June 1996 – Hogwarts
"She's a fucking nightmare."
"She won't find us in here."
"She doesn't come down here – knows she'll get hexed if she even tries to."
Blaise watched Malfoy sip from the whiskey bottle, chugging back the liquid before making a face at the after taste.
"Isn't this the broom cupboard you and Daphne almost –" But Theo was cut off with a sharp kick to the ankle, earning him a glare from the blonde Slytherin.
"If Pansy ever finds out about that –" Draco warned.
"Oh, as if I would say –"
"Mate, you're a worse gossip than half the girls at this school." Blaise warned him. "And no, Granger won't come poking her nose in here. Think she's a bit intimidated to come down this far, to be honest."
"Worst thing they could have done is make her a pissing prefect." Malfoy took another gulp of the burning liquid. "Mrs high-and-mighty… love to see her knocked down a peg or two."
There was a few seconds of silence.
"Got a nice arse, though."
And then there was a few seconds of relatively stunned silence, as Blaise and Draco stared wide-eyed at their friend.
Theo shrugged, taking the bottle from Draco's hand. "Oh, come on, you two have noticed; her hair isn't the only thing that had gotten bigger over last Summer."
Blaise watched Theodore smirk and Draco scoff, looking disgusted. "I hope you're not insinuating-"
"You know exactly what I am insinuating, Malfoy." Theo told the blonde pointedly. "Don't think I didn't catch you looking at her thighs the other week when she bent down in front of us to get her quill off the floor in Potions-" Blaise watched with glee as Draco's cheeks flushed a little. "- she doesn't wear tights in Summer … thought I was going to keel over in shock."
"You're deluded." Blaise told his friend with a small laugh. "And Granger's too uptight. She probably doesn't even know what sexual attraction feels like."
The three boys sat there on the floor of the cupboard for a few minutes in silence, lost in their own thoughts about Hermione's Grangers knowledge of sex.
"She's probably read all about it in a bloody book." Draco contemplated as he took the bottle of whiskey back from Theo and supposed on it. "Always in that bloody Library."
"It's always the quiet ones though, isn't it…" Theo mused with a curious look on his face. "Give her a few years and I'll bet she'll be into all kinds of stuff…"
"As if." Draco spluttered over his whiskey, passing the bottle to Blaise. "Give her a few years and she'll prefer bossing people around and running her own Cabinet. She won't be interested in the darker side of carnal knowledge… she's not the type."
"But that's the allure of it though, isn't it?" Blaise butted in, seeing Draco's face as his grey eyes viewed his friend carefully. "You don't think she'll be into that sort of stuff… but what if she is? What if deep down, she starts to get curious?"
"Think she'll be into spanking, then?"
"Never underestimate the power of a good spanking." Blaise told Theo matter of factly.
"I'm just saying," He changed the subject again as he took a swig from the whiskey bottle, feeling it burn down his throat. "Little Miss Know-it-all might not be as straight-laced as we all think."
"Moot point, mate." Draco told him as he brought his knees up to his chest and rested his head back against the cupboard wall.
"S'not like any of us lot would ever have the chance-" He appeared to stutter for a second, almost as if he had forgotten himself and had tripped over his words. "-I mean, it's not like we would ever go there."
"Yeah, not like any of us would ever find any of this out." Theo told them with a small laugh. "More chance of Hell freezing over, to be honest. She wouldn't touch any of us lot with a fucking bargepole."
Blaise just gave a casual shrug and smirked at his friends. "But the real question is; would any of us touch her?"
And the resounding silence that followed was all the answer that they needed to know.
Blaise could not help it.
He gave out a massive belly laugh. "Well, well, well… it appears we've all been harbouring little secrets when it comes to Granger, haven't we."
"Doesn't mean anything." Draco said defensively.
"We're not fucking blind; she's not a bad looking girl… for a Gryffindor." Theodore answered honestly. "And like I said; great arse."
"Here's another question then;" Blaise leaned forwards, looking from one to the other at his friends. "If she had to pick from the three of us, who would she choose?"
This time, it was Malfoy's turn to laugh. "Think she'd rather shag a Cactus than come near me, so that counts me out."
"Don't think she's even aware that I exist." Blaise put his hand up with a small smile. "So, you've still got more chance than me."
"I don't think I'm her type." Theo mused. "Judging by her track record, she doesn't seem to go for strikingly handsome, intellectual types, does she?"
Silence, yet again.
And then a rather large smile erupted over Blaise's features as an idea formed in his mind.
"But what if she did?"
Both boys looked at him quizzically.
He just kept on smiling. "Let's make a bet."
Both boys looked at him like he had grown horns on top of his head.
"If I ever got the chance to sleep with Granger, then Theodore owes me his treasured collection of Professional Quidditch Snitches-"
"They're family heirlooms, mate!" Theo hissed, shaking his head. "Worth a fortune!"
"Exactly!" Blaise pointed at him. "And Draco here," He looked at the blonde. "Is going to give me any item of jewellery I desire from his families Gringotts vault-"
"Not hard," Draco shrugged. "There's loads of old shite nobody wears knocking round in there."
"I want a thousand galleons from each of you deposited into my bank account once a year, every year for the rest of my life if she ever ends up going with me." Theo told his friends with a grin.
And then Blaise's eyes rested on Draco, who was shaking his head at the absolute absurdity of their conversation.
"Well?" Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow.
And when Draco looked up, he had a grin to match Theo's on his face. "As this is probably the most ridiculous bet I am ever going to involve myself in," he looked devilishly at both of his friends. "I get to name your first borns."
Theo and Blaise laughed.
Because lets face it; it was never going to fucking happen.
2010 - Present Day
Friday
"Is there a particular reason your Dad hates me?" Weasley asked him over a mouthful of his cheese burger.
Draco gave it a minute, wondering whether the question was genuinely serious, before looking at the man sitting across from him at the pub table and raising an eyebrow.
"There's a long list, Weasley." Draco finally replied with a smirk before taking a long drink of his Butter Beer. "Where exactly would you like me to start?" he set his drink back down and leaned forwards. "The time you told him he would blend quite nicely into the background of a Meatloaf music video?-"
"It's the hair-" Ron replied pointedly.
"And the elaborate dress sleeves." Pansy chimed in, defending her other half.
Draco ignored them, tapping his chin. "Or the time you pissed into his potted plants on the front lawn of the Manor?"
Ron rolled his eyes before giving Pansy a look. "I drunkenly stumbled around in the dark for twenty minutes to find a toilet -"
Draco snorted in disbelief. "We have five bathrooms in that house –"
"Six." Pansy pointed out.
"We don't count the En-Suite, it doesn't come with a bath." Draco shrugged, earning a chorus of 'ooooh, isn't he posh!' and 'Probably wipes his arse with bank notes'.
"The point being," He shook his head in irritation. "Is that there are toilets all over that bloody Manor and yet you somehow managed to bypass all of those in favour of making your way outside just to urinate into my father's favourite Geraniums."
"Didn't know your Dad was so green-fingered, mate." Weasley replied with a huff.
"Has to do something in his old age," Draco replied into his pint glass. "Other than irritate the shit out of me."
"And here was me thinking it's because I think your Mum's a bit fit." Weasley shrugged with a coy grin, earning a playful shove in the shoulder from Pansy.
Draco gave him a scornful look. "Go near my Mother and your bollocks will go missing."
"Yeah..." Ron smirked from the top of his beer glass. "In your mum."
Draco's face fell.
"Touchè, dickhead...Touchè."
Pansy gave the ginger bastard a high five and proudly rated him a solid ten for his banter effort.
Draco gave them both an annoyed look and then put his attention back on Blaise and Theodore to the right-hand side of him, who were both sitting there looking miserably into their pints of butterbeer.
Blaise hand the remnants of a black eye; courtesy of one Pansy Parkinson.
Theodore looked like he had had a thoroughly bloody good talking to; also courtesy of Pansy Parkinson.
Needless to say, she had not taken the news of her two friends trying to 'poison' her back in Hogwarts very well. In fact, she had taken it so badly that Ron had to take her home from work early on Wednesday morning and had then been forced to take her shopping… with his money, to calm her down.
And she was sending both Blaise and Theodore the receipts.
"I thought you said Granger had made the bloody potion earlier?" Draco hissed at his friends, feeling his hands trembling slightly from the distance between himself and the Witch. It had been driving him bonkers for the last two days. "So why isn't she here already?"
"How should I bloody know?" Theo asked him defensively in a huff. "When we left her in the Office she said she would only be a minute – the potion was already brewing when we went."
"What's wrong Draco?" Blaise gave a coy smile. "Need your fix?"
The bastard was not even remotely funny at all.
The last two days he had been antsy at best, but he could distinctly feel the difference in the air when Granger was closer to him now, like he knew where he had to be … he had to be around her; needed to be in her presence.
Needed to be close.
Not that he did it.
Truth be told, he had not gone near her in two days, and it was killing him. He had not touched her since that night at his place when he felt like he had practically mauled her.
He'd warned her.
He had told her that he needed something. Anything. Just a little something to sate the need that had been growing like a wildfire inside of him. And it was the smallest of touches, really. The touch of a forehead, but it felt like the most calming peace that he had felt in a long time.
But now he needed more.
A forehead or a simple handshake just would not do. The thought made his skin tingle at the idea of such close contact from her. He was actually quite glad that she was not yet sat with him, because he would have no idea in that moment how to keep his composure enough to stop himself from doing something that he would probably regret.
Draco shook his head to rid himself from his thoughts.
None of this would do. Not one bit.
And Zabini was a dick for digging the knife in further.
"You're still on thin ice mate, I'd keep your gob well and truly shut if I was you." Draco finally answered his 'friend', wagging a finger at him.
"Bet we're in your dad's good books though, aren't we-" Theo piped up after a swig of his beer. "-Seen him practically skipping around the Ministry…you can't tell me that his good mood is because of the Nantwich rehab he took over."
Draco threw the man a look before rolling his eyes. "My Father is absolutely ecstatic – no thanks to you two plebs." He grumbled.
"We're getting extra whiskey in our Christmas hampers this year." Blaise smirked proudly. "Luna mentioned you were both trying to find a way to reverse it if possible, though? Are you sure that's wise?"
Draco sighed. He knew Granger wouldn't give up on finding some way out of their predicament, but Draco had resigned himself to the fact that there would be no way around it; he was going to be tethered to Hermione Granger in some way or another for life.
"It's Granger." Draco shrugged finally. "She never does things by halves, does she."
And where the bloody hellwasshe? His body was itching to just feel her presence. It was two days too many.
He didn't think he could take anymore time away from her. He checked his watch, noting that it was already almost eleven.
Shit … was she really not coming?
2010 - Present Day
Monday
Getting through Friday had been hard.
Getting through Saturday and Sunday had been close to torture.
But getting through today had her heart palpitating and her skin going clammy from the distance that she had put between herself and Malfoy.
She knew she was being stupid.
The potion would be complete by Friday; they would both get some sense of normality back. But all she had been thinking about since last Wednesday was how … embarrassed she felt by the complete breakdown of her hormones and the way that she was reacting to them.
Just that smallest of touch the other day had been all she could think about, and now she felt like if she were to see him again then she would have the instinct to just jump on him.
That was not going to happen, she would make sure of it.
She had made sure of it so far, by attempting to avoid him, regardless of how strongly the distance was affecting her. She was sure that Malfoy was probably feeling the same, but the mere fact that he had not been near her either must have meant that he was able to control himself more than she was.
It was almost hurting her.
So, she sat herself in the Office that was currently unoccupied next door to the one she shared with Blaise and went about her work in there in relative silence; hoping not to be disturbed by annoying blonde men and their hormones.
Three knocks upon her door.
An annoying blonde man entered her Office.
"Afternoon, Miss Granger." Lucius gave her a half smile and a small bow of the head before sweeping into the Office with a few files and took a seat opposite her at the desk she was currently occupying.
Hermione raised an eyebrow at the older Malfoy male sitting in the chair opposite her.
"Mr Malfoy."
He was looking at her expectantly.
She tried to keep him waiting for as long as she could, before finally giving in and sighing.
"Go on then, get it over with."
Lucius' grin widened. "I am currently attempting to contain my excitement levels, Hermione."
"I can see that." She gave him a small smile.
"Draco may or may not have given me some interesting news last week." Lucius was still looking at her with amusement in his eyes. "And he may or may not have alluded to the mere fact that you were involved."
Hermione nodded. "I can confirm that my involvement in the matter is not exactly a joyous one, but yes, I am involved."
She watched Lucius' face drop slightly.
"Notjoyous?" He put a hand to his chest as though offended. "Are you trying to insinuate that being bonded to my one and only, highly intellectual but highly dense son is not a happy occasion for you?" And he gave her a look that told her that he was being sarcastic. "Miss Granger, I know my son."
"I should hope that you do," she told him with a small laugh. "Or the last thirty years of his life might have been a little awkward."
"He can be an arse, to put it lightly." The man said with a sigh, crossing one leg over the other. "But he does have his good qualities, too."
Hermione eyed the man suspiciously.
"Why do I feel like you've come here to give me a sales pitch?"
Lucius gave a small laugh.
"Oh good God, no. Draco would absolutely kill me if I tried to intervene in his private life."
"But you're going to do it anyway?" She could not help the smile on her lips.
"He always has called me a meddling bastard." And he gave her a winning smile.
Hermione sat back in her chair and sighed. "Mr Malfoy, Malfoy and-" She checked herself, trying to find her manners. "Sorry –Dracoand I don't feel that way about each other. This spell –" then she eyed him pointedly. "-which I am to believe that you may have indirectly had a hand in-"
"Innocent until proven guilty." He sniffed the air indignantly.
Hermione let it drop.
"- This spell is just throwing everything at us and making us feel like thereissome sort of attraction there."
Lucius was watching her; a similar expression on his face to the one that she saw on Draco's when he was trying to figure something out.
"But thereisa thread?"
Hermione hesitated, but then could only nod.
"Marvellous." He mumbled quietly.
And then he was back out of his seat and heading towards the door. Hermione got out of her seat and followed behind him. He opened the door but then looked back at her.
"He was born grumpy, you know." The older man told her with a knowing look. "Healer told us they had never seen a new born frown so much."
"Sounds about right." Hermione replied with a small laugh.
"Just," And he seemed to stumble over his words a little. "Just think of him like an onion."
Hermione frowned.
"Layers." Lucius answered.
"Who has layers?"
Oh God …him.
How had her senses not alerted her to the fact that he was right outside her door? She could feel them now, tingling away; Lucius must have distracted her enough to not be able to tap into them.
Malfoy came into view around the door and saw his father standing behind it.
"Oh God…you." He sighed, shoulders sagging slightly as he looked at Lucius. "I dread to fucking think what you've been here for."
Lucius gave him a withering look. "Lovely little ray of sunshine as per usual, Draco. Good afternoon to you, too."
Draco only glowered at him.
Lucius turned to Hermione.
"See? The frown has never changed…"
Hermione could not help the laugh that bubbled out of her.
"Why are you here?" Draco looked like he was in absolutely no mood to deal with his father.
"Other than to make my life a complete fucking misery?"
"Just discussing metaphorical layers with Miss Granger, here." And he gave Hermione a small grin, which she returned.
Malfoy's eyes looked at them both suspiciously.
"Well I need a word."
"Oh of course; do go on." Lucius told him happily.
Draco shook his head. "Not with you…fuck's sake…"
And then Lucius Malfoy was sauntering out of the room, giving his son the once over before waving goodbye to Hermione over his shoulder.
He only stopped for a second to throw her a compliment about how bouncy her hair was looking, before walking away; his cloak billowing out behind him like he was in some sort of wind tunnel.
"Certainly knows how to make an exit." Hermione mumbled to herself.
"Could make a mountain out of a mole hill, that man." Draco mumbled in return.
And then the air was sucked out of the space between them as they both realised simultaneously that they were once again alone, for the first time in quite a few days.
Hermione was the first one to move; walking towards her desk and leaving him there in the doorway to decide what he was going to do; a decision that she was not going to make for him. If he stayed where he was then maybe it was for the best; if he came any closer, then who knew what the effects would be after not seeing each other for so long.
She heard the door click.
She heard footsteps coming further into the room.
Whispers in her head telling her to turn around; take him in; look at him; … go to him. Those same whispers had been driving her mad for days. She could think of nothing but; the aching in her gut at the distance had been uncomfortable.
"I thought you said that we'd see each other." She didn't turn around, but his voice sounded strained. "I thought you said we would help each other out; be close enough to touch."
Hermione held a shaking breath. "I'm sorry,"
She started, occupying her hands by flicking through the files on her desk that Lucius had brought in for her to look at. "I just felt embarrassed and didn't know how you would react and I didn't want you thinking that I was going to just jump on you whenever I saw you, because honestly that's not-"
"Granger," the hairs stood up on the back of her neck. "It's been five fucking days." He sounded closer to her now. "Five days of nothing. I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm going fucking insane here."
At this, she turned around.
Her breath caught.
The look in his eyes and his appearance; he looked like he was on the edge.
His eyes were everywhere on her face when she looked up at him, making her pulse race at the fact that he had been battling with this just like she had.
"I am a very proud man, Granger." He took a step towards her. "But these last few days have tested the limit on my patience." Another step. "I do not make a habit of chasing women that are clearly not interested, but I was close to flooing into your fireplace on more than one occasion just to get another grasp of your hip."
A memory shot through her; tentatively asking permission. A thumb stroking her his as his fingers held her there gently as her forehead rested against his … the peace she felt.
"The potion will be ready by Friday." She told him in a quiet tone. "Theo charmed it to the correct degree… if we can hang on-"
"I don't think Ican." He cut in, his voice rough and he put a hand through his hair. "God knows I've fuckingtried. Tried to ignore it; tried not to let it get to me. Tried to understand that this wasn't real. Tried to sleep without thinking about-" and he stopped himself, shaking his head. "Fucking hell."
"It's hard for me, too." She admitted crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm glad." He laughed darkly. "At least I'm not alone in feeling like… likethis." And he put his hands to his face in frustration.
She really had not thought that it had affected him this much.
"Friday can't come fucking quick enough." He went on, more to himself than to her. "The things I've been thinking about – the things it has been making me want todo-"
At this, she felt her heart rate pick up.
Hermione looked him over; his usual attire of his shirt, waistcoat and tie all practically matching each other.
The top buttons were open; his hair looked mussed from combing his fingers through it; probably in frustration.
He looked slightly flushed. It was hot in the room; did she look flushed too? She felt her mouth go dry the longer she looked at him, not even bothering to look away when he finally looked down at her, seeming to assess her in the way that she assessed him.
He gave her the fraction of a smirk.
"Sorry to be so direct, love." A small laugh. "I'm just not used to being sexually tormented by a woman who loathes my entire being."
Hermione felt herself becoming bold. The more she looked at him, the more she could feel something growing. The yearning to touch him was always there; but this was something else. It was a need to test their boundaries.
That small voice inside her again telling her to do it… take the step. Find out how far she could push him.
This was a bad idea. A very, very bad idea.
"What do you want to do?"
His eyes darkened to a grey slate, his jaw twitching with the tension. She could already see that he was battling with himself; he didn't want to do this. He didn't want to say the things that were in his mind. Unfortunately for them both, their hormones were more in charge of their bodies than their minds were.
And then he answered darkly. "The things I feel like Iwantto do, you wouldn't even understand, Granger."
Hermione had not even realised that she had been holding her breath, losing herself in the colour of his eyes as he spoke. And fuck, she wanted to understand. In that moment, she really wanted to understand.
Bolder still. "Try me."
And then power took over.
Backed up right against the far wall past the Office table, Draco crowded her, much like he had the other night against the mantle of his fireplace.
Both hands on either side of the wall next to her head, his head bent right down so that his mouth was practically touching her ear.
"Sometimes, I think aboutbadthings…" He whispered, causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end.
She held her own. "You're bluffing."
And then she felt it.
So many sensations at once.
A large hand went to the small of her throat; fingers and thumb pressing a feather light touch over her pulse points on either side; the gentlest of squeezes.
She groaned. He sighed heavily against her ear. She bit her lip as she felt his grip tighten ever-so-slightly.
"Well, isn'tthatsomething." He breathed into her ear, and she felt his body shifting closer to hers. "Hermione Granger; not opposed to a hand on her throat…"
She swallowed, moving her hips slightly, brushing against his and making him hiss.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Malfoy." She whispered back, feeling a tidal wave of emotions hitting her; that peace she had been craving slowly creeping its way into her system at his touch.
In her daze, it had only just started occurring to her that it had taken longer this time than it had previously to feel the sensation of being sated.
That was troubling.
Malfoy's breath hitched against her ear at her words; she felt the tip of his nose at the top of her ear; felt the brush of his chin against her jawline. It was indescribable.
"Don't push me with your words, Granger." He told her in a serious tone. "You don't want this; you'renotfor me." His lips were at her jaw, grazing along it. "We can't want this." Travelling to the side of her mouth. "Not really."
Cold air hit her; he had suddenly put distance between their bodies. He looked both completely sated and agonised. He was two sides of the same coin; just like her. A constant battle with inner turmoil.
"Don't leave it so long next time." His voice was rough once again as he started to straighten himself up. "Neither of us want this to get out of hand," He gave her a serious look. "We can see out the rest of the week with the small touches you discussed last week."
She could tell he meant business now. She had a feeling that he was regretting letting himself get lost just moments ago.
"And lets pray to every fucking deity known to mankind that this relaxant you and Nott have brewed up gives us the relief that we both need."
Hermione nodded silently, trying her best to straighten her shirt and pants as efficiently as she could without drawing attention to herself. Now able to see the wood from the trees after coming down from her hormonal high, she was fully aware that staying away for too long was just dangerous; for both of them.
"I will say one thing though;" He told her then from the Office doorway with a small smirk, cocking his head to the side.
Hermione gave him a curious look.
"Never pegged the Gryffindor golden girl to have a choking kink…" And his eyes flitted to her throat, which suddenly felt the heat from where his fingers had been squeezing.
She bit her lip, feeling her cheeks blush.
"That one will stay with me." There was one more glance over her, and then he was gone.
And she only knew one thing;
No matter how good the potion was that her and Theo had brewed up… it still was not going to bring her the relief that she craved.