Okay, so this one-shot idea came to me out of the blue as I was daydreaming on the night of September 8th as I was trying to fall asleep. I believe this is my first HP fanfic which doesn't have a physical appearance of Severus. This idea seemed very fluffy, so of course I had to write it down. I really hope you enjoy this story, and without further ado, let the show begin!

Hermione Granger rested her elbows on the metal barrier as she stared off into the ocean at the pier. It was a partly cloudy, party sunny day. Ron was at home, taking care of little Rose. Her husband had convinced her that she needed to take a day off, seeing how she was more stressed than she had ever been during exams about caring for her newborn. Rose Emmaline Granger-Weasley, as they had decided to name her, was quite a handful all on her own. She had inherited Ron's penchant for food, but she had also inherited Hermione's brains. That combination alone was very stressful when it came to what she ate. Thankfully, it was Ron who did most of the cooking. Hermione made the occasional egg or two, but in the end, Ron proved to be the real chef in the house. Molly had been so proud when she got wind of this fact.

Just a few days ago, Ginny had given birth to her second, Albus Severus. Hermione still couldn't wrap her head around why Harry would give his child such heavy-weighted names. Of course, she understood Albus, but Severus? It didn't make any logical sense to her. Yes, Severus Snape did end up being the one who sacrificed the most for the war effort, but he was still very, very horrible to Harry. In fact, she didn't even think that Snape himself would've appreciated having a Potter named after him were he alive. She reasoned that Harry was touched that Snape sacrificed so much to honor his mother's memory, but still. She worried about her nephew's treatment once he would start at Hogwarts, provided he showed any signs of magic. What would people say to him if they knew his second namesake was Snape? Many people still didn't like the man, even after Harry revealed said man's true side during the final battle. Some people outright loathed him, wishing they could resurrect him from the dead just so they could kill him again more painfully. As for Hermione herself, her opinion of him was neutral. She understood that being a spy for both sides took its toll, especially when you're also teaching and acting as a Head of House, but that still didn't excuse his awful behavior towards her, Neville, and Harry. She just hoped, wherever he was now, that he at least wasn't as surly in death as he was in life.

Percy had proposed to his girlfriend, Audrey, just last night. It was the resulting party that had left Hermione exhausted beyond words. It was also what prompted Ron to suggest the break. Her niece, Dominique, would be turning two next month while her younger brother, Louis, would be turning one in a week. George and Angelina were expecting a second child, but they didn't know the gender yet as Angelina was still very early in her pregnancy. The Healer they saw had told them that their child would be born sometime around April 2007, but he wasn't sure what day. George had told her how Fred, who was only three but already as mischievous as his father, was extremely excited about welcoming another member into their family.

As Hermione watched the waves calmly coming and going some feet beneath her, she felt grateful for this time that she got alone. Ever since she had gotten together with Ron and married him after finishing her N.E.W.T. exams at Hogwarts, she hadn't had the chance to spend some time by herself due to the largeness and rambunctiousness of the Weasley clan. Coupled with the load of work she had from the Being Division in the Ministry, she was very glad for this break.

"Granger? Didn't think I'd be seeing you here."

Hermione whipped around, her eyes narrowing as her features shaped into a scowl.

"I could say the same for you, Malfoy."

Shrugging his shoulders, the rat-faced blond walked towards the barrier and stood next to Hermione, mimicking her position.

"So?" asked Malfoy nonchalantly after a while. "How's life?"

"Why do you care?" Hermione shot back, her mood irrevocably ruined by the pureblood snob's presence. Her question was met with silence, which, for some reason, made Hermione even more irritated.

"Well?" she snapped.

Malfoy chuckled lightly as he rested his chin on his hands, training his eyes on the horizon ahead.

"It's a good conversation-starter, I guess," he replied. "But really, how's life? I genuinely want to know."

Glaring at Malfoy, Hermione distanced herself from him by a few feet.

"C'mon!" Malfoy whined. "Can't we have a normal conversation for once?"

"No," said Hermione angrily. "And besides, why would you want to talk with a Mudblood?" Her resulting sneer would've made Snape proud were he alive.

Hermione heard Malfoy sighing, and she looked to see him running a hand over his pale face.

"I'm sorry about that, you know. I realize now that calling you that word isn't the nicest thing to do."

Hermione rolled her eyes and crossed her arms as she turned to face him.

"You've only realized this now?"

"No," said Malfoy, shaking his head. "I realized this during my seventh year."

"After you became a Death Eater?" asked Hermione, sneering again.

"Look, I regret it. I really do," replied Malfoy somberly, slowly raising his hands up in surrender. "I didn't realize that, by becoming one of them, I had essentially sold my soul to that megalomaniac. To my father, who was in Azkaban, it was a great honor. Only my mother realized that he was looking to punish my father for failing to get the stupid prophecy. Then, she went to Snape, asked him for my protection, and, at my aunt's suggestion, made him take the Unbreakable Vow."

Hermione looked to the waves, letting out a breath she hadn't known she was holding.

"You tried to sell us out to Voldemort," she replied, her voice devoid of emotion. She pretended not to notice Malfoy's shudder at the name. "Even though you pretended to not recognize Harry, you still sold out Ron and me. You identified us back at Malfoy Manor. You stood there while Bellatrix was cutting into my arm."

"What was I supposed to do, huh?" snapped Malfoy defensively. "All I cared about at that time was that my mother and father came out of it alive! If it meant that you had to be killed, so be it! I just wanted to see my parents on the other side!"

"You could've gone to Dumbledore!" cried Hermione shrilly, stepping closer to the blond as she pointed an accusatory finger at him. "He would've offered your family protection! I know it!"

"Do you? Do you really?"

"Yes! Of course he would have!"

"How do you know, Granger?" Malfoy countered, sounding more and more venomous by the second. "You didn't know him personally. You didn't talk to him. Did you? No! In fact, I think the only student who ever did was Potter!"

"But Dumbledore was a good person! He was the leader of the Light! He always gave people second chances, even the people who were unworthy of them! Did you see him holding any grudges against anyone? No, you didn't!"

At that, Malfoy's expression turned blank. He turned away from Hermione and let out an audible sigh.

"I was an idiot," the blond quietly admitted after a while. "Dumbledore did offer me and my family protection, on the Astronomy Tower that night. But I was too naïve. I thought that the side my father was on would be the one that protected me. I thought that that was my chance to get my family back into his good graces. I hated Snape so much after that day, you know. I thought that he had stolen my chance, stolen my hopes and dreams of ever getting on his good side again. I hated my mother for asking Snape to protect me. I hated my father for screwing up so badly at the Ministry. I hated everyone that night, as Snape grabbed my arm and told me to run with the others, and I hated him again when Potter revealed his true side, realizing that he was a traitor this whole time. But then I mourned him once I realized he was never coming back. When he said that he had killed him three hours before, I was shocked. He had, quite literally, sacrificed himself for the world. If Astoria and I have a daughter, I plan to name her Severine."

"Astoria? Who's Astoria?" asked Hermione, the name feeling foreign yet familiar to her.

"My wife," Malfoy replied softly, a small, contented smile growing on his face. "She's the younger sister of Daphne Greengrass, a Slytherin who was in my year. Daphne's quite pretty, but she isn't as beautiful as Astoria, who was two years below us."

Hermione nodded, somewhat recognizing the name of the elder Greengrass.

"Our son, Scorpius Hyperion, was born almost four months ago," said Malfoy fondly after a few minutes. "Such a little thing, he is." He seemed to forget all about his and Hermione's earlier argument. "His hair, though, isn't the same color as mine. He inherited some of Astoria's color, too."

Hermione was left feeling very confused. Why had Malfoy changed the subject so quickly? Just a minute ago, they had been fighting over their positions in the war. Now, he was talking about his newborn son without any preamble? She hadn't even asked him, yet he was providing the information freely. To her. He was talking to her as if they were friends, when they were the total opposite. Deciding that it would be the smart thing to let her anger go just as Malfoy clearly had, she started talking about her own family to break the tension.

"My daughter, Rose Emmaline, was born three months ago," revealed Hermione. "Her hair color is also a mixture. It's a beautiful auburn with some brown streaks here and there. Ron was very proud of himself when he first noticed."

Malfoy's eyes seemed to light up a bit as he looked in Hermione's direction.

"Our children have something in common, then. Interesting." He lifted his hand to straighten his hair as the wind blew through it and messed it up, making Hermione laugh lightly. A long, companionable silence passed between them, and for once, Hermione felt calmer than she had ever felt before in her life. Even during her first year in Hogwarts, there was the Philosopher's Stone to worry about.

"Why did you come here, Malfoy?" asked Hermione suddenly.

"Hm?" Malfoy looked up, apparently pulled harshly from his thoughts.

"Why did you come here?" Hermione repeated.

"Oh," Malfoy replied. "Well, I needed to take a break, I guess. From being a father, from being a wizard, from being a Malfoy. Those things are difficult things to be, honestly. So I just looked up peaceful places I could go to in the Muggle world by exploring Muggle London, and it took me here, to Blackpool."

Hermione nodded, showing that she had listened to him.

"Why'd you come here, Granger?"

Hermione looked in Malfoy's direction, running a hand through her bushy hair.

"Same reason as you. To take a break from being a mother, from being a witch, and from being a Ministry employee. Ron was actually the one who suggested I take the day off. It took him a lot of convincing and pushing and prodding, though, before I finally gave in," she admitted sheepishly.

To his credit, Malfoy chuckled loudly, making Hermione's cheeks turn a very bright crimson.

"Can't say I'm surprised. On the other hand, it didn't take much for me to decide to take a break. Astoria was okay with it, though, so I'm not in trouble."

"I can't say I'm surprised either, Malfoy," laughed Hermione, knowing how the blond's own needs were close to the top of his list of priorities. They fell into yet another silence, both starting to feel the pull of sleep as they listened to the hypnotic sounds of the lapping water below.

Hermione started when she felt a light tap on her shoulder, and she quickly turned around, prepared to chew Malfoy off for starling her, but before she could even open her mouth, he pointed at a Muggle ice cream truck, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Want me to get us some ice cream? My treat."

To that, Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"You're being awfully nice today."

Smirking smugly, Malfoy replied, "I know, but it doesn't hurt, does it?"

"No, I guess not," sighed Hermione, and she started following the former Slytherin to the truck.

"You'll have to help me, though," Malfoy whispered conspiratorially as they got closer. "I don't really know how Muggle money works, but I've got some in my pocket after making an exchange at Gringotts."

"All right," Hermione whispered back, finding it quite ironic that Malfoy was asking her for assistance.

"Hi," said Malfoy to the vendor once the pair reached the truck. "I'd like to get two ice creams."

"A'ight," said the vendor, who, strangely enough, looked a lot like Ron. He had red hair, but he wasn't as lanky as her husband. He was stockier, his hair was shaggier, and he had no freckles on his face.

"You can look at the menu," the vendor continued, gesturing to the chalkboard on the right. "Additional toppings will cost an extra two pence."

Malfoy nodded, showing that he was listening.

"Right," said Malfoy after a moment. "I'll have a vanilla ice cream with...em and em's?"

"All right," said the vendor nonchalantly, taking out a notepad and starting to jot down the order. Hermione looked between the two of them, sensing that Malfoy was, in reality, confused as to what exactly he ordered. She realized that she would need to handhold him throughout the process, and she turned to the Ron look-alike and addressed him.

"Excuse me...Rupert?" asked Hermione as she squinted at the name tag on the vendor's chest.

The vendor, Rupert, looked up at Hermione.

"Yes, that's my name."

"Could you, um, excuse us for a second?"

Rupert smiled a friendly smile and replied, "Of course, ma'am. Take as much time as you need to. I won't be going anywhere."

Smiling back, Hermione took Malfoy's arm and subtly dragged him far enough from the truck that the vendor wouldn't hear them. For good measure, Hermione nonverbally cast a Muffliato Charm.

"Malfoy, do you know what M&M's are?"

Hanging his head as if in shame, Malfoy muttered, "No."

"Do you need me to explain to you what the toppings are?" asked Hermione kindly.

"Some of them," admitted Malfoy. "I recognize the ice cream flavors, though. Father took me to Fortescue's enough times in Diagon Alley."

"Okay, ask me about any candy, and I'll tell you about it."

Nodding, Malfoy turned his head towards the chalk-written menu as Rupert started to take care of another customer.

"What are Reese's Pieces?"

"It's a candy with peanut butter," answered Hermione. "Personally, I don't like them too much, but lots of Muggles love them. They come with an orange wrapper and have a coin-shaped chocolate inside a wax cup."

"Interesting," said Malfoy.

After that, Malfoy asked about M&M's, Heath Bars, Snickers, Twix, and Twizzlers, and Hermione gave him a thorough but concise explanation about each sweet. By the time they were finished talking, Malfoy seemed more confident in his knowledge of Muggle sweets, and on that note, Hermione took them both back to the ice cream truck.

"Took you long enough," said Rupert, chuckling.

Laughing, Hermione replied, "It's nothing, just needed to explain to my friend here that eating every single sweet will do wonders to ruin his health."

Malfoy glanced sharply at Hermione, but he played along and added, "Yeah, I've got a bit of a sweet tooth."

Still chuckling, Rupert said, "Okay, then. What'll it be?"

"I'll order first," said Hermione before Malfoy could do anything, hoping to subtly teach the wizard how to order an ice cream from a Muggle properly.

"I'll have a vanilla cup with strawberries and a Heath Bar."

"Got it. And you, sir?" asked Rupert, turning to Malfoy.

Smiling, Malfoy went with his original order with the addition of rainbow sprinkles.

"What size will it be?"

"I'll have a small," Hermione replied.

"I'll have one, too," Malfoy added.

"All right! I'll have them out for you in a minute," Rupert replied cheerfully, and he set out to make the ice creams. While Rupert wasn't looking, Hermione turned to Malfoy, smiled, and held a thumbs-up.

"You did a good job with the order, Malfoy."

"And you did a good job with the teaching, Granger."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, and Malfoy looked like he was about to burst out laughing.

"What?" asked Hermione, slightly indignant.

"It's—it's just that I've never seen you shrug before!" Malfoy replied, still holding in his laughter.

"Here you are," said Rupert from inside the truck, effectively ending Hermione and Malfoy's conversation. He held out two ice cream cups with spoons, and Hermione took both of them while Malfoy rummaged around in his pockets for money.

"Three pounds eighty-nine," said Rupert.

"Right," replied Malfoy. He whipped out a 5-pound note, and his eyes flitted to Hermione's. Realizing Malfoy was silently asking if he was doing this correctly, Hermione gave an imperceptible nod.

Malfoy handed the money to Rupert, who counted out the change and handed it back to Malfoy. The Slytherin then unexpectedly dropped all the change back into the tip jar, which made Rupert's eyes widen comically.

"Um…." began Rupert uncertainly.

Malfoy suddenly looked mortified as he said, "Oh! Um—well—I—"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm not upset," assured Rupert. "It's just...wow. I never received tips over a pound before. Just...well…thank you so much, mate."

"Oh, no problem," Malfoy replied nonchalantly even though he clearly didn't know what was going on. "Have a good day, Rupert."

"You too...um…."

"Draco," said Malfoy, holding out his hand. Rupert shook it.

"Well, hope you have a good day too, Draco. Cool name!"

Malfoy smiled. "Thank you."

As Hermione and Malfoy started walking away from the truck, Rupert called out, "Hope to see you again sometime!"

"Same here, Rupert!" Malfoy called back, looking genuine as he smiled a charming smile. The pair returned to where they were originally standing, and Hermione handed Malfoy's ice cream cup to him. He picked up the white plastic spoon and spooned some of the confection into his mouth. As soon as he put his spoon inside, he closed his eyes in apparent bliss.

"Mmm, this is better than Fortescue's."

"It is?" asked Hermione as she started chewing a strawberry mixed with milky vanilla.

"Duh M&M shtuffish brilliant!" said Malfoy, his mouth full. "Ashtoria wush right!" He smiled brightly as he took another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth.

"Wow, Malfoy, you really have changed," said Hermione. "I never imagined that you'd like Muggle food that much."

Swallowing and clearing his throat, Malfoy replied, "Me neither, Granger. The chocolate isn't as good as Honeydukes though, but it's up there. The sprinkles are also a bit chalky. A bit too sweet for my liking."

"This is why I get strawberries and a Heath bar," concluded Hermione. "The strawberries are always a bit tangy, so it'll always counter the sweetness of the chocolate and vanilla."

"Smart as ever, Granger," snorted Malfoy.

"Why, thank you, Malfoy," answered Hermione smugly.

Hermione was pleasantly surprised by the outcome of Malfoy's appearance at the pier. What she thought would be a nice, quiet hour by herself had turned into an hour of arguing, reconciling, and then having ice cream with Draco Malfoy, her, Ron, and Harry's nemesis at school. The change she saw in him was also nice. He was no longer degrading towards Muggles and Muggle-borns as shown by his behavior, and he was also a lot less prejudiced than before.

Once they finished their ice creams, Malfoy offered to throw the cups away, and Hermione gave her cup to him. When Malfoy returned, Hermione decided that she was through holding grudges and turned to the Slytherin.

"Malfoy, we haven't had the best history," began Hermione tentatively.

Nodding slowly, Malfoy said, "No, we didn't."

"And," Hermione continued, "I've decided that I'm through holding grudges. We are grown, matured adults, and I think we should start over. What do you say?"

It was for a while that Malfoy seemed to deliberate over Hermione's question. She was about to retract her offer when Malfoy flashed her a wide smile and held out his hand.

"Hello, there. The name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy. What's yours?"

Grinning at the fact Malfoy accepted, Hermione took his hand as she replied, "Granger. Hermione Granger. Pleased to meet you."

"Same with you," replied Malfoy as they shook hands vigorously.

"There," said Hermione. "Our relationship is a blank slate. Let's make a better go of this this time around, shall we?"

Malfoy smirked as he replied, "We shall. I've got to go now, but it was actually nice seeing you for once."

"Likewise," replied Hermione. "The ice cream was delicious, by the way. Thank you."

Malfoy gave a small nod and a "You're welcome," as his answer. As he started walking away, he shouted, "See you around, Granger!" with a wave. Hermione responded by giving a little wave back.

"You too, Malfoy!"

Hermione watched his retreating form as it grew smaller and smaller, feeling thoroughly satisfied at how her trip to Blackpool turned out. It had never occurred to her that Malfoy could be such a gentleman when he wanted to be. It had also never occurred to her that she'd be capable of forgiving him.

"Well, never say never," she chided herself. As she prepared herself to Apparate back to her home in Hertfordshire, all she could think about was how Ron would react once she told him of her surprising, yet satisfying, reconciliation with the one and only Draco Malfoy.

FIN.