NOTE:
Starting at this particular chapter are various oneshots I've written and posted on my lj… but just never got around to posting here. Some are for my Lucius & Hermione & Draco claim on lj's ff100 community, some are just plain random. Take your pick & enjoy if you can.
The Shoes
astarvingwriter
Standard Disclaimer Applies
Author's Plea: Entirely random. Absolutely no point to this. I blame the muse.
As always, enjoy if you can.
Harry realized the identity of Hermione's secret lover at exactly one o'clock on a balmy Friday afternoon in Diagon Alley.
It had been the shoes, he would later recall, the fancy leather shoes that had sparked his epiphany. He had seen those shoes before, mistook them as Hermione's, a thought that still made him giggle. Those very same shoes, polished to an extreme and rather small for a full grown man, he had seen under a chair in the sitting area of Hermione's flat. He wouldn't have thought anything about them, had it not been for the distinctive silver buckle on the side in the form of a snake, something he would not have matched with Hermione's rather simple tastes.
In truth, it did not match Hermione's taste though it matched the owner of the shoes well enough.
"Harry, oh, are you okay?" Hermione rambled as she helped him to his feet.
"I'm fine," he responded after a slight pause, rubbing his bruised shin.
"What did you trip over?"
He hadn't tripped over anything, really. Instead, he'd been in a daze over his friend's continuous monologue regarding her recent experiences at work. In such a daze, he'd taken to watching the few meters of ground that rolled in front of him as they walked. It was with this restricted view that he saw the familiar shoes, and followed the legs up to reveal the owner.
It was that discovery that sent him tumbling to the ground.
"I'm fine, Hermione."
"But..."
"Why, Miss Granger," a smooth voice interrupted. "I should expect to find you fawning over Mr. Potter."
"Mr. Malfoy," she responded curtly.
"When you are not so occupied, perhaps you will have a moment to review the latest additions to my charges. Some of us cannot dally, Miss Granger."
Harry thought for a moment that was anger coloring her face until he remembered the shoes. Suddenly he began to rethink of the past encounters he had witnessed between the two, going back as far as his Hogwarts days.
"Of course, Mr. Malfoy. Owl my office with a time you will be available and I will see to it. Good day, Mr. Malfoy."
The extra stomp in her stride seemed to amuse Lucius Malfoy who merely smirked triumphantly before turning smoothly on the heel of his highly recognizable (and shiny) shoes.
Harry wondered who they thought they were fooling. Of course, they had fooled him for long enough, so perhaps that wasn't the best question. Instead, he pondered what exactly he was going to do with this information.