AN: I don't not, nor ever will (unfortunately) own the Harry Potter characters. I just read the wonderful stories and wish I could write that well and creatively.
This is my first story and I know I'm not as creative as most of your guys so please review and give me hints!
A/N: I noticed today (as I'm having writers block) that I have switched from first person to third person. A horrible writing error that has been corrected.
"How about him? Or him? Oh, that one's cute!" Shopping with her mum had been fun until the local football team showed up. Hermione's mom has been complaining now for about a month that Hermione needed to expand her social life, which really meant, "You need a man." The football team running by provided an opportunity for her mum to take 'window shopping' to a new level.
"Yes, they are cute, but did you know that hitting all of those balls on their heads ruins their brains?" Mum just smiled. Hermione continued, "I'm just not looking for love right now. I am very happy with my life. I have a good job, good friends and I don't need the complications of love."
"What about the fun of love?"
"I can do without it. When it happens, it will happen. I don't want to chase men around in the meantime and end up with meaningless relationships. Don't worry."
"Ok, ok. Hmm. Hermione, let's check out this shop. I need a new bag."
The rest of the day went pretty well and Hermione said goodbye to her mom and headed towards her flat. She loved visiting with her mum and usually would go home for dinner, but any more talk about her love life would put Hermione in a rather nasty mood. She preferred her mum to like her.
Hermione loved living in the city, but when she found the perfect job doing fieldwork for the Ministry of Magic, she chose to move out to the countryside. She was still close to London, only about an hour or two's drive, and Hermione had come to appreciate the quite nature of her new home. As she walked up a small hill towards her building, she heard someone calling her name.
"Hermione! Wait up!" Ginny Weasley called to her, breathless. Hermione stopped, smiled and waited for her good friend to catch up. Ginny may be younger than her, but she was more fun to hang out with than most people were. Although the relationship with her brother Ron didn't work out, they still acted like sisters.
"Whew! I'm glad I caught you! Come on! Let's go to The Jolly Bog so I can tell you the news!" Ginny's red hair was a bit wild like always and it looked like she just came from work. Ginny ended up following the path of her elder brother, but instead of watching dragons, Ginny was an all-around vet for all animals; magical and not. They used to share a flat, but after Ginny brought home her 5th dog to add to the 3 bunnies, 4 cats, fish and birds, Hermione suggested she find a place with a yard. She now lives down the road from Hermione's flat.
"What news?" Hermione asked, curious. Ginny always had the best news about people in town. Because she had all the information, Hermione was less inclined to date any of them, but it's better to know about faults before you are in love, right?
"Oh, come on! I knew you hadn't heard the news yet!" She said, tugging at Hermione's robes. Hermione followed dolefully, her curiosity piped. They found an open table in The Jolly Bog and sat their stuff down. Ginny went up to order drinks, fish and chips.
While she was at the bar, Hermione looked around and noticed that most of the women seemed more excited than usual. Usually when the football team ran by the pub all of the women would watch, but today they seemed happier to gossip among themselves. "What is going on?" Hermione wondered.
Just then, she thought she saw something familiar out of the corner of her eye. A flash of a man with silver blonde hair registered in her mind before he was gone. Something seemed familiar, but Hermione couldn't place it. Did she know him? It was rare for people she knew to come to this little town without her knowledge. Hermione was pondering the image when Ginny came back with our drinks.
"Did you see him?" She gasped, very excited.
"Who?"
"Who? I think you must be the only girl to not know! Draco Malfoy has moved into the old Carney estate outside of town! Not only is he incredibly handsome now, he is incredibly rich! Have you seen the estate? It's huge! And gorgeous!"
"Wait – Draco has moved here? Are you sure? Why is he here? What does he want? Wait, did he just walk by?"
"Yea, I just saw him. I saw him look in here too, but I think the large number of girls scared him away. 'Mionie, they say that after Harry, Draco is the most eligible bachelor in London, if not all of Europe! And he's now living in our little town! Wow, do you think he will remember us?"
"How could he forget?" Hermione thought gloomy back to our time at Hogwarts. Draco and his goons had defiantly not been friends to her friends or her. She was perfectly happy to leave Draco and all ties to him at Hogwarts. What was he doing here now? And living in the Carney estate? Her happy flat would seem so, well, poor compared to his home. Not that he earned his housing through work – his family was one of the richest in the wizard community, but she always wanted to show that pure-blood, coincided boy that her little muggle-blood self could do just as good as him, if not better.
Draco's own work was quite admirable, really. For such a self-centered git in school, Draco had developed into a respectable man. He had proven that he would not follow the ways of his father and had used his money to sponsor many charities for various causes. Mostly magical causes, but Hermione had noticed last year a significant Malfoy contribution to the Golden Valley Foundation for the Understanding of Muggles. Not that that made me want to start an acquaintance with him again, but she hated to think of the way they left their relationship.
"Oh, don't worry about that! That was years ago! I bet that if he remembers us, he will invite us for tea." Ginny's eyes lit up with excitement. "Can you imagine us at his home! What would we wear!"
The rest of the evening was spent with Hermione trying to get Ginny to realize that, past or not, the chances of them going to Draco's house were slim. Finally, they headed out of the pub and to our separate homes. As Hermione climbed into bed, she wondered how her lovely town would change with the aristocratic Malfoy in town, but finally resolved to not worry about it until a change occurred.
Ok, no Draco in this chapter! Please review and let me know what you think of it so far. I have an idea of where this is going, but I want to hear your options and any suggestions you have. This is a Hermione and Draco romance, but you have to wait a bit for it to go all the way. The rating may change, but I like PG for right now since I want to build the story a bit.