After Tonight

Chapter 17: These Ties Hold

The rest of the day was spent maneuvering everyone into a somewhat organized method of living. The Black House by any means was not small, but it had never been intended to house the amount of people living under its roof. It was decided that Ron, Kelly, Theo, and Draco would stay in Andromeda's old room, while Hermione, Pansy, and Ginny would stay in Draco's room. Luna and Narcissa opted to sleep in what was now considered the infirmary corner of the house, allowing them to watch over Fleur.

"This is absurd!" Theo wailed, pacing around the room as Kelly and Draco sat on the edge of the large bed. "I should be able to sleep with my woman."

"Wouldn't want to make the head of house uncomfortable," Kelly drawled, to which both Draco and Theo rolled their eyes.

Narcissa had always been a proper socialite and believed fornication before marriage was unethical. Draco very much disagreed.

He needed to find Granger and apologize for not being gentle enough her first time. He replayed the image of her naked and slightly perspired underneath him nearly every night. He tried hard to forget about how the evening had ended. He knew he owed her an explanation for his coldness, why he had left so abruptly. He just didn't know how to go about it.

"There are worse things," Neville offered, and Draco scowled. Kelly stood, stretching slightly, to which Draco could see his Dark Mark peeking out slightly from beneath his sleeve. Swallowing, he looked away.

"I need some air," Kelly said, exiting the room as he slammed the door behind him.

Ron shook his head and leaned it against the wall, along with his back. "This is fucking insane."

"Oi!" Theo quipped, raising his eyebrows. "Watch your tongue, Weasley."

Ron's face grew hard, his knuckles turning white. "Sorry if I think having a sleepover with a bunch of fucking traitors sets my teeth on edge," he snapped, and Theo whirled around to face him. Draco stood, watching as Theo stalked towards Ron, his lips set in a tight line.

"The only reason you'll survive this is us," Theo stated in a tone that was much calmer than Draco expected. "The only reason you aren't six feet under like Potter is because we want to help you."

"Help us?" Ron shot back, standing from his seated position. "You think you lot are helping us? And don't you dare mention Harry's name. He would be disgusted if he knew."

Theo let out a bark of laughter, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck. "Draco, you hear this shit?"

"If only I couldn't," Draco replied, receiving a nasty glare from Ron.

"Gods," Ron moaned, wiping a hand over his face. "I just got here and already can't wait to leave."

-

It took Draco nearly three hours to get Hermione alone. She was constantly being pulled in every direction, whether it was caring for Fleur or maneuvering the furniture in the house around to make more room. He watched her carefully unwrap Fleur's leg, her brow furrowed, and he leaned against the doorway silently as she worked.

"Will she be alright?" Draco asked awkwardly, and Hermione turned her head slightly to look at him.

"She should be," she replied, turning her head forward once more. "Your mothers a very talented Healer, apparently. Come look."

Draco stepped around the bed and stood next to her, leaning over slightly so he could look at Fleur's leg. There was a jagged scar cut, the skin puckered, and green bruises were sprouted up and down the surface of her thigh. There were some drops of blood squeezing out on certain sections of her leg, and a few more dried splotches lingered around the scar.

"It's ugly right now, but you should have seen it before," Hermione said, rolling the used-up gauze into a ball and setting it on the nightstand. "She'll have a scar, but she should recover."

"That's good."

"Yes, it is."

They stood in silence as Draco racked his brain on how to approach the subject. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he watched Hermione unroll a new tape of gauze and slowly wrap Fleur's thigh, her hands moving in sync with one another like she'd done this action many times. He wondered if she had.

"Granger," he cleared his throat, and stared at her moving hands. "I didn't mean to leave like that."

"Leave like what?" she asked, still working on the wrapping. He inwardly groaned.

"After the greenhouse," he muttered, and saw her hands stop slightly. "I didn't...I brushed you off after. I thought I'd made a mistake."

Hermione was still, aside from her breath going in and out slowly, and then her hands resumed movements. "I didn't realize you regarded it as a mistake. I apologize for partaking in something you regret."

For fuck's sake.

"That's not what I meant," Draco rushed out, almost putting his hand on her shoulder but retracting it quickly. She didn't look up at him. "I meant--"

"Hey, your mum wants you." Pansy stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame slightly, her eyes narrow. Draco groaned again. Somehow, he had still managed to not fucking apologize and at the same time, made things worse.

"Don't keep her waiting, Malfoy," Hermione said coolly, grasping her wand as she began muttering a spell beneath her breath.

Hesitantly, he moved across the room, glancing back at her one more time before he walked out. She didn't look up.

I know that was short, I'm sorry! This was a bit more of a filler, but there is more to come I promise <3