AN: I know I said I'd be updating Saturday, AND I'M SO SORRY FOR THE LATE UPDATE.
I had writer's anxiety, I couldn't get myself to write this chapter.
Please tell me what you think!
"Did—you---see---her?!?!" Draco was saying again and again as Fred and George did the finishing touches to what he was wearing.
"Will—you—get—a—GRIP!!!" Fred was trying to smooth out his polo shirt.
"We're lucky we were able to drag you to your room and say that we were going to beat you up after that lame excuse of choking on candy…" George trailed off, as he flicked his wand and Draco's shiny shoes became even shinier.
"IT WAS NOT LAME!" Draco argued. "She looked so pretty!" He insisted.
"You should learn to be subtle, you disgrace the word 'sexy'!" Fred was saying as George laughed.
Draco felt through his hair. "But she still is so pretty." He said.
"Good evening." A deep voice said.
Draco, Fred and George were already at the designated place. "Good evening!" Fred said happily as he bounced inside with George, Draco following them anxiously.
"Aaaah, anuzzer date?" The man who greeted them asked. He had a deep and rich accent, and he was staring directly at Draco, which made him uneasy.
"Uhm." Draco said. He didn't know what to say. Yes? No? Don't Know? What should he say if the girl's actually mad at him and he's supposedly Y.G.A.?
"Aha!!" The man suddenly said as he walked with Draco. "And nervuuus, I take it?" He said laughing. "Not tu worry! Not tu worry! Eu and eur madame will have ze best time!" He patted Draco on the shoulder as he showed them his table.
"And whuu are eur friendz?" The man asked inquiringly as he looked at Fred and George, who were currently feeling the table and the chairs.
"Are they eur eh…what do zey call it? Eshaperrone?" He said with an air of dislike.
"Yes! Yes we are!" Fred and George answered happily. The man shuddered.
"Just make suure eu eshaperrones do not disturb ze couple. I shall not tolerate disturbances that zey will be having." He finished, looking directly at Fred.
"Don't worry! You'll love me for what I'll do, Francois." Fred said confidently.
The man's eyes bulged.
"How? How zid you know?!" He whispered frantically.
Fred and George winked at each other. "We just know."
Francois didn't seem to want to know more, he just bent down and said in alarming fluent English, "So you guys are wizards, and this boy here's got a date?" He said.
Draco was the one who gasped now.
"Shut—up!" Fred whispered as he put his hand on Draco's mouth.
"What is happening!?" Draco asked no one in particular.
"See, Francois here is a wizard, dad told us all about him—"
"---AH!!! Weasley, are you? I should've known. The red hair gave it all away! Anyway, yeah… Arthur." Francois said in a dreamy voice. "Helped him and your mum, you know. Kind of hard, actually. Your mom couldn't stop crying." He smirked.
"Yeah yeah well thank you for the extra information." George grinned, "But we have to get to matters. So Francois here is a wizard, he runs this excellent restaurant---"
"---Which is a mix of French and Spanish cuisine." He said proudly.
"Mhmmm." Fred said. "So, what we're going to do is put a charm on all the Muggles!!!" He said excitedly.
"What charm?" Draco asked confused.
"A charm that will make them think you guys aren't here, so you can do all the magic you want. Whatever you want." Francois said.
"And they won't even know we're here." Draco said. "Oh…I see." He smirked.
"Yes well, Hermione's going to come now, better get started." Fred, George and Francois straightened up. Some of the people looked at them, some girls were eyeing Draco.
He was wearing black pants and a white polo shirt, the girls in the restaurant could all see sexy and handsome when they see one.
Draco smirked. Sorry girls, I'm taken. He smirked again.
Fred, George and Francois waved their wands in exactly the same manner, and then instantly, a cold wave spread around the room.
The cold seemed to creep from Draco, to the room. He shuddered.
It went utterly silent, all noise drowned down. Draco approached, he could hear his footsteps echo.
"Did it work?" He asked as he heard his voice echo again. He was reminded of dementors.
"5…" Francois said suddenly. "4…." Draco looked around. "3…." The twins winked at him. "2……" Francois grinned at Draco. "1."
All noise suddenly came back to life, roaring in full bloom. But this time the girls seemed to never realize Draco was there, no one was looking at him anymore. No one even seemed to notice them.
Draco smirked. "Is this the kind of charm used on Diagon Alley, St. Mungo's and other wizarding places?" Draco asked inquiringly.
"Oh yes, exactly the same, but needed to be performed by a ridiculous amount of wizards." Francois said as he shook his head.
"So, young Mister, what would you like to do to my restaurant?" Francois asked warmly. Draco smiled.
They were doing the decorations and all the planning when Francois suddenly exclaimed.
"Alas! Is that her?! Why, she is so beautifuuuul!" Francois said in his excited French accent.
Draco jerked, excited…nervous. And there she was.
There she was, looking perfect.
Draco couldn't help but admire her; he couldn't help but feel unaffected that there were dozens of pretty girls who were just eyeing him a while ago. He couldn't help but feel as though all those girls and all the other girls out there were insignificant compared to her.
He started to smile as she approached. She was blindfolded, but he could imagine the eyes hidden beneath it, he had memorized her eyes.
And she was wearing a flowing white silver dress, but it wasn't too extravagant. It ended a little after her knees, it flowed like water, like air, like thoughts in a Pensive strung together to envelope her.
The dress followed her every movement, and Draco knew that the spark of the dress would match perfectly with the spark he memorized in her eyes.
And her hair… her hair flowed like her dress; it seemed as light and as graceful as the white silver cloth she was in. Her chocolate brown tresses flowed gently down her shoulders, curtaining her face, making her look like a doll, a fragile being, so that Draco felt like all he wanted to do was protect her.
-The world might see her beauty.
He slowly walked forward, ready to meet her in the door, longing and wanting to get as close to her as possible, as if her beauty would die out if he didn't grab hold of it somehow.
"Where are you leading me??" He heard her say. She was excited and eager, nervous just the same.
She felt exactly what he felt.
"Shh shh." He heard Ginny say, as she opened the door to the restaurant.
"We're here." Harry said to Hermione, but he was looking straight at Draco, and he winked.
Draco winked back.
"Can I open my eyes now?" She said as Draco edged closer to her.
"No, not yet." Ginny said as she watched Draco get closer to Hermione.
"Okay… How about n---" She stopped, she didn't finish her sentence.
Someone had held her hand.
But she knew that hand; she knew it because she always thought back to the moment it first made contact with hers.
She froze. No, Merlin, Mother way. She found herself saying. No way no way no way!! She said sort of in excitement. She didn't remember her anger or her sadness toward him, she couldn't, because she was inches away from him now, there was no room for sadness.
And then she felt the hand lead her, he was leading her to wherever it was that he wanted her to be. Suddenly something made Hermione absolutely sure that he was who she thought he was.
Draco Malfoy's scent drifted towards her, so that as she inhaled she was sure it was him, and as she inhaled all the memories seemed to find their way towards her too.
Oh Merlin. She was nervous. What was she going to do? What was she going to say? She wasn't mad at him anymore...
Actually, she began to think that she never really was mad at him. She was only upset at what happened, but after that, she was only waiting…waiting for something… waiting for him… and feeling angrier and angrier every time he wouldn't come.
But now he was; now he was here. -And she forgot her anger.
And then Draco stopped. He looked at her, she wasn't smiling, she wasn't frowning. It was like she was… thinking? Draco smirked. Can't get enough of thinking.
Then he reached for the cloth that hid her eyes, eager to open it and drown in her whirlpool of color.
He held the cloth for some moments in his hand, and then he pulled it free.
Hermione was staring right at him, and suddenly Draco wished he wasn't so eager in removing her blindfold, her eyes were giving him jelly legs.
He felt suddenly sheepish. He gave a weak, sheepish smile, hoping she wouldn't notice his jelly legs and his fresh, new butterflies.
Silence.
Suddenly, Hermione's eyes twinkled. She grinned at him.
Draco immediately thought he heard a burst of chorus saying Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!! in his ears.
He was suddenly feeling stupid. "Hey." He said grinning.
"Hey." She answered, grinning back. She felt like a kid.
There they were, two sixteen year olds, standing and grinning stupidly at each other, inside a French and Spanish restaurant.
"Are you still mad at me?" He asked weakly, looking up at her.
Hermione smirked. She thought he looked like a puppy. He looked really stupid.
But, nonetheless, she loved him.
"Not unless you give me another reason to be." She said smirking.
Draco heaved a great sigh of relief. "Thank you Merlin!" And again the chorus of Hallelujah! Hallelujah!!! rang in his ears.
"OH YOU GUYS ARE SO STUPID!!! DUMB!!! RETARDS!!!!" Someone suddenly said.
Draco and Hermione looked around. They had forgotten Ginny was with them, and so were Fred, George, Harry and Ron, all who were looking relieved and amused.
Francois was somewhere getting the orders of a stern looking mother.
"YOU—JUST---WAITED—FOR---THE—OTHER—TO—MAKE—A—MOVE!!! AND---YOU—HAD---TO---GO---THROUGH---ALL---THAT---DRAMA! DRAMA!---STUPID!! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!" Ginny was saying, throwing her fists here and there, stomping and occasionally punching Ron.
"OIE!" Ron bellowed. "YOU ANGRY WOMAN! LET GO OF ME!! GET HARRY INSTEAD!!!" Ron said in desperation as he hid behind Harry.
"Wha---?" Harry said in alarm.
"ANYWAY!" Fred suddenly said. Everyone and everything went quiet.
"Let's leave them alone first, shall we? I heard there's a joke shop somewhere here… I want to get ideas." Fred was saying, and they all agreed, Ron staying a good deal away from Ginny.
We're alone now. Both of them thought.
Silence.
"So." Draco said awkwardly.
Hermione smiled. "Come on!" She said, pulling Draco to sit down across her.
Draco felt as if all the awkwardness was melted away. He grinned.
"So what did they make you do?" He asked Hermione.
She fiddled with the menu. "Tss. Nothing much. I'm just glad I didn't put up with Fred and George. What did they make you do?!" She asked suspiciously, tearing her eyes from the menu and looking at Draco.
Draco suddenly felt a lump in his throat.
"Uh." He croaked. He wished she'd stop looking at him, it made him nervous.
"AH! Mister Draco!" Francois suddenly appeared. Draco immediately smiled at him to say 'thank you' for saving him from his nervousness. "Uwhat a beautiful lady! Ohohoho! And zwhat shall eu be taking?!" He asked Hermione warmly.
Hermione, whatever she ordered, Draco never knew, he was simply staring at her; watching her lips move and smile but never taking in what was happening….
"Mister Draco!" Francois said as he shook him.
"Wha—wha—whuuut?!?!" Draco said, staring and blinking.
Hermione and Francois were laughing, and suddenly Draco turned beet red.
"I'll just be having this thank you." He said hurriedly, pointing at a random picture.
Francois bowed and bustled away, leaving Draco burning.
The night went by, the food arrived as fast as it was ordered. "The service here is excellent!" Hermione kept saying, but Draco knew it was probably because Francois was doing magic inside the kitchen or else confunding his cooks.
They talked about anything and everything, from their first year in Hogwarts, to their last day of school. They talked about the teachers, the students, Hermione asking if Draco really loved Pansy, and Draco turning red and saying a hurried 'Past is past and it's not important anymore.' Hermione simply smiled and nodded.
Draco was surprised to know she was easy to talk to, and she wasn't like the other girls who'd get all touchy and pissed with the past life of the significant other. She didn't seem to mind talking about Pansy, she trusted him very much.
As they ate their topics winded in and out, taking everything at random. Draco soon asked Hermione about Viktor Krum, just as Draco, she blushed and gave a hurried reply of 'It was long before and now is different.' Draco simply nodded, he trusted her as much as she trusted him.
The night went on, and Draco couldn't help but space out as she would talk, because he would be too busy admiring her, looking at her, watch as her eyes crinkled in laughter, or how her eyebrows furrowed when she was irritated. He watched her as her hair fell gracefully wherever it would delight to fall, and he watched how her eyes seemed to outshine the sparkly material that clothed her.
He couldn't help but feel thankful she was here.
"You're so beautiful." He suddenly said, without knowing he said it. Were there instances when you were overwhelmed with a feeling that shows itself without the owner's notice?
Hermione stopped talking abruptly. She blushed as fast as a stoplight. She looked sheepish.
Draco felt as if he could feel more and more inclined with her, every second that ticked by.
Her 'thank you' was lost in transition as Draco's hands found hers. It was now dark, and the only light came from the candle that lay beautifully on the table, so that its warm glow landed on Hermione, making her seem even lovelier.
She was the only one Draco could see, the dark drowned out everyone, the dark wiped away all the other people in the world…so all that was left was what was important.. Everyone else seemed insignificant… all he could see was the only thing he wanted to see…. He could only see Hermione, beautiful and warm with the candle light.
Draco couldn't believe one could love someone in so many levels as this.
They looked at each other in the silence, connected only by their hands, and their eyes that wouldn't look away.
In that span of time Draco felt as if he understood everything about her, and she understood everything about him. There was no need for words, no need for explanations or assurances….
Everything came from their silent communication.
And at that moment, Draco wanted to kiss her, he wanted to seize the moment because he felt that if he didn't, there would be no other perfect way to show her how much he loved her.
He leaned closer, inches away from her face, he was about to kiss her when Hermione's finger landed on Draco's lips.
"Shhhh." She said gently. "Not yet." She whispered, looking around. It was only then that Draco realized music was actually playing. "I want to dance." She said, looking back at Draco. And Draco knew, he couldn't say no.
He and Hermione stood up, their hands automatically closing in, as they made their way to the empty space that no one seemed to be occupying. But they didn't feel alone.
I could stay awake… Just to hear you breathing…
Draco slowly put his arms around Hermione's waist, and Hermione gently put her arms around his neck.
Watch you smile while you are sleeping… while you're far away and dreaming…
He loved everything about her, and he remembered how he'd watch her sleep after writing on his little brown notebook, how he memorized every smile she would create while fast asleep… And he held her closer.
I could spend my life, in this sweet surrender. I could stay lost in this moment, forever…
Well every moment spent with you, is a moment I treasure…
He looked at her, so that she would understand that the song said everything he felt, and she smiled, because she understood.
I don't want to close my eyes… I don't want to fall asleep, 'cause I'd miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing…
'Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream would never do, I'd still miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing…
Draco felt her lean closer, so that her body heat enveloped him, and he felt as if tomorrow didn't matter anymore.
Lying close to you, feeling your heart beating. And I'm wondering what you're dreaming, wondering if it's me you're seeing.
Then I kiss your eyes, and thank God we're together, and I just want to stay with you, in this moment forever, forever and ever…
I don't want to close my eyes… I don't want to fall asleep, 'cause I'd miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing…
'Cause even when I dream of you, the sweetest dream would never do, I'd still miss you baby, and I don't want to miss a thing…
"I don't want to miss one smile…" Hermione said, leaning in.
"I don't want to miss one kiss." Draco completed, holding her even closer.
"Well I just want to be with you, right here with you, just like this." They said together. Draco felt as if, today was the best day of his life.
"I just want to hold you close, feel your heart so close to mine." He told her.
"And just stay here in this moment, for all the rest of time." She said, looking straight at him.
I don't want to close my eyes, I don't want to fall asleep,' cause I'd miss you baby… and I don't want to miss a thing…
'Cause even when I dream of you… the sweetest dream would never do, I'd still miss you baby… and I don't want to miss a thing…
I don't want to close my eyes…
"I don't want to fall asleep, 'cause I'd miss you baby..." She hummed.
"…and I don't want to miss a thing." He said, finally holding her, so close, as he kissed her, feeling, and knowing,
This was the moment.