Chapter 7
Hermione stood in front of her bedroom mirror and took a deep breath as she looked at her reflection. The dress Harry bought for her fit her perfectly. It was probably the sexiest piece of clothing she had ever worn, but she didn't feel cheap in it. She had added her sandals, hair potion to tame her curls, simple make-up and a shawl from her closet in case she got chilly.
She heard a knock on the door. "Hermione, are you ready? Our car is here."
She opened the door to find Harry dressed in a suit and tie and she smiled. He looked very grown up and made quite a dashing figure.
"You look very nice, Harry. I don't think I've ever seen you in a suit and tie."
"I bought this today. I couldn't very well wear my dress robes, could I?"
"No, I suppose not. You might draw a lot of attention to yourself."
"Well, you are going to draw a lot of attention in that dress, Hermione. You look amazing."
Hermione blushed at the compliment. "Thanks, Harry. The dress fits perfectly."
He eyed her figure appreciatively. "Yes, it does." He then held out his arm to her. "Shall we?"
Hermione picked up her evening bag off the bed and took Harry's arm. He led her through the living room and out of the cottage. Hermione gasped when she saw their car.
A uniformed driver was standing outside a black stretch limousine.
"Oh, Harry! You rented a limo for our date?"
"Well, I don't have my license yet and I didn't think you'd want to ride the bus on our first date."
"But a limo, Harry! This must be costing you a fortune."
"Don't worry about the cost, Hermione. I can well afford it and let's just have a good time tonight without worrying about the cost of things."
They approached the car and the driver greeted them and opened the door. Once they were settled in the back seat, Harry gave a signal to the driver and they were on their way.
"So, are you telling me where we're going?" Hermione asked.
"To dinner," Harry answered cryptically.
"Somehow I don't think you're taking me to Café Bondi, are you?"
"Not this time. We're going a bit further than Bondi tonight."
"Are we going into Sydney?"
Harry nodded. "That's all I'm giving you for now."
Hermione chuckled. "You're enjoying this, aren't you - withholding information."
Harry didn't respond but gestured to the stocked mini-bar. "Would you like a drink?"
"So you want to get me drunk and have your way with me?"
"Well, yeah, that was the plan," Harry joked. "The bar is stocked with non-alcoholic beverages, too. There's sparkling water and juice."
"I'll have some sparkling water w/cranberry juice," Hermione said.
Harry opened the bottles and poured the contents into two glasses.
"You're not having champagne?"
Harry shook his head and gazed right at Hermione. "No, I want to remember every detail of tonight."
She felt a shiver go through her as he raised his glass to hers and said, "To our first date."
A few minutes later, the driver lowered the glass partition and announced that they were arriving at their destination.
The door was opened and the driver offered his hand to help Hermione out of the car, with Harry following close behind. Harry gave some instructions to the driver and then took Hermione's hand as they entered the restaurant.
The maitre'd welcomed them. "Hello, welcome to Aria. Do you have a reservation?"
Harry nodded. "Yes, Potter for two."
"Your table is ready, sir." The maitre'd led them to an intimate table in the back corner of the restaurant. The main dining room's most striking feature was floor to ceiling windows with an incredible view of the harbor.
Once they were seated and handed their menus, Hermione took in the view. She had a clear sightline to the Opera house, as well as the Sydney Harbor Bridge.
"Harry, the view is incredible. I've always wanted to see the Sydney Opera house up close!"
Harry smiled at Hermione's enthusiasm. "Well, that's good because later tonight you're going to have an even closer view."
"We're going to the opera?" Hermione practically squealed.
"Yes, I got orchestra tickets to "La Boheme."
"I love La Boheme! How did you know?"
"I remember you were reading a book a couple of years ago with a French title and I asked you what it meant. You had mentioned that the book was the inspiration for the opera "La Boheme" and you had always wanted to see it."
"You remember that?"
"Yes, I do. We were in the Gryffindor common room and I was doing my transfiguration homework and, you characteristically had already finished your homework and were reading for pleasure."
"I can't believe you remembered that."
"Well, I remember lots of things you say, Hermione."
"Thank you, Harry," Hermione replied, smiling. "For planning this and being so thoughtful."
"Well, I'll definitely remember that," Harry replied as he opened his menu. "Now, please don't look at the prices on the menu, just order whatever you like."
Hermione opened her menu and almost gasped aloud at the high prices, but she kept her mouth shut.
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After dinner, they walked hand in hand the short distance to the Opera House. Once they took their seats, Hermione still couldn't believe they were there.
"This is amazing, Harry. I'm so excited! But I'm glad I brought tissues in my bag."
"Why?"
"Do you know the story of "La Boheme?"
Harry shook his head. "I know from the program it's about poor young French people, but that's about it."
"I don't want to spoil it for you, but it's very sad."
"Someone dies?"
Hermione nodded. "Yes, but I won't tell you who."
"So know you're withholding information from me, huh?"
Hermione chuckled as the curtain rose. "Just watch."
Over the next hour, Harry and Hermione watched the first two acts with rapt attention. Even though they were singing in Italian, the love story between Mimi and Rodolfo was easy to follow.
During the intermission, Hermione turned to Harry.
"What do you think so far?"
"It's very good. But I have a stupid question."
"Harry, there are no stupid questions."
"Okay, they're supposed to be French, right? Why are they singing in Italian?"
"Oh, Harry," she chuckled as she placed her hand on his arm. "They sing in Italian because the opera was composed by an Italian, Giacomo Puccini."
Harry shook his head. "I feel like an idiot. I don't know much about Muggle high culture."
Hermione squeezed his hand. "It's okay, you're learning."
"So, are you going to tell me who dies?"
Hermione shook her head. "No, but I think you'll be able to tell in the third act."
Soon the curtain went up and the third act began. As Mimi began coughing, Harry nudged Hermione and whispered in her ear.
"It's her, isn't it? Mimi dies?"
She nodded in response as a shiver went up her spine from Harry's breath near her ear and pulled her shawl around her.
"Cold?" Harry asked. "Do you want my jacket?"
Hermione shook her head. "No I'm fine. Watch the opera."
Harry did as he was told and turned his attention to the story. By the time the end of the fourth act, he heard a sniffle and turned to Hermione, who was indeed sobbing. He took her hand in his and squeezed it. Hermione squeezed back and dabbed her eyes and nose with a tissue with her other hand.
The curtain came down and the audience erupted into applause. When the cast came out for their curtain calls, they were met with a standing ovation and cries of "Bravo!"
Hand in hand, they made their way into the lobby of the Opera house.
"Are you okay, Hermione? You were crying a river back there."
Hermione swatted Harry with her free arm. "Oh you exaggerate. You can't tell me that you didn't tear up either."
"Well since I was expecting her to die, it wasn't as sad as I thought it could be."
"Did I spoil the ending for you, Harry?"
"No, you didn't. I enjoyed it very much."
They found their driver and got into their limo.
"So where to now, any more surprises?" Hermione asked.
"Well, I have nothing else planned so I thought we would just go home."
Hermione looked at her watch. "It's after eleven, so I guess we should."
An uneasy silence suddenly descended upon them. Hermione glanced at Harry and he nervously glanced back. Visions of them making out in the back of the limousine filled his head, but Harry knew that wouldn't be very gentlemanly of him. He furtively glanced at Hermione's bare legs and then at the way her dress hugged her curves.
After a few more minutes, they arrived home. The driver opened the door and Harry asked Hermione to go in the house while he paid for the car service.
She opened the door and went into the kitchen to make some tea. A minute later, Harry entered the kitchen.
"All set?" she asked.
"Yeah, the driver gave me his business card, in case we want to call him again."
"I'm making tea, if you'd like some."
"That would be great, thanks. Um, do you mind if I change my clothes while the water boils? I really want to get out of this suit."
"No problem."
Hermione sighed after Harry left the room. She wondered if he just wanted to get away from her. At the restaurant and at the opera, she had a wonderful time - she and Harry joked and laughed and there was just the right amount of contact between them. But once they were headed home, a chill had descended on them and she wasn't sure why.
Maybe she did know, perhaps both were nervous about their relationship becoming more intimate. Hand holding and whispering was something that they had engaged in throughout their friendship, so it was comfortable. But anything beyond that was brand new.
The kettle whistled and Hermione pulled out a box of Earl Grey tea, which was Harry's favorite. He soon appeared in the kitchen wearing a t-shirt and a pair of pajama bottoms.
"You look comfy."
"Yeah, this is much better. I don't mind wearing a suit, but it's a bit constricting."
"That's how I feel about this dress. I can't wait to put on my pajamas."
"Well, I just want to say that you look amazing in the dress, Hermione. Really smashing."
Hermione blushed, "Thanks, Harry - for the compliment and buying it for me. It's not something I would've picked out for myself, but I like the way it fits."
"I like the way it fits you, too," Harry said in a low voice as he sipped his tea.
Hermione suppressed a giggle as she sipped her tea, too. It was getting a bit warm in the kitchen now, partially from the tea but she could tell that Harry was back in flirt mode.
"It was an amazing night, really. I had a really good time and the opera was perfect."
"But?"
Hermione chuckled, he knew her well. "I just wish you didn't spend so much money on me tonight, Harry. Between the dress, the limo, the dinner and the tickets, I don't even want to know what this cost you."
"Hermione, I wanted to have a special night out with you, and make it a date to remember."
"Harry, I don't need you spend a lot of money for us to enjoy a night out. We could've just gone to Café Bondi and to the cinema. I'm sure I would've had a great time and a night to remember just because I was with you."
"I know that, but I wanted to just make this extra special, okay? I know I don't need to buy your affection, but I feel like we've been through so much over the past few years and I just wanted to forget about that for one night and just live it up!"
Hermione reached across the table and took Harry's hand in hers. "I understand. I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For making you feel like you had to justify your plans for tonight. I'm sure it wasn't easy for you to make all of these arrangements last minute for us. Thank you for doing all of that and for making this a night to remember."
"Well, it's not over yet."
"Wait, are we going somewhere?"
"No, but there's something I need to do to make this night one for the books."
"And what is that?"
Harry got up from his chair, and moved closer to Hermione. Before she knew it, his lips were on hers.
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