Draco slammed his book shut and stood up, marching around to the other side of the bookcase that was separating his study area from another. He'd come to the library to get some peace and quiet, and to actually study. Not to sit and listen to Cormac Mclaggen berate Hermione Granger into going on a date with him.

"Mclaggen, could you kindly fuck off and leave the bookworm in peace?" Draco snarled as he approached their table. "Some of us are trying to study, including the insufferable know-it-all you're currently harassing."

"Piss off Malfoy," Mclaggen sneered. "I'll leave when Granger agrees to date me," he said, throwing her what Draco assumed was supposed to be a charming smile.

"Then you'll likely die here, you moron," Draco muttered.

"Excuse me?" Mclagged huffed, pulling himself up from the table so he could tower over Draco.

Draco rolled his eyes and shoved his hands into the front of his jeans pockets. "She's never going to date you. The sooner you accept that and move on, the easier it's going to be for everyone."

"And what would Death Eater scum like you know about it?" Mclaggen scoffed, fixing smug eyes on him.

"Evidently, more than you Cormac," Granger muttered, eyes focused on the books in front of her.

"Sweetheart, you'd be punching if you went out with me," Mclaggen drawled, leaning on the table and swinging his whole body towards her as he smiled leacherously at her.

Granger wrinkled her nose up in disgust. "I don't really care. I don't want to date you. And I've asked you more than once to leave me alone."

"Come on darlin', you can't mean that," he chuckled, a dangerous twang to it that Draco could see made Granger uncomfortable. "You're just playing hard to get, that's all."

Draco couldn't help the scoff that erupted from his lips. "Hard to get? Granger? She's more open than a bloody book! Since when has she ever played stupid schoolgirl games? She's been pining after the same wizard for her entire school career! You're deluded Mclaggen."

"I said piss off, Malfoy!" Mclaggen roared, firing a hex at him without warning.

Thankfully for Draco, living in a house with a deranged psychopath for most of his sixth and seventh year, had it's silver linings, one of which being ever vigilante and lightening quick, reflexes. He managed to deflect the spell with ease.

"Cormac!" Granger cried, rising to her feet herself.

"Oh come off it! It's only Malfoy! It's not like he actually matters. Bastard should be in Azkaban for what he did," Mclaggen snapped.

Draco didn't argue. There was no point. To some extent, he actually agreed with the asshole. That being said, he also didn't give a rat's ass about Mclaggen or his opinion of him. The guy could get fucked.

"Cormac, either leave me the hell alone or I'll report you to Mcgonagall for sexual harassment," Hermione said, glaring at him as she folded her arms.

Mclaggen scoffed. "Yeah? Whatever. It's not like anyone's going to believe someone wanted to sexually harass you, is it?" He laughed nastily, an awful sneer on his face as he looked down on her.

"Well, you do, apparently. And I have more witnesses than just Malfoy to attest to that." Granger stuck her ground and jutted her chin defiantly up at him. "I'm one third of the golden trio, and while I whole-heartedly hate the sort of spotlight it puts me in, make no mistake that I will drag you down to the depths you belong if you don't stay the hell away from me."

Draco smirked as he watched Mclaggen falter. He'd seen that blazing look in the witch's eye on more than one occasion and it never ended well for the person on the receiving end of it; he should know since he'd been on that end more than once.

Mclaggen went to open his mouth and was cut off as Granger shook her head.

"Just walk away Cormac, at least some of your dignity will be intact if you do it now," she said.

Draco watched as he weighed up his options, ultimately deciding he was better off doing as Granger had said. He shoved past her and stormed off, muttering something about fridged bitches and unworthy women.

Draco nodded at the woman and turned away, walking back to his study table. He sat himself back down and reopened his book, finding where he'd got to on the page he'd left and starting to read. He'd got maybe two more sentences further along when Hermione Granger dumped all her study stuff down in the space opposite him and took a seat, eyeing him up curiously.

"Not today Granger," he groaned exasperatedly. "I'm not in the mood to be your newest puzzle or project."

Granger's eyes only narrowed even more. "Why did you come back here? For eighth year? You knew how much hassle it would be and that you most likely wouldn't have any friends or even allies...so why would you put yourself through all of that when you come from such unimaginable wealth?"

Draco cleared his throat and looked up at her. "Because, my father disowned me. And, while I am the last surviving, un-disowned Black family member, I can't claim my inheritance until I pass all my NEWTs."

Hermione frowned. "But, what about your mother? I thought she was still alive? And surely she wouldn't let your father disown you? Not properly?"

Draco shifted uncomfortably, a lump forming in the back of his throat. He didn't want to tell her. He didn't want to tell anyone. He hadn't told anyone.

'Malfoy?" Granger called, peering at him anxiously. "If you don't want to talk about it, you dont have to."

Draco shrugged. "She died. Just before I came back to school."

Granger sucked in a breath and he waited for the pity to cloud her eyes or the hard look that meant she thought it was deserved. But none of that came.

"I'm sorry Malfoy. That sucks," was all she said.

Draco nodded, returning his gaze back to his book.

"I obliviated my parents before the war started. I erased my entire existence from their memories and now, even though the war is done, I can't get them back. They have no idea who I am, or that they even have a daughter," she murmured. "It sucks. Sometimes, life just sucks."

Draco frowned softly at her. He had no idea why she'd even bothered to share that piece of information with him. They weren't friends. Hell, they'd been enemies most of their lives.

"Why are you being nice to me?" he said.

Granger frowned back. "You started it," she said.

"Since when did I start it?"

"Since you saved me from Cormac."

"You saved yourself," he pointed out.

"Actually I was about ten seconds from caving and agreeing to a date when you interrupted," she muttered.

Draco looked at her incredulously. Why? he thought.

"Cormac is the kind of guy to take rejection badly," Granger said, seeming to have read his mind. She fiddled with her fingers as her gaze darted between the table and his eyes. "I didn't realise anyone was sat so close, and I was a little afraid of what he might do if I completely disregarded his affections, while we were all alone."

Draco's frown deepened. "If he made you that uncomfortable-"

"He's practically been stalking me all year," she blurted. "But he's never crossed a line. Not really. Not enough for anyone to take me seriously. The guy is freaking me out!" She twisted her fingers around themselves before letting her head fall into her palms. "I don't know what to do..." she whispered.

Draco shrugged. "Maybe you could lock him in a jam jar for a few months or curse him with boils if he ever rats on you," he said.

Granger's head snapped up and she eyed him warily. "How d'you know about all that?"

Draco scoffed. "You might be the brightest witch of our age, but I am the brightest wizard. At least, I would have been if my parents weren't utter morons who blindly followed a raging lunatic while he murdered half the country."

A laugh escaped Granger's lips before she managed to clap a hand over her mouth. She winced. "Sorry, that wasn't funny."

Draco shrugged again. "Laugh or cry, right?" He smiled softly at her and was surprised to find the sentiment and the smile returned.

"D'you want to be friends?" Granger asked quickly. "I miss friends. I miss not having anyone to talk to or bicker with. I mean, I've got Ginny and Neville and Luna but...they're all so different from me.-"

Draco laughed. "And you think I'm the same as you? That we have more in common than your Gryffindork mates?"

Granger huffed and folded her arms, leaning back on her chair. "I think we're more similar than you'd like to admit. Besides, you've done a superb job of showing everyone that you don't much care for pureblood norms anymore..." She nodded at his attire and he grunted.

He'd been wearing muggle clothes since the war had been over. They were comfier and far better designed than wizarding robes. As soon as classes had finished, he would go back to his dormitory and tug on a pair of jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. And that was how he was dressed now.

"Just because I wear muggle clothes-"

"Oh give over Malfoy," Granger muttered. "You're a fucking enigma and you know it. There was only so long you could go without having me try and figure you out," she said.

Draco snorted at that, a wide grin stretching across his face as he laughed softly. It felt good. It had been too long since he'd laughed. Granger's smile seemed to falter slightly and her brow twitched with the hint of a frown. "What?" he said, his own laughter dying down.

"I think that's the first time I've ever seen you laugh," she said. "Like, really laugh."

Draco contemplated that for a moment. "I suppose I didn't have a lot to laugh about for a while."

Granger shrugged. "It looks good on you."

Draco sniggered again, unable to stop another grin spreading across his face. "Are you saying I look good Granger?"

Granger gave him a dead-pan kind of look. "Yes. You're an attractive wizard. You know you're an attractive wizard. I'm only pointing out that a proper smile looks good on your face, and better than the haughty look you used to sport so well."

Draco smiled. "Thanks. It feels good too."

Granger grinned. "So...what are you studying?"

Draco smirked and lifted up the book he was reading. "I'm trying to get a head start on that awful essay Slughorn set us in potions...at least, enough of a head start to make the bloody thing interesting."

Draco watched as Granger came alive, animatedly talking about the essay and all the things wrong with it before slipping easily into the realm of research he was currently entrenched in. He found it both alarming and surprising at how easily he could converse with her, enjoying the passionate way in which she could both argue and agree with him on different points. Before he knew it, the afternoon had gone and they were well on their way into evening. Madam Pince had to come and kick them out.

"It was nice talking to you today Malfoy," Granger said. "Thanks."

"You too Granger," he replied.

"See you tomorrow," she said, walking off before he could answer, not that she'd asked a question.

Draco wondered back to the Slytherin dormitories. He ignored the hushed whispers that followed him as he ascended the stairs so his room. He was on his own, being the only eighth year Slytherin to return to Hogwarts. He didn't mind though, it meant he didn't have to deal with people. So long as they left him alone, he was happy.

...

It took two weeks for Granger to become his shadow. Two weeks. Soon, everywhere he went she was going with him. He wasn't sure if he was glad for the company or irritated that she just wouldn't leave him alone. He also wasn't sure if he hated how quickly he'd gotten used to her presence, and often he looked around to find her when she wasn't near him. People had begun to talk too, whispering about their relationship and speculating whether the two were romantically involved. Draco had snorted when he first overheard someone mutter something about him and the bookworm, knowing he didn't have a hope in hell of landing Granger, and not that he wanted to either. They were friends. Friends was all she'd said and so friends was what he'd take. He wasn't a blind man, he could see the beauty she'd become as clear as day. But there was no point entertaining the idea of anything romantic so he just didn't. Draco sat at the end of the Slytherin table in the Great Hall eating his breakfast as he contemplated this, ignoring the odd dirty look thrown his way from the rest of the students also at breakfast.

"Hey, I need to talk to you," Granger said, plonking herself down next to him.

Draco spluttered on his coffee. "Granger, this is the Slytherin house table..."

She frowned. "And? What's your point?"

"You aren't in Slytherin?" he said, one eyebrow raised.

"Am I not? Gee, I thought I'd always been a snake, and I do so love the colour green," she said, her voice devoid of anything but sarcasm.

"You do actually, love the colour green," he pointed out.

Granger shrugged. "I needed to talk to you and I needed breakfast. You always seem to have plenty of space next to you-"

"-nice way of saying no one likes me," he grumbled.

"-so I figured it was a win-win situation," Granger finished, glaring softly at him while she helped herself to a croissant and some butter.

"How is this a win-win situation? Unless you count people speculating on our budding romance, a win." He gave her a flat look and was surprised to see a faint blush staining her cheeks even as she looked back at him defiantly.

"If they've got nothing better to talk about, let them have at it. I couldn't give a shit what they think." She leant her arms on the table and kept her eyes locked on his. "I'm going into Hogsmeade today and wanted you to come with me."

Draco jerked back slightly and shook his head, a frown across his face. "Who else is going?"

The school had opened up Hogsmeade visits every weekend to all eighth year students. They were all over eighteen, and it seemed unfair to treat them like school children after their involvement in the War and Final Battle. Draco had not stepped foot outside the safety of the castle since he'd been there.

"Uh, well...I think Ginny is heading down at some point and Neville said he was going too but...I want to go now. Like, as soon as breakfast is over...and I don't like going on my own. It's boring. So I was wondering, if you didn't mind-"

"What aren't you telling me?" Draco said, narrowing his eyes at her. He could always tell when there was something she wasn't saying by the way she blathered on and on without really saying anything."

"Nothing! There's nothing I'm not telling you!" She tried to look affronted and not guilty but failed miserably in the cutest way possible.

Draco found himself snorting at her and shaking his head. "You are the worst liar."

"Well, your Aunt didn't think so," she muttered under her breath.

Draco snickered. "Like she really cared whether you were telling the truth or not."

Granger smirked up at him and shrugged. "Maybe a little bit," she said, holding her thumb and forefinger up with the tiniest slither of a gap between them. "After all, if I'd been lying, her precious master would have been furious with her."

Draco nodded. "True, but you're forgetting Aunt Bella was not just twisted she was like, proper, deranged. She'd have got a kick out of being punished by the dar-Voldemort."

Granger smiled at him as he corrected himself. It sent shivers down his spine to say that name but he honestly understood what Granger meant when she'd told him that fear of a name only instills fear of the thing itself. He wanted to be better, and he didn't want to be scared anymore.

The two of them had taken to just saying shit when it popped into their heads. It seemed to alleviate the tension and the pressure to be over it all, while at the same time finding a way to laugh at the terror they'd felt at the time, and talk about things they really didn't want to. He'd yet to bring up his mother and what happened to her, but Granger hadn't asked so he hadn't said. He wasn't ready to say. The fact that she knew was something. It was more than anyone else knew. And that was another thing they'd agreed on without having to say about it first...no questions. They talked and they listened, but they never asked any questions. At least not serious ones.

"So, again, what aren't you telling me?" Draco asked, smirking as she realised he wasn't going to drop it.

"Nothing! There is nothing I'm specifically not telling you! I mean, I don't tell you stuff all the time-"

"Granger..." Draco said, almost glaring at her.

"I don't tell you when I've brushed my teeth or combed my hair-"

"You actually comb that mess?"

"Or when I've messed up my make-up-"

"Why do you wear make-up?"

"Or when I go for a walk around the grounds, or I'm feeling homesick or that I hate almost all sweets except jelly tots-"

"Granger," he said.

"Or when I've gotten myself drunk on fire whiskey at the top of the astronomy tower-"

"Granger," he growled.

"Or when I sneak out of the castle or when I'm on my period-"

"Granger!" He cried exasperatedly.

Granger winced, scrunching up her nose in that really cute way she did when she'd said something she wished she hadn't. "So...I know that last one was maybe going a tad too far-"

"Menstruation is natural and I am not a twat," Draco said. "Or at least, I'm not anymore. And for the record, when it came to periods, I never was."

"So it doesn't make you uncomfortable? Talking about periods and cramps and stuff?" she asked, frowning at him like she'd just discovered some new, rare, wondrous species of man.

"You need better friends," Draco muttered.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call you better," she muttered right back. "Ron and Harry might squirm when I mention tampons but they didn't agree to kill our headmaster in return for an ugly arse tattoo."

Draco snorted. "Touché." He smirked at Granger and watched as she smiled smugly at him. "So...what are you hiding from me? About going to Hogsmeade?" He grinned as he watched that same smile fall of her face.

"Nothing!" she huffed, flapping her hands about. "I just..." She bit her lip and shook her head. "Harry and Ron said they might drop in but it wasn't a definite and I don't want to be on my own if they don't show."

Draco gave her a completely unconvinced frown. "You realise I have met Potter and the Weasel, right? We aren't strangers. I don't need to 'meet your friends' since I already know who they are."

"Yeah, and apparently they already know who you are too," Granger grumbled. "Except none of you know a fucking real thing past being wankers to each other since the start of school when you were all eleven years old!"

"Granger, we aren't even dating," he said with a sigh, giving her another exasperated look. "Why do I have to go play nice with boy wonder and his-" He cut himself off as Granger glared at him. "I don't think it's the best idea to put the three of us within a ten foot radius of each other."

Granger huffed. "The thing is, I've been writing to them and I told them that you and I have become friends and now they think I'm crazy-"

"You are crazy," he mumbled, scowling at her as she gave him a gentle back-handed slap to his chest.

"-and they think you're playing some kind of game and duping me. I keep getting ridiculous letters telling me I need to be careful and that you're dangerous, which is absolutely absurd!"

"But I am dangerous," he said, in a theatrically deep voice, sending her a dark look for effect. She giggled and he smiled at her, pleased with himself that he could make her laugh despite everything.

"You are the least dangerous man I know," she said, snickering at him.

"Hey! I take offense to that. I can be very dangerous when I want to be," he said. "You're saying I'm less dangerous than Weasley, or Potter. Or, even Longbottom?"

Granger giggled again as she nodded. "I should have clarified. I meant, least dangerous to me."

"Oh," Draco said, a little taken a back. He didn't really know what to make of that.

Granger just smiled at him, a mischievous little smirk on her lips. And fuck if it didn't look sexy as hell on her.

"I can be an enigma too, Malfoy," she said, licking her lips and sucking the bottom one into her mouth.

Draco's throat went dry. He'd never seen her look at him like that. Like she was maybe flirting with him. He shook his head, trying to clear the less than platonic thoughts that look in her eye was giving him.

"So...are you coming to Hogsmeade with me or what?" she asked, her smirk widening to a fully fledged grin.

Draco sighed and nodded. "Yeah, I suppose so. You can't look at me like that and expect me not to want to figure you out, too," he said, shooting her a cheeky wink. He didn't know where it had come from but he was pleasantly surprised to see her cheeks flush red.

Twenty minutes later and they were walking down towards Hogsmeade. Draco's hands were stuffed in his pockets and he smiled as his breath puffed out in front of him.

"You are such a kid," Granger laughed.

Draco shrugged, taking a deep breath and blowing out a huge plume of steam at her. She giggled and shook her head, and his stomach flip-flopped a little. What was happening to him? This was Hermione Granger, War Heroine and Gryffindor Princess. War Heroines and Gryffindor Princesses did not go around consorting with ex-Death Eaters. Except this one apparently did, and it was starting to mess with his head. Platonic, that was it. That was all it would ever be. Just platonic, with maybe a smidge of mild, friendly flirting.

"Draco, are you okay?" Granger frowned at him, clearly confused at his silence. At least she wasn't privy to the inner workings of his mind. "Draco?"

Hearing his name drop from her lips a second time made him blink. "Huh?"

"Are you okay?" she asked again.

Draco shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just tired. My head's a bit muggy today, that's all."

Granger did not look convinced but dropped it none-the-less. "So, where did you want to go? When we get into town?"

Draco brow furrowed softly as he looked over at her. "I thought we were here to do your shopping?"

Granger shifted uncomfortably, her cheeks turning red. "We are, but I just figured, since you haven't been off the castle grounds since we started school, that you might like to choose where we go first..."

Draco shrugged. "I honestly don't care Granger."

He watched her shoulders drop slightly and frowned to himself. Things felt like they were getting weird and he didn't know how or why. It was like she was trying to tell him something without actually saying it, and he was getting all the answers wrong despite having no idea what the question was.

"Well, I need Scrivenshafts, and Dervish and Bangs. And then maybe Honeydukes-"

"But you don't really like sweets," Draco said, another frown on his face.

"Well no, but my friends do. And it's nearly Christmas so I wanted to buy some for them as a present."

Draco nodded. He'd forgotten about Christmas. He didn't really have anyone to buy gifts for this year, and he certainly didn't have any money to do it with. He'd spent the last few quid he had on covering up his 'ugly arse tattoo' as Granger had put it. He hadn't shown anyone, mostly because he wasn't sure how he felt about it. He didn't know if it was a cop out, covering it up with something else. He'd done it before his mother had died, but she hadn't liked it, and he knew that was half his hang-up. He wanted to add a few Narcissus flowers for her, but he wasn't sure about it since she didn't like the design in the first place.

"Draco!" Granger cried, shaking his arm and pulling him back out of another inner monologue.

"You keep calling me Draco," he said, unable to form any other words.

Granger cleared her throat, her cheeks now a brilliant red. "I've called you worse," she mumbled.

Draco snorted. "I'm sorry. My head really is a mess. When you said it was nearly Christmas it just threw me. I haven't really been paying attention to the time of year."

"Have you not got any friends to shop for?" she asked, looking genuinely concerned.

Draco shook his head. "Nah, I haven't spoken to anyone outside Hogwarts in months."

Granger frowned, coming to a stop. It took him a few extra paces to realise she wasn't beside him anymore.

"Draco, you must have friends," she said, looking absolutely stricken.

"Of course I do. I have you," he said. He hadn't meant to, but the look on her face just made his heart ache. "Unless we aren't friends?" He felt a bit stupid really, presuming they were friends when they'd only been hanging out for a couple weeks.

Her expression softened and he saw the sadness in her eyes. "Of course we're friends," she sighed. "But...you need more friends than just me."

"Why?" Draco raised one eyebrow, looking at her like she'd gone mad. "What's wrong with having just one, really good friend?"

Granger sighed again and shook her head.

"Granger, everyone hates me." Draco shrugged. "Even if I wanted more friends, I'm not likely to get any. I'm fucking lucky to have you, and I really have no idea how I managed that-"

"You're an enigma, remember?" Granger said, the small twitch of a smirk at the corner of her mouth. "I love a puzzle."

Draco's eyebrows shot up high on his head and he looked at her with the most amused, if not shocked, smile on his face. "You love me?"

He had to say it was entirely too cute to watch Granger as she flapped around, totally flustered by the conclusion he'd logically drawn from her comment. He knew it wasn't what she meant, but teasing her was becoming one of his favourite things to do. She just looked so gorgeous all awkward and riled up. Not that he was attracted to her because he wasn't. At least, he wasn't so attracted to her that all sensible thought had left him. There was no way she'd want to date a wizard like him. No way. And he didn't want to date her. Not even a little bit.

"I didn't mean it like that," she huffed, an adorable little pout on her lips.

"Ah, I see," he said, morphing his features into an expression of profound - and highly theatrical - sadness. "So, no one loves me. I am unloved," he said, a hand coming to rest on his 'poor' heart. He sniffed and looked to the sky.

"Draco..." Granger huffed again, actually stamping her feet. "That's not funny."

He sniggered, shooting a wry smile. "It's kind of true though."

Granger sighed and shook her head. She stomped past him, muttering under her breath. "You underestimate how fast I can get attached to people with a 'kicked-puppy' vibe."

"A kicked-puppy vibe?!" Draco gaped at her, absolutely affronted. "Kicked puppy?!"

Granger snickered, shooting him a wicked smirk from over her shoulder as she continued on towards Hogsmeade. Draco shook his head and sprinted after her, talking loudly about making her pay for that. He picked up a handful of a snow, rolled it into a ball and lobbed it at the back of her head, hitting her dead on. She shrieked, immediately turning to face him, her eyes narrowed. Draco threw another snowball and hit her square in the face.

Nearly forty minutes later, both Draco and Hermione actually made it into Hogsmeade, both red-faced and laughing, shoving each other across the path as they slid down into the village.

"Oh no!" A voice drifted towards them, equal parts horrified and exasperated. "No, no, no."

"Ron!" Granger squealed, running for the voice and jumping on the red-head. Draco felt his heart drop to his feet, swallowing thickly as he watched the two of them together. It was like torture. He turned to see the boy-who-wouldn't-die staring curiously at him.

"You said you and Malfoy were friends," Weasley huffed, having put Granger down. "You never said anything about having to tolerate the git as your boyfriend!"

"What?! He isn't my boyfriend!" Granger squeaked, looking mortified. Her eyes seemed to flick from one man to another, finally landing on the floor. Her cheeks were blazing red and she looked like she'd rather the ground swallow her up.

"I mean, me and Harry were kind of wondering if something was going on with you and him, what with the way you write about him-"

"Ron," Potter muttered, clearly more observant than his best mate.

"-but seeing it in the flesh-"

"Ron," Potter hissed again.

"-the pair of you all laughing and smiling and doe-eyed..." Weasley shivered and imitated puking.

"Ron!" Potter said, glaring at the man.

Draco didn't really know what to do with himself, but if he felt uncomfortable it was nothing compared to how Granger looked. He thought she was on the verge of crying.

"Uh, I don't know what to tell you, but me and Granger aren't together," Draco said, shrugging apologetically at the two men.

Weasley seemed to eye him as though unconvinced, contemplating the truth behind his words.

"Can we just go shopping and not talk about this, please?" Granger whispered, keeping her eyes on the floor.

"Hermione-"

"Harry!" she growled, glaring at him.

"Yeah, fine. Whatever," Potter said with a sigh. "Where to?"

Weasley seemed to frown as Granger pointed to Scrivenshaft's before sloping off down the hill towards it. "So, are you two really not together?" he said, looking at Draco.

Draco scoffed. "I thought you were her best mate. You should know she's got more bloody sense than that."

Weasley snorted and Draco noticed Granger giving him the oddest look. He told himself that next time she asked him to Hogsmeade, he should probably remind himself of the psychological distress it was likely to cause. He had no idea what was going on, with her, with him, with anyone. Hell, he thought she wanted to be with Weasley but Weasley seemed more put out with the idea of having to spend time with Draco than the idea of him dating Granger. Potter just kept looking at him as though he'd missed something, and he wasn't entirely sure he hadn't.

"Draco?!" Another voice called through the air, making him whirl around anxiously. People calling his name usually meant trouble. His eyes darted around the village until they found the source. Blaise Zabini. Draco groaned internally.

"Zabini," he said, nodding curtly.

Blaise ambled on over, a nervous sort of smile on his face. Theodore Nott was behind him and it looked as though they were with Daphne Greengrass and Pansy Parkinson.

"How's it going mate?" Blaise said, holding his hand out for Draco to shake. "I haven't seen you in months!" Draco shook his hand and then shrugged.

"Been a bit...busy, I guess," he said.

"What are you doing in Hogsmeade then?" Blaise asked, frowning as he looked around the street.

Draco noticed that Potter and Weasley had left him in order to follow Granger into the quill shop. No doubt they were questioning her sanity (in person) over her choice to befriend him.

"Just grabbing a few supplies for school," he answered, hoping he could get rid of them all before Granger made it out of the shop.

"Oh yeah! That's right! I forgot Astoria said you'd come back," Daphne interjected, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. "Although, I did wrack my brains trying to figure out why."

"Got bored being busy," Draco said with another shrug. "I guess I figured if I could complete my studies I'd have more options with regards to where I wanted to go. I wouldn't necessarily have to stay in this country-"

"You want to leave England!"

Draco closed his eyes and dropped his head, wincing at being caught out by the one person he was hoping would stay in the bloody shop! If only it were a book shop.

"I have thought about it, yes," he said, turning slightly to face her.

Granger glared back at him. "Why? The last I heard, you only spoke one language and you can't even make friends in that! What makes you think you'll do better in a country that doesn't understand a word you speak?"

"That's a bit harsh Granger, don't you think?" Pansy snarled, stepping forwards to glare at the bushy-haired witch.

Draco ignored her and so, with pleasant surprise, did Granger.

"You're just scared you'll miss me too much," Draco jabbed, arching one perfect eyebrow while he smirked at her.

"Oh don't flatter yourself Draco," she huffed, refusing to look at him. "I just don't see what running away is going to get you!"

"You can run with me if you really want to," he said, smiling in amusement at her. "I'll get a special suitcase that I can smuggle you across the world in-"

"Oh fuck you Malfoy, if anyone's being stuffed in a suitcase, it's you!" she muttered, stalking off towards Honeydukes.

"I like the chocolate frogs and pixie puffs," he called out to her, laughing as she gave him the finger. He turned back to find his old friends frowning at him, and Potter and Weasley looking at him with their eyebrows raised.

"They made friends," Potter said, looking at the former-Slytherins and answering their unasked question.

"Draco and Granger made friends?" Theo said, looking at Draco in disbelief.

"If you ask me, they're a little bit more than friends," Weasley grumbled.

Potter elbowed him as Draco shook his head, giving the red-head a bewildered sort of look. Before he could defend his purely platonic relationship with the golden girl, another head of red hair came flying at them all.

"Harry! Ron!" Ginny Weasley rushed her brother and his best friend. "Merlin, it's been ages! How've you been?"

Potter looked incredibly guilty. More guilty than Draco thought he'd ever seen him. He rubbed the back of his head and was barely able to look at the woman.

"Yeah, we've been good," he said, practically oozing anxiety.

"Harry, don't be a git. We didn't work. Shit happened. My whole world is not crumbling around my feet because we grew up and you don't fancy me anymore," Weaslette said.

Draco snorted and Potter glared at him.

"What?" Draco said. "She's got a point. Just because you like to brood over almost everything, doesn't mean everyone does."

"This coming from the man who spent sixth year in a very large pit of dispair," Blaise said, sniggering at Draco.

"Yes, well," Draco muttered. "That generally tends to happen when you're ordered to kill your headmaster by a raving lunatic that's also kidnapped the rest of your delusional family."

Both groups went quiet as jaws dropped. It suddenly occurred to Draco that he'd maybe spent a bit too much time around Granger. It also occurred to him how much he appreciated her little snorts and giggles whenever he used sarcasm to mask how ugly a truth was. Without saying a word he walked off towards Honeydukes in search of her.

He found her wondering around the sweetie section looking at some fizzing whizzbees.

"Hey," he said, poking at stuff on the shelves.

"Hey," she said. After a moment she stood up straight and turned to face him, crossing her arms. "Where's everyone else?"

"Uh..." He hunched his shoulders a bit and shoved his hands in his jacket pockets. "I sort of left them all standing in a stupor."

"Why were they in a stupor?" She frowned.

"Because I was maybe a tad too blasé about some stuff that happened in our sixth year," he said.

Granger raised her eyebrows. "You did that thing you do where you drop a truth bomb laced in sarcasm, didn't you?"

Draco nodded. "Yep, only you weren't around to laugh at it."

"I don't laugh at them!" she huffed.

"No, sometimes you just about manage to stop yourself and end up snorting instead," he said.

Granger glared at him.

It was so flat and fed-up that Draco couldn't help smile at her. It was an exasperated kind of glare. The kind of glare that said she knew she should be cross but really she knew him far too well to be all that surprised. He liked that she knew him. It had been a long time since he'd felt like someone really knew him.

"What are you smiling for?" she huffed, her arms dropping.

"You look kind of adorable right now," he said, the hint of a smirk on his lips.

Granger's cheeks instantly flushed red. She cleared her throat and stammered something under her breath. Draco stared curiously at her as she composed herself.

It looked to him an awful lot like she might actually fancy him. If he didn't know any better, if he were looking at this through the eyes of the arrogant arse he used to be, he'd have bet money on Granger having less than platonic feelings for him. But he did know better, didn't he? And he wasn't that idiot back at school, he was older now and wiser and he could see with perfect clarity that Granger was far too smart and far too sensible to ever do something as stupid as fancy him.

He wondered after her as she took her sweets and chocolates to the counter, staring at the floor and trying to rid his mind of thoughts that sparked a hope of something more with the witch. He didn't like her that way. He couldn't. She was too important to him for something more to happen. He couldn't ruin it by making a move. He wasn't about to lose the first real connection he'd made in years.

"Catch," Granger said as they left the shop, throwing a small bag at him.

Draco clapped his hands around the paper bag and grinned, opening it up to see a selection of pixie puffs and chocolate frogs inside.

"How come you're getting Hermione to buy your sweets when your loaded Malfoy?" Weasley grumbled, the two groups having formed one large one that met them outside the door of Honeydukes.

"Because I'm not loaded anymore," Draco said, picking at the pixie Puffs.

"Really? Why?" Daphne asked, frowning at him.

"My father disowned me," he said, not looking up.

"Shit man! Are you serious?!" Blaise hissed.

"Yeah..."

"But what about your mother? Surely she wouldn't have let that happen?" Pansy said, staring at him.

Draco shrugged. He avidly ignored the wild and indignant eyes one Hermione Granger was now turning on him.

"Draco, I need to talk to you," Granger said, taking hold of his arm and dragging him away from the group. "Right now. In private."

"You cannot tell me that nothing is going on with you two," Weasley said, gesturing to Granger tugging on his arm as he reluctantly followed. His comment was met with agreeable titters from several of the others still stood around.

Once Granger had wrestled him into a deserted alley, he pulled his arm out of her grip, feigning hurt. He then said the only thing he could think of that would derail the lecture he was about to get. "Careful Granger, Weasley's already starting to get the wrong idea...you wouldn't want to ruin your chances with him," he muttered.

Granger frowned at him, looking completely confused. "What?"

"Weasley. I'm not sure he'll be all that interested in you if he thinks we were even close to dating," Draco said, folding his arms and staring her down with a smug smile.

His smug smile fell away when her frown morphed into an expression of disgust and outrage. "Ron?! You think I'm still interested in Ron?!" She let out a little roar of frustration before looking back up at him. "I will slap you if you ever decide to be that dense again, out loud!"

Draco blinked at her. "You mean you're not interes-"

"I haven't been interested in Ron since I had to watch him maul Lavender Brown," she hissed. "And not because he broke my sodding heart or some sappy shit like that. Because I didn't much like the idea of having my tongue sucked right out of my head!"

Draco snorted.

"It's not fucking funny!" she snapped.

"Well, it kind of is," he said, holding his fingers up into a open pinch, "a little bit."

Granger glared at him but it only made him laugh more. He loved watching the emotions swirl in her eyes. It made her beautiful in a way no other witch ever had been to him. The only time he hated it was when she was sad. Even catching a glimpse of her pain was enough to make his heart ache. Merlin, he really had to work on his definition of denial, because so far he was fucking terrible at it.

"Have you seriously been thinking this entire time that I was hung up on Ron?!" she said, sounding mostly indignant and a little bit hurt.

"Well, part of the argument I had with Mclaggen included telling him that you'd been pining after the same wizard for years," Draco said, wincing apologetically at her. "Who'd you think I meant?"

Granger opened and closed her mouth a few times, unable to answer him. Finally, she just narrowed her eyes on him and poked a finger into his chest. "How come none of your friends know your mum died?" she growled softly.

"Because I didn't tell them," he said.

"Why not?!" Her hands were on her hips now.

Draco shrugged and she smacked him across the chest with one hand.

"You're asking questions," he muttered. "That's not our thing. Our thing is not asking questions."

"Fuck you. Now it is. Why didn't you tell them?"

"I didn't tell anyone!" he cried exasperatedly.

Granger's face dropped as she stared at him aghast. "Am I the only one that knows?"

Draco nodded.

"But - why?!"

He shrugged again and Granger smacked his chest some more.

"For fuck's sake Malfoy! Open your sodding mouth and use your bloody words!" she cried.

"Because it just came out! Because if you'd asked how or why, I could just walk away and it wouldn't matter!" He raked his hands through his hair and shook his head. "Because...because, they all knew me. They don't know me. And I couldn't deal with talking to people who all had this preconceived idea of who I am."

"But, you gave them that idea," she said.

Draco nodded again. "Yes. I did."

"And they do still know you. At least, they know some of you. You just have to explain that the person you projected back before the War was more of an image designed to protect yourself from the wrath of an evil tyrant wizard and your mentally unstable father, rather than the actual person that you are." Granger's lips twitched. "I mean, your ideologies have changed a lot, but your still a twat."

Draco chuckled, wrapping his arms around her without thinking. "Thank you," he murmured. He felt her shock subside as her arms came to rest around his waist. He squeezed her a little tighter. "Honestly Granger...thank you."

"But I didn't do anything," she muttered as he let go of her.

He chuckled again, gently kissing the top of her head. "Sometimes, you can be as oblivious as Potter and Weasley."

Granger grumbled something he couldn't hear and huffed as she took a small step back from him so she could meet his eyes again.

"You have to tell them," she said.

"No, I don't." He shook his head. "I can't."

"Draco...you really do have to," she said. "It's not fair to let them carry on thinking she's still alive. She meant something to them as well-"

"She was my mother," he snapped.

"I know," Granger said, raising her hands and placing them softly on his chest. "I know." She sighed and looked up at him with wide, sympathetic eyes. "But, they deserve to grieve too. They deserve to know, Draco. I mean, hell, Andromeda is still out there believing she has a sister she might be able to make amends with..."

Draco groaned, his shoulders falling. "But they'll all want to know what happened. I can't tell them what happened..."

Granger frowned at him. It looked like she was going to ask him why but just as she opened her mouth, her frown disappeared and she just nodded. "Okay...so, tell them she died but you just can't talk about it. Not yet. Tell them it's too painful."

"It is too painful," he murmured.

Granger scoffed at that. "I know. It's what we call sharing feelings and emotions. Being genuine with people."

"Fuck off," he muttered, the smallest smile on his lips.

Granger chuckled, stepping back into him again and wrapping her arms back around his waist. He found himself just as shocked as she'd been when he caught her unawares.

"It's going to be alright. I promise. In the end, it'll all be okay," she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear it.

He squeezed her tighter, her chin tucked under his head. He could have stayed like that forever and been a happy man. He also needed to get a grip and let the poor woman go. It wasn't her job to consol him. She was the last person who should have been caring about him. She deserved better.

Draco took a deep breath as he trudged back up the small slope to the waiting mini-crowd. "My mother died," he said quickly. All his old friends looked like they'd each taken a punch to the gut. "I'm sorry I never told you, I never actually told anyone-"

"It looks like you told Granger," Pansy said, crossing her arms as her lip wobbled.

"In Malfoy's defense, Hermione is scary easy to talk to. Like, shit just falls out of your mouth before you get chance to filter anything," Potter said, grimacing at both Draco and Pansy.

"Yeah, trust us, it's not exactly fun," Weasley sighed. "Ginny seems to be the only person I've met who's immune to it."

Pansy took a deep breath and turned water-filled eyes on Draco. "Narcissa's really dead?"

Draco nodded.

"When?" Blaise asked.

"Before school started," Draco said.

Theo sighed. "So you had a funeral and everything, but didn't invite anyone?"

Draco shrugged and blew out a tense breath. "It wasn't up to me. It was up to my father. They were still married and he hadn't disowned me by then..."

"Why - oh shit! She didn't?" Blaise looked at Draco with wide eyes.

Draco shrugged, refusing to look at anyone.

"Fucking hell mate! That's awful," Theo murmured.

Draco cleared his throat, nodded and then walked off. "I don't want to talk about it," he said as he went.

Granger had apparently appointed herself the exception to that request. "Draco!" she called, rushing to keep up with him. She clamped a hand around his arm again and pulled him into another deserted alleyway.

"What is it with you and dragging me into dark, abandoned streets?!" he hissed, rubbing his arm for effect. "Seriously woman, people are going to assume the worst in a minute!"

Granger just glared at him. "Trust me, having people think I'm dating you is not the worst thing that's ever happened to me."

Draco cleared his throat again and shuffled his feet in the snow. "Fair point."

"What have your friends worked out that I haven't?" she asked.

"Ah yes, of course, I forgot," he snarled. "Hermione Granger loves a good puzzle."

Granger slapped him.

Draco stared at her in shock as he rubbed his cheek while she looked back resolutely without an ounce of guilt or shame.

"I did tell you I'd slap you if you were ever that dense out loud again," she said, raising her eyebrows and crossing her arms.

Draco growled and shoved his hands into his jeans pockets. "My mum killed herself. It's a big deal in the wizarding world...almost like it's-"

"A sin," Granger said gently, cutting him off. Her eyes softened instantly. "Like it's something shameful or terrible. Like your mum was an awful witch who failed herself and her family..."

Draco looked up at her to see her eyes shining, a terribly beautiful expression on her face that screamed understanding and heart ache all at the same time.

"I'm sorry for your loss," she said quietly. "I'm sorry that your mum was so unwell, that you lost her."

Draco practically crumbled around her, his arms sliding around her shoulders as he buried his head in her shoulder. Granger curled herself into him, her arms wrapped around his waist again as she tried to comfort him. Draco's tears seemed to come thick and fast and he held on to Granger as tight as he could. He didn't want to let go. He knew his face would look terribly red and blotchy the minute he pulled away, and his eyes would be all puffy and swollen. He was embarrassed to have let himself go so completely, but fuck if it felt good. If it felt right.

"It's going to be alright," Granger whispered again. "I still promise, it'll all be okay in the end."

Draco sniffed, pulling back a little so he could tuck her into him properly. He sighed as he wiped his eyes quickly. "Sorry..." he muttered. "I didn't mean to fall to pieces, I just...I didn't expect you to understand it the way you do."

Granger let out a watery little chuckle. "Muggles used to believe the same thing, once. But they've come to understand that mental illnesses are just as crippling and fatal as physical ones. That you have to be in a terrible place to feel that there's no other way to stop the pain."

Draco squeezed her again and hummed, nodding his head in agreement.

"My aunt committed suicide...that's what muggles call it. I remember my mum trying to explain it to me when I was quite little," she said.

"I tried so hard..." he said, his voice breaking again. "I tried. But...I couldn't make her happy again. I couldn't...I wasn't enough-"

"Draco, you can't think that way!" Granger scolded softly, pulling back to look up at him. His arms still rested gently on her shoulders and he could feel her breath on his face. "It had nothing to do with you not being enough!"

Draco nodded, the smallest, saddest smile on his face. "I know Granger. I didn't mean it like that." He sighed and met her eyes, their faces only inches apart. "I meant, I'm not a qualified psychologist or counsellor or therapist. I could do a bit of research here and there but...I wasn't enough. She needed help, from someone who knew what they were doing. Wizarding Britain doesn't have healers for the mind, not really. And my father refused to acknowledge she was unwell, let alone even entertain the idea of her seeing an actual muggle doctor."

"Your father's outdated, archaic ways of thinking led, in some way, to your mother's death," she concluded for him.

"It's why he disowned me," Draco said. "Because I told him he was a shit father and a shit husband and if he hadn't dragged us into a War neither of us wanted a part in, she wouldn't have got as ill as she had. And if he'd cared about her even an ounce it wouldn't have mattered where she got help from."

Granger smiled at him, an astounding amount of pride shining in her eyes. "You deserve a hell of a lot better than him, and so did your mother."

He sighed, closing his eyes and dropping his forehead to rest on hers. "I'm sorry I never told you."

Granger scoffed. "We've been friends for two weeks because I refuse to leave you alone. This isn't something I expected to be told. If we hadn't met your friends in the street I wouldn't have expected you to tell me for a long time."

Draco chuckled, hugging her properly again. "Hey Granger? Promise you'll never actually leave me alone? Even when I'm being the world's biggest git?"

Granger chuckled back. "I promise."

Several moments later, once Draco and Granger had rejoined the group for the second time, someone suggested going for a drink at the Three Broomsticks.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Blaise said. "Might get a few raised eyebrows, give everyone something to talk about," he chuckled.

Granger groaned softly.

"Come on Hermione," Weasley snickered. "Malfoy's like your new best friend. You can't tell me you don't want the attention if you'll put up with it for him."

Granger scowled at him, her cheeks growing deliciously warm. Draco's brow twitched with a frown, wondering what she was getting flustered about. Was it the attention they were all sure to get or the fact that Weasley kept alluding to feelings she might have? Draco was sure it must be the first one, because the second was just impossible. It had to be. After everything they'd been through, after all the awful things he'd said and done to her...Granger was way too smart to fall for him. But then, smart people doing stupid things wasn't unheard of. Hell, he was pretty smart and he ended up on the wrong side of a War he didn't want to fight in.

Granger was muttering something to Weasley as she pushed open the door to the Three Broomsticks. She wasn't paying much attention to anything happening in front of her, since she'd turned her head to glare at her friend. Draco had seen Cormac Mclaggen sat at a table just inside the door. He'd seen him dart up from his seat and move to stand almost directly in front of Granger. He'd also noticed how the man's eyes had darted to the ceiling for the briefest of seconds before settling back on the woman walking through the door, a wide grin on his face. As soon as Draco clocked the mistletoe Granger was about to walk under, he swung an arm around her waist and hauled her back into him. Everything after that seemed to happen rather fast.

Draco, with Granger anchored to him, had stopped moving abruptly. The rest of their group had not, and so walked straight into both Draco and Granger, toppling them both under the magical mistletoe towards Mclaggen, along with Potter, Daphne and Theo.

"What the hell Malfoy?!" Potter cried, glaring at him as he realised why none of them could move.

The sound of his last name had almost every eye in the house turning towards them. Draco groaned and dropped his head back, looking exasperatedly at the ceiling.

"I was trying to stop Granger from getting trapped under the mistletoe with Mclaggen," Draco said.

After a beat of silence Potter simply answered, "Oh."

Mclaggen was learing at Granger and shuffling around the magic invisible barrier towards her. She tried to recoil away but ended up caught as he jabbed an arm out, leaning against the barrier and caging her in. Draco watched, unable to move towards her, as Mclaggen mumbled something in her ear. He couldn't hear anything the creep was saying to her above the bickering coming from the other three in the middle of the small circle.

He was caught completely off guard when Granger ducked under Mclaggen's arm, stomped three small steps through Potter, Daphne and Theo, and planted a doozy of a kiss on his lips.

She flung her arms around his neck and pushed him through the barrier whilst still pressing her lips to his. Draco's wide eyes clamped shut as his shock subsided, his arms looping around her waist and pulling her tight into him.

Granger practically sighed against him as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, determined to make the most of it before reality came back to bite him in the ass.

"I fucking knew it," Weasley muttered, albeit with a good humoured sort of laugh. Draco wasn't sure whether he was more surprised by that than by the kiss itself.

Granger finally, disappointingly, released her hold on him and stepped back. Her cheeks were flushed a darker red than he'd ever seen them, and she looked so flustered he pretty much fell in love with her right then and there. She blinked and cleared her throat, barely able to look at him.

"Sorry...I got a bit carried away..." she murmured.

Draco snorted. He couldn't help himself. "Granger, you can get carried away with me any time you like," he said, shooting her a wicked grin and a wink as her eyes flew up to meet his.

It hadn't forgone his notice that the entire pub had fallen silent at watching Hermione Granger, War Heroine, willingly make-out with Draco Malfoy, Death Eater. As soon as those words had come out of his mouth, people had begun to mutter and whisper between them. Granger cleared her throat again, looking incredibly uncomfortable and Draco wanted to slap himself in the face. Of course she'd only kissed him to get away from Mclaggen. Why else would she do something so ridiculous in such a public place?!

Mclaggen chose that moment to voice some of Draco's own thoughts. "You'd rather kiss Death Eater scum than kiss me?!" Mclaggen roared, looking more disgusted and repulsed than ever.

Granger looked up at Draco and then across at Mclaggen, still stuck in the barrier. She chewed on her lip in thought for all of two seconds before nodding. "Yep."

"But-"

"Cormac, just shut up and stop fucking stalking me!" she snapped. "I don't like you. Not even a little bit. I can barely tolerate you as a person! Merlin's balls take a fucking hint and just piss off already!"

Weasley whistled while Potter sniggered from still inside the mistletoe barrier. Draco heard a few of the people in the pub start to snicker too and had to bite his lip from looking at Mclaggen with a smug-ass, shit-eating grin.

"You know what? Fine! Whatever Hermione! I'll just kiss Greengrass instead," Mclaggen said, turning to Daphne.

"The hell you will!" Daphne growled, twisting away from him.

Before either Potter or Theo could come to her rescue, the Weaslette had boldly stepped under the mistletoe with them all and promptly shoved her tongue down Daphne's throat, releasing the woman from her invisible prison. The room had gone quiet a second time as she let go of the slightly dazed Slytherin with a smirk on her face.

"Bloody hell Weasley, you can kiss!" Daphne murmured.

Ginny laughed and gave a small little bow. "Thanks, but don't get too used to it. I don't actually swing that way, but all the blokes seemed to be taking an age to kiss you to safety." She gestured to both Potter and Theo, both of which merely shrugged.

"Yeah, well...that might have something to do with the way I swing," Theo said, crossing his arms and raising his eyebrows at her.

Ginny arched one of her own eyebrows. "If that's the case, you could have just kissed Mclaggen," she said.

Mclaggen looked like he might gag and Draco had half a mind to step back under the infernal plant to kiss him himself.

Theo shrugged. "I'd rather kiss Harry."

Potter just laughed, slipped both his hands either side of Theo's face and snogged the man senseless. If Draco thought his own shock at being kissed by Granger was profound, it looked as though it had nothing on the shock Potter had rendered Theo in. The poor man looked absolutely gobsmacked as Potter pulled him out from under the mistletoe amid loud cheers and applause.

Draco laughed softly as Theo grabbed hold of Potter's wrist as he went to walk away, twisting him back to face him in order to return the favour. Draco looked down at Granger, still stood beside him, to find a knowing smirk on her face. He nudged her gently and frowned down at her, watching as she let a tiny giggle escape.

"Harry likes men and women," Granger said. "And I believe he's fancied Theo for quite some time."

Draco barked out a laugh. "You're joking?! Theo's been dying for a taste of the chosen one since he first laid eyes on the git!"

Granger smacked his chest gently with the back of her hand. "Harry isn't a git."

"Harry is currently mauling Theo in the middle of the Three Broomsticks," Draco pointed out.

"That doesn't make him a git, that just makes him...well...uh...-"

"A tart?" Draco offered.

Granger snickered and smiled up at him. "Maybe."

Draco smiled back down at her. He wanted nothing more than to copy Theo and pull the bushy-haired witch into another kiss, but he didn't want to ruin the perfect one she'd already given him by tainting it with the memory of rejection.

Granger smiled back up at him, and just as the moment seemed like it might drag out, she turned quickly and went to separate his old friend from her best one. Draco sighed and shook his head, intent on letting the last few minutes roll on by. Nothing would come of them. Nothing would come of that kiss. He and Granger would remain friends and that was that.

The whole group bundled into one of the booths in the back corner of the pub. Potter was practically sitting on Theo at this point and it was doing nothing but making everyone else grin. Draco shook his head, smirking at the two of them.

"You know, if you just made a move on Hermione, she'd sit on your lap too," Potter said, smirking back at him.

Granger had gone to get drinks with Ginny and Blaise.

Draco shrugged and shook his head. "I don't think Granger is as interested in me as you all seem to think," he said, trying to keep his tone quite light.

Potter scoffed. "Mate, you should read what she writes about you. She's definitely interested."

Draco raised a sceptical eyebrow at him. "She's the brightest witch of our age...you know that, right?"

Potter laughed. "I also remember the time she turned herself into a human cat."

Draco snorted and shook his head again.

"She's smart Malfoy, but she's not cold," Potter said. "Sometimes, she does shit even when it doesn't make sense and it seems like a really stupid thing to do."

The table had grown quiet, all looking at him. He shifted uncomfortably, darting his eyes around the people sat with him. "Are you honestly saying you want me to date Granger?" he said.

Potter sucked in a deep breath and glanced over at Hermione, checking to make sure she was still a ways off. He locked eyes with Draco. "I've visited Hermione at Hogsmeade at least once every other weekend since she came back to school. And the first time I've really seen her laugh and smile, was today. Walking down with you."

Draco shifted awkwardly, his eyes dropping to the table. "That doesn't mean she wants to date me," he muttered.

"Yeah, maybe not," Weasley said, rolling his eyes. "But when you add that to the way she's practically been selling you in her letters, to how she looks at you in person, to the amount of times she's dragged you off to a secluded spot-"

"That was to talk!" Draco cried in a strangled sort of voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Weasley said in a bored voice as he continued. "I mean, I thought you were smart Malfoy. Like, Hermione smart. She doesn't kiss anyone like that-"

"That was to get away from McCreepy," Draco huffed.

The entire group sniggered and scoffed at him.

"Draco," Pansy sighed, pained eyes on him. "You were the furthest one away and all it would have taken was a peck. Please open your fucking eyes and wake up."

Draco grumbled and scowled at his fingers as twisted them on the table.

Granger took that moment to finally reappear at the table. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he said immediately. "Just trying to get used to this whole new reality we somehow created."

Granger chuckled. "It's called making friends, Draco. You'll get used to it."

He stuck his tongue out at her and stood up to let Blaise and Ginny slide onto the bench.

"It really is a bit small for all of us, isn't it?" Granger sighed, still stood up with her hands placed gently on her hips.

"Some of us will just have to double up," Ginny said, plonking herself down on Blaise's lap. He smiled delightfully as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The rest of the group looked curiously at them.

Granger rolled her eyes and filled them in. "It took him all of two seconds to ask her out. They're going on a date next week," she said.

Everyone hummed and nodded, smiling at the two of them. They then all looked expectantly at Draco and Granger.

"What?" Draco frowned.

"There's one seat left and two of you," Pansy said with a smirk.

Draco groaned, rolled his eyes and sat down, pulling Granger with him to sit on his lap. She squeaked as she hit his knees with her arse, her cheeks burning red as he pulled her back flush to his chest and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"You know, you two should go on a date next week too," Pansy said, everyone else humming in agreement for the second time.

"We could do a triple date!" Potter cried triumphantly.

Ginny came to his rescue before he had time to answer. "I am not going on a date with my new...guy, with my ex-boyfriend!"

"Yeah, okay, fair point," Potter grumbled. "But we could double date," he said, gesturing to himself and Theo, and then Draco and Granger.

Granger folded her arms and looked crossly at him. "Would you please give it a rest Harry! Nothing is going on with us, and it is not for you or anyone else to force it to!"

Weasley, being either the only one either brave or stupid enough to speak once Granger had raised her voice, replied "we aren't forcing you though. Think of it as saving you a lot of wasted time."

Granger glared at him.

"We, the whole group that is," Weasley said, gesturing to everyone sat around the table, "believe, that Malfoy likes you and wants to date you. We also believe that you like him and want to date him."

Granger gaped at him and Draco merely kept his mouth shut. He wasn't going to ruin his friendship with this woman by agreeing with them all and admitting that he did in fact fancy the pants off her, denial be damned.

"That is preposterous!" Granger snapped. "We're friends!"

"Friends don't kiss like that," Daphne pointed out.

"Ginny kissed you like that," Granger bit back.

That seemed to stump them all. Draco squeezed her a bit tighter, trying to show his support for her triumph.

"We will figure out what's going on with us, if there's anything going on with us. You will all stay out of it," Granger said. "Understood?"

Everyone nodded and Draco hid his smirk behind her shoulder.

They spent a good two hours at the Three Broomsticks, their conversations swinging from sombre to silly in seconds. Draco had enjoyed watching them all, occasionally joining in with a well placed jab or sarcastic comment. What he'd enjoyed the most was the way Granger had gradually melted into him over the course of the afternoon. She was soft and supple as she leant back against him, laughing at something Potter had said.

"What time do you lot have to be back at school?" Blaise asked, looking between, Ginny, Draco and Granger.

"We have to be back before six," Granger said, gesturing to her and Draco. "She shouldn't even be here." Granger tipped her head towards Ginny who was grinning sheepishly while still perched on Blaise's lap. "I'm betting she snuck out, so no one knows she's gone anyway."

Blaise looked at Ginny with wide eyes. "I am so hot for you right now," he whispered.

Granger scrunched her face up in disgust while Weasley made gagging noises.

"Dude come on!" he cried. "She's my sister!"

To Blaise's credit, he looked sufficiently guilty and shot Weasley an apologetic sort of wince. "Sorry mate..."

Weasley grimaced again but nodded, downing his drink. "I'll take another butter beer Zabini," he said with a smirk, tipping his head towards the bar.

Blaise groaned but graciously accepted the terms of his apology, helping Ginny off his lap and making his way to the bar.

"You're lucky really," Theo said. "That man won't buy anyone a thing unless there's even a marginal possibility of getting into their pants!" he laughed.

Ginny sniggered. "Technically, playing nice with my brother is likely to get him laid, so..."

"Eww! Gin!" Weasley cried, his face scrunched up in disgust again as Potter howled with laughter.

"What? I'm just saying!" Ginny grinned. "I'm not likely to put out for a bloke who's a wanker to my friends and family..."

"Just stop talking!" Weasley said, sticking his hands in his ears as his little sister chuckled.

"She's right though," Pansy interjected. "I wouldn't want to sleep with someone who'd been a total tool to the people I love."

Theo snorted and then gestured to both Draco and Granger. "I'm pretty sure they want to fuck, and Draco was an utter twat to her and all the people she loves."

"Theo! Don't be such a knob!" Draco growled, wanting to throw something at him but having nothing to hand. Instead he just gave him the finger. "And I wasn't an utter twat to all the people she loves, I was an utter twat to everyone."

Granger snorted. "At least you can be honest about it."

Draco shrugged, smirking up at her. "Well its not like I've changed much, is it?"

"I don't know mate," Weasley said, slapping a hand on his shoulder as he took the drink Blaise had bought him. "You are sat around a table with me and Harry, not blowing each other to shit."

Draco chuckled softly and shook his head. "Merlin, I've had my fill of blowing shit to shit. I don't think I'd have the energy to fight you now even if I wanted to. I still don't know how you had it in you to join the Auror department."

The atmosphere grew a little more sombre once again and Draco wanted to kick himself for being the asshole that took them there. His only solice was having Granger squeeze his shoulder with her hand, having wrapped one arm lazily around his neck a while ago.

Potter shrugged. "It felt like the right thing to do. It felt like it was probably the only thing I'd be good at, to be honest..."

Draco scoffed. "And that's how you know you were a child soldier."

Everyone seemed to gape at him again and he groaned.

"We weren't...we weren't child soldiers," Potter said, sounding less convinced the further along he got in his sentence. "Were we?"

Weasley chewed on his lip and shrugged. "Fucking felt like it."

Theo sighed and rubbed his forehead. "We definitely were." He gave Draco a small salute which he acknowledged with a nod of his head.

"But it had to be me," Potter said, looking more lost and bewildered than Draco could ever recall seeing him. "It had to. I had a fucking piece of Voldemort's soul in me!" he hissed quietly, looking frantically between Granger and Weasley.

"Any reason why Dumbledore couldn't tell you that, oh, I don't know...a few years earlier than he did?" Draco asked. "Why'd he have to wait so long to drop the bomb?"

Potter set wide eyes on Draco, clearly not having an answer.

"Powerful men have a way of making you feel more important than you are," Draco said slowly. "It makes you empathise with them and with their cause. Before you know it, intelligent people are doing stupid things because one man told them to." He gave Potter a sad look and shrugged. "If one man is the only one who knows all the pieces, chances are, you're not part of a democracy...your part of a dictatorship. With a really good front man."

Even Granger was looking down at him, her expression one of astonishment. Weasley was the only one who seemed unsurprised by his revelation.

"But...but..." Potter started to flounder and Draco sighed.

"I'm not...I'm not trying to derail your whole identity Potter," he said. "I didn't mean to make you question your entire life, I just...I suppose for me it was obvious."

"What was obvious?" Daphne croaked, frowning at him.

"That more people died in that War than ever really had to," Weasley concluded for him.

Draco nodded. "We were all sold a story, and don't get me wrong, am I bloody relieved that you guys won. I mean, the alternative is your basic foundation of a horror story but...how old are we? How old are we and we've already fought in a war? All of us?"

Everyone seemed to nod and shrug and hum some kind of agreement.

"And how long were we preparing for it?" he said, looking around the table. "How long did we know it was coming? We'd been entrenched in the bloody thing since we started fucking school!"

"Our side at least were enlisted at birth," Theo muttered savagely. "Its not like we had much of a choice between the brainwashing and the mad man risen from the dead."

"But...doesn't everyone have a choice?" Ginny asked tentatively. "I mean, when you really get down to the roots of it, we all have a choice..."

"Well, yeah...if you count 'or death' as a choice," Draco said.

"Why couldn't you just have defected? Run away? Joined the other side?" Ginny said. "Dumbledore could have protected you. Protected your friends and families-"

Draco actually laughed at that. "I bet Dumbledore told you that, huh? Have you got any evidence to suggest he could guarantee it?"

Ginny went quiet, shaking her head.

"The only reason Riddle was scared of Dumbledore was because the old man could sell a cause with the same sort of charm and finesse that he himself could," Draco said. "I'm not saying you were on the wrong side. Like I said before, I'm honestly thrilled you guys won it. I'm just pointing out that we should never have had to fight it in the first place. And maybe, it's not so crazy to think our roles could have been reversed depending on the equally insane crackpots heading the cause on both sides."

Everyone was quiet, staring at Draco as they contemplated their own wavering identities.

"Nice way to bring the atmosphere down mate," Blaise muttered, a few of the group chuckling along with him.

"Yeah...sorry..." Draco winced and looked around apologetically.

"Way to make us all question our entire lives, just before Christmas," Potter huffed. "Have you any idea what it's like to have every conviction you've ever held completely flipped on its head in one singular moment?"

Draco arched one long eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

Potter looked sufficiently sheepish. "Sorry, I suppose I sort of thought you're ideologies flipped slowly, over time."

Draco scoffed. "It wasn't one singular moment, I'll give you that. More like one singular person," he muttered with mock irritation.

"Who?" Potter frowned.

Draco grinned, and looked up at Granger. "Her."

"Me?!" Granger squeaked. "What did I do?"

Draco shrugged. "You beat me. At everything. You're marks were always just that little bit better than mine."

"So?" Granger said, frowning at him.

"So? So?" Draco laughed. "I was taught my whole life that muggleborns were beneath me. That I was better than them. That my magic was better than theirs. But no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't best you."

"So you realised what you'd been taught was wrong?" Potter said. "How long did it take?"

Draco shrugged again. "Maybe halfway through second year-"

"Halfway through - but you were still a complete dick all the way through school!" Granger cried, looking down at him from her position still in his lap. "You called me a mudblood every chance you got!"

Draco grimaced. "I know. But I was twelve years old, what did you expect me to do? Turn away from everything and everyone I ever knew?"

There were a few grumbled acceptances of his situation.

"I kept up appearances," Draco said. "I did what I was told. And I ended up losing everyone anyway."

"We're all guilty of that, Malfoy," Potter sighed.

Draco nodded. It wasn't worth pointing out that he was the only one who had nothing. Nothing except a few tentative friendships with old mates and former enemies. And they all wondered why he refused to take a chance and make a move on Granger.

Another hour later and everyone started to get up and get ready to leave. They'd ordered food and eaten it, sharing some chips between them all for a late lunch.

"Come on, we really have to get back to the castle," Granger said. "I know it's nowhere near six yet but I'd rather not walk back in the dark."

Draco nodded.

"We've got to go too," Blaise said. "We were only popping in to visit Honeydukes before Christmas. This was a completely unexpected but rather pleasant surprise, if I must say." He smiled up at Ginny and squeezed her waist.

"Maybe next time you two will have got your act together," Theo said with a grin, nodding at Draco and Granger.

"Oh shove off," Draco huffed, giving Theo a one-armed hug as they all made to leave.

"Don't be a stranger Draco," Pansy said, smiling softly at him. "We missed you. It was good to see you again."

"You too Pans," he said.

He watched Granger give both Potter and Weasley big hugs before waving at the Slytherins and following him out of the pub. Other than Ginny, the rest of them would likely use the floo system already there.

Draco trudged his way back to school with Granger beside him, their hands in their pockets, shoulders hunched and breath coming out in puffs.

"So, everyone seems to think we'd be good together..." Granger said, her voice sounding slightly nervous.

"Everyone is nuts," Draco said.

Granger seemed to deflate a little. "Yeah...maybe..."

Draco stopped abruptly and looked at her. "You don't seriously think we'd make a decent couple, do you?"

Granger shrugged. "I didn't hate kissing you as much as I thought I would," she said with a smirk.

Draco laughed and started walking again. "Oh come off it. You only kissed me because you knew it would piss Mclaggen off the most."

"Or I just wanted an excuse to kiss you...?" she suggested cheekily.

Draco chuckled and shook his head. "Come on Granger, we both know you're far too smart to do something as stupid as fall for me," he said.

"Are you too smart to fall for me?" she asked softly.

Draco shot her the most void expression he could muster. "Smart people do stupid things," he said.

"Draco," Granger said, reaching out to stop him.

"Granger, can we just get back to school and not talk about this. The last time I caved to peer pressure, it didn't end well," he muttered.

Granger sighed but nodded. "Sure..." she said.

"Great." He turned and started walking back to the castle. "Are we still on for later? Going over the essay for Charms?"

Draco frowned when he got no answer, turning back to find Granger lying in the snow.

"Hermione!" He cried, running back to her and skidding down onto his knees beside her. "Hermione! Granger!"

His panic quickly subsided when she smashed a snowball into the side of his face and pulled him down into the snow. She rolled him onto his back, straddling his stomach and grinned down at him.

"I had to fake unconciousness to get you to call me Hermione?" she said, quirking an eyebrow at him.

"What are you playing at?!" he huffed. "I was genuinely worried about you!"

Hermione smiled, a blush forming on her cheeks. She placed a hand either side of his head and leant down towards him.

"What are you doing?" he murmured, his eyes wide the closer she got.

"I'm kissing you," she said.

"Why?!"

"Because, sometimes smart people do stupid things," she whispered against his lips.

Draco sighed, giving in to the inevitable. He slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her flush against him as their lips connected. She kissed him like she had before but with so much more feeling. Draco's tongue tangled with hers and he moaned, his arms squeezing tight around her. He could feel the cold snow against his back and held Hermione close as he sat up out of the snow. Her hands immediately came to tangle in his hair, pulling another moan from his lips. Draco ran his hand along her jaw, kissing her for all he was worth. He nipped her lip with his teeth, peppering kisses along her cheek and down her neck, sucking on her collarbone.

"Draco..." Hermione moaned.

Draco chuckled as he pulled back to look in her eyes.

"Why'd you stop?" she whined.

"Because I'm sat in the snow," he said, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm happy to keep going, but maybe somewhere warmer and less public?"

Hermione wrinkled her brow. "I don't mind people knowing. I don't want to keep it a secret."

"Keep what a secret?" Draco laughed as she wacked his shoulder.

"Us!"

"I wasn't aware there was going to be an us," he said. "You never asked."

She scowled at him. "Will you be my boyfriend?"

Draco smiled softly at her, all the mirth having left his face, only to be replaced by concern and maybe a hint of amusement. "Are you sure that's what you want? That you're not just making a really stupid decision?"

Hermione chuckled. "Draco, I'm positive that I'm making the most stupid decision I'm likely to ever make...but I know I'll have more regrets if I don't."

Draco surged forward and kissed her again. "Then yes, I'll be your boyfriend."

"Good," she said, laughing against his lips. "Then I'll be your girlfriend."

Draco pulled her up on her feet, still kissing her repeatedly. Her arms wrapped around his neck as she pressed her body along the length of his.

"I honestly don't deserve you," he murmured, looking from her lips to her eyes as he placed his hands gently on her arms and unlocked them from behind his head.

"Yeah, but I think I actually deserve to get what I want for once, and that's you, so...you don't really have a choice," she grinned, giving him one quick kiss before slipping her fingers through his and pulling him up towards the castle.

"I'm seriously starting to question your sanity, you know that? Right?" he said.

Hermione laughed. "I told you, you're a fucking enigma Draco Malfoy. I've been known to fall in love with a good mystery pretty quickly."

She looked so vulnerable in that moment that Draco simply couldn't help himself. "Well...the mystery has most definitely already fallen for you," he said.

Hermione giggled. "Merlin that sounded so corny," she said.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I basically just told you I'm in love with you and your initial reaction is to laugh at me?"

"Uh huh, pretty much," she said, grinning up at him. "I'd get used to it if I were you. The rest of your life is now going to include me laughing at you."

Draco pulled her to a stop. "Hermione...you realise you just admitted to wanting to spend the rest of your life with me, right?"

"No, I admitted to wanting to spend the rest of your life with you," she said, smirking. "If you piss me off enough, that could be as short as I want it to be."

Draco sighed, tugging her towards him. He slipped a hand along her jaw and pressed his lips to hers. "Tease me all you want, but at least I can admit that I don't want to spend the rest of my life without you."

He saw her breath catch in her throat as she drank in the sight of him, all serious eyes and intense gaze.

"But it's only been two weeks..." she murmured.

"Trust me Granger," he said. "Two weeks is long enough."