His movement startled me and I backed away.

"Sorry, that was completely out of line."

I tried to gather my thoughts. Did he just try to kiss me? Standing in my pajamas in Draco Malfoy's sitting room, eating pizza and hearing stories of his past and nearly kissing the man was definitely not on the list of things I thought would happen today.

Guilt worried his face as he struggled with what to do next.

"Just to be clear, were you going to kiss me just now?" Bluntness had always been a weakness of mine.

He rubbed his hand nervously on the back of his neck. "I think I was."

"And was that out of a need to be close to someone after revealing such personal information or..." I couldn't quite bring myself to ask if he had feelings for me outright.

"I'm sorry. I misread the situation." His face was reddening and it was endearing to see him flounder. I was so used to him being the level headed, confident one in all situations. "For me, there has always been an attraction there, but trust me, I'm quite great at pushing it back. I promise I can be professional. Can we just forget that this happened?"

He looked hopeful as I thought over the bombshell he had just dropped. Draco Malfoy had feelings for me? This wasn't something I could process in an instant.

"No, I don't think so." His face fell. "Not in the way you think. I'm just not certain how I feel about it all just yet. I won't deny that there is something between us. Whatever the case, it doesn't feel right to start something now. It's been a very emotional day and I don't think it's setting us up for a good thing if we act right now. Can we just go back to how things were and let things happen if they are meant to?"

"Yes, of course. Whatever you want. Just as long as we get to keep being partners. These last six months have been the most fulfilling of my career. I don't want to lose you." There was relief on his face as he stumbled to accept whatever I was offering.

"I agree. For now, though, I think I should be getting home. See you in the morning?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

"Good." And I headed home through the floo.

I went straight through my flat and flopped on my bed. What on earth was I going to do? There was so much information to process. The horrors of Draco's, and he was Draco to me now, childhood was almost too much to handle. The thought that his defense of me lead him to pain just further worsened it all.

All during school, I did feel bad for him, but he did such a thorough job at making my life miserable that I didn't waste too much time on it. Never in my wildest dreams did I realize the complexities of his home life and the pressure he was under. If I had, could I have done something to help prevent it? Would it have only made it worse? What did I do now that he just told me he has been harboring feelings for me essentially since childhood?

The questions were endless and the hour was late. I closed my eyes in an attempt to sleep knowing I wouldn't be able to answer them all.

The next morning, I got up and ready as usual. Since I had been up, unable to sleep, since the crack of dawn, I opted not to take Harry's offer of coming in late. I got ready as usual, dressing up a bit knowing that we would be unlikely to be in the field today given the mounds of paperwork and the work we would need to do with the legal team in the coming days to put this case to bed.

Also, part of me wanted to look good after my conversation with Draco last night. I didn't exactly know how the revelations would change our relationship, but it was likely to have an effect in some way.

It was too late to do so last night, but I knew I needed to owl Ginny. There was too much information for me to come to a conclusion on my own and I needed my best friend.

I was just writing a letter to ask her to meet me tonight when there was a bit of shuffling. Without looking up I knew that Draco had arrived. "Good morning."

"Morning. Wasn't expecting to see you this early."

I paused my writing and looked up with a smile. "Couldn't sleep. How about you? I thought for sure you would make use of the extra shut eye."

He sat in his chair as he said, "Couldn't sleep either. Figured I should make the most of it and get started early. Are those the reports? Can I help?"

I was still getting used to the offering of help in regards to the mounds of paperwork required after an assignment, but in this case, I was completely busted writing my letter instead of working. "No, actually. I just wanted to send off an owl to Ginny and see if she can meet me tonight for a chat."

"Any chance you'll be talking about me?" He tried to come off with a confident arrogance, but I could see his nervousness in the set of his eyes. When had I suddenly been able to read him so well?

I sucked on my lower lip as I debated on what to tell him. Honesty is always the best policy. "Yes actually. Seems I'm unable to decipher my own thoughts sometimes and I thought an outside opinion may help."

"Makes sense." He hesitated. "As I said last night, there's no pressure. If you don't feel the same, I completely understand and we can just go on and pretend like I never said anything. I'll be a good boy. Promise." His hands came up in a non-threatening manner showing me he meant no harm. The look was kind of ridiculous on him and I laughed.

"Oh, Draco. Give yourself some credit. You're a catch for sure. It's my own emotional baggage that I need to sort out."

A grin spread across his face. "I like it when you say my name."

"After last night it just doesn't feel right to continue to associate you with the Malfoy name. I think I understand you quite a bit better and I'd like to call you Draco if that's ok."

"Sure, it's fine, Hermione." He said my name in a husky voice and I could feel the blush spreading across my face quickly. "Also, if you ever want to talk, I'm here for you. Emotions aside, I've been through something somewhat similar. I reckon we are both a little broken."

I had completely forgot that he walked in on nearly the same thing I did, but with Astoria. He was right, that gave him a unique perspective to listen to my concerns. "I'll keep that in mind, I promise. For right now though, I just need someone to hear me ramble a bit." I signed the letter and tied it off to the owl that was kept in our office for convenience. "Now, let's get to work."

We worked furiously through the day to get through all the necessary documents. Time mattered in these situations or his legal team could call for unfair treatment and he would be released while we proved what he had done. We absolutely didn't want that because it would give him an opportunity to go after Bryson.

We had done quite a bit of the work the day before in terms of gathering evidence and statements. Now, it was just a matter of getting all that information down and to the proper channels. With the two of us working together, we were on track to finish the important papers today.

Sometime after lunch, which we ate at our desks, Draco let out a huff and I asked. "What is it?"

"We need to locate the aunt he referred to and see if she is able to take him in. Looking at his family tree, we might be in trouble if she denies the request. It could force us to place him with someone from his father's side."

I cringed, but his words gave me pause. "Draco, do we need to dig deeper on this? Did we ever find out why his mother died? If his aunt supported muggles, is it possible that his mother did too?"

Draco's face paled. "Damnit!" He ran his hands frustratingly through his hair. "Let's get the bastard for his mistreatment of his son first. Once everything is through the proper channels we can dig into his wife's death and see if there are additional charges we can pin him with. The use of an unforgiveable should give him a life sentence, but perhaps he would get the Dementor's Kiss or even a death sentence if he was somehow involved. Aside from that it could be closure for Bryson and his aunt."

I agreed with him and returned to work.

By six, we were finishing up for the day. All the important things were done and while the rest of the week would keep us busy in the office, there was nothing needing immediate attention.

Ginny had responded to my letter a few hours ago and told me to come over to hers after I was finished. James had gone with Arthur on some type of adventure and Harry was going out with Ron so it was a perfect night to get together.

I said my farewells to Draco and flooed directly over to Harry and Ginny's.

"Hey 'Mione! I'm just headed out. Have fun!" Harry kissed my cheek and was out in a flourish.

Ginny came fluttering in after. "This better be good. I was supposed to have alone time you know. Drink wine, paint my nails, relaxing crap like that." She appraised me with a raised brow. "I suppose I could allow you to join in exchange for some good gossip."

"It's not funny Ginny. I really need your help!"

She laughed at my distress and summoned us some wine. "Alright, I can see you're not quite in the joking mood this evening. Have a seat, take a drink, and start from the beginning."

I couldn't fill her in on details of the case, that would have to remain confidential. Instead, I focused on Dracon's tale. There was a lot of personal information he divulged and I didn't feel right telling his story without his permission so I tried my best to edit in a way that showed my dilemma while at the same time still giving his privacy.

"So, you're telling me Malfoy has always had a thing for you and all the teasing was some weird form of protection?"

She was skeptical and I didn't blame her. "More or less, yes. He had a much harder time than any of us realized. Now he's basically put it out there that he still has feelings for me." I sucked on my lower lip. "Gin, he nearly kissed me."

She chocked on her wine. "What? Why didn't you lead with this? Did you let him?"

I shook my head. "No! It didn't feel like the right time. But I wanted to."

Ginny squealed in delight. "I knew it! I knew there was something between the two of you! Are you going to let him next time?"

My head fell into my hands. "I don't know, Ginny! That's why I need your help! I'm so confused. There has been this connection I've felt since he first showed up, but I've been trying to suppress it. I've been through office romance before and in my experience, it doesn't end well." My voice cracked on the last word and tears were now streaming down my cheeks.

Ginny got up to hug me. "Oh, love. I could kill my brother for what he did to you! You look at me right now Hermione Granger." I peered up at her from under my wet lashes. "My brother is an idiot. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys out there that don't seem to have a clue, but he's the absolute worst. Don't let him to have a hold over your happiness. The wizarding population is small. Our class was particularly small and it's very common for romances to develop with someone we went to school with or work with. We just aren't a large community. With that comes some challenges, but it shouldn't stop you from living your life. If you think Malfoy could make you happy, you shouldn't deny that happiness because of one bad experience."

"Don't forget Cormac." I tried to lighten the mood but she just rolled her eyes.

"Two bad experiences then. Listen, it's clear now that you and my brother were never meant to be together. We can blame our messed-up childhoods and the trauma of surviving a war or any other number of reasons as to why you two held on for so long, but at the end of the day, it's good that it ended. It's been nearly two years. How many dates have you been on?"

I sheepishly replied, "Two."

"Exactly. I know sometimes it can feel easier to close yourself off, but if you have a shot at someone who can enhance your life, are you really going to waste it? If that's the case, it's up to you, but you're only giving Ron more power over you. Here's my advice. Don't date Malfoy just because he is there or because it would piss off my brother. If you have genuine feelings for the man, you owe it to yourself to open yourself up and give it a try. Sure, there's a possibility it won't work out and you may end up hurt, but you can't go into it with the attitude that it's destined to fail from the beginning. Be open minded and you may just find a happiness you didn't think was possible. Do you really want to waste that?"

"Ginny, it's great advice, really it is. But do you honestly think this is a good idea? There is so much history between us. It doesn't help that we are both in the public eye frequently as well. The media will be all over this and there will be so much judgement. Our pasts are so different. What are the chances this has any opportunity to not just blow up in our faces?"

All joking aside, Ginny got into her serious mode which didn't appear frequently. "Love, the best things in life are hard. Do you think loving Harry as been easy? That boy put me through hell and back and I wouldn't change a damn thing. The way I feel about him and the way he makes me feel leave no doubt in my mind that I would go through it all over again. Love is hard. It's work. But if you're willing to give it a shot, it's also the most wonderful and rewarding experience. From an outsider's perspective, which I'm assuming is why you came to me in the first place, you two are a perfect match. I don't care about his family or yours, I'm looking at this as you two as individuals. There is so much there that makes you two compatible and you need to start looking at what you want without thinking about others for once."

She had a point but I was still stalling. "There's just so much to consider."

"Damn it, Hermione! Love isn't rational! Stop trying to overanalyze this and take a chance!"

She raised her voice and the suddenness of her outburst startled me.

In a voice barely louder than a whisper I said, "I'm scared."

Suddenly, her hands were wiping the tears that were running down my cheeks before wrapping her arms around me.

"It's ok to be scared, Hermione. Just don't let that fear run your life. You're the one of the bravest people I know. As a child, you stared down grown men who hated you for something out of your control and you won. Find that same courage and bravery and give this a chance."

She was right of course. I was letting my own insecurities run my life. I was scared, but there was also a little voice in the back of my head telling me that I would hate myself if I never gave it a shot.

"Ok. You're right. I'm being so silly over all this."

"A bit." I hit her with a throw pillow. "Hey! You come to me for honest advice. Even if it doesn't work out, I'm sure you'll learn and grow from the experience. Enough of that talk now though. I think you know what you need to do. However, I need more wine and I really did want a pedicure tonight."

I rolled my eyes but complied. In my heart, I was thankful for such a great best friend who could give me a kick in the pants when needed.