Last time:
"I see" Lucius said standing from the table, " I will not tell you what to do, but I will say this; If you decided to like her, more then wanting to stay away from her, I can assure you that your mother and I will approve of a relationship between you."
He walked from the dining room and made his way upstairs. Draco sat for another minute or so before finally heading back to his room, he had a lot to figure out, but sleep was first on the list.
Now:
The next morning while eating Breakfast, a large white owl swooped into the kitchen and landed on Hermione's shoulder.
"Hedwig" Hermione cooed while removing the letter from his leg.
"Potters owl?" Draco asked
"Yeah, I'm really surprised its taken him so long to write back." she replied with a shrug. Hermione gave the owl a piece of bacon and sent him on his way, tucking the letter into her pocket for after breakfast reading. A few minutes later a second owl swooped in and landed on Lucius.
"Thats a beautiful owl." Hermione said as she looked closely st the large spotted owl. Lucius shrugged and removed the letter, gave it a piece of toast and sent it on its way. Everyone started to eat once again as Lucius read the letter.
"It appears we've been invited to the annual summer party at the Nott's Manor tonight."
"Thats short notice." Narcissa replied, "what kind of dress does it require?"
"It says casual" he replied
"What happens at these parties?" Hermione asked
"It's nothing fancy, just a get together. The men usually play cards and drink fire whiskey while the women...chat." Draco replied
Hermione nodded, but wasn't sure if she wanted to go, yes, the Malfoys had changed but what about the other pure bloods, what would they say if a muggle born came to the party too. She finished her breakfast and excused herself from the table so she could read and reply to Harry's letter. She climbed the middle of her bed and opened the letter.
Hermione,
Are you telling me the Malfoy's are being nice? Maybe I should come to the manor and check to make sure your not under a spell or something. Anyways, everyone here misses you and hope that the Malfoy's will let you visit once in a while, Mrs. Weasley said she would make your favorite dinner if you can come one night. Everyone told me to say Hi for them. Write back soon
Harry
Hermione could help but laugh at Harry wanting to check her for spells. She slid the letter under her pillow and laid back on the bed and fell back asleep. She stayed asleep for a few hours until she was jolted awake by a knock on her door.
"It's open" she said as she sat up. Draco walked through the door and perched himself on the bed.
"I just figured I come in and wake you up, we are leaving for the party in twenty minutes."
"What time is it?" she asked
"Almost four in the afternoon – you've been asleep all day."
Hermione laid back down with a thud, "I'm not sure going to this party is a good idea for me, maybe I should just stay here and write a reply to Harry or make camp in the library."
"You're coming Granger, don't worry, you can be my date." Draco said with a grin.
"Oh that'll work, The Draco Malfoy comes to pure blood party, with the number one Mud blood on his arm. I can see the uproar now." she said with a smirk.
"Just let me worry about that, throw on some jeans and a shirt so we can get going."
Draco got up from the bed and left her room so she could get ready. Hermione sighed as she stood, "This is going to be a disaster" she said to herself.
Half hour later, the four stood at the door of the Nott's manor, "Don't worry, things will be fine." Draco whispered in her ear. She nodded and walked inside with a death grip on Draco's arm.
"Ahh, I'm glad you could make it" a tall dark haired man said as he greeted them.
"We wouldn't miss it" Narcissa replied with a friendly smile. Lucius moved to the side so Hermione was visible.
"This is Hermione Granger, she is staying with us for the summer." Lucius explained.
The man gave a quick nod and escorted the group in. Narcissa and Lucius started to mingle almost immediately, while Draco pulled Hermione by the hand over to the younger crowd. Draco seemed oblivious to the stares they were receiving, but Hermione noticed immediately. Women were whispering to each other, while the men would stop talking long enough to glare before returning to their conversation.
"I really don't think my coming here was a good idea Draco" Hermione whispered.
"Why not?"
"Because everyone is staring at me and I'm pretty sure they aren't looks of acceptance."
Draco glanced around quickly and draped his arm over her shoulder, "Don't worry, you will be fine."
Hermione remained quiet while Draco talked to the other slytherins. He was trying his best to include her into the conversations, but it seemed the Slytherins had their own ideas and would change the conversation before giving her a chance to speak. Growing frustrated, she made her way over to a corner to watch a group of men shoot a game of pool. She managed to watch almost a full came without being noticed, but that was short lived when one of the men stopped to greet her.
"Ms. Granger, are you enjoying the party so far?" a man asked that she had never seen before.
"Oh, yes, it's lovely" she replied, making sure she sounded sincere.
"Why aren't you over with the women?" the man asked, gaining the attention from the other four men standing around the pool table.
"I actually caught sight of the pool table and wanted to take a closer look, it's actually a very nice table, one of the best I've seen in a long time." she replied.
The man nodded and pulled out a chair for her to sit in.
"Sit and enjoy, I don't blame you for not wanting to be in the circle of the hens."
Hermione giggled and sat back while two of the men finished their game. She noticed that the taller man was very good at the game, hardly missing any shots.
"He's very good" she replied to the man.
"Yes he is, thats George Castalona, I don't think he's ever lost a game, but it doesn't stop anyone from trying. My name is Chris Stevens by the way, I was two years above you at Hogwarts."
Hermione studied him closely for a minute, "You know, I think I remember you now" she said with a blush, "I remember I was fascinated by your eyes."
"My eyes?"
"Yes, they are almost the color of the evening sky, I don't think I've ever seen eyes as blue as yours." she replied, knowing she was blushing.
Chris gave a laugh, "That seems to be what everyone notices."
"Ms. Granger" another mans voice called, "Would you care to join me for a game?"
She looked up and noticed it was George.
"I haven't played since last summer, but sure, sounds like fun." She said as she stood.
Chris handed her the pool stick he was holding to save her the trouble of picking one off the wall. She held the stick, calculating the weight. "Would you happen to know if they have and 21 oz sticks?"
" 21 oz, thats pretty heavy for a girl your size." George remarked
"Thats the weight I always play with, gives me better control."
George walked to the wall and pulled the 21 oz stick down for her. "This is the only one here, most of us use 19 oz."
"Thank you" she replied, taking the stick from his hands. Chris made his way to the table to set it up while George and Hermione chalked their hands and stick. George glanced up to see the table was ready and handed Hermione the cue ball. "Ladies first."
She took the cue ball and sat it on the table behind the second diamond. "Are we playing 8 ball, pockets called?" she asked. George nodded a response and watched with curiosity as she lined up for the break. The balls soared around the table, sinking one of the solid colored balls.
"Looks like I have solids." she announced as she made her way around the table, looking for her next shot.
"right hand corner pocket" she said right before sinking it into her called pocket. The men stood back, impressed at the girl so far. Hermione didn't want to run the table as she was not exactly in her element, she had no clue how they would react to a mud blood beating them. She lined up her next shot and purposely missed, hoping no one noticed. George did.
"Why would you miss a shot on purpose?" he asked, causing her to blush.
"I didn't want to run the table." she replied honestly. The five men looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"I will set the shot up for you again, As long as your playing me, you will play like you mean it." George didn't want her to hold back, he was honestly curious how good she was. Once everything was set back up, he signaled for her to redo the shot.
"Side pocket" she called before sinking the ball. She made her way to the other side of the table.
"Two way combo, left corner pocket." she announced as she sunk the ball. She was set into the game, not realizing some of the other men had noticed her playing and made their way over to watch, including Lucius and Draco.
"I,m going to jump the 7 and sink the five in the side pocket." she stated before popping the cue ball over the 7, knocking the five ball in the side pocket.
"I'm impressed Ms. Granger, Where did you learn to play?" George asked.
"My grandfather taught me, he had been playing for over 50 years." she replied, George nodded as she lined up her next shot.
"I'm going to attempt to bank in the bottom corner pocket, it's my one weakness." she said before missing the shot. George took his turn, sinking 4 of his balls before missing.
The crowd was getting bigger, yet she still failed to notice. "I'm going to walk the ball into the corner pocket."
"Thats an impossible shot!" Chris said, hoping she would change her mind.
"Its not impossible, you just have to make she you hit it with the proper amount of force and with the correct amount on English." she replied
"Your shot" Chris replied while stepping back, giving her a wink. Draco noticed and wasn't happy.
She lined it up and it seemed everyone was holding their breath. She pulled back and made her shot, the crowd was silent a the cue ball hit, making the ball roll towards to pocket at a slow pace, and when it dropped into the pocket she called, a few people cheered, including Chris, Draco and Lucius.
"Highly impressive" George replied.
She continued making shot after shot, running the table as she said she would, until it was time to sink the eight ball. George stepped back and smiled.
"It appears you've left yourself in quite the spot, you cant get a good enough angle to make that shot."
Hermione smiled a huge grin and took a step from the table. "Eight ball, right corner pocket," she announced as she placed her stick behind her back and positioned the stick to the proper angle, leaning with her back against the table.
"Just scratch and hope you get another turn." Chris said, knowing she was the only person to have come anywhere close to beating George.
She paid no attention and made her shot, sinking the eight ball into the pocket she called, winning the game. Chris excitedly picked her up and spun her around, "I cant believe you won." he laughed as she giggled.
"I'm glad to have played with you Ms. Granger" George said as he took her hand, placing a kiss on her knuckles.
"Thank you sir, I had a lot of fun." she replied as she placed the stick back on the wall.
"Your not going to play again?" Chris asked.
"No, I have to find my date, but thank you for the nice conversation." she replied with a warm smile before leaving to find Draco, which didn't take long considering he was only ten feet away.
"I didn't know you could play." Draco stated as he held his arm for her to take, making sure to give the proper Malfoy smirk to Chris, practically screaming HAHA, she mine Stevens.
"I've been playing for years, My grandfather started teaching me when I was 7."
"Interesting, would you mind having a dance with me?" He asked making his way to the ballroom.
"I'm not dressed to dance"
"Your a witch are you not? Transfigure your clothes to a dress."
She could have smacked herself for not thinking of that first. She muttered a spell and waved her wand, turning her jeans and shirt into a long, black dress and her shoes into black heals. They walked into the ballroom that was filled with people.
"Good grief, is everyone in England here?" she asked, earning a chuckle from Draco.
"There is always a lot of people at these things, but everyone comes to dance as the party comes to an end."
She nodded and followed him to the middle of floor. A slow song was playing, so he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her waist and her arms around his neck. There were still a lot of people staring at her, mostly the women who considered her un lady like for playing pool with a group of men. They made light conversation as they danced.
"I've been wanting to ask you something." Draco finally said.
"ask away." she replied with a smile.
"I'm jut going to be blunt about this, would you consider dating me?" he asked feeling slightly nervous.
She smiled at him and laughed, "One condition...we take it slow and make sure it stays light until we decide if we want to be in a real relationship."
"Done" he replied, placing a kiss on her head.
They continued to dance for a while longer until Draco was tapped on the shoulder.
"Mind if I have a dance." Chris asked. Draco reluctantly released Hermione, giving her the choice. Not wanting to be rude, she took Chris's hand and let him lead her into a dance.
"So are you seeing anyone?" Chris asked instantly as he placed his hands on her waist, not wanting him to get the wrong idea, she placed her hands on his shoulder instead of around his neck.
"Actually, I am dating Draco" she replied
"Ah well, keep me in mind if things don't work out." he said, still dancing. "I am still impressed that you managed to beat George, after you walked away they talked about the shots you made, I think they were impressed with you."
Hermione giggled, "I may have impressed them, but the looks I've been getting from some of the women make me think I've overstepped a boundary or something."
"Just ignore them, some of them are okay, but most are just old, grumpy women."
The song came to a close and Chris released her, "Send me an owl if you ever want to get together for dinner or something." he kissed her hand and walked away.
Hermione made her way back to Draco who was grinning.
"Whats with the grinning?" she asked
"It's nothing really, I just think its funny you've been asked out twice tonight, by Slytherins no less."
Hermione chuckled, " I told him I was dating you."
"Did you now?" he replied with a smirk. "come with me, my parents are waiting for us."
When they arrived back at the manor, Narcissa pulled Hermione away from Draco and ran up the stairs with her.
"I've got those things you mentioned last night" Narcissa said with a smile.
"How many boxes?" Hermione asked with a smile.
"Two, It should be enough don't you think?"
"Plenty...It's funny though, I never pictured Narcissa Malfoy as a prankster."
"I wasn't, but since you've come, I feel like a side of me has been jerked back to life, I haven't had this much fun in years."
"Good, I'm glad. So I'll meet you in the dining room at midnight?"
"Midnight it is. Oh by the way, I'm glad you accepted to date Draco, I think you are good for each other."
Hermione blushed and smiled, "Yes I accepted, but I told him I wanted to take it slow, make sure we want to be together before making it a serious relationship."
"I think that was wise dear, I'll see you at Midnight." Narcissa said as she walked from the room.
Hermione pulled a quill and some parchment before climbing back to her bed, she had a letter to write.