Hermione's eyes wearily blinked open. She could hear Lisa calling her name and she yawned softly, sitting upright and taking in her surroundings. She was sat in the office, arms still crossed on the desk where her head had rested. She registered her sleepiness and then awoke suddenly, embarrassed.

"Oh gosh. Did I fall asleep? Lisa I'm so sorry." Hermione jumped up out of the chair and ran past Lisa out to the front of the store, picking up a pile of books and quickly searching for their homes. Lisa stared after her friend confused but followed her out of the staff room, watching as she rushed around the shop singing silently to herself. Lisa walked over to the aisle they had been down earlier and picked up the book Hermione had dropped, sliding it into place.

"Are you okay, Hermione?" Lisa questioned, striding over to her friend and taking half the books from her so she could help stack, "I shut the shop because you seemed upset."

"Upset?" Hermione responded, frowning, "No I feel fine. Nervous and excited for tonight, but not upset," Lisa nodded and pushed another few books into the shelf. She wondered if she should bring up Hermione's breakdown but held her tongue. Lisa decided that if she didn't remind Hermione of it, Hermione wouldn't get upset again. Surely it was a win win situation all round? She still found it strange, however, that Hermione was perfectly fine now compared to how she was earlier.

"Well I've closed up early anyway. Figured we could go back to yours and get you pampered for tonight."

Hermione smiled at her friend and nodded enthusiastically, "That sounds like a lot of fun, actually."

As soon as Hermione stepped into her flat Lisa ran into her bathroom to run her a bath. She filled it with jasmine and peppermint and bubbles covered every inch of the surface. She ushered Hermione into the room insisting she spend as least an hour in their pampering herself. Hermione moaned in contentment as she slipped into the water's welcoming heat, running her fingers through her hair and dipping her head back into the inviting liquid. The smell was fresh and exotic, making her head swim as a slow, lazy smile stretched across her face. She knew why Lisa had chosen this specific bubble bath. The two scents were aphrodisiacs. Hermione felt herself becoming more and more relaxed as she let the bubbles sink into her skin. She knew it was way too soon for anything intimate to happen between her and Draco. They had only known each other three weeks! But she wouldn't complain if he were affected by her and the scent. Hermione would welcome it, actually, deciding for once in her life she should push the boat out a little.

She rubbed the bubbles into her skin some more and lifted one leg out of the tub, lathering it carefully. It was a lovely warm day and she knew the heat would not falter by the time Draco picked her up so she had decided to wear a dress. This meant, however, making sure her legs were smooth and silky. She picked up the razor next to her and carefully dragged it in neat lines across her skin. For once Hermione really enjoyed the process of getting ready. Maybe it was because she was so excited to see Draco and finally in a more romantic atmosphere. He was so complex and she couldn't wait to find out even more about him. He could be teasing and cocky, but sensitive too. She imagined that sometimes he could get quite infuriating, but that slow smirk that was so at home on his face made her whole body tingle.

She sighed, imagining the feel of him against her. It was completely natural to feel this way, to feel such an immense attraction for someone, to want to be pressed against them but Hermione couldn't remember ever feeling so compelled by such a natural baseness. It was instinct to animals. Sex was something that was programmed into every creature from years and years of evolution. It would one day bring a new life to the world and so sex was life in that way. She tried to imagine the feel of it, the texture and taste of it. How would it affect her life, or change it, when she finally decided to experience it?

All Hermione knew was that she had never wanted to experience it more than the day she had met Draco Malfoy.

Harry and Ron headed back to the shop where Hermione worked trying to get a feel for the place she was living and working in. The shop was located on a street with an ice cream parlour, a few restaurants, a cinema, some retail stores and a small doctor's surgery. The closest houses and flats were only a five-minute walk away. As they entered each shop most people came up to them to introduce themselves. It seemed that everyone knew everyone else and made sure to make visitors feel welcome. They had no problem when they enquired about Hermione and Draco. Some of the locals had been very helpful, saying that Hermione had moved here over a month ago and that Draco had shown up a few weeks later on work.

"Yeah I know them," A man called Jack had said, "We went to the beach with them last weekend. I'd seen Hermione around a bit before. Lisa was bringing her along to our nights out and stuff. I was hoping to get in there, ya know? She's a pretty girl. But then this Drake shows up and sweeps her off her feet. They seem to be getting pretty serious about each other."

"So he's been here about three weeks?" Harry questioned, needing a straight answer to figure out if Draco had been lying or not. Ron went red in the face with anger at the thought of someone other than himself attempting to 'get in there' with Hermione.

"Yeah. I mean, He showed up the day before his birthda-,"

"June fourth." Ron muttered, "It's the twenty-fifth now."

Jack narrowed his eyes at the two, "Sorry but, how do you know her again? I'm not sure I should really be giving this information to two people I don't know. I might not know Hermione well, but she's a good kid. Her and Drake were all over each other at the beach. Holding hands and teasing each other and sneaking off. I wouldn't want to be the cause of their break up."

Ron sputtered angrily grabbing Jack's arm and squeezing it harshly, "I'm Hermione's boyfriend."

Jack went pale, as did Harry who sent his friend a scolding look. Harry ripped Ron's grip off the sandy-haired boy and shook his head at him before turning back to Jack, "He's not. Just over protective. Ron and Hermione have a lot of history."

Jack held his hands up, frowning at the two and shrugging his shoulders despite them being stiff with tension, "Look I really don't want to get involved mate. Hermione seems happy with the guy and that's what matters."

"Whatever," Ron muttered glaring at Harry and storming out. Harry shot Jack an apologetic look and then followed his stubborn friend back out into the blaring sun. Ron had already burnt his arms and face due to not taking the proper precautions, but that was Ron all over.

"Look, I know this seems bad-,"

"Bad? BAD? Oh no it's completely peachy. Our Hermione off gallivanting with the ferret. It's absolutely marvellous-,"

"-BUT you're not her boyfriend Ron, you can't go shouting that around to everyone you know-,"

"Why? You said it to her friend she works with. You told me you did."

Harry winced, mentally hitting himself, "I know. It was a lapse of judgement. You know how much I love you two and have wanted things to work out and sometimes I just forget that you're not. But we need to be more careful. Gawain was right when he said Draco was doing this in a way that wouldn't damage anyone-,"

"But it will damage Hermione when we restore her memories."

"I think we're assuming that Hermione isn't the same person. Ron, all the people I've rescued so far, their families and friends all said they wouldn't have been able to tell it wasn't them. They all acted exactly the same. So, this Hermione is still our Hermione, she just can't remember us. So, as she is still the same person, if she really does like Malfoy-,"

"Don't even finish that. No. She doesn't. She wouldn't. I know we've tried to make things work between us. I think we'll always care about each other in that way."

"But you've got to accept Ron that you've dated other people. Despite caring for Hermione, you didn't care enough to be tied down to her. I don't think she minds all that much either because she was never really cut up about it all. Maybe you're both just too good as friends and when she gets her memories back, if she still wants to give it a go with Malfoy, then no matter how much we don't like him we have to support Hermione."

Ron glared down at the floor, nudging a few rocks with his foot. He shook his head in annoyance and shoved his hands into his trouser pockets. "Come on, let's go."

Harry was about to nod in agreement when he saw a flash of white blonde hair dart into a florist. He turned his gaze away quickly, hoping Ron hadn't seen who he was looking at, and pretended he wanted to explore the area more. Ron rolled his eyes, expressing that he thought Harry took his job a little too seriously and insisted he wanted to go back to hotel.

"Alright then, you go. I might be out for a while though." Harry said. Ron nodded and patted his friend on the shoulder before walking off. Harry nipped into an alley quickly and pulled his invisibility cloak from his back pack. He tugged it around himself making sure to check that none of him was poking out from underneath it and wandered off into the florist.

Hermione was finally ready. Lisa had styled her hair into an up do similar to how she'd had it on their night out, only this time it was held together by a plait round the bottom of the bun instead of a hair tie. She pulled out a few strands to frame her face and smiled at her reflection in the mirror. She'd stuck to her usual make up routine but had added a small line of black liner on her top lids, flicking off into a delicate cat eye. She'd ditched the dress she was originally going to wear as she didn't want to look too fancy. For all she knew they might just be going on a stroll. Hermione finally settled on a long-sleeved, white crop top and a dark green skater skirt that fell mid-thigh and accentuated her waist due to the slim brown belt she'd slipped around it. Lisa had walked around her, judging the outfit from all angles whilst Hermione stood there wondering why all this was necessary. Lisa eventually exclaimed the outfit was perfect, not that Hermione would have changed into anything else anyway, and hugged her friend.

"Oh I'm so excited. Don't do anything I wouldn't do! Use protection." Lisa winked and Hermione groaned in annoyance.

"None of that will be happening, but yes mum." She responded, rolling her eyes.

There was a knock on the door and Lisa rushed to get it, insisting Hermione wait in her living room for a moment. Hermione frowned at this but didn't question it, moving to sit down on the sofa with Boo who mewed at her softly.

"Hermio-… Oh, Lisa. Hi," Draco murmured, rubbing his fingers against his hair ensuring it was still slicked back. He swallowed audibly and tilted his head attempting to glance into the room, "Is Hermione there?"

"Yes," Lisa responded, grinning, "Why are you so nervous? Not like this is your first date!"

Draco adjusted his collar on his shirt, making sure it was straight and then smoothed out his shirt in case of any wrinkles of which there were none, "Probably the first date that's mattered. Can I come in?"

Lisa held her hand out, halting him as he tried to move past her, "Look I just want to say that Hermione got upset at work today. We were talking about tonight and she said I reminded her of a girl called Lavender, but then when I asked about the girl she just freaked. I took her into the staff room and she fell asleep but when she woke up she couldn't remember that she had been upset. She just thought she'd dozed off. I know it's not a big deal or anything, but just thought I should let you know. I live in apartment twenty-eight B so come and get me if you need me." She then opened the door wider to let him pass and called back to Hermione letting her know she was leaving. Lisa winked at Draco and then waltzed off.

Draco swallowed again and took in a deep breath to calm himself before pushing the door open. He saw her and stopped in his tracks. She was truly a vision. How on Earth could she make such a simple outfit look elegant? How had she managed to tame that frizzy hair into a delicate up do? He found he missed its bigness when it was gone. She smiled at him and walked over, embracing him. He embraced her back as best he could whilst holding a bouquet of flowers. She giggled as he offered them to her and she wandered into the kitchen to get a vase. He followed and then she took them from him, quickly arranging them in a vase before turning back to greet him properly.

Draco closed his eyes at the feel of her lips softly pressing against his and brought his hands up to cup her cheeks. It was brief, but filled with so much excitement of what was to come. Her eyes shone up at him as she questioned what they were planning on doing. He simply smirked and laced his fingers with hers, pulling her out the door. As they walked they made light conversation about their days. Draco didn't bring up the Lavender incident deciding to save it for another day. He wasn't sure if he would ever broach the subject with Hermione now. Maybe after her memories had been restored.

"I wish I could see your constellation here," She murmured staring up at the sky. He smiled at her as they continued to walk. "So, tell me more about yourself. What were your friends like at school?"

Draco began to tell her about Pansy, Blaise, Theo, Daphne, Crabbe and Goyle. He explained how Crabbe and Goyle had been his sidekicks essentially though he had eventually come to appreciate them and everything they had done for him. He spoke of Blaise and Theo being the two people he truly saw as equal to him in all aspects. They were all relatively intelligent, attractive and from affluent backgrounds. Hermione had sniggered at this and called him a snob to which Draco replied she was probably correct. He spoke of Pansy and how she had been the first girl to make a positive impression on his life aside from his mother.

"I suppose you could say I was somewhat sexist. For a long time I saw girls as weak. I saw Pansy as weak for a long time too. I thought she was just a simpering, clingy girl who followed me around. That was how I perceived most girls really, even the ones that didn't stare after me with hearts in their eyes. But she joined the gang I was a part of too and I remember she was so scared. She was terrified for her life but at the same time she was so brave. Sometimes I don't know how she held it together but she did and she had me, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle to support her. I really began to admire her then. Volde-... Tom was terrorising her family. She knew she needed to do something to help them, so she signed herself up to join. She was essentially signing her death certificate, but she did it anyway."

Hermione nodded, deep in thought about the gang. "It sounds awfully sinister. When you first brought it up I thought you meant when teenagers mess around and terrorise people. That sort of thing."

"Oh no," Draco replied, looking down at her, "It started way back before us. Maybe even before my grandparents. Well the prejudice at least. My parents were involved in it when they were young, my father especially. Theo's father was a huge part of it too. That's why we joined. We had no choice. It was exciting when we were younger. To think one day we'd be a part of an elite group that was better than everyone else but when it actually happened…"

Draco suddenly went silent, his face pained. His silver eyes had glazed over and he had stopped walking. Hermione squeezed his hand in an attempt to comfort him but he didn't register it. She pulled her hand from his and wrapped her arms around his torso, snuggling into his chest.

"You said Pansy was one of the first girls you viewed as equal," She started, gazing up at him, "Was there a time before that? Maybe a time when you realised girls were just as strong and brave as boys?"

Draco's lip quirked upwards and he glanced down at her, "Yes actually. In my third year of school a girl punched me in the face. It was brilliant, looking back on it. She was infuriating. She thought she was better than everyone else."

"And was she?" Hermione whispered, wondering why that scene stirred something within her mind.

"Yes. She was."

Eventually the two stopped walking and Draco turned to Hermione, a secret smirk playing on his lips. She took in her surroundings, something she hadn't been paying much attention to due to being caught up in Draco's stories about his life. They were in a park near where she worked. A picnic blanket had been laid out underneath a willow tree next to a small lake that was home to a few ducks. She smiled at the scene and glanced up at Draco who was watching her expression. His face lit up too as she pushed herself forwards in excitement, pulling Draco with her.

When they reached the tree she parted the branches slipping through and into the center. Hermione sat down on the blanket and opened the picnic basket, chuckling at the snacks he had brought with him. "Wine and ice cream? Is that really it? Draco, as sweet as it is that is a rubbish picnic," She laughed, grinning up at him. He grinned back at her, folding his legs carefully underneath him, pulling out the flavours he had chosen. "Does wine even go nicely with ice cream?"

"Now if I remember correctly the lady had chocolate and mint," He said, pushing a tub and a spoon towards her, "And I had apple." She smiled at him, flipping open the lid and digging in happily. Draco observed her for a bit, glad she was enjoying his surprise and then tucked into his own, sighing at the refreshing taste it left on his tongue. "And wine goes with everything, little lion."

They sat in silence for some time, simply enjoying each other's company before a wicked thought overcame Hermione. She scooted a little closer to Draco so that their legs were touching and leaned in towards him whilst spooning some chocolate from its container. He, none the wiser, leaned in also, his eyes closing, lips puckering.

Hermione took her chance and splattered her ice cream all over his face. His eyes widened in disbelief and then a slow, predatory smile stretched across his mouth. She was too busy laughing at him to realise his next move and only attempted to get away before it was too late. He enclosed his arms around her and leaned in again, showering her face and neck with kisses, covering those parts of her body with chocolate, mint and apple in the process. Hermione's laughter became more hysterical as the cold treat hit her sensitive flesh and caused goose bumps to break out all over her body. She desperately pushed at him, attempting to stop him but Draco powered on, his strength over taking hers and pushing her on to her back. He was leaning over her now panting, as was she. She smiled goofily up at him, her cheeks and mouth covered the worst in chocolate. His eyes slipped, following one trail of ice cream as it slipped down her neck and underneath her white top which was also now partially ruined. His fingers followed it, stopping at the neckline of her shirt. He glanced up at her to see her laughter had completely subsided. Instead she was gazing up at him, eyes half lidded with want. Her arms wrapped around his neck and she pulled him down to her. Their lips clashed furiously and his tongue immediately swiped against her mouth and then darted out to meet her tongue when her lips parted.

While the taste of chocolate, mint and apple didn't exactly go together, Draco and Hermione both decided there and then that it was the best flavour in the entire world. Draco's lips stayed moving against Hermione's for as long as possible until she realised she had forgotten to breathe. As she came up for air Draco's mouth moved down her neck his fingers moved to her ribcage where they quickly slipped under her top. Hermione stopped breathing in shock and Draco pulled away suddenly, attempting to catch his breath.

"Sorry," He murmured, "That was improper of me." Hermione was still lying back on the blanket staring up at the leaves above her feeling empty, her body was still humming with anticipation of what could have been. She smiled and hummed in contentment. Draco turned to look at her and grinned too. She looked beautiful. Her hair was wildly poking from her bun, her lips red from his kisses and the evidence of chocolate, mint and apple around both of their faces gave an obvious clue to what they had done.

"Merlin," She uttered, "That was amazing."

"Wait until I show you how amazing more can be," Draco whispered back, crawling over her once more, softly kissing her lips and biting the lower one gently. She groaned into his mouth and his eyes rolled back into his head. He hoped that he would never forget that sound.

He rolled off her but stayed lying next to her, reaching out to hold her hand as they both tried to catch their breaths. "I'm glad you came to Australia, Draco." Hermione whispered.

He glanced over at her, making sure the memory of her like this would be imprinted into his mind forever. A slight dusting of red was blossoming on her cheeks. He reached his other arm out to grab the wine he had placed beside him earlier and sat up, pulling Hermione up with him.

"Do you want to come back to mine?" He asked, "We can crack this open," He held up his hand that was clutching the bottle of wine. Hermione became conflicted and she was sure her facial expressions weren't doing a good job of hiding it. If she said yes it didn't mean they would have sex she told herself. Draco had been the perfect gentleman. He seemed to notice her internal struggle and pushed his lips against her forehead before saying, "I promise we'll just talk, or sleep. We won't do anything you're not comfortable with, okay?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment and then nodded. He grinned at her and she couldn't help but grin back, excited for where the night would lead now.

"Make yourself at home," Draco murmured as he shut the door behind them.

Hermione's stomach was a tight ball of nerves as she shifted around uneasily from one foot to the other. Draco sauntered into the room and placed the bottle of wine on the coffee table. He then moved into the kitchen area, grabbing two glasses out of a cupboard before placing them on the table too. He uncorked the bottle and poured a generous amount into each glass. Draco glanced up to see Hermione still stood by the door and smiled at her, patting the seat next to him on the sofa. She gave herself a small encouraging pep talk and slowly walked over to the sofa.

She was half way there when her mind decided on a different course of action, "I'm going to head to the bathroom actually. Clean this chocolate off my face. I don't have anything to change into."

Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked, "So you are staying the night?" She flushed and nodded quickly before she could change her mind, "Let me get you something to wear."

He stalked off into his bedroom, thankful that he had brought one of his Quidditch jersey's with him to Australia. There was no way he was missing out on an opportunity to see her in it. There was something very medieval and primal about enjoying the idea of seeing her in his shirt with his name on it, but Draco couldn't deny how sexy it would be. He passed her the shirt and a pair of boxers and showed her to the bathroom. She thanked him and then walked in, locking the door behind her.

Draco chuckled to himself and moved back towards the sofa. He heard the shower running and groaned. Knowing she would be wearing his shirt was one thing, but knowing she was now naked in his bathroom? That was torture.

"Malfoy."

Draco rose from his chair and pulled his wand out from his sleeve of his shirt, pointing it towards the front door of his room. He resisted the urge to call out, instead waiting for whomever it was the show themselves. His mind was on alert as he ran over all the people in his mind who had a grudge against him and knew he was here. Draco narrowed the list down quickly but didn't even have time to guess at who it was as he heard the sound of fabric rustling and then falling to the floor.

In front of him stood Harry Potter, clutching his invisibility cloak, and he looked furious.