CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

'You want to talk? Fine. Talk. Tell me something you've never told anybody else.'
I thought for a moment. 'Turtles have the second-largest brains of any animal on the planet.'
It took Isabel only a second to process this. 'No, they don't.'
'I know, that's why I've never told anybody that before.'
~Maggie Stiefvater, Linger~

She wasn't sure how, but they made it to their hotel in one piece. If she had taken this trip with Ron, she knew she would have been the leader of the two, and not just because she understood muggle transportation. Draco didn't let his lack of knowledge- of muggles or the language- stop him. They worked together, Hermione filling him in when she had to, but he picked everything up quickly and they were in a cab for the second time that day in no time, their bags thankfully not lost.

Their hotel was on Via del Corso and the taxi dropped them right across the street from it. On the way in they drove through Piazza Venezia and got a glimpse of the Colosseum. It was all beginning to feel very real for Hermione. All the places she had dreamed of seeing were right there, waiting for her. She practically flew out of the car and pulled Draco behind her.

Their room, she realised a bit too late, was tiny. There was hardly any room to walk around and the "two beds" were more accurately two beds pushed together with separate blankets. There were clear shower doors, making everything that much more close. The pair of them hovered in the doorway, looking around before Hermione turned to Draco. "How would this room have housed the four of us?"

"Huh?" Draco glanced down at her, his usual collectedness gone.

"You, me, and your parents. The four of us where supposed to come here and the front desk said there was one room on hold. How would this room have kept the four of us?" Her eyes narrowed and she crossed her arms, her chest puffed out like an alpha ape.

Draco stammered and she went on, "And there were no empty seats next to us like there should have been if your parents just decided not to come. So what was this whole thing? Is there even a dinner tomorrow?"

"YES!" Draco huffed, outraged. He pushed passed her, walking into the room. He dropped his bag on the floor and turned to look at her as she stomped in after him. "Why do you have to be so bloody smart?"

"Excuse me?"

"Anyone else wouldn't have put it together-"

She rolled her eyes and snorted. "I doubt that. What is going on? Why did you lie- was Ginny right?"

"What? The Weasely girl? What's she got to do with any of this?" Draco asked, perplexed. Hermione shook her head and stared him down, waiting for the answer. He sighed and admitted, "My parents were never coming with us." Her mouth opened and he hastily added, "Until tomorrow night! There really is a dinner. But this trip... I planned this trip for you."

She was more mad than she probably should have been. After all, he'd taken her to Italy. "Yeah, and?" She asked, her voice hard.

"And what?"

"Why are we here? If you just wanted to take me to Italy, why couldn't you just say, 'Hey, there's this dinner in Italy. Would you maybe want to make a trip out of it and go to Rome first?'"

"I do not sound like that." He said, miffed.

"DRACO!"

"Okay! I did say that!"

She pinched her nose together in an effort not to go insane. Not that she was doing a very good job. When she felt like she could speak without screaming, she said, "Why didn't you just ask if I'd go to Italy, with you? Alone?"

He sucked in a breath and then looked away from her. "Would you have said yes?"

"Maybe. But why did you want to do this with me, anyway?" She gulped, wondering if it was the answer she was thinking- maybe hoping- it was. She took a step closer, willing him to look at her.

"Does it really need saying?" His voice was so soft, and he turned to look at her.

She gasped. She'd heard that line before. She heard it once- heartbreaking. Uttered during a farewell between a woman and alien that loved each other. "You watched Doctor Who!" She clasped her hands to her mouth and stared at him with wide eyes.

Draco's cheeks tinged pink and he half shouted, "No!"

"Yes!" She nodded frantically, "Yes, you did! Oh my God. Merlin!"

"God and Merlin? I'm sure they're busy, Granger." Draco said, awkwardly rubbing his neck as Hermione stared at him like he was a present from Santa.

She pointed at him and said, "You watched Doctor Who!"

"I would never lower myself to that rubbish, muggle show!" He shot back, losing a useless battle.

She nodded, doing a happy dance, her arms victorious in the air, "How much did you see?"

"All six bloody seasons." He muttered, eyes downcast. He was knocked backwards as Hermione launched herself at him. He laughed, catching her easily with his arms going around her smoothly.

"There's way more than six seasons," She grinned, her breath warm on his neck.

Draco's body shook with his laughter and he gently set her down. "I'm sorry I lied."

She bit her lip as she looked up at him. "I like you, too, Draco."

He sucked in a breath and Hermione held hers. She had said it and she felt good about it. She felt lighter. Was this how she was supposed to feel when she told Ron she loved him? She didn't know what would happen between them and if she was ready for it, but Draco had gone through all this to get her to Italy and he watched Doctor Who, not matter how much shite he gave it.

And then he reach over and took her hand. He cleared his throat, but his voice still came out a pitch too high when he said, "Rome's waiting."

Rome didn't provide any relief in the heat department. It was sweltering, the sun relentless. Hermione had her hair pulled back and a bottle of water in her hand. Draco kept muttering a spell to keep their water ice cold and bought her a sun hat.

"Have you seen the size of that thing?" She asked, stepping away from him as he tried to put the hat on her.

"Granger, your face is red." Draco grinned, seemingly amused by her attempts to thwart the hat.

"I don't care. I'm not putting that on." She squealed and jumped as he dived for her. Since she was much smaller, she was able to evade his attempt and prepare for the next attack. "I'm serious," She tried again, staring at his grin. "I will not- NO!" She jumped, but Draco had a different tactic in mind this time. His arms went around her tiny waist and pulled her against him. Her back was pressed against his front. It was easy to keep her pinned against him with one arm and put the hat on her head with the other.

"There," He smiled, pulling away and turning her around. "Perfect."

Hermione glared as the floppy green hat sat atop her head. She reached up, fully intending to pull it off, when she paused and felt the tiny bit of relief it provided. Her glare hardened at Draco's victorious look and she stomped away from him, taking a picture of the Spanish Steps that were just ahead of them.

Draco caught up to her easily and slipped his hand in hers. "Are you going to be mad all day?"

She decided to ignore the way her stomach flip flopped and resisted the urge to look at him. She knew his hair was a mess from the sweat and how much he'd ran his hands through them- such a stark contrast from the fancy dinner they went to last time. He hadn't looked like the heat affected him at all. Now she realised it was because he was working very hard to maintain an image. Here, he had abandoned his black dress shirt and rolled up his trousers to his knees. His face was red and sweat was pouring from him. He was normal.

She'd actually been resisting the urge to look at him all day- from the moment he tossed his shirt away. Because Draco Malfoy had a beautiful chest; muscled in all the right places.

It almost felt like he was her boyfriend.

"I'm not mad," She said, meaning it. How could she be mad when Draco Malfoy was holding her hand, shirtless, in Italy. These things were never supposed to happen to her.

Her phone buzzed and she pulled it out, finding Harry responding to her earlier SOS. You're in Italy alone with Malfoy? I can be there in five seconds. Where are you? Trevi Fountain? One of the million piazzas?

She smiled and pulled her hand away from Draco to text back. "Oi," Draco complained, "No muggle stuff stealing your attention." He reached for her phone and she swatted his hand away, smiling. "What's Potter doing offering to come rescue you?"

"Stop reading over my shoulder! Harry does the same thing!" Hermione said, giving his shoulder a nudge with hers.

"Yuck," He stuck his tongue out, "you mean Potter and I have stuff in common?"

I think I'll be okay. I'll call if I need you. Do me a favour and don't mention this to Ginny yet. She'll go insane.

The response was instant: Too late.

Hermione rolled her eyes and slipped her phone back into her pocket. "Figures. He tells her everything."

After the Spanish Steps they went for gelato. Hermione mixed flavours while Draco went for chocolate and then they continued their walk through the city, heading for Piazza Navona. The floppy hat was doing wonders to keep her cool, but she wasn't about to tell Draco that.

In the evening, they went for dinner at one of the many outdoor cafes. Thankfully it cooled down once the sun disappeared and they sipped their mineral water while they waited for the spaghetti.

"What was your favourite part?" Hermione asked, bouncing in her seat. Her legs were completely drained from all the walking they did and the running through traffic. The cobblestones also weren't the smoothest top to walk on.

Draco thought for a moment before saying, "Trevi. You?" Her mouth dropped and he grinned, nearly choking on his water. He put down the glass and asked, "What?"

"That was my favourite part! Change yours!"

He smiled and stumbled over his words before saying, "You change yours!"

She shook her head, "I'm the lady."

He snorted and she threw her napkin at him. He caught it easily, but didn't give it back. It was nice, sitting with Draco. They had spent so much time sitting together, but not talking, just kind of being around each other. Neither of them had books this time to retreat into. They either had a conversation or sat in silence.

She didn't know where they stood- friends, something more... it had felt for most of the day that they were a bit more than just friends...

But she wasn't ready to break this easiness by asking. Draco hadn't seemed too keen on saying, anyway, if this morning had been anything to go by. But he had held her hand and wrapped his arm around her, even paid for ice cream, lunch, and her floppy hat. The hat had also been his idea and he'd picked it out without her.

Which was why it was green, obviously.

"You really do look beautiful tonight. I really mean it. And you look beautiful all the time, no matter what I've ever said." The memory came flooding back to her, and she hastily shoved it aside as their food arrived.

They ate in silence for a few moments, only speaking to gush about how amazing their pasta was. After some more quiet she asked, "Do you want a taste?" She had grown up swapping dishes with her parents, and she had ordered tomato sauce while he had opted for pesto.

Draco nodded, "Sure."

She twirled some pasta and put her fork forward, intending to drop them on his own plate, but his hand shot out, holding her wrist and tilting it upwards. He leaned in and in moments had eaten the spaghetti straight off the fork. She tried to make her shock less evident- and the strange sensation that was pulsing through her body. She dumbly let her fork clatter onto the table as Draco held his own fork out, the green pesto covered pasta staring at her.

She leaned in, copying his moves from before, and a multitude of flavours erupted in her mouth. There was the olive oil and basil and garlic and it was all so amazing. She said as much and he nodded, happily chomping down on more.

That seemed to have broken the ice that had magically flowered around them, and Draco asked her about her opinion on Faraway's election. It was safe territory.

"I'm willing to give him a chance. Did you know him?"

"I met him once." Draco said, putting down his glass and filling it back up. He gestured to her almost empty glass and she nodded, letting him refill it for her. "He was a nice bloke, always seemed a bit odd he was working for dear ol' Auntie Bella." There was a bitterness to his tone as he brought up his departed aunt, and she leaned a bit closer, wishing she knew more about how he felt towards his family.

"George didn't like him at all."

"Weasley?" Draco asked, sounding shocked.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his reaction. She glared at him, standing up for her friend. "George happens to know a lot about politics. The Weasleys aren't the poor, low class, blood traitors you think they are."

"I know that, Granger, I just meant-"

She wasn't listening to him as she went, "And the Weasleys are my friends. They're like a second family to me and if you want to be my friend, then all these jabs at them and Harry have got to stop."

She took a deep breath and her eyes nearly bugged out like a cartoon's would when he said, solemnly, "You're right."

She had at least expected a little fight. She found herself asking the question she had stayed away from the last several weeks. The one question she'd been dying to ask. "What happened to you?"

Draco's eyes closed, like he had been waiting for this moment all this time. He sighed and pushed his plate away. It was practically empty anyway, so it wasn't like he was wasting anything. "The war, Granger. The war happened."

"And what?" Her voice was hard as she stared at him, "You just decided to be a better person?"

"I'm sure Potter told you all about how I couldn't kill Dumbledore. How I was too weak." He said, his voice tinged with a bitter edge, but it was also sad.

"No," Hermione said quickly. At his dubious look she said, "Well, he did tell us that. But you weren't weak. Draco, you were-"

"I was expected to kill him and I didn't." He let out a humourless laugh and then added, "Actually, the worst part was, he never even thought I could do it. He was just doing it to hurt my parents." She knew 'he' was Voldemort, but she didn't say anything as he went on. "I failed, just like he wanted me to. And that stupid old man didn't even try to stop me. Everything just went wrong on its own, because I couldn't do it. I was weak."

"Is that what you really think?" She asked, horrified. "That not killing Dumbledore made you weak? Merlin, Draco, it didn't. Killing is for weak people. There is nothing powerful about talking a human life. The reason you couldn't kill Dumbledore is because you didn't want to. You're better than all of them. You've always been." She reached across the table, taking his hands.

He didn't seem to believe her as he went on, staring at his lap. "Anyway, after that I was trapped. He took over the Manor and if I stepped out of line, he was going to kill my parents and vice versa. It's a miracle he didn't kill them after what happened up in the Astronomy Tower. Snape saved them- told him I was going to do it, but he wanted all the glory for himself and stepped in before I could. Took a real beating for that, he did. But he saved my parents."

Hermione squeezed his hands. There's Snape again, she thought, remembering Harry telling her what he'd seen the penseive, saving everyone and not getting any credit.

"Mum said... well she said we needed to get out of there. Dad agreed, you should have seen him, Granger. He was so sick. It was like he hated him more than anything. And dad used to idolise him- sing his praises, he did. Our house was like a shrine to him. But we didn't know how to get out, and then you lot got captured and showed up." His face twisted as the memory became fresh again.

"Dad was desperate. Thought if we could hand you over to him and then if we ran away, he'd let us go since we had given him you. Auntie Bella had something else in mind, I'm sure you remember. When he got there, he was furious and ready to kill all of us. He would have, too, if Snape hadn't shown up. I don't know what he said or how he knew what was going on, but he saved us all. Again."

He finally looked up at her, and she saw how miserable he looked. "When the war finally ended, Mum detoxed the Manor. Got rid of everything- except pictures and heirlooms. But she threw out everything and said that we had to be the opposite of what he was. Granger, you always thought he was foul and loathsome, but you don't know what it's like living with him."

She realised, with a jolt, he was right. He looked desperate for her to understand.

And she did.

But there was something else nagging at her. "You're not weak, Draco." She wasn't going to launch into some big speech about it, because he'd never believe her. It was something he had to come to terms with on his own and whenever he was ready.

He squeezed her hand back.

A/N SOOOOO? :D Merry Christmas, guys!

Thanks to: Taylor F, alannalove1990, CheshireCat23, edwardsoneandonlylove, Guest E, Lupa Eira, VanillaKisses96, Honoria Granger, HalfwaytoNowhere142, and Loveable Leo!