A/N - I'm upping the rating to M as from this point things are about to get a bit saucier (At least, I think they are as I can't quite remember how steamy things get as I finished writing this story a few months ago).
Hidden Talents.
Three weeks after The Cannons training camp, and a week before the free magazine was due to be published in The Daily Prophet, Hermione received a preview copy of the magazine. Eager to see what Padma and Colin had created, Hermione settled down at her desk to read the magazine from cover to cover. The cover of the magazine featured one of the group pictures Colin had taken of the squad, and Hermione was pleased with how the team looked. She thought the new uniforms helped distinguish that a new era was beginning at The Chudley Cannons.
Opening the magazine, Hermione found Padma had wrote an article about the two days she'd spent at the training camp, as well as rehashing the club's history and Hermione and Harry's recent purchase of the club. Hermione found Padma's article was brutally honest as it set out just what an uphill task she and Harry had in front of them if they wanted to turn The Cannons around. However, it wasn't all doom and gloom and Padma was rather gushing about the hard work Hermione and Harry had already put into the team, and how there was a good atmosphere surrounding The Cannons.
After Padma's editorial came the interview with Harry and Hermione. The interview was spread over four pages, and Hermione thought both her and Harry came across very well. Harry was obviously passionate about getting the team back on track, while Hermione felt as though she'd outlined her vision of the future very concisely. She was also pleased to find Padma had included the new logo and uniforms and mentioned how it was a step forward for The Cannons as they stepped out of the past and entered their new era.
Then came the player profiles, which dominated the bulk of the magazine. Padma had clearly put a lot of thought into which players were going to be making waves for The Cannons, and given them more space. Each player got a picture and a stat box, outlining their career to date, as well as part of the interview they'd done with Padma, but they were all different sized spreads. Some players, like Ron and Ginny, only got half a page, while others, like Angelina and Alicia, got a whole page each, and then there were the handful of players that got a double page spread. Hermione wasn't surprised to find that Draco and Blaise both had double page spreads as they were undoubtedly the stars of the new team.
After reading through the player profiles, and predicting that Ron and Ginny would be unhappy with the amount of exposure they'd received, Hermione turned to the final few pages of the magazine. Padma had included a few pictures of the land where the stadium was going to be built, and she'd written a small article about the potential future of the club if everything went according to plan. She'd also included a bit about the new merchandising Hermione was launching in a few weeks' time, and to wrap things off a fixture list for the upcoming quidditch season had been printed on the back of the magazine.
Thrilled with the overall result of the magazine, Hermione was just finishing with it when Harry strolled into the office.
"I thought you were at training," she said.
"Theo's got everything under control," Harry replied. "What have you got there?"
"The magazine," Hermione answered, passing it to her partner.
"Is it any good?" Harry asked nervously as he examined the cover.
"I think it's amazing," Hermione replied. "Padma hasn't sugar coated the task we've got ahead of us, but she's also pretty positive about the future."
"And there's nothing negative from certain people?" Harry checked. He knew just how frosty Ron's interview with Padma had been and he had to admit he'd been nervous about how it would transfer into the magazine.
"No, Padma's done a great job with the editing," Hermione replied. "Ron's part is only small, but the few questions in the magazine make him come across as fairly supportive."
"You're right about the small part," Harry said with a slight wince as she found the half page dedicated to his best friend. "He won't like this."
"No, I don't suppose he will," Hermione agreed. "But we haven't put the magazine together, that was all down to Padma."
"Bloody hell, Ginny's only a half-page as well," Harry said as he carried flicking through the magazine.
"Let's be honest, neither Ron nor Ginny are big stars, so they can't honestly have expected much more coverage than what they've got," Hermione said.
"You know as well as I do that neither of them think like that," Harry said. "Especially when Draco and Blaise have double spreads," he added, coming across the profiles of his two biggest players.
"As I said, we didn't put this together," Hermione replied with a shrug. "We had no control over the content."
"But if we did, you would have done something similar, wouldn't you?" Harry questioned with a smile.
"I would," Hermione admitted with a nod. "If we want to attract new fans, we have to push our star players. And whether Ginny or Ron like it or not, they are not our star players. Blaise and Draco are our star players, and we need to get them at the forefront of any media campaign we're going to wage."
"I completely agree," Harry said with a nod as he finished looking at the magazine and put it back on Hermione's desk. "And I think the magazine is great."
"Me too," Hermione agreed with a smile.
"And speaking of stars, how are things going with you and Draco?" Harry asked, perching on his partners' desk.
"Things are going good," Hermione replied with a smile as she leaned forward and pushed Harry off her neat desk.
Since returning from the training camp, Hermione and Draco had been seeing each other on a fairly regular basis. Since things were still so new between them, and they knew their romance would hit the papers, they'd been keeping things low key. Hermione had cooked for Draco at her flat a couple of times, she'd been to his penthouse a few times, and the couple of times they had ventured out, they'd made sure to either visit small out of the way restaurants where no-one knew them and where they wouldn't run into any press, or places where Draco had some influence and they could have some privacy.
"Still not ready to go public, though?" Harry asked.
"Not yet," Hermione answered.
"Just don't let what we talked about last time affect any decision you make," Harry advised as he prepared to head back out to the training ground. "As long as you two are happy, that's all that matters. Sod anyone else."
"Don't worry Harry, I wouldn't let anyone stand in the way of my happiness," Hermione reassured her friend.
"Good, but just make sure you don't totally wear my best player out," Harry said with a grin as he headed for the door. "Just remember Theo's no sex before a match rule, just because you're the boss doesn't mean you get to flout the rules."
"Get lost, Harry," Hermione chuckled, throwing a quill at her best friend as he darted back out of the office, laughing merrily.
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Before leaving her flat, Hermione double checked her appearance. She was off round to Draco's for the evening and she wanted to look her best. Dressed in a flattering cream skirt and light purple scoop neck top, with just a small smattering of make-up and no jewellery, Hermione was satisfied with her appearance. Her long brunette hair had been pulled into a loose ponytail, and she'd left a few tendrils framing her face. The overall effect was casual without looking as though she couldn't be bothered.
Slipping on a pair of gold ballet flats, Hermione picked up her bag and apparated to Draco's. After her first visit, he'd ensured that when she apparated to his penthouse that she always landed in the hallways outside instead of having to travel through the entire building. As such Hermione landed practically outside of the door, and when she knocked, Draco opened the door within seconds. Like Hermione, Draco had dressed casually for their date. He was in a pair of dark trousers and was wearing a light blue shirt. Since they weren't going out, he hadn't bothered with shoes and was barefoot.
"You look great," he greeted, giving his girlfriend a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks," Hermione replied.
Entering the flat she dropped her bag in the hallway and slipped out of her shoes. In her bare feet she followed Draco down to the kitchen, which was located at the back of the penthouse. Even though the kitchen wasn't fitted out in the same plush carpet as the rest of the flat, it still wasn't cold on her feet as there was underground heating.
"You're cooking," Hermione exclaimed with surprise as no sooner had they entered the kitchen than Draco began to stir a pot of sauce.
"Did I not mention I could cook?" Draco asked, looking back over his shoulder with a devilish grin.
"No, you failed to mention cooking was one of your talents," Hermione replied.
"Well, I do have a fair few," he replied, giving her a meaningful look.
"I can't wait to experience all your talents," Hermione responded flirtatiously. So far the couple hadn't slept together, but they had messed about a bit and they both knew it was only a matter of time before they took the next step.
"I can guarantee you won't be disappointed," Draco promised.
"Let's hope not," Hermione said as she stepped forward to watch Draco at work. "So what are you cooking?"
"Ravioli with cheese and bacon sauce," Draco replied. "And before you ask, I made the ravioli and sauce from scratch."
"Impressive," Hermione remarked. She was a pretty competent cook herself, but she'd never made her own ravioli.
"And for dessert, I cheated and bought some fresh strawberries and I've got some cream in the fridge," Draco continued.
"Nice," Hermione said, leaning against the bench and watching as Draco kept the sauce from boiling over.
"There's some wine in the fridge if you want a glass," Draco said.
"Thanks," Hermione said as she headed over to grab herself a glass of wine. "Do you want one?"
"Yeah, you know where the glasses are," Draco replied, briefly leaving his sauce and checking on the ravioli.
Five minutes later the pair were sitting at the kitchen table, a gorgeous looking plate of ravioli in a cheese and bacon sauce and garlic bread in front of them. Hermione was thrilled to find the food tasted as good as it looked.
"Why haven't you cooked for me before, this is delicious," Hermione said as she savoured every mouthful of the pasta.
"I didn't want to impress you too early, I might never have got rid of you," Draco joked.
"You're right about that, if I'd know you could cook like this, I would have been here for dinner every night," Hermione laughed.
After dinner, Draco poured them a second glass of wine and they took their strawberries and cream into the living room. Despite it not being cold enough to warrant a fire, Draco still lit one for the romantic effect and the pair settled down on the long haired rug in front of the roaring fire.
"How's training?" Hermione asked as she settled herself against Draco.
"Good," Draco answered. "But doesn't Harry fill you in on things?"
"Not unless there's any dramas or emergencies," Hermione replied. "I leave the running of the team to him. I've got enough to deal with without having to worry about how the players are coping."
"You don't need to worry about me, I'm loving it," Draco reassured her.
"No regrets about joining us?" Hermione asked as she picked up a strawberry and dipped it in the bowl of freshly whipped cream.
"Definitely not," Draco answered, swooping down and biting into the strawberry Hermione had in her hand.
"Hey that was mine," Hermione protested with a pout.
Laughing, Draco picked up a fresh strawberry and dipping it in cream, he fed it to Hermione. The act resulted in Hermione's tongue brushing against Draco's fingertips and the contact instantly sparked a change in the atmosphere. Suddenly the light bantering and flirting they'd been indulging in stopped, and the air was charged with sexual tension. Staring into each others eyes the couple sat for what seemed like an eternity, before Draco leaned forward and pressed his lips against Hermione's.
Hermione instantly responded to the kiss, and as well as each other they could both taste the wine and strawberries they'd been consuming. Pressing closer to Draco, Hermione wound her hands around his neck, letting her fingers run through the ends of Draco's soft hair. Draco's hands had also travelled up to Hermione's hair, and with a tug he pulled out her ponytail, letting her curls out.
"I think it's time for me to discover some of your other talents," Hermione whispered when they finally broke for air. "Shall we go to the bedroom?"
"Not yet," Draco replied, bringing his lips back to Hermione's. "I want to make love to you right here."
Hermione shivered at Draco's words, but she had no objections as they slowly undressed each other. Despite the passion they felt for each other, there was no frantic tearing of clothes. Each piece was removed with care as they explored every piece of flesh they uncovered. By the time they were both naked, they were each desperate for each other, but still they took things slowly and relished every moment. There would be plenty of time to let their passions explode, but in front of the flickering fire on the fur rug, Hermione and Draco made love for the first time slow and steady, savouring every delicious moment together.