In the morning Draco didn't wait for Hermione to wake him. He knew his way down to the kitchen and he knew she wouldn't have bothered to rouse him anyway, judging by last night's fiasco.

It was very early, before sunrise, even. Draco rolled over and knew he wouldn't be able to go back to sleep, so he got out of bed and walked down to the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.

If only he could make sense of everything.

His thoughts from the night before were still clear to him. He knew with a surety his feelings for Hermione and had given up on trying to convince himself they weren't there. It took more energy to fight with them than to suffer through them, but loving Hermione was a weakness he would have to hide.

Draco groggily made himself a cup of Columbian Roast and sat down. He looked around the kitchen and didn't know where to find creamer or sugar, but it didn't matter since he preferred his coffee black.

He sat down on the bar stool he'd occupied yesterday while eating a corn dog and leaned forward, his bare chest resting lightly on the tiled counter. Sipping his coffee and staring ahead, he wondered what Hermione looked like asleep in her bed. He was glad she wasn't up because he didn't want to fight with her.

He chuckled to himself as he realized that only a few days ago he wouldn't have hesitated to barge into her room at the crack of dawn to wake her up just so he could fight with her.

The first light of morning was now pouring in through the window next to the table and it made the light he'd turned on to make the coffee superfluous. He got up and crossed the room to flick the switch off. He wanted to watch the blue tinted light as it grew brighter.
He leaned back against the wall and sighed solemnly.

This moment was a new dawn in so many ways.

-

Coffee…

Hermione couldn't remember when she'd ever felt so dead. Normally mornings were easy for her. She almost always popped out of bed ready and excited for the new day and the promise of new experiences. But today her body felt like it had been run over by a train. She was so tired…

Still, today was the day they were going to get down to business. She'd come home to enlist her parents' help and had been unavoidably sidetracked by…things. But no more.

As she rolled out of bed, Hermione reminded herself again how important it was that they get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. She was missing her final year at Hogwarts for this. She had left her friends and her Head Girlship because Dumbledore had decided she was old enough to take responsibility in finding the truth.

And she didn't know how much longer she could take being around Malfoy…

Wearing a dressing gown around the house wasn't something she normally did, but it was early and she knew that her parents always slept a little later. She peeked her head out her door and saw that Draco's door was still closed. Good. She relaxed as she made her way down the stairs.

As she walked into the almost completely dark kitchen she thought first of the dry taste in her mouth and the wonders that drenching it in hot coffee would do for her energy level.

"You're up early, Granger." Commented a smooth voice from behind her.

After nearly jumping out of her skin, she turned around to glare at Draco Malfoy. She was more than a little distracted when she saw what Malfoy was wearing, or more importantly, wasn't wearing.

Her angry insult was caught in her throat as her mesmerized eyes rebelliously scanned his body. She'd known he was hot, but actually having his mostly naked body right in front of her was what some would call 'a rude awakening.'

Only a short pair of loose blue boxer shorts made of a light material covered him. His milky skin almost glowed. Even in the pale light she could see the outlines of his well-defined muscles. She stared at his broad shoulders and perfectly sculpted arms and abdomen until her eyes finally rested on his face.

He was smiling simply at her, leaning back elegantly against the wall with a cup of coffee in his hands. His platinum hair was messy and a little crumpled, but it only added to the way it fell gracefully over his eye.

A sudden image of herself pinned up against a wall in his arms, and the taste of his hungry lips came to her, and that feeling she'd had between her legs in that moment of abandon came to her again.

Hermione became suddenly aware of her own lack of modest clothing. She wrenched the sides of her robe together, covering legs that had been visible up to her high thighs, and pushing the image of last night away. She crossed her arms uncomfortably over her now covered chest and resumed glaring at him as best she could, considering her mind still wasn't all there.

Draco shifted his weight and Hermione belligerently stopped herself from watching the way his muscles flexed as he did.

"Don't worry, Granger. I wasn't looking. At least, no more than you were." He had that smile again…

Hermione wanted to come up with a clever retort. She wanted to wipe the smile of his face with some sharp insult, but the only thing she could manage was, "Out."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not finished with my coffee."

"You're spying on me!" Hermione said, frustrated.

At this Draco really did laugh, making Hermione even angrier. He was mocking her now…

"How could I be spying on you Granger? I got here first."

She knew he was right, but couldn't think of a better way to state her irritation. She was very annoyed that she couldn't articulate anything like she normally could, and she blamed in on his lack of clothing.

"Go put a shirt on!" She blurted.

His grin got even bigger and she felt blood rushing to her face. He stared at her for a moment then pushed himself easily off the wall. Hermione instinctively took a step away.

"Fine." He said casually. "If it bothers you." He sat his coffee down on the counter and turned to go, stretching his arms high so that every muscle in his back flexed perfectly for a moment. And there was something else…

Hermione's breath caught in her chest when she saw it. In the pale light she couldn't see it clearly, but it was there. Draco Malfoy had a tattoo. As soon as she'd seen it he was gone. She hadn't been able to see what it was exactly, and she resisted the urge to follow and get a closer look.

She stood rooted to her spot for a moment before pulling her robe together even more tightly.

She literally shook her head as she mentally tried to shake herself back into reality. Why did he have to be so good-looking? Was it too much to ask for his outside to match his inside?

Hermione had always been above such shallowness, but that was before she'd quite literally had it thrust upon her. Until recently, she'd always scoffed and rolled her eyes at the girls who seemed to disregard the fact that Malfoy was an insufferable bastard when they lusted after him. She always tried to look at who a person truly was. Look at Neville! He wasn't exactly what one could call attractive, but he truly was worth ten of Malfoy.

Hell, look at Hermione herself! She was the textbook description of plain. Sure, she had a few nice features, but she was certainly in no shape to be judging others on their physical appearance.

She was disgusted with herself for allowing her thoughts to dwell on Malfoy's body for even a single moment longer than the one it took to dismiss him.

She'd told him never to touch her again, and she meant it.

-

Hermione Granger really was beautiful. She was even beautiful when she was angry. Draco had been unable to hide his smile as she tossed her head heatedly. He'd also been unable to miss the awestruck look on her face when she looked his body over. That had made him smile even more.

Sure, she hated him with a fiery passion. He knew that. But it was plainly obvious that she found him attractive…that was something, right?

He went to his top drawer and pulled out a plain white t-shirt and his wand- his magical wand. Two minutes later he was back in the kitchen. Hermione was now toasting a bagel in the muggle way. She looked over her shoulder as he came in the door and gave him a cold, yet satisfied look. When she turned back to spread crème cheese over her bagel, Draco took a moment to tilt his head and enjoy the way the almost sheer fabric of her robe clung to her.

He picked up his coffee from the bar and sat down on a stool.

"Toss us one of those bagels." He said casually.

Hermione did just that, though a little carelessly. She clearly didn't care if it landed anywhere near him. Draco rolled his eyes and lazily flicked his wand to accio the bagel.

He toasted it the same way and within moments needed the crème cheese. He could have asked Hermione for it, but where would the fun in that be?

"Accio." He muttered, and then watched as it came sailing obediently to his open hand. Hermione turned as it went and gritted her teeth. Draco gave her a devilish grin then began to spread the cheese over his bagel.

"You are so lazy." She said, irritated. "You used magic instead of walking five feet."

"Yes, well…" He said conversationally. "Frankly I'd rather not risk touching you and getting my head bit off, or worse." He stared pointedly at her and took a bite.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but wasn't given the chance as her parents walked in the door sleepily.

"Oh!" Her mother said brightly. "You two are up, wonderful."

"Good morning." Draco said politely. And for some reason Hermione glared openly at him.

He gave her a look that said, "What is your problem?" She rolled her eyes and then turned to her parents, giving them a warm smile Draco had wondered if she still knew how to give. Draco smiled to himself.

"Mum, dad." Hermione said. "I hate to spring this on you so early, but-"

"You want to talk with us about what happened to you." Her father said.

Hermione nodded.

"We were planning on it Minnie." Her mother said, and Draco choked into his now tepid coffee.

Hermione ignored him and went on. "Right then. Why don't we all sit down."

The three Grangers walked into the adjoining family room and sat down- John and Jane in a love seat and Hermione on the couch. Draco followed and sat down on the opposite end of the couch. He leaned back onto the soft cushions and waited for someone to speak.

"We talked to Professor Dumbledore and Arthur Weasley, dear-"

Draco scowled darkly to himself. He was extremely irritated that Hermione's parents were on a first name basis with Ron Weasley's. Not that he would want them ever speaking to either of his own…

"Arthur told us that the bullet that hit you leg," At this Hermione's mother shuddered and Draco couldn't blame her. "Isn't like a normal bullet. It doesn't have the normal markings that it should have, and it has initials on it."

"C.E.S." Hermione said, nodding.

"Right." Her father said. "Now, we've talked about it, and your mother did some research on the Internet about guns."

Hermione smiled and Draco grinned to himself. That was exactly what Hermione would have done, like daughter like mother.

"But really nothing we found was specific enough to tell us why a bullet wouldn't have markings or why it would have initials engraved into it."

At this Hermione eyebrows contracted in consternation.

"But-" Her father said, holding up a finger. "We did some more looking about and we found the names of a few weaponry experts in London."

"Oh!" Said Hermione, and Draco smiled again. They were very thorough. Draco had thought this discussion would be much more longwinded.

"We have a list of several gun dealers and experts that we'll give to you."

"Wow, thanks." Hermione said.

"Yes, well…" Jane said. "We would have gone ourselves but Professor Dumbledore seemed to want the two of you to do this on your own." She said this slightly resentfully.

She looked at her daughter with worry in her eyes, but with a glance from her husband, she smiled. "But I know you Hermione. You can handle anything."

"Thanks, mum." Hermione said. Then she got up and hugged her mother. Jane smiled genuinely as she wrapped her arms around Hermione and Draco turned his eyes way, though he didn't know why.

"Well." John said. "That's all the help we can offer. You two can leave as soon as you're ready. Be careful."

"Thanks, and we will." Said Hermione, standing up straight. "I love you." She said pleasantly. And with that, she walked out of the room to go get ready for the day, without so much as glancing at Draco. Not that he was surprised.

Draco stared straight ahead and closed his eyes a little, trying to take out the stinging he felt from the scene that had just taken place. When he opened his eyes he found both the grangers standing up.

Jane smiled sympathetically at him and said, "Don't worry Draco, she'll come around."

"Wha-" Draco began to say in confusion, his face flushing. But Jane left the room quickly. Draco reached up and scratched his eyebrow, his head tilted down.

John chuckled and left the room behind his wife.

Jesus, is it that obvious?

-

Hermione loved her parents. She knew they'd be able to help and she was right. They'd given her a clear plan and ever set her in the right direction. Her mind was rolling with the possibilities of what a weapon expert might be able to tell them about the bullet.

Her only regret was that Malfoy would be tagging along.

She showered and dressed quickly in jeans and a plain white tank top. She pulled her hair up and went down to see her parents off to work. She was surprised to find Draco already there and looking perfect as usual. Still, if they were going to be out and about in muggle London, he was going to get awfully uncomfortable in dress slacks and a button-up shirt. Not that that bothered her…

She sighed resolutely.

"We're going to need to get you some real clothes, Malfoy." She said frankly.

He turned to glare superiorly at her. He tilted his chin up and said, "What do you mean, real clothes, Granger. These trousers alone cost more than your entire wardrobe."

Hermione rolled her eyes. They were back to the money thing. Did he honestly think the price of his trousers was something she'd be insulted by?

"Malfoy, I don't care how much your pants cost. The plain fact is that you look like you just stepped out of GQ and you will attract attention to us."

"What the fuck is 'GQ'?" He asked, shaking his head.

"Never mind." Hermione said, waving her hand.

"No, I mind." He said, challengingly. "You bring up muggle references, assuming I have no idea what you're talking about. Then you act like I'm completely dense for not knowing. It's patronizing and I'm bloody sick of it. You brought it up so tell me, what's GQ?" He folded his arms and raised his eyebrows expectantly.

Hermione stared at him, then opened her mouth, and then closed it again. She'd rather have eaten her own fist than tell him he looked like a male model. But there was no way around it. She'd dug the hole and now she had to deal with the consequences.

"It's a muggle magazine." She said bluntly.

"Uh huh." He said. "And why do I look like I just stepped out of it?"

"Because it's a magazine adorned with…. attractively dressed people." She said through gritted teeth.

At this Draco grinned dashingly. "So you're saying you find me sexy, Granger?" He said in a suave voice that made her want to throw something at him.

Hermione bit her lip and glared at him.

"That's good to know." He said, winking at her.

Hermione scoffed. "You wish."

"Obviously."

She opened her mouth to ask him what the hell that meant, but before she had any more time to ponder it, her parents arrived in the foyer to head to work.

"Well you two." Hermione's father said, still fastening his tie. "Have a good day, and good luck." He looked right at Draco and gave him a look that clearly said, "I'm trusting you, don't do anything stupid."

Draco gave John Granger a single nod to show he'd understood.

"Jane?" John said.

"Yes, I'm ready. Can we expect you two for dinner tonight?"

Draco looked at Hermione, deferring to her.

Hermione nodded, "Yeah."

Hermione's parents walked out the door and Draco was left to stare awkwardly at Hermione and to notice her bare arms for the first time. He had to admit he was significantly overdressed compared to her.

"So," he said. "Where in muggle London does one buy clothes."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, and then smirked. "So you're admitting you need different clothes?" The corners of her mouth twitched supremely.

Draco rolled his eyes. Really she could be annoying…

"Don't push your luck, Granger. Let's go."

Hermione seemed to think he'd been satisfactorily put in his place, so she simply said. "Acquaint."

"What?"

"That's where we'll go to buy clothes." She said, as though this were the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'm going to need an address, Granger. Unless you want me to guess I have no way to apparate."

"I'll be back." She said. "Stay here."

"Where else would I go?"

She didn't answer. She disappeared up the stairs to her room and Draco was left to contemplate how irritating she could be. He pulled out his wand and began to twirl it mindlessly in his fingers.

He looked around the foyer and thought of the scene that had taken place earlier. He began to wonder why it bothered him so much when Hermione hugged her mother. No, that wasn't it. It was that Hermione's mother had hugged her back.

Draco had never hugged his parents. At least not that he could remember, so really there was no reason to be upset. Hugging was overrated. He frowned as he thought of how much his world had changed in less than one week.

And then Hermione was back, this time carrying a jacket over her arm, her wand, a piece of paper Draco assumed had the names and addresses of weapon experts written on it, and a little plastic bag carrying the bullet that was the cause of all his current problems.

"Shall we?" Hermione asked.

Draco muttered grudgingly and Hermione took that to mean that he was in fact ready to leave.

" 38 Monmouth Street, London, WC2H 9EP." She said.

And with that, the two of them disapparated.

000

Right then. Obviously this chapter was fun to write because who in their right mind wouldn't want to see Draco in his boxer shorts?

Sorry for the delay in posting it. I ended up having to do quite a bit of research, which I didn't use. It will come up in a later chapter, so it wasn't all for nothing. It would just have been too much too soon to stick it in this chapter.

So yeah. Keep up the reviews!

Amanda

7-28-06