A/N: Hi! So this was written back in September, I *think*. But I definitely know it was because I thought my beta, niffizzle, deserved something nice, like a wine on her doorstep. Because the shipping towards her is very difficult for wine, I could only deliver it in a literal form.
I know there are more important jobs than teachers. They don't save lives (not in a direct way, mostly). But in 2020, teaching has become a nightmare on its own, and the hours teachers spend working has risen even more, and they are barely holding it all together.
The first time, she thought it was an accident.
It had to be, because really, who would purposefully leave a bottle of wine on her doorstep? And an expensive one, at that.
Hermione had shrugged and placed the bottle on the counter of her small kitchen. When all of her neighbours claimed they weren't awaiting a delivery of the Dionysian kind, she enjoyed it one Friday evening after one horrendous week of teaching, soaking in a bubble bath.
The second time, she nearly fell over it.
She was late, having almost overslept because she had graded essays until the middle of the night. Of course, she could Apparate to the castle's doors, but the walk from her cozy cottage on the outskirts of Hogsmeade up to Hogwarts in the morning and back after work was the only physical exercise she got at the moment.
The Charms Professor already had enough jokes on her, so she wouldn't let him add some about her gaining weight because she, unlike him, didn't get any exercise due to playing Quidditch in their spare free time. He was her favourite colleague, but they bickered endlessly.
As it were, she placed the bottle of wine on the mantle of her fireplace and hasted towards the school. Arriving just in time, she slumped into her chair in the Great Hall.
"That is fascinating," she heard Minerva say to the Charms professor. "I wasn't aware that Halloween is such a big thing in the United States."
"That's what Pansy told me. She was here to visit some friends in Britain." Draco sipped his tea.
"Hasn't she also given out wedding invitations?" Hermione spoke up, jumping into the conversation.
Minerva, the old gossip girl, leaned forward in interest. "Oh, really? I thought she left for America because her parents wanted her to enter an arranged marriage. She didn't change her mind about that, I hope."
Draco was visibly amused. "Pansy is still as opposed to the thought of her parents arranging a match as I am." He grinned.
Hermione knew that he, too, had fled an arranged marriage. First by apprenticing for his Charms Master abroad, then by starting teaching at Hogwarts just a few months after Hermione. Lucius wasn't particularly happy about his only heir's choices, but Draco only returned to the Manor twice a year: his mother's birthday and Christmas.
"How do you know that she's going to be wed?" Draco asked, pulling Hermione from her musings.
"Theo," she shrugged. "We might have split, but he's still a friend."
"The kind of friend that has benefits?"
Hermione stomped his foot under the table. It was neither true nor did she want to discuss such matters in front of the Headmistress.
"Theo also told me that Pansy's fiancé is a Muggle. He teaches at a primary school," she continued the conversation.
Wincing slightly, Draco nodded. "I met him a few years ago already. Told me about a concept called teacher appreciation week once a year."
"Maybe you should start by appreciating your colleague?" she teased before further engaging in some more gossip with Minerva.
He remained suspiciously quiet after that.
A few weeks later, one dark and rainy evening in November, Draco all but fell through her Floo.
Hermione jumped up from the sofa where she had been engrossed in a rather romantic novel. "Draco!"
The wizard looked severely distraught. "Sorry, Granger. It wasn't my intention to land here. Seems I didn't say the address clearly." Unlike her, he insisted on living in the castle.
Now she was really concerned for him. He hadn't called her by her last name in several years. Then the pieces came together.
"You've just come from the Manor."
He nodded, taking a seat next to her on the sofa, his head on the back rest and eyes closed. "It's my mother's birthday. It's not even that anything special happened, it's just—"
"—That your father isn't exactly the candidate to win Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile award? Believe me, I know."
He snorted. "That's a nice way to put it."
Hermione tried to think of something to lift his spirit. She considered him as more than a colleague, a friend even, but he didn't have a habit of dropping by unannounced. Or dropping by ever. Though, she had given him access to her Floo a long time ago.
Her eyes landed on the mantelpiece. "I suppose I know just the thing to drown your bad mood." She fetched the wine bottle from her doorstep and summoned two glasses from the kitchen.
Draco's eyes opened, and her heart stuttered at the intensity of them.
That was new.
"Is that so?"
She nodded, ignoring her body's reaction, and opened the wine. "Yep. And judging by the aroma, it's even a good one." She handed him a filled glass. "Tell me, have you ever played pranks on your father? Because I know two excellent pranksters whose work you are familiar with that would make a Lucius Special just for entertainment."
Draco laughed, and she liked the laughing version of him much better. "I mean, after Umbridge, my father should be no problem for the Weasley twins!"
That night, they emptied the bottle, as well as several cups of tea.
Another bottle of wine showed up the following year.
By now, she was set on finding out who the generous giver was. So she felt triumphant when she discovered they left a note attached to it this time.
It said "Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!" — and it was printed!
Not the kind of witch who gave up easily, Hermione pondered the identity of her mysterious wine deliverer the entire day. In fact, she was so lost in thought that she didn't even pay attention to Draco's insistent inquiry about how her morning was.
After doing her rounds in the evening, she returned to her office next to her classroom and activated the Floo.
"How is my favourite D.A.D.A. professor tonight?"
Harry always managed to bring a smile to her face, even when he was too far away.
"I'm asking myself if you're hiding something from me."
The smile on Harry's face disappeared instantly. Even through the flames of the Floo, she saw him blanch.
Her best friend leaned forward. "How do you know? We haven't even told Molly and Arthur."
She had expected a slightly different reaction. Interesting.
"Why not?" A winery gift for a friend wasn't exactly something to hide from the in-laws.
"Because Ginny isn't even ten weeks along and you know how Molly is when it comes to grandchildren."
Oh.
"That wasn't what I was referring to, but congratulations, Harry! You two are going to make wonderful parents. I wish I could hug you!"
Harry smiled, and her heart was so full of love for her best friend. If anyone deserved a loving family, it was him.
"Thanks, Hermione. Come visit us next Saturday?"
They arranged a meeting the upcoming weekend and were about to end the call when Harry asked, "Wait, what did you think I was hiding?"
"Oh, nothing important. Just something vaguely work-related. I'll explain when we meet."
She had been so certain that it had been Harry. After all, he had led several missions in cooperation with MACUSA and visited the States for that. It was quite logical that he had learned about teacher appreciation week during those visits.
Mind still distracted, Hermionehe was in the midst of debating if she should go home and call it a night or stay in her office and grade a few more essays on Dementors when someone knocked and entered.
"Good evening, Professor Granger. I saw light in here and thought I'd check on you."
She grinned at Draco's teasing formality. "Did you now? I wish I could say I was being productive, but I was considering the identity of my secret wine gifter when you so rudely interrupted my musings." Hermione grinned at him.
"What has the generous person given you this year?" he inquired and politely tilted his head in question.
Hermione's smile broadened. Since the last time someone had dropped wine on her doorstep, things had changed between Draco and her. Where they had been good colleagues with friendship woven in, they now were easy friends with the air of something more.
Starting that evening in November on her couch, Draco and Hermione had spent many hours together, sharing stories about life, students, and forgiveness. And often, their evenings started with a shared bottle of wine.
Over the months, Hermione got the impression that she saw the real Draco Malfoy at those times, a man that didn't have to hide his history nor slip into a role, be it as a pureblood heir or that as a teacher. He was just Draco when they were together, and she could be just Hermione around him.
She liked that feeling so much that, sometimes, she wished the lines between friendship and relationship would blur more and more until they became non-existent.
Especially in moments like this when he stood in front of her, his teaching attire long abandoned, and yet formally offering an arm.
"Maybe I can invite you for a nightcap in my quarters?"
She pretended to be shocked. "Professor Malfoy, what if someone sees us? Do you want to start some indecent rumours?"
"I can think of worse than being part of the school gossip when it's about Hermione Granger visiting my quarters at nighttime." He winked.
Hermione knew he was just joking around, but still, she felt a bit hot under the collar at the thought of the two of them being 'caught' together.
"Well then, every clandestine meeting needs a decent bottle of wine." She pulled the bottle from her bag and presented it to Draco.
"Decent? Merlin, Granger, that person must be head over heels for you!" the wizard muttered, reading the label.
"Really?"
"The first was decent, the second good, but this one is supposed to be delicious!" he announced, and Hermione inexplicably blushed. "I'm not talking about Galleons here, but this wine isn't simply appreciation. It's a crush in a bottle."
The grey in his eyes was dark in the sparse light of her office, but Hermione felt his gaze straight in her bones. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she was aware that the wine, its quality and meaning, was less important than spending yet another evening with Draco.
"Oh, then I hope you've nicked the Manor's expensive crystal and have fitting glasses for this wine."
He smiled and extended his hand. "Obviously."
Hermione got up from her comfy office chair and took the offered hand. Draco then moved his fingers so they were interlaced with her, and she felt a warm shiver waving through her veins as his palm came to rest against hers.
Something had shifted again. And she really appreciated the change.
The shift wasn't as intense as Hermione had believed and hoped, and so the two of them spent the year before the next bottle appeared on her doorstep dancing around each other. They shared wine, they flirted openly, and had even shared two kisses.
Hermione didn't count them as such because one happened under a charmed mistletoe the day the students left for the holidays, and the other was a drunken greeting kiss on the cheek gone wrong on Beltane.
They had grown rather affectionate with each other. Hugs. Head leaning on shoulder. To her, it felt like they were slowly transitioning to a relationship. One that she had realised by now that she wanted very much.
It was just the cherry on top that was missing. Or the cork in the bottle, in their case?
When Hermione opened her front door, on the exact evening she anticipated, the look on his face was priceless.
She almost laughed at his discombobulated expression. Never had she been so very happy she had been right with her suspicion.
Draco kneeled on her doormat, hand in the process of arranging the bottle of wine he had brought, and looked up to her with bright eyes.
"I have been waiting for you," she admitted, and the grin on her lips unfolded.
"I don't know—"
"Don't you dare, Malfoy!" she threatened. She had already waited too long for this moment to present itself. "We have been dancing around each other for such a long time, both too scared and too reluctant to change anything about the status quo. Still, every bottle you've given me has brought us closer together."
He got up and stretched to his full height. "It started as intended — a way to show my appreciation for a special teacher colleague. But then, I don't know how exactly…" He trailed off, grinning sheepishly.
"And you thought you were clever, right? The printed label, the innocent questions." She stepped toward him, poking his chest.
His grin didn't cease. "What gave me away then?"
"The kiss under the mistletoe. Your lips tasted like the wine you gifted to me earlier that year."
"It was a good wine." He shrugged but stepped even closer. "And a good kiss."
"Good?" She huffed. "I had hoped that you wanted to continue that after the first one. But you never did."
"Neither did you."
Draco was right. Hermione hadn't pushed herself to make the next step, either.
They both had been idiots. But now that everything lay open, they could stop that.
"But you know Teacher Appreciation week is in May, right?" she breathed, realising how close together they stood.
"Be quiet and let me appreciate you thoroughly," he said, and she was still smiling when he pulled her close for a thorough kiss.
Again, they shared the wine. This time, it was while watching the sunset from her bed.