Disclaimer: I don't own anything of the Harry Potter brand.

Turning the card over and over, I continued to look at it. The writing was gold ingraving, the good kind that you could only get in France from what I have heard. Sighing, I looked at the door again. Ginny was late as always. I turned back to the card. It had a black and green border, clearly a Slytherin through and through. I doubted Malfoy had such good tastes, but with him being famous, there must be some "Card Designer" or something in his team of people. I laughed a bit at the ridiculousness of the position. But as my eyes fell on the number I wondered if I really should call him. It was weird, after a year, and seven years of torture, he just comes around, talking to me as if we really knew each other. What was up with the Prince of Slytherin? Did he suddenly get hit with a brick on the head? If he expected me to just call him, he was wrong.

Hearing the jingle of the bell I looked up and saw my best friend in the world, Ginny, rush into the coffee shop, red faced and frantically searching around. She spotted me and smiled in relief and walked over. She threw her scarf on the seat and ordered hot tea.

"What's up?" she asked me. I shrugged.

"Nothing really." I said.

"What's that?" she asked, nodding to the business card I still had in my hand.

"Nothing-" I started but she snatched it before I could pull it away from her.

"Mmm...pretty...DRACO MALFOY!" she screamed. I froze as I noticed the rest of the shop looking at us.

"Gee, Ginny, way to be discret." I whispered, sarcastically. "Give me that." I said, taking it from her hands and shoving it into my purse where it could be safe from any grabbing.

"Why on earth would you have Draco Malfoy's business card?" Ginny probed and then paused. I thought for a moment

"We have ran into each other a couple times recently and he threw his card to me as he was walking away." I said. "Weird huh?"

"Isn't he now a hot shot lawyer who helped defend what's his face who supposely robbed some store?" Ginny asked. I nodded.

"Brighton Prince, he tried to steal more than 150,000 galleons of cash and jewels." I corrected, and she smiled.

"And that's why you are completely smarter than me, retaining information like a sponge." she tooks a sip from her cup. "I heard he makes 1000 galleons a year."

"How would you know that?" I asked curiously, I knew legal cases and other political going ons but I had no idea of pop culture.

"Witching Weekly." she answered. "By the way, tell you mum I need last weeks edition back, will you?"

SHE was the one who gave my mum it!

"Ginny!" I groaned. "I hate you right now." I said, dropping my head on the table top.

"Why?" I looked up at her from the table.

"In the issue, on page 6, there is a picture of Malfoy and I kissing. He kissed me, don't worry I didn't kiss him back. Now my mum is off on trying to get us together."

"Oh Jesus." Ginny commented. "I didn't know, I had barely gotten it when your mum asked about it, I thought she was going to give it to you." she leaned forward. "Whatcha gonna do?" I looked at her.

"What do you mean?"

"You have the guy's phone number! Not only that but Draco Malfoy's number and he's kissed you!" Ginny said as if I were thick. "Are you going to call him?"

"Of course not!" I answered immediately. "Do you think I should forgive all that hell he put all of us through?"

"I think you should call him." she commented. I choked on my soda in completely surprise. I could somewhat see where she was coming from as Malfoy didn't torture Ginny in the same way he did to Harry, Ron and I. But she knew better than to suggest something crazy, even if she did have that tiny crush on him ages ago.

"WHAT?"

"I said call him. Think about it Hermione, you could get some major big time revenge in! If he's really fallen for you, break his heart if you want him to feel how he felt every time he insulted your teeth or hair. But also he may be Malfoy, but people change." she paused, "Plus, have you dated anyone?" Not waiting for my answer she said. "No, come on. No dark power remember?"

"You just think he's hot." I said, recalling her crush on him sometime in the past years where she would stare at pictures of him for hours.

"That's beside the point." she looked at me. "One date." I glared at her. Why was she suddenly so eager to get Malfoy and I together? Was the world going insane?

"One date, Hermione, what could happen? You get your name in the papers and maybe your publisher could see that you are a valuable piece of literary meat!" She did a have point, Malfoy did equal publicity it seemed. It could jumpstart my seemingly dead career. I rolled my eyes at Ginny's determined face. She wasn't going to give up.

"Fine Ginny. One and I mean it, ONE date." I said.

"You promise?"

"Only if you don't send any more copies of that magazine to my mum."

"Deal." she paused. "God Hermione if I had known that your mum would be that way..."

"You can say that again." I agreed. "As if I don't have enough to worry about."

"What do you mean?"

"My dad." I answered.

"The meds aren't working?" Ginny asked, surprised and worried.

"Nope." I stopped. "Ginny he could die." I said after a moment. Ginny's eyes went wide.

"Oh my God." she whispered. "Hermione, I'm so sorry." I nodded.

"It's just that my mum wants him to be able to see his grandchildren. I can see why...but I just can't go get knocked up." Ginny nodded. "I have no clue what to do." I confessed.

"I'm sorry Mione that I can't help you." I sighed.

"I know, Ginny, I know."

The beach happens to be one of my favorite places. I don't know why but the whole deal on the ocean waves being "Calm and relaxing" were actually right. I usually didn't go there often because of work or just plain life getting in the way. But I was unsure of everything almost. It seemed like every time I went to that beach, I always got some kind of answer...so I hoped it would tell me what to do about Malfoy, my mum, and my father. Taking off my shoes, I walked along in the sand. Okay, now would be a good time to send a sign. A hint, ANYTHING! I heard a piece of shell break behind me.

Holy crap.

I said a sign you higher beings up there.

Not HIM.

"Will you stop following me?" I asked, annoyed as I felt Malfoy walking up from behind me. He kept surprising me by conviently being at the same places I happened to appear at. This was getting completely too strange, why on Earth would he spend his time tracking me? I came to the beach for peace and quiet, not to get a headache.

"I'm not following you."

"Wait you aren't. You're stalking me." I corrected myself. "Do you have something to say to me or what?" I asked right out, hoping I would get his immature answer and I could continue my walk.

"What?" he asked confused.

"I said, 'Do you have something to say to me or what?' because you seem to pop up where ever I am lately." I explained.

"Maybe it's you who is stalking me." he said, twisting my words. I laughed.

"Hardly." I looked at him. "Now if you would so kind, go away."

"Free country." he answered. I groaned.

"Okay, if you go away, I won't punch you." I offered. He laughed. "Want to bet?" I said seriously. He rolled his eyes.

"Hermione, you and I both know you won't punch me." he said, smirking. Jesus, why does he have to smirk so much? And what's with calling me Hermione, did I give him permission to call me that?

No.

"Maybe you can't see that maybe you don't look okay." I rolled my eyes.

"Okay, so my life isn't perfect. Whose is?"

"Stop being stubborn and listen. I'm trying to help you." I laughed.

"You want to help ME? Muggle born Granger me? Oh my God who are you kidding Malfoy?" I looked at him. "I'm not going to be some kind of piece in your chess game, okay?" He looked at me.

"I'm not playing, what would I have to win? I may have been a jerk, but I'm a not that bad. Of course I know people's lives aren't perfect. You should know my family wasn't anything near it, since you read that bloody paper so much." he stopped. "Like, you've told Potter or Weasley about the problems in your life. You're too proud to say anything."

I froze.

He knew me too well.

"Pride isn't always a bad thing." I pointed out. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine, Granger." he said. I now caught on that when he was in a good mood with me he must have decided to call me Hermione, and when he wasn't, he called me Granger. "Maybe you are right with the stalking theory but I can only say that once you've had your life in the papers and seen what I have, pride and arrogrance is killed and buried deep in the ground. I'm not a complete sweetheart but I'm a hell of a lot better than what I was. You interest me, that's all and the look in your eyes matched mine only too recently." he stopped. "Remember, you have my number, you can call you know." He started to walk away but then I kind of felt my heart pull. Then I remembered Ginny's request. Groaning and rolling my eyes, I shouted.

"Wait!" when I finished hurrying after him I said. "Okay, you want to talk? Tomorrow, my house, seven. I'll bring the food, you bring yourself. You can look up my address. And no you don't get a say in the food." I finished. "If you're not there at Seven sharp, I will forget this whole thing and assume you are the arrogrant jerk you've always been." I warned him and started to walked away. If I told him the right answers, he would back off and I could focus on my life and how I was going to fix it.

Stupid promises.