Stage 1.

It happened like this:

It was a mixer, with a widely diverse group gathered across multiple sectors to meet and greet with the foreign delegation from the Americas, including both North and South America.

At the end of the evening, there was a group of them standing around arguing the recent developments in astronomy that had an implication in their astromancy studies, and what it meant in calculations. It was a fun, heated, scholastic argument, something that Hermione enjoyed a lot. Those present included Daniel Purdey, the writer at the Prophet who reported new wizarding inventions and findings, Lisa Turpin, Hermione's former classmate who was now an adjunct professor at Hogwarts, Percy Weasley, who always knew about the latest developments in such subjects, a few other Ministry workers, three foreign delegates, as well as Theodore Nott and Draco Malfoy.

Hermione supposed she and Lisa naturally gravitated to one another because they had been in several classes together and had gotten to know each other better in recent years. Theo and Draco had also been in the same arithmancy class, and they had come to join in the debate once the argument over Pluto's alignment got loud enough to be heard across the room.

Soon the party started to thin out. Usually, Hermione disliked these enforced socializing events, but tonight had been a bit of all right, since she had Percy, who was her colleague in the Interspecies Relations Committee, and after that she had bumped into other people she knew.

Somehow it ended up being Lisa, Draco, and her still discussing the issue after everyone else had wandered off. Hermione was surprised to note that Draco was something of an astronomy expert, since he never gave a sign of it in classes back in the day. But now that she considered it, he really fooled them all by goofing around so much in class and still managing no less than six NEWTS.

Lisa was hailed by someone across the room who wanted her opinion on the proposed new Hogwarts curriculum and left them. Hermione was still smiling into her drink when the other girl left, though a vague part of her brain wondered why Draco was lingering. They didn't know each other that well.

She was still there when he brought up the recent legislation that would lift the ban on several prohibited items. She gathered that was part of the business he had with Theo after the war, when their inherited wealth took a fair blow from the new taxes.

And then, "I beg your pardon?" she asked. Surely she had heard wrong.

His lips pulled slightly outward at one side in a small show of amusement directed at himself. "You heard, Granger. I asked if you wanted to come home with me."

It was no less shocking the second time around. "Go home with you? As in-?"

He leaned in slightly. Not enough to touch her. One hand was wrapped around his glass, the other rested in his trouser pockets. "You know exactly what it means, Granger. We both know you're not an idiot."

She shook her head a bit to dissipate the alcoholic fumes and the high of successful social mingling. "Why would you want to? Ugh, I can't even think that straight, but I seem to recall you have a problem with me. Or my kind."

"You mean the name-calling in school?" he asked. He was so close that she could see the dark rims surrounding his clear gray irises and the fringe of dark brown eyelashes. She focused a little too hard and almost fell forward. He grabbed her upper arm and pushed her back to an upright position before releasing her.

"I mean the name-calling in school," she said, fanning herself a bit. Had her hair been that woolly all evening or had someone started a fire?

"Don't be daft, Granger. Surely you could tell that was just foreplay." He smiled a bit, almost like a mischievous schoolboy. Except he wasn't. She wasn't either. A school kid, that was. They were adults talking about fairly adult business. She was slightly inebriated though.

"Pretty offensive foreplay," she replied, and frowned to herself. Surely that wasn't the most pressing argument to make there.

"I didn't notice it ever bothered you," he said, quite truthfully, although it was far from being an adequate apology. When she didn't immediately reply, he raised his eyebrows. "Well?"

She felt as though she was definitely not sober enough to make such a, what was surely, momentous decision. On the other hand, she would have been blind and deaf and probably smell-less to negate his attractions. Draco Malfoy had always been supremely well-tailored and immaculate, and that included a quite dizzying aroma of pine-scented soap that clung to his natty robes as he swaggered his way through school. Even in the days of Hogwarts, she had to give it up to him that for all his character flaws, general hygiene and a flawless appearance had not been his issues. Tonight, in what was the latest in a series of mixers for the past five years for foreign visitors and businesses, she had not been blind to the way his white shirt stretched across his shoulders and moulded themselves to his upper arms once their robes had been discarded at the door. It was probably beer-ears, but his voice was quite nice as well, low and even, as though he were sharing a secret. He had matured late, given his coltish physique and immature behavior back in the day, but he had definitely matured well. And she had noticed. Given that he had been fairly innocuous and civil as a whole since that time, she probably wasn't the only one who had.

"It's not a trick, is it?" she asked, just to be sure.

His smile deepened, as though he wanted to say something. Instead, he said seriously, "Not a trick."

She shrugged. "Draco, I may regret this in the morning, but I'm going to go for it. Let's see if you're a natural blond."

For a moment, he didn't say anything. Hermione held her breath. Had he changed his mind? Not that she really cared or anything, but still, this sort of thing required some kind of trust on both sides, and after saying it wasn't a trick, a full-on rejection would probably sting a bit. All he did, though, was set down his glass and reach out a hand to remove hers as well. Then, in an action that was so swift as to be undetected, with that same hand, he apparated them and sent them flying through space and time.

She reached out a hand to brace herself when they landed. The only surface available was Draco's chest, before he steadied her with two hands on her waist. She noticed, with surprising clarity, that his chest was warm and hard and very pleasant to touch.

"All right?" he asked.

Hermione was busy taking deep breaths to combat the effects of apparating on a glass too many of wine. She knew, though, from past experience, that although dizzying, traveling by apparation often eradicated the fuzziness of alcohol. It was as though being pulled through space sucked the alcohol from one's system.

"Can I get you a Sober-Up potion?" he offered.

"No, I'm fine," she said, before looking up and around at what was a very snazzy loft.

She had a brief image of a surprisingly modern decor before he murmured, "Good," and lowered his mouth to cover hers.