Hello and welcome back to another chapter of When Two Hearts Collide - I hope that you enjoyed the last chapter! Thank you to every reader who took a moment to favourite and follow this story and a bigger thank you to those who took the time to review! If you shared it with friends or fan fiction groups on social media thank you - I hope you will continue to do so and draw attention to this story!

I am hoping this year that I will be more consistent with my writing and will give more time and attention to this story, Please bare with me!

All my love, always

Lumos Nox

The next morning Hermione woke up. Her head was pounding slightly form the alcohol that she had consumed the night before and her eyelids felt heavy. She glanced down at her watch and saw that she had slept in until almost half-past-one in the afternoon. She tried to remember the last time she had done that and gave up. It made her head hurt more than it already did.

She swung her legs over the side of her bed and groaned whilst rubbing her eyes. She couldn't help but smile. Last night had been…Fun. There was no other word to describe it. Even if all they had done was share stories and feelings, she had felt liberated and free from judgement. Maybe it was because Draco was a good lawyer that it made it easy to open up to him, but she was sure the Fire Whiskey had helped as well.

Hermione then proceeded to take a long hot bath, apply a face mask and dress herself in a black-tank top and some black leggings before slipping into her comfiest and fluffiest slippers and make her into the kitchen to pour herself a steaming cup of coffee. To her surprise her window was open again and upon the table sat a small parcel and a letter.

Immediately she recognised the elegant handwriting and popped open the letter whilst sipping on her coffee. She let out a groan as the liquid burned her throat and woke her up. Focusing her attention on the letter she began to read.

Dear Ms Granger,

I hope you are well this morning and that you head isn't too sore from last night's alcohol consumption, if so I am sure the contents of the parcel will be of use to you.

I wanted to write to you to thank you for your company yesterday evening and hope you will agree to join me tomorrow afternoon for Sunday lunch at my house so we can continue to know each other. If you are otherwise engaged do not feel obligated, I understand you must be a very busy witch.

I hope I did not make you feel uncomfortable in anyway last night, and apologise if I have done so. I however will not apologise for speaking the truth.

Yours faithfully,

Draco Malfoy

Hermione chuckled at the letter. She couldn't understand why he felt the need to remain so formal whilst addressing her in letters as if she was the queen, but she did find it endearing. She reached for a fresh piece of parchment and proceed to scroll back a reply.

"Dear Mr Malfoy,

Or should I call you Draco since we now know far too much about one another to be addressing each other by our last names?

Thank you for last night, it was truly the most I have spoken in a long time and it did me a lot of good. I hope I didn't bore you too much with my ramblings, although I guess not as you have invited me over again!

I would be delighted to join you tomorrow for lunch and look forward to it. Let me know the time and dress code (I hope it isn't formal, even if we are at Malfoy Mansion)!

As for your parting words,

I think you're delusional Draco. But charming.

See you tomorrow,

Hermione"

She sent the letter on its way before turning to the package. She had forgotten for a split second that it was still there. She open it and found a small vile of what was unmistakably pepper-up potion. Attached to the vile was a small note in that familiar handwriting that read.

"Thank you for reminding me how much I enjoy brewing potions.
Even if they're not as good as yours."

She smiled again and stored the potion and note away. She spent the rest of her day reading and even went out for a walk and some fresh winter air in the evening. London looked almost beautiful at the golden hour, the buildings dripping in an amber glow that brought an inner warmth, even if the air was cold and frosty on her skin. On her way back home Hermione decided to treat herself to a Chinese takeaway and nestled up on her sofa watching television and making her way through her noodles.

As she was washing her dishes a majestic owl swooped in through the window she had left open and dropped a note on her table before quickly taking flight. Hermione was shocked at how quiet and quick the owl was. Grabbing the note from her table she ripped it open and read eagerly.

"Dear Hermione

Upon further reflection I agree that we should address each other by our first names, we do know far too much about one another at this point so it seems like the correct step to take in our relationship.

I just hope we aren't moving too quickly for your liking.

As for tomorrow please arrive anytime before two in the afternoon, and the dress code is wear whatever you are comfortable in, as a guest of Malfoy Manor I wouldn't want you to feel anything other than comfortable and at home.

Yours Faithfully,

Draco"

Hermione chuckled again and then realised that the clock had struck midnight. She headed into her bedroom and opened her wardrobe staring at it, as if willing an outfit to jump out at her. She pulled out one item, holding it against her body and then placing it back in it's spot. She sat down on her bed and pulled her knees up to her chin. She let out a deep exasperated sigh.

Hoping that a good night's sleep and a fresh outlook she'd have more luck, Hermione decided to call it a day and jump into bed. She opened up her book and tried to get a bit of reading done before bed but found herself rereading the same paragraph over and over again. She gave up and slammed her book shut and turned off the lights and lay staring at the ceiling and listening to the soft hum of traffic outside her bedroom window. Then, at some point, she wasn't sure quite how long it was, Hermione fell into a peaceful sleep.

The next morning brought in golden rays of sunshine into Hermione's white bedroom, burning against her eyelids until they fluttered open. Glancing at her watch she saw it was half-past-ten in the morning which was quite a lie in by her standards. She stretched out lazily like a cat, arching her back before making her way into the bathroom and turning on the shower. The hot water pounding against her fair skin woke her up and made her feel refreshed.

Afraid spending more time than usual on her appearance, ironically to make it look as if she hadn't tried too hard and hadn't spend too much time on her and makeup she turned to the wardrobe. Her goal for the day was to look nice but not let Draco know that. She didn't want to seem like she was trying to impress him, because she wasn't. But she wanted to highlight her best features because, why the hell not!

She pulled out an off-the-shoulder baby blue sweater, a pair of washed out bootcut jeans and paired them with a pair of flats. She headed into the kitchen and decided to have a cup of coffee before heading off. It was half-past twelve and she couldn't help but feel excited for the day ahead and that excitement was nothing but multiple when she saw another letter on the table. She strode over and wrenched it open.

"Dear Hermione,

I can't wait to see you soon.

Draco"

She smiled broadly and put it in the drawer where she had been storing all of Draco's letters. At first it had been to keep track of the communications with her lawyer, now it was just a habit and she did it without even thinking about it.

One-o'clock hit and Hermione strode out the door and was making her way to the alleyway she usually used to disaparate when she heard a loud call.

"Oi 'Mione!"

She swivelled around and found Ron crossing the street towards her and she felt her stomach drop. She didn't want to tell Ron where she was off to but she didn't want to be late for her date either. She tried to rack her brain to come up with an excuse as to where she could be headed off to but her mind went blank and before she knew it Ron was in front of her giving her a hug.

"You look great 'Mione" he said winking at her "maybe you and I made a mistake breaking up"

"Very fun Ronald" she said drily "what are you doing around here?"

"Well I dropped by the office today and on my way back thought I'd drop in and see if you wanted to grab lunch at the Burrow with the family, mum's been on my back to invite you for ages and I thought, why not"

"Shouldn't you be inviting Pansy to these family gatherings" she said looking at him curiously

"Well lets just say that Pansy and mum don't exactly see eye to eye" said Ron blushing a bit "they had a big row during the week and Pansy has been ignoring me since then"

"I'm shocked I thought Pansy and your family would have gotten along fine, I mean it's not as if Pansy has ever looked down upon the Weasley's" said Hermione laughing and Ron laughed with her.

"She's changed you know" said Ron "she's not the girl we knew at Hogwarts 'Mione."

"As long as you're happy Ron that's all that matters" she said smiling and was about to make her excuses when Ron said.

"Do you think made a mistake?"

"What?"

"Do you think we should have tried harder?" Said Ron blushing "gone to counselling or something?"

"What the hell has brought all this on?" Said Hermione flustered

"It was easier with you, my family loved you, and when we were good, we were good"

"We were boring Ronald, you got bored of me and you drove me up the walls. We argued non-stop and honestly we are much better as friends. We just should have realised it all sooner"

"I just miss you sometimes 'Mione" said Ron "all of you"

"You're looking at it through rose-tinted glasses Ron" said Hermione "we didn't work and we drove each other mad"

"I guess" said Ron looking Hermione up and down "you do look amazing though, truly"

"Thanks Ron" she said smiling "you look great too"

"If you ever get… You know… Lonely" he said blushing

"We had our last night together Ron" said Hermione rolling her eyes "you're just arguing with your girlfriend and you want to get back at her"

"It's not just that 'Mione!" He said earnestly "I think I'll never truly get over you…I mean look at you!"

"You will Ron" said Hermione standing on her tip-toes and kissing his cheek "and you will be happier than you ever were with me"

"So what you say then?" He said blushing furiously "lunch?"

"How about next week maybe?" Said Hermione "I'm kind of in a rush!"

"Where you off to?" He said raising his eyebrow "I know it's not with Ginny because she's at the Burrow with Harry"

"Oh lunch with some friends!" Said Hermione smiling "just some of the girls"

"Ah right" said Ron looking a bit crestfallen "well say hi to them from me then…"

"Will do!" Said Hermione and rushed off "take care Ron!"

"Love you 'Mione" said Ron under his breath and he watched her as she turned on her heel and disappeared and moments later he turned and headed off to the Burrow.

Moments later Hermione was rushing down the gravel entrance to Malfoy Mansion and trying to control her breathing as she knocked on the large oak doors. Draco answered the door, he was wearing a plain white t-shirt with some dark navy jeans. This was the first time that Hermione had seem him wearing casual wear and he look incredible.

"Been rushing?" Said Draco smiling at her

"Bumped into someone on the way here" said Hermione with her hands on her knees breathing deeply

"Drink? Or is it too early?"

"Yes please!" She said and they headed back into the soft armchairs they were sat in Friday night. Draco handed her a glass of white wine and Hermione took it gratefully and took a sip.

"So who did you bump into?" Said Draco as he took a sip of his own drink

"Ron" she admitted "he wanted to know if I'd spend Sunday at the Burrow with his family"

"Funny" said Draco funny "I had the pleasure of the surprise visit from a very drunk Pansy Parkinson last night"

"Oh" said Hermione and her stomach dropped "how come?"

"Her and Ron have been arguing apparently" said Draco casually "she had a good cry and telling me she made a mistake and she should never have been unfaithful"

"Did you two?" Said Hermione and then she blushed "that was a stupid question and it is none of my business I'm sorry!"

"Did we sleep together?" Said Draco laughing "no, she tried to disrobe in front of me but she was so drunk she fell over and ended up chipping a tooth"

Hermione snorted with laughter "I shouldn't laugh…"

"It was quite entertaining until I had to take her to St Mungo's"

"Busy night then?" She said smiling

"Very busy!" Laughed Draco "but not in the good way".

"And what exactly is the good way?" Said Hermione winking at him

"Friday" he said smiling back at her "staying up and talking to you"

She blushed furiously and quickly tried to change the subject

"It smells amazing" she said sniffing the air "who's cooking"

"My house-elf" said Draco "Sparky"

"You have a house-elf" said Hermione her mouth dropping open "how could you…"

"Before you start with elf-rights" said Draco interrupting her "Sparky is very happy and very paid for the work that he does"

"Dobby certainly wasn't whilst serving your family" said Hermione narrowing her eyes at him

"Dobby" said Draco "was my parent's elf. Sparky is my elf and I am very different to my parents. He has his own room in the mansion, he has pay and can take holidays if he so desires to"

"Oh…" said Hermione

"But, I like it"

"What?"

"The way you get flustered when you talk about something you're passionate about. That fire in you. It's very… magical"

Hermione didn't know what to say to that so she took another sip of wine.

"So did you and Ron?" Said Draco

"Sleep together?" Said Hermione raising her eyebrow "well seeing as we met in the middle of the street it was hardly the ideal moment to drop our pants and you know…" she giggled

"Do you want to get back with him?" Said Draco

"No" said Hermione firmly. She paused and then said truthfully "he did ask we whether we made a mistake and whether I would want to try again. But I don't, he hurt me too much"

"That's good to hear" he smiled "don't have to compete with the Weasel"

"You're competing now?" Said Hermione raising her eyebrow again

"I don't even have to compete" said Draco stretching back in his seat "I just know that you will end up falling for me"

"Did your crystal ball tell you that?" Said Hermione sarcastically

"I'm a lawyer" said Draco "I read people for a living and if I do say so myself. I've gotten quite good at it"

"Confident man…" said Hermione

At that moment a little house-elf darted into the room. Hermione was surprised to see how plump and clean he looked. The little white shirt he was wearing that fell down to his knees was a pristine white colour and he looked, Hermione hated to admit it, genuinely happy.

"Mr Malfoy" Sparky squeaked, bowing slightly "food is ready"

"Thank you Sparky" said Draco getting up "you can have the rest of the day off to do as you please"

"Thank you Mr Malfoy" the house-elf replied "I will be in my room if you need me!" And he bounded out the room and Hermione could hear the little pitter-patter of little feet up the marble stairs.

"Shall we?" Smiled Draco "or are you going to refuse to eat food prepared by a house-elf like you did at school for a while?"

"How did you know about that?" Laughed Hermione following him into the kitchen and seeing the kitchen table set up beautifully and upon the plates was the most exquisite Sunday lunch Hermione had ever seen. The roast potatoes were still pipping hot, the gravy generously glistened on the roast and the smell was intoxicating.

"Everyone knew about your Society for Elf Protection and Welfare" laughed Draco gesturing to the seat across from him "please"

"Thank you! This all looks amazing!" She said sitting down "I can't believe you remembered S.P.E.W!"

"SPEW? Yes I remember it but maybe not for all the right reasons" said Draco

"What do you mean?" Said Hermione frowning

"I mean the name isn't exactly flattering…"

"That's because it's S-P-E-W NOT SPEW!" Said Hermione heatedly

"Regardless, I just remember at school a lot of people thought it was all a bit of a joke and that you'd frankly… Gone a bit bad" he started to dig into his food and Hermione felt the heat rise up in her face.

"Well that's nice…" she said shortly "nice to know I was a laughing stock for being passionate about elf welfare"

"You weren't a laughing stock, it was the club…."

"Frankly I don't give a damn what anyone though" she snapped "I was doing what I thought was right and what I still think is right"

"I didn't mean to offend" said Draco quietly "I do apologise if I did"

"No you didn't" she lied "it just infuriates me how privileged wizards find it so easy to mock those fighting for equality for all"

"So why didn't you continue it?" Asked Draco "you could have rebranded it and taken it further"

"I was thinking maybe working my way up through the ministry I may be able to be more influential on passing laws and bills on magical creatures" said Hermione thoughtfully "I just feel that lately I've become complaisant and have stayed at my position and not fought for progression"

"I heard Perkins is gone" said Draco "he's been having inappropriate relationship with a lot of young witches in the ministry and a lot of them have come out and spoken out about feeling intimidated by him""

"You knew about it?" Said Hermione bewildered

"I'm a lawyer, a lot those witches came to me for advice"

"Who!" Asked Hermione wide-eyed

"It isn't my place to divulge that" said Draco "but why don't you apply for his position?"

"I don't know… I'm guessing that there's already another successor lined up to take his spot and…"

"Sounds like excuses" said Draco "I think you should go and put yourself out there"

"I just don't know if the ministry is where I want to stay… To be honest I don't really know what I want to do with my life right now…"

They continued to talk about their jobs throughout the meal and Hermione was surprised to see how passionate Draco was about his job. How he had become a lawyer in order to give back to the community, and took on cases for free in order to help those less fortunate in the community. She found it inspiring and admired his determination to try and change, or more importantly better the community and people's lives.

Once they had finished eating and their bellies were full to burst they retreated back into the big cozy armchairs where a fire was happily roaring away and a bottle of wine was placed on the side-table ready for them. Hermione curled up in her seat contentedly and took a sip of wine.

"I could sleep right now" she slept, feeling herself go drowsy as the heat for the fire licked her skin and made her feel safe.

"There are enough rooms here for you to take a nap if you need to" laughed Draco

"You're not getting me into bed that easily" laughed Hermione

"I meant a guest bedroom Granger" Draco rolled his eyes "do you really feel that pressured?"

"What?" Said Hermione

"I feel like people have pressured you to have sex" said Draco thoughtfully sipping his wine "you feel like you have to prove yourself, sexually"

"I have nothing to prove" retorted Hermione "I am perfectly… fine!"

"That's what I'm saying" said Draco leaning forward "you don't have anything to prove sexually to anyone, and you don't have to feel like I'm inviting you over to get into your knickers"

"But you are" blurted Hermione going red "at the end of the day, if I took my clothes off right now and spread myself, you'd have me"

"I'm into consent" said Draco "but I'm still human and I find you attractive. There's a difference"

"I think" said Hermione leaning forward "everything you do, is to get me into bed, the notes, the wine, the charming comments"

"That's hurtful to be honest" said Draco frowning "I said to you, you would fall in love with me, not that I would fuck you. But if you think I'm just another man who want's to just fuck the brightest girl of her age than obviously you do not know me…"

Hermione didn't know what to say

"Feel free to leave if you're no longer interested in any of this" said Draco pointedly "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression Ms Granger"

"Back to Ms Granger are we?" Said Hermione rolling her eyes "Come on Draco we're past that"

"Obviously we're not!" He said looking at her "you still think I'm out for your body for some reason!"

"You came to my home and snogged me out of nowhere!" Said Hermione defensively

"I was drunk and I regretted my behaviour and made that clear" said Draco "by all means you should have communicated with me if you still felt uncomfortable"

"I'm not good at communicating about sex" blurted out Hermione and went red

"Clearly" drawled Draco and drank some more wine

"No" said Hermione "I mean almost everyone knew that Ron was my only and after we fell apart everyone has been trying to get me to sleep around and be 'wild' and it just feels like…So much pressure"

"Hermione" said Draco looking at her and placing a hand on her knee "whether you choose to sleep with one man or five-hundred men, women or whoever else, that doesn't make you any less of a woman"

"I feel like I am though" said Hermione "and I have slept around… Well once…or twice…Oh I don't know!"

"You don't have to tell me this" said Draco "Just know whatever you choose. Is ok. It's your life and your body"

"Why are you like this?" Said Hermione "most guys just…"

"Want sex?" Said Draco smiling "yeah, I went through that at school where I would have made up any story to sleep with any girl, but I realised recently that sex was the easy part, I could go out any given day of the week and find a woman to sleep with. But a deeper connection, that's what's hard to find and maybe that's why my relationships failed, because I found girls who enjoyed sleeping with me but then we saw that as people we weren't compatible…"

"That's deep…" said Hermione "It must be nice to have a partner who wants you all the time though"

"You know what's nicer?" Said Draco "someone who cares about your day, who wants to talk to you and hear what you have to say"

They continued to make small chat and talked about the week ahead at work and what meetings they had on their agendas. The conversation was very fluid and Hermione felt at ease, she felt like she was talking to someone she had known her whole life and din't have to hold back or worry about coming across as stupid.

"Did you tell Ron you were coming here?" Asked Draco

"What do you mean?" Said Hermione

"You said that he asked you to come over for lunch" said Draco "you must have told him you were busy"

"I told him I was busy" said Hermione

"But not with who?" Said Draco raising an eyebrow "Pansy wanted to know who I was having over for Sunday lunch when I told her she couldn't stay here"

"You could have told me and cancelled" said Hermione

"Let me think" sad Draco mockingly "would I rather spend the day having my ex-wife walking around my house or have a lovely girl who I actually like talking to and spending time with over?"

"So what did you say to her" said Hermione

"I told her the truth" said Draco frowning "I hope that's ok"

Hermione felt her heart start to beat harder and faster. She felt physically sick.

"Oh this isn't good" she groaned and put her head in her hands

"What?" Said Draco looking at her "what's wrong?"

"I told Ron I was out with a few of the girls" Hermione cried "now Pansy's going to tell him and he's going to go mental at me!"

"There is so much wrong with that" said Draco the frown still etched on his forehead "firstly, thanks for lying about spending time with me, I didn't think it was so embarrassing. Secondly, if you didn't want to tell him you shouldn't have told him at all, not come up with a lie"

"Who's side are you on?" Said Hermione

"My own damn side!" Said Draco defensively "I knew that Pansy wouldn't appreciate me spending my Sunday with you but honestly, I couldn't give less of a damn after what she did to our marriage"

"You don't understand" said Hermione

"No, what you don't understand is how hypocritical you are!" Said Draco standing up "you come to me broken about how the hardest part was how dishonest your ex-husband was and yet here you are being dishonest to him! You're as bad as each other!"

"I'm a hypocrite!?" Said Hermione going red in the face "That's rich coming from you! The benevolent lawyer who lives in a mansion with a house-elf! If you can't understand that I don't want to cause people unnecessary suffering over something that means nothing then maybe you haven't changed!"

"That means nothing" said Draco coldly "is that what these past few days have been - nothing?!"

"I didn't mean that" said Hermione quickly "but at the moment we are nothing"

"And what if this becomes something then?" Said Draco pacing backwards and forwards "if you were somehow with me, would it be so embarrassing to tell the world that?"

"You don't know what it's like having your life plastered on newspapers and people judging your every move!" Said Hermione tears welling up in her eyes

"Oh do I not?" Said Draco laughing a mirthless, almost deranged laugh "why do you think I've had to blackmail newspapers? Do you know what it's like waking up everyday being called a murderer, a death eater, having my two failed relationships torn apart and rumours run wild as to why? If being too perfect was what was being written about me, I think I'd be ok"

"Too perfect?" Said Hermione "is that what I am"

"The brightest witch of her age, the golden girl, the nation's sweetheart!" Said Draco "that's the names I've heard you being called. Me? Former-death eater, murderer, cheat, disgrace to wizards…"

"Draco I'm sorry" said Hermione actual tears falling down her face "I just don't know how to do this, how to trust someone again…"

"You'd think" said Draco laughing "after all I've been through I'd be the one with commitment issues…"

"It's not funny" said Hermione

"No, you're right it's not funny" said Draco turning round to look at her his eyes slightly blood-shot and gleaming "I use to think all those people that say that opposites attract, they were full of it. But then I met you and I thought maybe for a second that they were right, and maybe that someone who I thought was the opposite of me, was really the right person all along"

"What are you saying?" Said Hermione her lip trembling

"I think you should go " said Draco coldly

"You want me to leave?" She asked him standing up to face him.

"Yes, I think that would be what's best" said Draco

"Fine" she grabbed her bag and headed towards the front door

"Goodbye Ms. Granger" Draco said as he stood by the front door as she marched down the front stairs "the pleasure was all mine" he whispered to himself.

Hermione bowed her head and charged down the gravel path, feeling Draco's eyes watching her as she tried to flee as quickly and with as much dignity as she could possibly muster. All the while sobbing quietly to herself.

Thank you guys for remaining loyal to this story! I am blown away with the amount of reviews, follows and favourites! It really warms my heart every time I see one of those notifications! I hope that you will all continue to share this chapter and story far and wide please as it is what motivates me to sit in front of a computer and bring this story and these characters to life. Please find the replies to your reviews below, continue to leave them and I will get back to you in the next chapter!

All my love,

Lumos Nox!

Replies:

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