After meeting with Draco, Hermione felt like she'd woken up from a dream. Her visit to Malfoy Mansion seemed like it hadn't really happened. It had left her with a strange feeling because as much as he had irritated her she had this strange feeling of anticipation about meeting him again. Like a horror movie where you know any minute it's going to make you scream but you can't stop watching anyway.

Hermione had ploughed through her books to see if she could find a loophole to get Draco off the hook but so far she had found nothing. She'd had his file moved to the bottom of the pile under Harry's authority but it wouldn't stay at the bottom forever and she needed to find something else.

So, in her usual meticulous way she had started researching Draco but because no-one could know she was helping him she had to do this research at home. So she found herself sitting on the floor in her lounge surrounded by magazines, newspapers and records all about Draco Malfoy. She was starting to build up quite a biography on him, albeit based mainly on the gossip columns.

He'd taken over the family business almost straight after school and he'd built it, quickly making it one of the most successful business' in the wizarding world. He'd recently rebuilt the family home and he seemed to live a pretty amazing life, pictured at every glamorous event there was and with every glamorous woman on the planet.

The gossip columns focused mainly on Draco's love life. As far as Hermione could tell, he hadn't really had any serious relationships except one with a woman called Christina Haydon. She was, for once, a stunning brunette who's family owned a huge business empire. Hermione couldn't imagine the man she'd recently become re-acquainted with having the maturity to actually be in a long term relationship.

His business dealings had been harder to find out about but as far as official records went, there was nothing suspicious about him or his business. She'd found several large regular, unexplained payments but that could easily have been for goods he was selling on. So, in the main, it all appeared above board. This was good news because a clean record would help his case.

The note arrived on her desk when she went in the next morning. It looked exactly the same as the previous note but as Hermione started to read it she found the tone of it totally different.

Dear SB,

Hermione stopped reading and shook her head, puzzled. Dear SB? What did that mean?

Dear SB,

I very much enjoyed our encounter the other evening. I would very much like to repeat it.

Same time, same place?

No need for a reply - I know you want this as much as I do.

Sincerely,

WMEB

Hermione shook her head again - WMEB? Really? The tone of the note made her giggle and it was clever to write the invitation like a love letter. Hilarious but clever! For a moment she wondered if Malfoy had ever written a real love letter but the thought made her head spin so she stopped.

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

She waited under the oak tree again but this time she stood right under it because it was starting to rain. She felt someone grab her arm and wondered how Draco managed to sneak up on her without her hearing him. She was expecting to follow the same route as the previous visit but she was wrong.

She was pulled around the large tree and further still against some large bushes. She didn't panic because even though she couldn't see his face, she knew it was Draco. It was in his mannerisms and the way he moved. When he'd pulled her close the other night he had smelt delicious. She'd tried to blank this from her mind because it wasn't a thought she wanted to have about Draco Malfoy. Nevertheless, it was true and she had caught a faint waft of the same fresh smell.

He stopped and she felt him pull her against him but this time he put his head close to hers and whispered.

"Are you going to scream?"

"No!" she whispered back, indignantly. "I would have only screamed because I wasn't expecting you to grab me!"

"Sshh!"

She felt the familiar pull of apparating and was at once in a large room, a different one to before. It was obviously a study of some sort with a large desk and two walls lined with files and books. The sharp sensation of apparating along with the sudden brightness made Hermione feel disorientated and unwittingly, she grabbed onto Draco to steady herself.

Draco made no protest and it wasn't until she looked up into his face that she became aware of their position.

"Sorry - I lost my balance for a second," she explained. Draco looked down at her hands on his arms and she removed them hastily and stepped away. She clicked straight into professional mode again to cover the awkwardness. "So, you have some information for Harry?"

Draco surveyed her slowly and then put his head to one side. "Are you in a hurry?" he asked.

"What? No, not really."

"So take your coat off and sit down," he pointed at a drinks cabinet on the far wall. "Would you like a drink?"

Hermione frowned at him. "No - I don't want a drink, thanks."

"Why are you looking like that?"

"Why are you asking me if I want a drink and being...polite?" Hermione couldn't help asking the question.

"I'm being a good boy," Draco made a face that said - I am really not a good boy - before continuing. "I don't want to end up threatening to throw you out again."

Hermione took the seat he was still indicating and started withdrawing items from her bag. She could hear him behind her making himself a drink which he put down on the large desk before taking the seat behind it.

"Firstly, maybe I should tell you that I've got your file put to the bottom of the scheduled list and I'm working on a reason to get it withdrawn. I'm afraid I haven't got anything more positive yet," Hermione watched his expression but it was unreadable.

"So - I'm to tell you the information that I would normally pass to Potter?" Draco asked.

"Yes. Harry and I are not in contact officially about any of this but as we're friends then I can pass the information to him when we're not at work," Hermione hesitated. "Are you happy with that arrangement?"

"What do you get up to with Potter when you're not at work?" Draco asked and Hermione did a double take, surprised at his question.

"What do you mean?"

"I bet he's always thinking up excuses to have out of office meetings, isn't he?"

Hermione put her pen down. "No - Harry is my friend. We don't need excuses to see each other."

"Lucky Potter- I bet half the Ministry is wishing they'd saved the wizarding world with you then they'd be the one getting special privileges instead of him." Draco's eyes had narrowed and his lips were almost in a smile.

Hermione was speechless for a moment. Had Draco Malfoy just said that Harry was lucky to be able to hang around with her? She shook her head - he'd also implied that they were up to goodness knows what as well.

"Do you understand the meaning of the word friend, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. "Men and women can be friends, you know."

"You reckon?"

"I know they can," Hermione tried to turn the conversation around again. "So, let me grab a pen and you can give me the information." She picked up her pen and looked up at him and then stopped. His face had an incredulous look on it.

"Are you being serious?" he asked. She immediately felt utterly foolish because of course she couldn't write it down! What had she been thinking?

"Of course, sorry." She blushed, embarrassed at her own stupidity and waited for Draco's cutting remark.

"You were being serious?" Draco shook his head and then slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "What the hell am I dealing with here?"

"I just wasn't thinking!" Hermione defended herself.

Draco leaned forward. "If we're going to have to keep meeting and dealing with this you have to think!"

"Don't tell me - you could die if I mess this up!" Hermione sighed. "I do know that and I won't mess it up."

Draco sat back in his seat a thoughtful look on his face. After a moment he leant forward putting his arms on the desk between them. "I'm going to ask Potter to withdraw you and allocate me someone else."

Hermione pulled a face. "For Merlin's sake! I didn't print a front page story in the Prophet about this! The words just came out, I wasn't thinking about what I said. Of course I know that I can't write things down!"

"No - this isn't right. I'm going to ask for someone else."

Hermione stood up. "Fine! You do that then!" she almost spat the words at him. "Why can't you just be honest and say that you want me off the case and this is the exact excuse you've been looking for? The fact that I've spent bloody hours of my own time looking into all this and forming a plan to help you doesn't matter! I'm sure they'll be someone else who's willing to do that for you!" She grabbed her bag and had a flashback of their previous meeting, only this time it was her stuffing her things back into her bag.

"Granger!"

"I'm going. I'll pass your request onto Harry."

Draco stood up surprisingly quickly and took three long strides around the desk. He grabbed her bag from her and she glared at him. "I am not looking for an excuse to get you off the case!" he said. She ignored what he was saying and held her hand out for her bag. He held it out of her reach. "I asked Harry to ask for you, remember?"

Hermione had forgotten about that and she bit her lip. She lowered her voice, trying to keep her temper. "I think it's best I leave anyway."

"Me too."

She turned to him again, her anger starting to flare again. "You just said you weren't trying to get rid of me? What the hell are you on about, Malfoy?"

Draco put her bag down on the desk and stepped closer. "This job needs someone who is used to all this madness," he said, quietly. "You don't get it, do you? Of course I'm watching my own back but if they find out about what I'm doing then they find out about you as well. We're a package deal now, Granger. If I end up on their hit list then so do you." He paused and stepped back a little. "That's why I think you should be taken off the case."

Hermione actually felt her jaw drop and for a few seconds she could do nothing but stare at him incredulously.

"Since when did you give a damn about what happens to me?" she asked.

"I don't know but I think it's best that your replaced." Draco looked away and started to walk back around the desk.

"I don't want to be replaced," Hermione's voice was low and she bit her lip again. Draco, who had made it to the other side of the desk stopped and looked at her.

"Of course you do - you're off the hook. Go back to your safe, little world," he said.

"I don't want to - I want to help you." Hermione had no idea why she was confessing this but his own confession had prompted her.

Draco narrowed his eyes at her and then sat down heavily, running his hands through his hair. "We're as bad as one another," he said, quietly.

Hermione also sat down again and removed her bag from the desk. "Maybe I will have that drink you offered me," she said and Draco looked up at her from under his lashes. "Then you can tell me the information that you need me to pass to Harry." She said this on purpose, indicating that she wasn't intending on going anywhere.

To her relief, Draco rose silently and poured her a drink without even asking what she would like. He put it down in front of her and took his seat. "If I tell you this, then you're in for good. I can't tell you and then we fall out and I have to trust someone else with the information," he said. "Last chance to back out."

"Just tell me the information."

Draco's eyes softened just slightly before he leant back and began to speak.

Ooh - what are the pair of them like? Hope you liked the little tiff - the sexual tension is there already. Luv the reviews thank you very much for them. x