Disclaimer: I own none of the characters here. I just use them for my own amusement. JK Rowling and co. own them No copyright infringement intended.
Summary: When two old enemies meet up again, will they be able to look past their differences and get along? What happens if they fall for each other but he's slated to marry someone else? Will he follow his heart or his parents' wishes? Dramione.
Author's note: Lyrics by Dionne Warwick
Wildest Dreams
Why do you have to be a heartbreaker ?
Is it a lesson that I never knew ?
Gotta get out of the spell that I'm under,
My love for you.
Why do you have to be a heartbreaker,
When I was bein' what you want me to be
Suddenly everything I ever wanted has passed me by,
This world may end, not you and I.
Some time passed and things were even more strained between Draco and Hermione than they had been. There was so much tension in the room whenever the two of them were together that both of them were driven to distraction. Neither of them could stop thinking about the silly conversation they had about Mulder and Scully, and they both kept wondering if the other person had been trying to tell them something with their words. But they were both too chickenshit to actually ask or make any love declarations. Draco finally had enough of it and tried to lighten things up by adding a picture of Mulder and Scully to his desk menagerie which included more new drawings he'd done and a newly printed photo of the two of them bowling. She claimed not to want that picture there, but it was his desk. And she'd tried to give the photo back so he figured it was okay. But the addition of Mulder and Scully had simply made her laugh when she saw it. She shook her head that morning when she came in and sat down at her desk.
"Now you're posting fan pictures of celebrities on your desk?" she asked wryly.
"I just think they're cool. And I relate to them," he said giving her a look.
"You relate to David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson?" she raised her eyebrow.
"No, you ninny. The characters. They speak to me. So I found this autographed photo in a shop in London. Do you like it?" he wondered.
"It's very charming. Now your desk looks like booth at a dork convention," she teased him.
He just stuck his tongue out at her and said nothing. She wasn't taking the hint as well as he hoped. He wanted her to see that and hear he related to them, and then she'd declare her undying love. But nothing was breaking through that thick sheet of armor she'd built up. He supposed he could say something, but in his mind, the photo said it all. No words were necessary. But in her world, words were necessary. She'd taken the hint just fine. But she still didn't know what to do with it. He was marrying someone else. What good would it do for her to declare her love now? He'd never do anything about it. Of that, she was sure. So it was better to never say anything at all. But there was some serious smoldering looks being passed between both of them and it was highly uncomfortable.
But tonight was the night of the big charity ball. Hermione was incredibly nervous because it meant she was going to meet Draco's soon to be wife. She wasn't ready for that, and was prepared to hate her with a fiery passion. She already did, and didn't even know her. And for his part, Draco was dreading the night because he didn't want to see Hermione with another man. It made him so jealous he couldn't even see straight. Especially since one day the week before, she'd eaten her lunch with this Jonathon person. He'd seethed over that for days, but he still never met the guy. But tonight he'd come face to face with his competition. He was pretty sure he was better than this git, but what if Hermione was sick of waiting for him to say something to her and she just married this Jonathon bloke just for spite? Stranger things have happened. Right now he wasn't so much worried about them marrying as he was them shagging. What if she took him home after the ball? Draco felt like he would die if that happened.
"So are you ready for tonight?" he asked her breaking them out of their warring thoughts.
"Huh? Oh yeah. I guess so," she shrugged, barely having heard him because she was so lost in thought.
"I'm kind of nervous myself. But Astoria is excited," he informed her.
"Really? Well she probably doesn't get out much. It's likely going to be boring," she yawned slightly. She didn't care if Astoria was excited. Why was he telling her this?
"Is Jonathon excited?" he asked trying to hide the venom in his voice when he said the name.
"I haven't actually asked him. But I guess he is. He is going with an incredible woman, after all," she smirked at him.
"That he is," Draco couldn't argue with that.
And then more silence settled over the land again. They were both dreading the evening in their own ways. But they still had to go. Neither of them knew what the night would have in store for them. Everyone got off early in order to be ready for the ball. That was the only good thing about the event. Instead of leaving at 5pm everyone got to leave at 3pm. And Hermione jetted out the door incredibly fast once the time came. She left Draco in the dust and he just called after her.
"I'll see you tonight!"
She waved at him and disappeared out of the office and he just sighed. What was he going to do with her? On one hand, he was pretty sure she felt something for him. But on the other hand, she wouldn't say it. So that either meant she didn't want to ruin his upcoming wedding or she didn't really feel as strongly as he wished she did. But there was definitely something there. And maybe he was going to have to be the one to say something first? Only what would he say? He was virtually engaged to someone else. And that posed a problem. But he still hadn't really kissed Astoria, much less bedded her. In fact, she was a traditional sort of girl who wished to wait for marriage before doing the deed. That suited him just fine because he didn't want to shag her. But she was expecting some sort of affection so the best he could do was a kiss on the cheek. He couldn't bring himself to even attempt more than that. She still felt like a stranger and an unwelcome interloper on his life. Without her, maybe he and Hermione would already be together? But there was no use pondering that now. He'd just have to wait and see what happened tonight.
Hermione had gone dress shopping again and she bought a beautiful ball gown. It was black lace with flesh colored bits so it looked like the lace was see through and her skin was showing. It had a tight bodice and she felt like she should be on the Oscars red carpet wearing it. She even bought dainty little black heels to wear with it, even though the dress was so long, you couldn't really see her feet. But she wanted to look amazing so maybe Draco would eat his heart out that he wasn't her date. She doubted Astoria would look as good. Of course that woman crapped out money and probably could afford haute couture dresses made just for her body. But Hermione wasn't going to think of that. She preferred to relish in the fact that she looked amazing. She wore her hair half up and curled, with a black butterfly barrette holding her hair up. When she stood in front of the mirror, she felt like royalty. She realized she kept wondering what Draco would think and not her date, Jonathon. He was perfectly nice, but she just didn't feel anything special for him. He wasn't Draco. But she supposed it would feel nice if she bowled him over too.
Draco didn't spend near as long getting ready as Hermione did, but he did put on his best black tux with a black shirt and his nice shoes. He thought about doing his hair the way he always did it, but for some reason he decided to let it dry natural. Hermione liked it that way. And it was a stark contrast to his polished tuxedo look. Messy bed head was what she called it, which sounded like it might be derogatory, but she assured him it was a good look for him. It made him less intimidating. And he already felt like he intimidated Hermione enough. He didn't want to push her over the edge. So he felt pretty good about his look. He had no idea how Astoria was dressing, he just knew he had to pick her up soon. He was not looking forward to it. And he hoped she didn't expect him to babysit her all evening. He wanted to mingle. Alone. Namely with Hermione. That is if he could pry her out of the clutches of this Jonathon fellow. He was plotting ideas in his head of how he could separate them, when he realized it was time to go.
Hermione and Jonathon arrived at the hotel first where the Ministry had rented a ballroom. It was a brilliantly extravagant looking place and there was actually a red carpet out front where reporters for the Daily Prophet were taking pictures as they entered. Hermione and Jonathon stopped to pose for them, and then they went inside. She felt like a real celebrity because she knew her picture might actually make it to the papers given her history as a war hero. She had tried to look as happy as possible being on Jonathon's arm, as he was suitably excited to be the one who took her to this event. But when they got inside, all she could do was scan the crowd for Draco. Only she didn't see him. Not at first. He wasn't there yet. What if he chickened out and didn't show up at all? Then her pretty dress would be for nothing. She went straight to the champagne fountain and got herself a glass. She offered one to Jonathon too and he readily took it.
"I must say, you look amazing tonight. I've never had my picture taken for the papers," he said completely in awe of the whole spectacle.
"Aw, you're sweet. Thank you. And who knows if our picture will actually make it to the papers or not? It's not like we're the Minister of Magic himself," she chuckled slightly.
"If we do make it, I'm framing that picture. Proof that Hermione Granger asked me to this ball. You know I wanted to ask you myself, but I didn't think you really liked me," he added in a small voice.
"Oh Jonathon, sure I like you. You're swell," she said patting him on the head as she continued to scan the crowd for newly arrived people.
That's when she saw Draco enter with a very tall brunette on his arm. She was thin and beautiful and had her deep chestnut hair in a French twist, as she sported a long emerald green gown. Hermione instantly wondered if she could even compete with someone that beautiful. But a quick glance at Draco in his black tux, showed he wasn't smiling like she was. In fact, he looked pained. And his eyes scanned the crowd for Hermione. Once they locked eyes they both broke into a smile. But they didn't approach each other right away. Other people were talking to them both and neither one of them were listening. Finally Hermione interrupted whatever Jonathon was saying and grabbed his arm.
"Come on, there's someone I want you to meet," she said pulling him along through the crowd.
They made their way over to Draco and Astoria and he could see them coming. Hermione looked amazing, he thought. More beautiful than ever before. But he quickly broke into a small scowl when he noted Jonathon was not a troll, but a very attractive and tall dark handsome man. Just like the type Hermione said she'd go for. But he tried not to show his disgust too outwardly. When Hermione approached she ignored Astoria at first and just patted Draco on the shoulder.
"Hello Mulder," she grinned at him.
He grinned right back.
"Hello Scully."
Then they both erupted in giggles that neither of their dates understood.
"What does that mean, Draco?" Astoria asked with confusion.
"Oh sorry. Inside joke. Anyway, Astoria, this is Hermione. She's my boss," he said introducing them.
Hermione held out her hand and Astoria daintily shook it.
"Charmed I'm sure," Hermione said in a clipped tone. "Draco, this is Jonathon. Jonathon? Draco."
Jonathon held out his hand and Draco shook it firmly. Jonathon had a limp handshake and he almost broke his hand, but Jonathon didn't say anything as he massaged his wounded fingers.
"So you two work together eh?" Jonathon noted, realizing that the two of them seemed to be mesmerized by each other, making Jonathon feel out of place.
"Uh, yeah. He's my assistant," Hermione said, never taking her eyes off Draco.
"Lovely."
"Yes, that is lovely. But soon enough you should be her boss, right Draco?" Astoria added trying to be a part of the conversation.
"What? No, I seriously doubt that. I'm not up for any promotions just yet," he shook his head.
"So you're happy to work for a woman then?" she wondered.
"More than happy. She's less of my boss and more of my partner. Isn't that right, Hermione?" Draco looked at her.
"Yes, that's right. He's indispensable. I'd be lost without his help."
"So I just dropped a check in their laps for this charity thing. Either of you contribute anything yet?" Draco asked looking pointedly at Jonathon.
"Afraid I haven't donated just yet. But I will. I'm sure fifty galleons will go a long way to helping out St. Mungo's," Jonathon said proudly.
"Fifty galleons? I gave them five thousand," Draco said smugly.
"Five thousand?" Hermione and Jonathon both said in unison.
"It's just money. And it's a worthy cause," Draco shrugged.
"I'm afraid my pockets aren't as deep," Jonathon said looking at his shoes.
"No worries, mate. Your fifty will buy some lucky sod a hospital meal or something," Draco patted him on the back.
"Should we dance Draco?" Astoria asked, noting that a lot of people were in fact dancing, and the truth was, she wasn't comfortable with the glances between Hermione and her man.
"I guess we could dance. Are you two gonna dance?" Draco asked the other couple.
"Yes. Absolutely. Let's all dance," Hermione said, taking Jonathon's arm.
They all walked out to the dancefloor and started dancing. It was classical type music so they waltzed which was reminiscent of the Yule Ball to Draco and Hermione. It was definitely no night club. But after a time, Draco let go of Astoria and went to Jonathon and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Can I cut in, mate?" he asked gruffly.
"Uh, sure." Jonathon stepped aside.
"You can dance with my date," Draco said flippantly as he scooped Hermione up into his arms and waltzed them away from their dates.
"This is scandalous, Draco. Dancing with me when Astoria is stuck with poor Jonathon," she admonished him.
"I don't give a fuck. Ever since I saw you across the room I've wanted to dance with you," he purred into her ear.
"Likewise," she admitted softly.
They were lost in their dance and to anyone looking at them, they could probably tell they were madly in love. It was just the way they moved together with such perfect ease. Like they were reading each other's minds. Only they weren't as confident with that skill as it seemed. But Draco was pretty sure Hermione's greeting spoke volumes. She was seeing him as Mulder. And he saw her as Scully. And would tonight be the night they finally did something about their feelings?
"Astoria is very pretty," Hermione said finally.
"Not as pretty as you," he smiled back at her. "Jonathon is a strapping bloke. Sparks there?"
"No, no sparkage. He's nice, but he's not Mulder," she whispered.
"Yeah, Astoria would make a terrible Scully too," he whispered back.
"Did you really donate all that money to charity?"
"Yes. I can do noble things like that with my money too. It's not just for fun and games," he said seriously.
"Yeah, you can. But still, I'd like you just fine even if all you gave them was your pocket change," she said just as seriously.
"You really are against me getting married huh?" he asked boldly.
"Yes, I really am."
"Why?"
"Because."
"Because why?"
He was dying for her to just say something. Anything to give him a reason to stop this mess with Astoria. Something concrete. Something like love. But she didn't give it up easily.
"I think you know why," she whispered, laying her head on his shoulder.
"I think I know why too, but why won't you say it?" he asked honestly.
"Because would it make a difference? Your mind is already made up. Isn't it?"
"It is. But minds can be changed. If there's a good enough reason," he said somberly.
"I-I don't want you to lose your family for me. You're doing the right thing. Or at least the only thing you can do in order to keep the things you hold dear."
"There's only one thing I really hold dear, and that's you," he admitted it finally.
"What?" she looked at him confusedly.
"You heard me."
She just stared at him and wanted so badly to kiss him again. But before she could say anything more or do something crazy like kiss him in the middle of a Ministry function, Jonathon and Astoria tapped them both on the shoulders, breaking them out of their trance.
"Uh, we'd like our dates back now," Jonathon said, slightly perturbed at being offloaded onto some girl he didn't even know. And Astoria was turning just as green as her dress with envy. She didn't like this Hermione girl at all.
Draco and Hermione uncoupled and looked incredibly flustered. Their conversation was just getting good and now it was interrupted. But Draco was determined that they get the moment back again. He leaned over and whispered to Hermione.
"This isn't done yet," he told her.
"Yes, it is," she said softly.
Then she just grabbed Jonathon's hand and walked away with him. She had been seconds away from kissing Draco again and spilling her guts to him. Why hadn't she? Except they were interrupted. But he wanted to talk more and she shut it down. It made no sense. But everything was complicated. Draco was to be married, and she wasn't going to be responsible for him losing his family and his money. She didn't want to start a life with him where he was a broken shell of a man. It didn't seem right. None of this seemed right. So she just went to the champagne fountain and started drinking again. She wanted to obliterate her mind. Jonathon wasn't sure what was going on, but all he knew was that it was clear something was going on with Hermione and her assistant. He felt like the odd man out so he just stood there uncomfortably watching Hermione drink way too much champagne.
Draco was drinking too except he was at the open bar on the other side of the room. Astoria didn't even drink and he was knocking back whiskey like it was going out of style. He'd been so close with Hermione. She was finally going to tell him what he needed to hear. And then they were interrupted and she didn't seem to want to get the moment back again. Why not? Was it really that scary? He was pretty much a sure thing since he'd told her she was the only thing he held dear. And he'd meant that. But maybe it hadn't been enough of a declaration? All he could think of was kissing her though. She was so damn beautiful tonight and she smelled so good. He wanted to scoop her up and just run away with her someplace and make out until they couldn't breathe anymore. But that wasn't likely to happen with Astoria tugging on his arm.
"Don't you think you've had enough to drink?" she asked noting how quickly he was downing the libations.
"I'll say when I've had enough," he shot back, not caring if he sounded rude or not.
"Fine."
Astoria just crossed her arms and wished her fiancé wasn't so preoccupied with that other girl. He was acting downright rude and it made her want to offer him something big just to keep his attention. She had been very certain she wanted to remain pure for her wedding night, but if Draco wanted to bed her tonight, she wouldn't say no. After all, they were going to be married. It wouldn't be that much of a scandal. Maybe if she offered him her body, he'd forget all about that other trollop? She was going to keep this tactic in mind. It may be her secret weapon. If only she could convince him to do it. Maybe if she let him get drunk enough, he'd agree? And she could be very persuasive if need be. She just kept watching him drink and stare at Hermione and she decided she'd set her plan in motion.
Hermione was so distracted by Draco, that she virtually ignored Jonathon. But finally he asked her to dance again and she felt like she had no choice but to say yes. She went to floor with him, never taking her eyes off Draco. And they danced for a time until someone else tapped Jonathon on the shoulder.
"Can I cut in?" Harry asked with a smile, only just now having noticed Hermione there.
"Again?" Jonathon grumbled unhappily. "Who is this bloke?"
"This is Harry. He's my friend. You don't mind, do you Jonathon?" Hermione said somewhat drunkenly.
"Fine."
Jonathon stalked off and Harry put his arms around Hermione so they could dance. He noted her glassy eyes and gave her a look.
"Are you very drunk?" he wondered with a slight laugh.
"Yes, I am. I couldn't help it," she lamented with a sad expression on her face.
"Why not?"
"Because Draco is here with his fiancée. She's so pretty. And perfect. How can I even compete?" she said miserably.
"Compete? Wait, you wanna compete? I thought you and Draco were just friends. That's what you kept telling me," he said with confusion.
"Oh Harry, I love you. But you're really clueless sometimes. I love Draco," she sighed, unable to keep her loose lips from spilling her secrets.
"You love him? Since when?" Harry was astonished.
"Since I just do. I don't know how long. But he's marrying someone else!" she cried.
"Hermione, this is crazy talk. You can't possibly love him. Especially if he's engaged to someone else," he told her pointedly.
"If Ginny was engaged to someone else, you wouldn't still want her?" she asked.
Harry shook his head.
"That's not even an issue."
"But what if it was? What if she was supposed to marry someone she didn't love and leave you in the dust. What would you do?"
"I-I don't know. It's kind of hard to put myself in that position. But I suppose if you love him like I love her, I'd fight for what I wanted. Don't just bow down and give up. Does he even know how you feel? Does he feel the same?" Harry wondered, trying to take in this new information.
"I think he feels the same. And no I haven't told him. I'm scared to. What if he doesn't feel that way? Or what if he does, but it still doesn't change things? What if he still marries her?" she let tears fall from her eyes now.
"Hermione, I don't like Draco. But if you have these feelings, he deserves to know. I can't even believe I'm telling you this, but go after him! Don't let some prissy goody two shoes steal him from you," he said supportively.
"You think she's a prissy goody two shoes?"
"Probably. She looks like a bitch honestly," Harry noted glancing in their direction. "You're better than her."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. And I must be losing it to suggest this, but I think you need to be honest with him. Maybe he won't marry her if he knew how you felt? Assuming he feels the same. Which by the way he keeps looking over here, I wager he might."
"Oh Harry. I love you. You're the best. I needed to hear this. I needed someone to tell me what to do. I was just too scared to confess this secret to you," she said wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.
"I may not like the guy, but I love you. And I want you to be happy. Clearly you're not happy now. And I don't think Draco is either. Go to him," he urged her, as they stopped dancing and he held her shoulders to steel her against what she had to do.
"Okay. I'll go to him. I'll tell him everything."
"Good. I hope it works out for you," he said sincerely, despite him thinking she could do better than Draco.
"Thanks."
And with that she took off into the crowd and made her way over to Draco who was very, very drunk by this time. Astoria was trying to hold his arm so he'd stay upright, but he kept pushing her away and insisting he was fine. But when he saw Hermione coming, he just stopped what he was saying and started walking to her. He left Astoria in the dust. They met halfway across the room and Hermione threw her arms around his neck.
"Let's dance," she said to him with a smile.
"You're really drunk," he slurred to her with a grin.
"So are you, Mr. Malfoy," she slurred back.
"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you looked tonight?"
"I don't remember."
"Well you do. You outshine everyone here."
"So do you. You're the only one I can't stop staring at."
"Same."
"Draco, do you love me?" she asked him finally, with hope in her drunken eyes.
He didn't say anything at first but just nodded his head.
"Yes," he said barely above a whisper.
"I love you too," she whispered back.
"Do you want to get out of this place for a minute? Go someplace more private?" he asked.
She nodded her head and he took her hand and they practically ran for the door, while Astoria seethed and Jonathon just gave up entirely. It was obvious that he was not Hermione's first choice in dates. Harry just smiled as he watched them run out and he went back to Ginny and gave her the lowdown.
"Draco and Hermione? In love with each other? That's crazy," Ginny laughed when he told her.
"I know. But I guess sometimes love is crazy like that," he sighed.
Meanwhile Draco and Hermione found themselves outside where the reporters had seemingly left and had moved inside to capture photos there. But Draco and Hermione didn't notice them. They just knew they appeared to be alone outside. Draco stopped them behind some bushes and just grabbed Hermione up and kissed her roughly. She melted into him and kissed him back just as roughly. Their tongues were colliding and their lips were devouring each other. So much pent up tension and it was finally coming out.
"What if someone sees us?" she whispered between their kisses.
"I don't care," he said, too drunk to think of the consequences.
They continued to kiss and almost tumbled over into the bushes as they lost their footing. They started laughing and broke free of each other so they could breathe a little. They held hands.
"What took you so long to say anything?" he asked her as he playfully nudged her.
"What took you so bloody long?" she shot right back.
"I'm engaged to someone else. I didn't think you'd care how I felt honestly."
"Yeah, well you're a dummy. Of course I care. I thought for sure you understood everything with whole Mulder and Scully thing," she pointed out.
He laughed slightly.
"That was a pretty big anvil you handed me. But I still didn't know what to do! And you weren't making it easy," he scolded her.
"I'm sorry. I was scared. But I'm not scared anymore. I love you."
"I love you too."
And with that they kissed again and again and didn't stop until they literally needed to come up for air. What they didn't know was that they were being watched. Someone had followed them outside and stood beyond the bushes and watched the entire scene play out. And that someone was Astoria. She should have been heartbroken, except she didn't love Draco yet. But she did want him. He was her fiancé. And she was not going to lose him to some stupid tramp named Hermione. He promised her father he would marry her and she intended for him to keep that promise. She didn't much care who he actually loved. Eventually he'd learn to love her. And she'd be a good wife. A proper wife. She just had to work some magic to make it happen. Literally and figuratively. But she cleared her throat loudly and announced her presence out of their eyesight.
"Draco?" she called out and heard him scramble to get himself together.
"Just pretend you didn't hear her," Hermione whispered as they realized they were almost caught out.
"I can't. I think she saw us go outside," he whispered back. "Uh, coming Astoria!" he shouted out unsure of what else to do.
"Why'd you say that? We could have just run away!" Hermione chided him.
"Sorry!"
"Draco! There you are. And I see you're with the lovely Hermione. Were you two star gazing?" Astoria asked giving Hermione a deadly look.
"Uh, yeah. Something like that. Why don't you go inside and wait for me. Hermione and I were talking about work," he lied.
"I think I'm ready to dance again, Draco. I want you to come inside. My father said it'd be good for the press to have a picture of us dancing, and we barely have. Don't you want to be on the front page of the Prophet with me?" she asked hopefully, knowing he really did not care. But she did.
"Um, alright. I'll be right there," he said trying to get rid of her.
But she wasn't budging.
"I'll wait."
Draco just shot Hermione a desperate look and she sighed and motioned for him to go back to his fiancée. After all, what else could she do at this point. But at least they'd been honest with each other finally. They loved each other. But what did it all mean? Was he going to break up with Astoria? If so, it didn't appear he was doing it right now. Not when he went back inside with her and left Hermione standing alone outside. She took a deep breath and walked back into the hotel and tried to find Harry, but she bumped into Jonathon instead. He handed her another glass of champagne in a last ditch effort to gain her attention.
"Here you go. I wondered where you ran off to," he said pleasantly.
"I uh, had to speak to Draco. It was a work thing," she told him unconvincingly.
"Well drink up. Then maybe we can dance some more."
"Sure."
She scanned the crowd and saw Draco dancing with Astoria. He looked utterly put out but there were some cameras going off in their direction. Maybe Astoria would get her wish and be in the paper? But Hermione knew who had his heart. She just didn't know what was supposed to happen next. So she drank more to cloud up her mind and make it hurt less to watch him dancing with another girl.
Draco was miserable dancing with Astoria. But she seemed quite pleased because a photographer did snap their photo and she made sure she held him tightly for it. He wasn't smiling though. He couldn't smile. Not outside of Hermione's presence. And he didn't know what was really going on there. They'd confessed their feelings finally and had an amazing make out session, but he was still betrothed to this other girl. It was a quandary. And he was way too drunk to form any sort of coherent thoughts. But after they had their picture taken, Draco wanted to stop dancing. He spied Hermione dancing with Jonathon and it made his blood boil. But he knew he had nothing to be jealous of. It still unnerved him though to see another man put his hands on her. So he went and got another drink. And this is where his evening went all wrong. He was very drunk already and didn't need more to drink. His senses weren't as sharp as they needed to be and his mind wasn't working too well either. Astoria let him down his drink and then she discreetly pulled out her wand so that no one could see and she asked if Draco would take her home to his place. He started to protest but she hit him with a spell that confounded him.
"What did you say?" he asked, shaking his head to try and clear out the fuzziness in his brain.
"I said take me home to your place," she repeated.
"I don't think that's such a good idea," he told her.
She hit him with the spell again.
"Let's go to your place," she repeated again.
He was so confused he didn't know what he was doing. He just nodded his head and the next thing he realized he wasn't at the party anymore. He was inside his house. And Astoria was with him. How did they even get there? He didn't remember apparating or anything. He knew he was drunk but he didn't realize he was that drunk that he wouldn't remember going home. But the next thing he knew he was in his bedroom and Astoria had taken off her dress. He looked at her bewildered and she just kept confounding him over and over until he passed out in the bed. She smiled to herself and went about the business of undressing him. She was going to offer him her body, but the next best thing would be for him to think they'd had sex, when in reality they never did. That would work just as well. And then she could set phase two of her plan in motion. She just had to get Draco to believe he'd slept with her. And it shouldn't be too hard. She'd hit him with so many confounding spells it was amazing he didn't lose all his memory. But he just lay passed out in the bed, now in his underwear. And Astoria slipped in next to him in her underwear and pulled the covers over the top of them. Then she snuggled down under his arm and went to sleep.
In the morning Draco woke up feeling like death. He didn't remember how he got home, or what had happened. The last thing he remembered was kissing Hermione and telling her he loved her. And now he was undressed in his bed. And he wasn't alone. A small smile crept up on his face when he realized he must have taken Hermione home with him. He didn't remember doing it, but someone was next to him. So he leaned over and snuggled up to her and went to kiss her when he realized it was Astoria. He sat bolt upright in the bed and gasped in horror. What had he done? And how come he didn't remember doing it? He never would have slept with Astoria. She was a virgin and waiting for their wedding day. This couldn't be what it looked like at all. But when she woke up sleepily and tried to kiss him, he just pushed her away.
"What the fuck happened?" he asked in confusion.
"Oh Draco. Stop. You know what happened," she laughed slightly, rubbing his arm.
"No. That's not right. We didn't do that. Did we?" he asked shaking his head.
"I told you I wanted to wait, but you were so insistent we do it right away. You said you didn't want to wait. So I gave in. I mean, you are pretty charming after all," she said batting her eyelashes at him.
"But this can't be real. I never would have done that," he said not believing his own supposed actions.
"You were drunk. I guess you were lonely," she shrugged.
He just sat there and didn't believe any of this, but why would she lie? How else did they get into his bed all undressed? He knew he drank a lot but he didn't realize he'd lose his entire mind. If Hermione found out about this, she'd kill him. It was bad enough he was engaged but actually shagging his fiancée moments after declaring his love for another woman? That made zero sense. But he had to accept it at face value. What else could he do? He just never wanted Hermione to know. Ever. It was a drunken mistake. Maybe he'd tried to take Hermione home and she said no, and he was just desperate for a shag? No, that didn't sound like him. He had a hand and he could take care of himself if need be. He'd never stoop to bedding Astoria. Except apparently he did.
"You really don't remember our love making?" Astoria asked, noting how utterly bewildered he was.
"No, I don't remember anything at all. I don't even remember coming home."
"Well now I feel silly. It was my first time and you don't even remember it? I'm embarrassed," she said putting on a fake show for him.
"God it was your first time… and I don't remember it. I'm sorry," he apologized to her.
"Don't apologize. We'll have many other nights together once we're married," she smiled as she snuggled up under his arm.
He bristled at her touch and just sat there reeling. This was the worst thing that could ever happen to him. Hermione was never going to forgive this. And he couldn't forgive himself either. He just wouldn't tell her. He couldn't. This was as bad as it got, he thought to himself. But Astoria just smiled to herself and thought Draco had no idea how much worse it was going to get.
To be continued…. Please leave feedback! I love reviews! They keep me writing faster….