(TFG: Hey! Another chapter! Hehe. Well... just wanna say J.K. Rowling owns the characters, since I don't think I mentioned it before. Just wanted to let you know, so you wouldn't think I was that brilliant to have created them.)

Discoveries-8-A Little Too Much To Drink

"We've been up here for hours! Can't we take a little break?" Malfoy pleaded.

"You can go whenever you want. I never said you had to stay," Hermione said, looking through a box of old things, as they sat up in the attic.

"Yeah, but come on. You know you're getting tired, like me."

"I'm fine. Besides, I think I'm on to something here. And we really need to solve this mystery before we get back to school. It's important. We ARE Head Boy and Girl, afterall."

"Not until September," Malfoy said.

Hermione looked at him. "I KNOW that!"

"Of course. You're know-it-all Granger. It's basically IN the name."

"Don't call me that!"

"Well you said at the beginning of the summer that me calling you m-" he didn't say it. "That word" he said slowly "was getting old. So why can't I call you a know-it-all? It hasn't gotten old yet."

"Whatever, Malfoy. Just please, let me finish this."

But Malfoy grabbed her hand, and started pulling her towards the stairs. She dropped the papers she was holding and reluctantly followed him. They stopped before her room.

"Go in. Get dressed up. We're going to a nice restaurant. No buts. You need a break, and you need dinner. We've been at this ALL day. Now just get ready," Malfoy ordered.

Hermione was wondering why he'd take her to a fancy restaurant, but decided she'd better get ready. It would take her a while to make herself look nice. But why would she want to look nice for Malfoy? She'd never cared about her appearance that much, and especially not around Malfoy.

~*~*~

"Are you ALMOST ready?" Malfoy asked, knocking on her door. "We're gonna be late. I've already made reservations."

Just then, the door opened a crack, and one of Hermione's eyes appeared behind it. "You made reservations?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, hold on. I'll be out in two minutes!" Hermione said, closing the door.

Ten minutes later...

"Hermione! You said two minutes!"

"Yeah. Just give me two more! I messed up my hair. I need to re-do it."

"You don't need to re-do your-" Malfoy said, opening the door and marching in. He stopped when he saw her. "-Hair." He gulped.

Hermione was wearing a black sleeve-less dress, that went just above her knees. Wrapped around her, was a dark purple shawl. She wore light purple eyeshadow, mascara, and dark red lipstick. Her hair was all in little tiny braids, and piled on top of her head, a few little braids hanging down.

"Will you quit staring?" Hermione asked. "I know I look horrible. My hairs all messed up. My makeup's all messed up-"

"No, it's fine. You look fine," Malfoy interrupted.

"Oh," Hermione blushed a little, at how picky she had been about what she looked like. "Let's go then."

Hermione walked out, Malfoy behind her and they left. Since neither of them had a car or a broomstick, they decided to walk. Afterall... it wasn't THAT far, was it?

Little did they know, it was farther than they thought...

"Malfoy! Why couldn't you have told me it was this far? I could've called a taxi!" Hermione complained, after walking for a long time.

"A taxi?" Malfoy asked. "Oh. Right. Sorry." Malfoy's face got a hint of red to them, which really stood out on his pale skin.

After only twenty more minutes, Malfoy said, "Here we are."

Hermione's face brightened, as she looked up at the restaurant. "Yes!" she said. "We're finally here!"

They went inside, and were seated in no time. About fifteen minutes later, after telling the waiter several times that they needed another minute, Malfoy was STILL looking at his menu.

"Malfoy... will you just DECIDE already? I'm getting hungry, and I haven't even gotten to order yet because you haven't. Will you hurry up and make up your mind?"

"It just doesn't sound good."

"Here. I'll order for you, next time the waiter comes around," Hermione said. "If he ever does." The second part was muttered, so that Malfoy didn't hear it.

"Bonjour Monsieur et Mademoiselle," the waiter said. "What may I get for you?"

"We'll both have le pieds de porc," Hermione said, before Malfoy could say anything.

"Is that all?"

"Oui, monsieur," Hermione said. She had been to France before, and knew some french.

The waiter left, and appeared some while later, with two dishes of...

"Pigs feet?!" Malfoy asked, spitting it out. "You ordered me pigs feet?!"

"What? It's rather good. I thought you'd like it," Hermione said, innocently.

"But you could've told me before you ordered it!"

"Well I didn't want to be here ALL NIGHT LONG!" Hermione said, fuming. "You took long enough to try to decide, and you STILL didn't! I did FOR you!"

"Well, SORRY, if I'm not a fan of slugs and frog legs!"

"Need I remind you that YOU'RE the one who MADE this reservation?!" Hermione snapped.

"No, you don't!" Malfoy said, then, "Waiter! I need my check now!"

After they paid for the food, they left, and this time they caught a taxi back home. First thing they got home, Hermione went through the house to the back porch, and sat there. Just watching the sunset. She was soon joined by Draco, who sat beside her, watching the sunset, with her.

They didn't speak at all for at least a few minutes. Hermione spoke up first, "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"You're beautiful."

Hermione quickly faced him. What had he said? Did she hear him right? She was sure she did. He'd said she was beautiful. But it still confused her. MALFOY said that. And why would anyone, at that, say that SHE, Hermione Granger, was beautiful... when she wasn't?

Malfoy slowly leaned towards her and their faces were only inches apart. She could smell beer in his breath. "You're drunk," she said.

"Does it matter?" he asked. "If I'm drunk?"

"Yes," she said. "Because you wouldn't call me beautiful if you weren't." Her eyes slowly filled with tears, and she tried not to let them fall as she walked away.

(TFG: Awww! Poor Hermione! But why is she so upset about what HE thinks of her? Hehe... Hmmm, I wonder... anyways, REVIEW, please!)