I do not own anything. All rights to JK Rowling and other respective parties

Hermione stepped inside and let the door shut behind her with a click. So it was true. He really was living next door and he really was sleeping with other women. She shook her head and headed for the kitchen to sort things away.

This didn't change anything. Not to her knowledge. So she was living next to Malfoy's little love nest? Now what? They hadn't spoken in years and any form of alliance had been squashed some years ago on his dining room floor by his aunt.

Her hand absent-mindedly rubbed over the fading scar on her forearm as she looked around the kitchen for dinner ideas.

She'd lost the desire to cook.

Grabbing her handbag, keys, and double checking her wand holster she headed out for Thai take-out.

As she walked the three black walk to her favorite Thai restaurant, she wondered how long Malfoy had been cheating on his wife. After all, her landlord had told her the apartment next to hers was occupied when she moved in. Had he been cheating on her since then?! Back when they were nothing more than two blood purists being shoved at each other by their parents?!

Hermione shook her head at the idea of it all. Blood purity was an old, practically medieval, thought. Ever since Voldemort fell, it was like a veil was lifted over many of his supporter's eyes. That's what led to the fall. Fewer and fewer blood purists to fight the fight.

She stepped inside the hole-in-the-wall eatery and grabbed a take-out menu to browse.

The idea of cheating bothered her as well. There was obviously a difference between being with another man and appreciating another man's beauty, physical or otherwise.

Maybe it was because she had never been in a situation of temptation before. She thought about this hard for a moment and still couldn't grasp the allure of it.

Making her way to the counter she ordered her favorite noodle dish with an assortment of appetizers. She wasn't one to order one thing. She liked variety, especially when it came to Thai food.

She paid for her dinner and sat to wait for it to be cooked.

A year ago, she would have been doing this with Oliver even though he didn't like Thai food. She looked down at her hands and wondered what would have happened if he had stayed.

Most likely, Ron would have interfered more aggressively. Her mood turned a bit sour at the thought of Ron doing something more dramatic than sending Oliver hundreds of miles away.

Her name was called and she was pulled from her thoughts as she picked up her food and headed out the door.

She could almost hear her stomach growling by the time she reached her apartment building and was tempted to rip open her dinner in the lobby. However, she remembered a bottle of cinnamon fire whiskey she'd gotten for Christmas that she'd wanted to open.

As she began to climb the stairs, she remembered why she'd gone out in the first place and tried not think about it. She really didn't want to spoil her dinner at the thought of Malfoy and his new conquest going at it just a few meters away.

She reached the landing with a sigh and began the balancing act of finding her keys with two bags of Thai food and a purse over her shoulder. She was really going to need to figure out a better place to hold her keys.

Just as she felt the cut edges of her post box key she heard a door open.

She pulled her keys out frantically from her purse and tried to unlock the door as quickly as possible.

"Granger"

She froze.

"Granger!" his voice rose.

She turned to him with a pair of flushed cheeks.

"Yes?" her voice quiet but strong and dignified.

"I'm going to assume that you have no incentive to tell anyone what you saw tonight."

She stared him down, one half of her brain analyzing the situation and the possible turns it could take. The other half taking full appreciation of how different his voice had developed. Clear as crystal, but sensually silky like dark chocolate, yet not too dark or deep to be bitter.

"So…" he paused reaching his hand behind him, Hermione's instincts kicked in and she dropped one of her dinner bags to draw her wand at his heart.

Both Hermione and Malfoy were a bit shocked at just how fast she'd moved. Malfoy knew she was potentially dangerous after pushing the correct buttons. So when he made to move, he did it slowly and her wand was still trained on him as he pulled his coin purse from his back pocket.

With a heavy sigh, Hermione lowered her wand and caught her breath after holding it for so long.

"…As I was saying… I doubt you have any incentive to share this information, so I will supply you with an incentive not to." He said with finality as he held out the entire purse by its drawstring.

Hermione scoffed at the gesture and holstered her wand.

"I don't want your money, Malfoy. Or anyone else's for that matter. All I want is to come home to my perfectly quiet flat, eat my non-floor squashed dinner, and pretend I don't have an adulterous prat living next door. If this gets out, it's your own damn fault Malfoy."

She watched as he lowered his arm and glared at her like he had just an hour ago.

"Fine."

Hermione's brows knitted together at the ambiguous statement.
"Fine what?"

"Fine, I won't make a sound, bump into you in the lift, cross paths with you in the building, have my guests pick up your groceries and you'll keep your mouth shut. Deal?"

"Guests? Is that what you call them?" she almost started to laugh but quickly shut her mouth when he took a warning step forward.

"What I do within my flat is my business, got it Granger?" his chest filling with air as he made his point.

"Perfectly." She snapped back at him.

As he stepped back, Hermione knelt to pick up her second dinner bag and keys. As she jingled the correct key up she glanced over to see him still standing there.

"Shouldn't you go back inside and attend to your guest?" she asked him feeling rather annoyed now.

"I sent her home." He replied, bored, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh." Hermione said quietly and letting her curiosity get the better of her she asked another question.

"Then what are you doing?"

He smirked, "Wondering if you need help eating all that food. That's quite the meal for one girl Granger. Expecting a guest?"

Hermione's blush came back in a rage as she kicked her door open and stormed inside

"Oh BUG OFF Malfoy!" and slammed the door shut.

Over the next week, Hermione had not seen or heard Malfoy or any of his guests. It was almost like things were back to normal. And even though she despised the idea of a man cheating on his wife she did not see herself in anyway an accomplice of his wrong doings. If his wife was blind enough to not know about this then that was her own fault. And as much as Hermione hated to admit it, Malfoy was right. She had no reason to go and tell the press. Yes money and fame, but she had plenty of both for a more noble reason than a warped confessional in Rita Skeeter's Sunday Gossip Column.

It was almost as if he already knew she wouldn't tell. Offering her money he knew she wouldn't take and promising her a deal he could easily meet.

She almost felt played in a way. But still, she was pleased with the quiet outcome.

Work was, as usual, demanding. Which meant she spent longer hours at the office when a batch of Elf Safe House applications came in. Elves were on the priority list, which meant they were always bumped up on the list and usually got more financial support.

It was a Thursday and it was very late. Hermione was half tempted to stay overnight and finish writing letters but decided that even a few hours in her bed would be better than an hour slumped over her desk.

She waved her wand as she stretched her back and yawned. The walk to the floo gates was another blaring reminder why she hated working overnight. The place was completely empty, besides the occasional Ministry Memo wandering around listlessly and the ghosts who liked to occupy the fountain in the main hall.

Scurrying through the floo gates she appeared in her living room and gasped when she saw a man standing in her kitchen.

Reaching for her wand, she watched as he turned around and that's when she dropped everything.

"OLIVER!" leaving her purse and wand on the floor she jumped over the sofa and leapt into his arms.

He picked her up and kissed her head as she embraced him tightly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as excitedly as possible with the little energy she had.

"I'm in London for business so I thought I'd stop by your new place." He smiled.

"You should have owled I would have left work sooner!" She said with a smiling yawn.

He laughed and shook his head, "No no, tis alright. I helped myself to some toast and beans. I hope that's okay."

She laughed and nodded, "Absolutely!" she paused as yawned again and let him stroke her hair.

"Do you want to stay? The night I mean." She offered, her eyelids feeling heavier by the second.

"That would be brilliant, yeah." He kissed her cheek and the two headed for bed.

That night, Hermione would swear she slept better than she had in almost a year. Oliver's arms around her and his feet keeping her feet warm, it was like a dream. She stretched her arms over her head and smiled as she looked over to see Oliver's dimples smiling back at her.

"Good morning" his deep morning voice making her laugh.

"Good morning" she laughed back and snuggled up to him.

"So tell me, what are you really doing here? Business is the lamest excuse ever. You hardly do business in London. It's all through your sports agent. So what is it?" She asked teasingly.

Oliver looked distant for a moment and then gave her a shy smile

"Well… I'm here to sign a contract. I'm coming back to England."

Hermione gasped.

gahhhh it's here. the second chapter.

please, I already know I'm a shit writer but i love feedback and comments and all that fun stuff :)
no one beta'd this cause it was sorta last minute and my thoughts are on the fly.

enjoy!