Hermione wished that, for once, Draco would just shut up. Through every meeting today, his dulcet tones had corrupted her eardrums and she thought that if she heard him say Any thoughts, Granger? once more, she’d hex him into oblivion. It wasn’t that she didn’t like him talking, quite the opposite actually. He was one of her only work colleagues who she felt was truly on her level. He was full of astute observations and calculated proposals and she truly admired his work ethic. No, that wasn’t the issue.
The issue was that she’d realised a month ago that she was hopelessly attracted to him.
They’d been in their usual morning meeting - he’d brought her a coffee as he always did, and winked when she took her first sip, as he always did. And then she felt it. Her stomach flipped. She spluttered, wiping at her mouth in an attempt to keep her composure. His steely eyes searched her face, attempting to read her with confusion - she tried to maintain a stoic expression. He shook his head and got back to whatever conversation he was having with her assistant.
She tried to ignore him. It was the mature thing to do - she couldn’t possibly be attracted to Malfoy. It was Malfoy, for Merlin’s sake. The boy who’d teased her endlessly at school. The boy who’d almost killed Dumbledore. The boy who -
But he wasn’t a boy anymore, was he? He was a six-foot-three man who wore black fitted suits to work each day and brought her coffee, and complimented her outfits even though she was sure he thought they were matronly. Why did she care what he thought of her outfits anyway? It was even worse than she’d thought.
“Earth to Granger,” she heard him mutter, seeking her eyes for some sign of life.
“Oh, yes.” She cleared her throat. “Apologies, Minister Shacklebolt. I’m not feeling too well. Anyway, if our calculations are correct, there would be more than sufficient amounts of Wolfsbane for the Ministry to provide it to Werewolves for no charge.”
“Mr Malfoy had just made that point, Miss Granger. But I’ll let you off considering you’re under the weather.” Kingsley smiled brightly at her, and she forced her mouth into cooperating in order to return the expression. “Now, the fund itself would require naming - something that would look good on paper, if you catch my drift. If you could return to me by the end of the week with a name in mind, we’ll get started on the paperwork.”
Hermione went to nod, but Draco reached out and grasped her hand under the table. She looked down in horror at their clasped hands before looking back at him. He was grinning.
“There’s actually no need, Minister. We’ve already discussed this. The Lupin Fund. That’s its name.”
Hermione was speechless. Her vision went blurry and she was only just aware of Kingsley laughing and shaking her hand and Draco leading her from the room with his hand gently brushing the small of her back. When they were safely back in her office, she sat down on the leather chair, thankful for the cold feeling against her legs. Her whole body felt as though it was on fire.
“Close your mouth, Granger.”
“The Lupin Fund?” She whispered, clutching at the papers in front of her. “We hadn’t discussed this. How did you-”
“Look, I may have not been on the same side as you all back then, but I know how much Professor Lupin meant to you all. And considering his son is technically my family, I felt it was right. Do you object?” He crossed his arms, tapping his foot - almost nervously.
“Of course, I don’t object, Draco. I’m just taken aback, that’s all.”
“I can be nice sometimes, Hermione. There’s no need to act so surprised.”
“You never call me Hermione,” she gasped before she could stop herself.
“Have you been keeping track?”
“Oh, shut up, Draco!” She shouted, louder than she’d initially intended.
“Rude. Not the response I expected.”
“What response did you expect?”
“I expected that you’d thank me with open arms and then I’d finally pluck up the courage to kiss you. That was what I sort of expected, but you seem to have ruined my plan.” He adjusted his tie as if he hadn’t just dropped an absolute bombshell into her lap.
“You want to kiss me?”
“Yes,” he replied, taking a step towards her.
“You named the fund the Lupin fund so that I’d kiss you?”
“No, I called it the Lupin fund because I knew it was the right thing to do. I just secretly hoped it would allow me to make my move, but I wasn’t going to admit that until much later in our relationship.”
“Our relationship? I don’t-”
“No, of course, you don’t get it, Hermione. Everyone knows I have a thing for you. Potter does. Ginny does. Blaise does, even Luna knows that I don’t shut up about you. But for whatever reason, you seem to be the one person who doesn’t know that I have feelings for you.”
“Well, uh, you, you’ve never told me! How was I supposed to know?” She was stuttering and she hated stuttering - she hated it even more considering the fact that she was doing it in front of Draco bloody Malfoy.
“You’re horrendous at this, Granger. I’ve been dropping hints left right and centre and yet you’ve somehow managed to remain oblivious. So, I need to ask.”
“Ask what?”
“Do you feel the same about me?”
“Of course I do, you insufferable git.” She huffed and threw her arms up in frustration.
“Once again, not the response I expected. You could seem a bit more pleased.”
“That makes it worse! I’ve been torturing myself thinking I had feelings for the person who’d never even give me the time of day.”
“I don’t get what me telling you what time it is has anything to do with this.”
“It’s a muggle-” She rolled her eyes. “Argh! You know what, no. Come here.” She reached out her arms, signalling that she wanted to embrace him.
“This seems awfully forced, Granger. I’d go as far as to say you’ve ruined the moment.” Nonetheless, he closed the gap between them and she rested her head against his chest as he placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head.
“Call me Hermione again.” She whispered, looking up at him. He met her eyes, and then looked at her lips, and then her eyes again - seeking permission. She nodded and he gave her a gentle kiss, before moving to take her face in his hands. She wrapped her arms around his neck and allowed him to pull her against him.
“Hermione.”