Disclaimer: In case you have been living in a cave on mars with your fingers in your ears for the last ten years or so; JK Rowling owns Harry Potter and all terms and characters associated with the fandom. I only own the story, some characterisations and an occasional OC, I try to limit them as much as possible. Song lyrics which may crop up now and then will be attributed as appropriate.

Chapter 17 – An Attempt To Tip The Scales


"Did you expect it all to stop at the wave of your hand?
Like the sun's just going to drop if it's night you demand.
Well, in the dark we're just air so the house might dissolve.
But once we are gone, who's gonna care if we were ever here at all?
Well, summer's going to come, it's gonna cloud our eyes again.
No need to focus when there's nothing that's worth seeing.
So we trade liquor for blood in an attempt to tip the scales.
I think you lost what you loved in that mess of details.
They seemed so important at the time
but now you can't even recall any of the names, faces, or lines.
It's more the feeling of it all.
Well, winter is going to end, I'm going to clean these veins again.
So close to dying that I finally can start living.…."

Bright eyes

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When Draco entered through the front door of his house, he had full intentions of going straight upstairs, kicking Blaise out of his bed and demanding to know what exactly he thought he was doing throwing a party and not even telling him about it. But when he did cross over the threshold of his house, he found the house elf waiting for him, a cup of tea in one hand and an owl post letter in the other, beaming up at him. "Look Obed," began Draco, removing his cloak and hanging it up. "I haven't had the best of days and to top it all off, I'm incredibly sober, so go get me a very large glass of firewhiskey ok?" He pointed to the letter in the elf's hands. "What's that?"

The house elf looked at the letter in his hand before handing it out to his master. "I think it's from Miss Pansy sir." He said. "It smells the way her letters normally smell, it arrived about half an hour ago."

Draco sighed, turning the envelope over in his hands. "Alright, what's she got to say this time?" He said, speaking to himself. He tore open the envelope and pulled the letter out from inside, unfolding it his eyes started to scan over Pansy's slanted black writing.

Dear Draco,

Seeing that you have yet to ask me to attend the party tonight with you, I will assume that you have assumed that I need no asking. In most cases, you would be wrong. Just because there is a party does not automatically mean that I will attend it with you without you having to ask. But because tonight is important I am willing to overlook your lapse in judgement and attend the party with you anyway. I will be at your house at around 7.45.

Love

Pansy x

Draco rolled his eyes at the saccharin kiss marked next to Pansy's name. If even she was aware of this supposed party tonight, then he needed to have serious words with his housemate.

He began to climb the stairs but stopped at the midway point, Blaise could be a pain in the arse when it came to the subject of trying to extract information from him. It occurred to him that it could be a lot easier all around going to someone else in this house. Someone who practically organised their lives for them. He would go to Granger.

Draco turned on his heels and began coming back down the stairs, walking along the corridor till he reached the servants door. He raised his hand to knock but drew breath a little as Hermione opened the door, his hand still poised in the now open door frame.

"Oh!" Hermione gasped. "You surprised me for a moment there." She began to smile but remembered that the relieving casual attitude that had been in the house for the past couple of days was probably long gone. "Was there something you needed?"

Bringing his hand down, Draco nodded. "Erm, yes actually Granger, there was something. It's about this party tonight…"

"Oh you mean Vincent Crabbe's engagement party? I set out your dress robes on your bed, weren't they the ones you wanted to wear?" Hermione said, before biting her lip, realising she had interrupted him and it might cause a conflict with his mood.

"Vincent Crabbe's engagement party?" Draco started to scratch the back of his neck. "You mean Blaise isn't having a party here tonight?"

"Well, not as far as I'm aware he isn't." She replied. "You hadn't forgotten about the party had you?"

"It's the first I've sodding heard about it!"

Hermione smiled a little in spite of herself. "I think the invitation may have come addressed to both of you, maybe Blaise just forgot to mention it because as far as I understand, half the country's been invited."

"I didn't even know he was getting engaged. I have to say Granger, this is a relief of massive proportions." Draco said, smiling although unaware he was doing it. "I was ready to take Blaise's head off about this."

She smiled. "I think he would find it quite hard to get up in the mornings without a head."

"If I poured a cup of tea down his neck stump, I have the feeling he'd still be able to make it to work on time." Draco said, smirking slightly. "You know what he's like, can't cope in the mornings until he's had at least five cups of tea."

"Unless he's been drunk the night before, in which case he has black coffee with firewhiskey." She replied, smiling at Draco as she moved back into her room, having forgotten the reason she had intended to leave it in the first place.

Draco moved over the threshold, placing one hand on the doorframe. "And what do I like in the mornings Granger?"

Hermione began folding a towel that she had left on the foot of her bed. "Well if it's a typical morning it'll be toast and sometimes you like to put lemon curd, which is disgusting by the way, or jam on top of it or..." She raised her head and looked towards Draco, who had raised his eyebrow and was looking at her curiously.

"I don't think you quite get my meaning Granger, I wasn't talking about my favourite kind of conserve. Although you're completely wrong about Lemon Curd." He dropped his hand to his side and took a step inside her room and closed the door behind him. "I was talking about other kinds of things I like in the morning."

"Oh?" Hermione raised her eyebrows, her eyes drifting the closed door for a moment. "Other things?"

"That's right." He said even though his inner self was screaming at him; 'What the hell are you doing Draco? Now is not the time to be propositioning Granger. I don't care how horny you are.'

"Tell me Mr Malfoy, because I'm curious." Hermione said, placing the towel she had been thumbing down on her dresser. "What did you do in Hogwarts when you wanted casual sex and you couldn't get it from your girlfriend?"

He smirked at her. "Mostly I did a girl who knew how to keep her mouth shut, although I'll assure you, I was nowhere near as bad as someone who shall only be referred to as; Mr Any-Hole's-A-Goal."

Hermione laughed a little. "Are you sure you need me to do anything? Pansy might be in a generous mood after the party." She wasn't sure what she was saying, she had been thinking about him more and more that day. She couldn't shake him from her mind, she had begun to thinking that her assessment of him earlier had been too hasty.

"That she might but it is not you're place to speak about a respected pureblood in that manner Granger." He started moving towards her, in slow casual strides. "After all, you must remember that she is a respected pureblood and you are a mudblood servant. You remember our arrangement don't you?" He reached out, placing his right hand against the side of her neck.

"I remember, but do you remember the one thing I asked of you?" She looked up her eyes meeting his, she couldn't read the expression beneath his cool gaze.

"I do, but every now and then I want to remind you of what your place is in this household." Draco said as he found Hermione's hand coming to his waist and bunching his shirt in her small fist.

"You're fuck toy?"

He narrowed his eyes a little, he didn't like his actions being described in such accurate ways when he knew what he was doing was wrong. "I prefer to think of it more as forbidden fruit myself."

"Why Mr Malfoy, I didn't realise you were so..." She was cut off in the middle of her sarcastic sentence by Draco's mouth pushing onto her own. All the thoughts previously occupying her mind seemed to melt away as her lips pressed against his and she found them moving over to the bed in a unified motion.

Draco pushed her down and pressed himself on top of her, he didn't want to think of this right now as pureblood and mudblood, master and servant or even Malfoy and Granger. He was thinking about their coupling as; Draco and Hermione, boy and girl and even though he knew how dangerous it was for him to think in those terms, he could not stop himself.

Hermione wasn't even thinking anymore, all she could do was react, her back arched as his hand drifted down the top of her clothes, her mouth kept moving in time with his and the sole of her foot rubbed the back of his calf as they laid with one another on the bed.

Draco knew he was going to have to stop this sooner or later, it was becoming beyond the point of; a bit of fun and becoming far too engaging. But he told himself this one last time wouldn't hurt. He could talk to Blaise about trading Granger in for another household's mudblood. But he could do that tomorrow.

Both Hermione and Draco were so engrossed in each other that neither of them noticed the door to Hermione's room opening. In fact they did not break their lock on one another until the voice from across the room sounded out.

"I think this situation is going to present a problem."

Draco and Hermione froze, then turned their heads towards the door slowly...

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Author's Notes:

DUN, DUN, DUN... The Cliff-hanger-Cow is back...

First off a special shout out goes to Fantasygirl26, sorry for making you think I was dead. (Gives you nice shiny lollypop.)

Second, thanks to BB Macintosh and allycat1186 for their lovely reviews, keep 'em coming ladies, I loves me feedback.

Third, thanks to Jonathan J Strange who's attempting to get through all these chapters as fast as he can without calling me too many harsh names. I don't think he realised just how much of a cow I was until he started reading this story and became relieved when he realised that although he was far behind, it meant he didn't have to wait to find out what happens next on the cliff hanger ending chapters. (And although in the process of writing this chapter he has read his way through the last 7 I have written and is now wanting this one up, he shall have to be as patient as the rest of you.)

Who is stood at the door? I'm afraid, I'm not going to tell you. Partly because it's funny and partly because it will totally spoil the next chapter and you don't want that do you?

To those who think they know; boy are you in for a surprise...

Please R&R and don't forget to check out the poll on the top of my homepage, I wanna know what you guys think I should write next.