The last date is finally here! Who's excited for what's coming? The next chapter is the last one, and then, we'll have a little was an interesting chapter to write, and I hope you like it.
She wasn't certain about what she was going to do, but she decided that she had no choice. She had left Cormac last on her list since she didn't like him, but if she wanted a chance with Theo, that's what she needed to do.
"Are you sure you want to do this? You know we can go to your place and say you had a problem and won't meet him," Blaise said, sitting on her couch.
Hermione was getting ready to meet her last date, while her friends were there to support her. Blaise and Draco didn't know about Theo, but Ginny looked like she wanted to murder someone.
"Don't you think you're overreacting a little? It's just a date," Hermione said, rearranging her purse and missing the looks that Draco and Blaise shared. "I know I said I didn't really want to meet this guy, but it's the last one, so I need to get through it."
Draco stood up and got close to Ginny, saying, "If you are certain, I won't oppose it. We're going to my parents' house today, but if you need anything, just let us know."
The sight of her friends worried about her warmed Hermione's heart. Despite knowing they should not worry, she was touched.
Hermione finished organising her purse, saying, "I won't need to call you, but if I have to, I'll call Blaise."
"Hey! Why would you call me?" Blaise cried indignantly. "What if I'm on a date?"
"You're always on a date but never on one where you're meeting the family of said date," Hermione drawled, winking at Ginny. "I won't need to call anyone, but I'll let you know if needed."
Ginny stood up and moved closer to Hermione, saying, "All right, stop hovering around her. Let her get ready for the date." She turned to Hermione and said, "Have fun and try not to overthink everything, all right?"
Hermione embraced Ginny, who understood her concern about the date. "I'll try, but I can't guarantee anything," she said. "Good luck with the Malfoys."
"I'm the one who needs the help; I'm meeting with the Weasleys tomorrow," Draco said in a huff, making Hermione laugh and relax. "If you have any tips on surviving them, please let me know. I'll be forever in your debt."
"You think you're so funny, don't you?" Ginny said, grabbing Draco's hand and walking towards the door. She asked Hermione over her shoulder, "You're going in your car?"
"Yeah, I don't want to have a horrible date and still have to stay there, waiting for a cab," Hermione said, waiting for them to leave. "I'll send you all a message when I'm back home, so you don't have to worry."
"We still are going to worry. It's in our nature," Ginny said with a smile. "I hope everything goes well today."
"I'm hoping for that too, Gin," Hermione said, smiling. With her heart beating in her throat, she left the building and got into her car to drive towards the last date on the list.
Although she wasn't a hundred per cent focused on the date, Hermione started her night feeling good enough. On the way to the restaurant, her only thought was how much she wanted to go on a date with Theo instead of Cormac. It wasn't fair to Cormac, but she couldn't help but feel that way.
Arriving early at the restaurant, she thought that she might be in the right frame of mind for her date. Before heading to dinner, Hermione decided to grab a drink.
A few moments later, someone said, "Well, hello, beautiful," and Hermione almost choked on her wine. "You look lonely. Do you need some company?"
"Thank you, but no thanks," Hermione said without turning around. "I'm waiting for my date."
"Oh? And where your date would be? If you were mine, I would never leave you alone," the voice continued, and it took all Hermione's strength not to bolt. "My name is Cormac, by the way."
When it came to dating, Hermione was really having a terrible time. With a tight smile, she turned around to see Cormac smiling feral at her.
"Hi, Cormac, I'm Hermione, your date," she said, cringing at the way that he appeared to be undressing her with his eyes. "How are you?"
"I'm so much better now that I know you're my date." Cormac's predatorial smile told her everything she needed to know; this date was not going to end well. "Shall we go to our table?"
Hermione took a deep breath and followed Cormac to the table. She couldn't help but be happy that this was her last date. Her dates had all failed just to prepare for meeting Theo.
"I'm very excited to get to know you better," Cormac said when they sat at the table, and Hermione didn't miss the innuendo. "I didn't realize that you were so pretty when we spoke."
"These things happen, I guess." As Hermione picked up the menu in front of her and perused the dishes, trying to tune out Cormac, she said, "I think I'll order the steak au poivre."
Cormac was leering at her, and Hermione was trying not to let it get to her. "You seem like someone who likes to have fun, and I'm the right guy to give you all the fun you need. Let me make you feel good, baby."
Hermione was not sure she would last the entire dinner; she would be surprised if they finished their entrées.
"You are a tease, and I can't wait to know exactly what makes you scream." Cormac was getting more aggressive with each comment, and Hermione was scared. We should just come back to my place and skip this whole dinner thing."
"No, thank you." Her voice was trembling, but she didn't show it. "Maybe Wellington beef would be a better choice? I haven't had one in a long time."
"Ignore me all you want, but you'll be mine," Cormac said, trying to get close to Hermione, but she scraped her chair back to stop him. He smirked and placed his hand on her thigh. "I love hunting prey."
"I won't sit here and let you talk to me like that," Hermione said, putting the menu on the table as she stood up. "I'd appreciate it a lot if you didn't come near me again."
Grabbing her purse, Hermione tried not to run into the restaurant's entrance; she was glad that she had driven to the restaurant with her car and that she didn't have time to drink. She just wanted to go home, take a bath, and forget that this date even happened.
Hermione hid behind one of the columns in front of the restaurant when she heard footsteps behind her. While she could still see Cormac, he couldn't see her and for that, Hermione was grateful. Hermione was taking a breath before she needed to sprint to her car when she spotted someone she thought she recognised approaching the restaurant.
"Theo?" Hermione whispered, but before she could get a better look, Cormac appeared behind her.
"There you are! If I had known you liked to play hide-and-seek, I would have done something before," Cormac said before grabbing Hermione by the waist.
"Get off me!" Hermione nearly screamed, slapping Cormac's chest in frustration. "Let go!"
Hermione's protests were blunted when Cormac slammed his lips on hers, trying to grope her the entire time. Hermione froze for a moment and Cormac used this to run his hand over her body and grab her breast, making Hermione jerk away from him, but he didn't relent his hold on her.
She could feel that she was starting to hyperventilate, but Cormac wasn't letting go; he was licking her neck and Hermione felt bile in her throat, imagining what he wanted to do with her. Something clicked in her mind, before she kicked Cormac in the balls and slapped him.
"I told you to let go!" Hermione screamed, slapping him again and shoving him off her. "I don't want to see you anymore!"
Hermione started walking away when someone called her name, and if it hadn't been Theo, she would have ignored it.
"Hermione? Is that you?" Hermione heard a change in Theo's voice that she couldn't place.
"Theo! Oh, I'm so glad to see you!" Hermione said with relief in her voice and ran to hug him, desperately to feel the safety that always accompanied Theo. She hugged him with all of her might, but she realised that he wasn't hugging her back. "Is something wrong?"
"I don't know. Is something wrong? I thought you had something to finish before you could go out with me, but it didn't stop you from going out with someone else, didn't it?" Theo looked at Hermione as if he didn't know her, and Hermione felt bile rising in her throat. "But I guess you just didn't want to go out with me, huh?"
"You're misinterpreting everything!" Hermione tried to talk with him, but he raised a hand and she stopped talking.
"You don't need to say anything else, Hermione. I assumed I knew you. I don't even want to see you again." Hermione recoiled at Theo's anger. "I never thought you would be such a... slut."
Hermione was furious; she had agreed to go on a date with Cormac because she couldn't cancel the subscription. She was kissed and grabbed against her will, but she refused to let Theo insult her like that. It didn't take her long to reduce the distance between them and slap him hard.
"How dare you call me a slut? Don't call me that after I've just been assaulted," Hermione said in a low voice, attempting not to cry. Rage started to overpower the hurting, and she couldn't stop but yell at him, "What right do you have to judge me? We are not even going out! Why don't you shove your judgmental stick up your ass before saying something like that to me?
"Also, you aren't my boyfriend, I don't need to give any explanation!" Hermione was breathing hard, and she saw that something that looked like guilt appeared in Theo's eyes, but she was too incensed to care. "Who do you think you are to go on judging me like that?"
She took a deep breath, but they were interrupted before she could finish her sentence.
"Theo? Is everything all right?" a gorgeous blonde asked, coming over to them and squeezing Theo's arm, pulling him towards her and Theo went without complaining. The woman was obviously familiar with him. "Who are you talking with?"
She took one look at them side by side, taking in how gorgeous they looked together and how Theo seemed to be at ease with her, how they were comfortable together, how they seemed to be in sync with each other.
Hermione laughed without humour.
"Oh, this is just the cherry on top of a terrible night," she said, putting a hand on her forehead, foreseeing a headache. "This goes without saying, but it's me who doesn't want to see you ever again. What gives you the right to call me a slut when you're here with her?"
"This is any of your business," Theo snapped at her. "Whoever I'm here with or not."
"And me being on a date isn't any of your business either!" Hermione snapped back, and she saw Theo glare at her. "I don't think we have anything else to talk about. Goodbye, Theodore."
She walked with her head held high, willing herself not to run. She managed to get into her car without much trouble, but she didn't start it until she had stopped shaking.
"It's fine, Hermione, you don't need to call anyone." Hermione felt tears in her eyes; she worked hard not to cry. "You are an adult, and you will deal with this by yourself. You just have to get home."
Hermione managed to start her car and drive home, cursing Cormac, Theo, and herself all the way. After she arrived home, she changed into pajamas and laid down, and it was at that point that tears started to fall.
Don't kill me for this ending, everything will be alright in the end! We just need a little angst to shake things up. (Can't believe I just wrote that, stop laughing, Ash.)