I do not own Harry Potter.
This story was written last December for the 12 Days of Dramione fest of Strictly Dramione.
Synopsis: A love story born out of brevity. Prompt: Draco and Hermione pine for each other, but neither make a move.
December 16th
Monday mornings at the Ministry were mostly frowned upon by the employees, as they still longed for the weekend. From the moment Hermione Granger entered the building, she had been caught in the middle of a slew of tired looking colleagues who were mindlessly making their way to their respective offices. This used to scare her when she started working at the Ministry three years ago, but now she has become used to the Monday morning rush. It seems that getting caught in the tide, so to speak, magically lands her inside a crowded elevator, and up to her office. She had prepared herself to take on the day with her Monday game face on. Armed with a frown and eyebrows furrowed, she confidently stepped out of the elevator on Level Five, and right on to the rich and enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee…?
"Morning, Granger!"
There, by the guest lounge at the waiting area of the International Magical Cooperation office, sat a dashing Draco Malfoy. Hermione felt her heart flutter and her cheeks turn several shades of red. She had been secretly checking out the blond Ministry lawyer since he moved to the International Magical Office of Law six months ago, after having spent two years as an Auror. The fact that he always chose to wear a muggle suit and tie did not help her curb her fantasies. This, however, was not a fantasy. She was standing a few steps away from her dreamland Romeo, looking like a dolt. She cleared her throat, gave him a nod and said, "Excuse me."
Draco watched unabashedly as the Deputy Department Head of the International Trading Standards Body, walked straight to her office, her hips swaying gracefully from side to side. It was rather strange for the former Slytherin to be openly eyeing a lady in public. Only this was no ordinary lady. This was Hermione Granger - golden girl of Gryffindor, the brains behind the Golden trio, the youngest ever Ministry Department Deputy… and the sole reason he'd decided to leave his Auror career to move to the Level Five.
If he were to be honest with himself, he'd probably liked her since fourth year at Hogwarts; however, things were different then. Now, especially after the highly publicized break up from her fiancé Viktor Krum, he knew he had to make a move.
And why not? He was Draco Malfoy, the smooth operator, the ladies' man. There had yet to be a woman who didn't succumb to his charms. He played the game and played it well yet, all he managed to say to the witch who stole his heart were two words. Two words and a charmed galleon. He sighed, and took a sip off his coffee. He didn't even like the stuff he bought it every day but she did. And in the hopes that she might just notice he drank it and ask him to go get coffee one day.
On cue, his charmed galleon heated up. He reluctantly fished it out of his pocket and read, "They're beautiful!" He smiled, picturing how her eyes must've twinkled with delight upon seeing her office filled with a hundred red roses.
Hermione twirled in delight. Inside her usually dull and grey office were about a hundred red roses, beautifully arranged by her window, around her desk, and on top of her vertical cabinets where she kept most of her files. On her desk was a vase that had several roses in it, and below it, a note that simply read, "I'm sorry." She blushed, and held the note close to her heart. She thought back to the first gift she had received. For almost three months, she'd been receiving presents from a mysterious sender a secret admirer, if you will.
It started in October - the 8th to be exact - when the Minister sent for her as soon as she arrived. When she'd been told to take her boss's place as the Guest Speaker for the Magical Trade Convention, she cursed Magnus Fletcher for getting Dragon Pox two days before the said convention. She came back to her department, and requested for the documents from his secretary a blonde witch who had more breasts than she had brains. As expected, his secretary didn't have a clue what Hermione needed. Hermione did her best to stop herself from throwing a hex her way, before she stomped out of the room and started muttering about uncaring colleagues. She spent the entire morning scouring the archives for the files she needed to create her presentation for the convention. When she returned to her small office at noon, she opted to skip lunch and start reading the files, writing her notes in the afternoon, and revising in the evening. She had no idea how much time has passed her by until she had woken up at the sound of a loud thud coming from the hall. Someone must've peeked into her room. She sat up, and rubbed the back of her neck. It was ten thirty in the evening. She shook her head upon realizing that she had not only lost track of time, she had also foregone eating lunch and dinner. Just when she heard her stomach rumble, she spied a tray that had a plate full of tiny sandwiches, s cones and jam, and a steaming pot of tea. Beside the ceramic pot was a single white lily, a note, and a galleon. The note read, "I care."
She found out two days later that the galleon was charmed. Thank Merlin she didn't use it to buy the new Nifflerskine notebooks she saw at the stationary shoppe down the street. She took the galleon out, pointed her wand at it, and the words "Good luck!" appeared on the galleon.
Frowning at the galleon, she wordlessly cast an Aparecium and asked, "You are?"
"An admirer." The galleon revealed, and shortly after, "A friend." "
"We're friends?" she thought, pointing her wand again at the galleon.
The galleon had glowed, "I suppose."
She frowned at the galleon, imagining how the person on the other end could be smirking as they wrote. She looked around, scanning the room for anyone suspicious. The galleon lit up again.
"You okay?"
"I'm nervous" she confessed, feeling a little strange at pouring her heart out to a complete stranger. She should've taken her cue from Ginny, although the galleon was declared safe by the Curse breakers at the Magical Artifacts office.
"Don't be" her admirer answered. "You're amazing."
She blushed. "Thank you," She responded, "program's starting."
"Later then." The galleon revealed one more time before it she kept it safe in her bag.
This has been the way of it for the past few months. Hermione received notes and gifts including her favorite chocolate bars and candies, the Nifflerskine notebook she'd been raving about, the newest set of quills from Flourish and Blott's signature design series, books on Alchemy, Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and flowers, lots and lots of flowers. She'd gotten carnations, African daisies, peonies, tulips, wildflowers… but never roses. Roses, according to her admirer, meant something more. Something deeper. And as much as he was ready and eager for her to find out who had been pursuing her all this time, he claimed he wasn't sure if she was ready to accept him. When she insisted on knowing why, he faltered. He chose not to respond to her that day. Nor did her respond to her the day after, nor two days after that. Before she knew it, she had been desperately trying to get an answer out of a galleon that wouldn't light up.
There were no longer messages to brighten her day. Everyday she'd wake up wishing for anything she could look forward to, and then she'd end up fighting tears as she entered her dull grey office with nary a sign that he had been there. She could've sworn that weeks went by slower, and each day she had to fight the urge to send him a message. Why bother, she rationalized, he's probably found someone new to bug.
And then the Ministry Ball announcement came out on the first week of December. Hermione stood beside her best friends Harry and Ron when Kingsley made the announcement in the Ministry's atrium. it would happen on the 20th of December at seven in the evening. Partners were required. The last words rang in her ears repeatedly. Just her luck - she had no boyfriend, no potential date, and she had successfully scared off her 'admirer'. While the crowd all talked excitedly, Hermione tried to slip into her office as quietly as she could before a treacherous tear would slip from her eye. She thanked Merlin it was a Friday, which meant she could spend the weekend in bed with a tub of ice cream and a few good movies to drown her misery. Two more weeks passed without her galleon lighting up once.
Monday found Draco pacing back and forth in his office, glancing at the clock that read six a m. It was the week of the Ministry Ball, and he hadn't heard from Hermione for two whole weeks. His nerves were shot and it didn't help that the witches on the fifth level could give Rita Skeeter a run for her money. The stories they casually exchanged ranged from ridiculous to utterly bizarre, but they might just be true. And if they were, Viktor Krum had finally gotten back together with Hermione. He had to act fast. He had to apologize. The word felt foreign in his mind and on his tongue. Draco Malfoy didn't do apologies. He had to try though, there was nothing else to do. And so he put his plan into action, and had spent the last three hours waiting for her to step off the lift.
After the brief interaction, and the tugs at his heartstring upon knowing that she loved the roses, he strolled back into his office. He sat on his desk and took the galleon out once more. "You there?" he asked silently, pointing his wand at the galleon.
"I am." Came her reply.
"Miss me?" he bravely asked.
"Not really," she lied.
"I did," he confessed.
"You sure?" she taunted.
"You doubt," he said.
"Prove it," she dared.
"Ministry ball?" he countered.
A pause and then, "See you."
He sighed in relief, and went about his usual business a little more chipper than usual. He could've sworn he'd seen a skip in Hermione's step that afternoon too when they made their way to the Minister's office for their monthly read out.
The day of the Ministry Ball arrived, and Hermione was a gorgeous mess. She sat on the steps leading to the Ministry's garden. It was fifteen minutes passed seven in the evening, and she had been waiting for him since she'd arrived. They agreed to meet at seven o'clock, but he was obviously not going to show. She sighed, playing with the hem of her emerald green she listened to the band playing a sweet slow song. She smiled at the familiar tune as she caught a loose thread at the hem of her gown and tried to pull it off. She absentmindedly hummed the notes of the song that was playing. She smiled sadly. The band was playing her favorite song, and here she was with not even a single person to talk to. She wiped a tear from her eye. Her invisible admirer wasn't going to show. She'd managed to make a fool of herself once more.
"May I?" She sat up straight when a voice brought her back from dreamland. She slowly turned her head to see who her invisible admirer was once and for all. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Draco Malfoy?"
He smiled at her, and offered his hand for her to take. "That's me," he said, playing to their unwritten rule of using only two words. "You're my…," she trailed off. "Yes, Madam," he said, lifting her right hand to give it a kiss. She felt her heart beating faster. Draco Malfoy Saying to their the man she had been harboring secret feelings for washer invisible admirer. "Prove it." He smiled, still not letting go of her right hand as he used his other hand to pull something out of his trouser pocket. "Charmed galleon." He replied as he gave her a wink. She blushed profusely. He sighed. Hermione was "I'm sorry." a vision in green. If only she'd look at him, instead of looking away. She looked at him, quizzically. "What for?" "You're disappointed," he said. "I'm not," she responded, entwining her fingers with his. "I'm sure." He smiled. "I love you," he whispered, as he bent towards her to capture her lips with his. Before their lips met, he felt her smile and whisper back, "That's three words."
Draco laughed out loud before he caught her lips, and allowed it to movein sync with his, as if communicating the feelings, they had initiallyfound hard to put into words. There, in the ministry's garden, with their friends and colleagues watching, Draco and Hermione shared their love story with the rest of the Magical community. Using a charmed galleon. And two words.