As she emerged from her bathroom in her dressing gown, Hermione was startled by a sharp tapping at her window. Letting the owl in, she was astonished when it dropped a gorgeous bouquet of pink, yellow, and purple tulips on her kitchen table and flew off.

Picking up the card nestled in the midst of the flowers, she read the note with trembling hands.

Hermione,

The florist put up quite the fight to get me to purchase daisies, but I must confess I balked at his ill-conceived suggestion of such a bouquet for you. For some reason, I found myself drawn to this array of tulips instead. They seemed more suited to a witch of discerning taste such as yourself. I do hope I chose correctly.

Looking forward to our evening,

D.M.

She let the card drop back to the table and leaned forward to inhale the aroma of the tulips. Had she been dropped in some sort of alternate universe? One where Draco Malfoy was suddenly intent on wooing her? Well even if this all was some sort of weird, wonderful dream, Hermione was going to see it through.

Opening her top dresser drawer, her hand hesitated over her favorite pair of blush-colored lace knickers. She certainly didn't plan on Malfoy seeing them, especially after only one dinner, but knowing she was wearing them always made her feel confident and sexy. And with how nervous and wrong-footed Malfoy had made her feel all day, Hermione would take all the confidence she could get.

Walking up to the restaurant at five minutes to 7, Hermione was relieved to see Malfoy already waiting for her. A tiny, snide voice in her head had half-convinced her that he would stand her up, that the other shoe would drop and this would turn out to be a cruel prank on his part, but thus far, that little voice had been wrong.

Speaking of wrong, it was probably very, very wrong of her to picture ripping Malfoy's clothes off his body when said clothes probably cost more than her entire wardrobe put together. Say what you like about his character, but his sartorial choices were perfection and tonight's suit was no exception.

"Good evening. That's a lovely dress."

"Well you did advise me to dress to impress."

"Hmm, consider me thoroughly impressed."

He punctuated the compliment by biting his lower lip and Hermione nearly swooned.

"Thank you for the flowers," she said abruptly, hoping her face wasn't too red. "I adore tulips."

"I'm glad to hear it. A lucky guess on my part."

When they were seated at their table, Hermione sat back in her chair with a thoughtful look on her face. She regarded the man across from her curiously, her mind still reeling from the day's events that had somehow led to this dinner.

"Knut for your thoughts?"

He'd caught her staring, but she wasn't embarrassed this time. "I'm sure you could afford a Galleon for mine," Hermione teased playfully. Her jibe earned a genuine smile from him and it took her a moment to become accustomed to the sight.

"It's just odd, isn't it? The two of us out to dinner?" She said as neutrally as possible.

Malfoy shrugged nonchalantly. "On the contrary, if you think about it, I don't find it odd at all."

Hermione frowned, unsure of how to decipher his cryptic comment.

"Have I made you uncomfortable? Are you worried about what people will think?" He asked.

There. Finally, Hermione saw a crack in the façade. All day and for the beginning of the evening Draco seemed to have her at a disadvantage. He was too self-possessed, too suave, too… everything, as if he were working from a script. But his questions about her comfort betrayed a hint of vulnerability, and it was that more than anything that allowed Hermione to finally relax.

"I'm not uncomfortable," she assured him. "And I certainly don't care for others' opinions about the company I keep." She offered a small smile and finally turned her attention to the menu. Her relaxed demeanor threatened to crumble when she noticed it was entirely in French. Hermione's grasp of the language was passable at best, and as her self-consciousness mounted at the thought of mangling the pronunciations in front of her date, Malfoy spoke up.

"You look a tad overwhelmed over there."

"Just being indecisive."

"Would you mind terribly if I selected something for you? I'd never presume to order for my date, but if the language barrier is too much, I'm happy to help."

Hermione blinked and opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Oh! Umm all right, yes, that would be fine."

Get. It. Together.

"Any allergies? Foods you simply loathe?"

Hermione shook her head. "Nope, I'm easy… I mean," she wanted to smack herself, "I've quite a broad palate."

He smirked at her, but otherwise ignored her accidental innuendo. And when the waiter dropped by to take their order, Malfoy absolutely destroyed the state of her knickers when he conducted the whole ordering process in flawless French. Just like that, she felt at a supreme disadvantage once again. When she had a glass of wine in her hand, she brought up his presentation from earlier. Work was a safe topic, generally.

"Quite an achievement by your department, you know. The length of a Polyjuice dose hasn't been tinkered with in decades."

They chatted comfortably over their wine and Hermione felt her anxiety ebb. Malfoy was charming, but not overly so, and Hermione found the conversation between them settle into something more natural.

"Did you know that if you succeed your superior you'd become the youngest Potions Master in more than 200 years at the Ministry?" She said, swirling her wine around the glass.

"Funny you should mention that fact, I only just learned it myself yesterday."

"We should get you a badge to wear," Hermione joked and took a bite of the most succulent duck she'd ever tasted. "And you could be introduced by that title before every one of your monthly reports."

Draco rolled his eyes. "All right, be honest. Those meetings are abominable, don't you think?"

They are the highlight of my entire month.

"On the contrary, I find your reports interesting and thorough. Although how you manage to keep yourself from biting off peoples' heads I'll never know."

"How do you mean?"

"When Delia asked you today about the length of time for normal Polyjuice… well if I were you I probably would have snapped!"

Malfoy chuckled and Hermione decided she liked that sound very much.

"I'm sorry, don't you mean Mrs. Sharpton?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh my goodness, I forgot she used to insist everyone call her that! Do you even know what her husband's name is? I swear, she's never let that slip in the 3 years she's been Mrs. Sharpton."

Malfoy set his wine glass down and gave her a conspiratorial smirk. "As a matter of fact, I do know. I was so curious after a while that I pulled her employee file. Guess what it is."

"Oh, it must be something truly odd. Let's see… Beaufort?"

"Nope. Think more ancient."

"Zeus?"

"Nope, less god-like."

"Caligula?"

Draco barked out a laugh. "Disturbing, but closer than you'd think!"

"Nero?"

He tipped his glass to her. "Ten points to Gryffindor. Nero Sharpton."

Hermione burst out laughing. "No wonder she keeps that hidden! Can you imagine?"

As their laughter died down, Hermione caught his silvery gaze. He was looking at her oddly, like she was something new to behold, as if they hadn't known each other since childhood or passed each other in the Ministry halls once or twice a week for several years.

Before she could analyze it too much, he cleared his throat. "Do you have room for dessert?"

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly—is that Harry and Ginny?"

Malfoy's head whipped around toward the restaurant entrance. Hermione smiled and waved, but they did not acknowledge her friendly gesture. Instead, confusing Hermione, Ginny was stalking over, looking murderous, and Harry was trailing behind her looking like he absolutely did not want to be there.

"Hi Gin! Hi Harry! What're you—?"

"You are unbelievable Malfoy!" Ginny seethed when she reached their table. "I told you, I warned you not to use last night against her!"

"Ginny, what's going on?" Hermione asked, but everyone ignored her.

"You're causing a scene, Weasley, and I've not done anything wrong," Malfoy asserted coolly.

"What do you call all this then?" Ginny thundered and gestured between Draco and Hermione.

"A dinner date. One you are rudely interrupting, might I add."

"If anyone's rude here, it's you. I cannot believe you would stoop so low as to trick her like this."

"It's not a trick nor a trap nor anything else you want to accuse me of," he said defensively.

"And here I thought you were actually a decent human after you helped me carry her back from the pub!"

Hermione's face blanched.

"Will someone please tell me what is going on here?" she asked in a small voice and three heads turned in her direction. Malfoy's face was impassive, Ginny's angry, and Harry's sheepish. Not one of them put forth an answer.

"Harry, is this related to the investigation into the Babbling Beverage?" Hermione asked calmly.

"Oh er, yeah." He said, speaking for the first time since their odd intrusion. "Turns out the whole thing was an accident. One of the barmaids is pregnant and somehow botched the mixing of her energy-boosting potions so badly it morphed into extra strength Babbling Beverages, which she left out on the bar, intending to take them later. Apparently, the hue of the beverage mimics one of their meads, and one of the other bartenders grabbed them without thinking and served them to several people, including you. Both had knocked off for the night before we were called in, so that's why it took so long to solve." Harry rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "So uh, no harm done and case closed and Ginny I really think we should leave."

"No Harry!" his wife burst out. "I told you Malfoy was up to something and I was right!"

"I'm not up to anything." Malfoy ground out.

"You really have some nerve duping Hermione like this," growled Ginny.

"It's none of your business if she agreed to go out with me tonight," clipped Malfoy.

"Oh? And did she have all the facts before she agreed? I think not!"

"You should listen to your husband, you're making a spectacle," Malfoy drawled back. "What's your big plan then? Going to pull up a chair and monitor our dessert course? Follow us down the street when I escort her home?"

Ginny practically snarled at him. "You are not going anywhere with Hermione until she has the full story."

The sound of Hermione's wand slamming onto the table made the other three jump. "When you've all finished discussing me like I'm not even here, perhaps one of you can tell me who I should jinx first?" She lifted her wand delicately and was rewarded with fearful faces from the rest of the group. "Now," she rolled her wand idly in her palm, "I want answers and it seems Malfoy is in the best position to give those to me."

"He's just going to lie Hermione!" Ginny protested.

"Which is why he is going to be supplying me with his memory from last night," Hermione stated simply and Malfoy glared at her.

"If you can find a Pensieve at this hour, sure Granger," he sneered and it was so reminiscent of the Draco Malfoy of her youth that her wand twitched in her hand.

"Settle our tab then, Malfoy," she said airily and stood. "Because I happen to own one."

Hermione insisted Ginny and Harry go home and leave her to deal with the situation, an order Harry seemed only too happy to obey. Left alone with Malfoy, tense silence reigned as Hermione led the way to her home and through her darkened flat. She flicked her wand and at once the lights brightened the space of the living room.

"Sit here," she ordered Malfoy tersely and pointed at her sofa. She summoned an empty vial and held it up to his face.

"Your memory. Now." She barked.

He scowled as he placed his wand to his temple and extracted the silvery, gaseous strand for her. As she moved to walk past him with the mist-filled vial, a hand shot out to grasp her wrist.

"I meant it, Granger," he said, sounding slightly defeated.

Her brows furrowed. "Meant what?"

Draco released her wrist and looked away from her toward the opposite wall, a clouded expression over his eyes. "The one thing I'd hoped you wouldn't remember."

She waited a beat to see if he would elaborate, but he remained stoically silent. Even more resolved to get her answers, she walked back to her study and closed the door. Hermione's Pensieve was the first big purchase she'd made with her Ministry paycheck years ago. It had helped bridge the divide between her and her parents once she'd restored their memories and brought them back to England from their brief stint with alternate lives in Australia. When Hermione had found certain memories too hard to simply talk about, she let her parents see her experiences via the Pensieve. While they'd been rather angry with her initially for modifying their memories, being able to view Hermione's war time experiences at their own pace had helped them to grasp just how dangerous Hermione's life had been, and contextualized her role in the war.

Taking a deep breath, she uncorked Malfoy's memory and released it into the Pensieve, ducking her head in immediately. She found herself back in the Leaky Cauldron and saw the past version of Malfoy in a booth in the corner with Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, and a man she thought might be called Adrian Pucey.

They seemed to be celebrating Nott's engagement to Daphne Greengrass, Zabini ribbing Nott about finally plucking up the courage to propose. Malfoy looked more relaxed than she'd ever seen him, slowly sipping his whisky every few minutes. He was a far cry from the boisterous bully who constantly required attention from the friends around him.

Eventually, a group of Aurors approached the tables and began questioning and dismissing groups of people. Malfoy was the last of his friends to be briefly questioned and he waved them off when they asked if they should wait for him. Harry cleared Malfoy almost immediately and asked if he wouldn't mind just waiting outside for a few minutes in case they needed him again.

Malfoy exited the pub and that's when Hermione finally saw herself in the memory. She was sitting on the ground and babbling rapidly to herself.

"Ginny was such a good friend. Good as a sister. Too bad we could not officially be sisters, but that's life, you know? Ron and I just did not work out and that's all right, we're ever such good friends still. Friends are important, yes, especially friends like Ginny. I don't have a lot of girlfriends, possibly because I have trouble connecting with women my own age, I don't know why, it's just always been so."

She watched Malfoy look down at her in mild concern, then look up and down the street, but they were quite alone. He seemed resigned as he approached her where she was sat on the ground.

"Er… all right there Granger?"

Hermione wracked her brain as she watched the scene play out before her. She did not remember any of this occurring.

"Granger, can you stand? What's wrong with you?"

The memory version of herself began laughing hysterically before shooting up to press her face very close to a confused looking Malfoy.

Hermione covered her own face in embarrassment as she heard and saw herself babble and giggle in Malfoy's personal space. When she saw Ginny emerge from the pub and approach them, she breathed a sigh of relief. Surely Ginny would have put a stop to this.

"Hermione! There you are!" cried Ginny and tugged on her arm. "Hey Malfoy, Harry said you're free to go."

"Will she be all right?" Draco cast a wary glance back at Hermione, still chattering about Malfoy and for some reason, George and Fred.

"Fine, it's just a heavy dose of Babbling Beverage."

"Ah, that explains a lot."

To Hermione's horror, she watched herself stagger and was surprised when Malfoy automatically reached out with Ginny to help keep her upright.

She watched Ginny ask Malfoy for assistance, and Hermione was once again surprised by his actions when he agreed and her arm was slung around his torso. Hermione followed along the memory as the awkward group of three shuffled through Diagon Alley.

Her dosed self kept up a constant stream of nonsensical chatter as they continued along. While silly, it was all rather harmless until:

"—I don't often go out on weeknights like this, but Ginny absolutely, positively insisted, and then she went ahead and made me tell her the one thing I swore I would never tell anyone, but I just could not hold it in anymore! It takes its toll, you know, keeping secrets and I just had to tell someone that I sort of fancy—"

"Hermione, NO!"

"—Draco Malfoy and she swore she wouldn't tell a single soul and she didn't even make fun of me for it and then this copy shows up and I'm so impressed at the amount of magical manipulation needed to render such an accurate imitation—"

Ginny looked askance at Hermione in horror.

"Oh sweet Merlin, Malfoy, she is going to kill me tomorrow. Why is she spouting off her innermost feelings? I thought Babbling Beverage just made you overly talkative, but she's acting like they shoved Veritaserum down her throat!"

"So she fancies me, huh?"

Malfoy was grinning like the kneazle that got the cream and Hermione's stomach churned in embarrassment. He'd known! The bastard had known all day and night how Hermione nursed this stupid crush on him.

As the memory progressed, her humiliation only increased. Her past self waxed poetic about Malfoy's good looks, hair, and fashion sense, while her current self fought the urge to vomit. She'd made increasingly sexual comments about him while he grinned in amusement. She'd spewed out a ridiculous dirty limerick about riding him. All the while, she'd apparently convinced herself that it wasn't even Malfoy escorting her home but rather a clever automaton with Malfoy's face created by Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.

Hermione wanted to leave the memory and take a sabbatical to Siberia, but something rooted her to the spot, urging her to see it through no matter how mortifying. Poor Ginny was trying her best to help Hermione, but it was of no use. Malfoy only egged her on, looking increasingly smug as she divulged secret desire after secret desire.

When she revealed to the world that Draco saying her name at the monthly meeting would cause her to instantly orgasm, Hermione felt shameful tears prick her eyes. She watched memory Malfoy's eyes widen disbelievingly while he choked and gasped on his hysterical laughter. He proceeded to question her about what would happen next, how it would play out if she invited him back to her office and then how he would ask her to dinner. Her gut feeling had been right earlier, this day and date had all been too good to be true. She'd acted like an idiotic, lust-addled fool and unknowingly played right into his hands.

Apparently it was all one big joke to Malfoy. Now that he knew of her attraction to him, he'd gone out of his way to use it against her, effectively humiliating her. How amusing this must have been for him, having the infamous Mudblood confess her feelings so he could manipulate her reactions the next day for a laugh. Hermione never felt more naïve in her entire life. Of course Draco Malfoy would never be interested in her romantically, this was nothing but a cruel prank. Thinking she'd seen quite enough, Hermione decided to exit the memory, but a shift in tone stopped her.

Memory Hermione sighed sadly. "You're being ever so nice to me, aren't you? Holding me up, helping me get home safely, having a conversation longer than two minutes, you've yet to throw an insult my way, no, you've been teasing me, sure, but it lacks all the usual cruelty—"

Malfoy frowned and looked down at her. "You think him cruel? Your real Draco?"

Hermione shrugged. "Not anymore perhaps, but he certainly wouldn't deign to touch me in this manner, not when I'm, well, me."

She saw Malfoy's face fall a bit. "Granger, listen, he doesn't believe in all the bloody purity nonsense. Not anymore."

All teasing was gone from his tone now, he sounded and looked genuinely repentant. Babbling Hermione seemed dejected as well. "—I forgave him, of course, I thought him rather sincere, but I think it's safe to say that I'm not sure he'd be quite this accommodating. I think I'm rather nothing to him, don't you?"

"Bit harsh there, Granger, I don't think of you as 'nothing,'" said Malfoy, lips pursed.

"Now I know you're just a sort of automaton with his face, but let me explain this to you. I am not a stunningly attractive woman—"

"Hermione, yes you are! Don't put yourself down that way!" cried Ginny.

"—I'm not Gin, especially not to someone who looks like Draco Malfoy. I've too much hair, which is a feature he's always hated, he used to tell me so in school. At least I've had my teeth fixed because that was the other attribute of mine he used to mock. No, I rather think that at worst, Draco Malfoy considers me hideous and at best, he doesn't think of me at all."

Malfoy was peering down at her, and if Hermione was reading his countenance correctly, his expression was rooted in guilt and shame.

Memory Hermione slumped sadly against Draco. "He'd never let me get this close to him. And that's fine, I know my worth, but it's nice to dream you know? You're not a human, I'm not sure you can understand the sort of desperate longing for a person you cannot have that can take hold of you. I'll get over it I'm sure—"

"Happy now Malfoy?" asked Ginny harshly.

"No. No, not really." He muttered darkly, sounding conflicted.

The trio had reached the apparition point, and to Hermione's surprise, Draco requested a moment alone with her and she watched Ginny step just out of earshot. He held Hermione up and looked into her glazed-over eyes.

"I need you to know that I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry. You have no idea how much of a coward I really am. Merlin, I'm so pathetic that I can't even admit these things to you without the guarantee that you're going to forget it all tomorrow. I had no idea you felt that way about me. You want to know the real reason I never look twice at you? Why I avoid you at all costs? Why our interactions at work are reduced to polite nods in the hallway and indifferent conversations? Because I could never, ever deserve you. Of course I didn't consider you romantically, how dare I? I never entertained the thought because it's so impossible for someone like you, someone so innately good, to ever look at me and see me as someone worthy of her time. If I'd known… Granger if I'd known how you felt maybe… maybe things could be different. Fuck, I don't know. Just… don't think poorly of yourself because of an arsehole like me."

It was the most unadulterated honesty she'd ever heard from him. Puzzled by his uncharacteristic forthrightness, she then realized he'd said all that under the assumption that she would forget his revealing, heartfelt statement. Malfoy's last words from when he grabbed her wrist in her living room suddenly floated back to her: I meant it Granger… the one thing I'd hoped you wouldn't remember.

"You are beautiful. Truly, you are. Don't let anyone tell you differently."

The sincerity in his eyes and voice as he said this to her drugged form moved Hermione to tears again. Her babbling self barely acknowledged the compliment.

"Oh, well that's a very nice thing to say, you know your mouth is gorgeous and I stare at it a lot when you're speaking. I never knew what a beautiful mouth you had because for most of my life it was spewing slurs at me—"

"And I'm so sorry for that. You've no idea how sorry."

"—bygones and all that, we've already had that conversation—"

"Perhaps, but it seems I'm still hurting you even now, though unconsciously so. If I'd known you'd be at all receptive to my advances, perhaps I would have acted. But you're not going to remember this, and the least I can do for you is keep your secret." Malfoy sighed sadly then pressed a chaste kiss to her cheek.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried in vain to remember the feel of his lips against her cheek. His kiss had looked so soft, and she cursed the irritating combination of alcohol and Babbling Beverage that had caused her to lose this tender moment in her own mind.

Just as she figured the memory was at an end, she heard her own voice call out for Malfoy again.

"Aren't you a Slytherin?"

"Pardon?" he asked, confused.

Her past self seemed irritated at having to repeat herself. "I said, aren't you a Slytherin?"

"Last I checked that was my Hogwarts House, yes."

Memory Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. "Did I not just hand you the complete guide to wooing me? I not only divulged all the ways I find you attractive, but I told you exactly how you affect me! Any worthy Slytherin would take this trove of information and use it on me! Honestly, the only thing you're missing is the itinerary for my fantasy first date with Draco Malfoy!"

"Go on then, Granger. Tell me."

Tell him she did. Hermione went wide-eyed as she realized what had happened. Did I not just hand you the complete guide to wooing me?

He'd listened to her. Hadn't he done exactly that? Hermione thought back to their dinner tonight when she'd felt at a disadvantage. Her instincts had told her it was as if Malfoy was working from a script and she'd been right all along. It was her script, the precise road map to securing a successful date with her and he'd followed it to the letter.

He'd called her by name, engaged in a discussion with her, started a silly argument, flaunted that stupidly sexy kerchief, asked her to dinner, sent her flowers, taken her to a posh restaurant…

Was it slightly underhanded? Absolutely. But before she'd encouraged him, hadn't he been prepared to keep her secret to himself? If he'd truly wanted some sort of petty revenge on her, wouldn't he have flaunted this cruelly the next day? Rubbed it in her friends' faces and hers? Hermione couldn't remember any other suitor ever going to such lengths to give her exactly what she'd asked for. Perhaps she'd severely underestimated the maturity of Draco Malfoy.

Memory Hermione was relentless. "…I'd be ever so tempted to invite him inside, but it's only the first date and even though I'm wearing my favorite pair of racy knickers, which is more of a confidence thing, really, I'm not expecting Malfoy to see them or anything—"

"Sweet Salazar, Granger, you could kill a bloke with a statement like that," groaned Draco.

"They're a lovely blush pink color but like I said, I'd rather not shag after only one dinner and—"

Hermione saw his throat bob and jaw clench. "Are you amenable to a bit of snogging?"

"I am indeed! There's this spot on my neck just below my ear and I often wonder what it would be like for him to kiss and bite that very spot while I run my fingers through that hair of his and—"

Draco's eyes widened and she noticed his grip tighten on her waist.

"Merlin's fucking beard… I better go now but I'll see you at work tomorrow, Granger. Just know that I'll spend all night thinking of you in a tiny pair of blush-colored knickers."

Her past self beamed as he stepped away from her and winked. "All yours Red!" he called and handed her over to Ginny.

The memory ended then, and Hermione found herself back in her study. Taking a few calming breaths, she sank into her desk chair, mind whirring. Draco hadn't been completely honest with her, but then, Ginny hadn't either. Both clearly had their reasons: Ginny to protect her from feeling embarrassed, Draco to gain her favor.

But was it to gain her favor? How did he truly feel about Hermione? She realized with a start that she didn't really know the man sitting in her living room at all. Her crush was borne of lust; a purely physical attraction on her part that she'd hoped would one day dissipate. But before Ginny and Harry had crashed the date, hadn't she felt a connection with him? In his own way, she deduced, Malfoy had put himself out there. He'd taken advantage of the information, not for mean-spirited purposes, but at Hermione's own urging to secure a night out with her, possibly using it as an in to get to know her better.

With new resolve, Hermione walked back to the living room to find Draco still seated on the couch. His shoulders were taut, his entire body tense, but his face remained impassive. He didn't say anything as she approached and sat down next to him, but he seemed a man waiting for the axe to fall.

She turned to him and asked, "So did you really do it?"

"Do what?"

"Did you really spend all night thinking about me in my blush-colored knickers?"

A slow grin spread across his face.

"I wouldn't say all night," his expression became wolfish. "More like once last night, once this morning, and once more before our date."

Hermione leaned closer and brought her face inches from his. "I'm still amenable to a bit of snogging if you are."

"Gods, yes, I want to test out that spot on your neck you mentioned," he said hoarsely and gently cupped her face. The kiss was tentative and sweet, Hermione relishing in the fact that they were now on even ground. He had no more advantages over her, his hand had been played. She smiled against his lips and pressed her chest against his. Draco traced his tongue along the seam of her lips and she granted him entrance briefly to taste one another fully before he pulled back. She braced her hands on his shoulders as he peppered soft kisses along her jaw before fulfilling her wish and nipping at the skin just beneath her ear. She arched into him and indulged her whim to rake her hands through his hair as he continued his tender assault to the flesh of her neck.

"As good as you imagined?" he murmured teasingly in her ear.

"Better," she said throatily and sat back to look questioningly at him.

"What would you say to dinner tomorrow night? Get to know each other properly."

"You're on, Granger." He stood and extended his hand to help her up.

"I suppose there's no chance of seeing those infamous knickers in person tonight, is there?" Draco said cheekily as she walked him to her door. She playfully swatted his arm.

"Prat. No, not tonight, I'm afraid. Your memory gave me a lot to think about."

"Oh?"

"Yes," she grinned mischievously. "I think I have an excellent new product pitch for George. Are you more partial to Magical Malfoy or Decoy Draco?"

FIN

A/N: Thanks to everyone who gave this a read! The next D/Hr story I want to post is the novel-length piece, but it's not quite finished yet (pushing 250K words) and I'd prefer to have it mostly complete before I start putting chapters up. In the meantime, happy writing and reading to you all and stay safe and healthy!