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"Is the world really beautified by the fact that man thinks it beautiful? He has humanized it, that is all."
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pop
Hermione and Draco apparated into some alleyway. "Are you sure this is safe?" he asked, looking around.
"Not at all, hurry up before we get killed." she replied, taking his arm.
The two walked out onto the bustling streets of London and looked around. It was busy to say the least.
"Where's the restaurant?" Draco questioned. Hermione glanced around the London streets until she spotted the building. "Follow me."
They walked closely together and Draco had his hand on the small of her back to make sure that they didn't get lost in the crowd.
"Here we are." she said, looking at the building in front of them. It was quite large and full of people but it already felt cozy. "Name?" the man with the reservations asked.
"Hermione Granger, table for 2." she smiled. The man nodded and led them through the door as Draco looked around the room. He had never been to a muggle restaurant.
The man had taken the two to a table along the left side of the restaurant. There were only a few quiet couples around - the families were spaced around on the other side of the room.
Draco pulled the chair out for Hermione who raised an eyebrow at his action. "I'm pretty capable, Draco." she laughed. A tint of pink crept up his neck as he muttered an apology and sat down at his own seat. "Malfoy habits die hard."
A waiter brought two menus over. One of which Draco picked up and stared at; he didn't know what half of the things were. "Granger? What do you recommend?" Draco asked, scanning the menu.
"The pizza is a childhood favourite. I used to come here every month and i would always order the same margarita pizza." she said, a faint smile tugging at her lips as she relived the memories.
"Are you two ready to order?" the waitress asked as she got her notepad out. "A margarita pizza and a glass of water please." Hermione said, placing the menu back on the table. The waitress jotted down her order and turned to Draco, "What about you sir?"
"The same as her, please." he smiled. Draco didn't smile often but she could tell he was doing it purely to be polite. The smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Granger?" he paused as he waited for Hermione to look up. "Is this a date?"
She furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the boy in front of her. "It's whatever you want it to be."
"I think i might want it to be a date." he said, smirking when Hermione averted her stare. She smiled and nodded nevertheless, "A date it is then, but on one condition."
"There's always a catch!" Draco groaned. Hermione laughed and he shook his head, "What's this one condition then?"
"It's quite easy actually." she began as a grin spread across her face, "You just have to call me Hermione."
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"This pizza shit is amazing!" Draco said as he picked another piece up with his fork. "Come here." Hermione laughed as she leaned across the table and wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.
"Your lips could've done that job just fine!" Draco said, faking an exasperated sigh. Hermione laughed but it soon faded. "Can i ask you a question?" she asked.
"Hit me." he laughed as he cut up another slice. "Not literally." he added when he looked up. Hermione smiled but then she asked the question she had been wanting to know the answer to for a while.
"You've been nothing but nice to me and that confuses me. You used to hate me."
Draco stopped smiling and he put his cutlery onto the plate. "I never hated you Hermione, it's a long story..." he began but was cut off by Hermione. "We have all night."
The boy exhaled and ran a hand through his gelled hair.
"Basically, as you probably know, I grew up with beliefs that I was above everyone. Anyone below a pureblood was pretty much worthless. I didn't have anyone around me to tell me that those beliefs were wrong until later on in fifth year, where i started to realise what i was getting into."
Hermione propped her head on her hand and nodded at him to continue.
"I couldn't get out of it, he would've killed me and my family. I didn't do anything and I hated myself for it. Pansy and Blaise were the only ones who saw through me. They knew what it felt like as their families were putting them through the same sort of stuff as me, just less intense."
Draco absent-mindedly played with the fork.
"When it was all over, we decided to move into muggle London together. We made a promise to each other that we would become better people. The sort of people that others didn't fear."
He looked up and saw a tear leave the corner of Hermione's eye. "Don't cry, your mascara shit will run or something." Draco said as leaned over the table to wipe away the tear with his thumb.
Hermione let out a small laugh as she looked up at Draco's concerned face. "I'm fine, really." she said.
"Then don't cry. I'm clearly not good with emotions." Draco replied. He gave a lopsided smile but it was genuine nevertheless.
"Can we just take this pizza home and stay in for the rest of the night?" Hermione asked. Draco nodded and put the muggle money on the table.
"I thought this was my birthday treat for you." Hermione frowned as she stared at the money.
"Oh well!" Draco shrugged. He extended his hand and Hermione shook her head as she took it.
The two walked out of the restaurant together without looking back.
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"I feel really bad."
"What about?"
"I didn't get you a present." Hermione sighed as she took her shoes off and threw them somewhat near the door, "The meal was meant to be the present."
"You mean the date?" Draco asked as he took his own shoes off. Hermione tried giving him a bored look but she knew she was smiling.
"The realisation that this whole soulmate thing might not be that bad is a present in itself." Draco chuckled lightly and he jumped onto the couch. "You've matured a lot since i first met you," Hermione said, crossing her arms, "I'm pretty impressed."
Draco gave her a sheepish smile but focused his attention on the television. "Can i try the muggle TV thing?" he asked. Hermione nodded, "Sure. I'm gonna go to bed. Happy birthday, Draco."
"Thank you, goodnight Hermione." he replied as he fiddled with the TV remote. Hermione shook her head but she knew she was still smiling.
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"Draco?" Hermione asked as she walked into the kitchen. She muttered a quick lumos charm and the room was soon illuminated. "Why are you eating in the dark at three am?" she questioned, sitting down in the chair next to him. "No one likes eating in the dark."
He finished chewing the slice of pizza and raised an eyebrow at her. "Depends on what you're eating." he said, smirking when her eyes widened.
"Go to bed Draco." she sighed.
"Alright, goodnight Hermione." he said. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek as he got up and left without looking back.
"Goodnight." she replied weakly.
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a/n oh my god the fluff is coming
i repeat,
the fluff is coming
prepare your emotions
i have like 2/3 weeks of school and i'm buzzing but i'm also scared??
idk i just feel like i'm going to end up drifting away from the people i'm close to and i'm really not up for that
edit: girl you did but you're happier now without him so it's all good
have a good day my dudes 💗