That day (Mid-October)

Hermione's POV

I know it sound incredibly bewildering, but never in my wildest dreams, did I actually expect Malfoy to offer or should I say, ask me to come along with him to Hogsmeade.

When he first did asked me, I hesitated and had this strong urge of rejecting him. After all, who would want to go out with a idiotic git that happened to be an ex-Death Eater. However, strangely, there was a voice of reason that supposedly made me accept his offer. I mean, he did indeed apologise for his horrid actions so I suppose I could give him a chance.

I would have to be polite to him anyways. So, I listened to that voice of reason in my mind and joyfully accepted it. Hopefully, he would indeed take this generous deal of a second chance seriously.

 As I shot a glance at him as we parted our ways to our own bedrooms, I could make out from the look of his face that he was hilariously smiling to himself, so he was probably feeling exhilarated. For a moment or so, I may have grinned at his expression as I thought again about it as I dressed up.

Once I was dressed, I did put on a little makeup. After I was done, I exited my bedroom, only to meet his intense gaze. He opened his mouth to say something but no words left his lips. I was utterly flabbergasted.

Draco Malfoy was.....speechless? 

I could not help but laugh to myself upon the fleeting thought. Nevertheless, I shrugged that particular thought off my mind and questioned him curiously if we could leave. I let a small smile creep up my face and I may have blushed. Fortunately, he did not regard it and soon after, we left.

Anyways, now that we both were at Hogsmeade, we first entered Honeydukes. As we steeped into the enchanting sweet shop, I looked around to see lots of mouth-watering sweets and desserts. It was my first time visiting the shop after the gruesome war. Thinking about the war, a cold shiver ran down my spine.

 It was horrifyingly torturous and haunting. I really needed to calm down. I might have a anxiety attack any moment. I tried breathing in and out, but still it remained indifferent.

My heart was palpitating and I broke out in cold sweat. To my utter astoundment, Malfoy broke the silence abruptly upon seeing my face and questioned softly in what seemed like a panicked voice " Granger, are you ok?" Upon realizing, he blurted out " What are three things you can see, hear and touch?"

I immediately snapped back to reality and muttered " Some sweets, your voice and-" I finally realised and was relieved. I then blurted out " Oh thank you, I never knew that you know about my frequent anxiety attacks." 

I stared at him intently, thankful for his gesture of aid. I never imagined that someone who would willingly torture me, who actually have a heart to help me.

After that incident, he insisted that we return back so that I could rest, however I did not oblige and told him off, saying that I needed at least 12 books for light reading. There was no way I was going to rest. Absolutely not.

Surprisingly, just when I expected him to be infuriated with me, he grabbed my wrist and actually brought me to Tomes and Scrolls. Something I never expected someone like him to do.

My jaw actually dropped for a moment when he mumbled "Go on, get all those books you need. After all, if you really don't have the heart to return to your own dorm, I suppose we could spend some more time here..."

I was utterly stupefied by his words but regained my composure quickly and went to the Fiction Books section where I found a book about two sworn rivals that were forced to be together and worked together. Eventually, they fell in love and got married. 

Bollocks. I scoffed to myself and gave the book to Malfoy, who willingly helped carry my books as I crossed the library in a couple of strides, with my collection of new books that I found increasing in number, and of course, they were all being carried by Malfoy.

Once we were finished, we finally left Tomes and Scrolls. I glanced at my watch and saw the hour hand tick to 7 in the evening.

Oh Merlin, we were incredibly late and I immediately tapped on Malfoy's shoulder and showed him the time, signalling that it was time for us to leave. Seeing this, he understood and nodded.

Without a word, we both went back and soon after a few hours of chatting merrily with Gin and being lectured sternly by Professor McGonagall for our duties, I finally went to bed, after the many things that occurred that day, from Malfoy asking me out to my anxiety attack.

It surely was a heck of a day. I pondered deeply to myself before my eyes fluttered closed.

------------------------------------------------------