A Second Look - A Dramione Story

Chapter 6

Warning: This is not my story. It is from RiverWriter on ao3.

---

They lingered at the restaurant over a cheese plate, sipping on the- admittedly excellent- wine, and then over dessert and coffee. The hour she was technically allotted for lunch became two, and then three. The guilt she usually would have felt over staying away from the office for so long never materialized. She was second in command in the D.M.L.E. and always had something on her plate, but her boss had often urged her to slow down and work less. Things had been slow when she left and Hollings, the department head, could always send a patronus or track down Head Auror Potter and borrow his mobile phone to contact her if she was suddenly needed.

She could have told herself that she needed a break, that she deserved a long lunch, but those were just excuses. The fact was that she simply didn't want to leave Draco's company. Draco, who was acting like he had all the time in the world for her, and who seemed to be having a difficult time keeping his hands off of her. And she allowed it: the arm around her shoulders almost continually, the fingertips tracing her face, the hand caressing her knee, the lips on her temple and hairline. In turn she leaned into his embrace and wondered when she'd last felt so safe. Not in a physical sense, though she felt that as well, but just secure in her circumstances. She kept that hand on his thigh whenever she didn't need it to eat, and when he kissed the top of her head she tilted her neck to run her nose along his jawline and properly enjoy his scent. It was a study in indulgence: the food, the wine, him.

She didn't know what was happening, but she liked it. She wanted to ask, but she was afraid of the answer. As interested as he seemed, well, he couldn't possibly be serious, could he? His marriage had just ended, perhaps he just wanted to have a little harmless fun with a willing witch. She would only let that go so far, of course, but maybe she too could enjoy this while it lasted.

Eventually the restaurant emptied and it became clear that the staff wanted them to leave so that they could close up and prepare for dinner service. He escorted her back to the Ministry and they agreed that he would be at her apartment with Scorpius in just a couple of hours so that she'd have some time to spend with the little boy and they would be able to feed him before he went down for the night. That meant she'd be leaving work a bit early too. She didn't regret it for a moment.

She'd been working at her desk for about half an hour when a very harried looking Harry Potter burst into her office.

"Where have you been!" He demanded.

He strode all the way into the room and fell dramatically into one of the chairs in front of the desk. It was the same chair that Draco had occupied earlier and Hermione couldn't help but think what different pictures they made. The first man's cool elegance was a stark contrast to her best friend's open, playful- if currently frazzled- demeanor.

"Hello Harry, it's good to see you too," she responded sarcastically.

He ignored her. "Some witch, I didn't even recognize her, much less know her name," he began to explain frantically, "she definitely doesn't work in this department in any case, cornered me in the breakroom earlier. I refuse to even repeat what she said to me, what she offered to do," he visibly shuddered. "I told her I had to go because I was having lunch with you, and then I came here and you were gone! I had to lock myself in my office! You know I can't sit in the cafeteria alone!" He had a wild look in his eyes and his hair was even more unruly than usual.

She bit her lip to suppress her laughter. News of the finalization of his and Ginny's divorce actually hadn't leaked until Wednesday and in the two days since he'd been beating off witches with a figurative stick. The problem was that Harry was too nice, and most of them weren't getting the message that he wasn't interested. He'd taken to using Hermione like a human shield and she was waiting for the inevitable resurgence of the rumor that they were romantically involved. She would need to nip that in the bud. Or, maybe warn Draco? It was a thrilling and scary thought, it had been so long since there had been a wizard whose good opinion she worried about maintaining.