Spending time with Harry and Ginny made Hermione realize how much she missed living in their world. She was a witch for goodness sakes. Maybe a muggle born witch but none the less a witch.
She missed some things that she never thought she would ever miss. The little things that made magic seem so normal to her. Such as being woken up in the middle of the night by an owl scratching its sharp talons at her window. She missed taking the train to Hogwarts. She missed donning the cloak of invisibility to bypass her professors as she snuck by them unnoticed. She missed using the floo powder to transport her to where she intended to go.
She didn't miss the war and the battles. She didn't miss the death of her friends and destruction of the world that she knew.
She certainly didn't miss how Draco made her feel about herself in school. She liked to believe that she had an air of self confidence when she started her first year. She wanted nothing less but to elude brilliance and confidence. She wanted to show the world that a muggle born witch could be someone, could accomplish anything that she set her mind to just as her parents had taught her.
Draco had done everything in his power to chide her and make her feel like he was better then her. He was a pure blood wizard after all and he had made her feel inferior to him.
She had dreamed of being a powerful witch.
She wanted to live the rest of her days as a powerful witch. Casting spells, creating and using potions. Getting use out of her wand, instead of hiding it away in her hall closet.
Now she finds herself drowning in work, stressed by not being able to show her true self. She missed spending all of her time around those that understood her, could related to her struggles and supported her.
Instead of struggling to fit in with those who wouldn't even know that she was missing if she left. Her flat neighbors barely acknowledged her presence when she'd walk through the neighborhood. Her coworkers and especially her manager didn't appreciate all of the extra hours she spent working on projects that she wasn't even passionate about.
She had disappointed her parents who had expected her to become an Auror or perhaps a Professor. Ron had also bugged her about not going into teaching during their time at Uni. It wasn't her passion though.
She had wanted to escape. Escape everything and make a fresh start where no one knew her
Worse of all, she is going to meet someone for dinner and spend time with this man, the one that made her feel like a small peck of dust that happened to land on his boots at Hogwarts year after year.
A man that seemed just as miserable as she was living in the muggle world, pretending that he fit in to their world.
He was engaged to someone who wasn't pureblood that his parents most likely disapproved of him being with.
She sometimes asked herself why she enjoyed spending time within so much. Why she kept punishing herself and going back to him every time he asked her to plan his wedding.
She couldn't believe the answer that she told herself, the reason why she kept seeing Draco.
She rather enjoyed his company. He reminded her of her previous life, a time where she didn't realize she was at her happiest point. She just didn't recognize that she was happy until she was living the life that she thought she wanted.
Then she realized she missed her old life. Including Draco Malfoy. She had missed his presence no matter how annoying he had been.
He seemed to be regretful of how he had treated her and a smile had always lit up his face every time that she had recently saw him.
She thought that maybe he had missed her too.
She shook her head and tried to cleared her thoughts as she approached the address hat Draco had texted her to meet him at. She has assumed that was his flat. Typically she had met him in public places like the print shop and the café.
The building she stood in front of was unassuming. It was a three story older style brick attached style house. She went up about 5 steps and opened the large wood door and walked in. She grabbed her phone from her purse and double checked the flat number. It was 201.
When she got up the stairs to the door that was marked as 201, she thought at first that she was at the wrong place and double checked the address again. This place was plain, the halls smelled musty and damp. The wallpaper was peeling off the hallway walls. This did not seem like a place that she would expect Draco Malfoy to live.
She had heard stories from Harry and Ron about being invited to Malfoy Manor back when Malfoy was on their side. They both never considered themselves close mates with Draco but had enough of a bond that he had invited them to his childhood home back in year 7.
Ron especially had been enchanted by the house and had told Hermione stories about how awesome it was. How everything in the house was fancy and h was afraid to touch anything for fear of owing a lot of money if he accidently broke something.
"Blimey, Hermione. You should have seen it was like being in fancy ass hotel. There was this grand staircase and painted Grecian murals on the walls. There were gilded plaster designs on the ceilings. They must be way rich to afford to live in such a place", Ron had gushed.
At the time Hermione assumed that Ron was exaggerating but Draco seemed to be over the top most of the times so it wouldn't surprise Hermione if she ever got a chance to see Malfoy Manor that she would find that some of what impressed Ron so much was impressive to Hermione as well.
She would never reveal any signs that she was impressed with what he had to Malfoy though, he already had a big enough head.
Hermione took a deep breath and rapped on the door of flat #201.
Draco flew out the door and closed the behind him. Her was in front of her and the door was shut in one swift, action.
Not swift enough for Hermione not to have gotten a glance inside his place. She saw a lot of grey. Grey curtains, grey carpeting and a grey couch surrounded by two black side chairs.
Hermione raised her eyebrows as he smiled at her. "Hey there, thanks for coming tonight. Shall we go?", he asked as he offered her the crook of his elbow to grab onto and swept his other hand towards the stairs.
"Where are we heading to? I thought you said that we were eating dinner at your place to discuss meeting with the wedding planner tomorrow", she asked in confusion.
He turned to her and again stuck out his bent arm for her to grab onto before they descended the stairs.
Hermione followed his lead and held on tightly to his arm as they reached the bottom of the stairs on a basement level. There was a large, black metal door in front of them at the base of the stairs.
Draco pulled out a thin silver toned metal key from his back pocket and inserted it into the keyhole. He then twisted it and tugged on Hermione's arm.
"Oh, we are going to my place, just not my muggle place." he remarked.
As she stood in space filled with darkness and stared down at her feet to see that she was standing on fin grey Italian marble veined with black and gold, it took her a moment to realize what just happened.
He had just used a portkey to transport them.
She was standing on the entranceway steps of Malfoy Manor. She didn't know how she compelled herself to walk up the stairs. She stood still and just gasped for a moment.
She was confused she didn't understand why he had taken her to his family home.
"Oh come on Granger, we are going to be late.", he exclaimed as he grabbed her hand that was hanging limply by her side. She gasped as he tugged her arm as he pulled her up the stairs and pulled open the grand metal doors.
As she was pulled into the entranceway, besides a large, highly waxed pine staircase. She broke Draco's grasp by pulling her arm away.
"What is the meaning of this? Why am I here at your parents house? You invited me to meet you for dinner at your place and I went to your flat and now you have used magic to transport us to your family manor. What are you up to?" Hermione questioned.
She was startled when someone cleared their throat from behind her. She whipped around and found herself face to face with none other than Narcissa Malfoy.
She appeared tall and regal. Her hair was coifed perfectly piled on top of her head in a neat bun, not a hair out of place. Her dress covered every inch of her body and made her look still, with the collar brushing just below her chin.
"Son, so glad you two can join me for dinner",she stated as she headed towards the area of a kitchen.
"Miss Granger, would you like some tea? The water just finished boiling. We have early grey or oolong", she asked.
Hermione stood there dumbfounded in front of her and finally closed her mouth as she knew it had gaped open as she stared at Mrs. Malfoy.
"Yes, please, oolong would be lovely with a spot of sugar and milk, Mrs. Malfoy", Hermione responded. She knew that Mrs. Malfoy preferred to be addressed formally so she put on a fake smile and elbowed Draco in the ribs.
He coughed and smirked at her as the house elf ran into the kitchen to grab the cup of leaned close to her ear and brushed an errand strand away from her eyes. "Just play along and I will explain later", he whispered before turning back to his Mother.
"Thank you for having us Mother. You do remember Hermione from my days at Hogwarts.", he said.
The house elf, Peter scampered into the dining hall area where Hermione awkwardly sat at the long mahogany table with Draco by her side.
"Ahh yes I do remember that you two never quite got along for some reason or another. That's why it was such a surprise that so shortly after Astoria left you that you announced that you met someone. I would be sure that Miss Granger was together with the red headed boy", she noted.
Hermione nodded at her, "Yes we were together but we broke up shortly before I left to work in London. I truly thought that we would get married and have children one day but alas It just wasn't meant to be".
Hermione brought the tea cup that the house elf brought out to her up to her lips and started to take a sip.
Mrs. Malfoy gave Hermione a tight lipped smile. "Ahh well then that explains it then. At first Draco was very secretive about his relationship. Lucius and I were beginning to think that he was involved with a lowlife Muggle because he wouldn't tell us any details at all other then he had fallen in love. He wouldn't even show any photos of her. We knew nothing; not what she did for a living, what her interests were or even how they met."
Hermione smiled and her and nods as she takes another sip of her tea.
"Then one day he arrives to tell us that the marriage plans were progressing well and he would like to bring his future bride to dinner. That's when he tells us that we already know you and would be happy that he's marrying a witch"
Hermione almost spits out the tea. She starts choking and looks at Draco with a panicked look.
"Oh we aren't…", she starts to say before she feels a hand on her pants leg pressing firmly down and she looks up at Draco giving her a pleading look.
She should have known better. She had questioned to herself the validity of him dating someone that was not a witch. She knew that was odd and she also was aware that his parents expected him to marry a pure blood witch, which she was certainly not.
That's when the truth hit her as Draco's palm continued to rest on her thigh. He was no longer pressing into her skin but gently rubbing circles on her thigh.
She was being used by Draco as a decoy fiancée. The wedding planning, being out in public with him at various wedding caterers was all a ply to appease his parents. To make them think that their son was dating a witch instead of a muggle. He was being sweet to her because that was the only way she would be so naïve as to go along with this cockamamie plan of his.
Hermione side eyed him as he grinned at his Mother.
"I knew that you would be pleased with my choice. I thought Astoria would be the one for me but she was definitely not the one for me. Neither was Pansy. Hermione on the other hand, I was sure about. There was no doubt in my mind when we ran into each other again after being apart for so long that she was it for me. I didn't want to let her go away from my life ever again.",
Hermione's blood was boiling. She thought to herself, how dare he make such boldfaced lies straight to his Mother's face about his feelings for her. How dare he trick her and make a fool out of her. What was he going to do when he really had the wedding and couldn't parade Hermione around as a stand in bride?
Hermione was furious. She had thought he had changed. She had wondered in the back of her mind why he was being such a nice guy to her when he hadn't acted like that towards her in the past.
She stood up abruptly and pushed her chair away from the table. "I need to be excused for a moment. I just need to freshen up"
Peter was by her side in an instant, directing her to the powder room. "This way Miss", he directed.
She was starting herself in the mirror, contemplating how and when she would run out the front door and not ever come back when there was a loud knock on the door that startled her out of her thoughts.
She cautiously opened the door. Draco stood on the other side of the door, his eyes bored into hers. Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.
"We must speak about his matter right now. I need to know what is going on for Merlin's sake. You drag me here under false pretenses and then I find out your Mother thinks that I am the one that you are engaged to and not Giselle. You need to explain yourself, right now", she stated in a hushed tone.
Draco took a few steps into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. He stood on the opposite side wall as Hermione. "I have an explanation for all of your questions. I promise to answer each and everyone of them before we go to see the wedding planner tomorrow. All you need to know for now is that a real wedding is being planned and I hope to marry someone that I have true feels for", he explains.
Hermione puts her hands on her hips and glares at him. She takes a stuttering breath before addressing him. She tries to calm the rage that is building up inside of her.
"The woman you have true feelings for is not here right now. How do you think that she will react when she finds out that you are pretending to be in a relationship with me just to appease your parents' wishes? They are most likely funding the wedding, am I right? How do you think she feels right now. Also how do you think I feel, being used as a pawn in this twist mind game that you have going on right now? Knowing that I am just posing as your bride to be , when your true bride to be is sitting at home right now?", she says, trying not to raise her voice loud enough for Draco's Mother to hear them arguing.
Draco stares down at the floor. "I know that you think I am an arse and will tell me to sod off when I ask this but I just want you to trust me. I know that the whole situation seems shady but everything will make sense tomorrow. Please just trust me," he pleaded.
Hermione continued to glare at Draco. "I don't know if I can trust you. You never gave me a reason before to trust you during 7 years at school. You think you can just swoop in after being out of my life for several years and just use me to pretend that I'm your fiancée? You have to give me a reason to trust you".
Draco looked down at his shoes while he dug something out of his trouser pocket. He pulled out a red, velvet jewelry box and handed the box to her.
"I forgot to give this to you earlier. If its not a sign that you can trust me, I don't know what is?", he explains.
Hermione delicately opens the box and lets out a loud gasp.
Nestled in the box is a ring comprised of small sapphire chips surrounding a diamond center. It reminded her of a morning glory flower.
"Why are you giving this ring to me?", she questions, still in disbelief.
"Please put it on. It's your assurance that I am not using you. You are helping me out in this situation and I would like to put this ring on your finger", he tells her.
She nods and he picks up the ring with 2 fingers and places it on her outstretched hand, pushing it down past the knuckle.
Hermione is shocked that it fits perfectly. It is beautiful and she really doesn't know what to say. She realized that she'll have to give the ring back after this charade but for the meantime she's happy to have such a lovely ring on her finger even if it's not for genuine reasons.
"Its looks lovely on you. Comes on, lets get back to the dinner table. I am sure my mother is wondering where we are and I'm pretty sure the food was being served as I walked out of the room to find you", he said.
Hermione kept glancing down at the ting through the entirety of the dinner. Mrs Malfoy and Draco were talking about the wedding plans and was kept mostly quiet as she ate. She overheard most of what was being discussed. They were discussing meeting with the wedding planner and going over the important details.
The wedding was being held t the grounds of the manor. The guest list had already been planned and the upper echelon of the wizarding community would all be there.
Not Hermione though, she would certainly be back to her normal routine by then without Draco as part of her life. No more wedding planning, no more pretending as though she was goingto be the bride instead of Giselle.
After the dinner was over, Draco made a grand display of affection in front of his Mother. He kissed Hermione gently on her right cheek and thanked her for coming. He also leaned into her and hugged her tightly, his head buried in her hair.
It felt nice to be in his arms. He was warm and was rubbing his hand softly up and down her didn't really want to leave his embrace.
She knew that she had to. The charade was over for the night. He used floo powder to transport her back to her own flat
She stood in front of her bed and almost collapsed onto it. She was relieved to be back home but in a way she missed Draco's company even if she knew that she would see him again the next day and have to go back to pretending.
He owed her an explanation though , actually several explanations.