Thank you all for your amazing comments. I think you will enjoy the way the story is headed soon. Stay tuned!
It was finally moving day. Not that Hermione hadn't been to the apartment. Her and Ginny had been there painting and figuring out where she wanted to put her new furniture. She went to a fashionable furniture store in London. She needed all new stuff, things that Ron had never touched.
The place looked amazing. The colors she chose looked great together. When the furniture arrives, it would look even better. She purchased a large sectional to fit in her large living room, the new dining room table sat 8 people, and her new bedroom set was phenomenal. Yes she spent a lot of money, more than she thought she would, but it was worth knowing nothing had happened on them.
She didn't want to think of him or what he had done. She was tired of thinking about it. She had shed too many tears over him, it was time to move on. He wasn't worth any of it.
She had shrunk all of the boxes she was moving from the old apartment and put them in the back of her car. Everything fit perfectly. Ginny was going to meet her at the apartment later to help with the furniture. She still wasn't sure where to put everything. Ginny was better at that kind of thing.
She pulled her car into the underground parking lot, grabbed a few of the boxes and headed to the elevator. That's when she saw him. The shock of light blonde hair, walking ahead of her. She almost went back to her car before he saw her, but it was too late. He had turned around while he was waiting for it to come down. He saw her instantly and smiled in her direction.
" Hey," he said. " Is it moving day today?"
" Yeah, we have been painting all week."
" That's great. I am glad you liked the place."
" Yeah it is amazing! I can't believe the price though."
" I may have talked to the owner about you," he smiled.
" What? Why would you do that? I don't need any favors from anyone!" She snapped. He actually looked a little hurt from her outburst. They both stepped onto the elevator.
" I thought it would help with your situation. I'm sorry…" He said with a frown.
" I know, I'm sorry. I just not used to this."
" Not used to what?" He said confused.
" You know…" She said gesturing to him.
" What?"
" This new you. You being nice."
" Oh," he said seeming a little disappointed. " You know I am trying right?"
" I do, I can really tell you are different. I'm just having problems getting use to it."
" Well I hope you can. I don't want it to be this awkward everytime we see each other."
" Me either," she said. She could feel something being in that small space with him. It seemed familiar, but she couldn't put a finger on what it was. She stepped off the elevator when it reached her floor. " Do you want to come in? I don't have any furniture, but I do have some butter beer."
" Yeah, that sounds great." He followed her to the apartment. She could feel his eyes on her and it made her shiver. That feeling was still there.
She unlocked the door and walked into the foyer. She walked down the short hallway into her living room. She set her purse and keys in the kitchen counter. " What do you think?" she asked him.
" It looks great! I love the colors you chose. When do you get your furniture?"
" Well I had to buy all new stuff. It is supposed to come today."
" You didn't take any of your old stuff?"
" No, I let him keep it. I didn't want to keep something that might have been tainted by them. Besides, I don't think it would have gone with this place. This apartment is way more than I could have ever asked for. It is the most beautiful apartment I have ever been in."
" Thanks," he said with a smile.
" For what?"
" Nevermind," he said hurried. She let it go.
" Well, I do appreciate you talking to the owner about getting me a better price. It does help out a lot."
" I am happy to help. Speaking of which, do you need help with any more boxes?"
" I don't want to impose on you. I'm sure you have better things to do."
" Not really. I was just going to owl my mother, but that can wait. I would rather help you." She could tell he was being genuine. The smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes, told her so. Had he really changed so much in such a short time? He would never be in the same place as her if he could help it. But now, he actually wanted to be there with her.
" If you don't mind. Will you help me with the rest of the boxes? I was going to wait for Ginny to get here, but if you don't mind."
" Yeah, that sounds perfect."
They headed back to the elevators and rode down in silence. And the feeling she had earlier returned. She finally remembered, she felt this when they were in school, on a few different occasions. She thought it was anger, but now she was thinking it may have been attraction. Attraction that was stuffed way down deep. He was an arse in school, after all.
The air around her started to crackle with electricity He must have felt it too, because he cleared his throat.
" So, how is work going?"
" Same thing, different day. Nothing really interesting has come in recently. How is work for you?"
" I just got a new client," he said with a smile. " I think I am going to like working with her."
He really was beautiful when he smiled. Not the smirk he often wore during school.
DPOV
He watched her walk as he followed her out of the elevator. Her hips swayed in a way he had never seen before. It made him some what hard just watching her walk. He didn't even know that was possible. It didn't help that she was wearing short cut off shorts. Her legs were long, toned and tan. He wanted them wrapped around his waist while he thrust inside her.
He needed to get these thoughts out of his head. She would never let anything like that happen between them. She could hardly handle being around him for too long. He needed to change that. Especially since she was living in his building. She was going to see him, he was going to make sure of that. He wanted to see her as much as possible. He had a lot of making up to do. He had treated her terribly in school, he didn't even think those things. He had to keep up the appearance that he did, lest it get back to his father.
But now it didn't matter. His father died after the war. He was tracked down by some fellow death eaters, for running off at the end of the Battle of Hogwarts. Draco was at Hogwarts at the time, but he had already started renouncing the ways of his father. The year before the war started, he was tasked to kill Dumbledore, but his mentor Snape wouldn't allow it. Snape had an agreement with Dumbledore, that it would never get to the point that Draco would have to. He was in the Great Hall when it happened. So no one ever knew that he was supposed to. But he came to find out that Dumbledore was dying anyway. He had been cursed while he was trying to get rid of one the Horcruxes.
He was a different man now. He was allowed to be who he has always wanted to be. He actually cared about people, and only a few people knew that. He wanted to make Hermione see that. He could see that she was starting to a little, but she was still a bit jumpy around him.
They got to her car and she handed him a few boxes, and she grabbed the rest. It looked like she had shrunk the boxes to fit. There was no way she had this few things.
" Did you use a shrinking spell on these?" He asked her.
"Yeah, there was no way all of these boxes would fit in my car. I didn't want to have to go back to my old place. I really don't want to run into Ronald."
" I don't blame you. It was a shitty thing for him to do."
" Yeah," they stepped back on the elevator. " Well, I wasn't happy in the relationship either, but I thought he was the best I could do."
He laughed, " Yeah right."
" I know, it sounds sad now that I say it. But men are not attracted to me,"
" That's not true at all."
" HA, yeah it is."
" It really isn't," he stared at her, his eyes turning a stormy grey. Her breath caught in her throat. He could tell she was realizing what he meant. "Hermione…" he started to say, taking a step closer.
" So how long have you lived here?" She asked changing the subject.
" Since it opened."
" How did you hear about it?"
" Let's just say that I am close with the owner," he smirked.
" Well that is convenient. It helped me a lot. Thanks again for helping me."
" No problem."
They got back to the apartment, and Ginny was sitting outside of the door.
" There you are!" She glanced in his direction. " I see that you have help already. Hello Draco." She said with a smile.
" Hello Ginny, how are you?"
" I am great!"
Hermione unlocked the door to the apartment and the two followed her in. He wanted to talk to her about their past, but with Ginny there it was going to have to wait. He wanted to make things right with her. He didn't want her to be so jumpy around him, and he also wanted to get to know her better. Ever since school, he felt like he was always being pulled towards her. Not that he handled it right, he was always acting like an arse.
After a while of unpacking her boxes, Hermione decided that she would go get them all food.
"What do you guys want? Does Pizza sound okay?" She asked.
" Pizza sounds great," Ginny replied.
" Whatever you guys want is fine with me," said Draco.
She grabbed her purse and headed to the door. Before she left, she turned to them and said, " Oh call me and let me know if the furniture people show up before I get back. Ginny you have a general idea of where I want stuff, so just direct them to where they need to go." And she left.
" So," said Ginny. " Do you like her?"
He choked on the butterbeer he was drinking. " Excuse me?" He spluttered.
" You heard me Malfoy. I saw the way you were looking at her when you got back to the apartment."
" I'm not sure I know what you are talking about." He lied. He did like her, but he didn't know to what extent just yet.
" I think you do. I just want to make sure that if you hurt her, I will hurt you. She just broke things off with my brother and she is more fragile that she is letting on."
" Duly noted," he said dryly. He didn't know how the redhead knew what she did. She was very perceptive, and always had been. He thought she was the only one who knew that he had feelings for Hermione back in school
" I just thought I would make that clear now." Just then, there was a knock at the door. Perfect timing, he thought. Ginny went to the door and allowed the furniture movers in and showed them where to put the stuff. He was happy to not be getting the third degree anymore.
Thank you for reading. I am really enjoying where the story is going. I think for my first fan fiction, it is going really well.