"Are you ok?" she heard Draco say as they emerged somewhere Hermione had never been before.

She took in her surroundings, reveling in the cool breeze and the darkness surrounding them as she calmed herself down. It was a beautiful place, on some terrace she figured. She could see the city lights twinkling far below them and suddenly she felt more at peace, knowing she was away from the hustle and bustle, the drama, even if for just a while.

The silence between them was enchanting, neither breathing too hard so as to not break the magic. No not the magic with their wands and potions, but the tingling atmosphere which had so many endless possibilities.

She was staring out into the distant horizon just out of her sight, letting her mind wander freely.

She thought of Ron, their relationship, her reaction tonight. She thought of work, the ministry, her boss and of Draco. The enigma that Draco Malfoy was. She turned to look at him, and found him deep in thought as well. How did they land up here? It wasn't healthy this sort of… what could she call it? Friendship? For her it all had to make sense. It had to be talked out, well reasoned, not this sudden 180 degree shift of attitudes.

Not just on his part, but hers as well. When had she accepted him? Forgiven him for the rude jibes and remarks that had tormented her all through her school days? Then again when had he apologized? He had just waltzed into her life and work (one almost synonymous with her other in her case) and they had just started afresh. It was all surreal to her. She needed, if you could call it that, some closure.

You took over his life, a voice at the back of her head poked.

"You're staring Granger." He said softly, breaking the silence at long last. That snapped her out of her daze, and she realized that she had been staring, and for quite a while.

He was looking at her his head tilted sideways, his expression one of curiosity as his silver eyes surveyed her. In the soft light of the moon and distant city lights he looked ethereal, as if from another world. His aristocratic face had become more defined, his platinum hair almost glowing.

"Granger?" he asked again, the corners of his mouth lifting into his trademark smirk.

She looked away, slightly embarrassed now.

"I'm fine." She managed to mumble.

"Thanks Malfoy, what spell did you hit him with anyway?" she asked her curiosity getting the better of her.

"I was wondering when that was coming." He said, the smirk widening considerably.

"Let's just say he won't have an urge to snog anyone anytime soon." He said trying to add an air of mystery. It had the desired effect and Hermione burst out laughing for the first time in a very long time.

"You didn't!" she cried, doubling over and relapsing into a fit of giggles. She let go, and felt finally free. When she sobered down she questioned again

"Where are we anyway?" "On top of the Ministry of Magic." He said nonchalantly, making her gasp. In all her years of working there she had never known of its existence.

Come to think of it, she had never realized that the Ministry had a terrace.

"I was exploring the Department of Mysteries one day and I found myself here" he explained and she nodded taking in the bit of information. "Thank you." She said again. "You're welcome Granger. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have come today." He offered.

"I dragged you into it, I should have realized before." She said waving his apology away.

"Besides, now they all think we're dating now thanks to my big mouth." She giggled, feeling a little heady from the laughter. "Not a very smart move from someone of your reputation." He agreed. "Green just isn't your color." He teased.

"I wasn't jealous." She huffed. "Yeah, you did it because you just love me!" he winked.

"Oh please Malfoy, get over yourself. Not even in your distant dreams." She said still disgruntled.

"That's exactly why you were staring at me a minute ago." He countered, making gooey eyes in a highly exaggerated imitation of her.

"I only said so because it's the only way you can come close to dating someone like me." She said off handedly, putting on a false superior tone, turning it back on him.

"So you got the Weasely clan out for my blood as a favor? Gee thanks Granger." He said sarcastically. "They won't be out for your blood, a limb or two maybe." She said. He grinned at her words and she smiled back, utterly thankful for his timing.

"Anyway, I could easily date someone like you if I so wanted." He scoffed.

"Oh yeah?" she challenged, narrowing her eyes.

"Key word being if, Granger." He said arrogant as ever.

"You couldn't if you tried." She mocked.

"But I don't even want to!" he countered.

"You're just scared of rejection."

"Who can reject this?" he asked seemingly horrified as he pointed to himself.

That set her into peals of laughter once again.

"I better go." She finally said, dragging herself off the wall they were both perched on.

"Thanks for everything Malfoy." "My pleasure Granger." He said getting up and dusting off as well. "I'll set the record straight tomorrow, don't worry." She said smiling one last time before disapparating with a pop.


Weasely Household, Present day

"Wow mum, I'm impressed." Rose said chuckling softly.

For her, her mother had always been prim and proper. A stickler for rules but not someone who would come in anyone's way of fun. Hearing these stories about her youth and learning about her 'wild' side was a refreshing change for her, and made her regard her in a whole new light.

"Was dad really that mad about though? Wasn't that being a little hypocritical?" she asked, curious. "Oh Rose, you don't know the half of it." Hermione sighed as she picked up the tale again.


Hermione Granger's flat, 1st August 2001

The alarm she had set for 6 AM went off loudly, jerking her awake, her head hitting against the headboard in the process. She groaned, one from the pain in her now throbbing skull and second from the lack of sleep.

After reaching home the previous night she had tossed and turned, the events of the evening playing in her head repeatedly till she had finally fallen into an uneasy sleep early in the morning. The thought of going to work after the positively horrendous night was all the more daunting now.

She sat up and stretched deciding that what Malfoy had said held a valid point. Perhaps personal and professional lives weren't that separate after all. But no way would she ever admit it out loud that he had been right.

Getting off the bed, she went about her daily chores, slower than usual however.

Just as she was about to leave for work, Ginny Weasely arrived, a tiny pop of apparation announcing her arrival. Hermione had been expecting this, but had hoped to avoid it till possibly after work. But now it seemed nothing could be done but face her best friend.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, and don't even think about work till then." She threatened, making herself comfortable on the couch. Hermione sighed, taking a few moments to send off a message to her boss about her delay, before joining the red-head.

"Start from the beginning." Ginny ordered, summoning some left over coffee for both of them as Hermione began.

She narrated the entire episode, from the time she had seen Draco at the ministry, and Ginny was sympathetic but not fully convinced. "So you're sure you aren't madly in love with him or anything?" Ginny asked uncertain. "Of course!" Hermione laughed, making Ginny lapse into a fit of giggles as well. "It was all made up Ginny, I've never been that impulsive, but seeing…" she trailed off.

"I understand Hermione, I don't know what I would do if I saw Harry with another girl." Ginny said shuddering at just the thought. She put a comforting arm around her, showing her support.

"So what do I do about the rest of the clan?" she asked mischievously. "Ginny!" Hermione exclaimed, "I don't want Draco dead." She confessed the hint of a smile on her face.

"I agree, so we tell them the truth then?" Ginny said, sighing dramatically but actually looking disappointed at the missed opportunity. Hermione nodded firmly.

"What will you say? Look 'Mione, Ron is still a git for the things he said. He doesn't have the right to comment on who you date or not. So I say we drag this on a little longer. Let him suffer a bit." She said.


Weasely Household, present day

"And I'm not proud of this, but I agreed to her hare-brained plan." Hermione said, smiling fondly at the mention of her now sister-in-law.

"Really, wow, how did dad react? And Mr. Malfoy wouldn't have been too pleased would he?" Rose asked thoroughly entertained now.

"How do you think he reacted Rosie? In his typical blundering way.

What I didn't see then but realize now was that he was jealous.

Completely jealous.

What I mistook for some sort of renewed rivalry between him and Draco was actually his green-eyed monster roaring its protest. We were too in love with each other to even accept the other with anyone but ourselves. But at that age, in that point of our relationship, all we did was fight. Fight with each other and our feelings for each other.

In the end that's what pushed me further away I guess.

I was tired of fighting over and for the same old things.

I wanted a new start, something different. And Draco offered me exactly that. But I'll come to that later.

So you Aunt Ginny convince me to drag on this little charade I had started to needle Ron further, and as you can guess it didn't go very well."


Malfoy Manor, present day

"You hexed Mr. Weasely?" Scorpius asked grinning widely at his dad.

"Of course I did, the sod had it coming…" he scoffed.

"And Mrs. Weasely was happy you hexed him?" he asked now laughing.

"Yes, she was. Thrilled really." He said smirking at the memory.

"So the Weaselys hunted you down and made you pay?" he was on the verge of tears from laughing so much.

"Almost…" Draco said a scowl replacing his smirk, "But not for those reasons." He then went on to explain why the Weasely army came after him, wands raised!


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