Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Some Blond Fool	By : AndreaLorraine Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 46885 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 3
- 4
- 5
Author�s Note: Thanks for all the reviews!� It seems like people are pretty evenly split
on the Lucius/Ginny relationship.� I�m
still on the fence about it myself.�
Since this is a story where I�m doing a lot of things I�ve never done
before (writing Draco/Hermione, for one, and placing characters in the very
recognizable now, outside the milieu of the magic world, for another), I�m
tempted to give the Lucius and Ginny ship a try.� However, I think I�ll let the muse decide.� As always I welcome your feedback!� Enjoy.

The lights flickered in that way
they did when electricity was reconsidering its servitude to the human
race.� The storm outside had become a
dark whirlwind of summer fury.� The trees
beyond the window bowed over in the wind and sheets of rain hit the pane of
glass sharply.

It had become as dark as twilight
and only the bright screen of the laptop lit the office of one Lucius
Malfoy.� Hermione was riveted by the
little box of words.� She had just typed
something colossally stupid, something she wasn�t even sure she meant.� Was she giving Draco Malfoy a chance?� Was she inviting
him to try to win her?� Did she want to
be won?

DracoD0rmiens
(12:19:05): do you mean that?

�� She typed
quickly.� Her thoughts solidified as her
fingers hit the keys.

BedLAM (12:20:42): I
don�t know what I mean right now but I can say this for sure: if you really
like a girl, it doesn�t say much if you�re willing to yield her to someone
else.

�� It took him
a long time to respond.� By the time he
did the dark clouds were moving on and people were venturing outside to take
inventory of the damage.

DracoD0rmiens
(12:39:13): I�ll keep that in mind.

�� And then:

DracoD0rmiens signed
off at 12:39:18.

�� Damn him!� Hermione sighed and put her forehead down on
the desk.� She sat there for a moment, a
hundred times more confused than she was already feeling.� She had no time to ponder it, however; at
that moment she heard movement in the living room.� One of them had awakened.

�� She only
barely managed to close the instant message window before Lucius walked in.

�� There you
are,� he murmured.� He was a little less
guarded than usual, probably because he had just woken up.� The sleep hadn�t helped.� He still looked supremely exhausted.� In spite of that it didn�t take him long to
return to himself; his eyes narrowed slightly and he asked, �What are you
doing?�

�� Just checking mail.�
My mum was supposed to send me something, and I figured while you two
were sleeping��

�� He nodded,
his paranoia assuaged.� Internally, she
breathed a sigh of relief.� She had
always known that she was a good liar, due to her quick mind and ability to
keep her wits under pressure, but rarely had she ever exercised that talent
this much.� She would be lying to the
whole world when their plan went into effect.

�� He was
looking out the window, frowning.� He was
far away and wouldn�t be coming back any time soon.� That was where she left him fifteen minutes
later when she led a bleary-eyed Ginny out the door.

Hermione and Ginny walked home in
silence.� They had gained a third party;
Ginny had awakened to find Titania trying to clean her like she was a puppy,
and after that the dog wouldn�t stop fussing over her.� Perhaps she could smell Ginny�s hurt.� Now the supple animal walked at Ginny�s side,
looking up at her every so often.� Lucius
had torn himself away from his brooding long enough to say that he didn�t mind
lending the dog out as long as Fred and George stayed well away from her.� That had brought a brief smile to Ginny�s
lips.� She had informed him that Fred and
George only tested on humans, and lately their subject of choice was Ron.� The same tentative smirk graced Lucius�s face
after that; Hermione thought that now the rift might begin to heal.

�� She wished
that men were more given to talking, especially Slytherin men.� But if Draco could only bring himself to be
honest with her from six hundred miles away, behind the cover of a monitor,
there was absolutely no chance of Lucius opening up across the table.� She felt bad leaving him.� She had a feeling that Ginny�s confession had
cut him deep.� He was feeling every word
of it, every ounce of blame, and there was no one for him to turn to for
comfort.� Not that he would look for it.

�� I�m sorry,
Hermione,� Ginny said at last, when they were stopped at a crosswalk.

�� You have
nothing to be sorry for.�

�� Ginny�s
hand fell on the top of Titania�s head; the dog was tall enough that she was at
exactly the right level.� �I held it in
for so long.� I just��

�� It was his
fault.� He knows it.�

�� The redhead
nodded.� �I never expected him to�feel
remorse.� You were right.� He has changed.�

�� The light
changed and they crossed, Titania loping amicably next to them.� The storm had brought a cold front, slicing
the humidity out of the air, and the wind blew around the scent of earth
absorbing rain.

�� All of
this seems so silly now,� Hermione sighed.

�� A little.� But I
think you should do it.� It�s high time
someone gave Skeeter a taste of her own medicine.� You don�t read Witch Weekly, because if you
did, you�d know that she took a few shots at me when Harry and I first made our
relationship public.�

�� Nothing is
too sacred,� Hermione grumbled.� �What an
evil woman.� I almost feel bad for
her.�� Ginny gave her a look that said
she was off her rocker.� That was more
like the girl she knew.� Hermione
smiled.� �I did say almost.�

��

��

�� The number
of owls had reached epic proportions.�
There were easily fifty of them loitering outside, if not more, and a
healthy stack of papers on the front stoop meant that many more had already
come and gone.

�� Hermione
groaned.� �I guess I have to start
reading some of these.�

�� I�ll help
you answer your fan mail,� Ginny joked.

�� Let�s hope
it�s fan mail and not hate mail,� Hermione
muttered.� They walked into her flat
juggling the piles of letters.� Ginny
dropped hers on the couch, Hermione on the table, and Titania began what would
prove to be a very long and arduous process of inspection.� The grey dog walked around slowly, sniffing
everything in her path, while the two women settled in and contemplated the
stacks of parchment.

�� Ready?�
Ginny asked after a few minutes.

�� No, but here goes.��
Hermione opened the first letter.�

�� An hour
passed with little but the rustle of paper and the clink of Titania�s
collar.� Then a choked sound of rage escaped
Ginny.

�� What the
hell!� she nearly shouted.

�� What is
it?� Hermione asked, startled.

�� This�this�UGH!��
Ginny whipped out her wand and in a second the letter was a pile of
ash.�

�� What did
it say?�

�� Nothing.� Just some
double standards on paper.� You know, how
you should be ashamed of defiling the institution of marriage, and with a
former Death Eater, no less��

�� Me?� I�m
the one defiling the institution of marriage?� Hermione shook her head.� �Never mind Ron, he�s clearly blameless in
all of this.� Screwing some girl in Mykonos is perfectly normal...�

�� Whoever
wrote it is probably two hundred years old and hasn�t gotten any since 1912.�

�� Hermione
had to crack a smile.� Ginny was feeling
better.� There were bound to be a few bad
letters in the bunch, anyhow.� She
couldn�t take them personally, no matter how personal they were.� She opened the next one.

Hermione,

I�m sorry.� You have no idea how sorry.� I want to see you.� We can work this out, I know we can.� I love you.�
Now, please, please stop seeing Malfoy.� You�ve made your point.�

�� It was
Ron�s handwriting.� She felt like she was
far away from herself for a moment.� The
rest of the world withdrew, isolating her in a bell jar of heartache.� It was suddenly hard to breathe.� She leaned against the table, struggling to
contain the breakdown that her mind wanted to succumb to.� Accidentally she placed her hand on top of
her quill and the sharp new point poked a precise little hole in her palm.� The brief flare of pain and the tiny red
droplet it drew brought her back to the present and all its stark reality.� With a ragged breath, she turned the paper
over and picked up the quill.

Ronald,

Your apology means
that you�re actually guilty, and in light of that I won�t be accepting it any
time soon.� And do you honestly think you
can tell me what do to after this?

�� With a
sniffle she pulled off her wedding band, oblivious to Ginny�s curious
look.� She folded the paper, put it back
inside the envelope, and dropped the wedding band in before sealing it.� She crossed out her own name and wrote
his.� Ronald
Weasley.

�� Are you
all right?� Ginny asked.

�� No.�

�� Nonetheless,
Hermione stood up and walked over to the window.� There were five owls outside.� She took the letter from one and gave it her
own correspondence.

�� Ginny
hugged her from behind.� �Is it over?�

�� Hermione
placed her hands on Ginny�s arms, which were clasped around her shoulders.

�I think so.�

Three days later

She had gone from staring at the
computer to staring at the phone.� Out of
some ridiculous hope she had added Draco�s screenname to her list; he hadn�t
signed on since that stormy afternoon.�
It was very like him to confess to feelings she never would have
suspected him of having and then disappear immediately afterwards.� Perhaps his own honesty had been too much for
him.

Hermione frowned, contemplating the
character of Draco Malfoy.� He had
probably only told her how he felt because he believed that there was no chance
of them ever being together or her reciprocating.� She knew he also thought that his father
would win the seduction game.� But if he
just told him that he liked her, she
was fairly sure that Lucius would back off.�
She wasn�t sure that Lucius was even interested, but if he was�

She chewed her lip.� Even a year past fifty, she couldn�t deny
that he was a good looking man.� She had
no doubt of his so-called charms, either; he could talk his way into or out of
almost anything, including someone�s knickers.�
She would have to be careful.

But Draco�was he right?� Was she lacking any kind of feelings for
him?� She could say with certainty that
he was a good kisser.� He�d impressed
that much upon her.� He wasn�t painful to
look at, either.� His appeal was not the
same as Lucius�s; there was too much of his mother in him for that, but he
could hardly be called unattractive.� It
was just that she had never noticed before, owing to the fact that she hated
his guts.� She suspected that the more
she looked at him now, the more pleasing she would find him.� These Malfoy men were dangerous.

Hermione contemplated her
phone.� It sat on the night table, the
battery indicator light blinking green.�
At last, she picked it up and opened it.�
She took a breath and typed a text message.

Help.

Five minutes went by.�
Then the phone vibrated.

With
what?

Her fingers worked quickly.

I�m considering
another bender at the pub.

The response was faster this time.

Do you need an
intervention?

Maybe
just a distraction.

Can�t someone else
distract you?

I�ve already bothered
everyone else.� It was true, she�d seen Harry and Ginny two days ago and spent
yesterday with her parents.� There was no
one else she cared to spend time with at the moment.� Except, paradoxically, the man on the other
end of the phone, though she told herself that was more because she wanted to
check on him and see if he could contact Draco to call off his search.� She texted again.�

Don�t act like you
don�t want to.

Oh, right, as your
boyfriend I�m supposed to like distracting you.

We need to talk about
that.

We haven�t even been
on our first date and already �we have to talk�?� You�re such a woman.

Ha ha.� Hermione sent him the name of a nearby
restaurant and a time, and then tossed her phone into her purse.� Either he would show up or he wouldn�t.� She didn�t care either way.�

�� He did show
up, and it reminded her of something she had forgotten.� When a Malfoy showed up, he showed up.� Lucius looked as good in muggle clothing as
he did in expensive robes.� She had
noticed this before, but in the comfort of his own flat he had been relatively
casual.� What he wore was still casual,
but every inch of it looked designer and he looked like the model.� Was he wearing aviators?� He may as well have jumped out of an issue of
GQ.�

�� As he made
his way towards her a table of four women turned their heads to gape at
him.� Before she knew what she was doing,
Hermione was giving them a dirty look.�
He noticed this like he noticed everything and looked quite smug with
himself when he sat down.

�� Feeling
possessive, are we?�

�� Shut up,�
she bit off, embarrassed.

�� He smirked,
but it faded quickly.� �You look
terrible.�

�� Thanks.�

�� His eyes
did a quick once-over and settled exactly where she hoped they would not � the
pale stripe around her left ring finger.�
�Ah,� was all he said.� He settled
in his seat and picked up the menu.� She
watched him over her menu, expecting sarcastic commentary at any moment, but he
was resolutely silent.� He raised an
eyebrow when she ordered a bottle of pinot grigio and that was it.

�� At last,
after they had ordered, he spoke.

�� How is
Miss Weasley doing?�

�� Well,�
Hermione answered, a small smile tugging at her lips.� �It seems like a weight has been lifted from
her.�

�� Had
she�never told anyone?� he asked, wincing slightly.� It was a very subtle movement of his face,
one that someone else might not have noticed.�
He was still feeling it, and very acutely if he was asking about her.

�� No one.� You and I
were the first.�

�� He shifted
in his chair.� If a metaphorical weight
had been lifted from Ginny, it had now been placed upon him.� The slight tension in his lips betrayed that.

�� She�s
thinking about telling Harry and maybe her mum,� Hermione said, sipping her
wine.� �Though I
wouldn�t be surprised if Harry already knows.� He�s very intuitive when it comes to�him.�

�� Lucius
nodded and followed her lead, pouring himself a healthy glass of wine.� �I do regret it,� he said quietly.� �I�didn�t choose her on purpose.� It was just the first opportunity that
presented itself, and I�� He lapsed into a moody silence.

�� We�re just
a barrel of laughs, aren�t we?� Hermione mused.�

In response, he lifted his glass
and drained it in one uninterrupted tilt.

�Careful,� she cautioned.� �You don�t want to end up like me last week.�

�It will take a lot more than one
glass of wine for that.�� He refilled the
glass, but left it alone.� After a moment
of thought, he said, �I am sorry about your separation.� The end of a marriage is�� he seemed to
choose his words carefully, �difficult.�

She sighed, nodding.� A moment later she lifted her eyes cautiously
to his.� They were a bit distant,
remembering something that no doubt related to the dissolution of his
marriage.� If she struck now, while he
was displaying signs of introspection and openness, maybe, just maybe he�d�

�Why did you and Narcissa
separate?�� It felt odd to say her name
since she didn�t know the woman and probably never would.� His eyes snapped back to reality very
quickly.� He blinked once, twice, and
then � curses � his face slipped back into the now-familiar mask of neutrality.

�Come now, Hermione,� he said, his
smooth sarcasm returned, �isn�t there a rule against talking about exes on a
first date?�

�This can�t--� she began, but
paused as the waitress arrived and set their food in front of them.� �That�s what I wanted to talk about,� she
continued.� �There�s not much point to
this anymore.� Ron more or less told me
that he�s guilty.� Draco isn�t going to
find anything in Mykonos that will prove
otherwise.�

�More or less?� That�s hardly definitive.� I don�t know why he would tell you he did it
if he didn�t, but I have told a few whoppers in my life that made very little
sense.� Give both of them a chance,�
Lucius shrugged.� �Besides, Draco isn�t just
looking for things related to you.� We�re
going to need more than that to bring her down, and something to distract her
so that she doesn�t realize we�re on her trail.�

�Can�t we think of anything else?�
she sighed.

�Am I that aversive
to pretend to date?�

�No,� she said quickly.� �I just�I don�t know if I can handle the
fallout.� Some people are going to think
I�m a terrible person.�� No, she wasn�t
going to think about the truth � that she was afraid that she might actually
fall for him.� Already feelings were
creeping up on her, feelings she would never have believed she�d experience in
a million years.� She liked Lucius Malfoy.� She liked him as a person, perhaps even a
friend, and enjoyed the subtle mystery of his presence.

�You�ll be vindicated when we get
her.�� He looked at her thoughtfully
before spearing a haricot vert.�
�Sometimes the suffering is worth the result.�

She couldn�t control herself.� �I�ll just tell myself that while we�re out
on dates.�

He snorted and gave her an
unappreciative look.� But then his face
went back to that smug, knowing look from when he�d first arrived.� He delivered his next comment with all the
skill of a surgeon wielding a scalpel.�
�Well, Hermione, you don�t appear to be suffering too much during this date.�

Hermione stuffed a pumpernickel
roll in her mouth.� She knew when she was
beaten.�

She felt much better walking out of
the restaurant than she had walking in.�
She hated to admit it, but it had as much to do with his presence as it
did with her being full and tipsy.

�You really have no tolerance,� he
commented once they were out on the sidewalk.

�You barely helped me with that
bottle of wine,� she responded.

�I had two glasses,� he said, �and
I�m not in the habit of letting alcohol solve my problems.�

�Oh?� Then how do
you solve your problems, Lucius?�

�That depends upon the nature of
the problem.�

She rolled her eyes.� Always so cryptic!� Then again, it had been a broad
question.� And for another thing, she
wasn�t entirely sure she wanted to know how he solved certain problems.� There was still much she didn�t know about
him and given his past there was the distinct possibility that some of his
solutions were less than innocent.

�Are you--� she began, when
suddenly the heel of her shoe hit a crack in the sidewalk and the rest of the
question was cut off by the realization that she was going to fall.� She squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating
impact with the pavement, but it never came.�
He caught her awkwardly and pulled her back to balance, but in the
process they ended up in a strange half-embrace.

�� He was
halfway through what would have been a sufficiently acerbic statement when a
bright, sudden light made them both start.�
She realized what it was before him.�
It was the flash of a camera.� She
wrenched out of his grasp, drawing her wand.�
Across the street a man with mud-brown hair was running, trying to put
some distance between them � obviously the sneaky paparazzo.� She would have liked nothing more than to hex
his hair right off his head.

�� Not worth
it,� Lucius said, touching her wrist briefly.�
�It�s what we wanted anyway, right?�

�� Hermione
frowned and pocketed her wand.� How odd
it was to be told that it wasn�t worth it by someone who, in the past, had
reportedly hexed people purely for recreation.�
She wondered if he would be so sensible if he had a wand.� �Right.� They�re just�so bloody rude, sneaking up on
you like that.�

�� Just be
glad he didn�t get a picture of you falling on your arse, you lush.�

�� She glared
at him.� �Do you see that crack in the
sidewalk?� It�s practically a fault
line!�

�� He smiled
and held out his arm. �And once again,
she couldn�t be angry at him.� This was a
serious, serious problem.� She took his
arm and they walked in companionable silence, one couple out of many meandering
through the mild night.

�� It was
bizarre to be walked to her door by him.�
He had been a perfect gentleman for the most part.� She hadn�t intended upon this being their
�first date�, but evidently life had other plans.� It was almost disturbing how much seeing him had cheered her up.�
Perhaps it was that with him she had a mission, a meaning�the summer was
aimless as she didn�t have to teach, and that only meant more time to be
depressed over this whole miserable situation.�
He pulled her out of that, reminding her that she had a purpose: bring
down Rita Skeeter, newswoman from hell.

�� I suppose
we should plan our second date,� she said when they arrived at her door.� She rummaged for her key, and when she found
it she turned to face him.

�� He
struggled to contain a smirk.� �I�ll call
you.�

�� You are
terrible.�� She jabbed the key into the
lock.� He wasn�t kidding when he called
it relationship charades, was he!�

�� Hermione,�
he said as she unlocked the door.��

�� What?� she
demanded, a tad crossly.

�� You asked
me how I solve my problems.�

�� She turned
toward him, intrigued that she might get an answer, and found him a lot closer
than before.� Her heart beat faster at
the proximity, and, damn her, it wasn�t out of fear.

�� I find,�
he said, his voice that refined purr that could stroke anyone in the right
places, �that a good snog cures many ills.�

�� Oh, lord,
what a line, but she was buying it hook, line, and sinker.� Before she knew it, his fingers had lifted
her chin and his lips were descending on hers.�
They were not forceful, but she could no more resist them than she could
forget her own name.� In spite of the
fact that her mind was screaming, she tilted her head and parted her lips.� Fuck her mind; it had told her to marry Ron.

�� He tasted
like the after dinner mint.� His tongue
was gentle, deft, only just acquainting itself with hers before
withdrawing.� But that was not the end of
it.� His lips remained, touching,
teasing, cajoling with a sensuality she would not have thought him capable of.� This was a man who had kissed many women in
his time, but she didn�t care because right now he was kissing her.�

�� The tip of
his tongue brushed her bottom lip and he pulled away.� Oh, hell.�
Oh, fucking hell, her knees were weak.�
He gave her hand a slight squeeze, and then he was gone.� What a bloody Casanova!

�� Hermione
leaned against the door of her flat.�
What was it Jack said on Lost?�
Ten seconds to let the fear in�she counted to ten, letting every
misgiving, every viciously rational diatribe, every no and never and shouldn�t
fly through her head.� And then, with one
very deep breath, she pushed it all away.

�� She had
kissed Lucius Malfoy and liked it.� And
that was that.� She opened the door, for
the first time not having to step over a pile of letters (she hadn�t been in
the news for three whole days), and walked into her flat.

�� She almost
screamed when she saw who was waiting for her.

�� Ron!�

�� He turned, his face grim.�
Oh, God.� Oh, if she had opened
the door before the kiss�Lucius would be dead, murdered by Ron.� Had he heard them?� Surely he�d be yelling, hexing her, running
after Lucius.� Had he�?

�� We have to
talk, Hermione.�
- 3
- 4
- 5
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Some Blond Fool