Serennos: hahaha no, not for them lmao
Guest: thank u!
Gande: they are, though they don't know it yet haha
Chapter Four
Awake
November 10th, 2005
Draco made a stop in Diagon Alley to buy a headache potion, drinking it as he left the apothecary.
He paused as he saw a window display he had never noticed before and stepped into the shop, walking out a few minutes later with a pack of menthol cigarettes in his pocket.
He felt a pinch in his arm every time he used the Floo or apparated, which made him grit his teeth. There was a trace on him to ensure he didn't leave the country again.
Fucking Ministry.
He retraced his steps and went back to the Leaky Cauldron, which was almost empty.
His parents were waiting for him when he stepped out of the manor's fireplace. Narcissa rose from her seat and ran to him, taking one of his hands in hers.
"We were worried about you," she murmured, her blue eyes taking in his pale face and exhausted expression. "How are you, darling?"
"Tired," Draco sighed, looking around the room to avoid his mother's worried gaze. "I barely slept these two days."
The Ministry cells were a fucking nightmare with hard mattresses that smelled like hell, and the guards never stopped jabbering. Not even at night.
Lucius pursed his lips and stood up with his silver cane in his hand.
"I told you they would find you," he reprimanded as he walked over to him, his long blond hair falling down his back.
Draco shot him a glare.
"I had to try."
His father stood at his side and nodded, his face an unreadable mask.
"Go to your room and rest. We'll talk later," he added, patting his arm.
Narcissa squeezed his hand and let him go.
"We missed you, son."
Draco looked between them and turned around, climbing the stairs to his room and ignoring the portraits' questions regarding his whereabouts for the last month.
He had missed his mother more than he wanted to admit.
He woke up a few hours later as his dormitory door was flung open.
"We heard that you're an engaged man now!"
His three best friends entered his bedroom and Theo opened the curtains with a wave of his hand.
"Fucking hell," Draco snarled, sitting up and rubbing his face. "I thought it was just a nightmare."
"I'm afraid not, my dear friend," Theo chuckled, pushing him aside and lying beside him. "You're well and truly fucked."
Draco glowered at him and pushed him back. Pansy sighed, sitting on the other side of his bed.
"I wish it was."
Draco glanced at her. She had her lips pressed into a thin line and her green eyes were watery.
He swallowed hard. He had never seen Pansy on the verge of tears before, not even when her father went to Azkaban.
"You have lost a lot of fun around here while you were gone, mate," Theo drawled, patting Pansy's thigh as she wiped away her tears. "Our matches are a joke."
Draco looked between the two of them.
"Who did you two get?"
"Loony Lovegood," Theo replied, wrinkling his nose as he spoke. "And Pansy got Longbottom."
Draco's eyes widened as he looked back at her. Pansy's expression had turned dark.
Her match was almost as bad as his.
"Fuck."
"Indeed," she sneered, averting her gaze to the window. "That sums it up quite well. We're all fucked."
Draco looked at his other friend, who was leaning against the wall.
"At least one of us is happy."
Blaise gave him a tight smile.
"Already back from Greece?" Draco added as he got out of bed and stepped into his dressing room.
He yanked off his pyjama top and heard his reply.
"We came back weeks ago."
Draco chewed on the inside of his cheek and stepped out, walking over to him.
"I'm happy for you, Blaise," he murmured, punching his arm. "And for Daphne. Where is she now?"
His friend scanned his face, looking for something he wouldn't find.
"She didn't know if you would want to see her."
Draco scoffed, rolling his eyes.
"I'm not mad at her," he affirmed in a low voice as he approached the armchair where he had left his jacket.
And it was true. Had he been in love, he would have done the same thing.
Pansy sniffled, crossing her legs as she inspected her fingernails.
"Why didn't you ask me to marry you?"
"Really, Pansy?" Draco turned to her with a raised brow. "We'd rip each other heads in a week."
A smile spread across her face.
"I guess so," she giggled, letting her head fall on the pillow and sighing.
Draco shook his head.
"Married," he picked up his jacket and scowled at it with all his might. "I'll be married in a month. And to her."
Granger's face popped into his mind and he felt his blood burn.
She would never be good enough. Not for him.
"It could be worse," Theo murmured under his breath.
"Who?" Draco shot him a glare, a muscle in his jaw twitching. "Who could be worse than Granger?"
His friend pursed his lips in thought.
"The Weasley girl?"
Draco rolled his eyes, reaching into his jacket pocket.
"She's been married to Potter for a while."
"Thank Merlin for small mercies," Theo sighed dramatically, staring up at the ceiling with his hands behind his head. "I'd rather marry a lunatic than a Weasley."
Draco chuckled under his breath. He turned to his friends with the pack of cigarettes in his hand.
"When?"
They all know what he was asking about.
"The last day of December," Theo grimaced, rubbing his eyes.
Pansy nodded.
"Me too."
Draco snorted. Every couple he knew had chosen the same date.
"The Ministry will host a lot of weddings that day," he shuddered, remembering how angry Granger was the day they have chosen that date for themselves. "Fuck them."
"What are we going to do, Draco?" Pansy questioned as she nibbled on her lower lip.
There was nothing they could do. The Ministry got them all by the balls.
"I don't know," Draco shrugged, avoiding her sad eyes. "We have no other option."
She balled her fists.
"I don't want to be Longbottom's wife."
He winced and pulled a cigarette out of the pack, lighting the tip with his wand. Pansy wrinkled her nose at him.
"Since when do you smoke?"
He blew the smoke out of his nose.
"Since I'm fucked up."
Theo gave a bitter laugh. She clicked her tongue in disgust and waved her wand, vanishing the smoke from the room.
"Gross."
Draco grinned and opened the balcony, sitting down on the stone railing and exhaling the smoke slowly.
"I hope Granger hates it as much as you."
Theo walked over to him and took another cigarette, sitting across from him.
"So… a Muggle girl, huh?"
Draco ran his free hand through his hair as he took another draw and exhaled through his nose, turning his face to him.
"How the fuck do you know that?"
"The Aurors talk, mate," Theo wiggled his eyebrows. "And you know I'm shagging one of them."
Draco winced, staring into the distance.
"You should stop now."
Theo nodded with a sigh.
"Kate told me it's over," he replied, rubbing his chin. "She doesn't want to have sex with an engaged man."
Draco looked back at him and watched his bored expression. He couldn't fool him, no matter how hard he tried.
"I know you liked her," he whispered, lighting his cigarette with his wand.
Theo shrugged, crossing his ankles in front of him and taking a draw.
"It was just sex."
Pansy let out a long sigh and stood up.
"My mother says that I should give this a try," she grumbled, pacing around the room as her three friends stared at her. "That maybe I'll change my mind once I know him."
Draco snorted and looked up at the clouds.
He wouldn't change his mind in a million years. Granger and he were not meant for each other, no matter what a stupid compatibility test said.
November 25th, 2005
Hermione stepped out of St Mungo's fireplace and waved at the receptionist, climbing the stairs to the first floor.
She left her handbag in her office and grabbed her wand, walking down the main corridor dressed in her lime green Healer robes.
Padma was already in the room with their new patient. The man's wounds were slowly healing, though he would have those scars for the rest of his life.
Luckily, he had been able to escape before the wolf bit him.
Padma looked up at her with a smile.
"How are you feeling today, Hermione?" she asked as she spread a few drops of dittany on the patient's back.
Hermione stepped closer and avoided Cormac's sharp gaze.
He was a Healer in training and Padma was his mentor, so he followed her everywhere.
Though he had asked for another mentor the day he was accepted at the hospital. And Hermione had refused.
She didn't want his prying eyes and lust-filled gaze following her all day.
"Better," she sighed and lowered her voice. "But I still think it's just a nightmare."
Cormac snorted at the other side of the bed.
Hermione glared at him as she helped Padma put a bandage around the patient's body.
"Don't laugh at me," she hissed, pulling out her wand and pointing it at the man's head. "Rennervate."
The man gasped, opening his eyes wide.
"Does it hurt?" Padma asked with concern.
She and Hermione let out a sigh of relief when he shook his head. He had been in pain for several days after the attack.
Cormac moved closer to them, stepping into Hermione's space as Padma made more questions to the man.
"You should have accepted my offer," he whispered in her ear, making her flinch. "Am I not better than Malfoy?"
Hermione put some distance between them and looked up at him.
She still remembered the way Cormac had touched her at the Slughorn party, and how he had tried to kiss her several times since he started working at St Mungo's.
He had even proposed a month before the law was passed. Just like Ron.
Was he better than Malfoy?
She snorted through her nose. Probably not.
"I need a coffee," she glanced at Padma, ignoring Cormac's glare. "See you two later."
Hermione left the room with pursed lips and turned left, nodding at the Healers that were in the corridor.
In three months his training would be over and she and Padma would be able to work together without him watching her every move.
The green flames liked her skin as she stepped out of Grimmauld Place's fireplace.
Hermione followed the noises and entered the kitchen. Her two best friends were already there, making dinner.
They ate together every Thursday night, though the reunions had stopped when she rejected Ron's proposal for the tenth time.
And they resumed their evening meals after the Ministry assigned them their future partners and Ron accepted that she didn't want to be his wife.
"Hi, Harry," she smiled, kissing his cheek and turning to her other friend. "Ron."
Ron shrugged, taking a sip from his butterbeer mug and leaning his hip against the counter.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Still mad at me, I see."
His blue eyes narrowed.
"You screwed up my life."
"Hey," Harry turned around and pointed at him with a wooden spoon. "It's not her fault."
Ron snorted angrily and Hermione waved her wand, levitating three plates to the table. Ginny was playing in the Irish league and would be back in a few days.
"I don't love you, Ron. Not that way," she smiled sadly at him. "And you don't love me either."
Ron sighed deeply and took a seat, burying his face in his hands.
"I know, Hermione. I know."
She didn't like to see him that way.
"Have you talked to Lavender?"
Ron winced at his fiancee's name.
"Not yet," he took another sip, placing the mug next to his plate. "She sent me a letter last week."
Harry sat down at his side, leaving the pot in the centre of the table. Hermione stared at Ron as he served the food.
"You should reply."
His hard eyes landed on her face.
"Are you replying to Malfoy's letters?"
His voice was almost a snarl. Hermione let out a harsh breath and shook her head.
"He doesn't write," she admitted quietly.
It had been two weeks since she saw Malfoy, and she hadn't heard anything from him.
She didn't care, though. They had nothing to talk about, and she wouldn't move into his apartment until the day of the wedding.
"This sucks," Ron rubbed his forehead and sighed. "We should do something, Harry."
Harry made a face.
"We can't," he tugged at his shirt collar, glancing between the two of them. "I can't do anything. I feel helpless."
Hermione gave him a tiny smile.
"I'm on it," her smile widened as she saw their surprised expressions. "And I wanted to take some books from the Black library to my flat, Harry."
"You can take all the books you want," he waved a hand and gave her a half-shrug. "But I think there's no way out of this."
"We'll see."
Ron took the last spoonful of his stew and leaned back on his chair.
"At least you married your teenage crush before everything went to hell."
Hermione couldn't help but smile. Harry and Ginny were very happy together.
"Yeah, I'm a lucky guy," Harry admitted, crossing his arms over his chest. "But I'm worried for you two."
Hermione set her palms down flat on the table and stood up.
"Lavender is still in love with Ron," she murmured, patting Ron's shoulder as he snorted in disbelief. "And I can handle Malfoy. We'll be okay, Harry."
Harry gave her a mischievous grin.
"I know you can."
Half an hour later she was back in her flat. Hermione went to her bedroom and changed into something more comfortable, leaving her work clothes in the wardrobe.
Crookshanks was lying on the bed and his yellow eyes followed her around the room. He jumped down and followed her to the living room, jumping on the sofa as she made herself a mug of hot chocolate.
Hermione rubbed his ear and smiled when he closed his eyes and purred. She stood at the window, looking up at the dark sky as she chewed on her lower lip.
"Four more weeks," she whispered, taking a sip of the sweet drink and suppressing a shudder. "Just four more weeks of freedom."
The cat meowed indignantly.
"Oh no, my friend," Hermione looked back at him, giggling softly. "You are coming with me."
