A/N: If you like to listen to music while reading as I do, I suggest 'We Use to Be Friends' by The Dandy Warhols. I had this on repeat while writing this chapter (: if you have any song suggestions please drop them in a review below! I would love to hear your suggestions!

Also, I decided to include Draco's perspective for this story-it's the first time I'm doing this so let me know what you think!

xx D

Timeless Addiction

Chapter 4

by: dee-dee142

Draco Malfoy made his way to his usual spot at the Slytherin table fairly early for a Friday morning—just seven minutes past eight. As suspected, he sat directly in the middle of the table, a factor that never changed since his first year of Hogwarts. From his seat, he had a perfect line of vision-an equal distance from the entrance to opposite side, where the professors were stationed. Additionally, the Slytherin table was one of the two end tables and Draco sat facing the other three benches—giving him a clear line of vision to anything that happened in the Great Hall. He liked that. It was tradition. It was balanced. It meant control. His seat never changed and was never comprised, even after eight years.

As he neared his seat, he felt eyes on him from all sides of the Great Hall but it happened so frequently that he learned to ignore it. People were still intimidated by him—not that they suspected he was evil, per se. Draco figured it was because no one knew his story. On the surface, he was allowed to come back to Hogwarts because Potter vouched for him but no one really knew why he returned—hell, he wasn't even quite sure himself.

Well, maybe not anymore.

Almost everyone that was present at the Battle of Hogwarts had an article written of them: giving a brief biography on how they got there, what they were fighting for and all the other hug-a-house-elf bullshit. Which, Draco had clearly not partaken in. So the students of Hogwarts were left to wonder, why was the Slytherin Prince back? The Malfoy Heir was one of the first in his house to return and many wondered why he would return to the school that was full of students that fiercely detested his family. A hate that remained toward him and his family, even though most of them saw him and his family walk away from Voldemort.

And from the fighting. Draco signed and rolled his eyes. As if the students would ever let him forget that part.

Coward was a word that was thrown at him a couple of times since his return—which didn't really faze him until a certain brown-eyed witch said it the other night. He grimaced at the memory.

The last year really had been the worst for him. He almost committed murder, witnessed murder before his very eyes numerous times, was tortured, heard the screams of Voldemort's prisoners from his very own room in the manor—the list goes on and on. But, what was most important was that he was saved.

Yes, he still had nightmares and yes, his family suffered severely—during and after the final battle. Nevertheless, he returned to Hogwarts. He couldn't hide anymore. He wouldn't be a coward. He was there to—ah, yes how could he forget. He knew exactly why he returned.

Draco Malfoy returned to Hogwarts to complete his education. Draco Malfoy returned to Hogwarts to reinvent his tarnished name. And, most importantly, Draco Malfoy retuned to Hogwarts for Hermione Granger.

He took a seat and peered up to the enchanted blue skies of the Great Hall. He was expecting mail but the damned owls were nowhere in sight.

Draco scowled. Leave it to Hogwarts to have a delay in mail delivery the day that he was expecting it most. In efforts to distract himself, he lowered his eyes to scan the Gryffindor table, idly looking for Hermione Granger's big bushy curls among a growing number of scarlet and gold.

But, nothing. She wasn't there. Disappointment washed over him but luckily, he was getting used to it. Slightly. Draco had been gone for about two days and hoped her big brown eyes would be there bright and early, eagerly searching for him and his return…He may have set too high of an expectation. The last time her eager eyes searched for him, he was on his way to kill Albus Dumbledore.

"You're becoming increasingly obvious these days Draco." Stated Blaise Zabini as he took a seat next to him, closely followed by Theodore Nott who sat across from him.

"Fuck off."

"I agree. You're losing that touch of mystery." Theo identified with a mischievous grin. "I'm almost jealous—you don't pay me nearly half the attention," sending a suggestive wink in his direction.

Blaise and Theo were probably the only ones that weren't intimidated by Draco's morning growl. Fifteen years of friendship had that effect on some. They knew how to push each other's buttons and they knew each other's limits- although the trio found themselves crossing those limits from time to time.

Draco scoffed, "and you're obviously paying me too much attention." He paused to glare at Blaise. "The both of you."

"But we've only just got here." Smirked Zabini. Which was true. They only arrived the same night as Potter did earlier that week. Draco was under the impression that they weren't going to return—mostly because they told him they weren't and additionally, the both of them had a big inheritance waiting for them as soon as they turned eighteen in a couple months. Nott's parents were murdered, by Voldemort himself. It was a murder that still remained unclear to Draco, he was waiting for Nott to come around when/if he was ready. Zabini's mother fled to Italy and told him not to expect to see her for a very, very long time. She left him the manor, her share of the Zabini Company and what was left of their wealth.

Basically, they didn't need school—well, they didn't need school as other Hogwarts students needed school. Other Hogwarts students were trying to do well on their NEWTS, get a decent job and obtain monetary stability. Nott and Zabini had these things already. So when they showed up Draco was fairly surprised; they merely shrugged and said home got boring and that they maybe, quite possibly, missed Draco's presence and the normalcy that came with attending Hogwarts once again.

"Yeah Malfoy. You're obviously doing it wrong if this is the second time we've caught you taking glance at the Gryffindor table-"

"I'd appreciate a change of subject. I'm already bored with this conversation." Draco stated nonchalantly and turned his attention back to the enchanted skies. Where was his bloody mail?!

"How about this," Theo stated as he took a bit from his apple. "Are we going to Millie's party tonight? Or will we be partaking in the miserable moping fest in the Slytherin common room, again?"

"I'm going. I promised her I would and she promised me a good time." Zabini winked as he reached for a muffin.

Malfoy raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Hardly a surprise Draco. Millie's been begging for it since-"

"Not that. She's having a party? Has she not been in the Slytherin common room?" Why anyone would want to have a party not only in the Slytherin common room but with Slytherin students was beyond him. In total they were only about sixty-eight students—with only eleven of them being return seventh years.

Theo and Blaise shared a look, "You haven't heard?"

"Obviously not."

"She's throwing a party in one of the rooms on the fifth floor." Blaise said tentatively. "With Neville Longbottom. Some kind of house unity attempt."

"What?!" Draco questioned incredulously. "Longbottom and Millicent? House unity…party?"

The boys nodded simultaneously.

"And you're actually considering it? Do you idiots realize you'll be the only Slytherins there—matter fact, you'll be the only two people there. Millicent was obviously hit with a course that shattered what was left of her sensible thinking."

"Not quite, my equally delusional friend." Nott pulled put a copy of the Daily Prophet and gave to him. "Most of the Slytherins in our year are going, albeit, comparably we are a small crowd—but they we were all convinced after seeing this. So all eleven of us, are in."

Draco looked at the Prophet see an image of Potter on top a table, holding what he assumed was anything but an innocent cup of butter beer. He appeared to be saying something and Draco tapped the moving image with wand to only catching the end, Voldemort is dead. Death Eaters are imprisoned. Hogwarts is back. We are home and our future is bright. So cheers to us! May this year bring us pleasant surprises, youthful mistakes and some kind of normalcy.

Interesting, Draco thought. Before turning his attention to Theo and Nott, he caught sight of a couple sitting behind Potter and he felt his blood boil when he realized it was Granger and Weasley. He almost didn't believe it was her—he didn't want to believe it was her.

She looked so…happy, even when Weasley moved in to give her a kiss. He felt a familiar pain begin to grow in his chest. He half expected her to slightly move away, maybe even flinch a little but who was he kidding—why would she? The last couple weeks, they were all anyone and any article could talk about; The Perfect Couple, Love Survives War, He Finally Got Her, Gryffindor Princess Finally Finds Her Prince—just a few of the many articles dedicated to them and each and every one he found, he subsequently burned. This one though...it was different just because she was smiling. Smiling happily.

Maybe she was as happy with Weasley as everyone said she was…

Draco shook his head. No way.

There was probably nothing in the world he detested more than Ronald Weasley, not even Voldemort. Draco hated him. He hated him for taking what was his—for touching what was his.

Draco eyes moved to scan the Gryffindor table again only to find the top of Potters head. Granger and Weasley missing.

He felt like throwing up. He didn't even bother to cover up his disgust from Blaise and Theo.

"Get this shit away from me."

"Oh Draco. Don't let that get to you, she was probably drunk. There's no way she could be that happy with Weasley." He's seen Hermione drunk, they've actually gotten drunk together-twice. He knew how she acted when she was drunk and-his eyes widened.

"That doesn't make me feel any better." The thought of a drunken Hermione with her hands all over Weasley made him sick to his stomach.

Blaise patted his shoulder, which Draco shrugged off. "Sorry Draco. I thought you saw it already, considering you've been at the ministry for the last two days."

As if on que, a fleet of owls flew through the Great Hall and an elegant black owl swooped down toward him, dropping a thick envelop directly in front of him. Draco turned the expensive parcel around to find the Ministry's emblem.

Yes.

He quickly opened it, thoughts of Hermione and Weasley quickly escaping his mind. He pulled out a thick set of parchment, quickly scanned its content and a small smile slowly graced his face.

"Oi! Potter!"

Hermione found herself walking towards the Great Hall a little later then usual. She had a brutal week and was fairly pleased to see it come to an end. Since the night of her highly spoken of surprise party, there was a different ambiance amongst the students at Hogwarts; more eye contact, smiles and laughter. Harry's little drunken speech spread like wildfire the morning after. Not only did it hit the front page of Witch Weekly but the Daily Prophet also picked it up as a cover. It was like no one believed Voldemort was dead until a drunken Harry Potter stood on a table of the Gryffindor common room and declared it so. Not that it was a bad speech—she loved it, she truly did, but the fact that such private moment between herself and her housemates was exposed made her a little weary.

"You're a bit paranoid Hermione. It's nothing honestly. I'm actually encouraging the spread of such an intimate moment—we promised each other that we will not allow another Voldemort manifest." Harry had stated in attempts to console her the night after everyone and their muggle cousin heard the speech. "To do that we need to build some kind of trust and unity. Even Slytherins are smiling. I don't see any negatives from this." The Savior of the New World patted her back and left her to her thoughts.

Maybe she was more peeved at the fact that whoever caught the video and sent it to various publishers failed to cut out Ron and herself from the frame. Every time the article(s) fell anywhere near her line of vision, her eye immediately fell on the image of a cheesy Hermione Granger; the 'Gryffindor Princes' who sat on Ron's lap in a cozy corner of a couch, wrapped in his arms and beamed when he plastered a wet kiss on her cheek. Public displays of affection were never her thing, so to have everyone in the magical world see her being so affectionate and unguarded made her sick to her stomach for reasons she didn't quite understand.

Hermione was honestly shocked at how happy she looked in that picture; did she always look that happy when she was with Ron? She only questioned it because that happiness wasn't always reciprocated internally. That mere thought made her anxiously chew on her bottom lip.

Maybe her efforts to cover up the adulterous kiss that occurred only moments before her party gave her acting skills a bit of a boost.

"Hermione!" The witch quickly turned around to find Ron's bright red hair making a hasty bee-line towards her. She must've been very late if he managed to catch her on his way to breakfast.

"Either I woke up early or you are uncharacteristically late." Hermione smiled as he finally caught up with her and planted a quick peck on her lips.

"How about a little of both." Hermione replied as they started their walk. Before he could reach for her hands, she quickly moved to adjust the books she was holding so they were pressed to her chest, keeping hands occupied and out of range.

Ron frowned. She ignored it.

"Is there something wrong Hermione?"

Crap.

"What do you mean?" She inquired with false insincerity. He slowed down his pace and rubbed the back of his neck—a tell-tale sign that whatever was about to come out of his mouth was not going to improve her mood.

"You've been kind of off—since the night of your birthday. Was it something I did?" Ron looked at her with innocent blue eyes and worry stressed on his face as he ran a shaky hand through his hair.

Hermione released the stiffness in her shoulders at his disheartened appearance. Oh Ron. "You didn't do anything Ron." She reached up and placed a hand to his cheek. "I'm just… still angry about the article. Nothing more."

She felt him relax under her touch and he lowered his head to kiss her. "Thank Merlin! Don't worry 'Mione. It should be old news by now."

They commenced their walk and Hermione hoped his words were true. She was tired of seeing cheesy Hermione—it only reminded her of her recent betrayal and of the lies that she had buried deep inside of her.

She hadn't seen Malfoy since the night of her birthday; he hadn't been in the Great Hall, nor class or library the last couple days. She thought maybe he had given up. Maybe that kiss he gave her a final departure kiss. Maybe he even left Hogwarts.

She swallowed the lump that grew in her throat from the thought.

As they entered the Great Hall, Hermione only had to take a quick glance around to room to notice something wrong—green and silver amongst a sea of scarlet and gold. Her eyes widen and her steps came to a sudden halt. Rom groaned behind her, running right into her back.

Draco Malfoy stood only a couple feet away from them, in the middle of an intense conversation with Harry by the Gryffindor table.

"Bloody hell, Hermione!" Ron moved to stand next to her, rubbing this hand around his mouth. "Warn me next time—your hair attacked my mouth."

But Hermione didn't hear him. She was too shocked. Her heart was beating so hard against her chest, she was surprised to still be standing. What was he doing?! Why was this happening? Could he possibly… be... Hermione felt all color drain from her face.

There was no way. No Way.

Ron finally caught sight of the odd pair in front of him, "What does he bloody want?" He muttered.

He managed to find her hand and walked her towards the two wizards. Harry was the first to realize them since he was facing the entrance, while Draco had his back to them.

Harry smiled. Hermione let out a silent breath of relief. That was a good sign

As they reached them, Hermione fixed her eyes on Malfoy to carefully read his reaction. She saw his shoulders tense up when Harry motioned them to come over and as he turned around—in what seemed like slow motion—she quickly lowered her gaze so their eyes didn't meet.

She noticed the entire hall was relatively quiet. It wasn't every day that a Slytherin, and not just any Slytherin but Draco Malfoy, comes to the Gryffindor table and speaks to Harry Potter. And civilly, at that.

"Weasley." She heard him sneer. He took a long moment's pause before addressing her and she quickly panicked. She looked up to meet this eyes only to find them waiting for her to return his gaze. His gray orbs were dark, almost unreadable but when he took a glance at Ron and Hermione's joined hands his eyes quickly flickered with what she assumed was anger.

Ron tightened his hold and pulled her a bit closer. Hermione quickly looked at Ron, mildly surprised that he caught that, but he was busy glaring Malfoy down.

"Granger." Malfoy finally stated more quietly yet authoritatively. Her eyes fell right back on him and she begun to feel flutters in the pit of her stomach. Hermione wondered when she would get use to him saying her name like that.

"Malfoy."

She slowly studied his standoffish stature and Hermione began to wonder how he could conceal himself so easily. How could he lay in bed with her, completely unguarded one minute yet be so cold and unreadable the next. Although she often wondered that about him, she admired that quality—his ability to put his emotions away so easily. His ability to turn off cold-Malfoy when he was alone with her.

But there he was, poised and calm, while she was pale mess of panic and sweat.

"What are you-" Rom started but was interrupted when an arm sneaked around his and Hermione's shoulder.

"Well would you look at this! House unity at its best!" Ginny Weasley grinned as she pushed herself between Ron and Hermione. Neville was behind her and took the space between Harry and Hermione.

"Hello Malfoy."

Malfoy raised an eyebrow at the bizarre interaction.

"Longbottom."

Hermione half expected him to quickly move and leave but he surprised her by first, turning back to Harry and shaking his hand, "Thanks again Potter. I will let you know as soon as I hear word." With that he swiftly walked past them and left the hall. Hermione bit her bottom lip again and willed herself to relax. It was over. No harm done.

"What that hell was that Harry?" Ron glared at his best friend as the five of them took their seats.

"Relax, it was about his case. You know I can't tell you. I promised him not to discuss a word about it with anyone." The four of them stared at him as if he had grown another head.

"You can't tell us?" Ron sneered.

Harry sighed and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, "Let it go Ron. I'm helping him with his case at the Ministry, which you all know. That's as much as I can say. If you want further information, so ahead and ask him, yourselves."

"You made a promise to him, to keep things from us?! Do you know who, no, actually what-"

"I know exactly who he is Ron." Harry said, slightly raising his voice over the red-heads objections. "I also know that if it wasn't for his family, I wouldn't be here." The hall was very, very quiet. Every ear was perked and alert in an effort to hear any part of the argument that was about to brew between the golden trio.

Hermione, becoming increasingly aware of this fact, reached for both of their shoulders, "Guys, now is not the time-"

Ron shoved her hand away. "No! I'm not letting this go! His mother saved you Harry. He didn't-"

"You know what Ron? Now it's not the time for this. The war is OVER. He was allowed BACK to Hogwarts not only because of me but the Board, all of the professors and McGonagall vouched for him. They welcomed him. So, what exactly are you afraid of?! He hardly said a word to you—the conversation was between me and him. No one was addressing you! Any and every thing we discuss from here on out does not concern you." Harry replied sternly. He tried to whisper but his anger made it sound more like a growl and she was sure most people around them would be able to hear.

The boys glared at each other for what seemed like eternity, before Hermione spoke.

Hermione didn't know what willed her to speak and get between their argument but the words escaped her mouth before she could stop herself. "Harry has a point Ron. What is between Harry and Malfoy, is strictly between them. You should respect that."

His glare quickly turned to her and she saw a brief flicker of betrayal. He angrily slammed his hand on the table, got up and made a quick exit.

Hermione made an effort to go after him but was forced back down by Ginny, "Let him cool off Hermione. He was wrong, give him time to realize it."

They went back to their breakfast in tense silence, before Ginny stood up to address their equally quiet audience, "Alright, Alright. Show's over. Get back to your breakfast!...Oh, and don't forget about tonight!"