Draco looked up as Blaise entered his office again the next day, and he didn't fail to notice that Blaise looked as if he had a secret.
"I think you should go see Hermione today," Blaise said smugly before Draco could say anything.
Raising an eyebrow, Draco set his paperwork down and leaned forward on his desk. "And why is that, Blaise?"
Blaise simply shrugged. "I just think you should. You've been worried about her, after all. Maybe even ask her to lunch again."
"She's already made it clear that her husband will be uncomfortable about it," Draco said in a low voice.
"Yes, but I'm well a-were of that."
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Draco let out a long, deep sigh. "Blaise, it's too early for werewolf puns..."
"I disagree but anyways," Blaise grinned. "My point still stands."
"And why should I ask her to lunch when surely the answer is no?" Draco asked, putting his hands on his desk and folding them.
"Because I think you may find that her opinion and answer will have changed from before," Blaise answered smugly.
Draco raised an eyebrow again. "And I'm just supposed to believe you?"
"You're right," Blaise said, waving him off and turning around. "It's not like I'm dating her best friend or anything."
He left the office before anything else could be said, leaving behind a very confused Draco. The blond stared at the door for a few moments before looking back down at his papers. But as much as he tried to focus, he couldn't deny that he was very curious to see if Blaise was actually right.
After locking up all of his paperwork and checking his watch, he decided it was early enough that Hermione should still be at her desk. If she was actually going to eat that day, he thought to himself.
"I'm going out," He announced as he passed Blaise's office, completely ignoring the smirk that his partner gave him and apparating out of the office.
He hated using the visitor's entrance for the Ministry, but grimaced through it and was soon making his way through the main floor towards the lifts. His mind was swirling with thoughts of what could possibly happen; will she be happy to see him? Would Weasley be there? And why the hell was Blaise so insistent that something had changed?
His thoughts kept him distracted as the lift took him to the fourth level where Hermione's office was, and the first thing he noticed was that her assistant was not at her desk, again. This seemed to be normal though and he simply shrugged as he made his way to Hermione's office. Surprisingly, the door was already open.
"Good morning, Hermi-"
He froze and stared at her. She looked up as he entered and raised an eyebrow at him, a small smirk forming at the corners of her mouth.
"Do you like it?" She asked, running a hand through her now completely short hair. It was a short, choppy bob that stopped around her jawline, accentuating every angle of her face.
He gaped as the words struggled to come out of his mouth. He had never imagined her without her mess of curls, but the longer he looked at it, the more he preferred this look on her. It didn't cover her looks, only defining them more.
"It's...wow." He took a few steps closer and then noticed something else about her that was different. "Have you always had freckles?"
He saw a twinge of redness hit her cheeks as she answered, "Sort of; they came around more after I left Hogwarts. I just usually wear foundation and decided not to today."
"You don't even need it," He said before he could stop himself.
She shifted in her chair and looked down for a few moments as she chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to hide her smile. "What can I help you with, Draco?"
It took a few moments for him to actually remember what he had originally come to her office for. "Oh, yes. Well, the lunch offer still stands and I just wanted to drop by and see if-"
"Lunch sounds wonderful!" She interrupted with a smile. "Let me just put everything away."
As she stood up and started putting folders in her desk, he watched her quietly. He was surprised that she had accepted so quickly, and Blaise's comment made its way back to the front of his mind.
"So...if you don't mind me asking," He started slowly as she continued to put her things away. "What changed your mind about lunch?"
"Oh, I just don't care what he thinks anymore," She shrugged simply.
He didn't fail to notice her face harden slightly as she said this, but he decided not to push the subject. She locked her desk and straightened up a moment later, grabbing her bag and giving him a smile. "Where would you like to go?"
"I don't really have a preference, anywhere is fine," Hermione said as they excited her office.
They continued discussing restaurants as they made their way through the Ministry, and while Hermione was unaware of the stares they were receiving, Draco felt extremely uncomfortable with the new attention.
"Why don't we go somewhere private?" He suggested, looking around. "All of this attention is making me uncomfortable."
"What?" Hermione looked around then, noticing just how many people were watching the two of them and whispering to each other. "Oh, Merlin...I know just the place."
They walked outside of the Ministry and Hermione put her hand inside his elbow and disapparated the two of them before he could say anything. They landed shortly after in the lobby of a nice restaurant that Draco was very familiar with, and he didn't say a word as she removed her hand from his arm and went to the host's stand.
Within minutes they were seated at a table that was covered in a glass dome on the roof of the restaurant, allowing them to view all of wizarding London while being sheltered from the elements. The domes were also all sound-proof, allowing them to safely converse without anyone hearing them.
"Not exactly what I meant by private, but it'll do," Draco said under his breath.
"This is so that nothing can be left to the imagination about our lunch," She said in a matter-of-factly tone. "Everyone will see it for what it is: lunch."
He had to admit, it was very smart. He continued to watch her quietly as she looked over the menu, taking in her new look. "Why exactly did you cut your hair?"
"I figured it was time for a change," She said without looking up. "I've had long hair all my life. Most days recently I've worn it up and out of the way. Now I can actually do something with it."
There was something flat about the way she said it. He knew there was something else she wasn't telling him, especially with the fact that she all of a sudden changed from yielding to her husband's wishes to no longer caring what he thought.
"Did something happen?" He asked then, tilting his head slightly.
She took in a deep breath and sighed it out of her nose, leaning back in her chair and looking up at him. "Yes. I'm surprised that you didn't hear about it already."
"What do you mean?"
Raising an eyebrow, she said, "It was on the front page of the Prophet."
"The Prophet was thrown out before I got to work this morning," He said.
Hermione hummed with a slight smile on her face before leaning to the left of her chair, propping her elbow up on the table and resting her chin in the palm of her hand. Draco noticed then that her rings were missing from her finger.
"Ron and my assistant decided to have a little affair," She said calmly, giving him a fake smile.
He stared at her in shock as anger slowly started to surge through him. "Weasley always was an idiot, but that was the stupidest thing he could possibly do."
"I can't argue with that," She said.
They sat quietly for a few moments before he said, "I'm so sorry, Hermione."
She shrugged. "Nothing anyone can do now. He wants to talk but frankly, I don't see a point. I don't want to know why he did it, and I don't want to try and fix anything."
"Is there anything I can do?" He asked.
"No, it's alright," Hermione said, smiling at him. "I've gotten everything handled pretty much. Ginny's going with me to file the divorce papers soon since she needs to do it as well."
His eyebrows shot up in surprise as he made the mental note to interrogate Blaise later and he asked, "So, are you looking for a new place? Are you kicking him out?"
"Oh I'm in the process of looking for a new home," She answered. "I'm staying at my parents' house right now while they're away on vacation."
"Do you need help looking for a place?" He asked. "I'd be happy to help."
"You don't have to help me," She said, laughing slightly.
He shrugged. "You've done a lot for me already."
"It's part of my job," She said.
"Maybe so, but you take the time to reach out to your clients and I want to show my appreciation," He said. "Please, let me help."
She watched him curiously for a few moments before nodding. "Alright."
They ordered their food and Draco was surprised to find how easy she was to talk to, and he was even more surprised at how open she was with him. It made him all the more angrier that Weasley had done what he did, but at the same time Hermione seemed much happier now.
"So," Draco started after their food arrived at their table. "Why werewolves?"
"I've honestly been intrigued by them ever since third year when Snape set the essay on them," She answered. "And the treatment of people with lycanthropy has just been awful; someone needed to change things and no one else was stepping up."
"You know you can call us werewolves, right?" He said with a small smile.
"I know," She answered simply. "But at the same time, that's automatically defining you by your condition. You're still people, and I think a lot of witches and wizards forget that."
"That's...really nice actually," Draco said then. "I never really thought of it like that."
"A lot of my clients have said the same thing; you'd be surprised at how someone's outlook changes when they're told that."
"That's because no one really tells us that," He said. "No one still thinks of us as people with a condition. They mainly just see us as monsters."
She noticed the defeated look on his face when he said this, and she frowned. "Well, hopefully that will change soon."
"I'm sure with you managing everything, it will," He said with a smile, which she returned.
After a few minutes of silence, he then said, "You know, I'm surprised you haven't asked yet."
"Asked what?" She gave him a confused look.
"You know," He said, gesturing to the side with his knife. "How it happened."
"Oh." She shifted in her seat and said, "I figured if you wanted to tell me, you would. I try not to ask things like that."
"You don't ask your clients how they were turned into werewolves?" He asked with a laugh. "That seems like information you would need."
She rolled her eyes but couldn't hold back a grin. "I will admit, I am curious though if you aren't afraid to talk about it."
He shrugged. "I suppose since I'm one of your clients, you should know. Greyback was the one who did it."
"I had a feeling," She said with a nod. "When did it happen?"
"After fifth year," He explained. "It was after father had failed to retrieve the prophecy for Voldemort. As punishment for failing, Voldemort had Greyback attack me."
"That's awful," Hermione said quietly. "I'm so sorry."
He shrugged. "I had to spend the entire summer healing. Bastard nearly ripped my arm off when he did it."
"How did you hide your transformations at school?" She asked curiously.
"I would go to the Shrieking Shack, actually," He said. "It seemed like the best idea. Madam Pomfrey was so nice about helping me every full moon, and she was able to get the potion into the castle without anyone suspecting. She's the only one who knew about my condition other than Blaise."
"And no one else found out?"
"Whenever anyone started to catch on, I altered their memories," He said. "Though I think Dumbledore knew."
"Has it been difficult running your company like this?" She asked.
"Not really, I pass off any suspicion by telling people I have migraines," He shrugged again.
"Oh that's smart," She said, surprised.
He grinned. "You're not the only smart person in the world, Granger."
She laughed. "I never said I was!"
They returned to her office about an hour later and she paused after opening the door, looking at her desk. There was a bouquet of flowers that were not there when she left, and she glared at them.
"If those are from him, I swear..." She muttered as she went to read the card that was placed in front of them.
Draco watched silently from the doorway, scowling. It was a rather small arrangement of flowers in his opinion, especially considering what Weasley had done. After a few moments she scoffed and tossed the card in the trash and looked back at the flowers.
"I'd hate to throw them out, but I don't want those in here," She said, glaring at them again.
Without another word, Draco grabbed the entire arrangement and walked out of the office with them, and Hermione thought she heard a low growling coming from him as he left the office. He returned a few minutes later empty handed and she raised an eyebrow at him.
"I thought they looked better in one of the bins outside," He said with a shrug.
She laughed at that and it made him smile before saying, "Alright, I should head back to my own office now. Let me know when you'd like helping searching for a new place."
"I will; thank you, Draco," She said, smiling at him.
He hesitated before reluctantly leaving, walking out of the Ministry with a smile on his face.
A/N: This is actually kind of exactly how I pictured her standing in the mirror when she cut her hair. Sorry for the delay in posting, but here you all go! Love you all!