Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco. "And why do you ask that?"
"Well, we ARE friends now, aren't we? And friends do EVERYTHING together!" Draco said sarcastically.
"I didn't think we were that good of friends…" Hermione muttered. "But whatever. In any case, do YOU have anything in mind?"
"Actually, I was thinking of going to Hogsmeade to shop and have lunch there. Afterwards, we can come back and explore the new parts of the castle until dinner."
"Hmm." said Hermione. "That's actually not too bad of an idea. But we have to do this together?" she teased.
Draco rolled his eyes. "Let's just get to know each other, okay?"
"All right," laughed Hermione. "But we'll have to check if it's all right with Professor McGonagall, won't we?"
"Before you woke up, Smith and Weaslette told me we could go whenever we wanted. They had already apparated there and back before coming to our tower."
"Ginny," automatically corrected Hermione, though she felt another thrill run through her when he said, "our tower." She, however, dismissed it.
Instead, to avert his suspicion, she asked worriedly, "But nobody's allowed to apparate in and out of Hogwarts! It's so dangerous! And how would McGonagall have found the charm that allows only certain people to apparate in and out?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "You worry too much, Mione. Smith said side-along apparition doesn't work, so how dangerous could it be? And who cares about how McGonagall managed it. Just appreciate it!"
Hermione bit on her lip, and Draco waited for her reaction. "Well..." she said. "I guess it could be possible…"
Draco jumped off the couch. "Okay then! Now that you're done being my mother, let's go! See you at the Three Broomsticks!" With that, he disappeared with a little "pop."
Hermione took a deep breath. Are you sure about this? she asked herself. This probably isn't the best idea… but it will be the most fun I've had in ages!
Making up her mind, she envisioned the Three Broomsticks, and apparated.
The usual horrible sensation of apparition was still there, but it was barely noticeable. She landed in front of the Three Broomsticks, exactly next to Draco.
"To think, another step to the right, and I would've been squashed." teased Draco.
"Oh, shut up." said Hermione, equally playful. "Where do you want to go first?"
"I haven't had candy in the longest time," Draco said wistfully. "Honeyduke's?"
"That's exactly where I wanted to go!" exclaimed a surprised Hermione. What a coincidence! Okay, now, calm down.
So the two walked towards Honeyduke's , with Hermione feeling slightly ashamed. She was with Ron, wasn't she?
They spent the whole morning until lunchtime there, buying sweets and daring each other to eat the most disgusting candies. Hermione manfully swallowed a cockroach cluster, just imagining it as another source of protein, while Draco, after much mocking and playful insults to his manhood from Hermione, ate an acid pop. The resulting hole was quickly repaired by Hermione, and after that, the two left Honeyduke's laughing like madmen and lightly hitting each other amid guffaws.
Draco suggested a new café for lunch, called My Bloody Mary, and Hermione looked at him quizzically, asking why they didn't just return to the Three Broomsticks instead.
Looking at his feet, Draco replied, "Well, I don't think Madam Rosmerta will be happy to see me after… you know… what I did in sixth year." He looked utterly ashamed, and Hermione internally cursed herself for not being more sensitive and observant.
She tentatively reached out and touched Draco's right arm as the two walked in silence. "Hey. It's okay. I completely understand. Don't feel bad; I should've remembered."
Draco looked at her, his face defeated. He didn't even seem to notice her touch. "You must feel secretly ashamed to be seen with me, don't you? I mean, what would people think? The heroine Hermione Granger walking around with the Death Eater Draco Malfoy."
Aghast, Hermione very nearly shouted, "No! No! Absolutely not! Honestly, Draco, the war's over. You and your family have been cleared of all crimes, and I thought we had agreed to start over! Truly, I enjoyed talking to you last night, and what we were doing at Honeyduke's was a wonderful experience, too! Don't say things like that." she felt like crying, hearing his tired voice.
What she said seemed to make him feel better, though. "Thanks, Mione. Let's just go to lunch, then." Crooking his right arm, he used his left to gently move her hand down to rest above his elbow, and they walked this way until they reached My Bloody Mary, at which Draco opened the door for her.
The whole time, Hermione felt that her heart was going to jump out of her throat. What is wrong with me?! she wondered. To make things worse (or better), he lightly put his hand on her back when she was going in, as if making sure she would get safely in the door. And why'd he do that? she almost freaked out.
The inside was, like their dormitory, one color: red. The tables were made of red wood, the chairs were painted red, and even the lights were tinted the lightest shade of red.
"Whoa," Hermione said as they slid into a booth facing each other, "I can see why this café is called 'My Bloody Mary' now!"
"I'm glad you were able to realize this," Draco smirked. "Honestly, I never guessed that until you mentioned it!"
Hermione laughed. His smirk really was adorable when he was just teasing. She decided she wasn't going to try to stop herself from her internal commentaries from now on, or else it was going to be a very long year.
The waiter arrived with menus, and Hermione and Draco both asked for butterbeers. They went back to conversing as they had before, and Hermione was immensely relieved that the misunderstanding on the way to the café seemed well forgotten.
They ordered lunch a bit later, with Hermione asking for a small salad and Draco a serving of fish and chips. The food was wonderful, and they left My Bloody Mary feeling very content.
They apparated back to Hogwarts and immediately started to try and find their old classrooms. Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Herbology, and History of Magic were located exactly where they had always been, but the pathways leading to them had been altered a bit. However, it wasn't as if they would be in danger of getting lost on the way to class tomorrow. Hermione desperately wanted to see who the new Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers would be, and it was all Draco could do to keep Hermione from peeking into the classrooms.
"Oh please, please, PLEASE let me just slip in for a little bit, Draco! I'm sure they wouldn't mind as long as I don't draw attention to myself!"
Draco snorted. "Right. Because Hermione Granger would never draw attention. It's not like she's super famous or something."
"Please, please, PLEASE! I'll only be a moment!"
Draco chuckled. "Why don't you just wait until tomorrow? You'll survive until then, I'm sure. Why is it so important to you? It's not like you absolutely have to know…"
"But I WANT to!" Hermione cried desperately, trying to push past Draco, who was blocking the doorway to the Transfiguration classroom.
Draco sighed, and said, "Whiny, let's go outside and get some fresh air. You look like you're going to burst from wanting to go in."
"That's because you won't LET me in!" said Hermione as she again tried to get past Draco.
Without another word, Draco grabbed her by the hand, and started dragging her outside.
"Let go! Let go! I promise I'll never do it again if you let me just this one time!" They had almost reached the main entrance, and Hermione still had not calmed down.
Desperate, and not thinking, Draco said, "Why don't we go and visit Hagrid instead?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Draco regretted it.
But Hermione stopped struggling immediately. "Great idea, Drake! Let's go!"
Now it was her turn to drag Draco around.
As they slid down the grassy slopes towards Hagrid's hut, Draco protested vigorously.
"I was just kidding, just kidding, for God's sake! I can't go! The oaf hates me!"
"Oh, hush." reprimanded Hermione. "You said yourself it was time to start over, and Hagrid can forgive anyone. Don't be such a baby!"
Draco whimpered the whole way there, and Hermione realized that she was holding his hand. It felt easy and natural, however, like she was holding Ron or Harry's hand. She really didn't give a second thought to it. Now this is friendship. she thought, ignoring Draco's pleadings.
When they finally reached the front of Hagrid's hut, Hermione knocked on the door, Draco's hand still in her iron grip. She dragged him forward so that he was standing next to her as they heard Fang barking behind the door. When it finally swung open, Hagrid's beaming face changed to a shocked one as he asked, "Hermione, what the bloody Hell is he doin' here?"