"I never stood a chance, did I?"
"That's the sad part. You did, once."
Draco Malfoy stood outside her door in the freezing London evening.
As dignified as ever in his bespoke suit and coat, he knocked once and proceeded to undo her wards. It took a matter of seconds before the blonde wizard stepped over the threshold.
"You really should change your wards, Granger. If you're mad at people, you should block everyone from all manner of entry."
"Sod off, Malfoy! No one was supposed to find me here."
"Really, now, the bride runs off on her wedding day and hides in her old bedroom in her parents house? Isn't it a bit cliché?"
"Well, I would've run to your house but then again your mother or your girlfriend would have called my fiancée to fetch me."
"Ex-fiancee, if you will remember."
Hermione Granger just shrugged her shoulders.
_line break_
"You do know that my parents are exiled to France and Astoria would love to have you over, right? Besides, she was with me at the wedding venue. She couldn't have known that you'd run to my potions lab."
"Draco, just leave me alone, please."
"You know I can't do that, Hermione. Everyone's worried about you."
"That's not true. My best friend is with our other best friend, probably consoling him with the rest of the clan."
"Oh, Potter is there, alright. But a consolation is not what's happening. Potterette and the whole Weasley clan is probably sending a thousand crucios and oppugnos towards your ex."
The brunette smiled half-heartedly as she wiped away tears from her eyes.
_line break_
"Circe, he couldn't just keep it in, could he? Cheating on me is awful enough when he refused to have sex in the first place. But to get one of his fan girls pregnant?! And barely an adult at that! The girl just graduated Beaubaxton's for crying out loud!"
"Fleur's probably ready to murder him over that. Damn that Weasley. Gabrielle Delacour was visiting to babysit Dominique and to look for a job here then ends up pregnant by her brother-in-law."
"Merlin and Morgana! How much of a fool could I be? They were so cozy with each other!"
"It's not your fault, Granger. Weasley lost everyone's respect when he cheated on his fiancée less than a month before the wedding."
"Ugh! And they did it every single day! Gabrielle insisted that Ronald was so stressed over the wedding preparations and so cross over me choosing to work overtime pre-wedding that he needed the relief! Fucking hells!" Hermione's powers went haywire sending dust and old furniture flying.
"Woah, Granger! You're furious, I get that. No need to harm the messenger."
_line break_
"Sorry, Malfoy, I just…" she sighed deeply.
"Hermione, you know that Minister Shacklebolt will still give you the two weeks off, right?"
"What will I do with that? Go on my honeymoon by myself?"
"Well, yeah, why not? You paid for it, get away from the media circus and just relax."
"I've never been traveling by myself."
"You've always been a competent witch, you'll survive it. Go soul-searching or something."
The witch laughed brightly, "Or something? That doesn't sound like the Draco Malfoy I know."
"Eh, all this zen-yoga-muggle thing that Astoria's getting hooked on is catching up to me."
Hermione laughed even louder, "Oh, maybe I should get Astoria to travel with me. You wouldn't mind, would you, Draco?"
"Well, if you guys decide to get in some action, just make sure you invite me," he wagged his eyebrows at her causing Hermione to snort.
"Oh, Circe! No! Ha ha! Draco, Astoria and I don't swing that way, you know that."
"Well, a guy can dream."
"Dream on, then."
_line break_
Draco wrapped his arms around her shoulders as she laid her head on his chest.
"Hermione, if you don't want to travel, you can always hide out in the manor. I could use your brains in potions development. And Astoria adores you."
"I know, I know. I think, I should just step away from everything right now, though."
Draco Malfoy huffed and blew his hair out of his face, "You know, if you had dated me instead of the weasel, you wouldn't be suffering from this. Broken engagement and betrayal. You should know, I'm a man of my word. I don't have commitment issues."
"Don't be absurd, Malfoy. With your parents still hung up on blood purity and Astoria Greengrass falling all over herself to have you notice her, I never stood a chance, did I?"
"That's the sad part, Hermione. You did, once."
"What?"
_line break_
"After my trial, when my mother was still under house arrest and Lucius was in Azkaban… I worked with you as an intern in DCRMC, right? When you and Weasley broke up for a bit, before you started seeing Krum again, I asked you if I had a chance with you and you laughed so hard you fell out of your bar stool."
"What? When was that?"
"At the Ministry's Yule party… we were drinking shot for shot of firewhiskey."
"Gods be damned, Draco! I was drunk out of my mind that night!"
"Well, I didn't know that! You seemed so coherent!"
"Damn you, Malfoy. Maybe if you asked the following day or the following week, you'd have gotten a very different reaction."
"What do you mean?"
Hermione remained silent.
"Damn it, Granger, tell me."
"I broke up with Ron that year because I was falling in love with you, Draco."
They were quiet for long while before the blonde let out a huff.
"Well, aren't we a pair of idiots?" he smiled sadly.
"That we are, Draco Malfoy."
"I should have just asked you out again."
"Better yet, I should have been the one to ask you out."
"Well, there's probably a next time."
"Malfoy, your parents are preparing an engagement contract for you. This time next year, you'd most likely be engaged to Astoria."
"Granger, you underestimate my desire to break free of my familial bonds."
"Don't be like that, Draco. Astoria is a wonderful woman."
"True. But there's one problem."
"What? There's trouble in paradise?"
"She's not you, Hermione."
A/N: Also cross-posted in ao3. Honestly, I think AO3 has better doc manager, I may fully migrate to AO3.