Hello again. Here is the second half of the "date". It's interesting to develop the closeness of these two characters while still acknowledging and paying attention to their issues. As always, JKR has an Order of Merlin, First Class!

Granger had convinced him to get something called a fisherman's basket from the menu at the pub. He had been swayed by her excitement, but also admitted to himself that it would be fun to share something with her. When it had arrived at their table, Draco's mouth watered looking at all the different fried and crumbed seafood served up on steaming hot chips.

They had both dug in with gusto, eating as though they had not already consumed a large amount of sweet delights at the various stalls outside. Granger had ordered a couple of glasses of soft drink as well, and Draco discovered he quite liked the taste. It was refreshing compared to the creamy butterbeer he would usually order at places like The Three Broomsticks, and it washed down the greasy fish nicely.

"Do you miss Hogwarts?" Draco asked when the conversation had turned to subjects at school they both took. Granger contemplated the question for a while, before shrugging and nibbling on the end of a chip.

"Of course I do, but not as much as I thought I would."

"Really?"

She sighed heavily.

"I do have this constant feeling of disappointment that I never finished. A part of me – the bookworm as you would no doubt say – is devastated that I didn't get to take my NEWTS and prove myself after all those years of study and hard work."

"That's hardly surprising. Even I would like to have got my Outstanding in Potions and Arithmancy. You might know everything, but that piece of paper makes it official."

"It's a validation," Granger agreed with a quick nod, before she continued, "but things have been different this year. I've had the chance to actually use my magic purposefully and out of instinct, not study. I'm casting spells not because a teacher told me to, but because it's needed. It suddenly feels more real." She blushed lightly and looked down, tracing her finger over a darker patch of wood on the solid table, "But I guess that's because I'm muggleborn, so the use of magic doesn't always seem natural to me. "

"No, I get it. It starts to feel normal instead of rehearsed."

Granger raised her eyes to his again and smiled softly.

"Are you shocked?" she asked with a teasing glint in her eye.

"About what?"

"That Hermione Granger isn't pining away for her precious school?"

Draco chuckled and shook his head, crunching on a piece of succulent crumbed calamari.

"Hmmm…" he pretended to think for a moment while he swallowed before grinning at her, "A little, though not as surprised as I am to see you wearing Slytherin colours and eating at a muggle pub with Draco Malfoy."

Granger broke into a small fit of giggles. She had removed the beanie when they entered the warm pub, and her curls bounced gently around her shoulders as she shook.

"Good point," she conceded, "I guess none of us are the same anymore," she gave him a meaningful look and tilted her glass in his direction before she took a small sip.

"On the contrary, I've always been this good looking and charismatic," he said with a cheeky smile.

Granger rolled her eyes and gave a loud exaggerated groan.

"You're incorrigible."

They laughed for another moment as he used his knife to cut the last piece of battered fish in half to share. After a couple of bites, Granger had sobered enough to look a little regretful as she spoke again,

"It's a moot point anyway. It's not like they would let me back into that school now. Not with Snape there instead of…" she trailed off with a visible wince, and Draco swallowed his fish, the still solid piece a painful lump as it went down. She had obviously been about to mention Dumbledore, but had panicked when she remembered his involvement in the tragedy.

"I'm really-" he started with a frown before his voice faded as he realised that no words could erase the guilt or memory of his actions that night. He couldn't apologize to her, it would sound so meaningless coming from him just now when she was the one who brought it up, albeit accidently. So he just sat there and looked pained until Granger spoke again.

"Harry told us that you weren't going to do it. He said you lowered your wand."

Draco nodded glumly, the tip of his finger toying with the edge of his glass.

"No wonder Lucius thinks I'm a constant disappointment. I can't even do the evil stuff right, despite being groomed my whole life."

Granger looked at him intently as she leaned over the table closer.

"Do you consider yourself a failure because you couldn't kill Dumbledore?"

Draco shrugged and nodded hesitantly.

"I couldn't kill him. And I couldn't help him. So I guess that just makes me a useless coward."

Granger shook her head as she reached over and touched his hand again. He couldn't deny the childish flutter he always felt when she sought to comfort him like this.

"But Malfoy… there is a strength you showed in knowing that it was wrong."

"Of course it was wrong! I couldn't murder the headmaster. He'd never been unkind to me or unfair. In fact he'd been incredibly lenient and generous considering some of my behaviour in earlier years."

"Exactly! Do you think your father would have made that distinction?"

Draco shook his head, meeting her eyes with a frown of confusion.

"No, of course not."

Granger smiled slowly, prettily.

"You might not be very good at the evil stuff, Draco," she said with meaningful passion stressed on each word, "but you're alright at the good stuff."

"You'd say that about anyone, bleeding heart Gryffindor."

He saw her laugh sadly as she removed her hand from his, which soon turned cold without her touch.

"Maybe, but that doesn't mean I'm not right."

Draco smirked and leaned back in the booth.

"You're always right."

"Then you should listen to me."

He nodded and lifted his glass to drain the rest of his drink. He lowered the glass with a sigh and a shy smile..

"Does this mean that you've forgiven me for how I treated you in school? You admitted yourself that we're no longer mortal enemies."

Granger gave a hesitant smile in return and went back to tracing the table's wooden pattern.

"Of course I've forgiven you. You saved my life, Draco. That erases any of the petty things that were said and done when you were just a child, even if I struggle with the memories sometimes."

He swallowed happily and tried not to let his delight show too much on his face. She gave her forgiveness so freely that it helped lift a weight off his shoulders he'd carried with him these last couple of years. Ever since he'd started falling in love with Granger, he'd always felt a gnawing guilt in his heart that he would never wash away that hatred and bigotry from when he was younger. He had always believed pessimistically that she would never see past his earlier vindictiveness. But he supposed that such thoughts hadn't done her justice. She was even more compassionate than he had allowed himself to hope.

"I like it when you say it," he said automatically, his brain not catching up quick enough to filter what came out of his mouth.

"Say what?"

He smiled sheepishly, blushing a little bit.

"My name."

Granger's lip twitched and she looked him up and down once before she seemed to come to a decision in some internal debate going on.

"Ok, but I can't make any promises. The name Malfoy is too familiar that I might not always remember to change it."

Draco nodded in understanding. He wasn't sure he had the balls to use her first name, even in his own head. It opened a door to feelings that continued to taunt him every second he was around her.

"The name Malfoy to me will always be a reminder of my father. It doesn't feel right for you to use it, when he's hurt you."

Granger shot him a quick look of anguish, but he wasn't sure if it was directed at him or herself.

"Well in that case I will try very hard to change my habits, Draco."

He shivered again. Would he ever get used to it? Feeling that it was time to move on, he rose and donned his coat and hat once more, and saw Granger follow his lead. She tugged on her beanie, but Draco beat her to the coat, scooping it up and offering it to her open. Granger gave him another shaky smile and turned around, slipping her arms into the sleeves as he pulled it up and secured it on her shoulders. Then, feeling a daring rush of adrenalin, he took hold of the hair that had become caught behind the collar, and gently pulled it out to rest between her shoulder blades. As he did, the tips of his fingers just grazed the soft skin of her nape. He was watching her very closely, and could see the exact moment when the goose bumps prickled over her skin.

"Thank you," she stammered, before they made their way out the door and back into the cold. With a surprised glance at the sky, Draco realised that while they were having lunch, some dark clouds had begun to gather above. There was a lot of scurrying movement as the people of the village packed up the stalls and went about finishing up their festival. He saw Granger look up at the sky and turn towards him with a grimace.

"We'd better hurry," she said and he nodded in agreement.

They started to stride towards home, saying friendly goodbyes to people who recognised them from earlier in the day.

The two of them walked at a brisk pace towards the cottage. The closer they got, the greyer the sky became, and by the time they were within a hundred metres, they were being frozen by some very light icy drizzle. But they weren't making good progress, because the closer they got the slower Granger walked. She was a little unsteady, and Draco made sure he was walking fairly close to her to keep an eye on her gait. He cursed himself for keeping her out for too long in the cold. They should have left sooner. She must be exhausted. Her body simply wasn't ready to deal with this kind of physical strain. He had been hurt recently himself, but not with the kind of dark magic that she had been subjected to; the kind that drained you over a long time. He was surprised frankly that she had done so well throughout the morning before lunch. She must have been so excited to get out of the house that she was running on adrenalin.

"Argh!"

Draco paused and turned to look at Granger as she stopped suddenly and grasped her arm.

"What is it? Are you ok?"

She was rubbing at the forearm where Bellatrix had carved that horrible word into her. He frowned as he saw how hard she was scraping at it with her fingers. She would rub it raw and open it up if she wasn't careful.

"Hey," he started trying to get her attention as he stepped closer to her, "take it easy, Granger."

She hissed and ignored him, cradling it to her protectively as she scratched at it.

"It hurts so much!"

Draco stared at her in dread. He shuffled closer again until he was almost right up against her, and took hold of her wrist.

"You're going to make it worse."

"Urrgh… it's cramping and itchy. I think the cold weather is making it worse."

Draco kept his hold firm on her wrist like a vice, not letting her pull it back. Her skin was hot and sweaty under his fingers despite the freezing temperatures.

"You're burning up," he murmured with a frown.

"Please let go," she moaned, trying to wriggle her arm away from him.

"No bloody way, Granger. Let's just hurry up and get you home."

Still holding onto her, he looped his other arm around her waist and they started the quick stumble up the road towards the cottage that was now materialising into their view out of the fog.

When he felt the tickle of magic as they passed through the wards, he became aware of Granger sagging a little bit more into him, exhausted and in agony.

"Tilly!" he called urgently.

The little elf popped outside next to him. Her eyes were round with horror as she looked at them.

"Miss Hermninny?"

Granger tried once more desperately to pull her arm from his grasp with a whimper. But Draco used his grasp on her wrist to pull her closer and hold her against his body.

"Listen to me, Granger. If I let you scratch it or rub it, you're going to hurt yourself. So stop squirming and do as I say."

Granger gave a little shriek of frustration but allowed him to pull her into the house, supporting most of her weight as Tilly wandered along behind them.

"Did Masters and Misses date go badly?"

Draco kicked the door shut with a very loud bang, wincing at Tilly's words. He heard Granger give a little gasp right next to his ear where she was leaning against him.

"Wait…wha-"

"Can we get a heat pack Tilly? And some strengthening potion?"

Tilly nodded quickly and vanished, while he managed to get Granger all the way over to the couch. She sank down onto it, and promptly started to press her arm against her side, trying to cause friction against the woolly fabric. A loud crash of thunder made her jump a little, and gave Draco a chance to prop himself next to her and grab hold of her arm once more without her protesting. He sat there calmly holding onto her arm as she squirmed into the couch, her teeth biting so furiously into her bottom lip he was surprised she hadn't drawn blood.

"How long have you been in pain?" he asked quietly, trying not to sound angry with her.

"I'm not sure, exactly. It happened so gradually. It started to tingle when we arrived in the village, and it was kind of numb for a while, but it didn't really start to hurt until lunch."

Draco sighed and trapped her eyes in an accusing stare.

"And you didn't think to mention it?"

She shook her head sadly.

"I was having a nice time," she said with a sulky pout, and Draco felt a lot of his anger float away with her simple little admission. He was pleased she had enjoyed herself. It had easily been the best day out he'd had in a long time. Before he could respond, Tilly had returned, looking dolefully up at them as she handed over the heat compress and a vial of potion. He didn't have to wonder why she was upset, but was surprised when she piped up anyway.

"Did Miss Hermninny's arm get sore because of Tilly's jacket?"

Granger looked down at the elf with wide, sympathetic eyes.

"No! Of course not, Tilly. I'm just recovering still. Your jacket was beautiful and so so warm! And we had a really lovely day," she reassured the little elf, smiling when Tilly grinned from ear to ear.

Draco hurriedly applied the heat to her sore forearm, before uncorking the vial of potion and offering it to her. She downed the potion quickly in one gulp. Granger then curled her legs up onto the couch underneath her and leaned her head on the back of the couch with heavy lids.

"Just wait a few moments for the strengthening potion to kick in. And hopefully warming up your arm will relieve the pain if it was reacting to the cold."

Granger nodded and watched him from underneath her slowly blinking lashes as he placed the empty vial to one side. Draco returned her gaze evenly for a while, looking for any signs that she was feeling better or worse. The room was cast in darkness with this new storm circling around the cottage. Without breaking eye contact from Granger, he spoke to Tilly who was fussing around to one side.

"Would you light a fire please, Tilly? We could use the extra warmth"

'Yes Master," she squeaked and he heard her get to work, quickly becoming involved in her task.

"So…" Granger murmured quietly, her voice casual but her eyes rather wary, "Tilly thinks that we, um…"

Draco nodded, looking down sheepishly.

"I think she was confused," he tried to lie with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"Right. So I suppose she was trying to play match maker with the coat?"

Draco chuckled deeply, leaning closer so the elf wouldn't overhear them.

"I think clothes mean a lot more to Tilly than they do to us."

Granger nodded with a wry smile.

"I had a feeling when I saw the excessive amounts of green and silver."

Draco smirked as well, before glancing at Tilly who was still busy building up the logs and kindling.

"She didn't mean any harm by it," he said, hoping Granger wouldn't be upset by the little elf's enthusiasm.

"It's fine. I can't exactly blame her for getting the wrong idea. Pretty much everyone we ran into today thought we were a couple."

Her eyes sparkled with humour, and she waved a hand dismissively as she spoke. Draco winced a bit when he saw the carefree way she brushed it aside, as if the idea didn't mean anything. As if it was ludicrous to even consider taking it seriously. He would have been happier even if she'd been unnerved or distressed, because it would at least mean that she acknowledged it as a possibility. But her reaction seemed too apathetic. Either she didn't care enough to contemplate him in a romantic way at all, or she was a better actress than he gave her credit for. Grange must have seen him wincing for that split second, because she frowned at him a little sadly.

"I'm sorry…"

"About what?" he tried to shake it off.

"I'm sorry you're uncomfortable with people thinking that about us."

Draco looked at her in surprise. He almost laughed out loud. She thought he was the one bothered by them being seen as a couple. When it was the exact opposite.

"It's not a problem," he said with a twist of his lips into a playful smirk.

When silence descended between them, he became uneasy about the focused attention she was giving him. She was looking at him as if trying to work out a complex puzzle. After a few moments, Draco decided to change the topic.

"How are you feeling now?"

She thought for a second, her face scrunched up adorably.

"A little better. My legs are really stiff."

Draco nodded.

"Do you want to watch a movie?"

Granger spluttered a bit and stared at him in shock.

"Are you serious?"

Draco chuckled at the expression on her face. At the same time Tilly managed to complete her perfect firewood pyramid she had been constructing, and with a flick of her bony wrist it lit on fire. They both hummed a little in pleasure as the heat flared up next to them, toasting them right through to their bones. Draco turned back to the curly haired witch with a playful smirk.

"Would I lie to you?" he asked with a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Most definitely," she responded instantly, making him laugh.

"Well I'm not this time. When I got my coffee machine, I bought one of those muggle telethings. A man at the store told me I couldn't live without one."

Granger continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"You really don't do things in halves, do you?" he shook his head in amusement, "Well do you have any DVDs?"

"What?"

"Um…they're thin discs that you put in and they play the movie."

"Oh. I think so. He gave me a couple of little cases."

Seeing that Granger was clearly interested in this idea, he jumped to his feet and approached the opposite wall. Reaching round the back of a panel, Draco released the switch that made the wall open to reveal the flat telemovie thing. He heard Granger gasp in amazement and he grabbed the few cases from the low cupboard and brought them back to the couch.

"Have you ever used this?" she asked with awe, staring at the screen.

"No," he said with a shrug, "I have no idea how it works. Or time to play with it. What's it all about then? Why do muggles do it?"

"Well they make these films that tell stories. It's like reading a book but you see it. They can be really amazing, funny or touching, and there's thousands of different films to watch."

"Sounds interesting."

Granger smiled and gave him a small shove with her free arm that wasn't held under the heat compress.

"You're unbelievable. What movies do you have?"

He handed the cases over with a dramatic flourish.

"I didn't want to choose randomly, so the man at the store gave me his three favourite ones."

Granger looked down at the films before picking one.

"It has to be this one! My dad loves this."

Draco looked down at the cover. The Godfather. He shrugged and nodded.

"Sure. You'd know best."

"It's an oldie but a goodie! And besides, I think you'll find some of the themes quite…um…relevant."

He moved back over to the machine, and Granger called out instructions for him to put the round shiny thing somewhere. They laughed a bit as he stumbled his way around the system, and tried to follow her enthusiastic pointing. Eventually the television, as she called it, made a humming noise and she gave a squeal of delight.

He handed her the black stick and she managed to turn the thing on rather quickly. Tilly gave them a smile as they settled down on the couch together.

"Here you go," she squeaked, handing them a thick quilt, "Tilly will go make Master and Miss hot chocolates now!"

Granger gave another coo of excitement, and settled deeper into the couch. She wriggled a little closer to him and threw the quilt over both of them.

Draco stared at her in surprise. So she wanted to snuggle up on the couch together? With the thick blanket, crackling fire and hot chocolate, it was shaping up to be incredibly cosy.

"This is surreal," he murmured, and she gave him another little playful push.

"Oh hush. The movie's starting."

Draco smiled to himself as the screen began to move with exciting colours and images like he had seen at the store when he bought it. His heart was still beating a little quickly since he could feel the warmth of Granger's body sitting close next to him. She still had the heat pack on her arm, but didn't seem as anxious about the pain as she had been before, which hopefully meant it had faded. Draco felt his head turn slightly to the side so that he could watch her watching the film. There were only words on the screen, names of people, but she looked enraptured. Her cheeks were still a little pink from the sudden move from cold to hot, and her curls were a little wilder than normal from the wind. She must have noticed him staring, because she turned her head to meet his gaze and frowned at him.

"I know you're not used to muggle things, but you're supposed to be looking at the screen."

Draco nodded with a slow smile and eventually turned to watch the movie.

….

About an hour into the film, Draco was completely absorbed in the story of the corrupt crime family. Granger hadn't been kidding when she said he'd understand the themes. He was so engaged in the film that it took him a moment to notice that Granger had slipped minutely closer to him. She was obviously weary. His heart skipped about fifty beats when he felt her head tilt to one side and land lightly on his shoulder. When he didn't move or object, she understood his silent permission and snuggled deeper into him.

It was official. They were cuddling.

Draco Malfoy of five years ago would have wanted to slap him – Just like Granger had – but now he was having an entirely different reaction. This close he could smell the shampoo Tilly had bought for her to use. And beneath that was her own sweet feminine scent. Apples and cinnamon…

Draco blinked in surprise when he realised that his cheeks were sore from smiling. His jaw ached with the sensation of the permanent grin plastered there. Concentrating on the film again, he let his body relax and sink into hers as well, thanking Merlin that he had successfully survived his first date with Hermione Granger.

…..

Thank you for all your kind reviews so far. Please keep sharing your thoughts because it helps me develop my ideas.