Hermione wakes in a particularly good mood a week after Harry's visit and rolls out of bed to write a quick letter to the minister, grinning widely. It was no more than an hour later that a response comes while she is sipping coffee in the kitchen. After quickly scanning the letter and giving her owl a treat, she runs to the stairs. 

She shouts, "Malfoy, come here!" 

Draco bounds down the steps, expression pinched. "Do you have a fixation with waking me up early? I would like just one day to sleep in, this is a punishment, not torture." He yawns and idly scratches his chest. 

"I've got a surprise for you, though," she says. 

Draco's eyes light up with curiosity. "Really, now? For me?"

Hermione nods. "I asked the minister if we could go to London for the day, given that you've been well-behaved and improving well over the past week." His jaw drops in shock and he's left just staring at her. "He permitted it as well! As long as we stay out of any magical shops, then we can have the entire day to explore the town." 

He grins, looking genuinely pleased, and Hermione knows she made the right choice with this idea. "I'm finally getting out of this damned house for something other than the library!" Hermione chuckles, rolling her eyes, but otherwise doesn't comment. "When are we leaving?" He's already heading upstairs to get ready. 

"As soon as you finish, so hurry up," she says, going to the small closet by the front door and grabbing their coats. It's only a total of five minutes before they are apparating London. 

They've barely landed before Draco is taking off in the direction of his favorite shop, knowing that she would like it as well. He laughs when he notices that she couldn't match his longer strides and keep up. "Come on, Granger, you'll have to go faster than that!" 

Hermione huffs, jogging a little to catch up and snatch the collar of his jacket, giving it a sharp tug to force him to slow down. "You have to go slower, Malfoy." He snorts but doesn't try to walk ahead of her again. The pair is silent until they reach the shop that Draco had been leading them towards. "A muggle bookstore? This is your favorite place?" 

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it is," he snarks. Upon seeing the grin that was slowly appearing, he adds, "Now don't go all smug on me. I never said that I was completely clueless when it came to muggles." Draco speaks a little too loudly though, and the man at the front counter gives them a strange look. 

"Malfoy, be careful with your words," she whispers to Draco. To the shop owner, she offers an apologetic smile and says, "don't mind my brother, he sometimes can't differentiate between fantasy and reality." The man seems to accept this and returns to reading the book in his hands. 

Draco shoots Hermione a dark glare. "You made me sound like I'm mad," her grumbles. "I still have a reputation, that I'd like to keep intact, mind you, and here you are tearing it to shreds." Hermione scoffs and shoves him farther into the shop.

"Just go look around. If you need me, I'll be over there," she says, pointing to a small nook to their right. He nods and disappears into the maze of bookshelves. Hermione watches him for a moment before grabbing a book and settling down in the nook to read.

 Time slips away as she immerses herself in the written words and her worries follow soon after. It's a good deal time later that she breaks away from the pages, realizing quite suddenly that she hadn't seen Malfoy for some time.

Bursting to her feet, the book forgotten, she rushes to the front counter. "Excuse me, sir," she pants. "Have you seen the man I came in with leaving?" 

He shrugs, scratching his chin. "Sorry Miss, I haven't been watching who comes and goes." Hermione groans and runs deeper into the store, hoping he was still here. He was doing so well with her, learning his lessons just like he should. If he has run, the Wizengamot will toss him into Azkaban.

She calls, "Malfoy, are you here?" There was no response. "Malfoy, come here!" A helpless feeling twists in her chest after nearly five minutes have passed without seeing him. She rounds another corner, heart in her throat, and tries calling him again. "I swear on everything, I will end your existence," she hisses. Still nothing. 

Hermione jogs up to the second floor of the and resumes scouring the area for him. She absently notes that no one else was in the shop to see her ridiculous display of behavior. Not that she would have cared either way, too focused on her search. 

Desperate, Hermione yells, "Draco, get your bloody arse right here, right now!" It's hardly a moment later that a warm hand lands on her shoulder. She spins around with a sharp shriek, nearly tripping over her feet in the process. 

"Granger, what are you doing?" Draco's brow was furrowed, his lips turned up in a confused smile, but there was a flicker of concern in his stony eyes. 

"Oh thank Merlin," she gasps, unthinkingly throwing her arms around him in relief. "I thought for sure you had left. They would have tossed you in Azkaban for sure. " His hands settled on her waist, light and easy enough to pull away from. 

"You can let go now," he says quietly. Hermione's arms drop like she'd touched fire as she mumbles an apology. "It's alright," he replies, but his mind was elsewhere. Draco was warm everywhere she had touched, and now that she was gone, the cold was seeping back in. 

"Draco!" 

He's startled back into the present, blinking a bit dazedly at Hermione. Once he's focused, he sees her cheeks are flushed and her hands are on her hips. 

"I've said your name five times. Where did you go in that head of yours?" The tips of his ears turn pink as he shakes his head. 

"Sorry, I blanked out for a while," he lies smoothly. 

Hermione eyes him closely and Draco prays she won't notice the blush creeping down his neck, then she sighs. "Did you not find anything you wanted?" 

He shakes his head. "I've read most of the books here that I find interesting. Did you find anything?" 

"No, I own far too many as it is anyways," she admits with a sheepish smile. Draco arches a brow as they start back down to the front door. She notices after a moment, shooting him a side-eyed glare. "What is it?" 

"I haven't seen any books in the house. How can you own the, yet have them no where in your home?" Something flashes in her eyes, there in a moment and gone the next, and then she is smirking mischievously. 

"Wouldn't you like to know?" He frowns, sure that for a second he had seen hurt in her warm brown eyes, but doesn't press the subject. "How about we go for a meal? I know this amazing little Italian restaurant not far from here," Hermione says. When he doesn't object, she jumps excitedly and walks faster through the winding streets. 

"Hello! What would you two like to eat this evening?" The pair had only just been seated at the restaurant when the waiter came up, notepad in hand. Draco glances up from his menu to see the man smiling at Hermione, eyes focused solely on her. 

In a flash of rage, Draco clears his throat and snaps, "I'll have the tortelloni alla zucca." Hermione looks to him, eyes wide and startled before settling into narrowed slits, a silent warning. Then her gaze returns to the waiter with a smile that made his blood boil. 

"I'm sorry for him," she says, cheeks reddening. "And I'll have the asparagi bianchi e verdi, both to go please." 

The waiter jots down their choices and nods. "I'll return with your meals shortly. A beautiful woman such as yourself should never have to wait." Draco bites his tongue and turns his nose up at the scene before him. It was only when the waiter leaned down to press a kiss to Hermione's cheek that he cracked. His hand snapped out and wrapped around the waiter's wrist, tugging him back from Hermione. 

"She is here with me, and I would appreciate if you wouldn't act like I'm not here," Draco growls, shoving him away. The man stumbles before another employee steadies him. 

The waiter looked stunned, gaping at Draco. "I am so sorry sir, I didn't think you two were together. You don't act like a couple," he hurriedly explains, ignoring his co-workers concern. 

"Together with her?" Draco barked a laugh. "Not in a million years would I go out with that. The words tumbled out before he could stop them, and Draco's gaze shot to Hermione. A darkness has settled over her usually bright face that makes his gut twist uncomfortably. 

"You can't even call her by her name?" The waiter scowls down at him. "Do you think you're superior to her in some way? You aren't, you annoying prick. You should be thankful she even allows you in her presence. A woman with her class and kindness deserves respect, and a man far better than yourself," he growls. The waiter looks fully prepared to go on berating Draco, maybe even attack him, but Hermione puts an end to it before he does either.

"Please, Jeremy, that's enough," she commands. "I'm used to this sort of behavior and I'm more than capable of handling it myself. But thank you for standing up for me, cousin." Jeremy and Hermione watch in glee as Draco's brow furrows then his expression goes blank, clearly have realized his mistake. With a quiet chuckle, Hermione turns back to her cousin and beckons him down so she could whisper in his ear. "I'll deal with him later, but don't think that I didn't realize you only kissed my cheek to get a rise out of him." 

Jeremy gasps, feigning hurt, and exclaims, "you think I would stoop so low?" Hermione snorts with laughter as Jeremy turns a thundering expression on Draco. "And you, boy, you better treat my little cousin kindly, understood?" Draco nods, careful to keep from letting his embarrassment show. "Good, I'll be right back then. Don't kill each other while I'm away." He's gone quickly, running into the back area where the kitchen was. 

"Just so you know," Hermione says conversationally, tapping her fingers against the table. "I plan to properly yell at you when we get home." He swallows, having known that was inevitable.

"I expected nothing else."

"The way you acted makes me seriously doubt that I'll be as willing to take you out next time," she adds after a while. He looks up from the table, taking a startled breath. 

"So there will be a next time?" He tries to keep from sounding too invested, but he's pretty sure he fails miserably. 

She sighs, meeting his steely grey eyes. "We'll see," she says, and kindly pretends not to notice when his face lights up like a child's on christmas.