When the waitress approached to take their orders she realized she hadn't even glanced at the menu, she'd been so preoccupied with Draco. But apparently he had found the opportunity to peruse the wine list while they had been talking because, without hesitation, he ordered an outrageously expensive bottle. She tried to drum up some anger that he hadn't bothered to consult her, but wasn't very successful.

"What if I hadn't wanted red?" She challenged his choice, more out of habit than any real indignation.

"That's a delicious vintage and given what you served me last weekend I know you'll like it," he answered without missing a beat.

"You actually know about muggle wine?" She asked incredulously, she'd assumed he was just going by the price.

He smirked at her and drummed his fingertips on the table top; she told herself that it was infuriating and not charming. "My grandmother is French, of course I was taught to appreciate wine, elf and muggle made alike. Never considered the hypocrisy in that until recently," he quipped.

She smiled to herself but didn't comment and they fell into a discussion about their shared French heritage. Hermione's grandmother had also been French and they both grew up speaking the language. Then he asked her for menu recommendations and when the waitress returned, this time they were prepared. It was when she departed again that Draco nudged her with his thigh.

"They've spotted us," he murmured.

And sure enough she looked over to see Courtney and Jennifer rising from their table and making their way over. She wondered if he had been surreptitiously watching them the whole time, he was a Slytherin after all.

"Try the wine," he urged, pushing a glass into her hand.

"Hermione! I thought that was you," she heard Courtney speak just as she was taking a sip.

She immediately realized just how clever Draco had been with his suggestion. She could just imagine what she looked like, the epitome of a lady who lunched, casually sitting there drinking expensive wine in the arms of a gorgeous, doting man who absolutely radiated power and confidence. He'd set her up to begin this exchange on top, and she hadn't even spoken yet. It was an extremely Slytherin power play. She'd never appreciated the snake mentality so much.

"Courtney, I didn't see you there." She lied through her teeth. "Hello. Hello, Jennifer." She nodded coolly to the second woman.

"Will you introduce us to your friend?" Courtney asked as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth while they both eyed Draco appreciatively. However, Hermione noticed that Draco, who still had his arm around her and was rubbing hypnotic patterns on her shoulder with the pad of his thumb, had barely spared the two other women a glace.

"Of course. Courtney Bronson, Jennifer Gregory, this is Draco Malfoy. Draco: Courtney and Jennifer. We went to primary school together." She turned back to the women. "Draco and I attended the same boarding school."

"Ah, somebody else from Hermione's mysterious boarding school."

Hermione didn't think she was imagining the mocking in Courtney's voice. Draco immediately tugged her even closer, so she assumed he heard it too. He chuckled, low and seductive, she gripped his thigh reflexively. Her hand was still on his thigh. How had she forgotten?

"Mysterious? Well, I suppose it would seem that way from the outside looking in," he said condescendingly.

Hermione never thought she'd have the opportunity to feel happy that nobody could out-snob a Malfoy.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Courtney protested his attitude.

He ignored her and turned to Hermione. "I forget how rare you are," he said so softly that it was more of a caress than a sentence, and then reached up with his free hand to actually caress her cheek with the tips of his fingers.

She looked at him questioningly.

"Hogwarts is extremely exclusive," he explained more loudly, but still focusing his attention on Hermione. "Attendance is by invitation only, but those invitations tend to stay within the same families, and have for centuries. My family is included in this group as well as most of the families of the children I grew up with. Outside of these families it takes somebody special like Hermione, with her extraordinary abilities, to warrant an invitation and an infusion of fresh blood. That level of exclusivity also warrants a certain amount of…discretion with outsiders because of the kind of powerful people who matriculate from our school. Privacy is paramount. I'm sure Hermione has been very discreet, she's a good girl like that," he chuckled darkly but fondly.

Something about the way he was looking at her and talking about her lent her confidence. He had just described her status as a muggleborn like it was some kind of rare gift- she felt herself sit up a little straighter. She also hadn't missed that little comment about an infusion of fresh blood either, that had been rather clever and also certainly said for her benefit; Courtney and Jennifer couldn't have understood what it really meant. "Oh I don't know I broke quite a few rules in my day," she teased.

His eyes went wide and his face split into a pleased grin. "How could I have forgotten, love? There is something of a bad girl underneath this buttoned up facade. It's a rather devastatingly attractive combination, you know."

She squeezed the hand that was now apparently permanently attached to his thigh and resisted the urge to squirm. He couldn't possibly be arousing her in public place, in the middle of a work day, in front of two people she normally avoided like the plague. Could he? The thought that he could have such a profound effect on her was as disconcerting as it was heady. What was happening between them?

Suddenly he was speaking again. "But I can see how it all seems very mysterious to you," he practically sneered the last word.

Hermione looked up to see that he had finally turned his attention to the two other women and that they, in turn, were staring back at him, mouths slightly agape, obviously gobsmacked.

"Well, what about you Draco," Courtney stammered. "What do you do?"

Draco shrugged, like it didn't really matter. "I'm the CEO of my family business and I run our estates." He was almost being modest.

"Oh!" Jennifer's eyes lit up. "Does Hermione work for you?"

Hermione nearly choked on her wine. They thought that she would behave like this with her boss?

Draco chuckled, that low, dark sound that had her squirming in her seat again. Did he have any idea what he was doing to her? Was he doing it on purpose? "I'd happily allow Hermione to choose her own job title and salary if she would agree to come work for my company, given how brilliant and accomplished she is. But I have it on good authority that she's happy in her government position. And unfortunately for me she's not in it for the money, so she's not easily poached. Fortunately for me, my primary interest in Hermione is personal and not professional." He smiled softly at her, holding her gaze and tucking some of her hair behind her ear as he spoke that last sentence.

They just continued to gape at him, he didn't seem to notice.

"Brilliant and accomplished?" Jennifer finally scoffed disbelievingly.

"I thought you said you went to school with these two?" Draco asked Hermione.

"I did," she confirmed, wondering where he was going with this.

"Then how can she be surprised that you're brilliant? There's no way you didn't get amazing grades in primary just like you did at Hogwarts."

He was almost completely ignoring the other women and Hermione could see how irritated they were becoming by his lack of attention, but were simultaneously insulted by his condescension. It gave her the most inappropriate urge to giggle.

"Sure, she got good grades when we were kids, but that doesn't really mean anything. This school of yours may be exclusive, but it can't be very good if she did so well there and then didn't even have the scores to attend university," Jennifer protested further.

Hermione realized they must be getting even more irritated than she'd realized for Jennifer to speak so tactlessly. Draco remained unruffled and still spoke only to Hermione.

"Are all of the people you grew up with this simple minded? If so I don't know how you bore it." He sighed sympathetically, then he finally deigned to address Jennifer. "She was actually first in our class and widely accepted as the brightest student in at least a generation. She easily could have attended university, had she wanted, but she was recruited and offered special private training instead. She's now a high ranking government official. Her position is top secret, but let me assure you that our national security has depended on her many times. You should be thanking your lucky stars for her."

Hermione tried not to look too shocked by what he was saying, it was essentially the truth, after all, she'd just never expected such a thorough defense. She also wished she'd gotten up the nerve to stand up for herself like this a long time ago instead of just letting them walk all over her. There were ways she could have explained her life, just as Draco was doing, without risking the Statute of Secrecy. But when it came down to it, she could face down Death Eaters and Dementors when her life and her friends lives were on the line; but these petty girls- women, they were all women now- had always cut right through her confidence. And no matter what she had gone through, how much she accomplished, for some reason that hadn't changed.

But the admiration in Draco's voice when he spoke of her accomplishments, and the way he kept looking at her like she was the most incredible woman in the world. Well that helped restore it.

"Riiight," Courtney drawled sarcastically, "and we're supposed to believe that?"

Draco shrugged, making it clear that he couldn't care less what they believed. He'd spent the entire exchange demonstrating that he didn't think either of them were of any consequence, while treating Hermione with a reverence that had to have irritated them to no end, especially given the way they'd been checking him out when they'd first approached the table.

"Yeah, why hasn't she told us any of this? And if her job is so top secret how do you know about it?" Jennifer chimed in, supporting her friend's incredulity.

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, now feeling fully equipped to handle the situation, but Draco beat her to it.

"I can only assume that she didn't feel like wasting her breath on explanations to somebody who is dim enough not to see how gorgeous this mind is." He brushed her temple lightly with his fingertips and then began toying with the ends of her hair. "And I am aware of many of the details of her job because my family has always been deeply involved in government, and because of my many business contacts I have a high security clearance- I'm somewhat of an asset, if you will." he finished, his voice a purr. "Not that I owe you any sort of explanation," he added as an obvious after thought.

Hermione saw their eyes narrow suspiciously but both of them were pink cheeked with what appeared to be a combination of embarrassment and indignation. And they didn't say anything, presumably not wanting to be told off any further. It was quite odd to see somebody else at the receiving end of a Malfoy's arrogant derision to- and she was a little ashamed to admit it- actually enjoy it. She chanced a look at him, he caught her eye, winked, and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. She could have sworn she heard him breathe in her scent when he did so, but she schooled her features and willed the thought away.

The group lapsed into an awkward silence. Well, the three women were awkward, Draco appeared completely at ease as he played with her curls, winding them around his fingers and then watching them bounce back into place when he let them go, all the time wearing a smirk on his face. Hermione thought that she should probably attempt some small talk, try to smooth things over, but she couldn't bring herself to do it and was relieved when she saw the waitress approaching with their meals.

"Well it was good to see you!" Hermione said a little too brightly, her words absurd to her own ears. "Courtney please give my best to your parents."

"Of course, it was nice to see you to. And to meet you Draco," she answered with a forced smile.

"It certainly was interesting," he drawled.

Jennifer just nodded in their direction and they retreated back to their table. The waitress appeared rather interested in the exchange but was intelligent enough to simply place their food in front of them and leave without saying anything. Hermione tilted her head so that her face was out of view to anybody but Draco and peered up at him.

"What was that?!" She whispered manically.

"Me putting those two harpies in their place," he explained calmly. "I don't know what's so special about them that they think they have a right to look down their noses at you," he said with a withering glance in the direction of their table. "Don't think I didn't notice how dubious they looked when I told them that my interest in you is personal," he added, lip curling in disgust.

"It's understandable," she shrugged nonchalantly, despite the warm floaty feeling she was experiencing as a result of his praise.

"What? How so?" He looked totally befuddled.

"Well, just look at me." She gestured vaguely to herself.

"I am looking at you," he said, and sure enough his gaze was locked on her face, his eyes intense. It was a look she was beginning to become familiar with, but one she still couldn't quite believe was directed at her.

"Listen," she said. "I don't have any delusions about my looks. I'm passably pretty but I could never compete with girls like Courtney or Jennifer. And I'm hesitant to say this, because I don't want to inflate your ego any further, but you are a very handsome man. You are also quite obviously wealthy and successful. They are used to men like you paying attention to them and not me, and have probably convinced themselves by now that you're just a friend doing me a favor."

He just stared at her. "You've got to be kidding me." He physically shook himself. "Merlin, they really did a number on you. Passably pretty," he spat.

"Well yes," she defended. "Don't get me wrong, I'm perfectly okay with the way that I look, I'm just not blind. I know that I'm too short, my figure is nothing impressive, my teeth are definitely better than when I was younger, but my hair will always be a little wild." She shrugged. "It is what it is."

"Stop it," he ordered, his voice colder than she'd heard it in years. "You are obviously incapable of seeing yourself clearly, but I'm telling you, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met. You are absolutely exquisite. Sure, they are pretty in a generic, forgettable way, but that's nothing in comparison. Did you not notice when they were over here that it was you who I couldn't keep my eyes off of? You are stunning. But more than that, you are strong, and brave, and brilliant, and I adore your hair. I would be completely disappointed if it wasn't a little wild." His voice became warmer and silky smooth as he listed what he considered to be her attributes.

She opened her mouth to respond, but found she didn't have any words.

"Let's eat, our food is getting cold and I'm assuming warming charms are out of the question in a muggle restaurant?" He asked teasingly in a blatant attempt to change the subject in case she did find a way to argue with him.

She just nodded, still utterly stunned. Despite what she'd said, this had always been a source of insecurity for her. She could console herself that she was smarter than all the people who made fun of her; that she was a more powerful witch than all of the people who sneered at her blood status; and that she was a witch at all, while the people who called her a freak weren't lucky enough to have any magic. But she didn't have an answer, even in her head, for the people who made fun of her looks, or for those who never seemed to notice that she was a woman at all.

She'd truly believed that she was plain enough to be easily overlooked, eternally one of the guys. Her parents, Harry, even George all assured her that she was beautiful, but they were biased, and she always assumed they were speaking, at least partially, of an inner beauty. But the way Draco had looked at her was undeniable: he liked what he saw. She also couldn't dispute his words, or that he really meant them. She didn't think anybody had ever spoken to her that intensely. And while she didn't need a wizard, she was strong and independent, it was nice to have somebody beside her, somebody to defend her with such ferocity, even from her own insecurities.

She sighed contentedly and finally started on her pan seared foie gras, blaming Draco's choice of wine for her decision to indulge in such a decadent meal in the middle of the day. She kept stealing glances at him as she ate, gratified to see that he seemed to be enjoying the duck she'd recommended. She already felt reluctant to part from him, this time with him was such an unexpected treat. This had become a really good day.

"What are you and Scorpius doing tonight?" She heard herself ask him.

"Well, I don't have any plans and Scorp can't talk yet, so I feel safe in saying he hasn't made any either." He chuckled lightly at his own joke. "Why do you ask?" He smirked at her in that infuriating way that she wanted to hate, but just couldn't.

She giggled at his silly joke, startled to hear the unfamiliar sound escape her lips. She wasn't, as a general rule, a giggler. Nor did she think that he, as a general rule, cracked jokes.

"I was just wondering if the two of you might want to come over, we could get dinner and watch a movie." Her lips curled into a wicked grin. "I'd like to see Scorpius and I wouldn't mind if you tagged along."

His expression turned mischievous. "Oh, I see how it is, you're using me for my son."

"Well, he is pretty cute. If I'm going to suffer your presence I should get something in return," she teased.

He suddenly became serious.

"He's not here right now," he pointed out.

"No, he's not," she said softly, biting her lip.

"You don't seem to be suffering."

She could feel his eyes boring into the side of her head. She put her fork down and turned to look at him. "Not at all." She held eye contact for several seconds to make sure he got the message before turning back to her food; she would not allow him to think for a moment that she was using him just to get to spend time with Scorpius, that she desired the little boy's company above his own.

"I think we'd like that." He finally answered her original question.

She smiled to herself, it really was a good day.

Author's Note: Smitten. Need I say more? I'm sorry I know I'm getting this in right under the wire, but it's my wedding anniversary today, so as much as I love you people, I had more important things going on :) That also means this is un-beta'd. It's been a long time since I posted anything that only I edited and it's making me feel kind of naked, so please be gentle. Thanks for reading!