Chapter Text
This day was a disaster. Or, maybe the month. Probably the entire year.
Hermione was trying to remain positive, plugging along and keeping her chin up, but it was all just getting to be too much. One thing after another kept going wrong for her. Small things, like a broken heel on her shoe, but also big things, things she really didn’t want to think about right now.
Draco Malfoy had dropped by during her lab time, again. He did this more often than not, leaning casually on things and making random comments. She knew better than to let herself fall into conversation with him even as he asked her about restaurants she liked or art openings or the new series of evening lectures at Flourish & Blotts. She was sure he was just waiting for a chance to put her down, ‘yes, I still like books and have no social life, it’s so very funny, point to you for catching that,’ she thought. But it was getting awfully hard to concentrate on keeping her guard up and on what she was doing.
Suddenly, the potion she had been working on erupted into a steaming volcano.
Erupted all over Draco Malfoy and his perfectly tailored suit.
Without even stopping to think Hermione shoved him into the emergency shower cubicle and pulled the chain for the water. As water rained down over them she started pulling his clothes off, his wet tie, his jacket, she was ripping open his shirt and running her hands over his neck and into his hair. She had to be sure none of the potion sat on his skin.
Draco had no idea what was happening, a potion had just blown up onto his new jacket, and then Granger shoved him into an emergency shower. As he sputtered under the water he found she was undressing him, like a wild woman, it was brilliant, her hands were all over and she was tearing his clothes off. He had dreamed of what she might be like in bed but in person her passion was exhilarating. He thought he had never gotten this hard so quickly in his life, cold water be damned. He was smiling as he brought his hands up to her shoulders.
She was soaked as well; as he started to push her wet robes off of her shoulders she said, “Don’t worry, none of it got onto me.” And stepped back out of the water, removing her wet robe and working on spelling it dry.
What? Got onto . . . ? And he realized she had just been worried about the potion. Bugger.
Draco stood, soaking wet, shirtless, and dejected as the water slowed to a drip.
Hermione turned back to apologize for the potion accident and to tell him she would help him dry his clothes . . .
She stood there frozen, robe in one hand and wand in the other, and gaped at him. She took in his smooth skin, muscled shoulders and chest, perfect ridges of his abs, and that v of muscle going down to his . . . very tented trousers.