Chapter 7: Tea with the Enemy
"Ginny, I am not wearing THAT" Hermione screeched as Ginny transfigured her outfit into a short red dress with a MUCH lower neckline.
"But you look HOT Mione!" Ginny protested.
"I look like a bloody prostitute" Hermione glared.
"OK OK" Ginny sighed. She lengthened the skirt of Hermione's dress to a much more respectable length, shortened the V neckline that had been hugging her breasts far too tightly, and flared out her skirt at the waste. "Better?" she asked.
"Much" Hermione breathed in relief. "Shit, I need to go, he will never let me live it down if I am late".
"Wait! On second thought" Ginny flicked her wand and Hermione's red dress became a teasing shade of Slytherin green. Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed her purse. "Don't forget to owl me" Ginny called, grinning in anticipation.
It took everything Draco had not to stand by the floo waiting. Instead, he paced up and down in his office, checking the grandfather clock excessively: 10:59. He was just starting to consider that maybe Blaise was right and that maybe he had gone too far with the letter when he heard the whoosh of someone arriving in his floo. "Trixie" he called triumphantly, "please receive Miss Granger and prepare tea. Tell her I'll be along in a moment"
"Yes Master Draco Sir" the elf squeaked, popping away eagerly. Draco took a moment to compose himself and nervously smoothed his hair. It's now or never, he breathed.
"Granger" he strolled casually into the parlour, thanking Merlin when his voice remained steady.
"Malfoy" Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I'd say it's a pleasure to see you again but your visit to my office left something to be desired" she emphasised the word "desired" as Ginny had instructed, staring Draco down as she did so. Draco swallowed and fumbled to pour her a tea.
"Yes well, I suppose I was caught off guard. I'm used to acquiring possessions, not having them…borrowed". He left the last word dangle in the air, sure that Hermione would have exploded if he accused her of theft again. "I do of course understand that you of all people would want to seek out such stimulating reading material. Maybe one day you'll be kind enough to share your thoughts with me, or should I say your annotations" he emphasised with a knowing smirk, removing any doubt or hope Hermione may have had that her scribbled responses had gone unnoticed. She blushed but, to her credit, recovered quickly.
"I wasn't aware that you wanted to peruse my private thoughts anymore" she fired back and Draco knew she was referring to their argument in the Head's dorms; when he had stupidly suggested breaking the connection.
"On the contrary, I merely thought you wanted your privacy" he retorted. Hemione bristled noticeably.
"Well maybe you should have asked" she snapped.
"Clearly" Draco conceded, looking her in the eye before either of their tempers flared. There was a pause as Hermione wondered what to make of his concession.
She placed her teacup down and sighed heavily "Why did you want to see me Draco?"
"If you read the journal then you already know" his eyes blazed, taking the opportunity of her silence to fully take in her appearance. The curls he loved were pinned neatly back behind her ears. A shame, Draco thought as he remembered how wild her hair looked splayed out on his pillow. "Did you wear Slytherin green just for me Hermione?" He asked huskily, noticing with pleasure that she shivered lightly at his tone.
"How typical Malfoy, thinking everything revolves around you" Hermione rolled her eyes. He didn't need to know that his suspicions were 100% accurate.
"How typical Granger, avoiding the subject" he raised an eyebrow in challenge.
"I'm avoiding the subject because you are currently engaged to another woman!" she snapped, outraged that he would question her so forwardly about her feelings towards him whilst in a committed relationship. "Where is Astoria anyway?"
Draco paused and frowned, truthfully he had no idea where Tori was. She had been noticeably more absent since the night of the party and Draco had been too distracted to pay much attention to her absence. "Out" he stated simply.
"And is your lovely fiancé aware that you're currently having tea and flirting shamelessly with your ex-gir…whatever we were?"
"Why Granger, were you flirting with me?" Draco pretended to be shocked, pleased at her slip of the tongue. They both knew that she had been about to refer to her as his ex-girlfriend. He supposed it was the most accurate term, even if they never voiced it.
"Stop it Draco" Hermione barked. "You're a lot of things but I never thought you to be so disloyal"
Ouch. Draco thought. That one stung. "Tori and I aren't in love Granger" he sighed. "We became…close…in Canada, she's a dear friend and a marriage was expected of both of us".
Hermione balked. Draco Malfoy of all people was marrying for convenience. "I don't understand" she said numbly.
Draco was growing frustrated. "What's not to understand? I care about Tori but I do not love her".
"But, you're you" Hermione said. "You wanted to be free so badly; you gave up your inheritance to disassociate yourself and now you're allowing yourself to make a lifetime commitment for the sake of pureblood traditions? You're better than that Draco" she looked at him with pity.
"Well its not like my preferred option was available" he snarked, looking at her intensely.
"Because you left!" Hermione erupted. "You left Me, Draco so don't you dare sit there and speak to me as if this" – she gestured between them "is my fault. After everything that happened. I waited for you for years; I tried everything to find you and now you have the nerve to storm back into my life and expect what exactly? For me to be your mistress while you continue your precious pureblood line?" Hermione exhaled deeply. "Surely, surely you know me better than that Draco. What about what I deserve? Where are my answers?"
Draco had the decency to look away in shame whilst he gathered his thoughts. "A trade then." He proposed. "I'll answer any questions you have, I'll even do it under verita serum, but in return I want that journal. You're not the only one In need of answers" he said shortly.
Hermione's mind reeled. He was offering her the explanation her heart so desperately wanted after all these years, but at the expense of her only leverage, not to mention her pride. "I'll think about it" she glared. Draco nodded, knowing that was the best he could expect.
"Good day then, Hermione" they stood and he led her back to the floo.
"Good day Draco" she replied, disappearing beneath the flames.
Draco's shoulders relaxed. That had gone better than expected, he reflected. Hermione was right about one thing, he sighed. Him and Astoria needed to have a talk.
He waited up longer than expected that night, having already owled Daphne and the Weasley's in an attempt to locate his fiancé's whereabouts. It was only out of respect for her well-being that he hadn't also owled her parents. Her father would throw a fit if he knew she had been going out unchaperoned at night. Especially after Daphne's had kept her relationship with Weasley hidden for so long. He still couldn't fathom that one but it could have been worse. There was a time when he heard that he might technically have ended up related to the ginger twit. Ron had had a brief fling with his half-sister of all people during her brief time at the English ministry. Thankfully, it had ended when she returned to her family in France, still none the wiser of her connection to Draco or the Malfoy line. It felt wrong to admit it but Daphne was a much preferred match for the redhead in Draco's mind.
"Astoria" he called, more sharply than intended. "Where have you been?" he looked her over. Why did she looked so panicked? "What's wrong Tori?" he asked gently.
"N..nothing, I was just visiting with my sister" she replied cautiously, irritating Draco further.
"Now I know you're lying to me" he said evenly.
"You checked up on me?" Astoria gasped indignantly.
"Apparently with good reason" Draco surmised, noticing for the first time that Astoria's lips were somewhat swollen, her always perfectly painted lipstick half removed. Astoria's shoulders sank and she looked as if she were about to burst into tears.
"I'm sorry Draco" she said, her eyes watering. Clearly they had even more to talk about than he had realised.
Draco didn't know how late he and Tori stayed up talking that night. He let her go first, given the circumstances. Listening as she explained how her current love affair with Johnathan Belby had come to pass.
"At first it was just coffee" she told him. "then we started working later on projects and he began dropping by my office just to say hello. Before I knew it I started looking forward to our daily interactions more than work itself" she explained guiltily. Draco listened and vaguely recalled how Astoria had begun checking her appearance more carefully than usual before she flooed to the office and how her answers had become much less detailed when he politely asked her about her day. He was an idiot. All of the signs had been there. Still, he couldn't bring himself to be angry with her. He would be the world's biggest hypocrite if he was.
"So you fell in love with him?" Draco finished the sentence that Astoria couldn't seem to bring herself to articulate. "were you going to leave me?" he asked calmly.
"I…I hadn't decided" Astoria said quietly.
"Yes, Tori, you have. We both have. I'm happy for you, really I am. But there is no way I can marry you".
"What?" she asked worriedly. "But, my family…"
"will have to get over it" he cut in. "The Belby's are pureblood and Jonathan was a Slytherins, you're father will be disappointed at the lesser fortune but he will survive it" Draco decided ungraciously.
"You're taking this pretty well for a man who's being dumped three weeks before his nuptials" Astoria assessed him. "it's Hermione isn't it?".
"Am I that obvious?" he sighed. Astoria snorted.
"From the moment I saw you together at the wedding. Does she feel the same?"
"I…don't know yet. I believe she does, but whether she will act on it after everything that's happened is another story".
Astoria placed a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm happy for you Draco." She returned. She took a deep breath before rising. "So I should probably move out of the manor tonight." She grimaced.
"It's late, you don't have to leave straight away" Draco offered, giving her a hug.
"I think I've tortured dear Jonathan long enough, don't you?" she smiled wryly at him.
"I'll send a press release first thing tomorrow. Don't worry, I'll make it all my fault. It'll make the news even more delicious for my father to read from Azkaban." He chuckled.
Astoria gently removed the Malfoy heirloom diamond from her finger and placed it in his palm. "Goodbye Draco" she sniffled, kissing his cheek a final time before dissaperating.
"MALFOY AND GREENGRASS ENGAGEMENT DISSOLVED" read the prophet headline.
This shocked reporter can confirm that the most anticipated wedding of the season has officially been cancelled. Draco Malfoy made the following statement late last night confirming his decision: "Miss Astoria Greengrass and I have decided to part ways. She remains a most dear friend and I sincerely look forward to continuing my long-standing association with the Greengrass family". Miss Greengrass was unavailable for comment. The eldest Greengrass daughter, Mrs Daphne Weasley, who married war hero Ronald Weasley earlier this year, has asked the media to respect the family's privacy as her sister comes to terms with this undoubtedly devastating turn of events.
Witch Weekly's coverage was far more irritating. ELUSIVE MALFOY BACK ON MARKET by Rita Skeeter. Draco didn't even bother to read that one, wondering when the old hag would finally retire. He sipped his coffee contentedly, wondering how the rest of the wizarding world, and one curly haired witch in particular, was currently reacting.
Hermione was shaken awake roughly by an impatient Ginny thrusting the daily prophet into her face.
"Wha?" she questioned blearily, coming too and trying to make sense of her surroundings. Ginny was currently bent over her bed, practically bouncing with excitement.
"Come on Hermione, how can you still be sleeping at a time like this?" the redhead cried.
"Gin, its 8am on a Sunday!" Hermione glared.
"It doesn't matter what time it is. I need to know how you single handed broke off a celebrity engagement by attending tea!"
Hermione's eyes sharpened as the prophet's headline came into focus. What the…she hadn't even had time to consider their deal and what it might meant and Draco had already called off his engagement? That arrogant, over-confident son of a bitch" she gaped.
"Hermioneeee" Ginny pleaded "please for the love of Merlin tell me what happened?"
"Ok ok, no need to get your wand in a knot. It really wasn't that exciting" she said as she relayed the events of yesterday's somewhat hostile tea party.
"So let me get this straight. You didn't do anything with him and yet he called off his entire wedding because you said you would "think about it". Ginny gaped at her. "No taking you in his arms and devouring you; no desperate declarations of love?"
"None at all" Hermione replied dryly.
"Well that's disappointing" Ginny huffed. "Still, I was totally right, that man is still completely besotted with you. He literally cancelled his wedding the second you flirted with him".
"I wonder how Astoria took it" Hermione said guiltily. She knew that she hadn't done anything to warrant the feeling of guilt settling in her stomach but it was there nonetheless. Ginny grimaced.
"More importantly" her friend questioned. "Malfoy has clearly showed his cards. The question is what are you going to do about it?"
"I am going to go back to sleep and avoid thinking about this until a more reasonable hour" Hermione glared "and you are not going to say a word to Harry or anyone else about this conversation, ok?"
"Fine" Ginny knew when not to push. "But you're going to have to give him an answer Hermione. Malfoy is clearly not going to give up on you this time around" she warned.
Hermione pulled the covers up over her head. "Why is this my life?" she mumbled despairingly.