---
“Hmmm, where are Hermione . . . and Malfoy?” Harry asked his girlfriend as he sat with her and Zabini.
“I have no idea. She was with us a few minutes ago.” Ginny furrowed her eyebrows, staring at Blaise. “Do you know where they are?”
Zabini looked up just as he stuffed a mouthful of bacon into his mouth. He shook his head as he chewed. “I left them back in the room. I assumed that they’d follow you.” He said as he chewed.
Ginny made a face and frowned. “Ugh, you’re just like my brother.” She said and stared at Harry. “We don’t know where they are.” She said and shrugged. “But, Harry, why are you sitting here anyways?”
“Well, Hermione and I talked yesterday and we decided to have me sit and eat with you guys.” He replied solemnly. “I guess they left to go somewhere.”
“I don’t even know what’s going on with them right now.” Ginny half-lied because, 1. She did know what was going on between the two, but 2. She didn’t really know what they were doing.
“I was hoping we could catch up on things.” Harry frowned and looked over at Zabini. “You don’t know anything about Malfoy’s whereabouts?”
“He doesn’t tell me a single damn thing. That bloody git.” Blaise answered bitterly, shaking his head in disapproval.
“I see.” Harry sighed and stared at his girlfriend. “Is Ron staring at us?” He asked Ginny who was facing them while Harry had his back turned towards them.
“Yes, but it seems to me like Lavender is doing most of it.” Ginny replied with a groan. “When will he break up with her? She’s bloody annoying.” She rolled her brown eyes, completely irritated.
Blaise scoffed and swallowed the last bit of his eggs. “Brown! Take a picture; I can assure you that it’ll last longer.” He yelled across the table and smirked when he saw Lavender turn red from embarrassment, looking away.
Ginny and Harry stifled a laugh as they looked at each other.
“I can’t eat comfortably with having two pairs of eyes looking over here.” Blaise explained and sighed, grabbing his goblet and taking a big gulp of it.
Ron turned into a red shade—almost as red as his hair. The couple looked at each other and down at their foods.
---
Hermione stomped on his foot as she lifted her index finger to her mouth, telling him he should be quiet.
“You didn’t have to do that!” Draco whispered angrily.
“Yes, I did.” She whispered back.
“Okay! That’s it! I’m done whispering. There’s no one here. We don’t have to sneak around like this. We look even more suspicious if we do this.” He said, crossing his arms across his chest.
Hermione straightened her back and cleared her throat. “I just thought . . . we could be careful.” She said and started walking towards the statue with Draco walking behind her. She took out Draco’s wand and whispered, “Dissendium.” The statue opened and she quickly put the wand back.
“I have to admit, that was wicked.” Draco said with amazement.
“I know.” She said and started to climb in when she suddenly heard footsteps and giggling. “Draco, please tell me that’s you.” She froze and stopped breathing.
“Shit! Get in!” She heard a panicked Draco and felt two big hands land on her butt, pushing her in. She screamed as she slid down on the slide. She fell off the slide and landed on the ground, face down. And to make things worse, Draco landed on top of her. She groaned and moaned in pain. “Get off you arse!” She squeaked out. The door closed behind them but they heard two girls squealing and giggling.
“Shit, we’ve been found out.” Draco said as he got up, dusting himself off.
Hermione glared at him and got up with struggle. “You’re so heavy.” She complained and dusted herself off.
“Well, your fault for not moving fast enough.” She said and sighed.
“And also, you didn’t have to touch my butt.” She complained and dusted her butt off. “Ugh.” She frowned and shook her head.
“And again, it’s your fault for not moving fast enough. Let’s get going.” He said and started walking forward. “Nice arse, by the way.” He told her with a smirk.
She felt her jaw drop wide open as her eyes widened. She scoffed and shook her head. “Oh, I will murder you Draco Malfoy!” She yelled, walking toward him.
“No, you won’t.”
“What’s stopping me?”
“You’re in love with me, remember?” He whispered into her ear and bolted for the end, running fast.
“Come back you—you—ugh!” She yelled after him, chasing him in anger.
---
Harry, Ginny, and Blaise had just finished breakfast when they heard two third years giggling.
“Did you see them? Where do you think they were sneaking off to?” One girl asked her friend, giggling.
“They’re so cute together. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger—it’s like forbidden love.” The other said, blushing. “Oh, how romantic . . . sneaking off together like that just to be alone.”
The girls squealed of joy and giggled some more.
The trio stopped dead at their tracks and slowly turned to look at the two girls. Ginny crossed her arms across her chest. “Just where exactly did you see the two together?” She asked the two girls who jumped and gasped.
“We, uhm, on the thi-third floor . . . it was near a statue.” One girl quickly answered.
“Thanks, and don’t tell anyone about it.” Ginny said with a small grin, walking back to the boys.
“Oh my god. That was Ginny Weasley, Harry Potter’s girlfriend!” The girls stared at each other in disbelief, beginning to giggle as they walked off.
“What did they say?” Harry asked eagerly.
“They’re off school grounds.”
“Hogsmeade.” Harry said at once with a sigh.
“Damn, I should’ve known.” Blaise said. “They’re probably there to buy Christmas presents.”
“And for other matters.” Harry shared and grabbed Ginny’s hand. “Get dressed—we’re going to Hogsmeade. Zabini, you coming?” He asked.
“Yes, I am.” He replied with a nod. “How are we getting there?”
“I know a nice passageway that can get us there—they probably went through that one.”
“Fine by me.” He said and so the trio left to crash Hermione and Draco’s ‘date’.
“Meet me in front of the library in an hour.” Harry announced to the group and they disbanded.
---
“Who knew you wanted to go on a date with me.” Draco smirked as they walked through the busy streets.
“It’s not a date.” She growled at him, crossing her arms across her chest.
“Very smooth, using the ‘I need to buy Christmas presents’ as an excuse to bring me out here.” He teased her.
“Draco, it’s not a date.” She told him sternly.
“Sure.” He responded with a quick nod.
“You’re a prick.” She muttered at him under her breath.
“And you’re in love with me.” He muttered under his breath with a smirk.
Hermione glared at him and pressed her lips into a thin line. She groaned and clenched her jaw together refraining herself from screaming at him.
“I’m absolutely starving!” Draco exclaimed as he put his hands on his stomach. “Aren’t you?”
“No.” She said but her body betrayed her because it decided to let out a big growl following her response. She blushed wildly and chewed on the inside of her cheek. She cleared her throat and avoided eye contact with him.
“What was that?” He asked with a smirk, leaning in towards her.
“P, perhaps I’m a little—“ Her stomach growled louder than ever. “—I’m very hungry.” She finally admitted with a sigh.
“You know, Hermione . . . one mustn’t tell lies.” He said with a cheeky grin.
“I, well . . .” She stuttered as she licked her dry lips. “I wasn’t hungry at the time . . . my stomach was, apparently.”
“Your stomach doesn’t have a mind of its own.”
Hermione cocked an eyebrow up at him as she walked into a small café. She quickly walked over to an empty table right beside the window, getting a nice view of the outside. “Hurry up, we don’t have much time.”
“We have plenty of time, Hermione. It’s only . . .” He walked over and sat down as he checked his watch. “Damn, this stupid watch stopped again.”
Hermione looked over at his watch and saw that it was completely still, not moving an inch. “How long have you had that watch for?”
“Two years, maybe three. It’s old, anyways; it was passed down from my grandfather.” He said and sighed as he took it off his wrist, tossing it on the table. “Well, it’s early. We left around ten in the morning and I’m sure it’s about eleven thirty now. We have a lot of time.”
“We’re shopping for Christmas presents, Draco. It takes a really long time to pick out presents for your friends.” She told him as she rolled her eyes at him.
“I don’t understand, though.” He started as he crossed his arms across his chest, examining Hermione’s face carefully, taking in every single little detail from the little freckles spread across her face to her rosy, red cheeks from being out in the cold for so long.
“What don’t you understand?” She asked in a tired voice, obviously getting tired of talking to him. She connected her eyebrows together as she waited patiently for a waitress to come over and serve them. She put her hand over her stomach and slightly pouted, getting hungrier by the second.
“Why’d you want to come here today?” He asked as he leaned in towards her, resting his elbows on the table.
“I’ve been meaning to buy Christmas presents for a while now and I thought it’d be a perfect day to come. And I read in a magazine that some of the shops here were having a mini Christmas sale. How neat is that?” She asked with a small grin. “And there’s snow on the ground, snow is still falling on the ground . . . there are great Christmas decorations everywhere. It’s just a very nice Christmas feeling, isn’t it?” She smiled at him.
“I see the sale got you to come here today, huh? What? Is today the last day for the sales or something?” He asked as he leaned back into his chair, disappointed by her answer. He was secretly hoping it was because of him.
“Well, don’t say it like that! It makes me sound shallow and selfish if you say I only came here for the sales.” She told him and slightly frowned. “It is the last day for sales, though.” She added quietly.
Draco chuckled and shook his head. “You never fail to amuse me, Hermione Granger.”
“It’s a skill.” She said through a smile as she looked around the place. “Where is the damn waitress? I’m starving.” She complained and looked at him. “We’re not giving a lot of tip.”
“Calm down, there’s a waitress coming over here right now.” He said with a small chuckle.
Hermione’s eyes brightened once she saw the menus in the waitress’s hands and smiled. “Hello—“ She was in the middle of saying in a very jolly voice when she got cut off.
“Hello. How may I serve you today?” The blonde waitress asked in the most flirtiest (and desperate) voice she could muster as she batted her eyelashes.
Hermione immediately frowned as she scoffed. “Really?” She mouthed silently to herself as she made her eyes wide. “Everywhere we go . . . someone will hit on him.” She muttered to herself.
“Hello, there.” Draco responded with a charming grin making the waitress swoon.
Hermione made a face as she looked at the waitress. “Hi, yeah, I’m here, too.” She interrupted and received a nasty glare from the blonde. The waitress tossed the menu over to Hermione with a glare and looked back at Draco with the same flirty, desperate look on her face. She gently put the menu down in front of him neatly and smiled. “Any drinks?”
Hermione glared at the waitress and snatched the menu off the table and looked at it. “I’ll have water.” She said and glared over at the waitress.
The waitress glared right back and let out a sigh as she scribbled it down on the notepad. “Anything else?” She snapped at Hermione.
“No, that’s all for me right now.” She said with a fake grin. “Thank you.”
“You welcome.” The girl said and looked back at Draco. “Anything for you?”
“I’ll have water, too. Thank you . . .” He said with a wink and looked at the girl’s name tag. “Clara.” He said with a wink and looked back at Hermione. “Would you look at that? Her name is Clara, too.”
Hermione continued to look at the menu. “Wow, amazing.” She responded in a monotone voice, hinting that she didn’t care.
The waitress slightly glared at Hermione and scoffed. “I’ll be back later for your order.” She said rudely to Hermione and looked at Draco. “Take your time.” She said and walked off, purposely swaying her hips more than usual.
Draco slightly chuckled and looked at his menu. “She’s nice.”
“Oh, yeah, real nice.” Hermione made a face and licked her dry lips. “I’m not giving her any tip with that attitude.” She complained to herself. “Clara.” She muttered and continued to look through her menu.
“Are you alright?” Draco asked her as he raised his eyebrows at her.
“I’m just peachy.” She told him and looked at her menu. “What are you getting?”
“Uh, I’ll have the pancakes with bacon on the side.” He answered promptly as he put the menu down.
Hermione nodded and put hers down, too. “I’ll have that, too.” She said and looked over at him. “Call your lady-friend over quickly.” She ordered him.
“Lady-friend?” He asked as he raised an eyebrow at her but shook his head, dropping the subject. “Clara?” He called out as he gestured her to come over.
Clara walked over to them with two glasses of iced water. “Here you go.” She said sweetly as she placed one of the cups gently down in front of Draco. She then turned to Hermione and slammed the glass of water down in front of her, splashing the water over to table. “Whoops.” She said insincerely. “I’m sorry.” She scoffed and looked at Draco.
Hermione bit her bottom lip back as she forced herself to remain calm. “Oh, no, it’s fine.” She said as cheerfully as she could, grabbing a napkin and wiping the table.
Draco looked at the waitress, Clara. “Yes, uhm, my date and I will both have the number seven.” He said kindly, placing the menus back into her hands.
“Date?” Clara asked with wide eyes as she choked on the word. She looked over at Hermione and then at Draco. She turned pale as her eyes widened.
“Date?” Hermione asked quietly with her jaw dropped wide open.
“Date.” He answered with a complacent grin. “Thank you, Clara.” He dismissed her and looked at Hermione. “So, where do you want to go first after we eat?”
“Don’t change the subject. Date?” She asked him with bewilderment.
“Did you want her to keep treating you like that? I mean I can call her back and we can tell her that you’re not my date and that she can keep treating you like you’re dirt. I’m perfectly fine with that.”
“P, perhaps, we can say this is a date.” She reasoned with him and pursed her lips.
“Anyways, where do you want to go?”
“How about . . . we go to Tomes and Scrolls first?” She asked with a small smirk.
“Really? The bookstore?”
“I’m planning on buying . . . myself a book.” She admitted as she pressed her lips into a thin line. “And then, we’ll go wherever you want.”
“Deal.” He said as he looked out the window. “It seems to be snowing pretty hard.”
“Hopefully, we don’t see anyone that we know here.” She said, clearly thinking out loud to herself.
Draco looked over at Hermione and smirked. “One can only hope so much.” He stated and as he winked at her. “Don’t you want people to catch us together here . . . alone . . . eating breakfast together?”
“Oh shut up.” She said as she rolled her eyes at him, but couldn’t help but smile.
“I take that as a yes?” He asked as he smirked at her.
“Of course not.” She told him as she shook her head in denial. “Now, drop this conversation.”
“Okay, okay.” He said as he lifted both hands up to his shoulders, capitulating to Hermione. “I understand . . . you’re embarrassed to admit it. Completely understandable.”
Hermione stared at him intently until his grey eyes looked up, locking with her brown marbles. “Don’t push it.” She told him after a few seconds of intense staring and finally looked away. She sucked her breath in and let out a deep breath as she blew the air out of her cheeks. She looked out the window and slightly fanned herself.
Draco looked over and found himself grinning like an idiot. He couldn’t help but notice a small blush creeping across her rosy cheeks.
---
And there you have it :) This one is a bit short compared to my other chapters but please bear with me. Please comment and vote :D
-Annie