Disclaimer: All I own is all the hard work spent on this chapter.

Chapter 17 // The Date II

She sat up, pulling the covers up over her chest. The mornings were colder now, as the beginning of October was beginning to draw near. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and turned her head to find Draco sprawled on the bed next to her, hogging more than half of the available space. A soft snore suddenly sounded from the sleeping man as he rolled even further onto her side of the bed. She rolled her eyes, but smiled softly nonetheless as she kept watching his chest rise and fall.

Hermione pulled her knees up to her chest and coiled her arms around them. It was incredibly strange how she was waking up next to this man, and only hours from now he was going on a date with another woman – with her permission, nonetheless. Her eyes fell on his t-shirt in a mess on the floor. He would have picked Lola from the start if he really wanted her, wouldn't he? There had to be a reason that t-shirt was carelessly strewn on her bedroom floor.

She couldn't help but question if he would feel the same way when she decided to return to London. Because the day would come and they both knew it. And she was fairly certain Lola would be more than happy to pick up the pieces and remove some shirts. She rested her chin on the top of her knees, taking a deep breath. Some part of her always wondered if it was fair to expect him to fight all of those against them. Maybe he would be better off with Lola when it all came down to it. It wouldn't be problematic for anyone (with the exception of herself), she was a pureblood so he had no worries there and she was a beauty any male would happily entertain. And most importantly; she wasn't going anywhere.

Suddenly she felt the warmth of his hand press against her bare back.

"Stop thinking," he commanded, and she felt him stretch next to her on the bed. "And please lay back down. It's way too early for this horrifying day to start."

She only hesitated for a second before she lowered herself back down onto the pillow, pulling the covers with her. He lay considerably closer now than he had before, and she could feel the warmth from his body underneath the covers. It really was much too early for this day to begin. She reached a hand across his stomach and pulled herself closer, resting her cheek on his chest. He answered by putting his hand to rest on the small of her back.

"Don't think about it," he repeated softly, and she felt his chest vibrate as he spoke.

"Alright."

"Harry and Gin will be here any minute," Hermione reminded him as she pulled the silk top over her head.

She was getting dressed for her boyfriend's date with another woman. There's something you don't do every day.

"We'll just head down there a bit early to get a table and be settled in when you get there."

He just nodded in reply, swirling his wand over the tie to make it tie itself. It looped itself into a neat knot, tightening around his neck. Suddenly he gulped for air and began waving frantically with his wandhand when the tie continued to tighten dangerously. Hermione whipped around at the sound of him wheezing and found him fighting the tie's death grip. Within seconds she had him released from its claws and he sunk to the floor in exhaustion. She removed the now limp tie from around his neck and laughed nervously.

"I guess you'll go for the casual look?"

"I think...that may be best," he said, his voice sounding unnaturally high-pitched. "Damn muggle contraptions."

"There's a reason why mixing muggle inventions with magic is strictly regulated," She reminded him, throwing the tie carelessly onto a nearby chair.

When he didn't reply, she looked down at him rather questioningly.

"Oh, do continue the boring lecture on Ministry regulations and the repercussions of breaking them," he urged with a fake smile, getting off the floor with slight difficulty.

"I thought that lecture would be unneeded since you nearly got suffocated," she replied dryly, deciding not to give him a helping hand.

"I wasn't suffocating."

"Oh I'm so sorry. I must have misinterpreted your incessant squawking," she bit.

"Well, I certainly didn't misinterpret your nagging."

Draco tugged forcefully at the collar of his shirt, giving himself a displeased grimace in the mirror and either missed or deliberately ignored Hermione's Glare of Female Wrath.

"Make sure you don't miss Lola's flirting. You might lose a chance to boost your already overblown ego!"

"Oh, believe me. I won't miss it," he said with a self-confident smirk, his eyes mirroring the annoyance in his voice.

Her jaw clenched in anger just as the fire downstairs roared. She didn't even look at him before she turned on her heels and took the stairs in a few leaps. Harry and Ginny were dusting the soot off their clothes when she came hurtling down, her hair looking almost electrified as it stood around her head like a halo.

"Hermione, what –"

She waved Harry off with a brisk movement, and grabbed her wallet from the table.

"Come on, let's go," she called at the stunned couple merely looking at each other while Hermione stomped towards the exit.

"What the hell, Hermione!" Harry cried, as they had to rush out the door to keep up. "What is the matter with you?"

"That big oaf in there is what's the matter with me!" she huffed, stomping her feet angrily against the gravel, a sickening crunching-sound following her thuds.

"Did you guys fight?" Ginny asked softly, racing to keep up with the livid Hermione.

"Yes we bloody well fought. The damn git pretty much admitted he was going to flirt with that skank."

Hermione kept her insane pace and huffed angrily with every step. Their fight repeated itself word for word in her head, and she couldn't even see where it had come from. It was like it appeared completely out of the blue.

"Look, I know I don't even know the guy anymore – since he obviously isn't who I thought he was – but don't you think you might have provoked him?" Ginny asked cautiously. "Yesterday he seemed so worried about hurting you with this. I can't possibly see why he would deliberately make you feel bad without being provoked."

Hermione didn't answer, but she slowed down gradually, her steps becoming less fierce by the second. When she suddenly stopped Harry bumped into her in his eager to keep up and nearly knocked her over.

"I'm such an idiot," she growled, balling her hands into angry fists.

Harry rolled his eyes behind her and rested his palm soothingly against his forehead.

"I fought with him and left on an awful note before he goes on a date with the blond miracle!" she exclaimed, completely baffled by her own stupidity. "I should've given him a send-off he would've never forgotten, not bit his head off and started a fight."

"Let's just continue walking before you start going into detail about that send-off," Harry cried from behind her and pushed her to start walking again.

"One stupid little argument isn't going to send him into Lola's arms, Hermione," Ginny assured her as they continued. "And if it – against all odds – did, I wouldn't actually consider it a loss."

"I just don't get it. We've been getting along surprisingly well for so long," she sighed, rubbing her temple slowly.

"It's a stressful situation, and you are Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. Any other reaction would surprise me more than this did, to be honest," Ginny pondered, once again having to speed up to keep up with Hermione's frazzled pace.

"How long do we have?" Harry asked after moments of uncomfortable silence.

"About 20 minutes until he picks her up," Hermione answered after a quick glance at her watch. "The town square is just ahead, so we'll make it fine."

"Are you sure you want to do this? We'll do it for you and you can go back home."

"I'll be fine," she assured them. "I have to do this. Sitting at home is just going to make it worse."

They crossed the town square without exchanging another word, and Hermione led them towards the entrance of the restaurant. She noticed it was only moderately full at the moment, and hoped a nearby table would be easy to get a hold of.

"Welcome. May I help you?" a short, but very bright and charming waitress inquired as they entered.

"Yes, please," Hermione replied, glancing back at Harry and Ginny. "We would like a table for 3."

"How about here?" the brunette asked them, stopping by a table almost in the centre of the dimly lit room.

"You don't have anything closer to the window?" Ginny asked quickly, giving her brightest smile. "We're from out of town, and the view is just so charming."

"Unfortunately, the one closest to the window is reserved, but this one is fairly well placed for a view."

Hermione already knew it was reserved, of course. And the table they were presented was in the perfect spot compared to the one Draco had reserved for him and Lola.

"This is perfect, thank you," she smiled, taking a seat, making sure not to be seated with her back to the – for now – empty table by the window.

"Here are your menus, and I'll be back in a few minutes."

Harry and Ginny also made sure to seat themselves strategically to overlook the upcoming date, and the three of them quickly occupied themselves by ordering a meal and chatting about things back home. Hermione nearly even forgot about the reason they were there until two very blond heads quickly caught her attention.

"So this Lola has never met you?" Ginny asked, obviously worrying about the fact that Hermione's trademark hair wasn't that easy to miss.

"No, only her mother. We should be fine."

Hermione's eyes didn't leave the two heading towards them, and only looked away when she saw Draco put a hand on Lola's back to guide her to the table. Her teeth were gritted together so hard she was certain she'd crack them open one by one.

"Nnnngh."

"I'm sorry?" Ginny said, leaning closer to Hermione.

"Nothing," Hermione replied between gritted teeth.

She looked up again, finding both Lola and Draco now seated by the window, Lola gushing over the perfect view and the perfect restaurant and the perfect everything. Her long, blond hair was pulled up into a perfect bun of curls (Hermione smelled a curling spell from far away), while her bright blue eyes were perfectly accentuated by a flawless display of makeup skills. Not to mention her full lips sparkling in flickering light of the candle. If only the candle had been just a bit to the right, and maybe her shirt would have caught fire.

"She's...erm... less ugly than I expected," Harry said quietly, making Ginny widen her eyes warningly.

"Keep your thoughtless comments to yourself," she hissed, taking a sip from her glass.

"I was just saying!" he replied indignantly, eyeing Hermione sideways.

"Well, it's not helping," his girlfriend murmured out of the corner of her mouth.

Hermione hardly even noticed they were talking. Her eyes kept straying to the apparently happy daters, while she tried to remain unsuspicious and preoccupied with eating her food. She only caught bits and pieces of the conversation, and she was afraid to look too obvious as she kept an eye on the two of them.

"Doing this without looking suspicious is harder than I realised," Ginny said quietly. "If we don't talk to each other we just end up looking ridiculous, but if we do we can hardly hear what they're saying over there."

"I know," Hermione sighed, taking another bite and kept the fork resting on her lips as she chewed. "But I think our main priority should be to not attract too much attention. If we can't hear the conversation it's not the end of the world."

"Would she recognise you?" Harry asked, daring to take a quick glance at the two.

"Not likely, but I can't be sure. Her mother may have told her enough about me for her to be suspicious if we attract too much attention."

Their conversation was interrupted by a loud, shrill laugh and they all turned their heads, finding Lola in a fit of laughter. Draco was smiling slightly, but looked apprehensive nonetheless. His date didn't seem to notice, though, and as her moment of amusement calmed she bent over the table slowly, making Hermione's eyebrows nearly reach her hairline.

"She's flashing her bloody cleavage," Hermione growled. "Someone spill a drink down the shirt of that pureblood skank!"

Ginny fell into a hysterical fit of giggles, trying desperately to go unnoticed by the surrounding tables.

"She's pureblood?" Harry asked, having snorted loudly, but managed to contain his laughter – unlike Ginny who was trying to drown it with large sips of water.

"Blond, pureblood, more than likely rich, beautiful – Perfect for Draco," Hermione said grimly. "I mean, look at her! Look at him! Look at me. Why isn't he just running off with her as we speak?"

"Because you're a blind idiot who can't see that – first of all – you're very cute and charming as you are, and – secondly – that Draco obviously doesn't want the blond, pureblood, boring girl," Ginny said, still a bit short on breath.

"He's probably met all too many girls like that before, and he's not with any of them now, is he?" Harry reminded her. "Give the guy some credit."

She took a deep breath to calm herself and nodded. She was getting carried away.

"See, this is going just fine," Ginny said brightly. "They're just talking and we're getting a delicious meal."

"I hope it doesn't last too long, though. You have an early shift tomorrow."

"We can leave soon, I suppose. Everything seems to be running smoothly," Hermione assured them, bringing the fork up to her lips for another bite.

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Lola leaned in slowly and seductively, her hand suddenly resting on top of Draco's on the table.

"Draco..." she said softly, her eyelids heavily hooded. "I – "

And that was as far as she came before she interrupted herself with an ear-splitting scream. Hermione's fork had fallen roughly onto her plate, sending the contents of the fork flying majestically through the air. Hermione had watched it in slow motion, and even had the time to admire how well it flew. Its course was unmistakable. It was heading straight for the blond girl leaning forwards, her hand safely resting on Draco's. Ginny had gasped loudly just as the piece of food made impact with Lola's wine, sending the white wine tumbling over the edge of the glass and onto the table – and straight into Lola's unfortunately placed eye.

The scream was still sending waves of shock in the room, all diners' eyes now on the hysterical girl. Hermione was hunching down, trying to make herself as small as humanly possible, as she watched Draco jump to his feet with an unreadable look on his face. Lola's eye was pressed tightly together as she flailed her arms widely and whimpered.

Hermione made a horrified grimace, and turned slightly to her right when she heard a wheezing sound.

"Gin, are you laughing?" she muttered in shock.

"It's the funniest thing I've ever seen," Ginny whispered, desperately trying to hide her obvious laughter.

Hermione turned to Harry, but this time not even he could keep a straight face. The corner of his mouth was twitching wildly as the rest of his face looked oddly strained.

She hadn't meant to cause a scene like this, and she just prayed to God no one had seen what happened. The image of the girl flailing her arms wildly, causing Draco to yell for her to calm the hell down, was involuntarily funny, though, and she had to suppress a highly inappropriate chuckle.

The staff was rushing forth now, but Draco assured them he had it covered, and politely told them to leave.

"Did you see what happened?" Lola whimpered at Draco, who was standing close to her, trying to inspect the injured eye.

"Err...no. I just suddenly saw the wine going everywhere," he told her, but he turned around and found Hermione with his gaze.

She met it reluctantly, knowing she had pretty much ruined a lot of things, but her mouth almost fell open when she saw distinct amusement in his eyes. His mouth even twitched a tiny bit at the corner, and he had to disguise his half-smile quickly.

He stepped closer to Lola, and she knew he was trying to cover up the wand in his hand. She heard a low murmur, but couldn't see anything and knew the rest hadn't either. When he stepped away, Lola had her eye open and it merely looked a bit red.

"Thank you," she whispered. "I'm sorry the evening was ruined."

"I'm not..." Ginny whispered out of the corner of her mouth, making Hermione blush and Harry snicker like a school-girl.

"Absolutely nothing to worry about," Draco assured her as he looked oddly upbeat.

"Let's get out of here before you take out her other eye," Harry suggested, waving his hand for the check.

"Good idea," Hermione replied quickly, feeling oddly weighed down by guilt.

"That was so brave of you to help me," they heard Lola say as they all paid up for their meal.

"Oh dear Merlin," Ginny muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Err, I've done braver."

"You have?" Lola exclaimed. "Do tell!"

"You know, your eye doesn't look too good. I think I should follow you home and make sure your mother has the right potion to treat it," Draco said carefully, giving her a slight smile.

Lola looked disappointed, but she nodded, admitting that it did hurt still.

Hermione exchanged a relieved smile with her friends, and they left as quietly as they could, careful not to draw attention to themselves. When they piled out from the restaurant, Harry and Ginny finally cracked and laughed so hard they could hardly walk. Hermione gave them an exasperated look, and kept walking even if they fell behind.

"You are fierce," Ginny exclaimed, shaking her head.

"And she barely touched his hand, I feel for the girl who goes for the big guns," Harry mocked, holding Ginny by the waist as she was laughing beside him.

"It wasn't that bad!" Hermione protested, but couldn't help but smile when she looked back at the two.

"You poked her eye out!"

"Not on purpose, git!"

"I'm so glad I was invited. I owe you one," Ginny proclaimed, now waltzing happily beside Hermione.

"My pleasure," Hermione answered dryly.

Her friends continued to mock her until she sent them off through the floo, hearing echoes of their laughter as they left. Dear, Merlin. She really had nearly blinded the girl. She wondered if Draco had persuaded her to end the date. And was it enough? Would they have to do this yet again to keep Ella mollified? She shuddered at the mere thought. In that case she might actually have to take out the other eye.

Hermione decided to apparate into Draco's living room and found it completely empty.

"Draco?" she tried, peering up the stairs.

There was no answer, and she figured he wasn't back yet. She sat down in one of his large armchairs and found a book opened at page 94. Resting it in her lap, she flipped the pages in what was obviously a fiction. It felt so long ago that sat here, looking into the blazing flames and poured her heart out. That was the night he had started to heal her heart. And despite the fact that he had just been on a date with another girl, she hadn't felt this good in ages. She really was okay. That's why she had come here in the first place; to heal.

"Hey."

She turned around in the armchair, finding him putting his coat up in the wardrobe.

"Hey," she smiled, and removed the book from her lap.

She got up as he came into the living room, his face rather passive. It was unreadable, and told her nothing of how things had gone since they left. Then he suddenly returned her smile, and somehow it relieved her. She didn't even know why she was worried in the first place, but she was relieved.

In moments he had his arms around her, and she was resting her head against his chest. Her arms coiled around his waist and came to rest on his back as she sighed into his smooth shirt. He was warm. She felt his lips on her hair, and wondered for the umpteenth time how they had found each other – how they had managed to put it all behind them. It was the bravest thing she had done in her life.

"You've got some aim," he said, chuckling softly.

"It wasn't on purpose, you goof," she laughed, pushing him lightly away from her.

She watched him stumble slightly as he chuckled.

"It was such a spectacular sight; the piece of meat swirling through the air on a suicide mission, plunging into the wine glass with full force."

He relived it happily and she gave him an incredulous stare.

"The girl was hurt, for Merlin's sake," she commented, but could hardly hide a smile.

"All I know is you saved me from another insanely boring story about her attending a formal dance, or fundraiser or whatever it is they do now a days."

"And you were so brave when you saved her," Hermione swooned.

"Oh, shut it," he growled, shooing her up the stairs.

She shrieked with laughter as she raced up the stairs and through the door on the right. He shook his head at her antics as he came after her, pulling his shirt up over his head.

"I'm exhausted. The dating game really does wear you out," he commented with a smirk.

"Getting too old, maybe?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and she snickered.

"You're going to pay for that, you know."

"Want to bet?" she laughed.

Before he even got to retaliate she had pushed him down on the bed, and had him straddled in no time.

"I like your style," he told her, smirking unmistakably.

"Tsk tsk, Mr. Malfoy," she said, shaking her head, "such a dirty mind - and only after the second date, no less..."

A/N: Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you to all reviews and readers! I like to think there are loads of readers out there who are just like me – enjoys the read, but always forgets to review.

I had fun with this chapter, and I hope you did too.

Btw: I really want some good Dramione to read (somehow I only find the really bad ones : ), so please recommend me some if you know any good ones!