A Chain Reaction

AU! DRAMIONE.

(object) necklace/amulet

Draco walked out of the bathroom, his towel slung over his shoulder, holding a can of shaving cream in his hand. Ever since Harry had shown him the Muggle way of getting rid of unwanted facial hair, Draco had spent more time on his self-care routine than ever before—not that he didn't already have a long routine.

He walked towards the cupboard to look for his suit, absentmindedly flipping the can in the air. "Hermione, everyone's probably at the ball by now! We have to get—"

Just then, he caught sight of Hermione's reflection in the mirror.

She stood a few feet away, trying to pin her hair in an elaborate hairstyle. Her long, flowing silver-tone gown was embroidered with sequins, and as she reached up to smooth out any flyaway curls, the dress shimmered and gleamed in the light of the setting sun.

Draco swallowed and tried to look away from her, but he was unable to. As he watched her tuck away her curls behind her ear, he was suddenly reminded of the necklace he had bought for her. He knew it would look perfect on her.

Wordlessly, he Accioed the narrow velvet box from their bedside drawer, opened it and pulled the necklace out, his eyes still trained on Hermione's form. She hummed as she slowly twirled, her dress billowing around her ankles.

Draco's heart skipped a beat at the glorious sight. He silently walked up behind her and noticed her lips turning up in a small smile. He trailed his hand up her bare arm, his eyes locked on her reflection. Goosebumps rose on her skin in the wake of his touch, and Draco's breath hitched when she subconsciously leaned back against his chest.

"You look… bewitching… beguiling… ravishing," he whispered, his breath caressing her ear, delighting in the way she shivered and let out a soft gasp. He lowered his mouth to the spot behind her ear and let his lips barely graze it, aware of the effect it would have on her. "We're going to be late for the ball, aren't we?"

"Why?" she whispered back, tilting her head to give him more access to her neck. "I'm ready."

He smiled against her skin and pressed his nose to her pulse, breathing in her floral scent of lilacs. My Amortentia.

"But I'm not," he murmured, kissing the side of her neck. She let out a soft moan and reached her arm up to cup the back of his head. Running her fingers through his wet hair, she tugged him closer.

She tried to voice what she wanted him to do, but Draco yanked himself away with a loud groan. "Witch, if you keep doing that, we'll definitely be late. I have an image to uphold in society, and you keep on trying to mess with it."

Hermione chuckled, lowering her gaze and then looking up at him through her lashes. "It's not entirely my fault."

"It is. If you didn't look so good, I wouldn't want to ravish you—which means we wouldn't be getting late."

Hermione's cheeks tinged pink at his phrasing, but before she could say something, she caught sight of the necklace dangling from Draco's fingers. "What's that?"

Draco looked down at the necklace and remembered what he had been intending on doing. Sheepishly, he raised his arm and showed it to her. "It reminded me of you," he admitted quietly.

The necklace had a simple silver chain with a heart-shaped pendant dangling from it, embedded with tiny sparkling diamonds. That it must have cost a fortune was her first thought, but the fact that he had gotten it for her because it reminded him of her melted her heart.

"It's beautiful," she murmured, extending her hand to stroke the heart dangling from the chain. Getting married to Draco hadn't changed her views about wasting money on useless items, but she was grateful enough to appreciate Draco's thought behind the gift. "This will go perfectly with my dress! Could you put it on me?"

Draco smiled and placed his hand on her waist to turn her around again. He met her eyes in the mirror and swept her hair to the side. Lowering his head to kiss the back of her neck, he placed the necklace around her throat, taking note of the way Hermione's breath hitched at his actions. He trailed his fingers over her neck and clasped the hook of the necklace, his eyes still locked on hers.

Hermione was so captivated by his flirtatious behaviour that she didn't realise he had fastened the clasp the wrong way. When he trailed his hands down the side of her body, gripped her waist, and whirled her around, the clasp came undone and the necklace instantly plunged into her neckline.

The tension in the room instantly broke.

Draco's mouth was agape, and Hermione burst into peals of laughter as she began fishing around her bodice for the necklace. Placing it around her neck, she clasped it herself and said, "You're terrible at this. Go, get dressed—otherwise, we'll definitely be late."

Draco harrumphed and stormed away, his previous romantic mood disappearing in a puff of smoke.