A/N: Here we are with part one of the holiday. Thanks to my Beta Cecelia Everhart!

Oh, and as answer to the review when Draco uses his last two questions - "SPOILER" - I'm afraid you'll have to endure many more chapters since it's nearly at the end. I also wanted to thank everyone who reviewed! Thanks to MissMandy79 for your suggestion (if I have time, I might start working on a one shot based on that); also thanks to LightofEvolution who was the only one to guess the place they're going (virtual chocolate for you!); and if I'm at it, big hugs to purplehedgehog13, Sherlock Harry Winchester (best penname ever!) , and fantasticfan15 (LOVED your review, I hope your (in-)sanity survived)!

Before we move on to the story – sorry for the sheer endless author's note – I included some background information and translations for the German at the end of the story (see brackets [...]). It's not to lecture you, just to give a bit of context and help you understand the German.

So, enjoy the sunny holiday in Germany!

14. Fool For You

About a week later, Hermione was waiting impatiently for Draco to pick her up. She had everything packed for their trip and was incredibly nervous. She was pretty sure where they would go, but he hadn't confirmed anything.

Crookshanks was cared for; she had given him to Ginny, who still loved cats. Harry wasn't too happy about it, but, as James absolutely loved the furry cat, he was outvoted.

Finally, there was a knock, and she opened the door in seconds.

"Ready?" Draco looked as handsome as ever, and the radiant smile he gave her was like sunshine on her skin.

"Always," she smiled back. "Let's go."

"Okay, our Portkey will leave in five minutes," he said and entered her living room. "It'll bring us directly to our hotel."

She was so nervous her fingers trembled when they touched the portkey. A couple of minutes later, she found herself being guided to her room by a German hotel employee.

"Das ist Ihr Zimmer, Frau Granger." He handed her the key card, then turned to Draco. "Ihr Zimmer ist direkt nebenan, Herr Malfoy."[1]

"Danke," Draco said nonchalantly.[2]

"Ich wünsche Ihnen einen angenehmen Aufenthalt."[3]

Hermione smiled at the young man and then opened her door. She still wasn't quite sure which city they were in. But she could hardly ask any of the employees, couldn't she? At once, she made her way to the window. It wasn't a very prominent skyline; it appeared to be more part of the old town.

"And?" Draco asked behind her.

"It looks amazing. If there weren't any cars, we could be right back in the 15th century."

"I knew you'd like it. Come on, let's do some sightseeing." He took her hand and pulled her downstairs.

They visited some touristic places, like the Rathaus with the Goldener Saal[4], the Perlachturm, the Fuggerei[5], various churches and so on. Already the first sight they had visited had confirmed her suspicions that they were in Augsburg. Draco knew a bit about the wizarding history of the city and told her about it. Augsburg impressed her so much she felt as if she constantly walked around with an open mouth and an expression of wonder on her face. She loved to listen to Draco's explanations, loved to see how his eyes lightened up when he remembered a particular interesting part of Augsburg's history, loved how he proudly showed off his German by talking to natives. He made her feel special, as if the primary purpose of the trip was to make her happy.

In the evening, she was dead tired and relieved to return to the hotel to have dinner. Their day had gone better than she had expected. She had been really worried that there would be some awkwardness between them, that he would somehow expect more of her or see this as a trip with a lover instead of a friend. But it had been nothing like that. However, it hadn't escaped Hermione's notice that he found subtle ways of touching her.

"Did you enjoy the day?" he asked softly after they had finished their menu.

"Very much. But it was exhausting."

The familiar mischievous grin danced on his lips. "That's why we'll have a relaxed day tomorrow at a lake."

"Lake? Which one?" she asked immediately, cocking her head.

His eyes twinkled with cheekiness. "Surprise."

She rolled her eyes but turned sincere a second later. "I wanted to thank you for this. I haven't had this much fun since … well, since years, I guess."

At once, his grin vanished. "You're welcome, Hermione," he answered seriously with a gaze so intense she had to avert her eyes because it sent goose bumps all over her body. The way he could manipulate her body like that made her feel so vulnerable, so defenceless and exposed, and she didn't like that.

"We should go now," she exclaimed quickly and jumped up.

"Hey, Hermione wait," he called after her, but he didn't catch up with her until she had reached her room. "Hermione, what's wrong?" he asked, a worried frown darkening his face.

"Nothing," she protested, trying to wave his concerns away, but he didn't look convinced. "It's just the day and … I don't know. I need to sleep! See you tomorrow at nine," she added hurriedly and slipped through the door before he could stop her. The desire to run had been overpowering.

Now she took a deep, calming breath and tried to find reassurance in the closed door behind her back, but she could still feel her heart racing. The light in her room was dim and made it look smaller and lonelier than it actually was.

Now that she finally was away from him – and all alone again – she wanted nothing more than to turn around and run back to him.

She knew she was falling head over heels for him. There was nothing she could do. If she hadn't interrupted the conversation before, she was sure she would have said something inappropriate and stupid – which might have led to the topic she wanted to avoid under all circumstances. She was comfortable with the friendship they had, and, even if Draco wanted more, she wasn't sure it was wise to go there.

Friendship was safe. Safe was good.

It wouldn't end well, anyway. Former Death Eater and goody-two-shoes – that simply wouldn't work out. She just had to be more careful and not endanger their friendship. She would pull herself together tomorrow and act like nothing had happened.

The next morning, Hermione tried to act nonchalantly during breakfast, but she could still feel Draco's eyes lingering on her, following her every move. She would find herself sinking in his eyes, which colour varied depending on his mood – so many shades of silver, like a pebble beach. Today, it was the horizon grey again.

She really shouldn't do that. Neither should she hang on his lips when he spoke, realising that she enjoyed his voice more than she should. She shouldn't notice that he only drank Early Grey, that he played with the hem of his robes, when he was nervous, that he was secretly crazy for chocolate, or that he bit his lower lip, if he was deep in thought. But she did and she hated herself for it.

She had tried to distract him and engage him in a conversation about the philosopher's stone and how it could have been used in modern potion making, but that didn't work too long. When they took their bags and readied themselves for the Portkey, she knew Draco couldn't be stalled any longer. He hadn't brought up the topic of last night yet, but she could see it on the tip of his tongue, just waiting for the right moment.

The Portkey took them to a deep blue, glittering lake, the Alps – as perfect as in a painting – in the background. "Wow. Lake Constance," she marvelled. Southern Germany again – how unexpected. Lucky for them, the weather was sunny and hot, and she already yearned for the cool water of the lake to caress her body. The scenery, too, was fantastic, as picturesque as in a romance novel.

"Are you surprised?" Draco grinned like a small boy.

She nodded. "Oh yes. Where are we?"

"Not far from Konstanz, actually. It's an inside tip. Let's check out the water, what do you say?" he asked lightly.

She had anticipated that and was wearing her bikini underneath. They searched for a shady little spot and spread a blanket. Not many people were around, one family and two other couples, so it was rather quiet. She watched him slipping out of his Jeans and T-shirt; his skin was still quite pale, but that would probably never change, and, Merlin, the Quidditch training seemed to have paid off.

Suddenly, she felt very self-conscious and insecure of her body. Nonetheless, she removed her shirt and hot pants and held her chin up high, daring him to make snide remarks about her scars or anything else. But he just smiled and offered her his hand.

"Do you need a sun protection spell, before we go?" he asked.

She hadn't thought about that. Although she was an accomplished witch and loved magic, some things she just did the muggle way. "Er, no. I brought sun cream."

"Sun what?"

She blushed. "Sun cream. It's muggle." She pulled the bottle out of her bag. "See. I'll use it later."

He didn't seem appalled at all, rather like someone who tried to figure out a difficult puzzle. "Interesting. What does the number mean?" he asked, while they strolled down to the beach in their flip flops.

"It's the protection level. 30 is a bit higher than average. I have no need of a sunburn," she explained and put a toe in the water. It was still quite cool, but perfect for a hot day like this.

"Scared of water, Granger?" he teased, splashing some water in her direction. She shrieked accidentally and retaliated with running directly into the water, soaking him in the process. Together they swum around for about half an hour, then they went back to their blanket to dry.

"Your hair looks … interesting," he remarked. The water had straightened her curls a bit, but as soon as they were dry, she would look like her eleven-year-old self with incredibly bushy hair and no wonder witch products in sight.

"Arg," she groaned and tried to untangle it a bit, which only made it worse. "Please ignore the mess on my head."

He laughed heartily. "Deal." He stretched lazily and turned himself so he was lying on his back. "Which books did you bring?"

Oh, he knew her so well. "Some modern German playwrights, like Brecht[6] and Dürrenmatt[7], Hogwarts: A History – revised, and another one I have to read for work."

"Wow. Undetectable Extension Charm?"

She blushed crimson. "It's useful!"

"Lend me one?"

"Sure." She handed him Der gute Mensch von Sezuan.[8] A couple of minutes passed, but then he closed the book abruptly and asked. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," she answered mono-syllabically.

"But you are acting so… distant. What is it?"

"I really don't want to talk about it." He was so close she felt his warmth and smelled the sun on his skin. The Sun! "Shite, we forgot the suncream," she exclaimed. Quickly, she pulled it out of her bag and spread the milky cream over her arms, legs, and face. "Could you do my back?" she asked insecurely.

"Me?"

"Do you see another person standing around?" she asked dryly.

"But I've never done that!" he protested.

"It's only sun cream, Draco," she said, rolling her eyes.

He agreed hesitantly, "Okay." Seconds later, she felt his warm hands with the cooler cream on her back, massaging her slightly. It felt incredibly good. She wished he would never stop.

"Thanks," she mumbled shakily. "Should I help you?"

"Yes," he answered in a husky voice. The creaming seemed to have the same effect on him as on her.

Carefully, she put some sun cream on her palms and worked her fingers over his tense back. "Mhm," he moaned nearly inaudible. This sound did strange things to her, made her all soft inside.

Finally, they lay side by side, enjoying the sun. Thank Merlin, he had given up questioning her. A light breeze was easing the heat, and she felt herself drifting off.

Hermione woke slowly. Her head was resting on something warm and soft, but slightly moving. It felt very much alive. Abruptly, she opened her eyes and realised that her head lay on Draco's chest, one of his arms curled around her. She peeked through her lashes at his face, but he seemed sound asleep.

She had felt so safe, even in her dreams. What was he doing to her?

However, she didn't move and simply enjoyed the feeling of being held. Unfortunately, Draco woke not long after, stirring slightly, then his lashes fluttered open. Automatically, she put some distance between them and sat up. For some unknown reason she felt as if he had caught her doing something naughty.

"Hermione?" he asked, looking at her strangely.

"I …" she whispered, feeling the unnatural desire to curl back up next to him, to just feel his body next to hers, which was the last thing she should do. "I'm going for a walk." Quickly, she slipped into her pants and grabbed her wand. "Just stay here."

He didn't say anything nor did he stand up and follow her. She desperately needed to clear her head. The feelings inside her scared her to death. She wanted nothing but to run away, even though she knew only too well that there was no escape.

This whole trip had sent her into an emotional turmoil.

[1] Translations: This is your room, Miss Granger. – Your's is the adjacent room, Mr. Malfoy.

[2] Translation: Thanks.

[3] Translation: I wish you a pleasant stay.

[4] Town hall with the Golden Hall (famous for its paintings, murals, and golden wall decorations)

[5] A small district in the old town, originally built by the rich Fugger family for needy citizens (between 1514 and 1523). The houses are still in use today.

[6] Bertolt Brecht (born 1898 in Augsburg; died 1956 in East Berlin)

[7] Friedrich Dürrenmatt (actually a swiss author; lived 1921 – 1990)

[8] The Good Person of Szechwan, a play by Bertolt Brecht, written between 1938-1941 during his exile in Sweden and the U.S. In a nutshell, it's about the dilemma that you can't be good in a world that abuses your goodness (be good and possibly die in the end or behave selfishly and strive).