Close to you
Hermione sat in bed with her laptop on beside her and a cup of coffee in her hand, and her chocolate brown eyes ran over her schedule for the day. She let out a sigh; she could see that even if she worked constantly for the whole day she would still be at the Ministry well after dark.
When she had finished her coffee she got out of bed and went to get dressed, choosing to wear a simple fitted pants suit. Hermione never wore any clothes that were not totally professional in work – she felt that nobody would take her seriously if she did not dress professionally. She was in an office dominated by men and although it was never said aloud she felt she had to work twice as hard, not only because she was a woman, but also because she was a member of the golden trio, to prove herself.
When she was finally ready she went over to her fireplace and travelled via Floo Network to the Ministry. She walked down to her office, opened her door and smiled. Her office was the only part of her life where she felt in control, because there, she knew what was expected of her and what she had to do. She sat down at her huge mahogany desk and opened her files. She promptly buried her nose in said files and didn't move from her desk until there was a sharp knock on her door three hours later.
She looked up highly annoyed that someone had distracted her from her work. Her frown disappeared as soon as Harry poked his head around the door. He walked in and immediately apologised for disturbing her. Hermione denied that he had done such a thing, and added that she had been just about to take a break. Harry chuckled, knowing his friend too well and knowing that she had probably been cursing him a few minutes previously when he had knocked on the door.
"What brings you down to my office, Harry?" Hermione said smiling.
"Can I not just come down to see my best friend on this fine day?" he asked with mock hurt.
She looked at him sternly, waiting for the request that would undoubtedly come just like it always did. Sure enough: "Will you take Ginny out on Saturday for me so I can go to that quidditch match with Ron?" he asked in a hurry, as if asking faster would get him in less trouble.
Hermione smiled ruefully. "You want me to distract Gin so that you feel less guilty?" she said, pretending to think about it.
"Yes, please," he answered cautiously.
She sighed. She had planned on catching up on some reading this weekend but she'd never let Harry down before and she didn't plan on starting now. As soon as she promised Harry that she would, he fled from the room shouting his thanks over his shoulder.
Hermione put her head back down for the rest of the day and was actually upset when the clock started to scream for her to get out of the office (a Christmas present from Ginny.) She picked up some of her files – as it was the weekend, she didn't like to go two whole days without doing any work, meaning she often brought work home with her on Friday.
She walked down to Ginny's office. Ginny had decided to quit her Quidditch career when they had James, he and Teddy could be a handful and Quidditch took up too much of her time. She had decided to take a job at the office of Magical Games and Sports and she now loved her job almost as much as she had the game itself. Hermione walked into Ginny's office and saw her best friend scribbling on a piece of parchment, anxiously glancing at the clock every few seconds.
"Hermione! There you are, finally!" she cried, looking up. "Harry said you had something to ask me so I figured I would wait around for you. I forgot that you, Hermione Jean Granger, have to work until the very last minute even on a Friday."
Hermione sighed again. She hated that her friends had such a relaxed approach to work. They knew that work had to be done but they seemed to think that it was only a nine-to-five job and that was it, but to Hermione she knew it was so much more. Her job was her life and she took it very seriously.
"Mione what is it?"
"Oh nothing Gin. Come on: I'll walk you to the Floo grates and we can talk."
On their walk to the grand fireplaces in the Ministry's entrance, Ginny agreed to go shopping with Hermione the following morning, but wasn't stupid enough to think that her husband hadn't put their best friend up to it. If people knew one thing it was that Hermione Granger hated shopping.
Hermione went home and curled up on her couch with Crookshanks, and before she even had a chance to open her book she fell into a deep sleep.
Hermione woke the next morning feeling stiff and with a horrible pain in her neck. This was made worse by the promise she had made to Harry the previous day. She really hated shopping. She dressed in a normal dress that would give her comfort and tied her hair back into a loose plait before she made herself some toast with jam and Floo'd over to the Potters' to collect Ginny. They chatted about work as Ginny dressed James. When James had picked five of his favourite toys to bring with him to grandma Molly's (Ginny had brought him down to five from twelve), the three stepped into the Potters' fireplace and took the Floo Network to the Burrow.
Hermione always felt weird going to the Burrow after Ron had broken up with her – she felt out of place. No matter what happened now, she would never be family. Just a close friend. Which was odd to her as she had always assumed she would marry Ron. This was so hard for her, because everyone else was family, Harry included; they had a bond that now she could never share.
The minute Hermione stepped out of the fire place she saw Ron sprawled out on the couch with Lavender and her stomach churned. To her left, she felt Ginny tense up and let out an audible sigh which went unnoticed by the couple. Ginny let out a loud cough to alert her brother to their presence. Hermione couldn't think straight – she knew that Ron was more than entitled to move on, and just because she couldn't doesn't mean that he wouldn't be, and after all, from what Ginny had let slip, Lavender was one of the main reasons that their relationships had ended in the first place. It was just really hard to see someone she thought she was going to spend the rest of your life with being all sprawled all over someone else.
As if suddenly realising they were there, Ron lifted Lavender up and placed her on his lap. He started running his hand up and down her arm.
"So what are you girls up to?" he asked nonchalantly.
Hermione was furious. Sure, it had been two months but why did Ron have to flaunt Lavender in front of her? He had to know that she wasn't over him yet – everyone else did. She stormed into the kitchen with Teddy on her hip, closely followed by James and Ginny, the latter throwing daggers at her brother. Even in the kitchen Hermione could hear them giggling together and making kissing noises.
Thirty excruciating minutes later, Hermione was nearly ready to murder someone or burst into tears. She was thankful that Ginny was finally ready to tear herself away from James and Teddy. They apparated to Diagon Alley and walked down the cobbled road, talking about how Teddy's aunt was to take him the following day. They went into Flourish and Blotts first – Hermione wanted to pick up a new book about magical law enforcement, as a friend of hers had written it. She had helped with some of the research and had heard that she had been mentioned in the acknowledgements at the front of the book.
Just as she was about to pick up the book she heard a smooth drawl from behind her. "Hello Granger".
Hermione turned around slowly. She would know that voice anywhere, but why was he speaking to her?
"Malfoy," she answered curtly. Then she saw something that she had never seen before: he smiled.
She stood there shocked as he began to talk. He looked the same as he had the last time she saw him, but it was as if he had a completely different personality blown into him. The cheek of him, she hadn't seen him since they had left school and he had never been anything but cruel and malicious. Now he was talking to her as if they were old friends.
"Anyway," he concluded in a light manner. "I'm glad I ran into you here since we will be working so closely together from now on. It sort of breaks the tension."
This snapped Hermione out of her thoughts. "What?" she said, sharper then she had meant to.
He seemed slightly shocked. "Did Kingsley not tell you?" he asked in disbelief.
"No," Hermione almost whispered. Her and Draco working together? No. It couldn't be possible; they would murder each other within the first week – if not day.
Draco stepped back. "Well. I should be going. It's not my place to tell you anyway. See you around," he murmured. He spun around and walked out swiftly, placing the book he had been holding on a nearby table.
Ginny emerged from a bookshelf where she had been hiding. "Was that Draco Malfoy?" she asked, dumbstruck.
"Yes," Hermione answered, only half listening as she walked over to the table where Draco had discarded the book. Ginny followed her quietly, wondering where she was going. Hermione picked up the book and turned around to show Ginny.
Her friend's eyebrows shot up as Hermione half whispered "He was going to buy my book."
Shortly after the war, Hermione had been approached, not only by the minister, but also several publishers to write about her experiences during the war. After much persuasion from harry and the Weasleys she finally agreed. It had been a bestseller – not only in the Wizarding world but with muggles as well, and although Hermione had donated a lot of her earnings to the orphans of war she could have stilled lived comfortably for the rest of her life on what she had made from the book.
Ginny tugged at Hermione's jacket. "Come on we have a lot of shopping to do."
When Hermione finally got home she was exhausted. The fiery redhead sure knew how to shop. She levitated her shopping upstairs and collapsed on the chair. As soon as she felt her eyes flutter shut, there was a hooting noise and a tapping on the window. Hermione stood up, groaning. She just wanted to relax.
When she saw that it was the minister's owl, she quickly opened the window.
"Hello Luton, what have you got for me today?"
The tawny owl stretched out his leg and Hermione untied the letter. As soon as he was free of the message, Luton flew off into the clear sky. Hermione watched him until she could no longer see his form. Then she unfolded the letter she had received from the Minister. It consisted of a few short lines that made the blood drain from her face.
Following your meeting today with in Diagon Alley I request your urgent presence in my office, and was simply signed Kingsley. No witty remarks, no first names. What had happened what had Malfoy said about her, and why did the Minister want to talk to her about Malfoy? She sighed. The only way she would get the answers to her questions was if she went to see Kingsley.
Hermione walked down the long corridor that lead to Kingsley's office, her hands shaking due to how nervous she felt. She knocked on the door and only as she pulled her hand away from the door did she realise that she could hear laughter coming from within. Before she could register where she recognised it from the door flung itself open.
The Minister was sitting at his desk, a huge grin on his face that he was trying unsuccessfully to conceal
"Come in Hermione," he said warmly.
She walked in and immediately looked around to see where the laughter had come from. Her eyes fell on the blonde man that she had encountered in the bookstore earlier that day. He still had the same grin on his face, but he had changed clothes, now wearing grey slacks and a crisp white shirt. He made Hermione feel underdressed, as she had assumed she was just meeting Kingsley – she hadn't even bother to comb her hair out of the plait. She tugged at it self-consciously, but dropped her hand immediately when she noticed both men staring at her expectantly.
"Hermione please sit," said Kingsley kindly. "Hermione, I have been watching you for a while – you're the first in every morning and the last to leave at night." Hermione began to speak but Kingsley's held his hand up. "No. Please let me finish. I have decided to give you a promotion to the head of Magical Law Enforcement."
Hermione's jaw dropped. She couldn't believe it. "Head of the whole department?" she stuttered.
She heard a low chuckle that made her jump. Turning around, she glared at Malfoy. He was so quiet she had almost forgotten he was in the room. Suddenly she remembered why she had come here in the first place.
"What has this got to do with Draco?" she asked suspiciously.
She heard an intake of breath but ignored it, figuring he was just trying to annoy her.
Draco took a sharp intake of breath. She had called him by his first name. He couldn't remember there ever being a time when she had called him Draco. What was even worse was the effect it had on him – it made him want to smile. Or worse, hug her! She had had the same effect on him in Flourish and Blotts, and true – he had been in there to buy her book. He had been so out of touch with the Wizarding community since the war that he had only just found out that she had written a book. Blaise had even told him that she had mentioned him once or twice in it. He wanted to see what the muggleborn had written about him.
Her screech brought him back to reality. He knew she wasn't going to take the news of his new job well. He was often wrong though, and he had been hoping that this would have been one of those times. He was also curious as to why she had been the last to know about her promotion and the fact he would be her deputy. He wondered why Kingsley Shacklebolt did a lot of things. The man was sort of like Dumbledore, in the way that he seemed to have great plans that no one else seemed to understand until they saw the effects. Draco knew this because of Kingsley's Latest piece of legislation – Lupin's Law outlawed all discrimination against werewolves, and it also stopped them being refused jobs based on the fact they were werewolves.
Draco snapped back to the present before he let himself become too immersed in memories. Hermione was talking to Kingsley about them working together, and although she didn't seem happy she also didn't look like she was going to turn down the position either. Despite himself Draco smiled again. He couldn't remember the last time he had genuinely smiled and now he had done it twice in the same day all because of the feisty muggleborn. Things were finally looking up for him.
Draco had remained quiet throughout the whole meeting. Hermione didn't know why but it bothered her. Why hadn't he said anything? Where were the smart remarks, the smirks and the rudeness she was accustomed to?
When she got up to leave Draco jumped up and opened the door for her. She suppressed a smile and murmured her thanks.
As the door was shutting behind her she heard Draco say to Kingsley that they still needed to talk about his problem. This puzzled Hermione; she wondered what kind of problem Malfoy could have and surely if he had a work problem she would have to be aware of it, and if it wasn't a work problem why did he need to tell Kingsley?
Hermione went to the apparation points and apparated to the supermarket near to her home. She figured that, since she was out she might as well do some shopping and plus, she was desperately in need of some essentials like bread and milk.
When she got home she put away her shopping manually, preferring to do it the muggle way. Her mind was full of everything that happened that day.
When she had finished with her shopping she changed into an oversized green t-shirt and a pair of black shorts, and took out three pieces of parchment and a quill. She copied identical messages onto each parchment with a plea to meet her at a certain place the following day after work. When she attached the letters to her owl Darcy's leg she got into bed and fell asleep with Draco still playing on her mind.
Draco had a small glass of firewhiskey in his hand that he had barely touched and his best friend sitting opposite him in his apartment. He had told Blaise everything that had happened that day. His best friend was quiet as usual as he pondered his friends day.
"How did she react to getting the job?" Blaise asked.
The question made Draco smile. "She didn't think she deserved it," he said knowingly. "She was shocked that she had been asked, you could see it in her expression."
"You must have been really looking at her to see all of that," Blaise said offhandedly.
Draco turned his head sharply. Not really," he said, trying to keep his voice as casual as it had been.
"Did you tell her about your little problem?" Blaise asked, seeing the change of attitude in his friend. "After all, it's to do with her."
"No," said Draco sighing. "And it is nothing to do with her," he said to his friend. He rose from his chair and began to make his way to the kitchen. "You can stay tonight if you want," he called over his shoulder, "but I am going to bed."
He opened the cupboard and began to move around various bottles and potions. He finally found what he was looking for and began to unscrew the cap. He didn't realise he wasn't alone until Blaise spoke.
"You lied to me, didn't you?" It wasn't a question, but a statement. "You are still having the nightmares, aren't you?"
Draco downed half the bottle before answering. "What do you think?" he said sarcastically.
He went to bed and despite what the bottle promised, he didn't have a dreamless sleep. As always, she was there – screaming, begging, helpless and beyond his reach.
Hermione woke up earlier than normal as she was so excited for her new job. For the first time in a long time it wasn't just her nightmares keeping her awake. She was up and dressed before her alarm even went off, and she spent some time sat on her sofa with a cup of coffee reading the book she had bought yesterday. When the flames appeared in her fireplace, Hermione wasn't all too surprised. It wasn't unusual for Ginny or Harry or even Ron (before they broke up) to come over before work. However, there was no figure emerging from the fire. She got up from the sofa and waited for her wards to tell her who it would be.
A voice came from the flames. "Mrs. Granger, Mr. Malfoy is requesting to visit you."
Hermione was shocked but she said yes, gathering up all of her Gryffindor courage as she watched Malfoy stepped graciously out of the fireplace.
"Granger I need to speak to you before we start working together."
Hermione's heart started to beat faster. What could be so urgent that he couldn't wait until she arrived at the Ministry?
Before Draco could tell her what he wanted to say she heard her name being called from the kitchen. They both turned around to see the youngest Weasley strolling out of the kitchen. She froze when she saw Malfoy standing beside her best friend.
"Do I need to leave?" she asked, her eyes as wide as saucers.
"No!" said Draco abruptly. "I was just leaving." Without evening turning to say goodbye he quickly stepped into the fire and disappeared into the flames.
"Hermione!" Ginny screeched. "I cannot believe it, you want to meet us today to tell us you're dating Malfoy! I cannot believe it. I suppose you're hot, and he's practically a god. You two will work well together."
Hermione spun around. "Going out with Draco? What are you talking about?" she said, turning bright red.
"Well," Ginny reasoned, "you two met in the bookshop yesterday, and here he is this morning at this ungodly hour, ooh, and he was buying your book."
Hermione sighed. "Gin, there is nothing going on with Draco and myself, and I assure you all of these things are just coincidences. Now excuse me, but I have to go to work. Oh and stop apparating in, use the floo network like everyone else please it frightens me when I hear people walking around when I'm here alone."
Draco sat at his desk waiting for her to arrive. He had gotten so close to telling her this morning, spilling all of his secrets to her, but now that the moment had passed he knew that he just didn't have the courage. She had looked beautiful this morning: her teeth had been fixed after that incident in school; her hair was still bushy but he found it cute now; and her legs seemed to go on forever. Although these were all perks to his new job, they were not the reason Draco had finally joined the Ministry. Kingsley had invited him in to consult on a piece of legislation and when he had seen the work that Draco was capable of doing, had offered him a full time position .
He began to think back to the nightmares he had experienced last night. They had been particularly worse than they had been in a long time, but that was because he had seen her for the first time in years. He told himself that they would ease back to normal soon enough.
The door opening snapped him out of his own thoughts and for that he was grateful.
Hermione walked into her new office and looked around. It made her old office look like a broom closet. There were huge filing cabinets, a soft brown couch and two huge brown oak desks. The desk at the door was already occupied by none other than Draco Malfoy, and he was sitting at the desk watching her curiously as if wondering what she would do next. Hermione walked to what she assumed would be her desk and put down her bag on the desk. She walked around the desk and sat down, before turning to look at Draco expectantly. Draco, who had been watching her, looked into her eyes waiting for her to speak.
"Draco what was it you had to say to me this morning?" Hermione asked. "When you came to my apartment," she added as if they spoke so many times that she had to clarify.
Draco thought to himself, right, this is it. Tell her, she won't run away screaming. His head was telling him that, but his heart was screaming that she would run from him and never return or even worse, she wouldn't believe him. So when Draco finally spoke, he did the thing he was best at – he hid his feelings and he lied.
"Well Granger, the thing is, I wanted to start working with you on a clean slate. I wanted to apologize for every time I hurt you and I can personally assure you that I thoroughly regret every mean thing I said that could have caused you pain."
Hermione's jaw hit the floor. She just knew it. The way Draco spoke to her, she knew he was telling the truth. She didn't know how but she just knew; maybe it was the sadness she saw in his eyes or the hurt she could clearly hear in his voice. Whether it was instinct or not she just wanted to make him feel better.
"Don't worry about it Draco, of course we can start off brand new. We can clean the slate and start all over if that's what you wish."
Malfoy looked at her and smiled. "That would be great. Thanks, Granger."
The rest of the day flew by in companionable silence both working on separate things.
When Hermione's alarm finally began to scream that it was her time to leave she began to tidy up her stuff. Draco stayed sitting at his desk scribbling frantically on a piece of parchment.
"Draco are you not coming?" she asked him.
He looked up, smiling. "No, it's okay Granger. I'm almost finished and I've to meet Kingsley in half an hour anyway."
Hermione smiled and waved as she left the office. Who would have thought it, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy being civil to one another? She could almost laugh at the thought of her friends reactions.
Ginny tapped her fingers impatiently on the wooden table of the Hog's Head. Abe had brought her, Harry, and Ron three mugs of steaming hot Butterbeer the minute they walked in, but hers lay untouched. She really wanted to hear what was going on with Hermione.
When Hermione walked in the door not ten minutes later Ginny jumped up in excitement to hug her friend as though they hadn't seen each other in months. Hermione slid in beside her friends and before she had even had a chance to take off her jacket Aberforth had made a Butterbeer appear before her. She turned toward him and smiled her thanks.
"So what did you drag all of us out here for?" Harry smiled.
Without hesitation, Hermione spilled everything, from meeting Draco in Diagon Alley to her promotion and them working together.
When she finished Harry and Ginny jumped in to congratulate her on her new job and Harry tried to warn Hermione about Malfoy. This made her blush. "Actually Harry he isn't the same kid that used to bully us. He's changed," she said quietly, afraid of their reaction.
Ginny watched her friend as she spoke to Harry and decided she would question her about the answer later without the company of the boys.
Everyone suddenly looked at Ron as if remembering he was there. He had remained silent all through Hermione's speech and during the questioning that followed.
"What do you think, Ron?" Harry asked.
Ron let out a sneer that was very unbecoming. "What do I think? Well I think that I have better things to be doing then sitting here listening to the progression of Hermione's love life. I could be with Lavender having sex and instead I have to listen to her talking about Malfoy trying to get some off her when we all know he's wasting his time because it's harder to get between her legs then it is to escape from Azkaban."
Harry looked shocked at Ron's outburst, whereas Ginny looked disgusted and Hermione simply looked hurt. She stood up and wiped a tear that was falling down her cheek away. "I have to go," she mumbled and walked out.
Draco left the Ministry shortly after his meeting with the minster and decided to go to Honeydukes, wanting to treat himself to some toffee after his first day at work. He walked down the street and thought to himself that he couldn't wait until Christmas. Hogsmeade really was beautiful covered in a blanket of snow.
Suddenly a sniffle caught his attention. Someone's crying, he thought. And a woman as well. Must have had her heart broken, Draco reasoned. He turned around to offer the woman whatever comfort he could and was shocked to see that the woman he was about to comfort was none other than his new boss and former enemy, Hermione Granger.
"Hermione?" he choked out. Her head shot up and he noticed that her eyes were red. "Everything okay?" he asked gently, although it would have been obvious to anyone, even the weasel, he thought that she was clearly not okay.
"Yes," she choked out and Draco felt his heart tighten. He felt the sudden urge to wrap the muggleborn in his arms and assure her that everything would be okay, and for some horrific reason he didn't want to think about, he wanted to rip the head off the person who made this beautiful witch cry. His brain began to move at lightning speed – she would never accept help from him, yet he knew he couldn't just leave her she was obviously upset. A plan began to form in his mind.
"Granger, I'm having some trouble with some of the stuff I was working on today. Would you mind helping me? I don't want to get behind on my first day," he said, trying to sound upset but not overdo it. He knew this would not only appeal to her nature to help everyone but also her hunger for knowledge and problem solving.
Was Draco Malfoy asking her for help? She couldn't believe it. She didn't remember him every asking anyone for help before now. She really just wanted to go home and crawl into bed but the bookworm inside of her won and she heard herself agreeing to help Malfoy.
"Where do you want to go to work?" she asked.
Malfoy rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, all the files are at my house," he reasoned. "Would you mind going there?" he asked gently.
Her neck snapped and she spat the next words. "I won't ever be going back to the manor."
Draco looked taken aback but recovered quickly. "I sold the manor," he said, the disgust clear in his voice. "As soon as my father died," he added. "Too many unhappy memories."
Hermione nodded in understanding. "Lead the way," she said quietly. Draco noticed she had called him by his first name again but didn't comment on it. He didn't want her to stop – his name sound completely different coming from her lips.
He began to look sheepish.
"Actually I was going to go to Honeydukes first would you mind if we go there beforehand?"
Hermione smiled. It had been years since she had been in Honeydukes, yet she still remembered the smell of toffee and caramel as if it was yesterday.
"No problem Draco, just we have to make it quick. I don't want to be home too late."
They walked down the street together, not realising they were being watched by none other than the youngest Weasley.
Draco asked Hermione all sorts of questions about what she had been doing since she had left Hogwarts but whenever Hermione asked Draco any questions he was evasive and unclear and turned the conversation back to Hermione.
Just as Draco pushed open the door to Honeydukes they heard a child scream. "Draco!"
They both turned and Hermione saw none other than Teddy Lupin running towards Draco and envelop Draco's legs in a hug. Draco picked up the excited five year old and swung him around. Teddy's hair immediately turned platinum blonde, the exact same shade as Draco's. Hermione let out a small chuckle. This was Teddy's latest trick, changing his hair colour to whoever was his favourite person in his company.
Draco stopped spinning Teddy around when his auntie finally caught up, out of breath.
"Hi Andy," Hermione said easily. Both women had become fast friends, as Andromeda would babysit Teddy when Harry, Ginny and Hermione were busy. She was getting old, losing her husband had hit her hard and she just wasn't able to keep up with the energetic five year old.
"Hermione dear," she beamed. "Fancy seeing you here." Then her face turned to Draco and her eyebrows shot up as she looked back at Hermione.
Before Hermione could protest she heard Teddy screech her name. "Mione!"
"Hey bud," she said, grinning. "Long time, no see."
Teddy sighed. "I saw you yesterday, Mione," he said matter-of-factly. "We played potions, remember? And I won!" he said proudly.
Hermione pretended to think. "Oh, now I remember," she said. "Well" she continued, playing upset, "the next time you're at Harry and Ginny's we'll just have to have a rematch."
"Okay," said Teddy with enthusiasm, confident he would win again. He always won against auntie Mione.
"Come on now," Andy said suddenly. "It's well past your bedtime Mister."
Teddy wouldn't leave until both Hermione and Draco agreed to pick him up from Harry's the following Saturday to play potions. He walked away, holding his grandmother's hand and talking excitedly about his play date with Draco and Hermione. He didn't notice that her attention was on the odd couple retreating into the old sweet shop.
When Teddy finally left with his aunt, Draco pushed open the door of the sweet shop and waited until Hermione walked in and followed close behind. He watched her walk around for a few minutes before starting to look at the sweets and deciding he would buy a lot so he wouldn't have to return for a while. Now that he had left his old life behind, one of his only flaws was that he had a major sweet tooth. He began to pick up random things as he walked by the shelves. When he approached the desk his arms were full. He finally saw Hermione, whose arms were equally full if not more so than his. At least she had the decency to blush when Draco seen her.
They both emptied their arms onto the counter at the same time, and the cashier, with a bemused grin on his face, asked them if they were separate or together.
Simultaneously, Hermione said separate and Draco said together. They both blushed. After a lot of arguing Draco finally won and paid for all of the sweets.
When they finally left the shop Draco carried the three heavy bags which carried all of their sweets. They had had another small argument in the shop about Draco carrying all of the bags but he had easily won that argument as well. They went to the apparition point in a companionable silence, and Draco grabbed Hermione's hand, explaining before she could pull it away. "It's just until we get to my house," he said awkwardly.
Hermione was slightly startled when Draco had grabbed her hand. She tried not to think about how it was bigger than hers. It was so warm that it made her mouth dry. She tried to disregard all of this while she apparated but it was impossible. At the last second she realised that she had agreed to go back to Malfoy Manor. She had been so eager to get away from Ron and her feelings that she had agreed to go back to the place that haunted her dreams, the place where all her worst memories were. She had sworn that she would never return.
Before she could protest that she had come to her senses, Draco had apparated with her. Hermione closed her eyes and shook in fear. She didn't want to go back there. When her feet finally touched the ground she heard Draco asking if she was okay and she slowly opened her eyes to answer him.
When she opened her eyes she seen that she was not in a room in the Manor that she recognised. She was in what looked like a very comfortable coffee coloured sitting room.
"Where are we? she whispered, afraid that all of a sudden this warm room would disappear and that the scary Manor would replace it.
Draco's eyes narrowed in confusion then comprehension seemed to dawn. "We aren't at the Manor," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "I haven't returned to that place since that night," he said, voice bitter. Even though he was whispering Hermione could tell that he was angry, so she didn't ask what he was talking about when he said the last night. He was probably talking about the night Lucius died.
Hermione zoned back in to Draco talking. She only caught the end of his one sided conversation. "So this is where I live now," he concluded. "I told you in Hogsmeade we wouldn't be going to the manor. Although I understand why you wouldn't trust me," he said, looking hurt.
In a bid to reassure him she said, "It's not that I didn't believe you, I just completely forgot what you had said."
He took her hand in his gently this time. "Come on," he said. "I'll give you the grand tour."
Draco showed her around. Although it was nowhere near the size of the manor it was much too big for one person – it had five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sitting room, living room and a kitchen as well as various other small empty rooms.
They finally ended up back in his sitting room. Draco told her to sit and he went over and lit the fire. He picked up the bags they had discarded before the tour and emptied the contents onto the table in front of Hermione.
Hermione picked up a chocolate covered toffee and popped it into her mouth. They sat in silence for a few minutes when Hermione began to think about Ron and how he had been treating her lately. Eager to push him out of her mind, she looked at Draco and decided he was the best way to distract herself.
"May I ask you a question?" she queried, looking at him intently.
He seemed to snap out of his own little world. "Sure," he replied. "Only if I can ask you some in return."
Hermione hesitated before asking. "Why, this house it's so big, especially for just you." She paused. "Unless it's more than just you living here, why not get a small place?"
Draco paused as if thinking about the question. "There are a few reasons," he said thoughtfully. "I have always wanted a big family," he said blushing. "And when I saw this place, I just fell in love with it. Even if it is a little big."
"Why do you want a big family?" Hermione asked. slightly surprised.
Draco grinned. "You will have to wait. It's my turn to ask.
Hermione gave a small smile. "Okay. Go ahead."
Draco battled internally as to what to ask her first. He finally asked her, "What you really think about me working for you?"
Hermione thought for a second before answering truthfully. "As long as you can do your work, I won't have a problem with us working together. And I've seen the work you have done with Kingsley on Lupin's Law – the end product was an excellent piece of legislation and Kingsley would not have chosen you had he not trusted your expertise."
Draco nodded at this as if accepting her answer. It was a pleasure working with Kingsley and to make a difference. "Werewolves are not as dangerous as they used to be people need to get over their misconceptions."
Just from hearing him speak Hermione could tell that he felt strongly about the work he had done.
"Did you know," he went on, "that werewolves now have a potion that deems them completely safe when they transform and they only need to take it once so there will be no mistakes of people forgetting to take their potions like the night Sirius escaped?"
Hermione gasped. "How do you know about that?" she asked.
"Remus told me," Draco said simply. When he saw the look of confusion on Hermione's face he added, "We secretly became friends just before the battle of Hogwarts. I desperately wanted to see my cousin," he added as an afterthought, looking at her to gauge a reaction and to see if she would ask any more questions.
Hermione picked up more toffees and dropped them into her mouth. "Throw me some," he said, opening his mouth. She giggled, aimed and threw a toffee into his mouth. Draco smiled as he caught it easily and chewed.
They spoke for the next few hours about anything they could think of and ate most of the sweets they had both planned to keep for at least a few weeks. The work that Draco had said he needed to complete was forgotten. Hermione became increasingly tired until her eyes finally fluttered shut at around four in the morning. Draco heard her yawning and looked over to see her snoring softly. He stood up and thought for a few seconds – should he take her home, let her sleep on his couch or give her his bed? He finally decided he should take her home. She would get the best night's sleep if she was in her own bed. Draco gently picked her up and apparated to her apartment.
She began to wake up as he walked up the stairs to her room. She mumbled something he couldn't understand and then kissed his neck. Draco froze and tried to ignore it as he began to walk faster towards her room. He pushed open the door with his foot and walked in. Hermione had fallen back asleep on his shoulder. He laid her down on the bed removed her shoes and covered her with the blanket. He walked back into the hall so as not to wake her when he apparated home. Draco went straight to his room and got undressed before he slid under the cool covers and lay there for a while thinking about all of the things Hermione had shared with him that night, as well as her lips on his neck. That immediately made him sorry he had invited her over – she had gotten the wrong idea; she had thought he wanted to be more then friends when that was the last thing he wanted. She deserved a lot better than him. Draco fell asleep with the thoughts of Hermione's lips on his neck.
Hermione woke the next morning and lay there for a second trying to remember the night before. Her mind filled with horror as she remembered Draco carrying her home because she had fallen asleep in his house and, in her dazed state, she had tried to kiss him and he had turned her down. She couldn't even remember why she had kissed him, and felt disgusted with herself. She had been upset with Ron and had thrown herself at Draco when he had tried to be nice to her. Hermione finally got up made herself some cereal and when she sat on her couch she started to read some reports from work. Even though it was only her first week she wanted to prove that she deserved this job. Around midday her fireplace filled with bright green flames. She looked up startled, having been completely immersed in her work and not expecting visitors.
Ginny Potter stepped out of the flames with a small grin that told Hermione she was here to cause trouble. Hermione had barely opened her mouth to say hello when Ginny, with the look of a woman on a mission, told her startled friend that she would make them both a cup of tea. With that she marched into the kitchen and flicked the switch on the kettle.
When the kettle had finally boiled and Ginny had made their tea she sat down on the couch beside her best friend.
Hermione looked at Ginny. The redhead was staring at her expectantly, as if waiting to be told something of great importance. When Hermione failed to speak Ginny decided that she needed to be prompted.
She began lightly, trying to ease into the conversation. "What's it like working with Draco?" she asked nonchalantly.
Hermione began telling her about the previous day at work and how it was uneventful. "What about last night?" Ginny prodded gently. "Did you agree to meet with him in Hogsmeade or did you ask him to come to comfort you after my brother was an ass?" she asked, her eyebrows wagging.
"Neither," said Hermione curtly. "I… we both just happened to be there at the same time, we walked down the street together and went our separate ways." Hermione hated to lie to her best friend but she didn't want her to know about what had happened the night before, as she would most definitely jump to the wrong conclusions.
Draco woke up late the following morning and lay in bed thinking about the night before. He had never laughed so much in his life, had never shared so much of himself with another person, and yet with Hermione it just felt right. He got up, put on a pair of pyjama bottoms and strolled into the kitchen trying to decide what to have for brunch.
He made himself an omelette and decided to eat it in the sitting room and read the paper. Just as he sat down, he saw it on the table – Hermione's wand. He had forgot to pick it up last night when he was bringing her home. He lifted it up and decided she would need it straightaway. Before he realised that he only had a pair of pyjama bottoms on, he apparated into Hermione's sitting room, thoroughly convinced he could just leave it somewhere and leave.
Before he could open his eyes after he had apparated he heard a sharp intake of breath. He opened his eyes to see the youngest Weasley and Hermione sitting on the couch together, both staring at him. He directed his eyes towards Hermione, which was a big mistake. He gulped. She was wearing a dark green tank top – some may even say Slytherin green – and black satin shorts. He had to look away to remember why he had come here in the first place.
"Hermione," he stuttered, "your wand."
She looked at him curiously. "My wand? What about it?" she said, looking around and realising for the first time she didn't have it.
"You left it at my place last night," he said. "I forgot to bring it with me when I brought you home," he added absentmindedly. He handed her the wand and noticed she had gone a deep crimson and that her best friend was glaring at her.
Suddenly the redhead, whose name he wasn't sure of, turned to him. "Malfoy would you like to stay for some tea? I was just about to make a fresh pot."
Ginny walked into the kitchen before Draco could even reply.
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" Hermione asked. She was highly annoyed that she had been caught lying. She never lied and the one time she did she just had to get caught, didn't she? Ginny was going to make her life unbearable now with questions.
Draco looked at her, surprised. He felt they had gotten over all of their past issues last night, and now here she was acting like she hated him again. "I'll just leave," he mumbled, sure that she would want him out of her house as soon as possible.
"Don't even think about it," Hermione growled in retaliation. "You are not leaving me alone now that you have her started." Suddenly Hermione's face softened then blushed a crimson red. "Maybe you should go home and put on a shirt though," she said, glancing at his bare chest. Draco looked down, suddenly remembering he hadn't gotten fully dressed before leaving his house. How could he have been so stupid? He needed to get out of sight before Hermione – or anyone else for that matter – saw him closely enough.
He edged along the walls, trying not to attract any unwanted attention and apparated when he was at a safe distance away from Hermione, who was on her couch deep in thought.
Hermione watched Draco curiously. She was unsure of what he was doing, walking with his back to the wall, not turning around. When he finally apparated she not only noticed a finally toned back but also bruising, and old and healed scars. She wondered where they had come from when she realised they had probably come from some very passionate love making. The old scars probably a product of life at the manor.
Ginny walked in with a tray, carrying upon it a teapot, three mugs and a plate of biscuits just as Draco apparated back into the room – this time in a dark green shirt and black slacks. Ginny sat down on the couch beside Hermione, and Draco took up the chair opposite her but chose to avoid eye contact until Ginny found that it was so awkward she would have to start the conversation herself.
"So how did you to meet up again?" she asked, trying to underplay her curiosity.
Hermione looked up, realising what her friend was doing but before she could answer Draco had already replied. "We were both at the bookstore," he answered simply. "We ran into each other."
Hermione looked up sharply suddenly remembering something. "You were going to buy my book," she said, looking at him intently.
Draco broke the eye contact before answering. "Yeah, I was. Blaise told me you had included me in your book so I wanted to see what you had written."
Hermione blushed suddenly, vividly remembering what she had written about Malfoy. "Have you read it yet?" she asked cautiously.
"No," he answered in reply. "I meant to order it but haven't had the time."
Ginny looked at the interaction between the two. Something was definitely going on – she just couldn't figure out what. The thing that got to her most of all was that Hermione had decided to lie to her about her relationship with Malfoy.
No one knew why Hermione had eventually taken the book deal. Most thought that her friends had finally broken her down and other assumed the amount of money being offered to her had finally enticed her. Neither of these reasons were in fact true – she had been lying in bed one night and she had thought of Draco, having read an article in the Daily Prophet about him on her break. The title of the article had been entitled 'The Boy Who Made All the Wrong Choices'. As Hermione lay in bed thinking about their time together in Hogwarts, she suddenly decided Draco Malfoy hadn't been the boy who made all the wrong choices, but that he had been the boy who never had a choice. She remembered how he had only ever been mean when other people where around. He had even picked up some of her books once when she dropped them.
She decided she would write the book for all of the Dracos in the world; the children who didn't have a choice the ones who weren't as lucky as her and Ron. The Harrys, the Dracos; the ones who could have so easily gotten lost in the system had they not been wizards. Harry's upbringing could have easily made him into another lost soul and Hermione didn't know what she would have done in either of their situations as she had luckily grown up in a loving home.
Hermione had paid special attention in her book to let people know she didn't blame Draco for his actions and even applauded him for refusing to kill Dumbledore and for saving them in the Manor.
Draco looked at Hermione; she seemed to have drifted off into her own little world. She was staring into space with a vacant look on her face. He suddenly heard his name being called and looked to see the smiling redhead waiting on an answer.
"Sorry he said I didn't quite get that."
She smiled at him knowingly, like they were both in on a secret together.
"I was just wondering how you had Hermione's wand: she never leaves home without it."
Hermione zoned back into the conversation at the mention of her name. With both women looking at him, he felt like they were playing a trick on him; like she was asking a question she already knew the answer too. "I was a bit stuck with work I asked Herm... I mean, Granger, to help me out because I didn't want to get behind on the first day." Draco had stopped short for some reason. He didn't want to call Hermione by her first name to the Weasley girl – it felt private, personal; like it was his own special name for her which was ridiculous – it was her first name for merlin's sake.
Ginny looked at him sceptically. "You were so behind on the first day," she said, "that you took advantage of Hermione?"
Before Draco could answer, Hermione cut in. "Draco was just about to leave, weren't you Draco"
"Yes," Draco replied, happy to be rid of this conversation where he didn't seem to know the right answers.
As soon as Draco practically ran through the fireplace, Ginny verbally assaulted Hermione.
"So what really happened last night?" Ginny asked.
Hermione decided to tell her the truth this time, no matter how embarrassing. When she had finished Ginny's mouth hung open in disbelief.
"So you kissed him and he turned you down... but he sat here, he returned your wand the minute he got up by the looks of it. He seemed so into you."
Now it was Hermione's turn to stare in disbelief. "He is not- and I repeat, not into me and I am not into him."
Ginny chuckled. "Well it's obvious from your actions, Hermione, that you are more than a little in love with him. Between you trying to get him into bed last night and what you wrote in your book about him I'm surprised I didn't notice it sooner."
Hermione sighed. When Ginny was like this there was no stopping her. Hermione suddenly remembered what had been the cause of all of this in the first place. "What did Ron say when I left?" she asked cautiously. She was hoping he would be upset and would want to apologise. "He probably tried to come over last night," she said thoughtfully. "My wards wouldn't have let him in if I wasn't here."
Hermione stood suddenly. "I should go and see him."
Ginny stared at her. She had stopped her Hermione and Malfoy babbling as soon as Hermione mentioned her brother and sat in an awkward silence until her friend finished speaking. "Hermione, honey, sit down," she said soothingly. Hermione looked at her strangely "Hermione when you left he was just the same pig headed brother he's always been and he bitched about Malfoy and talked vulgarly about Lavender." Ginny shuddered as if recalling the memory.
Hermione sat back down carefully afraid she would miss the seat. How could he be so cruel? He knew she was still in love with him. Not only that, they had been best friends since they were eleven, so how could he treat her with such malcontent?
Draco stepped back through the fire into his apartment to find Kingsley and Blaise enjoying mugs of tea on his sofa.
"Make yourself comfortable," he said dryly as he sat on the chair opposite them both.
"Just coming home?" Blaise asked while the Minister cocked an eyebrow disapprovingly.
"No I was just returning something," he said evasively.
Blaise looked at him intently. "When do you ever return anything you borrow? I'm still waiting on the book I lent you back in school."
"It was a wand, it had to be returned," he said and instantly regretted it as he knew it would warrant more questioning.
Kingsley suddenly added himself into the conversation. "Whose wand did you have?" he asked, a little sharper then he meant to.
"Granger," he muttered, then when he seen them both looking at him he spoke louder. "It was Granger's wand." He suddenly thought of carrying her to bed the night before and he could still feel her lips on his neck. He leant over in the chair and put his head in his hands. He couldn't think like that, he didn't want Hermione, he didn't want to be anywhere near her, and just being beside her brought back all the horrible memories he worked so hard to forget about.
"Why did you have Hermione's wand?" asked Blaise, feigning mild curiosity beating Kingsley to it.
Draco decided to just tell them what had happened last night, but he left out the part where Hermione had been upset –somehow that felt private and instead told them the same lie he had told Hermione and the girl Weasley.
Kingsley knew that Draco had lied, as Hermione had given him a very in depth report of what they had been working on and Kingsley knew that Draco was more than capable of completing all of it without anyone's help, but decided that he was lying for a reason and wouldn't question him on it.
When he had finished: "What had happened?" Blaise cut in with the questioning and: "You just left her? You have loved her since she came into our damn compartment asking about that stupid toad and she's finally shown an interest and you left? Everyone here knows what you gave up for her, so what happened?" Blaise practically shouted.
Draco finally pulled his head out of his hands. "My feelings for her are irrelevant," he spat at Blaise. "She is fine as an acquaintance, but she's a muggleborn which, in my book equals less than nothing. As if I would lower my standards and let it go beyond a casual friendship. What would people think?" he added with a sneer. "A Malfoy with a... a mudblood. And Hermione Granger, no less," he said. "Queen of the Mudbloods."
Blaise stood up and apparated away in frustration.
Draco put his head back in his hands, forgetting Kingsley was there until he spoke. "How hard was it, Draco, to say those things?"
Draco looked up at him red rims around his eyes. He stood up and walked out of the room, and as he reached the door he turned to Kingsley. "You already know the answer to that question, Kingsley, and you don't need me to tell you."
He continued walking but he still heard Kingsley say, "I don't know who you think you're fooling, Draco. Except yourself. Myself and Mr. Zabini already know the truth."
Draco continued walking as if he had not heard Kingsley and went into his room and fell onto the bed.
Hermione woke from a dream on Monday morning that was so nice that for once she didn't want to get up for work. Normally, nightmares plagued her dreams from her horrific past and she practically jumped out of her bed each morning. Last night she had dreamt that someone had lay beside her in bed, with one hand placed gently on her stomach and the other stroking her hair while he softly kissed her face and neck, making her squirm and giggle. Hermione's stomach did backflips as she recollected the dream. She tried to remember the man – he had been lean and muscular with dirty blonde hair, but even though she knew she recognised him her brain wouldn't allow her to make the connection. She got out of bed, begrudgingly accepting that even if she went back asleep she wouldn't have the same dream.
When she walked into her office an hour later Draco was already there. He looked better then she had seen him in a long time – like he had finally had a good night sleep, or had drunk some Pepper-Up potion.
"Morning, Draco," she said brightly and sat down at her desk.
Draco looked up, noticing her for the first time. "Granger," he replied by way of a greeting, then continued with whatever he was working on. Hermione wondered why he was acting so withdrawn with her.
She replied "Malfoy," curtly, annoyed with herself for being so nice. When she started her work her mind began to wander; maybe it was because she had kissed him and that's why he didn't want her to think that he was in anyway interested in her. Then she remembered how forward Ginny had been. She sighed. He must be convinced that I'm desperate and that I plan to throw myself at him whenever he makes eye contact. Well I'll show him, she thought. She got up and walked past his desk to the filing cabinet, deliberately ignoring him. As she walked back to her desk with what she needed, she couldn't help but look at what he was working on. To her it looked like notes on a very complicated potion. When she sat down her curiosity got the better of her and she reasoned it wouldn't do any harm to ask him what he was working on.
"Malfoy," she said aloud and he instantly looked up. He looked confused for a second and then asked what she wanted. "I was just wondering what you're working on," she asked cautiously, afraid of how he would react to her nosiness.
His face suddenly turned into a cheeky grin that she had never seen before, which made her feel warm in all the wrong places: it was quite disarming. She smiled despite herself "I'm just curious."
His face suddenly got serious. "It's the potion – the one we had approved shortly before Lupin's Law was passed."
"If it was approved," she began, "why are you still working on it?" she asked, genuinely interested.
"Well it was good enough to be passed by the committee," he said. "But there is still room for some serious improvement."
"Why, what's wrong with it?" she asked, wondering if she could help for the sake of her old friend Remus.
"Well," he said. "A person only has to take the potion once and they will become a harmless werewolf for life – they will become a werewolf for one day a month but would never be a danger to anyone."
"Why that's brilliant," Hermione exclaimed but Draco shook his head.
"There's a catch. If the werewolves soulmate is threatened then he will transform into a werewolf and become dangerous, and completely unaware of his surroundings. The werewolf's soulmate is the only one who can calm him down and return him to normal state, which is at great risk to the soulmate."
Hermione sat digesting all of this. "It's still a great achievement," she reasoned with Draco.
"It's not good enough," he said. "A man can't be a real man to his wife if he can't even protect her, if he's constantly worried about hurting her. No woman deserves that."
"You sound like Remus," said Hermione quietly. "He did everything he could to protect Tonks.
"His love won over his better judgement in the end," Draco said as if continuing her sentence, "and it was one of the best decisions he ever made. I wouldn't be that weak." Ii was added almost as an afterthought which took the smile off Hermione's face.
"Weak?" she spat. "He wasn't weak, he was one of the bravest, strongest men I knew and a little ferret like you should be ashamed for calling him weak."
Draco tried to speak but without looking at the clock Hermione grabbed her jacket and announced she was taking an early lunch.
As Hermione stormed out of the office Draco looked at his watch – it was barely ten o'clock. He grabbed his cloak and stood up, deciding to leave his notes and return to them later. He decided he would take his break now as well. Although he had done no official work yet today, he had gotten so far ahead the day before he doubted anyone would notice. He went to the apparation point and apparated to Flourish and Blotts. He walked directly to the aisle where he knew it would be and went immediately to the counter when he had found it. Once he had paid for it he rushed back to their office and eagerly cracked the spine before beginning to read the first page.
This was how Hermione found him when she returned from her lunch – hunched over and glued to the book. She didn't offer him any greeting and ignored him as she sat down. When he heard her chair scrape the floor he closed the book and looked up. Before he even realised what he was saying he had apologised for what he had said earlier. She looked stunned, unable to believe he had apologised.
Before she could answer him he continued, "I didn't mean that Remus was weak. I know that he was anything other than that but believe me, I just meant if that were to happen to me I would hope that I would be strong enough to stay away from my soul mate to protect her so that she would be safe."
"It wouldn't only be your choice," Hermione interjected.
"I would make it my choice," he said simply but firmly. "If it happened to me," he went on, "even if she was stupid enough to fall in love with a werewolf and former Death Eater I would make it impossible for us to be together. I would go to the other side of the world if I felt myself tempted." He paused. "That's not likely to happen anyway," he said, quieter than he had been. "Even if I became a werewolf, who could love a werewolf and a former Death Eater?"
"What about your girlfriend?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself.
Draco looked at her, confused. "What girlfriend?" he asked curiously.
Hermione blushed she couldn't tell him she assumed he had a girlfriend because of the scratches on his back which she had just thought where from passion gone into overdrive. Hermione suddenly had to push out of her mind the thought of her running her nails down a shirtless Malfoy.
"I just assumed you had one," she said hoping he didn't notice her turning beet red.
"No I don't have a girlfriend," he said after much consideration. "I have far too much past to ever have a real relationship," he added as an afterthought.
Draco wondered how Hermione had thought he had a girlfriend. Maybe he had said something to mislead her. He secretly hoped she was asking for other reasons, even though deep down he knew she wasn't. She probably just assumed because of his reputation back in school that he had a steady stream of girlfriends – which in fact couldn't be further from the truth. Even back at Hogwarts it wasn't as true as people were lead to believe. Draco looked at Hermione. He hadn't been able to put her book down until she walked back into the room. She had come a long way from the frightened little girl in the book; she had grown into a beautiful young woman. Her cheeks were a rosy red that was quite becoming, her teeth had been magically altered and her hair was sleek and shiny and fell down her back. He looked back down at the book, afraid she would catch him staring. It really is a pity she's a muggleborn or she really could have married well, he thought. He suddenly remembered he hadn't done any actual work that day he pushed Hermione out of his mind as much as he could and got down to business.
They both worked in silence apart from when they asked each other work related questions. Five minutes before they were due to finish work there was a knock on the door. They both looked up as Kingsley walked in, and both stood when they saw that it was the Minister.
"Sit," he said, smiling to them both warmly.
"Hermione, Draco," the minister began slowly as if testing the water. "I am here to speak to the both of you about the ministry ball next week. I would like the two of you to attend together to show not only that I made the right choice in appointing you but also to show unity in the department."
Both remained silent: Draco was stunned into silence and Hermione was trying to figure out what to say. She hadn't planned to go to the ball to many happy couples when she was still sore from her break up with Ron. Hermione saw Draco nodding what she assumed was his consent so she followed suit.
When Kingsley finally left, Hermione gathered her things but Draco beat her to the door and held it open for her. She smiled her thanks as she walked out the door, but Draco stopped her. He seemed to struggle with the words.
"What is it Draco?" she asked, concerned.
"Well we agreed to bring Teddy out this weekend, remember?" he said cautiously, almost afraid of what she would say.
Hermione mentally slapped herself; she completely forgot they had promised Teddy they would both take him out. Damn that adorable kid – she couldn't say no to him, and she certainly couldn't let him down. To Draco she said, "That's no problem. I'm still up for it if you are."
Draco smiled. Yeah I'm still available. I was just wondering if you could help me pick out something to wear that would match your dress since we're going together now."
"We don't need to match, it's not a date," she said rather unkindly.
Draco's facial expression showed the smallest signs of hurt then changed to full anger. "Don't worry muggleborn. I would never consider it a date in a million years. You see, unlike you, my family taught me manners and it's manners when two people attend a ball together for their outfits not to clash."
When he had finished, Hermione felt terrible. She had been out of line and she knew it. "I'm sorry Draco," she said, touching his arm, but he flinched and pulled away. She sighed. "If the offer still stands, I would love to go with you," she said.
When he didn't answer she left the room and every time she looked back to see if he had moved he was still there looking at her.
When Draco finally left work that night he was exhausted – he had stayed as late as he could so he wouldn't have to go home. When he got home he saw Blaise sitting in his chair.
"Up," he growled.
Blaise moved with a small smile on his face. "Good day?" he asked almost mockingly.
Draco sat on his chair and sighed. "The best," he muttered.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Blaise asked gently.
"Kingsley wants me and Granger to go to the Ball together to show unity and all that other crap."
Blaise chuckled. "So Kingsley is still trying to set the two of you up."
Draco's eyes had been closed up to this point but upon hearing Blaise they shot open. "What?" He stopped to rethink. "Never mind. I don't want to know. But you tell him that whatever his plan is it won't work."
Draco went to his room, leaving Blaise sitting alone. He sat down on his bed and cast 'Accio' on Hermione's book and began to read.
Three hours later Draco had not taken a break from reading when he came across a passage about himself:
"Draco Malfoy – no one seen him for what he really was. He was seen as a Death Eater. A potential killer, Lucius Malfoy's son. A boy who made all the wrong choices. I think I was the only one who ever saw him clearly. He wasn't the boy who made all the wrong choices. He was the boy who never had a choice. I saw him as the top of his year, the boy who tried at everything but who never stood a chance because of the choices his father made long before Draco ever stepped foot at Hogwarts. He was just the same as the rest of us – a scared kid trying to do what he thought was right."
Draco slammed the book shut. How dare she? What made her think she knew him? How dare she pass judgement on him, she had absolutely no right.
He jumped out of bed. He was going to show her she didn't know him, that she had no clue about Draco Malfoy. He went to the fireplace and angrily threw in the floo powder arriving in Hermione's sitting room seconds later. He looked around; all the lights were on but he couldn't hear any noise. Then he finally set eyes on her. She lay asleep on the sofa surrounded by work.
"Granger!" he shouted, waking her up and watching her struggle to find her wand until she realised it was him and relaxed. This only annoyed him more: how dare she not feel threatened by him, he was Draco Malfoy!
"What are you doing here Draco?" she asked.
"Your book," he spat. "I want to talk about it."
Hermione paled visibly. "Draco it's four in the morning, couldn't it wait?"
"No it couldn't," he said.
"Well why don't I make us some tea then?" she asked as she stood up. Draco was shocked at the sight of her. Hermione was only wearing a pair of girl's boxer shorts and a bra. He stood up, suddenly feeling the urge to cover her up even if it was just from himself – but when he looked around he realised he was only in a pair of boxer shorts himself, which was even less clothing than the last time he was here. He had been so angry he hadn't realised what he was doing.
Hermione moved toward the kitchen. He stepped in closer to her, to wanting her to get away. He wanted answers. "Why did you say those things about me," he said softer then he intended, voice coming out barely above a whisper. "Did you really think I made all those choices to please my father?"
Hermione, her voice barely louder than his replied. "I don't think that's true Draco. I know it is. You're not a bad person."
Before he could stop himself, Draco went to kiss her. He wound his hands in her hair, drew her face closer to his and gently pressed his lips against hers.
Hermione let out a small moan as Draco slipped his tongue into her mouth. His hands slid from her hair all the way down her body. The simple movement sent shivers up her spine until his hands came to rest comfortably on her waist. She pulled away from him for a second and, seeing the disappointed look on his face, pecked him gently on the lips before guiding him to the sofa where she lay down and pulled him on top of her. Draco groaned as his hard length pushed up against the bottom of her stomach and began to kiss her with more excitement and want than before. He felt shocked – he had come here to vent his anger, to punish her in some way but here he was lying on her couch with her in a very compromising position and he had never felt happier. Tangled up in Hermione, he not only felt aroused, but happy and excited too.
Hermione moaned as she felt Draco kiss her and neither heard her wards telling her that someone was coming by floo. When the flames blazed in the fireplace both jumped apart. Hermione felt like she could curse Ginny for interrupting them but her heart almost stopped when she saw that it was not Ginny that stepped out of the fireplace, but Ron. Ron stood there silently, as if frozen, and it wasn't until Draco moved in front of Hermione that Ron seemed to find his power of speech.
Draco had been about to take Hermione right there on her couch when the weasel interrupted. When he regained brain activity, he began to grow very aware of the fact that Hermione was half naked in front of the intruder. This bothered him more than he would like to admit, and he looked around frantically for something that he could use to cover her. He saw a small throw over on the chair next to them and as he moved to get it the weasel growled.
"Get away from her," Ron shouted.
Hermione began trying to calm Ron down but this quickly turned into a shouting match between them. Draco knew if he stayed here things would only get worse – he had to leave and it had to be now. He stood up, which made Hermione and Ron stop shouting and turn to stare at him.
"I'm off," he announced casually, as though he was talking about the weather. Not making eye contact with Hermione he walked to the fireplace. He stood at the fireplace and seemed to remember something. He turned and stared at Ron.
"You hurt her," he growled lowly. "And even the precious Chosen One will not be able to protect you."
When Ron didn't answer him he turned and disappeared in a burst of bright green flame.
When Hermione saw Draco vanish in the fireplace she suddenly felt drained.
"Leave, Ron," she said quietly.
Ron started to protest but when Hermione told him again even more firmly to leave he left without a word.
Hermione stood alone in her sitting room, unsure of what just happened. Had she been about to make love to Draco Malfoy? She sat down on the couch and the overwhelming need to cry consumed her. Her body shook as she sobbed and that was how she fell asleep – with tears streaming down her face and questions which she desperately wanted answering.
When Hermione first woke up she wasn't exactly sure where she was. She tried to sit up and her head began to pound and spin. Looking around, she groaned as she realised she was in her own apartment. Her head continued to spin and thump uncomfortably. If she didn't know any better she would swear she had spent the night drinking far too much Firewhiskey. The ache in her heart and the creak in her neck told her otherwise. Draco had been at her apartment last night, and she had almost had sex with him.
Other memories started to return as she left sleep further and further behind. Ron had turned up, and so he had seen her and Draco almost naked, one lying on top of the other in a compromising position. Draco had run out as though he had been confronted with the Cruciatus curse.
She sighed, not wanting to think about the events of last night. She would confront it when she got into work and she would be face to face with the Slytherin sex god himself and not a minute sooner.
Draco sat on the edge of bed getting dressed when Blaise walked in.
Draco growled. "Don't you ever knock?"
Blaise didn't even bother to answer his friend, just smirked. His smile disappeared as soon as he looked around the room. "You had company last night didn't you?" he murmured, looking at the room that was in a mess. Lamps were knocked over, the sheets were ripped and the bed had a broken headboard.
Blaise looked at him sharply. "Granger?"
Just from the mention of her name, Draco knew what he was being asked. "No," he replied quietly. His voice grew forceful. "I don't want to talk about it. I have to go to work." Before Blaise could question him further he strode out of the room and stepped into the grand fireplace.
When Draco stepped out at the Ministry, he walked straight into the Minister himself.
"Draco, I was just trying to get into your house but your wards told me you had left."
"What can I do for you, Minister?" Draco asked politely, although his mind was elsewhere. He shouldn't have been so hasty in leaving Blaise – now all that was waiting for him was her, Hermione, all big brown eyes and her unanswered questions that he just didn't know how to respond to. Blaise's questions were ten times easier to avoid then hers.
Draco suddenly shook his head and zoned back into the present and realised he had missed everything Shacklebolt had said. "I'm sorry Minister," Draco said focusing back in. "I didn't hear what you said there."
Kingsley smiled. "Come on Draco, I will walk you to your office. Miss Granger is in there already and I don't think she appreciates lateness." They set off at a steady pace. "I was talking to Mr. Zabini, Draco. He is worried about you," Kingsley said gently. "He is afraid that this job is just too much for you, that you're moving too fast and he feels you are going to get hurt taking on so much."
Draco suddenly felt ashamed at how he had been treating his only friend lately. Regardless of how Draco was feeling, it was no reason to act that way towards a friend who was only trying to help.
Draco arrived at the door to his office in an even worse mood than before, if that was even possible. He would not only have to talk to Hermione about the night before, but now he was going to have to apologize to Blaise as well. This day was a mess and it had barely begun.
"Draco," Kingsley sounded worried. "You seem more distracted than usual. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Minister. It's nothing I can't handle."
"In that case you won't mind going shopping for me today then will you? I shall give the two of you a list and you can also get your clothes for the ball while you're in Diagon alley."
"The two of us?" Draco stammered.
Kingsley's smile broadened. "Yes, you and Miss Granger. Interwork relations – you have to be seen getting along and working together so that everyone doesn't assume that the department is always seconds away from being burnt down."
Draco sighed. He knew there would be people who not only doubted he could do this job but who would also assume that he didn't deserve this job. "Fine. I will bring Granger to Diagon Alley and be on my best behaviour."
Kingsley laughed. "I'm sure you will, Draco." And he walked away.