Chapter 13
Hermione hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. She and Draco had worked long into the night trying to find something of relevance to their case. They had no definite leads as of yet, but there were definitely a few cases which had similar aspects to what Draco had observed in Jamie. She could only hope that they would find a cure for the poor boy whom she had grown to care for upon several more trips to the hospital to visit with him. Draco had even scheduled for Scorpius to meet Jamie, however he was unable to get it to happen before next week.
She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping to bring herself to wake up and get back to work. Denis was refusing to be cooperative, and they had only gotten so far looking into Pansy's files. It was safe to say that today would be a very long day.
"Asleep on the job?" Draco's voice carried from the door. She opened her eyes to see him standing there, with a bouquet of roses in his hand, even more extravagant than the one he had given her as an apology.
"Draco!" She exclaimed as she stood up from her chair and walked over to him. "What are you doing here?"
"I came to see you," he said with a smile as he handed her the flowers. She took them from him and conjured up a vase to put them in and placed them on her desk. as Hermione turned back to him, she gave him a hug.
"They're absolutely lovely, Draco," she said as her arms wrapped around his torso. She could feel the heat radiating off his body, and could smell the cologne that he was currently wearing. It was a musky scent that suited him. "Thank you."
She pulled away from him, to see him flash his typical smile at her.
"So what's the occasion?" she asked him curiously.
"I actually wanted to ask you if you wanted to get dinner with me tonight," he said, sounding slightly nervous. "Like a date."
She froze. Hermione would be lying if she said she felt nothing for the blonde man standing in front of her. Sure, he was extremely attractive, but he was also wonderful to talk to. She felt so close to him at times; closer than she ever had with her friends; especially when they would have long discussions on literature, or the world, or basically anything which wasn't Quidditch related.
But she was afraid; afraid that she would let him in, and that he would hurt her. She couldn't bear for her heart to be shattered again, not after Ron. The betrayal she had felt from him still stung strongly in her heart, and while she liked Draco enough, what if he did the same? They were so close as friends right now, and what if that just ruined everything?
"I'm not him," he said softly. "I won't hurt you, not like he did, I promise you that."
"And what if you decide you realize that this is just an infatuation, and you don't actually have feelings for me?" She asked, sounding somewhat vulnerable.
"I have feelings for you; I've had infatuations before, and this isn't how it felt. This is much stronger, far more real. I like you, Hermione, I really do. And if you let me, I would like to show you that. But I care about you and your friendship far too much, so if you decided that you don't want to do this, then we can just be friends; I can live with that," Draco said as he scooped her up in his arms. Her hands were pressed up against his chest, and she felt safe. She felt like she belonged there, and she didn't want him to let her go.
"And if you decide you want someone else instead?" she questioned him.
"Then I will talk to you about it. But trust me, if such a day comes when I go absolutely mental and prefer another witch over you, then I assure you, I'll check myself into St. Mungo's psychiatric ward, because the only way I would want someone else is if I suffer brain damage," Draco said, as he pushed a strand of hair out of her face. "I want to be with you, Hermione. I've had feelings for you for as long as I can remember, even in Hogwarts, and I promise you I'll treat you right. But we don't need to rush into anything. We can take it slowly; one day at a time, but together."
"Okay," she said softly, as she looked at him. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life limiting herself because she had been hurt before. There was no pressure like there had been with Ron. No one expected her to get married and pop out a billion babies like his mother had, nor was there the need for her to try and be something she wasn't so she could please him. Instead, Draco just wanted her to be herself, which was something she definitely could do.
"Really?" he asked her in slight disbelief. When she nodded, a huge smile plastered across his face. "Great, I'll come by your place around 8 tonight to pick you up?"
He released her from his arms, and she felt disappointment from being out of his grasp.
"Where are we going?" she asked him carefully, wanting to know what she should be preparing for.
"It's a surprise," he said as he gave her another smile. "I promise it will be memorable though, if that's what you're worried about."
"What should I wear?" she asked. She might not always care about her looks, but she liked dressing appropriately for the occasion.
"Whatever you feel comfortable in," Draco said, refusing to give her any details. She shot him a playful glare, but he didn't bulge.
"Fine!" she said in exasperation, "I'll just wait to find out tonight; but when I'm dressed completely inappropriately, I blame you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said with a smirk. And with that, he walked out of her office, leaving her to stare after him.
She quickly ran out of her office into Harry's. She wasn't sure why, but she needed to talk to her oldest friend.
"Hermione!" he said, startled, when she bolted in. "Is everything okay?"
"Draco asked me out," she blurted out to him. "What do I do?"
Harry gestured at her to sit down in the chair "Is he still here?" he asked as he raised an eyebrow at her.
She sat down as she said, "No, he's gone. I said yes, Harry! What was I thinking? What if everything goes terribly and he hates me? Oh Merlin, what if I make an utter fool of myself and he thinks I'm stupid? Why didn't I just say I was busy working?" she moaned.
He had amused look on his face, "Hermione, do you have feelings for him?" he asked her gently.
She nodded, "I do. I tried not to, telling myself it was strictly friendly between the two of us, but I couldn't help it! I really like him, Harry, and it scares me."
"So give it a shot," Harry advised her. "If the date goes terribly, then you can go back to being friends, but you won't know until you go out with him, and see if your feelings are genuine towards him."
"Why aren't you angry at me?" she asked him carefully. "Don't you still think he's no good, and that I shouldn't be seeing him?"
"Not after we had dinner at my place that day. I saw that he had changed, and that he was trying to make amends. Besides, he cares for you too, and I know that he would never do anything to jeopardize having you in his life. So I don't think that; I do want you to be careful though, but not for the reasons you think. If you start seeing him, there's going to be a lot of fallout from this. Just be ready for scrutiny from everyone."
"I know," she said softly, as she looked down. "I also know that when Ron finds out, he's going to confront me again, and I need to be ready for that as well."
Harry took her hand in his, "Hermione, if Ron decides to talk to you about it, I will be there with you. He chose his path, and when he broke up with you, he lost the right to decide what you do with yours. While he may be my friend as well, I will be on your side for this, okay? I will tell Ron and the rest of the world that Draco is a good man, and that your happiness means everything to me. Besides, if they don't like it, then they can shove it."
She smiled, "Thank you," she said in a near whisper. "I love you, Harry. You've been so good to me over the years, and even though we're not related, I think of you as family."
"I do too, Hermione," he said gently. "Just because we may not formally become family, doesn't mean that I don't think of you as my sister. I will always be there by your side, and if Draco is who you want, then I will support you with that, just like I will support you with everything you decide to do."
"Thanks," she said gratefully. While she knew she didn't need Harry's approval for doing what she wanted, it was always nice to know that he was standing by her.
"Do you mind if I leave early?" she asked him. There was only an hour left of her official shift, and she wanted to get a bit of rest before her date so she could be fully awake during it."
"Go ahead," he said, waving her out. "Merlin knows you've worked more than enough in your time here. Honestly, if it were up to me, I would make you take a month long vacation, but I need you still. Go, get out of here, and have so fun, okay?"
She kissed him on the cheek before exiting; her head was racing, full of excitement, and nervousness. Tonight would certainly be interesting, to say in the least.
Hermione was placing a stud in her left ear as she heard the door ring. She grabbed the other one as she headed towards the door. She looked at the clock and saw that it was only 7:55. He was early, which compared to Ron, who was consistently an hour late, it was a nice difference.
She was wearing a simple black dress, which had lace detailing over the sweetheart cut of it. She figured that if they went to a formal place, then she was only slightly underdressed and if they went to something casual, then she was only slightly overdressed. The dress clung to the curves of her upper body, but flared out from the bodice. The dress only came to her knees, but it only showed a modest amount of skin. She had paired with some kitten heels that she had bought for formal occasions.
Hermione opened the door, feeling slightly anxious. As she did, she saw Draco standing on the other side. He was wearing muggle clothes, a well fitted suit, to be exact. She felt her breath catch in her throat upon seeing him. She hadn't seen him in anything other than healer robes, or wizarding clothes, so it was a dramatic difference to what she was used to. Not that she was complaining; he looked handsome in the attire.
"You look beautiful," he said with a smile when he saw her. She felt her cheeks burn slightly at the compliment. She wasn't used to positive comments about how she looked.
"Are you ready to go?" he asked her softly.
"Just let me grab my purse," Hermione said, as she opened the door wider for him to be able to come into her flat.
She walked over to the counter where she had left it and picked it up. "So are you going to tell me where we're going yet?" she asked him teasingly.
Draco gave her a smirk, "What would be the fun of that?" he asked her. When she walked over to where he was standing, leaning against a wall, he held out his arm. "I'll apparate us there."
She rolled her eyes, but was secretly loving the surprise. While she was the kind of person who liked knowing everything, it was slightly thrilling to be in the dark.
She grabbed on to his hand, before feeling the familiar sensation of apparation take place. She closed her eyes, as she usually did, and when she felt the world stop spinning, Hermione opened them.
As she did, she was met with the sight of a dark alley. In confusion, she looked at Draco, "We're in a muggle part of town, so I didn't want us to be found out," he explained, as he guided her out of the alleyway.
When they emerged onto the streets, she expected to see muggle London, however was surprised to see the familiar sights of Paris in front of her.
"Draco-" she started saying, as she took in the scenery. She held his arm as he started guiding her down the busy street towards a restaurant which was across the street.
"I know you're a private person, as am I," he started to say. "I didn't want our first date to be in the middle of the wizarding community, only to have it be all over the Prophet tomorrow morning. I wanted us to be able to escape all of that drama so we could focus on each other tonight, and not have to worry about what the rest of the world will think just yet."
"Thank you," she said softly. The last thing she wanted was a billion letters come tomorrow morning, trying to tell her what she should and shouldn't be doing.
He held the door open for her, and the pair made their way inside.
Hermione looked around the restaurant, and took in the beautiful décor of the room. The architecture immediately caught her eye, with the curve ceilings, and chandeliers, as well as the arrangements on each table. She could tell that he had brought her to an extremely classy place, and looked down at her wear, and felt slightly out of place, even with the dress she had been wearing.
As they approached the hostess standing at the front, she looked up at them with a smile.
"Mr. Malfoy," she greeted him. "We have your table ready for you in the private section you requested."
"Thank you, Anna," he said with a smile.
"I'll show the two of you to your table," she said, as she guided them towards the back.
"Do you come here often?" Hermione asked him, as she followed the hostess.
"Occasionally, when I feel like escaping London. I've only ever come here for to meet with other healers on cases, so you'll be the first time I come here with a date," he said low enough for only her to hear.
When they got to their table, Draco held out her chair for her, and pushed her in once she sat down.
"So how's Scorpius doing lately?" she asked him as she thought about his miniature self.
"He was talking to Theo about you apparently when I had him watch my son," Draco said amused. "According to Scorpius, he likes you and thinks you're very nice. I bet he'll forever be happy you bought him so much ice cream."
She smiled at that, "He's a really good kid. It's impossible not to care for him."
The waitress walked over, and Draco gave her an order for wine. She came back not more than a minute later, and poured them each a glass of the red wine before placing the bottle in front of them.
"So how are you doing? I talked to Pansy the other day, and she says you talked to her," Draco said, leaning in.
"Yeah, she's a psychologist, and we think one of her patients may be involved in the murders, so we talked to her about it," Hermione said, as she took a sip of her drink.
"She also mentioned that you wanted to be friends with her," Draco said, as he raised an eyebrow.
"I think we never had the chance in school to find out if we were compatible because of obvious differences. But you made an effort to know my friends, so I could at least extend yours the same courtesy. It's obvious that they mean a lot to you, and I don't want you to feel as if you have to choose one over the other," she explained. "Besides, Pansy seems really nice, so it's hardly an effort to have to get to know her."
"Thank you," he said gratefully.
When the waitress came back for the dinner order, Hermione happily let him chose. They continued to talk, and she told him stories of her childhood, leaving out the part about what happened with her parents, and he told her about how he grew up. She laughed when she mentioned how he looked so adorable thinking back on it, with his hair gelled up, while he pretended to be offended. She cracked a joke about him, and he retaliated by stealing some food off her plate. She was surprised at how easily the conversation seemed to flow between the two of them, and how there were barely any silent pauses when they had to think of things to say. They argued about a few philosophical things, but also about some modern world news related items. When time came to pay the bill, he refused to let her, saying that he would let her take care of it the next time, and she teased him about being so sure that he would get another date. To that, he confidently told her he would, causing her to smile.
Draco apparated her back to her flat, and once she opened the door, she turned to him.
"I had a great time tonight," she said with a smile. She knew this was the part of the date where they awkwardly danced around if they would kiss or not. While she was curious to see what it would be like to kiss him, she wasn't quite ready for that yet.
He leaned in, and placed a brief kiss on her cheek. "I did too. I'll owl you tomorrow," he said softly.
She felt her stomach flip flop when his soft lips landed on her skin. "I'll be looking forward to it," she said, and with that Draco apparated away. She walked into her flat and closed the door. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt like this, and took a moment to revel in the feeling, before taking off her shoes, and going to bed.