Project 137.43.M.D.

XXXII. | LUCIDUM INTERVALLUM

XXXII.
LUCIDUM INTERVALLUM
(lucid moment)

It had been a shock that Harry had actually had the audacity to bring him here.

Her apartment had been her safe space. The only place she could mentally push Malfoy away if necessary. And now Harry had steamrolled that unspoken barrier by knocking on her door - with Malfoy in tow.

He should have known better, and Hermione made a mental note to round on him for that in the office next week.

But what should she have done in this situation? One look at Malfoy had been enough to let her know that she couldn't just slam the door in the two wizards' faces. So she had let them in. Of course she had.

After pushing past her into the apartment, Harry had quickly reported on what had happened in Diagon Alley. However, Malfoy had vehemently refused to Apparate with her to St. Mungo's, so Hermione had finally reached for her wand to cast a healing spell herself and at least put his tooth back in place. Harry had watched with furrowed eyebrows, but fortunately hadn't commented.

He had left shortly after that because he hadn't told Ginny he'd be late and hadn't wanted to worry her. Malfoy had acknowledged this with an eye roll behind Harry's back and, in turn, had received a reproachful look from Hermione, which admittedly hadn't particularly impressed him.

And now there he was. In the middle of her living room, with a huge bruise on his jaw, his long, slender fingers feather-lightly stroking the spines of the books on her shelf. His head was cocked slightly, a thoughtful expression on his face, and his blond hair fell across his forehead.

Malfoy looked stunning despite his injuries and, once again, Hermione had nothing better to do than secretly watch him from her sofa, biting her thumbnail as she did so. She would have loved to knock out her own tooth for that.

Finally, she drew in her legs and sighed, breaking the silence.

"That was very clever of you."

"What was clever?"

"Using the situation to find out where I live."

"Tsk, it was Potter's idea."

"You could have told him it was against protocol."

Malfoy turned to face her and slyly raised an eyebrow.

"I've never seen that incredibly interesting guardian protocol of yours, if I may remind you. That being said, I suppose it would also be against protocol to shag-"

Hermione threw a pillow at him.

"Stop being so vulgar! Besides, that is a whole different thing. This is about my privacy. My apartment is my sanctuary."

"Really? How exciting."

Malfoy rolled his eyes once more and leisurely strolled over to the sofa. Dropping down beside her, he reached out and placed his hand on her knee. His blood-caked lips curled into a smug smile.

"He would never have brought me here if he had known what I might intend to do with you today." His hand slipped from her knee between her thighs, causing Hermione to tense up. In an instant, she was on alert. And, fuck, aroused. "You didn't talk to him about it. That was awfully nice of you. Otherwise he probably would have liked to punch me in the face too."

Malfoy cocked his head.

"What happened between us is none of Harry's business. Also, it's going to cost me my job if someone finds out, I hope you know that."

"Don't panic, Granger. A gentleman never tells."

He withdrew his hand and Hermione instinctively wondered if she should be relieved or regretful. She bit her lower lip as she eyed his battered face.