A/N: Longest chapter of the fic so far! Enjoy!

The next day, Hermione had joined Draco in his office at their agreed time in his office to discuss their project. Draco brought up a lot of points that he'd thought of the day before, as did Hermione. While his points were more to do with the method of getting the project to come to fruition, her ideas were to improve the project in itself and even brought up the suggestion of the exchange schools offering different language classes for students interested in exchanging, or on exchange ("Let's do it one step at a time, Granger." He had told her). They worked tirelessly for two hours straight, like they had the day before, but Hermione looked up at him just past twelve o'clock. "Do you think we could keep going?" She asked.

She was currently working on a list of people that would be extremely influential in getting her idea proposed to the schools involved whilst Draco was finding solutions to some of the legal matters they may encounter. He lifted his head when she spoke and then nodded. "I need coffee though. And food," he said and sat up and his back cracked uncomfortably.

"Shall we have lunch?" Hermione suggested.

He nodded again. "I can't do anything without food in my stomach right now," he chuckled and stood up. "Will we go to the Atrium?"

"Why don't we go to a cafe?" Hermione asked hesitantly when she stood up and picked up her coat from the back of the chair she had been sitting on. "It will be nice to get out for a bit after what we've been doing."

"Good idea," Draco agreed. He picked up his coat too and put it on and headed out of his office with her. Outside of the confines of the warm Ministry, the weather was harsh and Winter was in full force. He was glad he wore his coat and he pushed his hands deep inside his pockets to try and keep the biting cold air from hitting any more skin than his face. Within a few minutes of walking, his cheeks and nose were freezing, and Hermione didn't look like she was enjoying the cold any better. She did wear a scarf however and had her coat buttoned all the way to the top. "Care to eat outside?" He joked with her as they walked.

"You read my mind," she rolled her eyes. "I'd really like to develop frostbite now that I think about it."

He chuckled at that, and then asked, "Want to eat here?"

The cafe was a small one, and while there were tables out the front, no one sat on them (for good reason) while indoors looked warm and inviting and there weren't many people eating inside, which Draco always counted as a bonus. "It looks lovely," Hermione answered and he took that as a confirmation that this would be where they ate. He opened the door for her and quickly followed her into the warmth and took his hands out of his pockets to thaw them. At the front counter, they both ordered a bowl of soup each, him going for tomato while she chose pumpkin, and a pot of tea to share. Hermione chose to sit near the window of the cafe and he took his seat across from her after taking off his coat and putting it on the back of his chair.

Draco rest his hands on the table and pushed the salt shaker around while he looked out of the window. There wasn't many people walking around, most likely due to the cold and work obligations. He suddenly remembered about the New Year's Eve party he'd been invited to by Hermione. "I'll join you on New Years," he told her and brought his attention from looking out the window, to her.

She smiled at that. "I'm glad," she said. "I can see why you'd be hesitant, especially with everyone's history and what I said about my hectic visit to the Burrow on Christmas," she laughed.

He smiled too. "It hasn't got anything to do with the history, Granger, just to let you know," he told her. "Everything is reconciled."

"Good," she said. "I told Ron yesterday that you would most likely be coming."

"And?"

"He said it will be fine," Hermione said. "Everyone else is bringing someone, so it's going to be a full house anyway."

"Do you normally bring people?" He asked curiously and saw her nod.

"There has been some years where I've brought someone along," she said. He could guess that it had been boyfriends that she had invited along even though he didn't know of anyone she'd dated apart from Weasley. Then again, how in Merlin's name was he supposed to know? He and Hermione had talked more in the last few weeks than they had in the last few years. "How come you don't do anything to bring in the new year?" She asked.

He shrugged and looked over to the waitress who delivered their pot of tea and cups to them and then left. "It's just another night for me," he said. "I don't see any need to celebrate it."

"Are there any holidays that you actually do enjoy?" Hermione asked sarcastically and poured herself some tea.

"Maybe my birthday," he chuckled.

Hermione laughed. "Birthdays are quite good," she agreed. "When is your birthday?"

"June fifth," he answered. "Better start planning my present now if you want to top the Quidditch trunk," he joked and smirked.

"Who says we'll be friends then?" She asked and he could hear the joking in her voice and see it from the playful look on her face.

"Are you saying after the project you'll disintegrate our friendship? How cruel," he continued to smirk.

"Maybe I am," Hermione said and tried to keep serious but the large smile that adorned her face gave her away.

His own smirk transformed into a smile. "Who says you'll get over me that quickly, hm?"

Hermione laughed softly and looked down at her hands on the table, then back up to him. "That's a good question…" She said and if he hadn't been paying more attention, he wouldn't have realised the slight, hardly noticeable blush on her cheeks and how her smile turned shy.

—

The next two days passed quickly. Draco was overcome with a flood of pre-New Year case applications which he had to review before agreeing to help. He had to arrange several meetings a day with his new clients, meaning his other work was pushed aside, and piled up. He had so much work to get through, that staying until five in the evening wasn't enough, and he became one of the few unlucky Ministry workers that would leave at seven, sometimes eight o'clock at night. Within those two days, he had also had meetings with Hermione although they only lasted around an hour long due to the heavy workload for the both of them.

The day before New Year's Eve, they arranged to have a meeting out of the Ministry and at the cafe they'd been in two days previous. Draco arrived first and ordered a pot of tea for the both of them and found a seat. Thankfully, the cafe wasn't busy which would allow them uninterrupted time to go over the project. He hadn't brought anything along with him as they had decided to only do more discussion rather than physical planning and organising like they normally did.

As to be expected, Hermione arrived at the cafe just on time and took a few seconds to look around the room and find Draco. When she did, she gave him a small smile and headed over to sit with him. "Fancy seeing you here," she said after she'd taken off her coat and sat across from him.

"Funny isn't it? Almost like we planned it," Draco responded with a soft laugh.

"How have you been?" She asked and saw the pot of tea in the middle of the table, so poured herself some.

"Busy," he said. "Everyone's decided that they need a solicitor and are giving very tight deadlines."

"We didn't have to have this meeting," Hermione said. "I understand."

"Don't be silly, Granger," Draco brushed off. "How are you?" He asked her.

"I'm well," she smiled. "I'm quite looking forward to tomorrow."

"Because you get to spend the day with me, is that right?" He joked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I really enjoy New Year," she said.

Draco couldn't see the fascination with the 'holiday', if one could call it that. To him, it just seemed like a night where it seemed very acceptable to get absolutely sloshed and party through the night. While he did enjoy drinking, the party aspect of the night didn't intrigue him. "Why do you enjoy it so much?" He asked her.

"I'm one of those people that takes the New Year to be a clean slate," Hermione explained and then took a sip of tea. "I reflect a lot," she laughed, "I know it sounds stupid."

"It doesn't," he assured her and gave her a small smile when she smiled at him.

"I try and figure out what I want from the year to come, and go with it."

"You decide with your head," Draco said.

"I guess," she nodded. "My head, my heart and my gut, really."

Draco nodded in understanding. "So it's more than just rash decisions with what you do."

"Exactly," she said and then laughed, "Although I have broken up with two people in the past on New Year's and one told me it was too big of a rash decision."

He laughed too, louder than he expected. "Merlin, Granger," he teased. "Bringing in the new year with the breaking of hearts. Harsh."

"What can I say?" She laughed and shrugged her shoulder flippantly and made him laugh once more.

—

After they had a delicious lunch at the cafe, Draco and Hermione decided to head back to the Ministry. "Malfoy, did you realise we didn't even talk once about the project?" Hermione asked as they turned onto the street the Ministry was situated on.

Her statement surprised Draco because it was entirely true. From the moment Hermione had sat down with him to the moment they left the cafe, they had talked to each other — apart from the occasional break when their lunch came. Throughout their talking, they hadn't spoken once about the program that their meeting was designed for. Their conversation hadn't gone any specific way, but they spoke about seemingly unattached topics and shared many laughs. Thinking back on it, and even in the moment, Draco had enjoyed the time tremendously. "Aren't we terrible workers?" He chuckled.

"It was a well deserved sit down for the both of us," Hermione smiled and then opened the door to the Ministry's entrance. It was unseen to the Muggle eye and was only a door that opened up to a large staircase that led people directly into the atrium.

"What do I have to bring tomorrow?" Draco asked as they descended the stairs.

"Hm… Maybe just some wine?"

"And what time do I need to be there?" He asked.

"I'll go at six. Come to think of it, have you ever been to the Burrow?" She asked and he shook his head. "Would you like to floo to my house at six and we'll arrive together? It might be easier."

His first thought from her suggestion was concern over what her friends would think of the both of them arriving together. He didn't want anyone thinking that he and Hermione were seeing each other when that wasn't the case. "Are you sure?" He asked her.

Hermione seemed to catch onto what he was implying. "It doesn't bother me," she said and he knew she was being honest. "It doesn't bother you, does it?" She asked him.

He paused for a second before shaking his head. They both stopped at the bottom of the steps and moved to the side. "We know what…we have," he tried to phrase it correctly.

"You're right," Hermione agreed. "So, my place, six o'clock?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"See you then, Malfoy," she smiled and walked away.

"Bye, Granger," Draco said and watched her walk off and tried to wrap his head around what the hell had just clicked for him in his mind.

—

Draco was fond of Hermione Granger. After their meeting-that-was-really-lunch, Draco had been consumed of thoughts on what her friends would think when the both of them turned up to a New Year's Eve party. He knew that everyone's first assumption would be that they were a couple and initially, he wasn't okay with that. It wasn't due to the fact that she was Muggleborn, or the fact that for his teenage years, he had hated her; it was due to the fact that he didn't want to care for someone. Call it selfish of him, but he had seen the struggle his mother went through for being in love with Lucius, he had seen the heartbreak that Pansy had when her and Blaise had taken a break two years ago and she'd thought she lost Blaise forever. Even when Draco and Astoria had broken up it had taken him a longer time than he'd ever thought, or wanted, to recover and try and get back to a normal, single lifestyle. He'd missed Astoria, despite their differences and the fact that their relationship could hardly be called that at the end. When she had left his arms that final night and he knew it was over, his heart had ached, and he didn't think he was ready to experience that again.

He knew that Hermione was a woman he could be in a relationship with. That train of thought led Draco to realise that he didn't care what her friends would think if they saw them together. He wasn't scared anymore of having it be assumed that they were dating, because he didn't mind if that was the truth. The both of them had spent a substantial amount of time together in the past three weeks that he couldn't remember enjoying a day where she hadn't been involved. She had inadvertently taught him how to enjoy himself, how to relax and actually smile and mean it. Without even knowing it, Draco had found himself to be drawn to her in ways he'd never thought he wanted to. Although his only feelings to her at the start were annoyance over her need to add three sugars to a perfectly good coffee, and then invite herself to have coffee breaks with him, he had grown to realise his feelings of not wanting to see her, had changed to wanting to see her. He liked spending time with her, which was unusual as he didn't like spending time with anyone. He liked that he could make her smile when he believed that his life for the most part was filled with him disappointing the people around him. He was glad she chose him to help her with her exchange program idea and he knew that if anyone else had asked him, he would have scoffed and shut his office door on them.

It was official. After eight years, he was allowing himself to realise that he could have feelings for someone else. He realised that he did want to act on it, but in this circumstance, he would continue doing what he was doing with Hermione. He had, what the younger generation would call, a crush. On Hermione Granger. A crush that resulted in him being dressed in a smart button shirt and trousers holding a bottle of champagne, ready to attend a party. He knew he looked presentable, and took some floo powder in his hand, stepped into his fireplace, and arrived in Hermione's apartment shortly after. He was in her living room by himself then until he spotted her cat curled up on the sofa. He couldn't remember its name, only that it had something to do with a star sign. "Hello?" He called out after standing there awkwardly for a few seconds.

"I'll just be one minute!" Hermione called out from somewhere down the hallway. Draco stood quietly by the fireplace with the chilled bottle of champagne in his hand, and read the label in the meantime. He heard her come down the hall and he looked up when she entered the living room. Dressed in ankle boots, jeans, and a nice looking white knitted jumper, her hair was coiffed into submission, still with some of its frizziness, but she had managed to subdue it into wavy curls. Maybe it was only because of his revelation a few hours ago, or just the fact that it was true, but he found that she looked quite good, even in such 'simple' attire. "Hi," she finally greeted him with a smile and she seemed slightly breathless, probably from getting ready.

"Hello," Draco greeted her and gave her a small smile too. They both stood in silence for some very tense seconds until he finally spoke. "You scrub up well, Granger."

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked further into the room. "Can say the same for you," she said and he couldn't tell whether her cheeks looked slightly red from a blush or makeup. "You brought champagne?"

"Good observation," he chuckled and showed her. "It's not New Year's without champagne, unless traditions have changed that I don't know about," he joked.

Hermione laughed softly. "Are you okay with side-along?" She asked. He wasn't, but he nodded anyway, and she put her hand on his arm and gave him a few seconds before she apparated. Almost instantaneously, they arrived at the bottom of the front garden, and for the first time in his life, he saw the home that he'd heard Weasley and Potter talk about incessantly during school. His imagined visions of the place was nothing like what it actually turned out to be and he found himself in slight awe — more so in wonder how the building was still standing. "Ready?" Hermione asked and broke him from his thoughts.

"Yeah," he said and followed her through the rusty old gate and up the path to the house. He wasn't nervous for what was to come because he knew if he ended up being secluded by himself, he would at least have some alcohol to numb his senses. "So everyone knows I'm coming?" He asked as they neared the door.

"I'm sure Ron told everyone," Hermione said. Just before they got to the front door, she stopped which made him stop as well. "You're friendly with Harry, right?"

"You could say that," he nodded.

"He'll be in here," Hermione said. "I know it might have taken a lot of thought from you to come, I get that. You hardly know anyone in there, which makes me all the more thankful that you did come. I just hope you do have fun tonight. That's the whole reason we're here."

Draco was rather grateful for what she said but didn't try to show it. "As long as I don't need to do any dancing, all will be fine," he smirked.

She laughed and then walked the last few steps to the door and only had to knock twice before it was opened. Draco hardly had time to think before he saw Hermione being taken into a hug by a tall redhead who greeted her with a loud, "Hermione! Was beginning to think you'd gone missing." Only when they had extracted from the hug, did Draco realise that it was George Weasley.

"Hi, George," Hermione laughed. She then turned to Draco and back at the Weasley brother. "George, this is Draco, I'm sure you remember each other."

"Nice to see you," Draco said for common courtesy. He'd never had a problem with the older Weasley twins, and had secretly thought their stunts in their last year of school had been quite genius.

"I won't give you the same greeting as Hermione, mate," George laughed and Draco chuckled too. "Unless you want that is?" He joked.

"No, I'm fine," Draco said.

"Come in, come in," George said and stood aside so Hermione and Draco could come through the door. Draco could hear that the wireless was playing music what seemed to be in another room as the sound was quite muffled. Before they got to that room though, they passed the kitchen where Arthur and Molly Weasley were.

The latter immediately stood up and gathered Hermione into a hug and the two had their greeting. Draco hadn't spoken to Arthur Weasley in a very long time, so thought he should break the ice (albeit, very thin ice) between them. "Mister Weasley," he greeted and extended his hand for a handshake.

Arthur seemed taken aback at first but then gave Draco a genuinely warm smile. "It's nice to have you in our home, Mister Malfoy."

"Please just call me Draco," Draco said and then handed Arthur the bottle of champagne, since technically, he and his wife were the hosts.

"Thank you," Arthur said. "I'm sure it won't go to waste, will it?" He said with a hearty chuckle and Draco laughed softly and put his hands in his pockets. It was then that he felt suddenly out of his depth and turned around to look at Hermione but she was engrossed in her conversation with Mrs Weasley, rather, Molly was doing more of the talking while Hermione listened. Draco couldn't believe where he was or why he was doing this and he hoped to Merlin that it would turn out to be a night he would remember fondly. Arthur and himself fell into comfortable silence and Draco's eyes darted around the room, looking at every picture hanging up, every piece of furniture and every other insignificant detail.

He was so enraptured in his looking around, that he didn't see Hermione come to his side. "Coming to see everyone else?" She asked. He nodded and followed her and the music he could hear sounded clearer. Around the corner was a larger living room where everyone was gathered and Draco gave up on trying to count how many people there was. Quite a few of them looked up when Draco and Hermione rounded the corner and he made eye contact with anyone who did, and then watched Hermione walk quickly to Ginny who was sitting on a sofa with a tiny little baby in her arms. Hermione's godson, he realised, and watched her pick up the baby with ease and smile down at him.

"Malfoy!" His name was called and he looked away from Hermione to Harry who was standing next to her. "Nice to see you came," he said and Draco walked over and shook his hand.

"Thank this one," Draco joked and nodded his head at Hermione. She briefly looked up from the baby and rolled her eyes, then was back to admiring her godson and letting him suck on the tip of her finger. "So this is the infamous godson of yours," Draco commented and stood a bit closer and looked down at the baby. Albus' eyes were open and the same colour of his father's but apart from that, Draco couldn't see any similarities between the infant and his parents.

"Isn't he precious?" Hermione asked, not taking her eyes off the child. "Want to hold him?"

"No," he answered easily. Draco couldn't see the appeal of baby's. They were too high maintenance and anyone who held them was immediately in charge of their life and he'd had enough of having people's life in his hands — although literally this time. Aside from that, he could guess that Ginny most likely didn't want him to hold her child, as he was practically a stranger to her, and everything she did know about him was mostly bad news, so he couldn't blame the redhead in the slightest.

Hermione didn't seem bothered with his denial as it meant she could still hold her godson. She pressed her lips to the baby's forehead and the little one gurgled softly and batted his mitten covered hands out and Hermione smiled and pretended to nibble on Albus's fingers. "Did you have a nice Christmas, Draco?" Ginny asked Draco and he looked over at her.

"Can't complain," he answered and after brief eye contact he looked around. "Quite a full house," he commented.

"It is," she nodded.

"All the kids are upstairs," Harry added. "Trust me, be happy to be down in this commotion rather than up there," he laughed and Draco snorted softly and agreed wholeheartedly. "Fancy a drink?"

"Yeah, that'd be good," Draco said and followed the other wizard over to a drink cabinet against the wall.

"Malfoy. Hermione said you were coming," Ron said as he was near the cabinet with a woman standing next to him, a woman Draco felt like he remembered but couldn't place a name to her face.

"She's not a liar," Draco responded and took the glass of firewhiskey that Harry offered him. "Been a while."

"It has," Ron said. "Uh, well this is Hannah," he introduced Draco to the woman by his side.

The first name was all the cue that Draco needed. "Abbott?" He asked to confirm and when she nodded he gave her a slight smile which would be missed in a blink. "Nice to see you both," he said. It was an easy white-lie to tell everyone that he was meeting that night and one that everyone seemed to fall for. It wasn't that he thought it was horrible that he was around everyone, he just wasn't as comfortable as he would be if he were in, say, a gathering of his old Slytherin classmates. Even then he wouldn't be completely comfortable to join in conversations on his own, but then again, that was only his nature.

"Apologies for my ignorance, but are you and Hermione…" Hannah asked and trailed off her question, giving him the option to answer or keep quiet.

"Just workmates," Draco said quickly. He hoped he wouldn't have to be saying that to everyone he would talk to, but maybe that was a good excuse to stick to himself for the night. He looked around the room and it did seem like there were a few more people than just the Weasley's and their significant others. If he was introduced to them all he'd likely forget their names in an instant, but one or two of them looked familiar to him and he figured they were probably old classmates.

"You're helping Hermione with her exchange student proposal, right?" Harry asked and then took a drink of the firewhiskey he'd poured himself.

"Yes," Draco nodded. "We've been working on it quite diligently, it's coming together quite well.

"She's always been harping on about that exchange program," Ron said. "I always heard it from her at least once every time we met up."

"She's passionate about it," Draco shrugged. He looked away from the small group he was in and scanned the rest of the room while Ron, Harry and Hannah started to chat amongst themselves. Draco's eyes fell on Hermione and she was still holding baby Albus in her arms, rocking slightly side to side as she spoke to Ginny. Judging by the looks on their faces, Ginny with a sly smile and Hermione looking flustered, Draco was intrigued to know what they were talking about. Ginny said something else to Hermione and then nodded her head in Draco's direction, and as he took a sip of his firewhiskey, he didn't look away when Hermione turned slightly and the both of them made eye contact. In a bold move, he quickly winked at her with a smirk and then took a sip of his drink and Hermione shook her head slightly with a smile and turned back to Ginny who had a smirk on her face that would even give his own smirk a run for its money.

—

"Here you go," Draco said to Hermione as he walked to her side and gave her a flute of champagne he'd just poured for her.

"Thanks," she smiled and took a sip. The night had progressed and Hermione had come to realise that he wasn't interacting as much as she would have hoped, so she'd hung around him and the two chatted easily as the hours passed by. There was an hour to go until the New Year was upon them and upstairs all the children were tucked up into beds or cribs, while downstairs, the wireless' volume had been turned up and everyone was getting a bit more into their drinks. Hermione and Draco had both progressed onto drinking the bottle of champagne he'd brought along, so much so that the glasses he'd just poured for them were the last remaining liquid in the bottle and not one other person but them had touched it.

He wasn't drunk yet, but he was definitely tipsy. She was too by the sheen in her eyes and the amount she would giggle and laugh over stupid things. Draco did too, but mainly because of her laughter did he smile and laugh himself. They were standing at the wall of the living room, leaning back against it. Everyone else was in their own groups around the living room, talking and laughing loudly, all with drinks in their hands (except Ginny who was still breastfeeding). "I don't think I've ever had such a good time at a New Year's party," Draco told her.

"See! You are capable of feeling happy, I never would have guessed," she teased with a grin and then drank some more of her champagne and swayed slightly side to side in time with the music playing.

"Shut it," he snorted and drank more of his champagne too. "You'll just have to invite me along next year too."

"As if. I'm dumping our friendship after the project is done, remember?" She joked and made him laugh. She looked away to everyone else who was around and while her eyes were off him, Draco looked at her and didn't even realise he was still smiling. Though he had seen her having fun at the Ministry Ball, he'd never seen her in the manner she was now, before. Even when she was tipsy and messed up a few of her words, she still held intelligent conversations with him when he was more sober, and she still had the same grace about her as always. He'd never thought he'd be thinking about her grace.

The night passed on and the both of them integrated into talking with everyone else and struck up a conversation with Ginny, Harry, George and Angelina — the latter was, who Draco found out, George's wife. Before anyone knew it, Ron called out that there was three minutes until midnight and only then did Draco remember the dreaded tradition that came with the tolling of the New Year's bell. A New Year's kiss. He knew he wouldn't be kissing Hermione when the clock struck, for many reasons. Even though he had admitted to himself finally that he indeed did have feelings for her, he didn't have the courage to act upon them in a room crowded of people. As the countdown began, starting at ten, all the couples moved to their significant others. Harry and Ginny held hands and counted down aloud and made Draco roll his eyes at how sappy it looked. George and Angelina hadn't waited for midnight to begin kissing, and Ron and Hannah were standing by themselves too. The other couples there were together also, leaving Draco and Hermione standing by each other — the only singles in the room. "…One! Happy New Year!" The chorus sounded out and even Draco joined in on saying it. Everyone around the room locked lips (some more passionately than others) and Draco looked over at Hermione who was smiling at everyone else.

"Cheers, Hermione," Draco said to her and tipped his champagne flute towards her.

Hermione turned her head and he noticed her smile changed to something he couldn't quite place an emotion on. "Cheers, Draco," she returned and the both of them clinked their glasses together then took a drink.

He was beginning to be uncomfortable in the room full of couples that were all enjoying the chiming of the bells in ways Hermione and he couldn't, so he leaned over to her. "Want to go somewhere else?" He asked.

"Sure," she nodded and put her hand on his forearm to lead him out of the living room. He thought she would take him to the kitchen but instead, she opened up a door that led outside.

"Aren't you going to be bloody freezing?" Draco asked as he followed her outside and closed the door. The silence was almost deafening compared to indoors and the outdoor world was peaceful and quiet, the sky clear, and oblivious to any celebrations going on within houses around the country.

"I'm not cold," Hermione said and left her glass on the outdoor table as she passed and he did the same thing. He stood for a second and watched her slightly jog down the garden and then stood with her arms outstretched, looking up at the sky. He smiled like a fool and followed her at a walk and came to stand besides her. "I love the nighttime," she said after the two of them stood in silence for several minutes.

"Me too," he said. "It's beyond peaceful." He looked up at the sky as she did then turned his eyes to her as she walked further down the garden and out the fence line and started walking up the slight hill. He rolled his eyes and followed her and thanked Merlin it wasn't snowing otherwise he wouldn't have dared to set a foot outside the back door. "What are you doing?" He laughed when he watched her stop and sit down on the ground then lay back.

"I'm looking at the stars, Draco," Hermione responded and looked at him when he stood beside her. "Get down here and enjoy yourself," she laughed and hit her hand on his shin.

"I'm not lying on the ground."

"Don't have a tantrum. Come lie with me."

He sighed and then dropped down onto the ground and rolled onto his back next to her. She shifted over so they were closer and he was very aware of her arm pressed against his — not in a casual way, but fully pressed against him. He stared up at the sky and was overcome with it. He'd never been in an area wide and open enough to fully see the beauty of the clearness and sheer size of it all and he could see the stars against their inky backdrop. "It's incredible," he said. He felt like the cold air and his thought process had sobered him up slightly though he could still feel the warm effect that the alcohol had given him.

"It is," Hermione agreed and he turned his head and his cheek pressed against the cold grass and he found her staring right at him.

Normally, when he held eye contact with people, he didn't like it to last long. His habit of looking away and averting his eyes had become stronger over the years; but right now, he couldn't even bring himself to blink. He'd never truly even noticed the colour of her eyes before and now he could see. Her eyes weren't a murky brown, but just a nice brown and had a slight shine in them which he assumed was from the alcohol they'd been drinking. He couldn't look anywhere else and after a minute or so, he slowly rolled onto his side towards her. They were closer now and her breathing had slightly sped up, but nothing noticeable to him. Draco saw her tongue slightly dart out, barely noticeable, and then she slightly bit her bottom lip in nervousness. In the faint light, he saw the slight blush to her cheeks and without thinking, he moved his hand out and brushed the back of his index finger against it. "How sober are you?" He asked, breaking the silence and stillness of the night with his quiet question.

Her answer came back in almost a whisper. "Sober enough to know that I want what's going to happen."

Maybe she had been presumptuous but neither of them cared. Especially Draco because he'd been thinking along exactly the same lines. Another minute passed before he finally put his thoughts into action. He knew that he wanted this and from what she had said, she wanted it too. His finger was still against her cheek and he slowly rest his other fingers down and cupped her cheek with his palm. He was much closer too her because of being on his side and only had to lean a small way and only then could he feel her breath against his chin. They still hadn't broken eye contact and he knew this was it. It seemed that the both of them acted upon their thoughts at the same time as their lips pressed together before he could register. He closed his eyes then when he saw hers immediately shut and he felt something inside him he couldn't even place. He couldn't even count the seconds of how long their lips had been together before he pulled back slightly and slid his hand from her cheek to the back of her head and pulled her in again. They kissed slowly and every second was bliss. Not once had he experienced a first kiss with anyone in this way.

Her lips were soft and he pulled her bottom lip between his before they parted again and let out a breath. His eyes opened to find hers open too and they looked at each other with the realisation of what just occurred. Time was lost to them both, and eventually, her lips parted to say, "Happy New Year, Draco."

"Happy New Year, Hermione," he returned.

A/N: I know it took me so long to update but I have good reasoning! I really enjoyed writing this chapter and thought about splitting it into two but decided it worked better as one. Hope you enjoyed, please review!