Disclaimer: Not mine, understood?

A/N: Oh thank Merlin! *sigh* I've been wanting to get his chapter up since forever! I've been stuck but at last, enjoy...


Chapter Twenty-Five

Hermione had no idea how she ended up here. Well of course she knew how but there was no reasonable explanation as to why she was standing next to Draco Malfoy, mister I'm Lord I'm so bad, waiting by an ice cream truck, surrounded by short little people otherwise known as kids as the truck made its happy little trill.

This. Was. Weird.

No, this was beyond weird. Beyond strange, close to abnormal but not quite. This was... surely, a dream. It had to be. There was no other way they would be right there at that moment if she wasn't dreaming. Draco Malfoy did not buy ice cream out of ice cream trucks... surely he didn't... or did he?

No, he was definitely trying to pull the wool over her eyes. Whatever, either way she got ice cream.

Reaching the front of the line, they placed their orders and waited.

Draco felt a tug at his jacket and shook it off, not thinking much of it. He breathed and the tug started again, he was about to shake it off again until he heard a soft "Sir," and he looked down. "I think ice cream went up my nose, either that or it's boogies, will you check?" Draco scowled in disgust as the small boy proceeded to lift his head up and open his nostrils wide.

"What to do I look like, the nose fairy? Ask your mum."

"She's busy. C'mon please, I think it's starting to dry up!" the boy begged.

"I'm not looking up your nose for bogies or any other miscellaneous things that might have gone up in there."

"Please mister!"

"No way!"

"But sir--"

"I said NO!"

"You're EVIL!"

"Thank you," he turned to Hermione, "See, he gets it-- ARGH!" within the matter of a second Draco was bent over in pain, "Kicked my bloody shin, I'll kick your bloody arse! Come here you bloody little brat!" Draco made a grab for the boy but due to his injured state the boy ran away faster than you could say Merlin's beard.

"I'm DIEING!" he dramatized in agony.

"Oh come off it Malfoy, the child was like what, seven? Can't kick you that hard, it's not as if he kicked you where it really counts." Hermione said, grabbing their ice cream cones from the ice cream man. "Now stop your bellyaching and pay the man."

"Doesn't give a bloody shit if I die." he muttered as he handed over muggle money and took his chocolate cone from her hand. "Wha- what?!" Draco spoke in annoyance as Hermione grabbed him by the shoulders and hid behind him. "What's your problem, Granger? You better not get any ice cream on me." he warned as he tried to shake her free.

"Oi, Draco!" he froze.

"Fuck." he cursed under his breath. "Blaise! What a surprise." he feigned content as he tried to place a smile, evidently fake, on his face as Blaise and what he presumed was his date, walked in their direction.

"Buying ice cream for all these little muggle ankle-biters? I would have never guessed, nor deemed you so generous. Having a change of heart?" Blaise grinned.

"So what brings you around here?" Draco asked, changing the subject.

"This one," he nodded over do the girl, shall we say women, he had his arm around. "You?"

Hermione felt a pair of eyes looking at her. Oh no, no, no, no. Surely Blaise had seen her and now was staring her down trying to come up with a reason as to why she was hiding behind Malfoy. She looked down and realized that the eyes she felt on her weren't Blaise's, but of an inquisitive little girl's. She curiously looked at Hermione, only moving to eat her ice cream but as she did so, never took her eyes off her.

Hermione tried to smile and give a little wave.

"I don't need a reason to be he-"

"Lady why are you so close to that mister?" Draco was interrupted by said little girl. He froze and decided it was best to play ''She ain't talking to the girl behind me who is clutching onto me for dear life''.

"Here," he continued. "I'm free to do as I please."

Too late. Blaise had an eyebrow raised and was already trying to get a peek at the girl behind him. "Draco, why is someone hiding behind you?" he questioned.

Draco took a lick of his ice cream, trying to act casual. "Behind me? What? There's no one behind me."

"Yes. Yes there is."

"You're being ridiculous, I think I'd know if someone was hiding behind me, don't you think?"

"Apparently, you don't think." Blaise said, leaving behind the girl he was with to try and see who was behind Draco. Right as he was about to be behind Draco, Draco turned to keep whomever was behind him out of Blaise's sight.

"What? Don't want me to see your girlfriend?"

"She is not my girlfriend," Draco scoffed.

"So you acknowledge someone's hiding behind you? Is it an ex of mine? Is that why you don't want me to see? Is that Elizabeth?!" he growled.

"Are you kidding, I don't want that tramp."

Blaise made an attempt to punch Draco but was easily blocked by Draco's hand, unfortunately he did so with so much force that Hermione, who was so keenly attached to that arm, stumbled out from behind him.

"The mudblood!"

Hermione stiffened. Stupid Malfoy trying to get her some fresh air, now she was as good as dead. Maybe even Malfoy as well once his undeniably stupid Death Eater's realize he was trying to keep her away from them, it might take them months to put two and two together though. The thought of having Malfoy dead strangely gave her some sick pleasure, not a lot seeing as he tried to save her and they weren't exactly down each others throats as they had been back at Hogwarts so there wasn't as much hate but none the less, there was sick pleasure.

"You're lucky there's too many witnesses around or else I would kill your arse right here, right now for trying to punch me. Rank, may I remind you, and right now, I'm on top and you're not!" Draco admonished.

"Well may I remind you, just exactly who you are." Blaise turned to the girl he was with, "Gabrielle, could you give us a moment, I'll meet you at the restaurant, order anything you want." she gave him a small smile and nodded, leaving them behind to talk.

"You, Draco Malfoy, are--" he looked around and grabbed Draco by the arm and dragged him away from the children until Draco snatched his arm back. "You are Lord, head Death Eater. May I remind you what that means? It means you abolish people like Granger, bloody hell, especially Granger. The Death Eater's are going mad trying to find her and here you are, with her and I would like to very much know why."

"Why is none of your business."

"It is exactly my business. I get that you're not up for this, and guess what, neither am I but this is the path that we're in, this is what we have to do. We're either with them, or against them and it's a hell of a lot easier to be with them." he spoke, referring to the Death Eaters. "We're not the people they think we are but we're the ones who can start the change, and it surely doesn't start with you in cahoots with Granger."

"I'm not in cahoots with her!"

"They'll have a field day if they find out you're with their current number one enemy."

"I'm not with her! I'm just trying to--"

Blaise raised an eyebrow, " What? Save her? Help her? Help her, help you?"

"You know as much as I do that without her we don't have much of a chance at convincing people who we are and who they think we are. We would have no chance at getting past people's ideals on us. If the most noble little miss smartest-witch-of-our-time says we're good, why not believe?"

"Not everyone would be willing to believe her," he shook his head in frustration "You know what Draco, you do what you have to do and whatever that is, you better do it and you better do it fast and Merlin dammit, would you do it while being low key?!" Blaise yelled as he walked away.

"So you're not going to tell?" Draco yelled at his retreating back.

Blaise turned, "I want out as much as you do."