Modeling, Dancing, Laughing

Draco Malfoy

I knew she could sew. I pretended to be surprised when I saw the lovely gown Luna was parading around in. I knew Granger had fashion design talent… though I never understood why she never told anyone.

I remembered the graduation ball…

"Hermione, you look stunning!" Lavender Brown squealed. Soon, Granger had a crowd of girls around her, admiring her flowing black gown.

Granger was Head Girl… and I was Head Boy. We had to work together a lot… and Dumbledore pretty much forced us to go to all the dances together.

"Where did you get that dress?" Lavender went on. I was sitting at the table next to Granger, bored with all of her conversations.

"Uh… I got it at… Lilly's Daisies." She stuttered.

I looked at her dress closely. She was lying, and I wasn't sure why. Lily's Daisies was a shop my mother supplied clothes to. She never supplied that dress. I worked with her in the summers to avoid boredom, so I'd seen all of the clothing that went into most of the stores she stocked.

"Why did you lie to them?" I asked her after they'd left.

"About what?" She scowled at me.

"Your dress." I said bluntly. "That dress isn't from Lily's Daisies."

She bit her lip and looked at the ground. "It isn't, no." She admitted.

"Why'd you lie, then?" I asked her.

She shrugged. "I don't have to explain myself to you."

After that incident, I knew Granger was up to something. I came back to our shared Heads common room one night and saw her using a weird device. She ran cloth through it and ended up with a shirt. I knew she made the dress… but I didn't understand why she didn't tell them that.

I don't even know what that whole bit had to do with anything. All I knew was I was dreading the wedding. Something about Elizabeth made me uneasy… but marrying her would be beneficial to Malfoy, Inc. (And well, her looks had a lot to do with the marriage.)

----

I put on my most formal outfit and checked to see if the servants were preparing everything properly. On my way back to my bedroom, I ran—quite literally—into the last person I wanted to see at that moment. "Hey, Granger… watch where you're going!"

She looked beautiful. I was floored. Her dress was sheer and polka-dotted with ribbon tied around her waist. Her hair was in loose curls that were half up, half down... tied by the same ribbon used on her dress. "You look…" I couldn't say beautiful or gorgeous or any of the other adjectives that came to mind. "… lovely." I finished. LOVELY? What's WRONG with you! Those annoying voices in my head scolded.

She blushed. "Thanks." She admired my outfit for a moment. "You look pretty great yourself." She was saying it in a respectful way… not in a gushing "oh my god you're amazingly handsome" kind of way. Somewhere deep down, that disappointed me.

"Well, I need to get the girls ready." She said after a moment of silence.

Before I could say anything, her retreating back was all I could see.

----

"You've been holding out on me." My mother asked, eyeing Granger from across the room. She was dancing with Luna, and they were both laughing and smiling brightly.

"I already told you… mum, I'm not your model scout!" I whined bitterly.

"But Draco… she's stunning!" My mother was always on the lookout for new fashion models. I debated whether or not to tell her that the "well designed" (mother's words, not mine) dress she was wearing was Granger's own creation.

"She's your nanny, right?" My mum asked cautiously.

I nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me how pretty she was?" My mother asked for the millionth time that evening.

Before I could open my mouth, my mother set down her china cup and scurried across the dance floor to where Granger just took a seat. I sighed, placed my cup down, and followed her.

"Hello." My mother said to Granger, extending her right arm. "It's nice to finally get a chance to meet you."

"Same here." Granger said politely, shaking my mother's hand.

"I noticed you from across the room, and I was wondering if—"

"Mother…" I warned dangerously. This was the same line she used on all of her fashion models.

She ignored me. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in doing some modeling jobs."

Granger blushed. "Me?" She asked with disbelief.

My mother nodded. "You're a beautiful girl… and I need someone like you for my next shoot."

"Well, I'm flattered, but I don't think I'd be fit for it." Granger mumbled doubtfully.

"You would be perfect!" My mother gushed. "I love your dress, by the way. Who designed it?"

I saw Granger shift uncomfortably in her chair. She looked over at me for help.

"She made it herself." I sputtered.

My mother's eyes lit up brightly. "Are you joking?" She looked thrilled.

Granger and I shook our heads simultaneously.

"Now you have NO excuse to not at least try modeling!" She burst out happily. "Tomorrow at 7:00 PM I'll have a car get you, Draco and the girls! It'll be fun!"

I gulped. Granger still looked doubtful. She didn't want to hurt my mother, though, so she agreed reluctantly.

"Great!" Mum exclaimed. "I'll take photos of you and the girls! Draco, dear, I think it's time for you to get a new portrait with the girls." She hinted.

I went back to schmoozing with the guests and drinking my tea. My mother still beamed at Granger from across the room.

"I can't believe you didn't mention that she designed her own clothes!" She scolded me. She gasped with realization. "She didn't make the girls' gowns, did she?"

I nodded. My mother squealed. "I love her already! Her name is Hermione Granger, right?"

I nodded. "Good! I remembered!" It was actually an accomplishment—Narcissa Malfoy never remembered the names of her fashion models.

----

Ever since I was little, my mother was a fashion coordinator. She always supplied Hogsmeade shops with clothing. She looked for fashion designers and gave them their big breaks.

As far as models went, my mother shamelessly searched for beautiful people. She would go up to random strangers and give them her card. Worst of all, though, she forced me to be in many of her shoots. All throughout Hogwarts, I was called out of classes early or sent home on weekends. Most of my classmates thought I was going to death eater meetings… and I let them think that. Really, though, I was going to my mother's studio to be in photo shoots.

When my father died, my mother started to venture into the muggle world. She fell in love with the muggle version of a camera, and introduced still pictures to the wizard world. Most thought her to be too avant-garde for her own good, but since she was a Malfoy, her art form was soon accepted.

"Daddy!" Luna yelled from the foyer. "Grandma-ma's here!"

I got off the couch while grumbling about fashion. Reluctantly, I got into the car with Granger, Stella, and Luna. I knew what would await me and I didn't look forward to it.

We arrived at the studio and my mother greeted us warmly. "Okay, Hermione, go into that door. Draco, go across the hall. Girls, come with me!"

We all followed her orders. "What did I get myself into?" Granger whispered as we walked away from my mum.

"You have no idea." I said bluntly, a smirk forming on my face.

After about a half hour, I was done with "hair and make-up." I hated that portion of the shoot. Actually, I hated the whole thing! Then my mother made me wear a black shirt and a pair of khaki pants. Granger emerged looking radiant and the girls looked like themselves. Mother hated putting too much make-up on little kids… besides, Stella and Luna were adorable to begin with.

"Okay. Hermione, I want you to sit on that stool." Granger listened. "Draco, stand behind her." I followed my order. "No. I don't like that." My mother frowned. She called for another stool. "Okay, sit on that, Draco."

Granger and I were sitting side by side. "Both of you; cross your arms and look in the opposite direction of each other." I did what she said, and Granger did also. "Adorable!" My mother squealed, pressing the button on the camera.

We took more pictures and followed more orders. She took pictures when we weren't even paying attention.

"Okay, five minute break!" She announced suddenly. Granger and I got up to get drinks.

"This is insane!" Granger breathed while she dug around for a water bottle. "I've never done anything like this before."

"Trust me; it doesn't improve the second time around." I mumbled.

"You've done this before?" She asked, amazed. She headed back to the set, and I followed.

"Can't you recall all the times I was called out of school early?" I asked glumly.

"Yes…" She said slowly. "Are you kidding me?" She started hysterically laughing. "You… all those times… modeling?"

I couldn't help it; I laughed too. We were on our stools, back to back, cracking up. Stella smiled at us. Then a familiar, blinding flash went off. We jumped, stopped laughing, and looked over at my mother.

"Break's over." She smiled sweetly.

"Ugh." I groaned. "She's such a nutter!"

"Okay, I want Stella and Luna to each sit on a stool. Draco, stand behind them in between the stools." We got to our places and Granger went to the side of the picture. "Very cute! That's a great new family portrait right there! Now, Hermione, Take Draco's place." She took a picture. "Fabulous… that's adorable!"

And so it went on… for a very long time. She took several pictures of Granger by herself… and I didn't want to admit it, but she looked hot.

Ahem. I didn't say that. I didn't even think anything remotely close to that.

What was I saying?

Oh well, it doesn't matter.

Author's Note: I hope you liked that really fluffy chapter! I know it was a bit random and a little unrealistic, but I wanted Narcissa to seem eccentric. (That becomes important later!) NEXT CHAPTER SPOILER: The next chapter is in Hermione's POV. She goes to Hogsmeade with Harry, and then Narcissa comes with the photos... Hermione's emotions are at an all-time confusion level. It's a chapter filled with awkward conversations and revalations.

Thanks for all of your reviews! I think I got the most last chapter... it seemed like every minute or so, I had a new e-mail! Keep them coming! It really helps take my mind off exams...