Chapter Three
Malfoy Manor
The door opened again and Hermione looked up, meeting the green eyes of her best friend. Harry walked over to her and sat down on one of the chairs in front of the table, smiling at her.
"You told me you'd come to talk to me today at eleven."
Hermione frowned and glanced at the clock on one of the walls. It was half past eleven. She had been working non-stop for over three hours, and she hadn't remembered to go down to the second floor and look for Harry in the Auror Office.
"I'm sorry, Harry. All this World Cup stuff is making me nervous, there's so much to do," she muttered, closing one of the folders and putting her quill down.
Hermione leaned her elbows on the table and sighed, closing her eyes.
"So you two are coming to Grimmauld Place on Saturday? Ginny has a break, the Holyhead Harpies don't have a match and she's spending the weekend there with me," Harry commented, biting into the apple he was holding.
"I think there's been a change of plans... Molly wants us all to go to the Burrow."
Harry twisted his lips.
"I don't like it when so many of us get together there. It's like we're taking advantage of the Weasleys and their hospitality," he said, looking her in the eye.
Hermione shrugged. The door to the Minister's office opened wide and Arthur emerged with several parchments in his hands. He smiled at the sight of Harry and walked over to them.
"Harry! What are you doing here?"
"I've got some free time and I've come to talk to Hermione," he replied, standing up and shaking Mr. Weasley's hand.
"Has she told you that we'll all be together on Saturday? Molly's making stew and we're eating in the garden. I'm afraid there are too many of us to fit in the dining room," Arthur commented with a chuckle.
"I know, I think it's a lot of trouble..."
"Nonsense! You two are part of the family and are always welcome. In fact, if you see Luna, tell her to come too. It's been a long time since we've seen her," Mr. Weasley proposed, tapping Harry affectionately on the shoulder.
After that, he left Hermione's office and they watched him walk towards the lifts.
Harry glanced at her and they both laughed. Mr. Weasley had always been like a father to him and Hermione felt the same way since she lost her parents.
"Looks like it's time for a family reunion," she commented, still laughing.
"Yeah, I'll see you there on Saturday. It'll be fun to see Malfoy at the Burrow," Harry said, glancing down at his wristwatch and rounding her desk to give her a quick hug.
He hurried out of the office and Hermione went back to concentrating on the security measures that were to be taken for the tournament, checking that everything was under control.
Not long after she felt a strange sensation as if someone was watching her. She looked up and the blood drained from her face once she saw Draco leaning against the door frame, staring at her with a mischievous grin.
"Not bad. It only took you a minute to notice me this time," he said in a mocking voice.
Hermione closed her eyes, exhaling slowly.
"I hate it when you do that. Since you're an Unspeakable you're worse than a ninja... too stealthy to my liking," she protested quietly as she tried to organise the mess on her table.
"Ninja?" Draco repeated, frowning in confusion.
"They're Muggle warriors who move so quietly that no one sees them, and they know how to fight better than anyone. There are a lot of films about them," Hermione explained, standing up and walking towards him.
The clock on the wall said it was half past twelve. That morning had flown by.
Draco wrapped his arms around her waist as soon as she was near him and kissed her forehead.
"Ninja... I like it, you can call me that."
She rolled her eyes and slapped him on the chest, hearing his chuckle. They walked together to the lifts and down to the eighth floor, where the Atrium and the golden fireplaces connected to the Floo Network waited. All of them were always working and the emerald green flames never went out. They entered one of the large ones, which allowed up to three people to travel together, and Draco called out their destination.
A few seconds later they emerged through the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione held his hand and, once he transfigured his robes into a black coat, they walked through the door into Muggle London.
They walked down a couple of streets until they came to a small Chinese restaurant, one of Hermione's favourites. A waitress greeted them and escorted them to the only free table by a window. The two sat down and she left them a menu, leaving them alone.
"We only have half an hour left for lunch. We should have gone to the Ministry cafeteria," Hermione commented as she decided what she was going to order.
"I'm sick of those crap sandwiches. If we don't eat outside two or three times every week, I'll go mad," Draco growled, leaving the menu back on the table.
"Pansy's right. You're a drama queen, Draco."
"Queen? Am I a woman?" he asked, his eyes narrowing.
The waitress returned and they both ordered their favourite dishes. Hermione also ordered a beer for each of them. When the girl walked away, Draco leaned his elbows on the table and lowered his upper body, bringing his face closer to hers.
"If you need me to remind you what a man I am, I can do it anytime," he whispered, arching his brow and looking at her with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.
Hermione smiled, feeling her cheeks flare.
"Let me change what I said. You're a drama king, Draco."
"Much better," he said, interlocking his fingers on the table.
Hermione stared down at the signet ring on his left hand, the symbol of the Malfoy family.
"When did your father give you that ring? I remember seeing you wearing it in third year but I'm not sure if you had it before," she murmured, glancing up at Draco.
He gave her a crooked smile.
"You were already checking me out when you were fourteen, weren't you? That was the year he gave it to me."
"I didn't notice you. You were just an idiot who called me awful names and I liked to keep an eye on you," Hermione replied, clicking her tongue.
"If you want to lie to yourself, fine... but I'm sure that's not the only reason you were looking at me," Draco said quietly, wiggling his eyebrows at her.
She snorted, folding her arms.
"Don't start with your smug nonsense, Malfoy. Besides, I remember catching you staring at me a lot," she murmured, cocking her head to one side and looking into his eyes.
She saw a spark in them that gave her a shiver.
"You were pretty enough but I had to hate you. That's why I insulted you every time you were around, I had to do something to stop thinking of you that way."
Hermione gasped.
"Are you serious? You thought I was pretty?"
"You started catching my eye in third year, though I never admitted it to myself. And you know when I really noticed you," Draco confessed, his fingers playing with his fork.
Yes, Hermione knew. She remembered perfectly when she walked into the compartment where he was, on the first day of their eighth year at Hogwarts, and his grey eyes running over her body.
The waitress appeared with their food and, after setting the plates down, walked away again. Hermione started to eat, still looking at Draco who kept turning his fork and staring at her.
"Is that true?"
"I don't lie. Not to you."
Hermione nodded and looked down at her plate, blushing again. She and Draco had exchanged glances hundreds of times when they were students but she always thought he looked at her because he hated her. Knowing that he was actually trying to find more reasons to hate her and not like her changed everything.
She'd always thought he was one of the most handsome boys her age but, because of his horrible personality, she'd never looked at him twice.
"Why aren't you wearing it in your right hand?"
He stared at her with a furrowed brow.
"I know you're left-handed but I suppose tradition says to wear it on the right."
"You should know how little I care about tradition," Draco replied.
They ate quickly as they shared stories about their years at school and, after paying the bill, they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron. They took turns going through the fireplace and, when Hermione appeared in the Atrium Draco was already waiting for her by one of the lifts, holding the golden grilles.
She ran towards him and the two of them got into it. The lift closed and began to go up instantly. Draco grabbed one of the ropes and Hermione held onto his waist, resting her head on his shoulder. They were alone, so they could be as affectionate as they wanted to be.
As if Draco had read her mind, he lifted her chin with a hand and kissed her slowly, deepening the kiss little by little. Hermione sighed as she felt his fingers caressing her cheek and tangling in her curls while his teeth nibbled gently on her lower lip.
They broke apart when the metallic voice announced that they were on the first floor and she stepped out of the lift.
"See you at home."
Hermione turned around and gave him a smile. The golden grilles closed and the lift went back down.
She walked to the door of her office, touching her lips. His kisses still made her a little groggy and she needed to concentrate for the rest of the afternoon.
It seemed incredible to her that, before they started being together, he had never wanted to kiss girls. Draco always wanted to kiss her, all the time.
Few things made her feel as special as that.
Draco emerged into the green flames of the Grangers' fireplace, finding Hermione sitting on her favourite armchair.
Her head was resting on one arm, her feet dangling from the other. Crookshanks was sitting on her belly and she had her wand in her hand.
A book was levitating above her head. Hermione waved her wand at the sight of him and the book slammed shut, flying to land on the dining room table.
"Have you been waiting long?" Draco asked, approaching her.
Crookshanks jumped down to the floor and Hermione stood up, glancing sideways at the clock on the wall. Half past six.
"No, only half an hour. You're back early today."
"Because my mother gets angry if we keep her waiting. She likes to eat dinner at this time."
"I think I should change my clothes," Hermione commented, turning towards the stairs.
Draco stopped her by grabbing one of her arms and shook his head.
"Don't. I like this dress," he whispered, running his hands around her waist.
"It's Muggle... I'm sure they'd rather see me in a robe."
"If they don't like it, fuck them."
"Draco! I don't like you saying those things, they're your parents," Hermione protested quietly, looking him in the eye.
He shrugged.
"I don't care what they think, I just want you to be yourself. If they like it, fine... and if they don't, then it's fine too."
Hermione rolled her eyes but couldn't help the smile that spread across her face. She stood on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his lips, after which she waved her wand. Her coat levitated to her and she put it on, holding onto his arm.
He gave her a sidelong glance, raising an eyebrow, and just then the two of them apparated with a small crack.
They appeared just outside the boundaries of Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire. Draco grabbed one of her hands and walked to the iron gate, stepping through it as if it were made of smoke. The two of them followed the stone path that led up to the gigantic house.
"It bothers me that you can't just apparate or floo to the manor. It's stupid that only a Malfoy can do it," Draco growled under his breath.
Hermione squeezed his hand.
"This magic is very old. Voldemort could change it but, with his death, everything went back to normal. And I don't mind having to hold your hand to get through," she said, leaning over his shoulder as they walked.
Draco gritted his teeth and didn't reply, resting his cheek on her forehead. As expected, she was too understanding and didn't make a big deal about such things, but it annoyed him that he couldn't use the manor fireplaces with her and that he couldn't apparate directly in the garden or his room if Hermione was with him.
The huge doors of the manor opened as they approached and a small elf greeted them.
"Master Malfoy!" she cried excitedly as she saw them.
"I've told you a hundred times to call me Draco, Minsy. You've been free for years and we are no longer your masters," Draco replied, rolling his eyes.
She tugged at her ears nervously.
"Don't do that! Relax, Minsy," Hermione whispered, reaching down and grabbing the elf's hands to pull them away from her ears.
"Miss Granger, Minsy has prepared your favourite dish today."
"Thank you very much. You don't need to do that for me," Hermione replied, getting back to her feet.
"Of course! Miss Granger doesn't come often and Minsy wants her to make herself at home. The masters are waiting for you in the east wing dining room," the elf added, disappearing with a pop.
Draco took her hand again and together they walked through the east wing of the manor, arriving at the dining room where she had first eaten with the Malfoy family more than fifteen months earlier.
He opened one of the doors and Hermione stepped through. Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were sitting on one of the sofas in the corner of the room and rose at the sight of them.
"Hermione, my dear," Narcissa greeted, coming up to kiss her on the cheek.
"Hello, Mrs. Mal... I mean, Narcissa."
Narcissa gave her a small smile and Lucius bowed his head slightly.
"Welcome, Miss Granger."
Hermione felt uncomfortable, as every time she was around Lucius. A squeeze on her hand reminded her that Draco was still holding it.
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. It's always a pleasure to come and visit you."
Lucius lifted his eyebrows and Hermione averted her gaze. They both knew that was a big lie and that she would rather be anywhere else.
"Well, let's go to the table. Food is ready," Narcissa urged them.
Draco pushed a chair away and, once Hermione was seated, he sat down opposite her. Narcissa always wanted Hermione to sit by her side so that they could talk. Lucius took the main chair, his son on one side and his wife on the other.
Hermione picked up the napkin and put it on her lap, frowning when she saw that there were two different forks next to her plate. She only saw things like that at Malfoy Manor.
When she looked up, she noticed Draco watching her with an amused expression.
"Tell us, Hermione. How is everything going in the Ministry? I can't ask Draco, he never wants to say anything about his work," Narcissa commented quietly, glancing at her son.
The first course appeared in front of them. A cucumber cream with cheese and chunks of ham.
"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't say anything," Draco protested, taking the spoon.
Hermione smiled and began to eat as well. Minsy appeared and filled all their glasses with red wine, disappearing again without a word.
"Everything is going well. We are now getting ready to meet with the Muggle Prime Minister and talk about the measures we are going to take for the Quidditch World Cup. We don't want Muggles noticing anything and when wizards come from all over the world it's quite complicated," Hermione explained, taking a sip of wine.
"Is there a date yet?" Draco asked curiously.
"The matches will start in April and the final will be on the second of May."
Draco frowned, clenching his jaw.
"I know. The final will be the day of the Battle of Hogwarts but it can't be any other time. It has to be before summer," Hermione added, letting out a sigh.
"What matches are being held in England?" asked Lucius.
"Two of the quarter-finals and the final. They're going to use the same stadium they built for the final between Ireland and Bulgaria... Do you remember, Draco?" Hermione replied, meeting her boyfriend's gaze.
His grey eyes darkened.
