Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, which belong to JK Rowling.

This is my first Harry Potter story, please review. Many thanks to my Beta xCailinNollaigx.

Chapter 1

The sliding doors swished open and Hermione ducked into the dry, light interior of the music store. She shook her umbrella and gave a disgusted look to the street where streams of water were pouring down from a lead grey sky.

It had been like this all summer: wet and windy weather doing nothing to improve her mood. She liked sunshine, it lifted her spirit and, Merlin knew, she could do with such help. It had been four weeks since the end of her fifth year at Hogwarts that ended up so disastrously. Sirius died and she herself was seriously injured. Harry smashed half of Dumbledore's office and then left to his ghastly relatives - no doubt, being eaten from inside by grief and guilt.

Her own parents were called into Hogwarts for the first time ever and the sight of their only daughter lying in a hospital bed sent them over the edge with worry that both had been harbouring for years. They declared that she would not be returning back to school. Fortunately McGonagall had stepped in and with a grim face told the Grangers that Hermione did not have a choice. She was known to be one of Harry Potter's best friends, which made her a target, even more desirable to the one Who-Must-Not-Be-Named because of her origin. Taking her out of school would not diminish that danger since everybody knew Harry's attachment to his friends. Hogwarts was a safe place for her during the term and the summer she was going to spend in a protected undisclosed location. The Grangers house was going to be heavily warded. That was the end of that discussion and two days later Hermione arrived to Grimmauld place.

Though she dearly missed her parents, the young witch was relieved to be at the Headquarters. It gave her a feeling of being useful. However after everything that happened, the house had become an even more depressing place than before. With memories of Sirius hanging over every corner and the sombre mood of its occupants, she began to feel suffocated by the dusty walls of this place.

That's why she ended up in a HMV store this grey afternoon. Hermione always liked music. She had a large collection of CDs and had charmed her portable CD player to work on magic instead of batteries. This summer she found a much needed relief from visits to a music store. Of course, she had to go in secret because she was not allowed to leave the house without an escort but she had ignored this rule. If she did not get away at least for a little bit, she would go insane.

Hermione quickly flipped through the CDs on one of the stands and put on a pair of headphones to listen to a couple of songs, she kept changing the titles forming a nice stack of those she was planning to buy. She glanced at a clock and sighed. It had been already three quarters of an hour since she left, which meant she had to head back. She pulled off her headphones and started walking towards the cashier trying to balance her CDs in one hand and pull her wallet out with the other. Concentrated on her task she did not notice a tall boy who had just left the pay point and bumped squarely into him. The impact caused her CDs to fall down. Cursing silently she bent down to pick them up and lifted her head to mutter apologies but the words died on her lips. Grey eyes on a pale face and bleach blond hair, she could not believe her eyes but she was staring straight into the face of Draco Malfoy-a despicable Slytherin that had been tormenting her for five years.

"What was that, Granger?" she heard a familiar drawl. "Were you going to apologise?" A usual sneer married his face. "About the damn time…"

Hermione shook her head hoping that it was her imagination running wild but when she realised that Malfoy was not going to disappear she quickly straitened to her full height.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she glared at him.

He raised one of his perfect eyebrows and nodded towards a few purchases in his hands, "Isn't it obvious, Granger? I've been shopping."

His words made Hermione almost drop her CDs all over again, "But this is a muggle store!" she exclaimed before she could stop herself.

"Very observant, Granger."

"You hate everything muggle." Hermione continued, her brain trying to grasp the situation.

He shrugged his shoulders, "For your information, I don't "hate everything Muggle". We both know that occasionally they make useful stuff. Music is just one example; it's far cooler than anything one can find in the wizarding world. And as a Malfoy I like to have the best." He smirked again and looked at the CDs that she was still clutching to her chest, "Hey, you are a rock-chick, Granger. Never would have thought."

Hermione could not take it anymore. The whole situation was so bizarre that she had to pinch herself in a hope to wake up. She shook her head and looked into his face again, "Malfoy, are you ill or something?" Her eyes narrowed, "Or is this another sick plan of yours? If it is I swear I will hex you into the next week."

He rolled his eyes again, "Relax, Granger, we are not at Hogwarts." Her eyes looked at him in confusion and suspicion. He sighed and continued, "This is Muggle London, no one knows who we are and no one cares how much we really hate each other."

Hermione frowned at his answer. Did she understand him right? Did he really mean what she thought he meant? She looked at him again and was surprised to see that his face was not full of contempt as usual but instead had an expression of teasing amusement. Her breath quickened and she took a step towards him, "Are you saying what I think you're saying, Malfoy?" she asked outraged. "You made my life hell for five years, calling me a Mudblood at every occasion you had, not because you hated me but because you wanted everyone to believe that you hated me?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Granger, I am a Slytherin and a Malfoy. You are a Muggleborn Gryffindor and a friend of Potter. Certain behaviour is expected of us, don't you think?"

Hermione just stared at him in shock. This could not be real… Malfoy had to be lying to her, it was a set-up… Her face must have shown the chaos that was reigning in her mind because the Slytherin grinned at her, "Wow, Granger, I did not know that you could actually be speechless… You should do it more often, it suits you."

"Don't patronize me, you git."

"I would not dream ofit," he drawled, "patronising is your prerogative." And before she could say anything, he turned away from her and headed towards the exit with a casual, "See you, Granger."

Hermione stared at his disappearing figure not sure of what to do. Part of her wanted to run after him and demand an explanation but another kept her firmly rooted to the floor. This was too bizarre to do something impulsively. She needed to think. The young witch quickly paid for her CDs and hurried towards the exit. She would talk to Harry and Ron about Malfoy's strange behaviour.