As hard as she tried, Hermione couldn't focus for the rest of the day. Her thoughts kept wandering to Draco and their dinner date that night, and not even a fresh bouquet of flowers from Ron on her desk when she returned to her office could bring down her happy mood.
Of course, the flowers went straight into the bin but she had a smile on her face the rest of the day.
She immediately started to get ready as soon as she stepped out of the fireplace, racing to her bathroom for a shower. Her excitement was slowly starting to be overrun by her nerves as she thought through her wardrobe and tried to decide what to wear, only starting to panic slightly when she couldn't think of anything. She wasn't sure how dressed up Draco intended to get, either.
Letting her hair air-dry, she rushed into her closet and picked through all of her clothes, chewing on her lip the entire time. After what felt like an eternity, she finally found a dress that was shoved into the back of her closet that she hadn't seen in years.
As she looked over the dress, she remembered how Ron pressured her into throwing it out because he felt it was too risqué, considering it caught a lot of attention for how well it fit her and how it showed off her legs. He would always insist that he loved the dress on her, but the fact that other men loved it too would always put him in a jealous mood and would ruin their evening.
The spiteful thought of wearing it for Draco though instantly made her smirk and she walked back out of her closet, laying the dress on the bed as she continued to get ready.
Seven o'clock came around and she heard her doorbell ring right on the dot, making her smile as she eagerly made her way to the front door. Draco was waiting patiently on the other side, wearing a charcoal grey suit with a black tie. He was silent for a few moments as he took in her appearance.
"I should take you out to dinner more often if it means you'll wear more things like that," He said as a grin started to form. "You are absolutely stunning."
Her cheeks flushed and she looked down at her feet with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Draco."
"My pleasure." He put one hand in his pocket while adjusting his tie with the other. "Are you ready?"
"Yes!" She stepped onto her porch and locked the door behind her before turning back to him.
He was sizing her up, looking between her head and her heels. "You're nearly as tall as I am in those."
"Is that a problem?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Not at all!" He grinned at her. "Besides, you're still a few inches shorter. What are you, five-foot-five, five-foot-six?"
"Five-five," She laughed as she kicked out one of her legs to show her black pumps. "These are only four inches."
"Either way, you are stunning," He said as he held out his arm to her. "Shall we?"
She tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and he disapparated them, landing just outside of a very nice restaurant. He was somewhat surprised when she didn't pull away and kept her hand on his arm as he led her inside, but it definitely made him smile.
"Ah, Mister Malfoy!" The maître d' greeted in a booming voice.
Draco cringed slightly as the announcement caught the attention of surrounding guests who immediately began whispering to each other but he tried his best to ignore the stares as he led Hermione to the desk.
"Good evening, Martin," Draco said curtly.
"The usual table, sir?"
"No, not tonight," Draco smiled. "I think tonight I would prefer one of your rooftop tables; it's beautiful outside."
"That it is, sir! Right this way please."
Martin led them away and Draco smiled at Hermione as they walked through the restaurant. Hermione's head was on a swivel as she took in the entire restaurant, which only made Draco smile more. The three of them stepped into a beautiful elevator that had been crafted to look as if it were made of gold vines. The entire restaurant was visible through the sides as they went up to the rooftop area, and Hermione was surprised to find that the rooftop area was much more beautiful than the indoor area.
There weren't as many tables on the rooftop but the layout was stunning. Every table was situated in a small gazebo with a chandelier hanging above it, and she couldn't hear the conversations of the other witches and wizards as they passed by which intrigued her. It almost reminded her of the restaurant she and Draco had gone to for their lunch the week before.
"Your table, sir."
Martin gestured towards the only empty gazebo on the rooftop and Draco gently pulled Hermione towards it. She was focused on the view though, which he chuckled at.
"Hermione, you'll need to sit down to eat," He mused, watching as she walked right past the table to peer over the railing.
"I know, I just wanted to take a look," She said over her shoulder with a smile. "It's so beautiful here."
She stayed against the railing for a few moments before turning back around and joining Draco back at the table. He was waiting patiently with a smile on his face and had already pulled her chair out for her, which made her laugh slightly.
"Have you always been hiding this gentlemanly attitude underneath everything?" She asked while she sat down and he pushed her in gently.
He laughed as he walked around the table to his own seat. "It's a relatively new trait, I will admit that. I've been trying to be better."
"Well, it shows," She smiled.
"I wasn't that awful before, was I?" He asked.
She raised an eyebrow at this and he laughed again. For some reason, her raising her eyebrow never bothered him like it had when Simone did it.
"You're right, I was pretty horrible in school," He sighed before tapping his finger on a particular part of his menu.
A bottle of wine suddenly appeared on the table and she jumped before looking up at him in shock. He grinned and explained, "You simply tap on the item you'd like and it will appear."
"Oh!"
He opened the bottle and poured a glass for her first before pouring his own. "So when are you going to start telling me some of these stories?"
She laughed as she lifted her glass and took a sip of her wine. "That depends; what do you want to hear first?"
He hummed for a few moments as he thought before looking up at her. "How is it that you were able to take so many classes third year? I swear, you took all of them!"
"I pretty much did," She said sheepishly, shaking her head. "That was a mistake. Professor McGonagall allowed me to have a Time Turner that year which I used to take nearly every class I could. I thought I could handle it, but I practically overworked myself. I'm surprised I managed to survive that year."
"You had a Time Turner?" He asked as his eyes widened before he smirked. "Did you ever use it for things other than class?"
"I tried not to but I had to use it at the end of the year to save Buckbeak," She said with a smile. "And myself and Harry, of course."
"Ah yes," Draco nodded. "That was one of the stories you promised to tell."
"Are you hinting that you would like to hear it?" She asked.
He replied with a smile. "Well that was the purpose of this dinner, wasn't it?"
She laughed. "Alright, don't blame me for you getting confused though!"
After she had finished, he sat back in his chair and stared down at the table. Hermione leaned against the arm of her chair and smirked at him. They had ordered and finished their dinner by that point, and considering the fact that she told everything that had happened that night and answered every question he had, they had quite a bit to talk about.
"You were not joking about that being a long story," He said finally, looking back up at her. "That was amazing though."
"And that was only third year," She said before taking another drink of her wine.
"Have you ever had a boring year being Potter's friend?" Draco asked curiously.
She tilted her head back and forth as she thought. "Honestly, second year was probably the most boring because I spent most of it petrified in the Hospital Wing."
"That's right, I remember that," He nodded. "What was that like?"
"What, being petrified?" She shifted in her seat, looking away. "It was more like sleeping than anything, except the entire world just paused. To me, it felt like a second. One moment I was looking around the corner and the next I was lying down in a hospital bed."
"That doesn't sound too bad," He said.
She shrugged. "Could've been a lot worse."
He frowned at that before saying quietly, "Well, I'm very glad that worse didn't happen."
"Me too."
Shifting in his seat, he straightened up and cleared his throat. "Let's talk about something happier, shall we?"
"What would you like to talk about?" She smiled.
He thought again for a few moments before gesturing to her. "Well I feel like you've been doing all the talking; is there anything you want to know about me?"
She laughed at that. "Do you always need the attention on you?"
"I may have changed somewhat but I'm still me," He grinned.
Rolling her eyes, she couldn't hide a smile. "I will say though, I do like the new you better. Even though you were still extremely annoying when we first started working together again."
"I couldn't help it, you're very fun to annoy," He said with a shrug.
"What made you change that?" She asked curiously.
He tilted his head slightly. "What do you mean?"
"You haven't been trying to annoy me lately," She explained. "Before I felt like you were trying to spite me by being a part of everything. Now...I mean, look at us. We're at dinner together."
"Is it wrong to take someone out to dinner?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"No, but I'm wondering what led to this," She said.
He was quiet for a few moments, trying to figure out exactly what to say. He already knew what led to this moment, but he wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell her.
"Let's just say..." He started slowly. "...that I came to really appreciate you and over time I started to enjoy being around you. It's rather nice to finally just be myself."
"You weren't yourself with any others?" She asked.
"I couldn't exactly just blurt out about my condition," He said.
"But none of them knew?"
"Absolutely none."
She gave him a sad look, wondering just how lonely it must have been for him the past few years. To not be able to fully open up to anyone, being alone every cycle...the thought broke her heart.
"That sounds awful," She said quietly.
He shrugged. "I hear it's normal for others like me."
"It is somewhat," She sighed. "A lot of my other clients do have families though."
Looking away, he shrugged again. "The loneliness isn't something I'm unfamiliar with."
"It shouldn't be like that."
He looked at her curiously, noticing that she was upset. That was the last thing he wanted, and he shifted in his seat again. "We should change the subject to a happier one."
She sighed and finished her glass. "What would you like to talk about?"
"What are your plans for your career?" He asked curiously, leaning forward and resting his forearms on the table.
"I'm not sure, to be honest," She said with a slight shrug. "I've somewhat recently become Head of the Beings division so I'll probably stay there for a couple years. After that, who knows."
"I'm surprised you're not interested in becoming Minister," He said, smirking.
"I'm not opposed to the idea," She laughed. "That probably would not go over well, though."
His brow furrowed slightly in confusion. "Why not? I think you'd make a great Minister."
She smiled at him. "Well thank you, Draco. But there are others that would not share that same view on it. There's still quite a bit of prejudice against witches and wizards like me."
He was quiet as he thought about what she meant when it hit him. She was still facing prejudice over her blood status?
"You cannot be serious," He said in a low voice.
Nodding solemnly, she sighed. "It's an unfortunate circumstance but not a new one for me."
"No, that's absolutely ridiculous!" He was fuming, and his reaction somewhat surprised her. He looked away angrily and took a few deep breaths before returning to look back at her. "Who is giving you trouble?"
"Draco, you can't do anything to stop them," She said calmly. "They're mostly older wizards anyway; I've proven them wrong before and I will do it again."
"I'm not going to sit here and do nothing while people still look down on you like that, that's not right." He took another deep breath to try and calm down, realizing that his werewolf side was becoming protective and starting to take over.
Hermione seemed to realize this and instinctively reached over to take his hand before she could stop herself. They both froze when her hand rested on top of his and she stared down at their hands. He was staring at her with wide eyes, any anger he had fizzling away completely.
She went to pull her hand away but he grabbed it gently and held it, slowly rubbing his thumb across the back of her fingers.
"Is this alright?" He asked quietly.
"If you think it is," She said just as quietly.
"Well you were the one to start it," He said with a smirk. "Careful, Granger; people will think you like me."
She returned his smirk. "Says the one still holding my hand."
He laughed then and gave her hand a slight squeeze as he smiled at her. Her cheeks had a nice rosy tint to them, but he wasn't sure if it was from the wine or if it was her blushing. They had already finished that bottle and she didn't seem too affected by it.
After a few minutes of content silence, he sighed and reluctantly said, "I should probably get you home before it gets to be too late."
Hermione looked around, unaware that most of the other patrons had already left. She had been so focused on her dinner with Draco that nothing else had even caught her attention. A small pang of sadness hit her as she realized the night was coming to an end, but she nodded and they both stood up from the table.
He reached for her hand again and she gladly took his, unable to stop the smile from spreading on her face as he led her to the elevator and escorted her through the restaurant, never leaving her side. There were excited whispers from the remaining guests that followed them but they both ignored them as Draco picked up the conversation.
"Did Weasley bother you again after our lunch?" He asked quietly as they slowly walked through the lobby.
"No, but there was a fresh bouquet of flowers on my desk when I got back," She said, rolling her eyes.
"Didn't you say you were filing paperwork for a divorce?" He decided to try and prolong having to take her home, instead walking her slowly down the sidewalk and passing different shops. There was plenty of nightlife in this part of wizarding London, so they were able to easily blend into a crowd.
"I did this past Saturday," She nodded. "I don't know when he's being served though, and I doubt he'll make this process easy."
"When does Weasley ever make things easy?" He asked with a smirk. Then in a more serious tone he said, "If you need any sort of help, just let me know."
She smiled at him. "Thank you, Draco."
Then she noticed that they were still walking down the street and laughed slightly. "Where are you taking me?"
He grinned as he asked, "Is it wrong that I wanted to spend a little more time with you?"
"Of course not," She laughed again. "I just wasn't sure if you had a surprise outing planned or not."
"I save my surprise outings for Fridays and weekends," He said, smiling at her. "I have to work too, you know!"
"I would think, as the owner of your company, that you would be able to set your schedule for whenever you'd like," She said with a smirk. He rather liked the smirk on her.
"You're absolutely right, I can. But a good leader sets an example for the rest of his company."
She laughed again and he paused and looked down at her before a flash from across the street caught his eye. Looking up, he saw two reporters on the other side of the street with a camera and they were starting to cross the street.
Hermione turned around to look and she groaned then, immediately disapparating the two of them away. They landed at the end of the walkway leading up to her house and Draco looked around before realizing where they were.
"Warn me next time you do that," He said with a grin.
She scrunched her nose playfully at him and said, "I thought you would've wanted to get away from the cameras."
"Oh I did, but you don't just disapparate people away without telling them," He retorted. "There's an unspoken rule about that."
"Well I'm sorry for not warning you," She said sarcastically with a smile.
He returned the smile and they slowly walked up together to her front door, hand in hand. Hermione looked up for a moment and said, "Thank you for dinner, Draco. Tonight was wonderful."
"I have to agree with you on that," He said, smiling at her. They stopped on her front porch and he nervously asked, "Is it too early to ask about our next dinner?"
She laughed. "I don't think so. I enjoyed this one and would love to have another."
He rubbed the back of his neck slightly and looked away then. "I just don't want to do anything that could possibly compromise your divorce. Especially since they already caught a picture of us together."
"I've already filed the paperwork, and Harry was witness to Ron's infidelity," She said confidently. "I doubt that anything we do right now will affect the divorce."
"I just want to be careful," He explained. "I know it's technically just dinner, but you're still a married woman by law and-"
She cut him off with a quick peck on the lips, blushing furiously as she stepped back afterwards and laughing at his frozen expression.
"Dinner is absolutely fine," She said quietly, squeezing his hand. "How about Wednesday?"
"Wednesday..." He trailed off for a moment in a daze before shaking his head and clearing his throat. "Wednesday, Wednesday is great!"
She laughed again and he grinned, gently pulling her to him as he gave her a kiss. Her hands went up to rest on his chest as his snaked around her back and one hand went to rest on her cheek. It was difficult to keep the kiss short and sweet even though he wanted it to be longer, but the thought that she was still technically married stopped him and he reluctantly pulled away.
"It's late, and I've kept you out long enough already," He said quietly. "We can figure out dinner details tomorrow."
"Sounds like a plan." She smiled up at him before giving him another quick kiss. "Goodnight, Draco."
He was unable to form words as she turned around to open her door, giving him one last smile before disappearing into her house and leaving him on her porch. He was happy though and after lingering for a moment, he turned away and disapparated to his own manor.
A/N: Here, have a nice loooong chapter as an apology for not updating this story recently! This one was so cute to write, I love writing date nights for them. Thank you all for being so patient with me on this, I've been trying to wrap up Between Us so I can start other stories but I felt really bad leaving this one hanging. Hope you all enjoy! <3