Breakfast.

"Who has the milk?"

"Hey! Does someone have the cheerios?"

"Eggs don't go bad, do they?"

"I said, who has the milk?"

"Damn, we only have regular cheerios, I told you to get the honey nut."

"Do we have any ketchup left for the eggs?"

"Oh gross, Ginny."

"Hush big brother. Sorry about the cereal though, I forgot."

"Dammit, who the fuck has the milk?"

"I love ketchup on my eggs too Gin."

"Oh for Christ's sake, its too early."

"Hermione's up."

"I'm sorry Harry, but listening to you suck up to your girlfriend about how you both like your eggs the same way at six in the morning is—"

"Granger!"

"…what?"

"I-do you know where the milk is?"

"Do I look like I know where the fucking milk is Malfoy?

"I'm not sure, if you pull back your hair a little you might pass for a cow yourself."

"Good morning everyone!"

"Pansy, do you know where the damned milk is?"

"No Draco, I'm sorry to tell you that I do not."

"Hey babe, you were slow getting up this morning, I was afraid you were going to be late for work."

"Ron darling, I need not rush for any man."

"Not even if he is your boss?"

"Oh, good morning Hermione, did you sleep well last night?"

"If you consider listening to the two of you have sex in the room next to me a good night's rest, then yes, it was excellent, thank you."

"Heh."

"Heh what Malfoy?"

"You just sound a little bitter, your bedroom been quiet as of late?"

"My bedroom is none of you business."

"And thank god for that."

"Speaking of bedrooms, Malfoy, Gin and I didn't hear you go to bed last night."

"Oh, that's odd. I mean, because clearly I'm here."

Clank clank, pour, clank, ketchup squirting, clank, pour.

Chew.

"I'm sorry I was a fright just then Harry."

"Aw, its ok Herms, we know how you are before your coffee and toast."

"I just had a long night."

"Sorry Hermione, that was very rude of us."

"Oh, uh, its alright Pansy."

"Yeah, sorry Herms, we were just a little drunk last night and forgot there was someone in the room next to us."

"That's understandable, Granger is easy to forget."

"Yes, your constant desire to taunt me at every hour certainly proves I'm never on your mind."

"Well done, Hermione."

"Thank you Gin, how are the eggs?"

"Exquisite, thanks."

"Alright, I'm not joking, where is the milk?"

"Accio skim milk."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh."

Lunch.

Hermione walked over to Ron and Harry at the lunch place around the corner from the ministry where the three of them always met during their break.

She saw, based on what was on the table, that they had ordered her a sandwich already. On most days, that probably would have annoyed her, but she was so tired after the night before, she was just happy should wouldn't have to walk to the counter.

"Hey Guys."

Harry looked up, smiling at something Ron had said, "Hey Hermione, how was your morning?"

Her only response was a grunt as she slid down into her seat.

Ron cracked up, "Herm, how much did you have to drink last night?"

Hermione smiled weakly and covered her face with her hands, "I don't remember."

Ron laughed even harder at that, while Harry tried to look concerned, though his smile was barely hidden.

Clearing his throat, Harry patted her shoulder. "What happened to that bloke you've been seeing? Why'd he take off? I never got to meet him."

Hermione kept her hands over her face. "I uh, I don't know."

Ron almost spit out the sip he had just taken from his drink, "You little lying trollop."

Harry raised his eyebrows, "Oh? Did something interesting happen?"

"If you consider Malfoy flipping a shit for some reason and punching the bloke in the face interesting, then yeah, something interesting happened."

Harry gaped, "What? Why? What the hell happened?"

Hermione groaned, "Can we please stop talking about this? He was just being drunk and Malfoy."

Ron grinned, "Oh, I think it was a little more than that. Malfoy, Pansy and I walked into the kitchen and Hermione was getting it on."

"Alright, getting it on is a huge exaggeration, we were kissing. Barely."

"Well, whatever, so we walk into the kitchen. And Malfoy turns completely red and says…crap, I don't remember what he said. What'd he say Hermione?"

"I don't remember."

Harry and Ron both rolled their eyes before Ron continued, "Well, he said something nasty to Hermione and the bloke steps up—"

"You know, 'the bloke's' name is Ryan, which you know perfectly well."

"Alright, Ryan. Ryan steps up in front of Malfoy and tells him to get the hell away from Hermione and not to speak to her like that."

Harry looked at Hermione, "Ryan sounds like a good one."

Ron spoke before Hermione had the chance to answer, "He seems nice, but not good enough for our girl."

Hermione glared at him before turning to speak to Harry, "Ryan is nice, though after last night I don't think it matters much."

Ron furrowed his eyebrows, "What do you mean? After Malfoy punched him and dragged him out of the house, you chased after Ryan."

Hermione sighed, "Yes, to be polite. Then we decided we would be better off as friends."

Harry raised his eyebrows and studied Hermione's face, not saying anything, before turning back to Ron to hear the rest of the story.

"Anyways. So the bloke stood up for Hermione, and Malfoy just goes really still for a second. Then he grabbed the guy by his shirt, punched him in the face and threw him out."

Harry looked away from Hermione after Ron stopped talking, "Was Ryan alright? Draco has a rough punch"

"Malfoy didn't hit him that hard, he was just being an ass," Hermione muttered.

Harry looked confused, "Where did Draco go after this happened? I asked him this morning when he went to bed; we can usually hear his door slam shut. He's not exactly one to tread lightly."

Ron shrugged, "That was the last I saw of him, Pansy dragged me away after the whole thing."

Harry turned to Hermione, "Do you know?"

Avoiding her two best friends' eyes, Hermione gathered up her bag, "Sorry, I have to get back, my boss didn't want me to take a long lunch today." She grabbed her half-eaten sandwich, "Thanks for getting me food."

Dinner.

Draco Malfoy had never been able to hold his liquor. He was a lightweight. An extreme lightweight. He'd deny it until he was, well, not so extremely pale in the face, but the truth was, he was an absolute little girl when it came to drinking.

So when Pansy had decided to get to the bottom of what happened last night with Draco, she decided that the best way to do that was through liquor, over dinner.

Pouring another large glass of wine, she began her interrogation, "So, did you tell her?"

Draco, who was currently hiding behind the large menu of the French restaurant he had taken Pansy to, snuck one hand out to retrieve his wine, before disappearing again. "No, leave me alone."

"Draco, don't be a bore, look at me."

Draco huffed before putting down his menu, "No, I didn't tell her. I certainly insinuated it though."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Gryffindors don't understand insinuations; it usually takes a brick or two to get something through their stubborn skulls."

The waiter came over and Draco placed their orders in quick, but slightly slurred French.

"Well, she got this insinuation, trust me. Trust me Pansy. Trust me."

"Oh? I need details." Pansy stated, filling up his already half-gone glass of wine.

Draco looked uncomfortable for a second before answering, "I think I'm drunk."

"I think you are too."

"Well, I don't want to tell you anything then, it would be like you're taking advantage of me."

Pansy smirked a little, "Alright."

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Draco exploded, "I just don't understand what she's doing, bringing all these blokes around the house, going out to dinner all the time."

"Draco, I think that's called dating, something that she is completely entitled to do."

"Well, its stupid."

"Stupid?"

"Its stupid. And, she is acting like a horror. An Auror horror."

Pansy stayed silent. And gave him a touch more wine.

A few seconds later, Draco was whining again, "I just don't know what to do anymore, I've tried everything."

"Uh, you're actually rather beastly to her. All the time. Since we were eleven."

"I'm only beastly to her when she acts like a she-beast."

Pansy just stared at him.

Draco sighed, "I know. I know! I was so damned nervous this morning after what happened I forgot to just accio the damned milk. I mean, good god, what was I thinking? That I would make breakfast by hand?"

"It was cute."

"Draco Malfoy is not cute. Draco Malfoy is a snarky, strong and sarcastic non-cute man."

"Draco Malfoy is talking about himself in third person."

"Draco Malfoy deserves to talk about himself in third person."

"What does that even mean?"

"I don't know." Draco groaned, and dramatically buried his face in his hands.

Pansy studied her distraught friend for a moment before speaking, "Draco, you two fought a war together, we all did. She cares for you, and deeply at that."

Draco rolled his eyes, "I know that. I'm just hoping for a different sort of caring."

"Let me finish. Think about this. She's living in a room next to her first boyfriend and his fiancée; that has to be awkward for her. What reason would she have to do that?"

"She wants to be close to her friends."

"Oh please Draco, don't be dense, they're Aurors together and they have lunch every single day together. That's not the reason. And she's nowhere near poor, so it wasn't out of circumstances either."

"Psh."

"No, listen to me! Both of you have the means to move out, and are the only ones without someone in the house you're dating. She's staying for a reason. Maybe right after the war, it was to feel safe, but now she must be staying for a completely different reason."

Draco stared at his wine, "I don't know how to act around her when its not just the two of us, I just always feel like she's waiting for me to revert back to the racist I was before the three of them saved me from Voldemort."

Pansy raised her eyebrows, "So your plan is to what? Act like an open-minded ass? I don't think that's the way to go about making her feel more at ease."

"She does the same thing you know! It's not all my fault! Oh, mean Draco being mean. But no! She just doesn't like me anymore, I don't think."

Pansy smiled gently, "You were partners in the war, I would see her when you would go missing, she'd be terrified. She doesn't think of you as the bigoted little boy anymore, that much is for sure. She is probably just as confused about how she feels as you are."

Draco looked up, "But that's the thing, I mean. I'm not confused about how I feel about her. I just don't know what to do about it."

"I think you just need to be completely honest with her."

Draco's body tensed up at these words.

Pansy narrowed her eyes, "What?"

"I have been," he said, almost too softly to hear.

Pansy looked at him in surprise, "But you said you didn't tell her anything last night."

"Not last night. At the end of the war."

Pansy's mouth fell open and she was silent for a few seconds before exploding. "Merlin, you are an idiot."

Draco, sounding remarkably sober, hissed, "Excuse me?"

Ignoring Draco's temper, Pansy continued, almost to herself, "You told her right before she sent you down that cave to retrieve the last piece of that fucker's soul, didn't you?"

Draco, whose pale skin had gotten even paler, snapped, "So what if I did? It was practically a suicide mission, I wanted her to know before I ran out and did something stupid and Potter."

"Oh that's well and good Draco, but then what? You ignored her for weeks after the war, we were all so confused by it—"

"If she had wanted to say anything back, she would have."

"—and most of all her, she was so hurt, you could tell, even though she didn't say anything. She must have thought you didn't mean it, that it was just something you said in the heat of the moment—"

"She bloody well knew I meant it."

"—and when you ignored her, she must have figured you were just embarrassed. No wonder she started dating so furiously, she must have felt so rejected."

"She can't think that."

"She must."

Draco was breathing heavily at this point, his grey eyes darkening. "No, no. That's no…I told her, and she knows me. She knows that I wouldn't say I loved her if I didn't"

Pansy rolled her eyes, "Hermione Granger is a brilliant woman, but when it comes to being in love, she is as stupid as the rest of us. What could she do, but follow your lead?"