A/N: Hiya! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and especially for your well wishes for my family. It meant so much to me.

Life has really been a roller coaster over the past few months but I am definitely going to keep writing.

Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 19

Wednesday, June 2nd 2004

Apartment of Draco Malfoy

He hadn't gone into work today. For some stupidly inexplicable reason, he had actually been nervous about seeing Hermione. Sure, he had made the decision to prove to Hermione that he was a changed man, but that didn't mean he had to actually speak to her…right? Bouquets of flowers were a perfectly acceptable means of apology, weren't they?

Draco hung his head in shame. Merlin, he was pathetic. Flowers were most definitely not enough – at least, not for what he was trying to apologise for.

Blaise had been full of wonderful, and sometimes weird, ideas of how to 'prove his unending love' for the girl. He wasn't really able to tell the man that he didn't love the woman and if he were being honest, some of the ideas were rather ridiculous.

With a huff of defeat, he went into the kitchen. He hadn't really eaten much all day and he was bloody starved. With a few flicks of his wand, the pots were heating up and knives chopping away.

"Been hiding, I see?" Draco almost winced at the now familiar voice. It wasn't really question but a statement.

He spun around to face Hermione. Oh wow, she was beautiful in such a down-to-earth way. She had obviously gone home to change before dropping by unexpectedly. Her sleeveless floral blouse was tucked into a pair of denim shorts, the top few buttons undone to reveal just a hint of her décolletage. Even women as 'stunning' as Pansy and the women he had been with in the past couldn't look half as…simply beautiful as she did in that moment.

His mouth felt dry as he cleared his throat. "I wasn't hiding." He retorted, quite absurdly. He wasn't exactly fooling anyone.

"Mhmm." She sauntered forward, resting her hip against the kitchen benchtop. "Are you going to explain what exactly you're sorry for?"

"Huh?"

"The notes with the flowers. What are you sorry for?"

"Wh- are you kidding?" The oil from the saucepan began spitting as it heated up.

Hermione;s eyebrows furrowed. "No?" She almost asked. "I have no idea what you're apologising for."

"No idea?! Oh I don't know – our entire childhood?"

"Huh?"

How on earth was this woman the smartest witch of their generation?! "You know, the part where I tortured and tormented you for years, the part where my aunty quite literally tortured you, the part where I stood there and did nothing while she did, the part where I acted like a complete bloody prick!"

She crossed her arms over her chest, almost angrily. "Firstly, you are in no way to blame for what Bellatrix did. Like I've already told you – she was a completely psychotic bitch. As in, I'm quite certain there was something psychiatrically wrong with her. And we both know that if you had even tried to do anything, you would have ended up dead…or at least in the same situation as me." She paused for a moment. "If anything, you…you helped me."

"Huh?" He looked truly dumbfounded.

"You told your family that you didn't recognise us. If it weren't for that, I'm sure she would have killed us on the spot. And as for all the rest…yes, you were an arse. Actually, you were more than an arse – you were merciless and yes, I hated you for a very long time."

Draco almost wanted to roll his eyes. She was essentially twisting the proverbial knife in his heart. "That's exactly what I'm saying!"

She threw him a warning glare for interrupting her. "But that was all a long time ago. And since then, you have shown time and time again that you're not the same imbecile. I mean…you still are a bit of an imbecile," A smile graced her delicate features. "But not in the same way."

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped from his lips

"All anyone has to do is look at the strides you've made for the Wizarding world, the donations you've made to charities, the way you work so hard to make things better. I mean, you even helped a Weasley with his career."

He looked thoughtful for a moment before a frown took over. "But I haven't made it up…to you."

"Draco! I don't need you to make it up to me." The frown didn't move from his face as he poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip. "If anything, you've done a damn good job making it up to me in bed."

Hermione giggled as he choked on his drink. "Excuse me?"

"Relax. I'm joking…well at least partly joking." She smiled at the pleased grin that spread across his face. "But I, in no way, expect you to make anything up to me."

He sighed as he leaned against the counter behind him. "But your pa-…I made you cry…to the point that your parents think I'm the devil incarnate."

"Yeah you made me cry…you're not the only person who has done that. But I learnt the importance of forgiving and forgetting a long time ago. And as for my parents, they haven't had a chance to see that you're simply not that stupid prejudiced boy anymore."

He opened his mouth to retort but she hushed him with a stern stare.

"Now I've had enough of this. Are you going to feed me or what?"

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Wednesday, June 2nd 2004

Apartment of Draco Malfoy

They were lounging on the couch, her legs dangling over the side as she leaned her body against him. She could almost hear his thoughts bouncing around his head. Sweet Merlin, he just couldn't get over it.

To be fair to him, she could understand why he was so caught up with what her parents had revealed but at the same time was a little surprised. Even though she knew he wasn't the same guy anymore, it was almost surreal to actually see it in action.

She let out a loud sigh. She didn't know what else she could really do to ease his mind, to reassure him that she truly didn't hold onto any of the past. If there was one thing the war had taught her, it was the value and sheer importance of letting the past go. The past has a great ability to destroy anyone's soul.

Hermione swung her legs back around the couch, curling her legs up to snuggle up against him. He gave her a slight smile, his eyes giving away his obvious unease.

She saw the flash of surprise flit across his face as she gently pressed her lips against his neck with a slight smile. Draco quickly turned his face to her, met by a seductive sly smile playing on her lips. His breath hitched a little as she slowly leant forward and pressed her lips against his.

In the past month that they had been doing whatever this way, it had always been him to initiate anything – to instigate any bit of physical contact, from holding her hand in public to having sex. The mere fact that it was her kissing him, and not the other way around, made a certain part of his body jump with arousal.

She whispered gentle kisses along his jaw line, stopping to nibble lightly on his earlobe for a second, before turning back to his lips. He looked like a child who had just hit the candy jackpot, leaning back for a second to drop his glass on the side table like a hot potato, before lurching forward and capturing her lips with his. His hands were instantly cupping her cheeks, the tips of his fingers entwined in her curls.

His abdominal muscles spasmed as her hand slipped under his shirt, her fingers ghosting across his skin. She shifted herself so that she was straddling his lap, her lips never losing contact with his. Her tongue ran along his lip, eliciting an aroused growl from him. One of his hands slowly crawled from her hair to grasp her bum, his fingers groping at her flesh.

"Wh-oa!" They jumped apart for a second to see Blaise's grinning face. "Well it's certainly getting a little heated in here."

"Zabini, you have 5 seconds to get the fuck out of here." Draco growled, his voice husky with arousal.

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Monday, June 7th 2004

Department of Public Relations, Ministry of Magic

Phineas smiled as he deeply inhaled, enjoying the smoky aroma wafting from his steaming mug of coffee. He had been in a particularly foul mood after seeing the bloody floral emporium that had once been Hermione Granger's office the week before. Just remembering that moment itself was enough to dampen his mood before he took another deep breath of the dark brew.

He leaned back in his chair, a frown blooming across his face. He just did not understand what the bloody hell was going on!

He had spent the last 5 blasted years dealing with continuous bickering and name-calling between that snooty too-good suck-up, Granger and that pretentious entitled brat, Malfoy. He had to admit that it had eased a little over the past year or two once the pair had gotten sick of the constant arguing but he had always assumed that they hated each other enough and has far too little in common to make this entire farce seem plausible.

And yet here they were. They were flouncing all around town, pictures of them making bloody kissy-faces at each other on the cover of a number of gossip columns, making the public actually believe that they were in a true relationship.

He had spent all weekend trying to figure out a way to sabotage them in a perfectly reasonable way. He had already tried giving false information to the press, making 'intoxicated confessions' about the cracks in their relationship. He had even tried bribing both men and women into seducing one of the pair to no avail.

Phineas huffed with displeasure as he glanced down at his now empty coffee mug. He needed more and there was nothing like a properly and freshly brewed pot of his liquid crack. His wife had always nagged him that he had an inappropriately high daily caffeine intake but he was more than willing to ignore her advice on this particularly topic.

He grumbled incoherently as he made his way to the tea room, freezing as something caught his eye.

The door to Draco Malfoy's office was slightly ajar, enough so that he could see to the man's workspace. Granger was leaning against the desk, a coy smile gracing her lips as her hands fiddled with his necktie. The lithe blonde leaned forward and wrapped his arms around the woman as he kissed her.

In private!

There were no cameras around. There weren't in public – there wasn't an audience of people ogling at them. They weren't putting on a show for anyone.

Phineas' felt nauseated, his mouth dry, as he stared at the spectacle in front of him. This was not right. It was not okay in any way, shape or form. He could just kill someone! This just would not do!

The heavy man stomped his way back to his office, a deep scowl etched onto his face. He was going to bring an end to this whole Malfoy-Granger lovefest in any way possible. 'No more Mr. Nice Guy', he thought to himself.

Nothing was out of bounds anymore.

A crafty little smile crept onto his face as an idea popped into his head.

Ah yes, this was going to be perfect.

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Weasley Out and On The Prowl

Friday, June 11th 2004

My sweets – can you believe it?! Ronald Weasley, known for his status as a war hero and the Wizarding World's latest train-wreck, was released from the cell that he has called home since his famed outburst and physical altercation with our couple du jour, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.

If you recall, Weasley was arrested after assaulting both Malfoy and Granger at The Three Broomsticks. Sources tell me that the man saw green after witnessing our darling couple canoodling in a corner booth. As you will surely recall, the blonde bombshell, also known as Draco Malfoy, refused to lower himself to the level of the crazed redhead and raise a hand against him.

Last we had heard, the Weasley family was refusing to provide the money required for bail, instead deciding that the jealous hothead would most certainly benefit from a little time out. If you ask for my opinion my darlings, he is far from kosher after having punched Granger in the face. Well known for his short temper and knack for jealousy, I'm certain that Weasley is quite unlikely to turn a new leaf after such a brief stint behind bars.

Sources tell me that the Weasley family are just as surprised as we are that Weasley has been release, indicating that they are not the ones who bailed him out!

All I can say is that our sweet couple may need to watch their backs. Their relationship truly seems to be blossoming and I can only speak for myself when I say that their romance is undeniably thrilling. I cannot wait to see what comes of these two and certainly hope that Weasley's release doesn't get in their way.

With any luck this will be the last time we hear from Ronald Weasley for a while, but I highly doubt it.

Until next time, my darlings!

Parvati Patel

A/N: Please read and review! Love you!