Greetings all you lovely readers and writers!

I was surprisingly busy Friday and did not get a chance to post anything at all. I had planned on updating 'Secret' and the next chapter of 'Ferrets' on the Coven Hiss profile but never got a chance!

I also planned to do nothing but read this weekend because I was given a new series by my coven witch Claw that has had me spellbound for several days now. But I woke up this morning and my muse would not shut up!

So I give you this little bit of fluff, which is totally dedicated to Claw, as she has been asking for Dramione's for weeks and no one has obliged her till now lol. Hope you all enjoy it as it was a little one shot I just had to get out of my head!

The M-rating is for language. I prefer to mark my stories that way so hopefully no hapless young one wanders too close to my writing. Its very rarely child friendly though my own spawn wants me to write her one someday soon...

Always

~Tempest

Draco stood off to the side, his back against one of the pillars they had erected for decoration, holding a glass of firewhiskey with his arms crossed and his other hand holding the inside of his elbow to prop his arm up. The suit he wore was black on black as usual but was a modern muggle cut that the wizarding world had brought over after the war. The style had sharper angles then the wizarding version and made him look even more like a rich aristocrat then he ever did before.

Looking around at all the people who had come to this little shindig, he was surprised. When Lovegood had sent out invitations for a class reunion of sorts for the two years most affected by the war, his and hers, he had not expected this many people to actually come. Of course he had not planned to come until the last minute. What did he really have to gain by being here with people who mostly hated him. In the end he couldn't turn down an opportunity to see how everyone had grown and what they were up to these days.

Living in America and staying as far away from all things England once he had left, he was completely out of the loop of gossip and happenings. He had no idea for example that the Lovegood girl had been married to Longbottom for the past five years and that they had a surprisingly cute little boy. The pictures she had been all to happy to show him had made him smile even as he ached inside from the pain. That had been the only thing he had wanted when the war was over and it was the one thing he would probably never have now...not with his past.

Longbottom had grown up to be quiet a good looking and confident man as well. Draco had recognized him but it had been a double take to do so. He had grown into his height and had lost all the excess weight and turned it into well defined muscle. He stood tall and straight and had looked Draco in the eye as they shook hands. He had been happy to see that the war had done some good for other people.

The other Slytherins he had been associated with in school were here as well. Most of them had made the rounds to say hello and ask how he was but time and an ocean between them had caused a distance that the war had never been able to create. Sadden that he had been the cause of their estrangement, he made sure to be happy for and congratulate them all on their happiness and success. What else did you do for people who were once your friends?

His eyes roamed to the group of their lifetime. The Golden Trio was here and it had been a surprise to not only see them all but to see the difference in all three. Weasley had grown into his own over the years it seemed. He was a well respected business owner courtesy of Potter's financial backing in the beginning and his brother's genius. He had helped to open and market the twin Weasley's joke shop and turned it into a profitable empire of not only jokes but household products of extreme usefulness, as well as beauty products now known world wide to help witches and wizards with all sorts of issues...like the frizzy hair Granger used to have to deal with.

He was pretty sure seeing as one of her masters was in potions that the formulas were courtesy of Granger and his godfather who had been her master during her apprenticeship. Severus had survived by a miracle and the quick thinking of the Gryffindor Princess and it seemed he had not only gotten stronger but he had also let go of that darkness he used to hold so close. He was now married himself to a beautiful witch from Russia that he had met during a conference. Shaecia Snape was a breath of sweet, fresh air next to his foreboding godfather and Draco had been so happy when he got the letter telling him all about her.

Shaking his head to clear his wondering, a thing that happened quiet often now, he focused back on the trio. Potter looked almost identical to when he did in school. He had had his eyes fixed finally so he no longer wore the glasses but his hair still looked like he had just rolled out of bed and ran his hand through it once. His arm was around a witch Draco didn't know at all but had been told he had met while on a diplomatic trip in Italy.

Chara Romanoli was a curvy little thing that fit just perfectly under his chin, her dark skin and luminous eyes a perfect compliment to Potter's fairer skin and mischief filled gaze. They had only been married a few years but rumor had it that little Potter's were expected soon. He also knew her older sister Arabella was currently dating Blaise and if the smile on his old roommates face was any indication...there would be more announcements of marital bliss in the near future.

Turning his eyes he took in the last of the famous trio...Hermione Granger. She had changed so much and yet not at all. Letting his eyes start at her face and slowly roam down her body he couldn't help but appreciate the witch she had grown into. The last time he had seen her was at his court hearing. She had still been pale and half starved from her time on the run. Dark circles under her eyes had given hints to the lack of sleep and nightmares she probably suffered. He knew because he had suffered the same for years after. Her hair had laid limp along her shoulders and back and if it had not been for the fire that flared to life in her eyes as she testified in his defense, he would have thought the fiery Gryffindor had died in the war too.

Now she stood there with her hair shining with health and vitality, falling along her back and shoulder in sleek curls that looked soft as silk from this distance. She had gained much needed weight back and she was nicely curved and thick in just the right places. Her dress hugged her like a second skin and unlike the shy bookworm from their school days, she stood among a sea of hungry men like the warrior princess she was. Her eyes were no longer filled with that haunted look but with laughter and confidence. In a completely shallow moment Draco was terribly sorry he had been her most avid nemesis...he would love nothing more than to get his hands on her now...she had to be one of the most alluring and beautiful witches in the entire room.

Speaking of beautiful witches, though this one could only be described as repulsive to him, Draco groaned as he saw Astoria approaching. Wearing a Slytherin green skin tight dress that made her look more like a slag instead of the vision of sensual pleasure that Granger's dress brought to mind, she swayed her hips as if that would be enough to have him panting. As she got near and lifted her hand to touch him, Draco gracefully sidestepped so her hand fell uselessly between them. She pouted before her lips tilted up in what he knew she thought was a 'come hither' smile.

"Drakey...don't be that way. It's been so long...how have you been?"

"Up until this very moment...I've been great. Now I feel the need to check myself into St. Mungo's...may be coming down with some sort of disease."

Her huff of annoyance as she crossed her arms made his skin crawl. As she took a step closer her perfume flowed into his nose like a viper slithering along the ground and his reaction was both visceral and unwelcome. It was the perfume he had bought her when they were engaged and it had been like pouring amortencia on her back then. Now it had the same effect as he wanted to throw her against the wall and fuck her until neither of them could stand but his very stomach rebelled at the thought of letting her sink her claws into him again.

"There is no need to be mean Draco. It's been years...I thought you would have forgiven me by now."

Backing him into another pillar as she advanced she placed her hand on his chest and his heart skipped at her closeness. She had been everything he had ever wanted...or so he thought back then. She had been beautiful and sympathetic and he had misread her attitude for care. Turned out when the heir of the Malfoy family fell out of grace her 'love' turned out to only be ambition worthy of any Slytherin and she had been on the arm and in the bed of the next prospect before he had even been able to blink. He had loved her and her betrayal had been the last knife to his heart before he fled his homeland like it was on fire.

Now as she leaned into him, his loneliness tried to rear its ugly head. He had not had a woman touch him without a calculated look in her eye in so long. Of course he knew logically that she had never been able to land herself a rich husband and that her ambition was just as cold and emotionless as the American women he met but she was so very good at hiding it behind guileless eyes...and he hated her for it.

As she leaned on him, her face tilted up to look at him with soft eyes, Draco had to close his as the tears filled his eyes at the pain. She had been the very air he breathed back then, what he thought was his one saving grace in a word of hate and darkness. To have her leaning on him now after all the years of self-hate and emptiness only ripped his heart to shreds and he knew even as he hated himself for it that he would leave with her tonight because contrary to popular belief, the hated and heartless Draco Malfoy needed warmth and affection too...even if it was all an act to get his name and his bank vaults.

Hermione kept her smile in place as the people came and went around her and her friends. She had been happy to attend and support Luna is her attempt to bring all of those affected by the war back together to mingle and share their lives so many years later. The past ten years had been both filled with hardships and with joys and she really couldn't complain in the end...she had been alive to appreciate and live them unlike others.

Laughing at the ridiculous punch line of Ron's latest 'dad' joke as he was stocking up on them for when Hugo was born, she couldn't help feeling a little sadness wash over her that it wasn't her giving him a son. She would never begrudge Hannah her happiness or what her and Ron had found in each other after their not so surprising break up, but being the only one still single sometimes hit her sideways.

She giggled at the exaggerated eye roll that came from Harry's wife Chara. After Ginny had died saving Fred from an explosion in the final battle, she had been so afraid that Harry would never be able to open up and let another witch into his heart. It had been Severus who had spent long hours talking to him and both grieving over loves lost had brought both of them out of the other side healed and ready to face the world again.

Chara had come in like a tornado of fun and light and laughter and had literally swept Harry away in her hurricane of a personality. Hermione had never been more grateful for someone in her life...well except for maybe sweet, quiet Shaecia who melted the frozen potions master better than any heat wave could have. The two men she hurt for the most were now both emotionally healthy and happy and that went a long way to soothing her own battered heart and soul.

Turning her head and letting her eyes take in the crowd she let a real smile grace her lips as she watched Neville twirl Luna around the floor with the confidence of a man well loved. Even though they fumbled the steps here and there the laughter and love in their eyes never dimmed. Hannah at the moment was twirling around in endless laughter too with Susan Thomas, formally Susan Bones, and Daphne Greengrass-Boot, a friendship she had not seen coming but couldn't deny in the end had been well founded. Those three were peas in a pod and were very rarely seen apart.

Continuing her scan she watched Blaise Zabini dipped his current girlfriend, Chara's sister Arabella, in an elegant flourish before capturing her lips in another heated kiss. She was sure if left to their own devices, those two would set the place a blaze with their chemistry. If ever there were two magical beings that were meant to be together...it was them and Hermione was just waiting on Blaise to stop dragging his feet in fear and ask her to marry him. Merlin knows they all knew he wanted to do it...including Bells.

She rolled her eyes as they landed on one group. Theodore Nott and his wife Angel were head to head with Percy and his wife Nyx. Those four were utterly impossible to deal with. She had dated Percy but he had required...something...she couldn't give. She never told a soul why they had ended their relationship but she knew that Nyx had been more than happy to put herself in his...capable hands. She couldn't hear it but she knew those four were talking about, debating, or arguing over some Ministry policy or new formula or theory...and she had been called the know-it-all swot...hah!

Continuing her perusal she let her eyes linger for a moment on a ghost from their school days. Draco Malfoy stood off to the side alone, his suit and hair in perfect order as usual. His entire demeanor was one of solitude but the small smile on his face as he took in the crowd was one of reluctant happiness and acceptance...a smile she understood all too well.

She had kept up with him after he had fled England and knew he was running another branch of Malfoy Industries in America. He was just as successful there as he would have been if he had stayed and just as sought after. Though pictures were abundant of the Malfoy heir with dates for every event from movie openings to charity events, she always saw the distance he kept with not only his date but the crowds around him. He was ever the lone specter in a crowd of admires...again a feeling she knew well.

She knew he had stayed single and she even knew why. His break up and ended engagement had been like raw meat to the vultures in the press and they had torn him and the entire thing to pieces in their need to one up each other in the papers. She was not surprised he had left so abruptly. It was never confirmed but she was pretty sure that his ex-fiancé had been in it for the money and prestige and he had truly been in love with her. Hermione's heart had ached for him that day as the paper had landed on her doorstep shouting to the world, 'Malfoy Heir's Heart Shattered for Another Wizard'.

As his eyes turned their way she looked back over at Ron and Harry, pretending to listen to whatever nonsense they were talking about this time but she felt his eyes as they roamed over her. It was almost potent enough to be a physical touch and goose flesh erupted along her arms as she shivered. Not able to help herself, as she felt the intensity lessen she looked up only to freeze at the sight before her.

Draco had that old sneer on his face that he used to look at her with...an expression she had not seen in over ten years. The reason for his current emotion was none other than his ex-hag and she watched as the Slytherin prince retreated as she advanced on him. The pain and panic in his eyes caused a flare of anger inside her that she couldn't understand or even explain but it didn't matter. Setting her glass down as she watched that bitch run her hand over his chest and his eyes closed in what looked like physical torment, her mind blanked as she let her lioness rule her completely.

As Draco pushed Astoria's hand off his chest and side stepped to get her off his body, he made his mind up that if she wanted to play this game and get back into his bed then she was going to have to work for it...maybe even beg. He could be hateful and petty with the best of them and he had to keep his heart guarded this time. He refused to let her break it apart again after he had worked so hard to put the pieces back in the right order the first time.

Crossing his arms he opened his mouth to let out another scathing comment when the words froze in shock in his throat as arms came up and around him from behind holding him firmly against a soft, warm body and a familiar voice spoke past his ear.

"There you are! I'm so sorry love. I got caught up in listening to Ronald prattle on and on with his ridiculous new line of jokes and lost track of the time. You still owe me a dance."

As her soft lips brushed along his cheek and she walked around to stand next to him it took all of his Slytherin and pureblood training to not let the surprise or absolute shock show on his face. He turned his face to look down at what could only be a figment of his now broken mind, the stunning witch he had just been admiring a few minutes ago standing beside him as if she belonged there.

Her eyes met his with warmth and understanding and suddenly the tears in his eyes were not from the pain of disgust and betrayal but of relief and gratitude. She must have seen his eyes change because her lips tilted up in a sweet smile as she lifted her hand to touch his face. The outraged gasp in front of them seem to pull them both back from the odd moment they were having and he watched that same fire she had at his trial flow into her eyes...which she slide to look at the bane of his existence with.

"Astoria...I didn't see you there. How have you been?"

He glanced over under the hair that had fallen across his eyes to see Astoria's cheeks redden in anger as she glared at Granger. Crossing her arms as she popped one of her hips in a bitchy manner, she looked the other witch up and down with a sneer of her own.

"Obviously better than you have been doing seeing as you are trying so very hard to blend in with your betters."

Opening his mouth to defend her, he didn't get a chance as Hermione's head fell back against his shoulder in pure, unrestrained laughter. He uncrossed his arms so he cold place a hand on her lower back to steady her as his eyes fell on her again of their own volition and a piece of him broke away and became irrevocably hers in that moment...her freedom an intoxicating banquet he wanted to devour.

Wiping at her eyes she looked back up as she wrapped her arms around his waist, causing him to slide his hand fully around her in order to hold her fully.

"That right there is why you are still the butt of jokes at every party and Ministry function and the only pureblood female of our school years still single with absolutely no prospects on the horizon. I don't have to blend in to anything anymore...I'm the one who sets the trends now."

Looking up at him, she bats her eyes at him and he can't help but snort in amusement which only seemed to fuel the other witch's ire.

"I'm not one to stand around in the trash my sexy Dragon. Shall we retire to a less...filthy part of the room?"

"How DARE you!"

The high pitched shriek made his ears feel like they were bleeding and as he looked up he realized most of the people in the room were now staring in their direction.

"I don't know what you think you are playing at you little mudblood bitch but get your hands off my Drake!"

Her laugh this time when it came was full of scorn and made him so very glad it was not pointed at him. He knew from experience that if Hermione Granger decided to tear you apart...you were good and truly fucked. She made a tsking sound as she stepped out of his arms and into Astoria's personal space.

"I never 'play' at anything Greengrass...or haven't you realized that by now. Did you suddenly forget who you are talking to? Let me remind you shall I? Hermione Granger...brains of the Golden Trio...Gryffindor Princess...Swotty little know-it-all...Brightest Witch of her age! I believe Rita recently described me as the 'Frozen Princess' of the wizarding world, cold hearted, unfeeling, and destined to be a frigid bitch for the remainder of my life."

Leaning into her so only he and Astoria caught her next words, Draco felt his eyebrow raise as high as it could as she spoke.

"Should I remind you about Marietta Edgecombe? How about Doloros Umbridge? Oh...I know...Lord Voldemort himself. Harry may have been the one to cast the final spell but who do you think found the way to make him mortal so he could be killed? I am not a witch you want to cross you trampy little bitch. Do yourself a huge favor right now and walk away in your little huff before I ruin the bit of a pitiful little life you still have."

Just as she started to step back, she paused, her eyes turning from Astoria to him.

"No matter what happens from this moment forward...you stay the fuck away from Draco Malfoy..."

Her eyes cut back to the witch whose skin had lost some of its color as her eyes widen.

"Or I will make sure you are just another pathetic witch who faded into nothingness like all the other has-beens."

Stepping back fully, Granger slipped back into his arms as if she had always been there and he could do nothing but look down at her in awe. The shriek of indignation that came from Astoria barely even registered and as she stomped away from them. He felt the panic and pain recede to be replaced with a more terrifying feelings...hope.

He heard the crowd around them all turn back to their own interests, the drama obviously over. He waited and as she nodded in satisfaction she looked up to meet his eyes. Her determination bled away to leave only a shy embarrassment as she bit her bottom lip.

"Um...hi Malfoy."

His smile when it came was both cheeky and amused.

"Hi yourself Granger. Been a while...how have you been?"

As she started to retreat from his arm he tightened his hold on her and watched her eyes fill with confusion.

"I've been...good?"

The tilt of her voice into a question had him chuckling as he started to walk with her beside him towards the dance floor.

"You don't seem so sure about that Princess. Want to discuss it...maybe over dinner?"

The confusion turned to confused shock as he twirled her from beside him out and back in to his arms. Picking up the rhythm of the song with ease he twirled her around the floor in a wizarding waltz as she gazed at him as if she had never seen him.

"What are you doing Malfoy?"

"You said I owed you a dance...I'm just paying up."

Letting all playfulness go, Draco truly looked at her, trying to see what made her tick.

"Thank you by the way...for what you did. I'm not sure I would have had the strength anymore to fight her off and I would have hated myself in the morning if I had let her win."

Her eyes softened and he watched as her compassion filled her up.

"No one should have to endure that kind of pain and torment. I don't know much about what you two had but I know you had to have loved her for you to look so...broken when you left. Seeing her touching you when you obviously didn't want her too just snap what little bit of filter I had."

"Whatever your reasons for coming to my rescue...thank you Granger...truly..."

She gave him a bright smile that warmed him all the way down to the coldest part of his heart and as he dipped her gently to end the song he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like for her to be in his arms any time he wanted.

As they stood back up straight she stepped back and fidgeted with her dress in a very sweet but nervous gesture. Realizing if he didn't take the leap himself he may lose his chance, Draco took a deep breath and jumped.

"Look...Gra...Hermione..."

Her eyes snapped up in surprise at hearing her name but he pushed through before he lost his nerve.

"I know we have never been friends and really we were pretty much enemies during our entire childhood but..."

Swallowing a few times as his mouth went dry in fear, Draco had to clear his throat before continuing.

"It's just...I just...what I mean to say is..."

Shifting from foot to foot he couldn't seem to get his mouth to say what his head was screaming and with a sigh of defeat he let his head drop as he clenched his hands at his side.

"Never mind...just thank you for being who you are. There has never been a witch born who deserved the best of everything our world can offer than you and I hope someday you get all you dream of."

Starting to turn away, his head still down, he missed the look of realization form on her face before her eyes filled with tears. A gentle hand on his arm stopped his progress and though he did not look at her again, he waited to see what she needed.

"Last I heard from our Hogwarts days...the best possible wizard to catch was the Prince of Slytherin himself...some blonde prat named Draco Malfoy who thought he was the gods' gift to everyone. I heard he was the most handsome boy you could ever meet and would probably grow up to be devastatingly attractive as a man. I also heard he happened to be second in grades only to that annoying, brainy Griffindor chit. And everyone knows that in a fairytale...the Princess is supposed to get her Prince and live happily ever after."

His eyes shot to her face and he searched for any malice teasing or amusing prank only to find a look of guarded hope instead. Feeling his fear and self-loathing vanish he turned to place his hand on her cheek, lifting her face so he could look down at her. Her breath mingled with his and the feeling of the feather light rush against his lips made him want to fall at her feet in worship.

Not wanting to get too far ahead of himself and letting his hope gain too much of a lead on the present moment, he swallowed as he brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

"I've heard that rumor as well. Dinner?"

Her nod accompanied by her smile gave him a renewed hope that tomorrow would indeed be brighter than today. Maybe his godfather had been right...he was so busy looking forward to try to forget that he missed what was right in his path if only he had taken a moment to reflect.

Leaning down he placed his lips gently against hers, savoring the first of many kisses he hoped to share in the future with the witch he should have had all along.