Songs - Genghis Khan by Miike Snow, Blinding Lights by The Weeknd, and Crickets by Big Wild
Chapter Three: See You Around
Odd was one way to describe the events of the past couple days. First, Hermione had gotten piss drunk, and woken up, very hungover, in Draco Malfoy's bed. Second, she had made a fool out of herself by splitting open her head when she had a panic attack in his bathroom. Third, though she still couldn't figure out exactly why, Malfoy had taken care of her for absolutely no other reason than to be kind. And to top it all off, she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since – and not exactly in an innocent catholic schoolgirl kind of way.
Perhaps the reason she couldn't get him out of her head was that he'd saved her from the embarrassment of being found by anyone else, or worse, walking into oncoming traffic. She wasn't a damsel in distress, but there definitely was something to the whole knight in shining armor thing people always talked about. Or possibly it was the way his muscles moved underneath his t-shirt when he made her tea. It was the kind of body she knew men had to work hard for, that most women drooled over, and apparently, whether she was happy about it or not, she was one of them. Or maybe, maybe, it had been his eyes; the way they had studied her, the way they had followed her every move. She never realized how dark and stormy they were, how beautifully complex they were, and it made her shudder just to picture them.
Yes, it had to be the eyes. Those damn mercurial eyes.
It was Monday, and Hermione had things to do, but he was still invading her every single thought. Despite the fact that Malfoy had worked at the Ministry for five years, despite the fact that they worked on the same floor and that their teams regularly interfaced, she had seen very little of him. She knew he worked long hours, same as her, but he never lingered in the hallways and never seemed to spend any time in the staff rooms. Why hadn't they run into each other? Why hadn't they talked?
More importantly, why did she suddenly care?
Hermione looked down at the stack of papers on her desk and sighed. She had been in her office for three hours, but hadn't managed to get anything done, and if she couldn't find a way to focus, she would be here well into the night. Standing up, she grabbed her empty thermos and walked to the small kitchenette at the other end of the hall, trying desperately to shake the images of Draco from her mind. She entered the small room, filled her thermos with water and was about to heat it with her wand when her gaze fell on the rarely used kettle sitting near the sink.
For fuck's sake, she thought as she rolled her eyes, even a damn tea kettle makes me think of him. Angrily, she grabbed the kettle, filled it with water, and threw it roughly on the stove. Oh good, now I'm manhandling inanimate objects.
Taking a deep breath, she dumped out the water from her thermos and placed it on the counter next to her.
Pull yourself together, she whispered under her breath.
Leaning back against the counter, she closed her eyes hoping that her ridiculous daydreams would pass and waited for her water to boil, not even bothering to turn around when the door behind her opened. It was only when a body settled into a chair at the table nearest to her that she opened her eyes and looked to see who it was.
Fucking of course it's him.
"Granger," Draco said with a small smirk.
"Oh," Hermione muttered, unable to hide the surprise on her face. "Hello," she added awkwardly.
Five years he'd been at the Ministry, and she hadn't spoken to him once. Five years. And now she couldn't stop running into him.
Wonderful, she thought. I'll definitely be here all night now.
His eyes traveled over her face, studying her as if there was something important hidden beneath the surface of her skin. It was unnerving, and she shifted uncomfortably at the edge of the counter in an attempt to stifle the shiver that was about to let loose from her spine.
"Do you need something?" she asked finally.
Draco nodded toward the stove. "You're hogging the kettle."
"Oh, right," said softly. Oh, right? Brilliant reply that was, she thought. "There should be enough water in there for us to share," she added quickly, trying to recover.
There was no way he could know exactly what she had been thinking about him the past few days, but that didn't stop the embarrassment from creeping onto her face, and she shifted her gaze to the floor as her cheeks reddened.
Draco cocked his head slightly. "I'm not going to bite, you know," he said after a few moments.
Hermione looked up and opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by the loud whistle of the kettle. Before she could move to pull it off the stove, Draco was already standing.
"I got it," he said simply, his eyes still studying her as he pulled the kettle off the stove.
She handed him her thermos and watched silently as he collected two packets of tea and filled their respective vessels with the hot water. He placed her thermos on the counter next to her before turning toward the door, his own cup clasped tightly in his hand. Apparently, he didn't want to linger.
"See you around, Granger," he said softly, turning back to acknowledge her.
"Thank you," Hermione said, her voice quiet.
He paused, smiling, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes. "How will you ever enjoy another cup of tea without me?"
He was gone before she had a chance to react, leaving her alone and utterly bewildered.
Did Malfoy just… flirt with me?
Draco hadn't been able to get her out of his head. So, three days ago, when he had walked by one of the Ministry staff rooms and saw her at the sink filling a kettle with water, he Accio'd his coffee mug and mustered the courage to walk inside. She seemed to unravel in his presence, confirming his suspicions that he hadn't been the only one pondering their first real encounter, as disastrous as it had been, in over nine years. It didn't even matter that she barely spoke to him, the look on her face as he walked out of the door said enough. She had been thinking about him and not exactly in an innocent schoolgirl kind of way.
While he hadn't meant to make her anxious, he definitely wasn't complaining. Yes, women tended to fall apart around him, but Hermione wasn't like the others. She hadn't sought him out. She probably hadn't even given him a second thought since Hogwarts, and that immediately made things interesting. It meant that if he ever wanted anything to happen with her, he was going to have to work at it.
After their second encounter, he found himself lingering in places he normally wouldn't to catch a glimpse of her, as if a single sighting would satiate his sudden desire to be around her. But it was never enough. Sure, their histories certainly put them at odds with each other, and he honestly didn't expect she was really all that interested in him beyond a simple curiosity or daydream, but he wanted to talk to her again, to stare at her big toffee-colored eyes. He wanted to apologize for everything he had ever done to hurt her.
And maybe, just maybe…
It was only fitting then, when they literally, and quite accidentally, ran into each other in the hallway as they rushed to their respective offices this morning, that he was the one to forget his words.
The force of their collision sent her papers flying, and Draco reflexively grabbed onto her waist to keep her from falling. They stared at each other for a moment, her body positioned underneath his own, before he realized how ridiculous they would look to anyone passing by.
"Malfoy," Hermione said, her face inches away from his as the shock of their abrupt encounter wore off.
"Sorry," Draco mumbled as he eyed the large collection of papers strewn about them. "My fault."
He quickly pulled her upright and removed his hands from around her waist. Trying to hide his obvious embarrassment, he ran a hand through his hair and readjusted the broom strapped around his shoulder.
He hadn't been able to sleep last night, and instead of tossing and turning all morning in bed, he had grabbed his broom and headed straight for the Quidditch pitch near his flat. He had lost track of time as he flew around, and by the time he made it to the Ministry, he was late. So late, that he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and had run headfirst into the very person that had kept him up all night.
Hermione chuckled. "I'm not going to bite," she said with a smirk before waving her wand and collecting her papers.
Draco, startled by the ease at which she had used his own words, stared at her awkwardly, and unable to come up with a witty response, muttered a simple "hmph" in return.
"You really ought to be careful where you walk," Hermione told him. "Not everyone could handle ending up underneath you."
"I- what?" Draco asked, his heart beating furiously. Did she really just say that?
She turned her head slightly and smiled, clearly enjoying the fact that he had nothing snarky to say in response. But what she didn't know was that the look in her eyes was distracting, so much so that even if he had wanted to, even if he had managed to brush aside his shock at her words, he still wouldn't have been able to formulate actual coherent sentences. And he'd rather not say anything at all than open his mouth and make a complete and utter fool of himself in front of her.
Hermione studied him for a few more moments, her mouth twisted in obvious triumph as he fidgeted with his robes, before she made to continue on with her day.
"See you around, Malfoy," she said as she walked away, leaving him gawking in the hallway.
Draco growled.
Granger.
Malfoy had gotten the better of her earlier in the week, and so she felt an odd sense of accomplishment when she had managed to leave him speechless a few days later. It really hadn't been terribly difficult. Yesterday, while she had been running to her office with a pile of papers in her arms, she had caught sight him, disheveled, moving quickly through the hall. Two weeks ago, she would have let him rush past her without a second thought, but not yesterday. Nope. Yesterday, she shifted her trajectory down the hallway to intersect with his own.
And she couldn't have engineered the result better if she had planned it diligently for weeks. Their collision caused her papers to fly into the air, falling into a circle around her the floor, and he had reflexively wrapped his arms – Merlin, his arms – around her waist to keep her from falling.
I'm not going to bite.
The words had left her mouth before she even realized it, but the effect they had on him had made her stomach flip. And then, when she had bravely, and rather aggressively, used a very obvious sexual innuendo, Malfoy, who was usually so quick with words, had barely managed to mumble in return.
So, yes. Yesterday had been a good day. A very good day.
But that was yesterday, and this was today, and stupidly she hadn't been prepared for another run in with him so soon.
She wanted to blame it on Harry for having her meet him at his office before grabbing lunch together rather than meeting literally anywhere else, but how was he supposed to know that she was harboring a very sudden and ridiculous crush on the very man he was meeting with behind his closed office door. Honestly, she should have been expecting it. The universe had given her enough signs over the past week, so the fact that she hadn't seen it coming was entirely her own fault.
Hermione had been pacing outside of Harry's office, running through to-do lists in her head, when the door suddenly opened. She turned, ready to pounce on Harry for being late, only to find herself face-to-face with Malfoy. It wasn't a spectacular collision like the previous day, but he still put his hands on her shoulders to steady her as she tried to recover from another encounter.
"Granger," Draco said softly, his eyebrows raised slightly.
"Malfoy," Hermione responded quickly. "It's good to see you're still so remarkably talented at running into people."
He smiled. "It's good to see you're still a magnet for trouble," he retorted, cocking his head.
"If by trouble, you mean you, then yes, I can't argue with that," she told him with a smirk.
"Oh, you're just figuring that out?" Draco replied, finally removing his hands from her shoulders. "And here I thought you were the brightest witch of our age."
"Ahh, Hermione," came Harry's voice from inside the office, interrupting the stand-off that he wasn't aware was occurring in the doorway. "Sorry, I'm late. I'll be right out."
"Do try to avoid any life-threatening situations this afternoon," Draco said quietly as he moved his tall frame from the doorway and waved to Harry. "I won't be there to save you," he whispered.
Hermione stared up at him, her lips parted. Well fuck, he has me there, Hermione thought when she realized she didn't have a witty response.
Another smile spread across Draco's face as he watched her mouth close in defeat. "See you around, Granger," he said as he stepped into the hallway, his shoulder brushing against hers as he passed.
She glared at his back as he sauntered down the hallway, her heart pounding and her palms sweaty.
Fine, he wins that one.
"Draco, are you sure you're willing to do this again?" Harry asked, glancing over worriedly toward Kingsley.
"I certainly don't see anyone else volunteering for the job," Draco replied, shrugging. "It will take too long to train someone new. Plus, I'd really rather not put anyone else at risk."
"There are other Aurors who can perform Legilimency," Harry offered, studying Draco intently.
Draco shook his head. "Potter, you and I both know that I'm the only one who can do this right," he said, leaning back against the wall as he crossed his arms across his chest. "No one else needs to get hurt. I'm doing this."
"I don't like it," Harry declared, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I don't either, Harry," Kingsley said from his position at the other end of the room, "but if Draco is willing, then we really need to move forward."
Harry sighed. He had been hoping that Kingsley would have found someone else capable for the job by now, but they didn't exactly have the luxury of waiting around any longer.
"Fine, but he's not going alone.
"Agreed," Kingsley said, pausing to contemplate. "Perhaps Hermione?"
Draco, who had been bracing for his two bosses to continue discussing his well-being like he wasn't in the room, perked up at the mention of her name. "Hermione?" he repeated.
"She does have the most experience with memory charms," Harry agreed, "but it's possible she may not be ready for this."
"You know her better than me, but I do think she's the best fit. If it will be too much, then we need to find someone else and quickly." Kingsley said to Harry. "I'll leave it up to you and Draco to decide," he added looking up at the clock, "I'm afraid I'm running late, so let me know if we need to bring someone else on board. I'll need an answer by the end of the day."
"Will do, Minister," Harry said.
"Minister," Draco nodded to Kingsley as he swooped out the room.
"What's this about Granger?" Draco asked after Harry shut the door.
Harry sighed sadly. "It's not common knowledge, but Hermione altered her parents' memories and sent them away to protect them during the war," he explained. "She still hasn't been able to reverse the damage." Harry readjusted his glasses and let out another sigh. "They were her only family," he added quietly.
"Oh," Draco breathed. Apparently, he and Hermione had more in common than he thought.
"Every time she visits them and fails, I'm afraid she'll never come back," Harry continued, his voice low. "She blames herself, but she did what she needed to."
"Can't say I would have done it differently if I had been in her shoes," Draco offered, shoving his hands in his pockets. "At least she knows they're alive," he added, unsure of what else to say.
"Yes, her actions probably saved their lives, but it also destroyed the relationship she had with them," Harry said, sitting back on the edge of his desk. "They were really close."
Draco cringed.
"She's always been like that," Harry added when he saw the pained look on Draco's face. "Always protecting everyone but herself."
"How good is she with memory charms?" Draco asked, moving a hand to the back of his neck.
"The best," Harry replied without hesitation. "Saved us more than once while we were hiding from Voldemort."
Draco nodded in understanding. "Listen, I don't want to be insensitive to her situation, but the best is probably what we're going to need when I attempt this again," he said carefully. "I can't say I'm terribly excited about the prospect of coming home brain damaged."
"I know," Harry said softly. "She's the best choice. I'll bring up to speed after the meeting on Monday. I think it will be easier than giving her the whole weekend to worry about it."
"Do you want me to be there when you tell her?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, that's probably smart," Harry replied. "I have to get you two working as a team at some point," he added with a chuckle.
"I'll take it easy on her," Draco promised with a devilish smile.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Be nice," he warned, shaking his head at Draco, "she doesn't know you like I do."
For now, Draco thought.
"Should we warn her?" Draco asked, his voice serious again as he ran a hand through his hair, "About what happened last time?
Harry was quiet for a moment. "She's probably going to murder me for this later, but let's keep the specifics between us," he replied. "I don't want to give her another reason to be hesitant to help."
"It's your head, Potter," Draco said, shrugging as he moved toward the door. "Quidditch tomorrow?" he asked as he closed his fingers around the doorknob.
"Definitely," Harry responded. "You look like you could use an embarrassing defeat or two."
"You wish, Potter," Draco said, laughing as he threw open the door.
He wasn't expecting someone to be blocking his exit (because who in their right mind would stand so close to the outside of a closed door), and he almost choked when he realized the obstruction was the unruly-haired girl of his daydreams. Hermione swayed slightly at their almost-contact, and he instinctively put his hands on her shoulders to steady her.
"Granger," he said as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Malfoy," she responded, recovering quickly. "It's good to see you're still so remarkably talented at running into people."
Draco smiled.
"It's good to see you're still a magnet for trouble," he retorted.
"If by trouble, you mean you, then yes, I can't argue with that," she said, the corner of her lips twitching.
"Oh, you're just figuring that out?" Draco replied. He didn't want to move his hands, but he had kept them around her shoulders for longer than was appropriate, and so he moved them away slowly. "And here I thought you were the brightest witch of our age," he added.
"Ahh, Hermione," came Harry's voice from inside the office, interrupting the stand-off that he wasn't aware was occurring in the doorway. "Sorry, I'm late. I'll be right out."
"Do try to avoid any life-threatening situations this afternoon," Draco said as he stepped close to her. He turned and waved goodbye to Harry. "I won't be there to save you."
Hermione opened her mouth but closed it quickly.
Got her.
"See you around, Granger," he said as he stepped into the hallway, purposefully brushing his shoulder against hers.
Draco smiled to himself as he walked away, resisting the urge to turn around.
Oh, I definitely won this one.