Pansy Parkinson stood on the kissing booth, making an effort to keep her jaw from hanging. She couldn't believe how many of her schoolmates were willing to come closer, let alone stand in line to kiss her. Granted, many of them were overeager, hormonal fourteen-year-olds who just wanted a shot at kissing a girl, but still, the fact that they didn't run away from her in fear was a great feeling.

She had come back to Hogwarts, thinking she would be the most hated person in school. From the first day back she tried to gather the courage to approach Harry Potter and apologize; she wrote several letters that ended up on the trash bin; nothing seemed good enough. When she saw the opportunity to bid for a moment with him on the kissing booth, she took it. It occurred to her that maybe a public apology could be a way to show how sincere her intentions were. He could have rejected and humiliated her. Instead, he listened, and to top it all, kissed her. And boy, was he a good kisser. There was not a lot of time to think about it, though. A plump fourth-year was standing in front of her, a golden ticket in his shaky hand. She took it with a smile and leaned in to peck him on the lips.

"Woooow!" the kid said, beaming, before wabbling toward his excited friends, who had to help him down the stage. After ten kisses, she opted for an auction for the last one. Someone paid five hundred galleons for the chance. Pansy laughed, very flattered. When the winner approached, though, it was obvious he was under the allowed age for this game. The boy had probably bought the ticket from an older classmate. She lifted an eyebrow and asked:

"How old are you?"

The boy quickly did the math on his fingers, not subtle at all. A Gryffindor for sure, Pansy thought.

"Fourteen!" he lied.

"Alright then," she said, chuckling, feeling a bit bad about the stinging hex the kid was about to get.

There were a literal spark and a crack, the little cheater flying back to fall on his friends. But he stood up like a good lion and proclaimed:

"I'm in love!"

He ran away among the cheering noises of his peers.

When Pansy turned to the steps behind the stage, a hand was waiting to help her down.

"Thank you," she said blushing.

"You're welcome," said Harry, helping her down. "I wanted to say how much I appreciate what you did. I'm tired of all the fighting and the bad blood, and it means a lot to know that all the effort and sacrifice mean that we can build a better future."

Pansy couldn't help the torrent of emotions that took over her. She broke into sobs, covering her face with her hands. Harry hugged her against him, holding tight until she calmed down.

"Thank you," she said, looking at him, hands on his chest. They stared at each other, both of their gazes hopping between eyes and lips.

Harry felt strange. Her fragility and openness gave her a look that was radically different from the image of the nasty pug-faced child she had been. A mix of protectiveness and desire stirred in his gut. It would be wrong, right? To kiss a girl when she is so vulnerable? Before he could decide what to do, her lips were touching his.

Meanwhile, on the side of the stage, Draco Malfoy took the hand that a curly witch was offering.

"So, I've never been to a Carnival," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Really? It's a lot of fun! Come one, let's find some fun games. I do not do rollercoasters, though," Hermione warned him.

"What's a roller coaster?" he asked.

She pointed to the structure where most of the screaming was coming from.

"Oh! It's like going to the Gringotts' vaults! Come on, let's do it!" he said, pulling her toward it. Hermione sank her feet.

"What did I just say! I Do NOT do that!"

Draco looked like she had just told him there was no Santa. She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't like brooms, and I don't like that kind of thing. I've had to ride them to get away from danger, but they scare me," she admitted, lowering her eyes.

Draco cocked his head, studying her. She was the most courageous person he knew, and she had been in extreme danger so many times, yet, she was not just a reckless, Potter-style daredevil.

"Has anyone ever hold you when riding any of those things?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"What if I hold you tight? It may help you get over the fear of it. After all, everyone needs to visit their Gringotts vault once in a while."

Hermione looked at him, trying to get a read. What he said made a lot of sense. But this was Draco Malfoy, bad boy extraordinaire and her sworn enemy until only a few months ago. However, she realized none of her friends had ever offered to help her get over her fear. Not Ron or Harry, not even Ginny. What did she have to lose?

"You promise not to let go?" she asked, eyes full of indecision.

"Wizard's oath," he said, crossing his heart. They stood in line for a bit, Hermione wringing her hands. Draco shyly tried putting a hand on her shoulder. After a couple of minutes, she leaned in, so he put his arm around her protectively. When their turn came, they sat next to each other.

"No seat belts?" Hermione squirmed in a panic.

"The operator just put a sticking charm on us, remember?"

"A sticking charm? WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!" she screamed at the operator, who was quickly left behind by the moving ride.

Draco laughed and put one arm around her shoulders and the other holding her firmly across her body. She screamed her head off, eyes closed shut. About halfway, the ride was doing a slow climb when she felt Draco's lips on her temple.

"It's ok love; I got you. Open your eyes."

She obeyed, finding a pair of grey orbs that had never looked at her as softly as they did now. She didn't have time to dwell on it before they were falling again.

"Look at me!" He yelled over the sound of the ride. "I got you. We're going to be ok!"

She stayed with him, and by the end of the ride, she was starting to calm down.

"One more time?" he asked when the ride came to a stop.

She took a couple of breaths.

"Promise to hold me?"

"I promise," he smiled.

They stayed on their seats, and the ride started again. This time Hermione crossed her arms over her chest and interlaced her fingers with his. They screamed their lungs dry, but the fear was slowly replaced with excitement. By the time they got off, she was laughing.

"I can't believe I rode a rollercoaster twice! I think I won't be scared of Gringotts ever again! It's my hair horrible?" she asked, beaming.

Draco didn't answer. Instead, he pulled out his wand, recited an incantation, and run his fingers through the mess over her head. Her curls took form and fell softly over her shoulders. He stared at her, heart pounding. He had not felt so free or happy since before starting Hogwarts. Grabbing her and kissing her senseless seemed like a good idea, but he refrained.

"So, what's next?" he asked.

Hermione looked around and pointed.

"Bouncing house!" she dragged him to an inflatable replica of the castle.

"There are only first-years going in there," he scowled.

"Oh, come on. It will be fun, I promise. Come on, take off your shoes," she said, already dropping hers.

Draco was conflicted. He had not been allowed to be barefooted since the age of five. But he really wanted to keep this feeling going.

"Come on, Draco, get in here!" Hermione was already bouncing and laughing inside the silly castle.

He followed her, and suddenly he was having more fun than he ever remembered. After twenty minutes of somersaults and pirouettes, they flopped on the airy cushion, exhausted. They looked at each other, laughing, trying to catch their breath. His body was heavier and sank lower, so she rolled down, landing on top of him. Their lips touched for a second before someone yelled.

"Oi! No making out in the bouncing castle ye rascals! There are children here."

Draco helped the pretty witch out, offering the cranky operator some lame apologies before walking away.

"Shall we grab some food after all that activity?" Hermione asked.

"Sure. what kind of cuisine do they have here?"

She cackled.

"Cuisine? This is a street fair. There's only fried, sugary stuff here. Whatever we eat, we are sure to regret it. But I bet it's going to taste great."

A half-hour later, they were sitting on a bench, hands and faces sticky, bellies feeling like they were going to burst.

"I told you we would regret it," she chuckled.

Draco scourgified his hands to search his pockets.

"Ha! Never leave home without one of these!" He said triumphantly, a small vial in his hand.

"What is that?"

"Narcissa Malfoy's sugar overdose cure," he said with a grin. He offered her the vial, but she looked suspicious. He removed the cork and downed half of it. "That's better. Come on; it will feel good."

Hermione drank and immediately felt her belly settle.

"Wow. That's amazing. You have to give me the formula. You always carry some with you?"

He shrugged. "Mum knows I have a sweet tooth. So she got used to carrying some for me, then when I came to boarding school, she would make sure I would always have some to carry around."

"That's very sweet. She loves you very much."

"She does," he responded with a soft look. Then he scourgify her hands and offered to help her up.

"Come on, time to win you that stuffed animal you want."

They chose a muggle game of throwing darts to blow up balloons.

"No wands allowed," said the operator.

Draco bought tickets one after the other, failing miserably. Hermione kept laughing as his frustration grew.

"Here," he said, putting a pile of galleons on the counter. "Just give me that big dragon up there."

"Draco!" Hermione scolded. "You can't buy it! You have to blow all the balloons!"

Suddenly, Draco jumped over the counter and stabbed every single balloon with a dart. Then he turned around, arms high in triumph. Hermione was arm crossed, scowling. His face fell, and he walked out of the kiosk chastised, apologizing and telling the operator to keep the money. The wizard smiled and grabbed the big stuffed dragon, presenting it to Hermione.

"Here you go, young lady. The lad just wanted to make you happy. Give him a chance."

The stuffed dragon was adorable and charmed to blow fog in the shape of a heart when you hugged it. Hermione gave up, grabbed her present, then stood on her tippy toes to give the blonde a kiss.

"Just this once, no more cheating on games," she mused.

"Can't promise that," he said, throwing an arm over her shoulders.

They walked around for a bit until he saw a ride made up of a lazy river with little boats floating on it. They would disappear into a dark tunnel.

"What is that?" Draco asked.

"A love tunnel. Is not very interesting. Just an excuse for couples to go into a dark place."

"Sounds interesting enough to me," he said with a naughty smile.

"I guess I promised to show you how fun a Carnival can be," she answered, walking toward the ride.