14

Her skirt billowed in the cool summer night breeze, and he found the movement of the fabric hypnotizing as they walked through the castle grounds. Draco had to admit to himself that her home may even be grander than his own, though he would never say so out loud. The hedges around the gardens were trimmed with great precision, and he wondered how that had been accomplished without the help of house elves or magic.

The path they were walking on grew uneven, and he offered his hand to her for support, and maybe a bit more than that. She nodded in thanks and took his arm, lifting her skirt in her other hand. His heart was beating a steady, if not quick pace, slightly anxious about what the curly haired girl had in mind, there were many things that could pertain to riding, and he sure the one he wished for in the back of his mind was definitely not the sort of riding she had in mind.

"Have you ever ridden anything other than a broom?" Hermione asked, not looking at him.

"What, like a magic carpet? They haven't been legal in Britain for a long time, Granger." he said, not liking the way he sounded baffled. Malfoys weren't supposed to sound anything other than sure.

"No, like horses. Don't wizards use horses for travel?"

"My grandfather used to breed Abraxans, but I was never allowed to go near them. They were mostly just for show, anyway." he said thoughtfully, "I don't see the need for travel that way when we can just Floo or Apparate."

"True," she nodded as they approached what looked to be a stable, "well, are you keen to try?"

He hesitated, glancing at her, Hermione lips were curled up in challenge and the Slytherin in him did not sit well with the fact that she thought she had the upper hand, even though she probably did. "I'll follow your lead then." he nodded, with a smirk that he hoped did not waver.

"Alright, I suppose my brother won't mind you borrowing his horse, then." she said, as she began pulling things from a work table. She worked quickly, fastening the saddles on the horses and fussing over them. When she was done, she took two pairs of sturdy looking boots from a shelf, and placed the larger pair in front of him. "Change into these. You can leave your jacket here if you'd like."

He watched her slip her heels off of her feet and into the boots and did the same, setting his dragonhide brogues aside. "What do I do now?" he asked, looking at his would be horse in trepidation.

"This is Samson." she said, patting the nose of the chestnut brown steed. "He's used to strangers, Father usually has him ready for our guests. You can mount him by placing your left foot here on the stirrup, and pulling your weight to sit up. He won't feel a thing, trust me."

Draco wished to Merlin that his face didn't betray the scepticism he felt at her words. Not wanting her to think any less of him, he followed her instructions carefully, teetering a bit on the stirrup as he pulled his other leg to the other side.

"What now?" he said, looking down at her.

"We'll start at a walk, so gather your reins between your hands and use your legs to squeeze him slightly, when you do so, push forward in your seat a bit, to stop, pull on the reins lightly, not too hard."

Draco nodded, expression twisted in concentration while he tried to do what Hermione had said. Samson neighed softly before beginning at a slow trot. Draco's face lit up in mirth at his success, and he looked at Hermione for approval.

"You did it!" she said happily, "Now bring him to a halt while I mount Snow."

As quick as a wink, she had situated herself on top of the mare. "Now to turn to your left, pull back gently with your left hand, at the same time, place pressure with your left leg onto the side, and then do the opposite to turn right."

He was quick to follow, finding the horse easy enough to deal with, and before long they were trotting down a trail that led to a dense forest.

"That's our apple orchard." Hermione said, looking straight ahead, "It's a shame that it's dark already, it's very pretty in the daytime. I'm glad the moon's out for us though."

Draco glanced at her, realizing that she was rambling on out of nervousness. "It's still lovely. Mother always wanted an orchard outside the manor but Father wouldn't allow it. The fey that live in the forest near us are quick to anger."

"I'm glad you didn't go through with it. Dryads are getting displaced more and more because of pollution and construction. The numbers have been increasing steadily and it's projected that -"

"Granger," he interrupted, pausing her tirade, from the little he knew of her, she could go on for hours about creature rights.. He could feel his heart thumping in his chest, trying to stop the words that were forming on his lips, "I want to tell you that I'm sorry."

Hermione's mouth opened and closed repeatedly, as she turned to face him and Draco had to bite down a smirk at the sight of it. "F-for what?"

"Everything, really." he said, not looking at her, "I've been a ponce the past few years, and I've been cruel. I've said things I can't take back, and at the time, I thought what I was saying was true because that was all that I'd been taught. Mother's been teaching me differently lately and I'm trying, I swear it. She introduced me to my aunt who married a Muggleborn, and she's been bringing me to the Muggle world more to see that there isn't anything to hate about them and … I just wanted to say I'm sorry."

He spared a look at her and she was just staring at him in wonder. Merlin, she was pretty, even with that stunned look on her face, eyes wide, and mouth opened just a little. He looked back down at the trail quickly, bracing himself for whatever scathing reply she had in store for him, but it never came.

"Okay." she said, in a voice as soft as the breeze running through them.

"What?' he asked, eyes wide and staring at her openly.

"Okay." she said with a single, firm nod, "I forgive you."

Draco didn't think there was anything more beautiful that he could have heard. His chest felt like it would burst, and he tried his best to get his breathing to settle. "You're too forgiving." Draco said in complete disbelief.

"Probably," she said, looking at the moon above them wistfully, "but I feel as though you deserve it. You've been nicer lately, and you kept my secret, that counts for something. I won't give my forgiveness as quick if you muck things up again, though, so this is the only chance you'll get."

"It's the only one I need." he vowed with a nod of his head.

Suddenly, a mischievous light appeared in the girl's eyes, a smirk any Slytherin would have been proud of graced her lips. "Race you back to the castle!" she shouted, turning her horse back and galloping away, leaving him in the dust.

"What?!" he sputtered, "Granger! You haven't taught me how to do that yet!"

By the time Draco had caught up with her, she was already leading Frost into the stable, a mischievous smile on her face. She watched him try and dismount, barely holding in a laugh when he almost got caught on one of the stirrups, averting her gaze quickly when he turned to scowl at her.

"You think that's funny then?" he sneered, dusting himself off needlessly.

"I do, actually." she admitted, taking Samson's reins from him. "Marcus, our stable boy, will handle brushing them down, so we can go back up to the party."

"Do you really want to?" Draco said, trying to hide the scowl from his face.

Hermione chuckled, "Not really. What do you want to do?"

"It's your house, duchess." he said, shrugging.

She paused for a moment, wondering what else might interest her new friend - were they friends? Huh. Did she want them to be?

"We can nick some stuff from the kitchens… oh! I have a Poison Garden, if you're interested? Gosh, that's such an odd thing to say out loud, but I remember you being fairly adept at Potions, so that might be fun? I have a datura plant that's close to maturing, we can go check if it's beginning to bloom."

"I'm more than fairly adept in Potions, thank you very much. I distinctly remember surpassing you once or twice over the years." he said this with a scoff, though he tried to hide the teasing grin from appearing on his face when she harrumphed at his claim.

"Oh, whatever. Do you want to go or don't you?"

"Sure," he shrugged, "do we have to pass the kitchens though? I'm not very hungry."

A wicked glint appeared in her eyes that made a shiver run all the way down his spine. "Who said anything about food?"

In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best idea to go strolling around a garden full of exotic, poisonous plants when tipsy, but it made for a thrilling story - if they were to survive it. So far, he had had to stop Hermione from carelessly touching a Scorpion Shrub and getting stung. There was a slight buzz that filled his head that he hadn't expected from the clear muggle liquor that she'd said was called gin. In the past forty minutes, he'd learned that Hermione was excellent at stealing liquor from unsuspecting cooks, that she could be terribly carefree if she wanted to, and that she could lie her arse off, because the way that everyone seemed to believe her when she said they were just going for a peek in the library was anything but luck. Draco quickly realized that she probably could have been a better Slytherin than most of his housemates.

"So, what do you think?" she asked abruptly, looking at him from across a bush of belladonna.

He swiftly came to stand next to her, worrying that she might touch another thing she wasn't supposed to. "It's rather impressive, if I may say so. You have a handful of things we haven't even considered placing in our own gardens, and everything seems to be healthy as can be."

"Mhm. Mother has someone come to maintain them every day. Out of all our subjects, Herbology interests her the most. Father doesn't like the potential that I might hurt myself though, he prefers charms." she said this dreamily, and he noticed she was beginning to sway on her feet.

"Perhaps it's best if we set this aside." Draco said, taking the bottle from her hand and chucking it behind a bush. "Let's go sit down."

"Okay," she said, smiling softly at him.

He found a bench for the both of them to sit on, settling her on one side, only for Hermione to scooch closer to him, looking at him intently. Merlin, if she looked at him for a second longer, he could not be held accountable for what he'd do.

"Draco," she murmured, barely above a whisper.

Fuck all, he was going to hell for what the sound of his name on her lips was doing to him. "Yes?" he choked out.

He watched tensely as she brought a hand slowly up to his hair, brushing it aside with a small grin on her face. "Your hair is the prettiest thing."

"I beg to differ." he replied, his gaze steady on her as she followed her hand along his hair, "Yours takes the title easily."

What happened next was something he would never have expected to be the outcome of the night. With a racing heart, his eyes widened as she leant in, placing the slightest of kisses on his lips. He could feel her leaning in further, urging him to reciprocate, but a nagging in his head made him twist away.

He cursed his mother, and all the pureblood courtesies that had been ingrained into his head since birth. Here was the witch he had fancied for who knows how long, waiting for him to continue snogging her, eyes dopey and encouraging, an alluring blush across her cheeks, but he couldn't, he just couldn't.

She was clearly not thinking straight, and she was taken - hell, she was taken. Merlin, his mother would have his head if she knew.

"Draco?" she whispered, looking at him in confusion.

Of all the times to feel like a bloody Hufflepuff he chose now. Salazar, help him.

"Come on, Hermione, it's best that we return to your mother." he said, standing to offer his hand.

Her blush deepened, from shame or embarrassment he didn't know. Perhaps it was both.

"I'm sorry." she said softly, "I thought you -"

Draco stopped her there, taking her chin in his hand and raising it so she was looking him in the eye. He could see her emotions warring with one another, not knowing what to make of the situation.

"Don't get me wrong, love, I would love to return your affections, Merlin knows how much. I could sit here for hours kissing you senseless if that's what you wanted, but right now you've had a bit too much to drink, and me as well. I don't think Diggory would appreciate me swooping in to steal his witch, either."

"I'm not his witch." she pouted, before realizing what she'd just done, "Oh God, Cedric, oh my God. I can't believe I just did that."

Draco smiled sadly, "Come, Hermione. Perhaps it's time for you to get to bed."

a/n: Hi! Thank you for all your messages. I'm so grateful for everyone's patience and support. I was able to sneak in this chapter amidst everything that's been going on lately. Love you guys. Tell me what you think! xx China

PS - in Mione's situation, would you own up to kissing someone else or keep the kiss a secret from your partner?