermione took one, relieved that her empty stomach hadn't given her away yet with an embarrassing growl. She suddenly was starving.
'I wouldn't put it past you,' she said as she took a bite. They tasted heavenly, but she didn't want to give Malfoy the satisfaction of a compliment.
'Like them?' he asked her, taking two himself and biting into both at the same time.
'They're…delicious. Thank your house elf for me,' Hermione replied pointedly, making sure not to give him a reason to feel good about himself. Malfoy chuckled as he stuffed the rest of his donuts into his mouth. For one painful moment Hermione was reminded of Ron, but mercifully he waited until he was finished chewing before attempting to speak.
'Actually, Granger, these are from the market around the corner.'
Hermione gaped at him.
'You went into a muggle shop?!' she said disbelievingly, unable to stop her eyes from bulging out of her head. Malfoy laughed softly at her expression as he reached for a chocolate donut and bit half of it off in one go.
'Don't expect me to do it again,' he warned her, scowling suddenly. 'Dirty beggars. They tried to rip me off.'
'How would you even know?' Hermione challenged, still feeling shocked from the revelation that Draco Malfoy had entered a muggle premises and not run out screaming.
'They tried to make me pay with some scam called "Euro" or something like that,' he frowned. Hermione suppressed a groan.
'Oh, God. What did you do to them?' she raised her eyes to the ceiling, hoping that they were still alive and unharmed.
'I didn't do anything to them,' Malfoy said innocently.
'Hex? Jinx? Not a curse, please Merlin!' Hermione thought quickly through any counter spells which she could just pop down the street and perform quickly, but Malfoy interrupted her chain of thoughts.
'All I did was go outside and Accio them to me when they weren't looking,' he shrugged, looking unconcerned. Hermione sighed in relief.
'And that's all?'
'Yeah, that's all. I wasn't going to go along with their "Euro" nonsense like some sucker,' Malfoy scowled at the thought of being tricked by a group of muggles and Hermione couldn't help but giggle.
'Malfoy, "Euro" is what muggles here call their money. It's just like galleons and sickles to us,' she explained triumphantly, hoping to make him embarrassed. But Malfoy just shrugged again and took another donut.
'Whatever. I thought you'd appreciate them more if they came from a muggle shop, is all,' he said evenly, and Hermione froze in the process of reaching for another strawberry donut.
'Why would you think that?' she asked guardedly, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible.
'I thought after what…what happened…you've probably had enough of the magical world for now,' Malfoy said a little awkwardly.
Hermione bit her lip, wondering why suddenly she felt like crying. Hadn't she been thinking that exact thing just the other day? How did he know this about her?
'Guess I was right,' Malfoy observed quietly when Hermione didn't reply. She looked up at him sharply and suddenly stood.
'Well, thanks for stopping by. I'll walk you to the door,' she said abruptly, moving towards the hall at lightning speed. She was already at the front door when she turned around and saw that Malfoy wasn't following her. He stood leaning against the wall in the kitchen doorway, watching her amusedly.
'Well?' Hermione prompted, holding onto the door handle uncertainly. Malfoy continued to smile at her as slowly he moved away from the wall and walked towards her.
'How long are you going to keep doing that for?' he asked her when he was close enough to speak softly. Hermione let go of the door handle and looked up at him in confusion.
'Doing what?'
'Shutting down,' Malfoy answered steadily. Hermione frowned at him and opened her mouth to reply, but no quick retort came to her.
'Not forever?' Malfoy went on, taking another step towards her. Hermione made no move to back away from him, but simply stared up at him speechlessly.
'Because that would be really sad,' he continued, suddenly looking adorably heart-broken himself. 'If you shut down forever. Because of this.'
Hermione swallowed hard and tried to make her voice work, but only a strange gulping like sound came out.
'I won't let you do that,' Malfoy said, his voice soft but carrying with it a hard edge of determination and force. Hermione looked at him for a very long time before finally managing to find her voice.
'Why do you even care?' she said, trying to keep the accusation in her tone to a minimum. Malfoy smirked at her and reached towards her. For one short moment, Hermione thought he was reaching out to grab her and take her into his arms…but Malfoy simply flicked her gently on the end of her nose before turning and walking back down the hall.
'Hurry up and have a shower so we can do something. I'll wait in the kitchen,' he called over his shoulder, already disappearing into the other room. Hermione gaped angrily after him, clenching her fists as she prepared to yell and rage at him for giving her orders in her own house…
But once again she just sighed and did as he said. It just seemed easier. So she dragged herself upstairs and into the bathroom, making sure the door was securely locked before stripping out of her clothes and stepping under the soothing water.
It wasn't a peaceful shower. Every few seconds Hermione found herself glancing nervously to the door, making sure that Malfoy wasn't breaking in to spy on her. She washed her hair quickly and scrubbed at her face to wake herself up. She took her time beneath the water, letting it calm her down.
When she got out Malfoy would be waiting for her. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. On the one hand this was the man she hated with a passion - and what a passion that was - who had also recently ruined her reputation and costed her all of her friends.
On the other hand…who else did she have? She wasn't going to deny that she was lonely. Books could only keep her company for so long. And he was - inexplicably - being kind to her. She couldn't keep pretending that she thought he was up to something…this time she truly believed that he was just being genuinely nice. Yesterday he had said that he liked her. If this was true…then how did she feel about him?
I don't like him. But…he's on my side.
The only person on her side…apart from her parents, and she couldn't exactly talk to them about her life at the moment. They would probably strap her to the bed and lock her in her room for the rest of her life.
When Hermione knew that she couldn't stall any longer she reluctantly got out of the shower and dried herself off. In a minute she would have to go out there and face him again. So she had to make up her mind.
She could spend some time with him. If that's what he wanted. She was starved for company - not from her parents, or Drake, or anyone else around here - someone who actually knew what she was going through right now. Malfoy did. So she could spend some time with him. That didn't mean she had to be nice to him. She was still angry with him, and he wouldn't change that just by being charming and smirking all over the place.
Hermione crept across the hall and into her room to choose her clothes for the day. She picked out a pair of loose fitting purple shorts and a cream-coloured t-shirt. She glanced quickly in the mirror and decided to use her wand to tame her frizzy hair - and moments later it was completely dry, hanging about her face in loose waves and curls. She took a deep breath and left the room, heading back downstairs and into the kitchen.
Malfoy was standing at the fridge, looking into it with apparent fascination. He closed it politely when she came in and his eyes travelled quickly across her body. Hermione cleared her throat pointedly and turned away so he wouldn't see her blush.
'Sorry - habit,' Malfoy said, not sounding very sorry at all. Hermione glowered at him as she picked up the empty plate and glasses and carried them over to the sink. As she turned on the tap to begin washing them Malfoy caught her by the wrist and stopped her. He let go of her quickly when he saw the look on her face.
'You're not doing that today,' he said, his usual confident self as always. In one fluid movement he had pulled out his wand and waved it lazily as he muttered under his breath, causing the dishes to be sparkling clean. Hermione looked at them, impressed, and opened her mouth to thank him when she stopped herself. She wasn't ready to forgive him and be nice yet.
'Let's go, then,' Malfoy said, pocketing his wand and making for the door. He paused and looked back to see that she hadn't moved, and frowned slightly. 'Or do you want to stay here?' he asked uncertainly.
'Um…where are we going?' Hermione said in a panic, a thousand ideas quickly scanning through her head.
'I don't know,' Malfoy admitted, looking slightly alarmed by her sudden panic. 'I thought we'd just go for a walk or something.'
'A walk?' Hermione echoed, relaxing again. A smile spread across her face, which in turn caused Malfoy to smirk back at her.
'What's so funny?' he asked suspiciously, crossing his arms and leaning against the door.
'I just can't picture you going for a walk,' Hermione snorted, unable to picture it in her head. Malfoy sniggered at her as he turned and motioned for her to follow him.
'You better believe it, Granger. I walk, I eat, I sleep…I even wear thongs.'
Hermione stifled a laugh and followed him back to the front door. Malfoy stepped back to allow her to open it and Hermione turned the handle, stepping out into the…afternoon sun burning brightly directly overhead. She really must have slept in this morning.
'I'll follow you,' Malfoy said lightly as he stepped past her while she locked the door and moved down the garden path. She pocketed the key and walked after him, stopping on the foot path to look both ways. To the right was Drake's house…she didn't really want to walk by there in case there was the slight possibility he would see her through the window. She didn't want any awkward questions later.
Silently, Hermione turned to the left and began to walk up the road at a fast pace. Malfoy easily fell into step beside her, his long legs keeping up with her all to well.
'Slow down, we're not exactly in a rush,' he said, not looking very concerned himself at the pace. Hermione slowed down slightly and he adjusted his pace as well so that they were just walking casually along. She kept to her side of the path and refused to let their arms become within casual touching-distance to each other.
When they reached the corner Hermione chose to go left again, rather than go straight ahead and end up near the shops. She wasn't in the mood to be near other people - although she wasn't sure exactly if this meant that she was glad to be with Malfoy or not. At least he wasn't making any kind of move on her…yet.
'Don't feel like talking?' Malfoy asked after a few more silent minutes. Hermione glanced over to see that he was watching her closely, and she looked away quickly rather than face the full force of his stormy eyes.
'You know where you're going, right?' he teased, looking at his surroundings distastefully.
'Of course I do, I've lived here my entire life,' Hermione huffed indignantly, irritated by his obvious snobbery. Sorry that we don't all live in mansions like you…
'Do you like it here, then?' Malfoy asked conversationally, seeming genuinely interested in the answer. Hermione shrugged.
'It's home. It's always nice to come back here and rediscover everything, it makes me feel like a little girl again,' she said without thinking. She blushed slightly as she revisited her words, not having meant to tell him anything personal.
Malfoy didn't laugh, though. He just nodded and kept walking, for which Hermione was grateful. She also found this strange behaviour for him.
'You're not really interested in talking about my life, are you?' she said, watching closely for his reaction. He didn't look offended or anything, however. He just frowned slightly and looked over at her.
'Still don't trust me?' he asked, looking truly sad by the notion. Hermione laughed, unable to help herself. He was a terrific actor.
'I'm not saying I don't trust you - which, just so you know, I'm still not sure about - I'm just saying I don't understand why you're doing all this,' Hermione replied honestly. For a moment she didn't know what to expect from Malfoy's reaction…but then he was himself again, with that irresistible smirk on his face.
'Is it so hard to think that somebody might actually like you?' he grinned, looking ahead as he spoke.
'Yes, if that person is you,' Hermione answered stubbornly. For some reason she felt satisfied when she heard Malfoy's answering laugh.
'My motives haven't exactly changed since yesterday, Granger. I just want to be your friend.'
Hermione thought about arguing with him further, but decided that she would be happier believing him than knowing he was lying. They walked in silence for a little while longer, Hermione suddenly feeling very awkward beside him.
'Have you ever been friends with a girl before?' she asked eventually, still playing his last words over in her head. Malfoy snorted indignantly.
'Um, are you forgetting who I am, Granger? Of course I have,' he said derisively, looking at her as if she were insane. Hermione scowled at him and shook her head.
'Oh, I know all about that. But I mean, have you ever really been friends with a girl. Friends.'
Malfoy seemed to think hard for a moment before answering.
'I guess when you put it like that…no,' he admitted finally. Hermione straightened up victoriously and as she looked ahead saw that they were approaching a park she used to go to when she was little.
'See, I think that's your problem,' Hermione felt very comfortable when Malfoy was the one under scrutiny instead of herself. 'I don't think you can be friends with a girl.'
'Bold accusations, Granger,' Malfoy said, though he sounded thoughtful.
'You know I'm right,' Hermione smiled, knowing that she had made him think.
'No,' Malfoy retorted. 'I just haven't tried before.'
'So I'm your experiment, am I?' Hermione pretended to be offended, but the idea was very amusing to her. She didn't believe Malfoy could not use his charms on a girl, even if he tried. He just couldn't resist.
'I guess you are,' Malfoy glanced at her to make sure she wasn't offended. 'That's not a bad thing, though.'
'Sure it's not,' Hermione replied sarcastically. 'Until you fail and try to jump on me.'
'That's not going to happen,' Malfoy answered so confidently Hermione had to believe him. She realised that it had been a long time since she'd been in his company and he hadn't tried to seduce her. What did this mean? Suddenly Hermione felt panicky again. Did it mean that he wasn't attracted to her anymore? Now that her reputation was ruined would no one ever be interested in her again?
I would deserve it, Hermione thought dully. Her suddenly sombre thoughts were interrupted by Malfoy's deep voice.
'You don't believe me, do you?' he stopped walking and turned to face her. Hermione stopped as well and tried to avoid looking into his eyes.
'Well…you seem very sure of yourself,' Hermione tried to keep the misery from her voice. Malfoy looked at her seriously and took a step towards her, forcing her to look up at him.
'Granger,' he said in a very serious tone. 'I'm not going to attack you.'
'Um. I know,' Hermione said stupidly, feeling confused. What exactly was his definition of attack?
'Oh. Then what do you look so worried about?' Now Malfoy seemed confused as he took in her expression.
'I just don't know if you can be friends with me, Malfoy,' Hermione said regretfully, unsure why this thought seemed to make her so sad. But Malfoy relaxed and his jaw slackened into a smile.
'You think this is all a ploy to seduce you again?' he smirked. 'You wish.'
And suddenly the mood was light again as Malfoy turned and strolled away, crossing the road and heading towards the park Hermione had spotted earlier.
'Coming?' Malfoy turned and walked backwards slowly, calling to her tauntingly. Hermione took a deep breath and nodded before crossing the road after him. Malfoy smiled in satisfaction and kept walking, not bothering to wait for her.
'How does he always manage to turn the conversation away from him?' Hermione muttered darkly under her breath, glaring at his back as she walked after him.
When Malfoy reached the edge of the tanbark he stopped and waited for her, appearing confused by the equipment before him.
'So, what do we do here?' he asked her, eyeing the slide suspiciously. Hermione smirked, glad again to find something that he couldn't make witty remarks about, and made a beeline for the swing.
'This is called a playground, and that's exactly what you do here. You play,' she said slowly, as if talking to a two-year-old. Malfoy ignored her condescending tone and followed after her carefully, staring around apprehensively.
'What are all these things?' he asked, looking up at the frame of the swings in confusion. Hermione laughed as she went to sit down on one.
'This is a swing. You swing on it.'
'I've seen a picture of this before,' Malfoy said, the memory dawning on him. He looked to Hermione and watched as she swung gently back and forwards. 'I see.'
He stood and watched her for a while until Hermione began to feel uncomfortable.
'Don't you want to swing?' she asked, feeling self-conscious. Malfoy shook his head.
'Push me then,' Hermione said, the idea suddenly coming to her. A guy like Malfoy could get her really high…higher than her dad could, even. When she was little it had always been her dream to swing all the way around…she knew now, of course, that that would be more dangerous than fun, but she always loved to swing high.
Looking wary, Malfoy circled around behind her and gave her a hesitant push. Hermione laughed.
'Harder than that. As hard as you can,' she ordered him. Malfoy smirked.
'Alright then,' he waited until she swung as close to him as possible, then pushed on her back with all the force he could muster.
Hermione let out a small scream as she almost went shooting over the top of the swings. Malfoy jumped out of the way as she came flying back in the opposite direction and couldn't help but laugh at the look of terror on her face. As she slowed down a little Hermione's expression turned to joy and she began to use her legs to keep up the motion…back and forwards she flew, feeling weightless for the first time in months. She felt free as a bird…she was a bird…flying through the sky…
As she slowly returned to the ground, the swings becoming smaller and smaller, Malfoy took his place e behind her again and pushed her very gently on the small of her back. For a while they were silent, Hermione swinging only the slightest bit and Malfoy pushing her as carefully as he could. At long last when she came back towards him Malfoy grabbed hold of the chains and held her still.
'Did that feel good?' he asked, anticipating her answer.
'You have no idea,' Hermione said, still slightly breathless. She closed her eyes and smiled a real, happy smile. Malfoy watched over her shoulder and smiled himself, until her eyes opened and she looked around at him, frowning again.
'What?' he asked in confusion, moving his face away from hers.
'Nothing, I…I thought you were going to try and kiss me,' she muttered, feeling embarrassed. She had sensed his face close to hers when her eyes were shut, and she had moved away because she was afraid that he would lean in closer.
Malfoy smirked at her as he walked around to stand in front of her instead, his hands still holding the swing still.
'I wasn't,' he said. 'But if that's what you want…'
Hermione opened her mouth to snap out a reply but Malfoy laughed began to swing her again, taking a step out of the way.
'Kidding, Granger. Friends, remember?'
'Right,' Hermione said, unable to say anything else. She was still trying to calm her fast-thudding heart. How surreal this felt, sitting on a swing in her childhood playground with Malfoy. It felt like a scene from a corny romance movie, where he caught the swing and then leaned in for a kiss. In fact, Hermione was sure she'd seen that somewhere…
'What's that thing for?' Malfoy nodded towards the slide. Hermione put her feet to the ground to slow herself down and jumped lightly off the swing to walk over to where he was looking.
'The slide, you mean?' she asked, and he nodded. She looked around for the tiny ladder and pointed at it. 'Climb up there,' she instructed him. Malfoy looked at the child-sized steps and instead grabbed hold of the side of the structure, and in two steps he had hoisted himself up the side. He stood at he top of the slide and looked down it, comprehension slowly making itself known on his face.
'You slide down it, right?' he asked, looking cautious.
'Right,' Hermione stood at the bottom and waited as he very slowly sat down at the top and looked at her with one eyebrow raised. 'Uh…yeah, this is meant for kids,' Hermione admitted when she saw the problem. Malfoy was far too wide to fit down it.
'You show me, then,' Malfoy stood and easily jumped back to the ground without any problems. Hermione sighed and reluctantly walked over to the ladder, feeling foolish as she climbed up it properly. How could Malfoy look so cool on a playground? She must just look like an overgrown fool.
'Like this,' she said, sitting down and pushing herself off. She slid down the slide quickly, feeling the static against the plastic surface. When she got to the bottom and stood up Malfoy was looking at her strangely.
'Yes?' she said grumpily, feeling embarrassed. Malfoy smirked.
'Why so embarrassed?' he asked, starting up again with the questions.
'Because you made me look stupid,' Hermione answered truthfully. Malfoy laughed.
'It's what I do best,' he said. Hermione had no answer to that. It was true enough.
'I think I've had enough of this play ground,' Malfoy said, looking around at it with dislike.
'You and me both,' Hermione muttered, following him as he began to walk away. When they reached the footpath Malfoy looked to her for guidance and Hermione, glancing up at the sky, decided they had better head back to her house. While it seemed like it had only been a short while since they'd left her house, the sun was much lower in the sky than before. It must be close to five o'clock…where had all that time gone?
'So, where are your parents?' Malfoy asked after they had walked a couple of hundred metres. The silence didn't seem awkward to either of them, and Hermione was slightly startled when he spoke. She glanced sideways at him to check whether his face was wrinkled in disgust at the mention of her muggle parents, but he just looked damned gorgeous with his brow creased slightly in genuine curiosity. Now that was certainly interesting…not one remark about mudbloods all day.
'They're in Japan. What, you missed that detail when you were spying on me?' Hermione said mockingly, suddenly wondering what exactly he had seen when he'd been spying on her.
'I wasn't really spying,' Malfoy said, not looking concerned by her accusatory stare. 'I just checked in once or twice to see if you were alone. When I saw them driving off with luggage I figured I could come and talk to you.'
'So were you hiding in the bushes while I was talking to - uh…my neighbour?' Hermione caught herself quickly, not wanting to give away Drake's name yet.
'Well…not exactly,' Malfoy looked unconcerned to admit this to her. 'I went for a little walk around the block, actually. I felt a bit…nervous.'
'Nervous?' Hermione laughed. 'Of talking to me?'
'Yes,' Malfoy said, refusing to be abashed. 'I knew you would be angry to see me. That's why I didn't come earlier, I guess.'
'Ha!' Hermione screeched, looking at him triumphantly. 'You were scared of me!'
Malfoy smiled tightly. 'You could never be scary. You're too small.'
Hermione scowled at him, her triumph short lived. 'My hair can be big,' she muttered. Malfoy laughed and smartly chose not to comment on that one.
'So tell me about this neighbour,' he said, managing to spill a lot of revulsion into those few words. Hermione shrugged indifferently, hoping he wouldn't pursue the subject.
'I don't really know him,' she said honestly.
'Why does he love you, then?' Malfoy said accusingly. Hermione looked at him curiously, but his expression was calm and controlled, as usual.
'He doesn't love me, you idiot. He's just being friendly.' Malfoy snorted and muttered something that Hermione didn't quite manage to hear, which was probably a good thing.
'All I know is he goes to Oxford and he plays football and he's very smart,' Hermione said guardedly, not wanting to dish out his life story just yet. She wasn't sure she trusted Malfoy's tone.
'How old is he? He looks about ten,' Malfoy sneered and Hermione rolled her eyes.
'I don't know. Nineteen, twenty, maybe.'
'Too old for you,' Malfoy said at once. Hermione laughed loudly.
'Ok, Dad. I'll let him know,' she laughed derisively, finding his tone hilarious.
'I'm serious. I can tell you from a man's perspective, he's only after one thing,' Malfoy looked pointedly down at her body and back to her face. Hermione glowered at him.
'You don't know him at all,' she said irritably. Malfoy shrugged.
'I took one look at him and I knew.'
'Just because he looks like you doesn't mean he acts like you,' Hermione retorted. Malfoy started as if she'd slapped him and spluttered indignantly.
'He doesn't - look like me! Don't insult me, Granger,' he said scornfully, looking mortally offended. Hermione rolled her eyes but let it go.
'Look, I don't care what you think because unlike you he's nice. He didn't try anything when we went out to dinner -'
Malfoy let out a shout of surprise and turned to look at her in disbelief.
'You went out to dinner with this idiot?!' he cried, looking furious. Hermione sighed and kept walking.
'With our parents as well,' she said. Malfoy laughed and began walking again.
'Of course he didn't try anything, then. Wouldn't want Daddy to carve him a new one.'
'Ugh,' Hermione shot him a look of irritation. 'Why are we even discussing this? I don't even know him and he's got nothing to do with you anyway!'
'Fine,' Malfoy pouted then smirked. 'Don't come running to me when he "jumps" on you, like you said before.'
'You seem to have confused several people in that logic,' Hermione grumbled. They were already back in her street, and as they approached her house Hermione suddenly felt uncertain. Did he expect to come back inside?
When they reached her fence they both stopped walking and faced each other awkwardly. Hermione suddenly found that her heart was racing, and she felt the strange sensation that something was slipping away from her. Was she really that starved for human contact that she was desperate to be in Malfoy's company?
'I bet you thought that you wouldn't see me again after yesterday,' Malfoy said finally, smirking once more and not looking uncomfortable at all. It must just be her, then.
'I certainly didn't expect to see you today,' Hermione said, scowling at the memory of how he had woken her up.
'I brought you donuts,' Malfoy defended himself, pretending to be hurt by her tone.
'And ate them all,' Hermione scoffed. Malfoy shrugged.
'I'm a growing boy,' he smirked. 'I need my energy.'
'Energy for what?' Hermione asked stupidly. 'No, don't answer that.'
Malfoy grinned at her. 'Don't worry. The only exercise I'm getting is the kind that comes from a broom.'
Hermione let that thought stir through her mind for a moment. That could be interpreted so many wrong ways…
And yet a tiny sliver of happiness seemed to trickle down her spine at his words. She shook her head to clear it and walked towards the gate. She opened it slowly and turned around to see that Malfoy hadn't moved.
She opened her mouth…to say what? To invite him in? She wasn't sure that she wanted to do that. Malfoy made no move to follow her, yet his expression seemed slightly wistful.
'What are you doing tomorrow?' he asked her breathlessly. Hermione blinked for several moments, stunned. She had been sure that she'd been lousy company - moping and moaning and mistrusting him at every turn.
'You want to see me again?' she asked in surprise. Malfoy looked at her as if she had hit her head against something and smirked.
''Course I do. We're friends, aren't we?' he said. Hermione bit her lip.
'Not yet,' she said honestly. Malfoy didn't seem put out.
'I'll keep trying, then. Tomorrow?'
Hermione thought for a moment. Of course, she had no plans in the foreseeable future. And the company was a nice change. But she wasn't sure yet if she was happier in Malfoy's company or out of it. She couldn't deny that his intentions seemed good. But being around him made her feel vulnerable…but also free. Like when she'd been on the swing. She wanted to feel that way again, and she wasn't sure she could without him.
'Tomorrow. But not so early, please,' she said at last. Malfoy grinned and nodded.
'Fine. Dinner, then. I'm not in a hurry to go to a muggle shop again, so I guess I'll meet you here.'
Hermione nodded, not needing to ask about his house. The very idea was ludicrous. She knew there was no way that she would ever be allowed in, or even want to go in. She also knew that Malfoy wouldn't have said a word to his parents about where he was going today.
'I'll cook you something,' Malfoy offered, unsure by her silence. Hermione smiled grimly.
'You couldn't cook a thing,' she said, calling his bluff. Malfoy conceded.
'No. But I'll try,' he winked at her. 'Bye, then.'
And then he was walking away again. Hermione watched him for a little while, starting in embarrassment when he turned to look back at her.
Slowly she started up the garden path and unlocked the front door, stepping in quickly before anything else strange could happen to her.
Well, that was definitely a first. Spending almost a whole day in Malfoy's company, and he hadn't insulted her or touched her or anything. This was a side of him that she had never known could exist…but she liked it. And she realised, as she reflected over the day, that she had enjoyed herself. Sure, they hadn't done much. But she'd felt alive again.
She wasn't going to go all mushy over it, though. She would cook herself some eggs for dinner, sit down with a book, and go on with her day as if it was just another ordinary one for her.
Because the yearning for him to come back was already creeping through her empty mind, overwhelming right down to her fast beating heart.
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Interesting seeing Draco in the muggle world isn't it! I hope you all don't hate Hermione as much as you used to..and I hope that you love Draco MORE than you used to, he's so adorable in this chapter I think :)
Now, let me know what you think and I can get on with the next chapter! Hopefully out sooner as well.. lots of love xxxxxx