Chapter Twelve

Why does nothing ever just work like it should?!

`I sighed and looked around my room. Clothes were everywhere and I still didn't know what I was going to wear. Today was the Hogsmeade trip before the Christmas Ball. Only the Christmas Ball wasn't why I was so nervous. Oh, I was nervous about finding the perfect dress, as all girls were, but today was a very special and important day for me. Today was mine and Draco's first date. He'd asked me last night if he could take me on a date since we had to be in Hogsmeade anyway to supervise the younger students. He'd informed me that I needed to dress nicely, but not over the top. So now I was at a loss as to what I was going to wear. Then I saw an outfit that I had gotten over the summer as an interview outfit. I had known that any interviews I may have would be at the end of the school year, but when had I ever put anything off when I could do it right then? So I'd bought the outfit and shoved it way back in my closet. I grinned, thinking of the look that would be on Draco's face when he saw it. It was business casual, but I knew I looked damn good in it, too. I slipped on a pair of pantyhose, the skirt, and shirt before sliding my feet into a pair of black flats. I pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail and left my bangs to fall across my forehead with a few tendrils of my hair framing my face. I looked in the mirror and smiled. The bright red satin shirt hugged my curves and showed just a hint of cleavage while the black pencil skirt accented my hourglass figure. The flats helped to tone down the outfit and make it look more casual. My hair was put up, but somehow it managed to look sexy and elegant at the same time. I wasn't usually one to admire myself, but I had to admit that I looked great today. So, with one last glace at the mirror, I turned and exited my bedroom.

Draco was waiting for me by the fireplace. He didn't notice me immediately as he was staring into the flames, looking deep in thought. I took this moment to take him in. He looked good. Like, really good. He was in a pair of dark wash jeans that were fitted nicely around his rear, hips, and thighs, but looser around the rest of his legs. He had matched that with a black dress shirt that made his broad shoulders look broader, tucked into his pants with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of black dress shoes. His hair was masterfully ruffled, managing to look like he had just rolled out of bed, had crazy sex, and was professionally styled all at the same time. I cleared my throat lightly, calling his attention to the fact that I was ready to go. He turned to look at me and a smile slid across his face as he took my appearance in. I nervously wrung my hands behind my back as his eyes roamed over me.

"Do I look okay?" I asked anxiously

It took a moment for Draco to respond, but the look in his eyes made my breath hitch when he finally looked at my face, "You look divine." He growled, a primal tone to his voice.

I blushed and ducked my head. I heard him walking over to me and then felt his fingers under my chin, causing me to raise my head again, "You're beautiful."

And he placed a soft, sweet kiss against my lips.

I smiled at him when he pulled back, "You look good, too."

"Shall we?" he offered me his arm and I slipped my hand into the crook of his elbow. He led me out of the common room and then we were on our way to Hogsmeade. We didn't say a lot on the way there, just walked in companionable silence.

"Where are we eating?" I asked, realizing that he'd never told me where he was taking me.

"You'll see." He said with a grin, "It's a surprise."

I shook my head, but let Draco lead me through Hogsmeade. We walked past all the main shops and turned down a side street. I looked around in surprise. I'd never been to this part of Hogsmeade. It was the fancier part of the village and most students stuck with the stores that had cheaper products. I gasped as I realized where Draco was leading me.

"No. Absolutely not. I will not let you spend this much money on me." I said, coming to a halt in the middle of the road.

"You don't have a choice. You agreed to let me take you on a date. When you agreed to that, you agreed to this." Draco gently pulled me the rest of the way to the restaurant.

It was a new restaurant, but I had read about it in the Daily Prophet. Paradis was the name of the restaurant, written in fancy lettering across the dark glass doors. I smiled at the name, which means paradise in English. I turned to face Draco, "Seriously. This is way too expensive. You don't need to spend this much money on me. Especially on me."

"I would rather spend it on you than anybody else. Hermione, please, just go with it? For me? I want to do this for you. I want you to have this experience and I want to be the one to have given it to you." Draco said sincerely.

I sighed and nodded my head, "On one condition. I'm paying for desert."

Draco laughed and intertwined our fingers before opening the door and guiding me into the building. My breath caught in my throat as I looked at the elegant restaurant. There was a massive silver chandelier hanging from the ceiling, crystals draping between the main structure and candles lining the limbs of the chandelier. Wall scones were at two foot intervals around the whole room, giving the entire restaurant a soft, romantic glow. There were booths lining the walls and smaller tables set up in the middle of the room. On each table were three black candles, glowing softly around a vase of wildflowers. The floors were wooden and polished to shine. There weren't very many people eating right at the time because it was only eleven o'clock, just before lunchtime. The waiters wore black dress pants and black dress shoes with silver silk shirts and a black tie. The waitresses were dressed in silver dress shirts, black pencil skirts, and silver heels. I snapped back to attention as the hostess approached us. She wore black dress pants, silver flats, and a sparkling silver top.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a smile on her face

"Yes, I made reservations last week. Malfoy." Draco said with a grin in my direction

"Last week? You've been planning this?" I asked quietly

"Oh course I have." He answered, sounding amused, as the hostess led us to a booth in the back, away from the other customers. She handed us our menus, took our drink orders, and promised to be back shortly.

I let my eyes wander all over the restaurant. It really was very elegant and beautiful. I glanced at the menu and felt my eyes widen. I'd never eaten anywhere that was so expensive.

"Draco, are you sure about this?" I asked, still staring at the prices.

"Yes. I am absolutely positive. Order anything you want. I swear this will not put a dent of any kind into my savings." He laughed at my wide-eyed stare, "Hermione, have you forgotten who I am? I'm Draco Malfoy. I am the owner of the family business now that Father is in Azkaban. I promise to you that this is nothing. Order whatever pleases you."

"You never told me you had taken over your Father's company." I said in surprise

Draco shrugged, "I don't have to do a whole lot right now. When I get out of school, I'll be more actively involved, of course. As it is now, I just have to glance over the monthly reports and make sure that all of the money is going to the right places and being spent properly."

"Oh. Well, that's fantastic, Draco. I had no idea you were doing that." I said with a small smile, proud of him for being so grown up. My smile grew as I saw the light blush spread over his cheeks. He was spared having to answer me with the return of the waitress. She placed our drinks in front of us and then took our orders. We both ordered chicken alfredo and handed over our menus.

"So now you know what I'm doing after school. What are you planning on going into?" Draco asked me, sounding genuinely curious.

"Well, I think I want to be a Healer." I said, shyly.

"Really? That'd be really nice. I think you would be excellent."

"I've always been good with healing spells and potions. Essence of Dittany is one potion that I became excellent at making during the war." I explained, "And I like to help people. It makes me feel like all of my time spent studying is paid off."

Draco smiled at me and leaned forward slightly to grab my hand across the table, "Whatever you decide to do, you will be the best at it. You are the brightest witch of the age, afterall."

I chuckled, "I know I am. I just hate sounding conceited all the time so I try to avoid that nickname."

"Granger, you couldn't avoid it if you tried."

Our food arrived a short time later and Merlin was it delicious. We ate our food leisurely and we talked in between bites. An hour later I was stuffed and knew considerably more about Draco than I did before. His favorite colors were black and silver, his dad was in Azkaban while he and his mother had been forgiven for their part in the war after Harry, Ron, and Hermione's testimonies, but they still had to undergo monthly check ups to make sure that they weren't doing anything illegal, he loved to run, and he hated rain. Draco had, in turn, learned quite a bit about me. I'd told him that my favorite colors were blue and green, my parents were in Australia and still did not remember me (a story for another day), I loved to run also, and I hated snow and being cold.

Draco paid for our meal, ignoring my grumbling, and we made our way back to the main shops with the other students. I was meeting up with Ginny to shop for our dresses and accessories while Draco was going shopping for Christmas presents. I'd gotten presents for everybody except Draco and I planned to do that today while I was with Ginny.

"So, I'll see you back in the common room?" I asked as we came to a stop outside of the Three Broomsticks

"You most certainly will. Have fun shopping with Weaselette. I can't wait to see this dress you're going to get." Draco said teasingly

I lightly slapped his arm, "Her name is Ginny. And who says you get to see the dress?"

"Well, I have to so I can match it." Draco said, smirking

I rolled my eyes and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my ear against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. His arms wrapped around my shoulders and pulled me closer. Draco placed a soft kiss on the top of my head, "You'd better go or you'll run out of time. I'll see you back at the school."

I turned my face up expectantly, waiting for a kiss, and I was not disappointed. Draco's lips brushed against mine and I sighed happily. I felt him smile against my mouth and I flicked my tongue out lightly, just brushing his bottom lip. This was the only invitation he needed to deepen the kiss and my hands tightened on his hips as I fought to hold myself upright when my knees just wanted to give out. We broke apart quickly when someone cleared their throat. My cheeks were flaming as I looked at Ginny. She had one eyebrow raised and a Malfoy-worthy smirk on her lips.

"Having fun, are we?" She asked mischievously

"Oh, shove it, Gin." I muttered as I tried to tame the blush that was still spreading over my cheeks.

I heard Draco chuckle and I looked up at him questioningly. He just smiled, "It could have been worse. It could have been Potter or Weasley who walked up on us."

I sighed, knowing he was right. We hugged one last time, he kissed my cheek, and Ginny dragged me off to the nearest dress shop. We seemed to have missed the rush as most girls went shopping before eating lunch. Thank Merlin for that because I simply despised trying to shop when there was a large crowd in the store. Especially when that large crowd consisted of crazy, emotional girls who were determined to find that perfect dress to impress all the guys. I shuddered at the thought of the rampage that must have gone on in this store earlier. There were still plenty of dresses, but you could tell that they had definitely been picked over. With a sigh, Ginny and I began going through each rack and coming up empty handed. An hour later I'd found a pair of heels, a beautiful sapphire necklace and matching earrings, but no dress. Ginny, luckily, had managed to find a dress that she fell in love with at first sight. It was a gold, halter-top, floor length ball gown. The top was fitted nicely and the skirt flared out just above her hips and fell in layers down to the floor. She looked like a queen in it. She had found heels to match and said that she had jewelry to wear with it in her dormitory.

"I think I'll just have to go look somewhere else, Gin. I can't find anything here that is right." I said sadly

Ginny nodded and went to pay for her items. I turned to follow her and then I saw it. The dress was tucked back into a corner, almost completely hidden behind a few other dresses. The very bottom of the skirt was just visible, but as soon as it caught my eye, I knew I'd be buying it. I pulled it out and heard a soft gasp behind me.

"That's it. That's the one. It is so just.. you. You'll look absolutely gorgeous in that, Mione." Ginny said softly, "Go try it on. I want to see."

I smiled and made my way into the dressing room. I slipped into the dress, looked in the mirror and smiled. I was totally getting it. I stepped out to show Ginny and a grin spread over her features. She squealed and clapped as I spun to show her the back, "Oh, Draco is going to just die when he sees you!"

The dress was a light ice green with a blue-green tulle overcoat. It was strapless and fitted around the bust with an empire waistline. The skirt fell in simple layers to the floor and there was a crystal starburst design on the left side of the bodice. My necklace, earrings, and shoes would complement the color of the dress beautifully. Draco would love it. I smiled, changed back into my clothes, and then paid for my purchases.

"So, are we ready to go back to school?" Ginny asked as we walked out of the dress shop

"Actually, I have one more thing I need to do." I said with a small smile, "You can go on and head back though. I'll be there shortly."

Ginny smiled and headed back to the castle while I walked across the street and into another shop.

"Hi, my name's Hermione Granger. I have a package waiting to be picked up." I smiled at the front desk attendant.

"Right away, miss. I'll be right back." He said politely and walked into the backroom. The young man returned just a minute later with a small package that had my name written on it, "It says you've already paid for it, so here you go. Happy Christmas, Miss Granger!"

"And the same to you!" I grinned as I exited the shop, knowing that Draco would love what I'd gotten him. I had ordered it last time we were in Hogsmeade and had only just gotten the notification that it was ready for pick up earlier in the week.

The Christmas Ball was in exactly one week, the Saturday before Christmas. Students were scheduled to go home the day after the Ball. Draco and I had planned this one all by ourselves as we wanted all of the students and staff to be surprised. McGonagall had, of course, helped a little, but she was the only teacher who knew what we had planned. This week was going to fly by and for once, I hoped it really did.

Hermione's dress: /images/201303/source_img/2013_Prom_Dresses_A_Line _Floor_Length_Green_Sweetheart_Tulle_PD0064_origin al_img_13637619259823_64_.jpg

Ginny's dress:

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