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The Dating Game	By : saritat9 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 10150 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, and I make no money out of this. No copyright infrigment intended.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
The Dating Game

Chapter 11: A talk with Charles Whitmore
When Draco woke up early next morning after less than full night's sleep, he felt like lowest of the low. A cup of coffee, a refreshing spell and some clean robes later he was ready. Wether he wanted to or not, it was time to see Charles.

= = =

"Draco. This is a...surprise." Charlie yawned wholeheartedly in his green silky pyjamas as he opened the door for one and only Draco Malfoy.

"Charles. Can I come in?"

"By all means." Charlie padded back to his apartment, letting Draco follow him inside. "Want some coffee? You seem a bit...worse for wear."

"Yes, coffee would be fine."

"Wait for me in the living room while I'll put on the coffee and then some clothes."

It was a bit early in the morning to be having this conversation with Draco, but Charlie was convinced that this was the day. He measured a lot of coffee into the machine; he wanted to be fully awake for this one. Hermione deserved her happy end. And Draco sorely needed his.

= = =

"Now. What do I owe the pleasure?" Charles asked politely.

"I want you to tell me what you know about the guy Hermione is in love with and why you two broke up."

"I see. I was afraid of that." Despite his words, Charles seemed calm and there was even a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm going to tell it to you, and I'm going to tell it to you straight. First - I know the man she is in love with."

Draco had expected and hoped as much, but still he found himself gob smacked.

"You do!"

"Yes. I know him quite well."

"It's Harry, isn't it? "he breathed.

"No, not Harry Potter."

"Did you introduce him to her?" Damn Charles and his damned playboy friends.

"No, Hermione has known him for a long time." Charles had the audacity to smile widely at him. Damn hinkypunk!

Suddenly a terrible thought crossed Draco's mind.

"He does deserve her, right? You wouldn't have let her go if he didn't!"

Charles seemed to consider his reply thoroughly.

"He hasn't done well so far, but I'm hoping he'll pick up."

Draco growled. "What's the matter with him?! Doesn't he treat her right?"

Charlie actually laughed. How could he laugh about something like this!

"He has barely noticed her so far. But that's beside the point. The second thing you need to know...we didn't break up. We were never together."

Silence. Draco stared at Charles, not understanding anything anymore. For a moment he felt like Whitmore was speaking some strange language that sounded an awful lot like English but where the familiar words had different meanings.

"What do you mean?" he settled on asking.

"Wonderful Miss Hermione Granger and I were never lovers."

Draco couldn't get his head straight, he could feel it spinning. He felt delighted and outraged, and terribly confused.

"What are you on about, Whitmore!?"

"To explain the whole story, we need to go back a few weeks. A few weeks ago, a friend -or colleague- of mine asked me for a favour. He wanted me to take out his other friend, a woman he had known for years."

"What's this?! Stop playing your games and just give me the simple truth- -"

"AS I WAS SAYING-" Charles continued raising his voice but ignoring Draco otherwise, "He asked me to take out his female friend who had not much of a social life. LATER- " he raised his voice again "I FIND OUT THE REASON HE ASKED ME FOR THIS. It had something or other to do with having brown hair and quidditch."

Draco couldn't stop himself from squirming slightly.

"This poor woman was under the illusion that the friend of hers knew what he was doing and was interested in her welfare. He clearly didn't and wasn't."

"Look, I do not know how you found out and I can imagine what you are thinking- -"

Charlie turned his surprisingly steely gaze at Draco.

"You can't imagine what I'm thinking. Just listen, for once in your life or you will regret it later. That much I can guarantee you."

Charlie went on, explaining how he had convinced the woman - Hermione - to fool her old friend -him - into thinking they were sleeping and doing very wicked things together! It stung. Still, he knew he deserved that and much worse for all the things he'd said and done and thought about her, being smug and conceited without even realizing it. And wasting his time with women like Isabelle while feeling pity towards "lonely poor old Hermione".

"...I started to understand that he had feelings for his friend that he didn't even realize he had."

Draco could feel an awkward blush forming on his cheeks. He wanted to deny it, he wanted to rant and rail, but what would be the use. Charles bloody Whitmore knew the truth, Draco knew the truth, and nothing would change that.

"Oh, he covered it all up in casual conversation and friendly concern but he looked like he wanted to bludgeon me to death with a candlestick every time I was near her or talked about her. Then there was the Ball...where he got so upset and jealous over how amazing she looked that he even called her a slut."

Charles sighed, gathered more strength, and continued.

"But the woman was in love with someone as well. This man makes her knees weak and her body melt, she told me so herself. And if you won't take my word for it, you can see it on her face when she even thinks about him."

"Who?! Who is Hermione in love with?" Draco cried, unable to listen to Charles for a second longer.

"What do you think?"

"Whitmore! If you won't tell me right now I swear to Merlin I will- -"

"It's you, you twit." Charles stated simply, as if commenting on the strong coffee.

Draco felt his heart stop, his body was over flown with a strange tingly feeling that almost hurt.

"I think I'm going to...pass out." he managed to croak.

"Why? The hard part's over. And Malfoy, listen to me carefully: you do not want to screw this up. If you continue the way you're headed, after a few years you'll be like me. I enjoy my life and I have fun and I know a lot of people, the right and the wrong, but no one would miss me if I was gone. They'd miss my money maybe, but not me."

"What are you saying?"

"What I'm saying Draco, is that if you even have the slightest chance of being with a woman like Hermione Granger, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU STILL DOING HERE? "

Draco gaped at Charles, not quite knowing what to do after this strange pep-talk.

"Go, Malfoy, go! And plan carefully how to make it up to her! She deserves some romance and some lust!"

Lust. Lust. The bottom fell out of Draco's stomach.

"I may already have messed this up beyond repair. I saw Hermione last night, and things didn't turn out well"

"Tell me."

"I was just supposed to kiss her...at least I had not planned on doing more, necessarily. But we ended up...uh...I tried to pleasure her but I hurt her. She told me to leave."

= = =

Men.

Charlie knew he was one as well, but in situations like these he felt like there ought to be a third class of gender.

He took a deep, steadying breath before turning back to Draco.

"You stupid, stupid...man!"

"What?! I didn't mean to hurt her, I didn't want to hurt her, I don't understand how any of it happened, I wasn't being rough- -"

"What - exactly - did - you - do?" Charlie asked slowly.

Draco seemed shy about talking something he had done with Hermione, they were private affairs. Charlie understood this well but this was too important.

"Draco?"

"I was...going down on her and she seemed to enjoy it, but when I used my finger..."

Just what Charlie had been afraid of. Problem clear but far from solved.

"Aha. I see. You should've asked her, even in the heat of the moment, but some of this is my fault as well, going on about her supposed tightness and talents in the bedroom."

Truth started to dawn on Draco.

"You mean... you mean she is- -"

"Well she was."

"Oh my sweet Merlin. What have I done. She'll never forgive me."

"You took something that cannot be replaced, but you can make it up. You can make it better. And I'll help you. God knows it's starting to look like you need help in this department when it comes down to someone you love."

Draco couldn't disagree there.
- 11
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- 13
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The Dating Game