CHAPTER TWELVE

'People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.'
~Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird~

George groaned, looking ready to pull his hair out. "Can you leave us alone for five minutes?" He yelled at the camera crew surrounding him and Hermione. The cameramen took a few steps back, but they were still filming everything. George turned back to her, looking livid, and his grip on her shoulders tightened.

"Hermione, you can't go on a date with Malfoy. First of all, you're dating my brother! Second, we can't trust Malfoy. Did you forget everything he did to us at school- mainly you! He hates muggles and muggle born witches and wizards. He was a Death Eater! And once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater." George exploded on her.

"I'm not going on a date with Malfoy!" She shrieked, wrenching herself free. "For the last few weeks of this SHOW I've done nothing but sit in the Manor and read. He's supposed to be showing me what it's like to be a pure-blood, so that's what is finally happening. There's nothing going on! I'd NEVER do that to Ron, you guys know me. I'm your friend, you can't actually believe I'd cheat on him."

George deflated, she could see the anger slipping away. George could never stay angry for long- it was just who he was. Angelina's head popped up at the front of the aisle, but her body was hidden behind the shelf she was leaning over. "George, are you okay?" She looked concerned, and Hermione noticed some customers had stopped to look at them. She hadn't even known Angelina was in the store.

George looked at her and nodded. "Meet me in the office, please."

She nodded and then disappeared as quickly as she appeared. He looked back at Hermione and nodded, "Fine, you won't cheat on Ron. You SWEAR there is nothing more to this than the pure-blood way of life lesson?"

"Yes," She moaned, "Why would I ever be secretly in love with Malfoy? I didn't forget anything that's ever happened to me, okay? And I haven't given them a free pass. I'm still standing up for myself and dealing with everything. But Draco isn't as combative as we thought. He's kind of changed from the war." At the look George sent her, like he was going to explode about her cheating again, she stopped talking."Okay, fine. I'll stop defending him. But please don't be mad at me. I'm really not going to do anything wrong and I'll be fine at this dinner."

"Take care of yourself, 'Mione," She was relieved to hear her nickname, "You'll be surrounded by pure-blood arses."

"I will," She grinned, touching his arm, "I always am,"

He pulled her into a hug, his warm breath against her ear as he murmured something. Something he didn't want the cameras to hear. It made her sick, as she pulled away and saw it reflected in his eyes. She backed away and then ran for the door, needing to get away. George was still angry at her. They hadn't made up like she thought. Was everyone going to hate her for this? Why couldn't they understand that she was supposed to do this type of stuff for the show? They couldn't hold this against her!

She was never going to cheat! How could they ever think that? She had morals and was a loyal, good friend. They had all been through so much together, she'd never abandon all that because Draco Malfoy was hot and loved to read, which made him more hot. She remembered her mum's advice: You need to like yourself. If she cheated, she would hate herself more than anyone ever could. More than Ron, Harry, or even George would.

She hurried back to the store and threw herself into stocking shelves. She didn't know how to handle this. She grabbed her phone and texted Harry, fearing she had made everything worst by agreeing to go out with Draco and his parents. She didn't care if she wasn't supposed to use her phone at work. This was an emergency. She stepped out, but it didn't give her any privacy since the camera crews were still around her.

The phone line stopped ringing. She pulled the phone away and saw Harry had answered, but wasn't saying anything. "You spoke to George." It wasn't a question, it was a statement and she cringed, waiting for Harry's outburst.

"I want to hear it from you," He deadpanned, and she wondered if he really was going to keep an open mind.

"It's nothing. It's for the show. Ron hangs out with Jenna all the time and I don't get all jealous and accuse him of cheating!" She took a deep breath.

"But we hate Malfoy! He- he- he's deceitful!"

"Enough of this 'we' thing! WE are not the same person. I am allowed to make my own decisions about how I feel. And Draco Malfoy is not the same person we went to school with, just like you've changed and I've changed and everyone on the whole bloody planet has changed!"

"Well, if that's how you feel, then fine. Go and be buddies with Malfoy-"

"That's not what I said," She said, pinching her nose in frustration.

Harry ignored her, going on. "WE, your real friends, will be waiting right here when you come back from crazy-ville."

"Crazy-ville," She mused, "How original."

"Do not mock me, 'Mione. Only my friends get to do that."

"You called me 'Mione. Only my friends call me that." She shot back. "Harry... please don't shut me out too. Everyone hates me. I can't lose you too."

"Then don't shut me out," He said, his voice considerably softer than it had been before. "Don't think I haven't noticed, 'Mione. You get all distant and you have a faraway look in your eyes like you're thinking really hard about something. I see it all the time. Mostly when you're with Ron, so excuse me if I'm a little wary of throwing Malfoy into the mix."

"Merlin, you actually thought I'd cheat on Ron? With Malfoy?" She wondered.

Harry murmured something that sounded like, "Ginny thinks he's hot."

"I'll bet," She muttered, before adding, "Okay. I'll tell you about how I feel." There was silence on the other line and she realised he expected her to start now. "Oh, now, uh. Fine. Sometimes I get unsure about me and Ron."

"Ron and me," Harry corrected, "Since when do you let stuff like that slip?" She heard the tease in his voice and it instantly made her feel better. He was listening, he cared, he knew her.

"Psh, special occasions."

"Hermione, Ron is crazy about you," He said, getting serious. "If you're unsure about something, you need to tell him before you break his heart."

"I'm not going to break his heart," She muttered, feeling sick. He was right, after all. How could she do that to Ron? He was one of her best friends. And he did care for her, no matter how stupid he was most of the time. "I'd never do that to him."

"You might do it without realising or planning it. Hermione, he really is crazy about you. And I don't want to be torn between you two, because you're both my best friends. But if you don't tell him, I'm going to have to."

Her body had gone cold, out in the heat, nonetheless. He was right. She couldn't get between them. Harry had lost nearly everyone he loved and she couldn't do anything to drive a rift between the three of them. Losing Ron- not that she wanted too- would divide them. Harry would be caught in the middle, Ron would hate her, and in the end Harry would pick Ron even if it was the hardest choice he'd ever make. Because Ron was his roommate for years, Ron was his brother, Ron was Ron and Harry was Harry and it was impossible to imagine one without the other.

"I'll fix things with Ron and I'll fix my feelings," She said, feebly.

"It doesn't work like that, Hermione." Harry said, and she could practically see a thoughtful expression on his face. "Either you love him like he loves you, or you don't. And it's okay if you don't, because no one controls how we feel. But you need to tell him."

"No!" She cut in, "I do love him! I mean..." She trailed off, "Sometimes I think I do and then other times I wonder how I can know and if I really do... and it's just hard, okay? Please don't tell him what I told you. Please, Harry. I don't want to hurt either of you and if you do, it'll rip us apart."

"I won't tell him," He said, then added, "for now. I don't want to lose you guys, either. Take some time and try to sort out how you feel. I have to go now, I am at training, you know."

"Oh my gosh! Merlin, I'm sorry! Go, go. And thanks, Harry," They hung up and she dove back into work, thinking about everything. This wasn't going to be easy, figuring out how she felt. But she'd do it, because she owed it to herself and Ron, and even Harry.

When she got home, she headed straight for her room to get dressed. She had a gown for the occasion- she'd bought it last summer after the war. She'd gone into Diagon Alley with Ginny and Victoire. It was Victoire's first outing since giving birth and she wanted to just shop, try on clothes, and feel pretty. So naturally, they went to a dress shop. Ginny was the one that made her buy it. Hermione had protested, saying she'd have no where to where it to, but Ginny had insisted, sighting an unforeseen special occasion. It sounded like right bull to her, but apparently Ginny had been right.

It went down to the floor and was a perfect shade of turquoise. The shoulders were lacy and there was a deep V-neck cut with some lace right at the divide. It had a tiny belt that looked to be made of ribbon at the waist and there were beads in the centre of it. The dress flowed easily, twirling around. She giggled, then faced her back at the mirror and glanced behind her. The back was open, again covered in lace. She felt beautiful. She pulled her hair back and slipped on her heels and a pair of earrings.

She expected to be nervous, but she found herself more curious than anything else. She'd never been to a fancy Ministry dinner before. What did everyone do at these events? Did they just sit around and talk about how much better they were than everyone else? Or did they actually just let loose and chill out? She was about to find out.

Both her parents were in the living room when she walked in with her matching clutch. She didn't want them to make a big deal about it, but she figured they would since the last time she dressed up was her fourth year and they didn't even see that in person. She hadn't really gone glamorous for graduation, just a simple spring dress. But not tonight. She figured her parents would make a deal about how she looked since that's what parents did.

Her mum gasped and Hermione cringed. "No, please. Don't." She started, when she saw her mum open her mouth to say something. "I really don't want you to make a big deal about this."

"Sweetie," Her mum murmured, "You look absolutely beautiful."

"Thanks," She murmured, her cheeks heating up. It felt like she was fourteen again and walking down the steps to the Great Hall in her pink dress, feeling beautiful for the first time. Viktor had been waiting for her at the bottom. He'd kissed her cheek and took her hand, telling her how beautiful she was in his low Bulgarian accent that made her body tingle. They had walked together into the hall and she had worried she'd fall in the heels she'd learned to walk in that morning. But she had been fine and the entire population of Hogwarts had nearly had a brain aneurysm at the sight of her.

Her dad had stood up when she walked in and he seemed speechless- as evidenced by his total lack of verbal communication at the moment. His mouth formed an O as he looked at her and her blush increased. It was easy for them to be so blown away- they were her parents. They were supposed to get blown away about everything. She wondered how the Malfoys would react. If they were knocked speechless, they probably wouldn't say.

"You look very nice, sweetheart," Her dad finally uttered.

Her mum turned to him, "Nice? Surely you can manage something better than that."

"No, no, really-" She started, really not wanting to hear her dad try and compliment her. Her dad could never compliment anyone.

But before anyone could say anything, the doorbell rang. Hermione started to walk over to get it, but her mum raced passed her. "Mum!" She called, horrified. What was she going to do? Demand Draco to say she was pretty? She felt her body go still as the door opened and she saw the back of her mum hugging the front of Narcissa. The door was half open and she couldn't see anything else. Narcissa's face was heavily made up and her hair was tied up in her customary tight bun.

She wished they would hurry up. It was torture, standing there, watching them make small talk. Waiting. And waiting. Her mum and Narcissa went back and forth: the conventional how are you, nice weather we're having, you look wonderful (her mum to Narcissa), thank you (Narcissa to her mum).

Finally the door creaked open as her mum led Narcissa inside. She bit her lip, bracing herself for the many possible reactions. Hopefully they would be positive. Marty filed in with the Malfoys and stood off to the corner.

"Oh, Hermione, you look beautiful!" Narcissa proclaimed, walking over to her to give her a hug.

She hugged back, feeling a bit more relaxed, but still nervous and curious about everything. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to see Lucius or Draco. But when they pulled back, she had to open her eyes. She realised they hadn't seen her dress either since Narcissa had blocked it, so this was the big moment.

Lucius seemed completely unmoved, which made sense since nothing ever moved him, so why should a turquoise shade of fabric be any different? She glanced over at Draco, holding her breath. She shouldn't have been this nervous, but she felt her stomach coiling and uncoiling rapidly. She almost didn't want to look, but he was standing there in his customary all black with an added cloak, as it was like a hundred sweltering degrees outside. He looked like he always did. Only the slightest hint betrayed his stoic exterior to show he was a little knocked off-guard and that was the way his eyes ere less narrowed than usual.

She felt them boring into her, like they had at their first meeting, but they weren't narrowed in a glare like they had been in the beginning. But they were the tiniest bit wider this time. Was it horrible she had noticed? Had she been able to read him that well? No- this was the first time she'd been able to notice anything.

Hermione deflated a little, but then reminded herself she didn't care if Draco didn't find her ravishing enough for his taste. She still felt beautiful and they couldn't take that away from her. She hugged her parents goodbye and grabbed her wrap. It was so hot out that she didn't even want to bring it, but she was hoping the Greengrass' home would be freezing. She didn't know how Lucius and Draco were standing there in their cloaks, not passed out.

She followed them outside to the Apparation point. "Hermione, you travel with Draco since you've never been to the Greengrass' before." Narcissa said, turning back to give her a smile.

She nodded and then glanced over at Draco who had been walking next to her without saying a word. It was so hot outside that she felt the heat beading on her forehead and she'd only been outside for minutes. Draco seemed unaffected and only the sweat running down the side of his face told her he felt it too. Or maybe he didn't, but his body did.

She wanted to say something. The quiet was horrible. And she wasn't used to being around Draco and not talking. They usually talked about books or muggle electronics or the Olympics. And at school they usually fought. She had no idea how to be next to him and quiet. It must have been the heat that made her say such a ridiculous thing. It swarmed up around her and suffocated her brain, "You're dressed like you're going to a funeral." It was the same thing she had said at dinner and that had gone over so well the first time.

He quirked a smile, but it was wiped away quickly enough. "This is where all good conversation goes to die, so yes, it is a funeral in some sorts."

"But I thought pure-bloods were oh, so intelligent and trained in etiquette since birth." She teased.

His nose crinkled. "Apparently not all lessons took."

"I see," She added, "Since you are obviously not well versed in etiquette, nor are you exceptionally bright."

He smirked to himself, like he should have seen that one coming. She high-fived herself mentally and wiped the sweat from her brow. Draco turned to her and said, "Would you care to enlighten me?"

"Well," She said, not missing a beat, "it is common knowledge and proper etiquette to compliment a pretty girl when you see one. Especially when she is dressed extra special."

She never expected him to agree with her. "You're right." He said. He lowered his head and placed his lips by her ear and said, "You do look exceptionally beautiful tonight." He offered his arm and she stared at it like she'd never seen an arm before. She felt her mouth go dry and nearly passed out- from heat exhaustion, not because anyone slightly over average looking had said she was 'exceptionally beautiful' in a rather sultry voice in her ear. So close, in fact, that his warm breath caressed her skin and sent shivers down her spine.

"We do need to Apparate," He said and she realised he looked rather pleased with himself. Like he had known exactly how she'd responded to his little game.

She rolled her eyes, narrowing them at him. "You think you're so funny. Little trick like that. You know, it's fine. You've spent my whole life telling me how ugly I was, but you can't take anything away from me tonight. I will find my own way to the Greengrass'."

"Granger!" He called, catching up with her as she stalked away. She wouldn't have been alone anyway. There was a whole camera crew following them. One of them could help her if really couldn't manage it, but she doubted she'd need anyone's help. "Granger!" His voice shrieked again. His hand was on her arm, spinning her around.

She opened her mouth to yell, but he said all in a rush, "Youreallydolookbeautifultoni ght."

"Pardon?" She asked.

He took a deep breath before saying, "You really do look beautiful tonight. I really mean it. And you look beautiful all the time, no matter what I've ever said."

She almost laughed, not believing him. But then she looked at his eyes and saw how much they were willing her to believe it. They were open wide and grey, like the sky after a storm. She felt her body still as she stared up at him and his arm burned where he was touching her. She didn't know what to say as the meaning of his words washed over her. He seemed like he meant it and the thought made her woozy.

No- that wasn't what made her feel sick. They had Apparated! She gasped, pulling away from him. "Never do that again!"

He smiled at her, the first real smile she'd ever seen. And the first one he didn't hastily wipe away, either. It was big and beautiful and it lit up his whole face. His teeth were white and straight- a perfect, dazzling smile. She couldn't smile back at him since she felt like she was going to puke. She never felt this sick after she Apparated on her own. She groaned and leaned back against one of the trees on the Greengrass' estate.

"Couldn't resist, Granger," He said.

She breathed rhythmically and started to feel better. Once she was better, she righted herself and turned to walk up the long driveway. Draco followed behind her.

"Why aren't you wearing green?" She asked.

"Why aren't you wearing red?" He shot back and then muttered, "Always knew you should have been in Ravenclaw."

She glared at him and then looked back ahead of her. "I always wear colour. You, however, appear to only dress in black."

"That's because you haven't seen my pants," He said, and she was brought back to the morning in the study where he had made another sexual joke. She didn't say anything or look at him when he showed up next to her. "If I wore a green shirt, we would have clashed. But I'm in all black, so we match."

She rolled her eyes, "Because you were thinking of me when you got dressed."

He muttered something inaudible and then they were in front of the mansion. She hadn't paid much attention to the estate when they arrived since she'd felt sick and talking with Draco. But the house was big- made of stone. The lands were lush and stretched out for miles. There were lights bursting through the windows and she wondered who she would find behind the walls. She didn't really know anyone. Hopefully the Greengrass' muggle born keep would be at the dinner also. She hadn't spoken to him, but he'd been in his late thirties, very different from Jenna and her.

"Will everyone..." She started, feeling like a little girl. But she couldn't help remembering the statue in the Ministry during the height of the war. 'Muggles in their rightful place.' All the people that believed those things were right in front of her, in that house. No matter how much she dressed up, they'd never forget. "...hate me?" She finished, her voice sounding weak.

Draco touched her shoulder lightly before stepping through the door. "Come on,"

A/N DUN DUN DUN! And that's where it ends! For now, anyway. The next chapter holds what goes on at the actual pure-blood par-tay. I hope you liked it :D The dress Hermione wore is something the gorgeous Kate not-so-Middleton wore, so if you just search her up and add turquoise dress you'll see it. If you care. Anyways, bunch os stuff happened here. Some George drama, Harry, Draco :D

Oh, and pants is an English term for underwear. If anyone was confused there.

Thank you to: asyouwish76, FuryPossessed, ILoveSiriusBlack4, edwardsoneandonlylove, LoveableLeo, and sapphire-lights. You guys are the greatest :)