The Web Of Love

Hermione finally had time to read, so of course, she took advantage of it and happily started the new book she had received from Charlotte. Fortunately, the story was interesting enough, that it completely absorbed her, and she didn't have to think about anything else for a little while. She didn't have to think about Tom and how he had sent her an owl inviting her to dinner the very next day - which was yesterday - after their meeting. She didn't even have to think about Draco and his letters, which were about dinner, which she agreed to but didn't really want to go to, because she was afraid that there would be some trick hidden in it. And last but not least, she didn't have to think about her ex-husband.

Unfortunately for her, nice things never lasted very long, so she barely got through twenty pages before she was interrupted by a knock on the door. Confused, she looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was midday, which meant it couldn't be Blaise - that is, unless something happened that made her immediately get up and almost run to the door, which she opened very frantically.

"Are none of you working today?" she asked almost breathlessly when she found only Draco standing outside the door. Blaise had taken an exceptional day off from work today to spend the day with Charlie, and Draco clearly wasn't going to work without him there. 

"I'd beg your pardon, unlike other people, I'm working today, but I have a lunch break, so I decided to go for lunch instead of dinner. Because if I waited for you to make time, I might die before you make some," he informed her, not making her happy at all.

"But I'm not dressed for going out, and by the time I get ready, your lunchtime will be long gone," she argued weakly.

The blond smirked. "You don't have to do anything because I brought lunch for you," he said, obviously pleased with himself, and slipped past her inside.

Hermione stood there in complete shock for a moment before her brain kicked in again and forced her to do something. So she quickly closed the door and followed him into the kitchen. There, she found a paper bag on the table that she hadn't noticed before. Draco moved around her kitchen like he was at home here, which scared the crap out of her.

"Don't just stand there, sit down and let me take care of everything," he prompted, and Hermione, who still somehow couldn't absorb the whole situation, sat down in silence.

And as she sat there so quietly, watching him intently, she couldn't shake the feeling that he was up to something. This was not his typical behavior. She couldn't even remember ever seeing him like this before.

"Is there something on my face?" he asked, a strange glint in his eyes. Almost mischievous.

"Is everything okay?" She couldn't resist the question. "You're not that sweet even with Charlie."

"I just want to enjoy our friendly lunch," he replied simply.

The brunette didn't know what to say to that. She found it strange that only a few days ago, he was acting like the old Malfoy she had to slap, and today, he was suddenly a completely different person. She didn't even know if she should be happy about it, after all, she had known Draco for a few years, and she was truly worried that it wasn't as he was saying.

"I brought you spaghetti bolognese, your favorite," he informed her, placing a plate of said food in front of her.

And Hermione didn't have the heart to tell him that carbonara was her favorite. Not when he was obviously in a good mood and trying so hard. Maybe she didn't trust him all this way, but because of their friendship, she decided to go along with this game of his. After all, he hadn't even once started talking about the two of them being something more, so she took that as having its advantages.

"Thanks," she said with a smile. "What do you have?" she wanted to know when she noticed, that there was no red sauce on his plate.

"Tagliatelle with mushroom sauce," he said as he took out two wine glasses. "Don't worry, I bought non-alcoholic. I know you wouldn't drink during the day, and I still have to get back to work," he assured her as he saw her breathe in to protest.

"You really are all surprises today," she said with a small smile and happily accepted a glass of non-alcoholic wine from him.

She had to admit that it really did seem like a date, but she tried not to dwell on the thought too much. Before the fateful night, when they got into bed with each other, they went out to dinner or lunch together here and there. Why wouldn't they? After all, friends did that quite normally.

"You know, love changes people," he said lightly as she struggled to keep from squinting at his words.

She swallowed a swig of wine with difficulty and gave him a scolding look. "Draco..."

"Don't say anything, it was just a joke," he quickly tried to convince her, but, of course, Hermione didn't believe him.

"And how's work going?" she asked instead. She had no idea what he was up to, but she really didn't want to dwell on it right now.

"Pretty good, you know, when you're mostly just checking contracts, it's often very boring, but you don't have to stress yourself out," he chuckled. He didn't particularly love his job, but it was better than sitting at home all day. He certainly didn't want to bear any great responsibility for more serious cases, so he didn't accept any. Unlike Blaise, who lived for such cases. After the war, he decided that he wanted to help people just like Hermione, who was heading straight for St. Mungo and so he was enchanted by the wizarding law. Draco knew that his friend had once wanted to be an Auror, but after those terrible months when all of their lives were in danger, he had decided on something less risky. And he pulled Draco with him.

"You know, I'm really glad you went for it," she said appreciatively.

The blond nodded. "It's not something I'd dream of, but I guess none of us had much time to think about what we wanted to do after Hogwarts when we didn't even know if we'd live to see another day," he said rather seriously, but then immediately smirked. "I almost forgot! You won't believe who was at my office on Monday!"

"No, no, don't make me guess," Hermione giggled.

"I won't, that answer alone is punishment enough. So, on Monday, the wonderful Rita Skeeter honored me with a visit," he told her with a smirk.

"You're bullshitting!" blurted out the brunette without thinking before covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm sorry," she started laughing because she couldn't help it. “Now that I think about it, I read something about her in the Daily Prophet. Did you accept her offer?"

"Definitely not, I can still vividly remember how she treated me during the Triwizard Tournament."

This time it was Hermione who smirked. "I bet you really liked it."

The blond didn't say anything, just shrugged and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

“Merlin, I still can't believe she wrote about me and Harry back then. Such absurdity!"

"I think so too. You have a soft spot for Slytherins," he chuckled, but she didn't let that put her off.

"You're forgetting that I had a crush on Ron too," she smirked.

Draco smirked. "Let's change the subject."

"With pleasure," she agreed and began to tell him about what she had done with Charlie that morning.