"Do enlighten me, what are you thinking about?"
Hermione felt her cheeks grow hot. A blush was reaching down her chest. Lucius shamelessly studied her decollete. Swallowing hard she blushed even further. He smirked. She hated that she was so obvious. Biting on her lip to prevent herself from making a snarky remark ruining the moment in progress, she turned her attention to Professor McGonagall.
The older witch called the graduates to the stage to hand them one by one their NEWT-certificates. Waiting for their turn Ginny took the time to chat with Hermione.
"Those are pretty earrings, I bet they were expensive."
Hermione blushed. Instantly reaching for her ears she bit her lip. For some reason she couldn't help but smile.
Ginny smiled back at her. "You look happy."
"Miss Granger," Professor McGonagall called out and Hermione walked slowly towards the Headmistress. She almost forgot to breathe. Accepting her certificate with shaking hands she had to admit that she was nervous after all.
It took ages until the last student was finally handed the document. A last picture was taken for the Daily Prophet before the official part ended and they were good to go. Ginny and George were already on the dance floor. The Weird Sisters were playing.
Hermione handed Lucius her Graduationcertificate before heading to the bathroom. She took her time to check her make up walking back to the older wizard. As she waited for the stairs to turn in the right direction, Hermione couldn't help smiling. She couldn't wait for Lucius to take her home, to take the next step and to sleep in his bed and never leave.
Hermione wasn't gone for long. From afar she could see Draco and Lucius talking. Surprisingly, neither of them seemed tense but they were attentive and chuckling at the moment.
She stopped. Letting her shoulders fall she sighed. Hermione took a deep breath. She wanted to groan but smiled instead. It was good to see her wizards talking again. It really was. Just why did it have to be today?
Raising her head she approached the two wizards. She let her hand run over Draco's back and leaned against Lucius.
"What are your plans for the evening?" Lucius asked his son.
"Not sure yet," he shrugged, "I'm hungry."
Lucius looked at Hermione and she nodded.
"I know just the place to go," Hermione said smiling. "Dinner is on me. No discussion," she added quickly as the two Malfoys exchanged a glance.
She took their hands and dragged them to the fireplace. They flooed to the Leaking Cauldron and from there they took a cab. Being the shortest Hermione sat in the middle. Lucius' hand rested on her lap. Her arms swung around his and she leaned against it with her head placed on his shoulder.
Draco was looking out of the window paying no attention to them. He was taken by the view of muggle London at night. The city was illuminated brightly. Unlike Draco, his father managed to tear his eyes from the window to check on Hermione every few moments.
He swung his arm around her waist and placed his other hand in her lap. He stroked over her thighs. Only the thin silk fabric of her dress separated them. Hermione closed her eyes and pressed herself against him. With his long elegant fingers, he caressed her skin.
The black cab came to a halt. The driver said something she didn't get. Startled, it took her a moment to realize what the driver wanted. Before she could react, Draco had already paid for the ride. Lucius held the door open for her and offered Hermione his hand.
The three of them stood in front of a muggle place. They could see people through the large windows. The bright light shone upon the pavement and a big yellow M throned over the restaurant. Both Malfoys looked at the reddish color code with a raised brow.
She dragged the two aristocratic purebloods into the fast-food-restaurant. "I'll grab us something to eat. Why don't you get us a table."
Draco and Lucius exchanged a glance.
"Look, that's hardly a fine restaurant, inviting you won't break the bank and you wouldn't know what to order anyway."
Lucius piercing blue eyes scanned the other customers. He watched a muggle carry her own plate. Touching Draco's lower arm he signaled him to go and look for a place to sit. "I should help you carry."
"You don't have to," Hermione said but Lucius was determined.
He placed his hand on her back as they walked to the counter. Hermione suppressed a giggle knowing that this time he needed her to hold onto. It was adorable. His hand tightened the grip around her hip as she ordered the food if that's the right way to describe the trash she was going to shove down her throat.
She ordered Coke, Sprite, and Fanta, not knowing what they would prefer. Probably a glass of Firewhiskey. She ordered a variety of burgers, nuggets, and fries, to give them a chance to try everything. Lucius let her even pay without making a scene and as promised he carried their plate to the table.
Draco has chosen to sit on a chair where he could watch the busy street that left Hermione and Lucius to sit on the bench opposite to him. Not that either of them were complaining. Lucius placed the plate on the table before sitting down next to her. Their thighs touched each other.
Hermione opened the box of nuggets, spread out the fries, and made a pool of ketchup on the paper that covered the plastic plate. The two Malfoys eyed her with suspicion. She grabbed a single french frie, dipped in in ketchup, and ate it.
"Look, I know this is hardly high-quality food. Half of the people who come here are loud and annoying. They're either children or at this time of the day drunks preparing for a night out. This stuff contains too much salt, fat, and sugar. We won't come here often, so enjoy."
Reluctantly Draco began eating. Lucius looked at the plate before him with a raised brow. He sighed before bringing his hand in contact with fast food.
Hermione couldn't help but giggle. "Don't worry it's not too poisonous."
She grabbed one of the cups. Drinking through the straw she watched the wizards. "Cola. Do you want some?" she asked offering them the cup.
Draco shrugged and took it out of her hand. Taking a sip he realized that he was familiar with the drink. "That's what muggle put into the vodka!"
Lucius sighed.
"Try a burger," Hermione said offering him a bite of her Big Mac.
The older wizard looked at her with a raised brow. He placed his hands above hers. Leaning forward he looked her straight into the eyes. He opened his mouth and took a generous bite. She watched him chew. Anxious to see what would happen, she watched sat still holding the burger.
"It is not bad actually," he said grabbing one of the paper tissues.
"I want to give it a try," Draco said.
Hermione passed the Big Mac on and licked the excess sauce from her fingers. Lucius watched her closely. He took her small hand into his big one and brought it up to his face. He looked at her and she nodded. His soft lips parted slightly. She stopped breathing as she watched him lick the last bit of sauce off.
"It was actually quite good."
They let their hands fall into her lap and looked at Draco.
"What?" the young wizard asked.
Hermione laughed. Did he really fail to notice that they were having a moment?
"Tell me, son, how are your marks?"
"Eight Outstanding and we won the House Cup," Draco said.
"That is acceptable." Lucius turned to Hermione. "How did it go for you?"
Hermione grumbled. "Ten Os and an E," she said through clenched teeth.
"What subject did you fail?" Lucius asked.
Hermione blushed. "Mugglestudies."
Draco burst out laughing. Lucius closed his eyes like he was trying really hard not to follow his son's example. "Do tell me, how does a muggleborn student not get an Outstanding in mugglestudies."
"The book got it wrong," Hermione said. "It stated that muggle lock tiny creatures in devices called cell phones to talk to them whenever they feel lonely or have the need to communicate. I can assure you that that's not how cell phones work. There are no creatures inside. It is simply a means of communication like letter by owl only in real-time. It is the book that is faulty."
"Then just write whatever the damn textbook said onto the parchment. Even I got an O in mugglestudies," Draco said.
"I just couldn't it was wrong."
Lucius chuckled. "You are unbelievable."
Picking at the food on the table they chatted casually. Both Malfoys were actually laughing. Even long after the last nugget had been eaten, they remained talking. Lucius had his arm around Hermione's waist and she leaned into him.
"Shall I get some ice cream?" Hermione asked.
"Draco can take care of that," Lucius said.
"Why me?"
"You spend a lot of time in muggle London."
"Not sober."
Lucius inhaled sharply.
"I'll figure it out," Draco said, standing up.
"He's your son."
With Draco finally out of the picture, they moved even closer to each other. Hermione rested her head on his shoulder. "Things look good between you and Draco."
"For now."
"Don't be so negative. He loves you. Everything is going to be alright."
Lucius pressed a kiss on her head. She was about to fall asleep in his arm, in the middle of the fast-food-restaurant when Draco returned with ice cream. Hermione sat up and grabbed one of the plastic spoons. Digging into the cold mouse they chatted, until the cleaning lady circled their table impatiently. They returned their tablet. Lucius had his hand on her back.
"How about we return to the Manor and have a glass of Firewhiskey?" Draco suggested.
Lucius looked at Hermione. She nodded. "I wanted to drop by my parents anyway."
"We should accompany you."
They apparated right in front of her parents' house. Lucius pressed a lingering kiss on her cheek. They stood there watching each other for a moment.
"Sleep well," Lucius said, handing her an envelope.
"You too."
She turned around. Listening to the sound of them disapparating, she rang the bell.
"Hermione? We didn't expect you back before tomorrow," her mom said opening the door.
"Lucius and Draco have a lot to talk about and I don't want to be in the way."
They sat down at the table. Her dad opened a bottle of wine.
"To your graduation."
Her mom had tears in her eyes. She looked at her dad and leaned against him. "Our little Hermione, she has grown so much."
Halfway through the first glass of wine, her mom asked, "How are your marks?"
"I did rather well," Hermione said fidgeting with the fabric of her dress. "Except for mugglestudies."
"Mugglestudies? Shouldn't you know about our lives or have you forgotten everything?" her mom asked. "You didn't purposely perform badly to impress this Malfoy guy you like."
"Of course not! It's not my mistake! The textbook is wrong."
"Then you have to write a better one yourself."
"Maybe, I'll do it someday."
They sat together for a while until Hermione went to bed. Standing in her old bedroom she let her gown fall from her shoulders. The silk dress slid down her curves. She let out a frustrated groan. Having wanted Lucius to help her out of it made being alone in her childhood bedroom a little disappointing.
She grabbed an old t-shirt and threw it over. Removing the earrings he had gifted her she smiled. Hermione yawned before crawling into the small bed. Since she wasn't a tall witch, she still fitted inside. She closed her eyes.
Hermione was about to fall asleep when she remembered the envelope Lucius had given her. She reached for the switch and turned the light on. She reached for the envelope. Taking her time to open the seal, she found a typewritten document inside.
She didn't know what she had expected but a muggle document wasn't it. She removed it from the envelope and began reading. It was a certificate from a hospital. Taking her time to study the lab reports, she had to smile. Hermione now knew that he was clean.
She was happy enough to scream. Thinking about her parents she held back. Hermione kissed the paper. It was incredibly romantic that he would get himself tested for STDs. At moments like that she hated that she didn't have an owl of her own. She wanted to thank Lucius, tell him that he had managed to find the perfect gift for her.