CHAPTER 13

A/N: The beginning of this fic focused mainly on Hermione and Draco as individuals. The rest of it will focus on Hermione and Draco's interactions together. Thank you to all my lovely reviewer and to all those who follow this story! It makes it all worth it to know there are people who are enjoying reading. the dragon and the rose: hopefully this first interaction between the two of them lives up to your expectations. Patty cake rocks: two years is quite a bit of time. It was fun to imagine what they would be like after that. PeevsyPadfoot: sorry for the cliff hanger! Hope this chapter satisfies your need :) XxMoonlitShadowxX: thank you! You are so encouraging! Shreeparna: hope you enjoy this chapter too! Now on with the chapter!

Draco had agreed to have a nice dinner with his mother. The staring was still infuriating, but he found it was better when he wasn't out alone. His mother had hounded him to take her out to her favorite restaurant that she had not been able to eat at for a long time. He had finally agreed because he knew it would make her really happy. He had expected and anticipated the stares and the whispered. What he had not expected was to run into Harry Potter on a date. As he followed the Hostess to their seats, he looked up only to lock eyes with Potter.

"Malfoy, we have to stop meeting like this," Potter said dryly.

He smirked at the other wizard, but was surprised when the witch he was with whipped around and it was Hermione Granger. His smirk fell from his face as he looked at her for the first time in what Draco realized was years.

She had grown up. No longer an awkward looking child, she was a beautiful woman. Draco swallowed deeply.

"Granger?" he didn't mean for it to come out a question, but it did.

"Malfoy?" she asked back.

Draco made a quick decision. "Listen, I am going to accompany my mother to her seat, can I then have a private word with you?"

Hermione bit her lip and looked over at Harry. Draco tried not to roll his eyes. Did she need to ask permission? Harry just shrugged his shoulders.

"I—I don't see why not," she answered quietly.

Draco nodded his head quickly and turned, motioning for the hostess to take them to their seats.

Back at Harry and Hermione's table, Hermione was whipping her eyes away from Draco's back and toward Harry.

"What the bloody hell?"

Harry wasn't sure how to respond to her. She wasn't usually one to use strong language, but he felt it was valid in this situation.

"I completely forgot to tell you! What with the wedding and everything. I have just been so busy, and you were in Romania when it happened." Harry started.

"When what happened?" Hermione interrupted him.

"That's what I am trying to tell you," Harry grumbled. They were speaking in low tones, not wanting to be over heard by their fellow patrons. "I ran into him at Gringotts weeks ago. When you were in Romania. He—well he thanked me. Don't look at me like that. I'm not pulling your leg! It was the strangest experience of my life. He just started talking, and it was like I was talking to a different person. Like he had emotions and stuff. It was…strange. Well I guess you are about to understand what I mean. Here he comes."

Hermione turned around slowly to see, sure enough, Draco Malfoy was striding towards her. He was wearing a look that she found utterly unreadable. She could not ever remember seeing so much emotion on his face before. She had only ever seen hate, loathing, and fear on his face in the past. She knew he had an amazing mask, and she wondered what had happened to it.

"Granger?" He asked the silent question, motioning with his hand back toward the entrance of the restaurant. Hermione once again looked back at Harry, he nodded and she shrugged. Hauling herself up from her seat, she followed his slowly retreating back. Ahead of her Draco was having strange thoughts. Was Granger seeing Harry? Romantically? He had always thought that Hermione was partial to the red head, Weasley. How strange then that she was having dinner with Potter, and at such a nice place too. Did it really matter if she was seeing Potter? He knew it shouldn't, but for some unknown reason, it made him upset. He knew, he just knew that he should not be feeling anything toward Hermione Granger, but the sight of her sitting with him, laughing with him, it made him feel upset.

He held the door open for her, waiting for her to pass before letting it close. The two of them stood on the street corner outside the restaurant. Draco wasn't sure where to start. He had played a moment like this over and over in his head, but he had not been at all prepared to run into her tonight. He needed a second to gather his thoughts. It seemed that Hermione was not going to give him that second, she must be nervous.

"So…I guess your two years went well then."

Draco turned to face her. "I wouldn't say they were a walk in the park, but I'm not rotting in Azkaban." He immediately cringed at his tone. He had sneered it at her just as he had always done back in Hogwarts, and he regretted it immediately. Here he was trying to apologize and thank her, and now he was having a throwback to their school days.

"Well, I see that nothing has changed," Hermione mumbled, she was turning to march back into the restaurant. There was no way that she was going to stand there and take his snarky attitude.

"Wait!" Draco grabbed her arm, trying to pull her back around to him.

She turned with the tug, and looked down at the hand on her arm. She looked astonished that he was touching her. Willingly. He immediately regretted everything that he had ever said or done to her. That she would be that surprised that he touched her in a way that was not hurtful. He felt awful.

"Granger. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to snap at you. I guess—I guess, I'm just having a hard time adjusting to the fact that we aren't in school any longer. That I'm not the same person I was back then," Draco tried to explain to her. He watched as she looked back down to the hand that was still holding her arm. He dropped it quickly and tried to give her a reassuring smile. It came out as more of grimace.

"You are?" She asked suddenly.

"I am what?" He was puzzled by her sudden question.

"You are a different person from the git I used to know?"

Draco was able to crack a real smile at that. Hermione was taken aback by the bright smile that lit his features. She was absolutely sure she had never ever seen him smile like that before. Sneer, yes. Snarl, yes. Smirk, yes. Smile, no. It was….it was…it was kind of beautiful. Hermione pushed that thought away.

"I like to think that I am a still changing person, but, hopefully, a much better person than I was back then. Really, that's why I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologize for all of the things I have ever done to you. You didn't deserve to be treated the way that I treated you. You're a person just like everyone else. Just like—just like me."

Hermione was dumbfounded. Was he apologizing for something? Willingly? Who was he?

"Oh—um—I see"

"You don't have to forgive me. I know, I don't deserve forgiveness. I just needed to let you know—that I'm sorry. I also needed to thank you. Wanted to thank you, is more like. I am so grateful for what you did for me. What you did at my trial. If you and Harry hadn't—well I wouldn't be here now."

Hermione's head was spinning. This handsome man in front of her, who had tormented her all through her school years, was standing in front of her apologizing and thanking her. She had never heard Draco Malfoy do either. Not in all the years she had known him. At least not when he meant it, and never to her. Maybe he had changed. Not just physically, but emotionally too? Had he finally grown up?

"Well, you are Welcome," Hermione said. She felt the statement sound unconvincing and unsure, but she couldn't manage any better. She was confused and that was a feeing Hermione didn't like.

Draco could see how uncomfortable she was with the prospect of having a civil conversation with him. He was nervous too, but he felt it was time to apologize for all the nasty things he had done to her. He struggled to find a way to make her more at ease, but realized there was not a good way to do so. Instead, he extended a hand to her.

"It was good to see you, Granger. I really must be returning to dinner with my mother. I hope to see you around."

Hermione stared at his hand, just as she had done when it was on her arm. He was just about to withdraw it and turn back to the restaurant when her hand shot out and grasped his. Her skin was soft and her hand was warm. He gently squeezed it and had a sudden urge to keep holding it longer than was proper. Her eyes were still staring at their joined hands, and he would have loved to be able to hear her thoughts. Gently, he extracted his hand from hers and pushed the door back open to the restaurant. He lead her back to the table she was sharing with Harry, nodded at him, and headed back to his dinner with his mother.

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"That was Hermione Granger, correct?"

Draco sighed at the question. He had barely seated himself back at the table before his mother started asking questions.

"Yes, mother."

"Well, she is quite the pretty thing."

Narcissa had a strange look on her face, and he realized that she was plotting something in her head. He had absolutely no idea what kind of scheme she could be formulating that had to do with Hermione Granger. He tried not to think about it.

"Do you know her well? I know you went to school with her, but I was unaware you and she were friends."

Draco was well aware that his mother knew they went to school together. He had mentioned her countless times on summer vacation, and his father had always brought her up when he felt his son was not performing as well as he should at school. Hermione had always gotten better marks than he, and his father had made sure to point this out on many occasions.

"I know her as well as a Slytherin can know a Gryffindor. We didn't mix much in a friendly way, and I would most definitely not classify us as friends in any sense of the world. Let us order dinner now," Draco tried to sidetrack the conversation when their waiter approached the table. It appeared that his mother was ready to drop the subject. For now.

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"Are we sure that was, Malfoy?" Hermione whispered to Harry.

"I guess, we can't be one hundred percent, but I am fairly certain. Strange isn't it? To see him and not have insults be thrown your way." Harry asked.

"Yes it was…disconcerting. He—he shook my hand. He actually touched me! And he didn't flinch or sneer."

Harry looked a little surprised by this. His eyebrows shot up and he took a quick look over at Draco and his mother, who were seated on the other end of the restaurant. "He didn't shake my hand."

"Well, he shook mine. He touched my arm, too."

"He did?"

Hermione just nodded her head, and stared at Harry. She was lost and confused about the whole interaction. She hated feeling as if she was not in control, and she did not feel like she was in control right now. She would have expected insults and derogatory names to be thrown at her. She had expected him to be mad at her for helping him out at his trial. Instead, he had thanked her! Sincerely!

The two friends lapsed into silence, each into their own thoughts. When they finished their food, Harry offered to escort Hermione home, but she insisted he hurry home to his new wife. She asked him to bring Ginny to their dinner outing next week, and Harry agreed. The two said their good byes and headed their separate ways. Neither one noticed the intense stare they were getting, each from a different Malfoy, and each for completely different reasons.

A/N: Soooo….what did you all think of their first meeting? I hope it wasn't too off putting. I promise they will be more accepting later on, but I felt it would be strange if Hermione felt comfortable around Draco right away!