Special thanks to: Sandra-Sempra, I_was_BOTWP, and CNova for their Alpha & Beta expertise.
-This piece was written for the Facebook Group Platform 9 ¾ for their 2017 Post War One Shot Contest. The pair I chose for this was Draco Malfoy x Hermione Granger. This was originally posted on FFN - s/12553347/4/
**Lastly I am not Jk Rowling and nothing from the Wizarding World and/or Harry Potter belongs to me.
Draco was standing behind the bar at the Three Broomsticks, cleaning a beer mug, when the door opened. The door was about fifteen feet away, so he did not need to look up to know when someone was making their way inside because his senses were heightened. At that moment, he perked up a bit because he could smell someone familiar.
"Welcome to The Three Broomsticks. I'm your bartender for the night, Draco. What can I get you?" he asked in the same monotone voice he used with everyone who had entered the pub. Technically, he was following the directive Hannah had given to all the bartenders to greet every person who came into the pub.
Upon lifting his head, he met the gaze of Hermione Granger, at which his signature eyebrow raised. He managed to miss her within the month he had been working there, the last three times she visited the pub. Harrowing memories surfaced as Draco thought of the last time he had seen her; now that he recalled it, it was this day a year ago, but he had long lost his sense of time.
"Malfoy," she quipped, so far the only reading he could get off her was one of anguish. Her forehead wrinkled, and her nose turned up as it used to during school, and she stuck her chin out just a little bit more than he had expected.
At this, he took in the sight of her before responding. She was wearing a lavender top with a dark charcoal pencil skirt, her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail, and a single curl hung down in front of her left eye. He noted to himself that she looked pretty hot.
"Granger, now to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he asked, flashing her a grin. He tossed his towel over his shoulder as he propped himself against the bar on one of his elbows.
"For starters, I would like a Midori Sour. I discovered that Ron had been cheating on me with a slag named Chloe. I've spent my day buried in paperwork at the Ministry, and a crucial meeting got pushed back yet again for the second time, it has been a long day. So…let's skip the whole ' Make fun of Granger charade', and get to pouring," she said, emphasizing the last bit with air quotes as she plopped down hard onto a stool.
"Whatever you say, Hermione," he stated as he began pouring upon her command. He had to be extremely careful of his movements so he did not give anything about himself away. Up until now, Draco had been very good at keeping Hermione in the dark about who, or rather what, he was. He went to clean up one end of the bar until she stopped him. "So…," she said.
"So? ...Yes, Granger?" he sighed with a puzzled expression.
With a serious look, she tilted her head and asked, "Where have you been all these years...you know, besides the one time a year we see each other pretending everything is normal?"
He breathed in and out through his nose. She was the same, and he had to control his quickly rising temper. "I've been around." He could smell the alcohol in her blood, which meant that she must have forgotten to eat again, and her heart rate had begun to rise; he could see it in the vein in her neck.
" Around. Around? You have most certainly NOT been around ! I would have run into you by now. I would have known where you have been working all this time. I WAITED for you Draco!" At her words, he began to cringe. Her golden eyes flared. "I was looking forward to when we would share our Heads Room during 8th year, but you never showed up to board the train. Imagine how I felt when after a week, I finally stopped jumping and looking around to see if you had magically appeared at every meal. What happened? You said you loved me before everything went to shit!" She was drunk. And with her recent outburst, he was sure she was bringing up the hurt she felt from him, but this recent event with Ron had only made it worse.
"Hermione, you meet me here once a year on the same night, and you always ask me the same question. It's been five years. We've grown apart since the battle Hermione; when are you going to give it up?" He was steaming at this point. Every year it was about the same. She would come in, order her Midori sour, and tear into him about the past. Their past. Sometimes they got so heated they would end up right back to where they started, hot and in a tangle of limbs. He still always managed to elude her suspicions of him. Luckily for him, tonight the bar had cleared out, and it was just the two of them left.
"I've figured it out. You know," her eyes flicked to her half-empty glass, avoiding his eyes. "I've never seen you out during the day; your blonde hair is practically white now, and your pale skin is even more sallow. You have practically become a ghost!" She peered up at him through long, damp lashes. Her eyes were swirling with that of knowing. "When was the last time you ate some actua l food? When was the last time you had…" He interrupted her, and she found his cold finger against her lips. "DO…. NOT…. SAY…. IT."
His finger felt like ice to Hermione's flesh, freezing her in place as Draco flexed his jaw. His hollow eyes caught a glimpse of her neck, and they fluttered shut in exasperation. He did not want to make any quick movements so as not to give himself up. Within a minute, he managed to make up his mind.
Shoving off the bar, he hissed, throwing the rag down as he stormed out into the night air. Hermione was on his heels. He swiveled to face her, the moonlight casting an eerie glow across his skin as he glared down at Hermione's small form.
"It had always been you! And instead, here we are. Same chapter, different page! Tell me how it happened - I want to finally know. You've kept this from me for far too long." She was pleading with him at this point, but he had taken a step back to put some space between them.
"I've told you every single year, time and time again, that I am just not ready to talk about it," his voice was almost at a whisper, "It's too painful."
"It's why you never showed up, Isn't it? It happened the night of the Battle. It's why you never met me at the Whomping Willow. I knew something happened, but I didn't know what. You're a...a...Vampire." She hadn't realized that while she had spent all that pent-up energy trying to get a confession out of him, he had moved close to her proximity. She felt his ice-cold finger on her cheek.
"DO it Draco! If you ever loved me, if you truly love me, you won't abandon me again. Don't make me wait another year to see you.."
Draco was a breath away, his chilled lips upon her neck. She arched into him, welcoming the change. Draco's fangs glistened under the moon's glare. Unexpectedly, he jerked back, snapping his jaw shut as he ran his fingers through his perfectly styled hair.
"You don't know what you're asking, Hermione! I would never want this for you."
"I do. If this is the only way we can be together, I would rather this than go another single moment, taking another breath towards death without you. DO it." Her eyes said it all. He didn't have to hear it in her voice to know she wasn't lying; one look into her eyes, and he couldn't help himself.
Before either of them knew what had happened, Draco bit down upon her flesh, feeling his fangs break the skin and the sweet taste of her blood upon his lips. When he thought he would hear her pain, he could only feel the vibrations of pleasure from her neck. They would finally be together, at last, for all eternity. All those years of running from her ended with a single graze of his teeth.