Chapter IV
Ministry of Magic (Friday 29/10/2000)
Draco's father had always considered emotion for the masses.
"A man of the venerable House of Malfoy does not display something as base as emotion, my son and it would do you well to remember that." Draco had no trouble at all recalling that particular conversation with his father.
At the age of six, like most young boys he idolized his father.
Handsome Lucius Malfoy, Lucius the Beautiful, Lucius the Bold with his unflinching mercury gaze and pin straight blond hair. Lucius who towered over young Draco like a Viking from one of the little boy's story books, handsome Lucius who's face remined unflinching when he removed his dragon leather belt and whipped his whimpering son into submission, bold Lucius who locked thirteen year old Draco inside the venerable house of Malfoy's dungeons in the dark to 'build his character', beautiful…blond Lucius who allowed the reptilian monstrosity into Draco's home of horrors. The price of upholding the values of the venerable house of Malfoy… purity…tradition…blood and was now Draco's blood.
Raw and red splattered around him like red clouds on a particularly vengeful sunset. His pure blood was the only thing his damn father gave a fuck about. He was uncommonly gleeful to see it spill like a gushing waterfall…
Draco jerked awake; he could feel the hammering of his pulse like the loud sound of waves crashing against rocks and feel sweat drip down his back; heavy and wet. His head felt like lead and his soul felt like it was trapped under Sisyphus's rock.
He had fallen asleep on an uncomfortable cot provided by the Ministry in rooms adjacent to the Auror training arena. He rarely overindulged in alcohol, but old friends had been in town and far be it from Draco Malfoy to deny a good bevy out into their fair city of London.
"Fuck me, that's rank." He muttered pulling his shirt off his sweat slicked back.
Like most Aurors on active duty Draco preferred to sleep in Ministry provided accommodation no matter how janky due to the tendency of being called out at any odd hour.
Not that he had a home after leaving Hogwarts, he had refused to return to the Manor after finishing his final year of schooling and could honesty care less if the hell house burned down to smithereens. Much of Draco prowess on the battlefield was due to the fact that he just didn't give a damn anymore.
Why would one be afraid to die when they had nothing to return to?
His father lay rotting in prison and his mother was half mad in some distant northern Abbey run by a matrilineal clan of Wiccans. He loved his mother, but he was man enough to admit that staying in Malfoy Manor wasn't the best decision for her.
Her memories of her own destroyed home and her treatment at Voldemort and his Death-Eaters hands was something his rather frail mother could not handle, and she had chosen instead to retreat into her own memories. Memories of a time when she had been happy with her two sisters at her parent's home.
Memories that did not include Draco or Lucius. She had rare moments of lucidity during which she was the same witty, beautiful Narcissa Malfoy; with her biting charm and guileless humour but those moments were few and far in between. These days she didn't even remember she had a son.
So, Draco had simply chosen not to return to Malfoy Manor. He knew that one day the fighting would stop and one day he would finally have to deal with the life in England; a life that lay in shambles but lucky for him today was not that day.
He loosened his breeches and untied his boots before walking into the tiny bathroom to shower off the stink of his night of debauchery. It was barely five in the morning, he had slept for maybe 3 hours… a fitful sleep interrupted by nightmares much like the one that had woken him. But then again Draco hadn't had a decent nights sleep in over five years.
The hot water washed over him and taking a deep breath Draco tried to cleanse his mind of the blood splattered images left behind by his own psyche.
...
Today was the day Hermione Granger set of for Shanghai, she was nervous. She had spent the entire night packing and unpacking her bags trying to find a suitable mix of professional and approachable. She had a week to secure a yes from the Chancellor of the Chinese Ministry of Trade Chin-Tong. Much like the meaning of his name Chin was indeed golden.
Hermione had thoroughly researched the Chancellor which had been rather difficult due to the lack of information pertaining the Chinese Ministry found in the public domain but what she had found was impressive.
Chin-Tong, 27 years of age, a man behind the Chinese Ministry's economic boom was shrewd and incredibly conservative. In his five-year tenure as Chancellor of Trade and Finance he had increased the Wizarding community's overall prosperity by over 20%, currently China was the world's largest exporter of magically refined gold which was used in everything from medicinal potions to cosmetics.
He was also a known philanderer and misogynist; she had heard horror stories about his behaviour during International Wizarding Summits and could only hope that her status as a war heroin afforded her a measure of respect. She did not want to have to hand him his balls in his hands and walk away with nothing. Her instructions by the senior minster had been the same as what she had instructed Draco; above all else…diplomacy.
….
Draco Malfoy was not jealous… jealousy was not an emotion a Malfoy was familiar with. Yet he swore under his breath as he saw her running towards the Apparation point they were meant to meet at in pencil thin heels, her gleaming olive legs on display under a short burgundy dress that made her wide whiskey eyes seem like deep pools of darkness.
His men were staring he thought with bemusement, why did that make him want to rip their eyes out?
"Malfoy! I do apologize for being late!" Hermione stopped in front of Draco Malfoy who had indeed cleaned up for their visit to China, "Last minute emergency in the office." She explained licking her lips nervously, he looked good… too good she thought bitterly.
His long hair was pulled back and tied in a careless que and his scruffy training clothes had been replaced by pair of brand new breeches and jet black robes that did nothing to hide the muscular width of his shoulders. She would vehemently deny if anyone ever asked but she absloutly adored his careless, raw beauty. There was really no other way to describe Draco Malfoy, despite the sunburn and the rather sarcastic twist of his lips she couldn't help but notice his strong jaw and fine sliver eyes, his dark brows and plush lips; the cupids bow bisected by a scar.
He hadn't bothered to shave his day old stubble but rather than detracting from his appeal it only enhanced it.
He was studying her with one eyebrow raised in a mocking manner. "It would be difficult for the Ministry to function even a single day without you, wouldn't it Granger?" he intoned sarcastically.
Fuck, Draco hadn't meant for it to come out that sharp. He watched as her eyes brimmed with hurt and then rapidly replace the hurt with anger. He was trying to sleep with her, not make her detest him more than she did already but he could barely resist when she apologized so sweetly.
"I'd suggest keeping a check on snide comments like that when we're in China, Malfoy." She said curtly, turning her back to him to dismiss him in a very prim and ladylike manner.
He grinned, he wanted to kiss her until that prim, ladylike façade melted completely. Even her wild curls were tamed today, pulled back into a very neat bun. Draco definatly had a thing for Ms. Granger's hair, he wanted to tangle his fingers within it to see if it really was the many shades of honey and amber he caught glimpses of here and there, if indeed she was hiding a hidden stand of auburn. So lush and full that it made a man want to grab on when he plundered her soft mouth.
"You are the boss, sweet thing." He said.
"As long as you remember that Malfoy, I'm sure we'll get on just fine this trip." She replied caustically before holding out a hand for the Portkey.
"Ah ah…" he said mockingly, "Before we depart… allow me to introduce my men to you."
Hermione inclined her head gracefully, telling him to continue silently.
"Meet Fitzgerald, McIntyre, Ryes and of course you know Zabini. The other three will follow along tonight. Each of these men are here for your protection Hermione and they will protect you with their lives… so try not to get yourself into a dangerous situation because I'm quite attached to each one of them." Malfoy said jokingly.
The men laughed lightly, bantering back and forth like they were old friends. Hermione was quite curious about Draco's obvious respect and his friendship with the men barring Blaise who she knew had been his friend right from Hogwarts. But it wasn't the right time to ask, she simply smiled at all four before reaching out to shake their hands firmly.
"It's a pleasure meeting you gentlemen, I hope to get acquainted or in some cases reacquainted." Throwing a smile towards the swarthy Italian, "well."
The young Irish lad with carrot coloured hair blushed a furious shade of red before stammering out, "Ms. Granger… if I may?" he stumbled over his words to get them out in a hurry, "Me niece is a mighty big fan of yers, do you think you could send a picture back with me. She'll be well pleased."
"Of course!" grinned a delighted Hermione, "And what is your name young man?"
"Patrick Ms. Granger." He said, his face going even redder if that was possible.
Draco knew logically Fitz wasn't trying to flirt with Granger, but logic rarely helped him when it came to Hermione Granger and it certainly didn't stop him from wanting to shove his fist into the young 18 year old Fitz's face.
"How utterly unbecoming" Lucius's cold voice rang through his head as it often did when he least wanted it to.
"Shall we?" he asked silkily, handing Hermione the old broach that was meant to be their mode of transportation. Everyone paired off and took a hold of their Portkey's and Draco's hand covered Hermione's much smaller one; engulfing her in warmth. "Just a few more minutes." He whispered into her ear, grinning as she jerked away. Her cheeks flushed a soft pink.
"My apologies for being curt with you earlier on, Hermione." He said, his voice low as to not carry over to the men stood around them.
Hermione flushed, "You've really become quite adept at apologies, haven't you Malfoy?"
"What can I say love?" he grinned toothily, "When one issues as many as I have, the ego aspect soon becomes pointless to hold onto."
"That's a very mature way of looking at it."
"Oh, I'm mature in so many ways Hermione… you have no idea…"
"And there you go ruining it all over again."
…
A/N- Hello hello, apologies for the lack of updates. I was super busy moving to a new house, so I could not write as much unfortunately.
As you may have noticed this was kind of a filler chapter, my apologies for the lack of smut but I think some background on my Draco was much needed in this story! The smut will be back in full force next chapter (read on beyond the A/N for a sneak peek!)
As per usual, I would love it if you reviewed! I love reading feedback, really makes my day.
As you may know just before I disappeared of the fanfiction sphere I had a ton of stories I was working on, obviously those stories are now three years old and my writing style has matured quite a bit since then (old readers will know) however I do think a lot of those ideas were quite good and would like to pick some of them back up. Please feel free to send me a message/leave in the review section is there is anyone of my 'abandoned' stories that you would like me to take back up! (Pick some historicals I miss writing those)
Inspiration for Hermione in this particular story comes from Sarah McLean, who is by far one of my fav authors!
…..
Chapter V (Sneak-peek)
"What the fuck is wrong with you Granger!?" Draco fairly exploded, "You aren't meant to galivant around by yourself."
"Draco Malfoy let me make one thing clear I have never in my life taken instruction from a man and you listen well… I'm not going to start taking any now." Hermione shouted back, her curls crackling with furious energy. "Do you understand what is at stake here?"
"I don't care about what is at stake if you're not safe." He said reaching for her.
"No… don't…" she tried batting his hands away weakly, "This isn't the way arguments work, Malfoy!"
"What can I say Granger, you telling me off like an errant school boy has an incredibly arousing effect on me." He said, raising his eyebrows mockingly lecherous; his anger dissipating for a moment, "But don't forget Hermione, I am here to protect you and you have to let me do my job."
Before she could open her mouth to protest it was covered by a warm masculine one, his lips firm yet gentle as he allowed her enough freedom to break the connection any time she wanted. But Hermione's scary practicality was often a traitor when it came to Malfoy, deserting her to her base instincts that made her want to pull him close and have her way with him.
So she did exactly that…
