Hey Guys! I hope you enjoy this story. I'm considering making it a two shot but I'm not sure. Let me know if you think I should do that or just leave it as is.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my work.
Take Care!
(I'm on Twitter at EFawkes01)
Draco adjusted his tie once more, feeling as if it were suffocating him. He couldn't find the proper words to describe how awful of a time he was having at the Annual Autumn Gala at the Ministry, but he was utterly miserable.
He leaned over and told his date, Astoria Greengrass, that he'd be back before going to get a refill of Firewhiskey for what must have been the fifth time. He had a nice buzz going but was still completely in control of his faculties.
As he walked over to the refreshments, he heard a familiar voice and turned. She had actually come, and he was quite surprised.
It had been written in the Daily Prophet that Granger and Weasley had ended their engagement merely days before the Gala and here she was on the arm of Cormac McLaggen. Draco truly hated that bloke.
Rolling his eyes, Draco went ahead and got his refill. Rather than going straight back to his date, however, he leaned back against the bar and watched the crowd. His eyes kept wondering back to Granger. He had to admit that she looked gorgeous.
It had been nearly five years since the war had ended and she had certainly matured in that time.
The brunette was wearing a black dress with silver accessories. The dress accentuated her curves and displayed just enough skin to make anyone seeing her yearn for more.
A small smirk formed on his lips when he noticed her attempting to hold back from rolling her eyes at her date. Looking at his wristwatch, Draco thought for a moment before glancing at Astoria, who was completely consumed in flirting with the Minister's nephew. He took one last sip of his drink and casually strolled towards Granger.
He caught her eyes and, unlike before the war, their eye contact held no loathing or hatred of any kind. She was confused, however, as to why Draco Malfoy was motioning for her to follow him.
She furrowed her brow, turned to Cormac, and for some reason, one she certainly had no clue of, she told him she had to step away for a moment.
She noticed Malfoy disappear through the doors leading to the south corridor and sighed, following him with her silver clutch in her hand.
As she stepped into the hallway, she was abruptly tugged into an alcove, unnoticed by anyone around.
Seeing that she was about to shout, Draco quickly spoke, "Easy, Granger, it's just me."
"Bloody hell, Malfoy!" She huffed, "What is it that you want?!"
He smirked at her, though she could barely see him in the shadows of the alcove.
He stepped a bit closer to her, coming into a stream of light, "I can see that you're having about as much fun as I am at this dreadful event."
Her shoulders eased a bit as she nodded and lightly laughed, "Yes, well, I only came because my boss asked me to. And well…Cormac isn't exactly the most…"
"He's a plonker, Granger." Draco cut in. "What I was saying was, would you care to escape?" he asked with the slightest smirk playing on his lips.
She was shocked by his question but even more shocked by her response, "Bloody hell, yes! Thank you!"
He chuckled and nodded, glancing around before motioning for her to follow him. He led the way through the corridors until they got to the Atrium. He looked around nodded at their location.
"Trust me?" He smirked.
She laughed before nodding, "I suppose."
He chuckled quietly and nodded, reaching out for her.
With only the slightest hesitation, she placed her hand in his larger one before being side-apparated out of the Ministry.
They suddenly arrived in a dark alleyway, Hermione with a completely shocked expression, "How did you apparate while inside the Ministry?" she hissed.
"I'm an Auror, Granger." He smirked, "Of course I can apparate inside the Ministry. What if I need to get in there to protect the Minister?" he replied logically.
She nodded, "True." but was still surprised. She looked around, confused as to their location. "Where are we?"
He grinned, "Well first, we need to change our clothing, then I'll tell you more. Don't get me wrong, Granger. You look stunning tonight in that black dress, but we need to be a bit more casual for the next activities." He said nonchalantly as he walked past her to look around, completely missing her expression of surprise by his compliment.
She looked at him for a moment and admired his appearance. He looked utterly dashing in a set of black tuxedo robes. She watched as he waved his wand, causing the robes to appear as a muggle tuxedo.
After looking around, he nodded, satisfied that no one was near before he quietly said, "Okay, come on."
The made their way down the walkway, towards a small clothing store. He pulled her inside the store, a bell dinging to announce that arrival.
"Draco!" a woman's voice could be heard.
He smiled at the older woman and nodded, "Hello Tanya."
"What can I do for you, dear boy?" Tanya asked, glancing at a very confused Hermione.
"We need a change of clothes." He said, motioning to himself and Hermione.
"What sort of event?" Tanya asked without missing a step as she closely looked over both of them.
"Oblivion." He said with a smirk.
Tanya nodded, smiling, and waved them towards them back. She glanced at Hermione once more and nodded before grabbing a few items off the rack.
"Draco, you're in room one. And you, dear, are in room two." She smiled, nodding to Hermione.
Hermione nodded and simply went along with it. Entering the changing room, she noticed a pair of black jean trousers and a plain, grey tee with a black, leather jacket and a pair of converse trainers. She furrowed her brow, wondering where in Merlin's name Draco Malfoy was taking her.
After changing, Draco stepped out of the room and adjusted his own leather jacket. He was wearing grey jean trousers, a white, V-neck tee with a black leather racing jacket over it. He glanced down and noticed that his right converse trainer was untied before stooping down to tie it.
As he tied it, he heard the door to room two open and looked up to see Hermione Granger looking completely and utterly fit in the casual, muggle clothing. The grey tee she was wearing was cut a bit shorter than a typical tee, revealing a sliver a skin between her tee and her trousers.
He swallowed and stood up with a grin, "Ready Granger?"
She inhaled nervously but nodded.
He chuckled, "Follow me. It's not far." He muttered as he led the out of the shop.
"What's not far?" She asked, walking next to him.
He looked to his right, meeting her eyes and smirked, "Oblivion."
She furrowed her brow as he turned down another dark alleyway. At the entrance of the alleyway was a shabby sign that read:
Are you ready?
She swallowed, grateful she had her wand in her sleeve and followed him into the darkness. She couldn't be sure why, but she trusted Malfoy, though trust and Malfoy were two words that had never really gone together before.
Draco walked over to a set of stone steps that led underneath a building and held his hand out in a gentlemanly manner to help her descend them.
They walked through a weathered, wooden door and were met by a tall, beefy man in solid black clothing. He nodded at Draco before letting them through a red door that was hidden behind him.
As they stepped through the open red door, Hermione was amazed to find a pub filled with people, smoke, and loud music. Her eyes widened as Draco grinned, both looking around at the scene.
He leaned in closer to her so she could hear him and said, "Do you like live music?"
She looked at him, bewildered by a side of Draco Malfoy she never saw coming and nodded, "Yes."
He nodded, "Well, one of my favorite bands is performing here in about an hour." He said, glancing at his wristwatch. He met her eyes once more and grinned, "They're quite well known but this is what is known as an 'underground pub' so not many more people will be arriving. It'll feel more like an exclusive show than anything."
She nodded, still in complete shock by the entire situation. She furrowed her brow and asked, "What's the band?"
"U2." He replied. "They're an Irish band." He explained.
Hermione smiled, shocked even more that Draco Malfoy liked the muggle band.
"You know of them?" He asked, seeing her expression.
She nodded, "I love them, but I've never been able to see them live." She replied with a smile.
He grinned, pleased with the way everything was turning out, "Well, tonight's the night, Granger." He said before adding, "Let's grab a drink, yeah?"
She nodded and followed him to the bar.
"Hey Draco!" the female bartender smiled, "Your usual?"
He nodded, pulling out muggle money from his pocket, "And whatever she's having." He said nodding to Hermione.
Hermione smirked at him before looking at the bartender, "Sex on the Beach, please."
Draco chuckled, nodding but didn't comment.
The brunette smiled as they waited for the woman to make their drinks. Draco paid for them before tossing a tip in the jar, earning a wink from the barmaid.
The two of them went to find a place to sit and spotted a booth in the corner that was vacant. They went over and sat down, Draco grinning before he looked at her.
"Sex on the Beach, eh?" He asked with his wide grin.
She smirked and nodded, "It's delicious."
He nodded, taking a large sip of his drink.
"You've got a little edge to you, haven't you, Granger?" He asked.
She smirked, "So how'd you hear about this place?" she asked before taking a sip of her own, clearly not answering his question.
Draco hummed, chuckling, and took another sip of his Old Fashioned before replying, "I wanted to be a part of this…way of life." He said pointedly so that she knew he meant the muggle world before going on. "I met some people at another pub, and they invited me here. This place immediately struck me as an intriguing spot, so I returned on my own a few times. Eventually, I became a regular." He shrugged.
She shook her head, laughing, "That's amazing. I never would have thought that you…well…"
"I know." He chuckled, "Believe me, I know."
She smiled as they listened to the band play.
"And now for your headliners! U2!" They heard someone announce from the stage fifteen minutes later.
They both stood up as the band came on the stage and began to play Pride.
Draco grinned and grabbed her hand, weaving them through the crowd until they were near the front.
Hermione beamed, completely in awe of seeing the band in person.
As they played the next song, One, a surreal haze formed in the space surrounding them. Hermione could not believe that she was there and with Draco Malfoy of all people. The summersaults her stomach did when he met her eyes scared her but in the best way possible.
Song after song continued to amaze them and heighten the experience. When they played, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Hermione was at a precipice that felt like a different universe. It was a sensation she had never felt and that's when she realized that at some point, though she had no clue when, she had grabbed Draco's hand, interlacing their fingers.
He wasn't bothered by it. He, too, was riding a high from the music and loving every minute of it.
They played quite a few more songs, Two Hearts Beat As One, All I Want Is You, and Everlasting Love being only a few of them. They ended their set by playing the song Beautiful Day and when the song ended the room erupted into cheers. The band waved as they exited the stage.
Hermione knew her voice would be practically gone the next day, but she didn't any mind at all in that moment. She turned and looked at Draco with a look of pure happiness on her face, causing him to grin.
"That was incredible!" She said over the cheering of the crowd around them.
As the band came back out and began an encore by playing With or Without You Draco had no clue what caused him to do it, but he couldn't stop himself; he simply leaned in and kissed her. After the slightest split second of thought, she responded in kind and kissed him back, her hand cupping the back of his neck.
The song continued to play as they slowly separated, looking at each with expression of amazement and the slightest hint of confusion. Grey eyes met brown and neither knew what to say.
Draco swallowed and glanced at her lips before meeting her eyes once more. He looked around and muttered, "Come on." before gently pulling her through the crowd and towards their booth.
She followed him while still holding his hand, not wanting to let go.
When they got to there and were right beside the booth, he turned to face her, shock quite evident on his face.
She was afraid of his reaction, but she wasn't quite sure why. Could it be because she liked the kiss and wanted him to like it as well? Could it be because she should have pulled away from him and stormed out of there?
If she was completely honest with herself, she had to admit that it had been a wonderful kiss. The atmosphere, and music especially, had increased the intensity of it of course, but still, she had kissed a few different men and that kiss was by far the best.
He met her eyes once more and he couldn't help but lean in and kiss her. This time, he raised his hand and gently cupped her jaw as she gripped the front of his tee, kissing him back.
The snogging got heated and Hermione was about to deepen it a bit more when suddenly she pulled back. She glanced around and reached into her pocket, pulling out a gold coin. Looking at it, she read the numerals along the edge before putting it back in her pocket.
Draco furrowed his brow, recognizing the coin as one of the enchanted galleons that the members of Dumbledore's Army used in the past to communicate with one another.
He cleared his throat and asked, in a somewhat steady voice, "Is everything all right?"
She looked at him and sighed, "Cormac is messaging me." She replied, noticing that while he had removed his hand from her jaw, he hadn't backed away at all.
She looked around the room before she met his eyes once more. She couldn't believe her own thoughts. Wanting to invite Draco Malfoy to come home with her was abominable…right?
Well, she couldn't do that anyhow. She was currently living at #12 Grimmauld Place with Harry and Ginny and had been ever since she and Ron had ended their engagement. And there was no way she was bringing Draco Malfoy home to Harry Potter's house for her to shag him.
Draco nodded, "Well…" he paused, truly not wanting to ask the gentlemanly question…so he didn't. He didn't ask her if she wanted him to take her back to McLaggen. No, instead, he met her eyes and said, "He's a plonker, Granger."
She let out a laugh and smirked, "Yeah?" she said, tilting her head, "Then, what are you, Malfoy?"
He smirked and shrugged, "I suppose I'm just the bloke that took you to see U2."
She smiled, unable to stop herself from glancing at his lips as she reached up and cupped his jaw, before replying with words that came from nowhere, "I think you're more than that, Draco."
He smiled a small but incredibly genuine smile at her remark before asking the question they both wanted him to ask. "Would you like to come home with me?"
She nodded, not wanting to ruin the moment with the wrong words.
They headed out the red door, then the wooden door and up the stone steps. Draco pulled her down an adjacent alleyway and glanced around. He silently used a charm to see if they were alone and nodded before apparating them to his home with the thought crossing his mind that leaving the Ministry's Annual Autumn Gala had been the best decision he'd ever made.