Last chapter on Circa Mundi :

"So, what now. You're just going to ignore the fantastic snog we just had? You're going to pretend there is absolutely no sexual tension between us and that that kiss wasn't passionate as hell?"

"Draco, I… I'm sorry, but can we deal with this after the mission?"

This woman will be the death of me, he thought as he walked ahead of her.

Chapter 11

Two hours after escaping the hot sand on the beach of Barcelona and a lot of walking around the streets, Hermione and Draco finally found a hotel that had rooms available. They settled on taking one room for the both of them, but asked for two separate beds. Hermione had flushed when the man at the reception desk had asked with a chuckle, "Trouble in paradise?"

They made their way up to the room, Hermione quickly making way for the bathroom. She hadn't showered since their night in Arabia, and desperately felt the need for a cold shower, especially after her and Draco's heated encounter on the beach earlier.

Before stepping into the bathroom, she heard Draco mention he would poke around the hotel a bit and try and find some ways of communicating with her office in England.

Stepping out of her tight clothes and under the cold drizzle, Hermione breathed deeply, trying to make sense of all that had happened in the past days.

A week ago, she sat at her kitchen and was having small-talk with Ginny, Hermione talking about her latest projects while her friend kept her up on the gossip she missed while out of town. She remembered Ginny almost pleading her to give Malfoy a chance, and now a few minutes earlier, they had been eating each other's tongue while grinding at each other.

Where had her reserve gone? Since when had she stopped respecting herself as a woman and simply threw herself at a man like that?

Scowling at herself, she reached for the bottle of shampoo and started washing her hair, all the while thinking back to the feeling of Draco's body over her own.

She had never been kissed that way.

Never had she felt such passion and desire all in the span of five minutes.

Sure, Hermione had had her fair share of men since Hogwarts. She didn't consider herself a minx but she had indulged in some one night stands while being away on some mission or another. She remembered her night with Carlos from Brazil. As hot as the sex had been, it didn't even compare to the feelings she had felt deep in her navel as Draco kissed her earlier.

Maybe the tension had been accumulating over the years.

Well, obviously, the small voice in her head chided.

Berating herself mentally, she kept on washing her body, her thoughts never far away from her blond partner.

Finally getting out of the shower half an hour later, she cursed out loud when she noticed she hadn't brought a clean change of clothes. She had dropped her bag as soon as she had come in the room and had made straight for the bathroom.

Groaning, she settled a towel around herself and quietly crept open the door that led to the bedroom. Hearing no sound from the rest of the room, she opened the door wider and made way to her bag. Suddenly, the door to the hotel room opened and knocked Hermione from her squatting position, down to the floor in the most ungraceful way.

Thank Merlin the towel is wide, she thought at she looked up to the ceiling.

"Granger, are you ok?" Draco quickly made to help her stand up as he came in the room. The witch blushed as he grasped her on either side of the waist and stood her back up.

Once again, the two stood staring at each other, neither daring to move a muscle. Draco's eyes slowly went over Hermione's body, noticing the towel that was threatening to fall. Looking back up to meet her eyes, he reached over and gripped the towel, adjusting it more firmly to her body.

"Um, thanks," Hermione muttered as she spun around to reach her bag. An instant later, the witch was back in the bathroom, almost knocking the door off its hinges as she shut it firmly behind her.

Merlin, help me, Draco thought as he sat down on the closest bed.

"Can you at least hear me in there?" he questioned out loud.

He heard a sound that sounded much like a muffled yes and proceeded to tell Hermione of what he'd found.

"The internet here costs a lot, but if you don't mind, we can move closer to the city center and I think we could communicate with Hagpipe or Potter. I know a man that lives near here, he's a wizard, by the way. I'm pretty sure he'd let us use his fireplace for a floo-call."

Hermione opened the door and made to sit on the other bed.

"Sounds like a plan. But what do we do for the rest of the day? You heard Efe, it isn't wise to apparate directly to England in our state. I don't know for you, but I'm still feeling a bit drained."

Draco nodded at her and stood up.

"Let's start by trying going to my friend's. We'll see from there."

He beckoned her with a finger and Hermione got up to follow him.

An hour later, Hermione and Draco were kneeling in front of a small fireplace. This model had only been made to communicate and not travel through, though currently, the pair didn't mind as all they wished for was to get a hold of someone back home. They needed to warn somebody about the Lupici's end game.

Hagpipe wasn't answering their floo-call. They had tried several times to reach the man, but the line simply didn't seem to want to connect.

Then, they tried calling for Harry, at both his office and his residence, but still no answer.

Was everyone out today? Since when did no one use their fireplaces anymore?

Sighing deeply, Draco got back up and turned around to his friend.

"Gracias, Julio. Your help means a lot to me," he told the man.

The Spanish wizard smiled and shook Draco's hand.

"Anytime my friend, you've done a lot for me in the past. It is long time I paid you my dues."

Hermione lifted an eyebrow at the men. It was the second time in the same amount of days that people were thanking Malfoy for his past actions. Maybe this man had done more in the last years than she gave him credit for. They all seemed to take great pleasure in helping him, so there must've been something he'd done to help them all.

What an enigma, this man, she thought as she moved closer to the men.

"Hey, the band is playing tonight, Draco. You should come for dinner. You weren't planning on leaving until tomorrow anyways, correct?" Julio asked him.

At once, Draco looked towards Hermione for approval. It was a strange turn that their partnership had taken, each one looking to the other for confirmation or help.

The witch looked at him with confusion in her eyes, not fully understanding what the two wizards were on about, but nodded nevertheless.

"Great!" exclaimed Julio as he clapped his hands together.

The two men exchanged another handshake before Draco and Hermione left the small home. The two stood on the street, contemplating their next move.

"We still have the afternoon, Malfoy. What do we do? Is there anyone in the city that could help us concerning the Lupici? Any other friends that I should know of?" Hermione asked.

The blond chuckled and took Hermione's hand in his own before starting down the street. She was surprised at the gesture but found there was a certain familiarity to the touch now, deciding on just going with it instead of pulling away.

"Granger, shit's going to hit the fan soon. Face it, why shouldn't we enjoy a free afternoon instead of researching and going from one door to another, pleading to strangers if they know anything about the big bad man that's chasing us."

"But, Malfoy-"

"Come on, Granger. Loosen up a little. Live, while we still can," he said with a certain dark intonation to his words. "This will be a preview of what I plan on doing once we catch that damn gang and when we're back in England." With a knowing smile, Draco looked back at the small witch trailing a foot behind him.

Caught in the intensity of his look, Hermione struggled to reply. "What is it exactly, Malfoy, do you plan on doing when we're back, then?"

He chuckled and turned around to face forward again, dragging Hermione along with him.

"A date, Granger. Every heard of it?"

The witch let out a small gasp at the meaning of his words. A date? She thought as a whirlwind of questions rained down on her. As if Draco knew what was going on through her head, he squeezed her hand tighter and turned around again.

"Just go with it, Granger. I got you," he whispered.

The witch blushed and thought back to Ginny's words a week earlier. Give him a chance.

She couldn't deny it, Draco Malfoy had surprised her more than once in the previous weeks. He was no longer the taunting adolescent he used to be during their years at Hogwarts, but everything seemed to be going a bit too fast for Hermione's liking.

Throwing caution to the wind and without another thought, she squeezed back his hand and nodded. Who knew what other surprises the charming wizard had in store for her? Harry and Ron would no doubt be pissed at the fact that she was cozying up to their old enemy, but she only had one lifetime, didn't she?

"Don't tell me this is actually your idea of a date, Malfoy?"

The wizard chuckled beside Hermione and stretched his limbs. The pair was currently sitting down on a small bench in the middle of a park the stood near downtown. The park Ciutadella was bustling about with activity, many families and couples walking around Hermione and Draco. They were currently enjoying ice-cream and much to the amusement of Draco, they were currently people-watching while enjoying a spot of shade and their refreshment.

"I told you Granger, this isn't a date. Consider it more of a … pre-date," he finished with a questioning tone.

Hermione laughed and poked him in his side.

Draco Malfoy was a curious man, to say the least. She had never seen this side of him before, carefree, laughing every once in a while, enjoying small-talk. It was making her question everything she once knew about the wizard.

As the afternoon progressed, she found herself even more attracted to the man. He already had the looks, that was no question, but the further she grew to know this side of him, the further she found she enjoyed being in his presence.

"Do you take all of your dates strolling through a romantic city like this and make them forget about their troubles?" she asked him as they were walking around downtown.

The blond abruptly stopped walking and Hermione raised an eyebrow at his sudden halt.

"Granger," he started with a low growl. "I don't usually date, you should know that. I'm sure Weaselette had been throwing you enough gossip lately that you should know how I am."

Hermione cocked her head to the side, trying to make sense of his words. "Truly, Malfoy, I don't know what you mean."

"Hermione," he resumed with a far less intimidating tone. "No woman keeps my curiosity very long. Normally, after meeting up with a witch at a bar or lounge or whatever, I bed them and then be gone."

The small witch felt insulted at his words, but Draco beckoned for her to stay quiet as he kept on talking.

"You, however, are worth much more than that, anyone should know."

Instantly, Hermione blushed deep, wave after wave of butterflies fluttering through her stomach. He certainly had a way with words.

"But… You… You don't even know me Malfoy."

"What I do know of you, is enough to intrigue me. And if our earlier snog on the beach is anything but indication of how you are in bed, I couldn't resign myself to tasting it only once."

He had slowly made his way closer to her, now towering over her small frame. The mix of passion in his voice and the choice of his words had Hermione's knees shaking. No man had ever talked to her this way, but she found she quite enjoyed it. This man was going to be the death of her.

"Don't worry, Granger. One step at a time. I don't want to scare you away," he said with a smile as his fingers slowly grazed her chin. Without words, Hermione nodded in a trance. It was then she realized, Draco Malfoy could completely order her around if he kept on speaking the way he was now. Taking a step back, he extended his hand towards her and silently asked her to follow him, which she did.

"Now come on, there's this hill we can reach if we walk quick enough. The sunset is amazing from there."

Hermione kept on following him without answering. A sunset? View from the hill? He's got more romance in him than I thought, she said to herself with a smile. Deciding to enjoy this side of the man who had teased her throughout school, she let go of the looming threat of the Lupici and vowed herself to have fun for the remainder of the day before they went back to England the next morning.

"Daphne always loved this lounge," Draco let out with a far-away look in his eyes, as both sat down at a small table. They had watched the sunset on the top of the hill Draco had mentioned earlier and then made their way to the venue where Julio and his band would be performing that night.

"Daphne? As in Greengrass?"

Draco nodded and waived his hand at the waiter closest to him. The other man nodded and brought them some drinks before the blond started speaking again.

"You must've guessed it isn't my first time in Barcelona?"

Hermione smiled and took a sip of her drink.

"We used to come here all the time, before … That's how I met Julio. His group usually plays two to three nights a week. Him and I grew close during the past years."

The brown-haired witch looked over at her partner and scrunched up her face at the sudden heaviness in his words. "You say, before … What do you mean by that?" she timidly asked her partner.

Draco scowled and took a large gulp of his drink, almost downing it in one shot. "I'd rather not talk about it, actually. Not really first date conversational subject."

"I thought you said pre-date?"

Draco looked back at the witch that sat beside him and smirked at her. She was actually choosing to go along with his whole idea and so far, Draco had to admit he found he quite liked being around her. More so than he would've thought. Maybe Potter was right, maybe they were pretty much meant to be together.

Whoa there, Johnny! A small voice screamed in his head. Draco rolled his eyes at himself and nodded towards the stage, beckoning Hermione to look forward as his friend's group had just stepped up and were adjusting their instruments.

Julio and five other men graced the stage for a two-hour set, playing some type of upbeat mix of jazz and swing music. The atmosphere was very lounge-like in the small they were in and Hermione was thoroughly enjoying herself. She would have never thought Draco would be the type of guy to hangout in a place like this. Then again, she didn't really know the man and he had started to show a new side to him.

The pair continued talking about random things while Julio's band played their music. Their conversation was mostly centered around each other's current careers, Draco admitting he had always had a soft spot for History of Magic whereas Hermione, in her typical fashion, almost chewed his head off when they started playfully arguing about Runes and Arithmancy.

It was around her fourth drink that Hermione finally excused herself to go to the woman's room. In her absence, Draco looked around the club at the diverse people that sat around. Many seemed to be couples, out on a date-night on the town, while the other patrons were mostly groups of friends that had reunited for a drink.

As Hermione rejoined their small table and made to sat down, Draco got up and stood by her side quickly, grabbing hold of her arm. The witch looked at him questioningly and raised an eyebrow.

"Dance with me, Granger?"

His words were playful yet there seemed to be an undertone to them. Hermione nodded and let herself be guided to the small area where other couples were currently dancing around. As they stood in the middle of the dancefloor, Hermione's eyes widened and she looked back at their table, making to go back.

"First time at this type of dancing?" Draco teased her with a grin. She swallowed and looked back up to his eyes. "Just follow my lead. I got you."

Taking a deep breath, Hermione once again let go of her fears and let herself enjoy the moment. She would've never pegged Malfoy to be a good dancer, let alone dancing jazzy-swing music. Yet, the wizard twirled her around the dance floor, dipping her and spinning her at just the right moments. She laughed in his arms and let him whirl her around for a few songs.

Finally, the music slowed down and Julio's started playing a groovy blues song. Draco looked towards his partner but found she was already scrambling to get closer into his arms. Her reservations truly seemed to have melted away and he would be damned if he wouldn't enjoy the moment. The pair enjoyed a few slow tracks, Hermione's head nestled softly onto Draco's chest while both his hands rested on her lower-back.

All of a sudden, the track changed and Hermione felt Draco stiffen in her arms. She crooked her head up to look at him but found him staring towards the stage. Following his line of sight, she found he was burning holes through Julio's head. The other man was waving a hand at Draco in an unclear gesture, her partner shaking his head above her own.

Slowly disentangling herself from his hold, she stood at arms' length and looked at him, silently asking what Julio was asking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the song we're about to play is very special to me," started Julio while the rest of his band kept on with a soft beat. "A long-time friend of mine is here tonight, and we haven't played this song in a very long while. Maybe help him with applause to get him up here? It would mean the world if he joined me on stage."

Hermione smiled at Draco and pushed him towards the stage, finally understanding Julio's earlier gesture. The blond scowled at her but made his way towards his friend nonetheless. As the crowd encouraged him, Draco made his way and finally settled himself on Julio's right side, reaching around for an instrument. Hermione sat back down at their table, surprised as hell as Draco strapped a saxophone dangle around his chest, his fingers graciously touching the keys without making any sound.

AN : For those of you who want the song to listen to while reading, Youtube 'Guess I'll hang my tears out to dry', done by Dexter Gordon

The song started slowly, half of the group on stage had their eyes shut and moved their bodies to the melody. It was a very sad and charged air, full of feelings and emotions.

Draco stood near the middle of the stage and also had his eyes closed, his brows furrowed together as he blew into his instrument, the notes flowing of their own accord. His chest heaved with every puff of air and it seemed it was only for playing the instrument, but the song seemed to affect him in more ways than one.

Hermione stared at the man before her. To her eyes, Draco was the only one on stage. The many emotions portrayed on his features as he played was a mix of sadness and grief yet when he opened his eyes to look at the small witch, his look glowed with happiness.

The song crept on for a few minutes, the whole lounge in a trance as the men soulfully played their rendition. By the end of the last notes, Hermione noticed the tears that had fallen from her eyes and wiped them quickly. She had never heard a more beautiful yet somber song and the fact that Draco had been one of the men to play it shook her to her core.

She still had yet to discover about this man.

The crowd instantly got up on their feet as the band stopped playing, wildly displaying their satisfaction at a song well played. Hermione wasn't able to move an inch as much as she was moved by the melody. It took a few seconds for Draco to get off stage, grasping his friend Julio in a tight embrace before moving to join his partner back in the middle of the room. He sat back down in his chair and didn't look at Hermione instantly.

It took a few moments for the both of them to muster the courage to speak, and when they did, it was only obvious they spoke at the same time.

"The song was beautiful, Draco-"

"That was for Daphne-"

The pair looked at each other in surprise at speaking in sync, holding each other's gaze for some seconds, before they both smiled at the other.

"Would you … Like to talk about it? Daphne, I mean?" Hermione struggled to get the words out as she felt there was something special about the witch. She couldn't help but feel a churn in her stomach the more she thought of it, but she hadn't heard of the older Greengrass sibling in years.

Draco took a deep breath and averted his eyes from his partner. Staring at the stage, he remained silent for a minute before turning back to face Hermione again.

"Daphne was … Like a sister to me. You should know a bit about the Pureblood customs by now Granger, the grandiose balls and events where witches gossip, the business arrangements made between the men. Most of all, there are still the arranged marriages."

At the last sentence, Hermione scoffed as she rolled her eyes but begged Draco to continue speaking.

"I was to marry her younger sister, Astoria. Quite the witch she is, that little one. Anyways, we kind of grew up together, both families, and Daphne and I got close over the years. Blaise and Parkinson and us, we would do anything and everything together.

"After the war, Daphne decided to up and leave England. She couldn't stand the thought of being close to a place that held such a bad significance for all of us, so she came to Spain. Before that, she had also moved around a bit, staying in Italy and Greece for a while, but she finally settled here. That's where she met Julio."

Hermione's eyes widened and her mouth formed a small 'o' shape as she finally caught on to what Draco was hinting at. With a pained expression on his face, he started speaking again.

"Julio is a muggle-born wizard, actually. Comes from a very normal, ordinary family, and went to a small wizarding school just off the shore of Portugal. Daphne and him dated for some time, the witch was completely besotted with the man, which I understand to a certain point," he smiled, looking back to the stage at his old friend. Julio saw Draco and winked at him, his fingers keeping at his instrument. "And so, of course something had to get in their way. It seemed to be way too easy for my friend to just move on with her life and enjoy love and romance. Some of the old Deatheaters that are still in hiding, I guess, found out and came for Daphne."

By this point, Draco was breathing hard and his right hand was very tightly gripping onto the side of his small chair.

"Malfoy, if you don't want to say more, I understand…"

"No, I've been meaning to let it all out since it happened, and you seem like a good listener."

Hermione smiled and reached for his hand.

"Three years ago, Julio floo-called me in the middle of the night. There had been an attack on his home and they had taken Daphne. He kept on getting strange letters and owls that warned him to just drop it, stop searching for her, that she would never come back. Eventually, the letters stopped and ever since then, we haven't gotten any news. Julio is still hopeful, but … He doesn't know the Deatheaters like I do. For her to date a man like that, it was viewed as treason and an insult to the Pureblood ways."

Standing up suddenly, Draco let go of Hermione's hand and made straight for the stage. Julio's band was finishing up and was now assembling their instruments while another man seemed to be preparing for his own set. The blond extended his hand towards Julio and tipped his head, thanking him for the evening.

Hermione stood up and slowly moved to the door, waiting for her partner to reach her.

"Let's go Granger," he said coldly as he met up with her at the exit.

Nodding, the witch followed him, shaking off the feeling at hearing such a familiar, bitter tone coming from Draco.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Draco made straight for the door that led to a small balcony off their room. Hermione took the time to change into something more comfortable before joining the wizard outside.

Draco stood leaning on the rails of the balcony, staring straight up at the sky. The moon was almost full and the clear skies gave for a beautiful view of the city. The small witch approached her partner and leaned on the rail beside him.

"Thank you," she whispered as she looked straight ahead, also admiring the view.

"For what Granger," he replied briskly.

Hermione moved her head and looked at the man standing a few inches to her left. Both stood so close their elbows were almost touching, and the witch felt her heart flutter once more at their proximity.

"For opening up to me like that, especially about such a story. I'm sorry about what happened Draco, and if there's anything I can do to help you look for her, I will."

The blond kept on staring at the stars, intent on keeping the tears from spilling from his eyes. He hadn't talked about Daphne with anyone for a while. Only Parkinson and Blaise truly knew how he felt about the situation and the trio had already mourned their friend, sadly thinking they would never see her again.

Speaking about her tonight had brought back memories to the surface and Draco found he had a hard time keeping his emotions in check, especially in Hermione's presence.

Hermione got even closer to Draco and put her hand on his shoulder, smiling sadly when he turned to look at her. His eyes were filled with unshed tears and it disturbed the witch to see Draco so shaken.

All of a sudden, Hermione felt herself being whirled around and pushed up the wall that separated the balcony from the hotel. Draco's lips came to hers in a frenzied kiss, a few stray tears coming down his cheeks and dropping on her own face. He roughly grabbed her, one of his hands on her neck and the other nestled deeply in her hair. As he ran his tongue over her lips, she groaned and gave him access to her mouth, her own hands roaming over his broad chest.

The embrace was rough and Hermione thought she knew what was happening. She and Ron had shared a similar night after talking about Fred, right after the war, and the witch couldn't help but feel something for the wizard that was currently leaving a bite-mark on her neck. No matter the original reason for their snog, Hermione didn't wish for this to end. The way Draco was currently ravaging her neck left her knees shaking, and when she started toying with the hem of his trousers, she was glad he suddenly grabbed around her thighs and lifted her legs to settle them around his own waist. In the blink of an eye, he had thrown open the door leading to the room and dropped her roughly on the bed, not wasting a second before climbing over her.

Lowering himself over her small frame, he looked at her with a fiery passion in his eyes. There were no longer tears falling down his cheeks, but the wild look he had while he gazed at Hermione was a clear indication of all the emotions that were battling inside him at the moment.

"I need you, Granger," he growl as he kissed her deeply again. His tongue battled with hers for a moment, while his hands ran underneath her shirt, lifting it to reveal soft skin.

"I know," Hermione answered as she forcefully turned them over so that she was the one on top then, tearing at his own shirt before moving on to his trousers. "I got you Malfoy."

Author's note :

Aw, bad place to end a chapter? I couldn't very well give you everything in here, could I?

Few quick things :

I've never heard of a mention that there was a wizarding school in the region of Spain, Portugal, etc, so in my fiction, I decided there would be one ;)

The Park Ciuatadella is a big park in the middle of Barcelona. It looks amaze-balls if you Google it on the web. Hope to visit it one day !

I also mention Ron and Hermione's night together and know that I had them go on a few dates after the war but they were better off as friends. Let's just say they slept together that one time and then they were over it.

Also, the song "Guess I'll hang my tears out to dry" is originally done by Frank Sinatra but was made by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn, that's why there was probably so many versions on the You Tube.

So since I gave you some Dramione for this chapter (Finally, yay!), next chapter will be a bit more action/adventure focused, maybe? Maybe not? Aw heck, we'll see when I post it ;)

Reviews?

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