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Hermione sat at her desk and looked over the proposal in her hands. She’d had about a dozen brought to her that day alone, and each sounded even more ambitious than the last. As the Head of the Department for the Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures, she personally went through each one before assigning anyone to a project.
The one she was currently going over, though, would require expertise far outside what anyone in her department could claim. She’d been delivered reports of a chimera terrorizing a small town in Ireland named Tallory, and had been agonizing over it for days already. As it stood, she hardly had the manpower, nor a specialist, to call on within the department for such a beast. They were stretched thin as it was.
From what Hermione could deduce, there were only a few reliable contractors, but she also knew there was nowhere near enough money in the budget for more than one person.
Calling for help from her schoolfriend’s older brother was not something she’d wanted to do. Especially after their last work association. She couldn’t imagine him standing in her office opposite her without daydreaming and making an utter fool of herself.
If she wanted to become the next Minister for Magic, she’d have to put aside silly crushes.
With a heavy sigh, she pulled a fresh piece of parchment out of her desk and wrote a quick note asking for a meeting along with a short explanation. After folding it up, she tapped it with her wand, sending it zooming to the Ministry owlery, where it would then be taken to its recipient. Part of her hoped he’d take the job, his specialty renowned, but the other part of her dreaded that he’d say yes. She could hardly concentrate on anything else, and judging from the array of papers and letters spread across her desk, there was quite a lot that needed her attention.
Resolving to put the Weasley brother out of her mind, Hermione took a deep breath and set herself to the first stack of folders in front of her. Project proposals and special requests blended together in her brain until she was sure that she’d never remember any of it. She only lifted her gaze from her desk when she heard a knock on her door. A quick glance at the clock showed there were only ten minutes until the weekend began, and she groaned quietly at the thought of being stuck in the Ministry for any longer than absolutely necessary.
“Come in!” she called as politely as she could, trying to omit the characteristically bossy natterings she was apparently known for. When a head of messy, dark red hair popped through, a genuine smile spread across her lips. “Charlie!” she exclaimed, a genuine smile overtaking her previous frown. “What are you doing here? I only owled you a couple hours ago! ”
He ignored all social etiquette and niceties in favor of striding around her desk, pulling her up from her chair by one wrist, and crushing her in a firm hug.
“I was visiting with Mum when I got your note, actually,” he answered before kissing her cheek and setting her back down with her head spinning. He let his hands slide slowly down her arms as he let her go, but he snagged one of her hands in his before she could move away. His eyes twinkled at her and she forgot what she had been about to reply. His thumb stroking over the back of her hand certainly didn’t help matters in the slightest.
Hermione tried valiantly to get her heartbeat under control. She had not expected to hear back from Charlie until Monday at least, let alone see him in person. His presence immediately brought back a slew of memories, and she blushed at his proximity.
“And to answer your question,” he continued as if he had no idea what he was doing to her insides, “yes. I would love to help you with your current… situation .” He moved closer to her, using his free hand to trace up the delicate skin of her throat before sliding an errant curl away from her cheek and behind her ear.
The sound of another knock at the open door shattered Hermione’s captivation. She jumped back from Charlie, though he didn’t let go of her hand. “Oh! Ah -” Hermione cleared her throat. “Malfoy! What are you doing here?” She was sure her face was red as a tomato, and she didn’t dare look over at Charlie as she tried in vain to pull her hand back from him.
In the doorway, Draco stood with his brow raised.
“I hope I haven’t interrupted nepotism at work,” the blond crooned, his eyes darting between the pair and lingering on their proximity.
“Of course not,” Charlie replied easily. “Just catching up with a friend. Nothing to worry yourself over.”
“What currently worries me is that you don’t seem to know the definition of nepotism . Handing your friend a contract like this without a formal hiring process…” Draco tsk ed and shook his head, his cool grey eyes pinning Hermione in place for a moment. “It seems you missed a few steps. I’d be more than happy to let you start over.”
“Don’t tell me you’re jealous, Malfoy.” Charlie grinned, finally freeing Hermione’s hand. He stood tall next to her and stared at Malfoy from the other side of the desk.
“Chimeras are quite rare. I’m sure you’ve heard of my apothecary, yes? The first cruelty-free Potions shop in all of Wizarding Britain. Surely a project of this magnitude deserves someone of a higher calibre than another Weasley.”
Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Charlie raised a hand to stop her.
“And how many fire-breathing animal specialists do you know, then?” Charlie crossed his arms and leaned his hip against the desk. “Because last I checked, I am still the only wizard to have seen a chimera in the wild and lived to tell the tale.”
Draco looked like he was about to argue, but Hermione had had enough of them talking over her and excluding her from the conversation.
“Okay, I think that’s quite enough. It is time for me to leave for the day, and now I’ve got a headache to accompany me home, thanks ever so much,” she said with a frown. “If you’re done arguing like children…” She dropped her sentence off at the end, arching an eyebrow and looking at each man in turn.
Draco had the good grace to look slightly ashamed, but Charlie just smirked down at her and took her hands in his again. Butterflies erupted in her stomach at the contact.
“Ah ‘Mi, I’m sorry,” he said huskily. Somehow, she didn’t mind the nickname when it fell from his lips in that tone of voice. “Let me take you to dinner to make it up to you.” Her eyes darted over to Draco, catching an annoyed look on his face.
“Nepotism,” the blond muttered darkly with a shake of his head before clearing his throat. “Yes, Granger, let us take you to dinner and discuss the logistics of this case we seem to all want to work.” When Hermione met his eyes, his expression softened into something more genuine. “It would be our pleasure,” he added with a purr in his voice.
The brunette was positive that her cheeks were flaming, glowing red at this point. How had she gone from working on spreadsheets about department funding to having two very fit men flirting with her shamelessly in front of each other? She shook her head, trying to clear away the fog they had caused.
Neither man gave her any time to answer, because Draco had already grabbed her cloak off the stand by the door. He walked around her desk, just as confidently as Charlie had, and stopped behind her. She was surrounded by two tall, very attractive men, and she found that she was having a hard time remembering how to breathe.
Draco shook out the fabric of her cloak before sliding it onto her shoulders. His fingertips brushed across her collarbones as he drew the garment around her, and her eyes fluttered closed for a moment when he fastened the button for her.
She felt his breath against her ear a moment before she heard his voice. “Are you ready now, little lioness?” he whispered, spreading his warm hands across each of her shoulders and squeezing slightly. Hermione’s hands clenched around Charlie’s in response, and her eyes flew open at the reminder that the redhead was still standing right in front of her.
She knew that what she had with Charlie hadn’t ever been serious, but a small part of her had always held onto hope for a future ‘maybe someday’… Her stomach flipped over when she realized that perhaps her ‘ maybe someday’ had arrived. Draco’s presence behind her complicated matters. She couldn’t deny the attraction that had grown between them over the years, but she never thought he would actually act on it.
It was enough to send her stomach swooping and her head pounding.
Hermione took a deep breath before sliding out from between the two men and quickly moving to the door of her office. A little space between them would help her think, or at least that’s what she told herself. She fumbled behind her back for the door handle, purposely not making eye contact with either man still standing behind her desk. She could see that they both faced her with their arms crossed, and she nearly laughed in a momentary bout of hysteria.
When Draco and Charlie both continued to stand there silently, she motioned out the open door impatiently. “Well?” she asked curtly, trying to swallow down her nerves and lust. “Are we going to dinner or not?”
The men came around the desk, Draco reaching her first. He stopped in front of her and took her hand, bending over it to press a kiss to her knuckles. The old-fashionedness of the gesture made her breath catch for a moment, and the heat in his eyes when she finally dared meet them made her knees wobble. “What are we waiting for?” the blond murmured, winking at her before straightening up and sweeping past her.
Charlie, perhaps recognizing her need for something to grab onto to keep herself upright, stepped up to her side and slid her hand into the crook of his elbow. Hermione couldn’t tell if he was flexing the muscles of his arm on purpose or not, but she couldn’t truthfully say she wasn’t affected by them. A brief scene flashed across her mind showing Charlie picking her up easily and holding her against his broad chest as her legs wrapped around his waist, but Hermione shook away the memory.
“Well?” Hermione asked, gesturing toward the Floo in her office’s lobby. “Where are we heading then?”
Draco opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Charlie’s deeper voice.
“The Potion Garden? I hear they have a wonderful wine selection.”
Draco scoffed. “You won’t get anywhere near their wonderful wine selection unless you made a reservation last year or know the owner personally.”
Charlie’s eyes sparked as he let a slow smirk spread across his lips. “Then I guess it’s a good thing I know the owner personally,” he replied.
“Way to bury the lead there, Charlie.” Hermione held onto the redhead’s arm as he led them forward. “How do you know the owner?” She tried to focus on his reply rather than the muscle beneath her hand or the heat radiating from his side into hers.
“As it happens, I got a unicorn to quit eating his mother-in-law’s flowers without anybody getting hurt or cursed.”
“What a coincidence.” Hermione looked over her shoulder in time to see Draco roll his eyes as he trailed behind them.
Charlie, ready with his jacket over one arm, shrugged with the confidence of someone who could not care less what others thought of him. He came to a stop in front of the large office fireplace. Draco, now beside Hermione, raised his chin and grinned, looping an arm around Hermione’s waist and pulling her closer to him.
The corners of Charlie’s lips turned upward as he let go of the brunette more easily than she had expected. Without another word, he pinched some Floo powder from the pot on the mantle, and shouted their destination; green flames erupted around him, obscuring his face, and just before he disappeared into smoke, he raised his chin to mirror the blonde.
Hermione looked between the now-empty Floo and Draco’s poised stance, chest puffed out and hair humming with energy, looking every bit a cocky bird trying to mark its territory. She rolled her eyes at the sight and let out a small giggle. His arm around her waist tightened a bit as she adjusted her footing.
“You know,” Draco said suddenly as he turned toward her, “with the publicity I could get you on this case, you could make your bid to be the next Minister.”
Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, lifting a gentle eyebrow at the insinuation. “I’m not looking to be bought, Malfoy.” She must have looked sour, she realized, and tried to soften her features.
“I’m not trying to bribe you,” he said sternly. He brought his free hand up to gently cup her jaw, his thumb grazing over her cheekbone softening his words, true as they were. “But you know as well as I do that Captain Redbeard out there won’t even get you a photo in the Daily Prophet. Your department will never get more funding if donors haven’t a clue what they’re funding.”
“You have no clue what I want.”
Draco looked down at her through narrowed eyes, moving so that his hands held hers in an imitation of how she had stood with Charlie only a few minutes prior. “He’s a good man, Granger. I can see why you like him. But he isn’t the only one you need here.”
“Believe me,” she started, chewing on her bottom lip anxiously for a moment. “If I could have both of you, I’d say yes without breathing, but I only have enough in the budget for one.”
“At least hold off on making your decision until Monday.”
“Or you’ll turn me in to Kingsley for not following traditional Ministry hiring processes?”
Draco smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. “Right. You wouldn’t want to get caught giving all the lucrative contracts to your fuck buddy, right?”
Hermione’s eyes widened and her cheeks inflamed, turning red instantly.
“Relax,” Malfoy laughed, raising a hand to wave off her embarrassment. “He’s a good guy. I slept with Astoria for what, two years? Turns out, she’s a bit of a bitch.”
Hermione laughed loudly and stepped forward to grab a handful of Floo powder.
“You know you’re going to pick me in the end, right?”
Shrugging casually, Hermione dropped the Floor powder and was gone in a cloud of thick soot, leaving Draco behind to catch up with the pair already getting seated in the upscale restaurant.
The meal, in Hermione’s opinion, earned a gold star. It was delicious, and she hardly cared that the conversation, should she judge it, would have earned no star at all. In fact, she decided, she wagered it could rival listening to Lavender and Ron prattle on back in Hogwarts.
Unlike her old Gryffindor dorm mates, though, Charlie and Draco were actually quite nice to look at. One was fire and one was ice, and both were incredibly attractive. Several times, she had to squeeze her thighs together to try to relieve the building ache.
Even though they didn't leave much room for her to talk, she noticed their glances and small touches. Draco went out of his way to include innuendos directed at her, while Charlie touched her hand or shoulder in a dominant display of familiarity.
She ate almost her entire meal without speaking, choosing instead to watch the pair of them bicker back and forth. It truly was the best food she’d eaten in ages, and the wine was delectable. She could feel it warming her bones and muscles and enjoyed holding the glass up in response whenever her name was mentioned.
By the time dinner was over, they'd argued over who could pay for the meal for so long, they completely missed Hermione paying the bill until she stood to leave.
They bickered while leaving the restaurant, and both aggressively argued behind her as she began on her walk home. She listened to them closely and occasionally wondered if she looked like a tired mother ahead of two squabbling toddlers, or if she’d suddenly started putting out pheromones that were making the pair so unreasonable together. In truth, she ignored what they argued about and tried not to look back. Several times she did turn her gaze back to them, and the warmth of the wine flared up inside her again.
“Where even is this chimera wreaking havoc?” Draco’s voice complained loudly from behind her, and she almost responded before another voice laughed back at him.
“You think she’d tell you where it is? You’d likely run over and slaughter it for your pretty potions first chance you get.”
“How many times must I say that my business is cruelty-free? And I think knowing where I’m going to be working is a vital detail, Weasley.”
Charlie laughed and turned to look at the blond walking slightly behind him, and Hermione finally spoke up.
“Tallory,” she interjected. “It’s a small town in Northern Ireland.”
“Well,” Charlie muttered, “it certainly sounds Irish.
“Everything sounds Irish if you’re drunk enough.”
“Enough,” Hermione tried to say, but both men ignored her entirely. She sighed and didn’t try again as she led them the short distance to her home.
"If you really wanted this chimera you'd agree to my proposition-"
"I thought I already made it clear that money is no concern of mine."
"Then we have an agreement?"
Hermione, feeling more than slightly frazzled at this point, gratefully stopped outside her building. She looked at the two men behind her, shook her head, and walked up the steps of the clangy metal stairs to her flat. The distracted pair behind her continued causing a ruckus.
When she arrived at her door, unlocking it and then waiting, she turned on the terrace and waited for Charlie and Draco to finish bickering. “Well?” Hermione asked loudly, raising her arms in the air, finally gathering their attention. “What will it be then?” she added, gesturing to the open door behind her.
Draco looked toward Charlie and raised a challenging eyebrow.
As if they’d planned their next steps, Charlie strode over to where Hermione stood and took his place at her back. Slowly walking her inside the dark flat, he kept a firm grip on her hips and she could feel Draco following close behind. Hearing the latch click and the lock slide into place, she tried to look over her shoulder. Charlie’s large form blocked her view and suddenly she was pulled roughly against him as he leaned back against a wall.
Draco came to stand in front of her, pressing his front to hers intimately, his face mere millimeters from her cheek. “Do you want this, little lioness?” His hands were hot on her shoulders.
“Do I want what? To hear you and Captain Redbeard continue to bicker like an old married couple for the rest of the night?” Hermione threw back, trying to regulate her breathing so neither man knew how this turn of events was affecting her.
Draco pulled back so she could see his smirk, and she felt Charlie tighten his grip behind her. His hands ran across her ribs and locked her against him.
“Captain Redbeard?” she heard Charlie whisper behind her, obviously said toward Draco.
Draco swiftly ignored him and changed the focus back to her. “Do you want us? Both of us? Together?” His mercurial eyes pinned her in place, and she could see in the dim lighting how wide his pupils were.
Resolutely straightening her spine, she felt something poke at her back. Trying to stamp down the emotions that brought forth, she looked Draco in the eyes. “Yes, I want you both. All of you,” Hermione expressed, hoping they got the full picture of her desires. She'd been trying to perfect directness and hoped she was achieving some manner of it now.
Draco glanced over her shoulder once more, she assumed to make eye contact with Charlie again. The tandem way in which they were finally cooperating when it came to claiming her was exhilarating. She clenched her thighs together again.
Charlie’s hands found their way under and up her shirt, resting just beneath her breasts where she could feel his thumbs lightly caressing the undersides. Distantly, in the back of her mind, Hermione thanked Merlin and Morgana for support charms; she’d never been fond of Muggle bras, and had never been more grateful for not wearing one than she was at that moment when felt Charlie’s thumb lightly brush over her nipple.
She shivered. Draco’s hands found her hips then, and his thumbs ran along the bones that barely stuck out from her full figure. Leaning back in so that she could feel his breath tickling her ear, Draco started whispering all the filthy things they were going to do to her.
“We are going to lay you out on your bed like a feast. We’ll undress you slowly, marking every part of your body we uncover.” His fingers caressed her skin, roving over her lower back and her hips. “Then Charlie is going to get you ready by eating that sweet little quim while I lay behind you, prepping… other things. Once you come all over his fiery beard, we’ll switch places and the real fun will begin.” The blond took her ear lobe between his teeth and bit down softly, making Hermione whimper, ready for everything he’d sketched out for her. His words turned her into a puddle, and she could barely stand without the two men sandwiching her between them.
Draco moved away and she found herself suddenly lifted into Charlie’s arms, carried down the hall of her flat to her bedroom. She almost asked how they knew where it was, but it was a small place - one bedroom, living room attached to the kitchen - there really wasn’t any other place it could be.
Charlie kicked open the door, letting Draco lead the way inside. Hermione could only thank every god and goddess she knew that she had done laundry yesterday and made her bed this morning.
Gasping at a sudden change of altitude, Hermione found herself sprawled on her bed, thrown there by the beast of a man that had been holding her. Draco and Charlie stood at the foot of her bed, smiling devilishly at the picture she presented. She scooted to the edge and sat in front of them, thinking that’s what they were waiting for.
Draco leaned down and Charlie crowded close, the blond making quick work of her shoes and the dragon tamer pulling off her shirt. Appreciative noises were heard when both men saw her bra-less state, and her nipples hardened in response.
They made good on Draco’s earlier promise and left open-mouthed kisses with each piece of clothing they peeled off of her, and Hermione was sure she would have delicious bruises blooming over every inch of her body come morning.
Draco and Charlie made quick work of their own clothes, standing still for a moment so she could see them in their entirety. They couldn’t be more opposite in looks, just as they were in personality.
Charlie was bulkier than Draco, tendrils of muscle wrapping over every part of his body. He had several tattoos on his chest, back, arms, and one wrapping around his thigh. She could see dragons and tribal tattoos, some Hogwarts and Quidditch references, and found herself wanting to mark each one with her tongue and fingers. Freckles covered his body from head to toe, and the heaviest concentration seemed spattered across his shoulders. The power contained within him seemed to spark with every movement, and she felt a sudden thrill run through her as she pictured the predator stalking his prey.
Draco, on the other hand, was pristine, no ink or freckles marking his body. He was lithe in build, but with the flexing of his muscles, she could see his hidden strength. He was slightly taller than Charlie, but his movements were more smooth and graceful.
Their cocks stood proudly, and she gulped at the images that welled in her mind with how they might fill her.
Draco situated himself on her bed against the headboard, and it made a surreal picture, until he distracted her by pulling her back against him. His chest was hard and soft at the same time, and she fit there like she was made for his arms. One of his hands brushed up her body, until he could oh so gently wrap his fingers around her throat to tilt her chin back. Her head rested on his shoulder as she looked back at him, his eyes burning her with the desire she saw there. Slowly, so slowly, he held her gaze as he lowered his lips to hers for the slowest, most sensual kiss she’d ever experienced. Her stomach froze in delight.
Draco let her go as Charlie crawled up from the foot of the bed then, moving slowly toward them. Draco’s arms moved back down her body and he pressed her thighs open. The vulnerability of this position brought a blush to her cheeks.
“See the way he looks at you, Hermione,” Draco whispered in her ear, “you’re his prey and he’s ready to pounce.” She shivered when he echoed her earlier thought.
Breathing heavily, Hermione watched as Charlie smirked and licked his lips. Lowering his head toward her warm center, he used the flat of his tongue to lick her already very wet slit. The tip of his tongue found her clit and circled it. Hermione pushed back against Draco, moaning at the sensations Charlie was creating in her lower abdomen.
“That’s a good girl. We want to hear every whine and whimper.” Draco kissed her cheek.
Draco let Charlie spread her legs and drug his hands up her torso to her neglected breasts. They filled each palm and he massaged them deeply. Every so often, Charlie would lick particularly hard and Draco would pinch her nipples at the same time. She had no clue how they were working together so well now, but at the moment, she couldn’t find it in her to care.
Suddenly, Draco summoned his wand non-verbally, and she felt him whisper against her neck while he pointed it at her. She gasped at the sudden heat at her backside, liquid dripping from both holes now. Charlie stuck two fingers inside of her while she was distracted and pressed up against the soft spongy part, throwing her unceremoniously over the edge and plunging her into a climax so deep she couldn’t even vocalize it. All she could do was shake against both men, her head thrown back and straining against Draco’s shoulder.
Catching her breath after a few moments, she felt boneless and barely noticed them switching places. She realized, when awareness dawned again, why they had started where they did and what their plan was now. While Draco was longer, Charlie was thicker, so it made sense when he turned her over to straddle him and Draco cuddled against her back once more.
“Ready, love?” Charlie looked up at her like she hung the moon and the stars. It made her stomach clench and her blood heat up, and she found that she wouldn’t mind him looking at her like that a lot more often.
Gaining her strength back, she gave him no warning as she lined herself up hands-free and sank down on him, fully sheathing him inside of her. She felt a slight sting that was quickly overtaken by pleasure since it had been so long since their last encounter, but she didn’t care. Charlie inhaled so sharply he almost choked, and then he let out a growl that curled around her wholly.
She smirked down at him and started riding him, letting his cock pull almost all the way out of her before sinking all the way back down again. Draco chuckled from behind her.
“What a delicious sight,” he said against her neck, pulling her back to his chest. Draco swiftly inserted a finger inside her from the back and it was Hermione’s turn to almost choke. “I hope you can take all that you can dish out, pet.”
Hermione adjusted easily, whatever spell he had done beforehand making it a thoroughly pleasurable experience. He stretched her with a second finger, fucking her in time with her thrusts over Charlie.
The redhead’s hands gripped her hips tightly and Draco’s free hand wrapped around her to find her breast once again. Soon enough, he was whispering sweet, naughty encouragement and praise against the back of her neck as he lined up with her entrance.
Hermione stilled herself firmly on Charlie, clenching lightly while he was sheathed within her and enjoying his reaction. The blond behind her entered her much more slowly than she had sunk down on the dragon tamer. She moaned loudly, having never felt this full before.
They all breathed in in tandem, relishing in the feel of being so closely connected.
Then Hermione lifted herself, pushing back harder against Draco with the movement, and they found their rhythm. Every time Hermione sank down on Charlie, Draco pulled out, and everytime Draco thrust inside her, she lifted herself up.
Charlie, not one to be left out, made sure to roughly buck up into Hermione as she rode him.
All too soon, the three of them were breathing heavily and one of Charlie’s hands slithered between her legs so he could press his thumb against her clit once more. With an exhilarated intake of breath and loud moan, Hermione came once more, forcing her two partners over the edge with her. She milked them for all they were worth and Hermione could feel their ribbons shooting inside her, filling her up, and dripping out around their members, flowing down her thighs.
Collapsing together on the bed, Hermione found herself spooned between the two men as they caught their breath and a wandless cleaning charm was whispered from one of them. She decided it was definitely her new favorite place on earth.
Hermione woke to morning light streaming through her large windows, and two men on either side of her. Charlie, still peacefully asleep, snored lightly and Hermione brushed his hair back from his face, fingers lightly dusting over his face's freckles. Draco, already awake, stretched lazily, much like a cat, and raised his eyebrows at Hermione's movements.
"I've got to head out," he whispered quietly so as not to disturb the other man. Hermione nodded and snaked herself from Charlie's warm body, pulling a sheet over him.
Once out in the hallway, Draco pulled Hermione close to him and leaned down to nibble at her ear, making her squirm under him just as she'd done so many times the night before. Draco shifted and pulled away, buttoning his shirt all the way up and throwing his jacket on. He always looked so composed, even though his hair was all out of sorts and standing on end.
Kissing her gently once more, Draco pulled himself away and opened her front door.
“You always surprise me, Granger. Every time I think I’ve figured you out, you go and muck it up again,” Draco breathed, leaning against the doorframe into the kitchen. He raised his hand to stroke his thumb across her lip and leaned in to kiss her softly.
“And what, may I ask, did you think you know?”
Draco shrugged. “For so many years I thought you to be a stone tower. A lighthouse that couldn’t be tempted to move the ocean.”
“And now?”
“A much more striking lighthouse, definitely more fun, but absolutely human. Prone to emotions and attraction, just like the rest of us. Someone who might negotiate with Poseidon.”
“You forget one thing, Malfoy,” Hermione smiled and gently nibbled at his lower lip. “I’ve not moved the ocean one inch, nor has it moved me. Did you really think a chimera would come across my desk and I wouldn’t remember your numerous requests to my department for their remains? I had nothing to provide at the time, and your apothecary has been in all the papers. It’s quite impressive, Draco.”
Malfoy’s eyebrows arched. “So why did you ask for Charlie instead of me?”
“I told you, I didn’t have the budget for the two of you. You are both extraordinarily expensive.” Hermione shifted her weight to her other foot and casually started to button up Charlie’s shirt around her. She sighed and smiled softly up at him. “You needed to fight for it.”
A look of dawning realization lightened Malfoy’s face, and then a look of admiration. His eyes glinted down at her as a small smile stole over his lips.
“You cheeky temptress. I suspect you’re planning on running for Minister in ten months when Kingsley retires, too?” Hermione grinned at him and wagged her eyebrows at him while Charlie, still naked and now awake, began the process of preparing a lazy breakfast.
“You know you’re welcome to stay for brunch if you’d like," she said, smiling at him almost shyly.
Draco smiled, and Hermione could see his tongue graze over his canine teeth.
“I’d love to, but it looks like I’ve got to pack. I’ve got a job to do in Tallory. ” He leaned in close again, pulling her by her hips until she was pressed flush against him. His breath tickled her ear when he bent down. “I’ll expect my lighthouse to guide me home,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her temple.
Draco was gone in a flash of silver and blond, and Hermione turned to Charlie with a smile. “How ever shall we pass the time?” she asked, one eyebrow raised in challenge.
So much for putting aside silly crushes.