A/N: I am so very very sorry that this is taking forever and a day. It's almost been a year since I've started posting and I am incredibly disappointed in myself for not having this all typed up. I am still in the process of "de-fluffing" the rest of the story, but here's a little something!
Thanks to all the reviewers! Hope this isn't as fluffy as melted marshmallows!!
Last time on DC
Hermione sat down on the bed and patted the spot next to her for Draco to sit. He sat and smiled. He scooted up against a pillow and drew her close to him.
She smiled and leaned her forehead against his.
"Thank you Draco, I love you"
He leaned his face close hers and said "I love you Hermione"
Chapter 13- A Promise
Hermione pulled away from Draco's face and cocked her head to the side a bit and scrunched her forehead. After looking intently at him for a moment she shook her head at him. "No..."
Draco looked back at her as though she had said something to offend him, which she had. He put his hands on her shoulders and gave a serious faced "Malfoy"- look and said "I. love. You."
Hermione put her hand to her chin and moved slightly away from Draco again and again shook her head. Draco watched her eyes and he saw tears forming in her eyes but she blinked them away.
Draco had nothing to say to Hermione at this point. He didn't know what to say to her. After a moment she spoke. "Draco, I love you, and it's not a joke and I don't expect you to love me. I know that you need time so please, please don't say you love me to make me happy."
"Hermione Granger I love you. I do. I would never tell you something that I didn't really mean, especially something as serious as the three most important words I've ever said to anyone."
Hermione nodded a slow "okay" and looked towards the door hearing Mrs. Malfoy calling them from down the hall.
"Draco...Hermione? Where are you two?" She called happily.
Hermione stood from the bed and turned toward Draco offering her hand to him.
He took her hand and got up following closely behind her leaving her room. Hermione walked out to the hall, finding Mrs. Malfoy only a few meters from her room door.
"There you two are" She said with a small smile.
"What's up mum?" Draco asked casually.
She glanced at her watch and said "Dinner is going to be at six; which is in about an hour. Don't be late you two." She walked a bit closer to Hermione and put her hand on her chin in a maternal way and said "Lucius wants to meet you" Hermione laughed a little nervously glancing at Draco as his mum walked away.
Hermione looked at Draco as Mrs. Malfoy walked past them and said "erm...why do you think your father wants to meet me?..." Draco shrugged in reply and said "Maybe because I never bring people my father hasn't known since my childhood home."
After a moment Draco looked at Hermione and said "I want to show you something, come with me"
They walked outside onto a terrace garden. It was absolutely gorgeous. Draco motioned toward the canopy swing in front of the artificial waterfall and said "come here, sit with me?"
Draco entwined his fingers with Hermione's and she leaned her head a little on his shoulder. "Draco..." Hermione started after a moment.
"Yeah?"
"Why do you love me? I mean, what changed?" She asked a little nervously not wanting to upset him.
"Hermione, I'm not really sure what changed but I love you because I came alive when I met you, and because you make me happy when I'm around you, and without you I am a bit of a cynical bastard. You brought out the good in me I suppose."
"Oh...wow..." Hermione said after a moment. After a sitting and swinging together for almost 40 minutes Draco mentioned that they should probably get back inside. Hermione stood with Draco and he smirked a little. "Come here" he nodded his head a little. "Yeah?" he motioned for her to take hold of his shoulders. "What are you doing Draco?" He looked at her with a smirk and said "Don't tell me you've never gotten a piggy back ride before" Hermione smiled and laughed a little and said "Not since I was five" Draco carried her back into the house and to her room.
Hermione let go of his shoulders and said "What exactly should I wear to dinner with your parents?" She asked as he put her down. "This..." he said as he magic-ed himself into different clothes "...is what I am wearing" Draco wore black dress pants with a dark blue buttoned down shirt. "It's kind of silly really, dressing up for dinner. But I've done it since I was a child."
Hermione magic-ed herself into a black skirt the showed her knees and a dark-pink short-sleeved sheer top. She held up her arms and asked "yes?" Draco nodded and said "you look adorable" She laughed a little and said "you always look adorable"
"Let's go, Hermione" he said taking her hand and smirking.
They walked down to the dining room and got there just as Lucius and Narcissa did.
The four seemingly adults wined and dined quietly, speaking little, with Hermione darting uncomfortable glances at Draco. He placed his hand on hers on the arm of her chair and nodded gently at her.
Lucius looked at Hermione for what seemed like forever and finally said "I remember you...you're that...filthy little..."
"Lucius!" Narcissa interrupted.
Draco gave his father an eye-glare and said "Mother may we be excused"
Hermione looked on the verge of tears but didn't say anything. Draco took her hand and led her out of the dining room. Hermione walked with Draco keeping her eyes glued to the ground and walking slowly.
"Hermione, I am so sorry for the way my father acted." Draco said putting his hand to her chin and lifting her face to meet his eyes. "I didn't think that he would do that, I didn't think..."
Hermione nodded slowly and as she blinked away tears said "I know Draco, I know..." He put his arms out as they stopped walking at her door to offer a hug. She accepted and hugged herself close to him, burying her face in his shirt and he held her close resting his chin on her head. He planted a soft kiss on her head and said "Hermione, do you want to go somewhere special with me?"
Hermione nodded and he said "Okay, get changed and I'll be back in ten minutes, okay babe?" She nodded again and he turned the doorknob to her room letting her in and smiling.
When Draco returned Hermione wore black silk pajama pants with a dark green tank top and Draco wore a white t-shirt with dark blue satin pajama bottoms.
Draco held a basket in one hand and held out his other to take Hermione's and said "C'mon, let's go"
"Where are we going Draco?" She questioned taking his hand
"You'll just have to wait and see"
Draco led her through the mansion and out a back sliding glass door and through the gardens into a grassy field. Hermione noticed something lit on the field and as they neared she saw candles and a blanket lying in the middle of the field in the pitch black night. As the two of them sat Hermione noticed that the blanket was as soft as a bed.
"Draco, are you trying to seduce me?"
"Are you seducable Hermione?" She smirked and then planted a light kiss on his lips "I guess we'll just have to wait and find out then won't we?"
Draco opened the basket and took out one bowl of raspberries and one bowl of chocolate mouse. Draco took a sliver spoon and put a raspberry on it and dipped it into the mouse. He then held the spoon to Hermione's lips. She took it into her mouth and smiled.
"I thought strawberries were the aphrodisiac" Hermione said after a moment.
"Clearly whoever dubbed that to be true had never tasted a raspberry." Draco smiled as took a bite of the raspberries and mouse himself. After the eating of fruit and chocolate Draco had just one more surprise for Hermione. He removed the dark velvet box from the wicker basket and smiled to himself.
"Hermione, I've only just found out what love is, and I already know that I never want to lose this feeling. When I was younger my mother gave me this ring and told me to keep it until I found love. She said that it was a ring to promise my love to someone, and I can't ask you to marry me yet but I can promise my love to you." He took her hand and placed the white gold band with a diamond set in it on her finger. Hermione smiled with a tear escaping her eyes and throwing her arms around Draco's neck.
"You know Draco...you always seem to make me cry" she said with a small laugh and a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you"
"I love you too"
A/N: I had to keep that bit of fluff because there's some stuff that's going to happen in the near future. I know I am so bad! I'm so unbelievably sorry! apologizes a hundred million times
Exams are in about three weeks but after that I have two weeks off so I will try as hard as I possibly can to update! I love you all very very much!