Disclaimer: I do not own anything, only the plot (if you can realize that there is a plot). Everything else is owned by the brilliant JK Rowling. The first word(s) of every chapter came from the first stanza of the song "Until We Bleed", sang by Lykke Li and done by Andrea Kleerup.

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, Miss Jo-Marie and Miss Angelndevil1. You lifted my spirits. I love you guys for it! And for that, here's another chapter. On the first chapter, it was basically Hermione's life after the war. This chapter is a take on Draco's fate after, as well. Reviewing will be highly appreciated! :)

I'm numb.

It's been almost three months since he and Hermione shared their "unforgettable" night together. After just screwing with another random woman he met at the bar near a muggle university, Draco finds himself thinking about Hermione. He thought about the breakfast they had that Sunday morning in his kitchen, how it was the best conversation he had in years. Growing up in the Malfoy household wasn't really the best setting for a child to learn the secret to conversing with others; he only heard a few sentences once in a while from his father while his mother only silently cared for her son as she was not allowed to speak her mind most of the time. This made him very aggressive as a child, always taking out his frustrations to the unknowing house elves. But somehow, talking to the muggleborn he loathed for many years seemed to have done the trick.

Draco wasn't much of a loner, as most may have known. He was very sociable, in his unique way. During his school years, it was evidently felt in the Slytherin House that Draco was superior to everyone every time he spoke, which wasn't very fulfilling to him as anyone thought would. He was feared and no one from his peers would dare question him in any way. Being an intellectual person that he is, he always felt disappointed when talking to his dim-witted goons and always longed for someone that felt equal to him. He envied those groups of people that he found having deep conversations at the side of the corridors or saw laughing at the Great Hall; he would always just think to himself that what they were on about was probably stupid. His "loneliness" may have been the reason why he always felt eager to piss know-it-all Hermione Granger off; she was equal to him, in more ways than he'd admit, and their intense exchange of insults and retorts satisfied him on some level.

As he was given the task to kill his school's headmaster, he found himself torn between two mindsets; one that wants to save himself and his parents from grave danger and another that just wants to runaway and forget anything ever happened. He knew that all his life he was being brain-washed to believe that muggles, half-blooded wizards, and muggleborns are beneath purebloods but he, himself, didn't believe this. Even so, he kept lying to himself, telling himself that his task was an honor given to their family name, even though in reality he was scared to death knowing he might not succeed and will suffer the consequences in case he didn't. Even during the battle, he didn't have the courage cast one offensive spell to enemy lines, only defensive charms to protect him and his parents.

The rest was a blur to him after the Dark Lord had fallen. His family wasn't charged of anything as Severus Snape and Albus Dumbledore, even before everything even happened, had already made arrangements for him not to be imprisoned for what he had done as he was, in Snape's words, as a victim of Voldemort as all others were, and of course, for their last-minute switch in allegiance. However, it pained him after his father committed suicide. Though, it didn't take long until he was back on his own two feet, ready to live a second life as a regular wizard of the new Wizarding community.

With his mother, they built a new identifier to the Malfoy name. Along with it was being acquainted with a few eligible ladies that would help re-establish Draco as a new man in the Wizarding world. Pansy Parkinson introduced him to Astoria, their fellow Slytherin and their classmate Daphne Greengrass' younger sister. After a few dates, Draco and Astoria became an item for all to feast on with gossip and news. He was fond of Astoria as she wasn't what people assume of her. She was highly intelligent, very witty, had a sense of humor and, most importantly, was very independent and adventurous. They both didn't want to be tied down to one person, and were willing to have a non-monogamous relationship. Since the two of them agreed that they were not entirely in love with each other, Astoria set rules to be followed to make sure they wouldn't have fights and misunderstand each other. They freely went out with other people, disguise so people wouldn't recognize them, even though they were already engaged for marriage.

He opened his eyes as he heard the blonde haired muggle girl beside him greet him good morning. He flinched as her hand found its way between his legs. Letting out a soft chuckle, he turned to face the girl and stroked her full sized breasts. He prompted himself using his right arm to support his weight and his left hand to leave trail along her curves. She gave him a shy smile, pushing him on the bed, making her landed on top of his chest. Her hair fell down on his face, the smell of apples filling his senses. He closed his eyes, remembering how Hermione smelled that night they shared. Shaking away the thought, he pulled the girl toward him and gave her their final kiss.

"I have to go. I have to get home," he said softly, while putting on his black boxers, "Last night was lovely."

"I know. I was there," she giggled, handing him his white V-neck plain shirt and blue jeans, "I guess I'll see you around, then?"

"You will."

As soon as he finished getting dressed, he walked off this woman's house and looked for an alley to disapparate. While walking, he somehow felt empty inside, knowing that last night's events had no effect to him. On his first few times of fooling around, he would feel satisfied and exhilarated which later turned to a sport as he would challenge himself into meddling with muggle women as well. It fascinated him how different witches and muggles were in bed and even decided to interchange what type of girl he would take every other week, just to keep things new and interesting. Every girl he would fornicate would be different from the one previous to her. This blonde girl should've been exciting for him as she was his first muggle University student, the youngest he has ever done. But, to his dismay, it felt like nothing.

In a few moments, he arrived in the drawing room of the Manor, sighting Astoria inside another man's clothes. Her hair was chestnut red which was her favorite hair color to use when disguising herself. She wore her signature purple lingerie inside a white long sleeved polo, which Draco knew didn't belong to him. She never wore his clothes after they have sex, though he didn't feel even a hint of jealousy towards the man Astoria stole the polo from. The sight of it made him realize he was numb. He didn't feel anything seeing his fiancée looking like wreck after a night of being fucked by another man that he didn't know. He knew he should've at least felt a little disgusted about how their promiscuity didn't bother them both, but he didn't feel anything. He felt nothing. They stared at each other blankly for a few seconds, not knowing what to say to each other as this moment never happened to them before. Finally, Astoria spoke.

"This is much of an eye-opener." She walked across the room, her arms across her chest. "Who's the lucky girl today, Draco?"

"Did we ever talk about them before?" He said, in hesitation. He put his hand on the top of her head and kissed her forehead. She felt warm against his lips. He slowly pulled back and looked into her bare face, noticing a few hickeys along her exposed shoulder.

"I guess we never did, didn't we? We shouldn't, really."

She smiled so angelically at him, something Draco hadn't seen in a while. His mind ran out of thoughts as his hands fell on her shoulders, covering them later with the shirt. He gave her a faint smile, agreeing with what she said. He scratched his head a few times, looking down at her bare feet on their cold marble floors. She turned away from him, walking back toward their room, her hands rubbing the bright red hickeys on her neck and shoulders, letting out quiet sniggers.

He took his wand from their study and charmed his hair back to its original platinum blonde color. Looking at the big gold-framed mirror on the wall on the side his desk, he observed his appearance. His hair at ears' length, his lips were dry pink, his face a little tanned and dry, his eyes were grey and… empty. He tried practicing how to smile and was dismayed of how awkward he looked and how stupid he was to even try. He smirked as he went back to their living room.

Lying on the big green couch, he closed his eyes and let his mind drift to different thoughts about his father's death, his mother in Denmark finally finding happiness in the simple living in the countryside, Pansy Parkinson expecting a baby, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley getting married in a few months, and Hermione Granger being out of the scenes. He felt his pulse beat faster in his body, reminding him how it felt fucking her pointless that one night. The thought of Hermione Granger made his heart beat raise. It has been the only thing that excited him for the last weeks. He opened his eyes instantly, overwhelmed by the reaction his mind and body made with the just the thought of her name. Hermione Granger. Reminiscing about their conversation about life after the war, he thought that maybe there's a chance that they could meet again just to feed his craving.

"Are you okay Draco? Did you have breakfast?"

Astoria stood in front of him with two tea cups in her hands. Draco sat up and arranged the pillows at the back, giving Astoria space to sit on their vintage loveseat. She was now wearing her usual cardigan top and loose sweat pants, still barefooted, and her hair back to its dark brown shade. She gave the cup of milk tea to Draco as she took a sip from hers and placed it on top of the coffee table in front of them. She sat beside him while he took a sip, and then making him lay down again with his head on her thigh. He closed his eyes, trying to get his mind off Granger for a minute as he was actually spending a serene moment with his fiancée. He let out a breath, feeling Astoria play with his hair, massaging the back of his head.

"I'm not hungry." He said, holding her hand and giving it a light peck.

She continued playing with his hair with her soft warm hands. He would hear her deep breaths as the Manor was very silent that Sunday morning. She would then place her hand on Draco's chest, while looking out the window. From his view, he could see how radiant her skin was against the sunlight coming in the house. She would then look back at his face and straighten her lips to a thin line, forming another smile. She looked so peaceful and satisfied to him. He remembered then that he was going to get married to this woman, the woman that will forever be by his side. His eyes lit up as he knew he made the right decision.

"We're set to wed in a month, Draco." She stated in a tone of a whisper. "Don't you have plans of—"

"Cancelling it? No." He said, in a hazy manner. He held her hand tighter this time, making sure to her that he wanted their marriage to happen. He opened his eyes but saw Astoria eyes blinking in surprise. He pretended that what he said was a joke, which didn't pass on as what really his previous statement was.

"What I was going to say was 'don't you have plans to stop fooling around with other women?'"

Author's Note: I have no idea how Astoria would be like, as she wasn't really described. Reading other people's work (only a few, but still), she's always the dependent woman to Draco. I'd like to think of her differently. Please review. Thanks for reading! :o3