It was late, but Hermione still stuck around. They'd shut down the visiting hours, long ago only the Aurors standing guard were to be seen. Kingsley had tasked Hermione with discovering the secrets of the Weeping Willow. She stood in front of the eternal burning willow, sketchpad in hand. With her charcoal pencils, she drew the detail of the tree in front of her. The longer she stood there, the more she was certain the swishing of the flames were whispering to her. She tried to concentrate on what they were saying but each time she zoned in, the whispering stopped, only the sound of flickering flames were heard. She sighed, going back to her drawing. While she drew, she hummed a short tune. She hadn't figured out where she knew the song from, or what the lyrics were, but for some reason the song was stuck in her head. She sketched along, careful to capture every detail of the burning tree in front of her.

He stood off in the shadowed corner, admiring the blue flames licking up the bark. Seeing the magnificent tree without the hordes of witches and wizards surrounding it was a delight. He'd taken his coat off and had it folded, hanging over his forearm. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled to a quarter length, and he'd draped his scarf over his jacket. He took a few steps forward, getting closer to the barrier around the bottom of the tree. To his left he caught sight of that wavy hair again. He snickered to himself, typical of her, always having her face stuck in a book. He had to admit, she had grown into a beautiful young woman. He wasn't ashamed to admit it, there weren't any prejudices that he needed to uphold, now that the war was over. His mother had always been impartial to the whole war, she was only swept up into it due to his father.

He watched her curiously. He wasn't at an angle that gave him sight as to what she was actually doing, but he could see she was busy writing something down, staring up at the tree every few seconds. More than a few times, she huffed to herself, lifting the back of her hand up over her forehead, wiping away the loose waves from her face. He'd never thought she'd be able to tame that hair of hers, but here she was, years later and her hair was beautifully wavy, not the bushy mess of frizz it used to be. He admired her outfit, liking the way that it snugly fit her, without revealing too much. He'd always liked a woman who could be sexy while fully clothed. He stopped himself suddenly, had he just thought Granger was sexy? He shook his head; things had changed so much.

He sauntered over to her, curious to see what she was doing. He came up behind her, peering over her shoulder. He raised his brows in interest, impressed with the skill her sketch showed. He'd never pegged Granger for someone artsy. He noticed as she was smudging the corners of one of the flames but in that process, managed to ruin the fine lines of the branch she had just drawn.

He reached forward, his fingers wrapping around her pencil, "I see not much has changed since our school days."

She jumped backwards, into him, with a small intake of breath. He used the pencil to adjust the branch she had been drawing, while he felt her eyes staring at him.

Once she stilled her nerves, she snatched her pencil from him, "It's rude to sneak up on people."

His smirk returned, as he pulled his hand back.

She tucked her hair behind her ear, angling her body towards his, "How did you even get back here? There are Aurors guarding the entire exhibit."

"Money can get you a lot of things." He said impassively.

She rolled her eyes at his comment. Of course he'd find a way to wave his wealth over her head. Not that she was by any means poor. She had an amazing job, one that she genuinely loved doing, it paid well and allowed her to travel all over the world.

"Shouldn't you be gone as well? Isn't it a little late for visitors?" He sneered.

She snorted, "This is my job, I'm allowed to stay as long as I would like."

"Hmmm." Was all he answered.

She waited for something more, but when it was clear he was done speaking, she returned back to her sketch. She used her fingers to smudge the last few lines of a flame she'd outlined, when Malfoy stirred. His hand snaked around, catching her finger, guiding it in a rounded movement.

"You'll ruin the under branch if you do it the other way." He told her.

Her heart leapt at his touch, feeling the shock run through her arm. She made to turn and gaze up at him, but instead she saw a new flicker coming from the tree. She stared past Malfoy, watching as the flames turned a white colour, swaying more avidly around. She looked back down at her drawing and couldn't figure out what caused the change. Malfoy noticed her assessment and brought his hand away from her. As his hand left hers, she watched as the tree calmed, the flames turning back to a bluish colour, the swaying stopped.

She gasped, "Malfoy, touch me!"

He gave her an incredulous look, "What?!"

His hand was held away from her now, unsure of what she was asking him. She groaned, snatching his hand up in her own. As soon as their hands touched again, the tree began whipping its branches around.

She made a little 'o' with her mouth, as she stared up at the changed willow. Malfoy followed her gaze, seeing the change in the tree as well. He let go of her hand, watching as the tree once again calmed. He reached back out for her, curling their fingers together.

"What do you think it means?" He asked her, in awe.

He felt her shrug, "No idea."

They stood in front of the tree, hand in hand, forgetting about their past together. It didn't dawn on either of them, that they were standing next to one another, childhood enemies, clutching to the other's hand.

Hermione whispered, "I need to document this. Can you stay with me while I sketch another?"

He nodded while she slowly lowered herself to the ground, with him following suit. She pulled her hand away, picking up her pencil, opening a blank page on her pad. He reached out, placing a hand on her upper arm. She tried to sketch the outline of the tree, but found it too difficult with his hand resting where it was. She reached up, pushing his hand up to her shoulder, giving her free reign of her arm once again. He watched her intently, giving her tips here and there as she drew on.

After a while, his arm started to tingle, and he shook it, brushing the back of his hand against her neck accidently. Her body shivered at the touch, as she desperately tried to hide her reaction. He smirked, deciding to run his index finger lightly, across her jaw, and down her neck. Her movements stilled and she gasped. He leaned in closer to her, his lips next to her ear.

"When was the last time someone touched you…" He paused, "…Hermione." He drew out her name, feeling the second shiver run down her spine.

She whipped her head towards him, their gazes locking and lips brushing accidently. She pulled back, covering her mouth with her hand, surprised that their lips had just touched. Instead of his usual smirk, he was sporting a smile, a real smile. She'd never once seen him smile, and the effects were extraordinary. She pushed all caution to the wind and threw herself at the alluring man beside her. She was on her knees and her arms wrapped around his shoulders as her mouth attacked his.

At first he didn't respond, sitting still hands at his sides. He was shocked at how forward she was being. He shouldn't have been surprised, she'd always been one to do what she wanted but he never expected this of her. Hoping he hadn't missed his chance, he encased her with his arms. One hand was against the back of her neck, his fingers trailing up into her hair, the other hand tightly splayed across her lower back. His lips skillfully moved against hers. She leaned into him, her sighs revving his arousal. They broke their kiss for a few seconds, gathering their breath, before continuing. He kissed her lightly on the mouth, then laid soft kisses against her cheek, across her jaw and down her neck. He switched directions, coming back up her neck, he stopped, nibbling at the soft spot just under her ear.

"Draco…" she exhaled.

He tightened his hold on her at the sound of his name, drawing her in closer.

Neither of them noticed as the flames around the tree whipped around, growing brighter with each second that the two of them were together. The Aurors noticed the change in lighting and ran back to check to see what was happening. They were shocked to find both Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, locked in an embrace at the base of the tree, oblivious to anything around them. Two Aurors, with their wands drawn went to move in, and break the couple apart but the tree had other plans.

The flames from the tree flung out, one engulfing Hermione, the other Draco. The flames burned bright, but the couple didn't notice.

One Auror spun around, shouting to his comrade, "Get Kingsley here, NOW!"

Four more Aurors flanked him and they charged towards the couple. The wind picked up, pushing back against them, trying to keep them at bay. As the Aurors closed in, Draco and Hermione pulled apart, noticing that they were now covered in white flames. Hermione's eyes widened, while Draco's narrowed. Her hair whipped around, falling from her twisted bun. Draco's shirt crinkled in the wind, his scarf blowing carelessly around. Neither of them could explain what was happening. The branches from the tree descended on them, and seconds before the Aurors could get to them, the tree, the flames and the couple were thrown into a blinding light. The Aurors halted, throwing their arms up to cover their eyes from the blast. When the light faded, the Aurors moved in cautiously, only to find both Hermione and Draco collapsed on the ground unconscious. Hermione's head was placed delicately against Draco's chest while his arms were fastened around her torso.

"No one touch them." The head Auror commanded, "We wait for Kingsley's orders."