Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I've written this for fun and do not make a profit. Thanks to J.K. Rowling for providing us with fascinating characters and stories to play with and enjoy.
This was originally planned as a series of vignettes, but it grew a bit bigger than that so it's now a two-part short story. Most of the character and relationship development in this story happens off-screen, and each scene checks in with our characters at key moments, sometimes after the passage of many months. To some extent, this may result in the characters reading as a bit OOC, but if you take the episodes at face value given the time lapse, I don't think it's all that unbelievable.
I originally intended for this to remain mostly on the humorous side, but the drama became unwieldy so I don't think I can honestly label it as such anymore, thus the genre remains "General."
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
"What's this?"
Percy Weasley ran a hand through his hair. "It's a proposal for a new employment program. You're going to want to have a seat."
Hermione took the file and sat behind her desk, gesturing for Percy to sit opposite her. She could feel his eyes on her as she perused the documents.
"This is all very reasonable. I have no problem with signing this measure."
His gaze remained steady as she raised her head to gauge his reaction.
"As I expected. You do realize that not everyone will react as... considerately?" Percy pressed.
"Yes, of course I know that. But like I said, it is all very reasonable and I believe I can manage a statement that will put out any fires this might start."
She signed the form and handed it back to him. "Was that all? I was expecting something a bit more controversial from the way you are behaving, Percy."
One corner of his mouth quirked as he reached into his briefcase and slid another file across her desk. "Unfortunately there is a follow up, and you're likely to find it a bit less savory," he admitted.
Hermione sighed, opened the folder, and scanned the first page, again feeling Percy's apprehensive stare. Her eyes widened.
"You've really backed me into a corner, Percy!"
"I know, I'm sorry," he quickly launched into an explanation. "Here's how we see it, Hermione. You've just signed what you yourself described as a quite reasonable measure to protect the employment rights of former Death Eaters and Death Eater sympathizers. I know you agree that we need to put a stop to the reactionary movement happening against purebloods."
"Yes, and we've discussed all of this before," Hermione huffed.
"So don't you think it would be pertinent to hire someone who fits the criteria? We have a number of positions open, and the board has discussed a number of candidates. We've determined that the higher the rank, the better, as far as encouraging the public's compliance is concerned. It will be impressive if they see the Minister for Magic trusting an ex-Death Eater with a high profile job."
"You're right, as usual," Hermione admitted.
"Thank you, I'm glad you agree," Percy said with relief. But his shoulders did not relax as he reached forward and flipped to the next page in the file. "We've taken the liberty of compiling a list of the available positions and eligible applicants. But we urge you to seriously consider our top choice, for a multitude of reasons, for inst-"
"This is..." she began, but she could not identify the correct words. She took a deep, exasperated breath. "This is a shock. I don't know what to say to this suggestion, Percy. You can understand why, I imagine?"
"Of course, absolutely, Hermione, but listen for a moment. We've been searching for a Chief Financial Adviser for months, and the economy is suffering. We haven't found a single decent candidate because almost all of the best options are purebloods serving time. The rest of the board and I implore you to just consider his credentials. We cannot do our jobs while also overseeing Ministry finances for much longer without causing serious lasting damage. He is the best choice we have. And if he messes up, you can fire him and we will take up the search again. But for now you have the final say in whichever appointment you'd like to make."
"You've never led me astray, Percy," Hermione reluctantly admitted, "but this isn't just about politics or the war. This is personal. I need some time to think."
"I'll leave you to it, then. Just try to come up with something quick? We're hoping to announce the program alongside the appointment if possible."
With a nod, she sent him away.
She tried to come up with a better solution. She searched through the databases and investigated the other suggestions her Board of Advisers made, but she had to admit that their top recommendation would kill two doxies with one stone. It would set a good example for the public and would fill a high-ranking position that they desperately needed to fill.
By the end of the day, she admitted defeat. She prepared a memo to Percy.
Malfoy it is. When can he start?
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
"This is clearly why you've found yourselves in this financial bind in the first place!"
Only a week into the job, and Malfoy was already being insubordinate.
"Mr. Malfoy, imagine how many millions of galleons this is going to bring in. Especially for smaller businesses! The public wants it to happen!" argued one of Percy's people.
"Yes, obviously the Quidditch World Cup would bring in revenue. That is irrelevant. What is relevant is that it wouldn't be for another five years. In the meantime, preparations for hosting the Cup will increase the Ministry's cumulative debt one-hundredfold. Perhaps five years from now it could be possible. Believe me, I like Quidditch as much as the rest of you blokes. But not now. Granger-"
"Minister," Percy corrected him for the umpteenth time in the last few days.
"Minister," Malfoy ground out, "if you continue to agree to every proposal that lands on your desk, the economy is going to end up in the rubbish bin. Everything costs galleons. Galleons that we cannot currently spare."
Hermione chewed the end of her quill in frustration. He was right, but she didn't like to make decisions against the will of the public. She wanted to keep them happy. There were already too many who distrusted this administration, led by the youngest Minister for Magic in history. As the rest of the board had argued, the public was excited to reap the benefits that would come with Britain hosting the Quidditch World Cup. Plus, they liked Quidditch.
"Percy, what do you think?" she prompted.
Her most senior and trusted adviser had remained curiously silent for the majority of the meeting while Malfoy had it out with the rest of her board.
"I think..." his eyes shifted briefly to the rest of the advisers seated down the table, "I think Malfoy's got a point. I think he's right. We should revisit this in a couple of years when we have more room in the budget."
"Thank you, Weasley," Malfoy leaned back with his hands behind his head, smirking at the rest of the board. Though he technically was one of a couple of advisers positioned just below Percy and the Minister herself in the hierarchy, the entire board had been giving him a hard time all week, challenging him to prove himself. Until this meeting, he had kept his head low, but Hermione had to admit that she was somewhat relieved that he had finally taken a stand on something, even if she weren't entirely sure he was making the right decision. But Percy's opinion meant a lot to her, and she had to admit that the interests of the Department of Magical Games and Sports were not high on her list of priorities.
"Alright, then. I'd like Percy and Draco to accompany me to the meeting with the Head of Magical Games and Sports. The rest of you are dismissed."
Following an injury that took him out of professional Quidditch, Oliver Wood had been appointed Head of Magical Games and Sports and was retained by Hermione at the start of her term. He entered the conference room with a smile, sat down across from her, and rubbed his hands together.
"So, where's that contract?"
"Actually, Oliver, we have a few things to go over," Hermione began nervously, feeling heat rising across her chest. Was it really so rare that she turned down proposals that her body reacted so negatively? She cleared her throat. "Well – er – first of all, we –"
"We'll cut to the chase for you, Wood," Malfoy interrupted. Hermione halted her words immediately, her mouth opening in a small "O" of shock for a brief moment as she simultaneously saw Percy opening his mouth, undoubtedly to chastise Malfoy for rudely interrupting the Minister for Magic. She gently placed her hand on Percy's forearm and gave him a loaded look.
"Okay…" Wood murmured, his brow furrowing in confusion.
"Your request has been declined," Malfoy stated simply, sliding a file folder across the table. He really was cutting to the chase! "Hosting the Quidditch World Cup, even five years in the future, is not feasible. The basic outline of the decision is laid out in these documents, including the numbers. It should be all the information you need, but if you have any questions, send a memo to the office of the Chief Financial Adviser to the Minister for Magic."
Wood blinked in shock for a moment before finally choking out, "I hope you will reconsider th-"
"No."
The room was painfully silent for a moment, but Hermione was struggling to keep quiet. She wanted to laugh out loud! Not at Oliver, of course, but just at the thrill. How was it so easy for Malfoy to say no to people? It made her giddy, and she wasn't even the one who had done it! Though his voice had betrayed no emotion, Malfoy's face had broken out into a wolfish grin.
After the door closed behind Oliver's retreating dejected form, Percy immediately rose to his feet and began lecturing Malfoy on the proper etiquette in these kinds of meetings and the respect owed to the Minister. Hermione remained quietly seated, only half-listening. She was still recovering from the excitement of Malfoy's "No."
"Is that all?" Malfoy asked with a raised eyebrow once Percy's diatribe trailed off.
"You owe Hermione an apology."
"No," he said again. This time, Hermione felt a little thrill shoot down her spine and she bit her lip to keep from smiling like an idiot. "And I don't think she wants me to. Am I right, Granger?"
She hadn't expected to be addressed at that moment and had to think through her distraction to make sense of what Malfoy had just said.
"Yes," she eventually admitted.
Percy stared at her questioningly but she chose not to respond.
"See?" Malfoy smirked and headed towards the door, "She always says yes!"
As predicted, the day that the decision regarding the Quidditch World Cup was released, publicity was quite busy. Hermione was relieved that she rarely had to field inquiries and complaints directly. Unless of course they showed up at her office in the form of one Harry Potter.
He entered her office unannounced an hour into the work day and collapsed in the chair across from her. He was one of only a few people who went unquestioned by her secretary when he came to visit from the Auror Department. Harry glared at her for a few minutes while she continued to sort through her documents for the day, waiting for the explosion.
"I know you don't care for Quidditch, but this is causing all kinds of outrage!" he complained. "Everyone loves it when we host the Cup and it would be beneficial to the economy as well as morale!"
"Harry, the decision has been made. I'm sorry you're disappointed, but we've released a detailed statement for the public to consult with any questions," she explained matter-of-factly. "Besides, need I remind you that if you had just agreed to campaign for Minister instead of leaving them to wrangle me into the job, you'd have been the one making the decision."
Harry grinned at that, which only served to frustrate Hermione more. "You say that every time I disagree with something you and your board do," he said.
"Well, it's true!" she huffed. "I don't know what to tell you, Harry. I really am sorry. And if you would, pass the sentiment along to Ron. I'm sure he'll be giving me the silent treatment for the next-"
Hermione's secretary knocked and peaked her head in at that moment.
"Mr. Malfoy to see you, Minister."
Hermione glanced at Harry who shrugged and rose from his seat, assuming an assertive stance as she nodded to her secretary.
Malfoy sauntered into the office with a smirk and a copy of The Daily Prophet rolled up in his fist. "Potter," he acknowledged with a nod. He sat down in the chair that Harry had vacated. Placing the newspaper facing her on the desk, he said, "As I see you're entertaining gentlemen callers this morning, I presume you've not had a chance to look at the paper yet."
"Malfoy –" growled Harry in warning. Hermione just rolled her eyes and flipped through the paper.
"Isn't this fantastic, Granger? They've placed all the blame on me. Now that you have a Death Eater as a scapegoat, your unpopular moves will be more easily forgiven," he sarcastically explained in reference to the write up about the Quidditch World Cup decision. "Any more misgivings about hiring me, or is it safe to say you'll let me stick around a bit longer?"
"Former Death Eater," Hermione corrected, "and I never had any intention of firing you, at least not based on your performance thus far. I apologize that you seem to be taking all the flack for this, however."
"I thought you liked Quidditch, Malfoy?" Harry mused. "Or are you still sore about all those Slytherin losses back at Hogwarts?"
"Hardly," Draco sneered, casting his most icy look in Harry's direction. "Anyway, it seems that I am doomed to be disliked by the wizarding world, but it's nothing new, so don't worry your pretty little head about it, Granger."
Hermione felt heat rising on her cheeks. "Watch it, Malfoy, I won't tolerate patronizing language. I'm your superior around here and I suggest you don't forget it again."
"Noted."
There was an uncomfortable silence. Harry shuffled his feet before muttering, "I should get back to work. I'm still miffed about this, Hermione. Next thing I know you'll be slashing the Auror budget to ribbons."
"Don't be silly, Harry," she called after him as he walked from the room.
"Not a bad idea…"
"Oh, shut it, Malfoy."
They fell into an awkward silence again. Hermione could feel Draco's eyes on her as she scanned the remainder of the article opened in front of her. She cleared her throat.
"Well, eventually when the economy turns around, they'll know to thank you, but in the mean time I think you can expect continued flack."
Draco smirked down at her as he stood up, holding eye contact. "I think there was a compliment in there somewhere," he observed before heading out the door, closing it behind him.
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
Over the next few months, Hermione, Percy, and Draco developed a kind of routine. When an unviable proposal was presented, Hermione began by acknowledging its merits. Then Draco would tear it apart from the financial angle, while Percy carefully considered all sides. Then he would appear to be regretful as he admitted Draco's practical position, and Hermione would "reluctantly" back down.
It really was a convincing charade. Hermione's approval ratings remained high while public opinion of the Malfoy family stayed low. But the economy was slowly recovering and there was no arguing with the numbers. After nearly a year of practicing this method, Draco finally began to receive positive recognition from the press and public.
Meanwhile, Hermione became more and more fascinated with the ease with which Malfoy touted the word "no." Even after all these months, her nerve endings were excited by the sound of his voice uttering that one simple syllable. There were so many ways to say it. Sometimes he whispered it so that people would have to lean in and hold their breath in order to hear, while other times he would shout it in someone's face to be sure they'd get the picture. He was often aggressive, growling or sneering or barking the word. Unexpectedly, he would on occasion say it gently, calmly, or politely. With a few women he almost made it sound like flirting. Whatever way he said it, Hermione never ceased to be surprised by the electricity it awakened in the pit of her abdomen, forcing her to subtly clench her jaw in order to remain still and silent.
So it was around this time, about a year into Malfoy's appointment, that Hermione arrived at work with a record number of five proposal rejections to get through. Steeling herself for a day of arguments and frustrated department heads, she set herself up in the conference room with her two collaborators on either side of her.
The first rejection went easily enough. Malfoy's "no" was calm and quiet, sounding ever so slightly regretful without leaving room for questions. By this time, of course, people knew that it was hopeless to try to change his mind, though some still tried. In this case, the rejected party left the room without argument and only a hint of disappointment.
The next took more of an effort. Malfoy's first tactic was an echo of the first, but the man who had submitted the proposal was not going to back down so easily. So Malfoy was forced to repeat himself several times, grinding out the magic word until the man gave up and left disgruntled. By the end of that meeting, Hermione's mouth had gone dry. She licked her lips and took a deep breath.
"Are you okay?" asked Percy, looking at her with concern. "Do you need a break?"
"I'm fine," she said, perhaps a little too quickly, snapping her eyes over to Draco who raised an eyebrow at her jumpy behavior. "Let's get a move on."
The third meeting felt like it took forever. Hermione could barely focus, distracted by her embarrassing and apparently very obvious reactions earlier. Her attention was recovered by Draco's shouted "NO!" at the surly man seated across the table. She felt heat rising across her chest and up her neck and wondered when it had gotten so hot in this conference room. Perhaps she would request that they adjust the temperature to be a few degrees cooler for these meetings.
She glanced over at Malfoy after he dismissed the man and ended the meeting. His eyes met hers and his smile grew wider, almost predatorial. Her eyes went wide and she quickly averted her gaze.
The next proposal was presented by a younger woman from the Auror Department. As her job required, she was athletic looking, and quite pretty to boot. Malfoy employed his most sensual rejection for her, almost purring the word. Hermione felt her blood boil in her veins. Was it possible that it had actually gotten even warmer in here? Her stomach felt like it had tied itself into a knot and she felt unreasonably angry all of a sudden. She shot daggers with her eyes at the woman's back as she left and she heard Malfoy chuckle next to her. She didn't dare look at what specifically had garnered that particular reaction.
"Are you sure you're alright, Hermione?" Percy pressed. "I'm sure Malfoy and I could handle the last one on our own."
Hermione shook her head, prepared to see the series of meetings through. Maybe she was a masochist? Five rejections in a row, of course she was going to get all hot and bothered, judging from her reactions in the past. She should have known better than to let them be scheduled consecutively like this. But at the same time, a part of her whispered that she hadn't felt quite this alive in years.
The final "no" was the previous rejection's darker, more dangerous cousin. Malfoy's voice maintained the same seductive pitch, but it was deeper and angrier, almost threatening. The final presenter visibly gulped. So did Hermione. She was beginning to notice a distinct wetness in her nether regions. Thank goodness this was the end of it.
Hermione stood abruptly at the meeting's conclusion. "I think you're right, Percy, I'm feeling a bit under the weather," she forced out. "I'm going to go back to my office. Good work, you two."
She couldn't remember the last time her legs had moved so fast. She barely made it back into her office before she collapsed into her chair with a pained, audible groan.
"I know you're not sick."
Hermione's eyes snapped open wide. He had followed right behind her and she hadn't even noticed! She just stared at him, mortified. His eyes were slightly narrowed as he looked down at her from his spot by the door, lips set in a quizzical half-grin.
"I most certainly am! I would like some peace please, if you would see yourself out. You really shouldn't enter someone's office uninvited, Malfoy."
"I know you're not sick, because I can tell you are feeling the same way I am at this very moment," he insisted, taking a couple of steps toward her, "and I may not have been invited, but I think you want me here."
"N-no," she stammered, fixating her gaze on the floor, in shock at what was happening as he continued his steady advance.
"You'll have to be more convincing than that," he murmured, and she felt that he was now very close to her. With one finger under her chin, he raised her face so that he could meet her eyes. "Haven't I taught you anything?"
Hermione couldn't move, couldn't think. Her body was tingling in places that hadn't tingled in… well, she couldn't remember how long! It felt good, and she didn't want it to stop, so she decided to throw caution to the wind. She never took risks anymore; it was rarely a good idea for the Minister for Magic to be reckless! But she was a Gryffindor and she needed to indulge her impulses every so often.
Standing up to her full height, she leaned towards him, leaving only a few inches of space between them. Softly but adamantly this time, she repeated herself.
"No."
His lips crashed into hers and without further ado began moving hungrily and insisting entrance. She obliged, no thought of hesitation, reveling in the sudden explosion of feeling as she released all of the tension that she had built up over the past few months while attempting to disguise her bodily reactions in their meetings.
Picking her up by the waist and placing her on the edge of her desk, Malfoy bent to her neck and began sucking and nipping from earlobe to shoulder. Hermione tilted to accommodate, relishing in the sensations his teeth and tongue were firing through her veins. He used his knees to separate her legs, settling between them as he lifted his head to connect their lips again and wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. She felt a prominent bulge pushing into her lower abdomen.
All of a sudden, Hermione came to her senses, pulling away and saying "No," but it came out as a desperate whine, and she wasn't sure if it was directed at Draco or at herself for breaking the intimate contact.
"C'mon Granger," Malfoy murmured, pressing his forehead to hers and staring into her eyes in a way that sent a shock of desire straight to her groin, "You're not supposed to use my own tactics against me."
"Th-this is wildly inapr-propriate," she managed, trying to calm her breathing.
He smoothed a hand over hair and kissed her nose, then her cheek, and then the shell of her ear before whispering, "No one needs to know."
He lifted her to standing, sliding his hand from her hair, down her back, around the curve of her bum, and under towards her most private place, coaxing her to compliance. It didn't take much before she was completely undone. In her mind, she vaguely attempted to rationalize it, thinking she could just get it out of her system this one time, but even as the thoughts formulated she knew it would not be that simple.
And so began a new addition to the routine. It worked the same as always, Hermione continuing to struggle with hiding her arousal in meetings, but now she and Draco found mutual release together within the hour. It was wrong, Hermione knew, for myriad reasons, but no one knew and they weren't hurting anyone. Besides, the casual sex was a great stress reliever.
After a couple of months, Percy began to get suspicious, noticing Hermione's strained behavior in meetings that were usually followed by one of them visiting the other's office. Eventually, he drew up the courage to confront her about it, and Hermione recognized the great effort with which he endeavored to address the issue with respect.
"Hermione, I have a question for you," he said, taking a deep breath. "Are you and Malfoy... a thing?"
"What?" she feigned shock at his inquiry, bracing her hand against her chest. "What would give you that idea?"
Percy frowned, suspecting her of lying, but she wasn't! She and Malfoy were absolutely not "a thing." They were just sleeping together. No labels. No feelings. No commitment.
"You two seem to have... ah, become much closer recently, and appear to spend a lot of time... behind closed doors," Percy wisely proceeded with caution. "It seemed that you might be... what I mean to say is... oh, bloody hell, are you sleeping with him?"
"No, Percy," this time she was lying, "we've just become quite good friends and enjoy each other's company. We get a lot of work done when we collaborate."
She tried to smile reassuringly at him but suspected that her face had turned a shade of pink that was not conducive to proclaiming innocence. Luckily, Percy did not pry, instead taking her word for it, though it was written all over his face that he did not truly believe her.
Hermione waited a few hours before gathering a few documents at random for appearance's sake and heading to Malfoy's office.
"Malfoy, whatever it is we've been doing these past few months... it needs to end now," she informed him. "Percy asked me about it earlier today. I lied, of course, but he definitely did not believe me. So we can't do this anymore."
He regarded her calmly from the seat behind his desk, long seconds of silence ticking by. She became uncomfortable, shifting a bit and pulling self-consciously at her pencil skirt. His gray eyes followed her subtle movements, making her feel unsteady under his close scrutiny.
"No," he stated evenly, and her eyes fluttered closed for a brief moment, "I do not find that agreeable at all."
His words made her heart speed up.
"Malfoy - " she attempted to protest, but it was weak, and he cut her off abruptly.
"We can make other arrangements. We'll stop going to each other's offices. How about this. We both have a personal floo, and yours is untraceable. No one will think anything of it if I pop home for a short while now and then, and if you simply floo to my flat from your office, no one will be the wiser. No one will even know you've gone."
Hermione considered, shifting her weight back and forth. She knew it was still very risky and, as always, ridiculously inappropriate. Why couldn't she find a non-Ministry employee to fool around with? She knew deep inside, however, that no one got her as heated Malfoy - it had always been that way, after all. She should say no, she should put a stop to this while she had the nerve. But in reality, she knew she had never really had the nerve. It was a sorry attempt.
"Yes, alright, we can give it a try," she yielded, as if they were discussing a Gringotts bank loan transaction.
Malfoy positively beamed, stepping around his desk towards her.
"Now, we can start that arrangement next time, but I think I'm going to need to see you naked on my desk at least one more time before we permanently change locations."
Hermione licked her lips and toed off her shoes. She didn't need him to ask twice.
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
After a few months of clandestine romps at Malfoy's flat, the arrangement started to become a bit fuzzy around the edges. It wasn't just a sexual release after rejecting proposals anymore. Soon, they began secretly going home together after Ministry functions. Hermione even began to worry that they were being too familiar in public - nothing particularly revealing, but brief touches of the shoulder and lower back and similar gestures. She had even received a few cranky messages from Harry and Ron commenting on her "friendship" with Malfoy, which they evidently did not approve of. If only they knew!
About a year into their physical relationship, Hermione stayed the night at Malfoy's flat for the fifth or sixth time. The first time it had been entirely unintentional, and she had panicked when she woke up to the sound of his shower. She attempted to take off before they came face to face, but he emerged from the bathroom before she finished gathering her things and threw her a casual smile, relieving her embarrassment. The next time, they had taken their morning shower together, repeating the events of the night before up against the steamy tiles.
On this particular morning, she woke up before him with her stomach rumbling and headed into the kitchen. Pulling out a few ingredients, she brewed their morning coffee and prepared a modest breakfast dressed in a pair of his boxers and one of his spare night shirts.
"Hermione, are you still here?"
Her heart skipped a beat before plunging into her stomach, her body going cold. He had never called her that before. She hadn't really noticed it before, but they had always been Granger and Malfoy. His use of her given name shocked her, and she suddenly became very aware of what she was wearing and what she was doing. Casual fuck buddies didn't spend the night, didn't wear the other person's clothing, and definitely did not stick around to make breakfast in the morning.
This had officially gone too far.
Abandoning her work in the kitchen, she shyly returned to his bedroom and hastily told him she had forgotten about an appointment she had in half an hour. Grabbing her own clothes and heading into the bathroom to change, she could feel Malfoy's confused look boring into her back.
When she handed his clothes back to him, she muttered a quick goodbye before practically running to the floo. All the while, Malfoy remained silent, brooding from his spot on the bed.
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
Thankfully, that had been Saturday morning, so she had some time before the inevitable confrontation that would occur at work the following Monday. She focused her energy on thinking about anything and everything that wasn't Malfoy. Twice, he sent her an owl asking if she was okay, if he had done something to offend her... she ignored them.
As expected, he barged into her office first thing in the morning, wanting to know why she hadn't returned any of his messages and demanding an explanation for her abrupt departure on Saturday.
"Malfoy... I'm done with this. We can't do it anymore. It's not right for colleagues to be... involved. Especially while holding public office. I cannot continue to sleep with you in good conscience."
He began to aggressively pace back and forth across her office.
"No!" he eventually shouted in a desperate attempt to initiate a rendez-vous. She merely shook her head, lowering her gaze to her desk. She felt devoid of all emotion. Empty. Why did it feel so wrong to do the right thing?
"It's because I'm a Death Eater, isn't it? The Minister for Magic can't be caught shagging a criminal," he growled, turning to face her with his arms folded across his chest, feigning a threatening posture.
"EX-Death Eater!" She shouted back. "If that were the case, would we have even hired you in the first place?"
He just stood there, piercing her with his angry, silver eyes, breathing raggedly.
"Why do you even care?" she pondered quietly. "There are hundreds of other witches out there who you can get off with."
He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "I don't want hundreds of other witches! I want you, Granger. And Malfoys always have their way."
"Not this time," she said, determined to stand her ground.
Malfoy stormed out of her office and she didn't see him the rest of the day.
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
The next morning, Hermione headed to the conference room with Percy, preparing herself for her first interaction with Malfoy since they had fought. When they entered, Malfoy pointedly refused to acknowledge her. They followed their routine as normal, until Malfoy got overly aggressive and made the female Ministry employee cry. When it was done, he promptly left the room.
Hermione was startled to find him in her office when she entered a few minutes later, sitting in the chair across from her seat with his head in his hands. He did not look up as she sat across from him and hesitantly reached over her desk to put a hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry, Draco."
He slowly raised his head and met her eyes. Still angry. They examined one another for a moment.
"I'll quit," he finally said. "I have enough money in my Gringotts vault to last me a lifetime. I never needed this job."
Hermione balked. "What?!" she exclaimed a little too loudly. "You can't do that! Are you blackmailing me?"
"No!" he said defensively. "But if I quit, then we can continue our... arrangement."
"Malfoy, please stop! No! I need you here. We can't function properly without you. We couldn't have accomplished nearly half of what we've done in the past couple of years. I reject your request."
"It's not a request!" he sneered. "I quit! I don't care if you need me at work, I want you to need me… in general!"
"I do need you!" she countered. "I could never have denied all of the necessary proposals on my own. You know that! It would have been impossible without you!"
"I thought you were supposed to be the all-knowing Gryffindor wonder, but you really are thick sometimes, you know that?" Malfoy said icily as he approached the door. "I don't want the Minister for Magic to need me. I want you to need me, Granger. I want Hermione to need me."
She stared at him, her mouth hanging open slightly. She had stopped breathing and her heart was hammering so hard she feared it would explode out of her chest. The tingle was back – that unique tingle that only Malfoy had ever started in her. But she had to ignore all of that.
"But if the Minister needs me more, then neither can have me at all."
He left. Hermione lowered her head to the surface of her desk and cried.
.~*~.~*~ Don't, don't you want me? You know I don't believe you when you say that you don't need me. ~*~.~*~.
.~*~.~*~.~*~.~*~.
Lyrics at the end of this chapter are from "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League.
Thanks for reading. Please review! Part II to follow :)