A/N: I am so sorry!!! I uploaded the redone chapter for my other story, Dancing with the Devil!!! This is so embarrassing. I took it down, and this is actually chapter 4. I am so sorry for the mix up!!

On the other note, I hope you all like this chapter, although I don't know if I do or not. I would once again like to thank AlyBaby for beta-ing for me. She gets credit for the song too, for telling me which parts to put in there! Alyssa, you rock!

You might need time to think it over

But I'm just fine with moving forward

I'll ease your mind

If you'll give me the chance

I'll never make you cry

C'mon let's try

I don't want another pretty face

I don't want just anyone to hold

I don't want my love to go to waste

I want you and your beautiful soul

'Beautiful Soul' - Jesse McCartney

Hermione hesitated for a few seconds. She really, truly liked this man, and she didn't want the first personal thing that she told him to be a lie.

But then again, she had been a different person for two years, and how would she explain any difficulties that came up?

"Rhiannon Johnson," she said softly, looking off to the right before meeting his eyes. He simply looked at her for a few seconds, knowing that she wasn't telling the full truth because she wouldn't look him in the eye, but he dismissed it.

'After all,' he thought to himself, 'it's not as if you don't have a fake name too. Don't be a hypocrite.' He smiled widely, before holding out his hand to shake.

"Hello Rhiannon. I'm Tobias. Tobias Alexander. Nice to meet you." Hermione couldn't help but laugh, which came as more of a giggle, as she reached her hand out to shake his.

"A pleasure, I'm sure," she replied, exaggeratingly sticking her nose in the air and trying to sound fancy. Draco simply laughed at her before taking her hand to lead her into the restaurant.

Their fingers slid together almost of their own accord, and though they both pretended not to notice, they were acutely aware. Hermione wondered faintly if it was possible to suddenly grow a thousand extra, very sensitive nerves in her hand.

Hermione gasped, her eyes wide, as her thoughts were interrupted by the sight of a magnificent chandelier as soon as they walked through the revolving door of the restaurant. It was huge and a very shiny gold, with crystals dangling everywhere, making rainbows reflect faintly onto the ceiling.

Hermione's eyebrows rose as high as they would go when she caught sight of the giant fountain directly underneath the chandelier. It was made of black stone, polished until it had a shine, and directly in the middle was a white cherub in a sky blue robe holding a gold harp. The water spray shot out of the top of the harp, making a perfect circle directly around the stone the cherub was sitting on.

The tables were small, very private because of the way they were spaced, with white table cloths and candles on top of them.

The giant Roman pillars that went from floor to ceiling were almost hidden behind giant green plants in porcelain pots. Hermione was sure she was going to get dizzy from turning in circles if she kept on looking.

She had been so busy with her inspection she hadn't even noticed Draco clear their reservation, and was jolted out of her gaping by a tug on her hand, which was still intertwined with Draco's.

He simply smirked at her as he pulled her along behind the waiter who was escorting them to their table, and Hermione was once again reminded of how much he looked like Draco Malfoy.

She once again dismissed that thought, because she knew without a doubt that there was no way the Slytherin Prince would be in the muggle world, escorting whom he believed to be a muggle to a dinner that would cost more than she makes in a month.

She gasped, her eyes wide, as the thought of money occurred to her. Draco gave her a funny look, and she hastily averted her eyes, embarrassed beyond all belief.

Draco noticed how uncomfortable she seemed, but he didn't want to say anything with their waiter right there, so he made himself a mental note to ask her later.

The waiter stopped them at a table in the very back corner, pulling out a chair and gesturing for Hermione to sit.

"I will be back in a few minutes to take you order. What would you like to drink? We have whatever it is that you would want." Hermione's rapid mood swing condition kicked in as she noticed that he had a funny accent, just like waiters in fancy restaurants do in the movies, and had to fight not to laugh.

Draco looked over at Hermione, who seemed to be trying not to laugh, and resisted the urge to teasingly roll his eyes at her.

"Do you have any preference?" he asked, hoping that she would say no so that he could try to impress her a little. When she shook her head, still biting her lip with her eyes dancing, he unconsciously puffed up his chest a little.

"We will take the best wine you have." Hermione definitely stopped wanting to laugh at that, and the waiter only raised one eyebrow before bowing, then walking away.

"The best?" Hermione questioned, her voice faint. "Tobias, that's going to be very, very expensive." He simply smiled proudly as if to say, 'I know,' not noticing that it was the first time she had said his name. Shaking her head, Hermione looked down at her menu. When she saw the prices, her eyebrows went up once again.

She faintly wondered if they were going to make a new home in her hair.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked, sounding concerned. "On that note, what made you upset earlier? I would have asked, but I didn't want to in front of the waiter." Hermione kept her eyes on her menu, embarrassed to look at him. Picking at the edge of the menu, she said.

"You see, I'm not exactly well off in the financial department. I said earlier that I never came because I never had the time. And that's true. But I also never had the money, and it didn't occur to me at the time that it's extremely rude to think that your date is going to pay for everything simply because he's the male. But, I won't be able to pay for my part. I can pay you back, of course, but it will take a little while. If you don't want to eat here anymore, that's fine." He just smiled at her, even though she couldn't see it.

"Rhiannon, it's fine. I asked you to dinner, I'll cover everything. Don't worry about it." She looked up at him, her eyes full of worry.

"Are you sure? I will feel so bad if I let you do that." He just winked at her, not bothering with a verbal reply.

Hermione swallowed, thinking how it should be illegal for a wink to be that sexy. Not having any type of physical relationship in two years was certainly taking its toll on her. He was a very sexy man, and right then she stopped trying to deny that she was attracted to him.

"You do look rather impressed," Draco said impishly, and Hermione didn't know if he was talking about himself or the restaurant.

"Well, it's not every day that I eat somewhere where it costs more than my apartment to look at the menu," she replied, deciding to play it safe. Draco grinned, knowing that she had been checking him out, and it definitely made him feel good. Rhiannon was not your average woman, that was obvious, and she impressed him simply by not wanting a roll in the hay, but wanting to get to know the person behind the looks.

Dinner passed by quickly for both of them, for it was filled with delicious food and interesting conversation.

"No, that's not what he was saying at all!" Hermione insisted, referring to the problem of Schrodinger's Cat, not even noticing when the waiter took both of their empty plates off of the table.

"There's not an answer to it, it's simply to make you think. The question you should ask after reading the problem should be 'Is the cat dead OR alive', or 'Is the cat dead AND alive'." Draco simple stared at her in amazement, a small smile on his face.

"What?" she asked self-consciously, wondering if her brain coming into play had given him second thoughts about taking her to dinner.

"You are the only woman I know that I could take to dinner and actually hold an intelligent conversation with. Not only are you beautiful, you're smart. You just continue to amaze me," he said, very simply.

Hermione blushed, looking down at the table, the word 'beautiful' echoing in her head. No one had called her that since Ron had died, and she found that it felt very, very good to hear again.

Worried that he had opened his mouth and stuck both feet in by saying something that forward before they had even left the restaurant after their first dinner date, he mentally slapped himself.

"Rhiannon, I am incredibly sorry if I offended you. I shouldn't have said something like that when we've just met, even if it is the truth. Can you forgive me?" he asked, sounding entirely serious.

Hermione looked up at him, her blush increasing.

"Oh, of course! I should have said 'thank you' instead of just sitting here like an idiot. It wasn't forward. It was…very nice to hear. It's just that the last person who called me beautiful was my husband, and it brought back memories." Draco looked at her closely, wondering what she was thinking about, for she looked completely lost in her thoughts.

Hermione was standing next to the kitchen sink in her white bathrobe, staring out the window as she sipped her morning tea when she felt a pair of arms slip around her waist.

"Good morning beautiful," Ron whispered softly into her ear as she leaned back against him. Hermione couldn't help but smile at his compliment that she still loved to hear, even after ten years.

"Good morning yourself," she replied back. Ron rested his chin on top of her head, silently thanking whatever god was responsible for giving him the blessed life he had.

"Do you get to stay home today?" she asked, hoping for a day with just the two of them that they could spend under the covers in bed, cuddling…or doing other things, whichever they were in the mood for.

"No," he said regretfully. He had already gotten dressed, and was going to have to leave soon. He tightened his grip on her, not wanting to ever let her go.

"I'll love you forever, you know that?" he asked her, as he did once a day since they had been married.

"Forever is an awfully long time," she said, knowing how he would answer.

"Exactly," he said simply. Hermione smiled before setting her tea down on the counter, then turning in his arms. She hugged him as tight as she could; wishing he would never leave.

"Don't forget that we have to go to dinner at Harry's tonight, okay?" he reminded her. She nodded against his chest, still refusing to let go.

"I love you," she whispered to him. She looked up at him as his eyes fluttered closed and he leaned down to kiss her.

Feeling it was over far too soon, she stepped back away from him, smiling as he blew a kiss at her before Apparating away.

Hermione smiled softly to herself before waving her wand at her cup, which promptly washed itself before retiring into the cabinet.

After a few hours of house cleaning, she heard her doorbell ringing. Sighing irritably, she flicked her wand for the broom to stop sweeping and went to see who it was.

The head of the Auror department was standing outside her door, looking as if he wanted nothing more than to wring his hands together, and Hermione immediately felt worry bubble up inside her stomach.

"Can I help you," she asked politely, trying not to sound upset.

"Are you Hermione Weasley?" he asked, his voice uncomfortable. She nodded at him slowly, feeling as if she was going to throw up.

"Ma'am, I'm afraid your husband is no longer with us. We had a raid, and he was hit with…with the killing curse. From the corner of the room he was in, there was simply no place for him to go, and he was hit head on." Hermione looked at him blankly before suddenly laughing, sounding not quite sane.

"Ron put you up to this didn't he? Did he pay you? I'm going to have his hide for this when he gets home!" She was still laughing when the man sadly shook his head, and her laugh turned into a strangled sob.

She sank to the floor numbly right where she was, unable to do more than gasp dry sobs, not even hearing Harry's voice as he Apparated in behind her before sinking down beside her and wrapping her in a tight hug.

"Rhiannon," she heard someone call softly.

"Rhiannon," they said again, a little louder, and she snapped out of her thoughts to see Draco gazing at her worriedly.

"Are you all right?" he asked, looking closely at her face. Hermione nodded, once again embarrassed.

"Are you ready to leave?" he asked her, knowing that their waiter was giving them dirty looks for just sitting there when they had already finished dinner.

She nodded again and started to get up when Draco held up a hand to stop her.

"Please allow me," he said, using they accent their waiter had, and Hermione had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Draco came around and pulled her chair out for her, before taking her hand into his once again as he led her to their waiter.

This time Draco purposely slid their fingers together, wanting to get just a little closer to this unique woman with her intriguing past.

"Just put it on my tab," he told the waiter as they walked by him. The waiter started to open his mouth to protest, but at the stern look Draco gave him he shut it again, before saying, "Of course."

Taking a deep breath of fresh, night air, Hermione tugged him in the direction of her apartment. They walked slowly down the street, neither one talking, simply enjoying the moment.

"Tell me about him," Draco said abruptly, shattering the silence. Hermione was going to protest until she remembered doing the same thing to him earlier in the evening.

"Well," she started slowly, "we were best friends since we were eleven. We had another friend too, and the three of us were practically inseparable. We did everything together. It was a typical boy and girl friendship, with all of the same fun and fights, until the last year in school. We went to a…a co-ed boarding school, and one night he just kissed me. I had liked him for a while, so of course I was blown away that he liked me. You know how teenagers are at that age." She looked up at him, wondering what he was thinking, only to find him looking at her. Blushing once again, she looked down at her feet and continued.

"Then, a week before graduation, he proposed. We were outside, just sitting around, and he popped the question." She let out a little laugh.

"He couldn't even ask. He just held the box out and blushed redder than a sunset. Of course I said yes." She continued to muse on that memory, and Draco took the opportunity to look at her left hand.

There was no ring.

She must have caught him looking, because she followed his gaze then shrugged.

"About a year after I lost him I took it off. It hurt too much to see it every day, so I put it in my jewelry box." Draco didn't say anything, wondering how to phrase his next question.

"Rhiannon," he said carefully, "where did you go to school? As far as I know, there isn't a co-ed boarding school in London." He watched her out of the corner of his eye, only to see her start abruptly coughing.

"Well," she said, after her coughing fit was over. "It wasn't in London; it was a school in Scotland. I had to try very hard not to pick up the accent." She once again avoided his eyes, leaving Draco to dwell on how much her 'co-ed boarding school' made him think of Hogwarts.

"Tobias," she said softly, interrupting his thoughts, "I really think that I need to get home. It's that way," she said, indicating the direction she meant with a nod of her head.

He nodded and let her lead him where she would. They walked in silence for a few blocks, both silently contemplating their own thoughts.

"Well," Hermione said, both with relief and disappointment, "this is home." She pointed towards a particular door, walking over to it. Draco noted that it said 27B, because he definitely had plans on getting to know her better, and knowing where she lived was a good place to start.

"It's not much but it's mine," she joked. He smiled at her, but when she started to step up to unlock the door, Draco didn't let go of her hand.

She turned and looked at him, her face expressionless.

'Does he think I'm going to invite him in,' she thought to herself, totally aghast. 'But he seems so much better than that!'

"Rhi, can I be forward again?" he asked, looking straight into her eyes. She stared back, afraid of what he was going to say.

"Rhi?" she asked, trying to delay the moment. He smiled a real smile at her, and Hermione was almost blown away by how handsome he was.

"It's easier to say than Rhiannon," he explained, never dropping his smile.

"So, can I be forward?" he continued. Hermione studied his face, not wanting to have to slap him if he asked to come in, and slowly nodded.

"Rhi, I think that your husband would want you to be happy, not spend the rest of your life alone. All because you loved and lost once doesn't mean you can't move on. You need to let him go." Hermione took his words to heart, promising herself that she would think about them later as she absently noticed that they had both been leaning in closer the entire time that he had been talking.

Their eyes fluttered shut as their lips touched softly, resting for a split second before Hermione pulled back, eyes wide.

Both of their hearts were pounding in their chests, Draco unable to think about anything except how beautiful she was, inside and out.

"Why do you like me?" she asked him, her voice a whisper. "You could have anyone, and don't deny it, yet you're here, kissing me." Draco looked at her, before deciding to tell her the truth.

"Because I've had my fill of beautiful faces with nothing inside. I don't want someone who takes one look at me and decides that they're in love with me. I want someone with a beautiful soul to match a beautiful appearance. I knew I had found that in you the moment we sat down in the booth yesterday. I wanted to get to know you. I still do." His voice had dropped to a whisper by the time he got to the end, and Hermione had tears in her eyes. Not exactly sure why she was crying, Hermione just wanted to escape.

"I have to go Tobias. Thank you for dinner." Before he could say another word, Hermione had opened her door and slipped inside, shutting it firmly behind her.

Closing his eyes as he hung his head, he turned around and slowly made his way down the sidewalk onto the street. Kicking himself mentally for being a fool, he made a fist and hit his thigh as hard as he could.

Frowning in confusion when his fist hit something he didn't expect, he looked in his pocket. His eyes widened in realization before he quickly looked around and made a detour down a different road.

Stopping outside of the shop that was his destination, he read the sign that stated when it opened and closed. Whistling a tune as he headed off home, he thought of everything he could say to redeem himself in Hermione's eyes.

Her keys jangled along to the rhythm of his steps from inside his pocket.

A/N: The Schrodinger's Cat thing I mentioned is very interesting, and I recommend you look it up on Google. I'd explain, but it's rather difficult. And now, on to the thank-you's!

Lorett: Hi! Thank you for the offer of beta-ing. If I didn't already have one, I would have recruited you! And I will go read your story!

Lala-the-Panda: Lol, thank you! My dad's always teasing me about how I'm writing a million dollar selling book, so I'll have to tell him what a page-turner this is! And don't you hate it when those cookies do that? Wink

Foxrcrchik99: I'm glad you like it! Hope you liked this chapter also!

FairySecrets: First off, I love your name! It has a very enchanting sound to it. And thank you! I hope this chapter was as good as the others!

Natyslacks: Oh, thank you! That's really sweet. By now, of course, you know what name she used. I just figured it would seem to easy for him to figure it out if it was something close to her name. Thanks again!

Darktwistedpoet: Thanks! I really appreciate it! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon!

This is for people who reviewed the OTHER chapter 4!!!

Unheardscreams: Umm...Sorry about the mix up! Yes, it was Malfoy (it always is in my storiesl; i'm a total H/D shipper). Thanks for reviewing!

Darktwistedpoet: Err...thanks for pointing out what I did! I'm embarrassed beyond all belief. I can't believe I did that. Thank you!!!

Revelyn: I hope this helped. I didn't suddenly switch plots for no reason, I just got mixed up because I'm writing both stories at once! I'm incredibly sorry.

Lauren: You would probably like my other story, Dancing with the Devil. That's what the "fake" chapter 4 was, the redone first chapter to Dancing with the Devil. This one may get exciting, i'm not sure yet, but if you're looking for angst/murder/mystery/sex, all the icing on the cake, then check out my other one. Thanks for reviewing!

Foxrcrchik: Thank you! That really inspires me. No, I didn't suddenly switch plots, I just got really confused. Thanks for sticking with me, and for reviewing!