Disclaimer: None of the character's below are mine. Never have, never will be.

Summary: Draco and Hermione meet in a club years after the war that rid the world of Voldermort. It's just drabble over a ship I like, but I know is and never will be existent. I heavily edited this. And Hermione is OOC. You've been warned. And people mentioned that it was long, so I turned it into two chapters.

The Dragon Taming Lion

I gazed at the woman beside me out of the corner of my eye. My cigarette was sagging between my fingers, forgotten for the moment. She was different. There was no other word for it. Just...different. I frowned a bit and sighed without realizing it. Of course she heard me.

Her face was smiling, but I knew it was a mask. It was a good mask though. Everyone around her believed she was happy. They knew her story. Well, they knew the heavily edited story that proclaimed her glory throughout every newspaper in both the Muggle and our world of magic. But I knew better.

She raised her eyebrow questioningly at me. I was trapped, and I knew it. I averted my gaze, and tapped my cigarette into the ashtray.

"Was that a sigh of exasperation? Or have you finally just run out of words?" I refrained from snorting. It really wasn't the kind of thing a man of my standard should be caught doing, but I was drunk. Run out of things to say? No. I still had a lot more to say. I've barely scraped the surface, Madame. Who are you kidding? I could say so much to her, but that would involve saying things that I didn't want to hear myself saying out loud. I'm sure she wouldn't appreciate half of it either. It was hard enough hearing the words roll around in my own head. Why share the insanity?

I showcased my trademark smirk, and then took a deep breath in. I straightened myself up, and put out the cigarette. Then I turned to face her. I gave her the look, and refrained from smirking once again, knowing how uncomfortable it made her feel.

She was gorgeous. Her hair was no more the frizzy mass. No, she learned to tame it a little better. Her eyes were what really caught my attention though. They gave her little act away. The pain and beauty of them were entrancing. Hermione, though mature beyond her years while in school, was finally a woman. About damn time. No more an uptight, brainy, little, know-it-all. No. That girl was long gone. Gone long before it should have been even. But still, I can't complain. Granger was damn hot.

"You caught me, Granger. Nothing could ever get past you, could it." It was a statement, not a question. We both knew the answer, and we both smiled.

I gave my empty glass a glance, and then slid my gaze to her own cup, half-empty, and set to the side. Obviously, she was done, and so was I. But what was that to stop me? I grabbed my glass, and raised it to her. This time, both brows were raised, an amused smile dancing on her lips. She slinked slender fingers around her glass, and raised it to mine.

"To a night where the Lion and the Dragon finally made amends," we both clicked our glasses, Hermione draining the rest of what was left in her cup, and slamming the cup back onto the bar. She stood up, stretching long arms into the air, fingers laced together, as she un-cramped her body. I couldn't help but stare openly, and appreciatively. She caught me once again, and shook her head with a knowing smile. I raised my brow, giving off a rather innocent-boy look, and I was rewarded with a quiet snicker.

"It's been fun, Granger"

"It has, hasn't it Malfoy? What a surprise..." she gave me a playful wink, as we both began to head for the exit of the club.

As we exited, the chilly night air hit us both. I saw the shiver run up her spine, and I obligingly took my jacket off, and wrapped it around her bare shoulders. Before she could protest, I quieted her with a finger to her lips.

"What? Can't a Malfoy be a gentleman every once in awhile? I mean, I took lessons for years on proper etiquette..." Giving her a quick glance, I knew what she was about to say, so I finished before she could get a word in, "...and I think it's about time I put them to use." She smiled.

We began to walk. The streets were surprisingly crowded, and we quiet. The noises around us quickly consumed the silence though. I, for one, was too lost in my own thoughts. I needed time to sort, and examine. Draco Malfoy always had control over his emotions...so why was it now that this control was slowly sliding out of my firm grip? I looked at her. It was more of a nervous shift of the eyes, which I quickly averted before she could catch me. Her lower lip was placed gently between her teeth, as she absently chewed it. She seemed to be in the same predicament as me...well, she seemed to be deep in thought at least.

Why was I so nervous? How could this woman have such a large impact on me in a mere four hours? If she were anyone else, I'd have her slammed up against the pole we were passing at this moment. Rough and rowdy sex right there and then. But I didn't want to be rough and rowdy with her. I wanted to be gentle, and thorough. Very thorough. For once in my life, I found myself not caring about what I wanted, but what she wanted. What was I thinking! I growled with frustration.

She seemed to snap out of her reverie, and jerked her head up to look at me, eyes showing her concern. Damn those eyes. The muscles around my own loosened, and my eyes widened. I didn't mean for that to happen. Damn.

"What's the matter, Malfoy? And don't say 'nothing' either." Her eyes now narrowed dangerously, with an unspoken threat. She'd heard enough lies in the past couple years, and I knew she didn't deserve to hear anymore. But, I was Draco Malfoy, after all. And nothing was going to change that. Ever.

"Nothing..." I replied with a shrug. Slowly facing forward again, hands in my pockets, and an amused smirk firmly in place. What else is new? I saw her glaring at me, but I still continued to smile. I was suffering, so it was only fair to share, wasn't it? This death-glare she had leveled on me as we kept walking, didn't help me at all though. It was a major turn-on, and I wanted to smash my head against another streetlight pole we were passing.

One More chapter.