A/N: Enjoy!
Hermione parted her lips to say something, to apologize for the other night like she had planned. Only nothing came out. Not a word, not as little as a syllable. She merely stood by the desk in an unintended state of silence as Malfoy looked to her from the door.
Although he had left it open an inch, the sounds from the corridor had vanished at his arrival.
Without a word, he hovered on the other side of the office in his Healer robes. Going by the dark circles around his eyes, he must not have slept. A few of the nurses had mentioned Scrofungulus and Hogwarts in the same sentence.
She wondered if he had been up, treating the influx of students.
"Can I help you?" he asked, breaking her train of thought.
Mouth open, she managed only to breathe in at first. "Y-yes."
He gave her a look as though to tell her to go on.
"I, erm … I hate to intrude on such a busy morning at your place of work. I just …" She spared a moment to gather her thoughts, looking down at the floor before she said it. "I've come here to apologize for the other night."
Lifting his eyebrow a little, he offered no words apart from, "For what exactly?"
She hesitated a moment. "The things I had said to you after we … it was unfair of me to bring up the past in the way that I had."
"Okay."
"Okay?"
"I accept your apology," he stated, clearly. "Now if you don't mind, I've got work to do."
Her heart dropped. "Right. Sorry."
There was a beat of silence afterward, during which time she had tucked away the urge to drag it on and instead held her head high on her way to the door. Brushing past him just as she had made a grab for the handle, her chest tightened in the confines of her top as he clasped his hand around hers, loose enough that she could have pulled away had she tried.
Breathing in deeply, she glanced back at him, unable to utter a word.
"Why are you really here?" he asked, in a quiet but firm voice. "You could have owled me if you had wanted to say you were sorry."
She tensed a bit. "I've always felt apologies are best delivered in person."
"It's not an apology I want from you, Granger."
Chest contracting at the sound of that, she remained silent a few seconds. "What would you have me do?"
"See me tonight. The Leaky Cauldron at nine o'clock."
She faced him, quietly taken aback. "Tonight?"
"Unless you've got plans," he furthered, the smallest dash of warmth in his cool grey eyes as his gaze dropped a few inches to her lips.
Making a conscious effort to breathe, she blinked up at him as he came closer. The gentle echo of foot traffic and chatter filled the silence between them, muffled by the heavy, wooden door as he reached over her shoulder and pressed it shut.
On the night of the wedding she had assumed it was the open bar that had did her in. Standing no more than an inch or two away from him now in the quiet of his office, without a drop of alcohol in her system, she had nothing to blame but her own desires.
Her eyes slammed shut, the ends of his pale blond hair grazing her forehead as he leaned in.
"I can't get you out of my head," he uttered to her, in such a way that she felt it everywhere.
Releasing the breath she had no idea she had been holding in, she bit her bottom lip to keep from admitting how often she had thought back to it. The way in which he had pressed her body to the rickety, wooden door and dragged his lips down her neck and between her breasts, bringing wave after wave of raw, maddening pleasure to every inch of her being as he drove his cock inside her, over and over again.
By the time his lips had come crashing down on hers for the second time, taking her in a kiss that had pulsed all the way down to her clit, she had already given in to the fact that he could fuck her in whatever way and however many times he felt like.
She wrapped her legs around him as he lifted her up, carrying her back to his desk and setting her down on the hard, wooden surface. The stack of files that had been waiting for him had fallen to the floor in a flutter of parchment. He paid no mind to it, instead weaving his fingers through her curls as their tongues met.
Were it not for way in which he had leaned into her just then, pressing between her legs as she let out a muffled, broken moan, she might have wondered if it were all just a dream.
Only as he reached down, unbuttoning her jeans as he slid a hand under her knickers and steadily pushed two fingers inside her wet heat whilst rubbing his thumb against her clit, did she abandon all sense of self-control.
Holding on for dear life, she parted her lips in sweet agony before plummeting over the edge.
"Y-yes," she moaned, breathlessly. "M-more."
Slowing his movements as she rode the waves down to the last second, he smothered her lips in a deep, full body kiss, just barely undoing his belt before there was a knock on the door.
"Healer Malfoy," one of the nurses called out from the other side. "You've got multiple patients waiting for you in rooms five through thirty-two."
Hermione lifted an eyebrow at that, mouthing the last number to him in a bewildered state.
Forcing his eyes shut in a mix of disdain and absolute agony, he reluctantly pulled away. "I'll be out in a moment," he called out to the nurse, waiting until her footsteps had faded away before he exhaled. "Sorry."
"No need," she reassured him, hopping off of his desk as she buttoned her jeans and righted her clothing. "I probably shouldn't have stopped by during such a busy time as it is."
Straightening his robes and redoing his belt, he turned to her after, giving her a quick kiss before they had parted ways. "Tonight."
"Tonight," she agreed.
Later That Night
Bouncing a look at the time on her wristwatch, Hermione suppressed the urge to go straight back to St. Mungo's and demand to know what was taking so long. Malfoy had said nine o'clock but it was nearly ten now.
She downed the rest of her pint, which had by that point grown warm under her death grip. With a quick glance at the door as a cool breeze penetrated the heat inside, she lost all train of thought at the sight of her ex.
Alone and bundled in a traveling cloak, he approached the bar and ordered himself a pint, taking notice of her only then. "Well, well, well … if it isn't the brightest witch of our age."
Pressing her lips together to keep from laughing, she had another sip. "Never gets old, does it?"
"Only because it gets under your skin."
"Shouldn't you be in Hawaii or Mykonos or something?"
"We're going next month. Too much to do here in London now that we've got the house and the new office space," Ron explained. "How's the Ministry treating you?"
Hermione shrugged. "Same as usual. I've got the week off, which is … different."
"You're bored out of your mind."
"So bored," she admitted. "I've just got to come to terms with the fact that I need my work."
Ron smirked. "By the way, thanks for coming to the wedding. We didn't get the chance to speak but it was nice of you to drop in."
Tensing a bit at the reminder of what had happened at the wedding, Hermione fixed her lips into a smile. "Not a problem. It was a very beautiful ceremony."
"You know, I spoke to Harry the other day and he told me the most interesting story …"
She squeezed her eyes shut. "Did he?"
"Something about a Scrofungulus outbreak at Hogwarts," he went on to say, bringing a wave of relief to her system. "And that you and Malfoy got it on in the broom shed."
Nearly breaking her empty pint glass, she paled. "There is such a thing as privacy."
"Not in wizarding London."
Although she knew he was right, she hated admitting it. "Yes, well … we're adults."
"It's not a big deal," he offered. "For what it's worth, you two actually kind of suit each other."
"Er …"
"In a good way."
"Thanks?"
"Sorry. I just figured I'd say something but I suppose it's not my place."
She glanced to him, aware that he was only being nice. "I appreciate it."
"I'm glad," he remarked. "Anyway, I should probably grab a table before Daph gets here. Speak later?"
Nodding, she waved to him in farewell as he took to the other side of the pub. With another look at the time, she sighed and ordered another pint.
One Hour Later
Draco hopped off of the Knight Bus and dashed across the glistening pavement, toward the doors of The Leaky Cauldron. Slowing his stride as he reached the rain-mottled window, he had a look through it to find Granger slumped over a pile of empty pint glasses.
"Shit," he muttered, hurriedly making his way inside and toward the bar where she was seated. "I am an absolute moron for making you wait this long. Work got really busy and I lost all sense of time."
She glanced back at him, barely able to keep her eyes open. "Is … is that you, Ferret Boy?"
Only then did he make the connection between her demeanour and the number of pint glasses in front of her. "Let's get you some water."
"No, no, no … I want a gin and tonic. You looked so cool drinking yours at the wedding."
"We can have all the gin and tonics you want tomorrow."
"I want one now …"
He hooked an arm under her as she began to slip off of her stool. "On second thought, let's take a walk to your flat. Get you some fresh air. Sound good?"
"I hate walks," she groaned. "Can't we just get a room here?"
"Not unless you want Hannah Abbott to think I'm taking advantage of you," he said, referring to the new owner of the pub.
She smiled at the thought, her eyes now fully closed. "Sounds like a brilliant idea to me."
"Merlin's sake. I'm getting you out of here before you end up in bed with Shunpike or worse."
Hurriedly leaving a few Galleons on the counter to cover her drinks, he helped her to her feet and proceeded to the door in slow, steady steps. Only as they made their way outside, onto the streets of London, did he accept the fact that she was past the point of walking it off.
"Granger, can you tell me where to find your building?"
She struggled to stay conscious, nodding her head yes. "By the … coffee shop."
"Which coffee shop?" he asked, holding her upright. "Stay with me. Can you try to do that?"
"I … I'm awake."
"Of course you are. Now tell me the coffee shop."
"The magic one …"
"The magic one?" he repeated, trying to decide whether he should just take her back to his house before he spotted a coffee shop a couple of blocks away. It was called The Magic Bean and to the left of it was an apartment building.
With that, he hooked his arm under her and helped her the rest of the way.
Only as they reached the building, did he stop and look through her handbag for the keys. To his relief he had found not only the keys but also a crumpled delivery slip with her flat number on it. In a matter of moments he had scooped her up and carried her through the lobby and up the steps to the third floor.
By the time they had reached her door, she had come to a little, blinking up at him as he slid her key into the lock and gave it a turn.
"Have I … destroyed my chances with you?" she asked, half-consciously.
He carried her through the front door and flicked the lights on, darting a look around her flat. The walls were covered in framed photographs of her family and friends and there were books on just about every table and chair and corner of the floor. Although her flat was far more colourful and far less minimalist than his own, he liked it.
"We can talk about it in the morning," he reassured her, setting her down on the sectional. "Right now you need water and rest."
She cuddled up to one of the pillows on her couch as he went to the kitchen. "Ginny was right."
"About what?" he asked, helping her upright and tipping some water between her lips as he came back with a full glass.
Allowing a few drops to dribble down her bottom lip, she crashed back down on the couch. "I do self-sabotage."
"Is that what you think happened tonight?"
"Tonight, the night of the wedding, every date I've gone out on since … birth."
He took that in. "Tonight was my fault."
"It is a bit, isn't it?"
"More than a bit," he admitted. "I'm sorry I was late."
She opened her eyes, just barely. "It's a good thing you're so attractive."
"You're not so bad yourself," he laughed. "Now get some rest."
"Will you stay with me?" she asked, her eyes already closed.
He had planned to go back to his flat but he supposed there was no harm in spending the night. "I will."
Slowly she drifted off into her dreams, the smallest snore escaping each of her breaths. Although he was tired out of his mind, he stayed awake long enough to make sure that she would be okay through the night.
Draping a blanket over her sleeping form, he took to the armchair and closed his eyes for the first time since five o'clock that morning.
A/N: Thoughts?
