Author's Note: Yeah, I feel bad about how short my chapters are. It's just like that I like them to end them in certain places for a reason, not just because I felt like stopping there because I was too tired to type anymore. Oh, and if anyone actually knows the real names for Hermione's parents, please let me know. I 've read the books, but wanted to ask in case I missed it. Since I had no clue I made up my own. Yuk, quite a technical question-y A/N. Blah.
Now some thanks yous are in order... midnight solitaire, Axisha, HermlovesDraco (Tickle fight!), MyBlackWolves, lil-miss-devil, Cinammon (Heh, yeah he deserves a million bowls of soup!), Amanda (Oh my gosh, you don't ramble! I love long reviews. Thanks for the kind words. I thought everyone would hate me for making Draco seem a little softer.), blackxrose (You better write that chapter or I will sic your brothers on you! Nothing like a threat to get the creative juices flowing!), Jexi (Thank you for the constructive criticism.), babmidnight (Yeah, sorry that I didn't mention it. It is december. Draco and Hermione will arrive at her parents the day before Christmas Eve. Thought I put it in there.) , apple, Keli Lyn, pretendingtobesane, ProudMudblood, and shedraconis.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Chapter Seven: Putting the Plan in Action
"So, are you ready?" Hermione asked Draco, as she turned off the ignition of her car. Hermione decided that they should drive, as it was a muggle part of town and it would be more convenient. And, as a plus, it would give them more time to go over every part of their charade. By the time they arrived the sky had darkened and the rumbling in their stomachs signaled that it was just about time to eat.
He nodded, indicating them to walk to the front door. As they got out and headed up the front path, Draco noticed the worried look on Hermione's face and took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Hermione looked up at him, taken aback at this kind gesture. She certainly never would have expected that from Draco Malfoy, the Dark Prince of Slytherin. And, truthfully, Draco was a little surprised as well. It seemed as if his Pureblooded attitude was on hiatus. He did a complete one eighty and it shocked the both of them. It was almost as if they were becoming friends. It seemed too far-fetched to believe, so they didn't, pushing the idea out of their minds, and just concentrated on what was at hand.
Hermione took a deep breath, her free hand hanging in the air, fingers trembling as she rang the bell. She stole another glance at Draco while they were still alone. He looked as suave as ever. Not a silver hair on his head was out of place. He had on a smart jumper and khakis. She was just about to evaluate the look on his face when the front door opened, revealing her father in the front hallway.
"Dad," She smiled, releasing Draco's hand to hug her father.
"How's my little girl?" He asked as he let her go and he moved back giving the 'couple' room to step into the house.
"Great." She paused, "So let me do the introductions. Dad, this is Draco Malfoy, my boyfriend…" The word tasted foreign in her mouth and she wondered if that's how it sounded to Draco. "Draco, my dad." Draco found him to look quite as he expected. Of average height, salt and pepper hair, glasses, which were probably used mostly for reading. The only difference was that his eyes were bluish green, not the chocolate brown Draco had been anticipating.
"It's great to finally meet you, Mr. Granger." Draco said, giving Hermione's father a firm handshake. "Hermione's tole me so much about you."
"I wish I could say the same about you. And, please, call me Peter." He said before returning his attention to his daughter again. "Your mum is in the kitchen. She's been baking all day. Couldn't tear her away from the stove for a minute because everything has to be perfect because you're coming home." The father and daughter both shared a laugh at her mother's typical busy-bodied cooking.
"Then we'd better say hello already." Hermione said and Peter led the way to the kitchen, letting his daughter and her boyfriend follow. As they made their way to meet Hermione's mother, Draco took a good look at the house. The hallway walls were painted a warm and inviting taupe. To the left was the stairway, to the right was a doorway leading to a sitting room. Family portraits hung on the walls in clusters depicting the Grangers through the years.
As they continued down the hall they passed more doors, probably the closet and bathroom, Draco assumed. Nearing the end of their walk he noticed that towards his left was the dining room. Candles and a floral centerpiece were proudly displayed on the table. He presumed that today and Christmas Eve was just for Hermione and her parents to catch up and the rest of the family would be coming on the twenty-fifth.
The kitchen wasn't very large, but it wasn't very small either. It was just as the rest of the house was: warm and cozy. There was a small round table off to one side that could fit five (six if you squeezed) and at the moment it was covered with trays of every variety of cookie you could imagine.
Hermione's mother was just checking on the pies in the oven when they entered. When she noticed the three of them she immediately closed the oven door and hurried over to hug her daughter. Draco noted, amusedly, that she had neglected to take off the oven mitts she was wearing in the excitement of her daughter's arrival.
While mother and daughter embraced, Draco took in her appearance as well. He had a brief look at her when she saw them outside The Blue Note, but was able to get a closer one now. She was short, and now Draco saw where Hermione had gotten that trait. She had light brown hair that was kept short and her eyes were almost the same cinnamon brown that Hermione's were. They parted and once again, Hermione did the introductions ("Mum, this is Draco Malfoy. And Draco, this is my mum, Diane"). She left out the boyfriend part, seeing as her mother had already seen them, well, together.
By then she had shed the oven mitts and she gave Draco a hug. It wasn't awkward, as Hermione had anticipated, but it almost seemed normal. Draco then returned to Hermione's side and slipped his arm around her waist for good measure.
"Well," Diane said, reveling in her daughter's newfound love, "the pies should be ready in a few minutes. I'll set them out to cool and then we can go out to dinner."
()()()()()()()()()()
Peter had disappeared somewhere while Diane was fussing over a batch of cookies and Hermione pulled Draco aside in the hall.
"So, how'd I do?" He asked casually, leaning against the wall.
"Fine. Why don't you go freshen up, or I don't know, whatever it is that you Malfoys do." She received a smirk at that, before continuing, "The bathroom is the second door on the left. I'll help my mum finish up in the kitchen and then we'll go out to eat. I think my parents made reservations."
"Alright." He said, nodding and heading to the bathroom.
Things were going well, he thought. He was dodging blackmail, hiding out from Pansy, and spending the holidays with nice people, even if they were muggles (old habits die hard). Nobody suspected anything either.
The more time he spent with Hermione the more he couldn't understand why he hated her in their school days. She was kind, sweet, and warmhearted and whenever he saw her there was a smile on his face. This was what he always wanted.
()()()()()()()()()()
Peter drove, Diane was in the front passenger seat and Hermione was in the back with Draco. The car ride was quiet, nobody felt like talking. Hermione's dad was busy trying not to get lost in the snow, Diane was fiddling with the radio until she found a station with Christmas carols, and both Hermione and Draco were reflecting on what had happened and were thinking about what was going to happen.
Hermione's parents had made reservations at a family-run, yet upscale restaurant. When they entered Peter gave the hostess their name while everyone shed their coats, Draco helping Hermione' with her's. She smiled at him, then scanned the room, taking it all in. She found it rather charming. The lights were dimmed; white linen tablecloths donned each table where the flickering of tiny candles could be seen.
They were seated at a table near one of the walls and Hermione admired the paintings adorning them.
Dinner was as Hermione and Draco suspected. After they had ordered they all began chatting about what was new in their lives. They talked about Hermione's work at the newspaper and the cruise that Granger's had just gotten back from a two weeks ago.
When Hermione's mother asked about Draco's job, Hermione answered for him, saying that he was a businessman and ran his own company. Hermione knew that, like so many other things in her magical life, her parents wouldn't understand what Draco's company was about, so she just added that he was very successful instead. The Granger's both commented on that, saying how wonderful that was.
It was all going rather well. Well, it was going rather well so far. Hermione was chewing some of her baked potato when the inevitable happened.
"So, how did you two meet?" Hermione wasn't sure which parent had asked, she was too busy trying to remember the story that she and Draco had gone over. What was wrong with her? She had lied before, being friends with Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley had taught her that. With all the adventures they had gone on, the only thing she could do was lie about certain things. But this was different. This was her parents.
"We knew each other at Hogwarts…" Draco started, noticing that Hermione had lost her voice. When she heard him speak, she realized that she had spaced off a bit, and picked up the story where he had let off (after a encouraging sip of wine, of course.).
"But we met up recently because of work. I was interviewing him for the paper for the business section."
"I must admit, we didn't get to many of the questions, we were having such a good time chatting about old times." Draco added, giving the parents a charming smile. Hermione felt him take her hand, giving her the encouragement she needed to go on.
"Well, then he owled me about another meeting and we've been together ever since." Hermione finished, leaving her mother with a happy smile and a tear in her eye. Dinner went on quite nicely after that. The conversation didn't touch upon Draco and Hermione's relationship again. Instead they talked about everything but, which included the weather, the hectic Christmas shopping, and the rest of the Holiday plans.
()()()()()()()()()()
When they got back Hermione helped her mother in the kitchen, packing cookies in festive holiday tins, when Diane pulled her daughter aside.
"Why don't you let me finish up here and you and Draco can take a walk." Hermione smiled at her mother's wishful thinking.
"Alright. Dad's probably putting him through the ringer anyway."
()()()()()()()()()()
Hermione put on her heather gray jacket and her new burgundy scarf. Draco had on a dark brown, buttery-soft leather coat, which he looked quite dashing in.
The snow crunched beneath their feet as they walked and their breath was visible in the cold winter air. Each house was illuminated with Christmas lights and it made for a rather romantic walk.
Well, it would have been romantic if she and Draco were really together. And in the back of her mind something told her that she wished they were.
"Draco?" Hermione broke the silence.
"Hmm?" He replied, not taking his eyes from the lighted houses. He smiled at the house they were just passing. It's front window framed a picturesque view of a decorated Christmas tree.
"I wanted to say thank you." She paused, "It's really very kind of you to be doing this for me."
"You blackmailed me, remember?" He joked. There was something in her eyes that made it hard for him to answer her seriously. He knew nothing was real here, but he couldn't help it. He kept getting lost in all of the holiday spirit. When he looked at her he wasn't sure what he was feeling. He was getting mixed emotions from this situation. Every time she smiled at him he had to tell himself that it was just an act. He had to tell himself that it wasn't real.
"Well, thanks just the same." She said, despite his teasing, "The Park is just up there, if you wanted to go see it."
"That would be nice." He said and when they reached the park Draco wiped off a seat on the swing set and motioned for Hermione to sit. She did so willingly, putting her mitten-ed hands on the ropes that supported it.
"You know, my mum really likes you." She paused as Draco pushed the swing gently, "Dad too, I bet."
"I'm not so sure, he really gave me an inquisition while you were cleaning up in the kitchen." He laughed, avoiding the subject again by teasing her, the swing slowing to a stop. Hermione could feel Draco's hands resting on the ropes and she reached hers up to meet them. She leaned back and looked up, seeing Draco's upside down face, and laughed. They stayed like that for a good fifteen minutes before Hermione suggested that they better be getting back.
"We still have to unpack."
()()()()()()()()()()
On their way back they stopped at the car to get their bags. Hermione threw a small one over her shoulder and was about to take another large one when Draco offered to carry the rest.
Mrs. Granger opened the front door for them and when Draco asked which room he should put their things in, she replied, "The last door on the right." Hermione knew that the last door on the right was her old room. She started up the stairs and then came to a startling realization.
She and Draco would be sharing a room.