Fraternizing with the Enemy - Dramione

Ch. 6

After landing in the foyer of the admittedly beautiful restaurant, Hermione gave herself a moment to look around and take in the beautiful décor.

"Miss?"

She turned to see the maître d' looking at her curiously, and he gave her a knowing smile as she approached the stand. "Ah, Miss Granger! Mister Malfoy is waiting for you; may I take your coat please?"

The smile he gave her was somewhat unsettling only because she wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he knew who she was as soon as she turned around, but she brushed it off as she pulled her coat off and handed it to him. He draped it over his arm and then stepped down from his stand, gesturing towards the dining room.

"If you would follow me, please."

She did so without a word, and as they entered the dining room she noticed almost immediately that the tables were arranged in such a way that a makeshift walkway was formed, and at the end of it was a table away from others where she saw him.

Even from across the room she could make out the smile that formed on his face when she entered the room, though she couldn't tell if it was because he was about to make it very clear she was there to join him by forcing her to walk past everyone else that was dining or not.

At least his attempts at embarrassing people have gotten more creative, she thought to herself as she followed the maître d' through the room.

Sure enough, she could feel eyes on her and an excited buzz steadily grew throughout the room as the other diners realized who she was there to meet. One set of diners in particular caught her eye and she looked to see Harry and Ginny sitting a few tables in, both grinning smugly at her. Rolling her eyes as she shook her head, she ignored the excited snickering from her friends as her attention moved with Malfoy standing up as they neared the table.

She'd be lying if she said that she didn't think he looked handsome; the thought itself seemed to surprise her and yet she couldn't find something negative to say about his appearance. The three-piece suit he wore was fitted perfectly, with a black jacket and vest paired with a charcoal-colored shirt and black tie.

The world snapped back into place as the maître d' stopped in front of her and she stopped as well, blinking a few times.

"Miss Granger, sir," The maître d' announced before pulling her chair out. He then nodded to Malfoy and smiled at her as he walked away towards the front room.

"I have to say, I'm a little surprised that you decided to join me."

She turned to see him smiling at her and he gestured towards her chair as he began to sit back down as well. As she sat down and set her clutch on the table next to her, she admitted, "I am too, if I'm being honest."

"I believe honesty is a good trait to have these days," He said with a smile before gesturing towards a bottle between them. "I took the liberty of ordering a bottle early so that it could have time to breath a little; do you mind red?"

"Not at all, I happen to love reds." She watched as he poured her glass first before pouring his. "I didn't take you for someone who enjoys wine."

He raised an eyebrow at this as he sat back in his chair. "Really? What did you think I would drink?"

"Whisky seems a little more appropriate for your stature."

With a short laugh, he answered, "You're pictured one time in the Prophet holding a glass of whisky and that's all people think of."

She couldn't help but laugh slightly at this too before saying, "Yes well, the Prophet enjoys misconstruing things and people just eat it up for some reason."