To say today had been a whirlwind would have been the most immense understatement. This morning she had woken up to Draco making breakfast with her parents in her parents' house, and now they had spent the early afternoon in Paris shopping and grabbing lunch and checking in to one of the most beautiful hotels that Hermione had ever been in. How any of this was real was beyond her.
They had checked in to their room if you could even call it that. It was more of a suite than a room, and that would be putting it politely. The double doors leading into their room from the hallway opened up into a beautiful, bright sitting area with a breath-taking view of Wizarding Paris. Off to the left through an archway with drawn curtains was a bedroom and bathroom that was easily as large as her room at her parents' home. It was so lavish and ridiculous and perfect. To Draco there was nothing out of the ordinary about any of this and watching him in his element was something very intriguing. This was some of the most comfortable she had seen him since becoming friends with him this past year. This was who he was, no matter how much he had evolved since the war ended this is who he would always be.
Hermione was looking out of one of the large windows in the sitting room, it all felt like some sort of strange dream. Pretty much everything, since they had left Hogwarts together yesterday, felt like a weird dream, but not in a bad way. She took a deep breath as she let her thoughts run wild, completely oblivious to Draco watching her from the archway of the bedroom.
"Are you overthinking today already," he asked slyly as he made his way over to her, sitting next to her on the plush love seat.
She could not keep the smile off of her lips as she watched him approach.
"Maybe you know me too well," she grinned up at him.
"Maybe," he mused letting the silence settle between them before finally speaking again. "I've let you relax for too long," he grinned, "Let's go run around the city for a little before dinner."
Hermione smiled back at him, silently agreeing to his suggestion. She softly took his outstretched hand, letting him help her up off of her spot on the love seat. He grabbed her winter cloak out of the front closet for her, holding it open for her to slip into it before putting his own on and opening the door for her. They headed out into the city to kill a few hours before coming back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. There were so many little shops that Hermione was eager to explore. She had seen a few interesting banners from their walk earlier.
The pair wandered around the city casually, stopping into any store that piqued Hermione's interest. She found a few interesting potion supplies and a very old text on Alchemy that she would have to work on translating from French. It was so intriguing to finally see another major wizarding city she could hardly hide her excitement as they made their way through the shopping district. Dancing statues, ancient shops, and of course a memorial to Nicolas Flamel outside of what was apparently his house. She could spend days exploring, but unfortunately, they only had a few hours until dinner and those hours quickly ticked away. Before she knew it was already almost six and Draco was walking back to the hotel with her. Today had felt like a dream but she knew it would be over soon and she could not help but feel a little sad about it.
Once they made it back up to their room she took over the bathroom to get ready. She quickly showered and pinned her hair up after using copious amounts of Sleakeasy's to help tame her wild curls. Thankfully she had packed a few essentials into her beaded bag, she even put on some light makeup for the evening. When in Paris, right? Finally, she slipped into her new silver robes that she had gotten when they first got here. To say they were stunning would be an understatement. Her simple black boots felt too plain with such a stunning outfit, but it was a last-minute trip and they would have to do, at least her feet would be comfortable.
She finally left the bathroom to meet Draco in the sitting room before they headed off to wherever he had made reservations at. A subconscious smile crept onto her lips when she finally locked eyes with Draco from across the room. To say it took a moment to gain his composure might be a slight understatement. Her grin only widened as she watched his face finally find it's normal pleasant look. He was dressed as classically as ever, a new set of charcoal robes with a black shirt, this color combination made his silver eyes gleam against his pale features.
"Good choice," he finally managed to say smoothly.
"You like?" she asked playfully.
"Worth every penny," he shot back coolly.
A slight rosy flush crept across her cheeks; she still could not believe he had bought her such expensive robes without a second thought. Well his parents did, unbeknownst to them. How would his parents feel if they knew he had bought her new robes? How would his parents feel about anything that had been going on between them? She had not thought about it much until now when she really should not have been. Draco might have changed but she was sure that changed would come much harder to his parents. She tried to push those thoughts out of her mind so she could enjoy their evening in Paris. She had a feeling they would be revisiting her mind when it had more time to overthink everything about their unlikely friendship.
"Ready?" he asked, watching her intently. Could he tell her mind was spiraling out of control?
"Ready," she smiled.
Draco helped her back into her winter cloak before leading her out of their room, through the hotel and out into the plaza. The street was bustling this time of night and everything was lit up and decorated for the holidays. It was absolutely stunning. Just when she thought the evening could not get any more extravagant a large baroque carriage made its way up to them, a large grey winged horse pulling it.
"Is that a Granian?" Hermione blurted out, staring wide-eyed up at Draco.
"It is, and that is also how we will be getting to dinner," Draco grinned back at her before approaching the open carriage and climbing up into it, holding his arm out to help Hermione up into it.
The stunned look was unfading from her face as she took his hand and climbed up the steps into the beautiful carriage. She sat down on the plush bench seat where Draco soon joined her. After he took his seat the carriage lurched into motion. As they began their journey to dinner. Draco lightly allowed his hand to rest softly on hers, a flush rushed through her body as the warmth from his hand radiated through her own. How was this real? How did they get here? It was becoming more impossible to keep her wild overthinking from taking over every moment that they shared. It felt so right and so wrong all at the same time. Her head was in shock, her brain fighting her heart and for once she wished she could turn it off.
"Are you trying to show off?" Hermione finally blurted out.
"Maybe," Draco fired back smoothly, his eyes hiding whatever he was thinking. His words were cool and collected and flowed from his lips without hesitation. "But maybe, I just wanted to make sure your first visit lived up to whatever preconceived notions you had of other wizarding cities."
"Well, if that is the case," she grinned playfully.
The carriage rolled through the ancient paved streets, winding down the cobbled roads of Wizarding Paris. Before she knew it the carriage rocked to a stop outside of a romantically lit restaurant. Draco exited the carriage first, holding his hand out from her to steady herself as she stepped down. She knew that her excitement was plastered to her lips. Was there any point in trying to hide the wild emotions that were crashing through her? They had already crossed the threshold from their unorthodox friendship. There was no going back to how they were before leaving Hogwarts for the Christmas holiday. It was so hard trying to convince her head to just go with the flow, but she was trying.
Draco lightly tapped his wand on the old wooden door, causing it to gently swing open before them. The restaurant was a quiet, romantic atmosphere. Each table sat in its own private nook with candles floating above, just like the Great Hall. A smartly dressed man showed them to their table, tucked quietly away in a softly lit nook. Menus were waiting for them along with a bottle of champagne that sat in an enchanted frosted bucket. The bottle seemed to uncork itself as they took their seats, the smartly dressed man flicking his wand as the bottle poured them each a bubble glass. Draco thanked the man in French before he bowed and left them to look over their menus.
The silence settled between them before Hermione piped up, "Well you have certainly outdone yourself with this one."
"It's the best restaurant in the city, a personal favorite of mine," he said coolly. "I told you I wanted your first visit to live up to whatever you had cooked up in your head." A grin flashed across his lips as the last word slipped from them.
"I don't know," she teased, "a trip to Paris, shopping spree, a fancy hotel, and a romantic dinner. I would almost think you were up to something." Her lips turned up into a playful grin as she tried to see if he would give away anything.
"Maybe I am," he shrugged nonchalantly, "Maybe I'm not. Guess you will just have to wait and see."
What a tease he could be. What were they doing? She shrugged before picking up her menu. It was in French, of course. A few words stood out to her and she was determined to try her best to order something on her own. The longer she looked over the menu the words slowly began to shift into English. Of course, the menu was enchanted to adapt to different languages. Paris was a massive tourist destination and she imagined that it must be in the Wizarding World as well.
She took a breath as she became much more confident her eyes darting back and forth on the menu. She had finally settled on something when the smartly dressed man was back with what must be an appetizer. It was a beautiful golden buttery pastry wrapped around something that smelt absolutely to die for. It was served with a basket of baguettes which means there was something magical in the middle to dip the bread into.
"Vous avez choisi?" the smartly dressed man asked looking at them.
"You know what you want?" Draco asked Hermione.
She nodded back with a smile.
"Oui," Draco started, "You first," he then said to Hermione.
"Moules à la truffe au vin blanc," she managed to say smoothly. She was grateful for the limited knowledge she had of the language so she could pull this off.
"Et vous Monsieur?" he then asked looking at Draco.
"J'aurai le même," Draco replied swiftly handing their menus to their waiter. His eyes lingered on Hermione, a soft smile on his lips.
Their waiter quickly left them while their eyes lingered on each other for a moment too long.
"You ordered the best thing on the menu," Draco said smoothly.
"It sounded really wonderful," she replied sweetly. "I'm guessing you ordered the same?"
"I had too, or I would just be drooling over yours all night."
They grinned at each other. This was so effortless. How was it so easy? Draco must have been able to tell that her mind was starting race because he quickly pipped up.
"This is okay, right?" He asked making sure that she was comfortable.
"This is wonderful," she smiled back. "Really, really wonderful."
"Just wait until the food gets here," he laughed. "I think it's one of the best restaurants in all of the Wizarding World." His words followed as he cut into the beautiful appetizer sitting between them.
The evening flew by as they ate and laughed. The food was probably the best food she had ever had in her life. Perfectly cooked, perfectly seasoned. The whole dinner was magical, and not just because it was a wizarding restaurant. As usual, the conversation stayed light and airy, full of happy laughter and smiles. She was really happy. Like properly happy. Happy in a way she was not sure if she had ever been before. It was all so new, and so different, and so unexpected. It did not take her mind long to start racing as she finished another glass of champagne. It seemed Draco could always tell when her mind started running away with her. He reached his arm across the table and grabbed her hand as she sat the glass down.
"Ready to get out of here?" His eyes were wild and playful. Her interest peaked as excitement filled her body.
"Where to?" she asked with a playful tone that was bordering on flirty.
"That would be a surprise, so you are just going to have to wait and see." His tone matched hers and she felt her heart begin to race.
Draco signaled for the waiter, charging their dinner to his parent's account. The waiter left an unopened bottle of champagne as their table magically cleaned itself. Draco took the bottle with one hand and her hand with his other. Her heart raced faster, the anticipation of what was going to happen next was almost too much. No one had ever done anything like this for her before. For once she did not have a plan or need a plan.
They exited the restaurant and were met with the crisp winter air. A slight shiver ran through her body as Draco quickly began leading her through the dark ally ways that made up Wizarding Paris. He seemed to know exactly where they were going, and for once, she went with it. They twisted through the narrow streets and hidden walkways until they came to an old wooden door, dimly light by lanterns hanging on each side. There was something written on the door in French that was faded and chipped with age. Where had he brought her?
Before she had time to dwell on it, he opened the door, moving the bottle of champagne under his arm and illuminating their path with his wand. It was an old dark staircase leading down well below the city. You could feel the temperature change as they descended. Could he actually be taking her where she thought he might be? Was that even possible? They reached the end of the staircase into a candlelit cavern. The archway ahead of them was painted black and worn with age. Her eyes grew wide as she looked at him.
"Is this what I think it is?" she asked, the shock so clearly clinging to her words.
"Welcome to the wizard catacombs. The black plaque was inescapable from both muggles and wizards. This part was built during the construction of the muggle ones but is well hidden. Not that the muggles have ever finished mapping their own." He grinned, holding his wand up and leading her through the arch.
She gasped softly at the breath-taking sight. Bones stretched as far as the eye could see. All witches and wizards that also perished during the plaque. It was hauntingly beautiful, just as its muggle counterpart was. Ancient ruins were carved delicately into some of the bones and painted on the walls.
"I had no idea," she said still taken aback at where they were. She loved historic sights, and the catacombs were so fascinating. "I knew that the plaque affected the wizarding world as well, but this is truly put's it into perspective."
She spun around slowly trying to take it all in, clueless that Draco was only watching her. She finally met his silver gaze and grinned. He still had not let go of her hand, and she hoped that he was not going to. They continued walking silently through the maze of bones that was hidden beneath the bustling city above them. Of all the things he could have planned tonight. How did he know her so well? They had only been friends for a few months now. Maybe it was just a lucky guess. Although it would have been a strange twist in the evening for most people. They finally came upon an iron spiral staircase that seemed to lead back to the surface.
"Nights not over yet," he smiled as he squeezed her hand before leading her up the stairs.
At this point, she was just along for the ride. He had every detail thought out and planned, it almost put her own planning skills to shame. Now if only her head would shut up and just let her live in the moment instead of trying to explain every moment. It did not take long for them to reach a small landing with an iron gate door leading out into the cobbled streets. They were in another part of the city, the breeze rushing over them the smell of water hanging in the air.
Draco led her through the winding streets until they reached the river where a glass water taxi seemed to be waiting for them. Had they crossed back into muggle Pairs? The Seine cut through the heart of Paris and was way too public to be apart of the wizarding world. Her eyes watched him curiously, unsure of what they were doing. The crew of the boat was waiting for them, helping them board. Was this a private muggle sightseeing boat? It sure seemed like it. They took a cozy seat on a plush leather sectional that looked out the back of the boat.
"Is this," Hermione began to whisper before Draco cut her off.
"A muggle boat taxi? Yes. Was it hard to plan? Also, yes." his smile was so proudly stretched across his lips.
"You hired us a private MUGGLE boat!" her eyes were wide as she kept her voice low in case anyone overheard her. "Who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy," she giggled her eyes dancing in the light of the city reflecting through them.
"I've been working very hard on not being a total prick, thank you very much." He said as he popped the bottle of champagne, he had brought with them. He took a drink straight from the bottle before passing it to Hermione. "How could we possibly have an evening without passing a bottle between us?"
"No evening would be complete without it," she grinned taking a sip before passing it back.
They cuddled on the sectional passing the bottle of champagne between them, an activity they had gotten used to at school. The muggle spoke over an intercom about the various landmarks along the river. She just watched as they passed by the boat, more interested in who she was sharing the night with. This is the closest they had been since last night on the roof. The closest they had been since they kissed again this morning. His body was so warm cuddled up against hers. It all felt so right and so sinfully wrong all at the same time. She had never felt this way before, it was terrifying to be quite honest. Was she really falling for Draco Malfoy? It was hard enough wrapping her head around their friendship let alone having feelings for him. She did not think that she could deny it any longer, she had real, legitimate feelings for Draco Malfoy. If this morning was any indication, it was probably safe to say that he was having similar feelings. How was this real?
They were about half-way down the river by the time they finished off the bottle they were sharing. Draco sat it softly on the coffee table in front of them before rising to his feet.
"Let me grab another one, I'll be right back," his words were as confident as ever as he prepared to walk over to physically pick up another bottle from the bar.
He popped the cork handing her the bottle first this time. She was beginning to feel the familiar flush of being tipsy. Though this was a special kind of tipsy, champagne tipsy. She felt like her pink cheeks were filled with the very bubbles they had been drinking. She giggled as she handed the bottle back to him. Her eyes met his, a soft smile still hanging on his lips. The lips that had kissed her just this morning. Her eyes fixated them on just a moment longer then they should have.
"Getting a little drunk Granger?" Draco asked as he took another drink.
"Just a little tipsy," she smiled innocently back at him as he handed the bottle back to her.
"Well then I'm going to have to cut you off before you get too drunk," he said factually before he took another drink, placing the bottle on the table after.
"And why would that be?" she questioned reaching her arm out for the bottle.
"Because I wouldn't feel right doing this if you were drunk," he said grabbing her hand before she could reach the bottle. Before she could say anything back, he reached his free hand up to the side of her face, cupping it as he brought her in for a soft kiss.
Her eyes flashed open as their lips left each other, like a deer in headlights. Before she pulled him back to her lips. Their kiss became more passionate, still soft but enough to send butterflies through her entire body. She savored every moment, not knowing how long it would last. They finally broke apart, Draco looking a little more shocked then he ever let off. The champagne was making her braver and bolder.
"I'm not sure what this is but I am sure that I like whatever it is." She said softly, almost afraid to ruin the moment with words.
Her words were met by a handsome grin as he leaned back in for another kiss. She sighed into his kiss, practically melting into his arms.
"And I am sure that you have been the best thing to happen to me in a long time," he said as he pulled away from her lips only briefly enough to speak before coming back in for another kiss.