𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙇𝙤𝙫𝙚 // 𝘥𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺

Chapter One

Hermione’s high heels tapped out a sharp rhythm as she made her way to one of the conference rooms in the depths of Gringotts.

She was going to be precisely on time for her 11AM meeting with a potential new client. 

This morning she had put extra care into her appearance, making sure her hair was smoothed down in a neatly braided bun, putting on her fiercest red lipstick, and slipping on her sharpest don’t-fuck-with-me heels. She had known that she was going to need an edge, and she had put on her proverbial armour to ensure that she would come out relatively unscathed.

Normally she was less stomach-turningly anxious for meetings with potential new clients. After four years working at Gringotts as an investment manager, nine years of total professional experience, and her reputation from the war which still lingered, people were generally nervous to meet her, not the other way around.

But it wasn’t every day that her potential new client was her childhood bully, the boyfriend of her best friend, and the man who she had secretly been infatuated with for the past two years.

So needless to say, she was terrified to hold a meeting with Draco Malfoy.

She halted abruptly, realizing she had passed the right conference room, lost under her mountain of worry. She back-tracked, grateful the hallway was empty. She stopped in front of the correct door and took a fortifying breath. She was going to treat this like any other meeting and be done with it. He would just be another client, and that was it.

The door opened on smooth hinges and she stepped inside, head held high.

Malfoy was seated at the conference table, and stood when she entered. She put on her best bland-but-professional smile and walked towards him, hand outstretched. He took her hand and for a brief second she thought he was going to bend down and kiss it, but instead he just grasped it firmly, his thumb dragging down the back of her hand slowly, making goosebumps appear on her arms. SHe physically resisted the shiver that ran up her spine at the contact.

Great, this was off to a great start. Totally professional.

“Malfoy, thank you for coming in.” Her voice was steady and she made her way to the seat at the conference table across from the one he had chosen. Already laid out on the desk were her marketing materials, her prospectus, and a lovely tea set that was refined but unfussy.

Malfoy resumed his seat and examined her with an air of disinterest. “Well Granger, Potter sings your praises and the Weasley’s credit you with dragging their family out of poverty. Plus Nott and Flint both call you a miracle worker. So, needless to say, I’m intrigued.”

Hermione did not deny her success. It was true after all. “You’ve been dating him for two years and you still call him Potter?”

“Well,” Malfoy looked a little chagrined and his lips quirked up slightly “old habits die hard, in public at least.”

Hermione raised her eyebrows skeptically. She had seen them together, and while Malfoy remained aloof, she was sure he called him Harry at home. She knew he did. That month she had stayed at Grimmauld Place last year still haunted her sometimes. They hadn’t been good at silencing charms and at night she remembered how ragged Malfoy sounded when he moaned out “Harry” and how the thump of the headboard against the wall would increase in pace in response.

She looked down biting her lip and hoping her face hadn’t turned red at the thought of that time. She smoothed her hand across the wood of the table in front of her, trying to dispel the memory.

“Well, you didn’t need to make an appointment. I would have been happy to do this in a more informal setting. You’re practically family now.” Her voice was light and she avoided eye contact, positive she was still blushing. She folded her hands demurely in front of her.