"This was one of my favorite books when I was younger," Hermione said, placing a small paperback book in his hand. "I want you to read it."
"There's a picture of a rabbit on the front, Granger," Draco observed. "Is it some sort of nature book? And what's a Watership? Is that one of those space things Lovegood was talking about? It doesn't really appeal."
"No, it's an adventure. Please, Malfoy, I know you'll love it."
She fixed her wide, earnest brown eyes on him and he was a goner. "Okay, I'll start it right away." Her smile was reward enough for him.
"Great!" she squealed. "I can't wait for us to talk about it. Now, look over here. You won't believe the section they have on magic! Some of it is even legitimate, too!"
Draco allowed Granger to lead him down yet another aisle in the massive muggle library they were in. They had already spent two hours there. The excitement on her face as she pointed out her favorite books was infectious, and Draco had to admit that the building was pretty impressive. They had idly toured some of the nearby shops already; Draco had no idea there were so many things for muggles to buy. He'd eaten the promised ice cream, and although peanut butter chocolate chip was not a flavor he'd ever thought of before, one taste convinced him once and for all that muggles were not all bad.
"Do you see? We have this same edition at Hogwarts!" Hermione smiled triumphantly at Draco, shaking the book in front of his face.
"You win, Boss Lady," he said, utterly charmed by her enthusiasm. "I humbly admit that muggles have good libraries and ice cream, okay?"
"That's up there with the nicest things you've ever said, Malfoy," Hermione said, tapping the book lightly against his chest and giving him another dazzling smile. "Are you ready to go to the movies now?"
He nodded, not trusting himself to speak at the moment. He was amazed at how easy it was to be with her like this - as if they had been friends forever. There was none of their usual bite or nastiness towards one another. She had completely embraced his offer and appeared to be legitimately enjoying herself.
Hermione was having a wonderful time. It seemed dinner the night before had not been a fluke; Malfoy was clearly changing for the better. Once or twice she almost reached over to take his hand and had to shake herself of the notion. She couldn't wait to tell Ron and Harry that they were wrong, wrong, wrong. Malfoy was a new man; one she was glad to be getting to know. She hazarded a look at him, blushing when she saw he too was watching her. His eyes seemed brighter every time she looked at him, and her stomach had been fluttery all morning.
Two hours later, they exited the movie theater; Draco was wet with sweat and his eyes burned from the sudden light. The moo-vee had been terrifying - some horrible story about people locked in a room forced to cut off their own legs. This was supposed to convince him muggles were good? He had jumped and screamed and unabashedly clung to Granger's arm the whole time; the only thing that kept the experience from being completely humiliating and terrible was the time she had buried her own face in his chest during a particularly gruesome scene.
"This is what muggles do with their time?" he asked Hermione incredulously. "Are you sure those people were just faking it, Granger? It looked pretty real to me."
"It's just a movie, Malfoy," she answered, although she was still pale with fear. "I didn't know it was going to be so gross. George recommended it."
Draco barked a short laugh. "George Weasley? You took that bloke's advice? No wonder he liked it - some of those thingys looked straight out of his jokeshop. Is this really what muggles like?"
"I'm sure a few Death Eaters would like it, too, Malfoy. Lots of people like being scared, if they know it isn't real. I'm sure there are just as many who hate it. People are all different, Malfoy. Next time we'll do a romantic comedy, okay? Or maybe a drama or animated family movie. This isn't the only kind of movie out there."
Next time? he repeated silently. She didn't seem to have realized the implications in her words, but he sure had. He grinned at her and was gratified by the huge, sincere smile she returned.
"What next, Granger?"
"Well, as much as it amuses me to see you like this, I suppose you can't really wear those clothes every time you want to go into muggle London. Why don't we pick some new things out for you? You can show up Elliot and Rupert the next time the three of you go out. Maybe you can take them to some muggle pubs."
"Ripper did suggest that," Draco said. "Alright, Boss Lady. Show me what muggles with actual taste wear so I can stop looking like a long-lost Weasley reject."
After two hours, Draco's arms were full of shopping bags; he had spent a small fortune on muggle clothes. Every time he tried something on, Hermione clapped her hands and told him now good he looked; he found himself incapable of putting anything back after that. She talked him into keeping on the jeans and jumper he was already wearing, though.
"Can't I shrink my bags?" he pouted. "They weigh a ton."
"That's not very muggle of you, Malfoy," she admonished, wagging her finger at him. "Here's a taxicab; we'll drop these off at my flat before we go back out. No apparating, Malfoy, we're doing this the regular way, remember?" He gave her an elaborate bow, eager to return to her home and be alone with her again.
Once there, he dumped his bags on her couch and begged again to change his clothes.
"Why can't I put on something green?" he pouted.
"It's good for you to wear these clothes, Malfoy," Hermione said. "It makes you humble." The truth was, Hermione had decided he looked way too good in muggle clothes, especially Harry, Ron and George's things. Although she refused to think about what it meant, she really wanted to keep looking at him dressed like that.
"If I was anymore humble you'd have to dress me in house elf clothes," he grumbled.
"And that would be good for you, Malfoy," she answered in a swotty voice. "You're not better than anyone else, remember."
"And you never let me forget it," he returned, suddenly angry at her words. There she was, pissing him off again. No matter how much fun he had with her, she always had to start back up with the attitude. "This little excursion today was so you could start parading me around as your newest success story, wasn't it? 'Lookit wittle Dwaco, poster boy for Granger and her league of do-gooders.' I won't have it!"
"What's the matter with you?" she demanded, shocked by his sudden change. She had only been teasing, but it seemed he took her words far too seriously. "I thought we were having fun!"
"And I thought I was more than just one of your projects. I can see it all so clearly, now. You just want to show off, to let people see that everyone bows down to you and your agenda, even me."
"What are you talking about, Malfoy? You asked me to show you around muggle London! This was your idea!"
"Based on the mistaken belief that you actually cared about me as a person, and not as some science experiment!"
She looked at him in astonishment, almost too confused to speak. His pale face was boiling red and he looked mad enough to hit or hex her. "This is insane. Since when do either of us care about the other 'as a person?' Malfoy, I thought we were making real headway lately. Like, we can actually stand to be near one another without vomiting. But you're acting crazy! I thought I was doing you a favor today, helping you learn about muggles for a future job."
"What future job?" he yelled. "Isn't it obvious that the only job I want is the one I have?"
"I thought you couldn't wait to leave S.P.E. -"
"Oh, for the love of God, just say spew already, Granger! Have you been paying any attention the last couple of months? Haven't you seen how good I am at this job?"
"Of course I have," she said, still bewildered by their argument. "I just never really thought you wanted to stay. We can certainly talk about it, once the year is up."
"Once the year is up," he repeated in a deadly voice. "So that's it. You just can't wait to collect your money and get rid of me."
"Am I on drugs?" Hermione asked, her voice cracking slightly. "Are we really having this conversation? Hasn't this always been about the money? That's what you told me over and over again. That's what started this whole thing! I honestly have no idea what's happening right now."
"What's happening, Granger, is that I thought things were different between us and I feel like an idiot. You still see me as some nasty lord of the manor type, don't you? I'm going to go home and kill Theo now. Thanks for the lovely day." He turned to go, hot tears of rage, humiliation and disappointment threatening to erupt. He could not let her see that. He would not.
"Draco, wait!"
Everything stopped. He turned slowly around and saw that she too was crying. "What did you say?"
"I said wait," she said. "Can't we talk about this? I don't understand what happened."
"You called me Draco," he said wonderingly, stepping back towards her.
"That's your name, isn't it?" she whispered, eyes wide and frightful with what she knew was about to happen.
In seconds he had crossed to her, and they were kissing. His lips were everywhere - on her mouth, cheeks, neck, eyes. His hands pulled at her hair and her clothes, trying to bring her closer, trying to get every inch of her that he could. She responded by grabbing his jumper and yanking him against her; her mouth eagerly opening to him. No kiss had ever been like this for her.
"I am so in love with you," he whispered, unable to stop himself.
At that declaration, she pushed him away. "Malfoy, what are you-"
"No," he said, pulling her back to him. "Not Malfoy, Draco. Don't think so much, Granger, just feel for a change." He tried to kiss her again, but she resisted.
"Malfoy - Draco - this is insanity. You need to leave, you're not thinking straight." Hermione was shocked to her core. Every bone in her body was telling her to just shut up and kiss him again, but if he really felt that way...
"I am finally thinking straight, Granger!" Draco exclaimed, running his hands through his hair and looking at her in frustration. "For months, I've been lying to myself. Now I want to be honest. You're all I think about. This job - you - it's changed me. I'm not the same boy who wanted to be a Death Eater, and you're not the same bossy little girl. You've finished what the war started, finished making me a better person."
"You did that on your own, Malfoy," she said.
"It's you, Granger, it's always been you," he replied. "I work to help house elves and goblins, I go out to for drinks with ex-Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, I'm wearing Harry Potter's bloody trousers, Granger! What more can I do?"
"I don't know what to say."
"I came into that office wanting to kill you, or at the very least curse you into next week. Now all I want to do is be with you. And I know you feel the same way."
"I feel something," Hermione admitted. "I just don't know, Draco. It's one thing to be friends, but we have a lot of history, and I don't think -"
"You kissed me," he reminded her, stepping towards her again and taking her hand. "You keep my flowers on your desk."
Those damn flowers that she loved so much. "It wasn't that long ago that you were making fun of my hair and warning me to stay away from Theo, Malfoy. Now we go to the movies and you're suddenly in love with me? It's too much, you're just confused."
"Granger, I'm always going to make fun of your hair, I've got eyes," he said, smoothing it back from her forehead and kissing the spot. His lips burned like fire. "That doesn't mean I don't like it. And why do you think I wanted you away from Theo? This isn't sudden, not on my part."
"This is crazy!" she said, finally wrenching her hands away. "I do think you've changed, and I'm glad. I've changed, too, and it is because of you, I think. But this isn't a good idea. Go home, you'll feel different on Monday, okay?" Tell him to stay, tell him to stay, tell him to -
"Merlin, Boss Lady," Draco said, gritting his teeth against another fresh wave of rage. "I had no idea you were so cold. I've just told you that I'm in love with you, and you said to go sleep it off."
"That's not what I meant," she protested. How had this situation become so out of control?
"That's exactly what you meant," he said. "I can't believe I've been so stupid, no wonder I tried to fight it for so long. You don't have to worry about me feeling different on Monday. Take your damn money, Granger. Fuck the house elves. I quit."