Draco's Jealousy

"Yes, yes, I've got it, will you go? He'll be here any minute!" Hermione shouted at her redheaded friend, pushing her toward the Floo.

"Okay, okay. Excuse me if I just want to help you," Ginny huffed with a sigh.

"I know how to flirt. I don't need to play those stupid games anyway, Ginny. I did just fine on my own last time, didn't I?" Hermione asked, cocking her eyebrow at the girl.

"I guess you did," Ginny grinned. "Okay, let me know every detail tomorrow."

"I will, now go," Hermione demanded, practically pushing the girl through the Floo.

Seconds later, there was a swift knock on the door. Smiling brightly to herself, Hermione smoothed her palms down her tight jeans and went to the door to greet her date. Hopefully there would be no surprises like there had been yesterday. Her heart clinched in her chest at the thought of Draco bowing out. But it wasn't his nature, she felt confident.

Her smile brightened when she opened the door and saw a gorgeous looking Draco Malfoy on the other side. He, too, was wearing jeans, and an England World Cup jersey. Inviting him in, Hermione almost drooled as she saw how good he looked in such casual attire. It made her stomach do flip flops.

"Is there something I should know?" she asked, indicating his shirt. "Am I over dressed?" she said, pointing to her own dressier shirt.

Draco grinned at her and shook his head. "No, you look amazing. I had hoped to talk you into a little Quidditch today," he said, looking down sheepishly. Hermione couldn't help but smile at seeing Draco Malfoy unsure of himself.

"I know you didn't like it much in school, but I thought we could go to the game. It's a big one between the National English team and Bulgaria, and then after we can come back here and have a Muggle evening," he said.

Hermione grinned wider. "I didn't like it at Hogwarts because Ron and Harry would talk of nothing else. I think it would be fun. Besides, Viktor told me about this game last week. I think it's kind of a big deal," Hermione said with a laugh. "Let me just change my shirt so I feel a little less overdressed."

Draco sighed with relief and nodded his head, watching her retreat to her room. He was a little disappointed when she mentioned Viktor Krum, remembering how jealous he'd been of the oaf when he'd landed a date with her at the Yule Ball, Fourth Year. However, he instantly reminded himself that if Hermione wanted to be with Viktor, she would be.

It was mere seconds before Hermione came out of the room, wearing a blue jersey with the old English crest on it. He was very surprised she had such a shirt in her wardrobe.

"Where did you get that?" he asked, not hiding his surprise.

"I picked it up somewhere. I think it was Fred's or George's," Hermione said, looking down. Draco couldn't help but feel, again, a little jealous that so many of the Weasley men had a closeness with her that he didn't have. But he reminded himself that they were like her brothers, and at least it wasn't Potter's jersey. That would have been too much.

"Well, let's go." Draco said, extending his arm for her to hold. "The game starts in a half hour."

"So you see Evans, there," Draco said, pointing at the seeker who was whizzing around the top of the pitch. Hermione nodded, loving how excited Draco got about the game. What had been annoying with Ron, and even Harry, was kind of exciting, and definitely endearing, with Draco. Probably because he neither talked to her like she was an idiot, nor assumed she knew everything there was to know about the sport.

"He's the best England's had in years," Draco said excitedly. "I'd bet anything he'll catch the snitch."

"But I thought Viktor was the best in the whole league," Hermione said, squinting into the sun to see the Bulgarian eyeing the pitch like a hawk.

"Don't get me wrong," Draco said. "Krum is a great flyer. Possibly the best. But Evans has the instincts. It's what Potter had all those years at school. It wasn't just that he could fly. In fact, I could probably outfly him any day. It was that ability to sense the damn snitch. Annoying as hell, it was," he smirked at her.

"Excuse me, did I get this right? Did Draco Malfoy just compliment Harry Potter, on Quidditch skills no less," Hermione asked, fighting hard to hold back a giggle at the annoyed look on his face.

"How about we don't spend a great deal of time talking about my only competition," Draco said, letting his annoyed look turn into a smirk. "But, no one can deny the guy was good." He turned back to the game and wrapped his arm around Hermione's shoulder.

She instantly melted into his side and listened as he explained certain aspects of the game to her. "So, I always wondered," Hermione said, "why did Viktor catch the snitch that year at the World Cup when his team couldn't have won anyway?"

"You are asking me to explain why he can't add?" Draco laughed. Hermione rolled her eyes, but she couldn't really counter that one. Viktor was sweet, but he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer.

Draco sighed in contentment when Hermione snuggled into him. He could totally live like this; The Quidditch pitch with the best team England had seen in decades with Hermione Granger. Even if she wasn't as into it as he was, she was trying, and it only made him want her more.

As the game heated up, Draco stood and pulled Hermione up with him, pointing at her to watch Evans and Krum. They had both seen the snitch. "Do you think...?" Hermione started, but she was so captivated by the action, she couldn't even finish her question.

"Oh my!" She cried as Krum dived, and lifted up just before hitting the ground, but Evans came in behind him, swirling around, and pulling the tiny golden snitch out of thin air. "He caught it!" Hermione cried, the whole crowed erupting in roars of cheers.

"Woooo Hoooo!" Draco cheered, and Hermione couldn't help but notice he looked so young at that moment. She smiled to herself, remembering that when he was young he didn't have the chance to show such open, wild emotion. It made her a little sad, but she was glad to note that he'd loosened up over time. He was a completely different person from that boy who had called her a 'Mudblood'.

Turning into him, she looped her arm around his waist and pulled him close. He looked down at her, his ecstatic smile turning into a smoldering look that made her shiver under his intense gaze. His lips descended on hers slowly and she let her eyes slip shut as he pressed them together.

She almost moaned as he slipped his tongue between her lips, gently coaxing her own to come out to play. It was sweet, beautiful, and perfect. She even forgot they were standing in a crowd of thousands until she heard a loud 'click' and felt the flash of a camera against her closed eyes.

She pulled away from Draco, turning to see who had taken the picture, but Draco was quicker, grabbing the cameraman by the scruff of the shirt. "Oi, what do you think you are doing?" he demanded, reaching for the camera.

"We all have jobs," the man said, a slimy smile gracing his lips before he pulled away and Disapparated out of there. Draco sighed in frustration.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to get carried away so...publicly. You have to believe me," he said. She could tell he was worried she'd think the whole thing was a set up, so she smiled up and him, kissed his cheek, and laced their fingers together.

"I know, Draco. The last thing you need is more publicity. It's fine. I just didn't want Harry to see that," she said, looking at her feet before looking back at Draco. He seemed annoyed, but kept his voice calm when he spoke.

"Yes, Potter would probably not appreciate it," he admitted, but she could tell her words hurt him.

She let him lead her down the stairs but she didn't let his comment go. It needed to be addressed if they were going to continue the date. "Look, Draco, this isn't easy for me either. How would you feel if you opened the paper tomorrow and saw me kissing Harry on the front page?"

Draco had to concede that point. "I know, Hermione," he said, stopping near the pitch and allowing the crowds to move past them. "I know all of that, but it's hard to get so close to something you've wanted for so long and have to worry that it's going to be pulled from you at any moment. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Hermione said. "I wish it wasn't like this."

"Come on, forget about it," Draco finally said, wrapping his arm around her waist again. Nearly everyone had Apparated from the grounds already and they slowly made their way to the safe apparition points as well.

"Her-mo-ninny!" A rough voice called from behind them and both Hermione and Draco whipped around to see a sweaty Viktor Krum jogging toward them. "I knew you vould come," Viktor cried, ignoring Draco completely and pulling Hermione into a tight hug.

"Viktor, I can't breathe," she choked, trying to laugh, but he did hold her rather tightly.

"Did you use my tickets? I didn't see you there," Krum continued, still ignoring her companion. Draco was getting a little irritated by the total disregard the other man had for him.

"Umm, no," Hermione said, stepping back from Viktor and taking Draco's hand in hers again. "Draco brought me. We are on a date," she said.

"A date? Is this for that silly auction?" Viktor asked rolling his eyes. It was more emotion than she'd ever seen on the man, with the exception of brooding anger.

Hermione blushed slightly and nodded. "It's more than that really. Look, I've got to go, but it was good seeing you again, Viktor."

"No," Viktor demanded, reaching out to grab her wrist. "I thought you vould come to me. Vat we had vas more than just a kiss..."

"Excuse me," Draco said, stepping in and pulling Viktor's hand off of Hermione. He really couldn't take anymore and Hermione was far too nice to cut off the rude bastard when she should have. "We are on a date, and I think it's time we leave."

"Who the hell are you?" Viktor asked, his eyes angry.

"Please, Viktor. I'll write you this weekend," Hermione said, just wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. Draco was trembling with anger, and Viktor didn't look any calmer. The last thing she needed was a story about a fight between the two over her. It wasn't worth it anyway. Viktor couldn't hold a candle to Draco.

"But..." Viktor tried, but Hermione had already spun around and was dragging Draco off with her.

"Any other ex-boyfriends we are going to run into today?" Draco muttered to himself, but Hermione heard him. She ignored it for the moment, pulling him close and Apparating before they reached the designated Apparating point. The quicker they got out of there the better.

"Look Draco, we need to get a few things straight," she said, removing herself from his grasp and turning to face him again when they landed in her living room. "I didn't plan that. Going to the game was your choice. I barely talk to Viktor anymore. He told me he'd be in town and left me tickets. I never planned to use them, and I really don't see why you are so upset. If I wanted to be with him, I certainly wouldn't be in the situation I'm in, likely to end up with a broken heart no matter who I choose."

Draco sighed, "I'm not mad at you. I just don't like this whole situation. At first I thought it was brilliant, but now, being in competition with a man you've loved in some capacity since you were eleven-years-old, is not fun."

Hermione sighed too, pulling Draco by the arm and plopping down on the loveseat with him. "I do understand. I know you don't believe it, but I do." Draco just looked up at her, searching for some sort of truth. He seemed to get what he was looking for because his features softened.

"I'm sorry I ruined our date with my jealousy," Draco said. "I can't promise it won't happen again, but I'll try."

Hermione smiled. "It's kind of cute to see the calm and collected Draco Malfoy get a little unhinged," Hermione admitted, "but I promise I'll never be anything but honest with you. I have been to this point. Don't you think you can trust me?"

"Yes," Draco said with a nod of the head. "Now, shall we eat something? I'm starving."

Having had enough of the public spotlight for one day, Hermione ordered Thai food in for dinner. Draco had never had it, and it was one of her favorites. Since he wanted a Muggle evening, she decided to go all out.

He loved the food, and after she'd thrown all the take-away boxes out and joined him back on the couch, she asked, "So what's the deal with the television?" pointing at her new TV. "You said you're date required a working television. Though, I assure you, my old one worked fine," she huffed in false annoyance.

Draco just smiled and pulled two small boxes out of his back pocket. When he enlarged them, Hermione saw that they were DVDs. Her eyes twinkled as she realized what he had planned. A night in, watching movies. It sounded like heaven. "It was my favorite thing to do to unwind when I lived in Muggle London," Draco explained. "I assumed you'd appreciate my choices," he said, handing her the DVD cases.

Hermione looked down at the two movies in her hand and couldn't help but laugh. "The Craft and Practical Magic?" Hermione asked. "You know both of these movies are girl movies?"

"Yeah, but I figured, if you have to spend time with me, you should at least get to watch something you might like. Besides, I wanted to stick to a 'witch' theme, so my options were limited. I haven't seen either movie, but I'm very interested in what Muggles think about witches."

Hermione chuckled. "Remind me to tell you about the Salem witch trials sometime." Draco just grinned at her and nodded. "Which one first?" she asked. It was still early, so they had plenty of time for both.

"Practical Magic," Draco said with a shrug.

"Probably a good idea," Hermione said. "I think you'll find The Craft a bit upsetting, given what you know about real magic." She chuckled to herself. She'd seen both movies and liked each in their different ways. But she was a Muggle-born. She grew up with a Muggle mentality, so she understood how they saw magic. Draco, even with his limited understanding would probably find it perplexing, to say the least.

Popping the DVD in the player, Hermione grabbed the remote and snuggled on the couch, getting up close to Draco's person, and he sighed into her warmth. Wrapping both arms around her and readjusted them so that Hermione was practically lying on top of him. She didn't seem to mind, so he smiled to himself and turned his attention to the TV.

The first movie was cute. It was totally and completely wrong about magic, but not in an insulting way. It was a little girly for Draco's taste, but Hermione seemed to enjoy it, though she'd told him she'd seen both movies already. When the end credits played, she sat up in his arms, and asked, "How about popcorn for the next one?"

Draco smiled brightly and nodded, readjusting himself on the couch. He found it so amazing how at ease Hermione was with him. Witches were usually on a mission when they dated him. Seal the deal. As in, get him to fall for them so they could get their hands on his money. Given her own wealth after the war, and the kind of person she was, he knew he didn't have to worry about that with her.

More than that, his date was as low-key as they came. Sure, the Quidditch tickets cost an arm and a leg, but he would have bought those anyway. Other than that, Hermione paid for dinner, as she was the only one with Muggle money on hand, and now they were seated in the dark of her living room watching movies. If he'd ever suggested this as a date idea to one of the Slytherin witches, she'd probably hex his balls off. But Hermione enjoyed it.

More than that, he was having a great time. He enjoyed just being with her. He enjoyed the intelligent conversation they shared that could turn into silliness at a moment's notice. He had never been with someone like Hermione, and he had a strong feeling, even if this didn't work out, that he could never date another brainless bimbo again. Once he'd tasted substance, he needed it.

Hermione pulled him out of his thoughts when she returned with a huge bowl of popcorn and sat next to him on the couch. "I hope you don't mind, it's got butter on it." Draco just smiled and shook his head, taking a fistful. He'd already put in the DVD so he pressed play on the remote and settled in for the movie.

It was only thirty minutes in when, popcorn bowl already cleaned and placed to the side of the couch, Draco started sighing. Hermione smirked to herself, wondering how long it would take before Draco went into a fit of rage over the portrayal of magic in the movie.

It was another twenty minutes, impressive in Hermione's mind, before he finally said it. "This is ridiculous," he muttered. "They way they have it, witches are a bunch of ridiculous girls playing around with the dark arts, looking for boys to have sex with. Trust me, that is not the case."

Hermione giggled. "In case you forgot I am a witch, so I know." She muted the movie and turned around in Draco's arms to face him. "What you have to understand is that Muggles had a long standing tradition of mistrusting magic, specifically in the hands of women."

"Oh right, wouldn't want the little woman to gain power over the man," Draco said rolling his eyes.

"Yes," Hermione said, "exactly. But, the magical community isn't much different. In fact, in some ways its worse. Today, in the Muggle world, 'witches' have a bad connotation, but no one can be persecuted for being one if they are discovered." Hermione explained, "at least not in the Western world. But look at women in the Wizarding world, especially pureblood families."

Draco knew where this was going, but allowed her to continue, knowing she was actually right. "Has there ever been a female Minister of Magic? No. Women are relegated to more secretarial types of jobs within the Ministry. And look at marriage. Magical marriages ensure the fidelity of the women who enter them, but not the men."

"True," Draco said. "I've never liked how it was set up, and in that way, the Muggles are light years ahead of us. I just think it's crazy that they are so scared of magic. If they found a way to perform it, it would help their lives."

"True," Hermione conceded, "but you know as well as I that performing real magic without magical ability is nearly impossible. Besides, how many things were you afraid of about the Muggle world before you learned about it?"

"I wasn't afraid," Draco scoffed. Hermione just chuckled and moved closer, kissing him lightly on the corner of the mouth. "I wasn't," Draco said stubbornly.

"Okay, but you didn't trust Muggles, did you?" Hermione countered, wrapping her arms around Draco's neck.

"Point conceded," Draco finally, said, pulling her closer as his arms wrapped around her waist. Placing her legs on either side of him, she straddled his hips and grinned down at him before attacking his lips. Screw The Craft, this was so much better.

Draco moaned against her, letting his fingers inch up her sides, feeling the smooth skin of her stomach under the jersey she was wearing. Hermione twined her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer to her as his tongue plundered her mouth.Merlin, he was an amazing kisser.

Draco was dying to touch her all over. He wanted to feel every inch of her skin and pull that damned shirt off of her. But he knew it was too fast. This was only a second date, and besides, as the prize to this whole thing was her virginity, he was certain she wouldn't appreciate it. He'd just have to be satisfied with following her lead.

Hermione felt herself growing hotter and hotter, loving the way Draco was touching her. She'd never been touched so intimately, and he hadn't moved past her stomach and sides. It was intoxicating. "Draco," she moaned as she felt his hardness against her thigh. She couldn't believe that she had such an effect on him.

"Sorry, you do that to me," he chuckled against her lips, and Hermione couldn't help it, she wanted him. But she had Harry to think about, and the rules of the auction. She pulled back a little and let her breathing calm.

Draco looked up at her and, drawing his finger lightly over her cheek he said, "I don't expect anything from you, Hermione. It's just a reaction I have to your touch."

"I know," Hermione smiled, her own eyes mirroring the lust in his. "You can't feel it from here, but I have the same reaction," she boldly admitted. She almost choked on her own breath when he words made his cock twitch.

"Merlin, Hermione, you're going to kill me," Draco said, burying his face in her neck and clinging to her for some sort of control.

Hermione chuckled and kissed the top of his head. "I hate to say this, but I think it's time we part for the night. I'm not sure how much I can take."

Draco nodded against her skin, breathing in and out, trying to calm himself. After several moments, he allowed Hermione to climb off of his lap and move away from him. They both felt cold from the lost of contact, but knew it was for the best. Hermione still had strong confusing feelings about Harry, and Draco didn't want to do something they'd both regret, just to have her run into the arms of her best friend. He still needed to protect his heart until she made her final decision.

"I'm sorry I got carried away and cut our date short," Hermione said, taking his hand and leading him to the door.

Draco grinned down at her and shook his head. "No worries. I can't wait to hear from you. Hopefully with good news."

"Yeah," Hermione said simply at that moment, he was the front-runner, but she couldn't make that decision yet. "H-Have a good rest of the night."

Draco smiled and leaned in, kissing her one last time, and it took great effort by both of them to pull apart. When he was out the door, Hermione leaned against it, trying to catch her breath. Wow. Every minute with him just got better and better. She had been so close to saying 'screw the auction' and letting him touch her any way he wanted. That had to be a sign of something.

Sighing, she decided to make herself a calming cup of tea and try to sort out her thoughts before she went to bed. At least she had a day to marinate on the situation before facing Harry. If their date was as amazing as the one she'd just had with Draco, she might consider asking them to share.

She laughed at the thought. That would never work, but the fantasy of it was rather funny.