"Hermione! Hermione!" someone was yelling, and Hermione pulled a pillow over her eyes.

"Merlin, I'm getting up!" she yelled back, and sat up, rubbing her eyes.

The door swung open and she blearily looked to see the intruder. Ginny smiled at her.

"Sleepyhead, it's time for our monthly brunch with the girls!"

Hermione's eyes widened. "When do I ever forget that?"

"Obviously since the after party three days ago. You've been forgetting everything!"

"Sorry, sorry," Hermione said as she quickly got ready for her day.

A half hour later, she was sitting between Luna and Hannah and gossiping like the girls they were at a quaint little café in the middle of London.

"And Terry and Lavender got quite friendly, and nobody saw them later that night!" Padma was saying.

"Gods, Lavender and Terry? I mean, it's not surprising for her to shag someone drunk, but poor Terry!" Ginny exclaimed.

"I know! And I heard from Michael that he had a pretty little crush on her for awhile."

"I heard that too!" Hannah said.

"How sad," Katie commented, and the girls nodded.

Hermione nodded along with them, when she furrowed her brows as a piece of a new memory suddenly hit her.

"Granger! What the hell?" he exclaimed. Hermione had stood and had been so unsteady she'd fallen into Malfoy. "You all right?" he asked humourously, helping her stand straight, as Hermione laughed.

"I think you'll have to stick with me and make sure I don't fall," she said, and Draco chuckled before taking a swig from a bottle.

"My pleasure."

"Oh my, and Hermione, you and Malfoy at the pub were hilarious to watch!" Katie said with a laugh.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed, panicking.

"You two could barely keep your eyes off each other! And after everything he said, you'd laugh. I began thinking there was someone you were trying to impress."

Hermione smiled, hiding her confusion and alarm. "I can't remember at all."

"Aw, that's terrible!" Susan said. "It looked like you two were having a swell time, too."

Hermione shrugged. "I'd be afraid to know what a swell time with Malfoy would be like."

The girls giggled, and Ginny sighed.

"I wish I could've been there. Why did it only have to be for the Ministry workers?"

"Yeah, same here," Hannah agreed. "You don't really have much fun being the landlady of the Leaky Cauldron."

"Except for the money you make!" Ginny exclaimed, and Hannah laughed.

"You really don't remember anything from the pub, Hermione?" Susan asked, and Hermione shook her head.

"Not much after playing Empty the Cauldron for a few rounds."

"Gods, you got pissed!" Ginny laughed, and Hermione rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"Even a meticulous witch as I must have at least one night to let go of herself."

"And you sure did let go!" Katie said with a giggle.

"What?"

Padma, Katie, and Susan looked at each other before grinning at Hermione. "You and Malfoy."

"What?"

"He kissed you and you let go of all reason after that!" Susan exclaimed.

Hermione gaped. "What?!" she all but shouted, and the customers of the cafe began to stare.

"Shh!" Padma said, laughing quietly. "Yes, you and Malfoy kissed."

"Oh my Merlin!" Ginny squealed, and grabbed Hermione from across the table. "He kissed you!"

"Did I kiss him back?" Hermione exclaimed, disgusted with herself.

"Gods yes! That's what I meant by you letting go," Katie said with a grin.

"Oh, gods! It must've been the Firewhiskey."

"Probably," Susan said with a badly suppressed laugh. "It was hilarious though."

"Bloody hilarious," Padma added, and Ginny squealed.

"How I wish I'd been there!"

Hermione stared at them, searching her memory desperately.

xoxoxo

Hermione was back in her flat, looking at herself in the mirror, and she frowned. "What happened that night?" she asked herself, and shook her head before going to the kitchen.

Ginny was there with Katie making popcorn. "Did you remember anything?" she asked, and Hermione shook her head.

"Not a thing. My memory is way too fuzzy. All I can really remember is drinking and flirting a lot with him. So embarrassing. How will I face Malfoy tomorrow at work?"

"Thank goodness you don't really see him at work anyway!" Katie said, and she smiled. "But Padma does!"

Hermione slapped a hand to her forehead and drank a glass of water. "No wonder Malfoy came instead of her to collect the reports. Gods, she was trying to make us all friendly again!"

Katie clicked her tongue. "Too bad."

Hermione glared at her and went to the living room of her flat where the rest of the girls were looking at photo albums and chatting. She plopped onto the sofa and sighed.

"It's so unlike me to get so drunk too," Hermione said to herself, and Padma grinned.

"I know, Hermione, and that's why it was so fun! You're a very flirtatious drunk."

Hermione groaned and fell onto her side as her friends watched in amusement.

The next morning at work felt awkward for Hermione. She was constantly watching out for Draco and making sure that she didn't bump into him. Safe in her office for the time being, she didn't go out into the corridor at all except to attend a meeting with her Department, the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, to go to the loo twice, and to hand reports to Kingsley, and she didn't see Malfoy once, much to her relief.

At the end of her work day, she pulled on her cloak, very glad that the day was over and dreading the next, and closed her floo and locked her office before heading quickly down the corridor. She took the lift down, chatting amiably with Theo, and exited with a wave before she saw Padma in the distance and, for a fleeting moment, panic overtook her. Padma and Draco worked together, and if Padma was out, then Malfoy was most certainly out, unless he was working overtime.

Much to her despair, the two were speaking to each other, and Draco saw her over Padma's shoulder. He smiled and waved at her. Hermione's eyes widened when Padma turned and saw her and smiled as well. Draco, in a move very uncharacteristic of him, walked over to Hermione and smiled at her again. She felt dizzy with despair.

"Hey Granger," he said, still smiling a little, and Hermione drearily noticed that he was being much nicer to her than before. "You want to go out for dinner?"

"Dinner?" she repeated despondently.

"Yeah." He seemed near giddy, the way he was looking at her and smiling so. He'd thought that things had changed between them. Well, they hadn't.

"No thanks." And Hermione turned and left. Faintly, she heard Padma ask him what had happened, and Hermione heard no response. He'd probably left.

When Hermione came home, she made herself a cup of tea and sat on her sofa with it, brooding over the day. She hadn't seen Malfoy much, but his behaviour was really strange. He probably thought that something had changed between them at the pub, and she certainly had to shoot him down before he got started trying to be her friend.

But didn't he deserve a second chance like everyone else? It wasn't fair that she was being rude to him just because he'd been her enemy for so long. They'd been coworkers for six years. Her view of him had changed, but she still didn't feel very friendly towards him, just civil. She remembered a memory that had come to her just a few moments ago.

Draco poured them both shots from their preferred drinks, and raised his up. "To friendship, dear Granger? And maybe something more? Let's put the past behind us, for once."

"I already did that," she slurred with a grin. "But okay. Cheers!"

No wonder he'd thought things had changed between them. She thought long and hard for a moment, then suddenly frowned thoughtfully as another piece of her memory came back to her, albeit fuzzy and unclear in some parts.

"Malfoy, buy me another drink!" she slurred, and smiled at him. He just chuckled and took another swig of Firewhiskey. "Did you know that Firewhiskey also enhances courage?" Hermione said off-handedly. Draco smiled down at his drunk coworker.

"That it does, love," he said before leaning down and kissing her.

Hermione dropped her empty bottle onto the floor and wrapped her arms around his neck, responding passionately.

Hermione shut her eyes tightly, willing the memory to go away, and wishing to the very bottom of her soul that she hadn't done that. It was only clear to her now the reason why Malfoy was so nice to her, why she'd woken up in a hotel room, and how he of all people knew that.

She'd slept with Draco Malfoy.


A/N: ooh, secret's out! hehe. review! how do you think hermione's going to react to that? Review!! it'll make my day! ~LoVeDoNtHaTe