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He was willing to listen to her. That was a start.
Hermione needed Draco to know that nothing happened on her date with Viktor. He needed to know that she only wanted to be with him. She only loved him and no one else.
They still needed to do the tour of the stadium, but both knew that they needed to work out their issues first. Draco led the way over towards the South side of the pitch. They sat beside each other, leaning back against the middle goalpost.
He didn't speak so she began.
"So, first and most importantly." She said turning her head to look at him. "I do love you, Draco. You need to know that I have for a while now." She said before nodding and looking away from him. She inhaled slowly before going on, "After nothing seemed to be happening with us…I received a letter from Viktor. I foolishly agreed to go on a date with him." She sighed, shaking her head.
"When I left the Bistro…." She muttered and looked back at him. She wanted so badly to grab his hand. "I hated leaving you that night, Draco." She saw him clench his jaw and she sighed, "He and I went to a pub in Diagon Alley. After we finished dinner, Viktor was rather…determined to go further…"
Draco's head quickly turned towards her, suddenly concerned that something had happened to her that night. Since he had been ignoring her since then, she would have had no way to tell him.
She quickly shook her head, seeing the concern on his face.
"No. I told him no and that was it. I went home alone. Nothing bad happened. I promise."
The tension that had suddenly appeared in his shoulders diminished some as he silently nodded.
"I still shouldn't have gone." She said. "The only reason I did was because I was afraid, he would drop out of the Charity Match." She said, looking over at him. "I'm so very sorry, Draco."
She knew that she had hurt him, and she hated that.
Draco looked at her, "Do you think he's going to drop out now?"
She shook her head, "No, I've received confirmation from all the Quidditch players involved, including you and Gwenog Jones who is going to be the arbitrator."
Nodding Draco looked thoughtfully at the ground.
Hermione swallowed nervously before saying, "I was hoping that perhaps…if you were okay with it, we could grab some lunch after we finish up here."
Draco blinked and met her eyes before shaking his head, "I don't think so." He said.
Her heart dropped but she had known that he might not forgive her.
"Oh. Okay." She sighed quietly.
Draco nodded slowly, "I'd much rather go on a proper date with you and no offense, Granger, but lunch is not a proper date."
She looked at him in shock before letting out a relieved laugh.
He reached over and took her hand in his, "Granger, I love you. No more dates with other blokes, okay?"
She smiled at him and nodded, "Okay."
"Are you ready for your tour of the stadium?" He asked with a smirk.
She nodded and stood up before reaching for his hand once more, smiling.
He smiled and they headed off on the tour.
While on the tour the found the finest private box and designated it for the group of orphaned children from St. Mungo's that were well enough to go to the Charity Match.
They were choosing spots to place the concession stands in the corridor when Andrew rushed over to them.
"Hey, Mr. Malfoy, I was hoping to ask for a bit a favor…" He said with a slight nervous shake to his voice.
Draco jutted his chin slightly and replied, "Okay. What is it?"
"I need to get home, but I'm supposed to lock up the stadium today. I don't want to rush you two out of here, so I was hoping you'd be willing to let me give you the spell to lock up…" He explained, "There are just a few things that need to be done when locking up. It wouldn't take but ten minutes."
Draco nodded, "Sure. I don't mind."
While Draco and Andrew discussed the details of locking up the stadium, Hermione looked around, finding a trophy case full of trophies from the early 1750's. She looked at the trophies closely, reading the information about each on a notecard that hovered next to it.
When she felt the warmth of Draco's hand on her lower back. She smiled and slightly leaned into it.
Draco smiled and spoke up, "So, have you ever had an entire Quidditch Stadium to yourself?"
She laughed and shook her head, "No."
"Well, that's just changed. We are now the only ones in this entire place."
She smiled, "Have you ever had an entire stadium to yourself?"
He laughed, "No but I've always wanted to so that I could fly my broom through the curved corridor of the inner stadium." He grinned.
"Well, then get to it." She smirked.
"Are you sure?" He asked, his eagerness more than obvious.
She nodded, "Of course. Now, I am not much of a fan of being on a broom, but I'll be here to watch and alert some Healers if necessary." She replied.
He chuckled, "I'll be fine, Granger but thank you for caring."
She smiled and nodded.
He summoned his broom from the locker room and waited until it came around the curve of the corridor. Draco caught it and looked at Hermione for a moment before walking over to her.
"I erm…" He began before just leaning in and pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. "I'll be right back." He said as he hopped onto his broom and sped down the corridor.
He made several laps around the large oval of the stadium while Hermione stood, smiling to herself, determined to kiss his lips as soon as possible.
When he landed back next to her, he beamed, "That was bloody brilliant!"
She laughed.
He licked his bottom lip nervously and said, "Would you care to take a stroll on the field?"
She smiled and nodded, "Sure."
Upon arriving on the field Hermione promptly took her flats off and let her bare feet feel the grass.
Seeing this, made Draco smile and raise his brow at her.
She huffed, "How many people can actually say that they've walked barefoot on the field of the Quidditch pitch in the Magpies Stadium?"
Draco nodded with a shrug, "I suppose you're right."
She laughed and said, "As per usual."
He chuckled and they began to stroll around the field, holding hands.
The stroll remained silent at first until Draco said, "So, we're dating."
Hermione huffed a laugh and asked, "Is that a question?"
Chuckling, he shook his head and brought his feet to a halt. He turned to fully face her and stepped a bit closer.
"No, its not." He muttered, glancing at her lips before leaning down as she leaned up on her bare toes.
Their lips met and the connection they both felt was instant. He tilted his head, deepening the kiss a bit while Hermione raised her hand to cup his jaw.
As they slowly pulled apart, neither stepped away, not wanting to break the moment.
He let out a quiet breath and said, "I've wanted to do that for a bloody long time."
She smiled, blushing slightly as she nodded, "Me too."
Draco swallowed and shook his head, "No, you don't understand. I think…I think perhaps we should discuss a few things."
She furrowed her brow, "What is it?"
He sighed, "Can I have one more kiss first?"
She knew she couldn't deny him that, so she simply leaned up on her bare toes and kissed him, cupping the back of his head.
When they separated, Draco took her hand in his and led her over to the same goalposts as earlier that day. They sat down beside each other before Draco decided to face her instead. He moved over and sat in front of her with his legs crossed.
She crossed her legs as well and scooted closer until their legs were touching.
"So, what's going on?" Hermione asked nervously.
Draco swallowed and inhaled before replying, "There are a few things that I feel you should know."
She nodded but didn't speak, not truly trusting her voice in that moment.
"One, being that I have loved you for far longer that is acceptable." He said.
She furrowed her brow, "What does that mean, Draco?" she asked.
"You were with Weasley directly out of Hogwarts." He said, "Then, after you and Weasley broke up, Krum was in the picture. Then after you and Krum broke up, Weasley was back."
"Draco, I still don't understand."
"I've loved you since our fifth year at Hogwarts. Granger, I've loved you for over a decade. All the while, you've loved other people. It was inappropriate for me to have feelings for you during those times. But now…" He said with a grin, "now, I can love you out loud."
She smiled before sighing, "But…but you've dated other women…"
He nodded, "I'm no saint. I suppose that's the second thing I should tell you."
She huffed but said, "Draco, if you've been in love with me then why didn't you ever say anything between my relationships?"
He looked at her oddly before answering, "Honestly, I wanted to…so badly. After you and Weasley were over the first time, I waited a while, out of respect and then I went to ask Blaise how I should handle it. He promptly informed that you were dating Krum. After Krum, when I figured it had been long enough but not too long, I made a plan. I went over it about one hundred times and had my entire speech prepared to ask you out a birthday party that was coming up." He said pausing before saying, "Potter's birthday party."
Hermione swallowed and sighed. It was well known amongst their friends that she and Ron had gotten back together at Harry's twenty-fourth birthday party at number twelve Grimmauld Place. It had been a rather obvious ordeal since Pansy, Neville and Draco had walked into the kitchen only to find the brunette in a heavy snogging session with Ron Weasley.
"Draco, I can't even…I am so terribly, indescribably sorry." She said on the verge of tears.
The blond wizard shook his head, "Granger, please don't cry." He said reaching over to cup her cheek.
"I'm so sorry, Draco. I love you." She said before leaning forward and kissing him.
Draco kissed her back before slowly pulling back. "I love you too." He said with a smile.
She smiled as he wiped her tears away.
"Now," He said, "I've got one more thing to confess."
"Gods Draco. I'm not sure you should."
He chuckled, "I don't think you'll mind hearing it."
She motioned for him to go on.
"I'm helping Astoria out. Well, I was helping Astoria out. She doesn't need that help anymore, though we are still friends. She's one of my best mates."
Hermione rolled her eyes and Draco chuckled.
"Granger, Astoria and I were never in a relationship." He said with a small smirk.
"What?!" She exclaimed.
He chuckled, "We pretended to be in a relationship for nearly three years."
"Why in Merlin's name would you two do that?" She asked, beyond confused.
"You have to keep this a secret. It's not even my secret to tell but she said that I could tell you if we ever got together." He explained before continuing, "Astoria doesn't date blokes."
Hermione was grateful to be sitting on the ground. Had she been standing or sitting up, off the ground, she's sure she would have fallen out of utter shock.
"She's a lesbian?" She asked.
Draco nodded, "Yeah. We were pretending to date so that her family wouldn't find out about her."
"So why did you two 'break up'?" the brunette asked.
"Well, her family discovered her and her girlfriend in bed together."
"I hate that for her." Hermione said.
Draco nodded, "She's doing better now, though. Her family just wants to keep it a secret from the public."
Hermione rolled her eyes, "They shouldn't be that way."
"I agree, but she's doing okay." He said before grimacing slightly, "This might sound like odd timing, but I am famished."
Hermione laughed and nodded, "Me too. What time is it anyway?"
He looked at his wristwatch and his eyes widened, "Is nearly four. How did that much time pass?"
She smiled, "Time flies when you're having fun."
He furrowed his brow in confusion.
"It's a muggle saying." She laughed.
He nodded grinning, "I like it. It's accurate. Time always flies by when I'm with you."
She smiled at him and shook her head before leaning over and kissing him, taking him by surprise. His surprise only lasted a millisecond before he responded and kissed her back.
As they separated a few moments later, Hermione said, "You are incredibly sweet, Draco."
He smiled, "I just love that I get to be that sweet to you now without it being inappropriate or just plain odd."
She laughed and nodded.
"So, what would you like to do now?" He asked.
"Well, I need to get ready for our proper date after I get something to eat at home." She smirked.
He grinned, nodding, "Me too."
They made plans for him to pick her up at her flat at seven that evening. She helped him lock up the stadium before they kissed each other and went to their own homes to prepare for their first date. Both were nervous but eager for something that had been over a decade in the making.