Wicked Deception

Wicked Deception

Chapter Two

Harry was speaking at length about something but Draco was not listening. His thoughts were on what he done just minutes before Harry had returned home.

Draco didn't know what possessed him to molest Hermione in the hallway. He had felt an immediate, intense desire for her and he cursed himself for having so little self-control. Then again he was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it and it was an incredible turn-on, not to mention a good bit of fun, playing with Granger like that.

It struck him as a bitter irony that he had not noticed how attractive Hermione Granger was before tonight. If he had been aware of her at school he had no doubt he would already have been able to count her among his many sexual conquests.

Images of the girl when they were still at Hogwarts flashed in his mind. His first physical contact with her had been in their third year when he found himself on the receiving end of a hard slap to the face. At the time he had felt the pain of her hand against his face but also a deep pleasure at having affected her so deeply.

He remembered noticing her at the Yule Ball the following year on the arm of the famous Viktor Krum and had initially been struck by her appearance that night. But he had dismissed any thoughts of sexual attraction to the mudblood assuming that dress robes and glamour spells could make anyone look good.

Her Muggle status had obviously been a large factor in his never noticing her physical attributes before. And her reputation for being studious, an unbearable know-it-all and very bossy was a big turn-off. Not to mention the additional fact that she was one-third of Potter's Golden Trio, which had always been the thorn in his side during most of his time at Hogwarts. And here lay the biggest problem with this new attraction to Granger. She was now the girlfriend of that infamous Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter himself. What would Draco have given to have had this opportunity back in the day when he and Potter were bitter enemies?

Yet they had become friends stemming from the events that occurred in their last year at school and now they worked together. They weren't close mates but they got along and held a mutual respect for each other. This would've been unfathomable to themselves and everyone they knew before their seventh year at Hogwarts.

Malfoy hated to think about what happened that last year but it resulted in his father, Lucius, being sent to Azkaban permanently. There had finally been discovered undeniable proof of Lucius's dealings as a Death Eater and indeed of being Voldemort's right-hand man. Draco had enjoyed the power of learning the Dark Arts intrinsic in his family's heritage but he never had the stomach for the Death Eaters' shadier and often murderous activities. The events surrounding Lucius's downfall was enough for Draco to turn his back on everything that his father stood for.

Reluctantly he had accepted the support of Dumbledore, Snape, and even Harry as he would not have endured the last couple of months before graduation otherwise. And so he held a grudging regard for Harry as he prepared himself for that final encounter with Voldemort. Draco certainly didn't envy him the task of having to destroy the Dark Lord or of being the only one who could do it.

And so Draco realized that Harry Potter had nothing to do with his desire for Granger. He almost grinned at the thought that he was still that spoiled, selfish, and egotistical boy he was in school. He simply wanted Hermione and his little assault on Granger only served to further his desire for her. He wondered what he was going to have to do and how much he was willing to risk to have her.

As he stood debating with himself, he hadn't noticed that Harry had been silent for several minutes. Draco was unaware that he wore a determined, cunning look in his eyes and Potter was now staring openly at him.

"Draco, have you heard a word I've said?" Harry asked him suspiciously.

Malfoy stirred from his thoughts abruptly but managed to keep an air of collected poise. "Potter, your droning voice is enough to put old Professor Binns to sleep," he said as he moved from the fireplace mantle. He sat in the matching armchair across from Harry.

He took a sip of the drink Harry had served him and looked casually around the den. Draco saw that it was a cozy work area that reflected Harry's laid-back style. It was quaint and nowhere near the size of his study at Malfoy Manor. A warm fire was set in a modest fireplace before the chairs in which they sat. Most of the walls were covered with shelves of books most probably belonging to Granger though there were large sections of reference books Harry used for his job.

Framed pictures were placed in every spare space. There were photos of Ron Weasley and his enormously large family, oafish Hagrid and other faculty from Hogwarts and also one of Harry's colleagues at the ministry, in which Draco was suspiciously missing.

The smell of candle wax and wood fire permeated the air and the hardwood floor in the room was covered with a beautiful oriental rug.

A short distance from the fireplace was a desk strewn with parchment, full and empty ink bottles, several quills and an assortment of Auror devices, Sneakoscopes and secrecy sensors in several sizes, some in varying states of repair. Hanging on the wall behind the desk was a foe glass. Draco recalled being told that it was the same one that Harry had first seen in their fourth year at Hogwarts.

As his gaze returned to the fireplace he noticed a small replica of the House Cup Gryffindor had won in seventh year on the mantel. It sat between a picture of Harry's parents dancing in front of a fountain and one of Harry and Hermione. In this photo they looked at each other then turned to grin at him, each of them wearing a red clown nose that intermittently lit up.

"Draco, are you all right?" Harry asked him.

"Yes, of course, Potter." Draco replied coolly. He sniffed, "Who on earth is your interior decorator?"

"You don't like the room? I rather like the space myself. Hermione and I decorated it together." Harry smiled as he looked around the room and settled his gaze on the picture of him and Hermione on the mantle. "Getting back to it, what is your thought on Dumbledore's update to his plan against Voldemort?"

"Potter, I haven't yet read Dumbledore's parchment. He just gave it to us as the day ended," Draco replied huffily. "Is that why you asked me to meet you tonight?"

Harry smiled at him embarrassedly and said, "No, actually." He sat forward in his chair and looked directly at Draco. "I wondered if I could ask you a favour."

***

Under magically-warming awnings, Ginny Weasley sat on the terrace of her favourite café, sipped at a hot drink and watched people as they passed each other on the snowy sidewalk. Often the masses simply passed from shop to shop, but every now and again some came together, exchanged hugs and Christmas wishes and talked excitedly about parties or gifts. Ginny loved to people-watch and Diagon Alley a few weeks before Christmas was packed with people. She looked forward to Saturday mornings when she treated herself to a morning of sitting around with coffee and her weekly visit with Hermione.

She noticed Hermione before Hermione saw Ginny. Her bushy brown hair, even under her snowcap, was hard to miss in the crowd of people that passed by the café. Hermione looked a little harried but that was to be expected as she had mentioned having to do some Christmas shopping before meeting Gny. Hermione now saw Ginny. She gave her a wary smile and waved as she pushed herself to Ginny's table.

"I'm so sorry I'm late. I overslept and didn't get to do half the things I had planned for this morning!" stated Hermione in a huff as she dumped herself into the chair beside Ginny.

She smiled affectionately at Hermione saying, "Don't worry! You know I love to kick back on Saturday mornings and leave the stress of moving around the Alley to lovely folk like yourself!" Ginny reached over to hug her and then called the waiter to order another drink and something for Hermione. She leaned over to Hermione and said, "So do tell me what you were all in a pickle over last night on the phone!"

Hermione blushed furiously at this comment and looked away quickly. She then said, "Ginny! Something happened last night and I don't know what to make of it! Maybe you can figure it out and give me a clue what to do!"

Hermione then related every detail of what happened between her and Draco the night before. She also described her feeling of helplessness, that she felt she had given in to Draco and then also that she was guilt-ridden to think what this meant for her and Harry. Ginny was captivated and allowed Hermione to get it all out without interruptions. She only nodded and raised her eyebrows at the steamier parts of her story.

"You know, I always knew Malfoy was a pushover for the smart ones," she smirked at Hermione when she had finished telling her story.

"Ginny! Don't make fun! I don't know how I let things go so far. I feel utterly man-handled but..." she blushed again as the waiter raised an eyebrow at her comment while setting her tea in front of her.

She continued once the waiter had left to serve another table, "...but I can't say that I wasn't totally turned on. He knew exactly what buttons to press. What's wrong with me? Harry will be livid."

At this Ginny gave her a reassuring smile and patted her back. "Hermione, you shouldn't give it another thought. Draco was just playing with you and Harry doesn't even have to know. Malfoy was such a player back at Hogwarts. I'm sure he had his way with all the Slytherin girls and half from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. And I'm pretty sure that he would've worked through Gryffindor if there wasn't such a bitter rivalry between him and Harry."

Ginny noted that Hermione looked surprised by her comments. As she looked at Hermione she noted with a little pity that for someone so intelligent she would miss the obvious going on around her. Hermione probably had no idea that that kind of behaviour even took place back at Hogwarts. She must have been holed up in the library while Draco snogged every girl at school in spare classrooms around the grounds. Indeed it was no surprise that he had taken advantage of the girl in her own house last night. The surprising thing was that it was Hermione he had accosted.

Ginny scrutinized her friend as she sat sipping her tea. Upon graduating from Hogwarts she had matured into a woman. At school the features of her face had never stood out except for her eyes which Ginny had always envied. Their warm, cinnamon colour always reflected her natural curiosity enticing anyone to join her in finding out more. But now her powerful intellect combined with her good nature gave her face elegance only acquired through experience and age. The rest of her facial features had now seemed to catch up with her eyes and the whole look blended beautifully. Her hair, though still wild and unruly when she didn't have the time to charm it, had deepened in colour and added to her beauty. And Hermione's figure had blossomed into womanly curves and she didn't seem to have to work too hard to keep herself in shape. Upon reflection Ginny realized that Malfoy would have been hard-pressed to resist Hermione. But now she had a suspicious feeling about Malfoy having made a move on Harry's girlfriend. Ginny continued, "And speaking of Harry and Draco's relationship, they did hate each other didn't they?"

"They did most of the time we were in school," Hermione responded as she set her teacup down. "They became friends partly due to my influence combined with Dumbledore's and, if you can believe it, the Sorting Hat. The last few years we were at school that Hat kept going on about uniting the houses to defeat the Dark Lord.

"As we grew older I don't know that Harry really despised Draco anyway. His hate was all directed towards Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Harry certainly held some animosity towards Draco because his father was a Death Eater but then Draco renounced his father's behaviour and actions. After school Harry convinced him to work at the Ministry and his extensive knowledge of the Dark Arts has come in handy for the Aurors. But from what Ron tells me he's still the same arrogant prat he was in school."

Ginny nodded as she knew full-well Ron's opinion of Draco Malfoy. She shared his dislike of the entire Malfoy clan and wondered whether she ought to mention Draco's recent actions to Ron. But upon seeing Hermione's renewed look of guilt and frustration she decided not to mention this to anyone. Ginny smiled at Hermione and tried to comfort her by saying, "Hey! It was a one-time thing and Malfoy was just playing around! He is a bit of bad business, that Malfoy, and I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. Just do your best not to be alone with him from now on and things will be fine."

She looked at Hermione keenly, hoping that she wouldn't worry and would take her advice to keep her distance from Malfoy. When she saw Hermione slowly nod her head in agreement she continued, "Now if you want to talk about a truly extravagant sex life you've come to the right person!"

Ginny was glad to see Hermione relax as she settled into her chair to drink her tea and be regaled with her nightclub tales of the past week.

***

"Potter, I can't believe I let you drag me out to do this," Draco complained for the umpteenth time.

Harry noticed that even when Draco was complaining he didn't sound like a whining git. He looked him over and noted his impeccable dress and fine demeanor. Every aspect of his appearance was well-groomed and his bearing commanded attention wherever he went. His great taste in food, clothing, jewelry and even women was the reason that Harry asked Malfoy to assist him today. This was a very special task Harry had set out to do.

The previous night he had little time to convince Draco to accompany him since he was running late and Hermione would be down any minute to go for dinner.

When Harry asked Draco for help, it was the first time that he had ever seen Malfoy dumbfounded and speechless. Harry was waiting for one of Draco's usual snide remarks but didn't know what to do when he just looked at Harry and said nothing.

"So you'll help me then?" Harry had entreated him.

Malfoy really could not come up with any good reason he could give Harry to back out of giving him the help he requested.

So now, as they browsed what had to be the tenth shop in the Alley, Draco muttered something about the poor taste in the décor. "Potter, why are you dragging me to all the jewelers in Diagon Alley when I could have just brought you to the best one in London from the start?"

Harry knew Malfoy was unenthusiastic about assisting him in this matter but he couldn't thik of anyone else who had the knowledge he needed. Ultimately Draco had admitted that he was indeed the best suited to help find the perfect engagement ring for Harry to give to Hermione.

***