"Harry!"

Hermione had just rounded the corner when she saw him coming out of his office. She had called out without hesitation, but immediately clasped her hand over her mouth.

"'Ey Hermione!" he called. "Are you headed to the Great Hall?"

Hermione hurried to his side and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "No," she said. "But I'll walk with you. There's something I need to tell you."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at her and nodded. "Sure. What is it?"

Hermione glanced around nervously; There were a few students floating around the corridor, but none of them were paying Harry or Hermione any piece of mind. As she opened her mouth to speak, her stomach did an awkward somersault.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Harry asked nervously. "Did something happen?"

"Perhaps we should go somewhere more private?" she suggested.

"Sure," Harry said skeptically. "Let's go into my office."

Harry opened the door for her and Hermione slipped inside the room. She glanced around at the familiar surroundings; Very little had changed since the office had belonged to Professor McGonagall. A large desk was pushed to the back wall of the room, leaving a wide greeting area occupied only by an old rug. A single vacant portrait hung on the wall, its muddled yellow back splash blaring at Hermione. Her mind tingled as she tried to remember where she knew the painting from, but she quickly shook away the thought when Harry closed the office door.

"Well?" Harry said, eager to find out why Hermione was so flustered.

Hermione bit her bottom lip and glanced nervously around the room. Her heart was racing in her chest, but she tried to ignore it.

"I'm not sure where to begin," she admitted.

Harry strode across the office and took a seat on the edge of his desk. "Come on, Hermione. It can't be that bad."

"You have to keep an open mind," she assured him. "Okay?"

Harry nodded.

With a deep breath, Hermione closed her eyes and began to tell Harry everything she had been harboring in utmost secrecy since the beginning of the school year.

"Hermione," Draco said as they were standing to leave from the teacher's table. They were two of the last occupants of the Great Hall, and the other professors who had still not drifted off to bed were out of ear shot. "Will you come with me?"

Hermione fought a smile at the sound of her name. Instead of replying, she nodded slowly and followed silently as Draco led the way out of the hall. It was much cooler in the corridor than it had been in the great hall, and Hermione felt goose bumps raise instantly on her arms.

They walked a very short distance before Draco turned sharply and opened a door to their right. He stepped politely aside to allow for Hermione to pass through the doorway into a small, vacant room. It was dimly lit by three lamps that were hung on the wall.

"I've never been in this room," Hermione observed softly as she gazed curiously around the foreign room. "How did you know it was empty?"

"I didn't."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, but did not pursue the subject. "What did you have to show me?"

Draco opened his mouth, but then closed it again very quickly. He looked at Hermione, knowing she had noticed his falter, and smiled. "I bought you something."

With a smirk, Hermione glanced around the room. "Is it invisible?"

Draco scowled. "No," he said as he reached inside his robes to retrieve a small package. It was still wrapped with brown paper and tied with a cord as though it had just been delivered. He handed it very unceremoniously to Hermione and waited for her to open it.

Hermione blushed as she tugged the cord loose and unwrapped the parcel. Inside the paper she found a small black box. She glanced up at Draco for a moment, who remained expressionless, before opening it. She caught her breath when she saw what was looking back at her from inside.

Perched in the middle of the box was a thick, silver ring. The band of the ring was flecked with glittering diamonds and two emeralds were positioned off center of the middle. Hermione could not control the first thoughts that came to her mind. Such an odd configuration, she thought. Why would the emeralds be positioned in such a way? After looking at the ring for a moment longer, she brought it closer to her eyes and realized that the emeralds were actually the eyes of a snake and that the silver band was the snake's body, wrapped around to form a circle.

"Do you like it?" Draco asked eagerly when Hermione did not say anything initially.

"I love it," Hermione said softly. She pulled the ring from the resting place in the box and slid it on her finger. "And it fits."

Draco smirked, his confidence now back in full swing. "I'm a good guess," he said proudly.

Hermione twisted and turned her hand so that each of the gems caught the lamp light and glittered beautifully. "You didn't have to buy me anything," she assured him bashfully.

Draco pulled her into his arms. "Yes, I did."

"And why is that?" she asked.

Their lips were only a hair's breadth apart, but neither one of them moved to seal their kiss.

"A special girl deserves a special gift, don't you think?" he said, arching his eyebrows.

Hermione smiled and nudged herself forward so that her lips met his.

"Wait, wait, wait," Harry said suddenly. The look on his face was a mix of horror and hilarity. "Draco Malfoy gave you a ring?"

"Yes," she answered.

"The same Draco Malfoy that we've hated for the past seven years?"

"Yes, but-"

"What are you thinking, Hermione?" he asked desperately. "Draco Malfoy is-"

"-changed!" Hermione snapped. "You don't know him like I know him, now shut up and listen to the rest of my story."

"For your information, this doesn't match what I'm wearing to the wedding," Hermione teased.

Draco laughed. "For your information, everything goes with silver and green. And besides, that's not what I bought you to wear to the wedding. That, is for you to wear every day."

Draco kissed her again and felt her smile on his lips. He could finally breath again, now that he had given her the ring, and now all he wanted was to be close to her. Something about her always drove him crazy, yet he still couldn't figure out what the 'something' was. Perhaps it was her smile. Perhaps it was the way she looked at him. Perhaps it was the fact that they hadn't had sex, and it took every ounce of will power he could muster not to give in to his desires and take her over and over again.

"You know everyone is dying to know who I'm going with to the wedding," Hermione teased.

"Why don't you tell them, if they want to know so badly?" Draco asked.

"Because we're Professors," Hermione said the first thing that came to mind. "We're not students anymore. We can't just go around saying we're dating."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "Dating? I thought it was just a date to a wedding."

Hermione's mouth fell open and she felt the blood rush from her face. "I-I meant that-"

"Is that what you want?" he asked flatly, staring eagerly into her beautiful brown eyes. "To be dating?"

The blood had returned to Hermione's face and she could now feel her cheeks burning hot. She was lost in Draco's gaze, staring into his steel gray eyes, and was unable to register any sort of response. His words were slowing sinking into her mind, ever so slowly, as though they were passing through molasses. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. She couldn't understand what was taking her so long to register what Draco was implicating: For her to be his girlfriend.

After a long moment, time seemed to return to normal, and everything was moving at its normal pace. Hermione could feel her heart pounding quickly in her chest, hear her shaky breathing, and feel Draco's arms tightening around her. She could see the eager look in Draco's eye as he waited for her response.

"Is that what you want?" Hermione asked, determined to make him wait as long as possible for her answer.

Without hesitation, Draco answered softly, "Yes."

Hermione felt her heart leap in her chest and she fought the wide smile that was making its way across her face. Draco cupped his hand behind Hermione's head and pulled her into a deep kiss, much more passionate than she had been expecting. She felt her knees go week and she locked her hands over his shoulders to steady herself.

"You and Draco are dating?" Harry interjected once again; He could hardly control himself.

"Er-" Hermione stammered. "Yes. We are."

"You're mental."

For a split second, Hermione had been relieved to tell Harry about her and Draco, but Harry's reaction was nothing like Hermione had expected. She should have expected it, however, because she knew how much he hated Draco.

"I am not," Hermione snapped. "You said you would keep an open mind!"

"Hermione, no one's mind is that open."

She scowled. "Luna doesn't mind."

This time, Harry laughed. "I take back my previous statement. Only Luna's mind is that open."

"Harry Potter would you just give him a chance? What if he really has changed? You yourself know that he wouldn't have killed Dumbledore, and you know that he didn't turn you over at the manor that night."

"Okay," Harry huffed irritatedly, "So the foul git might not be pure evil. But Hermione..."

Hermione huffed. "I thought you of all people would know better than to challenge my judgment, Harry Potter. Why can't you just be happy for me?"

"Dumbledore was brilliant, Hermione, and even he made mistakes."

"And Dumbledore would have given Draco a second chance," Hermione quickly retorted.

Harry removed his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose. "All I'm saying is that you need to be careful, Hermione. How do you know he's not lying? His family is disgraced, and being with you would be just the thing to get him back in good graces."

Hermione paused and raised an eyebrow at Harry. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it, Hermione," he said. "What better way for Draco to show that he's changed and that he's not the same as the rest of the scum in his family than to be seen with a muggle born. It's the ultimate pardon!"

Try as she may, Hermione could not rid herself of the bad taste in her mouth that manifested at Harry's words. His words had been like a heavy blow to her gut.

"I could read his mind if I wanted to," Hermione spat sourly.

Realizing he had hurt her feelings, Harry tried to comfort her. "If you trust him, I'll try. But, Hermione, I can't make any promises."

Hermione forced a smile. "Will you really?"

"You're my best friend, Hermione. And your friendship means more to me than my hatred for him," Harry said.

She smiled with relief. Harry trusted her and he trusted her judgment. But most importantly, he was accepting of her and Draco's relationship. It was a tall order, but the smallest part of Hermione told her that Harry would warm up to Draco... eventually.

Hermione's conversation with Harry earlier that morning had put her in a fine mood. Not even the impressive collection of homework assignments waiting for her on her desk could dampen her spirits. In fact, she was so preoccupied with thoughts of Draco, and Harry's semi-positive reaction, and the upcoming wedding that she hardly paused to correct any misspellings and gave her students considerably fairer grades than she might have otherwise.

It was hardly a surprise to her when Draco strolled into her office with a smug smile and a proud step.

"So, you told Potter?" he asked.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Did he mention it?"

Draco chuckled. "Not even close. He kind of waved at me in the corridor. I figured you must have had something to do with it."

"Aww," Hermione cooed. "He is trying."

Draco gave her a disgusted look before regaining his composure. "How about you take a break and accompany me to Hogsmeade?"

Hermione looked despairingly over the mountain of papers stacked on her desk for a moment before standing and pulled on her travel coat.

"Perhaps for a bit," she said, the corner of her mouth curved upward into a smirk.

Before he opened the office door, Draco stooped and kissed Hermione softly on her lips. As he did so, he inhaled deeply, smelling the sweet aroma of her perfume. Reluctantly, he pulled himself away from her and tugged open the office door.

If Draco had been in any sort of a hurry, he would have ran straight into Harry who was standing on the opposite side of the door, his hand still raised as though he were going to knock. Their stunned expressions were identical as they both fought to find something to say. Finally, it was Hermione who intervened.

"Harry!" she said.

"Er-" Harry said, looking back and forth between Draco and Hermione. "I was headed to the Three Broomsticks. I was going to see if you wanted to come."

"Oh," Hermione sighed. "We were actually headed there ourselves."

"Why don't you come with us?" Draco asked suddenly. Both Harry and Hermione stared at him in bewilderment, but his expression remained calm and flawless.

"Well," Harry stammered, still trying to recover from the awkwardness of it all. "I don't want to... you two should..."

"Oh, Harry, I think it's a great idea!" Hermione exclaimed.

"You do?" Harry asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Come on, Potter," Draco urged. "You were planning on going anyway."

"Okay," Harry finally agreed. He fell into step at Hermione's side while Draco marched along on her other side.

It was several minutes before anyone spoke. None of them were prepared for the bite of the cold wind as they stepped out into the night.

"Bloody hell!" Harry blurted and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. "Can we fly there? It'll be faster."

"Absolutely not," Hermione said shaking her head fiercely. "If I never fly again in my life it'll be too soon."

They all laughed.

Hermione glanced nervously over at Draco whose expression was difficult to read. It may have been due to the frigid air, or he might have been concentrating on something, but he looked slightly angry. After a moment he met her eyes and smiled. Then, he reached and caught her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. Despite the cold air, Hermione's cheeks flushed warmly.

Draco still had hold of Hermione's hand when they reached the village. Harry led the way into the Three Broomsticks and fought his way through a dense crowd to find a vacant booth. Draco let Hermione slide into the booth first before he took a seat and Harry sat down across from them.

"There's never this many people here, even on the weekends," Hermione said loudly.

"Ireland won today!" Harry said, equally as loud.

Hermione rolled her eyes. She only cared about Quidditch when Gryffindor played.

"I'm going to go get us drinks," Draco announced and stood up from the booth. "Butterbeer?"

The other two nodded. Draco spun on his heel and made his way through the crowd to the bar.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at Harry as though daring him to say something.

"Did you give him a love potion?" Harry asked, leaning over the table so that he would not have to yell.

"Very funny," Hermione snapped. "I told you. He's changed."

"He certainly is... different," Harry said. "I wonder if he's been Imperiused."

"Harry!"

Harry grinned. "Only joking."

"He really is a nice guy," Hermione admired as she caught a glimpse of Draco's blonde hair through the crowd. He was still ordering their drinks at the bar. "We were wrong about him."

Harry made a disgusted face.

Before they knew it, Draco had returned with three tall mugs of butterbeer. He slid them across the table accordingly and Harry eyed his curiously.

"Think it's poisoned, Potter?"

It was a moment before Harry or Hermione realized that Draco had spoken.

"Is it?" Harry asked.

"I wouldn't tell you if it was," Draco sneered. "But you can have mine if you want."

Harry gritted his teeth, caught the look Hermione was giving him, and then took a deep breath to relax.

"Here's to life," Harry said jokingly as he raised his mug and then took a deep gulp.

Everyone waited anxiously to see if Harry was going to keel over, but when he remained perfectly normal for several minutes, the tense air surrounding the table diminished and conversation commenced once again.

"So I heard Madam Hooch is retiring," Draco directed at Harry.

Harry nodded. "I've heard that. I don't know if I buy it, though. She'll probably be refereeing until she's ninety."

Hermione forced a laugh, although she had no particular interest in this subject. At least their speaking, she reminded herself as she took another sip of her butterbeer.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure this is her last year," Draco said with certainty. "You should apply for the job."

Harry's eyes bulged as he tried to comprehend what Draco had just said. "You don't want the job, then?" he asked curiously.

"Not particularly," he answered.

"It does seem promising," Harry said. "I can't stand grading all these bloody homework assignments."

"You would have to deal with students who can't walk and carry a broomstick at the same time." Draco winked at Hermione who blushed scarlet. "Personally, I wouldn't have the patience for them."

"Can we change the subject please?" Hermione grumbled.

"Certainly," Draco said with a smile. "Would you please explain to us the difference between inanimate and animate transfiguration?"

Hermione cocked an eyebrow, but Harry smiled. "Or possibly the properties of wolfsbane and how best we could go about writing a thorough essay on the subject?"

Hermione scowled. "I hate both of you."

Draco and Harry laughed and Hermione was taken aback. Their chorus of laughter meshed oddly and beautifully, unlike anything Hermione had ever heard.

This just might work, Hermione thought to herself.