Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Hermione's jaw dropped a little when she saw Lucius Malfoy. He had clearly just come from a swim in the ocean as his hair hung in a wet, blonde curtain and water still glistened on his skin. She also could not help staring at his muscular chest and the water droplets glistening in the sun – the man definitely took care of himself, and she could not help but admire his well fit physique.

Finally gaining control of her senses, she replied, "Mr. Malfoy, what a surprise to see you here." She was also set a little bit on edge that he should be at the same resort she was, and if it hadn't been for her discretion she'd have thought it quite a coincidence.

He sat on the edge of the seat next to hers. "Indeed. When I had mentioned a vacation to you, I had no idea you would take one so quickly." He looked around and then asked, "And where might Mr. Weasley be?"

"Ron couldn't get away from work, but he'll be here on Friday," she replied simply, feeling a little uncomfortable about revealing that sort of information.

"A pity. So many of the activities here are more enjoyable if you have a partner," he replied sadly.

Before they could dwell on that somber subject any longer, Eppel returned, carrying a neatly folded towel. "For Mr. Malfoy, sir. Can Eppel be getting you any refreshment, sir?"

After taking the towel, he looked at her drink. "I'll have one of those." Noticing hers was almost empty, he asked her, "Would you care for another?"

She was torn between returning to her bungalow and finding something to do that did not involve Malfoy or staying and enjoying the beach and perhaps a little conversation with him. Resolving not to be a hermit this week, she replied, "Yes, I'll have another."

After the elf popped away, he said, "I find they make some of the best drinks here, don't you?" as he started to dry off from his swim.

"I wouldn't know. I just got here, and that's the first drink I've had," she said simply while trying not to stare too much as he dried himself.

"Ah, then there is so much for you to see here. I would be more than happy to give you are tour of the resort once Eppel returns with our drinks. I have been here numerous times," he offered cordially.

She arched an eyebrow in surprise at the fact that he not only knew the house-elf's name, but had used it. Once she recovered from that shock, she mulled his offer over. She really could not see any harm in taking him up on his proposal. While the hotel brochure was quite detailed, it was still just a brochure. "I'd like that."

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, Eppel returned and deposited the two drinks before vanishing again.

Malfoy rose to his feet leaving the towel behind. "Well, then, my dear, shall we walk?" He offered her his hand to help her get up from the chair.

She glanced at his offered hand. She did not need the assistance, but it felt rude to decline. She smiled cordially at him as he helped her to her feet. If he noticed her hesitation, he didn't show it.

"I'm sure that you have already noticed that the sand is charmed to keep it comfortable to the touch."

"Indeed I had. I wish I had known about that sort of thing growing up," she replied, glancing up at him.

He chuckled softly at her comment. "To my knowledge, the company that runs this resort is the only one to do so. I am told it is an incredibly difficult charm to maintain over a whole beach, and they are quite tight lipped about discussing it."

"That makes sense to me, though I don't recall seeing it mentioned in the brochure." She had gone over every detail in all the brochures, and she surely would have remembered something like that.

"They prefer not to advertise it directly as a way of keeping some from trying to divine the secret, instead they prefer word of it to travel from person to person. Though from time to time they do catch a spy from a competing resort trying to decipher the magic behind the cool sand. Now then, if we get off the beach and move into the heart of the resort, the tour can begin in earnest."

They spent the next hour walking around the resort as he showed her the various areas. He told her which restaurants he preferred and which activities were worth the time and which he did not find quite as enjoyable. She almost felt as though she had a personal concierge. Though she could not imagine a hotel concierge walking around with a guest while wearing nothing more than his swim trunks. And that lack of clothing did not seem to bother Lucius in the least, and she made a concerted effort not stare at his physique while they were walking around the resort as her gaze swept over, across and behind him, taking in everything around her.

Overall, she was very pleased with her choice of resorts, and Lucius put her at ease when he mentioned that he had been there since Wednesday. That meant that there was no way that he could be following her since she had not made her reservations until Thursday, it was a just a strange coincidence that they were both at this resort.

She was startled when he announced, "Well, then. That concludes the tour. I hope you have found it useful."

"Oh, I have," she replied enthusiastically, a little sad the tour was over as she had enjoyed his company. However, he had shown her places that she would have been unlikely to find on her own. There were many little secret gardens off the main paths, and many of those entrances were obscured through landscaping so that unless you knew it was there, you wouldn't find it.

He considered her for a few moments before asking, "I hope this won't seem too forward, but I always find dinner more enjoyable when I am dining with someone else, and I wondered if you might be interested in joining me for dinner tonight?"

To say she was surprised by the invitation was an understatement. It was the last thing she had expected. After all, they really did not know each other well and dinner was far more personal than sharing a cup of tea. And then she had to wonder what people would say about the two of them together – especially since they were both reasonably famous in the wizarding world.

As though he could read her mind, he replied, "This is the sort of resort that values its patrons' privacy, if you hadn't noticed that already."

Deciding that she really did not want to eat alone, at least not dinner, she replied, "It would be nice to have the company."

"Excellent," he replied as he smiled at her. "I'll come by your bungalow at seven."

"That sounds fine." She started to turn to walk away, when it occurred to her she did not know what she should wear. After all, he had mentioned that various restaurants had different dress standards. "Er, what should I wear? I don't want under or overdress."

"If you have some sort of nice dress, nothing too formal," he replied.

She knew she had exactly the right thing to wear. "Great. See you at seven." She started to walk away again when she realized that she had never told Malfoy where she was staying. "I'm in Bungalow Fourteen," she said as she turned back to face him.

"Thank you. See you then, Mrs. Weasley," he said warmly before turning towards his own bungalow.

As she walked back to her bungalow to prepare for dinner, she still marveled at how affable Malfoy was being. She knew that she had preached change was possible for everyone to Ron and Harry, but to encounter it firsthand like this was still a bit jarring. He had not said one disparaging thing about Muggles or Muggle-borns and was voluntarily spending time with her.

As she luxuriated in the bath, she contemplated that it really might not be that bad working for him. Of course, she would not be working directly for him, but it still might not be that bad. She started thinking about what Ron would say about that and then pushed it out of her mind when she realized it was stressing her out and ruining her good mood.

Once she finished her bath, she looked at her hair. She pulled it back with her hand and thought of just putting it up, but then she thought that would look too formal. But leaving it as it was not much of an option either given how unruly it was. Checking the clock, she saw that she had plenty of time until dinner to try to tame it.

After half an hour, she admired her work in the mirror. Her hair looked wonderful. It was a shame that it required so much work each time or she might do this more often. Of course, the rest of her was another story. Her face still looked gaunt and the dark circles under eyes had not vanished. A little creative application of cosmetics, and she was feeling pretty good about herself.

Once her dress was on, she admired the finished look in the mirror. "He's a lucky chap," chirped the mirror.

Still startled by talking mirrors, Hermione jumped. "What was that?" she asked to make sure she had heard the mirror correctly.

"I said he's a lucky chap. You polished up quite nicely indeed." It sounded proud about how good she looked, as if it deserved credit.

She could not help blushing. "I did this for myself," she replied defensively.

"Whatever you say, dearie," it replied back to her.

Hermione stormed out of the bathroom. She had done this for herself. Part of her vacation was to take care of herself, something she tended to neglect. And making herself look her best was part of that. She was not doing it to impress Malfoy – was she?

"That's preposterous," she said to no one in particular. About the time she realized she was talking to herself, there was a knock at the door. Looking at the clock, she saw that it was seven o'clock, so that must be Malfoy.

Smoothing her skirt one last time, she went to open the door. Before she could say anything, he said, "Good evening, Mrs. Weasley. If I may say so, you look quite lovely."

She beamed at him, grateful that he had noticed. "Thank you. And I think that we don't need to be so formal, so could you please call me Hermione?" There was no need to draw further attention with the use of last names. She noticed that he was wearing linen trousers and a short sleeved shirt, something that seemed out of place when she was used to him wearing his neatly tailored and more formal robes. Obviously those were unsuited to the climate here as her clothes were, so it made sense he would wear something more tropical.

"Only if you will call me Lucius," he replied, offering her his elbow.

She hesitated, her gaze flicking from his face to his arm and back, unsure about the implications of taking his arm. This was not a date, just two people dining together, but then not to take his arm would be rude on her part. "Thank you, Lucius," she replied as she gently placed her hand and inhaled deeply.

It was not dark yet, though the sun was starting to set. There were enough clouds in the sky that it looked like they would get a rather spectacular sunset. "M...mm..." she started to say, then halted. It seemed odd calling him by his first name, but if they were to have dinner, it would be too cumbersome to continually call him 'Mr. Malfoy'. "Lovely evening," she said as he led her down the resort's winding paths.

"Indeed it is. The weather this time of year is generally good. Too much later and you risk hurricanes, though the resort does have a wonderful hurricane contingency plan so that your vacation is not entirely ruined by such events."

"Why am I not surprised," she replied, laughing softly at his knowledge of the resort.

Finally they reached their destination. "Here we are!" he announced proudly. "The Twelve Palms. While not the most formal, this is by far my favorite place to eat, and I think you'll see why."

He led her to the host stand, and she got her first good glimpse of the restaurant. At first she could only see a couple of tables, but upon closer examination, she thought she detected more dining areas between the lush planters and towering palms.

"It's amazing," she said as the host led them to their table. The landscaping was such that each table was provided with a fair amount of privacy so that it seemed like you were the only ones there. And of course the sky above, as this was an outdoor establishment, lent a wonderful sense of openness so you did not feel confined by all the greenery. As they were seated, Hermione noticed that down on the seating level, the sense of being in the jungle intensified. It was quite possibly the most beautiful restaurant she had ever been in.

Lucius ordered a two glasses of wine. "I hope you don't find that too presumptuous," he said after the host left.

"Not at all. I'm horrible at ordering wine. I keep thinking of putting more effort into learning about it, but it just never seems that important," she admitted.

"Wine can be one of the finer things of life. The proper wine can enhance a meal and bring forward flavors you never realized existed," he instructed.

She had, of course, known that, but she and Ron tended to eat simple foods, and they rarely had wine with their meals. "Oh, I know that. I've just never made it a priority. With both of us working... Well, let's just say that I don't cook anything extravagant."

Their wine arrived and Lucius picked up his glass, swirling the pale yellow liquid to release the aromas before inhaling deeply of its scent. "Even the simplest of meals can be enhanced with the right selection. For someone like you who excelled at Potions, learning about wines should be rather straightforward. But I have to warn you, it is one thing that you cannot entirely learn from a book. If you have time this week, I could help you begin your education. I could arrange a tasting session where you could try many different varietals."

She thought it sounded like a rather intimate activity, and she was not sure she wanted to spend that much time with Lucius. "I'll think about it."

Dinner was pleasant, and as each course was brought out, she did have to agree that his wine choices did indeed enhance the food. In fact, she was rather surprised at how the wine and the food could complement each other so well. Perhaps it would be worthwhile taking him up on his offer.

At the end of the evening, he escorted her back to her bungalow. "It was an enchanting evening, Hermione. Thank you for the pleasure of your company." Holding her hand, he bent down and kissed the back of it. "Good night," he said softly before turning away and heading towards his room.

After she closed the door, she leaned against it, her heart fluttering. She could not believe the wonderful evening she had just had. Her mind raced as quickly as her heart. She'd enjoyed the evening too much, yet everything had seemed as natural to her as breathing. Their conversation flowed, she'd laughed at his jokes, well humorous statements, openly confided in him her opinions and listened to his. She'd never felt this relaxed with anyone, even Ron. It was not right that she should have enjoyed dinner with Lucius as much as she had. He was not supposed to be that charming.

"Calm down, Hermione. It was a platonic dinner. There was nothing romantic happening; you are just imagining it." Or was she? After all, he had smiled warmly at her several times and casually touched her hand. He was a widower, and it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him to court a woman. But she was a married woman – happily – wasn't she? Now she was starting to feel guilty about enjoying herself, especially when this vacation should be spent with Ron. But he wasn't here. He should've been there. If she could've had that sort of dinner with Ron on a regular basis, it would probably go a long way to improving their marital harmony.

It took a long time for Hermione to be able to fall asleep that night. She kept thinking about how much she had enjoyed spending the day with Lucius and how easy it had seemed compared to spending time with Ron. Time spent with Ron always required work, and conversations between them tended to seem forced for one person or the other. He loved Quidditch and could talk nonstop about the Chudley Canons whereas, while she did know the rules of the game, she really did not care that much about it. She had never really liked sports.

And Ron was not very interested in most of what she enjoyed. He could not understand her desire to read the latest academic journals and to discuss them. His thoughts were that since they were out of school and had secure jobs so there was no reason to keep learning about things that would not advance their careers. He also did not show much interest in museums or anything historical. It really limited the number of topics they both enjoyed discussing.

Lucius, on the other hand, was incredibly worldly, and because of his many business interests, he kept up on the latest journals and magical advancements. He had seamlessly shifted his conversation among topics quite varied, proving he was every bit as well read as she was. Though considering he had admitted to enjoying spending time at the Great Library, she should not have been surprised.

This vacation was supposed to be an opportunity for her to reexamine her career, her life, but she had never imagined that she would be reexamining her relationship. That was exactly what she was doing right now.

A part of her considered checking out of the resort and finding someplace else to stay so that she would not have to worry about Lucius anymore, but then she would have to devise some reason to give Ron for her sudden change in where she was vacationing. Given the fact Ron had heard of this resort and remarked about how posh it was, she did not think that he would find her excuses convincing.

No. She would stay here and make the most of this vacation. It was a large resort, and she was sure that she could avoid Lucius for the rest of the week.