A/N: Hello all! So, I tried to update relatively quick and I feel I've succeeded. (still not up to normal updating speed, but very quick for the pace this story has been going at.) Okay, so this chapter is extremely long. I believe it was 25 pages on my word document. Wow. Anyway, I suppose that's because I wanted to fit everything the title described into the chapter. Oh! I also wanted to say that there are two sentences in French in this chapter. Mind you, my French is a little rusty, so grammatically it might be a little off. Sorry, if you speak it fluently. I'm pretty sure I got the jest, though. If you don't speak it at all, sentence one says, "Ma'am, I'm so sorry." and sentence two says, "Thank you, sir, but no. I should be the one apologizing." Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this chapter! Also, a very large THANK YOU goes out to all my reviewers. You guys are the best :D
Disclaimer: JKR owns all. Bloody lucky woman, she is. ;)
**Chapter Four- Paris, Parents and Peppermint Tea**
"Draco! What is your problem? Take it off, NOW!"
He smirked, "No, I don't think I will. This is much to entertaining to let it end now."
"I'm not messing around, Malfoy!" she screeched, "I have three more lessons today that I can't afford to miss!"
"You don't have to miss your classes. By all means, go to them, but I'm not fixing your forehead."
"Why? The joke's over, Malfoy! Everyone already saw it."
"Not happening." he stated in a sing-song voice.
She glared at him, "Fine, but I'll see you in DADA and Potions, and believe you me, you're going to get it."
He snorted, "I doubt it."
"And why is that?"
"Oh, well, because I'm not going."
That concept was completely beyond her.
She repeated, "You're not going? How is that possible?"
He smiled, "Easy. I just don't go."
She said, "You can't skip your lessons. You're Head Boy, it's not allowed."
"Sure it is. I've done it tons of times before."
She shrugged, "Do what you want, but I will get you back for this."
She turned around and headed for the door.
"Hey Granger, where are you running off to?"
She replied, "I'm going to the hospital wing to see if Madame Pomfrey can remove this from my forehead, since you won't."
"Good luck with that."
She sighed, "She's not going to be able to get it off, is she?"
He shook his head.
She stared at him for about a minute and then started bawling. She ran over to him and started hitting him in every place she could reach.
"You. Are. Such. An. Ass!" she squealed.
"Calm down, Granger! I'll take it off!"
She stopped hitting him and cautiously repeated, "You will?"
He nodded, "Yeah."
"What's the catch?" she inquired.
He smiled and asked, "Who said there's a catch?"
She put her hands on her hips and said, "It's you. Of course there's a catch."
He chuckled, "Yeah, there's a catch."
"Ugh. Just forget it!"
She started for the door again.
He called after her, "Come with me."
She stopped, "What?"
He repeated, "Come with me today and I'll take it off."
She confusedly asked, "Come with you where?"
"I'm not sure." He answered. "Just don't go to class, come with me and I'll take it off."
She huffed, "Why would I want to go anywhere with you, but more importantly, why would you want to go anywhere with me?"
He said, "Well, I wouldn't want to, ordinarily, but I have ulterior motives. As for you, it's the only way you'll be able to get that off your face."
She rubbed the back of her neck with her hand and said, "I haven't got a choice, have I?"
He stood, "Sure, you do. Come and go back to normal, or stay and have it stuck there forever."
She grunted, "Fine. I'll go."
He smirked and said, "Fantastic. Go and get some nice muggle clothes. You might need them."
He then headed off to his room to do the same. She went to her room and quickly sent a patronus to Ginny. She didn't know what Malfoy had planned and it was best someone knew where she was and whom she was with. She then gathered a pair of black leggings and a gray sweater dress and headed back downstairs.
He said, "Ready?"
She nodded and quietly followed him out the door. He led her to the statue of the one-eyed witch and tapped his wand to it. The hump opened.
She asked, "How did you know about this? I thought only Harry did."
He looked at her and said, "This is what years of following Potter gives you."
"How is it then, that no one else knows it's here?"
He responded, "I'm not stupid enough to blab about this to anyone. Not even Crabbe and Goyle."
He gestured to the hump and she climbed in. He followed after her and they walked together in silence until they reached Honeyduke's Sweet Shoppe. Instead of walking up the stairs into the shop like she thought they would, he led her out the window of its downstairs cellar.
When they were safely outside he grabbed her waist and pulled her right next to him.
She turned bright red and asked, "What are you doing, Malfoy?"
"Don't get any ideas, Granger. Side-along apparition."
He turned on the spot and they both disappeared with a loud crack. When they reappeared, Hermione quickly stepped out of Draco's grasp and looked around to get her bearings.
She didn't recognize anything around her except for one obvious landmark in the distance.
She turned to Draco and asked, "Malfoy, did you bring me to Paris?"
He nodded, "We're not exactly where I wanted us to be but it's alright. We can walk."
She seethed, "Draco, I hope you didn't think bringing me here would get me to forgive you for what you did. Is that why you brought me here?"
He sighed overdramatically, "Aw, shoot. You caught me, but since we're already here, we might as well enjoy it."
She watched as he wandered off and shouted after him, "HELLO!"
He turned around and irritably said, "What?"
She pointed at her forehead and said, "Well, take it off. I'm not waltzing into Paris with my head like this."
He chuckled, "Oh right, that. I can't take it off."
At these words, Hermione was furious, to say the least.
"Excuse me?"
"I can't take it off," he repeated, "but you can."
"That's ridiculous," she screeched, "If I could take it off, I sure as hell wouldn't be standing here with you!"
He folded his arms and said, "Well, tell me, Hermione, did you even try to take it off?"
No. She hadn't. She had gone straight from the bathroom to their dormitory without even trying to remove it.
He waited for her to answer, "Well?"
She stomped her foot, "No!"
He smiled, "Your fault, not mine."
She ran over to him and started whacking him everywhere for the second time that day.
"You. Are. Such. A. Manipulative. Bastard!"
He pushed her off and said, "Okay, you have got to stop hitting me!"
She squealed, "You deserve it! Why the hell am I even here with you right now?"
"Well, I manipulated you and I let you think that I was the only one who could take that off. I also told you that the only way I would take it off was if you came here with me and well, here we are."
She scoffed, "Thanks for pointing out the obvious."
He shrugged, "What? You asked a really obvious question so I gave you a really obvious answer."
"That's not the point."
"Oh, pardon me, then. What is the point?"
She seethed, "The point is, you made me miss my lessons for no reason!"
"And?"
She screamed, "And screw you! I'm going back!"
He grabbed her arm, "Hang on, Granger. Just stay. We're already here. I know this adorable little café, we can go get a cup of tea or something."
She stomped her foot and said, "I can't understand why you have the sudden urge to spend time with me."
He shrugged, "I never have company when I do this. It would be nice for a change."
She eyed him cautiously, "I don't trust you."
He sighed, "It's just a cup of tea, Granger, not an elaborate scheme to fuck you over."
Hermione stood for quite sometime just wondering if she would later regret going with him. What on earth could he possibly do to her here?
She sighed, "Fine, but if you so much as even try to do anything to me, I'll hex those balls right off that tiny thing that you shouldn't rightfully be allowed to call a penis! Understood?"
He quirked his eyebrow at her, "Jesus, woman. Give me some credit, you know it's not small."
"Okay, we've veered into a weird topic…. Moving on."
He nodded, "I won't do anything you won't like, I swear. Now, come on."
She held her hand out in Paris's general direction and said, "Well, lead the way."
He turned around and started walking towards the city, with Hermione following close behind. They did not say a word to each other the entire way there. Hermione was starting to wonder whether she had made the right choice or not.
Finally, they arrived at the café Draco had mentioned earlier. Hermione looked up and read L'Astrance.
She looked at Draco and said, "That's not a café, Malfoy, that's a restaurant! I'm not dressed appropriately for this place."
He replied, "This is why I told you to bring nice muggle clothes. Didn't you?"
She pulled the outfit she'd brought out of her bag and showed it to Draco.
She said, "I hardly think that what I brought will do."
"I agree. Sorry, I should have been more specific."
He snatched the sweater dress out of her hands and quickly glanced at the tag.
He then handed it back to her and said, "Stay here. I'll only be a minute."
"Where are you going?" she shouted after him.
"Just stay there." He responded, disappearing around the corner.
Hermione sighed and crossed her arms. Where in the devil had he gone? She waited and waited and waited some more, when some thirty minutes later she saw him strolling back with a long bag in his hands.
He handed it to her, "Here. Go change."
She looked inside the bag and saw a strapless, black dress that gathered up directly below the breast-line and fanned out from there. It may very well have been the prettiest dress she'd ever seen.
She said, "Malfoy, I can't take this. It must have cost a fortune."
He smirked, "I wasn't going to let you keep it. It's just to borrow for the day."
She glared at him and said, "Oh, my mistake. I'll be right back."
She stormed around the corner to the nearest restroom and quickly changed, furious with herself for having thought that he would be so nice as to buy her a dress. She was also embarrassed for having said anything about it to him at all. When the dress was on, she glanced in the mirror. It really was the prettiest dress she'd ever seen. Pity she couldn't keep it. She sighed and began to walk out of the restroom when she felt something else in the bag. She looked back inside of it and spotted a simple pair of red heels. She smiled and put them on, completing the look.
Hermione walked out of the restroom and back to where Draco stood waiting. He was now wearing black slacks, a red oxford and a black tie.
He smirked at her and said, "Don't you clean up well?"
She cleared her throat and said, "You do, too. You look very…. debonair."
He held out his arm and said, "Shall we?"
She took his arm and let him lead her inside. They were seated immediately at an ideal spot near a window.
When Hermione was settled in, she looked at Malfoy and asked, "Why does this feel like a date to me?"
"Does it?"
She nodded, "Yes, it does. You take me to Paris, buy me a dress and expect me to think it's normal?"
He said, "Oh. Well, I suppose for mudbloods like you, it is rather odd to come somewhere so nice just to eat. For Malfoy's, however, this is quite normal."
She sighed, "Do you have to use every opportunity you get in life to humiliate me?"
"Yes, it's in my nature."
She smirked and said sarcastically, "Right. Since we've established that my horrible muggle parents have no money and could never afford to take me to a place like this, what do you want to talk about?"
He leaned back and asked, "Your parents really have no money?"
She scoffed, "Of course my parents have money! They're dentists. They make quite a fair bit of money. They just don't spend it recklessly, unlike some people I unfortunately happen to know."
"I don't spend money recklessly!" Draco retorted.
Hermione looked around, and then pointedly said, "Well, if you eat at places like this for lunch on a regular basis, then I'd say you spend money recklessly."
"Well, at least I have money to spend recklessly."
She crossed her arms, "So do I. We already covered this topic. I'm not poor."
Draco glared at her and then said, "Fine. We'll change the subject. What do you want to talk about?"
She leaned forward and said, "Look, we never get a chance to sit down and have regular conversation, so I'm not going to waste this opportunity. Please, don't get offended when I ask you this."
He raised his an eyebrow at her and cautiously asked, "Yes?"
"Well," she paused for a long time, then continued, "I heard what your father did to you in that classroom."
He sat back in his chair, "Oh."
She leaned further forward and placed a hand on his arm.
He jerked away and harshly whispered, "Don't touch me."
She pulled her hand back and said, "Oh, sorry."
They sat in silence for a while until Hermione couldn't stand it any longer.
"Draco, does it happen often?"
He sneered, "I don't have to talk to you about this!"
She softly said, "I know you don't. It just seems like you don't have many people to talk about this to, so I thought, why not talk to me?"
He looked up at her and she could see the torment in his eyes. She could see how much he wanted his father's approval.
He looked back down at his lap.
"Draco, I hope you know it's not your fault he's like that. You didn't do anything wrong."
The second the words had left her lips, she realized it had been a complete mistake. Draco stood up so fast, his chair clattered to the ground.
He ignored all the faces staring at him and shouted, "What would you know about it, mudblood? You had all the love a child could want as a little girl! I bet mummy and daddy still spoil you! You don't give a shit about my father or myself, so don't pretend like you care!"
He threw some money on the table, quickly glanced around the restaurant and stormed out.
A waiter immediately walked up to Hermione and said, "Madame, je suis si désolé."
Hermione had barely heard the waiter's apology. She looked up at him, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes and finally came to her senses.
She replied, "Merci, monsieur, mais no. Je devrais faire des excuses."
He nodded and stepped back as she stood to leave. She apologized, once more to the maitre d' of the restaurant and walked outside. She found her way back to the restroom and changed into the muggle clothes that she had brought. She put the dress and the shoes back in the bag and began to search for Malfoy.
She did not have to go far. She spotted him, not fifteen meters away, sitting on a bench, hunched over with his head in his hands. He looked so innocent that way, so vulnerable.
She walked over to him and quietly sat down. Neither of them said anything for a really long time. Finally, Hermione placed the bag with the dress in it next to him and stood up.
She said, "Thanks. It was gorgeous. I'm going back."
He sat up and whispered, "Wait."
She turned around and crossed her arms, "Yes?"
He stared at her with a look of pure hatred on his face before grunting, "I'm sorry."
Hermione was genuinely shocked, "I'm sorry, what was that?"
He seethed, "I'm not saying it again, so you either heard me or you didn't."
She took a step towards him, smiled and said, "No, I heard you. I just never thought I'd hear those words come out of your mouth. I'm making progress."
He looked down at his feet and asked, "What is that supposed to mean?"
"I just mean that I'd really like for us to be friends. I've been trying to accomplish that goal since term began and, well, I'm making progress."
He chortled, "Well, you're just taking amazing steps towards becoming my friend, aren't you?"
Now it was her turn to ask, "What is that supposed to mean?"
He shrugged sarcastically and said, "Oh, I don't know. How about fighting with me all the time, writing things on the wall, getting me in trouble with my father and whatever else you can think of doing to me."
She tilted her head, pointed her finger at him and said, "Hey! I suggested we be friends after we, after the, after well, you know! You refused! As long as you continue to play these childish tricks on me, I'll continue to retort!"
He shouted, "I'm the one who's retorting! You're the one who started these stupid prank things!"
Shit. He had her, there.
"Well, you didn't have to respond to them!" Hermione shot at him.
"Neither did you!" He shot back.
She threw her hands up in the air and shouted, "Ugh! You are just impossible to get along with, aren't you?"
He smirked and said, "Yup. That's me."
She huffed loudly and turned around intent on stalking off. Before she could so much as take a step, a large tawny owl flew directly into her face, effectively knocking off her feet and making her shriek in terror.
At the sight of this, Draco doubled over in a fit of laughter. Hermione stood, glared at him and snatched the letter from around the owl's claw. She swiftly read the contents of the letter and proceeded to turn white as a ghost. She continued to read and shrank back to the ground in horror.
Draco witnessed this and approached her, asking, "What does it say?"
Hermione didn't answer. She stared blankly ahead and dropped the letter in her lap.
"Granger. Granger?"
When she didn't answer, he reached into her lap and picked up the letter. He read:
Dear Hermione,
Hello, Darling! I'm so sorry for being so harsh with you in my last letter. I had no idea that you felt that way about this boy. If he really means as much to you as you say he does, I think it best that your father and I meet him.
Please bring him round for tea at your earliest convenience. Perhaps during your next Hogsmeade weekend? If that is a problem, I'm sure I could work something out with Professor McGonagall.
Also, your father and I wanted to tell you that we were never upset that you had sex with this Draco. We were just upset that you felt the need to hide it from us. If this relationship with him doesn't work out, please do not hesitate to let us know about the next boy that catches your eye.
We're looking forward to meeting Mr. Malfoy.
Love,
Mum and Dad.
Hermione hadn't registered the fact that Draco had taken the letter out of her lap, inevitably reading it until she heard him screaming at her.
"What the fuck is this all about, Granger? ANSWER ME!"
Hermione snapped out of it and hopped to her feet as fast as she could. She had never seen Malfoy look so angry.
When she still didn't answer him, he yelled, "WELL?"
Hermione took a breath and said, "Malfoy, just calm down and let me explain."
He threw the letter at her and sat down, waiting for her to explain.
She began, "Well, you know how McGonagall said she was sending a letter home after I graffiti the wall? You don't know my parents, Malfoy. My mum flipped out because she automatically assumed that the sex thing was true."
Draco interrupted her and said, "You know, you could've lied."
She put her hands on her hips, "No, I couldn't have. I don't like to lie to my parents. I thought they'd be okay with the sex because they're normally really accepting with stuff like that, but in their first letter to me, they were really upset because I slept with you and I barely knew you."
He said, "So?"
"Well, my parents think that's sort of whorish, so I told them that we were dating and in a fairly committed relationship. I figured I could just tell them that we broke up at the end of next term and that would be that. I had no idea this would happen."
He crossed his arms, "Well, you're just going to have to tell them the truth because, I'm not going."
Hermione looked at him and asked, "Really? You won't go?"
"No! What on earth gave you the idea that I would actually do this for you?"
She sank to her knees, buried her face in her hands and began to cry.
"Hey," she heard him say, "Crying isn't going to change my mind."
She couldn't help it. She just sat there for minutes and just cried and cried.
Some twenty minutes later, she wiped her eyes and stood.
Draco asked, "Why does it matter so much?"
She sat down next to him and said, "Before coming to Hogwarts, my parents were the only people who cared about me. I started showing signs of magic when I was five and my entire family disowned me because of it. It never bothered my parents, though. Even though, at the time, they didn't know what it was, they still accepted me. It was harder for them, than for me because they lost their siblings."
She looked over at Draco and he was staring at her, intently listening.
"Go on."
She continued, "A year later, they put me in primary school. I didn't know how to control my magic and the other children started to alienate me, as well. Next thing I knew, everyone was calling me 'The Buck-toothed Beast from Hades.' You should have seen how excited I was when I got my Hogwarts letter. I knew I'd be around people who were just like me. The first friends I made were Ron and Harry and even that took awhile."
Draco looked confused, "That's why me going to meet your parents matters so much?"
She smiled, "You have to understand that my parents are the only people that were always there for me, no matter what was going on in my life. It kills me to be lying to them."
He shrugged, "So, tell them the truth."
She said, "But then they'd know that I lied to them about you."
"Oh."
She looked at him, "You can't just meet them this once? The next Hogsmeade visit is this weekend. We can just get it over with and I'll tell them we broke as soon as term ends."
He groaned, "Why can't you just tell them we broke up now?"
She said, "Well, because I told them that last week was the only time I'd had sex with you and if we broke up now, they'd think I was only dating you so I could have sex with you."
He raised his eyebrows and said, "Your parents are psycho. Did you know that?"
She smiled, "Does that mean you'll do it?"
He sighed, "I guess. You owe me, Granger. You owe me, big time."
Hermione screamed and threw her arms around him.
"Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you so much!"
He growled, "What are you doing? Get the hell off me!"
"Oh, my bad." She hopped off of him, "I was just so excited."
"Whatever."
He then looked at his watch and said, "We'd better go. It's nearly four."
He stood from the bench and began to walk back to the field they had arrived in.
On the walk, he asked, "So, did we make nice today?"
She looked at him and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, are we over this prank thing?"
She scoffed, "If I had done what you did to me, would you want to get me back?"
He grinned, "I wouldn't if you took me to Paris."
They reached the place they had arrived at and she said, "I don't forgive that easily."
She then turned on the spot and disapparated back to Hogsmeade.
When she got back, she didn't wait for Draco, but continued up the hill to Hogwarts. When she made it to Hogwart's grounds, she was shocked to see Professor Dumbledore leaning against the trunk of a large tree.
She knew she was breaking school rules by being out and she panicked, having no idea what she would say to the old wizard.
Luckily for her, he spoke first.
"Good Evening, Miss Granger. How fares the day?" He asked, with a twinkle in his eye.
She looked at him, confused, but swiftly answered, "Very well, thank you. How about yours?"
He smiled, "Oh, quite delightful. The most amusing thing happened today, though, I don't want to bore you with that. How was your time in old Paris with Mr. Malfoy today?"
At these words, Hermione started choking, but she wasn't quite sure on what.
She sputtered, "You knew?"
He chuckled, "Oh, of course. I'm a clever old wizard, eh?"
Hermione didn't know what else to do so she said, "I'm so sorry, sir. Whatever punishment you find appropriate, I'll gladly do."
He raised his hand, "No punishment is necessary, Miss Granger. You were only doing what you thought you had to do to fix your forehead."
She smiled, "You know, sir, Harry is always telling me how intuitive you are and it is only now I see how correct he is."
His eyes twinkled, "I do enjoy impressing Harry, but I'm not so much intuitive as I am perceptive. There's a big difference."
Hermione nodded, then looked around.
Dumbledore said, "Mr. Malfoy took the Honeyduke's route back into the castle."
She blushed and said, "Very perceptive, indeed."
He smiled, his half moon spectacles glinting in the light of the setting sun and said, "By the way, it's fine to take Mr. Malfoy to visit your parents this weekend. I think Friday should do. Now, run along."
Hermione just stared at him for a second, shaking her head and leaving, but not before saying good-bye to the Headmaster.
Dumbledore watched her walk up the hill and then looked to his left as McGonagall stepped out from behind a tree.
She said, "Do you really think it is acceptable for them do go on behaving like they have without any consequences for their actions?"
Dumbledore nodded, "Yes, it will be fine. Besides, they don't really want to hurt each other."
McGonagall looked at her friend and colleague, "How do you know?"
He tapped the side of his head and said, "Perception."
He then waltzed back up the hill humming the Hogwart's School Song.
By the time Hermione got back to the castle, it was dark and time for dinner. She walked into the Great Hall and spotted her little group of friends over at the Gryffindor table.
She took a deep breath and made her way over to them.
"Hi, guys."
"Oh, Hermione," squealed Ginny, "I'm so glad you made it back alright! I got your patronus and I've been a nervous wreck ever since!"
Hermione gave her best girl friend a hug and said, "I'm alright. Thanks for the concern."
Harry, who was genuinely curious, asked, "So, why did you go away with Malfoy today?"
Hermione proceeded to explain everything that had gone on that day, minus the story about her parents and her run-in with Dumbledore. She didn't want to get into that now.
When she finished, Ron asked, "So, you didn't really have to go with him today?"
Hermione replied, "No, but despite him taking me to Paris, I still want to get him back for what he wrote on my forehead."
Harry chuckled, "I would normally advise you to not, but since McGonagall told you it was okay, go all out."
Ron smirked, "Any ideas yet?"
Hermione grinned, "Yes, and living with him makes it a whole lot easier."
Ginny asked, "Are we going to get to see this?"
Hermione nodded, "Probably tomorrow, in fact."
The four Gryffindors sat at their table grinning, while the unknowing Malfoy sat two tables away.
Later that evening, Hermione was sitting in her dormitory reading a book, already having completed her plan.
Hermione looked up as Draco entered the dormitory.
He said, "You look suspicious. What did you do?"
She smirked, "Maybe something, maybe nothing."
He said, "You know, a wise person would be careful around me. I can always change my mind about tea with your parents."
She said, "Well, consider me a wise person, then."
He looked her up and down and said, "Good."
He turned on his heel and went to bed, leaving a smiling Hermione on the couch.
The next morning, Draco awoke and headed to his first lesson of the day, opting to skip breakfast.
As he walked down the halls, he noticed that everyone who passed him from behind would point at his back and just about die laughing. He would shoot them icy glares and continue down the hall, but Draco was certainly not one for public humiliation. What the bloody fuck had she done to him?
He slipped into the nearest bathroom and examined himself through and through, making sure there was nothing humiliating on him. He could find nothing. Seriously, what had she done to him?
Three hours later and Draco was on his way to Potions, one of the three classes he shared with Hermione. People were still laughing at him as he passed by. She had better have some explaining to do.
When he entered the dungeons, Hermione and most of the other students had already arrived. When he took his seat at the table at in the front of the room, he heard a loud snort come out of a certain Gryffindor mouth. He whipped around and saw Hermione's face pink with laughter. Next to her, were Potter and the Weasel, holding their stomachs and guffawing quite loudly.
He scowled, "What the bloody hell did you do to me this time, Granger?"
Hermione, unfortunately, was not the one to answer him. Hermione, Ron and Harry just about died with laughter when the completely un-amused voice of Severus Snape came out with the answer to his question.
He drawled, "Well, well, young Mr. Malfoy. I'm surprised. Writing something like that on your back surely cannot be good for your reputation, now can it?"
Snape then glided to the front of the class and began to lecture on the complications of putting an improperly crushed something into the something potion (Draco was having a hard time concentrating), while Malfoy tried to hide whatever was written on his back and endure the amusement of several giggling Gryffindor's.
Two hours and 122 Gryffindor house points later, and Snape finally dismissed the students from class. The second they were out the door and Draco rounded on the still guffawing Golden Trio.
"What did you do, Granger?" he shouted.
Seeing as Potions was the last lesson of the day, she figured he had suffered enough.
She said, "Take off your robe and I'll show you."
He scoffed, "No. I don't trust you. And shut up!"
The second part of the sentence had been directed at Harry and Ron, who were both pink in the face and hyperventilating.
She retorted, "Fine. Don't trust me and have the rest of the school laugh at you until you figure it out yourself."
He glared at her and reluctantly took off his robe, handing it to her. She then proceeded to put it on. She faced her back to him and waited for him to read the words she had bewitched to stay on his robe. They read 'I ejaculate in under thirty seconds. Is that a record?'
"WHAT THE HELL, HERMIONE! THAT IS BEYOND FUCKED UP!"
She turned around to face him and couldn't help but snort. His face was an unflattering shade of red. Whether it was from embarrassment or just plain fury, she would never know, but the look was priceless all the same.
"Seriously, Hermione! That's crossing a line!" he shouted at her.
"How the hell is that any worse than making my forehead read that I suck, well… that?" she snapped.
He sneered, "Because, you're just a lowly mudblood. I, however, have a reputation to protect. If anything, my statement improved your life."
"That's not true! People have been calling me 'blowy' since yesterday morning!"
Ron snorted quite loudly, as did Harry.
Hermione rounded on them and snapped, "What?"
Ron sheepishly said, "That's sort of my fault."
She crossed her arms, "What do you mean?"
"Well, I was just telling Lavender that if you weren't my best friend, I would start calling you that and then she started calling you that and now everyone's calling you that."
Hermione just stared at him, breathing hard.
Malfoy clapped Ron on the back and said, "Well Weasley, that's the smartest thing you've ever done."
Hermione yelled at him, "You shut up."
Draco seethed, "Aw, come on, Hermione. It's not that a bad of a nickname. You, however, made every girl in this school think that I can't last in bed."
She sneered, "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"
He grabbed her arm and hissed, "Did you think after this I would even consider going to your parent's house?"
Harry said, "Hold on a minute. He's going to your parent's house?"
Draco said, "I'm not anymore."
Harry continued, "Hermione, what's this all about?"
Hermione quickly explained the letter from her parents, what she had replied to get out of it and then the letter they had sent in return.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about that sooner. I've been, you know, busy."
Ron pointed at Malfoy and said, "So your parents think you're dating him?"
"Yeah. It's the only excuse I could come up with for sleeping with him."
All three boys said, "Yeah, let's never talk about that… ever."
Hermione was already on edge, so she snapped, "Well, excuse me. I'm sorry I'm so damn repulsive that none of you can even stand to talk about sex with me."
At the same time, all three boys answered.
"You're my friend, Herms. I don't think about you naked…" stuttered Harry.
"I wouldn't say repulsive. You've got perky boobs." blurted Draco.
"No, I liked it. You have soft skin and a butt." mumbled Ron.
Hermione turned bright red.
She mumbled, "Well, that wasn't exactly the response I was looking for, but, you know… okay."
Harry cleared his throat and looked over at Ron and Draco. The two of them seemed to have bonded since they had both slept with Hermione.
Hermione said, "Well, this is awkward. Draco, are you coming with me to my parents, or not? Draco?"
He was standing in front of them, holding his robe in front of him and staring at it.
Hermione snapped her fingers in front of his face and said, "Malfoy!"
He snapped out of it and asked, "How on earth did you manage to do this? You were already gone when I left the dormitory this morning."
"I bewitched all your robes to say that before you got back last night. You can only see it if someone is wearing it."
"Hmm. That's brilliant."
She chuckled cockily, "Why, thank you."
Harry looked at her, "Tea, Hermione?"
"Oh, right. So, Malfoy, are you still coming to tea with me?"
He said, "I still haven't forgiven you for what you just did."
She scoffed, "Suck it up!"
He chuckled, "You're one to talk, 'blowy'."
Harry and Ron started laughing again but quickly stopped after receiving a glare from Hermione.
Ron said, "That's not a fair nickname. She never even did it to me."
Hermione could see the direction this conversation was turning.
She quickly tried to change the subject by saying, "Draco, I really need you to come with me to my parents. Please?"
He paused, smiled and said, "Sure, I'll go." He then turned to Ron and said, "She never gave you one? I got it on the first date."
Hermione slapped him, "It wasn't a date!"
Harry shouted, "You really gave him one?"
Draco looked at Harry while rubbing his cheek and nodded proudly, "Yup, and she's pretty damn good at it, too. What, did you think I just made up that thing on her forehead yesterday?"
Ron looked at Hermione, "I can't believe you! You told me you would never!"
She said, "I was drunk!"
Harry was shaking his head, "Too much information, and too much information!"
Hermione looked at Harry and said, "What, it's not like I'm going to do it again."
Draco grinned and said, "I'm not too sure. She just needs a little alcohol in her."
Ron said, "Why are you talking? You don't even like her!"
He said, "I'm still a guy. Just because I hate her doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it."
Hermione shouted, "Can we please stop discussing whether or not I'm going give you three head?"
All three boys just stared at her.
"Good. Draco, meet me at the Three Broomsticks on Friday at three and we'll head out from there. Don't be late."
She turned around and stalked off, wondering when it had become okay for her sex life to be open for discussion.
Four days later, Hermione stood at the Three Broomsticks anxiously waiting for Draco. She looked at the giant clock on the wall, which read twenty-seven minutes past three. Draco was supposed to have been here at three. Thank Merlin she had told her parents they wouldn't be there until four. Still, where on the face of the bloody planet was he?
Five minutes later, she let out a deep sigh of relief as she saw him enter. He spotted her and slowly made his way through the sea of people, over to where she stood.
The second he was close enough to touch, she swatted him on the arm with her purse as hard as she could.
"OUCH! What the hell is your problem, Granger?"
"You were supposed to be here thirty-two minutes ago! Where the hell have you been?"
He crossed his arms and said, "If you must know, I wasn't going to come. I still haven't forgiven you for that last prank. That was so embarrassing."
She took a step back, "Well, as far as I knew, you were coming. So, what made you change your mind?"
"I just figured that maybe if I go with you, we could call it a truce."
She said, "That's up to you, not me. The 'prank ball' is in your court, not mine."
"That's true. Fine, then. Let's go."
They walked out of the Three Broomsticks, she grabbed his hand and turned on the spot. They both disappeared with a loud crack.
They reappeared at the end of a cobblestone walkway. Hermione didn't let go of his hand.
He shuddered and said, "Let go, Granger. What are you doing?"
She looked at him and said, "I'm sorry I'm so disgusting, Malfoy, but we're supposed to be dating and madly in love, so we've got to act like a couple, okay?"
He groaned, "Blimey, this sucks, Granger."
She said, "You've got to call me Hermione when we're in there, too, got it?"
He nodded.
"And behave, understood?"
"Yeah, I got it. Let's just get it over with already."
She nodded, took a deep breath and rang the doorbell.
A few seconds later and the door swung open. An average height, slender woman with insanely curly hair greeted them.
"Hermione, Darling," came the voice of Mrs. Granger, "I've missed you! Come in, come in."
Mrs. Granger stepped aside and let the two of them enter.
When she closed the door, she turned to Draco and said, "You must be Mr. Malfoy."
Hermione nodded and said, "Draco, this is my mum, Jean. Mum, this is Draco."
Draco put on his warmest, fake smile, extended his hand and said, "Mrs. Granger. How do you do?"
Jean nodded just as Mr. Granger clapped Draco on the back and said, "So, you're the boy who's stolen my daughter's heart, eh?"
Draco glared at Hermione and chuckled, saying, "Well, I guess that's me."
Hermione smirked back at Draco and said, "Draco, this is my father, Theodore. Dad, this is Draco."
Draco held out his hand and said, "Pleasure to meet you, sir."
"Oh no," said Theodore, giving Hermione a hug, "The pleasure's all mine."
Jean chuckled, "Well then, should we move to the sitting room for a nice pot of peppermint tea."
Hermione said, "That sounds fantastic."
She then grabbed Draco's hand and led him into the sitting room. She sat down on a loveseat and Draco sat down next to her. Hermione's parents followed shortly with a tray of tea.
When they had all poured and made the drinks, Theodore leaned forward and began to grill Draco, as any normal father would.
"So, what are your intentions with my daughter?"
Draco squeezed Hermione's hand as if to say, 'oh you're going to get it.'
He answered Mr. Granger, saying, "Well, sir, I've only been dating Hermione for a short time. It's a little too soon to say, but I can assure you, if things keep going as well as they have, there won't be anything to worry about."
Theodore continued, "You've already slept with my daughter. That's not all you were after in this relationship?"
Hermione started choking on her tea, "Daddy!"
"What, Hermione? It's a valid question."
Draco was chuckling.
He patted Hermione's thigh and said, "It's alright, sweetie. No, Mr. Granger, it's not. I like your daughter quite a bit, I promise I won't hurt her."
Jean was beaming.
She said, "Hermione, could you help me put out some biscuits?"
"Sure, mum."
Hermione followed her mother into the kitchen, a little bit wary to leave Draco alone with her dad.
Her mum turned to her and said, "So, he seems like a wonderful boy. I'm very happy for you, darling."
Hermione chuckled nervously and gave her mum a hug. When the biscuits were ready, they both walked back out to the sitting room to where the boys were waiting.
The time passed easily as they talked about school and the Head Boy and Girl Positions. Hermione was embarrassed as her parents showed Draco pictures of her when she was a child and before you knew it, it was time for them to leave.
Draco had excused himself to the bathroom and Hermione met him there with his coat.
She said, "That wasn't so bad, was it?"
He shook his head and answered, "I survived, didn't I?"
They walked back to the foyer where her parents were waiting. Draco shook Mr. Granger's hand and gave Mrs. Granger a small hug.
Hermione smiled at the gesture and said, "You go on ahead, I'll meet you outside."
Draco then did something completely impulsive.
He said, "Alright, sugar. I'll be waiting."
Then out of nowhere, he leaned in and pressed his lips to Hermione's. Hermione didn't react badly, not wanting to tip off her parents. She closed her eyes and kissed him back. She surprised herself even more when she let him enter her mouth with his tongue.
It wasn't until Mr. Granger cleared his throat, that the kiss broke.
Draco and Hermione just stared at each other for a moment before Draco turned and walked out the door.
Hermione turned to her parents and gave them both warm hugs.
Her mom kissed her on the forehead and said, "Behave."
She smiled at them, waved and then went outside to meet Draco.
When she got to where he stood waiting, she grabbed his chin and furiously said, "What the hell was that?"
He pulled her hand off his chin and shrugged, "It was an impulse. You're not really mad, are you?"
She stepped back and said, "I don't know."
He pointed at her, "So you felt it, too, didn't you?"
Hermione was starting to blush, "No, I didn't feel anything."
"Don't lie. You know you felt something."
She was freaking out, "So, what? Does that mean you felt something?"
He said, "I'm trying to figure that out. I don't like you, Hermione. In fact hate might describe it more accurately, so what was that?"
She leaned forward, then hesitated, then boldly pressed her lips to his.
This time he closed his eyes and kissed her back.
He pulled away, "There it was again. What is that?"
Hermione snapped her fingers, "It's physical attraction. Because I felt it that time and I hate you, too!"
He nodded, wiping his mouth, "Just physical."
Hermione said, "Okay, this is awkward. I'm just going to pretend this didn't happen."
"Yeah, good idea."
Hermione reached out to grab his hand but then pulled it back.
She said, "You know how to get back to Hogsmeade. You don't need my help. Bye."
She turned on the spot and left him standing there, thinking that she would love nothing more than to kiss his lips all night long.
That thought alone unnerved her.
A/N 2: Well that was the fourth chapter. I'm still planning on this story to be only ten chapters. Let me know what you thought, please. *humbly begs* Review???