Chapter Nine

A cool, salt-tinged breeze flew around Hermione as she stood on the beach, her toes curling in the wet sand. She stared out to the horizon, marvelling at just how small she felt and how beautiful the view of the flat, cerulean blue ocean in front of her was.

"Penny for your thoughts," Draco's voice reached her, and she blinked to regain her focus on the present.

"Don't you mean dollar?" she retorted playfully, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, considering I don't have much of either at the moment, take your pick." Draco smirked at her. It was very reminiscent of the cheeky smirks she would receive at Hogwarts, minus the malice. His hair was held up with a hair tie, but there were flyaway bits of fringe fluttering around his forehead that made her smile in return. Teenage Draco was rarely seen with a hair out of place.

"Does that make it my turn to buy lunch?"

The beach was a hive of activity in summer on Phillip Island. Families desperate for an escape flocked to the island in droves, taking advantage of the numerous hospitality and tourism hotspots. The island had an invigorating energy to it and felt like the second you crossed the bridge from San Remo that it was healing your soul. The echoes of children's laughter carried on the wind, harmonising with the gentle crashing of waves against the shore and Hermione felt very peaceful and content in that moment. She looked over at Draco, who had changed out of his formal robes once they arrived. He was now wearing a pair of black boardshorts and what seemed to be a surfing brand t-shirt. Hermione dragged her eyes down the length of him and noticed with a grin that Draco was still wearing his shoes.

"You know you're not fully diving into this day of fun if you still have your shoes on," she quipped to him. He folded his arms and followed her gaze down to his feet.

"I'm not really a fan of sand," he said, screwing his face up in a tortured expression as he looked back at Hermione. "About four years ago, a mission I was on went wrong and I got stuck barefoot in the desert for far longer than necessary."

Hermione made a sympathetic 'ooh' face. "How long have you been a spy anyway? Did you get straight into it after Harry relocated you?"

Draco glanced around, suspicious of eavesdroppers. "Let's go find some fish and chips and a bench to sit on so we can cast a shield."

As the beach was very close to the main strip on the island, they didn't have far to go to find a delectable smelling fish and chip shop. The cook passed them a parcel wrapped in thin off-white paper, heated through by the deep-fried oily goodness inside. They decided to sit on a bench overlooking the jetty and out to sea, keeping a wary eye on the seagulls congregating on the grass near their feet. The birds were nipping their beaks at each other in preparation for any stray bit of food that may find its way towards them.

Draco surreptitiously withdrew his wand and muttered a few spells to conceal their conversation and leaned back against the wooden backing of the park bench as Hermione tore into the packaging that housed their lunch. They ate together quietly, enjoying the blissful sensation of the salty and tangy taste of chips with chippy salt and a splash of vinegar. After a few moments, Draco shifted in his seat, so he was facing Hermione.

"So, to answer your question, no. Potter got me on a plane with my new identity and that was pretty much his involvement with me done. I have to tell you, travelling via muggle means the first time was terrifying...especially as I was on my own."

"I can imagine," Hermione pouted supportively. "The roar of those engines still makes me jump."

"He could have gotten me a portkey," Draco muttered bitterly. "But thought that it would be harder to trace me if we did everything the muggle way."

"Well...he has a point. I flew here by plane as well. I figured Harry had enough pull at the ministry to see where I had gone if I had travelled any other way."

Draco paused, tilting his head at this. "You really do have the right makings for this line of work."

"I still need to pass the exams, and I have no idea what to expect from those." Hermione nudged him gently, then tore off a piece of fish from the packet to nibble on. "Only two weeks left of training."

"I think we both know you'll do great, no matter what the tests are," Draco said, not able to keep the admiring yet somewhat jealous tone out of his voice. "Anyway, Potter set me up to meet a guy from the ministry who enrolled me in some non-department as an intern for a bit. I wasn't doing well, I had no money, couldn't afford to live really. Everything I earnt went straight back into rent, bills, groceries."

"Oh Draco," Hermione murmured, placing her hand on his thigh. "What a change that would have been for you."

"Yeah, it certainly put things sharply into perspective for me. It lasted for about nine months and by the end of it I learnt to be very appreciative of the little things. It took me that long to figure out who I wanted the new me to be, what sort of persona I wanted to exude. By the end of it, the Damo that everyone knows and loves now came into being. I was so lonely for so long that I didn't really know how to talk to people anymore. And then I decided to stop moping around and I went to the Ministry Christmas bash that they threw. Mostly it was because they had food there, but I got a few shots of free firewhisky into me and found a new confidence. I started to actually connect with people, have a laugh with them and I met a few people that night that I'm still friendly with now. One of them is someone you know – Hazel Jones. She knows pretty much everyone though."

Hermione thought about the jolly woman she met when she first arrived at the ministry almost two months before and smiled, recollecting how Draco was with her. "She was so friendly to me too."

"I actually introduced her to her husband, poor bloke. Josh didn't know what hit him when he met Hazel. I went to their wedding and get this, he took her last name after the wedding," Draco snorted amusingly.

"I've heard that's actually happening more often these days," Hermione said, grinning. "I was wondering about that, I asked her about her connections to the Jones' in England. Remember we went to school with a few of them? Megan in Hufflepuff?"

"The Jones family is rampant in England," Draco said. "My Father used to say that if it weren't for Gwenog Jones, you know the Quidditch player, that the whole family would have ended up poor like the Weasleys. Apparently one too many of them have bad tempers and a terrible tendency to gamble."

"I suppose the Australian side of the family aren't like that though?"

Draco shrugged. "I only know Hazel here, but I can tell you that she does have a temper, especially if it comes to anyone threatening her children. Fiercely maternal that one. Anyway, we've gotten way off topic."

"Yes, we have," Hermione agreed, mindlessly throwing a chip to the ever-growing number of seagulls near them. The birds squawked loudly, ambushing the chip on the ground in a rampage and clicking their beaks, pushing their neighbour bodily out of the way. In seconds, the kerfuffle was over, and Draco and Hermione broke into laughter at the over-the-top display.

"You're not meant to feed the birds, Hermione, they can get quite vicious!" His words, broken by laughter, was raised an octave higher than normal and sounded incredulous.

"It was only one chip!" Hermione defended quickly, before barely concealing a cheeky grin and sneakily grabbing one more to toss to the birds. Draco gave her a look that she could only describe as a Molly Weasley look. A 'you should know better' look.

"You've started it now, they'll be coming for you next."

"Stop worrying, Mum." Hermione scrunched her nose attractively at him and asked, "So, how did you become a spy then? You still haven't gotten around to telling me."

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to tell you! Hazel introduced me to a magnificent man called Malcolm King, Merlin rest his soul. He was an Aboriginal Elder and unbeknownst to a lot of people, held quite a high position in the ADSS. He was the one that recruited me and trained me He said he saw something in me, something he knew I was hiding to everyone else. He said he believed in me to have the skills to do the work. That was eight years ago."

"And you got in," Hermione filled in.

Draco shrugged. "I don't want to brag, but I didn't just get in. I aced everything. Turns out I'm pretty good at this whole lying to everyone business."

"Natural talent, you reckon?" Hermione joked, but she could see her words hurt him as he flinched slightly. Their lunch was now finished, and Draco crumpled their rubbish into a ball, holding it in his hands on his lap.

"Well, natural or not, I've been pretending to be someone else my entire life, just to fit in. In Slytherin, at home, with Voldemort. Most of it was an act. A performance to survive. So maybe it's just the fact I'm very well practiced at it?" Draco looked at her, unable to quite convey his feelings through his expression. "I feel like you're the only person I've ever actually been completely honest with."

Hermione blushed. She couldn't help it, the burn flushed into her cheeks before she could stop it. She stared at her hands for a few seconds then looked up to meet his gaze. His grey eyes were intense, the steel in them glinting in the midday sunlight. She knew what he meant, she felt the same with him, like she could just bare her soul and not worry about the repercussions. It was dangerous, knowing what he was, knowing that he could use it against her at any moment. "I feel like I've only just brushed the tip of the iceberg that is Draco. I'm finding it hard to distinguish the real you underneath the layers of Damien you have up all the time."

"It's hard to bring down the walls I've had up for so long," Draco said, frowning as he did so. "I don't know what it is about you, but you're the first person I've ever wanted to smash them down for. I'm in a constant battle in my head, remembering the disgusting things I did to you in school, wondering why on earth you're talking to me now, feeling so lucky that you are. I know it's hard to see the real me, because I can't even see it at times. I think I've forgotten that there is a real me somewhere in here."

Hermione raised her hand and let it cup the strong outline of his jaw softly. His gaze faltered for a moment as he closed his eyes briefly at the touch. When he opened them again, Hermione saw that his eyes had softened and had turned from steel into liquid mercury. She spoke to him gently.

"We are both products of the way we were raised. We both went into Hogwarts with our own set of beliefs, our own way of doing things; and we figured out our own ways of surviving." She let her hand fall and it rested on his arm. "As soon as the war was over, as soon as you were out of your Father's and Voldemort's influence, what did you do?"

She paused for a moment, but Draco didn't answer, so she continued anyway.

"You renounced it all. You knew it could get you killed but you did everything to right the wrongs that you did."

"It wasn't enough," Draco said bitterly. "Nothing could have gotten me forgiveness from the light side. I had done too much; I had said too much. I almost killed Dumbledore for heavens sake. I tried to."

"Draco, you were sixteen," Hermione murmured. "You were alone and being coerced by the darkest wizard in history, you can't beat yourself up about it. And Dumbledore was going to die anyway. He knew it, Snape knew it."

"I should have died that night the Death Eaters found me," he said suddenly. "I begged Potter to let me. Stubborn git. Always has to be the hero."

"And what if you did?" Hermione asked. "Look at what you've done since. How much good have you done? How many lives have you touched here in Australia? We would never have become friends if you died that night. I would probably still be in England, miserable, living with a guy that was cheating on me."

He pulled a face. "I had nothing to do with you breaking up with Weasley and moving here. Even dead, you would have done that."

"True, I came here for me, but I only came for a visit. I'm staying now, because of who I found here. I found you, but in doing so, I found myself. You're a good man, Draco." She squeezed his arm lightly. "I know in my soul that you are a good man. You inspire me and challenge me every day, and I love who I am when I'm with you."

She scooted her bum along the seat until she was sitting tightly against him and pulled him into a side hug, resting her head on his shoulder. He let his head fall on top of hers and couldn't help but smile. "This conversation isn't the fun day I wanted to have with you."

"Sometimes we gotta talk the hard talk before we can walk the fun walk," Hermione said, before laughing. "God, that sounded better in my head."

He joined her, chuckling, their bodies vibrating with shared mirth. "Come on, I have a surprise planned for you."

Hermione eyed the ferry that Draco was motioning to sceptically. The breeze had picked up a notch and the ocean was becoming choppy, the boat moored at the jetty bobbing up and down sharply against the waves.

"You want me...to get on that?" She asked, her tone dubious.

He nodded enthusiastically. "Yep, you'll love it, I promise."

"Uhhh," she stared at it, the look on her face displaying her disbelief at his insistence.

"Come on, Bookworm," Draco chided. "You came here for adventure, didn't you? Where's your Gryffindor courage?"

"Shut up," Hermione whined, knowing he was right. She had come for more adventure, to live a life with new experiences. She sighed and nudged Draco with her elbow as she walked past him and onto the jetty. The wooden planks trembled as the water hit the beams underneath and Hermione swallowed her worry. What was a little bit of water? She could count at least fifteen spells off the top of her head that would help in case of the ferry going over in the waves. The ferry was double levelled, with the lower deck being indoors and the upper deck being outer. There were rows of chairs evenly spaced and Hermione picked one at the very back of the boat. Draco slunk into the seat next to her and raised his feet to rest them on the barrier in front of them. A seagull landed on the barrier near them and Draco laughed.

"I told you they'd be after you, Hermione."

She rolled her eyes at him. The Captain of the ferry gave the orders to break away from the jetty and the engine beneath them roared into life. The whole boat quivered with the thrum of motor and they slowly pulled away from the shore. The seagull took flight at once. Despite the choppy waves, it was a beautiful day, with only a scattering of clouds across the azure sky.

"Let's play a game," Hermione suggested. "Since I have no idea where we're going, or how long it will take to get there."

Draco quirked an eyebrow upwards. "What sort of game?"

"Two truths and a lie," Hermione said, biting her bottom lip. Draco laughed.

"Alright, you want to go first?"

She thought for a second and then nodded. "Yeah, ok. I'll go first. My middle name is Jean, I know how to speak Spanish, and my Patronus is an otter."

Draco folded his arms, his mouth twitching in amusement. "Well, I know the first one is true. I saw Jean written on your application form. As for the second, sabes lo hermosa que eres?"

Hermione's eyes widened at his question, having not understood a single word. "You got me, I don't speak Spanish."

"Well, then I have one question," Draco said, grinning. "An otter? Why an otter?"

Hermione blushed. "It's stupid."

"Nothing about you is stupid," Draco contradicted. He bumped her shoulder with his own. "Please tell me."

"Well," Hermione began. "When I was a child, my grandmother gave me this plush otter toy that she got while she was away. She had travelled all over the world with it and when it was finally given to me, smelt exactly like her. She passed away only a year later, very suddenly. The otter toy was a source of great comfort to me, because it always reminded me of her."

Draco smiled softly. "That's not stupid, that's actually very sweet."

"The otters name was Puffy," Hermione said in a flat undertone. Draco snorted.

"I'm sorry, did you say Puffy?"

She nodded. "I was obsessed with calling all of my stuffed animals names that ended in 'uffy'. So there was Puffy the otter, Huffy the horse, Duffy the dragon and Stuffy the bear."

She tried to contain her laughter, but Draco was laughing in a way that was very contagious and she couldn't help but join in at how ridiculous her story sounded.

"Ok enough laughing at me, thanks," she said sardonically, attempting to cordon off their hilarity. "Your turn."

Draco squinted, thinking, and then said, "I had to change my birthday when I moved here and I never celebrate it because I can never remember it, I'm an Occlumens and I don't know how to swim."

Hermione stared at him. "Oh Merlin, no chance you could have gone easy on me on the first go?"

Draco just grinned in response. Hermione raised an eyebrow, taking in his pleasant poker face and narrowed her eyes. "I absolutely believe you're an Occlumens. I really, really hope you know how to swim."

Draco's smile widened. "Only one right, unfortunately."

"You don't know how to swim?" Hermione asked, amazed, her jaw dropping. "But...we're on a boat! What if we capsize?"

He shrugged. "I'll figure something out magically. Did you really think I would forget my birthday?"

"That depends, did you really have to change it?"

"No," he laughed. "It's still June Fifth. It's easier to maintain a cover when the facts are just extensions of the truth, so we left a few truths in the story."

"That's interesting," Hermione said. She folded her arms and stared up at the blue sky, thinking. "Ok, my favourite singer is Elton John, I love to bake, and I'm terrified of flying on a broom."

Draco interlocked his fingers and rested his chin on them, considering this new information. "I'm going to guess the baking is a lie."

"No!" Hermione rebutted, a little too cheerfully. "I absolutely love baking."

"No way," Draco sang, letting his fingers fall. "You can't mean to tell me that Elton John isn't actually your favourite singer? That man is legendary!"

"Yes way. I mean, I like Elton John, but he's not my favourite singer. I love the fact that he's a wizard hiding in plain muggle sight, but my favourite has to be this witch called Amelie Wolfe. I've seen her play live a few times, but I'm not sure if she's come out to Australia yet."

"I think I've heard her songs on the Aussie Wizarding Wireless." The boat gave a sudden lurch and Draco half fell on top of Hermione. She gripped onto him to try and stop him from falling straight onto the floor. "Holy cow, that wave was huge."

Hermione laughed, trying to push him backwards against the gravity pull of the wave. "Are you ok?"

"Next to you? Always." He winked, finally regaining some control over his position. He settled back into his seat next to her. "My turn again? Let me think. I also love to bake, my Patronus is a white ferret, and I think you are absolutely amazing."

Hermione felt a blush creep into her cheeks at his words and looked up to find him staring down at her. Their gaze connected and Hermione felt her heart do a somersault. She stammered, finding it difficult to speak. "I...I think you definitely have two lies in that one."

Draco lifted a hand and gently caressed her cheek, tucking her hair behind her ear. "No way," he breathed.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," a raspy voice over the loudspeaker broke the spell and Draco lowered his hand. The engine of the boats roared again as the gears were changed and momentum slowed. "If you look to the starboard side, you will see our friendly sea life have come to say hi."

Hermione jumped up excitedly. "What sea life?"

Draco stood up also and together they walked carefully to the left side of the boat, hanging onto the railing and looking over the edge. The water was alive, the movement of gliding creatures as they cut through the surface of the waves created a kaleidoscope of patterns. Hermione looked closer and realised they were seals. Playful, chirping seals, encircling each other, dancing with each other, jumping over the water in a curve and diving back in. The air was thick with the smell of salt water and fishy fur, but it didn't bother Hermione one bit as she took in the sight of these beautiful animals pushing themselves powerfully through the ocean as if it was made out of air.

"Oh, Draco," she exhaled, unable to tear her eyes away. She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it on the rail to convey her delight. "They're beautiful."

Draco just smiled.

It was late afternoon by the time they returned to the island from the seal cruise. They walked up the main strip, the road was lined with souvenir shops and closing cafes on either side. They had parked at the top of the hill, on the other side of a round-about and had walked down to the waters edge, so they made their way back slowly, as they were now going against the incline. Hermione was raptured by the seals and couldn't stop thanking Draco for thinking of it and taking her. As they neared the top of the hill, Hermione cried out in delight when she saw the arcade was still open. She pulled a bewildered Draco into the loud, colourfully lit games area and stopped in front of a difficult looking skill tester machine.

"So, the aim of the game is to try and get this metal claw to pick up one of those toys," Hermione explained to him, raising her voice to be heard over the pop music blaring through the overhead speakers. The skill tester was filled with plush animals, all squished so tightly together that it was hard to distinguish if it was a whale, penguin or koala. Hermione pushed a coin into the slot and hit the start button. Draco watched intently as she used the joystick to manoeuvre the hanging claw into the right position. She hit the 'go' button and the claw dropped, clenching its teeth together and gripping a grey furry shape. As it was raised again, the plush toy slipped through and fell back onto the pile.

"No!" Hermione and Draco cried out in unified disbelief.

"You should have gotten that!" Draco exclaimed. "Can I have a go?"

Hermione grinned, internally ecstatic that he would attempt a muggle game like this. He did everything the same as she did, lined the claw up, dropped it and...bingo! The claw let go of a small plush toy into the prize box as they both cheered and high-fived each other. Draco grabbed it out and handed it to Hermione. It was a small plush sea turtle. She grinned.

"Thank you! Puffy will love having a friend," Hermione joked, and Draco snorted. "I'm going to have another go though. You've given me something to beat now."

After another three tries, Hermione finally managed to snag a small brown plush toy, and when she brought it out of the machine to examine it, realised it was a seal. She handed it to Draco, beaming. They left the arcade, both admiring their new prizes.

"I do have one question," Hermione said as they had reached the car. "I know your Patronus isn't a white ferret, you're not that self-deprecating. So, what is it?"

Draco paused for a moment, surveying the toy in his hands. "Well, after today, I'm going to say it's going to be a seal."