Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Draco looked at his watch and sighed. "Thank Merlin." He'd been at this for hours and he needed a break. He looked at his watch again. Okay, maybe not so dramatic – two hours and twenty-nine minutes, he thought, standing and stretching. It felt good.
He grabbed his robes and walked out the door of his office, locking it behind him. "Lunch," he said to his secretary, whose name he couldn't remember.
"Yes, sir, Mr. Malfoy, sir." Her words rushed out as she stood when he exited his office.
He hated when she answered him like that.
He walked down the hall and opened the door to the stairwell. Walking down to the first landing he stopped short.
She was sitting on a step length wise. It was just wide enough for her to fit a half on it. One of her feet was up; resting mid-way up the handrail and her other foot was on the step below. Her skirt had ridden up to mid-thigh, revealing slender, toned and slightly tanned legs. She was leaning back against the wall, her head dropped back and eyes closed with her hands loosely clasped in the fold of her skirt.
"Granger?" he asked.
She opened her eyes and lifted her head. "Malfoy," she said quietly and let her head fall back again.
He frowned. She usually scowled at him or sent him a sweet smile accompanied by a scathing remark. They had a hateful humor relationship, since they'd started working in sister sections under the Care for Magical Creatures Division. She ran the Being Section and he the Spirits Section for the last two years.
They got along on a professional basis most of the time, building upon one another's ideas in an attempt to make life better for the souls that fell under their purview, but they hadn't ever made an effort to get to know each other on a personal level.
He was uncomfortable with her silence. "It's probably better you skipped lunch anyway. I've noticed your clothes fitting a bit snug of late," he sniped, waiting for her inevitable retort; none came.
He frowned again. "What's wrong, the Weasel finally realizes you'll never compare to Potty?" he asked, teasing her. He told himself he didn't care, not really, but he was curious. Yes, curious.
She produced a sound that was a mix between her breath hitching and a strangled sob. "Yes," she whispered.
Oops. "By yes, you mean…?"
"I mean, I walked in and caught Ron and … Harry," she bit out his name and continued, "in the shower…"
She sounded tired to him, like she'd been up all night thinking. She probably had, he thought.
You're better off.
"He called me a prude. Said I was just a substitute for something real. To keep up the image," she huffed and made that strangled hitch sound again, though no tears fell.
Draco had heard rumors, of course, of the two of them, during Hogwarts, but never thought anything of it. "Granger," he paused and was about to say something hatefully humorous, but when she lifted her head again and peered at him with wet eyes filled with tears that hadn't yet fallen, he sighed and plopped down on one of the steps above her. "You're too good for him. He never deserved you," he said and stood up.
His eyes avoided her surprised gaze and found himself looking at her dainty feet connected to small ankles followed by very lovely legs, flat stomach, round breasts that ached to be freed from her blouse, small feminine hands, graceful neck and… He was looking into her cinnamon colored eyes, no longer filled with tears; only wonder.
She swallowed, completely baffled by his words. This was not the first time she would be shocked, his next words had her head spinning. "Come to lunch with us," he said.
What?
Her silence made him smirk. He knew he'd just thrown her for a loop. After she didn't respond, he reminded her of his question. "Granger? Lunch."
She sat up, her foot dropping. "Who's us?" she asked.
"Zabini, Nott. Sometimes Pucey and Flint come too, but usually just the three of us."
She snorted. This had to be a joke. "Yeah, that'll go over well. 'Oh Draco, you brought the Merry Mudblood with you today. How charitable.'," she mimicked. "I'll pass, thanks."
There's the Granger he knew!
Still, he felt a slight –very slight- pang of guilt. "Now who’s got the chip on her shoulder? Maybe you should've been sorted into Hufflepuff."
She stood. "What's that supposed to mean?" She glared at him.
He shrugged casually. "That Gryffindor courage that we all know and love seems to be seeping away, bit by bit. Too bad. See you later," he chirped and started down the steps.
She huffed. "I'm not scared," she grumbled and crossed her arms over her chest in a very childish manner. Draco arched a brow at her less than adult behavior and smirked.
He started down the steps again. "Coming?" he asked, calling behind over shoulder.
She huffed again, eyes bouncing around in indecision. "Wait!" she said and flitted down the stairs quickly to catch up to him. "I need to put my trainers on, first, please?" she asked, huffing and out of breath.
He stopped and looked down at her. "What's wrong with those?" he asked, pointing to her three inch peep toes.
She made a face. "They hurt my feet."
"Then why wear them?" he asked as if she was the dumbest witch he'd ever met.
She lifted a foot and twisted it around as she smiled at her shoe. "They're really cute and go perfectly with this skirt," she said and looked up at him.
He looked at her as if he'd never seen her before and asked, "Have you always been this short?"
She took the turn to her office with him following and responded to stupid his question. "Why no, Malfoy, I used to be 60 Metres tall, but during the final battle I was hit with a shrinking curse and now, well," she put her hands out and tilted her head while blinking prettily, "this is what I've been reduced to. Tragic, really," she ended.
He rolled his eyes and watched her step out of her peep toes - that were kind of cute, if he were honest with himself – and slipped into pink and white trainers. No laces, just slip on's with no backs.
Once outside, he picked up his regular pace: graceful and smooth, one step to ever two of hers. By the time they reached the restaurant, she was a bit out of breath and flushed.
What in the world was he doing? Was she correct, was he being charitable? He wasn't sure what was going on, but he didn't think it was charity. She just sparked something in him and it was only lunch, right?
He waved at the motley crew already seated. Blaise and Theo waved back a little uncertain. Nothing could be read on their faces, but their body language was tense and confused.
The two wizards stood when they neared and Hermione stopped short, wondering if they were going to leave. Draco pulled her chair out and motioned with his chin that she should sit. She cut her eyes at him, trusting him not to be playing a giant joke at her expense. She sat demurely and watched at the silent men sat right after. "Theo, Blaise, you remember Granger," he introduced.
She nodded. "Nott."
He tilted his head. "Granger."
She looked at Blaise. "Zabini."
He mimicked Theo's gesture. "Granger."
"Well this is pleasant," Draco mumbled.
Hermione snorted and opened her menu, avoiding their questioning stares. The waitress arrived and Hermione waited for them to order, used to Harry and Ron rushing to get out their orders before the waiter left.
Silence.
She put the menu down and was surprised to see all three sets of eyes staring impatiently at her. Draco, of course, broke the quiet. "Will you actually be eating, or did you come out of some morbid curiosity as to how the other half dine?" He was teasing, his usual biting wit.
"I.. yes.. of course… I," she stuttered.
"So you should probably order, Granger," Blaise said.
She nodded her head slowly and turned to face the woman waiting with poised to write on the small pad of paper. Hermione vaguely noted that it was a Muggle pen and paper.
"Lobster ravioli, please, and a glass of water," she told the waitress, who nodded.
The wizards ordered afterwards and she sat in slight flattery that they had waited for her to order first.
"What have you been up to, Granger? Other than besting Draco at .. well, everything?" Theo asked with a smile at Draco.
More teasing. Hermione felt herself relax and smile at the backhanded compliment.
"That's it," she quipped, liking the idea of noodling Malfoy.
Blaise snorted at her and took a drink, smirking.
Theo, however, laughed out loud, causing Draco to roll his eyes. "You wish, Granger."
She chuckled.
Conversation started about work and projects, when Flint and Pucey walked in and pulled two chairs up to the table. They all scooted closer and Hermione wondered if this were a normal occurrence. Couldn't they just get a bigger table?
The sinfully gorgeous wizard she recognized as Adrian Pucey raised two fingers, signaling for the waitress. Both men ordered quickly and succinctly, sending the waitress away with a nod.
Blaise took the introduction lead and lifted an elegant hand towards their lunch guest. "Hermione…"
Hermione?
"…Granger, you remember Marcus Flint and Adrian Pucey." They both nodded and spoke in unison, "Granger."
She wanted to snort, a very unladylike snort. They should take their show on the road, she thought.
"Gentlemen," she greeted.
Adrian appraised her with his absolutely piercing green eyes. Harry, she thought, had nothing on this delicious man. "You look different," he said.
Captain obvious, this one. "Yes."
He nodded in approval. "Nice."
Wow. "Thanks."
The wizards started talking about work again, asking her questions and including her in their general conversation. She was amazed that they weren't talking about Quidditch and ignoring her.
"Granger, have you seen a ghost?" Theo asked.
Conversation ended – all eyes on her.
She looked at the handsome Slytherin quizzically. "You have a surprised expression on your face. Did Draco shock you with his wit? I admit, it's a rare occurrence when something intelligent comes from his mouth," he said, his dark eyes glittering with glee. Two in one lunch hour!
Draco sighed, but didn't retort. He only waited for Granger to answer. "I was just thinking how nice it was that you were not discussing Quidditch."
Adrian gave her a brilliant smile. "We can do that too, kitten," he said.
She shook her head, smiling. "No, no. That won't be necessary."
More conversation ensued. They ate. They laughed and all the while Marcus hadn't spoken much. So she decided to try her hand at humor, not knowing how the large, imposing wizard would react, but she felt fairly comfortable and hoped that it would be received well. "Merlin's pants, Flint, could you keep it down over there? My ears are ringing. Talk, talk, talk, talk!" She added the last four words making a hand puppet form with her hand and opening and closing with each word.
Silence, then – he chuckled! An honest to goodness chuckle; who knew?
He tilted his head. "I'll try to accommodate you, Princess, I hadn't realized what sensitive hearing you have," he said.
She sighed dramatically and flipped her hair back. "Thank you."
Draco and Blaise nodded in, yet another, approval from this Slytherin group and she smiled. Marcus watched her warm smile and thought how nice it was to have someone around that didn't always make you feel like they were angling for something.
Their carefree attitudes were interrupted by a deep, aristocratic voice. "Miss Granger?"
She turned, recognizing the voice. She stood, smiling and taking the man's hands in hers in greeting. "Lucius, how nice to see you," she said.
Lucius? Draco thought. To his further astonishment his father smiled. "Having lunch, then?"
She turned to Draco after releasing the elder Malfoy's hands. "Draco was kind enough to invite me; and how could I refuse such an offer?" she teased.
He nodded. "I'm meeting Severus here," he said in explanation of his presence.
Her face beamed, just then as she looked around for the brooding wizard. She spotted him walking gracefully up to the table. He looked down at the petite witch and took her hand, brushing his thumb softly over her knuckles.
It was a show of support, she knew. He had heard about Ron and was letting her know that she was not alone.
"First the morons and now dunderheads," he admonished in his velvety smooth voice. "Will you never learn?" he asked, referring to the company she kept. "Nice shoes," he added. "Playing hooky must be a luxury of the upper echelon."
She giggled at him and squeezed his hand. "Lunch, then work… oh and I must best Draco at something at least once per day… so many things to choose from!"
Each wizard chuckled at her joke and Draco huffed with mirthful irritation.
"We'll leave you to it, then," Severus said and together Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape found their table.
She sat and they waited for some sort of explanation. "Lucius is my investment manager, as I'm sure for half of wizarding England."
Draco was shaking his head. "No. He hasn't, with the exception of you, taken any clients since we were fifth years. When did this happen?" he asked.
She returned her surprised expression back to normal. "About two years ago, right after we started working here. I was awarded the Order of Merlin for... you know, and the money was just sitting in my vault gathering dust, when Severus mentioned that perhaps it would be wise to invest. He set up lunch and invited your father and the rest is history."
"Dessert?" the waitress, who appeared out of nowhere, asked.
They all looked at each other, but most of their gazed were fixed on Hermione. "Want dessert, Granger?"
"Do you mind?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Yes, please." She was interrupted when Adrian and Blaise spoke quietly, making her laugh. "Thank Merlin!"
"They have the best desserts here," Blaise added.
They still waited for her. "A slice of chocolate cheesecake, please," she ordered.
They ordered various desserts and were all pleased when the dishes arrived shortly after. She took a bite of the sultry dessert, closing her eyes and moaning in ecstasy when it hit her tongue.
"All right there, Granger?" Adrian asked. His face was flushed slightly as he shifted in his seat.
In fact, they all looked a bit flushed. How long had she been savoring the rich flavor? Were they worried for her?
"It's really good. Wanna taste?" she asked, holding out another forkful of scrumptious goodness. She reached over the table, her movements seductive, unbeknownst to her, and said, "Open."
Adrian mindlessly followed her command. When his lips parted wide enough she pushed the fork topped with her dessert into his mouth gently. His lips closed and dragged to the end of the fork. She licked her lips and sat back down with a plop, wondering why it was suddenly so hot in there.
After he had swallowed, he gazed at her with intense emerald eyes. "That was good, Granger."
Theo, not one to be left out of anything, "Try mine, Granger. Banana Cream Pie." He scooped some from the end onto a spoon – one that he used previously, and leered at her as she leaned forward with her lips parted. He repeated her actions when she fed Adrian and sighed as her tongue licked the bottom of the spoon to catch a small piece ready to fall.
She vaguely heard Marcus groan and Blaise mumble, "Sweet Circe!" Draco's answering, "Mmmmm," was enough for her to realize that she needed to focus on her own dessert and get back to work.
Half way through dessert Blaise asked, "Why don't we ever see you out?"
She shrugged. "Ron didn't like when I went out," she answered.
They all nodded.
"But now that you're no longer… You should come out with us," Draco asked. What? It was only supposed to be lunch!
He was probably only being nice, she thought and then frowned. Did I just think that Draco Malfoy, childhood nemesis, was only 'trying to be nice'?
"You can bring some of your girlfriends if you feel uncomfortable, but, I promise, we'll be perfect gentlemen," Blaise offered with his hand raised as if he were taking a vow to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
"Speak for yourself, Zabini," Adrian murmured.
She faltered for a moment caught off guard by the invitation. "You do have girlfriends, don't you Granger?" Draco asked.
She scowled at him. "Yes," she snapped.
"Who?" Theo asked, picking up where Draco left off.
"Ginny, Pansy, Daphne and Astoria, and Hannah," she ticked off on each finger.
"They work for you," Draco countered.
Brows still furrowed, she said, "They count. I consider them friends."
"Then they should come too," Adrian said.
"I don't know…" she hesitated.
"Scared?" Marcus, the quiet wizard, asked.
"No!"
"It's all right, Granger. We understand, you're worried about what your friends will say," Blaise countered.
She gave him a sarcastic look. "Of course not!"
"We can be intimidating," Theo said.
"I'm not intimidated!" she answered.
"Leave her alone, Theo, she probably doesn't dance very well," Adrian said.
She gasped, ready to retort.
"Or hold her liquor. Most likely a sloppy drunk," Blaise added.
"I am not… a sloppy drunk; and I can dance, quite well actually," she quipped.
"Then come out with us," Draco said.
She knew what they were doing; they were goading her into it. Even armed with that knowledge, it just wasn't in her to back down from a challenge. "Fine, I will."
They smiled. "I'll pick you up at 9. Are you connected to the Floo network?" Draco asked.
She grimaced, embarrassed. "Not yet," she said sheepishly. She kept meaning to connect, but never seemed to find the time.
"Not yet? How long have you lived …where you live?" he asked.
"Four years," she squeaked.
"Four years?" Theo practically shouted, then sunk down in his chair for shamefully expressing such incredulousness.
Draco sighed and chuckled a little. "Give me your address before you leave and alter your wards to let me in. I'll Apparate," he instructed.
Once they paid the bill; she insisted on paying her own way, much to their chagrin – they were gentlemen; it was encoded into their DNA – they all parted ways with promises of seeing each other later that night.
She reached her office with a smile on her face and no thoughts of her ex-boyfriend and his current boyfriend. She hurriedly told her friends what had happened at lunch and what the plans were for the night. They giggled and twittered with excitement the rest of the day.
OoO
Before the day was done, something began to niggle at Hermione; even prompting her to leave a bit early.
As she walked out, she stopped by Draco's office. "Is he in?" Hermione asked the secretary. The witch nodded and pointed to the door.
Hermione knocked softly. "Enter," he called from inside the office.
She opened the door and when he saw it was her he stood. She closed the door and shifted from one foot to the other.
He waited patiently. Truth be told, he hadn't stopped thinking about lunch either. He looked at her shoes just then and noticed that she was wearing the cute peep toed heels and carried the trainers in her hand.
She saw where he was looking and raised the trainers slightly. "I walk to and from work, so I'll put them on when I get outside."
He nodded in understanding, but didn't speak.
Still waiting. "Ummm Draco?" she asked.
Draco? When did I become Draco? "Hermione," he said, following her lead now that they were on a first name basis.
She swallowed. "Thank you… for everything today. I… just, thank you," she said.
His eyebrows shot into his hairline. "You're welcome," he said, feeling - awkward.
"One more thing."
"What's that?" he asked.
"How shall I dress? For tonight, I mean?" she asked.
"Isn't this a girlfriend thing?" he asked a little uncomfortable. He wasn't anyone's gay buddy.
She blushed.
He thought she looked pretty and sighed in resignation. "How do you want to come across?"
She looked at him with a confused expression. "What do you mean?"
"Do you want wizards to see you as sex-kitten Granger or demurely or hot for teacher?" he asked, hoping she would choose sex-kitten. She certainly had all the right equipment. He wouldn't mind hot for teacher either.
She opened and closed her mouth a few times, mulling over the choices. When her mind kept coming back to one in particular she blushed scarlet, letting him know exactly which one she picked.
He smiled and nodded. "Good choice. Hot for teacher it is."
She released a breath she hadn't known she held. There was no judgment in his eyes, only satisfaction and humor. "A little black dress that leaves something to the imagination; maybe cap sleeves with a low, but not too low, neckline; and a skirt that falls just above the knee with a slit up to your thigh. Make sure it fits snugly, but it shouldn't be tight. It should move with you, not prevent you from breathing."
She nodded in understanding. She unconsciously looked at her watch. "It's only 5. You have plenty of time for shopping," he said in response to the inner workings of her brain. She chuckled at his intuition. "Draco?"
He dropped his back and spread his arms in a why-me-God fashion. Sighing, he grabbed his robes and walked to her side. "Let's go, Granger. I know the perfect place," he said.
She hopped happily around and followed him out the door with a skip in her step. "Thank you, Draco, you are the best!" she gushed as they walked to the Apparition point.
"Yes, yes I am," he said, stepping close to her and wrapping his arms around her for Side-Along. "Ready?" he asked his voice suddenly deep and breathy.
She swallowed nervously. His scent, his body, his warmth was intoxicating and it took her by surprise. She nodded.
With a pop they were gone; off to shop for a suitable hot for teacher dress for Hermione.