Hello, everyone. I wanted to let you all know that I am still thinking of you, I just haven't written much lately. But I receive all the notifications and I take note of every follow, favourite, and review and every time one of you thinks my writing is worth that, I feel a little bit better about what I do. Thank you all so much. I hope you enjoy this little set of scenes and ta ta.

S. White

Disclaimer: I definitely do not own Harry Potter.

She hadn't always been that attractive. She couldn't have been, or at the very least he had been looking with different eyes. He remembered jumping up and down behind her in class, waving his hand in the air to make the other Slytherins laugh. Merlin's pants, he had been a prick back then. But now, the sight of her made the skin on his fingers tingle with the desire to touch her, to run them through that mass of hair, or to feel the smoothness of her cheek. He had it bad, he knew, but he had to hope, too. She hadn't turned him down outright; she had blushed, avoided his eyes, muttered something about thinking about it, and hurried away without giving him a clear answer. One more try. If she turned him down, that would be it.

He would just have to come up with something she couldn't refuse, not unless she really hated him, at least. What did she like? Books. She definitely liked books. She had always been in the library at school, not that he had been watching her, or anything. She was just, well, hard to miss, even before he had really noticed how attractive he found her. Or what about a muggle place? He could always impress her with his new respect for muggles. A muggle club or bar was out. She didn't like Quidditch and he doubted she would like muggle sports any more. He briefly considered asking his secretary in and asking him what muggles did for dates, but he dismissed the idea. He tapped his pen on his notepad. It was back to books, then. It wasn't too much to go on, but he could think up something.

He straightened his tie and ran his fingers through his hair before he knocked on the door. She opened it and her lips pursed at the sight of him.

"Malfoy. What are you doing here?" There was exasperation in her voice, but not dislike. That was a good sign. She returned to her desk and began to shuffle papers, her back to him, as he leaned on her doorframe.

"I've come to rescue you."

"Oh really? From what, exactly?"

"Work. The Ministry is alright in small doses, but it's no place to live, you know."

"You work here, too, remember."

"Yes, but I leave every night. Have you installed a cot in a back room, somewhere?" He said, looking around curiously. She turned to scowl at him and he grinned back. She shook her head and went back to her papers. "Besides, I've got something worthwhile you can do."

"More worthwhile than paperwork?"

"Oh yes. I've decided to allow you to pick a book for me to read."

Ah, that made her stop. Her hands paused, hovering over sheets and rolls.

"Is that so?"

"I've finished my last book, you see, and I thought, who do I know that can find me something worth reading? And in return, I've decided to take you out to dinner."

"Are you asking me for a favour?" She said, finally turning to look at him. She had a tiny smile.

"Oh, no. It's a trade; a book recommendation for dinner."

"Well, I suppose I could help you out, just this once. No harm in that." She said.

Merlin's pants. Why did he have to pick a girl so damn intelligent? Of course she would pick something massive. He was sure she was doing this on purpose; testing him and seeing how serious he really was. Well, he was going to show her. Besides, it could have been worse. It might weigh as much as a hippogriff, but it was actually very interesting. And, she had agreed to meet him again to discuss the book over tea. He wasn't going to pass this up.

She couldn't believe it. He was actually reading it. She had picked the most difficult and complex book she could think of and he was actually reading it. Not just reading a few bits to paraphrase and impress her, either. They met over tea the next week and discussed it. No one usually paid any attention to her books and she had hardly expected it from him. But there they were, three weeks in a row now, sitting in a quaint café and sipping tea. In fact, he was practically pleasant company. Oh dear. It was only a few steps from "pleasant company" to "actually quite cute", then he might end up "attractive when he smiled." She may have ended her relationship with Ron, but she was not ready to date a former enemy. Oh no, she was already entertaining the possibility of dating him. This was a bad sign.

This was a good sign. How many definitely-not-dates now? She had lost count. She wasn't surprised the first book had taken him a while to read. He had a job and, she learned a few weeks ago, he played Quidditch in his spare time. She was more surprised that he had actually finished it at all and more so that he had enjoyed it.

"Well, Hermione, now what? Something else that is both interesting and has the density of a battering ram?"

"I'm sure that could be arranged with a simple charm."

"Forget I asked."

"Come on, we're going in here."

"A muggle shop?"

"Trust me, you'll like it."

"Me, trust a Gryffindor?"

"Weirder things have happened. Like a Gryffindor picking out a Slytherin's reading list." She dragged him along the shelves, deep into the store.

"Touché."

"Besides, you work with muggles sometimes, for the Ministry, right? Think of this as research."

"I'd rather think of it as a bit of light reading, thanks."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Draco," She said, her finger running along a row of book spines, scanning the old, familiar titles.

"I have another idea that would help me sleep at night," He said quietly and his hand touched hers lightly.

She froze and her mind went blank in panic. There were suddenly butterflies in her stomach and she knew a bright blush was spreading on her cheeks. Say something!

"Good for you," She said. Her free hand was still running along the books, but absently now, the other was still frozen with his hovering over it.

"You're not interested in finding out what?"

Her mouth was dry. She tried to take a few, steadying breaths, all while the tension filled the air between them.

"It might just be possible," She said, as calmly as she could, "To persuade me."

He kissed her suddenly and hard, like he had been waiting for this for months. His body pressed against hers and his hand tightened. Any resistance she might have had melted away. They didn't part until there was a disapproving cough. There was an elderly gentleman glaring and she turned to the shelf, pulling a few books out at random to hide her embarrassment.

"Apologies. High spirits," She heard him say behind her and he let go of her hand.

He bought a towering pile of books, which did something to sooth the owner's frown. She helped him carry them home, although she was sure he could have managed himself. Deep down she was a little ashamed of herself. She knew exactly what she was really doing and so did he. She worried that he had really just acted for no reason, that he didn't mean it, or that he was sorry. But the door had barely closed behind him when he turned to her with a smile on his lips and held out a hand to her. She took it and he wrapped her in his arms.

She wasn't sure what the future held. All she wanted was for it to have him.

He wasn't sure what the future held. But he had her, now, and he wasn't going to let her go.