Giving Into Temptation

Chapter Two: The Morning After

Sunlight prickled on her eyelids but she didn't want to awaken. Yet the sun's intensity increased as if spiting her. Finally, she opened her eyes and reached up to rub away the last vestiges of sleep. She looked around, confused, and then realized she was in her bed in the house she shared with her fiancé, Ron. Ron... oh, Merlin... my sweet Ron... what have I done? She struggled to get out of bed, pulling on a robe that was draped over an armchair in the corner of the room. Had he come home? Had he seen her in bed nude, her clothes strewn everywhere?

With her heart in her throat, she went out into the sitting room, where Malfoy's seduction had first started. Oh, why did I open the door? Why did I invite him in? I knew what he was here for. I saw it in his eyes the instant he looked at me. He wanted sex. And like an idiot I gave it to him. You are so stupid, Hermione! So. Fucking. Stupid. Just because you and Ron haven't had sex in forever... Ron... There was an envelope on the dining room table, addressed to her in Ron's scrawled handwriting and on the back was the seal for Fred and George's shop. All right... so he couldn't possibly have been here. Because if he had, he would have surely woken me up. Breathe, Hermione... there you go... in an out...

She shakily opened the envelope and pulled out the parchment within.

Hermione,

I had to stay at the shop. Fred and George were swamped. I promise, if I can't come to the Ministry to take you to lunch then I'll be home tonight by dinnertime. Please don't be upset. Love you.

Ron

The note fell from her hand and she collapsed onto the floor in a sobbing heap. She had had sex with Malfoy, and here was Ron sending her a note, so innocent... so unknowing... Tears fell from her eyes faster than she could wipe them away. She had ruined everything. One night... that was all it took. One night. And now when Ron did come home, she'd never be able to look him in the eyes.

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Chapter Three: Contemplation

Draco sat at his desk in the Department of International Magical Cooperation office, staring blankly at the gold wedding band on his left hand. A picture of him and Pansy on their wedding day stared at him, as if accusing him of his infidelity

"Hello, Ms. Granger. Can I get you something to drink?"

Draco's head jerked up and he saw Hermione walk into the office. Their eyes met briefly and he saw that hers were red-rimmed and puffy. And in the brown pools was guilt so deep that Draco nearly drowned in it. He quickly glanced away, returning to the paperwork he was supposed to be going through. Hermione went to her own desk after declining the offer of a drink and rested her head on her arms. How had this happened? When had it started? Less than a year ago she'd gotten the job here at the Ministry, with Mr. Weasley's help, and had been nothing less than startled to find out that Malfoy also worked here.

At first she had avoided him. It had been easy enough. He never talked to her and she kept her distance. Then there were the late nights at the office, both of them putting in extra hours. Ron was never home, so it wasn't like Hermione had any other place to be. And Draco, after being pushed into a marriage with Pansy, did everything he could to stay away from home. One day he had floated a piece of parchment across the room to her, asking her if she wanted to go get some tea. Hermione had been bewildered, but accepted the invitation nonetheless. And they had talked... actual conversation. He had slipped and called her a Mudblood, which earned him a slap, and he had apologized profusely. Hermione was beginning to think that maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

But he was still Malfoy, the boy who had tortured her relentlessly since she was eleven. Who had done everything in his power to hurt Harry, Ron, and her. How could he have changed so much in only two years? Maybe since his father and Voldemort were dead, he no longer had to pretend he was something he wasn't. Who knew? Dammit! This is so confusing. I can't be attracted to him. I can't want him. I've got Ron. And he's a Malfoy! An evil, manipulative, egocentric Malfoy. Hermione chanced a glance across the room and met a pair of gray eyes full of indecision and... longing?

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