Author's Note: Not much to say about this chapter so I'll let you get to it! Please enjoy!

For ten minutes, she sat on the bed looking between him and the floor. In. Silence. She hadn't said a thing. He thought he wouldn't mind, so long as they could contently be together without problems. But this? She looked at him but not into him. He tried to look in but found she had blocked all signals. Talk to me, he thought. She must have gotten his message.

"Malfoy," she said.

He looked at her, the gears turning behind his silver eyes.

"Are you going to answer me?" she asked.

Draco shrugged and threw his empty coffee cup into the garbage. "I'm not sure what I can even call you now to answer," he said. He hadn't meant to sound cruel, but he couldn't help it. It wasn't easy on Draco, being exiled again by someone he thought cared for him if only a little bit. Hermione looked like she could've groaned and smacked him while crying all at once. "Because I can't call you Granger because...well you're not anymore. I can't call you Hermione for whatever reason. I can't call you love or babe or mine because you won't let me! You'll never let me right? Is that what's going to happen?" Draco was yelling now, his face reddening in anger. "You'll never let me love you, will you?"

Hermione looked quizzically at him and cracked a small smile. "You think I'll never let you love me? You think I'll never love you?" she asked. Draco didn't answer. "Draco, I never said that."

"You never said anything. You cut me out the moment we left that room."

"Do you blame me?" Hermione asked. "It was bloody awful, ok? No one wants…"

Draco nodded and said she didn't have to explain. That he could understand. It was shit, but they had to move on. "I just don't know what you want," he said. "I'll do whatever you ask, honest. Just-"

"Just what, Malfoy?"

He caught her eye. "Just forgive me. Please."

Hermione laughed again and stood up, throwing out her now empty tea cup. "I can't do that," she said. She sat back on the bed and laid back, looking cheerful of all things. Draco stared at her, dumbfounded. Was she effing serious?

"I can't do that because you didn't do anything wrong," she sat up and grabbed the robe for the room, stepping into the bathroom. She stuck her head out and added, "And you can call me Hermione."

Draco packed up his bags as she took a shower and got ready. He hadn't brought much; just a suit, pajamas, and two or three changes of clothes. For him, that was over packing. Draco never took much anywhere...granted he didn't go many places nowadays...but maybe that would change. He was done packing in a few minutes, the only things left that he needed were in the bathroom. Draco couldn't help but think about the woman in the other room. Besides the fact that he could hear her moving around, he couldn't stop thinking about her and what she had said. He was so confused. She didn't think he did anything wrong. He wasn't even sure if he believed that himself. Well, that was a lie. Draco believed that he did what he had to, whether or not it was still wrong was apparently besides the point. But who was really at fault? Him, or the Ministry?

He forgot everything when Hermione exited the bathroom. Draco looked up and she held out his stuff in her hands. "I just realized you might want this," she said with a smile.

"Thank you," he said. Draco took the items from her hands, taking a little extra time to touch her smooth hands. She let him, and he was willing to take that opportunity.

Hermione's hand tingled. She felt odd, Draco acting more intimate again. Not that she necessarily minded...but she wasn't sure she was ready to jump back in and pretend that nothing had happened. She had forgiven Draco, even if it wasn't really his fault. Hermione couldn't pretend that she wasn't hurt or that she would forget about the experience.

She just wished he would let it be. It had happened, it was over, and it was time to move on and just take things slowly. "Are you heading home today?" Hermione asked after a moment's thought.

Draco looked at her and put the rest of his things in his travel bag. "I suppose so. Will you?"

"Yes," she said. Hermione looked around quickly and found a notepad with a pen. Quickly she scribbled some words on the paper and handed it to Draco. He looked surprised looking at it. "My address," she clarified. "I figure we should at least keep in touch…"

Draco nodded and put the slip of paper in his wallet. "Hermione," he said, looking to her to make sure it was still ok. "Do you see us...living together...at any point?"

Hermione stared at the floor. Her shoes became the most interesting thing in the world at that moment, just so she could avoid his eyes. "Truthfully…" Hermione started and Draco's breath hitched. "Yes. Just…not right now. I need some time to work my mind out." Draco looked to his bag again and zipped and unzipped it multiple times. "I want to...see you though," Hermione said.

Draco caught her eye and she shivered. He had daggers for eyes, an animal like look hidden behind grey irises.

"You want to see me?" he asked.

Hermione nodded. "We are married right?" Draco nodded in return. "Well, I'm going to want to see my...husband."

Draco approached her and put his hands on her shoulders gently. "I'll fix what I did, Hermione. I swear it."

She smiled sweetly. "Draco, don't worry about it. It's just one of those things. I haven't come to terms with it yet and...Draco, it will take me some time. But-"

"But what?"

"I trust you, and I trust that this can work out if we try. There's a reason that we were placed together. I'm not ready to say screw it and fuck it all. After all we've been through?" He had looked away and was staring at his shoes, their roles reversed. "Draco, look at me." He did. She held out her left hand and showed him her ring. "Everytime I think about you, everytime I'm uncertain or questioning what choices I'm making, it changes color. It's red, Draco. I feel brave when I see that. When I realize that you gave me this ring, giving me bravery. I didn't ask for that and I'm sure you didn't mean to do this but I have it. I feel powerful with you, like you give me strength to do what I never thought I could. And it sounds so effing cliche and crappy, but it's the truth."

Hermione stopped and found his eyes. She held his hands in hers, rubbing a thumb across his ring. "Trust me."

Author's Note: Send me some love! Please review, follow, and favorite and let me know what you're thoughts and feelings are on this fic! I'm excited about the future of it and I hope you are too!