"I know you tend to act before you think, but this is three Knight Bus stops and a floo beyond serious."

"Aw, Harry," Ron checked out the superficial damage to his face in the glass encircling his friend's office, "can't you cut your old mate a little slack?"

"No. This was reported, and I made the call. If only you hadn't done it in a public place... No, even then if I'd seen it, I would have had to take action."

"You mean you'd arrest your best friend?"

"Maybe if you acted like you were still him!" When Ron stared at him agog, he continued, "First of all, friends don't cheat on friends. I'm talking about Hermione, by the way."

"C'mon, a little hanky-panky on the road isn't really cheating."

"Actually, it is. But that isn't against the law. Using harmful magic—damn it, Ron, I'm going to have to turn this case over to someone else or any outcome will be suspect."

"Huh, who'd've thought that the Harry Potter snuck around Hogwarts under an invisibility cloak would turn out so straight and narrow?" The redhead leaned back in his chair and sneered.

"I grew up, Ron, and so should you."

"Our big hero—'The-Boy-Who Lived'. What a joke you are, dealing with petty squabbles like this."

"Yes, well, once the Death Eaters got more or less under control, the job is like this. No thanks to you, I might say."

"Too bad you didn't get drafted for a team like me," he mocked. "Then you might be a little less boring. You're no worse than a lawyer."

"Speaking of which, I see that yours has arrived. I'll let you speak with her while I make my report and pass on the case."

"Well, that was unexpected," Draco commented as they strolled Diagon Alley in the wake of Ron's public meltdown.

"And not particularly a pleasure."

"Agreed." Draco's glance roved the area. "Since I would prefer to keep intact my reputation for excellent first dates—not that I am assuming this is one—would you care for some dessert?" Tilting his head towards Fortescue's, he smiled at her nod of agreement. Some minutes later, he admired the way she was using the shop's largest ice cream sundae to banish the last of her anger. Almost fearful of turning that ire upon himself, he still asked a necessary question, "So, are you going to tell me what was in your stack of letters?"

"A mixture of 'How daring!', 'You two look great together', and 'What in the hell were you doing with the ferret?'" Hermione stabbed her spoon into the bowl again, hoping that the twenty-five hundred calories of frozen delight would cool her temper without an accompanying brain freeze.

"Let me guess. Potter's was the last one."

She snarled at her most recent encounter with 'The Chosen One' before teasing, "Admit it, you were a very cute ferret."

Draco tugged one of her curls out of the ice cream. "Yo, what man wants to be called cute?"

"I was talking about the furry you, not the human you," she laughed, looking up. "Actually," she paused, "even with your froufrou earring, you are one of the handsomest wizards I've ever seen."

"One of? Give me a break, Granger."

"No can do." She waved her hands around, chocolate sprinkles flying as she still held the spoon. "If I complimented you any more, your head wouldn't fit through the door."

"Then I'd just apparate, floo, or portkey," he tossed back.

"Speaking of magic," she held out her hand, "may I see your wand?"

He wiped said hand with a magically moistened napkin before slowly proffering it. "Are you planning to make a citizen's arrest?"

"No." Her eyes examined the wood closely. "This is a new one."

"Yeah. Potter gave mine back after the war, but it didn't feel right. I visited Ollivander's after all the legal hoopla and purchased another."

"Hmm," she waved it, "birch wood and…?"

"Unicorn hair."

She narrowed her eyes at his head then grinned. "He must have been trying to match your hair colour. Aren't you special?"

Draco ignored her attempt at humour. "So special that the old man had to send me to his Hogsmeade branch, as none of the Diagon Alley wands would choose me. Now that definitely made me feel wanted. Not."

She handed it back. "Stop denigrating yourself. You just presented a challenge with all of your life experiences."

"Some of which I would rather have skipped."He sighed and rolled up his left sleeve. "This damn thing will never disappear."

Hermione gently outlined the dark mark with her forefinger. "But it has faded considerably. And you don't seem the kind to wear short sleeved shirts anyway."

His eyebrows rose and fell salaciously. "There are other reasons to bare my arms, Granger."

Her blush rose to her hairline before she returned her attention to the rapidly melting ice cream. "Well, if any witch gets that far with you, she's pretty sure to know your history."

Braying laughter startled her. "Granger, your mind is so in the gutter! I was talking about bathing."

"No, you weren't!"

He shook his head at the light-hearted repartee. "Have you finished making me feel cold by eating that?"

"You were the one to suggest it," she protested as she scraped the last of the chocolate before setting the spoon aside.

"I was indicating the patisserie portion of the store, but what you selected seems to have turned the trick."

"It was considerate of you to offer, after my past spoiled the meal," she said while taking his arm in the street.

A pale eyebrow rose as they strolled towards the Leaky Cauldron. "Forget the Weasel," he ordered.

"Love to. Aren't we going to apparate back?" she asked when he headed to the Muggle entrance.

"I thought I'd show you an alternate route." They emerged into crowded London. "Last minute holiday shoppers," he bit out as he dodged pedestrians. "I bet you finished yours before the end of November."

Hermione blushed. "More like the end of September."

Draco cracked a laugh." That's the organized muggleborn from Gryffindor that I remember." He leaned over after they turned a corner into a slightly less congested road. "The tan stone building at the corner of the next block?"

"What about it?"

"How many stories do you see?"

Eyeing him as if he had a screw loose, she replied, "Ten."

"Muggles only see eight. We occupy the top one, and the one below is my secondary office."

"Oh!" She narrowed her eyes as she scrutinized the structure. "Half muggle and half magic? How did you manage that?"

"A combination of wards and runes. Magic doesn't affect electricity in the lower floors, and you may have noticed that I have adapted muggle technology to work in the upper ones."

"Ingenious. Mr. Weasley would love to visit, but he would probably break everything he examined." Hermione laughed. "He still thinks of muggles as slightly bright children."

Draco shook his head. "How he retains that position in the Ministry I will never understand."

"Not to worry," she patted his arm as they neared the building, "his deputy is muggle-born and has loads of plans for after his retirement."