Ch. 15

Hermione's POV

The rest of the week went by without a hitch, thankfully. Tuesday morning, Harry stopped by my office to let me know that he had managed to find Ron a mission in Romania with his brother, Charlie. I was ecstatic when I heard that it was a month-long mission; an entire month without having to worry about Ron.

Draco and I started texting each other in the mornings, normally with him texting first. It would always put a smile on my face, and the first thing he would always ask is how I was doing. We'd text for a little bit while I was getting ready, and then again at lunch and after work. I was almost starting to miss actually talking to him, since I had gotten used to seeing him after Saturday and Monday. But at the same time, I had other things I needed to focus on.

I had received three new cases that week, which took up nearly all my time at work. But it caused the week to fly by, and I marveled at how quickly Friday had come when I walked into my office that morning.

Jenn was grinning from ear to ear when I arrived in the main office. I raised an eyebrow at her and she shook her head at me.

"Someone's got an admirer," She said mischievously.

"What in the name of Merlin are you talking about?" I asked, scowling at her.

"Just go look at your desk," She answered, saying nothing else.

Curiosity got the best of me and I cautiously peaked into my office, stopping in the doorway and staring. There was a rather large vase of flowers sitting in the middle of my desk, with a white envelope sticking out of the top of them.

I shot a look back to Jenn who was watching me with that same grin before walking into my office and setting my bag down, going immediately towards the flowers. It was mainly stargazer lilies with pink roses dotting here and there, and white flowers to add an accent. It smelled beautiful, and I couldn't hold back a smile as I grabbed the envelope and opened it carefully.

I felt a sudden rush of warmth in my cheeks and my heart jumped. Draco was asking me to dinner!

"Sooo," Jenn asked from my doorway, startling me. "Who are they from?

"Just an old friend," I said quietly over my shoulder.

"Would that old friend happen to be the tall, handsome blond named Draco?" She asked, almost as if she already knew the answer to that question.

I turned around and smiled at her. "As a matter of fact, yes."

She squealed quietly, jumping up and down in excitement. "Oh, I was hoping it was! You two just have so much chemistry!"

"Jenn, we're just friends right now," I said, laughing. "And how would you know we have chemistry? He's only been here twice!"

"It doesn't take too long to see if two people have chemistry." She retorted, raising an eyebrow at me while still smiling. "So you're telling me that he didn't spend the rest of the day with you on Monday after he took you home?"

I rolled my eyes and shook my head, unable to hold back my smile though. "He had to return to work afterwards, but yes, he did spend the afternoon with me to make sure I was alright."

Her grin widened. "And now you have flowers on your desk from the same man, and you've got a smile on your face just talking about him. How long are you going to keep lying to yourself?"

I opened my mouth but couldn't think of anything to say. She waved me off and went back to her desk without needing my answer, and left me alone to my thoughts.

I texted Draco letting him know that I would love to go to dinner with him, and he responded very quickly, saying that he would pick me up at seven that night at my apartment. The entire day continued to drag on after that, and I thought it would never end. I couldn't help but smile every time I thought about going to dinner with Draco. It was exciting, and I couldn't even remember the last time Ron had taken me out to dinner.

Pushing away that thought, I attempted to focus on my work for the rest of the day. My thoughts kept drifting over to Draco though, and how much my life had changed recently. I hadn't gone back to my old apartment since I moved into the new one, and I had no intentions to.

Thankfully, Ron hadn't tried to contact me since he was sent on his mission. I'm pretty certain that Harry made sure Ron would be busy the entire time, even if it wasn't hunting Death Eaters like he was previously.

It was finally time for me to leave work at five-thirty, and I quickly said goodbye to Jenn before apparating out of the office and into my apartment. The first thing I noticed was that there were multiple unmarked boxes on the counter.

I stared at the boxes for a few moments before cautiously approaching them, and then relaxing as I realized that they were from Pansy's store. There were about seven boxes in total; three blouses, two skirts, one pair of pants, and a dress. The dress was much more formal than the rest of the clothing, more of a cocktail dress. Which coincidentally happened to be perfect for my date tonight.

After a nice, long shower and spending plenty of time working on my hair to de-frizz it, I pulled my hair into a low bun and then pulled out a few strands, framing my face with small waves. When I was satisfied I moved on to my makeup, opting for a natural look. I did a small black cat-eye with neutral eyeshadows and mascara, finished off with blush and a soft pink lipstick.

I went to my closet and picked out a pair of plain black heels that I knew would go well with the dress and went into the bedroom to change. The dress itself was a shiny satin that was steel grey in color, and in the back of my mind I couldn't help but think it matched Draco's eyes. I was happy that it wasn't strapless, instead having a bateau neckline that nearly covered my collarbones and a large horizontal cut-out that was between my neck and chest. That was truly the closest part of the dress that could possibly be considered risqué, as the hem of the dress stopped right above my knees. I absolutely loved it.

Right as I was putting in some small stud earrings, I heard a knock at my door and groaned slightly, not realizing that it was seven already. My stomach fluttered nervously as I slowly made my way out of the bedroom and towards the door, my shoes clacking on the tile floor and filling the apartment with the sounds.

I paused at the door, taking a deep breath before opening it. Draco was standing a few feet away from the door, dressed in a black suit and a grey shirt that matched the color of my dress. He smiled as soon as he saw me, looking me up and down as I felt my cheeks warm up.

"Well, looks like I picked a good color for you," He said triumphantly.

"I had a feeling you had something to do with this," I replied, unable to hold back my smile. "Come in, I just need to grab a clutch."

I held the door open further so that he could come in and shut it behind him, excusing myself to my bedroom. I tried to calm my nerves and stop the butterflies in my stomach, taking another deep breath as I grabbed a black clutch and shoved a few things in it that I could need. All of my bags had extendable charms on them now, just in case, and I made sure each one had a pocket for my wand. After grabbing my wand, my phone, and the lipstick, I left my bedroom and smiled at him.