A/N: Okay, so firstly, thank you so much for 200+ views!! It means a lot. Hope you guys liked the last chapter. Read the A/N at the end to find out when the next chapter will be out. On with the chapter! 

Also, I know I didn't reveal what was in Hermione's file in the last chapter, and I am sorry for that. But as I said, it will be revealed soon, along with what Draco did. Till then, you can try guessing them. 

 1 week later...

Draco noticed that Hermione had started avoiding him.

Well, more specifically, he finally realized that she was avoiding him, but for the life of him, he couldn't understand why.

Now that he thought about it, she hadn't talked to him properly ever since they came back to England from Australia. Whenever he would try to talk to her, she would quickly come up with an excuse and walk away from him. 

He even tried asking her to have dinner with him and Astoria in his house, but that only made her avoid him even more. 

Draco thought that she was just busy with a case, and as soon as she finished it, she would talk to him. Or maybe they would have lunch together.

It was finally today that he realized she was avoiding him when Harry told him that Hermione was not working on any case, rather she was helping him in an interrogation, which only required her to work for three hours.

He just couldn't understand why she was avoiding him.

Did he do something wrong?

Draco shook his head. He never did anything wrong. He was always right.

Okay, well maybe he wasn't always right. And he did a lot of wrong things, but he couldn't recall anything wrong he had done in the past week or so that would make her avoid him.

The last time he had done something wrong that would have affected Hermione was five years ago.

On 28th April 1999.

He sighed. He had promised himself that he would never think about that day again, but somehow, he would find a way to break that promise every time.

Just like Hermione broke the promise she had made five years ago.

Look who is saying, His inner voice said. You broke your promise too, didn't you?

"Shut up." Draco muttered.

You won't forgive her for breaking her promise, but what about you? What about the promise you broke five years ago? It said.

"I said shut up." He grumbled. 

She will never forgive you for doing that. She will hate you. And you know that you deserve it. But you deserve worse than that. Oh, and you did much more than that, didn't you? What about the day when you- 

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" He screamed and threw his mobile at the wall. "WHATEVER I DID WAS FOR THE BEST." Draco clutched his head in his hands and mumbled, "I had to do it. For her." 

"You okay, Draco?" 

He removed his hands, and looked up to see Harry standing near the door. "Are you alright? Draco?" 

He nodded. "Why do you ask?" 

Harry stepped further into his office, and sat down on the chair in front of his desk. "I heard someone shouting and then something hitting the wall as well." 

"I am fine. I was just... Frustrated, I guess, because of something. And I threw my felly tone at the wall." Draco told him. 

"Why would you do that?" Harry asked him. "Those aren't meant to be thrown at the wall. Oh, and the by the way, they are not called felly tones."

"Nothing a simple Reparo can't fix." Draco said, ignoring the part where he told him the correct pronunciation. 

He pointed his wand at the now broken mobile, and muttered, "Reparo." The spell immediately fixed his mobile, and he accioed it towards him. 

"Why were you frustrated?" Harry asked. 

Draco shook his head. "It's nothing." 

"No. It's obviously something. And it is  troubling you. What is it? You know that I may be able to help you." 

He shook his head again. You will hate me when you will get to know what I did, Potter, Draco thought. 

Harry sighed. "Okay, you don't have to tell me. Just know that I am here for you, Draco. You are friend. Maybe even best friends." He grinned at him.

Draco smirked. "Keep thinking that, Potter. You know that you are lucky I am even talking to you, let alone be your friend." 

He shook his head and laughed. Some things never change, do they? 

After talking for a few minutes, Harry stood up. "Alright, since you are fine and have repaired your mobile, I should probably go now." 

"Wait, Potter," Draco followed his actions, "I wanted to ask you something. Do you know why is Hermione avoiding me?" 

"Avoiding you? What do you mean?" 

"She's been avoiding me all week. Whenever I would try to talk to her, she would come up with an excuse and then go away. More often than not, she told me that she's been working on a case, but you said that she's helping you in an interrogation." Draco explained it to him. 

"Hmm... It's true. She's been helping me in an interrogation." Harry nodded. "As to why she's avoiding you, I have no idea. Maybe she's working on a secret case or something." 

Well, he did have an idea. More specifically, he knew why Hermione was avoiding him. But it's not like he would tell that to Draco. Hermione would kill him. 

"If she's working on a secret case, then she has to tell me about that since we are partners. And according to the rules of the programme, the Aurors have to work together on each and every case. She could use my help, you know. But I can't just barge into her office and ask her about the case, her assistant is really nosey. And I can't sit in her office all day, I have some cases to work on as well." 

"Well, I might have a solution to that problem. You two can shift to a bigger office that has two desks, a joint office, so you two can work together on the cases." Harry suggested. 

"Really? Can that be done?" Draco asked him.

He nodded. "Yes, I am sure Kingsley will have no problem. I'll go and ask him now. See you later, Draco." 

Draco thanked him as he walked out of his office. Just as he was about to go to Kingsley's office, he realised he had made a mistake. 

"Merlin, Hermione will definitely kill me now." Harry groaned. She had specifically told him that she wanted to stay away from Draco, and now he was going to ask Kingsley to give those two a joint office. 

And if he didn't ask Kingsley, Draco surely will. And no doubt the Minister won't refuse to allow that. 

Harry just hoped Hermione wouldn't get to know that he was the one to suggest the idea of a joint office. He had no intentions of facing her wrath. 

She can be quite scary, you know? 

--------

 "Where are we going, Draco?" Hermione looked around as they walked on the streets of Hogsmeade, their fingers intertwined. 

"I thought you understood the meaning of the word 'surprise', Mia. But clearly you don't." He smirked at her. 

"Draco." She glared at him. 

"Alright, alright." Draco chuckled. "The Brightest Witch of Our Age is really impatient. But I won't ruin the surprise I have planned. It's our-" 

"I know. It's our first date, and you wanted to surprise me. Just give me a hint. Please." She made her puppy dog face. "Please, Draco." 

He shook his head. "Now how can I not give you a hint or two when you make a face like that. The surprise I have planned is related to both of us, and I guess it has a special connection with me." 

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. "That's it? That's the hint?" 

He nodded. "You asked for a hint, and I gave you one. Now it's your turn to figure it out." 

"Please don't tell me we are going to buy apples. We have plenty of them in the Heads' Dormitory." She said. 

Draco grinned. "No no, it's not. Although, now I wish that I had planned that. We definitely need more apples. But, the surprise is not that today. I thought you were the Brightest Witch, Mia, surely you can guess the surprise."

"When the hint is absurd as that one, I don't think I can guess it. Seems like I will just have to wait and watch." Hermione sighed. 

He chuckled and kissed her. "I am sure you will like the surprise. I will plan nothing, but the best for my girlfriend." 

"Oh, I am your girlfriend now, huh? Even before our first date?" She raised an eyebrow at him, though she was smiling. 

Draco smirked at her. "It's our first OFFICIAL date, Granger, you have been my girlfriend for the past three days now. Now come on, it's time for the surprise." 

Hermione gasped as she woke up. 

"Dream. It was just a dream." Hermione muttered. 

But the thing was, it didn't feel like a dream. It felt like something that had happened, or maybe something that was about to happen. 

"Why am I dreaming about that now? Surely I don't like him like that. It's just weird." She shook her head and got up. 

Though she wanted to ignore the dream as much as she could, she couldn't stop thinking about it. Something about it just felt off. 

She felt like maybe she knew what the surprise was, despite it not being in the dream as she woke up just before he, well the Draco in the dream, could show her the surprise. 

Hermione was pretty sure that they had been once gazing the stars in Hogsmeade. And Draco had even allowed her to use his telescope when they went back to the castle, and had gone to the Astronomy Tower. 

After all, they had often discussed about doing that when they were the Head Girl and Boy, but they never found the time to do it.

"I thought you understood the meaning of the word 'surprise', Mia. But clearly you don't." 

Mia. 

Why did it feel like he had called her 'Mia' before?

As far as she could recall, he had always called her Granger, except for when he had called her Hermione once or twice. 

It felt so real when he had called her Mia. 

"Maybe I can ask him about the star gazing part." Hermione said to herself. "I can just simply ask him whether or not we gazed the stars and that I used his telescope." 

She nodded to herself and apparated to the Ministry. But before she could go to Draco's office, Kingsley informed her what Harry had suggested to him. 

"Harry James Potter, you better wish that I don't kill you right now." Hermione muttered angrily as she made her way to the joint office. 

"So much for being my best friend." She shook her head. 

-----------

Three days later...

Despite being in the same office as him, Hermione still hadn't found the courage to go and ask him that question. 

And if she asked him about the Mia part, not only it would look weird, he might think she was mad, and probably wouldn't talk to her after that. 

She wouldn't blame him if he did that as she was the one avoiding him, and running away when he wanted to talk to her. 

Everything was fine until they had gone to Australia. Hermione had no doubt that Draco knew she had a Criminal Record file, but he sill hasn't seen it. 

But that didn't mean he would stop searching for his answers. He would get his answers, even if he didn't go to the Australian Ministry again to look at her file. Draco was cunning, and smart as well. Plus, he never gave up. 

She knew better than to underestimate him. 

Of course, him finding about her file was not the only thing that had made her start avoiding him. 

It still played a major role in that, but the thing that had happened next was the real reason why she was avoiding him. She still couldn't believe that had happened. 

And, that had made her doubt about what she felt five years ago. Also, it made her want to go back to Australia, or maybe any other place. 

But as soon as that thought had come up in her mind, she knew she wouldn't be able to leave England until the programme was over. 

Hermione just hoped that Draco will not try snooping around. 

She was still thinking about it when she entered her flat, and found Ginny sitting in her couch, watching Titanic. 

"Why are you watching this film again? It must be the eleventh time you have watched this-wait, are you crying, Ginny?" Hermione asked her. 

She shook her head and quickly wiped her face. "J-Jack just died, Hermione. Poor him... Poor Rose..." 

Hermione sighed. "If you don't like what happened, then why do you watch it again and again?" 

"Jack could have survived, you know?" Ginny said. 

"You sound like Draco. I already told you that to keep afloat and out of the water just enough to survive, Jack and Rose would have had to tie a life jacket underneath the door to make it more buoyant. But they didn't do that." Hermione told her. 

"First of all, don't you dare compare me to that bouncing ferret. And secondly, you tell that to me every time I watch the movie, and my opinion still hasn't changed." Ginny crossed her arms in front of her. 

She continued, "Also, at least I wasn't stupid like Draco to pull out my wand to save Jack when we were watching the movie in the Heads' Dormitory. He still thinks that if you had allowed him to use a spell, he would have been able to save Jack." 

(A/N: The answer as to why Jack didn't survive, or whether or not both Jack and Rose could have survived is taken from Google. And if you think that the answer is wrong, feel free to tell me your opinion.)

"McGonagall would have killed one of us, probably him, if he had used a spell or two on the TV. She told me that he would try using a few spells at it when I had asked her if we could put a TV in the common room." Hermione sighed. 

"Turns out she was right." Ginny sighed. "Anyways, go and get ready. The party starts in three hours." 

"What party?" 

"Are you kidding me?" Ginny gaped at her. "Your birthday party? You do remember that today's your birthday right?" 

"Uh...well, I forgot..." Hermione said sheepishly. "I mean, I know you all wished me in the morning, but then I went to the bookshop, and I forgot."

She shook her head. "Nothing new in that. Come on, you have to get ready now." 

When Ginny showed her the dress Hermione had to wear to the party, she narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't get me wrong, the dress is really pretty, but why did you buy a green coloured dress?" 

"Well... The thing is..." She stuttered. 

If only you knew who had really bought that dress for you, Ginny thought. 

"I thought that the green dress, with the silver belt would look good on you." She said. "As much as I don't like saying this, you don't have to wear red every time. No Gryffindor pride today, okay?" 

Hermione sighed and nodded. She had to admit that the dress was beautiful, and looked good on her. 

Also, she perfectly knew who had really bought that dress. 

----------

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HERMIONE!" Everyone shouted as soon as she entered the hall at the Malfoy Manor.

Though nobody lived there now, except for the house elves who didn't want to leave it, they still used the hall there to throw parties, and the renovated living room to have brunches once in a month. 

Hermione was in the process of thanking everyone, when she felt somebody's hand on her shoulder, and turned around. 

"You look good in my choice." Draco smirked at her.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? I would have never guessed that you had bought this dress for me. Seriously Draco, green? Do you even like any other colour?" 

"You know the answer to that, Granger." 

Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Thank you so much. I really like this dress, but you didn't have to do it." She wrapped her arms around him. 

He returned the hug and said, "Nuh uh, you are celebrating your birthday with us after five years. Allow me to spoil you." 

She laughed as she pulled away from him, and looked around. "I don't know whether or not I should be surprised that the entire hall is decorated in green and silver, with just a bit of red and gold. Are you sure this is my birthday party, and not yours?" 

Draco grinned at her. "If it were mine, there would have been only green and silver. No other colours. Anyways, do you like it?" 

"I do. It's really amazing, Draco. Thank you again for throwing a surprise party for me. Ginny told me that you were here all day, and made sure that the decoration was really good." She smiled at him. 

"I will plan nothing, but the best for my best friend."  He kissed her cheek. "Happy birthday, Granger." 

She was about to thank him again, when she froze. His words...they were so similar to those in the dream. 

Just then, she saw Narcissa and McGonagall coming towards them. She hugged them tightly as they wished her. 

"Green and silver? You just had to do this, didn't you, Draco?" Narcissa sighed. 

"Don't worry, Narcissa, I'll return the favor on his birthday." Hermione smirked at him. "Be ready to have a red and gold themed party."

"Oh, how about a yellow themed one? It's Draco's favourite colour after all. And we can even put his baby photos on the wall." Narcissa suggested. 

"And maybe we can even transfigure his clothes to the Hufflepuff robe. Or, maybe bring the sorting hat, and have him sorted into Hufflepuff." McGonagall suggested. 

Draco sighed and shook his head. "Remind me again why the two of you like to torture me? My favourite colour is green, and not yellow, thank you very much." 

Before they could say anything further, he said, "Look, it is time to cut the cake now. We should go." 

As he led Hermione to the table on which the cake was there, Draco whispered, "I would rather run away than allow any one of you, specially my mother and her best friend to plan my birthday party." 

---------

"Oh, were you watching that film again on the teely-fision?" Draco asked Ginny. 

 "It's not called that, Draco. It's television-" Hermione started but was cut off. 

And yes, I still think we could have used magic to save Jack. But Granger here stopped me from doing that." He narrowed his eyes at her. 

"Can we not talk about that, Draco? You have been saying the same thing ever since we watched the movie. It's been six years, grow up." Hermione rolled her eyes at him. 

"Grow up? Says the person who still acts childish." Draco smirked at her. "And I won't change my opinion ever." 

"Stubborn." Hermione muttered. 

"Stupid muggles. Stupid Granger." Draco muttered. 

Their friends sighed. "How did these two even manage to become each others' best friends?" Blaise asked them. 

"They are literally ready to kill each other every time they meet." Harry rolled his eyes. 

"Well, some things never change." Astoria said. "Hermione is as stubborn as Draco, and my husband is clearly not a humble or modest person." 

"Why do you all have to insult me every time? And Tori, you are my wife, you should support me." Draco told her. 

"Truth is truth, Draco." Narcissa said. "You can even give us Veritaserum, but still the answer won't change." 

"Great. My mother is with you all as well. Is there anyone who agrees with me?" Draco looked around. 

"Maybe you should try asking the peacocks?" His mother smirked at him. 

"Not again, mother." Draco groaned. "I told you not to tell anyone about that. Everyone will tease me." 

"We are your friends, Draco, we have the right to know." Theo told him. 

"I really like to tell that story to everyone." Narcissa smiled. "You see, when Draco was around six years old, he wanted to be really famous, and would like to pretend that Lucius and me were his fans. He would even tell the house elves to make green coloured clothes with his initials on the front, and would tell us to wear it." 

She continued, "One day, Lucius was in his office, and I was talking to some of my friends here. Draco was bored, and since we were busy, he went to the gardens. We have many albino peacocks there, you know? He ordered the house elves to make the clothes I told you about, and tried forcing the peacocks to wear them. He wanted them to be his fans, and follow him wherever he went." 

"When he didn't succeed in doing that, he tried to wrap those clothes around the peacocks' necks. But still, that didn't happen. And then, Draco dear shouted at them, and poked some of them. The peacocks then scratched him on his face, and even chased him around. Thankfully, the house elves rescued him. Poor Draco, he was so scared that he didn't go to the gardens for three weeks." Narcissa finished, and everyone started laughing. 

"Mother!" Draco shook his head. "They are never going to let me live this down now." 

"I can imagine the six year old Draco running away in the gardens." Harry snickered. "I wish someone had recorded it." 

"And your patronus is a peacock, Narcissa. Now I understood why Draco jumps every time you send one." Blaise said. 

After a few more minutes of teasing Draco, everyone went to the dining hall to eat dinner. Narcissa had informed them earlier that Lucius won't be able to attend as he had a very important deal going on in France, and wouldn't be able to come back here until it was finally made. 

Hermione sighed as she looked at Draco. She would ask him the question tomorrow. 

A/N: That's it for this chapter. It was 3600+ words. Hope you guys liked it. I wanted to include a few more scenes, but since I hadn't planned them well, I didn't. Though, they will probably be in the next chapter. Random question: Favorite scene of Draco? Answer in the comments below. Vote, comment and please share my story. Reviews are always appreciated. Thank you! 

Next chapter on 30/8/20(Sunday). 

Until next time.