I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

AN: This chapter skips to Hermione's birthday! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does. I am not J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 4: Paris is a Girl's Best Friend

Draco

I opened Granger's door carefully, trying not to wake her. I crept over to her sleeping form. Man, she was a messy sleeper. Her arm was tossed above her head, and her face was covered with her hair. Her legs were sticking out of the maroon covers. Maroon. Very Gryffindor of you, Granger.

I gently shook her shoulder. She slept on. I shook her a little more. Still sleeping. I finally wiped her hair off her face. Not even thinking twice about what I was doing, I pressed my lips to her forehead. Just when I thought it was working, she rolled over and pulled the covers over her head.

What the fuck, Granger? How is it so bloody hard to wake you up?

I sighed. This would be a very impossible task. I kicked her bed with my foot. It rattled, but she still didn't wake up. That's when I decided to yell.

"Bloody hell, Granger! Wake! Up!"

Her steady breaths did not cease. Nor did they change at all. Not even that worked. I cocked my head and thought. She does hate that. I curled my lips as I kneeled onto her bed and brought my hands to her hips. I pinched her sides.

Finally, Granger bolted up and yelped loudly.

"Are you serious, Malfoy?" she exclaimed. "That was the one thing-"

"Why did it take me so long to wake you up?"

She shrugged as she sat up in her bed. I backed off.

"Why'd you try to wake me up in the first place?" she yawned.

"Happy birthday," I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Granger's eyes widened. "It's my birthday? Jeez, I thought the first day of Hogwarts was just yesterday."

"Almost three weeks ago, Granger."

She stretched her arms over her head. "We're not going to eat at The Palomar, Draco."

I had almost forgotten about that. The only part that I remembered was how Granger had just ran off to the bathroom and came back with tears staining her cheeks.

"We're not eating at the Palomar," I told her.

"Good," she replied almost immediately. She didn't forget about it either. I still never asked her what had happened.

"But we are going out," I continued.

She pouted. "Why?"

"It's your birthday," I said. "We are going out."

"Where?" Granger asked, arms crossed over her chest.

"Oh," I smirked. "You'll see."

"I don't like the sound of that," she said, the covers falling from her grip. She was wearing a red shirt. Very Gryffindor of her.

Hermione

Draco made me get up and dress while he arranged reservations for where we were going. I put on the navy blue dress I had worn to the fifth war anniversary. It was September. It was hot. I didn't wear the cardigan that went with the strapless dress. I put on my black heels, and brushed through my hair. I pinned part of it up, and went over to Draco's. I pushed his door open. He was using a telephone!

When I had introduced it to Draco, he had called it a useless Muggle object. Then I taught him how to use it, and he's been using it ever since. That was… two weeks ago.

Draco put the telephone down when I walked in and he said good-bye. He stared at me up and down.

"You look… stunning," Draco said, apparently trying to find the right word to say.

"Thank you," I replied, blushing. I looked away from Draco until I could get back to my usual face color. "You look-"
"This is your birthday, Granger. I need no compliments. I already know I look attractive."

I laughed, went over to his made bed (that's a first), and threw a pillow at him. He caught it before it actually hit him, but he threw it back at me. I'm not very good when it comes to catching things, so it flew by my outstretched hands and hit me right in the face. Draco laughed derisively.

"When your best friend's a Seeker, maybe you should learn to catch," he said.

"Fuck you," I snapped back in a teasing manner.

"Really?" Draco tempted. "Do go on."

"Draco, seriously! Harry's a Seeker too, you know. I never learned how to properly catch something. Ron's a Keeper-"

"A shit one too-"

"Draco," I scolded.

"But it's true! The only way he made the team sixth year was because of you-"

"Wrong-"

"You know I'm right, Granger. It's not a secret. Everybody knows what you did."

I picked up the pillow that was on the floor and held it. When I thought Draco wasn't expecting it, I threw it at him as fast as I could throw. Too bad Draco has such good eyesight. He pulled out his wand.

"Depulso!"

The pillow stopped in midair, changed direction, and headed straight back at me! I ducked, but Draco made the pillow swoop down and it still managed to hit me in the face. I grabbed my wand inside my bag and pointed it at the pillow. I Levitated it and sent it flying towards Draco. Before he could make the pillow reverse direction, it hit him hard in the stomach and sent him tumbling to the ground.

I covered my mouth with my hands as I raced over to him, dropping my wand along the way.

"Oh my goodness! Draco, are you okay?"

He sat up using his elbows and smiled at me. "What spell was that?"

"Wingardium Leviosa and a really powerful Depulso," I said, relieved he hadn't been hurt.

Draco sat up all the way and I dropped to my knees and sat on my legs. I let out a breath.

"That was a very exhausting pillow fight," I said.

"It was short," he argued.

"Yes, but it was exhausting."

Draco reached to the pillow beside him and swung the pillow so it would knock me to the side. I blocked myself before my head hit the ground.

"Really?" I challenged as I sat back up. "Really, Draco?"

"Come on, Granger, that was funny."

He was putting the pillow behind his back. I reached backwards and grabbed my wand. I Summoned the pillows with a silent Accio.

"You did not!" Draco yelled as the pillow behind him and the others from his bed went into my lap.

I also Disarmed Draco, but he didn't notice. I threw the pillows at him all at once, ending the fight with Draco in a heap of them. I stood up, dusted myself off cockingly, and held his wand out to him.

"I think I won," I said.

He plucked the wand out of my hand and glared at me with a smirk on his face. "That was good, Granger. I have to say, Slytherin may have been a fine House with you in it."

"Muggle-born, remember? You made that quite clear."

"If I had known you were conceited-"

"I am not conceited!"

"Yes, you are-"

"I am not!"

Draco laughed. "You know I'm right."

"You are never right."

"Prove it."

"You said you were a great Seeker in school, but you never won a Quidditch game against Harry."

"Probably because he cheated every fucking game!"
"How did he cheat?"

Draco stood up and shuffled his feet. I motioned for him to answer.

"I dunno," he whispered.

"Exactly. You weren't even right about that."

"Let's go now, Granger."

I laughed. "Who's trying to avoid the subject, now?"

Maybe he was right. Maybe I was conceited.

Draco

I took her to a garden I knew. It wasn't what I had planned, I just needed to get out of that flat before another pillow fight started. I let her look around. I slowly walked through the rows of plants. Granger ran up and down the aisles of growing flowers and plants. Occasionally, she would call out to me the herbs that she knew.

"Draco, there's peonies!" "Look! Delphiniums!"

I knew she'd enjoy it. The girl loved plants. And flowers. And magical plants. Not really. Everyone hates those. Except for Professor Sprout and Longbottom.

When it was close to lunchtime, I called her.

"Granger, we need to get going! I have something planned!"

It was what I was on the telephone for. I was actually speaking to Potter. Granger had told him the day after my birthday about us being friends. Scarhead didn't take it so well. He yelled at Granger for an hour, then ignored her for two months. When the middle of August rolled around, he spoke with Granger again and agreed that he would be civil. I had agreed straight away that I would do the same thing.

We had agreed to meet somewhere with she-Weasley. Granger says not to call her that, but that's who she is! I knew she'd enjoy it. She's Hermione Granger. Everyone knows what she wants. No, her ex-boyfriend Weasley isn't going to be joining us. As far as I knew, he didn't even know about Granger and I being friends.

She found me and, when no Muggles were watching, we Disapparated. We landed in Paris, France, right before the Eiffel Tower. Granger covered her face with her hands in shock.

"Draco," she gasped. "This is beautiful. What do we do?"

"Wait," I said. "We're meeting a couple of people."

"Who?" she asked, but then she turned around.

Potter and his fiancé were walking towards us. He was wearing dress robes. Very decent looking dress robes. She-Weasley wore a green pencil dress that hugged her knees. The sleeves were casual. Her red hair was let loose in curls. Reminded me of Granger's curls. When they got to us, she-Weasley and Potter hugged their good friend. Yeah, I'm the best friend. They're just good friends.

"Happy birthday, Hermione!" she-Weasley exclaimed.

"Twenty-four now, eh?" Potter said.

"Apparently," the brunette replied sardonically. "Thanks for reminding me how old I am today, Harry."

"Malfoy," she-Weasley greeted. "Where are we headed for lunch?"

"A place my mum and I always went," I said. "It's called Epicure, I believe. It's quite good."

Potter pursed his lips. "Sounds nice."

"Don't worry," I continued. "I speak French. I could order for you."

"I'm sure they have English-speaking employees, Draco," Granger corrected. "I don't think you need to speak for us."

"Oui, madame," I said.

"Tais-toi, Draco," Granger snapped.

"You speak French?" she-Weasley asked, shocked. "What does that mean?"

I cleared my throat. "I just told her 'Yes, madame.-'"

"And I said 'Shut up, Draco,'" Granger interjected.

We all laughed and I led the way to Epicure.

Hermione

Draco held open the door as I walked into the magnificent restaurant. The walls and ceiling were white marble. Windows were all along the front of Epicure. The curtains draped over the windows were a light brown with the design of roses on them. There was a striking golden chandelier in the center of the dining area. The round tables were upon a beautiful tile floor.

When we were seated, Harry and Ginny were still looking around the place, mesmerized, and Draco handed me the menu.

"Vous voilà," Draco said. "Here you are."

"Merci," I said back. Thank you.

I stared at the menu. I knew French, but not enough. I tapped on Draco.

"What does that say?"

"Malfoy, I can't read it, either," Harry added.

"I don't know the least bit of French," Ginny said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "First thing on the menu: Black Salsify cooked with black truffle juice, parmesan cheese, and roasted hazelnuts. Sea scallops, steamed with seaweed, softened butter with shellfish juice and salicornia."

"Those are just the first courses, huh?" Ginny asked.

"Yes," answered Draco. "Main dishes are 'Eel from Sargasso Sea' and 'Farm Raised Pig.' That one's really good. Or 'Fine Seasonal Cheeses.' It's just cheese. I'm sure you don't want that."

"We're not staying for the whole meal, are we?" Granger asked. "I don't think I can eat that much."
"No, I'm just paying for whatever meal from either topic you choose," Draco said. "And shared desserts. One for the Potters-"

"Soon to be-" interjected Ginny.

"-And one for Granger and I," Draco continued through Ginny's interruption.

Harry and Ginny went behind their menus and discussed what they were eating. I turned back to Draco.

"What are you having?"
"What I always have," he laughed. "The Farm Raised Pig."

"What's the cheapest thing on the menu?"

"The cheeses. Come on, Granger, it's fine."

"But-"

"It's in Euros. I know how to count those. I have plenty of Euros to last me decades. It's wizard currency I don't have. Pick what you want."

"What comes with the eel?"

Draco looked back at the menu to translate the French. "Eel is glazed with chicken juice and soy sauce. Comes with potato gnocchi with garlic and paisley."

"I'll have that."

Draco

Once we all received our amazing food and finished it, I had to translate to the rest of my party what the desserts were. The Potters agreed on the "Granny Smith sorbet" and Granger and I said the other one, "Millefeuille." Well, more like I said it and Granger concurred. Once the waiter had left, Granger asked me what was in the Millefeuille.

"Apple, quince and celeriac, candied with cinnamon, triple cream with apple vinegar caramel, quince sorbet," I read off for her.

"Sounds delicious," she said.

When our desserts finally came, the waiter turned to speak with me since I was the only one who knew French.

"Voulez-vous le chèque maintenant, monsieur, ou après avoir fini vos desserts?" he asked.

"Maintenant, merci. Nous aurons fini après cela," I said.

Translation:

Waiter: "Would you like the check now, sir, or after you finish your desserts?"

Me: "Now, thank you. We will be finished after this."

The waiter nodded and left. He returned a moment later with the bill.

243 €. Damn. That was a lot. I fished out my Euros, which my mum had taught me how to count, and placed them on top of the bill.

"Are we all set?" I asked once Granger and I had eaten a bit more of our dessert.

"Yes," they all replied at the same time. How weird.

…

Granger was holding my arm, which was bent at an angle because my hand was in my jeans pocket. She was staring at the Seine river, taking in the sights. A few boats occasionally went by, but other than that, it was peaceful.

Potter and she-Weasley had gone home after lunch, so it was just Granger and I. She had Transfigured her heels to no longer have heels, so she was more comfortable walking.

"This is so beautiful, Draco," she said. "I've never been to this part of France before."

"It's nothing. I've seen places better than this."

"Please, Draco," she scolded, but her voice didn't get too angry. "This is amazing. Thank you so much."

I used my other hand to wipe the loose strands of her hair away from her face and tucked them behind her ear. Granger looked at me. I turned her head back to the river.

"The water's more beautiful than I am," I said in her ear. She laughed. "And we both know that I am super charming. So that is a compliment to the Seine."

Hermione

Draco and I were in Paris for a long time. When it was late, he took me to the Louvre Museum. At night, it is the most beautiful building. The large glass pyramid is lit up in gold, and the museum behind is its background, unlike the daytime when the building is more beautiful than the pyramid.

"Granger," Draco started, "do you know the palace at Versailles?"

I gasped. "Yes, I do! Can we go?"

"Of course. That's why I asked. Take my arm. There's no Muggles about right now."

I placed my hand on Draco's arm and he Disapparated us to Versailles.

The palace was huge. But that's not what caught my attention first. It was the golden gates. They were so exquisite. There weren't too many lights on the Palace itself, but enough to lighten it so you could tell it was the most beautiful palace you could ever see.

"Imagine living in a house with six-hundred bedrooms," Draco said with a laugh.

"And one-hundred other rooms for dining, balls, et cetera," I finalized.

"That man was rich," Draco said. "Richer than the Malfoys."

I punched his arm playfully. "Always comes back to you, doesn't it?"

"Of course," he said, looking down at me. "I'm exquisite, aren't I?"
"That's exactly how I thought about the gates," I said.

"I know, Granger."

We left the palace quickly and landed back at the Eiffel Tower.

"Good-bye, France," I said, looking to the top of the Tower.

"No, no, Granger," Draco stated. "It doesn't understand English. You are supposed to speak French." He looked up at the Tower. "Au revoir, France."

I hit his arm. "Au revoir, France."

Draco looked back at me. "You know what they say?"
"What?" I asked, bringing my eyes to his.

"Paris is the city of romance."

And, though a part of me expected it, Draco tipped his head and put his hand under my chin. I couldn't kiss him. Not yet. Maybe ever. I backed away from him quickly.

"Granger-"

"They also call Paris the city of lights. We can go now. Please."

Draco took my hand and we vanished.

We were back in my flat. I went and sat on the couch. Draco sat next to me. I looked at my coffee table. Not at him.

"Granger, can we talk about-"

"Nothing happened, Draco. Can we agree on that?" I asked demandingly, still staring at the table.

"Sure." But he didn't sound so sure.

I looked back up at him only when I heard the door open and close. Scratch that. He didn't close the door. He slammed it.

AN: THANK YOU SO MUCH! I've had so many people read! That is so exciting! But please, please review! I really want to know how you thought about this chapter! It's my longest so far, and I hope it's okay! I've never been to Paris either, so if you have any comments about it, I'd love to hear them! Chapters will probably be posted sooner than I thought, so this fic should be done in about a week or so. Or longer. I don't know yet! But please continue reading! And please review!