Today marked the thirteenth week of marriage counseling sessions and, if Draco kept his word, their twenty-third session –the last day of March –would mark the end of testing Hermione's relationship with Ron and she could finally get her hands on their divorce papers, signed. As she thought about the ten sessions that remained after this, she realized that their counseling had truly yet to begin. They had been spending a great deal talking about the early parts of their relationship: how she and Draco got together, how they acted towards one another during their marriage before it went south, the things they loved about the other, and other topics of the like. Doing this made Hermione remember the qualities about Draco that had drew her to him in the first place. However, with a dismal thought, she realized that Dr. Milligan had yet to get to the "touchy" stuff. The things that had made their childish banter turn into sharp, two-edge swords. That, she knew, would take more than the ten sessions that they had left.

"It was good today." Dr. Milligan said towards the end of their session. "Next week we'll take things in a…different direction-"

Damn, I jinxed it.

"-But don't dwell on it for now. For now, you should put your attention on another assignment I have for you."

Hermione groaned while Draco's face lit up.

"Alright then," Draco nodded. "What is it?"

"I'd like for you and Hermione to recreate your second date."

The roles instantly reversed for the couple and it was Draco's turn to groan while Hermione's face lit up and shined brilliantly. Dr. Milligan stared between the two and then cocked a brow in the air.

"This doesn't involve leaving anything in shambles again, does it? Petrifying people? Cursing them into oblivion?"

Hermione instantly thought of Draco taking out his wand and sending various curses and hexes at anyone who dared to stare at her too long.

"Hell, I wish it did." Draco grumbled in response to Dr. Milligan's words. Hermione playfully nudged him in the side and then smiled at Dr. Milligan as she gathered her things.

"It'll be fine." She told him. "No destruction happened on this one. It was actually quite pleasant."

Draco huffed. "For who?"

"Certainly for me." Hermione grinned. "Thank you, Dr. Milligan. We'll see you next week."

Dr. Milligan nodded as he watched his clients leave his office. On the outside of his door Draco took up his brooding once again while Hermione shook her head at him as they headed towards the elevator.

"Oh come on, Draco. Our second date was fun!"

"If you're talking about after we returned our ice skates and went back to my place to do the horizontal portion of our date, then yes, very fun."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well despite what you say I know you enjoyed yourself."

Draco sucked his teeth. "How much enjoyment could there have been when I fell constantly?"

"Considering we were in good enough spirits to do the 'horizontal portion' of our date, I'd say there'd been a lot."

Draco wanted to scowl, but he couldn't fight the smirk that his lips morphed into. Eventually he let out a conceding sigh and nodded. They both entered the elevator and resumed their speech once they were outside and heading towards the apparation spot.

"Fine. You pick a day since fitting myself into your schedule is like breaking into a bloody fortress."

"I am planning a wedding, Draco. I'm going to be busy."

"Don't remind me." Draco mumbled as Hermione put on her thinking face. Once they got to the apparation spot her face had returned to normal. He stood expectantly, waiting for her to tell him when they could get on with date number two, but she didn't say anything. Instead Hermione surprised him by quickly grasping his hand and disapparating away with him. When he was back on his feet again, Draco was yet again in another alley and Hermione, still with his hand in hers, was pulling him along and onto the sidewalk.

"I hope you didn't have plans." Hermione said, finally letting his hand go. "But the rest of my week is ridiculous. Is…this okay?"

Draco was hardly paying attention. He was absentmindedly following his wife down the street until an ice rink could be seen up ahead. He gulped. From what he could tell it was already filled with people and it was getting even more crowded by the minute. His and Hermione's date number two had been a so-so time for him. He had loved being with her, but he had hated getting onto the ice. He'd only done it because she had begged him to. That and she'd said she'd find a way to hex him without the muggles seeing if he didn't.

"Yes."

Draco was drawn from his thoughts by Hermione's voice. "Yes to what?"

"Yes, I will hex you if you don't get out on that ice with me." Hermione grinned. "A recreation of date number two, remember?"

Draco chuckled. "Right. Okay, let's get this thing over with."

"You're so romantic…"

Her comment was ignored as the two of them made it to the ice rink. They were in a muggle neighborhood –a clear indication that Hermione had been the one to design their second date all those years ago. As he recalled, he had put up a fuss that first time too. When they got there a teenage girl was at the counter and she eagerly helped them find their proper shoe size for the ice skates and was paid accordingly for them. Hermione sat down on a wooden bench next to Draco and excitedly took off her shoes in order to put on the skates. Draco, on the other hand, merely watched her as she did so and completely disregarded his own set. She looked as though she'd been hit with a Contentment Charm. In all the time since the counseling sessions had begun he'd never seen her look this happy.

"Draco, the skates?"

He shook his head. That was the second time she'd broken his concentration. With a reluctant grunt, Draco bent down and undid his shoes. While he put his on Hermione went to place their shoes in a locker for safe keeping. By the time she got back he was finished and had been staring warily at his feet because they still had to make it from the tiny shack that held an innumerable amount of ice skates and out to the actual ice rink. Albeit it was quite the short distance it was still daunting. Hermione's hand came into his line of sight and he looked up at her.

"I won't let you fall, I promise." She told him sweetly. Soon after it turned quite evil. "At least until we get out on the ice."

Draco glared at her as her laughter filled the room they were in. Regardless, he accepted her aid and gave him her hand. Once he was on his feet, he shook off a few wobbles before taking very careful, tentative steps outside. Hermione's pleasure was evident. The closer they grew the ice, the more support she was giving him. Her left hand was still in his right, but now her right hand was on his arm. Granted, he was sure that if he went down there was no way for her to keep him standing, but he appreciated the effort nonetheless.

"Hermione, do I really have to do this?"

She turned to him, her eyes soft, and a gentle curl of her lips. "Oh, alright."

Draco steadied himself against the railing of the rink and watched as Hermione went onto the ice. Soon she was off, her hands behind her back, her face with absolute glee as she went around the curve of the large arena. Draco hadn't known it before, but he sure knew it now. He missed this. Her happiness. Her contentment was contagious, always had been, and he had been at his happiest when he was with her. That's not to say that he was downright miserable while they were apart. Far from it. He was…satisfied. Sadly he was realizing that simply being satisfied wasn't enough.

Draco frowned. There were only so many counseling sessions left, and he had no true indication as to whether or not doubts about Hermione's pending marriage to Weasley were settling into her head. Even if that were true, would it be enough? He knew his wife. She fought hard for everything she had and she would steam away, full speed, with this wedding as long as nothing disastrous derailed it. And if, by some miracle, the wedding really was called off, what then? Would she…come back to him? That hadn't been his intention when he had suggested the sessions. He had held their marriage, however horrendous some of their time together had been, in high regard. She had loved him –deeply. If she was going to marry anyone after him, Draco wanted the love she had for that next person to reach –not outmatch –what they'd had. He knew for a fact that she couldn't have that with Weasley, and he'd be damned to let her settle. But now…now? Now he wondered if it was possible, if there was even the slightest possibility, that she'd want to give him –give them –another go.

Hermione's laughter pierced him from his train of thought. How, from a distance, she could rip him away from himself he didn't know. He continued to watch her. Her innocence could outshine that of a child, and the more he stared, the more his heart constricted.

With a great push within himself, Draco released himself from the railing. With a bit of a struggle he made it to the open gate of the rink, the threshold of the safe ground and the slippery ice just before him. He sighed, and stepped one skate out onto the ice, his hands gripping the sides of the rink tightly. Hermione, who was slowly making her way around the rink noticed what Draco was doing. Her heart fluttered at the sight, and she skated faster so that she could make it over to him. Just as he had finally made it onto the ice and began using the wall of the rink for support, one foot went one way, the next went another, and Draco was yelling and was on his back in two seconds flat.

Hermione laughed when Draco hit the ice. His face was flushed either from the cold or, most likely, embarrassment.

"Yes, yes, falling on my arse is hilarious. Can you help me up now?"

Still in a fit of laughter Hermione skated closer and slowed once she got close enough. She held out her hand for him to take, but before she could even attempt to pull him up he yanked on her hand. Hermione yelped as she fell forward into Draco's arms and landed neatly on his lap.

"Draco!"

Draco was laughing now, his arms around her waist and keeping her steady. "Now that was funny."

Hermione was red in the face and it grew even more so the more Draco laughed. Eventually she huffed and tried to remove herself from his grasp, but he only held on tighter.

"Ah, ah, ah, you know how this goes." Draco playfully admonished. Hermione cocked a brow, her annoyance with him diminishing quickly and replaced with amusement.

"You can't be serious."

"I am. So, if you want me to let you go you're going to have to say it."

"I'd rather get bitten by a snake." She said automatically, those words having rolled off her tongue so many times before.

It was their game. A silly little game that required her to say something praiseworthy about Slytherin House. She'd never say anything like that of course, and always opted for getting bit by a snake. Draco, naturally, had always been the snake in question, and Hermione didn't contemplate the consequences of her words until she felt his hold on her grow firmer. He chuckled, removing one hand to place it on her cheek.

"No need to look so scared, love." He said softly. His thumb was caressing her face now, gently gliding over the corner of her lips just once. "I'm not going to do it. I do appreciate the invitation though."

Draco smiled before placing a chaste kiss on Hermione's forehead and easing her off of him. Hermione didn't know what was worse, that she'd set herself up for such a trap or that she was disappointed he didn't do it. Draco, on the other hand, was kicking himself for being such a gentleman.


Draco faked his way through the rest of his date with Hermione. Somehow, although he wasn't quite so sure, he thought that she had too. Despite wanting to think about it, wonder what her feelings were and to process his own, he needed a distraction. When he and Hermione went their separate ways, Draco found his way of escape when he noticed an owl perched on his bedroom window ledge, patiently waiting to get in.

It was Astoria's owl, and she had written him to ask if he was free for dinner at seven. Draco sighed. He hadn't been lying when he told Hermione about his outings with Astoria over the recent years. The moment she'd found out about his divorce she flew to his side and tried her hardest to become his next wife. She was beautiful, yes. She had a certain poise and elegance that any man of the social elite would be lucky to have, yes. Unlike other women of their shared social status, she spoke her mind. And, once again, unlike other women, and despite still gravitating to the richest men possible, she worked and could turn a business revenue faster than anyone. Astoria, quite plainly, was a catch. Unfortunately, aside from the fact that Hermione hated her, Draco didn't entertain fickle people.

When Draco had married Hermione, sure his friends thought he was mad. Some even went as far as to think him Imperiused. And yet out of all of them, Astoria had been the only one to cut him off completely. He supposed it was because she still had high hopes of marrying him one day and this "betrayal" had been the last straw. To suddenly flock to him once his marriage was over had been the most unattractive thing she could've ever done. It had further ensured a shutdown of every advance of hers and, considering how her life was shaping out now, Draco thought it to be a good call.

To still call Astoria a friend now might make him a bit hypocritical, but she became a lot more tolerable once she stopped coming after him. Not to mention that, at the time of his divorce, she'd surprisingly been the only person not to say "I told you so."

"Draco, it's good to see you!" Astoria greeted once he'd walked up to the table the maitre d' had led him to. "I wasn't sure if you'd gotten my owl."

"I got it a bit late and figured you'd be gone by the time my reply got to your house, so I decided to come straight here."

"Well, I'm glad you could make it."

Draco smiled cordially and began to peruse the menu. He just realized that he hadn't eaten anything since just before his and Hermione's counseling session some five hours ago.

"You're an expert on the finer things as well as money." Astoria said suddenly. "Tell me, how much could I get for this?"

Draco looked up from his menu and saw that Astoria had taken off her wedding ring and set it in the middle of the table. He reached over and took it between his fingers. It held one large diamond in the middle and two smaller (yet still large) ones, on either side of it. The band was pure gold and it held two sets of initials on the inside. After staring at it for a few moments, he shrugged and set back down on the table.

"My guess is four thousand, four thousand-five if you're lucky."

Astoria scowled viciously as she took the ring back up and slipped it onto her hand –her right hand. "My ex-husband is so cheap."

Draco chuckled and merely shook his head at her as he picked back up his menu. Four thousand galleons was hardly cheap, but if he compared it to ten thousand –how much he'd spent on Hermione's engagement ring and that ring alone –then yes, Astoria's ex-husband was a cheapskate. It all depended on how you looked at it.

"It's alright. With your looks and persistence by this time next year you'll find yourself another husband. Richer this time, I'm sure."

Draco didn't miss the frown that Astoria produced at his words. He eyed her curiously and once again set aside his menu. "What is it?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing, nothing… Just...something that Granger said recently that popped into my mind is all."

The blonde before her didn't forget that she and his wife had seen each other in a bridal shoppe just the other day. Now, Draco had two options. He could either be the good friend and try to figure out what was obviously bothering her, or he could take the selfish route. The selfish route involved asking her about Hermione, and it was quite tempting to do the latter. Sure, he saw her more often than Astoria did, but who was to say that the two women hadn't talked about something that was worth hearing? What if, by some grace of Merlin, Hermione had said something about her pending nuptials that he could use to his advantage?

"You saw Hermione?"

Astoria's sadness disappeared immediately. Now her curiosity was piqued. "Perhaps… Why do you care?"

Draco snorted. "I don't."

Lie.

"I could care less."

Bigger lie.

"But since you mentioned her…"

Astoria was more than amused by his ramblings. She humored him. "I was with Pansy helping her pick out her wedding dress. That's where I saw Granger. She's getting remarried –and to someone whose Gringotts vault must be dreadfully empty, I might add."

"I bet." Draco sneered and Astoria stared at her dinner companion in awe. There was so much anger behind those two words that she felt that he was mad at her. She muttered a soft "hmm" and kept her comments to herself until their waiter came to take their orders. When he was gone, the man sitting across from her was still fuming.

Astoria smiled sweetly. "Why Draco, if I didn't know any better I'd say that you were jealous of Granger's fiancé."

Draco huffed. "Obviously you don't know any better."

Astoria laughed. "Oh yes, definitely jealous. As well you should be. Whoever's marrying her is one lucky man."

Draco's eyes snapped to hers and widened in disbelief. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me." She replied, taking a small sip of her water. "I may not have liked the woman or the fact that she got to marry you, but despite her status," Astoria carefully worded. "She was perfect for you. Arrogant, stubborn, always wanting to be right. Granger was the one person this side of England, hell the whole country, who could match you."

"I can't believe you're saying this."

Astoria shrugged. "We've all got to grow up sometime."

"I suppose so."

"Yes." Astoria hummed happily. "Because being taught from birth to marry a powerful man is one thing, but growing up and learning later that being a powerful couple is better, is most definitely as such. Now that we're on the subject," she added as her eyes darted to a table off to their right. "What do you think of potential husband number two?"

Draco glanced to where she was discretely staring, looked back at her, and shook his head. Typical Astoria. "I know him. And he's richer than your ex."

"Excellent."


"This was a good idea, Hermione." Ron said excitedly as he slipped off his shoes in exchange for the ice skates. "You always loved to ice skate. When was the last time you even did this?"

"I don't know; it's been so long." Hermione lied. She was sitting next to him with her hands gripping the edge of the bench. Were Ron a bit more observant, he would've noticed how hard she was holding onto it. She was anxious, not to mention nervous, and certainly not to mention feeling oh so guilty for what she was doing.

Just yesterday she and Draco had gone ice skating and Hermione had gone home feeling...feeling wrong. Today was her and Ron's date night, and she felt terrible for using it as her personal experiment. She kept hearing Draco's voice in her head about testing her relationship with Ron. What test out there was better than this? It was the same type of date at the same ice rink. The only difference was her companion. Perfect.

"Alright, I'm ready."

Hermione looked over at Ron and grinned. "Great, let's go!"

Ron was much better at maneuvering on ice skates than Draco was. It might've helped that he and his brothers used to play an ice variation of Quiditch whenever they were home from Hogwarts and still played when the opportunity presented itself. And so, there were no wobbly legs nor a need for Hermione to balance him. He did hold her hand though as he always did when they were out together.

Ron went out onto the ice first, gently pulling her out onto it with him. Hermione obliged and soon they were traveling smoothly around the rink, hand-in-hand, avoiding all collisions with walls, other people, and each other.

They talked while they skated. They laughed. They smiled at each other lovingly. There was one time when Ron got tripped up and he crashed onto the ice, bringing Hermione right down with him. They bumped heads in the process and laughed hysterically as they rubbed each other's foreheads. After returning their skates they headed to the ice cream parlor –something that hadn't happened last night at all. They shared an enormous sundae and Hermione scowled at him when he stole the last cherry from between her fingers. She smiled soon after when he (grudgingly) let her have the last spoonful of ice cream.

All in all, Hermione couldn't deny, that compared to her date with Draco, tonight with Ron was perfect. There'd been no whining, no complaining, no fighting. It was just...perfect. And yet she couldn't help but miss and daresay desire Draco's imperfections.

Why did she want that?

She shouldn't want that.

But the fact of the matter was that she did, and her blood ran cold at the thought of it.


Author's note: The walls are starting to crumble. There's no denying that for Hermione now, but, as Draco said, she tends to fight pretty hard for what she has. Unless of course something "disastrous derails it." I hope this makes you wonder what "disaster" ruined her and Draco's marriage then.

Thanks for the wonderful support as always! The amount of reviews for the previous chapter astounded me. You all are great :D

-WP