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A Creative Solution	By : cristinstar Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 19002 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it just playing in JKR's sandbox. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Getting the Maidenhood Certificate was but a matter of minutes once the healer cast the charm. As long as she was at it, Hermione had them place one of the longer term contraception spells on herself, for peace of mind. That way, there would be no need to stress if they happened to get lost in the moment. When she came back out to the waiting room, Draco stood up and walked toward the door to the street.

"Shall we go get coffee and discuss the proposition in detail?" he asked and opened the door for her to precede him.

"Alright," she agreed.

"Do you have the rest of the afternoon free?" She nodded. "Good, me too. We can talk my proposal over and come to an agreement. I know just the place - it's a Muggle coffee shop, with booths where we can talk undisturbed."

They walked in companionable silence until they reached the portal separating wizarding Zurich from the Muggle streets. As they crossed the portal, Hermione realized that Draco (when had she begun thinking of him as Draco instead of Malfoy?) had placed his hand loosely on her lower back to guide her in his intended direction.

"This way," he said.

Liking the heat coming from his hand, both physically and metaphorically, Hermione nonetheless felt compelled to ask, "Won't your fan club mind that you're escorting me like this?"

Draco frowned. "Granger," he said, "This is getting tiresome. I will ask you one more time to respect my lifestyle, just as you expect me to respect yours. I'm willing to talk with you about it if it'll help stop these passive-aggressive jabs you keep throwing at me. Why are my associations such a problem when they weren't before?"

"Because we weren't together then," she stated vehemently, "or planning on being together, involved, exclusive, dating, significant others, sexual partners, lovers, girlfriend and boyfriend, or whatever you want to call this thing we're going to discuss."

"So you didn't mind if your best friend was tomcatting around, but you mind it now, because we're about to be naked together?" he asked with a smile.

She nodded. "Precisely."

"Here we are," he said while holding the door to the coffee shop open. He insisted on treating her to the coffee, adding a couple of pastries to the order. "Sugar always helps with emotional discussions," he explained.

"We need to clear the air about this for our experiment to work," he said as they sat in a booth in the back with their drinks. "What exactly is it that you find so reprehensible about having safe sex with willing partners?"

She looked carefully around, then discreetly cast <i>Muffilato</i> and the Disillusionment charm, before answering. "You mean your promiscuous womanizing ways? What about the broken hearts you leave behind?"

"There are many, many less broken hearts than you may think," he said and cut the pastries in half. As he continued speaking, he motioned for her to help herself to them. "First of all, the gals that choose to spend the night with me know that it is a one night deal. Sure, some may hope that there will be more, but I am quite upfront about this being a one-time thing."

"What about Pansy and Lavender?" she asked in a catty tone. "They were not one-time things, were they?"

"Pansy and Lavender knew there was nothing lasting in our dalliances," he said, frowning, "and they used me too, did you ever think about that?"

Then he gestured to the pastries, saying, "Eat some, will you?" As he continued, he let his aggravation come though in his tone. "Let's hope your blood sugar level is crashing, because, Merlin! If you are this waspish with the guys that ask you out, it's no wonder you are still a virgin."

She blushed. "I'm not like this with every bloke that asks me out, Malfoy! And I've told you before, it's not for lack of offers that I'm still a virgin." She grabbed a pastry and bit into it aggressively as she spoke. "I'm only like this with the guys whose reputations precede them."

"My reputation is somewhat exaggerated, Granger. Some of my dates don't make it past the dance floor, bar stool, or apartment door, before we both decide that we don't suit. Don't give me that look; I mean the door of her apartment." She raised her eyebrows, so he elaborated, "Before it's open for the evening, before the real naughtiness ensues."

He took a big swallow of his coffee and continued, "Sexual compatibility is easy to determine past the first few kisses; are our smells agreeable to each other? Pleasing? The roles each person wants to play in the relationship, what they're looking for, is something everyone knows after the first couple of kisses."

She was sipping her coffee as she frowned. "What do you mean?"

"You know when you kiss someone and they are too aggressive? Or too passive? Too sloppy? Too much tongue? Not enough teasing? Both the boy and the girl evaluate each other in the first couple of kisses, transmitting what the person is looking for in their next encounter. I've learned to read the girls for signs when they don't think we match. And I have become rather good at the gentle disengagement. 'Let's not get carried away since we don't really know each other' works when I don't think we match."

"What about the smells being agreeable?" she asked, nibbling on another pastry.

"Pheromones." He nodded when he saw her eyes light up in understanding. "It is easiest when you are dancing and you smell your partner's perfume-free scent. Any two persons' scents may not be compatible, through no fault of their own." He grabbed a piece of pastry and waved it around as he explained. "I may be more sensitive to smells than other people, but I think it is true for everyone; your partner's natural scent has to smell pleasing to you."

"So how do you know that we'll be compatible? How do you know you won't be repulsed by my smell?" Before he could answer, she continued asking, "What if your pheromones turn me off?"

"Granger, Granger." His smirk was firmly in place, just a shade too arrogant, as he explained, "We've been sweaty and close together before, remember? During practice sessions at Shell Cottage, as well as during and after the battle, just to name a few. I know you smell just fine to me and I didn't see you scrunching your nose when we hugged, or when I tackled you. Believe me, the reactions I'm talking about are instinctual; you would not have been able to hide them."

"What about being compatible about the roles that each of us wants to play in the relationship?" she asked.

"We're not going to be partners for only one night, Granger. We'll have time to figure it out and we can try as many roles as you want..." He trailed off and winked suggestively as she blushed. "Or as many as you'll let me convince you to try, alright? It won't be a problem, trust me."

He paused, and his tone turned serious. "I'm not claiming that there have only been a few women; I know I have had many partners. I was not serious about any of them, and not repeating partners is a good way of making sure the birds know I'm not interested in more. But I had little choice. You may scoff at me again for saying it, but I need sex regularly."

She did indeed scoff at him, saying, "No one needs sex, Malfoy. People want sex, desire it, wish for it. But it is not like water -- no one has died from lack of sex."

He frowned. "This is not up for discussion, Granger. I am telling you I need it, not asking for permission or approval, got it?"

She bristled, and he continued, "If you don't think you can understand that, let me know right now." He tapped his finger for emphasis on the tabletop. "It's the same as you and your virginity. You want me to respect your views on sex, you respect me and my views on sex too. Otherwise, this is not going to work."

She looked away as she explained why she didn't believe in his need. "It's not that I can't understand it, I just think most men over-emphasize their natural 'needs' because of society's pressure..." She trailed off as he scowled.

"I'm not 'most men' Granger, and haven't I shown that I could care less what society expects from me? Or do you forget the whole of 1998?"

She prevaricated, drawing circles on the tabletop with her fingers. "Of course not Malfoy, I just--"

"Good. Now let's get one thing clear: you're not me, so you can't say whether my perception of my own needs is, or is not, accurate. Alright?"

She nodded, chastised, as he continued explaining. "My need is real for me, and for anyone I'm going to be with. Understood?"

She kept her eyes averted, following the grain of the tabletop with her fingertips.

"Look at me," he requested.

Compelled to obey his request, she was taken aback by the intensity of his stare. A stray thought about his gorgeous eyes broke through the difficult conversation they were having. In the past, she had noted that his eyes seemed to reflect the light according to his moods, darkening or lightening. Right now, they resembled storm clouds over the sea, rolling with suppressed thunder. Clearly, his sexual needs were not up for debate for some reason. She sighed, admitting that she could easily spend hours looking at him.

Seeing that she was paying attention, he enunciated each word slowly while looking at her straight in the eye. "I. Need. Sex. Regularly."

She frowned and looked away. When she spoke, traces of sarcasm and insecurity were audible in her tone. "Are you sure what we do will be enough to satisfy you then?"

A hint of a smile appeared on Draco's face. "Remember my conditions? We'll both reach orgasm, at least once, each session."

"And you'll be alright with it, even if we don't have intercourse?" she clarified, blushing.

"Oh, yeah." He was smirking broadly, arrogantly. "There are so many things we can do, so many ways to experience pleasure. Was the Weasel really that narrow minded?"

"I just have to clarify, since we're to be sort of lovers..." She averted her eyes, "I know I don't 'need' sex as often as you do, and since you've promised to be only with me while this is going on, what are we going to do?"

"Granger, you know I won't ever force you or coerce you." He leaned back on the seat as he frowned.

"It's not that," she quickly reassured him, "I know you'd never do that. I just don't want to argue about having sex. I had enough of that with Ron."

"Don't compare me to that orangutan, Granger. Not now, not ever. We're way too different." He swallowed more coffee. "How do you know you won't come to want to be intimate more often when you have an experienced partner, hmmm?" She blushed, and he smirked seeing it. "Besides, doing it regularly is one of my conditions for this experiment, remember?"

"Yes, but that's the point exactly. If I'm not in the mood--"

He interrupted her again. "If you respect the time we schedule to be together and respect my needs enough to let yourself be persuaded, I'll take care of getting you in the mood. Let me worry about that, alright?" He sipped some of his coffee before saying, "Now, let's get back to our original discussion, to your second point. The women that I engage with are looking for the same thing I am: no-strings-attached sexual exploration and satisfaction. Why do you think it's bad exactly?"

"Because... because you're not committed to each other..." She spoke slowly, trying to verbalize her feelings without looking at him. How to explain without mentioning how upset she had been every time she had seen him chose a girl to spend the night with? How every time she felt she had been passed over? "And to treat sex so casually doesn't sit well with me. You know, I have always associated it with having kids--"

"Sex between humans is for more than procreation, Granger. I never knew you were such a Puritan." Draco scoffed, and she paused, making patterns on the tabletop with the remaining pastry crumbs, still avoiding his eyes.

"Don't scoff, this isn't easy for me to explain. Look, since no potion or charm is one hundred percent effective, the chance of having kids is there each time. So I've always felt that sex should be with people I would not mind having kids with, with guys I could see myself building a life with."

As she finished her statement she looked up at him directly. "Did you ever think about that? Did you consider what you would do if one of those girls looking for a good time showed up nine months later with the latest Malfoy heir in tow? Merlin! What if one of them shows up while we're together--" She had been steadily working herself into a tizzy considering those possibilities when he interrupted.

"There is no chance of that, Granger. You were pretty good at probabilities as I recall, and you know that the probability of conception goes down if several methods are used simultaneously. So you can relax that there will be no little grand-kids for Narcissa coming from any of my birds."

"How can you be sure Draco? There will always be room for doubt--"

He interrupted her again, shaking his head, as he held up his hand. "I'm sure. Trust me on this too. If nothing else, the tapestry at the Manor would have already tattled the birth of the Malfoy scion. Though I have to say, since we're discussing this, I take it that I am one of the lucky blokes you wouldn't mind having kids with?" he asked, smirking as she blushed.

"Well... we are friends, which is one of the qualifications I wanted in a partner."

His eyes were light as he teased, "If that was it, you'd have given it up to Weasley. So tell me, Granger, what else do you look for in a potential lover that you haven't found yet, and I will make sure to provide it."

"To see myself spending my life with a bloke, I would need for him to be intelligent, well mannered, loyal, faithful, educated, goal driven." She was bringing up her fingers one by one as she enumerated her criteria. "He has to have depth, and have a family I get along with--"

"Well, if you add handsome and with good taste, I think you'll find I meet your criteria." Draco's self-satisfied smirk was firmly in place as he spoke.

"Isn't this going to be your first attempt at fidelity? And you didn't let me finish. He also should have values similar to mine... and be modest!" she ended with a flourish.

He frowned. "This is going to be the first time I AM going to be faithful because it will be the first time I've agreed to it." He spoke with conviction and squeezed the hand she had on the table before cajoling, "Have a bit of faith in me, Hermione. Have I ever let you down?"

Hermione noted that this was the first time he'd used her given name during their negotiations. It felt... strange to hear it from his mouth, in that honeyed tone. And while she did not know how to express it, he had let her down in the past, when he'd chosen so many other girls and ignored her as a possible choice. Draco was still waiting for her answer, looking at her while running his fingers gently on her hand. The sensations he was eliciting with his fingers were unsettling; neither good, nor bad.

"Leaving modesty aside for a moment, did you not hear me about the bloke having values similar to mine?" she said and moved her hand away from under his.

"Is that it? You are being so snide about my dalliances because I treat sex casually?"

"Your values are shown by your choices too, Malfoy. What made you pick those girls?"

He smirked again as he asked her, "Shouldn't we switch and talk to each other by our first names, since we are going to be intimate?"

"Fine, Draco. Don't change the topic. When you were looking for a good time, what made you pick a particular girl, from the rest of the girls at the parties?"

His eyes narrowed as he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I'll give you that some of them were interesting, but you can't tell me you picked most of them for being great conversationalists, right?" She went on as he sat back on his chair. "You picked them because they were beautiful, not for their intelligence. So obviously you value looks over substance."

He did not answer right away, and she could see that he was thinking about his response. She was expecting a lighthearted quip, because his eyes remained light. However, when he did respond, he took her by surprise with his directness and insight.

"Are you asking why I didn't pick you, Hermione?" he asked and leaned back in his chair once more.

She huffed and avoided his eyes as she answered. "Not just you, or not exactly why <i>you</i> didn't." She prevaricated as she wiggled in her seat. "Don't let your ego grow out of proportion. You're a guy, and my friend, so I will be blunt and ask you. What is it about me that repels men looking for a night of fun? Do I smell weird? Talk too much? Intimidate them? Dress too conservatively? Am I too fat?"

"Hermione, you are very attractive - no, don't roll your eyes at me. You are. How many of your mates are guys?"

Was he trying to change the focus of the conversation? "What does that have to do with anything?" she asked.

"You have lots of male friends, many more than the average girl. Every cross-gender friendship is initiated by sexual interest. Can you say you are, or were in the past, interested in anyone from your cadre of male friends, sexually? Leave the Weasel-ex aside for now." He paused while she slowly shook her head. "There you have it. I know most of those guys would have loved to date you, before you made it clear that you weren't interested."

"Then why don't I get picked up at pubs, Draco?" she asked and sadly shook her head.

He looked at her seriously. "I never would have thought you were insecure, Hermione. Makes me want to go and rough up Weasley." He frowned, leaning closer to her. "He should have made sure you knew how beautiful, how smart, how kind and loving you are."

She blushed and rolled her eyes again, saying "You're laying it on too thickly, Draco. I'm a sure thing, remember? I need the cash too." Some of her bitterness came through as she spoke.

He grabbed her hand with both of his, looking directly into her eyes. "Hermione, I'm not flattering you. It's the truth. You are more than intelligent enough to know when someone's lying. Yes, you aren't thin. But your hourglass figure is quite sexy in its own right. You have a beautiful face and a personality to match. You can discuss any subject under the sun and make it interesting. I've never met anyone as loyal and smart--"

"Again, then why don't I get picked up at pubs, Draco?" She interrupted, pulling her hand out from under his.

"Because you're a nice girl, Hermione. Nice girls don't get asked for one-offs by guys with any sort of decency."

"Are you saying that I should change the way I dress, or the way I behave? Which one is it? What do you think: should I be bitchy or shallow?" She hated how shrill her voice was becoming. As he rolled his eyes she tried to hide her humiliation with sarcasm. "Should I wear tiny skirts and tottering high heels? Is it even possible for me to be sexy?" she asked.

"No! I'm not saying any of those things. You wouldn't want to have a one night stand with someone you just met at the pub, Granger." He shook his head in exasperation. "You'd want to know them for a while, to make sure they fit all your conditions in a partner, right?"

She nodded and discreetly wiped her eyes clear of the mortifying tears that had escaped.

He leaned close towards her and reached for her hand once more. "So what's this really about, Hermione?" he asked.

As he moved she inhaled accidentally and smelled him. Oh, so good! Unconsciously she followed the scent, leaning into his space for another whiff. Whether it was his cologne, aftershave, or his own personal smell, it was a very good scent. After his little speech about smells, she was now paying attention to the sensation. It made her want to get closer, to inhale directly from his skin.

This realization shocked her and she pulled back as far as she could, still tethered to him through their hands. Merlin! Even Draco's smell had to be addictive to her! She was getting in over her head! Their eyes met and she felt the connection with a jolt down to her bones, much deeper than a mere look warranted. This closeness, these feelings, the sincerity she heard in his question, was too much.

"I don't think I can do this, Draco. I'm sorry." She tried tugging her hand free as she grabbed her purse, avoiding his eyes, but he didn't let go.

"Why not? What is it now? Is it me? Do you not want to do this with me?"

"No! I want to do this with you - but not for money. I thought I could, but I can't." She continued tugging on her hand as she avoided his gaze. "I just - I don't want you to be with me just because we need the money," she whispered, finally confessing her feelings out loud to him.

Humiliated, Hermione continued explaining: "I don't think I can take it, knowing you're forcing yourself to touch me only because we're broke." She wiped at her eyes with her free hand and tried to hide the strength of her feelings. "I mean, no one would. Well, perhaps people that go to prostitutes are OK with it... " She was rambling on as he captured her other hand with his, dropping her purse onto her lap.

"Hermione, look at me." He waited until she was looking into his eyes before continuing to speak. "Listen, and hear what I am telling you, woman. I will not be forced to touch you." He paused after each sentence, letting the meaning sink in. "I like you. I want to touch you. I want to make the Maiden's Blush with you. I want to experiment with you. I wouldn't have suggested this otherwise."

She shook her head gently. "Draco, you don't have to flatter me. We've been friends for a long time, and there have been plenty of times when you could have touched me, or kissed me, if you wanted to. I know I'm not your type."

He frowned. "Since you know me so well then, what's my type?"

"Thin girls in high heels, sexy impractical outfits, with perfect hair and makeup." Her bitterness came through loud and clear when she answered.

"Answer me this, then," he said and captured her other hand. "If those girls were my type, why didn't they stick around? How come I'm not with any of them today?"

"How would I know?" she said. She pulled on her hand again. The more upset she got, the less she could help controlling the few tears that leaked out of her eyes. She hated crying, hated the whole emotional roller coaster she felt whenever it came to Draco's sex life, and hated knowing that the tears were making her face all blotchy. "Because you can't commit, or you like the variety, or you can't be monogamous, or they smelled wrong, like you said, or what have you. I wasn't there the next morning to hear what you told them as you snuck out!"

"They're not my type, Hermione," he said. He moved her hands so that he held them both in his left hand. His right hand slowly cupped her face as he said, "They don't know me, who I am. They're in it for the fun of it, because they know I can give them a good time. They're fine to spend one night with, but I wouldn't want to spend a week, much less a month, with them. Merlin knows most of them wouldn't want to be with me for long, either."

His thumb gently rubbed, collecting the moisture from her tears, making her shiver. She could feel the roughness of his fingers, attesting to the challenges of being a Potions' Master's apprentice. The look in his eyes was so caring, the caress was so tender, that she closed her eyes and dropped her head. She was tearing up again. It was too perfect, everything she could have dreamed him saying and doing.

"Now that I know you're not averse to exploring this between us, I believe you and I are going to spend quite a bit of time together. I won't let you back out without giving it a real try." His tone became lower, thicker. "We deserve to give each other this chance, to explore this between us." He swallowed and breathed out a question. "Don't you think?"

She nodded, still averting her gaze. The pads of his fingers rubbed the back of her neck slowly as he finished by saying, "Whatever happens afterwards, we're going to enjoy being together, Hermione."

The caresses and the emphasis on her given name made her shiver. She was falling deeper into the sensual web he was weaving around them and made a valiant attempt at bringing up reality, before fully giving herself up to it. Fighting her way through the sensual daze, she pointed out: "You weren't interested in me before this financial meltdown, Draco." With her eyes closed, she didn't know where he was, but she felt him moving slightly and heard his chair creak.

"Wrong," he said. His voice sounded much closer, next to her ear. "I just wasn't about to jeopardize our friendship when it was clear you weren't interested, Hermione."

Upon hearing him, her head snapped up, and her eyes popped open. "What?" All she could see was his perfect hair from up close and the curve of his ear.

"Close your eyes, Hermione," he whispered right into her ear and licked his lips. The sensation of his lips moving so close to her ear as he formed each word, each syllable, generated a fresh round of hair-raising shivers.

She obeyed quickly, asking, "Why?"

He dropped a kiss on the cheek he had rubbed as he shushed her. "Shhhh. Always so many questions," he breathed, "Let yourself feel, for once. Don't try to understand just yet." He brought up the hand that had been holding hers to frame the other side of her face, rubbing the moisture he found there slowly. His breath ghosted over her face as he moved to her forehead, kissing the middle of it.

He kissed each of her closed eyelids before moving to her other ear. There, he explained softly, "You are one of the very few people I trust, Hermione." As he enunciated each word, the puffs of air made all the little hairs in her arms stand on end. She felt the prickling of goosebumps all over her face, her body, even her hair! She had to admit he was very good at this. Whether it was through his experience, his ability to read her reactions, or his innate seductive abilities, Draco Malfoy was turning her into a puddle of malleable goo in record time.

He nuzzled the shell of her ear as he continued speaking. "And one of the very few people that trusts me too." He then kissed her cheek, the tip of her nose, then the other cheek on his way back to her ear.

"I wasn't going to lose you by seeing if we could be more to each other than friends, until now." As he whispered, he ran the tip of his nose along the border of her ear, from the top to the bottom lobe. Hermione tilted her face, exposing more of her neck to his caresses and felt her breathing become choppy. His nose followed the path of the line of her face, slowly touching along her jaw, gently breathing on it, down to her chin, and then up to her other ear.

"Now, I think I'm ready to take a gamble and see where this can lead." As he spoke he caressed this ear with his nose as well. Tilting her head with his hands so that his lips hovered over hers, he gently asked, "Will you take a chance on me... Hermione... Granger?" Each word moved his lips closer to hers, getting closer and closer each time, until they were directly on hers as he breathed her name in warm puffs of air.

She started to nod, yet once he felt the movement through his hands, he closed the infinitesimal gap that remained between their lips, and kissed her.

Please review, and let me know what you think of the developments in this extra-long chapter!

1998 would have been their 7th year at Hogwarts, and was the year of the Final Battle, perJKR's timeline. In my storyline, Draco spent this year helping the Order of the Phoenix, often fighting alongside the trio.

Many thanks to catcachoo, who did a super-fast, super-Beta job on this chapter, and to the H&V validators for their comments!
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A Creative Solution