Draco Malfoy | 23 | Head Obliviator for the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes.
Hermione wasn’t at all convinced by Malfoy’s reassurances, knowing full well that the older witch would most certainly take notice of what Skeeter had to say about her. She wasn’t exactly sure why she cared about what Narcissa thought of her, she just…did. And the fact that Skeeter had probably ruined any chances of getting the older witch to like her simply infuriated her. “Well..What are we supposed to do now? Ignore it?” She asked, her teeth digging into her lower lip.
Draco could barely bring himself to skim over the article, handing it back to Theo with a frown. This wasn’t what they needed, but on the bright side at least Granger’s parents wouldn’t be able to read it. Or he assumed they wouldn’t. The witch asked what they were supposed to do now, none of them seeming to know the answer. “There isn’t anything we can do.” Draco shrugged, instinctively wrapping an arm around Granger’s shoulders and tugging her towards him. His lips collided with her temple for a long moment, as he looked to Theo for help. “You could always try and stop them from printing more, but I doubt that would help much.”
“The regular Skeeter rubbish, for the most part.” Hermione said, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth. “In short, It states that you and I have ‘been shacking up in secret for years’ and it even speculates that I’d cheated on Ron with you! It goes on to say that we’ve recently gotten engaged, and then there is a short interview from the man from the jewelery store, along with pictures of the ring.” She’d really only given him the major parts of the article, really. There was also a lot of pointless name-calling done by Skeeter, throwing around words like ‘death eater and ‘attention-seeking war heroine’, but she thought to let him read those bits for himself. “I swear, I am going to hunt down that vile woman and give her a piece of my mind!” The petite witch practically exclaimed, crossing her arms in indignation.
She looked up when Malfoy mentioned his mother probably having already seen the paper, and Hermione sighed. “Wonderful! Now your mother will already have a terrible impression of me before she’s even met me!”
Draco wasn’t surprised by what Skeeter had managed to cook up, but was thankful that Theo had decided to let them know immediately. “Have they already circulated around the Ministry? Has Blaise seen it?” The blonde waited for Granger to seemingly finish with the paper, before taking it from her. “Blaise sent Hyde with a note, telling me to let you know.” Theo nodded, his amusement from earlier now entirely faded. Hyde was Blaise’s owl, and was possibly even worse than Baltimore. Granger crossed her arms angrily, sighing about Narcissa already getting a bad impression. “She hardly takes notice of what Skeeter says any more.” Draco waved a hand dismissively, not sure his words were true but deciding to believe them anyway.
Hermione’s cheeks burned in mortification, hurrying to cover her half naked body with the bed-sheets as Malfoy yelled at Nott to get out. “Bloody unbelievable! Second time this week!” She complained, her cheeks still flaming as she slipped her knickers back on, pulling on a pair of shorts under the oversized t-shirt for good measure. Her eyebrow raised in curiosity when Nott said something about wanting to read the paper, And once she looked fairly decent she snatched the Prophet out of Malfoy’s hand while he bickered with Nott about taking his key.
Curiously, she skimmed over the front page, her eyes widening in shock at the rather large picture of herself and Malfoy plastered on the front. “Oh Merlin..” She muttered, continuing to vaguely scan the article, which was far more negative than it was positive.
Draco didn’t even notice Granger had taken the paper from him, until she muttered unhappily under her breath. “What is it?” The blonde watched concern cross her face, but she didn’t respond. “It’s about the two of you.” Theo answered instead, eyeing darting between the couple apprehensively. “I guessed that much.” Draco sent his friend a cold look, before turning to Granger again. “Well? What does it say?” The blonde moved to stand beside her, catching site of the large photograph of them. “Mother will have read this by now.” He stated after glancing at the clock to see the time. Narcissa would have been up at least an hour before them, she’d know by now.
Hermione grinned against his mouth at the feel of his fingers tugging impatiently at the lacy fabric of her knickers, A soft moan escaping her. Without hesitation, she assisted him in the removal of her knickers and threw them carelessly toward the end of the bed, leaving her clad in nothing but his t-shirt.
With her mouth still working restlessly against his, she returned her hands to the waistband of his boxers and began to pull them off, just as the door was flung open and a shocked Theodore Nott was left standing in the doorway, looking equal parts surprised and amused as he clutched a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand.
“Am I interrupting something?”
Draco was about to help the witch dispose of his boxers, when the bedroom door opened. The couple broke apart abruptly and looked towards the door. Theo was stood there staring at them, half surprised and half amused by what he was witnessing. “Yes! Get out!” Draco attempted to make sure Granger was covered by the bed sheets, keeping an eye on Theo who retreated from the room. His friend didn’t bother closing the door though, holding the Daily Prophet out so they could just see it and his arm. The blonde reluctantly helped Granger retrieve her knickers, before stepping into some trousers so they were both decent. “You might want to read this.” Theo spoke loudly so they could hear, and Draco moved to snatch the paper from his friend’s hand. “Give me your key, Theo.” The blonde ordered, waiting for Theo to step back into the room. “What? No, you gave me this and said I was welcome any time.” That was no way near a good enough answer. “Theodore Nott, give me your key. Things are different now, and I don’t want that happening ever again.” After the two men had a staring competition that lasted well over a minute, Theo reluctantly handed over his key to Draco’s apartment. “Thank you.” Draco nodded.
Hermione allowed him to tug her closer to him, shifting her petite body a bit more so that she was on top of him. A mischievous little smirk curved at the corners of her mouth at his words, and she didn’t hesitate to respond to his kiss once he’d trailed off.
At the moment, a quickie before work sounded wonderful, And with that in mind, She twined her tongue with his, moaning softly into his mouth as her hand slid down his chest, making their way to the band waistband of his boxers.
Draco twisted onto his back as the witch shifted on top of him, their mouths never parting. Kissing her was refreshing, and definitely lifted the fog of sleep from his senses. Her tongue was particularly energetic this morning, winding mercilessly with his own. Granger’s hands slid down his chest towards his boxers, while Draco’s fingers tugged at her knickers impatiently.
Hermione practically purred when she felt his teeth sink into the skin of her shoulder, her own hands finding their way to his bare back, sliding upward slowly until they finally reached his hair. He asked her if she’d slept well, and she hummed in response, absentmindedly running her fingers through his impossibly soft hair. “Very well, actually.” She murmured. “Thank you for bringing me to bed.”
Draco shivered at the feel of her hands on his bare back, smirking against her skin when she threaded her fingers through his hair. The witch seemed to be most fond of his hair, considering she was always touching it some way or other. Not that he minded. “You’re welcome.” Draco responded to her thank you, using the hand on Granger’s waist to tug towards him. “If we’re quick I’d say we have enough time to…” The blonde trailed off, deciding to just kiss her and not bother trying to justify his want for sex.
Hermione awoke to the feel of soft lips pressing kisses to the side of her neck, her eyelids fluttering open just as he moved his lips to her ear. He muttered her name, his voice hoarse and raspy from sleep, and she smiled. “Mmm…Good morning.” She muttered, turning her head slightly to brush her lips against his.
The witch stirred relatively quickly, opening her eyes and muttering a groggy greeting. “Morning.” Draco trailed his lips back down her neck, sinking his teeth into the skin of her shoulder gently. One of his hands slipped up her hip to rest on the witch’s waist, fingers caressing her skin gently. “Sleep well?” Draco mumbled against her skin.
Draco’s eyes fluttered open at the sound of his alarm clock, an unhappy groan rumbling up his throat. The sun was brighter than expected and the blonde covered his eyes with a hand. His other arm wouldn’t move though, as it was wedged beneath Granger, who was sleeping soundly beside him. After stretching to turn off the alarm, Draco nuzzled his face in the crook of her neck. She smelt divine, and the blonde couldn’t help planting small kisses in a circle from the crock to her pulse point. “Granger…” He muttered, lips grazing her earlobe.
“Oh, um..Alright then. You go ahead, I think I’m gonna stay up for a bit.” Hermione said a bit dejectedly, watching as he left the room without another word. Once he was out of sight, she sighed quietly to herself, Throwing away the rest of her meal as well, seeing as she didn’t have much of an appetite anymore.
She wasn’t very tired yet, and she also didn’t feel like going into the bedroom right now anyway. It seemed like Malfoy wanted to be alone, so she figured she’d give him space for a little while. At a loss of what to do with herself, She grabbed the bottle of wine and poured herself another glass before heading into the living room. He had a good sized bookshelf in the corner of the living room, and Hermione pursued it with interest. After what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes, she finally decided on a book and plopped down on the couch. The petite witch flipped open the book, using her other hand to lift her glass of wine and take a hearty sip. She wasn’t entirely sure how long she’d ended up actually reading, But eventually she fell asleep with the book covering her face and a half-full glass of wine clutched loosely in her hand.
Draco splashed water over his face in the bathroom sink, staring at his reflection and noting how pale he looked. He hadn’t looked this pale since before their arrangement began. It probably had something to do with the impending meeting with Granger’s parents, considering he now knew they’d hate him. Not that this should surprise him, plus he was used to people hating him. The blonde opened the cupboard, eyeing his tablets but not taking one. Not yet anyway. He entered his bedroom and sat on the edge of the bed, elbows on knees. There was nothing he could do really, the past was exactly that and no one could change it. Draco sat silently and listened for any noise Granger might be making, becoming slightly concerned when there was none. He got to his feet and cautiously entered the living room, stopping in his tracks at the sight before him. The witch was asleep on one of the sofas with a book on her face and a glass of wine in hand. He was surprised she hadn’t dropped it, moving silently towards her and taking the glass from her fingers. Then after removing the book, Draco carefully lifted the witch into his arms and carried her to bed. They were settled in minutes, and the blonde found he didn’t need to take a tablet to fall asleep.
Hermione frowned a bit at his sarcastic reply, though it was expected. It was apparent that they were both dreading seeing her parents now, and she found herself wishing that she’d refrained from telling her parents as much as she did about Malfoy, or at least the really bad parts.
“I..I’m sure everything will go over just fine once they actually meet you, honestly.” The petite witch said, trying to console him. “I mean, It’s obvious you’ve changed and all.”
Draco stared at the witch for a minute, attempting to get his thoughts in line and stay positive. It didn’t work though, and he slowly stood from his stool. “Let’s hope so.” The blonde nodded stiffly, taking his cutlery to the sink and chucking the rest of the microwave meal in the bin. There was no way in hell meeting her parents was going to go well. They’d probably have more luck when they went to see his parents, and that was saying something. “I’m-erm-going to take a tablet and get some sleep. Feel free to stay up, I know it’s still quite early.” Draco glanced in Granger’s direction but didn’t look at her, before leaving the room.
