[A/N: When I started this story, my dad was sick in hospital, then he was home and I had to look after him. Since then, I've had to deal with some family stuff, and then I was potentially moving out (to be closer to uni) but now I'm not. I'm sorry it's been months, but I haven't really had many strokes of genius. I recently had another idea about what I want to do after uni, which I'm so happy about because I generally have no idea and just go with the flow. But now that I'm back to procrastinating uni work (an essay on the break-up of Yugoslavia), I can write again. Now... onto the story!]

Chapter 8:

Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Several (Or More) Months Later

There were several things troubling Hermione Granger.

Firstly... Work

She'd been putting it off again and again. Hermione had applied for several positions, once upon a time, in the days before her return to England, but when faced with the reality of life back home and relationships with her friends and... Malfoy, she had decided to spend some time at home with Alec before he started school. But then, Alec started spending time with his father, and Hermione ended up at home alone.

Where she'd once have been elated to curl up in an armchair with a book, she sat by the window, anxiously awaiting her son's return. Over time, she became less and less worried when he was gone, and managed to have lunch with Ginny, or some friends from Hogwarts. However, Alec would soon be starting school (at the one around the corner, where Hermione had also gone), and she needed a job.

Secondly... Time

Although it had only been a few months of holidays, Hermione was quickly losing track of time. Was it Tuesday? Or was it Sunday? Was it half-nine? Or was it half-eleven? Of course, when she looked at her mobile, or when she looked at a calendar (on which she had had to start marking off the days), Hermione knew exactly what day it was, but she had once practically been a human calendar, a human clock. Even when she'd had to make use of a Time Turner in third year, Hermione had always known what time it was, as if it were a biological function of hers, rather than an innate sense.

And, finally... Draco Malfoy

He was a good father. He was friendly. He was kind. And Hermione had a feeling that over the past few months, she'd totally fallen back in love with Draco Malfoy. She couldn't exactly pinpoint the moment it happened, but one day, the feeling was there again. Not the heartbroken-love feeling, but the oh-my-goodness-I-love-him feeling. Hermione looked forward to when he would visit, although time and time again she would have to remind herself that he visited for Alec's sake, not her own.

He came to drop off a present for Alec that he picked up one day at the shops.

He came to pick Alec up for a Quidditch practice with his friends' kids.

He came to take Alec on his first sleepover at Dad's house.

He didn't come to see Hermione.

Okay, so there was a little bit of the heartbroken-love feeling in there. But it was more fluttery than stomach-dropping. And it was nice to feel that way again.

But it shouldn't be Dra-Malfoy. She'd taken to calling him Malfoy again in her mind. Of course, she called him 'Dad' for Alec, and she addressed him as 'Draco', but he had to be Malfoy in her mind. She might love him, or at least fancy him quite a bit, but it couldn't happen again. They had Alec to consider.

Maybe it was because Malfoy was the first non-friend male she'd spoken to in a while.

Maybe she just needed some interaction with men.

Maybe, maybe, Hermione realised, she needed to start dating again.

[A/N: Okay, so this was a suuuuper short one, but I just wanted everyone to know that I have a bit of a plan for the rest of the story and I'll be regularly updating again (though not as often as I did originally). I was always planning on having a time lapse in the story timeline, and since I've been away for a while, I thought it would be perfect if the characters developed a bit too. I hope this mini-chapter whet your palates for the upcoming chapters, and I'm so sorry, once again, for the long wait.]