Disclaimer: Of course, these lovely characters do not belong to me. I do borrow them for my idea.
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He is obviously in love with you
July 2006
Hermione's look was skeptical. She liked the table, but it just didn't fit into her new home. It would if Daphne would live there, but with Hermione's style, it would look out of place. They had been in the fancy store with old furniture for half an hour now and while there were a few things she could appreciate it wasn't necessarily her kind of store.
"It's so majestic."
Daphne voiced her opinion with a deep sigh before she walked on. This had been their whole conversation since they got here. The blonde suggesting a marvelous piece and her finding a reason to shoot it down. It was still weird to have her here. She had followed Draco's advice not only because she probably had better taste than any of her girlfriends but knowing how close she was to Draco. And it had been Daphne alone who had put her whole focus on Hermione's needs, while the other two women frequently drifted off discussion a buy for their own homes. Just like now, when Ginny and Luna were discussing a table that was meant for the Potter household.
"This?" Another table that would look lovely in a household with Narcissa as the head. She shook her head. "Are you just going to say no to everything I suggest?"
Daphne seemed to give up and her voice reflected the tiniest bit of disappointment.
"No!" She shook her head adamantly. That was not her intention. It had been so nice of Daphne to agree to come on this trip and she had really good taste. Just not for Hermione's house. "I just can't see myself living in all of this. I would be scared to use it."
"Is there anything in this store, you like?"
Hermione looked around and there was a desk she would kill to have. It had delicate ornaments carved in the legs and it was the kind of furniture that made you wonder if there were secret compartments with a treasure map hidden.
"It's too expensive."
Of course, that wouldn't stop Daphne, after following her glance, she strode towards the desk and expertly inspected it. She even pulled all the drawers and finally pulled a matching chair out and pushed Hermione to sit in it.
"It's worth the price, it's flawless."
"Still too expensive."
"It suits you."
"It really does." Luna's chipper voice floated over, and the other two women joined them.
"Maybe, but I can't afford it." And she would let her heart get stuck on something she wasn't going to buy. "I mean I could, but I would also have to sleep on it and take my meals."
"All of this is awfully expensive." While Ginny wrinkled her nose, Daphne huffed, as she seated herself on another chair. This was obviously her kind of store, but thankfully Ginny was on a similar budget to Hermione's.
"I know a place we could try."
"Alright." She smiled at Luna and was ready to leave. While she probably would find a few more pieces, like the pretty bookshelf matching the desk but it simply wasn't an option. The other store wasn't far from where they were and she was relieved to see a few price tags that were much more in her range.
"A second-hand shop?" Daphne's nose wrinkled this time. Clearly one wouldn't expect to see her in one of these. The other three ignored her as they entered, a lot more eager. Right next to the door was a beautiful table that looked his age. It was used and one could see it, but that was what Hermione liked about it. It was something that made her think of all the times at the Burrow dinner table. Also, the price was something that would let her buy more than one piece.
"It could double as a desk until you find one." Luna had followed her to the table.
"It's Hermione, it will be her desk and double as a space to eat." The redhead laughed next to her, one of her arms around Hermione.
"There was a perfectly fine desk in the other store." Daphne piped up, but Ginny just rolled her eyes at that. Hermione saw the woman's face fall, as she sank into one of the couches.
"I'm sorry Daphne, I do value your opinion. Your vault is just a bit different from mine." She sat beside her.
"Draco send me to get the best for you. This is not the best I can do." Her hand rubbed over the material of the faded couch. She clearly didn't approve and Hermione wouldn't argue over this one, since it wasn't very comfortable.
"Perhaps you can just remind him that my vaults best, is far different from his."
"That's not the problem." Daphne sighed as her eyes went over the different pieces of furniture. Her face showed her clear disapproval.
"Yes, it is." She caught the other woman's eyes before she looked away.
"Right." The blonde seemed to remember her place. Hermione watched as Luna and Ginny made their way deeper into the shop, talking animatedly.
"What does that mean?"
"The man is in love with you, what do you think it means?"
The brunette froze. While she had expected to hear that he was going to buy all her furniture this was not something she had anticipated. Draco was in love with her? She was still busy trying to steady her heartbeat when Daphne seemed to realize what she just said.
"Salazar, don't tell him I said that. He simply wanted me to buy the more expensive pieces, knowing that you are between jobs." She hesitated before she grabbed for Hermione's hand and took a shaky breath. "He is going to kill me. Half of the time he can't even admit it to himself."
"Who can't admit what?" Ginny's curious voice was close by again. "We found you a bedroom set, but this sounds much better. Do tell."
The redhead sat down on Hermione's other side but was clearly focused on Daphne.
"It's not that important. I shouldn't have said anything." The blonde's eyes found hers. "Please don't overreact."
"Overreact to what?" Ginny was vibrating with excitement. "Come on now, my life as wife and mother is super boring so give me something."
She shook her head, the curls slowly moving back and forth.
"I believe Daphne might have been referring to the fact that Draco is obviously in love with Hermione. Blaise and Theo talk about it all the time." Bless Luna and her naïve way of seeing things for as simple as they were. Choosing now to picking up on the subtle hints everyone had been seeing for months, was simply poorly timed.
"Oh that, yeah totally in love with you."
"Ginny!" Hermione turned to her oldest friend, eyes wide. "He is not in love with me. We barely went on a date."
"Right, because that means you can't love each other."
"So, you do like him too?" Daphne's face gained a bit of her usual self-confident gleam back.
"Does she like him? I haven't seen her like this since her crush on my brother first started back in school."
Hermione wanted to sink within the cushions of the couch and have them finish this conversation without her. They had been on one date; she did not want to think whether Draco could imagine being with her or not. For sure she wouldn't dare to talk about love.
"I just remember her with Krum." The Slytherin grinned: "There were several potions brewed in my dorm to kill her after the Yule Ball."
"Maybe we should show Hermione the bedroom set?" Luna seemed to have recovered from her mistake and take pity on the curly-haired witch. She extended her hand and dragged Hermione along.
"So, Malfoy really likes her?" She could hear Ginny's whispering and threat filled her when she began to realize that those two together were a force she didn't want to deal with. So instead she focused on the set of wardrobe, bed, nightstands, a makeup table, and a couple of dressers. It was a neat set and would fit right into the room she had in mind.
"I could approve of this."
"It's pretty sturdy too." Her cheeks heated at Ginny's words but she decided to focus on the drawers rather than acknowledge that.
"I should probably tell you, that I already bought that desk, so you better don't look for a second one." Daphne seemed back to her full level of confidence. "Draco bought it, to be exact."
The rest of the day she watched the weird friendship between blonde and redhead form, while she had no other choice than to escape with Luna on her arm. They had a small dinner together before each of them apparated to their homes.
She could tell by the wide opened windows that Draco must have been working on something when she returned. However, she was surprised to find him on a barstool at the counter looking over drawings. Her cottage was basically done, so the plans shouldn't have been for it.
"Did you get a new job?"
He nodded, while drawing a straight line across the parchment. She had admired his accuracy a bit more before he had explained to her that this quill was charmed to do straight lines without a ruler or other tools muggles would use.
"When will you have to leave for it?"
"I'll be at the house in Italy, I can apparate and floo from there for all the appointments."
Her lips formed a silent ohh, as reality sank in that she wouldn't see him as much with her new job starting to take place in her office and research facilities.
"I'll probably be at the Manor for the weekends, since it's getting too hot in Italy."
Why did he specify the Manor? Why wouldn't he be here with her? She swallowed as her friends teasing from the day came to the front of her mind again.
"Are you in love with me?" He glanced up from his drawings, his quill balancing between his long fingers. His mouth slightly opened, but he didn't seem to find words to respond.
"Malfoy, Daphne said you are in love with me."
"Well those are not her feelings to tell, aren't they."
Now she stared at him. How could he be so stoic over this?
"She also used your gold to buy me a desk."
"That, I specifically asked her to do." His eyes were back on the parchment drawing lines with his quill.
"I should let you know that I also couldn't afford the matching shelves, but would have gotten them, if I could."
"I'll owl the store then."
"I also liked the chair with the red cushion better than the green one Daphne put me on."
"Gryffindor." He mumbled the word under his breath, his hand still once more as he stared at the parchment. Why would he not answer her question?
"Draco, if Daphne is right, then you should know that my friends would probably tell you the same about me."
There was all her Gryffindor bravery laid out for him. He sighed, one hand rubbing across his face, as the other held unto the quill. Not the reaction one hoped for, when you just tried to tell them you loved them too.
"I told you not to fall in love with me."
"I never listen to what you say, Malfoy." Saying his last name in this way rather than loathing him still felt new. His eyes were still on his hands and all she wanted was for him to look at her. When he didn't, she finally turned and made her way up the small staircase. Of course, her future office was not much of a welcoming room yet. A few boxes were already lined up against one of the walls but it lacked any furniture that would allow her to sort through her belongings.
His knock was soft against the wooden door and she opened it with a wave of her hand. He shut the door behind him and made his way to where she was standing.
"This was not how I meant to confess my feelings…" he took a deep breath, as his hands slid down her arms. She really wanted to point out that he hadn't confessed anything. "…nor did I want this to come up a couple of weeks after our first date."
She stared at her feet. It was just one more piece of their relationship that would not ever be normal. They would always be complicated. Her relationships would always be complicated. It should be just something she had to accept at this point.
"I have been in love with you for a long time" her eyes snapped up "and I just figured that I shouldn't bring it up until we had been courting an appropriate amount of time."
"How long?" He did his best to avoid eye contact, which would upset her a lot more if she wasn't sensing his insecurity.
"Since you showed me your memories of that horrible night you lost your child." Her breath caught in her lungs and her search for his eyes once more.
"Why did you work so hard on getting the bind lifted then?"
"I thought those feelings would go away, if we did lift the bind."
She pushed away from him at that.
"Well sorry that apparently you are stuck with being in love with me."
Hermione could tell his walls were going up when he looked at her.
"You were married to Weasley."
"I'm not now."
"And fortunately, my feelings didn't go away."
"You didn't even want to be my friend."
He glared at her, before he seemed to remember that they were talking about him being in love with her and his features softened slightly. A strange concept when it came to the two of them.
"I did not want you to tell me one day that you didn't have a choice about this. That's why I lifted the bind. I just needed to know that if you ever agreed to go on a date with me that it was your own choice."
"It would have made it easier, if you hadn't shut me out so much."
"It would have been easier not to do that if you hadn't been so determined to be married to the Weasel and my mother's best friend at the same time. You were so happy to jump into his arms once the bind was lifted. I wasn't going to stand in your way if you could finally be happy."
She stared at him.
"I never expected you to actually go out with me."
"I told you before, you are a good guy. You just prefer for people not to notice."
He shrugged, his hand still loosely by his side. She watched it twitch a couple of times like he wanted to touch her and then thought better of it.
"Are we even officially a couple?" He resolved to clasp his hands behind his back. It was a good question. After all, she had kissed him after the interview, without thinking twice, but they had never talked about it after their date. She bit her lower lip, trying to determine the answer.
"Would you want to?"
"Daphne was kind enough to reveal how I feel about you, officially being a couple is on the obvious list of next steps."
"We are moving very fast again."
"Again, tell Daphne that."
"So, you would be my boyfriend now?"
"I would prefer the term courting."
"Wasn't Pansy your girlfriend at Hogwarts?" She wanted to take the words back as soon as they were out.
"Possibly, but I certainly never courted her." He looked so serious with that statement that she couldn't help but laugh. She could only hope that she never looked as desperate about Ron then Pansy had with Malfoy during their sixth year.
"Alright, so Hermione Granger is courting Draco Malfoy then."
"The tabloids are going to love this."
"They are pretty busy with my other ex-husband I believe. Thankfully that baby will keep coming up over the next few months."
"Weasleby finally doing some good." Her hand hit his arm, but it wasn't much more than a playful slap. His hand found hers moving it to his lips and placing a soft kiss on her knuckles.