A/N: Thank you everyone for your support and love! I'm sorry that it's taken me a while to update – things have been ridiculously hectic lately. I promise I'll try to update more often! Please read and review!

Chapter 13

Previously:

"Seriously, though." Blaise started, sending Draco a cheeky grin. "What's Granger like in the sack?"

Draco scowled at his friend. "I'm not going to disrespect her like that. What Hermione and I share is personal so give it up."

Blaise let out a long, slow wolf-whistle. "Damn. It must be love."

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Thursday, May 13th 2004

Zabini Manor

Draco spluttered unceremoniously. "W-what?"

"Are you trying to say that you don't love her?"

Well, he most certainly didn't. He felt nothing – absolutely nothing – for the witch…right? Well that was a blatant lie if he ever saw one.

He hadn't been able to stop thinking about the woman since whatever was going on between them had begun just over four weeks ago. Hermione had managed to pervade every aspect of his life – his feelings, all of his thoughts and every single waking moment – and he couldn't get enough of the intoxicating witch.

Goldbloom's threats tolled through his head.

"Wh-no! I didn't say that!"

"So you do love her?" He could have sworn that Theo's face was about to split from the gleeful grin splayed across it.

"Of course I do! Fold." He hissed, throwing his pitiful hand of cards on the table. "I'd be a fool to not to."

Blaise's eyebrows shot up as he leant forward to gather the chips on the table. "How would that make you a fool? You're allowed to feel whatever you want."

"Yeah, yeah Shakespeare. I'd be an id-"

"Who?"

"What?"

"Who the hell is Shakes-pair?"

"Muggle poet and playwright but that's beside the point."

"Exactly. The point, Blaise, is that Draco here was about to tell us why he'd be a fool to not love Granger…remember?"

"Ah yes! Thank you for reminding me so, Theodore."

Draco growled as the two imbeciles (in his words) turned to look at him with expectant eyes.

"Well?"

He let out a deep sigh. "I'd be an idiot not to love Granger because, well, she's bloody perfect." Theo cocked his head in surprise. "Oh come on; if you ignore the whole self-righteous, save-the-world thing, she's absolutely…flawless."

"Go on."

He let his mind wander to the prior Sunday evening in his apartment living room. And for once, he let go of every inhibition, letting himself admit out every thought he had about the captivating witch.

"She's brilliant. So intelligent. So caring and so damn giving. She…she is so amazingly beautiful and gods, trust me, it takes everything I have to not jump her right there in the office every day." He chuckled a little. "There have been times when I haven't even been able to stop myself. And passionate…she is so passionate and just...I just…she's incredible."

He trailed off, his eyes focussing on his two friends who were staring slack-jawed at him.

"Whoa."

"Mate."

They both murmured almost simultaneously. Draco scowled at them, growing more and more uncomfortable under their scrutinising eyes.

"Can we just bloody play?"

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Friday, May 14th 2004

Potter Household

"Mione." Ginny cajoled, placing a mug of tea in front of her. "You think I can't read you by now?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Hermione winced as she tried to nonchalantly take a sip of the hot liquid, burning her tongue in the process.

"Idiot." Ginny snorted.

"Shut up, red."

She giggled in response before looking at Hermione with a watchful gaze. "Seriously though, Mione. What's wrong? You've been out of sorts all week!" Her gaze darkened. "Is it Malfoy?"

Hermione let out a deep sigh, nodding in response. Harry chose that moment to walk into the room.

"What the hell has Malfoy done?" He looked ready to kill someone.

"Yeah!" Ginny chimed in. "What did that smarmy bastard do?! I thought everything was perfect on Saturday!"

"He didn't do anything."

Ginny quirked an eyebrow at her.

"No quite literally. He has not done anything. He's barely spoken to me since Sunday night."

"What happened on Sunday night?!" Hermione winced at the shrillness of her friend's voice.

"Dinner at Malfoy Manor happened."

"WHAT?!" They screeched simultaneously. She couldn't help but giggle at their horrified expressions.

"Yup. With his parents."

"Oh my GOSH!" Hermione was honestly surprised that the windows didn't shatter at Ginny's tone. She dropped her voice to a whisper as if she may be overheard. "Were they horrible?"

"Actually, no." Harry scoffed at this. "Seriously! They were absolutely lovely! Lucius spent a good twenty minutes humiliating Draco with stories from his childhood."

"Wow." He whispered. "Well, you'll have to share them in a second. But if they were fine, what went wrong?"

She had their full attention. "They wanted to know about our plans for marriage."

"Oh?"

"Yep."

"Wait – that's it?" Ginny asked. "As if you wouldn't want to marry him! Draco Malfoy is damn sexy!"

"Aaand that's my cue to leave. I've got a meeting anyway." Harry gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek before farewelling his wife and Disapparating from the room.

"But seriously, Mione, have you not thought about marrying the man?"

Hermione let out a slow sigh. She had no idea what to say. She certainly hadn't before their dinner with the Malfoys but with the strange way Draco had been acting and Mitchell's comment the other day, she had given it a fair amount of thought.

There was something about him that called to her, something that simply drew her in. No matter how hard she had tried, she didn't want to resist his enthralling pull.

"I don't know about marriage…" Ginny's face dropped. "But there's something about him that I just can't get enough of. I'm so afraid of how vulnerable he makes me, and yet some part of me just loves it."

The redhead's face blossomed into a wide smile. "Oh! I'm so happy for you!"

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Monday, May 17th 2004

Apartment of Draco Malfoy

He was pacing. Again.

He couldn't stop pacing. He was due at the office in just under a quarter hour and Draco was so damn nervous.

Yes – that's right. Draco Lucius Malfoy was freaking out.

How was he supposed to just walk in there and face Hermione after everything that happened over the past week?

His parents had thrown him into somewhat of a turmoil with their comments at dinner on Sunday night. In their defence, it was somewhat expected within the noble Wizarding community that one would be seriously considering marriage after an entire year of dating. It was even more so the case within Pureblood society so he really couldn't blame them for their enquiries.

Draco just couldn't believe that he hadn't even considered that they would bring marriage up. And he didn't understand why it made his stomach somersault so viciously!

If he were being completely honest with himself, it wasn't such a…horrific notion.

There was something mesmerising about Hermione Granger. And something so appealing about the way she held herself. She was so unassumingly beautiful in her very being in somewhat of an unconventional way. She was by no means perfect in her appearance, but it was her adorable quirks that made her even more striking. She was a proud woman, a trait that he easily understood and appreciated. She was so genuine in her determination to help everyone and everything – it was so different to the women he usually associated with.

And that woman was so damn sensual in such a demure manner. The way she nibbled on her lower lip when she was nervous. The way loose bits of hair would cling to her neck on a warm day. The way she would wet her damned lips with a flick of her tongue. The way a simple touch on the arm drove him absolutely insane.

'I'm screwed.' Draco thought, dropping his head forward against the doorway.

He growled, angry at himself. 'No. Pull yourself together, Malfoy. You're a just a hot-blooded man.' He tried reassuring himself.

Yes. That was it.

Nothing more than that.

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Monday, May 17th 2004

Office of Phineas Goldbloom

Phineas was not a happy camper.

How the hell were those two rat-bastard employees of his doing it?! They had managed to cope with everything he had thought to throw their way and twist it into some perfect façade.

They had been slipping up in the past few days, more so on Malfoy's part than Granger's, but that blasted Patil woman had refused to act to his "drunken" admissions to her. Yes, he was not so proud to admit that he had been her 'reputable source' in her initial article citing discord in their curious relationship. That bloody bint had downright laughed at him when he had tried to give her more information!

Phineas was less than a happy camper. He was bloody furious. He's have to find a new way to undermine his underling's – ahem – employee's act.

It wasn't as if he hated the pair. He just…didn't like them. And he certainly did not appreciate the fact that they were going to make a fool out of him. He was so sure his plan would work.

'No. It will work.' He thought to himself.

He would make sure of it.

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Thursday, May 20th 2004

Office of Hermione Granger

She rubbed mindlessly at her temples, trying to ignore the slow throbbing in her head. Hermione had barely slept in the past few days and her mind was just about ready to combust.

If she hadn't been certain that Phineas was a tight-arsed piece of crap, she damn sure was now. He had lost any remnants of his bloody pitiful mind.

The man had quite literally swamped Malfoy and her with mounds of paperwork, claiming that they were to do an 'audit' of the department's decisions and finances over the past five years. FIVE BLOODY YEARS!

And apparently the pair of them were the only ones remotely capable of doing it.

Hermione wasn't an idiot – she was well aware of why he was doing it. She had seen his frustrated glares and nervous fidgeting. Parvati's endless articles about her relationship with Draco was putting him on edge.

She was close to telling him that he might as well forget about it. Draco was still adamantly ignoring her, as if she had the damned plague or something.

That being said, there was no way in hell she was going to actually do it. There was no need to give Phineas anything to get excited about. He wasn't going to win this stupid little game of his if she had anything to say about it.

"Mione."

"What?" She snarled, not bothering to look up from her desk.

"Whoa! What crawled up your arse and died?"

Hermione glanced up and sighed at the face in front of her. "Sorry Gin. I'm a little stressed." She waved a hand around her office, Ginny's eyes widening as she took it all in.

Cardboard boxes overflowing with mounds of documents were stacked along her office walls, only the slightest sliver of wallpaper visible in between them. They were piled dangerously on top of each other, a few boxes teetering on the verge of toppling over. There were more stacks balanced precariously on her chairs; some had already fallen and littered patches of the floor. For a bunch of magical people, they had a ridiculous amount of hoarded paperwork, she thought dismally.

She had seen the state of Draco's office – it wasn't much better off than hers. If anything, he was a little worse. Phineas always had had an unexplained disdain for the ex-Slytherin.

"What happened in here?!" Ginny asked, carefully stepping into the office. "And where on earth am I supposed to sit?!"

With a wave of her wand, Hermione cleared one of the armchairs and stacked the folders beside her desk. Muttering her thanks, Ginny collapsed into the chair.

"My legs are killing me. I swear they're like bloody balloons." She huffed.

Hermione snorted with amusement, placing her quill in its stand. "The joys of being pregnant, hey?"

"Yeah." She nodded miserably. "I'm bloody starving too."

"You always are."

"Shove it, Granger." Ginny laughed. "Let's get lunch."

She raised an eyebrow, waving her hand around the room. "I don't have time for lunch."

"Seriously, Mione, what the hell happened?"

With a sigh, Hermione dropped her head onto her hand. "Phineas happened. You know he's not a fan of either Draco or I. Apparently us together is even worse."

"That's bull! Screw him. Just come for lunch. You look like you haven't eaten in days." She patted her stomach. "I feel like I haven't eaten in days."

Hermione chuckled for a fleeting moment. "That's because I've barely had time." She let out a tired sigh. "I can't, Gin. Phineas is just waiting for an opportunity to kick me out. Draco and I only have until the end of the month to finish all of this."

"Bastard." Ginny snarled angrily, jumping up from her seat. "We'll see about that. I'm going to talk to Harry."

She spun on her heel and stormed out of the office.

"Gin!" Hermione called out after her. "Please don't do anything stupid!"

All she received in response was a dismissive wave of her hand.

"Ginny!"

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Saturday, May 22nd 2004

Office of Draco Malfoy

His back groaned as Draco sat upright in his seat. He had been hunched over this damn desk for days on end, barely getting a chance to take a break. With a flick of his wand, the time was projected in front of him.

Dinnertime had well and truly come.

He had noticed that the light under Hermione's door was still on when he had taken his last bathroom break. And he was quite sure she knew he was here.

It was by no mean her fault that they had barely spoken a word to each other the whole day. They were both drowning in mounds of paperwork and it was he who had started this ridiculous stand-off they were in.

Bloody hell, he was a moron.

He threw down his quill, ignoring the deep black mark that splashed across the paper in front of him. Fuck Goldbloom and his idiotic vendetta.

He stalked across the room and out of his office. He wasn't really sure what he was doing but he didn't particularly care. Light was still peeking underneath her door. Without bothering to knock or utter a word, he threw the door open.

Hermione jumped in surprise, clapping a hand over her chest. "Draco!"

"Hey."

His eyes roved over her. Given that it was the weekend, she was dressed casually in a simple white button-down tucked into a teal blue flared skirt. Even though she had unbuttoned her shirt given the heat within her office, it was see-through in patches where it was damp with perspiration and clung to her body. Her skirt had ridden up her thighs as the day progressed.

He was most certainly enjoying the view.

She raised an eyebrow at him as he stood mutely in the doorway. "Can I help you?"

"Let's get dinner."

A chuckle erupted from her lips. "You've got to be kidding me right?"

He scowled. "No. Let's go get something to eat."

Shaking her head, she had the nerve to scoff at him. "You think I'm going to grab dinner with you after you've barely looked at me for two weeks? You've lost your damn mind." With that said, she glanced back down and continued her work.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Draco suppressed his pride. "Look. I'm sorry, alright?"

Hermione grunted in response, not looking up from her desk. He scowled at her – Malfoys didn't take well to being ignored.

"I said I'm sorry. What more do you want from me?"

She let out a heavy, not bothering to glance up. Draco suppressed the growl that was threatening to erupt from his throat. He stalked up to her desk, plucking the quill from her grasp. "Hey!"

"Granger. I'm fucking sorry, alright? I've been acting like a dick. Okay?"

She stood up to face him, her hands placed firmly on the desk in front of her. As hard as he tried, he wasn't able to stop himself from glancing down her shirt, revelling in the tantalising view presented to him.

"No it's not okay, Malfoy." She hissed, giving him a rather steely stare. Sweet Merlin, he loved this feisty side of her – it set something deep inside of him in motion. "You have two minutes to explain yourself."

"I've just had a lot on my mind. Now do you want dinner or not?"

Hermione stepped out from behind her desk, coming to a stop right in front of him, her mouth pursed angrily. "Bullshit. I'm not going anywhere with you until you bloody well explain yourself."

"Hermione." He tried reasoning.

"No! Either tell me the truth or get the hell out of my office!"

"What the fuck do you want me to say?" He yelled, stepping forward so that she was pinned between him and the desk. "That I can't get you off of my mind? That I want you? 'Cause fuck Hermione, I want you more than I understand."

Her eyes widened as she stumbled back against her desk, her gaze fixed on the man standing in front of her. "What?"

"I want you." Draco said, emphasising his words with a pause in between each. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about you, or any part of you, since that day in your apartment. You won't believe how many damn cold showers I've had to have after being with you."

"Dr-" She tried to speak but he barely paused long enough to take a breath before rambling on.

"I wanted to take you that damn day and I still bloody well want to. You just don't get what you are doing to me. You have no idea how much self-control I have had to force on myself the past few weeks. You bloody well d-"

The rest of his words were muffled by her lips slamming into his. He stood frozen with surprise as Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled her body flush against him. He stood unmoving until she nibbled on his lower lip, his arousal flaring instantaneously.

He was rewarded with a moan as he flicked his tongue against her lips. Tangling one hand in her unruly hair, he grabbed her arse with the other. He took advantage of her contented sighs and slipped his tongue into her mouth, revelling in that sweet taste that was so wonderfully associated with her.

Hermione grabbed desperately at his shirt, clumsily struggling to undo the buttons. With a growl of frustration, she grabbed his open collar and tore the fabric open. Sweet Circe, everything about this woman turned him on.

His body shuddered as her hands roamed over his body, nails scraping at his skin. Her touch left trails of fire across his body. Reaching behind her, he cleared her desk with one hand, not caring where everything fell.

She giggled against his lips. "Hope you know you're cleaning that up." She mumbled. He responded only with a grunt before he assaulted her with another barrage of kisses.

Letting his hand drop, his fingers played with the edge of her skirt before delicately inching up her thighs. She sighed into his mouth, their tongues clashing as they wrestled for dominance. Draco nearly growled in appreciation as he felt her buttocks peeking out from her lacy knickers.

He lifted her by the buttocks and dropped her onto the empty desk. She instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him so that he was pressed firmly against the heat emanating from between her legs. Within seconds, her hands were entwined in his hair as he kissed down the side of her mouth and along her jawline.

She pulled lightly as Draco found the sensitive spot at the nape of her neck, sucking and nibbling at the supple flesh. Her back arched almost involuntarily, her breasts pressing enticingly against his bared chest.

Pulling wildly at her blouse, he untucked the soft fabric from the waist of her skirt. She temporarily let go of him as he pulled the shirt up over her head. His hands wandered over her skin, her body trembling under his gentle caresses.

"Draco." Her voice sent ripples through his body. His pants were painfully tight against his pelvis.

He tried stepping back before he lost control, stopped by the tight grip of her legs around him. Hermione was mesmerising, the edges of her swollen lips playfully turned up as she cocked her head at him.

"Gr-Hermione." His voice was husky with arousal, his throat painfully dry.

"What?"

"Look, I j-," He cleared his throat. "Any more and I'm going to be able to stop myself."

She took a deep breath in, unrelenting on her grip on his hips. He let his eyes rove over her body. She was a tempting sight; her heaving chest held only by her lacy cream bra, a matching pair of knickers visible under the ruffled hem of her skirt.

"Fuck." He murmured, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. "Do you know how hard it is to not bend you over this fucking desk and take you right now?"

His heart nearly leapt into his throat as she tipped her head and gave him a lascivious smirk. "I'm not stopping you."

Thank. Merlin.

A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Let me know your thoughts. Constructive criticism and suggestions are always welcome.