A Helping Hand

Draco made sure that his break up with Astoria was on the cover of every wizarding publication from London to Australia. He had called Rita Skeeter personally to make it happen.

He wanted to be absolutely sure that word reached Hermione.

The newspapers were reporting that Draco kicked Astoria out of his apartment because she was bigoted towards muggles and he simply didn't love her anymore. He had met another witch who showed him what he really wanted in life.

Astoria was absolutely humiliated by it, which to Draco, was the icing on the cake.

He had so loved kicking the horrid witch out of his bed, home and life. He smirked as he recalled the day before in vivid detail.

"You're a vapid little gold-digger Astoria! You don't love me. You love MY NAME. You love what I can do for you. And as for your statements about the muggles and muggleborns that work for me. Fuck you! You think they are not good enough to be in your presence? Well guess what love, you're not good enough to be in theirs!" he ranted, finally getting to release his pent-up frustration with the nightmare he had been engaged to for so long. "They are better people than you could ever hope to be… I can't believe it has taken me this long to get rid of you," he spat.

"You'll regret this!" she screeched, throwing the expensive presents he had given her previously into her bag and storming toward the floo.

"I don't think I will," he shot back, pouring himself a drink.

It felt so good to be rid of her, so fucking good.

"What are you doing here?" asked Blaise, evidently still supressing and urge to hit him again. Draco rubbed his jaw, the memory of the blow still fresh in his mind.

"I want to make peace," said Draco, holding his hands up to illustrate his point.

"It's not me you should be apologising to," said Blaise, narrowing his eyes.

"I know… but I need your help," said Draco.

"My help? You want MY help?" asked Blaise, amazed at the balls of the man. To come in and demand help after fucking up so royally with his best friend. Brave or stupid, it was often hard to tell with Draco.

"I know you think I don't deserve her… and at this point, I have been such a fucking pillock…you're probably right… But I love her Blaise… I really, really do. I broke it off with Astoria, I am serious about Hermione," pleaded Draco. At this point, he figured his wounded pride was the least of his worries.

Blaise was quiet for a moment.

"Why are you telling ME this, and not her?" asked Blaise in a less aggressive tone than earlier.

"Because I need your help," explained Draco.

"Why would I do anything for you?" asked Blaise.

"The bond is still in place," said Draco.

"What? I thought they fixed that?" asked Blaise, confused.

"It was nothing but my father meddling… apparently even he noticed Astoria was wrong for me before I did," said Draco.

Blaise snorted and nodded in agreement. Of course, where there had been a deception, Lucius was never far away.

"She and I are bound to each other. We always will be because I will never want her to not be bound to me. I have always been hers Blaise. Ever since the day she told the Ministry to shove it and disappeared. Since the day she sent me that letter explaining that she took steps to protect not only herself… but me too. No one had ever done anything like that for me… It's her. She's 'it' for me… And I think I might be 'it' for her too," gushed Draco.

He felt frantic and he felt desperate. So much had fallen into place for him since his talk with his father. So many of his mistakes had become clear.

Blaise had an expression on his face that was somewhere between conflicted and outright pained.

"Blaise," said Draco seriously, 'I am going to ask you something… and I need you to answer me honestly…"

"Ok," said Blaise, holding Draco's gaze.

"Do you love her?" he asked cautiously. He knew the history. He knew this would be a perfect chance for Blaise to sabotage him. He needed Blaise on side. He wanted him on side.

He understood that Blaise and Hermione shared a bond of their own creation. Some kind of old magic that had allowed her to pull of the miracle that saved them as teenagers. It was a complication for Draco, that was for sure.

"Yes. But not in a romantic sense," said Blaise, registering the apprehensive look on Draco's face.

"Look, mate… you're not the only ones that share a magical link. But it isn't romantic. I am certainly not going to act against Hermione's interests," said Blaise reassuringly.

"Oh," said Draco quietly.

"She does care about you," conceded Blaise.

Draco's eyes widened and he felt hope bubble in his chest.

"I will help you. But if you hurt her again. I will find you. And I will kill you. That is not an exaggeration or a dramatic statement. I am not speaking figuratively. I will literally end you myself – that's a fact," said Blaise in a tone so cold, and so convincing, it actually sent a shiver up Draco's spine.

He hadn't seen that side of Blaise before. He hadn't been involved with the Death Eaters as he and Theo had.

"I believe you," said Draco, his voice unwavering.

"Do you wish to continue?" asked Blaise.

"Yes," said Draco.

"Okay. What do we do?" asked Blaise.

They were late. Why the hell Blaise could never be on time, Hermione would never know.

She was aware that they had an important meeting in less than ten minutes, and yet Blaise still lagged behind her as she ran for the elevator.

She managed to catch the door just in time and jump in before it closed.

"Blaise!" she called, noticing in the closing gap that her friend had stopped and simply stood there.

"Sorry Hermione," he said with a sincere expression as the last of the light disappeared from the door.

Immediately, she realised she wasn't alone in the lift as it shot upwards.

Draco Malfoy stood, looking every inch the put together pureblood prince from every glossy Witch Weekly spread she had ever seen. It instantly irritated her.

She was busy scowling at him when it happened.

The lights flicked and the elevator lurched to a halt. The lights flickered again before shutting off entirely, leaving her and her former lover standing in the darkness. They were illuminated only by the dim blue light of the emergency button.

"YOU! This is not an accident," she accused, hitting his chest.

Draco laughed, clearly not taking the matter seriously at all.

"Well, I needed to get you alone and you've been avoiding me like the plague… won't answer any of my owls…" he rambled, before stopping to clear his throat. "I ah… I broke it off with Astoria," he said quietly.

"Would you like a medal for that Draco? Perhaps a trophy? Some house points?" asked Hermione bitterly.

"OK yes, I do deserve some of this attitude that I am getting here," conceded Draco.

"You think?" She asked sarcastically.

"My father lied about the bond. It's still in place," he blurted out. Idiot, he thought, what good does that do?

Hermione exhaled loudly. "I had my suspicions. It all seemed a little to 'easy' given what we had already gone through with it," she said.

"The reason we've never broken it is me Hermione. At first, I didn't want to marry Astoria and the bond protected me. You've always protected me, one way or another. So, it remained. Then as I got to know you more and more I started to become hung up on you... I would think about you… watch you… Ever since that night in your office, I can't get the feel of you out of my mind. You're like a drug," he admitted.

"How shameful for you – emphasis on shameful." she snapped, still furious and hurt over his statement about a relationship with her bringing shame to his family.

"That was the wrong choice of words in the moment Hermione, and it's not how I think. It's not how my family think anymore… my father said…" he began.

"Your father? You have told your father about me?" she asked, suddenly curious.

"Yes…" he admitted.

"And he's not locked you in a dungeon to think about your disgusting actions?" she teased.

"Dungeon time was limited," he joked nervously.

This was not going well for him. It dawned on him that he was trapped in a tin can with an unreasonably powerful witch who hated him, and he might end up on the wrong side of her wand. She no doubt had some nasty hexes in mind for him.

"Why did you go back to her Draco?" Hermione asked seriously, hurt written on her pretty face.

"I was afraid," he confided.

"Of what?" she asked quietly.

"Being happy… Doing things differently… deviating from the plan," admitted Draco.

"And now?" she asked.

"The only thing I am afraid of now is losing you," he said sincerely, making eye contact with her in the dim elevator.

"That was a bit cheesy," she said, biting her lip.

"Well, I am making a grand gesture Granger… Help me out a bit," he said, exasperated.

"Come here, you idiot," she demanded.

He came to her immediately, falling into her when she gripped his tie and pulled him in for a powerful kiss.

"Don't think this means I forgive you," she said, pulling back from their kiss briefly, "It means I am going to let you try to make it up to me."

Draco nodded against her lips, pressing his body against hers and gripping her by her behind.

"Speaking of making it up to me," she purred seductively, "how long is this lift stopped for?"

"A while…" he said, pressing his erection into her thigh, "long enough for me to beg your forgiveness and start making it up to you," he said deviously.

"How do you plan to do that?" she asked, licking her lips.

"Let me show you," he said, getting to his knees and sliding her knickers down from beneath her professional pencil skirt.

Draco trailed his hands up and down her thighs and he hitched her skirt higher and higher.

Gently, he took her leg and put it over his shoulder so she was balanced by her back on the wall and her leg over his body.

Hermione moaned as he began to eat her out with enthusiasm, grabbing and pulling his soft blonde hair.

She moaned, whimpered and screamed shamelessly as he brought her to ecstasy with his mouth. She loved looking down at him, the great Draco Malfoy, on his knees on a public floor for her.

When the elevator finally landed at its final destination, an immaculate Hermione Granger walked out towards her office with a smirk on her face.

Behind her trailed a dishevelled Draco Malfoy wearing a dazed expression. Blaise looked up from his desk and smirked at his friend. He knew that look.

When Draco got to his own desk, a small smile escaped his lips. His witch wasn't going to make it easy for him.

Good, he thought. He didn't want easy anymore.

Fin