Disclaimer: Still not mine :D

A/N: Hey, hey, it's Friday! And you know what it means :D This is so far my favourite chapter (I think) haha, so I hope you'll enjoy this!

Review afterwards!

Recap:

He found himself suddenly on his feet and Hermione seemed to snap off from her stupor. A lone tear slid down from her eyes and before he could even step out from his desk, she turned around and fled his office, banging his door that even shook his yearning heart.

Draco thought of following after her. 'You're too late,' a voice at the back of his mind reminded him of the harsh truth.

In the end, he plopped back down on his chair and did nothing.

Chapter Seventeen: Of Blind Dates and Avid Fan Girls

(Past)

"Hermione?"

The Head Girl looked up from her desk and quizzically looked at her door. It slightly opened and Ernie MacMillan's head poked inside, a sheepish smile on his face.

"Are you busy?" he asked, gesturing at her table.

The brunette gave him a small smile and shook her head. "I'm not that busy," she said, putting down the quill back on the table. "Is there something you want?"

"Umm…" her Head counterpart started, furiously blushing. He completely stepped inside her room and walked towards her, waving a small piece of parchment in the air. "Well, I received this letter a while ago and I would just want to say that I forgive him, whoever did that to me yesterday, anyway."

Hermione scowled, much to the Head Boy's surprise. Irritably, she snatched the letter from Ernie's hand and read its contents.

MacMillan,

Tell Granger that you've already forgiven me because of what I did to you yesterday. Else, you'd rather not be turned into an atrocious, hairy human again, yes?

It wasn't signed but ooh, Hermione had a perfect idea who it was.

"So… do you forgive him now?" Ernie softly asked, prompting Hermione to snap her eyes back at him. His eyes widened a little, confused why there was pure and unadulterated hostility written all over her face. Seeing his expression had calmed her down, trying to mask every inch of annoyance. The only indication that she was still upset was a deep frown on her face.

"Listen, Ernie, I'm terribly, terribly sorry," she gushed out instead, surprising the Head Boy. "I had wished for us to have a wonderful time yesterday in Hogsmeade but then you…" She trailed off, seeing his blush. In spite of herself, she slightly smiled. Although her Head counterpart could be frighteningly strict at times, such as whenever he reprimanded Hermione every time she was late for the patrolling, there was still a part of him that would show that he was still the blushing, bumbling Hufflepuff she once knew.

"I had a good time, though," he said, chuckling softly in addition.

Hermione smiled apologetically. "Would you mind if I make it up to you by going to the Three Broomsticks in the next Hogsmeade Day?" she asked.

"Err… about that…" he started, nervously ruffling his hair.

The Gryffindor sighed and silently cursed the Slytherin that had caused Ernie's reluctance. "I swear there won't be anymore hexing and all," she said. "Whoever did that to you will answer me, you hear me?"

The Head Boy chuckled nervously. "All right," he said.

"Good." A pleased smile spread on her lips, now slowly standing up from her chair. "Listen, I think I won't be able to attend the patrol tonight" – the smile on his face magnetized into a frown – "but I swear to all the books in the Hogwarts library I would patrol alone tomorrow."

He contemplated for a while before releasing a soft sigh. "All right," he answered, beaming when Hermione. "Where are you going, though?"

An evil glint appeared in her eyes, one that had baffled the Hufflepuff. "Oh, perhaps curse a ferret, I don't really know."

-o-

"Dear Merlin, you're still mad about that?" Draco asked in exasperation, throwing up his arms into the air when he saw Hermione's disproving stare. "Granger, I apologized to MacMillan already. What more must I do so that you'll talk to me again?"

Hermione plopped back down on the couch and massaged her temple, already feeling that a growing headache was to come. "Malfoy," she started, making Draco flinch. She had been calling him by this first name nowadays and whenever she addressed him by his blasted last name, Draco knew that she was either annoyed or nervous. One did not need to be a genius to guess which of the two Hermione's emotion right now was.

His annoyance grew at her stubbornness and he also plopped down beside her on the couch, noting with distaste that she scooted away from him. "All right, fine, I know that was immature of me to do," he said with a sour scowl on his face. "But that blasted Hufflepuff deserved it!"

She narrowed her eyes at him and pursed her lips. "You humiliated Ernie," she accused. "And right in front of our other schoolmates, too! Ooh, Ernie would forever be labelled as The-Boy-Who-Became-Hairy."

"Hairy Potter?" he hopefully asked, smirking. Hermione pursed her lips. "No? Granger, you're no fun."

Draco sighed. "I told you he deserved it," he growled, crossing his arms petulantly. "Hermione, were you blind? He was practically fawning all over you. His hands were everywhere. You should have known better, Granger, what with that brilliant head of yours. I mean, seriously? Take out that perverted Hufflepuff on a date in Hogsmeade? HA! I prefer Longbottom over him, you know, and that is saying something."

A soft scoff escaped from her lips. "And what, in Merlin's name, were you doing with Greengrass then?" she retorted back. "That lapdog of yours had been practically shoving that ridiculous leg of hers up your trousers and you did not even mind."

He blinked. "You're observing us," he said, raising an eyebrow in amusement. His eyebrow almost disappeared behind his fringes when she blushed scarlet. "You were."

"Oh, now don't get too cheeky, Malfoy," she spat back. "You were observing us, too! I could see your eyes darting ever so slowly into our table."

Unwittingly, her comment made him blush. Draco released an exasperated sigh and rolled his eyes above. "Look," he started, slowly back at her, "I'm sorry I made that sorry excuse of a date of yours into a gorilla. I promise I will never do that ever again."

His apology was met in silence for a while and the Slytherin was getting more annoyed as minutes ticked by. Finally, to his relief, Hermione's shoulder sagged and she looked a little apologetic at his form. "All right, fine, I forgive you this time," she said. When his eyes lit up, she wagged a finger in front of his face. "If you must know, Ernie and I will be going to the Three Broomsticks again on the next Hogsmeade day and I swear, if something happened to him, I'll not forgive you this time."

This new information of hers made him darkly scowl. Draco did not quite understand why he hated the idea of Hermione going out with another man, one that was beneath her no less!

He slightly shook in anger and cursed Ernie MacMillan's existence. 'If he dare touch a single strand on Hermione…' His vicious thought was cut off when Hermione expectantly looked at him, as if waiting for an answer. Schooling his features, he gave her a small, winning smile. "Oh, do have fun," he flippantly said, much to Hermione's suspicion.

Inside, he started to brew a perfect plan that would curse Ernie without Hermione suspecting him.

(Present)

Hermione furiously wiped away her tears as she apparated into her apartment.

'This won't do, Hermione Jean Granger, this won't do,' she mentally told herself with a scowl. The brunette stopped right in front of their front door and sighed, trying to calm her frenzied heart.

Whatever happened back in her boss' office was sheer idiocy. It was a moment of weakness and vulnerability and Hermione could not accept that she had allowed herself to show a fraction of her true emotions to her boss. They were supposed to be hidden, stored away in the deepest and darkest recess of her heart while she put up a perfect front of unadulterated hatred and apathy.

This wasn't part of the plan. Crying in front of Draco Malfoy? She had vowed to herself that she'd rather die than let him see those blasted tears of hers.

'But what was that?' she asked herself, now slowly calming down. The tears that continued to leak in her eyes were momentarily forgotten as she pondered about what had happened back in Malfoy's office.

She was confused why he seemed concerned, overly concerned if she were to properly describe it, with how his mother had interacted to her. Last time she checked, she had nothing to do with Narcissa Malfoy. She had only seen her properly back during the Quidditch World Cup of 1994. There were pictures of hers in the Daily Prophet but she did not really have a proper meeting, so to speak, with Narcissa Malfoy.

And then his request… "Call me Draco," he had asked her.

Everything in her mind became blank the moment he called her first name. It had been a while ever since she heard her name from his mouth and she had forgotten how her heart furiously fluttered whenever he did so. There was something in the way that he said her name, something that she couldn't truly understand, that momentarily stopped her world and froze time. But of course, after eight years, she thought that ridiculous sensation would have waned already.

Oh, how wrong she was.

"Zero, Demiguise. One, Unicorn. Two…," she muttered softly under her breath. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her nerves.

It had also been a while ever since she called him "Draco". She had no idea what made her heed his request. Perhaps it was because of this strange vulnerability on his face when he asked her, as if afraid that she would reject his request. Or maybe it was because she had this strong hunch that today was probably one of the worst days he had ever had.

When she whispered his name, his first name, she was horrified to hear her voice crack. She was more horrified when she realized she started to cry. 'Damn you, Malfoy,' she mournfully said, glaring at nothing. More tears sprang up from her eyes and she had this sudden urge to scream and curse something.

This… whatever that was between Hermione and the bastard was starting to be a bad idea. Hermione once again cursed Ginny for submitting her curriculum vitae to the MDOLE. If she hadn't done so, then her profile wouldn't be picked out by General Manager Wilson and ultimately became the secretary of the ex-boyfriend she never wanted to see anymore.

'Azkaban over him, right?' she sullenly asked herself and straightened up, wiping the last tears on her face away. Accompanying Dementors seemed much more appealing that working under Draco Malfoy. Perhaps, even the presence of the Dementors in Azkaban would drain every single memory of him away from her mind.

She slightly trembled as a cool breeze brushed against her face. It was a cold November after all and although there was no snow visible today, the wind was still biting cold. Hermione also noticed that she left her scarf and jumper back in the office as she bounded out of the company, eager to run away from the man that broke her heart.

Expelling a soft sigh, she finally clutched the door knob and walked inside. 'Maybe a tub of ice cream would comfort me today,' she forlornly thought, meaning to step into the kitchen when she caught sight of the messy lump in the living room. Her eyes widened a little when Jane looked at her direction upon hearing her arrive, her face poofed up because of what she suspected as crying, while nursing a huge tub of ice cream in her arms.

"Tough day?" she weakly asked, cracking a small smile upon seeing Hermione's tear-stained face.

"You too?" the brunette asked, daintily sniffing and plopping down beside the blonde.

A small tear trickled down from Jane's face. "You have no idea," she blubbered. Jane absentmindedly grabbed a tissue from the coffee table, blew her nose, and threw the soiled tissue away. With a wet smile, she then offered to Hermione the ice cream tub she was currently holding. "You want some?"

The brunette smiled, summoned a spoon, and started eating.

Although she had no idea what had caused Jane's distress, Hermione did not ask. Doing so would only lead the blonde into ask her what had happened to Hermione today, and the older witch was too exhausted to recount the events that had happened today.

Thus, they basked under the silence and welcomed the superficial comfort that the frozen dessert gave them.

"Are you still mad at me?" Hermione softly asked as she strolled inside the kitchen, already dressed for work.

She had debated seriously whether she must go to work today or not. Hermione was still quite ashamed of herself for showing some weakness in front of her boss and she did not want to see him to be reminded of that sheer vulnerability.

Finally, her rational side won out and she quickly dressed for work. Hermione reckoned that if she did not show up to work today, Malfoy would think of her as a weakling and assume in that blasted head full of air of his that she was still affected of what had happened between them eight years ago. And of course, Hermione did not want him to assume such ridiculous things.

When she went down to the kitchen to grab a quick breakfast, she was surprised to see that the blonde was still in her pajamas, staring off into space with a blank expression on her face.

"I'm still mad at you for conspiring with… him." Jane suddenly answered, cutting Hermione off from her reverie. The brunette looked sadly at her flatmate and slowly sat down on the chair opposite her. Gingerly, Hermione reached out for Jane's hand on top of the table and rubbed her knuckles, seeing that tears were once again springing from her beautiful, blue eyes.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Hermione asked, reaching out to wipe a tear from Jane's face. Her friend slightly shook her head and sniffed, immediately looking away from her gaze. "All right, I understand. But do know that I'm still here to hear your complaints whenever you liked, okay?"

The distraught blonde then nodded her head, prompting Hermione to stand up from her seat.

"I'll be going to work now," she declared. "Will you be okay?"

A soft scoff escaped from Jane's mouth, as if telling Hermione it was even ridiculous for her to ask. The brunette sighed, patted Jane's head for comfort, before walking out of their apartment to apparate to the Malfoy Enterprises.

He was deeply immersed in a document regarding the joint project with the Parkinsons Incorporated when his fireplace chimed, signalling a fire-call. Draco reluctantly tore his eyes away from the parchments and half-heartedly stared at the blazing fire, already knowing who would dare disturb him during such a time of the day.

"Mother," he curtly greeted, Narcissa's face suddenly coming into view. As usual, his mother's face was as immaculate as ever – well, as immaculate as the fire-call could show him. "Is there anything you need?"

"I've set up another blind date, love - "

"But, Mother - !"

"Oh, and it is with lovely Sophia Shacklebolt, Kingsley Shacklebolt's niece," she continued as if not hearing Draco's protest at all. "Of course, my son, it will be held on the same time and place and Miss Shacklebolt is already instructed about this blind date of yours."

Draco placed the parchments back on his desk and sighed in exhaustion. "Can't I say no today?" he asked, gesturing wildly at his desk. "I have important matters at hand and I need to accomplish them for today, Mother."

A soft, melodious laugh escaped from his mother's lips. "I'm sure that secretary of yours is skilled enough to cancel all of your meetings today," Narcissa said, that thrilling smile still stretched widely on her face. Realization dawned on Draco's face and his eyes widened in horror as Narcissa then bid him goodbye and left the firecall.

Of course. Another blasted blind date thrown his way. Because now that Narcissa discovered that Draco had his ex-girlfriend employed as his secretary of all position in the company, his mother grew alarmed and perhaps more persistent.

'Very sly,' he bitterly thought and ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He had known his mother and he knew she would never give up until she had won a battle. Firing Hermione seemed too easy for her and quite predictable. His mother never opted to choose a way like that. She always listed all of the other possible ways and chose the lesser noticeable, the ones that would catch her opponent off-guard with surprise.

Draco sneered. He could already predict an onslaught of blind dates in his future, possibly more airheads that would twitter about their latest clothes, weight, and bloody riches. He knew that his mother would not give up until he picked a rightful Malfoy bride amongst all the Purebloods that she gave him.

He did not really know this Sophia Shacklebolt, except, of course, that she was the niece of the current Minster of Magic. He could already detect that she was yet another failed blind date, like always, and he cringed, knowing that his mother would be disproving and become more determined.

Draco warily glanced at the parchment on his desks, knowing they would be left untouched for the day. He felt terribly sick at the stomach and he was afraid he'd have a headache for his blind date later.

'Perhaps have an excuse of sickness?' a voice suggested in his mind, but Draco immediately brushed it away. He had already used that excuse for a few times already but Narcissa always seemed to find a way to make him meet his blind date. One incident, in fact, which he wanted to label as part of his Top 3 Worst Blind Date Ever, was sending one Dorothy Jones, daughter of the famous Gwenog Jones, to his home to take care of him because he had a 'fever'.

Finally, he gave up. Sooner or later he would meet this Sophia Shacklebolt anyway and he thought that he'd rather see her now than later.

He immediately called for his secretary, who then bustled inside his office without, as usual, knocking.

Draco tried to swallow that lump that formed in his throat as he looked at his secretary. Yesterday's event was something that had surprised him and brought quite a lot of memories from the past. When Hermione left him alone in his office, he contemplated and even reminisced, and well, his heart had not really taken all his thinking quite nicely.

"You called for me, sir?" she asked, once again in her professional mode. He somehow detected, though, that there was a slight strain and coldness in her voice that had never been there before.

Sighing, he opened his mouth to instruct her about his schedule when a brilliant idea suddenly came into his mind. He blinked, surprised at his plan, before closing his mouth again.

He looked at her for a while and contemplated. 'So, you want me to go to a blind date, huh, Mother?' he asked inside, a small, sneaky smile now growing on his face. Of course every request had a loophole in them, and although Narcissa wanted him to go to a blind date with yet another stranger, she did not really necessarily told him to go alone.

"Cancel all of my schedule for this afternoon," he calmly started, regarding her with an air of authority. "I have an important meeting later this evening, Miss Granger, and I'm afraid your presence is required."

Hermione stared at him, slightly dumbfounded.

"This meeting, if I may add, is of extreme importance and therefore require for those who will attend to wear formal attire," he continued, the lies pouring out of his mouth smoothly. "You must dress yourself decently and formally for this meeting tonight, Miss Granger, and I will be expecting you in my office by six in the evening. Am I making myself clear?"

She blinked, still taking in his words, before silently nodding. "Yes, Mister Malfoy," she answered back.

A satisfied smile grew on his face. "Good," he said, internally breathing a sigh of relief. "Six o'clock, Miss Granger. I'm giving you the remaining time to, for lack of a word, doll yourself up."

Still bemused, his secretary nodded her head and turned around, leaving his office.

Once she was gone, his smile grew into a large one and he stood up, mindlessly stacking the important documents away.

'This would be interesting,' he thought to himself. He then apparated out of his office and into his house, meaning to get ready for his "important meeting" with his secretary and Sophia Shacklebolt.

Hermione fidgeted nervously with the hem of her little black dress before finally stepping inside Malfoy Enterprises.

Like what her boss had ordered her, she immediately apparated back home to "doll" herself up for this seemingly important meeting that he spoke of. It was a little suspicious, seeing that the meeting was not written on his business planner, but Hermione heeded his request nonetheless, as long as it would give her an excuse to be as far away from him as possible.

Mister Malfoy specifically told her to dress formally; thus, she rummaged through the dresses that she had stored inside her wardrobe and picked one. She was finally satisfied with a black dress that Ginny and Jane had picked out for her during one of their shopping days in Diagon Alley. It wasn't really a comfortable dress for Hermione, but exuded enough formalness and even simple beauty.

She had pinned her voluminous hair into a loose bun, some of the strands framing her face painted with light make-up. A small purse was perched on her right arm and as she surveyed herself at one of the glass doors in the company, Hermione thought she looked decent enough.

"What in Merlin's name - !"

Hermione abruptly turned around, recognizing Pepper Sullen's voice, and abashedly smiled upon seeing the surprise on her face. The older witch made a mad dash towards the brunette and held both of her hands, surveying her from head to toe.

"Merlin, Hermione, you look stunning!" Pepper gushed out. "My oh my, how the men in this company gape."

Blushing, the brunette then noticed that some of her colleagues, mostly men, were giving her surprised and admiring stares that made her feel a little uneasy and, dare she say it, flattered.

"What's the occasion?" Miss Sullen asked, hooking her arm with Hermione's as they started to walk towards the lift.

"Umm…" the brunette started, pressing her back against the lift. "Mister Malfoy said we had an important meeting or something like that and he asked me to dress decently."

A perfect eyebow rose on Pepper's face. "An important meeting?" she asked, sounding a little confused. "From what I've heard from General Manager Wilson, Mister Malfoy has a…" Her voice trailed as her eyes widened, looking at Hermione as if she had never seen her before. "Oh."

"What 'oh'?" Hermione asked, frowning.

The company's Chief Financer laughed conspiratorially and waved off her hand. "I cannot believe that blondie would pull something like this," she thoughtfully stated out loud, her eyes glazed in excitement as she stared at the confused brunette.

The lift dinged open, prompting Hermione to step outside.

"Well, do have fun!" Pepper exclaimed, waving her hand enthusiastically. "I'm quite sure it will be a lovely night, Hermione."

Before Hermione could ask Pepper to elaborate her seemingly confusing words, the door of the lift closed and once again moved.

'Odd,' she thought, absentmindedly tucking a stray curl behind her ear.

The hallway was deserted, much to Hermione's relief. She did not want to be stared at again.

Slightly frowning, she started to walk towards her boss' office, her black heels clicking and clacking loudly in the deserted corridor.

Hermione passed her desk and was soon standing outside Mister Malfoy's office. She paused, reluctant to step inside. She nervously smoothed her dress and straightened up, schooling whatever emotion that was present on her face to once again switch into her professional mode.

As usual, she did not bother knocking and merely opened the door. She knew that her boss hated it the most when people suddenly barged into his office without knocking. Even Rupert had pointed it out to her before, but she carelessly brushed that thought away. Besides, she always wanted to rile up Malfoy and walking inside without knocking his door was a good way to start.

Her breath left her lungs when her eyes landed on her boss, standing quite immaculately near his window while gazing outside. He was dressed formally, just like her, with an expensive coat and tie that might cost more than what she was wearing right now. His hair was slicked back, just like his younger days back in Hogwarts.

She pursed her lips, willing her strangely erratic heart to calm itself. Of course, Draco Malfoy was handsome. What was she to expect? It was just a little unfair to her that despite the sworn hate that she would only feel for her boss, there was still a side of her, maybe that naïve seventeen-year-old who poured her everything to his seventeen-year-old self, that still seemed to be affected by his looks.

"Mister Malfoy," she called, noting with relief that her voice held no emotion.

The blond snapped from his stupor and turned around, his mercurial eyes finally landing down at her. There was momentary shock that appeared on his face as his eyes glided down at the length of her form. Immediately, though, he mirrored her expressionless face before staring back at her eyes.

"We will travel by Floo," he started, gesturing at his fireplace. "Just exclaim 'The Grapevine' and you will arrive in the destination."

He then wordlessly turned around and walked towards the hearth. He grabbed a handful of the silver dusts and threw it into the fireplace. The fire turned green and he stepped inside. When he turned around, his eyes quickly landed on hers, before shouting with a booming voice the place where they would meet.

'The Grapevine?' Hermione asked herself, slowly strolling towards the fireplace once the blond once again. Hermione had heard about this magical restaurant before and she clearly remembered that it was an expensive restaurant. Ron had once blubbered to her how he wished to bring Luna someday to this restaurant during one of their anniversaries.

Shaking off the surprise from her head, Hermione threw some Floo powder into the roaring and stepped inside, exclaiming the name of the restaurant as loud as she could.

When she stepped off the fireplace, Draco secretly looked at her form after making sure she wasn't looking.

He silently swallowed, marvelling how the black dress she was wearing hugged her womanly curves. Although it was decent and nowhere near scanty, it still made him think about ridiculous thoughts as he looked at her form.

Cursing silently, he looked away and sighed. He told her to dress formally, not gorgeously. The blond now had this inkling that tonight would be disastrous, especially because he had impulsively brought his secretary to this blind date that his mother had set-up.

While he was fixing himself in his home, Draco started to have second thoughts of bringing Hermione. He was sure that Sophie Shacklebolt would give a small report to his mother, and of course, seeing that the brunette was with him while he was supposedly having a date with the Minister's niece, then his mother would be furious.

All thoughts of a little revenge from his mother were forgotten. Replaced from it was his annoyance to himself for acting impulsively without weighing the pros and cons. He was sure that after today, his mother would be more persistent in finding a bride for him. Draco had this feeling that Narcissa would soon start scouting Purebloods all over the world, sell her son to the rich and popular, and whoever gave the highest bid would win him.

His secretary quickly walked towards him, a peculiar look on her face. Draco licked his lips and turned away, his eyes already scanning the whole room to look for his blind date.

He had spotted her near the back of the restaurant and he sneered. His mother always chose the same place in this restaurant, thinking that perhaps with more privacy, Draco would be able to know more about the women he was to meet.

"Follow me," he ordered mindlessly, meandering through the tables toward the beautiful Pureblood. He could hear Hermione's footsteps from behind and somehow, it was reassuring.

"Miss Shacklebolt," Draco greeted, attracting the attention of Sophie.

She turned her eyes at him at the sound of his voice and smiled prettily, showing off her pearly white teeth. She was wearing a red dress that also showed her wonderful form. Her blonde hair was left down, slightly curled at the end to make it more elegant. Her blue eyes brightened upon seeing him.

"Draco Malfoy," she said, slowly standing up from her seat. "I heard from Narcissa all about you and…" Her voice faltered upon seeing the brunette standing behind him.

Immediately, the blond gestured at his secretary and introduced her. "Miss Sophie Shacklebolt," he said. "This is my secretary, Miss Hermione Granger. I hope you wouldn't mind that I bring her today. I am rather busy today and I'm afraid I must bring my work. I quite assure you that I'd still be glad to have this blind date with you despite my busy schedule."

He could feel how his secretary froze beside him. The surprised look on Sophie's face just proved his suspicions.

"Mister Malfoy." Her voice was smooth, almost flawless, but he could detect an underlying coldness in the tone of her voice. In spite of himself, he smirked. "A word. Please."

Draco smiled politely at the confused Sophie. "If you may excuse us for a while." The Pureblood nodded as the blond turned around, mindlessly following an obviously infuriated brunette towards one of the vacant corridors in the extravagant restaurant.

"You told me this was an important meeting," she spat, rounding about the glare daggers at him.

He calmly met her blazing eyes. "Of course, this is considered as one, Miss Granger," he lightly said. "Miss Shacklebolt is a potential Malfoy bride. Therefore, meeting her is probably one of the most important meetings I had ever done in my whole life."

She bristled. He smirked.

"I'm leaving," she finally said, narrowing her eyes at him in exasperation. "That… Pureblood over there seemed surprised that I tagged along, sir. I'm leaving."

She turned around but he clutched onto her wrist. "Oh no, Miss Granger, I order you to stay," he said, shaking his head. "I wasn't lying when I said that I had to bring my work with me. Seeing that Notts and Bolts had retracted all of its business transactions with us, I had to do a lot of things to make up for the loss."

"Well, I'm sure that can wait until tom - "

"No," he firmly said, much to her chagrin. "You have a choice, Miss Granger. You either go back home, suffer from the effects of your disobedience – need I remind you that you are partially to blame of Nott's rash decision – or you stay here with me and do some of our work."

She darkly scowled. "It wasn't me who fired that blasted bastard," she murmured under her breath. It was still loud enough for Draco to hear and he had to restrain himself from chuckling in amusement – this was the Hermione Granger that he used to know.

"Choose," he urged, prompting her to finally sigh and turn away from him. She stomped back to the table where Sophie sat, Draco in tow.

"Sorry about that," Draco said, sitting across the suspicious blonde while his secretary sat beside him. "So, Miss Shacklebolt, I heard that you…"

Nine o'clock, her watch had stated, and yet Hermione had nothing else to do. While her annoying boss was busy socializing with the Minister's niece, she had to sit down quietly beside Malfoy, observe the conversations between the two, and do nothing.

Malfoy had told her that he still had some business to do regarding the issue about Notts and Bolts, that was why he had brought her with him in what turned out to be a blind date. But up until now, she was neglected, and Hermione was sorely tempted to excuse herself to the toilet and apparate away. The only thing that was keeping her from leaving unannounced was the fact that her boss' eyes were constantly flitting to her side, watching her every move.

'So much for dressing up,' she sullenly thought, aimlessly playing with her dessert.

From what she had observed, Malfoy seemed to be highly interested with the Pureblood. She could also observe that Sophie Shacklebolt felt exactly the same, that was why they were both lost in their own little world, while Hermione helplessly distracted herself with that annoying cherry on her plate that she could not scoop up with her spoon.

"So, Miss Granger," Sophie suddenly piped in, much to her surprise. Hermione's brown eyes landed on her kind, blue eyes, and she reluctantly smiled. "I'm sorry if I were intruding, but I couldn't help myself but notice that ring on your finger. Are you married?"

"Engaged," her boss hastily corrected before Hermione could even answer back. "Although she should have been married now, but her good-for-no… her fiance had chosen his work over her."

Unwittingly, she glared darkly at the blond, able to catch his momentary slip. 'Good-for-nothing?' she spat, irate. 'Between you and Oliver, I think I already know who's more good-for-nothing, you good-for-nothing imbecile.'

"Well, if you don't mind me asking, who are you engaged with?" Sophie asked. "Is it a prominent figure in the Wizarding World?"

"Oliver Wood," Hermione then said, smiling kindly at the witch across from her. "He's currently in Italy for the Quidditch World Cup. We both decided to postpone our wedding for now to give way with his competition."

To her surprise, Sophie's eyes almost bulged out from her sockets. "Oliver Wood?" she asked, almost breathless. "The Oliver Wood? As in the Captain and Keeper of the Puddlemere United?" When Hermione nodded in confusion, a soft squeal of delight escaped from Sophie's mouth. "Oh, I had been a fan for ages. That was why you looked familiar!"

To further surprise Hermione, Sophie grabbed her finger, the one that bore Oliver's engagement ring, and fawned over the piece of jewellery. "I was there when he proposed to you, you know," she said, admiring her ring. "And, mind you, that was the most romantic thing I had ever seen in my whole life! You are so lucky you're engaged to Oliver Wood. Ooh, I am so jealous I could even steal that ring of yours, but of course, I wouldn't do that."

Embarrassed chuckles escaped from the Minister's niece's lips. Hermione chanced a glance at the awfully quiet blond beside her and felt a little triumphant to see that he was unable to suppress a dark scowl on his face. 'Take that, you conniving bastard,' she thought to herself, shifting her eyes back to the Oliver's fan and brilliantly smiled.

"He is brilliant, yes?" Hermione said, trying to put as much admiration at the tone of her voice as possible. "Oliver's first love had always been Quidditch, so I kind of understand that this tournament is important to him. After he comes back, though, he promised me we would marry in an instant." She released a too-girly giggle. "I can't wait."

"Aww," Sophie gushed, holding both of her Hermione's hands and giving it a squeeze. "You two are amazing together! Blimey, I can already imagine how gorgeous your children will be in the future."

Beside her, Draco suddenly choked on his wine. Both of their eyes landed on a suddenly red Malfoy and he glared darkly at Hermione. Involuntarily, she smirked.

"I'm sure you are happy with him," Sophie then said, attracting Hermione's attention back to her. "You're happy with him, aren't you?"

Hermione paused and licked her lips. "Yeah," she finally said, her hold on Sophie's hand slackening. "I am."

With Oliver, she was sure that she would never feel any pain. With Oliver, she was sure that her life would be comfortable and obstacle-free. With Oliver, life would be better because her friends love him (well, except for Jane). With Oliver, Hermione was sure that promises would never be broken. With Oliver, Hermione knew she would never feel the same pain that she had felt when Malfoy left her.

"Well, I'm sure Wood had his priorities jumbled," Malfoy suddenly drawled. Hermione frowned and looked at him. His face was full of resentment, it was almost frightening. When his eyes briefly landed on hers, he tensed and looked away. "Choosing Quidditch over marrying you, Miss Granger?" A loud guffaw escaped from his lips. "If I didn't know better, I think he'd rather marry the sport than you."

"Draco!" Sophie admonished.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. Anger bubbled at the pit of her stomach and she restrained herself from punching the arrogant sod. "Oh, I'm sure you understand Oliver quite well, Mister Malfoy," she spat, prompting him to look at her. "Seeing that your situations had almost been the same."

Realization dawned on his face and he clenched his jaw. 'Good,' she thought, feeling immensely better.

"But I had faith in Oliver," she then continued, her voice laced with conviction. "I know that he will never, ever break his promise to me."

She had struck a chord because his hands on top of the table had clenched into fists. Coolly, she looked back at a startled Sophie and tried to smile. All that she was able to manage was a peculiar grimace. "I had a lovely time, Miss Shacklebolt," she said, slowly standing up from her seat. "I'll make sure that Oliver knows the Minister's niece is an avid fan of his. Now, if you'll excuse me."

Hermione placed the table napkin on top of her plate and turned around, meaning to walk out of the restaurant to get some fresh air.

She debated whether to apparate or to Floo back home, but she thought it would be best if she would have a clear mind before going home.

'How dare he,' she angrily bristled, bending down to remove her heels and hold them in her hands. She continued to walk, barefoot, and ignored whatever what was happening around her environment. 'How dare he insult Oliver when what he did to me was worse.'

Unwanted tears built up at the corner of her eyes and she willed them away. She swore to herself that yesterday's events was the last time she would cry because of Draco Malfoy and she did not want to be a crying mess when she got home.

Loud footsteps reached her ears and she instinctively tried to reach for her wand. It was, after all, quite dark already and Hermione chose to walk in a deserted neighbourhood.

"Miss Granger!"

She tensed, recognizing her boss' voice, and willed her legs to walk faster. She did not want to talk to him now. Not when she was feeling particularly distraught with the events that had happened a while ago.

"I order you to stop!"

She was unable to suppress a snort, quickly looking over her shoulders. They were outside the company now so technically, she was just Hermione Granger and he, Draco Malfoy. "Frankly, sir, I think you should go back to Miss Shacklebolt!" she exclaimed to him. "Don't let me be the reason for you to stop knowing your potential bride!"

"The witch is such a bore," he angrily exclaimed back, huffing behind as he tried to catch up with her. "And I… for Merlin's sake, stop! I'm sorry!"

Quickly, she turned around and gave him a cold smile. "You have nothing to apologize," she said. "Goodnight, Mister Malfoy." She then faced front once again and continued to brisk walk away from him.

She heard him release a frustrated sigh, and the next thing she knew, an invisible force held her into place. She trashed around and tried to reach for her wand. Her immobility also allowed Draco to reach her side almost immediately.

"Let me go," she spat, glaring petulantly at the blond.

Draco caught his breath and ran a frustrated hand through his not-so-immaculate hair. "I'm sorry," he repeated once again. "I was out of line. I'm sorry."

She scoffed and looked away from him. "I'm sure you are," she drawled sarcastically. She desperately wanted to stop her tongue from viciously lashing, knowing that it would not make their situations better, but she couldn't help it.

Malfoy glared. "The fact of the matter is that I am right," he growled at her, extremely annoyed. "Granger, you were supposed to be married to him two months ago. I was merely stating the facts."

A humourless laugh escaped from her lips. "And you think that makes you a better man?" she spat. Draco tensed and glowered darkly at her, but she matched his glare.

'Bastard. Bastard. Bastard,' she chanted inside, desperately trying to reach for her wand again. "This conversation is getting ridiculous," she said through gritted teeth, finally managing to grasp the cool end of her wand. She countered his spell and was soon released from the invisible force. "Goodnight, Mister Malfoy."

She then stiffly turned around and walked away from him, trying to calm her frayed nerves.

"He isn't worthy of you," he suddenly proclaimed, his voice too soft but she was able to hear. She was drawn to an abrupt halt, but did not dare turn around. "I had fervently hoped you chose someone better than me, Hermione."

Hearing her first name rolling from his mouth made something inside her system snap. With a speed that almost rivalled the light, her wand was brandished and pointedly directed at him. She snarled a hex, catching her boss off-guard. The violet stream of light hit him squarely on the chest. Immediately, hair grew all over his body.

Draco released a surprised yelp.

Without any second thoughts, Hermione gripped her wand tighter and apparated.

A/N: Uh oh, what a disaster! But guess who had the best date ever today? Hihi :D Yeah, well, not exactly connected to the story but I'm just too happy to mind hahaha!

So, what did you think? Please do tell me in your reviews!

With love,
WickedlyAwesomeMe