the cat cafe ✞ dramione

nine; thank you, malfoy.

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"so, what is it? are you two dating?" padma asked excitedly as they packed away their things. they'd just spent the last few hours working on their essays together in the library, taking very few breaks because if anyone was as studious as hermione granger, it was padma patil. they were two peas in a pod when it came to academics.

dinner began about twenty minutes ago but they'd been so engrossed in a transfiguration problem they hadn't even noticed the time slip by. despite that, hermione leisurely packed up her stationary kit as she gave the ink some extra time to air dry (it was a new product harry had gifted her for her birthday and it took mere seconds to dry quickly). she also wanted to avoid padma's questioning.

however, padma patil was not just studious. she was irritatingly stubborn too.

"you and draco," the ravenclaw continued as she rolled up her parchments, snapping them together with elastic bands. they were her drafts anyway. "don't think i missed you guys at breakfast the other day. and i saw you on the grounds."

clearing her throat, hermione answered shortly. "we're not dating."

how could they even date when she didn't even like the blond? he was arrogant, invasive, a little too passive for her liking and too much of an enigma to produce any feelings for. how could she like someone she didn't even know? hermione knew what everyone else did; the stuff published in books, papers and magazines or the ever active rumour mill hogwarts boasted. she knew he did drugs, too. he never wore the proper school uniform. she also knew he liked irritating her. and watching her prance around in a cat-maid costume.

she also knew he looked quite dashing in jewellery. in warm colours. his face lit up when he smiled. his eyes were such an odd shade of silver-grey. he had an eidetic memory. he's wickedly intelligent even if his grades didn't reflect that at the moment. he's very good at quidditch. he looked very good in his uniform, too.

she didn't like him. she didn't. she'd swear it on her grave.

"are you sure? i think you two would be so cute together," padma sighed as she adjusted the strap of her bag on her shoulder. hermione fell into step next to her and the two made their way out of the nearly empty library, nodding at madam pince as they walked by her. "it's, like, romeo and juliet. without all the dying though."

"malfoy and i are the furthest things away from romeo and juliet," hermione huffed, pushing the library door open. she held it for padma to walk through then followed after her. "he's an arse, padma. plus, you know how i feel about ron -"

"you don't like ron," padma cut in. she said it as if it were an irrefutable fact. just like saying professor snape was unnecessarily cruel. hermione felt a slight shot of indignation in her chest, her mouth opening to lash out unfairly at her friend, but padma beat her to it. "other than when you gave ron detention, when was the last time you spoke to him? sat down and had a nice old chat? merlin, have you even thought of him since you and malfoy -" she paused, her lips twisting thoughtfully. "well. when did you and malfoy start this thing? how did it happen?"

hermione's brain froze momentarily. there was so much to take in all in the span of a few minutes and she couldn't process it all as fast as she wished she could. how could she spin this in a way without outing her mentioning her job? of course padma knew she worked but she just told those who cared to ask that she was a waitress a few towns over. if she said she met malfoy there then they'd ask for the location so they could visit and say hello but they couldn't know about her damn cat ears. it was already too much that malfoy, seamus, dean and justin knew. and, sure, they hadn't used it against her - the thickheaded trio even going as far as to support her 'hustle', as justin said once - but what if padma found it weird? what if harry thought it was gross?