Friday
She couldn't believe she had nearly kissed him. She explicitly told herself to distance herself from him and that's what she did... at first. Then he was so close to her and touching her and she couldn't help herself.
Her team had just left the Manor for the last time and she was standing in the entrance hall alone with the paperwork in her hands. She had a decision. Either stick around and wait for him to come back which to be honest wasn't the most appealing thought or to leave the paperwork for him to sign and return to her later.
Option one meant she would have to stay here on her own. Alone. And she would have to see him again. It was only by pure luck that their kiss was interrupted. She couldn't let that happen again. Option two meant leaving now... She quickly scribbled on the corner of the parchment that he could just owl the paperwork back to her. He didn't need to drop it off personally. Yes that was it. Then she wouldn't have to see him. She wouldn't have to be near him. Because every time she was she wasn't herself. She felt like a teenager hopelessly pining after a school crush.
She left the parchment neatly squared on top of the Fireplace before she turned and looked around the hall one last time. The silence began to creep up on her and the hairs on her arm began to prickle. Before she knew it she was standing back in the Ministry Atrium, urging her legs to take her to her office as quick as possible. Just in case she saw him. Just in case he saw her.
.x.
Two hours later Draco Floo'd back to the Manor, practically sprinting down the long entrance hall towards the grounds. The meeting hadn't finished until gone 11 then Kingsley dragged him into another meeting for a further hour. He couldn't say no but he wished he had.
He knew he would be too late. He knew they would have finished ages ago but hoped luck would be on his side so he could see her again, talk to her again. Luck was a bitch today. As he flung the large wooden doors open he stopped abruptly. The grounds were empty. No more tent, no more Granger.
"They left some time ago." A voice from behind him called out. He turned to look behind him, a little out of breath from the sprint to the door. His Mother stepped next to him looking out over the grounds.
"That's good." He breathed out.
"We can get back to normal." She said.
"Yes." He nodded.
Narcissa held up some parchment. "She left these on the Fireplace." She said as she handed it over to Draco.
"Oh?" He looked down at the parchment in his hands. Final sign off, three pages to sign to complete the weeks work. The end.
"She left instructions for you to owl them back." He checked the top parchment. There in the corner was her writing, barely legible.
'You can owl them back when you're ready.'
Owl them back. She knew he visited the Ministry often enough he could have just dropped them in. "Oh."
"You could take them directly to her. We didn't get a chance to thank her." Narcissa said.
Did she even want him to drop them off? Here she was asking him to owl them back explicitly. Did she not want to see him? Had he really got this so wrong?
"She asked me to owl them though..." He questioned to no one in particular. More voicing his concerns out loud.
"Women say one thing and mean another." Narcissa said turning to look at Draco. He turned to look at her too, confusion all over his face until it clicked. She knew.
"You're not talking about the paperwork..."
"No Draco." He ran a hand through his hair and looked down at the parchment in his hands once more. She spoke again. "Trust me when I say she wants them hand delivered."
"How do you know?" he asked.
"I don't know... I can just sense it."
"And you're okay with that... with me giving these to Granger, in person."
"Yes."
He looked at her for a few moments before smiling widely. She was okay with it. She was okay with him liking her. She was okay with him taking the next step.He reached over, planted a kiss on her cheek and sprinted off back towards the Fireplace to deliver the parchment personally. Either way he would know in the next few minutes whether this was a good or bad decision.
.x.
He was once again standing outside of her office door, staring at the faint silver italics embedded into the dark frame.
Hermione Granger
How different he had felt at the start of the week. Dreading going inside. He still felt dread, but just a different kind. Dread of rejection... He took a deep breath and raised his fist to knock on the door.
"Draco M'boy!" Barney had just stepped out if his office at the end of the corridor. Draco lowered his hand and turned to face Barney. "I hope everything went well this week. Horklump is a nasty thing if not taken care of properly."
"It did... I'm just returning the paperwork now actually." He held up the parchment in one hand and reached out to shake his hand with the other.
"Excellent. No problems I hope!" Barney smirked taking Draco's hand in his own and giving it a firm shake.
"No, none at all." He gave a small smile.
"Great to hear it. I hope Miss Granger did a satisfactory job?"
"More than satisfactory... She was great." She was just behind the door to his right. "I best drop these into her now. Please excuse me." He couldnt wait any longer. he needed to talk to her.
"Of course, we will catch up properly soon." He patted Draco on the shoulder as he walked past and carried on along the corridor until he turned into the reception area.
Draco took another large breath, composing himself before he knocked three times.
Knock Knock Knock
No answer. He knocked again twice.
Knock Knock
"Granger?" he called through the door. Still nothing. He took a punt and grabbed the door handle. He turned it slowly hearing the click as the catch lifted and the door creaked open. Her office was exactly the same as the last time he had been in here apart from the enchanted window. Today, different shades of green highlighted rolling hillsides with flecks of purple heather scattered all around. It was wild and beautiful.
She was no where to be seen and he didn't know how long it would be before she returned. How long should he wait? His heart sunk as he looked at the clock on her desk. It was past 12. She would probably be out at lunch and he had another meeting to prepare for before 2. He had to leave.
He would sign and leave the forms on her desk and come back Monday morning to see her. Her borrowed a quill from her desk, dipped it in the open ink pot and scribbled underneath her earlier note.
Just as he was about to leave he noticed a black invitation for Saturday night on her desk. Scripted silver writing invited Miss Ginerva Weasley and friends to the opening of Quest in Dragon Alley. He smiled to himself while reading the handwritten note pinned to it.
Get your dancing shoes on 'Mione! Pick you up at 7! Gin xxx
Perfect... He thought as a million things ran through his head at once. Maybe this was how it was supposed to happen. They would be in the same place tomorrow night... after their week together maybe this was how it was supposed to pan out. Not here in her office. He smiled to himself then turned and left her office, wondering how he was supposed to wait until tomorrow.
.x.
She could see him between the books, bent over signing the paperwork on her desk. His biceps were flexing under his shirt as he held the quill delicately in his right hand. The whole time she was watching him the butterflies in her stomach were flying wildly around. It was ridiculous that she was feeling this way after a few days. Nothing had even happened but she felt like she was back at Hogwarts, a little girl too afraid of what people would think of her crush.
After he left she stayed behind her bookcase for a few minutes, catching her breath. No one knew this place was here. She had charmed it to look like another bookcase but only she knew of the hiding place. She had one in every office she had worked in, in every house she had even lived in, just in case. She had panicked when she heard him talking to Barney so she hid.
She finally shuffled out from behind the bookcase and went over to her desk finding the paperwork sat onto of her new work. His beautifully scripted writing sat below hers.
Sorry I missed you. Catch you Monday.
Catch you Monday? It meant he was coming back to see her. Maybe she shouldn't have been so stupid and just stayed where she was, gotten the conversation out of the way so she could move on. Now she was going to worry all weekend about Monday morning. Was he coming to tell her that their near kiss was a mistake? That she was foolish to think that he could ever like her?
She did seriously consider taking time off work, then realised that was a ridiculous idea and that she would just be hiding from her problems. She would re-focus this weekend and come back Monday a stronger person. Someone who didn't nearly kiss Draco Malfoy and was the epitome of a respectable Ministry employee. Someone who didn't lust after tall, handsome blonde men, with deep grey eyes and an enchanting smell…
No. She would distract herself with finding another man tomorrow night when she went out with Ginny. Someone who was just as attractive and interesting as him and then Monday she would not feel this way. Yes, this was a great idea.