Eight.

The air was crisp but not cold, and she could already start smelling that particular freshness of summer nights. It was hard to enjoy it, though, as she could only think about Harry's and Draco's childishness. She had thought they had grown past their silly feuds, but now she wondered if maybe they would always be like this, and her idea to be in a real relationship with them seemed ridiculous at the moment.

Hermione kept walking away, even though she knew they would caught up with her any second now. She could hear their steps behind her.

"Hermione," Harry said again and placed a hand on her shoulder. She stopped reluctantly, too weak to fight them.

"I'm okay," she reassured them. "You can go back and we'll talk tomorrow."

They both walked in front of her, Harry looking sorry and Draco looking upset, arms crossed over his chest and ready to speak his mind. Hermione stopped him.

"Don't. I just want to go to home." She thought she wouldn't be able to disapparate without getting even more nauseated, but the desire to get to her bed was even stronger.

She took a hold of her wand inside her pocket, but Harry caught the movement and took a hold of her other hand.

"I'm coming with you," Harry said with certainty.

Draco quickly grabbed Harry's other hand, to everyone's surprise. "Me too."

Hermione sighed and disapparated the three of them back to her flat.

When they landed she almost tumbled down to the floor before they both caught her, apparently ready for something like this to happen. She didn't want them to walk her to bed but there was no stopping them. Thankfully they didn't bicker once.

"We're sorry, Hermione," Harry told her while she removed her shoes and Draco inspected her bedroom.

"Speak for yourself," Draco murmured and Harry sent him death glare.

Hermione didn't answer, merely grunted as she got under the covers, not bothering to change her clothes or remove any makeup. She stared up at them, waiting for them to leave.

"Goodnight. Sorry again. Let's go, Malfoy." Harry held the door open for Draco.

"Don't you 'Malfoy' me again, Potter," Draco snapped but his voice was now a whisper. They closed the door, finally leaving her to rest.

"You're 'Pottering' me right now!" She could hear Harry complain from outside.

She fell asleep a few minutes after, but she could swear she still heard them in her dreams.

.

The next morning, after she spent many hours tossing and turning on her bed trying to get some more sleep, she ended up failing because of how loud Crookshanks was scratching at her door.

With her head pounding she dragged herself to the door and opened it slowly. Her pet jumped to her arms and she almost dropped him.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she apologized to him. He was most likely starving, she did forget to feed him when she got home.

When she focused her eyes on the living room, she wondered if perhaps she was still dreaming.

Her sofa was transfigured into a queen-sized bed where Harry and Draco were promptly asleep next to each other. Harry was curled up on his side, his back to Draco, who took up most of the bed, face down and one arm outstretched over Harry.

Draco had obviously been the one who took the time to transfigure their clothes into pajamas, because Harry would never do that.

They looked incredibly peaceful and the exact opposite of last night. A smile tugged at her lips and she felt warm inside. But she also felt something else that she refused to call jealousy, though she didn't know what else to call it. She just wanted to be in that bed too. Her feet almost moved involuntary towards it.

Crookshanks meowed loudly. She needed to take care of her cat first.

After feeding him and changing her clothes, she considered caving in and just getting in bed with them, but she felt like that might be pushing some unspoken limit. Maybe not with Harry, but she hadn't even gone on her date with Draco yet.

But they were very clearly comfortable with each other right then.

She went into the kitchen to get breakfast going and wait for them to wake up. Who knows at what time they finally went to sleep.

Hermione put the kettle on while she toasted some bread and then hopped on the counter, waiting for everything to be ready. She remembered that Crookshanks liked to lay on the couch after eating and she wondered if he had gotten on the bed with her boys.

The thought surprised her. She didn't know when she had started to think of them as 'her' boys. She smiled to herself.

"I'd bet good money that that smile is because of me."

Draco's voice scared her and she turned her head around to find him standing at the doorway with a smirk.

"It wasn't," she lied, if only to not give him the satisfaction.

"So you aren't happy that Harry and I woke up in bed together?" He raised one eyebrow but for some reason she could only focus on how ridiculously perfect his hair was, like he hadn't slept at all.

"I am. How did that happen, exactly?" She tried her best not to sound jealous. By the look on his face she hadn't exactly succeeded.

"We started talking after you fell asleep. Well, talking might be a stretch, we argued for most of it," he explained.

Hermione frowned. "What were you even arguing about?" She would never understand them.

He shrugged one shoulder. "To be honest I don't remember. We were drunk and worked up. What I do remember is being rude to you and I'm sorry. I just got worried." He seemed sincere, and at this point she felt no anger towards him or Harry.

"I understand," she smiled. "I don't want to feel like you two are going to be arguing all the time, especially if everyone else is present, and especially if it's about me." When she thought of Ron and Ginny, her stomach dropped. They had to know something was going on, it was too obvious. But since there was no way that they'd figure out what it actually was, she had to assume they'd just think she was dating Draco. Harry worrying about her was nothing new, but Draco caring about someone else was something new to them. And to her.

He seemed to be thinking about her words as he chewed his lip. Eventually, he smiled.

"You know how unbelievably infuriating you can be sometimes?" he asked, taking a step closer.

She raised both eyebrows. "Is this how you always apologize?"

"I realized a while ago that I love to bring that out on you. And I think you know it." He was getting closer. The bread popped out of the toaster. "It's the same with Harry. Only we get angrier, maybe because you know when to stop me. He doesn't, yet. That's why we go from drawing our wands to each other's throats, to snogging in your sofa until we pass out."

Hermione swallowed thickly. Draco was right in front of her, still just a bit taller despite her being on the counter.

"If you lost control as easily as him, I would have snogged the life out of you months ago. Maybe even years. But you don't lose yourself like that, do you?" his voice was still rough from sleep and her imagination was running wild with images of him and Harry, losing control.

"You two kissed?" she asked, and wondered if that was really her voice that sounded so lustful.

He nodded and she sighed involuntarily.

Draco huffed a soft laugh. "What?"

She felt herself blushing. "Nothing, I just... Wish I could have seen it."

He continued to smile and Hermione could perfectly picture Harry's smile against his.

"You will," he promised and placed one hand on her knee, reminding her of how Harry did it to her the night before. He still smelled slightly of whiskey and it didn't turn her off as much as she thought. "Should we wake him up so I can show you?"

It was hard to imagine something turning her off right then.

His face was inches from her and it took everything in her power not to close that distance and wrap her legs around his waist. She had idealized their first kiss in her head and she wanted to take him on a proper date and wait for the right time, but now with his lips so close to her, the idea seemed absurd.

"Um..." she wasn't able to form words when his hand moved up her thigh. She was about to give in when suddenly the kettle started whistling.

She gasped in surprise but Draco wasn't fazed.

"Ignore it," he whispered, but the water vapor was starting to fog up the kitchen window and she realized how hot it was getting. She couldn't ask for a more passionate and intimate setting, could she?

Draco must have thought she had backed out since she took so long to react, so he started to separate from her. Before he could move any further away, she reached up and grabbed him by the back of the head, stopping him. His eyes lit up and he returned to his place between her legs.

Hermione took a fistful of his hair and pulled him towards her.

"I better get used to walking in on this," Harry's sleepy voice came from the entrance and she stopped on her tracks and turned her head to him. He was smiling and rubbing his eyes and she felt Draco sigh.

"That was quite an interruption, congratulations." Draco said sarcastically and she watched Harry's smile disappear and hurt take its place.

She pushed Draco away so she could hop off the counter. "God, why are you so mean?" She sent him a death glare and rushed to take Harry's hand before he walked away. "Ignore him, Harry. You're not interrupting," she assured him.

"I was joking, wasn't I? Don't you think I want him on this too?" Draco rolled his eyes dramatically.

But Harry still looked uncomfortable so she decided to change the subject, even though she really wanted to continue talking about Draco and Harry kissing.

"Are you hungry?" she directed the question to the both of them. "I was about to make breakfast."

"Sure, I'll help," Harry offered, walking further into the kitchen. Draco nodded and removed the kettle from the stove.

They all made breakfast together, wands all forgotten in the living room, and she wondered what her younger self would have said if someone told her that one day she'd be making eggs and toast the Muggle way with Harry and Draco in her flat. She would have lost her mind laughing about it.

After eating, Draco offered to do the dishes, but only if he could do it magically.

"I can't believe all the time you lose when you don't do it like this," he complained, already levitating everything to the kitchen.

"Oh, please do tell us, what do you do with your extra minute every morning?" Harry asked sarcastically and Hermione laughed behind her hand.

"I get things done, Harry. Not that you'd understand that." Draco was scourgifying the dishes nonverbally and Hermione wondered how much nonverbal magic he knew.

Harry simply laughed it off.

"I was wondering if, um... You two had anything to do today?" Draco asked, maybe hopefully and she looked at Harry who was already looking at her. They raised their eyebrows in surprise and smiled.

"It's not for a date or anything. I have to give a tour of Muggle London to a representative from Russia this Tuesday, and since you both sort of grew up in Muggle London, maybe you could help me route the tour," Draco explained and Hermione felt warmth spreading inside her chest. She knew that Harry must have experienced something similar, because he stepped in closer to Draco and kissed his cheek unexpectedly.

"Of course we'll help you, Draco," Harry said with a sugary voice as he ruffled Draco's hair playfully, and Hermione realized he was being overly affectionate to make Draco uncomfortable.

"Ugh, give it a rest, Potter. Harry." Draco pushed Harry's hand away, but it was impossible to hide the blush coloring his cheeks. Harry chuckled.

"I'm free too," Hermione added with a smile and Draco nodded.

"Good. Do you mind if I shower here?" He asked her and Hermione shook her head, stopping herself from thinking too much about Draco showering.

She walked out of the kitchen and into her room. "I'll get you a towel."

"I guess since its Muggle London I'll transfigure this pajama back into Muggle clothes." She heard Draco say.

"Harry has some clean clothes here if you want," she commented off-handedly as she returned with the towel.

Draco's smile was not mocking or flirty as usual and it threw her off.

"Of course he does," Draco whispered, almost to himself, as he looked down for a moment. But then his smile turned into a smirk and the weirdness was gone.

"There's no chance in hell that he'd want to wear my clothes," Harry chimed in before Draco could answer.

Draco turned to Harry, his eyes narrowed. "Is that so?"

Hermione instantly regretted having said anything. "Do you really have to turn everything into a challenge?"

They both looked at her like she was crazy. "Challenge? What are you taking about, Hermione?" Draco asked innocently.

"Yeah, we're just talking, no one's making any challenges, or dares," Harry looked at Draco for the last part and she gave up, thinking about Draco's words from before. This is just what they did.

Since the bathroom was in Hermione's bedroom, she and Harry stayed in the living room, waiting for Draco to finish showering. They both sat comfortably on the couch with their legs propped up on the coffee table, still a bit hungover and tired form yesterday.

"I want to shower, but I don't think I have the energy," Hermione mentioned as she stretched her arms overhead. "My hair probably smells like a pub."

"Are you going to be alright, walking around London all day?" Harry asked.

She shrugged. "I want to help Draco. Plus, is not like we're not gonna stop, like for an ice cream or something."

Harry smiled. "You don't smell like a pub, by the way."

Her head lulled to the side to get a better look at him. She could see his eyes fixed on her lips and her heart jumped. Without second-guessing, she reached for his glasses and carefully removed them from his face.

When she leaned in, he stopped her, his hand wrapping around her wrist.

"Hermione," his tone indicated nothing else but seriousness and for a brief pause Hermione could only hear the shower running. "Why do you keep taking my glasses?" he asked, his voice soft.

She felt her stomach sink. "I...don't know." She glanced down because she knew he was looking at her like he didn't believe her.

Hermione had hoped he wouldn't notice because she didn't want to have this conversation. "I guess I still have a hard time dealing with this," she gathered some more strength. "You look so different without your glasses, it's like you're a different person. And for so long, every time I saw you without them, I could imagine you weren't you, so I wouldn't feel guilty about my feelings. I'm sorry. I think it just makes it easier for me to realize that…it's you."

When he didn't answer right away, she looked up. He wasn't confused like she had expected, especially after such a lousy explanation on her part, but he seemed disappointed.

"I don't want you to see me like a different person," he told her with such seriousness that she actually felt scared for a moment. Without being able to control it, she held back tears as she nodded.

He took the glasses from her hand and put them back on. "This is hard for me too. But I definitely won't be able to do it if you have to pretend I'm somebody else to kiss me."

The knot in her throat was dangerously close to bursting and she had to dig her fingernails into her palms to stop it. The last thing she had wanted to do was hurt Harry and it seemed like she had done it, to some degree. "That's not what I'm doing. Harry, I swear, I want it to be you. I just...I'm still shocked that this is actually happening, but you're right, this isn't what I want. It won't happen again because I really want it to be you. I'm sorry."

Hermione knew that Harry wasn't about to hold grudges with her, but it still pained her when he didn't smile and embraced her right away. His eyes were softer now, but his mouth was still a thin line that threatened to break her.

He put his hand over hers and she felt relief wash over her. Without waiting for anymore invitation, she pulled him into a hug and held onto him tightly, trying to convey to him how much it meant to her that he was Harry, not anyone else.

.

Draco stood quietly at the bathroom door that he didn't bother to close completely. His hair was still dripping a bit from the shower as his hands tried to stretch the collar of Harry's ridiculously tight sweater. How did Harry even fit in this thing? He was more robust than Draco, even if he was shorter.

After stepping out of the shower, he had heard Harry ask Hermione about his glasses and was able to feel the tension in the air, without even looking at them. He couldn't help but eaves drop as he got dressed, and the seriousness of the situation made him feel uneasy, as he had never heard them have any sort of discontent between them before. For him, Harry and Hermione got along like…Well, he couldn't imagine any two people that got along better than them. But he was supposed to be the odd one out, he had known it since the beginning. He would be the one drawing his wand on Harry at every possible opportunity, and he would be the one driving Hermione up the wall just because he could. This was a big part of what he enjoyed about his relationship with each of them, but he never imagined he would stand aside and watch as their own drama developed.

Draco looked at himself in the mirror as he combed his hair with his fingers, eyeing the mess of hairs on Hermione's comb with uneasiness. They had gone quiet a few seconds ago, and he imagined they must be kissing now, leaving the discussion behind. He hadn't seen them kiss yet, and part of him wanted to burst out and catch them in the act, but he sensed the moment was tender and fragile, and his presence wouldn't do any good.

So, he tied the laces of Harry's shoes and waited patiently on Hermione's bed, giving them time until he thought they've had enough.

.

They hugged for a long time, and when they broke apart, Harry didn't seem upset anymore. He smiled softly and she did the same, silently giving thanks that she hadn't wrecked this for something so silly.

Hermione hadn't noticed that she couldn't hear the water running anymore until Draco stepped out from her room. Her eyes went wide and she heard Harry take a sharp breath.

As she expected, Draco had taken Harry's words as a challenge, and determinedly wore only his clothes, from Harry's black Chuck Taylors, to the only pair of trousers that weren't jeans, all the way to the tight black sweater that had made her and Harry gasp internally. She hadn't known where to look, since everything in his upper body was highlighted so perfectly, even something as ridiculous as his forearms, so it took her a while to realize why this wonderful thing was happening in the first place.

She could see that Draco was completely satisfied with their initial reactions, so when she smiled amusedly, he frowned.

"What's so funny?" He asked, his voice making Harry snap back to reality.

"That's Harry's old sweater, from back at Hogwarts," she replied, trying to imagine how Draco chose that one out of all others.

Harry laughed softly. "That's right! I gave it to Hermione when it became too small."

Draco stood frozen, only blinking twice as he processed the information.

"I knew you were too fat to wear this. Thankfully, I am not," Draco walked over to the coffee table and picked up his wand. "Are you two ready?"

Hermione nodded and stood up, patting her pockets to make sure she had her wand as well as the flat keys. She and Draco looked down at Harry expectantly.

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure my fat ass will let me stand up."

Draco flicked his wand in Harry's direction, swiftly transfiguring his pajamas back into his clothes before speaking. "You know, I'm glad that the sweater was this tight, but I'm even happier that the boxer briefs weren't."

Draco immediately turned around and left for the door, leaving Harry and Hermione in a state of perpetual shock as his meaning slowly but surely sunk in. Hermione didn't want to make him uncomfortable, but she couldn't help her eyes as they found Harry's face, probably even redder than hers at the moment.

He looked equally parts embarrassed and aroused and she had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time she and Harry would experience those same feelings in this relationship.

"Let's go," she said with a smile, taking his hand and pulling him up, knowing that if she didn't make the first move, he could sit there for several more minutes.

His blush had faded just a bit. "I hate him," he said without any malice as they walked out of the flat.

Hermione squeezed his hand before letting go. "I know."