Signum Vitalis (a dramione story)

In which there is not a turkey

His voice hesitated just a little as he said her name. It was awkward, pausing overly long on the syllables. It was like that whenever she met someone new, but she shivered.

"No, I wouldn't mind, Draco."

He gulped and then his shoulders relaxed. "Good." He briefly regarded her and then swallowed again. "I mean... that's good. That you want to."

Once outside of WiNY, the wind whipped against them and through Hermione's cardigan. She pulled it a little closer. Why had he asked her that? Did it mean something beyond the stated obvious? Had he felt, like her, that their use of last names had become awkward? She bit her lip.

Draco looked back at her, observing her gnawed lip and shook his head.

"They are Muggles, Gr- I mean, Hermione." He said her voice in a quieter tone, like he was thinking about it. About her.

"They aren't going to recognize you or me or even Harry Potter. They would just say, who is this chap with the large forehead? Wait, he's just got an abnormally sized head. Oh, and what an ugly scar. Sorry gent, isn't he?"

Hermione giggled a little. "They would not. Harry has a perfectly normal sized head."

"I'm not sure if you should be a judge of that either, Hermione."

Distracted by her name, it took a couple seconds. "Hey!"

He grinned again.

"Oh, and you are a good judge, Mr. I-need-a-whole-separate-atmosphere-for-my-ego?"

He was still smiling but now it was quizzical. "Atmosphere?"

"It's the layers of air between us and space." She pointed above them.

He looked up at the sky darkened with clouds. "Huh. Good one."

They continued on, their conversation light and friendly. As they approached a set of apartment buildings, Draco held out a hand in front of her.

"Samir... he's going to be wearing a sword."

"A sword?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Why would he-"

"He's Sikh. He usually wears a small dagger but on special occasions he likes to wear his bigger one. It's one of the articles of his faith he is required to wear-"

"-yes. I know." Hermione interrupted.

He titled his head towards her and gave her a half smile. "Just don't hex him, Hermione, alright?"

Hermione straightened and nodded, giving him a weak smile. "I think I can manage that."

It turned out that they were both wearing swords: Samir and his wife, Harjeet. It was more obvious on Samir, who wore a blazer over a t-shirt, but Harjeet's sword was almost lost in the loose fabric of her top. Hermione might not have noticed it without Draco's warning and if it had not become her habit to scan people for threats.

After Draco has introduced them to Hermione, Harjeet turned a smile towards her. "It is so nice to meet you, Hermione," the woman told her in a faint British accent. "Draco has never brought a date before."

"Oh, erm," Hermione stumbled. "We're not-"

"Just friends," Draco supplied over her shoulder. "I'm still not dating anyone, Harjeet."

Harjeet turned a speculative eye between the two before leading them into her apartment. It was sparsely furnished but the pieces that were there were beautiful and well matched. Draco immediately was drawn towards the small television in the corner where Samir was adjusting the antenna for better reception.