A New Theory

Previously:While all this laughing was going on, Draco walked up to Hermione's door and knocked. He was right on time. He was very surprised when the door was answered by a watery-eyed Hermione. Her eyes weren't watery because she had been crying, they were watery because she was laughing. She was laughing so much, that she could barely tell him that she would be out in a minute.

When she came back out, Draco could still see the remnants of the big smile on her face. She laughed a little and said "I'm sorry about that. Something rather funny happened and then I just couldn't stop laughing."

He smiled and replied "That's alright. Can I know what was so funny?"

"I don't want to say, it's embarrassing. It's not very funny, now that I think about it. It was just funny at the moment. So, what are we going to do?" Hermione asked, quickly changing the subject.

Draco could sense that she didn't want to talk about it, so he moved on "Well, I was thinking that we could go to the carnival now and when you're hungry, we can get something to eat at one of the places near there."

Draco was surprised at how well the "date" was going. It was almost as if they were old friends! Hermione seemed as comfortable as he felt. He just hoped that the rest of the date would go as well as the start.

Chapter Five

They walked to the carnival, and surprised themselves by talking the whole way there. They talked about life and old friends from school and how things had changed. Hermione was especially surprised at how easy going Draco was. He also made her laugh quite a bit. She found that it helped to think of him not as Draco Malfoy, but as an old school friend. Just someone that she was catching up with. It helped to take a lot of the pressure off of her.

When they got to their destination, Draco asked, "So, what shall we do first? Care for a ride on the roller coaster?" Hermione smiled her biggest smile and said as she took off running, "I'll race you to it!" Draco, always up for a challenge, ran right after her.

"You might as well give up now! There is no way you're going to beat me!" Draco shouted playfully at her.

"Not a chance! I will never surrender!" Hermione replied laughing hysterically. Draco decided to let her win. He decided that it was much more fun that way because no one likes someone who is overly competitive. It was more important to have fun.

"I haven't had this much fun since I was about seven years old!" Hermione exclaimed as she and Draco ate hot dogs at a table at the carnival's food court.

"Same here." Draco replied.

"I feel like I'm a kid again, you know what I mean?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah. Well, my childhood wasn't like this at all, but I've heard the expression before, so yes, I know what you mean." Draco said as he looked down.

"Draco…What was your childhood like?" Hermione tentatively asked.

"Well, it definitely was not your typical childhood. I got everything that money could buy. But I never got what I really wanted. I never had parents who damn about me. Sure, they cared about what I did. They had to make sure that I didn't ruin their status or their image or anything. But they were never there for me. I really don't understand why I even listened to them for so long. I guess that I was just afraid of what my father would do to me if I didn't do what he wanted. Hermione, do you remember back in first year when we were friends?"

"Yes."

"I am really sorry that I listened to them. I didn't want to. I wanted to be your friend, but they had me convinced that I was…better than you. That has always been my biggest regret. If we would have stayed friends imagine how different everything would be. I'm sure that you would have talked some sense into me. I probably would be a much better person than I am."

"Draco, don't say things like that! Even if you'd like to, you can't change the past. It's who you are in the present that counts! Everyone makes mistakes, you know. We are all just human. You can't blame yourself for every little thing that goes wrong. A lot of things are going to go wrong. All that you can do is learn from your mistakes. I know that you would prefer it, but nobody is perfect." Hermione said wisely.

"You are perfect, Hermione." Draco thought to himself. He would have said it out loud, but he chickened out. He wasn't sure whether her hearing that would strengthen their relationship or ruin it, and he wasn't quite willing to risk it.

"Thanks for that, Hermione. I think that it would only be fair for you to tell me about your childhood now." Draco said with a coy smile. Hermione laughed and said, "Oh, alright. Fair enough." "Well, I am an only child. My parents and I have lived in the same little brick house my entire life. I have always loved our house. It's just so cute and cozy, like a little cottage. And there is always big, beautiful, tall grass and lots of beautiful, colorful, blooming flowers. And a nice little creek runs through our backyard. We live in the country, so it's not that hard to see how I came to love reading. It was the main thing to do because we didn't have a TV until I was about ten. Most days I would sit under a tree with a nice book and read for hours. Other times I would play with my Irish setter, Maggie. She was still alive while I went to Hogwarts. That was the thing that bothered me about Hogwarts' rules about animals, you couldn't have a dog! That's why I ended up buying Crookshanks. I never grew that fond of him. I only bought him because I felt sorry for him. And I pretended like I loved him because Ron hated him. Isn't it silly, those old school crushes? I had a crush on Ron until our 7th year. It was rather pathetic really, they way we would bicker and fight, even though we both liked each other. It just goes to show how immature we were. I'm sorry, am I talking too much?" Hermione asked feeling rather embarrassed. Draco laughed and said, "No, no. I like to hear you ramble a bit. It's interesting. You can continue if you like."

"No, I'd better not. Besides, it's pretty late and I would like to go on the Ferris wheel before the carnival closes for the night."

"You read my mind! I love Ferris wheels! They are like the muggle version of flying." He whispered to her. She chuckled and they got up and walked over to the Ferris wheel. As the wheel began to turn, Hermione felt the familiar rush of wind. She loved the way it blew her hair back from her face so that she could take in the amazing view. Since she was not an expert at using a broomstick, this was the only way she could get this feeling. Draco looked over and saw that Hermione had her eyes closed and looked completely at peace. He wanted to never forget they way she looked at that moment. He never wanted to forget that whole day. It took all of his self control to stop himself from trying to hold her hand and kiss her. He knew that there would be other, better moments for those types of things. He didn't want to scare her away. He knew that this was going to be a long, hard process, but it would be worth it for Hermione.

After the Ferris wheel, they walked back to Hermione's flat. "I really had a great time tonight, Draco." Hermione said shyly. Draco smiled and said, "So did I." Then he hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "See you at work." He said. "Goodbye." She replied. As soon as she unlocked the door and went into her flat, she crashed on the couch and sighed. She was floating on a cloud. She had a huge grin on her face, and she found it impossible to stop smiling. He had definitely changed a lot!

AN: Ok, so I know that it has been a little over a year, and I am sooooo sorry!!!! Well, I got re-inspired, so I decided to write. So, please read and review! Thanks!

P.S. The title of this chapter is a song by Frank Sinatra.