**Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Harry Potter the amazingly talented JK Rowling does…I just enjoy playing with her characters.

**Please review! I love knowing what you think of each chapter and answering any questions you have...as long as it doesn't give away too much of the story!

Chapter 4:

Wednesday passed slowly for Hermione. As she worked, all she could think about were the wasted over time hours spent in the evenings away from her mother and daughter. Angry tears prickled her eyes as she thought about how her boss had toyed with her over the last four years.

She avoided her coworkers and concentrated on the paperwork at hand. When her boss asked her to stay late she politely informed him she would no longer be working overtime unless it was imperative to her job. He informed her he needed research done for a few of the proposals she'd submitted and she agreed to work on them during her normal allotted hours. Mr. Travers pursed his lips and growled out a fine before slamming his office door.

Her shoulders sagged and she finished out the day with filing the three stacks of paperwork he'd delivered just after lunch. The only time she would smile was when she caught sight of the bouquet. The purple and white flowers reminded her of her date the night before and the heated kiss they shared on his patio.

Thursday work passed in much the same manner. She hadn't heard from Draco but assumed his business meeting had kept him busy. As four o'clock rolled around she gathered her belongings and headed to the floo to pick Rosie up from pre-school and apparate home.

Two hours later Rose had finished telling her all about school and had eaten the chicken casserole she'd made the night before. Hermione glanced at the clock and rushed off to quickly shower before picking out a simple black dress. The straps wrapped around her shoulders while the bodice hugged her curves and lead to a flared skirt that stopped just below her knees. It held the classic elegance Draco insinuated would be needed for their date. She did her best to concentrate on each task rather than dwell on what the press would say in tomorrow's papers.

Her hair took time to style into soft curls that she clipped together so they could lay over her shoulder. After applying her makeup, she withdrew the only jewelry she had left from her mother. An oval acanthus leaf embossed locket affixed to a rope chain which held pictures of her parents and Rose and were accompanied by a pair of one carat diamond stud earrings. Stepping back, she smiled at her reflection before looking at the clock and noticing it was ten til seven. She called for Nixie as she slipped into the slender strappy black heels and informed her Rose had eaten and would only need a bath before bed. Rose squealed when she noticed the elf and barely waved goodbye to her mum before dragging her to play dolls.

Hermione donned her off-white light weight trench coat, in case it rained, before she floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron. As she stepped out of the fireplace and dusted off, she noticed the bar was very crowded. She swallowed hard and did her best to tamp down her nerves as she scanned the crowd for Draco.

Part of her was dreading tonight, but not because she had to spend time with Draco. She was worried about being brought back into the spotlight and petrified of what rumors would begin. After the divorce it'd taken over a week before the papers stopped blaming her for Ron leaving…but nearly a month before they stopped printing her name. During that time, she was grateful to have her mother and daughter around to take care of because it gave her an excuse to hide from the world.

Just as she resigned to the fact that Draco hadn't arrived yet she felt a hand grasp her elbow. Turning she found Draco standing next to her in a black suit with a dark blue button down. Tentatively he cupped her cheek before leaning in and pressing a chaste kiss to her lips. "Good evening Hermione. I apologize I was roped into some business discussions when I arrived. I hope I didn't keep you waiting long."

"I only just arrived, you didn't keep me waiting" she said with faint blush tinting her cheeks. Draco was pleased to see the blush grace her cheeks. His initial frustration when one of his suppliers roped him into a conversation as soon as he stepped into the bar dissipated when he saw her arrive. He wasn't concerned with what the papers were going to say, but one look at her told him she was terrified. Turning he offered his arm and smiled as she linked hers with his.

Draco steered them out of the crowded bar and into the alley ignoring the stares and whispers that followed in their wake. Just as they passed through the archway a photographer snapped a picture which caused Hermione to flinch. Dipping his head to hers, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and whispered "Let's not worry about the articles tonight. They're just doing their job, just remember to smile and hold tight to my arm." Hermione smile as she tucked herself closer to him to pass the various witches and wizards gawking at them on the street.

Hermione blushed as a few reporters attempted to stop them on their way to dinner inquiring about their relationship and where they were headed. Honestly, she thought, inwardly shaking her head each time someone would jump in front of them with a quill. Draco effortlessly brushed each of them off as they wound their way to the Serpente D'argento.

Thankfully reporters were banned from entering the restaurant, the owner wanted his clientele to have peace and anonymity while they dined. The windows were charmed blurred and protective spells were placed over the doors to keep nosy people out. From what Hermione had heard the average individual had to book nearly a year out for dinner; which was surprising as it had only been around for five years.

As they reached the restaurant Draco held the door open for her and followed her into an elaborate entryway. The walls were a rich cream accented with dark cherry wood and rich red, brown, cream, and gold carpets. The maître d' stood behind a half round podium dressed in a white button down with a black pencil skirt. Her blonde hair was tied up and her makeup flawless. Hermione ignored the way the woman eyed Draco as she glanced around, taking in the elegant area. The woman offered to take her coat so she slipped it off and handed it to her.

"Why isn't there a seating area for people to wait?" she whispered to Draco as the woman disappeared into what she assumed was the coat room.

"Because they only take reservations. You're expected to be here at your reserved time so there's no waiting" he supplied as he eyed her dress, a glint of desire flashing in their depth. "You look beautiful" he whispered into her ear just as the maître d' returned causing a blush to stain her cheeks once more.

As they were escorted to their table Draco took hold of Hermione's hand because she'd stopped to take in the opulent decor. Rich dark wood and colors of cream, red, brown and gold were everywhere with foliate accents and low lighting. Candles floated beneath the dome ceilings as soft music flowed from the gold trumpet flowers adorning pillars that were scattered throughout the vicinity. It was evident that the owner had put a lot of thought and time into every aspect of their business, earning the five-star rating.

They were lead to a private table for two near the corner of the restaurant where they were still visible to everyone else but able to hold a personal conversation. Draco moved to pull out her chair as the maître d' walked away. "I was going to freshen up first, if that's alright?" she said in a near whisper as she blushed. Her nerves were getting the better of her and she needed a few moments to gather her wits before conversing with him.

Draco pointed her in the right direction before taking his seat and opening the menu. He tried not to think about her dress and how accentuated her breasts, or how long her legs looked in the thin strapped high heels. Mentally shaking himself he perused the wine list and selected a vintage white wine as his usual waiter, Randalf, arrived at his table. As Randalf went to fetch the bottle of wine, Draco found his long-time friend and former schoolmate, Blaise Zabini, sitting down in Hermione's seat. "Blaise" he said with a nod in greeting to the dark-haired wizard.

"Evening Draco" he replied with a broad smile.

"I didn't think you came in to the restaurant anymore, except on Friday's and Saturday's" he stated politely though he assumed he knew why his old friend was there.

"True, most weeks I don't but when I saw your name on the list for a table for two, I had to stop by" he said.

"Is that so?" Draco asked with a smirk as he pretended to look over the menu he knew by heart.

"Yes, you see there's only two reasons why you would need a table for two. Either your mother is in town or you've broken your bachelor streak and have brought a date" he paused waiting to see if Draco would tell him. "Well I for one" he began prying further as Draco set the menu down "am hoping it's the latter. Not that I don't love your mother, but it would be refreshing to meet a woman who could hold your attention longer than a single evening."

Draco didn't answer but noticed Hermione walking towards their table out of the corner of his eye. He smirked as his friend continued to ramble about Draco needing to give some of the girls he met more time to garner his affection. He suppressed and eye roll at the comment and waited to see his friend's reaction to his date.

Hermione walked slowly back to the table to avoid tripping in her heels and embarrassing herself. As she approached she noticed a dark-haired wizard seated across from Draco. Drawing closer she realized it was Blaise Zabini; he'd been in their year at Hogwarts, a Slytherin, and neutral during the war.

Arriving to the table she stood just to the side and smiled at the gentlemen in front of her. Blaise looked up curiously, wondering why someone was bothering their conversation. Looking over the familiar young brunette, he inquired "Hermione Granger?"

"Hi Zabini" she said kindly as Draco winked at her.

"I haven't seen you in years. Are you enjoying your evening?" he questioned as he smiled at her, but didn't move from her seat. She didn't want to be rude so she continued to stand as she answered.

"Yes, this is my first time here and I must admit the owner has clearly outdone themselves, it's absolutely magnificent" she said, returning his smile. A flicker of confusion crossed his face briefly; he didn't understand why she was interrupting them if she didn't realize he was the owner.

"I'm glad you like it, I hope you have a lovely evening" he said before he turned back to Draco, clearly ending the conversation. Hermione bit her lower lip, clearly unsure of what to say or do. It was evident he didn't know she was here with Draco. Her brown eyes found Draco's and noticed the humor hidden in them.

"Um" she started, drawing Zabini's attention back to her.

"Is there something else you needed?" he said politely as he raised an eyebrow. She turned to Draco a crimson blush stealing over her cheeks.

"You're in her seat Blaise" Draco said with a smirk as he waited for his reaction. Blaise's brows furrowed in confusion looking between Hermione and Draco. Sighing Draco reached for Hermione's hand and gestured to his friend "Would you mind getting up so my date can have her seat back. I realize you own the bloody place but it's rude to let your patrons stand for so long" Blaise eyes widened in understanding and surprise as he jumped from the seat and stood behind it.

"Forgive me, I was surprised and forgot my manners. Please take a seat" he said as he held the back of her chair.

"It's alright, thank you Blaise" Hermione responded in kind as she took her seat, missing the pointed look Blaise sent Draco silently conveying he had much to explain.

"I didn't realize you were seeing Granger, Draco" he said, his voice clearly indicating his irritation at being left out of the loop. Draco was certain that Pansy and Theo would know before he paid the bill; Blaise was nearly as much of a gossip as Pansy.

"We've only been seeing each other for a short time" Draco said, his eyes trained on Hermione as a small nervous smile played at the corners of her mouth. "This is our first official date out; the photographers and reporters went a little crazy as we arrived."

"If you're breaking it to the press then clearly it's been going on long enough in secret. Does anyone else know?" Draco could read between the lines, he wanted to know if he'd informed his mother. Narrowing his eyes at his friend in warning.

"No, we've kept it to ourselves until we were sure we were ready to deal with others opinions. I thought you'd enjoy the free publicity by choosing your restaurant as our public debut, but if you'd rather we leave" he raised a challenging brow.

"No need to get hostile Draco" Blaise responded "I was simply curious..." Hermione had watched plenty of the volleying challenges and decided to intervene and change topics.

"You own Serpente D'argento?" she asked in awe, drawing their attention.

"Yes" Blaise answered with pride "I opened nearly five years ago and have grown to be one of the most popular wizarding restaurants in London."

"That's wonderful, though I'm not surprised with how beautiful the ambiance is here. You can tell that you put a lot of thought, time, and hard work into the place."

"Thank you Granger" he replied in a voice full of pride. "What do you do now?" he asked kindly. Luckily for Hermione the waiter reappeared with the bottle of wine Draco had requested. "Thank you Randalf. If you'll excuse me I should check on the kitchens and let you get back to your date" turning to Draco "see you Sunday for brunch?"

"I'll let you know" Draco responded, his eyes briefly flitting to Hermione as she read over the menu. Blaise smirked before nodding and turning away.

"He seemed surprised" Hermione offered as Draco stared at her. She felt her heart beat quicken under his stare but tried desperately to focus on the menu. There were a variety of choices, each one sounding just as delicious as the last. She noticed there weren't any prices listed and thought that was probably for the best. Finally, she settled on shrimp carbonara as Draco rattled off his order to the waiter. She smiled and placed her order.

"Blaise has done rather well for himself, I don't think I've seen him since the Ministry Ball in Memory of the Battle of Hogwarts two years ago. I take it you two are still close?"

"He's like a brother to me, he was one of the few who remained friends with me after the war. Pansy and Theo are the only other two" though he spoke in a light tone yet she could tell it wasn't a topic she should pursue.

"How did your meeting go?" she asked switching topics as she took a sip of her wine.

"As well as expected" he said sipping his wine. "It was to work out a contract with a local company to utilize their employees to gather the rare ingredients I told you about the other day. However, their prices are astronomical while their individuals work is shoddy. I'm considering hiring my own collectors; rare ingredients are difficult enough to locate and acquire without having to waste money are the sods who damage half the product when transporting it."

"I agree with you. It'd be better to take the time and invest in the right people now than jump into a contract that could potentially have you hemorrhaging money while customers demand the promised products. Also, you don't want to deal with angry customers on items that were damaged without your knowledge. I know there are several rare ingredients that could look perfectly acceptable but if they were shipped next to a counter active ingredient or in the wrong packing material it could render them useless or even cause adverse reactions with the potions they create."

"That's true" he said, a smirk playing at his lips as he listened to her prattle on. It didn't surprise him in the least that she had a thorough understanding of an industry she didn't even work in. "I think I will take a few weeks to find employees that work solely for me so I can hold them to my standards."

"You should make sure they have NEWTs in herbology, potions, care of magical creatures, arithmancy, possibly even ancient runes...though I suppose you could hire separate individuals to send out for different ingredients. But then you may end up paying double to send two people to the same area when one person with the right knowledge could have retrieved multiple items for you. I truly think it'd be best to find people with as many NEWTs as possible first, then..."

"Hermione" Draco cut in effectively ending her rambling. He knew what he wanted to look for in new employees and though he agreed with her idea, he knew he'd most likely end up with separate people finding the items he needed. "I appreciate your enthusiasm and agree with you, but I don't think we need to choose employees this evening" he watched as a blush crept up her neck.

"I'm sorry, sometimes I ramble" she said as she nervously toyed with her fork.

"I know you ramble...usually about things your knowledgeable in or passionate about" he watched as her blush darkened.

"I've been working on it, Harry, Ginny, and Ron usually ignore me or tell me to shut it...I don't always realize when I'm doing it" she rushed out before biting her lip. Draco furrowed his brow momentarily before pressing his lips together in a firm line. He had low enough opinions of her friends and ex-husband without this new information, he honestly didn't know how much lower they could sink.

"Well" he wasn't sure what to say, he didn't want to insult her or feel like what she had to say wasn't important. He just didn't want to talk about it right now. Listening to the fact that the others ignored her or told her to shut it grated him in a way he didn't quite understand. "It's not that I'm not interested in your opinion, I just think we could discuss them later before sending out an advert" he placed his hand over hers to cease her nervous movements. Her warm brown eyes found his and she smiled at him.

"I'm certain you probably know what you're looking for and don't need my input. Your business didn't build itself. I shouldn't have told you what to look for in someone that you'll employ." Her smile barely wavered as she took a breath "Thanks to our conversation the other night I've flustered Mr. Travers."

"Wait, we'll come back to that" he said thrown by her change of subject after disregarding her own intelligence. "I never said I wasn't interested in your opinion, if I weren't I wouldn't have divulged what had happened in the meeting to begin with. I'm just asking that we table it until later" he looked imploringly at her. She smiled and nodded but didn't say more and slowly withdrew her hand from his and placed it with the other on her lap. He could tell she wasn't going to say any more unless he specifically asked her about it, internally he sighed.

They may not be an official couple but they were going to be spending the next year together, he wanted her comfortable in his presence. He sat back before addressing her other point "How did you fluster Walter?"

"He's asked me the past two days to work late on the proposals I submitted last week. I informed him I wouldn't be available to work late anymore and would only provide research during my allotted hours" she said with a nervous smile.

"Really?" he drawled as the corner of his mouth lifted in his signature smirk "How'd he react?"

"He got angry" she said with a shrug "even slammed his office door." Draco noticed that she didn't seem to care that he was angry with her. He figured her own anger outweighed her concern for her boss.

"I'm not surprised, he's probably wondering what's changed. After tomorrow he'll know" he replied confidently.

"How would he know?" she asked incredulously.

"Because when he sees your dating me he'll think one of two things either I enlightened you or I'm keeping you from working late."

"Well you did inform me of his ploy, but I doubt he'll think you're controlling me or that I'd allow you to keep me from working. After all the fights with Ron he wouldn't dare" she said and Draco just smiled. He knew the weight his name carried in the ministry, this time tomorrow she would see a change.

"Has anything else happened since we last spoke?" he asked as the waiter delivered their food.

"Nothing really, I've mostly worked and spent time with Rose. Oh, speaking of Rose, she's absolutely in love with Nixie" Draco smiled, he knew Nixie loved children and wasn't surprised by her statement. "All Rosie spoke about yesterday was how Nixie could make her 'dolls dance with magic', how Nixie made bath time fun because 'the bubbles floated in the air and tasted yummy', oh and 'Nixie let her have ice cream before bed'…but shhh I'm not supposed to know that" Hermione had dropped her voice into a conspiratorial tone before she winked at Draco. "The only thing I think that stopped her from wanting to replace me was that I'm better at bedtime stories because 'Nixie didn't do the voices right.'" Draco couldn't help but join in with her laughter.

He enjoyed watching the way her eyes lit up as she spoke of her daughter, it was something he hoped to see more of during their time together. Draco watched as she relaxed once more while they ate. Before long he ordered two tiramisu desserts and insisted she try it before claiming to be 'too full'. In his opinion she needed to put on several pounds to fully fill in her figure, but that would come in time. Now that the bills were paid there was no excuse for her to skip meals.

"I wanted to ask you if you were busy tomorrow night?" Draco said as Hermione finished her second glass of wine.

"As long as Ron doesn't back out, I only need to drop Rose off with him for the weekend. Outside of that I'm free" she replied.

"Good, if you're up for it I'd like to take you to the opera. Giulio Cesare by George Frideric Handel is playing and I thought you would enjoy seeing it."

"Julius Caesar? But that's a muggle opera…" she stammered, shocked that he was offering to take her somewhere outside of the wizarding world. She had assumed even though he no longer hated muggle-borns that he would still avoid the muggle world.

"I'm very aware that it's a muggle opera, I've attended many in the past few years. I even have my own box, so we could go whenever you like" Draco smirked at her shocked expression. He hadn't shared much about his personal excursions in the muggle world since the war. Blaise had dragged him out of hiding, forcing him to travel for a few weeks through wizarding and muggle Europe. During that time, he had found several things he liked about the muggle world…and a few he didn't. "Have you been to the opera before?"

"No, my parents took me to a few ballets when I was a child but never an opera."

"Would you like to go?" he asked as his silver eyes assessed her. He could see the excitement lingering in her eyes as she smiled softly and took a bite of her dessert bidding her time to respond.

"I'd like that" she said "I've studied the history of Julius Caesar…"

"Naturally" he chimed in, again bringing a slight tinge of pink to her cheeks.

"Yes, well I enjoyed keeping up with muggle schooling during the summer break" her words caused Draco to chuckle.

"You're the only person who would want to study when you're supposed to relax."

"I like to learn" she said with a shrug "anyways I was wondering what this opera was about? He had an extensive life, I was just wondering what this would cover."

"I only read the summary, it's said to be an epic story of love and war, all while including the sensual Cleopatra."

"Sounds like it'll be an intense evening" she said as her eyes never wavered from his. Draco held her gaze but internally was attempting to dissect the meaning of her words. They finished their dessert before Draco paid the bill and escorted her to the front. The blonde maître d seemed perturbed that Draco pair very little attention to her. She pursed her lips as she thrust Hermione's coat towards her. Draco's hand shot out, stopping the coat before it smacked her in the face.

"Let me" he said in a cold voice as he stared down the blonde. Taking the coat from her hands he turned and held it as Hermione slipped it on before kissing her cheek. "Did you want to head back to the Leaky Cauldron? My place for an evening cup of tea?" he paused. "Or I can apparate you home if you prefer" he said, not wanting to push too far. He felt Hermione stiffen when he mentioned taking her home and mentally cursed having momentarily forgotten their agreement.

"The Leaky Cauldron if you don't mind, it's getting rather late and I have work in the morning" she said shyly. She knew he was trying to be a gentleman but they had an agreement that he wasn't to come to her place unless it was an emergency.

They walked in amiable silence down the nearly deserted ally. Hermione looped her arm through his, clasping his hand as she leaned against his shoulder. The wine had warmed her core and helped her relax throughout the evening. As they neared the entrance to the bar Draco pulled her off to the side and cupped her face. His eyes flickered to her lips as he spoke.

"Before you head home I just want…" words failed him so he leaned forward and captured her lips. Hermione eyes fluttered closed as her hands rested on his. His lips were soft and warm, and held the hint of coffee from dessert. She whimpered against him as his fingers slipped into her hair and he deepened the kiss. Her hands slid to his torso, gripping the lapels of his jacket as he thoroughly kissed her. Both were so wrapped up in each other they missed the click and flash of a camera just across the street.

Too soon Draco broke the kiss and rested his forehead against hers as they caught their breath. He chuckled before he placed a tender kiss just between her eyes, smoothing out the furrowed brow. "I just wanted to say a proper goodnight before we went inside."

"I like the way you say goodnight Draco" she said with a smile before kissing him once more before taking his hand in hers and leading them inside. He stood by the fireplace, kissing her cheek as she took a handful of floo powder. "Goodnight" she said in a low voice before departing home.