Tango * dramione

Chapter 14

Chapter 14: Dessert

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"Dessert is like a feel-good song, and the best ones make you dance." ~Chef Edward Lee

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Center Stage: (DRUNK!)Hermione and Draco

Setting: Diagon Alley, after hours

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Hermione giggled into her ice cream sundae, thoroughly drunk off her arse inside Diagon Alley's premiere Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour.

It started with shots at the Leaky Cauldron. Hermione insisted she didn't need to drink, but Malfoy threatened to tell the entire pub she was single if she didn't, and so she took down three shots of firewhiskey, chasing them with a butterbeer. Then, it became a challenge to see who could stomach the rich aromas of the Leaky's oldest bottle of scotch (paid for by Malfoy, of course). It became apparent to Hermione that she was not the heaviest of drinkers, but rather a lightweight, when she had to lean on Malfoy's shoulder to keep her balance as they stumbled out onto the street and begged him for ice cream.

And here they were.

Malfoy sat across from her, staring down at his butterbeer flavored ice cream cone with satisfaction. In the last three hours, they'd managed to tuck away their quips and one-liners for hearty conversation and an avid love of liquor. And, if Hermione were being completely honest with herself, she would admit this was much better than getting laid by a man she had basically no chemistry with.

"It probably would have been an awkward shag, anyway..." she muttered, digging into her sundae and scooping up a bit of banana.

Malfoy paused, tongue still mid lick as he cleaned the dripping ice cream from his fingers, looking at her with a stunned expression. "Pardon?"

"Hmm?"

"What about an awkward shag?" His eyebrows quirked in amusement as he trailed that dangerous looking tongue up his ice cream to the top. Once it was securely back in his mouth, Hermione's brain began to function again, and she realized, in horror, she'd said her thoughts out loud.

"Nothing." She bit into her banana to avoid having to say anything else. Her head still swimming with alcohol, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the numbness in her face and the delicious taste of the fruit.

But Malfoy wouldn't let it go. "You really were thinking about shagging him, weren't you?" He gave a few more good licks to his ice cream cone, the last one seemingly suggestive. "S'alright. We all go 'round the bend every now and again." With a shrug, he went back to tonguing his treat, making Hermione press her legs together dare he sense her sudden arousal.

Damn it, hormones. Not helping.

"Why do you suggest I've 'gone 'round the bend?'"

"Because you and I both know Diggle isn't your type."

"Oh, what would you know about my 'type'? You hardly know me."

"I know plenty." Malfoy pointed his ice cream at her. "Others see us better than we see ourselves, Granger. It's a fact." Even drunk, his articulation was impeccable.

"Care to enlighten me?" With another bite of her sundae devoured, Hermione kept the spoon in her mouth to keep from practically drooling at the way Malfoy lapped at the frozen delight in his hand. He paid her no mind for a moment, concentrating on his ice cream in a way that made him seem ravenous for it. She rested her chin in her hand as she propped her elbow up on the table, thinking to herself how simply marvelous a drunk Malfoy was. So uninhibited, uncaring to be proper. Squeezing her legs together even tighter, she cleared her throat and plucked the spoon from her mouth. "Malfoy?"