Notes:
Still catching up. This one is surprisingly short for me, as I usually can’t keep myself short.
[ Link to the Challenge ]
Midnight
Word count: 435
Pairing: Draco x Hermione
Rating: G
“Ouch!”
With a startle, Draco woke from his light sleep, briefly disoriented as to where he was, and with his thigh hurting. After another second, he finally realised that he was still lying on the small sofa they had installed in their library; his book had fallen on the floor, while a still fast asleep Hermione lay on top of him, her book open beneath her cheek.
They had both fallen asleep, reading in their favourite position on the sofa.
And now, a jerk of her knee against his thigh had woken him up rather rudely.
With a sigh, he checked the clock on the wall—it was already past midnight on a weekday and they both had to get up early. He didn’t want to wake her up, as peacefully as she was sleeping on his chest, as if his sheer presence kept her nightmares away.
It was the same for him.
Holding her in place, he reached for his wand that he had placed on the small side table where his head was placed. He needed to levitate her in order to get up without waking her.
Moments later, he was standing next to the sofa, with Hermione hovering in front of him, still all relaxed in her sleep. As soon as he placed one of her hands on his neck, she instinctively held on tight, which made it so much easier for him.
“Time for bed, my dear.”
He swayed on his way to their bedroom, feeling as if he was rather sleepwalking there than being fully aware of everything around him. But honestly, he didn’t really care, as he didn’t intend to stay awake for long anyway.
“Don’t let go,” she mumbled as she nestled her head closer to his neck.
“Never.” He placed a kiss on her head where he could reach her; he had absolutely no intention on letting the one person in his life go who had given him a second chance and made him one of those happy fools he previously had frowned upon.
However, she still whimpered when he put her down on her side of the bed, but she calmed down as soon as he covered her with her blanket and brushed over her cheek, even sighing sleepily.
She was beautiful in every sense of the word, down to her very soul.
Damn, she really turned him into a happy fool!
Falling asleep minutes later with her in his arms once more, Draco had only one thought on his mind—one that made him smile and pull her even closer.
PREVIEW:
Pansy was already waiting for them in front of the fireplace when they stepped into the arrival room at her parents' house, located next to the main hall. She looked stunning in her outfit—a shoulder-free ball gown in dark green with embroidery in burgundy covering the bust, and a stunning Rubin necklace to top it off.
Her frown immediately softened into an ardent smile as soon as she saw Ron, pulling him into an embrace just as Draco stepped out of the fireplace, brushing off his own black suit.
Draco watched them from a few steps away, unable to contain a chuckle when they started to kiss. He still wondered how they managed to end up together, the laid-back redhead and his rather high-strung close friend. Maybe they were just what the other needed, giving them the perfect balance.
Hermione had told him a bit more about how they announced the engagement to his family, using the opportunity of them being in one place anyway, and how Molly almost suffocated Pansy in one of her famous hugs. That woman knew how to hug the air out of your lungs!
But watching those two happy fools in front of him now, he understood why it made her think about them and what they would have been like as a married couple.
It was a missed chance.
NOTES:
To balance out all the Weasley and Gryffindor goodness of the last two chapters, I'll focus on the Slytherins in this one, even quietly furthering the plot.
Thanks to @otterlyardent for the shout-out in her latest chapter of "Letters of the Past"! <3 <3 <3
And last but not least, many many thanks and hugs to that wonderful bunch of people helping me write this story:
@musiclover19 for proofreading it despite life being all hectic, and @duchessofstrumpetnessfanfiction @blklightpixie26 @geekmom13 and @evorablake for still not having lost their patience with me! *hugs*
“I AM happy,” Draco rebuffed Hermione’s words with a sneer. How they ended up at a bar together he couldn’t remember—nor did he exactly want to. She was the only person who managed to get under his skin, almost whenever they ended up working together on a project or, like now, sitting in a bar and nursing their respective drinks.
And with their friends mingling more and more, she was everywhere in his life. No, almost everywhere, to be correct.
Frustrated at her words, he took another gulp of his Firewhisky before thumping the now empty tumbler down on the counter.
“Look,” she continued, clinging to the counter after losing her balance on her stool for a moment. “What I wanted to say is, you don’t let anyone get close. You have a lot of friends, but no one to share your life with…”
“What if I’m happy with my life right now?”
“I don’t think you really are.”
“What’s it to you, anyway?” Narrowing his eyes, he leaned towards her, clinging to the counter to make sure he didn’t fall off his stool. She was infuriating, with a fire that could burn others easily, yet he still felt drawn to its flames.
But above all, she was one of those women you never get out of your system ever again.
“Why would you even care?” he asked again, only to be met with a defiant glare from her.
“Why should I not?”
“You both want another round?” the barkeeper asked, ignoring their small drunken argument as he switched between them with an eyebrow raised in question.
“Yes!” was the unison, angry-sounding answer.
“You might want to chill a bit…” With a shrug, the barkeeper turned around to pour their Firewhiskies.
“Maybe you don’t get it, but I’m happy with my life… No one to pressure me into things I don’t want to do, no one I need to live up to, and no one to disappoint except myself.”
She shook her head before leaning it on her hand, gazing at him with a softened expression, even nibbling her lower lip. “That’s not happiness…”
His eyes lingered on her lower lip for a moment, causing him to lick his own. Maybe it wasn’t happiness, yes, but given what he had been through in his youth, it was close enough for him not wanting to jeopardise anything.
And kissing her would most definitely jeopardise everything he had achieved so far. If only she would stop nibbling her lip!
“Two Firewhiskies, as ordered.”
Draco grabbed his tumbler and gulped down the better part of his Firewhisky. It was all he could do to finally pull himself away from her annoying little habit. He simply wasn’t near drunk enough for it, and he hated his mind more and more for constantly fantasising about anything related to her.
No, definitely nowhere near drunk enough.
“You don’t even date…”
Her remark pulled him from his thoughts, and he set his tumbler down on the counter, just as she was taking a first sip from hers. He could see a small smirk behind the glass, and he felt the increasing urge to swipe it off her face with a kiss.
Maybe he should go home and calm down.
“Have you taken a closer look at the available options in our society? No, thank you.”
“I’m free.”
His treacherous heart did a double take at her words, and he simply didn’t know what to say in response. There was no chance in hell—she had to be joking.
“Hey, did I say something I shouldn’t?” Hermione sat up, her eyes now filled with concern, and her hand reaching for his.
“I should better leave,” he replied with a sigh before he emptied his tumbler and waved for the barkeeper.
“Another?”
Draco shook his head. “Paying. And put whatever she is going to have after I leave on my tab.”
“Draco!”
“And make sure she gets home safely.” He smiled briefly when he saw the barkeeper nod in understanding. Just as he was about to turn and walk out, a hand on his arm held him back.
“Please, stay.”
He reached for her hand on his arm, twining their fingers for the quickest of moments; her pleading look made him sigh once more. If only she knew how much he wanted to give in and stay. And the touch of her fingers, that electrifying feeling didn’t help either.
No, it only made his heart, that little treacherous thing, whisper dangerous things. Things he would regret later.
“I should leave now.”
So, with a racing heart, he finally left the bar to find the closest Apparition point.
The next morning, Draco was woken by his one remaining house-elf.
“Master has a visitor,” the elf stated as he finally opened his eyes, groaning at the sudden brightness.
“Chase them away.” He wasn’t in the mood for visitors today, so he pulled his cover over his head.
“They said it was important, and Tilly knows them as a friend. So, Tilly has let them in.”
His groan was more in frustration at having to get out of bed now than due to the increasingly throbbing head. But he still managed to pull the cover down and sit up, rubbing his temples.
“Hangover Potion, and then make us some strong coffee.”
“Yes, Master.”
Moments later, Draco held a vial of Hangover Potion in his fingers, hesitating because he had never liked its taste. At least he had managed to put on something more representable while the elf had left the room to fetch the vial.
“Urgh.” It took him two gulps to swallow the whole potion, feeling his stomach revolt. But after a few deep breaths, it settled again, and he started to feel better.
However, if he thought that downing the Hangover Potion was the worst part of his morning, then he was proven wrong the moment he entered the living room where his visitor was supposedly waiting for him.
It was Hermione.
“Hi,” she said with a timid smile as she turned around from his bookshelves; she was wearing a set of lounging clothes, covered in a burgundy cardigan. “I’m really sorry for dragging you out of bed, I should have come by later, but your elf invited me in and I couldn’t really refuse…”
He nodded, brushing through his still tousled hair. Seeing her now made the memories of the night before resurface, and their stupid discussion about whether he was happy with his life or not.
But the worst thing was, that seeing her standing in his own fucking place reminded him of what he was missing in his life to really be happy with it.
Her.
“What do you want? Tilly said it was important.”
She made a few steps towards him, yet kept a comfortable distance. To stop her hands from fidgeting any further, she hid them in the pockets of her cardigan. “I just wanted to apologise for last night. It seems I hit a sore point without meaning to.”
“It’s okay. We were both drunk–”
“And there’s something else.”
To Draco’s momentary relief, his house-elf appeared with a tray of freshly brewed coffee and a bowl of biscuits. It gave him the opportunity to sit down and have a much needed first sip of coffee.
She sat down on the other side of the lounge table and started adding a few drops of milk to her cup before lifting it to her lips. The delighted little moan she let out after she had swallowed the first sip made him sigh.
“Look, I might have been drunk last night,” she finally continued, breaking the increasingly heavy silence in the room. “But I meant what I said. I’m free. Honestly, I haven’t been on a date in ages, because…” She put the cup back on the table, eyeing with blushing cheeks. “...because, as you said yesterday, the options are barely worth mentioning. And no one could hold up to you anyway.”
Draco almost let his cup fall at her last sentence; he barely avoided burns as he stabilised the cup again. “To-WHAT?”
“To you.”
With trembling hands, he placed his cup on the table, afraid he’d let it fall for real. He wasn’t sure whether he was sober or still drunk from last night and imagining things. It just sounded too good to be real.
“I like you, okay? And not just as a friend…”
“Hermione, please, don’t… don’t play with me, okay?” He rubbed his face, only to then brush through hair as he straightened up in his spot on the two-seater.
“I wouldn’t–”
“I left last night because I was so damn close to just kiss you. You’re on my damn mind almost all the time, because it’s just fitting that I want the one thing I can’t have.”
With a sigh, she switched her spot to join him on the two-seater, grabbing his hand. “You’re an idiot. You should just have kissed me then.”
“But–”
He didn’t get any further, as she pulled him closer with her free hand, her fingers digging into the onset of hair on his neck. And fuck, he was lost as soon as her lips touched hers—all he could do was respond in kind, relish in the tender yet demanding way she claimed his mouth.
She was the most infuriating, and the most intoxicating woman he ever met.
