Quarrels & Loves

A Daily Prophet Relationship: Part I

"I'll tell her when she gets home," Harry promised, stepping away from her. "In the meantime, Malfoy made pancakes and—"

"Malfoy's here?" Hermione asked before she could stop herself. Harry raised an eyebrow at her curiously. "Oh, come off it, Harry. I didn't know you two were that friendly."

"Well, we are," Harry said, then frowned and followed it up with, "Apparently. The git just shows up on Saturdays now and sticks around."

"Draco?" Hermione called, ignoring Harry's pitiful rant.

She wiped her face of her tears and stepped into the kitchen, looking for her partner. Just like she'd expected, he was at the kitchen sink washing the dishes. He spun around as soon as he heard her though, a grin on his face.

"Hey, Granger," he said. He charmed the dishes to clean themselves and dried his hands. "I thought I heard Potter talking to someone."

"I know you heard the door, Draco," she said, giving him a small smile. Draco's smile dropped and he pursed his lips.

"Are you okay?" he asked. She shrugged and nodded, but he seemed to find that an acceptable answer for the time being. "I made orange juice for you. It's in the fridge."

"For me?" Hermione asked curiously. Draco nodded as she turned to open the fridge. Just like he'd said, a pitcher of fresh orange juice sat front and center and she grinned.

"Potter said you'd be coming over later," he told her, explaining the orange juice. "I didn't think it'd be so soon though."

"Yeah, well, Ron blew his top in the first five minutes," Hermione mumbled. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco and Harry share a look. "I'm honestly fine, both of you," she said, looking up at them.

"You had glass in your hair, 'Mione," Harry said. Hermione scowled at him as Draco looked at her with wide eyes.

"Now look what you've done," Hermione said, gesturing lazily at Draco. "You've worried the boy."

"Granger, if he's throwing glass at you, there's good reason to be worried," Draco said. Hermione sighed and poured herself a glass of orange juice. When she turned back around, Draco was still looking very worried.

"We broke up," she told him. Draco raised an eyebrow and she amended her statement. "I broke up with him. I think. Harry said he'd figure it out for me, but I think we're officially over."

Her nose tickled and she sniffled again, wiping her face before she could cry. The last year with Ron had been rough and it was certainly time they broke things off, but it was still hard to come to terms with the fact that their relationship was over. They'd been dating for four years, for Merlin's sake. It was hard to let that go.

"Potter?" Draco asked, turning to look at him.

Harry gave a helpless shrug.

"We're trying," he said. "Ron's got a bit of a temper and sometimes it's hard to have a decent conversation with him, but Ginny and I will take care of it."

"If you don't, I certainly will," Draco warned. Hermione's eyes shot wide open and she shook her head fiercely.

"Absolutely not, Draco Malfoy," she said, glaring at him. "You'll only make it worse."

"I will if Potter can't," Draco said, crossing his arms. "You're not the only one who suffers when Weasel-Bee comes banging on your office door."

"If you didn't antagonize him so much, he wouldn't be such a prick in return," Hermione said. Draco rolled his eyes, but Hermione could tell he was not dissuaded. "Let Harry and Ginny cover it, Draco. If you get involved, it will only get messier. He already thinks we're dating behind his back."