Draco
Hermione had left the room, leaving Draco to pace in the middle of the office
Okay...we could work with this, it'll just be the two of us, you can get to know her better, use the excuse that neither of you know anyone in America
You're a Malfoy, you know people everywhere
Just for the sake of maybe moving on with Hermione, we don't
He continued to pace, he was planning their trip, non-official dates, the whole deal
He didn't hear Hermione come in until she cleared her throat
"I got you some tea, anything on your mind?" She asked, looking at him with her big brown doe eyes that he wouldn't mind getting lost for all eternity
"No, just the case," He said, Hermione walked up to him and handed him his cup, their fingers lingering longer than necessary
"We'll figure it out, we're Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, the best team this department has ever had" Hermione assured him
Hermione Malfoy
Now that's a name
You sound like a six year old girl planning her wedding
Draco smiled at her, she was probably the best thing that has ever happened to him, she gave him a second chance, even when he knew he didn't deserve it
Granted the first couple of months working together were the roughest, but after Pansy and Ginny became friends the two women forced both groups to get along, leading Hermione and Draco to where there are now
"Yeah, you're right" he said
"I'm always right" Hermione smirked
She would look good with the Malfoy smirk
She walked away and took her seat at her chair, Draco sat at his desk and watched her work
He always loved when she was busy reading something, whenever she read either a case file or a book she lost herself to the real world, he could admire her without the fear of getting caught
He memorized everything about her
Just like he's done time and time again
She rubbed her neck, something she does when she gets stressed out, and straightens her spine, Draco admired her body, she was curved in all the right places and he imagined that she would look perfect pressed up against him
He didn't know why she'd suddenly started wearing skirts and dresses to work, he wasn't complaining, he loved her legs, they were perfectly toned and they looked like they went on for miles, he always wondered what it would feel like to have her wrap them around his waist
Even if he liked her wearing skirts and dresses, there was something homey about her wearing her dress pants, they still complimented her body in a modest way, but something about them screamed Hermione Granger
He reluctantly turned away from the brunette and began doing his own work, he knew that Hermione secretly hated doing all the work herself, he guessed it was because she had to do everything during their school life, her best friends were Harry Potter and Ron Weasley
They worked for hours, until Draco heard his stomach grumbling
"Granger" he said, Hermione looked up
"You hungry?" Draco asked, Hermione nodded
They stood up and grabbed their coats, they walked out of their office and headed towards the entrance, they got looks but neither of them made any move to acknowledge them
"Where to?" Hermione asked
"I know a place, come on" Draco said, extending his hand, Hermione took it without a second thought and Draco aparated them into a alleyway
"This certainly is a place" Hermione said, looking around "homey" she added
"Leave the sarcasm to me Granger" Draco said, he noticed that Hermione hadn't pulled away yet and smiled
Her hand felt perfect in his
He led them to a muggle cafe, he motioned them to a table and helped Hermione sit down
"A muggle cafe? Who are you and what have you done with Draco Malfoy?" Hermione asked
Draco rolled his eyes at her
"Seriously, how did you find this place?" She asked
"Blaise, his wife showed him after she-Potter showed her" Draco explained
"Do you have to do that?" Hermione asked
"Do what?" Draco asked, giving her a look of confusion
"Call my friends names, you don't call me names anymore, why do you still call my friends names?" Hermione asked
Easy, I'm hopelessly in love with you, I just tolerate your friends
"Habit" Draco answered
They continued talking, if anyone saw them they would think these two were on a date, he would say something funny and Hermione would laugh, they would say something flirty to one another
"Where are you planning on staying when we get to New York?" Draco asked
Hermione shrugged "a hotel I could afford" she answered
"I'll pay for your room, stay at the Noble Nimbus Hotel" Draco said
Hermione started coughing
"The Noble Nimbus Hotel? You do understand I can't afford it, I'm not a Malfoy" Hermione said
Yet...hopefully
"I'll pay for your room, we're going to be there for a while, it's only fair you'll be comfortable, and also in case of emergency I'll be able to find you" Draco said, hoping he wasn't making her uncomfortable
"Malfoy...it'll take me forever to pay you back" Hermione sighed
"We'll figure out another form of payment, just stay at the hotel?" Draco said
"If you think I'll be having sex with you jus-"
"N-no! No! That's not what I meant, I meant by another form of payment, like I don't know" he began rambling, turning redder than Weasley's hair
"Draco, breath" Hermione said, placing a hand over his "we'll figure out another form of payment, thank you" she said, she was rubbing his knuckles with her thumb
"So you'll stay at the hotel?" Draco asked, hoping that he wasn't hearing her wrong
"Yeah, as long as you let me pay you back, I'm still feeling guilty for letting you pay for my room" Hermione said
"I could afford every single room in that hotel, I'm a Malfoy, it's fine Granger, I want to do this" Draco said, turning his hand and held hers
"But stil-"
"It's fine Hermione" Draco said, he normally doesn't use her name, only when he needs to assure her or it slips out, she blushed when she heard him say her name, she liked hearing her name come out of his mouth
It felt...perfect
"Thank you Draco" she whispered
They continued to look at one another, no words were spoken out loud but a thousand words were said
Words that they were scared to say
A older couple came and saw them
"Look Harold...such a lovely couple" the woman said, looking at her husband
"They look madly in love dear, just like I love you" the older man said
"Uh...we're not together" Hermione said, looking away from Draco
"Dear...that boy is madly in love with you" Harold said
Draco blushed
"And don't think you're off the hook young lady, you look at him like he's the only thing in the world" the older lady said, Draco turned to Hermione who was as red as he was
"Um...we're just friends" Draco said, trying to change the course of this conversation
"That's how we started young man, now we're sixty years married and I still love my dear Esmeralda as I did when I first saw her"
"No dear, we started by loathing one another, you were a self centred boy who relied on his family's fortunes to much"
"And you were always in the library, learning new things and making me look bad"
"But somewhere along the way, our hatred turned to love" Esmeralda said, gazing into her husband's eyes
"What we're trying to say, don't try to reason with your feelings" Harold said
"Thank you" Hermione whispered, Draco furrowed his eyebrows at her response
Could she...no she couldn't
The older couple left, leaving Hermione and Draco with new thoughts in their minds, hoping that the couple was right and maybe...just maybe they could be something more