Another thank you to my reviewers - including Pj, who I would like to remind that nobody is forcing you to read or like my fic and you don't have to be such an arsehole. I hope you enjoy this Chapter, and I will be writing and updating soon.

"Have a nice day, ditching?" Blaise asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Ha, you are so funny. I wasn't sure if I could face her today, especially considering that I have to sit next to her for Potions. I went over to the library during Transfiguration and checked out a few Charms books. For the pendants project, you know?" Draco replied. He stuck a bit of parchment in his book, marking the page he was at.

"Find anything useful? Oh, and Hermione was looking for you today. She looked pretty cut up when she couldn't see you anywhere." Blaise rolled his eyes.

"Did she really? I wouldn't have expected that… after she dumped me. And as for the books, some were and some weren't. I need to head back to the library with the crappier books. I have plenty of time to go there and have a look through some more books before I have to go to dinner. If you want to come, feel free." Draco offered, slinging his back over his shoulder.

"No thanks, I've got about two tons of homework to get through. I'll see you at dinner though."

"Sure. See you later then." Draco said, deciding to take a gentle stroll to the library. It was a sunny day, and golden rays illuminated the hallways, adding a warm and home-like feel to the castle.

Draco entered the library, revelling in the silence. He walked over to Madam Pince, smiled at her (much to her surprise) and returned the books that held no extremely valuable information for him. He strolled over to the Charms section of the library, rifling through all of the books until he found one that looked rather interesting. He took it out of the shelf gently and was reading it while he found a good table to sit at. He didn't even realise there was another person sitting at the table until he heard a quiet gasp. He looked up to see Hermione, whose face was starting to match the colour of her robes' lining.

"Hello, Hermione." Draco said quietly, smiling at her.

"Draco," she whispered. "I… How are you?"

"I'm okay, are you?"

"Yes. I am. If you don't mind my asking, where were you today? I haven't seen you all day. I was worried about you." Hermione said the last part tentatively. Draco sat in the chair next to her.

"I wasn't feeling well this morning, so I decided to stay in bed. Blaise said that you were looking for me. He said that you looked a little upset when you couldn't see me." Draco said quietly, staring into her eyes. She didn't flinch back.

"Blaise has it right. Charms books?" Hermione pointed to the book in his hand. "Is that for your little project?"

"Yeah, it is. Will you take a walk with me? I'll check this out on the way."

"I'd be delighted to." Hermione said. She waved her wand, and her parchment, quills and books all flew neatly into her bag. Draco felt just a little bit smug as she walked alongside him. He checked the book out, earning a very rare smile from Madam Pince, and led Hermione to the trees near the edge of the lake. They sat down next to each other in the shade of a Beech tree that he knew Hermione liked to sit under.

"Hermione, I don't want to upset you, especially as we seem to be on speaking terms, but I must ask you something. Why were you upset when I was nowhere to be found? Does it mean you take back what you said on Saturday night?"

"I was upset because I was worried about you. I still feel quite strongly about you, Draco, though I don't know just how strongly I do feel. I don't want to twist the knife when it's already buried so deep within you, but I regret running out on you. It hurts me more than I can bear to admit. However, I stand by my decision. I don't know all that much about you, Draco, and I would like to get to know you. I would love to have a chance to fall in love with you. But I really want to take it slowly." Hermione said. Draco looked at her, and her eyes welled up again.

"No, Hermione, please don't cry. If I agreed to take it slowly and give us both a chance to get to know each other – which I think is a very good idea, by the way – would you agree to give us another chance? Would you say yes if I asked you to be my girlfriend - again?"

"I think so, Draco. Could we give it another chance?" Hermione asked, leaning her head against the Beech tree.

"I would do everything I just asked of you and more. I would take it as slow as you wanted, Hermione."

"Then, yes. I will be yours." Hermione said simply. "Just… don't tell me you love me again. Not until I feel that I am ready to hear it."

"Thank you," said Draco. His hand darted out to gently hold hers. She smiled at him, and Draco was reminded, yet again, just how much he loved her. He kept his thoughts to himself though, opting to beam at her instead.

"Draco, I'm so sorry for everything I did. Can you forgive me?" Hermione asked him. Grey eyes met brown, and he nodded. She smiled again, revealing perfectly even, white teeth.

Draco studied her appearance. She had changed so much over the past five years. He could remember when she was a bushy-haired, buck-toothed little know-it-all. Of course, the last bit hadn't changed at all. She was the brightest witch of her age and everyone knew it. She used to be chubby, but now she had a perfect figure. He continued to stare at her, feeling awful about every time he had called her a mudblood. He said this aloud to her and she laughed.

"If I hadn't forgiven you for that do you really think I would have come to you when you first requested to see me?"

"Good point, Hermione. So, what did I miss today?"

"In Potions, we made Draught of the Living Dead, which wasn't too bad. Then we carried on with the Patronus again in Defence. Professor Snape caught me not paying the slightest bit of attention to him, so he made me produce a Patronus for the class. Of course, he hadn't banked on me already knowing how to."

"Why weren't you paying attention?"

"I already knew it all. I learnt how to produce a Patronus last year when we were in the DA."

"You can produce a corporeal Patronus?"

"Yes," laughed Hermione. "Do you want to see it?"

Draco nodded enthusiastically. He'd seen them being performed before, but it was surprising to know that she had known how to do it for months. He vaguely heard her cast the spell, and a small silver Otter was bouncing around them, rolling in the grass. Hermione flicked her Vine wand, and the Otter vanished.

"Can you show me how to do it?" Draco breathed. Hermione nodded, getting into teacher mode. She told him all about the theoretical side of the spell-casting before dinner. They walked very close together, in deep conversation about Patronuses before they had to separate. Draco walked over to the Slytherin table and sat himself between Theo and Blaise, who looked very interested in finding out why it was that Hermione and Draco had walked into the Great Hall together.

"All right, tell us what's going on." Theo said, as soon as Draco slid into his seat.

"She was teaching me about Patronuses." Draco said, laughing when his two friends gaped at him with mingled amusement and exasperation.

"No, you're not getting out of it that easily, I assure you. What's going on?" Blaise hissed at him. Draco looked around and was irritated to see Pansy Parkinson gazing at the three boys and evidently eavesdropping. He rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"Not saying anything where people can overhear," said Draco. Blaise nodded thoughtfully.

"Hang on; you said she was teaching you about Patronuses. Did she show you hers?" Blaise asked.

"Yes, it's brilliant. It's an-"

"Otter," Theo and Blaise answered together. Draco looked a little deflated. Suddenly, he had no time to feel anything other than immediate hunger as the tables filled with food. Draco helped himself to some fresh salmon and baby new potatoes. They were, as usual, delicious. The house-elves could cook very well. He wondered how he was going to approach his relationship with Hermione, who kept glancing at him from the Gryffindor table. From the excited look on the red-haired girl's face next to her, he could tell that Ginny already knew.

"You saw in Defence against the Dark Arts?"

"Yeah," said Theo, with a mouth full of mashed potato. The boys remained silent throughout the rest of dinner, each tucking into various puddings. They remained seated in the Great Hall after Dumbledore dismissed all the students, too bloated to move a muscle. Soon, they were the only students left in the hall, and half of the teachers had gone, too.

"Well, now, you three. It's time you went back to your Common Room," Dumbledore chuckled. "But perhaps you are too full?"

The boys nodded, and Dumbledore chuckled again. He waved his wand and suddenly, Draco wasn't bloated. He looked at Blaise and Theodore and they had the same expression of surprise on their faces that Draco was sure was on his.

"Thank you sir, we'll be going now." Draco said, trying to smile at Dumbledore. He nodded his head back. Draco gripped the arms of his friends and led them back towards the dungeons. He spat the password at the door, and the boys rushed in to get the best sofa. Luckily, it was empty and the three of them threw themselves down upon it.

"So, Draco, will you tell us now?" Blaise murmured, looking at Draco with an expectant expression on his face. He felt a hint of pride as he relayed the events of the afternoon to his friends. Finally, Draco had finished. There were a few beats of silence, and then Theo burst into a round of applause. A few startled Slytherins stared at him.

"Well done, my friend! But when she says not moving too fast, does it mean she's not going to give it up, or what?"

"I don't know. I don't think so, but I don't mind not doing it. I want her to grow to love me the way I love her. She means a lot to me, and I want to have a solid chance with her." Draco admitted.

Pansy Parkinson was watching him from across the room, he could tell. He turned to look at her and she held his gaze steadily. He shook his head at her wearily and turned away from her. He was not in the mood to deal with her possessiveness. He just hoped that she wouldn't find out about Hermione.

"I'm going to bed," said Draco abruptly. "See you in the morning. And I'll actually go to lessons tomorrow, I promise."

He smiled, thinking about sitting next to Hermione in Potions the next day and climbed into bed.

I have a second chance, he thought to himself, and I will make the most of it.

As usual, tell me what you think - though please don't be outright rude if you don't like it. Until the next chapter, my friends.

Lottie.