Chapter Text

“Shit,” Hermione exclaimed, trying to gather up the pile of papers and while at the same time trying to gather the clump of messy curls into a messy bun on the top of her head.

She was going to be late for this meeting. It’s not that she was planning on being late. She usually was on time for such important events but she ran into a colleague on the way to her office who wanted to pick her brain on some research he was conducting. That was the problem when you were one of the top healers in your field, everyone wanted your input and advice.

She sighed as she stuck her wand in her messy pile of hair and grabbed the papers hastily, making her way out of her office and down the hall to a small conference room. She darted quickly into a small room with a long wooden table where the various medical professionals of St. Mungo’s were sitting around it chatting among themselves.

“So sorry for being late,” Hermione breathlessly said while placing her various papers on the table and lowering into a nearby vacant chair.

“Don’t apologize, Hermione. Richard hasn’t even arrived yet,” chuckled an elderly wizard named Alfred. “You know, Richard. He’s always pulled every which way.”

Hermione smiled warmly at Richard and as she nodded her head in agreement.Alfred Moore was one of the head healers in charge of researching dark magic curses and their effects on the body. It was a grim topic ironically for such a warm and kindly old wizard. His bright blue eyes and salt and pepper hair and bushy mustache always had an encouraging word or bit of advice for Hermione throughout the years. She always appreciated him not only as a colleague but also as a friend.

She had been at St. Mungo’s for over 7 years now. At the young age of 30 she had risen to the top of her department at the hospital. She was a healer who had excelled in what muggle medicine would call “neurology.” Here in the magical world she was a top specialist in understanding brain damage caused by magical spells and curses. Currently she was working on a way to restore memories for witches and wizards who were oblivated. It was a passion project so to speak since she had to conduct the spell on her parents so many years ago.

“Apologies, everyone!” exclaimed a tall dark haired man as he closed the door behind him. He was carrying an armful of scrolls and looking slightly flustered. “I just got out of a meeting with the Burtons. They wanted to know how the gardens were coming along since their pledge. I would have been here sooner but when a family as wealthy as that is donating thousands of galleons to your employer, well, you’re on their time.”

Richard Hughes was the Chief Development Officer at St. Mungo’s and was good at his job. As the Chief Development Officer his job consisted of securing grants and funding for the hospital to help with improvements and keep research thriving. Currently, he was wrapping up a project to update and improve the hospital’s gardens for both patients and staff to enjoy. The Burtons were a wealthy wizarding family who were well known and well respected as they frequently donated to various organizations and causes. When Richard approached them with the plea to help the hospital update their sad garden area, they immediately were onboard. Currently, his next project was one that Hermione was excited to be a part of, it was her area of the hospital.

Richard looked around and smoothed back his dark brown hair. “Right, let’s get it on with it.”

He produced a wand from his robe and with a flick of his wrist dispersed a scroll to the handful of witches and wizards seated around the table. Each one of them took the scroll and unrolled it to read.

“So,” he started. “In your scroll you will see I laid out the key facts about our next funding project. Basically, we’re looking for a large donation of roughly 10 million galleons. The money would be used to continue funding research towards working to reverse the oblivate spell as well as update our neurological maladies ward. As we all know, the ward is in desperate need of new equipment and therapies for our patients, none of which is cheap.”

Richard paused and looked around the room and watching as the various healers and researchers nodded their heads in agreement as they scanned their scrolls.

“While the goal, of course, is to update all the wards of the hospital, if we can secure funding for this project I do believe we’ll attract more wealthy patrons more easily,” he stated.

Hermione scanned the scroll and reviewed the breakdown of the project. She mused to hearself how nice it would be to have more modern equipment to do her research with. Currently she was sometimes using her own paycheck to buy some of the tools she needed. She thought about her patients she would see on the hospital floors and how outdated some of the equipment used for their treatments were. Not to mention the entire floor seemed so outdated and had a strange mildew smell at times. It would be nice to see them in nicer amenities.

“Richard, this project is a rather large one,” she said aloud looking up at him. “I agree with you that if we could accomplish this, the hospital as a whole would be more likely to attract more donors but, do we have any mind currently for this one?”

Richard smiled a toothy smile and held up another scroll for the room to see.

“I’ll pass this around but, if you take a look at the scroll we currently have one family I am talking to who may be interested in donating. They’re an old wizarding family but I heard through various whisperings they are looking to do some good for the wizarding world. Very old money family. I did some research on their overall wealth, properties they own, as well their current investings. They don’t have much they’re involved with currently so when I approached them about this project, I was surprised they even humored me,” he chuckled to himself.

When the scroll was passed to Hermione she reviewed the profile on this family Richard had laid out. Gods, they were an old family, she thought to herself. They seemed very well off. They owned a huge estate in the countryside and currently the son was heading up the family business transactions. As she reviewed the rest of the details she seemed hopeful with this donor. Just maybe her department and her patients would get the funding they so desperately needed. She waited for Richard to stop talking and ask if there were any questions before she chimed in.

“Honestly, Richard this sounds fabulous,’ she gushed as she pushed back an unruly curl from her face. “I am more than happy to help you in whatever you need to secure this donor.”

Richard beamed at her proudly and replied, “I would love your help, Healer Granger as this is your department and floor we are working on. If we can successfully secure funding for your team I imagine we will have an easier time with the other departments as well.”

“Agreed,” Alfred concurred, warmly nodding his head. “But, Richard, who is this wealthy donor you think will donate?”
“Yes,” Hermione said. “They sound like a great fit for what we are looking for. Who are they?”

Richard looked around the room to assure he had everyone’s attention.

“You’ll never believe this but, can you believe the Malfoys were who I spoke to? Who knew they were charitable but, I guess things change.”

Hermione’s face dropped and she felt the color drain from her face.

“Hermione,” started an older witch sitting across from her. “Are you okay? You look like someone died.”

Chapter Text

“Draco, you look unwell. Are you alright, darling?”

The young man looked up from his scroll and towards his mother. Narcissa was watching him from across the parlor room table with a perfectly groomed eyebrow raised questionably.

“Granger?!” He exclaimed. “Mother, you realize I never got along with her at Hogwarts. She’s an insufferable know-it-all and you want to donate to her research?” Draco asked, eyes widening.

Narcissa said nothing at first and reached for her tea cup, raised it towards her perfectly made up face and took a refined sip of her tea. She then lowered her cup back down onto the marble top table.

“Draco, my love, you are getting all worked up for no reason. Ms. Granger’s research is exactly what we need to be a part of. This family’s image has unfortunately gone through some negative press with your father having been sent to Azkaban. Donating to St. Mungo’s as well as funding Ms. Granger’s research on reversing the damage caused by the oblivate spell and, not to mention the fact of her being a muggle born, is just what the Malfoys need to bury the blemish on our family name,” she said in a sweet yet matter of factly manner.
She reached a manicured hand across the table and grasped Draco’s larger one. He looked at his mother’s hand holding his and then up at Narcissa’s face and grimaced.

“Darling, with your father away for who knows how long, you are now the master of the manor. You now represent our family and as your mother I want you to be successful. When people think of Draco Malfoy I want them to think of the brilliant young wizard that I know and love. Not Draco Malfoy, the-” she paused and cleared her throat. “The follower of you know who.”

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his chair but felt his face soften. He gave his mother’s hand a tiny squeeze back.

“Of course, Mother. It’s just working with that Granger girl. She was Potter’s Golden Girl. All anyone ever talked about was her, Potter, and Weasley. Such an annoying lot,” he said, rolling his gray eyes towards the ceiling of the room.

He released Narcissa’s hand and stood up from the table and walked over to a large sunlit window. He smoothed a hand over his white blonde hair and looked back towards his mother.

“You know she punched me once? Me attacked by a girl!” he exclaimed, trying to guilt his mother.

The polished witch shook slightly trying to stifle a chuckle as her lips curled into a smirk. She stared at her son amused.

“And because I’m aware you are your father’s son, I can only imagine you said something that perhaps warranted it?”

The young man opened his mouth as to defend himself but then decided to not say anything. Instead he narrowed his eyes and looked at his mum accusingly.

“Touche, Mother.”

Narcissa’s light blue eyes twinkled with mirth as she stared at her only child.

“So shall I send an owl to Mr. Hughes that you would be delighted to meet with Ms. Granger and her team to tour the facilities?”

Draco sighed audibly and looked out the window. He stared at the lush green gardens in full bloom and the house elves outside tending to them. His mother did have a point. With his father locked up in Azkaban and his regrettable stint as a Death Eater, the family name had been slightly tarnished.

His mother was once the toast of high wizarding society and after the fall of Voldemort, not many galas, teas, or garden parties were held at the estate anymore. Those events were his mother’s pride and joy. It would be nice to see her in her element again. Surely he could suffer a meeting or two with Granger. He was Draco Malfoy, heir of the Malfoy estate, part of one of the oldest and richest wizarding families. He could handle a frizzy haired walking encyclopedia.

“Yes,” he said finally, still staring out the window thinking. “I would be ecstatic.”

Two weeks later Draco found himself being greeted at the entrance of St. Mungo’s by Richard Hughes and a few of his lower level employees. They were practically fawning over him as they walked through the halls making their way towards a small meeting room.

“Mr. Malfoy, we are so delighted and honored to meet with you. How are you this morning? How is your mother Narcissa? She’s such a delightful woman,” Richard said excitedly guiding Draco through the halls.

Draco decided to wear his usual business attire which consisted of a black silk dress shirt with black trousers and a black robe. His expensive Italian made dragon leather shoes completed the ensemble. His pale hair was slicked back giving him a polished posh look. At 6’3” he was used to witches looking up at him and fawning. The older witches accompanying Mr. Hughes seemed to be no different.

“My mother is well, thank you for asking. She sends her regards and asks that I report back to her if I have decided whether to commit to this project or not,” he said very nonchalantly.

“Absolutely!” Richard said a little too excitedly. “If you will just follow me into this room over here we can settle in as we wait for Healer Granger to arrive.”

He held the door open for Draco who walked in first and took a seat at a small conference table with six chairs. He looked around the dingy room unimpressed. This place was in sore need of an update.

“Can we offer you tea or coffee, Mr. Malfoy while we wait for Healer Granger?” Richard asked.
“Tea, thank you.”
“Of course. Milk and sugar?”
“Please.”
As Draco waited for his tea he looked at pocket watch. Was Granger always late? Not surprising, he mused to himself. She always had an inflated sense of importance about her. All anyone everyone talked about was how bright she was and how she was part of the Golden Trio. Well if he was to fund her research, she would learn just how important he was in the wizarding world.

Malfoy accepted his tea politely and took a sip. Where was Granger?

As if he summoned her by wandless magic, the door opened and in she walked.

“Apologies for my lateness, I had a patient I was visiting on the floors to check in with their progress,” she explained.

Her thick dark brown curly hair was pinned messily on top of her head and she was wearing cream colored robes, her healer robes. She was made up with a light touch of makeup. Draco noticed that she still looked like the girl he knew at Hogwarts but more polished and older. Not to mention, she looked more womanly. Well, he didn’t want to admit that but, he was a man and he noticed these things.

Hermione’s brown eyes narrowed as she found Draco’s gray ones.

“Hello Malfoy,” she said, very guarded, taking a seat across from him.

Draco raised a pale eyebrow and started lifting his teacup towards his mouth.

“Granger,” he said lazily and took a sip of tea. “How nice of you to join the party.”

Hermione’s jaw tightened and she forced a sweet smile on her face.

“Well you know, Malfoy,” she said, tilting her head to the side slightly. “As soon as I heard you were involved in this project I dropped what I was doing to come and see if it was true. I’d thought there was no way Draco Malfoy would be doing anything to better wizardkind but here you are.”

She looked at him innocently as she plucked a quill and ink pot from her satchel. Draco raised an eyebrow staring back at her yet said nothing.

Sensing the tension between both of them, Richard quickly put a cup of coffee in front of Hermione.
“Here we go Healer Granger, coffee with extra cream and sugar. Just the way you like it! Now shall we get started with our meeting?”

The meeting went as smoothly as one could expect with Draco and Hermione both throwing snide and sarcastic remarks at each other here and there. Richard and his team were quick however, to diffuse the situation by steering the conversation in a different direction or changing the topic all together.

“Well we are nearing the end of the meeting,” Richard said, removing a handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbing at his forehead. Thank Merlin we are,” he thought to himself. “Mr. Malfoy, based on Healer Granger’s research project and the reports my team have provided for you, do you feel St. Mungo’s is something you would be interested in investing in?”

Aware that all eyes were on him, Draco paused a breath and looked at one of the assessment reports that Richard had provided to him. He looked at the estimated funding amount needed again. Yes, that was a large amount of galleons but, it was merely a small dent in his family’s wealth. His mother would be pleased by the positive press they would receive from this donation but something bothered him. He looked up at Hermione and felt his mouth tighten. She was brilliant, there was no doubt about that. Her research was sure to make waves but, why did she have to act so smug? He wasn’t stupid. In fact, he was always right behind her in their marks at Hogwarts. She just always looked at him in a way that made her seem better than him. It especially bothered him now that he was looking to fund her department and research and actually try to make amends for his family’s past. It’s just why did she always look at him like that with those brown eyes?

“Well, as my mother had explained in our initial meeting,” he started, choosing his words carefully. “We are looking to invest in something that will help our fellow wizards and witches out; however, I am concerned at the amount of funding needed for Healer Granger’s project.”

There, he thought to himself. Now what do you say to that, Granger?

Hermione’s mouth dropped open and her brows furrowed in annoyance.

“My project?!” She exclaimed. “I’ll have you know my research has been years in the works and I’ve dedicated every extra hour of my personal life towards it! It’s tedious and the amount-”

“Yes, Granger. The amount. I am just wondering if maybe too much has been allocated towards your hobby.” Malfoy said, smirking at her. “Perhaps more could be assigned towards other needs.”

“What do you know about scientific research, Malfoy? Did you even do your own homework in Hogwarts or did you pay your friends to do it?!”

“I’ll have you know I was always the highest in marks till YOU came along!”

“Merlin help us that a Muggle born bested you!”

“What does being Muggle born even have to do with that?!”

Looking at the two of them bicker back and fourth, Richard sopped his brow again with his handkerchief and then loudly cleared his throat.

“AHEM!” he said loudly. He watched as both of them realized where they were, fell silent, and looked flustered at each other then at Richard. “Perhaps, if I may offer a solution? Mister Malfoy, why don’t you shadow Healer Granger for a few weeks and get to learn more about the work she’s doing as well as see more of the ward. It’s a great way to truly understand the impact that this research will have on our community.”

Both Hermione and Draco looked at each other with repulse and and then at Richard with incredulousness.

“Richard,” Hermione started, flustered, adjusting a stray curl back from her face. “Malfoy would most likely be in the way of my day to day. Also, I highly doubt he would understand the complexities surrounding my-

“Doubt I would understand?!” Draco asked incredulously to Hermione. He narrowed his silver eyes and looked down at her with annoyance. “I may be blonde, Granger, but I’m not stupid. I’m sure if I spent a day in your little lab, I can pick up what you’re doing blindfolded.”

Hermione opened her mouth to start to counter him when Malfoy turned sharply back to Richard and asked forcefully, “When can we start the shadowing?” He then looked over his shoulder glaring at Hermione.

“How about next week? Monday 9 a.m. work for you, Mr. Malfoy?”

“Excellent. I look forward to it.”

Hermione watched as he gathered his scroll, ran his hand through his hair, bid his farewell to Richard and his team, and turned to head to the door. As he reached his hand to turn the doorknob, Draco turned his head to look over his left shoulder.

“Oh and Granger?” He called back as a smirk formed on his face. “I like coffee in the morning. Black with one sugar.”

Hermione scowled as he softly laughed to himself and walked out the room in his impeccable tailored outfit and robes.

Chapter Text

“You cannot call him a prick!” Ginny exclaimed trying to contain a laugh.

She refilled Hermione’s wine glass and then her own. They were sitting in the kitchen of their shared flat and enjoying an evening meal of spaghetti and a garden salad. Ginny recorked the bottle as Hermione took a sip of her wine and then placed the glass back on the table.

“Fine. A rich prick,” she chuckled. “With nice hair and eyes.”

Ginny finished taking a gulp of her wine and looked over at Hermione with raised brows.

“Just nice hair and eyes?” she asked.

Hermione thought for a moment and absent mindedly started playing with a loose curl of hair.

“Well,” she started. “He is tall and not hard on the eyes but he’s so arrogant, Gin! He literally carries himself like he’s better than anyone else. He hasn’t changed much since school I see.”

Ginny shrugged and picked up her wine glass again. “I’m sure he has to have grown up a bit. Merlin, he’s about thirty now right? I wouldn’t worry too much , ‘Mione, how he carries himself. He’s an aristocrat. They’re all bloody like that. I’m sure he came out of the womb and was immediately shoved off to some sort of finishing school.”

“True,” Hermione mused. “It’s just I cannot believe he’s actually trying to do something so noble. I mean Malfoys don’t help anyone.”
“Well I guess after the war maybe he and his family had an epiphany? Maybe they saw the error of their ways. Who knows with that lot?”

Hermione made a snorting sound. The idea of Draco Malfoy being a decent human amused her. Was there even a shred of decency behind those pale eyes? He always called her Mudblood, teased her for bushy hair, and intellect. No, she made up her mind. Draco Malfoy was and always will be an arsehole. Whatever he was trying to portray was merely a facade.

As Hermione mused this idea, a large orange tuft of fur came pattering into the kitchen and hopped into an empty chair across from Ginny. It gave a large yawn and observed the remains of dinner on the table.

“Now don’t go trying to steal anything, Crooks,” Ginny scolded the cat. “Hermione called you to eat an hour ago and you chose to ignore her.”

Crookshanks looked at Ginny in a way that accused her of slander and then turned to face Hermione as he let out a hungry yowl. Hermione smiled at the cat and scratched him on the head as she started to get up from the table.

“Okay, Crooks, I hear you. I’ll warm your supper up,” she said walking towards a kitchen cupboard. “Gin,” she said as she reached in the cabinet and pulled out a tin of food. “I’m going to feed him and then will help you clean up if you want to put the leftovers away?”

“You got it.”

As Hermione scooped some of Madame Meow’s Whitefish Medley in Crookshanks’ bowl to warm up, she found herself going back to the meeting with Malfoy in her head. Could he have really changed? Was he trying to be a decent wizard for once in his life? Logically that didn’t seem possible but Harry always reminded Hermione to believe in the good of people. As she pulled out her wand and placed a warming charm on Crookshanks’ food, she found her eyes drifting towards her other arm. Mudblood was faintly still visible.

Placing the warmed cat food dish on the floor, Hermione moved towards the kitchen table to collect the dirty plates and glasses from dinner. Ginny was running soapy water to start washing them.

“Did you still want to watch a movie tonight?” Hermione asked Ginny placing the plates in the sink.

Ginny used her wand to direct the dish sponge to scrub a plate, rinse off in the running water, and then levitate on to a dish rack. “Sure. Can we watch the one muggle one you were telling me about?”

“Which one was that?”

“I think it was called Pride and Prejudice?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I am not watching that,” Blaise said, shaking his head no. “I don’t know when this infatuation started with Muggle cinema but, I’m not watching a film called The Godfather.”

Theo Nott held up the VHS tape and looked appalled at Blaise Zabini. “This is a brilliant movie! How can you not even be curious? They’re Italian for fuck’s sake! It’s got romance, violence, and the mafia!”

He turned to Draco for support. “Malfoy, tell Blaise we’re watching this movie tonight.”

Draco, who was pouring another shot of fire whiskey at his bar, directed his gaze up to Theo who looked like a mixture of crossed and bewildered, and then to Blaise who had his arms crossed looking at Theo. A typical Friday night at Malfoy Manor. Blaise and Theo would come over to shoot the shit over a few drinks and Theo would then suggest (after a drink or two) something outlandish. Last week, it was his suggestion of karaoke. Draco and Blaise promptly shut that idea down while Theo (buzzed it seemed) started to sing about a starman in the sky (something about a Muggle singer named Bowie?).

“Sorry, Nott.” Draco said. “As much as I would love to see Blaise want to blast his brains out from your love of Muggle actors, I have some reports to review tomorrow in preparation for Monday.” He lifted his shot glass in the air in a “cheers” motion and threw back his fire whiskey down his throat.

“Damn you both,” Theo said placing his movie down defeatedly. He walked over to the bar and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from Malfoy and began pouring two shots. “I forgot you have that charity thing you’re now doing.” Theo motioned for Blaise to take a shot glass. “How did you even get involved with that? You’re not exactly-”

“Watch your next word before I hex you,” Draco warned, also refilling his shot glass again.

“Charitable.” Theo chuckled. He handled Blaise a shot glass and the three men clinked them together before they all downed their alcohol.

“Yes,” Blaise agreed. “Why are you doing this, Draco?”

Malfoy wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stared cooly at his two friends. “The Malfoy name needs rebranding. Mother felt since Father is in prison and I’ve been given a pardon, it’s best we try to make amends with wizarding society. What better way to start than at the local hospital? The only problem is Granger is heading up the project we’re interested in donating to.”

Blaise and Theo both looked at Draco curiously. “Granger?” They exclaimed in union.

“Hermione Granger?” Blaise asked, raising both eyebrows.

“Yes, that Granger,” Draco said, rolling his eyes. “The Golden Girl or as I like to fondly refer to her as The Bane of My Existence. She’s such a smug know-it-all.”

“So,” Theo started. “I’m assuming you’re going to have to work directly with her?”

Draco made a scoffing sound and crossed his arms. “Unfortunately. I wish you both could have seen her today. She was late to her own meeting, came in with her wild hair messily clipped back, and gave me this look like SHE was repulsed with ME! I’m the one who could be funding her project!” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “She’s so smug and full of herself. When she wasn’t being snarky to me, she just looked at me with those judgmental brown eyes.”

He thought back to their meeting and how he caught her looking at him when she thought he wasn’t paying attention. He felt her flaming gaze settle on him and the tenseness that overtook her full lips. He imagined that if she was dealing with any man but him, her face would be softer and those lips would be a delight to kiss. She may even have given a shy smile with her beautiful brown eyes staring from under dark full lashes.

“Oi, Mate. That’s rough.” Theo said, sympathetically patting Malfoy on the back. “She probably hasn’t been laid since she broke up with that one Weasley. Explains why she’s a bitch. If she were pureblood you probably could have ‘helped’ her out if you get my drift.” He wagged his brows up and down and smirked cheekily.

“You are so uncouth,” Blaise groaned as he covered his eyes with his hand shaking his head.

Theo threw his hands up and feigned an innocent look. “WHAT?”

Draco smirked and shook his head. “Gentlemen, I can assure you that I would rather eat a thousand booger flavored Bertie Botts than ever sleep with Hermione Granger.”

Chapter Text

9:25 the clock read. The number nine followed by a two and a five. Hermione sighed and strummed her nails angrily on her desk. What the hell was this? She sighed and continued striking an angry rhythm. She woke up early today and put extra effort into her appearance so Malfoy wouldn’t have anything snarky to say to her about how she looked. She was wearing a red wrap dress, black patent heels, and her crown of brown curls were neatly pulled back in a half up and half down style. A touch of makeup and sheer red lip stain completed her look.

The door creaked open and the man of the hour appeared right on cue. Draco was dressed in all black (as usual) which consisted of a nicely tailored black suit, silver cufflinks, and expensive black dress shoes. His white blond hair was neatly gelled back.

As he walked casually over to Hermione’s desk she caught a whiff of his cologne. He smelled like fresh moss, mint, new parchment paper, and a hint of smoke. Had that smell been on any other man, Hermione would probably tell them they smelled divine. Draco Malfoy, however, would not be getting that. Instead…

“You’re late. We agreed to 9 a.m.”

Draco pulled out a chair on the opposite side of her desk and sat down as if she just invited him to tea.

“That was more of a suggestion,” he said nonchalantly, smirking at her.
“I’ve been up earlier than I usually wake to prepare for your arrival today,” Hermione said, feeling the agitation grow in her voice.

“No wonder you seem irritated,” he said innocently, watching her expression slightly soften as the words left his mouth. “You probably didn’t have your morning coffee. I know I didn’t. Shall we pop into the cafe right next door and grab a cup?”

She felt as if she was having a stroke, Perhaps she didn’t hear him right. “I’m sorry, what?”

“No need to apologize, Granger,” Draco said, starting to stand. “Come, I need my morning pick-me-up and I’m sure you do too.”

He started walking towards her door and when he reached to turn the handle, Draco looked back at Hermione confused.

“You coming or not?”

Hermione looked bewildered at him then said in a tone that suggested confusion and annoyance, “But we need to go over my work.”

Swatting the air to dismiss the notion, he replied, “And it will still be there when we get back.”

Hermione grinded her teeth in frustration yet found herself following him out the door and down the halls towards the hospital entrance. As they walked outside and next door towards a small cafe, she said nothing. Inside the smell of roasted coffee beans hit her full force. Okay, maybe she did need a coffee.

As they approached the counter, a kind looking older witch stood by the register. Her eyes followed towards Draco taking him in. She flashed a wide smile and batted her lashes.

“Hello, Poppet. What can I get you and your lovely miss today?”

Draco flashed a charming smile at the graying witch meeting her green eyes with his silver ones.

“Good morning. Yes, can I have a large coffee, black with one sugar, please? And my lovely miss will have-”

“I’m not your lovely miss,” Hermione said very matter of factly.

Malfoy rolled his eyes and continued on. “My companion-”

“I’m not your com-”

“My Granger will have a large coffee as well with extra cream and sugar please.”

He paid the witch a galleon and told her to keep the change. As the woman started their orders, he felt a pair of brown eyes throwing heat towards him. He smirked to himself then turned towards the source.

“What now, Granger?”

“First of all, I could have paid for my own drink and secondly, how did you know how I liked to fix my coffee?”

The witch came back with two large coffee cups and handed them to Hermione and Draco over the counter. They both made their way to the small table set for two.

“I believe what you meant to say was ‘thank you’,” he said, pulling out a chair and having a seat as Hermione did the same. “Also, I remember at our first meeting Richard said that was how you drink it. Come on, Granger. I may be blonde but I'm not daft.”

Hermione took a small sip of the hot beverage feeling the heat and caffeine bathe over her senses. This was exactly what she needed.

“Well thank you,” she said, slightly embarrassed and placed her coffee cup down. “However, we do need to discuss my research and projects.”

“Well, tell me about them,” he said, raising his coffee cup to his mouth. “Convince me why I need to give a shit about your projects and St. Mungo’s.”

He sipped his coffee looking at her across the table. She looked surprisingly nice. Her thick curly waist length hair was pulled off her face and he noticed the way her cheeks were slightly pinkened from being flustered. Her red dress (“typical Gryffindor,”he thought) exposed her figure nicely and he noticed how the V neck put her ample cleavage on display. He caught an aroma on her of antiseptic, vanilla, and cognac. The mixture smelled sweet and slightly sexy. Had this been any other woman he would have told her she was enticing but, this was Hermione Granger and instead she got…

“Well, come on, Granger. Convince me.”

Hermione sputtered then asked, “Here?! Now?”

“No, when I am about to have my evening bath.. Of course here.”

She thought for a moment. “Well I’m working on a cure for patients who have been subjected to the Obliviate spell. I’m very close to discovering the specific ways the spell works in regards to the brain and how to reverse it.”

Draco noticed the way her eyes lit up as she started discussing her work. It was like they were in Hogwarts again and she had just seen she received perfect marks on her exam.
“How long have you been working on this?” He asked as he took another sip of his black beverage. “It sounds like you have been working at this for quite some time. Shouldn’t you have found a cure yet?”

She shook her and cast her brown eyes down towards her cup.

“I've been working on this since my parents had to be obviated,” she said with a slight smallness in her voice. “ I knew one day I wanted to find the cure and have them back in my life,”

Draco felt himself now getting slightly embarrassed and overcome with shame as he along with the other Death Eaters had caused her to cast that very spell. He cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“It’s been taking me a long time as I usually require more expensive materials and with lack of funding, I buy them myself,” she said with her tone growing a little more stronger. She directed her brown eyes to meet Draco’s face. “Unfortunately my salary can only go so far in procuring what I need and how long I can keep it up.”

“And that's where I come in, right?” he asked in an amused tone.

“Well, yes,” she said, treading lightly. “But this will help so many, Malfoy. You really should see first hand the work my team and myself do for our patients.”

“Yes,” Draco said coolly. “I’ve heard much from Richard about your department. He basically describes you as the darling of St. Mungo’s. Of course he is also after a sizable donation.”

They said nothing for a moment as both sipped their coffees studying each other.

“Why are you doing this, Malfoy?” Hermione asked finally, staring at him with an intrigued look. “I don’t recall you ever being this thoughtful or caring at Hogwarts.”

He narrowed his eyes. “People change, Granger.”

She laughed softly at his reply. “I call bullshit, Malfoy.”

Draco sneered at her laugh and took another sip of his coffee. “If you must know, I am trying to correct some past unforgivable behaviors by my family. The Malfoy name, unfortunately, hasn’t been well received recently in certain circles of magical society.”

Both fell silent for a moment over his statement. He could see her mind working, going back to that night at the manor so long ago. He could still hear her screams as Bellatrix carved into her. He always regretted that night. He regretted being a coward, blindly following his father’s footsteps, believing outdated ideology. He may not have gotten along with Granger much at Hogwarts but he never believed she deserved that night. No one did.

“-noble of you.”

Draco snapped back to attention. “Pardon?” he asked. She said something.

“I said that’s noble of you.”

He felt color rising up his neck as she looked at him. He gave a slight nod of his head.

“It’s almost 10:30,” she said, looking at wrist watch. “We should head back.”

She stood up and gazed down towards him. “I can show you my lab and some of my work.”

Draco watched her start walking towards the doorway and proceeded to follow her.

Two Hours Later

“I KNEW THIS WOULD BE A BAD IDEA!”

“I DIDN’T BREAK THEM ON PURPOSE! IT’S NOT LIKE I SET OUT WITH A MISSION TO ANNOY YOU, GRANGER! I WAS TRYING TO HELP!”

“ARE YOU SURE? IT SEEMS LIKE SOMETHING YOU WOULD FIND AMUSEMENT IN!”

“EXACTLY!V MY LIFE’S MEANING REVOLVES AROUND WAYS TO PESTER YOU! HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU SOUND LIKE A BANSHEE WHEN YOU’RE SCREAMING?!”

“HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOU’RE AN INSUFFERABLE KNITWIT?!”

In the course of two hours things went from relatively smooth to a verbal sprawl. When they both arrived back in her laboratory, Hermione started reviewing with Draco some of the work she was conducting and letting him read her documented findings. It almost seemed as if the two were getting along as he was asking her questions about her work and she was eagerly explaining them to him. Then of course, it all went downhill.

As Draco and Hermione were reviewing her findings, a lab assistant came in and interrupted them to have Hermione sign off on some lab tests she had ordered for a patient. As she reviewed the patient’s charts and orders she wrote, Draco took it upon himself to inspect her laboratory equipment more intensely. He noticed one beaker of potion brewing over a small flame that kept sputtering off and on. Clearly this would not do and set it upon himself to turn the flame up slightly higher to steady it.

What happened next set off a chain of chaotic events. The sputtering flame (now turned up higher) grew stronger and caused the beaker to shatter and break which then startled Draco who then in turn backed up into a lab table that housed various glass jars of other liquids. Said jars then toppled over and on to the floor. Hermione and the lab assistant turned their heads towards the sound of the commotion. Seeing her work now shattered on the floor and mixed with various pieces of broken glass, Hermione dropped her quill and widened her eyes in horror at the mess on the floor. She then shot her eyes towards Draco who stood there looking horrified at her.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?!” she asked, pointing at the mess.

And that is how the shouting match began. That also was how Richard was called in to her laboratory as she shouted how much she rather not work with Malfoy and Malfoy in turn shouted how much he rather work with someone less bitchy. This was also the moment Richard started to wonder if his salary was worth all this.

“Oi!” Richard exclaimed over the shouting witch and wizard. Both of them stopped for a moment and looked at him. “Perhaps, we should call it a day, yeah?”

“But my lab!” Hermione exclaimed as she glared at Draco.

“We will get right on it and have everything cleaned up as soon as possible,” Richard said in a soothing tone.. “Thankfully it was nothing that cannot be replaced.” He glanced over at Draco.

“I said I would pay for the damages!”

“That’s not the point, Malfoy! Some of us work really hard to make things better for others,” she said, her eyes growing large and slightly watery. “Not all of us can just throw money at things when we mess up.”

As soon as she said it, he felt a twinge of hurt.They locked eyes briefly and he quickly averted his eyes towards the floor. He heard her loudly sigh and watched her turn on her heel and storm out of the room.

Richard took a deep breath and walked over to Draco. He wrung his hands nervously.

“Mr. Malfoy, I do apologize for Healer Granger’s outburst,” he said cautiously. “She is very passionate about her work and dedicates a lot of her free time towards it. I hope you will not let this sour your consideration of -”

“It’s fine, Richard. She had every right to be upset,” he said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Her work means a lot to her. Please send me the invoice for the damages.”

Richard raised his brows in shock at Draco then gave a nod of his head. The Slytherin gave a tight smile and began walking towards the door.

“Mr. Malfoy?”

Draco turned around and arched his eyebrow.

“Er…do let me speak to her. Perhaps we can schedule another visit in a week or so?”

Malfoy nodded and then proceeded out the room with his black cloak gliding behind him.

Later that evening

“Ginny, I’m home!” Hermione called out letting herself in the flat. “I’ve had such a horrid day. I’m going to get a shower before dinner!”

“Sounds good! I’m making a cottage pie! It should be done in a few!” the red haired witch called back from the kitchen.

Hermione hung her flat keys on the hook by the door and proceeded to her bedroom. She flicked her wand to turn on her room lights and she found Crookshanks nestled on top of her bed in a neat orange ball. He perked his head up and yawned as she set her satchel down by her desk. She walked over and scratched his furry head as he gave a big yawn. “Hello, my love.” He purred in response and then leaped from the bed and out the room in search of food.

Hermione closed her bedroom door and removed her healer robes and clothes. She put on a worn out fuzzy purple bathroom she had since she started university. It had seen better days but was very comfortable. Taking the hair pins from out of her nest of curls she swapped them for a scrunchie and piled her curls on top of her head in front of her dresser mirror. She gave herself a quick glance and noticed her eyes were still red from crying earlier. She sighed and began walking towards her door when she heard a tapping noise at her window. Confused, she walked over to it and opened her red curtains. Pecking at the glass was a majestic eagle owl standing on her window ledge with an envelope in its beak. She opened the window.

“Hello there. Is this for me?” she asked, stroking the side of its head.

The owl released the envelope and clicked approvingly then flew off. Hermione closed the window and then looked at the silver wax seal on the envelope. MM

She popped the wax seal off and opened the envelope and pulled out a simple card in an elegant script:

I’m sorry.
D.M.

Chapter Text

Chapter 5

Giving himself a once over in the gilded pewter mirror, Draco did a quick glance of himself and then made his way into the halls of Malfoy Manor and towards the dining room. The sun shone brightly through the hallway windows as he walked past portraits containing past Malfoy ancestors. Their eyes followed him as he passed by and they nodded their heads in approval. He looked every part a Malfoy heir.

Entering the brightly lit dining room, he found his mother already seated at the table pouring tea into her cup.

“Good morning, darling,” she said brightly.

She was dressed in emerald robes and her white blonde hair was neatly pinned back in a French chignon. Besides her tea cup was a neatly folded Daily Prophet.

“Good Morning, Mother,” Draco said, bending down and planting a gentle kiss on her cheek. He then took a seat across from her and unfolded his napkin into his lap.

“Tea?” Narcissa asked, holding up the tea pot.

“Yes, please.”

She gracefully poured the hot liquid into his tea cup and placed the pot back down on the table. A female house elf dressed in a black dress and white apron quickly appeared by the table.

“Would Lady and Master Malfoy like omelets for breakfast?” the elf squeaked out.

“Thank you, Pippy. That sounds wonderful. You may also bring out the fresh fruit while we wait,” Narcissa said pleasantly.

Pippy dipped into a little curtsey and then made her way into the kitchen. As she did, two fresh fruit cups appeared before Narcissa and Draco.

Draco sipped his tea and let the warm beverage start to wake him. He was never a true morning person and had to be coached into the day with caffeine.

“I see you are dressed up today,” Narcassia hummed, looking approvingly at her son. “Are you visiting the hospital today?”

He placed his tea cup back on the saucer and reached for his fork. “Yes, I am shadowing Granger today on the floors. It was suggested so I may get a better understanding of the work the hospital does,” he said stabbing a pineapple. Draco took a bite of his pineapple and then chuckled softly.

“Of course if I survive this it will be a miracle.”

“Why would you not survive?” Narcissa asked as she delicately spread her napkin on her lap.

Draco furrowed his brows and looked at his mother across the table. “Granger wasn’t exactly pleased with me last time. I sort of had an accident in her laboratory. Of course I offered to pay for what I damaged but she accused me of just throwing money at problems.”

“Well, darling, have you tried to talk to her? If I can recall, you both didn’t were never on friendly terms at Hogwarts,” Narcissa said, reaching for her fork. “Perhaps you need to find time to speak to her and create a fresh start. You’re both adults now.”

Draco huffed and shook his head. “You don’t understand, Mother. She hates me. I made her life unbearable when we were children. She was always uptight, always had to be the best at everything, and acted very haughty over it. I used to mock her and insult her every chance I got and I’m sure she still thinks about that. Not to mention after that night with Bellatrix,” Draco paused and took an uncomfortable breath. “I think she just finds me vile by association.”

He said nothing and poked at an orange slice in his bowl. “Something about her just always makes me want to challenge her. It’s like she knows how to stoke the flames.”

“Well,” Narcissa said as she patted her mouth gracefully with her napkin. “Perhaps we should invite Ms. Granger over to the Manor one night for dinner? I would love to hear more about her work and I’m sure you both would relax in a non-work environment.”

Draco felt his mouth gape open as he stared at his mother like she grew an extra head. “Absolutely not. It will be a disaster.”

“Oh Draco, you think too deep into things,” Lady Malfoy said, waving a graceful hand dismissively. “Having Ms. Granger over will allow you two to talk more and perhaps learn more about each other. It also allows her to see we are not like all our family. I shall extend her an invitation this week I think.”

Draco groaned loudly. “Why can’t you just leave well enough alone?”

“Nonsense,” she said, raising her tea up towards her rouge lips and beaming at her son. “Besides, I haven’t hosted a proper guest in quite some time.”

Draco sighed and cleared his fruit bowl aside as a plated omelet appeared in front of him.

At 10:30 am he was walking down the hallway of the Neurological Maladies ward of St. Mungo’s. The sound of magical medical equipment buzzed throughout the floor as various medical witches and wizards flitted in and out of patient rooms. Draco noticed how dingey the peach colored paint looked on the walls and the tiled floors looked worn with wear. He noticed the smell of antiseptic that waffed in the air. It wasn’t that hospitals weirded him out. It was just that this particular floor looked, well, depressing.

Draco stopped at a healer’s station where a wizard that appeared to be in his twenties was writing something on a scroll. He looked up as Draco approached him and put his quill to the side.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

“I’m looking for Healer Granger? I am supposed to meet with her at this time.”

The young man smiled warmly. “Ah yes. She should be coming out shortly. She just went into a patient room with the new group of residents. If you wait here you should see her walk out the room across the hall here in a few minutes.” He motioned to a room across from Draco that had a door shut.

“Cheers,” Draco said and leaned against the station as the young man went back to finishing his writings.

Within ten minutes Hermione appeared exiting her patient’s room surrounded by four resident healers. They all appeared no more than 22 and were busy hanging on every word she was saying. Draco laughed to himself taking in the sight. Typical. She was always teaching someone something.

“And you will notice the slight fluctuation in the patient’s labs is a dead giveaway that the condition is not improving,” she said confidently to her audience. She looked up and saw Draco leaning against the healer’s station watching her with an amused look on his face. She felt her face grow warm. “Why don’t we break for coffee for a few and reconvene back here around 1:30?” she asked the group. “Review your notes from this case and we can discuss any questions you may have this afternoon.”

The group nodded in agreement and dispersed. She smoothed a loose curl back off her face and walked towards Draco.

“Hello, Malfoy,” she said politely.

“You’re like a natural with this stuff,” he replied. “Reminds me of when you were in the Great Hall studying with the other Gryffindors.”

She blushed slightly and shifted her eyes towards his feet. “Well yes, it’s my profession. I just feel a well educated healer is a good healer.”

“I would agree with that. Having someone as dull as Crabbe or Goyle would make me wonder what the hospital’s requirements are in hiring,” he laughed.

Hermione looked up and gave a little smile.

Draco cleared his throat and rubbed his forearm uncomfortably. “So, I am to shadow you for a little but, before we do, I do want to stress I am very sorry about last time. I didn’t intend to ruin your work and I do hope you received my apology.”
Hermione felt her grip on her paperwork tense up a bit and she hugged it closer to her chest as if to comfort herself. Did Draco Malfoy just apologize to my face, she wondered to herself.

“Er, yes I did,” she said softly. “Thank you for your apology. I am sorry I got…a bit too passionate about it.”

“Perhaps we could put it aside and just focus on other things for now?” Draco asked, extending his hand towards Hermione. “A truce perhaps?”

Hermione stared at his hand, hesitant and slightly confused. Draco smirked as she looked back up at him, raising a brow questioningly.

“I’m not asking you to marry me, Granger. I’m proposing we start fresh.”

Hermione rolled her eyes at his attempt to be funny and grabbed his hand. She noticed how warm and large his hand felt wrapped around her smaller hand. “Truce,” she said, feeling her skin start to tingle at his touch.

“Excellent,” he said and let go of her hand. “So what exactly are we doing today?”

She peered at her stack of papers and grabbed one to bring it on top of the others. “We are visiting one of my favorite patients today, Mr. Lester Ledger.”

“Ah,” Draco said, starting to follow her as she walked down the hallway. “What exactly makes him your favorite? Is he wildly handsome?”

Hermione shook her head as if the notion was preposterous. “You’ll see.”

She stopped at a room numbered 415 and knocked lightly on the cracked door.

“Come in,” called an aged female voice.

Hermione looked at Draco and tilted her head towards the inside of the room as she walked in. He followed after her. Inside sat a plump, elderly witch next to a hospital bed. She was dressed in maroon robes and her wiry gray hair was braided back into a single ponytail. Her half moon spectacles slid slightly down her rounded nose and she was looking at the two knitting needles magically knitting a scarf on her lap. She looked up from her knitting and smiled upon seeing Hermione.

“Why Healer Granger,” she smiled looking at Hermione. “It’s lovely to see you, love.” She noticed Draco standing behind Hermione and adjusted her glasses to get a better look. “Why who is this tall, handsome gent?”

Draco’s neck reddened and Hermione tried to suppress a slight laugh.

“Mrs. Leger, this is my friend, Draco Malfoy. He’s shadowing me to learn more about the work I do.”

“Pleasure to meet you,” Draco replied.

“Pleasure is all mine,” Mrs. Ledger said, taking Draco in. “I will say, Healer Granger, don’t let this one wander too far. He’s bound to make a few ladies swoon. I dare say if I wasn’t married myself, I would be asking him on a date!”

Hermione laughed, noticing Draco’s face grew pink with embarrassment.

Draco cleared his throat and noticed a wizard snoring in a hospital bed next to Mrs. Ledger. “I assume that sleeping gentleman is Mr. Ledger?”

Mrs. Ledger nodded. “Yes, this is my husband Lester.” She reached a hand over and gently shook the sleeping man awake. “Lester dear, Healer Granger is here to see you!”

The sleeping wizard startled awake and adjusted his oversized glasses on his face. He was a thin man with no hair on his head with the exception of two or three strands refusing to let go. He smiled widely, displaying a toothless smile. His wife sighed and reached for a glass containing what appeared to be a set of dentures.

“Your teeth, dear.”

Lester looked at her and the teeth confused and then ran his tongue over his gums finally understanding. Taking the glass, he reached for his dentures and popped them in his mouth.
“Healer Granger!” he exclaimed.

Hermione walked over to his bedside and smiled kindly down at him.

“Hello Mr. Ledger. How are you feeling today?”

“Oh just fine I suppose. Am I still here for my tests?”

Hermione nodded. She produced a self inking quill from her robes and started scribbling some notes on a piece of parchment.

“Do you know who that woman next to you is yet?” Hermione asked, motioning to Mrs. Ledger.

Lester looked over to his wife and furrowed his brows.

“No not really but, she tells me all the time she’s my wife.”

“I am, dear,” Mrs. Leger said, focusing back on her knitting. “Alice Ledger. Your wife.”

Mr. Ledger looked unsure at the woman and then motioned for Hermione to come closer.

“Between me and you, I think she’s a woman after my money,” he whispered.

“You never had any,” Alice replied nonchalantly examining the pattern her knitting needles made the scarf so far.

Draco chuckled to himself watching the exchange and Mrs. Ledger looked up at him smirking.

“Never a dull moment with this one,” she said to him, motioning towards her husband.

“Does he really not remember you?” Draco asked as he walked to stand next to Hermione.

“Lester used to be an Auror,” Hermione explained to him as she put her quill away and pulled her wand out. She cast a few diagnostic charms over Lester. “Unfortunately one day in the field the wizard he was after cast an oblivate over him and he hasn’t remembered anything about his past. We just made progress a few months ago to get him to remember his name but, we are not seeing much in terms of improvement.”

She studied the various symbols that appeared over Lester and then waved her wand to vanish them. As she did this, Lester looked over and studied Malfoy intensely.

“Have you come to steal my money?” he asked eying Draco seriously.

“Pardon?” Draco asked not sure if he heard right.

“I recognize you. You’re Cyril. You’re after my money aren’t you?”

“Uh, no,” Draco said confused. “My name is Malfoy.”

“Oh for goodness sake,” Alice said, shaking her head. “Lester, Cyril was the villain on the telly yesterday. We were watching The Young and Magical. The soap opera, dear!”

Lester still eyeballed Malfoy with caution till Hermione placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

“It’s okay, Mr. Ledger,” she soothed. “He’s with me. He’s my colleague.”

Mr. Ledger smiled back at Hermione and relaxed back in the bed as she ran a few more charms over him. Draco noticed how much care she took with documenting her findings and chatting with the Ledgers. He started wondering how frustrating it must be to not only be married to someone who didn’t recognize you but to also try and care for them as well. He felt the background noise of the room vanish as he paid attention to the way Hermione discussed some possible exams with Mr. Ledger’s wife and gently placed a hand on her shoulder to offer her comfort and strength. Was she always this caring?

“I shall pop back in Monday morning and review the findings after his exam. I’ll order a consultation with the specialist and will let her know to order the test before the end of this week. Does that sound good?” she asked Alice.

“Lovely, dear. I’ll be here as always,” Mrs. Ledger said. “Will your handsome colleague be back as well?” She winked at Draco and smiled.

“Well, he-”

“I hope to be back,” Draco interjected, walking over to Mrs. Ledger and reaching for her hand. He placed his lips to her knuckles. “It’s always nice to be in the company of such beautiful witches.”

Mrs. Ledger giggled like a school girl and Hermione coughed trying to suppress a laugh.

“We must be off!” Hermione called ushering Draco out the door with her. “I will see you next time, Lester!”

She smiled at Lester and his wife and pushed Draco towards the door. Draco turned back and smiled at the confused old wizard and threw his wife a flirty wink which caused her to giggle again.

Hermione closed the room door and looked at Draco when they were in the halls shaking her head.

“Have you always been a flirt?” she asked him.

“Maybe,” he replied after thinking about it. “Pansy used to always accuse me of flirting with the other Slytherin girls.”

“I can see why.” Hermione smoothed her healer robes and started walking down the hall. Draco fell in stride with her.

“I must admit, Granger, you are bloody good at your job,” He said walking beside her with his hands in his pockets. “Have you been working with the Ledgers for a while?”

Hermione nodded. “For about a year now. They’re a sweet old couple and his wife has the patience of a saint. It saddens me that he has no memory of her.” She sighed and ran a hand over her hair to smooth it down. “I am still working on a few modifications and equations but I do feel I’m close to figuring out something to reverse oblivate.”

They stopped outside of the doorway to her office. She hugged her papers close to her chest and looked into Draco’s eyes. “This may sound silly,” she said hesitantly. “But, whenever I make progress on my work I think of the Ledgers and my parents. It keeps me going.” She bit her lip as if waiting for Malfoy to say something sarcastic or cruel at her but nothing came.

“St. Mungo’s is truly lucky to have you, Granger,” he said softly smiling down at her, his silver eyes meeting her brown ones. “If anyone will figure it out. It’s you.”

She smiled back and felt her body grow warm. “Thank you, Draco.”

They both stared a moment at each other until a small chime went off. Hermione looked at her wrist watch.

“I have to run,” she explained to Draco. “I need to review some results for one of my tests before my residents come back up.” She gave Draco a nod and started to open her office door but paused.

“Thank you for visiting today,” She said, reaching out for Draco’s arm and giving it a gentle squeeze. “It means a lot to our patients that you’re considering donating.” She blushed slightly realizing she was touching him, released his arm, and proceeded to enter her office and close the door behind her.

Draco stood there a moment, rubbing his other hand over his forearm where she held it, looking at the closed office door. He felt a slight flutter in his chest and his body grew warm. Was he getting sick? Why did he feel off? He started walking to the hospital entrance eager to get home. He would have to have a word with his mother regarding that dinner.

Chapter Text

Chapter 6

“Definitely the black one.”

Hermione held up the black pencil dress against her body and then a yellow one. She studied them in her dresser mirror and then turned to face Ginny.

“Are you sure?” she asked once again holding an A-line yellow dress to her body again. “The yellow seems a bit more cheerful.”

Ginny rolled her eyes and leaned back on Hermione’s bed. “The yellow screams Hufflepuff and trust me you don’t want to go to Malfoy Manor screaming Hufflepuff.”

Hermione sighed and hung the yellow dress back in the small bedroom closet. She started examining the several pairs of shoes she owned that lined the closet floor.  “I can’t believe I accepted Narcissa Malfoy’s offer of dinner. I clearly have gone mental.” She picked up a pair of black ballet flats and looked at them next to her dress.

“Black stilettos,” Ginny said quickly, watching Hermione look at the flats. “And, you’re not mental. If they’re going to be donating money to the hospital, this is almost part of your job to make sure you convince them to, right?”

Hermione put the black flats back on the closet floor and grabbed a pair of sleek black stiletto heels instead. The heels cost her a pretty galleon and Ginny had convinced her to splurge on them after her first big promotion. Ginny called them “Fuck Me Heels” and said every witch needed a pair in her wardrobe to feel powerful every now and then. 

“True,” Hermione replied, placing her dress across her bed and putting the shoes on the floor. “It’s just I haven’t been back there since- '' She looked uncomfortably at her faded mudblood scar. “Well, since that night.” She sighed and sat next to Ginny on the bed. 

Ginny reached over and grabbed Hermione’s hand and looked at her. 

“While the Malfoys are no saints, I do believe that people can change. Lucius is in Azkaban and Narcssia and Draco have been making some attempts to be decent from what I have read in the papers,” she said, squeezing Hermione’s hand. “Go and just keep an open mind but remember one thing.” 

Ginny reached for Hermione’s other hand and Hermione stared into Ginny’s blue eyes questioningly. 

“You’re Hermione Fucking Granger, the most brillant witch of our time.” 

Hermione laughed and squeezed Ginny’s hand back. “Thanks, Gin.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Pippy, let’s go with the white and yellow roses,” Narcissa stated, looking at the dining table. “The white are a nice neutral but yellow roses symbolize friendship and new beginnings.” 

“Yes, Lady Malfoy,” Pippy squeaked, as she gave a little curtsey and apparated out the dining room. Within a minute, a beautiful floral centerpiece of yellow and white roses mixed with various greenery appeared in the middle of the table. Narcissa gave an approving nod. Hearing approaching footsteps, she turned to face the doorway.

“Draco, darling,” she cooed at her son, looking him over. “You look quite handsome.”

She glided over to him, grabbing both his hands, and air kissed him on the cheek. Draco gave her a small smile. He was wearing a slim cut tailored black suit, a dark silver dress shirt that set off his pewter eyes, and polished dragon leather loafers. His blonde hair which usually was slicked back was instead left slightly tousled and styled to stay off his face. 

Draco released his mother’s hands and stepped back to take in the room. The table was neatly set for three with the fine crystal and china. Plates and goblets that had been in the family for centuries all monogrammed with “M.”  Enchanted candles stood glowing on silver candlestick holders towards the center of the table and in the middle stood an elaborate flower arrangement of yellow and white roses. Silver cloth napkins containing silverware were tucked neatly next to the plates of each setting. Green boughs of various plants draped along the walls of the dining room in an elegant manner. 

“It’s lovely, Mother, but maybe you went a bit overboard?” Draco asked, looking around the room. “We’re hosting Granger, not the Prime Minister.”

“Oh Draco, hush,” Narcissa said, swatting at him. “This is the perfect time to put our best foot forward. We want her to feel invited and be comfortable. Not to mention, a friendship between you and Ms. Granger isn’t the worst thing for your image, darling.”

Draco just looked at his mother in disbelief and then cleared his throat. “Granger will never see me as her friend. She has Potter, Weasley, and Girl Weasley for that.”

“Perhaps she’s just not been around those who know the real you,” Narcissa mused, walking over to a place setting and inspected a goblet. “Friendships take time, dear. It doesn’t mean, however, that we cannot guide her along the way.”

She gave her son a knowing smile and then looked at the clock on the wall. “She should be arriving shortly and I need to oversee that the salads from the kitchen are ready in time. Please keep an eye out for Ms. Granger and offer her a drink upon her arrival.”

“Yes, Mother.” 

As Narcissa walked towards the direction of the servants kitchen, Draco made his way into the parlor room with the fireplace attached to the floo network. He studied himself in the gilded mirror and adjusted his collar. Why was he slightly nervous? Would she hate every second of being here, he wondered. Perhaps she would be nervous as well. He hoped she wouldn’t be frightened to be back here at the Manor. He did feel terrible about that night. He always did but, as a stupid teenager who just wanted to make his father happy, he made a lot of foolish choices when he was younger. 

He shook his head to clear his mind and decided to fix himself a fire whiskey to calm his nerves when the green flames shot up and out walked Hermione Granger. She was wearing a form fitting black dress that hugged her curves in all the right places. Her shapely legs were on display in sheer black stockings and  black stilettos with a red sole peaking through. Hermione’s usually messy thick brown hair was neatly styled in a smooth and low chignon. Diamond stud earrings completed her outfit. He noticed her eyes were set off by light smokey makeup and darkened lashes with a sheer wash lip tint. Malfoy looked at her with widened eyes and felt his face feel buzzy. She looked beautiful. 

“Granger,” he said, clearing his throat. “You look nice.”

She stared back at him with slightly pinkened cheeks. “Hello, Malfoy. Er, you as well.”

Her eyes traveled from his shoes to hair. He looked more than nice, she thought. He looked handsome. His suit, more closely tailored than what she ever saw him in, gave an outline of a well defined frame. She could tell he was muscular but slim. The silver shirt made his eyes stand out even more and his tousled hair gave him a mischievous boyish charm. She started to feel her skin warm. 

“My mother is currently in the kitchen to check something but, I am told to offer you something to drink whilst we wait for dinner. Would you like a glass of wine?” Malfoy asked quickly. He knew he needed something to calm himself. 

“Merlot please,” Hermione eagerly answered back. She needed something to calm her nerves if she was to get through this dinner. 

Malfoy nodded and called for a house elf. 

“Could you please bring us a glass of merlot and a glass of fire whiskey, Pepper?” he asked the small male elf.

“Yes, Master Malfoy!” the elf exclaimed and apparated out of the parlor. 

Within an instant the elf quickly returned with two drinks on a silver tray. Draco and Hermione both took their drinks and thanked the elf who bowed proudly and disappeared. 

Hermione took a sip of her wine while Draco took a sip of his fire whiskey. 

“Thank you again for having me for dinner,” Hermione said, attempting to dispel the awkwardness of the situation. “This is very nice.”

“It was mother’s idea,” Draco said without thinking and then immediately regretting that. “Er, what I meant is my mother thought it would be good for us to converse outside of the workplace and I agree.” He took another gulp of whiskey. 

“Oh, well yes. That makes sense.” 

Hermione looked around the room and noticed how the decor was different since she last was there. Before everything seemed so cold and gray. Now she noticed the rich emeralds and warmer touches of wood trim were throughout the estate, Draco noticed her looking around the room. 

“It looks nice in here,” she said. “It looks more welcoming.”

“Yes, we’ve done quite a few renovations since you last were here.”

Hermione stared at Draco. He immediately felt his face go red. Fuck.

“I mean that night was horrible and we want to distance ourselves from that part of our family,” Malfoy said, feeling the words just vomit out. “We’re not like my father and aunt. I do feel that night was horrible.” He took a breath. “What I’m trying to say is, I hope you aren’t feeling that way tonight.”

Hermione gave him a small smile. “I think it looks lovely in here,” she said quietly. “I’m sure you and your mother did a wonderful job redecorating the Manor and I appreciate your thoughtfulness.” 

Draco gave her a slow smile back and felt a slight relief. 

“Ms. Granger, I see you have arrived! Please excuse my delay in greeting you,” said a charming feminine voice walking in the parlor. 

Narcissa walked over to Hermione and embraced her graciously giving her an air kiss on each cheek. She stepped back and looked over Hermione beaming. 

“Welcome to Malfoy Manor and thank you for joining Draco and I for dinner this evening.”

“Thank you for having me, Mrs. Malfoy.”

Narcissa gave Hermione a winning smile ( is that where Malfoy gets it from? ).

“Please dear, call me Narcissa.”

“Right, Narcissa, thank you for having me. Please call me Hermione.”

Narcissa smiled warmly and looked over at her son.

“I see Draco has seen to it you were welcomed. He and I are very happy to have you join us this evening. He has spoken very highly of your work.”

Draco choked a bit on his whiskey.

“Oh,” was all Hermione could say turning a bit pink. 

Narcissa smiled like a Cheshire Cat  at the two young people. “Shall we adjourn to the dining room for dinner?”

“Yes!” Draco exclaimed, hoping to disperse the awkwardness. 

Narcissa motioned for Hermione to follow her and Draco trailed behind the two women as Narcissa chatted ahead with their guest.

What is going on with me , he wondered to himself. Why was he suddenly so easily embarrassed and worried about what Hermione Granger thought? Walking behind the two witches he found his eyes glued to Hermione’s figure. Her black dress hugged her backside seductively. He bit his lower lip (unaware to the fact he was) watching her walk ahead of him. Draco found himself suddenly wondering what she would look like with that dress on the floor. 

Pull yourself together , he thought and cracked his neck. This dinner was going to be a challenge. 

“Everything was simply wonderful this evening,” Hermione gushed to Narcissa. 

They had just finished a sumptuous three course meal of warm pumpkin salad, filet mignon with root vegetables, and toffee pudding. 

“I’m so pleased you enjoyed it,” Narcissa smiled across the table at Hermione. “I shall let the elves know everything was to your liking.”

“Yes, the meal was very good,” Draco said from the head of the table and immediately felt annoyed at himself. Is that all you can say? The meal was very good? Like you’ve never had a dinner here before. 

He turned towards Hermione and said in what he thought was his most confident tone, “Mother has always had a talent for hosting and putting together social dinners and teas.”

“It most certainly shows,” Hermione said, smiling warmly back at him. 

“I do enjoy hosting,” Narcissa laughed. “I am not sure about either of you but, I could use a cup of coffee to help digest. Shall we take it in the parlor?” she asked, gracefully rising from her chair. 

“That sounds lovely,” Hermione said, agreeing and looked over at Malfoy questioning. 

“Coffee would be wonderful,” he nodded back. 

In the parlor room, Narcissa served coffee as everyone took a seat. Draco found himself sitting next to Hermione on the emerald velvet couch. Narcissa took a seat in a matching emerald tufted chair. 

“It really is lovely you are working with Draco,” Narcissa said, placing her tea cup and saucer on her lap. “I heard many of stories about you when he was child at Hogwarts but, I imagine you two were not on the best of terms back then.” She smiled knowingly at Hermione. 

Hermione lowered her coffee and felt the corner of her mouth form the beginning of a smirk. 

“Well yes, Draco enjoyed taunting me back then,” she looked over at Draco and raised a brow. “I believe my teeth and hair were always the main targets with you.”

Draco raised both his brows and scoffed. “Granger, you were trying to outdo me in class. Do you know how hard I studied and YOU always were ahead of me in grades? I did what any pubescent boy would do. I found something to pick on you about.” He took a sip of his coffee and after a beat added sulkily, “Besides, you punched me our third year.” 

Hermione lifted her chin a bit higher, smirked, and stared right into Draco’s eyes as she said, “You deserved it. You were insufferable back then and drove me insane.” 

“Ha,” Draco replied rolling his eyes. “I could have said the same about you. The Golden Girl who knew everything and wanted to make sure everyone knew it. How many times did I have to hear about how smart and talented you were. The brightest witch of our age! I used to try to avoid you by hiding out in the library and reading a few of my favorite books but you were always there.” 

“Wait,” Hermione asked tilting her head at Draco. “You were in the library a lot? How come I never saw you?”

Draco took another sip of his coffee before he answered. “You seemed shocked. Yes, I would stay in the library a lot to have time alone. I used to hide out in the section by the windows with the wingback chairs. I would read and relax alone avoiding the idiocracy of Crabbe and Goyle.” 

“I never knew that. I never would see you.”

“You wouldn’t. You always sat at the tables.”

“Yes, Draco is an avid reader,” Narcissa said picking up her tea cup gracefully. She took a dainty sip of her coffee. “He’s added some wonderful authors to the manor’s library.”

Hermione’s brown eyes lit up. “You have a library?” she asked turning to Malfoy. 

“Yes,” he replied nonchalantly.  

Narcissa raised a perfect arched eyebrow and smiled brightly at the pair.  “Yes, Hermione, you would love it. Our library has books that span back centuries. Perhaps Draco could have you over to spend the afternoon exploring the stacks. Isn’t that right, darling?”

Draco furrowed his brows at his mother and looked over at Hermione who was staring at him as if she was a lost puppy needing a home. 

“I suppose,” he said finally. “If you wanted to, Granger, I could arrange a weekend afternoon.” 

Hermione’s face broke into a bright smile. “Oh that would be amazing. I do have to be on call this upcoming weekend but perhaps the following Saturday afternoon?” 

“I believe that will work,” he said.

“Then it’s a date,” she replied beaming at him.

“How delightful!” Narcissa exclaimed. “I do think you will enjoy the manor’s library, Hermione.” 

“I look forward to it,” Hermione said happily. She turned to Draco and asked, “Perhaps you can recommend some works you’ve explored when I come? I tend to enjoy rather big ones myself. I get through them fairly easy though.”

Draco choked slightly on his coffee. He patted his chest and coughed to clear his throat.

“Are you ok?” Hermione asked looking concerned at him along with Narcissa. 

“Yes,” he said and cleared his throat again. “I swallowed too fast. I wasn’t paying attention.” 

“I see,” Hermione replied slightly perturbed. “Perhaps you have too much on your mind?”

Draco chuckled softly. “Granger, you have no idea.”

After coffee and goodbyes were said, Draco and Narcissa stood outside on the veranda taking in the night air. The sky was clear and dark with twinkling stars peppering it. The chill in the air was slight yet refreshing. 

“Hermione is simply lovely,” Narcissa stated looking up at the sky. She had a satin shawl around her shoulders with her arms hugging close to her chest. 

Draco had his hands in his pockets and looked up towards the sky as well. “She is something, that’s for sure. I don’t think you’ll ever meet another woman like her.”

Lady Malfoy said nothing for a beat then pointed at a cluster of stars. “Your constellation,” she pointed out. 

The Malfoy heir looked up and smiled, “Draco.” 

Narcissa looked over to her son and smiled. “You know, your father and I named you Draco because dragons are fearless, powerful, and commanding. Everything we wanted for our son.” 

Draco smiled back at his mother as she brushed a loose white blonde strand of hair from his forehead. She rested her pale manicured hand upon his cheek. 

“A young man embodying everything a dragon is should seek a young woman who can handle his fire,” she said softly, icy blue eyes meeting his gray ones. 

Malfoy furrowed his brows questionly at his mother but, she said nothing as she kissed his forehead and walked back into the house. Draco stood there, hands still in his pockets, looking at the manor still confused by what his mother meant. 

Hermione was pouring over the ancient text within the manor library. She was wearing a muggle outfit that consisted of a cream sweater that was slightly too big for her and hung a bit off her shoulder, dark skinny jeans, and sneakers. Her curly hair was pulled up in a messy bun with her wand stuck through it. Draco sat next to her leaning back in his chair taking in her attire. He wasn’t sure if he liked muggle clothing as he felt they tended to dress very sloppily but, he did appreciate the tan shoulder that snuck out from her top and the way the denim emphasized her rounded hips. 

“This library is simply wonderful, Draco,” she said, turning to smile at him. “You have such a beautiful collection of books.” She sighed dreamily. “I could just stare at them for all eternity.”

Draco leaned over Hermione and huskily whispered in her ear, “Where I’m looking, I could stare at my view for all eternity.” 

Hermione froze and turned to face Draco. He looked at her with darkened silver eyes and licked his bottom lip greedily. 

“What did you say?” she asked him softly. 

He reached a hand towards her book and closed it. “I said I could look at you for all eternity but, really what I want to say is I want fuck you right here on this table, Granger.”

“Oh.” 

He nuzzled his nose and mouth on the side of her neck. ‘Say yes. Let me make you moan and cum.” He started lightly kissing her neck. “I’ve been wanting to since I first laid eyes on you in the hospital.” 

Hermione gave a slight gasp at his kisses. They started light and then advanced to playful nips. 

“Yes,” she said finally, gasping with widened eyes at his bite. 

“Good girl,” he said as he ran a hand into her messy top knot and grasped her curls. He pulled her hair firmly making her head dip back. He feverishly kissed from the side of her ear down her neck and collarbone. “I’m going to fuck you the way a woman like you should be fucked,” he growled between kisses and bites. 

Hermione said nothing but moaned with closed eyes. 

In an elegant yet swift motion, he used his free arm to sweep the books from the table and then scoop her up placing her on the table top. He hungrily found her mouth and kissed her firmly nipping at her lower lip. While still kissing her, Draco’s hands lifted her sweater above her head and he threw it to the side. He nipped and kissed from her mouth down her neck and right above her breasts. Hermione’s hand clawed at his hair as his tongue started circling her nipple through her black lace bra. He gave a gentle bite on her laced covered right nipple and delighted when he heard her moan lightly. He moved the lacy cup of the bra aside and proceed to suck the same nipple. Hermione gasped and grasped his hair tighter. 

“Draco, please,” she whispered. 

He said nothing but continued sucking intensely while using his other hand to thumb and pinch her other nipple. He continued this until she begged him a few more times. Releasing her breasts, he trailed kisses down her stomach to the top of her denims. 

‘What are you doing?” Hermione asked breathlessly. 

Draco stopped what he was doing and looked at her amused. “Please say you’ve been properly worshiped by the Weasel?” he asked studying her confused face. 

Hermione looked at him for a moment slightly confused then he could see the light bulb went off. 

“Ron never was into that when we dated,” she replied quietly. 

Draco shook his head in disbelief. “What a tosser,” he scoffed. “ A witch like you, Granger, should always be worshiped at her alter,” he said in a feral tone as he undid her jean button and started inching her pants down. He saw she was wearing matching lacy black underwear. ‘Amen,” was all head he said as he dipped head. 

Draco shot up from his bed and looked around. He was in his room and not the library. It was just him and no one else. He sighed noticing his groin area felt very stiff. Great. Not only was it a dream, he had an erection as well. He flopped back into his bed and placed his hands over his eyes. 

What is going on with me?

Chapter Text

Chapter 7

“You look like you’ve never seen one this massive,” Draco smirked at Hermione raising an eyebrow suggestively.

Hermione blushed at the implication and chuckled softly. She pulled the book she was reaching for closer to her chest and turned facing Draco. 

“You’re horrible,” she laughed. “I’ve never seen a home library this big. We just had a bookshelf at my parents' house dedicated to books. Not a whole wing.” 

She looked around taking in the tremendous library. The setting afternoon Sun poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows highlighting the dark oak shelves lined with books of every subject. Plush chairs were throughout the library’s floor for readers to get comfortable as they read their novel of choice. A grand stone fireplace was built in the center wall of the library keeping the wing at a comfortable temperature. Above the fireplace was a portrait of two past Malfoy female ancestors reading their books lazily. 

“It really is beautiful. I could spend the entire day in here just reading,” Hermione mused. 

“It was my favorite part of the Manor to hide in when I came home from school,” Malfoy commented, looking around proudly. He walked over to a shelf and pulled a book partially out of the stacks and looked at it for a moment. 

“You know Granger, you are more than welcome to use the library for your research if you need somewhere quiet to work,” he suggested to her still looking at the book absently. 

Hermione blinked and looked confused. 

“I’m sorry. I thought Draco Malfoy just offered his library up to me to use,” she smirked at him. 

Malfoy looked up at her, his mouth quirking. “Once in a while, I can play nice.”

He walked over to her and lowered down to whisper in her ear in a deep voice, “But don’t tell anyone my secret.”

Hermione laughed and playfully shoved him. “Your secret is safe with me, Malfoy.” 

She smiled up at him as he smiled back at her. Hermione felt something in her chest flutter briefly. After the dinner Narcissa invited her to a few weeks ago, Hermione felt like Malfoy was a bit more friendlier to her. When he came to the hospital a few days later to meet with her and a few of the administrators to discuss the progress made with her research, he seemed very interested. He took notes, asked Hermione questions, and discussed where his potential donation would be best used. He seemed so different from the boy who used to tease her relentlessly about her mixed heritage. He seemed, well…likeable. 

Hermione opened the book she was holding and leaned against one of the shelves. “I think this book actually may be a start in helping my research,” she said flipping through the pages and skimming the content. 

“Oh, what book is it?” Draco asked moving closer and looking over her shoulder.

Keeping her finger on her place, she closed the book so the cover faced Draco.

“Ah, The Magical Mind by Otto Girnmill ,” he said nodding slightly. 

“I’ve read a few of his other works,” Hermione explained turning her head to look at Draco. “He does incorporate some muggle-based science in his research which has put off some in the magical community but,I find him bloody brilliant. He’s given so many lectures about the wizarding brain and the effects certain spells have had on its functions.” 

She saw Draco was just looking at her intensely with his pewter eyes and a nervous smile formed on her face. “What?”

He gave a little smirk and replied, “It’s humorous watching you discuss something you are very passionate about. You get very animated.” 

Hermione felt heat rise up her neck and on her face. “Sorry,” she said casting her eyes to the side. “Sometimes I just can’t help myself.” 

“Don’t be,” Malfoy said, still staring at her. “It’s just who you are, Granger.”

“True,” she said suddenly feeling self-conscious and warm at the same time. She directed her eyes to look back at Malfoy’s. He still staring at her with a slight smile. Hermione felt she never noticed how different he looked when he smiled. His face lit up. He eyes seemed brighter. He was different from the teenage boy who used to scowl at her. 

“It is true,” he said very matter-of-factly. Draco then shifted his weight and leaned back on the bookshelf as well. “Also,” he said very cooly, “It reminds me of your S.P.E.W. crusade when we were kids.”

Hermione felt her mouth gape open then using one hand she closed her eyes shut, pinched the bridge of her nose, and shook her head. “You would bring that up,” she sighed. 

Draco laughed softly. “Your face just a moment ago reminded me of one of your passionate speeches about house elves you used to give in the Great Hall.”

“Yes, I remember,” she said still slightly embarrassed. 

“The Slytherin table used to place bets on how long your speeches would be,” Draco said wistfully. “In fact, I think I won a few galleons back then thanks to you.” 

Hermione shook her head. “I am so glad I was able to make Draco Malfoy richer than he already is,” she said sarcastically. 

“I’m just teasing you, Granger,” Draco said, smiling mischievously. 

“Oh good. Some things don’t change,” she said curtly and pushed herself off the shelf to walk away. 

She was always teased for being too passionate about certain things like her studies, her books, or projects. Usually, Hermione could shrug it off and ignore what others thought. With Malfoy, however, she found herself feeling some sort of way. She couldn’t explain why. 

“Granger, stop,” Malfoy called after her. 

Hermione paused in her tracks. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“Oh well, you did a good job of it,” she said, spinning around to face the Slytherin. “I’m glad you always found me laughable.”

“I don’t find you laughable,” Draco said shaking his head. 

“Sure seems that way.”

Malfoy ran a hand through his icy hair and placed the other in his trouser pocket. He let out a sigh. 

“Granger, I like that about you. You have passion, a fire, a spark behind the things you care about. You’ve always been that way and it’s not a bad thing.”

Hermione said nothing. She stared at Draco cautiously trying to see if a punchline was to follow. None came. 

Draco approached her and looked down at her. Hermione felt something stir in her stomach as her dark stare met his light stare. 

“I’m sorry if I made you feel like being you was a bad thing as a child,” he said softly. “You’re one of the most brilliant witches of our generation and I was a jealous git.”

Hermione opened her mouth to say he was just a child but Draco beat her to it. 

“And don’t defend me. I know what I was. I’m actually shocked you only punched me once,” he said waiting for her to react. 

Hermione gave a small smirk. 

“Ah there it is,” he said smiling. “The point I’m so poorly trying to get at, Granger, is embrace who you are. Some of us actually like it. And those that don’t? Fuck them.” 

“Fuck who?” a male voice asked from the doorway. “Not us, I hope. It’s not that type of gathering, mate.”

Draco and Hermione turned to follow the sound of the voice and in the library entrance stood Theodore Nott and Blaise Zabini. 

“I like a good shag like anyone else but, you’re not my type, Malfoy,” Theo said shrugging. 

Blaise closed his eyes and shook his head at his friend. “Clearly Draco wasn’t talking to us.” 

Draco furrowed his eyebrows and walked over to his friends.

“What are you wankers doing here?” Malfoy asked with an air of annoyance. 

“Did you get hexed?” Theo asked. “It’s poker night. We planned this weeks ago.”

Draco let out a groan and then pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. “I forgot,” he said, groaning. “I’ve been very preoccupied with other matters.”

Theo peered around Draco looking at Hermione. “Clearly. Hello, Granger.”

Hermione nodded back. “Hello, Theodore. Hello, Blaise.” 

“Evening, Hermione,” Blaise replied, reflecting his well-mannered upbringing. 

Theo turned looking at Draco and then his eyes went back to Hermione. “Are we interrupting something?”

“Malfoy was just letting me use the library,” Hermione said, approaching the group. She looked at Draco and then Blaise and Theo. “If you gentlemen had plans I’m more than happy to wrap up my visit.”

“YES-NO,” came from Draco and Theo at the same time. 

Malfoy shot Theo a stern look and Theo just smiled innocently in return. 

“Granger,” Draco said to Hermione. “I unfortunately got my schedule mixed up so I apologize for this during your visit.” He turned to face his two friends. “We’ll have to reschedule our wizard poker game.”

“It’s fine, Draco,” said Blaise nonchalantly. “Theo and I can find something else to do this evening.”

“ Watching the Godfather it is,” Theo exclaimed. 

Blaise and Draco sighed but Hermione’s eyes grew wide. 

“I actually love that movie,” she exclaimed. 

Draco and Blaise turned to face Hermione with raised brows and shocked faces while Theo’s face lit up like it was Christmas morning. 

“You’ve seen it?!” 

Hermione nodded. “I thought it was well portrayed. I initially read the book and enjoyed it so I decided to watch the movie. The casting, the musical score, and the scenes were so well created. It truly is a classic film.” 

“That’s what I’ve been trying to convince these two!” Theo replied excitedly. He looked at Blaise and Draco victoriously. “SEE? I’m not the only one who appreciates fine muggle cinema!” 

Hermione laughed as the two other Slytherins rolled their eyes. 

Theo walked over to Hermione and placed an arm around her waist. “Malfoy, if you don’t marry her then I will. She knows her movies.” 

Hermione felt herself grow slightly pink and laughed nervously catching Draco’s eye. She swore she saw him grow slightly flustered. 

“Nott, she would never marry you because she knows more than three big words,” he said narrowing his eyes at Theo. Draco looked over to Blaise. “Since you both are here and I’m sure Blaise you could use it especially, why don’t we all grab a nightcap in the parlor?” 

Malfoy looked at Hermione. “Granger, you are welcome to join us as well. I’m sure Theo would like to know what other movies you have seen,” he said sarcastically. 

“Please say you’ve seen Star Wars,” Theo asked Hermione hopefully.

“Er, yes. All three.”

A high-pitched squeal came out of Theo upon hearing that. 

“Well I guess that settles it,” Draco sighed, as Hermione laughed. “Pepper! Please prepare us three fire whiskeys and a glass of chardonnay in the billiards room.” 

An hour later Hermione found herself discussing whether Darth Vader was truly a misunderstood character with Theo as Draco and Blaise played pool on Draco’s expensive-looking billiards table. If someone would have told her 15-year-old self she would be doing this on a Saturday evening at Malfoy Manor should have thought they were imperio’d. 

“Nott, I think you talked Granger’s head off about Star Floors,” Draco called out as he made his shot with his pool stick. 

Theo looked over and stuck his tongue out at Malfoy. “It’s STAR WARS,” he shouted back and then took a sip of his whiskey. “And don’t be jealous because I’m talking more to Hermione than you.”

“Oh we’re on first name basis now?” 

“Yes,” Theo replied. “I dare say Hermione enjoys my company more so than yours. She’s already expressed I have excellent taste in muggle movies, I’m more handsome than you, and a wonderful conversationalist.” 

“I didn’t-” 

“Let him live in the land of delusion, Granger,” Draco replied to Hermione, watching Blaise line up his shot on the table. “He’s happiest there.” 

Blaise stood up and watched a red solid ball and a purple one travel down a corner hole. He smiled at himself and then turned towards the direction of the curly-haired witch. “Draco’s got a point, Hermione.”

“E tu, Brute?” Theodore said, narrowing his eyes at Blaise. 

Hermione laughed at this. The last hour was actually fun she thought. She stretched her arms and then glanced at her wristwatch. It was 9 p.m. As much as didn’t want to, she needed to get home to get some rest for her day tomorrow. She had some reports she needed to type up for a Monday morning meeting. 

“I hate to do this but, I do need to be going. I have some work I need to get up early for and tackle,” she said getting up from a leather stool. 

“But we need to discuss why Luke was more force sensitive than Leia!” Theo exclaimed. 

“I promise the next time I come around we can,” Hermione said consoling Theo. 

“Oh, so there will be a next time?” Theo asked raising his brows and looking at Draco. 

Draco glared at Theo and then looked unsurely at Hermione. “If you chose to come over again.” 

Hermione felt the three Slytherins direct their eyes on her. She said nothing a beat then brushing a loose curl from her face replied, “I would like that.” 

Theo whooped and Blaise and Draco just shook their heads. 

Gathering her borrowed book and purse, Hermione bid Blaise and Theo a pleasant evening (“BYE BESTIE!” Theo exclaimed to her.) and was escorted to the fireplace in the parlor room by Draco. He threw floo powder in the fireplace and watched the flames turn green. 

“Thank you for putting up with Theo,” Draco said with a chuckle. “I think you made a horrible mistake discussing muggle cinema with him though.”

Hermione laughed. “Maybe I can convert you so can discuss it with him too.”

“Granger, I’d rather be sorted into Gryffindor than ever watch a muggle movie. There’s no imagination involved. Wizards got it right with books.” 

Hermione shook her head at him. “There’s so many great movies out there.”

“Nope.”

“You haven’t even seen them!”

“Don’t need to nor do I care.”

“Are you always this certain?”

“I’m a Malfoy. We’re the definition of certain.”

Hermione laughed and so did Draco. 

“Well thank you again for letting me use your library today. I’ll give you your book back as soon as I am done,” she said looking up at him. 

Draco waved a hand nonchalantly. “No rush. Take your time.” 

He stared down at her and their eyes locked for a moment. Hermione felt something pulling in her as she looked into his eyes. His sharp features were set off by the flames in the fireplace and she noticed how beautiful he looked even in the dark. She wondered for a moment what it would have been like to kiss him. He looked like he would be a good kisser. 

“Well,” she said quietly. “Goodnight.” 

His bright silver eyes flashed briefly for a moment then dulled slightly. “Goodnight.”

Without thinking Hermione stepped closer to Draco and gave him a hug. She felt him stiffen for a moment then soften. She took a breath and inhaled moss, parchment, and smoke. She quickly broke from it and they both locked eyes briefly before she nodded awkwardly and then backstepped into the green flames watching Draco and the Manor fade away.

Chapter Text

Chapter 8

She hugged him. Out of nowhere she just hugged him. He still could feel the warmth and pressure of her body against his. Her curls brushing against his chest. She was soft. She smelled good. 

Walking back into the billiards room, Draco was met with a loud whoop from Theo.

“Did you kiss her goodnight?” the wizard asked, grinning widely. 

Draco shook his head to come out of his stupor. “What?”

“Did. You. Kiss. Her?”

Draco scoffed at the question. 

“Why would I kiss Hermione Granger?” 

Theo snorted and raised his drink pointedly towards Malfoy. “Cut the bullshit, mate. It’s obvious you have a thing for her.”

Draco laughed at his accusation. “You’ve clearly had too much to drink, Nott.”

Blaise leaned against the billiards table and folded his arms across his chest. He raised an eyebrow at Draco. “Nott may be a lush but it’s very obvious Draco, that you are attracted to Hermione.”

“I am not attracted to her,” Draco argued, running a hand through his hair. “I merely was being friendly and a good host. We do have to work together you both know.”

Malfoy shook his head in disbelief at the two men and summoned a house elf to refill his fire whiskey. He took a long sip as his two friends just stared at him with accusing eyes. 

“Granger and I would never be a thing,” he finally said. “She’s too stubborn, she comes from a muggle family, and she barely can tolerate me. We fought like cats and dogs at Hogwarts. Not to mention, she’s so Gryffindor.”

“Yet you were throwing daggers at me as I was talking to her the entire time,” Theo countered. 

“I was merely making sure you weren’t being an arse,” Draco huffed.

“You’re so full of shit I’m surprised your eyes aren’t brown,” Theo laughed. 

“Draco,” Blaise said approaching the group. “We’ve known you a long time. You clearly are into Hermione. You may not know it but, we can see it. True, she’s a muggle born but, you know none of us buy that pure blood rhetoric anymore. She’s very talented and she is an attractive witch. Maybe you should pursue this.”

Draco groaned. “There’s nothing to pursue! I think you both are looking way too deep into this. I was being friendly. Again, we have to work together. We have to tolerate each other. I’d appreciate you both staying out of my love life.”

“No need to get your knickers in a knot, mate,” said Theo, raising a palm in defense.  “We’re just trying to help. Besides, you may be less of a wanker if you actually got laid.”

Blaise pinched his nose bridge and shook his head while Draco almost choked on his drink. 

“Sometimes I’m this close to avada-ing you,” Malfoy said narrowing his eyes at Theo. 

“Then who would provide your comic relief?” his friend asked innocently grinning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a Thursday afternoon and Draco was just wrapping up a meeting with Richard and the hospital administrators to finalize a timeline for his donation. The meeting had went rather well he thought. They discussed what percentage would go towards the renovations for the hospital ward and how the remaining portion would go towards Hermione’s research needs. Draco felt good about what he was doing. His mother would be proud of him for taking the reins on rehabilitating the family name and he was happy that he could be a part of Hermione’s project. After weeks of reviewing her work and seeing firsthand the passion she displayed towards helping the magical community, he truly believed she would make a difference. 

“So the only thing left to do is to formally announce the donation,” Richard said to the group. “Perhaps we should do a formal black-tie dinner? We could invite our top healers, board members, press, and of course Mister Malfoy, whomever else you would like to attend.” 

Draco wasn’t expecting that to come up. Sure, he assumed press would want to interview him and his mother but, a formal event was not what he saw coming. 

“Er, I suppose?” was all he could say. 

Richard smiled triumphantly back. “Excellent. My team can get to work on planning it as soon as possible. I think it would be a great look for St. Mungo’s to have Healer Granger attend this event by your side since this is predominantly her project. Don’t you agree?”

Granger as his date. Imagine that.  Draco felt his body grow warm at the thought. Would she even agree to that? He pictured her dressed up. Something slinky and form-fitting. Her arm looped through his as they walked into the event. Eyes would be on them. She would be beaming up at him, appreciating how dashing he looked in his tux. People would whisper how well they complement each other and what a pair they made.

“Yes,” he replied, coming back to reality. He cleared his throat “That makes sense.”

“Great! I shall let you bring that up to her since you both have been working closely together. In the meantime let my team and myself start the preparations. Let’s say about four weeks? We will be sending invitations out shortly.”

The room nodded in agreement and the meeting was adjourned. Draco gathered his scrolls and started making his way down the hallway. As he was walking, deep in thought about this black-tie dinner, Hermione was walking out of a patient room. She adjusted her paperwork she was holding and smiled upon seeing Draco. He smiled back taking her in. She was in her healer robes and her thick nest of curls were pinned messily off her face with a few loose curls rebelling out. Her face had the type of brightness that only could occur from being busy all day and walking around. She seemed makeup free but he found her still beautiful. She was in her element and she glowed. 

“Hey,” she said, walking over to him. “I’m sorry I missed the meeting today. I had a consult I was pulled into. How did it go?”

He took in the scent of antiseptic, vanilla, and cognac as she stood next to him. It was comforting. “No need to apologize. It went well. We finalized a date for my donation.”

Hermione’s eyes widened and a huge smile formed on her face. “Oh that’s wonderful, Draco!” she exclaimed. 

Malfoy smiled back proudly (And also smiling because she called him by his first name). “Yes, and I’ve made sure we set aside a good portion to fund your research.”

A shocked expression took over her face and she looked in disbelief at him. “You didn’t?!”

He nodded. “Granger, your work is important. I do truly believe you’re close to figuring out how to reverse the effects of oblivate. If anyone can solve it, it’s you,” he said seriously, his eyes staring intensely at her. 

Hermione squeezed her eyes shut for a moment then opened them with a slight wetness rimming them. She looked up at Draco and nodded slowly. “I don’t know what to say.”

Draco held a hand up. “Don’t say anything. You’ve always been brilliant, Granger. It’s just time for the rest of the world to see what I’ve always known. Just promise me when you do solve this medical mystery, you’ll tell everyone a devilishly, handsome man was your inspiration.” He smirked at her raising a brow.

“Devilishly handsome?” she asked laughing and wiping at her eye. “Now who would describe you as that?”

Draco feigned offense. “I’ll have you know my mother tells me all the time how handsome I am. Moaning Myrtle thought I wasn’t bad-looking either!”

“Fine. Fine. Then it must be true.”

“Thank you. That’s all I want in this life. For you to acknowledge my good looks.”

Hermione shook her head and playfully rolled her eyes. “So is there anything Richard wants me to do in regards to this donation? Maybe do an interview?”

“Actually yes,” Draco said feeling a lump starting to form in his throat. “He’s throwing a black tie dinner where it will be announced with hospital board, top healers, and press.”

“Oh that sounds lovely,” Hermione mused. 

“And he wants you to be my date.”

Hermione raised her brows questioningly to Draco as she looked up at him. “Your date?”

Draco shifted his weight nervously and ran a hand through his hair. “He said since it’s your project and my donation, it would look good for us to attend together.”

“Oh.” 

“I suggested maybe that wasn’t a good idea but, he insisted.”

Okay, maybe that’s not the truth but she didn’t need to know that , Draco reasoned to himself. 

Hermione said nothing for a beat then finally replied, “Yes, I think that makes sense. We are both involved with this. It would look good for the hospital.”

Draco internally let out a sigh of relief and thanked whatever gods were watching this conversation. 

“Great,” he said cooly. “So we’ll go together.”

“Yes.”

Draco nodded. “Well, that’s settled. I suppose I’ll see you the day of the event.”

“Yes,” Hermione said, shuffling with her paperwork. She looked at a clock that was mounted on the hallway wall. “I have to run to another meeting,” she said apologetically. “I’ll see you?” 

Draco nodded and she started walking away towards her appointment. 

“Granger,” Draco called after her.

Hermione spun around looking at him with questioning brown eyes. 

“No Gryffindor red please,” he said, giving her a lazy smile. 

Hermione smiled back and shook her head. “Bye, Malfoy.” 

Draco watched her disappear down the hall and wondered how she would look in Slytherin green.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two weeks later…

Hermione was wrapping up her lab report for the day. She frowned looking at her parchment for a moment then continued scribbling a note with her quill. Finally satisfied, she put her quill down and stretched her arms. She looked at her wristwatch. It was Friday and 5:30 p.m. It was time for the weekend.  

She stood up pushing her chair back and reached for her work satchel that hung on a coat hook next to her desk. As she adjusted the leather bag across her body she heard a knock at the door. 

“Come in,” she called to the door. 

Richard walked in and shot her a smile. He was holding some papers. “Sorry to bother you. It’s the end of the day, I know. I wanted to discuss something with you real quick before you leave. Do you have a moment?”

“Sure,” Hermione motioned for him to take a seat in the chair across from her desk and she took her seat on the opposite side. “What’s up?”

“Well, I just left a meeting with the hospital administrators and board members. They wanted me to ask a favor of you.”

“What do they need?”

“They want you to try and get Draco Malfoy to join the board.”

Hermione laughed in disbelief. “No offense, Richard but, isn’t that your role?” 

Richard leaned back in the chair and adjusted his necktie. “Well usually, yes. You, however, are closer to Malfoy than any of us. When he’s here shadowing you he seems enamored with your work.” Richard took a breath while looking seriously at her. “If anyone can propose this to him it’s you, Hermione.”

Hermione laughed to herself. Enamored with her work? That was funny. If anything he was merely making sure his investment was worthwhile. They were acquaintances tethering on friends. Nothing more.  She didn’t understand how she could convince him of anything. 

“Richard,” she started. “While I’m flattered you think one of the wealthiest wizards in the United Kingdom thinks my work is something to be enamored over, I hold no sway over Malfoy. I don’t see how I could be of any assistance.”

“Hermione, if I could be frank?” Richard asked her. She nodded in return. He leaned closer towards her. “I’ll admit when he first met with you I assumed this whole thing would be a disaster. You two bickered like schoolchildren. I think I spent more time calming you both down than anything else.” He smirked at that thought. “The past several weeks, however, it seems there has been a change and I think that has something to do with Draco Malfoy seeing you in a different light.” 

Hermione blinked at him and folded her hands in her lap. “I’m not following.”

“It’s quite obvious to almost everyone around that he seems to fancy you.”

Hermione felt the blood rising to her face and she grew warm. “Richard, I’m not sure-”

“Hermione,” he said cutting her off. “I’ve been married for 15 years to my wife. I remember what it looked like to be a young man who was attracted to a young witch. I did everything in my power to show interest in what she liked, flirted with her to make her smile, and just find any excuse to be in her presence. Malfoy maybe rich but he’s still a man.”

He gave Hermione a knowing look raising an eyebrow. “I dare say, when you two aren’t fighting, you actually make a charming pair.”

Hermione heard a scoff escape her mouth and she shook her head. “That’s just absurd.” 

Richard stood up and looked down at her. “Is it, though?” He started walking towards the office door and turned around to look at her. “Just consider it. It’s a simple ask. The administrators want young blood on the board and having someone young and wealthy like Mr. Malfoy would be just what the hospital needs to breathe new life into it.”

He did have a point she thought.  Most of the board consisted of older witches and wizards. The youngest member may have been 50. Fresh ideas would be helpful. Hermione mused over the thought a moment. 

“I’ll see what I can do,” she said finally.

Richard nodded. “That’s all we can ask.”

Hermione watched the older man walk out of her office and she stood once more to make her departure. As she made her way through the halls and to the hospital’s main entrance she found herself thinking about what Richard said. Did Malfoy really fancy her? It just seemed unfathomable. Yes, he was very agreeable these past few weeks. She found herself laughing more and smiling more around him. She just chalked it up to them actually becoming better acquainted with each other. Was he attractive? Yes. Any witch would agree. He had striking aristocratic features that made him seem like an oil painting come to life. He was tall and well-defined. Yes, she felt herself grow slightly flustered when she caught his silver eyes watching her or when he placed his warm hand on the small of her back as they walked through the halls. Any woman would. She continued arguing with herself as she walked the eight blocks through the streets to her and Ginny’s flat. She had been single for five years. After she broke up with Ron, she decided to focus more on her career and research rather than pursue romance. Perhaps she was just romantically deprived she ultimately reasoned. 

Unlocking the door to the flat, she stepped inside and hung her key on the hook beside the door. 

“Gin! I’m home!”

Ginny came out from her bedroom. She was wearing a long blue satin skirt with a slightly oversized cream sweater over it. She was holding a pair of white ankle boots. 

“Hey,” she said to Hermione as she walked over to the living room couch and plopped down on it. 

Hermione studied the younger witch for a moment. “You look nice. Where are you off to?” She tossed her satchel on the couch next to Ginny and started undoing her healer robes. 

“Harry is taking me to see the Wild Hags at the Leaky Cauldron tonight. We both have a free Friday so why waste it?” she said, putting on her boot. 

“Oh that sounds fun. I’m assuming I shouldn’t wait up for you?” Hermione asked raising a brow suggestively. 

Ginny looked at her mischievously and smiled. “No. I’ll probably be home tomorrow.”

Hermione laughed and made her way to the kitchen. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of wine. Using her wand, she summoned a wine glass and poured herself a drink. 

Ginny popped her head into the kitchen. “I’m off! I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sounds good. Have fun. Tell Harry I said hello.”

As Hermione started to put the wine back in the fridge Ginny popped her head in again. “Oh, I forgot! Something came for you by owl this afternoon. I left it on your bed. Okay, bye now for real!”

After putting the wine bottle away, Hermione made her way to her bedroom. Crookshanks was curled in an orange ball snoring away. Hermione scratched his head gently and reached for the small white envelope addressed to her that was tied with a purple ribbon. Opening the envelope, she read the card:

Dear Hermione Granger,

Ms. Pansy Parkinson kindly requests your presence for her dinner party this Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Parkinson Villa. Cocktail attire suggested. 

Yours,

Pansy

Chapter Text

Chapter 9

“Draco darling, you look like someone died. Your somber energy is bringing down the vibe for the evening.”

Pansy Parkinson raised a perfectly arched dark eyebrow at Malfoy as she raised her Old Fashioned to her ruby lips and took a sip still eyeing him. 

“My apologies, Pansy. I wasn’t aware you were plotting to ruin my life in one evening by inviting Hermione Granger into this den of snakes,” he replied sarcastically. Draco looked around at the group. “Literally.” 

It was Saturday night and Draco Malfoy was attending a dinner party hosted by Pansy Parkinson at her family’s estate. In attendance at said dinner included Blaise Zabini, Theodore Nott, and Daphne Greengrass. Literally a den of snakes. Draco sighed and checked his watch. It was a quarter till 7 p.m. Granger would be due to arrive soon. 

Pansy rolled her eyes at Malfoy and gave her drink a little shake gently clinking the ice cubes in it. “Stop being dramatic,” she sighed. “I’m doing all of this for your benefit. A little birdie told me you have a thing for our Golden Girl,” Pansy said, cutting her eyes to Theo. “I just want to help.”

Draco’s silver eyes glared in the direction of Theodore who was sitting next to Daphne on a plush couch. “Yes, Nott has a rather large mouth doesn’t he?”

Theo threw his hands up, eyes widened. “What did I do?!”

“Apparently tell the world that I have a thing for Granger when it’s clearly not true.”

“But it is! A blind banshee can see it,” Theo retorted. “Pansy, you should see him. Our boy has it bad.”

Pansy snickered and took another sip of her drink and Daphne just laughed as Draco glared even harder at Theo. 

“You know, sometimes you gossip worse than a woman,” Daphne said, laughing heartily at Theo. 

“He really does,” agreed Blaise who was sitting across from Pansy. “All of Slytherin knew who to find in the common room for the school gossip.”

“The point I was trying to make,” Draco said firmly. “Is that I do not have a thing for Granger and Pansy you will find yourself severely disappointed this evening that nothing, and I mean nothing, is there.” 

“Draco, you’re thinking too hard about this,” Pansy said, sauntering over to Malfoy. She took her perfectly manicured hand and adjusted Draco’s suit jacket and plucked off a piece of imaginary lint. “Even if nothing is there, I want to welcome Granger into our circle. If she's a friend of yours it would be lovely to have her come around more. The boys said she’s quite funny and I could always use a new gal pal.” 

Malfoy looked at Pansy suspiciously while she shot him a charming smile. 

“Besides, if you do have a thing for her, maybe we can get you laid so you can be less of an uptight sod,” she said with a wink and smile while giving his chest a soft pat.

Theo and Daphne laughed as Blaise tried to hide a small smile while coughing into his elbow. 

Draco groaned and adjusted his black necktie. “I hate you all.”

Pansy raised her glass at Draco. “We love you too, darling.” 

Suddenly, a small male house elf dressed in a maroon velvet jacket and black pants, walked into Pansy’s living room. 

“Miss Hermione Granger has just arrived, Miss Parkinson,” he announced to the room. 

“Wonderful. Kip, please escort her into the living room so she may join us,” Pansy directed the elf. 

Kip took a little bow and promptly left the room to fetch Hermione. 

Draco wished he asked the house elf for a beverage before he left as he felt his mouth go dry. He felt slightly nervous at the idea of Hermione joining him and the rest of the Slytherin crew for dinner this evening. While he knew Pansy wouldn’t do anything to insult Hermione or hurt her, he worried about her meddling with their dynamic. His friends seemed set on watching him suffer this evening and he refused to play into their hands. 

Hermione walked in the large living room looking like a timid fawn. She gave a small wave to the group. She was wearing a long black and flowy maxi skirt with a slit up the side and a navy sleeveless knit turtleneck. Draco noticed she had on those patent leather pumps with the flash of red on the soles that she wore previously. Her hair was slicked back  in a low curly ponytail. She was wearing a simple pair of small gold hoops and a matching gold bangle. 

“Hermione! How wonderful to have you this evening,” Pansy exclaimed, walking towards the witch and giving her an air kiss.  

“Pansy,” Hermione replied, smiling diplomatically. “Thank you for having me. I’m honored you invited me to your dinner. It’s been quite some time since we last saw each other. Yes?” 

Pansy nodded agreebly. “Yes, not since Hogwarts. I’ve heard so much about you from the boys. Especially Draco.” She looked over at Malfoy and smirked as he nervously ran his hand through his blond hair. 

“Er, yes. We are working together on a project at my job,” Hermione said, eyes dancing over to Draco. Malfoy’s eyes met her and his lips formed half a smile. Hermione gave him a small smile in return. 

“How lovely,” Pansy said watching the interaction between the two of them amusedly. “I understand it’s a charitable project, yes?” 

Hermione brought her gaze back to Pansy and nodded. “Yes, quite a major one.”

Pansy raised a brow quizzically. “Who knew our Draco was charitable?” she mused. “I guess, it takes a special kind of witch to bring that out of him,” she said, giving Hermione a look. 

Draco could see Hermione’s neck go pink at Pansy’s comment. He needed to change the topic. 

“Granger,” he said as he walked over to her. “I see Pansy has ambushed you with so much conversation she failed to offer you a beverage. Why don’t I escort you to her parlor? She has a house elf at the bar who can make you anything you like.”

Pansy cut her eyes to Draco quickly who gave her a smirk in return. 

“Yes, I could use something to drink,” Hermione replied gratefully. 

“I’ll take another fire whiskey!” Theo called out to Malfoy. 

“Get it yourself!” Draco yelled back as he and Hermione started walking out the massive living room. 

Theo shook his head and looked over to Daphne. “This is why he needs to get laid. He’s such a wanker lately.” Daphne snorted and gave him a playful shove. 

Making their way down the hall, Draco stopped in front of a decorative large oak door and held it opened motioning for Hermione to enter first. The parlor room was decorated with embroidered gold and maroon couches and chairs. A large stone fireplace contained a charmed fire that kept the room a cozy temperature. At the far end of the room was a dark wood bar in front of massive shelves that contained various alcohols. A small female house elf was on a stool behind the bar counter waiting for directions. 

Hermione stared around the room in awe taking it in. “Oh my goodness. Everything is very beautiful and grand.”

Draco nodded. “Yes, the Parkinsons tether a bit on garish. Not my personal taste but, they’ve always been a decent family to mine.” 

Hermione looked up at Draco. “I suppose all the pureblood families live like this?”

Draco shrugged lazily. “Mostly, yes. There are some that do not.” He chuckled to himself. “Weasley comes to mind.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him. “Stop, they’re a lovely family. The Burrow was always cozy.” 

“You say cozy. I say chaotic. Give me the Manor any day,” Draco replied, looking at her amused. 

Hermione rolled her eyes at him. “You just don’t like Ron.”  She walked over the bar and turned to speak to the house elf. “Hello, could I please have a dirty martini?” The elf gave a head nod and proceeded to make the drink. 

“Dirty Martini, Granger? I’m surprised. I was expecting a glass of wine,” Malfoy said leaning against the counter top to meet Hermione’s level. 

Hermione smiled mischievously. “I’m at dinner with nothing but Slytherins,” she said, taking the martini she was handed from the house elf. “When in Rome.”

Draco ran a hand over his chin and raised his brow. “You’re full of surprises, Granger. I had you pegged differently.”  He turned towards the house elf. “Let me get what the lady is having as well.” 

“Very good, Sir,” the elf replied and started making the drink.

It was Hermione’s turn to now look questioningly at Draco. “No fire whiskey?” 

The elf handed Malfoy his martini and he held the glass up. “No, I think tonight should be a little more special. After all, the brightest witch of our age has decided to hang with the lowly Slytherins tonight.” He winked a silver eye and clinked his martini glass with Hermione’s. “Cheers.” 

They both took a sip of their beverage as Pansy entered the parlor.

“Sorry to interrupt,” she said, looking like a cat that caught a mouse. “We are about to have dinner in the dining room in 5 minutes. I”d thought I’d fetch you two so you both wouldn’t be late.”

“Thanks, Pans. We’ll be right along,” replied Malfoy as he mentally willed Pansy to exit the room before she said something else. 

Pansy gave a sly smile and turned to make her way out the Parlor. “Do make sure not to get lost,” she called back in a sing-song voice.  Draco could see her body shaking slightly as she laughed to herself. 

“Pansy is an interesting woman,” Hermione said, staring at the door that Pansy just walked out of. 

“You have no idea,” Malfoy said, shaking his head. 

“Didn’t you two date?” Hermione asked Draco, looking up at him. 

Draco stared down at Hermione and absently started rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand. “We did,” he stated briefly. 

“What happened?” 

Draco groaned mentally. He didn’t want to be discussing past girlfriends with Hermione. Not tonight. Not when she looked like that . 

“We just realized we made better friends than lovers. I’m sure you can appreciate that.”

“Ah,” Hermione said in return. “I can.” 

Draco adjusted his tie and offered Hermione his free arm. “Shall we?” 

She hesitated at first then slipped her arm through the crook of his. Draco felt her slightly lean towards him as they started walking out the room and down the massive halls. He felt that buzzy feeling start to creep up on him again. 

“You look nice tonight, Granger,” he said quietly as they walked. “You’re like a different woman outside of work.”

He could see the outline of pink on Hermione’s cheeks even though the halls were dimly lit with candle light.

“It’s a bit much right? I usually like denim and my sweaters-”

“No,” he said, interrupting her. He stopped walking and looked at her seriously. “I like it very much.You’re more relaxed.” 

Maybe he was emboldened by the alcohol pumping through his system or maybe he was out of his mind. Draco didn’t know which it was but he unlooped his arm from Hermione’s and used his hand to bring her long curly ponytail around her shoulder. 

“I’ve always liked your curls as well.” 

Hermione said nothing as she stared up at him. Her brown eyes meet his gray ones. 

“I would expect you to say my hair was bushy,” she smirked finally after a beat. 

“I was also like thirteen, Granger.” 

Hermione chuckled. “Fair enough.” 

Draco offered his arm again and they continued onto the dining room. 

“About time!” Theo exclaimed, as the pair took their seats across the table from him and Daphne. “I thought maybe you two bailed on us.”

“I was taking in Pansy’s home,” Hermione said, spreading a cloth napkin over her lap. “Your home is quite lovely, Pansy.”

Pansy, who was sitting at the head of the table, smiled at Hermione. “Thank you, Hermione. I’ll have to have you come around more.” 

“I’m sure Draco would love to have her come,” Theo said devilishly, looking at Malfoy.

Malfoy choked on the martini he was sipping. 

Hermione, who was next to Draco, turned concerned towards him, “Are you ok?” Clearly the double entendre flew over her head. 

Draco brought the cloth napkin to his mouth and narrowed his eyes looking at Nott. If he could murder him right here he would have. 

“You alright, mate?” Theo asked innocently. 

“Fine,” the blonde wizard responded curtly. 

“Oh they’re bringing out oysters for starters,” Blaise said from the opposite end of the table, trying to diffuse the situation. 

Several house elfs went around and laid out fresh oysters in front of each guest. After a group toast to Pansy everyone tucked into their first course. 

“Oysters are my favorite,” Daphne said to Theo as she squeezed lemon over one. 

“I remember for your 15th birthday we shared them in the common room,” Nott replied, then slurped down one oyster. “Draco,” he started, looking across the table to Malfoy. “Wasn’t it you who taught the group it was an aphrodisiac?”

“He did,” Pansy chimed in before he could answer. “He kept trying to get me to eat more of them. Always randy, that one.”

Draco glared at the brunette witch as Hermione chuckled softly to herself. 

“I’m sure you knew, Hermione, we used to date,” Pansy said to the curly haired witch. 

“He mentioned it,” Hermione replied, still grinning to herself. “It’s nice you both are still friends.”

“I love him to bits but, we are better off as friends. He’s too sensitive for my personality,” Pansy said, winking at Draco. 

“I am right here you know,” Draco said through clenched teeth. “I also am not sensitive.”

The rest of the Slytherins started laughing. 

“That’s funny, Draco,” Theo laughed. “When Moody turned you into a ferret, you refused to talk to anyone until they stopped teasing you about it.”

“You also wrote me this long romantic poem when you thought I was mad at you,” Pansy added. 

“You were upset when we all hung out and excluded you,” Blaise carefully said. “We were planning your surprise party.” 

“He’s right, Draco,” Daphne said. 

Hermione laughed softly and looked over to Malfoy who was turning red. 

“So you really are sensitive?” she asked, raising a brow. “I would have never guessed that about you.”

“I am not!” he protested. “Those are normal responses for anyone who-”

“Is sensitive!” the group of Slytherins exclaimed. 

Draco sat back in his chair and palmed his hands over his eyes and gave an audible groan. The group of Slytherins laughed. 

“I think it's sort of sweet,” Hermione said, placing a hand on Draco’s shoulder. He removed his hands from his face and gave Hermione a cautious look.  “I always thought you were just a bully who only cared about himself when we were younger. I guess you do have a caring side.”

She gave Malfoy a small smile and he slowly returned it. 

“Thank you, Granger.”

“Draco, darling, we only tease you because we love you,” Pansy said, catching the exchange between him and Hermione. “We’d move heaven and Earth for you.”

“She’s right, mate,” Theo agreed. “Our group wouldn’t be the same without you.”

“He’s right, Draco,” Blaise added as Daphne nodded in agreement. 

Pansy looked over to Hermione. “We love our Draco. Despite always trying to come off as a hard arse, he really is a good person. Now that you’re included in our group, I hope you’ll come to see it too, Hermione.” 

Hermione nodded. “I’ll admit the past several weeks have made me view him differently.”

Draco’s brows rose up upon hearing this. “Oh really, Granger?” 

Hermione looked at him and nodded. “You came into my job acting like an arse but, over time I have seen a different side of you. It’s a shame I only am discovering it now that we’re adults.” 

Malfoy said nothing but felt that warm feeling creeping up on him again. It had to be the alcohol. 

“Enough with the touchy feely stuff,” Pansy exclaimed to the table. “We’re not Hufflepuffs! I hope you all are still hungry. Our second course is Beef Wellington and parsnips!”

She snapped a manicured finger and the oysters were replaced with plates of beef and parsnips. 

The rest of the dinner went well. The table discussed many topics such as Quidditch, vacation plans, and gossip they heard about former classmates. Draco silently gave thanks to whatever deity was up there that he was no longer the topic of discussion. He found himself amused that Hermione was enjoying the company of the other Slytherins and welcomed so easily into the group. 

After dinner was over the group convened on Pansy’s terrace for a night cap. The night was brisk and clear. The various stars shone brightly in the sky and the crescent moon’s silvery glow illuminated overhead. Theo and Blaise were having cigars with their fire whiskeys discussing some upcoming Quidditch matches they were thinking about attending. Daphne and Pansy were discussing Daphne possibly cutting her blonde hair into a shorter style over glasses of wine on a marble bench. Hermione was sipping on her martini and studying a beautiful and robust peony bush alone further from the group. Malfoy studied her for a moment, taking in how the moon’s beams highlighted her in a way that could only be described as alluring. He took a sip of his whisky and walked over to where she was standing. 

“Despite being named Pansy, her favorite flowers actually are peonies,” he said softly to Hermione. 

She turned and looked up at him smiling. Draco noticed how the moon highlighted her face. “I suppose you bought her many of them when you dated?” 

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Any decent boyfriend knows what flower their girlfriend likes.”

Hermione said nothing for a beat. “Ron and I dated for a few years and never knew mine,” she said finally, casting her eyes back to the plant. 

Malfoy snorted. “Surely you jest, Granger.”

Hermione shook her head still looking at the peony bush. “No. He always got me the same thing for my birthday. Red roses.” 

Draco furrowed his blonde brows and shook his head. Typical Weasel. He wanted to say something snide about him but thought better of it. Instead he asked, “What is your favorite flower, Granger?” 

Hermione’s face met Draco’s eyes. “Black Dahlias,” she replied softly. 

Draco nodded and made a mental note to himself. Both said nothing for a moment staring at the peony bush.

“You know, Granger,” he said, breaking the silence. “I never understood you two together back then. True, we didn’t get along and I probably made your life Hell but, I always thought you were too good for him. Fuck, I even thought you were too good to hang with Potter.” He took a breath then continued. “Those two couldn’t have done half of the things they did without you. I’m sure Potter recognizes that and always has but, Weasel? He was an idiot who dulled your shine. Maybe I’m overstepping my place but, someone had to say it. Even I knew it back then. Unfortunately I was just too busy believing outdated prejudice rhetoric.” 

Hermione stared incredulously at Draco for a moment. His gaze met hers. “I’m sorry if I’m crossing the line but, I meant everything.”

“No, it’s fine. You’re not wrong,” she said softly. She reached a soft hand to his cheek. Draco felt a heat creeping up his neck and to the place where her hand was. “Thank you.” 

Draco said nothing back but felt something foreign overcome him that he never felt before. He reached his free hand towards Hermione’s one still on his cheek and softly lowered it. Still holding on to it, he felt his face lowering towards hers. He noticed her face tilting upwards to meet his. He continued lowering his face till his lips grazed her full ones. Her mouth was soft and delicious. He felt her lips push back to his. A game of give or take. They stayed like that for a few seconds more till Draco, forcing himself back to reality, pulled back. 

Brown eyes stared up at silver ones. Hermione gave Draco a confused look. 

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “I…I forgot myself. My apologies.” 

Draco gave her a curt nod with his head and turned on his heel and swiftly walked back into Pansy’s house. Hermione stood there and just stared at the French doors he walked through. 

Once inside Draco began making his way to the living room area to use the floo to head back to his house. His mind was racing and he was pretty sure he just fucked things up. As he kept walking intensely down the hallway he heard the clacking of heels following him. 

“Draco wait!”

He stopped abruptly and turned around slowly. It was Pansy. 

She walked quickly towards him. “Draco,” she said, approaching him. “I saw what happened. The others didn’t but I did.”

“Fuck,” was all he replied back. 

Pansy’s ruby red lips formed an elegant smirk as she crossed her arms and shifted her weight to one side of her body. “Draco Malfoy, you’re in love.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 10

It’s been two weeks. Two weeks since they kissed at Pansy’s party . Hermione sighed to herself as she placed her quill in her desk drawer and stopped up her ink bottle. She thought back to that evening wistfully. She wasn’t sure what came over her that night as she felt Draco’s lips graze hers slightly at first. She just knew she felt a longing, a type of want, as she deepened the kiss in return. He tasted like fire whiskey and ice and she felt intoxicated by it. His kiss awakened something in her. 

She wasn’t, however, ready for when he pulled back. He gave her a look that screamed silently a type of confusion and remorse and abruptly charged off. Hermione was left confused and slightly hurt. What did she do wrong? 

She sighed again as she gathered her purse to head out for the day. The formal was tonight and despite being told she was to attend with Draco, she hadn’t seen him since that night on the terrace. Hermione swished her wand and the lights in her office shut off. She made her way to the door and shut it quietly behind her. As she made her way down the hallway she started mentally reviewing everything she needed to do to prepare for the evening. Lay out her gown, shower, wash her hair, style it, do her makeup, and review her speaking notes. As she went over the list of To Dos in her head she failed to realize she bumped right into Draco Malfoy. 

“I beg your par-Malfoy?” she gasped. 

Draco was dressed in his usual fashion of all back and looked down at her stupefied. “Granger,” he said quietly, his eyes studying her cautiously. “Hello.”  

Hermione felt slightly taken aback at his casual greeting. She crossed her arms and frowned. “You’ve been MIA for two weeks,” she hissed. “I’ve reached out via owl twice now asking for time to meet and discuss tonight’s event and you have yet to reply to me. Why?” Hermione did not like to be unprepared for anything.

Draco’s eyes shifted slightly left and right and he cleared his throat as he adjusted his necktie. His whole demenor started to change. Hermione sensed an iciness about him that she hadn’t seen in quite some time. 

“I’ve been busy,” was all he offered. 

“With what?!”

“My affairs have nothing to do with you nor do I have to explain myself,” he sneered. “The last time I checked, Granger, we are only partners on this project. Not in real life.”

Hermione felt her heart drop. He was acting totally different than the last time she saw him. Over the past several weeks Draco’s cool exterior started to melt away and she was able to get a glimpse of the real him. Now it seemed those icy walls were for some reason, back in place. 

Her eyes softened and she placed a gentle hand on his arm. 

“Draco,” she said softly looking up at him with concern. “Is something the matter? What’s wrong? If you’re nervous about tonight-”

He snatched his arm back and frowned at her. “Nothing is wrong, Granger. Stop trying to analyze me. I’m not one of your patients.” 

Hermione stood there utterly confused. What the fuck?

Draco brushed the part of his jacket where she had touched. He shot a cold silver stare at her. 

“I’ll see you tonight at the dinner,” he spat and turned sharply continuing down the hall leaving Hermione feeling even more perplexed. 

Hours later Hermione stepped out of the floo into the posh lobby of the wizarding hotel “Sorcier é .” Low jazzy music played in the background of buzzing lobby filled with various witches and wizards. Some were dressed in their finery for tonight’s event and others in casual clothing as they were just patrons of the hotel here on holiday. She smoothed the frontside of her evening gown. It was a sparkly, sleek, black turtleneck dress with long sleeves, The back was cut out and the slit went up to midthigh. The material was slinky and hugged her body exposing curves usually hidden under her healer robes. She wore strappy black stiletto sandals and her hair was straightened and twisted in an elegant updo. She chose a pair of diamond tear-drop earrings to complete her outfit. 

She quickly glanced around the lobby and made her way towards a ballroom with signage that read “Welcome St. Mungo’s.”

The ballroom was dimly lit with spelled floating candles overhead. Some of the room was sectioned off into smaller tables that sat up to six people. The tables were covered in white linen cloth and elaborate centerpieces. Towards the back of the room was a bar station where various witches and wizards dressed in server attire were fixing an array of drinks for patrons. In the center of the room was a designated dancing floor with a small orchestra playing music in the background. The entire room was decorated elegantly and Hermione felt pride in her chest as she took in the sight. 

“Well look at the Golden Girl!” a voice exclaimed loudly. 

Hermione turned towards its direction where she found Theo, Blaise, Pansy, Daphne, Ron, Luna, Neville, Ginny, and Harry all chatting in a small group. She smiled brightly at her friends and walked over to the group where she was met with hugs, air kisses, and congratulations. 

“You must be so happy for your department and your research,” Harry said smiling at his friend as he plucked a champagne glass from a server walking by. “This is well overdue.” 

“I’m more so happy that we’ll be able to help so many people,” she replied, as accepted the glass from him. 

“I’m shocked you got Malfoy on board,” Ron said, as he crammed a bacon-wrapped scallop into his mouth. 

Pansy snorted at his comment and rolled her eyes. “Draco does do charitable acts, Weasley. Not every Slytherin is a monster.” 

“No, but we are snakes,” Theo quipped humorously as he took a sip of his drink. 

Ron shrugged nonchalantly. “OK, fine. Not every Slytherin is horrible but, I cannot see Malfoy actually doing something nice. He’s been a prat his whole life.”

“Actually, Ronald, he’s not,” Hermione said very matter-of-factly. “I’ve been working with him on this project and he’s very involved.” 

“Oh really?” Ginny asked with interest. “Maybe he’s changed.”

“Draco has taken on a lot of responsibilities since his father was imprisoned,” Blaise commented. “I’m sure he’s had a lot of growing up to do these past few years.”

Daphne nodded in agreement. “Narcissa has made it known to him that as a Malfoy heir, he is now held to certain expectations.”

Ron snickered. “Yeah, well I still don’t trust him.”

“Well if Hermione speaks highly of him, I’m willing to give him a chance,” Neville said reassuringly. 

“Me too,” Luna said in agreement. “Perhaps he would like to do an interview for The Quibbler.”

“I think it’s only right we leave the past behind us, Ron,” Harry offered his friend. “We’re adults now. We’ve all changed since we were children. Perhaps, Malfoy has too.” 

Harry offered Hermione a warm smile which she returned. She brought her champagne glass to her lips and looked around the room. Various colleagues were in lively discussions while some were dancing on the floor. She smiled and waved at few but made notice a certain blonde wizard was nowhere to be seen. She felt a frown start to form on her face. Where was Malfoy? He said they wanted the two of them to be together during the event but, he was clearly not here. She thought back to his cold attitude earlier today. Did he have second thoughts about attending with her? 

As Hermione considered whether Malfoy was purposely avoiding her, she noticed exciting buzzing by a group of mostly witches (some wizards) at the ballroom doorway. 

“Well, looks like our billionaire playboy finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Theo chuckled. 

Sure enough, Draco Malfoy was standing at the doorway with Narcissa Malfoy’s arm looped through his offered one. Draco looked dashing in a black and white tuxedo. His blonde hair was slicked off his face and his shoes looked polished and expensive. Narcissa was glowing in periwinkle dress robes and her white blonde hair elegantly curled and styled loosely. She looked every bit like a society witch. Accompanying them was Richard as he motioned them to proceed in the ballroom. Attention soon fell on the two and soon the attendees broke out into applause as the Malfoys made their way into the room. Richard soon spotted Hermione and whispered something to Draco and Narcissa and the trio made their way towards her. 

Hermione felt something stir in her chest as she watched Draco and his mother walk closer to her. She cleared her throat and willed herself to keep her emotions in check this evening. 

“Hermione!” Richard exclaimed as he gave her a gentle hug. “You look beautiful tonight.”

“You most certainly do, Hermione,” Narcissa smiled.  She leaned in and gave her an air kiss on each cheek. She then clasped Hermione’s hands with her own and turned to her son. “Doesn’t she look like a vision, Draco?” 

Draco’s gray eyes lingered over Hermione briefly and he cleared his throat. “You look nice, Granger.” 

“Thank you,” Hermione replied back, trying to mask the sense of rejection she was feeling. “You look nice as well.”

“Well, I will leave you all to chat as I have to check in with Healer Bellinger about her opening remarks,” Richard explained, turning to walk to other side of the room. “I’ll find you Mr. Malfoy and Hermione when it’s time for you both to give your speech.” 

Malfoy said nothing as Narcissa returned her attention to Hermione asking her about how work was going and her project. Hermione noted how Draco looked almost bored just standing there.  

“Well if this isn’t the photo op of a lifetime?” a voice exclaimed shrilly. 

Rita Skeeter sashayed over to the group. She was dressed in lime green dress robes with fur trim. Her Quick Quotes Quill and parchment was in her hands. Following her was a balding, short wizard with a camera around his neck. 

“Ah Miss Skeeter,” Narcissa said, cautious yet gracefully. “How wonderful you could attend tonight’s event.” 

Hermione felt her jaw set. Rita was always stirring up trouble. 

“Yes, I’m so excited to be here. As soon as I heard the Malfoys were working with Hermione Granger I knew there would be a story that needed publishing,” she said in a false sweet voice. “Shall we get a picture of all three of you?” 

“This is more of my son’s project,” Narcissa said, stepping aside. “He and Ms. Granger have been working very closely on it. Perhaps they both should be in the photo.”

Hermione glanced over to Narcissa who shot her that charming smile she could always produce on cue. She then quickly looked at Draco who seemed to be throwing his mother daggers with his steel eyes. 

“Yes, that would be perfect!” Rita exclaimed. “Jerry, let’s get the shot!”

Draco looked unsure at Hermione but inched closer to her. 

“Can we act like we know each other?” Rita huffed, motioning for them to get closer. 

Hermione tensed up, expecting Draco to be shoulder to shoulder with her when she felt his arm go unexpectedly around her waist. She craned her face to look up at Draco with a bewildered expression however, he was focusing his attention in the direction of Jerry and his camera. His face unreadable. She directed her face back to the camera where Jerry took their picture. 

“Yes, this will be front page tomorrow,” Rita smiled greedily. “The Golden Girl and the Malfoy Heir. I can see the headlines already. Let’s just get one more shot.” 

The short balding wizard took another picture with a bright flash that temporarily blinded Hermione. 

“Are we done?” Malfoy asked, with a hint of annoyance. “I’m sure Granger, like myself has other things to do this evening.” 

Before Rita could reply, Malfoy unhooked his arm from Hermione’s waist and adjusted his cufflinks. He stared at Hermione. 

“Granger, I’ll find you in time for our speech,” he said. 

“But, aren’t we supposed to be together for this?” 

Draco’s eyes narrowed. “We’re in this space together, aren’t we?” he retorted and motioned to the ballroom. “I’ll find you if I need you.”  And with that, he walked in the direction towards Theo and Blaise who were by the bar, fire whiskeys in hand. 

Hermione felt her heart drop a bit but knew now wasn’t the time to be a slave to her emotions. She mustered up a smile and turned to face Narcissa and Rita. “Please excuse me. I must chat with my colleagues about the program for tonight.” 

Narcissa and Rita both gave a smile and Hermione made her way towards a group of witches and wizards who worked in her department. 

An hour or so went by and Hermione made it a priority to try and enjoy her evening despite Draco lurking nearby almost glaring at her. It seemed no matter who she was speaking to, he seemed close by in another group. She noticed he would be half involved in the surrounding conversations but would direct cold glances towards her frequently. 

As Hermione excused herself from a conversation with several colleagues to refresh her drink, she saw Pansy walking over to her with two glasses of champagne. 

“Here,” she said holding out a flute towards Hermione. “I recognize the face of someone in need of another beverage.” 

Hermione gratefully took the glass and took an appreciative sip. “Thank you, though I may need something stronger to get through this night.” She felt her gaze travel towards Draco who was talking to an older wizard about something. 

Pansy’s eyes followed Hermione’s gaze. “So I’ve noticed.” 

Hermione stared at Pansy confused and raised an eyebrow. Pansy said nothing and took a sip of her champagne. After a beat she spoke. 

“Draco is complicated,” Pansy disclosed hesitantly. “He’s never been good with heavy emotions. He overthinks. Sensitive, yes. But oh so complicated.” 

“It seems like he hates me. I’m left to wonder if I did something to offend him.” 

Pansy smirked. “Quite the opposite,” she said quietly and sipped her champagne. 

“What do you me-”

“There you are, Hermione! You and Mr. Malfoy are up in five minutes to give your speeches,’ Richard exclaimed to her walking over. 

“Good luck, Hermione,” Pansy winked and walked away. 

“Let me find Mr. Malfoy but, I’ll meet you by the orchestra,” Richard said walking over to gather Draco.

Hermione made her way through the throng of people over to where the orchestra was seated. Moments later Malfoy and Richard were walking over. 

“In about five minutes Bellinger will be giving her opening remarks and then introduce you both,” Richard said to both Hermione and Malfoy. “Keep your speeches short but touch upon the work you’re doing Hermione and Mr. Malfoy maybe discuss what made you choose to donate towards Hermione’s department and research yeah?”

“Of course,” said Hermione anxiously while Draco merely gave a slight nod of his head. 

“Wonderful,” Richard replied. ‘I’ll leave you both to it then. Cheers.” 

Hermione watched him rejoin the crowd for a moment before she turned to Draco. 

‘Would you like to speak first or should I?” she asked him, hoping to get more than a one word answer from him. 

He avoided eye contact with her and instead stayed looking out into the crowd. “Obviously you first as this is your project.” 

Hermione felt her patience growing thin with him. She tensed and untensed her hands trying to control her emotions. Suddenly applause broke out and a gray wirey haired witch made her way to the center of the floor. Bellinger. Hermione glanced over to Draco for a moment and tried to read his expressions. His gray eyes were clouded over and his face remained neutral. 

“Malfoy, are you mad at me because we kissed?” she finally asked.

Awareness seemed to return to Draco’s face and it seemed his features darkened. “What?” he growled at her. 

Hermione felt herself growing more annoyed with him. 

“I’m asking if you are upset with me because we kissed at Pansy’s party.”

“Why are you asking-”

“Because ever since that evening when you ran off, you’ve been a complete arse to me,” she said glowering at him. 

Draco scoffed.

‘Well then what is it?” 

Before Draco could reply both parties heard their introduction by the elderly witch to with they both proceeded to the floor surrounded by applause. They stood for a moment smiling and waving (Well, Hermione smiling and waving. Draco merely gave a slight wave.) till the crowd fell silent. 

“Thank you, everyone, for your attendance tonight,” she said confidently to the crowd. “It’s an honor to share the work my team and myself have been doing the past few years with you all. While we still haven’t found the precise way to reverse the side effects of the Obliviate charm, we are very close to a breakthrough.” 

This statement brought about more applause from the audience (And a loud whistle from Theo who received a stern look from Pansy and an eye roll from Blaise). Hermione smiled and motioned for the crowd to settle. 

“I am confident by the end of the year we will have our breakthrough. Until then my team and myself will keep up our research and experiments. However, none of this would be possible if we didn’t have generous patrons who believe in our cause. Draco Malfoy has been pivotal in making sure my team and myself are able to continue our work and for that I must express my utmost gratitude.”

She paused and clapped looking at Malfoy while the audience followed suit. 

“Perhaps you would like to add a few words, Draco?” Hermione asked motioning for him to speak.

He showed no signs of nervousness as he stepped forward. Hermione noticed Narcissa looking proudly at her son in the audience next to Richard. Witches of all backgrounds seemed to be drawn towards the tall blonde man who looked even more refined in his tuxedo. 

Draco cleared his throat. “Thank you Healer Granger for the kind words,” he said deeply as he nodded slightly to Hermione. He turned to face the crowds again. “Much of wizardom has needed rebuilding after the war. St. Mungo’s has been a pivotal fixture in that rebuilding. As you are aware, my family has made it a personal mission to give back to those who have given so much for our way of life and we felt the hospital was a perfect starting point for that mission. While I do hope to do more in the future, I feel this donation is a great start. Cheers.” 

Hermione, realizing he was not going to add anything further to his short speech, politely clapped and the room quickly broke out into loud applause as well. 

Richard hurried into the center of the floor still clapping. 

“Thank you, Hermione and Mr. Malfoy! We look forward to more updates as the months go on. Now business aside, who is ready to party this evening?” 

As if on cue, the orchestra broke into a lively number. 

Hermione and Draco walked towards the side of the room where their friends were gathered. 

“Wonderful job you two,” praised Daphne. 

“Yes, well done Hermione and Draco,” Blaise said, as he raised his glass towards them. 

“You did amazing and you look amazing too!” Ginny exclaimed, hugging Hermione. 

Harry nodded in agreement. “Yes, you both looked great out there.”

“Thank you, everyone,” Hermione said turning pink from the attention. 

“Yes, thanks,” Draco said curtly. 

Ron approached Hermione with a glass. “Well done, ‘Mione. I got you a cocktail from the bar. I figured you would want something after your speech.”

Hermione took the glass filled with a chilled dark red liquid and took a sip. “Thank you, Ron. That was thoughtful and it’s very good. What is it?”

“I believe the bartender said it was called Boulevard?” Ron shrugged. “It’s French. That’s all I know.”

A snicker came from the side of Hermione and she and Ron turned to follow the sound. It was Malfoy. 

“Boulevardier,” he said smugly, looking at Ron. 

“How do you know that?” Hermione asked Draco, eyes narrowing. 

“My father’s family comes from France,” he shot back. ‘We own several vineyards over there as well as a vacation home.” 

“I suppose you speak French as well? Huh Malfoy?” Ron asked with a hint of bite growing in his voice. 

"Oui, je parle français, espèce d'idiot."

“Did you just call me an idiot, Malfoy?!”

Hermione noticed the devious closed smile forming on the Slytherin’s face while Ron was bawling up his fists. She braced herself, preparing to break the two men apart when Richard came over. 

“Rita Skeeter is taking some pictures for the society pages,” he explained excitedly to Hermione and Draco. We think you two should be out there for them. How about a slow dance just so she can grab a few?”

Draco and Hermione looked uncomfortably at each other. 

“I don’t dance,” Draco said cooly. 

Richard laughed. ‘It’s just one slow dance Mr. Malfoy. It will look good for the hospital. I’m sure you can survive it.”

Richard ushered the two of them towards the dance floor as the orchestra started a slow and sultry number. 

Hermione stared at Draco for a moment as he looked at her and then slowly extended his hand towards her. She paused for a breath then offered her hand in return. He wrapped his large hand around hers and pulled her close enough that his other hand was on her waist. She felt her heart speed up slightly. They started to sway with the music. 

“You shouldn’t have called Ron an idiot,” she said to him after a moment. 

“Then he shouldn’t act like one,” Draco countered. 

“You know sometimes you can be a real prick,” Hermione said feeling her irritation rise with her heartbeat. 

“Yet here you are still talking to me,” he said cooly and proceeded to dip her slightly to her surprise. 

As he raised her back up and continued swaying in time with the music, Hermione felt her jaw grow slack. 

“I thought you couldn’t dance.”

“I said I don’t dance, Granger. I didn’t say I didn’t know how to.” 

He proceeded to lead Hermione into a small spin then outstretched his arm to twirl her away from him and then back. 

“Why are you acting weird tonight, Malfoy?” she demanded as she followed his lead through the steps. “You won’t give me an answer.”

Draco pulled her closer till their foreheads touched. He stared deeply at her with an annoyed look in his silver eyes. “You want to know what is causing my sour mood, Granger? It’s you.” 

He dipped her again and pulled her back up close to him again. She breathed in the scent of moss, mint, new parchment, and smoke that came off him.

 “Everything about you. No matter what I do it’s you I think about. Ever since I kissed you all I can think about is wanting more,” he confessed huskily.

Hermione gasped slightly at his confession. Draco lead her into another outreached twirl and then back into his arm. 

“It was not supposed to be this way, Granger. I wasn’t supposed to fall for you but, here I am consumed by thoughts of you.” Draco stared hungrily at Hermione. “I’ve been trying to fight it for weeks but every day the longing grows stronger.” He reached a curved finger under her chin and lifted her face to look at his. 

“Tell me you don’t want me, Granger, and put me out of my misery once and for all.” 

The music started coming to an end and couples were making their way off the dance floor as a more upbeat tune started up. Draco and Hermione remained locked eye to eye for a moment before Hermione came back to awareness of her surroundings. She shook her head in disgust and shoved Malfoy aside as she stormed out of the room. She needed air. 

She walked forcefully out to the lobby and made her way to the hotel entrance where she stood outside trying to catch her breath. Her encounter with Malfoy left her angry but at the same time she was fighting attraction to him. 

He was intense. She never came across a man who just stirred such conflicting emotions in her. She felt like a moth to a flame and she wasn’t sure what to do with it. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She could hear people walking by on the sidewalk, the bits of their conversations coming and going. It was grounding. She stood like that a few moments letting her environment calm her down till she heard footsteps approach her. 

“Why the fuck did you run away?”

The voice belonged to Draco. He stood there scowling at her, hands in his pockets. 

“I clearly learned from you,” Hermione spat. 

She glared at him, brown eyes seething,  then turned her back to him taking in the surrounding scene. 

He said nothing for several moments as he stood there watching her. 

“If you are planning on standing here to get a rise out of me you can fuck off.”

Hermione crossed her arms and felt her blood growing warmer with irritation. She turned around, mouth tight with annoyance. 

“Are you hard of hearing? I said-”

She never got a chance to finish that sentence because at that moment he walked over to her, cradled a large hand behind her head and leaned in to kiss her passionately. Hermione’s eyes grew wide at first then she uncrossed her arms and laced them around his neck, deepening the kiss. She felt Draco slip his tongue in her mouth and taste her hungrily. She returned the same longing by nipping at his lower lip. For what seemed like several moments they kissed like that, as if they were starved of each other. Finally, Draco pulled back and looked down at her, silver eyes bright. He brushed a thumb over her lower lip. 

“No more running.”

She shook her head returning his stare. “No more running.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 11

Draco gave himself one last look in the mirror and smoothed down a stray blonde strand of hair. He cut his eyes to the right of him as he saw a painting of his great-great-great grandfather tsk in dismay and shake his head.

“All this preening for a mud-”

“Quiet you,” Draco hissed, spinning around to face the portrait of the elderly old man. “I’ll set you on fire if you finish that sentence.”

The ancient Malfoy ancestor huffed indignantly and smoothed down his long white beard before he disappeared out the frame.

The young man smirked amusedly and made his way to the dining room to join his mother for breakfast.

“Good morning, Darling,” Narcissa hummed, looking up from her tea cup as Draco took a seat from across her. She was dressed in an emerald silk robe with her blonde hair perfectly curled and styled. The sunlight shone brightly through the dining room window adding silver highlights to her already white blonde hair.

“Morning, Mother,” Draco replied, reaching for the tea pot and pouring the hot water into his tea cup. He then grabbed a tea bag that was nestled in a silver tin and let it steep in the hot liquid. Instantly Pippy appeared by his side.

“Good morning, Master Malfoy,” she said, giving a small curtsey. “Would you be liking Pippy to make you some breakfast?”

“Not this morning, Pippy. Thank you.”

The girl House Elf gave a polite nod and apparated back to the kitchen. Narcissa eyed Draco curiously as he sipped his tea and opened The Daily Prophet.

“You’re not hungry this morning?” she asked, concern starting to form on her face. “Are you ill?”

Draco shook his head as he folded the newspaper to read an article.

“I cannot stay long. I have to meet with Granger this morning to review the funding for her laboratory.” Malfoy took a sip of his tea and scanned the headline of another article before he placed the cup down.

Narcissa’s concern melted into a slight smile. She raised her own cup back to her ruby lips and took another sip of her tea before she replied.
“You have had quite a few meetings with Hermione since the function. You two seem to be working very well together.”

Draco looked up from the newspaper to Narcissa with his brows raised questioning.

“Is there something you really want to say, Mother?”

Narcissa returned his look with a knowing smile.

“I think it’s lovely you both are getting on so well. Perhaps we could have Hermione back over for afternoon tea? There’s a few social functions I’m attending I would like to bring her to as my guest. Maybe you could mention that to her?”

Draco laughed and rolled his eyes. “Absolutely not. Granger endured enough tragedies during the war. Having her attend one of your high society functions is enough torture for a lifetime.”

Narcissa narrowed her icy blue eyes. “Draco,” she warned.

Malfoy looked at his watch and swiftly stood up. “I must be going.” He walked around the table and gave his mother a peck on her made up cheek. As he started out of the room and towards the parlor room fireplace to use the floo, Narcissa called after him.

“Draco, I’m serious. Do mention to Hermione I would love to see her at more society events. You both were all anyone could talk about after the St. Mungo’s event.”

Draco stopped mid step and turned around to face Narcissa.

“Granger was not born into our world, Mother,” He sighed. “She’s not a typical society witch. These events would mean nothing to her.”

Narcissa sighed and folded her hands on her lap. “Very well. I suppose it would be too much.”

Malfoy felt his body relax at his mother’s concession and started to make his way out of the dining room.

“When you’re ready to make your courting known I’m sure you’ll bring her around,” Narcissa said mischievously.

Draco felt his breath stop and his body tense briefly. That woman always knows what’s going on. He smoothed a hand through his blonde hair.

“Have a good day, Mother,” he replied, walking out the room as Narcissa grinned after him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco adjusted his black necktie nervously outside of Hermione’s office before he knocked softly on the door.

“Come in!” a feminine voice called out.

He twisted the doorknob and pushed the door open. His eyes traveled to an oak desk where the witch was sitting behind a stack of parchment. Her dark brown curls were piled messily on top of her head with her wand knitted in between holding it all in place. She was dressed in her healer robes. Hermione’s face was makeup free but a rosy glow adorned her cheeks as if she was slightly flustered. She looked up, her brown eyes meeting Malfoy’s gray ones as he took a seat in a chair across her desk.

“Hi,” she smiled as he looked at her desk curiously.

“Granger, what are you doing?” he asked, trying to make sense of the stacks of parchment that seemed to engulf her desk.

“I’m trying to review the notes one of my residents left for me regarding a patient’s progress. However, their handwriting is atrocious,” Hermione said, holding up the parchment for Draco to see.

“Ah, well unfortunately, Granger, I am not well versed in reading runes so I cannot help you there,” Malfoy replied in an amused tone looking at the scribbled notes.
“Hermione,” the witch said as she placed the parchment in a pile with the others. “Are you ever going to call me by name?”

“I prefer Granger,” Draco smirked.

Hermione sighed in defeat and folded her arms across her chest as she leaned back in her chair.

“You’re insufferable.”

Draco smiled a toothy, smug smile back at the woman.

“And you like it.”

“I suppose I do.”

The young man laughed and reached into his satchel pulling out a rolled up scroll. He moved a stack of parchment over and placed it on Hermione’s desk.

“I believe we’re supposed to go over the budget today and what’s being allotted to your department. Richard gave me the numbers yesterday afternoon and I reviewed them last night. I made some suggested changes but I think you’ll approve.”

Hermione reached for the scroll and unrolled it. Draco leaned back in his seat and watched her pour over the figures in great detail before she looked up at him with shock etched on her face.

“You’re allocating additional galleons to be used towards the hiring of laboratory assistants,” she asked, brown eyes growing large. “But Draco, you already-”

“Consider it a testimony to how much I believe in your work. You need additional help. You cannot run a ward of the hospital, teach new healers, and conduct research all alone. You need more staff to assist you,” he interjected very matter of factly.

“I don’t know what to say. You’re already donating a great amount.”

“Granger,” he replied, raising a blonde brow. “You cannot juggle it all. You will burn out. I’ve watched you long enough to realize you’re taking on a lot so, hiring additional staff will be beneficial to you. Also, I may have some slight selfish motivation behind it.”

Hermione scrunched her face in confusion. “And what may that be?”

“If you’re not working around the clock, you’ll have time to go on a proper date with me.”

Hermione raised her brows and Draco watched as blush spread across her face.

“Oh I see,” she said as a smile formed on her full lips. “How very Slytherin of you.”
Draco smiled back and reached his hand over, tilting her chin upwards before he leaned in and planted a gentle kiss softly on her lips as she closed her eyes, melting into him. As he pulled back, staring at her admiringly, her dark lashes fluttered open with a hungry look in her eyes.

“So, Mister Malfoy, where did you have in mind for this proper date?”

Three days later, Draco Malfoy found himself sitting on a couch in the flat Hermione shared with Girl Wesley. That part he didn’t mind. What he did mind was that her orange puffball of a cat, Crookshanks, was sitting on the floor next to Draco’s shoes and looking up at him in a glaring manner. Hermione had left Draco alone in the living room with the cat as she was finishing getting ready for their date.

“Crookshanks will keep you company. He’s a sweet old boy. I won’t be long,” she had said, scratching the orange beast behind his ears before she made her way to her bedroom.

The cat purred loudly as his mistress scratched him but as soon as she exited the living room, he stopped and directed his yellow eyes towards the tall blonde man sitting on the couch in front of him.

Draco never had a pet growing up. His family constantly attended functions and traveled so having a pet never fit in with the Malfoy lifestyle. While he always wanted one, Draco pictured himself more of a dog person.

“Err hello, Crookshanks is it?” Draco asked, staring down at the cat. “I suppose you don’t remember me from Hogwarts?”

Crookshanks said nothing (as expected) but stayed with his feline eyes focused on Malfoy’s face.

“Right,” Draco replied to the silence.

Malfoy nervously started to spin his Slytherin ring on his pinky finger while still staring at the thing called a cat. He wondered if Crookshanks was going to maul him. That couldn’t be good for his face. He was smart but his looks were important to him as well. Plus what would his mother say?

As Draco pondered whether his mother would still call him handsome if he were missing half his face, the fluffy orange feline leapt forward on Draco’s chest, pushing him back into the plush sofa cushions. He then stared directly at Draco while standing on his chest still. Yellow eyes meeting gray ones.

Malfoy said nothing for a beat but just stared back at the cat in disbelief. Crookshanks continued to stare as he sat on the man’s chest and started swishing his feather duster tail side to side. The young man watched as orange fur started attaching to his black dress shirt.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Draco exclaimed to the cat. “You’re getting fur all over my outfit! This is a custom made shirt.”

“Meow.”

Draco raked his hand over his face in annoyance. “Off!”

Crookshanks, however, heard “lay down” and took it upon himself to do so.

“Cat! Get off!”

Crookshanks, again, heard “stay here” and started purring.

Draco watched as his bespoken shirt started to become covered with orange fluff.

“Look, you really need to-”

The rest of that sentence never was finished because a rather large sneeze suddenly overtook Draco. Crookshanks looked at Malfoy in annoyance as Draco’s sneeze caused his body to jerk violently.

“You have got to be fucking kidd-ACHOO!”

Another violent sneeze overtook the wizard followed by another. As Draco was fighting through a barrage of sneezes, Hermione entered the living room while clipping an earring in her left earlobe.

“Sorry for the delay. I’m ready if-”

The witch stopped mid sentence and took in the scene. Crookshanks was comfortably on Draco’s chest while the Slytherin was sneezing excessively.

“Crooks, off!” Hermione exclaimed, watching the cat give Draco one last look before he hopped off and slunk off into her bedroom. She walked to her bathroom and came back handing Draco a box of tissues.

“Here,” she said, handing him the box. “Are you ok? Your eyes look slightly swollen as well. Are you allergic to cats?”

Draco took the box of tissues gratefully and blew his nose.

“Never had a pet before,” he replied right before another sneeze snuck out. “Your cat is the first one I’ve been around.” He blew his nose again before he looked up at Hermione through watery eyes.

She looked breathtaking in black trousers, a dark gray turtleneck sweater, and black ankle boots. Her dark curls were hanging long down her back and tamed. A wash of coal eyeshadow smoked her eyes and a soft berry lip stain emphasized her full lips. Malfoy knew there was no way he was missing this date. Sneezes be damned.

Hermione studied him for a moment.

“Do you want to maybe do this another time? You don’t look so good.”

Draco shook his head and shot up to his feet.

“I’m fine, Granger,” he said as he started brushing cat hair off his clothes. “Just a bit of allergies.” He sneezed again. Hermione raised a dark brow at him.

“I’m fine,” he said, waving his hand nonchalantly. “We need to be going. Our reservation is soon.”

He offered his arm to Hermione and who looped hers through his. He looked down at her. “You look beautiful by the way.” He watched as a blush crept across her cheeks and then he sneezed again.

“Fuck,” he sighed and blew his nose with a tissue.

Hermione laughed softly and reached with her free arm over to his shoulder and plucked off a stray orange hair.

“Let’s get you out of here.”

While Draco made every intention to make his first real date with Hermione something special, it all went downhill with his allergic reaction to Crookshanks. Dinner started off at a posh Italian restaurant where he had reserved a private room for the two of them. By the time the first course came, Draco felt his eyes grow more watery and swollen. Instead of being able to take in the beauty of his female companion, Malfoy was constantly rubbing his eyes and fighting back a sneezing fit. Hermione asked him several times if he was alright but he kept insisting it was nothing to worry about. After dinner, he planned for a walk around the park to take in the sunset however, at this point he couldn’t really see the sunset as his eyes were very swollen.

“That’s it,” Hermione finally said, letting go of his arm. “We’re stopping at an apothecary and getting you a potion.” She gave Draco a stern look daring him to utter a retort but he was feeling so poorly he merely nodded in agreement.

They walked to a small shop named “Agatha’s Apothecary” and Hermione bought Draco an allergy potion.

“Here,” she said, handing him the small purple vial. “Drink this.”

Draco sneezed again before accepting the potion and then chugging it down. It tasted like cherries.

Within twenty minutes or so, as the pair set out back on their stroll, Draco noticed his symptoms easing up but started feeling very groggy and fuzzy. It felt like he was floating.

“Granger,” he said after a moment. “Is that potion supposed to make me feel a certain way?”

Hermione stared up at him with confusion on her face. “Like what exactly?”

“Like I’m floating and dreaming. I feel like my head is detaching from my body.”

“Hmm, some people are more sensitive to allergy potions than others and it can make them drowsy.”

Draco felt his eyes blur and his head grow lighter. He looked down at Hermione and smiled faintly. There were now two Grangers looking back at him.

“What?” Hermione asked, noticing his smile.

“You never told me you had a twin,” he replied, dreamily. He reached down and cupped the side of her face with his hand. “I’m on a date with two Grangers. Theo’s going to love this.”

Hermione shook her head and gently removed his hand. She then placed an arm around his waist. “Why don’t we get you back to the Manor? You probably could use some rest.” She started directing him towards an alley so they could apparate him home.

“Whatever you say, Granger Number One,” he said loopily. “However, it’s best we don’t tell your sister. She may get jealous and you know what they say.” Draco felt his eyelids droop even further as he paused a beat. “Hell hath no scorn like a woman fury.”

Hermione considered correcting him for a moment then thought better of it.

“Absolutely.”

Malfoy leaned into her as they entered the alleyway. She held tighter on his waist. He could smell the shampoo she washed her hair with on her curls. It smelled like flowers. Just lovely.

“Hold tight,” she said and with a crack they disappeared.

Chapter Text

Chapter 12

A/N: Hold tight, kids. We’re in for a long one. 

“Theodore! Don’t you think you had enough? Leave some for the other guests!” 

Blaise shot Theo a murderous look and slapped his hand away from the tray of floating bacon wrapped scallops. 

“What?!” Theo exclaimed, rubbing his now red hand. “I missed lunch!” 

“Do you want Draco to kill you because I know he would love the chance to get out some repressed rage,” Pansy hissed at Nott. “If you cause a scene at Narcissa’s event, I can promise you that man will be all over you like the stench on a troll.” 

Theo shrugged and adjusted his navy formal robes. “Malfoy seems to be pretty engaged at the moment,” he said, his eyes traveling across the room.

Pansy and Blaise followed his line of sight where they saw Draco standing next to Hermione. He was dressed in his usual formal black robes, white blonde hair slicked back. His hand was resting on the small of Hermione’s back. She was dressed in emerald silk dress robes and her dark mass of curls were sleeked and styled in French twist. Both were talking to Narcissa and a guest with glasses of champagne in their hands. You could see the smile beaming from Narcissa as she slyly shot a look at her son and his date in between conversations.

“He does seem quite taken with Hermione,” Pansy mused, smiling into her champagne glass. “I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him look so happy.”

“I think it was that time you first took his virginity,” Theo chuckled. “He wouldn’t shut up for days.” 

Pansy narrowed her dark eyes at Theo while Blaise pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. 

“Why are you like this?” Blaise asked with closed eyes. “One would never guess you were raised upper class.” 

Theo laughed heartily. “Some of us skipped etiquette classes I guess.”

“Clearly,” sighed Blaise. 

Across the room Hermione was fighting the nerves that were forming in her stomach. She wasn’t one for upper class events in general but, Narcissa insisted she come as a family guest. Tonight’s event was a dinner to raise money to educate wizards and witches about muggle relations and encourage cooperation between the two. Ever since the War of Hogwarts and her husband being sent to Azkaban, Narcissa had turned over a new leaf and made it a mission to rehabilitate the Malfoy name. A lot of these initiatives involved working with muggles and half blood families. While Hermione appreciated the witch trying to right the wrongs of her family’s past, she still felt nervous in upper pureblood society. For everything she accomplished, she still felt in the back of her mind that they would always see her as “a mudblood.” 

“Well Ms. Granger, you truly are an accomplished young witch,” declared an older witch named Delphia. The witch was dressed in mint dress robes with a matching hat. She was a heavy set woman with gray wiry curls and heavily done make- up. 

“Thank you. That’s very kind of you, however, I wouldn’t call myself accomplished,” Hermione replied, slightly embarrassed at the praise. “I just enjoy learning.”

“Ms. Granger is a little too modest,” Draco chimed in, pressing his hand a little more firmly into her lower back. “She was always known as the brightest witch of our age.”

He looked down at Hermione with a light in his silver eyes and gave her a knowing smile. Hermione felt his thumb work in a small circle on her back. She smiled back at him feeling a warmth spread over her. Perhaps it was the champagne? 

“Miss Granger is indeed one of the top healers at St. Mungo’s,” Narcissa added. “Draco and her have been working together on a project for the hospital. We have seen first hand her work and Delphia, I must say it is quite impressive.”

Narcissa shot a bright white smile at Hermione who felt her blush deepen. She was not used to attention like this. She always preferred to work behind the scenes. 

Delphia raised an eyebrow impressively at Hermione and nodded her head in agreement. 

“Yes, I would say Narcissa and Draco are quite fortunate to have you as a close friend,” the elderly witch declared before taking a sip from her beverage. 

Narcissa smiled approvingly at Hermione and Draco for a moment before her eyes caught the sight of a wizarding couple walking in the ballroom. 

“Delphia, I do believe the Gillenwalds have just arrived. Shall I introduce you to them? They also vacation in Lyon.”

“Oh, yes. I have a villa there and was not aware they did as well.”

Delphia turned and faced Hermione and Draco. She reached a perfectly manicured hand out and grabbed Hermione’s free one. 

“Pleasure meeting you my dear. Do continue doing great things.”

“Pleasure is all mine. Thank you.”

With one last squeeze of her hand, Delphia smiled at Hermione and walked over to the Gillenwalds with Narcissa. Hermione felt her breath relax.

“Granger, what’s wrong? You did well,” Draco whispered to her, his hand still on the small of her back. 

“It’s just I’m not used to this ,” Hermione said as she took a large sip of her champagne. She chuckled bitterly. “It wasn’t that long ago I would have been seen as a…well… mudblood.”

Draco shuttered when she said the world and looked down at her seriously. “Don’t say that word. I don’t say that anymore and I don’t want you to think that of yourself.” 

Hermione said nothing for a moment, looking away sipping on her drink.

“Look at me,” Draco commanded in a tone that made her eyes gravitate back to him. “No one in this room is brighter than you. You have always been one of the smartest women I have known and you never need to question if you belong somewhere. The answer is always ‘yes.’ If anyone has a problem with that they will deal with me and I’ll tell them they can kiss my pureblood arse.”

Hermione found herself laughing slyly at his last statement. Draco smiled proudly back. 

“Not to mention, Granger, you’re alluring as hell in those dress robes. If we weren’t surrounded by my friends, my mother, and her lot, I would ravish you right here, right now,” he whispered in a slightly lower voice to her. 

Hermione felt her cheeks pinken and a warm overtake her stomach. 

“Draco,” she warned, fighting the blush that started to bloom on her. 

“I mean it. I’ve been hard all night since I laid eyes on you,” he said, placing his hand back on her lower back. He stared at her hungrily. “We may need to leave the event a little earlier as I have another idea for us this evening.” 

Maybe it was the alcohol but, Hermione felt herself growing emboldened. She looked up at Draco and gave him a sultry look.

“Oh? What do those plans entail?” she asked coyly, feeling his thumb rubbing into her robes. 

Draco plucked her empty champagne glass from her hand and placed it on a charmed floating silver tray that was going by and swapped it with another filled one being served by a wizard dressed in service attire. 

“Well after you finish your champagne, I propose we sneak out, go back to the manor where I slowly strip you out of those enticing dress robes. Which I must add, Granger, the Slytherin green really did it for me.”

Hermione giggled and took a sip of her champagne. “I figured you would approve.” 

Draco smirked, raising a pale brow. “Well done. Ten points to Gryffindor.” 

He then cleared his throat. “As I was saying, after I strip you down, I’m going to eat your delicious cunt and then fuck you slowly into madness until you beg me to stop which even then I may not do,” he said in low growl. 

Hermione felt her entire body grow warmer and her heart quicken. Her and Draco had been seeing each other for about three weeks now and although they hadn’t slept together yet, it was something that crossed her mind frequently but, apparently it crossed Draco’s more. As much as she was falling for Draco, having this relationship was still so new to her.  She still found herself in shock that the boy who used to tease her and insult her relentlessly as a child was an entirely different man and she was dating him. It didn’t seem feasible.

She looked up at Draco, trying to fight the fire that was forming between her thighs. “What about Narcissa?” Hermione asked in a low tone. “She may notice we’re not here.” 

Draco gave a laugh and directed his gaze across the room to where Narcissa stood surrounded by several older witches and wizards. “My mother is too distracted being everyone’s favorite socialite. I would say we could sneak out unnoticed.” 

“Oh sneak out where?!”

Hermione and Draco both turned with a look of surprise to see Theo walking closer to them with Pansy and Blaise in tow. 

Draco rolled his eyes and groaned. “Surely you missed the etiquette class on not eve’s dropping on others conversations, Nott?”

“Funny, Blaise just mentioned something similar about my upbringing earlier. I get the feeling you lot think I was raised in a barn,” Theo replied, faking offense. 

“A barn would be too good for you,” Pansy said, approaching with Blaise. “You’re more of a cave type.” 

Theo adjusted his robes trying to maintain an air of dignity while rolling his eyes at Pansy. 

“As I was asking, Draco ,” he said, over emphasizing Malfoy’s name. “Where are we sneaking off to?’

“Draco and I remembered we had to finalize some plans for the hospital due first thing Monday morning,” Hermione replied with a feigned air of urgency. “I completely forgot about it until he mentioned something else.”

“Hmm, oh really?” asked Pansy, a devilish smirk forming on her ruby lips. “You don’t strike me as the type who forgets important work tasks, Hermione.”

“Well, we aren’t exactly that young anymore,” Draco added with a shrug. “Memory isn’t the best after all these years.”

“I suppose,” Pansy mused as she jutted out a hip and crossed her arms. “Maybe our Golden Girl’s mind has been overly distracted by certain Slytherin.”

“You aren’t going to stick around and at least wait till your mother has given her speech?” Blaise asked, being too polite to directly address what everyone else was implying. 

“Well,” Hermione started looking up at Draco unsure. “We could wait until after so we don’t seem rude.”

Draco’s gray eyes narrowed at his friends for a moment before his eyes met Hermione’s. “We could,” he said after a beat.

Suddenly a witch dressed in black and white server attire rang a small silver bell in the ballroom. Conversations started growing quiet as eyes fell upon her. 

“If you all could please follow me to the dining room where we will be seating for dinner shortly!” she exclaimed to the crowd. 

Draco offered his arm to Hermione while Blaise offered his to Pansy’s (Theo tried to take his other but Blaise shoved him off.) and the group made their way to the dining room of the rented out country club. 

Once in the dining room, the group of Slytherins and Hermione found a table closer to the side of the room towards the back. It was a room dimly lit with candles and table decor at every round dining table. Draco pulled a chair out for Hermione. She thanked him and took her seat. He then sat to the right of her. Blaise pulled out a chair for Pansy who nodded her head appreciatively as she sat down. He then took his seat next to her and to the left of Hermione. Theo was to the left of Pansy. The group watched as Narcissa sat further in the front with a few fellow witches who were part of her charity initiative. As a waiter walked around the table taking drink orders, Hermione felt Malfoy’s large hand rest on her knee under the table. He gave it a firm squeeze then leaned over to whisper in her ear. 

“After mother’s speech, I’m getting us out of here so we can have some privacy,” he said, voice full of promise. 

Hermione felt a shiver dance down her spine and she felt a blush start to form on her face. She thanked Merlin that the room was dimly lit. She placed her hand over Draco’s and gave him a squeeze back. 

As the waiter returned with drinks and the first course, the group found the conversation going from Quidditch, to vacation plans, to muggle movies (compliments of Nott). Finally as they finished their salads, Narcissa stood up tapping her silverware on her crystal goblet. The room fell silent as all eyes fell on her. She smiled that charming smile she knew how to weld so expertly and then cleared her throat. 

“Before we tuck into the next course, which I hear is very delicious, I wanted to thank you all for your attendance this evening and to update you on where we are with our Muggle and Magic Initiative.”

As the room listened on with interest, Draco leaned over discreetly and whispered to Hermione, “After her speech excuse yourself to freshen up. I’ll also make an excuse to use the loo and I’ll meet you in the lobby by the fireplace. We can floo back to the manor.” 

Hermione felt her heartbeat increase slightly. “But won’t your friends notice we haven’t come back? Perhaps we should both just announce our departure?” 

Draco gave a small huff and rolled his eyes. “They’d only draw more attention to us leaving. Don’t overthink this, Granger.”

She narrowed her eyes at him and he smirked in return. 

“Don’t give me that look. I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

As Narcissa began wrapping up her speech, Hermione shot Draco a look to which he raised his brows in return with a knowingly look. 

Suddenly the room broke into applause and their table joined in. As Narcissa sat down and meal service resumed in the room, Hermione carefully removed the dining napkin from her lap. 

“If you all will excuse me,” she said nonchalantly to the table. “I need to freshen up before we eat.” Hermione stood and smoothed her evening robes down. 

“I think I could use a little refresh as well,” announced Pansy, also making a motion to stand. “Wait for me, Hermione?”

Hermione stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Pansy who was smiling back at her. 

“Oh, of course,” Hermione answered, voice slightly wavering. 

Pansy slipped her arm through Hermione’s and faced the table. “Be back in a few, boys,” she said, starting out the room with the Gryffindor. 

As they entered the ladies powder room, Pansy unhooked her arm from Hermione’s and stopped in front of a vanity taking a seat. She reached in her robes and pulled out a gold makeup compact and started powdering her nose. Hermione stood unsure for a moment, then took a seat at a vanity next to Pansy’s. 

“I know what you’re up to,” Pansy said smugly, still looking at herself in her compact. 

Hermione looked over to the dark haired witch and stared for a moment before finally answering with a soft “Oh.” 

Pansy closed her compact and looked over at Hermione raising her perfectly dark arched brow. “I’m going to tell everyone you got sick in the ladies room and ask Draco to escort you home. Of course the boys won’t believe my ridiculous story,” she said, laughing at herself. “However, it’s also what I’ll tell Narcissa. I’ll also keep her distracted so she doesn’t immediately go home.”

Hermione sat confused for a moment then felt a slightly flustered feeling build inside her. She smiled back at Pansy with gratitude. Pansy nodded acknowledging this unspoken thank you and stood up smoothing her eggplant dress robes down. “Unlike Nott, I have the ability to be discreet.” 

She gave Hermione one last look before she said with a smirk, “Now go meet Draco where you were supposed to. I’ll send him in a moment. Have fun, Love.”

Hermione watched her give a small wink then make her way out the powder room. 

The witch shook her head amusedly and then stood to make her way to the lobby. There she waited by the large stone fireplace where a fire was crackling in the background. Within a moment or so she heard footsteps making their way to her and she turned to face the direction of the sound. She watched Draco make his way to her with a confused look on his face. 

“Either you really are sick or Pansy is up to something,” he said approaching Hermione.

Hermione covered her mouth as she let out a small laugh. “Pansy seems to approve of your mischievous ways.”

Draco reached for Hermione’s hands and brought her finger tips to his lips.  “I have much more up my sleeve.”

He gave Hermione a wink, released her hands and reached up on the fireplace ledge for the pot of floo powder. Grabbing a fist full he threw the powder into the fireplace and announced, ‘Malfoy Manor.” 

He motioned for Hermione to go. “Ladies first.”

She nodded and went through the flames and Draco followed immediately after. 

As Hermione stepped out the flames and into the Malfoys’ parlor room she turned around hearing Draco step out the fireplace as well. 

Draco smoothed down his clothing and then walked over to the witch, grabbing her hand. 

“Shall we take a tour of the famous Malfoy bedroom?” he asked with a devilish grin. 

“Oh famous hmm?” Hermione asked playfully, raising a brown brow at him. 

“Well it’s about to be famous because the Golden Girl will be in it,” he replied smugly. “I may have to put a velvet rope outside my door after tonight.”

Hermione playfully smacked his arm with her free hand and Draco laughed as he pulled her closer to him. 

“I’ve been waiting for this moment since our first kiss,” he said softly to her. 

“Even though I was angry with you that evening?”

“But you let me kiss you.”

“Even though you were acting like an arse,” Hermione said, as Draco’s free arm wrapped around her waist. 

“Even after I was acting like an arse,” he repeated back, gray eyes growing brighter. 

Hermione felt something longing in her chest as she stood on her toes to reach up and kiss him. Draco returned the kiss more forcefully. Tongue exploring her mouth and eventually giving her bottom lip a hungry nip. Hermione felt the longing grow and her body started heating up. She willed herself to lower herself from his mouth and looked up at him. 

“So about this famous room?” she asked playfully, raising her brow. 

About ten minutes later she found herself in Draco’s room. Had someone told her this would be where one day she ended up, she would have hexed them. Hermione looked around as Draco closed the door behind them. It was a large space. It was probably the size of her and Ginny’s flat. The wood trim was dark and off to the side she noticed a door which she reasoned must be his private bathroom. At the center of the room was a plush canopy bed with emerald green curtains drawn back. The bedding looked expensive and very comfortable. Towards the right of her was a large dark oak desk with a plush leather chair facing a window. To the left was a large wooden wardrobe against a stone wall and a set of french doors leading to a stone balcony. She noticed bookshelves built into the walls with thick leather books tucked neatly in them and a few hodgepodge of items such as a dragon figurine, a signed golden snitch, and a few magical framed pictures. 

Draco placed his hands on Hermione’s shoulders and leaned forward to sneak a kiss on her neck. 

“Do you want something to drink?” he asked as he nuzzled into her neck. 

“Maybe a glass of fire whiskey” she said, trying to will herself to relax. 

Malfoy stood up and let out a small chuckle. “Fire whiskey, Granger? Interesting.”

Hermione turned around and looked at him feigning annoyance. 

Draco laughed and placed both palms up in a surrendering manner. ‘As the lady wishes. I’ll be right back.” 

Hermione broke into a smile watching him exit the room. Once she was alone she walked over to the door she noticed earlier and pushed it open hoping to find a bathroom mirror. As she entered, charmed candles immediately shot to life throughout the room adding a soothing glow. She observed an inground jacuzzi-like tub in the room in addition to a toilet, and a black marble vanity with sink and mirror. She walked over to the sink and looked into the mirror studying her reflection. She didn’t look bad if she did say so herself. Her hair was still styled and sleek and her makeup was not smudged. Why was she so nervous? She was never like this when she dated Ron. She always felt slightly more assured of herself. 

She was giving herself one last once-over when she heard Draco reenter the bedroom. She stepped out of the bathroom.

“Your bathroom is amazing,” she exclaimed as he walked over and handed her a glass. “I’ve only seen bathtubs like that in celebrity magazines.”

Draco raised a brow questioningly. “Magazines?”

Hermione laughed softly. “Right. Forgot. Well nevermind. The point is, that bathtub is rather large.”

Draco smirked and playfully grabbed the Gryffindor’s wrist, pulling her closer to him. “It’s big enough for two people if you fancy a bath at some point.”

Hermione felt a blush overcome her cheeks. Draco leaned in towards her neck, hot breath enveloped her skin as he started planting soft kisses that trailed up towards her jawline. Hermione felt a wordless gasp escape her lips. 

“Finish your drink, Granger. I have some plans for us,” he said huskily. 

The Slytherin adjusted himself back to his standing height and released her wrist studying her for a moment before he took a sip of his fire whiskey and made his way to his wardrobe. There he started unhooking his outer formal robe and hung it in the wardrobe with other clothes. Hermione noticed the wardrobe consisted of a lot of black and a few shades of gray. She took a sip of her drink, trying to calm her racing heart. Draco watched her again for a moment, his silver eyes looking hungry, and then took another large gulp of his. He then walked over to her and with his empty hand, tilted her chin upwards towards his. 

“I’m going to change and when I come out of the bathroom, I expect to see you in nothing but lace waiting on my bed.”

Hermione huffed with humor. “Draco, you know I don’t own anything like-”

Draco, still with his pointer finger tilting her chin, gently directed her gaze towards his bed where there laid out on the bedding was a black lace bra and matching underwear. Hermione felt her eyes widen and she turned her face back towards him where he was looking at her with a smirk. 

“You are the worst,” she said playfully. 

“Granger, you must be concussed. My name is Draco not Weasley. You have us confused,” he replied as he gently tapped her on the tip of her nose. “Now if you excuse me.”

She watched as he sauntered into the bathroom and shut the door behind him. 

Hermione shook her head and walked over to his bed. She placed her drink on his nightstand next to a book (Draco was reading Feudalism in the Magical Community: A History?) and proceeded to pick up the bra and underwear looking at the tags. 

“Fuck,” she whispered to no one in particular. The arsehole knew what size she was. Sneaky Slytherin. 

The witch started to undo clasps on her dress robes and watched the silk robes float gently to the polished wood floors. She then stepped out of her heels and then proceeded to shimmy her underwear off (thanks Spanx!) and stepped into the lacy ones Draco bought her. Clearly he spent a pretty galleon for them as they were smooth and intricately designed with black roses throughout the lace. She finally unhooked her bra and reached her the one on the bed, clasping it behind her back and turning it upright. She had just got her arm through one of the straps and was inserting her arm through the other when Draco stepped out of the bathroom and cleared his throat. Hermione spun around and turned to face him and immediately felt her body grow warmer. He was standing there in just black satin boxers. His slicked back hair was now slightly tousled and his bare chest revealed lean but clearly defined muscles. She noticed the dark mark still tattooed on his right forearm. 

His gray eyes focused on Hermione starting from her toes and traveled upwards. He looked approvingly at the lace material that covered her full breasts. His eyes then met hers and she noticed a deep crimson rising upwards from his neck. 

“You look absolutely beautiful,” he said finally, a slight raise in his voice.

Is Malfoy nervous? She wondered. 

Before Hermione could think too deep into it, the wizard walked over to her and placed his hands on both sides of her waist and dipped his head down to kiss her. Hermione stood slightly on her tiptoes to meet his mouth. Their mouths weaved together with Draco sliding his tongue into Hermione’s where they met, dancing together. She felt Malfoy press deeper into the kiss and him sucking at her bottom lip. Hermione returned his actions with the same energy, her mouth pressing deeper as well. Taking what he was offering. 

Malfoy’s hands started to wander up from Hermione’s waist and up her stomach towards her bra. Goosebumps danced on her arms when his hands stopped on her breasts. She felt his hands start to palm and knead them while a groan escaped from him. Hermione could feel a hardness through his boxers. He kissed her a bit more forcefully as if he couldn’t get enough of her while he continued fondling her breasts. Finally, she felt his left hand abandon her breast and start inching down towards her underwear where he toyed with her waistband for a moment before he stuck his hand into the warmth between her legs. 

Hermione gasped as Draco’s finger probed around till he came to her core and started teasing her center. She felt a shiver run down her spine and she kissed him deeper. Draco continued to tease and circle her center, enjoying the witch’s breathless gasps. Biting her lower lip softly, he then in one swift graceful action, worked one long finger into her and began to pump in and out. 

A cry of pleasure escaped Hermione as her mouth broke away from their kiss. She felt her head dip slightly back as Draco continued to explore her cunt with now a second longer finger. Her arms wrapped around the man’s neck as Draco continued fingering her. With his free hand he rested his palm on the middle of her back and leaned in to kiss her. Hermione moaned, placing both her hands on each side of his face then finally through his hair, not letting their mouths part. 

Finally, as if struggling to grasp air, Draco tore his mouth from her’s. 

“Fuck, Granger.” he grunted. “You’re so wet.”

Hermione said nothing and stared up at him, face flushed, and eyes lustful. Draco pumped his fingers harder watching her full lips form an “O” shape as a gasp escaped her. He forced his mouth on hers with one last deepened kiss then broke away. 

“Get on the bed,Granger” he commanded, a dark and mischievous look overtaking him. “I need to teach the brightest witch of our time a few things.” 

A/N: Yeah I hate cliff hangers too but, here we are. As always I appreciate your comments and kudos. Shoot, I basically appreciate you reading this.

Chapter Text

Chapter 13

Hermione Granger never was one to deny a lesson being offered to her. Learning had always been a passion of hers. So when Draco Malfoy told her to get on the bed to teach her a few things, she eagerly did as she was told.

She crawled up to the top of the bed and leaned back against the array of satin pillows at the head of the bed. She stared up through her lashes to Draco who was looking down at her with a lopsided smile. 

"What?" She asked, feeling a little insecure as his grey eyes bore into her. 

"Just admiring the view," he replied huskily. 

Draco then crawled up towards her till she was under him. He leaned in and kissed her passionately before he pulled his lips back. He reached his hand towards her face and brushed back a stray curl. Hermione felt her breath catch as he looked at her, pewter eyes darkened. 

“I'm trying to savor this moment, Granger, but dammit I don’t think I can wait any longer.”

“Then don’t.”

Draco smirked, a predatory look settling on him. 

“Lay back, Granger.”

Hermione did as she was told and felt her heartbeat speed up as she watched Draco lower his head towards her jawline and pepper her with slow, hot kisses that trailed down her neck towards her chest. 

She gave a low moan as he pulled down the lacy cup that covered her left breast and let his tongue flick on her small brown nipple. Hearing her gasp, Malfoy moved to give it a suck, feeling Hermione’s nipple pebble in his mouth. 

“Fuck,” Hermione moaned as she ran her hands through his silky blonde hair. 

Draco released her nipple with a wet pop and smiled to himself. “Soon, Granger.” He then gave his attention to her right breast while teasing her left nipple with his fingers. 

Hermione felt a heat build up in her stomach and make it way to between her thighs. She was going to lose it if she didn't have his cock sink into her soon. She gasped and moaned as Draco gave a final suck and lick on her breast and continued his assault down her stomach and stopping right before the waistband of her lace knickers.

Draco gave a low growl that made him sound absolutely feral. “Time for these to go.” He hooked his long fingers through the lace waistband of the expensive fabric and shimmied them off Hermione’s legs. Once they were off, Malfoy lowered himself back down and in between her legs, forcing the witch to spread for him.

Hermione bit her bottom lip as the Slytherin begin playfully nipping her inner thighs and then alternating nips with deep kisses. Once Draco reached her cunt he gave a teasing lick between her slick folds and relished in hearing a hiss leave her nostrils. Malfoy gave another lick this time letting his tongue linger right at her bud. Hermione gave a loud gasp and dug her hands in his hair. Her vision was going hazy and she was seeing stars. 

Draco dug his hands into Hermione’s thighs to force them to spread wider to open her up to him a bit more. He greedily began lapping at her, tasting the sweetness she exuded. He felt himself struggling to not strip his boxers off right then and there and fuck the beautiful witch moaning from his tongue. He moaned into her delicious cunt as she dug her nails into his white blonde strands. Finally he couldn’t take anymore.

“Get on all fours,” he husked, lifting his face from between her legs. His chin glistened with her nectar in the low candle light. 

Hermione eagerly did as she was told and felt him shift his weight as he stripped himself of his boxers and got behind her on his knees. She felt him lean over her and kiss her neck down to her left shoulder and a shiver ran down her in anticipation.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I first kissed you,” he said in a low voice. 

“Me too,” Hermione admitted. 

Malfoy continued kissing her neck as his right hand wandered down her back, across her hip, and found it’s way in between her thighs. He explored her slickness with a wandering digit and felt his finger encased between her silky walls. 

“Fuck,” he whispered almost revently. 

Draco couldn’t resist nipping at her neck in between kisses as Hermione let out throaty moans over his nimble finger- work. Finally, not able to contain himself, he removed his finger and positioned himself upright on his knees.

“Are you on the potion?”

Hermione shook her head and felt her cheeks pinken."No, unfortunately there hasn't been a need to the past two years.”

“Until now,” Draco said in a way that made her heart flutter a little. 

He reached across to his night stand and grabbed his wand and cast the Contraceptive Charm. He then tossed his wand aside and positioned his cock at her opening and eased himself in. He bit his lip savoring how her walls stretched to accommodate him snugly. He heard her gasp as he filled her. Finally rooted deeply in her, Draco eased himself out slightly and then thrust in again. 

Hermione gave a cry of pleasure feeling him piston himself in and out of her core. Malfoy gripped her ample hips, digging his fingers into her tan flesh, and began moving in a more rapid rhythm. Hermione soon began moving in her own rhythm, moving herself to meet his thrusts. 

“Fuck, Draco!” She cried out. “Yes! Yes!” 

Draco felt like his mind was being stupifyed. He couldn’t form a cohesive thought as he continued thrusting. The warmth and tightness of Granger’s cunt had him feeling, for lack of a better term, bewitched. All he could do was give grunt and continue grasping her hips. Finally, he pulled himself back to reality hearing Hermione breathlessly say in between cries of pleasure she was close. That was all Draco needed to here to pick up his pace. He took one hand off her hip and began toying with her perky bud. Upon doing this, Hermione gave a loud cry of “Draco, yes!” 

Malfoy felt himself growing close as well and continued thrusting and circling his finger over Granger’s most sensitive button. 

“So close,” she moaned, meeting his passionate thrusts. 

Finally Hermione felt her cord snap and she cried out as her vision went white. Draco soon followed and released inside her, giving a small jerk. After he felt himself spent, he collapsed over her and used his one hand to tilt her mouth towards his and kissed her slowly, letting his mouth lazily separate from her swollen lips. 

“You are perfect,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. 

Hermione gave him a soft smile and a slight gasp as he slipped himself out of her. He then laid down next to her and pulled her into his chest. Hermione nuzzled against his warm body and felt herself slip into a moment of bliss. 

Malfoy stared down into her brown eyes and stroked her disarrayed brown hair. 

“Stay the night,” he said quietly. “Please?”

Hermione looked at him, their eyes meeting, and then gave a small nod. She then titled her chin up and give him a sweet kiss before Draco threw the blankets over them as the clock chimed announcing it was midnight.

A/N: I didn’t intend to neglect this story. I got busy then depressed and then discouraged but then I decided to get back at it and force myself to write on my phone to do it. This is not a long chapter but I wanted to make up for the cliff hanger. Thank you for sticking this out. I’ll do better. I promise!

Chapter Text

Chapter 14

The bright rays of sunshine broke through the curtained windows and made Draco stir. He opened an eye and then another. He looked down and saw the top of brown hair, strands skewed with a hint of frizz. He smiled and kissed the mop of hair and pulled the witch attached to it, closer to him. Hermione gave a murmur of content and nuzzled closer to him. She then opened her chocolate eyes and looked up at Malfoy.

“Good morning,”she whispered.

“Good morning, Granger,” replied Draco as he propped himself up on one arm. “How did you sleep?”

Hermione felt her face grow warm. “Well. Just…a bit sore.”

Draco felt a hint of pride in his chest and smirked playfully at her. “I suppose I can be a bit too much at first when you're not used to a wizard of my stature.”

Hermione rolled her eyes and playfully jabbed his chest.

“Are you taking a jab at my ex-boyfriend?”

“Of course not. I’m just stating facts, Granger. It’s not my fault Weasel has always been lacking in something…money, modern apparel, cock size…”

Hermione shook her head. “Draco Malfoy, you are horrible.”

Draco smiled devilishly and then positioned himself on top of Hermione, looking down at her.

“Just not in bed,” he growled and leaned in to kiss her lips. He slipped his tongue in her mouth and deepened his kiss.

Hermione felt the heat in her lower belly grow from this but, she tried to ignore it as she pulled away from his lips.

“Malfoy, I have to go into the office today and work on some reports. I have to go home and change.”

“You can be a little late, Granger. Besides, you're supposed to be working with St. Mungo’s VIP donor to collaborate on this project and right now we need to collaborate,” he insisted, leaning down to resume where he left off.

Hermione opened her mouth to protest his logic but as his lips planted against hers and a stray finger made its way between her thighs, she thought “fuck it” and gave in to her wants much to Draco’s delight.

Later that morning shortly after Hermione floo’d back to her flat, Draco made his way to the dining room to enjoy a cup of coffee and read the paper. He looked up as he heard heels click against the marble flooring and Narcissa came in the room, taking her seat across from him at the table. She fanned her napkin out over her lap and reached for the teapot and poured herself a cup.

“Good morning, Draco. I assume you slept well? You left the event rather early,” Narcissa said as she scooped a teaspoon of sugar into her tea. A house elf immediately appeared by her side and offered her a croissant to which she accepted gracefully.

Draco made an attempt to appear nonchalant. “I was just tired, Mother.”

Narcissa raised her teacup to her lips and took a delicate sip of her tea, the steam curling into the air. She then lowered her cup and gave her son a knowing look as she narrowed her eyes. “Was Ms. Granger tired as well?”

Draco lowered his paper and locked eyes with his mother as she smirked at him. People always swore his signature Malfoy smirk was from Lucius but very few had the pleasure of seeing Narcissa’s. If they had, they would know that's who Draco’s took after.

“Pardon?”

“Draco, I know Ms. Granger stayed over last night. You realize house elves gossip amongst themselves? I do hope this young woman is someone whom you will bring around frequently and not a conquest.”

Malfoy felt his face grow warm. “Mother! Really!”

Narcissa took another sip of her tea and then gave him a mischievous smile. “Darling, she’s one of the best in her career, she’s driven, intelligent, and well respected in our community. Not to mention she's very beautiful. It’s a rare combination beauty and brains. A mother only wants the best for her child.”

Draco cleared his throat and lifted his newspaper back up to obstruct his pinkening face. “I’m not discussing my romantic life with you, Mother.”

Narcissa sighed, “well at promise to let me know when I need to have the elves help me prepare for a wedding. I dare say it's been far too long since I planned something on that grand of a scale.”

Draco groaned as Narcissa smiled and sipped her tea. Shaking his head he continued reading the paper but also making a mental note to find out which elves were gossipers.

The next three weeks went by hurriedly. Hermione and Draco continued working side by side with hospital administrators to ensure the hospital were using the funds towards advancing Hermione’s research. Word spread fast of the Malfoy family's generosity and soon other wealthy wizarding families were reaching out inquiring on ways they could help. When they weren't attending meetings and other hospital related functions, Draco could be found on top of Hermione and not in the exaggerated sense, the literal one.

Lunchtime meetings consisted of silencing charms on locked office doors and Draco between Hermione’s thighs bringing her to climax. Progress reports often included blocked schedules that involved Hermione on her knees while Draco sang her praises of being a “clever minx” as her head bobbed eagerly. It could be said they truly were making up for lost time from their adolescent years at Hogwarts. While neither wanted to admit it, they were absolutely smitten with the other.

“You absolutely feel fucking delicious on my cock,” Draco moaned in Hermione’s ear during one of their lunchtime meetings.

He nipped her ear lobe, his hot breath tickling her, as he bucked his hips desperately. Hermione dug her nails into his muscular back and gasped as she leaned back slightly against the top of her desk. Malfoy had her legs wrapped around his waist and her skirt hoisted above her hips. Her underwear were securely in his pocket as they were a momento for later

“Fuck, Draco, yes,” she rasped between breaths. “I’m close…gods!”

Draco felt her nails digging into him as her gasping increased. He could tell by the way her cunt was pulsating on his member, she was close. He picked up his speed and looked darkly at her.

“Come for me, Granger,” he commanded, thrusting more forcefully. His pewter eyes locked with her brown ones. “I want to be the only one who makes you come,” he said, the words spilling from his mouth easily.

Hermione’s chocolate eyes stayed locked on his grey ones for a moment and then she felt the cord stretch and snap within her. Suddenly the room seemed so distant and all she could focus on was Draco and her. Malfoy thrusted hard watching her face show an array of emotions til finally she cried out loudly. That outburst was all Draco needed to hear for him to follow shortly behind her.

As they both were coming down their pinnacle of pleasure, Draco collapsed into Hermione’s arms. His face flushed and pupils dialated.

“Fuck, that was incredible,” Draco said hoarsely.

Hermione smiled shyly and brushed one of his stray blonde hairs back from his forehead.

“Did you mean what you said?” She asked Malfoy softly. “About being the only one who makes me, well, you know?”

Draco looked at her as if deep in thought. Did he really mean that? Was he falling for Hermione Granger?

Hermione frowned at his silence then cast her glance to the side. “Sorry that was -”

“Of course I meant it,” Draco interrupted. “I don’t want you with anyone else. It’s just you and me, Granger.”

Hermione looked up at him in confusion as if she heard him incorrectly then smiled when she realized she didn't.

“There she goes,” the Slytherin teased seeing the realization dawn on her face. “And they call you the Brightest Witch of Our Age.”

Hermione scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Kiss me you arsehole,” she retorted.

Draco laughed and flashed a smug smile.

“Only because you asked nicely.”

Draco Malfoy found himself absolutely enchanted with Hermione and he hadn't felt that way about any witch in, well, ever. She was challenging, brilliant, swotty, and oh so alluring. What teenage Draco didn't appreciate about her, adult Draco did. However, Draco being Draco, also wanted to keep his feelings guarded as that was his nature.

It was a Tuesday afternoon when Draco decided to swing by her office. He had recently purchased tickets to the Puddlemere United vs Montrose Magpies Quidditch match for this weekend and wanted to ask Hermione if she would like to attend with him and the other Slytherins in a private box. Of course having a private box was something he hoped impressed her but he truly wanted to include her in his world.

As Malfoy approached Hermione’s office door he heard laughing coming from behind it and a male voice that he never heared before.

“Just pop it in your mouth! It will change your life, Hermione.”

Draco’s pale brow rose up in concern. What the bloody-

“I really shouldn’t, Trevor. I’ve been good but, okay. Just this time.”

Malfoy tightened the grip on the door handle, he was holding and braced himself as he swung it open. There behind her desk was Hermione reaching for an exotic candy out of a box that a handsome golden haired man was holding up to her. She turned and looked at Draco who was looking confused at the pair.

“Draco?”

Malfoy looked at the man and then Hermione and cleared his throat as he adjusted his shirt collar.

“Er, I was coming by to see if you wanted to grab lunch with me today. I didn’t realize you were occupied,” Draco explained slowly.

The golden blonde man leaned back and offered Draco a charming smile which Draco already found annoying.

“Not interrupting anything, mate. I was just offering Hermione some South American Fire Candy from my travels abroad. She’s got a bit of a sweet tooth, that one,” he teased, cutting his eyes towards Hermione playfully.

Draco narrowed his eyes and gave a slight sneer. “I’m sorry, and you are?”

“Where are my manners? Trevor Wizenhart. I’m one of the healers who works with Hermione on her research. I usually take a a few months to travel for Healers Without Borders, however, the Dragon Pox epidemic has been so severe in South America, I stayed a bit longer.”

Trevor extended his hand towards Draco and Draco looked at it as if debating if it was toxic. Hermione, trying to avoid an awkward situation, quickly spoke.

“Trevor has been my research partner since we both started St. Mungo’s. He’s been a crucial part of my work,” she explained quickly.

“I see,” Draco drawled out slowly. He finally extended his hand and grasped Trevor’s in a handshake. “Pleasure. I’m-”

“Draco Malfoy. Who woudn’t know you in all of wizarding Britain?” Trevor said chuckling to himself. “I’ve heard you’ve been very generous to our hospital. Hermione spoke very highly of you.”

“What else did she tell you?” Draco asked, cutting his eyes toward Hermione. He wondered if this git knew she was his girlfriend.

“Draco, Trevor just got here not too long ago so while he’s saying hello to everyone and getting settled, you and I can grab lunch,” explained Hermione as she reached out and touched Draco’s arm lightly. She smiled at him brightly and he at once felt some of his tension subside.

“Sounds good,” he replied, giving her a small smile back.

He watched Hermione walk to her coat rack to gather her coat and purse. Trevor meanwhile was packing up his box of candy and grabbing his satchel. Draco eyed him slyly. He was sightly a little shorter than Draco and had wavy, dark, gold thick hair. Unlike Draco, Trevor was an olive complexion and had hazel eyes. As Trevor rose from the office chair, he walked over to Malfoy.

“I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around, Draco, yeah?”

Let’s hope not.

“Yes, I’m sure,” Malfoy replied as he forced a smile.

Hermione walked up to Draco and Trevor and looked up to her boyfriend and smiled, oblivious to the thoughts Draco had of hexing Trevor with a disfigurement charm.

“Ready?” she asked.

Draco nodded and because he was a Malfoy and Malfoys always made sure to let other men they deemed beneath them know this, he did something to show he was superior.

“Oh, Granger. Before we head out I’ve gotten tickets for the Puddlemere and Magpies match this weekend. Private box with Theo, Pansy, and Blaise. Would you like to join me? I know you don’t follow Quidditch but you know the snakes enjoy your company and I can amuse you with my commentary,” he said flashing a smug smile.

“Lucky! Puddlemere is my favorite team,” Trevor interjectd.

Hermione looked over to him. “You should join us then!” She then looked sheepishly at Draco. “I mean if that’s okay with you, Draco. It is a private box after all and I assume one more wouldn’t overcrowd us.”

Draco felt his teeth nash together. He then forced himself to swallow his annoyance as Hermione looked up with him with pleading chocolate eyes. Always a bleeding heart. Fucking Gryffindors.

“Of course, “ he said forcing a smile at the witch. He then looked at Trevor and gave a tight smile. “Any friend of Granger’s is welcome to tag along.”

Trevor smiled back. “Thank you, Draco. I’m excited as I never been in a private box. How posh! I shall have to wear my nicest sweater.”

Hermione laughed and shook her head. “Trevor you are something.” She looped her arm through Draco’s and looked up at him, her eyes twinkling with humor. “Isn’t he, Draco?”

The white blonde wizard felt his jaw set as he locked his grey eyes with the other wizard’s hazel ones.

“He’s something alright.”

Chapter Text

Chapter 15

Hermione’s eyes widened at the luxurious decor of the private box. She attended quidditch matches before but never had the privilege of being a guest in a box. There were plush chairs and sofas throughout, a private stocked bar, and security outside the doorway.

“Hermione, love, you look surprised,” Pansy said as she sauntered over to bar and fixed a cocktails for everyone. Flicking her wand she made the shaker vibrate and then strain liquid in several martini glasses. She then topped them each with a toothpick of olives as she passed them out.

Hermione took one as did the rest of the group.

“I’ve never been in a private box,” the curly haired witch confessed.

Draco smiled smugly. “Granger as long as your with me, I plan on introducing you to many things you've never experienced yet deserve.”

With that, Malfoy raised his glass to initiate a toast with the group. Glasses clinked and the group of Slytherins and Hermione each sipped their drink. Draco quietly slipped his arm around Hermione’s waist as they sipped their drinks. She felt her body grow tingly at his possessive touch.

“Hermione, where is your colleague?” Blaise asked her.

“Trevor sent me a patronus saying he had to wrap up something at St. Mungo’s but he should be here before the match starts. I know he had to finish documenting some findings for the committee before the weekend ended.”

“He’s a busy man. I imagine you two work late quite a bit,” Blaise replied and then sipped his drink.

Hermione swore she felt Draco’s hand tense at Blaise’s comment but ignored it.

“Sometimes yes.”

“Enough with work talk,” Theo exasperated, flopping on the plush couch. “We are here to enjoy ourselves and make snide comments about the lousy plays the Magpies make.”

Malfoy shook his head. “I expect nothing less of you, Nott.”

“Sorry I’m late! Work is a demanding mistress,” exclaimed a voice walking into the box.

Trevor smiled warmly at everyone. His golden hair was slightly messy and he was wearing his Puddlemere sweater and dark jeans.

Hermione smiled and broke from Draco's grasp to walk over and hug him.

“So glad you were able to make it,” she said as she embraced him. She then turned and faced to the rest of the group.

“Everyone this is Trevor. He has been my research partner since we came to St. Mungo’s. Trevor, this is Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, and Pansy Parkinson. Of course you already know Draco.”

Theo and Blaise shook hands with Trevor and Pansy extended her manicured hand elegantly with a coy flicker in her dark eyes.

“Trevor, the pleasure is all mine,” she purred making Hermione raise a brow amusingly .

“Pleasure to meet you all,” Trevor said politely to the group as he shook everyone's hands. He then walked up to Draco and clapped his hand on his shoulder.

“Draco, again thank you for this invitation. I am very excited to watch this match in person,” Trevor said flashing a white smile.

Hermione smiled warmly as Draco reached over and placed his arm around her shoulders and looked down at her then over to Trevor.

“Of course. Anything for Granger. If she's happy, I am happy. If you being here makes her happy then I’ll do it,” he replied nonchalantly.

Hermione felt her brow slightly furrow at his response. It was almost tethering on rude? Trevor also looked as if he didn’t know how to take that comment but before anyone could say anything, Pansy came over and held up a martini for Trevor.

“Trevor, you must try one of my signature martinis,” she said winking as she handed him the glass.

The healer graciously accepted and took a sip. “Simply delicious,” Trevor declared much to Pansy's delight.

“So glad you approve,” the witch replied, a smile on her ruby lips.

As the match went underway, excitement was felt throughout the stadium. Puddlemere fans were in full force and emotions were strong as their team was slightly in the lead of the Magpies 160-150. Within the box, the Slytherins, Hermione, surprisingly, and Trevor were on enjoying the excitement with a variety of different drinks and witty banter. Hermione sat next to Draco and besides her sat Trevor and Pansy. Theo and Blaise leaned against the bar sipping their drinks and watching players zip by. A collective gasp followed by boos erupted not only in the private box but in the stadium itself as a bludger hit a Puddlemere player causing him to fall off his broomstick.

“Cheap shot!” Theo cried, raising his hand.

“One hundred percent,” snarled Malfoy, standing by the window to watch the rmediwizards rush to the fallen player.

Trevor stood up to get a better look at the action happening below. “Poor McFadden appears to have a nasty concussion,” he said shaking his head. He turned and looked at Hermione. “Hopefully it won’t leave some permanent damage. Remember we used to treat those constantly when we did our rotation in the emergency department?”

Hermione nodded. “Gods, you remember when there was the intramural quidditch team that came in? Half of them concussed! We were so busy.”

Trevor laughed, “We got them all treated quickly though. Even the healer-in-chief said we were amazing together. She never saw two healers treat so effortlessly!”

Hermione noticed Malfoy turn his head at this and look at Trevor as if he wanted to say something. Instead she watched him pound back his drink and then walk over to her.

“Granger can I refresh your drink?” He asked reaching for her glass now filled only with ice.

Hermione waived her hand nonchalantly. “I can refill it. Don't worry.”

Draco bent down and smiled at her coolly as he took her glass. “Do you think I'd let a beautiful witch refill her own beverage? Come now, Granger. You know I was raised to be a gentleman and a Malfoy man is always such.” He took her free hand and kissed her knuckles softly before he walked over to the bar. Hermione sat there perplexed. What the hell was that about?

Theo snorted watching his friend make his and Hermione’s drinks. “You didn't act like a gentleman to Hermione in Hogwarts. You always picked on her.”

Upon Theo’s jab leaving his mouth, Blaise took this time to sip his beverage, Pansy crossed her legs and turned around smiling like a naughty child, and Hermione felt her shoulders tense up. Trevor said nothing but only awkwardly stood there watching all the drama unfold.

Draco narrowed his eyes and shook the mixer in his hand more violently. “I was a stupid teenager, Nott. We all were. I’m a man now, I’ve come to see how ridiculous my antics were and how blindly I followed what I was told. Unlike you, I’ve grown up.” He slammed the shaker down and threw olives in both of the glasses.

Trevor chuckled softly and glanced at Hermione.

“I cannot imagine you two back at Hogwarts working together on class work. However this must be a nice change of pace right? From enemies to whatever this is,” he said motioning between her and Draco.

Draco’s grey eyes shot up as he finished pouring the drinks in the glasses. He used his wand, making them stir slowly, and let out a low humorless laugh.

“Yes, quite a transformation hmm? Though I suppose this speaks highly on my character as some of us prefer to keep our personal lives and professional lives separate. Keeps things from getting messy.”

Malfoy then walked over slowly to Hermione and and sat down next to her, he offered her the refilled glass, and then with practiced confidence, leaned back stretching his arm over her shoulders, and took a sip of his cocktail.

“Not everyone can seem to master that skill, however,” he continued after a beat, his grey eyes leveling with Trevor’s hazel ones.

Hermione looked over at Draco, brows furrowing. She wasn't sure what's exactly was going on but she got the feeling that he didn’t seem to care much for Trevor.

The golden blonde healer smiled at Malfoy, obviously to the tension directed at him.

“Well whatever you two are, it's clear Hermione makes everyone better. I can't say I’d be half the healer I am without her. She’s my better half at St. Mungo's.” Trevor raised his drink to Hermione and she blushed but raised hers back.

“We're a team, Trevor.”

As she smiled at him she saw in the corner of her eye, Draco go completely still. Blaise now sitting on the opposite side of Draco in a plush chair, cleared his throat and shot Theo a look. Pansy crossed her legs and leaned further back into her seat smiling like she was handed front row tickets to a Weird Sisters concert. Hermione could feel the anger radiating off Draco in waves. If she didn’t know he was no longer a Death Eater, she would have assumed it was dark magic. She opened her mouth to say something to him quietly but Theo interjected before she could.

“Oye! The match is resuming!”

The energy of the quidditch match was electrifying. Fans on both sides were going wild. Chants from both Puddlemere and Magpie fans echoed throughout the staddium. The score was 197-195 with Puddlemere barely holding on to the lead.

In the VIP box, Theo and Blaise were gripping their drinks tightly as they the watched the players zip by dodging flying bludgers. “Come on!” Blaise exclaimed as one of the Puddlemere players missed his shot.

Draco stood by the glass window on the opposite side of Hermione, intensely watching the match. She caught him a few times, cut his steel eyes towards her as she gasped and held her breath watching the intensity of the game heat up. On her opposite side Pansy stood close to Trevor occasionally touching his arm when a player missed a shot or narrowly missed a collision with another player. Hermione noticed several times Pansy would lean in and ask him a question about a play or call and he would explain it to her as she nodded doe-eyed.

The noise came to a fever pitch as a Puddlemere United chaser guided the quaffle into the goal post giving the team ten points. Puddlemere now took the lead by ten points. Trevor let out a loud “whoop!” and threw his fist in the air. Hermione looked up at him and laughed. He noticed her laugh and replied “This is the best day of my life!” The Gryffinor looked confused at what he said and furrowed her brows. She couldn’t hear him over the loud noise in the stadium so she made a cupping motion to her ear at him. Understanding that she couldn’t hear him, Trevor leaned down towards her face and placed a hand on the small of her back.

“I said this is the best-”

“GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF HER!”

Before Hermione could register who was yelling, she felt an arm brush her to the side and watched in disbelief as Draco shoved Trevor back forcefully. The private box fell into a stunned silence as Trevor stumbled backwards barely catching himself against a table. An empty glass on the table toppled over and rolled over onto the floor shattering loudly.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!” Trevor exclaimed, staring at Malfoy like he was a deranged lunatic.

Hermione watched in what seemed like slow motion as Draco said nothing then in one swift motion connected his fist to Trevor’s jaw, sending the golden haired healer’s head snapping to the side. A collective gasp could be heard throughout the box.

Theo grabbed his glass from the bar counter and lifted it up towards the fighting men. “Well, this just escalated beautifully,” he said, taking a sip.

“Unfuckingbelievable,” Blaise muttered as he massaged his temples.

Trevor shook his head and wiped the blood that now pooled at his injured lip on his sleeve. Locking in on Malfoy now in a rage, he used all his force and moved to shove him back. The white blonde, quicker than his rival, made his move faster, lunging back this time with enough force to send both of them into the couch, knocking it over as they continued swinging at each other. Everyone in the room inched towards the outer perimeters as the two men continued to fight each other. Hermione stared in disbelief for a moment trying to convince herself what she was seeing wasn't real. 

This cannot be happening, she thought to herself watching the two wizards fight like rapid dogs.

Finally, anger now taking over, Hermione forced herself to step into the middle of the fight.

“DRACO, STOP IT!”

Hermione reached over to Malfoy and pulled on his arm, yanking him up towards her. She watched as he barely acknowledged her and instead stayed glaring at Trevor, his breath ragged and fists clenched.

Trevor, with the help of Pansy, got up trying to steady his breathing. He looked over at Malfoy with his hazel eyes full of disgust.

“Merlin, Malfoy. I can’t believe you’re this insecure,” he said, pulling up the collar of his now ripped sweater while staring at Draco in pity.

Hermione tightened her grip on the Slytherin’s arm as he made an attempt to lunge at Trevor again.

“ENOUGH!” she screamed, pulling Draco back while digging her heels into the floor. Malfoy turned around and looked down at her, still breathing heavily, face red.

“What the hell is wrong with you?! Draco, have you completely lost your mind?!” she cried out as she looked up at him now breathing hard as well.

Draco jerked his head down towards Hermione. She saw his eyes widened with a look of disbelief and confusion as if she asked him a question in Gobbledegook. He just stared at her as his chest heaved and his fists clenched. Finally he opened his mouth and pointed to Trevor.

“He-”

“He what, Draco?” Hermione exclaimed, throwing her hands into the air. “Spoke to me? Breathed in my direction? Touched my back so I could actually hear what he was saying? Do you even realize how ridiculous you’ve been acting?!”

Pansy slid up to Trevor and patted his lip with a napkin, dabbing at the blood.

“Sorry about my friend,” she said, pressing the napkin to the side of his lip. “Draco can be so over dramatic when he’s jealous.” She smiled sweetly at Trevor as he looked at her, then to Malfoy, and back at her.

“Jealous of what?” he asked.

Draco growled and clenched his fists ready to lunge at Trevor again but, Hermione’s “DRACO!” made him freeze. Hermione felt her body overcome with embarrassment and anger as Draco turned to face her. She bit her bottom lip to keep the wetness of her eyes from pooling over and down her face.

“This is exactly why people think you haven’t changed!” exclaimed the witch, her voice cracking with emotion.

Hermione’s brown eyes met Draco’s grey ones and for a moment they just both looked at each other. Finally the witch shook her head, the tears of frustration she was trying to keep back started trickling down her face on to the floor.

“Granger, I-”

“I…I can’t do this.”

The entire party watched as Hermione stormed past Draco, grabbed her purse, and swiftly exited the VIP box. As she stormed out the room and down the steps, some security wizards were racing up to the box while others were blocking some members of the press. As Hermione made her way through the small gathering of reporters and photographers, she silently cursed at herself for them getting pictures of her red faced and crying.

Monday was going to be hell at work unfortunately. 

Chapter Text

Chapter 16

Draco groaned as slivers of sunlight hit him directly in the face. His head was throbbing and it didn’t help he wasn’t able to sleep last night. As he turned over to avoid the peeking rays in his bed, he heard the distinct clicking of Narcissa’s heels on the granite floors outside his bedroom.

A sharp knock could be heard from his bedroom door but before he could respond, his mother was already entering his room. Her heels clicked as she walked to the edge of his bed and he felt something soft land on his plush green comforter.

“You need to get up,” Narcissa said, a slight annoyance in her tone.

Draco groaned audibly and set up and rubbed his eyes. His mother stood at the edge of his bed, her arms crossed, and lips forming a tight line. Her eyes fell to the newspaper that she had tossed on his bed. “Look.”

The young man followed her line of vision and saw the morninf edition of the Daily Prophet on his bed and there on the front page was a damming picture of him in the quidditch VIP box glaring furiously at Trevor who was nursing a split lip with a cloth. The picture next to it showed Hermione storming off, her cheeks tear stained. Above those photos in bold large letters was the headline : “MALFOY MAKES MAYHEM AT MATCH! WAS GOLDEN GIRL HERMIONE GRANGER THE REASON?”

Malfoy felt his jaw tick. There was no point in reading any further. He knew where this story was going. He would be painted the hot-headed ex Death Eater who attacked an innocent wizard showing that Malfoy never really changed. Despite the Golden Girl trying to present him to society as reformed and a changed man, he was still the same violent, over-priviledged prat he’s always been.

“Fuck,” he whispered quietly to himself.

“Language,” Narcissa scolded, walking to his bedroom curtains and throwing them open.

Draco squinted his eyes and covered them with his one forearm as he reached towards his nighstand and opened the drawer producing a headache potion. All night he tossed and turned as he pictured Hermione’s crestfallen face and Trevor’s punchable one.

Narcissa sat on the edge of his bed and watched her son down the potion and sighed.

“Tell me, darling, do you enjoy making your mother’s life difficult or is this simply a gift you were blessed with?” she asked, raising a brow at him.

Draco’s gray eyes narrowed as his shifted to face his mother.

“I lost my temper.”

“Oh, I can see that. In fact of all Britain can now see that. Would you care to elaborate what made you feel emboldened to endure another round of public humiliation? Because honestly I thought after what your father put us through, you would be over such things.”

Malfoy felt his teeth grit together as his gaze fell to his lap. “He was trying move in on my girlfriend,” he admitted stubbornly.

Narcissa’s brows raised and her eyes widened slightly. “Girlriend?”

A loud sigh was heard escaping Draco’s mouth. “Granger. Though ex-girlfriend is probably the more correct title after she gets wind of this story.”

Malfoy’s eyes lifted and met his mother’s for an uncomfortable second he lowered them and flopped down back into his pillows. He really wanted his mother to just let him mope in peace.

Narcissa said nothing for a moment as if deciding carefully what she wanted to say. After a beat she spoke.

“Draco, you have spent years proving to the wizarding world that you are not the selfish, bullying, prejudiced boy they made you to be, however, in the course of one day you made everyone believe that underneath the facade you still are.”

Draco felt his chest twinge at his mother’s statement. He could care less what the world thought of him, he was only worried about what one witch thought of him. Did she see him now as that childhood bully? Would she no longer want to be associated with him? A lump formed in his throat at the thought of her ending things with him. He didn’t understand how this woman had that much power over him. He had dated a good handful of witches yet none made him feel the way Granger did.

He felt the weight of his mattress shift as Narcissa stood and walked to his side of the bed and looked down at him.

“I’ll floo the solicitors and see if I can ensure this doesn’t become a complete disaster for our family.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes at his mother. “You mean damage control.”

Narcissa shrugged lightly and smoothed down her elegant robes.

“Call it what you want, darling.”

Their eyes stayed locked for a moment before she turned on her heel and made her way to his bedroom door. As she reached for the door knob and pulled the door open, Narcissa paused.

“And Draco?” she asked turning her head to look over her shoulder at him

The Malfoy heir propped himself up slightly on his forearms to look at his mother.

“Yes?”

“If throwing your reputation away over Miss Granger was worth all this, why are you in bed sulking instead of fighting for what you believe is yours?”

Malfoy watched his mother proceed out his room, closing the door behind her, heels clicking down the hall until they couldn’t be heard anymore.

Draco looked back down at the newspaper studying the picture of Hermione. His jaw set as he studied her face, seeing the disappointment in her eyes.

No, he wasn’t ready to give up. Whether she knew it or not, she was his. He just needed to figure out how to make her see that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hermione! Is it true that the fight was over you?”

“Ms. Granger, how is Trevor doing? Have you spoken to him?”

“Hermione! Are you concerned with Draco Malfoy’s Death Eater past?”

Hermione pressed through the crowd of reporters, ignoring their questions and avoiding looking at the flashing bulbs of their cameras. Vultures, all of them…

As she approached the main doors of St. Mungo’s lobby, security held the doors open for her while pushing back the throng of reporters.

“No press beyond this point,” a burly security wizard gruffly stated as his arm held back a few members of the press, giving Hermione space to enter.

Once she was in the hospital she took a deep breath and let her shoulders relax. She spent that Sunday holed up in her flat with Ginny avoiding everyone as she attempted to mentally process the events of the quidditch match. She had stormed out, embarrassed by Draco’s behavior and the attention that came with it. Although she was still angry with him, she could tell by the look in his eyes that he felt bad for how he acted. She felt bad for being angry with him but he was not only hurting her by thrusting her in the spotlight, he was also ruining his reputation! She knew there was more to him than most people got to see and she wished others could see the real Draco under his faux persona. 

She adjusted her satchel and made her way towards the lifts and waited for the next one. Hermione bit her bottom lip as her mind delved deeper in thought. Being linked to Malfoy was something that brought more attention to her than she was used to. Sure, being a war heroine and the “Brightest Witch of Their Age” always made her tabloid gossip but, being linked to the ex Death Eater and not to mention, heir to the wealthiest wizarding family in all of Britain was a whole other level.

The soft ding of the lift’s bell brought her mind back to present. She released her breath, not realizing she was holding it and boarded the lift. Hermione pressed the button to the floor her office was located on. As the lift doors opened, Hermione started making her way down the hall towards her office, her mind still thinking about Malfoy and the encounter with the press this morning.

“Hermione!”

The witch turned around and saw Richard striding towards her, a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand. Hermione felt her body tense at the sight of him gripping the paper, a small frown on his face.

“Ah so you read the article from this weekend?” she asked, brown eyes flickering towards the paper dated from yesterday.

Richard crossed his arms and sighed. “Yes, and the pack of reporters at the main entrance also are not helping. I assume they saw you come in this morning?”

She nodded and shifted her weight. She really just wanted to do her work and ignore everything else. “Yes, they did.”

“Hermione, we really should meet and come up with statement for the press. We can run this by Mr. Malfoy as well.”

“No. Richard, I appreciate the concern but I don’t see how this is anyone’s business but Draco’s and myself.”

The older wizard raised a brow at her use of Malfoy’s first name. Hermione felt herself blush, embarrassed she let her professionalism slip.

“Hermione, whatever is going on between you and Mr. Malfoy is not my business but, in regards of matters involving St. Mungo’s and its interests, that is where I do get involved. It is in my professional opinion, we should issue a statement.”

“Richard, I will not comment on anything regarding my personal life. It only has ever led to more gossip about me. I’m sorry but no.” The Gryffindor then looked at her watch and sighed. “Now please, I have to get some notes together before my first meeting this morning.”

She gave Richard one last look before she turned and made her way down the hallway. The wizard watched her till she turned the corner and then stared back at the paper in his hand. He looked at the headline screaming back at him and the pictures of Hermione and Draco. He then turned on his heel and made his way to his department.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A soft tap against the window made Draco turn towards it’s direction. Looking over he could see a tawny small own sitting on the ledge tapping its beak against the glass. Malfoy sighed and placed his half drunken glass of fire whiskey on the small marble table next to the wingback chair he was sitting in.

Opening the window, he expected maybe the owl was bringing a correspondence from his solicitors. Instead attached to the owl was the rolled up copy of the Daily Prophet. He furrowed his brows. He forgot they got the evening edition as well. Untying the paper from the bird, Malfoy then reached for an owl treat he kept in a small brass bowl near the window and gave the owl a pellet. The owl clicked his beak happily and then flew off into the dusk.

He unrolled the paper and sat back down in the green velvet chair. The crackling fire cast shadows in the dimly lit room creating darkened panels on the study’s walls. Draco reached for his drink and and held the paper open to read the evening headlines.

“GRANGER DENIES MALFOY ROMANCE: STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL!”

Draco felt his breath hitch and his eyes moved rapidly, scanning the article.

A representative for St. Mungo’s stated, “Healer Granger and Mr. Malfoy’s involvement together is strictly professional. Mr. Malfoy’s support has been purely philanthropic and for the advancement of wizardkind. While Ms. Granger has worked closely with Mr. Malfoy and is appreciative of his generosity, she has always conducted herself with the utmost professionalism with all her colleagues. Any rumors regarding romance between the two simply are false.”

Simply false. Strictly Professional.

She used you. Everything was fake.

The words burned in the back of Draco’s skull like a hex. Everything between them was to secure funding. He was only the donor. She needed his name and galleons to fund her research and unit. The kisses, sharing his bed, the flirting...it was just enough to keep him there and secure the funds.

With a snarl now forming on his lips, Malfoy hurled his firewhisky towards his study’s fireplace. The fire cracked and pop as droplets of liquid splattered  on it. The crystal glass broke into hundreds of fine sparkling pieces on the stone floor. A house elf quickly apparated to clean it up but promptly vanished seeing his master direct a warning glance towards him.

Draco stood looking at the broken glass. The fire reflected the storm brewing in his gray eyes.

“She fucking used me,” he hissed as he felt his magic start to spark around him as he paced back and forth.

Sparks vibrated off his skin as he continued to pace furiously, crunching over shards of glass with his dragon hide shoes.

“She used my name, money, and me,”Draco said in a low dangerous voice.

How could he not see this coming? This was the perfect opportunity for her. The Golden Girl and the Ex Death Eater. Hermione Granger, the War Heroine tried to reform the the Exiled Malfoy Heir and involve him in her work but, he's too set in his violent ways. Time to distance herself.  Fuck, how was he so blind?

Malfoy walked over to the coat rack and snatched off a black cloak whipping it on him. He grabbed the paper and stuffed it in his cloak pocket. She may have thought she was far more clever than him but he wasn’t going to let her get away with it. He would force her to look him in the eye and admit her plan. Salazaar, he didn’t care if the whole damn hospital saw them. He wasn’t going to be used and discarded like an old piece of parchment.

He had been used his whole life-by his father, his Aunt Bella, by a war that made him a pawn before he could chose a side. But Hermione was different. He believed she saw him, wanted him even. And that’s what made this betrayal worse. Not because she used him but, because he thought she wouldn’t. He was so tired of being used. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hermione clutched her lukewarm tea with one hand and with her other, continued scribbling notes on a patient file with her quill. She was sitting in the staff break room of St. Mungo’s finishing some reports for the end of her rounds. The smells of antiseptic potions and old tea bags scented the room. Dingy old mugs sat neatly in the dish tray by the sink. The soft hum of temperature regulating charms could be heard throughout the room. Hermione yawned as she leaned over the old wooden table scribbling another sentence onto the parchment.

The stale air and threadbare chair she sat in offered very little in terms of comfort but at least the room was quiet and she was alone to focus on her work.

That was until a sudden slam of the break room door nearly made her spill her tea. She looked up to see who was the offender and there he was.

Draco stood at stood in the break room looking like a demon fresh from Hell. His gray eyes were like wild storm clouds, his pale hair disheveled, and his expression a mixture of anger and hurt.

Hermione held her breath as she took in the sight of him. She hadn't seen him since the day of the match. He looked very different from the Draco Malfoy she attended with that day.

“Congratulations,” he said darkly, approaching the table she was sitting at. He reached inside his cloak and tossed the rolled up newspaper at her. “You made the front page.”

Hermione furled her brows confused at his statement and reached for the paper.

“GRANGER DENIES MALFOY ROMANCE: STRICTLY PROFESSIONAL!”

“What?” asked the witch, as she took in the bolded headline. Hermione quickly scanned the rest of the article. Her pulse quickened with every sentence she read. She blinked, trying to convince herself maybe her exhaustion made her process the article incorrectly.

“I…I never said this,” she breathed.

A bitter laugh escaped Draco’s lips. He crossed his arms and shook his head.

“Sure you didn't.”

“I didn’t! I’ve been working all day and I was home all day yesterday.”

“You avoided me!” he snapped, slamming his hand on the table, making Hermione jump slightly. “You took off after the match and have been silent since. No owl. No patronus. No anything!”

Hermione felt her heart pound as she stood up. “That's not fair! You didn’t reach out to me either!” She exclaimed, jabbing a finger towards him.

Malfoy scoffed and stepped back, looking down at her. “No, I was too busy trying to navigate the press ripping me to shreds while they praised the Golden Girl. I’ve been trying to figure out how to salvage my name and not involve you any further, however, maybe I’ve been stupid. Perhaps this is exactly what you've wanted from the start right? You needed a donor for your project and everything else that came with it was just a bonus. Once the bad press started happening you could just discard me. Can't be associated with a former Death Eater.”

The Gryffindor recoiled like the Slytherin just slapped her. “You think I used you?!”

“I think I was stupid enough to believe you actually wanted something with me.”

Hermione felt his words cut her open.

“I did want something with you,” she said, voice barely above a whisper.

Draco's jaw clenched and he looked away. He looked like her admission caused him physical pain. As if it was too much to hear and believe.

She took a step towards him and reached her hand out towards his arm. “Draco-”

He snapped his head back, his eyes now icy and cold.

“Don’t say my name if it never meant anything to you,” he snarled at her.

The coldness in his tone made her withdraw her hand back and look up at him pleadingly.

“It did. You always did.”

His lip curled up in a sinister smile as his steel eyes found her chocolate ones.

“Sure it did, Draco replied with no real emotion. "Hermione.”

He spat her name out like it was a foul taste in his mouth. Hearing him say her name like that hit like he hurled a curse at her. He never said her name to her before. Not as children. Not after they kissed. Not in bed. Now hearing him say it like that? It was ruined.

“Please don’t say my name like that,” she whispered, fighting the hot tears forming behind her eyes.

Malfoy’s eyes were flat and whatever warmth he had no longer could be found in them.

“Why is this too real for you? Was it better for you when you were pretending to want me?” he asked, his words sharp like razors.

Hermione struggled trying to form the words she wanted to say but none came. Apologies? Explanations? No. Nothing would do when he was like this. She stared up at him seeing him as she saw him when they were children, cold and guarded.

“You know what?” Malfoy asked. “I should have expected this from the beginning. You’ve never been one to shy away from getting what you want. I remember when you, Potter, and Weasley would constantly break the rules to achieve whatever goal you lot felt you needed to accomplish. Why would you be any different now that we're older? Fuck everyone else, right?"

Malfoy stared down at her and shook his head. “I was a fool for thinking there was something here. I let my guard down and you leapt at the opportunity to help you further yourself along. Well done, Granger. You're the last person I will ever let use me again.”

Hermione felt her face grow hot and her body shake with anger. She had no idea how to make him understand none of this was true. Usually her brain would be racing to come up with something, anything to make him understand but, she was exhausted both mentally and physically.

“You're wrong about all this,” she said thinly, her eyes trying to make him understand.

He refused to look at her.

“Doesn't matter anymore.”

Draco turned sharply on his heel making his black cloak snap by him.

Hermione forced herself to make one last attempt.

“Malfoy-” she started but found her voice catching as hot tears started burning her eyes. Gods, she was exhausted and her heart now was hurting.

The Slytherin was already at the door but paused as his hand grasped the handle.

“You got what you wanted, Granger,” he replied in a low dangerous voice, his back still towards her. “Now go back to your reports.”

She watched him yank the door open then slam it after him causing the walls to rattle. She stood frozen in place staring at the spot he previously stood.

The way he said her name still echoed in her ears. It wasn't whispered in between sneaky kisses, or moaned in the dark under the covers. Instead he spat it out like it offended him. Like a dirty word.

She reached behind her and pulled out one of the worn out chairs and sunk into it. Fat tears fell on the tile below her feet. She was angry he refused to hear her out.

Chapter Text

Chapter 17

It had been three weeks since Hermione Granger saw or spoke to Draco Malfoy. She thought frequently about how he stormed off after he accused her of lying to him and the press. Following their fight, she arrived to work the next morning to find her magical calendar was filled with meetings between him and her crossed out.

According to the department secretary, Mr. Malfoy sent an owl that morning stating “that due to unforeseen circumstances he would have to cancel all meetings between him and Healer Granger’s team until further notice.” After that day, no other communications from him came through.

Hermione sighed and looked at her watch. She had another meeting in an hour but she could hurry down to the cafe next to the hospital and grab a coffee real quick. She hadn’t slept much these past three weeks. She spent most of her nights torn between sadness, anger, and hurt. Finding it hard to sleep, she would seek comfort in her books but her mind always drifted back to Malfoy. She missed his arrogant smirk and the way he would challenge her. They always seemed to be on the same page mentally. And gods, he was great in bed. Sex with him made her feel worshipped. Like a rare work of art. No one else had ever made her feel that way.

As she gathered her purse and closed her office door behind her, she made way down the hall towards the lifts. As she passed a meeting room, Richard was walking out with his briefcase.

Finally!

She had been trying to speak with him since that statement was published but he was always in meetings or off site. Now was her opportunity and she wouldn’t let him slip by. She called his name out as he was using his wand to charm his briefcase's lock.

“Richard.”

He looked up as he pocketed his wand.

“Hermione,” he said giving her a small smile. “Everything alright?”

Crossing her arms, Hermione shook her head. “No, actually everything is not okay. I need to speak with you now.”

Richard gave a slight nod as if he was expecting this and motioned down the hall. “Right. Walk with me?”

Hermione said nothing as she moved next to him as they made their way to the lifts. She pushed the down button and turned to look at him.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for weeks. It’s like you’ve been avoiding me.”

The chime of the bell announced the lift had arrived and Richard motioned for her to step in first. He followed in after her along with magical charmed inner office letters that stayed floated towards the top of the lift. Richard hit the ground level button.

“Yes, well sorry about that. My schedule has been a nightmare with organizing the international conference that’s -”

“Did you approve the statement in the Prophet about Malfoy and myself?” she asked very matter of factly.

Richard raised a questioning thick brow. “I’m sorry. You’ll have to clarify. I’m not sure what statement you are referring to.”

Hermione’s eyes narrowed and she felt her jaw tense with annoyance. What was he playing at?

“The article three weeks ago in the evening Prophet. The one where I supposedly denied my relationship with Malfoy. I never spoke to the press but someone did and I’d like to know if it was you.”

The lift bell chimed again this time signally they arrived on the ground floor. The magical letters flew out over them as both St. Mungo’s employees stepped out into a small group of witches and wizards waiting to board the lift to go up. Richard motioned for them to walk over to the small fountain in the lobby. Hermione followed.

Richard ran a hand through his hair as if he was tired and found this ordeal tedious.

“Hermione, I understand you may see this as personal but it’s not. This was a strategic move to protect the hospital as well as all parties involved including your reputation.”

The witch gaffed and took a step back in surprise. “My reputation?!” Hermione placed her hands on her hips. “You thought by lying to the press, you were protecting me? Doing me a favor, hm?”

“I think that being associated with someone like Draco Malfoy in a romantic capacity, even with his generous donations, is dangerous optics. Yes, he may have donated millions of galleons towards your research and this hospital but, Hermione, let’s not pretend the public has completely forgotten who he used to be: a former Death Eater and blood puritist! That’s not something easily forgotten.”

“He’s not the same person,Richard! He was a child!”

Richard sighed tiredly. “You know that. I know that. But the public doesn’t care about redemption arcs. They only care about perception and being associated with any scandal involving Mr. Malfoy will cause all of us to suffer. Including you.”

The older wizard looked unapologetic as his gaze remained locked with Hermione’s. She felt her face grow warm as anger built up in her chest.

“So you lied for me. You made everyone think I was never involved with him. HE thinks I lied to him!”

“No, I protected you! You have a future here. One scandal can undo all of that!” he spat out, now growing frustrated with the conversation. “You may not thank me now but one day-”

Hermione didn’t let him finish. She turned and sharply walked towards the hospital main entrance, her heels clicking against the granite flooring. She focused on making her way out the hospital. Her head was spinning as she replayed Draco calling her a liar, Richard’s arrogance, and the lie that everyone believed was the truth. She needed to get away from here and think.

The witch made her way to the small coffee shop near the hospital and took a deep breath as she entered. Her head was full and her chest hurt. She needed to calm down and relax so she could think but she couldn’t. Her hands were trembling with anger that was dangerously close to spilling out. A lump was starting to form in her throat. She wanted to cry. She hadn’t cried in weeks, at least not properly.

“Miss, do you know what you want?”

Hermione’s attention came back to the coffee shop. Somehow she made it to the counter. She was so in her head she didn’t realize the barista was asking her what she wanted to order. She swallowed hard, trying to subdue the urge to cry. Her hands still were shaking.

The barista gave her a questioning look. “Miss?”

Trying again, Hermione opened her mouth to speak but a tanned hand lightly gripped her arm.

“Sorry, she’s been working too many long shifts at the hospital,” Trevor said, giving her a smile. He then turned towards the barista. “She’ll have a large coffee extra cream and sugar. I’ll take a small pumpkin latte.”

The barista nodded and wrote their orders on a slip. Trevor looked over at Hermione with concern in his eyes. “Hermione, why don’t you let me get us our coffees? Find a table and I’ll bring them over.”

The curly haired woman only nodded and then proceeded towards a table in the corner of the shop. As she sat down she struggled to keep her composure together and not cry. A few moments later, Trevor walked towards her, setting her coffee in front of her and taking a seat across from her. She gave him a small smile and sipped the coffee in silence. He said nothing as he sipped his latte. They sat in silence for several moments drinking their coffees. No questions. No pressure to say something. Just silence.

After a while Trevor cleared his throat. “I heard about the article and Draco.”

Hearing him say Malfoy’s name made Hermione flinch slightly. “It’s not worth talking about.”

Hermione sipped her coffee, closing her eyes. She was mentally exhausted and her heart hurt so much.

Trevor gave a small hum and nodded slowly. “Just know I’m here if you need anything. I mean that.”

Hermione nodded back. Her head was throbbing with the thoughts that swirled in them. As she reached her coffee-free arm out to stretch it, Trevor’s hand lightly grazed her outstretched arm. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with sadness and exhaustion.

Trevor gave her a sad smile. “You don’t always have to be the strong one, you know. You’re allowed to have your moments.”

He sounded kind. A stark difference from what she heard three weeks ago from another man.

Trevor then pulled his arm back and reached for his latte and took a sip. They fell back in silence as they finished their drinks in calm silence.

And that was the danger of Trevor Wizenhart, he never pressed or demanded. He just simply waited.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Next time you're looking for someone to fuck why don’t you call HER!”

The blonde witch pulled her designer dress down her hips and ran a manicured hand through her golden locks. She adjusted her purse on her shoulder and stormed down the paved walkway of the manor. As she was walking towards the apparation point, Pansy, Theo, and Blaise were making their way to the manor.

The woman scoffed as they approached.

“If you're here to see him, good luck!” She said pointing a red nail towards the estate. “He’s the most emotionally unavailable man I ever slept with. He clearly isn't over whoever she is!”

She pushed her sunglasses on her face, walked past and disappeared with a crack.

Theo looked at his friends. “I like her.”

“That’s like the third one in a month,” sighed Pansy shaking her head.

“Come on,” Blaise said, walking towards the house. “Let’s go see what we have to deal with today.”

The trio knocked on the door and a house elf greeted them, explaining his master was in his study and that they could make their way to there. The elf was used to them popping in more frequently the past few weeks to check on his employer. If he could be honest, even he began to worry about Master Malfoy.

Entering the study they found Draco sitting by the fireplace sipping a cup of tea looking bored. He was dressed in a black house robe monogrammed with his initials. The chest of the robe was slightly open revealing his pale chest. He was dressed in satin black pajama bottoms and black slippers. His blonde hair was disheveled and flopped over his head.

“There's our ray of sunshine,” Theo exclaimed, walking over to the bar cart and fixing himself a drink.

Pansy walked over to the chair near his and took a seat and looked around. There were sheets of parchment on desk, stained with ink splotches. A quill laid out and a bottle of ink.

“We saw your latest conquest,” she stated very matter of factly.

Blaise stood near the fireplace and stuck his hands in his pockets. “She stormed out of here huh, mate?”

"Yes what did you do to her?” asked Theo as he flopped on a nearby couch with his drink. “You're ruining the ‘Malfoy Fucks All of Great Britain Tour’.”

Draco rolled his eyes and placed his tea cup on the table next to him. “That one was as stupid as a quaffle anyway. She kept talking during sex.”

“That’s how you know they're alive,” quipped Nott.

“Apparently you called her by the wrong name,” Blaise said, raising a brow questioningly.

Draco’s gaze met his and Blaise gave him a knowing look.

“By any chance did you call her Granger?” Pansy asked directly.

Malfoy flinched slightly at hearing Pansy say that name and then focused his eye-line at the crackling charmed fire.

"If you three came here to have an intervention regarding her, you're wasting your time. I don't want to discuss her ever again.”

“Oh we're past that point,” replied Theo, lazily waving his hand in the air for emphasis. “You're bloody hopeless.”

Draco said nothing and the room fell into a tense silence.

Pansy yawned and stretched. As she twisted her torso she saw a thick gold and white envelope on the table Draco had put his tea cup. She could make out his name on the envelope . Pansy got up and quickly walked over, snatching it.

“What’s this?” She asked opening the envelope.

“You're such a nosey bitch,” Malfoy grumbled trying to reach for it.

The brunette smirked at him as she opened the envelope. “Yes, I love you too.”

Pansy scanned the contents of the envelope and smiled like a cat who caught the mouse. “Look who’s being honored like the tragic, over-dramatic, misunderstood donor that he is.”

Blaise and Theo looked over as Pansy read the invitation aloud.

“Please Join St. Mungo’s in celebrating the remodeling of the Filbert Maladry Neurological Maladies Ward and Research Unit and the Donor of Honor, Draco Malfoy. Featured speaker, Ms. Hermione Granger, Lead Healer.”

Draco’s eyes met Pansy’s for a moment before he quickly shot up from his chair and with seeker-like reflexes, snatched the envelope from her. She scoffed and crossed her arms as she glared at him.

“I’m not going,” he said tersely. He walked to a window and stared at out it absently.

“Because your hurt,” she responded, her eyes continuing to follow him.

“Because I have no interest in watching her stand up there in front of all those damn people and act like we never happened!” Draco growled spinning to face his Pansy. His eyes were stormy and his face looked conflicted.

“You sure your not interested?” smirked Theo as he leaned against the couch's backside, lazily holding up his drink. “I swore I heard violins as soon as Pansy said her name.”

“Fuck off, Nott.” Draco replied, adding a rude hand gesture.

Neither of the Slytherins said anything for a beat. Finally Blaise cleared his throat.

“I don’t think what she said in that article was true,” he said quietly.

Draco looked over to him and started to open his mouth to say something but then shut it. He looked down at the envelope in his hand then walked over to desk and flung it angrily on on top of his additional parchments.

“Doesn’t matter,” Malfoy said, still looking at the now thrown invite. “She never bothered to correct it. She let them rewrite us.”

“Are you sure she even had a choice?” Blaise asked, crossing his arms, his gaze on his friend.

Malfoy said nothing as he walked to the bar cart and began to fix himself a drink. Theo held his empty glass up, shaking it to imply he needed a refill but Draco only gave him another rude gesture. Draco pounded back the liquor, feeling the burn run down his throat. He fixed another and finally he spoke.

“Do you think I want to see her pretend she’s fine and that nothing between us ever happened?”

“No, we don’t think that," Pansy replied with a frustrated huff. "We think you just want to see her and that’s what scares the shit out of you,” 

Draco narrowed his eyes and sipped the rest of his drink. The group said nothing as they watched him drink in silence, the air thick with frustration from both sides. Finally after a little bit, Theo sighed got up and placed his empty glass on the bar cart. Pansy got up from her seat, and Blaise started walking to the study’s doorway.

“Just go to the gala, Mate. Wear your tragic cloak and make a scene. That’s what’s your good at,” Theo said shrugging.

Pansy rolled her eyes at him and looked at Draco.

“Go because if you don’t, you’re just going to be written out of the narrative yet again. Don’t give them that power,” she said softly.

Blaise nodded, agreeing with Pansy, and with that they walked out the study closing the door behind them.

Draco stood there for a while staring at the spot where his friends were just standing. After a moment, he walked back to his desk and reached for the envelope and took out the invite. His thumb ran along Hermione’s name. Draco picked up the invite and walked over to the fireplace and looked at the flames dancing wildly in the fire place, then he looked at the invite still in his hand. Sighing, he took the elegant gilded document and placed it in his robe pocket.

Chapter Text

Chapter 18

Hermione set her satchel on the kitchen chair and flicked her wand, causing the kitchen lights to turn on. On the table was a note next to a plate of roast chicken, potatoes, and green beans that was under a warming charm.

Hermione, you need to eat!

She smiled tiredly, picked up the plate, and placed it in the fridge. Even Ginny was concerned with her lately. Hermione grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with water from the tap. She then flicked her wand and turned off the kitchen lights. Yes, she had been working later and later these past several weeks but, this was how she coped. Work always brought her a sense of control when the rest of her life seemed to be a mess.

Walking into her bedroom and flicking her wand yet again she charmed the table side lamp on. On her bed was Crookshanks curled in a fuzzy orange ball. He lazily uncurled, yawned, and stretched his paws. Hermione sat down beside him on the bed. She placed the glass of water on her bedside table and then bent over to scratch the furry creature.

“You are living the dream Crooks,” she smiled as she scratched him under his chin. “Did you miss me, love?”

The cat replied with a throaty meow and deep purr. Hermione scratched him a few more minutes before she got up from her bed and walked over to her closet, grabbing her ratty terrycloth robe. She needed a hot shower and to get to bed. She had volunteered for a double shift tomorrow at the hospital.

It was nine p.m. when she looked up at the clock in her office. She needed to finish up these reports from her rounds today. Some of her patients had shown some promise in the experimental potions her team were working on. Hermione wanted to make sure she accurately captured their findings for her ongoing research.

Her hands were cramping as she continued scratching away at the parchment with her quill. She regretted leaving her self-writing quill at home. The hospital was quiet as patients were sleeping for the evening and most of the healers were eyeing results from diagnostic charms and administering prescribed potions to their patients. The only real sound Hermione could hear besides her writing was the ticking of the clock.

As she took a moment to clench and unclench her writing hand, she heard a soft knock on her office door.

Probably one of the interns, she thought shaking her head.

“Come in!”

In poked a head of golden blonde hairs. Trevor. He smiled tiredly at her as he walked in the office. He was still in his healer robes, a black satchel across his tall frame.

“I just finished my rounds and was checking in to make sure you were heading home. I know you pulled a double shift today. You looked so tired this evening so I wanted to make sure you were wrapping things up and getting a hot meal and some rest.”

Hermione returned his smile and shook her head no.

“I need to finish these notes. My team made some good progress today and I need to make sure its documented.”

She motioned to the stack of parchment on her desk.

“I appreciate you checking in on me, Trevor, but I’ll be alright.”

Trevor frowned and sat down on one of the chairs on the opposite side of her desk. He leaned in closer to her.

“Hermione, I’m your friend and I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t ask if you are okay. You’ve always had a stellar work ethic and this whole department would fall apart without that brilliant mind of yours but, you’ve been working so many shifts back to back. You look exhausted physically and mentally.”

Fuck. Everyone could see through her. She was like this since childhood. When life became something so messy and complicated and she couldn’t figure it out, she’d throw herself into things she could; schoolwork, research projects, work. No she wasn’t ok but what could she do?

“Trevor,” she started, trying to gather her thoughts. Her brain was so tired. Making sense of what she was feelings felt impossible.

Suddenly a loud growl from her stomach rumbled throughout the office. Trevor and her locked eyes and then both burst out into a fit of laughter.

“When was the last time you’ve eaten today?” He asked, wiping tears from the corner of his eyes.

Hermione was doing the same as she still was chuckling.

“Not since breakfast.”

“Come on, put the paperwork to the side, Hermione. You need to eat something. Call it a night and come with me to the diner down the street. You need to eat and it’s my treat,” Trevor stated in a manner that basically said he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

His hazel eyes bored into her waiting for her to protest. She opened her mouth to start but stopped. The idea of a hot meal was tempting. Sighing, she stopped up her ink pot and pushed her stack of parchment to the side of her desk. Hermione reached under her desk and grabbed her purple leather satchel.

“Actually, a hot meal sounds fantastic,” she replied, standing up and looping her satchel over her shoulder. “Lead the way.”
She was full but the French Toast was so buttery and crisp, she forced herself to eat another bite. It was almost eleven p.m. and although she was tired and now teetering on the edge of stuffed, Hermione was in no rush to head back to her flat. Trevor, like Hermione ordered breakfast as well (pancakes though) and mug of strong coffee. Initially she dreaded where the conversation would lead to during their meal, but Trevor didn’t push her to talk about anything in particular. Instead they chatted about everything else; work gossip, their projects, memories of healer school, upcoming events. Overall, it was turning out to be a pleasant evening for Hermione. She was glad she decided to take his offer up.

He was sipping his coffee listening intently as Hermione was describing a breakthrough one of her patients was showing with her treatments.

“It just made me want to try harder, you know? To see a spark of something light up in her eyes when she studied that picture of her as a school girl. I just felt like I have to continue trying for people like her,” Hermione explained with a look of determination in her warm eyes.

Trevor nodded with an admirable look on his face.

“Hermione you are truly remarkable,” he said leaning back in his seat studying her. “You are so intelligent but what’s more so amazing is how kind you are. You truly care about this world and the people in it. You work so hard to make things better for everyone.”

At that moment the waitress walked over to their table.

“Just dropping off the check before my shift ends. No rush, loves. You can pay Carl at the counter,” she explained pointing to a goblin standing on a tall stool behind a register at the front of the restaurant.

“ Thank you for stopping in this evening. Have a great night,” she said leaving the bill on the counter.

“You too,” both healers replied in union.

Although Trevor had said the meal was his treat, Hermione still wanted to pay something towards their dinner. As she reached for the check, Trevor quickly snatched it from her reach.

“Hermione,” he scolded. “Let me handle this.”

He looked at the check, opened his satchel and removed a small pouch with coins.

“Be right back,” he said winking at her and walking up the goblin. Sipping her coffee, Hermione observed him pay the goblin and walk back over to their booth.

“You didn’t have to pay for my meal but thank you,” she said softly. She never felt comfortable when people did nice things for her.

“Please don’t thank me,” Trevor replied. He sighed before he continued on. “I watch you Hermione. You work so hard and you try to be so strong for everyone else, You deserve moments where you don’t have to be.”

After they finished their coffees, Trevor insisted on walking her to the nearest apparition point. He insisted it was not a big deal as he lived near St. Mungo’s. As they approached the point, Hermione once again thanked Trevor for her meal and getting her mind off of work.

“I’m tired but, I feel better just talking about other things and laughing,” she admitted shyly. “I’ve just been throwing myself in work…to get my mind off other things.”

Draco.

She felt her heart sank a bit thinking of him. She could feel the hot tears starting to form behind her brown eyes.

As if sensing her sadness, Trevor reached a hand out and softly clasped her shoulder. She looked up at him.

“I meant that when I said you deserve moments where you don’t have to be strong for everyone. Where you can be soft and appreciated.”

He bit his bottom lip as if he was hesitating on what he wanted to say next.

“You deserve so much more than someone who makes you tabloid fodder,” he said softly after a beat.

Hermione didn’t say anything at first. She was conflicted. Her heart hurt still from missing Draco so much yet this wizard in front of her could see her for who she was.

“Thank you,” she whispered back.

Trevor leaned down and kissed her gently on the cheek.

“Get home safely and get some rest please.”

She nodded as she stepped into the apparition point. Her head was spinning and it wasn’t from apparating either.

Chapter Text

Chapter 19

“Get it together you wanker,” he growled to himself aloud.

Smoothing his bespoke black blazer, Draco attempted to calm his racing mind. It had been weeks since he saw her. Not that he was actively going out of his way to avoid Hermione. He had a life beyond this endeavor and it was a busy full one. So what if the only availability he had involved communicating using owls? He was a busy wizard! Unfortunately, though the owls could only do but so much and after a few back and fourths with Granger, he received an exasperated correspondence that basically demanded they meet in person to discuss their gala speeches and introductions.

That’s how Draco Malfoy, ended up spending his entire morning full of dread. All morning he was irritable as he awaited this 3 p.m. meeting with Granger at St. Mungo’s. He tossed and turned that entire night. When he awoke and made his appearance at breakfast this morning with his mother, he gave a curt “morning” and proceeded to drink his coffee and read the paper in silence.

Later in the early afternoon, he found himself struggling on what to wear. He needed to show Hermione that he was completely doing fine and even better without her. Draco despised showing any signs of weakness.  Engrained early on in his childhood, Lucius would icily glare at Draco anytime he whimpered or whined.

“Stop sniveling, Draco. Malfoy men do not cry or show weakness. We are a line that kings would seek out to help govern their kingdoms. We hold power and the moment you show any weakness, your enemies will try to take that power.”

Draco never forgot those words as his father would throw them in his face every time he would teether on cracking from his emotions. He remembered one particular dark moment when he first learned the Dark Lord had tasked him in killing Dumbledore. He practically was having a panic attack later that evening in his room. His mother tried to soothe him but seeing her tears as she hugged his shaking body made him spiral worse. Lucius stormed in his room after returning from a meeting with Snape, and backhanded Draco so hard he fell against the hardwood floors.

“WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT SHOWING WEAKNESS?”

As Draco stood in front of his wardrobe he looked at his outfits. He needed to show Granger he was fine, wonderful even. That he didn’t care they’d broken up. He was better off without her anyway. He was a wealthy and young bachelor. Witches everywhere wanted him.

He didn’t need some swotty little vixen to smirk at his sly remarks. He didn’t miss the way she would bite her lip as she was reading over reports, wand in her messy dark bun. It was annoying to lay outside on the manor grounds under the stars and discuss everything till three in the morning.

And he sure as hell, didn’t miss the way her chestnut eyes locked with his steel ones as he would thrust into her, as eased both her thighs back to open her wider to him. Their eyes would stay on each other as both only moan and gasp wave after wave of pleasure took both over. Her delicious cunt seemed made for him as he thrust back and forth in her slick, warm channel. Afterwards, she’d nuzzle into his neck as he wrapped his arms around her and would whisper “Mine.”

Malfoy reached for a black slim cut dress shirt, a newly commissioned black sports jacket, and a pair of dark black trousers. Maybe no tie today. He needed to give off casual as if this meeting wasn’t a big deal but also powerful. Once he settled on his outfit, he stood in his bathroom and almost decided to slick his pale hair back with a sleeking potion but decided he’d leave it a little tousled today.

“The hair? Oh you know how it is, Granger. Witches always want to run their fingers through it. You used to, remember? “

After dressing, giving himself a once over and spritzing a dash of cologne that was his favorite (ok it wasn’t his favorite till Hermione one day said he smelled good.), Draco floo’d to St. Mungo’s for his meeting with Hermione. And that is how he ended up sitting there at 2:57 p.m. berating himself for feeling anxious about meeting with this particular witch.

At 2:59 she walked into the small meeting room with a purple leather satchel looped across her torso and wand in her usual messy bun of dark curls. She was carrying a handful of parchments and looked exhausted. Hermione’s eyes met Draco’s gaze and she quickly made her way to the seat across the table from him.

“Hello,” she said quietly, as she opened her satchel and removed a small notebook and quill. “I …err…hope you are well?”

“Yes,” he replied, hoping he sounded confident. “Just been busy.”

“Right,” she nodded as she opened her notebook to a blank page. Draco noticed she was making a lot of effort to not look him in the face. “Everyone is preparing for this gala.”

Hermione gave a small cough before she spoke. “Sorry, I’ve been a bit feeling a bit under the weather. Probably just fighting a cold. I probably need some rest.”

“Yes, knowing you, you’re probably working more than one humanly should,” Draco smirked. “You never were one to sit still.”

Hermione’s mouth twitched slightly and Draco swore he saw something in her brown eyes but she quickly cleared her throat and looked back to business.

“So I wanted to meet to discuss my speech honoring you and your mother for your fundraising efforts and as well as make sure your speech highlights some of the important projects we will have ongoing in my department.”

She reached in her satchel and pulled out a three sheets of parchment that was folded in half and slid them across the table to Draco.

“I figured you would like to read what I wrote so far and add any changes you want made.”

Malfoy reached across the table to take the parchment and his long fingers grazed her hand very slightly as she pushed the papers towards him. As if his touch were fire, she pulled her hand back swiftly.

Unfolding the papers, he began to read what she wrote. Expecting nothing but polite observations and mandatory praise for his generosity, Draco was surprised to see much more in her speech. Despite her messy scrawl (His penmanship was far superior thanks to private tutoring.), Draco was able to make out everything she wanted to highlight about him. She described him as observant, dedicated, brilliant, passionate, and

“a person who has recognized so much he taken from society and wants to give back more than what is owed.”

After reading her speech, Malfoy found himself feeling something he wasn’t expecting to feel. Hope. He never liked feeling hopeful about anything. Why be hopeful for something good to come about when a majority of times it won’t? Either something good or bad would happen so don’t bother feeling hopeful. What will be, will be. But Granger made him feel that maybe there was hope because she saw in him what he oftentimes didn’t see in himself.

Hermione’s cheeks tinted pink as he looked up at her.

“I can make any changes you want,” she blurted out quickly. “It’s really not an issue at all.”

“No,” he said firmly. He folded the papers back in half and slid them back towards her. “This was …no one ever….thank you, Granger.”

He gave her a small smile and Hermione looked hesitant at first and then she nodded back. “You’re welcome, Malfoy.”

Ah. Back to Malfoy.

“So,” Hermione said after a beat. “Have you started your speech yet? I would like if you could add something about how we now are showing some significant progress with a potion we are developing that can restore obliviated memories. I actually have a patient in my clinical trial who showed some familiarity with her picture from childhood.”

She looked at him with a slight glow of pride.

“No shit? That’s amazing, Granger,” he said looking at her with awe. She was just so bloody brilliant and at times it still shocked him. He then leaned back in his seat giving her a sheepish look.

“But to answer your question, no. I need to actually start writing my speech.”

As he expected she gave him a disappointed look that reminded him of the ones Professor McGonagall would give him as a child if he didn’t turn earn a top mark in one of his assignments. He wondered if that’s where Granger learned it.

“Oh,” she said with a dejected tone.

“However,” he interjected quickly. “If you tell me more about what you want me to say I’ll be sure to start working on my speech tonight and add those points in it.”

That seemed to appease her, Draco thought. She looked satisfied and began scratching away in her notebook with her quill.

“That’s good. I’ll make notes of what I want you to add. Definitely about that clinical trial but also there’s a few other things.”

“Sounds good.”

As Hermione continued writing, there was a knock at the room door and it softly opened. A mass of dark blonde locks attached to a wizard’s head made an appearance followed by the entire wizard. Trevor.

Hermione turned around in her seat to see who was interrupting their meeting. She smiled softly then her cheeks turned red. Draco meanwhile said nothing as he straightened up as Trevor approached their table.

“Apologies for interrupting your meeting,” Trevor said as he adjusted his satchel. He was wearing his healer robes and carrying a canvas medical bag in addition to his satchel.

His eyes met Draco’s and a terse nod was shared between the two men. Draco felt his hand itching to grab his wand and hex the git but decided ultimately to play nice. Trevor walked over to Hermione.

“I just wanted to let you know I’m leaving for the afternoon to volunteer at the clinic for a few hours. I should be done around six. I was going to bring you some dinner since you seem to be a bit run down,” he explained.

Draco fault the urge to roll his eyes so far back in his head. Of course Saint Trevor was volunteering at a clinic. Patron saint of magical medicine and ruining relationships.

He watched as Hermione’s cheeks pinkened and she fidgeted with the quill in her hand.

“Trevor, you don’t have to go out of your way for me,” she replied, twirling the quill repeatedly. “I’ll be fine.”

Draco sat back in his seat and crossed his arms across his chest watching Granger looking flustered and uncomfortable. They aren’t….they can’t be…

Shaking his head and giving a light laugh, Trevor walked closer to Hermione.

“Stop, Hermione. Let someone take care of you for once. Yeah?” He said as he bent down to her level and kissed her gently on the forehead.

Draco felt his body tense and his lips tightened into a flat line. This fucking prat.

Trevor stood back to his full height and adjusted his satchel. His hazel eyes remained on Hermione.

“See you this evening, love.”

Trevor then directed his gaze to Draco and gave him a small nod. “Malfoy.”

The fuck if he was going to let that wanker walk away so easily.

As Trevor turned to start out the door, a voice called out after him.

“Of course, don’t let us keep you, Saint Trevor. The sick and downtrodden are in need of a savior and you mustn’t be late,” Draco sneered.

Malfoy felt Hermione’s eyes lock in on him as Trevor turned around with an incredulous look on his face. Draco waited for Trevor so say something callous back to him but instead the healer just gave Draco an amused look.

“Saint Trevor. Clever one, Malfoy. I suppose the nature of my work does give me a bit of that saintly reputation. Though, I wouldn’t expect you to understand. I mean not all of us can write checks to improve our name.”

A chair scraped back sharply and Draco shot up furiously, making his way closer to Trevor.

“You picked the right rich wanker to-”

Hermione quickly dashed between the two wizards and shot them both furiously looks.

“Enough you two!” She exclaimed, placing her hands out to push each further from the other. “We are at a place of business. Not a school yard. This is ridiculous! We are adults!”

She coughed and then looked shot her eyes up at Trevor.

“Stop letting him get to you. Go to the clinic and I’ll see you later.”

Granger then turned to Draco and shot him a look that seemed to be a combination of anger and disgust.

“And you! Stop trying to get a rise out of him. I saw your face. I know you figured out Trevor and I are seeing each other. You always get cruel and snarky when you’re mad at someone or think you’ve been wronged. I’m glad we’re broken up because you act like a such a spoiled child when you don’t get your way!”

Her wide eyes and reddened face stayed glued to Draco’s tensed pale one. He watched her breathe heavily, trying to contain her anger. He felt his jaw clench and heat flushing throughout his body. They both stayed staring at each other for a moment as Draco focused on taking slow controlled breaths and started closing his mind off. Finally he spoke.

“Apologies, Granger,” he said almost robotically; occluding. His eyes clouded over as he continued speaking. “I can see you and I are done here. Both of you enjoy your evening.”

With that Draco, gave Hermione a quick nod of his chin and swiftly left the meeting leaving her knitting her brows in confusion.
It was the day before the gala and Hermione and Trevor both took half a day that Friday to finish some last minute shopping in Diagon Alley. Trevor had to stop by a few shops to pick up some men’s grooming potions and new shoes and Hermione was stopping in Madam Malkin’s to pick up her gown which was being altered and fitted.

Hermione looked at her watch. It was two p.m. and she needed to grab her dress and then swing by Flourish and Blott’s to pick up a new release she had pre-ordered. She wanted to get everything done quickly so she could go home, practice her speech, take a bath, and curl up with her new book before bed. Trevor suggested earlier he could spend the night and they could order take away but she wasn’t ready quite yet for that yet. While she swore she saw disappointment in his eyes, he assured her he understood.

That was the nice thing about dating him. Trevor understood. He understood that Hermione needed time and care. She appreciated the fact he always made her eat dinner with him. She liked that before meetings he would pull her aside to remind her that her curls were a bit unruly and to pull them back so people wouldn’t be distracted.

He even went gown shopping with her initially. She was leaning towards ruby color velvet strapless gown that made her feel like a glamorous starlet from back in the fifties. Trevor watched her model the dress in Madam Malkin’s before he looked around and pulled out another gown for her to try.

It was a deep inky violet French satin crepe dress that sat off the shoulders. The long sleeves flared into sleeves that looked like something a medieval princess would wear. It wasn’t usually her style but it was very pretty. She tried it on to humor him and he gushed at how beautiful she looked.  She suggested she sleek her hair back into a French chignon to really show off her features.

“Why don’t we split up and meet back here in 2 hours? That way we both can get done what we need to do.” She suggested.

“Sounds good actually. There was one more shop I needed to pop in to now that I think about it,” Trevor replied.

He leaned in and gave her a small peck on the lips.

“See you in a few.”

Hermione watched him disappear in the crowd of shoppers for a moment before she turned the opposite direction and headed to Madam Malkin’s shop.

As she pushed open the shop door, the bell above it chimed softly announcing a customer was entering. Hermione made her way to towards the counter where the till was. No one was there. Hermione looked around. In fact the entire store was empty.

“Hello?” Hermione called out, confused as to where Madam Malkin and her staff were.

The witch heard quick footsteps approaching her and she smelled a strong scent of roses.

“I’m sorry. We have a private appointment today and are unable to assist you with-” Madam Malkin rushed and then paused as her eyes fell upon Hermione’s figure. “Ms. Granger! My apologies. I know you are here for your gown. Please follow me to the fitting room. Forgive me as we have a private client here picking out fabrics for her wardrobe. If you don’t mind her presence, I can have you try on your gown and confirm it fits and send you on your way.”

Hermione smiled and shook her head. “It’s no trouble. I appreciate you getting the alterations back so quickly.”

Madam Malkin smiled relieved and beckoned Hermione to follow her towards a fitting room in the back of the shop. As the older witch pulled back the velvet plush curtains and motioned for Hermione to step inside the area, Hermione gave a small gasp when her eyes met a pair of icy blue ones.

Narcissa Malfoy was sitting on a small tufted sofa surrounded by three shop witches holding out various bolts of fabric. In her manicured hand was a tea cup and saucer. She looked up at Hermione and smiled warmly.

“Hermione, how lovely to run into you here, dear.”

Narcissa extended her hand with the tea cup and saucer and one of the witches quickly took it from her as she stood up and walked over to Hermione.

“Narcissa, this is a wonderful surprise,” Hermione smiled, as Narcissa embraced her and gave her an air kiss on each cheek. “I’m sorry for interrupting your appointment. I am just here to pick up my gown for the gala.”

Narcissa smiled and waved her hand nonchalantly.

“Nonsense, you aren’t interrupting anything dear. Please join me on the sofa while Madam Malkin fetches your gown.”

Mrs. Malfoy then looked over at a red haired witch holding a bolt of pink fabric.

“Tessa, would you be so kind to pour a cup of tea for Hermione?” Narcissa then looked over a shorter brunette witch who was holding her tea cup. “Renee, I will take that from you. Thank you very much.”

Hermione watched as Malfoy’s mother retrieved her tea cup and sat on the sofa making room for Hermione to join her. Taking the tea cup Tessa offered her, Hermione sat next to Narcissa and smiled nervously. She hadn’t seen her in several weeks and she could only imagine how much Narcissa wanted to rip into her for the way her and Draco ended.

Instead Narcissa smiled and motioned to the surrounded bolts of fabric being shown to her.

“Every season, I pick out new fabric for my wardrobe. Madam Malkin has always secured fabrics that are so unique and there’s no one else I trust my wardrobe with,” she said, explaining why she had a private appointment.

Hermione looked curiously at the fabrics and then at Narcissa who was sipping her tea following her gaze. She had never been that wealthy in her life to be able to afford a bespoke wardrobe. She understood why Narcissa always looked impeccable. She also understood why Draco always looked like his outfits were made just for him. Because they literally were.

“You have beautiful taste,” Hermione said, eyeballing a silver bolt of material that looked like liquid mercury.

Narcissa shot Hermione a charming smile. “Thank you, Hermione. I hope you don’t mind if I am getting a sneak peak at your gala gown today. I know you will look absolutely stunning in whatever you have decided on.”

As on cue, Madam Malkin approached holding up with both arm her dress.

“Ms. Granger if you could step into the fitting booth and try the gown on, I can assess if everything was measured and fit correctly,” the proprietress explained passing Hermione her dress and motioning towards a curtained booth.

“Of course,” Hermione said as Madam Malkin took her teacup.

Moments later Hermione stepped out of the booth and on to the stool modeling the newly altered gown. The deep violet clung to her well curved form exposing her tanned collar bone and shoulders. The long bell sleeves grazed just to her fingertips. Madam Malkin and her staff stared studying the dress on Hermione while Narcissa sat and nodded with a twinkle in her eye.

As Madam Malkin used her wand to direct her measuring tape at certain points on the dress and then nodded to herself, Hermione snuck a glance of herself in the three way mirror. While this was not her usually style, she had to admit the dress did make her look like royalty.

“Hermione, darling, will you be wearing your hair down tomorrow evening? I think that would set off the gown quite nicely. You have beautiful glossy dark hair,” Narcissa called out as she raised her teacup to her lips.

Hermione stared back at Narcissa in the mirror as she continued examining herself.

“No, it was suggested by Trev- my friend, that I wear it up in a chignon.”

“Pity,” Narcissa replied, raising a brow coyly. “You have such beautiful hair however, whatever you choose to do I am sure will be stunning. Draco was right that you could wear a pillowcase like a house elf and still look beautiful.”

The Gryffindor felt her face grow a little warm at the mention of Malfoy however, she was determined not to make this conversation grow awkward. She enjoyed Narcissa and her friendship and wished to continue it.

“Er..thank you. Speaking of which, how is Draco? Is he nervous about tomorrow?”

“It seems perfect Ms. Granger. How does it feel?” Madam Malkin interrupted looking tense in anticipation.

Hermione looked at herself again. It looked fine and it was tailored perfectly yet it didn’t feel completely fine. It’s not what you’re used to. You’ll adjust.

“It seems fine” Hermione replied as Madam Malkin seemed to relax her body.

Hermione watched as Narcissa approached her and asked her to spin around so she may get the full look of the gown. She complied and slowly spun around giving her a 360 view of the gown.

Narcissa pursed her lips thoughtfully and then her pale blue eyes met Hermione’s.

“This is a different style of what I am used to seeing you in however, you still look beautiful Hermione. Perhaps your tastes have changed my dear?”

She raised a brow at Hermione like a Cheshire Cat and gave the young witch a knowing smile.

Did my taste change?

“Perhaps,” Hermione answered slowly.

She then turned to Madam Malkin and explained she could box the gown up before she made her way back to the dressing booth. Once the she changed back into her regular clothes she passed Madam Malkin the gown who then took it to box it up.

She watched as Narcissa sat back down and fingered a bolt of pale chiffon and nodded towards a dark blonde middle aged witch who quickly pulled out a quill and scroll and began scribbling something. Narcissa then looked up at Hermione.

“He’s nervous for tomorrow,” she said as if Hermione just asked her question.

It took the Brightest Witch of Their Time, a moment to realize Narcissa was talking about Draco.

“Oh?”

“He’s worried about being seen as that same seventeen year old boy who the world pinned as an unreedemable war criminal. He’s starting to wonder if there’s nothing about him that is corrigible.”

Hermione swallowed hard and felt a pit in her stomach.

“He shouldn’t worry so much about what everyone will say tomorrow. He’s done much good and he will continue doing more good. He’s…he’s not a bad person. He shouldn’t worry what everyone else thinks.”

“He’s not worried what everyone else thinks of him. There’s only one person he worries about,” she said tilting her head to the side as her pale eyes met Hermione’s brown ones.

Hermione felt her pulse quicken. She was grateful Madam Malkin walked back in the room with a box that was elegantly wrapped and secured with a plush maroon ribbon.

“Your dress Ms. Granger. I do hope you turn heads at your gala. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any other formal events you need dressing for,” she said, passing Hermione the box.

“Thank you, Madam Malkin,” Hermione replied, taking the parcel from her. She then turned to Narcissa. “I must get going, Narcissa. It was wonderful seeing you again and I’ll see you tomorrow evening. Again, please accept my apologies for intruding on your appointment time.”

“Hermione,dear, please don’t apologize. It was a delight seeing you this afternoon. I dare say I have missed having you around the manor.”

The young witch felt her skin grow buzzy and her blood warming up.

“Yes, er…I shall see you tomorrow evening,” she replied and began to turn and leave.

“Hermione,” a voice called after her.

Hermione turned around and looked at Narcissa confused as to what else she could have to say.

Narcissa gave a small sigh looking off to the side. She then looked back up at Hermione. Her eyes while clear held a mother’s worry.

“He has always been intense. He’s always been moody and brooding at times. I blame myself for allowing Lucius to harden him to some extent,” Narcissa said with an air of remorse. “He may be like his namesake but, also like his namesake, dragons yield for the right person.”

Hermione didn’t know what to say.

“The right woman will be able to tame a dragon.”

Meanwhile across Diagon Alley in Knockturn Alley, Blaise and Theo were coming out of a small pawn shop. Theo was pocketing some gold looking quite pleased while Blaise looked like he would rather be anywhere but there.

“Can you please walk with some urgency, Nott? You promised me lunch if I helped you with this task and now that it’s done I’d rather we not be seen in this part of town,” Blaise grumbled as he looked around suspiciously. “I don’t think it would do well for either of our images.”

Theo chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“We’re leaving, we’re leaving. Calm down, Blaise. You act like someone may see us and think we’re trying to resurrect the Dark Lord.”

Blaise stopped and looked at Theo incredulously.

“We’re in Knockturn Alley and just sold a shop a potentially dark magicked talisman! Resurrecting a hateful cult leader may not seem very farfetched based on our recent activities!”

Waving his hand dismissively Theo snorted.

“I had to get that box out of the manor. It wasn’t working with the decor.  It was father’s and being how him and Lucius will be enjoying an extended stay in Azkaban, I see no reason to keep it under my roof anymore.”

They had just sold a small trinket box to a shop that specialized in dark and cursed artifacts. While Theo couldn’t confirm or deny it was indeed a dark talisman (He never was one for dark magic honestly.), he did know the small box that went back several generations in his family wasn’t working with the interior design of the manor he was overhauling. Dark and cursed didn’t go with Theo’s new vibe of modern maximalist. So he convinced Blaise to come with him to Knockturn Alley to sell the item (And potentially help if the box did something odd such as curse him.) and then have lunch with him.

“Well let’s get out of here before someone sees us and we end up in Skeeter’s gossip column,” Blaise said picking up his pace.

The two men fell into matching strides and made their way around a corner. Theo came to a halt when he heard Blaise mutter a curse to himself.

“One second. These bloody laces came undone. I should have worn my loafers,” Blaise said kneeling down to tie his shoes.

As he tied his shoes Theo looked around and spotted a tall man with dark blonde hair walking out of a potions shop. Nott narrowed his eyes to confirm he was seeing correctly. Trevor?

Standing up Blaise noticed Theo looking intensely in a direction and followed his eye line.

“Is that Hermione’s friend?” He questioned aloud.

“Trevor? Yeah, it looks like him. He just came out of that potions shop.”

Blaise looked over to the shop and his eyes followed Trevor as he continued walking briskly through the rush of witches and wizards.

“Why was he in that potions shop? There’s one right near Flourish and Blotts. Everyone knows this one is where you go for…” He trailed off as if the next words he was about to say were going to leave a nasty taste in his mouth. “For unsavory needs.”

Theo nodded and frowned as he looked back at the shop.

It was odd.

Hermione took a deep breath to steady herself as she walked into the decorated space of the Mosenburg Library. The library was one of the oldest magical libraries in the United Kingdom and tonight would be the location for St. Mungo’s gala. Amongst the old leather tomes floated hundreds of magical candles adding an amber glow to the room. Various flowers were woven in boughs of greenery that accented tables and shelves. Patrons, employees, and hospital administrators all mingled and talked amongst themselves dressed in their best evening wear. A full orchestra played lively music in the background adding to the ambience of the evening. It truly was beautiful.

Hermione clasped Trevor’s hand and looked up him. He gave her a smile and squeezed her hand quickly. She had to admit he looked very nice this evening. He was wearing navy formal robes and his dark blonde waves framed his head in a carefree way.

“This is going to be an amazing evening,” he whispered to her. “Everyone is already looking at you. You are brilliant and stunning, Hermione.”

She felt a blush creep up her neck as Trevor looked down at her and lightly trace his fingers across her jawline.

“Perhaps later I will get to enjoy your brilliance and beauty all to myself,” he added with a sly wink.

She smiled nervously and felt her blush deepen. It wasn’t that she didn’t find Trevor attractive or enjoyable to be around. Hermione just didn’t feel compelled yet to move further with him.

A few nights ago after dinner he suggested they take a walk around the park and enjoy a crisp moonlit evening. As they walked and stopped admiring the way the moon reflected off a small pond, he leaned in and kissed her, hard and passionately. As they kissed in the dark, Hermione felt Trevor’s hand wander from her waist to her breast and palm it greedily. What should made her heart flutter instead made her hesitate.

“Perhaps we should take this to my flat?” Trevor had huskily asked her. She could see his pupils dilated in the moonlight.

She had gave a tight smile and gave a small shake of her head “no.”

“I..I’m not quite ready for that,” she confessed quietly.

She swore she saw a flicker of disappointment in his eyes but then it quickly evaporated.

“I understand,” he said kissing her forehead. “No rush.”

She cleared her throat and was grateful a waiter walked by and offered them both a glass of champagne. Trevor plucked two from the tray and handed her one offering a small toast to her success. She took a sip after their glasses clinked.

A few feet away Hermione spotted Richard chatting with some coworkers. His eyes caught hers and he gave a tight smile which she returned. She hadn’t spoken to him since their last conversation nor was she in the mood to do so tonight.

“Well aren’t you oozing of beauty and grace?” purred a voice.

Hermione spun around and smiled at Pansy as she sauntered over to her and Trevor. Pansy’s dark bob was styled so not a hair was out of place. She would a vintage looking drop waist black dress with tiny crystals woven in the fabric. Her signature red lip was evident on her made up face and her nails were short and painted black. She looked like she was an alluring heiress right out of the Great Gatsby.

Pansy gave Hermione an air kiss as she embraced her and then did the same to Trevor.

“Usually not your style, Hermione, but I do not disapprove of your outfit this evening,” Pansy said, raising a perfectly arched brow as she took in Hermione’s gown and hairstyle.

Trevor chimed in looking pleased. “I convinced our Hermione to step out of her comfort zone for tonight.”

Pansy nodded and took a sip of her champagne. “So I see. Well now that you both are here, let me show you where everyone is gathered.”

“Lead the way,” Hermione responded and felt Trevor clasp her hand.

The three made their way across the room and outside to the library’s garden. There in a small gathering stood Blaise, Theo, Daphne, Ron, Harry, and Ginny.

“Look who just arrived,” Pansy exclaimed to the group smirking as Hermione and Trevor followed behind her.

The group turned everyone made a fuss over her.

“Oh, Mione, you look like a princess tonight,” Ginny gushed over her friend.

“I love that color,” Daphne said in approval.

“Ginny is right, Hermione,” Harry smiled.

“About time you showed up! I was tired of being the best dressed one here. Ouch! What the hell, Blaise?”

Blaise gave Theo a sideways glance and then smiled as he looked over to Hermione and Trevor. “You do look beautiful this evening, Hermione. And Trevor, you look dapper as well.”

“Thank you, Blaise,” Hermione replied as Trevor also thanked him.

Ron approached Hermione slightly awkwardly and his gaze traveled upwards to her eyes.

“Everyone is right, you look very nice, ‘Mione,” he said shifting his weight.

“Thank you, Ron,” Hermione answered softly. “That’s really sweet of you.”

Ron gave a small nod and stuck his hand out to Trevor. “Trevor nice to see you again, mate. You clean up nicely as well.”

Everyone laughed as Trevor took Ron’s hand and thanked him.

Twenty minutes later, Hermione found herself looking around the garden anxiously. Everyone was here except Malfoy. Where was he? This was a gala honoring him for Merlin’s sake!

As if she summoned him by magic, she felt her stomach drop. As she saw him approaching the group. He was dressed in white dress robes that were styled with a modern twist of black accents. His white blonde strands were slicked back and his pale skin gave an ethereal appearance under the moonlight. He paused for a moment looking at the group. Hermione’s eyes met his for a moment before he quickly broke connection and made his way towards the Slytherins and Gryffindors.

“Well who decided to finally show up to his own gala,” smirked Pansy as she gave him an air kiss.

“Nice to see you, Malfoy,” Harry greeted Draco with nod as Ron did the same.

“Took you long enough,” Theo said sarcastically as he passed Daphne a glass of champagne.

Hermione watched as Draco rolled his eyes at Theo. “I’ve been here. Mother and I were sidetracked by Richard and the hospital board.”

Draco then turned around and came face to face with Hermione and Trevor.

“Malfoy,” Trevor said with forced politeness.

Hermione for some reason found her voice suddenly disappearing as she opened her mouth to greet Draco.

Draco gave them a terse nod then resumed talking to the others in the group.

It had been about an hour since Draco had arrived and Hermione noticed his did everything in his power to avoid talking directly to her. They both had been pulled aside several times by various coworkers, friends of Narcissa, and even Narcissa herself, to talk about Hermione’s project and Draco’s contribution to St. Mungo’s and each time he would speak like Hermione wasn’t standing right next to him.

As Healer Mullens excused herself from their conversation to greet another coworker she spotted, Hermione found herself growing exasperated and unable to take anymore.

“What is your problem tonight?” She hissed at Draco. “This is a gala honoring you. I have to give an entire speech about you this evening! Can’t you pretend to be civil?”

Draco snorted and took a sip from his glass.

“I’m a spoiled child, Granger, remember? I don’t know apparently how to be civil,” he spat back avoiding eye contact with her.

Hermione bit the inside of her check and felt her body tense.

“So instead of being an adult you decided to commit all evening to the role of a child throwing a hissy fit when he doesn’t get his way,” she said crossly. “You’re unbelievable, Malfoy. I don’t know why I bother.”

He turned his head and directed his gray eyes towards her chocolate ones.

“Bother? You don’t bother with me, Granger. You made that clear when you chose that tosser over us.”

Hermione felt the air expel from her chest. Before she could retort, she saw Draco narrow his eyes and then roll them.

“Speaking of which, here he comes.”

She looked behind her and saw Trevor approaching her. As he approached she felt a the air shift as Draco sharply turned on his heel and walk away.

“Are you okay?” Trevor asked Hermione as she remained watching Draco walk away briskly. “What happened?”

Her throat felt drier and she felt the threat of hot tears pool behind her eyes. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes willing herself not to get upset at Draco and his demeanor this evening.

“Nothing. I…just…could you get me another glass of something maybe stronger than champagne?” She forced out.

Trevor nodded with an understanding look.

“Of course. You need something to relax you. It’s going to be a long evening.”

He planted a small kiss on her cheek.

“I’ll see what they have at the bar.”

Forty minutes later, Hermione felt more relaxed amongst the crowd. Trevor had came back with a French 45 cocktail and she accepted eagerly. Whatever was in the cocktail immediately set her mind at ease. She felt her thoughts slowing down and a warmth overtake her body.

She was laughing a bit too hard maybe when Harry was retailing a funny story about a stakeout he had completed recently on a wizard smuggling in Tasmanian Pixies. Harry raised a brow at her deep laugh and blushed as she shrugged.

Richard made his way over to her and leaned in as he placed a hand on her back.

“Hermione I am glad you are enjoying yourself however, perhaps you should start preparing for your speech. You’ll go on to speak about Mister Malfoy in forty minutes.”

She blushed and nodded. “Right. No worries.”

Richard gave her an approving nod and then made his way back to his social group.

Hermione felt her head spinning slightly and rationalized she maybe needed to sit down and sip some water.

She noticed Trevor studying her and leaned against him for support as she lowered his head to hear her whisper.

“I have to give my speech in forty minutes, I think I need to sit somewhere quiet and sip some water.”

“Of course. I think I saw some private offices along the corridor near the west wing. Let’s get you in one of those.”

He offered her his arm and she accepted with gratitude as she felt her brain feel as though it was melting.

Once he helped her in an office, Trevor closed the door quietly and flicked his wand causing a few candelabras along the wall to light up and cast a soft glow in the room. She spotted a settee and laid herself across it, draping her arm across her eyes.

“I feel horrible,” she groaned.

Trevor approached her and helped her sit up for a moment as he sat down and then let her lay her head across his lap.

“I think perhaps not eating anything didn’t help,” he offered as he stroked her head.

She shook her head slightly.

“No I ate a very light lunch earlier today. It just seemed to grow worse after that last drink.”

Trevor stopped stroking her hair for a moment, his fingers pausing, and then resumed their usual rhythm.

“You’re thinking too much, love. Just relax.”

She gave a soft hum in agreement and felt her eyelids growing heavier. A small voice in the back of her mind kept nagging at her to get up and pull herself together to prepare for her speech. The voice was growing further and further soon.

As she felt her eyelids start to close, she felt Trevor’s hand slowly slide down her waist to her hips and soon she felt him gathering the back of her gown and make its way to rest on her bumcheek. She forced her heavy lids open and willed herself to turn around to look at him.

“What are you-” she started, feeling now her tongue grow heavy. She was having trouble now speaking. “Trevor.”

The wizard slowly lifted her off him and helped her sit slightly upward against the arm of the settee. Trevor stood above her and smiled down at her with the look of a hungry predator.

“Relax, Hermione. You are always so uptight and overthinking. You won’t let go and I took it upon myself to help you tonight.”

She scrunched her brows confusedly. She wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. Her mind felt so fuzzy.

“Drugged me?” She asked sluggishly.

“That’s such a negative way to view it, Hermione. I’m just forcing you to relax and I think after we’re done you’ll see things a bit differently and from my point of view.”

He leaned in and kissed her forcefully as he cupped her chin. He pushed his tongue in her mouth kissing her and nipping her hotly. He pulled back slightly and looked at her with a lustful gaze.

“I’m going to take care of you, Hermione. I’m going to give you what you need.”

She felt fear pit in her stomach and hot tears running down her face.

This was not what she wanted.

Chapter Text

Chapter 20

She tried to form a scream in the back of her throat so someone would hear her but even mustering up the sound and opening her mouth seemed to be too much. Even keeping her eyelids opened seemed to require too much energy. Hermione felt her eyes stinging with the salty tears that pooled up in them. She was trying to think of something to escape this room and away from Trevor however, even her thoughts seemed to be turning into sludge. Forming a thought seemed to be requiring as much exertion as trudging through knee deep mud.

She felt Trevor lift her up and adjust her towards the armrest of the settee, She felt his body heat and the weight of the cushions shift as he straddled above her. His lips began trailing kisses on her mouth and along her jawline.

“Hermione,” Trevor growled grasping her chin as he kissed her neck. “I’ve been wanting this for so long, love.”

Draco gave a polite yet forced laugh as the wizard in front of him told Narcissa and her friends a joke. It really wasn’t that funny but he did what any good son would do and suffered for the sake of his mother. Thankfully the gods took mercy on him that evening and Theo approached him, a mischievous look in his eyes.

“Sorry to interrupt what appears to be a comical story,” he explained addressing the group. “I must borrow our wizard of the hour as Blaise and myself need to end a debate we’re having and Draco is the only one who can settle this.”

Narcissa gave Theo a quizzical brow raise.

“Of course, darling. However, Theodore, you must humor me and tell me what you boys are squabbling about.”

Theo flashed a charming grin at Mrs.Malfoy.

“How many times Blaise was knocked off his broom by a bludger when he and Draco both played Quidditch back at Hogwarts, Blaise says twice but I clearly remember at least five times.” He clasped Draco’s shoulder with his hand that wasn’t holding a champagne flute.

“I need Draco to confirm my memory is not that poor and help me walk away with fifty galleons,” Theo added with a wink at Narcissa.

Narcissa and her companions laughed as Draco excused himself and walked away with Theo.

“Nott, you do know I have to give my speech soon,” he grumbled, not looking forward to getting involved between Blaise and Theo.

Theo snorted and waved his hand dismissively.

“I was just rescuing you from boredom. You look like you’re having the worst time this evening and the irony is this whole event is being held in your honor.”

Draco huffed with annoyance.

“I do not look like I am having a horrid time tonight,” he said, approaching Blaise and Pansy with Theo.

“Rubbish,” Pansy scoffed, shoving a champagne flute in Draco’s empty hands. “You look murderous and that’s not a good look for someone who’s helping fund a hospital ward. Bad for business and all that. Have another champagne and try to wipe that snarl off your face.”

Draco groaned and took a sip of his champagne. “I do not look murderous. Did it ever occur to you lot maybe I have a lot on my mind this evening?”

“Like?” Blaise asked raising a dark brow at Draco.

“Like Granger,” Theo laughed as Draco turned and glared at him.

“What?!” Nott asked feigning innocence. “It was just a guess!”

“I was not thinking about Granger,” Draco said grounding his teeth.

“Liar,” he thought to himself.

“Well if you weren’t I’m sure half the room was,” Pansy said with an amused smirk. “She looked absolutely stunning this evening. Her gown seemed a bit out of her normal style however, I can appreciate a woman who takes fashion risks.”

Pansy’s green eyes caught Draco’s gray ones.

“Bit interesting she chose to match Trevor,” she mused as she raised her glass towards her lips. She took a small sip. “She was very adamant on not flaunting her relationship with him yet here they are matching.”

Draco said nothing as he watched Pansy shrug and take another sip of her drink.

“I’m more interested in how they found time to even have a relationship considering they both work so much,” Blaise added.

“Right?” Theo chimed in. “I mean it seems they both live at St. Mungo’s with how much work they do. I’m still shocked we saw Trevor that one day in Knockturn Alley.”

Draco turned sharply to face Theo.

‘What did you say?”

“I said I saw Trevor in Knockturn Alley recently. Well Blaise saw him as well.”

Pansy asked why they were in Knockturn Alley the same time Draco asked where did they see Trevor.

“One at a time,” Theo replied to his friends. “This isn’t a press conference.”

“Theo was getting rid of one of his father’s relics, for a lack of a better term,” Blaise chimed in. “We were leaving the shop and we saw him leaving Dante’s.”

Draco raised a brow. As someone who watched his father and his associates do business all his life in Knockturn Alley, he was well aware of Dante’s. Anyone seeking a potion or ingredient that was either banned in the UK or controlled by the Department of Magical Compounds and Ingredients, could find it there. It wasn’t like the shop openly advertised their illicit stock. You just had to know. If a regular witch or wizard wandered in, Dante himself would have a decoy stock of typical potions or ingredients readily available for purchase.

“Why the bloody hell was Trevor leaving that shop? Why was his golden arse even in Knockturn,” Draco asked out loud.

“Not sure, mate, “ Blaise replied with a shrug.

Before Draco could reply, he saw Richard approaching him flanked with an assistant. Richard was rattling off some things to the assistant, a young skinny guy with thick glasses and curly red hair. The assistant was scribbling on a parchment with his quill nodding in agreement.

“Mister Malfoy,” Richard said, stopping in front of Draco. He gave Draco a polite nod of acknowledgement and a charming smile. “I’m glad you are enjoying the evening however you and Healer Granger are set to give your remarks in about twenty minutes.”

Draco nodded his head. “Yes. I am aware and prepared.”

“Excellent,”Richard exclaimed. “Now I need to remind Healer Granger. Have you seen her by any chance?”

“No. I assumed she was socializing with the other guests.”

Or with that twat, Saint Trevor.

Richard furrowed his brow and Draco noticed the assistant observed this and promptly furrowed his as well.

“No,” said Richard slowly as if his brain was already trying to prepare to squash another image crisis for the hospital. “Let me see if anyone else has seen her.”

Richard started to turn and walk away but Draco called after him.

“Richard,” Draco called to him as he approached him to speak discreetly. “Why don’t I see if I can find Ms. Granger for you?”

Richard gave Draco an incredulous look and then scoffed.

“I appreciate the offer of assistance, Mr. Malfoy but let me find her. We don’t need any more bad press for the hospital, yeah?” Richard replied casting a judgmental look at Draco.

Giving Draco a tight smile, Richard then whispered something to his assistant who nodded and they both walked away.

“Fuck you,” Draco said to no one as his chest started to tense with anger. He walked over next to Pansy and shoved his glass into her free hand.

“Hold this for me. I have to find Granger for our speeches,” Malfoy said storming off.

Draco approached the corridor of the west wing of the library. According to one of the servers, he saw Trevor and Granger walk in the direction of the library offices. Malfoy approached the first office door he saw in the corridor and knocked on the door.

“Granger?” He called out as he turned the handle and poked his head inside. Nothing but boxes stacked in corner of the empty office. Malfoy frowned and closed the door back. He repeated this two more times before he felt heartbeat increasing and jaw muscle tightening.

Her speech is soon. This is not like her, his thoughts declared urgently in his head. Walking towards the back of the corridor Draco paused hearing the distinct sound of furniture scraping against the floor. He held breath trying to focus on the sound as a string quartet from the center of the party played in the background.

Draco approached another office door and heard what sounded like a muffled female voice. He reached for the handle and tried to turn it but found it was locked. He considered knocking but something in his gut advised him against it. Instead, he reached in his robes and pulled out his wand, whispered “alohomora”, and frowned when the door remained locked.

Giving a frustrated sigh, he pounded on the door.

“Granger? Are you in there?”

Muffled sounds then silence.

“Oh Salazar’s tit,” Draco sighed frustratedly before aiming his wand at the door and reciting a spell to force it open.

The door splintered and slammed open allowing Draco to walk into the dimly lit office just as Trevor rose to his feet. Draco’s eyes quickly surveyed the space and he found Hermione slumped over on a settee. Her dress was rumpled and tear stains were evident on her face. Malfoy quickly approached the witch and kneeled down to assess her.

“Granger! Are you ok?”

Trevor walked closer to Draco and Hermione, his hazel eyes wide as he placed a hand against his chest.

“Thank Merlin it’s you, Malfoy,” he sighed as Draco turned his head to look at him. “Hermione wasn’t feeling well and I suspect she may have had too much to drink. I brought her here to lie down but I feel it’s not helping.”

The Slytherin quirked a brow at Trevor before turning his head back to Hermione.

Something seems wrong.

“Granger,” he called softy to her. “Please, can you hear me?”

He watched as two brown eyes struggled to open and a small groan tried to form in her mouth. It was as if someone had charmed her to move permanently in slow motion. This seemed more than having too much to drink. Draco cupped her cheek softly before turning back to look up Trevor.

“What’s wrong with her?” He asked with a growing bite in his tone. “This seems more than her being drunk.”

“She’s just drunk,” Trevor replied, stepping back and crossing his arms. “Hermione never was one who had a high tolerance for alcohol.”

Draco gave Hermione’s barely conscious form one last look before he stood up, approaching Trevor.

“I’m going to tell Richard to make an announcement that the gala needs to end early and I’m getting her to the hospital,” Malfoy asserted as he stood toe to toe with Trevor. His gray eyes flashed with warning as Trevor’s stared back with his.

“She just needs rest,” Trevor insisted. “Trust me, I’m a healer. I know what I am talking about.”

Draco scoffed and turned to start towards Hermione when he felt a hand grab his bicep. He whipped his head around and found Trevor grabbing on to him, fingers digging into his flesh.

“I said I have this handled!”

“Don’t fucking touch me,” Malfoy growled, shoving Trevor backwards with an anger that had been slowly building inside him.

The golden haired healer, stumbled backwards and into a small accent table where he crashed onto the floor. As he attempted to gather his bearings, a small glass vial rolled from out of his dress robes across the floor. Draco swiftly lunged at it and picked it up to examine it.

“Draught of Domination?” Malfoy asked, reading the label.

He knew what that was potion was used for. Draco recalled overhearing his father’s Death Eater friends allude to many of times when they wanted to lure a witch into their beds. The Malfoy scion personally never used it in his life as Lucius found it unsavory and low brow (“A wizard worth his galleons doesn’t need to drug a witch into warming his bed, Draco.”) but, he knew it was still used by some pieces of dung.

Malfoy looked over to Hermione taking in limp body and disheveled state. Trevor was going to…

“You drugged her,” he whispered dangerously, his hand tightening around the vial.

Trevor, standing now with hands up at his chest in a surrendering motion, shook his head. “You don’t understand, Malfoy. She needed to relax. She’s always so tense, always overthinking everything. I was helping-”

Whatever Trevor planned to end his sentence with never was known, as following the clatter of the glass vial on the floor, the reformed Death Eater surged across the room and pinned the healer against the wall. Sprays of red mist stained Draco’s white dress robes as his fists connected with Trevor’s face in a rage. Cracking of bone and cartilage could be heard between Trevor’s groans.

“YOU. Punch. DRUGGED. Punch. HER!”

He couldn’t think. He could only feel and right now he felt murderous.

“She trusted you and you were going to-”

Malfoy couldn’t finish the sentence without feeling disgusted while at the same time ready to Avada this arsehole. He instead gave Trevor one forceful uppercut in his gut causing the wizard to sink to the floor as the wind was knocked out of him.

Across on the settee, Hermione struggled to try and regain her sense of awareness. She found her mind stirring slowly as she could hear sounds of a scuffle and soon intense physical fighting. She forced one eye open. Everything looked hazy but she could make out Draco’s tall silhouette pinning Trevor’s against a wall. The sound of bone cracking could be heard.

“Draco,” she whispered in a barely audible voice.

She felt her head spinning and her body feeling far away. Her eye began to shut again.

He found me. He came.

Trevor used his sleeve to sop at the blood that was pooling under his nostrils. He was leaning against the wall, panting, and looking like he came straight out of Hell.

“You’re going to Azkaban for this, Malfoy,” he hissed as he glared up at the other young man. “No one will believe you over me. I’m a top healer.”

Trevor snarled before he continued. “And you’re an ex-Death Eater.”

Draco said nothing for a beat and Trevor began to feel his pulse quicken at the thick silence that coated the room. His eyes locked on Draco’s face as the Slytherin reached into his dress robe and pulled out his wand.Trevor’s jaw tensed as Malfoy’s silver eyes darkened when he looked back down at him.

“That stubborn, brilliant, witch has overtaken me both body and soul. She means more to me than my family name, my fortune, and my reputation. I’d gladly burn the world and anyone who tries to hurt her. ”

He smirked sinisterly, letting the Draco from his youth shine through, and pointed his wand at the healer.

“So yes,Trevor, you’re right. I am an ex-Death Eater which means I’ve been through Hell,” he continued, tightening his grip on his wand, silver eyes bright with fire behind them. “And I know exactly how to send you there.”

Malfoy’s wand began to glow green as he held it up ready to burn it all down for her, his witch.

“DROP YOUR WAND, MALFOY!”

The green glow slowly dissipated from Draco’s wand as he heard Potter’s voice yelling at him to drop his wand. Behind him Harry and Ron had their wands aimed at Draco with Richard standing behind them with Pansy in tow.

Malfoy made no attempt to move to lower his wand or cast his gaze from Trevor. Instead he stay locked on him as the healer cowered in the corner. Meanwhile Draco could hear a gasp coming from Richard as he saw Hermione slumped over on the settee practically unconscious.

Harry tightened his jaw and the grip on his wand as he continued aiming it at Draco.

“Malfoy, what the fuck did you do?!”

“It looks like he’s being a jealous ex,” Ron added with a sharpness in his tone.

“Exactly, he’s been out to get me since Hermione broke up with him,” Trevor interjected.

Draco’s eyes narrowed and his knuckles turned whiter as he continued pointing his wand at Trevor.

Harry approached Draco cautiously as if he were in the fields during his auror shift and not in a room with one of his best friend’s ex and current boyfriend.

“Malfoy, I’m not going to say it again. Lower your-”

“He drugged her,” Draco said in a controlled tone.

Keeping his wand focused still on Trevor, Draco motioned with a flick of his head to the vial on the floor near Hermione. Harry and Ron exchanged looks before Ron lowered his wand and walked over to inspect the vial.

“Draught of Domination,” he read aloud. “Merlin, that is a controlled potion. What in Godric’s name…”

He then looked over to Hermione and walked over to her limp body. He checked to make sure she was breathing before he gently tried to shake her awake.

“Mione? Can you hear me,” he asked her softly.

Richard, Harry, and Pansy’s eyes locked on Hermione and Ron as the ginger haired auror was met with a small groan.

Harry and Ron’s eyes locked in a silent moment of acknowledgement and understanding.

Trevor, seeing this moment, quickly added, “She was feeling ill! I brought her here to rest and Malfoy attacked me! I’ve never seen that vial!”

“Then why did Blaise and Theo claim to see you leaving Dante’s in Knockturn Alley recently?” Pansy asked pointedly as she stepped further in the room.

All eyes fell on Trevor’s at her statement.

“What?” Richard asked, his eyes widening with shock.

Before Trevor could come up with an excuse, a small groan escaped from Hermione. Ron quickly rushed to her and knelt to help her sit up. Her brown eyes slowly opened and she struggled to speak as if it took all her energy to form a word.

“Draco,” she started, causing Draco’s head to whip towards her direction. The fire in his eyes slightly softening at her saying his name.

Hermione’s glassy brown eyes found Draco’s for a second and then she forced herself to focus back on Ron.

“Saved. Me,” she said before her eyes closed again and she fell back over.

The silence in the room was deafening for a moment before Harry, now in full auror mode, walked over to Draco with a steady stride..

“Malfoy lower your wand,” he said authoritatively, watching Malfoy slowly lower the hawthorn. He then cast a look at Ron. “Ron, get Hermione to St. Mungo’s, now.”

Ron nodded and scooped Hermione up and hurried past Richard and Pansy.

Trevor’s eyes grew large as Harry’s green ones focused back on him.

“Trevor Wizenhart, you are under arrest for possessing a controlled potion under Magical Great Britain law and for assault.”

Harry flicked his wand and conjured magical restraints around Trevor’s body. The healer struggled against the golden ropes and flashed an angry hazel stare towards Harry.

“This is a mistake, Potter! You will -”

“You have the right to remain silent,” Harry interrupted him as he stepped to him and pulled him upwards to stand by the magical ropes. He shot Trevor a warning look. “I suggest you use it.”

Harry then summoned his patronus to call for backup as a small group of onlookers began to form in the hallway trying to see what all the commotion was about. Within moments, several other aurors, pushed past the growing crowd into the room where Harry gave them directives. Two escorted Trevor out as he struggled against his magical binding, while the others documented evidence and kept the onlookers at bay.

Richard excused himself to announce to the crowd the gala would be concluding earlier due to unforeseen circumstances and swiftly made his way to the main floor. Pansy stood for a moment watching Draco stand in silence watching Harry give orders before she sighed and joined the others back outside.

As the room finally was cleared and evidence was collected, Draco felt emerald eyes staring at him silently. While his grip on his wand was now much looser, Malfoy could feel himself breathing hard and body shaking with a combination of relief and anger. He didn’t know whether he wanted to punch the wall or scream into the air.

“Malfoy.”

Draco brought his attention back to the room and looked over at Harry.

“Are you alright?” Harry asked quietly.

Am I? This is because of me.

“Is she going to be alright?,” Draco asked, trying to hide any emotion in his question.

“I…I don’t know,” Harry replied seriously. “She was given a lot.”

Draco said nothing as he turned and looked at now vacant settee,

The clock on the wall chimed midnight as Draco approached the hospital room door. After accompanying Potter to the Ministry for a statement, he then went home to wash Trevor’s blood off him, and change his clothes. Purple circles faintly traced his pewter eyes. He was not only physically exhausted but emotionally exhausted as well.

As he took a deep breath to ground himself before entering the room, a stern voice called out to him.

“Visiting hours are over sir,” chided a gray haired older healer. She folded her thick arms and tilted her head down to look at him over her blue bifocals. “Patients need their rest.”

Draco frowned at the older witch, ready to throw a snarky remark her way till a younger red haired healer quickly walked over next to her colleague and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“It’s okay, Meryl. Mister Malfoy is a top donor of the hospital,” she explained, smiling at Draco. She then turned to the other healer and added pointedly, “He’s also a friend of Healer Granger.”

Malfoy watched as the witch known as Meryl seemed to register what was being said to her and she uncrossed her arms and adjusted her cat eyed frames. She raised a brow at Draco as she motioned to the room door.

“Just don’t wake her. She needs her rest.”

Once in the room, Draco quietly closed the door behind him and stood there trying to hold back the numerous emotions and thoughts that raced in his mind. The hospital room was dim with the exception of the glow of moon rays filtering through the window. The soft beeping of monitoring charms was the only other noticeable sound. Draco could see Hermione, asleep in her hospital bed. She looked peaceful yet pale against the white linens of the bed. She also looked fragile.

The wizard stood there a few more moments just watching the rise and fall of her chest.

She’s safe. She’s away from him.

He slowly then approached her bedside and pulled up a chair as he sat down and studied her face. Her dark brown curls, still sleek from her hair style were now messily haloing around her pale face. She always was a tan complexion but tonight she looked like someone who hardly stepped foot in the Sun. Draco’s hands slightly trembled as he reached his long fingers out to gently touch a curl. He fingered the soft tendril trying to force his emotions to the very back of his mind through occlusion however, it was all futile when he felt something crack in his chest.

“I would have killed him,” he whispered as his voice started to break.

He tried to take a few deep breaths, willing himself not to crack.

“I didn’t care what would have happened to me. I just..”

Wet droplets hit the bedsheet, blooming dark spots in their wake. More soon followed.

He made no attempt to wipe his eyes. He leaned closer to her and gently grabbed her hand. His fingers intertwining with her smaller ones. He stared at their joined grasp as his eyes remained hot with tears. He gently leaned even closer and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

“You’re mine. You’ve always been mine. Even when I pretended you weren’t.”