I'm so bad. I lost inspiration and got busy with school stuff on top of that. I finally finished chapter 4! I'll try to post more often, but I'll be on break in a week so who knows if I'll put up a new chapter during the next few weeks!
Hope you all like this chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters
Hermione stared at the amber colored liquid in her glass as she swirled it around. She downed the rest of the contents and winced as it burned down her throat. There was definitely a reason it was named Firewhisky. She slammed the glass down on the coffee table and looked over at Draco who was next to her on the black leather couch.
"Wow, Hermione, I'm impressed. That was your third glass," he said as he refilled her cup.
She chuckled and picked up her now full glass and leaned back into the couch. "This is breaking school rules," she said as she raised the glass to her lips.
"Nah, we are fine. We're of age so we're allowed to drink legally now," he said also taking a swig from his tumbler.
Hermione looked at him approvingly; "Sneaky Slytherin, finding all the loop holes," she giggled into her glass. He nudged her slightly and laughed as her drink sloshed onto her face. "Arsehole," she said as she wiped the whisky off her nose with her sleeve.
They sat in silence for a few minutes as they stared at the fire in Draco's hearth; a question forming in Hermione's mind. "So, earlier you mentioned something about having to promise McGonagall that you guys would play nice. Is that true?"
Draco was silent for a moment until he downed the contents in his glass. "Yeah, it's true. Any Slytherin student who had family on Voldemort's side that wished to return to Hogwarts had to swear an oath to McGonagall that we would promise to attempt to look past our prejudice and try to get along with the other students. So needless to say, Pansy, Theo, Blaise and I had to take this oath; plus a couple other students."
"Hmm…" Hermione thought for a moment before responding. "I think we all should have to take that oath. I mean, there are people here that are prejudice about other houses and I'm not proud to say that I used to be one of them."
"That will never happen, the only people the wizarding world thinks did anything wrong are people like me. People like you will never be looked down upon, princess," Draco said dejectedly.
Hermione glanced at Draco as she asked her next question. "Why do you call me princess?"
He snickered and took a sip of his newly filled drink. "Why, because you are Gryffindor's Princess of course!" he said and raised his glass to her.
"What even is that?! Parkinson said that earlier today too! Was there some kind of competition I won that I didn't even know of?" she said flabbergasted.
Draco snorted, causing his drink to go up his nose. He rubbed his nose and glared good-humoredly at Hermione and said: "Don't make me laugh while I'm drinking, wench. And no, there wasn't some contest. Just somewhere along the way people started calling you it. I mean, besides Potter, you are the star of Gryffindor."
"So is he the Gryffindor Prince then?" she asked.
"Oh no, he's just the Boy Wonder, Boy-Who-Lived, Scar Head, Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die, all that nonsense. Nothing about Gryffindor." Draco chuckled to himself.
"Hmm…I never paid much attention to what people said or say about me because most of it isn't true anyways," she said after almost finishing off the rest of her drink.
"Well, some of it is pretty interesting and I was always pretty curious about what was and wasn't true,"
"Oh? Like what?"
Draco took a moment to think of some of the things he'd heard about her before finally speaking. "There was always the thought that you were a prudish bookworm, which now I know isn't all true," he said with a wink.
She stuck her tongue out at him, making him laugh before he continued. "Let's see…you and the two Gryffindorks were in some weird threesome relationship—which didn't make sense with the prude bookworm persona."
"Definitely not true," Hermione said shaking her head in disgust. "Harry is like a brother to me and besides, he is in love with Ginny."
"And dear old Weasley?" he asked innocently. She shot him a glare and he put his hands up in the air. "Okay no talk about Weasel right now."
"You know, they say some interesting things about you too," Hermione said, her smirk twitching into a smile. Draco raised his eyebrow, indicating her to go on. "A lot of girls call you a...uh...sex god." A flush rose onto her cheeks as she uttered the words.
Draco's smirk slowly grew wider as he watched the redness creep up her neck. "Curious to find out, Hermione," he whispered seductively. "Maybe one day you will."
"You have a girlfriend, Draco, so no I will not," she said indignantly.
"Things change, princess, you never know what may happen in the future," he said. "If one day I happen to be single, you might just get your chance."
"I'm starting to think that you are the one who wants to sleep with me," she said with a raised brow.
"Oh, princess, If you only knew how many guys want to shag you," he said with a chuckle. "I think you'd be shocked. I wouldn't be the only one that surprises you."
"So you do want to sleep with me!" she said getting up on her knees on the couch.
Draco shook his head incredulously. "Really? That's what you got out of what I just told you? I just told you that probably half of the male wizarding population probably wants to shag you and you only care that I'm one of them?"
"I just never thought that you—Draco Malfoy—would ever want to and admit that you wanted to sleep with me, that's all. It's kind of unfathomable."
"Have you looked in a mirror recently, Hermione? I mean, come on, of course I would want to, let alone any other guy. The only reason any guy should be jealous of Weasley is because he's had you," he said taking a swig of his firewhisky. Hermione hummed to herself in thought as she sat back down on the couch and sipped from her glass.
"I wonder if that's why…" she said softly to herself.
"Hmm?" Draco hummed in question.
Hermione was silent as she pondered her recent situation with Ron and the new information Draco had just bestowed upon her. Could Ron want to sleep with her constantly to prove something to everyone else? Or was he just taking advantage of the fact that he had what everyone—supposedly—wants? Hermione sipped on her Firewhisky deep in thought.
"Earth to Hermione?" Draco said, pulling her out of her revere. "Is there something you want to share?"
Hermione nodded, deciding to tell Draco about everything that happened with Ron, starting from directly after the war ended to earlier that night in her common room. Draco was a good listener. He didn't interrupt her and seemed very attentive while she talked, like he was actually listening and taking her story in. Once she finished, Draco nodded and the two of them downed the rest of their glasses so they could pour themselves a new batch.
"What a selfish arsehole," Draco said finally as he handed her glass back to her. "It definitely seems like he was using you for sex or maybe for some other kind of self-gratification. Maybe to show off that he could win the heart of Hermione Granger, famous heroin and Gryffindor's virtuous Princess and all that crap."
Hermione scrunched her eyebrows in thought and eventually shrugged. "I don't know, maybe? Or he could just want sex, you know? Don't guys always want it?"
"I mean, not always," he answered back, "but if they have a pretty girl that's willing, it's hard not to want it. Maybe Weasley just can't control his desire for you. I wouldn't be surprised if that were the case." He smirked as a blush renewed on her cheeks.
Suddenly Hermione burst into a fit of tipsy giggles. He gave her a questioning look as she calmed down and started sipping at her drink. "You called me pretty," she said with a lopsided smile.
Draco rolled his eyes, finally starting to feel the effects of the firewhisky. "I do not believe I called you pretty," he tried to recall.
"I mean that you implied it," she said with her own eye roll.
She finished the rest of her glass and grabbed for the whisky bottle. Draco watched amusedly as she attempted to pour the amber liquid into her glass and couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips as she spilled a decent amount of liquid onto to the table. "Alright, Granger, I think you are cut off," he said, pulling the bottle out of her hand. "That's all you get for the rest of the night."
She pouted slightly and brought the glass up to her face to inspect the small amount of whisky that had actually made it into her target. "You called me Granger," she pointed out, trying—and failing—to hide the disappointment she felt.
"I wasn't aware I couldn't call you by your name," he slurred jokingly. "I'm sorry, princess," he finished with a chuckle. "Better?"
She huffed but begrudgingly nodded in agreement, though Hermione would never admit that she was growing to like the pet name he had given her. She studied him discreetly as she sipped at the small amount of whiskey she had in her glass. She knew he was good-looking—she wasn't that dense—but she had never really realized just how unfairly attractive he was with his perfectly tousled white-blonde hair and molten silver eyes. Nor had she ever noticed the single dimple he had on his left cheek when he smiled or the faint—almost nonexistent—freckles that littered his nose and under his eyes. Maybe she had never been close enough to notice these attributes of his, or she had been too blinded by her hatred to really see him. Either way, she was glad to be seeing them now and could fully understand why the majority of the female population of Hogwarts was enthralled by the Slytherin head boy.
"I can feel you checking me out, Hermione," he said as his infamous smirk twitched on his lips.
Hermione blushed and quickly looked away, embarrassed at being caught. "I wasn't checking you out, per se," she slurred, "I was just noticing things about you that I hadn't noticed before. Do you know you have freckles?"
"Yes, I am aware that I have freckles," he said with a chuckle. "They were more prominent when I was a child though. When I was seven, my parents got me my first broom and I accidently fell off of it and landed on the walkway of our garden. I scraped up my whole face; mother was furious. After they healed my face for me my freckles looked like this because of the magical scar tissue."
"I didn't know there was such a thing!" she said, fascinated by the new information.
"Well, you normally don't notice magical scar tissue on skin that has no blemishes. But all magic leaves a trace including healing magic. So the trace from the healing spell used covers my freckles so they are barely noticeable. Magic is quite fascinating," he said touching his cheek.
"Indeed," she replied. "It's even more fascinating when it wasn't something you grew up with."
He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "I can imagine so. You are so brilliant when it comes to all things magical that sometimes I forget that you didn't grow up with it."
Hermione smiled proudly and said "That makes me happy to hear actually. I try so hard because I want to prove to everyone who believes I don't belong here that muggleborns can be just as good or even better than any other witch or wizard. I know I belong here and I want everyone else to see it too," she finished passionately.
"I don't think anyone can deny that you belong in the wizarding world anymore. You and your crazy band of do-gooders took down one of the most powerful wizards the world has ever seen."
"So do you still believe in all that blood purity shit? You did call me a mudblood on the train the other day," she pointed out.
"Like I said, you've proven everyone wrong, including me. I know now that I was completely wrong," he explained. "About the train, I was an idiot. I let myself revert back to my old self instead of handling the situation more maturely. The second you left my compartment I instantly regretted how I had handled everything. I knew I had to find you and apologize because that isn't the person I want to be anymore. I was so angry and unhappy before and I didn't want to be that person anymore. I don't want to be angry and scared all the time. I want to be happy, like you."
Hermione thought quietly about what Draco had just disclosed to her. It made her heart hurt when she thought about how hard the last few years must have been on him; especially since there was a madman living in his house, threatening to kill him and his family all the time. She felt her eyes starting to water as she thought about how horrible it must have been for him.
"Why are you crying?" Draco asked, confused as the tears she had been holding back suddenly began to fall. "It didn't happen to you."
"I just feel awful for what you were forced to go through this last year. You deserve to be happy as much as any of the rest of us do," she said through her sobs.
"Hermione," he chuckled in disbelief. "We all had a shitty couple of years. It's done, I'll get over it, we'll all be okay."
"You promise?" she asked as she wiped her eyes.
"I promise, princess," he said reassuringly. "Now let's get your drunk arse to bed."
"I don't want to go to bed," she said as she stifled a yawn. "I'm not even that tired."
"Sure you aren't," he held back a laugh, "but we still have classes tomorrow, and the head boy and girl cannot be late on the first day."
"Shit!" she said and stood up quickly. She instantly regretted it and fell back onto the couch since her legs felt like jelly and her head was pounding.
"You normally don't feel how drunk you are until you stand up," he said nonchalantly as he stood up slowly. "Let me help you." He held his hand out to her.
She clasped his hand and let him help her into a standing position. She giggled as she fell into him, "Sorry, I'm so wobbly," she chuckled into his shirt. "And you smell good."
Draco rolled his eyes and smirked down at her. "I hope you remember this when you sober up, because you will be so embarrassed about the things you've said to me tonight," he said with a delighted chuckle.
"I will not be embarrassed," she said as Draco walked her through the portrait hole and into the hallway.
"If you say so, princess," he answered and stopped her in front of Bellona. "Tell her your password."
Hermione looked at the portrait then back at Draco. "But then you will know my password," she said.
"So?" he said with a shrug, still slightly holding her up. She gave him a serious look and he rolled his eyes. "I promise I won't sneak into your dorm when you aren't there." She still looked at him suspiciously. "If it makes you feel any better I will tell you mine."
She perked up and smiled sweetly up at him. "Yes, that would make me feel better."
"Fine, but you can't tell anyone."
"Same goes to you," she said seriously.
He nodded in agreement and paused briefly before he spoke. "It's redemption."
Hermione was silent after hearing his password. His molten eyes were daring her to say something as he held her against his side. "Well that makes my password seem silly," she said finally.
"Yes it does," Bellona chimed in and gave Draco a warm smile. "Do you plan on entering at some point tonight?"
Hermione looked affronted but nevertheless gave her password sheepishly. "Sugar Quills."
The portrait swung open and she looked up to find Draco smirking down at her. "Really? You chose a candy as your password?" He helped her through the portrait and studied her room.
"Yes, it's supposed to be a tribute to Dumbledore since his password was his favorite candy," she answered matter-of-factly.
Draco shrugged and attempted to help her stand without his help. Once he steadied her he took a step back. Hermione was slightly embarrassed at the loss she felt as he backed away, taking his masculine scent and warm body heat with him.
"Can you walk up the stair by yourself?" he asked.
I…I don't know," she said honestly. She turned towards the stairs shakily and began attempting to ascend the stairs. She clutched the railing as she placed one foot on the first step and pulled the next foot up, just barely making it onto the step.
"Oh for Merlin's sake," he said with a huff, "let me help you. This will take years if I let you do it by yourself."
Her heart fluttered as his hand clutched her waist. She tried to hide her blush as he pulled her tightly against his side, knowing he was only doing this to keep her steady; but she couldn't help the warmth she felt as he held her close. She tried to tell herself it was just the firewhisky that was making her feel this way.
Finally, they made it to her bedroom door without any mishaps. She leaned against her door as Draco released her waist from his grip. "Thanks," Hermione said and cleared her throat to start again, "I had fun tonight."
"Me too," he replied with a smirk as he dug his hands into his pockets. "I'll cross off 'See Gryffindor's Princess drunk off her arse' from of my bucket list".
"Well, I'd love to help you cross off anything on your bucket list," she said.
He chuckled with a mischievous glint in his eyes and asked: "Anything?"
Hermione froze as she realized the suggestion in her words. "That's not what I meant!" she stuttered as a flush crept up her neck.
Draco laughed and leaned in toward her. His face was so close to hers, she could feel his breath tickle her cheek. "Goodnight, Hermione," he whispered to her and quickly turned away. Before she could respond he was already down her stairs and heading out the portrait hole.
"Goodnight," she whispered as he left and headed into her room.
Oh gosh, I hope you guys liked it! I try to capture how their witty, playful banter would look like! I hope I did/do it justice!
Let me know what you guys thought! =)
