Chocolate brown eyes twitched and shut close to hold back tears of frustration. She glanced at the silver watch around her left wrist for the hundredth time in the last hour. It was quarter to nine, and there was still no sign of a particular red head. Hermione ran her hand through her hair, effectively destroying the tight bun, putting her hard work to waste. Her lips curved downwards and her eyebrows knit together, an expression she'd been carrying for the last forty-five minutes.
The restaurant was packed when she arrived punctually at seven-thirty. She was grateful that she thought of calling ahead to reserve a table. The receptionist ushered her to a spot in the corner of the large area that offered the most privacy. Eight years after the war and they were still bombarded by reporters and other curious wizards and witches regularly. However, she was only approached by waiters who kept asking for her order and confirming whether or not another person would still be joining her.
When her watch indicated it was nine o'clock, Ron still hadn't shown up. She quickly flagged down a waiter and ordered a simple pasta dish. Her face was a deep crimson, embarrassed as to having been stood up. As she waited for her order, a million hexes ran through her head. She went through each one, trying to decide which she would send his way once she got home.
Anger boiled deep inside her. She had to stop herself from bending the fork as she ate. It has been weeks since their last proper date, and she couldn't believe he wouldn't show up without a word. Even though she was tired from lack of sleep, she was too upset to go home just yet. So after paying her bill, she grabbed her coat and apparated away.
She stumbled as she found herself along a dark alley. Her ankle nearly twisted as she slipped on the moist cobblestones, her heels providing barely any friction to stop her. In one quick motion, Hermione found herself sitting on the floor by the entrance to the Leaky Cauldron. Just another reason for her to go in and grab a drink.
As expected, the famous pub was dark and crowded. She couldn't recognize anyone with the lighting, and she knew that in turn, no one could recognize her. After pushing her way to the bar, she took a seat and ordered a shot of Firewhisky. As the alcohol burned her throat, she knew that this wasn't one of her brighter ideas. But for once, she wanted to just let go and not care.
Three shots later, Hermione cradled her seventh butter beer between her palms. Her head rested on the bar counter, and her eyes were half-open, barely processing anything in the dark. She couldn't seem to focus on anything, and her mind felt like it weighed a ton.
A deep chuckle came from her left side, and her body quickly bolted straight. A pounding in her head made her regret her actions immediately. Her brown eyes slowly adjusted and focused on the owner of the voice. For the second time that day, she was startled when they met bright silver ones.
"Didn't know this was your kind of place, Granger." Draco commented, his infamous smirk gracing face.
"Oh, just shut up, Malfoy." Hermione retorted, unable to think of anything witty. She sent a glare his way even though she doubted it would have its desired effect.
Draco released a hearty laugh and shook his head, unable to accept that the brightest witch of their age was drunk and alone in the Leaky Cauldron. He pulled the tankard out of her grasp, and replaced it with a tall glass of water.
"Hey, that's mine!" Hermione exclaimed as she tried to take back her Butterbeer. She was passed the point of shame and had become possessive over her source of release. Unfortunately, Draco had already pushed it far out of reach, and she had to watch as some unsuspecting customer picked it up and chugged everything.
"You're an insufferable git!" She let out before trying to make a hole in the clear glass of water with just her glare.
Another chuckle passed Draco's lips, greatly amused by the situation. "Take it easy, bookworm." He said as his body turned away from her. "Wouldn't want the front page of the Daily Prophet to be a picture of you plastered on the streets."
Hermione changed the focus of her glare to the boy who sat beside her. After she realized that he was intentionally ignoring her, she just stared and took in his profile. The last few years had definitely taken its toll on him as seen by the permanent lines between his eyebrows; however, it hasn't been entirely bad. His white blonde hair was neatly parted on the left, and slightly slicked back, and the baby fat on his face had melted away, making his nose and cheekbones even sharper. Contrastingly, his completely black suit, made his pale complexion stand out more, and instead of making him look sick, it made him look quite regal. She cursed the world for being unfair. Of course the eternal pain in her arse had to be undeniably attractive, and to add salt to the wound, he had to see her when her make up was smudged and ruined, hair even more unruly than usual, and dressed in a dark coat full of random stains. She had the urge to take off her coat, so he could see the tight red one shoulder underneath. Her pride pushed her to do it, but she stopped herself, mentally scolding herself for caring what he thought of her.
"Wait," she mumbled as her mind started to work, and things started to click. "The bones in your arm should still be growing. You're supposed to be resting, not out and about! Do you even know what could happen if your bones don't grow properly? I'd have to break your bones all over again so that they can grow back! And if that happens, I am going to make sure that you don't leave—"
"Sorry to interrupt your oh-so-enthralling lecture, Granger, but I have business to attend to at the moment." Draco said, interrupting Hermione. His eyes were trailing a man dressed in traveling robes who settled himself in a bench in the far corner of the room. Once he was seated, Draco stood up and made his way across the pub. Hermione's eyes trailed him, observing how his right arm still hung at a slightly awkward angle.
Forty-five minutes passed and Hermione was slightly sober after drinking eight glasses of water and visiting the bathroom twice. Cramped in a small cubicle, she tied all her curls into a messy bun so that it didn't get in her face when she greeted her pasta dinner once more. After washing her face and mouth several times, she left the lavatory and walked back to the bar to ask for her bill.
She couldn't figure out which was worse, being stood up or getting drunk by herself in a bar. This is definitely one of the worse nights ever, and the cherry on top of her sundae is that among all people, it had to be Draco Malfoy to witness part of it. Just remembering their encounter made her turn a million shades red. Her pride was more than bruised.
Out of curiosity, Hermione let her gaze travel to the dark corner of the room. She couldn't see the man in the travel robe, but Malfoy sat in her line of sight, and he did not look pleased. Suddenly, the unidentified man stood up and rushed towards the exit. Draco was right behind him, and Hermione could see that he was firmly gripping his wand in his left hand.
Intrigued, she quickly paid for her bill and followed the two men outside. She could barely see a thing, but was able to pick out Draco's hair and headed in his direction. Her eyes soon adjusted to the darkness, however, she still couldn't spot the man Draco was with. As she drew closer to Malfoy, she noticed that his left hand was clutching his right arm as if it were in pain.
She made a mental note to never trust him, even if it was his own health at stake. His bones most probably didn't grow properly, causing him more pain. She would definitely get some satisfaction from breaking his bones once more so that she could heal it accurately this time.
When she was less than a meter away from him, she noticed that there was a bright red line across his cheek. Worried, she rushed up to him, and grabbed his uninjured arm, noting that there was a considerable amount of muscle.
"Malfoy—" She started but was unable to continue as she felt a familiar pull in her stomach, and entered complete darkness.
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you liked this one even if it was rather short. The next one might take awhile because it's going to be longer and I still plan out the specifics. Please review if you can! But I just hope that you enjoyed!