Once Draco was out of sight, Hermione put her hands over her face and shook her head. She couldn’t believe that she had just kissed him. It was Draco after all. Even though she had forgiven him for how he treated her in Hogwarts, she still didn’t forget it.
The first thought that came to her mind was how would she tell Ron? How could she tell Ron? Although they were going through a tough time now, she still loved him. She knew that she would always love him, but . . . maybe what had just happened was a hint at what she should choose. She knew that it would be one of the biggest, and hardest, decisions of her life. She had to choose between Ron, the boy who had been one of her best friends since her first year at Hogwarts, and Draco, the boy who had been her enemy since her first year at Hogwarts, but was now . . . what?
She didn’t know where she stood with him. They had just shared one of the greatest kisses she had ever had, but they had both drank a lot. She wasn’t sure if the alcohol had affected what had happened, or if their feelings towards each other had changed. She knew that she was comfortable around Draco now, but could she actually see herself with him? She had hated the man for almost her whole life, and now she was starting to feel a mixture of feelings towards him.
The sound of footsteps broke through Hermione’s thoughts. She looked up as Draco handed her a warm cup of tea.
She smiled. “Thank you.” She placed the cup to her lips and took a long sip of the sweet liquid. She tried not to look at him as he walked to where he had been sitting a few moments ago, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Is the tea okay? Not too sweet, is it?” Draco asked as he sat down next to her. He took a drink from his own cup, and then placed it on the table in front of them.
“It’s perfect,” Hermione answered setting her cup down next to his. “Draco, I . . .”
“Please, don’t say it,” Draco sighed.
“Say what? You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“You regret what just happened, and you probably want to leave, don’t you?” Draco said. He stared back at her with the pain clearly showing in his eyes.
“No, I “ I wasn’t going to say that, actually,” Hermione replied clasping her hands together in her lap as she stared down at the floor.
“Then what were you going to say?”
“I “ um “ I was going to say that . . .” Hermione started. “I’m thinking of leaving Ron. I just can’t do it anymore. All the fighting with him is honestly starting to get to me.”
Draco couldn’t help but smile. Although he knew that it hurt her to leave Ron, he always knew that that only meant she could possibly want to stay with him. He knew it was a long-shot, but after what had just happened, that was all that came to mind.
“Are you sure that’s what you really want to do?” he asked.
Hermione sighed. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“So . . . what does this mean?”
Hermione looked up. She wasn’t expecting him to ask her that. If she was honest with herself, she didn’t know what it meant. She wasn’t sure if the kiss really meant something, or if it was just because of all the Firewhisky the two of them had drank. Either way, she was still going to break everything off with Ron. The fighting was too much for her, and after spending the day with Draco, she realised that she could be happy without him, that she was happy without him.
“I don’t know,” she whispered. “Maybe we should wait until we both get some sleep, and then . . . talk about things in the morning. Everything that has happened could have been because of the Fire Whiskey, and . . . I just want to make sure that it wasn’t.”
Draco nodded. He should have known that she would think that. No one can change the way they feel about someone in one night. At least, that’s what he always thought. One thing he did know was that the Firewhisky didn’t bother him as much as it had bothered her. Everything he had done that night was on his own. He wanted to kiss her. He wanted to spend more time with her.
I guess it doesn’t matter what I want, does it? Draco thought to himself.
“Yeah, I “ um “ I guess you’re right,” he said. He picked up his cup and drank what was left of the tea. He gave her a small smile, and then took his cup into the kitchen.
Hermione slowly finished her own cup and followed Draco into the kitchen. When she looked through the doorway, she noticed that he was standing near the sink. His head was down, and he had a tight grip on each side of the counter.
“Draco? Are you okay?” she asked as she took a small step towards him.
The sound of her voice startled him, and he turned around, running his fingers through his hair.
“Me? Yeah, I “ I’m fine,” he stuttered. The look on his face gave him away.
“No, you’re not. What’s wrong?” she said walking over to stand in front of him. She placed the cup in the sink and folded her arms against her chest.
Draco sighed. “Honestly? I don’t know. I mean, I’m happy that you’re going to do what makes you happy, but . . .”
“You don’t know what it means for us, right?” Hermione finished for him.
He nodded. “Exactly. I mean, you already think that it only happened because you drank too much Firewhisky. What makes you think that you won’t wake up tomorrow and realise that it was all a huge mistake? And that you really want to stay with Ron?”
Hermione moved in closer, and again she placed a hand on his cheek. “Draco, trust me, I don’t want to be with Ron anymore. He doesn’t make me happy anymore, and “ well “ you do. It really might just be the Firewhisky, but right now, I don’t care.”
With that, she leaned in and kissed him again. The feeling was, once again, an intense one, and she sighed when he wrapped his arms around her. She couldn’t help the way she felt; people can change in time. The fact that they were both older and more mature made her feel better about her decision.
In the morning, she decided that she would go to the Burrow and would break the news to Ron and Harry. She knew that it wouldn’t turn out well, but she had to do it. It was the only way that she could truly be happy. She didn’t want to lose her two best friends all because of Draco, but if it meant that she would be happy in the end, she had to. Her mother always told her to do things that made herself happy instead of worrying about others first, and for once, she was going to take that advice to heart. She was going to make herself happy, and if that meant spending her life with Draco, then she was willing to do just that.
Seen In a Different Light by TCole
Chapter Notes: Another million thanks to my amazing betas for helping me with this! *hugs*
Chapter Endnotes: Thanks for reading! Please, let me know what you think! One more chapter! :)