Disclaimer: NOT MINE. Harry Potter and company belongs to J.K. Rowling. HOWEVER, Laynei Ellis, Meg Doyle, Sabrina Côté, Seth Goodman, and anyone else you don't recognize from the series are mine (or mine by collaboration with my reviewers). If you're like to borrow someone, please ask first!
As the weeks flew by and the wedding drew closer, Hermione found herself spending more and more time with Ginny and Sabrina. However, she didn't neglect other people and things in the process. Aria's had to establish a waiting list when everyone found out that René Mighero – already a hot item on her own – was actually Hermione Granger. People would crowd the bar, which actually bothered Hermione a little bit. She actually preferred the smaller crowds who came for the atmosphere to the new larger crowds who came because it was "the cool place to be." She also kept her weekly teas with Laynei Ellis, and laughed at the retelling of the antics of the professional Quidditch players that she worked with. She also was able to see Meg Doyle, and discuss wand making with her, and how it felt to be an apprentice to Ollivander. In fact, the only person she really hadn't seen was Ron. She stopped to consider this for a moment.
Maybe I should send him a note. Then she shook her head. He hasn't written me either. He could pick up a quill and write. So, instead of writing him (which still felt like giving in to him and saying she was wrong), she decided to casually mention him at her next tea with Laynei.
Of course, this decision, which seemed smart at the time, ended up making her regret Laynei and her ability to read into people and their motives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They were sitting in Laynei's flat, enjoying their tea. Laynei had just finished telling a hilarious story about Cho Chang and an encounter with the Weasley twins' newest concoction. Now's a good a time as any to bring up Ron. "So, what did Ron think of all that?" She asked, trying desperately to sound casual.
Laynei smiled at her. "Actually, he didn't really react. Oh, he laughed, of course, it was expected of him. He's always supposed to laugh at his brother's ideas of funny. But… he doesn't laugh as much anymore. One would almost assume he's ill, or at least, ill at heart…" She looked at Hermione, as if she was trying to gauge the reaction Hermione was having to her words.
Hermione snorted. "He probably dumped his most recent girlfriend, and hasn't found a new one yet."
Laynei looked at her funny. "Hermione, he hasn't had a girlfriend since he and Hannah Abbott broke up right after you left."
"Oh," said Hermione, feeling very foolish. Now why didn't I realize that? Even if he and I weren't talking, it would be in the papers.
"Actually," said Laynei slowly, "It's rather funny…"
"What's so funny, Laynei?" asked a curious Hermione.
"Nothing… Except that his funk follows a pattern… One that follows the comings and goings of an old and close friend." This she said with a sidelong glance.
Hermione got her point immediately. In fact, she understood what Laynei was implying so well that she sat down the next afternoon to write a letter.
Dear Ron,
I hope by now that you are regretting some of the things you said that night, as I find myself regretting some of the things that I said. I am still your friend, Ron. I just needed you to know that I'm not something you can walk over anymore. I hope we can put this fight behind us, and move forward in our friendship.
In light of that, I would like to ask a favor. As you may or may not have heard from Ginny, Seth Goodman and Sabrina Côté are getting married on the 24th (two weeks from now). I know you are especially busy during this time of year, but I thought it would be nice if we could go together. I am a bridesmaid, so you would have to sit alone during the ceremony, but we would have the rest of the night to talk.
Please let me know what you think of this idea. I, of course, completely understand if you have a previous engagement for that night.
Sincerely,
Hermione
She had just sent off the owl with her note when Draco entered the flat. "Afternoon, Draco."
"Good afternoon to you too, 'Mione. How are the wedding preparations coming?"
"Splendid, actually. In fact, my dress robes should be ready to pick up from Ginny today. Would you mind accompanying me and giving me your opinion of them?"
He smiled in return. "You know I wouldn't mind accompanying you, especially when I could go pay my respects to Virginia's way of designing clothing. Besides, I believe my dress robes are ready for me as well."
She smiled back at him. They gathered their coats and exited the flat quickly. It had been raining, so Draco offered his arm to Hermione, which she accepted gratefully. The road is always so slick right after a rainstorm. Draco really can be thoughtful sometimes. They walked in comfortable silence most of the way, just enjoying the day and each other's company.
In fact, they were almost to Ginny's when Draco finally broke the silence. "So Hermione, are you going with anyone to the wedding?"
"I'm not sure yet. I asked someone, but they haven't answered yet."
"Oh." There was silence again for a second before he continued. "Who'd you ask?"
"Hmm? Oh, look, we're here!" For some reason, she didn't want to talk about Ron with Draco.
"Hermione!" He rolled his eyes, but let the subject drop. Thank gods.
As they entered the flat, they heard Ginny's voice floating from the back of the flat. "You're late! Come on back!"
They complied quickly. Ginny immediately handed Hermione her dress robes and shoved her into the bathroom to change. As she did this, she waved at Draco. "Hello, Draco. Should have known you'd be here as well. Let me get your robes." Before he could say anything in return, she disappeared. Hermione simply smiled and shrugged at Draco, before shutting the bathroom door.
After she changed, she stepped out to look at herself. Not bad. Not bad at all. However, Ginny had other ideas.
"No, no, no, no! 'Rina will have my head! She wants you to look perfect! Well, we better get to work." After a few minutes – ten at most – Ginny decided it was perfect. Turning, Hermione's mouth dropped.
Before it was nice. Now… it's amazing… Ginny had outdone herself. The dress robes looked simple, but Hermione had enough dressmaking skills to know it was actually quite elaborate. She had on a floor sweeping pale pink gown with slits cut artfully on the sleeves that belled out at the ends. Through the slits in the sleeves, you could see glimpses of deep red underneath. The same red was used to make a cloth belt that completed the dress. The belt went all the way to the floor also. Hermione was reminded of the goddess Aphrodite rising out of the ocean. Although I'm not as pretty as Aphrodite, it isn't a bad comparison…
"Ginny!" She finally gasped, remembering that she hadn't said anything to her yet. "It's…"
"Perfect." Both Ginny and Hermione turned to look at Draco, who was standing in the doorway. "They're absolutely perfect."
Hermione could only stand there and stare at Draco. He was dressed elegantly in steel gray robes that clung to all the right spots. Draco definitely knows how to wear clothes well. Yet it was his face she was captivated by – especially his eyes, which looked almost silver when compared to the gray of the dress robes he wore. But it was more than just the color of them that fascinated her. There was something in his eyes – a look that she couldn't read. However, before she could puzzle it out, a voice broke into her thoughts. "What's perfect? Let me see!"
Draco immediately stepped aside, letting Ginny and Hermione see Sabrina herself standing there. She took one look at Hermione and broke out into a grin. "You're right. Perfect. Ginny, you're a genius! 'Mione, you look lovely. Oh, I'm so happy!"
Hermione blushed at Sabrina's outburst. "Thank you, 'Rina. I'm glad you like it." However, she couldn't stop 'Rina's enthusiasm, and for the rest of the visit, she had to listen to 'Rina occasionally burst out into fits of, "I'm so happy! It's so perfect! I can't believe it! You look amazing in it, 'Mione." But that was a small price to pay for such gorgeous dress robes and pleasant company for several hours. So she settled into Ginny's sofa for some quality time with her friends, and pushed the thoughts of Draco staring at her to the back of her mind.
A/N:
Carey Miles: Glad you're enjoying it. This chapter took a long time to figure out in my head. It's hard to come to a balance, so please tell me what you think.
mioneg7: Yeah, Ginny and Hermione become much closer in my story than what you see in the actual Harry Potter books. I'm flattered that you get so into my story. As for Draco being reminiscent of Harry, well… I think that Hermione transferred part of her affection for Harry onto Draco after their talk by the ocean (the first one), which helps her to relate them in her mind. There ARE similarities, but there are also vastly different (which you will see … soon, I hope, if Draco will let me smirk)
Mistri: Yeah, Ron's being an idiot, isn't he? I'm glad you like the story. smile Your vote has been noted, but Hermione's not making up her mind anytime soon (or so she informs me). Please keep reviewing, and telling me what you think. It's always appreciated.
snwflakesweety: Shorter chapters are another idea, but I sometimes get upset when my favorite authors update with a short chapter. I would rather read a long chapter less often that a short chapter every day. But that's just me. shrug And, as you can see, I still only average a medium post. half-smile On another note, happy belated birthday! Hope it was great!
superdork: I like getting random information like that your family's from Naples. It always helps me relate to my reviewers more. Thanks for the vote of confidence about the story. Your vote has been noted also, but as I keep saying, Hermione
But just wait until you see the interaction between Draco and Ron two chapters (or so) from now. Let's just say tension is high. grin
Finally, to my beta-readers, enoimreH and Laura-Grace: You guys are great. Thanks for all your help and support.
PLEASE REVIEW!!!