Chapter 5
"What's going on with them?" Ginny wondered, observing the distance Draco and Hermione kept from one another.
Harry scowled as he set the table for dinner. "I thought things were getting better," he replied disappointedly. "One awkward hello doesn't seem like progress to me."
"Maybe they shagged," she suggested with more enthusiasm than her fiance appreciated. Harry rolled his eyes as he set down the final plate. "What? It makes sense. You said they were getting along, and now they can barely look at one another. They reek of regret sex."
Laughing, he informed her that she was disgusting before leaving to check on dinner. Ginny stood in the archway between the dining room and living room, waiting for Hermione to look up from her book. When she glanced briefly at the younger witch, Ginny beckoned her to the dining room.
"Need help?" Hermione asked, looking at the set table. Grinning, Ginny shook her head. "Are you sure? It doesn't just have to be with dinner. I'd be more than happy to take you to St. Mungo's, if needed."
"No, I want to know what happened between you and Malfoy," she said, unable to contain her excitement. "How was it? Were the old Hogwarts rumors true?"
Confused, Hermione began to back away. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she stated. "Nothing's happened between us. Also, what rumors?"
The redhead waved off her question. "No rumors," she said quickly. "So, you didn't sleep with him?"
Appalled by the accusation, Hermione dragged Ginny into the kitchen. "Good, you're here too," she said to Harry. "I'm saying this once and definitively - there is nothing happening between Malfoy and me. I don't know where you got this idea that we're sleeping together, but it's the farthest thing from the truth. Have you ever known me to jump into bed with the first man who crosses my path? No, and that didn't happen with him."
"Then why are the two of you acting so strange?" Harry wondered. With a heavy sigh, she told him about the late night at her flat. "So you had a food fight and he left. What am I missing?"
"Everything," Ginny replied, patting his back.
Throwing up his hands in surrender, Harry made his way to the kitchen door. "We don't like each other," Hermione told her friends. "It was just...odd. It was like we were friends."
Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "That would be a bad thing?" he inquired.
Hermione saw the pain in his green eyes and shook her head. "No, it would be great," she assured him. "It scares me though. We were having a nice time. I can't remember the last person who's made me laugh like he did. We hated each other for so long, and things seem to have changed. It's just walking out like he did...I don't know that I can handle that a second time."
Wrapping his arms around her, Harry held his best friend close. "I understand," he murmured.
"Malfoy's not Ron though," Ginny added. "As much as it pains me to say this, the two of you have a lot more in common than you and Ron did."
Both only children, neither had much family beyond their parents. Though Draco's were still alive, he had implied that they no longer had any contact. She admired his ability to walk away from a dysfunctional situation, one that made him indescribably unhappy. He seemed lighter and more carefree without their constant presence.
The kitchen door swung open, and a confused Draco entered. "Is everything alright?" he asked, his gray eyes landing on Hermione. With a tight-lipped smile, she nodded and pulled away from Harry. "You sure?" he asked only loud enough for her to hear as she approached.
Once again, she nodded, and led him out of the room. "Look, um, I'm sorry," she told him. "The other night...I don't know what got into me. I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable."
"You didn't," he assured her. "Honestly, I thought I'd done that to you. I know you and Ron haven't been broken up all that long, and I'm sure I'm the last person in the world you want to talk to about that, but I was afraid that maybe you might regret what happened."
Hermione smiled as she gave his bicep a gentle squeeze. "I don't regret having a friend," she said. "At least, I hope that's what we might be."
"I'd like that," he replied, offering his arm when they were called to dinner. They sat beside each other as Harry and Ginny put pot roast and potatoes on the table. Draco shook his head when Harry shot him a questioning glance. "He expects me to tell him what we talked about."
Hermione said Harry's name in an admonishing way, but let him know he would learn no details of their private conversation. The quartet tucked in, discussing wedding plans as they ate. Ron, Hermione learned, was upset when he found out that Draco had been chosen as best man, and declined their invitation to the wedding. She felt guilty. If it hadn't been for their split, Ron would be Harry's best man.
"I'm sorry," she mumbled, despite the couple's protests that it wasn't her fault. Beneath the table, Draco touched her knee. "Admit it - if we were still together, still getting married, this wouldn't be an issue right now."
Ginny scoffed. "You're not responsible for my brother's actions," she stated. "Engaged, not engaged, you're not responsible for him. He's an adult, whether he acts like one or not. Don't feel bad about this, Hermione."
"I could talk to him," she offered.
Harry's fork clattered against his plate, startling his dinner companions. "No, that's not necessary," he said sternly. "Look, Hermione, Ron doesn't want to be there. Leave it alone."
Chagrined, she spent the rest of the meal in silence. When they finished, she declined coffee and dessert, claiming she had work to finish. Draco escorted her home despite her protests. "Are you okay?" he asked when they arrived at her flat.
"Did they pick me over Ron?" she wondered, leading him to the kitchen.
"I don't know," he replied, taking the proffered fork from her hand as she set a pound cake on the table between them. "Maybe he asked them to. It's possible that he's as uncomfortable as you are."
"But he's family," she argued. "What am I?"
Draco inhaled. "A friend, same as me," he said. "Of course, Harry considers you a sister, and you're probably the closest Ginny's ever had to one. I'm just that guy who used to tease you lot and occasionally get into fights with you. If it helps any, I feel a bit guilty that Harry picked me."
"Are we getting ahead of ourselves?" she asked. "Maybe they're right. Maybe we should just let Ron not be a part of their wedding. If it mattered that much to Harry and Ginny that he be there, they certainly wouldn't have asked us to be in the wedding party."
He nodded in agreement, but it somehow made him feel worse. Harry and Ron had been best friends for more than a decade, and he suddenly felt like he'd usurped Weasley's place. It felt wrong. "Maybe you should talk to Ron," he suggested. "Just don't let Harry and Ginny know."
