Happily Ever After?

6

Like a gentleman, Draco helped her take off her jacket upon arrival at the restaurant, then moved her chair at the table and sat down himself only after he was sure she had everything she needed. Hermione was sure that with this behaviour he could normally wrap the women around his finger without any problems, but he would not succeed with her. He obviously wanted to hide something with his fake act - and if he wanted to play, she would be only too happy to show him that she wasn't to be taken lightly.

She brought out her sweetest smile, put one arm outstretched on the table while the other played with the tips of her fork as if lost in thought, and waited with her gaze turned to the side for Draco to open the conversation.

"So, Hermione, why don't you tell me a little about yourself," he began after ordering a wine and an ominous-sounding dish for both of them.

She looked straight at him, but without losing her smile. "But why should we talk about my boring life? We're here to talk about you."

She innocently batted her eyes, but Malfoy obviously wasn't impressed by that. "You probably know everything about me already. The ways of my family have remained under the supervision of the Ministry after the war. And I bet before you first appeared at the Manor you studied a thick file on me and my family. So, you know more than enough. Return the favour and let me share your life."

Tense, she folded her hands in front of her on the table. Obviously, it would not be easy to get through Draco's defences. She decided to play his game for a moment. "There's not much to tell about myself. I started working for the Ministry right after the war, first as a simple employee, now as a team leader. I specialized in tracking down and confiscating black magic objects that were sold illegally at auctions. This is what I do for a living."

Triumphantly, she noticed how for a moment an uncertain, thoughtful expression entered Draco's eyes, but this moment was over far too quickly. He leaned over to her a bit and lowered his voice- "And what else? They say you are still with Weasley. When will the wedding bells ring?"

She rolled her eyes involuntarily. Of course, Draco would do his best to get anything out of her during this conversation that he could use against her later. With an uncaring gesture, she replied. "Ron and I are indeed still a couple. We haven't talked about marriage yet."

Her meal came, but instead of feeling relief that she didn't have to go into their relationship any further, Hermione was, on the contrary, only more insecure than before. In front of her, on a tray, was a collection of bowls and small plates, a pair of chopsticks, and in the middle between them was a large pot of rice.

"What is this?" she asked cautiously.

Draco grinned broadly. "A perfectly normal Japanese meal. I take it you can eat with chopsticks?"

Angrily, she stared at him. Of course she didn't know how to eat with chopsticks and she was absolutely aware that she would only embarrass herself if she now took the fork that was on the table with the other usual cutlery. Without being able to hide the anger from her voice, she asked, "Japanese? This doesn't look like a Japanese restaurant."

It was far too obvious how much Malfoy was amused by the whole situation, but he actually deigned to give an answer. "It's a cooperative restaurant. There are restaurants in ten countries around the world, all of which are magically connected. The chefs each prepare only their local specialities, but as a guest you can order from all ten kitchens. And I felt like Japanese today."

Without giving her another glance, Draco grabbed his chopsticks and balanced them so effortlessly between his fingers that Hermione immediately knew he was coming here often. She would have loved to pour the hot vegetable soup - or whatever this somewhat cloudy soup with the strange green stuff and white cubes in it should be - over his head, but she controlled herself.

Instead, she decided to try her luck with the chopsticks. After all, she had always wanted to try Japanese food. She studied exactly how Draco held his chopsticks, then concentrated on squeezing hers between her fingers and made a first attempt to lift a piece of pre-cut meat with it.

She failed miserably and the piece of meat covered with sauce landed inelegantly between the bowls. A suppressed laughter sounded.

"Cute, Granger," Draco commented provocatively, as if he had forgotten that he wanted to be kind to her.

With a bright red face, Hermione tried again and this time, she actually managed to manoeuvre the piece of meat into the empty bowl in front of her. But what now? Hesitantly, she squinted over to him and noticed that he had first filled rice into his bowl before he had reached for other ingredients. Frustrated, she gave up.

"Very funny, Malfoy, really," she hissed.

To her surprise, he didn't laugh at her any further, on the contrary, he looked more than serious. With an elegant movement, which made Hermione roll her eyes again, he put his chopsticks aside, wiped his mouth and grabbed his wine glass. "What exactly did you expect, eh?"

Angrily, she spat, "I don't know? Maybe dealing with an actual adult instead of your childish antics? Do you really think it's appropriate to embarrass me in a restaurant? I mean, honestly, are we still in school?"

"What did you expect," he repeated his question, but this time he continued, "You come to my house, demand that I show you the whole mansion, without really telling me what it is all about. And because I am not licking the dust off your shoes, you threaten me with the power of the ministry. And then, after I've done all that, you come back again, because... yes, why, huh? Was the tour not satisfactory? Put your cards on the table, Granger, perhaps I'll be polite then. If you don't like it, I'm going to enjoy my lunch."

Hermione stared at him with her mouth open. What was he thinking? She was a Ministry employee and had the right to search his house if there was reasonable suspicion. Angrily, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, while Malfoy actually continued to eat as if her had no concern in the world.

Groaning, she grabbed her fork, shovelled rice and meat into her bowl, and began to eat. Should he and the rest of the guests here think what they like about her, she would enjoy the meal and then return to her desk at the Ministry. She knew when she lost a battle, but she would not give up. Whatever Malfoy intended with this action, she was now more convinced than ever that the vase was indeed still in his family's possession.