A/N: Written for the Dramione RomCom Fest over on AO3. Everything you recognise either belongs to JKR or to the writers, directors, producers, or actors of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. It's not my intention to pass these moments off as my own writing. I'm just having a bit of fun. Don't throw rotten tomatoes at me.

There are moments where I have taken dialogue directly from the movie, and other places where I have paraphrased it.

Huge thanks to BiscuitsForPotter for being an amazing AlphaBet and friend!

The AMAZING cover photo manip was made by my incredible boyfriend, who's a real photoshop wizard!

I hope you enjoy!

If there was a person who truly enjoyed full staff meetings, Hermione didn't want to meet them. Her boss, Serena Vacuariel, insisted that the meetings were good for company morale, but Hermione thought they were mostly a waste of time. Serena treated the hour like a sharing circle, praising the staff on churning out variations of the same mindless rubbish week after week with sickening positivity and backhanded compliments.

While full staff meetings were decidedly awful, they were far and away not the worst part of Hermione's job. No, the worst part had to be the drivel she was forced to produce week after week instead of writing things that she cared about. Although she dreamed of writing for serious publications, for now, she was stuck at Witch Weekly, where she had worked for two years. And while she recognised that everyone must start somewhere, she was tired of writing such inane articles such as "How to Use Magic to Have Enchanting Orgasms," "How to Find Robes That Make You Feel Sexy," and "How to Tell if He's Flirting With You."

These articles weren't exactly the kind she'd like to frame and hang above her desk. And they certainly weren't going to win her any accolades. But for Hermione, writing wasn't just a way to pay the bills. It was what she wanted to do—what she was meant to do. She wanted to make people think. Make them feel something.

The problem was… she hadn't written anything like that. Not yet, at least.

But today's staff meeting could be the key to changing all that. She'd been working on something a little different, and hopefully Serena would allow her to publish it in the upcoming issue. She just had to present a convincing argument.

Somehow.

Hermione nibbled on the end of her quill while she waited to be called on. Admittedly, she zoned out a bit as Cormac droned on about some new trend in fashion. Long coattails. Or perhaps it was the colour fuschia.

"Hermione, what do you have for us this week?"

Hermione jumped slightly and straightened up in her chair. "Well," she began, clearing her throat and pulling her parchment from her portfolio, "I've been working on something…"

"Oh, excellent. Is it a follow-up to that piece on Every-Flavour Lube? Everyone was hoping for a review."

Hermione's face flushed scarlet as she felt Cormac's lecherous stare at the insinuation that she'd been testing lube. "Actually—" Hermione shuffled her parchment and licked her lips. "I've been working on something a little different."

"Different?" Serena arched an eyebrow, her lips pursing with disapproval.

"Er, yes." Hermione passed the parchment across the table to her boss.

Serena picked it up and her nose wrinkled. "'How to Liberate House-elves'? Hermione..." she sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, tossing the article back with a groan. "That's not who we are here. After two years, I thought you knew that. We're Witch Weekly. Fashion, Dating, Gossip. No politics!"

Hermione frowned and picked up her rejected column. "I just thought—"

"Listen, Hermione, once you turn the column into a must-read, then I'll let you write about whatever you want. But for now, stick to the usual topics with minor alterations, okay? If you can't think of something, I'm sure we could pick for you."

Before Hermione could reply, Serena moved on to Ginny, who would be covering the Quidditch World Cup qualifying rounds over the next two weeks.

Good for her. Ginny actually liked Quidditch. But she was stuck, apparently writing yet another inane piece on lube.

"And Parvati, what do you have this week?"

Serena was met with silence and Hermione turned her head to see Parvati staring absently at the table. Her eyes were red-rimmed and her cheeks somewhat blotchy.

"Parvati?" Serena prompted again more forcefully.

Parvati looked up, her eyes darting around the table before she slumped back in her seat slightly as if hoping to sink into it and disappear. "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling very well today."

"She got dumped," Ginny piped up.

Ordinarily, Hermione would have been irritated with Ginny for sharing personal information about a friend with the entire office. But nothing garnered more sympathy at Witch Weekly like relationship troubles. Parvati had arrived late this morning, her eyes puffy from tears. Having Ginny share that she'd been dumped was likely saving her from a lengthy lecture from Serena about "putting our best face on for the magazine."

A collective gasp of pity echoed around the conference room. "Oh dear," Serena said with sugary sweet sympathy. "How awful. Write about it!"

Parvati's eyes grew wide as she quickly spluttered about her discomfort with writing about her personal life. Then, horribly, Serena opened Parvati's ordeal up to the entire staff. "Who would like to write about Parvati's break up?"

A few people murmured as if considering it as Parvati frantically tried to talk Serena out of the idea.

Hermione found herself thrusting her hand forcefully into the air. "I'll do it."

Parvati gaped at her, appalled.

Hermione rushed to elaborate. "I mean… I'll sort of do it." The idea was only half-formed, so she spoke slowly, hoping that her thoughts would arrive before her words did. "Just look at Parvati." She gestured to her friend, offering her a sympathetic look as everyone's heads swiveled in her direction. "She's an amazing witch. Beautiful, intelligent, charming, but she has a bit of a problem holding on to men and she doesn't really know why." Hermione knew exactly why Parvati had been dumped. She thought back to this morning, when Parvati had lamented the loss of her new relationship. She'd said that she loved the man after only two dates. She said that afterwards he became a bit more distant and stopped replying to her owls and Floo calls. Parvati apparently even stopped by his flat a few times to try to track him down. It was only a few days after this that Parvati had been dumped.

Hermione turned back to her boss. "And I think a lot of our readers are like that as well. Dating is hard. So, I was thinking that I could start dating a wizard and then drive him away by making the simple mistakes so many witches make every day. So… it'll be sort of a dating How-To… in reverse..."

Serena's eyes sparkled with the promise of a juicy new column. "How to Lose a Wizard in Ten Days. Yes, I love it. Do it."

"Ten days?" Hermione jumped in before Serena could shift her focus to the next person at the table.

"Yes. We are going to print in eleven days, and I'll need it on my desk by that morning."

Serena moved on to the next person before Hermione could ask anymore questions.

After the meeting, Hermione filed out of the conference room with Ginny and Parvati. They quickly returned to their desks to retrieve their cloaks and bags before leaving the office to get a quick lunch. On their way out of the lobby, Hermione was startled to see Pansy Parkinson standing by the reception desk.

As they passed, Pansy's eyes lit up. "Hermione, Ginny, Parvati! Hello! It's been so long!"

Hermione plastered a smile on her face, taken aback by Pansy's friendliness. She had never been nice to any of them in school. "Pansy, good to see you," Hermione greeted as they all paused in the lobby.

"What brings you to Witch Weekly?" Ginny asked, arching a pale brow.

"Serena's a friend of my mother's," Pansy explained, looking past them and waving delicately at someone behind Parvati. Hermione turned to see Serena approaching.

Pansy greeted Serena with a kiss on each cheek. "Do you ladies know each other?" Serena asked.

"We went to school together," Pansy replied, smiling at the trio of Gryffindors like they were all the best of friends.

"How marvelous! Oh, Pansy, you simply must hear what Hermione's going to be working on this week." Serena grinned and pulled Hermione closer by the arm so that Pansy could get a good look at her.

"I love your column, Hermione. I never miss it." There was a glint in Pansy's eye, and Hermione wasn't sure if she was mocking her or not.

"It's going to be called How to Lose a Wizard in Ten Days. She's actually going to start dating a man and then drive him away to show our readers what not to do in relationships." Serena was grinning from ear to ear as she explained Hermione's task.

Pansy laughed. "Sounds vicious. I can't wait to read it."

"Now she just needs to go find the lucky man!" Serena gave Hermione a pointed look which she took to mean that they were being dismissed.

"Good to see you, Pansy." Hermione nodded and then led Ginny and Parvati out onto the street.

As they made their way down the cobbled street of Diagon Alley, Ginny offered suggestions of ways for Hermione to push away the man she would date. "Oh! I know! Send singing letters to his work. Take it from me, he'll hate it."

Hermione laughed as the lyrics of "His Eyes Are as Green as a Fresh Pickled Toad" floated through her memory.

"Or!" Ginny burst loudly, grabbing hold of Hermione's arm. "Show up to his work yourself and make him put up a photo of you on his desk. Or—"

"Ginny, wait a minute," interrupted Hermione with a chuckle. "First I have to find the man."

"Oh yes. We should all go out tonight in Diagon Alley and scope out the wizards. Maybe we can even find a rebound for Parvati."

That evening, the Leaky Cauldron was more crowded than Draco had ever seen it. He wouldn't normally try to discuss business outside of work, especially not in such a public setting, but he knew that Pansy was going to try to take the assignment he wanted. If he had the opportunity to convince his boss that he was the man for the job, he was going to take it, even if it meant sitting in a noisy pub on a Thursday evening.

"Draco here would have you believe that seduction is the best way to get results from a job like this, but I think it's far more about companionship." Pansy took a delicate sip from her martini glass.

Draco and Pansy were both Aurors, and there was an opportunity for a promotion to go undercover with one of the country's leading suspected crime bosses: A woman the papers had deemed "The Frosted Phantom" after a string of magical diamond heists. A stupid title, in Draco's opinion, but it certainly painted a dramatic picture of their desired target.

The Head of the Auror Department, Phillip Warren announced early in the week that he would be promoting someone to the undercover position. Draco and Pansy had been vying for the job ever since.

"And who says that seduction and companionship can't go hand in hand?" Draco shot back, leaning across the table to peer at Pansy.

"Oh please!" Pansy rolled her eyes. "You've never had an actual relationship before in your life! You wouldn't even know how to pretend to be in one, let alone go undercover with our suspected jewel thief."

Draco scoffed and sat back in his chair. "My choice to steer clear of commitment shouldn't be called into question here. If anything, I would consider it an asset. It means I won't get attached."

"A woman like her is probably craving attachment, whether that means commitment or not. Companionship is something that everyone desires." Pansy jabbed one of her manicured fingernails into the tabletop to accentuate her point.

"I can offer her companionship."

"Companionship isn't the same thing as orgasms," Pansy sneered.

"Alright, you two," Warren cut them off with a wave of both of his hands. "I haven't made any decisions yet. However, I have to say that I agree with Pansy. In order to get close to the Phantom, the person we put in will have to establish a relationship with her and her organisation. It could span months. We have no way of knowing how long it will take for her to open up to someone about her plans and operations."

"I can do it," Draco vowed.

"You can? This person will need to establish trust quickly with a person who is likely going to distrust them immediately. One could even say that you'll need to make her love you." Pansy sat back in her chair and let her gaze wander around the crowded pub as if bored of the conversation.

"I can make her fall in love with me," Draco sniffed. He was growing tired of Pansy's attempts to undermine him. He was more qualified than she was and she knew it. He was sure that was why she was being such a pest. "I could make any woman fall in love with me."

Pansy's eyes snapped back to him, her eyes alight with mischief. "How about a wager then?"

"A wager?" Warren parrotted, arching one of his bushy brows.

Pansy turned to their boss, leaning forward conspiratorially. "Sir, you mentioned that we need to get someone on this by the end of the month, correct?"

"That's right. We'd like to start the operation on the first."

"Well, I would like to bet Draco that if he can get a woman to fall in love with him by the Ministry Gala next weekend, I'll happily step down and he can have the job. But if he can't…" Her red lips curled back over pearly teeth. "Then the job is mine."

Warren laughed. "If you two would like to stake your next career move on this, then I'm game. It would make my job a hell of a lot easier to not have to choose between you two."

Draco frowned. "Ten days…" he said cautiously, counting the days until the Ministry Gala.

"That's right," Pansy said with a grin.

Suspicious, Draco narrowed his eyes at Pansy. "She has to be single, available, and straight."

"Of course, darling! And you can't cheat. No love potions. She has to fall for you of her own free will."

Ten days was fast. Very fast for love. But it would need to be fast when he was undercover with the Frosted Phantom. He had to at least try. "Deal." He stretched out his hand and Pansy shook it with a look of elation.

"Splendid! Now to find the lucky lady!" She turned in her chair, eyes dancing over the available witches in the bar.

Draco's stomach twisted. Pansy was up to something. She could try to set him up with someone horrible. Someone ugly or stupid. Someone who could make his life a living hell for the next ten days.

At least it was only ten days.

"What about her?" Warren suggested, leaning forward and gesturing towards a rather unfortunate looking witch with mousy brown hair and an awful, shapeless dress on. Draco wrinkled his nose.

"No?" Warren turned his head in the other direction, craning his neck over a group of rowdy wizards. "Oh, look at her, Malfoy, you know she's looking for a man."

Draco looked in the direction of his boss's gaze and saw a curvy witch in a skin-tight leopard print dress. Her makeup was so overdone that Draco was sure she would be unrecognisable without it. She was sipping her pink cocktail and eyeing the rowdy wizards with interest.

"No." Pansy's voice cut across the table, causing both men to turn back to her. "Her."

Draco turned to where she nodded, but there were so many witches in the pub that he couldn't be sure who she meant. "Who?"

"Her. Grey dress, brown curls, gorgeous smile."

Draco's eyes sought grey and was met with a petite figure in a slate grey dress which sank low in the back, dipping to the curve of her waist. Above several inches of pale skin were long thick curls bouncing around the witch's bare shoulders. Her head turned to the ginger witch to her right and she laughed, the high, free sound rising above the din in the pub. Beautiful teeth beneath pink lips, sparkling brown eyes. Before he had the chance to feel relieved that Pansy had picked such a gorgeous witch for him, he recognised her with a twisting in his gut.

It was Hermione Granger, surrounded by two of her Gryffindor friends.

"You've got to be kidding me," Draco grumbled.

Pansy's eyes widened in feigned innocence. "What?"

"You know exactly who that is, Pansy."

"And didn't we agree that you would have to get a woman to trust you who might initially be distrustful of you?"

Draco shook his head. "This is different. Granger and I… It wouldn't matter what I did, she'd never trust me."

"And you don't think the Frosted Phantom might be just as distrustful of you initially? You'll be a stranger to her, trying to get her to open up about her most guarded secrets."

She had a point, though Draco was loath to admit it aloud. Getting Granger to trust him in just ten days would be a challenge, but it would certainly prove that he was capable of going undercover. And at least he would be extremely unlikely to fall for Granger while she was falling for him.

He glanced back at Granger. She was sipping from a glass of amber liquid, her eyes darting around the pub as she spoke quietly with Ginny Weasley. Draco had to admit that she'd gotten very pretty. Beautiful, even. He let his eyes roam her body, from her stylish heels to her shapely legs. His gaze lingered on her arse. As she turned, he could just make out her pert nipples through the silky material of her dress, and though the neck of the dress was high, he couldn't stop staring at her breasts.

Manicured fingers snapped in front of his face and he jerked out of his trance. Pansy was smirking at him wickedly. "Careful, or I'll need to request an extra napkin to wipe the drool off your chin."

Draco ignored her. "Granger it is then."

One of Pansy's eyebrows jumped. "Really?"

Draco held out his hand again. "Ten days."

Pansy grinned, her eyes glinting with something Draco couldn't place. "Ten days."

"Okay, what about him?" Ginny jerked her head towards a group of loud wizards.

Hermione craned her neck. "Which one? There are at least six of them."

"The one with the wavy brown hair."

Hermione glanced at the man as he talked and laughed loudly with his friends. He was certainly attractive, even if he was much too loud for Hermione's liking. She supposed that it would be better to choose a man she couldn't see a future with. It would be far easier to push him away if she knew from the beginning that they weren't compatible.

"No…" Parvati piped up. "Look at his left hand."

The man placed his hand on his mate's shoulder, revealing a sparkling gold ring. "Oh, he's married." Hermione immediately turned away, seeking other prospects.

"What about that man? At the bar. Black hair." Parvati pointed briefly before bringing her drink to her lips.

Hermione looked at the man. He seemed to be there alone. There was an empty barstool next to him, but he didn't seem to be saving it for anyone. He was attractive, but not what she would consider her "type."

"Okay. I'm gonna go talk to him." Hermione smiled at her friends before squeezing her way through the crowd towards the bar. Before she could sit down, however, the stool was taken by a voluptuous witch in a leopard print dress. The woman immediately leaned over and began chatting with the dark haired wizard. Hermione groaned, turning around to head back to Ginny and Parvati.

As she rounded the bar, her path was blocked by a set of broad shoulders in finely tailored robes. "Hi," a deep voice rumbled.

Hermione looked up, clutching her glass to keep from spilling it due to her abrupt stop. Her breath hitched in her chest as her eyes locked with none other than Draco Malfoy. She braced herself for verbal abuse, but instead of his usual sneer, he smiled at her.

"Hi," she returned, breath caught in her throat.

"It's been a long time, Granger."

Hermione glanced around as if an explanation of Malfoy's behavior could be found in the surrounding crowd. No one seemed to be paying them any mind though, so she looked to him for answers. He was taller, or at least he carried himself that way. She had to tilt her chin up in order to look him in the eye in their close quarters. His features were still pointed, but instead of making him appear rat-like, he looked distinguished and handsome. Indeed, if she had never met him, she would have found him extremely attractive.

"It has."

"How are you?" he asked.

Hermione raised a brow. He seemed genuinely interested, and judging by the way his eyes roved over her face and body, it wasn't an interest in catching up that made him approach her. Perhaps Malfoy was the perfect subject for her column. Attractive, but not someone she was interested in having a long term relationship with. And if she was being honest with herself, she would actually get a lot of joy out of making his life hell for a few days.

"I'm doing well," she replied with a smile. "And you?"

"Fantastic." He grinned, revealing his perfect teeth. "You look amazing."

Hermione felt her face flush as Malfoy's eyes roved up and down her body. "Thank you. So do you."

His eyes met hers again and there was heat behind them that Hermione had never seen directed towards her before. She lifted her eyebrows. "Unattached?"

Surprise flashed across Malfoy's face. "Currently. You?"

"Likewise."

He grinned again. Merlin, he was attractive.

Hermione found herself grinning right back at him. "You know," she teased, "You were truly terrible towards me in school."

His smile faltered slightly. "I know I was. Consider me deeply apologetic. I'd love to make it up to you."

This was too easy. Hermione blinked up at him. "What did you have in mind?"

"Dinner? Are you hungry?"

Hermione nodded. "Starving."

"Great. There's a place around the corner I'd love to take you to. Shall we?" He gestured towards the door with a smirk.

Hermione nodded and held up a finger. "One second."

As she stepped past him, he stood still enough to let her hips brush his thigh. He grinned at her and said, "meet you at the door."

Hermione pushed through the crowd to make her way back to Ginny and Parvati.

"Hey! Did you talk to him?" Ginny chirped as Hermione approached.

Hermione handed her drink to Ginny. "Oh, the one at the bar? No. But you'll never guess who found me."

"Who?" Parvati craned her neck to look around.

"He's waiting for me by the door. Don't all look at once!" Both Ginny and Parvati whipped their heads around. Hermione grimaced, glancing over her shoulder to see if Malfoy had seen.

He was smirking at the trio of witches, his eyes lingering on Hermione as she offered him a delicate wave before turning back to Ginny and Parvati.

"Is that…?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, it is." Hermione reached into her beaded bag and found a compact mirror. She flipped it open and checked her reflection briefly. "He's taking me to dinner."

"Are you mental? What are you thinking?" Parvati hissed.

"Actually, I was thinking that he's perfect for the column," Hermione said shortly, shoving the mirror back into her bag.

"I'll say," Ginny murmured, looking Malfoy up and down.

Hermione laughed. "I meant because he's such a prick, it'll be fun to get under his skin for a few days."

"Under his skin, or under his covers?" Ginny waggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm not going to sleep with him for this article, Ginny," Hermione said sternly, leveling her friend with an icy glare.

"Well, what are you going to do?"

"Tonight I'll be charming and flirtatious to get him interested, then tomorrow I'll… flip the switch." She shrugged, her lips pulling up into a half smile. "I'll see you two tomorrow at work."

"Be safe!" Ginny called after her as Hermione made her way back through the crowd to greet a smirking Draco Malfoy at the door.

Malfoy opened the door for her and then placed a hand on the small of her back as she walked through into the cool night air. He kept his hand there, fingers pressing into the skin over her ribs as they walked.

"Are we going far?" she asked as the breeze sent shivers over her skin. She was very aware of how chilly it was out, and the fact that this dress didn't allow her to wear a bra.

Malfoy glanced at her, and she saw his eyes flicker to her breasts briefly. She fought the urge to cross her arms over her chest. "Not far. We're going to Il Piacere. Have you ever been?"

Hermione's heart leapt. It was an Italian restaurant that had opened up only a few months ago. "I haven't had the opportunity yet, but I've been dying to try it. I work around the corner and must pass by every day."

"Oh? Where do you work?" he asked.

"I'm a writer for Witch Weekly," she replied, nervous for his reaction.

Malfoy turned his head abruptly, his pale eyebrows jumping up in surprise. "Really? Somehow I didn't picture you writing about shoes and men."

Hermione rolled her eyes, fighting the urge to give him a proper dressing down for his condescension. "I'm trying to get into more serious topics."

"Like whether or not blondes really have more fun?" Malfoy quipped.

"You'd have to tell me," Hermione shot back with a smirk.

Malfoy laughed, and Hermione was sure it was the first genuine laugh she'd ever heard from him. A fluttering began in her stomach at the sound.

With a gentle pressure on her back, Malfoy guided her towards the entrance to the restaurant. He asked the host for a table for two and they were quickly led through the dimly lit dining room to a small round table.

To Hermione's surprise, Malfoy pulled her chair out for her before settling across from her. He asked her what kind of wine she liked and then ordered a bottle for the table.

"This is much nicer than I expected," Hermione confessed as the waiter walked away.

Malfoy glanced up from the menu. "Well, I have a lot to atone for."

"We were children, Malfoy. I haven't harboured any resentment for you in several years. It's in the past." It wasn't a total lie. She hadn't forgiven him for bullying her for years, but it wasn't something that still bothered her. She certainly didn't lie awake at night devoting any time to thinking about Draco Malfoy and all the times he called her a Mudblood.

"Even so," he said, closing his menu and looking at her with sincerity. "The least I can do is take you out to a nice dinner and do what I can to make up for it."

Hermione smiled, still wondering what his motivation for asking her out could be. "Well, I appreciate the gesture."

The waiter returned with their wine and they ordered their meals.

"So what kind of serious topics are you hoping to write about?" Malfoy asked, taking a sip of the merlot.

"I just wrote a piece on house-elf liberation. I'd love to write about magical and Muggle relations, werewolf rights, things that matter."

"That's the Hermione Granger I remember." Malfoy smiled wistfully, and Hermione had to fight the blush that threatened its way up her neck.

"Unfortunately, my boss seems to think that people will only read my column if I review a new type of Every-Flavour Lube." Hermione grumbled and swirled the wine in her glass.

Malfoy's eyebrows jumped. "I could help you research that, if you'd like."

Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes as heat bloomed up her neck to redden her cheeks. "Well I'm not working on that exactly, but I'll keep that in mind, thank you. Listen, it's not ideal, but if I play by my boss's rules for a while, she'll let me write about whatever I want" She took a sip and then quickly changed the subject to avoid the topic of the column she was working on. "So what do you do for a living?"

"I'm an Auror," he said proudly. "Mostly petty crimes and guard duty so far, but I'm trying to get promoted to some undercover work right now."

"How exciting." Hermione leaned forward and rested her chin on her hands and flashing him a flirtatious smile. "What kind of undercover work?"

"Not allowed to discuss it, I'm afraid."

"Is it dangerous?"

"It could be. But don't worry about me, Granger. I'm tougher than I look."

Hermione grinned at him. "So am I."

Malfoy's eyes darted over her face as his lips quirked into a smirk. "I know you are."

Following a delicious dinner, Malfoy invited Hermione back to his flat for a nightcap. Ordinarily, Hermione would never go home with a man on the first date, but she had to be sure that Malfoy was interested enough to contact her tomorrow. She was still devising a plan to ensure that he would reach out to her, and getting alone with him seemed like a sure fire way to pique his interest.

Malfoy only lived a few blocks from Il Piacere, so they walked. This time, he offered her his cloak, draping it around her shoulders as they strolled together. Hermione had to admit that Malfoy had been a perfect gentleman all evening. He certainly seemed genuinely interested in her. Perhaps getting him to want to continue seeing her—at least for a few days—wouldn't be as difficult as she'd initially anticipated. And if he didn't want to see her again then she would still have time to find someone new tomorrow evening for her column.

When they arrived at Malfoy's flat, Hermione was shocked to see how small it was. It was still twice as large as hers was, but she'd expected him to live in a luxurious penthouse suite. It was a one bedroom flat, but the living room and kitchen were huge. Malfoy poured her a glass of wine as she looked around, her heels clicking against the hardwood floors.

"I like your flat," she commented as he walked up behind her and handed her a glass.

"Thank you. I like being out of the Manor."

Hermione didn't reply, forcing the memory of Bellatrix's wicked curses away from her mind. She wandered over to the couch and sat down, sipping demurely from her wine glass. As she eyed him from over the rim, she reached out to pat the empty place next to her.

Malfoy chuckled and moved to sit next to her. "You are a thousand times sexier than I ever imagined."

Hermione let her tongue dart out to wet her lips as she glanced at him sideways. "You never really bothered to get to know me."

"What a mistake that was."

Throwing caution to the wind, Hermione turned and snaked her hand around the back of Malfoy's neck. She pulled him in and kissed him square on the lips.

He froze for only a split second before kissing her back in earnest. His hand snaked around her waist, fingers brushing over her bare back to pull her closer until their chests were pressed together.

Her tongue darted forward, nudging his lips and then his tongue as he opened his mouth to her. She could taste the wine on him. His hand slid up her spine to delve under her curls, and when he gripped the back of her neck, she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her throat.

He pulled away abruptly, his face still a breath from hers, his fingers still tangled in her hair. "We should slow down… Take things slow, I mean."

"Slow…" Hermione breathed. She could feel how quickly his heart was beating and he was panting against her lips, and he wanted to slow down? She tried to quell the thundering of her blood through her veins by reminding herself of why she was here. This was a job. And no matter how attractive and charming Malfoy was being, it would still be extremely inappropriate for her to sleep with him, even if it had been months since she'd been with anyone. "Yes. Slow." She extracted herself from his grasp and leaned back, lifting her glass to take another sip.

Before she could bring the glass to her lips however, Malfoy was pulling it from her hands and setting it on the coffee table along with his own. In the next instant his lips were on hers again, both hands clasping the nape of her neck.

Her fingers found his chest and she moaned into his mouth at the feel of his toned muscles beneath his shirt. Promising herself that she would absolutely not have sex with him, she shifted to swing one leg over his lap to straddle his hips. She wouldn't sleep with him, but she had to be sure he would want to see her again and soon—at least that was the excuse she gave herself for rocking her hips forward against the growing bulge in his trousers.

He moaned, his hands moving to settle on her hips, fingers bunching up the silky fabric of her dress and ghosting over her thighs.

She was the one who pulled back this time. "Too fast," she gasped, even as her hips canted against his. "You're right, it's too fast."

He nodded, but didn't release his grip on her upper thighs.

For a moment they sat quite still, their laboured breath mingling.

Hermione couldn't be sure who leaned in first this time, but the next thing she knew they were kissing again. Even more frantically than before. He wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her down until her back hit the couch cushions and he settled above her between her legs. She delved her fingers into his hair, gripping the silky strands as his hands slid along her body, brushing against the sides of her breasts and palming the curve of her waist.

His center rolled against hers and Hermione couldn't ignore the jolts of pleasure that coursed through her when he hit just the right spot.

Suddenly, they both pulled apart with a gasp.

"Slow down."

"Too fast."

"I want you to respect me," Hermione offered breathlessly, looking up at him.

"I do," he panted his reply, a few platinum strands falling into his eyes.

"Oh, good."

"And I want your respect."

Hermione nodded. "I respect you for respecting me."

"I respect that."

Hermione grinned and allowed herself to chuckle as Malfoy pushed himself off of her. She felt cold from the loss, but forced herself to sit up and adjust her dress modestly.

"I should go," she murmured as he stood from the couch. "Can I use your Floo?"

"Of course," Malfoy said, offering her a hand to help her up.

Hermione picked up her wand and straightened her skirt. "Thank you for dinner," she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek.

"Anytime, Granger." He grinned wolfishly at her as he lit the fire with his wand and held out a pot of Floo powder.

She grabbed a handful and tossed it in, watching the flames glow green before turning back to glance at him. He had a blazing look of triumph in his eyes as he said, "Goodnight, Hermione Granger."

Hermione smirked and blew him a kiss, almost feeling bad for the veritable hell she was planning to put him through over the next ten days. Poor guy. Then she disappeared into the Floo, intentionally leaving her beaded bag sitting on his entryway table.

A/N: No set update schedule for this one, but there is more to come!

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