WML Chapter 3: A Night Out
Hermione was at home and sitting at her vanity. She was just finishing up her makeup and hair as Ron walked in. He glanced at her and shook his head. He dropped his work things and his jacket onto the bed and walked over to their closet.
He was digging through his clothes to find something acceptable to wear. The tension in the room was palpable but Hermione forced herself to ignore it and ignore her feelings.
She wanted a night with her friends and if she had to pretend that their marriage was good to do that then that’s exactly what she was going to do. It would take some time to get past what he had done but she really thought that with enough time… maybe she would eventually get past it.
Even as she thought it, she wasn’t all that sure.
“Hermione do we really have to do this. I don’t feel like lying.” He said to her as he pulled a clean shirt on.
She got angry and glared at him in the mirror.
“Oh, now you don’t feel like lying.” She said sarcastically.
She slammed down her hairbrush and continued angrily, “I have been working my ass off at the ministry and I need a night to relax with friends. I don’t want to have to explain things if you aren’t there so just suck it up. Do this for me.”
She turned her eyes away and spritzed herself with perfume. She didn’t get to dress up in anything other than work clothes most of the time so she wanted to take advantage of the occasion. She didn’t feel bold tonight but she also didn’t want to overdress so she settled for a little black dress that she had bought months ago and never got the chance to wear.
Ron slumped on the bed and signed loudly.
“Fine. For you.” He grumbled.
She rolled her eyes.
-
--
---
When they finally made their way into the crowded bar, Harry and Draco were already waiting for them. They waved them over to a table next to the far wall of the place where they could all sit down and relax. The guys had already ordered a pint of beer for each of them and theirs were already half gone.
Ron and Hermione sat down across from the other two and they all smiled. Ron was sitting across from Harry, and Hermione was sitting across from Draco.
“Where’s Ginny?” Hermione said loudly to be heard over the music.
Harry leaned forward towards them and answered loudly back to her.
“She hasn’t been feeling well so she decided to call it an early night.” He shrugged.
Hermione suddenly felt a little awkward. She wasn’t expecting to be alone in a bar with three men and she was really looking forward to seeing Ginny. She desperately needed some girl time.
She couldn’t help but feel disappointed as she took a small sip of her beer to try covering her dissatisfied expression. As she set her glass back down she felt a light tap on her leg from across the table.
Draco was nudging her with his foot. She grinned as she lightly nudged him back with her foot. She looked up at him and he was smiling at her.
“Hey, at least you’re not stuck in the office.” He said as he raised an eyebrow.
She nodded and sighed as she tried to relax.
“You’re right. I haven’t been out in months and I’m going to enjoy myself.”
She glanced at Ron and back to Draco as she finished speaking. “No matter what.”
Ron rolled his eyes and Harry looked at him questioningly.
“What’s bothering you?” Harry asked him and everyone looked at Ron.
He hesitated to answer and Hermione quickly hopped up from the table and almost tripped which distracted everyone.
“I’m going to the bar for a real drink.” She stated to everyone at the table.
Draco quickly stood up to join her.
“I’ll go with you.”
He didn’t like the idea of her going alone and he really didn’t want to stay at the table to hear whatever it was that Weasley had to whine about.
Draco saw Ron shake his head and start talking to Harry as he walked with Hermione across the room to the bar. He didn’t know what the hell was going on but clearly, there was some kind of drama that he wasn’t aware of.
“Mojito.” He heard Hermione say loudly to the bartender.
He gave her a surprised look and she laughed.
“They make the best ones here and it’s been forever since I’ve had one.” She clarified.
He nodded his head and laughed softly.
“Okay.”
He waved a bartender over.
“Whiskey neat.” He said simply to the bartender who then nodded and walked away.
He looked back to Hermione and she looked pleasantly surprised and happy.
They smiled at each other and she bit her lip. She felt nervous but excited. She tried to forget all the drama happening between her and Ron and just focus on having a nice relaxing night out with friends.
The bartender came back and sat their drinks down in front of them. Then, he looked at them as if expecting something. Then it dawned on them that he was waiting for them to pay for the drinks.
“Oh!” Hermione said loudly then went for her purse but she had forgotten it at the table when she got up in a rush. ‘Shit.’ She mentally kicked herself.
Before she could say or do anything though, Draco put money on the bar counter and told him to start a tab for the table. The bartender nodded and grabbed the money as he walked away.
“You don’t have to do that. I can pay for my own drinks.” She said stubbornly as she reached for the mojito.
He smiled at her as he grabbed his glass and took a sip.
“I know. It’s easier to have one tab on the table than two. If you want to pay me back then drinks can be on you next time.” He smirked at her and leaned against the bar.
She took a small drink from the tall glass and made an ah sound. Then she smiled at him.
“Okay. If you insist.” She finally responded.
They both started to walk away from the bar but were stopped by Harry and Ron. They all paused a few feet away from the bar and all looked at each other.
Harry leaned forward and raised his voice to be heard over the crowd and the music.
“I’m gonna head out. I feel bad being here while Ginny is home sick. I finished my pint, thanks for that man.” He looked at Draco who had paid for all the drinks then he continued.
“I’m sorry guys. Let’s try for another night really soon.”
Hermione immediately felt the smile fade from her face. Disappointment flooded her.
‘So much for a nice night out with friends.’ She thought sarcastically.
Draco spoke first. “Not a problem mate. Take care of your wife and we’ll see you next time.”
Hermione stepped forward and gave him a quick hug. As soon as she stepped back, Harry walked away. He went out the doors and apparated home to Ginny.
“Well, looks like it’s just the three of us.” Draco said through a weird smile.
‘Damn this is awkward.’ He thought to himself.
“Actually…” Ron cut in before any of them headed back to the table.
“Can I talk to you a minute alone?” He said to Hermione.
Hermione tried not to look angry but she felt her body tense and her brow furrowed in question.
“Uh… sure.” She said almost too quiet for them to hear her.
Draco took that as his moment to escape the situation and started to walk back to the table when Hermione grabbed his shirt to pull him back. He turned back to her and she took a small step toward him.
“Would you mind taking my drink to the table and I’ll be over in a minute?” She asked him.
Without hesitation, he grabbed her drink and said, “No problem.” Then he turned around and walked away.
Hermione sighed loudly, not trying to hide her aggravation anymore.
“What is it, Ronald?” She huffed as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.
“Look… I’m gonna go too. I didn’t even want to come in the first place and now there’s no reason to stay.”
He looked impatient. He glanced around and took a step closer.
“I promised Lavender that I would see her tonight. I am telling you this because there’s no reason to lie anymore and I don’t want to hide things from you.”
Hermione was glad Draco had taken her drink because she probably would have dropped it from the surprise of what just came out of Ron’s mouth.
She immediately wanted to smack him but she dug her nails into her palms to keep control of herself. She really didn’t want to make a scene. Most people knew who they were and she had a reputation to uphold.
That’s part of the reason she never changed her last name when she married Ron. She liked being recognized for her accomplishments and she wanted to have a separate identity that was her own.
“What are you talking about?” She gritted her teeth and was staring daggers at him.
He sighed impatiently but gave her a look of pity as he began talking again.
“I have been wanting to talk to you for a while now but you are always so damn busy at work.” He paused for a second and took a deep breath.
“Me and Lavender are more than some one night mistake like you think. I have been planning to leave you… and be with her. Now that you know about us, I don’t want to lie and pretend anymore.”
Hermione felt her body freeze and go numb. Her eyes started to burn as tears started to swell up and threaten to fall. She started to say something but didn’t know what to say so her mouth just hung open.
She looked away from him and she tried to take a deep breath but it caught in her throat. Her face distorted into one of sadness and the tears started spilling down her cheeks.
“I don’t know what to say.” She said back.
He cleared his throat as he spoke again.
“There isn’t anything to say. It’s done. I am sorry, Hermione… but I am tired of being unhappy… aren’t you?”
She started to wipe tears away from her eyes but they kept coming. She turned back to face him and looking at him and his lying cheating, full of shit, face made her so angry that she couldn’t take it anymore and she slapped him.
It was quick and hard. Thankfully, not many people around them noticed but she immediately felt embarrassed. She glanced around and was thankful that nobody was staring.
Ron’s eyes widened and he nodded his head as he took a small step back. He looked angry and his cheek was bright red from the hard slap.
“Right.” He said quick and angry then clicked his tongue before continuing.
“I’m going now.”
Then, without a second for her to say anything back, he rushed away and out the door.
Hermione covered her face and started crying harder. She felt so stupid. How could she not know how he felt or what he was doing? She knew that work had taken over lately but she thought it was just a rough patch and they would figure things out after it all settled down.
Instead, he not only cheated but he in fact had an affair and now left her to be with this other woman. She felt worthless in that moment.
Before she could think more on it. She felt a strong arm wrap around her shoulders and start to pull her out from the middle of the room. She looked up and it was Draco walking her back to their table.
They both took their seats and looked at each other. Draco pulled one of her hands into his and started rubbing his thumb across her skin.
She felt her hand tingle and her heart skipped a beat. She was always surprised at her body’s reaction to his touch. She thought that with time it would go away but they very rarely touched each other in any sort of way, even hugs were rare despite them being friends.
She used her other hand to wipe the tears off her face. Then, she took a deep breath to settle her emotions and tried to grin at him. She felt stupid and embarrassed for crying in front of him
She hated crying in front of other people period and he was her boss. Friends or not.
“Don’t do that.” He told her. “Don’t try to hide your feelings from me.”
She was shocked to hear him being so sincere and judgment-free. She felt some emotion threatening to flood her again. A few more tears escaped and she wiped them away.
“I’m fine. Let’s just try to have a good night still. We have both been working so hard and we deserve…” Her voice broke and she couldn’t continue.
He squeezed her hand and leaned in closer to her.
“You can talk to me. I hope you know that. I think we have become pretty good friends and I want you to know that you can count on me and tell me things without judgment.”
As soon as he said it, she knew it was true. Somehow, Draco had become the most honest person she knew. ‘Go figure.’ She thought.
She took another deep breath and blew it out to calm herself. She nodded and cleared her throat.
“Okay. I mean, I might as well. Everyone is going to find out anyway.”
She looked up at him and he was clearly listening to her every word and was waiting patiently for her to continue.
She picked up her drink and started to gulp it down. Her throat felt dry and she needed to wash down some of her nerves.
She finished half the glass and put it back down on the table. He looked at her, clearly surprised by her actions but never took his eyes off her and never let go of her hand.
“Ron has been having an affair.” She blurts out.
Draco was taken aback. He was shocked but before he could respond, she started talking again.
“Aaaand…” She laughed sarcastically.
“He is leaving me for her. We aren’t together anymore.” She finished with a nod and she felt herself getting angry again.
She picked her glass back up and finished the half that was still there and almost slammed it back on the table.
“Easy.” He said. “You might want to slow down a bit.”
He leaned closer.
“He is a fool. I can’t believe that he would throw everything away like that. I mean, I knew he wasn’t the smartest but damn. You would think he knew a good thing when he had it.”
He shook his head in disbelief.
Hermione signaled to the bartender for a refill. She looked back to Draco and grinned.
“Thanks for saying that. I don’t want to talk about him anymore though. I want us to relax and try to enjoy the evening even if our friends don’t have time for us.”
Draco smiled back at her. He picked up his glass and finished off the whiskey in one big gulp then waved at the bartender for another.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”