A/N: So sorry for the delay everyone! I am a proud autism Mom, and our sleep schedule suddenly got massively upended by strep throat. Hopefully we can get back on schedule here and then it will be easier to post. Until then I apologize for any long delays. I finally got this one up, so yippee! Oh, and a big thank you to you all for reading and following and reviewing. Makes my whole day! Hope you enjoy!

Chapter 14: Surprise Guest

Beams of sunlight rained down on the couple on the couch. They were peaceful laying there together, nothing but the sounds of rhythmic breathing filling the air. Ever so slowly, a pair of steel grey eyes opened.

Masses of brown burls greeted Draco as he awoke. A broad grin spread across his face. So it was real after all. Reaching out a tentative hand, he brushed the hair off Hermione's cheek. Everything had been so sudden and unexpected last night, a part of him fully believed this to be a very pleasant hallucination. One minute he was terrified of her rejection, and the next thing he knew his tongue was down her throat. Funny how things could change so quickly, he mused.

Perhaps too quickly.

She had been upset last night. That blasted man had cornered her and brought up things that had triggered a nightmare. She had been seeking comfort, and maybe he had taken advantage of that. What if she woke up and was embarrassed or downright horrified by what had happened? He was still Draco Malfoy after all, the ferret who had bullied her for years. How could she not regret that? Yes she had responded to the kiss, but people who were traumatized could do stupid things. He certainly had in the past. And yes she had said she missed him, but he could say the same thing to Blaise if he showed up at his doorstep, and he would certainly not be happy to wake up with him in his bed the next morning.

Draco was just starting to contemplate his exit strategy when the witch began to stir. He froze. A million different scenarios ran through his head. He could apologize for taking advantage of her, maybe blame he was drunk. Was there fire whiskey in the house? Maybe he could nonchalantly levitate the bottle within view...

Hermione rolled over and gave him a sleepy smile. "Hi," she said. Then catching the look on his face she propped herself up slightly on her elbow and frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said a little too quickly.

"Draco," she said, sighing. "Tell me. What's wrong?"

They Slytherin looked down, swallowing nervously. "Listen, I know that you were a bit vulnerable last night, and I'm sorry if I-" he was cut off as his lips were covered with hers. His eyes widened in surprise.

"I don't regret kissing you, if that's what you're worried about," she said with a smile.

"Oh."

"Oh Merlin, do you?" She asked, horrified.

"No!" He said vehemently. "No, I don't."

Hermione relaxed visibly. "Oh good. That would have been awkward."

"You're telling me," Draco laughed nervously.

"To be honest, I've sort of been hoping for that for a while now," she said shyly.

"Really?" He asked, surprised.

"What can I say, I"ve been taken over by the charms of the Prince of Slytherin," she said in a mock regal voice.

Draco smirked. "Ah, so the love potion finally took affect. Ow!" He chuckled as she smacked him in the chest. "Well that's no way to treat a prince."

Hermione threw him a playful scowl. "Well it's good to see your arrogance is intact.

"So is your right hook," he quipped.

She giggled, reaching out to touch his cheek. "I never did apologize for that. Sorry," she smiled.

Draco shook his head. "I had it coming."

"You did," she laughed.

The smile slowly faded from his face. "Hermione-"

"Draco," she cut him off, cupping his face in her hand. "Listen to me. It's in the past. We were both different people then. It doesn't matter now."

"How can you say that when you just had a run in with one of my...admirers last night?" He asked sadly.

"Because he doesn't know you. And I'd like to think that I do."

"You do," he said softly. "Better than anyone has."

Hermione smiled. "So then listen to me when I say that I like you, and I am more than happy with this," she said, moving closer and taking his hand.

"I am too, but I am also concerned about the backlash for you." He sighed. "I'm used to being looked at like scum, but I don't want more people like that idiot yesterday coming after you."

"And I appreciate that. I do. But I don't care about that. I can handle it. So unless you are second guessing this, you're stuck with me."

Draco looked down at their interlaced fingers, a small smile playing on his lips. "I'm just not accustomed to good things happening to me," he said, his thumb tracing lazy circles on the back of her hand.

Hermione arched an eyebrow and smirked. "Oh? So I'm a good thing?"

Without hesitation he drew her close. Lowering his face to mere centimeters from hers he whispered, "Yes." He heard her quiet gasp before he gently pressed his lips to hers. It was again unlike anything Draco had ever experienced. He had of course kissed before, even passionately, but this was so much more than the meaningless flings of his youth. There was a depth here that was both exhilarating and terrifying.

After great length the broke apart. Draco rested his forehead against hers, breathing heavily. "Yeah, definitely a good thing."

"You haven't seen anything yet," Hermione smirked, wiggling her eyebrows playfully.

Draco's eyes widened. "You minx! And here I am trying to be a gentleman."

Hermione laughed. "How very considerate of you."

"I just don't want you to regret anything," he said quietly.

She frowned slightly. "I'm not going to."

A sad smile crossed his lips. "I hope not."

Hermione kissed him again, snuggling into his arms. "I won't."

Draco held her in his arms, hoping against hope that she was right. After his many failed attempts at helping with the war clean up, he had all but given up on having even one civil conversation, much less a real friendship. Anything beyond that had seemed ludicrous to even dream about. Now here he was entering into a romantic relationship. It was not something he wanted to give up if he could help it.

His thoughts were interrupted by the rumbling of Hermione's stomach. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "The store has been so busy, I really haven't eaten since before I went in yesterday."

"Yesterday morning?" He asked, surprised.

Hermione nodded. "It was packed straight through until closing time. And with Oliver at the conference, I just didn't have time."

Draco scowled. That Oliver git really got on his nerves. "Isn't there anyone else that could have taken over?"

Hermione shrugged. "That's one of the reasons why I was hired. The owners had to leave for the summer to tie up some legalities over some family estate out of the country. Ordinarily we would have Tabitha as well, but she was accepted into an apprenticeship a couple months ago and can only do the weekends. So that just left the two of us."

"In that case, why don't I make us some breakfast?" Draco offered. "Eggs?"

"That sounds lovely," she murmured into his chest. "Should I put coffee on?"

"Sure," he smiled.

Together they padded out into the kitchen. Draco couldn't help but relish the very domestic atmosphere. It wasn't something he experienced often growing up. In the Malfoy house you were to be up and dressed properly before entering the dining room for breakfast. Once seated at the very long table, one of their house elves brought them a plate. It was all very formal. This was different. He watched her hum to herself while rummaging through the cupboards for the coffee, hair a mess in her pajamas, him in his own while he whipped up some eggs. It was all so...cozy.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped after extracting the coffee can. "In all the excitement I forgot to ask! What did you find out with the potion scans?"

Draco set two plates on the table. "Everything seems safe. No toxins showed, there doesn't seem to be any hazardous interactions of any sort. We should be able to start testing any time."

"Excellent!" She beamed. "But honestly, I think I may be a bit worked out at the moment. Can we do it later today? Just enjoy the morning a bit?"

Draco scoffed. "You? Sick of work? I never thought I would see the day."

"There's a first time for everything," she said, setting the steaming mugs down and snaking her hands around his waist.

His arms slipped around her in turn. It still didn't seem real. This woman, whom he had wished for for longer than he ever allowed himself to admit, was willingly in his arms. Slowly he brought his hand up from her shoulder and resolutely poked her in the cheek.

"Ow!" Hermione gasped. "Draco! What was that for?"

He gave a lopsided grin. "Just making sure this was real."

She stared at him in shock for a moment, then burst out into a fit of laughter. "It is a bit surreal, isn't it?"

He snorted. "A bit?"

"Ok, a lot. But in a good way," she answered.

Draco's arms wrapped around her again. "A very good way."

They stood together for a moment before Hermione sighed. "You know, I just realized that I don't have any clothes here. I woke up in a panic and came straight over."

"Well I don't mind," Draco grinned devilishly.

"What happened to being a gentleman?" She teased.

He shrugged. "It comes and goes."

With another playful smack to his chest they sat down to eat. "I'll go change after this."

"If you wanted, you could borrow something of mine," he said as casually as he could muster. This morning had been going so well, there was a part of him that was sure the bubble would burst as soon as she left the house and everything would fall apart.

"Ok," she said smiling.

The rest of the day breezed by. After a leisurely morning, which stretched out well into the afternoon, they went to work testing their potions. Nothing of any significance came from them, though one concoction added a slight sense of numbing the affected area for about 30 seconds. Neither of them minded their lack of results. They were enjoying the simple affections they could bestow; a hand placed on a shoulder while looking over the notes, a peck on the cheek as they walked past. Before either of them knew it, it was eleven o'clock at night.

Hermione groaned when she caught sight of the clock. "I should head out. I have to go back to work tomorrow."

Draco nodded, giving a forced smile. "Ok. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Of course. You're not getting rid of me that easy, Malfoy," she said with a smirk.

"Wouldn't dream of it Granger," he smiled back. With one last lingering kiss he walked her to the door.

Hermione flashed him a brilliant smile, then disapparted. A moment later she was back at her flat with a goofy grin adorning her lips.

"There you are!"

Hermione jumped, spinning around, instinctively going for her wand. She relaxed when her eyes met a familiar bright red shock of hair. "Ginny!" She breathed. "You scared the life out of me!"

"Sorry," Ginny said sheepishly. "Tea? Hope you don't mind I dipped into your stash."

"No, of course not," Hermione answered, running over to envelope her friend in a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you," the redhead grinned. "I just got in at about 7:00 and thought I would pop over to see you, but you weren't here. I checked the bookstore too, but that Oliver bloke said you weren't supposed to be in today. So, I came back here and figured I would wait. The boys and I wanted to make sure you weren't too worried that their training was running long, but-" she looked at the shirt that her friend was wearing, "clearly you have been otherwise occupied."

Hermione looked down at Draco's borrowed shirt. "It's not like that," she said, feeling the blush creeping up her face. "And besides, don't the guys have a week left of training?"

Ginny plopped down on the couch with the tea. ""Mione, they are already two weeks behind what was estimated. I came back so you wouldn't worry. And to be honest it was getting a bit boring on my end."

"Not a fan of the other Auror's wives?" Hermione asked.

"Forget that!" Ginny waved away the question impatiently. "Spill it!"

"Spill what?' The brunette said, feigning innocence.

"Oh come on Hermione! You don't even notice we are two weeks late, you come home at 11:00 wearing a guys t-shirt? Who's the lucky guy?"

"Well," Hermione said carefully. "If you must know, it's Malfoy."

Ginny nearly choked on her tea. "Malfoy?"

Hermione nodded.

"As in Draco Malfoy?"

She nodded again.

"As in the bain of your existence the entire time at Hogwarts Malfoy?"

"Yes Ginny," Hermione said warily.

"So, is he as good in bed as they say he is?" Ginny grinned.

"Ginny!" Hermione said, aghast.

"What? That was the rumor I heard. Slytherin Prince, sex god," she shrugged. "So is he?"

"No! I mean I don't know! We only really just got together," Hermione stammered.

"What about the kissing? Is the kissing good?" The redhead persisted.

"Merlin yes," Hermione answered before she could stop herself.

Ginny giggled. "I knew it!"

"Wait, so I tell you I just started dating Draco Malfoy, and the first thing think of to ask is about the kissing? No lectures? No have you gone mads? Nothing?"

Ginny shrugged once again. "War changes people. Harry told me about what happened that night in the astronomy tower. He never wanted to be a Death Eater. And really, if he were the same prejudiced prat he was in school you wouldn't be with him. Plus, from what I remember he was smart, which is right up your alley. So nope. No lectures. I trust your judgment."

Hermione sat in stunned silence. "Thank you."

Ginny smiled. "I bet this is a really good story."

Hermione yawned. "It is. And long. Can I fill you in another time? It has been a really long few days at the store, and I am exhausted. I just want to collapse for the few hours I have left before I have to go back in."

"Sure," Ginny said standing up. "I am completely knackered myself. It has been a long month. We have a lot to catch up on it seems. Maybe we can tomorrow?"

Hermione shook her head. "Can't tomorrow, I already told Draco I would be over."

"Well, wouldn't want to disappoint Draco," Ginny teased. "Just owl me when you get a chance. And no rush. I have a bit of an Auror training hangover and could use some peace and quiet. It was crazy in that facility!"

"Sure, Gin. I will talk to you soon, yeah?"

"For sure," she answered, getting up to use the Floo.

"Hey Gin?" Hermione called just as she stepped into the fireplace. "Did they really call him a sex god?"

Ginny smiled. "Sure did. Sweet dreams "Mione," she said with a wink.