AN: I do not own Harry Potter.
To be read with Chapter 13 of the Potter-Slytherin Curse.
Chapter 2
Draco was waiting at the doors of the Great Hall with a small group of Slytherins. He had Blaise, and Pansy with him. He could see Harry with Ron, and he had been looking over a list presumably for Dudley as he couldn't yet collect them at his year. Even though they had made a truce, the conversations between each group were still awkward, and something to be feared. Yet here he was, waiting for Granger, at the doors of the Great Hall, something that he had never thought would ever happen.
Draco would have not believed himself if he had tried to communicate with his past self that this is what was happening. None of this would have been believable for most of his life, yet it was happening.
To be honest, he did and he didn't want today to happen. He had hated Hermione at first, just based on preconceived ideas he had developed and his family had encouraged him to believe growing up when he first met her. Hermione had completely fit the stereo types back then. To him, she had been loud and obnoxious, and trying to force her ideas on everybody. However, he had gotten curious, as he had noticed that first day that she was referring to Hogwarts: A History, an introductory volume to the Wizarding World. He was also curious just what she had that Harry Potter, who had made the unfortunate connection to Ron Weasley, connect with her as part of their group. He had found that she was a researcher, and was suitably curious about their world. He had found the group's curiosity interesting, even as he taunted them with what they didn't know, as they tried to work through this world that they were unused to, so he shadowed them. It had landed him in multiple detentions. Now, he respected her curiosity, her tenacity, and her ability to jump in and do things despite the rules. (He had overheard a conversation that referred to what she did to Rita Skeeter. He might have done that himself if he had been the victim.) He also respected her research abilities and her ability to use what she had, such as her punching him. To be honest, that might have been when he first took notice of Hermione. He had no idea what in the world possessed him to ask Harry Potter, who he had noticed acted as a brother, for permission to date her, but the other boy had agreed. On one hand, it was a way to show his former opponent that he meant what he said about being able to trust him. On the other hand, he kind of wanted to get to know her better. He had the thought that her time with Viktor Krum had opened the way for other pure blood boys to get to know her; her likes weren't dependent on blood status as he had supposed them to be. However, it didn't matter how many back and forth thoughts he had. Now he was doing this.
He had so many of his plans as of this moment riding on today going well. It was kind of frightening.
There, Theo was headed his way, the two Gryffindor girls going with them a short distance behind him. Once Theo had joined his group and the two girls had joined Harry's, the two groups left separately. The two groups joined together shortly after leaving the castle.
"Granger."
"Malfoy. I heard that you requested a date from me?"
"Yeah."
She punched him in the shoulder.
He flinched again at the strength in her punch.
"That's for not asking me. I'm not sure what kind of protocols you follow, but I am a person and will be treated as one."
"And that means?"
"If you wish to ask me a question, ask me, not somebody else."
"Understood," Malfoy answered.
"Got it," was heard from behind them.
The two talking looked back a bit. Harry was looking sheepish.
"I'll punch you later because it will include a tongue lashing I don't want public, you-should-have-known-better Harry James Potter."
"Yes, Hermione."
"Now, let's go."
"Okay."
"Wow, she's vicious."
"She can be."
It was to be honest a great day to be outside. It was a little cool, but it was to be expected for the time of year. Otherwise, it wasn't the greatest date ever. Draco Malfoy was polite, as was Hermione, but despite trying, it remained one of the most awkward Hogsmeade weekends that either of them had been on.
It didn't help that her friends shadowed them.
It did get better as the day went on, though. They did get to get alone enough to talk privately.
"So, why did you ask Harry for a date with me?"
"Well, he acts like your brother, and I didn't want to upset him, especially as he can be very protective of you guys. I also want a date with you without the guys fighting as you did at the tournament ball? I thought it was something I had to do, honestly, for it to happen."
Hermione thought a minute. She eventually recognized that, with Draco on the outside of the group and watching them across the room despite the noise as she knew she did with his group, the whole argument between her and Ron, with Harry there, could have been misconstrued as something very different, such as a different set of rules the three of them were living by.
"I didn't think that that was what you thought that whole argument was about. Really, it was about Ron not realizing that he could ask me, and wanting to go with someone he knew a lot better, and not wanting me to go with who I was going with."
"Do you still talk with Krum?"
"We send letters occasionally. It's more expensive as we have to use longer transportation route birds. We're friends, I guess."
"That's nice."
"Was that the moment that you realized that I was a girl, like Ron?"
Draco grimaced.
Hermione snorted, causing Draco to cough his laughter.
"Yes, seeing you with someone that I had looked up to suddenly made me aware that if things had been different, I could have asked you. I had been mostly seeing you as a rival, seeing as we compete in classes and with the school yard stuff."
"We fought."
"We did. We still compete."
"Yeah, what was your rune score for the last assignment we got back?"
"EE. Yours?"
"The same."
Later, they met up with the rest to walk back, including the two boys that had been sneaking around at times under the cloak.
