Disclaimer: This is getting rather tiring – I OWN NOTHING. It all belongs to J.K.R and James Cameron ;)
Chapter 19
Hermione was attaching the note for Olivia to Draco's owl when there was a knock on his bedroom door. Unsure of what to do, as Draco had quickly gone back to his apartment to get some clothes, Hermione decided to remain deadly silent in hopes that whoever was knocking would go away. Unfortunately, they seemed to know she was in there.
"Hermione, can you open the door, please. I know you're in there and I haven't come here to kill you." Narcissa's voice sounded exasperated from behind the dark, wooden door.
Blushing and feeling slightly stupid, Hermione opened up Draco's door so Narcissa could come in. "Sorry."
She smiled. "Have you had a tour of the Manor?"
"Yes, I have actually. Draco showed me when you hosted the ball." Hermione said brightly, her embarrassment disappearing. She quickly opened up the window to let the owl fly out to deliver the note to Olivia.
"Oh, yes that reminds me. I'm sure he told you we hold one twice a year – one in the summer, one at Christmas? Well, it would be lovely if you came along to the one in a couple of month's time, as well as the Potters and Ronald Weasley, of course." Narcissa gestured for Hermione to follow her out of the bedroom.
Hermione was amazed and quite guilty. She always assumed that Narcissa and Lucius would not remember that Ginny and Harry were together, let alone Ron's first name. Don't be so ridiculous, she chided herself, Harry Potter is famous – of course they would know about his wedding.
Narcissa was still talking as they went down the grand staircase and bent round to the left.
"... It would be in July or August, I'm not quite sure of the exact date as it changes every year. But it would start at around two in the afternoon and finish in the late evening." She paused for a moment before opening the door to a room for Hermione to enter. When Hermione didn't go through, she glanced at her, concerned. "But what is wrong, dear?"
Hermione swallowed before plastering a smile on her pale face. "Nothing, it's fine." She stepped past Narcissa and entered their drawing room. It was the first time she had been in there in six whole years and she was surprised to see that not that much had changed. The gilt mirror was still there above the fireplace; the same royal purple wallpaper; even the chandelier Dobby had broken had been replaced down to the last diamond. Only the table had been removed - probably because that was where most of the discussions and transactions had taken place during Voldemort's stay.
It took a while for Narcissa to realise what the problem was, but when she did, she gushed her apologies to Hermione repeatedly asking her if she wanted to go into the living room instead.
"No, no. It's fine." Hermione assured the lady, sitting down on an elegant armchair. "I shouldn't let this bother me – it happened six years ago ..."
Narcissa's delicate features turned into a worried grimace as she sat down opposite her on a matching chair. "Would you like some tea?" Thinking it was best to change the subject.
"Yes, please." Hermione nodded gratefully. She watched silently as Narcissa called the house elf and then ordered two drinks. Hermione noticed that Narcissa was gentle towards the house elf and she smiled appreciatively.
"Hermione? Hermione!" Draco's voice suddenly echoed loudly in the entrance hall. "Hermione!"
She just got up as Draco pushed the drawing room door open and stared at her in surprise. "You're in here?"
"Draco, please do not shout around the house – it is very unpleasant." Narcissa scolded him lightly.
"Sorry, mother, but I left Hermione in my bedroom, I was only gone for five minutes, and when I came back she wasn't there!" Draco folded his arms and stared at Hermione accusingly.
She only rolled her eyes. "Relax, Draco. What was the worst thing that could have happened?"
Draco suddenly looked sheepish for being overly-protective. He coughed in embarrassment. "Nothing, I suppose."
"Exactly," Narcissa said sharply. "She's a grown woman, Draco, you can't act like this if you're going to marry her."
An awkward silence clouded the room and Hermione averted her gaze from Draco, watching Narcissa as she sat down to gauge the reactions.
"What?" She asked innocently.
"Hermione, would you like to come back upstairs?" Draco asked, forcing a smile onto his face and ignoring his mother.
"But ... my tea ..." Hermione didn't really have a choice in the matter as Draco grabbed her hand and led her out of the room anyway. She looked over her shoulder at Narcissa just as they disappeared around the corner who was smirking slightly.
"I'm sorry about that. She just won't leave us alone." Draco scowled as he marched up the stairs, two at a time.
"She's only trying to help," Hermione said half-heartedly as she jogged after him.
"Only trying to interfere more like." He muttered darkly, entering his bedroom where some of his and Hermione's clothes were folded neatly on his bed. "I hope you don't mind but I went to your flat and got some clothes for you to stay tonight."
Hermione stared at the items on the bed and then back at Draco. "Oh. Thank you."
"What's wrong? I thought I was helping you?" His brow furrowed.
"I didn't realise I was staying the night." She said flatly.
"You said you were earlier when you ranting on about how you didn't send a note to Olivia about not working today." Draco pointed out.
Hermione frowned. "I did?"
He sighed, rolling his eyes. "Yes, you did."
Before Hermione could answer there was a tap at the window for Draco's owl to be let back in. He opened the window with his wand and the bird flew over to Hermione, dropping a piece of parchment in her hand.
"Do you have some treats?" She asked, unfolding the note.
Draco nodded and Accio'ed the owl treats and fed them to the Eagle owl. It flew off Hermione's shoulder with a low hoot and disappeared back out of the window.
"Everything okay?" Draco asked, peering over her shoulder.
"Yeah, it's all good. She was late this morning anyway and when she saw the shop closed she just went back home again." Hermione beamed and put the note in her pocket. "Thank you."
"For what?" Draco asked, taking her hands.
"For getting my clothes, silly." She rested against his chest as he embraced her gently. He kissed the top of her head.
"That's fine. Where do you want to sleep tonight?" Draco murmured into her hair.
"I don't know." Hermione closed her eyes, happy that they were just standing together like that.
"In here?" He asked casually. Inside, his stomach clenched nervously.
"You're parents may get the wrong impression." She leant back to look up at him.
Inside Draco was jumping for joy. She hadn't said no ... or yes. "It doesn't matter." He said a little too quickly.
She raised an eyebrow but smiled and leant against him again. "Okay, but no funny business."
--
As Hermione and Draco entered the dining room the next morning for breakfast, Lucius and Narcissa both turned to look at them with a knowing smirk. Ignoring it, Hermione sat down and felt Lucius' gaze on her. Determined not to look up, she helped herself to some toast.
Obviously dying to make some sort of comment, Lucius spoke: "Have a fun last night?"
Hermione looked up from her plate to stare at Lucius, as did Draco. "Draco and I didn't sleep with each other if that's what you're wondering." Hermione stated bluntly.
Lucius only smirked some more and picked up the Daily Prophet from the table. "What are you going to do today?"
Hermione glanced at Draco. "I was thinking that we could go and see Pansy and Ron?"
Draco nodded and munched on some toast. "I have some things to do this afternoon, though, so I may leave you around three."
"What things?" Lucius asked sharply. "You can't leave Miss Granger!"
"Hermione won't mind, father. It's Pansy and Ron – they don't bite." Draco emphasised her name as she nodded in agreement.
"Its fine, Lucius, don't worry." Hermione realised too late that it was probably too early in their relationship to start calling Lucius by his first name. He glanced up at her from the paper, frowning slightly, before returning to it.
Narcissa swallowed daintily before speaking: "When are the Potters coming home?"
"Not until the end of May." Hermione replied lightly, still surprised that Narcissa was enquiring about her two best friends.
"Oh, how lovely." She smiled widely and then went back to her food. No one spoke for the rest of breakfast; the only sound was the clinking of china and the pages turning of the Daily Prophet.
Finally, Draco broke the silence. "Hermione, do you want to go now? Or a bit later?"
"Now's fine." She said hurriedly, standing up from the table. "Thank you for letting me stay."
Lucius grunted and Narcissa got up to kiss her on the cheek. "We'll see you soon. Say hello to Pansy for us."
Draco nodded and took Hermione's arm as they hurried out of the dining room. "Sorry, that was incredibly awkward." He murmured as he led them into the living room.
"It doesn't matter, Draco. Don't keep apologising after every meal I have with your parents." Hermione said good-naturedly. She watched as Draco knelt on the fireplace and flooed his head to Pansy's apartment. Hermione checked her watch and saw it was just gone ten o'clock. She would be up now.
Draco began speaking and Hermione gazed around the living room in wonder. In her first visit here, she hadn't had much time to look closely at the objects which adorned this room. Surprisingly, she noticed that there were quite a few family photos. They were small, but nonetheless photos. That was the last thing she had quite expected to see given Lucius' and Narcissa's reputation. She then scolded herself for being so ignorant towards the Malfoys. They had changed. I guess I still need a little time to adjust to that, she thought, focusing back on Draco as he stood to his feet again.
"Um, she said that Ron's busy today but we're more than welcome to come over now." He cocked his head to the side, waiting for an answer.
"Okay," She said brightly. "Let's go."
Draco let Hermione go first in the floo before following her to Pansy's apartment. He almost collided with Hermione when he stepped out of the fireplace, cleaning a bit of soot off his shoulder. "Whoa, move already!" He said playfully.
She apologised and then kissed him on the cheek. "Pansy? Where are you?"
"Getting dressed!" Came the yelled reply.
Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione quickly and she jumped slightly at his touch. He pulled her closer to him and she turned to look at him, smiling. He bent his head to kiss her pink lips slowly and softly. She melted into his embrace and squeezed herself against him, kissing him back enthusiastically. He responded with a passionate groan and one hand roamed down the front of her chest to massage her breast lightly through the fabric of her shirt. Hermione's arms wrapped themselves protectively around his neck, before she let one drop down to the waist belt of his trousers.
With extreme reluctance, Draco pulled away from her lips and gazed down at Hermione's pout before stepping away, letting his hands drop to his sides. "We should stop. You don't want this now and Pansy's in the next room." He said quietly, wishing that they could have continued.
"I'm finding it harder to stop." Hermione mumbled shyly. She looked up at him and he had a funny expression on his face. Before she could ask what the matter was, Pansy came into the room and then stopped.
"What's happened?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips. She scrutinised their faces. "You've been kissing."
Hermione blushed and Draco rolled his eyes dismissively. "So? We are together?"
Pansy beamed. "I know, isn't it brilliant?"
Hermione laughed awkwardly and decided to change the subject. "What do you want to do today?"
"I dunno." Pansy shrugged. "What time did you say you were going, Draco?"
"Around two or three." He said quickly, not wanting to dwell on the subject.
"Do you want to stay over here tonight, Hermione?" Pansy turned to Hermione with an excited glint in her eye.
"I would love to, but its Monday tomorrow and that means work. I already missed yesterday due to being with Draco so I can't really keep the shop shut Monday as well." Hermione wished she could stay and felt bad after seeing Pansy's shoulders slump. "It's been a while since we've done something hasn't it?"
Pansy nodded her head vigorously. "Shall we go somewhere interesting today then? Or do you want to just chill here?"
Hermione glanced out of the window and sighed. "It looks like it's going to rain." It was true – a massive, dark grey thundercloud was approaching.
Pansy grumbled something under her breath. She turned to Draco after looking outside of the window. "What do you want to do then?"
Hermione suddenly cried aloud with excitement. "I have a brilliant idea."
"What?"
"Well," She began, grinning mischievously. "Usually, when it rains or it's a very unpleasant day, Muggles normally go to a place called the cinema."
Draco pulled a face. "A cinema? What the hell is that?"
Pansy mirrored Draco's expression and nodded in agreement.
"It's a place where you go and watch a film. For example, take the pictures wizards have. They move, right? Well, think of it like that but a whole load stuck together telling a story. It's a bit hard to explain, but it's a good experience." Hermione grinned.
Pansy contemplated the suggestion of going to the thing called a cinema. "Okay ... let's give it a go. Draco?"
"How long are they? Remember I need to go at about two or three ..." he trailed off.
"Roughly about two hours. But you can get longer films. If we go now, we'll be done in plenty of time." Hermione pressed, almost jumping with excitement. "Please?"
"Okay." Draco said shaking his head. "I'm going against my better judgement to go someplace where Muggles flock to on days like this."
"Oh, thank you guys! You won't regret this!"
--
Emerging from the cinema in Covent Garden, Draco whined to Hermione to go back in. "That film – is that what it's called? – was amazing! Avatar! And it was coming right out at you! Absolutely brilliant."
Pansy was skipping beside her. "I have to agree. It's amazing what Muggles manage to do without magic!"
Hermione agreed, extremely pleased and amused that both Pansy and Draco enjoyed the Muggle experience of going to a Cinema. She suddenly felt a drop of rain on her head and a few seconds later it began to tip it down.
"My hair, my hair!" Pansy wailed, running to a nearby café for shelter. Hermione and Draco quickly followed suit and, deciding whilst they were there, to grab a quick coffee inside.
They sat down and ordered their drinks as Draco checked his watch. "I'm going to pop to Diagon Alley in about half an hour. Crikey, that film was long."
"Yeah, it was." Hermione looked at Draco curiously. "What're you doing in Diagon Alley?"
"Oh, just a few errands." He evaded the question. "I did think that part with the hair was quite odd."
"What?" Hermione was confused at the sudden change of subject.
"You know, the part where the blue guy got on the horse." Pansy caught on quickly. "And those crazy little tentacle type things came out of his hair to join on the horse."
"Oh, yeah, that." Hermione laughed. "Yeah, it was a bit weird. Pans' what was Ron doing today?"
"He went to see his parents and stay there for dinner. They did invite me but I didn't feel too well this morning."
"Why didn't you say?" Hermione asked incredulously as her coffee was placed down in front of her. "Thanks."
"Because I didn't want you to worry!" Pansy poked out her tongue and grinned. "I feel fine now."
"Were you sick?" Draco asked suddenly.
"Yeah, why?" Pansy asked puzzled.
"Just didn't want to catch anything." Draco smirked, leaning away from his friend. She growled and smacked him on the arm playfully.
Hermione frowned slightly at Draco's question. Did he honestly mean that or did he really wonder if ... Hermione shook her head, forcing the thoughts to leave her mind.
"Everything alright?" Pansy asked her, suddenly concerned. "You don't feel sick, do you?"
She shook her head and plastered a smile on her face. "I'm fine, don't worry."
"Good." Pansy smiled smugly and sipped her coffee. "I enjoyed today, guys, but I am starving."
"Ditto." Hermione's stomach rumbled loudly to prove her point.
Draco coughed. "Okay, you two grab something to eat here, and I'll go to Diagon Alley to run my errands. I'll see you later."
Before either of them could protest, Draco had got up, left the café and disappeared into the rain.
"Well, how nice." Pansy said sarcastically, glaring at Draco's empty chair. "Hang on; do you still have enough Muggle money to pay for anything?" She added in a low whisper.
Hermione checked her purse with horror – she had a five pound note left and a two pound coin. "There's only enough to pay for the coffees and that's it."
Pansy's shoulders slumped. "Diagon Alley, then?"
Hermione nodded and finished off the rest of her coffee. She caught the eye of a waiter and she handed him the seven pounds, asking him to keep the change as it was only a pound.
Pansy and Hermione both left the café reluctantly, not wanting to go out into the pouring rain.
"We'll need to find an alley of some sort." Pansy said loudly in her ear, over the pounding drops on the awning above their heads.
Hermione nodded and headed back towards the cinema where they went down the side towards the back where nobody went. Checking the coast was clear; Hermione took Pansy by the wrist and turned on the spot.
They arrived just in front of the entrance to Diagon Alley, the revolving wall a solid mass behind them. It was raining in the Alley too, but many wizards and witches had enough sense to put the Impervius charm on their body. Hermione and Pansy did likewise so they quite happily made their way down the street at a leisurely pace.
There was a little teashop near Eeylops Owl Emporium and so Pansy dragged Hermione over to it, talking brightly of how they had delicious sandwiches.
They sat in the window of the shop opposite each other, having a clear view of the street. Once or twice, Hermione recognised a face from Hogwarts who she hadn't seen in years.
Just after their ordered food had arrived, Pansy glanced out of the window and almost fell off her chair in shock when she spied Draco coming furtively out of the jewellers. What could he be possibly doing in there? She wondered, forcing her eyes back to her plate of pizza and trying not to let Hermione notice that she was in shock.
"Did you listen to a word I just said?" Hermione asked, smiling.
"No, sorry, I was off in another world." She replied shakily. "What did you say?"
"I said that in first year, Draco almost caught me and Harry out on taking Hagrid's dragon up the Astronomy tower." She giggled at the memory.
"So that was true?" Pansy asked surprised. "After McGonagall practically took all our points away from our house, I thought he was messing about."
"Nah, he wasn't. Damn lucky we didn't get caught either." Hermione smirked.
"Yeah, but you had to go into the Forbidden Forest didn't you?" Pansy widened her eyes in mock terror. "I heard Draco was petrified, actually."
"Yep, totally." The smirk widened on Hermione's face. "He ran screaming. It was rather funny."
Pansy laughed. "I bet it was." The subject came to a close and whilst Hermione was chewing her sandwich, Pansy snuck another glance out of the window. Draco was gone.
Two months later – Saturday 13th July, 2004.
Draco was furious. He kicked the long piece of wood on the grass in frustration which only resulted in him getting a sore toe and even more angry. Everything was going wrong! He had a whole load of Muggle tools on the ground next to him and he had no idea how to use any of them. Damn him for being so pride as to decline Harry's help! He leant against the oak tree in the Manor garden and screamed aloud. He so badly wanted to use his wand but he had promised himself that he would not use any magic to construct this – this thing.
"Darling, just owl Potter and he'll help you." Narcissa came out outside into the sun to see how he was doing. "If you don't, I will."
Draco sighed and looked at his mother. She was being deadly serious. "Okay." He pushed himself off the tree and jogged back into the house. He quickly went up to his bedroom, Accio'ed parchment and a quill, and hastily scribbled a note to Harry. He attached it to his owl and warned it to be quick.
Draco sighed as he went back downstairs. He really hoped he was making the right decision. Surprisingly, his parents had agreed – Narcissa with much more enthusiasm than her husband. He had made the necessary trips to certain people and he honestly hoped that this was the right thing to do.
Emerging back into the sunlight, Draco noticed his mother had gone in and once again, he was left alone with a mass of wood. Grumbling, he found a small booklet and began flicking through the pages, completely confused. There was a hoot above him and his owl flew down onto his shoulder. "Now that was mighty quick," he said impressed. He took the note from the outstretched foot and read it briefly with a small smile. "Go and hunt for ages – you deserve it, fellow." The owl left his shoulder with a small nibble on his ear, and disappeared towards the trees. Draco looked down at the note again and stuffed it in his pocket with a thankful smile. Harry was coming to save the day. Again, Draco thought with a scowl.
He was just bending down to big up a rather large plank of wood when he heard the doorbell ring.
"Over here, Harry!" He hollered. He soon saw the tousled, jet black hair of the young man and the sun glinting off his glasses, coming towards him quickly, a grin on his face.
"Having fun, Draco?" He asked with a laugh.
"You bet," he growled in return. "What the hell do I do with all of this?" He gestured wildly with his hands and Harry continued to laugh.
"Relax; I think I know what to do."
Draco gaped at him. "You think? I thought you actually knew! Oh, this is going to be a complete mess."
"Draco," Harry said slowly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It'll be fine. Now, look at the instructions. It says here that you should put ..."
Draco watched Harry as he immediately took control of the situation, helping him to understand all the different tools and their functions, as well as what piece of wood went where and why. He was quite amazed that in the last year, he, Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Pansy had grown to be quite a close knit of friends. If someone had said that to him during school, or even the year before, he would have laughed right in their face. He watched as Harry was still talking, placing bits of wood together and showing him how to join them with things called a hammer and nails.
A couple of hours later, they had a basic shape and Draco thanked Harry for all the work.
"Do you want to get a drink and something to eat?" Draco suggested pointing towards the Manor.
Harry shrugged. "Yeah, okay, thanks."
They headed towards the Manor in silence, the sun beating down on their sweaty backs. Draco noticed that Harry had frequently pushed his glasses up his nose much to his amusement. It was rather funny having to watch him pause in an awkward moment to nudge his glasses back on his nose before they slid back down again five minutes later.
Draco took Harry down a spiral staircase through a door off the parlour which obviously led down to the kitchen. When they arrived, the twelve house-elves there hurriedly bowed to their master.
"Dolly, could you please make up some fresh sandwiches and some cool drinks." Draco addressed a small, wide-eyed house elf who nodded vigorously before squeaking some orders to some other gaping elves.
Harry was about to ask Draco something when a courageous elf timidly asked if he was the Harry Potter.
Harry laughed before answering. "Why, yes, I am. What's your name?"
The house-elf quivered before Harry and he was reminded of Dobby who, when they first met, had been so shocked and amazed when Harry had asked him to sit down. The elf glanced at Draco fearfully, afraid that he might hit him if he answered. Instead, Draco nodded encouragingly.
"I-I is W-Walby, sir" The elf stuttered, its brown eyes gazing up at Harry in nervous wonder.
"Good to meet you, Walby." Harry said cheerfully and bent down to his eye level. "How long have you worked here?"
"Walby doesn't k-know, sir." He shook his head, his point ears flapping.
"He's relatively new here. We bought him last year." Draco joined Harry crouching down. "Do you like it here, Walby? Tell me if you don't and I can sort it out for you."
Walby fingered the tea towel he had tied around his body, unsure of how to respond.
Harry glanced sideways at Draco who was smiling kindly at the house-elf.
"Walby likes it, master." He replied with a bit more strength in his voice. "Working is good and Walby is proud that he can work for his master's family." He bowed.
As Harry straightened up, Draco said to the house-elf: "Well, I'm pleased. You're a good house-elf."
Walby smiled widely and bowed low again, before scampering off to help make the last of the sandwiches.
Draco stood up again and grinned at Harry. "They are funny to talk to, don't you think?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, I like them though. I've never actually met an elf like Dobby since." He added mournfully.
Draco grimaced. "I only knew him as an elf that served our family and then was obsessed with freedom after you tricked father into giving him a sock in second year."
Harry laughed bitterly. "Yeah, and then Bellatrix killed him. He really was one of a kind."
Draco fell silent. He couldn't help but feel guilty for what transpired at the Manor in seventh year. He knew he couldn't really have done anything, but it still didn't erase the horror and guilt that he felt when he saw Ollivander and Hermione being tortured, even if he did hate her at the time. It wasn't pleasant.
Dolly arrived at that moment breaking him out of his reverie, handing Harry and himself the sandwiches and drinks. "Thank you, Dolly."
Harry nodded his thanks and followed Draco back up the steps and into the parlour, where they headed back outside into the slightly weaker sun. "What time is it?"
"I think it's about three." Draco replied, placing down the plates and offering Harry one.
They sat in silence, eating and drinking until they were ready to carry on with the task at hand.
"Right, we're almost done. We just need to get that last wall up, and then some steps." Harry stood up and gazed at the wooden infrastructure. "Ready?"
--
Hermione stood nervously in front of her mirror on Saturday night at five-to-seven, finishing tying up her hair. Draco had owled her earlier in the week to ask her over for dinner at the Manor. Strangely, he also asked that she wear trousers. So, dressed in a pair of white linen trousers and a blue silk top, Hermione checked on her appearance once more before grabbing her wand and Apparating to the Manor.
She arrived outside their front door and she rang the doorbell apprehensively. Draco answered with a wide smile, dressed in a thin black shirt and black slacks. "You look lovely."
She still blushed at his compliments after being together for a while now. "You too," She murmured.
Draco laughed and stepped over the threshold to join her, much to Hermione's confusion.
"Aren't we going inside?" She asked, pointing weakly to the now shut front door.
"No." He wiggled his eyebrows and took her hand. "Come with me."
Nervous and excited, Hermione obliged and they walked across the grounds, the summer light still faintly in the sky. She wondered where they were going. As far as she knew, the Malfoy's outside eating area was round the other side of the house - they were going towards the large oak tree which was on the left wing. She looked sideways to Draco and was slightly alarmed to see a small frown on his handsome face.
"Hey, everything alright?" She asked gently, squeezing his hand.
He jumped and looked down at her with a smile. "Sorry, yes of course. Everything's perfect." He kissed her on the forehead and then looked ahead once again.
Hermione breathed a silent breath of relief. She hated to see Draco upset or stressed. She remembered one incident last month when Draco and Harry were working on a case – a crazed wizard who had a secret obsession with Voldemort when he was alive, despite not joining to be a Death Eater at the time he was at large, and had gone to a Muggle's house and severely injured and almost killed the lady who lived there. They had taken her to St. Mungo's before capturing the wizard, and when Draco and Harry had gone to see how the lady was, the healers told them that she couldn't be saved. Draco had gotten so angry and almost trashed up the hospital room before Apparating to her flat where he told her everything. She still wasn't quite sure why Draco had gotten so angry because as far as she knew, he had no personal ties to her. Maybe it was just the link with Voldemort that triggered something within him. When he arrived, Hermione almost resolved to tears to see him so upset and angry. Draco saw this and he immediately calmed down and hugged her gently, apologising over and over.
"Hermione?" Draco asked now, waving a hand in front of her face. She jumped and grinned.
"Sorry, I was just day-dreaming."
"I could tell. You had that look on your face." He chuckled. "Anyway, here we are."
She looked around. They were standing under the oak tree. She couldn't see anything to do with a meal and she glanced at Draco confused. He was smiling, amused. He waited for her to notice the addition to the tree. When she did, her eyes widened with surprise and excitement.
Hermione reached out and touched the polished wooden ladder, propped up sturdily against the base of the tree. She looked at Draco with pleading eyes and he nodded, still smiling. Hermione hesitantly began to climb the ladder, emerging up into a simple but cosy tree house. She squealed with happiness when she saw the little table and chairs for their meal, a candle lit in the middle. There was a little white tablecloth covering the table and covered dishes ready to be eaten. A bottle of champagne glinted in the candlelight and two glasses were already filled with the bubbly, golden liquid. Draco came up silently beside her and he watched her with pure joy as she gazed around in wonder at the little sofa and even a picture of them both hanging lopsidedly on the wall of the tree house. She turned to him and literally jumped into his arms.
"This is amazing," She whispered into his ear.
He kissed her on her cheek and pulled back, gesturing towards the table. "Would you like to sit, Miss Granger?"
She giggled as he bowed and she sat down on a chair, waiting for Draco to join her. He sat down opposite her and raised his glass of champagne before taking a sip.
"We also have our own personal waiter," he winked.
Hermione looked round the tree house in confusion. "Where?"
Draco laughed. "Not here silly," He paused. "Walby!"
The house-elf appeared with a crack and bowed low to Hermione and Draco. "Hello, master and Miss."
Hermione almost said something about the rights for elves, but decided against it. Draco was doing this for her and she would most likely ruin the atmosphere by saying something like that. Instead, she smiled kindly at the elf. "Good evening, Walby. How are you?"
The house-elf's eyes widened at being addressed so nicely in the same day by three different people. "W-Walby is fine, miss."
"Good." Hermione said happily.
Draco beckoned the elf over and whispered in his ear. The elf nodded once, bowed once again to Draco and Hermione, and then disappeared with a crack.
"So, Hermione, would you like to start the first course?" Draco waved his wand and the steel plate covers disappeared, revealing a delicious looking salad. "Tuck in."
They began their meal, talking animatedly to one another and laughing at memories of Hogwarts and beyond. Walby appeared three times more, taking and placing plates to and from the kitchen. He brought the third and final course two hours after Hermione had arrived and presented it with a bow. Just before he left, Draco winked at him.
"Wow, Draco, thank you so much for this." Hermione reached over the table and took his hand, squeezing it gently.
He smiled. "Only for you."
She beamed and took off the dish cover before gasping loudly. There, on the plate in front of her, was a chocolate soufflé. But on that soufflé, was a silver ring with a Marquise stone.
"Hermione?" Draco asked, trying hard to keep the smile off his face. She looked up at him with tears forming in her eyes.
"Yes?" She whispered shakily.
"Hermione Jean Granger; will you marry me?" Draco asked. He had been preparing this moment for four months.
Hermione glanced down at the engagement ring on the soufflé. She was stunned; she totally did not expect this at all. And that's what made it even more special. Hermione's eyes met Draco's and she uttered a single word. "Yes."
Well, well! Look what we have here! I really hope you liked the chapter because I absolutely loved writing it! I thought I'd celebrate a little after finishing my exams ;)
Just so you know it's not finished yet. And thank you so, so, much to my beta and all you reviewers; you're all lovely people.