Hermione stood in the middle of the dance floor her arms around her husband's shoulders. They had earlier that day celebrated their two year wedding anniversary over lunch so they were able to make the charity gala for the Children's Unit of St. Mungo's. They danced slowly to the waltz ignoring all of the stares from pining women and jealous men.
"They have decorated the hall quite handsomely" she said to him looking around the lavish hall.
"Definitely, who knew that it could look so good" he replied, smiling as he observed the hall over the top of her head.
Suddenly his body froze and went stiff, his face going cold. His hands dropped from her as he starred toward the entrance. Hermione turned to find an aristocratic looking witch walking down the staircase in a far too revelling dress, in her opinion. The woman locked eyes with her husband and began to make her way through the crowd of dancing couples.
Hermione felt a hand on her wrist as someone started to drag her away from her husband. She could feel the emotional distance growing as the physical distance between them became further. He stood still starring as the witch came closer. She found herself suddenly outside on the balcony and losing sight of him. In her confusion she hadn't even thought to see who had pulled her away from her frozen husband.
She turned around to find Blaise starring at her; standing there in all his beauty, wearing an immaculately tailored pair of dress robes. His face was hard to read but she thought that she saw slight hurt in his eyes.
"What's going on?" she asked him.
"That is his ex-fiancé." Hermione gasped attempting to turn away and enter the ballroom again. She had heard storied from him but nothing too involved. Blaise stopped her by grabbing her wrist again. "He hasn't seen her in seven years Hermione; I think you need to give them a little bit of time together. I'm sure he has a lot to say to her."
"What are you talking about?" she said heatedly, pulling her wrist out of his grasp. "I am his wife; I have every right to be there right next to him."
"I know, but you know how much of a touchy subject she is with him."
"All the better reason for me to be there to support him."
"I can't stop you from going out there Hermione, but I think it is a bad idea. You weren't there for their time together. She destroyed him."
"You are saying all these things which only make it more of a reason for me to be there." She walked to the ballroom door.
"Like I said, I can't stop you."
She noted the curious tone in Blaise's voice. She would question that later. Right now she had to find her husband and make sure that he was okay. She searched the dance floor but could not see him anywhere. She began wondering the outskirts of the vast hall, asking people she recognised as she went. Finally she noticed him in a corner, his back facing her. A pair of hands snaked their way around his waist and slowly made their way down his body.
Hermione stopped walking, frozen in time as she watched the hands grope her husband while they kissed passionately. She registered that Blaise had placed a hand on her right shoulder and whispered "I'm so sorry." Hermione wrenched away from him as she saw the woman's face emerge over her husband's shoulder. She was kissing his neck, leaving red lipstick marks as she went.
Hermione snapped back into the reality of the situation. She stormed her way across the hall and pulled his shoulder backwards, breaking the contact between him and his ex and spinning him around at the same time. His face changed from anger to sorrow as he realised who had turned him around so rudely. He opened his mouth but before he could speak Hermione had punched him solidly in the nose with her right hand; causing it to bleed profusely.
She vaguely noticed that the string quartet had stopped playing. She looked down at her left hand and pulled off her wedding ring, throwing it against his chest.
"HOW DARE YOU" she bellowed at him. "I hope she is worth it" she sneered. She picked up the bottom of her ball gown allowing her to walk more freely as she made her way quickly through the gap in the crowd that was forming for her and up the stairs.
Hermione made it to the apparition point by the front door and stopped to calm herself down. The last thing she needed was for her to splinch herself. She heard hurried footsteps behind her and quickly tried to centre herself for the journey. Blaise appeared at the top of the stairs. Hermione relaxed as she realised it wasn't her husband.
"I'm so sorry" he said again, this time pulling her into a hug. She buried her face into his chest and started to cry, her legs giving way underneath her. Blaise held onto her so she wouldn't fall to the ground. She felt herself being pulled in a side along apparition but she didn't care. Blaise sat her down onto his bed. Helping her lay down he pulled the covers over her as she wept. He stroked her hair soothingly as he knelt down beside her.
"I'm going to go pack a ruck sack for you okay. You can stay here as long as you need. He won't think to look for you here." Hermione nodded as she continued to weep into his pillow.
He ran to their bedroom as quickly as his legs could carry him. He shoved opened the door expecting to find her laying on the bed. The room was cold and empty. He quickly checked the ensuite, she wasn't there either. Her toothbrush and hair brush were missing from the sink. He hurriedly checked her draws and the walk in robe; some of her clothes and shoes were also missing.
He grabbed a photo frame off the desk and threw it against the wall, shattering it over the wooden floor. His mother and father screamed and ran out of site from the photo frame. He started grabbing anything in reach and pelting it towards anything that it could come into contact with. He stood panting in the middle of their destroyed bedroom. He sank onto the side of the bed, his head in his hands and started sobbing uncontrollably. She had left him.
Blaise was right, he deserved everything he got. Why would he let that piece of trash destroy the one thing that ever truly meant anything to him? Hermione was gone and he didn't even know which of her friends she would chose for refuge. Standing gingerly he made his way to his liquor cabinet and grabbed a bottle of brandy. Ignoring a glass he began to drink, and didn't stop until he had emptied it by a third. He starred at the ring in between his finger tips that used to live on her finger and fell to the floor, sobbing again.
Hermione woke up four hours later in Blaise's bed. He was asleep in an arm chair at the end of the bed, a ruck sack full of her things sitting on his lap. She felt like hell. Dehydration from crying had set in giving her the mother of all headaches; not to mention the pain in her hand from where she had punched him. She gingerly got out of bed and made her way to Blaise's bathroom with her things; she needed to shower to get his smell off of her.
Hermione walked out from the bathroom twenty minutes later drying her hair with a towel. She could see Blaise in the living room reading a book on the leather couch. She made her way to him and leaned down to hug him tightly.
"Thank you Blaise. I am sorry for putting you in this position."
"You haven't put me in any position. Draco did that when he touched someone else." She cringed. "Sorry" he added quickly.
"Thank you for grabbing some of my things. I will get a few more when I know he is at work."
Hermione sat onto the couch and starred at the wall. Blaise didn't interrupt her but went back to reading. She loved that about him, he wouldn't press people to talk, and he would just listen and give advice when asked. Where was she going to live?
Hermione woke up curled on the couch like a kitten beside a snoring Blaise. She laughed softly to herself. His right arm was sprawled out over the back of the couch; his head flopped backwards so his face was aimed at the ceiling and the rest of his body barely touching the couch at all as it was stretched so far forward. She sat up stretching her neck to release the kink. Blaise abruptly sat up straight.
"I am going to get some more of my clothes. I promise I won't be here long, I have some money saved up so I will be out of your hair as soon as I get a place."
"Hermione you don't have to rush. This house is yours too as long as you need it" he said gently. "Do you want me to come with just in case?"
Hermione considered for a moment then shook her head. "No, it will be easier to slip in and out if it is just me. Besides it is after eleven o'clock so he will be at work by now."
"Hermione, I don't think he will be at work. His marriage just ended."
Hermione apparated into the ensuite of their bedroom at Malfoy Manor. She quickly and quietly packed her makeup and perfume from the top draw. She opened the bathroom door as quietly as she could and tip toed into the walk in robe. She grabbed a variety of clothes to cover any situation. She stopped as her hand grazed against a dress shirt of Draco's that she had bought him for Christmas. Silent tears began to fall down her face. She roughly wiped them from her face and started to pack a pair of her running shoes.
She heard a noise from the bedroom and froze again. She walked to the doorway and peered around the corner. She hadn't noticed how destroyed the bedroom was before; she was too busy trying to go unnoticed by the family house elves. That was when she saw him on the bed. He was on his stomach with his arms stretched out to each side. He was wearing nothing but his slacks from the night before, his hair was a mess and he had two empty bottles of what used to be full of whiskey and brandy next to him.
Pulling up all of her courage she slowly crept to the draws that held her underwear and socks. The draw made a loud scratching noise as she slid it open. Cringing she grabbed as many pairs of underwear as she could. She stopped moving as she heard footsteps behind her. She couldn't bring herself to turn around; she took to opening the draw of socks instead and began to pack them into her bag.
Two strong hands curled around her stomach and she froze again. She felt his head come to rest on the back of her left shoulder. Her stomach hitched. What should she do? Her mind raced. She could feel him breathing unevenly. He was probably still drunk she thought to herself.
"Draco, let go of me" Hermione said quietly. Her stomach hitched again and tears began to rapidly fall from her eyes.
He let go reluctantly. His fingers moved so slowly to break the last contact that she could tell that he couldn't have done it without her request. Hermione turned without looking at him. She couldn't bare it.
"Please..." Hermione had to strain to hear his words. "Please don't leave me."
She turned to look at him finally. He looked how she felt. She had never seen him so unkept in her life. His eyes were full of sadness and regret and he was sporting a rather large bruise on his nose from where she had punched him. Hermione noticed that his posture was not that of his normal proud arrogant self, but of a man broken and defeated.
"I..." he faltered trying to pull together courage. " I know I did something unforgivable."
Draco took a step toward her, she could barely breathe. "I know that you probably won't trust me ever again" his voice broke. "I also know that I have no right to ask you too. I'm not going to insult you by saying that it meant nothing because I was stupid enough to fall into it."
He took another step forward, they were inches apart. She was breathing quick shallow breathes.
"You deserve a better man than me Hermione."
Hermione burst into loud sobs and fell to the floor in a heap. Draco bent down in front of her, hating what he had done to her, and put his hands gently on her upper arms unsure if she would knock his hands away. To his surprise she didn't. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bed where he sat on the edge. She curled into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably.
Draco pulled his wife tightly against himself, this was probably the last time he would ever get to see her, let alone hold her. Against his better judgement he kissed her forehead, tears of his own starting to fall silently. How did he ever let it get to this? "I love you" he choked out. Hermione suddenly sat up. He wasn't ready for this; he would never be ready for this. She tried to find the floor with her feet. Before he knew it she was walking toward her ruck sack on the floor. He ran to her, spinning her to face him for possibly the last time. He lowered his lips to hers and kissed her. Once again she surprised him, kissing him back while her fingers ran into his hair. She pull away and hitched her bag onto her shoulder.
"Please" he pleaded again as she spun on the spot and disapparated away from him for the last time. Draco stumbled over to the wall adjoining to the ensuite and slid down to the floor his head in his hands, sobbing hysterically.
Hermione apparated into Blaise's living room by the front door. She fell roughly into the wall, sliding to the floor and crying uncontrollably.