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Hermione Granger made it a point to never get drunk. Her two best friends got sloshed often enough for the lot of them, and there was something entirely wrong about slurring your words as a full-grown adult. Not to mention all the terrible things your mind lets slip through when not stone-cold sober.
May second, on the other hand, was an entirely different story. On the first anniversary of the war Hermione, Ron, and Harry drank two bottles of wine each and refused to reminisce at all the whole day long. Choosing instead, to test any and every new Weasley Wizard Wheezes product George had come up with in the last year. Tactically turning away from each other when their eyes occasionally strayed from a drunk glassy to a sorrowful watery.
The second anniversary was spent in much the same way as the first, including the abundance of wine, though instead of squeals and sweets, there was a steady stream of tears from the lot of them. Finally with enough time passed since the war they were able to process and reminisce on those they had lost. Knowing that if they took this space to grieve they wouldn’t get pulled under. They let the weight slowly begin to drift off their shoulders as the clock struck midnight.
By the third anniversary, the trio finally felt able to open their doors to others. At first, it was just their closest family and friends, but each year the get-together got a little bigger and a little more joyous. Turning their day of grief into one of celebration. A day to not only remember those lost but to celebrate what they had gained and the unity it had created.
The first year the Slytherins came to this celebration, two years later, everybody was tense. Harry was the first to break the ice, shaking Draco’s hand and clapping Theo on the back.
“Welcome guys, I'm glad you could finally make it,” Harry said, graciously ignoring the fact that there had been no previous invites.
Only two hexes flew throughout the night, and everyone was more than happy to brush them off as ‘accidents’. Not wanting to turn their beloved celebration into a dueling ground.
Three years later, while tempers occasionally ran high, everybody had become comfortable with everyone who wanted to come. Hermione worked at the Ministry with almost everyone anyway, so their annual party was not much different from their Friday night post-work drinks.
Also not different from work was Cormac trying to (poorly) subtly hit on Hermione. When sober Hermione was able to usually tacitly remove herself from the situation. This night was not normal though, and Hermione was absolutely pissed.
“I just really admire your work” Cormac slurred as he put one hand on the wall next to Hermione's head in a manner Hermione was sure was meant to be suave, but in his drunken state just looked like he was looking for balance. “You should tell me more about it over drinks one day.”
Hermione even in her inebriated state did have to give it to Cormac for at least somewhat knowing how to gain her affections and not simply go straight to “you’re hot and your arse is fantastic.”
“And you know I've always found you attractive. Even back at Hogwarts. And I mean your body—bloody bangin” Cormac leaned closer to hiss into her ear.
Hermione was proven wrong.
Just as Cormac began to tuck a wayward strand of her hair behind her ear Hermione caught a flash of blonde near the entrance to the room. As she looked up her eyes locked with a piercing gray pair, intensity burning behind them.
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Hermione knew that Malfoy had been working at the Ministry for some time now. There were still whispers in the hall that followed him around as he walked to meetings or the floo. Hermione had not actually crossed paths with him until today, except for the first day he started working at the ministry when they got cornered in the lift together. Malfoy had used that time to recite a rather sincere if not succinct apology. Sweeping out of the lift to leave her in peace to process what had just happened.
This particular meeting happened in Shacklebot’s office. As Hermione strode in, she realized that Malfoy was already seated in one of the two chairs in front of Shacklebot’s desk.
“Welcome Hermione, please sit,” he gestured towards the available chair.
Shacklbot then proceeded to explain that the Auror department had put Malfoy on a particularly difficult case, that required help from the department of magical creatures.
Hermione agreed to work on the case, but the second the pair left the office, Malfoy whipped around, offering to put someone else on the case to ensure that she felt comfortable. That he didn't want to force his presence on her, especially in her workplace.
Hermione was caught off guard by the gracious offer but declined, stating that they were both adults, Malfoy had apologized, and they were both good at their prospective careers.
After accepting her reasoning Malfoy nodded and walked off, promising to owl her with the details of the case.
From there, a six-month investigation rolled out. They worked together splendidly. Malfoy tactfully reined her in when she went off on a tangent and gave surprisingly well thought out ideas when she became stumped. Hermione in turn helped him manage the ministry's miles of red tape and pulled him out of his shell long enough that he was beginning to make friends with other ministry employees.
After working together for a few months Hermione couldn't help but begin to notice how handsome Malfoy had gotten with age. He was no longer so gaunt and sallow from stress front war, and his features that were rather pointy in school had grown quite elegant.
After that, she began to look forward to her weekly meetings with Malfoy, and if she spent a few extra minutes getting ready on those mornings, she could only fault it on his well-tailored robes and pureblood manners.
After a few more weeks Malfoy began asking her to accompany him to work dinners with colleagues, and drinks after work to continue fleshing out incomplete documents from earlier in the day.
Hermione always declines, stating prior commitments or an overload of work to be done. She knew none of that was true but did not want to seem overbearing, forcing Malfoy to drag his work into his personal life like she tended to do.
She also refused to admit to herself that this may be a defense mechanism to stop her very slight—okay downright overwhelming—work crush from developing into a normal crush.
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When Hermione was finally able to tear her eyes away from Malfoy’s she turned back to Cormac and to her horror saw him begin to lean toward her, eyes fluttering shut. Trapped between him and the wall, Hermione's firewhisky-addled brain did not know what to do. Just as she was beginning to panic she felt a warm hand gently slip around her wrist. The hand pulled and she found herself slipping out from underneath Cormac and straight into a firm chest. When she looked up she found Malfoy not looking back at her but glaring at Cormac who had not even processed what had happened quickly enough to look back.
When Cormac finally registered that she was no longer in his arms he glanced around and caught Hermione's eye. This is when Hermione vows to never drink again, even on this night, because she can only blame her actions on the entire bottle of firewhiskey coat singing through her blood.
She wraps an arm around Malfoys waist, gripping his shirt in her hand in a vice grip, and her other hand comes up to grasp the back of his neck, pulling his head down. As Hermione lifts onto her toes Malfoy finally looks down at her in surprise. They lock eyes for only a millisecond before Hermione's lips brush his.
She can feel Malfoy stiffen underneath her, his whole body going rigid. Hermione begins to pull away just as he melts into the kiss. His lips begin to move underneath her and the arm holding her wrist snakes around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer to him. Her mind blanks as he makes a noise in the back of his throat as her tongue slips into his mouth. She savors the taste of him, forgetting why she was kissing him in the first place.
She hears Cormac make a strangled noise behind them and reality quickly crashes down around her. She begins to pull away but Malfoy chases her, stealing one last peck before she twists in his arms, turning towards Cormac.
“So sorry to be rude. You know my boyfriend, right Cormac?” She says breezily. Playing with the hand Malfoy still has resting on her stomach. “Draco was late today as he’s working on a big project at work. I feel like I never get to see him.”
At this Hermione tilts her head up looking towards Malfoy with pleading eyes to play along. Malfoy catches her gaze and a sly grin slowly unfolds.
Malfoys eyes gleam as looks back at Cormac, “yes Hermione here has been feeling rather lonely. I’m so glad I'm able to finally spend some time with my snookums.”
Hermione almost chokes on not only the nickname but the casual use of her given name which she doesn’t think she has ever heard Malfoy use since she met him when she was 11.
“Yes, well we’ll have to be going. Lots to catch up on, if you know what I mean.” Hermione says through a cool smile. “Let’s go Draco.”
Hermione then promptly turns on her heel and practically drags Draco by his hand toward the back of the house. When they finally find a secluded corner she whirls around and looks at Draco cautiously.
Her apology immediately begins pouring out “oh my. I’m so- I’m just so sorry. I don't know what came over me. I’ve had too much to drink and Cormac had been hounding me for years and you were just there and I didn’t know how to send him the message that I am very much not interested and I thought he was going to kiss me so of course I just give the sam’s treatment to you I have no idea how I’ll make it up to you but I really do appreciate that you played along although I could have done without the nickname but I guess I really can’t complain-“
“Granger. Breathe” Draco says curtly, resting his hands on Hermione's shoulders, slowly rubbing his thumbs up and down.
Hermione drags a breath in, still panting from her rant.
“Are you okay?” Draco says gently, bending his head slightly to look into her eyes. “I don’t think you could've screamed help with your eyes any louder than if you had set Cormac on fire. I went over there to rescue you. I certainly didn’t think you would pull that stunt but- well. I’m not mad at you.”
“Oh, thank goodness” Hermione sagged into his arms. “I truly don’t know what I was thinking, I just reacted.” After finally processing what she just did, Hermione started to flush. The head slowly crept up her neck to the tips of her ears.
Hermione finally got a good look at Draco, and she realized he was also a bit tipsy. His hair a bit mussed, the top button of his collar undone, and a flush high on his cheeks, though she was uncertain if that was from alcohol or the situation she had forced them into.
This was when Hermione realized that Draco still had a grip on her shoulders. Slowly tracing his fingers up and down her arms. It sends shivers down her spine, her mind getting cloudy.
“I um- really didn’t mind the kiss. You’re actually not half bad at it. “ Hermione stammers out, meaning it to be an insult but it somehow turned into a compliment.
Draco’s hands still, his gaze snapping to hers. “Oh really,” a smug grin sweeps across his face in a distractingly handsome manner. “I guess you were half bad either. A bit more spirit than I expected.”
“You expected something?” Hermione was still able to slip into a swotty tone regardless of how drunk she got. “Have you been thinking about this Malfoy?”
Malfoys face drains of color, but he recovers quickly, putting on an heir of indifference “well I just mean you spend so much time lecturing I tend to get bored and let my attention stray. Since you’re right there blathering it’s not very hard to let it stray to your lips on occasion.” He says haughtily but there is an undercurrent of nerves.
“Well, I may have thought of this on occasion or two as well. You don’t disappoint.” Hermione holds her head up high and she realizes she and Malfoy have been slowly drifting back together. With each break her chest brushes against his. She can feel his breath fanning along her face.
“I'm glad my performance was up to your standards,” Malfoy leans in even closer. Their lips a hair's breadth apart. “Although we may need to increase the sample size to ensure that wasn’t an outlier.”
“I very much agree,” Hermione whispers tilting her head up.
Draco catches her lip and the kiss is searing. He brings both his hands up and buries them in her curls. Maneuvering her backward so her back hits the wall. Hermione desperately clings to his back, pulling him impossibly closer.
Malfoy begins to drop sloppy kisses down her neck, as Hermione tilts her head giving him better access, gasping for breath.
It is at this moment, with Malfoy still nibbling on her neck, her curls messed up beyond belief and Hermione's fingers gripping tightly to Malfoys platinum locks that Ginny walks in.
Hermione immediately catches sight of the red hair and knows that regardless of which Weasley sibling walked in, it wouldn’t be good. She pushes gently on Malfoys shoulders, attempting to unlatch him from where he was bubbling her neck, but only serves to have him capture her mouth once more. Muttering against her lips ``You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this.”
Hermione, quite caught up in the snogging and Malfoys declaration, forgot completely about their audience, kissing him back with fervor.
Ahem. Someone cleared their throat, clearly holding back a laugh. This finally got Malfoys attention, and he snapped up, stepping in front of Hermione.
“Weaslette.” She managed to say with a surprising amount of dignity given his appearance.
“Malfoy” she drawled back. “If you would please step aside, I need to gloat to my friend.”
Malfoy stepped aside and Hermione looked up sheepishly and that is when Ginny burst into hysterics. Tears streamed down her face.
“Harry! Oh my god, Harry!” she calls.
Harry comes bounding in, ready to defend Ginny, when he spots Hermione and Malfoy standing just a little too close, and all together mussed.
“Oh bugger,” Harry mutters, turning towards Ginny and passing her 5 galleons. “You win.”
Ginny still has a smug smile on her mouth when Hermione finally speaks up. “Win what exactly?” She says while crossing her arms.
“We’ve been betting on you two,” Ginny says simply.
“Betting?” Malfoy questions, raising an eyebrow. “Explain.”
“Ginny was convinced that you two liked each other and would start dating by the end of the year,” Harry explains simply. “I thought she was crazy, but it seems like she was right.”
Hermione began to stutter “I- I- I don’t know what you’re talking about. We- Were not- We were just. Oh, we’re not together all right, it’s just a misunderstanding.”
At this Malfoy turns towards Hermione “Well let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We wouldn’t want Weaslette to lose out on her 5 galleons.”
“Please don’t joke about this Malfoy.” Hermione sighed.
“So now we’re back to surnames? Hm Granger?”
“It seems like we may have concluded this bet a bit too early, we’ll be going now,” Harry said, practically dragging Ginny out of the room.
Hermione turned to Malfoy. “That’s not funny.”
“I wasn’t joking Granger.” Malfoy shot back. With a surprising amount of hurt laced through his words.
“You actually want to date me?” Hermione asked with incredulity.
“Yes, Granger.” Malfoy sighed. “I’ve been trying to work up the nerve to ask you out for the better part of a year.”
“Oh,” Hermione says stunned. “So you actually meant it when you would ask me to dinner or coffee or drinks?”
“Yes. Though I see now I maybe should’ve pushed a bit harder. Or maybe not, seeing as you clearly don’t feel the same.” Malfoy begins to turn away, intending to storm out of the room and find the nearest drink.
Hermione darts her hand out grabbing his wrist before he can make a swift exit. “Slow down Malfoy.” She demands. “I never said no to you because I didn’t like you, you dolt. I just assumed you didn’t feel the same and we’re only asking me out of obligation. I didn’t want to intrude.”
Malfoy sat there stunned, unable to formulate a response.
“Seeing that I was clearly wrong I wouldn’t say no to actually giving it a go.” She says primly, hoping she hasn’t missed her chance.
Just as her mind begins to drift into a whirlpool of anxiety, Malfoy reaches out and grabs the back of her neck pulling her towards him. Capturing her lips in a kiss that is more clashing of teeth than passionate.
He leans back and whispers against her mouth “you are so infuriating. Hermione.”
“I think we owe Ginny another 5 galleons. Draco” Hermione answers and she melts back into his arms. Cormac long forgotten about.