It's cold again here in my neck of the woods. It's probably a good thing I'm not one of those people who puts away winter clothes at the first sign of warm weather. For one thing, I'm too lazy to do it. Secondly, I was still cold last week as the temperature approached 80 degrees. I wonder if eating ice cream for dinner a minimum of three nights a week has lowered my body temperature.

Chapter 3
Hermione was back in the cafe she had walked out of the night before, but this time it was Ginny Weasley seated across from her. The redhead, engaged to Hermione's best friend, Harry Potter, rambled on and on about wedding colors and caterers, reception halls and flowers. As the maid of honor, Hermione felt guilty for tuning her out, but her mind was on more important things.

Earlier that day, she had arrived at work to find a single red rose on her desk. Attached to it was a note, informing her that she needed to be ready by seven o'clock. It was unsigned, but she knew it was from Draco. For the rest of the morning, she had walked around with a goofy grin on her face, wondering what Draco might have planned for her.

"Hermione? Are you listening to me?" Ginny asked, snapping her fingers in front of the older witch's face.

"Yes," Hermione replied hesitantly, knowing she was caught.

Ginny raised red eyebrows skeptically. "Then what did I say?" she inquired, sitting back with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You were talking...about...dresses?" she guessed.

Rolling her eyes, Ginny shook her head. and sighed. "You've been a mile away since we sat down," she groused. "Please tell me you've met a boy, and that's the reason you're so spacey."

Despite her nonchalant shrug, Hermione couldn't hide her smile. While it was true that she could barely tolerate Draco Malfoy, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about their New Year's kiss. Soft, warm lips that molded perfectly to her own. Strong, long-fingered hands that held her safely to him. That was the Draco Malfoy she liked. And that was the Draco Malfoy who occupied her thoughts now.

"Maybe there is someone," Hermione finally said cryptically.

Disappointment forgotten, Ginny leaned forward and rested her arms on the table. "Who is he?" she asked excitedly. "Ron told me you snogged Malfoy at Cho Chang's New Year's Eve party, but I'm chalking that up to the firewhiskey. Was there someone else there? A potential love connection, perhaps? Hey, maybe he could be your date to the wedding!"

Hermione laughed. "No," was all she said.

"But you need a date," Ginny whined. "And you look so smitten over this mystery man. Just bring him."

"No," she said again, and placed her menu in front of her face. Draco Malfoy was to be a guilty, secret pleasure, not a boyfriend. He had made himself perfectly clear that his only interest was in shagging in her, and she had agreed to those terms. "How about we concentrate more on the wedding planning, and less on my potential escorts."

Hermione returned from lunch 40 minutes late and in a panic. If she worked straight through the rest of the day without interruption or breaks, she would finish on time to meet Draco, she reasoned. And so, after locking her door and putting up impenetrable noise cancelling charms, she hunkered down for a long afternoon of work.

When she finally finished, she closed the last file with a tired sigh and placed it on the pile for filing. She disabled the charms, and frowned when she heard someone knock on her door. "It's open," she called out, brows furrowed as she wondered who else would be lurking around the Ministry this late.

The door opened and in walked Draco. Hermione gasped and looked at her watch. "Yes, an hour late," he chided, taking a seat on the brown, leather sofa. He casually examined his fingernails while she hurriedly gathered her belongings to leave.

"I'm so sorry," she said when she finally ready to leave.

Draco rose from the couch, removed her purse from her shoulder and tossed it aside, and took her hands in his. He smiled softly and leaned down to brush his lips against her own. "Hi," he said after he pulled away.

"Hi," she replied.

"Ready to go?" he asked, reaching for her purse. Hermione nodded and silently followed Draco to the lifts.

It wasn't until the lift began to move that Hermione realized she had no idea what their plan was. "Where?" she asked.

Blond brows furrowed. "Where what?"

"Where are we going?" she clarified as they reached the Atrium. The place was deserted, making it easier for them to floo to their destination. "My flat," he replied. "I had ordered take away, but the you were late. It's probably gone cold now. Well, nothing a quick heating charm won't fix. Ready?"

Hermione nodded and stepped into the floo beside Draco. They stepped into a penthouse, and Hermione was nervous to brush the soot from her clothes inside. She considered carefully walking to the front door to clean herself off, but stopped when she considered that she might track the muck on his plush, white carpet. Beside her, Draco removed his outer robes and kicked off his shoes. She too removed her shoes, but it was Draco who unhook the toggle holding her cloak shut. He placed their cloaks on the rack, and rejoined her in front of the fireplace.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Her hands shook and began to feel clammy, and she cursed herself for not being more in control of the situation. "Fine," she said, hoping a smile would convince him.

Sighing, he let her go and walked to the kitchen. Not sure whether to stay in place or follow, she opted for following him. There, on the small round table, was a bag of take out containers waiting to be opened. He pulled two plates from the cabinet, then moved to the utensil drawer for forks, knives, and serving spoons. "Sit," he instructed. Hermione did as she was told and accepted the plate he handed her.

"This isn't necessary, Draco," she said when he handed her a container of fried rice.

"Sure it is," he replied, grinning wickedly. "I'm pretty sure you don't eat as often as you should. I'd hate for you to pass out from malnutrition when I'm in the middle of shagging you."

"It just seems like something a boyfriend would do," she commented, helping herself to the spread.

Draco shrugged. "Or it's something a decent human being would do," he retorted. "You may think I'm still a spoiled, little git, but I do care about other people."

Tucking a stray curl behind her ear, Hermione nodded. "I know that," she murmured. "Let's eat. We'll need our strength, right?"