A/N: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! I BEGGGGGGGGGGGGG YOU!!!!!!!! The truth please. The truth, and only the truth, and nothing except the truth. Thank you :-) And I'm not updating till I get 6 or more reviews. Please, I'm not asking that much!!!!

Harry: Here's the Disclaimer:

I do not own Harry, Ron, Hermione, and any other Gryffindors in this story, as much as I love them. J.K. Rowling owns all of us. I do NOT wish to own any of the Slytherins, so don't EVEN think that I would want to own any of those foul-mouthed death-eaters. That would be humiliating and shameful. J.K. Rowling owns them too, thankfully.

Me: Errr... thanks Harry... kind of... that wasn't want I wanted though.

Chapter 3-

Sunshine. Cool breezes. Autumn leaves. What more could I wish for? Oh yeah, retirement. Harry's so lucky; he doesn't have to do a thing, and he still has plenty of galleons left! And a mansion, the Star stripper what's-it-called (the newest broom model; I bet you that he was the only person that could afford such a broom) and still remains a famous wizard. That's just not fair. Not that I'm complaining. It's just unjust.

But besides that, this day was simply perfect for a nice walk and a cup of coffee. It was already time for my lunch break (15 minutes of pure luxury), and I figured a trip to the Waterlily Café was too much of a temptation to resist. You might think I'm exaggerating, but I have ten hours worth of stress on my hands regularly, and every minute off work is a pleasurable one.

I quietly counted my sickles from my purse and was about to hand the lady 17 sickles when another hand stopped me. I turned around and put on the biggest glare my face could muster, and the infamous face of Malfoy greeted me. Now what does he want?

"Hello, Gran- Hermione. I really need to talk to you right now." He heaved a big sigh (I couldn't tell whether it was real or fake), and continued. "I can pay for that, too. Look, I'm really sorry about what happened on Saturday. It took me to realize what I've said, and I really want to take that back. I was hoping you would forgive me." He smiled (a real smile this time) and as much as I hated to admit it, he did look really sorry. But, I'm not that dumb.

"Malfoy, as much as you should know, I'm not going to forgive you, ever. And if I ever do, it'll take much more than a pathetic sorry to change my mind. Now I have to get back to work, and you're just wasting my time." I turned around and swiftly shove the sickles toward the lady. She eyed me disapprovingly.

"That'll go to the Malfoy account," Malfoy instantly said. Blasted prat. Typical of him; always getting his way. But it was er… nice of him to pay for that. But then again, he owes me a lot after all this time.

Mary Zark (that's what the lady's name-tag read) frowned as she handed me a warm latte. I hastily grabbed it and left before the conceited brat had a chance to catch up with me. But most unfortunately, his legs are longer than mine, meaning that I had barely just set foot out the door when he started talking (or trying to apologize) again.

"Look, I'm truly sorry. Your words really proved me wrong," he said.

I rolled my eyes. How many times was Malfoy ever right?

"Now that Father's gone, I could be what I really am. I could finally be me," he paused, probably staring at the back of my head.

Just keep walking. Malfoys never apologize.

"You're right; blood doesn't matter anymore, now that the Dark Lord's gone. Actually it never mattered to begin with. My father taught me that pure bloods were always better, but now I realized that everyone's the same. I know it seems strange to hear that from me, but I've really changed, Hermione. I've really changed."

Changed, my arse. He changed alright-, from bad to worse. But still, how many times do MALFOY, of all people, actually say sorry?

"Hermione, are you listening?"

I stopped and slowly turned around. "What?" I snapped.

Malfoy sighed. "You weren't listening to one word I was saying, did you?"

I couldn't decide on whether I should forgive him or smack him on the face. I finally let my 'angelic' side take over.

"Yes, I was listening. But I can't trust you until you prove to me that you've really changed. It hasn't even been a week since that date!" I kept my face as emotionless as possible. Well, I tried to be nice. Especially to Malfoy of all people. Doesn't that count for anything?

"Err… Perhaps you can visit me at Malfoy Manor, sometimes," he stuttered, which caught me completely off-guard. Me, meet him? You've got to be kidding. There's no way. There's no way.

"No, I won't," I retorted. "I have my own work to do, and I don't have time to visit you, even if you call it a visit."

But, unfortunately, that wasn't what I said. Whenever someone catches me off-guard, I say the wrong thing, which is usually the first answer that comes to my mind; and in this case, NEVER trust your first instinct.

"Yeah, sure," I automatically said. What have I just done? I mentally slapped myself. Now look at me! I couldn't even control my own mind! Dear me, I must be going crazy.

"Or actually," (I put on a face full of disappointment). "I have company arriving next week. Maybe another time?" I put on a big phony smile. Since when did I start smiling big phony smiles at Malfoy?

"Sure, whenever you want to come, just come." He smiled. That was the first time I've actually noticed how nice he looked, far from being his usual snobby, rat-like face. His silver eyes were like mirrors, reflecting his miseries, joys, betrayals, and losses. There was something weird about them… it's like you could just dive in and stay there forever.

I stared into his eyes. I could see my own face, my own eyes. We stared until I figured out that he was gone. My gaze barely shifted from where his eyes once were. Dazed, I drank the rest of my latte and was about to go back to work when a gold piece of paper caught my eye. It had an untidy scrawl on the front:

Hermione-

To get to Malfoy Manor, simply go to the forest nearest to your house, and go until you see a big oak tree near the lake. There will be a hollow hole with a snake. Tap the snake with your wand and say Malfoy Manor. If you do this correctly, it should land you near the entrance; just simply ask one of my house elves, and they will gladly assist you.

- Draco

Hmm… this could be useful. I don't particularly know what I'd use it for or WHY I would even BOTHER to use it, but there was something inside of me that told me I would need it. I quickly pocketed it and resumed walking like nothing happened.

"So what happened?"

"Huh?"

Ginny sighed. "Hermione, I just asked you a question. Answer it."

"Nothing happened," I stuttered. "I just went to work and that's all." I lowered my head again, so I could see the paper I was working on in the dim-lit room. Gin had invited me over for dinner for some girl-to-girl talk. Well, supposedly. It's not like I have anything to talk about.

The red-haired Weasley frowned. "Hermione, I KNOW something happened to you. This is the first time I've ever seen you completely doze off from your work." She pointed at the ink blotches on the sheet. "And you have a sort of far-away look. It's like your thinking of someone." She grinned mischievously. "You're not in love are you?"

"Of course I'm not," I yelled a little too quickly. I lowered my voice and said, "I mean, I'm just tired that's all. It's been a long day at work." I pretended to wipe my hand at my forehead.

Ginny just grinned that annoying grin of hers. "So, who's the lucky man?"

"There's NO lucky man," I said, exasperated. "Gin, when will you UNDERSTAND that?"

"When you tell me the truth."

"There's NO truth. None, whatsoever. I'm telling you the truth about my day, that's all."

"Ok fine. Then tell me about your WHOLE day. No skipping parts."

I rolled my eyes. "Ok, I woke up and ate cereal. Then I fed Crookshanks and gave him a bath. Then I went to work. Then I-"

"Just skip that part Hermione. Tell about your work."

"I thought you told me NOT to skip anything."

"Yes, and now I'm telling you to skip it."

I sighed. There's point in hiding it any longer. Especially when it comes to Ginny.

"Ok, so I DID meet some one, but that's none of your business." I stood up and gathered all of my things. "Where could I put this?" I asked, nodding to the pile of papers.

But she wasn't listening. Her eyes gleamed, and she could barely keep herself from smiling so hard. Why did I even tell her?!

"That's GREAT, Hermione!!!!!!!!!" Ginny squealed while squeezing me to death. "I know you had it in you! I just didn't know when it would show." She grabbed my hand and dragged me around the room while squeaking at the top of her voice. "Hermione is in LOOOVVVVEEEE!!!!!! Hermione is in LOOOOOVEEEEEEE!"

"Really, Ginny," I started between gasps of air. But I should have known not to say anything. Gin continued to drag me around the room, and after getting tired of that, around the house.

"Hermione is in LOOOOVEEEEE," she sang in a sing-song voice at the top of her lungs. I made a mad grab for the doorknob when she dragged me pass it, but ended up on the floor instead.

"Gin, PLEASE!" I shouted, trying not to look annoyed. "I'm tired, and this isn't helping!!! AND I met someone, which means that I only MET them, not love them! Will you PLEASE get that into your head?!"

Ginny stopped and turned around, gasping too. "You don't understand do you?" she instructed me. "You MET someone, which is the same as you STARTED to LIKE him, or you wouldn't say that you MET him because you only MEET people when you LIKE or LOVE them."

"That makes no sense whatsoever, Gin!"

The youngest Weasley rolled her eyes. "Honestly Hermione, I thought you had it in you. You MEET people when you LIKE them. You say you MET somebody when you have FEELINGS for them, but you DON'T KNOW it yet." She rolled her eyes again. "Now, who is the lucky man?"

"No body!" I cried shrilly. "If you don't mind, let's eat dinner." Without waiting for her, I marched into the kitchen. Ginny trailed behind me, beaming from ear to ear. "Wait till Harry hears! And Ron! Oh, they will be soooo happy for you!" She quickly gave me another cobra hug.

"Gin, get off me. Really, you're acting very immature for your age right now. You're 24 for goodness stake! Any outsider would think you're only 18!"

Ginny smiled. "So? That's NOT the point! The point is that YOU, Hermione Granger, the one person that most people thought was hopeless when it came to romance, actually found a date! I'm calling Harry over right now!" She excitedly reached for the phone, but I was quicker. I triumph fully held the phone over me head.

"HERMIONE!" she yelled, "Give me the phone RIGHT NOW!"

"Not until you PROMISE not to tell anyone."

"No way!"

"Promise now."

"NO!"

"Ok, so no phone for you."

"What's the use?! They're going to find out anyway! If not sooner, then later! NOW GIVE ME THE PHO-" She made a lunge for it but fell, pulling the cord with her. The cord broke with a snap, leaving me with the now worthless phone. That did not sound good. I looked over to see what Ginny's reaction was, but she didn't move.

"Ginny, are you alright?" I cried, dropping the blasted phone. She lifted her head up, her face all red from laughing.

"We're so STUPID!" she gasped, laughing in between words. "It's the WIZARDING world, and we're fighting over a PHONE." She doubled up on laughing.

"Oh yeah." I feebly smiled. "So you won't tell anyone right?"

Gin rolled her eyes. "What do you think?"

"Umm… you won't?"

"Duh! Well, I'll see…"

"Are you going to tell or not?"

"It depends on who you met."

"It's none of your business."

"It is too my business."

I held my hands in defeat. See how stubborn Weasleys can be?

"Ok, I'll tell you but you've got to swear that you won't tell anyone else. Especially Harry."

"Fine. Spill it."

"Acomlfoy." I mumbled quickly.

"Sorry, didn't catch that."

"I met DRA-CO MAL-FOY," I stated, drawing out the syllables. I felt my face growing hot. Just a little. Ok, maybe a lot. So what?

"You met DRACO MALFOY?!!!!" Ginny's eyes got as big as grapefruits. "How?! I mean isn't he really rich?"

I halfheartedly sighed. "What's rich got to do with anything?"

"A lot! I mean, how did you actually SEE him in broad daylight? I thought he would be in some dark room practicing the dark arts or something. Did he talk to you?!"

"Yes. Now are we going to eat dinner?"

"So what happened?"

I rolled my eyes, AGAIN. Never. Ever. Trust. A. Weasley. With. Your. Love. Life. The Number 1 Lesson that would be handy in life.