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All of This	By : Hypersomniac Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 6266 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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All of This

Hypersomniac

Chapter Four: Unfamiliar

AN: First, sorry for the incredibly long time since the last update. I could – literally – offer up a hundred reasons for it, but it’s probably not actually stuff you guys are interested in hearing about. So I hope the simple apology suffices, if anyone was actually looking forward to the new chapter and was bummed. I don’t really know if that applies or not. Anyway, here we go, without further rambling!

Hermione followed Ginny into the hole-in-the-wall club at the edge of London, gazing around warily. They flipped their IDs at the bouncer waiting just inside, Hermione trying not to look too nervous. Something in her face must have given her away, however, because although he handed Ginny’s back quickly enough, he studied hers more carefully.

“Name?” he asked. Hermione sucked in a breath. He was going to quiz her.

“Holly Anderson,” she answered, trying to sound casual.

“Holly! How good to see you!” a voice trilled behind her and she spun around, startled, only to find herself face-to-face with Pansy Parkinson. Ginny groaned beside her. Before Hermione could reply, Pansy took advantage of her momentary confusion and added, “Patricia Legg, remember? From school?” she said, grinning at the bouncer. He nodded at her. Pansy must be a regular, Hermione realized with a shock. She couldn’t imagine Pansy, Slytherin Princess, slumming it in a muggle club. Much less using one of George’s forged (although he referred to them as “trick”) muggle IDs.

The bouncer looked from Pansy to Hermione and then grunted, handing her ID back to her and stepping aside.

Pansy smirked and stepped past Hermione and Ginny, and it was only then that Hermione noticed who was with her. Malfoy nodded at her in acknowledgement as he swept past. Ginny rolled her eyes.

“What are they doing here?” Hermione asked as she and Ginny made their way to the bar.

“Who knows? I’d guess most people have some sort of reason for wanting to escape. It’s probably just unfortunate circumstances that brought them to the same place.”

“You really think so?” Hermione asked, looking over her shoulder. Draco and Pansy had gone directly to the dance floor, Pansy moving in a way that in any other setting Hermione probably would have described as obscene. But in this crowd, she didn’t really stand out. Hermione was suddenly thankful for the short skirt and heels that Ginny had pushed her to wear. She was still more clothed than most of the patrons, and she didn’t want to stand out too much tonight.

“Her— Holly,” Ginny began, just barely catching herself from using Hermione’s real name, “are you going to stare at them all night or are we going to relax and have some fun?”

Hermione tore her eyes away from the couple and smiled at Ginny.

“How about we start with a drink?” she asked. Ginny grinned back and placed their orders. As Hermione waited, she forced herself to keep her eyes away from the other two, watching the bartender make their drinks with more rapt attention than was probably necessary in any situation.

“So, the whole fight with Ron,” Ginny started as soon as they had found a table in the back corner of the club. “Did you mean all of that? Like, is it really over with you and Ron?”

“I don’t know, Ginny,” Hermione said with a sigh, rubbing her temples. “I mean, I meant what I said, yeah. I’m tired of… everything, I guess. I’m tired of how people see me since the war. I didn’t want all of this, the hero status, the responsibility… I just did what I thought was right. I’m tired of how people see me, how they associate me. I have been for awhile.”

“And Ron is part of that,” Ginny supplied. She didn’t seem upset. Actually, she seemed strangely understanding for what Hermione would have expected from her. Ginny could have a short temper, and she was fiercely protective of her family.

“It’s everything, but yes, Ron is part of it,” she said. “I love him. But I just don’t know if I can live like this forever.”

“Maybe it’s not worth it,” Ginny said, taking Hermione by surprise. Ginny shrugged when she saw her gaping at her. “I mean, trust me, I get what you mean. People treat me the same way. I did my share of stuff, but it was just what needed to be done. And then even above all of that, I’m Harry Potter’s girlfriend. More people actually call me that than my real name. I’ve had moments where I just wanted to stop it all.”

“Why do you put up with it?” Hermione asked.

“Well, because Harry is worth it for me,” Ginny said simply. “You have to decide if Ron is worth part of your own identity. Maybe he’s not. I mean, he’s my brother and I love him. And Merlin knows you love him. I do believe that. But it’s a heavy price, and if it’s not enough for you, then you’re doing him a kindness by allowing both of you to move on sooner rather than later.”

“I don’t know. I just, I need more time to think about it,” Hermione said, sighing.

“Well, cheers to that then,” Ginny said, raising her drink towards Hermione. She raised her own and tapped Ginny’s glass and they both drank in silence for a few minutes.

“I want to dance,” Ginny sighed.

“Ask someone,” Hermione said, shrugging.

“I can’t do that.”

“Sure you can. The muggle world is like Vegas. As long as you don’t bring anything home with you, it doesn’t count. Besides, it’s just dancing,” Hermione said. Ginny grinned.

“Alright. But just a song or two. I’ll be right back,” she promised, sliding out of the booth. Hermione smiled.

Two drinks and six songs later, and Ginny was still on the dance floor, leaving Hermione to her thoughts.

Draco had to admit, Pansy was right. Not one person in this place spared him a second glance. He hadn’t felt this normal in public for years. Pansy moved against him sinuously to the beat, and he let himself move with her, lost in the mass of people.

“I told you you’d enjoy this place,” Pansy said with a wide grin as one song ended. It was at times like this that he thought they seemed almost like a real couple. She wrapper her arms around his neck and kissed him quickly on the cheek. “Come on, I need a drink.”

They made their way to the bar and Draco saw Granger sitting alone in the corner of the room. It jogged something in his mind, and as he sidled onto a barstool next to Pansy, he asked, “What made you vouch for Granger and Weasley?”

“Hmm? Oh, that,” Pansy said, wrinkling her brow. “I don’t know. I figure they were just looking to get away for a bit, too. That’s really the only reason our kind comes out like this. I’m not completely evil, Draco, there’s no reason to mess with them if they’re not messing with me.”

Draco shrugged. The end of the war had dulled Pansy’s spiteful nature some, but to say that she had never done anything evil for no good reason was a stretch and a half. Not that Draco had room to talk.

“Besides, you seem to have developed a soft spot for her over the last week or so,” Pansy continued in an offhanded sort of way and Draco nearly choked on his drink.

“W-What? What gave you that idea?” he sputtered.

“I know you better than you think I do,” Pansy said knowingly.

“It’s not like that,” Draco quickly defended. “It’s not as bad as I thought it would be, working with her, but I don’t see her like that. She’s still just a…” He trailed off, for some reason not wanting to finish the sentence.

“See?” Pansy sounded smug now. “It’s things like that.”

Draco turned to look at Granger again. He frowned. She looked like she was about a million miles away, her eyes unfocused, the corners of her mouth turned down. She looked so… sad.

“Anyway,” Pansy began after they had had a few drinks in companionable silence, observing the people around them. “I’m going to go to the bathroom, and then we should probably go. It’s getting late.”

She was right. The music was winding down, the crowd thinning a bit. But Granger hadn’t moved, hadn’t changed her expression once. Draco looked at his watch. They had been here for three hours.

It was getting late, and the DJ had started to play slower and slower songs, getting the crowd ready to shut the place down. Hermione tipped her glass back, downing the rest of the harsh drink and then replacing it on the table with a sharp clink. She sighed, resting her cheek on her hand, gazing across the dance floor at Ginny and her new muggle friend, who were dancing closely to the mellow rock song issuing from the speakers.

“With all of this I know now

Everything inside of my head

It all just goes to show how

Nothing I know changes me at all…”

“Would you like to dance, Granger?” a voice asked and Hermione jumped, jerking her head around to see Draco standing behind her.

“Oh, I don’t dance, Malfoy,” she said quickly, shaking her head.

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that tonight,” he said. “But I seem to remember you dancing at the Yule Ball, so I know you can.”

“Again I wait for this to change instead

To tear the world in two

Another night with her

But I'm always wanting you…”

“I didn’t think you had even noticed me that night,” Hermione said and immediately mentally kicked herself. She hadn’t meant for it to come out like that. She hadn’t thought he had noticed her because he hadn’t cared whether he did or not. She hadn’t thought about it.

“I notice more than you think,” he said, his voice suddenly lower, his eyes darkening. Hermione felt a chill travel up her spine.

“Use me Holly come on and use me

We know where we go

Use me Holly come on and use me

We go where we know…”

“Malfoy, are you drunk?” she asked, taken aback.

“Probably,” he answered with a smirk, but his voice was even, without a hint of a slur. He held his hand out to her, and after a moment’s hesitation she took it, ignoring her better judgment. What harm could one dance do, in a crowded public place, when the song was half over already. She let him lead her to the edge of the dance floor before pulling her in close, beginning to sway to the music.

“With all of this I feel now

Everything inside of my heart

It all just seems to be how

Nothing I feel pulls at me at all…”

Hermione tensed as his arm snaked around to wrap around her waist, pulling her closer. This was strange. This was dangerous. Wasn’t it?

Her mind was warring with her instincts. Logically, she knew Malfoy was dangerous. Being this close to Malfoy was dangerous. But her instincts told her she was safe. He was safe. Solid. More complicated than anyone else she had contact with, less complicated than the people she was closest to lately. Her mind was a muddled mess. Logic and instincts had both completely failed her, for the first time in her living memory.

“Again I wait for this to pull apart

To break my time in two

Another night with her

But I'm always wanting you…”

But even as her mind and body warred, she felt herself relaxing, resting her head on Malfoy’s shoulder, swaying gently with him. He leaned his forehead down to rest against hers, his hand moving from cupping hers to intertwine their fingers.

“Use me Holly come on and use me

We know where we go

Use me Holly come on and use me

We go where we know…”

She tensed when she felt his breath ghost across her face, the spell of the moment broken, her heartbeat picking up. She leaned away from him, looking into his face, her own a mask of puzzlement.

“I’m sorry,” she forced out. “This was—”

“No,” he interrupted softly, but removed his arm from her waist and dropped his other hand, though he didn’t let hers go just yet.

“She's all I need

She's all I dream

She's all I'm always wanting

She's all I need

She's all I dream

She's all I'm always wanting you…”

She closed her eyes, shaking her head to try to clear it. She shouldn’t have gone out. She shouldn’t have drank. She shouldn’t have danced with Malfoy.

She definitely shouldn’t have enjoyed it.

Shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have, shouldn’t have… But she had.

She opened her eyes, but Malfoy’s own face betrayed none of his own thoughts on the subject. She glanced down at where their hands met.

“Malfoy,” she began, her voice shaking. She pulled her hand from his, and he didn’t resist. “I’m sorry. I can’t…”

“Oh again I wait for this to fill the holes

To shake the sky in two

Another night with her

I'm always wanting you…”

“Hermione,” Ginny’s voice called out. Hermione turned to see her waiting at their table, both of their jackets and purses in her hands. She jerked her head pointedly towards the exit. Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, grateful for a reason to leave.

“Sorry,” she said to Malfoy. “Ginny’s waiting.”

And with no further explanation, Hermione turned and practically ran after Ginny to the door.

“Another night with her

But I'm always wanting you…”

Draco stood rooted in place, trying to figure out what exactly had just happened. He had just wanted for Granger to have a bit of fun. She had looked so miserable all night. It wasn’t supposed to be anything more than that.

So what had happened? Clearly she had been unnerved. But that wasn’t what surprised Draco. What surprised him was how he had felt when she was pressed closely against him, their faces millimeters apart, with the scent of her strawberry shampoo overwhelming his senses.

It wasn’t right, where his mind had gone before he had even realized it. But it had felt right.

“Man, this place has died,” Pansy remarked, appearing beside him, apparently back from the bathroom. “Let’s get out of here, then.”

Draco nodded mutely and followed her out of the club.

Hours later, Draco was still awake, staring at the ceiling. Pansy had come and gone, opting to sleep at her own place for whatever reason. Draco hadn’t bothered to ask.

Maybe she had sensed what he was thinking.

“Another night with her

But I'm always wanting you…”

He groaned, rolling over and burying his face in his pillow. He was going to have to deal with this somehow. It was just the alcohol. Just the song. Just the feel of someone new who didn’t flinch when he touched them. It would be gone by morning, along with the alcohol in his system and the fading strains of music in his head.

AN: Poor, confused characters. As a side note, the song featured in this chapter is the title song, "All of This" by Blink-182.

I’m not altogether 100% pleased with how this chapter turned out, but for all of my tweaking and editing, nothing made it any better. SO, please, if you have any suggestions or concrit, don’t be shy!

Thanks so much to everyone who read the last chapter, and to the reviewers especially!

HarryGinny4eva: I’m glad you liked how I handled the issue of Ron and Hermione. I’m really not out to try to make Ron into a super villain or anything, although I think anyone would agree that he can be an ass. Haha. More I’m just trying to dissolve their relationship… Relationships end for all sorts of reasons, and I think the fact of people growing apart or wanting different things out of life is really undervalued as a reason in writing. I hope you continue to enjoy the story! Thanks for reviewing!

SarahWhitman: The whole issue of muggleborns “dying” was something I toyed with for awhile. When I was just a wee child absorbed in these books and dreaming of getting my own letter – yeah, I was one of THOSE kids, haha – I wondered a lot about how it was explained or swept under the rug when these kids just disappeared from the school systems in the muggle world. This idea didn’t form until I got older, but it’s one of my favorite theories, for some reason.

And much thanks to Kristen (who shares a name with me), Sincerely, and the always-lovely Lydia for taking a moment to drop me a line as well! I enjoyed hearing from all of you!
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