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Months passed with little to no consequence, much to Hermione's relief and Ron's annoyance. Still, she couldn't help the shiver that ran through her body every time a certain wizard's grey eyes lingered on her or the way her heartbeat sped up when their fingers or arms brushed accidentally. Hermione could help the guilt she was plagued by afterwards even less, scolding and muttering to herself to get back to work.
Hermione wasn't completely surprised to discover Draco was every bit the gentleman that a vast amount of money tends to breed (although a part of her couldn't help but wonder where this Draco had been back when he used to taunt her in school). He was constantly refilling her mug with the green tea that she brewed throughout the day; she avoided coffee as much as she could because she found that it made her edgy and she loathed how jittery it made her. He would often remind her to go to lunch when she got lost in paperwork and would tell her to go home at the end of the workday.
All in all, Hermione could find nothing to complain about the former bane of her existence.
"Hermione, I seriously don't understand why you keep him around," Ron said one Friday morning, rolling his eyes.
"He's very diligent and you know how I appreciate that. Besides, I have zero complaints about his work ethic," she told him a tad defensively.
Ron watched her skeptically, toying with the cuff of his robes.
"If you say so," he shrugged, nettling Hermione slightly.
"Ron, we may love each other but that doesn't mean we have to see everything eye to eye. I suppose it's what drew me to you," she told him, hoping to placate him. "You're so easygoing while I tend to take matters too seriously… you lighten me up."
He looked up at her and Hermione idly recalled how his bright blue eyes used to make her heart go pitter patter at the beginning of their relationship. She wasn't sure if it was due to his insensitive words but grew alarmed upon the realization that she felt nothing looking into them.
Uh-oh… what's going on?
She bit her lip and looked away, swallowing nervously.
"Thank you, Mione," he spoke softly, sincerely.
She chanced a glance at him and saw him smiling crookedly at her. That simple gesture made her heart slam into her chest; whether out of surprise or love, she wasn't sure. But the relief that flooded her was welcomed and so she smiled back at him.
"However, I don't think I'll be able to have dinner with you as planned. The department wants to go out for drinks after work and I'd really like to join them. Not as their boss, but as their colleague. I want to get to know them better and show them I'm not always their insufferable, know-it-all boss… you understand, right?"
He let out a loud sigh and half shrugged.
"That's fine. Just be careful, alright? If you need anything, you know where I am, okay?"
She nodded, appreciative of his concern.
I'm such a hag… how could I possibly doubt my love for him? I've wanted him to notice and love me in return ever since I can remember. I definitely don't deserve him… at times, anyway.
"Is… is the ferret going to be there?" he asked hesitantly.
"Probably not. He's not big on socializing," she told him with a shrug that she hoped illustrated indifference despite the spike of adrenaline she felt.
He brightened visibly and grinned at her.
"How about we have lunch instead?"
"That sounds good, Won-Won," Hermione teased, smiling affectionately at him.
He groaned softly and pooched his lower lip out.
"Please don't call me that, Hermione. I hated that nickname when she gave it to me and I hate it even more now," he sighed, shaking his head wearily.
Hermione snickered, rising from her chair and walked to his side.
"Aww, does Won-Won hate it? But it fits him so well!" she cooed, leaning down to be at eye level with him.
He couldn't help but laugh and wrapped his arms around her, causing her to lose her balance and topple onto his lap. Ron smirked at her, tightening his arms around her slender waist causing Hermione's face to heat up.
"Ron, stop… someone could walk—"
"Well, well… Granger, Weasley. What is this I've walked into?" drawled a familiar voice.
Hermione felt her face pale and she struggled to get up from Ron's lap, but he managed to hold on to her tightly.
"This isn't… this isn't what it looks like. Ron!" she hissed his name.
"Not that it's any of your business, really," Ron told him scathingly.
"Ouch, you sure put me in my place, Weasley," Draco laughed, clutching at his chest as though wounded. "Anyway, just came to drop off these documents that arrived for you, Granger. Not sure why the owl came to me when it's clearly addressed to you. Will you be taking your lunch soon? We need to discuss what we're going to do with Collins about the new elf coalition group."
"Sorry, Malfoy… she promised she'd have lunch with me. Looks like it'll have to wait," Ron told him, sounding anything but sorry.
Malfoy gave him a saccharine smile and shrugged his shoulders.
"Doesn't bother me in the slightest, Weasley. Just reminding her, as she told me to do so," he responded briskly. "Well, you lovebirds have fun," he winked at them before sauntering back to his office, robes billowing around his ankles.
Hermione stared after him, feeling as though her heart dropped into her gut.
"What a git! I really wish you didn't have him around you, Mione… something about him is just off."
"Ronald! What did I tell you? Nothing you say will make me change my mind about keeping him! He is good at his job and that type of person is hard to find nowadays. I don't care how much you pout, sulk or whine, I'm keeping Draco Malfoy and that's the end of that," she told him sternly, ripping herself from his arms. "Now, are we going to lunch or what? I'm starving."
He nodded meekly, standing up as Hermione fished around for her wand and purse.
"Let's go. I'm in the mood for sushi," she told him, leaving no room for argument.
Hermione looked at the watch that was strapped around her thin wrist and held back a sigh.
Just ten more minutes… or maybe I should do it now, to avoid chickening out. Come on, Hermione… you helped defeat Voldemort. Surely you can pluck the courage to ask him to join you. Wait, not just me. The entire department. Yes, all of us.
She swallowed nervously and pushed herself off her chair, practically dragging her high heeled clad feet. She peeked at him from the doorframe, finding it admirable how his back never once touched the back of his chair. She herself hated her posture and blamed the bookbag that she used to cram with books to the brim back in school, inevitably causing her back to stoop slightly. He now appeared to be signing and stamping the document he had been reading, an action that Hermione found very professional.
"Erm… Malfoy?" she called out tentatively.
He jumped in his chair, causing her to smile. He whirled around and narrowed his icy eyes at her, making her heart leap into her throat.
Cool down, Hermione… he's just looking at you.
"Yes, Granger? How may I be of assistance?" he questioned attentively.
"A few of us of the department are going out for drinks to the newly refurbished Leaky Cauldron. Would you like… would you like to come?" she asked him softly, never looking away from his eyes.
A clouded emotion passed through his eyes, causing him to look away for a moment.
"I don't think your boyfriend would appreciate that very much," he spoke, voice equally gentle.
Hermione felt her feet walk over to him as if they had a brain of their own.
"He doesn't have to know."
He glanced up at her, eyes lighting with mischief and mouth pulled into a sexy smirk. Hermione's mouth dropped open slightly, feeling her face burn before they both looked away.
"I'm sure it would only serve to cause a rift between the two of you should he find out about my attendance. He would – unquestioningly – hate me even more, though truthfully I'm past caring at this point. He may think whatever he pleases of me and nothing I say or do will change that. I don't, however, want him to mistrust you because of me," he told her quietly, unable to look at her.
Hermione felt her heart pound faster and dared to give herself the slightest of hope that he wasn't as indifferent as he looked... and immediately squashed that inappropriate feeling.
"He holds a giant grudge against you, it's true. But he needs to learn to trust me and my choices because that's how adult relationships work. So, are you in or not?"
He tilted his head slightly, causing a pale tendril of hair to brush against his forehead as he contemplated her question. Hermione's fingers began to itch strangely, wanting to brush it back.
What is the matter with you? This is Malfoy and there's no way he'd ever let you touch him. Although… is his hair as soft as it looks? Damn, stop it, Hermione.
"Come on, I'll buy you a drink. Or two. We can celebrate over what good team we've become in the last few months," she smiled, hoping to cajole him.
"Twist my wand arm, why don't you," he joked wryly, standing up to gather his things.
With a quick glance at her watch, Hermione was startled to find that the ten minutes were halfway gone.
How time flies when I'm with him! Even the workday itself seems to breeze on by…
After slipping her blazer on and hiking her purse over her shoulder, Hermione waited silently for him just outside his door.
"Shall we… shall we Apparate together?" she asked, feeling butterflies flutter in her stomach.
"Do you really think I would leave you hanging, boss?" he drawled, tucking his wand inside his robes.
She smirked and raised her brow.
"Not at all, Malfoy. Just don't want you to get lost. And we all know how bloody stubborn you men can be about asking for directions," she told him cheekily, to which he chuckled.
"How do we go about this without making things awkward?" he asked, raising his pale brows.
She held her right arm aloft, one he stared at for a moment before gingerly taking a hold of it. Even so, Hermione could feel the damnable butterflies travel up her torso, chest and finally down her arm at his touch.
"Hold on tight, lest you want to get splinched," she warned.
But before Draco could form a retort, she turned on the spot, Disapparating out of his office and Apparating into the night.
Once they landed smoothly, Draco let go of her arm but she found that she already missed the way his hand melded around her forearm. She sighed inwardly, feeling slightly ashamed of herself and walked into The Leaky Cauldron.
"It's certainly been a long while since I was last here," Draco murmured, looking up at the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling.
"Not bad, huh? And it's close to work. It makes it the best après-work watering hole," she said as she took a seat at the bar.
"I am certainly impressed," he nodded, looking out for the bartender.
"No, no bartender here. You just order want you want and it appears. Neat, huh?" she grinned, taking her blazer off and setting it on the back of her chair.
Was it my imagination, or did his gaze traverse my neck and shoulders?
"Yes, neat. How'd you know about that?"
"I read it in the Prophet."
"Oh."
"What's wrong?" she asked him curiously, noticing his drawn expression.
"I… stopped reading the Prophet long ago. Probably around the time… fath— Lucius's first stint in Azkaban," he whispered, looking suddenly exhausted. "And with even more reason after the war and my trial."
Hermione's lips parted as if she had something to say but remained silent, not wanting to offer him platitudes.
How does one even convey their sympathy without coming off as pitying? Better change the topic, then. Come on, Hermione… anything!
"Well, you look good. So order up, handsome," she told him, rapping her knuckles against the bar. "Firewhisky sour for me."
She saw his cheeks color from the corner of her eye, his attractive face set in a bewildered expression.
"Firewhisky on the rocks for me, please," he said uncertainly, watching raptly how Hermione's drink appeared before her.
She gripped the glass tightly, enjoying the cooling sensation it sent through her overly heated body. Draco's appeared with a pop before him and he hesitated in taking it, muttering thanks to nobody in particular before turning to look at Hermione.
"Cheers," she told him, holding her glass out.
"Cheers," he mumbled, clinking his glass against hers before taking a deep drink.
She watched him, feeling the warmth of the whisky spread through her veins.
Draco downed his drink and quickly ordered another as soon as their co-workers walked in through the door, Hermione noticed.
"You have nothing to be nervous about. I'm here," she told him reassuringly, patting his arm lightly.
His eyes lingered on her hand (making Hermione blush and remove it hastily) before slowly looking into her eyes.
"I'm not nervous. I'm only thirsty," he sneered. "It sure hits the spot, don't you agree?"
"Sure does," she mumbled, looking away before she'd get caught staring.
Thanks for reading! Have a great weekend, everybody. :)