This was meant to be a one shot, but spiraled out into a larger story. Hope you enjoy, please review but be kind, I'm writing to amuse myself while I have a broken leg. Ta! xx
Rated M for swearing and eventual sexiness.
Of all the places in the world, of course it would be a bloody library.
"Malfoy?!"
Draco spun around in shock, only for his elbow to collide with the nose of-
"Granger?!" he hissed, silver eyes widening in surprise.
"Yes, you git," she hissed back at him, one hand covering her nose while she cradled a stack of books in the other arm, "You elbowed me in the face!" Her eyes narrowed and she pulled her hand away. It was red.
Draco cursed, "Shit, I'm sorry Granger. It was an accident. You surprised me."
She glared at him mutinously. Draco glanced around and saw that they had attracted the attention of a few other students.
"C'mon," he muttered, grabbing her arm and her books, "Let's get out of here and clean you up."
He steered her through the shelves towards the bathrooms and thankfully she didn't protest.
"I'll hold your books for you, you just duck in and clean up, Granger." She eyed him suspiciously, still holding her nose. He rolled his eyes, "Merlin, I'm not going to steal your bloody library books, Granger." She shot him a parting glare, and then disappeared into the ladies room.
Draco leant back against a nearby table and absently looked over the titles she had gathered. Medical physiology, Neuroanatomy and physiology, Advanced Biochemistry… Interesting choices. He ran a hand through his pale blonde hair in frustration. Bodily harm to one of the Golden Trio was not on his to do list for today. And just what were the chances of bumping into Granger in a library? Admittedly high. A muggle university library in Australia? The odds would have to be astronomical.
Draco Malfoy did not believe in coincidences.
His face set into a cool, impassive mask, though his eyes hardened with cold fury, and waited.
She emerged from the bathroom, with her nose still looking bruised and slightly swollen.
"Brightest witch of her age forget how to cast episkey?" he quirked an eyebrow.
"I'm practising," she informed him primly.
"Practising what?"
"Muggle medicine. Goodbye, Malfoy." She scooped her textbooks off the table and turned to walk away.
"Not so fast," he growled, grabbing her upper arm and whirling her to face him. "You expect me to believe that you just happened to be here, in Australia, exactly where I was?"
"I could ask the same of you, Malfoy," she snapped. "Aren't you under Ministry probation? How exactly did you leave the country?"
"I retreated to the colonies, isn't that the done thing when one is in disgrace?" He sneered.
"Maybe, but it doesn't explain why you're in a muggle university library!" She retorted, drawing herself to her full height. Which was disappointingly at least half a foot shorter than Draco's.
"I could ask the same of you, Granger," he mimicked, "Surely keeping an eye on an ex-Death Eater is a bit below your pay grade? Aren't you supposed to be doing some stuffy Ministry job, toiling away for house elves which everyone indulges because you're the bloody Golden Trio, while faithfully popping out Weaselbee's babies?" This time, it was Hermione's hand that cracked across Draco's face.
"How dare you," she hissed in a dangerous voice that crackled with magic, "I'm not here to bloody spy on you, you git. But I've half a mind to tell Harry that you're here and that you broke my nose!" Hermione caught the flicker that passed over his face before setting back into his cool, aristocratic smirk.
"It was hardly broken, Granger," Malfoy drawled, "I accidentally elbowed you, you purposely slapped me. How 'bout we call it a draw and leave it at that?"
For a moment they just stared at each other in tense silence, their magical auras thrumming and competing with each other. Surprisingly, it was Malfoy who swallowed his pride and broke first.
"You're really not here to check on my parole?" he asked her quietly, his silver eyes scrutinising every inch of her face.
"No, Malfoy, I'm not," she sighed, her magic settling as all the fight went out of her. This almost alarmed Draco as much as the thought of her contacting the Ministry. The famous Gryffindor princess looked tired and thin, with dark circles under her eyes that he didn't remember from school. She looked almost like she did during the war. "And I'm not going to tell anyone that I saw you either, so you can relax." There was another awkward moment of silence while the two stared at each other.
"Well, I've got lots to do so I'd best be getting going. Bye, Malfoy," she murmured and made her way past Draco. He watched her walk away for a minute before, for reasons completely unknown to him, he called out to her.
"Granger, would you like to get a coffee?"
They sat in one of the campus cafes, she'd ordered a double shot espresso and not to be outdone, Draco had as well. After the first sip, he grimaced and promptly added three sugars. She laughed which, he had to admit, was not a wholly unpleasant sound.
"Not a fan of coffee?"
"Still classically British and prefer tea to be honest," he admitted. "Although I do appreciate the caffeine boost."
"I've become something of a caffeine addict," she confessed, "Can't really use a timeturner anymore and I have a lot of late nights studying."
"Anymore? When have you used a timeturner?" He raised his eyebrows quizzically.
"Oh, third year," she said offhandedly as she played with one of the sugar sachets, "I wanted to do all the subjects on offer, but of course they clashed, so I used the timeturner to be able to go to everything and stay on top of coursework."
"That is undoubtedly the swottiest use for a timeturner in the history of timeturners," he smirked.
"Oh, I did use it to rescue Buckbeak from execution to save Harry and Sirius Black from the dementors and a werewolf in the Forbidden Forest and then to break Sirius out of the tower after he was captured," she remarked mildly, taking a sip of her coffee.
Draco stared at her. "Merlin, Granger," he said, feeling impressed, "I didn't know it was you who broke Black out of Hogwarts."
"Yes, well Harry was the one who cast the Patronus charm who saved us so-"
"And he would have undoubtedly been dead long before without you. You were always the brains of the operation."
Hermione looked down at the table, her cheeks tinged pink, unused to receiving compliments from her former enemy. Draco took the opportunity to study her. Despite her tired appearance, she was really quite lovely. Her hair had settled a little into thick chocolatey curls, framing her petite face. She had a light dusting of her freckles across her nose and cheeks, a nose which still looked a bit tender.
"Merlin, Granger, can you fix your nose? You're making me feel bad." She rolled her eyes, but discreetly murmured an episkey anyway.
"Why were you practising muggle medicine in the first place?" He cocked his head to the side in askance.
"I'm actually studying medicine at the moment," she explained, "Good to practise when the opportunity arises."
"Why are you doing muggle medicine though? Why not become a healer at St Mungos?"
"I think that muggle medicine has a lot to offer that wizarding medicine overlooks," she narrowed her eyebrows, challenging him to say something about the superiority of magic.
Draco wisely practised the Slytherin art of self-preservation and did not rise to that particular dare.
"Okay… but why Australia?"
Hermione sighed. "Personal reasons," she said evasively. When he raised his eyebrows, she continued, "I needed to get away from everything. After the war, I found it hard to go back to… well normal I guess."
Draco nodded quietly. He understood that feeling perfectly. The silence was starting to feel heavy so he changed the subject.
"Well," he leaned forward conspiratorially, "I ran away."
"How very unlike you, Malfoy. Pray what tell, after Lord Voldemort, could be terrifying enough to drive Draco Malfoy from Britain?"
He ignored that little barb, although he winced internally. "Arranged marriage," he replied.
"So? Isn't that what all the Pureblood families do?" Hermione raised her eyebrow.
"Yeah, but it was going to be Pans. I'd rather off myself than be married to her." Draco whined, clutching his heart dramatically. "Besides, I'm in the prime of my life. I'm supposed to be drinking and shagging my way around the world before settling down."
Hermione snorted. "So that's what you fill your time with? Drinking and shagging?"
"Admirable pursuits as they may be, I do spend my time doing other things as well, Granger. I liked the weather so much I decided to stay here awhile, so I'm studying too."
"Oh?" Hermione's interest was piqued, "What?"
"Business," he replied, "And engineering. With a bit of chemistry." Granger looked mildly impressed.
"Not what you were expecting, Granger?" he teased. "I'm a man of many talents, you know." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Hermione snorted again, and then assessed Malfoy more closely. He was handsome, she had to admit. He still had the same pale blonde hair and silvery eyes, but he had filled out a bit from school to become tall with lean muscle and a strong jaw line.
"Like what you see, Granger?" he leaned back in his chair and smirked.
Hermione flushed hotly to have been caught staring. "Little ferrety for my taste," she replied, wrinkling her nose.
"You dated the Weasel, but I'm too rodent-y for you?
"Firstly, rodent-y, really? Secondly, neither weasels nor ferrets are rodents, Malfoy. They're both from the Mustelidae family."
"Did you just imply that the Weaselbee and I are related?"
"Well," Hermione mused, "You would be somewhere along the line. All you purebloods are cousins of some sort." Draco looked faintly outraged.
"So what are Scarhead and Weaselbee up to these days? Do I need to be on look out, lest I collide with Boy Wonder in the cafeteria?"
"No, Harry and Ron are still at home. They both got accepted into the Auror program of course, so they're really busy. You know, with training and what not." Hermione chewed on her bottom lip nervously.
"They don't support you being here, do they?"
Hermione looked at him sharply, "What makes you say that?"
"Typical Gryffindor, your emotions flick all over your face." Hermione looked away, uncomfortable. "So what happened between the Golden Trio, that you moved to the other side of the world, to study a muggle degree all by yourself?"
"Thanks for the coffee, but I need to get going for a lecture." She stood abruptly and grabbed her bag and stalked out the door.
"Granger, hey - Granger!" Draco called after her, but she didn't look back.
Hermione walked out of the anatomy labs, mentally running through her list of things to do for the day when she stopped dead. There was Malfoy, leaning nonchalantly against the wall looking every bit the poised aristocrat. He casually looked her up and down and smirked.
"Are you stalking me?"
"Granger, you wound me."
"You're stalking me."
"You flatter yourself, love."
Hermione simply rolled her eyes and continued walking. To her irritation, Malfoy followed her easily matching her steps with his long strides. Morganna curse her shortness.
"Why are you following me?" she snapped. He pulled to a stop in front of her, blocking her path.
"Granger, look. I'm sorry I upset you in the coffee shop the other day." She eyed him suspiciously. Since when did Malfoy apologise? "I hope it hasn't changed your mind about contacting the Ministry."
Ah. Selfish, cowardly self-preservation.
"Your secret hideout is safe, Malfoy," she said with exasperation. "I don't particularly care what you're doing, as long as you're not getting involved in anymore Death Eater or dark magic business."
"Yours too," he said with a wry smile. "I'd rather off myself than talk to Scarhead or Weaselbee." He actually had a rather nice face when he smiled, rather than sneered.
"But if I were being perfectly candid, I wouldn't mind talking to you again."
Hermione merely quirked an eyebrow.
"We're all the way on the other side of the world, Granger. It would be nice to be able to talk to a witch, and a British one at that."
"Even a filthy little mudblood?" she asked bluntly.
Draco winced. "I sort of hoped that we would avoid that topic of discussion."
"Sod off, Malfoy." She stalked past him.
"Granger, wait." He once again caught up and stopped in front of her. He took a deep breath and ran his hand through his hair. "Look, I was a right shite. I'm sorry for all the awful things I've said and done to you over the years. But I don't believe in blood purity anymore, okay? It was part of the reason I left the Manor."
Hermione considered what he'd said. On the one hand, she was lonely and missing magical company. On the other, she had been tortured in his fucking house. The house that he left, suggested a voice in her head. What would Ron think?
To hell with Ron.
"Okay, Malfoy. But if you're trying to scheme your way back into Ministry favour through me it's not going to work."
"I'm just looking for a drinking buddy," he told her seriously. Hermione shot him a sidelong glance. "I meant tea, woman. You wound me." Hermione laughed and proceeded to needle him about his double shot espresso disaster, which he vehemently protested, while they walked to her next class.