"Excuse me, children," the old man interrupted softly. "I know you are in the middle of a conversation, but the shop is about to close for lunch. Would either of you like to make a purchase at this time?" The trio stood silently before the Hermione regained her senses.

"Thank you sir, I think we will be buying these two books," she said as she handed the books to the old man. He smiled behind his whiskers.

"Okay, thank you. I will head to the cash register to ring you up," he said as he headed back to the front of the store. Draco still didn't move. Hermione turned to him.

"Come on Malfoy," she said. He still didn't move.

He needed to tell her. He needed to just let it out. He should have just said it when he had the chance! But it was too late, Hermione was already heading back towards the front of the shop and the store was closing.

The store was closing. Draco finally found it in him to move his feet from their spot on the grand. He followed her to the register. Hermione paid the old man with the Muggle money that she had brought with them. The shop owner walked them out and locked the door of the behind them. With a simple wave he turned and left the two alone.

"What would you like to do now?" Hermione asked. "I think I saw a clothing shop on the corner." Draco was only half aware of the conversation. His mind was still replaying what had almost happened at the book store.

"Not today, Granger," he said tiredly. "I've had enough Muggle adventures for one day." Hermione nodded in agreement and the pair went back to where they had left their bicycles. Hermione balanced the grocery bags in the baskets of the two bicycles and the two were off down the road.

Draco hardly paid attention to the road or the view. He just couldn't stop thinking about Hermione. She would never feel for him the same way he felt for her. He felt foolish even thinking about ever having any sort of relationship with the girl.

First, there was the fact that he could never date a Muggle girl. Not only would his parents kill him for disgracing the family, but the Dark Lord would have him murdered on the spot for his betrayal. Then he would murder Hermione just to make a point. Second, there was the fact that her best friends were Scarhead and Weasel. They would never allow her to be with him. He was Draco Malfoy, after all. He was the boy that had bullied them all throughout school.

Lastly, there was the fact that she would never trust him enough to actually be in a relationship with him. He could see it in her eyes that she was afraid of him. He even noticed it this morning when her eyes were tired but still on alert of his every move. She looked like she didn't sleep very well. Maybe it was the fear of being kidnapped again, maybe it was the fear of him. He had done unspeakable things to her and he had betrayed her. He was starting not to trust himself.

He casted those thoughts from his mind.

They were already back at the cottage. The sun shone brightly and gave the scene a very picturesque look to it. Hermione was already carrying her bags of groceries into the house. Draco grabbed his bags and followed her.

"Do you want help putting these away?" he asked once they were in the kitchen. Hermione turned to him.

"Well, considering the fact that I am not a house elf and I do not do all the work around here, yes, I would appreciate some help." Draco stared at her.

"Merlin, Granger," he spat out. "A simple 'yes' or 'no' would have sufficed." He started emptying out the bags. Hermione ignored his attitude. She silently started putting the groceries away. "What's up with you?" Hermione turned at him angrily.

"What exactly were you going to say to me earlier in the book store?" she demanded. Draco felt the little bit of color in his cheeks fade away. Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Well?"

Kiss her, the voice in Draco's head said. Kiss her now and she will understand. Draco mentally chastised himself. No she wouldn't, she would be afraid. She would not like it. She does not feel for him the way he feels for her. Hermione was staring right into his eyes.

"I-um. I just wanted to say that you can trust me because I-um…"

He was starting to sweat now. It was beading up on his forehead. He was going to do it.

XXX

Hermione could not stop thinking about the strange way that Draco was acting. She had to admit that she was extremely nervous around him. And not because she wanted to be nervous about him. She actually really liked him before…

Yes it was true. She did like Draco Malfoy, but there was no future for them. She was afraid to be around him because she knew what he was capable of. But at the same time they had been such good friends. She had trusted him before Christmas.

They had kissed that one time. She had to admit that she liked it more than she should have. But now any thought of being intimate with him scared her. She knew that every time she closed her eyes she would return back to that night where he had no choice.

And why did he want her to trust him so badly? Did he not realize that she just couldn't bring herself to be friends with him like they had been? But now she needed to know.

XXX

He couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't hold this in for a moment longer. She was standing right there in front of him. She was demanding answers and he wanted to give them to her.

Draco took a step forward. "Granger, you need to listen very carefully to what I am going to tell you. It's long and stupid but you need to hear every bit of it."

He saw her tense up with his movement so he stepped back again. She relaxed a bit. "I was brought up to hate you and your blood. I cannot be blamed for the ways of my family, especially when you know that I no longer follow their ideology." Hermione nodded. "Now, Granger, a few months ago I was before the Dark Lord and I volunteered for a task that I did not want. But I volunteered for it anyway. And I know I have said this before but I will say it again. I don't know why, but I couldn't bare to think of you being hurt like that. Those people are animals and you are nothing but a piece of meat to them."

He stepped forward again. "And somehow, Granger, I thought that because it was me it would make it all better. But it didn't. It backfired on both of us and you got hurt anyway. And I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I was not able to make this all go away."

Neither of them moved. There was a clock hanging on the wall of the kitchen and the movement of its hands could be heard throughout the entire cottage. The faucet of the sink was dripping in a rhythmic beats. The wind was blowing against the glass of the windows. Draco swallowed all of the emotions that threatened to spill out of his mouth.

"You can trust me Granger, because you know I did everything I could to not hurt you. You know I did. Everything I have done that has hurt you has been because that madman was going to kill us both if I didn't," he continued. "You've known me for years and you know that I always put on a front like I'm this tough guy and I'm not, Granger. I'm afraid that he is going to kill either you or me or my mother just to prove himself if I mess up."

Hermione stared at him for a moment.

"I'm sorry I've been so cold to you," she whispered as she blinked back tears. "I know this has not, been easy on either of us, and my constantly changing emotions are not helping the situation. I see now that you have changed so much," she said as she closed the gap between them. "You are not the same boy I met all those years ago." She took hold of his hand. Draco's heart raced. "I'm sorry I've doubted you even after all we have been through together." She leaned forward and kissed his pale cheek. "I'm ready to put what has happened behind us. I only want to look forward." Draco's usual complexion was now more of a deep pinkish but he couldn't stop his heart from feeling the way it did.

"Okay, Granger," he said breathlessly.

XXX

Hermione excused herself shortly after to retreat back to her room. They were going to start over. She and Draco could become as close as they had been. She smiled to herself at the thought. She just wanted things to go back to normal. To be able to go back to Hogwarts and spend hours in the library. To see her two best friends (who were probably worried sick about her) and cause their usual havoc on the school. And most of all to have her secret meeting times with Draco where she could act like, just for a moment, there was a chance that they could ever be together.

She laid down on her bed. She hated herself for how often she thought about him. His abnormally blonde hair. His even more abnormally pale skin. She loved the way he laughed and his sarcasm. She loved that he had no clue about Muggles and that she had to teach him everything. Harry had grown up Muggle and Ron's father dealt with Muggles everyday at work. But Draco had probably never even met a Muggle-born until he went to Hogwarts.

A/N: If I haven't mentioned by now, this story is going to be very long. I'm not exactly sure how long, but long. Oh and spoilers for next chapter: who's ready for all four to meet up?

Hermione sat up again. It was definitely too soon to say that she was in love. She was a logical girl and she knew that you couldn't just be in love with someone until you really got to know that and start a relationship with them. But the way he had just been with her, the way he had talked about his fears and his desires…

Hermione stopped her thought process. He had talked about his desire but he had never outright said that he wanted anything to do with her. He could have said that he wanted to be with her. But he hadn't. She laid down on the bed again. Maybe he saw her as nothing more than a good friend.

She could live with that.