All Is Fair

"In love and War"

All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, I did not own those characters or the original story/plot.

Draco stood outside the Gryffindor common room. The entry way was wide open, and people from different houses were already inside. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw, they were all there, he was the only Slytherin it seemed. He knew that Pansy Parkinson was going to be lurking around Hogwarts for a few days, that Theodore Nott would be shying away from Hogwarts, at least for a while longer, and that Blaise Zabini was up for a party at any time, but for now it was just him, alone. He didn't even know if he should step inside. He felt ridiculously stupid. Malfoy was knew that he could strike fear and respect in others, it brought him a comfort like no other. He was supposed to be strong. Even in his cowardly hours, he didn't feel as ridiculous as he did now. Perhaps it was because this was just a party. It wasn't a massive situation where being cowardly could be forgiven, it was a party, and he felt stupid for spending so long thinking about it. He needed to get his groove back. Draco was seen for his dabbling with the dark side, he always knew that. He always knew he was an enemy to Potter, a bully even, but he was a charmer. He could charm those he wanted to, and he knew the whole 'bad guy' thing pulled that off, not to mention how good he was, romantically, but none of that mattered now. There was no good or bad, nor was he trying to win anyone over in the romantic sense. He just need to get back his charm, that Malfoy charm.

Hermione stood over by the makeshift bar and got herself a drink. She had already had two drinks, and she felt braver for it. She saw Harry dancing with Luna Lovegood over in one corner while Seamus and Dean were dancing with a few Hufflepuff girls, making the most of their night. She saw a few people making out on the couch and that everyone was generally having a good time. She looked down at her drink and smiled after taking a sip. Everything was okay, she thought to herself, something she didn't allow herself to believe until now.

"Got something magic in there?" Draco inquired.

Hermione hadn't even seen him come up to the bar. He seemed to be in the strangest of places recently. And he was being civil.

As much as Draco thought he should keep his head down and lie low, rather than allowing any attention on himself, he knew his absence here would be known. He also knew what it would look like if he was sitting in the corner, staring at everyone.

"Yeah, just looking for a pot of gold," she joked.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I thought that you wouldn't want to come to something like this," she stated, given the history between Gryffindor and Slytherin, though noting that was part of the reason they were even having this party.

"Maybe you need to stop thinking."

He grabbed her cup and put it down at the bar, before taking her hand and moving out onto the dance floor. She frowned for a second but didn't deny Draco a dance. His hand moved to her waist delicately, and he placed her hand on his shoulder. Hermione placed her other hand on his other shoulder, and both of Draco's hands were now on her waist. She gave him a confused smile and so he moved her closer, smirking a little.

"Wasn't this the point of this little get together?" he inquired.

Hermione felt as though everyone was watching them, but she knew they were all preoccupied in whatever they were doing to notice. Or at least half of them were too drunk to notice. Her hand slid down his arm, taking his hand as she spun. He let her spin, before pulling her back in towards him, moving his hands back to his waist. She felt a comfort in dancing with him, even just for tonight. She just needed company.

A few hours later, and a few more drinks later, Luna and Hermione were dancing together on the dance floor. Hermione noticed Neville in a corner watching Luna with a slight smile on his face. No one had passed out yet and everyone was having a good time. Harry interjected and danced with the both of them for a short while. He swung his arm around Hermione's shoulder and she leaned into him, Luna under Harry's other arm as the yelled and laughed over the music. There was a bang and a pop in the common room, and everyone froze for two seconds as small fire works shot up. In popped a familiar red headed boy, who would've usually been accompanied by his twin. George Weasley howled and some Gryffindors ran up to him, hugging him as they brought him inside to party. Behind him was Ginny Weasley, she smiled as she stood at the entry way. Her eyes locking with Harry's before they ran towards each other in an oh so cliche moment. He lifted her up, spinning her around the room before kissing her. But that was it. No, Ronald Weasley. Hermione sighed. She didn't really know what he expected, but two of his siblings were here, it must've meant that things would have returned to normal.

Hermione grabbed a shot of giggle water from the bar, making her giggle by the name but intoxicating her none the less. Then she took two more shots and stumbled up the stairs. She laughed quietly to herself. She wasn't the type to get drunk or even tipsy, but it was a celebration after all. She kept repeating the term celebration to herself. She pushed the door handle and barged into her own room, frowning as she came in, as there was Draco Malfoy sitting at the edge of her bed flipping through a book. She had a few thoughts on the situation. The first being, out of all the beds in this dorm, he just found hers to sit out. The second being, why was he here? And the third being, why does she keep finding him wherever she went? It wasn't like they had that much in common perhaps, she thought for a moment.

"Are you stalking me?" she said out loud, rather than to herself.

"Don't flatter yourself, Granger."

"Well," she stumbled on her words, "you're in my room."

"Yes, well, Potter and his red headed lover are in the other dorm, and it'd be strange going into a first year's dorm, now wouldn't it?"

She didn't even remember seeing Harry and Ginny go up stairs. She kicked her shoes off, one of them hitting Draco's shin.

"Are you kidding me, Granger?"

"Ooops," she said casually. She walked over to her trunk and got out her pyjamas before exiting to the bathroom. She came back into her dorm to find Draco still there.

"Are you going to be leaving anytime soon?" her words slurred only slightly.

He smirked, "Granger, your top is on inside out,"

She looked down. Of course it was. She grumpily exited and returned with her top back on the right way.

"Smart girl you are," he teased.

"Why do I keep seeing you everywhere?"

"Maybe because you want to, Granger," he chuckled, "Or perhaps it is because we go to the same school."

"We don't have any classes together."

"We don't have any classes at all," he corrected, seeing as the curriculum hadn't been put back in place.

"Right. But wait, why are you here?" she questioned again, chucking her clothes back in her trunk and then sitting on her bed near Draco.

"Do you not want me to be?" he charmed.

"You didn't answer the questioned!," she stated loudly than she thought she did.

"Questioned?" he chuckled, "I think you mean question. Right?"

She frowned, "You ask too many questions, yet you don't answer any."

A moment passed.

"I'm just," he paused, "trying to find my place."

They let the words turn to silence. Hermione stared at him in sadness. The silence was just that, silence. It was piercing, but not awkward. They just let it be silent. She felt sad for him. She felt sorry for him. He was a bully, and a tyrant, he was one of the worst people to have near you growing up, yet she felt so much for him in this moment. She didn't understand how that could be, but she understood that she cared. Their hands touched for a brief moment before Hermione laid back onto the bed, resting against her pillow. She didn't even notice when Draco left the room, probably because she was almost out cold. When she awoke, he was gone, and she wondered if he had even been in her room at all, or if she had just imagined it.