Chapter 31

"I'm not hungry." Hermione said when she met Ginny for lunch at the Leaky Cauldron.

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

"Shut up, off course I'm not." Hermione said with annoyance. She was just annoyed all round. She didn't mean to take it out of Ginny, but she was being provoked by awful scenarios being thrown at her. She did feel queasy, but it had nothing to do with such awful prospects.

"What's happened?" Ginny asked. "You're usually not this touchy. You're practically scowling. Did you have a fight? Although its Malfoy, I can't actually imagine you two doing anything but fighting."

Hermione didn't say anything, she just pushed the stew in her bowl around with her fork. "He wants me to meet his parents." She said after a while.

Ginny seemed to freeze for a moment. She started to say something but stopped. "As in his pureblood supremacist parents," she said. "Why?"

Hermione shrugged. She did know why, she guessed. It would formalise their relationship. She knew full well it was the next step, a big step.

"Does he want to torment you, or something?" Ginny said. "I don't understand. Why would he be introducing you to his parents?"

"I think he wants to be an official couple," Hermione said.

"Draco Malfoy?" Ginny said. "He changes girls like he changes clothes, and I really mean that. Well, except recently. Oh Merlin, you think he's thinking about being in a proper relationship with you?"

Hermione didn't answer. She didn't want to talk about it, because such conversation led to uncomfortable things, and her overall queasiness meant that there was something very uncomfortable sitting in her unconscious. She just wasn't sure what it was exactly, and she didn't want to. Things were really good. She liked being with him, they had a fantastic time together, they had fantastic sex.

"I was pretty astounded you two have lasted this long, you really think he is thinking about getting more serious?"

"No." Hermione said dismissively. "Not serious, serious, come on, that's not what anyone wants. I think he just enjoys being a couple for a bit. It a bit new for him, maybe he feels he has to introduce me to his parents."

"Merlin, that would be the most awkward meeting," Ginny said.

"I know," Hermione said. "I really don't want to meet them."

"Then tell him, I guess," Ginny said.

"Its already set up for Sunday."

"Maybe you could come down with something," Ginny said. "Something contagious like Dragon Pox." Hermione laughed at the notion of faking Dragon Pox just to get out of a meeting with his parents. Actually, she wasn't entirely sure she wouldn't purposefully contract Dragon Pox to get out of that particular Sunday lunch.

They were interrupted by a satin wrapped woman who plonked herself down on the free seat at their table. Well, if Hermione wondered if her life could become more uncomfortable, then the answer was obviously yes, because having Rita Skeeter sitting down her not inconsiderable backside at their table with a smarmy smile, would qualify.

"Miss, Granger," Rita said, stressing the 's' so she sounded like a snake. "A little birdy tells me that you have your hooks into our favourite and most elusive bachelor. Would you like to tell the readers how you achieved it?"

"Achieved what?" Hermione said sharply.

"How you managed to get the attention of our most illustrious single wizard. Handsome, wealthy and elusive." Rita continued with a shoulder shrug that Hermione suspected was supposed to be coy. "But you are quite gifted at getting the attention of powerful men. You track record is quite extraordinary. You've set your sights high this time. You think you'll be able to keep him interested enough to lead him down the aisle?"

"I'm…" Hermione started flustered. She had no idea how to respond to the ridiculous accusations. In fact, she was so in dignified and offended, she was completely tongue tied. "I am not," she started.

"Not what, Miss Granger?"

"No comment." Hermione said through her teeth. She was not going to give that woman anything. Anything she said would be twisted out of all recognition, and made to seemed extremely bad. Better to say nothing at all. She certainly wasn't going to give the odious woman any ammunition. "Now we're having a private conversation here, so please leave."

Rita gave her a challenging look. Hermione could tell that her evil mind was working on some angle to make her look bad. The woman had never written anything favourable about her, so Hermione hardly expected her to start now.

"But the readers are ever so curious." Rita said with a chiding look.

"And we don't care if they piss their pants," Ginny said crudely.

"If it isn't Mrs. Potter," Rita said turning her attention to Ginny. "How was your honeymoon? Care to comment? We have some lovely photos."

"I would actually," Ginny said. "It was lovely to be somewhere where the press is kept properly restrained. That really is the civilised way to go as they simply take advantage if they are not properly governed."

Hermione watched as Rita Skeeter's mouth pulled together tightly in condemnation. Then she put on a bright smile. "Must go girls, until next time."

Hermione shuttered when the woman slid away. Seriously, Voldemort and Rita Skeeter would have made a great couple.

"I probably wouldn't read the paper tomorrow if I were you," Ginny said. Hermione made a big 'ugh' sound. They finished their lunch and Hermione went back to work, feeling even more downtrodden.

How had she managed to get herself into a mess yet again? She got into it trying to walk away without the whole wizarding world thinking she was a slag. She just wanted a bit of anonymity and obscurity, and now it had all swung completely the other way past the point of reasonable into total crap. She was the centre of attention yet again. She was pretty sure Rita Skeeter was going to portray her as the conniving goldigger, maybe even on top of the man-user attributes she had been trying to get away from before.

It made the upcoming lunch with the Malfoys even more appealing. Some really horrific articles would pave the way to this meeting nicely. Why not have Rita Skeeter do a little PR for her ahead of it so they can have a truly atrocious impression of her.

Draco arrived home shortly after she had.

"What have you been up to today?" Hermione asked. She was still trying to get a handle on what he actually did with his time.

"I have been to Croatia," he said. Not an answer she had been expected.

"And now was the weather in Croatia?"

"Cold actually, you would think it would still be warm, but not. How was work?" He rarely wanted to talk about what he did. She knew he did do some things for the family business. She wondered if he guarded his reputation as an idle playboy, because he never wanted to discuss work he obviously did.

"Good. Typically. I got accosted by Rita Skeeter today. She wants to know how I got my hooks into you."

Draco smiled and stepped closer, and kissed her. "We could show her, but that would be indecent," he said while running his hands up and down her sides. He always managed to distract her. Her mood was lifting pretty much immediately. He knew how to tease her, and he knew exactly where to touch to get her to forget her train of thought. A skill he used to his advantage.

"She is going to write something really nasty about me tomorrow, I'm pretty sure."

"You're over reacting."

"I'm pretty sure I'm not. The woman hates me."

"That's right," he said with a laugh, "I remember now. She really did write some awful things about you in the past."

"I'm pretty sure it gave you a giggle."

"How could it not?" he said. "What were you, an ambitious girl?"

"I still am apparently. Apparently I have set my sights really high," she said and stroked his chest with her finger. Her insiders responded to touching him. She couldn't want to get his clothes off. Dinner first, she reminded herself.

"Although I suspect some would say really low."

"And what do you think your parents will say?" she asked.

"They will be so in awe that I have brought a female home, they will be completely in amazement. Maybe even fearful of spooking you in case you run away."

Hermione suspected that was far from true. In awe maybe at the 'quality' of girl he'd dragged home.

"They really aren't as awful as people think they are," Draco said. "Or as intolerant. Don't worry about it."

"I just think with the articles that Rita Skeeter is about to write, maybe we should put it off for a while until things settle down for a bit."

"You can't let people like Skeeter dictate you about." Draco said.

She wasn't, it was just a good excuse to get out of this lunch. She wasn't exactly sure why he wanted to do this. "I just think its…unnecessary."

"Its just lunch. Quick meal, quick chat then we're off," he said. He looked her over, "do you have a problem meeting my parents?"

"They just haven't been my greatest supporters in the past."

"Neither was I, but you've talked me around. What's really going on in your head?" he said and looked her in the eye.

"I just feel uneasy bringing other people in," she said. "Things are lovely as they are, I just don't want to bring in people who would mess it up."

"No one is going to mess this up," he said and kissed her on the forehead. "Its just you and me. If you're here and I'm here, what's there to mess up?"