A/N: Hello! Sorry I wasn't able to update sooner. I was studying for a test and I got sick. In between studying and writing this, I would pick this in a heartbeat, but then again, my mind was so hazy from the meds that I'd rather use my brain cells to study though I'd rather not.
Anyway, thank you for those who added this story as a favorite and the few who had left reviews. I would be happier if you left more
Obviously, I do not own Harry Potter. Maybe in my dreams, yeah, but only in my dreams.
"Draco…"
She opened her eyes only to find herself encased in Draco's strong arms. She could feel the toned muscles of his chest and the steady beating of his heart as her hand rest softly on top of it. She tried to move away from him even though it was the last thing on her mind. This was the first time she had ever been in close contact with Draco, but it seemed familiar. It was as if she'd been in his arms before. Maybe she'd imagined it so much that her brain believed it to be real.
"Hermione…" He was drawn to the deep pools of her chocolate brown eyes. He couldn't seem to look away, let alone let her go. "We should stop meeting like this." He said with a sexy smile on his face.
"We should." She smiled back, trying to relax herself and push the anxious feelings to the back of her mind. "Uhh…you can let go now."
"I'd rather not." Hermione raised an eyebrow that could rival his own, eliciting a chuckle from him.
"You know, I'm not some girl you could work your charms on and expect to fall at your feet."
"I'm not expecting you to. I just want to make sure that you don't trip again. And besides, doesn't falling at my feet come after the date?" Hermione blushed, knowing that she'd fallen at his feet a long time ago. If she didn't know any better, she could've sworn he was flirting with her and she was actively participating in it.
"Well, rest assured I'm not going to trip again. How can you be so sure that by the end of this date, I'd be falling?"
"I'm not, but who says it happens after just one date? I'm very determined, you know. But in case you do, I'll be here to catch you. Now, why don't we start this "date" and find out what happens at the end?" Hermione smiled inwardly at the implication in his statement about having more dates in the future. She was finally beginning to relax even though she was fully aware that he still had his arms around her.
"Yes, I'd like that." He finally removed his arms around her, took her hand in his and lead her away from the clinic. She smiled as she looked at the back of Draco's head. Yes, she was definitely looking forward to her new life here, a fresh start for the both of them.
They were walking around town as Draco served as a tour guide, telling her the best diners and the like. He also introduced her to the people they passed by. Although she had explored this part of town already, she enjoyed his perspective. He talked passionately about the town and the people in it that it was hard to believe that this was Draco Malfoy she was speaking to.
He bought them ice cream cones; strawberry for him and chocolate for her. They settled in an empty playground in the park. She sat on the swing with him beside her.
"I didn't take you for a strawberry kind of guy."
"What? It's good." He stretched his arm and offered his strawberry ice cream to her. She wrinkled her nose and shook her head sideward. Draco couldn't help but smile at her cuteness.
"No thanks. I'm allergic to strawberries."
"I didn't know that."
"Of course you didn't, silly. We just met yesterday. And I don't know anything about you too."
And the truth was, she didn't. She spent six years of her life hating him as the prejudiced pureblood that he was and admired him from afar as he grew out of the bigotry that was ingrained in him as he grew up. Although she saw a good side to him after the war, it was all superficial. She didn't know anything about Draco Malfoy and she fears that she may never have that chance. Without his memory, she would never know that side of him.
"Hey! I may not remember it, but I believe that nobody has ever called me silly." She laughed and he reveled in this wonderful feeling that he was able to make her laugh like that.
She had enjoyed talking to him so much that her purpose totally slipped her mind. She wanted to ask him a lot of things, but she didn't want to push him. As a healer, she knew that it was better to let patients with amnesia come to their own rather than flooding him with memories.
"I think you do know me, Hermione." She looked to her side to see him look ahead, a sad expression on his face. She stayed silent as she kept her eyes on him.
"Yesterday, when we ran into each other, you said, "Malfoy". Is that my name?"
"Yes, I'm positively sure that you are the boy I went to school with."
"Were we friends?" He turned to face her and suddenly an uncomfortable feeling came over her. What could she possibly tell him so as not to reveal too much? She wanted to dig deeper, but she didn't want him to remember that part of their lives. She was scared, scared that all he'd remember was the prejudice; that he was a pureblood and she was nothing but a dirty mudblood to him.
"Kind of?"
"What kind of answer is that? Either we were or we weren't."
She hesitated before she said, "Yes."
Draco smiled at her sincerely and she instantly felt guilty for lying to him. He had asked more questions about their school years and she was surprised at the lies spouting off her lips. She tried her best to separate their wizarding lifestyle from the muggle world that he lived in for two years and considered his reality. She needed to start asking the questions before she runs out of lies to tell.
"So what do you remember when you first woke up?"
"Nothing much…I just remembered hearing a voice in my head, a woman, saying I was her little dragon, her Draco. I think it was my mother. Everything else was hazy. Every time I get a tingle of remembrance, it goes blank. And since then, all I've ever known is my life here."
Hermione asked a couple of baseline questions, same as she would when dealing with a patient with amnesia. He'd told her his life in the two years that he's been in Clevendon and she was running out of questions to ask. And that's when it hit her. Being the healer that she was and her righteous persona, it was unethical for her to do without his consent, but she was running out of options.
She'd read about this particular spell, but it was Harry who taught her. She wasn't that skilled in the spell but she knew the basics and she believes that it was sufficient enough to gather what she needed. Draco continued with his story as she grasped her wand tightly beside her. She was mentally debating whether she should do it or not. This was a total invasion of his privacy, but this was the only way for her to find out what really happened, the only way to help him. If she was to do this, she had to do it now while he was still busy retelling his two years of life.
Hermione took her wand out of her pocket and closed her eyes. She cleared her mind and concentrated as she uttered the spell in a whisper.
Instead of seeing his life flashing in her mind, she came up with everything and of no importance at all. She saw random scenes which had nothing to do with Draco or his previous life. She tried to probe harder and saw Draco flinch and raise both his hands to hold his head. It was so jumbled up and confusing that it was also giving her a headache. She had to let go.
"I told you I can't remember anything, Granger. I don't know how asking me these questions can bring it back. Don't treat me like I'm one of your patients." He stood up with his back to her, running his hands through his hair. Gone was the gentle, cheerful voice he had used with her. It was replaced with the sarcastic drawl that she knew all too well. And for a minute there, she had a glimpse of the old Draco Malfoy back in Hogwarts.
She stood behind him, shocked. She wasn't expecting that. It only took a moment for that Draco that she was starting to like to revert back to the Draco she despised and she was afraid that it was her fault. Why did she have to be nosy? Of course, that was what she wanted. She wanted to get to know all of him, but she feared that her melding may have made things worse.
Draco sighed and turned to face her. She looked at his face, afraid of what she had done. He ran his hand through his hair again.
"Hermione…I'm sorry. I didn't know what got over me. I suddenly have this terrible headache."
"No, I'm the one who should say sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you...I didn't mean to make you feel like one of my patients." He took her hand in his.
"I apologize, but I must cut this date short. Can I walk you home?"
"Of course, I understand." She replied sadly.
The walk back to Hermione's cottage was a silent one, although Draco still held her hand protectively. She looked at it and wondered if she did the right thing by performing legilimency on him.
She loved the way he held her hand, like he didn't want to let her go. Somehow, she felt safe with him near her. She had a lot on her mind that she hadn't noticed that they were at her front door already. She was reluctant to let go and end one of her happiest afternoons in a long time.
She faced him and stared into his clear grey eyes. He was truly beautiful in her eyes and she could stare at his face until the end of days.
"I didn't get you to fall at my feet…next time, okay?" He gave her a genuine smile and tucked a purple wildflower he had picked along the way behind her ear. She smiled back and said,
"Yes, I'd like that."
"Good night, Hermione." Before she could think of what she was doing, she stood on her toes and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek.
"I'll be seeing you around then, Draco. Good night."
Draco waited for her to close the door before he started to walk away. He touched his cheek where she had kissed him and smiled. It was nice and it was evoking all kinds of feelings in him.
He noticed that Hermione had been silent the walk home and he was pretty sure what was bothering her. It didn't bother him as much, rather he was impressed that she'd utilized such a Slytherin method. Yes, he knew she used legilimency on him, but it didn't matter anyway because he was a skilled occlumens. He mastered this skill back when he was still in 6th year, under the tutelage of his aunt Bellatrix. Lucky for him that he had learned from the best because he had a lot of secrets to keep, especially from a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor who might go poking in his head again.
A/N: So what do you think? Comments please so I'd know where to take the story. As of now, I don't exactly know what's going to happen. I just write it as I go, but I might add something you guys could suggest. Thanks!