It was decided...
She was going, albeit reluctantly.
She fretted incessantly over her appearance, changing her clothes and restyling her hair for the umpteenth time, as a combination of nerves and nausea mingled in her stomach, making her feel light headed.
Once she felt a shred of satisfaction for her current appearance, which consisted of a sleeveless dress, the bodice hugging her figure snugly, and the skirt flowing over her thighs and ending just above her knee. The dress was accompanied by a pair of black stilettos and a silver necklace with a sapphire necklace that had been a family heirloom.
"You're going for Ron."
"But he'll be there too." She thought pessimistically.
With a jolt of rage that quickly circulated through her body she cursed George for moving the party to tonight and she cursed Ron his early arrival.
Five years was barely enough time for her wounds to properly heal and for all of Harry's past trespasses to be thrown to the wind to drift off far away from her, and now in the space of days she was being forced into a confrontational position with him.
Seeing him today at that party would be just as agonizing as kneading her wounds with salt and lemon juice.
"Atty, I'm leaving for a party. Please inform Draco in case he worries and looks for me." Hermione informed the house elf who she had bumped into as she was leaving. "Yes Madam Granger." She said, bowing.
With a deep sigh, she steadied herself, muttering a quiet mantra of self assurance before she disappeared from the manor (The wards had been lifted for her prior her first day of employment in the manor).
The cold night breeze whipped at her chestnut curls as she reappeared in the familiar stretch of land.
As she glanced at the dilapidated yet cheery Weasley home, she felt her chest tighten as nostalgia hung over her, and she began reminiscing of happier, young, carefree times when romances were tossed to the back and left neglected.
She clenched her fist, and tightened her jaw as she walked over to the entrance of the beloved house.
Love is a bittersweet thing.
She remembered reading it on a wrapper of some heart candies she had bought from Honeydukes back in third year.
She didn't pay much attention to the curious quote at first, and had just tossed the wrapper into the nearest bin.
Some nights when the sweet release of slumber wouldn't be granted to her, she would think, with a stab of resentment, about the wrapper and it's quote that she should have heeded as a warning about romances.
Love is a bittersweet thing.Like firewhiskey perhaps?
That was the only thing she could compare it to, although she didn't indulge in the alcoholic beverage much to know how it might feel to be enthralled by it.
Love was like Firewhiskey . Once you take a swig, you become intoxicated by the sweetness and the warmth it provided, and you can't get enough of it. But the more of it you consumed, the more your body formed a dependency to it, making it feel like once deprived of it it would perish.
Harry knew that struggle all too well.
The Weasley household was no stranger to liveliness. The household, which formerly housed seven children including Harry, who the Weasleys considered their own, never lacked noise or excitement, and was often abuzz with laughter and happiness, despite the family's financial tribulations.
Tonight was no exception. Ron's welcome home party turned out to be rowdier than expected, since it was an unsupervised celebration (Both Molly and Arthur had taken a trip to visit Great Aunt Muriel whose health seemed to be dwindling).
Music blared loudly as several people danced, while others held animated conversations either in pairs or in groups and others explored er... carnal forms of interaction. Needless to say it was a good thing that Mrs Weasley wasn't around to witness such atrocities happen under her roof.
Harry couldn't help but smirk at the sight of his best friend who seemed a little too close to a certain dirty blonde headed woman. Yep, there was no mistaking her eccentric radish earrings.
Oh how things change... He mused, as he watched the red head twirl a lock of her blonde hair around his finger, his mouth suggestively close to her ears. Years ago he had expressed his displeasure at ever fraternising with the loopy blonde, but now he seemed more than delighted to be in her presence.
In front of him stood Ginny, who seemed too keen on clinging to the raven head. She wasn't usually that clingy, but tonight she lurked beside him, shooting females who dared to eye him with the slightest bit of interest venomous looks.
She had her arms slung over his shoulder, her body grinding against his to the rhythm of the music, her baby bump visible through her tank top. Her breath fanned his neck as she bough her mouth to the shell of her ear, her irises the colour of midnight as arousal swam within its depths. "Percy's bedroom's free. We could just sneak over there and start our own party. No one will notice that we left." She whispered seductively. He let out a breath of frustration.
"Not now Ginny... I don't feel like it." He huffed. Although her invitation was enticing, he didn't want to go upstairs with her in case he missed the arrival of a certain someone.
Despite his apparent denial, she still attempted to coerce him into joining her upstairs.
"Let's just go upstairs, who knows you might change your mind." She cooed, her fingers drawing intelligible things on his arm.
He swallowed, as he felt her tempting words begin to draw his attention, like bait attracting the attention of a fish. He felt his member stir in his pants. It took a great deal of self control not to allow his manhood to spring into a full blown erection.
"No." He said firmly, despite temptation ringing the doorbell. Yielding her attempts at seduction, she huffed, before detaching herself from her husband, and stomping away, ill tempered. Harry watched as she walked off, pushing past the throng of dancing people.
Ever since she had announced her second pregnancy with his child, he'd felt as though a bottomless pit of darkness had opened up in his life, swallowing him whole.
When Ginny and Harry had made James (As a result of a drunken fling) he was conceived out of wedlock, which to the wizarding community is the biggest disgrace that could ever take place. So to avoid bringing that type of shame upon the Weasleys, he did the only noble thing he could think of: he asked for her hand.
The arrival of the seconds baby was like a wake up call to him. It was now dawning on him that he was forming a family with someone that wasn't his true love, someone that wasn't Hermione...
"Hermione! Glad you could make it!" Even through the raucous music he could hear those words, clear as day.
He turned towards the direction of the voice, his evergreen eyes connecting with the magnificent, anticipated sight.
Longing stabbed cleanly through his heart as his eyes followed her movements, watching her vigilantly as she nervously manoeuvred through the throng of people. George followed after her, his mouth moving, the words that left it unintelligible to him. Hermione turned towards him, and replied incoherently, her expression one of uncertainty.
He bit the inside of his cheek. He hadn't seen her since that disastrous meeting weeks ago, where she made it quite apparent that his presence bothered her.
Harry restrained the desire to push past the crowd and grab her by the hand, to hold her, to touch her. His hands itched to feel her soft skin.
They made eye contact for a brief moment before she forced herself to tear her gaze away from him. But he, however could not rip his gaze from her for his eyes were transfixed, like someone had used a sticking charm on him.
He drank in her appearance, his palms sweaty and breath reduced to thin rasps. Everything about her in that exact moment looked flawless, from her unruly curls that made him delirious with just a whiff, to her soft, pouty lips that he longed to taste. Every part of him ached for her, and as shameful as it was to admit, the erection he had fought so hard to suppress had sprung up, causing his pants to tent at the crotch.
"George, we made eye contact." Hermione mumbled, as George grabbed her hand, leading her through the throng of guests. When she had set her eyes upon a familiar pair of greens, she felt her mouth dry up immediately, and a deep hole open up in her chest, sucking up the little joy she previously had, like a dementor. Even after she tore her eyes away for him she could still feel his gaze burning holes into her neck.
"Forget him Hermione, you're here for Ron." George reminded her.
I'm here for Ron, I'm here for Ron.
"I'm here for Ron."
And there was Ron, the man of the night, huddled in a corner with an unfamiliar blonde female, his lips interlocked with hers. Hermione shook her head, her desolation vanishing upon this discovery. "Ah, I guess he's busy!" George said, attempting to steer Hermione away from Ron who was indeed 'busy'.
But when the pair finally separated, lo and behold it wasn't just some random blonde but...
"Oh hello Hermione." Luna Lovegood said breathlessly, waving at Hermione. She seemed neither shocked or flustered at being spotted by Hermione and George.
Ron's bashfulness however was apparent by the red tint of his skin.
He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Erm... surprise?"
"Luna...? You... And Ron and..." Hermione was absolutely flabbergasted by her discovery. Were Ron and Luna an item now?
"Blimey, there's a lot we need to tell you Hermione." Ron said.
Hermione listened intently as Ron spoke about his travels and activities over the last five years. Apparently he has been in Kenya when he had bumped into Luna, who apparently was there to study and pursue a career in magizoology. Since they weren't so close during their years at Hogwarts they decided to start a friendship in Kenya which eventually developed into a romantic relationship.
According to Ron, the thing he loved best about her was how loopy she was and even had a pet name for her: Loopy Bird. And the thing that Luna loved best about Ron was well "...that he's a Nargle repellent, so I don't have to worry about them when I'm with him."
"Aww guys that's a cute story." Hermione gushed, warmth suffusing through her body at the news of her friend's newfound romance with the eccentric Ravenclaw.
"Yeah, I love my Loopy Bird." He said as he wrapped his arm around her waist and placed a kiss on her lips. She smiled. "And I love you Ronniekins." At that Ron blushed furiously, his skin as red as the hair on his head. "I thought I told you not to call me that!"
Hermione found herself chuckling at the couple before her. "Oh sorry I just think it's a bit adorable. I mean, you're like a big baby so it does fit." Luna said.
"What! I most certainly am not!"
"Oh you should see him when he has a cold!" Luna laughed.
If ever there was an award for couple of the year, the pair would most certainly get her vote. Despite chastising Luna for using his pet name, she could see the amount love emanated from the glare he shot her . She hoped and prayed that their relationship didn't meet the same ugly demise hers with Harry did.
"So enough about the happy couple here. We'd like to here from Hermione. Come on tell us, what have you been doing while you were away from us?" George asked.
"Yeah," Ron chuckled. "I reckoned that by the time I was back you would be minister of magic. Tell me why that hasn't happened yet?"
"Well," Hermione hesitated. Should she tell her friends about her new job at Malfoy Manor? How would they react to that bit of news?
"I moved out of my apartment."
"Really? Where do you live now? We could throw a nice housewarming party for you."
"I uhh..." She cleared her throat. "Malfoy Manor."
Silence ensued afterwards, as the trio processed her words.
"WHAT?"
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Oh wonderful, are you guys dating like me and Ronniekins?"
"Guys, guys, please-" The group cut her off as the expressed their displeasure at her revelation.
"Please don't tell me you're dating that git!" Ron interjected.
"Ron I'm not okay! I just work for him."
"Work? What work requires you to live in Malfoy Manor?" This time it was George who asked.
"I'm a tutor for his son, Scorpius." Hermione answered. Once again she was met with silence and baffled stares from both males.
The silence was broken but this time by neither Ron, Luna nor George. "What?"
The smile melted off her face as she spotted the person who broke the silence.
"Harry, mate-" Ron said, but was cut off by him with one single scathing look.
"You work for Malfoy now?" He asked, as he moved closer to her. They were now two metres away from each other, which was the closest she had gotten to him since the confrontation in her former apartment.
Before he could get close enough to touch her, George got between the two of them, shielding Hermione in a brotherly fashion.
"Mate-"
"Hermione can I talk to you?"
Hermione swallowed in an attempt to moisten her parched throat. A ball of worry began to form in her stomach at the presence of Harry.
"Tell me what you want to talk about, we can address it now." Her voice shook slightly as she spoke. She felt the ball grow.
"In private-"
"Harry you heard her, what ever you want to say you can say in front of us." George interjected, shoving Harry as he attempted to push past him and reach for her. This aggravated Harry, as he reciprocated George's shove with one that had more momentum, which sent him stumbling back a few inches. George threw him a dark look.
Luna and Ron watched the altercation helplessly.
And Hermione stood there, stewing in her self hate and anger. Her eyes stung with tears.
George grabbed him by both shoulders. His eyes, which were usually sky blue, were black with unbridled rage as he suppressed the urge to punch him in the face. "Look Mate, you're obviously drunk." At that, he chuckled. "Shut up." He spat, his breath reeking of alcohol.
"Look, she won't talk to you unless you're sober and in the right state of mind. Isn't that right Hermione?" George said, addressing Hermione.
Hermione attempted to speak, but not a sound left her mouth as it opened, as the words were trapped in her throat with no hope of ever being freed.
I can't.
She turned, and walked off, the tears finally breaking through the impenetrable barrier she had put up around herself. She was deaf to the sound of her friends calling to her.
Then with a crack, she vanished from the Burrow.
Hermione fell in a crumpled heap beside her bed, her body shaking as sobs broke past her lips. Tears streamed down her face, soaking her bedsheets.
Merlin, why couldn't she get over him? Wasn't five years enough to thoroughly burn the bridge between them to ashes? Was it not?!
In some way, the Boy Who Lived had a way of bringing her to tears, be it with one look or with a few words.
Her sobs halted as she felt a presence behind her. This unknown presence had knelt beside her, and wrapped their arms around her, albeit awkwardly. A familiar, rich musk wafted into her nose and instantly she knew who was attempting to comfort her, although she couldn't believe it...
"M-Malfoy?" She whispered, a small smile playing on her lips.
"I hate the person who made you cry Granger." She heard him mumble.
Her smile grew. "Really?" Draco stiffened, allowing a moment of silence to cut through her words before he answered. "I hate them because they made me hug you. I really didn't want to hug you, but it seemed like you really needed one."
"Is that so?" Why did it feel like he was lying?
"Yes."
"Well if that's the case then why are you still hugging me?" Hermione asked. Almost immediately, he detached himself from her. Hermione rose, and faced Draco. She noticed that his pale cheeks had taken on a slight rosy tint.
"Tell me, who made you cry this hard?" Draco asked.
"You don't need to know that." Hermione answered. She noted the prominent tightening of his jaw and wondered whether he truly did care about her feelings. "Why won't you tell me?" He asked quietly.
"That's something I'd like to keep to myself Draco." She snapped defensively, ending the interrogation before it could even begin.
"I'm gonna go..."
"Right, you go." She watched as the blonde walked to the door, her chest heaving.
He wrapped his hand around the doorknob, but before he opened the door, a low chuckle left his lips. "You keep alternating between calling me Draco and Malfoy."
"So?"
Her turned, a glint in his mercury eyes. "Call me Draco. I like it." And with that, he left.
Author's Note
Okay I'm aware I haven't done these in a while. My apologies!I hope you're enjoying the story so far. This chapter in particular is a rollercoaster of emotions and we get to see his caring side for the second time... This time with Hermione!
I'd really like to read your reviews, loves! :-).
QueenieBlood
