"Aspirin?"

---

" You know, MYone, there's nothing more I hate than not being able to hug you at least once a day, well apart from smelly socks and not getting to see a Football championship game- what? It's true; you know I'd do anything to get a hug from you! "

---

Hermione sat on her bed, listening to the clock tick-tocking. The luminous green numbers showed that it was almost one in the morning. Harry's voice was still in her head. She groaned. She had gone home at about eleven from Mrs. Weasley's little birthday party very sober. The little party managed to lift up her spirit. Perhaps it was the twins' crazy antics and fireworks, or Ron's little jokes or Ginny's bad taste in apple pie (the girl couldn't bake pie to save her life), but at least she had gone home with a smile on her face.

And now, after less than an hour of sleep, she was thinking about Harry again, dreaming about Harry. Dreaming about him holding the locket as he drove… dreaming of him wearing it as he died. She massaged her temples and looked at her white curtains playing in the wind. The apartment was quiet. She wished she had gotten a kneazle. Crookshanks had died a few years back, way before she and Harry had gotten engaged.

No, she thought. I will not think of Harry. I won't. And she saw the jewelry box that contained the single most thing precious to her. The earrings…

Hermione got off from her bed and headed for her tiny kitchen. There was the tinkling of china and spoons and jars. " I'm making coffee. I wanted to go to sleep! " she muttered to herself. She sat down on the stool and faced her kitchen.

She stared at the blank pale orange walls surrounding her. Oh god, what's wrong with me?

A few minutes later, Hermione was heading for the parking lot, wearing jeans and a black top.

------

Draco yawned as he drove past café after café and bar after bar. Night drives were almost like a routine for him. He liked the feel of solitude and the wind in his face. He liked being alone. It was as good as that. As he drove past a curve, he saw a familiar red Volkswagen pass by from the intersection. He braked and stared as the car stopped in front of a decent looking bar.

He smiled. " Well, well, well…what have we here…"

She got out of her car, wearing a black blouse that wasn't too tight, although it hugged her curves along with her dark jeans.

He waited for things to progress, but time slowly ticked into thirty minutes and still she wasn't out. Had she gone for a solitary drink? Was she rounding up men? At a time like this? He brushed his hair up with one hand. Hermione Granger had always been an enigma. She was too smart for her time. Too witty for her time. Dumbledore had nothing but high praises for her.

She had her transformation when their sixth year had arrived. She had been pretty to look at, and many boys suddenly gained interest in her. Including him. Although he did not admit it, or show it. Hermione was an eye-catcher in her own, simple way. She had graduated the top of their class with some Ravenclaw receiving second honors.

Her boyfriend, Harry Potter had won the house cup for Gryffindor. Even Draco had to admit that he had played a good game. Harry was a tough seeker to beat. And the bastard even got Hermione as his girlfriend.

"Well, " Draco thought back then. "They deserve each other. " She's a smarty-aleck Gryffindor nerd , he's a Quidditch geek.

And now, seeing her like this, after so many years…It was an invigorating start. Perhaps they could now be friends. He looked at his silver and gold Rolex. She had been inside for almost an hour.

Perhaps it was time to get some wine and say hello to an 'old friend'.

------

Draco entered the pub. The place was a little packed, with decent looking people parading about in their designer wear and shoes. No leather clad men and dominatrix looking women. Just your average classy pub.

His grayish eyes searched for her. Lounge music was playing in the background. He walked up to the bar. " Chardonnay please, " he said. A woman in a skirt eyed him.

" Hey there, " she said inching towards him.

Draco nodded and gave a rueful smile. " I'm sorry, but I'm taken, " he told her.

The woman frowned. " Hot, but snotty. " And she left.

" Waiting fer' someone, lad? " the mustached bartender asked as he served him his drink on a tall crystal glass.

He nodded. " Actually, just looking for someone- a girl- with brown hair-wavy- "

The fifty-something bartender laughed. " Look around you lad, lots of pretty girls here- wonder if you'll spot your lady love? "

He shrugged and continued to drink his wine. He continued to look around. Then he saw someone alone, sitting across the bar, in another bar stool. Hermione… Drinking alone? He watched her as she sat, oblivious that he was looking at her.

She was busy playing with the ice inside her glass, twirling it around with one finger. She signaled for a waiter. A few seconds later, she had another drink in her hands. The waiter that had responded to Hermione came to the bar he was sitting near to.

" Hey, Hank, how's it going? " the bartender asked.

Hank, in his late twenties, smiled. " The girls are pretty sober tonight, Mike, except for that pretty one over there " he said jerking his thumb to Hermione's direction.

" Ah, the pretty one, " Mike, the fifty-something bartender leaned over to Draco. " She's been coming here every few weeks now, always alone. "

Draco looked at Hermione. " How many has she had? " he asked the waiter.

Hank ticked off his fingers. " I'd say about ten glasses of vodka now…yep, ten. "

Draco continued to look at Hermione as she signaled for another glass of vodka. Hank came running. Draco paid for his drink and proceeded for them.

" Miss, I think you should take it easy on the drinks, " Hank began.

Hermione smiled at him. " Don't be silly, it's just to get me some sleep later on. "

Hank shrugged and placed another glass in front of her.

Hermione took a gulp and sighed. She looked at the people laughing and talking in their booths and rolled her eyes. She still didn't feel the effects of what she had drunk.

" You know, you've probably drunk a whole bottle now, " a voice said.

Hermione looked at him. She smiled and raised her glass to him. " Here's to you, " she said.

" I think you've had enough, " Draco said mildly.

" No, " she replied. " I don't feel a thing. "

" How's about I get you home? "

" I have a car, a red one, you know, the one that broke down and you were such a pompous git to help me, " she laughed and stood up. She placed a bill on the table and signaled for the waiter.

Draco followed her as she went out of the bar.

" What are you doing? " she asked, seemingly annoyed. " Leave me alo- alone! "

" You're not fit to drive a car."

" Leave me alone, or I'll hex you! " she said as the keys of her car fell on the sidewalk. She bent down to pick it.

He smiled. " I don't think you have your wand with you. "

" Right! " she breathed. " I'm sho' stupid! "

" You mean, 'so' ? "

" Ye-! " she said irritated.

" Was that a 'yes'? " Draco reached out as she stumbled.

She held out a hand. " No need to help me, I can walk on my own, thank you very much-much. "

She fumbled for the key slot. " Damn it! " she said as it dropped on the ground again. With a frown, Hermione walked to a vending machine near a twenty-four hour convenience store.

" Beer this time? "Draco laughed.

" Whatsh so funny, now? " she asked as she opened a bottle with difficulty. She drank half of it in one gulp.

" Mixing beer with a few glasses of vodka isn't such a good combination. "

" Try me! " she snapped walking back to her car. She stumbled on the pavement, her heel caught in a crack. " Bloody hell! "

" Are you alright? "

" No! I most certainly am not alright! It's never, ever alright! Since… since he's dead! Since he died! I hate this! " she said angrily as Draco knelt beside her on the sidewalk. " I- I!"

" Who's dead? " Draco asked gently as he held her hand.

" Harry, " she tearfully said looking into his eyes. " He died you know."

Draco was at a loss for words. He stared at her trembling lips. Funny, what alcohol does to a proper girl... He nodded and breathed in heavily. " Come on, get up now. "

She looked at him. " But you hate me! " she blurted out. " You hated us! "

" Let's just say, I'm trying to mend a few broken relationships, and that includes you and your redhead friend… I mean, Weasley. "

She shook her head and stood up with his help. Then she felt her knees give away. " I think my knees are sick. " And she sniffed and tried to concentrate once more on standing well.

Draco smiled. " Yes, I told you Vodka and beer wasn't a good combination. "

" I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… " And she began to cry. Draco sighed and scooped up Hermione in his arms. She was surprisingly light, Draco thought.

" I didn't know he was… I shouldn't have… my- the locket…That stupid locket…" she murmured softly, as Draco positioned her inside his car.

Draco turned on his engine as Hermione's head lolled on the headrest. As he drove for his new townhouse, Hermione was fast asleep in the passenger's seat. He glanced at her once in awhile. His mind was filled with many things. Things he didn't understand and didn't want to understand.

Things weren't that dreadful when they had parted ways. He and the golden trio had spoken with some amount of respect in their last few months at school. Their graduation was rather emotional too, owing to the fact that Dumbledore was gone and that a lot of students in their batch had gone through a lot of pains. Harry had defeated Voldemort, almost costing him his life. The boy-who-lived only had to be killed by a muggle contraption, unbefitting to his legacy in the wizarding world.

But…Hermione was here, with him, drunk and asleep. Hermione was here. Of all the happenstances in the world! Hermione; here! Was it a sign? That he was… He shook his thoughts away as he pulled up to his garage.

A few minutes later, Hermione was in his newly bought bed, in plain white cotton sheets. He sighed and wondered if he should take off her clothing.

"What the heck, " he finally thought. " No malice. "

And he carefully took off her clothes, top first, all the while looking at her. His eyes trailed down to her breasts, not exactly large, but just…peachy. He almost laughed at the thought of his chosen description. Then he slowly took off her pants, a rather tedious task, as her pants were rather difficult to remove. But after removing them, he had reason to conclude she did have lovely legs that would have stood out in school if she had flaunted them.

He smiled. " I can't believe I missed this while at Hogwarts! " he muttered, staring at her clad in black lingerie.

A sound escaped her lips. He leaned in closer.

" I'm sorry…" she whispered. " I'm sorry…"

Draco frowned. What was this now? A monologue from alcohol? Alcohol could actually bring out the poetic spirit in some people, and perhaps Granger was one of those...

" I'm sorry…I didn't want you to leave…" She gave a little frown that he found quite endearing. She curled up into a loose ball. " I'm sorry… "

Draco sighed and began to stand up from the bed when he felt her fingers grasping at the covers. " Please don't… don't… stay… " He saw her fingers touch his hand and then her features relaxed as she held his fingers. " I'm sorry…it was my fault…if I hadn't given you the locket…you wouldn't have died…it was my fault…" And in her sleep she began to cry.

Draco swallowed some saliva as he sat quietly on his bed, with a half naked Hermione lying beside him. A sudden pain seared through him and he clutched his chest with one hand.

" Damn it, " he murmured.

And without another thought, he held Hermione's hand tighter than ever.

------

------

------

------

She was in another place. She knew it, even if she had a pounding headache and her mouth felt dry and her body felt sore, like she had been knocked out clean by a Hungarian Horntail. She looked at her clothes laid out neatly at a couch across the room. She gasped. She was half-naked!

Her eyes searched for a robe, or pajamas to cover her self up. She walked into a stylish bathroom done in pale yellow and took a black bathrobe hanging from a hook. It had initials on it. D.M. Draco Malfoy.

She walked out of the room and stared at the surroundings for a few seconds. It was, by all means, a very, very nice house, with carpeted floors and a terrace to match. Hermione went downstairs and followed her nose.

She walked into a kitchen to see Draco Malfoy in cotton dark blue pajamas, buttering out some toast on a black ceramic plate.

He smiled at her. " French toast? "

She groaned and her head dropped with a thud on his counter. She heard another soft thud beside her.

" Aspirin? " he offered, placing a glass of tap water beside the bottle.

Her head moved up and down on the wooden counter. " It was awful, wasn't it? Did I puke on you? "

Draco nodded looking slightly annoyed.

Hermione buried her head in her hands. " Oh, god! Ugh! " she moaned.

Draco laughed. " Relax, you didn't. You were lovely in bed though- "

Hermione's eyes widened. " You didn't- "

" We did- "

" Slept together! "

" If that's what you call it, why; yes. "

Hermione shifted from her chair and found herself falling on the floor. Draco looked over the counter.

" You okay? "

Hermione felt like bursting into tears, apart from the awful headache, now it had come to this-!

" I was kidding again, Granger. "

He helped her up and she gratefully took her aspirin and three glasses of water. She watched as he placed a bowl of cereal in front of her. " Would you like this with strawberries or bananas? " he asked.

---

" How come this doesn't have strawberries? " Harry demanded as Hermione stood near the counter.

Hermione smiled. " I almost forgot that. "

" Don't, " Harry replied shortly. " What's a cereal without strawberries, or even a few slices of banana? "

He smiled when Hermione dumped a bowlful of it into his cereal.

---

" Granger? " his voice rang out again.

" Uh, bananas, " she replied shaking her head.

He shrugged. " Honestly, you prefer bananas? I like mine with strawberries. "

She smiled a small smile as Draco gave her a few banana slices on her cereal. They continued their breakfast in silence, with the occasional sound of silverware or sighs. Finally she looked up to him and opened her mouth.

" Dr-Malfoy, do you hate me? " she asked, and her insides groaned with humiliation. Stupid question. Stupid! Just plain…

" It depends on how you define hate, " he replied looking at her with his piercing eyes.

She blinked. " Oh god, not now. Not with this headache. "

" No, I don't… hate you. "

She nodded and played with the spoon on her empty bowl. " That's- nice to hear…"

An eyebrow went up. " Nice? " he repeated.

She nodded. " I always thought… well hoped, I could be friends with at least one person from Slytherin- "

" You got your wish, " he said. " Except we graduated about five years back? "

" Why have you changed? " she asked.

He looked surprised. " Why do you have to ask so many questions? "

" Can't you just answer them? " she replied.

" No, " he replied blankly. " I can't. Let's not talk about that. "

Hermione's shoulders dropped. " Harry always thought- " she stopped in her tracks and looked outside a window.

" He thought? " Draco looked at her intently.

" Nothing, " she said in a small voice.

" What? " he asked with a frown.

" Nothing. "

" Don't make me sound like a broken record here, what? "

" I didn't make you sound like one. Nothing, it was nothing. "

" References to a deceased man always mean something, " he said in a low voice. His eyes suddenly looked alert and full of- derision. His jaw tightened a little.

She felt her face heat up. " Don't you dare- "

" He's dead, why else should I mask it with words that? " His words hit through her like some blunt axe. They were badly chosen! They sounded like that man who called to inform her of Harry's accident...bloody insensitive!

" Stop it! " she said in shaky voice.

" He's dead Granger. Nothing to it. You can say it. 'Harry Potter, the man I loved, the boy-who-lived is dead, gone, done for-' He's dead.-"

Hermione's palms slapped against the counter, her eyes filling with tears. " Stop it! "

Draco took a deep breath. He looked at her face and saw in her eyes defeat and fatigue. " I'm sorry, please sit down. "

Hermione sat down with drooped shoulders. " I can't… I'm sorry, I went overboard, this isn't even my house- "

" Forget it, that was just-um…morning heat, " he said with a smile.

Hermione smiled a tired smile. " I'm sorry I had to use your bathrobe. I couldn't very well rob you of more clothing, could I? "

He laughed. " Actually, I've never seen a girl look that nice in a black bathrobe. "

" Did you peek? When you undressed me? "

He shook his head. " What do you think of me? A perv? "

Hermione raised a brow and a smile. " Right…"

He laughed. " Look, I just took off your top and pants… big deal, I've seen better. "

She folded her arms. " I don't believe this! "

He laughed.

He drove her back to her flat after an hour or so of talking in the kitchen.

" We'll get your car later, " he told her.

She nodded.

" I'll call you, " he began.

Hermione laughed.

" What's so funny? "

" You- using a muggle phone! "

He smirked. " Hey, you haven't seen the rest of what I can do in this world. "

" So… how can I make it up to you? " she asked.

" How about helping me out… shopping for new furniture and the like? " And he knew Hermione was surprised, for even he was. The words just popped out of his mouth, although he did not feel regret.

" You're 'metrosexual', remember? "

" Yeah, but I need a woman's point of view on things too. "

She laughed and nodded. " Alright. "

She grinned and waved a goodbye as she headed for the stairs.

-----

-----

Hermione watched his car drive away from her window. It felt nice, yet strange to be with a Slytherin. Of course, she had to be mature. Draco was treating her like an adult and with respect, like nothing bad ever happened to them at Hogwarts. Like he had never called her 'mudblood' or didn't give Harry and Ron names (Potty & Weasel). What happened to that snug faced brat, the spoiled & rich wizard's son?

As she watched his blonde hair ruffle in the wind, Hermione thought about their breakfast conversation. Draco Malfoy had been NICE. Not something you see and experience everyday. She saw the picture placed on her study. Harry was in it. Ron was busy making snowballs beside Harry and dumping them on his head. Harry was laughing and hugging her while she was making her own snowballs.

If Draco had been nice enough back then, she thought. Would he have been in this picture?

And she recalled Harry again. She frowned. " Stop it, " she told herself.

-----

-----

Draco looked at her retreating figure. It had been an interesting morning, again. And he frowned. What the hell was this now-? Some sign again? He was… he had been sure that when Hermione started talking about. He was afraid. That was it.

" I can't, " he thought as he drove back to his house.

The sun shone on his face again, another positively brilliant day. But his thoughts seemed somewhat cloudy. Was this forgiveness? Or a punishment? What the hell was it?

------

Disclaimer: Rolex isn't mine (although, again, I wish it was!)

A/N: I hope you guys liked this chapter. Leave me your comments and reviews? You know how much i love 'em. They're like blood...i must suck on your reviews to get more inspiration...-does terrible Dracula impersonation-...haha. Okay, ever mind that blood thing. You'll love the next chapter, promise. But i think i'll only update when i get about 60 reviews in total for all these 5 chappies. Fair enough? Yeah, i know my threats won't do any good. haha!