Hello! Sorry for not updating in so long! My Thanksgiving break ended sooner than I thought it would due to a family emergency and then I got busy with final exams. Here's the next chapter though! I should be able to upload more consistently for the next month. Thank you for reading this story and your patience! I promise this story will be finished. Also I'm sorry for any typos or other mistakes made in this chapter, I wanted to upload it kind of fast since I haven't in so long.
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of this story that has to do with Harry Potter. Just the plot and any extra characters.
"Remind me again why we're at Hermione's apartment?"
"I need to talk to her, and I didn't know which room she lives in," Draco replied, knocking on the old, chipped door that was painted a hideously bright orange.
"I could've just told you," Theo grumbled.
Before Draco could respond, the door swung open to reveal a tiny, pale girl with long blonde hair.
"Theo? Draco?" Luna asked, not bothering to mask her confusion at seeing the two of them at her apartment. "What are you guys doing here?"
"Hi Luna," Draco smiled nonchalantly. "Is Hermione here?"
Luna was still blinking in surprise. She had every right to be shocked considering the fact that the last time she saw Draco was probably at their graduation more than a year ago. Now he was at her door asking if he could speak to Hermione, as if there was nothing odd about this situation at all.
"She's not here," Luna said slowly. "Hermione's at an auction thing that we're volunteering for today. It's to raise money for the animal shelter. I was just about to take the bus and join her."
"Oh, well that's too bad," Theo said, smirking at Draco. "I guess we'll just get out of your-"
"We'll join you," Draco interrupted.
"Excuse me?"
"You don't have to do that," Luna said hastily.
It was then that Draco noticed the slight blush on her cheeks and the way she kept glancing at Theo.
"It's not a problem," Draco said, grinning brightly and elbowing the other boy in the ribs to get him to shut up. "Theo needs more volunteer experience anyway."
Theo muttered something about how what he needed was to get more sleep, but thankfully stayed silent otherwise.
"Okay, I guess? Just let me grab my purse. You can come in if you want to?"
"We would love to," Draco said, pushing a disgruntled Theo into the apartment before entering himself.
Luna disappeared into a small bedroom to get her purse, leaving the two of them in what looked like the living room. A quick glance around the apartment revealed to Draco that it was a one-bedroom with a loft. Because of the loft's placement above the kitchen, the apartment had a vaulted ceiling, making it appear much bigger than it actually was.
"What are you doing?" He hissed at Draco. "This is borderline stalking, Draco."
"It's not that bad," Draco said, rolling his eyes. "We're just going to go volunteer with them."
"I want to go back to bed."
"It'll be good for you."
"I'm going to kill you."
"So, Luna," Draco smoothly changed the subject before Theo could continue his tantrum. "How do you, Padma and Hermione all live here together? Isn't it kind of small?"
"Padma and I share this room, while Hermione lives upstairs in the loft."
Luna came out of the bedroom with her purse and a pair of boots for her to wear.
"There's a dress code at the auction for volunteers," she said, frowning at their clothes. "Draco's fine, but I think Theo is a little too casual."
Draco looked down at his clothes. He was wearing a black sweater with a pair of black, fitted jeans along with his black coat that Hermione was wearing yesterday in the rain. Then he looked at Theo, who had on a pair of black jeans, similar to Draco's, but was wearing a purple NYU long-sleeved shirt.
"Here," Draco took off his coat and threw it at the other boy, "wear this."
He looked at the piece of clothing in shock before returning his attention to Draco.
"You never let anyone touch your clothes."
"Consider it a thank you."
Theo groaned and slipped on the coat before buttoning it closed.
"If you want this that badly, then fine let's go."
"What are you two talking about?" Luna asked suspiciously.
"Nothing," Draco said, ushering both of them out the door. "Theo can drive, and you can give him directions."
Almost a half an hour later, the three of them arrived at a large, upscale building just outside of the city. Before they even walked in, Draco could tell there were hundreds of well-groomed dogs inside with their owners.
"Dear god," Theo gasped, "I've never seen so many pets in one place."
When they entered the building, it was immediately apparent how sophisticated this event was supposed to be. The pristine, white ceilings were vaulted and gilded with gold. In the center of the room, there was a giant, gold chandelier that illuminated the intricate dog houses and booths available for the attendees to peruse.
I didn't expect this to be such a big deal, Draco mused as he took in his busy surroundings.
"Hello!" a little old lady, with short, silver hair and a copious amount of green eyeshadow greeted them when they walked in. "Can I help you?"
"We're here to volunteer," Luna said politely, "we're with Hermione Granger. She should already be here."
"Oh yes," she chirped, clapping her hands together excitedly, "Hermione is such a dear. Now I need two of you to walk around the doghouses being auctioned off today and answer any questions about the event while one of you comes with me to help Hermione at the merchandise table."
"I'll come with you," Draco offered quickly before Luna could.
"Excellent," she beamed, clapping her hands again. "Follow me!"
Draco turned to follow the strangely perky woman, but stopped when Theo grabbed his arm and halted his progress.
"You owe me for this," he said.
"Yeah, yeah," Draco grinned at him, "you better get going. Lovegood looks like she's going to ditch you in a couple of seconds."
"OH MY GOD, LOOK AT THAT LITTLE CHIHUAHA!" Luna squealed before running off towards an intricate doghouse that was shaped like the Empire State Building and contained a small, timid dog inside of it.
"LOVEGOOD! Wait for me!" Theo shouted after her, not wanting to lose the small girl in the crowd.
With one final glare, Theo left Draco, allowing him to follow the woman, who informed him that her name was Sandy. The two of them weaved through the people and dogs until they finally arrived at a group of tables containing various items such as shirts advertising the event, for both dogs and people, stuffed animals, picture frames and posters.
Behind one of the tables was the girl that Draco had been waiting to see all day. Hermione was wearing a pair of leggings underneath a skirt, paired with a long-sleeved blouse, a scarf and some high heels. Her entire outfit, except for her white blouse, was black.
Draco's mouth felt dry when he saw her. She looked professional and was bustling around, humming along to a Beatles song that was playing quietly over the speakers nearby as she organized the merchandise on the tables. A tiny brown and white puppy was following at her heels, tripping over its own ears due to its eagerness. In the corner, an extremely large, black and white husky was sleeping comfortably. Draco could tell with a glance that it was very strong and sleek. It was both beautiful and terrifying.
Even with the presence of the dog that looked like it could eat her if it wanted to, Hermione looked content. It was a shocking contrast to the girl he read about. When he went through her journal, Draco felt a mix of overwhelmingly powerful emotions. He felt concern for Hermione and hatred for Cedric and Blaise. He didn't really give a fuck whether or not it was a misunderstanding. All that mattered was that they hurt her. But now, seeing her smiling brightly at the puppy following her around, all of his previous feelings were replaced by the desire to kiss her. He didn't care that they were in public, or that their friends could potentially see them. Right then, he just wanted to hold her and convince himself that she was okay. Despite everything Hermione wrote in her journal, she was still okay.
I held one of the little stuffed dogs in my hand and frowned slightly. Blaise used to buy me stuffed animals all the time. The memories made me sad, but I didn't feel destroyed by them like I used to. It surprised me, considering how in love with him I'd been. Regardless, another man occupied most of my thoughts recently.
A small, smile graced my face as I remembered waking up in his bed this morning with him still tightly gripping my hand. He'd been slouching in his desk chair, with his legs resting on the bed. There was no way that position could be comfortable, yet he stayed there all night for me.
"Hey beautiful," a deep voice said as an arm wrapped around my waist, spinning me around.
I was shocked to see the man I'd been thinking about now standing in front of me, looking completely out of place among all of the pet paraphernalia.
"What are you doing here Malfoy?" I snapped, smacking his arm so that he would let go of me.
"I wanted to see you," he shrugged and held me tighter instead.
"Oh Hermione!" Sandy beamed. "You didn't tell me you have a boyfriend. He's so handsome!"
"He is not-"
"I'm not her boyfriend," Draco said, keeping his arm around me and not bothering to move away even while he refuted her claim.
I fell quiet at the strangely intense look in his eyes as he searched my face for something. He seemed worried and relieved at the same time.
What is he looking for?
"Well, that's a shame," Sandy said, completely ignoring the tension and proximity between the two of us. "But he can still help volunteer! Do me a favor and show him the ropes Hermione. I need to go talk to our sponsors, but if you need anything you have my number! Also, please remember to take Cookie and Charlie outside later on."
I finally managed to detach myself from Draco and took a few steps away, giving him an irritated glare before turning to Sandy.
"Of course! I already have an alarm set in my phone."
With a final wave, Sandy left the two of us alone. I heard a loud whine at my feet and looked down to find Charlie, a small cocker spaniel puppy, staring up at me with wide eyes.
"Fine," I sighed, picking the dog up and placing him onto the table next to me. "You can be up here as long as you don't fall off or run around."
I gently tapped his nose to emphasize my point and smiled when he licked my hand in response and wagged his tail. My smile quickly fell from my face when I remembered there was a nuisance I had to deal with. Turning around, I found him still staring at me with that same mix of concern and relief. It made me uneasy. It was almost as if he knew something I didn't.
"What are you looking at?" I finally snapped when he didn't look away.
"You."
"Well, stop it."
"Why?"
"I don't like it," I hissed, going back to organizing the table behind me.
"Why Granger, I never knew I could get you so hot and bothered," he smirked. "And all it took was a simple look."
I gasped indignantly and spun around, fully intending to throw the stuffed animal in my hand at his head and then berate him, only to find him inches away from me. My retort died on my lips as he fixed me with that intense stare again and gently brushed my hair behind my ear, letting his hand trail down the side of my face.
Don't let him win this. Shove him away or at least say something.
"Um, hi."
Brilliant Hermione.
Draco chuckled and gave me a grin that made my heart skip a beat.
"Hey," he murmured back before closing his eyes and leaning forward to kiss me.
Draco leaned in, feeling all of the muscles in his body relax at the thought of kissing Hermione. Before his lips could connect with hers, however, a long wet tongue dragged across his face.
He immediately jumped away from her in horror, spluttering and wiping his face on his sleeve. Hermione, on the other hand, was bent over laughing with the puppy wagging its tail happily in her hands.
"That was not funny Granger."
"It was pretty funny," she said, still fighting back giggles while she set the puppy on the ground. "You can't just go around kissing people Malfoy."
"Well, maybe I could if you weren't such an annoying-"
Draco's rant was broken off by the sound of a low growl coming from the corner. He blanched and glanced over at the huge husky to see that it was now awake and staring directly at him. Its eyes were bright blue and strangely human-like.
"Granger," Draco whispered quietly, slowly moving towards her until she was between him and the beast in the corner. "That thing wants to kill me."
Hermione frowned and looked around quickly before her gaze landed on the large dog. She rolled her eyes.
"No, she doesn't Malfoy. Cookie is just a dog."
"You're telling me that monster's name is Cookie?"
"Yes," Hermione shrugged before continuing in a matter-of-fact tone. "She looks like a Cookie. She's Sandy's dog and I just take care of her sometimes during events like this."
Hermione was cut off by a snarl coming from the corner and Cookie raising her giant head to glare menacingly at Draco.
"Granger, it wants to kill me."
Hermione just sighed and walked over to the beast, whose head was almost twice as large as hers, and scratched underneath her chin as if she was petting the much smaller dog that trailed after her.
The dog whined softly, nuzzling Hermione's shoulder and almost knocking her over as a result.
"I know Cookie," Hermione consoled lovingly, "I don't like him much either."
"Hey!"
"Unfortunately," she continued as if Draco hadn't even spoken, "we live in a society where we can't just go around murdering the people that annoy us."
The large dog nodded along to her words as if it understood her and then gently licked her hand before standing up. When Hermione was crouched like she was, Cookie towered over her easily. Draco took an unsure step towards the dog, planning to intervene somehow if he needed to, but the dog just stretched lazily and sat back down, beginning to groom itself almost like a cat.
Hermione straightened up from her crouched position and turned towards Draco, raising an eyebrow.
"Satisfied?"
"Immensely."
"Good. Then start working. The prices are on the merchandise. Just show people whatever they want to buy and then take the money and put it in that box," Hermione gestured at a metal container that was on top of a plain, white table in the corner of the room next to two chairs. "Any questions?"
"Well-"
"Any serious questions?"
Draco smirked at how well she knew him.
"No."
The next couple of hours passed with the two of them being too busy helping customers to talk to each other. Normally, Draco probably would have been annoyed at the idea of having to spend an entire day with nothing to do besides work, but just being near Hermione was relaxing him. It was also more than entertaining to see her stammer and lose her train of thought when talking to someone every time he "accidentally" brushed past her.
Draco also slowly grew more comfortable with Charlie and Cookie, even bending over to pet the excitable puppy sometimes. Cookie, on the other hand, made it quite clear that she would not let Draco near her anytime soon. She spent most of the time sleeping or sitting next to Hermione.
Eventually, the crowd started to thin as the auction for the doghouses began. As a result, Draco found himself sitting with Hermione at the table in the corner with nothing to do.
"Granger."
Draco was met with silence as she did her best to ignore him, scratching Charlie, who was curled up in her lap, behind his ear.
"Granger."
More silence.
"GRANGER!"
"WHAT MALFOY?"
"I'm bored."
If looks could kill, Draco would have died a million times. Hermione groaned and put the small puppy on the floor, letting it run towards Cookie and climb all over her as she slept.
"What exactly do you want me to do about that?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.
"Let's play a game."
"What game?"
"We each get to ask the other person twenty questions and five passes for when we don't want to answer. You can ask anything you want, but you have to be truthful with your answers."
"That's more like a survey than a game Malfoy," she argued.
"What's the matter? Scared? Maybe you're nervous I'll find out something you don't want me to know? Such as, I don't know, how much you want me?"
She clenched her jaw angrily.
"You're a little shit, you know that?"
"Yet, here you are spending your day with me."
"Not by choice."
"Are you going to play or not?" Draco grinned, already knowing she wouldn't back down from his challenge.
"Fine, Malfoy."
"Alright, I'll ask first. Don't even think about lying Granger. I'll know if you do."
"Yeah, yeah," she said, waving her hand dismissively.
"What's your favorite color?"
"How original."
"Just answer it, Granger."
"Blue."
"What kind of blue?"
"That's two questions."
He rolled his eyes at her stubbornness.
"Fine, Granger. Ask your damn question then," he sighed.
"Why are you here?"
She was getting straight to the point.
"To spend the day in your delightful company," Draco quipped, grinning at her scowl.
If Hermione wanted to be direct and not waste her time asking mundane questions, Draco may as well take her lead.
"What happened between you and Zabini?"
"We broke up."
"I'm going to need more than that Granger."
"You didn't specify."
Draco gritted his teeth. She was surprisingly good at dodging his questions.
"Why did you hook up with Lavender?"
Draco hesitated and wondered if he should bother answering her. If she knew why, she may judge him forever and never want to see him again. But if he used one of his passes, odds were that she wouldn't open up to him as much as he wanted her to.
When it came down to it, Draco knew she was his best chance to get it off of his chest without being immediately condemned for his actions. If anyone was going to know this about him, it may as well be her.
"I got rejected from Harvard. It was all I thought about since our fifth year at Hogwarts. I was obsessed with going there because I wanted to prove to my family that I didn't need them, so when I didn't get in, it felt like I wasted the past two years of my life. My family was disappointed in me, which wasn't really anything new, and I lost a lot of people that I cared about," he paused for a second and met her steady gaze, hoping that she knew she was one of those people.
"Anyways," he continued, adopting a lighter, uncaring tone and turning away from her, "the night I got my rejection letter and realized that things weren't turning out the way I planned, I went to a party at Theo's house and drank more than normal. The next morning, I woke up in Lavender's bed. I don't remember most of it, just bits and pieces."
Hermione was still watching him and when Draco looked into her eyes, he was surprise to see that there was no trace of the expected disgust and judgement. Instead there was slight concern and curiosity.
"You're better than that," she said thoughtfully. "It was just a mistake. We all fuck up. I know I'm supposed to be mad at you for hooking up with one of my best friend's ex, but what's the point? We've all been through shit and sometimes we don't handle it well. It's not like you did it wanting to hurt Ron. It was just a mistake."
The relief that coursed through Draco's body knowing that she didn't hate him for what he did was indescribable. So many people dismissed him for what he'd done and, judging from what she wrote in her journal, he assumed she would be one of them. But all she needed was an explanation and for him to acknowledge that it happened. This was the first time he ever directly admitted what he did. Apparently that was enough for her to think he was different from how others viewed him.
He wondered what Hermione would say if she knew that he went to Theo's house that night mainly because he realized he lost her for nothing.
"Why did you and Zabini break up?" Draco said, choosing to continue their game instead of lingering on his thoughts and old feelings.
It's ancient history. I don't feel that way about her anymore.
Hermione frowned and for a minute Draco thought she wouldn't answer him. There was brief pain and confusion in her eyes as she most likely recalled their breakup.
"He stopped loving me," she muttered, tucking her hair behind her ear and drumming on the desk in front of her.
It was a habit she picked up while they were at Hogwarts sometime during their fifth year. She always did it whenever she was stressed about something. It used to drive him crazy when they were younger, but now it was what told him to drop the topic. She wasn't ready to tell him more about that answer, so he would wait until she was.
"Your turn," he said, nudging her leg gently with his own.
She hummed in acknowledgement but didn't give any other indication she heard him.
"Have you ever been in love?" she finally asked, still drumming softly on the table and lost in her thoughts.
Draco considered his answer. His longest relationship was with Pansy. Did he ever love her? Did he ever feel the kind of selfless love that Hermione seemed to feel towards Blaise when they were at Hogwarts?
Even now, Draco could easily recall how Hermione's eyes seemed to light up every time Blaise entered the room. She was unbelievably patient and understanding with that idiot, and he never knew how lucky he was to have that radiant smile directed at only him. It filled him with jealousy when they were younger because no one had ever looked at him like that.
"Malfoy?"
It only came down to one thing. No one had ever loved him, so he never bothered to love someone else.
"No," Draco finally answered.
She kept her inquisitive eyes on him, but wisely chose to remain silent and stopped rapping her fingers against the table.
"Do you regret being with Zabini?"
"No, I don't," she said. "I wanted to, but I couldn't. I love him, despite everything. Not in the same way I used to, but he still means a lot to me. I don't think I could really regret loving someone, though I know I've definitely said I do."
She paused as if she was going to say more but then seemed to change her mind.
"What's your biggest fear?"
No matter how hard Draco thought for an answer, he was coming up blank. Nothing really scared him.
"I'm not really afraid of anything Granger," he said.
"Everyone's afraid of something," she said, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.
She probably thinks I'm lying.
Draco just shrugged in response.
"Then maybe I just haven't come across it yet."
She frowned slightly to herself and seemed to get lost in her thoughts again.
"What happened between you and Cedric?" Draco asked.
That almost immediately snapped her out of it. The surprise and confusion were written all over Hermione's face.
"What have you heard?"
"That doesn't answer my question."
"Pass then."
Draco hoped she wouldn't ask about how he knew about her and Cedric. He would have to tell her the truth. Even though he was known to be a gifted liar, Draco didn't think he could mislead Hermione. Her eyes always seemed to draw the truth out of him.
After a few more moments of deliberation, she apparently decided that she would rather not know how Draco knew anything.
"Are you afraid of heights?" she asked instead.
"No, Granger."
"I'll figure it out,"
"That would worry me, if there was anything to figure out."
She just mumbled something under her breath about Malfoys being too cocky for their own good and motioned for him to continue.
"What happened between you and Dean?"
"You heard what happened," she bit out through clenched teeth.
"I'd like more detail."
"Pass. Are you afraid of deep water?"
"Granger, for the last time, I'm not afraid of anything."
Hermione was getting increasingly frustrated with Draco's questions and her lack of progress. She opened her mouth, most likely to begin a tirade about his nosiness and his refusal to admit that he was afraid of anything, but was interrupted by a tall, raven haired man.
"Hermione, what are you doing? Who is this?"
Draco turned his amused gaze away from the frazzled girl and faced the man that just approached them. In terms of appearance, Draco was not shy to acknowledge that he considered himself quite handsome. His looks alone attracted many appreciative glances from others on a daily basis. Once they learned who he actually was, the Malfoy name only increased his appeal.
The man that walked in was equally attractive, but in a completely different way. He had dark, jet-black hair that had a windswept style and equally dark eyes. Those eyes looked almost black to Draco, who found that, for the first time in his life, he felt slightly intimidated. His features were chiseled, displaying a relatively cold mask of indifference, and he exuded a kind of arrogance that took Draco by surprise.
Normally, I'm the most egotistical person in the room, Draco thought to himself as he took in the other man's expensive, tailored clothing and prominent sneer that was directed towards him. There's something familiar about him.
"This is Draco," Hermione said tersely. "He's from my school and he's helping out today."
Her voice was strangely cold. Draco never heard her address anyone like that. Well, except for him, Marcus, and Adrian during their fifth year.
"This isn't free time to be socializing Hermione. This is when you're supposed to be working. That should be a familiar concept for someone like you," he said, ignoring Draco completely.
She bristled with barely restrained rage.
"I am working you asshole."
"Is that anyway to talk to your senior?"
"Depends. Have you finally done something to earn any of my respect?"
Her snarky response was only met with another spiteful sneer.
"As if I would ever need respect from someone like you," he said in a low, silky voice that sent chills down Draco's spine.
He walked closer to Hermione, placing a finger under her chin to tilt her head up and look into her eyes.
"All I need is for you to know your place."
Feeling uncomfortable and uncharacteristically protective, Draco instinctively wrapped an arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her closer to him, dislodging the finger on her chin as a result. The man's eyes finally left Hermione's to take in the position of Draco's arm around her. Draco saw a brief flash of some kind of emotion in his eyes before they resumed their earlier cold and empty appearance.
"I hope you go to hell," she spat venomously.
He smiled at that before turning to leave.
"I know you do."
Then, just as quickly as he appeared, he was gone, disappearing into the crowd.
Hermione's breathing was uneven and her hands were gripping the edge of the table hard enough to turn her knuckles white. Draco was quiet, rubbing her back in between her shoulders and hoping that she would soon return to normal.
After a significant period of time, Hermione seemed to relax, rubbing her temples and sighing.
"Who was that?" Draco asked.
"Is that one of your questions?"
"If that's the only way I'm going to get an answer."
She let out another sigh and began to respond.
"His name is Tom. He goes to Columbia and for some reason shows up at these events, as if he actually cares about another living thing. You've probably seen him before since he was a year ahead of us at Hogwarts. He was actually my neighbor for a long time until he moved during his sixth year to go to Durmstrang.
"We were really close growing up. In fact, I spent practically every day playing with him when he got home from school. He teased me all the time, but he was also really protective and always made sure I was okay whenever we played with the other kids because they were all bigger and older than me," she paused and laughed derisively at herself. "I sort of had a childish crush on him. But then, when I started attending Hogwarts, everything between us changed. I remember seeing him on my first day of school. He was laughing with a bunch of his friends and when I came up to him to say hi, he just looked at me like I was nothing and asked who I was. When we got home, he tried to talk to me and explain to me that we couldn't be seen together at school because he wasn't supposed to spend time with people like me."
Hermione turned to Draco and gave an inelegant snort.
"Sound familiar?"
It did. Luckily for him, she continued without waiting for a response.
"I told him that I didn't want to be a friend that he had to hide, so we couldn't be friends at all then. After that, he did his best to taunt me any time he saw me at school. He would knock my stuff out of my hands, claiming it was an accident. He would insult me, along with my friends for associating with me, and then say it was just good-natured banter. There's even a scar on my hand from where he stabbed me with a pencil."
Draco took her small hand into his, tracing the mark in the center of the back of her hand. He'd never known about any of this.
"He just pretended that it never even happened and that I probably made it up," she said quietly, watching Draco's rising anguish with a confused expression.
"You never told me," Draco managed through clenched teeth.
He wasn't mad at her. He was mad at himself for not noticing any of it. For being too focused on his own problems to protect her from people like that. People like Tom, Pansy and Adrian.
"I don't need you to protect me Malfoy," she said, as if she read his thoughts. "I only needed you to be my friend. And anyways, I figured out that it was better to avoid him pretty fast. By the time you and I met, I stopped seeing him at all."
"I'm sorry," was all he said, raising her hand to his lips and placing a chaste kiss on the scar.
When he turned back towards her again, he was surprised to see the tender look in her eyes. She gave him a small smile and kissed his cheek quickly in reply.
"So, how come you never get drunk anymore?" Hermione asked, trying to hide her slight blush as she took her turn.
The pinkish color spreading over her cheeks fascinated Draco. She would recklessly make a decision, not even considering the consequences with a level of bravery that could have been considered stupid if she wasn't so intelligent. Then, when she realized what she'd done, she suddenly became shy.
"The incident with Lavender made me decide I don't really want to get drunk and make a stupid mistake like that again," he said with his eyes still examining her cheeks. "Why do you drink so much?"
Indecision flashed briefly in her eyes, but she chose to give him an answer anyway.
"I get headaches," she began. "Basically, it helps make my head stop hurting and gets me to relax a bit. It's hard for me to do that sometimes."
Without giving him time to respond, she blurted out her next question. It was obvious she didn't want to delve deeper into the reasons behind why she drank.
"Who did you lose your virginity to?"
Draco groaned. He already knew how she would react and he was not looking forward to it.
"Pansy Parkinson."
Hermione made a poor attempt to hide her instinct to gag.
"Real mature, Granger."
"I'm sorry," she said, still grimacing. "I'm sure she was… delightful."
"She was alright I suppose," he grinned. "It was both of our first times, so it wasn't like I had anything to compare it too."
"According to her, you were apparently amazing at everything."
Draco chuckled, dragging Hermione's chair closer to him and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you sound jealous."
She scoffed and looked up at him defiantly.
"You wish Malfoy."
"If you must know," he started, ignoring Hermione's indignant response, "she was definitely exaggerating. I was nervous my first time, like anyone else, and there was nothing impressive about it."
The vexed expression that was previously gracing her face softened at his confession and was replaced by a gentle smile.
"Wow, I never thought I'd hear about you being nervous like a normal person," she said.
"Mhhm," he hummed, playing with one of her curls. "Rest assured though, I've improved a lot since then and you will be suitably impressed if you care to experience it for yourself."
"Dear god Malfoy," she said, rolling her eyes. "You are so-"
"Sexy?"
"I was going to say idiotic actually."
"I'm choosing to hear sexy."
She threw her head back and laughed, her eyes sparkling with merriment.
Damn, Draco thought as he watched her and felt warmth spreading through his chest at the sight. Did it always feel like this when I used to make her laugh?
Draco considered continuing his line of questioning to find out more about her breakup and what happened with the other guys, but he didn't want the smile on her face to go away.
"What's your favorite holiday Granger?" he asked instead, pulling her closer to him so that she was resting against his side. Surprisingly, she didn't pull away.
"Christmas," Hermione immediately answered. "I love all of the lights, decorations and presents. And whenever it's cold enough where it's snowing and you need a scarf, but it's not too cold to go outside and have a snowball fight during the day. It's the best feeling."
Draco smiled fondly as he listened to her talk excitedly about her Christmas traditions. It was amazing to him that someone could still get this excited over a holiday typically meant for children to enjoy. It reminded Draco of why he thought she was beautiful.
"How old were you the first time you had sex?"
And then she would remind him that she was also very annoying.
"Granger, what's with your sudden interest in my sex life?" Draco asked, pulling on the strand of her hair that he was playing with and attempting to distract Hermione from her question.
"I believe it is my turn to ask the questions, Malfoy. Not yours."
He rolled his eyes before finally answering.
"Sixteen. It was during our fifth year at Pansy's house over Thanksgiving break while her parents were in Cancun."
She nodded thoughtfully and Draco hoped that she finally satisfied her curiosity.
"How far have you gone?"
Hermione tensed a little, causing Draco to rub her shoulder. He felt guilty all of a sudden.
"You don't have to answer. It was a stupid question."
"No, it wasn't," Hermione said, shaking her head. "It's fine. I'm asking you about your sex life, it's only fair for you to ask me about that. I've done everything except for having sex."
Draco grinned at this surprising piece of information and he couldn't resist teasing the studious bookworm.
"Wow, Granger's wilder than I thought."
"Shut up, Malfoy," she said, blushing and pushing his shoulder.
"No seriously," he laughed. "You were practically ready to tear my clothes off last night. Who would've thought you'd be so feisty in bed."
She glared at him and Draco thought he signed his death sentence, but then her entire demeanor changed. Hermione gave him a mischievous smile and leaned in closer, pressing herself up against his side and placing her hand on his upper thigh. Her lips grazed his own and she murmured softly, with impossibly dark, lust-filled eyes.
"There's a lot you don't know about me, Malfoy."
And then she pulled away just as suddenly, leaving Draco breathless and confused. Her eyes clearly conveyed her amusement as he fought to get himself under control. No woman had ever managed to unnerve him so easily.
Did I imagine the way she just looked at me? Draco wondered.
The almost dangerously sexy brunette that he'd gotten a glimpse of was now replaced by the same Hermione that he'd known since he was fourteen. Except for that devilish twinkle in her eyes, there was no way for him to confirm that she did in fact just purposefully try to turn him on. Tried and succeeded.
"How many people have you slept with?"
"Huh?" he managed, still in a daze and staring at her lips.
Hermione let out another beautiful laugh and repeated her question.
"How many people have you slept with?"
Her words finally penetrated the fog in his brain and caused Draco to wince. He would rather not tell her that piece of information.
"Granger-"
"Either tell me or pass."
Once again, Draco considered using his pass, but it seemed like she was opening up to him the more he answered her questions honestly.
I guess she's going to find out one day, Draco thought to himself and sighed.
"Nineteen Granger."
She raised her eyebrows but didn't comment.
"I'm surprised you don't have anything to say about that."
"There's nothing to say about it," she said simply, "provided that you can answer my next question."
"Alright, what's your favorite animal?"
"Dolphins. I like how playful they are," she said, smiling up at Draco again.
It looked like she appreciated his new line of questioning a lot more than his old one.
"Have you ever had an STD?" she asked nonchalantly, examining her fingernails instead of looking at him.
"Granger!"
"What?"
"Of course I haven't had an STD!" Draco exclaimed in shock.
He was expecting a range of reactions from her, but he was not expecting this straightforward, almost clinical, question. She was asking him if he had an STD as if she was just asking what he ate for breakfast that morning.
"So, then you've checked."
"Well no-"
"Interesting."
"It is not interesting, Granger because I do not, nor have I ever, had an STD," Draco insisted.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of Malfoy. STDs are surprisingly easy to contract, so you should check for them fairly often. Especially if you've had multiple partners-"
"Granger."
"Alright. Continue with your questions," she said.
Draco eyed her suspiciously. Something told him that this wasn't the end of that conversation. Hermione didn't look like she quite believed him yet.
"What are you most afraid of?" he asked, choosing to drop it for now.
"Pass," she said almost immediately.
That's interesting, Draco thought.
He didn't mean for it to be a sensitive topic and was expecting a typical answer, such as bugs, or needles, or even clowns. He didn't expect her to use a pass, especially after how interested she'd been in his own fears.
"Did you hate Blaise?"
"Yes," he responded, not even hesitating. "What do you think your future will be like?"
"Hopefully, I'll go to medical school and become a doctor," she said, tilting her head as her curiosity was piqued by his previous answer. "Why did you hate him?"
"I don't know."
Draco hated him more than he'd ever hated anyone in his entire life, but he couldn't for the life of him figure out what caused such hostility on his side. Originally, Draco only disliked Blaise because he didn't like the two of them together, but it quickly grew into hatred by the time they left Hogwarts. He was pretty sure he hid it well, but then he blurted it out to Lavender when he was drunk and the whiny gossip most likely spread the information to Hermione.
"Do you see yourself getting married and having kids one day?"
She snorted in response.
"I'm assuming that's a no."
"I used to think I would get married, but I don't think I'll ever be able to take care of a child," she elaborated. "What about you?"
"Probably," he shrugged. "It's what I'm expected to do. Grow up, go to college, work at Malfoy Industries, get married and have kids. That's pretty much my whole life."
"I would hate that," she frowned. "It's so boring and tame. You're entire life is pretty much planned for you."
"I think with the right person it could be exciting."
"Maybe," she muttered, still sounding unconvinced.
"How come you always wear that ring?" Draco asked, taking her hand in his again and examining it.
It was a thin gold ring with four small white stones in the center, organized into the shape of a flower. Draco noticed she'd been wearing it since their sixth year at Hogwarts. As a matter of fact, he originally believed it was a gift from Blaise. The first time he saw it on her finger, he walked up to her, told her he hated her ring and stalked away, leaving a completely baffled Hermione in his wake. A few days later, he heard her telling Ginny it wasn't from Blaise when she asked. Needless to say, Draco never bothered to apologize for his mistake.
"My grandma gave it to me. She lives in Europe and she has cancer, so I don't get to see her very often because she can't come to visit us and we can't afford to take trips there. She sent it to me during our sixth year and I just haven't taken it off since I guess," Hermione explained, watching him turn her hand this way and that with apparent interest. "Why do you hate it?"
"I don't," he said, grinning sheepishly at her. "I thought Blaise gave it to you."
She rolled her eyes and let out a chuckle.
"And you reacted like any mature, adult would."
"In my defense, I wasn't an adult then. Did you have a crush on me when we were at Hogwarts?"
There was a brief, almost unnoticeable, pause.
"No."
Draco straightened, smirking confidently.
"You're lying Granger, which means the answer's actually yes."
Hermione's eyes widened in shock before she quickly schooled her features to convey exasperation.
"Why would I be lying?!" she exclaimed, throwing up her hands and trying to mask her nervousness with irritation.
She's still pretending I'm wrong, Draco thought to himself, grinning at her refusal to give up.
"There are a few things that let me know when you lie Granger. That time you hesitated, and you never hesitate when you know the answer and want to share it. Other times, you brush a piece of hair behind your ear," Draco reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear to demonstrate, letting his hand linger on her cheek.
"Anything else?" Hermione asked, her voice a little unsteady.
Draco smiled and leaned in closer, lowering his voice so that she had to move towards him to hear.
"You also tilt your head to the side and try to look innocent. It tricks other people, but it never fools me beautiful," Draco murmured.
He leaned in and gently nipped the tip of her ear before whispering into it.
"I know that underneath that innocent, sweet exterior, you know exactly what you're doing. But even that isn't what really gives you away to me."
"What does?" she whispered back.
"It's your eyes. Your eyes always give you away. They're like an open book. They get just a little bit bigger and when you look at me, there's a challenge there. It's like you want me to know you're lying and you're daring me to call you out on it. And I always will."
He pulled back to look at her again and smirked when he noticed the way her eyes were half closed.
"I believe you asked two extra questions, Granger. So now I get to ask three in a row."
She huffed in mild annoyance.
"Fine Malfoy."
Hermione stood up and walked over to the adjacent table containing the various shirts in order to refold them and regain her composure. Draco grinned wickedly before standing up to follow her.
"Does it get harder to breath when I get closer to you?" Draco said into her ear, trapping her between his arms and the table. Her back was now completely pressed against him.
Hermione's breath hitched, answering Draco's question for her.
He turned her around and watched the conflicting emotions swirl in her eyes as she debated whether or not she should answer honestly. Her hands were resting on his shoulders, not pushing him away but also not pulling him any closer.
"Pass."
Draco grinned. Hermione wasn't stupid. She wouldn't risk lying again after knowing how easily he could read her. After assessing all of her options, she'd decided her best chance at getting out of this was to use her passes.
You can't avoid this forever Granger, he thought to himself before asking his next question.
"What about when I kiss your neck?"
Draco ran his lips up the side of her neck until he reached that sweet spot behind her ear. All he did was breath on it and she dug her nails into his shoulders, desperately trying to hold herself up and letting out a quiet gasp in the process. She was so sensitive and it made Draco struggle to keep himself under control. He wondered what she would do if he had the opportunity to really focus his attention on that spot without her worrying about whether she should let it happen.
"Pass."
"How badly do you want me to kiss you right now?"
Her breathing was shaky at best by now and Draco had to wrap an arm around her waist to hold her up. Her pupils were dilated, and her chest was rising and falling rapidly.
"Pass."
A slow, sinfully seductive grin spread across Draco's face as he leaned in closer, mere centimeters away from Hermione so that his lips were barely brushing hers when he spoke.
"You're out of passes, beautiful."
Draco shut his eyes as he moved to close the distance between them.
Ring! Ring! Ring!
Hermione jolted to attention and pulled away from him, ignoring his protests and the fact that she was out of breath.
"It's my alarm," she explained after checking her phone. "We need to take the dogs outside."
Almost an hour later, the two of us were back inside with Charlie and Cookie. The dogs played together in the corner while I determinedly avoided all kinds of contact with the blonde leaning on the table next to me. Fortunately, he didn't seem very keen on talking either. Unfortunately, Draco chose to just watch me instead, making it hard for me to focus on pretty much anything.
I tried to distract myself from his piercing gaze by listening to the song playing quietly over the speakers, but it only had the effect of making me even more tense.
I knew the song. It was "Drift Away" by Dobie Gray. The first time I heard it, I was only four years old and was with my parents at a wedding. My dad danced with me and my sister while it played, and my mom recorded the whole thing from the corner of the dance floor. It was one of my favorite memories to look back on while I was growing up.
"Something wrong Granger?"
Draco was looking at me with mild concern, noticing how I suddenly froze.
"It's my favorite song," I muttered.
Draco listened for a moment before tilting his head and raking his curious gaze over me again.
"Correct me if I'm wrong," he began, "but isn't your favorite song supposed to make you happy?"
"It did," I sighed. "I mean it does. It's nothing Malfoy."
"Granger, we've already established that I can tell when you lie."
I gave an irritated sigh and finally admitted the truth.
"It makes me think of Blaise now. The last time I heard it, he and I were dancing together okay?"
It was over the summer right before we broke up. The song unexpectedly started playing over the radio in his room, and even though he didn't really like to dance, Blaise picked me up from the bed and started dancing with me, swinging me around in circles between kisses.
I hated that random things like a song or a stuffed animal would suddenly bring back all those memories and feelings I tried so hard to forget. It was always out of nowhere and made me feel like I didn't make any progress moving past Blaise.
A few moments of relative silence passed, and I assumed Draco lost interest in my plight. It took me completely by surprise when Draco wrapped a hand around my wrist and pulled me to his chest, wrapping an arm around my waist and holding my hand gently in his.
"What are you doing?" I asked suspiciously and with slight alarm evident in my voice.
"Giving you a new memory."
With that, I was swept up into the arms of the most infuriating person I'd ever known. As annoying as he was though, he wielded a kind of skill and grace that I never encountered among any previous dance partners.
"I didn't know you could dance," I said as he spun me away and then back towards him.
"There's a lot of things you don't know about me Granger."
Draco dipped me effortlessly and planted a soft kiss on the column of my neck before pulling me back up and winking.
"Don't get cocky, Malfoy."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
Despite my words, it wasn't long before my head was resting against his chest and both of his arms were wrapped around my waist as we swayed to the music. The smell of his cologne was soothing and I felt calmer than I thought I would be. I was grounded, as if his arms were securely holding me there and preventing me from becoming overwhelmed by my thoughts. All I was thinking about was how nice this felt and the sound of his heartbeat beating in time with mine.
"Granger," he said.
"Hm?" I acknowledged, keeping my eyes closed as I breathed him in.
"I have to tell you something."
When I raised my head to look up at him, I was surprised to see some traces of guilt in his carefully guarded eyes. Normally, I had trouble reading them at all.
"What?"
"I-"
"Hermione?"
Luna's voice came from over my shoulder and I spun around to find her staring at me in shock with a strangely pleased Theo next to her.
"I, uh," I looked from her back to Draco, who only shrugged in response and smirked at me.
I groaned as the realization that I would be interrogated when I got home fully set in.
Hopefully it won't involve squats until I can't stand this time.
A few hours later, Draco parked Theo's black Mercedes in front of my apartment building. After complaining that he was tired, Theo had shoved his keys into Draco's hands like a cranky child and pulled Luna into the backseat with him before promptly falling asleep on her shoulder.
A few minutes later, Luna fell asleep as well, leaving me and Draco to sit in relative silence on the way back home in the front seats.
"Luna," I said, shaking the small girl gently.
She muttered something unintelligible under her breath before cuddling closer to Theo's side.
She's going to regret that in the morning, I thought to myself in mild amusement.
"We're home," I shook her again. "Time to wake up."
She sleepily opened her eyes, rubbing them as she took in her surroundings. Once Luna's gaze landed on Theo's head on her shoulder, she let out a surprised squeak and sprung away from him, getting out of the car.
A mortified blush covered her cheeks as she murmured a quick thank you to Draco for the ride and glanced at Theo again. Luna's blush turned into a fascinating shade of magenta when she saw Theo mumble something in his sleep before leaning against the window next to him and going back to sleep. She turned and fumbled with her keys to try and open the building door, so that she could exit the situation as fast as she could.
Chuckling to myself, I moved to open the car door and leave as well, only to find that the door was already open.
"I'm capable of opening a door by myself Malfoy," I snapped as I hopped out of the vehicle.
"It's called chivalry, Granger."
"It's called being unnecessary," I insisted. "If you're not going to do it for a guy, don't do it for me."
"Fair enough," he said, grinning and leaning back against the car with his hands in his pockets. "I'll make a note of that. As long as you keep in mind that there are a lot of things I'd like to do to you that I wouldn't want to do to a guy."
I rolled my eyes at his suggestive tone and turned to go inside. Before I left, I hesitated and looked up at my apartment. Luna was already inside the building.
I should really go inside too.
But my feet wouldn't move.
"Everything okay?"
This is a huge mistake.
I felt Draco take my hand in his larger one and immediately all the parts of me that felt like they were always arguing with each other about what to do fell silent as he gently pulled me back to face him.
He took a long look at me.
"I'm not going anywhere if you don't want me to."
Fuck it.
When my lips landed on his, I could tell he was surprised. It wasn't the most skilled kiss because I was shaking from nerves and I was terrified of how he would react.
He's not kissing you back.
Just when I decided to pull away and suppress the memory, a switch seemed to turn on in Draco's head and all of a sudden, he took charge of the kiss, drawing me closer to him and applying more pressure onto my lips. It wasn't a rough and desperate kiss, but it wasn't gentle either. That's what I liked about when he touched me. He never treated me as if I was delicate. He treated me like I wasn't any different from him and I could handle everything he gave me. But he also let me know that this was important to him with every caress.
This kiss was different. I wasn't drunk and confident, blurting out all of my thoughts and acting impulsively. I was sober, I was scared, and the worst part was that this kiss was more real to me than all of the other ones. I remembered our other kisses, but this time I paid close attention to the way his lips slowly moved against mine, taking his time with opening my mouth and tilting my chin with his hand to angle my face and give him better access. I memorized how his hair felt underneath my fingers as I ran a hand through it, tugging until he let out a low groan.
His tongue swiped gently across my bottom lip, asking to deepen the kiss. I was about to allow him to do just that, when a disgruntled Theo in the backseat muttered something under his breath in his sleep. I immediately sprung away from Malfoy, touching my lips in shock.
It was engraved in my memory. The feel of his lips against mine, his moans in my ear, and his hands on my skin. They were all burned into my brain. It always felt this intense every time he touched me. Even when he held my hand all those years ago when we were kids. It was such a simple act, but I could remember how it felt every time Draco Malfoy held my hand when I was sixteen years old more than I could remember how it felt to kiss Blaise. If I thought about it, I could still feel Draco rubbing small circles with his thumb on the back of my hand while he smirked at me, knowing the effect he had on my emotions.
I could remember all of that as if it happened yesterday, but I couldn't even really remember my first kiss.
How does he do this to me?
I wasn't ready for a relationship. I didn't know if I ever would be again, but no matter how much I denied it, I wanted to be with Draco just as much as he wanted to be with me. I made fun of him for following me around these past few weeks and being unable to think about anyone else, but he was the first person I texted when Blaise and I broke up. I kept seeing him all over campus and honestly, I never approached him because I knew I wanted him. And it scared me. I knew how much Draco could hurt me firsthand. There was a lack of trust there that I didn't know if I could ever overcome long enough to go as far as he wanted me to.
Make sure you don't get attached. Just keep it casual and maybe one day you can trust him enough to at least be friends again. For now, it's just physical.
I took a deep breath and resigned myself to the fact that Draco Malfoy was officially back in my life. It was a nice five years without him, but I didn't think I could forget him this time. If we let it end before it got any farther, we would just keep thinking about the other person until it drove us insane. We'd already gone too far.
"Do you want to do something together tomorrow?" I asked, wondering if this was a huge mistake.
The victorious grin on his face did nothing to reassure me.
I hope you liked this chapter! I will do my best to upload soon since I'm on break. Remember to favorite/follow and review to let me know what you think! Happy holidays! (: