Anon: Why did you not like it in the beginning?

HiraTsubasa: Oh thank you. I'm glad it's enjoyable and understandable. You say you can imagine these things happening? Awesome…

The best way I can explain Draco's nonsensical behavior is this: when he made the decision to end their romantic relationship, he though he was only interested in her for sexual reasons. But by that point he knew that he also liked her personality and company, and definitely considered her to be a friend. He just didn't reconcile the two and come to the conclusion that, hey, maybe I actually really like/love this girl; and I also happen to really enjoy the physical relationship too.

For someone who's always only had sexual relations with girls, I imagine such a lengthy relationship to be a new and strange thing. He's used to dumping the girl after sex because he loses interest almost immediately, but that hasn't happened with Hermione. So he assumes, oh wow, the sex must be really sustaining my interest in her (and ignores the other more substantial feelings because he's never encountered them before).

I don't even think that's how anyone's—much less a guy's—mind would work. I'm just making this up as I go along. Errr, did I even answer your question? I hope so…

I actually have been trying to be funny, but in such a subtle way that I thought only I'd find it amusing. I like to put them in absurd situations. And then there's Harry. He's just ridiculous in my opinion, and therefore, really funny.

Ok, I'm going to shut up now…

maddudewalking: I think they just enjoy each other's company, and so missing each other at this point isn't really a problem…Oh, who am I kidding, of course they miss each other! They just don't know it yet…

NorthStar2005: Yes, yes…they will be together…

princesstiggeroe: There will be one more fic this summer, and then I don't think I'll be able to write for a very long time, like another year or so. After I started this story I started having so many ideas for other fics (ha, yeah), and I'm kind of sad that I won't be able to set them in motion for a while. But schooling is just going to take up too much time for me to write a proper fic, and I only want you guys to have the best. :) But you never know, maybe one day I'll spontaneously decide to start another.

Why did Hermione accept the invitation? Here are my theories:

-She wants to be a good friend to Draco seeing as she knows he doesn't have many others (and imagine the adorable look on his face when he was asking…).

-Though she avoids him, she really enjoys Draco's company and wants to spend time with him (even though she doesn't realize this) because she misses the closeness of their previous relationship. The evasive tactic is her way of trying to get over their breakup—she thinks distance will somehow get her reacquainted with being alone.

DrAcO'sblackrose: Hopefully that won't happen, unless someone wants to call me on my title again…

eventers club: Lately I've just been finding myself so inspired. The story's already finished in my head, and I'm just itching to get it down and see what it looks like in written form. But no, no rushing, I promise you.

zurkie: He is, isn't he? But I think it's kind of funny. And thanks for the offer, but I'm basically on the computer all the time too, so I've got plenty of time to stare at the screen…

And of course, thanks to LilSexyG16, allie, and padfootedmoony for your reviews.

Hogsmeade

A week had passed, and the Hogsmeade weekend had finally arrived. Draco for some reason found himself in an excited state. He had no plans in the village besides strolling around the village with Hermione and maybe checking out the latest brooms, but even those little things seemed like they would make his day.

"You ready for Hogsmeade?" Draco yelled through Hermione's portrait.

"Calm down, Draco, I'm coming." Hermione opened the door to find Draco's silvery eyes looking down at her. He quickly turned around when she stepped outside and walked down the stairs.

"It's not like you're a little kid and I'm candy," she said as she followed him into the common room.

"Older kids are allowed to like candy."

Ok, so she hadn't meant to give her response that particular meaning. Draco looked amused, and maybe a bit more, by his joke, and Hermione gave him a look that hopefully conveyed that she had no intentions of flirting with him.

"Just kidding," he quickly said and turned away.

"Well, anyway," she said as she stuffed a cloak into her bag, "let's hurry up. I want to be able to eat lots of breakfast." Hermione left the portrait and began walking to the Great Hall.

"Slow down," Draco called out from behind her.

Hermione stopped and waited for him to catch up with her.

"You know, you could eat with me if you put that cloak on and the cloak over your head," Draco said hopefully as he eyed her bag. "None of the Slytherins would notice. They'll all be too busy worrying about the weekend to notice another shady character in their midst with a hood on."

Hermione smiled. "Well…" he looked so hopeful, "I can't. Harry and Ron and Ginny will want to see me before they head off. We're very close like that, you know."

"I'm your friend too," Draco said in a tone that reminded her specifically of a seven-year-old with the face to match. He was pouting one of the most serious pouts she'd seen on him yet.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know…" She continued on down the hall.

"No, I'm serious," Draco said, stopping her. "You really are my best friend."

Well, how could she say no to that face? He looked just so…needy at that moment. "Ok, fine," she said, "but if we get caught, you'd better have a good excuse ready."

Hermione continued down the corridor, then stopped at the entrance to the Hall.

"Wait," she said, "should we go in together?"

Draco peeked over her head. She was apprehensive about the Gryffindors, of course. He looked over at their table. Hermione's three friends in particular were deeply immersed in conversation. He figured it would be safe enough for them to walk through without being noticed. Draco turned around to find Hermione already putting on her cloak. He pulled the hood over her head as she pulled it closed. Hermione grinned up at him.

"I feel like a little kid trying not to get in trouble," she whispered.

"Me too," Draco said, smiling. "Come on."

Hermione followed him quickly over to the Slytherin table and took her seat next to him in the only spots left on the bench. Needless to say, it was strange. Here she was surrounded by a bunch of people who would jump for the opportunity to do any and everything evil to her, and they didn't even know it. Draco was right though; they didn't seem to notice anything as the pair sat down. Hermione made sure to keep her head gaze focused on the surface of the table as she ate.

"Hey, Draco. Going to Hogsmeade today?"

Hermione flinched. So as to not be exposed, she slowly looked up and then back down again. On her right was that Blaise Zabini character, talking over her head to Draco, who was sitting on her left. She sighed in relief that she hadn't been noticed.

Draco's response came slowly. "Yeah…"

"Good. A few of us are going to meet up after a while at—"

"Actually, I already have plans."

"Oh." Blaise said, looking to the left and down. "I didn't notice you there, Hermione."

Hermione nearly choked on her toast. She looked up at Draco in dismay, but he didn't seem to share in her worry.

"You know you're taking quite the risk by having her here," Blaise said. "Do you seriously expect not to be noticed?"

"There are ways, Blaise," Draco simply stated.

Hermione sputtered out her shock. "How does—did you tell—"

"No, Blaise is just a very perceptive person. Don't worry, Blaise won't say anything."

"Hope you two have fun," Blaise said before turning away.

Ok, that was just weird. "How did Blaise know it was me?" Hermione whispered

"Blaise knows a lot, even the things I don't say out loud. You don't have anything to worry about, ok? Come on," Draco said as he stood, "everyone else is leaving."

Hermione was animated as soon as she stepped foot into the village. She was glad she came. There was a light layer of snow over everything, making everything shimmer, and despite the cold, Hermione couldn't help but smile. The town just looked so beautiful in the morning sunlight, and there were so many stops she could make, she wasn't sure she'd have enough time for all the shops.

Draco pulled up his hood and stood next to Hermione. "Where do you want to go first?" he asked.

"Let's go to Honeydukes," she said, pointing towards the closest store and pulling up her hood at the same time.

"Why are you doing that?"

"Oh, I don't know; I feel a little guilty having you suffer in anonymity alone," she joked.

"Fine by me," he said. "Lead the way."

The smell of cinnamon and chocolate immediately hit the pair as they entered the shop. Hermione inhaled deeply and smiled. "I love chocolate," she said happily.

"Well, then come on," Draco said anxiously, "there are loads of it right over there."

It turned out that Draco had as much of a sweet tooth as Hermione did. He immediately wandered off in search of his favorite candies, leaving Hermione by herself in the chocolate aisle.

She was definitely happy that she'd agreed to this trip after all. Draco had proven to be some really good company. She could tell that Draco was going out of his way to amuse her, but it didn't take away from the simple charm of his ridiculous jokes or the happiness in his smile when she laughed at him. She imagined where Ron and Ginny and Harry were right now, and sighed. If only she could get all of her friends together. But she knew it was impossible. Draco was unwavering in his decision to conceal his non-pureblood relations, and at times it stung. But at the same time, Hermione knew that he was right. From his accounts of his father's fanaticism, Hermione believed almost as strongly as Draco did that he was safer keeping some things private.

"Let's go, we've still got a few more places to stop at."

She hadn't even noticed that Draco had appeared at her side. "Sure," she said as she followed him to the counter. The pair paid for an insanely large amount of sweets and finally left the shop.

Once back outside, Hermione started up the conversation again.

"You know, I really like this town. It's so pretty. I could really imagine living here one day."

Draco seemed amused at this revelation. "You obviously haven't seen much of the wizarding world—" He stopped mid-sentence as Hermione suddenly ran over to a nearby shop. He quickly followed and stopped at her side. She was peering into the glass with a dreamy expression.

"That is positively the most beautiful necklace I've ever seen," she murmured.

"That one?" he said, pointing. She nodded.

Draco had to agree, it was quite the jewelry piece. Two intertwined gold chains adorned with hanging red stones. Too bad they weren't a nicer jade color, he thought.

Suddenly Hermione stood and turned away from the window. "Alright, let's go. We don't have much time left. I was hoping we could have some butterbeer in The Three Broomsticks before we left."

"You mean you don't want to look at this necklace anymore?"

"What? No." Hermione had already turned around and was walking down the street.

Draco quickly followed in her footsteps, confused. He noticed the quick glance back she gave to the jewelry store window, however, before he caught up with her in the middle of the square.

"Let's go to the Quidditch shop now," he said.

Hermione frowned. "But I wanted to go to the bookstore."

Draco groaned. "Well, we don't have enough time to go both places and to The Three Broomsticks. How about we just meet up there in a bit?"

"Well, ok. Twenty minutes?"

"Twenty minutes."

Harry was looking forward to getting back to Hogwarts, unlike the rest of his company. Ginny and Ron were still pulling him in all directions, wanting to go to this shop and that. He really just wanted to visit the Quidditch shop one last time before they left.

The two redheads were in an argument about which store would be their last stop when Harry noticed them. They were two suspicious figures, standing in the middle of the square, both with their hoods pulled up although it wasn't necessarily that cold. Sirens went off in his head immediately. What if they were Death Eaters, or some other sort of shady characters roaming the wizarding world? Ok, so maybe he was overly anxious now that he was aware of Voldemort's more than intense desire to kill him, but still, one could never be too cautious.

The pair suddenly split up, the smaller one, who he assumed to be female, going in the direction of the bookstore; the taller one went towards the Quidditch shop. Harry turned to his friends.

"I'm going to go to the Quidditch shop one last time. I'll meet you before we head back to the castle."

Harry didn't wait for them to respond as he sped off to the store. He walked inside to see the figure slip into a row of broomsticks and cautiously followed. The man was examining an older model of the Firebolt when Harry entered the aisle, and didn't seem to notice the raven-headed boy. Suddenly, Harry stopped. He would recognize that outline anywhere, from the dozens of times he'd chased him across the Quidditch pitch in pursuit of the snitch. And if this was Malfoy, then chances were…the other person with him had been Hermione.

"Malfoy!"

Draco was startled to find his hood being pulled off his head and a pair of very angry green eyes glaring at him.

"What the hell are you doing, Potter! Why are you touching me?"

Draco took this opportunity to place his hand in Harry's face and forcefully push the kid out of his personal space. Harry's hands detached from Draco's cloak and he stumbled back into a pile of Quidditch gear.

Draco practically growled at him. He'd been looking at a broomstick in peace and quiet, wondering if maybe he should add this one to collection as he'd always enjoyed the Firebolt line. And now Harry Potter was accosting him in the middle of a deserted Quidditch shop. Very well; he'd been itching for an opportunity to bash Potter's face in anyway.

Well, maybe he wouldn't. Draco was sure Hermione wouldn't be too happy to hear that he'd beaten up one of her friends on their day off.

"Where's Hermione?"

Draco looked up. Potter was still eyeing him with an entirely too hostile expression for not having just been accosted.

"What?"

"You heard me Malfoy. Where's Hermione, and what is she doing here?"

Ah, so this was what all the anger was about. Draco couldn't help but smirk at Harry as he straightened his cloak.

"Where do you think she is?" Draco asked. Gods, but Potter was an easy one to rile up. The raven-headed boy looked positively furious with every word that came from Draco's mouth, and he hadn't even begun to insult him yet.

"Malfoy…I saw you two outside…" Harry groaned. "You really are up to something, aren't you? At first I didn't want to believe that Hermione would ever be a part of one of your evil plans, but I guess here's the proof. Why'd you bring her here?"

Draco stared at Harry as if he'd suddenly lost his scar. Obviously it was best that he deal with this problem quickly so he could get of this shop. He still had a butterbeer with Hermione that he was rather looking forward to.

"Potter, consider this: maybe she wanted to come with me—"

"Then why didn't she tell us?"

"Hmm, maybe because of a reaction like this? Seriously Potter, why don't you just calm yourself down? I know some excellent potions that work on relieving stress." Draco laughed; the boy was fuming at that simple suggestion, and looked like he was about to attack. "Save your anger for something worthwhile. If you think I don't know what this hissy fit is about, you're obviously more whacked than I thought."

Harry's expression was now an ugly mixture of anger, hate, and surprise. Draco continued. "Don't worry about who Hermione is interested in—you're definitely not a candidate." Draco paused in anticipation of Harry's reaction. Surprisingly, all he did was smile.

"Malfoy, you really think that's why I don't like you being around Hermione?" Harry laughed. "Do you know how dangerous of a person you are to be around? It's all in who you are—you and your family—and Hermione shouldn't have to suffer just because she's nice enough to give you the time of the day every once in a while." Harry looked like he was about to leave, but then he stopped. "Oh, and Draco," Harry said with as much malice as he could possibly fit into the name, "you're old news. Keep in mind who Hermione spends her time with now."

And just like that Harry Potter was gone. And lucky him. Draco would have given anything to beat Potter with a bundle of broomsticks at that moment. But no, it was best not to dwell on the negative. Draco stormed out of the Quidditch shop in a reasonable amount of anger, but quickly calmed himself when he realized that was probably not what Hermione would want to see.

"Is there something on your mind?"

Draco looked up into Hermione's worried eyes and brought himself back to reality. He should be focusing on the person in front of him, not thinking up ways to off Potter before the vacation came.

"You just look like you were focusing hard on something, that's all." Hermione leaned back in her chair and sighed. "This is so good."

Draco had to agree. They were sitting at a rather small table for two in The Three Broomsticks, cramped amongst the dozens of other customers in the shop. And yet, while Draco was one to appreciate his personal space, he didn't mind very much at all.

"So what did you get me?" Hermione asked. "I hope it wasn't something Quidditch."

Draco smiled. "You think I went off to buy you a present? Sorry, I forgot…"

Hermione frowned and yet Draco found it rather amusing. Of course he'd gotten her something. It was almost endearing that she was so transparent in that area. He'd run over to the jewelry shop as quickly as possible and bought that necklace. He asked if they'd somehow had an emerald version of it, but the jeweler said they hadn't. So Draco had settled for the original. He was currently running his thumb over the red suede box hidden under his cloak and smiled

"So what did you get me?" Draco asked. "I hope it wasn't a book."

"Oh, of course not," Hermione laughed. "I don't do my shopping this early. It's kind of a tradition. I'll send your present by owl."

"Sneaky…"

Hermione nodded in agreement and began talking about the books she'd picked up at the bookstore. However, Draco's attention was arrested by the person entering the shop—it was Potter—and behind him were the two Weasleys.

"Don't look now, but your friends have just come in," Draco whispered.

Hermione instinctively pulled her hood lower over her face. "Damn," she muttered, which was a pleasant surprise for Draco. Let Potter think what he want, but Hermione was with him at that moment, and not them.

"We don't have to leave," Draco said. "They won't even notice who we are."

Hermione risked a look behind her to see her three friends scanning the tavern for an empty table. She quickly turned back around. "I don't know, Draco…"

"Well, then we'll play it safe. Come on." Draco stood and Hermione followed his action. He'd been really looking forward to finishing off that butterbeer, but he supposed it would have to wait until another time.

The Weasleys didn't seem to even notice the pair, but Harry stiffened when he saw them. Draco couldn't resist the urge to growl in Harry's ear as he and Hermione passed out of the shop.

"Why'd you do that?" Hermione asked when they were outside.

"I couldn't help it. Potter gets on my nerves."

Hermione tried to frown but Draco could tell that she'd found it amusing.

"Come on," Draco said, "let's get back to the castle."

Disclaimer (yeah, these usually aren't at the end of the chapter): I took a bit of a liberty here and added the Quidditch and jewelry shops to Hogsmeade. So, don't sue, but feel free to yell if it bothers you much.

So yeah, I hope I wasn't too lengthy in my responses to your reviews. I've just caught a writing bug and I can't help myself; I'm in rambling mode.

Anyways, one thing to remember: this is a Draco/Hermione fic. I love them together just like I hope you all do. I spend my free time perusing the fanfiction archives for any romances with this pairing that I can find. So don't fear, they will be together, even if it takes a horribly long time.

So, leave a review if you feel so inclined (ah, I always feel so weird asking for those)…

coldlove