Disclaimer: I may own the entire collection of Harry Potter books (including The Curse Child), but I do not own Harry Potter.
As they walked back down the corridor, it became evident that Hermione liked the music that was being played because as soon as they entered the room and she felt the cool cocaine alcohol falling on her, she danced her way into the crowd. Draco gaped after her and as though remembering that he was the one who brought her to the party, he followed, keeping an eye on her moving body.
When he got to her, Theo Nott grabbed her arm and twirled her around. She giggled and closed her eyes as alcohol rained down on them again. The pair continued dancing quite well, twisting and moving in time to the music while Draco watched them from a distance. Theo pulled her closer and whispered something in her ear making her laugh and whisper back. Draco felt a small flare of annoyance at how easily she took a liking to him when it had taken him ages to get her to say more than two words to her after she'd slapped him. As he watched, Hermione said something else to Theo and he gaped, pushing her hair out of her eyes. The girl laughed at his expression and he hesitated for a while, watching her dancing and licking liquid off her fingers. Finally, as though he mentally shrugged, he put his arms around her again, continuing their dance.
Draco watched for a little while longer and was content to just watch when Hermione caught sight of him and waved him over, dismissing Theo.
"Dance with me!" She yelled over, pushing her wet and sticky hair out of her eyes. By then, most of her unruly hair had already escaped from its tie and was framing her face. She looked sensational, if Draco had to be honest and Theo grinned at him suggestively. Hermione tried not to notice Draco's frustrated expression, choosing instead, to stick her thumb in her mouth. Theo danced away after a parting look and Hermione, feeling one moment of reckless abandon, pulled his hands to her waist and put her own on his neck and they danced, eyes closed, alcohol falling on them at two minute intervals without a care in the world.
Five songs later, Hermione's eyes flew open. Her front was pressed towards Draco's and they were grinding quite inappropriately against each other. She gasped and he looked down at her, a lazy grin spreading across his face. Gone was his frustrated, almost annoyed look of earlier.
"Liking the merchandise Granger?" She flushed from the roots of her hair to the tips of her toes. "It's just a trial, I'm afraid." She pulled her body away from his with a jolt and backed away, feeling the coldness that spread to her core as she did.
"No, I—"
"It's quite alright, Granger, no need to freak out; we were just caught up in the heat of the moment." Hermione nodded mutely.
"Can we just get out of here, the music is really loud." He nodded and grabbed her by her elbow. The cocaine shots falling from the ceiling was no longer welcoming but icy and uncomfortable, her hand felt clammy as they passed through the crowd to the small room on the roof where they left their coats. Draco picked her leather jacket off the back of a chair and passed it to her along with a tissue. She used the tissue to wipe of the excess alcohol on her neck, arms face and hands and passed it back silently.
"Any particular reason why you're being so quiet Granger, or is it just my lucky night?" Hermione threw him a venomous look.
"I'm just a little surprised by my behavior."
"It's the alcohol." He clarified. "Not that that was my plan, but it wasn't overly horrible, you know." Hermione blushed.
"I don't normally—" She stopped as he got on his broom and handed her hers. "I'm not used to any of this…"
"That was the point, Granger, to get you out of your comfort zone." He kicked off and she followed a little unsteadily. She got her bearings slowly and sidled up to him in the sky, the wind screaming in her ears.
"I liked my comfort zone!" She yelled at him and he slowed down, eyeing her cautiously. "I don't understand why you wanted to get me out of it in the first place." Hogwarts came into view in the distance.
"Isn't it obvious, Granger?"
"Not to me," He groaned, frustrated but slowed down even more so they could talk without having to yell over the harsh wind.
"The day you slapped me…" He searched for the right words as they continued on. "No one has ever stood up to me like that, Granger. Not even Pansy."
"Oh…"
"In Slytherin, everyone is just so content to take my shit because I'm a Malfoy and my father is someone important but you were the only person who didn't give a damn." They reached the school but instead of going lower so he could land when he wanted to, he raised altitude, the air getting colder the higher they went. They landed on the roof of the astronomy tower unceremoniously and Draco held her hand out for her broom. She passed it to him silently.
"You know, Draco, in the muggle world, no one really cares who your parents are, not when you're our age, anyway." Hermione bit her lip, glad to finally be on solid ground.
"Well Slytherins do. This house isn't evil, Granger." He walked slowly to the center of the roof and sat down. Hermione shrugged and followed suit. "They just value ambition and power above all else."
"Most of the antagonists you hear about in the Wizarding world are from—"
"Slytherin, I know." He sighed and lay back, looking at the stars. "Right now I'm asking you to look at me, not at the house." She frowned, thinking and after a beat, she nodded. She could do that. "I've always had a thing for this tower." He confessed. "In second year, I used to come up here on the night of the Waning Crescent." Hermione looked up and sure enough, the moon hung like a toenail.
"Why the Waning?"
"No idea, just a habit I picked up." He shrugged. "At the Malfoy Manor, whenever my dad would get mad at me, my mother would bring me out to this meadow on the property and we would just stargaze for hours." Hermione wanted to say something but instead left him to his thoughts. She too lay back, watching the stars. They were on the floor, close but not quite touching. That was something that she understood better than anyone else Draco knew. The value of silence, how not to speak. "You're not going to be annoying about the fact that I just shared something personal with you, are you, Granger?" Hermione shook her head.
"Not if you don't want me to be." She choked out. Inside Hermione, a storm was raging. She wasn't sure where exactly they could go from where they were. "I'm perfectly capable of pretending tonight never happened, Draco." She checked her watch. It was already close to two am. They both should be getting back to their dorms. The detention cover story couldn't work for much longer if caught in the halls.
"Maybe not," He muttered as she got to her feet. He followed suit. "We shouldn't just completely forget it, should we? I mean, we both had a good time." Hermione nodded. "I'm sure Blaise will be eager to flaunt your newfound friendship with him in front of scar head and weasel." Hermione shook her head, stifling a laugh.
"You might want to stop calling them that, Draco." She pointed out with a grin. "And I've never had a problem with Blaise."
"It's me your two bit friends hate, isn't it?" He said it like it was a fact, not as a question. "How on earth are they going to handle the fact that we're on civil terms?" Hermione pondered.
"Well it's not like we are just going to just up and become friends after one fun night," He nodded. "So I propose we take it slow. Maybe you cut out the insults and I can put a stop to the sarcastic comments."
"That sounds reasonable enough." At least she didn't just want to forget everything. That was a plus. "But Granger—"
"And that's another thing. I call you by your first name, that's usually an indication that you can do the same." He frowned.
"Easier said than done, Granger." He shook his head. "That might be asking a little too much of me." She rolled her eyes, still managing to look dignified. She had been wondering about Malfoy all night. Her slapping him in third year couldn't have been the only reason for his change of heart. He'd called her a mudblood and had apologized for it after all that mess with Voldemort a couple of months later. She'd barely spoken to him after the apology but had murmured forgiveness during potions when she'd heard about his mother being in St. Mungo's. Maybe that was what was causing him to be so nice to her. With his father in Azkaban, his mother in the crucio'd victims section of the Magic Hospital, Draco must be realizing that petty feuds meant nothing in the long run. His family members were dropping like flies; Bellatrix and her deranged husband were seconds away from being caught by the Aurors so he had no one. She almost felt pity for him and that made her want to be his friend more than anything.
In her thinking, Hermione lapsed into silence and Draco took a moment to gaze at her unnoticed. Her hair was practically out of its tie and fanned out across the concrete floor. Her lips were slightly parted, her eyes closed, enjoying the serenity of the moment. Her leather jacket was open, and with her tank top soaked, he could see the outline of her white bra. Her eyes eased open and she eyed him.
"Why are you staring at me, Draco?" She asked softly and he stammered. A light breeze blew some of her hair into her face and he resisted the immediate urge to push it back.
"Just wondering what was on your mind." He glanced at his watch. It was two am and if they stayed out any later, they would be reprimanded in the event that a patroller spotted them in the halls.
"I was thinking about you actually." His eyebrows shot up. "What else brought on this need to get me out of my comfort zone?"
"Do I need a reason?"
"You hated me Draco. Hated. Loathed. Detested. You bullied me for years and all of a sudden you want to… What?" She frowned when he chuckled. "This is not a time for laughing, Draco Malfoy." He cut the chuckling but couldn't suppress a smile.
"Does your face always get so red when you're angry, Granger." That did it for her. She stood up in one fluid motion and started to walk towards the staircase. He was toying with her. Honestly, with everything that happen, she wanted to believe the best of him but he was making it impossible. She couldn't see how he expected to be taken seriously when—
"Wait!" He called making her turn around. She stood silently as he walked towards her holding both brooms in one hand. "If you must know, I'm tired of always being looked at in a bad way for what my father did." She inhaled sharply. "I am constantly being judged for how he helped You-Know-Who, how he almost killed his own wife to please him." The conversation was going in a completely different direction than Hermione was anticipating. "And I happen to know that you are a halfway decent person and an incredible witch despite being muggleborn."
"So what? Start off with me and become a better wizard, befriending one muggleborn at a time?" She questioned and he shrugged.
"Something like that." Hermione took a deep breath. "I really do like your company Granger," He admitted after a beat and she met his eyes, one eyebrow poised perfectly higher than the other. She looked more like the Granger he knew and loathed and he rolled his eyes.
"That sounded painful, Malfoy." He let out a loud bark of laughter like she'd surprised him and she felt something go through her, watching him laugh. It was so different from the sneer that seemed painted on his perfect face at times. "Goodnight Draco." She turned back around.
"Goodnight Gr— Hermione." She froze in shock but by the time she turned around to stare at him wide-eyed, he was gone and Hermione Granger was left on the roof of the astronomy tower with her wits scattered and royally confused at her palpating heart. What was happening to her?