Chapter Text

I

It had been a quiet morning, exactly what he had been hoping for. No one was ever in early on Saturdays, and no one would be coming in later due to the gala that night. He had told the entire office to take the day off. Giving them time to get ready for the event. He was even able to convince Granger that he was competent enough to look over the notes on the latest proposal before they went to the Wizengamont on Monday morning. She had been hesitant at first, not that he could blame her, but finally agreed. The two of them had been working on the Werewolf Rights Act for the last two years and were only days away from passing a law that would give those affected by Lycanthropy the same rights as Veelas.

So, with her and their employees off work for the day, he looked forward to a productive morning. It was completely ruined, however, when Harry Potter came strutting through the door like he owned the damn place. His black hair sticking up in every possible direction like always while the ridiculously bright green of his eyes seemed to glow behind the out of date glasses perched on his nose. It took every ounce of strength to not yell at the fool and kick him out. Five minutes into him being there, though, Draco was starting to wish he had.

“We need to go to London, Malfoy.” Potter smirked.

“Why?”

“He prefers Muggle things.” Potter shrugged. Draco pulled off his wire framed glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You indulge him with these particular whims, don’t you?”

He had no aversion to shopping in Muggle London. Had no qualms with Muggles in the slightest. All of that nonsense had been left behind when the war ended, courtesy of the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Annoy-The-Shite-Out-Of-Him. Actually, if he was honest, the beliefs his father had tried to instill in him had begun to fade years before the war. He just had no idea how to get out at that point, he was in too far and had his mother to worry about.

“He is very appreciative. You see, he does this wonder-”

“STOP!” Draco yelled and Potter smiled. “If you finish that sentence I will hex you into next year.”

“So dramatic.” Potter leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.

Smacking his feet down, Draco brushed off the dirt that came off the soles of his boots and glared. How his best friend could put up with such uncouth behavior, Draco had no idea. Although, it just occurred to him, the man likely did such things simply to get on Draco’s nerves.

“Where is Theo anyway?” Draco sat in his own chair at his desk, setting his glasses down while Potter leaned forward.

“I sent him out with Ginny.”

“They will be gone all day. Was that wise?”

“That’s the point. I need your help.”

“I beg your pardon?” Draco’s brows flew up.

Potter reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, velvet box and set it on the desk before pushing it toward Draco. Narrowing his eyes, he picked up the box and opened it.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, Potter, but a ring box is meant to have, oh I don’t know, a ring.”

“I need you to come with me to find one. Besides, you’ve gotta get your suit. Two birds- one stone.”

“What does any of this have to do with birds or a stone?”

“You do work with Hermione, right?”

“Point being?”

“Doesn’t she-you know what, nevermind. I just meant we can get both done at the same time.”

“Why do you think I’d help you find a ring?”

“Because if I don’t get him the one he likes, you’ll be the one to hear about it.”

Scrunching his nose and squeezing his eyes shut, Draco took a deep breath. The truth behind the statement was far too clear and Draco resented every syllable of it.

“I hate you.”

“No you don’t.” Potter smiled and stood up before snatching the box off Draco’s desk. “Let’s go.”

Looking down at the files on his desk, he sighed. There really was no reason for him to stay. Granger had been extremely thorough when writing it, and he had been by her side every step of the way. The only thing he had been doing all morning was basically making sure the I’s were dotted and the T’s were crossed. Gathering up the papers, he placed them back into his desk and locked it. Grabbing his glasses, coat, and scarf, he followed Potter out of the door.

Muggle London was more busy than he could ever remember it being. The fact that it was New Year’s Eve was not helping. Wrapping the scarf around his neck, he glared at the back of Harry Potter’s messy head. The man had been talking nonstop since they left the office and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. Even if it was him gushing about Theo and the plan he had for tonight.

“Potter!” Draco called out when Potter ran across the street just as the sign of a red hand made of lights started flashing. “I’m going to fucking kill him.” Draco muttered as he watched the man disappear in the crowd, likely still talking to himself.

Looking around, he noticed a store he had visited multiple times before for suits and decided to go there. He was sure Potter would double back once he realized Draco was no longer there to listen to his incessant talking.

Truthfully, he didn’t mind Potter. When he and Theo had gotten together three years ago, he thought he would. Was even starting to dislike him again for a bit in the beginning. Until he witnessed Potter ripping into Weasley for the way he was treating Theo only months into them dating.

Apparently, a war was not enough to get over house rivalries. Even with the fact that Theo had no part in the stupid shite Draco had been while in school. Regardless of his own personal growth, it did give Draco great pleasure to kick Weasley out of his office; the swine had come in yelling at Granger about Merlin knows what, resulting in her crying herself to sleep on his office couch. Something he swore would result in sending Weasley to St Mungo’s if he saw it happen again.

The sound of a chime alerted the workers of his entrance, even if he couldn’t see any initially. He quickly made his way toward the navy blue suits; Potter wasn’t wrong in assuming that he hadn’t bothered trying to find one for the ball tonight. His mother had been putting on New Year’s Eve events for as long as he could remember, and none of them brought fond memories with them. He doubted this one would be any different.

Although, it seemed like Potter was expecting to at least make it interesting.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?” A high voice came from behind him that made him cringe.

Turning, the sales woman was standing behind him with a large smile plastered onto her bright pink lips showing off gleaming white teeth. Thick powdered makeup caked her face, turning it a completely different color than her neck. She flipped her yellow blonde hair over her shoulder, fluttering her lashes, reminding him instantly of Lockhart.

“No.” He said simply and turned back to the jacket he was looking at.

The woman came to his elbow and reached around him to grab the sleeve of the jacket, pressing her body into him. “This color would look amazing on you.”

Draco resisted the urge to cough when he caught the overwhelming scent of her perfume. How she thought bathing in a scent reminiscent of the puss that came from a Mimbulus Mimbletonia plant was alluring, confused Draco more than he was comfortable with. Clearing his throat, he stepped away from her and nodded before moving down the next aisle.

She followed.

“With your eyes and flawless complexion, grey would look great as well. We just got a new style in-”

“I appreciate you wanting to do your job, but I don’t need your assistance.” Draco said coldly. “I’m sure there is someone else that may be more…accepting of your…expertise.”

The girl narrowed her eyes briefly before fixing a smile on her face once again. Draco’s desire to roll his eyes was difficult to contain and he briefly wondered if he had been spending too much time with Granger.

“Of course…Mr…”

Draco turned and walked down a different aisle, leaving the woman looking like she had just been slapped.

He didn’t care.

Women that only cared about looks, money, and power were always throwing themselves at him and it was infuriating. Once the news that Harry Potter and Theodore Nott were gay, and together, things got worse. With Weasley being the insufferable twat that he was, and many of the other well known men around his age in committed relationships, Draco was left being named Witch Weekly’s Most Eligible Bachelor for the last two years.

The title was more nauseating than the string of witches Weasley was seen with and made it impossible to even walk through Diagon Alley without being bombarded. The child he used to be would have loved the attention, thrived in it. Draco now, the reformed Draco that actually cared about things like having decent conversations or having things in common with the woman he was seeing, hated it.

It didn’t help that the one woman he actually cared for only saw him as a friend. He was thankful he had that, but it was just another thing that made his day to day more difficult. What made it even worse was that he had actually taken the risk and asked her to dinner. Taken the time to make sure they would not be followed by nosey reporters, or interrupted by fans; his or hers.

The night had been perfect.

They spent hours talking, laughing, and sharing all of the nonsense they used to get up to while they were in Hogwarts. She of course, had far more of those stories than he did, being best friends with Potter. It was extremely entertaining to hear the way she would defend why she had allowed such behavior. He even went as far as to not laugh too much when she told the story of accidentally turning into a cat during their second year. Once dinner had finished, they decided to try and walk around Paris and that’s when the night went to hell.

She had been recognized by someone that had visited Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament. He instantly alerted everyone he was with, including Viktor Krum. She introduced them, as if Krum hadn’t sat next to Draco that entire year, and stated quickly that Draco was just a friend and business partner when asked.

For a year after that night, she had dated Krum.

He hated every second of it.

Not that she knew this.

Turning down another aisle, he spotted a simple suit that looked almost exactly like what he wore to the Yule Ball and decided that it would be just fine for the ball that night. If Potter’s plan worked out, no one would even remember seeing him tonight. Which is more than he could hope for.

He truly was happy for Theo. Ever since he started dating Potter, his happiness was through the roof. The man was still a sarcastic prick half the time, saying anything and everything he could to try and embarrass Draco. Potter didn’t help at all in that aspect. If anything, he made it worse by joining in, especially when it came to Granger. Draco swore they were cut from the same damn cloth, which made sense why they worked so well together.

Infuriating, nosey bastards.

That’s what they were.

“There you are!” He heard her voice and froze. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Turning, he lifted a brow and saw Granger practically sprinting toward him. “Gra-”

“Behind me.” Her whisper was full of fear as she wrapped arms around his waist and buried her head into his chest.

Snapping his head up, he saw an older man leering at her. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms around her. Trying to ignore the perfect way she fit in his arms, he studied the man. He was older; messy brown hair giving him away while peeking around a clothing rack. His dark eyes remained glued to Granger, and fury erupted in Draco’s chest. It seemed as if the man didn’t even notice she had thrown herself into Draco’s arms. Gripping her tighter, he watched as the man adjusted himself before he began to walk closer. Without thinking, he tilted Granger’s chin up and pressed his lips to hers.

He felt her gasp and he suddenly became very aware that she would likely punch him in the face again as soon as they parted. He started to pull away and began to smirk when he felt her grab the front of his shirt to kiss him back. Testing his luck, he ran his tongue along her lip and was lost in ecstasy when they parted allowing him to continue kissing her. The man forgotten completely.

Believing this was going to be the only time he would ever get to kiss her, he poured everything he felt for her into it. He would be lying if he claimed he had not wanted to kiss her for years now. Fantasized about how her lips would taste and how her body would feel pressed against his own. Burying one of his hands in her hair, he lost all track of time. As her tongue danced across his, his hold around her tightened and he thought he might lose his mind when he felt her moan. There was a small part of his brain that reminded him they were indeed in a public place, but how he wished they weren’t. All too soon, she began to pull away, only to surprise him again with a quick nip to his bottom lip.

Dropping down from her toes, she licked her lips before bringing the bottom one between her teeth. Bright red coated her cheeks, her eyes stayed on the ground. Her hands still gripped his shirt just as his remained on her waist. Detangling his other hand from her hair, he moved it to the side of her face and he couldn’t stop grinning as he continued to watch her.

“Fancy meeting you here.” He said in a low, teasing tone which made her cheeks redden more.

“I’m sorry,” she turned slightly and Draco looked back to where the man had been before. When she noticed he was gone, she stepped back and Draco instantly missed the warmth she took with her. “He had been following me for a bit and I came in here without realizing what store it was. When I saw you…I’m so sorry. That was incredibly inappropriate of me. Oh, please forgive me, I don’t want to make things awkward at work. You probably hate me right now. I’m so sorry. I really appreciate you helping me. I’ll just go now.”

She muttered all of this without letting her eyes move from her boots and began to turn away from him without giving him a chance to say a word. He stood shell shocked as she began to head back toward the door of the shop, unsure of what to do or say. She stopped at the glass door and looked around to make sure the man was no longer in sight before she stepped out into the crowded street.

The mess of chocolate curls covered in snow and bright purple jacket stood out among the darker clothes worn by the Muggles around her and made it far easier to find her than he expected after he ran from the store.

“Granger!” He called as he tried to push through the crowds, “Granger!” She continued to walk briskly with her arms crossed over her chest and head down.

Draco grunted as she crossed the street at a run to make it before the vehicles began to move again. She turned down a side street and he called out to her again. With the noise of the cars and the abundance of people, she couldn’t hear him. Shoving a couple of guys out of his way, ignoring the calls of frustration, he ran across the street. Cars honked and slammed on their brakes as he jumped to avoid being hit, but he continued to run.

He saw her looking around before sliding into an alley and he called out again. “HERMIONE!”

She stopped mid step and turned around with wide eyes. The blush that started after the kiss still stained her cheeks, helped along by the cold wind rushing between the buildings. She stepped onto a step to get out of the way as others continued walking and waited for him to catch up to her.

“Malfoy?”

“I have questions.” He said as he stood in front of her. Even on a step above him, she still barely reached eye level with him and he fought the urge to pull her back into his chest. “First, why did you not just hex the bastard?”

“He’s a Muggle.” Hermione responded with furrowed brows like even suggesting such a thing was incomprehensible.

“And a creep that was following you.” He frowned.

“My wand is in my bag,” She held up a small beaded bag in her hand.

“Okay…”

Rolling her eyes, she grabbed his sleeve and dragged him to the alley she had been heading toward. After making sure no one was around them to see, she reached into her bag. When her arm disappeared up to her shoulder, he understood exactly why she couldn’t do that in front of Muggles. Though, it did cause him to have another question.

“Why not just summon it?”

Pausing the search for her wand, she straightened up and sighed. “Just before I noticed he was following me, someone ran into me and I fell, dropping my bag. Everything in it fell from the shelves, including my wand. I initially had it so all I had to do was reach my hand in and it would look like a normal bag. When I realized he was behind me, I tried to summon it, but I think it's trapped either under the books or in the fabric of the tent.”

The more she explained, the more questions he had. The first being, why the hell did she have a tent? Looking at her bag, he noticed for the first time that it looked rather worn. It was clear that it used to have beading covering the outside, but now most of it was missing, leaving behind only frayed threads. The dark color of the bag had faded unevenly while stains stood out among the aged fabric. Tearing his eyes away from the bag, he saw she was chewing her bottom lip again and her eyes were glued to her boots that were shuffling the muddied snow.

“Granger-”

“I really appreciate what you did, and I’m sorry I put you in that situation. Thank you.” Checking her watch, she sighed again. “Damn it. I’m running late.” Looking up, she furrowed her brows before grimacing. “Would you mind…taking me to my house?”

“If you’ll do something for me.” He said.

“What?” She narrowed her eyes in skepticism and Draco couldn’t blame her.

Draco was a businessman. He saw opportunities, and capitalized on them. That was how he ended up with Granger as a business partner to begin with. The Ministry was blocking her every move when she worked in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Refusing to even listen to the possibility of equal rights for Werewolves, much less House Elves or Centaurs. So, as soon as he was finished with his Masters, he approached her and presented his business plan.

Originally, he had thought about opening a practice alone. Wrote up all of the plans and proposals while he was still finishing his schooling, even signed a contract for the building. It was a week before he was about to officially open the office that he read the article about how War Heroine Hermione Granger’s S.P.E.W. proposal had been denied for the fourth time. It had gone on to drag her name through the proverbial mud, stating she was wasting her talents when she should be joining Potter and Weasley in the DMLE.

He had approached her the next day. It was a meeting that resulted in her quitting the Ministry instantly and officially becoming his partner. She, of course, demanded that they focus on the creatures as much as they did the humans. Something he easily agreed to.

“Attend the ball tonight with me.”

“Malfoy, you don’t have-”

“Hermione Granger, I’d be honored to have you as my date to the Gala.”

The corner of her lip was pulled between her teeth as she fought a smile. Her blush was renewed with vengeance and when her bright brown eyes finally met his, he felt his heart stutter.

He had felt the passion when she kissed him. Felt it as she pulled him closer and the little bite on his lip gave away that she had enjoyed the kiss as much as he had. He refused to let this opportunity slip past him without at least trying.

“Okay.”

“Okay?” He couldn’t believe his ears.

Laughing, she nodded. “Yeah, okay.”

“Great.” He chuckled. “Brilliant. I’ll see you tonight then.” He smiled while shoving his hands in his pockets and walking backward.

“Malfoy?” Granger started laughing again.

“What?”

“I still can’t get to my wand.”

“Oh, right. Of course.” He jogged back to her.

Smiling, she slid her arm through his and he Apparated them to the front porch of her cottage. The two of them stood looking at each other for a moment before he cleared his throat, shoving his hands into his pockets once again.

“So, I’ll come pick you up at seven?”

“Actually…can I meet you there? I’m supposed to meet someone in…” looking at her watch, she grimaced. “Ten minutes ago to start getting ready.”

“Alright. I’ll meet you in the Foyer.” He grinned when her shoulders seemed to relax. Grabbing her hand, he kissed her knuckles and winked before taking a step back and Disapparating.