Ch. 18

Hermione's POV

After a lot of convincing, I finally managed to get Ginny out of my apartment around four-thirty, giving me an hour to get ready, which was plenty of time considering this was apparently a more casual date.

I found myself smiling the entire time as I got ready, thinking about what Ginny said. I still wasn't sure if I was ready to fully start a relationship with Draco, but there was something freeing about knowing that I could do it whenever I wanted. That and it helped that he still wanted to see me regardless.

Since it was a more casual date, I decided to go with a pair of dark skinny jeans, a light blue tank top and a cream colored cardigan. I kept my hair down this time, using my wand to dry it into nice beachy waves before doing my makeup.

I grabbed a pair of black ballet flats and went out into the living room since Draco was going to be there any minute. Right after I pulled the shoes on, Draco suddenly landed in my living room, making me jump.

"Sorry," He apologized with a grin. "I meant to land outside your door."

I laughed. "I'm sure you did!"

He looked very nice in a simple black button-up with the sleeves rolled up to just underneath his elbows, and a pair of dark jeans with black shoes. He held out an arm to me and I wrapped my arm into his, smiling at him.

"Ready?" He asked.

I nodded and he disapparated us. We didn't land in a restaurant, which surprised me. As I looked around, I realized we were in an apartment.

"I thought I might cook you dinner tonight," He said with a smile.

I smiled in return and he gave me hand a squeeze before releasing my arm and walking into the kitchen. "Wine?"

"Yes please!" I said happily as I explored his apartment. "Draco, this is beautiful!"

It was very similar to my own apartment, but quite a bit bigger in size. We were in a different part of London, but I thought in the distance I could see my own building not too far off.

"Spying on my apartment?" I asked slyly, raising an eyebrow at him.

He laughed as he came over to me and handed me a glass of red wine. "That was purely coincidence. Remember, I got this place before you moved in."

"Oh, yeah."

I continued exploring with my glass in hand, marveling at how beautiful his apartment was. Instead of the black floors and grey walls of my apartment, there was grey hardwood flooring and white walls. The kitchen was on the right of the door coming in rather than the left that it was at my apartment, and the kitchen cabinets were the same white as the walls.

"This doesn't seem like the kind of place I would have expected you to live in," I said as I ran my hand along the white quartz countertop. "It's so...bright."

He laughed. "Well, when one lives in the dungeons under the lake for seven years, and a dreary manor in the times not in the dungeons, you tend to want a brighter place to live in."

"Ah, I can't say I understand," I said with a smile, leaning against the counter and taking a drink. "Living in a tower, we had plenty of brightness."

"Also plenty of chaos," He said, giving me a look. "I heard about the parties you people would throw. I'm surprised that tower was still standing, especially with you, Harry, and the Weasley clan."

I feigned a shocked and offended look. "Me? I was completely innocent!"

He snorted. "I've heard about the crazy things you got into, Granger. You can't play innocent with me!"

"I was an angel," I retorted, trying not to grin. "What things did you hear?"

"Well for one," He said, turning to face me. "You kept a certain reporter locked in a jar for a year."

"She deserved it," I said simply. "She was writing awful things about Harry and I."

He lifted his glass in agreement and then said, "What about you brewing Polyjuice Potion in second year to sneak the three of you into the Slytherin dorm to get information out of me?"

I stared at him. How did he possibly find out?

At my sudden distress, he grinned. "Hermione, calm down. I'm not mad about it."

"How did you find out?" I asked, cringing as it came out as more of a squeak.

He laughed. "Myrtle told me in our last year."

I gave him a confused look. "Myrtle?"

"Yeah," He said. "Moaning Myrtle. She and I became decent friends, and she tried to cheer me up after you and I stopped talking."

I frowned at that and took another drink. Then my heart nearly stopped and I asked, "What else did she tell you about the potion brewing?"

He didn't answer, only grinning at me as he took a sip of his own glass. I groaned and put my head in my hand, knowing that meant he knew that I halfway turned into a cat.

"I'll have to get you to try one of those Morpher things Ginny had taken," He laughed. "I'd like to see you with cat ears."

"It's not happening, ferret," I said with a scowl.

"Aw, come on," He pouted. "I think it would be cute!"

I felt my cheeks flush and I turned away to hide my embarrassment, walking out towards the living room. "Are you going to cook dinner or what?"

He laughed and I heard the sound of kitchenware being pulled out of cabinets. "Don't be embarrassed, Hermione. I already think you're cute."

I grinned to myself and tried to hide my now definitely red cheeks by looking out at the patio again. There was hardly any furniture except for a small table and two chairs on either side of it, facing out towards the view.

"Were you planning on having guests when you bought that?" I asked, gesturing towards the small patio set.

He looked up and followed my pointing before smiling. "Not guests, necessarily. A guest, but I haven't been able to go out and actually buy patio furniture yet."

I raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything as I slowly made my way back into the kitchen. "I'm surprised you actually are cooking that yourself."

"Really?" He scowled at me. "Did you forget that I cooked food for you last Monday?"

"That was pasta, I would hope you know how to cook pasta," I teased.

He rolled his eyes but I saw him smile. "I happened to give the house-elf the night off tonight, so you'll have to deal with my cooking."

House-elf? I stared at him, and he looked up at me for a few moments before putting a hand up. "It was a joke, Hermione. I don't have a house-elf."

I relaxed slightly and frowned. "Sorry."

He waved me off. "Don't worry, I know your feelings on that. But no, I actually enjoy cooking. It's a nice way to keep your mind off things."

"And what things would you need to keep your mind off of?" I asked curiously.