Chapter 3

Fifty-five minutes later, Hermione was ready to go. She had showered, tamed her hair, applied light makeup, and put on her favourite dress. It was a plum colour, was covered in lace, had half sleeves, and came just above her knees. She felt pretty and confident, but very nervous. She was trying to calm her rapidly beating heart while slipping on her black heels. After checking her reflection in the mirror one last time, she headed out of her room.

As she was slowly walking down the stairs, she saw him, waiting for her next to the fireplace. She thought he looked amazing, dressed in a light blue button-down shirt, with the sleeves slightly rolled up, and black slacks. When he saw her, he smiled, and moved closer to meet her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hermione, you look beautiful!"

"Thank you, she replied softly, you look very handsome yourself."

He smiled, then asked "Shall we?" She nodded, and he put his hand on her lower back to guide her towards the restaurant. They were led to a table next to a window with a view of the mountains.

After they had ordered, Hermione asked jokingly "So Draco, was this your plan all along? Charm ladies who are skiing alone so you always have a dinner companion?"

Draco chuckled and replied "If you must know, I had a couple of lovely evenings dining all by myself before you've arrived. This, of course, is much better, but I wouldn't have asked just any woman."

"Oh no? Well I'm glad to have passed the test."

"Of course you passed! You're beautiful and smart. You can talk about any subject and you're always interested in learning more about the topics with which you are not as familiar. Who wouldn't be interested?"

Hermione got quiet for a moment, took a deep breath and decided to tackle the subject that brought her here in the first place. "Well actually, it seems that not every man agrees with you."

Draco frowned and said "What do you mean?"

"You were right that I never take time off from work. I guess you heard that from friends who work in the Ministry?"

Draco nodded.

"Well, the reason that I made an exception this time is that I just broke up with my boyfriend. We had been together for five months. Then a few weeks ago, I caught him cheating on me. When I confronted him and asked him why, he said that it was too much work being with me, that he was bored. It made me question myself. I wanted time to be able to analyse the relationship and figure out where it all went wrong. But I couldn't do that in London. So I decided to come here."

She paused while the waiter served the wine, then continued. "I wanted to thank you actually. Spending time with you made me realize that he and I were wrong for each other. I didn't want to get all pretty for him. We couldn't talk about anything and everything, like we did today. I didn't feel the butterflies with him. You reminded me what it was like to feel wanted and appreciated. So thank you."

Draco took her hand and said "Hermione, I'm sorry that you had to go through this. But I'm glad that you feel comfortable with me and that I could remind you that you are worth more than what that guy was giving you. I hope you never forget that."

"I won't forget. Not anymore."

"Good, said Draco while rubbing his thumb softly over her knuckles. Now tell me, what is your favourite place you've ever skied?"

The rest of the meal went by smoothly. They laughed and talked about a million different things. After dessert, they went back to the lobby to sit in a more comfortable place. Draco had one arm around her shoulders, his fingers rubbing her arm in gentle strokes.

After her second yawn in a row, Hermione laughed and said "I guess it's time to call it a night, I'm exhausted. Thank you for the lovely evening."

"You're welcome, replied Draco. Let me walk you back to your room."

They walked slowly, hand in hand, with their fingers interlocked. When they reached Hermione's door, she said "Thank you again, I had a great time."

"You're welcome again."

She was nervous again, so she spurted out "I was thinking, maybe we could go skiing together again tomorrow. I mean, only if you want to. You don't have to of course, but I thought, that, well, we had such a good time together…"

"Hermione, calm down! Draco laughed, I would love to go skiing with you again tomorrow!"

She blushed, "Really? Good, I'm glad. So see you tomorrow?"

"Yes, tomorrow."

She felt awkward again, and nervous. Would he try to kiss her? She want him to. The butterflies were going crazy in her stomach. "Well, good night then."

"Good night Hermione."

He had said this so gently that she looked in his eyes and saw it, that look. He leaned in slowly, one of his hands still holding hers, the other one gently on her cheek, then her neck, then her hair, brushing it off her shoulder.

Then, he kissed her. It was so gentle, and sweet, and perfect. She responded immediately. After what felt like forever, and not nearly enough at the same time, he pulled back, smiled, and said good night again. She watched him walk towards his room, with a huge grin on her face. She opened her door, asking herself how on earth she was going to be able to sleep after this.