Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and Warner Bros. This
fic was written entirely for fun, not for profit, and no copyright infringement is intended.
Title: Maybe Not Tonight
Author: Little Angry Kitten
Rating: T
Word Count: 3.953
Summary: Their affair was one of those things you never expect. But they were both willing to find out where it would lead them.
Warnings: AU/EWE/OOC
Author's Note: I want to thank Ashes At Midnight for the beautiful banner she made me! Thank you so much sweetie! Of course a giant thank you goes to my lovely beta! Especially for this one. Thank you so much CrazySue05! To the lovely lady I'm writing for I hope this didn't disappoint you.
~Maybe Not Tonight~
She twirled the white fabric between her fingers and fought the urge to puke in her mouth at the sight of the god awful wedding dress Molly and her mother had picked for her. But it wasn't only the dress that made her want to throw up her breakfast; it was this whole circus of a wedding. She had no idea how she ended up at the point where marrying Ron made her want to run for the bloody hills, when only a year ago the very thought made her go straight to cloud nine.
As it drew closer to the 'big day', Hermione felt like she was suffocating. The thought of tying her life to a person she had nothing in common with except for Harry terrified her. Back when she was still at school, Ron seemed perfect for her, with his cute red hair and the boyish smile that made her swoon. Now though, could she stay with someone that wanted her to be a stay at home wife and breed like a bunny? She wasn't Molly for Merlin's sake.
"Really, Granger? You want that one?" A cold voice mocked from behind her and Hermione's heart fluttered. Was it from happiness to be in his presence again or from fear of someone seeing them together, she really didn't know. Her façade slipped into place and she turned to meet his grey steely eyes. Those grey eyes were her sweetest dream and worst nightmare all at once.
"What do you want Malfoy?" She hissed lowly trying not to attract attention to them. It was something usual to see them together the past few years, they were colleagues after all. She'd had to put up with his bad attitude for almost two years now.
"I'm shopping of course!" He answered coolly. "You see I have to go to a wedding this Sunday." The cruel smirk that crawled its way up his lips scared her a little. It reminded her alot of the Malfoy she knew when they were still in school and nothing from the man she spent her sinful nights with. Hermione grabbed his arm forcefully and dragged him to a secluded corner of the shop.
"I will ask you again and I want a real answer Draco." She murmured in a low voice. No one could hear them or else their lives were at risk. Something flashed in his eyes and before she could react he had her pinned against the wall kissing her like their lives depended on it. She knew he was a possessive man, he had proved it many times but that only served to spark her desire for him more. She could still remember all the times he would simply see Ron having his arms around her and he would go ballistic. A small part of her enjoyed torturing him.
"No ." She pushed him away but he only moved his lips from her mouth to her neck. "No Draco. Stop." She murmured and pushed him harder, putting a little distance between them, enough to think more clearly.
Draco though would have none of this; he pushed her against the wall and attacked her lips earning moans from her. "I know we agreed to break it off, but I just can't stay away." He breathed as they pulled apart. "I'm addicted to you Granger. I need you like I need air!" She could hear the desperation in his voice but there was nothing she could do about it.
"I'm sorry Draco." She whispered as tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm marrying Ron in a week and there is nothing you can do to stop me." He would get over her, she knew he would. He was Draco bloody Malfoy he could have any girl he wanted. She slipped away from his embrace and walked as fast as her legs would carry her away from him.
"Do you love him?" He asked and she froze. Taking a deep breath Hermione turned to face him.
"I do." She hoped her words were convincing enough for him. Hermione felt her heart break into a million pieces as she walked away from him and to a future she didn't want.
In a week Hermione Granger would marry Ronald Weasley.
~Maybe Not Tonight~
Their affair was one of those things you would never expect. She was assigned a mission by the Ministry and that led to her having to work with Malfoy. They hadn't seen each other since the end of the war and Hermione couldn't be happier. Even though she was a grown woman, deep down she never forgave him for what he did to all of them back in Hogwarts. She knew that to a degree he wasn't to be blamed for his beliefs, but still she couldn't find it in herself to let the old grudge go.
The first time they met was exactly what she expected but different at the same time. He was the Malfoy she remembered; the spoiled, sarcastic git they all loved to hate but something was amiss. He seemed more mature and to his defense he didn't comment on her blood status, her relationship with Ron or her friendship with Harry. He did however make some snarky remarks about her hair and the way she dressed that brought 'happy' memories. She gave back as she much she got though; she wasn't the scared little girl he remembered anymore.
Hermione closed her eyes as memories came rushing back. All the times they spent locked in a lab trying to complete the mission as fast as they could. They really could not stand each other. She couldn't find a solid reason why a woman would like him and he was curious about why Ron stayed with her when she was as cold as an iceberg, his words not hers. This whole mess was her fault if you thought about it; she was the one that kept pushing him. Hermione had no idea why she tried to piss him off so much when in fact she should've been the perfect lady she always was.
"You," She seethed. "You foul loathsome-"
"Evil little cockroach?" He finished her sentence. "Seriously Granger you have to find new insults." He snickered going back to his work.
"Do you always have to be so obnoxious?" She asked him flatly, irritated from his behavior. "We are stuck together for at least another year; you can't just open your mouth and spit out whatever stupid thing you have to say." Hermione took a sip from her coffee and looked at him as he worked at his desk silently.
She was fresh out of Hogwarts when Kingsley offered her a position in the potion's research department of the Ministry and she was more than happy to take it. While potions was not the most favorite class she had in school, she found the prospect of discovering new things and helping other people very exciting.
While Hermione worked on making break through changes, Draco on his end worked on bringing the Malfoy business back to its former glory. With Lucius in Azkaban he was forced to take over the family's money and try to fix the mistakes his father had made time and time again. It took him quite a while but after five years of hard work the company was back on the business map. They hadn't seen each other in more than five years so the news that Hermione would have to work with him on a Ministry affair came to her very suddenly.
"I'm not the one being obnoxious Granger." He huffed. "You are the one that has her head so far up her arse that she can't accept a different opinion." Malfoy's grey eyes pierced through her as she processed his words. Hermione knew she was the in the wrong but her pride would never let her admit it.
"How dare you?" Hermione moved closer to him, her eyes cold. Her hand rose up in the air, ready to strike him but before she could move he caught it. With a rough jerk Malfoy pulled her against his chest and crushed his lips against hers. She stood there frozen for a few seconds before she returned the kiss. Hermione pushed him away as reality caught up to her but Draco pulled her back.
She turned away from him trying to catch her breath as Draco pushed her against the big oak desk. "Oh no," He laughed huskily in her ear. "You are not getting out of this so easy Granger. It's about bloody time someone teaches you discipline." A shiver ran down her spine at his words as his ground his crotch against her behind.
"What- ah…" She gasped. "What are you doing Malfoy?" Hermione questioned breathlessly.
"You." He answered simply as his hands slipped up her blouse stroking the soft skin.
~Maybe not Tonight~
After that exchange Hermione made sure to not overstep their boundaries again. They were walking a fragile line there and she was afraid that it was about to break. Neither of them talked about what happened that night for a couple of weeks. Her body though, was burning for him; suddenly having sex with Ron wasn't enough. He never failed to satisfy her but it was nothing compared to what Malfoy did to her body.
Once in a while her eyes would linger on him, her lips would dry and heat would pool between her legs as the memory of how he felt inside her would come rushing back. After a moment she would scowl to herself and go back to her work. Thoughts of Malfoy and what they did were haunting her dreams every single night. He for his part acted like nothing happened, like he hadn't shagged her against the desk he was working on. That burned Hermione even more, the fact that he acted so cool was eating her up inside.
It was the first time she was staying late since what happened and Hermione couldn't help but quiver a little. She would never admit it but deep down she wished for a repeat of what happened last time. She wished he would throw her against his desk or a wall or even the floor and shag her within an inch of her life. The minutes passed but he made no move and Hermione's hopes died one by one.
"Look Granger," Her eyes snapped up to meet his. "What happened last time was a mistake. I think it would be better to forget about it." She felt her heart drop to her feet as the words left his mouth. Something tore inside her and Hermione wasn't sure if his words hurt her feelings or her ego.
"Of course." She mumbled, disappointment setting inside her. She went back to her work without anything more to say.
Hermione had thrown herself into her research after that, only talking to him when it was needed. She focused on her non-existent relationship with Ron and played the part of the perfect girlfriend. Everyone went on and on about how she and Ron made the perfect couple and how well they fit with each other but Hermione could not find it in her to care even in the least. All she could think about was Malfoy. Later she would discover that he wasn't as unaffected by what happened as he wanted her to believe.
Hermione understood that it was part of her job as a war heroine to be part of these stupid Galas but that didn't mean she liked them. It was four hours of being dragged around, asked stupid questions and having to smile all the bloody time. Not fun at all! Add to all that the fact that Ron was being a little too frisky for her taste this evening and kept whispering dirty things to her. In another place and time she would have enjoyed something like that but given her situation that was not what she needed.
A hand wrapped around her wrist as she was walking towards the ladies loo and before she had time to react soft lips pressed against her. The taste of peppermint toothpaste and firewhiskey was familiar to her and she let herself get lost in his kisses. "What are you doing?" She was left panting as he pulled back in desperate need of air.
"I want you." He growled as his teeth bit down on her neck marking her. "Watching him having his hands all over you is torture Granger. When all I want is to rip that fucking dress off of you and shag you until you can walk no more." A small moan slipped from her lips at his words and she pulled his lips to hers.
"No." She mumbled against his lips. "Draco this is not right. I can't cheat on Ron again." She whimpered as his fingers cupped her breast and gave it a rough squeeze.
"I don't give a flying fuck about Weaselbee, Granger." His other hand wrapped around her thigh and pulled it over his hip grinding his pelvis against her. She knew that she had to do what was right, to push him away and return to her friends.
Maybe not tonight, a small voice whispered inside her.
That was the first time of the many that followed. Little by little things between them changed. Malfoy became Draco, the hate became understanding, their illicit liaisons became well planned rendezvous and love crept between them without either of them suspecting anything. She knew her life took a turn down a road that would lead her to either something brilliant or towards a disaster the day she spent the whole night with him.
"What do you want me to say Granger?" His voice was low, almost a whisper and it took her by surprise. "Do you want me to say how much I regret what I've done? How much I hate myself for the way I treated you and Potter back then? Or that I desperately want to try to redeem myself because I know how wrong I was?" Hermione stared at him speechless. "I'm sorry Hermione but I can't change the past, I can only hope for a better future." It took her a while to process what he said.
"I don't want you to ask for forgiveness Draco." She turned to face him, pulling the sheet tight around her. "I want to know that you learned from your mistakes, that you have changed." He pulled her down to lay beside him again and wrapped his strong arms around her.
"I'm here with you Granger." He murmured softly. "Isn't that proof enough that I have changed?"
She took another sip of her firewhiskey thinking back to his words. To be honest Hermione had no desire to marry Ron, he might be her best friend but that didn't make him perfect for her to take him as husband. The last few months she could tell that something was wrong with him but she never brought it up. She was afraid that if she faced her problems somehow her own betrayal would come to the surface and she couldn't do that to Ron. The door to their apartment closed softly and Hermione turned to face her husband to be.
"We need to talk." Looking in his blue eyes Hermione had a fairly good idea about what Ron wanted to talk.
~Maybe Not Tonight~
She was surprised by how understanding Ron was. Of course that might have a lot to do with the fact that he wasn't an angel either but Hermione wasn't about to complain. As it turned out, what they both thought what they wanted was actually what was expected from them. For years family and friends were pushing them towards each other implying how good they were together. At the bottom of all this, Molly was the one that drilled into Ron's mind that Hermione was perfect for him.
"I love you Mione. I really do, but not as a lover." Hermione nodded along with his words not daring to say anything. "Please tell me you are not mad. I swear I didn't want to hurt you but Merlin-" He sighed deeply. "I never planned to fall in love and I love her Mione. You have no idea how much I love her." She put an arm around him soothingly as he kept mumbling about his girl.
"Ron." She tried to catch his attention. "Ron!" No luck. "Ronald!" He looked startled. "It's all right. I understand."
"You do?" He looked surprised.
"To be honest I'm in love with someone else too." She hesitated a little, waiting for the outburst.
"You are?"
"I don't understand why you sound so surprised." She mumbled annoyed. They looked at each other for a few minutes before bursting in to laughter. Because if you looked it from another angle their love life was indeed like a joke gone wrong. "So I take it our wedding is off?" She asked when they calmed down.
"I believe so." He smiled. "Friends?" He asked her hopefully. Neither of them wanted to lose the other. They might have been lovers at some point but they were friends above all.
"Best friends." She smiled and hugged him tightly, relieved to be freed of something that later would turn out to be the biggest mistake of her life.
"Bloody Hell!" Ron muttered against her shoulder burying his face in her neck.
"What?" She asked terrified that he might have changed his mind.
"Who's going to tell mom about this?" She looked at him stunned for a moment before bursting in to a new round of laugher.
~Maybe Not Tonight~
Hermione hurried up the steps to his flat smiling. As soon as Ron left their house she followed him, excited to tell Draco about the good news. She and Ron agreed to keep their distance for a few weeks and not make any appearances with their new partners and she was fine with it. The last thing she wanted was Rita Skeeter accusing Draco or Ron's girl of breaking the perfect couple apart.
She slid her key through the lock and slipped inside the apartment soundlessly. She kicked her shoes off and let her cloak fall off her body as she made her way down the hallway towards his bedroom. Her dress followed the rest of her clothes as she climbed in his bed wrapping her arms around him.
"Draco." She whispered in his ear huskily. "Draco love, wake up." He mumbled something and pulled the covers tighter around him. Hermione though was firm, she had news for him and she wanted to tell them now. "Draco!" She shouted and pushed him out of the bed. Instead of the six foot five lean masculine body she knew very well what fell to the floor was a short feminine curvy figure.
"Hey!" The woman cried out from the floor.
"Parkinson?"
"Granger?"
"Merlin's balls what is all this noise?" Both women turned to meet a very sleepy Draco Malfoy standing by the doorway. "Hermione what are you doing here?"
"The question is not why I'm here sweetie but why is she here?" Hermione pointed to Pansy still sitting on the floor.
"Hermione love I swear it's not what you think!" He rushed to explain seeing the 'you-are-dead' look in her eyes. "Why don't you dress and let's move this to the living room?" He questioned anxiously looking at her almost naked body. He had been on the receiving end of Hermione's wrath before and he wasn't looking forward to it again. She nodded, grabbing her dress with Pansy following close behind her.
"Granger?!" Pansy whisper-yelled at him as Hermione slipped out of their sight. Draco had been going on and on about a girl but he never said he name. Never in a million years would Pansy have imagined that the girl was Granger. But on the other hand it made perfect sense; Hermione would be the only girl to keep Draco's interest for so long.
"Yep! Granger!" He answered smiling as they stepped inside the small living room.
"Explain." Hermione growled as Draco flopped beside her and Pansy settled herself in the armchair opposite them. Draco launched into the story of how Pansy was nursing a broken heart and how she was here only for moral support and nothing more. They were nothing more than friends, siblings really. Hermione stayed quiet for a few minutes studying both of them closely and Draco was almost sure that she was about to hex them.
"So Granger, why are you here?" Pansy voiced the question that had been torturing him for the past hour or so.
"I broke the engagement off." Something flashed in Pansy's eyes as the words left Hermione's lips but the witch could not be sure.
"What?" Both Slytherins looked stunned by the news.
"Ron and I mutually decided to break the engagement off. We found out that our hearts lie with different people. We could never walk into a marriage knowing that there is a sad life ahead of us." She answered sincerely.
"Are you serious?" Pansy's disbelief was evidenced in her voice.
"Of course I am." Hermione huffed. The next thing she knew Pansy's arms were around her as the witch kept repeating 'thank you' over and over. Realization washed over her as Hermione put the pieces of the puzzle together. Earlier Ron had talked about the girl he loved and how no one would accept their relationship but her mind would never have guessed that he was talking about Pansy. "I think he might be looking for you." Hermione whispered in Pansy's ear and the black haired witch jolted up gathering her things. She threw a 'goodbye' over her shoulder and closed the door behind her as Draco turned to look at her.
"Did I miss something?" Draco pouted making Hermione laugh.
"I think you did love. I'll explain to you later." She said getting up taking his hand. "For now, let's go to sleep. I don't think I can handle another surprise tonight." She giggled pulling him towards the bedroom. They had a lot to talk about tomorrow, but for now they needed rest.
"I love you." He murmured against her lips as he pulled her back in his arms. Butterflies erupted in Hermione's belly and she couldn't help but sigh happily at his words. The words she longed to hear for so long.
"I love you too." She giggled as he picked her up jogging towards his room. Maybe there were meant to be together, maybe not. But she was willing to take the chance and find out and so was he.
~The End~
A/N: I haven't posted anything HP related the last few months and this feels refreshing! I should really come back to this fandom. So tell me what you think!