A/N: It's finally here - so sorry about the delay, I've had an idea for another fic brewing in my head that I had to get down (the plot outline is now written down, but I wont be doing anything with it until this is finished)

Thank you to everyone who read and special thank you to all my reviewers...you guys are giving my the biggest ego ever! I love it! lol I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations.

Quick note - I know the rating has now changed to M because of the last chapter, but this chapter doesn't have any M-rated content. :)

xBx

~ Chapter 23: New Year, New Start ~

Hermione sat up, looked at Draco and laughed, as the full ramifications of the situation finally hit her: She was in bed – naked – with Draco Malfoy, the covers twisted around them, and Harry knew they were both in there. Chances are he also knew what they had been doing – he wasn't stupid, or naïve, after all.

"This is going to be interesting," Draco drawled with a smirk.

"Any regrets?" Hermione asked, looking to get the worst over with, but relief flooded through her when Draco shook his head.

"None what so ever. I've done too many things in the past that I regret bitterly every single day," he told her honestly, "I swore, after the war ended, I would never do anything else that I would later come to regret, and I intend to stick by that."

Hermione smiled, and then looked out at the room, "We should get dressed, go back downstairs and face the music." Her smile faded slightly, she was happy to avoid Harry for considerably longer, but she knew that was not an option.

"Are you having regrets?" Draco asked shrewdly, noticing Hermione's change in demeanour. Hermione smiled back at him and shook her head.

"No," she told him, "I just really don't want to deal with Harry and his questions in a room full of Weasleys." She said, and Draco chuckled.

"I'm sure Potter won't say a word until you're alone, by which time I will have left, and the questions won't bother me." He smirked, and Hermione scowled.

"Charming," She said, leaving the bed and beginning to dress. She could hear Draco moving around behind her, as he did the same.

Looking relatively unruffled, the pair made their way down into the dining room five minutes later, where Hermione immediately met Harry's eyes. He was giving her a look that suggested he was torn between amusement and disapproval at what he had put an end to. But Hermione was happy to note that Harry seemed to have kept his mouth shut about what he had stumbled upon when he came to her room, as no one else seemed to be paying Hermione and Draco any attention as they rejoined the party.

No one. Except Molly Weasley, whom they immediately ran into as they made their way further into the room.

"Where have you two been?" She asked them, in that voice of hers that usually made her children quiver.

Hermione, who had been silently thinking of an alibi, answered immediately, "I went to put Teddy down, and then we met in the hallway," she told truthfully, and then proceeded to her cover story. "We went to the library, we were discussing our charms paper, and I know Harry has some interesting books that were useful when I wrote it." Hermione declared calmly, and Draco had to admit, he was impressed at at her cool.

Without missing a beat, he corroborated her story, "That's right. The paper is on the theory of wandless magic – we were making sure our papers were on the right track." Draco said.

Molly gave them both a shrewd look, as if trying to gauge a lie, but they must have passed, as she didn't question their story, instead she asked: "Was my daughter with you? She's been gone about as long as you two."

"Of course she was," Hermione lied immediately, to save her friend from her mother's wrath, adding for good measure, "As was Blaise – we often discuss our homework as a group at Hogwarts. We got so caught up we didn't realise we'd disappeared for so long. Ginny was just putting some books back, she shouldn't be too far behind us." She assured Molly, hoping Ginny would indeed appear soon.

The Gods seemed to be on their side, as no sooner were the words out of Hermione's mouth, than Ginny and Blaise re-entered the room.

"There you are, we thought you'd got lost: the Library's not that far away." Draco summoned them over, "Did you get all the books back in the right place?" he asked pointedly.

"What?" Blaise asked, looking confused.

"I was just telling your mother, Ginny, where we were while we discussed our assignment. She noticed we'd been gone a long time." Hermione said with a smile.

Ginny picked up the alibi immediately, and smiled at her mother, "Right, I didn't realise we'd been so long. But you know what Hermione can get like when it comes to school work." Ginny said nonchalantly.

"And this charms assignment was a real bitch." Draco added, letting Ginny know the topic they had supposedly discussed. "Sorry," he said as an afterthought, toward Molly, apologising for his language.

"That's why we ended up in there so long," Ginny grabbed at the information Draco had handed her, "We were thinking it might be wise to put theory into practice before we return, try and get a bit of a head start."

Blaise was watching the exchange in awe – though his face was a calm mask, as if this information wasn't new to him and merely bored him. He was impressed with the two Gryffindors, lying through their teeth in the face of Mrs Weasley without giving away any hint of doubt at their story. He realised that these women could be formidable if they chose to be, and that thought unnerved him slightly – what was he getting himself into?

Molly nodded at her daughter, and then seeming to accept their story, turned her eyes upon Blaise. She gave the young man a hard look and a somewhat cold smile, "So," she declared, "You're my daughter's newest boyfriend, are you?"

A glint of panic flashed in Blaise's eyes for a moment, before he composed his face into a warm smile, "Yes, Mrs Weasley. It's lovely to officially meet you at last." He said.

Hermione quickly excused herself, mumbling something about a drink, and disappeared: as much as she wanted to witness this introduction, she would much rather observe from afar so she wouldn't get caught up in Molly's disapproval. Draco had similar ideas, and likewise excused himself, after giving his friend a pat on the back, wishing him "Good Luck" with a grin.

As Hermione watched from the drinks table, Draco at her side, she saw Blaise slowly become more flustered as every minute another Weasley joined them until the entire family surrounded him.

"This is priceless," Hermione commented, and Draco chuckled.

"I confess," The blonde said, with a smirk, "I don't think I've ever seen him this uncomfortable."

"Not surprising: He's dating a Weasley, and they come as package deal." Hermione said, "You mess with one, you mess with the whole lot. It's a scary thought."

"Is that what it was like for Potter, when he dated Weaselette?" Draco asked, "And for you, as well, when you and the Weasel were an item?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "I wish you would stop calling him 'Weasel'. And No, it wasn't. For starters, Ron and I have never been 'an item'. We're friends, nothing more. And anyway, Harry and I have always been part of the extended family: Molly's adopted kids, if you will." She explained, "So we were accepted from the start, regardless of our relationships with her offspring."

"So, you and Potter were like family?" Draco clarified. And Hermione nodded, "Adoptive children?"

"Yes," Hermione said slowly, "What are you getting at?"

"Mrs Weasley views Potter as another Son: that would make his relationship with Ginny a little bit inces-" Draco began to explain, but was cut off before he could complete his sentence.

"What is the matter with you?!" Hermione said, smacking his arm, and shaking her head, while Draco simply laughed.

A moment later, Ginny managed to extricate herself and Blaise from the rest of the Weasleys and made their way over to Hermione and Draco.

"You're welcome." Hermione smiled at the couple as they approached.

"For what?" Blaise said, looking slightly paler than usual, "tossing me in the lion's den?"

Hermione gave him a scathing look, "For covering for you." She said.

"Right," Ginny said, a sly grin forming, "About that: why were all four of us in the Library? Do I take it that we weren't the only two to disappear?"

Hermione avoided the question by noticing Harry wandering around the crowd, "Look, Harry's handing round the champagne, must be nearly midnight. Let's go get a glass." She smiled and led over to the piano, where Harry was currently standing with Narcissa and Andromeda.

"There you are Draco!" Narcissa exclaimed, "We were beginning to think you had run out on us – you disappeared ages ago."

"We were in the Library." Blaise sniggered, causing Hermione to turn her head slowly to look at him with a less than amused expression and eyebrows raised. Something in her look must have appeared threatening to the Italian, as Blaise stopped his snigger instantly, and even took a sidestep closer to Ginny, muttering: 'Sorry.'

Draco sniggered at his friend, as Harry gave Hermione a look that only she could read.

"Really?" Harry said, "The Library." He repeated, and Hermione turned to look back at him, this time narrowing her eyes.

"Okay!" Harry said quickly, raising his hands, "Sorry I spoke."

Ginny was smirking as the other two women were looking in smiling bafflement at these two fully grown men – both of whom were a head taller than Hermione – cowering at a simple look.

"Ok, I have to ask." Draco said, voicing what everyone was thinking, "How is it you can do that with simply a look?"

Hermione turned her head toward Draco, answering him with the look she had given to Blaise.

"Yeah, that's not going to work on me, darling." Draco drawled with a smirk, crossing his arms casually, clearly not intimidated. So Hermione narrowed her eyes, glaring the way she had at Harry, at which Draco's smirk widened.

"Seriously, Granger." He said, "It's not going to work on me. You're not as intimidating as you think."

Hermione cocked her head to the side, surveying him thoughtfully, and Draco shifted uncomfortably, not used to people looking at him like that. Hermione's lips twitched, and an evil smile began to form.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Draco asked, clearly becoming unnerved, "What are you thinking? You're thinking something, and I don't think I'm going to like it. What are you planning?" He asked again, clearly uncomfortable with the look he was being given. He had managed to piss her off and now he was going to pay, and Draco didn't like that one bit: the wrath of Hermione Granger was legendary, and he didn't want to suffer it, not again – no doubt her left hook had increased in power considerably since third year.

"I'm sorry, I take it back," He blurted out. "You are intimidating in your own way."

And with that simple apology Hermione chuckled and turned her attention back to Harry, who was handing her a glass of champagne.

"You have to teach me how to do that," Narcissa said to Hermione with a smile, and Hermione grinned.

"It's easy, all you need is to find the right look for the right person, and the apologies just come flowing out."

Draco scowled as he realised he'd fallen into her trap, but Harry jumped in before another word could be said.

"Moving on, it's nearly midnight," Harry declared, as he silenced the music from the other room, and everyone began to gather closer.

It was one minute to midnight, and when the second hand of the large carriage clock sat on the mantle piece reached the number ten, everyone began to count down. When the clock chimed twelve, George let off a spectacular display of his own indoor fireworks to the chorus of "Happy New Year!"

As everyone began exchanging hugs and chaste kisses – or in the case of Ginny and Blaise, not so chaste kisses – Hermione found herself sandwiched between Harry and Ron, all with big grins on their faces.

When Ron went to do his rounds with his family, Hermione looked up at Harry who still had his arm around her shoulder.

"Did you ever think we'd make it this far?" She asked him quietly, with a smile, "That we'd be here, to see this New Year?"

Harry chuckled and looked down at Hermione, "Honestly? I didn't think we'd make it to last New Year, considering what happened last Christmas."

Hermione laughed, and leaned her head into Harry's shoulder, "I know. But we did, and here we are: All grown up and happy, who would have thought?"

Harry nodded, "Who indeed. But it won't be long before we're not."

Hermione frowned, "Happy?" She asked.

"Grown up." Harry said with a grin, "In about half an hour, most of the Ministry reps will take their leave, as will the Weasleys. By 1am only us Howartians will be left, and there is a lot of alcohol left. It's going to get rowdy, I'm sure."

Hermione laughed, "I suppose we are only young once." She said.

"By the way," Harry said, "Rumour has it you're quite the pianist." Hermione scowled, knowing full well what was coming next.

Harry ginned, and steered Hermione around to sit her at the piano, "I think you should give us a song." He told her, lifting the lid.

Hermione sighed, "Fine," she said, "You're lucky I'm feeling generous, and since it's New Years,"

Hermione started to play and, praying that others would join in once they knew what she was playing, began to sing;

"Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne"

Hermione had sung this every year, growing up, while her mother played, so she knew the entire song from start to finish. And by the time she had reached the second chorus, the entire party had joined in, singing the lyrics they knew and mumbling through the lyrics they didn't.

When she had finished playing, she quickly vacated the seat to avoid requests to play again – she really didn't feel like spending the rest of night providing the musical entertainment.

Just as Harry predicted, the party began to dissipate half an hour later, and by one-thirty, only those under the age of twenty remained.

"Finally!" Ginny exclaimed, when her family had departed after warning her to behave and not be too late home. "Now the parents have gone, it's tequila time!"

She grabbed the bottle from the sideboard and tossed the bag of limes at Hermione, "Line 'em up," she called, picking up the salt and making her way to the group now gathered around the coffee table in the drawing room.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "You are way too enthusiastic about these, Ginny." She mumbled as she conjured twelve shot glasses, for everyone present, and began to cut the limes into segments.

"Alright people," Hermione said, as Ginny poured the shots, "Lick it, slam it, suck it." She declared, to which the boys sniggered.

"Seriously? What are you all? Twelve?" She said with her signature eye-roll. As tequila slammers happened to be a muggle thing, and relatively unknown in the wizarding world, it fell to Hermione, Dudley and Beth to show them how it was done. Hermione was surprised therefore, when Emmy leaned forward and grabbed the saltshaker:

"Follow our lead." She commanded, licking her hand before pouring on some salt. As she reached for a shot she noticed Hermione's questioning look and smiled,

"I'm actually a half-blood," Emmy confessed, "Muggle mother. For my eighteenth she took me out in Muggle London and introduced me to some interesting Muggle drinking customs. Present case included."

After a few rounds of slammers, and a series of fantastic facial expressions, the group returned to their original drinks and generic discussions.

"Hey, does anyone know any really good drinking games?" Seamus asked, suddenly, and Hermione groaned.

"No, no drinking games, please." Hermione said, "It's a dangerous slippery slope: people always end up saying things they wish they hadn't, dark secrets are revealed and at least one person ends up naked."

"What kind of drinking games do you play, Granger?" Blaise asked with a sly grin, and a couple of people laughed.

"Yeah," Draco joined in, "I have say, if that's what you people get up to, I should have stayed at your party longer." He joked. "Though I couldn't imagine your family having any dark secrets."

"You'd be surprised," Hermione smirked, "we look respectable on the outside, but the Rosebys have some scandalous skeletons in their extensive closets."

"Roseby?" Beth said thoughtfully, looking at Hermione, "Hermione Roseby-Granger." She said slowly. Suddenly her eyes widened, "Oh my God, I know who you are!" she exclaimed,

"You do?" Hermione questioned apprehensively, suddenly feeling nervous at where this was going. Beth nodded enthusiastically.

"Yes, you're the high-society heiress who's rumoured to be dating Richard Alden. You know," She added to Dudley, "The millionaire who owns that up-scale cocktail bar in York, is it true he's just bought a property in the Hamptons?" Beth asked, turning back to Hermione, who was trying to ignore the stares of all her companions, most of whom were looking at her with shocked wonder.

"I know he was thinking of it, though only the Gods know why. He'll fit in there worse than he fits in at my mother's soirées." Hermione answered with a shake of her head. "I told him purchasing that property would be a bad idea, so he most likely has bought it. And how do you know all this?" Hermione asked, suddenly realising that this woman she had never met knew far too much information.

"He's almost always in a magazine, he's a bit of a socialite since he opened that bar: it's the place to be in York, attracts a lot of celebrities and socialites. Mostly he's in Hello magazine, or OK, or something like that." Beth said.

"Interesting," Hermione said thoughtfully, "He likes his publicity," she smiled, but there was a glint in her eye that Draco picked up.

"You're plotting something," Draco accused. Hermione pulled herself back to the present, erasing the scheming glint.

"Me? Plotting?" She said, "Never."

"You're an heiress?" Ron asked incredulously, completely ignoring the small exchange between Hermione and Draco.

"Bet you wish you made a move, now, don't you Weasley?" Blaise joked.

"Nice," Hermione frowned, at the same time Ron said: "Too right."

"Ron!" Hermione said, shocked. But Ron grinned.

"I'm kidding, 'Mione." He soothed.

"So, are you dating this rich guy?" Dean asked, "Or not? And how come you never told us you were loaded?" He asked, as everyone nodded all wanting to hear the truth of this juicy new information.

Hermione sighed, she had kept it secret for so long, but the truth would never stayed buried forever. "Richard and I used to date. But that was a while ago, we're just good friends. And I am heiress to my Parents' business – it doesn't necessarily follow that I'm loaded." She said, trying to play down her worth as much as possible.

"They currently have three dental surgeries in London, Leeds and York." She explained, and when people looked set to question her further she added: "Question time is over, let's crank up the music." Hermione said, putting an end to further discussion of her Muggle life.

Thankfully for her, Harry and Ginny recognised the tone of finality in her voice, and with the help of Blaise and Draco steered the conversation down a musical turn, and soon the group were arguing over the best songs to really get the party going. The argument could only be settled by playing the songs in turn, and the group listened to everything from ABBA to Queen, from The Weird Sisters to Bon Jovi, and before long everyone was dancing, their dignity long forgotten.

When Hermione woke the next morning, it was to the delicious smell of a cooked breakfast. She groaned as she rolled herself out of bed, slipping her feet into her slippers and pulling on a robe. It was only eight-thirty in the morning: far too early to be up, but she had to be at home before lunch, as her parents would be home at some point in the afternoon, and she still had to tidy their office.

When she entered the kitchen she couldn't help put laugh at the sight that greeted her: Harry and Ron were barely awake, both looking rather pale, their hair in complete disarray as if it hadn't been brushed in weeks.

"Feeling delicate, are we?" Hermione asked, as she took a seat.

"Are you not hung over?" Harry croaked, his head in his hands, looking at Hermione through his fingers. Ron simply groaned in response, not bothering to lift his head from the table, and Hermione was pretty sure he was almost asleep.

"Not really," Hermione admitted, "I didn't drink as much as you guys. I was pretty much sober right up until the damn tequila shots." Ron groaned again: at about 2am he had instigated another round of slammers – apparently he was regretting that now.

"Really," Harry commented dryly, "So you were sober for your little trip to the Library?" He asked, pointedly, "Seriously, Hermione? That's your idea of taking it slow?"

Hermione looked unsure what to say, and then she remembered the events that led her to escape in the first place. "It was your fault," She hissed at him, just as Ron gave a snore, "you told me to make that stupid phone call."

Harry looked at her incredulously, "I'm sorry, I'm failing to see the link here. How do you get 'go have sex with Draco Malfoy' from 'call Richard and apologise'?" He hissed back, praying Ron was actually asleep.

"I didn't. I called Richard and his other woman answered the phone. It pissed me off, so I went to calm down. Malfoy followed and… calmed me down." She finished with a smirk. "Very effectively, if you must know."

"Too much information, I feel sick as it is." Harry mumbled as Kreacher began placing breakfast in front of them.

"Are you not working today?" Hermione asked, changing the subject and digging into her breakfast.

"This afternoon," Harry said, before gingerly taking a bite of his own food. "Though I don't know how much use Ron's going to be."

"Plenty of water, and some food and he'll be fine." Hermione waved her hand, dismissing Harry's worry, "That's if you can ever wake him up." She added, and Harry sniggered.

"Best leave him there for another half hour." He joked.

As Hermione was the only one not hampered by a hangover, she was the only one to assist Kreacher in clearing up the extravagant mess from the night before. When the Dining room and drawing room were back to their original condition, Hermione apparated home to tidy the mess she had left the night before. Placing back the volumes she no longer needed, she gathered the rest of the books and took them to her sitting room, where she continued to peruse them until her parents returned a little after five o'clock.

###

When Draco finally woke it was close to two in the afternoon. He groaned as he rolled out of bed: his stomach was churning and it felt like there was a tiny man in his head with a very large sledge-hammer, pounding every inch on his brain it could reach. He had over indulged slightly last night, and he was now pretty sure that inviting Blaise back to the Manor for a 'night cap', and consequently getting through two more bottles of Firewhiskey, was a big mistake. He didn't even remember what they had talked about, but he did remember smoking his Father's cigars – it was incredibly lucky his father would be in Azkaban for a few more years, if he was here Draco would probably be murdered for that little stunt.

When Draco finally made it down to the afternoon sitting room, he found his mother sat in a window seat with a book and a cup of tea, a weak winter sun spilling across her lap.

"Ah, Draco," she smiled, "So good of you to join us. How are you feeling?" she smirked.

"I'm, a little delicate," Draco admitted, "But I'm fine." He assured her, helping himself to a steaming mug of coffee.

"What time did you make it back?" Narcissa asked, still smirking, as if she knew something he didn't. This worried Draco, what the hell did he do when he got home?

"About three, I think? Blaise came back with me, and we had a couple more drinks." He admitted.

"Yes," Narcissa nodded, "It would appear neither yourself, nor Master Zabini, are particularly good at billiards when you are intoxicated." She smiled, a small laugh escaping, "The billiard rooms was quite a sight this morning, balls everywhere. Only the cue ball made it into a pocket."

Draco groaned, "I'm sorry, Mother." He said, sitting in front of the fire.

Narcissa chuckled, "It doesn't bother me, my darling. I only wish I had been awake to witness the feat, no doubt it would have made an excellent spectacle. What exactly were you drinking last night, after your Aunt and I left?" She asked.

"We were introduced to some interesting Muggle concoctions, including Tequila slammers and flaming Sambucas." Draco said, "That, coupled with the experience of bohemian Rhapsody leads me to believe that Muggles are in fact an entirely different race to us." He commented dryly.

"Bohemian Rhapsody?" Narcissa questioned.

Draco shook his head, "Don't go there. It's a song, and apparently every Muggle knows it. At one point they looked like they were having some sort of seizure, but apparently they were just dancing." He mumbled, sipping his coffee and starting to feel a little bit human again.

Narcissa laughed, "I fear I left too soon, sounds like it was quite a party." She was quiet for a moment, looking at her son thoughtfully.

"You and Miss Granger appear to be awfully close." She said quietly.

Draco scoffed, "Awfully?" He repeated, "Is that the key word Mother? Are you about to lecture me on Blood status? I thought we were trying to move past that."

"That was a bad choice of word, forgive me." Narcissa said, slightly pained, "And of course I'm not going to give you lecture on blood status, that means nothing to me. But I hope this isn't your way of trying to prove that point. Don't attach this young woman simply to prove that blood status doesn't matter to a Malfoy anymore. Hermione Granger has been through hell because of her blood status, the last thing she needs is her heart broken because of it."

Draco looked at his Mother incredulously, "You don't think I know that, Mother?" he whispered, "We have a daily reminder of it just down the hall. And I'm not using her to promote myself. I'm not trying to attach her to prove anything." He said, "I care about her, the last thing I want to do is hurt her. Anymore than our family already has." He added quietly.

Draco looked up to see his mother smiling smugly and he frowned, "You tricked me into talking about feelings by making me defensive." He accused.

"I did." Narcissa admitted. "I'm a master at manipulating conversations. I knew you wouldn't tell me any other way."

"That's evil." Draco accused.

"No it was necessary." Narcissa said, "For what it's worth, I don't disapprove of her."

Draco looked at her mother shrewdly, "You don't disapprove," he repeated, "It doesn't mean you approve."

"I don't know her." Narcissa said simply, "Not properly. Not yet at any rate," she smiled, and Draco had a shrewd suspicion she was planning something but he refrained from asking.

"Did Blaise make it home alright? Or did he spend the night?" Narcissa asked.

Draco looked up, with a slightly guilty expression, "I have no idea." He confessed, "I don't even remember playing billiards."

###

As Hermione would be returning to Hogwarts on the fifth, the rest of her break was rather uneventful: she spent one more day in the company of Andie and Teddy, strategically avoiding all discussion of Draco as she really didn't know what her feelings fully were towards him, or what exactly was going on between them – the situation was incredibly complicated, considering she was currently trying to get out of an arranged engagement, something she was reluctant to mention to anyone else.

Thankfully, Richard was busy with business and Hermione didn't get to see him until the Sunday morning. Her parents had left on Friday to go to a conference in Ireland, and Hermione was just closing her case when there was a knock at her sitting room door.

"Come in," she called out, resigned. She had been lucky enough to avoid this meeting so far, but apparently her luck wouldn't hold out to allow her to avoid it all together.

She left her suitcase on the bed, quickly put on the ridiculous ring, and walked out into her sitting room, meeting Richard half way.

"I wondered if I'd be seeing you, before I left." Hermione smiled, but the smile was colder than usual.

"I couldn't let my fiancé leave without saying goodbye," Richard smiled, "I won't see you until Easter. You are coming back down at Easter, aren't you?" He asked.

"Perhaps, most likely. At least you remember I'm supposed to be your fiancé, today." She said coldly, and Richard frowned.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? How could I possibly forget that you are my fiancé?" He snarled, loosing his temper quickly. Hermione quirked an eyebrow, but otherwise her facial expression remained calmly neutral.

"I'm not even going to ask what you meant by that," she said calmly, "But I believe you forgot about me rather quickly on New Years Eve."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Richard said quickly. He shifted uncomfortably, giving away his attempt at a lie.

Hermione smiled, "Oh, you do." She said, "You are a terrible liar. I called you, and imagine my surprise when Melissa answered the phone." Hermione continued to smile sweetly, and was happy to see that Richard was growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"You're mad, I get it." He said hurriedly, "I'm sorry."

"I'm not mad." Hermione said simply, the smile never leaving her face.

"You're not?" Richard asked slowly, not daring to believe his ears.

"No." Hermione shook her head, her calm smile never slipping, not giving him a hint that she was thinking: I'm furious, and seeking revenge. Instead, she said, "But I am going to be running late if I don't leave soon, so it would be best if you left." She told him, walking over to the door and opening it for him.

Just as Richard reached the doorway he stopped. "I am sorry," He said again, "These holidays haven't been brilliant for us. I want to start again, A clean slate, I will make this up to you."

Hermione nodded, "If you say so." She said simply, "Just one more thing. Do you recall what I said to you New Years Eve?" She asked.

"Vaguely." Richards scowled – clearly he remembered it vividly.

"Good." Hermione said simply, giving nothing else away. "I guess I will see you in April. I need to get my things together, you can see yourself out." She said, shutting her door in Richard's face, before returning to her room. She looked at the clock on her bedside table: it was 11:30am. She had chosen to return to Hogwarts from Grimmauld Place, via the Floo, but the connection to the Headmistress' office would not be open until 3pm and the last thing Hermione wanted to be doing was sitting around twiddling her thumbs, simply waiting.

She gave a deep sigh, glanced around her room clicking her tongue, and made a split decision. Pulling on her coat, scarf and gloves, she grabbed her case and disapparated, appearing a moment later in Hogsmeade. She bewitched her case to make it feel feather light, and proceeded down the main street: instead of sitting at home waiting, she may as well take advantage of being of age and pick up a few bits she wanted from Scrivenshafts, before returning to the castle early.

She hit a bit of a snag when she got to the gates, which were chained and magically sealed, but after sending a patronus ahead to Professor McGonagall, apologising for her unconventional means of return, she finally made it to her tower, which felt more like home than the place she had just left.

She unpacked her things, hanging her clothes back in her closet, putting her completed homework assignments with the rest of her schoolbooks and placing the business ledgers, accounts books and client lists she got from her father the other day onto her coffee table, thinking of taking a look at them later on.

But first, she intended to take advantage of the empty tower and relieve the lingering tension in her body through the means of a hot bubble bath. When the bath was drawn, she tossed aside her clothes and grabbed a towel and the book her father had persuaded her to read before Christmas, intending to spend a good few hours simply relaxing and reading.

Within half an hour, Hermione felt her own stress leave her, as she lost herself in her book – her father had been right to recommend it, it truly was a gripping piece, full of knights and renegades, and Kings and Queens, though it was not the stuff of fairy tales, this was far more deadly, full of dark plots and treacherous twists. She was almost at the end, part way through a chapter on her favourite character of a young girl, born and raised a high lady but who was rather wild and unruly, when the opening of the bathroom door distracted her.

Hermione looked up from her book, to see Draco enter wearing nothing but a towel around his waist – he was completely oblivious to her presence and jumped a mile when she spoke.

"You really should check the bathroom is empty before you enter." She smirked, "At least you're wearing a towel." She pointed out as Draco spun around to look at her.

"Sweet Merlin! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I'm taking a bath." She said, stating the obvious and earning herself an eye roll, before returning her attention to her book.

"I can see that, I meant why are you here early? I thought I was one of the first to arrive." He pressed.

"Long story." She mumbled.

Draco was silent for a moment, "What are you wearing?" He asked suddenly, not sounding pleased.

Hermione scowled, "I'm in the bath. I don't know about you, but I tend to bathe naked. Now be quiet, please, I'm reaching a pinicle part of the story here – her father is about to be shown mercy, but I don't trust it. I'll feel a lot better when it's given." She said.

Draco could make neither head nor tail of this remark: "What-?" he started, but Hermione shushed him, fully intent on her book. Draco watched impatiently, his arms crossed, as Hermione's eyes widened and her mouth opened in shock.

"They can't" she breathed, her eyes moving down the page rapidly, "oh my god! They did!" she squeaked.

"Something wrong?" Draco drawled, not used to being ignored in favour of a book. Hermione looked up at him with a tortured look on her face.

"The killed him, actually killed him. He's the moral centre of the entire story and there are more books. What's going to happen without the moral centre?"

"Their world will immorally fall apart." Draco said quickly, "Now can you please answer my quest-" he stopped, "Are you crying?" he asked incredulously, noticing the wetness in Hermione's eyes.

"No," She scowled, but the quaver in her voice gave her away and Draco chuckled,

"Go to hell!" she snapped, "What question am I supposed to be answering?"

"Right," Draco said, sobering up instantly, "What's that you're wearing?"

"Again, I'm in the bath" Hermione pointed out, but before she could continue, Draco walked over to her and grabbed her left hand, holding it in front of her face so that her palm was facing outward,

"Ahh," Hermione said, now understanding what he meant, "That would be my engagement ring."

"Exactly. Why are you wearing it?" He asked.

"The engagement hasn't been properly dissolved yet. Richard called in to say goodbye, I had to wear it in front of him, but I forgot to take it off." She explained.

"You forgot?" Draco repeated, full of scepticism.

"Yes, I got distracted by the book – it's really very gripping, you should read it." She said.

"Right," Draco said, pulling the ring from her finger, "You need to get rid of this," He said, taking the ring and walking toward her room.

"Hey- what the-" Hermione sputtered: what the hell was she supposed to do? She was laying naked in a bubble bath, she couldn't exactly jump up right away and follow. When Draco was safely in her room out of sight, she grabbed the towel beside her and quickly jumped from the tub, leaving her book abandoned on the floor.

Wrapping the cotton towel tight around her, she hurried into her room, not bothering to dry herself, "I swear to the Gods, if you toss that ring over the balcony, I'm throwing you over after it, to get it back!" She threatened.

Draco chuckled from where he was standing by her dresser, "Relax," he said, picking up a ring box, "I'm putting it back in it's box, that's all."

Hermione scowled, "I was relaxed, and now you've stressed me out within five minutes."

"Sorry about that," He grinned sidestepping her, and returning to the bathroom. "I hope you get over it by the time I'm finished in the bathroom."

"Wait! I'm not finished in the bathroom!" Hermione said.

Draco stepped back into the bathroom, and turned to face Hermione in her doorway, "But you're out of the bath and back in your room," he pointed out, "Looks to me like you're finished." He said closing the door with a smirk.

Hermione stared at the solid wood for moment, spluttering in shock, before her face darkened, "You know, I have a lot of pent up rage! Richard pissed me off plenty these holidays, but because of a stupid law I couldn't hex him! You, on the hand, you I can hex!" She threatened: she was starting to wonder if New Years had all just been a dream.

"Good luck with that," Draco called back, and Hermione heard the laughter in his voice.

"Can at least have my book back?" She whined, accepting defeat.

"Nope." Draco said simply – he knew he would pay for this dearly when he finally emerged, but he couldn't resist winding her up.

"You are such an arse!" she yelled at him, stomping her foot. She was dearly thankful that there was a door between them as soon as she realised what she had done. She didn't mean to stamp her foot like a child having a tantrum, but he just brought out the worst in her.

She whirled away from the door and went to get dressed. The Hogwarts Express would be pulling into the station soon, which would mean that Ginny and the others would be arriving at dinner shortly. Since she had been unceremoniously tricked out of her bath, Hermione might as well go down to the Great Hall early, and wait for Ginny there.

A/N: There you have it. A little bit of a filler chapter, just to try and move the timeline along and get us back to Hogwarts.

Let me know what you thought, I'll try and get the next chapter up by the end of week.

xBx