There's a few days time skip between Hermione's chapter and Draco's.
Chapter 3
As Hermione groggily opened her eyes, she became aware that Harry Potter was in bed with her, very aware of it as she woke up with her face in his chest. She jumped up, falling out of bed and landing on her rump. She had forgotten that when he slept over he almost always slept in her bed. She shook her head, trying to shake the early morning fog in her head and steady her heart beat. It had been a long time since Hermione Granger had a man in her bed. In any meaning of the phrase.
She stood and quickly went to the kitchen, making herself some toast and eating it without regard for the taste. She then quietly went into her bedroom, found her clothes and took them into the bathroom to change.
She had no disillusions about her and Harry. They were just friends, always had been and will be, but sometimes, he was just so damn nice to her that it made her wonder about his reasoning behind his actions.
Fully dressed, she went to his side of the bed and called his name. "Harry wake up." She knew he wouldn't wake up for at least another hour if she didn't remind him every ten minutes. She shook her head at him, glancing at her wrist watch. She was going to be late.
"Harry! Get up, I'm going to be late" He muttered something in his sleep and she rolled her eyes, going to her nightstand and grabbing a paper and pen. She scribbled him a note telling him that she went into work and for him to take his time leaving, just to lock the door when he left and apparated out quickly, arriving at the steps of the ministry's with little time to spare. The ministry ball was just around the corner and she still had much planning to do. This was not the time for her to delay herself in any way.
Finally, it was time for the Ministry's stupid ball. Draco stood in the writing room at the Malfoy manor arguing with his mother about the fact that he didn't have a date. She insisted to him that he take some girl at least, because it looked bad for a male to go alone. However, he assured her that he was going alone, end of discussion.
She snorted. "Draco you must take someone. Do you have any idea what you do at balls? You dance. To dance you must have a partner."
He sighed, cramming his hands in his pockets. "Yes mother I know very well what you do at balls, I've been to many in my lifetime or do you forget. I was planning of finding a lovely lady there and asking her to dance. Simple as that."
She let loose an exasperated sigh. "That is not how it is done. Any lovely lady there will have a date already, that is why you go with your own."
He turned towards the door, "No mother." And with his dismissive tone she was silenced and he exitted to get ready.
That bloody woman was going to drive him bonkers before the end of the year. He loved his mother, he did, but she was more than a handful. She was pushy, selfish and she only thought of herself. She wanted Draco to be what he wasn't anymore: A child. He was no longer a child and he would never be again and if he had to paint the picture on her face he'd make her realize it.
Rubbing his temples he began to dress in his finest suit for the ball, running late from arguing with his mother.
Malfoys were always invited to the balls. There were a few years, directly after the war that people held animosity towards them, but Draco worked his hardest to rebuild their reputation. He would not have the Malfoy name spit on and looked down upon. He had personally saved his family from disgrace, therefore he should have a say in whether or not he has a woman on his arm, damn it.
Fully dressed, he withdrew his wand and apparated to the ministry without saying goodbye to his mother,. He was already late as it was and he knew that it would just spark another arguement about how he would look even better if he had a beautiful woman on his arm.
At the door, he gave the man his name, though he doubted he needed to, and was checked off the list. "Go right ahead Mr. Malfoy."
Almost immediately he could tell it was going to be a long night, as the open ball room of the Ministry was bustling with people, all prestigious and finely dressed.
The high ceiling was enchanted to look like a beautiful starry night sky in a deep, bold purple, looking stunning against the golden walls that stretched up as high as the eye could see. The décor was light and tasteful.
Almost immediately Draco spotted the Weasel. Ronald Weasley was, surprisingly, dressed like a normal chap, on his arm a tan and tall woman with long black hair, and a low cut blue dress. She had a large smile, and was clearly enjoying herself. In fact, she may have been a bit drunk.
He raised his eyebrows wondering just what Hermione Granger may have saw in that git, turning and greeting some long time friends of his mothers before retreating to a more empty corner. The tables that were set up there were almost empty except for the occasional couple or two. He sat quietly, watching the festivities.
Draco watched as many people he recognized from school appeared as they spun in merry dance. Among those faces many he hoped wouldn't spot him such as Dean Thomas, sporting a lovely young woman who was laughing up a storm, perhaps dizzy, his old friends Nott and Goyle, who he especially hoped to avoid, that loony girl, the Lovegood, who was dancing by herself in an absurd polka-dot dress.
His eyes took hold of Harry Potter, his red head wife by his side, though she didn't look very pleased, and then immediately after he saw his oldest friend from Hogwarts, Blaise Zabini. He chuckled as his friend locked eyes with him and walked his way. He reached the table and clapped Draco over the back with a grin. "Draco Malfoy." He greeted, sounded absolutely merry.
"Hello Zabini, you're holding up well."
The taller man smiled. "Like a racehorse." And took a seat beside him. "What are you doing brooding over here in the corner. You should be out partying."
Draco frowned. "I'm not a fan of these occasions."
Blaise shrugged. "I come for the women, speaking of which some of them look ravishing tonight. Have you seen Granger?" He asked with a wiggle of his eyebrows.
Both put out, then instantly intrigued he shook his head. "Nope, I haven't seen her tonight. How's our lioness look?"
Blaise chuckled loudly, "Hardly. If you've seen Granger you'll realize she'd hardly a lioness anymore. She looks stunning. Good enough to eat if I say so myself. But then again, unlike yourself, I always was the one who didn't mind taking a girl who was under my stature, as long as she was good for a shag."
Draco gave a smirk. "It's quality not quantity my friend, though I will admit I've had my fair share of both."
With another laugh Blaise stood, "Well, I must be off, my date is probably searching for me. I left her by the refreshments table." He gave a slight lowering of the head in respect. "Nice seeing you Draco."
A smirk. "And you Zabini."
As he sat and watched the dancing, he didn't realize how long he was sitting there, in the corner alone, until he heard a voice. It actually caused him to jump and he whirled around to face the perpetrator.
"It isn't becoming of you to sit out of the celebration like a nervous boy at a dance Malfoy." That voice he'd know anywhere, but this face, and this body, and this elegance, was unknown to him.
His eyes brushed over the form that could only belong to Hermione Granger with appreciation and almost hunger. Her long curly hair was held in place atop her head with a sparkly clip, only two curls left down at her ears. Her make up, he didn't even know Hermione Granger wore make up, was soft but noticeable, her lips a subtle pink painted with a grin. On each ear was a tear shaped diamond earring which he noted were a tasteful size, not overdoing it. Her skin seemed to glow and with the radiance of her gown it's a wonder she didn't. Her evening gown was obviously tailored to fit her every curve, it was long and a dark shade of teal that looked stunning against her skin. It was an over the shoulder gown that came down in puddles around her feet, but just the right length. She looked sensational.
He gave her a smirk. "Going stag are we Granger?"
She gave a small smile that once again didn't seem to do her justice. "I was hoping I wouldn't be the only one." She admitted, sounding a bit embarrassed.
He shrugged. "You aren't. I'm here alone too." Looking up at her, she smelled of roses and alcohol, and her dilated pupils trained on him with a fearless intensity that he thought should always be present on her face. For once while gazing at him, her eyes matched her fiery personality.
She held out her hand and he took it immediately with a questioning gaze. She merely pulled it until he began walking her way. "The minister will expect me to dance at least once, and you and I are both without date."
He smirked. "What if I don't want to dance with you Granger?" He would normally be rather suspicious and a little disgusted at her near proximity, but he found that he could only be intrigued.
She stopped on the dance floor and stepped in close to him holding out her hands. "It's just one dance. It's not like we have to be at each others throats all the time." He grabbed her hands and pulled her close, placing one hand on her lower back, noting that her back was curved, something he found sexy, and grabbed her other in his own.
"But I like it that way." He informed her with a mischievous smile. He was fairly sure that the alcohol in her system was affecting her greatly, but then again, he couldn't seem to mind.
She leaned in close and her breath tickled his ear. "I'll admit it is more fun. But don't you ever just want to break the mold. Do something different? You know, have a little fun?"
He spun her around the dance floor, not paying explicit attention to the stares and murmurs they were causing. "Granger," He pulled back and gave her a devilish smile, "Are you offering me a go 'round?" He wiggled his eyebrows, "A shag?"
She laughed, leaning back into him, placing her lips by his ear again. "See, you can be enjoyable when you want to."
"You mean when I'm not being fowl and calling you nasty names?"
She nodded and he felt her hair brush against his cheek. "Well it does help that you look simply exquisite."
From her place just out of his view, he heard her suck in a breath. "Thank you, and you look nice for a ferret." Apparently intoxicated Granger said the same insults as sober Granger, but she found a ways to say them so sexily that it didn't boil his blood in the same way.
Squinting he pressed her body firmer against his. "I suppose I'll let you have that one. But only because we're already making enough of a scene as it is."
She wound her arm tighter around his neck and he could feel the side of her face touching his warmly. "They'll make a spectacle out of me whether I attempt to make one or not."
The smell of her, so bold and sweet, was making him dizzy. He gazed steadily at the skin on her shoulder. It was freckled and that made him smirk. This was a fact that he never would have known about her, was she not dancing in his arms right at the moment. "Well, like I said, you are the marvel of the wizarding world."
Her voice softened a bit. "And you're Draco Malfoy. The Draco Malfoy. You've recently bought Gringotts wizarding bank. The first non-goblin to ever own Gringotts. You've made a name for yourself and not just out of association. Trust me, you're as much of a celebrity as I am."
The music changed from upbeat to a slower song and he guided them to a still, pulling her, if possible, closer to him. "Have you been keeping tabs on me Granger?"
She smiled. A slightly more relaxed smile than normal. "Only what I read in the paper." With that said she withdrew her hand from his own and placed it around his neck, leaving him to fold both of his arms behind her back. He felt her shiver in his arms and he smirked.
"Why the sudden change of heart Granger?"
Her voice tickled his chin as she spoke. "Well, we're both adults now Malfoy. We aren't children. We can't possibly act like kids forever. This isn't a playground, you can't just pick on the kids that you don't understand." He recognized that she was making a jab at him but he didn't mention it as he was too distracted by the furious face of the Weasel staring at him. He held eye contact with the other man, knowing that it was provoking him, until the Weasel actually began to walk towards him. "Granger, lets go outside for some air." He told her and she agreed hesitantly. Grabbing her hand he pulled her out into the hallway, waiting patiently for the red head to follow, stopping and gazing down at Hermione. "Perhaps you should tell me about your relationship with that rat Weasley tonight."
She shook her head with a frown, "I don't understand what you mean."
At that precise moment, Ronald Weasley appeared through the door with his date hotly on his heels. His skin was beet red and his eyes were murderous. His hands were clenched at his sides. "Hermione Granger, what are you doing with that git?" He had more sense than to yell and alert the media frenzy, but his angry tone was more than enough to make Hermione tense up beside Draco. He looked down at her as she was visibly shaking.
"It's none of your business Weasel. You don't own her." Draco said in place of her loss of words with a sneer.
Ron completely ignored him, taking a step towards Hermione and grabbing her by her upper arms harshly, pulling her up to face him. "Answer me."
Hermione winced slightly before her voice broke through her lips. "Because I want to be." She informed him, speaking like a mother talking to a child who didn't get their way. Regardless of the comotion around them, he felt a spike of excitment hearing her say those words. The tone she was taking with him made Draco feel proud of her, for a reason he couldn't explain.
He gritted his teeth, walking forward both grabbing Hermione and pushing Ron at the same time, breaking them apart. "Unhand her you neanderthal. For once why don't you act like a civil human being instead of a brute!"
Ron turned on him with murderous eyes. "Shut your fucking mouth Malfoy! I wasn't talking to you."
Draco drew back for a moment, insulted, before grabbing Hermione's hand reaching for his wand and apparating them out of the room before the weasels eyes. They appeared in his bedroom with a pop and Hermione stumbled a bit before looking up at him. "What did you do that for?" Her voice went shrill. Apparently, even the alcohol couldn't stop her from being the famous hysterical Granger that she had the tendancy of being around him.
He smoothed his suit out before looking up at her. "That man was off his rocker. You wouldn't have been able to reach him if we'd stayed. He'd have just done something he'd regret."
She looked irrational for a moment before she also swept a hand down her dress as if to smooth it out. "I'm sorry about that."
He shrugged. "That's what happens when people get drunk and see things they don't want to." He took a step towards his bed and sat down with a slight groan. "Now, I think you should tell me what happened between you and Ron."
For a moment he thought she might actually give up without a fight, before she looked up at him indignantly. "I will not. You have no reason to know my personal business Malfoy."
He smirked, "Actually, I suspect that we'll be in the papers tomorrow morning, so I think I should at least know some of the story. Why would he be so angry if you aren't together?"
Fluttering around her feet, Hermione's dress twirled around her feet as she paced to her right, then beck to her left before stopping to face him again. "Because Ronald Weasley is a git, and he's incredibly selfish. Even though we aren't together, he'll always see me as his."
Draco laughed and it made Hermione stop and gawk at him, her lips parting in an O shape. "You, dear Granger, will never belong to anyone, well, at least not some one like that."
"Oh?" She rounded on him, taking a step towards him. "And I suppose you know who I will belong to?"
He smirked again, "You won't ever truly belong to anyone. You're too damn stubborn for that."
She crossed her arms across her chest. "And you aren't?"
Gazing at her, Draco made sure that he won't ever forget the color or intensity of her eyes. "No, no Granger, I like that about you."
She paused looking suspenseful. "You...like that about me?"
He shrugged. "We aren't kids anymore. You said it yourself. You can't come to believe that I find at least one trait of yours likable? I like that you can't be tamed. That once your mind's been made up you're set."
