Chapter 17

They entered a drawing room where many of the Slytherin house guests were, including Pansy-bitch, Marcus Flint, Adrian Pucey, Theo Nott, the Greengrass twins and a couple of Ravenclaw girls that Hermione didn't know well.

"I am so glad you could make it." Daphne said and waved them towards a settee. "Would you like a drink? Dinner is being served shortly. We're still waiting on Terence, Blaise and Miles. They said they might be a little late. Its going to be such a lovely weekend, shame about the weather, we're just going to have to find things to do indoors. Now drinks."

"Whiskey." Draco said.

"As always." Daphne said. "I've got this little drop from the Hebrides, I think you'll appreciate it." She turned her attention to Hermione.

"Just a gin and tonic."

Daphne nodded and went to ring a bell.

Hermione sat down on a settee that probably cost more than her flat. The large room felt a little cold and her dress was tastefully revealing. The consistent touches of gold in the room, including the walls and the ceiling leant a quiet sparkle to the room. It was very different from Malfoy Manor, which struggled to hide its brutal medieval origins. Or maybe it was just the circumstances of her visit that made it so oppressive.

A man interrupted her musings by presenting a drink on a silver tray. The glass was a heavy diamond cut crystal think with tinkering ice cubes. Hermione thanked the sombre looking man, who retreated through a hidden door in the wall.

"So glad you could make it." Pansy-bitch said to Hermione, who believed every word of it. "It should prove a very interesting weekend."

"I'm sure it will." Hermione said non committally.

"And Draco is such a darling." Pansy continued.

"Absolutely." Hermione said. Then they struggled for things to say, so they were quiet.

"Blaise is bringing a date." Pansy-bitch said after a while. Hermione felt herself being watched for reaction, and she refused to give one. "This gorgeous girl he's become reacquainted with."

Hermione wasn't sure how she felt, a little conflicted, but she reassured herself that she had no concern with who he dated. Maybe she was even glad that his attention was off her.

As if on cue, the large white doors opened and Blaise came in with a tall blonde girl in a short metallic dress.

They were chatting with Nott for a while. The girl had heavy eyelids that looked too much for her eye muscles.

"That's Birgitte." Pansy-bitch said sitting down on the armrest next to Hermione. "She's from a really old family in Denmark. Practically royalty."

Malfoy didn't remark at all on the other side of her.

"One of the one's that Draco hasn't quite managed to conquest." Pansy said in a loud whisper.

So this was part of the game, Hermione thought, Blaise brought some girl that had been unattainable to Malfoy.

"Not my type." Draco said.

"Really?" Pansy said. "I was under the impression that you don't have a type. Come on Draco, you'll spend your time with absolutely any girl. So how can she not be your type? Is it because she'd just not interested in you? Or maybe Birgitte is just too rich for you."

Hermione hadn't expected the attack on Malfoy, she more than expected it for herself, but to be a bystander for Pansy's ire was something new. Although the barely veiled insult about Malfoy spending time with any old girl didn't go entirely unnoticed, but as far as Pansy's insults go, it was a lightweight.

"I understand you went to a finishing school in Switzerland after Hogwarts." Hermione said as if changing the subject. "A curious concept to someone of my background."

"It is where one learns the proper etiquette for entering society." Pansy-bitch said sharply. "One must have manners. One can't just clomp around without a clue. Why the interest in my education? Are you still so enamoured with learning you covet other people education?"

Pansy stood up and left without waiting for an answer. It was a rude dismissal, but Hermione saw it as a bit of a success as it sent Pansy away. The girl didn't like to be subtlety called on her rudeness.

"Were you defending my sensibilities?" Malfoy asked with amusement.

"No." Hermione said sharply at the ridiculous notion. Maybe she felt a little sorry for him being the target of Pansy's bitching, but it was a general sense of injustice that she'd feel for any person. "But I have to say, I can't say I cover hers, she's not a great advertisement for the school she went to."

"Seeming propriety is more important than actual propriety."

"Are any of your friends actually friendly?"

"We're Slytherins, "he said, "friendly is a weakness to be exploited."

She watched him for a second. She never claimed to understand Slytherin society. It was the extreme end of wizard society, but dictator of the mainstream wizarding society and it was completely foreign to her. Ron understood it, but never liked it, while her and Harry were typically oblivious to the veiled insults and slights. Although some, like Malfoy, had never bothered to veil it. Not that she actually minded these days. She used her intelligence and logic as a sledge hammer and she knew it. People tried to etiquette her to back down or admonish her at work all the time but she used unflinching rationality to beat them and it worked every time. You can't argue with uncompromising logic.

"Is everything about exploitation?" She asked trying to understand him.

"Yes."

"That is a pretty cold view of the world." She said. He didn't respond.

"Are you exploiting me?"

"Of course I am." He said, but didn't expand. "Speaking of cold, there is a shawl in one of the boxes upstairs."

"I might go get it." Hermione said.

Draco nodded and Hermione took her leave. She walked to her room and looked through the bags. She did so at a slow speed, not in any particular rush to get back. Although she had to hurry along when she heard the dinner gong. It would be rude to be late for dinner.

She ran into Birgitte leaving one of the bathrooms downstairs on the way back to the drawing room. The girl made the barest acknowledgement of her presence as they passed. Hermione was not enamoured with the girl, she was obviously a product of her class. Cold, unfriendly and exploitative if the rest were a reference to go by.

Those people were already at the dinner table when she returned. There was a spare seat for her next to Malfoy and Adrian Pucey. Another uncomfortable dinner, Hermione thought to herself as she sat down.

"Took your time." Malfoy said.

"Did I?" Hermione asked like she had no idea.

"You wouldn't possibly be avoiding us would you?" He asked.

"Of course not, whatever gave you that idea." Hermione said lying through her teeth.

"You're the worst liar."

"Am I?" She asked. "It seemed to work ok for me in fifth year." Referring to the time she duped Umbridge and the whole Inquisitorial Squad.

"Of course you were lying." He said with a grin. "You always touch your neck when you're lying. And you crinkle your nose."

"I do not." She said grasping the napkin so to not touch her neck, by accident of course.

"Although I never considered you'd have a troll waiting in the forest. Let no one say you are not resourceful when it comes down to it." He said and it almost sounded like a compliment.

"So if you knew I was lying why didn't you stop me?"

"What, to help the Umbridge cow?" He said. "True, she is an evil vicious bitch, but I wasn't going to go out of my way to help her. Evil vicious bitches are only interesting if they are gorgeous."

"Are you truly that superficial?"

"Absolutely." He said. "Have I ever given you any reason to think otherwise?"

"Is this how you seduce girls, tell them that you're an incorrigible bastard and they what, try to reform you?"

"No, normally I just tell them that I'm rich." He said. "It's the only social lubricant required. I am never going to be reformed, Granger, but you are welcome to try."

"No thanks." She said as the entrees were served.

"Come on girl, lets keep the honesty going. It's a rare enough commodity." He said. "Deep down, you want me."

"Ppft." She blew.

"Let's not forget, lose your inhibitions, you're on me like I'm ambrosia."

"It is completely unfair to refer to something I did when practically unconscious." She said. "But maybe, if I completely lose my mind, maybe a world where complete opposite rules, and you in some perverse sense of irony become attractive."

"I knew you were into me."

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

"All I hear was 'you're attractive'."

"The world must be a lovely place with such selective hearing."

"Come on lovebirds." Adrian said. "You can't go to a dinner party and pretend no one else is there. I am getting quite lonely over here."

"I'm sorry Adrian, we've been rude." She said. She actually liked Adrian, he was witty and a little on the tartly unguarded side. And he didn't go in for the kill like some of the others did. He was a little older and maybe a tad more cultures with his dry humour.

They talked for a while about travelling. Adrian being a wealthy young man of no fixed purpose had done a bit of it. It was in between courses and the table was quite animated with conversation and laughter, maybe the least formal period with this group.

Malfoy squeezed her knee after a while which made her jump.

"If you're here with me, you can't flirt with every man in the room."

"I was not flirting." Hermione said. Although maybe she had been. "I'm sorry, maybe I was, he's just more interesting to talk to."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Bringing out a little of the bitchiness."

"You do bring it out of my like no one else."

"See people make the mistake of thinking you're sweet, but they don't really know you." He said. He was bringing his face a bit closer. "Now come on, be a good girlfriend." He said waiting. He was telling her to kiss him, a quick peck, which was quite a normal think for a couple. It just felt far from normal. Yet he waited. He was going to make her do it. Was this some kind of macho crap about her seeking him out?

But it was what she was here for, making it seem like they were in a relationship. And here they were huddled up, the perfect time for a chaste kiss. She leaned in and touched her lips to his. It was the barest of kisses, which actually made it worse, more intimate because his lips were soft and she could still taste whiskey on them.

She could feel a flush washing over her. She couldn't help it.

"And she blushes." He said.

She was saved by the main course being served. She turned her attention completely to the food, which looked divine, but she couldn't really taste much of it. She lost interest in the dinner. She didn't want to talk to anyone. She watched Blaise with the Danish girl. He seemed very attentive and she seemed to expect it. Blaise had refused to acknowledge her presence all night and he didn't look at her now, which was probably a good thing all things considered.

Dessert came, something richly chocolatety and a cheese platter. None of the girls had anything, but Hermione refused to comply, so she nibbled in some sharp cheese and a cracker.

"I'm tired." She said to Draco after. "Its been a long day."

"Then go upstairs." He said. "We will be revelling some more. Have to see the night in properly."

Hermione nodded and excused herself as the dinner broke up. She sat down on one of the chairs in the room as soon as she got upstairs. She took a moment to breath freely. She'd felt watched and constrained the entire evening, and this room was the only reprieve. Although she had no idea how she'd feel when he got back.

She lost the willingness to stay awake long before he returned. It was dark when he did. She could hear him moving around the room in the darkness. She didn't argue when he slipped into the bed next to her. She had not intended for them to sleep in the same bed, she was too tired to make a fuss. He made no move to acknowledge her presence and was asleep pretty much immediately, soon she fell asleep again.