My goodness! You all reviewed wonderfully for the last chapter. Believe me when I say that I never thought I would get 30+ reviews in one day! Thank you all so much. I was so moved and touched by what most of you said in your reviews. They made me feel giddy.
A special thanks to all of those who gave me slang words to use for this fic. Now its not that I would be using them all the time, its just good to have an array of words to choose from.
READ'EM PEOPLE 12 PAGES ALL FOR YOU!
Disclaimer: I own nothing, but John Ellermann.
Chapter 25: Their Date
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Draco walked out of the Hufflepuff common room relieved. Who could stand that much blue and yellow? Their common room looked like it had been decorated with neon paint! Draco's headache worsened just at the thought of those colors. He shook his head and walked towards the dungeons. It had been awhile since he had been down here. He had made the decision to post the signs after his Hippocrates class; he had arrived so late the professor had complained of old age.
Draco felt the cold draft of the dungeons creep up his skin like a chill. He walked down the few steps that led down to the portrait. He said the password and climbed through the hole only to be greeted with a noisy room. Draco looked around and saw that nothing had remotely changed from the month he had been away. He walked straight over to the bulletin board and hung the poster up.
"Don't you think mental people helping other mental people is a step in the wrong direction?" asked an amused voice from behind Draco. Draco smirked as he turned and stuck his hand out to greet Blaise.
"Depends on who I'm helping. How have you been Blaise?" Draco asked letting shaking Blaise's hand firmly. Blaise smirked back and took his hand back and shrugged.
"Miserable of course. You don't owl, you don't floo...What's a bloke to do?"
"Just my luck. You're beginning to sound more like that decrepit hat."
"And you're beginning to forget about your fellow Slytherins," Blaise shot back.
"Now, now. I am performing a service to my fellow seventh year Slytherins by giving them my counsel. Is that not enough?" Draco asked with mock innocence.
"Your council? Why not just directly chuck them to St. Mungo's?" Blaise countered sardonically.
"You're right. You should be the first to go," Draco said with a hand to his chin in serious thought. Blaise laughed and clapped Draco on the shoulder.
"How have you been mate? Your woman been treating you well?"
"Better than you might think actually," Draco said taking a seat in a corner of the room. Blaise followed and quirked a brow.
"So no more problems with the 'Mrs.?'," Blaise asked. Draco laughed remembering other times he had talked to Blaise, Draco always seemed to have problems with Hermione. Draco sighed and shook his head. He needed someone to talk to and to get advice from.
"No more problems...for right now," Draco said sitting fully sitting back in his chair.
"For right now eh?"
"Let's just say that Granger and I have had our own private counseling. It has made things...tolerable for now," said Draco looking at Blaise with a rather hopeless expression. Draco knew that things were more than just tolerable, but hey, he was guy. Men did not talk about things like women did. Blaise understood though. As he looked at his mate, he saw that there was that spark of happiness, but there was something marring it.
"Yeah things are tolerable, but what would make you have problems again?" Blaise asked. Draco looked down, pursed his lips, and then looked back up at Blaise.
"At the Halloween ball, did you notice who the Weaselette was with?" Draco asked sitting upright now. Blaise thought back and smiled when he remembered.
"Ah yes, Ellermann right? He's the beater for Ravenclaw this year. I met him during one of the practices for Slytherin. He's an arrogant prick. Why do you ask?"
"Ellermann? Well, whatever his last name is, he just touches a nerve," Draco said. Blaise looked at Draco puzzled. What on the Earth did Ellermann have to do with Draco having future marital problems? Blaise thought back to the dance. He had only seen Ellermann when he was dancing with Alicia. Ellermann had been on the dance floor with some beautiful Cinderella...The same Cinderella that had been dragged out of the Great Hall by Draco.
"Could that nerve that Ellermann touches be named Granger?" Blaise asked sharply. Draco frowned at the smirk that now graced Blaise's face.
"Wipe that smile off your face. I know what you think and its pure bollocks," Draco bit. Blaise raised his brows.
"What in the world are you talking about? What could I possibly be thinking?" Blaise asked sarcastically.
"That I am actually jealous of that devious bastard," Draco supplied coldly.
"You said it not me," Blaise countered.
"Well I'm not."
"Of course you aren't."
"Don't patronize me Zabini."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Zabini I'm warning you," Draco said frigidly.
"Alright fine. Ruin my fun. With all honesty though, why would you even take a second glance at this guy?" Blaise asked looking at Draco purposefully.
"Because he's getting to close to Granger," Draco said without thinking. He quickly looked up at Blaise and stood.
"Not that I bloody care. She's free to pick her own friends."
"But with your permission first right?" Blaise supplied. Draco glared at Blaise and sighed.
"What's your point Zabini?" Draco asked getting more exasperated by the minute. Blaise looked at Draco with a serious expression and folded his arms.
"My point? My point is that Granger is the first person you've...warmed up to since, well, me. What's more is that Granger is the first person you've warmed up to since you became human," Blaise said, his straight stare never wavering. Draco furrowed his brows. What did Blaise mean by that? Human?
"Since I became human? Curious, just what was I before?" Draco asked with cold sarcasm.
"You were Lucius," Blaise said simply. He knew that these little three words would have a tremendous impact on Draco. Simply because Draco hated his father and what he had done to his mother. Also, what he had done to his own son. Blaise was no fool. He had known that it had taken Mrs. Malfoy a tremendous amount of time to transform her son into some resemblance of human life. Though Draco was still rather crude around the edges, he was not the same boy, nay, man that he was sixth year. The Draco that took pleasure from causing severe pain to Granger was now the one who depended on her.
Blaise knew that his assumptions about Draco's reaction was right when he grabbed Blaise by the collar and brought him near to his fierce looking face. Blaise allowed Draco to glare openly at him.
"You've got some balls to be saying that to me. To even mention that fucker's name to me. But I think you're just down right insane to compare me to him," Draco said ferociously. Blaise never even blinked. He had known that Draco would react this way, or at least he was prepared for it.
"You have to face it Draco. You were like him. The same heartless, soulless, and arrogant bastard. You were him. The only good thing he ever did for you and your mum was becoming worm bait."
Draco clenched his jaw hard and cast Blaise harshly away. Blaise composed himself and fixed his tie.
"You feel threatened by Ellermann, Draco. You think that he could take away the one thing that keeps you from becoming your father again," Blaise said quietly. Draco turned his back on Blaise and put his fist to his chin in anger, but then put it back down and chuckled.
"You've known me too many years Blaise. I think you might actually know me better than my own mother," Draco said still chuckling. Blaise also joined in a chuckle or two. Draco turned and sent Blaise an appreciative look.
"I do know you better than your mum. I also know that you hate feeling vulnerable, which is why you are denying the fact that you need her," Blaise said.
"I do care about her Zabini. You got me on that, but my life doesn't depend on her," Draco said with a quirked brow.
"Oh, but you do depend on her Malfoy. You need her to stay human, to keep your father at bay. You're mother did one hell of a job, but I have a feeling that Granger is the key to her success," Blaise said. Draco shifted and looked down. He didn't admit it aloud, but to himself he knew that Blaise was right. Draco had no clue what he would do if he hadn't had his mother at his side, or if he didn't have Hermione at his side.
"Ellermann may steal her away Malfoy, but there's no harm in hurting him a little to get your 'Mrs.' back," Blaise said blithely, but with a malicious glint in his eye.
Draco smirked at nodded his head. "You're pretty smart for someone so incredibly insane you know that?"
"Of course."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Draco walked down the corridor and to the Great Hall. Talking with Blaise had put many things in perspective for him. Never once had he thought of Hermione as a key to his 'human' side. In Draco's mind this made Hermione appear more important. Ellermann maybe annoying, but he was no one to take Hermione from him.
Draco walked through the double doors and did a double take. At first he thought that the conversation he had earlier with Blaise had given his mind hallucinations, but as he blinked hard and rubbed his eyes he could plainly see that the atrocious sight before him was no joke. He saw as Ellermann got up from the opposite side of the Gryffindor table to sit next to Hermione. Anger began to biol within his veins as Draco took in the proximity of Ellermann and his wife.
But as John began to lift his hand to touch Hermione, something within Draco snapped. He never thought that he would feel such utter hate for someone that he didn't really know. The only thing that crossed Draco's mind at that moment was to drown John in a vat of hot oil. Draco clenched his jaw and fists and walked over to the annoying pestilence that now shrouded his life.
"You are a rare thing in life Hermione," Draco heard John say. You're a dead man, Draco thought as he approached. Hermione still hadn't seen him and neither had John, but Draco did notice the slight revulsion that showed on his wife's face. This simmered his anger and brought a smirk to his face.
"Really Ellermann? And how would you explain your annoying existence in life?" Draco said frigidly. Hermione looked up at him with surprised, but thankful eyes. Draco caught this and sent her a wink that John failed to notice.
"Well Malfoy you're hardly the one that should have to explain myself to," John said smoothly. Draco narrowed his eyes, but kept his smirk and cool demeanor.
"Well then maybe you should find someone to explain yourself to right now," Draco said. John smirked at his hint to leave, but shook his head.
"If anything Malfoy you are the intruder at this moment. Hermione and I were enjoying each other's company, but then you came," John said with cold politeness. Hermione bit her lip and stood. She really did want to get away from John. She thought him a rather nice bloke, but at the moment he was creeping her out.
"What are you even doing over here Ellermann? I thought the smartass table was over there," Draco said referring to the Ravenclaw table. Hermione wanted to giggle at Draco's pun on Ravenclaw, but merely smiled discretely at him. John narrowed his eyes.
"What are you doing here? The Death Eater Table is that way," John said pointing at the Slytherin table. Draco clenched his teeth and let it slide. This was no time to kick Ellermann's ass. He would do it later when Hermione wasn't present. Hermione felt the growing tension and smiled politely at John.
"His class let's out at half past ten. And I thought Ravenclaws were known for their brightness. I guess you're the exception to that rule," Draco said with mock sympathy.
"I thought that Slytherins were known for their notorious independence, but I guess it's the other way around. I mean, what did you really call Voldemort? Master perhaps?" John said nearing Draco so that he could whisper it. Draco set his cold dead stare at John.
"Sod off Ellermann if you don't want to see the lid of a casket," Draco said barely moving his lips. John smirked. Draco wouldn't dare do anything to hm in front of Hermione. How wrong he was.
"No I got it wrong. It was your mental bint of a mother that called him Master right?" John said laughing slightly at the end. Draco just looked at John unblinkingly.
SMACK!
THUD!
The clap of flesh being slapped echoed throughout the entire Great Hall. Students halted with food halfway to their mouths; conversations ceased in mid-sentence. Shocked eyes followed the body of a handsome boy as it toppled to the floor. Draco's hand was still clenched and his knuckles white. Hermione looked on astonished not fully comprehending what had happened. John was on the floor in pain and his hand was gripping his jaw.
"You can't I say didn't warn you Ellermann," was the only thing Draco said before Hermione regained her composure and grabbed him by the hand and ran out of the hall.
She had no idea as to what had happened. First John and Draco were talking, then they started to whisper and she couldn't hear a thing. Then Draco quickly stuck John! It was so quick that she really didn't get a good look as to when he did it. The only thing she knew is that she would not let him get into trouble...yet.
He was going to hear her out.
She reached the common room and scrambled to get in, nearly ripping Shatopher's picture in the process. She roughly let go of Draco and sighed with anger. Draco set his things next to the couch and took a seat.
"I am only going to say this once so that you know how angry I am," Hermione said with a tight and shaky voice. She sighed again and then looked at Draco pointedly.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?" Hermione shrieked. Draco looked at her with a bit of surprise, but not an ounce of guilt was in his eyes.
"I sometimes am. People usually leave a message though," Draco said.
"I don't get it! Why in the world would you do something like that?" Hermione asked coming closer to him and putting her hands on her hips.
"You didn't hear him," Draco said simply.
"Nothing you can tell me is good enough reason to almost knock a man unconscious Draco," Hermione said sharply. Draco looked at her when she said his name and then looked back at the wall.
"Forget it then."
"Draco that's not the point. You are the Assistant to the Headmaster! You rank higher than any of the professors for Merlin's sake! You cannot go around hitting students," Hermione ranted.
"And you can't go hide me from the professors," Draco said with a mild grin. Hermione's rant faltered a bit as she looked like the words had been taken from her mouth. She let her arms fall from her sides and she looked down blushing.
"I didn't hide you," she defended weakly. Draco scoffed and stood, inching his way closer to her.
"Right, so you just smuggled me out of the Great Hall after hitting a student," Draco teased in a deep voice. Hermione blushed even harder. Where was he going with this?
"I didn't want you to get into trouble just yet. I had to have to say first," Hermione said getting her confidence and ardor back.
"You just had to have your say first because you are so much more important than the Headmaster," Draco taunted getting closer to her.
Hermione looked up and raised a cocky brow. "Of course I am more important."
Draco looked genuinely surprised at her. "Really?"
"Mmhmm. I am your wife hence the nagging and reckoning," Hermione said with the same arrogant attitude. Draco was finally close enough to snag her in his arms. Hermione didn't even see it coming; it was like when Draco had punched John, it was so quick.
"Draco let me go," Hermione commanded.
"No," he said simply, "but seeing as you're taking on the role of my wife, you are also to obey your husband. Don't have anything planned for this Thursday night," Draco commanded lightly.
"Why?"
"Don't ask questions just do what you're told for once," he said letting her go and losing his taunting air, "We have to go over how we're going counsel Nott and Bones, though just the thought makes me want to gag."
Hermione shook her head at his sudden change in mood and walked over to the desk where their plans for the couples lay. She picked them up and sat next to where Draco was now sitting.
"Alright we'll go over them, just remember to let me do all of the talking," she said with a slight smile.
"Deal Hermione."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The days passed without much significance. They had Theodore and Susan over at their dorm for counseling the following day, Monday. It was rather interesting how Susan had described Theodore's snoring as 'a dragon's mating call.' Hermione had rather laughed when she said this and so did Susan, but Theodore just scowled. When it was Theodore's turn to comment on what problems he had with Susan, he rather enthusiastically said that she nagged worse than 'McGonagall on a good day.' Draco had let out a snort of laughter while Hermione glared at him and discretely pinched his thigh.
Hermione and Draco gave their advice to the troubled couple. Draco was a bit more blunt on his behalf ("Honestly Bones. Ever heard of a Silencing Charm? Well not that you will when you cast it...It should solve all your problems.') While Hermione was a bit more gentle and amicable with Nott ("Well if she has a point on the subject, then take her advice. If not, then you can perform the Silencing Charm on a person...")
They counseled three more couples the following three days. After every session Draco would always disappear and not return until dark. Hermione had often inquired to where he had been. Draco would merely say not to start acting like any old wife. The sessions of counseling had gone rather well. The couple on Tuesday came in with the problem of constant bickering; this was a relatively short visit. Hermione and Draco both said that it was a problem no married couple could ever remedy.
Hermione and Draco finished their counseling session for Thursday. The has used up the full hour on two Hufflepuffs that had a don't-know-when-to-shut-up problem. The wife had a tendency to say the truth in a less than tactful way. The husband just blurted out whatever came to his mind. Hermione had tired many exercises to show them both what their flaws were, but Draco had solved this one with just a few words. ("Why don't you both just shut it?" he had said impatiently.)
Hermione had glared hard at him. He caught the glare and merely shrugged. His words seemed to have done the trick; the couple both kept silent after Draco's sage advice and nodded. Soon after the couple had left, Draco stood and looked at Hermione expectantly. Hermione gathered up her noted from the session haphazardly and turned to see Draco's face.
"What?" she asked bemused.
"Remember what I told you Monday about today?" he asked picking up his noted as well. Hermione walked over to the desk in their common room and answered.
"No. What did you tell me?"
Draco also waked over to the desk to store away his noted. He then looked back up at Hermione and pursed his lips. He looked her over form head to toe and shook his head and sighed.
"Take off your clothes," he said seriously.
"What?" Hermione nearly shrieked.
"What you're wearing is hardly appropriate for our date tonight. You'll need to take those clothes off and wear something more...dressy," he said failing to find the right word. Hermione suddenly understood; he was surprising her for their date! She smiled discretely and nodded.
"How much time do I have?"
"I'll give you a half-hour," Draco said. Hermione dashed up the steps and into her room. She walked over to her armoire and opened it. She looked inside trying to find a neutral sort of dress. 'Bingo!' She pulled out a thigh-length dress and put it on. She gave herself a once-over in the mirror and frowned. She needed shoes.
She went back to her armoire and saw she only had a pair of silver colored heels from the Halloween ball. She tried them on, went to the mirror, and frowned again. She grabbed her wand and magicked her hair in a up-do. Small curly tendrils of hair adorned her face and her neck. The dress was a deep midnight-blue color with a v-neck in the front and back. It had no sparkles or designs, but it looked great.
As soon as she stepped out of her room and into the common room where Draco awaited her, Draco thought that she looked magnificent. The dress might have been bland, but it hugged her very nicely and showed off her...assets. He was already dressed in a white button up dress shirt and grey slacks that brought out his eyes. Hermione smiled modestly as she walked closer to him.
"You look like...You look beautiful," Draco said simply. Hermione's smile widened and blushed.
"Thanks. You look quite handsome yourself. I've never seen you dress up like this since-"
"-Our wedding," Draco interjected. Hermione nodded.
"Well...Where are we going?" Hermione asked keenly.
"You'll have to wait for that. You said to surprise you remember?" Draco chided. Hermione pouted mockingly and then smiled.
"Right. How are we getting there then?"
"Hermione we're in seventh year. We're Apparating," Draco said in a 'duh' like fashion.
"We'll walk out to the edge of the Forbidden Forest and then just hold my hand and I'll Apparate us," Draco said walking towards their door. Hermione nodded and followed suit. They soon walked all the way to the edge of the forest. Hermione placed her warm hand in Draco's rough one and held her breath as she felt the pressure of Apparation. Soon it ebbed away and she breathed again. She looked around and saw a never-ending green lawn and a huge mansion to the upper left. She looked back at Draco and saw behind him a huge lake.
"Draco...where are we?" she asked walking over to the lake.
"We're at the Malfoy Estate. I thought that for our first date you might like something private, so I thought we could have a picnic next to my lake," he said with a soft smile. Hermione froze for a moment. A picnic by a lake? At night...'Merlin...Just like my last date with Viktor.' Draco noticed her stiffness and frowned.
"What's the matter?"
Hermione shook herself out of her thoughts and smiled. "Nothing. Just...nothing. What do you have made for tonight?" she asked sitting down on a blanket that Draco had laid out.
"Depends on what you want. You're the lady of the house now, so you can order whatever you like," he said sitting down. Hermione was usually against the use of House elves, but seeing as how this was her first date with Draco...Allowances could be made.
"I'll have the Fedeccini Chicken with light Alfredo sauce and a Cesar salad with raspberry tea," she said naming her favorite dish. Draco smiled faintly and thought for a minute.
"I'll have the Leg of Lamb with steamed vegetables and...a baked potato with butter and a lemonade," he said also naming his favorite dish.
Suddenly in the middle of the Hermione and Draco, a Japanese style dinner table popped up with their choice of plates on it. There were two candles at each end that were unlit. Hermione looked amazed as she took in the smell of the food.
"Ah I see I have to at least light the candles. Incendio!" Draco said pointing at the candles with his wand.
"How did you do all of this?" Hermione asked still baffled.
"After my father died, I began to treat the elves a bit nicer," Draco said with mirth.
They began their meal and a conversation that soon led to everything. They talked about their childhoods before Hogwarts, though Hermione more than Draco. They spoke of Minister of Magic that was elected last year; they shared opinions on the war and how it could've gone better; they spoke about the lack of music there is the wireless; then they started to talk about them and their future.
Their meal had been finished and cleaned up. Hermione sat there looking at the moon's reflection on the water. Her thoughts had not once drifted to Viktor and their very much similar date. She though that her night with Draco would've been affected by that, but it seems that she has moved on more than she thought. Draco lightly touched her shoulder and scooted closer to her. Hermione looked up at him and smiled.
"What were you thinking of just now?" Draco asked.
"Nothing important," Hermione responded unconvincingly.
"C'mon Hermione. If we want a healthy relationship, then you need to start talking to me. What were you thinking about?" Draco prodded gently.
"I was thinking about..." Hermione sighed and kept on, "I was thinking about my last date with Viktor. He took me to a lake. We had a picnic. And then he proposed," Hermione said with a lopsided smile. Draco leaned back form Hermione and closed his eyes and clenched his jaw.
"You should've said something," he said tightly.
"Oh no! That's just it. Only now did I really think about it. What I meant to say is that I thought that my night with you would've been shot because of that last memory, but...it wasn't," Hermione said gently to Draco. She slowly brought her hand up to his face and caressed his cheek.
"You have no idea how bad it would've been had it not been for you cracking my shell. That's exactly what I was in after Viktor died, a shell. You've broken it and allowed me to move on. Viktor is apart of my life, my past. My future is with you," she said tenderly.
Draco put his hand on top of the one she put on his face. "I'm glad we're finally on the same page." He then took her same hand and removed it from his face to give it a kiss.
"We weren't for a long time were we?" Hermione questioned.
"No. I actually thought I would never see this day come. The day when you and I could finally acknowledge together that we are bounded for life."
He leaned in closer to her face and cupped her cheek. Hermione awaited his kiss, then turned her head. Draco removed his hand from her face and looked at her quizzically.
"What's the matter?"
"Nothing, I just don't think I'm ready for that just yet," she said softly.
"Why not? We've kissed before," Draco protested.
"That was different."
"How?"
"I was still getting over Viktor. And when we kissed, it was more of just a way to help me...grieve."
"That's bollocks. Why is it different now?" Draco asked getting angry.
"Because if I kiss you now then I might feel something...different. I might have feelings for you. I just don't think I am ready for that," Hermione confessed blushing with her eyes downcast. Draco finally understood and put a finger under her chin to lift her gaze to his eyes.
"How would you know if you never tried?" he questioned bringing her soft face close to his again...
HAHA! You all love my cliffies! BEWARE! OMG its been A LONG TIME. I finally have it though. I now know where the story is going and just let me say that I think I have made a rather intricate plot that will require several more chapters!
Note 1: I am still testing and studying so please bear with me on the tedious process of writing and posting.
Note two: I aced all of my previous midterms! I am quite happy with the confrontation between Draco and John. I like the insults. Hehe. I also like the chat between Blaise and Draco. I had to edit it a THOUSAND times, but its gr8!
And back by popular demand!...
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Marina aka FlameWriter008