Working Together Chapter 7
Title: Working Together, Chapter 7
Author: yourebrilliant
Pairing: DMHG
Rating: PG-13 to be safe (some mild language)
Disclaimer:*checks* Nope, still not mine ;D
Summary: It's the kind of project she loves, with the kind of guy she...hates?
A/N: I've been writing this based on the idea that Paper Conversation is the last chapter. Hopefully it all fits together.
‘Tut tut, H,’ Malfoy said, addressing the woman in the doorway without even looking up from the large book he was reading. ‘Eleven thirty start? Now is not the time for those lazy lie ins.’ When there was no response, he looked up to find her glowering at him from the open door. ‘What?’ he asked, genuinely confused.
‘What?’ she shrieked. ‘We are partners in this project,’ she ground out, her teeth gritted together to keep from yelling.
‘I had noticed,’ Malfoy responded, one pale eyebrow rising lazily as his mind raced through the last few days to think of something he could have done to annoy her like this. Maybe...no, she’d laughed at that one. And then got him back for it.
‘Oh really?’ she asked, sarcastically. ‘So, what, you thought your partner would be fine presenting on her own?’
‘What?’ he asked again, annoyed that she was making him sound like a Weasley.
‘THE MEETING!’ she screeched. ‘The monthly interdepartmental meeting was this morning.’
‘Okay,’ he said, vaguely remembering Harry mentioning something about a meeting from hell, but still not seeing where this was his fault.
‘And, as the Head of R&D, I have to be there,’ she continued.
‘Before we’re old, H,’ he commented sharply, boring of this already.
Hermione took several deep breaths. ‘Don’t push me, Malfoy. As the Head of R&D I had to be there. I also had to be at that waste of time to present on the progress of this VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT!’
‘Still not seeing the point, Granger,’ he spat.
‘Well, they do say inbreeding dulls the mind,’ she shot back. ‘Malfoy. The point, as if you care, is that for a report on this joint project both the members of the joint project should have been there! Instead, I was left to explain to my boss - who is also your boss, by the way - why the extremely dedicated other half of my team, couldn’t be ARSED to remember to attend the meeting!’
Malfoy opened his mouth to say something.
‘AND GET YOUR FEET OFF MY DESK!’ Hermione screeched.
‘Got that off your chest, Granger?’ he hissed quietly. ‘When you’ve quite finished your little temper tantrum, perhaps we can discuss this in reasonable terms and then go back to working on this very important project without getting all...emotional.’
‘Why, you arrogant-’ Hermione started to move into the room.
‘With good reason,’ Malfoy commented, looking back down at his book.
‘-self-indulgent-’
‘Are you offering to indulge me instead?’ he drawled.
‘-bastard!’
Suddenly his head shot up. ‘Oh, no, Granger, that’s enough.’
Hermione paused, caught by the warning in his steely tone.
‘You can insult me all you want, you’ve been doing it for years, but I will not have you insulting my mother.’
Hermione wavered for a second, wondering if she had crossed the line, but the humiliation of the morning was too fresh in her mind. He had confused her, acting like a decent human being, letting her drop her guards, letting her think they could be friends, and then leaving her to face that melee on her own. Taking a deep breath, she leant forward, narrowed her eyes, and hissed, ‘But Malfoy, surely having you as a son is insult enough.’
In a second he was over - literally over - the desk, piles of books tumbling to the floor in his wake, and standing right in front of her, closer than he’d ever been before. Defiantly, despite the hyper-fast beating of her heart, she tipped her head up to look him in the eye. For one second, all his guards were down, all his drawl and facetious lechery and pureblood arrogance were gone, and she could see the maelstrom of his emotions swirling like liquid silver in his burning eyes. And then it was over, the lines of his face shifted back into that familiar sneer and his eyes flattened to a steely gray.
‘I would hex you until there was nothing left of your pitiful, Mudblood, body,’ he hissed, leaning over her menacingly, ‘but you’re just not worthy of my time.’
Snapping away from her, he favoured her with one final sneer before sweeping from the room, robes billowing like a ghost of the other man to make her childhood hell. Closing the door shakily behind him, she dropped into the chair in front of her desk and dropped her head in her hands.
Chapter 8
Author: yourebrilliant
Pairing: DMHG
Rating: PG-13 to be safe (some mild language)
Disclaimer:*checks* Nope, still not mine ;D
Summary: It's the kind of project she loves, with the kind of guy she...hates?
A/N: I've been writing this based on the idea that Paper Conversation is the last chapter. Hopefully it all fits together.
‘Tut tut, H,’ Malfoy said, addressing the woman in the doorway without even looking up from the large book he was reading. ‘Eleven thirty start? Now is not the time for those lazy lie ins.’ When there was no response, he looked up to find her glowering at him from the open door. ‘What?’ he asked, genuinely confused.
‘What?’ she shrieked. ‘We are partners in this project,’ she ground out, her teeth gritted together to keep from yelling.
‘I had noticed,’ Malfoy responded, one pale eyebrow rising lazily as his mind raced through the last few days to think of something he could have done to annoy her like this. Maybe...no, she’d laughed at that one. And then got him back for it.
‘Oh really?’ she asked, sarcastically. ‘So, what, you thought your partner would be fine presenting on her own?’
‘What?’ he asked again, annoyed that she was making him sound like a Weasley.
‘THE MEETING!’ she screeched. ‘The monthly interdepartmental meeting was this morning.’
‘Okay,’ he said, vaguely remembering Harry mentioning something about a meeting from hell, but still not seeing where this was his fault.
‘And, as the Head of R&D, I have to be there,’ she continued.
‘Before we’re old, H,’ he commented sharply, boring of this already.
Hermione took several deep breaths. ‘Don’t push me, Malfoy. As the Head of R&D I had to be there. I also had to be at that waste of time to present on the progress of this VERY IMPORTANT PROJECT!’
‘Still not seeing the point, Granger,’ he spat.
‘Well, they do say inbreeding dulls the mind,’ she shot back. ‘Malfoy. The point, as if you care, is that for a report on this joint project both the members of the joint project should have been there! Instead, I was left to explain to my boss - who is also your boss, by the way - why the extremely dedicated other half of my team, couldn’t be ARSED to remember to attend the meeting!’
Malfoy opened his mouth to say something.
‘AND GET YOUR FEET OFF MY DESK!’ Hermione screeched.
‘Got that off your chest, Granger?’ he hissed quietly. ‘When you’ve quite finished your little temper tantrum, perhaps we can discuss this in reasonable terms and then go back to working on this very important project without getting all...emotional.’
‘Why, you arrogant-’ Hermione started to move into the room.
‘With good reason,’ Malfoy commented, looking back down at his book.
‘-self-indulgent-’
‘Are you offering to indulge me instead?’ he drawled.
‘-bastard!’
Suddenly his head shot up. ‘Oh, no, Granger, that’s enough.’
Hermione paused, caught by the warning in his steely tone.
‘You can insult me all you want, you’ve been doing it for years, but I will not have you insulting my mother.’
Hermione wavered for a second, wondering if she had crossed the line, but the humiliation of the morning was too fresh in her mind. He had confused her, acting like a decent human being, letting her drop her guards, letting her think they could be friends, and then leaving her to face that melee on her own. Taking a deep breath, she leant forward, narrowed her eyes, and hissed, ‘But Malfoy, surely having you as a son is insult enough.’
In a second he was over - literally over - the desk, piles of books tumbling to the floor in his wake, and standing right in front of her, closer than he’d ever been before. Defiantly, despite the hyper-fast beating of her heart, she tipped her head up to look him in the eye. For one second, all his guards were down, all his drawl and facetious lechery and pureblood arrogance were gone, and she could see the maelstrom of his emotions swirling like liquid silver in his burning eyes. And then it was over, the lines of his face shifted back into that familiar sneer and his eyes flattened to a steely gray.
‘I would hex you until there was nothing left of your pitiful, Mudblood, body,’ he hissed, leaning over her menacingly, ‘but you’re just not worthy of my time.’
Snapping away from her, he favoured her with one final sneer before sweeping from the room, robes billowing like a ghost of the other man to make her childhood hell. Closing the door shakily behind him, she dropped into the chair in front of her desk and dropped her head in her hands.
Chapter 8