Chapter 2
Hermione rushed to her vanity, grabbing her favorite gold pendant choker necklace. She was late to meet Samantha, Kit, and Felicity. She met them about six months ago, out at her favorite Muggle club. Dressed in a black t-shirt dress, cropped jean jacket, and her worn out pair of Converse, she checked herself out in the mirror and ran her hands through her hair.
“Bye Crookshanks”, she said as she rubbed her cat’s belly. He flipped over, stretched, and purred in reply and gave her a look that said ‘don’t stay out all night again’.
Hermione grabbed her Nokia, keys, and her lipstick and ran out the door. She lived in Muggle London, something Ginny always complained about when she visited. “Why must you live here?! It's soo far from all of us” she would frequently whine. In reality Hermione loved Muggle London, it always reminded her of family holidays when she was younger. Her flat was in the Kensington area, with two and a half baths, a large extra bedroom that she had converted to a library, and a nice terrace that she and Crookshanks enjoyed. She would never tell Harry and Ginny but another reason she loved this area so much was because no one knew her.
No one knew her as a third of the Golden Trio or as the “brightest witch of her age”. Here was just Hermione. She could embrace being the neighbor who liked to bring over fresh brownies or who was always out on her terrace watering her plants with her huge orange cat. She had a fresh start.
She was heading over to her favorite club “ The Endless Night”. It was Kit’s 22nd birthday and she had had such a long day at work she really needed to let loose. The girls didn’t actually know she was a witch, let alone that she worked for a highly secretive department of a Wizarding government within the United Kingdom. No - she conveniently left that out when she first met them over at Crooked House, a Karaoke bar. Hermione hadn’t known it was a karaoke bar at first or she never would have gone in. She honestly was just looking for a cute guy to buy her a drink and then maybe take her home. But Samantha, Kit and Felicity had seen her all alone and must have felt bad because they gently coaxed her to join them onstage. It was some Spice girls song she had heard but couldn't quite sing right. It didn’t matter though. They were so nice she couldn’t help but want to hang out again.
This became a regular thing for the four of them. Besides Ginny, Hermione hadn’t had any close female friends at Hogwarts. She had never fit in with Lavender or Parvati despite living in the same room with them for years. Then the war came and she didn’t have the chance to make new friends. But she just clicked with her Muggle friends. Plus - she felt invisible; no one gawked at her at the Muggle bars or asked for her autograph or took her picture.
Tonight the club was playing American music, a secret favorite of Hermione. The bouncer recognized her and ushered her inside. “You hoping to score tonight?” Garret asked with a smirk. Hermione laughed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not sure yet, i’ll let you know” She saw Kit at the bar and rushed over. Kit hadn’t seen her yet, so Hermione hugged her from behind and squealed “Happy Birthday!” She gestured to the bartender for two shots of Tequila. After they each took their shots Hermione asked “ How does it feel being an old lady?”. Kit rolled her eyes and replied with a snarky “Oh shut up, we are barely over a year apart”. Hermione had turned 21 about five months ago, not long before she met Kit and the girls.
Kit grabbed Hermione and started leading her to the dance floor. Samantha had already roped a guy into dancing with her. He had dark hair and eyes, and was dressed mostly in black. Samantha had on her favorite pair of distressed skinny jeans with a white cropped shirt. They both fit the grunge look but honestly she was way out of his league. Hermione couldn’t find Felicity and started scanning the crowded room for her. Finally she spotted her rushing towards her, her long blonde hair flowing behind her.
“You want some party favors?” Felicity asked, reaching her hand out showing little emerald green tablets pressed with the letter C. Somehow Felicity was always able to find some random guy to share his drugs. Hermione had partaken before but honestly she hated the way they made her feel sluggish the next day. She had developed somewhat of a wild side after the war but party drugs made her feel too uninhibited and unprotected.
“I’m good” she replied, but Felicity, already expecting the answer, hadn’t waited for her and already took one of them. “Where did you even find those? Didn't you just get here?”
“Oh, I’ve bought these here before,” she said. “I found this tall guy a couple of weeks ago with these, and honestly it was one of the best highs I've had, and hardly any side effects the next day. Almost like magic.” she said with a dreamy look in her eyes.
Hermione nodded absentmindedly, not really listening. She didn’t really care when her friends took drugs. They were usually good at being smart about it, or at least as much as you can when you buy them from a random person. She frequently ended the night by being the “mom” of the group but she actually sort of liked this role.
“Oh there’s that guy now, Kit, did you want some too?” Felicity asked. She tore herself from her boy of the day to reply, Ahh yes! Which one is he?!”. “Oh he is the cute one with almost white hair”. Hermione followed Kit’s pointed finger to see the tall muscular guy, but she could only see the back of his head. He was dancing all by himself, clearly enjoying the American emo music that was playing. Slowly he turned around and she realized who he was.
She would recognize that platinum hair, pointy nose and air of arrogance anywhere. Malfoy was dancing with his eyes closed, focusing on the music. His dancing was dorky but she couldn’t help but be drawn into his confidence. As if he didn’t have a care in the world.
She hadn’t seen him since she testified on his behalf at the Wizengamot. She knew he was just a kid, like her and Ron and Harry. And who did he have to defend himself? That was two years ago, and she couldn’t remember if he had always been that muscular or if he had bulked up.
The boy had become a man.
“Subtle,” she thought, as she eyed the black T shirt with green snake coiled on the front. The shirt fit tight across his chest and the multiple rings he wore reflected the colors of the club lights. His whole left arm was covered in tattoos, a sleeve. Despite the deep seated loathing she felt for the man, Hermione felt as though she was caught in a trance and being pulled into his orbit by mysterious forces. Was Malfoy using a spell to draw in innocent women and give them unknown substances? Movement in Malfoy’s vicinity caught Hermione’s attention and her mind snapped back into focus.
A tall brunette haired girl came from behind him, grabbed his waist and started grinding with him. Hermione rolled her eyes when Malfoy started dancing back against her, clearly feeling the moment.
“Whatever” she mumbles under her breath, already thinking what Ginny will say when she dishes about tonight. But from the corner of her eye she sees the woman reach into his pocket and pull out something. It was the little green pills Felicity had offered her. Suddenly she was fuming. No wonder Felicity had said they were ‘almost like magic’. They WERE magic, and Malfoy was selling them to these unassuming Muggles.
Thinking of the numerous wizarding laws Malfoy was breaking, not to mention the fact that he was still on probation, she was suddenly storming up to him. She crossed the dance floor, shoving past bodies in various states of inebriation and roughly grabbed his wrist, pulling him from the brunette. Rushing them off the dance floor and into a side staircase, she immediately apparated them away from the club.
They were in a small room. It lacked windows but it did have a set of chairs and a wooden table.
Hermione whipped Malfoy around and shoved him into one of the chairs in the middle of the room. She frequently used the room for work, a multi-purpose space for doing paperwork or interrogating the wizards she encountered during investigations. She stood back, waiting for Malfoy to focus and recognize the situation in which he found himself.
Finally, with a smirk on his face, he pushed back his hair and said “What’s up, Granger?”
His casualness made Hermione even madder. How could he be so calm about selling dangerous magical drugs to innocent Muggles? Like Felicity.
“I saw you and your pills Malfoy”, she hissed at him.
“Just providing the people with some fun”, he replies, still with the stupid smirk on his face. “Now if you don’t mind, I have some work to do.” He lightly moved her out of the way and got up from the chair, looking around the room. “Do you mind pointing me to the exit Darling?” he purred.
For a moment, Hermione lost focus, a haze seeming to creep into the back of her mind. She felt a shiver run up her spine to her neck, buzzing with anticipation. What was happening tonight? She shook her head to clear the fog and lunged towards Malfoy, shoving him into the wall and pulling her wand from the inside of her jacket. Malfoy’s back thudded against the wall as the tip of her wand sparked against his throat.
“You do realize I could have you thrown into Azkaban, got you a room beside your dad?” She spat at him, her eyes full of rage and adrenaline. Malfoy threw his head back in a quick laugh “Go ahead and do it, I dare you.”
“You are selling Muggles unauthorized drugs - what’s even in that pill? What are you doing to them?” The words all tumbled out. During interrogations with wizards for more serious crimes, she was normally composed and well spoken, but somehow Malfoy had gotten under her skin so fast. Maybe it was the alcohol, she couldn’t tell.
“You have nothing on me; no evidence, no conviction, Granger” he replied smugly and with a shrug.
Hermione glared up at Malfoy, her wand still pressed to the crook of his neck. Silver eyes glinted back, filled with mischievous intent and something Hermione couldn’t put her finger on. Like Malfoy wanted to tease her, prod her, keep her in his sights. He smelled like fresh parchment and mahogany. He huffed air into Hermione’s face, as though she were a bug in his face, causing a minor annoyance, and blowing on her would make her flutter away. The hot breath tickled her face and neck, bringing with it the mysterious fog that seemed to follow her all night. She felt her conviction wavering and suddenly she couldn’t stand straight. Hermione felt shaky and unstable, like she could no longer support her weight. The grip on her wand weakened and the buzzing returned to her neck and made its way to her left wrist.
“Don’t think they would believe me?! After what I did? I’m in the Golden Trio remember? You are selling those drugs, we both know it” she said in a hushed but desperate tone, her voice wavering.
Malfoy’s mouth twitched into a smirk. He dipped his head to whisper into Hermione’s ear.
“Wow Granger, even at Hogwarts I don’t remember you being this uptight, maybe I need to be selling you the drugs,” Malfoy replied. “If I even had any of course,” he added, putting his hands up in defense.
Hermione felt the air vibrate between them.
Malfoy pulled back slightly, inhaling deeply. “By the way, I like the perfume, definitely an upgrade from quill ink” he said.
Another wave of parchment and mahogany washed over Hermione. She didn’t understand what he was talking about and she was losing her focus. She felt heat settle between her legs. Her neck and wrist were itching almost painfully. She felt chills go down her spine, and she rolled her neck, trying to relieve the tension.
Despite years of staying level headed while training in the Department of Mysteries she fell into a panic. Why was she like this? Sure Malfoy had become conventionally attractive. In fact he always knew that, but his attitude and hatred towards her and her friends negated that. She had to get it together.
“I’m getting tired of this little reunion, Granger, so if you don’t mind…”
Malfoy rolled his eyes and let out a big sigh. It hit her on the face and took her breath away.
Suddenly, her mouth was on his. She didn’t even remember doing it. Did she kiss him or did he kiss her? It didn’t matter. She heard a clattering on the floor from her dropped wand. She used her free hand to gently wrap around Malfoy’s throat, her fingers slowly following the contours of his strained neck to his jaw, up into his platinum hair. She tangled her fingers in the mess of hair at the base of his neck and tugged gently. Malfoy flinched at the sudden onslaught. The scent of mahogany faded and the air was filled with lust. She pressed her body closer to his, feeling his chest between them, the quick rise and fall from his stuttered breathing. His hands, still raised in the air from his earlier non-confession, found their way to Hermione’s hips. Tension released from Malfoy’s body as he raised one hand up her spine and gripped it lightly around her neck. Her whole body tingled and it took all her energy to keep her legs straight.
She shoved her tongue in his mouth, sucking on his bottom lip, letting out a small moan. He responded in kind by quickly spinning to pin Hermione against the wall. The air was again filled with the rich scent of dark wood, ancient texts, and candied apples. With her hand he pushed her chin up, and used the leverage to start kissing down her neck. As he licked the crook of her neck her head began to spin. How could he smell so intoxicating? Was she drunk - or drunk on him?
Running his hands up her arms and grabbing her wrists, Malfoy pinned her against the wall with no effort. She flinched as he squeezed her left forearm. The bright lights overhead highlighted the mangled scar left from Bellatrix. HIS Aunt. The one who tortured her. In his house as he stood there watching. Suddenly she remembered where she was, whose mouth was on hers, what he had called her, and what he had done.
And now she was mad.