Author's Note: Written for LightofEvolution because 1) she's amazing 2) everyone deserves some light-hearted fluff and 3) IT'S HER BIRTHDAY! Love you, fellow nerd, and I hope this makes you smile!
Thank you to mhcalamas for giving this the initial read over and to CourtingInsanity for beta'ing.
Hermione sat perched on top of Luna's kitchen counter, Draco standing comfortably in the space between her thighs. While the rest of the party's guests were in the sitting room enjoying the belated beginning-of-the-new-year celebration, Draco much preferred it in here, just the two of them.
"I'll never understand her decorating style," Draco commented, his eyes landing on the large white-spotted, red-capped mushrooms that lined Luna's window sill. "What's the point of having a poisonous fungus in your eating quarters?"
Hermione laughed. "It's only poisonous if you consume it! And besides, it's an Amanita muscaria mushroom."
"Oh, yes, because that makes everything infinitely clearer," Draco teased. "How silly of me not to recognise an Amanatia…"
"Amanita muscaria! It's a common symbol for good luck this time of year. It represents the beauty of nature, and if you find one, it's supposed to bring you good fortune."
Draco looked back and counted the mushrooms. "Well, from what I see, there are seven mushrooms here, so does that mean double good luck for me?"
"I don't think this counts as finding them," Hermione returned with a smile. "What's the matter? Are you already in desperate need of good luck this year?"
Draco grinned. "Of course not. Who needs luck when I already have you?"
Hermione playfully knocked him on the shoulder, only causing Draco to chuckle before he leaned in and sealed their laughter with a kiss.
Behind them, the kitchen door swung open.
"Oh, hello you two," Luna announced herself in a dreamy tone. "I didn't realise you were in here. Otherwise, Harry and I wouldn't have come in. Clearly we've interrupted something."
Draco pulled away from the kiss but didn't bother to remove himself from his close proximity to Hermione. Even after months of them dating, Potter still squirmed at the sight of them together, and his old rival's discomfort never ceased to entertain Draco.
"It wouldn't be a party if Potter didn't find a way to ruin it for me," Draco taunted with a mocking smirk. "As you so rightly perceived, Hermione and I were very much in the middle of something."
Potter awkwardly scratched the back of his head while Draco traced gentle swirls along the inside of Hermione's thigh.
"Uh, sorry," Potter stammered, his uneasiness only growing more apparent. "I knew she was considering it, but I didn't realise she had decided to actually tell you tonight."
Draco's movement suddenly ceased as he turned back to Hermione in curiosity, only to discover that her face had become as vibrant red as the toadstools.
"Tell me what?"
Her blush was promptly joined by the sharp look of disapproval at Potter's expense.
Potter's eyes grew wide, recognising the error of his assumption. "What she got you for your birthday," he said, trying to recover from his blunder but failing miserably.
Even Luna caught on to the blatant lie. "That's peculiar. Draco's birthday isn't until June, so it would be very odd to already have his present picked out when Christmas was just two weeks ago."
"Yes, well, you know me," Hermione stepped in, purposefully avoiding Draco's gaze. "Always planning months in advance. Now that the holidays are over, I need to be thinking ahead to the new year."
She once more shot a scathing glare at Potter who mouthed yet another apology. It was obvious to everyone in the room that they were both lying, but Draco decided not to push it any further—at least for the time being.
...
They had barely stepped out of the Floo and into Draco's flat when he decided to resume the conversation.
"So, what was it that Potter was really referring to?"
Hermione kept her back to him as she hung her coat in the wardrobe.
"We already told you. Your birthday present. And no, I'm not spoiling what it is, so don't bother asking."
He caught a brief glimpse of her returning blush as she tried to move farther from him, but Draco grabbed her hand before she could slip away.
"Oh, no you don't, Granger," he said with a smug breeze. Nowadays, he seldom used her last name, saving it solely for circumstances like this. "After nearly half a year of dating, do you really expect me to fall for that?"
"Honestly, Draco, it's nothing," she tried to reason, yanking her hand free, but Draco wasn't that easily satisfied.
"What's it going to take for you to tell me?" Draco said, following her through his bedroom and into the bathroom. "I'll make you breakfast in the morning."
Hermione gave him a momentary side eye before returning her attention to her reflection to help her remove her earrings. "Please. You'd find a way to mess up milk and cereal."
Draco smiled. As always, she wasn't wrong. "Alright, you called my bluff. Then how about I won't make you go to the Falmouth Falcons vs Puddlemore United Quidditch match next weekend?"
"Still not going to work," Hermione rejected, continuing to avoid looking at him for longer than a fleeting second. "I've already mentally prepared for the game and decided who I'm rooting for."
"Even if I offer to take you to Paris for the weekend instead?"
"No thank you," she once more dismissed. "I've heard Paris is miserable this time of year anyway."
She pulled her hair into a quick ponytail before exiting the bathroom, and Draco yet again followed at her feet. She could turn down his offers all night long, but it was only making him more determined to get it out of her.
"Fine," he settled with a smirk. "Then it's a good thing I have other ways to make you talk."
Within seconds, Draco had her pinned beneath him, eliciting a short squeal out of her as she collapsed onto the mattress.
"Ah! Let me go, Draco!" she said as she squirmed underneath his grasp.
He would have listened if she wasn't simultaneously giggling. It never ceased to amaze him how such a simple sound could set his heart ablaze.
"You know exactly how to get out of this," he taunted, tightening his grip around her wrists. He leaned in until his lips were brushed against the shell of her ear. "Tell me."
Hermione shivered at the close connection, yet her resolve remained strong, the witch tauntingly pressing her lips together and shaking her head.
"I see how it is," Draco returned with an amused grin. "Then I guess we're just going to have to do this the hard way."
He found her favourite spot at the sensitive skin behind her ear, and Draco slowly interspersed kisses down the length of her neck between passionate pleas.
"Tell me."
"No."
"Tell me, Granger."
Another refusal.
"You know you want to."
"My lips are sealed."
"Is that so? Then we'd better change that."
Draco crashed his lips onto hers, sliding his tongue along the seam until she willfully parted them and welcomed his taste. He savoured the sensation of her slender frame pressed against his chest and the yearnful mewls that hummed below their kiss.
When he pulled away, her eyes remained blissfully closed a few extra seconds before she opened them to reveal his subtle smirk.
"You know, it's not very nice to keep secrets from your boyfriend."
Hermione stared up at him, worrying her bottom lip before she looked away.
"Yes, well, maybe there are some things I'm just not quite ready to say yet."
Draco paused as he tried to decipher the meaning of her words until their greater significance dawned on him. His heart lifted, and a grin stretched broadly up his cheeks.
"You love me, don't you?"
Her blush came flooding back. "I didn't say that."
Draco couldn't wipe the grin from his features. "Hermione Granger loves Draco Malfoy. Who would have ever thought?"
Her nose wrinkled adorably as she struggled to break free from his grasp. "I did not say that!"
"And what is it about me that you love the most? Is it my charming personality? Or can you just not resist my impeccable good looks?"
"Draco Malfoy, let me go!"
She shifted her weight back and forth and with a burst of strength, managed to make it so Draco was now the one held captive. Her chest rose and fell in time with her shallow breaths, her messier-than-usual hair having fallen out of the hair tie and temporarily blocking his full vision of her until she flipped it over one shoulder. She looked flustered, frazzled, and totally flawless, his entire world focused on the witch looming over him.
"Alright, Draco Malfoy," she commanded, peering down at him from her new vantage point. "You win. But you better listen up, because I'm only saying this once, and then we are moving on, understood?"
Draco nodded, his heart soaring in anticipation.
"Okay then." Hermione's eyelids fluttered closed as she sucked in a breath. "I-I—"
She repeated the first word a few more times, but despite her multiple attempts, the rest of the sentiment died on her lips. When she re-opened her eyes, a nervous glaze was glossed over them.
Recognising her struggle and not wanting to push her farther than she was comfortable, Draco pulled her in and consumed her with a kiss instead. Those two little words were so close to the tip of her tongue, he could nearly taste them. But she wasn't ready, and that was okay.
Their kiss lingered for several moments until Hermione's control loosened and she fell onto the bed beside him. They turned their heads to face each other, sharing soft smiles.
"It's okay," he assured her, sensing her concern. He brushed a few strands of loose hairs out of her eyes. "I'm not quite ready to say it yet myself. But maybe someday soon?"
Hermione faintly nodded. "Soon."
She released a content sigh as she curved her body around his, and they laid there in peaceful silence. Draco settled a kiss on to the top of her curls, soaking in the simplicity of the moment.
In the end, neither one of them may have uttered the actual words, but some things didn't need to be said aloud for him to know in his heart that it was true. And that was all he needed to be the luckiest man in Britain.