We made our way through the door and just as we were about to separate a familiar voice caught my attention.

"Well, well. Isn't this a pleasant surprise?"

My chest constricted as I struggled to compose myself. "Mrs. Weasley! I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Translation: this is hell and I need to run away as soon as possible.

"Yes. Well, I don't make it out this way too often, but Arthur is taking me out for my birthday next week and told me to buy something new." Her face lit up as she spoke of her husband. "Speaking of occasions, you're coming to The Burrow for Christmas. Yeah?"

"Oh. Um…" I was trying to think of an excuse. Christmas was still two months away, but the thought of being in the same room with Ron made me absolutely sick to my stomach.

Before I could think up a response, Mrs. Weasley interrupted with a sad look on her face. "Listen love, I understand your hesitation. Its valid, but I will have you know that Ron and that tart of his are not welcome in my home for the holidays this year." I gave her a questioning look, surprised she knew what had happened. "Don't give me that look. I pay attention. Ron asked me for ideas on where to take her for their first anniversary. First, I questioned if he had the date correct because, let's face it, things like that aren't his strong point. However, he was insistent enough that I knew it was true. It didn't take a genius to put together that you were still together at that time. That is not the son I raised and I will not tolerate her in my home. He has chosen her over his family. And I am choosing you over him."

This took me by complete shock and my jaw dropped as I tried to compose myself. I had always looked to Mrs. Weasley as a motherly figure and following the war she had taken me as a surrogate child. Having her stand up for me after receiving news that Harry had taken Ron's side really touched me.

Mrs. Weasley continued. "I'm so sorry, you must think I am extremely rude." This was directed at Draco. "I don't think we've met before. I am Mrs. Weasley.

Draco didn't miss a beat as he extended his hand. "Very nice to meet you. I'm Draco Malfoy."

She gave a sly smile as she looked between the two of us and noted our still entwined hands. "I thought you might be. If Hermione is taking your company you must be alright. You must come for the holidays as well." Draco started to protest but Mrs. Weasley was a firm woman. "No discussion, I look forward to seeing you both. Now I really must be going so I'm home in time to make supper." She patted my cheek and was off.

I couldn't do much but stare after her. After a few moments, Draco cleared his throat.

"Well, that was unexpected."

Turning to look at him I did nothing but gape for a moment. "I'm so sorry Draco. I had no idea she would be around here."

He laughed. "Of course, you didn't! There's no need to apologize. She seems like a friendly woman and I appreciate her sticking up for you."

"Yes. That was quite unexpected. Anyway, should we continue our walk?"

We spent the next several hours laughing and getting to know each other on a more personal level. Aside from running into Mrs. Weasley, it was a really lovely first date.

In order to enjoy the most of our time outside the castle, we allowed the other professors to lead the students in first. Doing this allowed us to make a slow walk back far behind the carriages. As soon as they were out of sight, Draco took my hand. I was able to enjoy the sensation more now that I didn't feel like I needed to hide it like I did in the café.

The most surprising thing to me was the warmth I felt radiate through myself at his touch. It was hard not to compare my feelings for Draco to those I thought I had for Ron, but being it was my only other actual relationship, it was bound to happen. When I was with Ron, hand holding was rare. He said it felt weird and I can't say I disagreed with him. His hands were always cold and awkward. In fact, most of his touches felt cold and awkward now that I thought about it.

Draco's touch was much different. His hands felt strong and warm. Having mine in his gave me a feeling of warmth and protection. Of course, thinking of him as a protector was still a little hard to comprehend sometimes. I was trying not to think too hard into where this was going to prevent myself from overthinking it and freaking myself out, but deep down I knew I was already pretty far gone in my feelings for Draco.

We kept a steady rhythm of conversation as we made our way up the steps and into the entrance hall. Dinner had already begun so we headed to the Great Hall. Thankfully, as staff, we have a back door to slip in through instead of having to walk through the entirety of the room. It would have felt a little personal, like being on display, to do so after such a day together.

The other staff made zero comments about our late arrival together knowing that we were in Hogsmeade and we were able to sit down to dinner with no issues. Afterwards, Draco walked me to my room as always. I let him in to be able to say goodnight without eyes on us.

"Thank you for a lovely day." It felt a little silly to say it, but it was true.

A wide grin spread across his face. "Even with the interruption of your ex's mother I still have to say that today was better than I could have ever expected. I'm thankful you agreed to give me a chance."

I felt the heat rush to my face and he must have seen it too because a second later I felt his hand on my skin. His thumb brushing my cheekbone felt divine and my eyelids fluttered closed as I savored the feeling.

In hindsight, I'm glad I had my eyes closed before I realized what was going on. A few moments after he cupped my cheek, his lips softly descended on my own. Sure, it caught me off guard for a moment, but there was none of the, "Is he going to kiss me?!" Hesitation I would have felt had I been watching him.

No, this was better. Draco's lips were soft and warm. There was not an ounce of hurriedness and I got the sense that he was savoring the moment as much as I was. I tried to commit every sense to memory. The feeling of his hand on my face, the warmth where our mouths met, the taste of chocolate from tonight's dessert on his lips, the woodsy smell that was just him, the sound of my own heartbeat in my ears, the joy that was threatening to burst from my chest. It was almost overwhelming as I struggled to both catalog these thoughts while staying in the moment and enjoying the sensation.

All too soon he pulled away, leaning his forehead against my own.

"Wow." It was a simple statement and one I had to agree with.

"Yeah."

Since speech seemed to be failing us, we just stayed just like that for several more moments.

Finally, Draco seemed to compose himself.

"Hermione, I want to be very clear with you. I want more than just a friendship. It's not going to be easy. There will be plenty of people that don't accept us as a pair and of course us working together can potentially create some awkward moments, but I don't care. I want to be with you."

There are a million excuses I could have given to let Draco down gently. He made a good point that working together along with our past would potentially cause complications. However, it's a well-known fact that things in life aren't easy.

"You're right, this may be messy and I could tell you I need some time to think about it. Then I could spend the next several days going over every possible outcome of us taking a chance and weigh the positive and negatives or those outcomes. That's something I would have definitely done in the past." I gave him a small smile and reached up to smooth the worry lines that had formed on his forehead. "But I'm not going to do that. Much like my decision to take the DADA position, this just feels right. I think as I've got older, I have learned to trust my instinct over my brain sometimes and everything inside me right now is telling me to go for it. I'm going to listen."

At this, I reached up and around Draco's neck to pull him closer and once again taste a little bit of happiness. The kiss was brief compared to the first, but I tried to convey my sincerity. When I pulled away, Draco was smiling wider than I had ever seen him do before.

"So, we're doing this? We're officially dating?"

I scrunched my nose up a bit at his words. "After our admittance of feelings that feels a little informal. I think we can say we are in a committed, adult relationship."

"Hermione Granger in a relationship with Draco Malfoy. I can see the headlines now." He was joking but his words quickly caused my own smile to fade. "What?"

I tried to gather my thoughts. "I want to start by saying I am not ashamed of this, not in the slightest. But this," I gestured between us, "is new. Part of me wants to shout it to the world and another part wants to keep it private. I want to be able to learn about each other and grow our relationship without the scrutiny and judgement of others."

I worried the hem of my shirt as he thought that over.

"So, when we're in public, just business as usual, but then continuing to date otherwise?"

I pondered his words for a moment. "When you say it like that it makes me feel like we're hiding a bit. Maybe we can just agree to maintain professionalism towards one another in common areas, but if one of the staff asks there's no need to deny it. I just don't want to become gossip."

He brushed a stray hair behind my ear. "I understand. I don't think either of us want to involve the students in our personal lives."

My smile returned, glad that he understood. We exchanged a few more kisses and a goodnight before parting for the evening.