Chapter Text
Auror Inspector Malfoy woke up with a shooting pain that felt like a needle had been pushed through his left eye and was currently poking around his brain.
He grunted as he tried to move into a more comfortable position, which caused his body to alert him to all the other injuries he'd sustained.
"What you're doing is despicable. This violates the very nature of scientific enquiry."
Hermione's voice gave him something to focus on and he pulled himself up into a seated position. His arms and legs were bound and the seat of his trousers was uncomfortably damp where he'd been left in a puddle. The ice-cold water made soft slopping sounds as he moved.
"How's that saying? You can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs." The male voice had an odd accent Malfoy couldn't place. He cracked open his eyelids, wincing as the pain in his head went up a few notches.
The room they were in was dark except for a single pool of light in the centre over an examination table.
Hermione was standing at the table talking to someone on the other side of it. A body lay on the table between them.
"You can't dismiss this," the man said. "It's your idea after all."
"My idea?"
"Yes. Everyone has been talking about your groundbreaking study into the magic genome. But it's not just DNA, it's actually physiology as well."
"My test subjects willingly donate DNA samples, I don't need to kill them," Hermione objected.
The man stepped closer to the table, the light catching his features in stark relief.
"There’s only so much you can find from DNA. What about my findings?"
Malfoy noticed Hermione's fingers tighten on the edge of the table, her knuckles turning white.
"And what have you found?"
"So far? Nothing conclusive, but I've only examined two of billions of subjects. Do me the honour of helping me examine this one." He held out a pair of latex gloves to Hermione who shook her head. "Do it, or your friend dies." He lifted his other hand, wand pointed at Draco.
Hermione grabbed the gloves and pulled them on with loud snaps that echoed in the room.
"I need a scalpel to start the autopsy," she said.
"I'm not dumb enough to give you a weapon." The man picked up a scalpel from a tray next to him and leaned over the body to make the first incision.
Malfoy used their distraction to examine his bonds. The rope was enchanted without any visible knots for him to untie.
"Finite incantatum," he whispered under his breath. The bonds held tight.
There was a sudden commotion at the table as the man collapsed to the floor unconscious. Hermione immediately moved to him and removed their wands from his pocket. With a practised wave, she bound him in ropes before turning to Malfoy.
"Malfoy?"
"I'm okay. Would you mind?" He held out his arms and she quickly removed the bonds from his wrists and ankles. He would never admit to the groan that he released as he stood up, everything aching unpleasantly.
She handed him his wand and turned back to the killer.
"You know, there's a knack to knocking someone out with a headbutt. Most people don't realise it." Hermione stood over the man, her wand pointed at him.
"You know him, don't you?"
"Can we get out of here before I explain?"
Draco couldn't agree more and sent a Patronus to summon Auror Caxton.
"Wait, you headbutted him?"
"No, the victim did," she gestured to the body on the table that now sported a concave nose.
Overcome with pride, Malfoy pulled her into a hug. "You continue to surprise me, Granger."
She tilted her head back to look him in the eye. "Then I can't break the tradition." And pushed up on her toes to kiss him.
A fizz spread through her veins from where their lips touched right down to her toes and it overshadowed all of the dreams she'd had.
He pulled her closer and with a groan, deepened the kiss, licking into her mouth.
"I told you they were in love!" Auror Caxton exclaimed, causing the couple to jump apart.
"His name is Sven Borgsson. We did our PhDs under the same professor at Johns Hopkins a few years ago."
Hermione was sitting in Malfoy’s office giving her statement to Auror Caxton.
"That's why he didn't appear on my list. It only showed British wizards and witches." Auror Caxton had the good grace to blush.
"Make this a lesson in due diligence when doing searches, Caxton," said Malfoy from the corner of the office where he leaned against the wall.
"He's brilliant, which seems to have not left him any capacity for empathy." Hermione continued, shuffling in her seat, glad that Malfoy was out of her direct eye line as she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t blush if they made eye contact.
Auror Caxton closed her file with a thump and looked up. "I think we can call the case closed. Borgsson will not see the light of day for the rest of his life." She reached down and pulled a book from her bag. "Would you please sign my copy of your book?" She pushed it across the table to Hermione.
With a blush heating her cheeks, Hermione picked up a quill and quickly signed the inside cover, then returned it to Auror Caxton who let out a strangled squeal of excitement and shoved the book in her bag as she rushed out the office.
Hermione stood up and turned to leave.
"You know Granger, I was able to research what bow chicka wow wow actually meant." He pushed himself off the wall and invaded her space.
She arched an eyebrow at him. "Did you now?"
Malfoy nodded and leaned closer to her, a wicked grin on his lips.
Hermione didn't give him a chance to give a snarky reply and grabbed him by the lapels to pull him into a toe-curling kiss.
The End