Work Text:
Matchmaker
Hermione inhaled and took in the certainly unaccounted for scene right before her very eyes. At half past four in the afternoon, instead of getting her auror work done in the Ministry, she was wearing a blue muggle dress and sitting by the window at a coffee shop in London to have an espresso with a blonde man Ginny set her up with. Hermione definitely found it shocking when she first learned a few years ago that her friend had started her career as a legitimate matchmaker, and that her business was skyrocketing. She found it more shocking that such a job was even legal in the Wizarding World. Alas, Ginny the Love Expert had set her up on one of those matching ceremonies (ehem, blind date, in Hermione's inexplicably accurate dictionary).
Ginny once dramatically persuaded at Hermione's doorstep of everyone's need of a love interest, though that didn't explain the possibility of someone being left out just because there were an odd, rather than even number of humans on Earth. After all, legal couples always came in pairs. Hermione decided to not say anything about it.
Hermione mentally slapped herself. How did Ginny convince her to waste her afternoon with— Draco Malfoy!? That's right, the Draco Malfoy. As usual, he was being a pompous and painstakingly rich brat. However, a not as usual sight was what he was wearing— muggle wear: a simple white polo with its long sleeves neatly cuffed at the ends (Hermione wondered if it was from the Regatta store a few blocks away), well tailored jeans and the unmistakable Timberlands. Merlin, Draco had more money than she thought.
He and Hermione had met outside the glass door with surprisingly the same idea: to arrive thirty minutes early just to be sure, since halfway through the trip to the coffee shop, they'd have been frantically self-debating on whether the meetup time was four or four-thirty. Anyway, Draco raised a perfect—ly questionable and overdramatic brow. "What," he started, "are you doing here?" "I believe I have more liberty to ask you the same thing, Malfoy." Draco scoffed.
"Lady Weasel—"
"Hey, that's not nice—"
"No one wanted your opinion—"
"Hey! You—"
"Kindly not interrupt my monologue, thank you very much. Anyway, Lady Weasel set me up with someone to suit my love interests. While I absolutely cannot trust any member of that gingerly unacceptable family, I do trust statistics, and hers are promising, so here I am, thirty minutes early to be a gentleman to some surprise woman who I hope will not just fawn over my good looks and charming charisma. And what is this attire that people of your species call fashion! You muggles have no sense of style at all. Now if you'll excuse me, I—" Draco was cut off by Hermione tearing up with her horrendous 'broken windshield wiper' laughter. Draco exhaled an exasperated sigh.
"What?"
In between breaths, Hermione puffed, "I—you—Merlin help—us—I'm your—" "My what—" "Your blind date! And you're my blind date, so it looks like you have to be a gentleman to me! Oh my, Draco, could your bratty self pull off such a feat?" Draco stared at her, pale eyebrows excessively furrowed. Suddenly, he drew an extremely wicked grin. He batted his ridiculously long and curly eyelashes and in one swift motion, waved his fallen bangs to the back.
"I can't be a gentleman, huh? One of my most favorite things to do is proving you wrong, my sweet darling."
"Now that's just pure mockery, prat."
"Hermione Granger! You absolutely offend me but I shall continue showering you with compliments and affectionate words."
"You can't possibly do that—"
"We'll see." And just like that, Draco flashed his million dollar smile and held out an arm for his date. "Ready to go, my smart sweetheart? I've been waiting for weeks to get to you—" Draco gulped. Hermione was already shooting death glares at him. "What do you mean you've been waiting for weeks? Did you set this whole masquerade up? How did Ginny even agree to this—oh, no wonder she talks about you sometimes. You're friends! You lot planned this, without my knowledge? I—"
"I, er, yes. I'm sorry." Hermione flipped her currently tamed locks. "Oh, so you like me then, Malfoy dear?" "Why, Granger dear, can you say you were disappointed to find out it was me you'd be on a blind date with?" "... I guess not."
Needless to say, Hermione wouldn't stop talking to Ginny about Draco (who had actually liked her since they met again after the war) and his glistening charm, for 3 whole weeks on end.
Perhaps the certainly unaccounted for scene Hermione had witnessed wasn't so bad.