A/N: So, it's only recently I fell into the world of Lumione, after a half decade love affair with Dramione, but I've fallen into it HARD. I also quickly realised there are just not enough long Lumionie stories and the world and I thought I'd do my bit to contribute, so here we are.
I'm planning to update at least once a week but hoping to do more, I've already got the first few chapters written. We'll have to see what life throws my way.
I need to add an immense amount of thanks to aslythespuff for being an absolutely amazing Alpha/Beta with never-ending patience.
Chapter 1.
"For Heaven's sake, Theo, stop pouting. You'll give yourself wrinkles and we both know you don't want that, then you'd really have something to pout about," Hermione chastised as she deposited a cup of coffee on his desk, before retreating to her own.
"But Hermione," Theo whined, "do you know what he made me do last night?"
"No, Theo, what dastardly thing did he make you do?" Hermione asked him with a slight smile and roll of her eyes. After working with Theo for the best part of five years, she was virtually immune to his dramatics. Not that she'd change him for the world; he'd become one of the most important people in her life. She could share everything with Theo and he understood her perfectly, sometimes even more so than Harry did.
"Laundry, Hermione! He made me do laundry!" Hermione couldn't help but let out a burst of laughter at how positively scandalised he sounded.
"Theo! Oh, how could he? After all you've been through, his wooing you, him making sure you got the wedding of your dreams, him catering to your every whim, and now he goes and does a thing like this!"
"Stop laughing at me! You know I'm not built for manual labour. And whilst he may have given me the perfect wedding, he certainly doesn't cater to my every whim."
"You're pouting again."
"I have every right to pout. My husband is being mean to me, and my best friend is laughing at me for it," Theo complained, pout deepening to a scowl.
"Ok, firstly, laundry doesn't exactly count as manual labour, and it's not that you're not built for it, you just don't like it," she glared at him sternly before continuing, "And no, you're right, Neville doesn't cater to quite your every whim and luckily, too, or you'd be even more of a princess than you already are." Hermione arched her brow, but before Theo could respond, Harry walked in with Ron in tow.
"Hey 'Mione, Theo. How's it going?" Harry asked, while Ron lumbered in, bleary eyed and yawning, and took a seat in front of the two desks.
"Honestly, about as exciting as Ron looks."
"Yeah, it's certainly been quiet around here recently," Harry agreed, taking a seat next to Ron. "We do have something for you, though. We got called out to suspicious activity at an abandoned house…"
"Oh, what did you find? Is everyone okay?"
Ron chuckled. "Calm down 'Mione. We were in more danger in one of Hagrid's lessons than we were on this job." Hermione rolled her eyes. Given the type of creatures Hagrid considered child-friendly, she hardly found that reassuring.
"Ugh!" Theo threw his arms up in exasperation. "Don't tease like that; I almost got excited!" At Hermione's pointed look, he hastily added, "Obviously, we don't want anything terrible to happen, but it is tedious at the minute. I don't do well with tedious."
"Tell me about it, mate," Ron muttered. Really, thought Hermione. Between the two of them, it was like working with a pair of sulky school children. It was likely one of the many reasons Harry got promoted to Lead Auror over Ron. Of course, being the saviour of the wizarding world hadn't exactly hurt, either.
"Anyway. What did you find Harry?" she pressed on.
"Essentially an empty cauldron. Though we managed to get a few remnants of whatever they were brewing from it. That's why we're here. I was hoping you could run it over to Malfoy later? So far, no one here has a clue what it is. The basic diagnostics we can do here aren't showing a thing." Malfoy Enterprises was now run by Draco who had, against the odds, become friendly with all of them after the war. Well, maybe only civil with Ron. Theo, of course, had been friends with Draco for many years, but now Hermione and Harry both counted him as a friend of sorts, too.
Hermione reached out her hand for the vial Harry was holding, "I'll take it."
"Good, I already saw the snarky git when he came over for dinner at the weekend. That's enough Draco for me for a few days." They all knew Theo didn't mean it; he loved Draco like a brother. Hermione had long since learned that sarcasm and insults were the Slytherin way of showing affection.
Harry shook his head good naturedly, "You know, I'm not sure how long it'll be 'till things like that stop catching me off guard. Theo Nott, and his husband Neville Longbottom, having Draco Malfoy for dinner."
"Five years ago, I'd have thought someone was bloody barmy if they'd suggested it. I mean, I know after eighth year things were better, but still. Mad." Ron bobbed his head to emphasise the last word. Theo looked wistful. Hermione knew that as much as Theo complained, he loved Neville endlessly and could still never quite believe Neville had chosen him. It was part of the guilt and shame he carried for being the son of a Death Eater.
"How's Neville doing, anyway?" Harry asked.
"He's okay, getting ready for some sort of advanced Herbology seminar that'll be over most of the summer. He's so excited but I'll miss him as it'll mean he's away a lot. I'd never want him to miss it though. It's by invite only, and only the most respected Herbologists have made the cut." Theo went from looking forlorn to bursting with pride as he spoke.
Hermione walked across and wrapped her arms around him from behind. They'd always been very affectionate, giving and taking comfort whenever needed. "You know you can come and stay with me when he's away overnight."
Theo reached up, holding one of the hands that was resting on his chest. "You know I was already planning on it. Just no fucking laundry." Hermione let go, laughed and swatted his shoulder before heading back to her desk.
Harry and Ron looked on, Harry fondly and Ron a little bemused. Hermione knew Harry was grateful for how close she and Theo had become now that most of his time was spent with Ginny. They were still close, and he would always love her like a sister, but he was glad she had someone else around she was so close to. Ron however, while he never seemed to have a problem with it, often looked like he found their relationship a little strange. She could only imagine what he'd say if he knew they usually shared a bed when he stayed over. That was just Ron, she supposed. Neville knew it had been that way well before he and Theo were an item, and never had a problem with it. He knew how important they were to one another, and how much they needed each other.
After Ron and Harry left, Hermione penned an owl to Malfoy asking if he would be available when she finished work. She got an affirmative reply a short while later, so she finished up the paperwork she was doing and headed over on foot. She could have taken the floo but she wanted the walk after being indoors all day. Casting a wandless cooling charm, as it was still sweltering in the afternoon sun, she set off through Muggle London, her heels clicking satisfyingly on the pavement. Malfoy Enterprises was a rather stunning and very modern glass fronted building, charmed so no Muggles would notice it.
She smiled at the receptionist as she walked past, being allowed straight through as she was often here for one reason or another. Draco had overhauled the company after leaving Hogwarts. He stepped into the role of CEO and had turned the company inside out, sacking the majority of the staff due to the rampant corruption and ties to Voldemort, and worked tirelessly to change the company's reputation, as well as that of his family name.
No one could deny he'd done an excellent job of it. Malfoy Enterprises had various departments, including medical research, potions research, and a legal department which worked for worthy causes at a vastly reduced rate. They invested in many small and struggling companies, helping them get back on their feet after the war. As such, they were now largely well regarded and well respected; even the Ministry held contracts with their specialist departments, which was why Hermione was there today.
She made her way up to Draco's office on the top floor, noticing that for the most part it was empty at this time of day, and bumped into Blaise as she stepped out onto the floor. "Granger, may I just say you're looking as ravishing as ever today."
Chuckling to herself, she replied with a wry smile. "Thank you Blaise. How are you?"
He leaned against the wall. "All the better for seeing you, of course." Hermione rolled her eyes, it was common knowledge that Blaise was bisexual, whilst favouring men, and a terrible flirt. While she couldn't deny she enjoyed his compliments, she knew he wasn't really interested in her beyond friendship, which she was thankful for. While he was a handsome man, she just wasn't attracted to him. Though in truth, she very rarely found herself attracted to anyone. Once she got past the fleeting, surface attraction, she found they often seemed to lack what she was looking for. If only she knew what that was.
After a quick chat with Blaise, she continued to Draco's office at the end of the hallway.
"Granger, good to see you. Did I hear Blaise harassing you in the hallway?"
Laughing, Hermione replied, "Of course you did. I'd be seriously concerned about him if he didn't, at this point." She moved to sit as she spoke; they were long past the point of formalities.
"You're not wrong," he agreed with a short laugh, leaning back in his chair. "Anyway, how are you? And what brings you here?"
"Good, thank you. Work's pretty quiet for the most part, which is both good and bad. I'd love to offer you something interesting about my life outside work, but unfortunately there isn't much," she told him with a laugh before continuing. "How about you?"
"Well, I'm tied to this chair more often than not. But you know it suits me that way." Hermione did know. Draco tended to keep to himself as he seemed to have struggled to let anyone in past a certain point. Theo told her it was a fear of rejection due to his and his family's role in the war and how the wizarding world had treated him as a result. While he was liked and respected on a business level, he was still too afraid to put himself out there on a personal level.
She gave him a pointed look, showing both her understanding of words he'd never spoken to her but also her disapproval at his self-inflicted seclusion. He raised a eyebrow as if daring her to challenge him. With a sigh, she relented. "So, the Aurors were called to a raid on an abandoned house this morning. When they got there, it was nothing apart from an empty cauldron. While they managed to salvage the remnants of the potion, no one at the ministry has a clue as to what it may be. Hence my bringing it to you and hoping your lab may have more luck with it." She handed over the vial, which he inspected thoughtfully.
"Hmm, well, we'll certainly do our best. I'll give it to Padma first thing. If I had time, I'd be interested to take a look myself, but I doubt that'll be an option at the moment." It was no secret that Draco had a love for potions. If not for his desire to overhaul the company, he'd likely have taken a potions mastery. As it was, he'd hired Padma Patil to run the potions lab as soon as she'd completed her mastery. She was, by all accounts, doing an excellent job of it, and had become highly renowned in her field.
Hermione heard a door open in the corridor behind her, and automatically turned her head to look, as she'd left the door open thinking the floor was empty. She froze as she caught the eye of Lucius Malfoy, who looked no less surprised than she was. After half a second's shocked pause, he turned away and wasted no time entering the room next door. As Hermione turned back to Draco, he looked a little uncertain, as if trying to gauge her reaction. "I…I didn't know he was here," she began. In her surprise she didn't realise the stupidity of her words until they were out of her mouth. Of course you didn't know he was here, Hermione, that tends to be how closed doors work. Frankly, she also realised he had every right to be here, but as far as she knew, he'd barely been seen, if at all, since his release from Azkaban a year prior.
After a short pause, as if giving himself time to weigh his words, Draco spoke. "He, erm, well, he works here from time to time. I find it helpful to have the advice of someone I trust. Someone who's known the world of business far longer than I."
"Yes… Yes, I can imagine you would," she paused, took a breath, and gathered her thoughts. "Look, I'm sorry," Draco visibly tensed at her words and she hurried to reassure him, "it just took me by surprise, was all. I'd never heard anything of him working here, or anything really since…" she trailed off apologetically, but Draco visibly relaxed as she finished speaking. She felt terrible, realising he'd thought he may be shunned for the proximity of his father.
"You've nothing to apologise for, Grainger. Maybe I should have said something, but he tried to keep out of the public eye and would rather people didn't know anything of his work here." As he looked at her, he seemed to be willing her to understand what he was trying to say, without making him say the words. And she did, so she told him as much.
"It's okay, Draco, I understand," she spoke with a soft smile and he looked at her appreciatively. "Anyway, I should be getting home." She made to stand and Draco joined her, following her to the door.
"I'll be in touch as soon as we figure anything out, okay?"
"That's great. Thank you, Draco."
"See you soon, Hermione." She smiled at him, as she was wont to do on the rare occasions he called her by her first name. Though he never meant using her last name to be offensive, and she knew it was just habit by now, it was usually when he was trying to show appreciation in some way that he made the effort to call her Hermione.
As she walked down the corridor she couldn't help her eyes sliding towards the door behind which was Lucius Malfoy.