Lost Control- Dramione Fanfiction

20. Unwanted Surprises

Draco had received Hermione's message loud and clear. The nervous little elf had returned to Draco's kitchen and hesitantly passed it on. But he wasn't prepared to listen. Instead, he took Harry's advice and left the room to think of something even more extravagant to impress Hermione Granger with.

Harry had said all he needed to do was make her smile. Once she smiled, she would be willing to talk things through with him. That's all he wanted, just the opportunity to apologise and, this time, not choke on his own words.

****

Hermione had spent the week fending off unsolicited mail from Draco Malfoy. Wilting bunches of flowers now littered the edges of her office, boxes of chocolates and sweets sat, uneaten on her side table, and the remnants of Draco's latest stunt lay scattered across her carpet.

Hermione had received a message that morning from Harry asking if he could meet her in her office urgently and privately. She thought it was strange that he had bothered to ask, usually he just waltzed straight in. But she sent off her reply anyway, clearing her schedule and forbidding any deliveries to avoid any interruptions.

She paced her office nervously as the time Harry would arrive approached. If he had sent a memo announcing his need for her undivided time, then it must have been urgent. Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud knocking at her door. Racing over and pulling it open she was immediately bombarded by rose petals that seemed to have exploded out of nowhere. After recovering from the shock, she looked around the corridor to try to find the person responsible. But no one was there. Instead, she looked down to find a box. And sitting inside the box, with a pretty ribbon tied around it's neck was the tiniest little ginger kitten Hermione had ever seen.

Forgetting her angst almost instantly, she picked up the kitten with excitement and held it to her chest. The little animal purred and buried its head into her long, wavy locks.

Walking away from the door, she placed the kitten on her desk, and watched it eagerly as it stubbled to it's feet and sniffed around her desk. She noticed a note attached to the ribbon and immediately her mood shifted. She knew exactly what this was. She had been set up and Harry was in on it! Carefully pulling the note off the ribbon Hermione opened it and sighed in defeat:

Hermione,

Meet Polly. I saw her in Diagon Alley, and she reminded me so much of Crookshanks that I just had to get her for you.

I know that you have been ignoring my gifts. And I don't mind. All I want is the opportunity to beg for your forgiveness. All I am asking, please-

Hermione crumpled the piece of parchment into a ball and threw it across the room before she finished reading the letter. Following the ball with her eyes, little Polly jumped off the desk and chased after it. It had been such a sweet gift. But she just couldn't say yes to Draco. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing his face again.

Watching Polly run across the room filled her heart with so much joy. Then she remembered what Harry had done and she scowled. Summoning a piece of parchment and a quill she wrote a memo requesting his immediate presence.

****
Polly ran across the floor as Harry sat solemnly in the chair in front of Hermione's desk. Hermione had been pacing the floor spluttering in anger at Harry for almost half an hour. Harry wished he knew what she was saying but she was so flustered she hadn't yet managed to form a complete sentence.

Eventually, as he watched Polly chase her tail around in a circle, Hermione sputtered "Harry! How could you?"

Dragging his eyes away from the kitten he looked up at Hermione as started laughing. She was standing there, hair wild, face flushed with her arms crossed tightly. "Mione, why are you so upset about this?"
Because Harry," she pressed, "Because the last thing I want to do is see Malfoy!"

Harry continued to smile playfully at her, "But Mione, you love him, he loves you. Just kiss and make up!" Harry couldn't believe he was encouraging her to forgive Draco but, after a year of watching her mope around, he knew fixing this was the only way she would be happy. She was just too stubborn to admit it.

Hermione sighed dramatically and sat forcefully down in her chair, "Harry, I don't think you understand-" But Harry interrupted her before she could continue. He was sure that whatever excuse she was about to use, he had heard it before.

"Hermione, listen to me. Draco is making a huge effort for you to notice him. All he wants is to say sorry. If you don't want to be with him then that's fine but," he leaned across the desk to get closer to her, "at least give him the chance to apologise so I can stop trying to come up with ways to keep you in your office so he can give you another gift." And with that, he lent back into his chair and smiled, taking in the view of Hermione as she pondered what he had said.

Hermione knew she was being a coward. He had broken her heart, sure, and it still hurt whenever she thought of him. But she was also mildly impressed with the effort he had put in the last few weeks and, she had to admit to herself, the thought of forgiving him had crept into her mind once or twice.

Sighing in defeat she mumbled, "fine. I'll talk to him."

"Great!" Harry stood up and clapped, knowing that he no longer had to keep up any sort of friendly communication with Draco. "Excellent. I'll see you later then." Before almost skipping out the door in excitement.

Hermione was left sitting alone in her office, the only sound was Polly's tiny feet running across the carpet. Smiling, she picked up her quill and wrote a letter to the boy she was madly in love with.