"You know I'm perfectly happy to make us reservations, you just have to tell me where we going." Hermione said as they approached the muggle restaurant, a swanky tapas place in Soho.
They'd been out a few times in the last month, away from the Wizard community and all the people who knew their names and their life stories. Hermione could admit, it was fun, almost sexy in a way to be sneaking around like teenagers in their Hogwarts days. It was like they had a world all to themselves out in Muggle London or hold up in his flat.
All the while, Draco insisted on bribing the intern to make him reservations and help him with muggle money. She thought he was dating a muggle woman who he had no intentions of telling he was a Wizard.
"I know it seems old fashioned to you, but courtship is done a certain way."
"For purebloods," she responded.
He flinched a little but said, "if you want to plan our next date, you can."
"But you'll still insist on paying," she teased as he opened the door for her.
"I'm really trying here!"
Hermione laughed and gave the host his name.
"Draco?" A different voice came from behind them. They both spun to see Pansy Parkinson coming out from the dining room. "Thought that was you."
"Pans!" He said, then looked past her at her date. "And Viktor, how are you mate?"
Draco reached out his hand and shook Viktor Krum's, Hermione felt like she was frozen, unmovable.
"Draco," he said in his distinctive Bulgarian accent. Then he looked at Hermione and gave her an awkward smile, "and Her-min-y. Hello. 'ow are you?"
"I'm…I'm good." She shifted uncomfortably as she felt Pansy lock eyes on her.
"So this is the mystery boyfriend?" Asked Draco, "Shoulda known 'my man' was a celebrity,"
"Draco!" Pansy gave him a playful shove and he intercepted her left hand in the air and inspected it.
"Or financé, should I say? Well done, Parkinson."
On pansy's finger sat what Hermione thought was a rather gaudy diamond ring. It was a massive princess-cut rock with hundreds of tiny diamonds around it and covering the white gold band that sparkled so much it was blinding.
Pansy gave him a smug smile before pulling her hand away and taking Viktor's, "We've been together a long time, you know how it is, with the papers and the families. We're telling people soon, I promise. And what about you?"
Draco looked over at Hermione and put a hand on the small of her back, "we're enjoying our privacy."
"Very well. Enjoy your dinner, 8pm, very European of you."
"Some of us have jobs, darling. Goodnight," he grinned at her and nodded again at Viktor. Hermione gave a forced smile as they passed each other and the host showed them to their table.
"Imagine running into both of our exes in one go," he said with a laugh.
"Yeah," she said quietly, burying herself in her menu, "imagine."
"Hermione?" He pulled down the edge with one hand and looked at her over the menu. "Everything alright?"
"Yes! No, I don't know, it's not important."
"What is it? I know you were hoping to keep this between us but Pansy won't gossip, I'll write her tomorrow,"
"That's not it, I…" she took a breath and looked away, studying an odd painting of horse's behinds. "Viktor told me he wasn't ready."
"Viktor? Sorry, I don't understand. Weren't we fifteen when they came to Hogwarts?"
She still didn't meet his eye, "we've seen each other since. Bill and Fleur's wedding, for one…he was …" she shook her head, "that's irrelevant."
"He was your first."
It wasn't a question. Hermione felt herself blush, "it's all kind of a blur, that was the day that y'know, we left. I met up with him at the inn the night before and then…like I said it's irrelevant."
"And then you had no choice but to disappear. That wasn't it though, was it?"
"No, after Ron…we dated again, properly, for a little while. But…"
"But he told you he wasn't ready for what you wanted."
Hermione nodded, "right."
"So…what? Why are you moping? What are you trying to tell me?"
"Draco. I know we haven't been together long. But could you just give me a moment with this? Just let me feel…weird. And bad. And… I dunno, just let me have it."
"Yeah," he said almost too quickly, looking down at his menu. "but it's my ex too, y'know?"
"And it bothers you?"
"No," he admitted and chuckled, "no I guess it doesn't bother me much at all. They're happy , we're happy, who cares? Honestly I don't see what the fucking problem is."
"So not the same then."
He took her hand, "no, not the same. Sorry. I guess… I dunno,"
"You guess you're being jealous."
"Okay, sure, maybe. Not exactly what any bloke wants to hear on a date. So what if I am?"
"Nothing."
"Oh nothing?"
She put her menu down, a little too hard, but lowered her voice to a hiss so as to not cause a scene. "It's not the best look on you."
"Everything looks good on me, Granger."
"Don't."
He leaned back and let out a huff, "alright, fine, but how am I supposed to feel that my girlfriend is sour on a date with me because her ex moved on?"
"Girlfriend?"
Draco didn't let it show on his face, but she saw him swallow hard. "I thought that was implied."
"I didn't."
"Okay. Forget it. Let's just enjoy our night if we can, please?"
Hermione nodded and she tried, she really did. The conversation was stilted, their food a relief so that they had an excuse to not be talking, but Hermione found she couldn't keep her mind off it. Why did it hurt so much, seeing Pansy with that stupid gaudy ring? She could tell Draco was trying, but he just didn't seem to understand.
After he paid their check, noticeably less clumsy with muggle money than he had been before, they walked in silence towards the transit floo.
"So um," he coughed, "I guess we should probably just call it a night?"
She nodded, "thank you for dinner."
"I'll walk you home?"
"You really don't have to do that, Draco, I can get home by myself just fine."
"Hermione!" He sighed, "will you just let me have this? I know it doesn't matter to you but it matters to me."
"Like how you let me have my feelings on Viktor and Pansy?"
His face fell and he looked down at the ground, "touche."
Draco kicked a rock and took a deep breath, "do you carry a torch for him still? Is that what this is about?"
"No," she crossed her arms over her chest. "It's not that simple."
"I don't understand."
"I know." They came to a stop outside the hidden passageway. "People might see, if we walk in together."
He nodded, "g'night."
"Goodnight, Draco." She looked over her shoulder as the door was closing behind her, Draco looked shell shocked.
Hermione's shift started early the next morning, but she preferred it that way. She hunched over a patient report, scrawling notes in her notebook as she evaluated the possible treatment plans. The door shut quietly and she looked over her shoulder at the sound. Draco had two cups of coffee in his hands and a remorseful look on his face.
"I didn't kiss you goodbye last night."
She laughed, "that's your takeaway?"
Draco came up behind her, placing a cup on either side of her arms and kissed her cheek.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, "I wasn't listening,"
"I'm sorry too," she spun the chair around to face him. "Ruined the night."
He shook his head and kissed her, one hand on her cheek, the other bracing behind her on the desk. "It was a stupid fight."
"Agreed."
They normally didn't kiss while at work, but Hermione didn't mind this time. She'd planned on waking up in his bed this morning, packed an extra change of clothes specifically for that reason. The night was supposed to be full of sex and laughing, and talking about books, and life, and all sorts of things. Instead she slunk home alone. She needed this kiss.
It was all she was thinking about when there was a knock at the door and it opened.
"Hey Hermione have you finished with-oh!" Lavender closed the door as quickly as she opened it when Hermione and Draco broke apart.
"Lav!" Hermione jumped to her feet and chased after her, back to Lavender's office across the wing.
"What are you doing? Go back to your kiss," she said as Hermione closed the door to the plush, comforting office space.
"That wasn't…"
"What it looked like? Hermione there's only one thing that could look like and it's exactly what it was. Unless he got knocked unconscious and you were giving him mouth-to-mouth standing up."
"No, it's just," she sighed heavily, "we're figuring it out, we're not ready to you know…tell anyone."
"Secret smooches in the office only, got it."
"Lav, I'm serious!"
"What, you think I'm gonna tell the whole hospital? We all think you're shagging anyway."
"You cannot tell Ron."
"Ron? Why would I tell Ron? We stopped seeing each other two weeks ago."
"What? I didn't…realize that."
Lavender scoffed, "I told you the very next day. Maybe you've been too caught up in Malfoy's bed to pay attention to the rest of us around you."
"That's not fair."
"No, but nothing's fair in love is it? He's still caught up on you, that's why?"
Hermione's brow furrowed, "Draco?"
"Ron. That's why he broke it off. Still caught up on you. You were right after all. Always are."
"Lav,"
"Did you need something else? I have a patient at the top of the hour."
"No," Hermione said, slightly stunned, "I don't…that was all."
