A/N: Thanks for all the kind words, and a special shout out to the Guest reviewers who I can't PM my responses to. Appreciate the reviews so much.
"Hermione Jean Granger, WAKE UP!"
Hermione snapped her eyes open and sprang up in bed, reaching for her wand, to find Ginny Weasley standing on her bed.
"What? What's happened?" Her heart was racing and she felt like ice had been thrown on her.
"What the bloody hell is this?" Ginny stood above her, one foot on either side of her legs and held up a newspaper. Her eyes were wide and bright, surprisingly awake.
"What… I mean, well, what is it?" Hermione's eyes were adjusting. She waved her wand and lit all the bulbs in the room.
Ginny knelt over her and thrust the paper into her face, reading the headline out loud as Hermione's brain registered it on the page.
"The Star-Crossed Romance of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy."
Hermione gasped and grabbed the pages from the feral-looking ginger. She unfolded the top pages to find a picture of two young people outside of Cornerstone. Her eyes squinted, and she realized the young people were her and Draco. She could barely recognize them. Did Skeeter doctor the photo?
"When did this happen?" Ginny screeched and Hermione winced as her eyes ran over the article, catching the phrases "visited her at work," "lust-filled eyes," "lunch with his mother."
"I—I – Yesterday!" Hermione's pitch was slowly matching Ginny's without her permission. "We had lunch with Narcissa yesterday and –"
"Oh, I know!" Ginny bounced. "It continues on page seven!"
"What?!" Hermione ripped through the pages to find page seven featuring several more highlights of the afternoon, including a picture of the three of them at Fortescue's and a picture of the two of them crossing the street, his hand coming up to guide her.
"Why didn't you tell me about this!"
"It wasn't planned! He asked me to join them for lunch –"
"He asked you?" Ginny grabbed her shoulders.
"I – yes, but it was clear that Narcissa had sent him. And then we walked to Fortescue's—" Hermione pointed to the picture of them walking, Draco swinging his Cornerstone bag from his fingertips of one hand, and using the other to touch her back. "—And then we had lunch with Narcissa—" She pointed to the picture of the three of them sitting on the patio, Narcissa looking positively regal in her robes and hat. "—And then I went back to work! That's all!"
"That doesn't explain this!"
Ginny crumpled the pages around until the photo on the front page showed again.
"She must have altered it. She –"
Hermione stopped and looked. There was Draco's smirk, and the way his eyes flash at her. She turned from him, stepping up to the door of Cornerstone, and turned back grinning. It was just like a boy walking a girl home from a date, just as she remembered.
She had given her condolences to all the half-bloods and Muggle-borns who would not be marrying him, and he had smirked back at her, telling her not to trust the papers.
"Oh, Merlin, this is terrible." Hermione covered her face with her hands.
"Terrible? This is the most brilliant thing to happen in months!" Ginny squealed.
"How can you say that?" Hermione grabbed her arm. "Look how desperate I look. Look how easy it is to believe everything Skeeter is saying!"
"Hermione," Ginny giggled and grabbed her face. "It's easy to believe because it's so mutual." She jabbed her finger at Draco's face. Hermione felt her face flush, watching him smirk at her in the photo. "If you're desperate," Ginny said, turning the pages over to the picture of the three of them on the patio, "then he's starving."
Hermione looked down to see Narcissa chatting animatedly with her, Hermione picking at the scone in front of her, and Draco watching her. She watched as Draco would take a sip of his tea, his eyes moving between her and his mother, landing back on her as he licked the liquid off his lips.
"That's… That's not… I mean, Ginny. That's not what it's like in person. It's not accurate!"
"How would you know! You're not even looking at him in the photo!"
"Oh, my god." Hermione closed her eyes. "Oh, my god. This is the Sunday paper! Everyone I know will see this!
"More than that! This is delivered all over the world!" Ginny laughed, and then she and Hermione thought it at the same time. "Ron will see this." Ginny raised her brows at her.
Hermione shook her head and held up her hand. "I honestly cannot deal with that right now. My god, was there really nothing that happened in the Wizarding world this weekend that warranted the front page of Sunday's Daily Prophet?" Hermione shook the paper and crumpled the edges.
"Well, the introduction of the 'new wizarding power couple' is pretty important, I'd say." Ginny bit back a grin.
"She does not say that!" Hermione gaped at her and Ginny pointed to the words on the page.
Ms. Skeeter,
I am honored that you find my personal life so interesting, but I would appreciate a re-print to reflect the following changes, to maintain your accuracy:
Draco Malfoy has indeed been visiting Cornerstone Bookshop since his release in August, but he has not been seen "courting" Miss Granger. He has been patronizing a favorite bookshop.
Draco Malfoy has not been visiting Miss Granger every Saturday and Sunday since his release date. If the Daily Prophet cares to check, the dates he has patronized the bookshop are as follows: Saturday September 4, Saturday September 11, and Saturday October 16. You may pull the ledger notes from Cornerstone Bookshop if you would like.
Miss Granger and Draco Malfoy have not been found "canoodling" in the stacks of Cornerstone Bookshop, and I would ask your "eye-witnesses" to reexamine their statement, as a false report such as this could cost an employee her job. Said employee would be sure to sue the Daily Prophet, the author, and the witnesses should this happen.
If the mints left on the counter for customers are indeed Draco Malfoy's "favorite mints" then it was unbeknownst to Hermione Granger. She has not put them out for him every time he visits.
Miss Granger is not "leading around" Ronald Weasley or Draco Malfoy. She is not dating either wizard, and has no intention of "drawing this out until the wedding date."
And lastly, Miss Granger was available for comment, she simply was not asked for one. If she had been asked for a comment, she would have requested the author pull the story.
Sincerely,
Hermione J. Granger
That day at Cornerstone was pure hell. Rita's article had put Cornerstone on the map for a lot of witches and wizards, which Hermione couldn't have been happier about, but unfortunately the influx of new customers all smiled at Hermione with wide, greedy eyes. By noon, when she realized that there were more than twenty people browsing the stacks, and not a one of them had bought anything, she concluded that they were all waiting for Draco to show up.
She started approaching them, asking if they needed recommendations, conjuring comfy chairs to sit and read, and ending with "When you're ready to check out, I'll be at the counter."
That got several of them to leave, including one witch that only bought one book, but stood at the counter for twenty minutes, crying, telling her how wonderful it was to see such a union after all these years.
Morty came downstairs some time after that, took a look around the full shop, and said, "Listen up, you lot. Miss Granger will not be giving private interviews today, as she is at work. Mr. Malfoy has no books on reserve, so he will not be visiting her. Please kindly either place your book back where you found it, or bring it up to the register, where I will ring you up, as Miss Granger is going on lunch."
Hermione's ears turned red as she smiled down at the ledger. Morty placed a hand on her shoulder.
"If I were you, Miss Granger," he whispered, "I would take my lunch somewhere less public than Fortescue's today."
When she returned from lunch there was a significant drop in the number of people browsing the shop. Morty handed the ledger over to her, and said, "Alright. My turn."
She looked up at him.
"Have you been placing the mints out for him?"
Hermione laughed, knowing full well that Morty chose the mints long ago.
"I hope you don't think that any of that is true. I would never use work hours to… canoodle." The word was vile coming from her lips.
"Yes, yes, I know, Miss Granger." Morty took his glasses off to clean them. "But do be careful." She looked up at him, and he pointed to the newspaper that a customer had left on the counter. His finger rested on the picture of Draco and her walking, his hand coming up to her back, and her slight flinch as she looked at the ground. "A boy can only pursue 'hard-to-get' for so long."
She gaped at him. He lifted his brows at her and walked upstairs.
Hard-to-get. Hard-to-get!
It bothered her the rest of the day and into the next morning.
If there was anyone playing hard-to-get, it was –
Hermione stopped that thought. No one was playing hard-to-get. They were not courting.
The next day Hermione took the Floo into work, and ignored any staring or whispering as she walked to the lifts. She shared a lift with a young woman she recognized as being a few years above her in Slytherin. She glared and rolled her eyes at her. Hermione didn't know why she felt so shocked. There was sure to be reactions from all different sides of the spectrum.
She got off at her floor and as she walked to her desk, she heard Aiden call out to her.
"Granger!"
Hermione took a calming breath and turned to him. "Good morning, Aiden." She really didn't want any teasing from him today.
He jogged to catch up with her, leaning in conspiratorially. "Did you hear the news?"
"News?"
"Rosenberg's retiring."
Hermione blinked. "Rochelle Rosenberg? From -?"
"House-Elf Relocation." Aiden grinned at her. Hermione's brain was spinning. "Of course, I'm only telling you this out of professional courtesy," he said grandly. "I mean to apply for the position myself, and you obviously would not get the job over me." He rolled his eyes dramatically, reminding her of George. "I have seniority over you, so…"
She shifted her bag on her shoulder and shook her head, smiling. "Yes, beginning one day before me does give you seniority." She knew he would not be applying for the position.
"Well, something to think about," he said walking back to his desk. "Oh, and you have a visitor." He nodded at her cubicle.
Hermione's brows came together, trying to remember if she had a meeting. Hopefully Mathilda wasn't being kept waiting?
She turned the corner to her cube and found Draco Malfoy, sitting in her chair, legs up on the desk, flipping through one of her files. He looked up at her and grinned.
"Hello, lover."
Her cheeks burned and she lost her breath in a puff that she turned into a laugh.
"Good morning, Malfoy." She took a moment to place her coat on the hook and put her bag into the drawer. "What brings you here?"
"Robards."
"Oh?" She was disappointed and relieved at the same time. She turned back to him and found he had not moved out of her chair. "More on the dragon eggs?" She placed her hands on her hips, as she had no idea what to do with them.
"Oh, no." He waved his hand. "That all got settled on Friday. Buyer caught and under questioning." He looked up at her. "I would have thought it would make the papers, but apparently there were more important things to report this weekend."
"Right," she tried to grin back at him. "Apparently." She turned to a cabinet and tried to look busy, as he would still not stand from her desk. "I've written to Skeeter to ask her to correct some of her glaring inaccuracies. I would have thought the corrections would have made today's Prophet, but hopefully this week." She pulled out several files that she would work on today and a fresh pot of ink, even though she was positive that the one next to Draco's foot was full.
"Inaccuracies?" Draco pouted in a mocking way, and Hermione wished he would put his lips away. "You mean those mints weren't for me?"
She bit back a smile and tapped his feet with a file, having nothing else to do but sit at her desk. He kicked his feet off and stood, buttoning his robes. She pushed past him, ignoring the way their bodies brushed each other's.
"You mentioned Robards?" She spread out her files and replaced the full pot of ink with another full pot of ink.
He handed her a memo. She looked at him quickly, then sat and opened it. It was a copy.
Mathilda,
I was hoping to borrow Granger to work with Malfoy on a case. I believe the two of them could have this figured out by the end of the week!
Hoping you can spare her.
Gawain
A week? Working with Malfoy?
"I've reserved the conference room upstairs for this afternoon, seeing as Level 4 has appallingly small rooms and cubicles. I think my cube might be twice the size of yours, Granger." He looked around, brow raised. "And I'm temporary." She glared at him. He turned to exit and tossed over his shoulder, "See you at one, Granger."
She was in so much trouble.
They solved the case by Wednesday afternoon. Half due to their combined brilliance, and half due to Hermione working hard as Horcruxes to get out of that conference room. It was an ancient rune solving case, which meant utmost concentration was necessary. Quite impossible when Draco looked and smelled like… Draco.
On Tuesday, Hermione had come into the conference room thirty minutes early, just for some peace before Draco joined. It didn't work. He was twenty-eight minutes early, and carrying a coffee cup for her and a tea for him. He placed the cup down in front of her and started talking about the runes, not even allowing her a "thank you." After twenty minutes or so, once he'd settled in and gotten invested in his reading, she took a sip of her coffee and found it prepared exactly how she liked it.
"How had you known that I drink coffee instead of tea?"
He flipped a page.
"Everyone knows you prefer coffee, Granger." She blinked at him. He continued to read. "You've been spilling it all over the Hogwarts library books for years."
She gasped. "I would never –"
The corner of his mouth twitched. "I've checked books out after you and found the pages just soiled with spilt coffee. Practically dipped in it."
She knew he was teasing her. She glared at him as he turned another page, holding back a smirk, and tried to remember the last time Harry or Ginny offered her coffee instead of tea.
On Wednesday morning, she flew into the conference room, livid.
"That bitch!" She shook the morning's paper at him, and looked up in time to see Draco snort the tea he was in the middle of sipping. "Sorry," she waved at him, "But she's wicked."
Draco patted his mouth with a napkin and said, "Skeeter, I presume?"
"Yes." She tossed the paper at him and noticed that he was wearing the blue robes that made his eyes stand out. Damn him. "I wrote a follow-up letter last night asking about the status of my corrections, and threatening to write my next letter to her editor. And then this morning she prints this!"
She watched as his eyes scanned the page, searching until he spotted the one-inch box in the bottom right corner of the page, then squinting at the font.
"A correction to 'The Star-Crossed Romance of Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy.' Granger and Malfoy have not been found canoodling at Cornerstone Books."
He looked up at her over the paper, and she threw her arms out in exasperation.
"Did you expect more, Granger?"
"I demanded more! I demanded a re-print!"
He closed the paper and tossed it back to her. He smirked. "And which portions of Sunday's article so offended you, Granger?"
She blinked at him, hands on her hips. She could feel the heat creeping up her neck.
"The inaccuracies."
Draco watched his fingers play with the chipped woodgrain on the table. "I believe Skeeter reported that I visited you at work, invited you to lunch with my mother, and then walked you back." He looked up at her from beneath his lashes. "Was that not what happened?"
Her brows came together. This was a trap. Wasn't it?
"Fine, then." She crossed her arms. "It was her artistic interpretation of things. 'Lust-filled eyes' and exaggerations –"
"Ah, but I believe the 'lust-filled eyes' were mine." He raised a brow at her. "Are you worried about the stretch of the Prophet? If it's made its way to… say, Ireland?"
The blush had started up her jaw. He was staring at her so casually.
"No, not really." She shrugged. "I was honestly more concerned with your reputation than mine." The smirk dropped off his lips. "But if you don't care, I'll leave it alone."
She took her seat at the table. Casually.
"My reputation?"
"Yes." She opened her notebook. "If I had a girlfriend for every day of the week, I'd be in a hurry to mend things after that article."
Dangerous, Hermione. Retreat… retreat.
He chuckled. The sound crackled through her. She kept her eyes on her notes.
"How kind of you to worry about my social life, Granger. But I believe my stock might have gone up," he drawled. "Nothing boosts a reputation more than having the Golden Girl on your arm."
She glared at him. He raised his brows, and pushed the coffee cup she had not noticed towards her.
Thursday and Friday were relatively uneventful after she and Draco solved the ancient runes case. She received a personal thank you from Robards for donating her time to the Auror Office, and his sincerest hopes to work with her again.
Saturday morning she'd woken up late, thrown her clothes on, and headed to the local apparition point without much time to spare. She popped through next to Florean Fortescue's and the bulb flashed to her right.
"Miss Granger!" the reporter yelled. "How did Draco Malfoy break things off with you? Was it a shock? Or did he let you down easy?"
She stumbled. She looked at the reporter, camera-in-hand, and a greedy smile on his face.
"Excuse me?" She pinned him with her eyes. "Even if I had been dating Draco Malfoy and if he had broken things off with me, how dare you ask someone that type of question."
He shrugged. "Fine, then. Have you met Katya Viktor? And what do you think of her for your friend Draco Malfoy." He smirked at her.
"I have not met her. So, I have no comment. Have a nice day."
Hermione turned and continued down the street to Cornerstone, head spinning.
Who the fuck was Katya Viktor?