After the last Rose Ceremony, Hermione knew it would only get more difficult. She was beginning to become attached to some of the men, and it was going to be harder to let them go as time went on. She would just have to use her best judgment, she had always been a very reasonable person. She only hoped that would be of some help in her situation. After a groan of protest, she got out of bed and into the shower, ready to start the day. She had to decide who would be going on the next group date. She had been informed that they would be going to Disneyland. She was excited about this since she had never been to an amusement park. Her parents, while usually being fairly fun people, never approved of things like that. They thought it was wasting money.
Once she was finished with her shower, Hermione sat down in her living room to think. She tried to think of each of the men's personalities, and who would have fun together. She really wanted Harry on this date. She knew it would be fun, and knowing what little she did about his childhood, she knew he hadn't had much fun while he was young. Inwardly, she was hoping she could make up for that. Sighing, she realized she had been 'thinking' for about an hour and the only name on her list thus far was Harry. As much as she wanted to be alone with him, she knew she had to add four others to the list.
She knew Harry and David would get along. They seemed to be like-minded individuals, so she now had two on her list. She also found herself hoping Draco would get along with them. He was one of the ones he liked most, but that still didn't explain why she wanted them to get along. Well, he was number three, anyway. She also wanted to have Sean along, even if it was for no other reason than the fact that they have something in common with both of their parents being dentists. She liked him well enough, they just didn't have the same connection she had with Harry, or even Draco and David. She thought for awhile before she decided who the fifth person should be. She really had a hard time deciding since, after the four she had already included, she really didn't prefer one of the men that were left over any of the others. She decided George would be a nice complement to the group.
Now that she had the list down, she just had to make the video that would be sent over to the guys. The crew found a good place for her to sit and they recorded the short message. Knowing there really wasn't much else to do with the day, she found her favorite book (Hogwarts, A History disguised as a medical journal) and settled in to read. The time passed quickly, and before she knew it, she was getting ready for bed. The next day would certainly be interesting. She just hoped that her group would get on well.
*******
(Back at the Bachelor Pad, day before Group Date One)
Harry remembered Draco Malfoy from school. One could say he was infamous in Harry's opinion. He definitely didn't have any good memories of Draco from school, but it was like he was a completely different person. Having nothing better to do but lay around the house and talk, he had an opportunity to get to know him better, and he had to say he was proud that Draco had made so many good changes in his life. They had actually come to be friends; well, as close of friends as two men can be when they are competing for the same woman.
The day before Group Date Number One, they found themselves out by the pool (where they were most days) talking. They talked about all sorts of things, they just couldn't talk about anything relating to magic, which really took their choices down to very little. They tried to generalize their conversations, since there were always cameras wandering around. On this particular day, they were talking about soda. There was certainly a lack of it in the Wizarding World, so once Draco began spending more time in the Muggle world, he had the opportunity to try it and he jumped at the chance. He found it to be very good, and quite addictive. At that moment, they were talking about Mountain Dew (one of his favorites) when they were interrupted by Greg sticking his head out the back door of the house and yelling to everyone, "Date box is here!"
Of course, everyone that was outside promptly ran in and gathered around the ottoman that the box had been set on, as was the tradition of 'Date Box Time'. They opened the box and found the tape that would tell them what was going on. They popped the tape in the VCR and pressed play. Hermione's smiling face came on, and all of the guys smiled in return.
"Good Afternoon, everyone. Tomorrow, David, Harry, Draco, George, and Sean will join me as we take a trip to the 'Happiest Place on Earth' where we'll spend the day riding rides and eating junk food. I can't wait to see you all first thing in the morning!"
Once the tape was stopped, all of the men who would be going on Group Date Number One began chatting excitedly about going to Disneyland. Draco and Harry had never been to Disneyland, or even heard much about it other than the fact that it existed, listened intently as the other guys talked about pirates and space. They didn't really understand, so they just went back to the pool and continued their earlier conversation about Mountain Dew. They figured they would just find out about it tomorrow.
******
The next day, Hermione woke up excited for the first time she had been in L.A. Every other day, she had been nervous, but she found that she was excited to spend the day, not only at Disneyland, a place she had never been, but with five wonderful guys. She knew they would have a good time. She readied herself in white capris with pink flowers, and a pink shirt to match. Just as she was finishing her hair, some knocked on her door to let her know it was time to go. Smiling, she left her room and went down to the limo. They were going to have a great time.
Once she arrived at the Bachelor Pad, she had barely to step out of the car before the door opened and Harry stepped out. She wasn't very surprised, he was always the first one ready. He greeted her as she stepped up to the door.
"Good morning," he told her with a smile as he held the door open for her to enter the house.
"Good morning to you, too," she answered back as she stepped in. David and George were already descending the steps, talking animatedly about something. Once they saw Hermione, they both smiled brightly and greeted her. Not long after they were down, Draco and Sean followed.
"We're all here," said Hermione with a smile. "Let's go." She led the way out of the house and to the limo. They all entered and chatted excitedly about Disneyland on the way. Once they got there, they were shown in through a side way because they had all of the cameras with them, and entered the park. Hermione was stunned. It was like entering a whole other world. She felt very similar to the way she did when she first saw Diagon Alley. Speechless.
David, Sean, and George, who had all been there before, decided they should to to Tomorrowland and ride Space Mountain first. Hermione, Draco, and Harry agreed. They had heard about it and it sounded fun. When they arrived, they were able to skip the line (a huge benefit of being followed by cameras) and were able to board the ride right away. After they rode the ride, they all disembarked while chatting excitedly about it. Hermione had a map of the park and was planning all of the rides she wanted to go on and which orders to do it in, and when she looked up, she found Harry chuckling softly at her.
"What are you laughing about?" she asked, seemingly offended. Harry stopped laughing immediately.
"I just saw you studying the map so closely, and it was funny. You are so cute when you're concentrating!" he couldn't help but smile. He hoped she wasn't upset at him for laughing. He was greatly relieved when she just smiled at him in return.
"I have a bad habit of planning everything and always being prepared. I'm afraid I have a hard time being spontaneous," she explained, looking back down at the map. By the time she finished, all of the guys were looking at her.
"I was just deciding what I wanted to ride. Can I pick what we ride next?" she asked sweetly.
"Certainly," answered Draco. "Lead the way." They all followed like ducklings as Hermione made her way through the park. They found themselves in Fantasy Land (A/N: I'm pretty sure that's the right name and that the ride they'll be going on is located here. I'm not sure of the real name. If I'm wrong about the location, let me know and I'll fix it. Thanks!) facing the Tea Cups. George and Sean immediately began shaking their heads.
"I can't ride this or I'll be sick," Sean told her, looking green already.
"Me either, but I wouldn't mind waiting while you guys ride," said George, looking equally miserable. Sean nodded in agreement, so the rest waited to be admitted without them. Once they were allowed in, Hermione immediately went toward a pink cup, Harry following close behind her. He went in right behind as she got into the teacup, but found there really wasn't much more room. They definitely wouldn't be able to fit all four of them in one.
"It's okay, Draco and I will find another cup," David told her, obviously disappointed. Once they were in their cup the platform they were on began to spin. They watched others around them twist the wheels in front of them, so Hermione and Harry gave theirs an experimental tug and found that the cup spun more if they did. Before long, they were twirling around so fast that everything around them was nothing more than a blur of colors. They laughed as they tried to see how fast it would go. Harry started to slow down when he saw Hermione looking faintly green. She gave him a thankful look as the cup began to slow down.
To her relief, the ride began to slow down and they were given the signal that they could exit. Hermione practically ran out and sat on a nearby bench, all of the guys surrounding her.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked worriedly. She looked like she was going to be sick.
"Yes, I'll be fine. I just didn't know it was going to spin that fast," she answered with a smile. She was feeling better already. She would be able to get up once the ground stopped feeling like it was still twirling under her. After a few minutes, she got up and told them she was ready to go. She wanted to have a little one-on-one time with each of them, so she told them they could pick a ride and she would ride with them, as long as they didn't pick one that would spin. They all laughed appreciatively and gathered around the map to pick which ones they wanted to ride. Draco was first, and he picked a ride called 'It's a Small World'. Once they arrived there, all of the guys laughed at him, but Hermione just smiled. She boarded the ride with him, and was pleased when they got their own boat. They did also have the camera men with them, so that may have been why. As they made their way through the singing dolls, Hermione listened to Draco explain something about the latest book he had read.
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?" she asked him, interrupting some complicated explanation. She wanted answers that mattered. She had to make an important decision soon, and she wanted to be sure she had enough information to make an educated decision. Caught off guard, Draco thought a minute before answering.
"I hope to be married, with a couple of kids, and have my company evolved enough so it won't take as much time and I can spend more with my family," he answered, hoping that is what she wanted to hear. He really did want a family, but he didn't know if he wanted it all that soon. She nodded in understanding.
"I hope to be in about the same position. I have alot of goals as far is work is concerned, but family is very important, and I don't want work to take me away from that," she told him, glad he agreed with her.
"You had said something that first night about your father raising you with less than wonderful values. It's good to see you've tried hard to overcome that, but do you think a little of that still lies deep inside?" She didn't know if this was too personal a question for him, but the fact that his father was the way Draco made him sound frightened her. People could change (or say they had changed) as much as they wanted, but the way they were raised is always a part of them. Sometimes that is good because it reminds them of what they need to not do, but sometimes it can be bad. Draco thought long and hard about how to answer that question.
"My father was a very bad person. He only had a child so he would have an heir to give the family fortune to, so he didn't really care about me as a person. My mother tried to care, but he was so strict with her that she didn't have many options as far as how to raise me. I didn't have a very loving childhood, and I look forward to giving my children what I didn't have. Not only is it wrong to treat a child the way I was treated, but if he wasn't already dead, I would try to send him to jail for it. He was a horrible person, and I would do anything in my power to not end up like that."
Hermione was very pleased with his answer. It was exactly what she wanted to hear. She wanted to know he wasn't going to end up like his father. By the time he was finished explaining, the ride was over and it was time to get off. She decided she wanted to go with Harry next. He had decided they should ride Peter Pan. Once she heard of his decision, she wasn't surprised. On that ride there were little pirate ships that flew over 'cities'. She knew he loved to fly. He was the youngest Seeker in a century, after all.
They got there and boarded the little pirate ship they were pointed toward. Once they began 'flying' over the little lit-up cities, Hermione looked over and thought she could cry at the look of wonderment on Harry's face. She knew he didn't have a very fulfilling childhood, so it was like making up for lost time, being able to ride this children's ride. She had to find out a little bit more, she just hoped he wouldn't mind telling her about it.
"What was your childhood like?" she asked him, trying to sound nonchalant about it.
She saw him flinch slightly before answering.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't very nice. My mum and dad died when I was only a little more than a year old, so I had to live with my aunt and uncle who are just about the worst mu- I mean people you'll ever meet," he started. She tried not to laugh when she noticed he almost said 'Muggle'. She was glad he caught himself before saying it, or they would have alot of explaining to do.
"If that wasn't bad enough, my whale of a cousin was so horrible to me. He always beat me up. Luckily, when I
was eleven, I found out my parents had made arrangements before they died for me to attend the same boarding school
they went to when they were young.
I made alot of friends there, but the best part is that I was able to be away from my 'family' for nine and a
half months out of the year." Hermione smiled at his mention of Hogwarts. She had a loving family so she
didn't have the same reasons for loving it, but she loved it just as much. She was sad when she saw the ride was
over. She wanted to spend more time with Harry, but she knew she had time to spend with the other three guys as
well.
Once she took her one-on-one time with the three remaining guys, it was time to eat dinner. They had made arrangements for them to eat at Cinderella's Castle, and Hermione was very excited. (A/N I don't think you can eat at the Cinderella's Castle at Disneyland, but I know you can at Disney World, so I've conveniently made them able to do so. It's very neat to eat there. If you're at Disney World and you get the opportunity, definitely take it.) When they arrived inside the restaurant and were shown to their table, the host that had shown them to their seats gave her a tiara to wear as he pulled out her chair for her. She smiled as he helped her put it on. She really felt like a princess now.
As they ate their dinner, they chatted about their day and all of the rides they had been on. Hermione felt very comfortable in in all of their company, but she could see some definite chemistry with Harry. There was just something about him that made her smile every time she thought about him. She also thought alot about Draco, but she just felt so much more for Harry. Unless one of the other guys blew her away, she knew it may be no contest. It was just a matter of time.
When they were finished with their dinner, they were sad to find out it was time to leave. They exited the park and got into their limo, still chatting about the day. Later, they pulled up to the Bachelor Pad, and Hermione exited first in order to say goodbye to each of the men as they got out of the limo and went into the house. They each gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. When it was Harry's turn, she gave him an extra long hug, and she kissed him on the cheek before he could kiss hers. He looked surprised that she did this when she hadn't to any of the others, but he recovered quickly and just smiled at her.
"I've had a wonderful day. Normally it's hard for me to talk about my childhood, but I didn't mind telling you," he told her before he kissed her on the cheek and went into the house. She got back into the limo and it took her back to the house she was staying in. It had been quite a day. The more time she spend with Harry, the more she knew he was probably the one. She still had nine others, and knew she had to go through the process the right way, regardless of how strongly she felt for Harry already, but it didn't change the way she felt. She thought she was in love, and it felt great.