Woo, summer! I'll keep this short: I hope y'all are enjoying yourselves as much as I am and that you'll enjoy this chapter just as much!
P.S.: The missing bedroom scene from the party is published on my profile as a standalone one-shot, if anyone is interested. Bunny out!
She was woken up by the sun shining through her stained window, reflecting a myriad of colours all over her face and the sheets. Such mornings were becoming increasingly rare, since they were dragging towards the end of autumn, but that made them all the more special.
Rubbing at her eyes, Hermione threw the covers off and headed for the bathroom. Her brain wouldn't begin to work until she took her morning shower, which is why the girl immediately stepped into the cabin and started the water.
It was just the right temperature and the brunette relaxed under its steady flow, coaxing her muscles awake. God, I do so love magic... It was wonderful that she didn't have to worry if she'd have enough time to dry her hair and such, magic coming in handy every time, making mornings much more stress free. Every summer when she was forced to conform to the muggle way of life she missed it dearly.
Having finally woken up, she turned the water off and got out of the shower, drying her skin off with the towel and giving herself a once-over in the mirror. There were nasty dark circles under her eyes, but she couldn't figure out why. She felt more rested and relaxed than she had in a long time, so it made no sense that she looked like she had gotten barely any sleep.
Shrugging, Hermione strolled back to her room and noticed a ball gown and her lacy panties on the floor.
Right, the party yesterday... But why didn't I put them away? It was very unlike her to leave clothes lying around like that. In Hermione's room, everything had its place and that was how she liked it, knowing exactly where to find a certain thing when she had need of it. Frowning, she picked up the gown and carried it over to the dresser, trying to remember what would have caused her to drop it just like that.
Rummaging around in her recent memories, she found them to be unpleasantly full of black holes. The begging of the eve was clear in her mind, but as it went on, more and more things were missing from her memories. The last thing she could recall was sitting on the floor with Ginny and drinking generous amounts of Vodka, but after that, the ending of the night was missing.
This frustrated her immensely and she slammed the dresser shut. When she bent down to pick up the panties, however, a glimmer from under the bed caught her eye. Fetching the mysterious object, she realised it was a mask - the charcoal masterpiece Ginny had worn.
What the hell is it doing under my bed?
Even more determined than before to find out what had happened last night, Hermione made another trip to the dresser to fetch her favourite jumper and jeans, only to find them missing.
The morning was definitely starting out oddly and she needed a cup of coffee to get her started on unravelling the mystery. Satisfying herself with a warm hoodie and dark jeans that were just a bit too tight for her to feel entirely comfortable in them, she left the room and went straight for the kitchenette to put some coffee on.
"Morning to you too, Granger. Slept well?"
The drawl coming from one of the couches behind her back was unmistakable, of course, and she had half a mind to ignore it. Then she reminded herself that she was trying to get along with Malfoy for the student body's sake and with a sickening smile, Hermione turned around.
"Oh, I slept wonderfully, thank you. Great work with cleaning up after yesterday! Did you call on your daddy's slaves again?"
Malfoy mirrored her expression, grinning right back. "Oh, but of course. If it weren't for me, the poor little things wouldn't have anything to do. You know how miserable that makes them, right?" The blond loved to shove that argument in her face whenever they reached the topic of house elves, for whose rights Hermione still fought with vigour.
Frowning at him, she turned back to the stove and angrily waved her wand, making the beverage boil immediately, some of it spilling over the pot. While cursing under her breath, Hermione poured the remainder of the liquid into a mug, mopping up the mess she had made.
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" Malfoy chuckled from behind and this time, the brunette did ignore him, pouring some milk into her coffee.
"Oh come on, talk to Uncle Draco. Weasley said you two got in an argument yesterday..." That was enough to get her attention and Hermione turned around, now interested in what he had to say. "You talked to Ginny?"
"Why of course, we chatted over tea. She left about ten minutes before you got up..." He said seemingly casually, not even looking up from the book he was reading. Hermione hadn't noticed the small smile that had played over his features for a mere second and instead took a seat across from him.
"She left... So you're saying she stayed the night here?" The girl couldn't help but try digging for information, especially since she had found the redhead's mask in her room.
"Well of course she-" Malfoy looked up and a grin spread over his features. "Granger, you naughty girl! How much did you have to drink last night?"
That was enough to shake Hermione out of her inquisitive mode as she realised who exactly she was talking to and how he couldn't be trusted. Slytherins always had a hidden agenda, especially when it was a case of Malfoy joking around with her. Something here was fishy.
"I drank however much I wanted to," she answered with the cold detachment with which she usually spoke to the blond. "Now if you'll excuse me, the library is waiting."
Finishing her coffee, she could hear Malfoy cough with a sound suspiciously similar to 'bookworm', but she merely dropped her mug off in the sink and left their commons.
An hour and a half later found her bent over one of the more secluded tables in the library, two stacks of books piled in front of her. The left one were the ones she had already gotten through and had proven to be useless, while the right pile was yet to be examined.
She was currently pouring over a volume titled Useful Potions for the Young Wizard. While Hermione hated the book, finding it to be incredibly sexist, it appeared to be promising. She was currently on a section about hangover potions and was hoping to find one that would remedy her alcohol-induced memory loss.
Her search was just starting to bear fruits, but when she started reading the ingredients and preparation part of the recipe and her face turned sour.
It wasn't that she was bad in Potions of course, have you heard of Hermione Granger being bad at anything? No, the thing that bothered her was the ingredient list. Aside from a few standard ones that she had for the potions classes, there was some seriously weird stuff listed in there. And after a second glance at the preparation instructions, it wasn't exactly the easiest brew to make either.
Resigning to solving that problem with a full stomach, Hermione checked out the book and headed to the Great Hall for lunch.
When Draco finally walked into their commons two hours after lunch, she was almost ready to give up. Pretending like she totally hadn't been waiting for him, she kept her eyes fixed on her book and only spoke up when he was already halfway across the room.
"Hey, Malfoy? You're pretty into potions, right?" Trying to appear disinterested, she kept her eyes glued to the text but was probably failing to accomplish the task.
"Yes, why do you care, Granger? Don't tell me you need help," he scoffed at her and fixed her with that horrible arrogant sneer she hated so much.
"Don't be ridiculous, my knowledge is perfectly adequate. I was just wondering if you are stocked in some of the less common ingredients. I'd be perfectly satisfied to pay you what they're worth if need be." She examined her fingernails, avoiding eye contact but perfectly aware that Malfoy was scrutinizing her.
"Well, it depends on what you're looking for… And I don't need your money, Granger. I would, however, be willing to trade them for information."
Hermione weighed her options. On the one hand, Malfoy was up to something, but on the other, she really, really wanted to remember last night's events. "Show me your stock and we can talk."
Following the blond and entering his room for the very first time, she was surprised by how tidy it was. Even she, being unnaturally obsessed with order, found it up to par with her standards. He strolled casually to a table where he had a little cauldron set up, a greyish liquid slowly simmering in it, and opened the adjoining cupboard, filled to the brim with various ingredients.
Some things looked disgusting and some downright disturbing, but a glance located what she needed. Steeling herself, she looked back to Malfoy. "What kind of information are we talking about here, Malfoy?"
He grinned at her, clearly satisfied with how things were proceeding, which only made Hermione even more hesitant, but she refused to back out of this.
"Well, how about we talk about one miss Ginevra Weasley."