A/N: Two chapters in one week? - I know what you're thinking, I'm spoiling you. BUT I'll be away for at least one and a half weeks, so this fluffy Dramione piece is supposed to make it up to you! ;)

Many thanks to Cecelia Everhart who betaed this chapter. And, of course, virtual cookies to everyone who reviewed. I greatly appreciate it, even if I don't reply personally!

Enjoy!

19. It's in her kiss

Hermione was sitting on the breakfast table together with Ginny, Harry, and the kids on Sunday morning. It was her last day before she had to start working again. For a while, she chatted easily with her friends, but, somehow, every now and then her thoughts wandered off to yesterday's afternoon at Malfoy Manor. Narcissa had been so open and kind, it seemed she suspected something. Lucius, on the other hand, hadn't shown up at all, barricading himself in his office. She hadn't minded too much; after all, she couldn't imagine ever liking the man, who had dragged his own son into this whole mess with Voldemort.

"Earth to Hermione," Harry interrupted her thoughts.

"Mhm?" she murmured absently.

"Ginny just said she wants to name the baby Tom Marvolo," Harry deadpanned.

"Wonderful idea – what?" She looked up.

They both grinned at her. "What were you thinking about?" Harry teased.

"Oh, nothing."

"Draco?" Ginny speculated dryly.

Hermione bit her lip, which was as good as a confirmation.

"Wow, this is serious between you two?" her red-haired friend asked.

"Mhm … maybe," she mumbled insecurely. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched them exchange meaningful looks. "What?"

"When were you planning on telling us?"

She looked at them apologetically. "On the next family dinner."

"So, you've thought this through?" Harry asked, a hard edge in his voice.

Cautiously, she looked into his green eyes, but his face gave nothing away. "Yes.", she admitted finally. "I can't help my feelings, Harry, and it's driving me crazy. But for the first time in months, years, I feel …" She shook her head, not knowing what to say. "I know what he did, but I trust him. I trust him, although I should know better, and … I can't explain it properly."

Ginny smiled a mile wide; Harry, however, pulled an unhappy face. "Malfoy, really?"

"Mhm-mhm."

"I think it's great!" Ginny said enthusiastically. "You look so radiant. He has to be good for you."

"He makes me laugh and enjoy life again. I think I've fallen head over heels for him," she confessed, nervously eying Harry.

His eyes softened when he met her gaze. "I've told you before: If you think he's good enough for you, then he is good enough for me, too," Harry murmured, patting her hand reassuringly. "But that doesn't mean that I won't curse him if he hurts you." There was a serious undertone in his gentle voice, and she knew he meant it.

Hermione smiled faintly. She didn't need him to be so protective, but it felt nice, safe.

"Mione, do be careful! None of us would've thought that Viktor'd be capable of…" Ginny's voice trailed away.

"Have you told him?" Harry whispered, scrutinising her.

She bit her lip and focused back on her toast. "No."

"But you will, won't you?" Harry dug deeper. She could feel his stern gaze x-raying her.

He doesn't understand, Hermione thought. For him, it might be easy to tell Ginny his darkest secrets, but for her it was not. What if Draco would leave her? "It's too early. I think he already suspects something, but …" she let her voice trail away.

"Hermione. You can't lead a relationship based on a lie," he said softly. Quickly, she focused her eyes on her plate to avoid meeting his intense look. She knew she would find so much compassion in it, But that didn't change the fact that he didn't understand. He knew about it, but that didn't equal knowing how it felt.

"I'm not lying, just omitting information," she defended herself. "And you won't tell him!"

They exchanged another look. "If you are prepared for the drama…?" Ginny finally murmured.

"Dunno. We'll see on my birthday party at the burrow, won't we?" She shrugged. "Harry, James normally doesn't have blue hair, does he?" she smoothly changed the subject. Little James had become bored in his chair and had used his magic to gain some attention.

"Jamie!" Ginny exclaimed, and Harry jumped up to fix it while Albus laughed happily and used the inattentiveness of his parents to throw his food on the ground.

With their children to keep them occupied, Harry and Ginny luckily dropped the subject, and Hermione was careful not to bring it up again for the rest of the morning.

Draco had breakfast with Blaise in Diagon Alley since he had to run some errands there. But his thoughts constantly wandered off to yesterday afternoon. The tea at the Manor had gone well, but, before they could leave, his father had ordered him into his office like he was a naughty, wayward child. Draco had stayed and sent Hermione home, on the excuse that his mother needed his help with something.

Lucius had been fuming with rage, pacing to and fro. Narcissa had unfortunately let it slip that the relationship between Draco and Hermione seemed serious, which was something he wouldn't accept. His father had rambled on that she wasn't good enough for him, that he wasn't going to allow him to marry her, and that he would disinherit him if he would try. Not that Draco cared.

He would never again let his father dictate his life. But it was still his father.

"So, you summoned me here to not talk to me?" Blaise interrupted his dark thoughts. "Is it about Thursday?"

Draco shook his head. "No, not really. It's about my father…"

"What does he want?"

Draco shrugged and looked up. "Could you do something for me Blaise?"

His friend's charcoal eyes narrowed. "Depends."

"I need you to find out more about Viktor Krum," Draco admitted slowly.

"Why?"

"I think … he cheated on Hermione. There's something fishy in their relationship, but I can't put my finger on in." He shifted uncomfortably. "Daphne'd said something on Thursday which completely freaked her out. She scared me to hell."

"What did she say?" Blaise growled.

"That I'd hurt her … deliberately, like Viktor did." His slender fingers played with the hem of his shirt. "So, I think he might've cheated on her."

"Makes sense," Blaise muttered. "But how do you expect me to find that out?"

"I don't know, mate. I can't ask her and I won't ask Potter. Maybe Tracey can help you since she has access to the archives."

Blaise snorted. "Oh yeah, she is so going to help me finding out about cheating lovers. She didn't look at me the whole evening."

"So, that's what happened? You cheated on her?" Draco asked, frowning.

"Well, not quite. But I made a mistake, and she'll never forgive me," he said in a hard voice, and, as much as he tried to hide it, Draco could still detect guilt and sadness in his eyes. Draco knew, though, that his friend wouldn't tell him about it, so he dropped the subject.

"Try asking her anyway, okay? That's all I want."

"Mhm," Blaise grumbled, but nodded.

Jerkily, he tilted his head. "Tell me, if you liked her, why did you screw it up?" Draco asked point-blank.

"I didn't …" Blaise clenched his teeth. "We're not here to talk about my failed relationship."

"Fair enough," Draco succumbed. "I just don't know how to handle ..."

"Since when am I the relationship expert?" Blaise rolled his eyes. "You've got it bad, mate."

"I know," Draco sighed.

"When will you tell her friends?"

Draco groaned. "Next Sunday. It's her birthday and the Weasleys are throwing a stupid party at the Burrow. I can't believe I've agreed to this. They'll probably murder me without hesitation, and I'll be buried secretly in the backyard."

Blaise chuckled. "I'd like to watch that. But don't worry, she won't let that happen."

"That's scaring me even more."

"You should've thought about that before you courted her, Draco. Now it's too late." An amused laugh escaped him.

Draco growled deep in his throat, but his friend was right. "I need to go. See you at work tomorrow," he said jumping up.

"And I'll just pay for you or what?"

Draco grinned. "Thanks." Then he headed down Diagon Alley.

The week passed quickly; both Draco and Hermione had to work, and, although they met for lunch and in the evening, Draco still felt that he hadn't seen enough of her for the whole week. Unfortunately, they were both busy on Saturday; Draco had to stay at the office and Hermione had to rewrite some papers. However, they met up in the evening at Hermione's place.

"I've made us dinner," Hermione's voice welcomed him, when he entered her apartment.

He stepped into the kitchen, and the savoury smell of Pasta hit him.

"You shouldn't've cooked. You must've been busy the whole day," he said softly. His girlfriend turned around, cheeks flushed and a dazzling smile on her face.

"Draco!" Before he could react, she hugged him and pulled his head down for a gentle kiss.

"Are you okay?" he asked surprised.

"Yes. I'm just happy to see you," she beamed.

A warm feeling spread out in his chest; he felt so happy he could barely breathe. Hermione was very careful with her demonstrations of affection, and he himself had never really learned how to do that. His parents had barely hugged him, and, although he remembered that his mother used to tell him she loved him when she put him to bed, it had changed when he became older. It had taken him a long time with Astoria to simply hold her hand or tell her he loved her. And it still wasn't easy for him.

"Me, too," he smiled, stealing another sweet kiss from her. "What are you cooking?"

"It's a special recipe from my mother. Wait and see," she grinned back and hurried to the stove.

He nodded and started setting the table. Within minutes, the food was ready. "I thought I should impress you with my cooking skills. We can't order dinner every day," she explained smiling and piled spaghetti on his plate.

"I can cook next time," he offered and took a bite. Of course, it was delicious.

"If you want," she agreed self-consciously.

He watched her carefully. A worried frown had crept onto her forehead. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

She pulled a face. "No. But Harry and Ginny know. They'll help us."

Draco nearly choked on his pasta. "What? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked, coughing.

"I must've forgotten. Sorry Draco," she apologised quickly.

He nervously searched her gaze. "What did Wonder Boy say?" He knew that Potter's opinion meant more to her than any of the other's.

"Stop calling him that," she scolded, but a little smile took the edge out of her words.

"Fair enough. What did he say?"

"He's okay with it if it makes me happy," she said, avoiding his eyes.

Draco couldn't believe it. "You're sure?"

"Yes. Ginny's happy for me, as well. But Harry might still threaten you not to hurt me," she mumbled, blushing furiously.

"That'd be so cliché." Draco rolled his eyes. As if Hermione couldn't take care of herself. She would probably hex his balls of if he cheated on her or so.

She winced. "I'm sorry."

"Did he do the same to Viktor?" he asked casually, and she tensed up at once. Wrong question, apparently.

"I don't know. When Viktor and I started dating, Harry had his own problems. He wasn't so fiercely protective of me then."

"What changed?"

Hermione shrugged. "My break up."

He didn't want to push her further and destroy the evening. "This dinner is delicious," he praised, changing the subject.

"And you haven't even tried desert." A mischievous smile played across her lips.

"There's desert?"

She grinned even more wickedly, but didn't answer.

After they had finished the food, Hermione charmed the plates to wash themselves up in the kitchen and summoned chocolate and strawberries. "Muggle sweets, I presume," he said, eying the chocolate.

"Wait!" she stopped him, when he reached for it.

Surprised, he looked up. She suddenly sat very close to him, more self-confident than usual, and took a strawberry. Slowly, she raised it to her mouth, kissed it with her lips, and then took a bite. His breathing stopped. Then she leisurely leaned forward and kissed him with her strawberry lips. She tasted sweeter than ever, like strawberries and sunshine.

"I think I like the desert," he whispered against her lips.

"I knew you'd say that."

Next up: Weasley family dinner...

Please review!