At the end of the night Draco found himself feeling happy. Before he and Hermione left, she took him outside in the backyard, an arm through his and a wide smile on her face.

"You and my dad seemed to have hit it off pretty well. And my mother loves you."

"What can I say?" Draco shrugged. "I'm charming."

"A little bit,"

Draco laughed, pulling her close. "So…" He said with that annoying, yet endearing smirk of his. "I'm your boyfriend, am I?"

Hermione felt herself turn red. "Well, I couldn't very well introduce you as my 'friend,' could I?" She said casually and then suddenly became very subconscious and began fidgeting with strands of her hair. "Was that…? I hope that was okay. I know we haven't discussed it, and that I kind of sprung it on you, and in hindsight I really should've talked to you about it beforehand, but-"

"Granger," he politely interrupted. Hermione immediately stopped talking and walking altogether, looking up at him with wide, worrisome eyes. It was now more than ever that he thought of her as something feline. She could be fierce one minute like the lion of Gryffindor House, and then soft and innocent like a kitten –like right now. Draco smiled and brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek.

"It's fine." Draco said. "Besides, you've been my girlfriend for quite some time already, don't you think?" He added boldly. His heart raced at that. Was it too forward? Sure, she had called him her boyfriend, but despite the term "girlfriend" having the same connotation, he still found himself anxious at her response. He seemed to have been waiting a millennia for her reply.

Hermione nervously laughed. "It seems so."

Draco sighed a breath of relief as he placed her hands on the side of her face and kissed her. Her hands slid over his and they just stood there, in the middle of her parents' yard, fighting hard to keep their affections tame as they bared in mind where they were.

"We should go." Hermione said as she slowly pulled away. Draco agreed, and they left, bidding her parents farewell and with a promise that they'd be back for dinner again soon.

When they apparated back to her apartment, ready to escalate their previous behavior, they halted. Something was wrong. Hermione used her wand to turn on the lights and she gasped at what she saw.

Ripped open couch cushions. Broken windows. Turned over chairs and tables. Destroyed vases, photographs, and paintings. And, worst off, on one of the walls, "Deatheater Lover" was scrawled.

"Go back to your parents." Draco told her.

Hermione, close to tears, began shaking her head. "No, I-"

"Granger, for once in your life do what someone else has told you to do!" He rounded on her. His words had shaken her, but Hermione nodded, pulling his lips down to hers quickly before disapparating. If her parents had any muggles over at the time, they would simply have to have their memories modified.

Draco's eyes focused on the words that were left big and bold for Hermione to see.

So much for their perfect evening.

With a sigh Draco went over to the fireplace. He grabbed a handful of Floo Powder and forced words out of his mouth that he never thought he'd say. "Harry Potter Residence,"

He was whisked away quickly and found himself tumbling out into a living room. No one was there and so he opened his mouth in a decision to wake the whole house.

"Potter! Potter! Get your arse out here!"

He heard rustling from his left, perhaps from the kitchen, and smirked some when he saw the man in question running in wearing a set of striped pajamas.

"Nice getup," the blond teased. "Didn't know you were still twelve."

"What the hell are you doing in my house?" Harry questioned, crossing his arms over his chest. It looked very much like he was trying to hide his nightwear instead of adopting an imposing look.

"You need to come with me." Draco said seriously. "Granger's apartment was ransacked."

Harry's arms fell. "What?"

"Ransacked, tossed, torn apart –whatever you want to call it. Just put some better clothes on so we can go."

"Where's Hermione?"

"With her parents. She wanted to stay, but I…" Draco sighed. "I didn't want her to be there if she was a target."

Harry's face paled. "What do you mean a target?"

"Get dressed and you'll find out."

Draco hated to admit it, but Potter was a good Auror. The moment he had seen Hermione's apartment he had owled in for backup. Her apartment was in a seventy-five percent muggle neighborhood, so in addition to the three Aurors who came to seal off her apartment and to search through it, there were two others who were accompanied by MCCs –Magical Cleanup Crew. People needed to be questioned and their memories would be properly erased and modified afterwards.

The messy-haired man was thorough, and yet he stared at the slur etched onto the wall the longest with a deep frown on his face.

"She can't come back here." Draco said as he stood next to Harry. The Auror grunted, but didn't look at him.

"I know. But just because she finds somewhere new to stay, it doesn't mean this will stop."

Draco's brows furrowed. "What do you mean-?"

"Look at what it says, Malfoy." Harry said as he gestured to the wall. "Deatheater lover. That's what it says. Those feelings aren't just shared by one nut-job. There are others –some that are harmless and others that aren't."

Draco's face turned hard. "Exactly what are you saying, Potter? That I should leave Granger alone to keep her safe? Because if you are then you can forget it-"

"I wish that's what I was saying." He sighed. "But I know Hermione and she's not going to let you go." Harry turned to him, his face just as stern as the blond before him. "What I am saying is that both you and Hermione chose this. These," he pointed to the wall and to the entirety of the apartment, "are the consequences. I'm less worried about your safety than hers-"

"Gee, thanks, Potter," Draco sneered. Harry scowled.

"Not because I dislike you, Malfoy. Unlike you, Hermione doesn't live in a fortified mansion. Yes, people hate you, but not many are stupid enough to go up against you. That's not the case for Hermione, and you know it. So, as I was saying, you damn well better be able to protect her. Auror badge or not."

Draco's eyes narrowed at him. "What was that last part?"

"You heard me." Harry said smoothly. "You should be getting your official training letter on Friday. It starts that Monday, on the first. And a word of advice from your training instructor," he said with a small smile, "try not to piss off the other trainees, will you?"

Draco smirked. "Wouldn't dream of it. Besides, there's only one person in that room I plan on showing up. And that's you."

Harry rolled his eyes and shook his head, muttering nothing but insults under his breath.

Author's note: Everything was going a little too well for something not to fall apart. And here goes the shoe that dropped. At least on the bright side Draco got into Auror training!

Oh, and a HUGE THANKS to you guys. 300+ followers since the last chapter! That's the most I've gotten for any story, so wahoo!

Until the next chapter :)

-WP