Ch. 8

Hermione's POV

"Why are they here?"

Pansy glared at Ginny and I while Draco moved to stand slightly in front of us, his hands planting themselves firmly in his pockets while he tried to catch her attention. "Give me a little bit to explain. By the way, you look absolutely gorgeous today."

And she did. As much as I didn't like her, I couldn't deny that her style was fantastic. Her dark hair was long and straight, parted slightly to the side. Wearing a black pencil skirt and a grey blouse tucked into it, I knew she prided herself still in her appearance. Her outfit was accented by a bright blue belt around her waist that was perfectly hiding where her blouse was tucked in, and everything was finished by a pair of black stilettos that came to a point.

Rolling her eyes at the comment, she nodded her head at Ginny and I and said to Draco, "You better start explaining then. No amount of compliments is going to distract me."

"Well, Hermione is being treated to a late birthday shopping trip by Ginny, and due to the circumstances that have come up recently, I wanted to help," Draco said simply. "And who better to go to for fashion than you?"

I shot a thankful smile to the back of his head, which he must have felt because he turned and winked at me over his shoulder before looking back at Pansy, who had an eyebrow raised. She shot another glance at me before asking, "What do you mean, circumstances?"

Then her eyes widened and she shrieked, pointing at Ginny's head. "What in the name of Merlin is on your head?!"

Ginny groaned. "My brother tested one of his new joke shop products on me."

"You're just now noticing them?" Draco asked, looking at Ginny.

"I think they were flat on my head until a few seconds ago," Ginny said, reaching up to feel the ears. "Apparently they react just like a cat's would since I heard someone drop something in the hallway."

Pansy stared at her with wide eyes, not looking away for a second. "They just popped up!"

"They've been there, Parkinson," Ginny rolled her eyes.

Pansy smirked suddenly and held up her hand to show off a large, sparkly diamond. "Actually, it's Zabini now."

"Oh, congratulations!" Ginny said in a surprised tone.

I didn't realize I was subconsciously feeling around for my own ring until Draco reached out and touched my arm, giving me a concerned look. I stopped fidgeting and gave him a smile.

"So," Pansy said, moving from behind her desk to lean against it and crossing her arms against her chest. "What are these circumstances you are referring to, Draco? And what does it have to do with these two?"

"Well really it's just to do with Hermione," Draco said, looking away from me and back at her. "She's newly single and needs a wardrobe update."

I scowled at him. "I don't one."

"The past two times I've seen you, you've worn a large sweater with skinny jeans and boots," He said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Ginny's right; you need more variety."

"Newly single?" Pansy interrupted curiously. "I thought you were with her brother?"

"I was until very recently," I answered.

"Do you not get the Prophet, Pans?" Draco asked, looking around her office. "Her relationship has been the headline for the past two days."

She laughed. "I no longer subscribe to that bloody paper, not since they published that awful article after Blaise and I announced the engagement that insinuated I was only with him for the money."

Then her eyes went wide slightly. "Wait, was this a public break up?"

"Not necessarily," Ginny said sheepishly. "The paparazzi may have caught me hexing him for cheating on Hermione."

"He on you?" Pansy exclaimed, rage suddenly taking over her features as she pushed off the desk.

I jumped at her outburst but nodded and watched her fume. She paced around for a few moments and then stopped, turning to us and addressing Draco. "Take them to the shop. I just need to alert Vivian that I will be heading there and finish up a few things, and then I'll meet you there."

She left her office immediately, her heels clacking on the tile floor as she walked out. Draco turned to us and smiled. "I think we have Pansy on board."

"That was certainly unexpected," Ginny said in a shocked tone as I nodded in agreement.

Draco looked at the two of us and then said, "Well, let's get going."

He got between us and offered his arms, which we both took, still in a slight daze by what had just occurred with Pansy. He disapparated the three of us and we landed in a large shop that was filled with all sorts of clothes. Ginny was awestruck as she let go of Draco's arm and immediately started combing the racks, obviously enjoying the many selections of clothing.

Draco looked down at me and gave me a smile. I smiled back slightly and felt my face heat up as I realized I was still holding onto his arm. Quickly pulling my arm out of his, I stepped away and slowly made my way to Ginny as I looked around.

The shop was lovely. It was large, and there were quite a few customers who were shopping. They looked up for a moment when they heard us pop in, but otherwise ignored us. Looking around at all of the clothes, I couldn't help but admire the quality of the fabrics. This was definitely a higher-end shop.

By the time I caught up to Ginny, she had already grabbed at least seven different articles of clothing and had them draped across her arm, happily picking out her eighth piece. Her temporary cat ears perked up as I drew closer and I grinned.

"I really think you should keep those," I said, nodding towards her ears.

"I am growing used to them," She said nonchalantly, one of the ears flicking. "I'm not sure though. I'd rather not be stared at for the rest of my life with them."

"You're married to the Boy Who Lived and you're not used to the staring yet?" Draco suddenly appeared next to me, grinning. "If you do keep them, please get a picture of Potter's face when he sees them."

She grinned back at him. "I was already planning on it."

A loud crack caught our attention and we all turned to see Pansy walking towards us. There was still a fire in her eyes but I could tell she had visibly calmed down quite a bit.

"Pansy, your shop is wonderful!" Ginny said excitedly.

Pansy smiled at her, which was the warmest I had ever seen her act towards...well, anyone. "I'm glad you like my clothing. I've designed everything here, and at risk of sounding prideful, I must say my clothing is very popular right now."

"I can see why," Ginny replied, turning back to the clothing rack we were all in front of. "I think I may have found my new favorite shop."

"Glad to hear it, Weaslette," Pansy smirked, with the nickname earning her a scowl from Ginny as she went off to the next rack. Pansy then turned to me and said, "Granger, come with me."

I cast a quick glance to Draco who nodded and gave me a smile. I returned the smile and turned away to follow Pansy, who was leading me to the back of the shop behind a curtain.

Ginny's POV

As Pansy led Hermione away, I caught the smile that she and Draco shared. To anyone else, it would have looked like just a friendly 'I'll be here when you're done' smile; but there was more to the smile underneath the surface. I silently watched Draco as he then watched her quietly disappear behind the curtain, and waited as if she was going to reappear shortly after.

I couldn't help but think about how crazy the past couple of days had been. Between Ron cheating on my best friend and Draco Malfoy of all people returning into our lives as well as Pansy, it's been unbelievable. And the apparent chemistry between my best friend and the guy who used to bully her was probably the most surprising thing to come out of all of this.

The cat ears suddenly twitched at a noise outside and I cringed slightly. It was very odd having ears on the top of my head instead of on the side of my head, but I was slowly getting used to them. And as I caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror across the room, I had to admit that they didn't look half bad. But I definitely didn't want them forever. At least I only had about two and a half hours left with them.

When I looked back at Draco, I saw him run a hand through his hair and heard him sigh before looking down at the floor.

"You alright there?" I asked, making him jump slightly.

"Merlin, you are quiet," He exclaimed. "I forgot you were there!"

I laughed. "Well, in your defense, you were pretty focused on something else. Or should I say, someone else?"

I raised an eyebrow at him with the last sentence and he stared at me, as if he had been caught grabbing a cookie from the cookie jar. I grinned and quietly said, "You should try to not make it so noticeable. You do stare at her a lot."

He sighed and groaned slightly. "Ginny, you can't tell anyone."

The fact that he used my name instead of my nickname caught me off guard and I realized that he was being serious. "You really like her, don't you?"

He chewed on the inside of his cheek, avoiding my eyes. Then I heard him mutter, "She just got out of an engagement."

"Are you reminding me of that or trying to remind yourself?" I asked, turning back to the clothes.

I didn't hear him answer and I grinned. "It's alright, Draco."

"No, it's not," He sighed. He sounded annoyed and frustrated as he ran his hands through his hair. "He hurt her and she's still recovering from it; I can't come in and just tell her how I feel."

"I never said you should," I said quietly. "Give it some time though. Because from what I can see, it looks like she likes having you around."

He gave me a hopeful look. "You think so?"

"You're here with us, aren't you?" I gestured around the shop. "If she didn't like you, she wouldn't make time for you in her life."

He smiled then and looked back at the curtain. "I really hope you're right."

"Of course I'm right, she's my best friend." I rolled my eyes as his back. "I'm going to go try these on."

"Why are you telling me that?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"I need a second opinion, and Hermione is busy," I shrugged.

He groaned while I laughed and led him to the changing rooms.