Found | Dramione

1 7 - Stay

Tuesday, December 26th, 2000

The peppermint wrapper crinkled as Hermione twisted it open. Draco continued reading the report in front of him, unfazed. It seemed to him that she liked the mints more than he did now. He would constantly see her slide one into her mouth, sucking intently as she leafed through a book or scribbled down notes. Hermione had already begun pilfering from the package she had bought Draco as an apology for taking so many of his peppermints. He didn't mind; in fact, he found it rather endearing that she had taken such a liking to something he enjoyed as well.

Draco looked up when the crinkling began again. Had she already finished the first one in a matter of seconds? Instead of putting the mint in her mouth, Hermione was walking to his desk with the candy in her palm, a mischievous smile playing across her lips.

"I brought you something," she said, eyes dancing as she neared him. Hermione's next words were swallowed by a gasp as Draco pulled her towards him.

"Stealing my peppermints again?" he hummed against her hair, laughing as Hermione toppled into his lap.

"Technically they're mine, I bought them," Hermione retorted, twisting to face him. Her heart pounded at their close proximity, and the places Draco's hands touched as he held her seemed to burn with urgency.

"When you give someone a gift, that item is no longer yours, Granger," Draco smirked as she scrambled for an insult and settled for the professional thing to do—shoving the peppermint in his mouth with a bit more force than was necessary.

"Enjoy!" Hermione chirped, attempting to free herself from Draco's grasp.

"Not so fast," he snickered, holding her closer than she had been before. Hermione stopped struggling when she felt his heart pounding against the smooth fabric of his white dress shirt. "Do you know what happens when you misbehave?" Draco asked, expression suddenly serious.

"No," Hermione replied uncertainly, unsure if he was being flirty or if he had just realized that she had forcibly shoved a peppermint in his mouth which could be considered a couple activity if you thought about it for long enough.

"This," Draco breathed, leaning forward. She closed her eyes, anticipating the rush his kisses brought her. What happened next was, to say the least, unexpected.

He was tickling her. Hermione shrieked as Draco's fingers dug into her skin, leaping out of his lap like it was ablaze with white-hot flames.

"How did you know," Hermione gasped between lungfuls of air, "that I was so ticklish?"

"Almost everyone is," he replied with a lazy grin that nearly made her forget her annoyance at being tickled like a four-year-old.

"Well—" she began to retort when the office door swung open and the older witch that worked as Kingsley's secretary poked her head inside.

"Is everything all right in here?" she asked concernedly. "I heard screaming,"

"My apologies," Draco said smoothly. "I was testing out a quite harmless spell we're in the process of inventing and I think it's safe to say that it's not ready for use just yet,"

"Oh, of course," the secretary tittered, melting under Draco's beguiling words and dashing smile. "Have a nice day,"

"You too!" Hermione called after her as the door swung closed. "How do you do that?" she queried.

"Flirt with old hags?" he asked, returning to his chair.

"Don't call her an old hag!" Hermione chastised. "She's a very sweet lady,"