Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter & co. - just write what could have been. Reviews - thoughts, comments, etc., are always welcomed! Please review - they really do bring a smile to my face :)

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Chapter Twenty-Seven

For days after dinner at Malfoy Manor with his closest friends, his mother, the witch of his dreams, and Astoria bloody Greengrass, all Draco could do was drink himself into stupor. He drunk his best firewhiskey and elfin wine, peacefully solitary for the first couple of nights, despite being very much in turmoil about his father's fate, his mother's reactions, and his behavior around Granger. He felt utter confusion when it came to his conflicting feelings about his father; he was devastated that his father was subjected to such a fate but was then also relieved that Lucius Malfoy would no longer be part of his life. Draco wouldn't have to see the disappointment, the annoyance, whatever negative feeling his father had about him, anymore whenever he saw him – not that he had seen him recently. Then again, his father's body would still very much around, but his soul would be destroyed. Draco thought that was a fate worse than death. While his impending trial hadn't even started, Draco couldn't help but to realistic – or pessimistic as Blaise often said. He knew there was no mercy from the wizarding community when it came to Lucius Malfoy. He didn't blame them either; his father had been in the Dark Lord's inner circle, he had committed atrocious acts against his fellow wizards and humankind, and he wasn't remorseful about them. The only thing Lucius seemed remorseful for was being imprisoned in Azkaban. Draco blamed his pride that he couldn't appear to be regretful about his actions, but Lucius barely flinched when Narcissa and Draco said their goodbyes in the courtroom seemingly ages ago. Draco also hated his mother's reaction when he disclosed the news; she snapped into lady of the house mode faster than he could blink, not even bothering to frown or tear up at the news that her husband might be subjected to the Dementor's Kiss. How could she be so cold? Draco constantly asked himself. He knew she loved his father, but her actions proved otherwise. Draco couldn't help but to assume that their entire marriage was a sham – they never loved each other, merely coexisting, and pretending to be in love. The thought of his parents not actually loving each other sent a trickle of terror down Draco, not that he'd admit it out loud. If his mother could fake her devotion and his father could fake his love for one another, was anything in his life real? Was everything just about appearances? Finally, Draco thought about his interaction, while minor, with Hermione Granger at dinner. He remembered her curious gaze, speculating why he was acting the way he was acting, and her suspicious one when he had come back, sadly sober, and in a mood with his mates. She hadn't reached out and neither had he. He didn't know if he liked that she didn't coddle him like his friends and mother did, or if he was being pushed aside because he wasn't more than an afterthought for Granger. The latter made him almost finish his forgo potion and that's how his friends found him the last day in his self-imposed exile. Pansy, Blaise, and Theo came running when they realized his father might be subjected to the Kiss. They found the Malfoy heir – soon to be Lord – high and dazed in his most comfortable muggle clothes. Despite his best efforts, Theo confiscated his bottle of temporary happiness. While Draco slipped out how he could obtain another with relative ease, the look of death on his friend's face when he mentioned it wasn't worth it. The forget-me-not potion wasn't worth the hassle – for now. Draco didn't tell his closest friends why he acted like an idiot at dinner, and they being his closest friends, didn't push. But once the snoops of reporters and the media caught wind, so did his mates. If there was one thing Draco hated more than feeling inadequate was pity. He blamed his upbringing, but he hated the sympathy that leaked from his friends and their actions. However, Draco tried his best to not lash out at them. Healer Usa's sessions helped him immensely and he was grateful to the mind healer. He had apologized to Theo and Blaise even though they argued it was all in the past. Draco knew his jealousy was an issue when it came to Granger and his best mates, but he had to reign it in. He knew he couldn't always lash out on his friends when he felt the ugly feeling that was jealousy and expect them to always forgive him. Draco also knew Granger didn't know why he acted out nor if she did, he had a feeling she wouldn't forgive him as easily as Theo and Blaise did. He couldn't let his jealousy, and his self-deprecating thoughts, get in the way of his friendships and potential relationship. For almost two weeks straight, he had breakfast with Theo or Blaise, or both, lunch with Pansy, and dinner with one or the other or all three depending on their schedules which included his weekly dinner with his mother. As much as Draco appreciated his best mates, he was starting to feel suffocated. By the third week of being coddled, Draco decided he needed to leave his place, and get off his arse otherwise he'd spiral despite trying his best not to. Fortunately for him, Blaise's business venture was going smoothly and he and Draco both had plans to see the location of the nightclub and bar. Being Blaise's business partner brought a sense of productivity that Draco needed. It gave him a sense of purpose and Draco clung to that before he fell into more self-sabotaging behavior. The day had started well. Draco had met Blaise at the location he provided, and the brick building was big enough for a spacious dance floor, sitting area, and bar area, and was in the middle of muggle London; Blaise thought would help the muggleborns and half-bloods appreciate opposed to being stuck in the middle of wizarding London as much of their society was at. Blaise and Draco discussed with the contractors about different construction needs before Blaise and Draco could continue with their opening plans. Blaise and Draco discussed where they would put the VIP lounge area after everything else had been sorted; Blaise said closer to the bar and Draco said closer to the DJ area. At the end of their meeting, Draco left Blaise feeling better than he had for a while, sober, and then went to ruin his mood when he asked out Hermione Granger. Not that her response had ruined his mood, quite the opposite. He only felt elation at her reply. However, the realization that he had a very possible chance of mucking up, probably, his only chance with a witch he had been pining for left Draco cold, riddled with anxiety. He knew his anxiety was spiking, feeling out of control, and unsure of what step to take next, but he didn't know how to control it in the presence of bloody Parvati Patil. Draco assumed he would be allowed to feel whatever feelings Granger extracted from him in the comfort of his own home, but he was wrong. He had been practically accosted by his female best friend and dragged to a ministry room to be interviewed for bloody entertainment purposes. Draco didn't give a damn if he was one of Europe's most eligible bachelors; he'd rather be anywhere else than here. Safe to say that he was on edge and Theo and Blaise could tell. Both wizards were trying to take control of the conversation between the three of them and Patil. They couldn't for long.

"Malfoy, any special witch you're seeing? The readers would love to know."

Patil directed this question at him. Draco clenched his hidden hand inside his trousers even tighter, avoiding eye contact as he tried counting all the tiles in one of the MoM's meeting rooms. The room itself wasn't grand nor nicely furnished. It was big enough to host at least fifteen people with a large wooden table in the middle, matching chairs surrounding it, and beneath were white tiles. The walls surrounding them were a dark shade of maroon or purple – Draco couldn't quite tell. The smell around them felt suffocating but clean. It reminded Draco of hospital room. He sat as nonchalant as he could manage to Blaise's right, one hand in his trouser pocket and the other underneath his chin as his elbow was placed upon the armchair. Underneath, to stop himself from physically squirming, he put his left ankle on top of his right knee.

"No."

He answered curtly. Draco would rather take a Crucio to his face than let anything regarding his budding relationship with Granger spill in front of Patil. In fact in front of anyone he didn't trust – his small circle miniscule compared to his friends' friends.

"Any potential dates?"

Patil pressed on. Draco wanted to avoid the witch as soon as he saw her, but that had been impossible with Pansy, Theo, and Blaise making sure he didn't walk away. The brown skinned, dark brown-haired witch wore muggle attire that reminded Draco of Hermione's own clothes he had seen her wear previously, but he didn't bother to make note of what. They both owned similar muggle jeans and pullover and while they had similarities, before Draco started fancying Granger, he couldn't help but to think his – Granger – was prettier regardless. The notepad and quill above the Patil witch scribbled away as it had started doing upon sitting. Draco avoided the blue feathered quill as much as he ignored Patil.

"I believe Blaise has a list of potential witches waiting to date him."

Theo interjected, adjacent to Draco.

"As does Theodore, do not let his innocent face fool you."

Blaise quipped back, again trying to steer the conversation back to them. Draco let their chatter become background noise as he tried to re-count the tiles, losing track when Patil asked him a question. Draco also clenched and unclenched his stuffed fist, focused on keeping his breathing steady, and was on sixty-three when he was interrupted again. He was remembering Granger's steady stare on him when he studied to make sure she was sleeping and eating properly when Patil asked him,

"Any betrothal contacts, Malfoy?"

Draco released an agitated breath from his nostrils, clenching his jaw together before he glared at the brown witch before him. She fidgeted in her seat under his gaze and Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes.

"No."

He snapped. Draco saw from his peripheral Blaise motioned to Patil but she paid no attention as she squinted her eyes at him.

"Astoria Greengrass was last seen shopping with your mother a couple of weeks ago. Our readers would like to know, is Draco Malfoy officially off the market?"

She pressed. Draco's continue to glare at the nosy witch. Her long, almost black hair was pulled into a low ponytail; the long locks sleek and straight compared to another Gryffindor he had in mind. Her brown eyes weren't the right shade of brown and Draco looked over her shoulder.

"No."

He repeated himself in the same frosty tone as before.

"So the rumors regarding Miss Greengrass and yourself are not true?"

Patil continued. Draco's glare hardened as his gaze flickered back to Patil.

"Yes."

Draco said through gritted teeth. Bloody reporters. Bloody Greengrasses, Draco inwardly cursed.

"Ah Greengrass, that name takes me back, isn't the eldest engaged to Avery?"

Blaise said out loud. Theo opened his mouth to speak but Patil beat him to it.

"What about the rumors of you and Hermione Granger?"

The witch boldly asked. The air around them stilled and it took all of Draco's willpower to not violently react to Hermione's name. He suspiciously squinted his eyes, tilting his head slightly to left as to appear to better view the witch before him. Draco didn't know how much longer he could sit there.

"What rumors?"

Theo asked. Draco raised his eyebrows as agreeing with his friend's question. All eyes were on the former Gryffindor, and she seemed to remember that she was in a den of snakes. She cleared her throat, looking at Theo.

"There's been speculation that Gryffindor's Golden Girl has been consorting with snakes after her break-up with Ronald Weasley."

Patil stated, sniffing the air as Pansy once did when she thought something was beneath her. Before Draco could ask, Blaise's voice said,

"Nothing wrong with mingling with snakes, Patil. Considering you yourself are doing so for your article."

Blaise sneered slightly at the end of his sentence. Patil had the good sense to look guilty as she dropped her gaze.

"What does that have to do with Draco?"

Theo's softer toned voice interjected. Draco too wanted to know why she had directed the question at him and not his mates. The witch cleared her throat, opting for the safest option, and looked back up at Theo.

"More rumors speculate that Mr. Malfoy is using Miss Granger for a publicity stunt, and she is unaware. The readers would like to know if the relationship is mutual or one-sided and – "

Draco couldn't hear anymore; he'd have an aneurysm if he did.

"Miss Patil."

He stated clearly, interrupting whatever rubbish was about to sprout from the dark brown-haired witch. The Gryffindor froze at the sound of her surname on Draco's lips and she slowly turned to look back at him. Draco occluded best when he was angry – he needed to have the uttermost control over the powerful emotion surging through him.

"I would suggest if you want to finish this as smoothly as we can, you will cease to mention Miss Granger and mine existing or non-existing relationship or you will be hearing from my solicitor."

Draco said, still clear and calm despite wanting to burn every inch of the room around him. Breathe, he reminded himself as he tried to focus on his inhales and exhales. Patil nodded once before turning her attention back to Blaise asking him if he had any betrothal contacts and sufficiently leaving Draco alone for the rest of the meeting.

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Hermione was logical. She knew facts, understood human emotions, and expressed her own with normal regulation. Hermione didn't have outbursts, she didn't act rashly, with the exception of Harry Potter and his knack for entering life dangerous situations. Hermione Granger was logical. She certainly did not have a minor panic attack when she returned to her flat once Draco Malfoy had left her office. What the bloody hell is he thinking? Hermione frantically asked herself, running her fingers through her curls, causing them to frizz even more with the motion. As soon as Draco left her office, Hermione also left, and when she was done feeding her half-cat pet, she started pacing from her living room to her kitchen. Hermione was logical. She started breaking down all the interactions she had recently with Draco. While she witnessed his behavior change from being less hostile than at school, and was trying to make amends for it, he certainly didn't act like a smitten wizard. He was either coldly formal with her or pissed with apologies. There were rarely times when he teased her good-naturedly and that was quite recent. There's no way, Hermione told herself. He's like Blaise a bit – teasing just for the sake of a reaction… Right? She asked herself, running her hands once more before Crookshanks had enough of her footwork and meowed, loudly, at her. She absentmindedly found herself sitting down on her couch. The only time Draco Malfoy had been friendly, teasing, was when he had just come across awful news pertaining to his father. Hermione didn't think much about it; he was in shock and his reactions were to be abnormal. Everything around Draco Malfoy was abnormal. From his behavior to his friends to his family. Hermione tried to think back when Draco was dating Pansy at Hogwarts. She tried to remember how he acted around his then-girlfriend. Pansy was never far behind, the blond seemed to like physical touch, smirking and smiling at her, and adoration in his eyes – nothing like how he acted with her. He does smirk at you, Hermione shook that thought from her head. It was an irrelevant thought as she rarely saw Draco smile or not stoically look at people he didn't surround himself with on the daily. And he seems to revolve around you, never too far, always close by, the treacherous thought rang in her head. Hermione chewed on the bottom of her lip, trying to continue to sort out her thoughts about the blond pureblood. Since the beginning of her and Theo, and by proxy, Blaise's, friendship, Draco Malfoy had been around. His gaze seemingly always on her, safely watching her from a distance. Always around…, the thought rang again. Hermione inhaled deeply, running her hands over her face. When Hermione was trying to help with his father, he still seemed guarded, only letting irritation or amusement trickle through him with their interactions. That surely mean he doesn't fancy me. He's trying to be my friend, Hermione thought to herself – reminding herself of her offer of friendship and his acceptance. The only time he would seem like a normal human was when he was drunk and even though, he would just apologize to Hermione. She inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly at the rationality befell her. He's just trying to be friendly. Like Blaise. Like Theo, she reminded herself. She finally allowed herself to relax, leaning back onto her couch before staring up at the white ceiling. However, the moment of peace did not last long. Except for last time, she corrected herself. Hermione shook that wild thought of her head, remembering a smirking Draco, gleeful and teasing. He was just poking fun, she reasoned with herself but even she felt doubt remembering Draco's face. He was too close, too cheerful in contrast to the other times he was sloshed around her.

"There's no way."

Hermione whispered to herself, trying to make sure she wasn't overreacting. Draco's sharp face, wicked smirk appeared before. It's a date then, Granger. She remembered him saying, still trying to believe he was talking about friendship. But another memory came floating back. Strong affectionate attachment. Draco told her when she asked what the ivy meant. Hermione assumed it was friendship and he didn't argue. He also didn't confirm, she mentally pointed out. That's when the panic she felt back when Draco apologized in Theo's mother's solarium started trickling in. Hermione felt like she was falling into a pit of unknown. Hermione hated the unknown. Her breaths became shorter, sporadic, and Hermione forced herself to close her eyes. She balled her hands into fists as she tried to count back from 300 before she fully lost control. He can't like me. He hated me. He thought I was mud beneath his feet. He – he's trying. He knows he was taught wrong, another voice – a clear voice – mingled with her panicked one rang through her head. What the bloody hell does that have to do with me? Am I his pet project? See if mudbloods are truly just like him? Hermione couldn't help the darker, intrusive thoughts forming in her head. She exhaled as deeply as she could, trying to keep herself from crying before went on full panic mode. Again, Hermione knew it was an absurd reason to panic over Draco Malfoy possibly fancying her, but that didn't mean she could stop herself. Stop her reactions or stop her ugly thoughts. Fortunately for her, there was knock at her door. The sudden noise snapped Hermione back to reality as she hurriedly made her way to the door, grateful for the interruption. Hermione didn't care if Parkinson was at her door, she needed something else to think about. In a few, short brisk steps, Hermione was looking out the peephole. A sudden rush of relief washed over her as Hermione quickly opened the door and pulled the unsuspecting blonde into a tight hug. The witch was only just slightly shorter than her and her periwinkle dress was velvety to the touch, complimenting her smooth, long tresses.

"Luna!"

Hermione exhaled her name, hugging her close to herself. As much as Hermione loved Ginny's wild sense and wilder sense of humor, she also loved spending time with her calmer friend – and calm is what she currently needed. She also hadn't seen Luna in quite some time due to her travelling.

"You have a lot of wrackspurts, Hermione."

Luna's soft, melodic voice said, and Hermione couldn't help the laugh that erupted from her.

"I know."

Hermione replied softly. After a few moments of hugging her friend, Luna said,

"I missed you too, you know."

Hermione held the small witch against her, comforted in her presence and trying to stay calm. Finally, she pulled away and Luna's bright, blue eyes gazed at her.

"I had a feeling to come early and then wondered if you were free for dinner."

Luna said. Hermione smiled at her, nodding, as she moved out of the way to let her friend in. The blonde Ravenclaw had grown into herself after the war; she still had her moments where Hermione had no clue what magical creature she was referring to and her serene smile plastered on her face, but she also had her more serious moments that could only come from witnessing the horrors of war. Shortly after the end of war, Hermione apologized to the younger witch for making her feel as if she were loony when speaking of the creatures Hermione knew naught. Hermione was still unaware of what Luna talked about, but she wasn't going to make her friend feel bad about it as she did when she first met her, referring her as "Loony Lovegood" as most of their classmates did and dismissing her thoughts. Luna had accepted Hermione's apology with grace and instantly formed a friendship with her brilliant friend. Luna explained her nargles and wrackspurts while Hermione explained how to use a mobile and drive a car. Ginny had already befriended the blonde witch so their girl group grew with ease. Currently, Hermione shut the door behind the long haired, dirty blonde witch as Luna waited for Hermione. The floor beneath her, the feeling of the door on her hand, all grounded Hermione as she stared at her friend before.

"Where do you want to eat?"

Hermione asked, reaching for her coat hanging by the door, trying to keep her hands busy.

"I know you prefer Indian, and samosas are quite tasty."

Luna said, serenely smiling at her friend before Hermione returned the smile. Godric bless Luna, she thought to herself about her friend and her perfect time. She needed the distraction and Luna was perfect for it. The witches could catch up on Luna's exciting travels while Hermione told Luna about her new friendships. Thoughts about Draco Malfoy could wait.