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“Ah the weather is magnifique!” Fleur called out, her pumps clicking on the pavement.
She turned around and flashed her most brilliant smile at the two of them.
“Why did we have to go here if we could’ve had a swim in the lake near the Burrow?” Ginny protested weakly.
It was one of those rare early summer days in London. The blue sky almost mocking Hermione who had desperately wanted to spend some research time in the library. Her Bowtruckle papers were due in two weeks, and being only in the early stages of construction made her fingers itch.
“You can’t always ‘ang around there and ‘ermione needed some time around .. people!”
She waved her hands around the buzzing street.
They’d arrived at the north side of Diagon Alley, the tall building with yellow bay windows greeting her. When she looked up, the giant ice cream cornet next to the window on the first floor still looked the same like the first time she visited with her parents.
Ten years. It almost seemed ridiculous in a macabre way, the things that had happened in the meantime.
The jingle of the door pulled her from her thoughts. Fleur had already entered, and Ginny was waving her in with a loving eye roll.
Stepping through the door, she was hit by the smell of honeyed tropical fruit. Everything was tinted with a light purple haze. The shop was buzzing with people, bits and pieces of conversation coming to her ears. People talking over each other, happily gushing about the new flavour.
It was the reason Fleur had dragged them there in the first place: to try the new flavour and get some quality time. They hadn’t met a lot since Victoire had been born.
They lined up in the queue when Hermione saw them.
Pansy Parkinson and Theodore Nott stood in front of the counter accompanied by -who would’ve guessed- Malfoy.
She’d seen him a few times too often in the ministry, talking to everyone and no one, while nobody could really say what his job actually was.
Even though they were running into each other on a regular basis, they’d never exchanged more than a few, rather cold greetings.
From the corner of her eyes she saw Parkinson and Nott already moving upstairs with their ice cream and just as she wanted to turn back to Fleur, who was gushing about Victoire, Malfoy suddenly started waving around his arms like a lunatic and backed away from the counter.
She snickered until she saw something buzzing around him.
He pulled a face and slapped his neck. Disgusted, he mustered his hand and went to sit down in a corner of the shop. The shopkeeper threw a disdainful look into his direction and vented about something to his two employees.
A few wizards in front of them started to whisper. One of them hissing Death Eater in Malfoy’s direction.
Hermione felt a stick to her side.
“Ouch, what’s wrong with you Ginny?”
“We were talking to you, you know?”
“Sorry but there was a ruckus over there-“
A loud clatter sounded through the shop. Only a few heads turned.
Malfoy sat on the floor now, grabbing his throat clearly fighting for air. Hermione looked around and most of the people simply ignored him gasping. Some of them even leaving the shop as if nothing was happening.
“Why isn’t anyone helping!?”
Running over, she dug in her beaded bag.
When she sat down next to him Malfoy was wheezing, barely getting in any air.
Since Harry had told her, that he was allergic to bees she always had an emergency set with her. The spell she had found for allergic reactions was complicated and the effect was highly conditional to execution. The adrenaline injection had been the safer option.
“Now, there.”
With her wand she cut a little slit into his trousers, pulled the cap and rammed the injection into his thigh.
Fleur had followed right after her, now pushing the chairs and tables away from them.
Witnessing them, other people started to get nervous and the ground floor started to empty itself.
After a minute Malfoy began to finally relax and his breathing got more constant.
She turned to him, searched his neck and found a purple mark where he’d been stung. “Of course you’re the one who gets an anaphylactic shock from an insect sting. Right in the middle of the shop.”
Remembering his disgusted look from before Hermione pried his hand open and saw a purple insect the same size as a bee.
“By Merlin that’s a Billywig! How did this one get here?”
“And what in Merlin's left ball sack is that?” Ginny chimed in. She’d come over and cast a Notice me not after discussing harshly with the shopkeeper.
Hermione noticed a deep humming sound. She looked outside the window and her face fell.
“Oh what now Hermione?!” Ginny whined.
“CLOSE THE WINDOWS!”
Every one left in the shop turned
“Now! It’s a swarm of them!”
Hermione threw up a Protego, still steadying the half conscious Malfoy.
Fleur and Ginny drew their wands and just in time before the rest of the swarm had found its way in, they had closed the windows.
The shop had gone completely silent, and everyone let out a relieved breath.
“Would you mind explaining Hermione?!” Ginny almost yelled at her. “Not everyone here has a diploma in creatures.”
Hermione flicked her wand and summoned her Patronus. Telling it that they needed DMLE and St. Mungos assistance and sent it off to find Harry.
“The billywig is a bee-like creature that has wings on its head and the toxins of its sting manipulate and dock on the frontal lobe which causes people to lose orientation as well as reasonable behaviour. They are going to lose their impulse control.
And after a while the stung person begins to float.“
Ginny looked at Malfoy and tried to hold back her laugh.
“Why have I never heard of those?”
“Well usually they’re native to Australia. Must have been a portkey accident.. or do they settle on brooms?”
Hermione jolted out of her thoughts, interrupted by a hand in her face.
For a moment, she had completely forgotten that Malfoy was half sitting, half lying on her lap. Dumbfounded, she looked down and was hit with an unexpected view.
His pupils were completely dilated and his eyes looked almost black. Cheeks flushed, with his breathing going a little heavy, he looked at her almost needy. His spicy cologne mixed with the sweetness of the dragon fruit ice cream made her hold still.
With his mouth slightly open he mustered her in wide eyed wonder.
“By Salazar. Aren’t you the sweetest thing?”
Hermione snorted and flitted his hand away.
Mirth filling her eyes, she said:
“I desperately hope you remember this, when you come to your senses again.”
“I meant that.” he murmured silently.
Shaking her head she put her hand on his forehead to check on him. He had a slight temperature but nothing too serious. She had read about reports where people had sought out billywig stings on free will and blushed just thinking about the descriptions.
Malfoy had closed his eyes and hummed.
“Hmm that’s nice, love.”
Remembering herself she pushed him harshly off her lap.
“You seem to be just fine now,Malfoy.”
He groaned in displeasure and took a moment until he righted himself and sat up.
Ginny was working herself up into a laughing fit.
“I can’t wait to tell Harry about this.” she wheezed.
“Shhhhhhh!” Fleur lifted her hand and mustered them angrily. Her concentrated gaze wandered to the stairs. “Do you ‘ear that? “
The loud humming from before now came from upstairs.
Fleur ran to the stairs. The shop owner, visibly concerned, trailed after her.
Ginny nodded at her with an apologetic grin and followed suit.
Hermione groaned. What had she done wrong in her life to have to babysit fucking Draco Malfoy?
He had stood up and patted his trousers.
“What do we do now, Hermione?”
“Oh god, help me.”
She rubbed over her face and finally stood up as well.
“Oh Draco is sufficient. Thank you.”
She pinched her nose. “Can you just shut up for a second? What do we fucking do if the people on the first floor got stung?“ she rambled to herself.
“Immobulus!”
She heard Fleur shout.
Alerted Hermione stood up and heard a commotion upstairs.
Then she saw Ginny running down the stairs.
Right behind her Theodor Nott. She had to look twice when he appeared.
Nott had his tie bound around his head and jumped on the table near the stairs.
“Your mine!” he cried.
“Over my dead body Nott!”
He leaped towards her.
She jumped to the side and he crashed into a desk group near the windows. Theo shaked himself and with a maniac grin he turned to Ginny. He started running in her direction. Hermione lifted her wand and screamed when her vision was suddenly gone.
Her eyelids almost felt frozen.
She flinched when something touched her arm. Then she heard a snort then a laugh when she pulled away and turned towards the noise.
“Calm down granger. It's just ice cream. Here. Just let me - ”
He muttered a Scourgify and when she opened her eyes his face was right in front of her. His pupils had contracted a bit, but his irises were still only a silver blue ring around black orbs. His hair was falling into his face from the exertion and his skin was looking flushed. He pushed a curl behind her ears and the skin that had felt wet and cold before now burned under his touch. His breath was going fast now.
Behind them someone crashed Glas onto the floor and Hermione flinched back from him. Malfoy looked at her, seemingly disappointed.
What in the name of Merlin was she doing here?
She mustered him and turned to the stairs again.
“I need to look after Fleur.”
A few wizards in different states of undress had crept down the stairs and raided the ice cream counter.
Hermione thought about how to get past them, when she noticed the first one ascending to the ceiling.
***
Once upstairs she saw Fleur cornered by the rest of the intoxicated people. Hermione wanted to sprint to her but stopped in her tracks when she felt the air around her sizzle.
Fleur’s hair whipped around her face and her features seemed to sharpen into a grimace.
“Down. With. You!” she screeched ferally. Two wizards had fled behind a bench. One was on the floor and shielded their face, but the witch simply sank on her knees and gaped at Fleur completely infatuated.
Hermione stepped around a desk to see that Pansy Parkinson was the kneeling witch.
Fleur cupped her face amicably.
“Mon cœur, will you be nice and ‘elp the others for me?”
Parkinson nodded furiously.
Fleur smiled and her face lit up in an iridescent glow.
“Such a good girl.”
It was as if the shop let out a collective sigh and for a second peaceful quiet fell over the shop. She felt the irresistible urge to imitate Parkinson and get down on her knees.
Hermione smelled him before she felt his big hand covering her eyes.
She hadn’t even noticed she had walked towards Fleur in a half trance state.
***
“Granger.”
“Oi, Granger!”
She took in her surroundings. Fleur's magical surge must have knocked her out for minutes.
The ceiling was filled with wizards and witches alike, happily floating and bouncing against each other. She tried to laugh, but it stopped in her throat and she struggled getting enough oxygen.
Suddenly she was held at her waist and he grabbed her jaw to turn it to his face.
The protest died in her throat when she realised they were only centimetres apart.
“Breathe.
You did so well. Preventing everyone here from harming each other.”
He took a deep breath in and she followed. His pupils, now back to their normal size, taxed her.
“There you go.“
The tension slowly left her body.
Her eyes fluttered close and she leaned in, his lips brushing her like a feather when she felt his fingers slip from her shoulders.
She opened her eyes in frustration and witnessed something she would not easily forget.
Draco Malfoy was floating in front of her like a balloon. He tried to get back to her with a swimming motion but it wasn’t long until he was up there, floating against the ceiling with the others.
Looking around she saw Ginny cleaning up desks and Fleur discussing and wildly gesturing. Everyone had bits of ice cream and the look of a pub brawl on them.
When she heard Draco squeak as he bounced against Nott she broke into laughter and couldn’t stop. When she looked at Ginny, she also started and even Fleur couldn’t hold it in anymore and laughed hysterically till tears formed.
She’d been in abstract situations before. But this was the literal icing on the cake.
She heard the squeak of the door when Harry and his DMLE Team as well as half of the Weasley family stormed in afterwards.
Harry looked around and stopped in his tracks.
“Sweet Circe what the hell happened here?”
Hermione had to concentrate to take a deep breath and stop laughing. Ginny was sitting on the floor crying laughing.
“Oh Harry, you wouldn’t believe it.“
***
Three days later
Hermione sat at her office desk, flipping her quill. She had finally been able to work on her bowtruckle papers and was in the final editing stages, when an interdepartmental memo made a nosedive on her desk. It had a tiny box bound to it with a small ribbon.
The letter read:
Granger,
I meant what I said.
I would like to thank you in person if you’re willing. Either way, enjoy the ice cream. This time in peace I hope.
DM