A/N: Happy Christmas Eve Eve!

TWENTY-EIGHT

Eye of the Storm

When Draco had roused her from sleep a few short hours later, the potion was completely out of her system. He handed her a Pepper Up potion, explained what happened in the briefest way possible, and made her eat something. Other than that, he didn't speak at her. Hermione's stomach churned as she forced a piece of toast down. He was severely disappointed in her and she was drowning in guilt.

She felt even worse that she remembered nothing from the night before. As he recounted the events, she recalled a few snippets here and there, but there was nothing substantial. Even by the time she sat with the Ministry officials as they presented her charges, she still had no recollection of the night prior to making the decision to take a walk.

"Miss Granger, it was not just an accidental spell," the woman said. "Your wand cast fifteen spells in the span of forty-five seconds. All in front of a terrified Muggle and all under the influence of alcohol and an unidentified potion." She leaned forward over the desk and folded her hands; all proper and business-like. "If it were any other witch, you would have been sentenced last night to a few months in Azkaban."

Hermione gripped the hem of her jumper tightly and chewed at her bottom lip. She nodded in earnest. It was clear that the woman didn't like her very much. Hated the fact that her name and Harry's influence had allowed her this much of a pass already. She couldn't say anything without making it worse. Instead, she just dropped her eyes to the desk and took a deep breath.

"As it is, the Muggles were kind enough to drop their charges. Minister Shacklebolt has told me it was your first offense and that you've never asked for anything given your status in our community." She tapped the paper beneath her hands. "I have half a mind to disobey my direct order and send you to a mandatory month at St. Mungo's."

Hermione's eyes went wide and her gaze flickered upwards for a moment.

"But there's nothing to say you won't just repeat the process. I would rather have you do it sooner rather than later so we can show the community that we here at the DMLE do not do special favors." She waved her wand over the papers and they disappeared with a small puff of smoke. "You are free to go, Miss Granger."

Hermione bolted from her chair and out of the office with nothing more than a quick nod. Draco was waiting for her outside. He was leaning against the opposite wall with his head back and arms folded across his chest. When he saw her, he stepped away and tipped his head. "Charges were dropped," she said, letting her gaze fall to the floor.

"Good," he replied and then steered her away from the lift and back to Harry's office. She stepped to the side and looked up at him. "Why are we going back there?"

"So we can Apparate home." His voice was flat. "Potter kept the Apparition wards down so you didn't have to be seen coming in and out of the Ministry this morning."

"Draco, I'm-"

"Not here, Granger."

Her heart skipped at beat. Granger. She was back to her last name. She knew she had hurt him, but to be confronted with the knowledge was infinitely worse. She nodded and forced herself to follow him. She stopped mid-step, causing Draco to stumble into her at the entrance of Harry's office. He and Ron were shouting at each other. They had silencing charms wrapped around them so she couldn't hear, but whatever it was, it was quite heated.

When Harry noticed her, he gestured to them and then waved his wand to end the charms. Ron, face flushed with anger, turned to look at her and Hermione gasped at the betrayal and rage in his eyes. He stared at her for a moment and then made for the door. Hermione and Draco moved out of the way to let him pass and then stepped into the room.

One look at Harry confirmed her suspicions. She brought a hand to her lips and closed her eyes against the tears. She knew she had no right to be upset; that this was the bed she had made for herself, but she couldn't help it. Everything was unravelling.

She desperately wanted another potion. She had only thought she wanted one yesterday. Yesterday the need was nothing compared to how she was feeling now.

"All set?" he asked, looking between her and Draco.

"Charges dropped," she whispered.

"Good, good," he muttered with a nod of his head. He swallowed hard. "You should go," Harry said, casting his eyes down. "There's a lot to do with this case if I expect to have Christmas Eve off."

Hermione nodded. "Thank you," she mumbled and then thought twice about extending her hand to Draco for side-along Apparition. She had no idea where she stood with him at the moment.

He saw her hesitation and reached forward. The moment his fingers laced with hers, they disappeared and Harry's office became their living room in the blink of an eye. He dropped her hand immediately and went to his liquor cart. He poured himself a double and drank half.

"Draco, please say something." The silence was killing her. The anticipation of the argument she knew was coming was knotting her stomach something fierce.

"Where did you get the potions?"

"I bought them," she said. "I went for a walk to clear my head yesterday. The cold used to help on bad days. In the beginning anyway. I thought it might help."

"Who did you buy them from?"

"An old contact."

"Gary? Jerry?"

"Garold," she corrected and shook her head. "No. It was just someone I ran into on my walk."

"I want a name, Hermione."

"I don't have one," she lied. "I just recognized his face; knew that he had something I wanted. I didn't even have to speak to him; just showed him the money and made the exchange."

He inclined his head and tipped the glass to his lips again. He continued to sip at it, staring off into space. When it the glass was empty, he set it on the cart and refilled it with another double.

She had begun to pace the opposite side of the room, her mind in absolute agony as she waited for him to explode. When she watched him begin to drink the second round, she growled in frustration and stopped her pacing to stare at him. "Do you want me to go?"

"Where, Potter's?"

He flinched as he said it and she stiffened.

"I apologize," he said, clearing his throat. "That was out of line."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "It wasn't."

He watched as she wrapped her arms around herself and blinked back tears. He swore under his breath, set the glass down, and took a step forward. "I know you think I'm angry with you, and I am," he started.

A sob tore from her throat as he reached for her and crushed her to him. Her tears wet his shirt as she clutched him desperately; her body trembling in his embrace. "I'm so sorry," she repeated over and over again.

"It isn't the potions, the alcohol, or the legal trouble I'm mad at, Hermione," he informed her. "Everyone relapses. I told you I've been working with St. Mungo's for a long time. I'm well-versed in the road to recovery. I know it's rocky."

"Draco-"

"I'm angry that you didn't even try to talk to me about what's wrong. That you didn't leave a note or owl me. I spent hours going out of my mind wondering what happened to you. Then I get a Ministry owl in the middle of the night with Potter's hurried scrawl telling me to get my ass down there."

She continued to apologize profusely as he crushed her against him.

"I know about Ginny," he said when she started to calm down.

Hermione went still for a moment and then pulled back, wiping away tears in the process. Her gaze was timid and filled with shame. "You do?"

He inclined his head. "Her hints weren't exactly subtle and I could tell something was bothering you. Her little stunt at the Ministry party solidified my suspicions." He took a deep breath. "And then she dropped by for a chat in my office Monday night."

Her cheeks flushed crimson and she looked down. "I didn't know how to tell you," she said in a hushed voice. "I didn't even know how to deal with it myself."

They moved to the couch as the rest of the details flowed from her lips. She told him everything she had been keeping to herself about Ginny these past few weeks. In turn, he told her about their chat in the office. It had already been hard enough to hear Ginny talk about a foursome, but to know that in the end she just wanted revenge by sleeping with Draco left Hermione uneasy. She was just glad that he didn't go for it. When there was nothing left to divulge, they sat in comfortable silence.

"I really am sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

"The potions and the alcohol were never about me," he said. "Your relationship with Potter was messy long before I entered the picture." He reached up to cup her face, his thumb grazing her cheek lovingly. "I don't want you to hurt yourself, Hermione."

She turned her face into the cushion to stifle a yawn. "I had no right to ever try and be friends with Ginny. I should have-" Her eyes went wide. "Ron-"

"Potter told me you said something to Ron last night while you were waiting for me. Do you remember?"

She shook her head and his thumb wiped at a fresh batch of tears. "I don't remember anything after taking the potion. A few things here and there, but…" she shook her head. "No."

He nodded. "You're exhausted, Hermione. Let's get you to bed. We can figure this out after some proper rest."

She yawned again and nodded. They walked to the bedroom hand-in-hand and then laid on the bed fully dressed. She curled against him and laid her head on his chest. She shelved her guilt and forced it aside as she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When Hermione woke some time later, she was alone. She was still atop the comforter, but there was a blanket draped over her. She stretched and rolled onto her back. Her eyes were swollen from all the crying and her body ached. Having procrastinated long enough, she slipped off the bed and made her way to the bathroom. On her way out of the bedroom, she paused at the sound of hushed voices.

When she realized who Draco was talking to, she continued down the hall and stepped into the living room. "Harry?" She looked back and forth between the two. "You shouldn't be here."

"I invited him here. You two need to talk. I'll be back in thirty," Draco informed her, crossing the room to drop a kiss on her forehead. When he pulled away, he Apparated and Hermione stared at the place he had been with confusion.

"If Ginny-"

"Ginny left," he interrupted.

"L-left?"

He nodded and ran a hand through his already unruly hair. "I'm not sure if she left for real or if it's just for the holiday. You know she goes to the Burrow to help Molly a few days before Christmas. She won't return my owls. She didn't even tell me she was leaving." He scrubbed at his face. "It feels different this time."

Hermione went numb. "I'm so sorry, Harry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Hermione; not with me. It was my choice to go down this road with you." He shook his head. "I'll deal with Ginny. I should have been a better husband; a better friend to you and Ron."

Her eyes misted at the mention of her childhood love. "Ginny's been keeping it to herself, but what about Ron? You know better than anyone that he can't control his temper."

His lips raised to a smile for a moment before it disappeared. "I went straight to his house after Malfoy took you home. He was already half a bottle in; firing curses all over his house. He's lucky Lavender isn't coming home until tomorrow. We rowed, of course, but I told him that Ginny and I were working through it. I told him that you and I had been over for a long time and that Ginny has known from the beginning."

Hermione sat on the arm of the couch and tucked her hair behind her ears. "He bought it?"

"For now. Like you said, he can't hold his temper. There's no telling if he's going to approach Ginny about it and I'm sure as hell not bringing it up."

She tipped her head back and sighed. "Thank you for pulling strings at the Ministry for me, Harry."

"Why didn't you tell me about your addiction, Hermione?"

"Until I came to Draco in the middle of the night begging for anything to take the edge off, I didn't think I had a problem," she answered, looking down at her hands in her lap. "Besides, somewhere along the way, we stopped being friends." She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "How could I have spoken to you about this when all you wanted to do was seek me out for a quick shag?"

He held her gaze for a moment and then looked away.

"I'm not saying there wasn't a time when I wasn't doing the same," she said softly. "I'm not blaming you at for this; we were both at fault."

He was at her side in a moment to draw her into a crushing hug. "I'm so sorry, Hermione. I never meant to fuck up our friendship."

"Me neither," she mumbled against his chest. She allowed herself to linger for a moment before she pulled out of his grasp and stepped back. "I think we need to not see each other for awhile."

"What about Christmas Eve?"

She shook her head and scoffed as she wiped at a stray tear. "I'm sure Ronald and Ginny both would not want me there. They're not my family-"

"Hermione Jean Granger," Harry said, voice full of warning. "You spent more time than I did there since the age of eleven. Molly Weasley took you in as much as she did me. We both messed up, yes, but she would skin you alive if you missed Christmas."

"Yes, but-"

"No buts, Hermione. Ginny, as far as I know, hasn't said anything to anyone yet. I know because I haven't received a Howler from Molly or death threats from any of her other brothers. Her and I will decide what comes next for us together. As for Ron, I assume he's also kept quiet for the same reasons." He reached for her hands. "You can't miss Christmas. Please. I know it would kill you to not be there."

She nodded and sighed. "I'll be there," she promised, her voice shaky.

"Good."

Silence followed. It wrapped around them in mounting awkward tension. "You should go," she whispered.

"I'll wait until Malfoy gets back, if that's okay with you," he said, giving her a tight smile. "I don't need him lecturing me too."

She returned his smile briefly. "I'm going back to bed," she informed him and without another word, turned and went back to the bedroom. This time, she undressed and slipped beneath the comforter. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift, trying her best to shut out the noise.

Sometime later, she felt the bed shift beside her and smiled at the familiar scent of Draco. Without opening her eyes, she shifted closer to him and within a few moments, she was fast asleep in his arms.