Would you like to practice on me?
She caught him alone in the hallway standing in front of the ornate mirror. He postured and preened, muttering under his breath so softly she was tempted to disillusion herself and creep closer. Thankfully, she always kept a pair of Extendable Ears on hand, and so it was with absolutely zero qualms and strong curiosity she tuned in to what held the Malfoy heir’s attention.
“Would you do me the great honor of…no, no, too formal. I found myself inconveniently free and thought you’d like to join…now it sounds like I could care less. Are you free this weekend? I’d like to take you out…maybe? She’s so dense that she might think I’m only asking her as a friend…”
Good Godric, was he working up the nerve to ask her out on a date? Hermione knew they’d been circling one another for the better part of the past couple of months ever since Harry and Pansy had started dating, throwing their social groups together more often than not. They’d even made their peace far before that with a handful of exchanged owls. While she wasn’t the only single witch among their mutual friends, she and Draco somehow always gravitated towards one another almost seconds after entering the same room.
What started as competitive repartee over the application and creation of potions soon moved to all aspects of magical theory, eventually expanding to include literature, theatre, and even horticulture. Their intellectual fascination with one another preceded a form of friendship Hermione had never before experienced, which was exciting and terrifying at the same time. She wanted more of it, and of him.
Coiling up the Extendable Ears, she took a casual stance and sauntered into his view, restraining her giggle as he immediately straightened and turned to face her.
“Granger! Is everything alright?”
“I just needed to step out for a bit and couldn’t help but overhear you just now.”
He flushed an attractive shade of pink, and she decided to tease him a bit for it.
“Would you like to practice on me?”
“Practice…on you?”
“Your invitation to whichever lucky witch or wizard you’ve got your eye on.”
It was adorable really, the way his mouth hung open. Her intentional misunderstanding of the situation went completely unnoticed. She walked up to him, so close as to be nearly touching, and looked up through her eyelashes.
“Do you have something you want to say to me?”
“I…yes. Yes, I do.”
“Go on, then.” Could he see the way her lips kept trying to curl up at the edges? The delight she took in his discomfort?
“If you’re free this weekend, would you like to accompany me to dinner?”
She wanted to applaud him for getting the question out so smoothly in one go, even if he did look like he was about to pass out. Hermione decided to push him a bit more.
“I am free, and would be glad to join you. What’s the occasion? Who else will be there?”
He couldn’t help but shuffle at her additional questions. “No occasion, I mean, other than the pleasure of your company, and only your company. It would be just us.”
“Just…us?”
“Yes? As in…a date.”
She tilted her head in mock confusion, wrinkling her nose as she pretended to think over this revelation. Draco’s eyes never wavered from hers, though they were wide in their pleading. They crinkled at the corners with his smile when she finally nodded her assent.
“That sounds lovely.” Before he could reply, she jumped up to peck him on the cheek and continue her act. “Do it just like that with a bit more clarity at the start and you’ll be set!”
He stiffened at her advice, and she spun around as if to rejoin the others outside.
“Wait!”
Once more fully facing him, Hermione taunted him with an arched eyebrow and waited as asked. His fingers clenched repeatedly into fists at his side before he yanked them behind him. She couldn’t help but straighten her posture to match Draco the moment he took a deep breath and stood tall to do what they had both wanted for much longer than either of them would admit.
“It’s you, Hermione. Would you like to join me for dinner this weekend as my date?” His earlier nerves seemed a figment of her imagination with the way he closed the distance to stand once more just a hair’s breadth away, grey eyes boring into her own.
Hermione rewarded him with a triumphant smile, her light nearly blinding him with its brilliance. He could already imagine them there together, heads bent together in confidence, hands tugging at one another from one location to the next, kisses both stolen and shared openly. As if there was anyone else but her for him.
“I’d love to.”