Tango * dramione

Chapter 18

Chapter 18: graffiti of the heart

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"Don't settle. Don't finish crappy books. If you don't like the menu, leave the restaurant. If you're not on the right path, get off of it."

~Chris Brogan

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Madam Puddifoot's

Scene cont.

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Draco was furious. No, furious couldn't even begin to cover it. He knew that, should he chase after Astoria in this very moment, he would lose his temper and take out his frustrations on her instead of the witch who deserved it: Hermione. That thorn in his side needed to be taken out back and-

"By all means, Draco. Let's go." She was already up from the table in a matter of seconds, throwing him off of his game. Draco sputtered to regain focus as he shuffled himself out of his chair and gestured to the private back patio of Puddifoot's. As soon as the door closed behind them, Draco took out his wand and gave it a wave, setting up several types of concealing and muffling spells. The last thing he needed was someone overhearing them from the streets.

He tried to keep his icy composure as his eyes met Hermione's. "You have some nerve."

"I have some nerve, is it?" she started in, which startled the Malfoy heir. He expected her to be apologetic, perhaps frightened of his cold demeanor. Instead, she was as ferocious and brave as the Gryffindor house she had been sorted into. Why had he expected any different? "You're keeping secrets from your future wife, and I have the nerve. Ha! That's rich!" She poked him in the chest with her pointer finger. "If you'd been honest from the beginning, none of this would be a surprise! And really, Draco? You walk me outside to try and chew me out when you should be inside with Astoria! As cowardly as ever!"

Hot, blinding frustration flashed across Draco's mind. "How dare you call me cowardly? I'm simply-"

"-Simply ignoring the real problem here, which is that you should have told her!"

"It wasn't my secret to tell, Granger!" he shouted suddenly, losing his composure. "Blaise and Daphne asked me not to! Am I supposed to just go against their wishes?"

Hermione placed her hands on her hips - the way she did back in their school days when Weasley was about to get a firm talking to. "Malfoy, when you love someone, truly love someone, you no longer see yourself as two people who have secrets to keep from each other. You're a driving force of unity that handles all things together. If you truly cared for Astoria, you would have put your foot down to Blaise and Daphne and her."

It was like a light clicked on in the back of Draco's mind, illuminating a speck of truth behind her words. He'd never thought of it like that...There was a moment of hesitance as his mouth opened to rebuttal, but he felt uncertain in what he would say, and so he remained silent.

Just then, the door to the back patio opened, and Blaise popped his head out. "Oi, mate. I'm taking Daph home. She's still in a rough sort."

"Sorry to hear it," Draco muttered, arms crossed in a defensive stance as he stared, bewildered, at the frizzy-haired woman in front of him. She stood defiantly, though there was a shred of humility as her eyes drifted over to Blaise, who made a low, guttural 'hmph' at the back of his throat when their eyes met.

"My apologies," said Hermione. "But perhaps if you wouldn't have kept it a secret-"

Blaise shut the door hard enough to rattle the shingles on the roof.