Chapter 2
She had been looking at her suitcase for the past hour, that lay open on her bed, clothes thrown haphazardly all over the room. She had been debating on what to wear to meet up with Malfoy. What does one wear to meet up with your childhood nemesis after not seeing them for several years? When Hermione had packed for her short excursion to France, she hadn't thought about packing some stunning outfit. She packed for the practical. There were some nice blouses, but nothing that would turn any heads.
After two coffees, she had finally decided on a simple white blouse. It was spaghetti strapped and along its u-shaped neckline was some frilly lace. She paired it with a light pink skirt and simple tan sandals. Hermione was running on the assumption that they weren't going anywhere within the wizarding community and opted for muggle clothes. She put on some mascara, slight shimmery eyeshadow, some pink gloss, and a bit of concealer. She looked nice enough. It is not like there was anyone there she was trying impress, especially not Malfoy.
She noticed the time and saw that she still had well over an hour before she had to make her way towards the cafe, their meeting spot. She grabbed a book from her bag and started to read. After about ten minutes, she had noticed that she just kept re-reading the same paragraph over and over again. She just kept thinking about the upcoming dinner with Malfoy. What would they talk about? What had he been up to this past year? Why did he invite her to dinner?
With a frustrated sigh, she slammed the book closed and got up. Looking around her hotel room she saw that there were still many articles of clothing strung throughout the room. To keep her mind busy, she began repacking, folding, and organizing her room. Every once in awhile she would stare at her outfit and clothes and second guess the outfit she had finally decided on, but eventually just folded them up and put them away.
Soon enough, it was finally time for her to apparate to the near by ally by the cafe. She felt the familiar uncomfortable tug of the apparation and landed in the hidden ally. She doubled checked her surroundings to make sure that no one saw her and made her way to the spot she was supposed to meet Malfoy.
The sun was already set and the only light source was the occasional lamp light from the overhead lamps that lined the streets. There weren't too many people around. Hermione kept her eye out for Malfoy's blond head. She began pacing when she did not see him. Picking at her nails, she took a deep breath to try to calm her nerves. Her heart was beating violently in her chest.
The sound of footstep caught her attention and turned to see Malfoy appear before her. He looked nice. Well put together. His towheaded locks were gelled back. He wore a linen white button down with beige cotton pants and dark leather dress suits. Not a wrinkle in sight (which was impressive given the material). He gave an awkward half grin.
"Granger," he nodded.
She gave a small grin, "Malfoy."
He stuck his hand out in the direction they were meant to be headed, "Shall we?"
With a nod and an awkward smile, Hermione began to walk side by side with Malfoy. She tried to look at anything but him. They walked shoulder to shoulder along the water, but they did not touch. There was a slight breeze, but it still felt warm despite the fact that the sun already set.
"So uh, where are we going?" Hermione asked.
"A small little restaurant called La Cucina. It is a mixture of Italian and French."
"Oh I love Italian," Hermione said with a smile.
Malfoy smiled, "Me too."
After a few minutes of walking in silence, they had made it to the restaurant. It was very small. They had several tables that were out on the street as well as some inside. They had plants hanging from pots and a beautiful chandelier, which didn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the laidback vibe of the restaurant. The bustling of the workers and cooks could be heard.
After Malfoy gave his name, they were given a table that was in the indoor section. The waiter gave them their menus and left to get some water.
Hermione bit her lip as she continued to observe the restaurant. Upon further inspection, she noticed that a clothing line was strung across the ceiling that has an array of socks and undergarments.
She pointed this out to Malfoy. He let out a small chuckle (Hermione was still getting used to seeing a smile on his face). "I noticed that the first time I came here, not sure what that's all about," he shrugged.
Unfolding the napkin on her lap and picking up the menu she said, "Do you come here a lot?"
"Every once in awhile. The workers are nice enough and the food is good," he shrug.
"Anything you recommend?"
Malfoy looks over the menu.
"How hungry are you?"
"Uh fairly hungry I suppose."
"Well their grilled lamb is quite good. But then again, if you're into Italian, you can't go wrong with their tomato basil pasta."
Hermione thinks it over. "The pasta sounds good."
The waiter returns with their water and asks if they are ready to order, in which Malfoy response with their full order in French. He decided on the lamb and also ordered them some wine.
"How long did it take you to learn French?"
"Not long. I grew up learning it as a kid as well as Italian and some German, but that's not very good I admit," he laughs.
Hermione smiles, "That's impressive. My french is abysmal."
"And here I thought you knew everything," Malfoy jests as he takes a sip of his wine.
"Well don't tell anyone, I have to keep up appearance you know," Hermione says while taking a sip of the wine as well. "This is quite good." She's not quite sure what else to say. Malfoy agrees. They fall into silence. The only noise being the slight music playing throughout the restaurant and the hustle and bustle of the people around them.
Every once in a while, Hermione notices Malfoy looking at her, but when he sees he's been caught, he immediately looks away.
What are they supposed to talk about? He invited her to dinner. Why isn't he saying anything?
"So, what have you been up to?" Hermione tries to break the awkwardness.
He shrugs, "Not much. Mostly taking care of my mother. It's been uh an adjustment to say the least. In my free time I have been researching and working with Dragons." He takes a sip of his wine., so nonchalant. The waiter brings the food and they both dig in.
"Wow Dragons. That's impressive. That must be exciting," Hermione says with genuine surprise. He works with Dragons. I wonder if him and Charlie have crossed paths, she thinks. Surely he would have mentioned it.
"Yes, it is quite interesting. It shakes things up and keeps things interesting. How is the food?"
"It's very good. How about yours?"
"Yes, very good."
They fall into silence for a few minutes as they continue to eat their food. It is quite flavorful. The sauces are smooth and contain a little bit of spice. The noodles are cooked perfectly.
"So what about you? Are you working with the Ministry?"
Hermione nods, a little sad that she is so predictable.
"I do a little bit of everything actually. I work with Kingsley and the aurors and with the magical creatures department when I want something with not a lot of action."
"That sounds like a lot," Malfoy says, his eyes a bit wide.
"It is, hence the vacation," Hermione chuckles, "but I enjoy it. It's good to keep busy. Plus it allows me to try a little bit of everything. Would it be hard to believe that I still don't really know what I want to do?" Hermione had never admitted that to anyone, even Harry. It seemed like everyone else had some sort of drive or idea of what they wanted to do and were able to just go after it. Was she the only one who felt like there wasn't a point to anything? Growing up and going to Hogwarts felt like a dream and Hermione was constantly making sure she would succeed at everything. To prove that she belonged. She knew that she could have her pick of pretty much anything. But after the war, it left an empty whole. What was she going to do now?
Malfoy shakes his head, "No I understand. There is so much to choose from. How do you know what the right fit is? Plus, it almost feels wrong sometimes to think about such trivial stuff as a job given everything. Like we're just supposed to know what we want to do at such a young age on top of carrying on like normal?"
"Exactly! Most of the time I think I am just doing so much to just not have time to think about everything," she admits sullenly. She looks up and sees Malfoy looking at her with understanding. Why did she feel comfortable telling him these things and not Harry or Ginny?
"Enough of the sad stuff," she waves, "tell me about the Dragons."
This brings a smile to Malfoy's face. "Well it is interesting doing the research and then actually try to apply to real life. The first time I ever went near the Dragons, I was absolutely terrified. There was a Dragon there who was getting ready to have babies and was very protective of her eggs, but we wanted to make sure that everything was fine. Let's just say I was lucky that the only singed thing was my robe," he chuckles. Malfoy continued to describe the several different Dragons he has worked with recently as well as his role with them. He explained the different potions and projects that he headed up based on the use of their scales or dragon fire. (He made sure to explain that he is advocate against animal cruelty and thinks that Dragons are of much better use than to simply make shoes after Hermione gave him a stern look). She was impressed by his passion and genuine interest. She was always under the impression that he would never have to work. Perhaps he does it for the same reason she does, to keep busy. She listened to him with a vested interest. Soon enough, he began asking her questions about her work and what interesting stories she had.
"Well, recently I came across this case with an older lady who insisted that little men were breaking into her store and stealing things. After some investigation, I saw that this wasn't the first time she had reported something stolen except in the previous accounting, she claimed that is was a goblin that came to her home. Another time it was a neighboring kid. Now, she was a very small women herself. Turns out she was accidentally, and unknowingly to herself, using spells like diminuendo that just made her things so small that she couldn't find them or accidentally using alarte ascendare to float things up in the air to where she could no longer see them. It took awhile to undo all the spells and to try to convince her to see someone about the fact that she was casting spells and not really realizing it. But it's mundane cases like that that make me grateful. If this is the worst thing on my plate, then it is not so bad," Hermione shrugs.
As they continue to discuss a variety of topics, more stories about work or research, more and more people were leaving the restaurant. They had finished eating their food a while ago, but the waiter kept returning with more wine. Hermione felt light and bubbly from the wine. The wine allowed her to speak more freely about cases she was working on. She found Malfoy was actually quite funny. They continued to keep talking. The restaurant didn't seem to mind. Soon enough though, they did have to close.
"Oh wow, I hadn't realized it had gotten so late." Hermione dug around her bag for some cash.
Malfoy raised a hand to stop her, "I got this Granger."
"No please. I insist."
Malfoy shook his head, "No. I invited you to dinner. Put it away."
Much to her chagrin, Hermione relented. Malfoy paid for the food and they left the restaurant and walked through the streets of Nice. Not really sure if they should say goodbye or continue walking, Hermione awkwardly wrung her hands and walked alongside Malfoy. She was surprised how smoothly things had gone. It seems she and Malfoy have more in common than she previously thought. Despite some of the awkwardness that occurred, overall she had a good time. She slowed her walking and turned to look at Malfoy. He had his hands in his pockets.
"I had a lovely time tonight. Thank you for dinner," she smiled.
"Me too. Thank you for agreeing to come."
A few seconds went by. "Well, I guess I will see you around." Hermione turned to leave.
"Granger wait." Malfoy grabbed her by the arm to stop her. She looked down at his hand. He immediately let go of her arm. "Sorry."
She looked up at him expectingly.
"I have to admit that I did have an ulterior motive to inviting you to dinner." Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"You see, my mother is having this gathering at our house up the coast in a few days time and I wanted to invite you. It will be a formal gathering. I'm sure there will be many well respected witches and wizards in attendance. When I saw you at the coffee shop, I wanted to invite you. I know it seems a little strange and I understand if you want to say no."
Hermione thought on it. A gathering? At his France house? Why would he possibly want her there? She bit her lip in concentration.
"Um, I don't know. I wouldn't have anything to wear."
"Don't worry about that."
She continues to think while looking at Malfoy. His eyes have a pleading look while the rest of him is trying to look nonchalant.
"On one condition."
"Anything."
"You have to buy me a chocolate croissant."
He grins, "Of course."