Thanks, Mate

side story teaser: Endearment

"I'm sorry, but the King of Diamonds is not a wildcard!"

"Merlin, Hermione, of course it is!"

"I hate to intervene, however. . ." the King of Diamonds spoke regally from the top of the deck, motioning its hand dramatically.

Hermione abruptly turned the card over, ignoring the yelp of pain the Jack of Spades let out when colliding with the King's scepter. "You stay out of this!"

"Okay, are you gonna complain the entire game? Because it's really getting irritating." Lavender whined sharply, crossing her legs on the bed. She glanced across the room idly, noting the time subconsciously. "It's getting kinda late. . . maybe we should just call it my game and wrap it up."

"No way!" Hermione retorted, taking Lavender's deck from her hands as she shuffled the cards briskly. "We've been playing for 3 ruddy hours; I have to win at least once! Besides, you haven't anything better to do."

"Except sleep."

"You can sleep later." she replied with a confident smile, similar to the ones she frequently sported when solving other people's problems with her high level of intellect. Lavender merely sighed, holding out her hand for yet another hand of cards, which Hermione did not hesitate to deal out. "Okay. . ." Hermione pondered, thinking hard as she stared at her own cards. A three was always good to start with, since it left so much room for building upon. . . but if she played that Ace now. . . the levels of humiliation Lavender would fall to were simply endless. Then again, she really did feel that Five of Spades calling to her. . .

"Hermione! Wake up!" Lavender said abruptly, snapping her fingers so suddenly in front of her friend's face that she squeaked as she jumped in her seat.

"Don't do that!" she yelped, blinking a few times before reaching her normal heart rate again.

"Well if you weren't so out of it. . ." her friend countered, waving it away quickly. "Whatever. Let's try this again. Where's that Malfoy kid at an hour like this? I thought he slept here."

Hermione blinked, staring at the clock. Her face slowly sank, her realization bringing on a sigh as she looked at her friend again. "It's okay. He'll be back soon. He's just. . . Yeah, he'll be back soon. So, your turn or mine?"

"He's just what?"

Hermione shrugged. "He, um. . . he's got this little habit of breaking into the liquor cabinet in Snape's office when he's on nightly hall duty three days a week. . . he usually stays to grab what he can."

"You mean he drinks?"

"I guess so."

"A lot?"

"Sometimes."

Lavender blinked.

"It's not what you think; really, it's not." Lavender gave her a hard look. "Okay, he. . . overindulges every now and then. So he likes a little wine with dinner. . . he's a Malfoy, after all. They've probably got fancy French cuisine with a side of caviar and fine Italian wine three times a day where he's from." She snickered. "Purebloods."

"I don't appreciate that, by the way. . ." Lavender replied passively, thinking a moment. "Overindulges, huh? Well. . . as long as it doesn't bother you, I guess. . ."

"Not at all." Hermione replied reassuringly. Although, she thought, It's getting late. . . where is he? She sighed slightly, motioning for Lavender to make her move. She obliged, fingering her card thoughtfully before placing it down on the pile. She snorted slightly.

Hermione looked up at her. "What?"

"I wonder. . ." she started. "It'd be funny to see what kind of drunk someone like Draco would turn out to be like. Sorts like him usually either go philosophical with all the answers to humanity, giddy, or they go into a laughing fit and collapse on the floor for 12 hours."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Ravenclaw party?"

"Umhm." she chimed, grinning.

Hermione rolled her eyes, laughing slightly as she placed her next card down, barely hearing the card ranting on about what a poor move it was. "Moonstruck." she said finally.

"Hm?"

"He gets moonstruck. Like he's. . . in complete awe of the world. Dreamy is a good word, I suppose."

"Does not, the little prick."

"Oh, but he does. . . You should see those eyes shimmering. That shade of grey he has is such a gorgeous color to have in the first place, but with that glint in his eyes. . . Breathtaking." She smiled distantly, trying to picture it in her head to describe it properly. "He just seems so. . . so pure, innocent. . . calm. . . like a child, almost." She shrugged. "It's endearing." She paused, smirking slightly. "Now, Ron, on the other hand. . . He would be the type to go into a laughing fit and collapse on the floor for 12 hours."

Lavender snickered. "Aww. . . he's a cute one, though. Not his fault he can't hold his liquor."

"Wouldn't trade him for the world." she agreed fakely, a small, certain degree of wistfulness in her smile.

"Aww, you cutie. . . Still, I'll have to see this Malfoy thing for myself. Him, endearing. . . Merlin, that has to be a lie."

Hermione blinked slowly. "He's not a bad person, Lavender. He made a mistake, that's all."

"No, he's a bastard." Lavender retorted confidently. "I'm sure of it. Think about it; he may not have known why it was a bad idea to try and hex you, but either way, he was trying to hex you."

"I'm over it. Believe me, there's plenty more I have to deal with right now." She swallowed. "And. . . he's not a bastard; really, he's not. I'd say if he was. He's just. . . he likes staying cut off from people who don't really know him. Once he's comfortable with you, he's really quite easy to talk to. . ." She shrugged shyly. "He's helping me a lot. But yeah, I suppose he is a bit of a brick wall; I still can't figure him out most of the time."

"Then how do you know he's good?"

"Because. He's already proved it to me, I know that." Lavender looked unconvinced. "He's got a heart there somewhere. I know he does. That's all. Now, are you going to put your four down and win me the game and leave me, or are you gonna stick around to beat me again?"

Lavender blinked. "How'd you know my last card was. . .?"

"You showed me your whole deck when you were talking. Multitask-deficient?"

"Shut up." She yawned, throwing the last card down and shoving them all in the box before they started chanting their little song of victory. "And winning one time out of 20 doesn't give you bragging rights, but. . . yeah. Whatever. I'm going to bed. See ya tomorrow." she muttered, shoving the deck in her pocket before getting up, throwing one of the empty boxes of Every-Flavored Beans on the ground.

"No!" Hermione yelped suddenly, grabbing Lavender by the shirt so abruptly that she toppled backwards on top of her. "Don't go, not yet! Stay for just a little while? Please?"

"Hermione. . ." she groaned. "I'm tired."

"Then sleep here! We could have a sleepover! Oh, wouldn't that be fun?"

"I have classes in the morning."

"Oh, fine." Hermione pouted, letting her go dejectedly. She paused. "Well, then, could you just stay until Draco gets back? Then you can leave, I promise!"

"He's not coming back for a while, Hermione."

"Yes he is! He'll be back really soon! Snape usually goes back to his office to lock up around 2, and Draco's always back at least 15 minutes earlier, just to be safe. He'll be here, I promise. Just don't go yet."

Lavender sighed, eyeing her friend sympathetically. "Hermione. . . I would, you know I would. . . it's just so late, though. . ."

"Do you not see the double row of beds strewn across this whole room?" she replied, wanting to smirk so badly. "Take a nap or something. Here, you can have Draco's bed; the other mattresses are dreadfully hard, he did this softening spell on ours. . . Go ahead, he won't care."

"Fine, fine. . ." Lavender surrendered, plopping down on the bed beside Hermione's. "But I'm not taking his bed. . . that knack for making people want to knock the shite out of him might be contagious."

"Pretension, Lavender?" Hermione offered with a sigh.

"And those colors are really ugly." she added as an afterthought, sneering at the rich emerald color with its silver accent. Enough to make any Gryffindor spill his lunch. And with that, she turned on her side to find a comfortable position. Hermione smiled, turning slightly in her own spot as the bed creaked under her friend's moving figure. One time. Two times.

Three.

Four.

"Alright!" she burst suddenly, causing Hermione to flinch slightly. "I'll take his freaking bed!" She got up, muttering to herself as she rubbed the small of her back. "Fucking alabaster for a mattress. . ." she cursed, throwing back Draco's covers and snuggling in. She had to admit though; even for an aggravating bastard like him, he had one hell of a thread count.

"Poke-pooooooooookeeee!"

Hermione groaned in her sleep, hitting her visitor's hand away.

"Oh, no. . . still sleepys. . ." he confirmed sadly, his whole expression falling. One second. Two seconds. Three seconds. All at once, his face lit up again, and he poked her in the shoulder gaily as if it were a new, and, quite frankly, splendid idea. "Poke-poke, Mione-poke. . ."

She groaned again, hitting him harder this time as she mumbled. "Not now, Draco. . ." He giggled softly, almost clapping his hands in delight to find her awake.

"'Now, Draco!'" he repeated spiritedly. "Now, now. . ."

Hermione opened her eyes, staring up at him wearily. "Ugh. . . what time is it?"

"'What time is it?'" he asked, almost perfectly matching her tone as his head turned to look at the clock, though he seemed to forget what it was he was supposed to do. He turned back, looking at her strangely for a moment. "Sleepys. . ."

"I'm awake, Draco. . ." she assured him, almost groaning as she turned to stare at the clock, squinting in the darkness. She paused. "Draco, it's almost 4 o'clock. Where were you?"

"Sleepys. . ."

"I'm awake, Draco, I promise." she said patiently, sitting up and holding his face so she was sure he was looking right at her. "Work with me. It's really late. Where did you go?"

"Sleepys." he replied, taking Hermione's hands from either side of his head and clapping them together sloppily.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm not. . ."

"No, no, sleepys. . ." he interrupted, yawning cutely.

"Oh, you meant you?" Draco sat as if he couldn't even hear what she'd said, blinking at the colors swirling on her spelled blanket. Hermione looked at him, waiting for a response. "Look at me, Draco." she prodded. He groaned, flashing his eyes up at her. "Go get some sleep, okay? Go ahead. . ." she said silently, letting go of his hands as he yawned and stood, stabilizing himself clumsily against her bed.

"Niiight, night. . ." he murmured subconsciously, drifting off to his side of the room. Hermione had barely even settled down into her mound of pillows before a piercing scream echoed from across the room, almost arresting her in shock.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, MALFOY?"

"HEY!" he retorted awkwardly, positioned so askew that Hermione could barely tell if he was crouching in fear or he was really just that drunk. . . though he did seem to back up as Lavender rolled out of the opposite side of his bed, standing as far away from him as she could.

Hermione instantly rose to her feet, walking to the other side of the room as her mind tried to decipher who to tend to first. "What happened?" she asked stupidly, unable to come up with a more appropriate line.

"He just lied down right next to me, the little git!" Lavender accused, pointing at Draco like a little child. "Sorcerer's heels, Malfoy, what's wrong - "

"Lavender, you were in his bed!" Hermione interrupted, keeping an eye on Draco out of the corner of her eye, who, by the look of him, held an expression of both confusion and distress. "And he's not exactly in the right state of mind to realize it either way! Calm yourself!"

"Ugh, I think he touched me!" she yelled, rubbing her arms in an effort to calm herself. Then, as if her statement had only just sunk into her mind, she yelped, ripping off her bathrobe and throwing it to the floor as if it contained Yellow-haired Gluddnut eggs that would hatch and breed in her hair any moment. "That's freaking disgusting!"

"Oh, please, Lavender, he couldn't have given you anything! He's the most hygienic freak I know, and besides, nothing's that contagious!"

"Oh, I'm sure! He could have all sorts of crap, with all the girls he's fucked. . ."

"Lavender!" Hermione gasped, astonished.

"Lynda silly. . ." Draco said airily, attempting a laugh that translated to a hiccup. Hermione turned her head, confused, searching for the source of the sound, when she found him bending over to pick up Lavender's abandoned bathrobe. "Silly Lynda, you droppeded. . ." he explained, outstretching the robe towards its owner upon standing.

Lavender shrieked in surprise, nearly backed up against the wall. "Don't you dare come any closer, Malfoy, or I swear I'll. . ." But her sentence was never finished; it was interrupted by the most awkward sound she'd ever experienced.

And there he was, Draco Malfoy, the most pureblooded ass of them all, down there on his knees. . . crying.

Hermione and Lavender shot each other strange glances, almost as if to confirm what, in fact, he was doing. The whole scene just seemed so grossly odd that they were completely unaware of how to act. As if it wasn't bad enough with him just sitting there weeping, he howled suddenly, and the look on their faces indicated that it was hard to decide whether to laugh or console him. Hermione jerked her head, as if prompting Lavender to do the former, who gave her a look that had Excusez moi? written all over it.

Hermione sighed heavily, bending down as low as she could to both look him in the eye and prevent herself from permanently locking in that position. ". . . um, Draco. . ." she started. He showed no sign of reaction. "Draco? Are you alright?" Still nothing. She sighed, plopping down on the floor beside him, trying to pry his hand away from his face as gently as possible. "Draco, look at me. . ."

"Draco makes Lynda scream. . ." he interrupted. "Draco didn't mean to, he's sorry; sorry, sorry sorry. . ." he sobbed, trying to free his hand from Hermione's grasp as frantically as his words flew from his mouth.

"Who's Lynda?" she asked patiently. No response. Yet it seemed different this time, for some reason. She paused. "Draco," she clarified. "who's Lynda?"

"Lynda mad. . . Lynda very mad. . . Draco's sorry, I promisesed. . ."

"Draco. . . Calm down. . ." she pleaded hopelessly. "It's okay, just calm down. . ." She hesitated a moment, hovering her hand over his back, unsure of how comfortable either of them would be if she chose to comfort him that way. He's really upset though, and it might work. . . she thought. And really, he's so drunk, he won't even notice, much less care. . . as long as he doesn't remember. . . I guess it's alright. . . With that, she lowered her hand and gently began to rub his back, holding his hand away from his face. He seemed startled for just a second, choking back on his tears, and began to slowly relax to her soft cooing. "It's okay now, Draco. . . Shhh. . . There, that's it; just calm down. . ." His shoulders heaved as the last of his tears came, replacing them with only whimpering breath that became more and more stable as time went on.

Almost seemingly mesmerized, Lavender took one cautious step forward, and his eyes instantly sprang up to hers, bearing into them so deeply that she felt chills. Such beauty, such magic, such sadness those stunning, paled eyes held. . . she was just compelled to stand there as his eyes seemed to explore her soul through her own eyes; that gaze was just so entrancing that her body, her mind, they stopped all functions, operating on but a single word; endearment.

"Lynda is. . . mad?" he asked silently, his face so lovelorn and crestfallen. . . and so unbearably sad. Lavender was so captivated that she barely found the proper strength to point to herself, leaving the embrace of Draco's gaze regrettably to meet Hermione's. Her friend gave her a look that plainly displayed that her best option was playing along.

Lavender's eyes wandered back to his, feeling that same mystical, enchanting flow rush over her. What was this? How could one single stare render her so speechless? ". . .No." she whispered finally. "No; no, I'm not. . ." His eyes seemed to shimmer in response, and a gleeful smile slowly overtook his expression as he laughed carelessly. She could just feel her lips curling as the overwhelming urge to giggle consumed her.

"Ugh, Lavender, help me up?"

Lavender jumped at the sound of Hermione's voice, looking at her only to realize for the first time that she was sitting on the ground. She gasped, rushing to her friend's side to help her stand gently. "Hermione, what are you doing down there? How did you expect to get up?"

"Well I wasn't really thinking about that at that particular moment. . ." she grunted. "Here, help me get Draco to his bed; I don't think he knows what end is up. . ."

"Forget Draco, let's get you back in bed first . . . you shouldn't be up in the first place."

"Why, because I'm with child and I'm delicate property now?" Hermione snorted. "Please. I don't even look pregnant; the only reason Pomfrey keeps me in bed down here is from exhaustion. Just help me with Draco."

"Mione sleepys!" Draco urged, apparently more cognizant than they had anticipated. He stood up in a fashion that was anything but graceful, but suitable, nonetheless. "Come, Mione, sleepys. . ." he prodded, following her to her bed and waiting for her to settle in before patting her head gaily. "Night, night." he chimed, turning around at her similar acknowledgment and staring through the darkness for a moment.

"Right here, Dr – um, Malfoy. . ." Lavender directed, letting him follow the sound of her voice to his own bed. She ruffled the blanket momentarily, making it seem a little more made than it was. "Sorry for taking your bed. . . I um. . . yeah, sorry." She turned, just to find him standing directly beside her, stepping back from the initial shock. "Oh, sorry." she said shyly as her cheeks pinked slightly, seemingly unaware of what to do with herself. Those eyes. . . there they were again. . . she could just feel her complexion growing darker and darker until she felt his fingertips brush her hair from her forehead with such care and softness, completely stunning her.

"Lynda looks pretty tonight, Lynda." he said cutely. He was just so out of it that she didn't quite know if she should take it seriously or not, but it made her blush even more regardless. He blinked, smiling at her as he patted her on top of the head, just as he'd done for Hermione. "Night, night night. . ."

"Good night. . ." she managed quietly, stepping away from him. She commanded herself to move towards the door, but her body delayed just as long as it could, watching him get into bed and get himself comfortable, almost humming from his chipper mood.

With that, she shook her head, almost running towards the door erratically. So maybe a Malfoy could be endearing after all.

AN: okay guys, so that was just a little teaser for things to come. The next chapter will be HUGE. It's actually my project in writing camp currently. (yes, I go to writing camp :P dork) So that said, it will be perfect. There will be 6 MONGO things that happen in the next chapter, and, regrettably, . . . wait, I just realized I can't say what I was about to say. Damnit. :P but yeah, that's happening too. So there will be not 6, but 7 major things to happen in the next chapter. And it will be mongo long, so get ready. And since its my writing camp project, you only have to wait for 2 weeks! YAY! It's getting me in the writing buzz, I love it. Well, please review! Much love till next time! -- Suki

formatting updated July 26, 2006