Chapter Two
"Anger is not only inevitable, it is necessary. Its absence means indifference, the most disastrous of all human failings." -- Arthur Ponsonby
Draco soon managed to worm himself into Hermione's weekends. Her once peaceful routine was soon interrupted by a weasel faced blond with vengeance on his agenda. Each day she volunteered, he'd arrived to ask her to lunch. Each day she'd turned him down (to the distress of her coworkers) and he'd take it, with a bitter bite about how afraid she was.
Since his needles seemed to get him nowhere with her, he'd taken to spending time at the shelter, stealing a chair to read and watch her work, making commentary the whole time. No matter what angle he tried, she ignored him, brushed him off. With the coolest head in the history of the world, he swore.
Finally, he tried a new angle. Bending over to pick up some dirty bedding, Hermione gave Draco a fantastic view down her shirt. Grinning a little, a glint in his storm grey eyes, Draco commented lightly as he flipped the page of his magazine, "White lace Granger, so pure." When she looked up at him questioningly, he moved his gaze to her chest, slinking back to her face as he added absently, "It suits you. Though I do so prefer a nice blue or green. Black's nice too."
Out of the corner of his eye, pretending to scan the article on some muggle celebrity, he caught a flush creeping up her cheeks. Good. Served her right, in his opinion. He'd never thought that agreeing to help Potter would be so time consuming. So what, the prat had saved his life, and left him with a scar instead of a funeral. Just because he owed him didn't mean he was going to spend every weekend of his at this dratted shelter just to make good on it.
Hermione had easily ignored his commentary. Most of it was the same, just recycled week after week. Tiring, really. But nothing she couldn't handle. Pushing hair back from her face, she stalked stiffly to get new bedding for the boxer who was watching her curiously. Giving the dog a pat on the head as she laid down the clean material, she felt the stirring of something that she hadn't felt in a long time.
Anger. It was a comforting burn under her chest bone as she calmly cleaned the next kennel, wishing that she was closer to Symon. But she still had three more to go before she could go to his, and going out of order would through her off. Habit defined her life.
What right did Draco have to harass her like this? None, she thought silently to herself. It was hard to clamp down on anger. Sadness, self-pity, they were easy to crush before she got carried away. But anger? It was a slow burn, building into something so slowly she didn't care to squash it. What was the harm with a little anger? None, until it bloomed into a full out flame.
She had just bent to fill a clean water bowl when Draco's drawl broke into her space again, "Those pants almost do your ass justice, Granger. You really should continue to starve yourself. It's almost vogue." Holding up the latest gossip magazine, he pointed to a heading. It claimed 'THIN IS IN' in bold pink writing, and he raised an eyebrow.
Biting her tongue, she continued with her cleaning, methodical, though Draco noticed a stiffness in her movements. When she reached Symon, she stayed with him for a while longer. Petting him, easing her fingers through the knots in his fur, she pulled loose hair gently from his coat. He really was a gorgeous animal, with his tan points and lush fur. It was too bad she wasn't there enough to be a good human for him. Having a pet was a huge responsibility, Hermione knew that. And her, living half a life… well, she wasn't really pet material. She didn't want to let him down too.
Brushing her pants off as she stood, leaving Symon for the day, she brushed pass Draco, not bothering to acknowledge him. She stopped at the door as his voice came to her, again. "So, do your panties match? Because now I'm really curious."
Clenching a fist, Hermione slammed the door behind her as she exited the building. Draco would get what was coming to him, she swore to herself silently as she walked home at a faster pace than usual. Ferrets always got what was coming to them.
The following week passed slower for Hermione. She'd kept busy thinking up all the delightfully terrible things to do to get back at Draco, and now she had to wait for the day when she could actually implement them.
So when she arrived thirty minutes early to work, her cheeks a little flushed from her brisk walk, she found that she was feeling again. Excitement. It tasted fresh to her. The world seemed clearer, sharper to her. As if she'd been seeing everything through a film and suddenly it'd been cleaned off. She took extra time with each dog, giving them more love and care as she worked, mentally preparing herself for when Draco arrived. He arrived sharply at 11, as he had every day for the past two months. It had startled Hermione to discover that he'd been coming that long, without fail.
"So, Granger, ready to grace me with your presence at lunch today?" His swagger was bold, but he'd already brought a chair in, a new magazine from the lobby tucked under his arm as he waited for her refusal.
Hermione straightened her back, stretching as she looked to Draco, crossing her arms. "I'm not having lunch with you." Draco rolled his eyes, and sat down, breaking out his magazine. "But… I think dinner would work."
It had been worth it. Draco's cool grey eyes came up, eyebrows pulled together slightly before one raised cockily. "Dinner?" Well, that was new. Running a hand through his hair, he stood up, picking his chair up. "In that case, I'll pick you up at 6." At Hermione's nod, Draco took his exit, wondering if perhaps there was something worth salvaging in Hermione Granger after all.
A/N: There's chapter two. =D Enjoy. Wow, since this got so many alerts put on it from people, I decided to upload this chapter tonight instead of waiting a few days. Hope you all enjoy it.I know the chapters are short, but it's going to be a short-ish story, too. Hope you all like it thus far; dinner will be interesting for sure.