The Fractured Flame | Draco Malfoy Love Story

Chapter Three: Breaking and Entering

Ginny hid behind the desk, knowing that at any moment her Fiancé was going Apparate into his office mad as a steaming kettle. Hermione sighed loudly, spotting a bottle of spiced mead in the corner. If she recalled correctly, it was a gift from a local mooncalf farmer for finding his missing herd. How a shepherd could lose his herd of magical beasts was a conundrum in itself, but what a better time to drink alcohol that wasn't yours when you were about to get in trouble anyway.

Hermione walked over to the bottle, using the tip of her wand to open the cap.

"What are you doing, you drunk hag!" Ginny hissed, "He's going to be here any second."

She nodded, "And he's going to yell at us! What better way to deal with Harry being mad at us than being so drunk we won't remember it tomorrow."

Ginny blinked. "Wow. That's a terrible idea, 'Mione. I love it. Pass me a swig, ye?"

Exactly seven minutes later and almost the entire bottle of spiced mead gone, Harry arrived. He was decked out in his Auror Uniform which made her wonder if he hadn't changed yet tonight or he changed specifically to see who broke into his office. He likely didn't expect his best friend and fiancé to be sitting on his desk passing an alcoholic beverage back and forth. What Hermione and Ginny didn't expect was the pale blonde prat who'd Apparated with him.

Draco. Bloody. Malfoy. AGAIN.

Breaking and Entering

Both wizards had very differentiating expressions.

Harry's lips were pressed in a thin line, set in anger. His eyebrows were scrunched together also trying to make sense of the situation before him. He promptly took off his glasses to clean the lenses with the linen shirt he wore under his Auror uniform. It was a tick of his that he used to buy time when he was thinking of how to handle a situation.

Draco, on the other hand, was leaning against the door with his arms crossed in a languid manner. There were cracks of blue in his eyes as his cold demeanor had warmed up some and he was looking highly entertained by the situation. Though he still wore the fitting midnight blue suit from earlier, his tie had been loosened slightly. If Hermione wasn't crazy, then there was a very light flush to his cheeks under the harsh lighting which meant that he had been drinking too. Just... Not as much as her and Ginny.

"What in Merlin's beard are you both doing here? Is that my mead?" Harry snapped, reaching forward to take the now empty bottle of alcohol.

Ginny gave her fiancé a chagrined smile, "We were out for a stroll and we got lost."

"No one gets lost breaking into the second level of the Ministry." Harry's face dawned with questions, "How did you get past the night guard? Isn't it Finnegan tonight?"

"Seamus still has the hots for Hermione." She answered, biting back a smile.

"What?"

Hermione shook her head, but then stopped as the world started to spin, and she didn't want to get dizzy. "No, no. I am not drunk enough to start talking about my love life. I may have flirted, but it was in the name of duty to get past him!"

"What incredible security you've got here at the Ministry." Draco mused lowly, eyes flickering from Hermione to Harry, "Two inebriated witches were so easily able to break into your office."