Gravity

Chapter 22

"Hi."

"Hi," Draco said, forcing himself not to rub his eyes in disbelief at the sight before him. He stood just inside the front door, looking out at the last person he expected to see.

"May I come in?" she asked.

"Oh. Um, okay." A feeling of panic welled in him as he let her into his home.

She walked a few steps into the house then stopped, and turned around to him.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked automatically.

"That sounds lovely," she said.

While he prepared the tea, she sat at the table, examining what she could see of the house as though she hadn't been there a hundred times or more.

When it was ready, he sat across from her, placing the sugar bowl between them and letting her retrieve two cubes before reaching for his one. She stirred her tea slowly, appearing deep in thought.

The silence was beginning to get to him, so he asked, "What are you doing here, Hermione?"

"It's nice to see you too, after all this time," she retorted, sipping casually at her tea, unconcerned about his state of agitation.

"Yes, well, I didn't expect to see you ... today," he said, feeling his usual ambivalence at her presence. This time, however, his feelings leaned toward happy to see her.

"The thing is, it's been weeks since I've seen you. I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" he asked.

She shrugged, not looking at him. "Nothing in particular ... or something. It doesn't matter."

"So ... you're here because-"

"I missed you, all right?" she said, frustrated. "Is that so terrible? I hadn't realized that I would be agreeing to an extended absence. I'm not going to ... press you, or make things hard, but I didn't see the harm in dropping by."

He sighed, warmed more by her words than by his tea. "You're lucky I was here," he said, taking a sip from his cup. "I'm rarely here during the day of late, and I've only got about half an hour before I have to leave again."

Hermione nodded. "Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

Draco shrugged. "Work, and more work."

She smiled. "Sounds exciting."

"Tremendously," he said, swirling his tea.

"Draco ... I've been thinking," she said, picking absently at the edge of the table.

He suspected the real reason behind her visit was about to be brought to his attention. If she hadn't already said she missed him, he would have been terrified that she was about to say she'd changed her mind, that she regretted kissing him and wasting her time on him.

"Oh?" he said. "What about?"

"Well, you," she responded immediately, finally looking at him.

Merlin, he missed her too. "What about me?"

"We have to talk about this," she said frankly. "If this isn't a good time, that's fine, but I will come back later, and it will be soon. It's up to you."

"Talk about what, exactly?" he asked.

"The last time I was here, you said you needed time, and that's fine. However, I think I have a right to know just what I'm waiting for and when you think you might get around to dealing with it. I have waited a long time for you, and if I'm going to keep waiting, I need a reason."