Chapter Twelve.
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Hermione was nervous. She didn't understand how she had ended up accepting to be a part of this stupid blind date. Again. She had sworn that she would never allow Harry to set her up on another blind date, and yet...
She sighed as she flicked her wand, making the zip at the back of her dress do up and turned to look in the mirror. Briefly, Hermione wondered if there would ever come a time when she would be happy with what she saw in her reflection. Her eyes glanced over the image looking back at her and she groaned, dropping her face into her hands. It was no use. Whatever she did or wore, she would never be one of those stunning women who were always so happy.
Pulling her head up she reached for the hairbrush on the dresser before pulling it roughly through her hair. It got caught on knots with every tug through and Hermione barely even winced when she felt the strands of hair snap or pull from her scalp. She wondered whether it was supposed to hurt, but right now she didn't have time to focus on it. Right now, she needed to prepare to meet another man who would probably take one look at her and decide that she wasn't good enough.
Her dress was a simple teal tshirt style dress that clung to her lack of curves and called attention all of the assets that she didn't have. Turning to the side, she noted that her stomach was bloated and sighed, trying to suck it in. She could do that, but it would be a pain in the arse to do it all night. She would wait until she saw her date and then decide whether she could be bothered with the effort, she decided.
She pulled a black leather jacket from her wardrobe and picked up her black suede wedges before opening her door and walking into the living room, stopping to sit in the armchair and put them on. When she was done she turned to Blaise, who had been sitting on the sofa with a book, and flapped her arms dejectedly. She knew that she had regressed back to her depressed state lately, and though she had searched and searched for a reason, she couldn't come up for a single one.
"You look gorgeous, Hermione." Blaise said, smiling gently as he rose up from the sofa and stood in front of her. "You'll knock him dead."
"Yeah, as in he'll take one look at me and die from fear, you mean?" She snorted and Blaise sighed.
"Just get in that fireplace and go meet your date. Be yourself, okay? Be honest." He told her and she did what she was told.
She appeared out of the fireplace in what looked to be a very upmarket wizarding restaurant. There were hundreds of floating candles that lit the space as well as wall sconces with flickering light coming off of them. Marble floors and crystal chandeliers made it appear to be the most expensive place she might ever eat a meal.
She looked around, trying to remember what Harry had told her about her date. He was tall, brown hair, blue eyes and they went to school together. That was it. Wait, did Harry even tell her how she was supposed to recognise him? No 'he'll be holding a single red rose' or 'he'll be the one carrying a blue book'. Great. She looked around the restaurant and tried to find someone, anyone that she recognised. Sighing, she turned to check the other side of the huge room and bumped her nose into a hard chest.
"Hello Hermione." Came a deep voice from inches above her head and she looked up to see...
"Theo?" She gasped, "What are you doing here?"
"Same thing you are, I reckon. Shall we find our table?" He asked and walked off to find the maitre de.
Hermione stood there, stunned and confused. Had Harry really done this? Why would he set her up with this impossibly attractive man? She shook her head, hoping to clear it slightly, and turned to see Theo talking to the man at the greeting station. He glanced up briefly and caught her eye, smiling softly at her before turning back to the man. Hermione's hand came up to her belly, feeling butterflies. Hoping that she hadn't been mistaken, she steeled her nerves and walked tentatively to Theo's side.
"Um, Theo?" She asked, hesitant and worried. Theo looked down at her and smiled, "Are you... Are you my blind date?" She whispered and he nodded.
"You look stunning." He told her and she blushed, dropping her gaze to the floor. "Our tables this way, are you ready?" he asked, offering his arm for her to hold.
Hermione looked from his slightly bent arm to his face and his gentle smile was still in place. He gestured for her to hold his arm and she slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow slowly. She felt like he was going to pull away at any moment and tell her that this had all been some kind of horrible joke, but as they walked to their table, Theo's other hand came up and gently laid on top of hers.
He pulled out her chair for her and pushed it in underneath her before he moved around the table to sit opposite her. She looked at the way he was dressed, taking in his semi-casual appearance. The shirtsleeves of his fitted black shirt were rolled up, showing his perfectly toned arms. The top two buttons were undone and her eyes were drawn to the smooth, clear skin on show.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" He asked, breaking her inspection of him and she blushed heavily before looking hesitantly at him and nodding.
"I'm shocked, that you're here with me, I mean." She mumbled and Theo watched her intently.
"You think I'd rather not be?" He asked, cocking his brow at her and she nodded.
"Of course. I'm sure there are hundreds of places you'd rather be." She admitted and shrugged. "I'm sorry that Harry dragged you into his attempts to get me dating again." Theo shook his head.
"This was my idea, not Harry's." He informed her, turning to the waiter who had just arrived and ordering a bottle of wine before turning back to her, smirking at he gaping face. "Is that so hard to believe?"
"Yes!" She exclaimed, "What do you mean this was your idea?"
"I knew you wouldn't come here if I asked you myself." Theo shrugged, "You'd think I was trying to trick you, so I roped Harry into getting you here."
"But why exactly do you want me here?" She asked, frowning at him.
"Because I'm attracted to you and I want to get to know you," He grinned, "We haven't seen each other since the last time we revised Charms in the library, so I don't know much about you."
"Wait." Hermione said, holding up her hand and pushing her chair back, scraping the legs on the floor. Theo's face was suddenly serious, "I can't do this, I can't be part of this... Joke or plan... Whatever this is."
"Hermione!" Theo said as she pushed past him and rushed towards the floo.
She felt the tears coming to her eyes and blinked furiously to try and avoid crying in front of all these people. Guests of the restaurant had turned to stare and now the whispers of her name were becoming louder as more and more people recognised her. She could feel her heart racing and her head begin to spin before she felt a firm hand grab her shoulder and turn her.
"We need to talk," Theo told her, watching her concernedly, "I'm taking you home."
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"Blaise!" He heard being shouted from the living room, but it wasn't his flatmates voice, it was his old friends.
Worried, Blaise slipped out of bed and wrapped his dressing gown around him, pulling open his bedroom door and walking towards the source of the voice. He gasped when he saw Theo holding a pale and panicking Hermione around the waist.
"Help me get her to bed, okay?" Theo asked and Blaise rushed to his side.
He slipped her arm around his shoulders and felt Theo release her to him. Feeling her energy leave her, he slipped his other arm under her legs and pulled her up, carrying her against his chest. He left Theo in the living room, while he tucked her into her bed.
"What the hell happened?!" He hissed when he returned to Theo, who was sitting forward on the sofa with his hands covering his face.
"Does she really have such little self esteem?" Theo asked, pulling his hands away suddenly. "She thought it was a joke, mate. She literally ran away because she thought I was messing with her."
Blaise sighed and collapsed onto the armchair, staring straight ahead of him. She was slipping back into depression again and it scared the shit out of him. She had seemed so good, so well lately. He didn't know what had happened, but making a mental note to contact Julia tomorrow, he turned back to Theo and made a decision on her behalf, hoping that it would be for the best.
"She was with a guy for five years." Blaise sighed, "Draco, she was with Draco."
"But wasn't Draco with that Eloise girl?" Theo asked, frowning and Blaise nodded.
"Mate you don't get it, Hermione IS Eloise." Blaise huffed, leaning forward on his knees, "The story goes that she glamoured herself for one night of annonymity, but Draco approached her and she fell hard for him. She knew that if he ever found out that she was really Hermione, he would leave her so she kept that up for five years until he proposed. Mungo's cancelled her glamour and Draco abandoned her because she wasn't who he thought she was."
"Bloody hell." Theo groaned. "That's... That's pretty fucked up."
"Tell me about it." Blaise nodded. "She thinks that she's plain. Average, well probably less than average to be honest. She's always been that way, I think, but when Draco took one look at her and refused to have anything to do with her, even though she had been with him for five years, it did... Something to her. It broke her."
"I have no idea what to say." Theo admitted and Blaise chuckled ruefully.
"She has... A lot of issues. I need to know, before I go in there and talk to her, whether you would be willing to overlook them, to accept them?" he asked his friend, who nodded.
"I mean, I can't guarantee that I'll never hurt her, but I'll support her and try to help her. Whatever else happens then... We'll deal with it, I guess." Theo said and Blaise smiled, standing up.
"Wait here, I'll be back in a bit. Help yourself to a drink, mate, you look like you need one."