The day before the ides, Granger accompanied Draco to a frequented stop in Muggle London. As they sat in observation of innocent patrons, he wondered the same curiosities he had for the past few weeks. Why him? What makes him so trustworthy? His curiosity, however, would have to wait to be appeased; he would never directly ask her for her responses. While thinking of what paths to take to backhandedly secure her answers, his thought was interrupted by the witch before him.

"What about those two?" She nudged her face in the general direction to her left, his right. He turned and immediately saw a tall blonde and shorter brunette huddled in an intimate conversation.

"Are you choosing them for their remote likeness to us, or because they are a couple?"

"They look like us. The fact that they appear to be in a relationship is coincidental."

"Granger, no Muggle will ever remotely resemble you, (Draco was studying the couple too acutely to see the small blush cross Granger's cheeks) because no Muggle will be able to replicate whatever wild hair charm you have placed atop your head." He turned to face her in time to observe her annoyed expression.

"How do we do this?" Apparently her annoyed expression also came with hands on her hips.

"We? Granger, you are on your own. I'm not going to link myself to you if we are caught by Muggle authorities."

She snorted at his comment to which Draco raised a quizzical brow. "Muggle authorities won't apprehend us for plucking a hair off someone's head."

He turned to face the couple again to avoid giving her the satisfaction of his ignorance before crossing the street in the Muggles' direction. He was hesitant to reveal his trick in front of Granger, but he had no other choice. He bumped into the Muggle, and while apologizing dramatically, plucked a few hairs. He then walked off to find an Apparation point. It was a few minutes more before she joined him. As he watched her walking toward him, she commented, "I always knew you were overly dramatic, Malfoy." He chose not to respond to her condensation. "Where will we meet tomorrow?"

"You mentioned being tourists. What did you have in mind?"

She smiled and replied, "I wouldn't mind going to the Witches' Stone in Antrim. I've never been."

He studied her before acknowledging. "I have three hairs. That's approximately six hours. How many hairs did you secure?"

"Three as well. Let's meet at 2:00 at the round towers, drink the potion so we can acclimate to our new bodies and faces, then stroll in as the tourists we are." She smiled again, then walked away. Draco watched the movement of her bum in her Muggle jeans and wondered how he would be able to get rid of her.

The following day, they met as planned, drank as planned, and observed one another as planned. When they were assured that they would be able to maintain their farce, Draco led the way to the Wizarding city of Witches' Stone. Upon entering the highly trafficked Magical District, Hermione wasted no time in securing his arm. He looked at her accusingly, but she quickly explained her action in a forced whisper. "This place is highly populated. We might lose one another."

"Would that be such a problem?" He chose not to whisper, and sounded very much like his father at that moment. Granger must have thought the same as she immediately released her hold. He felt a twinge of guilt in his behavior, but it quickly passed when she threw her body at him. "What in Merlin's left b-"

"That wizard almost hit me!" she exclaimed. Draco turned to watch the young wizard as he nearly missed several other innocent bystanders while struggling to control his Nimbus 3000. "They must not have very strict broom laws here. Otherwise he would not get away with such reckless flying in a public area."

"And where might you be from, Miss High 'n Mighty?" The two turned to the voice and saw a cross witch with her arms on her hips. Draco held back a smile at the thought that all witches must have the same pose when angered. (All witches save his mother.) "You strike me as one of those witches that like to rain on others' parades. That is my son you are talking about."

Before Granger could respond, in what Draco could only assume would be inappropriately, he wrapped his arm around her in hopes that his move would stun her silent long enough for him to intervene. It did. In an American accent he replied, "Our apologies, Madam." He looked at the boy, still flying uncontrollably and continued in a bored observation. "He seems very enthusiastic. Was the broom recently purchased?"

The witch's hands remained on her hips. "Actually, it is borrowed."

The air of pride in her voice combined with her common dress robes confirmed an assessment Draco made several times over in a past life. He used to mock and bully the poor. Now, as a wizard searching for a new identity in post-Wizarding War Britain, he decided to respond differently. He took his arm from Hermione's shoulders and pulled out a small bag from his inside robe pocket and reached inside, retrieving his Nimbus 3000. "Would your son like to have one of his own?"

Draco chose not to acknowledge the shocked gasp from Hermione as he stared down the witch. Her body had stiffened, but he knew he would break down her proud wall on behalf of her son. "And why would you be giving away free, expensive brooms?"

"Your son is crap at flying. One can only guess it comes from lack of practice on a quality broom. Consider it a favor. The more he practices, the more witches and wizards will be safe from harm."

The woman stared at Draco long and hard, then turned to watch her son as he nearly crashed into a wall. "I'll take it."

Draco levitated the broom to her, but before it was within her reach, he gave one ultimatum. "He can have it under one condition—he practices in an open field instead of being the pestilence to others that he is now."

She huffed and extended her arm to grab the broom. She gave Hermione a rude glare and Draco a curt nod before walking off in the direction of her son.

"Oh Darling, that was a lovely thing you did!" She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and kissed him briefly on the lips.

Draco pushed her off him immediately.

Looking hurt, Granger walked up to him and whispered, "That is not staying in character. What boyfriend would shove his girlfriend away when she is kissing him?"

"A fake one." He began to walk down the street, looking at what the shops had to offer.

Hermione trotted to catch up to him before saying, "Was it a fake Draco that so graciously gave that woman a very expensive, highly coveted broom?"

Draco immediately stopped in his path and turned to stare down Hermione. He grabbed her arms and shook her while saying, "Listen here, Granger. It was no act of goodwill that I gave him my broom. The child was a nuisance to everyone, and his mother is oblivious to even the basic of parenting skills. As with everything, I bought them off. Giving him that broom was nothing. I could buy thousands of Nimbuses and not even dent my account at Gringotts." He released her with a tiny shove and began furiously walking toward a shop he hoped would not disappoint. He really needed a fix.

Granger snorted from behind him when she realized where he was heading. He stopped and she ran into his chest when he turned to face her once again. "Of course our first stop is a candy shop. I see nothing about you has changed." He returned her glare before they both entered Furry Toad's Sweets.

They exited with Draco carrying close to a pound of tooth decaying delicacies and Hermione none. He looked at her curiously, but decided not to ask, because sucking on a butterbeer flavored lollipop held precedence. Occupied, he followed Granger blindly into a small restaurant. The waitress eyed Draco's sweets and the lollipop in his mouth before leading them to a private booth. He was too preoccupied with his newfound sweet to notice their silence.

"I know it is all fake, you know." Her voice was low, and she was looking at the wand in her hand.

He removed his lollipop. "Do you?"

"Yes, of course I do. Technically, we have never even kissed, since it has never been our true bodies touching."

Draco smirked. "Do you want a real kiss?"

Hermione did not appreciate the taunt. "No. I think you would know if I did."

"Oh yeah, how so?" He sat back in his chair.

"Because if I wanted a real kiss, I would have kissed you already." They sat in a shared silence as he watched her profile. She was busy looking out the window.

"Are you sure about that?"

She turned to face him, convince him with her serious expression. "I'm not attracted to you, Malfoy. You are arrogant, egocentric, and condescending."

He leaned forward and pulled the almost finished lollipop from his mouth. "You forgot trustworthy."

Her eyes widened for only a moment before she collected herself. "You don't know what I mean when I say I trust you."

It was his turn to be a surprised, though he hid it well with the action of biting the remainder of his candy. He knew she would continue without him asking. Granger was predictable, and she liked to explain things, as if she knew it all. He smiled when she began to speak again.

"I have been watching you, observing you. You don't know what to do with your life. You are the same prat I knew at Hogwarts, but now you know your behavior holds consequences, so you channel yourself. I trust you to not want to sleep with me so you can claim you were with the war hero. I trust you not to use Polyjuice potion for devious means. I trust you to be predictable." She was leaning forward, massaging her forearm as she spoke.

Draco watched the action, but he was too affronted by her words to understand why she would comfort herself in such a manner. The waitress appeared, and Granger immediately said, "We will both have whatever the chef wishes to make us." The waitress laughed at her, and Draco took a sadistic pleasure in her discomfort and embarrassment.

"We will have two specials, please," he said, winking at the waitress. She nodded, smiling, and walked off. He turned to Granger, whose face was red. "I think it best you leave the ordering to me when we go out."

She snorted. He was beginning to despise that snort. "I thought my revelation would end these meetings between you and I. You have never responded well to criticism."

"Well then, you don't really know me as well as you think you do. You are the one that can't take criticism."

She looked at him sincerely and smiled. "There it is."

It was not long before two identical plates of brown blob were placed before them. Both jumped back when the food appeared to move. Neither knew what the food was, but Draco was unwilling to let Granger see him scared to eat something, and Hermione would not back down before Malfoy. As any cowardly witch or wizard would do, they chose to stall the inevitable.

"You consider giving your broom to the young wizard buying him off, but any onlooker would see it as an act of kindness." She poked her fork at the brown mesh on her plate.

"Only the ones that want to see it that way, Granger. If you pay any attention to the act itself, you would realize there was no kindness in it." He blew on his food, acting as though it was too hot to eat.

"What I saw was a wizard giving his very expensive broom to a needy boy." She pushed the mesh around on her plate.

"I wanted the boy and his obnoxious mother out of my way. That was the fastest solution. I will buy another broom tomorrow." He picked up his glass of water and took a disinterested sip.

"Hmm." She put her fork down, eliminating the pretense. "Would you have slept with me, that night?"

Draco was surprised at the abrupt change of subject. "I thought you specifically did not want to mention the topic-"

"No, I specifically did not want you to mention the topic. It is perfectly acceptable that I-"

"Interrupt?" He smiled at her. "Let me finish this time." She huffed and crossed her arms, tapping her wand against her bicep. "I was following your lead, Granger. You wanted it, and I saw no harm in giving you what you wanted. You would have been none the wiser, as I would have never mentioned it to a soul, and I guarantee, I would have left you satisfied." Hermione was about to respond when he quickly added, "And just as now, where it is okay for you to take the lead and discuss a topic you banned me from mentioning, I think it would have been okay to have followed your lead in the intimate department as well. I was not breaking any law by complying to your sexual needs."

"You were completely breaking the law, Malfoy. You knew I did not know who you were."

"Using your logic, technically, I would not have been the one satisfying you, Granger, since it would not have been my d-"

"But it would have been you! All you! It would have been your thoughts creating your body movements!"

He sat back, mirroring her crossed arms and smirked at her. "That is why I think we should not pretend to be a couple on this trip. It is still our actions, even if it isn't our bodies."

"Fine."

"Fine."