The next morning Hermione was feeling refreshed and ready for a new day. As she stepped onto level 4 of the ministry though, she started to get that unsettled feeling in her stomach again. "Hm, I must have forgotten to do something" she quietly muttered to herself. For the past 3 years Hermione has been in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, specifically, in the Being Division. Her main focus at the moment being Werewolf support services. And she really felt that this is where she needed to be, so she will not feel bad one bit for choosing her career over socializing! Her mind quickly went back to the conversation she had with Ginny the night before about not going out enough. She just loved the feeling of accomplishment in a hard day's work and definitely felt she was making a difference, but she did notice she kept putting other important aspects of her life on the back burner more frequently lately..

She had reached her office by this point and saw a paper airplane memo buzzing in the air by her chair. Wondering who it could be from, a dozen different names popped into her head, she grabbed it and started reading,

It's been ages,

have time to catch up with an old friend over lunch?

Harry

Oh Harry. She felt bad for how good of a friend he had been lately, and she knew that after all her revelations this morning that she would make the time for her friend today. She quickly grabbed a spare bit of parchment and wrote out a quick reply and sent it to the Auror Division on level 2.

The next thing Hermione knew, it was already time for her to meet Harry at his office for lunch. "Yikes, I really need to get my head out of these papers and breathe more often, I also should stop talking to myself so much." She garbled out while standing up out of her chair for the first time in hours.

"Knock, Knock" Hermione sang as she rapped her knuckles against the hard wood of Harry Potter's office door. "Hermione! It has been too long, I barely recognize you" Harry jokingly said, as he got up and gave his long time friend a hug. "I was getting very close to just barging into your office and proclaiming I had a run in with a werewolf to finally get your attention." He then continued to give her his wide grin, which always brought back nostalgic memories. "Oh stop being dramatic Harry, it hasn't been that long, now let's get going, I'm so hungry I could eat a Hippogriff!" Hermione responded slyly, which of course elicited a chuckle from Harry, just as she had hoped.

As Hermione took another sip of her tea, she tried to come up with a genuine response to Harry's question.

"Yes, I had heard that he broke up with Susan Bones, and honestly are we surprised? I mean she was a Hufflepuff, Ron needs someone with a little more grit to keep him in line." Harry seemed appeased by the response but of course didn't end his questioning there. "I know I've asked before but, you're really sure the two of you won't give it another go?" Hermione inwardly groaned, thoroughly certain that Ron had set him up to this. So Hermione decided to indulge him, "No Harry, I think that it would be best to leave the past in the past, don't you? Speaking of the past, how are things with you and Ginny?" She felt a slight triumph when she saw Harry visibly swallow. "Oh come off it, you know how we are, I know she was with you just last night." He sighed, "we're just going thru a rough patch at the moment, with her not playing for the Harpies anymore, she's just taking some time to figure out what she wants." Another sigh, "I just want her to be happy, but I would be lying if I said I didn't hope it's me she decides is what makes her happy." He looked like a sad little puppy and that little bout of triumph Hermione had felt minutes before had quickly evaporated. "Oh Harry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. But I will say, I don't think you'll need to worry much longer." Relief was clearly evident on his face at her words and for the second time that day, he broke out into that grin that always had a way of creating one of her own.

"Let's head back shall we?" Harry said as he ate one final chip from his plate "and don't even think about waiting this long again to accept my invitation to lunch, or else next time I actually will seek out a werewolf." Hermione let out a strong authentic laugh, not for the first time that day, and was seriously questioning why she hadn't agreed to lunch earlier.

Hermione always loved the time she had catching up with Harry, he was still one of her best friends, and she definitely still valued his opinion on things. She had a little pep in her step as she walked down the hallway to her office, but out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of pale blonde, and instantly snapped her head in that direction.

The one and only Draco Malfoy was here, right outside her office. His blonde hair was just as bright as she remembered, but he was styling it different these days, still styled to the side but had a much more relaxed look to it. He also had a smirk firmly planted on his lips and there seemed to be a glint in his eyes, which wasn't wholly unusual. Her eyes lowered down to his hands, and her vision started to get fuzzy. He was holding an off white envelope with his name written on the outside in what was clearly her distinctive cursive.

Malfoy hasn't seen her yet, so she has a few quick seconds to collect herself and possibly turn around and escape before he can even...but at that moment Malfoy's eyes make contact with hers and she knows it's hopeless."Malfoy" Hermione squeaks, so much for being calm and collected. She quickly coughs to clear her throat and keep her cool. "What brings you to the Department of Magical Creatures today?"

"Really Granger? You think I bleach my hair? It'll be hard but I'll try and not let the fact that you don't like the color of my hair get to me" He tells her with a slight chuckle to his voice.

"I really have no idea what you're talking about Malfoy." Deny deny deny, Hermione tells herself over again in her mind.

Malfoy then raises his arm and dangles the envelope in front of her face, so that there is no miscommunication on what he is talking about. "Ah this here doesn't look familiar to you? It's signed by you and I almost thought it was a prank at first but this is definitely your handwriting, I'd recognize it anywhere."

A small butterfly erupts low in her stomach because he said he remembered her handwriting, but she quickly ignores it, this is what he does, he didn't mean it in a sappy way, he only said it because he has the need to be right. Before she can respond he's talking again, "it came by owl this morning, and I only just got away from my meetings to seek you out."

"It came by owl!? To you!?" Hermione's voice wasn't getting any less squeaky, no matter how hard she tried.

"Yeah.."

"Look I wrote that a long time ago, years ago. I don't even remember what I said." Up close your face wasn't so much handsome as beautiful. "Honestly, that letter is from our last year at Hogwarts. I don't even know who would have sent it. Can I see it?" She tries reaching for the letter, trying to stay calm, and not sound desperate.

He hesitates and then smirks his perfect Malfoy smirk. "No, I think I'd very much like to keep it. I've never gotten a letter like this before."

In the next moment Hermione harnesses all of the quick reflexes of a professional quidditch player, and snatches it out of his hands.

He laughs, but not in a patronizing way. "Alright, alright, you can have it, no need to get all heated over it!"

Another uncomfortable cough emits from her mouth as she replies with a quick "thanks" and starts to turn towards her office door, pleading with Merlin this conversation is over.

"One more thing, about that kiss…"

No. NO. This is not happening. "Oh so sorry Malfoy, I am actually running late for a meeting, and I uh…ought to be going…" Hermione exclaims and dashes into her office, locking her door a split second later with her wand and sliding down the door to the floor. "This is a nightmare." She whispers herself.

She quickly pulls the parchment out of the envelope and starts to read, and almost immediately starts groaning in humiliation.

Dear Malfoy,

First of all, I refuse to call you Draco. You will forever and always be Malfoy to me. Did you know that when you kissed me, I would come to love you? Sometimes I think yes. You know why? Because you want everyone to love you, Malfoy. That's what I hate about you. Because I did, but not anymore. Here are your worst qualities: You think you're always right. And when you realize you're wrong? You never admit it. You just lean on your looks and charm, and you just assume everyone else will find it endearing. And if they don't, who cares, right? Wrong. You do care. You care a lot about what people think of you. You always have to have the last word. Even if what you say is unnecessary. That's rude. You're smart. Too smart. The kind of smart where you know exactly what you're doing and how you're manipulating someone. You kissed me for no reason. Even though I knew you were in some weird on again off again relationship with Astoria. But you still did it. Just because you could. I really want to know: why would you do that to me? And to just walk away like nothing even happened? The worst part of it is, that stupid kiss is what made me love you. Maybe that's why you kissed me. To do mind control on me, to make me see you that way. It worked. Your little trick worked. From then on, I couldn't get you out of my head. Up close, your face wasn't as pointy and sharp as I used to see it as, you were, dare I say, beautiful. How many beautiful guys have you seen? For me it was just one. You. I think it was your soft hair. You have really soft hair. Unfairly soft. Even though you don't deserve it, I'll go into all the things I like about you: The war changed you. It changed everyone, but you definitely came back a new person, a better person. You had actual feelings this time and seemed, dare I say it, genuine. In class if someone needed help with something you were always the first to volunteer, you NEVER use to do that. You continued to take, Care of Magical Creatures, even though you were one of the only Slytherins there. You even seemed to care about the creatures, spending some of your free periods going down and seeing them. Yes, I noticed. You are really good at quidditch. I think it frustrated you that Harry didn't come back to Hogwarts this year so you could finally try and best him. It was almost too easy for you to win Slytherin the Quidditch cup. After you kissed me, I liked you for the rest of the year. It wasn't easy watching you with Astoria, holding hands and snogging in the corridors. You probably make her feel special. Because that's your talent, right? You're good at making people feel special. Do you know what it's like to like someone so much you can't stand it and know that they'll never feel the same way? Probably not. You're a pure-blood, you live in a manor, and have endless amounts of galleons. And now that the year is almost over, I know for sure that I am also over you. I'm immune to you now, Malfoy. I'm really proud to say that I'm the only girl at Hogwarts who has been immunized to the charms of Draco Malfoy. All because I see you for who you really are, a manipulating, bleach haired git.

Hermione Jean Granger