"Uh, I'm full," Hermione said as she leaned back in her chair. She had just finished the best garlic shrimp penne ever. Draco nodded as he let his fork rest in his empty bowl, which had contained an amazing vegetable rigatoni. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small black bag he kept his money in. Hermione ran her fingers through her hair as he counted out the total, throwing in a pretty generous tip.
"Your hair has gotten really long," Draco added as he placed the gold and silver coins on the table.
"Yeah, I haven't been able to have it cut in ages, it's all dead and uneven at the ends," Hermione added as she examined her split ends. "Yours has really grown too," Hermione said as she glanced at Draco. His hair had indeed grown. It had grown so much that he no longer could keep it slicked back in his usual style; instead, it hung rather limply on his neck and well past his ears. She had noticed that he had developed a habit of flicking his head to the right to keep a particularly long strand out of his eyes.
"What would you like to do for the rest of the day?" Draco asked, "We've finished all our school shopping, is there anything else you want?"
"No thanks, I'm set… well," Hermione said as she rethought his question, "is there anyplace where I can go and have my mane tamed? I'm not going to let Lavender cut my hair again!"
"What's this?" Draco asked, now interested. Hermione laughed and tried to shrug it off, but he insisted, "Tell me!"
"Well, do you remember last year when I wore my school hat for a week straight?" Hermione asked looking around to ensure no one was listening. Draco nodded. "There's nowhere at school or in Hogsmeade to get your hair cut, everyone just has it done over the holidays, but since I stayed at school, my hair never got cut. Lavender told me she had cut hair before so I agreed to let her trim mine…"
"And…" Draco said with a smirk.
"Well, she mutilated it. She tried to "layer" it, but just ended up cutting it all uneven till it went every which way. Then she tried to highlight it a little and ended up turning my whole head stark white right down to my eyebrows! I looked like an old albino lady," Hermione said, blushing. Draco was laughing. "I did fix it though! It took some time and lots of Fair Hair dye. Uh, what a nightmare!" Hermione said with an annoyed look at her hair.
Draco snickered, "I guess we all can't have perfect locks."
"Far from perfect you are!" Hermione interjected, "You look like some washed up skuzzy with that greasy mess." Draco looked hurt. Obviously his whole family took pride in their corn silk strands.
"Then let's go fix this," he said, standing. Hermione followed as he led her back to Absollseter Alley. He stopped outside a large two-story building with the entire front made of glass. It looked just like the celebrity salons in Hollywood and Milan. They entered and Draco walked up to the thin brunette at a black marble counter.
"Masseur Malfoy! What a surprise!" the lady said as her eyes opened wide at his appearance.
"I'm sorry to come in without an appointment, but school is beginning soon and I doubt I will have another chance to come before I depart," Draco said smoothly.
"Oh, I see, well, I can easily fit you in. It is a slow day today Yvonne is free for in a few minutes for two hours if you'd like me to pencil you in," the thin young woman said as she jotted something down in a schedule book. Draco nodded and looked over at Hermione.
"I was also wondering if there is another space for Ms. Hermione Granger?" he asked. The woman noticed Hermione hiding beside a potted plant and smiled.
"Geoffrey is free as well at the same time, I'll put her right in," she said as she scribbled in the book again, "Will you just be wanted a hair session today, or your regular sir?"
Draco thought about it for a minute and said, "Let's just have the full session, I probably won't be back for a long while anyways." The woman nodded with a smile and scribbled some more.
"Allright, you may wait here for a few minutes, then I will send you both in," the woman said as she left adding, "Would you like anything to drink or read?" They both shook their heads. (Hermione with a little reluctance at the reading part.)
"So what exactly are we doing?" Hermione asked, "I don't appreciate it when you drag me places and sign me up for who knows what!"
"Well, I signed you up for a hair session with one of the best stylists on the Isle of Man, with a facial afterward, followed by a manicure, pedicure, and massage; but if you'd like me to cancel it, I will and you can wait for me to finish mine. I just hate to spring something like that on you…" Draco said sarcastically.
"No no!" Hermione said, a little too eagerly. Draco smirked and Hermione frowned at him. The woman entered again and escorted them into the back. Draco went into the first room and was greeted by an energetic redhead woman. Hermione was taken to a room near the end of the hall.
"Here you go Ms. Granger, have a lovely visit, the lady said well-rehearsed.
A very 'happy' man greeted Hermione.
"Hello! I'm Geoffrey, I'll be here to give you the most beautiful hair ever today!" he said as he began whisking out various combs and bottles. "So what's your name sweetheart?"
"Hermione, Hermione Granger," Hermione said nervously.
"Well honey, it looks as if you came just in time! Another minute outdoors and someone would have notified the fashion police, your hair is in dire need of rescue and I'm just the man to save it!" he said as he picked at her long slightly frizzed hair. Hermione gave him a small smile. He led her over to a wash bin and began washing her hair and massaging her scalp. He jabbered to her about several things, many of which Hermione didn't catch. Things about the newest crazes for hair in the Wizarding world and how he could trust her, he had done hair for some of the most famous witches in their world. He wrapped a towel around her hair and led her back to the barber's chair.
"So, what do you have in mind?" he asked as he began selecting from a long row of scissors.
"We..ell," Hermione stuttered, unsure.
"Do you want long, short, curly, straight?" he asked, picking a pair of gleaming and somewhat threatening shears.
"I'd like to keep it longer, at least to my shoulders. I want it to look good straight and curly because I wear both," Hermione said, staring at herself in the mirror.
"Layered?" he asked.
"NO!" Hermione yelped, remembering Lavender. He smiled and turned the chair so she couldn't see herself.
"Don't worry sweetie, I'll be gentle," he teased as he began hacking away.
"So how's business with CLAW?" Yvonne asked, "Make any new discoveries, save any new wizards?"
"We don't discuss CLAW business outside of public conferences," Draco said stiffly.
"ooohhh, mysterious," she said as she finished washing his hair.
She tut tutted him as she examined his hair, "So long and greasy, you need to take better care of yourself Draco!"
"That's what you are for!" he said teasingly, but still assertive. She nodded and chose a pair of thin scissors.
"The usual?" she asked, looking at him in the mirror.
"Well, no actually, let's try something a little more….fun," Draco said with a small grin.
"Draco Malfoy? Having fun? When did this develop?" she asked.
"Nothing significant. I just decided I'd like to try something new. Maybe not so short or slicked, more fun and free," he said giving himself a look of self-assurance.
"Okay! You want fun, I'll give you fun!" Yvonne said as she began snipping away.
"So, how long have you known the young Malfoy boy?" Geoffrey inquired as he began painting some blue goo into her hair and folding it up in paper.
"Since first year I spose, but we haven't really talked until this summer," Hermione said as she stared in horror at what he was doing. "Why are you turning my hair blue!" she exclaimed.
"Oh baby cakes, it's just bleach, trust me, you'll be absolutely fabulous with a little blonde in that dull brown," he said as he grabbed more paper and pinned more of her hair on top of her head. "What brought you two together this summer?" he asked.
"I'm staying at his family's manor until school starts," Hermione answered.
"What about your family, any brothers or sisters? Why aren't you staying with them?" he asked.
"Oh well…." Hermione said softly.
"It's okay, you don't have to answer, just trying to make conversation," Geoffrey added.
"No… it's okay…" Hermione said, thinking to herself, "It's not some big secret you know, might as well tell him as practice for when I have to tell my friends at school."
"I'm muggle-born, with 4 older brothers, 2 sister-in-laws, 3 nephews," Hermione said.
"4! Holy crap sister, you were in testosterone territory!" he said as he worked on her hair.
"Yeah, well, I get along with guys really well now," Hermione joked.
"So where are they? What do they do?" he asked.
"They… They're all dead. They were killed in the war, on the battlefield," Hermione said hesitantly.
Geoffrey stopped and looked down in shock, "Oh, I'm so sorry… It must be awful."
"No, it takes time, but you learn to accept that they're in a better place," Hermione whispered.
He nodded, "Yes, they are in a great place now. They're all probably together right now."
Hermione smiled and said, "No one in my family ever likes to be alone, we had such close quarters growing up you need lots of noise and people around to annoy you or else you're just bored stiff. Yeah… They're all probably together, my brothers and their wives, my 3 nephews, …my parents." Hermione trailed off. Geoffrey suppressed his look of pity. She was all alone. All her family had died in the war, now she was an orphan with nowhere to go.
"OKAY! You are ready to dry sweetheart!" he said enthusiastically. Geoffrey held up his wand and muttered an incantation. It hovered about Hermione's head and began to surge heat down on her head to dry the bleach. "I'll be right back," Hermione heard him say.
"So you saved this girl and now she's living with you?" Yvonne was asking.
"Yes, she's staying with us until term starts, war refugee," Draco answered. Yvonne nodded knowingly.
"This war is just dreadful!" she said, accidentally tugging Draco's head a little to hard. "Whoops!" she said as she rubbed the sore spot. "So you like her?" Yvonne asked with a twinkle in her eye.
"No, she's just staying with my family," Draco said impassively.
Yvonne smirked, "Riiiiiiiight, you let everyone you save come live with you, then you take them shopping for all the nicest most expensive clothes and take them to the finest restaurants in the world simply because you were the one who rescued them."
Draco glared at her reflection in the mirror and snapped, "She has no where to go, it's the least we can do. She deserves to have the things she desires after all the horror she's had to experience."
Yvonne nodded, "Like what?"
"Like the war, her parents are dead too," Draco said.
"So she told you about what she's lost?" Yvonne asked.
"Well, no, that's what I've picked up," Draco defended.
"Sometimes clothes and servants can't heal a wound made from something that dramatic, especially when you have no idea how deep the wound actually is. This girl may have more horrors hidden inside that you don't know of. Only love can heal the scars of her past, and it looks like you might be one of the few who can help mend her torn heart."
Draco scoffed and mumbled, "Love… rubbish."
"Oh Dracey, you've got the love thing down pat. You obviously love this girl more than anything else in this world; the only problem is you won't express it. She won't love you if all you do is buy her things and take her places. Don't just be with her Draco, be together."
She waved her wand over him and his hair began to dry. He heard Yvonne go out into the hallway where he heard her begin to talk to a few of the other beauticians. He ignored their chatter for a few minutes but eventually leaned out of the heat rays to eavesdrop.
He heard a crisp male voice talking, "Poor thing, she's been through so much! She not only lost her parents in the war, but she had 4 brothers who all died on the battlefield. Her 2 sister-in-laws have died too along with her 3 nephews. It's just so sad. She's all alone in this world now. Just imagine if your entire family died and you were the only one who lived, and just by a rare chance. Makes you kind of wish you had died too so you wouldn't be the only one left. Now she has to stay with the Malfoy's? They are the coldest family I've ever met. I feel so bad for her! She's probably so drained and lonely right now. Can you imagine? She probably sits alone every night crying because there's no one for her to love or love her back. It just makes me cry, I hate this stupid war."
Draco heard Yvonne speak up, "Well, someone does love her, he just won't let her know because he's afraid she'll leave. He just doesn't understand that he's just letting her die inside every second he doesn't show her."
Draco threw himself back into his chair and let the heat overtake him again. He hated this, no one understood! He had tried to tell Hermione, she wouldn't believe him. She just blew him off every time, thinking he was just trying to sleep with her. He ached for her. He didn't know what else to do to show her that he loved her. She wouldn't tell him her problems; she didn't trust him with anything. He was lost. He hadn't known she had lost that much, hell, he hadn't even known she had older brothers, he'd just figured it was her and her parents. She had lost eleven of the most important people in her life and he hadn't even known about them accept for her two parents. He felt like an utter fool.
"All done?" he heard a voice ask far away. Draco snapped back to reality and saw that Yvonne had begun removing the foil from his head and she began washing his hair. She quickly dried and styled it. He was then led upstairs to the spa where his usual was waiting for him. "Hermione has already begun her facial so she'll probably finish up the day about the same time as you. I'll put the bill on your family's account. I hope to see you again soon Mr. Malfoy," Yvonne said as she left the room. Draco sighed as he layback in his chair and let the facialist throw goop on his face. He then had his manicure and pedicure. He was relieved as he lay face down with a towel around his waist as he waited for his massage. He hadn't talked the entire time because he couldn't keep his thoughts off of Hermione and how he could convince her he loved her. There was no way he could think of to get her to trust him. The masseuse entered, lit a few candles, and began playing soft reed music in the background. Draco had become famous around the spa for having the most rock hard back. His muscles were always tense and stressed, it took their strongest massage therapist to work all the kinks and knots out of his muscles and they always returned in a few short days.
He felt the masseuse place a few hot stones on his back and slowly rub them into his muscles. After a few minutes and a lot of tension release the masseuse spoke to him. "Draco, just let all your problems slip out of you. Let all your dark emotions and negative energy just flow out of your body and onto the floor, let the enlightened chi destroy the negative and let the positive enter your body."
Draco's eyes snapped open when he heard her say this. He stared down at the floor and he knew what to do. He knew exactly what it was he had to do to convince Hermione he loved her. She didn't trust him, she had no reason to. He had only been cruel and loathsome to her for the past 6 years, now his niceness was only smalltalk; yet, he had expected it to someway woo her to his heart. She could not love him until she trusted him though and he had yet to give her a reason to trust him. But now he knew. She didn't trust him because he didn't trust her. He hadn't told her anything. Both of them kept their black histories and memories locked inside their innermost mind. If he let her into his, if he let her be the first and only person to know him and his life, if he trusted her, then she would do the same for him.
Draco dressed and waited for Hermione in the entryway. He continued to convince himself mentally that he would reveal to Hermione what it was he always kept secret. He would let her see Draco for who Draco was. He would let down the stone barrier and let her see the human he was. He just hoped she would accept him as a human, for he had only been a monster to her.
