Everything except the storyline belongs to J.K. Rowling.

A.N./ This story was inspired by the Live Fic held on 11/02/2017 at the Strictly Dramione Facebook page. I want to thank all those wonderful writers that created the Live Fic for writing such wonderful stories, and being my inspiration.

A.N./ This story has been translated in Vietnamese by Tiara Nguyen. Here the link to her page as the story link has an unknown character in it... www . wattpad user / Tiara_Ng

He was dreaming. This had to be a dream. No way that this would be happening in real life. His small sailboat was aimlessly drifting as he watched the gorgeous woman in front of him. She was clad in nothing more than a tiny bikini, sunbathing blissfully on a couple of rocks, in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea.

Her wild, brown curls were spread around her like a halo, still a bit wet from the sea water. Hell, she was covered in glistening drops of salty sea water, caused by the spray of the waves breaking against the group of rocks.

A sudden gust of wind made his boat shudder, and with a curse he grabbed hold of the rudder. The woman spooked at the sudden sound of his voice. Her head snapped up in his direction, before she fluently rose and dived into the water.

Sweet Merlin, she was stunning. For a moment, he actually thought he was looking at Hermione Granger. There was no way, he was definitely dreaming! But dream or no dream, Hermione Granger or not, a woman had just jumped into the water in the middle of nowhere! How had she gotten there in the first place anyway? Frantically, he started searching the waters around his boat. She never re-emerged.

He dragged his hand through his hair. Had he just been lucky enough to see a mermaid? He shook his head, and pinched himself. He did not wake up. But honestly, was anybody even certain whether or not that trick actually worked?

He roamed the area until he was forced to return to harbour. The woman never reappeared. He had no other choice but to believe he had actually seen a mermaid, a human woman would never have been able to swim outside of his field of view. Still, mermaids were so rarely seen, he still wasn't completely sure that this wasn't a dream.

The mystery woman stayed on his mind the entire evening. As he was securing his boat to the dock, he found himself wondering whether or not any of the other sailors had ever encountered a mermaid. While taking a shower, he remembered how her body had glistened in the sun. As he was having dinner, he wondered what types of food a mermaid ate. Fish, obviously, and perhaps seaweed?

xXxXx

He promised himself he would not return to that place. No matter how intriguing the encounter, the odds of it happening again were near to non-existing, there was no reason to return to the carefully logged location of the crop or rocks. However, as soon as he was out of the harbour, he was sailing straight back there.

'Just to make sure I didn't dream it,' he told himself. He tried to ignore the hope he felt as he saw the rocks after about two hours of sailing, and he most certainly did not feel disappointed to find it empty. 'What was I thinking?' he berated himself. He slowed to a stop and stared at the rocks, trying to decide what he was going to do with the rest of his day. His plans really hadn't gone any further than getting back here.

"You came back."

The tinkling voice made him whip around in surprise. He saw nothing in the water. Had he imagined it? A giggle behind him made him turn around once more, again to find nothing.

"Why did you come back?"

The voice was once more behind him, and he whirled around. The sea was empty.

"Where are you?" he demanded loudly.

Another giggle. "In the water."

He rolled his eyes. The turning back and forth was making him dizzy.

"Show yourself!"

"Oh, no, I cannot let you see my face," she replied in a teasing tone. "Why did you come back?"

Another spin. Draco really was getting dizzy, but this time he was rewarded with the remains of a splash, telling him she was, indeed, out in the water. He thought about how to answer her question, slowly turning in circles in an attempt to catch a glimpse of her.

"You mesmerized me," he answered. "I needed to make sure I didn't dream you."

"I am completely real," she laughed.

The sound of her laughter washed over him. It sounded like the rush he felt when his sailboat was smoothly cleaving through the waves of the sea. It sounded like happiness incarnated.

"Why are you hiding? I saw you once, why can't I see you again?"

"I cannot let you see my face," she repeated. "But I will talk to you if you promise not to turn around."

Unable to help himself he turned. A splash told him she was already gone.

"Promise me."

"Ok," he replied, and promptly turned around again.

He expected her to turn up behind him once more, but when it stayed silent for a full five minutes he got worried. Had he scared her off? Had she decided he was not worth her time; because he insisted on trying to see her? Surprised about how much her disappearance bothered him, he dragged a hand through his hair and let out a sigh.

"I'm sorry," he said with a raised voice, looking out over the empty ocean at the starboard side of his boat. "I promise I won't look."

Another minute passed in silence.

"You are? You do?"

It took all his self-control not to turn to her tinkling voice behind him. She sounded so hopeful. He plopped down on his arse to keep his need to know in check.

"I am, I do," he answered.

It felt weird to talk to nothing. He felt his boat dip slightly to one side, he figured she was leaning on the railing.

"I'm smiling," she said. "Since you can't see me, I thought I should inform you."

"If I'm not allowed to see you, can you at least give me a name?"

"A name?" she repeated. For a moment only the sloshing sound of the waves could be heard. "You can call me Minnie."

"Minnie," he tested out her name. "I'm Draco."

"Hi, Draco."

The way she said his name did weird things to him. He wondered if she was a siren, and that had him worry about some other myths concerning mermaids. Was she going to invoke a storm on him if he displeased her? Or was she going to drag him under the water to his death? His resolve not to turn around suddenly became a lot stronger.

"You must have questions," she stated.

'That's an understatement,' he thought. 'Where to begin?'

"Are you alone?" he finally asked. It seemed to him to be the safest question.

"You are here."

He could hear the smile in her voice. Was she doing it on purpose? He growled lightly and rolled his eyes.

"Not what I meant."

"I know," she answered with another giggle.

He wanted to raise an eyebrow at her, but once more managed to prevent himself from turning around.

"Are you the only mermaid here?" he elaborated his question.

"I'm the only one in the near vicinity, yes," she answered. "Do you sail here a lot?"

"Yes, I do. I love to sail, I love to feel the wind in my hair and the speed that comes with it. I love how technique and intuition need to come together to get this little boat to its top speed. But I also love the tranquillity that comes with being alone on a vast expanse of water. These waters are perfect for sailing, the sea can be full of surprises."

He realised he was rambling and decided to stop before it got any worse.

"What do you think of this part of the sea?" he asked, just to say something.

"It's my home," she answered simply.

He felt like a complete idiot. What a stupid question to ask! Frantically he tried to come up with something else to say.

"You had legs!" he suddenly blurted out.

Sweet Merlin, he could kill himself for that! She laughed and it made him feel all fuzzy inside, it no longer mattered he had just embarrassed himself.

"Not right now." The laughter was still present in her tone of voice.

"So you have a, uhm, fish tail?" He practically groaned. What was up with him? He had been trained to make interesting small talk, what on earth was he doing?

"I have a tail, yes, but do we look like fish, or do the fish look like us?"

"Uhm…" What was he supposed to answer to that?

She chuckled, and he realised she was messing with him, to his utter relief. "Might I enquire about the colour?" There, a proper sentence!

"It's different shades of green, with some blue mixed in it."

"You sound rather put out by that, you don't like the colour?"

"I have a certain affinity with red," she answered.

He paused for a moment. "Well, I rather like green," he finally stated.

"Do you now?"

Again he didn't know how to answer. Was it supposed to be a neutral question? Had he somehow offended her? By Merlin, he didn't understand this woman, well, mermaid really.

"Yes, I do," he answered. "It was my house colour at Hogwarts, the school where I learned magic."

It stayed silent for a long time.

"Minnie, are you still there?"

"Yes," she chuckled, "yes, I am, but I should get going, the sun made a long way through the sky already."

Draco cast a Tempus and was surprised to see the time. He felt the boat dip to the side.

"Come back tomorrow?" she asked shyly.

"I will," he stated.

A splash told him she had left. To be certain he stayed seated for a couple more minutes. Who would believe him if he told them he had a civil conversation with a mermaid, and asked her about the colour of her tail? He found the situation completely bizarre, and completely exhilarating. Tomorrow, he would make sure to get up early.

xXxXx

He left the harbour at first light, excited to see Minnie again, his little mermaid. It bothered him that she didn't allow him to see her. He wondered why that was. From the glimpse he had caught two days ago, he knew she was beautiful, so what was the reason? Perhaps there were some rules, unknown to humans? Perhaps she was a siren, and he would be trapped as soon as he looked into her eyes?

The trip seemed to take twice as long. When he finally got there, he lowered the deep sea anchor. He had forgotten the day before, and had drifted away rather far. Luckily, he hadn't hit any rocks. Something inside him liked to believe Minnie would have warned him if that was about to happen. Right now he was hoping he hadn't dropped the anchor on her head, which he knew was silly. Not knowing what else to do, he sat himself down on one of the side benches.

"You came early."

He smiled as he heard her voice, and felt the tell-tale dip of his boat.

"I find you rather intriguing, can you blame me for wanting to come early to get to know you?"

She giggled. "What do you want to know?"

'What you look like,' was his first idea, but he quickly pushed it away. "I'm still confused about the leg thing."

A small laugh. "The leg thing?" she repeated teasingly. "Whatever do you mean?"

"How can you have legs? Why? You're a mermaid."

"How else do you expect me to move around on dry land?"

"So you can freely move around outside of the ocean?"

"You saw me on the rocks, didn't you?"

"Not what I meant, are you doing this on purpose?"

Another giggle. "I wouldn't dare," she answered, tone laced heavily with sarcasm.

He grumbled and rolled his eyes.

"Sure you wouldn't," he answered, equally as sarcastic. "So tell me, you can walk on land, everywhere and all the time?"

"Pretty much," she replied. "Being out of the water for too long tends to become depressing though. If we do venture out of the sea, we like to stay near a lake, so we can go swimming from time to time."

"Wait, does that mean that I might have encountered a mermaid before, without knowing?"

She hummed. "Yes, that's possible."

"Can you recognise each other, when you meet on land?"

"We can see the ocean in each other's eyes."

He had no idea what to make of that answer, and he had no way to find out as long as he wasn't allowed to look into her eyes. Deciding to slightly change topic, he mentioned the Great Lake near Hogwarts, and the resident merpeople.

"Our cousins," Minnie replied. "They distanced themselves from all humans, and changed in the process."

"How are they more secluded than you mermaids? Seeing one of your kind is considered very rare, it doesn't happen very often."

"Not that you know of," was her answer.

He inclined his head in acceptance. Indeed, like he had just mentioned himself, he could have met a mermaid without even realising.

"Tell me about Hogwarts," she asked.

He smiled and thought about the castle he had spent most of his childhood in. With broad gestures he started describing the stunning castle to her. He told her about the enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall, about the moving stairs and the talking portraits. He elaborately painted a picture of the Slytherin common room, and then proceeded to sum up the different houses and their common traits. He moved on to the surrounding grounds, the Forbidden Forest and the Great Lake with its giant squid.

When he finally stopped talking, he realised he had been going on for nearly twenty minutes, and she hadn't interrupted once.

"You seem to have really loved it there," she commented.

He thought she sounded puzzled about that. However, he didn't pay it any attention; he figured she was simply confused about life on land.

"I did love it," he answered. "I still do."

A silence spread between them.

"I have to go," she said finally.

"What? Why?"

"I promised to meet up with some friends," she answered.

"Oh." He was surprised at the stab of jealousy he felt. He felt oddly possessive of her, which was ridiculous really, she was a creature of the see, as free as one can be. "Oh," he repeated. "Okay. Will you be back tomorrow?"

"If you want me to come?"

"Yes! I mean, yeah, sure, I would like that." Inwardly he groaned, he sounded way too eager.

"I would like that to," she said softly. "See you tomorrow."

A dip and a splash, and she was gone.

xXxXx

The next day he once more left at first light. He had wandered aimlessly through town the evening before, feeling to need to by something for Minnie, but having absolutely no clue as to what to buy for a mermaid. He ended up with nothing, and loathed himself because of it.

After lowering the anchor, he sat down in the middle of his boat. He waited for some time, and was afraid she wouldn't show up, when he finally heard her tinkling voice.

"Draco."

"Hi there," he replied. Did his voice sound soft? "How were your friends? Happy to see you?"

"They were," she answered. "We played with some dolphins, it was fun."

"You played with dolphins?" he repeated, imagining it in his head, and finding it rather alluring.

"Yes," she said with a smile in her voice. "They're really sweet."

He had no idea how to answer that. Momentarily he pondered about how often that happened while talking to her. He shook his head slightly, trying to find something interesting to say, and coming up empty. He decided to be honest.

"I keep wanting to ask you if you like potions, or what classes you took." He laughed at his own stupidity.

"Potions is ok, I guess," she responded, "I like Arithmancy and Ancient Runes better."

Draco gaped and she giggled. Her giggle turned into a full out laugh as he tried to say something, but failed miserably.

"I am well versed in magical, human classes," she elaborated.

"They teach you magic? You have your own magic school?" he blurted out, completely missing that you couldn't make potions under water.

"Something like that," she said evasively. "We need to know Ancient Runes as they are used in our rituals and constructions."

"Tell me about your life, your home," he asked eagerly, wanting to know it all.

"Where to start," she wondered. "We live in natural caves, and grow seaweed to cover the entrances. Some of us are specialised in deep sea diving, and catch glowing fish at the greatest depths of the sea. They are really ugly, but give us light when the sun ends its daily travels. Some other tribes build their own homes from rocks and sticky seaweeds."

She continued to talk about life under the water, about growing up and learning to navigate the ocean and its currents. She told him about the first time she had ventured out of the water, and transfigured her tail into legs. About how long it had taken her to learn how to walk.

He had felt the boat dip a bit deeper somewhere throughout her story, and he wondered if she was now sitting on the edge, instead of just leaning on it.

"At first I thought humans were weird," she recounted. "They looked the same, but yet not. There's no water in them. I wondered whether or not their appearance would change under the water."

He heard movement behind him, and held his breath. He dug his nails deeply in his thighs to control the urge to turn around.

"I mostly wondered how their hair would fan out under the water. Our hair is slightly different, it doesn't get tangled as much." Her voice turned dreamy. "I always wondered what your hair would look like underwater."

He froze as he felt her fingers skim through his hair. Her touch was light, almost caressing. He let out a contented sigh, before he detected her odd choice of words.

"Always?" he questioned. "That's an odd word to use for someone you've known for only a couple of days."

"Oh, I've known you a lot longer than a few days, Draco Malfoy."

A moment of stunned silence followed. Her hand suddenly left his hairs. He heard her scurry to the side of the boat. Unable to help himself his spun around.

"Wait! How did you know my last name?"

He caught a glimpse of brown curls and impossibly long legs, before she disappeared below the surface.

"Wait!" he called out. "I won't turn around again, I'm sorry, just tell me how you knew I'm a Malfoy?"

He waited for half an hour before he realised she wasn't going to come back up. He sighed, and stayed for another hour, just to be certain. Pacing back and forth on his sailing boat, he wondered how on earth Minnie could know him. Hoping to find a clue, he replayed their conversations, but came up blank.

Perhaps he had met her on the shore, on one of his previous vacations here? Was that why she didn't want him to see her face? He tried to remember every woman he had met the last couple of summers, but he remembered none with brown curls. Besides, he was sure he would have remembered that tinkling voice of her, or how those legs would have wrapped around his waist during sex.

Perhaps she had seen him sailing around before? That could explain why she said she knew him longer than a couple of days, but not how she knew his family name. He had occasionally taken friends with him, she might have overheard, but why would she have remembered?

The mystery occupied his mind the entire day. He tried to sail it away, only to find himself searching the sea for a flash of a green tail, or a mop of brown curls. In the evening, he resulted to drinking, hoping it would silence his mind, and allow him to sleep.

It was no surprise when he woke early with a dry mouth, and a mild headache. The first thing on his mind was, of course, Minnie. He decided to go back to the rocks; he simply needed to know how she knew him. Not knowing was driving him crazy!

Not once, while quickly eating breakfast, or getting to the harbour, or sailing to their meeting point, did it occur to him that she might not show up. He really expected her to start talking to him as soon as he arrived.

After an hour of fruitless waiting, he started to worry. After another hour of pacing, he decided to take a swim, hoping to keep his mind from worrying. It helped for some time, until he climbed the rocks for a break, and remembered the first time he had seen her. He had still been quite far away, but even from a distance he could tell she was an exotic and legendary beauty.

Eventually, he had to acknowledge she was a no-show. He decided to come back the next day, and the day after that, and the one after that, as long as was necessary to get her to talk to him again. Merlin be damned if he let it end like this! She was going to talk to him again! He was going to figure out who exactly she was!

xXxXx

After another night of tossing and turning, he arrived at the rocks with bleary eyes. He hardly remembered how he got there, and was glad his years of experience had prevented him from making mistakes while sailing. After lowering the deep sea anchor, he laid himself down on his back, expecting another long wait, and promptly fell asleep in the sun.

"You'll catch a sunburn."

The sudden sound of her voice woke him with a start. In a reflex he had drawn his wand and turned, but the bubbles on the water told him she had already vacated her previous spot. For a moment he wondered how long he had been sleeping, and if she had been watching. Suddenly, he was very conscious of the fact that he was only wearing shorts. He sat himself back down, indicating he was going to honour his promise not to look at her.

"Hi," she said behind him.

If he hadn't been waiting for it, he would have missed it. She spoke in a whisper, her voice barely above the sounds of the water, and she sounded very, very shy.

"Hi," he answered.

He waited for the boat to dip, but it didn't happen, making him wonder if he had missed it, or if she was keeping her distance.

"Minnie," he asked gently. "Why are you not allowing me to see you?"

"You wouldn't like what you see," she responded. The sadness in her voice nearly killed him.

"I cannot believe that. Why do you think that?"

"I don't only think it, I know it for sure. I know you, Draco Malfoy, and you don't like me."

"Please, let me be the judge of that." He hated how pleading and desperate he sounded, but he needed to know, needed to solve this puzzle. It stayed silent for a long time.

"Okay." Again, her voice was barely a whisper.

"Okay?" he repeated, wanting to be sure so he didn't spook her again. He felt like he was dealing with a scared Niffler or something.

"Please don't hate me once you see me, Draco."

Slowly he turned around, finding her head and shoulders above the water, a couple of meters away.

"Granger?!" he blurted out. "No! You can't be!"

Her face fell, and he couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw tears glistening in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Draco. I won't bother you anymore."

She dipped under the water.

"No!" he cried out. "Stay! That's not what I meant!"

He didn't want her to think she was unwanted, rather on the contrary. He had secretly admired the woman's audacity and intellect during their years at Hogwarts. Of course, he had never mentioned it. As a pureblood, with a father tied to Voldemort, he had no other choice but to play the part, even once he realised how wrong it was.

After the war, he had been busy trying to repair his family's name, and she had joined Harry and Ron at the ministry, trying to fix the country. Now that he thought of it, she had suddenly disappeared about a year ago. He remembered reading something about Australia.

"Why?"

It sounded from behind him again, and he slowly turned to face her.

"I told you that you would be disappointed. I'm not staying if you're going to throw insults about my blood around."

It was a low blow, and he couldn't blame her for it. He had been less than nice to her in the past. Besides, he figured she was being defensive, believing he wanted nothing to do with her.

"I'm not going to throw insults at you, Granger," he stated. "This is just a lot to take in, you know. You just went from being a Muggleborn, to being a mermaid. Can you blame me for being shocked?"

He shook his head and dragged a hand through his hair.

His head snapped up. "Wait, do Saint Potter and Weaselbee know about this?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "Don't call them that! And, no, actually, they don't. They still think I'm in Australia."

"Why Australia?"

"I told them I obliviated my parents and send them off to Australia, so they would be safe from the war."

"And you didn't?"

"No, silly. They came back here, home."

He stared at her for a moment.

"They're mermaids as well," she elaborated. "Merlin Malfoy, one would think that the one with second top marks of our year would be able to figure that out!"

He blushed, and was pleased to notice she swum closer to the boat.

"Come on, Granger," he stated. "Hoist yourself on the boat, I'm getting a kink in my neck, looking at you down there in the water."

He turned without waiting for an answer. "I think I still have a good bottle of wine here somewhere."

The boat dipped and he turned, smiling happily because she had decided to trust him. What he saw got him gobsmacked: Hermione was sitting on the edge of his boat, her profile outlined perfectly against the blue sky. Her tail was shimmering, and he realised she was about to transform it into her own set of legs.

"Stop!" he cried out in reflex.

She looked at him, surprised and worried.

"You're beautiful, your tail is beautiful," he whispered.

She looked away and blushed. He walked over to where she was sitting, and tentatively reached out. He was surprised at how soft the scales felt. They were dry as well, not wet or even slimy like those of a fish. He realised he still had a lot to learn about mermaids.

From the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione biting her lip. Realizing he was actually caressing her, he quickly snatched back his hand.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's okay," she answered shyly.

Her tail shimmered again, and her legs appeared, along with that tiny bikini. Draco couldn't help but stare as she stood; he was simply mesmerized by her beauty. She flicked her wand and conjured a light, summer dress. He blinked, such a shame to cover up that body.

"Wait, where did the wand come from?" he wondered out loud.

She smiled at him, and hiked up her skirt. He gulped audibly, making her laugh lightly. She revealed a wand holster attached to her upper thigh.

"It transfigures with my tail," she commented.

He nodded. "Makes sense."

He walked back to the cabin and fetched the bottle of wine and two glasses.

"The transfiguration from tail to legs and back is conscious? It doesn't happen automatically?"

"From tail to legs is conscious, yes, from legs to tail tends to happen automatically in the water. We can prevent it, but that takes concentration. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was thinking about all the depictions of mermaids, they are always sitting on some rock or other, with their tail in full display. I was wondering if that actually ever happened."

"Highly unlikely to happen," Hermione answered merrily. "For one, getting on and off the rocks with your tail is near to impossible, not to mention you get a lot of cuts and scrapes while trying. Secondly, sitting in the sun like that results in a very unwelcome tan line."

She winked at him. Draco offered her a glass of wine, and got momentarily distracted when she took a careful sip. How was it possible he had never recognised her beauty before?

"How on earth did you manage to keep yourself secret, Granger?" he asked.

She looked at him, and cocked her head. "You can't possible expect me to tell you all my little secrets, now do you Draco?"

His breath hitched, his brain started thinking up a numerous amount of ways to coax those secrets out of her. He quickly started summing up the ingredients of the Veritaserum potion to subdue a certain problem in his pants.

"At least tell me about the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament," he finally managed to say. "You were unconscious and under water."

"Dumbledore," she answered, as if that was a complete answer to his question.

He raised an eyebrow.

"He provided some extra enchantments to prevent the tail from showing up," Hermione elaborated.

"He knew? Of course the old coot knew. He did know everything that went on inside Hogwarts, now didn't he?"

They chatted amicably for over an hour, starting out with stories from their time at Hogwarts. Draco could not keep his eyes off of her: her curls bouncing up and down as she spoke, the gesticulations she made with her delicate hands, the way she sometimes leaned back to soak up the sun on her face, the sparkle in her eyes. She was breath-taking.

Draco was recounting an anecdote when she suddenly lifted up her head and looked east. She frowned and fluently stood up.

"Hermione?" he questioned.

She didn't respond, but hastily took a couple of steps to the railing, and dove into the water.

"Hermione!" Draco cried out.

He rushed to the side of his boat to look out over the water. She popped up a couple of meters away from him, looking very worried.

"Draco!" she cried out. "Draco, you've got to leave, now!"

"What?" he asked, confused.

"There's a storm coming in, and it's coming in fast. I'm sorry Draco, I should have noticed earlier. You have to leave or it will catch up to you before you reach the harbour."

He looked from her worried face to the clear blue sky.

"Please Draco. I'm a fast swimmer, but I can't keep up with you when you're going full speed. I can't keep you safe if the storm makes you capsize. Please, you need to leave!"

Draco looked at Hermione. Who was he to argue about the weather at sea with a mermaid?

"Ok," he said, already moving to lift the anchor. "Will I find you here again?"

"Yes, I'll be here," she answered.

He knew she was watching anxiously as he prepared to leave. As he turned the sails into the slight breeze, he suddenly felt a stronger push than he had expected. He glanced over his shoulder, and saw that Hermione was still in the water, a faint glow emanating from her. Did she just help him along?

It didn't take him long to reach full speed. Not long after, the storm made his appearance at the horizon. The black clouds were rolling in fast, and Draco realised that it would, indeed, be a close call. He drew upon years of sailing experience to master the erratic wind and rising swell of the sea. The storm hit full force just as he reached the harbour. A fellow sailor helped him tie his little boat to the dock as the rain pounded down on them.

"You made it just in the brink of time," the man said. "The sea sure can be unpredictable, you are a lucky man."

"Yes," Draco answered, "lucky indeed."

He stared out over the vast expanse of water, and worried about Hermione. Where was she now? Was she safe? He felt silly to be worrying about her, she was a mermaid for Merlin's sake, the sea was her home, but still he worried.

xXxXx

Draco felt caged and claustrophobic in his hotel room. The storm had been raging for three days now, and it was getting on his nerves. Normally, in this kind of situation, he would sleep in, go to parties, pick up a girl and have his merry way with her. This time, however, the thought wasn't appealing. All he could think of was getting back to Hermione. He wondered how he had gotten so addicted to her in such a short amount of time.

He hoped the storm was also still raging back at the rock, or wherever she lived, so she would not think he stood her up. Every day he went to check his boat, check the waters, and curse the bad weather.

Tired of pacing his chambers, he went downstairs to the bar to get a drink. He knew it was still early, but he couldn't care less, he was going crazy. It was when he walked through the lobby that he heard her voice.

"I'm looking for a Mister Malfoy."

He turned on the spot, and found her leaning casually against the reception desk. She was clad in snug jeans, sneakers and a trench coat. Her hair was pulled up in a bun. He could see a drop of water run from her hair into her neck. She absentmindedly swiped at it.

Draco blinked, afraid that he was hallucinating. As she was still standing there after his fourth blink, he concluded she must be real. He let his gaze wander over her, and felt relieve wash over him. He would never admit it out loud, but he had been worried about her being out in this storm.

"Let me ring up his room for you, Miss," he heard the receptionist answer politely.

"No need," Draco said, not exactly yelling, but loud enough to reach both Hermione and the receptionist.

The receptionist nodded at him, while Hermione turned around in a flurry.

"Draco!" Hermione cried out.

She ran across the lobby and flung her arms around him. He took a step back to balance them. Quickly he took advantage of the opportunity, and wrapped his arms around her slim form. He let them hover on her waist as she leaned back, and started running her hands over his face and chest.

"By Triton, you made it, you're in one piece! That storm came in so fast, I was so afraid you wouldn't make it!"

"My, my, Granger, so little fate in my sailing skills?" he teased.

She smacked him lightly on the arm.

"That was one nasty storm," she said, smiling at him.

Suddenly, she seemed to realise how close she was standing, and took a couple of steps back, blushing prettily. He reluctantly let her go.

"Let us get a drink," he offered, placing a hand on the small of her back, and guiding her to the bar.

He divested her from her trench coat, giving it to the waiter standing by. She smiled shyly over her bare shoulder. She was wearing a top that left one shoulder bare and hugged her around the waist. It suited her.

He guided her to the bar, and ordered them both a glass of wine. At her protest that she had yet to eat, he ordered an assortment of sandwiches. When she started protesting that it was all too much, he silenced her by placing a finger on her lips. He didn't miss the small hitch in her breath it caused.

"I'm a Malfoy, remember? I'm absurdly rich. I can afford buying sandwiches and wine."

She looked down at her hands and fidgeted. When she bit her lip, Draco once again felt the need to sum up potion ingredients. What was this witch/mermaid doing to him?

"Were you really that worried?" he asked.

She nodded. "I felt guilty for not noticing the storm sooner. I should have, I'm sorry."

He lifted her chin with his finger, and looked her in the eye.

"There is nothing to apologize for. If you hadn't warned me, the storm would have caught up with me, and that would have been bad. You saved my life by sending me away."

"You wouldn't have been there in the first place, if it wasn't for me."

"No," he agreed, "I would have most probably been somewhere else out at sea, and the storm would have caught me."

He couldn't help but run his thumb over her lower lip. Her lips parted slightly in response.

"You saved me, so thank you," he said. "And how about you coming here? It can't have been easy to come to shore with this weather. Not to mention dangerous?"

"It's a challenge, but I've done it before, so I had some practice," she answered, looking at him through her eyelashes.

"Well, so have I," he playfully answered. It earned him a smile.

The sandwiches and wine arrived. She rolled her eyes at him when he demanded she ate a sandwich before tasting her wine. He then happily watched her eat one, he thought he could look at her forever.

"How did you find me anyway?" he asked.

"I asked where I could find the pretty, blonde man that owned the sailing boat named 'Narcissa'."

They started talking after that, and when time came for dinner, he took her out. When she started protesting, he once more put his finger on her lips. He was starting to like how her breath hitched every time he touched her.

He took her to a small, local, Greek restaurant. The matron, Argos, knew him well, since he visited it frequently, and greeted them amicably.

"Mister Malfoy, welcome, welcome! You brought a lady friend, welcome to you to Miss."

The middle-aged man took hold of Hermione's hand, and kissed her knuckles. She smiled at him, and Draco had to supress the urge to wrap his arm around her waist, claiming her as his. Luckily, neither the matron, nor Hermione, noticed his struggle.

"We've had such horrific weather these past couple of days," the man continued as he guided them to a table at the back of the restaurant. "Hopefully it will clear up soon. Shall you be eating our daily menu Mister Malfoy, as per usual? And the Miss?"

Draco glanced at Hermione shortly before answering. "We'll both be having the daily menu, Argos," he ordered. "And a bottle of wine."

Argos nodded. "Very well, wonderful choice. Let me get you that bottle."

"A local, Muggle restaurant, Draco?" Hermione teased once the matron was out of earshot.

Silently, Draco let out a relieved sigh. He knew Hermione as a headstrong and independent woman, and taking her order without consulting her had been a risk. She, however, didn't seem to mind. Casually he shrugged.

"A man has to eat," he answered. "One of the harbour worker recommended this place, and he was right, the food here is great."

Once more conversation flowed easily between the both of them. They drank, ate and laughed until the evening had turned into twilight. They took the scenic route back towards the hotel. Draco was cursing the clouds obscuring the sky – it would have been the perfect moment for some stargazing on his boat – when Hermione suddenly stopped to look out over the sea.

"I should be going," she whispered.

"What?" he blurted out, still busy cursing the clouds.

She turned to him. "It's getting late, and dark, I should be going."

He looked from her, to the sea, and back to her.

"You're not seriously considering going out there now?"

Hermione put her hands on her hips. "How else am I going to get home?" she asked.

"Not," Draco answered, feeling emboldened.

"What do you mean, not?"

"Exactly what I said, don't go home."

She looked at him with suspicion.

"It's too dangerous. Like you said, it's getting dark. I would worry about you. So don't go home, sleep at my hotel room."

Her eyes grew wide, and she started spluttering.

"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist, Hermione,' he laughed, already regretting what he was about to say. "You get the bed, I'll sleep on the couch, I promise."

She raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"You would?" she asked eventually.

He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I would."

"But I don't have anything to wear to sleep in. And I'm not sleeping in this jeans!"

Draco laughed again. "You're one of the brightest witches of our age, I think you can manage to transfigure something into a sleeping gown. Besides, I've got plenty of shirts for you to sleep in."

He winked at her. He could see her resolve falter.

"Alright," she said, albeit still a bit reluctant.

Feeling pleased with himself, he put her hand in the crook of his arm, and continued their walk to the hotel.

xXxXx

Once at the hotel, Hermione gawked when they entered his room.

"I should have known you would rent the Junior Suite," she finally managed to say.

He had dropped himself on the sofa, throwing his jacket over the back.

"What can I say, filthy rich and all," he smirked.

She mock glared at him, and started exploring the room. He enjoyed himself with merely watching her. Once she got into his bedroom, she called out to him.

"I'll be wearing one of your shirts to bed, just so you know!"

He pulled at the collar of his T-shirt, and started thinking about how to properly dissect a frog, in order to battle his cock's enthusiasm. However, nothing could prevent his hard-on when Hermione walked out of the bedroom wearing nothing more than one of his button-down shirts.

"Where can I find a glass in this apartment you call a hotel room?" she asked.

He honestly wasn't planning on kissing her when he proposed she would sleep in his room, he honestly wasn't, but when she walked past him, looking so bloody sexy, all thoughts about honour and resisting temptation were lost on him.

He grabbed her wrist, and pulled her on his lap. Hermione squealed in surprise, putting her hand against his chest to steady herself. He buried a hand in her wild hair, and claimed her mouth. After a moment of surprise, she answered his kiss. He licked her lower lip. As she let out a sigh, he slipped his tongue inside her mouth, exploring and caressing.

A hand slipped under her shirt, the other one still tangled in her curls. He stroked her back and ribcage, before cupping one of her breasts, and massaging it gently. She was moaning against his lips in no time. Hermione's fingers had found their way to the back of his head, and were gently running through his hair, tugging on it occasionally. It made his scalp tingle in a most pleasant way.

When they both came up for air, Hermione untangled herself. Draco started protesting, but soon realised she was moving to straddle him. Cupping her delectable ass, he pulled her closer. They both moaned as she ground herself against the bulge in his trousers. She reclaimed his mouth, and he eagerly allowed her. Her hands were tugging at his T-shirt.

"Off, off, off," she mumbled against his lips.

He grinned, and obliged. Putting his arms in the air, he allowed a clumsy Hermione to pull the shirt of his body. Her hands started roaming his chest, but he batted them away.

"Let me return the favour," he purred, before slowly unbuttoning the top button of the shirt she was wearing.

Slowly he unbuttoned button after button, kissing the exposed skin along the way, and paying some extra attention to her very luscious breasts. Hermione was squirming in his lap, making concentrating rather hard, but he managed, and finally slipped the shirt of her shoulders. He nibbled at her neck while she freed herself from the shirt. She moaned again as he bit her earlobe.

"Bed, Draco, bed," she breathed, while wrapping her arms around him and kissing him.

He responded to her kiss, and firmly took hold of her ass. She wrapped her legs around him as he stood up. He was proud of himself when he managed to get them both to the bedroom without bumping into anything.

Carefully he lowered her down to the middle of the huge bed. He pinned her hands above her head with one hand, letting the other skim down her side.

"Merlin, Hermione, when did you get this bloody gorgeous?"

She giggled, and arched into his touch. "When I stopped trying to hide it," she answered.

He let go of her hands, and lowered his mouth to her nipple, teasing the other one with his fingers. Hermione cried out his name, arching her back, squirming under his ministrations.

Draco felt more turned on than he had in a long time. His throbbing cock demanded attention, and he almost lost control as one of her small hands suddenly encircled him. He closed his eyes, and groaned as her fingertips roamed up and down his length.

When he opened his eyes again, he got entranced by the beautiful sight before him: Hermione's eyes had darkened to a chocolate black, her hair was spread out around her, her face seemed to glow. She bit her lip, and looked him in the eye.

"I want you, Draco," she sighed, squeezing his cock slightly.

With an almost feral growl he positioned himself between her legs, teasing her entrance.

"Is this what you want?" he asked huskily.

"Yes," she breathed.

He traced a line of kisses from her breasts, over her collarbone and up her neck, until his lips were hovering over hers.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Draco yes!" she cried out, exasperated.

He kissed her, and slowly slid inside her. Hermione bucked, trying to get him to move faster, digging her nails in his back and pulling him down. Stilling, he savoured the feel of her tight walls around him. She felt so good, so exquisite.

"Move, move, Draco, please," Hermione begged, writhing underneath him.

He pulled back slowly, only to forcefully plunge back into her. Setting a relentless pace, he watched her face as she lost herself in pleasure.

"Yes!" she screamed. "Sweet Merlin, yes!"

Draco could feel he was getting close, but he be damned if he came before her. Slowing slightly, he returned his attention to her breasts, driving her crazy. The scratches she was making on his back only served to put his nerve endings on fire. As he bit down on a nipple, she became undone, pulling him deep inside her. He soon followed, groaning her name as he spilled his seed.

Panting heavily, he lowered himself next to Hermione, and wrapped an arm around her. She snuggled against him, and for a while they simply calmed their erratic breathing. Hermione let out a contented sigh, and Draco buried his nose in her hair. Inhaling, he could smell the clean scent of the sea, mixed with something that was distinctly Hermione. He took a deep breath.

"You know," he started, "there's a lake near Malfoy Manor. It's perfect for swimming."

"Really?" she mumbled.

"Yes, really." He took another deep breath. "I have to go home this Saturday," he continued. "Will you come with me, Hermione?"

She looked up at him and smiled.

"Yes, yes Draco, I'll come with you."

A huge grin spread across his face, and he kissed her forehead. She murmured something incoherent while snuggling closer to him. With another content sigh, she fell asleep. Protectively tightening his arm, he watched her. Draco could not believe how lucky he was, asking her to come with him was a spur of the moment thing, and he had honestly feared she would decline. Feeling blissfully happy, he, too, drifted into a peaceful slumber.