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Draco walked Hermione into her office after dropping Rose off at school. Mrs. Edvard winked conspiratorially at him as they both greeted her good morning. He smiled as he saw the lavender roses he'd ordered waiting for her on her desk. |
"What do you have in this briefcase?" Draco asked as he set it down on her desk. |
"Research. Thank you for the roses, Draco. They're beautiful." |
"You're welcome. See you at lunch." Draco pulled Hermione to him. He smirked at her as his hand closed around the cuff. He kissed her quickly before he left the office, intent on using his day to do some research of his own. |
He found endless excuses to touch the cuff as the days passed. As he pulled her chair out for her at meals. When he pulled her to him to kiss her. The cuff and the significance of it fascinated him. What also fascinated him were their reactions whenever he touched the cuff. He was quickly becoming addicted to the thrill that raced down his spine and pooled in his groin, as well as Hermione's sweet shudders against him whenever he touched it. |
Their evenings were spent curled up on the sofa in the study reading the books they brought back from their trip to the Manor. He tried convincing her to let him take her out, but she refused to go until she'd finished the books concerning the cuff. She came home from the Manor with seven journals, a book written by Armand concerning the cuff itself, and a rather large book on the Malfoy family concerning their traditions, beliefs, and history. She looked surprised when he said he had never read that particular book claiming it was probably full of blood purist crap. |
He brought home a book on the Wizengamot. He found a previously overlooked tome on the formation and history of the council. The information he was finding in the book was proving invaluable to further his goals. |
"What are you reading tonight?" he asked. |
"Armand's book about the cuff," she answered. |
"Find anything interesting?" |
"Yes. You know you can read it too. After I'm done with it," she said with a grin, looking at him over the open book. |
"I'm not really fluent in Norman French. How is it that you are?" |
"Translation charm. I can read any book in any language that I want." |
"Of course you can. I've never heard of a translation charm? Did they teach us that in school?" |
"No, I created it. I was having a hard time reading something that was in Ancient Greek and I decided that I'm a witch and I should be able to figure out how to read whatever I wanted." |
"Clever witch. Now tell me something interesting about your cuff." Leave it to Hermione to create a spell just so she could read a book. |
Hermione slid the cuff down her arm to rest at her wrist. Draco took her hand in his and ran his fingers over the knots of the band. "Well, the jewels are our birthstones. The alexandrite is yours and the sapphires are mine. This Celtic knot is a love knot, which signifies two bonded souls. The Malfoy crest is pretty self-explanatory." |
"That explains why it looked different in the portraits. How does the magic of the thing work?" |
"It's bonded to your blood. It recognizes you as a Malfoy. Your kiss activates the cuff when it senses your soul mate. It looks for the bond between your soul and another and will appear within a day of the kiss." |
"Why kissing? Why not shagging?" he asked, "What?" he asked at her look of disbelief. |
"Shagging, really? You expected your ancestors to go around shagging women until they found their soul mate. Considering the time this was created, unattached women did not go around having casual sex." |
"I guess getting someone to kiss you is easier. Speaking of kissing..." he took the book from her hands and set it down on the coffee table, open to the page she was reading, "I need more of your kisses, lioness." |
Hermione rose up over him on the sofa. She placed her hands on his shoulders and teasingly brushed her lips against his. "Is this what you need?" she whispered against his mouth. |
He wrapped the braid of her hair around his fist and held her head still. "More, witch!" he growled. He crushed her mouth to his. He felt her surrender against him. He growled again and wrapped his free arm around her. The soft mounds of her breasts pressed into his chest. |
Her hands ran through his hair and scraped against his scalp. Her tongue dueled with his as she claimed him just as fiercely as he claimed her. He felt the sting of her teeth as she bit his bottom lip then ran her tongue over the bite. The electricity of the sensation ran straight to his groin. The bite and scratch of his passionate lioness ignited a fire in his veins. |
She pulled away from him and he groaned at the loss of contact. The angelic smile she bestowed on him shifted to a devious grin as she said, "Was that what you needed?" She kissed him one more time before she scooted off the sofa. "Goodnight, Draco," she said over her shoulder as she sauntered from the room. |
His witch would be the death of him. He breathed deeply through his nose trying to calm his pounding heart as well as the throbbing that had started in other areas. |
Draco picked Hermione up from her office for lunch the next day. They walked hand in hand out of the building and to a small café in Muggle London. Theo was waiting for them at a table. Draco pulled Hermione's chair out for her and kissed the hand he'd been holding as she took her seat. |
"Finally," Theo said, rolling his eyes at them. |
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Theo. Have you been here long then?" Hermione said. |
"That's not what the "finally" is about, Hermione," Draco said. |
"Yes, it seems congratulations are finally in order, Draco," Theo drawled. |
"Yes, well," said Hermione, as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. They hadn't really discussed revealing their new relationship to their friends, but neither had really been discreet about it the last couple of days. "Draco tells me that you're rather good at creating new bills." |
"I've been known to create a few bills in my time on the Wizengamot," Theo said. Draco snorted at Theo's response. Draco relied on Theo's help whenever they wanted to pass new legislation. Draco could argue a point until the other side capitulated from exhaustion, but Theo was the whiz at creating new, comprehensive laws. |
Hermione took out a stack of papers from her bag and set them on the table in front of her. "I've done a bit of research on British and American Muggle laws concerning divorce." |
Draco thumbed over the four-inch high stack of parchment. "This is more than "a bit of research." When did you do all this?" |
"You've said it yourself. My department is a joke. It practically runs itself. I've used my free time recently to research laws concerning divorce." |
Draco groaned remembering the time he'd insulted her department. "I'm sorry, Hermione." |
Hermione took his face in her hands and brought his mouth to meet hers. It was just a quick peck before she released him and continued with her lunch. Draco draped his arm over the back of her chair, brushing his hand across the cuff resting on her upper arm. Hermione reached over and ran her nails lightly up his thigh. |
Draco jumped at the contact, then shifted uncomfortably in his seat as he struggled to adjust to the confining space his trousers had become. Hermione smirked up at him. It seemed his teasing was going to get him teased in return. |
"You two really are nauseating. Now back to the matter at hand, I take it you've got a plan set out somewhere in this stack of papers." |
"Yes, I've written out laws that I would like to include along with references to where I got them from. I need your help in drafting a bill since you both know that none exist." |
"May I take this with me?" Theo asked. |
"Of course. I have a copy at home as well." |
Theo and Draco's eyes met as they both caught her slip. "Well, I think it's time we all return to work," Theo said, "I think we should meet someplace more private to continue our discussions in the future." |
"Yes, The Prophet catching wind of this might not be a great idea," Draco agreed. |
"I'm not sure I agree with you on that. I think as long as we control the story, we might be able to garner public sympathy," Hermione said as they all walked back to the Ministry. |
"I don't know, Hermione. The Prophet is difficult to control," Draco said. |
"We don't need The Prophet. We just need one unregistered animagus. She's been looking for a scoop and I am Hermione Granger after all." |
Draco pulled Hermione to him. He crushed his mouth down on hers. She darted her tongue across his before pulling away from him. "I love it when your mind goes all devious," he whispered in her ear. |
"If you two don't want to give The Prophet a different scoop, I suggest you stop making out on the steps of the Ministry," Theo said. Draco thought maybe he was starting to sound a little irritated. |
"Later," Hermione whispered. The three of them walked to Hermione's office. Draco left Theo standing outside the office with the formidable Mrs. Edvard. He grinned at him as he closed the door. |
As soon as the door closed behind him, Draco found himself pushed back against the door. His shoulder hit the door with a thunk. Hermione was on him a second later, pulling his head down to meet her. He grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her up against him. Her legs came up to wrap around his waist as she continued her delicious assault on his mouth. |
He turned them and pressed her back up against the door. They continued to duel for dominance, the tastes of their lunch mingling together. He could smell the heady scent of her arousal mixing with the sweet smell of the roses on her desk. He rained kisses down her neck, finding the spot behind her ear that drove her wild. |
"Mmmm...Draco, so good." |
"You drive me wild, witch," he growled low into her neck. He grazed the base of her neck with his teeth. His bite sent her arching and moaning against him. |
"Draco, we need to stop. We're at the Ministry." |
Her voice of reason stopped any further plans he had. They were getting carried away. He rested his forehead against hers and inhaled deeply. He hated having to stop. He loved seeing how responsive she was to his touch. |
He held her up so she could unhook her legs from around his waist. He watched her as she smoothed down her shirt and slacks then tried to tame the riotous curls he'd messed up. He smoothed down his own clothes and tried to discreetly adjust himself. He chuckled when he saw Hermione's gaze flick downward and then quickly back up with heat in her eyes. |
"Don't look at me that way, lioness. I'll never be able to leave if you keep it up." |
"I think it's time for you and Theo to go back to work then. Maybe that will help refocus your mind." |
"So cruel," he said smiling at her. He kissed her on the forehead before opening the door. He strolled out of her office and found Theo sitting in a chair in front of Mrs. Edvard's desk carrying on a lively discussion that had the witch laughing. |
They both walked out of the office after saying goodbye to the secretary. Draco stuck his hands in his pockets, thinking about the twists and turns of his life. He never expected to ever feel this happy. |
"I'm going to punch you if you start skipping too," Theo said beside him. |
His sardonic jab jolted Draco out of his reverie to find that he'd been whistling a tune to himself. When was the last time he'd whistled? He didn't think he'd ever done that before. He was going to have to chill out. He was behaving like some love struck fool. |
"It seems your family is not as pure as was always believed," Hermione said looking up from her book. He was absentmindedly rubbing the foot propped up in his lap while reading his own book. |
"What makes you say that?" Draco said. He set his own book aside and started rubbing her feet and calves in earnest. Hermione hummed in pleasure. |
"Well, those three women were all Muggle-born witches." |
Draco was astounded to find out that bit of information. One of the beliefs his father had always pushed was the purity of the Malfoy bloodline and how it was Draco's responsibility to ensure that the family remained pure. Their own family motto was "Purity will always conquer." |
"Which book is that in?" |
"It's in the journals. I haven't gotten to the history book yet." |
"Hmm. I wonder how they managed to be accepted into a family of blood purists." |
"That's also the interesting part. It seems that the appearance of the Malfoy soul mate outweighs blood purity. She's revered as the Malfoy's greatest treasure. Acceptance becomes automatic as soon as the cuff appears. Even if she refuses the Malfoy, she is still considered family and protected by the family. Armand wanted a way to protect future generations. I can walk through any wards you set up or that are around the Manor because as your soul mate I'm considered a part of you. I also have access to your vaults and can order or free your house elves." |
"Well, I would have given you access to all of that anyway but it's good to know I really don't have to worry about it now. Please don't try to force clothes on the house elves at the Manor though. I can assure you that they aren't mistreated in any way and you can go talk to them if you like, but it would upset them greatly if they were forcibly freed." |
He was anxious that she would try to go over to the Manor and force his elves to take clothes. He'd known all of them his whole life. He could imagine their reactions to her if she started trying to give them socks or hats. The whole lot of them would end up in a mass of hysterical tears every time she asked something of them. He knew how traumatic it could be for house elves if their masters forcibly released them. Some could move on with their lives but others became despondent until they could no longer function. Some even took their own lives. |
"Relax. Your mother and I have already discussed the Manor's house elves. I already know they aren't being mistreated. I'm not going to rush over there and start handing out wooly hats." |
Draco let out a sigh of relief. "I appreciate it. Why are there only four, well five now, known instances of the bracelet appearing?" |
"I haven't really come across an explanation for that but if you think about it, you have to kiss the person you're supposed to be with. One person out of all the women, witch and Muggle, that could be anywhere in the world. It would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Your ancestors tried. It used to be quite common for Malfoys to run around stealing kisses." |
"What changed though? I would think something like that would be passed down as being pretty important." |
He once again thought of all the ways his life would have been different. If he'd known about the existence of the cuff and what it would mean for both of them, he would have been able to be friends with her. He would have been able to kiss her and have her accepted as a part of his family. There would've been no way his family could rejoin Voldemort's army, since they would have been obligated to protect Hermione. So many things that could have been. |
"It seems to have stopped after Brutus Malfoy in the 1600s. His journal was not particularly pleasant to read." |
"He was the one who found his soul mate but lost her?" |
"Yes, she was a Muggle, not even a witch. He was a part of a group that burned and pillaged her village. He took her as a concubine, kissed her, and then raped her. The next day he saw the cuff but the damage was done. She refused to forgive him." |
"Can't say that I blame her." |
"Me neither. There are some things that are unforgivable. He had a twin brother whose son became the heir. The son, Cassius, refused to tell his own son about the cuff and forbade anyone to tell him after he saw how her refusal ate away at his uncle. Most of the family believed she should have been honored to accept him despite what he'd done. The tradition was lost after that." |
What are you reading?" Hermione asked on Friday night. It seemed it was his turn to talk about books tonight. He should have tried harder to convince her to let him take her out tonight, but they had to be at Hogwarts" tomorrow so neither wanted to be out late tonight. |
"Wizengamot formation," he answered. |
"Why? Haven't you read everything about the Wizengamot already?" |
"I thought I had but I found this while we were at the Manor." He held up the book and showed it to her. |
"What's so different about this book?" she asked him. She seemed to always pick the question that got to the heart of the matter. |
"Well, I may have found your Christmas present," Draco said, nervously. He did want to give her this particular present but it wasn't something he could just spring on her. He knew she would need time to think and weigh her options. |
"What are you talking about? What does this book have to do with a Christmas present?" |
"Do you remember our talk about the empty Wizengamot seats?" |
Hermione snorted, "How could I forget?" |
"This book has the answers on how to fill empty seats or create new ones." |
"So we can fill them. We should let the Wizengamot know there's a way to fill the vacancies." |
"No, not until after the divorce. I'm not trusting something like that to a bunch of unknown quantities." |
"But it's the right thing to do." |
"And we'll do it. Just not until the right moment." |
"Who decides the right moment?" |
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