"Come on, Hermione, tell us! We know that you're seeing someone, but Ginny wouldn't say who it is." Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked from her one best friend to the other. Harry and Ron had slipped into one of the Ministry lifts after her just as she was coming back from her lunch break, and they almost scared her to death when she turned around and saw them standing there.
"How come Ginny let that slip?" the witch asked once she got over her little shock instead of telling them anything. Harry and Ron exchanged a glance, and after a few more seconds of tense silence Harry mumbled, "We went out on Saturday, and she drank a bit much."
"Harry James Potter! Shame on you!" Hermione knew very well that Ginny could hold her liquor, which meant she must have been horribly drunk to start blabbing about secrets she had sworn to protect with her life. "And you're just as bad, Ronald! You two should have made sure she didn't drink that much." The two men looked abashed – for about a second. Well, it had been a weak attempt to distract them.
"As if we could stop her from doing something she's set her mind to. Besides, she's fine. Just had a bit of a hangover on Sunday", Harry said, and a grin spread on Ron's face. "Yeah, she regretted that hangover when Mum went over to her place to plan Percy's birthday party." Shaking her head, Hermione crossed her arms in front of her chest. She was hoping the lift wouldn't make any unnecessary stops, so she could escape this interrogation.
"But! That's not that important. Why didn't you tell us that you started going out with someone? And more importantly, why aren't you telling us who it is you're with?" Hermione felt a pang of guilt when she saw hurt flash across her friends' features. Her expression, so far miffed and unyielding, softened, and she gave them a small apologetic smile.
"I don't want you to get your knickers in a twist for nothing. I'm just not ready to tell you yet, and neither is he." The lift's rattling stopped when it came to a stop on her floor, and she patted Ron and Harry on the shoulder as she moved past them into the hallway that led to her little office.
"Fine, but you really shouldn't keep secrets from us", Ron muttered, pressing the button for their floor a little harder than was strictly necessary.
"And you should be a bit more understanding when I say I just can't tell you yet." Hermione's temper was flaring up, and she could see that Ron was about to retort something when the lift doors closed. It was lucky for them really, because generally the Ministry frowned upon its employees getting into full-blown arguments when they should be working. With a huff, Hermione turned around and stomped off to the office she shared with Draco Malfoy.
###
"You better make some space for me here, Granger. And quickly." Hermione's head shot up, and she had a hard time keeping her jaw from dropping when she saw who was standing in the doorway to her office.
"And why would I be doing that, Malfoy?" It only took her a few seconds to regain her composure, but Malfoy had obviously noticed and had the gall to look amused by her surprise.
"I've been told this is where I'm supposed to work." Without asking if it would be alright for him to do so Malfoy walked into the office and started moving some of the books from the second desk to the floor. "What do you need all these books for anyway?"
"No, no, no! Stop, Malfoy! You're messing it all up. And what do you mean you're supposed to work here?" Draco cocked an eyebrow and dropped the book he'd been holding back on the table instead of putting it on the ground.
"Well, after applying for a job in this department, I was hired, as I knew I would be, and they told me this would be my office. Looks like the Golden Trio's know-it-all isn't all that popular here if they put me with you", Draco slowly explained, and a smug smile flashed across his face. Hermione gritted her teeth, and even though Draco seemed to be waiting for some kind of reply or reaction from her, she didn't say anything. After a few seconds, she got up and quietly said, "Please excuse me for a minute. I'll have to talk to someone." She was hoping this was some kind of mistake. She didn't think she'd be able to do this job properly if she had to endure Malfoy every single day. However, her boss told her in no unclear terms that Malfoy and her sharing an office was no mistake, and that she'd simply have to deal with it.
"Stop touching the books, Malfoy", she said when she came back into the office, "I'll clear the desk, just stop messing them up." Draco sighed, leaned back in his chair and ran a hand through his hair.
"Just hurry up already." And those were the last words they spoke to each other for a while.
###
Hermione slammed the door shut behind her, let her bag fall on the ground with a heavy thud, and, ignoring the fact that Draco was sitting on her sofa, went into her room to change from her work clothes into something more comfortable. By the time she made her way back into her living room filled with bookcases and some other comfortable furniture, Draco had put away the book he'd been reading, and gave her an expectant look.
"Are you going to say hello to me now?" he asked when Hermione sat down next to him and still didn't say anything.
"Hi", she replied, her voice barely audible, but then she shook her head, frizzy hair flying around, and turned to Draco. "I'm sorry, Draco, I've had an awful day. Didn't help that you weren't there today." Draco raised his eyebrows, but instead of making some kind of snarky comment, he waited for her to go on.
"After lunch Harry and Ron cornered me, and asked me who I'm going out with. Ginny told them that I'm with someone." She gritted her teeth, and kept her eyes fixed on a point on Draco's chest, "Ron and I ended up pissing each other off, and then he sent me those stupid memos all afternoon asking about you." She paused and the corners of her mouth twitched. "Not you specifically, because then he'd throw a real fit, but generally... He especially wanted to know how I met you, considering I spend most of my time in the Ministry. I just want to... throttle him!" Hermione scoffed and shook her head again, almost missing the long sigh Draco let out. The wizard tugged at her arm, pulling her close, and she cuddled up to him.
"Far be it from me to defend the Weasel, and I would help you hide the body, but Molly Weasley can be scary." Hermione chuckled. "And if she didn't get me, there'd be his hoard of brothers. And his sister. And then Potter. Are you sure you want to kill a Weasley?" Hermione was outright laughing now, and turned around to give Draco a quick kiss.
"Not really, no. He is one of my best friends after all. I just wish he'd act more like it..." Her voice trailed off as Draco trailed kisses along her cheek and neck. "Draco, are you trying to distract me?"
"Maybe", he mumbled against her neck, nipping and sucking.
"Draco, we have to tell everyone that we're a couple at some point." She straddled his lap, and buried her hands in his hair. Pulling his head back, she sucked on his neck, greatly enjoying hearing Draco moan.
"Let's talk about it later." He grabbed her by the hips, and pulled her even closer to him. "Afterwards."
It was easy for Hermione to forget about the troubles with her best friends after that. Over the months she and Draco had gotten to know each other rather well, and just like she knew how to distract Draco, he knew all the best ways to distract her as well.
###
"If you don't stop being such an utter arse, I will... I'll throw a book at you!" Hermione had jumped up, and now stood glaring at Draco from behind her desk, hands on her hips. Draco looked shocked for about a second before laughing.
"Really, Granger? Throw a book at me?" He seemed genuinely amused. "That's such a Muggle way to deal with things. You could use your wand and jinx me, but noooo, mighty witch, Hermione Granger, would throw one of her books at me. Oh wait, that must mean you like me since you love books so much, and you'd risk damaging one for me." Hermione threw her hands up in the air, and swore loudly.
"We clearly have to change something here, Malfoy. We've been dealing with each other like this for months now! I mean, I've noticed that you don't call me Mudblood anymore, or use any other slurs, but you still act like a snarky prick most of the time!" Draco never lost his temper like her, but now he had shot up out of his chair as well, and leaned forward over his desk.
"Don't act like it's all my fault! You're still an annoying know-it-all, who thinks she's better than everyone else!" He slammed his fist on the desk, and glowered at the witch opposite him. A hurt look passed over Hermione's face, but it was replaced by anger again within a second. She took a few deep breaths, trying to reign in her temper.
"Okay, okay. I never said I'm perfect - "
"That must have been really hard to admit."
"You just push all my buttons!" Hermione hated to say out loud, what was painfully obvious to the both of them, and still Draco wore that annoying smug look again. After a moment, his smile changed to something she hadn't seen before.
"Likewise."
They stared at each other for another minute or two, and only snapped out of their staring contest when someone knocked on their door. They hastily sat down just as Harry stuck his head through the door, and asked for Hermione's help with something.
###
Hermione and Draco were discussing the newest draft of a Wolfsbane Supply Law they had to check over when someone knocked on their office door. Hermione was a tiny bit quicker than Draco to tell the whoever stood out there to enter, and in a fit of childishness she stuck her tongue out at him with a smile.
"Hermione, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I let it slip that you're seeing someone, I'm sorry my brother is a complete idiot sometimes, and I'm sorry that my fiance seems to be just as much of an idiot." The flood of words had already left Ginny's words before Hermione had even had the chance to realise who had walked in, much less had a chance to greet her friend. By the time Hermione had caught up, the redhead was leaning against Hermione's desk, looking truly apologetic. Draco rolled his eyes, making sure Ginny noticed, but the older witch smiled.
"Hey, Ginny. It's alright." When Ginny looked skeptical, Hermione patted her friends' knee lightly, and added, "Really!" The younger witches' shoulders slumped a little, her posture relaxed, and she looked over at Draco. "You okay as well, Malfoy?"
"Sure. Thanks to the fact that you couldn't keep your mouth shut, I had glorious sex yesterday." He stretched in his chair, grinning at the youngest Weasley, who looked appalled. "I should probably get you a thank you card."
"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, but she was still smiling. Ginny had been surprisingly accepting when Hermione had finally decided to tell her that she and Draco were... something. The acceptance lasted as long as she didn't go into too much detail. Draco knew that and enjoyed teasing Ginny, although those bursts of information about their sex life had become less and less as time went on and he became more used to the Weasley girl. "It made it easier to bring up the whole 'Tell everyone else' discussion again, so that's a plus." Ginny raised her eyebrows.
"And? Are you going to tell everyone now? Mum's becoming a little too enthusiastic about finding men to set you up with, and I'm running out of excuses to tell her why they're no good. Are you sure you want to stick with that blond one over there? Some of those guys sound really amazing, and I think if you don't tell her soon, she'll do something desperate, like using Percy's birthday party to set up you and Charlie again." Draco looked from Ginny to Hermione, his sharp gaze at last focusing on Hermione.
"Again?" Hermione had the decency to blush, and had to clear her throat before she replied, "We went on one date. Once. He went back to Romania the next day, so nothing happened." Shaking her head, and waving the topic off, she continued, "We can talk about it later. What's more important is that you brought up the birthday party, Gin. Draco has agreed to be my plus one for that." A happy grin spread on Hermione's face, and it made Draco almost forget about the fact that his girlfriend and the dragon tamer had gone out on a date at some point. It was good to see her that happy, though, made it worth it, and Ginny seemed relieved as well.
"That's great! There'll probably be less drama when everyone finds out at the party. Bit more neutral ground", she said, and patted Hermione on the shoulder. "Well, since we got the apology out of the way so quickly, and you finally made plans to tell the rest of the family, feel like going for lunch now?" Hermione laughed, and nodded, but Draco pointed at the papers, and said that he wasn't that hungry in the first place and would rather work some more. Hermione sorted her papers into several neat piles one more time, checked she had all the things she needed, and was out of the office, with Ginny hard on her heels. Just as Ginny was about to close the door, she stuck her head into the office one more time and mouthed 'thank you' in Draco's direction.
###
"Oh, Granger, would you do me the honour, and go on a date with me?" Draco's voice was dripping with sarcasm, and the way he looked at her was cold and hard. She straightened, and held her head high when she replied, "Sure, Malfoy, but you should know that I don't put out on the first date, so don't get your hopes up."
"Please, one time was more than enough for me", Draco snorted, but he couldn't quite keep up his unmoved appearance. The highlight of their utterly awful week had been when their boss had torn both of them a new one because their renewed arguments had a negative impact on their work performance. This argument in their office was just the cherry on top. However, all that didn't really matter when Hermione noticed the crack in Draco's armour. They were both tired, especially of each other, and still she couldn't help but notice the small things about the blond wizard she had become so good at reading ever since that first day he had shown up in her office.
She furrowed her brows, and took a step in Draco's direction, effectively invading his personal space. The wizard's breath caught in his throat, and Hermione's heart started beating much faster than should be humanly possible. "Come on, admit it. I was the best fuck you ever had." Her words were harsh, and she mustered up all her Gryffindor courage to keep looking up in his face, which became harder by the second. An odd grin spread on Draco's face.
"I will admit that when you admit that I was the best fuck you ever had." Hermione laughed, and rolled her eyes.
"Fine, whatever. Draco Malfoy, you were the best fuck I ever had, which is actually quite impressive considering it happened at a freaking Christmas party." Draco hadn't expected those words, hadn't expected Hermione to admit it, hadn't expected that he might have a real chance with the witch. "Don't look so surprised", she said quietly, and stepped away from him again. He closed the distance between them once more, and put one of his hands to her cheek.
"What about a repeat? One time wasn't really enough." Hermione stared at the man in front of her, trying to tell herself that this was a stupid idea. In the end she told her brain to shut up for once, and simply went for it by kissing Draco. Her kiss seemed to break down some kind of barrier, and there seemed to be no stopping them anymore. They managed to properly misuse some of the Ministry's property, in form of their desks, something Draco was quite proud of for a while. Afterward, when they were spent, sweaty, and looking at each other curiously, Draco ran a hand up Hermione's side and appeared to come to some kind of conclusion concerning his co-worker.
"Granger, in all seriousness, will you go on a date with me?" A smile tugged at the corners of her lips, "Sure, but I'll not be putting out on the first date." Draco chuckled, and kissed her softly. "That just means I'll have to use the time before that well."
###
Hermione looked around her bedroom, trying to find something to do to delay having to leave it for a few more minutes. However, she was dressed, had finished putting on the little make-up she enjoyed wearing, and she was pretty sure she had heard Draco come into the flat at some point while she had been changing. He was probably waiting in the living room, so she should be going, but this was it. The Weasleys would find out who her boyfriend was. All their other friends would find out. The prospect made her all jittery and scared her a little. She could only imagine how Draco must be feeling, who, for all intents and purposes, didn't even like the people he was supposed to spend the afternoon and evening with.
Taking a deep breath, she left her room at last, and went into the living room, where Draco was waiting for her as she'd expected. He was seated on her sofa, and when she entered his gaze wandered up and down her body. She couldn't help but grin. She was wearing a dark red dress she had wanted to put on for a while, because she felt pretty in it for once. Like a woman. She and Ginny had found it together when they had ventured into the Muggle part of London, and while it wasn't really anything special compared to the dresses her friends normally wore, she loved the material, which was soft and flowy, and ended just above her knee.
"Wow, you look beautiful, even though I don't care much for the colour", Draco complimented her, smiling.
"Thank you! You look pretty nice yourself." Draco was wearing a dark suit, and she was proud that he had been able to resist putting on any Slytherin colours, at least visibly. Draco got up from the sofa and she gave him a small peck on the cheek.
"Come on, let's go", she said, grabbing the bag that contained Percy's gift, and holding our her other hand for Draco to take. He didn't hesitate at all when taking her hand, and together they apparated to the Burrow. They arrived at the very edge of the garden, but could still see the huge table set up fairly close to the house to accommodate everyone who'd been invited to the birthday meal. It seemed like most guests had already arrived, and Hermione quietly asked, "Ready?" to which Draco replied with a curt nod.
The couple made its way over to the table and Hermione greeted the whole cheerful round with a loud, "Hey! How's everyone doing?" That way she certainly got people's attention, but it took a few more seconds until people realised that she had brought Draco as her date, and what the implications of that were. The looks of utter shock and the round of dropping jaws was one of the funniest things Hermione had ever seen.