A/N: Hi guys, here is chapter 3 for you. It's a bit longer than the previous ones. Virtual chocolate to everyone who spots the allusions to my 2 favourite British TV shows.
Virtual chocolate as well to my beta TheDaringInferno for revising my work ;)
Oh, and please leave me a review. I'd love to know what you think. *puppyeyes*
[edited 13.03.]
3. Lunch date
Nervously Hermione tapped her quill against her desk and glanced up at the clock for the millionth time today. Impossible! It was still only half past 12. She had put extra care in her clothing and her make-up today, although she wasn't really sure why. She didn't need to impress anyone, especially him. Still… on one hand, she still heard the insults whispered in her ear, telling her she was ugly and that nobody would ever like her and on the other hand she did find him quite attractive. Either way a little extra care never did anyone any harm.
She didn't know how she managed to survive until 1pm, but suddenly her secretary announced Draco Malfoy was waiting for her. Immediately she felt her breathing accelerate and panic creep into her.
"You can do this!" she said out loud and put her wand in its holster, so she'd have it in her fingers in seconds. Then she checked herself in the mirror, grabbed her bag, and dashed out of her office.
Malfoy was waiting for her in one of the chairs in front of her office, but jumped up as soon as she entered. His face mirrored her nervous expression and she smiled slightly.
"Amelia, I won't be back before 2pm. You can take a break, if you wish," she informed her young, Scottish, secretary, then offered Malfoy her hand. "Nice to see you, Malfoy."
He shook her hand without hesitation and she suddenly felt a slight tingling in her stomach.
"The pleasure is all mine," he smiled warmly. "Shall we?"
She nodded and followed him. She was surprised to see that they were headed for a small muggle café near the ministry. Reading her expression, he said honestly, "I'm really not the same person I was ten years ago."
She raised one eyebrow, but followed him inside without hesitation. After they had ordered, she looked at him expectantly. "So, why a lunch date, Malfoy?"
Malfoy forced his face into a composed mask, but a nervous flicker in his eyes betrayed him."I didn't want to take up your time by discussing private matters in your office. I think you already know. I want to apologise for… well for everything. Where should I start? The name-calling, the curses and spells, actually the whole six years of school, and of course… Malfoy Manor."
Automatically she tensed up and grabbed her arm, where you could still see the faint, silvery lines of her scars. It took her a great deal of effort to appear relaxed again and wave away the tense look on Draco's face with a smile.
"You don't have to apologise. I'd never hold that against you. There was nothing you could've done." Even though she still remembered that day with horror, her words were sincere. She didn't blame him, more even she apreciated that he had taken up the courage to apologise.
The blonde averted his eyes. "I disagree. I could've been a lot braver."
"Maybe. But the past is the past." Hermione shrugged, suddenly wishing he'd chosen a lighter subject.
"You forgive me that easily?" he asked surprised. "Weasley was a lot harder to crack."
She met his gaze squarely. "Because there's nothing to forgive. For me, it feels like ages ago." At once she felt her mood changing into something darker. "But if it makes you feel better, I accept your apology," she said, forcing a smile.
"Thank you," he declared honestly. A second later their food arrived and for half a minute they sat quietly, eating.
"So, do you like your new position?" Malfoy asked, breaking the silence.
"Um, yes, I do. It's much more of a challenge. Though, I didn't know that the Department of Magical Equipment Control was so…" Hermione trailed off, trying to find a word that didn't seem too mean-spirited.
"Demanding? Spoilt? That's just the Head, Lenny Park. He'll calm down once he's used to you," he suggested, a smirk dancing across his lips.
"How did you know?" She eyed him suspiciously.
"We had a heated discussion about cauldrons," he grinned and Hermione smiled back.
"I can picture it. Come to think of it, I wanted to ask you about paragraph 34.4 b –"
"Stop!" He held up his hand. "No work-talk during the break."
Hermione rolled her eyes good heartedly and went back to her meal. "Fine. So tell me about you. I didn't really follow the papers, sorry. You went out with Astoria?" she asked the first thing that came to her mind.
He winced slightly. "Yes, we were together for about five years, never got engaged, though. We broke up about two years ago."
"Any other girlfriends?" she asked and blushed at once. "Sorry, that was rude."
"No, I don't mind." He chuckled. "And no, no other girlfriends. What about you? Blaise told me you were married to Viktor Krum. Should I call you Krum now or do you prefer Granger?"
"Granger, please. And he's right. We were married for about four years," she answered, avoiding his eyes. Instantly she regretted that she had brought up his relationship, as it would undoubtedly lead to a scrutiny of her mere mentioning of Viktor caused coldness to creep into her veins , and she shuddered. "I don't want to talk about him, please."
"Nasty break-up?" he speculated.
"Something like that," she answered and tried to chase away the unwelcome thoughts with an abrupt gesture. In fact, she was quite desperate to change the topic. "Do you still live at the Manor?"
"No. I mean I will live there if my wife agrees. It's the family home. But for now my parents are content alone, I have my own flat. It has changed a lot, by the way." He looked cautiously at her, debating his next question. "Would you like to come for tea some day? My mother would be thrilled." Hermione's eyes snapped to him and he suddenly found the tablecloth to be very interesting.
"Really?" she asked, before she could stop herself. Somehow they'd managed to only tackle sensitive subjects.
"Yes. Now that we're working together, you'll probably receive an owl soon. And don't worry about my father, he behaves." Draco grinned. "Did Harry tell you what happened when he, Ginny, and Weasley came over for dinner?"
"What? Harry never told me that! When was that?" Hermione gaped at the blonde across from her. She could only imagine what could have happened in the Malfoy residence that night.
"Oh, we had a case together. Last year, I think. Mum couldn't wait to invite him."
Oh. Last year. It was possible that he had told her about it, but she'd simply forgotten. She'd had other things on her mind. "So, what happened?" Hermione enquired curiously.
The remaining minutes of their lunch break flew by, laughing and joking, and soon they had to go back to the office. She had to admit that it had been nice, nicer than she had expected. He was quite funny when he wanted to be, and she felt comfortable in his presence. At least as long as they avoided dangerous topics.
„Thank you for the lunch," she said as goodbye. "We should do that again sometime." Her eyes grew wide as she realised she had really just uttered these words out loud. "Ehm, just forget that last part."
"Why? I enjoyed talking to you. There's so much we don't know about each other and I think we'll be working together for quite some time – so why not get to know each other?"
She bit her lip. "Okay. So maybe we meet once a week? For lunch?"
"Perfect." He beamed.
Draco was right about one thing – a week later a Northern hawk-owl tapped against Hermione's window with an invitation from Narcissa Malfoy. The letter was very polite, but Hermione really didn't know what to do. Even if the Malfoys had changed, going back to the Manor…
She pushed the memory fragments aside and answered that she was unable to come this week, but in a fortnight was fine for her. A little insecure she added a postscript, asking if it was possible to bring a friend. She gave the owl a treat, bound the letter to its foot, and sent it on its way before she could change her mind. She already felt panic creep up on her, like slowly being dragged underwater. She could hardly breath.
Before the panic could overwhelm her completely, she flooed over to the Potter's, where she was welcomed by a three year old James.
"'Mione. 'Mione. 'Mione." The boy tugged on her work robes, trying to get her attention.
"Hi James, where's your mother?" she asked, hugging the little boy. It somehow relieved the tightness in her chest.
"Hermione?" Ginny called from upstairs, sounding a bit worried. "Is everything okay?"
"Yes, yes. I've just received an owl from Narcissa Malfoy and…" she started explaining to her friend, who ran down the stairs, "…and I wanted to ask if you'd join me?"
"Me?" Ginny asked surprised, leading her friend to the sitting room. "Tea?"
Hermione nodded thankfully and flopped onto the comfy sofa, trying very hard to look relaxed and not like on the verge of a panic attack (or rather in the middle of it).
"Kreacher," Ginny called. With a plop the house elf appeared.
"What can Kreacher be helping you with, Mistress Potter, Mistress Granger?"
"Could you please bring us some tea, Kreacher, and then check if Albus is really asleep?"
"Of courses," he answered briefly and disappeared again.
"I don't know how I'd manage without Kreacher. James is as bad as his uncles' used to be, aren't you Jamie?" she asked smiling and cradled him on her lap. James laughed happily and started to tug on her hair. "See?"
Hermione forced a smile, but the tension just wouldn't leave her. The panic held her captive still. Before she could pick up the previous topic, Kreacher came back with the tea. Luckily, James started to play with some of the broken joke toys that George or Ron had left and didn't care about his mother or Hermione.
"So, when do you want to go to Malfoy Manor?" Ginny finally enquired.
Hermione sighed deeply. "Narcissa invited me for the weekend, but I need a bit more time. In a fortnight, if that's okay with you. Will you please go with me?" she pleaded.
"Of course, 'Mione. I've been there before. It looks quite nice now, no worries. Nothing'll remind you of that night," she answered softly, her light brown eyes full of concern. Hermione hadn't been able to fool her for even a second.
Ginny's answer took some oft he pressure away and she was able to breath more freely again. "Thank you. I don't know why it scares me so much. I'm stupid, aren't I?" Hermione nervously twisted her fingers in her robes.
"No, it's okay to be careful. I'm happy that you've opened up a bit." Ginny reached over and placed her hand over her friend's, smiling up at Hermione.
Hermione cocked one eyebrow. "Even if it's Malfoy?"
Ginny laughed and Hermione gave a small smile. "I wouldn't care, Hermione, you know that! As long as you stop shutting yourself away."
"That's not what I have been doing," Hermione contradicted, frowning.
"Really? And when was the last time you went out with someone other than me, Harry, or Ron?"
Hermione opened her mouth and closed it again.
"See?" Ginny teased.
"I visited Luna once," remembered Hermione.
"Well done." Ginny rolled her eyes. "This new job's good for you, new people are good for you."
"I am not a hermit, I have a social life! I just had so much to do… it was not easy, Ginevra, so don't judge me!"
Ginny's smile slipped from her face. "I don't. Really. I just want you to start living again. There's no need to be afraid."
Hermione sighed, knowing her friend was right."I know. Mrs. Hooper told me that, she's a great healer. But I don't think I'm ready for a relationship."
Ginny nodded, glad that Hermione was no longer angry. "I'm not talking about that, I'm talking about friends, okay?"
"Okay. I'll try with Malfoy, promise," Hermione whispered and sipped her tea. The hot beverage managed to calm her down even further, it kept the hysteria at bay, but it didn't banish it completely.
"Good. We'll have a splendid time there, I'm sure," Ginny smiled, but Hermione could still feel the worry radiating from her. "Do you want to stay for dinner? Harry'll be home any minute."
She didn't. She would feel like under surveillance, like a time bomb that could explode any second. Nonchalantly she evaded answering the question, "Where was he anyway? Isn't it Saturday?"
"Oh." Ginny uncomfortably shifted around on her chair. "He's playing Quidditch with people from the office."
Hermione tried not to flinch, but she was unable to prevent the darkness from crossing her face. "Oh. Is Malfoy playing?"
Ginny shrugged apologetically."I don't know. I miss playing, but …" Automatically she bit her lip.
"What?" Hermione tilted her head to the side. Ginny was never one to clam up when talking.
"Nothing." Ginny averted her eyes, not wanting to look at her friend.
"Ginny? What's wrong?"
Ginny shook her head and Hermione only stared harder. "Nothing's wrong. It's just … I think … no forget it. I tell you when I'm sure. So, do you want to stay?"
Hermione sighed, relenting, before changing the topic. "And you're sure it's okay with Harry, if I… befriend Malfoy? I'm not even sure I want to do that, anyway."
Ginny nodded vigorously. "He cares about you, Mione, and he'll be happy if you 'befriend' new people. I thought your lunch dates went well?"
"They do. But I still don't know a thing about him, about his past…" Hermione frowned, remembering the little details about his self he had let slip. They were not enough for her to form an opinion about him. Yes, she liked how he handled his work, how he put care in the wordings like she did, how passionate he was about certain aspects of potion law. But that only was his professional side she knew. And she needed more to decide if he would be a good friend. Even though she liked the way he sometimes smiled crookedly at her…
"He'll tell you when he's ready," Ginny said reassuringly. "These things take time."
"Ginny, I'm home!" Harry's loud voice interrupted their conversation.
Hermione jumped up. "I'd better go, I'll just say hi to Harry."
She hurried from the sitting room, feeling Ginny's concerned eyes following her.
I know their relationship develops kind of slow, but I think it's more realistic that way. I wanted to write it the way it could really happen and not just bring them together. But don't worry, more drama ahead... next chapter: Malfoy Manor!
Please, leave me your thoughts, guys ;)