Tuesday
It was gone 6.30 in the evening and Draco was getting ready to meet his date in an hour. Lacey DeLotte was a party witch, just turned 21. Her family had been long friends with the Malfoys and they had a few dates the previous year but it was nothing more than a casual fling and tonight that was exactly what he needed. Just to keep his mind off Granger and her creamy skin and her vanilla scent. He looked over the Manor grounds from his office and pulled on his suit jacket when he saw the tent entrance still open. The teams had packed up over half an hour ago so there must be someone still working and he only assumed it would be her. He checked the wards on the Manor and found her still not having checked out of the Floo.
He didn't want to leave before she did so he decided to take a walk down. His Mother wouldn't be happy with someone still in the Manor when no one else was so it was best to get her out before she started to worry. He hadn't seen much of Granger the rest of the day. He had a meeting early afternoon and by the time he was back, lunch was over and she was back into the field with her team and he stayed in his office watching them work. By the time they had packed up for the day the venom had been distributed over three quarters of the grounds and they only had a small patch left to complete tomorrow, then it would be clear up for the rest of the week.
He was at the entrance to the tent in a few minutes and pushed aside the material to step inside. It was still light outside but inside was a lot darker. A lamp was floating above the long table to the right giving light to Granger, bent over the table with her head resting on her palms, the black strappy top she was wearing was showing him her cleavage and her hair; loose now; curled around her face. He stared at her from his spot at the entrance and she looked up at him, then stood up straight.
"Hi." She said.
"Hello." He responded.
"Is everything alright?" She asked.
"It's past 6.30 Granger. Everyone has gone home."
'Sorry, I was just getting finished on the plans for tomorrow. Do you need me to leave now?"
"Well I'm heading out soon and want to make sure everything is secure before I leave."
"Sure, sorry. I'll just grab my stuff." She turned around and put on her jumper that was hanging on a nearby chair, picked up her brown leather satchel and swung it over her shoulder. She made her way towards him and he exited the tent first. She flicked her wand and extinguished the lamp then leaving the tent she drew a line with her wand and closed the entrance up. She turned to him, smiled and they set off back towards the house.
"You look smart. Are you going out?" She asked him as they slowly walked across the grass.
"Just meeting an old friend for a catch up." Hook up would be the better word he thought.
"Sounds more exciting than my night." She lifted the paperwork in her hand up between them and hummed to herself.
"It's hard to switch off from work." He noted and she nodded in agreement.
"It is. But we all need a night off every now and then."
"Hmmm." He agreed. "Crazy weekend planned then?"
"Oh yes. Extravagant parties with very rich and famous people." She jibed, glanced over at him and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "I assume yours will be the same?"
'Sadly not. Researching how to get the grounds back to the way they were as quick as possible is top of my list." Their feet started to crunch under the stones now as they reached the main doors. He stepped up quickly first to open the door for her. He was still a gentleman after all. She pulled the hair back from her face behind her ear as she thanked him and stepped through. He caught that vanilla scent again and his mind flashed back to glimpse of her stomach from earlier today.
He mentally scorned himself and told his body to quit whatever it was feeling while he closed and locked the door.
He turned around and they continued their walk to the fireplace in silence. Just the sound of their shoes on the floor to keep them occupied. If he kept thinking about her he obviously was desperate for some female attention. She was attractive there was no denying that as he had noticed a few times today. She was naturally pretty, barely any makeup, chocolate brown hair. A great figure, small waist, larger hips, ample chest. Different to anyone he had ever dated.
Oh Merlin did he just admit he wanted to date Granger? He was attracted to her but that didn't mean he wanted to date her. He was just attracted to her in the way that he found attractive women attractive. When that happened he would usually date them but he wouldn't date Granger. She was here and he needed a release which wasn't a job for her. That's what tonight with Lacey was about.
They had reached the Floo and she grasped for handful of the green powder before stepping into the fireplace.
"I'll see you tomorrow." He said looking into her brown eyes more closely than before.
"Goodnight." She gave a small smile and called out for her destination and in a roar of green flames she vanished. He followed a few moments after and called for Diagon Alley where he was swallowed by the same flames towards his evening of forgetting all about Granger and her skin.