Aconite - Dramione/Blinny

Ch. 21

Hermione paced back and forth in her office a few times, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She was still thinking about the conversation that she and Draco had the night before about her going to lunch with his father that weekend, and her mind was overflowing with endless situations about how that lunch would go, with none of them being positive.

A knock on her door startled her and she quickly turned to see Harry looking through the window. She relaxed and waved him in, leaning against her desk as he shut the door behind him.

"Everything alright?" He asked, putting his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the door.

"Yeah, everything's fine," She nodded. "Why?"

"Really? Because I've never seen you pace when things were fine," He said with a smile.

Her shoulders dropped slightly as she looked down at the floor with a sigh. "I'm just somewhat nervous about this weekend. Draco wants me to have lunch with his father."

Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? That's moving along rather quickly."

"I know, but he made some really good points..."

"Who, Malfoy?"

She scowled at him. "Draco, yes."

Harry grinned at that. "And what good points did he make?"

"He said that it would be fun to watch the expressions on his father's face when we're affectionate and when I'm telling him about my accomplishments."

"Okay, I can get on board with that," Harry said with a laugh. "I'll admit, that would be pretty funny to watch."

"Exactly, but at the same time, it's his father," Hermione said then, returning to her pacing. "The man hates me. He even reached out to Draco after our date made the front page of the Prophet and Draco's trying to convince him it's a good thing."

"What's the worst that could happen?" He asked, taking a few steps towards her and leaning forward on one of the chairs in front of her desk as he watched her pace.

"He'll hex me on the spot," She answered promptly. "Or poison me."

"I seriously doubt Draco would let him do that," Harry said.

"You asked what the worst thing to happen would be," She said, gesturing towards him.

He tilted his head back and forth a few times before saying, "Yeah, good point. Okay, what do you think will realistically happen?"

She paused and chewed on the inside of her cheek again before answering, "He could still hex me on the spot."

"Which I'm sure you'll be expecting and will be prepared for," Harry countered. "Try again."

"He'll call me slurs," She said.

"That's a possibility," He nodded.

"He could still poison me, too."

Sighing, Harry looked down at the chair. "Hermione, you're being very paranoid right now."

"It's Lucius Malfoy," She said exasperatedly.

"Yes, and I doubt I need to remind you but you are dating Draco Malfoy," Harry said gently. "Draco's changed; it's entirely possible that his father has too."

She snorted at this and he sighed, shaking his head. "Alright, I'll try something more logical: I seriously doubt that Lucius Malfoy would be stupid enough to injure a Ministry employee."

This made Hermione pause, and Harry couldn't help but smirk as she tilted her head in contemplation. "Okay, you might be on to something there."

"Yeah, because my other reasonings weren't good enough," He muttered, straightening up and taking a deep breath.