𝑀𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝓁𝓁𝑒 𝒷𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑒

𝒯𝒽𝒾𝓇𝓉𝓎-𝓈𝒾𝓍

Hermione wanted nothing else to do but hug him and forgive him, but she couldn't, not yet anyways, she shrugged and he entered the car

"How have you been?" He asked her

"Fine" she whispered

An awkward silence feel over them

"What are your plans for Christmas?" Draco asked again

Hermione looked at him, gods she missed those eyes, she dug her nails into her thigh so she wouldn't do anything stupid

"I'm planning on spending the day at the Stables and then I'm going to the Burrow" she said "you?" She asked him

"Planning on coming back to the castle" he shrugged

"You could come with me to the Stables, the group misses you"

And she did something stupid, how was she supposed to resist him, she was already losing the fight against the urge of hugging him, she missed his muscular arms wrapped around her, the stuffed niffler did no justice on its owner

"I wouldn't want to impose" he told her

She smiled and noticed he glanced down to her lips, she couldn't help the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, damn those bugs

Hermione also notice him blush when he caught himself, she shuffled in her spot

"Like I said Malfoy, they miss you" she smiled softly

Draco smiled at her and she felt her cheeks heat up

These two weeks were going to be two very difficult weeks

.

After getting settled in the small dorm room, she looked at her bed and saw the stuffed toy

"I've already forgiven him haven't I?"

The toy stayed silent

"I like him too much, damn him and his conniving ferrety skills"

She added some blush on her cheeks before leaving the dorm and making her way to the mixer

She saw Draco sitting at one of the tables, he had on a black button up shirt with the top three buttons undone, a pair of black suit pants and his hair fell over his eyes, his coat was placed on the arm of the couch, he was reading a book, she noticed that she wasn't the only girl that was eyeing him with the intentions of bedding him, she felt an unwanted wave of jealousy towards every girl but couldn't kept but feeling smug knowing that he had come with her

She hated that she loved it

Raising her chin up she made her way towards him

He looked up and she felt his eyes roam over her

She was wearing a one shoulder long dress with a slit up her right thigh and she was wearing a pair of ankle strapped stilettos, her hair was braided to the side and her curls fell over her shoulder

She reached him and smiled at him

"Like something?" She smirked

He raised to his feet and took one of her hands before bowing and kissing her knuckles, she felt the chill go up and down her spine as she took a seat across from him

"Drink?" Someone asked

"I'll have a firewhiskey" Draco ordered, he turned to Hermione

"Red wine" she said

The server left them alone

They stayed in silence for a moment

"What are you reading?" She asked him

"The Great Gatsby" Draco answered and looked at the cover

She raised an eyebrow at him

"You're reading a muggle book?" She asked

"What are you talking about? The Great Gatsby is a wizard's book"

They began discussing the concept of the book an whether it was a muggle or wizard's book

The server brought the drinks and they barely noticed

"You're not going to tell me that Gatsby never used the Confundus charm to get out of getting caught?"

"Just because he managed to dodge the police and trick Carraway doesn't mean he had a wand"

"Hello" someone said

Both Draco and Hermione looked up and saw someone standing there, he was checking Hermione out and she immediately started to feel uncomfortable

"Hello" she greeted and stood up, he took her hand and bowed while kissing her knuckles

"Emilio Ardito, at your service" he said

"Hermione Granger, this is Draco Malfoy my trainer" she said, Emilio stood up straight and Draco stood up to stand beside her

"Ah...the Malfoy reject" Emilio smirked

Draco glared and took a step forward but Hermione stopped him

"Well who are you?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow at him

"I am the sole heir of the Ardito companies, my family and I supported your cause Hermione Granger" he said, eyeing Draco and moving closer to Hermione

"Well, thank you, now if you excuse us we were having a discussion that I believe you wouldn't understand" she smiled and pushed him away from her

"Ora mia bella regina, non spezzare il mio povero cuore" he whispered flirtatiously and curled on of her curls in between his fingers

"Toglimi le mani o il tuo inguine incontrerà il mio ginocchio" she smiled and pushed him away once again, taking Draco's hand and leading him away

They walked up to the bar and Hermione sat on one of the stools, she still hadn't let go of his hand, it felt rather perfect, his hand just the right size for hers and it was warm, she always thought they would be cold

Draco felt his cheeks heating up with her hand on his, it wasn't possible to feel this amount of butterflies in his body, he thought he was going to burst, he knew he should pull away, he was definitely overstepping but he couldn't get his hands to move from her grasp

He looked up and saw Hermione also blushing at their intertwined hands, she slowly — almost reluctantly — pulled her hand away from him and turned to the bar to order their drinks

Draco and Hermione both fought the urge to take each other's hands for the rest of the night