The Marriage Decree

Chapter 28: There Are Two Ways To Eat A Scone

Once outside the shop, Draco takes the bag off of her then takes her hand in his. Hermione guides him towards a little café a few shops away.

"Where are we going next?" He asks, sounding hopeful.

"Well, we've got you some new clothes, I thought we'd go get some lunch." She points towards the café.

Draco smiles happily. "Are we done with shopping?" He asks.

"Yes." She laughs. "For today at least." She adds, making him groan in annoyance. "How do you shop for clothes in the wizarding world?" She asks curiously.

He light embarrassed blush spreads across his cheeks. "I don't, usually." He admits. "I have enough clothes as it is and if I need anything special, like my wedding robes, Madam Malkin knows my measurement so Mitty or my mother would order it for me." He says, avoiding looking at her.

"Well, I won't be ordering your clothes for you so you better learn to do it yourself." She tells him sternly.

"I know how to order clothes." He rolls his eyes. "I just prefer to not waste my time doing so." He adds as they enter the café.

Hermione heads over to an empty table near the window where she tells Draco to sit down.

"What do you want to drink?" She asks him, placing her bag on the table top.

"I'll just have a cup of tea please." He answers.

She turns on her heel, heading over to the counter where a young man is stood in an apron, waiting to serve her.

"Can I have two pots of teas, please?" She orders, glancing up at the chalkboard menu on the wall behind the man.

"Would you like to upgrade it to a cream tea, it's free for today?" He explains.

"Yeah, okay then." She says, handing over the money.

"I'll bring it over for you when it's ready." He tells her after handing her the change.

"Thank you."

She sits down at their table to find Draco staring blankly at the wall behind. She glances around but finds nothing of interest there. She watches him for a moment before reaching across the table to take his hands in hers.

"Are you alright?" She asks, worriedly.

"Yeah." He mumbles, still staring at the wall.

"Are you thinking about Dennis?" She calmly rubs her thumb across the back of his hand.

His eyes shift quickly from the wall to her own, then back again.

"Draco," She squeezes his hand gently to gain his attention. "He's still hurting from the war. I don't think either of us can understand what he's going through but it must be tough to lose the one person who you can share both your wizarding self and muggle self with. They were not just brothers, but best friends and it's going to take him a long time to start to feel better. You saw George at the Burrow on Monday. He tries to smile for the sake of Angelina but when he thinks she's not looking, his smile falters. He doesn't involve himself in conversations anymore unless somebody else initiates it. Of course, he lost his twin brother but I'm assuming Dennis is feeling something similar. You need to give him some more time but I'm confident that one day he'll accept your apology and maybe even forgive you." She tells him.

Draco cups his hands around her as they begin to shake slightly. She tries not to think too much about George and his feelings, especially after the hen and stag night, because it upsets her more than she cares to admit. She knows she's being selfish but sometimes, she just doesn't want to cry.