Blaise was hanging with Pansy when Draco got home. He was a bundle of nerves. They were watching TV and taking hits off of a weed pipe. Pansy yelled to him, "Dinner's on the stove!" and he felt relief wash over him that he lived with actual people instead of coming home to a house full of nothing but his own thoughts.

He supposed that Hogwarts-grads are so used to cohabitating with each other. Especially in the seventh year, it bonded them together. It had been a terrifying environment to try to fall asleep in, even as a Slytherin.

"Yo Drake, Marcus Flint just fucking texted me," Blaise said, looking at his phone and laughing. "Apparently he's a pro Quidditch player now for the Cannons. Wants to visit us here soon."

Draco loaded a bowl of ramen that Pansy made, joining them in the living room to eat around the coffee table. Pansy wore trendy Japanese kawaii fashion, and eyed him as he came into her view.

"Drake, you look good," she said approvingly.

"Thank you," he said, taking in her pretty face, which she made undesirable to him by her fake eyelashes, facial piercings, and small gemstone-like stickers on the corners of her eyes. He still loved her though, in a weird way.

He continued his story to Blaise and Pansy while trying to politely eat ramen, which was an impossible task. "I had a conversation with Hermione fucking Granger today. It didn't go great, but damn, she's not bad."

Pansy laughed in surprise. "Is she still annoying?"

"No!" Draco said. "Seriously not annoying. She was a little… fond of the rules, when I brought up all the magical medicine laws when working with Muggles, but I think she'll get over it."

Blaise sat on the couch and browsed what to stream next. "Of course she's fucking rule-abiding. Even after everything that happened seventh year, she goes by the book."

Draco found himself wanting to defend her. "She worked for the Ministry, she said she wasn't good enough to be an Auror, or something. She'll go back to it, so she's gotta keep a clean record."

Pansy watched him closely. "And you can't get caught as a huge Muggle-fan."

"Yes, yes, Pansy, because my parents and family and all of my money comes from bigoted, awful people, I need to avoid that kind of press." Draco said, deadpan. "Let's rehash it every time this comes up." His mood soured quickly.

"Jesus Christ," she said, laughing. "Granger got you all worked up again? Some things never fucking change."

The next workday, Draco cleared his schedule. Being the owner of the hospital, he didn't really need to be present in the building. But at home, he had felt unfocused and strange that Granger worked where had access … and indirectly, she was under his control. He knew that she'd be focused on learning the department's various procedures and working with patients, but he wanted to follow her… watch her work. But he didn't want to come across as creepy.

All of this made him wish that they were in a classroom together again. He knew she was his intellectual equal - both competing to get top grades, her having the advantage with the time-turner. The headmaster wouldn't have trusted an item so powerful in his hands, specifically. For good reason.

He attended the Monday directors' meeting, which was a high-level meeting for the doctors who lead their various departments. Hermione attended as well with her boss, Taylor. The meeting was less about actual patients, but it covered new HR benefits for a new wellness initiative they were launching. The room seemed to be on edge because of his presence. Hermione acted casual, though, not looking at him and only to the presentation. Of course, he intently watched her from his peripheral vision, bringing him back to Hogwarts days where he'd be spacing out in class as she rattled off another question. Or, he'd watch her walk up to the front to hand in her exam first.

Here, as he expected, she was an attentive listener, sipping coffee out of an expensive-looking red and gold thermos. She seemed genuinely engaged the whole meeting. Draco decided to take advantage of everyone being together and gave an update on some hospital-wide initiatives, some clearance on new drugs and procedures that were approved.

While speaking, he avoided her unwavering eye contact, but he was surprised at how difficult it was for him. And, he added that the hospital's triathlon charity event was the upcoming weekend. He encouraged everyone to attend, though he certainly wasn't planning on it.

"Hey," she said to him after the meeting. Draco was lingering by the pastries, unable to decide if he wanted to indulge in one or not.

"Are you doing the triathlon?" she asked him.

"I haven't trained," he said, bemused by the topic between them. "Nice thermos, real subtle house pride going on," he added.

She held up her lion keychain on her bag. "You mean to say you don't have a snakeskin briefcase?"

Draco laughed, shaking his head. "No, though I guess I still wear a lot of green."

Meandering from the meeting, they found themselves in the hospital cafe. "Isn't it your first day? You shouldn't be slacking off with me," he teased her.

"Oh come on, this is what they mean by orientation, right? I'm just... getting acquainted."

"Are you?" he replied, darkly. He surmised her under the fluorescent lighting. Hermione's vibe was … hot. She did wear makeup, but the kind that intended to be subtle. Practical, yet sexy clothes-ones that were hiding how toned and fit she was underneath, like she worked out daily but wasn't afraid to eat bread or drink a beer.

It wasn't what he typically got matched with. She had a definite Muggle vibe going on. But still, he liked it.

"So, I reckon you're doing the triathlon, then, since you asked me about it? I mean, I could always do it with some...spell enhancements."

"No cheating!" Hermione said, pushing him playfully.

He laughed. "I'm joking, of course. Kind of. It depends on the status of this hypothetical swim."

"Would you do it with me? Since you look like...that," she said, gesturing to his general torso, "You're probably...well, in shape enough to keep up with me. I don't want to do it alone. Like don't beat me, just do it with me and stay at my pace."

Draco was, frankly, stunned. His Saturday morning plans involved tasks like flying his airplanes, caring for his thestrals in the Japanese countryside, but this… this was an unprecedented request. If you would have told him a week ago that Hermione fucking Granger would ask him to do a Muggle race with him, he would have admitted you to the emergency room himself.

"Sure," he said, simply. "Why the fuck not?"

The rest of the week went by without incident. Draco tried his best to let Granger do her thing and not overly supervise her. He recognized that it was strange to have the director actually be in the hallways, but he had a Muggle medical degree, after all, they could handle it. Watching her handle emergency injuries… it made him feel validated that he had invested in the hospital. She was such an effective communicator that people trusted and were at ease with.

Draco had had his fair share of injuries. So, from personal experience, he knew there was truly nothing like being in the hands of a medical professional that you 100 percent trusted, when your life was on the line. Hermione had deep knowledge of the Muggle medical practice, and Draco was thoroughly impressed with her, through and through.

Draco's duties in the wizarding world were taking up all his time as well. Between managing global real estate, including several several yachts and vacation homes, he also was a chairman for a major pharmaceutical company. HIs funding went to their research operations for new potion drugs and spells. Workwise, he had his hands full. Even his assistants had their hands full.

And, his personal life was getting time-consuming as well. While he truly was happy to live with Blaise, who was always with Pansy, having a family inevitably meant facing conflict.

Thursday night, two days before the triathlon, Pansy knocked on the door when he was home alone. He had smoked weed, worked out, and now was making sushi while his favorite anime was on in the background. But through all of this, he was thinking about Hermione. Recounting her workday-every patient she had, how she reacted. He was even thinking about when she wasn't with him-how her other patients had been, what she talked about with Potter and the Weasley girl as they ate dinner.

Pansy left a present on the counter for him after she kicked off her shoes. She left him in the kitchen and laid down on the couch in the living room. Living with him for years, Pans knew when he was deep in thought-stoned or sober. She knew when to give him space.

He wanted to stop thinking about Hermione Granger. She was a Muggle-born and fucking her would only bring trouble. Funding St. George's Hospital made up for all the terrible things he did when he was younger. He was a good person now, who should be reaping the benefits of his status and youth...like by partying and hanging out with more interesting people.

Malfoy gave Pansy a generous pour of sake before offering it to her. He eyed the present for him on the counter. Fuck, he hated getting gifts.

She came over, her pink hair tied into spacebuns and a black t-shirt she converted to a crop-top, almost showing her neon bra. She had a pale pink, high-waisted tennis skirt on with girlish white stockings that were worn and weathered. She was, as she coined, "grunge-kawaii." Draco didn't find it sexy, but he admired her for having a bold style. Plus, she had a nice body.

"Drake, that's some beautiful sashimi," she said, admiring his handiwork. "Thanks for the sake." She picked up the glass-said kampai!-and drank it easily.

He refilled her glass without asking. He was quiet tonight, trying to determine if he wanted to have sex with Pansy or not. He knew she and Blaise were toying with each other, leaving him feeling like it was more trouble than it was worth. In the past year, he had little interest… he mainly enjoyed hearing about the people she was hooking up with. He wanted her to rub his back, maybe suck his cock...but nothing more than that.

"Look, Drake, I'm going to need to crash here for a few days. Or.. a few weeks. Is that cool? I checked with Blaise."

Draco finished his glass of sake at her proposition to be his official roommate.

"Fine," he said. "But no sex, then."

She looked at him like he was insane. "Like with anybody?"

"Well, preferably not here, but I mean with Blaise or myself. If you're a roommate, no sex. It's Blaise's and my rule."

"Wait, so you and Blaise wanted to have sex?" she asked, grinning goofily.

"No, no," he laughed. "But if did, we wouldn't, because it's against the rules.'
"So, I get it." Pansy grins widely. "You were thinking about fucking me?"

Draco nodded, taking a piece of sushi into his mouth. The tangy flavor from the tuna is balanced out by the heat of the wasabi. Perfection. "You're just a distraction though." he admits. "No offense. But we've been fucking off and on since we were seventeen, Pans. Probably time to shut this down."

"Or we could get married, have a bunch of kids?" she suggests, shrugging.

Draco laughs. "Not sure if either of us should have children...but especially not together."

Pansy sighs, fakes being upset while smoothing out her skirt. "You're probably right."

Draco lets out a huge sigh. He wanted a cigarette. His mind felt cloudy from the weed, still edgy and anxious. "Believe me, I'm the one missing out here."

Pansy gave good blowjobs. He's had better, but Pansy's have been around since Hogwarts dormitories, so Draco really got to appreciate how far she's come. And honestly, Pansy was easy for Draco to be around. She didn't try to make extra conversation because she knew both of their pasts were fucked up. And she didn't ask about work-they talked about television, music, food. Except when it pertained to their physical relationship, they never talked about themselves or each other. He didn't think Pansy found having a Muggle job or managing money particularly interesting.

He was lost in thought in postulating how skilled Hermione would be in sucking his cock when his phone buzzed. An unfamiliar number..an area code from London, and he grabbed his phone quickly, knowing exactly who it was.

"You live in Tokyo, right?" the text said. Another one came through. "Sorry, it's Hermione."

Draco said "Fuck," out loud. Pansy had become bored and lost interest in him, scrolling on her phone. Blaise came home, kicking off his shoes and greeting Pansy with an actual kiss on the mouth.

"Whoa, none of that," Draco interjected. "Roommates don't kiss."

Blaise smiled in reaction. "So you're okay with her staying?"

"She can sleep in the office." He looked down at his phone, surprised at what he read.

Hermione's text was, "Well, I'm here now, actually. Came to check out a fashion show nearby. Can I stop by your place for a drink?"

Fuck, he loved how forward Gryffindor girls were. They didn't hold anything back. Unlike the overanalyzing, weird Ravenclaws he had hooked up with, or the Hufflepuff girls that got too emotionally attached.

When a Gryffindor girl wanted to hook up, she made it known. She didn't leave it up to guesswork, and he sincerely admired that.

"Granger... yes, please come," he texted back. For some reason, he didn't mention his roommates. He was too worried she'd back out.

He texted Hermione the address and best nearby Apparition spot.

The apartment was one of the best, most expensive spots in Tokyo - overlooking Ginza street. Its tall ceilings and spacious-feel sold Draco on the property, and he ended up buying several buildings in Tokyo nearby. Along with the apartment, he felt like his money was well-spent here. The large, but mostly empty, kitchen had a giant island - an entire slab of marvelously marbled white granite. He cast some spells to mix drinks together as he awaited Hermione Granger to be in his apartment.

Blaise and Pansy went back in the office, Pansy giggling and taking the entire bottle of sake with her.

Several excruciatingly long minutes later, Hermione stepped into Draco's apartment. She removed her shoes like she was supposed to, and seeing her bare feet almost put Draco over the edge.

He wore simple, black moccasins, and suddenly he desperately, for whatever reason, wished he was barefoot too.

Draco handed her a magically-mixed drink, and they clinked it together.

"Oh, what's the phrase? Kampai?" she asked, her lips closing around the straw.

"You got it," he said, sipping the drink from the glass.

She looked around the apartment. "Wow, this is what being a Malfoy gets you," she said, taking the view of Tokyo. "Good thing you're not afraid of heights." Draco stood next to her by the window. He was embarrassed for how her presence had affected him. He felt so reserved, so quiet. They watched the Tokyo streets move for a few moments of comfortable silence.

Out of her peripheral vision, Hermione admired Draco's tall frame and what he wore - just simple clothes, an emerald v-neck and black workout leggings, nice quality. He hadn't taken a shower yet after working out, but he still seemed clean. For once, he looked like a real person outside of the professional image he crafted, the one she saw day after day.

Draco ignored the anxious thoughts that bubbled up in his brain-the uncharacteristic self-conscious thoughts, the self-doubting. He turned his attention from the view toward her, wanting to take her form in, actually present in his apartment instead of just being intensely thought about.

He felt a little too stoned, too much second-guessing his thoughts. She watched him observe what she was wearing-a simple, tight, and lacy black dress. He imagined her picking out what to wear to a fashion show, and then his apartment...stressing out about her appearance, trying to look good. It turned him on. And he noted the difficult task she had of picking out what to wear to a a fashion show. The dress was short-but not too short, and low-but not too low, her hair still down in its full glory.

Truth be told, Hermione felt incredibly nervous, praying it wasn't showing. It was Ginny who convinced Hermione to take an Apparition trip and go to Tokyo. For the fashion show, yes, but Ginny saw a recent photo of Draco, and managed to talk Hermione into it. "You have to go see this man if you are able to!" she yelled at her, holding up her phone and pointing to an especially indulgent picture of Draco. She even offered to meet her somewhere in Tokyo if she wanted, if Draco said no to her offer of meeting up.

Honestly, Hermione wasn't so sure about Draco. She still didn't trust him. He was too well-connected, too present in every facet of the Wizarding world. But, she felt the pull to him too strong to resist. Living with Ginny and Harry was great, and Hermione really did love it, but it did have its drawbacks. One of them was their obvious commitment and undying love for one another. But the other, the more annoying reason, was that they were both messy. So messy. Hermione was constantly needing to cast spells to do the dishes if she ever wanted to cook anything. Being in Draco's clean, sophisticated apartment felt so...nice.

She watched his eyes trail the length of her body, like he was judging her. Her heart was slamming against the wall of her chest. She didn't trust him, but still wanted to get closer.

She looked around the contents of the room, not wanting to miss any details.

"You smoke weed?"

"Yeah, I did earlier," he replied, answering two questions. "I wouldn't have if I thought my night had you in store."

She nodded, feeling awkward he wasn't entirely sober. "I get too chatty when I smoke weed," she said.

"Well, you're welcome to it," he offered. "It's Pansy's though," he added, feeling like she would appreciate that it wasn't his weed, and he wanted to introduce the concept of Pansy as quickly as possible so she was more prepared to actually meet her.

She didn't oblige, but turned back to the view. "Malfoy...is there any chance you would want to go out dancing?" Hermione asked him. "Not sure if you still do that sort of thing in Tokyo."

Draco tried to keep his face unreadable. He did not want to go dancing. He had different activities they could do on his mind. But he couldn't say no to the prospect of Granger getting close to him, so he agreed. "One condition, though…" he said warningly. "Pansy would kill me if we went out and didn't tell her."


The four of them were an unlikely mix - well, he guessed Granger in the group just threw everything off balance. Of course, the paparazzi descended on them like vultures. Hermione honestly hadn't even considered the media's reaction to them both in public together. She only imagined what the stories would be the next day online. On the other hand, Draco had been acutely aware of it when she asked, but figured she knew what she was getting herself into.

Pansy lead the charge. When she first greeted Hermione, she opened up by an apology of, "I'm sorry our parents were Death Eaters and we wanted to murder you." Zabini nodded behind her. Hermione readily accepted it, though still vowed to keep her guard up with all these Slytherins.

But even still, there were no rules anymore; it had been ten years. She could barely recall what even happened during the battle. She just knew that Draco was different...but also, still the same. There was a darkness in him that both enticed her and scared the living hell out of her at the same time.

They decided to stay local and go to a Tokyo staple, a popular witch-and-wizard-only nightclub. It was busy, but not packed-Draco got a private booth and Pansy found a group of friends to fill it. She spoke fluent Japanese to them, and Hermione could understand nothing. Robots brought them drinks, and Veelas danced in cages above them.

"Weird vibe," Draco said, gesturing to the nude Veela.

"You mean, you don't lose your shit in their mere presence?" she said, eyeing them suspiciously.

"I've become resistant to their magic," he replied. "Snape taught me the antidote. You probably remember, but the Veela crime syndicate is actually a very real risk to purebloods."

Hermione scoffed. "Still? Kingsley told me he had stamped that out a long time ago."

"They're still around," he insisted. "And, they hate my family. For good reasons that I shouldn't get into."

Hermione searched in his eyes. Was he ashamed of his family's morals toward magical creatures...or their views on Muggle-borns? Or did he accept them?

Malfoy interrupted her thoughts. "Now, you came here to dance? Let's fucking dance."

Both of them enjoyed dancing in the right atmosphere. At weddings, or bachelor and bachelorette parties, and sometimes on the occasional night when they found themselves at a nightclub. The throbbing electronica and dark lighting made it a nice atmosphere for them both, and they were close to one another as they moved slightly to the music. Draco couldn't stop himself from putting his hands on her hips, and she moved closer to him in relief as soon as he did.

"Drake!" Hermione yelled into his ear to be heard over the music. "This is okay with work stuff, right? Like still professional?" But seeing her body in that tight, black dress, a sheen of sweat forming on her skin, he would have promised her anything.

"Totally cool with work stuff," he assured her. "Though that wouldn't stop me from doing anything, for the record," he added.

"You're such an ass," she said, her body moving to tempo along with his.

He followed suit, and pulled his hips into her as he moved, both of them falling into pace.

A couple songs later, he noticed that people were starting to notice them.

A Japanese woman filmed them with her phone. "That's Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger," she screeched.

While Draco desperately wanted to ignore the woman, she was drawing attention, and even the loud music couldn't drown out people's conversation about them. Photos started being taken of them.

Hermione's body was pressed into his, and his body curled around hers from behind. "Are you okay?" he said in her ear, her hair against his chest. He wanted to run his hands through it-couldn't stop thinking about how he would pull her hair as he fucked her.

"I should go," she replied, her body still moving in sync with his.

As the crowd watching them got larger, she pulled away, taking his hand to lead him back to their table. Draco followed her, feeling somewhat like this was his fault.

"I'm sorry, Granger," he said as they successfully retreated to the quiet table. "I didn't expect this reaction."

Hermione looked at him in the eye. "I should go back to London. I might have surgery in the morning. I'll see you on Saturday?"

Draco disliked that she thought she could control the situation. That she could resist him. He hated being in public at this moment-in his world, the Wizarding world. He frankly didn't care that people were photographing them-he'd deal with the consequences later. He just wanted to touch her more, in ways that demanded they'd be in private.

But, he let her leave freely, knowing they were being watched. He knew his reputation the media liked to exploit-rumors that he had a hidden agenda against Mugglekind, he was a secret Death Eater, he had anger issues just like his father. All of that, Draco did care about and wanted to avoid.

Hermione didn't know how she should say goodbye. Would a hug be awkward? She wanted to know what kissing him felt like, but felt too exposed and noticed. So, she grabbed her bag and coat and sidled by him without looking up.

"See you later, Granger," he drawled, sitting down at the table and downing the rest of his drink. She saw him pull out his phone without a care that she was leaving.

It irritated her that he was so nonchalant. But it added up, right? He was a Malfoy after all, famous and powerful and pureblood... and someone that was slowly begin to take over all of her thoughts, hopelessly distracting her from her career. She didn't need to be the media's new story, have to answer questions and face the fallout of their potential relationship. She was used to being on her own, after all, Ron-loyal, sweet, and dumb Ron-cheated on her. Cunning, careful Malfoy would too. And she felt too vulnerable for that to happen.

So she left the nightclub without another glance in his direction. It felt safer that way, like her own eyes couldn't betray how she really felt. Malfoy probably didn't even notice.