CHAPTER 18

"You are smiling." Me and Ginny were walking towards our first class on Monday morning.

"Of course I am." I replied smiling brightly at her.

"No Hermione. You are smiling… like really smiling." She said, like that would explain why she was so bothered about me smiling. And maybe it was enough explanation, but I wasn't paying too much attention. I was busy thinking about the last two days. It had been quite refreshing. It was something that I had never felt with either of my two best friends ever.

Even when Malfoy had suddenly dropped a bucket full of water on top of my head when I was too engrossed at reading my next Runes chapter, I had laughed. Obviously I had taken my revenge. He found out about it when he had gone to change for the night. When he first saw that all his clothes were Gryffindor red, the expression on his face was priceless.

"Hermione! You are phasing out too. Something is definitely up and I want to know what." I looked at her, exasperated. She sighed and stopped walking so that she could face me properly. "I don't remember the last time I saw you smile like that. It specially is unnerving because I know that Malfoy is the reason. Do you even realize how strange that is?" She looked so seriously at me saying that that I had no option but to explain.

"It's nothing, really. I…. I was just thinking about the weekend. It is…. strange. For the last week or so things have been different, and in a good way. We are joking, playing together. For the last two days I feel like he is a completely different person, like he is himself." I huffed. It wasn't easy to explain. One had to see him to understand what I was talking about. "You need to see him Gin, like this he's even worth liking." I said resuming our walk.

"I see." Was all she said, like she really did see something. I didn't think she saw my point, but I really didn't ask what she saw.

My words to Ginny seemed perfect. The person that I was seeing these days was definitely not the person I had known for the last seven years. It was nice to spend time with him. In the following two weeks he sat with me when I studied, helped me sometimes. We didn't particularly talk much. But the silence was not uncomfortable. I didn't fail to notice a few things though. We both were relatively relaxed. We were concentrating better in our works and we were smiling a little more.

But there was something else that was happening and I didn't know what to think, or how to feel about it. It was the fact that we were easing up to each other physically. I didn't tense anymore when he entered the room. The casual contacts too were starting to feel normal. I knew it should, considering that we share a bed, but somehow it was fine and yet it was not. I did realize the resistance coming more from my logical side than my emotional side. All through my life, my logical side had been stronger. But enter Draco Malfoy into the equation and it starts tilting the other side.

I even knew the day it started tilting actually. It was ten days after the day I had that talk with Ginny. We still woke up to the same staring, "kiss me" and "let me kiss you". I would say something and he would snipe back. It was like our personal joke now. But that Friday morning was again different.

When I woke up, Malfoy was still sound asleep. I couldn't help smiling at the thought that today our roles had reversed. Today I was staring at him. I didn't know if he even saw anything in me. But I knew what I saw. He looked good; especially when asleep. I could appreciate that now. But what I couldn't appreciate was the small voice inside my head that kept telling me to inch a little forward and kiss him, just for once. It may be a good idea, since he wouldn't know. But I couldn't help holding back either. Rest aside everything, I couldn't forget everything that'd happened between us. His name itself was a very big reminder.

I sighed and sat up. I really didn't know for how long I'd have to go through these conflicting thoughts. At some point one has to triumph over the other. And I didn't know in which scenario I'd not be hurt. If he turned out to be changed, I knew I'll still have the feeling that maybe he was pretending, that it's his survival strategy. He said so himself. Pretending was something like his second nature. If he turned out to be not changed, then I would be stuck with a person I hate, for a lifetime. It was a frustrating thought and I didn't need to be frustrated early in the morning.

I was almost out of the bed, when I was yanked back on it. Within a second we were in our standard position with him hovering over me. I'm not going to deny that it felt nice. It felt normal now. So I genuinely smiled up at him.

"Good morning." I knew the drill. So I was waiting for him to smile at me, wish me morning and ask me to kiss him. But after a few seconds I realized there was no smile, just him staring at me.

"Malfoy?" I was starting to feel uneasy under his scrutiny.

"You were staring at me." It was different from the regular, but I guessed that should be obvious. I woke up before him today. Not to mention that Fridays were 'change strategy' day. So I found my smile back and answered him.

"Of course, I woke up and you were sleeping. So it was my turn at staring." He didn't answer, just dipped his head and kissed me.

For a few seconds, like every time when he had kissed me, I was too stunned to respond. I just lay there feeling his lips slide over mine smoothly and softly.

When he drew back, I took a much needed breath and asked, "What was that for?"

He smiled then, his eyes raking over my face in a way that I felt he was trying to memorize it. Only when our eyes met, did he reply. "Since you were the one staring today, you would have either asked if you could kiss me or asked me to kiss you. Either way it was going to happen. It was inevitable today."

I didn't know what to say, I really didn't. I could prepare for war, know what to do, how to react. But I didn't know anything about living my life with this person. He took my silence as an advantage and started kissing my face, moving down my jaw to my throat. I felt lightheaded. My body was definitely not in sync with my confused brain.

I quickly scrambled from under him and ran to the bathroom. Shutting and locking the door behind me, I leaned against it and took a few deep breaths to slow my racing heart. I still hadn't been able to decide what I wanted to believe. But I couldn't stop my body from reacting either. We were young; it was natural for us to react. Groaning I headed towards the shower. I was in desperate need of it.

After a long shower and dressing up, when I came out Malfoy was still sprawled on the bed. He turned to look at me and I quickly looked away. I was already turning red. He didn't need to see me blushing like that.

"I'm going to eat in the Great Hall." I could hardly look at him, eating with him was simply not possible.

"Have dinner with me tonight." I froze with my hand on the door knob. I took a shaky breath to steel my nerves and turned to look at him.

"We do that anyway, don't we?" I replied. We did, so what was there to ask about. He sat there with his face stoic. One wouldn't know he was nervous apart from his fidgeting hands. I realized I had started noticing these small things about him. I waited but when he still didn't say anything I started getting a little irritated.

"What?" I said in exasperation and then it struck me. "You…. You are asking me…. Oh… umm…" What the hell do you tell your husband when he asks you out for a date. I did not just think of him as my husband so casually as if it was the most natural thing to do!

"Okay, I guess." I said after a few seconds. My voice while saying that may have been small, his smile definitely wasn't.

"Malfoy's asked me out for a date tonight."

Ginny choked on her toast and Susan barely managed to not spit out the pumpkin juice that she was about to gulp. I got up and patted Ginny's back.

"Okay. First things first, Hermione. Never say things like that when someone's eating or drinking." Susan admonished.

"Secondly, what? What do you mean he's asked you out for a date?" Ginny asked putting her half eaten toast back on the plate.

"You know, like taking me out for dinner stuff." I replied flipping through the pages of book I had picked from the library.

"Don't pretend like it's nothing." Ginny admonished.

"So, where's he taking you?" Susan asked inching forward and leaning towards me from across the table. I didn't know she was a gossip girl. "What? It's interesting." She justified to our raised eyebrows.

I smiled despite the nervousness. Life could be at its worst but being with friends was always refreshing.

"I don't know. He just asked me, out of the blue. I don't know if we are going out at all or eating at home."

"Home, huh?" I didn't get a chance to respond to that before Ginny continued.

"So, is it just a date or something else?" Ginny asked wriggling her eyes obscenely. I felt color rise and I swatted her arm.

"Shut up Ginny and you too." I said turning to glare at Susan. Both of them looked at each other and ended up giggling like mad after a few moments.

"Okay Mrs. Malfoy, we'll be late for class." She said standing up and bending to whisper in my ears.

"I can't believe I'm joking about this." She said as the three of us exited the Great Hall.

That evening after classes I rushed back to The Cottage. I stood in our walk-in-closet trying to decide what to wear. Since I didn't know where we were going or what we were doing it was difficult to decide. After staring at the clothes for about ten minutes I snapped back. What the hell was I doing trying to do dressing up for Malfoy of all people? I huffed and grabbed the most casual clothes that I had.

I decided to start working on my homework while waiting for him. I was halfway through my Charms essay when the floo flared and he stepped out.

Upon seeing me he smiled. "I'll just change." He said while heading towards our room. I nodded and turned towards my essay though I did not miss his lack of comment on my attire. Ten minutes later when he reappeared at the doorway, he was dressed casually as well. At least as casual as a Malfoy could get and that meant no cloaks and no robes, just a plain blue button down shirt and grey slacks.

"Ready?" I closed my books and stood up. He extended his arm for me to link and I raised my eyebrows. "You want to do things the traditional way?" I asked but slipped my hands into his at the same time.

"Not completely traditional." He replied but did not elaborate. He led me to the door and for a moment I panicked. I never went out to the grounds. Going out there at this time was making me feel really uneasy.

"We are not going anyway near the Manor, I promise." I wouldn't have believed him, I didn't have any reason to, but the way he said those words made me feel…. I don't know exactly how I felt. I cannot describe it. But I did feel a little reassured. So I took his hands and let him lead the way.

We walked through the garden lined by hedges neatly trimmed. It was a well kept garden. If I raised my eyes a little more I could see the Manor looming beyond, so I kept my eyes downcast. Night hadn't fallen yet, but there was a certain chill in the air, a reminder that winter was setting in.

"Why aren't we using the floo?" I wouldn't have to walk through this place then.

"That is because we are apparating and more importantly, I don't want soot on our clothes."

"Why can't we apparate from near the Cottage?" I knew I was probably whining but I'd do anything to avoid the present sight.

Malfoy turned to look at me and picked up his pace a little. "Apparition is not possible inside the grounds." Of course, how stupid of me.

After a minute or two finally the dreaded gate came to our view. I took a deep calming breath feeling relief wash over me.

"Where are we going?" I finally thought I needed to ask that now that we were almost out of the gates.

"Actually I was thinking maybe you could decide." He replied a little unsure, of what though, I'm not sure. I looked at him for a minute, completely flabbergasted. First he asks me out for a date, then he asks me to decide where to go. Really, even I wasn't that dumb about date stuff, though I did not have too much of experience to back my line of thinking.

"We could go to Diagon Alley. There are a few places there, or maybe to Hogsmead." I had never gone to a wizarding restaurant, so I didn't know much about them. But Malfoy turned down my suggestion.

"Not in Diagon Alley. I was thinking, maybe somewhere else."

"Somewhere else? But I don't know any other place where we could go!" I understand it is a good idea to ask your date where she wants to go. But doing that when your date hardly has any knowledge, is probably the stupidest ideas.

"You never went with your parents somewhere?" Thankfully there was no flies nearby or I would have surely caught some of them. This was a jaw dropping moment. But after a few seconds I realized what that would mean. This could be my payback time. I smiled back as normally as possible.

"I know just the place."

A very Merry Christmas to all my lovely readers!