Boys Night, Girls Night

Here we go again, hope you all like it!!

_____

22.

Hermione's inner alarm clock woke her up.

She resisted the urge to move right away. Even while part of her was pleased that she wouldn't be behind on the last minute errands for the day, she still felt a tiny bit sad.
The past 12 hours had been a bit like a sanctuary. A sex sanctuary, but a wonderful one. It was just her and him.

She took a moment and snuggled deeper into Draco's arms. She loved the feeling of waking up in them. Almost as if knowing her thoughts, Draco flexed and pulled her closer into his warm body. Hermione thought she could just stay like this for the rest for her life and have no complaints.

But.

That damn "but" thought had been running in and around her head thoughout the night. The thought had a lot to do with the fact she had no clue where they were going from this point on. Sure, they had fantastic ... amazing sex. But...is that all Draco wanted? And what did she want? She remembered their fight when he yelled "did you think that everything would fall together?"

But...that is what she wanted. She couldn't deny that. She wanted to wake up with him, and go to bed with him, and do everything inbetween with him. Argue, prank, and just be near him.

But...she knew Draco. She couldn't be sure he wanted that. This, however much it hurt her to admit, might be him trying to get her out of his system. She had seen this pattern from his past relationships. What if the past 12 hours meant nothing? Or just another day in the life of a Malfoy?

Hermione took her chance to escape when he went to roll over to sneak out of the bed. She stood there naked, staring at him. He looked almost angelic when looking at his face.

But the longer she stared the more she realized she wasn't staring at his face. Her eyes drifted down his shoulders, down his back where scratches were littered from hours past...well he didn't seem to mind at the time, she smirked.

Hermione found her clothes, charmed them cleaned, and grabbed what ever remained of her belongings. Once at the door, she paused. She felt horrible for leaving without waking him, but she wasn't sure she wanted to see the possibility of regret in his eyes.

Letting out a gusty sigh, she put her things back down and went back into his bedroom. She penned a note and left it on her pillow. Not completely able to stop herself, she pressed a soft kiss onto his forehead. Then fled the apartment.


She was still thinking about the man she left behind when she arrived at her apparting point for her new apartment. Because her apartment was in a busy section of London, things were a bit sticky for coming and going. Usually she would just floo into her apartment, or apparate directly in. However, with recent stalking activities the ministry wouldn't allow either. So she had a lovely apparating point behind a large dumpster in the alley behind her building.

As she brushed off her robes, a spot she had figured was a shadow began walking towards her. When she looked up, she jumped back a step.

"Merlin, you scared me." Hermione pressed a hand to her chest.

Henry Serpens looked at her apologetically. "I'm sorry, Ms. Granger. I merely wanted to tell you good morning." He brushed a hand through his sandy hair.

Hermione smiled. "Good morning to you, too." They started walking towards the buildings front doors. "Did Roger go home?" She asked Henry nodded holding the door open for her and gesturing for her to enter first. "He was a little worse for wear."

"This entire situation is completely absurd. You two should be home with your significant others." Hermione had a small army of Auror's watching over her at any moment. All at Harry's insistance. Head of the Department, Harry got to assign aurors as he pleased. Right now he seemed to be pleased making sure Hermione was never alone.

She had tried to appeal to Kingsley, but he agreed with Harry. So now around the clock Auror's, mainly Roger and Henry, were circling the apartment, watching the apparating spot, making sure no one suspicious was lurking around.

Henry let out a small chuckle, pressing the elevator button. "You act like I have a significant other. I know Roger is sweet on someone, but I'm all free."

Hermione glanced up at him. He wasn't much shorter than Draco, but he was leaner, lankier. His light brown eyes open and friendly. The best part about Henry was that he didn't try to come on to her. He was just there, easy to talk to. Roger on the other hand, well, he flirted with everyone in the ministry, including Ginny, to Harry's amusement. Harry was only one of the few who knew who Roger really liked.

And that was Vincent Crabbe.

"Maybe you'll meet your soul mate tonight at the gala. You're on duty, right?" Even in a room full of people, she had to have her army in tow. She grimaced.

Henry laughed at her face. "My soul mate is already married."

Hermione looked at him full in the face. "Married?"

He nodded his head, rather reluctantly, but making the comment he forged on ahead. "Blaise stole her from me. We were sweethearts growing up."

"Pansy?" she gasped. She knew there was drama when Blaise and Pansy eloped. But she didn't think it was anything close to this. "I'm sorry, I had no idea."

Henry still looked cheery, brushing it aside. "It has been close to three years, I've moved on. Just not many women compare." His eyes stared at her with a michevious glint. "Unless we take you into account, Ms. Granger. You seem to have men waiting on you hand and foot." He illustrated his point by holding the elevator door open.

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked to her door. She watched as Henry performed the customary spells to check for and intruder and disturbances. When it came up blank, the knot in her stomache lessened a little. "All set, Ms. Granger."

"I thought I told you to call me Hermione."

"Well, I thought I told you to call me Henry." Henry grinned. "I'll be seeing you, Ms. Granger."

Hermione opened her apartment door. "I'll see you around, Mr. Serpens." She said sarcastically, earning another chuckle.


__________



Draco opened his eyes with a huge smile on his face. It stopped when he realized he was alone in the bed. Turning his head, he saw a note left on the pillow.

"Didn't want to wake you, I have too many last minute things to do before the gala. I'll meet you later tonight. Love, Hermione."

While he wouldn't have minded another go this morning, but he couldn't deny part of him was relieved she didn't wake him up. He had some serious thinking to do.

It was simple during the past couple of hours to just live in the moment and forget everything else. To him, the past couple of hours was possible because of their little bubble, unaffected by the world outside of the apartment. But that bubble popped the moment she left.

Draco tallied a list of things he needed to talk to her about. The stalking, the clear priority, moving out being the next one. And then there was this growing need to be near her. He glanced down at the note in his hand, and saw "Love, Hermione" jump off the page.

Love? It seemed a rather mundane word to describe the feelings that sprung up over the past week.
It was a sweet tangle of emotions, some of which he couldn't recall feeling for years. He wanted to place a sign over Hermione's head stating "Property of Draco Malfoy, Back OFF." He wanted her on his arm to show off to the world what he was lucky to gain.

But what it boiled down to was just wanting her by him, all the time. So he could piss her off, make her laugh and kiss her whenever he wanted. He got out of the bed, walking towards the loo.

But...did she want that? The thought stopped him in his tracks. A few months ago the answer was probably no. A few weeks ago, a tenuous yes...Now? Not a clue. But he was hoping and praying for a yes.

The empty bed was saying no, mocking him. Was that her way of saying goodbye goodbye? Back to their lives, back to being friends?

He knew it wasn't. She was a Gryffindor through and through. They wore their hearts on their sleeves. More than likely Granger was avoiding him. Funny, he always thought it was the guy who was suppose to get the morning after nerves. He chuckled. Then again, considering how the mess started, not many things about them was normal.

Whatever the reason, he needed to accomplish things for himself today. Like scoping the guest list to see who was coming tonight, and who needed to be watched.