A/N: Hey friends! Thank you for reading this! This is the chapter where things start to happen... EEEeeeeeEE! This one should make up for the shortness of the last chapter. FYI - I'm working on another Dramione piece that I'm attempting to wrap up.
I do not own Harry Potter or any of JKR's splendid characters. Enjoy!
What the bloody hell? He muttered incoherent curses as he saw the clock on his bedside table read 2:41 and yes, that was most definitely knocking on his front door.
As he stumbled out of bed and shuffled down the hall, muttering all the way about rudeness and can't a bloke just get some sleep...nothing could have prepared him for what he saw as he opened the door.
"Granger!?" All of his complaints died in his throat and he was suddenly wide awake.
"Malfoy." She stood there blinking at him, soaking wet and scowling. When did it start raining?
He took in the sight of her for a moment before his brain caught up. "What are you doing here? Are you alright?" He didn't try to hide the concern in his voice.
"I'm ready to tell you why I'm mad at you." The words came out with forced dignity and she swayed a bit before leaning against the door frame with her arms crossed. She was drunk.
Draco smiled warmly at her - drunk Granger was always entertaining. In her inebriated state, she attempted to appear as put-together and intelligent as on any normal day, but somehow fell just a little short.
"You're pissed." He stated with a smirk.
"I am not drunk, sir." She stood straight up now, as if to prove herself, only to tip back into the doorframe again. "For your information, Ginny and I went out tonight and I may have imbibed a bit, but I am perfectly in control of all my faculties." With that she placed a hand on his chest and pushed past him into his flat whilst clumsily kicking off her shoes and shedding her coat onto the floor of the hall.
Shaking his head in disbelief, he had no choice but to close the door. Picking up her wet coat from the floor, he shook the rain out a bit before bringing it to the kitchen to hang it on the back of a chair. He filled a glass of water and grabbed a vial from the cupboard before heading to the living room where he found Granger sitting on the floor in front of the fireplace.
"Here." He offered her the water as he stood next to her. She reached for it silently, never taking her eyes off the flames and took a long drink before glancing up at him.
"I'm still mad at you."
"You mentioned that."
The silence hung between them for a moment before he realized that she was still soaked. Grabbing the fluffy knit blanket from the sofa (the one she always claimed as "hers" when she would visit), he opened it up and wrapped it snugly around her shoulders, pulling her wet curls out so they weren't trapped against her skin.
She looked up at him through her lashes and mumbled, "I'm still mad at you."
Oh, this witch…. Draco couldn't help but smile at her tone, which was anything but angry. "Funny, I've heard that somewhere before." She looked away again, attempting to hide the twitch of her lips.
"Care to tell me why?"
He stood with his arms crossed over his chest and leaned against the mantle, attempting to look at ease as he watched her, but inside was an entirely different story. She was looking down at her hands as she fiddled with the corner of the blanket - her blanket - and he wanted more than anything to hold her in his arms and promise to do everything he could to never make her angry again.
"You called me darling." Her words came out barely above a whisper, like she was afraid to say them aloud.
"What?"
"You called me darling." Her words were clear now and she looked at him as she stood with the blanket still wrapped around her and walked toward the couch. She sighed heavily, like what she said was supposed to explain everything, and plopped down curling herself up in a ball, still staring at the fire.
"Um..." Draco started, a bit confused, "I'm sorry, Hermione. I've called you darling a thousand times and you never said anything." He took a breath before crossing the room to sit on the coffee table in front of her. He was genuinely afraid he had unknowingly taken liberties with their relationship that were unwanted.
"I didn't know, I'm sorry. I'll never say it again if it bothers you."
At those words, she sat up and looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I don't want that!" She buried her face in her hands and Draco sat, completely bewildered as she was now crying in earnest and he had no idea what to do for a moment before he remembered - she's drunk. Now, Granger was not one to get drunk on a regular basis, but Draco had actually witnessed a few of those incidents and was able to asses that what he was dealing with here was wine drunk Granger which was an entirely different animal than the ale or firewhiskey drunk Granger which was much more belligerent. No no no… wine drunk Granger was a weeping mess.
Remembering the vial in his pocket, Draco slid it out and handed it to her with an open palm. "Alright now. I think we've heard enough, lo..." He stopped himself. Now was not the time for pet names which apparently angered her. "Would you please take this?"
She looked up at him before taking it from him. "Pepper-up?" she asked as she removed the stopper. He nodded and she drank it down in one shot, wincing at the familiar burn as it went down her throat. She looked down at her hands again before looking up at Draco with a much more coherent expression. His eyes were warm with concern.
"Better?"
"Yes... And somehow infinitely worse." Why why why did she think coming here in the middle of the night was a good idea? And why didn't she just apologize for being horrid today and explain herself - this was not the plan! She buried her face in her hands again, ashamed to look him in the eyes.
"Now." He held her shoulders and bent down to try catch her eye. "Would sober Granger care to explain herself?"
She huffed and turned away, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand before pushing off the sofa to stand and wrapping the blanket firmly around her like a coat. Words always came easier to her if she wasn't sitting still. "I told you, Malfoy. You called me darling and...and sweetness and love...and I just don't think I can take it anymore." She spoke between sniffles, pacing the length of the room now.
"And I told you, Granger, that I am sorry and I'll never do it again."
"No no no…. You don't understand!" She stood and looked at him with wide eyes and shook her hands out in front of her, frustrated that she couldn't explain herself more clearly. "You don't understand," she started softly this time, "I can't take it anymore because you don't mean it."
Draco's only response was to raise his eyebrows in question and wait for an explanation.
"It never bothered me until recently, but now when you call me those little names and do all those sweet things for me….you just…. I know you don't mean them. We're just friends. I'm not really any of those things to you." She dared to look him in the eye now. His face showed only shock and she instantly regretted her openness and wanted nothing more than to disappear and pretend this never happened.
In a flash, she was shaking off the blanket, clearing her throat, "I should go. This was a mistake." Her professional tone was somehow back and she straightened her spine and turned to the hall.
The cogs in Draco's brain seemed to click into place one at a time before it registered with him that she was going to leave. "Shit." He muttered under his breath as he scrambled to stand and all but chase her down the hall where she was already reaching for the doorknob, ready to dash out into the night without her coat.
Cliffhanger! I really enjoyed writing this scene - I think a drunk Hermione would be hilarious and I love that Draco knew what she had based on her emotional status. Tell me what you think!