Hermione tapped her glass again, waiting for it to fill up with more wine. It had definitely done the job, the alcohol. She had found a table towards the back, and made herself at home. She had lost track of how many glasses of wine she had had after the fourth one, and she wasn't sure her legs could handle her weight if she tried standing just then.

She had significantly loosened up, excitedly nodding and chatting with any of Narcissa's guest who would come over to introduce themselves. She would blurt out any gossip she had heard through the evening, scandalizing the new conversation-mate or causing them to giggle along with her.

Draco was taking her parents around the room, introducing them to the guests and making sure to grab a drink or snack for them from the tables around them. Watching the three of them laugh at a joke, or at Draco when he rolled his eyes behind a guest had added another two drinks in Hermione's tab, and it had taken an entire internal argument to convince herself she wasn't jealous.

"Hermione, dear," Claire called behind her. "We were looking for you."

"I was right here, Mummy," Hermione said, trying her hardest to maintain composure.

"How much wine have you had?" Claire asked, surreptitiously trying to pull Hermione's glass away.

"I don't know. Isn't magic amazing? Look!" Hermione giggled, and tapped the glass again to automatically cause it to fill up. "You try!"

"Hermione, honey," Richard said, shooting an apologetic look at the table's other occupants. "Would you like us to ask Draco to take you home?"

"Oh, why is it Draco, Draco, Draco, all the time?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"Are you okay?" Claire asked concernedly.

"Yes, Mum," Hermione said. "I haven't been out drinking in a while, is all. Look, Lucy is going to dance now!"

"Lucy?" Claire asked, looking around to see what Hermione meant, and then honed in on Lucius leading Narcissa to the dance floor, and guiding her into the customary waltz.

Everyone applauded lightly as the dance came to an end, and Narcissa moved to Draco, confusedly looked around, and then pointed to Hermione when she finally found her. Draco fervently shook his head, Narcissa glared, and then Draco slowly made his way to Hermione.

"Claire, Richard, I think my parents would like you to sit at their table," he said. "Hermione, it's time for our dance."

Hermione looked at his proffered hand, and analytically looked at him for a second, before turning and tapping her glass once more, completely ignoring Draco.

"Hermione, he's talking to you," Claire admonished her daughter's behavior, but Hermione didn't even turn. Alcohol made her even more stubborn than she usually was.

"Is everything okay with you two?" Claire asked Draco when Hermione continued to ignore them.

"I-Yes, everything is okay," Draco said. "Hermione, please, just a quick dance. Everyone is waiting."

Hermione considered not getting up then, but then she realized she didn't want to embarrass herself or Narcissa at her own party. So she mumbled a quick "Fine", and stalked on ahead of Draco.

Draco instantly ran after her, and grabbed her hand and placed it on his arm.

Right, he was acting like the perfect, loving husband again.

He lead them to the dance floor, and placed them into the proper position and waited for the music to start. As soon as the first notes of the classical music Narcissa preferred hit the air, he effortlessly glided them around the floor, turning her when necessary, and holding her close when needed, his training as a child shining through clearly.

After a minute however, he saw Hermione grimace and purse her lips tightly. He waited until the next step to draw her close, and subtly asked her if she was okay.

She shook her head no, unable to un-glue her lips, and he knew she was queasy. He knew that look all too well himself.

Like an expert, he slowed down their movements, and quickly performed the end step, and pulled Hermione off the dance floor, smiling at the guests.

He walked to his mother then, and whispered in her ear that they were going to leave, and kissed her on the cheek, turning to his father and Hermione's parents to make their silent and quick goodbyes.

"Just one more minute, Hermione," he told her, as they walked toward the floo.

The moment they landed, Hermione ran to the powder room, and threw up into the toilet bowl. Draco sighed, and followed behind, rubbing a soothing hand on her back, and calling Sully to bring him a Hangover potion and a glass of water.

"Why did you drink so much?" he asked, wincing as she entered her third bout of nausea.

She responded by throwing up once more.

"Are you okay now?" he asked softly, once her heaving had stopped and she slumped against the bowl.

She nodded weakly, and turned her head to look at him.

He held out a hand, and helped her to her feet, grabbing a fresh face towel from the basket on the counter, and wiping her face with it.

"Here, drink this," he told her, holding out the glass of water. "You'll feel better."

Hermione gratefully chugged the entire glass, the cool water soothing her insides.

"Drink this too," he said once she was done, shoving the vial of hangover potion in her hand.

"What is this?" she looked at it suspiciously.

"Hangover potion," he explained. "It'll help you sleep, and you won't wake up with a massive headache tomorrow."
Hermione nodded, and threw it back, wincing at the bitter taste.

"That was terrible," she said.

"Well, the medicine is going to be as bad as the illness, isn't it?" he said.

"Don't act all high and mighty," she grumbled.

"I'm not," he said. "I've definitely been in your place in the past, so I know how to take care of it."

"Well, then, don't act so nice all of a sudden," Hermione muttered, trying to push him out of her way.

"Why are you being so...so impossible?" he asked.

"Excuse me!" Hermione balked. "I'm being impossible? What about you?"

"What about me?" he asked.

"You're a right git, you know," she said struggling to push him away, but failing as he held her pinned to the spot.

"And you're an annoying, know-it-all chit, what's your point?"

"How dare you?" she said, and pulled back her hand to slap him, but his seeker reflexes worked faster than her intoxicated

efforts, and he caught her hand before it could do any harm.

"Let me go!" Hermione said, pushing against his chest with her other hand, and he let go of her hand then.

"Stop trying to hit me then!"

"Well, you stop being a prat!" she said.

"Come up with new insults, Hermione," he said in a bored drawl.

"Don't call me that!"

"Call you what?"

"Hermione!"

"Is that not your name?"

"It is!"

"Well, then, your logic doesn't seem too astound."

"Only my friends are allowed to call me that," she hissed menacingly, causing him to take a step back, giving her the space to run out to the guest bedroom she had taken up home in.

He followed her, and entered the room before she could shut the door, and watched her as she wiped off her makeup.

"I thought we were friends," Draco said.

"We were," she replied, not looking at him.

"Then?"

"Friends don't push aside friends like you did, Malfoy," she turned around, and glared at him. "Friends don't insult friends in public like you did."

"What-"

"Let's not pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, Draco," she said impatiently. "You literally cut me off as if I was irrelevant in front of Scorpius' teacher. He may be your son, he may not be my flesh and blood, but I do truly care for him and want the best for him. And whether you like it or not, he is under my care as well for a year."

"I-"

Hermione held out a hand indicating she wasn't done then. "My concerns were relevant. I have taken multiple courses of child psychology to become Education Secretary, and I know about magical manifestation in children. If I wanted something bad to happen to Scorpius, I would never have agreed to marry you. I could've easily gone to Kingsley and told him of your plan if I wanted to harm Scorpius in any way. So next time, don't you dare cut me off before you listen to what I have to say. I am not your perfect Pureblood wife, and I will not be treated so callously."

"I didn't mean to insult you that day, Hermione," Draco said. "I just knew we were about to fight right then, and I didn't want his teacher to be able to report anything against us in the inspections."

"I know better than to not fight in front of a potential witness, Draco," Hermione grumbled. "And anyway, even if we did fight, it would be because of you and how brooding and rude you had been for the past week."

"Hermione, about that, I-"

"Draco, we kissed, it was no big deal," she said, her voice now much lower, and a tremor affecting its clarity. "You didn't have to react as if it was a disaster. I know it wasn't the blood purity nonsense that suddenly had you overreacting like that, and I know it was the fact that you were kissing me, someone you don't like. But we are adults, and we need to behave like adults. It was a kiss, that is it."

"Wait, that's not-"

"And anyway, I know you do not find me attractive, and that is fine, but is it really necessary to act like you've committed a massive sin and then literally avoid me for-"

"Will you let me-"

"days upon days. I mean, even Scorpius noticed. And it wasn't like we-"

"You crazy woman, let me talk for-"

"hate each other, and a-" her next words were muffled as Draco's lips suddenly ascended on hers, his hands holding onto her face, and his lips moving against hers. Her eyes widened in initial surprise, but she found herself easily giving in, wrapping her arms around his neck, brushing through his soft strands, her mouth opening for him as they took the kiss deeper. All the heat from their argument was poured into the kiss, and Hermione moaned as she tasted him again.

Wait, their fight.

She pulled away then, and looked at him, her forehead scrunched in confusion.

"We were just fighting," she said.

"Yes, and you weren't letting me speak," Draco said, resting his forehead against hers. "Will you listen to me, please?"

She nodded, and pulled away to go sit on the edge of the bed, looking at him expectantly to say his piece.

"You thought completely wrong, Hermione," he started. "I completely mucked it up and overreacted because I thought I was taking advantage of your kindness while I was in a vulnerable state. I thought you were only going along with all of it because you pitied me and what had happened. And I couldn't believe I let myself lose control and use you for comfort like that, or that I acted the way I did from before what happened until now."

Hermione looked at him in confusion, still not able to piece the entire story together.

"Because the truth is, me not finding you attractive couldn't be any further from the truth," Draco said, a deep blush staining his pale cheeks.

"So you only acted the way because you thought you were forcing yourself on me? Then why did you avoid me like the plague for so long?"

"Because I was mortified with myself. And I couldn't look and you or talk to you because of how disappointed in me you looked, and as a reminder of what I thought I had done," Draco said, running a hand through his hair, and sitting down on the same side as Hermione.

"You idiot, I was disappointed because I thought you were mortified by what we had done, and that you were shunning me!"

"Well, I thought-"

"I know," Hermione sighed. "We are both idiots."

"I agree."

"So you find me attractive?" Hermione teased, after a brief silence.

Draco looked at her, and they both grinned like little kids.

"Clearly you find me attractive, too," he smirked at her.

"I never said anything to that effect," Hermione retorted.

"But you implied it," Draco said, raising an eyebrow to challenge her. "And come on, I won't blame you for think this way."

"None of the words I said formed those words, or anything implying that at all," Hermione said, trying to stifle a laughter.

"Sure they did."

"And which were those words, please tell-" she was cut off before she could complete her thought, Draco's lips attached to hers again, as Hermione leaned back on the bed slightly.

"Do you mind?" Draco whispered, pulling away and looking at her.

Hermione simply pulled his face down for another kiss, breaking apart only to catch their breath.

"Good night, Hermione," Draco said, and scooted off the bed, knowing that he shouldn't push her too far and too fast.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hermione asked.

"To my room," Draco turned around, his heart racing a little faster with the possible future of their conversation.

"Oh," Hermione said. "I thought you could stay. I might have a headache during the night, and I thought it would be easier if you were here to help me out."

Draco grinned, and pounced back on the bed, pinning her under his body to pull her in for another kiss.

"Tricky witch," he murmured in between pulls of lips.

"You know it," she whispered back, rolling them over and settling by his side, pulling him in close.

"Good night, Draco," she whispered, placing a kiss on his chest.

"Good night, Hermione," he said back, placing a kiss on her forehead.

(A/N: Was the reconciliation okay? Let me know your thoughts! Thank you for reading)