Okay – Let's get to the Point

Draco Malfoy was having a true outer-body experience. Hermione Granger was explaining to him, with a look of true hurt on her face, how they 'made love' – her words – last night. WHY oh WHY couldn't he remember any of it?

"Wait," he cautioned, holding his hands up. "Please, start from the beginning again, because I'm very, very confused. You claim that after you went home from the pub last night, that I followed you... to your flat mind you, and that we had sex. Or, excuse me, made love?"

"Draco Malfoy," she snapped, starting to stand, "Please don't take me for a fool. I may be many things, but I'm not an idiot and neither are you. I also won't be part of a cruel joke. You know very well that you came to my flat last night, kissed me as soon as you walked in the door, and then we… oh, it's too much to repeat!"

She stood all the way and started around the table, from where they had sat when she started to explain 'everything' to him. He stood quickly, blocked the door, and said, "Seriously, Granger, I don't recall a thing. If I did, I would tell you! If I did, I'd be ecstatic! For Merlin's sakes, woman, I've been in love with you for five years! Don't you think I'd recall if we made love?" He placed his hands on her shoulders. "Perhaps it's YOU who takes me for a fool?"

She narrowed her gaze to him, cocking her head slightly to the side. "Do you really not recall anything?"

"Shite!" he exclaimed, pulling on her arm, forcing her to sit back down beside him at the long conference table. "I don't know what's going on here, Granger, but I remember following you… I mean, running into you at the pub, where we had less than pleasant words, and then you left in a cloud of hate and repulsion. Hell, I even went back over to the booth where we were sitting, and in a general act of charity I pulled out my wand and wished for you to have all your birthday wishes come true. I don't know why I did that, because you weren't even there any longer, but I did."

"You did what?" she inquired. "Why would you do that?" She gasped, placing her hand in front of her mouth. "You pulled your wand out in public – at a Muggle bar?"

Looking a bit chagrined, he said, "Well, yes, but no one saw me. It was under the table the whole time, and why does it matter? It was more symbolic than anything else, because you'd already left."

She hit his left shoulder with her open hand as they sat next to each other, face-to-face.

"Ouch! What was that for, woman?" He rubbed his arm.

"I wasn't gone! I was standing right outside the door! I know it, because I felt as if a spell hit me! It must have!" She closed her eyes and placed her head on the top of the table. Banging it up and down softly, she said, "No, no, no. That's why I felt funny! I even saw a soft light surround me, and I felt as if I'd been hexed or charmed, but I ignored it!"

Still banging her forehead on the table, repeating the word, "no, no, no," Draco placed his hand under her forehead and pleaded, "Please stop that. You're giving me a headache."

"But don't you see, Malfoy?" She turned to him again, sitting back up in the chair. "You sent a 'birthday wish charm' toward me, and it must have worked, and that explains why you showed up at my house. Still, it doesn't explain why you don't recall it."

He scratched his chin, regarded her words carefully, and then a slow grin, almost a smirk, etched itself to his face. "I'm your birthday wish, aye, Granger?"

"What?" she feigned outraged. "Of course not!"

"I am!" He clapped his hands together. "You wished for me, didn't you? Say it! Don't lie! Oh ho, but this is perfect… no, not perfect. Perfect would be if I remembered everything. Why don't I remember?"

She gasped again, placing her hands up to her face once more. "I know why! How could I be so stupid! Of course, I know what happened."

He continued to smile. Leaning back in his seat, he reached over and took her hand in his and said, "Then start explaining, and begin at the point where I first came to your door, and don't leave out one, single, pornographic detail, please."

"You pervert," she said with a laugh.

"I was that good, huh?" he asked, still grinning. "Please, tell me everything."

"I'll do one better," she promised. She pulled her wand out of her pocket, pointed it at him, and said, "Remember."

And he did.

Memories of that night

Hermione entered her small flat feeling defeated. She was in love with Draco Malfoy, but she always thought he hated her. Now she knew that he didn't – at least that was the gist of what he was trying to tell her with that kiss – but she had acted so 'hateful' to him over the years, especially at the pub just now, that she was certain there was no way he would ever think kindly about her again.

How ironic. Now that she wanted him, he would no longer want her. The truth of it all wrapped its talons through her skins and caused her to want to throw herself on the ground in despair. She wanted a man who would be loyal, who would love and respect her, and who would desire her physically. Blindly, she always assumed that man could never be Draco Malfoy, but oddly enough, apparently he was that man, except now it was too late.

She felt as if her heart was breaking, and on her twenty-ninth birthday, too! Who would have thought that she was finally realizing that the man of her dreams was within reach, yet she probably drove him away forever.

That kiss was amazing. Amazing. When she was in his arms, she felt loved and cherished. No one had ever kissed her like that. No one had ever made her feel like that! Now, feeling glum and hopeless, she plopped on her sofa and said aloud, "If I could have wish for my birthday, I would wish for Draco Malfoy to be here with me, right now. Yes, I wish he were here. I wish that he would feel the same things for me that I feel for him. I wish he would kiss me again." She sighed.

Kicking off her shoes, dropping her purse on the floor, she had just uttered the words… "I wish Draco Malfoy was here, etc, etc, etc," when there was a knock on her door. Crossing toward the door, she opened it and sucked in an air of surprise when she saw Draco Malfoy (the man she'd had just been thinking of) standing there.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Without saying a word and without crossing the doorstep, he pulled her toward him and kissed her. He kissed her recklessly and wildly. He placed one hand high on her back, the other on her neck, then into her hair, and his mouth slanted over hers in the most passionate kiss she'd ever felt.

Pushing her inside, he slammed the door shut with his foot, even as he continued to rain kisses all over her face, neck and jaw.

She didn't care why he was here. She only cared that he WAS. Therefore, she kissed him back.

He seemed surprised by it all. Bringing his head up to stare at her he said, "I don't know why I'm here, but I'm glad for it. Even if this is all a dream, or if I'm in a drunken haze, I have to tell you this. I think… no, I know I love you."

Then he kissed her some more.

When she looked into his eyes, she could tell they were burning with passionate desire. A reciprocated desire.

His kisses slowed down, so slowly, that if felt as if he were drugging her. Hermione leaned into him, her fingers threading into his hair, her chest pressed against his. His hands were moving all over her body, but she could feel them shaking. Lifting his mouth from hers, he placed his forehead against her forehead and placed his trembling hands on her cheeks.

With closed eyes he said, "Please, tell me this is real. Tell me this isn't some spell or a dream. You're so perfect and I want you so much. Don't be cruel. Tell me right now if this isn't real." He looked back down at her, her mouth red and swollen from his kisses, her eyes dazed as if she was confused or drunk or something more enticing.

Hermione's breath caught in her throat, yet she brought one of her hands up to capture his, and as a way of answering, she guided him into her bedroom.

Standing beside the bed, her heart felt as if it was in a vise. She said, "Is this real enough for you, Draco?"

His arms tightened around her, his fingertips going up and down her back, leisurely. "If that's a bed, and we are about to do what I hope, then yes, I know this is real. Even I can't have this wonderful of a dream." He smiled at her and said, "Now, give me another kiss, Hermione." His smiled deepened, and he repeated, "Hermione. How I love saying your name."

There was a combined gentleness and possessiveness in his eyes. She would only admit to herself that she liked that. "Do you love me, Draco?"

"Yes, Hermione, I do." He dropped another kiss on her lips.

"Why, Draco?"

With a thoroughly wicked grin he said, "Because you're all I've ever wanted. You're all I'll ever need. I can't pretend otherwise, not any longer. But the real question, Hermione, is whether or not you love me."

She smiled at that question. "I love you, too." She stood on her tiptoes and placed an open mouth kiss on his lips. Her arms curved around his shoulders and she placed her head on his chest to feel the galloping pattern of his heartbeat.

Before either knew what was happening, they were on the bed, his body on hers, his weight pressing between her legs. They kissed again, their tongues mingling and dancing. His lips went down her neck to her chest, and he pulled her shirt over her head in a single, swift movement. Running his hand down her cheek, to her neck, he brushed his knuckles on the outside of her breast. "I knew they'd be beautiful, too."

Then he covered her breasts, both of them, with more kisses. She felt an ache deep in her heart, deep in the well of her soul. She burned for this man. It was sudden, unexplainable, and she didn't care. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. She pulled his shirt over his head, and then helped him out of his trousers as he helped her out of the rest of her clothing. Lowering himself to her, he continued to make love to her, touching her instinctively, loving her passionately, and whispering terms of endearment across her skin.

He thrust deeply into her warmth, and she moaned. He felt an urgent need to finish, but just so that he could make love to her again.

They made love all night long. Finally, right before dawn, they lay in each other's arms and she asked, "What will happen in the morning?"

Running his hand over her hip and stomach, he said, "We'll forget everything that happened before last night, and we'll start anew. Would you like that?"

And that was when she said the fateful statement, which caused him to forget. She said, "If I could have one more birthday wish, it would be for you to forget everything that happened between us before this moment."

Then she yawned and snuggled into the cradle of his arms, to fall fast asleep. He followed closely behind her.

Little did she know then that her second wish was about to come true; that he would forget everything that happened between them that night – everything – in the bright light of dawn.

The next day

A couple of hours later, just as the morning light was trying to break into the cracks in the drapes at her bedroom window, Draco Malfoy awoke, feeling puzzled and bewildered. He didn't know where he was, or whom he was with, the only thing he knew was that he felt was an overwhelming disgust at himself. He looked over at the woman who was upon her side, facing away from him, and he couldn't even recall her name, or her face, or how he got here.

The last thing he recalled, he was at the Muggle pub that was celebrating Oktoberfest, and he had just watched the woman he loved walk out the door.

He dressed quickly and left, after having said some insane things about how he didn't care for the woman in the bed, how he hated himself, and how none of it meant anything. He didn't mean for her to hear him, as he was whispering softly to himself, but he knew she heard, and he still didn't care.

He left her apartment, went home, showered and dressed, and then spent the whole day thinking about Hermione Granger, and how much he loved her.

Hermione Granger heard everything Draco had said. Without even having the decency to look at her, he told her that he was disgusted with last night, that she meant nothing to him, and that he was leaving.

She felt her heart break into a million tiny shards, each more painful than the next. She spent the entire day regretting opening her door, and her heart to the man. She also came to a decision. She was going to confront him, and make him sorry for everything.

And if that didn't work, she would make him love her.

Back in the Conference Room

Draco held his head in his hands, closed his eyes, and thought about everything he had just remembered. She began talking again, telling him how much his speech hurt her and how she felt as if her heart had broken. She thought his words were directed at her specifically. Now she knew they weren't.

"It must have been a side-effect of your birthday wish charm, Draco," she said gently, placing her hand on his arm.

He lowered that arm to stare at her intently. "What do you mean?"

She explained, "You offered me a birthday wish, by inadvertently placing a birthday wish charm on me. Don't you know, Draco, that the birthday wish charm grants the bearer to three wishes? My first wish was that you were there with me in my apartment, and you appeared. My second wish, innocently, was that you would forget everything that had happened between us. Theoretically, I wanted you to forget the bitter, ugly things that happened. I never in a million years thought you would seriously forget everything, but you did."

"Oh, sweetheart," he mumbled, pulling her into his arms, her chair almost toppling over in the process. He held her tightly, kissed her hair, and said, "You're the one at fault, then, right?"

She laughed a bit, looked up at him, and said, "I rather think we're both at fault, because we both let our pride and bitterness get in the way of our true feelings for each other."

"Wait," he said, ignoring the fact that she was leveling the blame equally on him. "You said the birthday wish charm grants the bearer to three wishes. You only used two, or did you?"

She pushed away from him, stared up into his eyes and said, "Little did I know that I used the third one right before I came into the room to confront you."

With apprehension he inquired, "What was the third one?"

She placed a hand on his cheek and said, "It was that you would love me as much as I loved you, no matter what, and that the things you said to me in the morning was all a mistake, and that we would spend a lifetime together, loving each other."

He lifted both hands and said, "And your wish came true. I love you as much as you love me, and everything I said was a mistake, but only because I didn't know it was you. I didn't, my love. And I plan to spend the rest of my life with you, whether you want me to or not, regardless of a silly birthday wish."

She smiled at that, and he smiled in return. He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "It's a good thing you didn't wish for something stupid for your third wish, like for every night to be Oktoberfest."

She shrugged. "I don't know. I rather have a soft spot in my heart for all things German now, especially Oktoberfest. Did you know I even have a birthmark on my shoulder shaped like Germany?"

He laughed. "You don't say," he replied, even though he now recalled that certain little birthmark fondly. "Tell me what other geographical anomalies I'll discover about your body. Better yet, show me."

She raised her eyebrows, pointed her wand at the door to lock it, and did just that.

The End

Chapter End Notes:
Thank you all so much! Happy Oktoberfest. Wish you were all here!