He pulls her into a tight embrace, kissing the top of her bushy brown head.
She has her arms locked at the back of his neck, holding on to him as though afraid of letting go. He keeps his own arms clasped together firmly behind her back.
She has always thought it is all just a game to him, assuming that she is just another conquest of his, for him to play with and throw away. They have had many nights together in the past, in which they desperately clung to each other, not wanting to waste a moment in the others company.
Usually, he arrives without calling ahead of time to her doorstep, and ravishes her. She has come to expect it from him.
And so, she is thrown off by his approach tonight. He has not once hinted that he wants her in bed. No, tonight, he is trying something different.
He is taking her to dinner. Dinner, she thinks giddily. It is as if he is trying to win her heart, and not her body. She is excited, to say the least.
He pulls away from her at last and smiles. He is not smirking, she notices immediately.
He takes her hand and guides her. She looks sideways at him as a lock of his hair interferes with his eyesight. He flicks it away impatiently.
He is speaking, she realizes, and tries to listen.
"So, I was thinking...La Creperie or La Royale Sain?"
"Huh?"
"Always so eloquent, Granger... I was simply asking you where you would rather eat tonight. I have, of course, made reservations at both places."
"Why do both restaurants have French names?" she asks abstractly.
"I feel like French food, today."
"Is that right? I feel like Hermione Granger today," she jokes.
He groans, "Promise me not to make anymore bad jokes, Granger."
"I cannot make such a promise," she says, her eyes glinting mischievously.
"Then promise not to make anymore bad jokes, tonight," he says tiredly, but he is enjoying himself.
"Fine," she says, pouting.
He looks at her, and the corners of his lips twitch. Why does she notice the slightest things about him?
"You never answered my question," he says, pulling her once more, out of her thoughts.
"What question?"
"Which restaurant do you want to eat at?"
"Oh, I don't mind. You pick," she says.
He nods and does not tell her which he has decided on. It doesn't matter anyway.
"Malfoy..." she begins.
"Draco."
"Huh?" she says again.
"Call me Draco."
She finds it strange that she has known him for so long, and it is at this point that he offers her the right to use his first name.
She does not mention it and nods.
"Draco, why can't we simply apparate to this restaurant? Why walk?"
"I wanted to walk with you," he says softly, and she blushes.
He stops in his tracks and faces her. She begins to ask him what is wrong but then catches sight of his expression. He has never looked at her this way before. He seems tender, and almost loving.
She opens her mouth to speak, but he silences her with his lips. He does not attack her mouth ferociously like he used to. He is gentle. His hands do not wander up her shirt, but cup the sides of her face.
They have been intimate before, have done much more than kiss before, and yet, she feels as though this is their first kiss.
It ends all too soon. Her pulse is racing, and she notices that he too is breathless.
He looks at her intently, but she tears her gaze away. She feels that if she looks into his deep grey eyes for too long, she might say something foolish, like "I love you."
He takes her hand once more and they continue walking.
"I'm sorry, Hermione," he says, after a while.
She is taken aback. He has not only apologized, but also used her first name. She does not reply, and so he elaborates.
"I am sorry, Hermione, for the way I made our relationship. It was shallow, and meaningless. I really want more from us than just that. So I decided to take you out tonight, and take this seriously. I know you've always wanted something like this, and I could never give it to you. But now I want to, Hermione, more than anything else in the world," he stops, uncertainly, waiting for her reaction.
She smiles at him brilliantly. He is making her happier with every word he says, and he has no idea.
He hesitates for a moment, and then says three words which would change their relationship beyond repair.
"I love you"
She is ecstatic, and is inwardly celebrating. She realizes he is waiting for her to speak, but she doesn't care. He has made her wait for him all this while, and so she reserves the right to make him wait for her.
And Hermione Granger thinks of what to tell him, finally reasoning with herself that she has been a know-it-all her whole life, and so she can afford now, to be a little foolish.
"I love you, too"
A smile so large, she has never seen cross his face. It is identical to the one she is wearing.
Hand in hand, the two walk into the restaurant, which they have now reached; a changed couple...
——————
908 words
Please vote and comment!
14th June 2018
Thursday
Shizz😘
