My father will hear about this! - Draco Malfoy
The Ministry Ball was in full swing, and Draco Malfoy hated every moment of it. He glowered at every witch that dared to invade his space, and drank his weight in firewhiskey before the speeches ever began. The purple smudges beneath his eyes were the obvious signs he hadn't been properly sleeping, but Theodore Nott wasn't going to broach the subject.
He knew better than to prod the dragon when he was in one of his moods. Theo had a sneaking suspicion Draco's foul disposition was due to Hermione Granger spinning on the dance floor with the Weasley oaf. Her exceedingly short, silver dress sparkled in the fairy lights, which created quite the alluring sight. She was an absolute vision.
Hermione's curls were pulled to the top of her head and secured with quite an expensive diamond clasp. Theo knew it wasn't something she had purchased and Ronald Weasley's gifts were half eaten chocolate frogs. He observed the angry tic in Draco's cheek and the white-knuckled fist against the crystal tumbler with amusement.
"Weasley is a terrible dancer." Draco spat through clenched teeth, though his eyes never left Hermione.
"He hasn't improved a bit since the Yule Ball. Someone should really do something about that," Theo sniffed with an affected disdain. "You never told me what happened between you and her."
"There's nothing to tell, Nott. Mind your own fucking business." Draco snarled nastily.
"Hmm yes, there's definitely a story there. This will be ever so interesting," Theo hummed with delight. "There's more to it than that dastardly display at the Ministry, not to mention the little white mark turned silver that she usually hides or the—"
"Shut up, Theo!"
Theo knew it was only a matter of time before the delightful explosion that was Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger erupted. He did so wish to have a good seat to the show. The sexual tension between them was beyond bordering on obscene and he had suspicions long before he heard the rumour about a pretty little mark on the back of Hermione's neck. Oh yes, there was definitely a story there.
"This is ridiculous." Draco stiffened when Hermione and Ron stumbled a little too close to him.
His eyes widened as he noticed the length of her dress was even shorter than he first believed. It barely grazed the cusp of her luscious arse, not that he would admit he believed her arse was luscious. The crystal tumbler shattered in his hand and Draco was only vaguely aware of the sting as the firewhiskey dripped down his palm.
"She's really got you in a state." Theo chuckled, but it was quickly cut short by the hard wood of a wand against his throat.
"Shut it." Draco hissed quite angrily, while his eyes constantly flitted toward the alluring object of his affections.
"Alright then, you could at least tell me all about that Veela Tendencies nonsense I heard whispered incessantly at the Ministry." Theo shrugged in his regular good-natured manner and eased the wand from the taut skin of his jugular.
"Apparently, there's Veela blood in the Black and Malfoy ancestry. I don't know how many generations back, nor do I care. Don't look at me like that, I'm not going to turn into some sort of beast or anything, my father never has." Draco ruffled his pale blond hair and exhaled harshly. "He has, however, marked my mother. She, in turn, marked him as well." He hastily healed his hand and shoved his wand back into his pocket.
"Perhaps you should have learned exactly what it fucking meant before you sunk your teeth into her. There's a bloody brilliant idea. What the fuck were you thinking? Do you even know what you've done?" Theo was angry, that much was obvious, though as to why was anyone's guess.
"I don't even fucking remember. Mother and Lovegood believe Granger's Hex exacerbated the situation and was the catalyst to this shit I'm currently suffering," Draco resisted the urge to growl low and deep upon spying Hermione and Ron still awkwardly dancing.
"I find it hard to believe your father didn't say a word after that ridiculous display at the Ministry. I mean, come on Malfoy, it's obvious you want her and she definitely wasn't complaining," Theo kept a careful eye on Draco as he spoke.
"He said plenty actually. He's mocked me continuously, thank you ever so much for bringing up such a humiliating experience. I've been instructed to bring Granger to dinner with my parents. Can you imagine it? I know they're plotting, Theo. This is my parents. My mother keeps asking me about that bloody owl she sent, but I don't know what the fuck she's talking about. I haven't received fuckall from her," Draco raked his fingers through his platinum locks and searched for Hermione's sparkling dress amidst the dancers. "I've told her that, of course. She smirks in that infuriating manner and then mentions having bloody Weasley to tea."
Theo shrugged since he didn't have much to offer. He was tired of listening to his mate superficially reject the attraction. There was nothing wrong with a Muggleborn and a Malfoy. The War was over. Most of the prejudices had dissipated and if they hadn't, they were sufficiently concealed, which was nearly the same thing in his eyes.
He considered asking Hermione to dance, but Theo valued his life. It was one thing for one of her oldest friends to bumble across the dance floor and it was quite another for Theo to infringe. Draco would consider it a personal affront and well, it wasn't worth it.
"Weasley told me you nearly shagged her," Theo snickered as the firewhiskey dulled his senses. "Was that before or after your near shag in Interrogation?"
"Weasley needs to learn to keep his mouth shut," Draco groaned. "Yeah, alright. Are you happy now? I've snogged her a handful of times. I've nearly shagged her, more than once, and she won't return my fucking owls." Draco cringed at his admission and scowled once more.
Hermione laughed gaily and spent most of her time avoiding Ron's clumsy steps, but she was still having a glorious time. She knew Monday morning would come quickly enough and she would be back to tense silences and throngs of paperwork. She stumbled in her silver stilettos and decided she had danced with Ron for long enough.
Surprisingly, she had enjoyed the remainder of her week, despite the dastardly mishap with Malfoy. She'd distracted herself with long hours at the Ministry assigned Safe House and while she hadn't been able to glean any more information from her hazy memories, the camaraderie between her and the other witches in question was healing in and of itself. In fact, she'd grown closer to Daphne and Pansy, which still managed to confound her.
They were brilliant witches and not nearly as obnoxious as she'd once believed. Hermione realised she'd had her fair share of prejudices and the Slytherins were quick to dispel them. Despite Pansy's biting tongue, she was intuitive and had quite the addiction to biscuits. Daphne was demure and sweet, but she had a biting tongue and voracious temper when the circumstances called for it.
Hermione continued in contemplation, paused near the buffet, and helped herself to a flute of cool, refreshing champagne. She spied Harry in the vice grip of Lavender and shook her head lightly. She knew something was amiss in their marriage, but from what she had gleaned from Lavender, it was Harry. He had been disappearing at odd hours without explanation. Hermione actually felt sorry for the flighty Gryffindor and she blamed Harry for inciting such unwanted feelings.
It was really the angry Slytherins that drew her attention. From the looks of it, Draco and Theo were arguing, and this wasn't the time or place. She didn't want to interfere, yet her curiosity got the best of her, as it always did. She pretended to inspect the accoutrements as she eavesdropped.
"Maybe you should just talk to her, Malfoy. Something is obviously bothering you and I know it's more than the Contract. Your parents aren't even going to enforce the fucking thing anyway and you bloody well know it. Granger seems to be in good spirits and her dress is divine. Even you have to admit to that much. She's brilliant, she'd probably know more about Veela Tendencies than you do." Theo's voice was low, with soothing tones, and Hermione hedged closer.
"Stop talking to me about her. I'm sick of your insinuations, Nott. We work together, that's it. It's only a matter of time before Granger becomes a Weasley and the Wizarding World holds a fucking gala in celebration." Draco's wand hand twitched, which was the only indication of his falsehood, not that Theo noticed, but she did.
"You're ridiculous, especially if you honestly believe Granger would ever become a Weasley. She's literally marked for you. C'mon Malfoy, at least admit she looks delectable." Theo bumped Draco's shoulder playfully, but Draco's mood was beyond sour.
"She looks like a slag." Draco scoured the crowd for the familiar head of chestnut curls, frowning as he came up empty.
Hermione gasped with outrage and marched directly toward her partner, wobbling on her silver heels. She missed the softening of his grey eyes when he saw her approach. He was distracted by her approach and failed to see her raised hand until the sting of her slap had reddened his cheek. They were entirely focused on each other, therefore Theo shook his head and slipped away into the shadows.
"How dare you?" Hermione's large brown eyes glistened with anger but also hurt.
"I fucking warned you." Draco wrapped his pale hand around her wrist and hauled her from the ballroom without preamble.
Theo closed his eyes and hoped Draco didn't do anything he would regret. He also fervently hoped Hermione Granger managed to rein in her temper. They were a volatile lot and how they managed to work together in perfect harmony remained a mystery.
"You're going to strike me now, Malfoy?" Hermione's stilettos slid across the smooth marble floor as she struggled to keep up with his long strides.
Draco spun on his heel with a snarl on his lips, until he spied her ridiculous shoes. He rolled his eyes and easily hefted the sputtering witch over his shoulder. He clapped his hand across the back of her bare thighs and stormed toward the lift.
Hermione pounded on his back, but it didn't do much good. She had considered screaming, yet doubted her voice would have been heard over the pulsating music in the ballroom. She was angry with herself for leaving her wand in her office. There was no need to bring it to a Ministry function, especially when the function was held within the walls of the bloody Ministry, yet Hermione hadn't counted on Draco Malfoy's ire.
She wondered as to his intentions, but then Draco stepped from the lift on Level 2, and she knew he was headed for their offices. She was nearly correct in her assumptions. Draco kicked open the abandoned office nearest the lift and unceremoniously dropped her to her feet.
Hermione stumbled, quickly regained her balance, and spun away from him. She immediately made for the door, but Draco only smirked at her. He crossed his arms and listened to her mutter 'Alohomora' under her breath until Hermione stamped her foot in frustration.
"Let me out, Malfoy." Hermione stubbornly refused to look at him.
"Not until you've had your punishment." Draco walked around her slowly and made sure to keep his wand out of her reach. "Silly little Granger didn't bring her wand," Draco tutted under his breath and finally smiled.
"You've had your fun. I shouldn't have slapped you again, but you were being cruel and it was unnecessary!" Hermione's temper got the best of her, as it often did, and she flinched away from him.
Draco growled low in his chest, startling her. Hermione scurried toward the lone desk in the centre of the room, desperate to keep distance between them. Understandably, he was faster than she and it was child's play for him to capture her. He held her tight as he lowered himself upon the leather chair and pulled her across his lap. Hermione yelped, but she was no match for the strength of the former Seeker.
"This is your desk now. The Minister decided we needed a dedicated space to devote ourselves to all this Muggle terror nonsense. Your files are in the drawers. Mine are being delivered bright and early Monday morning." Draco slid open the top drawer and showed Hermione her favourite quills laid gently side-by-side.
"Why are you telling me this? Let me up." Hermione attempted to stand but Draco slammed her onto his lap and wrapped his arms tightly around her midriff.
"I'm going to punish you, right here, Granger. Every morning when you sit in this chair, you're going to be reminded. Perhaps you'll think twice before striking me again," Draco whispered the words ever so softly in her ear and inhaled against her throat.
"I-I said I was sorry." Hermione refused to relax against his hard chest but she wasn't seated on his lap for long.
Draco chuckled and spread her across his lap. Hermione's breath vacated her lungs and she blinked in shock. She was staring at the threadbare grey carpet and she didn't know how that had happened. She was on her stomach, resting on incredibly hard thighs, and her wrists were held so tightly it was almost painful, in the small of her back.
Her feet were barely touching the ground but that wasn't the part that bothered her. It was the warm hand stroking the back of her thigh. It was the nimble fingers toying with the hem of her dress. Hermione's shoe slipped and they both paused.
"You always say you're sorry and yet you continue to strike me. It's my turn now, kitten." Draco wrenched Hermione's slinky silver dress over her hips and bared her silky grey knickers.
"Stop it. Don't-don't do anything you'll regret, Malfoy." Hermione groaned in humiliation, her cheeks bright.
"You've been in dire need of a good lashing for years, Granger. I'm just the bloke to dole out such things." Draco strengthened his hold on her wrists and slapped her arse cheeks soundly with an open palm.
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief to know Draco wasn't planning anything sordid, yet it was laced with the slightest hint of disappointment. However, her breath came rushing out in shock upon feeling the sting on her backside. She honestly believed he'd let her up immediately, but he didn't.
He barely paused before landing another smack on her bottom. After the third or fourth strike, his palm gingerly stroked the silk of her knickers. Draco was quite pleased with himself. He quirked his head to the side to inspect Hermione's reddened cheeks and inhaled deeply.
"A-are you quite finished? I'm going to…oh my gods, what are you doing?" Hermione struggled, but it really was senseless.
"Granger, your knickers are damp." She could hear his amusement, but the state of her knickers was drastically more embarrassing than Draco Malfoy's amusement.
"I was dancing. It was warm." The harsh edge of Hermione's voice, despite her position, didn't fool anyone, least of all Draco.
"Is that really the best excuse you've got?" Draco carefully peeled the grey silk down her thighs, leaving them to dangle on her ankles. "You enjoyed it, didn't you kitten?" Draco squeezed her rosy bum gently, pleased to see his handprints marring her flesh.
"It's sweat, you beast." Hermione turned her face from him, knowing he could hear her lie. "You've had your fun. You've struck me and humiliated me. Let me up, Malfoy."
Hermione's head spun slightly, but at least she was upright now. She was also seated on Draco Malfoy's lap with her dress bunched around her waist. She wanted nothing more than to press her thighs together and go home. She wanted to examine the situation and find a logical explanation as to her arousal.
"Let's make a wager, kitten." Draco dragged his fingertips along the inside of her thigh and listened to her breaths quicken.
"I don't want to make a wager with you, let me go, dammit." Hermione wiggled in his lap, but that only exacerbated the situation as she grazed against the erection she hadn't known was there.
"You know I love it when you use foul language." Draco hissed and squeezed her right thigh. "If you're not wet, I'll let you go. However, if you are, I'm going to Stick you to this chair."
"A-and then what?" Hermione's curiosity always got the best of her and this situation was no different.
Draco ignored her, he was entirely too busy enjoying her discomfort. He was slightly distracted by Hermione's cleavage as she was near bursting from the top of her strapless dress. It had begun as a lesson in punishment, but they were far beyond such constraints now.
"Do you remember when you asked me to shag you?"
He tapped his fingers on her thigh and smiled when her eyes dropped to watch the movement of his hand. Draco barely had a grip on her wrists any longer, but Hermione was entirely too mesmerized to move. She watched his hand slide toward the apex of her thighs and held her breath. Hermione willed her body not to betray her, but of course, it was too late for that.
"Y-yes, but I hardly think—"
Draco's deft fingers swiped across her weeping lips and she shuddered. He applied the slightest bit of pressure, even though he swore he wouldn't. The temptation was too great. She was too responsive. She was too wet. She was too everything.
"Hermione?! Are you here?!"
Draco leapt from the chair, yet continued to keep a firm hand around Hermione's waist. He wasn't surprised Harry Potter was skulking through the Ministry. Potter would do nearly anything to escape the clutches of his overbearing wife. It disrupted Draco's plans slightly, but he was quick to adjust.
He pushed Hermione onto the leather chair, curious as to her silence. Her silver dress was still bunched around her waist and that suited Draco just fine. He removed his wand from his slacks pocket and performed a simple Sticking Charm with a salacious smile.
"What are you doing? Are you insane?" Hermione's harsh whisper was only broken by the sound of Harry's inebriated shouts and Draco held his finger to his lips.
He knelt before her, enjoying the way her eyes widened in arousal laced with fear. Draco dragged the chair forward as he climbed beneath the desk and forced Hermione's knees to part.
"Take a quill and some parchment from the drawer, kitten." Draco kneaded the flesh of her calves and rested his cheek against the inside of her knee.
There was more than a little satisfaction to watch Hermione Granger grapple with the drawer. Her hands were shaking, yet she managed to do exactly as she was bid. Her legs trembled, which only added to Draco's desire. He smirked against her smooth skin. He knew she wanted him and it pleased him.
He flicked his wand with his free hand and a handful of files landed haphazardly on Hermione's desk. Her lips parted as she frowned, but then the office door was swinging open, and she froze. Hermione vaguely wondered when Draco had removed the Locking Charms. Her mouth was suddenly dry, though she was aware of warm breaths littering her thighs.
Harry Potter was squinting down the corridor and hadn't noticed Hermione was seated in what was once considered an abandoned office. She wanted to alert Harry to her presence, yet her gasp did the job for her. Harry's head swivelled and he smiled, happy he had found her.
Draco licked Hermione's thigh slowly. He grasped her warm arse cheeks and forced her thighs to part to accommodate him. He imagined her eyes closed, lips parted, and nipples achingly hard. He exhaled on her pink lips and nearly moaned with appreciation when they clenched against him.
Hermione's left hand dropped from the desk and her fingers tangled in silky blond strands, pulling against them. In response, Draco's tongue swiped across her sex, teasing her, and he heard her shuddered sigh. He avoided the slick nub, swollen with desire and languidly thrust his tongue to and fro.
"Hermione! There you are. D'ya know Ron's looking for you?" Harry stumbled through the door and plopped into the hard wooden chair across from his best mate.
"N-no, Harry. I haven't seen, oh my gods, Ron for quite some, sweet Merlin, some time." Hermione struggled with her pants to spout such a simple sentence, not that Harry noticed anything amiss in his inebriated state.
"Yeah, well, he is. Whatcha doin' in here anyway? The party's still in full swing and it's a jolly good time." Harry scratched his head. He was fairly certain he heard some sort of thumping, although he didn't ask.
"Y-you've caught me. I'm-I'm avoiding Ron." Hermione dropped her head to her desk and her delicious little gasps washed over Draco's head.
"That's probably a good idea. He overheard you that day when you were talking to Luna. He was going to propose you see. I told him it was stupid. I mean, you're not even together anymore, but you know Ron." Harry shrugged happily, though he wished Hermione would look at him.
Hermione could barely concentrate on Harry's words due to her body's betrayal. She could feel the slick leather beneath her, her hips wishing nothing more than to undulate in rhythm with his ministrations. She was no longer yanking on Draco's head to force him away, instead, she was pushing him into her, but he refused to quicken his maddening pace.
"I-I saw the box on my desk a few weeks ago, something like that. He didn't leave me a half-eaten chocolate frog, I was wrong about that. He left a full one, but no note or anything." Hermione shuddered, caught between thankful and infuriated that Draco had withdrawn his tongue.
"Oh yeah? Sounds like Ron. Did he just leave you a fucking ring on your desk?" Harry laughed and shook his head, but it was Draco who swallowed hard against her clammy thigh.
"I took a peek at it. Gods, he definitely had help choosing it. It was the most beautiful ring I've ever seen." Hermione's entire body was throbbing and she jumped as high as the Sticking Charm would allow when Draco thrust two fingers into her sopping wet folds.
"D'ya have it here? I wanna see it." Harry rested his elbows on the desk until Hermione leant forward and shoved him away.
Harry smirked and was honestly a bit titillated to see Hermione reach into the top of her gown and remove a jewel-encrusted ring from her cleavage. He shook his head when Hermione gasped and shakily slid it onto her finger. Harry was fairly certain he heard some sort of animal growl, but that would have been impossible.
He studied the jewels carefully when Hermione extended her hand and it was then he knew something was wrong. Harry knew Ron better than anyone did and there was nothing Ron hated more than green. It didn't make a lick of sense that he would choose an engagement ring encrusted with diamonds and emeralds.
"Why did I try it on?" Hermione moaned and Harry thought perhaps she was lamenting her decision. "It was so stupid of me. I-I couldn't help it." Hermione dropped her left hand into her lap and it was Draco Malfoy grasping her hand.
She felt his fingers slowly withdraw, while her body protested, and Hermione was nearly positive she heard him an utter 'oh fuck', but she had to have been wrong. She was deluded, absolutely hearing things. It was the only logical explanation.
Meanwhile, Harry stood abruptly and straightened his wrinkled dress robes. He had to speak to Ron immediately. It was wrong, this was wrong. Everything was fucking wrong!
"I've got to go. It's late. I'm-I'm drunk." Harry waved over his shoulder and vacated the office without another word.