A/N: When I originally came up with the idea for this story I was just going to make is a smutty one-shot (because who doesn't love a good smutty one-shot?) but I put way more into it than I meant to and I decided it would be best to continue to dig deeper into the characters and give them a real relationship. I have been getting a lot more inspiration for this story lately and I think it will continue on for quite a bit of time. I was also hospitalized this week for kidney stones and my doctor advised me to chill for a couple of days so I plan on getting a lot of writing done.
Hermione was seated on the floor in the empty classroom with her legs crossed waiting for Draco to show up with the lunch he promised he would get her. She glanced at her watch, he was only five minutes late and that wasn't anything she should get upset with. Her school books were spread out around her, open to various pages detailing different magical spells and ingredients for potions. One of the books was entirely about magical ingredients, where you could find them or how you can grow them and what exactly their magical properties were. Hermione liked this book a lot because she could see why the potions did what they did rather than just trusting in the magic. She loved magic, but it helped to be a little bit more scientific about it all, then you could really understand it and you would be able to innovate.
At the moment she was looking at creating a spell to help make Harry fire proof since we knew he was going up against a dragon in a few days and he could use all the help he could get. She had a piece of parchment set on top of a book that rested on her thigh, where she had begun to list ingredients that had anything to do with fine and a brief description of what they did and how they worked. Draco opened the door and called out her name. She stood up and packed some of the papers away in the book about magical ingredients.
"Oh, hey I was just working on some stuff" she said quickly, using her foot to push the book under one of the desks. Even though her and Draco were dating and it seemed like he and Harry were on good terms, she still wasn't sure if it was a good idea to involve him in anything serious regarding her friends. Draco look suspiciously at her, not missing the fact that she casually hid something from him. He smiled instead and pulled out one of the chairs, sitting down and putting a picnic basket down on the desk in front of him.
"What were you working on, maybe I could be of some help" he offered, hoping that she would deem him worthy enough of telling her secrets too.
"Oh, just some research that I have been meaning to do, nothing important really" she waved it off casually and the lie was so convincing that he almost believed he. He probably would have if he hadn't seen her push the book. He decided to ignore it, he wanted to believe that there were good people in the world, the kind of people who didn't hide things away maliciously. If there were any people like that in the world Hermione Granger had to be one of them.
"Well if you say so" he says before opening the picnic basket and pulling out a couple of sandwiches. "I brought us these, I figured they would make a good lunch and then the house elves wouldn't have to work so hard to make extra food" he explained. Hermione felt her face break out into a large smile.
"I didn't know that you cared about house elves, that is interesting" she mused, hoping to get more information about it. She pulled up a chair and sat across from him.
"Well yeah, I have a few house elves at Mafoy manner and I am very close to them. They practically raised me" he admitted, a light blush creeping onto his pale cheeks. "I think a lot of witches and wizards who have house elves forget that they are actual living creatures that are just doing their best." No one else had ever shown so much compassion for the elves and Hermione felt her heart light up. Even Harry who was good friends with Dobby had turned his nose up at the idea of joining the little club she had named S.P.E.W.
"Exactly my point!" she burst out, nearly exploding with excitement, "like I was telling Harry, I think we should free all of the house elves and allow them to make up their own minds about what they want to do and who they want to work for!" Hermione always seemed to lose control when it came to talking about the house elves and the way they should be treated. Draco couldn't help himself from smiling at the way she valiantly stood up for them regardless of who she was talking to.
"I hate to break it to you 'Mione, but I'm not sure the house elves would be entirely up to being freed all the way. I agree that they should be treated better, but they are a species that likes to serve others, they would be lost without their purpose" he said gently, thinking about Winky the house elf who nearly self-destructed when her master let her go after what happened at the Quidditch tournament before school started. Hermione listened intently, intrigued that he cared enough to have a discussion with her about the subject.
"I suppose you might be right, I just feel like the whole practice is a little bit barbaric" she offered, "I think I will have to do a bit more research on it."
"Well, let me know when you want to talk about it again" he replied smiling at her and taking a bite out of his sandwich. Hermione followed suit.
"We don't know a lot about each other, at least not the normal things that couples talked about" she observed, concentrating on her sandwich to avoid looking at him.
"I suppose you are right" Draco replied, not sure where she was going with her observation.
"What if we played truth or dare so that we could get to know each other a little bit better?" she asked, her face lit up at the idea of being able to ask questions about him, and even though it made him feel squeamish he also felt like he couldn't tell her no when she so obviously wanted it.
"If that is what you want, but don't go asking questions that you aren't ready to hear the answers to" he cautioned.
"I realize that, but I think it might be better that I know before we get any deeper into thins, don't you think?" she asked. Of course, she didn't want to give herself a reason to not want to be with him, but the logical part of her kept her from pushing away the truth. She wanted to know the things about him that he thought would scare other people. If they couldn't trust each other who could they trust?
"If you really feel that way why don't you go first?" he offered. There were things he wanted to keep from her, but he also knew that if she asked he would tell her.
"Don't worry, we can make this fun too, it won't be all doom and gloom" she smiled and finished her lunch. She pulled her knees up to her chest with her heels resting on the edge of the chair. "Truth or Dare?" she asked.
"Lets start with truth, go easy on me" he encouraged.
"What was it like growing up in the manor? You have always made your dad seem like this really important guy who will do things for you, but you never talk about him as if you love him or anything." Hermione watched Draco as he mulled the answer over in his mind. He set down the rest of his sandwich and stretched out his long legs, crossing his strong arms over his chest.
"In a way I don't, he wasn't ever a real father to me, not in the way a father should be to his young son. I think he loved me in his own confused way, but he never cared for me" Draco explained, "In high wizard society children are, as the old saying goes, 'seen but not heard' so for most of my life I was just a little boy. There was so much expected of me, like every move I made came back to reflect on my parents and I would hear about what a disappointment I was and how I put shame on the Malfoy name." He sighed, "I was very spoiled in material goods though, and my parents were good about keeping me clean and healthy. My mother is a very caring woman even though she lets my father run her entire life." Hermione waited a moment to make sure she was taking in all the information he was giving her, she didn't want to leave out a single bit of it. This was what made him who he was and if she wanted to understand that she at least needed to be able to understand how he got that way.
"So, you were taken care of, but not really loved?" she asked, hoping that her question wouldn't offend him. Draco quickly shook his head.
"No, I was loved, love just was not given freely around my home. Everyone was very reserved when it came to giving each other affection. The only time I have ever seen my parents kiss was at public events where they wanted to make it seem like they had a perfect and loving family" he explained. He wanted to jump to the next thing and make her answer some questions of his own, but he knew she would feel better if she got to ask all the questions she needed too.
"You said that the house elves pretty much raised you, right? What did you mean by that?" Draco had to let out a little snicker. Of course, she would have picked up on that information.
"House elves are more than just maids and butlers, they also function as nanny's and babysitters for many children who grow up in the magical world. Mother was quite a busy women when I was little so often a house elf would be the one to feed me and put me to bed. They were also like playmates to me. I imagine it is much the way muggle children bond with their nanny's and their siblings" he provided, attempting to show that he had some knowledge of the world she came from.
"I wouldn't know, I don't have any siblings and my mother stayed home with me until I was able to go to primary school. I am very close with my parents" she explained, "do you want to take your turn now? I have asked a fair amount of questions." She offered, knowing that she could sit and ask questions all night long and never get tired of digging deeper. He nodded.
"Truth or Dare?"
"Truth, I think" he smiled at her answer and thought for a moment before asking his question.
"Why were you bothered so much by what I said to you in the library?" he had been wondering about that ever since he noticed that she had not been able to even look his way without her cheeks turning a delicious shade of pink, the same shade her cheeks were turning now.
"It was just so suggestive, and it was completely out of the blue. I would have never thought that Draco Malfoy of all people would be coming onto me," she sighed and then started again, "I mean, I was also very afraid that it was some kind of cruel joke and that you were just trying to thing up some creative new ways to hurt me." Draco frowned, she wasn't entirely wrong about wanting to hurt her. She had him so mixed up inside that he wanted nothing more than to make her feel just as tangled up as he did.
"I wish I could tell you that I really was just looking to peak your interest, but I was miserable pinning after you the way I was and misery loves company" he admitted softly almost to himself.
"Well I would say that I am not miserable now and that everything worked out, so I don't think you have to go on being so guilty about it" she chastised him and smiled. She reached out and touched his hand, running her warm fingers over his cold ones. With his arms crossed over his chest she had to lean forward quite a bit to touch his hand and Draco was pleasantly surprised with how far down you could see her shirt even with her wearing quite a modest v-neck. It was just enough that what you could see was rather nice looking, but not so much that it was obscene.
"Well I am glad that you aren't miserable" he laughed, "it is your turn, isn't it? I pick truth again" Hermione thought for a second.
"Why did you hate Harry so much before you and I started going out?" she never truly understood why people hated Harry, he was generally a nice guy most of the time and tried his best not to hurt other people's feelings. Harry genuinely cared about people and wanted the world to be a good place. Draco frowned and moved his hand to hold Hermione's so that she didn't have to lean forward so much.
"Everybody really really loved him. People who had never even met him would talk about the amazing Harry Potter. People were always asking when he was going to come back and make himself known in the wizarding world. Growing up I felt like I couldn't take two steps without living in the shadow of the amazing Boy Who Lived" Draco explained, taking care to try to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "And I'm sure you have heard rumors about older wizarding families being in league with You-Know-Who" he ended, hoping that she wouldn't ask any questions about that, because he honestly didn't know what he would tell her. He didn't want to lie, but the truth was so hard to tell, and by telling the truth he could get himself into so much trouble. Hermione figured this wasn't the time and nodded slowly.
"Truth" she said quickly, allowing Draco to change the subject if he wanted too. Draco graciously took the opportunity and smiled deviously.
"Most of the time when children play truth or dare they are using it as a means to do something sexual, is that something that is allowed during this game?" it was clear that he would be happy to make it that kind of game.
"I am okay with that if that is what you want, we could certainly have a little bit of fun doing that" Hermione grinned, knowing that she was probably going to have a very good time.
"Well in that case, I pick dare" he smirked and shot her a small wink.
"I dare you to wear your clothes the way a normal teenage boy would" she teased, tugging on his emerald green tie.
"What is wrong with the way I dress?" Draco said quickly, he would never admit it to anybody but he was very self-conscious.
"Nothing is wrong with the way you dress, I just think it is nice to see you looking different" Hermione explained. He frowned and took his tie off, he quickly tied it around his head in a way that would have looked more natural on the Weasley twins. Hermione bit the inside of her cheek to hold back her laughter. He unbuttoned to top two buttons on his shirt and stared at her.
"Normal teenage boys are boring and basic, but if that is really what you want to see" he rolled his eyes and gave her a small smirk to let her know that he wasn't really upset with her.
"Oh, you look very cute like that, so shut up" she chastised, wanting him to stop acting like such a baby.
A/N: This chapter is getting super long so I am going to go ahead and cut it here so that I can make this a two-parter. The next chapter is going to be some good old NSFW Truth or Dare fun so that I can give you some of those nice lemons I promised you.