Disclaimer: I don't own.
Love Sex and a Bottle of Vodka
Chapter Eight
Hermione sat up in bed and looked at Draco's figure
illuminated by the moonlight. His skin was so pale, it looked so thin
and fragile and silver. She was afraid that if she touched him, he was
give way but when she did, she was relieved to touch strong, warm skin.
Sitting there, watching Draco...it eerily echoed that night with Harry...her
first time...
Flashback
He looks beautiful like that, thought Hermione, as she
watched Harry sleep beside her. The blanket was strewn, leaving his
chest bare, muscular from Quidditch. His head was turned away from her
and his long dark lashes made half halos across his cheeks.
That was when Hermione panicked. She couldn't believe what
had happened. She had just turned seventeen and now losing her
virginity? Oh my god. What would her mom say? How could she even keep
something like this from her mom? Would she ever be able to touch a
unicorn again? Oh god oh god...
Hermione grabbed her clothes and put them on obscenely wrong
unintentionally, her shirt inside out, her skirt unbuttoned. Even the
hem had come undone and the skirt's hemline wasn't symmetric. Amazing.
Her hair was messier than usual and against her wishes, Harry woke up,
not surprisingly though, from all the racket she was making.
"Hermione," he murmured, frowning. He reached for his
glasses and put them on. "Where are you going?"
"Um..." Suddenly, Hermione was at lost for words. She just
muttered, stammered, sweated, and walked out, leaving a bewildered
Harry.
Hermione sighed thinking about that night. She had loved
Harry so much right then, it was too much for her to handle. She had had
to get out of that room; the room wasn't big enough to contain her love,
her emotion. She had run out by the lake and despite the time and the
temperature, she had taken off her shoes and waded in. The air felt cool
and her toes numbed at the water's touch.
That night she had seen one other person outside like her.
The moonlight had been glinting off his hair, probably a very light
blonde in the daylight, turned silver in the moonlight. He had obviously
been wading around in the water like her for he sat by the edge with his
pants rolled up, shirt thrown some distance away from him.
In her crazed state, Hermione had thought he was some sort of
fallen angel, banished to roam the world alone. The moonlight glinted
off his muscular body; he looked as though he was made of marble.
Hermione had watched him from a distance, knowing yet not wanting to
acknowledge the fact that she knew who he was.
Hermione looked back beside her at the sleeping form of
Draco. Although it had been awhile, her memories didn't lie. Draco
looked just as good as he had that night by the lake, with his gleaming
skin and glowing hair.
Hermione didn't run this time, not away from Draco, but she
did have to talk to Ginny. She put on one of Draco's shirts that reached
halfway down her thigh. God, he's so tall, thought Hermione, as she
padded out of the room. She picked up Draco's phone and punched in
Ginny's cell phone number. Hermione had given Ginny the phone for her
sweet sixteen birthday present but was always reminding her to turn it
off before she used any magic or got into her house or else it'd go
berserk. The red head had been surprisingly responsible and they had
avoided any mishap so far.
Hermione heard it ring five times and was tempted to turn it
off. She checked the clock and the time read 3:32. Maybe it was a
little too late (or early?) to call even Ginny who was a night owl.
Finally, someone answered.
"Hello?" Ginny murmured.
"Ginny, sorry did I wake you up?" Hermione felt apologetic.
She could have waited until the morning.
"Well, not exactly," she answered. Hermione could feel her
grin through the phone. That only meant one thing¡¦
"Oh my god, sorry Ginny, am I interrupting something?" she
asked hurriedly.
"No it's fine."
"No it's not fine!" said another teasing, laughing voice in
the background. Hermione froze. She counted to ten before she could
explode.
"GENEVRA WEASLEY!"
"Shut up, god I TOLD you to keep it quiet," Ginny said to the
other person.
"Let me talk to him Ginny, right now!" The redhead sighed
and handed the phone over to her companion.
"Hey Hermione, what's up?" said Harry. Hermione froze again.
"Harry!" she hissed. "Where the hell are you?"
"Um..." Hermione could hear Harry scratch his head in thought.
"Ron's house." Hermione exploded again.
"YOU''RE SLEEPING WITH GINNY AT RON'S HOUSE!"
"No! Well, kinda...yes..."
"God Harry! Tell Ginny I'm going to call her LATER when both
of you grow some brains!" Hermione turned off the phone with as much
gusto as she could muster and threw it across the room.
"Careful, that's a good phone," said a drawling voice from
the doorway. Hermione spun around and saw Draco's dark figure leaning
against the doorframe.
"So Harry finally got around to the little Weasley?" he said,
smirking. "I guess Weasley did grow up pretty nice." Hermione rolled
her eyes.
"And at Ron's house. I mean, what if Ron walked IN on them
or something?" fumed Hermione. Draco shrugged. He yawned and stretched,
his hands touching the top of the doorframe.
"Are you coming back to bed or what?" he asked. Hermione
considered. What the hell. Ginny and Harry were probably back at it.
Who said that they were the only ones allowed to have fun?
"How about a little treat, then some sunrise, then
breakfast?" he suggested. Hermione grinned.
"Sounds great."
Draco had led Hermione out onto his balcony overlooking the
city. They lounged together on a chair cocooned in blankets, watching
the golden ball rise and make its way higher and higher into the sky.
Hermione wondered why she felt none of the panic she had with
Harry. It must be a sign, she decided. A sign for what? Well, Hermione
wasn't quite sure of that. She wasn't quite sure of a lot of things
lately. She yawned as the sky around them turned a dusty pink. Draco
kissed her ear and then they both dozed off to sleep, dreaming of
sugar-spun clouds with silver linings.
"You seem hungry today," commented Draco. Hermione nodded as
she wolfed down another fluffy pancake dripping with syrup and butter.
"It tastes good today. Aren't you hungry from all that -hmm-
exercise last night" Draco just grinned with a hidden look in his eyes
and poured himself some more orange juice.
"Well, either way, I'm glad you're eating again." Hermione
stopped her ravenous eating for a minute to check on her vital stats, how
she was feeling. Stomach? Still growling a bit but a couple more
pancakes can take care of that. No queasiness or nausea.
"There's something special," said Hermione. "About being
here, with you. I'm not kidding. I haven't been able to keep much down
for three years but when I'm here it's like everything's okay again."
"That's because it is." After that they didn't say much more
but nothing more was needed to be said. Hermione poured two spoonfuls of
sugar into her black coffee and stirred it around and added cream. She
watched the white liquid blossom and bleed in her coffee, then stirred it
some more to make it milky. Draco kept his coffee black.
Hermione rested her chin on her knees and her mind wandered
back to that night at the club. She swore she knew who he was but she
couldn't remember. It was like an itch in her mind and it was driving
her crazy. She shrugged. She could deal with that when she met Ginny
and Harry at Hogwarts and they'll be able to compile a list of all the
muggle-born students that she knew. Ever the orderly personality, that
was the only way Hermione could make sure that something got done.
Thinking about Hogwarts brought her to another question.
"So what now, Draco?" asked Hermione. "Are we going to go
back to the way we were? When we go back to Hogwarts?" Draco shrugged
slightly, eyes looking distant. They finally came back to earth and
settled on Hermione's brown, velvet looking eyes.
"I don't know," he finally said.
"I want us to stay like we are," Hermione said, impulsively.
Then, just as spontaneously, Hermione reached over the table and put her
hand on top of Draco's. Draco's hand turned over and held hers and they
sat like that, each lost in their own thoughts.