Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or any of the Harry Potter characters, and we make no profit from this story.

A/N: Just some fluff for your reading pleasure ~~Waves enthusiastically~~

~~Special shout out to Freya_Ishtar for her fabulous artwork she created for our cover. We love it, Thank you so much!~~

Chapter 10 ~Refined Revisions~

Over the next week the students continued to take classes and get closer as a group. It surprised Harry just how easy it was to get along with the likes of Theo Nott and Draco Malfoy without the air of superiority that usually bled through their pores. Even Pansy, Ginny, and Hermione could be spotted talking and joking with each other. Wednesday, after classes had finished, Hermione was sitting in the library beneath her usual pile of books as Kate and Harry came walking in.

"'Mione, what are you doing?" Harry asked as he sat down next to her at the desk. Kate jumped up and sat on the desk, grabbed a book and started flipping through it randomly. Her long legs covered in black pants with a green stripe down the side. It was starting to get cold on the island, especially with the breeze from the Pacific.

"I'm giving birth," Hermione answered flippantly, not looking up as she was checking a fact in one of her books. Harry chuckled at her cheek. "I'm finishing up the homework from American History of Magic, Harry, what does it look like I'm doing?"

"Hermione," Kate whined, "We just got that assignment three hours ago and it's not due till next week. How are you almost finished? Don't you ever just not study?"

Hermione and Harry looked at Kate like she had bat bogey's flying out of her nose. Kate giggled, "I guess that would be a no... but come on 'Mione, let's go have a little fun. Homework will always be there, but fun might not."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her new friend, "Honestly Kate, I just want to get this done before dinner." Hermione turned her eyes back to her books, "Harry you should start yours too."

Harry looked at her with wide eyes, "It's not due until next week, I'll do it over the weekend."

"I heard from Sarah that we're supposed to be busy this weekend," Hermione commented as her quill scratched over the parchment.

"Oh yeah," Kate remembered. "We have plans this weekend, so maybe we should write that paper, but not until after dinner. Hermione, take a break! Let's go outside and see if we can get Terrence to go into the city and bring back some stuff to make studying a bit more... fun," Kate had a twinkle of mischief in her eye.

Hermione laughed, looking both ways as to not be overheard, "I think Malfoy might already have that covered, but you didn't hear that from me." Hermione remembered seeing Draco talking to Terrence when they arrived.

Kate's eyes went wide, "What? Terrence never gets stuff for us, why is he getting stuff for Draco?"

"When you have more money than goblins, I guess it helps," Harry whispered with a smirk.

"I could have bribed him," Kate interrupted.

"I'm not sure you have the right parts to pull that off, Kate," Hermione giggled at the memory of Terrence shamelessly hitting on Draco.

Harry and Kate laughed. "Yeah, I guess I wouldn't exactly do it for him," Kate admitted. "Let's go see if Draco has cashed in on those good looks of his. Hermione put it away, or I'll jinx that quill to write random words instead of yours," she lifted her wand in a threatening, but friendly way.

Hermione laughed again and surrendered. She finished her last thought, waved her wand and the books went flying back to the shelves while her bag repacked itself. Picking it up, she followed her friends out of the library.

They found Draco sitting in the seventh year common area surrounded by books. Harry and Kate walked in and started laughing as soon as they saw him. Draco looked up with a frown, "What?"

Kate caught Hermione's eye and asked, "Draco, what are you doing?"

"Working on my paper for History of Magic," he said with a raised brow which only elicited more laughter from Kate and Harry. He looked over at Hermione who was turning pink, "What is with them?"

"Ahh, two peas… one pod…" Kate chuckled. "Never mind, so Hermione was telling me that you may, or may not, have a deal with our beloved ferry master?"

Draco looked over at Hermione and watched as she turned a little more pink. He knew she had been watching him, suspecting he was up to something that first day. He just shook his head and grinned. "I might have, why?" he questioned, leaning back in his chair with his ankles crossed and his hands clasped behind his head.

"Because we are in need of... provisions... for a study session," Kate stated with a grin.

"Oh yeah?" Draco asked with a knowing smile, "The liquid kind?"

"Yes! See, I knew you were smart Draco," Kate beamed at him. Harry and Hermione laughed and sat on the couch. Hermione started unloading her bag and Kate eyed her warily, "No! You can not go back to doing homework, I swear you guys, what is with all this homework doing the same day it's given? You have a whole week to do it!"

Hermione shrugged, "I like to get things done, and I'm almost done with it."

Kate stood there and shook her head. "OK, no," she waved her wand and all the books, bags, and parchment shot up into the air and into their respective rooms. Draco and Hermione both began to talk at once, and Draco's quill was fighting madly, trying to dislodge itself from between his fingers. "We have a week to do this essay, you do not have to do it right now. I know you are the all mighty Hermione Granger, know it all, and whatever, but you are going to have fun this year and it does not include doing all your homework before it's even assigned and that goes for you too blondie." This last demand was punctuated by Draco's quill finally escaping his death grip and flying into his bedroom.

Hermione looked like she wanted to argue, she had never had anyone take her work away from her. She thought about it, thought about how much she had been through and after the war, did she really just want to spend her whole life in the library? No, she thought, No, I came to America to have fun and to finish the year. We have all been through so much, being in the library surrounded by books the whole nine months we are here isn't going to help.

"Okay Kate," her voice was full of resolve, "What kind of fun are you suggesting?"

Harry sat there open mouthed, he never thought he would see the day that Hermione would let someone tell her she couldn't do her homework.

"Let's see if we can get blondie to get Terrence to sneak us into the city and go see a movie, or grab some dinner, or go shopping. Just something that isn't hanging out in the common area doing homework."

Harry looked at Hermione, he could see the look of apprehension on her face, but it was soon replaced with a smile.

"Okay, I'm in," she agreed quickly. "Harry, bring the invisibility cloak, just in case we need to sneak back in."

Draco was surprised, he never thought Hermione would be ok with breaking the rules. "Are you sure Hermione?" he was getting used to say her name. "Since when do you condone breaking the rules? What about the contract we signed?" he didn't like the idea of what could happen to him for being caught sneaking off the island.

"I read the contract," she smirked. "It said we would only get in trouble if we get caught. I have no intention of getting caught and as for rule breaking, I think it all started in second year when I brewed polyjuice potion and turned Harry and Ron into Crabbe and Goyle to get into the Slytherin Common Room to, um, mess with you," she finished lamely remembering that Kate didn't know about the Chamber of Secrets and the Heir of Slytherin.

"Hey, wait a minute, you brewed polyjuice in second year, and they snuck into the common room? When was this?"

Harry laughed, "During Christmas, we um… nevermind, though Hermione never looked better that night."

"Shut it Harry," she scolded, remembering that she had turned herself into a cat for weeks after that incident.

Draco, sensing there was more to the story, started to grin, "What did you do Hermione?"

"Nothing, there was a reason for the polyjuice and let's just say it wasn't fruitful."

"But it was entertaining," Harry reminisced.

Kate, just watching the exchange of random banter and watching Hermione turning pink decided that was enough of that, "Yeah, OK… does that mean you boys are in? If we're going to go, we should go now, before everyone wants to come and I don't think we could explain why the entire seventh year is mysteriously gone in the middle of the week."

Harry nodded, Hermione grinned and glanced over at Draco. He regarded her for another moment and grinned back, "Well if Granger is willingly going to flaunt rule breaking then why not?"

"Yay!" Kate squealed. "Okay, now boys, go get dressed and blondie, make sure you show off some of those abs. We need Terrence to be happy to break the rules for us," she winked at him and grabbed Hermione's arm to her room.

Hermione started laughing. "Meet us back here in about thirty minutes?" she called over her shoulder.

Draco nodded, "Yeah, thirty minutes."

"That's a long time to go get pretty Malfoy," Harry teased.

Draco started laughing, knowing full well what he would have to do. "Shut it Potter, or you can do it for me."

Hermione stood in her room looking at her closet in complete confusion, unable to decide what to wear. Kate had bought, with severe opposition from Hermione, a large selection of jeans, tops, skirts, pajamas, and lacy undergarments that made Hermione blush pink. She had so many new clothes that it was a bit overwhelming. She decided to wear some of her own clothes; a blue jumper, a pair of jeans, and trainers when Kate walked in the door wearing a red mini dress overlaid with a black lace cardigan, a matching black lace choker necklace and a pair of knee high low heeled boots.

Kate took one look at Hermione and shook her head, "NO! You can not go out looking like a bag lady!"

Draco and Harry were both sitting in the common room when they heard Kate yell. They both looked towards the girl's hall and started laughing.

"SHUT IT, THE BOTH OF YOU," Hermione's voice could be heard through the open door. "Kate, why do I have to get dressed up? This is stupid, it's just dinner!"

"You have to get dressed up because I say so. We just got you a ton of new cute clothes, and you are going to wear some of them if I have to body bind you and dress you myself! Now change because if I have to dress you, I guarantee you won't like it."

Hermione groaned, she knew if she didn't just get changed Kate would make due on her promise. Hermione stood up and started rooting through the new clothes that Kate purchased. She settled for a black leather skirt that hit her mid thigh, a turquoise crop top, black hose and a pair of black leather knee high boots. Looking in the mirror, she decided to put on a little eyeliner and mascara and a bit of pink lip gloss. Not knowing what to do with her hair, she decided to simply pull it out of her eyes and use a little Sleek Easy to tame down some of the curls. As she fiddled with her hair, her eye caught the gorgeous Fendi beaded bag that Kate insisted she needed to "update" the older version. Of course, the first thing she'd done was to cast an undetectable extension charm on it; old habits died hard.

"Kate!" Hermione yelled from her room, adding the bag and looking in the mirror. She was starting to think she was too dressed up for a simple night out. She walked out into the hallway saying, "Kate, I think I'm too dressed up! I look ridiculous!"

"I didn't buy anything ridiculous 'Mione," Kate scolded. "Come here so I can see. I don't trust your judgement, I saw what you wanted to wear."

Hermione frowned as she walked to the common room, "It wasn't that bad! Harry, what do you think? I look stupid right?"

Harry looked up at his friend and flashed back to the Yule Ball when he had never seen his best friend look more beautiful, "Hermione," he gaped, "You look amazing, not stupid at all."

"You sure? I feel overdressed."

Draco looked up at Hermione and his jaw dropped. He snapped it shut quickly, hoping she hadn't noticed. "You… um… look nice," he finished lamely.

Hermione looked at him, taking in his dark fitted jeans and tight green shirt, grey jacket and black boots. He looks bloody amazing, she thought almost drooling.

"Nice," she asked doubtfully, "I look like I'm going… I don't know… I feel too overdone, you know? But, thanks..."

Kate put her foot down, "No, you look perfect. You have to stop dressing like my grandmother. Scratch that, my grandmother's grandmother and start dressing your actual age for Merlin's sake. I mean it, you look hot, you can not go back to dressing in sweaters and jeans all the time, or I will bring them all to our next camping trip and throw them in the fire. Now stop whining and let's go before anyone sees we're missing."

They made their way outside, Kate and Harry holding hands, laughing at one another and turning occasionally to poke fun at their friends behind them. Draco walked silently with his hands in his pockets, enjoying the company and the view, while simultaneously trying to avoid thinking about the encounter he was about to have with Terrence. He didn't really mind the flirtation, it was all just a little bit… embarrassing. As they approached the dock for The Western Fairy, Draco took a deep breath, squared his shoulders and put on his most award winning smile.

Hermione sat back with Harry and Kate watching Draco casually put his arm around Terrence's shoulder, having what appeared to be an important conversation before giving him the most luminous smile she'd ever seen on his face, shaking his hand and winking at him. Kate was barely managing to control her laughter, and when Draco finally made it back to the group looking slightly ashamed, she lost complete control.

"Shut it, you muppet!" Draco said defensively, pulling on his collar. "This was your bloody idea, and I had the cash and the body parts, OK? That's it."

Kate plastered a more sober expression on her face. "Oh yes, of course Draco, just let me know if you need help planning the wedding…" bursting out laughing once again. Lobbing a sympathetic smile at Draco, Harry grabbed Kate by the arm and started moving her toward the ferry before Draco could get pissed and nix the whole plan.

Hermione giggled once, softly, which earned her a side eyed glare from her solo companion. "Going to have a go are you?" he asked facing her with his arms crossed, clearly wanting her to just get it out of her system now.

"No… I…," and she giggled again, slapping a hand against her mouth.

"Right then," he said turning on his heel and walking toward the ferry.

"Oh Draco, stop! Stop!" she said breathless, finally catching up with him. She hooked her arm in his, counting on his good breeding to keep him from leaving her there, or rushing them along as they walked toward the Western Fairy.

"I'm sorry, you just looked so… happy," she explained quietly.

"Happy?" He looked incredulous.

"Oh not about that," Hermione said quickly. "You just looked proud of yourself for pulling this off, and happy that we were getting to spend some time away."

At this, Draco looked down at her, his face completely neutral, but his eyes were anything but. They really are like storm clouds, she found herself thinking, completely swept up in the intensity of his gaze. Then she realized the double entendre to what she'd said and clarified quickly.

"The group I mean, Harry and Kate, you and I…" She realized too late that this only made it sound more like a double date and she blushed furiously. "You know what I mean!"

"Certainly," he allowed, hiding a grin and tucking her hand into the crook of his elbow, amused at how flustered she'd gotten over the idea of being on a date with him. Was this a date? He found himself wondering. He'd be lying to himself if he hadn't thought of it when Kate had brought it up, though he suspected that that was her intention. She was a sly one, that Kate. He'd have to keep an eye on her going forward. For now, he thought, let's just see how this all plays out.

Terrence was waiting at the edge of the island staring out toward San Francisco Bay wearing black fitted trousers, a mock turtleneck in light grey with a bottle green, knee length, suede jacket that was lined with a charcoal grey fur of some kind.

"You look like you just stepped off the runway Terrence," Hermione said, shaking his hand in greeting.

"My dear, so do you, and believe me when I say I didn't expect that level of couture to ever bless that fabulous body of yours," he said playfully, making her turn so he could get a good look at her outfit while she blushed madly.

"Well… I may, or may not have had some help," she admitted, wiggling fingers at Kate who had already boarded the ferry and was pulling faces at her through the window.

"Ah, but of course," he said with a grin. "That girl has a truly inspired fashion sense. Naturally, I taught her everything she knows…"

"You wish you could take credit for this Terrence!" she yelled through the window making Terrence wince.

"Didn't think she could hear me. Anyways, you're smart to let her shop for you!"

"Well… 'let' is a strong word," Hermione hedged, not sure if Kate could hear her too. Seeing the face that Kate gave her, she knew that she could.

"And you, my fine feathered friend," he said, waving his arm to encompass Draco's ensemble.

"Don't you just look like you stepped out of GQ? Your Gorgeous Quotient is off the charts today!"

Draco grinned, a little tight around the mouth Hermione noticed, but genuine enough. "Well, I couldn't bear to disappoint any of my companions tonight," he retorted taking Hermione's hand again and tucking it in his elbow.

"I see,"he said, grinning like the Cheshire Cat. "You go girl, go on with your bad self!"

Hermione blushed and walked aboard the Western Fairy giving Terrence one last smile.

Once across to the mainland Terrence told them that he would be there to take them back to school no later than 11 PM. Hermione opened her bag and produced a galleon.

"Girl, you don't have to tip me," Terrence teased, "but if you do, I prefer Gucci to galleons."

Hermione laughed, "This is a fake galleon, I have one as well. I charmed it my fifth year, if we decide to come back early I'll spell a message on mine and it will show up on yours. Like a muggle walkie talkie, that way you don't have to be here waiting for us. Feel free to go about your business, we'll let you know when we're ready to go back - it's the least we can do."

Terrence grinned at the young brunette, "Well Miss Thang, I like the way you think. Have fun and don't get into trouble, I don't want to have to explain why the cutest kids in the year are MIA."

Draco smiled even though he was not sure what MIA was. "We will, thanks again Terry," and the four students disembarked the ferry.

Once they reached the street, Kate turned to Draco with a wicked smile, "Terry, huh?"

"Shut up Kate, this is your doing. If you want, you can try and charm him next time?"

Everyone laughed, though Draco's was a bit forced as he was feeling a bit like this could get out of hand, and fast.

"Aww Draco, you feeling used?" Hermione teased grabbing his elbow. "Don't worry, we won't tell anyone how charming you are when you want to be."

Draco shot her a blinding white smile, "You find me charming, huh?"

Hermione flushed, shaking her head at how mercurial he could be, "You have your moments. You've gotten away with murder for seven years, I knew it had to be in there somewhere." She flushed even deeper at her poor choice of words, but relaxed when she looked up and saw the grin he flashed her.

Kate laughed and walked to the street hand in hand with Harry towards the restaurant. Draco and Hermione strolled leisurely behind them, Draco once again keeping Hermione's hand in the crook of his elbow. She couldn't decide whether this was just his pedigree showing through, or whether he enjoyed the contact. Either way though, she couldn't say that she minded. She didn't mind the conversation either, and she wasn't sure why, but that really surprised her.

Perhaps it was naive of her, but she'd always assumed that Draco was all slicked back hair, witty repartee and blood prejudice rhetoric, even though he got decent grades in school. She legitimately thought that the only reason he'd done well in potions was because Snape was potions master, but during one of their conversations about the uses of mandrake root, he'd surprised her by knowing some of the more rare potions that included the ingredient. He also had a lot to say about the wolfsbane potion and how he thought it should be free for those who were afflicted with lycanthropy. Which had had her jaw dropping in a completely unattractive gape until he'd stopped talking, tucked his fingers under her chin and closed it for her. They chatted quite naturally, which if they thought about it, was not as unnatural as it used to be. California is a strange haven, Hermione thought. This was a thought she found herself having whenever she interacted with the Slytherin trio in a somewhat normal fashion.

They'd argued briefly about where to eat, but Kate had won when she suggested that they eat on the pier so that they could walk around, check out the mazes, and ride on the carousel. The mention of the carousel had Hermione emitting a most undignified squeal and practically begging Draco and Harry to give in. The way Draco saw it, anything that made Hermione that happy couldn't be that bad.

Hermione noticed how much attention Draco drew from the opposite sex walking down the pier behind Kate and Harry. She rolled her eyes and held on to his arm, I wonder what it's like to be extraordinarily good looking, she thought with an inward giggle. She never noticed that she was drawing just as much attention as her blonde escort.

Draco did though, he had noticed a couple of blokes turn toward the curly haired witch as they walked passed. One guy even stopped short after they passed them and earned himself a smack from his date as he turned to stare at Hermione's backside. He let his eyes slide back and had to admit, she did have an amazing arse, especially in that skirt. He wasn't sure why, but he was not liking this extra attention she was getting from those muggle men.

They found a muggle sushi restaurant called Isobune™ Sushi and had a delicious seafood dinner. Draco had been fascinated when the chefs prepared the meal right in front of them and then sent it to them on tiny boats in the small river of water separating the patrons from the kitchen staff. Kate and Draco laughed as Harry gagged on an oyster which Hermione politely declined to eat as she had tried them years ago on holiday with her parents. She had tried what Kate told her was something called unagi, until Draco read off the menu that unagi was the Japanese word for fresh water eel. She couldn't help but feel like there was a subtle slithering going on in her belly and she vowed that she wouldn't put anything else in her mouth without knowing the contents.

After dinner the four walked Pier 39 enjoying the street performances. Kate and Hermione would dance around to some of the more upbeat songs, dropping muggle money in the cases of the musicians. There was an intriguing maze that Kate had begged Harry to go into with her, but Harry had staunchly refused, much to her irritation. It nearly derailed their evening until Draco had pointed out the carousel, catching Harry's eye and nodding in understanding. A maze would never be a childhood fancy to Potter anymore, not after the TriWizard Tournament. In all honesty, Draco was fascinated by the carousel, and Kate and Hermione begged the boys to ride with them until they reluctantly gave in. Kate's dress was a little short to ride one of the horses, so she and Harry opted to sit in a teacup while Hermione and Draco rode on horses. Draco noticed that even with her longer skirt, the cut of it made for tantalizing flashes of flesh as it hiked up higher on her thighs. He caught himself sneaking longer and longer glances at her legs in what he thought were black tights, but when she turned to shout at Harry and Kate, he found that they only went up to her thigh and were held in place with a band of elastic. The image of what might be under her skirt had intrigued his thoughts for the rest of the ride. He didn't really understand the point of going in circles, but the view not to mention the smile and laugh that came from Hermione, was worth it.

Harry pointed out the aquarium, and Kate quickly bought tickets for all four of them before anyone could protest. Draco was mesmerized by all of the jewel colored fish, swimming around as though nothing in the world could upset them. He marveled at the huge glass tanks that the muggles used to house them, and how many different kinds of fish there were. He asked Hermione a barrage of questions, everything from 'why do they even keep these here?' to, 'how much would it cost to make one of these of my own?' She was a good sport and answered as best she could, though having to confess to Draco Malfoy that she was just as amazed and ignorant of the aquarium process as he was, was more than a little galling. The only experience she'd had was looking at her cousin's beta fish over Christmas break when she was eleven.

Hermione didn't remember ever having such a good time just doing muggle teenage things. Being a witch, there weren't many days where she didn't use magic. Even before she was of age she spent most of her holidays with the Weasley's, so there was always magic floating around. Tonight though, there was no magic, no intrigue. Just plain, old fashioned muggle fun with Draco Malfoy no less. She was sure somewhere in the world his ancestors were rolling in their graves, but he didn't seem to mind having fun as a muggle. No less, with a muggleborn and Harry Potter. It must be snowing in Hades, she thought.

Before they headed back to the dock to meet Terrence, Kate took them to resupply their provisions for the study session she was planning. Draco decided to pick up a couple of nice bottles of Ogden's Oak Mature Mead and a bottle of fifty year old elven wine as a thank you gift for Terrence. Never could it be said that Malfoys don't tip generously.

On the ferry, Harry and Kate were in one of the cabins, taking advantage of the boat ride while Hermione was standing up against the rail looking out at the sea. It was such a nice evening! She was deep in thought when she felt something warm and heavy come around her shoulders. Draco had taken off his jacket and put it around her. She could still feel all of his body heat, and she shivered grateful, not realizing how chilly the night air had gotten. She looked up at him and smiled, "Thank you, I can't believe I didn't think to bring a jumper, but knowing Kate, she would have thrown it overboard."

Draco laughed, "That's probably a safe bet," he agreed. "Though I can't say that I blame her, your jumpers are awful. Always too big. You look like your laundry is trying to eat you."

"I'm trying to think if there is a compliment in that statement at all, but I don't think there was," Hermione giggled shaking her head. "I know I don't dress the part of posh witch, but with what we've been going through, it was never a priority."

"Well, the war is over," Draco leaned down, whispering close to her ear and rubbing his hands up and down her arms trying to bring her even more warmth. His warm breath tickling her earlobe, "And you look bloody posh tonight Hermione."

As she stood there going over his words in her head in the darkness, she smiled knowing he couldn't see the blush that covered her body. It had been a very nice night indeed.