Title: The Flatmate

Author: silveris

Rating: R

Warnings: Not HBP-compatible

Genre(s): Post-Hogwarts, slight humor

Summary: Blaise and Hermione are flatmates. Blaise and Draco are best buds. One night, the flat gets burglarized just as Blaise, Harry, and Ron are leaving for Italy. They can't leave Hermione to fend for herself, so Draco suggests she go with him on his three-day vacation to Scotland.

OOO

Chapter Eleven – Knowing All

Hermione caught up with Draco before he could enter the sanctuary of his room. She grabbed him by the arm and turned him around to face her.

"What is your problem?" she asked exasperatedly.

He frowned at her question. She made it sound like he was the only one doing anything wrong.

"Am I not enough for you?" he asked angrily, advancing on her frail frame and taking hold of her shoulders so he could shake her. "What does Blaise have that I don't?"

"What?" she asked. She determinedly looked back at his blazing eyes, which had sadly turned a dull gray. She could feel tears form on her own and soon her vision turned a bit blurry, but she was firm to not let them fall.

"Do I bore you so much that you have to constantly wish for other company?" he continued, tightening his grip on her shoulder that it hurt. She didn't wince, though. However, he noticed that she was on the verge of tears so he released her, pushed her away roughly, and took a step back.

He paced around for a moment while she remained silent and contemplative. She was scared enough to want to Apparate out of his sight, but she knew she couldn't just leave him.

He stopped pacing and faced her again. His face was red and furious. It was impossible to imagine that they had just walked around Scotland laughing.

"I went rowing with you even though I didn't want to go out in the sun. I danced for the first time in my life because I wanted to make you smile again. I even held your hand just to make you feel romantic and shit while we toured this bloody place," he said, glaring at her furiously, blaming her for everything.

Hermione wanted to speak but when he glowered at her, she found that she couldn't get a word in edgewise.

"All day you were talking about Blaise this and Blaise that. How do you suppose I'd take it? What if I talked about Pansy in front of you all fucking day?" he breathed out. "You make me feel so useless and inadequate, you know that, Granger?" he said. There was a glint of malice in his eyes when he noticed she flinched when he spat her name out like venom.

She couldn't take it anymore. She took a step towards him and when he didn't get away, she said, "I didn't mean it that way. I just miss Blaise like I miss Harry and Ron."

He turned his back to her to show that he wasn't listening. Then he continued, "Do you know that I wrote that letter to Shirley?"

He heard her gasp.

"Yes, it was me. Not Blaise. I wrote that we were going on a honeymoon. I made sure we rode the slow train instead of the quick Portkey. I chose this cottage, which is farther from the rest." He spun around back to her. "Yes, Granger, it was all planned out."

Hermione looked at him incredulously. "You did all this? You planned the other night, too, didn't you?"

"No!" Draco exclaimed a bit too loudly. "I never trick women into bed."

Angry now, she asked, "Then why did you do all this? Is this your idea of a sick twisted joke? Because I'm not laughing."

He looked like he was about to slap her but he restrained himself by balling his hands into fist and keeping them behind his back.

"What is it then, Malfoy? What game are you trying to win?" she asked, goading him on. "What is—"

"Shut up, Granger! I took you here to see if my feelings for you were real," he suddenly burst out. He was tired of her accusations. She looked like a deer staring at headlights. He began to relax a bit and continued in a softer tone, "Apparently, they were."

"Wha—"

"But I also found out that you don't feel the same."

Hermione closed her mouth. Draco looked forlorn as he bowed his head in shame; confessions weren't his thing.

"And it's because of Blaise. Or you just don't like me at all. I would've wanted to take this a level up, but…" he stopped to exhale heavily. "Anyway, the next Portkey is in two hours. You can take it. I'll be staying here for a while."

With one last dejected glance at her, Draco turned and stomped back to his room, slamming the door behind him and making Hermione step back. She wanted to follow him inside, but the sound of angry growls, breaking glass, and furniture being kicked and thrown against the wall made her cringe in fear.

OOO

Draco spent the whole afternoon cooped up in his now messy room. Broken vases and splinters of the chair he took apart with his bare hands littered the floor.

She must've gone back to London by now, he thought. He guessed nearly four hours had passed.

With a heavy heart, he stood up and went out to the patio. As usual, the beach was as peaceful as it had been a few hours earlier. He sighed and climbed the railings. He was going to the bar for a drink.

OOO

A few shots of Ogden's later, Draco had his head against the table, weak and weary, his arms covering his face.

"Stupid bitch," he muttered. "I'm an idiot. Never should've told her…"

"Oh, honey, don't beat yourself up," a woman's voice cooed. He felt her take the seat next to hit. She was sitting awfully close that he could feel her chest rubbing against his arm.

Draco guessed it was one of the hookers he and Hermione noticed the other night. He didn't bother looking up. He just groaned and said, "Leave me alone."

"Can't pay for your drink?" she continued. Draco felt something nudge his leg. It was the woman's foot.

"I'm rich. I can buy this world if I want," he mumbled.

"Except her?"

Draco felt his heart being squeezed ruthlessly. Yeah, except her.

"Leave me alone," he repeated.

The woman began to caress his hair. Her foot also continued rubbing along his leg. "You can buy me, you know. If you want to."

Draco sighed. He wasn't in the mood to push anyone around anymore. "Look, woman. I'm not interested, got it? I'm not in the mood. I've just got my guts ripped out, my heart stomped on, rejected for the first time, and now I'm left alone in this bloody place. So why don't you be a darling, and do the same?"

The woman stopped touching him. Then she spoke, but in a different voice. A familiar one. "So, you weren't lying, then?"

In shock, Draco looked up and came face to face with Hermione. She had a small smile on her lips.

He kept opening and closing his mouth in search for words but none came out. She was supposed to be back in London. Where was the woman who talked to him?

She chuckled lightly and took his hand in hers.

"Let's take a walk," she said.

OOO

…to be continued

AN: Short. This chapter felt a bit cheesy…tell me what you think.

Lots of love for readers and reviewers!