Okay so I couldn't sleep and I thought about writing a little... Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Draco was covering both of her eyes with his hands. She thought she felt him lean forward, closer to her. But it wasn't until she felt his hot breath against her neck that she realised he was dangerously near. Chills ran all over her body and she felt her blood draining away from her limbs. She was utterly nervous. What had she been thinking when she agreed to go out for a walk with him? Hermione was never one to make regrets, but right then she wished she would've thought it twice.
'What do you fear, Granger?' she trembled. His voice was deep and smooth. Sexy. She shook her head. Now she thought Malfoy's voice was sexy, there had to be something wrong with her, it was clear now.
Then she focused on his question. What did she fear? She thought of the war, she had been afraid she'd lose her parents, her friends… She was terrified when Bellatrix was carving those awful words on her forearm; she was also scared that she'd never be the same after that. But now, five years later, she found herself feeling at peace again… like she used to be, but even better. Back then she had to worry about Lord Voldemort, about Harry and about being there for him. Now all she had to worry about was being on time for work. It felt good to able to get home after a long day and just lay on the couch, reading a good book while drinking hot cocoa.
A few weeks ago, when she saw Malfoy at the Ministry she felt a knot in her gut, her breath caught up in her throat. He looked so different, but good different. His hair was the same pale colour, but he didn't comb it backwards anymore. His blond hair was now covering a major part of his forehead, it suited him. He saw her too, because he was walking in her direction. For a second she believed she saw a hint of his famous smirk, and it was then, when she felt it was becoming harder to breathe, that she knew something had changed.
Then he just had to say 'Hi', it was all it took. Days went by and she caught herself, more than once, lying on the couch thinking of him after a long day… with no book to read. She found out he worked at the Ministry, they saw each other with frequency but neither of them never really stopped to talk to each other. So when he asked her if she'd like to go out for a walk with him, she immediately replied 'yes'. It never occurred to her that 'going out for a walk' included to apparate in Paris… at the Eiffel Tower, to be precise, as a part of the deal.
That she knew because she took a quick look, seconds later it all went black because Draco blinded her with his hands.
'Granger, are you even listening to me?' he called her back to the present.
'Brooms' she said. Of all the things she feared, she decided to say brooms. Bloody brilliant.
Draco laughed. That was even sexier.
'You are still afraid of flying?' he mocked 'Never saw that coming, Granger' he said, his hands still pressing against her eyes.
'Well, there you go' she was starting to become impatient 'what's up with you blinding me?' she asked.
'I don't want you to see, I just want you to listen' he replied.
'Okay, what do I have to listen to?' now she was becoming curious.
She heard Draco sigh, as if he was bracing himself for something massive. She waited in silence, relishing at the sensation of the cold wind smashing softly against her skin.
'I always wanted to apologize' he started, then he made a short pause before continuing his speech 'I… well, during our time in Hogwarts I treated you like shit. I always felt bad about it, but I was not brave enough to say how sorry I was' he said.
'Malfoy, it's okay. You don't have to-'she started, but he cut her off.
'Let me bloody finish, this is something I've wanted to do for a long time, let me get it all out, Hermione'
Did he just call her by her name?
'Then the whole Dark-Lord-Thing blurted out and it all went to hell. I didn't even get to choose which side I wanted to be in' he stopped again; she could tell he was having a hard time. She could bet Draco Malfoy was not used to making apologies 'The thing is that you never deserved to be treated the way I treated you. I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry that I couldn't stop aunt Bella from torturing you… I'm sorry'
With that said, he removed his hands. Hermione turned around. She was speechless, but she knew she had to say something.
'Why did you have to cover my eyes to tell me that?' seemed like she was going to say stupid things for the rest of the night.
'I don't know. I'm still a coward, Granger. It's hard to look at your face right now; it would've been even harder to say those word with you judging me while I did' he explained lowering his head a little bit.
She sighed and raised her hand to cup his cheek, earning a dazed look from him. Merlin, his eyes were beautiful…
'I could never judge you, Malfoy' she said sincerely 'actually, to be all honest, the day we met at the Ministry I didn't even remember anything about our past. I just saw you and I felt… nervous' Hermione admitted.
Draco gave her another dazed look, confusion written all over his face. He was really close to her, and she liked that. This time it felt good, not like when Ron would stand at the same distance and she would just walk away, shying away from his touch. Hermione was still cupping his cheek, unaware of the fact that he was now smirking at her.
'So, now I make you nervous?' Draco teased as he looked at her straight in the eye; he thought she was quite beautiful…
Hermione drew back her hand and she placed it on her hip, smiling at him.
'Okay, apology accepted. Now please, let's go back to London' her attempt to go back to the apology matter failed, she knew it… the look on his face was fearless.
She backed a few steps away from him, wishing she had never said that. What was it about that man that made her unable to think straight? He shortened the distance between them, getting even closer than before.
'You don't want to go back to London, Granger' and bloody hell, he was sure about that.
'How can you just switch from being sorry, to a shameless flirty man, huh? I thought we were having a serious conversation' then he laughed again.
'We are. You just said I made you nervous and now you think I'm flirting, that's dead serious to me' he snorted.
Hermione quirked an eyebrow, there they were again, fighting about stupid things.
'Why Paris?' she suddenly asked, changing the subject.
He shook his head and looked around, there was nobody around and if it wasn't for the typical city noises, it'd all be silent.
'I like it here. It's somehow peaceful and beautiful' Draco looked at her again 'I know it's a total cliché, but I actually fell in love with this city' he then laughed to himself; he had this sweet smile on his face…
She smiled back at him. Not wanting to spoil the moment with some stupid comment, because she already felt it coming out of her mouth, she bit her lower lip.
And Draco thought it was sexy.
'Talking about falling in love, what happened with you and the Weasel?' he asked as he leaned forward into the railing of the tower.
Hermione blushed and then laughed a little bit.
'I didn't feel the same way about him; it was not going to work. We remain friends though' she explained.
'Then what about Potter?' he asked.
'Ugh no, Harry is with Ginny, they're really happy together' then she leaned forward too, resting her elbows on the railing as well 'Why do you ask?' her voice nice and charming, she certainly didn't want to sound rude.
'No reason. I just always thought you'd end up hooking up with one of them' Draco said 'I'm surprised you didn't'
She found out it was rather pleasant talking to him, so when he didn't say anything else, she started scanning her brain, searching desperately for something else she could say.
'What do you fear, Malfoy?' Okay, that was the best she could come up with. He turned his head slightly, just to look at her for a couple seconds. His sight had been wandering all over the city for a while now, so when he looked at her, she froze.
'Loads of things' he said and that was it.
'That's it? Come on, I told you something explicit' she demanded a real answer from him. Secretly hoping he would say something as dumb as she had.
'That's different; I had to ask you that. I would bet you just asked because you ran out of things to say, which is quite amusing. Back in Hogwarts you just couldn't shut up'
He was trying to pick a fight, and she was about to fall for it when the other part of the sentence caught her attention.
'What do you mean you had to?' Hermione asked.
Draco stiffened.
'Tell me' she demanded. He was reluctant to answer, but after a few more tell-me-please, Draco started talking.
'I… was afraid you'd say you were scared of me. I had to know if you were…or are'
For that she had a quick reply.
'I'm not, trust me' she smiled 'and voile, you just answered my question, see? It was not that hard' she mocked, trying to make release the tension.
Draco smiled at her. They were still close, so close… Hermione could smell his cologne, it smelled so good, and it was masculine and soft at the same time. She couldn't get enough of that aroma; Hermione started to lean forward… her eyes almost completely closed.
It was the sound his voice what snapped her out of her actions. Though Draco said something she didn't expect him to say.
'I am going to kiss you now, Granger' he said.
And Hermione then nodded with her head, her heart beating wildly inside her chest when she saw him getting nearer. And just when she had her eyes fully shut, she felt Draco's lips on hers.
Good Merlin…
His lips were soft and smooth, yet they were passionate and wild. He kissed her with tenderness at first, but then his kiss heated up; turning into something that almost drove her mad. She moaned, just a little bit, but he took advantage of that and he plunged inside her mouth with ferocity, tasting every inch of her mouth.
Hermione decided it was not fair, so she entered his mouth as well. His taste was something she could become addicted to. It was a perfect blend of something like fire whiskey and something else… maybe just his natural flavour?
Hermione felt Draco caressing her back, pulling her closer to him. She could stay like that forever; she never thought kissing Draco Malfoy would ever feel that good.
When they separated, it was just because they needed air. They were still intertwined, looking at each other. Then Draco smiled.
'See? That's another reason why I brought you here. In London, people just pop out of nowhere… and I, would not be able to do this…' he said leaning down to kiss her again, then he just stopped 'Besides, Big Ben is not as romantic as the Eiffel Tower, isn't it?'
Hermione laughed, then she just pulled him closer to her so she could kiss him again, get the taste that his lips allowed.
Hermione was really, really glad she'd accepted his offer.
Reviews, please? :)
