"Hello, Mrs Malfoy." Hermione moved her weight on her feet and fumbled with the strap of her beaded bag. Even with a kind smile on her lips the older woman was still intimidating.
With a sidestep, Mrs Malfoy opened the door widely and made room for Hermione to enter the spacious reception hall.
"I take it you are here to see my son?" The witch raised a perfectly plucked blond brow, an amused glint in her eyes.
"Uh… Yes. I'm here to talk with him about the article… which is…." Hermione thought about how to put it kindly.
"The invention of an overactive imagination." Mrs Malfoy finished the sentence for her. "I am aware. My own words were about Draco's decisions on how and with whom he conducts business." She shook her head and began to lead Hermione down a hall lined with busts of Malfoy patriarchs.
"Although I have to say that I do support Draco in every decision he makes, business-wise or other." As the last word made it past Mrs Malfoy's lips, her blue eyes appraised Hermione from head to toe. Judging from the broadening smile on her lips, Hermione must have met her standards, although she was not sure that this was something she wanted. However, having the woman's approval meant nothing in terms of the relationship Hermione wanted with her son - the relationship she wanted with Malfoy was none.
"Draco is out at a meeting, but I think you won't find that your time has been wasted if you choose to wait, Ms Granger." A double door swung open to reveal what was probably the most beautiful private library Hermione had ever seen. At the sight of walls upon walls and shelves upon shelves filled with old tomes, Hermione gasped. If it were not situated in Malfoy Manor, Hermione would have declared it heaven on earth.
"Feel free to browse our selection. Draco has imposed himself upon your store often enough, from what he has told me." That Malfoy had told his mother about coming to her store was completely lost to Hermione as she tried to take everything in at once. The books. The large window front for natural light. The grand fireplace with plush armchairs around it. The second story! She used the magical index, very similar to the one at Hogwarts, to find the first book that popped into her head. At some point, Narcissa quietly exited the library outside of Hermione's awareness.
Hermione was not sure for how long she had been enjoying the book, caressing the leather, smelling the parchment, and running her fingers over the letters as she read, when she was interrupted by a snort from behind her.
" Hogwarts: A History . You have the largest private collection in all of England at your disposal and you choose this?"
"It's a first edition," she shot back at Malfoy as she turned towards him. He was standing so close she almost knocked the book into his stomach had he not caved in on himself slightly.
"Most of the books in our library are, Granger." Malfoy went on as if nothing had happened.
"It's my favourite book."
"I know."
He knew?
Draco Malfoy knew what her favourite book was?
How?
Her eyebrows shot up at his statement.
"You droned on about it often enough around Potter and Weasley in Potions that everyone in our year would know, believe me." He paired his words with a roll of his eyes, an indifferent shrug, and a lazy smile.
She snapped the book shut and put it back. "Haha, Malfoy, very funny, which brings me back to why I am here. It's just as funny as all those paparazzi now permanently parked outside my bookstore because of the article you do not seem to have done anything about. " She emphasized her statement by jabbing an accusatory index finger into his chest. His eyes wandered slowly down to her finger on his chest, then back up to her eyes.
The smile immediately fell from his lips and he frowned. "I have done something, Granger." Malfoy had spoken to her in such a cold way that it felt like a slap in the face.
"Oh, really?" Hermione crossed her arms over her chest lamely; all the things she wanted to verbally throw at him slipped away at being reprimanded by him. Malfoy motioned for her to follow him and they entered a study. While Malfoy searched for something in one of the desk drawers, Hermione noticed that the books he had purchased from her store were stacked on it. Well, the books she had picked were on his desk while the damn romance novels he had bought at random were shoved into a dark corner. Thin strips of fabric, bookmark tails as Hermione liked to call them, indicated that Malfoy had indeed begun to read into some of her recommendations.
"Here." Malfoy held a rolled-up parchment out for her to take. It appeared that he had also written to Witch Weekly with the same result as her letter.
"Satisfied?" he asked when she gave the parchment back.
"Yes! Well, no. Damn Skeeter!" Hermione felt ashamed that she had accused him like that and had needed proof that he indeed had tried to do something about the situation. Her shoulders slumped in defeat; she did not know what to do about their dating rumour anymore.
"Sorry, Malfoy." Although she still was not friends with Malfoy, Hermione could admit when she was wrong, at least to maintain their civility.
Pop
A house-elf appeared in the study and announced that Mrs Malfoy was expecting them both for tea on the terrace.
Hermione was about to protest and make excuses, but Malfoy shot her a look that silenced her immediately. "Apology accepted if you sit with my mother and I for tea."
It was, at once, strange and pleasant to drink tea with the Malfoy's.
Strange, because she could hardly call Malfoy Malfoy in front of his mother and therefore had to use his first name. Draco. It was a foreign sound to her, but Malfoy seemed spurred on by it to try even harder to be nice to her. Hearing Malfoy call her Hermione, was even stranger still. He made every syllable of her name sound refined. Merlin, he even told his mother that her bookshop was unique since it also offered Muggle literature. Who was this man, and what had he done with the real Malfoy? Was that a glimpse at what being his friend could be like?
Pleasant, because Mrs Malfoy seemed genuinely interested in her shop and career change. That she was such a skilled conversationalist did not surprise Hermione, however. What did surprise her, was that Mrs Malfoy was interested in talking to her at all.
As house-elves cleared away the tea service, Draco… no, Malfoy had even offered her the chance to browse further in his library. However, she had declined with a "thanks" and returned to Grimmauld Place.
There, she busied herself with packing boxes in preparation for the move. A task Harry helped her with, apologizing again and again that he had believed the article for even one second, while Ginny indulged in some gruesome combination of sour and spicy foods. Doing it the Muggle way helped her occupy both her hands and mind, keeping her from over-analyzing the day's events.
The next Monday morning, something was off. When Hermione came down into the kitchen, Harry and Ginny stopped their conversation and busied themselves with buttering their toasts. Witch Weekly was noticeably absent from the table. It was a clear warning sign. Hermione quickly decided that there was no point in dragging it out unnecessarily, so she asked, "What did they write this time?" Ginny and Harry exchanged a concerned look.
"You could take the day off today. We could shop for some furniture for your new flat." The suggestion was a half-hearted distraction attempt on Harry's part and simply bounced off her.
"That bad?" If Harry thought it best for her to keep the store closed, it had to be bad.
Ginny got up and took the magazine out of its hiding spot in the cookie jar.
~ Witch Weekly Issue 17/2005 – Dramione Special~
A Mother's Approval
My sincere condolences to any witch who had hopes of becoming the next Mrs Malfoy. This dream will probably remain only that, a dream.
It seems Mr Malfoy wants to take his relationship with Hermione Granger a step further. Just last weekend, Ms Granger was spotted visiting Malfoy Manor. Not only was she greeted by Narcissa Malfoy herself, but she was also invited to tea by the matriarch of the family. Judging by the pictures, Narcissa Malfoy is very fond of her son's partner.
Could wedding bells be ringing soon?
And do you notice anything else, Dear Readers?
Exactly! When the couple doesn't feel compelled to put on a show for the public, they also call each other by their first names. The way their lips form each other's names is clearly visible here.
Draco.
Hermione.
You have to give them credit for taking such pains to keep their relationship a secret. Since last week at the latest, they can no longer pull the wool over our eyes, even though they have both vehemently denied that they are together.
As two such well-known members of the wizarding community, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger are the new power couple - Dramione for short.
It was even worse than Hermione expected. They had their own special edition. They had their own couple's name.
Dramione.
How had Skeeter gotten enough material to fill a whole magazine in just a week? There seemed to be background stories about their relationship so far, Skeeter back with the enemies-to-lovers theme, as well as interviews with friends of the couple .
The cover showed her and Malfoy walking towards the gates of Malfoy Manor. He had escorted her to the apparition point like a true gentleman and they had chatted about trivial things. Merlin, she was even waving at him goodbye as he smiled at her in the photograph!
And how in the name of Godric Gryffindor had Skeeter managed to shoot photos of them sitting outside having tea? The Malfoy's surely had security charms set around their property so nobody could enter except through the front gate.
Hermione had not even finished reading the magazine when the first howlers arrived, beginning with one from Ron.