"Explain to me again why we're here?"
Hermione stopped fluffing the ridiculously flat pillow and looked up. There was an urge to laugh when she saw how small the dormitory bed was compared to a man of Kingsley's size. If he went to lie down, his feet and calves would definitely hang off the end. She didn't laugh, of course; didn't even smile. Doing so would likely annoy him or make him think this was just a prank, as if she were childish and immature like Harry or Ron. She was twenty-five, which meant that she was a woman now, not a silly little girl.
"The labs at the University are the most updated in the country. I read about them recently in a Muggle magazine, and we agreed that it might be beneficial to come visit them to see if we could use something similar at the Ministry," she explained patiently.
Kingsley frowned and gave her a look that should have had her feeling scared instead of sending heat through her tummy. "I meant, why are we preparing to stay the night in this tiny room with it's even tinier beds, Granger."
"Because, Minister, we're supposed to be foreign Muggle administration from another university, which means we have to agree to their kind offer unless you'd like to break the rules and explain that there's no need because we lied about where we're from, and we can also simply pop back to London for the night."
There was silence for a moment as he studied her so intently that she finally shifted and gripped the pillow she was holding tighter. "You're enjoying this," he said in a deep tone that brought a flush to her cheeks.
It was ridiculous to develop feelings for a co-worker, she knew, but it was even worse when said feelings were for the bloody Minister of Magic, a man who was much older than her and seemed immune to every woman who attempted to seduce him. Not that she was trying to seduce him. God, she'd be horrible at doing anything like that. The trip was actually beneficial to the labs in Magical Law, especially if Harry carried through with his plans to propose a combination of a few Muggle techniques with magic to better service the Wizarding world. It was merely an added bonus that they had been rushed into agreeing to spend the evening in the dorms.
"You don't deny it?" His voice had taken on a rough timber that did very, very bad things to her body. How was it possible that a voice, of all things, could be so bloody arousing? Kingsley's voice had done things to her even when she was too young to recognize that it was arousal.
"I'm simply making the most of an unpleasant situation," she told him in her most professional voice. The way he was looking at her seemed to change so quickly that she blinked and wondered if she'd somehow driven herself crazy by thinking too much.
No, it wasn't that. He really was giving her a look that she'd never seen before. She looked down at the pillow she was holding so he wouldn't see her face flush even more and think she was naive or innocent. She hadn't been particularly naive since she was in her early teens, and her innocence wasn't something she considered a hindrance, necessarily. Still, when faced with a virile male like Kingsley, she just felt inept and immature.
"Is that your advice, Hermione?" Oh God. He'd said her name. It rolled off his tongue in a purr that made her skin tingle. It was also too close, which caused her to look back up. She found herself staring at an impossibly broad chest so close that she could just move her arm slightly and touch.
"My advice?" She looked up at him, having to tilt her head back slightly, and blinked when she saw him giving her that same calculated look. "Minister, I'm not sure---"
"Kingsley," he corrected in a low gruff tone. She licked her lips and blinked again when he moved his hand into her hair. "Do you suggest that we make the most of an unpleasant situation, Hermione? Or have I misunderstood?"
"You---but---we shouldn't----" She cringed when she heard herself stammering instead of nodding her head and agreeing with him about making the most of this. It's what she'd thought about for years, since she realized her admiration and respect had slowly started to turn into something else much more complicated.
"No, we shouldn't," he agreed as he tightened his grip on her hair and leaned down. When his lips touched hers, she froze for a moment. They shouldn't but he was anyway? What did it mean? A dozen questions flashed through her mind before he growled against her mouth. "There's time for questions later."
She felt his hand on her bum as he flicked his tongue out to lick her lips in a way that reminded her he was a man and not an inexperienced boy like the last time she'd been kissed. While she hadn't imagined him suddenly looking at her and seeing her as a woman in a dorm at a Muggle university, she had realized years ago that there sometimes you just had to forget plans and go for spontaneity. This was one of those times, she decided as she parted her lips and reached up to hold his shoulders as they kissed.
End