Work was the same again for Hermione; boring, bland, and avoiding Malfoy at all costs. The only times she saw him was when he came into her office to deliver or collect forms from her, and she didn't care much for these moments. All they did was banter a bit till Hermione would get terribly upset, then he'd leave with a smirk. Or he'd attempt to rile her up even more by talking about relationships and boyfriends, in which Hermione would threaten him with her wand and he'd leave. Either way, it was reason enough for taking special care to avoid him at all costs.
However, he continued to wait for her after work, so she tried very hard to finish quickly and to leave earlier than he. Usually, she was successful, and he'd be left alone outside in the crispy London air, waiting hours for her, she hoped. Sometimes, in desperation, she'd even leave with Theo by her side. After confronting him with his claim on her and establishing quite clearly that she was not anyone's to claim, they were back to being just friends, and he came in handy quite often when she wanted to slip past Malfoy.
But one evening, Hermione had to work overtime again, and Theo had gone home long ago. This week for her had been absolutely dreadful, and she was in a terrible mood. First, she'd been passed up for the promotion she'd expected, being passed up for Anthony Goldstein (Anthony instead of Hermione?! What was wrong with the world?!), Lavender was continuously annoying her everyday with stupid advice for love (Hermione was dearly sorry for asking her now), and she had so much paperwork to do she was up to her ears in it, and now her secretary was quitting because she felt she had bigger and better things coming for her! So meeting Malfoy would be just perfect to top it all off.
Hermione wanted to Floo home very badly, but she had run out of Floo powder and had closed off her Floo at home, so she made a note to herself to buy some the next day. However, it wouldn't save her tonight. When she exited the Ministry building, she already knew that Malfoy was waiting outside for her. And she was right. But, he wasn't alone.
He was talking amiably to some beautiful, blonde witch, looking not much older than Hermione, and laughed at something she said. Hermione felt an unmistakable flare of anger rise up. The feeling was fueled when the blonde woman put her hand on his shoulder and bat her eyes at him. 'Her ugly, plain blue eyes,' Hermione thought contemptuously. And she became furious for some unknown reason when the blonde moved her hand to his chest and gave him a peck! On the lips! Malfoy just smiled at her and watched as she walked away. He sighed, still not seeing Hermione in the shadows, and sat on a bench nearby.
Hermione was furious.
He stood up when he saw her storm over in his direction, and he smiled at her. His smile made her want to hex him, hex the girl, and then run and kiss him. It made her feel very weary.
"Hello Granger. Care for a walk?" he asked.
"You act as if we're in a relationship," she stated wearily.
"We are technically in some sort of relationship, aren't we?"
"No! Not at all!"
"Not even friendship, Granger?"
"Not with the way you keep kissing me, you prat! You've got to stop it!"
"I act on my impulses. What's the harm in that?"
"You can't just go around kissing everybody! Especially with someone you're not intimate with!" She didn't know who she was referring to now, herself or the blonde woman.
"Don't worry, love, I only kiss you."
"Oh, really? What about that blonde bint you were talking to just a moment ago?"
"What about her?"
"She bloody well kissed you!"
Draco smirked. "Why're you so angry, Granger? Feeling jealous?"
"Not on your life!" she exclaimed. "How could you even think that?!"
"It's quite obvious. I think you're even turning a little green."
"Why would you kiss her if you only kiss me?"
"We're good friends. Daphne Greengrass, remember her? She went to Hogwarts."
"She's hitting on you, Malfoy!"
"Blatantly. She's still trying, poor girl, though I do try to discourage her. But she's terribly proud and stubborn. Sounds like someone I know."
"I'm not terribly proud!" Hermione said, fuming, the anger fueling her once again. Draco just smirked. "What? I'm not!" she said indignantly.
"Keep telling yourself that."
"Merlin, leave me alone!"
"Give me a kiss and I'll leave you alone."
"Ask Daphne Greengrass for a kiss."
"I don't want one from her. I want one from you."
"I'm not your girlfriend, Malfoy, nor your friend! Just because we've shared a few kisses and shagged once, drunk, I might add, doesn't mean we're in any sort of relationship!" Hermione cried, trying to make him understand.
"I know we're not in a relationship!" Draco yelled back. He expelled a frustrated breath. "But I want to know if…you'd like to be in one. With me."
Hermione stared at him in disbelief, then turned around and walked a few steps, grabbing her hair in frustration.
"Why the hell would I want to be with you?" she hissed, turning around to face him. "You always pick on me and fight with me and you never have anything good to say about me. You're always butting into my personal affairs, and you annoy me to hell! Why would I want to be with you?"
"Because I care about you."
"Theo cares about me, and I wouldn't go out with him! And I like him an awful lot better than I like you!"
"Theo, Theo, Theo! It seems like you care about Theo an awful lot! Why don't you go crawling to him and ask if you could shag him like you shagged me four weeks ago?" he yelled bitterly at her.
Hermione gasped and slapped him. "How dare you!"
Draco took a deep breath, on the verge of strangling her. "It's not everyday I care about a girl as much as I do you, Granger."
"Oh, and after all you've done I'm supposed to believe you? Am I supposed to feel honoured? Should I kiss your feet and bend to your every will? Call you a god and feed you grapes? What the hell do you think that matters to me?"
Draco just stared at her with narrowed eyes, and Hermione growled, feeling uncomfortable. He took one step forward and she pushed him away violently, her hair wild in her ire.
"Stop bothering me! Just stop it! I don't like you! It was only one drunken night! Why do you suddenly care about me after one drunken night?"
"I've cared for you for longer than that."
Hermione laughed in disbelief. "So you're one of those blokes!"
"What?"
"The ones that are too much of a cad to express their feelings to a girl early in their affections for them!"
"Who isn't like that?"
"Theodore Nott is most certainly not like that."
"Should I take lessons from him, then? Would that suffice?"
"Your answer is no."
"So your answer must be yes."
"No! My answer is no!"
"No to saying no? Or no to correct me? Or no to that won't suffice?"
"No I will not even entertain the idea of being in a relationship with you!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Just give it a few days, Granger."
"No! I will not give it a few days, Malfoy!" Hermione was at her wits end, and was so overwhelmed, she felt herself begin to choke up, to her horror. But she couldn't stop it now. "Just leave me alone! I've been having a bad day already! I didn't get the promotion, my stupid friend won't leave me alone, and that isn't you, Malfoy, and my secretary's quitting and I have so much paperwork to do it's unbelievable!" she cried, and Draco wrapped his arms around her. Hermione began to cry pitifully against him after throwing a few punches his way, forgetting for a moment that she hated him very much, and he wiped away her tears before kissing her softly. And this time, Hermione allowed him to, vulnerable.
If Hermione had been thinking straight, she would've pushed him off immediately and hexed him. But after that, she would've thought that this could count as their first kiss. He was gentle with her, unlike the other forceful kisses they'd shared (besides when they were drunk), and she could actually believe that he really cared for her. But since she wasn't thinking straight, she'd think all this later at her flat when she reran the kiss (or several, now) in her usually meticulous head.
And Draco was trying to get all he could while she was pliant. He kissed her several times as he held her close. She was an emotional, high-strung wreck at the moment, and she needed comfort.
Draco kissed her flushed cheeks and nose, her eyes, and her forehead before looking into her wet, auburn eyes. Hermione looked at him for a moment, dazed, before pulling away, sniffling. She wiped her eyes and covered her face.
"Merlin, this is embarrassing," she muttered, and Draco chuckled and pulled her back to him. Still-vulnerable-Hermione allowed him to hold her and kiss her head as she continued to cover her face, attempting to regain what little dignity she had left. She'd just shown her former enemy her weak side! What was wrong with her grip on her emotions?
Draco was smoothing her hair with his hand, and rocking her a bit. "It's all right, Hermione," he was saying softly in that silky voice of his, and Hermione rested against him.
For a good part of their time there, they stood like that in front of the Ministry building, just him holding her as she covered her face. Hermione wanted to fall asleep, she was so comfortable, but instead she finally regained her senses and wanted to push him away. But he'd just been so nice to her, that'd be extremely rude. So instead, she uncovered her face and looked up at him.
Draco smiled down at her affectionately. "Better now?" he asked softly, and Hermione nodded like a child. He chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"But my answer is still no," she murmured, and pulled away from him.
He just shrugged. "I've still got awhile to pursue you, Hermione," he replied good-naturedly, and Hermione got butterflies and a strange feeling when he said that. He wasn't one of those blokes, he was one of those blokes. The ones that continued to chase after a girl no matter what the circumstances. And Hermione felt that strange feeling again.
"What about Daphne Greengrass? She seems much more interested in you than I am, really."
"That'll change soon. But what about her? She's my friend, nothing more."
"Not even your friend with benefits?"
"Oh Merlin, Daphne? I'd rather be fuck buddies with a Blast-Ended Skrewt!"
"She's gorgeous enough!"
"That's all well, but not just what I want in a girl."
Hermione sighed, tired of this conversation. "Well, thank you, Draco, I suppose, for whatever," she murmured. "I ought to be getting to my flat."
Draco nodded, smiling. "You mean for comforting you? Say my name again," he said, and Hermione sighed.
"Draco?"
His smile didn't diminish. "Goodnight, Hermione. I'll bestow my presence on you by walking you home again another night."
There was no room inside her for a biting retort tonight. Not while he was being so pleasant. Perhaps this Draco Malfoy…
She smiled. "Goodnight, Malfoy."
"Draco."
"Fine, Draco then. Goodnight."
In a silly sense, Hermione felt like a schoolgirl on her first date. She wanted to exchange goodnights with him all night. But he just smiled at her and took a step closer. "Don't get jealous, Hermione. She's just a friend," he whispered in her ear, and he left with his hands in his pockets. Hermione watched him go, intrigued, then wrapped her weathered scarf around herself tighter before walking to her flat.
A/U: Thanks for staying with me! Sadly, this story'll be over soon in a few more chapters. Please review and tell me what you think! You reviews for the last chapter made me happy, though were very little in quantity. Please review more, all you who read this! It makes me feel like people actually enjoy this story!! -LoVeDoNtHaTe
