"Good morning, Miss Granger," April calls from her desk when I walk off the lift the next day. "You have two messages and a lunch meeting with the Chief Warlock at one."

"Thank you, April."

"Oh, and Miss Granger?"

I stop on my way to my office and glance at her. "Yes?"

"You also received some flowers."

Her words are lost on me momentarily and I stare at her dumbly for a moment. "Flowers? For me? Are you sure they weren't delivered to the wrong office?"

"No ma'am; the name on the envelope is yours. I wasn't sure where you would like them, so I just placed them on your desk."

"Huh. All right then, thank you."

I continue to my office, confusion clear on my face. Who would send me flowers? Upon opening my office door, I find a large vase of orange and yellow roses. My jaw drops at the sight of the beautiful flowers and I quickly shut my office door before anyone can notice. I hang my coat and purse up before walking to my desk, inhaling deeply to smell the roses' perfume. Tied around the vase in a green ribbon is an envelope baring my name.

Just as I untie the ribbon, my phone rings, causing me to jump in surprise. The moment I see the name of the caller appear the mystery of who bought me flowers disappears.

"Why did you send me roses?" I ask upon immediately accepting the call.

"I sent you what?" Malfoy's voice is surprised. "Sorry Granger, but I think I would remember if I bought you flowers. Why are you accusing me?"

"Oh, it wasn't you?" I try to keep the disappointment out of my tone. Ever since he had promised to 'woo me' last night, my hopes of some sort of affection had skyrocketed. I wasn't expecting much, but I certainly would have appreciated the sentiment. And besides, the idea of Malfoy wooing me was really too good not to get my hopes up. "Who'd have sent me flowers?"

"I don't know. Did it come with a card or something?"

I glance down at the envelope for a moment before replying. "Yeah, but honestly, do you know anyone you'd buy me flowers?"

"I haven't the faintest, Granger."

Puzzled, I rip open the card to find a short note written in elegant cursive script.

I lied. The flowers are from me.

-D. M.

"Oh, you little shit!"

Malfoy's laughter rings through the speaker. "You have to give me some credit, Granger; I had you going for a little while there."

"How did you time this phone call so perfectly? Did you put a charm on the ribbon or something?"

"Spot on, Granger!" he praises. "I took a bit of a risk that you wouldn't assume the flowers were from me, but I think it all worked out rather nicely, don't you?"

I shake my head and chuckle quietly. "Yes, I think you did a nice job with this. Congratulations."

"Why thank you. And because I did such a wonderful job with the flowers, I think you should join me for lunch."

"Lunch?"

"Yes; you know, the second meal of the day- the one between breakfast and dinner."

"I would love to, but I have a lunch meeting with the Chief Warlock at one today. Can we do a raincheck? I know you wanted to test the results of George's fading ink-"

"Granger, I wasn't asking you to a work lunch."

Ah, no of course he wasn't. He did just send me a beautiful bouquet of roses, why on earth would he ask me to a work lunch?

"Oh… um, well, how about dinner? My place? I can cook." I'm suddenly very grateful that this conversation is taking place over the phone so he can't see me blushing. Merlin, when was the last time I blushed at the thought of dinner?

"Dinner would be lovely." I can hear the smirk in his voice. "How does Friday sound?"

"I thought you wouldn't want to wait that long to do the ink test."

He scoffs. "Of course I don't. I'll swing by your office sometime after your meeting with the Chief Warlock and we'll do it then. What time would work best for you?"

I glance at my planner. "I should have some time around three. Just Floo over any time after that."

"Perfect; I'll see you then."

I don't move after he disconnects, I think I am still a little shocked. Malfoy officially asked me out on a date. And I agreed- at my house no less! Merlin, what have I gotten myself into now? Shaking my head, I pick up the roses and move them to the windowsill behind my desk to they can get more sunlight. I turn and notice my messages on my desk. The first is just a reminder of my meeting at one and the other is from Harry.

Curious, I open the envelope attached to his note (which was an ominous "You owe me") to find the front page of today's Prophet. Written in bold lettering is the title: Draco Malfoy Defends Hermione Granger's Honor. A smile breaks out across my face. The image beneath the headline is a perfectly timed shot of Malfoy's fist colliding with Ron's nose. In the background of the picture, I can see the surprise on my own features, as well and Harry and Ginny's. Something catches my eye and I squint at the picture. With a start, I realize the shirt I wore last night was a bit tighter than I initially realized, showing off the hint of the beginnings a baby bump. I am already starting to show. Trying to ignore the fact that I am roughly three months pregnant, I sit down in my chair and unfold the paper to read the article.

While we at the Daily Prophet never condone violence, it appears Mr. Draco Malfoy has found violence to be the best way to defend the honor of one Hermione Granger against her ex-fiancé, Ronald Weasley. After a dinner out with Harry and Ginny Potter, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger were approached by Mr. Weasley who immediately began hurling insults at his former partner. When neither Mr. Potter nor his wife succeeded in calming down Mr. Weasley, an unlikely hero stepped in to save the day.

"Draco has always had a flare for the dramatic," Mr. Potter said with a smile after the incident. "He knows how much the three of us loath any type of violence, but at the end of the night, he defended Hermione, which is what friends do. Of course I wish he would have been a little more peaceful in his efforts, but Ginny and I weren't able to calm Ron down with words, so as he usually does, Draco took matters into his own hands. It's one of the many things I admire about him."

Despite their disapproval over how Mr. Malfoy handled the situation, the Potters expressed gratefulness that he stepped in for Miss Granger.

"Draco has been a dear friend ever since the trails," Mrs. Potter explained. "But he was always hesitant about being seen with us in public because he was worried about the attention we would receive, as well as all the nasty things people would say about him. Tonight was one of the few times we've ever convinced him to come out with us. And despite his reservations, he never once thought about his own reputation before he defended Hermione's. Honestly, we're so lucky to have befriended him."

Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger could not be reached for comment, as he appeared to have had injured his hand thanks to his gallant actions and Miss Granger wanted to be certain he was cared for. Mr. Weasley denies any friendship between himself and Mr. Malfoy and has threatened legal action against him. No word yet on any case being filed.

My smile grows wider and I can't contain my laughter. Oh, this is just too perfect! Reaching for my phone, I dial Harry's office.

"Office to the Head of the Auror Department, Josh speaking."

"Hey Josh; it's Hermione Granger. Is Harry busy at the moment?"

There is some shuffling of paper on the other end before he replies. "No, he has about fifteen minutes before his next meeting. Would you like me to patch you through?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

The line goes quiet for a moment as Josh transfers my call to Harry's office. After a minute, he finally picks up. "Hello?"

"You are bloody brilliant."

He laughs and I can hear his chair squeak as he leans back into it. "I am, aren't I? You're lucky that article turned out so well; if blood hadn't been pouring down Ron's face I'm not sure we would've been able to come up with such a solid story and excuse. We rather lucked out that he was too preoccupied with keeping blood from spilling into his mouth."

"Well, he deserved it anyway," I say lightly. "I'm assuming he went to St. Mungo's and had it fixed?"

"Yeah. Gin offered to do it for him after we ditched the reporters, but he was too pissed after the story we gave them about Malfoy, so he's currently not speaking to either of us."

"Oh Harry, I'm so sorry! I never wanted to cause trouble between you and Ron-"

"I know, I know. That's why I'm not super mad. I'm a bit annoyed with you, don't get me wrong, but I'm not mad. Ron pretty much gave Gin and me an ultimatum after the incident. He told us we could either continue to go along with our story and be friends with you, or we could admit we lied and instead help him with the custody battle. You never asked Ginny and I to choose between the two of you and we're grateful for that."

"Well… I'm sure Ron will come round eventually."

"I think so as well, but for the time being, I'm going to let him just cool down. I don't really fancy dealing with him and his pissy mood; especially since I kind of wanted to punch him last night. I'm a bit peeved Malfoy beat me to it."

I laugh. "Harry James Potter!"

"Like you didn't think about hitting him! He was completely out of line!"

"That may be so, but it's like I told Malfoy: you can't just go around punching people. We're much too civilized for that."

"And what did he say to that?"

I pause before admitting, "He reminded me that I punched him in third year."

I end up hanging up on Harry because he's laughing too hard.

"Are you sure you know how this works?" Malfoy asks as he strolls into my office and shuts the door behind him. "If I remember correctly, there weren't any instructions on it."

"Don't worry, he told me how to use it in the letter he sent," I say with a wave of my hand. "It'll be fine."

Malfoy hums in response and moves to stand beside me, stooping down to kiss my temple.

"What was that for?"

"Shut up. I'm wooing you, remember?"

I shake my head and bite the inside of my cheek to keep my smile from getting too big. I could definitely get used to this attention. Forcing myself not to look at him (or grab him by the collar and snog him furiously), I grab the vial George sent me and the case file. I pull off the stopper and slowly pour a bit of a clear liquid onto the parchment.

Malfoy notices before me that something is wrong. His arms wrap around me as he pulls me to his chest and drops to the floor, landing on his bum and dragging me down with him. I hear the sizzling and see the smoke as his legs wrap around me, his arms tightening their grip so I'm trapped in a cage of his limbs. And just before my desk explodes, Malfoy bends his legs to cover my stomach and chest, his arms moving up to shield my face.

Peeking through the cracks of his fingers, I see my office in complete shambles. Shards of wood are scattered across the floor. Some have even impaled the other furniture in my office.

"What the fuck was that?"

I turn my head to look up at Malfoy, who has yet to detangle himself from me. He is staring at my office in complete shock and horror.

"It exploded," I say simply.

"No shit it exploded! Why did it explode?"

I shrug. "It's a product of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes- honestly, I would have been a bit concerned if it didn't blow up." I try to wrestle my way out of his arms, but Malfoy holds me firmly. "Um, can you let go please?"

"Absolutely not."

The pieces of my desk start to smoke and Malfoy manages to release me for a split second, before changing our positions so he is now laying on top of me so we are face to face. I turn my head and watch in surprise as my desk rebuilds itself, completely erasing the evidence of the explosion. Malfoy suddenly buries his head in my neck and cover our heads with his hands as one of the legs of my desk zooms over us to properly attach itself.

"Did you know that was going to happen?" I ask once my desk has completely fixed itself.

"No, but I assumed something to that affect would happen. George would have to deal with a lot of property damage lawsuits if he didn't either warn people about the explosion or fix the things that were damaged in the process."

"Oh." I pause, waiting for him to stand. When he doesn't, I arch an eyebrow. "Will you let me up now?"

"Do you have any meetings tonight?"

"No, just paperwork. Why?"

"Well, since you don't, I can justify this then."

His lips are on my neck then and I gasp in surprise. His hands move to hold down my wrists to keep me still as I squirm beneath him. I arch my back when he bites down and do my best to hold in my moan. Merlin, he is so frustrating!

"Malfoy!" I gasp. "We are at work!"

Any attempt to reason with him vanishes the instant his lips move down to where my neck meets my collarbone and he bites down again. It isn't until he begins to suck that I realize what he's doing. The little shit is giving me a hickey! Part of me wants to shove him off- I don't want to have to wear a scarf for a week!- but I can't bring myself to do it because fuck he is an amazing kisser.

"Do you want me to stop?" he mumbles against my neck.

"No! Yes! Oh, just get off!"

He does what I ask and offers me a hand to help me to my feet, a cocky grin on his face. Prick.

"Okay," I say, trying to control the blush on my face. "Let's lay some ground rules here. One, never do that again while we are at work; got it?"

"Yes." He's trying not to smile now, but he knows I enjoyed it, damn bastard.

"Two, never give me a hickey where someone can see it."

"Does that mean I get to give you another one?"

I pause. I probably should just tell him to stop with any and all kissing, but on the other hand, I've really missed snogging and he definitely knows what he's doing. "Maybe. It depends on how your wooing me goes."

He arches an eyebrow. "I'd say it's going pretty well, considering you didn't hex me just now."

"I'm certainly thinking about it," I mutter.

Malfoy laughs and shakes his head. "No you aren't. And just so you know, it is in an easily hidden spot." He steps forward, his fingers grazing my throat as he readjusts the collar of my blouse, even going so far as to button it once more.

Not entirely trusting him, I turn toward the window to see my reflection. Sure enough, my blouse covers the spot he kissed and it doesn't even look like I'm hiding something. He is smirking at my reflection and I don't even him the satisfaction of saying anything.

I brush past him to my desk to look at the paper.

"Um, Malfoy? We might have a problem…"

"Please tell me George's potion didn't destroy the case file. I so do not want to have to write up a report about how we blew up the original copy."

"No; it's fine and it worked."

"So what's the problem?"

He comes to stand beside and looks over at the paper. Silence hangs around us as we stare at the missing name: Christopher Anderson- the man Malfoy and I just put in Azkaban with three life sentences two months ago.

"Are we sure that's right?" Malfoy finally asks. "We don't want to bring this up to the DMLE and be wrong about it."

I sigh and shake my head. "We knew he was an Auror before we found out about what he was doing to those kids- it's how he got away with it for so long. And now the Department is trying to cover up its tracks because they don't want to remind the public that one of our own Aurors became a murderer. The defense is already going to have a field day when they find out he was one of the four Aurors in the field that day; they're going to claim that Anderson did it, not Madison. Imagine what will happen when they find out the Department tried to cover it up!"

"There's got to be a way we can fix this," Malfoy reasons. "If we find out who tried to cover up Anderson's involvement in the case-"

I shake my head. "You know how much the Wizengamot loves this kind of stuff. We'd have to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Madison is guilty and that whoever messed with the file acted under their own direction. If it's revealed that someone in the Auror Department or even the DMLE ordered this cover up… Madison's going to walk."

"Leave this to me, Granger. This is my job. My department will handle it; you tell Potter so he is aware of the situation and no one else. I'll let you know when I find something out. In the meantime, try not to worry so much. We'll get Madison."

"How can you be so sure?"

Malfoy steps closer to me and cups my cheek with his hand. "Because neither one of us is going to let that happen."

I smile and nuzzle his palm with my nose. "You've got that right. Let's convict a killer."