the key to happiness - dramione

(9)

Hermione Granger, age 24, working as Draco Malfoy's assistant at the ministry. Engaged to Ronald Weasley, lives in a small cottage by the sea.

Draco Malfoy, age 23, working at the ministry. No longer dating Astoria Greengrass. Lives alone in Malfoy Manor.

- - - - -
In the middle of the night Hermione Granger opens up her eyes. Her first thought is to wake somebody else. All of a sudden she decides to wake up Draco Malfoy in the bed next to her.

"I think I have to do it Draco. I gotta break it with Ron." she whispers.
"Like right now?" he asks.
"Yes, now you idiot. I wouldn't have woken you otherwise bimbo."
"Stop calling me rude things. What time is it?" Draco mumbles.

"It's like four in the morning, come now."
"I'm to tired, you're crazy."
"Come." Hermione begs and pulls him out of his bed. They dress up quickly and in silence so that they don't wake anyone else up.

About five minutes later Hermione opens up the door to the cottage. Draco waits outside. She silently closes the doors and takes of her jacket. Hon walks across the living room and is just about to open the door to the bedroom when she sees someone sitting on the couch.

She walks over to the couch.
"Hi." she mumbles.
"What are you doing home?" Ron wonders.
"What are you doing up? she asks.
"Couldn't sleep, but for real. Why are you home Hermione?"

"There's something I've got to tell you, and unfortunately I can't wait." Hermione struggles with getting her words out.
"What?"
She sits down next to him and he placed a hand around her neck and smiles at her. Hermione tries to force a smile.

"Ron." she says. They meet in a kiss. Their last kiss perhaps. But Ron doesn't know that yet. Hermione interrupts it quickly.
"It's uh something very important." She takes of her engagement ring and hold it in her hands.

"I don't know how to say this really... It's just uhmm... I wouldn't be true to you if I didn't tell you. And you're my best friend Ron so... So I don't want to ruin things."
"Are you breaking the engagement?" he coldly asks. A tear leaves Hermione's face.

"I'm sorry, I just... I don't love you Ron." she blurts out. Ronald Weasley is in shock. He did ask the question but he did not expect her to answer it. Hermione gives him the ring and he takes it. He knows there's is no point of starting some sort of fight now. Hermione has clearly decided what her decision is.

With the help of magic Hermione gathers some stuff that's hers and puts it in a bag. She basically owns everything in the cottage but she decides to leave a few things so that he won't be left with just his clothes and his toothbrush. She basically owns everything else.

Obviously she doesn't bring any of the furniture either.
"I'm sorry Ronald. I really really am." Hermione says, they hug and the she leaves the house.
"I love you though." Ron mumbles to himself.

Draco looks worried at Hermione as she comes outside. They look quietly at eachother.
"I think it went well, and I think I'm free." Hermione suddenly smiles and takes Draco's hand. Together they transfer back to Malfoy Manor.
"Wait, Draco I forgot about one thing."

"What?"
"Where the hell am I going to live?"
"Ehum...."
"I'm officially homeless."
"You could live here."
"Uh what?!"
"I won't allow you to live on the street."
"But..."

"Stay here, get enough money and move out."
"But..."
"You got to."
"I'm sure Ginny and Harry could take me in... Unless, I mean of course they'll take his side. She's his sister and he's his best friend! Draco what have I done to myself?!"

"Just stay here til things are okay again Granger.
"Well, Alright I guess."
Together they walk towards the entrence but right before Draco is about to open the doors Hermione tells him to wait.

"You'll have to promise that you won't leave me Draco. Don't leave me all alone." Hermione begs and looks up at him, into his eyes.
"I promise." Draco answers. He leans over Hermione, pleases a hand around her face so that she looks at him and kisses her softly. She smiles to him and answers his warm kiss. This time not forced by Pansy.

They've chosen to kiss themselves. And for Hermione, that feels a lot better. Before anything goes too far Draco interrupts the kiss.
"Stop." he says. "Maybe I shouldn't have done that. You just dumped Weasley and I got dumped earlier by Astoria."

"But..." Hermione whines. Draco opens the doors and hushes at Hermione to be quiet. She sighed loudly and they walk back to the ballroom and the beds.

Hermione is wide awake the rest of the morning. After the nights events she can't stop thinking. She's no longer together with Ron. Draco is free from Astoria. Hermione kind of likes Draco. Draco kind of likes Hermione.

But that did not mean they would be a couple, would it? Because that wouldn't work? Right, Ginny and Harry, will they hate her guts now? And Ginny is pregnant and Hermione should visit them soon.

Or is this the end? After she left Ron. Will she lose all her and Ron's common friends? Ginny, Harry, Luna, Neville, the whole Weasley family? Everyone?

Around eight o'clock Hermione is finally on her way to fall asleep again but just half an hour later everyone else wakes up. Including Hermione who is woken up by Draco standing over her bed.
"Tired Granger?" he asks.
"Leave me alone Draco." she mumbles and puts a pillow on her head.

"The others went up already, so come on now Granger."
"Yes I'm tired!"
"You're just lazy, get up!"
"No because then I have to realise that what happened last night actually happened."
"Granger. It happened." he sighs.

He takes her pillow away and sits down next to Hermione, he drags her up in a sitting position too so that she's next to him.
"It sucks that it happened." she mumbles.
"Well do you regret it?" Draco asks.
"I don't regret a single thing that happened last night." she responds and bites her lip.

Draco leans over Hermione and pushes his lips against hers and she responds his kiss. As a reaction Hermione falls back on the bed again, Draco follows and they continue kissing.
"What about the whole 'we both just broke up with other people let's not hook up' thing?" Hermione asks him.

"Screw that, sometimes I say dumb things."
"You do say a lot of dumb things." Hermione laughs. He kisses her once again and she places her hands around his head.
"Get up now Granger." he then repeats.
"Draco now I literally can't though, cause you're laying on top of me."

Draco moves and they go to eat breakfast with their friends. Before lunch everyone else has left to go to work or do other stuff. Hermione stays. Because now Hermione Granger have nowhere else to go.

"Okay." Draco says. They're both standing in the library.
"Huh?"
"I think we gotta talk." he explains.
"Oh? Alright, talk." Hermione responds.
"The kiss, those kisses, they didn't mean anything Granger. We're friends and that's all, okay?"

But Hermione can hear how his voice is shaking and how much he regrets speaking up about it before he finishes talking.
"Mixed signals Malfoy." she says.
"I'm serious, I know I said that I say dumb shit but this is not one of those dumb things." he explains.

"You're gonna regret it, but alright. Let's be just friends." she says with a smile on her face to him. They go down to the ballroom and cleans it up together. For some reason with no magic and without the house elves who could've cleaned because after all Hermione is Hermione.

A few hours later when they've finished Draco looks at Hermione.
"Granger you could start by selling the things you brought from the cottage that you no longer need." Draco suggests.
"Sounds like a good idea actually." Hermione responds.

Draco brings Hermione upstairs to the bedrooms and they fix an extra bed for Hermione. All the time Hermione looks right at Draco, but he doesn't notice it at all.