Harry and Ginny are dating
Hermione and Ron are just friends
Voldemort is dead
Ron and Ginny are staying with their family at the Burrow
Harry is staying in an Muggle apartment in London
Hermione is staying at her own house, not with her parents
Hermione's POV
"Oh!" I gasped.
It was just an owl. Chill, Hermione! I told myself. Nothing's going to kill you or even harm you. Draco won't allow that. Yeah, but Draco wasn't here now. I untied the envelope from the owl's leg and the name on the cover of the envelope made my eyes bulged. I opened the letter and scanned through it.
Mione,
Want to grab a drink at The Ranch? Meet me there at 9.30 tonight.
- Draco
My heart skipped a beat. Not a another invitation! And this time, its to a pub! I don't know what to wear! And worse of all, I don't know what to say when I meet him! I glanced at the clock. I have five more hours for preparation. I raked through my closet finding for a suitable party wear. Robes greeted me when I opened the closet door. I crawled into the closet and the closest thing I can find to muggle wear is Jeans and some old T-Shirt. The dress that I wore that day was still in the wash.
I started to panic. I know I shouldn't even be going to this dinner but I just can't help it. I needed to see Draco again. To see if he's hurt…Obviously he's not hurt! If he was hurt, he wouldn't be inviting you to dinner! I told myself.
I decided to do an emergency shopping spree for party wear. I half-walked half-ran to the mall just down my street. I went to the ladies department and picked out three of my favourite dresses. Two of them was short, one was long and reached down to my ankles. The long one was a silky, ice-blue colour. It's strapless. The other two was yellow and pink. The pink one was really short and also strapless. I have to be careful not to bend down when wearing that dress cause either my butt or my cleavage would show. The yellow one falls in nice light folds around my knees. It brings out my eye colour.
I paid for them and hurried to the exit through the make up department. A make up set arranged neatly in a small beige box caught my attention. I scooted closer to have a look and without a second thought, I bought that too. I glanced down at my watch when I apparated back home. The time was running late. I need at least two hours for make up. When I finally made it home, its seven.
I washed my hair in a hurry and got shampoo in my eye. When I retreated from the bathroom, my left eye looks red and swollen. Great! I thought. I placed ice cubes on it and hopes that it returns to the original shape in time. I used violet for my eye-shadow and blood red for the lipstick. I blew my hair and straightened it to look more decent. I picked the pink dress for the night.
I left my house at nine. I'm having walking difficulty with the heels I'm wearing. I apparated right outside the pub and looked around for Draco. he isn't there. I went in, a few drunk guys by the door scrambled over and began to drool all over me. I pushed them away roughly, one of them collapsed onto the floor but did not get to his feet. My eyes searched all over for Draco. Its hard to recognize the faces through all the noise and flashing lights. Just as I was about to turn and make my way to the exit, a cold hand gripped my bare shoulder. I whirled around and found Draco standing behind me.
"Sorry I made you wait," he shouted in my ear. It was almost impossible to hear anything through all this music.
"Not at all," I shouted back.
Draco led me out through the back door of the pub. Once out the door, he apparated us. When I could see again, I realized we were at his Manor.
"Why did you bring me here?" I asked him.
"The pub was too noisy. We couldn't talk there anyways. I can't hear anything," he replied.
We entered his mansion and my eyes traveled to Draco's body. I realized that he was well dressed, like he was meant to take me somewhere else way more high-class than a pub. Maybe like a romantic restaurant…
"So…how you doing?" his voice interrupted me.
"Huh? Uh, fine I guess," I answered.
"You weren't hurt, right?" his voice full of concern.
"No…why would I be hurt?"
"Uhn…nevermind."
He pulled me onto the couch and asked me to stay there while he went to get me a drink. He returned a short while later with two sea-blue drinks. I guess it was alcohol. He handed one to me and touched my glass to his. We sipped our drinks in silent, not sure of what to say. He started the conversation first.
"So…today was some day, huh?"
"Yeah," I answered.
I looked up from my drink, feeling a little drunk. My glass wasn't even half empty. I cursed myself for not being able to take alcoholic drinks. Draco was staring at me from across the couch. He reached out his hand, palm up, and encourage me to take it. So, I did. I didn't reject when he pulled me closer, so close until I could feel his breath on my neck. It smell of alcohol.
"Drink some more," he urged.
I gulped down three mouthfuls. It burned my throat and made me feel queasy. I was hoping my stomach would hold the food in and not throw up. The whole manor was dark except for the dim blue light glowing softly above the wide, marble staircase. The atmosphere was romantic. My head felt drowsy. I turned my head to look at Draco again.
My eyes traced over each line and pane on his face, memorizing them. That was when I caught sight of the scar on his left temple. It was short, barely visible in this lightning. But even then, I could see that the scar was new, and it might still be hurting. The scar was a thin streak of white, kind of embossed on his skin. Without thinking, my hand reached up to touch it.
He didn't stop me until my fingers brushed against his face. He flinched. My hand retreated immediately. His fingers found mine. They wrapped around my fingers – his thumb slowly caressing the back of my hand. He took my drink away to free both my hands. My mind could hardly think with his body pressed up against mine and his icy breath on my neck.
"The scar…does it still hurt?" I murmured.
"Hm…" His answer barely louder than a breath.
He pressed his lips softly against mine – his hands traveling down my back to my waist. But even in this breathtaking embrace, I felt that I have to ask him something concerning about the attack on the Ministry.
"Draco," I started.
He acted as if he knew what I was about to ask and he was trying to avoid it. he pressed his lips harder against mine – making me unable to speak. I almost got carried away again, but I told myself firmly that there are matters that needed to be discussed. I shoved against his chest gently – willing him to let go and sit up. But Draco was not cooperating. His tongue found its way into my mouth while his hands began easing down my dress. Its easy for him to do that since its strapless. Its already halfway down my breast by the time I managed to stop him.
My finger closed around his, stopping him from doing what he intended. I finally found my voice, as I struggled to speak.
"Draco, please stop. I need to ask you something," I pled.
His lips stopped moving but his hands were wrapped around my waist firmly. I reached back and pried his fingers open. He didn't resist. He sat up – his eyes a bit out of focus. When they finally managed to focus on me again, their expression was of impatient…then slowly changed to… fear. I ignored it and carried on with my doubts.
"About today, at the Ministry," I started.
This seemed to be a touchy subject and I hope he would not storm off. I read his expression but he was poker faced. So, I carried on.
"Why? Without telling or warning me?" I asked cautiously.
He still said nothing.
"Fred, Percy and Luna…they were badly hurt. There was so much blood…" I trailed off, waiting for some kind of reply. He looked at me for a moment before replying, "Hermione, you have no idea what I was going through. I just hope you felt the love I have for you."
"Love?" I felt a little betrayed.
"Love? After all you had done you're telling me you love me?" my voice raised a pitch. "You might have killed or badly injured the ones that I love and you wouldn't even realize it!" I screamed.
As soon as I said it, I wanted so much to take it back. I should have known – the alcohol was doing strange things to my mind – making me unable to focus, unable to stop myself from saying things that I did not want to say. It was too late. Draco turned away from me. His face was composed but the hurt was still visible through the mask. Now, I could only mend the damage I had done.
"I'm sorry," I apologized. "I really didn't mean that."
He just nodded – still ignoring me. I took his face in my hands and forced my gaze on him. He tried to look sideways but failed. I kissed him full on the lips and wrapped my hand around his neck while the other reached into his hair, tugging at the strands. Surprise flickered across his face – but he didn't stop himself from kissing me.
I lost track of time of how long we've been on that couch kissing. My breath was coming in rasps. I was gasping for air. My dress was on the floor and his hands were fidgeting with my bra hook.
We paused for brief moments to absorb the alcohol. I has drank three and a half glass by now. Draco had drank five. It amazes me how anyone can stand that much alcohol in their system and still get their brain to function. My head was spinning and I felt woozy. I don't really feel the need to throw-up but I can feel it coming. I clearly wasn't ready when Draco removed his pants and unhooked my bra.
I froze for a second but with the alcohol in my system, my brain was out of function. I go along with Draco until I could feel my dinner coming up my throat. I pulled away and sprinted to the bathroom, leaving a confused Draco on the couch.
Before I finish, Draco came into the bathroom and he rubbed my bath and held my hair while my stomach heaved and upturned. When I was done, I swayed on my feet collapsing back onto Draco. He caught me before I fall. I grabbed onto him and realized he had his clothes on again but he didn't do his buttons properly. I looked to me like he was in a hurry to get to me. He handed me a bathrobe and when I didn't take it, he wore it for me.
I felt so lightheaded that I didn't even realized he was trying to get me out of the bathroom. He tugged at my arm and I went limp. Draco scooped me up in his arms and carried me all the way upstairs to his bedroom. He set me down gently on his huge, soft bed and whispered in my ear, "I love you."
Those were the last words I heard before I fell into a deep sleep.
A/N Keep the reviews coming guys or I wouldn't update. I mean it.
just me
