HEY!
Here's a small fic for you, whilst you wait for the next chapters of Teach And Be Taught to be uploaded (the next two chapters are ready, I'm just changing some stuff.)
This fic was written for the Hawthorne and Vine "A Decade Later" challenge. It was great fun to write!
He was listening to something Pansy Parkinson was saying when he saw a flash of periwinkle blue rushing out of the Great Hall. Hermione Granger. Who else could it be? Nobody else was wearing that colour, nor, he had to (begrudgingly) admit looked that beautiful.
Draco Malfoy tuned out of the conversation-well, lecture- from that point. He was bored out of his mind; the Yule Ball was less of a celebration and more of a punishment. The dressing up, the dancing, the decorations…it was only really an excuse for the Triwizard Champions to show off.
A tiny smirk crept onto Draco's face when he remembered how awkward Potter had looked, trying to dance. And how ostentatiously over-dressed Weasley was! His face when Granger walked in with Viktor Krum…
Quickly, the smirk fell. Draco's head snapped up before he abruptly turned from Pansy and headed towards the huge doors, a screech following in his wake. He grabbed a flute of champagne and gulped it down before placing it on a conveniently bedecked ledge. He made his way to the garden, lit up with fairy lights (real fairies, mind you). Fleur Delacour passed by with a familiar looking boy, and Draco realized that he could see recognizable people dotted all over the garden.
He really didn't know where he was going, until he saw the same shade of periwinkle blue nestled behind a bush.
Curiously, he made his way behind the bush to see Hermione Granger sitting on a low stone bench, a bottle of firewhiskey next to her. Draco cleared his throat and gestured towards the bottle. Hermione looked up, startling him with her tear-streaked face.
Hesitantly, he said, "A whole bottle, Granger? Stealing, are we?"
Her eyes narrowed. "What do you want, Malfoy?"
"Nothing, really. Some of that firewhiskey?"
She nodded, understanding his request before shuffling a little to make place for him and handing him the bottle.
They sat in silence for a bit, taking alternate swigs from the bottle.
Draco cleared his throat again. "Quite the talk of the Ball, aren't you Granger?"
She groaned and put her head in her hands.
"It's quite enough to make me want to be an Unspeakable," she said.
Draco smiled. "Judging by Potty and the Weasel's expression, you're quite good at keeping secrets. You'd actually do very well at the Department of Mysteries."
Hermione didn't make a move to defend her friends, which he found a bit odd. Instead, she looked up and returned his smile.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
Draco blinked. For a moment, Hermione thought he looked a little bit like a deer in the headlights. The moment passed quickly.
"Too drunk to care," he said, raising the bottle and taking another gulp.
"I'm never too drunk to care. I can't stop caring. I can't," Hermione sputtered in response. To her horror, fresh tears welled up in her eyes and dripped down her face. "I'm sorry, I just…" She trailed off.
"What happened, Granger?" Draco asked softly.
"Ronald and I fought because Viktor asked me to the Ball and I said yes. I don't know why Ron's trying to ruin things for me! I want to be genuinely happy! And I could've been!"
"Yeah well, this Ronald's a git. Stupid Weasley." Draco affirmed with a shake of his head.
Hermione stared at Draco, his pale face illuminated in the moonlight.
"Why aren't you making fun of me? Why aren't you belittling me? And the position I'm in?"
Draco sighed. "I told you, Granger. I'm too drunk to care."
"And I told you I can't not care!"
"Granger," Draco said. Merlin, she looked beautiful. "Granger, don't let what you can't do stop you from doing what you can't do."
A smile flitted across Hermione's face. "Which is…?"
"Make Weasley's life shit and hang out with me instead." The moment the words let themselves out of his mouth, Draco cursed inwardly in consternation. Why had he said that?
Hermione's eyebrow raised itself fractionally. "And why would I do that?" She asked quietly.
Draco didn't bring himself to answer. They sat there, looking at each other in the moonlight. In the castle, a bell tolled, signaling midnight and hence the end of the Ball.
After the ringing faded into the silence, Draco found the courage to speak.
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
Hermione smiled and shook her head. "You know, Malfoy, I probably wouldn't say this if I wasn't so drunk, but you look really good today."
Suddenly, Draco's head was swirling. And he was quite sure it wasn't because of the alcohol's influence.
"Granger, I don't need to be drunk to tell you that you're gorgeous."
Also, a huge load has been taken off of me- I got a 94% in my exams! :)
Let me know how this was!
xxx