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Chapter 6: Make Believe:

When Hermione decided to come back into the dining room, she did it for one reason and one reason only: because her first instinct was NOT to come back in the room. Her first instinct was to run up to her room, pack her bag, go home, and quit Malfoy Enterprises first thing Monday morning.

That was why she did the opposite.

She really did want a new life and a new beginning. It wasn't that she was a malcontent. She wasn't unhappy with her prior life, if it could be called that. She merely felt like she was coasting along in life. She felt she was a casual observer, instead of an active participant. She wasn't really living life to its fullest. She wasn't unhappy, but neither was she overjoyed.

She never dated. It wasn't because people didn't ask her to date. They did. She just never felt motivated enough to go to the trouble and bother.

She never went out with friends any longer. Her friends invited her out all the time, but she had convinced herself that she was happier at home, alone.

For such a long time, she felt as if she was a backseat driver in her own life. Boring job, no motivation, no love, no companionship, no happiness. She was tired of merely existing. She wanted to live, at least for this weekend, she wanted to live, and to experience life, and perhaps even experience love.

After all, what was life without living? Even more importantly, what was life without loving?

So she turned around, called a waiter to her, asked him if he could find her a white rose, and once the new rose was firmly in place in her hair, she turned back toward the dining room. She was afraid that Draco might be gone, but he was still there. Perhaps he wasn't waiting for her, but he hadn't left her either. That was a good sign.

She walked toward his table, head held high, white rose in her hair, and a genuine smile on her face. His fork suspended partway to his mouth as she approached.

She introduced herself to him as his blind date.

He introduced himself back to her.

And their blind date began.

Partway into dinner, Draco asked, "What made you want to work at my company, Granger?"

"It wasn't because innovation was your middle name, I'll tell you," she said, pointing her fork toward him and making fun of his employment ad.

"I know that was a stupid ad wasn't it? Your predecessor wrote that lovely piece of poetry. I told the stupid woman to think of a way to generate a buzz about working at our company, you know, get some fresh blood in the ranks, and that was the best she could come up with."

"I have some ideas," she said.

He planted both hands over his ears and said, "I'm on a bloody date, Granger. No time to discuss business."

"Right," she said.

"What's your idea?" he asked.

She smiled. "We could come up with an internship program. Perhaps handpick the candidates from the best of the best at Hogwarts, have them do a three month internship with us, and the ones that really shine, we could give them a scholarship for University, with the stipulation that they work for Malfoy Enterprises for five years after University, and during summer breaks. I also think you should change the name of your company to DM Enterprises, so people don't get your company confused with your father's company."

"You're a genius," he said in awe. "Seriously, though, that's a fab idea."

"I have good ones, once in a while," she said in a self-effacing way.

"Would you like some champagne?" Draco asked as the busboy cleared their table.

"I don't really like champagne."

"WHAT?' he asked shocked.

"Never have, really," she explained.

"Well, that's just wrong," he said. "Anyway, we're celebrating, so champagne is definitely in order."

She raised both brows and asked, "What are we celebrating?"

"Anything we want." He called a waiter over and said, "We would like a bottle, no, a magnum of your best champagne, because we're celebrating."

The waiter asked, "What are you celebrating?"

"Would you like to answer that one, sweetheart?" Draco asked.

She played along. "It's our fifth wedding anniversary," she lied.

"Splendid, and congratulations," the young man said before he left to get the champagne.

"Our fifth, huh?" Draco asked with a smile.

"Should I have said our first?"

"I would have rather you said it was our honeymoon, then I would have had something to look forward to tonight. After five years of marriage, you might feign a headache, and I won't get sex," he joked.

"You're not getting sex with me in either case," she said pointedly.

"Come on, we're on a blind date. We're two different people this weekend. Sex is a given," he said.

"ON A BLIND DATE?" she asked incredulously.

"I don't think I've ever had a date that didn't end in sex," he said, without cracking a smile. He was actually telling the truth.

Hermione waited for the punch line, when none was forthcoming, she said, "There's a first time for everything. Even though I came back to the table, and even though I didn't discourage you out on the veranda earlier, when you kissed my neck, we really do have to remember that we have a professional relationship."

He felt like throwing something at her. If she mentioned that again, he would. He said, "Page ten, paragraph seven, line 23 of your contract states that I can have sex with you anytime I want."

She merely laughed.

"You are in serious breach of contract," he countered.

"Sue me."

"I might."

The waiter brought their magnum of champagne. Hermione looked at the size of it and said, "I hope you like this stuff, because I'm not having any, and there's a lot there."

Draco told the waiter to pour a glass for everyone in the room, so they could all help them celebrate.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

They drank, talked about their lives thus far, a bit about their school days, and two hours after the date began (and two glasses of champagne for Hermione, though she really did detest the stuff), Draco called for the bill.

"Is the date over?" Hermione asked, surprised. She thought they would linger over cocktails at the table, talk a bit more, and get to know each other better.

"This part is, yes," he said, adding, "but I have other things planned, don't fear." The waiter brought their bill, Draco signed it, and then he said, "Come with me, Dear One."

She liked being called 'dear one' by him. He motioned toward the veranda, and she walked in front of him. He sat on a deck chair, and motioned for her to join him.

"We both won't fit," she said.

He patted the space near his legs. She sat on the end, to face him. "What have you really been doing all these years, Hermione?"

"I don't know," she answered vaguely.

"Make something up. Make yourself sound interesting," he urged.

"You mean lie?"

"If necessary."

"I don't want to talk anymore tonight." She looked out over the railing at all the people on the boardwalk. She leaned forward to look between the slats and said, "This place is so alive."

"Yes, even though it's late, there'll be people out walking the boardwalk until dawn," he explained.

"Have you been here before?" she asked, turning to face him.

"Once, a long time ago."

"I really do think you should consider investing in this resort. I'll be a good investment," she explained.

He put his hands to his ears, as he did earlier, and said, "No more business!"

She stood up and said, "Let's walk the boardwalk."

He stood up, too, and they started down the steps. She stumbled over the last step and he pulled on her waist to steady her. Once he was down level with her, he decided to keep his arm around her waist. She hadn't swatted it away yet, so he thought that was a good sign. A good sign of what, he wasn't sure.

They walked past a booth that sold jewelry made from polished stones. He said, "Would you like a souvenir?"

"You can't spend anymore money on me, Malfoy," she said. She moved from his arms and looked down at the display case. She saw a beautiful bracelet that had polished stones of coral and beige. She pointed toward the glass and asked the man to see that one.

"Are you going to buy it for yourself?" he asked.

"I might." She looked at the price tag first, and then didn't try it on. It was too expensive. She smiled at the man and asked to see the earrings that matched. They too, were a bit expensive. She smiled and thanked him.

Draco said, "My new bride doesn't understand that people spend money on their honeymoon." Hermione looked up to see who he was speaking to, and saw that he was talking to an older couple beside them.

"It's your honeymoon?" the woman asked.

"Yes, we married this afternoon," Draco explained.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"You must buy it for her," the man said. "We came here for our honeymoon 47 years ago, and we've come back every year since. I buy my wife something from this booth every year."

Draco said, "My bride grew up poor, so she doesn't like to spend money," and he put his arm around her. She glared at him. "But I say, sweetheart, I have enough money for both of us now, so let me lavish it on you. You no longer live in a two-bedroom hovel, with an outhouse. You live in a mansion now. Live a little."

Hermione didn't know whether to laugh or hit him in the head. He tightened his grip around her, to keep her from bolting away from, or hexing him.

The woman took Hermione's hand and said, "Darling, you husband loves you very much, and what's his is yours now, so let him show you how much he loves you. Let him buy you this trinket, and years to come, you'll look back on it and cherish it forever."

Draco smiled at her and kissed her cheek. She was shocked. "Yes, sweetheart, let me buy it for you."

"Fine." She wasn't happy, but she didn't want to make a scene. Draco bought her the bracelet, the earrings, the ring and the matching necklace. He told the clerk to have them delivered to her room at the hotel.

They walked out of the booth, his arm still around her, but once out of sight of the older couple, Hermione shook off his arm and said, "How dare you embarrass me like that! I didn't grow up in a two bedroom hovel with an outhouse! For your information, the house I grew up in had four bedrooms and indoor plumbing!"

He could scarcely contain his grin and he said, "I just imagined that you were a Weasley for a moment."

"The Weasleys had indoor plumbing!" she shouted. "Granted, they only had one bathroom, but it was indoors."

They walked along the boardwalk, and when he tried to take her hand, she crossed her arms in front of her. They passed an attraction that drew Draco's attention. Hermione kept walking, but he called her back. She turned around.

"Let's see what this is all about," he stated.

She looked at the line of people, and then she read the placard that was at the end of the query line. It read: "Take a ride on the newest Firebolt, only ten galleons."

"No way," she harked.

"It'll be fun," he said. He tried to take her hand, but she put them both behind her. "Where's your sense of fun and adventure?"

"I left it at home, in my outhouse," she said.

"Come on; don't go with your first instinct. Do something different. Aren't you the one that said you wanted to live a little?" he asked.

"Malfoy, I don't like flying," she said. He took her upper arm and pulled her into the line. There were at least twenty people in front of them, so she felt she had time to talk him out of this little adventure, but she was wrong.

He leaned forward to the first person in front of them and said, "My fiancée is afraid of flying and I have talked her into going up with me. I'll give you ten galleons if you let us go ahead of you."

The man nodded.

Before Hermione could protest, he said to the next couple, "My sister here only has six months to live, and her dying wish is to go up on the new Firebolt. I'll give you both twenty galleons if you let us get ahead of you."

They nodded and smiled.

"MALFOY!" she chastised.

"Sh," he hushed.

That was how they got to the front of the line. He told the next man and woman that he was the one dying. He told the older couple in front of them that they just had a baby, and this was their first time away since it was born. He told the man in front of them that he was on a blind date, and whispered to him, loud enough for Hermione to hear, "I hope she'll have to hang on to me for dear life, and that way I might cop a feel."

And so it went until they were first in line. Hermione pulled on his sleeve and said, "You lied to everyone in this line!"

"Not everyone," he reasoned. "I told that last bloke the truth. We are on a blind date, and I do want you to hold onto me, and besides, why can you lie about us and I can't?"

Hermione shook her head and reasoned, "I was just playing make-believe at the restaurant, I wasn't lying."

"Well, make-believe that you give a damn about me and do this for me, alright?" he asked with a frown. He paid the man at the booth the twenty galleons and explained that they would be going up together.

They walked up to the broom, the man told Draco some of its features, though he hardly listened, and then he left them. Draco looked at Hermione and said, "Front or back?"

"Neither."

"Come on, Granger, there's a whole line of people waiting, get on," he said. He said, "Up," and the broom came level to his hips. He straddled it and said, "Now, front or back."

"Please, I know I want to experience new and different things, but some things, like my fear of flying, are so deeply ingrained in me, that I don't think I can change. I don't want to get on it," she pleaded. "Plus, I have a dress on, so I hardly think that it would be a good idea to go up in the air."

He smiled, touched her face lightly and said, "That's fine. I'll go alone, but will you at least give me a kiss for good luck?"

She glared at him for a second, wondered if that was his plan all along, but then she leaned forward and kissed his cheek. Before she knew it, he had his arm around her waist and he kicked off the ground. He lifted her to sit in front of him sideways, and they were in the air faster than she could say, "prat".

"Draco Malfoy, put me down!" she said. She turned to face him and placed her arms tightly around his waist. She buried her head in his chest.

"I think this is rather nice," he said. "Stop moving so much, though, or we might fall."

She looked up at him and said, "FALL?"

"Well, we might," he said seriously. He was going slowly, but they were rather high in the air. "Look around, Granger. The scenery is beautiful."

She shut her eyes. "Please, I don't want to die before I'm thirty."

"That would be a shame," he said. He suddenly dived, and she hung on tighter. He liked this. He went up just as fast, and she screamed. He didn't like that as much, since her mouth was next to his ear.

"Is my eardrum bleeding from your shriek?" he asked.

"I don't care!" she answered.

They were over the open waters now. He said, "Just open your eyes and look at the moon and the stars. Don't look down. Just look up once, and I'll take us back."

She was afraid to turn on the small broom, but turn she did, grasping the handle with her hands. His hands were in front of hers, which meant his arms were around her. She looked up and said, "Okay, I see the sky." Then she made the mistake of looking down. "WE'RE OVER THE OPEN WATERS!"

"I told you not to look down," he scolded.

She closed her eyes tightly again, and he could feel her shaking. He put his chin on her shoulder and said, "Just keep your eyes closed, Hermione."

"Take me down," she said in a weak and pathetic voice.

"No, listen to me. Just keep your eyes closed." He put his left hand around her waist. She was still shaking all over. He brought her up against his body, so that they her back was flush against his chest. He continued to steer with his other hand. He told her to let go of the handle.

"NO!"

"Let go, Hermione, and put your hands on my arms. You're gripping the broom handle so tightly that I'm having trouble steering." He was serious about that. He was having trouble. She moved her right hand to his right wrist, which held the broom, and her left hand went over his, which still held her waist.

"That's my girl. Now, just imagine that you're at your favourite place. Keep your eyes closed, let the wind rush past you, feel the spray of the water on your face as we get closer to the water, and enjoy." He skimmed the water, letting the tail of the broom splash water all around them. He pointed the front of the broom back toward the sky, and they rose again.

"Where was your favourite place at Hogwarts, Granger?" he asked. "And don't state the obvious, which is the library."

He could tell that she was starting to relax. Her body was less rigid, and she no longer had a death grip on his arms. She said, "I used to like going up into the Owlery at school. I liked to be up high, and look all around at the school grounds. I'm not afraid of heights, by the way."

"Of course not," he surmised. "You're afraid of this little piece of wood's ability to keep you afloat."

She opened her eyes and looked over her shoulder at him. "How did you know?"

"I know you, Hermione." He felt he did, anyway, although he was sure there was as much mystery to her as there was common knowledge.

They flew a while longer and then he said, "We need to get back." His cheek was resting next to hers, and she was relaxing against his chest for the first time since they entered the sky. He didn't want it to end. He said, "Before we go back down, tell me something."

"What?" she asked after a moment.

He knew what he was going to ask. He was going to ask her if she thought they would have a real relationship, after this bogus blind date. But he didn't want to sound like some heart-sick fool, so he said, "Never mind." She turned to look at him again, but he was already maneuvering the broom back toward the ground. They made an easy landing, and Hermione dismounted before he did.

He handed the broom back to the man, and said to the crowd, "My sister, wife, fiancée, cousin, next door neighbour, and I appreciate the fact that you all let us go first." He gave them a slight bow, took her hand, and ran away from the crowd with her in tow.

They rounded a corner, and once away from the broom exhibit, he turned to her and smiled. She started to laugh and said, "You're crazy! YOU'RE CRAZY!"

"What else shall we do? The night's still young," he said.

Happy New Year Everyone!!!