Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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A week had gone by since Hermione awoke from her troubling memory that started at the Orders headquarters. On one of those days during the week she received an owl from Harry telling her to meet him at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor to discuss something urgent. She of course accepted and was now sitting at a table outside of the café waiting for Harry to arrive, and in the meantime enjoying a hot fudge sundae that the waiter had just brought by.

She had her hair in a ponytail and wore faded blue jeans with a light green sweater; the sweater being one of the last presents her parents had the chance to give to her before they were murdered. This truth made her think about just what her and her friends were fighting for. Was it for love, peace or just the fact that you could live the rest of your life with someone that you cared about? Living your life with no care in the world about the remaining Death Eaters breathing down your neck and watching your every move just to plot your death. But if they were to win, who besides her friends did she have the chance to spend the rest of her life with?

Of course there was Professor Snape who she worked with on assignments and went to visit just for a drink just for fun, but she could never see him as a lover. He was more of a father figure than anything else and even he had said that she was like a daughter to him, even though he would never admit it to anyone else that they knew.

Then there was Ron whom she so longed to be with during her years at Hogwarts but that all changed when he started chasing after Fleur when he found out that Hermione was owling Viktor over the summer after their fourth year. Fleur obviously ditched her friends and stuck up attitude and gave Ron another chance. They had been together ever since. Hermione didn't know what to think of it, she did know that Ron's attitude for a relationship truly changed when his parents passed away and she believed that's why they have been together so long. Whatever it was Hermione was happy for him but also didn't have any feelings for him that way anymore, so it really didn't matter.

As she was taking a step out of her thoughts and her hot fudge sundae, she looked up, and that's when she saw Harry approaching her. He was still his usual self in appearance, with his black tousled mop of hair and a slowly fading lightning bolt scar on his forehead that made him famous throughout so many years. He wore a black jumper which fitted him well except his teenage body had filled out nicely with years of Quidditch practice. He wore a black jumper with blue jeans and sneakers. His hair was still as tousled as it was when they were still at Hogwarts. His voice had changed too throughout his adolescent years. It didn't sound as innocent as it once did; now it was deeper and fitted his image perfectly.

"How are you, how's work", he asked smiling and taking a seat across from her.

"Good. Works fine too except for that case I've been working on," Hermione said returning the smile and taking a scoop of ice cream and raising it to her lips to ignore the question she knew would follow.

"You're not talking about Malfoy are you", Harry asked his smile faltering and giving her a concerned look.

"Sadly, yes. But Harry before you go into your protective brother mode please hear me out", Hermione started to say but Harry wasn't listening.

"Hermione you have to let it go. It's been how long now? Seven years?" "Nine", she interrupted; Harry continued nonetheless, "It doesn't matter. Although you loved him doesn't mean that you have to go and hurt yourself over it. He's gone Hermione. Just let it go you are only making it worse for you."

"Look Harry I don't think that you sent me such an urgent owl to discuss my past love life," Hermione said with certain hostility showing in her voice, her ice cream forgotten on the table.

She could see his expression change from concern to nervousness, "I'm sorry Hermione I know it's a difficult subject for you, I guess you're right. I sent you that owl to discuss Ginny."

"Ginny? Is she alright?" her ice cream which found itself back in her hands seconds ago was forgotten again.

"No, no, she's fine there's nothing to worry about. It's just that, well you know that we have been together ever since my sixth year and over the years I have really begun to fall in love with her. Well, I guess I'm asking for help. Could you go and talk to her from me?" Harry pleaded hope evident in his eyes.

"Well what exactly do you want me to say? I do understand what you are trying to say, but do you want me to tell her you want to run away from here and have Ginny bear your children?" Hermione questioned with a glint in her eye.

Harry smiled and shook his head, "No, I would like for you to advise her that I wish for her hand in marriage and not as harsh as you just described it. But I really don't know if she feels the same way for me…that's where you come in though."

"Shouldn't you be asking her brothers and not me if whether or not you can marry her?" Hermione asked.

"Of course that still has to be done," he said with a slight fear crossing his features, "I wouldn't want to talk to them first and get seven shades of shit beat out of me, and then return to Ginny having to explain everything. I just think ever since their parents died in the war all of them just got much closer than they already were, and I wouldn't want for them to think that I want to tear their family apart. "

"I truly don't think that that is on their mind but you do have a broad range of options on what you can do. And here are two approaching you now," Hermione said while waving and looking at something Harry.

Before he had a chance to react, a firm hand was smacked on his right shoulder. It gave Harry quite a scare and when he turned to see who it was butterflies inhabited his stomach yet again. It was Fred who hit him and standing right next to him was George with identical grins on their faces.

"Hey fancy seeing you two here", said George while Fred and him occupied themselves right next to Harry and Hermione.

"We were just having lunch", said Hermione, "are you doing the same?"

"Yea my dear old brother and I are taking our daily lunch break while Ron and Seamus take over the store for a bit. Even though we would love to stay and chat we can't stay too long from the store it's been a busy day with Christmas just around the corner", they got back up said their goodbyes and headed inside for lunch.

Hermione was the first to speak, "I should get going too. I still have some necessities that I need to purchase," Hermione placed a couple of knuts on the table then got up to give Harry a hug goodbye when he spoke, "Will you talk to her though? Please?"

Hermione agreed and told him that she will be there in two days to talk things over with Ginny and they went their separate ways.

Hermione of course needed to go to the apothecary and as horrible as it sounded to her ears sometimes she just wasn't going to give up on Draco. Throughout their secret relationship, which Harry and Professor Snape found out about how they did she never wanted to know, it started to blossom in their fourth year. There were no 'I love you's' given out, just secret meetings late at night in the library, the astronomy tower and even the Room of Requirement.

She could so clearly remember the first meeting they had, even though it probably wasn't memorable to Draco, at the time, it was memorable to her. It was during her fourth year when the triwizard tournament stress was taking hold of so many students at Hogwarts; in the end it took hold of her too.

Flashback

Potions. Just one thing but so many results included in that word. Professor Snape as horrid as he was in those years she attended, while handing out detentions like they were paychecks, he noticed a new candidate for a potions apprentice. It was of course Hermione. She accepted after a few nights sleep thinking it over but even she wasn't prepared for the amount of dedication it required. That's when a few nights in a row she found herself in the library finishing research for a new potion that Professor Snape and she were researching.

But one evening she had taken Harry's invisibility cloak and silently crept through the halls to the library. She needed to go to the Restricted section and was about to open the door when she noticed it wasn't closed at all. Some one is here! Who could it be? A teacher out this late in the restricted section? No couldn't be it had to be a student, a teacher wouldn't be this careless. So Hermione walked into that part of the library while still having her cloak tightly around her. Still very quiet as to not let the other person know she was here she walked to the section where she was told her book would be.

Banned potions of the Dark Ages, the book that Snape had instructed her to get and research over a week ago and she couldn't very well show up empty handed. As she reached her desired section she noticed that her book was missing. Did Snape check out the book for her? Surely he wouldn't do the work for her. Maybe he knew that she wasn't doing the assignment that he gave her.

Checking again for her book was when she heard a 'thud' coming from her left in the more dimly lit part of the restricted section, where she could remember from previous visits the sitting area was located. Hermione got out her wand just in case she needed to defend herself from whoever was there. She cast 'Lumos' and slowly approached the tables but she didn't need an expert to figure out who was there, his platinum hair was well known to all at Hogwarts.

"Malfoy", she hissed but surprisingly he didn't turn around. She noticed his elegant features with that scar that was on his right eye that went down vertically stopping barely under his eye socket. When the students came back from summer break to start their fourth year was when it appeared but he had never really revealed to anyone how he received it. As she moved towards him ready to give him a piece of her mind she saw that he was asleep. That's when Hermione noticed that his head was resting on a book. Her book - and upon closer inspection it was opened to the same potion that Professor Snape and her were researching.

Someone back in Diagon Alley collided with Hermione who sent her out of her thoughts and back at the task at hand. She didn't notice that she stopped walking right in the middle of the traffic of people. Some were giving her funny stares while others just passed her by continuing on to their destination.

Hermione's senses finally kicked into gear and continued on to the apothecary hoping that they had the ingredients that she needed. She opened the door and the friendly face of Alex greeted her.

"Hello", he said, "what will you need today?"

"Did you get any vampire fangs, dragon scales, and werewolf's hair in", Hermione asked.

"Oh the usual was all you had to say. It's in the back. I'll get it for you", Alex responded and Hermione nodded.

While Hermione was waiting for Alex to return, a man who was just a bit taller than her entered the store clad in a black cloak and black boots. He had black hair and for a moment she thought it was Harry and was just about to call out his name but she saw that he didn't carry that famous scar on his forehead.

But the thing that was the most remarkable about him that caused her to look twice in his direction was a scar going down vertical on his right eye. It was so strikingly similar to Draco's that without knowing it she blurted out "Draco."

"Sorry?" he asked.

With him now standing closer to her than where she first saw him at the door she could look at his eyes. Hermione always thought that they were the window to one's soul but these weren't part of the soul she was looking for. "I thought you were someone I knew", she responded and turned back to the cashier at the same moment that Alex came back with her ingredients.

"Sorry, but the only thing that came in was the vampire fangs and dragon scales, you can come back maybe next week for the werewolf's hair", Alex proposed.

Hermione however thought of a better idea, "No that's alright. I'll just take what you have. Thank you though."

Alex rung up her goods and as Hermione handed him her money she saw out of the corner of her eye, the strange man leaving in a hurry out the door. She gave Alex a small smile, shrunk her purchases, and put them in her pocket. Then she calmly exited Diagon Alley into muggle London and apparated to her flat where she would make a long awaited floo call to a dear Professor Snape.

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