Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I do not own anything regarding Harry Potter or all characters associated with the books. I only wanted to present my version of what should have happened with Draco and Hermione.

Since the Dallas Cowboys had played on Monday Night Football, it threw off Hermione's week. The Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays were approaching and everyone was trying to get everything done so time could be taken off. Her desk was piled up with so many different projects that needed to be completed as soon as possible. With her intelligence and efficiency, her desk was clear by the end of the week. It was finally Friday and close to 5 p.m. Eliza, her assistant was preparing to leave when she stopped by Hermione's office. She asked, "Hermione, I am going have a few drinks with some of the ladies if you care to join us." Hermione always turned her down, but it had been so crazy this week that she decided to go. Eliza's face lit up and she said, "I can't believe you said yes! We are going to have so much fun!"

The ladies met up at Iron Cactus, a Mexican restaurant and margarita bar. After sharing a few appetizers, the margaritas started flowing. Hermione took a sip of hers and thought to herself, "This is going down so good!" She and the other ladies were having such a great time, laughing and talking about everything but work. It was nice to see this side of Hermione; many people in the office thought that she was a tad uptight, they had no idea she could let loose. It was also karaoke night at the Iron Cactus. Eliza got up and sang a nice rendition of a Taylor Swift song. The ladies in their group got up and sang "We Got the Beat" by the GoGos. They received a standing ovation. Hermione checked her watch and was shocked to see that it was almost 1 a.m. She was a little shocked, but the buzz from her margaritas was still going strong, so she said "Fuck it." It had been ages since she really "let her hair down" and it felt good. They had a designated driver, so Hermione made it back home safely at about 3 a.m. Saturday morning!

She stumbled into her apartment and kicked off her stiletto pumps. She giggled and went to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. She also kept her hangover potion in the fridge and managed to get that out too. She was drunk, but sensible enough to remember that! She consumed both and began taking off her clothes as she walked to her bedroom. When she finally made it to her bed, she fell face first on the mattress and promptly fell asleep.

She woke up at about 10:00 a.m. and felt refreshed. She was still taken aback at how she had such a good time with the ladies from the office. It was good to kick back and have fun. She did light housekeeping and left for a few hours to run errands. When she returned to her condo, her cell started ringing. It was Danni-Lynn, one of the cheerleaders. She wanted to know if Hermione wanted to go dancing with her and the other cheerleaders that night. Hermione told her "Why not!" Danni-Lynn's reaction was similar to Hermione's assistant Eliza. Hermione always turned them down, so Danni-Lynn was surprised she agreed to go with them. She told Hermione that they would pick her up at 7:15 p.m. and make sure she wore something sexy and sassy, they were going clubbing!

Before getting gussied up for the evening, she checked her email. There was the usual junk and mostly emails from Draco and Ginny. Hermione sighed; she was counting down the weeks until she would be back in London and seeing her old friends. Draco had been extremely busy in the past month or so, but he still managed to send her flowers and told her he loved her every day. She was really missing him and could not wait to jump his bones again; he was so damn hot and mouth-watering.

Hermione started getting ready for her evening out. After showering, she fixed her hair and decided to wear it down. Thank goodness she didn't have that tangled mop sitting on her head anymore. She usually kept her makeup light, but she decided to really emphasize her eyes. With the cosmetic tricks she learned from Aunt Bunny, her eyes looked spectacular. Amazing how small amounts of brown and taupe eye shadow, brown eyeliner, and mascara could totally transform your face. She decided to wear a very short Giorgio Armani silk dress. It was pale gray with faint hints of white flowers printed on it. It was very clingy, yet flattering to her curves. She paired the dress with Jimmy Choo pumps and was ready to go.

She could not believe it when a Cadillac Escalade limousine pulled up to pick her up. When she got in, pretty much all of the cheering squad was in the vehicle. All of the ladies looked exceptionally beautiful and admired each other's outfits. Hermione fit in well with the others, they were all dressed similarly. Danni-Lynn stood up and said, "Okay ya'll, there is no game to cheer for tomorrow, so we are free tonight! Let's get shitfaced!" Hermione and the other ladies laughed and cheered her on. Danni-Lynn was a typical Southern belle, but could drink and fight like a man should the occasion arise. Hermione was handed a beer, but she carefully took only small sips. She was definitely not getting drunk, she wanted stay sober and dance the night away. She wanted to burn all the excess energy she had, if only it could be burnt in the bedroom with Draco.

Their destination was Station 4, a massive dance club with a thundering sound system and laser lights. The ladies were met by the valets and escorted to the entrance with no waiting. Hermione felt badly for the people waiting in line, but that was a perk of being a Dallas Cowboy cheerleader. As soon as she stepped into the club, she and another cheerleader, Shelly, headed to the dance floor. Shelly was gorgeous and resembled the famous singer/actress Beyonce. As soon as these beauties hit the floor, they were surrounded by men, but they kept their distance. Shelly was dating a defensive lineman of the Dallas Cowboys and was not interested in dancing with other men, as was Hermione. A slow song came on and they left the floor to grab something to drink from the bar. It took a few minutes to get to the bar, because they were stopped by so many guys wanting to dance. Shelly and Hermione finally made it to the bar. Hermione was surprised that Shelly did not care to drink alcohol either. They ordered mineral waters and sat at the bar enjoying all of the sights. Danni-Lynn was bumping and grinding in a small cage near the dance floor, teasing the men. The club was so extensive, the ladies were everywhere. All of a sudden, Danni-Lynn let out a shriek and ran up to group of men who had just walked in. It was players from the Dallas Cowboys and Shelly's boyfriend was among them. Shelly's boyfriend, Gerald, made a beeline for her. Shelly introduced him to Hermione. Gerald was 6'4 and about 250 lbs. of pure muscle. There was another guy with them, Andy. Andy was a punter for the team. He was your typical All-American guy, blonde hair and blue eyes. Very easy on the eyes, but Hermione could only think of Draco and how much she missed him. Andy asked her to dance and she figured it was only a dance and she was not doing anything wrong. They danced a few more times and talked over the music. She found out that he had just become engaged to his girlfriend from his hometown of Boulder, Colorado. He was a nice guy and really only wanted to dance and have fun, nothing else! Unbeknownst to Hermione, Draco was at the club.

Draco was able to wrap things up at the Auror's office and decided he would surprise Hermione. He knew how happy she was when he showed up the last time. He decided to apparate and made it into her condo. He called her name a few times and was surprised she was not there. He was able to do a tracking spell with an article of her clothing. It led him to Station 4. He was a bit bewildered and wondered what the hell she was doing there. He was able to get past the line waiting to get in and could not believe what he saw. His Hermione was with another man! He did not want to cause a scene, so he quickly exited the club and went back to wait for her at her condo.

After a few hours, Hermione was ready to go home. She had a good time, but she did not know if she would go clubbing with the girls again anytime in the near future. She told Shelly she was going to call a cab and go home. She was going to let Danni-Lynn know, but she was so blitzed, it was going to be a miracle if she even remembered how to get home. Andy was ready to go too, so he insisted that he would give Hermione a ride home instead of her having to call a cab. She graciously accepted the offer. The drive to her condo was very pleasant. Andy truly was a gentleman and had no ulterior motives. He made sure that she made it into her condo safely before he drove off. Draco was watching all of this from Hermione's bedroom window.

She was so tired and could not wait to scrub off the makeup and change into a comfy nightgown. There was a new novel on her bedside table and she figured she would read before going to sleep. She walked into her bedroom and flipped on the lights. She got the shock of her life when she saw Draco sitting in a chair near her bed. He stood up and said, "Surprised to see me?" Hermione quickly recovered from the shock and ran to embrace him. She was dismayed to find that he was stiff and made no move to embrace her. She asked, "Is something wrong? I am so glad that you are here!" He replied, "Are you? Who was the bloke that just dropped you off? Why were you dancing with him and what the hell are you wearing?" Hermione was pissed. "Where the hell do you get off on spying on me? I did nothing wrong, there wasn't anything illicit going on. You have a filthy mind!" Draco grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her on the bed. He said, "I'll show you a filthy mind!"

Hermione was about to kick him in the balls, but his reflexes were too quick. He pinned her down and ground his lips into hers. It was painful and she tried to wrench away, but he was too strong. He growled, "You are mine, I will not have you cavorting with some random muggle!" She managed to get one hand free and slapped him across the face. Draco grinned and said, "So that is how it is going to be?" He did a quick spell and he and Hermione's clothes were off. She was as angry as hornets having their nest disturbed. She kept trying to hit him again, but he held her off. Gradually, she started responding to his kisses. She really missed him and loved him; she could not resist his advances even though it was done in anger. The tension started easing in his body and he relaxed as she responded to him. He longed for her so much and hated how he lost control. He entered her with one thrust and their bodies moved together. She wrapped her legs around his waist and lifted her hips to meet his thrusts. This action made him pump even harder and as he came, he stared straight into her eyes and said, "I love you, Hermione, so, so much. Why do you want to hurt me?"

She hated the way her body responded, but she enjoyed the sex. How was she going to convince him that there was not anything going on? After that chaotic episode, she went to the bathroom to wash up. Her makeup was smeared and there were bruises in different areas of her body. She put on an old t-shirt and went back to the bedroom. Draco was getting dressed. He told her, "I'm sorry, but I have to get back. I just received an emergency notification. I don't know what came over me. We need to talk and make some decisions. I don't know how much of this long-distance relationship I can take. I love you, but this is getting difficult." Hermione nodded in agreement. She said, "We will work it out, you need to trust me. I would never hurt you. I love you too. You have to understand that I built a life here. I can't just up and leave." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. He said "We'll talk. I will see you in a few weeks." He then apparated out of her bedroom. When he was gone, Hermione got back into her bed. She could still smell him. She inhaled deeply and cried herself to sleep.

Oh no! Trouble in paradise? It wouldn't be Dramione without drama! I will try to get Chapter 9 out this weekend. Looks like Hermione will finally make it back to the wizarding world. Thank you again for the reviews and for adding me favorite stories/author and alerts, makes my heart sing!