Chapter 8: Date

Attraction is not a choice. — David DeAngelo


"Are you coming to dinner tonight?" asked Blaise as he and Draco left the conference room.

"No," answered Draco curtly.

"Why? Got a hot date?" Blaise wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Draco gave him a dark look. "Shut up."

"I haven't seen you this gloomy about a date since the Pansy days at Hogwarts," remarked Blaise with a smirk. "Who's got your pretty head all wound up?"

"Shut up, Zabini."

He laughed and shrugged. "No problem, mate. I'll find my answers from the papers tomorrow morning."

Draco gave him a rude, single-fingered gesture and disappeared into his office, leaving Blaise grinning to himself.


22 April, 2004

9 days and 18 looks to go

Hermione was on a roll. The list of spells Fleur owled her the evening before proved to be her saving grace. With a flick of the wrist a dozen buttons were simultaneously sewn on the charcoal grey trench coat, a muttered charm sent the sewing machine working on even the most dangerous curves, while another spell finished off the seams on dress after dress.

In short, it was -no pun intended- magical.

Hermione was so excited about the fact that nearly half of the mannequins were clothed that she worked all night without even noticing that she had forgotten to sleep. She was putting the finishing touches to the plunging backline of a gorgeous silver gown when she heard the clock struck seven. Glancing out of the window, she was surprised to see the skyscrapers tinged in the pink of dawn instead of fading into the gloom of night.

Sweet Merlin, did she really get that carried away?

That was when she realised that her fingers were numb and her arms heavy. Every joint from her shoulders to her knuckles ached and moaned. She stared dumbly at her reflection in the floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The dark rings around her eyes and her limp hair bore the mark of an all-nighter.

Promptly, she fell off her chair and landed in a cushion of dark green velvet. Her eyes snapped close and she dreamt of green.


When Hermione opened her eyes, she felt something slightly scratchy against her cheek. Lifting her head groggily from what felt like a card, she reached up and rubbed her cheek. The contours of the paper were embossed into her face. Damn.

Sitting up with a groan, she stretched her arms up to work out all the knots in her muscles thanks to her sleeping on the floor. She didn't even remember falling asleep, she was that tired.

Picking up the card, she stared at the words, trying to make sense out of them.

Donatella. See you at 7.

Donatella? Who on earth was Donatella?

At 7? What 7?

Blinking, she looked up at the wall clock which read eight minutes past six.

Wait.

Oh no.

Hermione sprang up to her feet so quickly that she banged her head right against the bench, sending her sprawling to the ground with wet eyes and a very painful spot in the centre of her skull. But she scrambled out of the room almost immediately, there was no time to lose. How could she have forgotten about the date? How could she have slept through the entire afternoon?

Hermione grabbed a big fluffy towel from her room then shot into the bathroom.

She would have to be quick if she was to make it to Donatella on time. Real quick.


"Granger!" called Draco for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "Answer the damned door, will you?"

He groaned and raked his fingers through his hair in frustration. Fleur had sent him an owl at noon with a note that told him to escort Granger to Donatella, one of the most exclusive restaurants in town, at a quarter to seven. Draco glanced at his watch. It was already half past six.

Hopefully the traffic would be kind. Draco had arranged for a limo ride as the Italian restaurant's floo station was permanently infested by the paparazzi. Only famous people with a deathwish and perfectly unrecognisable people would travel there by floo.

"Granger!" barked Draco impatiently, followed by a series of pokes on the doorbell. "I know you're in there. I heard a door slam ten minutes ago. Open up or I'll come in!"

It wasn't an empty threat. As the owner of the Malfoy Luxury Apartments, he could enter each and every door he wished without as much of a charm-

The door was suddenly yanked open and a tense voice ground out very rapidly, "Press that doorbell one more time and I'll hex you into oblivion."

Draco's finger was still trained on the doorbell as he blinked at a practically steaming Hermione Granger. A wave of aroma hit his nose and her damp hair confirmed that she had just been in the shower. He barely registered her half-made-up face before she spun around and stalked into the depths of the corridor, leaving him staring at her back. She was wearing what looked like from the back a simple red dress which was slightly on the tight side, giving him a nice view of the curve of her waist.

If she wore more clothes like that, he might find her a bit more pleasant to talk to.

He must have said that out loud, because Granger whipped around and snapped, "Well I am truly sorry that your values are so twisted but most people enjoy my company because of my personality." She said "personality" as if it were four separate words, and disappeared into the room at the end of the corridor.

Draco shrugged and said loudly. "What can I say? I'm a Malfoy, of course I'm sick and twisted."

"Is that your new strategy?" demanded Granger, emerging with a brush in hand and ran it through her tangles of now dry hair. "Self-pity?"

"What? Does it piss you off?" smirked Draco, watching her struggle with her hair while throwing pairs of shoes over her shoulder from a cabinet by the door.

"You, in general, piss me off," she answered tonelessly, while inspecting a pair of spiky black heels.

"I'm flattered, really. You do know there's a thin line between hate and love, don't you?" he asked teasingly.

Granger stopped what she was doing to pin him with a glare. "In your case, there's the bloody Atlantic Ocean between the two."

Draco dramatically clutched his heart and said in a strangled voice, "Granger, you really wound me-"

"Oh my GOD Malfoy will you shut up?" she growled through gritted teeth and threw a shoe right in his shin, leaving a dusty mark on his pants.

Draco lamented the damage done to his pants. "Are you insane, Granger? It's Prada!"

"And that," she pointed at the shoe. "Is Manolo Blahnik."

"So? Just because it's a Manola Blanket-"

"It's Manolo Blahnik, you moron!" Granger said, exasperated.

"It's not my fault the guy has some weird Italian name-"

"He's Spanish, for Merlin's sake!"

"And why should I care?" asked Draco bluntly.

Granger blinked blankly.

Draco smiled silkily. "Is the great Hermione Granger tongue tied?"

She actually looked away and blushed.

Oh shit. Was he flirting with her?

He quickly resumed his mask of aloofness and said coolly, "You'd better get your Blankets on-"

"Blahnik," she corrected him again.

Draco shrugged carelessly. "Hurry up. We don't want to have lover boy waiting, do we?"

"Can't we just floo there?" asked Granger with a frown, then gasped as if she had discovered the lost city of Atlantis. "Oh no, of course not. What if the dust gets on your Prada trouser?"

Draco simply glared at her.


Hermione knew why they didn't floo there when the limo stopped on the doorstep of Donatella.

Hordes of photographers waited by the two sides of the porch, held back by an invisible wall while they snapped hundreds of photos per second of diners walking into the restaurant.

"Scared, Granger?" drawled Malfoy, obviously having noticing her staring at the camera lights going off non-stop.

"Why should I be?" she retorted.

He smirked. "Oh right, of course you're used to it. Potty's best friend and Krum's love interest. They love you, I'm sure."

She scowled at him. "It's a fine line between love and hate," she threw his words back into his face.

"No Atlantic Ocean this time?" he shot back.

Hermione was going to make a very intelligent retort when the limo stopped and the door opened with a click.

"Miss Granger, welcome to Donatella," said the man with a thick Italian accent, offering her his hand.

She smiled and took it, sliding out of the car as gracefully as she could, then was nearly blinded by the multitude of camera lights going off in front of her face.

"Hermione! Hermione! Is it true you're engaged to Viktor Krum?"

"Hermione! Did you and Harry get into a fight?"

"Hermione! Look this way!"

"Is Luna Lovegood still your best friend?"

"Which Quidditch team do you think would win the League this year?"

Suddenly, in her bewilderment, she felt an arm snake around her waist, and Malfoy's voice in her ear. "Just smile and follow me."

So she did.

She stole a glance at Malfoy and found him nodding to the photographers in terse acknowledgement, a stern frown on his brow, while expertly ignoring all the questions thrown his way. The shouts of the paparazzi faded into elegant music as they reached the tall glass doors of the restaurant, and Hermione breathed a sigh.

"You need practice, obviously," commented Malfoy, releasing her from his embrace.

Only then did she notice how warm his body was beside her just now, and she nervously fiddled with her hair while trying to recall what he had just said.

"'Ermione! Draco!" came Fleur's voice. Hermione looked up and smiled at the Frenchwoman, who was absolutely radiant in a slinky silver dress. "Come, we've been waiting forever."

Hermione smiled apologetically. "I'm really sorry Fleur-"

She cut her off with a laugh. "Pas probleme. Come Draco, our table ees over there." She waved her hand somewhere to her right, then turned to Hermione. "And Viktor dear ees waiting over there-" again, Fleur elegantly swept her hand vaguely to her left. "Enjoy yourselves! Come along, Draco."

"Wait Fleur- where-" Hermione trailed off when Fleur, dragging Malfoy behind her, wove gracefully around the small tables, occasionally tossing air kisses to people she knew.

Hermione was still straining her neck, looking for Viktor when a red rose made its way up to her nose. She grinned and caught it in her fingers, and her smile widened when Viktor appeared in front of her, his face mirroring hers.

"You are gorgeous tonight, Hermione," he said with only a hint of his native accent. The years in America had definitely grown on him. "As always," he added cheekily.

Hermione laughed. "Always the sweet talker, aren't you?"

"How could I not in such desirable company?" smiled Viktor, offering her his hand. "My lady?"

She smiled. Tonight, she really felt like one.


"Don't you theenk my dress ees breathtaking?" asked Fleur chattily, taking a sip of her red wine. "Eet's Versace. Eet cost a fortune but eet is worth every penny, don't you think?"

Draco absent-mindedly nodded and pushed the venison around his plate like he used to when he was a child. His eyes darted up without his permission to see Granger laughing at something the Krum boy had said. He quickly looked down at his half-eaten dish.

"Did you know zat Versace's designer ees called Donatella as well?" gushed on Fleur. "What a coincidence! She's magnificent. Une femme fatale. I met her a while ago in New York, and she ees simply amazing-"

Draco tuned out. Fleur was a charming woman, beautiful, intelligent, a good friend, but sometimes she spoke too much. She seemed more Italian than French tonight, rambling on and on about practically anything that ever existed on earth. Unfortunately, Draco wasn't really in the mood tonight. He had no idea why, but something felt off.

"-eesn't she just lovely?"

Draco looked up to find Fleur looking expectantly at him.

"Well, I hardly know her," he replied half-heartedly.

Fleur looked aghast. "Draco, you went to Hogwarts with her for seven years, you worked together in ze Order, and now she's working for you. She's been under your nose for ze past ten odd years, how could you say you don't know her?"

Oh, Granger.

Draco looked at her nonchalantly from across the restaurant, she was now slowly sloshing her wine about in her glass, then brought it to her nose and took a deep breath before succumbing to laughter. Then Krum got up from his seat and very effectively blocked her from Draco's sight, that was when he realised he had been staring for longer than what was deemed appropriate and coolly withdrew his gaze.

"Just because you've known a person for a long time means you actually know her," said Draco.

Fleur gave a nod over her glass. "C'est vrai. But of course, eet's the same the other way round. I already feel like I'm best friends with 'Ermione."

"I'm afraid that is impossible," said Draco with a small smirk. "Granger and the She-Weasel are always screwing around."

"Draco!" squeaked Fleur, outraged. "Watch what comes out of your mouth!"

He sent her his most roguish grin. "What? Ladies love it when I talk dirty."

She chuckled and patted his hand. "Quite ze lady's man, aren't you? Who ees your latest prey?"

Draco looked at her with an exaggeratedly hopeful look, making her laugh. "Draco, you know I'm too old for you."

"No beautiful woman is too old for me," he answered smoothly.

"Draco, how does anyone work for you without falling for your charms?"

His eyes darted to Granger again. How indeed?

He said airily, "Well, I don't exercise my charms on anyone. You're one of the lucky ones. I'm very particular, you know. I'm a Malfoy after all."

"Spoiled," teased Fleur.

Draco agreed. "Rotten."


"I wonder why Malfoy keeps looking over at our table," said Viktor while finishing his slice of pizza.

Hermione looked up, and sure enough, Malfoy was glaring straight at her.

"Never mind him, his sole objective in life is making everybody's life miserable," she replied. Hoping to change the topic to more pleasant grounds, she asked. "Is the pizza good?"

"Yes. So he's still the nasty bully, hmm?"

"To a large extent, yes," replied Hermione vaguely.

Viktor twisted his lips in disdain. "How can you stand him, Hermione? I hate people who raise themselves so high above everyone else."

"Well, I guess he is above most people in terms of wealth," she said with a shrug.

"Why are you working for him when you can work anywhere you like?"

"I'm interested in the project he assigned me, that's all," said Hermione.

Viktor reached for her hand and stared deep into her eyes in concern. "Hermione, I think you should work elsewhere. We all know how ruthless Malfoy is. I mean, he is a Malfoy. During the war he-"

"Viktor," she cut him off. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine working for Malfoy. I can handle him. I don't see him that often anyway. It's more like freelance work."

"Hermione, I can find you a job somewhere else. You're such a bright witch, the Ministry would love to have you back, I'm sure-"

"But I don't want to," she said rather bluntly.

He blinked at her. "You'd rather work for Malfoy?"

Hermione sighed. "Viktor, it's nothing personal, it's just business."

She felt her lips curl into a small smile. Who knew she'd be quoting Malfoy?

He seemed rather lost for words. "But Hermione, it's- it's risky."

If not for the sincerity in his eyes, she would have laughed. So she squeezed his hand assuringly and said, "Viktor, you take a risk every time you mount your broom. Why should it be any different with me?"

"Well, you're Hermione Granger."

She blinked. "So?"

"You're not that kind of person," said Viktor as if it were as obvious as the fact that the earth was not flat.

Hermione scowled. "What do you mean I'm not that kind of person?"

He had the grace to look slightly uneasy under her scrutiny. "Hermione, you know what I mean."

"I'm sorry, but I don't," she ground out, her voice hard. "Anyone can take a risk. Ron took a chance and opened his own restaurant when he could've worked in the Ministry for a really good pay. Even Neville took a risk and joined Green Peace to save the whales."

"But Hermione, I really think you should play it safe-"

"Play it safe?"

"I mean, do you honestly think you can-"

"What do you think I am, Viktor?" snapped Hermione, waving around the rose he gave her mockingly. "A delicate flower who cannot decide for herself?"

Viktor shook his head. "I don't mean to offend you, I just thought you'd be sensible enough to know who you're dealing with."

"Malfoy is nothing."

"He is a threat-"

"Merlin, Viktor! Malfoy isn't doing anything to me or anyone. I love what I'm doing, I'm willing to live with the risks as you call them, whatever that means. Don't look at me like that, Viktor. I'm sorry but I'm not a porcelain doll for you to protect. I placed my life on the line when we fought Voldemort. Why should I worry about lousy Malfoy?"

Viktor looked pained. "Hermione, I just wanted-"

"But I don't expect you to understand," she continued bitterly. "You weren't there, you weren't anywhere near, so don't you dare lecture me on taking chances. Don't tell me I'm not that kind of person. You haven't even taken a real risk before. You don't even know what it feels like, when you're on the battlefield, when you could lose everything in a split second. That's a risk, Viktor."

She stood up and threw her napkin onto the table and said something she did not expect, "At least Malfoy knows what it feels like."


"Merde!" Fleur didn't even wince when the swear word flew out of her mouth. "What did he say to her? Why is she leaving?"

Draco quickly looked up to see Granger storming towards the front door, looking positively furious. But not nearly as angry as she was the day Draco left her out in the rain.

He instinctively got onto his feet and went after her, meeting a highly distressed Krum halfway.

"Stay away from her," drawled Draco.

"You stay away from her, Malfoy, or I'll-"

"I'm not the one she's walking out on, am I?" sneered Draco. Without as much as another glance in Krum's way, he took off after Granger.

She had either forgotten about the photographers outside or she simply didn't care. Judging by the way she stalked past the frenzied paparazzi as if they were nothing but shrubs on the sidewalks, he supposed the latter was the case.

Lengthening his strides, he came up behind her before she reached the stairs, where the photographers on the sides were fighting for the best place to capture Granger's tantrum on film.

Putting a hand on the small of her back, he matched her steps as they approached the limo which was waiting for them exactly where they had gotten off two hours ago. The photographers went crazy and Draco could hardly see as he opened the door for Granger. He slid in after her and slammed the door shut, effectively drowning out the raging media storm outside.

Draco ran a hand down his face somewhat wearily. Judging by the way the paparazzi behaved tonight, it looked like he would be gracing the covers of every magazine and the headlines of every newspaper for the days to come. And it was very likely that he would have to share the honour with Granger.

Stupid Zabini.

The chauffeur looked up at him in question and he answered, "Home, if you please."


"So, what did lover boy say to get your knickers in such a twist?"

Hermione unleashed a fierce glare from the corner of her eye at Malfoy, who was leaning against the wall of the elevator, arms crossed, the top two buttons of his shirt undone.

She forced her eyes to watch the slowly jumping numbers on the LCD screen. "Why would you care?"

Malfoy shot her what could only be described as a dirty look. "Well, as a gentleman, I would have to take them off for you if they're that uncomfortable, right?"

Hermione blanched. Did Malfoy just make a pass at her?

He then snorted and rolled his eyes. "Relax, Granger. I was only joking."

"Since when did you acquire a sense of humour?" she asked, a furious heat creeping up her neck.

He shrugged as the elevator jerked to a halt and opened its doors with a flourish. Hermione darted out of the elevator, hoping Malfoy would not follow. She silently groaned when she heard his expensive shoes clicking against the marble floor behind her. What did she do to deserve this- this attention? She was tired. She was upset. All she needed was a cup of hot chocolate. Not a certain platinum blond sex-starved billionaire who enjoyed sexually harrassing defenseless, upset young women.

Okay, perhaps she was not complete defenseless. She did have her wand in a secret pocket. A Hair Loss Curse sounded like a good idea. Malfoy seemed to be in love enough with his hair to miss it. She peered at him and found him staring openly at her.

"What?" she snapped.

Malfoy scowled and said almost laboriously. "I asked, are you alright?"

Hermione flushed for some weird reason. "Oh, um, yes. I suppose so."

"You were so quiet on your way back I thought-" Malfoy broke off, and in a very uncharacteristic manner, scratched the back of his neck, as if figuring out what to say next. "Well, if you're okay, that's uh, good. Fine."

He suddenly stood up straight again, and Hermione just continued to stare up at him. It felt strange, to be simply looking at Malfoy. Just looking without fervently working her eye muscles in hopes of making his nose blow up by activating the atomic fields between them. Or trying to get the message "I HATE YOU MALFOY YOU NASTY FERRET" across by some mysterious eye code. Maybe she was too emotionally drained to conjure up that kind of white hot fury every time she laid eyes on him.

Malfoy seemed to have noticed too, since he just froze and did the same.

Then, somehow, it happened.

He leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

It happened too quickly for Hermione to realize what was happening at the moment. One second she was standing there, the other she was pushed back against the door with something warm and wet on her lips, the next she was staring into Malfoy's grey eyes. Again. But closer than she ever had before. He was so close she could feel the warmth of his body and the brush of his hair against her cheek.

Slowly, he drew back. Without another word, he turned and left.

Hermione blinked at the empty space in front of her.

Only one intelligible word came out of her word that night.

"Damn."


Edited 29 May 2012

That's all I have to say about this chapter.

I saw the latest HP movie yesterday and it was MAGNIFICENT. I adore it. Sadly, Draco only had one or two lines, but that didn't stop me from swooning when he got off the train in an immaculate black suit. Siiiigh. I won't spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't watched it yet, so watch it watch it watch it! I haven't gotten so excited about a movie since forever. Yes, it was that good. I'm going to watch it again sometime next week, yay!

A completely random note, but I adore Luna Lovegood in the movie. I don't even remember reading about her, but she totally stole the show! So go watch the movie!

And of course, review!

Oh, I'll be very busy in the following weeks, so as usual, I'll try my hardest to update asap. Thank you all for your support!

P.S. I think this is the longest chapter ever!