Hermione and Draco appeared in her depressing flat, the silence swallowing them up as they both breathed heavily.
"Oh no," Hermione stated, and tossed her enchanted pouch holding the precious feathers to the floor and gripping Draco by the arm. "Are you okay?"
Draco wasn't sure. Was he okay? He took a quick catalogue and then whispered, "my ear is burning."
"Yes, okay," Hermione said, her large eyes taking in his superficial wounds. "You have a nip on your ear and neck, and it looks like you also got scratched on the head."
Draco nodded as Hermione let him go and rushed to pull out her beaded bag, shuffling around for a moment until she gave up and summoned a small leather box from its depths.
She flipped the lid open and pulled out a vial of dittany, labelled neatly and nestled among rows upon rows of different potions.
Draco collapsed onto the singular couch as Hermione hurriedly pulled the stopper for the vial with her teeth and produced a flannel in her hand, splashing it with dittany.
"This might hurt," she whispered, crowding into his space and pressing the flannel to his wounds one after the other.
Draco didn't hiss as the substance made contact with his skin, it actually felt rather pleasant with Hermione almost in his lap, her soft body pressed to his as she fussed over his wounds. He had been thinking about her body and what it would feel like against his own for weeks now and he could barely feel the small sting of dittany with the bliss he was experiencing.
She put the vial and flannel aside on the small coffee table beside the couch and reached for her wand. She sat up a little higher so she could see to the back of his neck properly, her knees planted firmly on either side of his hips as she pressed her wand to his wound gently.
The wave of her magic almost stunned him. It was gentle and pleasant, washing over him in a cooling surge that he had never felt before. His stomach clenched at the sensation, a stirring in his loins that he couldn't remember feeling so strongly for a long time.
He never wanted the feeling to stop, and when she moved to the wound on his ear he had to take a deep breath to steady himself.
If this is what Granger's magic felt like, he could only imagine how her love would feel.
She moved to the scratch on the top of his head, her luscious breasts right below his chin as her magic continued to wend its way throughout his body.
The air was thick, suddenly, and Hermione slowly sat back so her thighs were hovering atop his, but not touching. She was staring at him - maybe she could feel the tension in the air as well. Draco's breathing was a little bit more laboured than usual, but he couldn't help it when she was pressing against him so firmly and her magic wound around him in a soft caress.
She stared at him for a few more seconds before he watched her amber eyes dip down to his lips for a moment. She was gazing back in his eyes after only seconds of looking at his lips, and the air was charged, but she seemed to come back to herself and reddened before quickly leaving his lap.
She cleared her throat, her hands fluttering to her collar and back down to her sides, clearly looking for something to hold on to.
"How many feathers did you collect?" She asked after a moment, trying to break the tension. Her cheeks were flushed and she felt hot all over; she was truly just grasping for any conversation she could think of to break the tension between them.
"I'd say at least 70, maybe a little less. I lost count."
"70?" She asked, breathless with surprise. She herself had gotten well over 120, but she hadn't expected Draco to get even half of that since it was his first time sourcing any kind of potion ingredients, ever. "We must have nearly two hundred, then. Do you want to share them? You can take half for your personal stores if you want?"
"No thanks," Draco said, getting to his feet. He could tell she was trying to distract him away from the sexually fraught moment they had shared, and he figured it was time for him to go.
She doesn't want you and now you've embarrassed her - way to go Draco, old boy.
"I can buy mine anywhere, Granger. These are yours."
He unhooked the bag from his belt and set it gently onto her coffee table.
"Well, thank you," she responded after a moment. "I wouldn't mind sharing though."
"No really, it isn't necessary. Thank you for today though, I had a good time, but I should probably head home now."
"Okay," she all but whispered. She hoped she hadn't scared him away with her forward actions, she really had no business being in his lap, pressed against him. She could have healed him without getting into his space like that.
"I'll swing by the shop on Monday?" he asked, looking hopeful.
"Sure," she said, clearing her throat again and feeling suddenly relieved. She hadn't scared him off, at least.
"I'm looking forward to our next adventure," he said, and she laughed, the relief lighting up her eyes.
"See you," he said, letting himself out of her desolate flat before he Apparated away.
Hermione grinned to herself and let out a breath.
—
"I think I have serious feelings for Draco," Hermione blurted out during dinner with Harry and Ginny Sunday night.
Ginny gasped dramatically and Harry dropped his fork.
"What?" he asked, bewildered. "I thought you only had like two dinners?!"
"I knew you were spending more time with him than that, you little tart!" Ginny crowed.
Hermione blushed but laughed, they had been spending quite a bit of time together. He came to her apothecary at least four times a week, where they'd just chat while she brewed. She launched into a detailed explanation about what had happened when they went Jobberknoll feather hunting, and the attack and subsequent healing Draco had endured.
Harry looked disturbed and said "Draco Malfoy?" Halfway through her tale. Clearly he was having difficulties accepting it.
"Yes Harry, keep up!" Ginny hushed, motioning at Hermione to continue the story.
Ginny was a great audience, she oohed and aahed and gasped at all the right places, listening intently.
"He wanted to kiss you," she stated boldly at the end of the story.
"I wanted to kiss him," Hermione corrected, ignoring Harry, who choked on his water.
"You both wanted to kiss each other!" Ginny declared with a dramatic gasp.
"Maybe," Hermione conceded.
"Definitely," Ginny corrected.
"You like Draco Malfoy?" Harry asked again, staring at Hermione.
"Yes, Harry," she responded with a sigh. And just to make sure that he didn't try to continue living in denial about it, she reiterated, "I like Draco Malfoy."
"Oh," Harry said.
Ginny couldn't help but laugh at her husband, he was clearly struggling with the idea and thought nothing more of the two dinners Hermione had informed them about.
"What are you going to take him hunting for next?" Ginny asked.
"It won't be for a few weeks from now, but the Boomslang snake migration is ending soon."
Harry laughed aloud. "I'm sure he'll love that."
—
Hermione hurried into the Cracked Egg, the brunch spot where she and her friends met up at least once a month. Sometimes their schedules forced them to wait a bit longer than that between meet-ups, but for the most part they all made it work.
She smiled as she passed familiar waitresses and made her way to their usual booth toward the back; the biggest in the restaurant.
"Hermione!" Neville called, grinning at her as she approached.
"Hi!" she responded as she got closer, beaming at all of her friends. As unconventional a group as they were, they had all been close since the end of the war.
Luna was tucked into the curved corner of the booth, brussels sprouts earrings swinging as she smiled up at Hermione. Beside her, Padma Patil gave Hermione a joking grimace before breaking out into a giggle.
Hermione slipped into the booth beside Dean Thomas, who was sporting a West Ham sweatshirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows.
"How are you doing?" Ernie MacMillan asked. "I've seen you in the Alley a few times lately with Draco Malfoy, and I'm certain there's a story there."
Hannah Abbot let out a small squeak at the information, staring at Hermione for confirmation.
"I can't even order a tea, Ernie, really?" Hermione responded with a huff. She hadn't been planning on sharing so soon, but there was nothing for it.
"Yes, Draco and I have been hanging out."
The information was taken with mixed results. Luna didn't look surprised at all, which Hermione realised shouldn't have been a surprise either. Dean grimaced, his hands clasped together tightly in front of him before Ernie covered them gently with one of his own. Neville, bless him, looked politely confused but reached to rest his large hand against her arm in support. Padma quirked a brow. Hannah squeaked again.
"I know what you guys are thinking, but honestly he's nothing like I thought. We have a lot of fun together and… well, it's not really anything at this point, but I'm honestly hoping it turns into more."
The expected "but it's Malfoy!" chorus rang out, but Hermione only had eyes for two of her friends. Dean and Luna.
"I think it's wonderful," Luna said cheerfully. "Draco is not a bad person."
Dean looked less sure, but she met his eyes and waited for him to find the words he was looking for. He finally let out a breath and nodded slowly.
"When we were prisoners in his home," he started, and Luna reached out to rest her hand beside Ernie's, "he would sneak in and talk to us whenever he was home from school. I remember thinking at the time that he could have helped us out, brought us food - "
"No, Dean - I told you -"
"I know, Luna. Looking back on it, there wasn't much else he could have done. The fact that he was sneaking down there to keep us company was already a huge risk on his part."
"I didn't know that," Ernie said.
"He was different that last year at Hogwarts," Neville said with a heavy sigh. None of them had anticipated such a heavy topic before they had even gotten their tea. "I never said this to anyone but I caught him shielding a few first years from the Carrow's punishments. Theo also told me that a group of them had been faking the curses they were to use on everyone in detention. I wasn't entirely sure if I believed him until Wayne Hopkin's took me aside and told me about his strange detention."
Hermione was speechless for a moment; she hadn't known any of this.
"He's a good man," she murmured again.
"He saved my life," Padma said quietly. She had been entirely silent during the exchange. "Parvati is obsessed with him because of it, but we've never spoken about it outside of our family. During the final battle, one of the Death Eaters decided he didn't want to just do away with me, and I was fighting him but I was losing - he was just toying with me. He was… so much more advanced at magic, just letting me try to fight back while he laughed. Well, finally he got bored and shot an Imperius Curse at me," she said with a shudder. They all thought about that for a moment. "But suddenly Malfoy was there, he literally body checked me to the ground and shot a stunner at the Death Eater before I even knew he was there."
Everyone was silent for a few moments, and Hermione reached out to hold her friend. "I am so sorry, Padma. I had no idea - he never said - but I suppose it goes to show what kind of man he is. I really have been enjoying spending time with him."
The table nodded quietly, each lost in their own thoughts until the waitress brought their usual steaming pots of tea.
Padma finally broke the tension. "Well, I have news, too."
Everyone perked up slightly, waiting.
"Parvati's wedding is in three months, and you're all invited."
"Wait," Hermione said, confused, "I didn't even know she was dating someone, never mind ready to get married."
Padma raised an eyebrow, looking at Hermione like it was as obvious as Snape hating Gryffindors. "Arranged marriages aren't uncommon in Pureblood circles."
Ernie nodded. "It's true enough. My family has laid off me since I'm gay, but if I wasn't I'd probably be married off already ."
Hermione couldn't help but curl her lip in revulsion.
"And if old Lucius wasn't in jail, your new boyfriend most certainly would've been married off straight away. Every family with a daughter wanted her to marry into the family."
"Even my father wanted me to impress the Malfoys," Luna chimed in.
Hermione was shocked.
"He was definitely the prized heir of the Purebloods," Hannah added softly, seeing the look on Hermione's face. "I heard that when Lucius was arrested Draco was given his title and duties, which means he somehow lucked out of getting forced into it. Otherwise he would have been married a few years by now, I'd say."
"I didn't realise," Hermione stuttered quietly. "He told me that he was given his titles and had to take over everything in the family business and run the estate, I just didn't know what that meant, I guess."
"I have a book about it," Neville chimed in with a grin. "I'll bring it to our next brunch if you want."
It wasn't until that point that Hermione noticed how many of her closest friends were actually Purebloods. Something she never thought about had suddenly become a huge question mark in her mind.
"Are you all going to be arranged into marriage?" she asked, trying to prevent any tone from infusing the question.
"Gran says I have another year," Neville said with a shrug. Luna and Padma both lifted their shoulders but looked contemplative. Ernie shook his head no. Hannah nodded.
"My parents are giving me more time, as well. I think the older generation finally understands that the war did more damage than good."
"Will you all have to marry Purebloods?" Hermione asked, shocked that she'd never known most of her friends - people she had known for over a decade - were prepared to be contracted into marriage.
"There aren't many Purebloods left, to be honest," Luna said with a little giggle. "I don't think my father cares either way, as long as it's someone who is able to take care of me and give me and our children a good life."
Hermione's lip started to curl automatically again. She quickly sipped her tea and ordered her face to behave. Soon enough, the boys were arguing about some Quidditch foul that Pride of Portree may or may not have committed against the Holyhead Harpies' Keeper, and the remainder of the meal passed without further hiccups.
—-
"Boomslang?" Draco drawled. "You want us to hunt down boomslangs?!"
"We aren't hunting anything down," Hermione insisted. "We're just collecting their sheds."
"They better be long gone, Granger, or we aren't going."
"Understood," she said, and she did, Boomslang snakes were nothing to mess around with, even a scratch from one's fang could kill you. "It'll be safe, I promise! We'll leave for the Ministry first thing tomorrow morning."
Draco was wary about that, he didn't want to go into the Ministry, but he reminded himself that this was the perfect opportunity to spend an entire day with Granger, and he would take what he could get.
Pathetic sod.
Draco showed up at her flat the next morning and couldn't help but to stare at Hermione's outfit.
She was wearing khaki coloured shorts that ended a considerable distance from her knee and a thick strapped tank top. Her hair was braided down and she had a hat covering her head. He knew they'd be headed to South Africa so he himself was wearing lighter clothing, but he was still mostly covered up in light grey trousers and a long sleeved shirt that contained woven in cooling charms.
He couldn't do anything for a moment but stare. Hermione was truly beautiful. She met his gaze and blushed again, her cheeks warming as their eyes met.
"You're gorgeous," he told her; she ducked her head in embarrassment.
He'd realised over the time they had spent together that she didn't accept compliments well, but he was determined to stay truthful with her and tell her exactly what he thought about her.
He had come to the conclusion that she just hadn't received very many compliments about her looks in the past. He felt like Theo's assessment was the truth, that people were more interested in her status than in her, and it blew his mind because she was the most amazing woman he'd ever spent time with.
"Thank you," she said quietly, the apples of her cheeks on fire, but she maintained eye contact with him and bit her bottom lip softly.
It's a good thing that the boomslang skin they were collecting that day was actually an easy task, because he was distracted. A mostly bare leg here, a quick flash of a smile there, Draco could see nothing but Hermione.
They took an international portkey to their destination, Hermione ignoring the looks from everyone who stopped to watch them as they walked together through the Ministry of Magic. Draco did his best to ignore it, as Granger was doing, but caught himself glaring at more than one person as they traversed the Atrium.
Once they made it through the offices and to their destination, with a warning that their portkey was set to return in six hours, she pulled a notebook from the bag she had perched on her shoulder for the trip. She consulted her handwritten notes for a moment before they were off, Draco taking deep breaths to steady his nervousness.
"They won't be here, Draco. It's part of their migration path and they would most definitely have moved on by now."
He nodded, not even entirely sure he was retaining her words. She smiled at him again, albeit a bit curiously, and he blinked and tried to keep his attention to the task at hand.
They walked for about thirty minutes, Hermione talking about how she had finally gotten the smell and efficacy right for the hair potion she had been working on. He couldn't help but smile at her as she talked about how proud she was of her potion, and that she would be brewing it in bulk for its release next month.
He found that he was a bit proud of her too. Inventing a potion from scratch was a huge accomplishment, and he told her as much as they walked along a tight path through thick trees.
The sun was beating down on them and even the cooling charms built into Draco's clothes were no match for it. It would be great in the British sun, but it didn't hold up so well in South Africa.
Hermione's small hand entered his peripheral vision, an opened water bottle held out to him. He glanced down at her and immediately zeroed in on her wet lips, watching as her tongue peeked out and soaked up a water droplet from the corner of her mouth.
His mouth was suddenly drier than it had ever been in his life and he gently took the water bottle from her hand, chugging it quickly.
"Thank you," he said, and met her eyes with a kind smile. She smiled back before going back to her notebook.
"Not too much further," she promised, ducking off the tight path into the forest proper.
Draco groaned internally. He didn't spend a whole lot of time traipsing about outside since the dark forest at Hogwarts scared the shit out of him when he was a child. Not to mention the scarring things he endured under the reign of Voldemort.
He followed Hermione anyway, obviously, and kept behind her as they walked single file. It was a great vantage point, watching her pert arse and shapely legs as she led them to an old boomslang nest.
"There," she said after a couple minutes of walking, stopping and glancing up at him.
Draco snapped to attention and looked by her, seeing an obvious area that had been bedded down by some pretty large snakes.
"Looks like a good haul," she remarked as she ground ahead and started carefully pulling sheets of shed out of the grass. "Try and keep the sheets as big as you can," she instructed as he knelt down to a large shed.
It took them hours to collect what they could find, grinning triumphantly at each other as they closed the tops of their pouches that would keep the skin from harm.
"I'm splitting this with you," Hermione insisted suddenly on their way out of the forest. "Keep it for your personal stores, or sell it, or give it away, but I wouldn't feel right if you didn't keep any."
"I don't need any," Draco said almost immediately. "Honestly I really don't brew my own potions, I generally just buy them made. I did well in Potions class at Hogwarts but it isn't my favourite thing to do. I'd rather cook."
Hermione sighed. "You're just such a big help and I feel like I need to compensate you."
She said it so seriously that Draco couldn't help but grin. He wanted to laugh but bit it back as they walked out of the forest and back down the trail.
"Granger, your company is enough compensation, I swear."
She stopped in her tracks and gazed at him for a moment, her hand fiddling with the pouch at her hip as she met his eyes. He was serious. Their eyes met and Hermione stared into his grey depths before she launched herself forward into his arms; he caught her weight against himself and dipped his head, meeting her halfway for a searing kiss.
Her tongue was in his mouth before he had even fully seated her weight against himself, and his hand automatically gripped her braid as he pulled her closer. His other hand slid up the column of her neck and gripped her jaw softly, but firmly, holding her in place as he sucked her bottom lip between his teeth and scraped it gently.
He released her lip but his tongue delved between her lips, rubbing against her own sensually.
The kiss was everything Hermione was expecting and more. Draco was skilled and Hermione was by turns giddy and relieved. She absolutely couldn't be physically attracted to someone if they were a bad kisser.
She lost herself in him and she was less than surprised to conclude that Draco would be a dominant lover. The way he gripped her jaw, his hand pressed into her throat, had her moaning in delight. His grip on her braid was firm and she assumed if her hair was down he would have an entire handful wrapped around his fingers.
The sounds grumbling out of his chest seemed to vibrate through her entire body, causing her lower stomach to tense in anticipation.
She slowly broke the kiss, breathing deeply as she stared up at him. His pupils were blown wide and he breathed in and out slowly, obviously trying to stay in control of himself.
"Fuck, Granger," Draco groaned. "I have been wanting to do that for weeks now," he admitted in a gravelly voice.
"You have?" She looked genuinely shocked and Draco couldn't help the low chuckle that broke free.
"Yes, since January." He ran a hand through his hair, wondering if he'd said too much. Please don't think I'm a perv, he thought fervently. Fuck, I hope she knows I'm not just another wanker out to say he's shagged Hermione Granger.
"Wow," and then she giggled. "I've wanted it too but I thought you didn't. It seems we've wasted a bit of time, but I've also enjoyed getting to know you."
"You have all the time in the world to get to know me, Granger. I'm not going anywhere."
She gave him that look again, seeming surprised that he was interested in her.
"You genuinely have no idea what you do to me, do you?" He asked her, curious.
She shook her head, gazing at him in wonder with flushed cheeks and sparkling eyes.
"Oh Granger," he all but laughed, but he took her small hand in his "do you want to feel what you do to me?"
She nodded, crimson, and he pressed their joined hands lightly against the front of his trousers. Her hand flexed but he let it go; this was neither the time nor place for this and he needed to calm himself down, not get even more worked up.
Her eyes flicked down to his trousers for a moment before jolting back up to meet his, and she looked radiant.
"All the time in the world," he assured her, and she smiled.
They continued down the path, side by side and taking their time, each distracted by their own thoughts. Hermione was wandering off the trail every so often to look at the local flora, and Draco was trying to think every unsexy thought he possibly could.
She was in a small clearing off the path, crouched down beside a tuft of grass when her wand signalled that their portkey would be leaving in less than a minute.
She hustled to his side, smiling up at him. She looked so happy and carefree, the sun shining behind her and framing her beautiful face in his view.
"Let's go," she said, holding out the portkey to him.
"Thank you for coming with me," she said sincerely. "It was fun."
"It was way too hot, though Granger. Let's plan somewhere cooler for next time, yeah?"
Hermione grinned. Next time.
