Hermione was relieved to have the day off following the wedding. Though Ron and Juliette had left for their honeymoon the party hadn't stopped and it was the early hours of the morning by the time the guests had gone home and Hermione's bridesmaid duties ended. It was almost noon when Hermione woke up and much later in the day when she finally showered and dressed.

Early evening saw an unexpected visit from Lucy, who was eager to hear about the wedding. Hermione gave her all of the small details, including her unwanted visit to the day she and Tim split up.

"I was there?!" Lucy exclaimed.

"In the flesh," Hermione replied.

"Bizarre…"

Hermione laughed. "Maybe for you, unfortunately Draco and I are fairly used to them now."

"You know, that has an excellent ring to it 'Draco and I', how are things between you two? Still denying you like him?" she teased.

"Oh, stop. I've told you nothing will ever happen between us, he's obviously still grieving for Evelina," Hermione had told Lucy of that particular memory when she had returned to work the Monday after she had seen it.

"But if he wasn't?" Lucy prompted.

"That's irrelevant. He is and that's that."

"Humor me," she said, "if Draco was ready to move on, would you be the one he moved on with?"

"I'm not sure," Hermione replied honestly. "Sometimes, I think…maybe."

She proceeded to tell Lucy about the passing comment Draco had made after they returned from the latest memory. He had looked at her so intensely after saying it, though he wanted to say more; do more. She was convinced that he was about to kiss her in that moment and had thought a thousand times about what she would have done if he had closed the small gap between them. She was still undecided.

"I knew it!" Lucy said excitedly.

"Calm down. Anyway, I told you, it's irrelevant. Evelina died so suddenly and he was obviously madly in love with her. I can't imagine he'll be wanting to move on any time soon and frankly, I don't blame him. Now, can we please change the subject?"

Lucy looked as though she had a lot more to say but knew that Hermione's words were final and so began to update her on the latest gossip she had heard from her friend in the Goblin Liason department at the Ministry. Hermione half-listened and made non-committal nods in what she assumed were the right places but once again, her thoughts were on Draco Malfoy.

Lucy left around an hour later, after trying and failing to convince Hermione to go out with her that night, she was meeting with Seamus and Dean amongst other friends but Hermione was simply too tired. Her sofa, a mug of tea and a good book was far more tempting.

It seemed that her quiet night in would have to wait however, as Hermione realized, with a groan, that another memory beckoned. She placed her book and her cup of tea down on the coffee table in front of her and stood up, waiting for the room to change.

Draco was already waiting for her when the memory formed, his expression one of a mixture of fear and worry. There was already a lot of noise upon Hermione's arrival and she knew immediately what they were about to see.

She, Ron and Harry were standing in the middle of the large room, Harry's face was swollen to the point of being unrecognizable to anyone who did not know him well, Ron's red hair was long and filthy and dark stubble lined his chin, Hermione was looking gaunt, her clothes loose fitting and muddy. They were surrounded by Death Eaters, some bore expressions of glee, some of fear and, in the case of Fenrir Greyback, of hunger. This was a memory that had haunted Hermione for many months after the war, one that she tried very hard to forget and one that she did not want to see. This was the night she was tortured at Malfoy Manor.

"No…" she whispered. "Please, no…"

She wanted to run away or to apparate back to her book and her quiet night but she knew that any effort to do either would be pointless. She had watched Draco try to do it countless times and told him that it wasn't possible.

Narcissa Malfoy was now excitedly telling the group that she recognised Hermione from Madam Malkin's robe store and from the Daily Prophet, she sought her son's confirmation but he was unenthusiastic in his response. Her husband joined her, he breathlessly told the group that if that was Hermione then the redhead must be Ron and the other boy had to be Harry.

Hermione knew what was coming next, Bellatrix Lestrange spotted the sword of Gryffindor and soon red curses were flying around the room. One flew past her and Draco; came within inches of his head and he jumped out of the way even though it would have never affected him. They watched as Bellatrix continued her fit of rage, expressing to the group that they would be in danger if Voldemort came at that moment and decided that she needed to find out how the group had the sword before summoning their Master. As Harry and Ron were dragged away to the dungeons, Ron screaming the whole way, Hermione knew that she was about to see herself suffer the worst pain she had ever experienced. She turned away, unable to watch, and was pulled into Draco's arms, where she buried her head in his chest.

He stroked the back of her hair as the first scream came and held Hermione tighter when she jumped. It didn't help that she couldn't see herself writhing on the floor, she could still hear it.

"I'm going to ask you again! Where did you get this sword? Where?" Bellatrix's mad voice screeched.

"We found it-we found it-PLEASE!" Hermione's screams echoed around the room.

She was sobbing into Draco's chest now and he held her tighter still. He was shaking with fury at his Aunt, watching this scene the first time had made him feel horrendous and he had disliked Hermione at the time. Now that they were, for want of a better word, friends, it was a million times worse. He wanted to protect both versions of Hermione and knew it wasn't possible, even holding her in his arms wasn't helping.

The screams continued for what felt like an eternity until, finally, Ron's voice bursting into the room, yelling, broke them. It was the last thing Draco heard before he felt Hermione disappear from his grip, he opened his eyes which had been screwed shut and was back in his own kitchen. He stood on the spot for a split second before running out of his front door and beyond the wards that protected him. He apparated on the spot to the house in which Harry lived and knocked on the door repeatedly until Harry opened it.

"What the-?" Harry began.

"Potter, thank Merlin. Hermione-where does she live?"

"Why? Is she alright?"

"Yes, she's fine. I need to talk to her about work stuff, very important" Draco lied, knowing any other answer would lead to more questions.

Harry summoned a piece of parchment and quill and wrote down the address for Draco, who glanced at if before disapparating without another word, leaving a bewildered Harry standing alone at his front door.

Alone in the safety of her own living room, Hermione sank into the sofa and put her head in her hands. Tears were still falling no matter how hard she willed them to stop. She tried to tell herself that the memory happened over five years ago, that Bellatrix was gone and could not harm her any more but it made no difference.

A loud banging on her front door made her jump. It was followed by shouting.

"Hermione! Hermione, it's Draco, open up, please!"

She slowly got to her feet and crossed the room. When she pulled the door open, Draco was stood with a panicked expression and his fist raised though he had been about to knock on the door again.

"Hermione..." he whispered before pulling her into his arms.

She buried her head in his chest and found comfort, his familiar smell and his strong arms made her feel safe once more. The relief brought on a new wave of tears and Hermione inwardly cursed herself, where was her Gryffindor bravery now? She had cried more in the last few months since the beginning of the memories than ever before and it frustrated her.

Draco, mistaking Hermione's tears of relief for sadness and fear from the memory, gently pushed Hermione away from his chest and put his hands on either side of his face. She looked to the floor, not wanting to meet his eyes.

"It's okay, Hermione, she's gone, she can't hurt you again. I promise."

He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and she looked up in surprise, teary brown eyes met grey for a second before her face was pulled closer to hers and their lips pressed together in a kiss neither had expected but both responded to with passion. Hermione's hands were on Draco's chest, she grabbed handfuls of his shirt to pull him closer to her, he moved one of his to the back of her neck and another to the small of her back. She stepped backwards out of the doorway and further into her flat, pulling him with her and he kicked the door closed behind him.

He pulled his mouth away from hers and began trailing kisses along her jaw and neck, Hermione gasped trying to catch a breath that had been left in the doorway. Her mind raced with more thoughts than she could organise. How had they gotten here and where was the kiss, the breathtaking kiss, going? She knew she didn't want it to end; she had never been more sure of anything in her life. When Draco's lips found hers once more Hermione decided, for once in her life, that she would not over think what was happening; she would just let it happen.

Her hands moved down and sought the bottom of his shirt, she grabbed it and pulled upwards, Draco breaking the kiss whilst she tugged it over his head and dropped it at their feet. She ran her hands over his skin, reveling in how warm and soft it was; she wanted to touch every inch of it. Mimicking her actions, Draco now moved his hands down and pulled her top over her head in a move so swift Hermione didn't notice until her top joined his on the floor. He resumed his kissing of her neck and worked his way towards her ear, nipping it gently before whispering to her.

"Bedroom?" he looked at her now, waiting for her response.

She nodded her head in the direction of a door behind him and to the right hand side. He kissed her again and picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist, she squealed in surprise and laughed nervously as he carried her to her bedroom where he set her down at the foot of her bed. He ran his hands gently down her bare arms and looked at her intensely.

"Are you sure...?" he mumbled.

Hermione thought about his question. Was she sure about her and Draco? The possibility of them being more than friends had crossed her mind countless times lately and now that it was happening she had never been more sure it was what they both needed.

"Yes," she whispered, with absolute certainty.

The atmosphere in the room became more charged and if Hermione thought Draco's kisses had been passionate before, they were nothing compared to how he was kissing her now; it was urgent; though his life depended on it. He pressed his body so closely against hers that not even a millimetre of space separated them and yet it was not close enough. He pulled his body away momentarily, without breaking the kiss, and his fingers found the top of her jeans where they unfastened the button and lowered the zip. Understanding his intentions, Hermione tugged at the sides and pushed them down her legs before stepping out of them. Draco pushed her shoulders gently so that she was sitting down, she reached up and unfastened his belt and zip so that he too could rid himself of his jeans.

He pushed her backwards so that she was on her bed and as she moved up it to lay her head on the pillows he positioned himself above her, bearing his weight on his forearms either side of her face. He looked into her eyes and a silent mutual understanding passed between them; they both needed what was about to happen and they both found the comfort they craved that night.

A/N So there you have it, nineteen chapters later and we finally have some action! As always, your thoughts are appreaciated!