When Saturday morning finally arrived, I was up early. Just as students were allowed casual dress into Hogsmeade, so were the teachers and I found myself stressing over what to wear. The weather had already turned cool. Looking through my things took forever. I was determined to look nice without overdoing it since it was such a casual outing and we were technically still working.

Finally, I decided on a loose-fitting, lavender sweater that fell off the shoulder. It was cozy, warm and also looked quite cute. For my bottoms I chose a pair of dark wash, tight fitting jeans. I finished it off with a pair of cute black ankle boots (with a cushioning charm in place) and my beaded bag.

I wasn't one to fuss with make up much, but I did decide to do a bit of mascara and a natural lip tint. Thankfully my hair was in a particularly cooperative mood today and hung in soft curls with little effort. Looking in the mirror I decided the scoop of the shirt made my neck look bare. I grabbed my favorite small chain. It had a heart attached in the middle and was short enough that it fit perfect at the hallow of my throat. Deciding I was ready, I reached for the door.

It should have come as no surprise when I opened it to find Draco leaning casually against the wall. He too had gone for a causal look. Of course, not a strand of his white blonde hair was out of place. I had to admit that I liked the shorter look he sported these days quite a bit better than the previous slicked back do. His long sleeve button up was a dark navy and he wore black slacks. It occurred to me in that moment that I had never seen him in jeans and the thought brought a smile to my face as I tried to imagine it.

He pushed off from the wall. "Do I amuse you Miss Granger?" A returning smirk grazed his face.

"You do. I just realized I had never seen you in jeans."

He looked down at his slacks, puzzled. "Are these not appropriate? I own a pair or two, but usually have little excuse to wear them."

So he did own some, interesting and filed for another time. Giving a small laugh I said, "Its fine. We better get going though or we'll be behind the students."

The teachers were to arrive staggered, with some there to greet students, some travel with them and one to bring up the rear stragglers. Draco and I were tasked with being there ahead of the group.

Draco offered his arm like a true gentleman and I accepted it. Together we made our way towards the front gates of Hogwarts. We took a carriage into town and made small talk on the short way there. Upon arrival, we were to wait at the entrance as a reminder to the students that they were being watched while they are here.

We had agreed during the ride that we would keep our professionalism around the children. As we saw the next carriages begin to arrive, we made sure to keep a bit of a distance from each other. When at last Professor Sprout entered with the last of the students, we had a brief chat with her before beginning our stroll.

The streets were full of students, but Draco pulled me into a small café that was recently built. Most students ordered from the walk-up window leaving the inside nearly empty. While Madam Pudifoot's was still the hotspot for dates and tea, Cassie's Café was a bit different crowd. There was a small menu that included sandwiches and soups along with some classic tea accompaniments. In addition to a lengthy tea selection, they also had fancy coffees.

Draco and I studied the menu at the counter for several minutes before deciding. He chose a coffee too complicated for me to replicate and a blueberry muffin. I went for a lemongrass and coconut tea and the lemon poppyseed scone.

We chose a table in the back that offered some privacy. We were able to sit next to each other around the small circular table and face the crowd. This gave us the excuse that we were watching the students, but in reality, it was nice to be close to each other.

As we settled in, we began with small talk, but eventually the conversation grew. It occurred to me that while we spoke to each other daily, there was quite a bit I didn't know about the man beside me.

Taking a sip of my tea, which was an unexpectedly delightful combination, I asked, "So we've never really discussed, what made you decide to teach?"

Draco wiped his mouth delicately on a napkin before speaking. I had a sense he was buying time before answering. "You know that I've always loved and excelled at potions. It helped having Severus as my Godfather. He was present quite a bit throughout my childhood. I guess you could say he was a bit of an escape for me. My home life was never pleasant with Lucius around and I looked forward to my time spent in the potion's lab with Severus. He was willing to teach me and answer my endless question. While he was always careful, he did allow a certain amount of experimentation as long as I researched the ingredients and presented the case as to why I wanted to mix them. There was a certain thrill to me in doing that. It's something I'm quite surprised Lucius allowed, really." A slightly sad look came across his beautiful face. "Anyways, that was one thing I was able to do during the war, continue to look up and research potions. I could pretend I was doing it for dark reasons, but really it was to pass the time and feel productive. I made a vow to myself that if I ever got out of that mess, I would use the knowledge I gained for good. Teaching at Hogwarts allows me two things. One, teaching is surprisingly fun for me. It brings me joy when I can get others excited about different ingredients and why they act how they do together. Two, Minerva is kind enough to allow me use spare time to brew potions for donation. Obviously, I have enough money that if I chose to not work and simply make potions to give, I would have no problem doing so. But the set up I have here allows me to not only do that, but to also allows access to resources which help me research new potions as well as to give advanced students the opportunity under my guidance to help create a stockpile of potions to give. I have two students in the N.E.W.T level right now that are making the supply needed for Mr. Scamander while I am working on creating a new burn salve for St. Mungos. The one they currently have has a long list of side effects that I'm looking to counteract."

It was a much longer explanation than I had expected, but I hung on every word. "I had no idea you were working on so much! That is amazing. What you are doing is simply incredible."

To myself, I admitted that I was touched by his efforts and awed that he didn't boast about it more often.

His face flushed crimson. "I don't do it for publicity." He had clearly read my thoughts. "I do it because I can and because I care. If I have the capability to cause one person less pain than necessary, I need to do it."

At this his head dropped down and I immediately understood. My hand subconsciously rubbed at the scar that still graced my forearm.

"Draco, we've been over this. You had no other option. We wouldn't be sitting here right now if you had tried to play hero. It needed to happen the way it did."

I watched as his jaw muscles clenched and unclenched. "We may have differing views on that, but regardless, I'm doing what I can now. Anyways, I never heard the official story of what brought you back to the castle."

I relayed the story of McGonagall's visit and the rash decision to take the offer.

He gave a small chuckle. "I remember watching you for hours as you poured over every possible piece of information in the library. It was clear that you wanted your answers to be not only correct, but you wanted a full understanding of why they were correct. I'm surprised you didn't need time to research and validate that this was the correct path, but I'm glad you took it."

Under the table I felt his hand brush mine. I grasped his back and smiled. The gesture didn't distract from the information he had just provided. Before I could stop it, the question was out of my mouth.

"Exactly when did you decide wanted this," I gestured toward our hands, "with me?"

Red flushed not only his cheeks but the tips of his ears as well. "When I was around 13 or 14 I'd say."

That caught me completely off guard. "Excuse me?"

This obviously wasn't what he wanted to talk about, but he explained. "I was completely brainwashed before attending school. I took notice of you right away but I was so fearful of my father by that time that I didn't dare entertain a single thought that a friendship, let alone anything more, would ever be possible between us. You proved over and over again how wrong my upbringing was by besting me in every subject and being so damn sure of yourself and your place. It is a trait of yours that I greatly admire actually. Things started to deteriorate at home pretty quickly after Potter made his reappearance. Father became wilder by the day it seemed and the more I watched you the more I began to question why you had any less right to magic than I did until one day it clicked. You don't. Blood means nothing. A person's self-worth isn't tied to what they are born, but rather what they choose to make of his or herself. My father's influence forced me to hide my thoughts and feelings."

We sat silent a moment. "I don't know what to say, I wasn't expecting that at all. Our relationship was so different our final year that I thought maybe it was sometime then."

He shook his head. "No. I had a part to play before the final battle to avoid anything getting back to Lucius. It's interesting what lengths a person will go to prevent harm to themselves and their family." He said the last bit to himself. "Anyways, he's not an issue now. I am free to live my life with my own free will and ability to form opinions based on one's ethics and values. Enough time has passed now that I hoped I would be able to convince you to see that and you would give me a chance."

My mind was trying to process the information I had just received. While I had never loathed Draco the way Harry and Ron had, it was fairly recent that I had begun to accept my feelings for the blonde sitting next to me and I was unsure how to feel that his interest me predated mine for him by so long. I felt it best to come clean.

"I'm afraid I can't say it's been that long for me. I never mistrusted or truly hated you when we were growing up. In a way I think I knew you came from a difficult situation and I was always willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

He nodded his head. "I didn't expect the feelings to be returned." There was a pause of hesitation. "But is there a chance you feel that way now?"

I played with the hem of my shirt while I formulated my response. "I definitely feel something and I would like to see where this goes."

His returning smile stretched from ear to ear. "Me too."

After our confessions of wanting more than what we had before were spoke, the conversation seemed to flow more readily. Before we knew it, over an hour had passed. Draco looked at his watch.

"We should probably go stroll the streets a bit. Just to make sure no one is causing any issues."

I made a sign of agreement and we gathered our things to leave. There weren't any students in the café as we took our leave so I didn't object when Draco took my hand.