Hi hope the first part was good enough for you to be reading this. Again this part isn't beta-ed so apologies for any errors. Please let me know so that I can make the corrections.
As always please enjoy. Comments etc. appreciated.
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The week was spent looking at files, deciding which case they ought to take up. Hermione hadn't seen Harry or Ron since her first day. She'd told them that she was working in the same office as Malfoy. Ron had looked worried about it but Harry was convinced that Malfoy would be fine. Hermione didn't want Ron to worry nor tell Harry that Malfoy had flat out refused to be friends with her, ever. So she'd kept it to herself, instead she told them in all truthfulness that he had been quite polite to her all morning. Apart from his initial outburst and dismissive speech, he'd been exceedingly polite and well behaved on all accounts. He'd carried her files to her table because while she was well accustomed to carrying books and files, doing it in high heeled shoes wasn't the same. She had almost toppled over.
In fact, they'd progressed from Malfoy and Granger to Draco and Hermione rather quickly. And he had been polite and well mannered at all times. It was like working with a stranger who went by the name Draco Malfoy, he bore very little resemblance to her high school tormentor, and even those were the nice things that she'd glimpsed while in school. She was loathe to admit it, but he'd always been quite witty and sharp.
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On Friday afternoon their first assignment had been finalized, they'd be infiltrating another department in the ministry itself as new interns and would need to evaluate if anyone had prejudiced views. They needed to practice their characters over the next few hours.
'We're supposed to be best friends according to this brief.' Hermione shook her head.
'Come on, Hermione. You just have to fake it.' Draco drawled.
'It's not about how we speak, Draco. Body language is a dead giveaway. Best friends have no trouble being in each other's personal space. We're playing two real people who will be joining the following week. We need to be exactly like them or we'll be spotted. Why are you so dense sometimes?' She sighed exasperated.
'You should be used to it with your boyfriend.' Draco spat at her.
'What boyfriend? Do you mean Ron? Oh we broke up ages ago. We liked each other and we do love each other but there's no real romantic connection between us. We realized that a few weeks into our relationship, after the war, we need very different things from our partners. We will still die for each other but that's because we've just been through so much.' Hermione said casually.
Draco hadn't been expecting her to say anything,'So you're not dating anyone?'
'No Malfoy I'm not. Why do you have someone you'd like to set me up with?' Hermione teased. Sure he didn't want to be friends but he had been conversing with her in a friendly enough manner for her to relax.
Draco burst out laughing, it was a wonderful sound that filled the room. It made her watch him, his entire countenance took on a very appealing look. She could finally see the appeal he'd always held in the eyes of other women. She unfortunately had only received cruel words from him, and as nice as he was being at the moment, she reminded herself that he wasn't going to change for her. It was actually depressing, she could see herself loving someone as intelligent, funny and oddly caring as he had been all week. She was very really afraid she'd fallen for him too. Then she told herself that one week wasn't enough to love someone, it was just a stupid crush. Oh, great she had a crush on him. Brilliant!
'My friends are either married, engaged or assholes. The only decent ones are Harry, Ron, Neville and the rest of whom, you've known better and longer than I have. You'll have more luck finding a date yourself.'
'If we can talk like this without any barriers, that should be enough right. We'll need to remember that we can't mention Harry and the others, they're all too notable now.'
Hermione's eyes lit up as she saw a way to ensure that they could fake being friends.
'Sit on the couch.' She ordered.
'What? Why?'
'Just do it, Draco.'
'Tell me why, Granger.'
'Because if I have to sit next to you at your workstation, I'll have to be on your desk or lap. Now please.'
Draco now had the simultaneous images of Hermione on his desk and lap.
'You can be really vulgar at times Hermione.' He shook his head as he sauntered over to the couch.
Hermione sat next to him. Her form stiff, posture ridgid.
'You look like you've been petrified. And I know what that looks like cause I saw you in our second year.' Draco commented.
'What were you doing in the hospital wing?' Hermione asked curiously. She had always thought Harry and Ron had been her only visitors.
Draco blushed, 'Umm... I hadn't been feeling well so I'd gone there and I spotted you.' He shrugged. Hermione narrowed her eyes but stayed silent.
'You hug your friends right? Do you want to try that, I don't know if there'll be any need but we shouldn't look like we've never done it.' Draco asked. Hermione's laugh was mirthless.
'Draco I know we need to be on a first name basis and that this task requires us to pretend to be friends but hugging and you asking me to hug you. It's a little ridiculous considering your speech to me on our first day here. Don't you think so?' Hermione asked straight forwardly. She hoped that maybe he'd reconsidered and there could be more.
'If I recall correctly, I told you I was willing to keep up pretenses but it wouldn't change my feelings. I don't see you as a friend and I thought you understood what I meant.'
'Yes, I understand that you despise me. That even though we're working in a department that is literally trying to change people's thoughts about Muggleborn witches and wizards and the ethical treatment of other magical beings, I'm still the scum on your shoes.' Hermione choked out looking straight ahead at the window, frustrated with herself at being upset by his words and her own as well. Why was Malfoy always able to rile her up?
She turned to face him with tears in her eyes, Draco didn't know what to say, and sort of reacted without thinking. He'd never thought that she'd be so upset about them not being friends. He had always thought she would hate him after everything that had happened. He cupped her face with his hands watching her eyes widen in shock as he pulled her in and kissed her, her hands on his chest.
Hermione really didn't understand him, he said he couldn't be friends but now he was kissing her, in their office, with door right behind them, anyone could walk in and totally misunderstand their relationship. Hermione suddenly realized that she was responding instinctively to being kissed, Draco was a good kisser. She knew he was trying to upset or confuse her, he had always enjoyed it in the past. The teasing was no longer childish, it had moved into a more adult zone but she could and would play his game.
She picked up her wand and placed the necessary locking and silencing charms. Then she repositioned herself to have better access to him. She had limited experience but enough imagination. They had been in an odd angle with their torsos twisted to face each other. So she swung her leg over him ignoring the ripping sound her skirt made as she sat on him, so that she was now more or less straddling him. She broke the kiss for a moment looking at his face, he opened his mouth to say something but she had no intention of listening to anything. She pressed her lips to his, opening her lips, coaxing him to explore her mouth. Digging her tiny hands into his hair she pulled him deeper into the kiss as she pressed her body against him, until she felt his arousal against her thigh. Draco didn't know what had inspired her to behave so recklessly but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, he ran his hands down her body resisting the urge to rip off her pink shirt. She knew she could be totally heartless if she chose to, and Malfoy probably deserved it.
She smiled to herself, she would torment him. She'd make sure she was in every waking thought, he was all about pretenses. She pressed herself harder to him until she heard him groan. Then she pried herself off him. Draco looked confused, flushed and quite hot, she acknowledged.
The slit on the left side of her skirt had gone all the way up her thigh, almost revealing her panties. She bent to pick up her wand from the coffee table, the silt on her skirt was at Draco's eye level.
'Like what you see?' She asked playfully as she fixed her skirt.
Draco moistened his lips, this crazy witch had destroyed nearly all rational thought in his mind. It was probably best that she had stopped when she had since he was more than willing to go all the way. But he thought, he ought to set the record straight, he didn't want her to misunderstand his intentions.
'I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me.' He began.
Hermione waved her hand saying, 'It was nothing, what's a kiss between colleagues? Though we should avoid doing it in public, it would give people the wrong notion. It's quite late and we still have details we need to figure out about this case. It shouldn't take more than a couple of hours. Should we just stay back and get it done or meet over the weekend?'
Draco stared at her, moments ago she had been kissing him and now she was back in work mode like nothing had happened, so he pulled himself together.
'I'd rather we meet tomorrow. I don't know about you but I could do with a nice shower.'he answered.
'There are showers on the floor above if you want we can take one there.' Hermione smiled.
As much as it sounded like she was suggesting that they shower together, Draco knew that she was mostly just being practical.
'I prefer to shower in my own home. You can join me if you don't mind.' Draco smirked at her.
'I don't have anything to change into.' Hermione replied with a straight face, she hadn't missed his suggestion.
'Judging by the way you were about 5mins ago, you wouldn't need anything.'
'Watch it, Malfoy. Someone might think you're flirting with me.' She said coldly.'Let's meet tomorrow then, does post lunch suit you?'
'Do you have lunch plans?' He asked.
'No but I wouldn't want to disrupt your weekend plans.'
'I've got no plans for tomorrow. Come over around 12 noon. My apartment is connected to the Floo network. Leave your file on my desk.' He said as he walked over to his desk and wrote his address on a piece of parchment. Handing it to her he asked, 'Do you prefer any particular cuisine?'
'Anything is fine. Nothing too spicy though.' She said handing over her file to him.
The entire atmosphere was weird. They had gone from making out to flirting to talking business. It was in reverse.
They packed up in silence. Hermione removed the charms she'd set on the door. They walked silently to the elevator and bade farewell with a promise to meet tomorrow.
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