About a Boy and a Girl
Chapter Three
"Okay, Dad. Welcome home." Three more days in the hospital and Hermione's father was stable enough to check out. Hermione escorted him home. Her mother was out in the clinic that morning.
"I missed this couch," her Dad said, flopping down on the sofa and switching on the television. "Do we have any chocolate truffles left?"
"Let me check," Hermione called out from the kitchen. She drank down the rest of the water and placed the glass on the sink. She opened the fridge only to discover they were out of truffles. "Sorry, Dad. We're all out. I'll try to phone Mom to pick up some on her way home."
She moved to the living to call her Mom. But then, she heard a tapping noise coming from her bedroom. Cautiously opening her bedroom door, she found an eagle owl eagerly tapping the window. She opened the window and the owl flew in and perched on a nearby chair. It held out a leg for Hermione to take a letter from.
The writing on the letter was very elegant and neat. She had seen it before but not very often. The letter read:
HM,
I would like to treat you to a thank you dinner. I'll be calling at 10 am about the details.
-DM
The owl took off after she gave it a treat. Then she shut the window.
DM? she thought, as she proceeded to make the delayed phone call. "DM," she said to herself, she could only think of one person and at that moment, she wised she knew someone else with those initials.
After making the call to her mother, she did not put the receiver back. She retreated to her room where she would spend the rest of the morning.
9:57 am. Mr. Granger was out in the kitchen fixing him a bologna sandwich.
9:59 am. Mr. Granger was returning to the living when he noticed the upturned phone. He chuckled at his daughter's forgetfulness as he replaced the phone. Loud enough for Hermione to hear him, he said, "Hermione, dear, I think you left the phone hanging."
Hermione was lying on his stomach reading "Wuthering Heights." She scrambled off the bed.
10:00 am. The phone started to ring.
Hermione rushed out of her room to find the ringing had stopped and her Dad talking on the phone. "Dad, wait!" But she was too late.
"Ah, here she is." Her father ended his conversation and was passing the phone to Hermione. She took the phone hesitantly and pressed it to her chest. "It's a lad named Draco Malfoy. I thought it might be Harry or Ronald." Her father left her to face the person on the phone.
This is all Dad's fault, she thought grudgingly as she stared at the back of her father's head.
She put the phone to her ear and spoke, hoping her voice wouldn't mirror her heart which was beating quite fast. "H-Hello?" she stuttered. So much for controlling yourself.
"Granger." That confirmed it. There is no mistaking that drawling voice. "I presume you received my letter."
"Yes." It was all Hermione could manage as she accustomed herself to hearing that voice on the phone.
Malfoy started talking again. "So, I'll be expecting–"
"Where are you calling from?" Hermione herself was surprised by her question. It seems she was subconsciously trying to delay talking about the dinner.
"Excuse me?"
"I don't suppose you have a phone at your house seeing as you belong to a wizard family and all."
"Uh. No. I'm calling from a thing called a payphone," he replied. Hermione heard shuffling from the other line.
"He-yow," a little voice said on the phone. Hermione's spirits lit up.
"So you're in Muggle London with Erin just to make a phone call." Hermione's voice sounded a bit mocking.
"Just taking precautions in case the owl was intercepted."
"Intercepted? Isn't that a bit paranoid?"
"Yes. Yes, it is. But I don't care."
"And phones can be bugged too. Did you know that?" Silence on the other end. Well, now you do. She sighed away from the receiver. "So why is it that you called again?" Hermione mentally kicked herself. What in the world are you saying?
From the sound of it, Hermione might have pushed it too far. She heard Draco click his tongue in annoyance. "I'll be expecting you tomorrow at my house. 11:30."
"W-Wait a minute. Aren't you going to ask me if I agree to all this?"
"Why? Are you going to refuse my invitation? Because if you will, you better say so now." He sounded extremely irritated now.
"I didn't say anything like that. I just think you assumed too much when you didn't ask me what I think."
"Fine then," he said. "Will you be going or not?"
Intent not to anger him any further, she replied, "I'll... go."
"Okay. Goodbye." He hung up.
That was rude, she thought.
To her utter dismay and bewilderment, her parents were ecstatic when she told them about the lunch while they had supper.
"It would be nice to see you dating again after Ronald broke up with you," her mother said.
"Mom, it's not a date. He's just thanking me for something I did for him. And for the record, I broke up with Ron," she retorted.
"Maybe he's just using that as an excuse to get to you. A guy tactic. That's what it is." She looked at her mother. The expressions they wore were completely contrasting – her mother's face was lit with excitement while hers was painted with disgust.
"Who is this Malfoy boy? How come I don't know him? Is he a decent kid?" Her father joined in with a barrage of questions.
"Look, Dad. You have absolutely nothing to worry about. I am not dating him. I can't even say we're friends. Him and I? We're like oil and water. So that's that. Case closed. Period," she ended the topic with a huff.
The next morning, Hermione woke up early. It was only 6 am. With five and a half hours until her lunch meeting (she wasn't using the word "date" at all costs), she decided to spend that time doing what she normally does and being the first one up, she opted to make breakfast – blueberry pancakes with a fresh cup of coffee.
Her mother entered the small kitchen just as she poured the last cup of hot coffee. "You're up early." And seeing the table lain with breakfast, she added, "And you made breakfast."
"I need a distraction. I don't want to think about later until I really have to," she explained.
"While you're at it, maybe you could pick up the laundry from the cleaner's after breakfast?" Mrs. Granger ventured.
"Of course. Why not?"
Hermione scurried around, doing random, distracting tasks until 10 am. When the time came, she knew she had to prepare herself.
After a ten-minute bath, she took on the challenge of picking out her outfit. I wish I did this last night.
Much fitting and throwing later, she settled on a bright yellow dress cinched with a black chunky belt and black ballet shoes for her feet.
Standing in front of the full-length mirror, she charmed her hair to straighten out. She scrutinized herself in front of the mirror. Let's just get this over with.
She tried in vain to sneak out of the house. However, her mother spotted her just as she came out of her room. "Let me have a look." She examined Hermione at arm's length before turning her around to get a better look. "Oh, I love it. He'll surely be drooling over you."
Rolling her eyes, she freed herself from her mother's hold and said, "Quit it, Mom. Goodbye." Hermione left but not before giving her mother a quick peck on the cheek,
As soon as she was in range, she Apparated to the Malfoy manor. Within seconds, she was standing before a great gate and was staring up at an ancient house. "Amazing," she whispered to herself.
She considered the house enormous for the family of four. But what could she expect from their lavish lifestyle?
Although the house was old, it still possessed some of its beauty during its early years. Hermione could not wait to see the inside.
The gates opened on their own accord and she stepped through to the great oak doors. Before she could even lift the knocker, the door opened. She looked down and saw a house elf.
"Ms. Granger, Misty will now take you to where Young Master Malfoy will be expecting you," the house elf said in her hoarse voice.
The elf led her through a series of hallways. From what little she had seen as they traversed the massive house, it was just as beautiful and elegant as the outside. Family portraits, antique furniture, ancient relics. Everything blended perfectly with each other. And then she remembered the bright yellow outfit she was wearing. Her modern style did not fit in with the olden design of the place. She stuck out like a Pygmy Puff amongst a herd of unicorns.
The dining area was at the back of the mansion, overlooking a vast garden filled with a variety of flowers and a small pond. There was a long oak table at the center of the room. The elf sat her to the right of the seat of the head of household. She looked ahead and noticed a wooden high chair from across her.
The elf spoke for the second time. "The Young Masters will be with you in a moment." Misty the house elf went away to a door just off the dining area to what Hermione could only assume to be the kitchen.
Hermione waited in the dining room, occupying herself with the intricate workings of the room and the wonderful arrangement of the flowers. Only when Draco entered with little Erin tagging along was Hermione able to take her eyes off the surroundings.
Draco carried Erin to the high chair then took the head seat. "'Morning," Draco greeted, nodding curtly to Hermione.
"Yes. Good morning."
"Her-mi!" Erin squealed and Hermione's attention was caught by the toddler frantically waving at her. She sneaked a quick wave back with a big smile.
"I am really grateful you came." Draco was making an effort to start a conversation.
"Really?" She sounded very incredulous.
"Yes, of course. I am surprised you doubt my sincerity."
Hermione swallowed and she was pretty sure it could be heard over the profound silence following that statement. "I-I don't know. I-I'm sorry. I just thought of it now. I realized how much risk I'm taking every second I'm still here. I mean, if your parents find out-"
"Mother and father are not in the country. They're visiting a friend in Germany. And I do not have any ulterior motive when I invited you here. Sorry if I disappointed you. But I do understand that thinking of yours. Mother and father wouldn't exactly be thrilled with seeing you here. Especially mother when she sees you on her seat."
"I don't really know if I should feel better with that."
"I think you should."
At that, a different house elf entered carrying a tray with two bowls of steaming soup. He placed a bowl each in front of Hermione and Draco. Hermione took a sip. It tasted marvelous.
"So why exactly did you invite me to your house instead of some garish restaurant? I'm pretty sure what I did wasn't important enough to give me this privilege," she asked after taking a few sips.
Draco dreaded that this question would come up. But he had prepared his answer. He only hoped that it would be enough to sate her curiosity. "We have some wonderful house elves here who can cook better than any fancy restaurant."
"And?" Hermione looked at him.
Of course it's not enough. "Nobody would be looking after Erin."
"And?"
"And what?" He took a swig of butterbeer.
"I think there's one more thing I need to know."
"And how'd you figure that out?"
Hermione was eager to show him her logic. "First of all, never would you use wonderful and house elf in one sentence except in instances where you would say 'house elves are not wonderful'. Secondly, of course, you could always bring Erin out with you. I doubt that you would want to be alone with me anywhere. So having Erin there might perhaps help you avoid any direct interaction with me whatsoever. And so that leads me to a simple yet revealing conclusion."
"Enlighten me," Draco replied lifelessly.
"It is clear that you plainly do not want to be seen in public with someone like me, a Muggle-born and a Gryffindor." Hermione looked at Draco and he was actually smiling but in a wicked way. She smiled at her own ingenuity.
Draco snapped his fingers and pointed at her and then said, "Bingo." He leaned back on his chair then continued, "You know, maybe we can be friends. We're both very clever. Maybe we could get along just fine." He suddenly inclined and extended a hand toward Hermione. "Draco Malfoy."
Hermione laughed at this but took his hand. "Hermione Granger." They shook hands.
Draco grabbed his butterbeer and raised it. "Cheers to my new friend, Hermione Granger."
Hermione grabbed hers and raised it too. "To Draco Malfoy." And at that, they toasted to what will be the beginning of a very unconventional friendship.
So that's Chapter Three. Chapter Four will be following quite soon. But for the meantime, tell me what you think about this chapter.