Chapter 5
POV Hermione
Tap Tap Tap
Hermione couldn’t help but fidget as she sat in the hard oak chair, repetitively tapping her foot against the floor. She was sitting in her boss’s office, waiting for her to come inside. Hermione had owled on Monday, saying she had come down with a cold. But there was no other option, right? No one could know the real reason she wasn’t in the office. That she was coming down from the hottest experience of her life. The sexiest experience; yet she hadn’t even been satisfied. The suppressants Malfoy had left behind worked to keep her mind clear but couldn’t take away the want. Ugh . She felt betrayed by her body and the fact that it was Malfoy who made her react this way.
The door behind her clicked open and her boss Ruth Starsby hurried in, hands full of papers. Ruth was the new director of the Department of Mysteries after the war. There was a lot of change in personnel when the war ended, an attempt to rid the Ministry of Magic of Voldemort’s loyal flunkies. Ruth was never suspected as an abettor to any war crimes and was the obvious choice for rebuilding the DOM. Though she looked stern, always wearing her hair in a slicked back, low, tight bun, with not a hair out of place, she was the closest thing to a mother figure to Hermione. Ruth would welcome any criticism and ideas from her subordinates with vigor and a gentle smile on her face. Today, she stormed in wearing a fitted khaki pants suit and navy blouse, her auburn hair in the signature bun.
“Ooh Hermione, so sorry I’m late! This case just got dumped on me this morning. It's all a mess” she shared.
“Oh of course, not to worry. I’m sorry I had to take off yesterday, I just was not able to leave my bed,” Hermione affirmed. I mean it's not a total lie , she thought to herself. She had spent a good portion of the long weekend taking care of herself. But she figured that was better than finding some random man to shag. Fred had checked in on her periodically, to make sure she was eating and staying hydrated. Thank gods, or she would have been even more uncomfortable.
Even when she was in that … predicament , she was glad to have Fred around. He was her best friend, besides Ginny and Harry. And he was a beta. Or at least she thought he was, along with Harry and most of the Weasleys. She had always known she was also a beta until now. Why would she suddenly present as an omega at the delayed age of 21?
Merlin .
She needed to see a healer regarding her condition. Had she been more coherent, and had more time between relieving herself and work, she would have done her own research. Which reminded her, she needed to stop by the library on her way home from work…
“ -rmione. Hermione? Ms. Granger!”
A knock on the large desk before her called Hermione back to the present. She blinked and asked in a timid voice, “I’m sorry, can you repeat that?”
“I was just telling you about the case…” Ruth said tentatively, her eyes full of concern. “The incident on the Hogwarts Express? Surely you read it in the post. It’s just a terrible story, poor boy. He seemed to be in a state of transition from human to werewolf. There’s no record of him or anyone in his family having the werewolf trait or being bitten. He was running all around the train in a panic, petrifying the other students. Thank Merlin aurors are still assigned to the train since the war. One of them was finally able to stun him before he hurt anyone or himself and he was transferred to St. Mungos. We suspect he may have taken some kind of unregulated drug, or had a poor reaction to some sort of potion.” her boss briefed her.
Hermione furrowed her brow. She had never heard anything like this before. How could a drug induce a werewolf transformation without the full moon? It was terrifying to hear that a student had been hurt. She couldn’t imagine what he had been through.
“Anyway,” Ruth sighed, “I would like you to take the lead on this. You have been #2 under Albert the past year and I know you are more than capable to take this head on. Besides I think it's time we have more women in charge around the ministry. And I know you are of the same mind” she said with a wink.
Hermione took a sharp breath. She had been waiting for this ever since she began as an intern in the Department of Mysteries. She had been Albert’s right hand witch for a while now, and even though she learned a lot from him, her goal was always to run her own investigations.
It was finally time for her venture beyond the expectations of the “Golden Trio”.
I mean sure she had made a difference as a part of the Golden Trio, but this was her first time she had really gone off on her own without Harry and Ron.
“Thank you for the opportunity, ma’am” she said, almost squealing. She cleared her throat, containing her excitement. “I sincerely appreciate the trust you are putting in me.”
“No need to thank me, love, you’ve earned it,” Ruth said with a warm smile. “Now hop to it Granger, we need to put an end to this werewolf dilemma as soon as possible! Gods know the werewolves don’t need any more bad press.”
With that, Hermione jumped from her seat and scooped up the folders from their pile.
When she got back to her office, Hermione started flipping through the files. She was disappointed with how little was collected so far. There was barely a two page brief on the Hogwarts Express incident. They hadn’t even figured out where this student had gotten the suspected dangerous potion. “Godric” she muttered under her breath. It was going to be a long day.
She turned the pages from the file over and over. Hermione hoped that by staring at them long enough, she could intimidate them into showing her an answer to a question she wasn’t even sure she knew she had. There had never been incidents with drugs at Hogwarts before as far she knew, but she didn’t run with that crowd when she was a wizarding school student, not like she ever had any time too if she wanted. And what about this suspected potion that caused a person to transform to a werewolf, sans full moon? Maybe talking to Lupin or Bill would help. To be honest she didn’t have a lot of insight in the world of werewolves.
She sat back and rubbed the nape of her neck to release the tension. The friction there tickled her glands. She was transported back to the small isolated room, full of the smells of vanilla, warm apple pie and parchment, which she now came to recognize as a mix of her and Malfoy’s pheromones. She felt the pressure of Malfoy on top of her, his lips grazing along her neck. She let out an involuntary moan that turned into a frustrated groan. Hermione was pretty sure Malfoy’s scent was embedded in her glades, would she ever get away? She needed to take a walk.
Hermione figured the best place to start, or at least the only place she knew to start, was the potions department. Maybe someone there would have insight into what kind of concoction could induce an altered state of lycanthropy. She made her way down to the lab, donning a white lab coat before entering. She was briefly reminded of her days in potions class, though the white tile floors and bright fluorescent lights were a far cry from the ancient castle classroom from Hogwarts. She wandered down the aisles between tables with different ingredients, some she never got the chance to use in school.
“Morning, Granger, what brings you round?”
Cho Chang stood in a similar white lab coat, with gloves she held a series of test tubes in one hand and a pipette in the other.
“I’m here as part of a new investigation I’m heading,” Hermione said with a timid grin. Cho gave her a tight nod and turned to her work at the lab bench. It was understood in the ministry not to ask questions to anyone in the DOM.
Hermione started in right away. “Do you know anything about a potion or charm that could mimic the effects of lycanthropy?”
Cho tilted her head and gave Hermione a quizzical look. “Oh, you mean that thing on the train?” She said in a small voice before turning back to the glassware in her hands. “Hm… Nothing comes to mind at the moment, but I’ll look into it for you.”
“Thank you,” Hermione said in a curt voice. She stood there for a moment as the silence between them became heavy. Things had been awkward between Hermione and Cho since their wizarding school days, all thanks to Harry. Hermione hoped that, since they worked somewhat adjacently, they could at least be friendly to each other. “So, how are things?”
Cho glanced up, another quizzical look on her face. She took a pause before answering.
“Honestly, things are a bit hectic here in the lab. You remember Anthony Goldstein from Hogwarts? Well, he used to work here until recently, when he was let go. Things were a bit messy, and now we are left to pick up the slack from his work. And he seemed to have a lot piling up. If he wasn’t getting his work done, what in bollocks was he spending his time doing here?” Cho said the last bit under the breath.
Hermione hummed. “Sorry to hear that. If there’s anything I can do to help, or if you just want to vent, my door is open,” she said with a slight smile.
Cho’s eyes went wide with a hint of surprise. “Thanks,” she mumbled. She turned back to her bench with finality, and Hermione took that as her sign to leave.
She spent the rest of the day trying to find leads. This couldn’t be the first time this strange drug had popped up. Maybe I should look at other incident reports, she thought. Suddenly she looked over and shrieked “Bollocks! I'm late!”
With a ring above Hermione pushed open the wooden door at the Leaky. She saw Ginny in the corner booth and hollered “Oi Gin, sorry for making you wait!”. As soon as she sat down Tom brought her a butterbeer. Ever since the war she had been able to drink for free. There was never a lack of wizards and witches offering to buy her a drink. It sometimes came with a wayward wizard trying to catch a date, but she knew how to deal with them. At first she had resisted the free booze, but now she decided to take it as payment from the Wizardry world. It was the least they could do right?
Ginny immediately took a long drag of the beer, what she called her cut. “For all the support I gave you and Harry, and putting up with Ron’s crap” she would always state with a wink. She was still dressed in her practice robes. Last season Ginny had scored a starter chaser position on the Harpies. Hermione couldn’t remember seeing Harry more proud, he was grinning from ear to ear, already spouting plans to buy season tickets for the whole Weasley clan along with Hermione.
Hermione had been looking forward to seeing Ginny all day. She hadn’t been able to talk to her during the weekend, and she desperately needed to give her details. “So what were you up to this weekend Mione? Flourish and Blotts? Again? she teased.
“I told you already, I’m working on building my library” she replied, smiling and rolling her eyes. “Anyway” Hermione drawled, “Have you ever heard of an omega presenting late, after their 19th birthday?” she probed.
Ginny paused, lost in thought. “Hmm I don’t think I ever have. Why do you ask?” She questioned, taking a long sip of her Gin and Tonic. Hermione could feel her face redden as she looked away. Suddenly Hermione was covered in a thin layer of tonic as Ginny sprayed her drink across the table. Taking in a sharp breath Ginny whispered “ are you telling me you are somehow an omega!? But you are 21, that doesn’t make any sense. How did you even find out” She demanded.
“Oh well it happened this past weekend, triggered by a post-club shag” Hermione said huffed, as she muttered a quick cleaning charm to rid her of the gin and tonic shower. “But for some reason my heat was only a few days long. Maybe that’s connected to the late presentation? I’m not sure” she said with a sigh.
“Did you at least find an Alpha to help you with it?” Ginny pushed, her elbows on the table, her chin resting on her hands “I’ve heard the first heat can be a lot”.
“Well kinda, he made me some suppressants for the weekend” Hermione said. “He didn’t even stick around?!,” Ginny gasped in shock.
“Uhhh noo, there was too much baggage there” Hermione replied, avoiding eye contact with her friend, taking a long sip of her butterbeer.
A sharp intake of breath “ That means you knew him! Tell me, tell me, tell me” Ginny chanted, humming with excitement.
“Fine, it was Draco Malfoy” she blurted out, covering her eyes with her hands. When she peaked through she saw Ginny, eyebrows practically touching her hair line, grinning fiercely.
“Sex with the ferret” Ginny whispered, looking off. She snapped her eyes back to Hermione’s. “Was he as good as I’ve always heard, how big is his snake?” she demanded, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Ginny!” Hermione exclaimed, throwing her head back. She couldn’t help but laugh, her face flashing red.
“Well…” she started. Ginny sat stock still, sipping on her drink and listening intently. “Obviously I didn’t intend for it to happen,” Hermione said, as if trying to defend her actions. “Honestly, I blame the pheromones,” she said, pouting.
“Yes, yes, yes, the pheromones,” Ginny said in a mocking tone. “Get to the good stuff!”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “I don’t know! I saw him at the Muggle club, first surprise of the night, and I caught him…” She trailed off. With an uptick in drug cases, and the most recent incident linked to Hogwarts, maybe she should keep Malfoy’s actions to herself. For all she knew, he was involved or had some connection, what with his nefarious, drug selling ways. “I caught him dancing with my friends,” she continued. “And you know he can’t be trusted with innocent Muggles, the pureblood prat. I just pulled him out of the club and confronted him, and the tension and the heat when he pinned me against the wall…” she said, voice breathy and eyes distant, a subtle heat creeping up to her cheeks. “Those bloody pheromones put me out of my bloody mind, that must be it.”
Hermione looked up at Ginny, her mouth agape, a flush of pink spread across her cheeks to match Hermione’s. “And what of the snake ?” she whispered.
Hermione’s face turned red all at once as she choked out a breath. “I didn’t exactly have time to stop and analyze it too long, but-” she stopped, burying her face in her hands. “It was the best I ever had. It felt like my insides were melting and I could feel everything . And the heat when he came, and the throbbing of his co-”
She was cut off by Ginny squealing and kicking her feet under the table like a little girl that just got a hippogriff for her birthday. “Godrick, Mione. So when are you going to see him again?” Ginny took a sip of her drink, trying to conceal her sly smile with little effect.
Hermione hadn’t considered the prospect of being with Malfoy again, hoping to avoid him entirely. But the thought of seeing him again gave her a wickedly genius idea.
__________________________________________________________________________
POV Draco
A thin layer of sweat coated his forehead. He could feel it running down the back of his neck, tickling his glands. They were overly sensitive. Had the trist with Granger triggered an early rut? He would have to brew up some suppressants for himself. Draco rolled his head, trying to relieve the tension. He had been hunched over the calderon all morning, trying to get the potion just right.
There was a clattering down the row of cauldrons. Theo was busy cataloging ingredients, humming some song Draco had never heard before and shimmying to his own beat, his short brown curls . Draco rolled his eyes and smiled to himself. He enjoyed the company and energy that Theo brought to the shop. Theo had begged Draco to hire him at the magic apothecary under the guise that he was “bored of his lavish lifestyle and wanted to see how the common folk lived.” Draco knew it was just an excuse to keep an eye on him. Since the war and his trial, Draco had become, as Theo put it, “overly broodish and dull.” However, Draco had improved his status from “dull” to “hysterical” when he told Theo about the night with Granger.
He heard the door open in the front of the shop, and Draco reduced the heat on the cauldron and turned to greet the customer.
“Hi there, Rose, what can I do for you today?” he said with a smile. “Oh I’m just here for my usual” she replied. Draco quickly turned into the back, searching the shelves for the menses potion. He had invented it about a year ago for women to have relief during their cycles. And he had managed to corner the market.
The light was barely coming through the windows as the sun set and cast orange hues over the room. Draco was finishing up some cleaning charms around the shop. He closed the door behind him, the hanging sign that read ‘The Hollow’ lightly swung with the force. Draco whispered his ward spells and turned down the road. The street was mostly deserted, most of the shops closing up. He was just whistling that stupid song Theo put into his head when he was suddenly jerked sideways.
He was pushed up against the brick wall. Granger was standing in front of him, a vice grip on his collar.
“What in the- AGAIN Granger?! Can’t you just leave me alone?” Draco bellowed, furrowing his brow. “How do you even know where I work?” he demanded.
Granger rolled her eyes, tightening her hold on him, and answered “Don’t you know I work at the Ministry?” a tone of condescension in her voice. “Don’t think I forgot about what I saw at the club, I may have been in a… fog all weekend, but I know that you are selling illegal drugs to Muggles”.
He squinted his eyes in annoyance. “Why do you care so much, do you have to stick your nosey head in everyone’s arse? Just like at Hogwarts” he spat at her. “Besides I am providing a service to the people, both magical and Muggle. It’s for fun, Granger. Obviously something you don’t know much about. We both know you can’t prove it anyway, it’s your word against mine” He stated smuggly. He leaned in and whispered in her ear “sly Slytherin” aiming a finger to his chest, “dumb Gryffindor” he finished, pointing at her.
Draco let out a deep breath, blowing on the glands on her neck. He pried her hand from his collar and smoothed down his shirt as Granger looked at him with glazed eyes. He turned his back to her, and he waved over his shoulder he shouted “Nice seeing you again, Golden Girl”
“Actually” she retorted, poison in her voice, “it’s your word against yours”. He spun on his heels and saw Granger with a big stupid smug smile on her face. She was holding a small Muggle device in one hand, the other resting behind her back.
She pushed one of the buttons and the machine made a high pitched grinding noise. With another push of a button he heard his own voice, repeating what he said to Granger back at him. Granger marched up to him, shoving her nose in his face. “I’m on a new case, and you are going to help me” she commanded “unless you want a one way ticket to Azakaban?” She looked at him from her lashes, eyebrows raised in false concern.
Draco stared at her with venom in his eyes. Finally he rolled his eyes and huffed “ Fine .”
Granger smiled at him “Oh wonderful, so glad you are kind enough to assist” she beamed, patting his cheek with her hand.
“Bloody swot” he mumbled under his breath, trying to ignore the delicious scent wafting into his face and the blood rushing to his cock.
And then she was gone, apparating away, leaving Draco annoyed but also with a feeling that felt suspiciously like emptiness.