Toxic

Hermione sighed sadly, loathing her current situation, and pushed open the doors to "Mystique," - a trendy new wizard's club that Ginny had convinced her into going to. Upon entering, Hermione was immediately bombarded with the musty smell of cigarette smoke and the loud thudding of the bass from the blaring techno-like music.

"This seems familiar...oh yea" she thought sarcastically, "it's just like the last club Ginny forced me into going to.

Peering through the haze of smoke, Hermione had a hard time seeing anyone's face very clearly, but she did recognize a few people from Hogwarts, who were a couple of years older than her. Such as Oliver Wood -who waved at her through the arms of a large bosomed, black haired witch, Hermione didn't recognize. Hermione waved back with a small smile before Ginny pushed anxiously against her back.

Ginny herself had only just turned twenty-one a few months ago, and now all she wanted to do was go clubbing, and she found rather interesting ways to drag Hermione, who would have usually preferred to stay home and read, into doing it with her. When Hermione turned around to complain to Ginny about how much fun this was not going to be, she was surprise to find that Ginny was in fact, no where to be found. Searching through the sea of bobbing heads, Hermione spotted her a few seconds later dancing with some random wizard with spiky blonde hair. Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation, feeling mildly betrayed, and walked calmly through the crowd over to the bar.

Hermione sat down on a stool nearest the door at the end of the long bar, and waited for the bartender to come over. When the platinum haired man finally looked her way, she raised her hand and yelled clearly over the noise, "Martini-dry." The bartender nodded curtly and few minutes later, pushed the requested drink down the bar towards her. Hermione took a delicate sip and the bartender politely asked her how it was.

Hermione stopped, glass pressed against her lips, that voice sounds awfully familiar... She looked up from the rim of her drink and found herself staring directly into the cool silver gray eyes of....

"Draco? Draco Malfoy?" she asked in surprise.

"Who wants to know?" Draco replied sarcastically, he looked slightly bored Hermione thought.

"It's me, Hermione, we went to Hogwarts together, remember?"

Draco looked at Hermione curiously. "Granger? What are you doing here?"

Hermione laughed. "Never in my wildest dream did I imaging you, as a bartender...isn't that sort of.... low class for a Malfoy?"

"I do what I have to," Draco answered back, his voice expressionless.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione asked, suddenly very interested.

"Not that it's any of your business," he said stiffly, "but everyone knows since my father got thrown into Azkaban my mother and I have been a bit tight for money."

Draco took a glass cup from under the bar and began to clean it with a rag, noticing rather unwillingly, how much Hermione had changed in the last five or six years.

She was taller, and had a darker complexion, she must have been on vacation recently, Draco supposed. Her hair was also shorter, a little below her shoulders and flipped out stylishly at the ends. She was wearing a tight black halter-top and low-ridding jeans, plain maybe, but very sexy.

Almost against his own will Draco asked, "Wanna dance? I'm off in like two minutes."

Hermione was surprised, her eyes wide, "You wanna dance with me?"

Draco laughed, it was deep and resonate and Hermione liked the sound of it, "Granger, I'm not entirely the same person you knew at school, times change " his eyes darkened slightly, though Hermione didn't seem to notice, "people change."

Hermione looked cautiously over her shoulder towards Ginny, who didn't look like she'd want to leave anytime soon, and then looked back at Draco.

I'm going to be here for at least another hour...I might as well do something that has the potential of being fun. She smiled at him and swirled the contents of her drink in her glass, "Sure, I'll just finish my drink here and wait here for you to get off."

Draco nodded with a small smile and went off to get serve a half-naked witch and her companion drinks. Hermione herself finished up her drink and looked around at the drunk witches and wizards, some making rather large fools of themselves, and thought bitterly, I hate these places so much, their so... soo... classless.

Her wandering thoughts then shifted over to the new Draco Malfoy. He looks so different somehow...what would Ginny say if she knew I was going to do this...or even worse what would Harry or Ron say?" her thoughts suddenly changed from apologetic to defensive, "I was forced into coming here so I can do whatever the hell I want to." She sighed, "It's still somewhat wrong though, after all Draco did torture us all rather ruthlessly in school....

Hermione's internal debate went on for a few more minutes, watching the people on the dance floor sway and grind to the music.

From the corner of her eye she saw Draco talking to another wizard behind the bar, a moment later he was walking towards her. Once beside her, he smirked and wordlessly offered her his hand, she took it firmly in her own and led him boldly onto the dance floor.

Once on the crowded dance floor, Hermione started rolling her hips to the music and Draco instantly followed her motions from behind. Occasionally he would put his large hands on Hermione's grinding hips to pull her closer against him. Both of them were quickly getting hot from the closeness of the people on the small dance floor, and Hermione could feel Draco's sweat dripping onto the back of her neck and down her skin, her body tingled and her movements become more erotic and passionate.

The pair danced for three songs straight with no words exchanged between them, just emotion charged almost electrically through their fevered dancing.

After the end of the third song Hermione, breathing hard and sweating, turned around and pointed back to the bar, calling over the music that she was going to get a drink. As she started pushing her way through the crowd, Draco caught up to her and grabbed her arm, Hermione suddenly found herself pulled up against his hard chiseled chest, lips pressed hard against his in a rough kiss.

Hermione was startled; her eyes open wide in shock and dismay, but his warmth and passion coaxed her into kissing him back, eyes fluttering closed in submission. After a few heated moments of intense kissing it ended, with Draco pulling slowly away. Hermione looked up into his clouded silvery eyes and reason caught up with her. Pulling away from his grasp, she hastily walked over to the bar, confused and unsure of her self, leaning against bar, still dazed from Draco's surprise kiss. She asked the new bartender for a glass of water, as she tried to sort through her feelings and thoughts. Draco, who Hermione just noticed was standing next to her, ordered the same.

Hermione looked nervously over at Draco, who was leaning with his arms crossed on the bar, eyes dark with passion, and Hermione almost instantly threw all caution to the wind.

Hermione leaned closer to him, her body brushing his, and gave him a seductive smile. Draco smirked his trade mark smirk, and slowly leaned in for another, long, heated kiss. Neither noticed that their drinks had arrived as her arms slid around his neck and tangled in his sweat-dampened hair, his arms wrapped tightly about her waist.

What are you doing Hermione? Do you realize who you're kissing?! the barely logical part of her brain screamed, demanding that she stop being foolish, but the rest of her body was begging to keep going, begging for the sweat torture to never stop. His kiss was like a drug to her -she knew that it was wrong, what everyone would think- but she couldn't stop taking it, couldn't stop wanting more.

When air became scarce Hermione pulled away her breath coming in short pants, her fingers still buried in his hair. Draco separated from her completely and handed her her drink, they gulped them down quickly and went back on to the dance floor wordlessly. Hermione twisted her body into his, the beat of the music pulsing through her as Draco ran his strong hands up and down the sides of her body, exploring every curve to his liking. Hermione couldn't stop him. She didn't want to stop him.

Four songs later, Ginny poked her head through the crowd and upon finding her, came up to Hermione and asked if she was ready to go.

Hermione hesitated and looked behind her at Draco, then answered "yes" with a small regretful sigh, then told Ginny that she'd be out in a minute. Ginny smiled crookedly at her and nodded, disappearing into the mass of bodies. Hermione turned towards Draco, who was looking at her intensely. "Well, I've got to get going...this was fun...maybe...maybe I'll see you here again sometime?"

Draco smirked slowly in a way that was completely like the Malfoy he was. "Don't count on it." He whispered huskily in her ear and kissed her again, almost gently this time, then turned and walked towards the other side of the club. Hermione stood there for another moment, emotions tangled and strange then abruptly headed towards the exit.

The air outside was brisk and refreshingly cool compared to the hot smoky air in the club and it made Hermione shiver, sweat drying on her skin.

"Who was that you were dancing with?" Ginny asked curiously as she handed Hermione her broom.

Hermione smiled a small secretive smile. "Oh no one...just an old friend from school."

Ginny nodded slowly, and when Hermione turned her back and mounted her broom, Ginny smirked an almost Malfoy smirk. She knew exactly whom Hermione had been dancing with; but she rather wanted Hermione to admit to it on her own. Maybe tonight at dinner with Harry and Ron, she thought devilishly.

Hermione gave one last fleeting glance at the club, and took off, deciding quietly to herself that going clubbing with Ginny wasn't all that bad after all.