You guys are so awesome. I'm really glad everyone is enjoying the story so far. I like to write stories that I would enjoy just for myself but knowing other people enjoy them, too, just makes my day. Here's another chapter for you. Please read and review. :)

Going Public

Boyfriend. Draco Malfoy was her boyfriend. What twisted reality was she living in?

He'd pestered her into having lunch with him in London on Wednesday and asked her if she'd like to make their dating arrangement exclusive. The agreement warranted certain titles, he'd said, and he wanted to introduce her to everyone as his girlfriend. By default, that meant he was her boyfriend.

Merlin, what would her teenage self have thought of all this?!

Hermione sighed as she finished her morning coffee on Saturday. After rinsing the mug and placing it in her dishwasher for later, she began to reach for her current book on her coffee table when she heard his knock.

She opened the door and snorted at the stupid grin on his face as he stood in her doorway holding a crystal vase full of tulips. She rolled her eyes and accepted his kiss when he leaned down to kiss her gently.

"You're going to bleed your vaults dry if you don't quit trying to spoil me," she smirked as she turned with the vase.

"Nearly impossible," he quipped as he stepped into her flat for only the second time ever—this time invited. "Don't you know? I'm bloody, stinking rich."

Hermione inhaled the fresh scent of the flowers before turning back to face him as he met her near the kitchen counter.

She folded her arms over her chest seriously. "I'm not after your money, you git."

"I wouldn't be dating you if you were." He glanced around her flat and noted the stack of books he could see on her living room table in the next room. "Merlin, how many books do you honestly go through in a week, Hermione?"

She smirked at him as she turned to reach for her bag. "You really don't want to know."

A warm shiver ran the length of his spine and he found that he kind of did. That brilliant mind of hers was half the reason why he'd come to like her so much, once he'd learned to appreciate it of course. He had a bit of a regular fantasy of her reading to him in bed. Her sweet voice would recite any academic subject until he could contain himself no longer and tear the book from her hands so he could make love to her until that sweet voice turned sultry.

Draco shook himself from his little mental detour and followed her out the door.

"You sure you're ok with this," he asked as she set her wards.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she led them out of her flat. "Draco, we're just running errands together in Diagon Alley."

He nodded though he did look rather fidgety which was unusual. "It's like a coming out of sorts though. Sure you're ready?"

She glanced at him slyly as they rode the lift down to the lobby. "Define 'ready'."

Draco nudged her gently with his elbow before reaching down to thread their fingers as he took her hand and stepped out of the lift.

"Well come on then, you little swot."

Hermione gasped and smacked his arm with her free hand. "Tell me again why I've agreed to date you?"

"You couldn't resist my charm," he grinned.

They continued in a similar manner all the way to the Leaky Cauldron and past the entrance into Diagon Alley. Draco continued teasing her until her cheeks were red and she elbowed him harshly in the gut. She'd gotten in a rather good blow and quickly reminded him of the time she slapped him third year.

When he released a rather dramatic 'oof' she sighed. "Oh I didn't hit you that hard, you big baby."

Draco rubbed his stomach as he took up her hand again and walked them deeper into the alley. "Remind me to remember your limits," he muttered.

Hermione rolled her eyes and swatted his hand away to replace it with her own. She rubbed a few gentle circles, doing her best to ignore the clear definition she could feel under his shirt, and glanced up at him as they walked. "Better?"

The way he looked at her made her swallow hard and her hand stalled. After a moment of tense silence, the corner of his lip turned up.

"You just wanted an excuse to touch me."

She huffed and smacked the spot she'd just been rubbing. Merlin, his stomach is firm.

"You're incorrigible."

He laughed and pulled her along towards Quality Quidditch Supplies. "Yes, I'm terrible and yet you agreed to put up with me. Come on then. I need new gloves. The new intramural season starts soon and I'm determined to best Potter this year."

Hermione moaned horribly at the prospect of having to look at quidditch gear. Harry and Ron used to drag her along and spend what felt like hours poring over the various gear that to her mind was utterly useless. She'd never enjoyed the sport much and didn't much care to be wasting her Saturday looking at ten different styles of leather seeker gloves.

Neither took much notice of the looks they were receiving while they flirted and walked along together, just as expected. A few nosy witches at the shop across the street began chattering away excitedly. A couple of former classmates surely took notice of the odd pair. Being that it was Saturday, the Alley was bustling with witches and wizards and soon enough the news would surely travel.

"I should warn you, Draco," Hermione followed closely as he reached the display of gloves, "I'm not much of a shopper."

He stooped to choose a pair of supple dragon-hide gloves and faced her with an amused grin. "A woman that doesn't enjoy shopping?"

"What can I say? I break the mold," she quipped with a small shrug.

His expression softened as he gazed into her eyes. He was turning into a bleeding sap since she'd agreed to that first date.

"You certainly do." He tapped her on the head lightly with the gloves and smirked. "Lucky for you I knew exactly what I was looking for. Come on then and I'll take you book shopping next."

Draco noted the subtle look of excitement in her eyes and took her hand again. Book shopping turned into a mutual affair as they lost themselves in Flourish and Blott's for a good hour. They'd played a little game where they each chose a book for the other to read. Naturally, they each chose something the other likely wouldn't have picked up on their own with the intent to read and then discuss later.

Book purchases in hand, Hermione heard his stomach growling as they left the shop and laughed at his surprised expression.

"I think we should find lunch," she grinned up at him.

"I skipped breakfast to meet you," he admitted. "I'd overslept this morning."

He didn't bother to add that the combination of his nerves and excitement over spending the day together with her had kept him from getting to sleep.

"All the more reason to have a large lunch then."

"I like the way you think, Granger."

Draco held their shopping bags in one hand and took up hers again in the other. He found he preferred to have her slender fingers threaded through his own. Her hands were much smaller than his but fit perfectly all the same. Like a comfortable little hug that he never knew he'd needed.

He'd noticed the surprised looks they received in the book shop but ignored them. Whether she noticed or not, he wasn't really sure as she kept a poker face the entire time. He felt a need to protect her as much as possible, having a good sense of how private she was. Quite odd when in the past the one people were protecting her from was him.

He steered them towards a small bistro which had opened up across from Madame Malkin's. He'd heard good things and it didn't seem too busy so maybe they'd be able to slip in without causing much of a stir.

He let go of her hand to open the door for her and ushered her in ahead of him with a hand pressed to the small of her back. He quickly took her hand again, missing her curious look.

Hermione fought a smile at that. It seemed he was rather preoccupied with touching her. She wasn't even sure if he'd noticed when he'd rubbed his thumb gently over the back of her hand while they'd been walking or the way he squeezed it lightly as if checking to make sure she hadn't let go yet.

Something else new about him but not unpleasant and it was giving her silly little butterflies.

As they weaved through the not yet crowded restaurant, both were distracted before they made it to a table.

"Draco?"

Draco stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of that voice. He glanced at Hermione and knew by her expression that she'd heard the witch as well. He sighed at the way she drew the corner of her lip between her teeth.

"Gotta happen eventually," he smiled encouragingly. Truly, maybe he wasn't the one ready to deal with others judging them just yet.

Ever the Gryffindor, she released the hold on her lip and gave him a slight nod of encouragement. She'd faced far worse than Pansy Parkinson in her day.

Draco turned to face his old friend, Hermione's hand still held tightly in his own. He gave it a subtle squeeze.

"Pansy, I didn't see you there."

The other witch's eyes widened as her eyes focused in on their joined hands. "Clearly," she muttered in mild shock.

He appeared completely calm as he faced his former housemate. He tilted his chin towards Hermione. "I believe you remember Hermione, right?"

Pansy blinked quickly as she made an effort to regain her composure and nodded. "Uh, yes. I hadn't heard…uh…" She tilted her head curiously.

Draco looked pointedly at their joined hands and offered up a confident smirk. "Rather recent development really. She's a difficult witch to convince."

"I don't normally put a man off for two months before I agree to dinner with him," Hermione quipped. "Just you."

He snorted at that and smirked proudly at her. Obviously, nothing could rattle his witch. Not that he hadn't really known that already. Gryffindor.

He turned his focus back to his former housemate and smiled politely. "Nice seeing you, Pansy."

Pansy gave them an awkward smile in return which quickly dissolved into a rather confused expression again once they chose a table far behind hers.

"You do realize," Hermione spoke quietly once they were seated, "that she writes a gossip column for the Daily Prophet, right?"

Draco's grey eyes widened at that reminder. "Shit. I forgot about that."

She shook her head with an amused smirk and reached for a menu on the table. "Buckle up, Malfoy. I imagine we've just made the Prophet whether we like it or not."

He rolled his eyes at her but inside he felt like screaming his feelings from the rooftop. How in Merlin's name he'd gotten this witch to take him seriously after being such a prick to her growing up, he just didn't know but he was damn well pleased.

After a quick lunch of deli-style sandwiches, they began making their way out of the Alley. Draco stopped them Florean Fortescue's, insisting that he buy her ice cream. Two scoops of double chocolate fudge later, they exited the shop.

Hermione moaned in satisfaction after a bite of the chocolatey confection. She glanced up at Draco at her side and held her spoon out.

"Are you sure you don't want a bite? It's really good."

He groaned but leaned down to allow her to feed him the offered bite. "There's a reason I didn't get myself any," he smirked after the bite. "I'd probably gorge myself on it. You have more self-control than I do."

She snorted and scooped another bite for herself. "Hardly, I just run often."

She teased him with another bite and he couldn't resist, both because the treat was so good and she was feeding him. So many of the women he'd been on dates with in the past few years had been so much more concerned with his money and had very little interest in him. He felt a bit stupid to have such strong feelings about sharing these things with her but no one besides his mother had actually ever tried to do anything for him or take care of him.

"I think we have an audience," Hermione muttered when he came back to reality.

Indeed, two middle-aged witches were sitting at the café across the way watching them, whispering behind their hands.

He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Do you want to mess with them a bit?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him and began to lift a finger in warning. "Mafloy, I—"

Draco didn't wait for her objection and merely tilted her head back with one hand in her hair before he pressed a hot kiss against her lips. To hell with it. They'd already been seen together and the British wizarding community was small so people would certainly talk.

Hermione was slightly startled by the sudden kiss and had the initial urge to push him away and chastise him for being such a git. Instead, a small moan escaped her when he turned the kiss from polite to a slight bit inappropriate for public.

He pulled back all too quickly for her liking, having forgotten her reason for her initial protest and she stared up at him to find him smirking.

"I think we made our point," he laughed, gesturing discreetly behind her head.

Hermione glanced carefully behind herself and had to withhold her own laugh at the surprised look on the witches' faces.

"Merlin, you're going to be the death of me, you git."

He merely grinned in response.

~o~O~o~

Inspection day. Inspection day had long become Draco's favorite after he realized his little crush on her.

True to their suspicions, after their public date Saturday, their relationship had been announced rather loudly in an article by Rita Skeeter, supported by a very reliable source. Reliable, his ass, he wanted to say. No doubt Pansy had taken the information and ran with it just as he'd expected her to. She was Slytherin through and through and he could only imagine the pat on the back that bit of information got her.

Ex-Death Eater and Golden Girl Making Nice?

By Rita Skeeter

Despite how many years it's been since the Second Wizarding War, no one was quite prepared to see one third of the Golden Trio, Hermione Granger, out and about holding hands in Diagon Alley with none other than Ex-Death Eater and Wizarding Britain's most eligible bachelor three years running, Draco Malfoy. Reliable sources claim to have seen the two looking quite cozy as they spent a leisurely afternoon shopping in the Alley. The blonde wizard held Miss Granger quite close, their hands entwined and rarely separated. Sources claim they were all smiles and this was clearly more than a friendly outing. Dear readers, it seems we have a new couple on our hands, despite how unlikely. I'll surely be keeping my eye on these two.

No one had been able to sneak a photo of them thankfully. He was fairly irritated at having the whole Death Eater bit brought up again. It always seemed that Skeeter used the label whenever it suited her best to get readers. Over all, he wasn't embarrassed by being outed publicly but rather a bit self-conscious. His employees had looked at him rather oddly that morning, many sporting knowing smiles and others with purely bewildered expressions.

It had the effect of making him rather grumpy and he was all too looking forward to seeing her when she came for her ten o'clock inspection. He found he needed to see her. Had fantasized about kissing her in his office. Fantasized about more than that really but they'd not had that conversation yet. And he wasn't under any delusions that she was that kind of witch. He wouldn't have pursued her if she was.

He was rather surprised when his current secretary alerted him to his visitor—Mr. Grant Smith of the Magical Elements Office.

Draco met the man in his office and eyed him suspiciously. The shorter man shuffled his feet awkwardly as he fumbled with his clipboard.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Malfoy," Grant greeted, holding his hand out for a shake.

Draco eyed the man's hand, a single eyebrow ticked up curiously on his forehead before he finally met his hand and gripped it firmly.

"Yes, the pleasure's all mine." He gestured for the man to take a seat opposite his desk and handed him his files. "Do forgive my rudeness, but where's Granger? In all the time I've been in business and the Ministry's been doing these inspections, I've never had anyone else look over my accounts. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with it."

Grant looked up from the chart in his lap and nudged his thick-framed glasses back up his nose. "Uh, yes…well, Miss Granger has assigned your company to me effective this morning. With the uh," his lips twitched uncomfortably, "announcement in the Prophet this week, she felt it pertinent to remove herself from business interactions with you. She said it wouldn't be professional. She'd been planning on doing so anyway."

Draco's lip pulled up into a slight sneer. The blasted witch had mentioned nothing of this over dinner the previous evening when he'd taken her back to The Library before escorting her home. She'd kissed him at her door and said nothing of the sort. They'd missed crossing paths that morning for coffee. Somehow she'd beat him there.

"I see," he finally acknowledged. He rolled his eyes when the nervous man in front of him ducked his head again to continue reviewing his files.

He followed her little protégé through his inspection, annoyed when he asked too many asinine questions and made him clarify things which were blatantly obvious. He was all too thrilled to have the blasted man out of his face before lunchtime.

Mind made up, he stepped into his office's floo and traveled straight to the Ministry. He passed the visitor's office and headed straight for the lifts to lead him to the second floor. He had a fairly good memory. Despite that he'd only been here once before to argue with her after her very first inspection, he remembered just how to get to her office.

He reached the secretary for her office and placed his hands firmly on the countertop. The witch glanced up at him and blanched slightly.

"M-Mr. Malfoy, what can I do for you," she asked.

Their relationship had been quite the buzz there as well and no one dared say anything derogatory to their boss. They all had been talking about it though. How could they resist?! Their history together was well known and this was more than a bit of shock to most.

"I'd like to speak with Granger, please." He smiled as politely as he could manage but was afraid it still came across as a sneer.

The witch swallowed thickly and pointed to the office near the back wall. He could see even from there the large plaque reading 'Hermione Granger—Head Magical Elements Commissioner.

He gave a sharp nod before stalking off for the door. He knocked hard when he reached it and heard a muffled sigh before she said come in.

He pushed into the office and shut the door with a soft click before he rounded on her. She hadn't even bothered to look up from the chalkboard behind her desk that she was quickly scratching away at with her chalk. He could see the white chalk dust all over her hands, a few traces along her black skirt, and her curls threatening to tumble from the messy up-do she'd managed that morning.

"Granger," he ground out.

Hermione turned around so quickly she nearly got whiplash. Surprised to see him, she set her chalk down and dusted her hands clean.

"Draco, what are you doing here?"

Draco narrowed his eyes at her before lifting a hand to beckon her to him with a single curled finger. He noted the way her brow ticked up curiously but she complied and rounded her desk carefully.

He used the finger he'd beckoned her with to tip her chin up before he pressed a firm kiss to her mouth. He admired the way her brown eyes darkened when he pulled back and folded his arms over his chest.

"You stole that from me by not coming for your inspection this morning. I'm not very happy with you right now."

Hermione rolled her eyes at that, realizing what had his wand in a knot now. She rounded her desk again and picked up her chalk.

"It would have been a conflict of interest, Draco. I can't very well continue your inspections myself if I'm dating you. Grant needs the experience anyway. If he can handle you, he'll be able to handle anyone."

Draco threw his hands up at that and groaned. "The bloody prick was annoying. He questioned every bloody thing, useless questions mind you, and frankly irritated the piss out of me."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder from the equation she was working on and smirked beautifully. "Good, then it wasn't a useless morning after all." She glanced at the watch on her wrist and met his eyes again. "I've gotten my first blow in and all before lunch."

The blonde growled at her and stomped around her desk. He removed the chalk from her hands and quickly framed her face in both hands as he tilted her head back to snog her. She wasn't immediately compliant but when he sucked her lower lip gently he felt her soften against him and returned his kiss.

His hands were like streaks of fire through the material of her simple work blouse as they ran the length of her small back. She accidentally bit his lip as a warm shiver worked its way down her spine. He growled though and doubled down on his efforts, tongue stroking and licking, quickly driving her breathless.

"You realize," she breathed softly when she pulled back, "that my entire office is likely gossiping about why you're here right now. They saw the Prophet this morning, too."

Draco shrugged and allowed her to pull out of his arms. "Fuck 'em."

"Draco," she hissed reproachfully. Though her tone was contrasted by her awkward efforts to fix her shirt which he'd mussed with his touch.

He rolled his eyes and collapsed in the chair in front of her desk. He watched as she gathered her chalk again and turned to the equation on her board. He could see where she'd clearly been erasing again and again in one spot. He took a quick look at the entire thing finally and began running it through the steps in his mind.

"How long have you been working on that," he asked after a moment.

Hermione glanced at him cautiously. "All morning. I can't seem to make it work. I'm on a deadline. Hogwarts has a case of the kneazle fever spreading and the current antidote is for a different strain."

Draco nodded and pushed to his feet again. He eyed her chalk pointedly and held out his hand. "Do you mind?"

He smirked at the way she narrowed her eyes at him but handed the bit of chalk over. He glanced over her equation and saw the answer in the midst of the dust she'd been erasing over and over. Truly, she'd already had the final part right but she'd obviously overthought it in her mental exhaustion or doubted herself.

He traced over the remnants of her previous answer in his own dodgy script and handed the chalk back to her.

"Look at it again, Sweetheart," he muttered softly before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead and retaking his seat.

Hermione stood stunned for a moment by the tender action and the new pet name he'd bestowed on her before she finally blinked quickly and turned back to the board. She stood back a moment and ran the equation through her mind and realized her mistake.

"Bloody hell, Malfoy, how did I not see that I'd had it right before?"

Draco shrugged and offered her a confident grin. "If I know you then you haven't taken a break. Anyone would miss it if they had overworked themselves like you do."

She shook her head and quickly slid into her desk chair as she reached for a bit of parchment. He watched as she scrawled her notes neatly on the parchment and finally signed her name at the bottom before she stamped it with her official seal. She folded the letter and put it in an envelope and thrust it at him.

"Get to work on that immediately or I'll send Grant for a second inspection in a week. The students are rather sick and Madam Pomfrey told me this morning that she'll soon run out of beds in the infirmary. I trust your company to be the fastest and most accurate with this. As soon as your company can get the antidote potion to them, the students will be back up and going within a few hours."

Draco snatched the letter and stood. He fingered the envelope thoughtfully. "You're bloody brilliant, you know that?"

Hermione quirked an eyebrow at him and waved a dismissive hand. "Yes, yes, we all know I'm smarter than you. Now off with you. I'll see you for dinner."

He laughed when she dismissed him so casually and leaned over to steal one last kiss before he exited her office with a confident smirk. He gave the Smith idiot a little wave as he stepped back into the lift, enjoying the man's alarmed expression as the doors closed. Clearly, he must have thought he'd filed a complaint with his superior.

Draco flooed back to his office and immediately put his best team on producing the needed potions. He owled Hermione that afternoon to let her know that the first batch was on its way to Hogwarts with the last following in the morning. Her reply came shortly after.

Good work! Thank you for getting to that so quickly. About dinner…Harry and Ron want to meet in London for dinner. I told them we already had plans but they insisted I just bring you along. Ginny and Lavender will be there as well. Are you going to come willingly or will I need to twist your ear? Remember that being around them isn't negotiable if you want to date me.

Hermione

While he truly wasn't interested in having dinner with her two best friends, despite that he didn't dislike them the way he used to these days, he couldn't deny that she was right. If they were going to be together, they'd have to accept all aspects of each other's' lives. Therefore, it seemed he'd be having dinner with the golden trio and their respective significant others. Joy.

I'll meet you at your office at 5:30. No ear twisting, please.

Hermione grinned when she read his response. He was being a lot more agreeable than she ever thought he'd be.

True enough when 5:30 rolled around and most of her office had already gone home, Draco showed up outside her door.

"Better put your trench coat on," he said by way of greeting. He pulled the garment from her coatrack by the door and held it out for her. "It's raining a bit."

Hermione pushed some paperwork into her bag to work on later and stood to slip her arms into the coat he was holding out. She grabbed her bag and umbrella before taking his hand to allow him to lead them out.

Upon exiting the Ministry onto the street, Draco took her umbrella and held it over both their heads. He held her with an arm around her shoulders so they'd both fit as she began leading the way to the restaurant.

"On a scale of one to ten, how well do I have to behave so you don't hex me later?"

Hermione huffed at the bright smirk he was giving her and smacked his stomach with the back of her hand. "How about you just behave and I won't have to worry at all about hexing you?"

He waggled his eyebrows at her suggestively. "Come on now. There's no fun in that."

She shook her head and pointed ahead of them. "Just up here. I think Harry and Ginny are already here."

"I thought Potter and Weasel were both aurors. Why's Weaselbee late if they work together?"

She snorted and shook her head. "Likely because Lavender probably insisted that he pick her up from work instead of meeting him. She only works two blocks away from here."

Draco glanced down at her as they approached the restaurant. "Still not a fan of that Brown bint, are you?"

Their little verbal scuffle over Weasley sixth year wasn't exactly a secret.

She glanced up at him, her lips twisted into a scowl. "Not particularly. She's shallow and she doesn't even read."

Draco knew well that by her saying someone didn't read it was like an insult. Not that he disagreed necessarily.

"And she makes regular comments about what I should do with my hair."

He reached forward to open the door for her and ushered her in first before he closed the umbrella and followed her into the restaurant's foyer.

"What's wrong with your hair?"

She lifted a challenging eyebrow at him and took her umbrella back after he'd shaken it off. "You tell me. Up until about two and a half months ago you were still making regular comments about it as well."

He had the good grace to cringe as he ran a hand through his own hair which was beginning to give way from the small bit of gel he'd used earlier that morning. "I was bluffing, Hermione. Your hair's not the rat's nest it used to be."

"Gee thanks, you git," she huffed.

He held his hands up in front of him. "Hey, I said it's not anymore. It's quite nice now, alright?"

Hermione rolled her eyes but dropped it. She knew her hair had been more than a bit unmanageable growing up. It still seemed to have a life of its own some days but at least now she had it under control.

"Come on then," she muttered.

Draco followed her to a table near the back corner of the restaurant where the Potters were already seated.

"Ron running late again," Hermione asked as they approached.

Ginny scowled and nodded. "Always. Miss Priss can't do anything herself, you know." She turned her gaze on Draco as he pulled out Hermione's chair next to her before seating himself on the other side. "Nice to see you, Malfoy. At least you don't need Hermione to lead you around by the hand."

Draco folded his coat over the back of his chair as he sat and gave an amused smirk. "I take it Hermione's not the only one who doesn't like this Brown bint then?"

Harry gave a smirk of his own and nodded. "Not in the least. I could take her or leave her. These two on the other hand…not so much."

"And now she'll be joining my family," Ginny frowned.

Draco's brow lifted in interest. "The Weasel's marrying the witch?"

"Unfortunately," Ginny nodded. "Mum's silently seething."

"Makes me glad I don't have siblings," Draco muttered as he scanned the menu in front of him.

"I don't think the world could handle any more Malfoys," Harry snickered.

Hermione shot him a warning glare as she set her own menu aside. "It's been a stressful enough day, Harry. Can everyone please just get along for a few hours?"

Harry looked a bit sheepish and offered her a friendly smile. "Sorry, Hermione. I saw the Prophet this morning. Heard the gossip, too."

"As I said earlier," Draco drawled, "Fuck 'em."

Ginny pointed at him, "See, now that I can agree with."

"Sorry we're late," Ron muttered by way of greeting as he and Lavender approached the table and took a seat next to Harry and Ginny at the round table.

Draco observed the way the redhead didn't even pull out his fiancé's chair as he plopped down in the seat next to him, oblivious to the way the witch harrumphed at his lack of attention.

"Oh joy, you did bring Malfoy after all," Ron narrowed his eyes at the blonde next to him.

"Oh cut your crap, Weaselbee. I still owe you one for the misinformation on the chocolate, you git."

Hermione set her hand on Draco's thigh under the table and gave him a meaningful look. Stop or I'll hex you.

Draco groaned but fell silent at her warning which unfortunately only caused Ron to laugh openly.

"I didn't really believe Ron when he said Malfoy asked Hermione out until I saw the Prophet," Lavender finally piped up. She gave them both a sickeningly sweet smile that had the other two women wishing to slap her. "I suppose opposites attract though, don't they?"

Draco lifted an arrogant eyebrow. "I wouldn't call us opposites really. Now that I'm not being a bigoted prat it's easy to see we've always had quite a bit in common. After all, we both spend rather a lot of time reading."

Hermione nearly snorted at his emphasis on the last word and covered her mouth to hide her smile at his hidden dig.

Lavender gave them both a little simpering smile. "Well, and Hermione looks a bit different now than when we were in school. A bit more effort into your appearance makes people notice you."

Ginny was glaring daggers across the table at the woman before she discreetly kicked her brother in the shin under the table. Ron winced and nodded in understanding.

Draco leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms comfortably. "I agree which is why I avoid overly done up women these days. She's bloody gorgeous just the way she is."

Hermione was biting her lip as she watched the exchange. She generally ignored Lavender's digs at her appearance. She didn't care much what the woman thought of her but obviously Draco wasn't going to be so complacent. His protective nature gave her a bit of a warm feeling in the pit of her stomach. It felt different than the way Harry and Ron were always protective of her.

"Well," Harry finally piped up to dissolve the tension, "who's playing in the intramural league this season?"

"Being a professional," Ginny made air quotes with both of her hands, "I'm not allowed to play."

"Well, you know I am," Draco smirked. "Can't miss an opportunity to take my pride back after the final game last season, Potter."

"Good luck with that," Harry grinned. "I got a new broom last week."

"Sad that you need a new broom just to beat me," he countered. "Well, that and getting Weasley out of the Keeper's position."

"Hey!" Ron sputtered around a bite of bread.

Hermione groaned and rested her chin on a fisted hand. "Boys," she mumbled to herself.

Harry being Harry kept them all on neutral topics while they tried out this new social dynamic with Draco in tow. Surprisingly, he seemed to mesh himself quite well with her friends. She saw the usual signs of his arrogant smirk or oncoming snide remarks but they were admittedly more controlled than in the past. Not that he wasn't his usual sarcastic self; she'd have been quite disappointed if he weren't.

She watched as the server came round near the end of the meal and Draco caught his attention to whisper something while everyone was still distracted in conversation. The man reappeared a few moments later with a check and she watched curiously as Draco retrieved his wallet and handed the check back with the appropriate amount of money.

He caught her eye after the server left with the bill and shrugged at her as he replaced his wallet in his back pocket.

"Oh, we need to get home. I've got some strategy to go over for practice tomorrow," Ginny noted aloud. "I thought we'd have the check by now.

Draco took a sip of his water before he stood to help Hermione with her coat. "I took care of it already."

Everyone's attention whipped up to him as he was running his hands along her shoulders to straighten the coat.

"Uh…thanks, Malfoy," Harry muttered, slightly surprised.

Ron nodded in agreement, having a slight loss for words.

Hermione bit her lip to contain her grin at their shocked expressions as everyone stood to get their coats and belongings. They said their goodbyes for the night and she and Draco left the restaurant to head towards her flat.

They were quiet for a few blocks until she finally looked up at him under the umbrella. "You didn't have to do that, you know."

Draco glanced down at her and pulled her closer suddenly when they nearly edged into a light post. "I know that. I didn't do it to show my wealth though."

"I didn't say that you did. I assumed you were just trying to make a good impression as my boyfriend now and less so as the arrogant Draco Malfoy they normally see you as."

He looked genuinely surprised that she understood his motives as they ascended the steps to her building. "That's exactly it."

He followed her into the lift and waited until the doors closed on them to speak again. "I'm looking for endgame, Hermione. I can't promise to be their best friend but I want to fit in the best I can for you because I don't intend to ever let you go."

Hermione swallowed thickly as she glanced up at him. The lift doors opened with a ding and she blinked rapidly as she tore her eyes from his intense gaze. She stepped out with a deep breath and him close on her heels.

A heady sense of emotion flooded her chest and she knew without saying it exactly what he was referring to. He was dating for marriage, much as she always intended to do anytime she considered being serious with a man.

The bloody man all but said those three little words and her stomach was twisting and curling in on itself in anticipation that he may someday soon. Perhaps she should have felt unnerved considering they'd not been dating very long at all but everything just felt…right.

Draco felt her anxiety rolling off her in waves and almost regretted his openness about how serious he felt about her but she didn't seem turned off by it, merely shocked.

She turned to him once they reached her door and looked up to meet his grey eyes. "I don't date just to date either, Draco," was all she said before she lifted on her toes to press a soft kiss to his mouth before she disappeared inside her flat.

It took a moment before a slight smile curled the corners of his mouth as he stared at the closed door. That was all he needed to hear.