Rags to Riches

Chapter 3

Hermione woke to the feel of somone tugging on her arm. She mumbled and opened her eyes and found a house elf smiling brightly at her.

"Hello Miss Hermione. I am Tessi, your House Elf. Mrs Miranda ask me to wake you, so you can get ready for dinner. I have drawn a bath for you and layed out some towels. If you need anything, call me and I will be here." said the elf.

"Thank you, Tessi" Hermione said as she sat up in bed. She glanced over to her clock. It was almost 5 and dinner was being served at 6. She jumped out of bed and went to the bathroom for a quick bath.

30 minutes later, Hermione emerged from the steam filled bathrom, the smell of strawberries drifting into her bedroom.

She made her way her way to her walk-in closet and was amazed at what she saw, hundreds of dress robes for all occasions and even some muggle clothes. She new this dinner was important, so she decided to wear something semi dressy.

But what was she suppose to wear, dress robes or muggle atire.

She took her chances of not wearing the dress robes and decided on a black skirt, that hung an inch above the knee, and an aqua blue blouse, which showed a bit of her cleavage, the sleeves loosely falling half way down her arms. She found matching flip flops and quickly spelled her toenails and finger nails to have a french manicure on them, her fingernails growinf half an inch.

Now it was time to tackle her hair. She looked into her mirror and stared at her rats nest. She needed a change.

She said a spell which made her hair shorten from her mid back to just below her shoulders, and another spell to defrizz it and turn it from tight curls to silky loose ones that bounced, whe you'd walk.

She then applied some light smokey eyeliner and pink tinted lip gloss and was ready for dinner.

Hermione left her room and made her way down the stairs. She stopped as she heard voices coming from the parlor.

"Cissa, I can't believe how quickly Draco recovered from his treatments." said Miranda.

'Narcissa and Draco Malfoy are friends with my parents?' Hermione thought to herself
.
"Yes I know. My poor darling was being Imperioused by that bastard ex-husband of mine. And for most of his life. The doctors said he was one of the lucky few who recover so quickly. I'm just so happy to have my real son back" she said.

'Wow, Draco's been under the Imperious Curse most of his life. Hmm. I wonder what the real Draco Malfoy is like' Hermione thought.

She decided it was time to make her appearence.

She walked sown the rest of the stairs and made her way to the parlor. She stood at the open door way and gazed at the people who sat with their backs to her.

Hermione cleared her throat to gain their attention.

The four looked around and Miranda was the first to react.

"Oh Hermione, you look so grown up." she said as she walked toward the girl, took her hand and led her to the couch. She was relieved to see all of them were wearing muggle atire, dressy, but casual.

"Narcissa, Draco, this is Hermione." she said happily.

Narcissa stood up and greeted Hermione.

"Its a pleasure to meet you, Hermione." said Narcissa sweetly.

"Its very nice to meet you too, Mrs Malfoy"sahe said shaking the elder womans hand.

"And this is my son, Draco. I assume you kow him from school?" asked Narcissa.

Hermione gazed at Draco, his hair was still platinum blond, and his skin pale, but his eyes, they were different, they were blue. He was wearing a black button up dress shirt, which was untucked, kakhi pants, and black casual shoes. She hated to admit it but he looked amazing.

"Hello, Draco. Its nice too see you again" she said as he tucked some hair behind her ears.

"Likewise, Hermione." he said. She noticed his voice was different too. It wasn't the harsh one she new so well, but one with feeling behind it. She liked it.

"Dinner is served". a house elf announced. The small group made their way to the dining room for a hearty wholesome dinner and conversations.

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After dinner the adults retreated to the parlor for som drinks while Hermione and Draco made their way to the entertainment room.

At first it was awkward, but then Draco broke the silence.

"Hermione?" he said nervously. She turned and looked at him.

"I want to apologize for the way I treated you at school." he said looking into her eyes.

Hermione sighed sadly. She walked over to him and led him to the couch.

"Its not you fault. I overheard the conversation and I was surprised at what I heard." she said.

"I remember every thing I said to you, and I feel awful. I was trying so hard to fight the curse." he said, looking at his hands.

"Draco, your father was a very powerful wizard. You were a child. There was no way you could fight it." she said sympathetically to him.

"I know. Thats what the doctors and my mother said to me." he said sadly. "Is there any way, you could give me a second chance?" he asked hopefully.

"Oh, Draco, everyone deserves a second chance, no matter how cruel or vile they were" she said, placing her hand over his. he looked up and smiled. A real smile, not a smirk, a genuine smile. It was the most beautiful smile she had ever seen.

"Professor Dumbledore told me I'm to be resorted when school begins, considering the circumstances." he said happily.

"Thats great. Any particular house you would want to be sorted into?" she asked.

"Surprisingly, Ravenclaw. I am smart and knowlgeable. I like to learn new things too" he said.

"I think you should be in Gryfindor. It took alot of courage and bravery to go through the treatment you had to endure" she said.

He smiled.

"So what do you want to do" she asked.

The famous Malfoy smirk made its way across his face.

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At 9 pm, Narcissa was ready to retire home. The adults hadn't heard any noice from the kids in hours and were curious wht they were up too.

They made their way to the entertainment room and knocked on the door. No one answered.

"Hermione" David called as he knocked again.

Finally, David opened the door and a blast of music hit the three adults. Inside, they found Hermione and Draco DDRing, Draco had taken his black dress shirt off and was wearing a black muscle shirt, showing off his toned body.

Hermione had changed into black stretchy pants and a pink tank top, and her loose curls pulled back in a pony tail.

The adults let the two finish the game and a few laughs at how poorly draco was doing.

"Bloody Hell, how did you do that. You got a double a and I get a d-minus." he said trying to catch his breath.

"I've been DDRing for years. Practice makes perfect" she said as she smiled and took a swig of her water.

"Are you ready to go Draco?" asked his mother from behind the teens.

Draco nodded. "Yes mother. I need to shower, Im all sweaty" he said grabbing his shoes and shirt.

Miranda, David, and Hermione walked the Malfoys to the door.

"How about having dinner at our place tommorow?" suggested Narcissa.

"That would be wonderful." said Miranda.

"Great, 6 oclock then?" asked Narcissa.

The couple nodded.

"Goodnight Draco." said Hermione smiling at her new friend.

"Goodnight, Hermione" he replied. He then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

Butterflies emerged in her stomace and a blush crept to her cheeks.

The Malfoys left and Hermione turned to Miranda and David.

" I think I'm going to shower and go to bed early. I haven't slept well lately." she said.

"Of course, dear. We'll see you in the morning." said Miranda.

Hermione hugged the two adults and made her way to her room.

When she got there, she closed the door and leaned against it. Her hand went to the place where Draco kissed her. It was still warm and tingling.

She couldn't wait till tommorw when she could see him again.

After a quick shower, Hermione changed into her pajama's, crawled under the covers, and in minutes fell into a dream filled sleep.


A/N If any one doesn't know what DDR is, its Dance Dance Revoulution. It a game where you follow arrows on a mat to your left, right, front, and back to the beat of the music. Anyways as always thanks for reading and please review!