"Well that was odd" said Hermione, still starring at the fireplace that Draco had just entered.
"Yeah, he didn't even say goodbye to you" said a confused looking Blaise. He laid down unceremoniously beside her, looking up into her face.
"Sorry for ending your night short."
"No don't apologise. It didn't end how I was expecting it to end anyway." Hermione laid down on her side so that she was facing Blaise. "I was expecting to find some beautiful woman to bring home with me, but apparently tonight wasn't the night for my kind of woman. On the plus side, I am with you instead so that is a great consolation prize."
Hermione laughed at her friend's drunken honesty. "As consolation prizes go I guess I will do in a pinch." Blaise rolled his eyes but smiled.
"Can we just stay up and talk until you fall asleep Hermione?" asked Blaise, an expression Hermione didn't recognise coming over his face.
"Of course, but I warn you I was actually asleep so I may not be awake for long."
"That's okay with me."
Hermione woke to her seven o'clock alarm the next morning and to her surprise she found Blaise asleep next to her. They had talked for a long time before she had finally fallen asleep. She assumed that he must have fallen asleep immediately after her, without enough time to get out of her bed and into his own.
She slid out of the bed quietly and began to make herself breakfast and coffee. After eating quickly she got ready for her work day, it was going to be a very busy one. She quickly scribbled a note for Blaise, leaving it on her pillow. She would cover for him at work.
Exiting the elevator at her floor, she was greeted by a cheerful Elizabeth. She handed her a pile of messages that had already arrived for her that morning and reminded her of several meetings that she was booked in to attend. Hermione thanked her and hurried into her office, sitting behind the desk and reading the messages one by one. She quickly wrote an inter-departmental owl for Harry, explaining Blaise's mysterious over night illness and got settled into her day's duties.
By midday Hermione had found herself exhausted. She wasn't ever going to spend another night staying up and talking to a drunk Blaise. She had lost a lot of precious sleep. A knock at the door broke her from her concentration. She yawned as she called "Come in."
Elizabeth entered the room with a large stack of files. She crossed the room silently and sat them to the side of Hermione on the desk. "From the Minister's office Ma'am."
"Again?" Hermione asked in annoyance. "Don't they know how to file their own paperwork up there?"
"It seems not" Elizabeth said shortly. Hermione sighed deeply, before yawning again. "Big night?" Elizabeth asked curiously.
"Blaise get's very chatty when he is drunk. He and Draco woke me up by stumbling in around two A.M and then I was up until early this morning talking to Blaise."
"He is a handsome one that Blaise" Elizabeth said unexpectedly, having clearly taken a shine to him.
"Yes he is." Hermione always found herself amused at Elizabeth as she talked about someone she found handsome. She often had a faraway look in her eyes as though she was day dreaming of the person. "Single too" Hermione added slyly.
"Really?" Elizabeth asked in shock.
"Mhmm. Reckons he hasn't found the right girl."
"That's a shame."
Draco paced his office. 'Didn't find any girls worthy tonight did we boys?' he repeated to himself. Draco was infuriated with himself, and with Hermione. He understood why she thought that he would be "playing the field" but was hurt at the assumption. He had thought that he had made his position perfectly clear. Obviously not clear enough.
'Didn't find any girls worthy tonight did we boys?' Draco screamed in annoyance. Today was going to be hell. Polly rushed into the room looking worried.
"Are you okay sir?"
"Fine. Fine." Draco lied, not even bothering to look at her.
"Are you sure? I thought I heard someone yell" she prodded.
"It's fine. Leave me."
Draco's voice was cold as he crossed the room and starred moodily at a piece of parchment in front of him, placing his hands either side of it as he leaned over the desk. Those four oh-so-impersonal lines that may as well have not even be written. He scrunched the parchment into a ball and threw it moodily into the waste paper basket. What was he going to do about her? She had pushed herself away again, barely making contact in nearly a week. Now she expected him to find someone else to fill his nights with. Once again he was unsure how to proceed, and it made him irate.
'Didn't find any girls worthy tonight did we boys?'
Blaise woke up late that afternoon, scrambling to find what the time was. He spotted the note on the opposite pillow and realised where he was and cursed. Had he fallen asleep next to Hermione or had more happened and he didn't remember? He opened the note in a daze.
Blaise,
I am telling Harry that you came down with a bug overnight so don't fret, sleep as much as you like. I was going to get you to move to your own bed when I woke up this morning but you looked too peaceful to move. I will see you after work.
Hermione.
The note hadn't explained why he was in her bed in the first place. Why couldn't he remember why he was in there to begin with. 'Maybe because you and Draco tried to drink the bar dry single handed,' his brain informed him. Her note wasn't overly affectionate so it was safe to assume they had only slept next to each other. But what if they hadn't? He couldn't remember; and would he actually betray Draco like that if she offered while he was drunk?
Hermione exited the floo completely worn out to find a nervous looking Blaise pacing in front of her; still in his clothes from the night before.
"What's wrong?" Hermione asked placing her bag on the bed warily.
"What happened last night?" Blaise's eyes were full of worry. "D-Did... Did we...?"
"Did we what?" Hermione asked confused.
"Did we... get intimate?" he asked anxiously. "I mean I woke up in your bed and can't remember anything."
Hermione laughed heartily. "Oh Blaise" she patted his cheek affectionately. "No we didn't. You were still fully clothed when you woke up weren't you?" she added, winking.
Blaise let out a sigh of relief. "Oh thank Merlin."
"I didn't realise that the thought was so horrible" said Hermione, feeling a twinge in her stomach that was pulling at her self confidence.
"That's not what I meant. No, trust me, under different circumstances..." Blaise trailed off, mentally slapping himself in the face. "Draco is my best friend" he stated bluntly, sitting on the edge of the bed and looking completely beside himself.
Hermione took the free space beside him and shoved him playfully with her shoulder; ignoring for his sanity the fact that he had just admitted something very personal. "Don't worry, your friendship is not in jeopardy because of me."
Blaise looked at Hermione, his eyes full of a mixture of relief and nerves at his accidental confession. "What did happen?"
"We just talked. You and Draco literally stumbled in around two A.M. and were chatting about me at the table while drinking coffee, you forgot that I was staying in the living room now, then Draco left very suddenly ignoring me the whole time, then you came and laid next to me and we talked for a few hours before we both fell asleep."
"Oh. Alright then." Blaise started to laugh. "I was so terrified that I had slept with you and was going to have to tell Draco."
Hermione laughed softly. "No, you are in the clear. I'm not the kind of girl to take advantage of a drunk man" she winked at him jokingly.
Blaise's face turned serious. "Why didn't Draco talk to you?"
"Your guess is as good as mine."
At six P.M. Blaise used the floo to check if Draco was at home; his knees hurting from kneeling on the floor.
"DRACO" he bellowed again. "Are you there buddy?"
"Yeah, yeah. Keep your hair on" Draco said as he walked down the flight of stairs, drying his hair with a towel and wearing only boxers. "What do you need?"
"Nothing. I was just checking to see how you pulled up today?"
"Feel like I am dying but other than that spectacular" Draco drawled, looking mildly disinterested by the conversation.
"What's up?" Blaise said noticing his friend's behaviour.
"Nothing important. I'm just really inside of my own head at the moment." Draco sat on the couch opposite the fire.
"Need a friendly ear?" Draco shrugged.
"It was just something that Hermione said last night." Blaise raised his eyebrows.
"At least one of us remembers what happened last night" he joked; Draco didn't laugh. "What did she say?" Blaise continued.
"Didn't find any girls worthy tonight did we boys?"
"And?" asked Blaise confused.
"She wasn't expecting it to just be you taking someone home Blaise" said Draco, his voice rising slightly of its own accord, a familiar twinge of deep hurt in his stomach. "I lost. She thinks I went out with you to find another woman to spend the night with."
Blaise frowned wondering if Draco was reading too much into it or if Hermione had actually thought that. "I'm sure she didn't mean it like that" said Blaise, trying to convince Draco as well as himself.
"Oh yes she did" said Draco bitterly. "I was with her for five years remember. It's exactly what she meant."
One more week passed with no communication between Draco and Hermione. Draco had found himself starting to drink excessively every night and going out to the bar with Blaise on a very regular basis. Draco sat in his office fuming inside his own head as he signed a large stack of papers. He threw his quill down and stormed to his office door, barking at Polly that he was leaving on urgent business.
He stormed his way through the Atrium, up the elevator and into the corridor that housed Hermione's office.
"Is she in there alone?" he asked Elizabeth rudely before he even reached her desk.
"Yes, but she is very busy" Elizabeth replied, looking taken aback as Draco walked straight passed her and thrust open the office door. Hermione sat at her desk behind giant piles of files making notes on a document as he forced his way into her office, slamming the door in Elizabeth's face.
"What are you doing?" asked a very irritated looking Hermione.
"DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY WOMAN I COULD HAVE SLEPT WITH SINCE YOU BROKE UP WITH ME?" he bellowed pulling her chair roughly to the side so she was facing him directly.
"Probably hundreds knowing you" she retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Yes. I said no to every single one of them" Draco spat.
"Congratulations" Hermione said sarcastically rolling her eyes.
"You know why I said no?"
"I don't know. It probably boosts your ego crushing their dream of being with you."
Draco laughed humourlessly. "No. Because I am the complete fucking idiot who keeps hanging onto the idea that maybe I might actual get to be in a relationship with my wife again."
"Ex" Hermione stated coldly.
Draco yelled in frustration. "This is fucking ridiculous. What happened to "only ever wanting to be with me?""
"I guess I came to my senses." Hermione averted her eyes from his.
"Is that truly how you feel?" Draco asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Yes" said Hermione, her voice was flat and emotionless.
Hermione turned her chair back to facing her desk, her face blank. Picking up her quill again she continued to write notes as Draco watched her, bewildered. Her office door burst open again as Harry and Ron hurried in.
"Elizabeth said that you might need some help in here" said Ron. Harry was livid as he saw a furious Draco standing near Hermione.
"No, I'm fine. Draco was just leaving." Hermione's voice was devoid of emotion as she looked from Harry to Ron and back to her papers.
"Like fuck I was" Draco said seething. Harry stormed in the direction of Draco; but Draco wasn't punishing himself this time, and had his wand out pressing it to Harry's throat, who had stopped dead. "Give me a reason Potter, I beg of you."
Blaise ran into the office unceremoniously, taking in the scene. Hermione sat frozen at her desk, Draco with his wand in Harry's throat and Ron holding his own wand at Draco.
"What is going on?" Blaise asked perplexed.
Harry opened his mouth to talk but Draco pressed his wand harder against his throat. "I am talking to Hermione."
"No you aren't Malfoy, you are leaving right now and not coming back" said Ron heatedly.
"EVERYONE LOWER YOUR WANDS, NOW" Blaise yelled at the collective. To his surprise they obeyed. "Hermione" he continued softly, "I need you to come here please."
Draco watched Hermione stand and walk in the opposite direction to him around the desk. She crossed the room quickly and stood next to Blaise who took her protectively under his arm.
"Potter and Weasley I need you to take Hermione up to my office while I escort Draco back to Malfoy Manor. And yes Potter I realise that you are my superior" he added watching Harry's face drop into a frown.
Harry and Ron crossed the room quickly followed to everyone's surprise by Draco.
"Look I won't fight it okay, I will leave with you Blaise but there is something I have to say to Hermione first."
Blaise gestured lightly towards him, giving his friend one last allowance. Draco pushed his way through the group of men quickly to Hermione before they knew what was happening; cupping her face in his hands he kissed her deeply and desperately, trying to show all of the love that he still felt for her in one kiss. He felt himself being dragged away from her.
"Hermione if you can tell me that you honestly felt nothing," he said struggling against two pairs of hands, "I will leave you alone forever. You will never hear from or see me again..." All went black as he was hit in the back with a curse.