Their second day in Paris was almost as magical as their first. They visited some of the most famous sites of Paris. They travelled to the Arc de Triomphe and climbed to the top. Standing there, with the sun on her head and the whole of Paris at her feet, Hermione kept droning on various facts she knew about the beautiful arc, in the hopes of boring Draco and driving him away. Yet he seemed determined to remember every word she said and asked clever questions that made her smile.
They had lunch in a small bistro and strolled along the Champs-Élysées, the most famous street in all of Paris which housed some of the most expensive shops there were.
After that Draco, who had been in Paris multiple times before, apparated them to a nearby wizarding café from which they climbed the hill on which the Sacré-Coeur, the holy heart church, was situated.
Walking under the high ceilings, admiring the bronze and marble statues, Hermione felt small and insignificant. Looking up at the massive mosaic of Jesus she wondered what Draco would think of it all. Being a Muggleborn she knew the stories of the bible and her love of reading and history made it possible for her to identify most of the figures that where depicted with the small ceramic tiles.
Right on que, Draco tapped on her shoulder and asked about "the Jesus story" again. He seemed amazed by it all and since he never heard it before, was flabbergasted when he heard what the Roman soldiers had done to the poor man.
Smiling, she leaned closer as she whispered, telling Draco about the wonders of Jesus and of the other people.
"Paris is fantastic", Hermione thought as she and Draco made their way outside again. Even a visit to the crypts below the church had not dampened her spirits. "I wish I would have come sooner".
At the same time, she knew that if she ever where to go back, she would never have as good a time as she did right now.
'How about dinner', Draco said. 'And then an early bedtime?'
'Sounds nice', Hermione answered, smiling at his consideration.
They wandered down the many steps back to the safety of the wizard café to disapparate again, when a woman stopped them dead.
'You're a lovely couple', she murmured. 'Would you buy a rose for your sweetheart sir?', and she showed them a flat basket full of red, pink and yellow roses.
'I'm sorry, but we're not a couple', Hermione said friendly and she tried to bypass the woman.
'Are you sure?', the woman called after them. 'I've never been wrong, you know. You're in love, you two. Not a couple? Phah', and she spat on the ground.
'We are not a couple', Draco said, loudly articulating every word.
'Sure, sure', the woman said as she turned around and went to bother some other people. But she still shouted after them: 'Just give it time my dears, just give it time!'
The silence between them was awkward as they made their way back to the cobblestone street below. Hermione had no idea how to break the silence and Draco seemed so deep in thought, she was apprehensive to disturb him. Once she had startled her father when he was mulling things over and he had broken two mugs and a teapot when she surprised him.
Walking side by side without uttering a word, they passed several giftshops before Hermione grabbed Draco's arm. Surprised he looked at her.
'I want to buy a few souvenirs', she smiled.
He nodded and followed her to a small shop that was selling all sorts of sweaters, hats and scarves.
'I'll wait outside', Draco said when he saw how cramped it was inside. He had never been a fan of enclosed spaces. Hermione nodded and made her way inside. She smiled brightly as she selected a warm sweatshirt for both herself and Ginny, a red scarf with a golden Eifel tower for Harry and some sweets in a Paris tin can for Ron. There were several onesies hanging from the ceiling, all with Eifel towers on them. Grinning widely, Hermione picked two, a red and golden one and a golden and red one. After all, Harry and Ginny were having Gryffindor babies. After selecting a few refrigerator magnets for her parents and a beautiful poster of Paris by night with a lit up night sky for Teddy, she made her way back to the sweaters.
Carefully browsing through them she selected a green sweater that read Paris in sliver letters. Grinning she walked to the counter and paid her wares, asking a small and simple request.
Leaving the shop some ten minutes later with alle her purchases in two big plastic bags, Hermione and Draco set out to find a restaurant to have dinner at.
'This was delicious Draco', Hermione said as she put down her knife and fork. They had had dinner in a small and cosy restaurant who specialized in French delicacies. Some of the items on the menu were escargots, macarons, beef stew and souffle.
As was to be expected, Draco had ordered the food in French and had paired it with a wine. Hermione was sure that when he would excuse himself to go to the bathroom, he would pick up the check too. For some reason it seemed important to him to be chivalrous and show her what a gentleman he was. Hermione's shame was how much she liked being treated like this.
She wouldn't let him get away with being the only considerate one, though. Time for her surprise.
'I have something for you', she said, smiling mysteriously as she dug around in her bags to find the wrapped parcel.
'For me?', Draco asked amazed, taking a sip of his wine.
'Uhu', Hermione said as she found what she was looking for. 'It's just a bit of silliness, but…I want you to have it. This, this trip, means a lot to me. How we made amends for the way we behaved back in school. I wasn't sure you would ever change, but working with you…and this trip…it's all just…proof, I guess, that we are different people, from who we were before, I mean. So yeah, I got you a little present', and she handed him the gift.
'That's not little', Draco said with an unsure smile, but he took it from her nevertheless. He shook it slightly and nodded. 'As I suspected; books'.
Hermione giggled nervously. 'Just open it. Don't be silly with my silliness'.
She watched Draco rip the paper to shreds and reveal the Paris sweater in Slytherin colours. His eyes lit up and s smile crept over his face.
'This is nice Hermione', he said genuinely excited.
'It's just…'.
'It's really nice', he interrupted her. 'Thank you', and he grabbed one of her hands that was on the table. 'Thank you very much'.
Their eyes met and Hermione felt as though she was plummeting several feet. 'Not at all', she stuttered. 'You're most welcome'.
When Hermione woke the next morning, she was saddened to think it was her last full day in Paris. They had an appointment to meet up with Gerard again and see if he had found out something about the runes and then they would do some sightseeing. Hermione had set her heart on a bus tour through the city and Draco had willingly agreed to do it with her.
"I should see the Eifel tower today as well", Hermione thought as she slid out of bed, wrapped her dressing gown around herself and opened the curtains. The sunshine that had guided them through Paris for two days had left them and a dull grey sky greeted her. "Bugger".
When she sat down for breakfast, nursing a cup of coffee while she waited for Draco, she overheard some British tourists complain it would start raining soon.
This knowledge dampened her mood a bit, but when she saw Draco coming in the dining hall, she felt happier already. He was wearing the sweater she had gotten him. A few other guests gave him weird looks, it was a rather tacky shirt, but he didn't seem to notice or care.
'Morning', he said smiling as he helped her out of her chair and they made their way to the buffet.
'It's raining', Hermione complained.
'Not yet', Draco countered as he ladled scrambled eggs on a plate and handed it to her. 'And if we are lucky it won't rain till later this evening. I have something planned for you, you know'.
'Again?', Hermione sighed, pretending to sound exasperated.
'Would you like me to cancel?'
'No', Hermione swatted Draco on the arm. 'Now I'm curious'.
'Good'.
Gerard had send them away, saying he would send an owl if he found anything and they shouldn't bother him while he was working. Shrugging Draco said this had happened before and although he had worried at the time, Gerard had come through for him. He was certain Gerard would come through again.
'So', Draco said, shoving his hands in his pockets, making his way to the busy street. 'You wanted a bus tour?'
'Ohh please!', Hermione said. 'I would love some more information about the city'.
'Then let's go and find you a tour', Draco sighed, though his smile and the twinkle in his eye betrayed him.
Thanks to some helpful strangers, finding a tour wasn't that difficult. There were several routes going through Paris and the busses on them appeared almost every ten minutes. So, when it started to drizzle, Hermione and Draco clambered onto a bus, paid the driver for the ride and found a place to sit.
'How are we supposed to hear anything?', Draco moaned over the loud noises of people, traffic and the bus itself.
Hermione smiled and showed him the earphones she had gotten from the driver. 'Plug these into those small holes', she said and she handed him a set. 'These ends go in your ears and voila'.
Draco looked apprehensive, but smiled when he could hear the voice of the tour guide. Well, tour-tape, as this was a premade recording. 'How did you know?'
'They have this system in London', Hermione explained, plugging her own ears. 'It's the most useful and effective. This way every tourist can hear the tour in their own language'.
'What will muggles think of next?', Draco wondered as he stared out the window at the buildings, traffic and pedestrians.
Hermione had taken a seat at the aisle and though she hadn't seen a problem with it at first, she was constantly hanging over Draco, trying to see out the windows. After it had happened for the fifth time, Draco just pulled her close and wrapped his arm around her waist. Hermione rested her head on his chest and finally was able to see all the details she was hearing about.
'You don't mind?', she asked.
Draco just shook his head and kept looking outside.
She was still using that same shampoo, Draco pondered, as a sweet scent rose from Hermione's hair. Raspberries or strawberries? Either way, she smelled so sweet. He could feel her head on his upper body, her waist under his hand and feel her chest rising and falling as she breathed.
"This is dangerous territory", he said to himself. "The girl still has a boyfriend". After that dreadful scene in the Golden Lotus restaurant, he hadn't thought for a second, she would ever want to talk to him again, let alone work together.
Yet she had jumped at the chance to go to Paris with him. For business of course, but they were doing more pleasure than business, her pleasure. Seeing all those sights, riding on this bus, the dinner on that boat, it wasn't just business anymore and he had realised that the moment he saw her staring at the twinkling lights on the Eifel tower, captivated by its magnificence and loveliness.
"She'd never want a guy like you", he thought to himself. "A guy that sleeps around? A guy that just uses girls for pleasure?"
"But for her, I would want to change", he countered as a smile slid on his face. The buildings outside long forgotten, he was absorbed in his thoughts.
For her, he would change and be a man worth respecting. A man that took his girl, his woman, to dinner in classy restaurants, bought her jewellery and flowers and wooed her in a proper way.
"She'll never have you though". The thought was like a stab to the heart. "You blew it and she'll never have you again. This? This is all just Paris talking. The most romantic city on the planet and you're thinking about being together? Get real Malfoy, get real".
As the Eifel tower came up, Hermione sat up straight. 'I still haven't been', she said. 'Can we go see the Eifel tower?'
Draco nodded, slightly bemused for being jerked from his thoughts so ruthlessly. They gathered their belongings and at the stop near the Eifel tower they got off. Walking a short distance along the Seine, they were able to reach the entrance to the Eifel tower and made their way in.
'So?', Draco asked.
'So?', Hermione repeated with bated breath.
'What do you think?'
'I have no words', Hermione breathed as she stared from the window at the tiny city of Paris beneath her.
'That's a first', Draco laughed and he pulled her close to him. He wrapped his arms round her waist and rested his head on her soft and bouncy curls. It was a way to intimate position, but he couldn't care less. Smelling her sweet shampoo, he would soon have to ask what that smell was, he enjoyed the view.
It seemed the sun had come out just for them. For when they had started climbing the first set of stairs it had rained softly. But as they exited the lift at the top most floor, there were some tiny rays of sunshine peeping through the grey clouds.
'Draco this…', Hermione began, but she was unable to finish her thought. She had covered his hands with hers and leaned back into his chest.
'I know', he whispered, not ready to speak at full volume. Not ready to break the enchantment and go back to just being to colleagues on a business trip.
He had no idea how long they had been there, enjoying the view, enjoying each other's company when she woke up from her trance and stirred in his arms. Draco quickly let go and stepped to the side where there was some information on the construction and pretended to read that.
Hermione stayed a few moments longer, feeling the cold air where Draco's warmth had been before. She knew this was wrong, she knew she wasn't supposed to be doing anything like this at all. But if it was wrong, why did it make her feel happy?
She could hardly picture herself standing here with Jeffry, holding his hands or kissing him. Merlin help her if he would propose here. This would for ever be the spot where she and Draco had pretended, just for a little bit, that there was something between them.
'Let's go', she said, fighting back a tear that was trying to spring free.
'Where to?'
'What was your plan for tonight?', Hermione asked, trying to keep her voice light and her steps carefree.
'We should celebrate your first time in Paris', Draco said as he pressed the button for the lift. 'There is a club, just for our kind. I wanted to take you there'.
'Sounds lovely', Hermione said and she actually mustered a smile. 'Maybe we should take a nap just in case? I bet you can't keep up with me dancing all night'.
Draco raised one eyebrow and grinned mischievously. 'Is that a challenge Granger?'
Hermione shrugged. 'If you want to call it that'.
The little bell dinged and both of them got in the lift, neither noticing the dark clouds gathering, smothering the rays of sunshine.