Malfoy was probably the epitome of class.

It was quite apparent at his choice in restaurants, because they were currently seated at a really dainty, romantic setting – white tablecloths, candlelight, dimmed lights and soft music.

Hermione squirmed in her seat at a quiet booth as she took in her surroundings.

"Uncomfortable?" Malfoy smirked at her.
"No, just not really used to this," Hermione shrugged.

Malfoy's classy ways were also very apparent in his choice of outfit that night too, and he was more delectable than anything she had ever seen on a menu, to be honest.

They both made quite the picture, actually. To other people, they did look like complete opposites, but they had a lot of things in common – mainly intelligence and interests and the like but nothing like that ever made it to conversation.

If anything, there was hardly any conversation at all.

The sexual tension was too high.
Hermione hadn't even noticed it before, but today it was blaring like it was on Sonorus and multiplied in its amount the more they shared air in front of them.

It was as if everything that had happened between them for the past few weeks all amounted to this moment. And Hermione was struggling to handle it.

She had to sit on her right hand, for crying out loud!

One moment they were exchanging niceties – oh, but you do look wonderful today, Malfoy … oh why thank you, you look breath-taking, Granger – and it was all friendly smiles and ordering food and then as soon as Malfoy took out his coat and draped it over his chair and as soon as Hermione stopped being tense, the casual, fleeting glances turned into smouldering, sexually-charged and heated stares.

How in the hell did that happen?

The tension, the tension, the tension, Hermione repeated in her head.

"So how's work?" Malfoy asked her, lifting up his wine glass.
"Oh, very good … same old same old but I can't complain, I love my job," she grinned and looked up at him.

"Hmm," Malfoy hummed in reply, watching her from the top of his wine glass as he took a slow sip, causing Hermione's smile to falter a little but she cleared her throat and fiddled with the bottom of her wine glass.

"How's yours?" Hermione asked.
"Fan-tas-tic," Malfoy drew out the words very slowly and Hermione had to sit more heavily on her right hand.

Well, shit.

Dinner was a quiet affair, both of them enjoying their food in silence and occasionally catching each other's eyes before Hermione looked down in embarrassment.

Dessert, however, was a different story.

After Malfoy had asked the maître d' to kindly serve their dessert, everything was brought into an entirely new level.

"Come here, Granger," Malfoy said to her.
"Hmm? What?"

Malfoy snaked his left arm around her waist and pulled, so that she was directly next to him and her legs were sort of … draped over his.

Hermione shot him a confused look, "What are you doing, Malfoy?"

Malfoy shot her a cunning grin and reply and took out his wand. Bringing both her hands together, he muttered an imperceptible spell and a pale-yellow string wrapped itself around Hermione's hands before completely disappearing into her skin.

And Hermione couldn't move her hands – they were bound.

She shot him another confused look.

"What on earth?"
"There's our dessert," Malfoy said airily, watching as the maître d' set their strawberry marshmallow cheesecake in front of them.

Hermione eyed the dessert hungrily, but was still wary about what Malfoy was about to do. Being this close, however, did nothing about the tension that was literally oozing from both parties.

"Let me feed you," Malfoy suggested as he picked up the dessert fork and sunk it into the cake, breaking apart a small piece and bringing it to Hermione's mouth. "Say 'ah'."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the patronizing way Malfoy was addressing her, but she opened her mouth and moved forward to catch the fork anyway, and before she could even reach the tip of the fork, Malfoy pulled it away and replaced it with his own mouth.

He kissed her deeply, thoroughly and it made her toes curl (again), as he brought his left hand to rest at the back of her head, pulling her towards him. After positively taking her one and only breath away, Malfoy pulled away with a smack.

"Here," he said as he brought the fork to her again. This time, however, he let her taste it.

It was delicious, it was divine, really but Hermione couldn't bring herself to comment on it while her face was parboiling as she tasted the dessert. Malfoy took a bite of his own and Hermione could not help but watch him fascinatedly.

At one point though, when Malfoy was feeding her the dessert, he dropped a chaste kiss on her neck and was moving towards her shoulder, all the while parking the fork in front of Hermione's mouth for her to claim. Hermione tried to concentrate on the dessert but with Malfoy doing all those things made it hard for her to even think about eating the dessert waiting for her right in front of her mouth.

"Malfoy," she said almost-warningly.

She swore she could feel Malfoy smile against the skin on her shoulder.

"I'm just showing you, so you know how it feels," he whispered into her ear, "To have someone distract you while you're trying to have a decent meal."

Hermione's eyes narrowed.
"So this is revenge then," she sighed heavily.
"Not necessarily, no," Malfoy pulled back and looked at her in the eyes, stroking her jaw with his thumb, "I'm also getting what I want."

Hermione's eyes widened a little, "Meaning?"
"Meaning … it's been ages since I've seen you, but it's been far longer that I've wanted you," he said, searching her eyes, his grey ones shining in sincerity. Draco Malfoy was now vulnerable, open, laid out. "Meaning … I was practically over the bloody moon when I saw you again, especially when you took the initiative to speak to me first. I was thrilled, albeit confused about your … methods, but can't say I was complaining."

Hermione grinned a little at that and Malfoy grinned back as he put down the dessert fork.

It became very clear to Hermione all of a sudden. No wonder her thoughts of Malfoy had never faded from her mind, never decayed, never forgotten. He always there at the back of her mind, almost daily, and never drooped in its intensity.

And maybe, somehow, her right hand registered that. Hermione has wanted Draco Malfoy, and has wanted him for ages so it struck while the iron was hot – during the first meeting after almost ten years. Hermione saw now …

"Scared me half to death when you were out cold after you were hit by that spell, cuts and blood everywhere -"

"And let me guess," Hermione rolled her eyes, "Drenched your expensive shirt in my blood?"
"Of course," Malfoy scoffed.
"Mmm, right."

"Was wondering why something just had to happen when something good came by," he continued, pulling gently on one of her stray curls, "I mean good things have happened to me – Quidditch, career, Mother and all that … they were all good – but you, Granger, you were better than good."

Hermione swallowed and gave him a watery smile, "Why, Malfoy, I believe that is the sweetest thing someone has ever said to me."

"I know," he said, earning him another eye roll from Hermione, "But I just didn't want that taken away. Not after …"
"Not after we met again after a long time?" Hermione finished for him.

He nodded and sighed.

"Anyway," he said, picking up the fork again, and loading it with more dessert, "Let's finish this."

Hermione clenched her jaw. Shaking her head and then in a voice she never knew she had, she said, "Don't want dessert now."

Malfoy paused in his actions, and turned his head to watch her for a little. Hermione watched him back resolutely, not taking her eyes off him.

Malfoy dropped the fork gently before bringing both his hands to cup the sides of her face in a heated snog.

He tasted like strawberries, marshmallows and sugar and something very Malfoy that made Hermione grin into the kiss, wishing to remember this taste forever and ever.

It was when Malfoy's fingers started tracing idle patterns on her bare knees and were slowly inching upwards to the hem of her skirt that Hermione began to squirm in annoyance that her hands were bound.

"Malfoy, let me go," she said, "Please?"
"Why?" he said, mouth so close to her that his lips brushed against hers when he spoke.
"I want to touch you," she answered.

Malfoy chuckled and shook his head, "I think you've had more than your fair share of touching. It's my turn now."

And then he kissed her again, and Hermione groaned – both in frustration and appreciation.

After what felt like hours of snogging Malfoy, he finally pulled away and brought her hands to his lips and kissed her hand.

"I'll be back," he winked and stood up, walking over to the maître d' who served them at the corner. They exchanged a few words before the maître d' produced a piece of parchment that had writings all over it. Malfoy took out his wand and tapped the parchment a couple of times, emitting a faint blue glow.

The maître d' nodded his thanks.

Huh. Either this restaurant had a different system or Malfoy just didn't want Hermione to know how much this place cost. Oh well.

Hermione waited patiently at the booth, hands still bound. She watched as Malfoy nodded at the maître d before sauntering off towards the loo.

Her eyes were flitting over the entrance of the restaurant, where a man stood from his table – a familiar menacing look on his face as he watched Malfoy disappear into the men's. He stalked him, right hand buried deep in his pocket.

Hermione's stomach dropped as fear took over her.

Harry did say that they couldn't catch the person –

She immediately turned towards her purse, her open purse and inched towards it as fast as her bound hands could allow and watched with horror as her weight caused the purse to tilt dangerously to the edge –

Her wand rolled off the seat and clattered onto the floor underneath the seat.

And Hermione wasn't able to reach it with her bound hands –

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!

Brain whirring, she immediately stood up and ran off to the men's, commanding the maître d' and the manager to immediately call the Aurors.

Terror was closing its threatening tentacles over her as she got closer to the men's.

"Who are you?" she heard Malfoy's voice coming from the inside.
"Remember, the Carrows? My parents are in Azkaban because of you, traitor! You gave out all the information needed to round all the Death Eaters up! You just had to, didn't you?!"

Hermione slowly pushed the door open and slowly and silently as she could, hoping to at least come up with something by the time she could see what was going on.

"Well, you know, Death Eaters always think of themselves first," Malfoy said nonchalantly, "I had to save my own arse first. It's what you lot taught me."
"Why, you -" the man growled, "You don't deserve all this. Big shot Quidditch player while the rest of us scamper and hide away."

Hermione opened the door enough to take a peek, and found that the man his back towards her, and was facing Malfoy, wand trained on him. Malfoy had his arms raised, looking at the man almost too-casually.

"That's all up to you, really," Malfoy said. "No one's asking you to hide anymore."
"And what would you have us do? We are sons of Death Eaters," he spat, "We remain loyal to the Dark Lord even after his death. We cannot simply convert like you."

"Well, that being said, you can just kiss my arse," Malfoy shrugged.

"You little -! Avada Ked -"

"NO!" Hermione wailed and burst open into the men's and jumped on the man, knocking him onto the floor.

"Locomotor Mortis! Petrificus Totalus!" Malfoy cried out two spells in quick succession, rendering the man Hermione was currently straddling totally immobile and looking at her in shock.

"What are you doing?" Malfoy accused her.
"What are you doing?!" Hermione argued, "You almost got killed, I saved you!"

"Oh, my hero," Malfoy said sarcastically, "I had a plan before you so helpfully barged in."
"Oh, yeah, and what was that?" she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Granger, I was standing directly in front of the mirror. The second he wanted to send that spell flying towards me I would just have to duck, and it would hit the mirror, backfire and hit himself instead."

"Yeah, whatever, I was just trying to –" Hermione tried to get up properly in her heels, but due to the fact that her hands were still bound, she fell heavily onto the floor, curls all over her face, "– help you."

Malfoy shook his head and smiled as he walked towards her, lifting her to her feet and brushing her curls away from her face.

"I know, you're something like my right-hand man," he said fondly, "Only a woman."

He planted a chaste kiss on her lips and said, "Come on, I believe this date is not over."
"Will you at least unbind me?"
"No."

Epilogue next! Teehee!