Michelle's door was closed, so I just had to hope she wasn't in there with anyone.

I knocked.

Her initial reaction upon opening the door was surprise, which quickly turned to confusion, and then something like… mischief?

"Hi," she said, with a small smile flickering at the corner of her lips.

"Hi," I replied.

Then she stood back and motioned for me to enter the office.

I did, but not before glancing around the hall. I heard her let out a low laugh.

"You afraid someone's gonna see you coming in on a day when you don't have to?"

I shrugged. Honestly, I wasn't even sure what I'd been on the lookout for. She shut the door and we took our usual seats.

"So, this is unusual. But I guess this week isn't usual?"

My turn to laugh. "Understatement of the bloody century," I grumbled. She shot me a grimace and titled her head in that way that meant she was about to ask some annoying question.

It's why I'd come, to be asked annoying questions, yet I still found them annoying.

"So, are you gonna fill me in on what happened after I left the hospital yesterday, or should I start making guesses? I'm assuming that's why you're here?"

I rolled my eyes and scoffed, leaning forward in my chair rather than slumping back. I quickly recounted the events that had taken place following her exit from Theo's hospital room. I mentioned the kiss, but said it all to the floor to avoid seeing whatever reaction she might have. I went too fast, glossing over the time in the manor. Entirely skipping our time in the library.

"So we had dinner with Theo and my mother. Theo was on his best behavior, the bastard. Mother must have threatened him. I've never seen him so civilized."

She raised her eyebrows at this and looked to be pondering the mystery herself.

"Granger and my mother got on famously, and then I walked her out at the end of the night and she kissed me again and I told her I'd owl her about seeing her again and that's it."

More eyebrow raising. I stared at the floor.

The silence went on so long that eventually I looked up to see a bemused expression.

"What?" I growled.

She shook her head and smiled in earnest, "Oh nothing, just marveling at your storytelling skills. So much detail, it feels like I was there."

I felt my fists clench as I glared at her. She continued to smile at me.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're here now?"

I began cracking my knuckles one at a time, considering how to answer. Finally, I settled on the truth.

"Because something Catherine said to me this morning… it…"

"Wait, you had therapy already today?" she said, surprised.

"It's my regularly scheduled meeting," I said, feeling rather defensive all of a sudden.

She stilled, giving me a penetrating stare before slowly nodding and motioning for me to go on.

"Anyway… she said I'm so used to things being shite that… all of this going so well is… unsettling."

"And…?"

"And I don't want to bollocks it up! Alright?"

I wasn't sure why I was getting angry, but I was.

"Okay," she said, with a small smirk. "So you came to tell me for… accountability?"

I shrugged. "I s'pose."

"Well alright! So, what's next then?"

"Huh?"

"Whaaaat's neeeext?"

I rolled my eyes again in response.

"Didn't you and Catherine talk about what you're gonna do now?"

"Sort of," I mumbled. In truth we had, in detail, but I really didn't want to say any of it out loud.

"I bet it was more than sort of."

"I hate you."

"You're sweet, what's the plan?"

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Pansy came over later that day and we were working on my proposal for the potions company.

Part of the "plan" Catherine had suggested was to continue on with my regular life, staying focused on all of my goals in a balanced way vs being hyper-focused on Granger. I also said I would ask her on a proper date. Friday would mark the official end of my house arrest, and I'd be able to go… well, anywhere.

I took a steadying breath at the thought of it. My freedom, paired with the fact that I was apparently now dating Hermione Granger was all quite overwhelming.

I hadn't owl'd her about a date yet, and I'd told Michelle I would get help from Pansy on it.

After a considerable amount of stalling on my part, I finally blurted out, "I need your help asking Granger out on a date."

Pansy threw her quill down angrily and said, "Finally! Merlin, Draco, you kept that quiet!"

I stared at her, utterly perplexed at first before realizing…

"Theo."

"You're damn right, Theo! Good thing he's around too or I'd have none of the juicy news. Just wanted to give you a chance to say it to me yourself. So, tell me everything! How long has this been going on for you?"

I shrugged. "I didn't realize it had been going on, to be honest."

Pansy nodded sagely. "Mmm… yes I can believe that. You are a bit of a prat."

"Hey!"

"I'm just saying, you aren't usually terribly aware of your feelings. You're mostly reactive and defensive and closed off."

"Alright Pans, I've have therapy as well as coaching already today. I really don't need your added analysis of my character, flattering as it is."

Raising an eyebrow, she said, "You've seen your therapist and your coach today?"

"Yes."

"The day after you kiss Granger for the first time, your move is to go talk about it with professionals?"

"The therapy was pre-scheduled! And I was already at the Ministry so it made sense to stop and see Michelle… what?!" She was giving me the most irritating knowing look.

With a smirk and a shrug she said, "I just think it's great. Such a far cry from the one man show you once were."

"Whatever. Will you help me plan this date? I… have never actually taken a witch out before."

The squeal she let out was deafening. Clapping her hands, she said, "Of course! Oh, this is going to be fun."

I winced and pulled out the parchment I'd been waiting to use to write to Granger.

"First thing's first, what do I say?"

"Alright, it can't be too formal, but not too familiar either. You want her to feel like she's being romanced. This isn't like saying to meet you in the alley behind the Three Broomsticks at Hogsmeade weekend."

"Hey, that was romantic!"

"Draco… I would roll my eyes, but I fear they'd fall out of my head."

"That's supremely unfair, you weren't even into blokes."

"I was into blokes enough."

"Whatever, what should I say then?"

She thought for a moment, lips pursed. "Well, you need to say something about yesterday. Nothing too sappy, but you also can't pretend it never happened."

I bent over and began to write.

"Wait, you're still calling her Granger?!"

I looked up, "So?"

"So?! It's far too impersonal!"

"But it's what I call her!"

"Is it? Is it what you're going to call her while she's naked on top of you as well?"

I raised my eyebrows, the idea making something stir in the pit of my stomach. And perhaps… other places.

"I mean…"

"Draco! You can't."

"Alright, let's skip the greeting for now, what should I say about yesterday?"

Pansy rolled her eyes at me, but pursed her lips again in thought.

"Well, I could make something up, but you haven't said anything about how you're feeling about it."

I winced again. I hadn't imagined having to voice my feelings to her. I'd done it in therapy and was not keen to repeat it.

"Can't you just give me something generic and passable?"

She let out some mixture of a scoff and a laugh. "Look Draco, if this is just a joke to you, you should pick another witch."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning, Hermione Granger is not the type of witch you deliver generic and passable letters to. She is a decorated war heroine, so Salazar's sake! She's the bloody Golden Girl!"

"Oh and I'm just some depraved Death Eater unworthy of being seen next to her, is that it?"

Her hand was swift as she smacked me upside the head without missing a beat.

"Oww! What the bloody hell-"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," she said in a low, severe tone. "Are you actually still carrying that nonsense narrative around with you?"

"What are you-"

"Bloody hell, you've got a therapist and a life coach and you're still on about being an unworthy Death Eater?"

I stilled, taking in the comment.

I'd certainly been over and over that particular "story" about myself with Michelle a number of times. Catherine had pointed it out as well.

"I guess… yes? I don't know, I just…"

"You're just so bloody busy feeling sorry for yourself you don't even notice you've turned into a whiney git!"

I felt the urge to get angry. To argue. To protest her claim about my being a whiney git.

But the anger stayed at bay. The argument dissipated in my throat. Protest cancelled.

"You're… right."

"What?!"

"You're completely right, I'm… I've just been wallowing. I didn't realize. I mean, I've heard it… from Granger herself… fuck, even Potter mentioned something to me-"

"Potter?"

"Yea, I ran into him once. Literally. He gave me this big speech about not being as bad as I think I am…" I trailed off. I hadn't thought about that day in a while, but it came back in startling clarity in that moment. I had wanted nothing more than to punch potter in his stupid scar face, but in hindsight… I felt rather foolish.

The sensation crept up my chest and settled momentarily in my throat, making it hard to swallow. It seemed that everyone around me saw something that I couldn't see.

I started mentally reviewing every interaction I'd had with anyone since the war. All the therapists I'd met with. The people I'd run into at the ministry. I had always gone into those interactions on guard. Abrasive, angry, or falsely positive. Their confused faces floated through the frames of memory in my mind, and I felt the hot heat of embarrassment course through me. I'd been rude, defensive, and petulant. And they had all seen right through me. I had been feigning the upper hand for the past year, when in actuality I couldn't have felt lower.

I'd been acting a part and everyone knew it. Knew I was just protecting myself. Knew I was just scared. Weak.

A wave of nausea swooped in, and the room around me began swaying. I couldn't remember feeling this stupid in… well perhaps ever?

"Draco?"

I looked up to see Pany's concerned face scrutinizing me. I shook my head as I felt the threat of hot tears pricking at the backs of my eyes.

"I'd like to be alone, Pans."

Her eyes flew wide. "Like hell you-"

I reached out and gently placed my hand on her shoulder, looking into her eyes, and she stilled. "Please, Pansy. I just… need some time to myself. To think."

She nodded slowly, looking a bit like she didn't want to break me. The thought made anger rise in me, but I brushed it away.

Maybe I was breakable. Maybe I was breaking.

She reached forward and kissed my cheek, and then uncharacteristically pulled me into a hug. Relief flooded through me at the physical contact, and I wrapped my arms around her, tightening my grip after a few seconds had passed.

I had needed a fucking hug like air.

We stayed like that for longer than I had ever allowed before. When she finally pulled back, she reached up and grazed my cheek. I realized with a hollow resignation that a tear had fallen and she'd been wiping it away. Then she turned to leave, stopping at the door and looking back at me.

"Owl me tomorrow?"

I nodded, not making eye contact with her.

"And Draco?"

I looked up. She still wore that concerned face, but I found it less and less offensive with the passing moments.

"Maybe don't drink tonight?"

I nodded again, but she didn't need to say it.

For once in my life, the thought of reaching for firewhisky hadn't even occurred to me.

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I didn't owl Granger that night, or the next day, or the day after that. Something had changed for me. It had nothing to do with her, I just felt like all of my actions needed to be reconfigured.

Thursday rolled around and I skipped therapy. I also called off Greg and Blaise, as they were meant to come over Wednesday and Thursday nights, respectively. I just needed some time without other people's voices in my head.

It felt as though I'd never met myself before, and I had to get to know me. To take stock. What parts of me were me and what parts were just my reaction to the world around me? A built-up callus that I'd gotten so used to that I'd started believing it to be the real me, rather than an unintended hardening of my character.

I did a lot of writing; it was the only way I could think to process everything. The only talking I did was with Mother.

She was, of course, insistent that I tell her what was wrong. At least at first.

After she saw my shift in demeanor, she became more quietly concerned than adamant in her inquiries. Then, something in her shifted as well, and our mealtimes became rather pleasant. Only, I wasn't placating her, and surprisingly she wasn't tip toeing around me. She almost treated me like a new guest in our home when she spoke to me. I found I rather enjoyed talking with her, as odd as it sounds. I wasn't merely surviving the conversations. It felt similar to the days we would spend alone together when I was quite young. Before Hogwarts, before the war had started back up. Back when she was delightedly curious about me. Getting to know me as I got to know myself.

There was something else at play, too. It felt almost as if she were… inspired? It was a different feeling than parental approval. She was almost in awe of me. The things I shared seemed to make her introspective in a way I hadn't witnessed before.

I suspected that she asked my friends to give me some space, because there was no way both Pansy and Theo would leave me be for this long naturally.

I spent a lot of time in the potions lab working on an idea I'd had after trying Lovegood's memory drink. It was slow work without a partner, but the solitude was much needed.

I thought of Granger often, but a sense of calm had come over me. I was no longer anxious about when I'd see her next. I knew I needed to reach out to her in some way, I couldn't just not speak to her after the time we'd had on Monday, but I needed some time to myself first.

On Friday morning, I awoke to an owl tapping at my window. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a ministry owl, and my stomach did a flip.

Could Granger be cross with me at this point?

I opened the window and retrieved the letter, motioning for the owl to come inside, but it turned and left, clearly instructed not to wait for a reply.

Bollocks. She was definitely cross. I should have communicated in some way, I just hadn't known what to say. I'm just taking a few days to myself to ponder the meaning of my existence? I scoffed at the thought as I tore open the letter.

It wasn't from Granger. Of course it wasn't. I had completely forgotten that that Friday marked the end of our house arrest.

Dear Mr. Malfoy,

We are pleased to inform you that the time period of your house arrest is officially complete. Please stop in at the ministry today to have the remaining restrictions lifted from your wand, and to sign your release paperwork.

-The Department of Magical Law Enforcement

"Draco!"

Mother. She must have gotten her owl too. I strode out of my bedroom and walked out onto the landing, leaning over the railing to see her staring up at me holding her own letter in her hand.

"Morning, Mother," I said with a smile, holding up my identical letter.

"Shall we have some breakfast and then head to the ministry together?"

I nodded and turned back to my room to get ready.

Perfect. I would see Granger in person, which was decidedly better than an owl anyway.

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Mother and I went down to the DMLE and were ushered into a conference room to await the team of officials that had been assigned to our case. I doubted Shaklebolt himself would appear just for our release, and I was glad of it. My behavior towards the man had been abhorrent, and I wasn't looking forward to meeting him again. However much I had changed in the last four months, he would still look at me like the petulant child I had been, and I didn't think I could stand it.

Two other officials walked in, a portly man I didn't know who was holding two scrolls, and an older woman I recognized as Mafalda Hopkirk. I breathed a sigh of relief when Granger was not among them.

The reprieve was short, however, when she finally followed them in, hastily shutting the door behind her and staring at the floor. She was deliberately avoiding eye contact, a fact which was not lost on my mother. Looking from Granger to myself suspiciously, she caught my eye and cocked her head in confusion.

The portly man spoke first. "Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. Malfoy," he said, bowing his head slightly and moving forward to spread the documents on the table. "A few formalities here and then you're free to go. I daresay you're anxious to have these proceedings over with by now!"

We ought to have said something polite in response, but Mother and I were both rather distracted by Granger's behavior.

"Well alright then," the man said, thrown by our non-response. "Just sign on the line at the bottom and then pass your wands to Mafalda so that she can remove the trace."

It was unclear to me why Granger even had to be there. A forced formality perhaps? She was now looking around the walls of the room, which were adorned with some generic paintings, nothing special enough to warrant the kind of attention she was giving them, to be sure.

We followed all instructions, and the necessary was completed within minutes.

The portly man was gathering up the papers, while Mafalda reminded us to be cautious when apparating.

"After so much time without practice, splinching is far more likely. Best to begin with small distances and work your way up. Alright?"

"Yes, thank you," I heard Mother saying. I wanted to reach out and take Granger's hand. To lift her chin up to look into my eyes and see that I was happy to see her. Whatever she was thinking had happened, she was wrong and I needed to correct her understanding.

Mafalda turned to her. "Miss Granger? Don't you have paperwork for Mr. Malfoy?"

Her eyes went wide and she began searching the pockets of her robes. She looked up at Mafalda, panicked, "I left them on my desk!"

Mafalda threw her a bemused look. "No worries, dear girl, I'm sure Mr. Malfoy wouldn't mind accompanying you there."

"Thank you both for coming in, and best of luck to you!" the portly man said.

Just like that, we were ushered out of the office and headed to the lifts. Just Granger, myself, and my mother.

We stepped into the lift, Granger getting in last and turning her back to both of us. None of us spoke.

Thank Merlin we only had one floor to travel.

When the golden grills opened, I wasn't sure whether I was relieved or panicked to see Michelle standing right there.

"Well, hello!"

Yes, please, break this unholy awkwardness you oddly chipper woman.

Michelle walked forward, disregarding me and Granger. "Mrs. Malfoy, I presume?"

Mother walked forward with a delighted smile. "Could this be?" she said, turning back to look at me. I nodded. "Michelle, darling, I have heard so many wonderful things."

Laughing, Michelle said, "Well I seriously doubt that, but I'll take it."

Mother inclined her head, smirking as they shook hands. "I should rephrase, I have heard terrible things, but I've seen the wonderful results of your work with my son."

"Now that! That I can believe," she replied, grinning. "Thank you."

Then she noticed that Granger was staring around the corridor looking anxious.

"Hermione are you okay?"

Granger snapped her head up to look at Michelle, eyes wide. "What? Oh, yes, sorry, I just… left the paperwork in my office so I have to…" she said, motioning towards me.

Michelle's eyebrows furrowed. "Okay…" she said, glancing from me to Granger slowly. Then without taking her eyes off us she said, "Narcissa, would you like to join me for some tea?"

Catching on quickly, Mother turned back to Michelle with a bright smile. "That would be wonderful, dear. Lead the way."

Granger started moving before I had torn my eyes from the sight of my mother and my life coach walking away together. I shook myself and followed her. She kept a brisk pace right up until she reached her office. I followed her in and she had already grabbed the parchment and thrust it at me, crumpling it at the edges.

"Granger," I said, in a low voice. She ignored me, grabbing a quill and inkpot and slamming them down on the desk in front of me, causing some of the ink to splash out of the bottle and onto her hand. I had my wand out faster than she could grab hers with her left hand, and I vanished the ink non-verbally, which caused her to jump and look up at me.

"Thanks," she mumbled, stepping back and motioning for me to take the quill and finish my task.

Slowly I stepped forward, not taking my eyes off her while she stared resolutely at the desk.

I smoothed out the parchment, picked up the quill and dipped it in the ink, signing my name at the bottom of the still crinkled page. When I was finished, I stepped back and turned to her, but she was moving forward to take the signed doumcnet. She reached for it, and I gently put my hand around her wrist to stop her.

She looked up at me, scowling. "What are you doing?"

I was oddly calm. She was angry with me, and I understood why, but I felt a sense of assuredness that I'd be able to explain myself if and when she'd let me.

I reached forward and took her other hand in mine, interlacing our fingers. She looked down at our hands, a puzzled look on her face.

"I'm sorry you haven't heard from me."

Her expression softened ever so slightly and she looked up at me.

"I assure you, it had nothing to do with you. I've been, processing some things."

"And you couldn't have just let me know you were busy… processing?"

I grimaced. "I know, I promise it wasn't intentional. Will you let me make it up to you?"

Now her expression softened completely, eyebrows raised.

"I had intended to write you on Tuesday to ask if I could take you out tonight. You can ask Pansy, she was helping me write the owl."

If possible, here eyebrows flew higher. "Pansy Parkinson was helping you write to me?"

I nodded, breathing a sigh of relief that she was talking to me again.

"Draco, I just… need a moment, alright? You said you would owl me and you didn't and I've spent the last few days feeling rather foolish."

"I understand," I said, bringing her hand up to my mouth and placing a soft kiss on her knuckles. "I'm truly sorry, please take all the time you need. Why don't I await your owl, then?"

A smile pulled at her lips as she looked up at me and a long silence stretched between us.

Finally, she nodded.

"Alright," I said, releasing her hand and stepping backward. The space between us made the pull I felt towards her more intense.

Merlin, how long had I wanted this witch? That magnetic tug between us had been there for so long, and I was only just recognizing it as attraction.

It was even more than that for me, now, though.

"See you, Granger," I said, backing out of her office with a grin. She smiled back, giving me a small wave.

I reached the lifts and was about to round the corner to collect my mother from Michelle's office when something hit me in the back of the head and dropped to the floor. I looked down to see a small paper airplane, which I recognized as an inter-office memo. I picked it up and unfolded it.

The Jobberknoll at 7

xo

I grinned and looked down the hall. In the distance, I could see her peeking out of her office watching me. When she saw me looking back, she reentered her office and shut the door.

Just then, Mother reappeared by my side.

"Well, how'd it go?"

I didn't drop my gaze from her closed office door as I said, "Excellent."