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Chapter Sixteen

Second Date

"There's something for you in my room. Wait here, I'll be right back."

Hermione nodded and watched Draco walk up the stairs, losing himself in the east wing of the manor.

She sighed, shaking her head slightly. She was still a little dazed from the kiss he had given her only a few minutes ago.

Her whole body trembled as she remembered that that hadn't been the only kiss of the day. Two, and during both of them Hermione had felt as if she was going to fall apart in his arms. It was as if her magic came alive when they were so close, bursting inside her body and filling each of her cells with energy.

Did you feel it too, Granger?

Those words meant that Draco had also experienced the same sensation when she kissed him back.

Hermione wasn't an expert on kissing. She only had shared a few with Viktor during her fourth year at Hogwarts, and it was impossible to compare that to what she had felt when she kissed Draco.

Did it have something to do with her being his mate?

Probably, but she knew he wouldn't answer if she asked him about it.

Bloody Draco Malfoy and his secrets.

Hermione bit her bottom lip, thinking about the little silver book he always carried around.

If only she could take a look at it...

"Are you leaving already?"

Narcissa's voice startled Hermione, who spun on her heels with wide eyes. The woman gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's all right. I've been getting so lost in my thoughts lately, I don't know what's wrong with me."

Narcissa arched one of her perfect eyebrows, placing her hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezing gently.

"I think you do."

She held her breath, unable to answer. She suspected what it was, but she wasn't ready to admit it yet.

It was getting harder and harder to stop thinking about Draco, who was a constant presence in her mind day and night. It all reminded her of her sixth year when she couldn't stop thinking about him either... but for very different reasons.

The change in the way he looked and acted was so drastic that she still didn't understand how no one else noticed. Only she and Harry seemed to see the extreme pallor of his face, the dark circles under his eyes and the absence of emotion on his face.

Now Hermione knew what all the coldness was about. That was the year Draco had started to occlude, hiding what he really felt as he tried to perform the difficult task the Dark Lord had given him.

And, almost three years later, he was still protecting his mind in the same way. It was going to be hard to convince him that there was nothing to be afraid of, though Hermione knew that Draco would never hurt her.

She had seen it the night he had rescued her from the clutches of those two men. Despite being furious and transformed into a Veela, he didn't move when she stood in his way and managed to calm down within seconds.

What was Draco so afraid of? What did he think he could do?

"Can I tell you a secret, dear?"

Hermione blinked, coming back to reality, and nodded slowly. Narcissa moved closer to her, her gaze fixed on the end of the corridor where Lucius' portrait was.

"It's hard for a Malfoy to fall in love, but once it happens there's no turning back."

Hermione glanced at her, her cheeks reddening.

"Draco is not in love with me."

The woman chuckled.

"Are you sure about that?"

'Yes. No.'

It was too soon. Draco had feelings for her, just as Hermione was starting to feel things she hadn't felt before. But falling in love was something that took time, especially when you'd spent almost half your life hating that person.

Hermione wasn't stupid. She'd been noticing that he treated her differently from everyone else. With Harry, with Ginny, even with his Slytherin friends he was still cold and distant, just like the Draco of her memories.

But not with her. Even if he didn't put it into words he always sought to be closer, to brush the back of her hand or share a glance with her. His grey eyes watched her so intently that she was unable to stand under his scrutiny and usually averted her gaze.

Intensity, that was the perfect word to define what was happening between them. And it had been that way from the very first moment when they had spoken in the Wizengamot room and Hermione had gotten him released.

But there was still no love... right?

Before she could think of a reply, they both heard the sound of footsteps. Hermione turned her head and saw Draco coming down the stairs on the right side of the room with a rolled-up parchment in his hand.

He stopped beside her and glanced sideways at his mother, who was still smiling.

"What are you doing here, Mother?"

"I don't know when I'll see Hermione again, so I've come to say goodbye," she replied, cocking her head to the side and waving one of her hands dismissively.

Draco narrowed his eyes and Hermione decided to intervene, afraid that Narcissa would tell him what they had been talking about.

"What's that you've got there?"

His expression softened as his eyes fell on her. Draco held out the parchment, clearing his throat.

"More points for your future law. They may help you with the section about the use of wands."

Hermione smiled, accepting it and stuffing it in one of her pockets.

"Thank you, Draco. I think I'll have the first draft ready in a month and, hopefully, I'll be able to present it to the Wizengamot in January. They'll have no choice but to pass it."

"I don't think it will work, Granger," he muttered, shaking his head and letting out a sigh.

She clenched her fists.

"Well, I'm not going to stop until they pass it. Neither you nor the werewolves deserve the inhumane treatment you get from the Ministry, and I'm not the only one who thinks so."

Narcissa, who was listening to the conversation in silence, nodded.

"I'll be there to support you when the time comes, Hermione."

"Thank you," she said, taking one of her hands and squeezing it. Narcissa smiled, squeezing back.

Draco frowned, slightly confused at the loving gesture between the two of them.

"Harry and Ron will be there, too. I'm sure it will help to have The Chosen One on my side," Hermione joked, releasing her hand.

Narcissa raised both eyebrows.

"It will help a lot. Few would dare object to something Harry Potter supports."

Hermione grinned, and all her skin prickled as she felt Draco's fingers brush against her forearm.

"We should go now."

She met his gaze and nodded.

"You're right, it's late. Until another day, Narcissa."

"Goodbye, dear. Come back whenever you like."

Hermione entered the fireplace first, coughing as the green flames rose above her.

"Diagon Alley."

After appearing in the Leaky Cauldron, they walked through the door that linked it to the Muggle part of London. Hermione pulled her coat tighter as she felt the autumn breeze, looking up to make sure it wasn't going to rain.

"Where's that Muggle restaurant you like so much?" Draco asked, looking around.

Her heart began to beat faster when she felt him intertwining his fingers with hers.

"It's not too far, about ten minutes from here."

They walked together, and she furrowed her brow as she saw that Draco was looking closely at everyone, even the people walking on the other side of the street.

"What is it, Draco?"

When he glanced at her, Hermione clenched her teeth as she recognised the coldness in his gaze.

"I'm not going to let those two men near you again."

That was not the answer she had expected. Hermione swallowed, moving a little closer to him to speak softly.

"London is huge, I don't think they're around here. Besides, after what I did, I'm not sure what happened to them. Sometimes I wonder if it was a bad idea to erase their memories, maybe I should have just handed them over to the Aurors."

He snorted, his eyes scanning the crowd around them relentlessly.

"I would have killed them if you hadn't done that, Granger."

"And risk spending the rest of your life in Azkaban? That would have been a big mistake."

He stopped, pulling her arm until he had her right in front of him.

Her breath caught when she saw how hard he was clenching his jaw. The edges of his irises had a silvery glow to them that she was beginning to know all too well.

"No one can lay a hand on you. I'd rather die than let them hurt you again, do you understand? You've suffered enough because of me, and I'm not going to let it happen again."

His hands were shaking, which was not a good sign. Draco was really furious.

Hermione placed a hand on his chest, looking into his eyes.

"Breathe, Draco. You can't transform here," she reminded him in a whisper, stroking his knuckles with her thumb.

He closed his eyes, letting out a shaky sigh. He took a step closer to her and tilted his head until their foreheads made contact. Hermione heard him taking a slow breath, trying to calm himself. She continued to trace his knuckles until the tremors were gone.

When Draco opened his eyes, they were completely grey again.

"Are you all right?"

He nodded, straightening his back and resuming their walking without letting go of her hand.

"Sometimes occluding isn't enough," he admitted quietly.

"You can't get so angry, Draco. I'm fine, nothing happened to me. You saved me."

He glared down at her again.

"What if I'd found you a minute later, Granger? What would have happened then?"

Hermione swallowed, shivering at the thought of that night.

"Do you have any idea how it felt to see you completely helpless and crying? Do you know how much it reminded me of when you were lying on the floor of my house while my aunt tortured you?" Draco hissed, shaking his head.

"That wasn't your fault."

"She was part of my family. My parents were there and they did nothing. I didn't do anything either, I just looked away and focused on not hearing your screams. Of course it's my fault."

"No, it's not. If you had intervened, we'd probably both be dead now."

"Bella would have killed me if I'd tried to stop her, and she wouldn't have cared that I was her nephew," he admitted, wrinkling his nose. "But I was too much of a coward then. I didn't even consider helping you."

"You couldn't, even if you wanted to. You helped us in your own way, Draco. You gave us more time to escape."

Hermione stopped outside the door of an Italian restaurant and Draco did the same, sighing.

"What happened to Dobby?" he asked, looking up at her.

Hermione twisted her lips.

"He died soon after. Your aunt's dagger was stuck in his chest."

Draco averted his gaze, opening the door with his left hand.

"He was a good elf."

"The best I've ever known," Hermione agreed with a smile.

The two of them entered the restaurant and she opened and closed her fists a couple of times, taking a deep breath.

That conversation had been too intense.

That word again. It seemed like that was the way it was with Draco.

One of the waiters approached her and Hermione said her name. The man pointed to one of the tables and they both sat down. Draco glanced at the small candle between them and looked into her eyes again.

"Do you like Italian food?"

"Very much," Hermione acknowledged with a nod.

His lips curved into a crooked smile.

"What?" she asked quizzically.

The same waiter left two menus on the table and walked away again after taking note of their drinks.

Draco leaned his elbows on the table, lowering his head slightly until their eyes were level.

"I assure you, it's much better in Italy."

"You've been there?"

"Every summer, Granger. My family has a small mansion in Tuscany."

"Small?" she repeated, snorting in disbelief at his laughter.

"It's small compared to Malfoy Manor."

Hermione looked around before speaking quietly.

"Giorgio Malfoy lived there?"

He nodded.

"At first, yes, but a few years later he and his wife moved to Wiltshire."

Once dinner was in front of them, Hermione decided to ask the question that had been on her mind for months.

"I know there are things you don't want me to know right now, but... Could you tell me how a Veela came to be a Malfoy? I'm dying of curiosity."

He set his wine glass down on the table, wiping his lips with a napkin.

"I can tell you that."

Hermione listened attentively to the whole story, not daring to interrupt him.

Alessia was Raffaello Malfoy's only daughter. She met Giorgio when she wandered into a forest near Lucca, the town where she lived with her family.

That natural reserve was home to a group of Veelas who didn't like humans at all, but one of them protected Alessia when the others tried to attack her. This Veela could speak her language and explained that she was his mate.

The rest of the creatures stopped being hostile instantly. One of their most sacred laws was that the mate of another Veela was untouchable, no matter what species she was.

It was the first time one of them had found his among humans and, in a few days, they accepted Alessia as part of their group.

The silver-eyed Veela who had defended her had a name that was too difficult to pronounce, so he chose a human one for himself: Giorgio. He adopted the Malfoy surname soon after, once they got married. It was love at first sight, or so Alessia told her grandson, Draco's grandfather.

And, since that strange union, all the Malfoy heirs had been male.

"Really? Hasn't a woman ever been born in your family?" Hermione asked in surprise.

Draco shook his head.

"And why did the Malfoys only have one son?"

"So that there is only one heir. It's a tradition among pureblood families, few choose to have more than one," he explained, shrugging one of his shoulders.

"Could the Veela blood have something to do with the fact that no females have been born?" Hermione asked herself quietly, but Draco heard her.

"I think so. It's the only explanation I can think of."

She nodded, still trying to come to terms with the unbelievable story.

Draco gave her a smirk and stole a piece of her tiramisu with his spoon, placing it into his mouth with his gaze fixed on her. Hermione made a face and he chuckled.

"You don't like to share, Granger?"

"I'm used to having my food stolen. Ron and Harry are always hungry."

He arched an eyebrow.

"Well, I don't share."

"Not even with me?"

Draco looked down at his dessert and looked up again, sweeping his eyes over her face.

"I think I might make an exception for you," he murmured, pushing the plate of chocolate cake towards her.

Hermione smiled and cut off a piece to taste it. When she looked back at him she saw that he was very tense.

"Does it bother you that much, huh?" she said, pushing the plate back towards him.

"It's not that, Granger. There are two Muggles who have been staring at me for quite some time, and I just overheard them talking about me."

"It can't be, Muggles don't know who you ar..."

Her voice trailed off as she followed his gaze.

It was true. There was a couple staring at him, and not with good looks on their faces. The man whispered something and the woman nodded, pulling a phone out of her bag.

"I think we should go," Draco suggested, clenching his jaw.

"Yes, we'd better. I'm going to go pay, I'll be right back."

Hermione walked briskly to the bar, asking the bartender for the check. There was something weird going on and she had to get Draco out of there as soon as possible.

When she got back to the table, Hermione gasped as she saw him standing there with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. That couple was facing him and the whole restaurant was watching them.

"Don't deny it, I know it's you! I remember those grey eyes," said the woman, holding her husband's arm.

"Yes, he's that criminal who was on the news last year. Don't wait any longer and call the police, Kate."

Hermione ran up to Draco, holding his hand.

"What are you talking about? Draco is not a criminal."

"Yes, he is! A group of assassins were on the run, and I remember his face perfectly well!"

Hermione blanched. She'd seen that news during the last few days she'd lived at her parents' house before she'd wiped their memories and sent them to Australia.

They were talking about the Death Eaters. The English government had informed the public of the escape of several criminals from a high-security prison, and then they had continued to show their faces in the news for over a year.

Draco was never officially one of them so they had to be talking about his father. The two of them looked so much alike that those Muggles were mistaking him for Lucius.

Looking sideways at him, she realised that Draco too had come to the same conclusion.

"You've got the wrong person, he's innocent. I think you mean his father and it's not fair to blame him for crimes he didn't commit," Hermione murmured, trying to keep the rest of the restaurant from overhearing the conversation.

His hand began to tremble but she held it tighter.

"Is this his son? Yes, it could be. Now that you mention it, the person in the photographs was a little older," the man replied, scanning Draco's face with his gaze.

The woman nodded, taking a step back.

"It looks like we've made a mistake, Ted."

They both continued to stare at Draco with unfriendly faces. Hermione tugged on his arm and they both walked out of the restaurant, feeling the damp, cold London air on their faces again.

"I'm sorry, Draco. That was very unpleasant," she mumbled, leaning closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder as they walked.

Draco was still as serious as ever, his face completely impassive.

"Where have those Muggles seen the pictures of my father? They can't read The Prophet."

"On the television. It's a device we use to broadcast news in real time. Harry has one at home, but there's so much magic in Grimmauld Place that it doesn't work."

He didn't speak again and Hermione sighed, pursing her lips. That day was going from bad to worse.

When they stepped out of the green flames, he let go of her hand and walked to the stairs in silence, passing the living room where Ginny and Harry's voices were.

"Draco, wait."

He stopped just outside his bedroom door, already on the first floor, and turned to look down at her.

"Don't make a big deal out of this."

Draco clicked his tongue, averting his gaze to the door of Harry's room.

"It looks like I can't visit the Muggle part of London anymore."

"Of course you can, Muggles forget such news easily. It's very strange that those two people remembered and I assure you it won't happen again."

Getting no response, she took three more steps towards him and hugged him.

"Don't get mad."

His arms were soon around her and Hermione felt his breath in her ear.

"I'm not mad."

Slowly, he moved his head until their foreheads were pressed together, just as he had done on their way to the restaurant. Hermione smiled as she watched him take a deep breath very slowly and close his eyes. She closed them too, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Hugging him felt too good.

"I ruined the date."

Hermione shook her head at the sound of his voice, her eyes still closed.

"I would be upset if someone told me those things, too."

"As understanding as ever, Granger."

She smiled and lifted her chin, bringing their faces even closer. That third kiss was tender, sweet and slow, but it altered every part of her body just like the previous ones.

It was as if something exploded when their lips came into contact. Hermione doubted she would ever be able to get used to the sensation.

They both gasped as they pulled apart and Draco cupped her cheek with his hand, kissing her forehead and stepping back.

Hermione waited until he opened the door to his room before she went downstairs in search of her friends. She needed to talk to Harry before she went to sleep.

"See you tomorrow, Draco."

"Goodnight."