A/N: Happy belated birthday Paris 'heaux' Hilton. I love you so much and honestly our friendship is one of the highlights of Quarantine 3

"What is that?"

Hermione walked right into the back of Ron, who had so kindly stopped in the middle of the empty bullpen, and looked up from where she was rummaging through her bag for a pen.

She looked around him, eyebrows furrowing in confusion when she spotted a springer spaniel pacing outside of the Head Auror's office.

She turned to look at Ron. "It's a dog."

Ron met her eye, looking less than impressed at her obvious comment. "This is why we never would have worked out," he said and Hermione smirked. They began to walk again. "I meant, what is a dog doing here?" he clarified, "In the middle of the DMLE?"

Hermione shrugged and dropped to her knees when they reached the end of the aisle; the dog came straight to her.

"I don't know"—she stroked her hands through the dog's white and brown fur— "but he's a good boy. Aren't you? Yes you are."

"Merlin, Granger, if i'd known all I had to do to get you on your knees was bring my dog to work, I would have brought him in years ago."

"Malfoy," Ron said from behind her. Hermione looked up to see Ron reaching his hand over her head. "You're back. How was it? Did everything go as planned? Are you okay?"

Draco took their friend's hand and shook it, pulling the redhead into an awkward hug over Hermione who was still kneeling on the floor between them, petting what appeared to be Draco's dog.

Draco laughed. "I missed you too mate, and yeah"—Draco jerked his head in the direction of Harry's office—"I just finished debriefing. Potter's gonna brief everyone in the morning since Bones and Jackson are still out in the field." He looked between them both and offered Hermione his hand; she took it and let him pull her to his feet, though she quickly dropped it when she was standing. "How have things been here?"

"Fine," Ron said, shrugging. He pointed at Harry's door. "I'm just gonna speak to Harry. Hermione"—he leaned over and buffed a kiss against her cheek—"thank you for lunch. I'll tell Luna to owl you and arrange that dinner."

Hermione just nodded and smiled at her friend, waiting till he had entered Harry's office and closed the door before she turned to look at the blond menace beside her. She smacked her hand against his arm, smirking when he winced.

"Why do you have a dog?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest as she stared up at him. "What are you playing at making innuendos like that in front of people, especially Ron?" Her eyes flit towards Harry's office and she bit at her lip, a nervous tic she'd had her whole life. "He's going to say something."

Draco's thumb gently tugged her lip free and Hermione shivered, glancing up at him from beneath her lashes. "He's not going to say anything because he didn't even notice. Besides"—he rocked back on his heels and looked between them down at the dog—"It's only a few more days before they find out the truth."

Hermione nodded, twisting her hands in the folds of her coat. "I know. I know, it's just—"

"You're nervous." Draco knelt down and unwrapped the lead from around the table leg. The dog's tail wagged as he looked between them.

"I'm fine," she said petulantly. "I was worried." Draco stood and she stepped closer, using her coat to hide her hand as she reached forward and stroked her fingers across his wrist. "You didn't owl."

Draco nodded. "I know." He met her eyes, "I'm sorry. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The dog barked and Hermione stared down at it, rubbing a hand over her face. "Draco, why do you have a dog?"

"Let's get out of here," he said, placing his hand on the small of her back and turning her, without much effort, towards the doors leading out of the auror bullpen and towards the lifts. "I'd much rather have this conversation in private."

Hermione huffed as they waited for one to arrive. "Because I'm going to be angry."

"No, not angry. Annoyed perhaps."

"Because you lied to me."

"I didn't lie," he said. "I just might have omitted to tell you that I've had Castor"—he leant down and ruffled his hand over the dog's head—"since before we started dating."

Hermione's mouth dropped open as she stared between Castor and his master. "What?"

Draco rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and stared determinedly at the lift doors. "Yeah."

"Where's he been?"

"I asked Theo to look after him while the remodeling was going on."

"A year." Hermione blinked, "You've had a dog for at least a year and I'm only finding out about it now. What?"

They stepped into the lift and Hermione tapped her foot impatiently when half a dozen other ministry employees remained.

Neither of them spoke, the only sound filling the lift was the soft panting of Castor as he looked between the occupants.

Hermione had to give it to Draco, he was extremely well behaved.

They excited the atrium drawing 'awww's', points and stares from the witches and wizards milling around the large space until they came to the fireplaces. Draco scooped Castor into his arms and jerked his head towards the fire.

"You go through first."

Hermione closed her eyes, dropped her Floo powder, quietly said Draco's address and emerged in the entryway of Draco's home.

Soon to be, their home.

She dropped into one of the chairs and watched her boyfriend emerge in a flare of green. He quickly dropped Castor to the ground and Hermione watched him scamper off before turning her ire on Draco.

"What the fuck?"

He dropped to his knees at her feet. "I know."

"You have a dog, Draco. A dog. How, in the past eight months, have you failed to mention that you have a dog? I have a cat, Draco. A. Cat," she said, enunciating each word carefully.

Draco had removed her heels and was currently pressing his thumbs into the balls of her feet.

"I know."

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, pointing her foot, encouraging him to move his fingers further along. "What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking you would say no."

Her head lifted from where it had dropped against the back of the chair and she stared at him; she pulled her foot away and dropped to the ground too, nudging him back so she could straddle his thighs. She cupped his face in her hands, stroking her fingers along his jaw.

"No, Draco." She sighed. "No." His face tilted down towards the floor and she nudged it back up with two fingers beneath his chin till he was looking at her. "Hey."

"Sorry, I know that." His hands slid up her thighs till they rested on her hips. "I'm being silly. I just—I didn't want anything to jeopardise you moving in."

"It's a dog, Draco. Not the end of the world. it will be—" she broke off, when he turned his puppy dog eyes on her with a snort. "It's fine. I just wish you'd told me." She leaned down, pressing her nose into his face as she breathed him in.

His hands moved along her back, soothing her.

"I'm scared too," she whispered after they'd been lying there a few minutes. "We already put so much pressure on ourselves."

He turned his head slightly and their lips brushed gently.

Eventually, Hermione leaned back. "Come on," she said, standing from the floor and offering him her hand. "You can give me the tour now the renovations are done."

Scraping along the floor echoed down the hallway and Hermione's head tilted as she stared towards the sound.

"Draco," she said as he stood, swiping his hands down his robes. She looked up at him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the sound. "Draco, is that—" Hermione's eyes widened as Castor and another springer spaniel, rounded the corner and bounded into the room running straight for her boyfriend.

Hermione watched, frozen in shock as Draco petted and cooed at the dogs before finally meeting her gaze.

"Surprise."

"Are you still mad?"

Hermione stared up at the ceiling and said nothing.

She'd been half tempted to march through the Floo to her flat before Draco had reminded her that it was essentially empty of her personal belongings, and that the only bed available for her to sleep in that night was the one up the stairs.

She'd showered, quickly so Draco wouldn't get any ideas, and changed into her pyjamas in their fancy new en-suite, annoyed that the first time it had been used hadn't been by the both of them.

When she'd stepped into the bedroom Draco was already in bed—topless from what Hermione could tell which probably meant he was naked—with both dogs curled up at his feet.

"No," she said, stopping dead at the sight of them. She looked at the dogs, Castor and Pollux as Draco had informed her earlier, and pointed at the floor. "Down."

Both of them jumped from the bed, watching Hermione as she walked around to her side; she was thrilled that they'd followed her instruction immediately.

And now here she was, lying next to her incredibly fit, naked boyfriend, huffing because he'd kept not one but two secrets from her.

He turned on his side and reached his hand across the space between, running his finger along her inner arm. Hermione glared at him from the corner of her eyes and shuffled her chest and arms beneath the duvet.

"Hermione, come on. It's not that big a deal."

"Less than an hour ago you were terrified that I wasn't going to agree to move in with you when you had one, and now that I know the truth, you're laughing about it and saying it doesn't matter?"

Hermione felt him shrug beside her and dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand.

"Well, I saw how you were with Castor. You love him. Why would Pollux be any different?"

Hermione couldn't fault his logic, which only served to annoy her more, so instead she said nothing. Draco shuffled towards her, sliding his fingers between the gaps of hers beneath the duvet.

"I am sorry," he said after a few minutes. "I know I should have told you." His fingers twitched between hers and Hermione loosened her grip; Draco turned on his side to face her and she watched him from the corner of her eye as he opened and closed his mouth several times. "Are you really worried about how Crooks will react to them?" he eventually asked.

Hermione sighed and turned on her side to face him too. She lifted their hands from beneath the duvet to rest between them and tugged at his Heir's ring; turning it on his finger, round and round.

"Crooks will be fine," she said, looking up at him from beneath her lashes. "Teddy has a puppy and he's spent a lot of time at Grimmauld chasing after it with him."

Draco's fingers stilled and Hermione bit back a smirk, yelping when he lunged and quickly pinned her beneath him.

"You're a minx."

"You still should have told me," she said, neither confirming nor denying his accusation. "We're supposed to be a team."

Draco nodded, "I know."

"And you named them without me." She poked at his shoulder. "Constellation names too," she said without much thought, sliding her hands forwards and down his back.

He snorted and then his lips curved up into the smuggest smirk Hermione had ever had the misfortune to see grace his face. "Was there a particular reason you were thinking about constellation names, ?"

She stilled beneath him and swallowed, shaking her head. "Nope."

"Liar." He nudged his nose down the column of her throat and nipped along her collarbone with his teeth. "Tell me."

"It's nothing."

He hummed, and Hermione knew he wasn't about to forget—or let her for that matter—what she'd said.

She slipped her hand between them and wrapped it around his cock, which had been poking her in the stomach since he'd pinned her.

"Ahhh. You're done being mad at me then," he said, slipping one hand beneath the cotton of her pyjama top. He cupped one breast and dragged his thumb across her nipple until it was a tight peak.

Hermione twisted her hand around his cock, thumb sliding across the milky head of it. "Draco."

"Merlin, I love how sensitive your tits are." He dropped to his elbows and pushed her shirt up over her breasts and laved his tongue across one nipple before quickly biting at the other.

Hermione arched beneath him, her hand tightening around the base of Draco's cock. She writhed, whimpering under his touch, when she turned her head and stilled.

Four beady eyes stared at her from the side of the bed; Hermione had forgotten they were even in the room.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked before she'd even opened her mouth. She jerked her head to the side and glared up at him when he followed her gaze and only snorted.

"Oh." He ducked his head and wrapped his lips around her nipples once more. "Don't worry about them," he mumbled around her flesh.

"Don't worry about them?" She shivered and pushed Draco back; he whined as she let go of his cock, and sat back on her thighs. "Draco, they're staring."

"It's fine."

"It's weird."

Hermione crossed her arms and stared up at him, determined in her resolve.

Draco's own eyes narrowed down at her, but he lifted his arm nonetheless and waved the bedroom door open. He summoned half a dozen dog treats from, presumably the kitchen, and left them to hover outside the door. They dropped to the ground when he commanded the dogs to leave with a simple, "Out," then he flicked the door shut when Castor and Pollux had disappeared through it.

"Don't look at me like that," Hermione said. "It's weird."

Draco smirked. He pulled her pyjama trousers down quickly then settled himself between her spread legs, fingers dragging through her wet folds.

"That's funny," he said, "You usually enjoy an audience."