Found | Dramione

0 7 - Peppermints

Hermione Granger was a lot of things. Intelligent, brave, kind, beautiful... and messy. Draco regarded her disorganized desk with amusement, taking in the endless stacks of papers and piles of books that littered the tabletop.

It was chaos. The witch was always so put together, never a hair out of place or a loose string on her clothes. While Hermione's appearance suggested that she was the epitome of organization, the state of her desk said otherwise. Once Draco managed to analyze the various items that were scattered on Hermione's desk, he found that there was a method to her madness. Everything was arranged in such a precise way, with two separate stacks of Daily Prophets—one for newspapers she had looked through, and one for Prophets she hadn't read. The system was used for the rest of the various books and files in towering heaps on the tabletop. A small mountain of notes scribbled on random pieces of parchment topped off the whole thing.

A beautiful mess. Just like Hermione.

They were such opposites in that way. Draco's desk was neat, with piles of systematically organized papers and books carefully stored in their respective places. His finishing touch was the polished silver bowl filled with the Honeydukes peppermints he loved.

He reached for one of those peppermints now, pale fingers methodically removed the shiny clear wrapping of the mint. It crinkled traitorously, shattering the blissful silence that had filled the office.

Hermione glanced up at him, clearly annoyed by the sound. Draco slowly popped the peppermint into his mouth, relishing the way her eyes were glued to his lips as the mint disappeared between them.

"Want a peppermint, Granger? I think I can afford it if you take one," Draco quipped, smirking slightly at the guilty expression on her face as Hermione realized that she had been caught staring. Her fingers toyed with her butterfly pendant, clearly a nervous habit.

"Oh, why not." Hermione laughed, accepting the peace offering as she leaned over and took a peppermint from the silver bowl. They had been arguing all morning, and the bitter atmosphere wasn't exactly doing wonders for her productivity. As it slowly dissolved on her tongue, Hermione realized why Draco loved them so much—they were delicious. The peppermints smelled like him: refreshing and cool, with just the barest hint of sweetness.

"Good, right?" he said, carefully setting down the silver dish.

"They really are," Hermione agreed. "Where did you get them from?"

"Honeydukes. They're addictive, though," he warned her jokingly.

"Good to know," she said. "It's funny, isn't it?" Hermione asked suddenly. "The only things we can talk about without arguing are peppermints and murder cases."

"We're an interesting pair," Draco replied simply as his quill began moving on a piece of parchment. "Speaking of murder cases, we should get back to work. We can't afford to waste much time—unless it's for a quick peppermint break, of course," he winked conspiratorially at her.

"Right," Hermione concurred, hiding the smile his wink had brought to her face by turning her attention towards yet another dusty book she had been sifting through.

Draco glanced down at what he had been unconsciously doing on the parchment in front of him. The page was filled with dozens of drawings of tiny butterflies that had an uncanny resemblance to the charm on Hermione's necklace.

✧ ✧ ✧

The rest of the day passed quickly, and before Hermione knew it, it was time to head out. She packed a few files that she wanted to review over the weekend into her bag, then headed for the door. Her hand was on the doorknob when she looked back over her shoulder at Draco, who was still engrossed in a book he had been analyzing.