A/N: For some reason I was really struggling with this chapter. I had an idea of what I wanted it to be in my head, but couldn't quite turn it into words. Anyway, it is what it is. I hope you can still enjoy it!
CW: As always there are going to be some swear words in this chapter.
ooo
"I'm going to Hogsmeade this weekend."
Theo and Blaise were both stretched out on the heavy corduroy sofa across from Draco. The two of them had discarded their ties and were casually lounging with their top two shirt buttons undone and their sleeves rolled up, both nursing overly expensive crystal tumblers filled with Ogden's Old Firewhisky.
"What are you going there for?" Theo asked, suppressing a yawn.
Draco took a sip from his own glass. For a moment he considered lying, but then thought better of it.
"I'm meeting Granger and Longbottom for lunch."
He watched as both men sat up straight, their faces pulled into expressions of confused puzzlement.
"Granger?" Theo asked, arching his eyebrows in surprise. "As in Hermione Granger?"
"The Golden girl?" Blaise threw in.
"Gryffindor's princess?" Theo added.
"Yes!" Draco snapped "The Hermione Granger."
"Why?" Theo stared at him; his mouth slightly agape.
Draco dragged a hand across his face and let out a deep groan. How was he supposed to explain when he didn't even know how he got into this situation himself. He had been sure Longbottom would refuse to meet him, so when Granger's letter had arrived the day before, stating a time and date for their little get-together, it had completely taken him by surprise.
"She's an impertinent know-it-all, that has the tendency to stick her nose into other people's business. That's why." He said, glowering at them. This whole situation had to be a joke. If he wasn't so desperate to find a cure for Mr Edward's arthritis, he would have declined the offer politely and gone on with his life as before; but the bloody swot had been right again. He cared about the old man. He wanted to help, but he also felt thoroughly unprepared for what it entailed. How was he supposed to survive lunch with two people that he grew up hating? Two people that used to despise him?
When he realised that Theo and Blaise were still staring at him, he let out a deep sigh. "I met her at Flourish and Blott's last Saturday and she offered to help me with my research." He explained. "She thinks Longbottom might be able to help me find the right ingredients for my chronic pain potion."
There was a long moment of silence, before Theo let out a low whistle. "Wow." He said, tutting theatrically. "You and Granger going on a hot date." he teased. "Who would have thought?" an evil grin spread on his boyish face and Draco had to resist the urge to hex him.
"It's not a date." He growled, his stomach twisting uncomfortably. "It's a work meeting over lunch. Don't forget Longbottom will be there too." He let himself sink deeper into the armchair, huffing loudly and casting agitated looks. "Dates are supposed to be a pleasant experience, something you enjoy. This, on the other hand," he pulled his face into a pained grimace. "- is going to be nightmare."
"I could come with you if you want?" Blaise said, looking much too eager. "As emotional support or something. We could make a whole day of it. Maybe visit Hogwarts after lunch?"
Draco eyed him suspiciously. "Why would you offer to sit through a conversation about plants? You hated herbology in school." When a sudden thought struck him. "Wait.." he said, his eyebrows shooting up "Don't tell me you're after Granger? I thought you're hooking up with Tracey Davis at the moment?"
"Oh, it's not Granger, he's after." Theo chimed in, a knowing smirk on his face. "Isn't Lovegood staying at Hogwarts at the moment? To search the Forbidden Forest for Gnarlies or something."
"Nargles." Blaise corrected. "And she's actually conducting a study on the magical creatures that live in the Great Lake, while also illustrating Longbottom's new book about medicinal plants found in Scottish Lochs. She's brilliant, you know?" His eyes sparkled excitedly.
Draco stared at him incredulously. "Really?" He asked, scrunching up his face in distaste. "You've got the hots for Lovegood?" he barked out a laugh. "When, in Merlin's name, did that happen?"
"Last year at the Five-year Hogwarts reunion." Theo explained. "The one you didn't attend, because you, and I quote, 'refuse to ever set foot in that wretched place again'."
"Yes, and I stand by that." Draco retorted. "I visit the place in my nightmares most nights. I really don't need to go back to refresh my memory." he looked at Blaise, half amused, half apologetic. "Sorry, mate. You'll have to find yourself someone else to visit Loony Lovegood with."
"Don't call her that." Blaise hissed, his dark eyes glaring dangerously at him, daring him to insult the former Ravenclaw again.
Draco's eyes grew wide at his friend's threatening tone, causing him to sink a little deeper into his armchair. "Okay, okay." He raised his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. I'm just surprised, that's all."
Surprised was an understatement. As far as he was aware Blaise was almost as big of a flirt as Theo. Seeing him so devoted to a witch he didn't even know properly, was uncharted territory for him.
"I think we're all surprised." Theo said, nodding animatedly. "So was Blaise when Lovegood approached him at the reunion and told him that he was surrounded by Nargles." He gave Blaise a brotherly pat on the shoulder, not even trying to hide his amusement. "Swept him right off his feet, didn't she mate? I had to physically drag him away from her at the end of the night."
"Fuck." Blaise swore, his eyes glazing over as he reminisced about the event. "She was gorgeous that night. You should've seen her in that dress. I swear she's part veela or something."
Draco snorted loudly. "Sounds like those Nargles infested your brain." His voice quivered with suppressed laughter. "You've got it bad, man!"
"You can laugh all you want." The dreamy smile on Blaise's face turned into a warning glare as he pointed a challenging finger at him. "But one day you will also meet someone who will take your breath away, and guess what? I won't even laugh at you when you make a fool out of yourself to impress her, because I am nice."
The gravity in Blaise's voice had quite the sobering effect on Draco, instantly snuffing out his amused snicker and replacing it with a thoughtful, almost sombre expression.
The concept of dating, or even marrying for love, was completely foreign to him. It was not that he didn't want it, but more that it had never been in the cards for him. He found it incredibly hard to imagine being so in love with someone that he would want to spend the rest of his life with them.
"Nah, fuck that" Theo chimed in, pulling Draco out of his thoughts. "I for one, don't plan on settling down any time soon." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at the pair. "There are far too many sexy people out there to settle for just one. How sad would it be if they would miss out on a piece of this?" He gestured at himself with a smug grin on his face. "It would be a fucking tragedy!"
Draco snorted, ready to pull Theo off his high horse, but Blaise beat him to it.
"Hey Theo?" He said, feigning polite interest. "Just tell us one thing."
"Yeah, what's that?" Theo said, looking intrigued.
"How is it up there?" Blaise asked, trying to keep a straight face.
"Up where?" Theo asked in confusion.
"Up your own arse." Blaise finished, smacking his friend in the back of his head. "Honestly, you're such an arrogant knob."
"Ow!" Theo yelped. "Fucking hell, man! That hurt!"
Draco barked out a laugh and leaned forward to give Blaise a high five. "Serves you right." He said, an evil smirk on his face. "With a head as big as yours it was only a matter of time until it has a run-in with someone's fist."
Theo glowered at the two wizards. "You're both wankers." He grumbled darkly, rubbing the back of his head.
"And you're a tosser." Draco and Blaise replied in unison before bursting into laughter.
The brunette wizard let out an irritated huff and crossed his arms, trying to look offended, the corner of his mouth twitching traitorously until he eventually gave in and joined in with their laughter.
They all knew that Theo's cocky attitude was just for show. In reality he was one of the sweetest and most loyal friends that Draco had ever had.
ooo
Draco arrived in front of The Three Broomsticks at 11:50 on Saturday, his stomach churning nervously as he waited for Granger and Longbottom to show up.
Perfectly punctual as ever, Granger was the first to arrive, a shy smile on her face as she approached him tentatively.
"Hi." She breathed, fanning herself with her hand. "It's quite warm today, isn't it? Do you want to wait for Neville inside?"
"Yes, let's." Draco huffed, nodding at the witch in greeting. 'Quite warm' would have to be the understatement of the century. The air was stifling; far too hot for a Scottish summer, and, perfectly tailored though it was, the suit he was wearing was not appropriate clothing for a sweltering day like this. He couldn't wait to get out of the sun and buy himself a cold drink.
Following Granger into the spacious pub, he tugged impatiently at his tie, wishing he could discard of the irksome thing all together. If it hadn't been for the ugly mark on his forearm, he would have definitely foregone the suit and tie; maybe worn a light, if not expensive, cotton shirt, sleeves rolled up and top buttons undone, but with the Dark Mark etched permanently into his skin he never wore anything but long sleeves in public.
Trying to be stealthy he pulled his wand out of his pocket and cast a quick cooling charm at himself while Granger was looking for somewhere to sit. Finally feeling like he could breathe again he let out a deep sigh and pointed at a table towards the back of the pub.
"Over there is free."
Ignoring the curious glances and angry glares from the people around them, he led the way to the table, briefly considering to stop and pull the chair out for Granger, but then thought better of it. His pureblood manners had been drilled into him since he was a little boy and were difficult to unlearn, but knowing Granger, she would probably just feel patronised and be offended.
They settled on two wooden chairs opposite each other, a slightly awkward silence spreading between them as they stared at one another.
As opposed to Draco, Granger seemed much more prepared for the suffocating heat of the day. Her wild, chestnut hair was pulled up into a haphazard bun to expose her elegant neck; a few stray curls playfully framing her freckly face. She was sporting an airy spaghetti strap dress, exposing her golden-tanned shoulders, and boldly displaying the ugly scar on her forearm, courtesy of his late aunt. His stomach clenched as he spotted the slur etched into her soft skin and he averted his gaze quickly, hoping she hadn't noticed his reaction.
"Neville should be here soon." Granger finally broke the silence. "He did warn me that he might be running late. It's the last Hogsmeade weekend, before everyone goes home for the summer break, so naturally everyone will want to go and he has to stay back and make sure everyone is well on their way before he can leave himself."
Draco nodded, trying to still his racing mind.
"It's going to be fine; you know?" the witch said, noticing his apprehension. "I told you Neville doesn't hold grudges. He wouldn't have agreed to meet you if he still felt hateful towards you."
Draco swallowed hard and looked up to meet her eyes. "I hope you're right, Granger." He said, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice. "If he tries to hex me, I'm going to blame you."
At that the brunette let out a small chuckle "That's fair enough." She shrugged; amusement written all over her soft features. "But I'm telling you it won't happen."
They were interrupted by an excited yell from the door at the other end of the pub. "Hermione!" Neville Longbottom had entered the room, a wide grin on his face.
Draco watched as Granger's head turned towards the source of the noise, her face lighting up with unrestrained delight, when she spotted the brown-haired wizard.
"Neville!" she shrieked, jumping up to hurl towards him. "Merlin, it's been far too long." She breathed, throwing herself into his arms.
Letting out a low groan, Draco sank deeper into his seat. Bloody Gryffindors. Subtlety was like a foreign language to them.
When the pair had finally finished their enthusiastic hello, they began to make their way back to the table and Draco stood to offer Longbottom his hand in greeting, desperately trying to ignore the nervous flutter in his stomach.
"Longbottom." He said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt and thrusting his hand towards the Herbology teacher.
For a fraction of a second everyone seemed to hold their breaths as the two wizards looked at each other, but the moment passed quickly and Longbottom grasped his hand in a firm, almost brotherly handshake, instantly breaking the tension that had built between them.
"Malfoy." He said, offering him a wide smile. "It's good of you to come all the way to Hogsmeade. Makes things much easier for me."
They sat down at the table and Longbottom craned his neck, casting a searching look across the room. "Have you ordered yet? I'm starving." He waved his hand above his head, trying to get the barmaid's attention.
"No, we were waiting for you." Granger said as they watched the busty woman approach.
They ordered drinks and food and Draco couldn't help but stare at Longbottom as he interacted effortlessly with the middle-aged witch.
He wasn't at all how he remembered him. There was an unmistakeable air of confidence radiating off the man, a stark contrast to the shy and clumsy boy he used to be. He had definitely filled out over the past few years, looking much stronger, with broad shoulders and muscular arms, both courtesy of his physically straining job no doubt. He still had his friendly, boyish face, but his features were more defined, emphasized by a week-old stubble, which was accompanied by slightly longer, wavy strands of golden-brown hair, that gave him a casual, down-to-earth look.
"So…" The brown-haired wizard began once they had completed their order and the barmaid had left. "How have you been?" He fixed Granger with an impish twinkle in his dark-blue eyes. "Hannah tells me you have interesting news?"
Draco's focus shifted to the curly-haired witch, noticing the slight blush that had crept into her cheeks and across the bridge of her nose.
She cleared her throat and shifted slightly under the wizard's gaze. "How is Hannah?" she asked, her voice slightly higher than usual. "She must be looking forward to having you home for the summer?"
"She's great, Hermione. Don't deflect." Longbottom said, his lips curling into a knowing smirk. "What's this news about you and Justin Finch-Fletchly getting all chummy?" he wiggled his eyebrows playfully at the witch, who, in return, took on a much more violent shade of red that had spread all the way into her ears and down her neck.
"It's just one date." She mumbled, fidgeting nervously with the hem of the table cloth. "I guess we'll see how it goes."
"From what Hannah tells me, Justin is over the moon. He can't wait to sweep you off your feet." He gave her a lopsided grin. "It's good of you to give him a chance, you know? He's a good man and it's about time you open up and let someone new into your life."
Granger let out a deep sigh. "I guess." She breathed, looking like she wasn't entirely convinced. "He is nice enough and he is quite good-looking, so it's worth a try."
Draco was trying hard to feign indifference, but found himself strangely invested in the conversation. He had always assumed that Granger would marry Weasley one day; to think that she was dating someone else had completely taken him by surprise. But then he couldn't blame her. If she had decided to ditch the blundering idiot, and look for love somewhere else, then all the better for her.
"Well," Longbottom continued. "Parvati thinks you two are really going to hit it off." He winked at her conspiringly. "She read your tea-leaves for you."
At that the brunette let out an irritated huff, her expression turning stern. "You know what I think about Divination, Neville." She said, crossing her arms defiantly. "It's all a pile of rubbish."
Longbottom shrugged. "Fair enough. I guess only time will tell."
"Yes" Granger retorted. "And anyway. That's not why we're here." She gestured towards Draco, a look on her face that clearly stated that this conversation was over.
"True." Longbottom agreed, turning his gaze towards Draco. "Sorry, Malfoy. Just a quick catchup between friends. I'm sure you understand." He pulled his chair closer and rested his elbows on the table in a business-like manner. "So, I hear you're trying to develop a potion that alleviates chronic pain?"
Draco cleared his throat and sat up straighter, slightly taken aback by the sudden change of subject. "Yes." He croaked, ignoring the tightness in his chest. "I was hoping you might be able to help with my research about potential ingredients."
"Sure," The golden-haired wizard nodded eagerly. "There's a variety of plants that could work. If you want to use mainly fresh, local ingredients then the obvious choices would be Evening Primrose, Rosemary, Dog Rose and Stinging Nettle. Evening Primrose in particular, Oenothera biennis, is high in Gamma-linolenic acid, which protects against proinflammatory markers. If you combine that with the anti-inflammatory properties of rosemary oil, you already have a good base for your potion that can considerably slow down cartilage degeneration and alleviate joint pain."
He stopped briefly as their food arrived, thanking the barmaid with a friendly wink, before he began digging into his jacket potato. They fell silent for a moment, each of them deep in thought while they enjoyed their meals, until Longbottom took a deep swig of butterbeer and cleared his throat.
"Anyway," he said, picking up where they had left off. "As far as native plants go, those four can definitely help with the pain, but they are generally more affective as a preventative method. If you are hoping to treat advanced osteoarthritis with your potion, then it would be worth it to consider more exotic plants."
"Oh, definitely!" Granger chimed in. "I think limiting yourself to only local ingredients would considerably decrease your options and minimise the effect your potions can have." She gave Draco a questioning look. "Surely you would want to expand and use more effective ingredients where they are available?"
Draco chewed thoughtfully on a piece of roasted parsnip, while considering his options, before he nodded. "Agreed." He said, directing his gaze at the curly-haired witch. "I'm not opposed to using rarer ingredients if they can give me better results, if anything, new and undiscovered components are desirable. There is no point in designing a potion that uses the same ingredients as every other potion on the market."
"Great." Longbottom said, his face shining with excitement. "In that case I have a whole greenhouse full of exotic plants that could be useful to you." His lips drew into an ecstatic smile. "I mean, everyone knows that Turmeric and Ginger root have anti-inflammatory properties, but have you ever considered Boswellia, Thunder God Vine and Cat's Claw? All of those are great against arthritic pain. You could maybe even add Devil's claw to that if you can get hold of it."
They continued to discuss potential ingredients until long after they had finished their meals, not even noticing how much time had passed.
Draco hated to admit it, but Longbottom was absolutely brilliant. It was obvious how passionate the Herbology professor was about his subject, and he didn't seem to have any reservations about sharing his vast knowledge with the blonde.
By the end of their conversation, Draco had a whole roll of parchment full of tiny scribbled notes and instructions to help him develop his new recipe. Anything from what parts of the plants to use, to how and when to harvest them, and even techniques on how to process and preserve the ingredients. It was much more than he had hoped for and he couldn't wait to go home start experimenting. He felt like the meeting had given him a good base of knowledge and was sure that he would be able to find a formula that would rid Mr. Edwards of his crippling pains in no time.
It was almost 3pm when Longbottom stood to say goodbye, declaring that he'd best make his way back to Hogwarts, as he was planning to harvest more Angel's Trumpet blossoms before dinner. Draco thanked him for his help with a firm handshake, putting as much sincerity in it as he could.
He thought, he spotted the shadow of a self-satisfied smirk flash across the Herbologist's freckly face, when he returned the handshake with equal fervour.
"It's not a problem." He said, a wide, genuine grin spreading across his boyish features. "It was a pleasure to be talking to someone who is genuinely interested in what I have to say." He gave Draco a friendly pat on the shoulder. "If you have any further questions or any ideas you would like to share, please owl me. I'd be very interested to know how the potion is coming along. Oh, and I will send you a sample of the dried cat's claw vine, that I grew as part of my experiment in using Thestral droppings as an alternative fertilizer. I've never had that many blossoms on one plant before. Got the biggest harvest and dried most of it with a special air-drying technique that Luna designed for her herbal teas."
And with that he turned to Granger, pulling her into a bone-crushing hug. "It was so good to see you, Hermione. We need to do this more often."
"Definitely." The curly haired witch replied, returning his embrace with enthusiasm. "Maybe next time I'll come and visit you at Hogwarts. I'd love a tour of your greenhouses, if you can spare the time."
"For you, I'll always make time." The brown-haired wizard said. "Besides, I think Luna would be ecstatic if you came to visit us. She was thinking of coming along today, but then got caught up in some drama with the Merpeople that live in the Great Lake, because she was doing research on their grounds. She freed all their pet Grindylows a couple of months ago, so they aren't very happy with her at the moment."
"They still keep Grindylows in captivity?" Granger said, shock painted across her soft features.
"Not anymore." Longbottom sing-songed. "Luna took care of that."
Draco watched as the expression on the witch's face darkened. "You know sometimes I wonder if I should have turned S.P.E.W into a career. There is so much exploitation of magical creatures happening in this world. Someone needs to sort that out. If I hadn't got distracted by…"
She trailed off and Draco realised for the first time that he actually had no idea what the witch did for a job these days. He had a vague idea that she was working for the Ministry of Magic, but wasn't even sure why he thought that.
"You can always pick it up at a later point in time." Longbottom said with an understanding smile. "When you're less busy."
There was something in the wizard's sympathetic eyes that made Draco feel uncomfortable. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he had a feeling that the conversation had turned very personal all of a sudden and was not meant for his ears. He felt like he was eavesdropping.
He tried to focus his attention elsewhere as the friends said their goodbyes, nervously shifting from one foot to the other, until they finally broke apart and Longbottom turned to give him another friendly pat on the shoulder. "We'll be in touch, Malfoy." He smiled "See you later." And with a happy wave in Hermione's direction, he exited the pub.
Draco let out a deep sigh and made to gather up his notes, avoiding to look at Granger. He could feel her gaze on him and hoped she wouldn't see the nervous tremble in his fingers as her rolled up a long scroll of parchment.
"I told you Neville would be nice." She finally said, breaking the deafening silence between them.
Draco's eyes shot up to look at her and his stomach did a little flip when he saw the wide smile spread across her soft, rosy lips.
Swallowing hard, he forced his face into a cynical expression, and shook his head in disbelief. "You Gryffindors are far too forgiving for your own good." He said a haughty smirk on his face. "You'd think the war would have taught you not to trust anyone."
Granger scoffed at his words and stepped closer, crowding his space with her powerful presence. "You don't question, or disregard when someone offers you their forgiveness, Malfoy." She said quietly, looking up at him with such fierceness in her eyes that it made him shiver. "You accept it with gratitude and make sure you never cross their backs again; do you understand? It's difficult enough to make friends without you sabotaging yourself. Don't make it any harder than it has to be."
Draco suppressed a shudder and nodded, his eyes watering as he desperately fought to hold her gaze.
"Good." The witch said, curling her lips into a self-satisfied smirk. For a moment Draco had the urge to swipe his fingers across her mouth in an attempt to wipe that stupid smile off her face, but managed to stop himself just in time and stepped back, dropping his gaze to the floor.
"Now that that's settled, how about we go and visit Honeydukes? I promised Harry and Ron that I would bring some chocolate cauldrons and treacle fudge back with me; and I could really do with some of their no-melt ice cream. Care to join me?"
Draco's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Had she really just suggested they go to the sweet shop together? He stared at her for a moment as her words flitted through his mind. 'It's difficult enough to make friends' …friends. Was she trying to become his friend? 'don't question, or disregard it'…'accept it with gratitude'.
Taking a deep steadying breath, he finally made up his mind. "Okay." He nodded, arranging his face into a friendly smile, his cheeks hurting slightly at the unfamiliar gesture. "But only if I can pay."
ooo
A/N: Yikes... did I just introduce a new love interest for Hermione? Yes. Yes I did.
And did Draco seem bothered about it? Nope.. not at all.
I told you this was going to be a slow-burn story! It will take the poor sod some time to realise his feelings for her. For now he's still getting used to the idea of becoming her friend.
Next chapter should be ready for next Friday. :)
