Hermione was meticulously packing her suitcase in her room. This trip should distract her mind, she couldn't spend a lifetime always using her vacation to work even harder.
She was so mentally exhausted, she had literally booked the most expensive house she could find, in a roundup of tourist homes in Georgia, where people went for a month-long period. All these houses were close to each other, and next to a beautiful lake, which she really wanted to see. She decided to give herself that luxury, after all, she was already depriving herself of so many things for so many things.
And this time, she didn't want to go with Harry, Ron, or even Ginny. She wanted to go alone. It was her vacation, to enjoy without worries.
The next day, a Saturday, she travelled to Georgia and went to the house. It was amazing. She had booked a long time ago, to get the best one. This one was coveted by all tourists, as it was the most expensive, the most comfortable, and was closer to the lake than the others.
The people who received her spoke almost perfect English, which made everything easier. The house itself was wonderful. The first place she went to see was the room where she would sleep. It was huge. The bed was immense, and it was covered with an impeccable sheet. The walls were beautiful, and the floor amazing.
The house was warm, although it was bitterly cold outside. It was even colder than in England. Hermione didn't like it very much, but the scenery was perfect.
Inside her room was a bathroom, and an attachment to store belongings. She threw herself on the bed and smiled to herself as she removed her scarf and boots. She had been planning this trip for so long, she was so excited that it was finally happening!
Hermione hadn't paid attention to the fact that, from her bedroom window, which was still closed, she had a perfect view of the house next door, where there was also a similar window. But there were thick curtains capable of obscuring the entire view.
Two other windows overlooked a beautiful winter landscape in the large living room. In the hallway leading to the kitchen, the window that Hermione considered her favorite as soon as she saw it gave a perfect view of the lake.
That whole day, she just enjoyed the house. She ate the meals offered, enjoyed the softness of the bed, the sofas, sang a lot of her favourite songs, took her clothes out of the suitcase and arranged them in the annexe, took a good bath.
At night, in her room, she decided to finally open the curtains, and she didn't like it very much when she saw that it gave a view to another house, but the curtains in the other house were closed, so she imagined that the person, whoever it was, was reserved. , and that pleased her.
She left it open and lay back, fully composed, staring at the ceiling. She felt good, inside and out.
...
Next door, Draco decided to double-check if the occupant of the other house had already opened the window. He had looked as soon as he arrived, but everything was closed. He wanted to see who the person was: male, female, young, old, a couple, a family. However, he didn't intend to let the person see him either. It was a way of being one step ahead.
He opened the curtains a little, just enough to see, and realized that the other one was finally open, but there was no one there. The room was almost the same as his, but it seemed to be bigger. He had tried to book this house, but it had been occupied many months ago. Who would be the person who was faster than him?
Suddenly, not long after, someone appeared. It was a woman, she appeared to be sitting on the bed. She had caramel skin, and wore a long-sleeved blouse. But it was her hair, those huge curls, that told him he'd seen her before.
It was a very strong feeling that he already knew her. But he couldn't remember where or when he had had any kind of contact with her. When she turned to face the window, he was even more sure. Hogwarts, perhaps, but still no name came to mind.
If only he could take a closer look… he opened the curtains a little wider, but she saw it too. Fuck. Her eyes glazed over at the same instant, she also seemed to recognize him. And it was just that unfriendly look, which left no doubt: that woman, the person who had occupied the house he wanted so much, was Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's Gryffindor friend.
Draco hadn't seen her in person in years, she looked different than the last time he'd seen her. He concluded that time had done him good.
When he brought her hands to her hips impatiently and her expression intensified with anger, that's when he realized he was still staring at her. He closed the curtains and began to think about the coincidences that life had in store.
He took off his shirt, his pants, and went to sleep.
...
Hermione, in her room, wondered how odd were that she was staying next door to Draco Malfoy. She had recognized him as soon as she saw him, and he was still glaring at her.
As long as he didn't talk to her or get anywhere near her, it was all right.
She didn't want to take too long to sleep, as the next day, she planned to go for a walk around the lake early in the morning to see the sunrise.
...
After waking up, Hermione smiled as she remembered that she was on vacation in a wonderful place. Twenty minutes later, she was ready to leave, and wouldn't eat until she arrived.
She left the house wearing her thickest coat, and didn't have to walk far to reach her destination. Few people were there, the sun was just rising, its glow dim. It was very cold. Hermione pressed her coat against her body and felt internally content.
Draco left his house at that very moment. He intended to see the lake, but as he got closer, as soon as he took his eyes off the landscape and started looking at people, he could only see Granger. She was there, too, and he couldn't help but think that this would become a recurring thing in the next month: she would always be around.
He sighed. He didn't need to get close to her, didn't need to make things more difficult. He stopped exactly where he was when he saw her, didn't take another step, and put his hands in his pockets. But the distance was already two meters at most.
She glanced to the side as soon as he stopped, but quickly dodged it. A minute later, she looked again, and he did the same when he realized he was being watched. She looked away again, but he didn't this time. When she looked for the third time, he was already looking. Hermione pursed her lips, and looked at the lake.
Draco was amused. She also looked at the lake, but he had a small smile on his face. As soon as he noticed her looking at him again, he turned his head quickly and caught her gaze. She held on, didn't deflect this time, and neither did he.
Hermione crossed her arms, still staring at him, and Draco did the same, trying not to laugh.
She huffed and walked away. He stared at her back for a while, and smiled, thinking about how well it had started. Making her upset still had the same invigorating effect it had at school.
...
Hermione walked back to her house wondering what she had done to deserve this guy as a neighbour for an entire month. Apparently, he still had the same mind as a teenager, judging by the way he teased. At least, she thought, he was apparently past the cursing phase. Or maybe, she still hadn't had enough time to be cursed.
She thought about coming back later, but it was too bold of him to come and make her leave. She would stay. A little farther, of course, but she would stay. She sat by the lake a good fifteen feet from where Malfoy was, and felt the wind in her face. It was cold, very cold, but also refreshing. She felt like she could spend the day there, the view was incredible, especially at this time of the morning.
But she had other plans for the rest of the day. After all, on this vacation, she intended to go out a lot.
She went back home when she started to feel hungry. The breakfast was very tasty, and she was satisfied. When she went to her room, Hermione couldn't help but look quickly at the window to make sure it was closed before changing her clothes.
She went out after lunch and visited a few places, but it wasn't very pleasant, to be honest. She didn't know the country, and she didn't speak their language, so she couldn't get very far. She came home frustrated in the late afternoon and decided to go for a snack around the lake, which was a perfect place for a little one.
At this time, there were many more people nearby, walking, eating, talking, some just looking. But at least Malfoy wasn't there.
...
Draco had spent the day at home. He had planned to leave, but his private tour guide had cancelled at the last minute, citing an unforeseen event with his wife. That irresponsible man even asked if they could reschedule, but he preferred to look for another one.
When he opened his bedroom window at night, Granger's was also open, but she wasn't in his vision camp. He left it open and went to take a shower, thinking there was no reason to leave it closed if she already knew he was the one there after all.
He came back from the shower almost thirty minutes later, wearing nothing more than baggy pants, and sat up in bed without looking out the window. The place was Muggle, and they had some technology that Draco was finding interesting, like a heater. Obviously, the wand was a lot easier, and he'd only used the heater at first, but as soon as he figured out what it was for, he turned it off and left it alone.
But it was still interesting. Muggles had a very rudimentary way of replacing magic. He took a magazine from the bedroom table and tried to read it, but it was in Georgian, so he was content to see the images: pictures of people. He would have liked to know what the magazine was saying about them, especially since the Muggle pictures didn't move, so he had no way of knowing what they were doing.
With the magazine in hand, bored, he noticed as Granger paced past her window. She wore an outfit so covered, it gave the impression of being outside, in the middle of the snow. He kept looking. Soon, she passed again, something big and clumsy in her hands.
She passed by several times, with a plant in her hand, some packages, a painting, and he wondered what she was doing. He came to the conclusion that she was crazy. It wouldn't be much different from what she remembered, though.
Suddenly, she didn't pass anymore. Probably, she would have gone to another room. He missed his momentary hobby, but was going to look for something else to do when he heard the doorbell ring.
That's weird. He got down and went to open the door, wondering who it was.
"Granger?"
She was standing in the doorway, wearing a long-sleeved blouse, a thick coat, pants, boots, gloves, and a ridiculous hood. She had her arms crossed, her hair slightly wavy, and an angry face.
"May I know why you're looking at me all the time while I tidy up the house, Malfoy?"
"Are you cleaning up the house?" so that's what she was doing. He asked raising an eyebrow.
"Changing the decor a little, but that's none of your business. I just want you to close your window and stop looking at me."
What a petulant. Draco mimicked her folding arms posture, and asked:
"And why don't you close yours?"
She opened her mouth in outrage.
"Oh, because… just because! I like it open."
"Oh, interesting Granger, your sense of justice and equality" she rolled her eyes at these words "I'm not going to close my window".
"But it turns out, Malfoy, that you're the one looking at me" she pointed a finger at his bare chest "and it bothers me"
"I won't," he repeated, "and if you don't want me to look anymore, close yours, or get out of her way."
Granger sighed, and let go of her arms.
"And why do you keep looking, huh? You don't have anything better to do, do you?"
"No," he was sincere, "besides, it's funny to see you decorating a house that isn't even yours, and you're only going to spend a month in."
She was going to say something else, but changed her mind and turned to leave.
"The house that was supposed to be mine, by the way," said Draco, behind her.
He was about to finish closing the door when she suddenly put her hand out to stop him.
"Excuse me" she said "the house should be yours?".
He stopped himself from smiling. It was amazing how easy it was to piss her off.
"Yes" he replied "I tried to book but apparently you had already booked".
"And what do I have to do with it?" She let go of the door and started walking again, but he could still hear an "Oh, do me a favor."
Draco laughed. He went to the kitchen and got something to eat. It wasn't nearly as good as house-elf food, but it was good enough.
Soon, he returned to the room still finishing his meal, and she wasn't there, but he saw the color of the walls magically change from yellow to red. She was really changing everything, but the house wasn't even hers. She really was crazy and presumptuous.
Within a short time, she reappeared, and looked at him with the same face of few friends. He nodded and smiled, and she huffed.
That night, just to tease him, he slept with the window open, and so did she.
...
Draco was sorely mistaken if he thought she was going to close her window just because he decided to spy. She had the right to keep the window open without being watched. Even because she wasn't watching him, and it wasn't her fault she stayed in the house right next to his.
It was fate trying to irritate her even on vacation. Malfoy was smiling and waving when he saw her, as if he were Mr Simpathy. So annoying!
Hermione decided that very night that she wasn't going to deprive herself of anything because of him. She was going to enjoy her vacation as best she could, without thinking about Malfoy or bothering with him. She would just ignore him, and be happy.
It would be simple.