The Gold Dragon

Disclaimer: Sigh. I didn't win the Harry Potter ownership lottery, which went to J.K. Rowling again. The Plot lottery I won. Need I say more?

It was summer for real. The heat began to lie in the air, and frequently people came in buying wedding rings and such for their trips to the Caribbean islands for their summer vacations, where they got married on the beach.

Hermione did not mind the heat so much, but it was irritating, and she was very relieved for the Air Conditioning. Her hair she often wound up into a sort of chignon with a pen stuck through it as a chopstick.

Her office looked like a mess, she decided. But she couldn't do anything much about that, and quite frankly she didn't want to. Pieces of paper lay in an organized mess all over, and she knew exactly where every thing was.

However, if Ginny told her through various means, usually magical, that any visitor was arriving there, the room would be as neat and tidy as the day it was first furnished.

This was a never ceasing amusement to the rest of the staff, particularly Laura and Draco, who were nearest to her office.

Draco's office was also a mess. Complicated calculations and pieces of scrap drawings lay all around, but his office could be neatened suddenly as well.

That was exactly how he liked it.

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Inside Le Café, tourists jam-packed the little shop. Hermione, who didn't mind any of this really as most of them went into her own shop, was somewhat put out, however because of the fact that they had taken nearly every seat in the place.

She twisted and turned and dodged various people until she found her corner, and then found—

"Draco?"

"Hermione. How nice to see you. Have a seat," he said, indicating the chair opposite him. He moved everything off the table, and she say him put them in a type of folder. He was having coffee again, as usual.

She slid gracefully onto the seat, and put her coffee down on the table. Neither of them cared that it was summer, because coffee was their fuel.

"What's with all the paper?" she asked, downing half of the cup at once.

"Work, which you give me, my dear boss. What did you think it was?"

"I was simply idly curious."

"I never remembered you being the type to be idle," he said, looking surprised. His eyes fell on the pen in her hair, and he smiled.

"Everyone changes, Draco. As I'm sure you know."

"Naturally."

It was always like this, the light teasing, the coffee, and Hermione came to realize that she depended on it to the utmost.

"What are you pondering so?"

She glanced up, startled. "What?"

He repeated the question.

"Oh. Nothing, really. Just the newest intake of tourists probably means from the looks of this coffee shop, an increase of our Ring Made While You Wait. Most of these people look like they want nothing more than to elope."

Draco chuckled. "Including Kevyn and Laura I presume. You wouldn't charge them?"

"Maybe. I wonder if they're getting married. I love weddings."

"Yes, you are the type to."

At the look on her face, he explained. "You look the type to be glad to see two people to be set into eternal bondage to each other."

"Cynical person. I suppose you hate weddings then?"

"Oh no. The best part is the drinks."

"Weddings are lovely. They're not like you think."

The raised eyebrow told her he was going to contradict her, and he did. "They are, if you watch mostly arranged marriages."

She looked up. "They're still such things in this day and age?"

"Very much so. In a way, I envied you in Hogwarts. Despite the fact you're not a pureblood, you never had to worry about the things I had to. Like arranged marriages. Quite common."

Hermione felt stunned. She imagined being in one of those marriages. "Yuck."

"Precisely."

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Ginny suddenly appeared in Hermione's office, bright and early that morning, with a look on her face that quite clearly said something was important. In her chocolate skirt and matching shirt, pregnancy became her. But she complained because she thought she was looking a bit too fat already.

"Here Hermione," she said, spilling paper all over her friend's desk. "It's like this. You've got this amount of meetings next week, and due in two weeks, this amount of people want this amount of jewellery. So in other words you're busy."

"What's the problem?"

"Mike's got the flu."

"Merde." The lapse into French was unconscious, but had started because Hermione didn't like cursing in English.

"So who's going to work? How come Laura didn't tell me?"

"Laura's not in yet. Mike just called and said M.J. was still coming but that she couldn't come."

Her mind began to turn wheels visibly. Who could do the job in place of Mike? She wasn't going to hire anybody except for extra cashiers right now, because it was difficult to find anyone at such short notice with the right experience. She couldn't have a lapse.

A knock was heard on the door. "Come in," said Hermione, briskly.

Draco walked in. "I apologize for any interruptions."

Hermione's impatient wave of the hand dismissed this. "Malfoy."

He looked directly at her. "Yes?"

"No, I wasn't calling you. That's the answer."

Ginny and Draco swapped glances with each other, both not more than a little startled. Draco, because he was confused; Ginny, because she was surprised.

The crazy employer of both, who was wearing black pants with a russet shirt and matching silk scarf looked at them, but it was Malfoy she addressed. "You are capable of creating designs for jewellery, are you not?"

"Naturally."

It was a display of arrogance so easy and instinctive that neither woman condemned him for it. One does not condemn life savers. Hermione continued, "And can you not make a certain amount of jewellery?"

"Yes."

"Can you demonstrate a piece that you made?"

He nodded. A look of concentration spread across his face, and then, quite suddenly he was holding a box. He handed it to Ginny, who handed it to Hermione, and she opened it.

She paused dead in her tracks. "The Gold Dragon."

Again he nodded, but a flicker of amusement passed behind his eyes. "Yes. Initials on the inside."

She could not believe she was holding this. This priceless mystery. She knew it well. It had been made soon after the defeat of Lord Voldemort. She felt her body flashback to the day when she first heard of it. It was actually the inspiration that caused her to go into the gem business.

She had been still rather depressed about Ron's disappearance. She didn't want to believHe was gone. Ron had disappeared, and she still had a feeling in her body that was emptiness. She shivered, but the day wasn't cold. She wanted to cry, but the tears were gone. She held on the little hope that he would come back, but something else told her it was impossible. She ignored all messages that people left her.

She was listlessly surfing the net, indulging in her love of gemstones and such things, and she idly put in emeralds. The matches that came up were stunning. Each and everyone said the same thing. Gold Dragon Disappeared. She sat up and read the story.

The mysterious Gold Dragon, a ring of a gold dragon so dubbed by the salesperson has disappeared. An unknown buyer came to collect this masterpiece of modern work, and it has not been seen since.

Hermione of the present stared at the ring in her hand, these thoughts churning in her head. It was exactly as described—a shining gold dragon that traced sinuously over a band of gold. The eyes were emerald. And the maker's initials were engraved into the inside of the ring. D.M.

She stared up and caught Draco's eyes, well aware that Ginny was staring at him as well. "That's it. You're hired extra. I'll raise your salary as well. By almost double, providing you can keep up with the extra work."

She slid the ring on one finger. It was too big, naturally as it was Draco's ring. The Gold Dragon.

Staring at the blond man in front of her, she knew exactly why it was gold.

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M.J., Ryan, Tanisha and Latoya stared at him. "What are you doing here?"

Draco rolled up his sleeves and continued to double check the inventory. The last time he did this was the past Monday. He continued to look over the shelves. His admiration was not showing on his face, due to his ability to make his face a void.

"Working. Good morning."

"Inventory?" asked M.J. She brushed back her brown hair out of her face.

"Not exactly the full stop."

"So what are you doing?"

"Working. I'm joining for about a week, until your sister is back at work. How is she?"

Draco Malfoy of before would never have asked her anything concerning a Muggle. Draco now was. "She's fine," was the reply.

"Good. What's on the list for work today?"

She dug into a portfolio, and produced it—a long list of work. "This much is finished. All the bits done in yellow. The bits in orange are half done. The pink isn't done. But the red is urgent."

His eyes scanned the list in her relatively scrappy handwriting. It was easy to see when her sister had written, because her sister's writing was much neater.

"Alright. Then let's start working."

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He swept his hair out of his face, again, pleased at his handiwork. He began again. The room smelled of metal, and metal polish. His hands were stained. He didn't mind. He was finishing the polish of the ring, including its stone.

M.J. returned and smiled at him, her face looking refreshed. "Alright, you can take lunch break."

"Are you certain?" he asked, handing her the ring and going to wash his hands.

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Half hour."

He was outside, after stopping to say hello to the others inside, across the street and in the shop drinking coffee again. The Dragon, the Gold Dragon was nestled in his inside pocket. It had been in the Dragon Box, in one of the several compartments hidden inside it. All were empty save one.

The ring was cursed, as well.

He'd made sure of that.

He was joined by Hermione, as usual. Her pen stuck in her hair earned a few chilly glances by the posh tourists. She slid into the seat opposite him. "Hello."

"Hermione."

"Lunch break?"

"Yes. Or rather, coffee break."

She smiled. She knew what he was talking about. "Ah well, we just have to live with all of that."

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her. Her face looked flushed.

"Head ache."

He nodded. "I'm afraid I can't do anything about that. We're in a Muggle shop."

"No worries."

He took her hand. "You sure?"

Her face turned a pink that could be seen through the flush. "Very much so. Let go of my hand so I can drink my coffee Malfoy."

He laughed at her. "Very well. If that's what you wish." He kissed her hand before he let it go, and let her drink her coffee.

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Well, that's another chapter. Sorry for the delay. I rewrote it like thirty million times before I was happy with it. It 's also my longest chapter yet.

Now. I can't remember every reviewer's name, and I'm sorry, but this is the last chance I'll get to update before eight o clock, so I can't be fussy.

For you who said that the characters are Out of Character (O.C.) it's near impossible to write a Draco/Hermione fic with them both in character. I've only ever read one of those, but I can't remember its name. (I'm very forgetful)

Thanks to you who demand an update. I had no idea my story was that good :D

I'm glad you all took the time to review. It makes me get a warm fuzzy feeling, and promotes updates. I'll be better next chapter, when I may have more time.