So since I finished one of my assignments earlier than I planned to, and I had this chapter already written in my head, ta-da! Thank you for all the support with this story; enjoy!

With three weeks until her wedding, Marie had a lot on her mind, and the last thing she wanted to think about was the photo shoot for her new bridal lingerie line she was currently driving to.

I did not think this through very well, she thought, putting her Ray Bans on and turning the volume up on the stereo slightly as Janelle Monae serenaded her through the car speakers. Her and Draco were scheduled to meet for coffee, tea in her case, and she was already running 10 minutes behind thanks to her darling fiancé deciding to spend the night the day before. Not that she was complaining entirely because it was completely worth the extra time in bed- and in the shower…and that quickie next to her car before she left-, but now she was late and Marie hated being late. Thankfully, the place they were meeting was nearby so it didn't make her feel too bad that she was a little behind. She pulled into a spot and quickly checked her rearview mirror to make sure she didn't look like she had been shagging her fiancé prior to come and that was why she was late.

...

When Draco saw Marie walk into the door of the café, he knew instantly the reason she was late was because she had just come from being thoroughly shagged. Her kinky-coily hair was frizzier than usual and her brown cheeks were flushed ever so slightly; her magical aura seemed to sizzle as if it were hot grease in a pan on a stovetop. Pretending to fiddle with his camera, he smirked at her with his eyebrow raised as she walked over to where he was sitting after ordering her tea and muffin.

"Oh, shut up," Marie huffed at her friend, taking a seat across from him. Draco laughed as he took a few candid shots of Marie.

"I'm just curious whatever happened to 'We decided we're not going to have sex until the wedding'? That was you who said that at the beginning of October, right?"

"I don't appreciate your tone, thank you very much," Marie responded as the waitress brought her tea and muffin to the table, "starting now we're not going to have sex until the wedding." She sipped her tea as Draco took a sip of his black coffee.

"You're hopeless," Draco said taking another candid shot.

"I'll accept that. Blaise knows what he's doing so really it's his fault; he's just...mmm...and I'm not going to be getting any for three weeks so clearly the obvious..."

"Okay, let's stop talking about how good my friend is in bed, thank you," another candid shot as Marie stuck her tongue at him, "what's the deal with today's shoot?" Two more candid shots.

Marie playful swatted at the camera. "Can you not, please? I'd rather you not have photos of me mid-chew. Anyway, I don't really have much to add outside of what we discussed. It's my new bridal lingerie line Intimately by Sincerely, Marie, and it pretty much ranges from cutesy, candy-sweet to tastefully raunchy. Yes, tastefully raunchy is a thing so hush ya' mouth," Marie quickly added after a glance at Draco's raised eyebrow, "The model is a dear friend who I've known for years thanks to summer camp, and she started this studio called Make A Pointe right on the outside of the city. It's primarily Muggle but she does have a few Magical students. I've always wanted her to model for me but every time she was like, 'noooo I'm not a model, nooo you can find a professional blah blah blah,' then I pouted and finally she gave in. "

As Marie talked, Draco snapped photos of different things around the coffee shop that caught his eye. The table and the way their cups were places, the espresso machine steaming milk, the plant that had grown slightly from the last time they were here in the window. "Okay, so why do the shoot in Muggle London as opposed to Magical London?"

"Mainly because of the building where the shoot is going to be. But also, I didn't feel like going into Magical London today. I'm lazy, sue me."

Draco rolled his eyes as he finished up the last bit of his coffee. "I'm lazy, she says. Well, how about this? You cover lunch this afternoon in Magical London and I promise I'll only complain a little about being in Muggle London," Draco stood putting some cash on the table for both their drinks and food.

Marie rolled her eyes, as she took a bite of her muffin. "You're such a baby."

…..

Hermione felt the comfortable pull in her muscles as she stretched against the wall. She had gotten to the vintage mansion, the set for the shoot, early and one of the assistant let her know that Ms. DuPonte would be there shortly but please feel free to stretch and get comfortable. She still couldn't understand why she had agreed to help Marie with her shoot, but the Black girl was persistent and wouldn't take no for an answer. The two girls met at an overnight summer camp for young Magical folks of all kinds when they were twelve years old and instantly became attached at the hip. Hermione participated in the dance program while Marie primarily was apart of the fashion designer program, though she did take some classes in the dance program with Hermione. Hermione felt a real bond with Marie; of course, she had Harry, Ron, and Ginny, but it was nice to have a friend outside of the Hogwarts walls. During the school year, the two would communicate via owl (though, it was always weird for an owl to be in New Orleans. These are the things you get away with when your parents were voodoo witch doctors) and during her fourth year, Hermione thought it would be fun to have Marie experience the Yule Ball. Hermione knew that Marie was still very interested in design and was amazed at her friend's work on the gown she wore. She smiled when Marie told her about a kind boy complimenting her dress at the punch bowl. Hermione often envied her friend's subtle confidence; Hermione would never be as bold to dance in public at Hogwarts. The fact is, dancing made Hermione feel beautiful and she would be crushed if someone were to ruin that for her. The camp occurred every summer and each summer, Marie would try and try and try some more to get Hermione to start her own studio and to share her gift with the world. After graduation, Hermione decided to work for the Ministry for a year because it was safe; she knew she could excel there. She kept dancing though, and Marie's voice kept pestering her. Finally, a year later, Hermione quit her job at the Ministry and plunged head first into opening Make A Pointe Studio in Muggle London. Hermione knew she was absolutely insane; she blamed this impulsive decision on Marie's impulsive decision to start a boutique Sincerely, Marie. You couldn't have paid Hermione to predict the success Make A Pointe would have. Told your ass, she remembered Marie saying in one of their Skype sessions. The studio became very popular amongst parents with little girls who had dreams of being a ballerina and, to Hermione's hugest surprise, occasionally she found a few witches in her classes. At 28 years old, Hermione didn't know what she was most excited about: the success of Make A Pointe, Marie's permanent move to London, or the fact that Marie was getting married to the love of her life in three weeks. Hermione knew Blaise loosely from school, not really anything outside of classmates mainly because of the company he kept, but she knew he was head over heels in love with Marie as Marie was with him. For now, though, as she continued to stretch her toned ballerina legs on the windowsill of the shoot location, she still couldn't comprehend why Marie insisted she be the model for the shoot.

'Artistic, my ass,' Hermione mumbled, looking at the first of four lingerie items. At least the first one was tame…

Hermione heard the door open and her friend's laughter coming up the stairs as she stretched her arms to the sky, arching her back. Giving her arms a little shake, she walked to the stairs to greet Marie and stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes landed on the tall, gorgeous blond walking with her.

Wait…gorgeous?!

…..

Draco followed Marie up the stairs of the vintage mansion in the English countryside. He had to admit, she found a beautiful location for the shoot. It was quite romantic, and as the sun would start to at later in the evening, he could imagine the light through the windows would be quite sultry. He was caught up looking around and planning the shots he would want, he completely missed when Marie was introducing him to the model. He snapped back to reality when Marie swatted him not-so-gently on the arm.

"Ow, what woman? What do you want?" He rubbed his arm gently, glancing up at the beautiful brown-haired girl standing across from him. Then he took a second look right as Marie said, "I said I want you to meet my friend and our model, Hermione Granger.

And for the first time since they graduated Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy saw Hermione Granger. Leggy, sultry-eyed Hermione Granger.

When did this happen, and why did he suddenly feel like he was doomed?