Creatures of the Wind

This work does not belong to me, it is the work of every thursday-------------------------------------

His hair is white, yellow, and some color that makes her think of thick clouds over the sun. Then, below, to the storm on the horizon, that wicked stirring of greys and blues that promises the unstoppable, the unrelenting. Further still, to pink kissed by spring, and she's reminded of wet, balmy days in fields, with the mud caked up to her knees.

He stands a head taller than her – just enough for the point of his chin to meet the middle of her skull with ease if she were to step into him. His shoulders are broad, but not wide enough to look unnatural in comparison to the sleekness of his form. Slim and lightly muscled, enough to see the bulge of them when he grunts over manual lifting, wraps his arms around a smaller frame, or moves with rhythm and slick skin. He reminds her of birds in a grey sky, flashing over a moving sea. He reminds her of twilight in winter, with barren branches digging out the moon. He reminds her of moss-won stone under the setting of a golden sun. He reminds her of a lot of things.

"Granger," he drawls, heavy and bored.

She grins at him, wide enough to hurt a little with the strain in her cheeks. She probably looks insane right now, but that's all right. It isn't anything he hasn't come to expect.

Hermione sighed immediately after giving permission for the knocker to enter her office, already knowing who it was. Harry had warned her before she took her lunch, which meant she had spent the last 45 minutes going over it in her head. She wasn't sure what to expect. All she had was the past, and what Harry, Neville, and Seamus had told her of the present.

Draco Malfoy gave her a stiff nod as he stepped inside, closing the door firmly behind him. She had only seen him in passing the past year, and there was a small, illogical part of her brain that assumed he had stolen the Auror robes from someone. It wasn't true, of course. He had been Neville's partner for seven months, and Harry's before he became Head of the Auror Department.

"Draco Malfoy," she greeted, as she had greeted Neville before him, and Waits this morning. It was her job to settle legal issues Aurors got into while on assignment, and Malfoy would be no different. Strictly business. He paused for only a moment before accepting her hand, swallowing it as he pumped three times, and the last image of a kid with slicked back hair disappeared from her present-day view. "Hermione Granger."

She cleared her throat and took a seat, motioning for him to do the same as the heat of his hand sunk into her skin. Malfoy moved around the seat closest to him, taking the one that was slightly further back. Harry had been sitting in the closer one before lunch, and he always pulled the chair up directly in front of her desk, toying with objects whenever they spoke. It used to annoy her, but she had become used to straightening up after him once he left.

"What happened on July fifteenth?"

The chairs in her office were old by three years, the cushions worn and comfortable. Malfoy made them appear brand new again. His shoulders were back, his spine straight, and his chin slightly raised. The clasp of his traveling cloak remained perfectly center between his collarbones, and there wasn't a wrinkle in sight despite it being near the end of the work day. His hands were in loose fists on either thigh, and she distantly wondered how long she could stare at him before she saw him blink.

"Longbottom and I were assigned toinvestigate a Jova ring in German-owned pubs throughout London. W--"

"Yes, take me from the moment you entered the establishment." She already knew about the wizarding world's current drug of choice and how it was beginning to leak into the Muggle side of London, despite the law against it that she had helped pass last year. Malfoy's jaw twitched, but it was the only indication that he was annoyed at her cutting him off. "We sat down at the bar to order drinks. We drank a few rounds, and left the bartender increasingly high tips. We--"