June 1999

The stomach ache took over about an hour towards the end of the night. Ronald had chastised her for taking an unknown substance in the form of a drink from someone that she barely knew.

She had told him defensively that it had nothing to do with the tipple; it must have been the cheese that she had consumed with crackers afterwards, but her other half was having none of it.

"You can't trust a bloody Slytherin, Hermione." He had told her as they walked out of the Great Hall, attempting to grab onto her elbow as if to steady her.

"Honestly Ronald, I am quite capable of walking by myself-" she had huffed, trying to free her arm as gently as she could. Her stomach was no longer lurching, but the unsavoury feeling was being taken over by something else. Something she could not put her finger on.

"You don't know what was in that punch – it could have been anything-"

A swish of black and blonde seemed to stop them from making their exit.

Black and blonde with a flash of grey. It caused the feeling in her stomach to intensify a little and the figure of Draco Malfoy was almost too much to look at.

He had stopped to look at herself and Ron.

She had stopped, if only to rectify the feeling in her gut.

She braved a small smile, despite the mixture of feelings swirling in her gut. "Oh, hello Malfoy." She hoped that the blonde boy in front of her did not notice unease.

"Been a decent evening." His civil response was shown by a small not of the head. There was nothing but civility between them all these days.

The dimly lit room within the Ministry flashed before her eyes; a wide-eyed boy with a gunmetal gaze watching on as she took the stand to defend him.

At the time her words had seemed futile; the fate of Draco Malfoy was surely already set in the chains that he would be wearing on his way to Azkaban.

But she had been wrong. Her statement and Harry's declaration of Draco's unwillingness to formally identify Harry to Bellatrix Lestrange had been the key to Malfoy's eventual freedom.

And now, they were… well. They were acquaintances who nodded politely at each other in corridors and made small talk when confronted with each other's presence. Malfoy had given both her and Harry a genuine handshake and a thank you. That was all that was needed to finally settle seven years' worth of unrest between them all.

"Yeah, not been bad." Ron's deep voice brought her from her thoughts as he stood beside her. "Glad I stayed away from the punch though, I think someone spiked it."

Hermione only had a few seconds to catch the look on Malfoy's face before she was pulled away by her boyfriend. But what she saw there as she moved away was a knowing look.

She was obviously not the only one who knew what Theodore Nott had been up to that night.

January 2001

Hermione supposed it was inevitable that Ron would move on rather quickly after their impending break up. Both had agreed to stay friends, which they had. But it still hurt her slightly to see him on the arm of someone else and looking happier than he had for a long time.

Ginny had pulled her to the side one day as they sat in the corner of their local pub to simply just go out there and jump on the next man that walked through the doors.

Imagine Hermione's complete horror when none other than Draco Malfoy walked through those wooden double doors. Admittedly she had not recognised him at first; she had not seen him since the last day of school and although he still had his recognisable blonde hair, it seemed that his genetics had been extremely kind to him over the few years that he had disappeared off the face of the Earth.

Ginny spluttered and laughed beside her. "Oh, that is hilarious." She said teasingly. "Though to be fair, you literally would have to jump up on him… he's fucking huge!"

Hermione gulped down a few mouths of wine, feeling her cheeks flush. No. This was Draco Malfoy and she was not looking at him that way, even if an odd feeling did set alight in the pit of her stomach as soon as he walked through the door. He was probably still an arse.

"He's just come back with his Family from living in France." Ginny told her in a quiet voice next to her as she sipped her cocktail. "Lucius has been referred back to work with the department of inter-Muggle relations and is apparently working towards new laws to ensure that the term of Azkaban imprisonment is extended if Wizarding folks take advantage of non-Wizarding folk by magical means."

Hermione should have acted shocked, but she already knew this information.

She had been fully aware of the Malfoy's whereabouts for the last few years because she had been in contact with Lucius Malfoy on and off, in one way or another.

The first point of contact had certainly taken her by surprise, but she had taken it in her stride when she had received the letter on her office desk about eighteen months ago.

The letters had started as highly formal, asking her if he may enquire about the ways in which Muggles communicate with each other and how the Muggle banking system worked.

At first, Hermione could not bring herself to correspond, still feeling a sense of suspicion and il-feeling towards the older Malfoy. After all, they had spent seven years at different ends of the blood spectrum; him getting in touch with her now must have been out of sheer desperation on his part.

The breakthrough came when a letter arrived on her desk not from Lucius, but from Narcissa Malfoy. A woman who saved Harry's life in order to save her sons.

A woman who bravely changed the face of the war, allowing good to triumph over evil. And her words were wise enough for Hermione to give Lucius the one chance that he needed.

From there, their relationship grew slowly from professional to personal via letter correspondence. Lucius enquired about her health and how she was finding her job.

She had replied in kind and asked him how life in France had been treating him and his family.

A year and a half later, Hermione now knew more about the Malfoy's than her work partner did, and he knew a lot. Blaise Zabini was an absolute pain in her arse, but the more she had come to work with him, the more she found herself succumbing to his ridiculously friendly charms.

"He's looking over." Ginny whispered to Hermione, breaking her thought process and the room swam back into view. "He looks rather good in grey, doesn't he?"

Good God, talk about putting a girl on the spot. Hermione chanced a glance over, the grey coming into her view straight away. The man was so tall; certainly, taller than Zabini and Nott who had followed him into the pub.

He held an air of confidence that had never left him, and it only lead to a niggling sensation appearing in the pit of her stomach the longer she viewed him from over the top of her wineglass.

"Lucius got him in on the Auror program." Ginny told her in a hushed tone as Hermione viewed the way he stood tall with his shoulders set back, arms folded over his chest as he waited to be served at the bar and laughing at something Blaise had said to him.

"He started on Tuesday – Harry said he's top of his game; Theodore has been working alongside him – reckons they will end up partnering up."

The girls stopped to give a little wave to Blaise and Theo, just as Malfoy glanced back around and gave a small, raised eyebrow in their direction.

Hermione ignored that silly niggling sensation again, putting it down to the nerves of seeing someone that used to hate her suddenly becoming a bigger part of her social circle.

She tried to concentrate instead on the vision of Ronald walking into the pub five minutes after the boys, with a familiar, black-haired Witch on his arm.

Pansy Parkinson? Ronald Weasley was now dating Pansy Parkinson? She felt like her jaw was going to drop to the floor.

This was almost as shocking as Blaise catching feelings for Luna Lovegood; a crush that he had harboured for years, apparently.

A crush that he had yet to admit to anyone else, but Hermione had seen it happening straight away. She caught him off guard, and he liked it.

"Malfoy apparently dumped her about a year ago, but they're still really good friends." Ginny hissed into her ear. "She's actually quite nice when you get to know her; she has a wicked sense of humour."

She gave Ginny a small smile. She would try and sit there and be happy; she really would. But it was hard when her ex was moving on with another woman and now, she would have to sit there looking like she was enjoying their company.

Hermione took a deep breath and prepared for the onslaught as she saw three male bodies walking towards them. She saw nothing but slate as he made the slow descent towards her, and she sipped on her wine to give her mouth and hands something to do.

Nerves.

It was all nerves. Nerves of seeing an old acquaintance again for the first time.

That was all.

She just hoped that he did not see the way her hands started to shake slightly.

December 2003

Everyone shook the hand of Viktor Krum, welcoming him back and telling him that it was about time he did something about his pining crush on Hermione. It was their first official date and it just happened to be Harry and Ginny's nupitals that Hermione had decided to invite him along to as her date.

Everyone seemed happy to see him.

Everyone except Malfoy, for some reason.

No, Malfoy had barely glanced at him, opting instead to stand at the bar and drink his body weight in Ogburns finest and talk to Blaise and Luna about Quidditch and the inevitable extinction of Nifflers. He had not even stopped to say hello, his eyes never looking in her general direction.

The only altercation they had at all during the whole day had been at some point in the evening when Viktor had gone off to talk to Arthur Weasley about Egyptian pyramids.

She had felt him behind her before she glanced over her shoulder. She always knew when it was Malfoy; her body sensed him, for reasons that she could never quite understand.

"Finally bagged him, then?" His voice was rasping from the alcohol he had consumed, but she could tell without looking at him that he was looking at the side of her face from over her shoulder. "Took you long enough."

"What can I say?" She answered him in a casual tone. "I like to take my time."

She heard the smallest intake of breath from him, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end involuntarily.

"I bet you do…"

Not quite sure how to take that last statement, she took a quick glance at him from over her shoulder, taking in the steady gaze of his eyes and the thoughtfulness of his expression. She tried to ignore it and faced forwards again, blocking out the feeling weighing against her chest.

"I suppose you'll have a number of eligible women on your arm by the end of the night, judging by the amount of girls who have been drooling all over you all day."

And she knew he was smirking without even needing to look at him.

"You've been watching other women drool over me?" She felt him move the tiniest increment closer to her, his chest brushing against her back. "Didn't have you pegged as the jealous type."

"Merely an observation, Malfoy." She sniffed, but all she could smell was his aftershave and it took over his senses.

"A little too observant, if you ask me." And she knew from his tone that he was goading her. His hand grazed her elbow, causing her to shudder.

"There you are!" Came the very loud and dramatic voice of Theodore Nott, who presently scooped Hermione up under her elbowed and swayed her away from Malfoy and onto the dancefloor.

Malfoy could only watch on with a raised eyebrow as Theo made her dance along to 'The Macarena', swinging his hips in time with the music and keeping Hermione close to him.

She did not make eye contact with Draco again that night but seemed to recall seeing him shaking off every eligible woman who made a pass at him, choosing instead to leave the party alone.

October 2005

Hermione loved Friday nights.

It was precisely 10.30pm on Friday nights that she loved the most.

She would be with her friends having a drink, Viktor would be back in Bulgaria for dinner with his family and it would also be the exact time that Draco Malfoy would walk in through the pub door and tell anyone that would listen just how bad his date had been that night.

Theodore always looked thoroughly miserable, going off to the bar so that he could not hear his name being dragged through the mud, but it seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he always ended up pairing Malfoy up with horrendous women who were really not his type.

Draco accused him of doing it on purpose at first, to which Theo became morally offended. But as time went on, it became the running joke that any blind date that Theo set up would go catastrophically wrong.

It always did.

After this particular date, Hermione had snorted into her drink when Draco had detailed the lady telling him that she had a thing for blonde men and that she had a major crush on his father. Malfoy had looked at her and raised his eyebrow curiously.

"Something funny, Granger?" He asked her as he swallowed his whisky and loosened the tie around his neck. Slate; like his eyes.

She shook her head. "Oh no, nothing at all." She gave a small grin without looking at him. "I'm sure your father would love to hear that little story-"

"Don't you bloody dare." He told her warningly, pointing a finger. "I'll never live it down."

"To be fair, out of the two of you I think I'd prefer to give Lucius a go." Luna replied from beside Blaise.

The table erupted with giggles, apart from Malfoy who was clearly unimpressed.

"It's the hair." Ginny told the girl, earning a small shove in the shoulder from Harry.

"It is most definitely his manner." Pansy pointed out, Ron giving her a wide-eyed look. "I used to be scared to death of him, but I think if he chastised me now then he'd probably get me to say 'sorry, sir' in an instant."

"It's the cane." Hermione chimed in, all the men wrinkling their noses and groaning at her.

"Definitely the cane." Ginny agreed with a dramatic sigh. "Imagine the things he could do to you with-"

"For the love of God, do not go any further with that statement." Came Malfoy's threatening drone as he sat there like a petulant child with his arms crossed. "That cane is a family heirloom." He told them with a pointed look. "I don't need reminders of you lot wetting your knickers over it when I'm looking at it from the corner of my drawing room."

"It is a nice cane, though." Hermione said to no one in particular. She was right of course; the details were intricate, and it screamed of power and wealth.

She did not notice all eyes on her until it was too late.

"Like canes do you, Granger?" He asked in a low tone, his voice full of something she could not quite place.

She could only shrug, not knowing what to say. She knew what he was implying. She knew he was expecting her to flush and get embarrassed by her small outburst. But she had had a few wines, and the need to challenge Malfoy's usual goading of her had taken over her.

"Quite partial to them actually, as it goes." She answered, meeting his eyes in challenge.

She saw nothing there but surprise and something else. Something she felt was significant, but she could not place it.

"Well, consider me curious…" And he leaned forwards a little, his arms now on the table in front of him and his hands clenched as he looked at her. "Play with them a lot, do you?"

"According to Viktor, she's got a whole stash of toys that she's quite partial to in a little box under her bed." Ginny said to the table with a grin.

Harry and Ron groaned about not wanting to hear it. Theodore looked thoroughly mortified. Blaise and Luna whistled in appreciation and wanted to know more.

But Malfoy only stared at her. If he felt any particular way about Ginny's revelation of her then he did not let it show on his features; the only thing that gave away any expression was the ticking of his jaw as his eyes wondered for a second from her eyes, down to the dip of her neck.

"Got yourself a little box of secrets, Granger?" He finally asked, the whisper of a smirk on his lips. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you?"

"And I for one have no intentions of finding out what those secrets are." Theo announced, before blustering on about everyone buying another drink and changing the subject quickly.

But it was too late for Hermione at that point that night.

Because for the first time in a while, she had felt the natural pull of herself towards Draco Malfoy without trying to fight it every step of the way.

And God help her, she quite liked it.

April 2006

Hermione wore a dress that she could only describe as the same colour that she had worn to The Yule Ball. It hugged her figure perfectly and went in at all the right places.

The Malfoy's charity ball for Orphaned Wizarding children was a grand affair, but Lucius had insisted that Hermione could turn up in a binbag and still look charming.

Draco only glanced at her twice that night.

Hermione felt like her eyes landed on him more than they should have, making her feel guilty and making her cling to Viktor's arm more than she probably should have.

Theodore had been scolded by Blaise in the corner of the room. Luna had told her that he had apparently been in the Malfoy library without permission and the if Lucius found out then he would probably hex his bollocks off.

Now she knew why Draco was so fond of the term.

"Why was he in the library?" Hermione asked Luna with a raised eyebrow. "And why did he not think to ask me if I wanted to go?" She pouted then. "I love libraries."

Luna shrugged. "Not sure." She replied in that dreamy voice of hers. "Probably something to do with that Nexum Semper spell that he keeps reminding Blaise about every time he sees him."

Hermione frowned. "Nexum Semper?"

Luna nodded. "I think that was it, yes." She screwed up her nose, trying to remember. "Whatever it is, Theodore thinks he can find it in the library."

"It is a big library." Hermione had to admit. Though, the spell name … she had heard of that. Something very 'oldie-worldie', pre love potions and sexual attraction spells.

"Salivating over my books again, Granger?"

And then he was there, standing in front of her.

She really hated to admit it, but he looked bloody good in navy. He knew he looked good in navy. She hated that he knew he looked good in navy.

"No," She bit back. "Just trying to understand why Theodore is so desperate to get a chance to visit your library."

Draco shrugged. "Fuck knows, the mans a head case." She watched his eyes slip from her face to the top of her dress where her collarbones peeked out. "That colour reminds me of something-"

"Yule ball." Luna told him happily, sipping on her champagne. "It's the same colour dress that she wore to the Yule Ball at Hogwarts."

Hermione watched the man swallow. His frame shifted slightly, and his shoulders went back, adjusting himself to his full height. He suddenly seemed distracted by something.

"Yeah, must be it." And with one last nod and small glance in her direction, he walked off to the other side of the room, leaving her feeling highly bewildered.

"I'll never understand him." Hermione said in a small whisper, more to herself than anyone. "Not one bit."

"And I don't think the threads help very much." Luna's voice was just as small.

Hermione frowned and looked at her friend.

Luna looked back at her.

"Threads?" Hermione asked.

"Oh yes, definitely." And then with a brilliant smile on her face, the blonde practically floated across the room to attach herself to her boyfriend's arm.

May 2008

There was no use pretending anymore.

Her and Viktor could not continue on the way they were.

Her friends had consoled her. Had told her that she would be okay and that she was a strong woman who did not need a man to make her who she was.

There was only Draco who said nothing, choosing instead to look at her as if he were trying to read a closed book. She did not need a reaction from him.

She was not waiting to see what his reaction would be … but she could not deny that it stung a little when she realised that he was not going to give her one.

It was not until much later that night, once the drinks had been flowing and their friends had gone to either the bar, the toilet or to the seating area in the pub gardens that Draco finally let his feelings about her love life known.

"He wasn't for you." He told her with a slow drag of his beer, his eyes finding hers for a few seconds before dropping them again.

"And how do you know that?" She asked him, raising her eyebrow.

"Because you didn't glow with him." He sniffed and shifted in his seat. "When you're with the right person, you'll glow."

Glow?

Who was he to say who she looked right with? She was about to retort when Theodore came back to the table.

"Am I right, Theodore?" Draco slapped his friend on the back, causing him to spill his beer.

"You fucking tit, Malfoy, these are my new trousers." Theo moaned. "And You're never right, Draco. So probably not."

Draco scoffed and pointed at Hermione. "She didn't glow with whats-his-face."

Theo gave him a look.

"She looked happy enough. Let's change the subject, she looks uncomfortable."

And she was.

But she was now also intrigued by the fact that Theo was intent on changing the conversation every time Malfoy said something remotely interesting.

But the moment passed, and as her friends all returned to their seats, she was left wondering if their conversation had ever transpired at all.

September 2009

"He's an arse."

"Ignore him, it's your birthday."

"But he's still an arse."

"Has anyone noticed that Theodore is extra twitchy today?"

"Draco Malfoy is a massive arse."

It felt like her mantra, and she had to stick to it.

Because he was a massive arse.

But also looked breath taking in the muggle black jeans and black jumper he had worn to her birthday celebration that Friday night. She felt her palms sweating slightly as she looked at him, not wanting to draw attention to it but wow… the man looked good.

"What did he do that is worthy of him being called an arse?" Luna asked her as she studied her face in the bathroom mirror.

Hermione huffed. Nothing out of the usual, but when he was looking like that and she knew she should not be looking, it only made her have to direct her emotions to other outlets.

This usually meant that she had to call him a name or tell everyone that he was an arsehole.

"He doesn't have to do anything, he's just Malfoy." Hermione admitted as she applied her blush to her cheeks as Ginny and Pansy vacated the pub toilet.

"Oh," Luna answered with a shrug. "I thought it was because he had made you glow."

Hermione's head shot in her friends direction.

"He what?"

"Did you not know?" Luna asked, looking curious.

Hermione shook her head, not quite believing the conversation they were having. "I do not glow around Draco Malfoy."

"Oh, I'm afraid you do." Luna told her seriously.

"You're alight with it." And then she was walking towards the toilet door and grabbing the handle.

Before she pulled, she looked back at Hermione curiously.

"Do you remember the threads?"

Hermione had to think back, but yes.

Yes, she remembered that conversation. That conversation that confused the fucking life out of her.

"Yes, I remember?" What was going on here?

Luna gave her a smile.

"They're still there." She told Hermione, sure as anything. "Theodore's been trying to find a way to see them, I think."

And then she was gone.

And Hermione was sure that the girl had left her even more confused than she had been before.

June 2010

Hermione barrelled through the Grate in the dark, her breathing heavy and her focus fuzzy as she adjusted to her surroundings.There.On the couch.The sleeping form of a very drunk and very unconscious Theodore Nott.Oh, he was going to get a very rude awakening when he got back to the land of the conscious.A very rude awakening indeed.