~fifteen~
Draco stood once more at the porch of Strawberry Fields cottage. It was another gloriously sunny day and he knew that arriving at the front door, rather than by floo, would be the best way to surprise her.
"Hello again!" came the cheery voice of Hermione's neighbour from over the hedge once again.
"Oh, hello," Draco replied, pleased to see that the man was wearing more clothes than at their last encounter.
"Think you might have more luck this time mate!" the neighbour commented, gesturing towards the cottage with a sideways bob of his head.
"Ah, yes. Thanks!" Draco replied as he stepped up onto the porch and rang the little bell that hung there.
He stood back and waited with excitement as the sound of her approach came from within.
She opened the door and stood in stunned silence for a moment as she took in Draco's unexpected arrival at her front door.
She was dressed in a pair of denim shorts, and was wearing a pretty, white, broderie anglaise cami top under a loose open buttoned tunic. Her bare legs were tanned and Draco had to force himself not to ogle openly at the way her delicately cupped breasts were just peeking out from above her cami top.
"Happy birthday!" he announced happily, holding up the basket in front of him.
"Draco? What are you doing?' Hermione asked, as she lifted the wards and stepped forwards.
"It's not my birthday for another six weeks!"
"Yes, I know that," he replied, walking towards her and giving her a lazy peck on the lips.
"But… I seem to recall that your last birthday was something of a horrible shit-show. Apart from you getting to kiss a spectacularly handsome wizard and Justin getting to experience an ingenious bit of hex work of course."
Hermione rolled her eyes playfully, before taking his hand and pulling him inside the cottage, shutting the door behind them.
''Well, yes. I suppose it was a disaster," she admitted as they walked through to the little kitchen at the back of the house.
"So?"
"So I figured, it was time that you got your actual birthday picnic. The perfect one that I had planned out for you back then."
Hermione leaned back against the kitchen counter with an arched eyebrow and arms folded.
"You mean the picnic that Justin was going to take me on?"
"Absolutely fucking not!" Draco replied sharply.
"That cretin was all set to try to impress you with canapés, champagne and meaningless expense. The only good thing about his plans were the books."
"Which you suggested to him in the first place?"
"Well, yes, of course."
"So this picnic… is nothing like Justin's. And you think I will love it?"
"Yes," he replied, moving closer to her and leaning in for another kiss. She dodged away from it with a smirk.
"Draco Malfoy, it's beginning to sound like you think I am a cheap date."
Draco pulled away and regarded her with a bemused expression.
"Granger, there is a distinct difference between expense and class. The latter of which Finchley knew nothing of. Whereas I..." he trailed off, leaning in towards her once more, "... the pure blooded Malfoy heir that I am, have class and sophistication oozing from my every pore."
She giggled and pushed him away slightly, before looking down at his shoes.
"Oh really? And is that why you've got a massive hole in your trainers then? To let all that class and sophistication ooze out?"
Draco pouted and shot her his puppy dog eyes. "Hey! Don't diss the Converse. They're my favourite pair!"
She rolled her eyes in disbelief and amusement at his muggle tastes, and giggled at the thought of the younger, snobbier and prejudiced Draco strutting around Hogwarts in a pair of scruffy muggle trainers. She eventually took his hand and led him to the door.
"Well come on then, Mr 'Heir To The Sodding Malfoy Fortune'. Let's see what you're made of!"
He grabbed the basket that he had set down on the kitchen table and followed her back out of the cottage.
Stepping through the garden gate, Draco waved to the next door neighbour with a cheerful grin as they passed. The neighbour called out: "Bye mate! Nice to see you again!" to Draco, earning a puzzled glance from Hermione as they made their way on through the village.
They rounded the corner by the church and passed the shops, almost bumping into the couple that had clocked Draco's odd behaviour a couple of weeks earlier.
"Lovely day!" Draco said as he and Hermione stepped to the side letting them pass.
"Yes it is, isn't it?" the gentleman replied with a smile.
Hermione shook her head in confusion at the odd way that Draco seemed to know the people of Lower Wickstead.
They walked up the hill that led out of the village and past The Cackling Toad pub where Draco had used the public floo a couple of weeks earlier. The friendly landlady was just outside, pouring a bucket of mop water down the grid at the kerbside as they passed.
She shouted a cheery: "Hello young man!" to Draco as he smiled broadly at her from across the road. She then proceeded to invite them both in for a pint of Butterbeer. Draco politely refused, before promising the lady that they would indeed call in some other time.
Hermione was now gawping at Draco as they strolled along, before her curiosity finally got the better of her.
"Alright then, I give in! Tell me just exactly how these people all seem to know you? You seem to be on speaking terms with as many of the locals as I am - and I've been living here for eighteen months!"
Draco laughed and took great pleasure in regaling her with the tale of his first visit to Lower Wickstead and how it had led to him eventually tracking her down at Grimmauld Place.
In the short time since that day, Draco and Hermione had been out on a handful of dates. They had been out for both evening and midweek lunchtime drinks, and he had taken her out for a lovely meal the weekend before, with them both heading back to Vinyl Resting Place afterwards. There they had played music, talked easily and even had a little dance, before she bid him goodnight with a passionate kiss at the floo.
And Draco had never felt happier. His business venture up at Hogsmeade was already taking shape, with the new shop due to open in a week's time and the patenting and testing of his potion was all going ahead swiftly. He knew that he was completely besotted by the curly haired witch who was currently holding his hand and laughing merrily at his hilarious description of his unfortunate crash landing into the bushes of Grimmauld Green.
He led Hermione over a nearby stile and they followed a narrow footpath up to the top of a grassy meadow which looked down over the village below. The view was stunning with the rolling English countryside all around. They quickly found a good spot among the long grass to set down their blanket and get comfortable.
Hermione kicked off her pumps as Draco began to unpack the picnic.
"You hungry?" he asked as he noticed her craning her neck to catch a glimpse of what might be hidden inside the wicker basket.
"Yes, I am actually. And rather thirsty too, after the walk up here."
"Thirsty, you say?" Draco asked with faux interest.
"Well then, it's a good job I brought...THIS along!" he announced, producing a magically chilled bottle of Dandelion and Burdock from the basket along with a pair of enamel camping mugs.
Hermione gasped in surprise as she took in the sight of the dark brown liquid of her childhood.
"Dandelion and Burdock!" she cried, looking from Draco to the fizzy pop and back again.
"You...you remembered that?"
"Well yes. Of course I did. I happen to be a very good listener, Granger," he admitted, filling the mugs and passing her the drink before chinking it with his own.
"Cheers!"
"Cheers," Hermione replied. "To us."
Draco smiled at her toast and leaned in to give her a soft kiss. He pulled back and looked softly into her eyes.
"To us."
They both took a swig of their drink, Draco instantly grimacing and complaining loudly that Muggles have the strangest tastes. He stuck out his tongue and proclaimed that it tasted like a strange herbal potion his mother used to give him for mouth ulcers.
He then proceeded to unpack the remainder of his specially selected picnic, including sausage rolls and egg and cress sandwiches, all deliciously home made by Truly and Loxey. They tucked in hungrily to their little feast.
"This has been perfect," Hermione said, once they had had their fill. She was sat cross-legged, making a daisy chain, using her hair grip to poke the holes in the spindly little stems. "I can't believe you remembered all this stuff!"
Draco had been watching her threading her daisies with a bemused expression, taking careful note of this newly revealed muggle tradition of hers.
"You deserve nothing less."
They smiled at each other briefly before leaning across the picnic blanket to each other for another kiss. Their lips caressed each other softly as Hermione's hair blew forwards on the summer hilltop breeze.
"Argh, this bloody mane of yours!" he moaned as he brushed her hair swiftly away from her face with a smile.
Hermione laughed and picked up the metal grip that lay on the blanket next to her daisy chain. She effortlessly twisted and clipped back the front sections of her wayward locks.
"There. Better?"
Draco used the question as a moment to stare openly at her. By the gods, she was beautiful.
"It's hard to improve on perfection, Granger." he replied, quietly.
She blushed softly and looked away with an embarrassed smile, turning her attention to the picnic basket that lay at Draco's side.
"So… what other surprises have you got in there for me?"
Draco immediately whipped the basket out of her reach so as not to ruin the surprises contained within.
"Wellll… how about we 'chuck a ball around'?" he asked, taking out a tiny little football and using his wand to return it to its normal size.
Hermione's eyes lit up and she grabbed the ball from his hands, quickly standing up to slip her shoes back on.
"Excellent. Come on then, Quidditch star."
Draco jumped up to join her and they spent an enjoyable half hour kicking and throwing the ball to each other as they chatted away. She tried to do some 'keepy-uppies' and managed a respectable six in a row, which Draco was determined to beat, even though he couldn't get past two.
Hermione laughed heartily as the ball went continually rolling away from them down the hill, with Draco cursing and swearing as he went chasing after it for the umpteenth time, when he could just as easily have used his wand to summon it. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was trying to use his magic as little as possible seeing as the picnic was a nod to her childhood memories.
Eventually, the heat got the better of them and they returned back to their picnic blanket to lie down and to have a drink, Draco choosing aguamenti rather than sullying his mouth with that filthy muggle mouthwash again.
Hermione sat between Draco's legs and leaned back against his chest as she sipped her Dandelion and Burdock, taking in the view of the village below - the copse around the church and the little roofs and chimneys that were visible further afield, and the colourful fields and meadows beyond.
"I have one more surprise for you." Draco announced quietly, as he reached inside the basket.
He pulled out another small object, the size of a matchbox, that he proceeded to return to its normal size. It was a portable cassette player.
Hermione turned slightly to look at Draco, her eyes full of expectation. Giving her a warm smile he pressed the chunky play button down with a 'clunk' and the hillside air was filled with the happy guitar melody of 'Here Comes The Sun'.
Hermione closed her eyes with a smile filled with emotion, before she opened them with a sigh. Draco took her into his arms and whispered gently against her ear: "We're going to get them back. It won't be long." She nodded silently, resting her head back in the crook of his neck as they listened in intent silence to Draco's perfect song choice, before the rest of Abbey Road followed.
"You know, there is something missing from this picnic," Draco admitted as he absent-mindedly toyed with and twisted a lock of Hermione's hair around his finger.
Hermione sat up and tuned to face him more fully with a puzzled expression.
"Oh yes? And what's that?"
"I didn't bring any book for us to read. I know you said you and your parents always used to read books together on your picnics, but, I had no idea what to bring this time. I tried to think of books that you would enjoy but honestly, the thought of shrinking down everything ever printed since the invention of books wasn't very appealing."
Hermione slapped him playfully at his comments.
"Well, I suppose that is a shame," she continued with a mock - thoughtful tone.
"I guess…" she said as she shifted her position so that she sat directly between his legs, facing him fully, with her legs hitched over his on either side. "...we'll just have to find something else to do instead."
And with that she placed her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.
Draco accepted her assertiveness hungrily, and returned the kiss with a fervour to match her own.
He slid his hands around her bum and pulled her up, so that she was sitting in his lap and straddling him, before allowing his hands to wander under her open tunic top, and up the sides of her slender waist. His hands glided across the delicate fabric of her cami top and he grazed his thumbs softly across the fullness of her breasts, finding her nipples hardened with excitement.
She gave a soft moan into his mouth, before rolling her hips to grind herself against him, increasing the contact there. Draco let out a breath as she rubbed herself against him, and began to kiss her hungrily down the column of her neck.
Hermione tossed her head back, allowing him better access, as he slid her tunic top off her shoulders, its cotton fabric pooling around her elbows. He kissed and licked his way down and along her collar bone, intoxicated by the feel and delicate smell of her.
Suddenly, she moved again, this time to the side, to lay down next to him, pulling him down over her slightly.
He looked deeply into her amber eyes for a moment before kissing her open mouth with a fire raging inside him, their tongues dancing and tasting each other deeply.
He gave a short groan of pleasure when she unexpectedly reached down toward his erection through the thick denim fabric of his jeans, but she stopped suddenly with a gasp, her hand stilling and her eyes transforming from arousal to sympathy.
"Oh! Oh, Draco, it's ok. I guess we were going a little fast…" she said with a blush, glancing downwards towards her hand.
"What?" he asked with a confused shake of his head, before looking down for himself.
"Oh. Oh… no," he explained, noticing the damp patch that had suddenly appeared on his jeans.
"I think, we might've knocked over the bottle of mouthwash?" he explained, noticing the little puddles of Dandelion and Burdock that were now dotted around on the blanket.
Hermione looked around with a giggle before exclaiming; "Thank Merlin!", pulling him back down towards her with urgency.
He returned to his earlier ministrations at her neck and chest, placing soft kisses along the curve of her breasts that were now proudly swelling out at the top of the lacy cups of her top.
He allowed his free hand to smooth gentle circles on the soft skin of her tummy, below her cami top, travelling gradually lower with each turn. He could feel her writhe slightly as his fingertips dipped slowly under the waistband of her shorts, making contact with the skin under the fabric of her knickers.
Pausing to look in her eyes and to check he wasn't overstepping the mark he slowly undid her button and zip, dipping his hand down over the soft white cotton of her knickers and slowly drawing his middle finger back up along the damp seam that he could feel beneath.
Draco watched with awe as Hermione closed her eyes and gnawed her lip, letting out a guttural moan of abandon at his touch and dropped down to kiss her open mouth with passion once more.
Down in the village, the church bell rang out three o clock, and Hermione suddenly paused pulling away from him and sitting up. Draco lay back staring at the sky for a few moments, catching his breath.
"I'm sorry… I went too far…" he began, but was quickly cut off by Hermione who was straightening her top at his side.
"It's three o clock, Draco, and I've got to be over at Ginny's by half past. We're picking up the bridesmaids' dresses."
She turned around and pulled him up to a sitting position, facing her once more.
"You definitely don't need to apologise, for that," she whispered in his ear before standing up and stretching her arms widely.
"Although I could probably do with a shower now, before I go trying on my dress," she added with a smirk.
Draco looked up at Hermione as she stood in the long grass, blue sky behind her and the wind tossing her hair wildly all around. She was a vision of perfection and looking at her still-taut nipples was doing nothing to abate his raging hard-on.
He focused instead on beginning to pack everything away, and soon the pair were walking briskly back down into the village, Hermione filling Draco in on all the details of Ginny and Harry's wedding that was taking place next weekend.
As they were stepping through the doorway of Hermione's cottage, she paused and turned to him with an expectant smile.
"I… I don't actually have a guest to take to the wedding, Draco. And… Harry and Ginny are fine with it, but … I understand completely if you don't think it's appropriate, or it'd be too weird for you, but I'd..."
"I'd love to be there for you," he replied before she had a chance to finish.
"Are you sure?" she asked with trepidation. "I mean; we'll be staying over at The Burrow. And all the Weasleys and the last of The Order will be there and… and they've done a deal with the press so I'm afraid, their photographers will be there… for a short time at least..."
"Granger," Draco interrupted. "I wouldn't care if the Dark Lord himself turned up for the soul purpose of catching the bouquet. As long as I'm with you, I will be perfectly happy."
Draco watched as her beautiful face lit up with a relieved smile, before leaning in for one last kiss.
"Happy bridesmaid -ing!" he said with a grin as he pulled away from her lips. "Just be careful you don't go upstaging the Weasel bride!"
"Well, I've seen her dress, and there will definitely be no upstaging happening. Ginny is going to look beautiful"
"Mmm-hmm, sure," he nodded with a smirk. "And yet every hot-blooded male in the room is bound to be staring at you and your delectable arse," he said, playfully giving her bum a tap.
"Draco!" Hermione complained with a half groan, half laugh as he stepped away from her, and took hold of her hand.
The more time he spent with Hermione, the more Draco realised that his confidence was growing around her and he was starting to feel more and more like his old self.
He brought her hand to his lips to give it a quick kiss, before joyfully apparating back home. His head was reeling with the realisation that he, Draco Malfoy, would be a guest at Saint Potter's wedding, and moreover, that he would be spending the whole day, and most likely the whole night, with Hermione Granger.