Hi everyone. Alright, here's another chapter. Sorry it's taken me a while to post; I 'm usually good about updating, right? I know the chapters are kind of short, but I am trying my best. It'll take me longer to write longer chapters, so it'd take longer for them to get poster. Makes sense, right? However, I am trying my best.

Thank you for all of your reviews.

Tarshil, thank you for telling me how to change the setting. Now, I will be able to get more reviews (I hope); the reviews make me very happy.

Mon2, I don't even want to respond to your comments anymore, because you have pretty much figured out the whole story... I don't want to give too many things away, but I will say that all of those things will start happening. I also think that I have some surprises that will be unexpected and interesting. So, enjoy!

Oh, by the way, I haven't figured out who the mystery man from the past is, but I will alleviate your fears by reassuring you that it was not Ron: that's gross.

On with the story...

Is there ever an uneventful dinner at Hogwarts?

Hermione stood outside the door of the classroom and looked at the man sting at the desk grading papers. She could easily see why anyone would be automatically drawn to him; he seemed magnificent just sitting there. The sunlight from the windows poured over his head, making his blond hair shine like gold. He was leaning gracefully over the papers; his back was straight, yet he was at leisure. The slow movement of his arm across the desk caused the muscles in his shoulder to shift. It was very easy to imagine the body underneath those robes.

Hermione sighed; she knew she was in big trouble. She was, after all, the one who had prompted Draco to hide out at Hogwarts; she also knew that Harry was the DADA teacher at the school this year. Draco looked up; his lips spread into a grin, but his strikingly silver eyes narrowed.

"Hey Hermione, what brings you here?" Many years of friendship allowed Hermione to see past Draco's artful façade.

"Hey, please let me explain before you kill me" She heard Draco's chuckle "Kill, you – never! But I do have a bone to pick with you Hermione. What the hell were you thinking?" Draco rose from the chair and slowly approached Hermione. "You may not have known exactly what happened between me and Harry, after all I don't know what that man had told you, but you did know that we were not on, how best to put it, friendly terms!"

"Draco, listen! I was thinking only about your safety" the blond man rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Do not roll your eyes at me. I know that you and Harry are not on best terms" another scoff "but, I also know that Hogwarts is the safest place in England. So I suggest you stop this foolishness, and enjoy your time here. This school is big enough for both of you; I'm sure it will not be difficult to avoid him." It was Hermione's turn to glare. "If it is not, however, I can always arrange for you to be taken to the other place that we've talked about" she smiled.

Draco groaned in frustration; he knew that it was pointless to argue with Hermione once her mind was made up. She was usually also right; Hogwarts was a lot better than the alternative – a broke-down shack in the middle of nowhere. He sighed.

"Fine, let's not talk about this anymore. Did you get here alright?"

Hermione was glad that the discussion was finally over; she hated arguing with Draco – he had quite an imposing persona. "Yep, the trip was fine. I've already talked to Dumbledore – seems very happy to have you here" Draco could just imagine the plan that was formulating in the old bat's brain. "I'll bet he does", he mumbled.

"What's that?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if you've talked to Ron recently. How is he?" This time Draco's smile was genuine. "Still chasing a new girl practically every week?" Hermione, who has seen Draco's smile on numerous occasions, was still carried away by it; he was a truly beautiful man. She smiled in return "I imagine that he is, but I haven't talked to him in a while: no one ever knows what his assignments are. I don't even know what department he works for in the ministry; everything's top secret. I miss him."

Draco understood that very well. Switching sides put him in very close contact with Ron and Hermione; he was able to overcome his childhood delusions about muggle borns and Weasleys, and grew to become great friends with the two aurors. "I can't imagine saying that five years ago, but I miss him too" the two friends chuckled, and hugged each other.

"So sorry to disrupt the reunion" announced a silky voice from the doorway "but, I believe that it is almost dinner time, and the Headmaster wants you present tonight, Draco." Snape looked distastefully at the hugging pair.

"Have you been missing dinners often, Draco?" it was easy to detect the worry in Hermione's voice. "Only when Potter is there. Draco may die of starvation under your care Miss Granger." answered Snape with a cold smile. Hermione blushed; she hated when Snape knew the full extent of the situation. She also hated his cold voice, his sneer, and just his presence. Her eyebrows rose haughtily "I'm sure even you realize what an exaggeration that is, Severus. I doubt there will ever be a day when anyone dies from starvation at Hogwarts." Draco snorted as Snape bristled at the familiarity.

How dare the girl address him by his fist name? He was old enough to be her father! He gave her a piercing look before turning sharply and exiting Draco's classroom; his robes billowed around him. "You know, Hermione, I think you are the only one who is able to drive Sev absolutely crazy!" For some reason, Draco's observation caused Hermione to blush for the second time.

Most adults present at dinner considered it both a great success and a pitiful failure. Snape considered it a complete fiasco, and was wondering how much more time it'll take for Potter and Draco to start yelling at each other. He was also unhappy because no one else, Draco and Harry included, seemed to mind the situation.

Snape could not hate Dumbledore – the old wizard had done too much for him – he could, however, dislike him, and that is exactly how he felt in this situation. How could the Headmaster chat with the ever bubbly Granger and seem completely unaware of the tension surrounding them?

And there was tension. Snape hated sitting next to the girl. He hated being surrounded by her laughter, her voice, and her intelligence. In truth, he hated her intelligence; it made her more appealing than everyone else at the table, and made Severus uncomfortable. He started every time he discovered himself leaning closer to her to hear better what she had to say, and to be surrounded by her perfume. She smelled like rain; Severus marveled at his choice of description. He was also shocked to discover himself thinking about Hermione... wait, not Hermione, but Granger, Miss Granger – as in about 20 years younger than you Miss Granger! Snape scowled and stood up to leave the table. Draco's knowing look did nothing to improve his mood.

For once in his life, Harry Potter seemed to share Snape's mood. How the hell did that ever happen? Oh yeah, courtesy of Hermione and Dumbledore. Why on earth would those two assume that Hogwarts was the best place for Draco? Granted it was the safest, but there should have been other considerations. Harry was not willing to believe that there was no other alternative.

And why had Malfoy agreed to hide out here? Didn't he know that Harry taught DADA at the school? The realization that perhaps Draco didn't, because he did not have any interest in what Harry was doing, weighed heavily on Harry's mood. He scowled and saw his expression mirrored on Snape's physiognomy. Great, all he had to do now was scare the first years and take away house points arbitrarily. Well, Snape never took away house points arbitrarily; his intentions were very obvious. Oh Merlin, Harry had to find something more pleasant to think about!

"So, Hermione, what potion are you currently working on for the ministry?" Harry heard Draco's melodious voice. Why did everything the man do have to be so notable?! He couldn't even smile without the whole room turning to look in his direction. Harry lost interest in Hermione's response as he began to observe Draco with greater interest.

It was easy to see that Draco's greatest quality, other than his looks (Harry was too afraid to let his thoughts roam down that alley) was his grace. His every action was done with a certain amount of serenity and decorum; Harry was sure no other man was able to conduct himself like that. Draco's movements were flawless; he seemed animated and relaxed, involved, yet graceful.

Harry observed how much the man had changed over the years. Draco had never really disappeared from Harry's world – he was after all very much involved in saving lives and fighting Voldemort; however, sitting across from him at the dinner table enabled Harry to visualize all the changes Draco's undergone. He seemed much more at ease surrounded by the people he loved most; he joked easily with Dumbledore, Hermione, and, even, Snape. (Prior to this dinner, Harry did not believe that Snape was capable of jokes.) Harry loved the way Draco's silver eyes lit up when he smiled; he loved Draco's smile... The smile caused his whole face to light up; his beautiful eyes became brighter, warmer, and his lips stretched sensuously over his teeth. Harry loved how Draco gently bit the corned of his mouth as his smile began to disappear.

Harry loved Draco's mouth. His eyes were glued to the full, red lips, and Harry was hopelessly caught up in memories. He remembered his ability to make those lips part in a smile, emit laughter, whisper his name... Harry was caught up in memories and couldn't look away. Unfortunately for him, Draco felt the intensity of his gaze. Eyes that have been previously emitting a warm glow of contentedness narrowed, and became expressionless. A delicate eyebrow rose in question, and a sneer appeared in response to the warm blush spreading over Harry's face. Harry dropped his eyes in embarrassment. Fortunately, the situation was prevented from turning worse by Snape's sudden and (as usual) quite dramatic exit. For the first time in his life Harry felt gratitude towards the greasy git... this evening was full of self discoveries.

Draco was distracted by Sev's dramatic exit. Why could the man not exit without so much aplomb? His manners were screaming for attention! He would have to talk to him – that was no way to impress Hermione. Draco chuckled; he could easily guess what causes Snape's reaction – self discovery was not always pleasant...

Draco decided to give the man about 20 minutes to think things over before coming to reason with him; he turned his attention back to the brilliant witch next to him. Hermione was still discussion the new potion that she was preoccupied with at the moment, and Draco was still very much interested in potions.

"Hey Hermione, have you ever considered using bats' wings instead of eyes of newt? They do have similar properties and react better with Felix feathers." A tiny frown appeared on the girl's forehead: she was clearly pondering Draco's hypothesis. "You know you may be right; I'll have to give this more thought" she smiled at Draco and he felt compelled to grin back.

Again, he felt someone's eyes on him; Draco didn't need three guesses to figure out who was staring at him. What the hell was Potter's problem anyway? Draco glanced at his watch; ten minutes passed since Snape practically ran out of the Great Hall. Well, Draco reasoned, by the time he'd walk to the dungeons... He got up, said goodnight and was soon on his way to Snape's chambers.

Harry had no idea what in hell compelled him to follow Draco, but he also didn't care. As soon as the doors closed behind Draco's retreating form, Harry jumped out of his seat and ran out of the Great Hall, completely oblivious to the frowns forming on Dumbledore's and Hermione's faces.

He saw Draco tern the corner and rushed after him. Draco realized that someone was running after him, slowed down, and turned around. His look of surprise was quickly replaced by a cold expression. He remained motionless as Harry stopped in front of him; he hadn't been this close to Harry in many, many years.

Harry froze; everything he'd wanted to say to Draco disappeared from his head and he stood before him not knowing what to say. "Uh... so, uh, Draco. I guess you decided to stay at Hogwarts."

"Potter, you astute powers of observation never cease to amaze me. Was there something that you wanted from me?" Draco's cold voice brought Harry back to his senses. "Yes, there was. I've wanted to talk to you for over 5 years – that is too long a time for holding a grudge."

Draco's eyes narrowed and Harry knew that he was entering dangerous territory. "A grudge? I don't think our definitions of the word coincide."

Harry scoffed "Come on, Draco, you know what I mean. I have been trying to talk to you for Merlin knows how many years now, and you have successfully managed to avoid me. I have a right to know what happened. Why did you just stop being with me in our last year? That was the best relationship that..."

"Harry, just stop. Things might have been great for you; in fact, I'm sure they were. How many people out there can claim to having had a great boyfriend and a lover at the same time?" The widening of Harry's eyes caused Draco to continue more forcefully. "Don't take me for a fool, please. I saw you making out with Dean. But I bet you have an explanation for that"

Harry was shocked; he could not believe that Draco had seen him do that. He could imagine how hurt he felt. "Yes, I do have an explanation..." But, Draco was already turning away. Instinctively Harry reached out and grabbed his arm "Let me finish!"

Draco's eyes sparkled with fury. "Don't ever touch me again, Potter. And it's way too late for any explanations. I hate being at Hogwarts, because you are here, but I don't have a choice. Stay away from, Harry – it'll make things easier for the both of us" Draco jerked his arm out of Harry's grasp and descended the stairs into the Dungeons.

Well guys, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter. Please review.