Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of J.K. Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.


Hermione and Penelope landed outside of an elegant looking French restaurant in Diagon Alley. Penelope fussed with her dress and hair quickly before Hermione could brush her away, her patience was starting to wear thin.

"You look acceptable."

Malfoy was standing near the entrance and a dark, and expensive looking dress robes. He had a silver serpent pinned to his tie, it had flashing emerald eyes. Hermione rolled her eyes at his comment and strode over to meet him, rushing into reviewing their topics of discussions for this evening. Malfoy hushed her quickly, which Hermione had to bite back a snappy retort. He was an entitled prick, and she was not enjoying him having the upper hand in this situation.

"Granger, this is the initial meeting. We aren't going to bring up politics tonight, we're on a first date with them tonight. We want to woo them and encourage them to work with us more easily. Relax, we're going to have an enjoyable evening."

Hermione groaned, although she would never admit it, she was horrible at small talk. It didn't come easily to her. She wanted to get a head start on the legislation, this evening seemed like a big waste of time – especially since she was being constricted in a dress she never would wear.

"Smile Granger, you look like you're going to burst a vessel in your forehead. Let me lead, I have plenty of experience in this setting, and try to look as though you're enjoying yourself. It's a bit of a put off when you're trying to eat and someone is scowling at you."

"I'm not an idiot Malfoy, I assure you I know how to behave in a social setting."

Malfoy let out a snort, seeming extremely confident in her abilities. Before Hermione could snap back at the annoying prick in front of her, there was a few light cracks and a small group of wizards appeared in front of them. They were all dressed in glamourous blue dress robes, which seemed to sparkle even in the dim light. Malfoy rushed forward immediately to greet the group, Hermione took a second to remove the disdainful look off of her face before greeting the men and helping them inside.

A spritely woman greeted them and escorted them to their table, Hermione sat across from the Minister, and to her distaste Draco sat at the head of the table, beside both of them. There seemed to be a few waiters taking care of their table, all of them seemed incredibly nervous serving the group of government officials. Fairly quickly they each had a glass of champagne, and the first course was being served. Hermione was definitely in shock with Malfoy's interactions, he was speaking in fluent French, with a flawless accent. It was taking Hermione a lot of effort not to be impressed with him. She realized just how little she knew about Malfoy's upbringing and experience. Of course with his family's position in the Wizarding World the young Malfoy would have been surrounded by people of importance from a young age. She had always looked at him like a pompous git, which of course he was, but never with the idea that he was intelligent. The Frenchmen were laughing uproariously at Malfoy's joke, which snapped her back to the task at hand, she joined in the conversation. Her French wasn't as good as Malfoy's, although she'd never say that out loud, but it was good enough from her family's vacations that she could carry a conversation fairly well.

It was just after their main course that the French minister called the waiter over to order shots for the table. Hermione tried to refuse as politely as possible, feeling a bit weird drinking so heavily at a work event. Malfoy gripped her arm tightly and leaned into ear, whispering so harshly that Hermione had to feign a smile to avoid the grimace that would have appeared,

"You're coming across as an uptight ponce. Take the stick out of your arse Granger and take a bloody shot with this man."

Draco pulled away from her and smiled graciously at their guests,

"I just reminded Ms. Granger that it's a Friday evening, and she can enjoy herself tonight. It's hard to drag her away from her desk sometimes, isn't that right Hermione."

He winked at her, completely taking her off guard. This was the first time that he had ever used her first name, his tone was extremely friendly which made Hermione feel uncomfortable. Until she realized that this was all a farce. She never understood how dangerous Malfoy was until that moment. He was so charismatic and charming, and able to lie so easily. This world was completely new to her, and she understood completely why Malfoy had been assigned as her partner for this assignment. Trying to refuse seemed futile at this point, she didn't want to argue with the prick in front of everyone and come across as frigid to their guests. So she took the shot that was offered to her and bit her tongue, glaring at Malfoy as she took the harsh shot of Fire Whiskey. Something that she hadn't had in years. She felt a warm tingling sensation run through her extremities, which was nearly enough to distract from the burning feeling in her throat. Hermione coughed and was nearly recovered when another shot was handed to her by the French minister, seriously were they trying to get her completely sloshed. Hermione swallowed the drink back, it went down much smoother than the first, which was not a good sign. The conversation became a lot more fluid after that, Hermione shared some antidotes of her time working on Hippogriff breeding regulations, and the interesting wranglers that she had encountered. The delegates seemed to be enjoying themselves, because it wasn't until after midnight that the group finally stood up and left the restaurant. Hermione tried her hardest to walk gracefully in her heels and dress, it was extremely difficult after the amount that the group had drank. The pair helped the French delegates into a carriage that would bring them to their lodging, apparition didn't seem like a safe option at this point.

Hermione watched them disappear down the cobblestone path before becoming aware of Malfoy's gaze bearing down on her,

"What?"

She snipped at him, crossing her arms at his amused expression,

"I'm surprised Granger, you did quite well this evening, the French minister seemed to really like you."

Hermione snorted and rolled her eyes. Throughout the evening the minister had been not so subtly flirting with the young witch. Hermione swayed slightly, feeling the alcohol hit her,

"Oh, steady there Granger,"

Malfoy grabbed her arm to keep her from toppling over, he laughed lightly at her condition, before adding,

"Let's get you home."

Hermione felt breathless, his body had leaned up against her and was much warmer than the stone cold she had imagined. He pulled her close to her, causing her heart to rush up into her throat, what the hell was he thinking. She glanced up at him in complete shock, before he disapperated them away from the restaurant.