The Marriage Decree

Chapter 53: I'm Not A Sniffer Dog

Blaise sits at the top of the staircase after watching a teary Hermione pull on her shoes and leave her house. He'd knocked on the bathroom door and tried to talk to Draco but after five minutes of no answer, he assumes his friend has either cast a privacy charm or is just ignoring him. Athena had joined him after half an hour and she must be able to sense the emotions in the atmosphere as she won't settle. She keeps flying around then landing on Blaise's shoulder or head before flying around again and chirping nervously.

About an hour after Draco has locked himself in the bathroom, he exits looking exhausted. Blaise scrambles to his feet and Athena flutters over to Draco, nuzzling against his cheek.

"Draco, are you alright?" Blaise asks.

"I'm fine." He mutters, stroking Athena's head absentmindedly. "Where's Hermione?" He asks, walking towards the stairs.

Blaise steps back to let him pass. "She left." He tells him.

Draco pauses in his step, turning to face Blaise with fear in his eyes. "She left!" He repeats.

"Yeah, she said she wanted to give you space so she packed a bag and said she's going to her parents for the night," Blaise explains.

Draco rushes down the stairs, grabbing his jacket from the coat hook. Blaise follows him quickly, pulling his jacket out of his hands.

"Where are you going?" He asks, quirking an eyebrow.

"To Hermione." He frowns at him. "I need to apologise before she leaves me." He tries to tug his jacket back but Blaise keeps tight hold of it.

"Okay, that's a stupid idea." He chuckles, earning him a glare fromhis best friend. "First of all, we're very drunk so we shouldn't be apparating anywhere. Second of all, we're very drunk so you shouldn't be showing up to her parent's house and embarrassing yourself. Finally, third of all, she said she'll be back tomorrow so we should stay here, sober up and figure out how you're going to apologise to her." Blaise tells him, placing his jacket back on the coat hook, then guiding him into the living room.

Draco drops himself onto the couch. Blaise kicks his foot.

"Stop looking sorry for yourself. We're going to drink lots of coffee and lots of water so we can think clearly." He tells him, heading into the kitchen to make the coffees and pour two glasses of water.

When he returns, Draco's still lounging on the couch but now he's looking absentmindedly at Athena, who's perched on his chest, chirping at him.

"Here Draco, drink up." He orders his friend as he settles down next to him on the couch. "Where should we start?" He asks.

"I don't know." He shrugs.

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" Blaise suggests.

Draco sighs deeply as he sits up and turns to face his friend, leaning back on the arm of the couch as he takes a large drink of his coffee.

"I told her about Hyperion." He starts. "She suggested I visit Lucius and ask him if he knows anything about his brother." He continues.

"I suggested the same thing." Blaise reminds him.

"Yeah, but you didn't push the issue. Hermione wouldn't let it go. I told her how controlling he is, how I never want to see him again, especially not in Azkaban. Not after how deranged Bellatrix was when she escaped. She tried to make me feel guilty because he might be the only way to find Hyperion and I won't even entertain the thought of visiting him but I just can't." He admits, starting to get riled up again.

"Alright, calm down. She knows now that you never want to visit him. Hopefully, she won't bring it up again." Blaise points out.

Draco nods, not really listening to him. Blaise sighs, placing his coffee cup on the coffee table and walks over to the record player, browsing through the small collection of records they have. He pauses a gold one, pulling it out from the pile.