Written for a prompt from the Under the Mistletoe one shot challenge from Quills & Parchment.
Prompt: This was not how she wanted to spend her time at the Christmas Gala, stuck underneath magical mistletoe in a deserted Ministry corridor. (Male character of author's choice from list) is trying to get away from his assistant who is bound and determined to make him hers. He stumbles upon Hermione in his determination to get away and ends up saving them both.
Many thanks to my beta, Diane, for her help in making this story readable. Any mistakes after she looked through it are my own.
Disclaimer: I own nothing recognizable in the Harry Potter world, that right belongs to JK Rowling. I just play in her sandbox.
'Why me? What did I do to deserve this?'
She looked up and glared at the innocent looking piece of holiday shrubbery. She again tried to step out from underneath the red ribbon tied greenery, but she could go no further than a couple steps in any direction.
After she determined that she could not get away from the magical mistletoe, she looked around and realised that she would not be going anywhere any time soon. The Ministry's Christmas Gala was being held in a part of the building she did not visit very often, so when she inadvertently became turned around on her way back from the restroom, she ended up in this deserted hallway, just around the corner from the party going on down the hall.
She reached out and realised she could reach the wall on the right side of the hall, so she leaned against it and slid down to sit on the floor. Extending her legs before her, Hermione leaned her head against the wall and closed her eyes, hoping that someone would come along soon to rescue her. If she'd had her wand on her, she could have easily conjured her Patronus and sent it to let her friends know where she was, but per Ministry regulations, all wands were to be turned over before entering any after-hours Ministry function held onsite.
"Bloody regulations," she groused and opened her eyes.
An undeterminable time later, Hermione was still alone in the deserted hallway, the gala continuing to go strong around the corner. She had tried anything she could think of to help pass the time from working through Arithmancy equations to trying to solve an Ancient Runes problem she saw the other day to going through her gift list to make sure she hadn't forgotten anyone, but nothing helped. She even tried reciting the elements of the Muggle Periodic table backwards to no avail.
Hermione sighed. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander to a more risqué subject. The sexy former Slytherin in the International Magical Office of Law who caught her eye years ago when she first started working at the Ministry. Adrian Pucey was one of the best litigators the department had seen in years and when Hermione had first sat in on one of his trials a few weeks into her first year, she had been blown away with how swiftly and effectively he had taken down his opponent.
A wicked smile spread across her lips as images flashed before her closed eyelids. Bright, light blue eyes shining underneath dark brown fringe. Long fingers that were made for drawing out his partner's pleasure. A satisfied smirk curling the corners of his lips and drawing attention to the days' old scruff that gave him a rogue-ish quality. She moaned as she imagined what he could do with this wicked sharp tongue when he wasn't taking down his opponents in the courtroom.
Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she nearly missed the sound of someone making their way down the hallway. Her eyes flew open and she gasped as she realised where her hands had been while she had been daydreaming. Before she could move them, the subject of her racy thoughts came around the corner and tripped over her legs.
"Oh Merlin, Adrian, I'm so sorry!" Hermione exclaimed as she scrambled to her knees. She reached towards the wizard who ended up sprawled across the floor. "Are you okay?"
He sat up and looked at Hermione, his blue eyes sparkling. "The fall wasn't fun, but the company that comes with it is infinitely better than the company I just left."
Hermione blushed.
He looked around and realised where they were. He frowned in confusion and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Hermione's blush deepened just a little more at being caught in her situation. "I got turned around coming back from the loo since I'm never in this part of the building and ended up stuck under that sprig of mistletoe." She pointed towards the ceiling.
He smirked. "Well, then it's a good thing I came this way."
Now, it was Hermione's turn to find out what brought Adrian Pucey around her corner.
He laughed heartily before answering her question. "I was trying to get away from my secretary. She's apparently got it in her head that we'd make a good couple. I definitely don't see things the same way." He shrugged as he stood up. "I think I'm going to have to finally fire her."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Hermione said, accepting his proffered hand and standing.
"I don't want things to get any more awkward than they already are, so I'll start looking for a new secretary after the first of the year." He glanced up at the mistletoe still hovering above them, when he looked back down at her a sheepish smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "So do you want to stay here and chat all evening waiting for someone else to come along or should we get this over with?"
Her brow furrowed at his comment, but she figured if this was her only chance to kiss him, then she'd take it. Plus, she had been hidden in this deserted corridor long enough.
Light brown eyes met bright blue. "I'm definitely ready to leave this hallway."
His sheepish smile spread into a grin as he stepped closer and whispered, "Kiss it is then."
Hermione's eyes flickered down to his lips as her tongue darted out to wet her own. She looked back up at the last minute, her eyes connecting with his one more time before he kissed her.
She'd been kissed quite a few times over the years and while some knocked her socks off others fell a little flat. This kiss with Adrian was definitely becoming one of her favourites and she easily lost herself in the growing inferno that was burning through her veins.
Her back slamming into the door a few feet away alerted her to the fact that they were now free of the mistletoe's clutches. She tore her mouth from his and tried to catch her breath. He wasn't making it easy on her since he started placing searing hot open-mouth kisses along her jaw and down her neck.
"We're free," she panted as she gripped his hair and held him to her. When he trailed his kisses back up her neck, he found a particularly sensitive spot behind her ear. She hissed, "Yes."
He finally pulled back enough to look into her dark brown orbs with his own. A smirk tugged on his lips. "I know. We've been free since a few moments after I kissed you. I heard the pop as it disappeared."
She stared at him wide-eyed. "And yet you continued to kiss me?"
His smirk morphed into a Cheshire cat-like grin. "Of course I did. How else was I supposed to get you to give me the time of day?"
Her jaw dropped.
He moved one of his hands that cupped her arse and used it to gently close her mouth. "Not expecting that response were you?"
She shook her head, but finally found her voice again, "No, definitely not."
He shrugged. "And why not?"
"House differences?"
He rolled his eyes. "Need I remind you that Ginny and Marcus are married? Daph and Potter are dating? Hell, even Draco has shacked up with Lovegood and they're getting married next week! On to your next argument that I'll poke a hole in."
"Bloo-"
She didn't even finish the word before he covered her mouth with his hand. "Don't even go there, you know exactly how I feel about that. My parents and I fought on the side of light, so don't even try that with me."
He moved his hand down to her hip.
"Conflicting personalities."
He laughed. "It just means we'll keep things interesting! Is that all you've got?"
"We both work long hours."
"How do you know I work long hours, been watching me have you?" He raised an eyebrow.
She blushed.
"And let's be honest here, if I had you to look forward to when I got home, do you really think I would stay at work any longer than necessary? Most assuredly no. Hell, I'd probably go in late and leave early, just so I could see more of you." He rubbed his thumb in circles, trying to distract her. "Anything else?"
"Age?"
"I repeat, Ginny and Marcus." He slid his hands down to grasp her thighs and pick her up. She wrapped her legs around his waist out of instinct, her back still pressed against the closed door. "Now, you're just fishing for an excuse. And it was a pretty pathetic one at that. They all were actually."
She stared at him, her resolve against the handsome former Slytherin almost gone. Hermione had to agree with him that all of her arguments, or rather excuses, were weak.
He used one hand to rub the shell of her ear between his thumb and forefinger. "What's really going on?"
She was quiet for a few moments, but when she spoke again, he was shocked by her words. "I'm scared," she finally admitted.
"What? What could you possibly be scared of?"
A blush darkened her cheeks as she looked down. "I've not dated since Seamus and I had our nasty split two years ago. And let's not forget my two previous relationships that failed rather spectacularly. I don't think I can go through that heartbreak again."
He leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead. "While I would love to guarantee that I will never break your heart, I can't do that. I know that I don't want to and will do anything in my power to not, but what I will say is if I do break your heart, you have my permission to break mine in return."
She frowned. "I don't think I could do that."
"Then you can hex me to your heart's content if that's more your style."
Hermione stared at him silently, processing everything that had transpired between them so far.
After the silence stretched for many minutes, he finally disrupted the quiet. "Hermione, we're both young and well known in our respective careers. Why should our private lives suffer? This is the time to explore and find out what we like and don't like." He shrugged one shoulder. "And who knows, maybe we'll end up together in the end, but don't let an opportunity pass you by because you're scared. That's not the Hermione Granger I know."
Thoughts were flying through her head so fast she was becoming dizzy. She closed her eyes and forced herself to clear her mind. She craved order and thinking things through before making decisions, but for one of the few moments in her life she made a split-second decision and went with her gut feeling.
She opened her eyes. "Yes."
"Yes, what?"
"Yes, I want to see where this goes with us." She smirked. "And yes, if you do break my heart, I'll gladly hex you to my heart's content."
He kissed her. When he pulled back, he exclaimed, "Finally!" He knew he should be worried about her agreement to hexing him if he were to screw up, but at this point he couldn't care less. She said yes and he decided he was going to spend the rest of his life proving to her that she'd made the right choice.
Hermione smiled and shook her head. "Happy now, you sneaky Slytherin?"
"Very much so." He grinned wickedly. "Now, shall we go back to my place and celebrate?"
She laughed. "Yes."
Hermione never did get to hex him to her heart's content. A fact that Adrian was especially grateful for. Although, that feeling didn't even come close to how he felt when she married him three years later in a small, quiet Christmas Eve ceremony.