Hehehe this chapter is so adorable! I love it, and we'll have some special appearances in it. This chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend Charlotte, who allowed me to borrow her name and helped Britpick many parts of this story.
To forget the fiasco that was her date with Ernie, Hermione decided to do something she had enjoyed since she was little. She had always loved to go ice-skating; she felt like she could float and forget all her troubles.
Her favourite ice rink was near her parents' house. It was where her dad had taught her to skate while her mum stood near the hot chocolate stand, holding her favourite drink, waiting to hear about how much fun she'd had.
"Draco, I love you, but I don't need a babysitter today," Hermione said, walking around her flat, tidying it up. "I'm going ice-skating near my parents' house and I'll probably stay for dinner."
"That sounds nice, Hermione, but we heard what happened at the Parkinsons' garden party last week." Draco had a small frown on his face.
"What do you mean 'we'? Who else heard about it?" Hermione asked, praying that it wasn't as bad as she feared.
"Blaise, Ginny, and I," Draco replied, looking at her with a concerned look. "Blaise and I are friends with Pansy, and she saw what happened and told us."
Hermione groaned. "Great! That's great! That's all I needed."
"Don't worry. She isn't going to tell anyone else, and she even stopped Ernie from saying something." Draco walked up to Hermione and took her hands in his. "We worry, you know? Are you sure you want to keep doing this?"
"I know you worry about me and I love you for that," Hermione said with a small smile on her face. "And yes, I want to continue with these dates. I didn't find anyone worthwhile so far, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to find someone."
Draco sighed and smiled at her. "All right, if you're certain. I won't say anything. Call me when you're back and let's go to dinner with Blaise and Ginny."
"You only want Blaise and me there so you and Ginny can eye-fuck each other without having to go on a date." Hermione smirked at Draco, who gaped at her.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Draco's face flushed, and Hermione found it even funnier.
"Of course, whatever helps you sleep at night," Hermione replied, laughing at Draco's glare. "I need to go before it gets too dark."
"I'll let you off the hook for now," Draco said, waiting for Hermione to grab her purse before they both left her flat. "Just take care, and try not to get hurt."
"It's only ice-skating. How can I hurt myself?" Hermione joked, making Draco smile. "I'll be careful, I promise."
"That's all I'm asking," Draco said when they were in the hallway. "My mum would kill me if she thought I didn't tell you to take care of yourself."
"And here I thought you were saying that because you loved me," Hermione teased as they were walking towards the lift. Draco elbowed her away with a laugh.
"Do you have skates already or do you want to rent?" a teen asked Hermione when she arrived at the ice rink.
She smiled at the boy. "I already have mine." She held up her skates, and the boy nodded.
"Enjoy your time!" The boy waved her away.
Hermione smiled as she put on her skates and entered the rink. She felt at home on the ice rink; it was where she came after school during the winter season, or when she was feeling down. It was the place where she could just be.
Her mum had once asked her if she wanted to pursue a career as an ice skater, but Hermione only skated when she wanted to feel free and not think about anything. It was where she felt at peace.
There were only a handful of people on the rink, which pleased Hermione as she could skate as her heart desired without worrying about others. She started with some small movements until she was starting to enjoy it.
It had been some time since she had let herself get lost in skating, but when she made small eights and twirled, she found she was still good at it. Lost in her thoughts, Hermione didn't realise anyone was watching her until a small voice distracted her.
"She looks like an angel," a little girl's voice said, and Hermione almost stumbled. "Do you think I can skate like that too?"
"Maybe when you're older, or else you could get hurt," a deep male voice replied. Hermione almost stopped breathing; she knew that voice. "But if you ask the lady nicely, maybe she'll teach you some moves?"
Hermione wanted to flee as she had from the coffee shop that day. How bad was her luck that Theo was on the same ice rink? And he was with the same girl she had seen the other day. Hermione didn't have a place to hide, so she willed herself to be nice to the little girl—it wasn't the girl's fault Hermione was interested in her father.
"Excuse me, miss?" the same small voice came from behind her, and Hermione turned to see Theo with the little girl. "Could you pretty please teach me how to turn?"
"Of course, sweetie." Hermione smiled at the little girl, who squealed in response.
"Hermione? Is that you?" Theo asked, smiling like he didn't believe his luck. Hermione wanted to punch him for being so handsome. "What were the odds of us meeting here?"
"My parents live nearby and I used to come here when I was a child." Hermione shrugged, not wanting to say anything more.
"I live near here too!" the little girl piped up, and Hermione couldn't help but smile even though she didn't feel like it. "But I don't come here often. Only on weekends."
"Oh, where are my manners?" Theo slapped his forehead, which made the little girl giggle. "Char, this is my friend, Hermione. Hermione, this is Charlotte, my little sister."
Hermione blinked. Did she just hear him correctly? The girl was his sister? Not his daughter? How could she have been so wrong in her assumptions? Now she felt like a fool for having run away from him at the coffee shop and at the shopping centre. She wished she could slap her forehead for jumping to conclusions, but she didn't want the Notts thinking she had lost her mind.
"Nice to meet you, Charlotte," Hermione said, extending a hand towards the girl, who shook her hand with a smile on her face. "So you want to learn how to turn?"
"Yes, please!" Charlotte was quick to answer. "Theo tried to teach me, but he isn't good at it. He's terrible at it."
"Oy!" Theo said, grabbing the little girl, who squealed and laughed. "I'll let you know that I'm very good at skating, but I have to lower my standards because of you."
Hermione's heart melted at the scene in front of her, but she willed her heart to stop beating so fast.
"Well, if Theo can't help you, I might. What do you think, Charlotte?" Hermione asked, seeing how she was glaring at her brother.
"Thank you, Hermione," Charlotte replied, letting go of Theo's hand to grab hers instead. "My friends call me Char, and since we are friends now, you can call me Char too."
Hermione was a little stunned at the similarities between the siblings. "Since we are friends now, you can call me 'Mione. That's what my friends call me."
"All right, 'Mione." Charlotte was looking at her like she held all the answers to her questions. "Can you teach me how to turn now?"
Hermione laughed. She started to glide and teach Charlotte how to turn, all the while feeling Theo's eyes on her.
"I did it! I really did it! Did you see, Theo? I did it!" Charlotte glowed with happiness when they had stopped half an hour later.
"It was impossible not to see, Char, I was right behind you," Theo chuckled at the happiness of his little sister. "Did you thank Hermione for teaching you?"
"Thank you, 'Mione!" Charlotte threw her arms around Hermione's middle, not giving her any other choice besides hugging her back. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
"You're welcome, Char." Hermione giggled at the excitement of the little girl. "You were a very good student."
"Did you hear that, Theo? I was a good student!" Charlotte was already at her brother's side, talking a mile a minute. "Does this mean I can have a scone now?"
"Yes, you can. And hot chocolate to go with," Theo replied, smiling at her. "Why don't you invite your new friend to join us?"
"'Mione? Do you want to go have a scone and hot chocolate with us? Theo knows a place that sells a double-chocolate scone and it's the best!" Charlotte turned her winning smile towards Hermione, and Hermione knew that it would be impossible to refuse her.
"Double-chocolate scone, huh?" Hermione asked, looking at Theo, who seemed to be blushing. "That's my favourite. I think I'll go with you two."
Charlotte gasped in delight. "That's my favourite too! You're my new best friend, 'Mione."
"All right, little one, go take off your skates and we'll go to the coffee shop," Theo said, pushing Charlotte towards the entrance of the rink.
Hermione followed behind at a more sedate pace, fighting the smile that was threatening to split her face into two.
"I took that scone and hot chocolate for her that day and she hasn't stopped talking about it," Theo murmured, feeling a little embarrassed. "Do you think we can redo our previous date?"
"I think that's possible," Hermione said with a small smile that Theo reciprocated. "But you'll have to buy me a scone first."
"Done," he said without missing a beat. "I just hope you don't have to share with Char. She doesn't like sharing her food."
"Neither do I," Hermione replied, skating to where Charlotte was sitting, waiting for them.
"This is the bestest hot chocolate in the whole world," Charlotte said, sitting at the Coffeetopia. "Can I have one more, please?"
Hermione chuckled at how polite she was, but Theo just shook his head at her.
"Yes, you can have one more." Theo motioned to stand up, but Charlotte was quicker than him. "Don't run and let the waitress bring the hot chocolate here."
"Okie dokie," Charlotte replied, bouncing towards the counter, where Hannah was smiling at her.
"She's adorable and so smart," Hermione said, looking at the way that Charlotte was talking to Hannah. "How old is she?"
"She turned six a few weeks ago," Theo said. "She was born when I was eighteen, but I'm glad that I can spend so much time with her."
"I bet she loves having an older brother around. I know that I wished for a brother or a sister when I was little." Hermione sighed with a small smile.
"Only child?" Theo asked. Hermione nodded in reply. "I was an only child for years, but I don't know what I would do without Char now."
"It shows. You dote on that little girl," Hermione said with a soft smile. "I didn't know we used to live this close to each other."
"My parents recently moved to the neighbourhood after Charlotte was born." Theo took a sip of his cappuccino. "I've heard the neighbours speaking about your parents. They seem to be the local celebrities."
"You could say that. I spent all my childhood there," Hermione said while grabbing a piece of her scone. "But I haven't lived there in years, so I was pretty surprised to see you at the rink."
"Char loves to go there, and I can't ever say no to her." Both shared a laugh while they watched the little girl talking to Hannah about something neither of them could hear. Theo said, "I hope you don't run off today."
Hermione blushed at Theo calling her out like that. "I'm sorry about that. It wasn't a good day for me."
Theo shrugged. "Don't worry, we all have bad days. How about we start over?"
"I would like that." Hermione smiled and raised her cup for a toast. "To new beginnings."
"To new beginnings," Theo replied, each taking a sip of their beverage. "Since now you're Char's new best friend, can we trade numbers so we can meet up soon? With Charlotte, I mean."
Hermione felt her blush returning, but she answered with a smile. "I would love that. With Charlotte, of course."
Neither said anything else until Charlotte returned to the table with Hannah following behind with her hot chocolate. Hermione wouldn't tell this to her friends, but she couldn't be happier than when she had decided to go ice-skating that afternoon.