Sorry it took so long to update, been busy. Plus I've been developing a few new ideas...so expect a new fic out soon! Alright, here's the latest installment! Enjoy!

Chapter 7

[Previously]

She opened her eyes and saw Eric had been pulled out of the booth roughly. He was now sprawled on the ground, with an empty shot glass by his ear. She looked at the young man laying on the dirty ground, groaning in pain, and wondered who had been her savior. She looked up and saw...

[End]

"Harry? Ron?" Hermione asked in disbelief.

"You better keep your hands off our friend, or things will get real ugly, real soon," Ron threatened. Hermione felt tears welling up in her eyes. Here were her two best friends, defending her like she was their sister. She loved her friends so much...in a brotherly-friendly kind of way...

Harry helped Hermione off the ground, and put his arms around her, much like he did to protect her from Dementors in their third year. Hermione embraced Harry back, and tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. Ron, meanwhile, continued to threaten Eric in a low threatening voice. Ron, then turned, and his eyes turned from pure anger and loathing, to sympathetic sweetness as he looked at Hermione.

Ron stood on the other side of Hermione, and he and Harry helped her out of the bar.

"You OK, Hermione?" Harry asked, once they were out on the street. Smoke billowed from the chimneys of the stores, and window shopping witches and wizards roamed the street, chatting excitedly.

"I'm alright...now. But how did you guys find me?" Hermione asked, as they turned down the path, headed towards the beginning of the street.

"You're not going to believe us...but Malfoy told us!" Ron exclaimed.

"And I quote, 'Your dear little Granger is being taken advantage of as we speak, so unless you want to let that happen, you'd better get your sorry arses down to the Three Broomsticks," Harry said verbatim of what he had been told.

"Draco told you where I was? I didn't even know he knew where I was, much less cared," Hermione said.

"Sounds a bit fishy to me," Ron said aloud. Sure he knew he was a little dense, but he wasn't dense enough to see someone trying to take advantage of another person. He wasn't quite sure of Draco's intentions, so he vowed to keep an eye on him.

Meanwhile, the young man in question leaned against a wall down the street, staring at the trio coming towards him. Harry and Ron instinctively slowed, not wanting to engage their 'enemy.'

At the sight of the slender Slytherin, Hermione's mind reeled. How did he know where she was? Why did he care? And finally, Hermione remembered that she had promised to take him to find some supplies for his project. Hermione stopped and turned to look at her friends.

"Harry, Ron, thank you guys so much for helping me out back there. I don't want to seem ungrateful, but I should go. I need to talk to Malfoy. But don't worry, I won't be caught defenseless this time," Hermione said, pulling her wand out of her robes and waving it slightly in the air. Harry and Ron looked at each other, and then nodded. Hermione smiled, giving her two best friends a hug, then dashed down towards Draco.

"You think she'll be alright?" Ron wondered aloud once she was out of earshot.

"I'm pretty sure. I'm not trying to go soft or anything, but...I think I trust Malfoy a little more now..." Harry said in a low voice. Ron gaped at his friend. Since when had his best friend start to trust their enemy? Ron couldn't help but chuckle.

"Oh shut up, Ron," Harry said, punching the red head lightly on the arm.

"Oi, let's go check out Fred and George's shop! He owled me a few days ago and said they had a new product to show us," Ron said excitedly. Harry grinned and the two started briskly walking in the direction of Ron's twin brothers' joke shop.

Hermione slowed to a walk as she neared Draco, who watched her the whole time. When she finally stopped, she was a few feet away from him, standing there awkwardly. They were silent, and the only noise between them was the sound of Hermione's breathing.

"How...how did you know I was in trouble?" Hermione ventured.

"Instinct," Draco said numbly, shrugging his shoulders against the wall.

"I'm serious! How did you know he was going to pull something?" Hermione persisted. Draco sighed.

"When you dropped your books the other day after he asked you to sit with him, he gave me a dirty look and said you were his. Besides Granger, it's not like you're not the new catch in school," Draco said, turning and walking away. Hermione jogged to catch up.

"What do you mean the 'new catch'?" Hermione questioned, pulling him around to face her. She was thoroughly confused at this point, and she was beginning to get annoyed with Draco's evasiveness. She could see she hit an awkward point, because Draco started to flush a little bit.

"Well...uh, just over the summer you've gotten a little...more attractive. So -cough- it's understandable that guys would be after you, thinking the uh...wrong thing," Draco said, not meeting Hermione's gaze, but seemingly fascinated with the creaky wooden sign above him. Hermione smiled and launched herself at him, pinning his arms down in a quick hug. Draco tensed.

"Wha-wha-what are you doing?! Granger! We're in public!" Draco sputtered, frantically looking about.

'No! Don't make her let go!' Draco groaned in his head.

'She's a mudblood AND a Gryffindor. What would happen if someone saw us?' Draco countered. The voice in his head fell silent as Hermione whispered something and loosened her grip.

"What'd you say?" Draco asked, looking down at the curly honey locks below him. Hermione stepped back and titled her head up, her eyes looking a bit watery.

"I said, thank you," Hermione repeated. Draco's eyes softened and he smiled a small smile. Then he realized what he had done and coughed uncomfortably.

"OK, Granger, enough's enough. Now, are you going to help me with my project or what?" Draco said, concentrating on everything and anything other than the hug he had just received.

"Alright, alright. You're right. Hmm...The antique place should have some old doll houses, or...at least it had some last time I checked. I think it was down this side street over here," Hermione said, walking quickly ahead of Draco. Draco looked about, then trailed briskly behind.

The bell over the wooden door tinkled crisply as Hermione and Draco entered the musty, grey shop. All around the room were various items, ranging from tattered old books, to rusty, grimy candelabras to...

"Doll houses!" Hermione whispered loudly to Draco. The old wizard behind the counter looked at them through huge coke-bottle lenses. His expression was unreadable through the many lines of aging in his face. His skin sagged over his bones, and his white hair was patchy and he was nearly bald. Draco turned around to look away from the old man.

Hermione, meanwhile, was focusing on a large doll house in front of her. The back was open, like most if not all doll houses were, and you could see all of the different rooms. Hermione searched each room, picking up things here and there that might be placed in a muggle living room.

Hermione was quite satisfied with her findings: A black and brown box that vaguely resembled a television, a brown pleated couch, a red, green, and yellow rug, a coffee table, and other various items. Hermione cupped her hands together and scooped up the 'toys.'

"Sir, how much for this doll house furniture?" Hermione asked, setting the toys on the dusty glass countertop. The old man licked his lips and opened his mouth as he titled his glasses and eyed the miniature appliances.

"Hmm...3 Galleons," the old man said after his quick appraisal.

"WHAT?!" Hermione yelled, outraged at the steep price.

"Three Galleons," the old man repeated. Hermione drew in a breath to retort, but Draco caught her arm.

"Alright, then. Three Galleons," Draco said, fishing out a few coins of his pocket. Hermione stared in wonderment at Draco.

The old man smiled weakly as he stuffed the furniture in a small bag and handed it to Draco, who nodded solemnly. The bell tinkled once again as the two exited to shop.

"Are you crazy? You actually carry that much money around with you?" Hermione said, incredulously. Draco kept on walking.

"Why not? It's not that much money," Draco said, unaware that Hermione only held about 47 Galleons to her name.

"But still! Can you believe that old guy? Three galleons for a handful of toys?"

"Hey! It's three galleons spent towards passing my project!" Draco said, defending his purchase. Hermione sighed. He was right, and besides, it was his money to spend as he pleased.

"You want to go get something to drink?" Draco said idly, not meeting Hermione's gaze as they walked along the street.

"Oh...OK. Just as long as it's not the Three Broomsticks. I'll be a little hesitant to go there for a while," Hermione joked.

Draco lead the way, turning left at Scrivenshafts Quill Shop, and continuing down the path. Hermione followed close by his side, but nearly fell over when she saw the place they were heading.

Like all of the other places in Hogsmeade, this place had a sign. In pink, cursive, the carved sign read "Madam Puddifoot's." Hermione heard about this place from Harry. He said it was overly frilly with doilies and the like, but it was strangely homey. It was notorious for being visited by Hogwarts' most current couples.

"Uhh...Draco? Why are we going here?"

"Well, you said it yourself, that you didn't want to go back to the Three Broomsticks, and this is the only decent place in town to get a drink," Draco explained. Hermione narrowed her eyes as she stared at him out of the corner of her left eye. He has been way too cool about everything for the last 10 minutes.

Draco stepped up to the door, and held it open as Hermione entered in. She was instantly hit with an aroma of tea and freshly baked sugar cookies. She sniffed the warm air and like Harry said, felt a little more relaxed and felt like she was at home. Draco seated himself at a small circular table, and looked at Hermione expectantly. Hermione blushed and sat down across from him.

Draco and Hermione looked and felt out of place, as most couples were kissing over the top of the table, or holding hands gently. Hermione coughed nervously and looked around, her eyes settling on Draco, who was currently trying to wave down Madam Puddifoot. He looked out of place; his place complexion and dark green and black robes contrasted greatly with the pink wallpaper. Hermione smiled inwardly.

"Oi! Can we get some service! Please?" Draco said, tacking on the p word at the end, trying not to seem too uncivil in front of Hermione.

'What do I care? She's just a-'

"What can I get for you two?" The woman in a white, lacey apron asked cheerily.

"Can I just get some coffee?" The woman nodded and turned to Hermione.

"Umm...Tea please. Earl grey, with a pinch of sugar.

"Sure thing. I'll be back with your drinks in a minute," she said before hustling off towards the kitchen.

"Hey uh...hermione," Draco said uneasily. Saying her name wasn't as easy as he'd hoped. He'd always addressed her as Granger or Mudblood, but he couldn't help feeling guilty for calling her that.

"Yes?" Hermione said pleasantly, folding her hands together on the table.

"I just wanted to thank you, again, for helping with the project," Draco said in a low voice. He didn't want anyone to here him, for fear of bashing his reputation, which was already starting to lose momentum, due to the fact he hadn't been with a girl for several months.

"You're very welcome," Hermione said. "I suppose you might want some help on setting it up?"

"How bout I arrange things, and before I charm them not to move, you look it over to see if I have everything in the right place," Draco proposed his idea.

"Alright," Hermione said in surprise. Usually, the pureblood boy would have tried to get Hermione to do all the work. It was a nice change. She placed her hands separately palm down and stared at Draco.

"So...what exactly did Eric do to you?" Draco said curiously. He had been dying to ask her all afternoon, but decided against it. Until now.

Hermione flinched, recalling his chapped lips placed roughly upon hers. Draco felt her uneasiness and brought one hand up on top of the table. He subtly laced the tips of their fingers together as he listened.

"He tried to kiss me, and his hand start to crawl up my robes under my skirt. Thank goodness Ron and Harry were there to stop him," Hermione said hurriedly.

"Yeah, thank goodness," Draco whispered, staring at the empty table next to him. Hermione was about to ask what he was thinking about when the woman came back with two steaming mugs. She set each ceramic mug in front of their owner, and left with a cheeky smile.

Draco picked his up, and blew across the top of the dark liquid before pressing the edge of it to his lips, slurping it soundlessly. Hermione watched, absentmindedly stirring her own. She too raised her mug up and sipped it, but nearly spit it out. She set her glass down hurriedly, and stuck her tongue out. Draco laughed a hardy laugh as Hermione fanned her poor scalded tongue.

"Might want to let your tea cool a bit, dear!" The woman called from across the restaurant.

"I could've used that information about 10 seconds ago," Hermione muttered bitterly. Draco laughed some more and took another sip, without blowing the steam away.

Two seconds later, Draco too was fanning his tongue with Hermione laughing at him.

"Karma!" Hermione laughed.

Once the laughter had died down to a lull, Hermione and Draco just sat there, sipping their respective drinks and not meeting each other's gaze. They both finished their drinks rather quickly. Their eyes met once Hermione's empty mug met the table with a -clink- and they both nodded. They rose from their seats, and Draco once again fished around in his pockets, finally tossing down a golden Galleon onto the tabletop. The woman swooped in a picked it up, waving cheerfully as the two exited.

"What a cute couple," she said idly as she picked up the empty mugs.

Haha, not a cliffy, well....not quite. I'll try to update as soon as I can, but like I said, I'm waiting for some inspiration, some time, and I'm helping a friend develop her plot a bit too, soooooo yeah. Reviews would be greatly appreciated to keep the fic going! Okies, time for bed. Lots of love to all the readers.

English-Foxlette