Quarrels & Loves

A Daily Prophet Relationship: Part I

Draco choked and Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. He coughed and when he finally caught his breath again, he looked at Hermione for an explanation.

"What?" she asked defensively. "It's not like he doesn't have a reason. You bring me coffee every morning and we've been partners for a year and a half."

"That is absolutely no reason for him to think you're cheating on him," Draco argued. Hermione groaned and returned to drinking her orange juice. "He's the one who was caught."

"Malfoy," Harry snapped, drawing Draco's attention away as Hermione looked down at her cup.

Draco glanced from Harry to Hermione and pursed his lips. He certainly hadn't meant to upset Hermione more, but the Weasel had been a point of irritation for him since about as far back as he could remember. The fact that the git had cheated on Hermione only made him worse.

"I'm sorry, Granger," he muttered. She took a long sip of her orange juice. "I—Blaise and Pansy are waiting for me, so I should go."

"No, Draco, it's okay," Hermione said, looking up abruptly. "It shouldn't bother me so much anyway. It's been two weeks after all."

"No, I'm sorry," he said. He took the two short steps over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I do have to head out. I'll see you at the office though, yeah?"

"Yeah," Hermione nodded. He squeezed her shoulder and ducked out of the kitchen, taking Harry along with him for a few moments. At the sound of the Floo, Hermione sighed and downed the rest of her orange juice before Harry returned to the kitchen.

"Are you sure you're okay, Hermione?" he asked. Hermione hesitated, but nodded nonetheless.

"Yeah," she replied. "Maybe not completely, but I'm okay." After a pause, she grimaced and asked, "However, would it be alright if I spent the night here? I'm not sure if he'll be out of my flat by then and I don't really—"

"Of course," Harry agreed immediately. "It's quiet without Ginny here anyway. Feel free to take the guest room and stay as long as you want. I will warn you though, Malfoy spent the night last night so you might want to clean the sheets. Merlin knows where he's been."

Hermione smiled. For how often Harry complained about Draco taking over his life, the two definitely got on well. Granted, it had been a disastrous first three months when Draco had joined the auror team, but eventually they'd started to get on and after Draco and Hermione had been partnered together, Harry had had to like him if only because Draco was now partially responsible for keeping her alive on the field.

"I'll make sure to do that," she told him.

Harry grinned and set about finishing the dishes Draco had left while Hermione poured herself another glass of orange juice. They spent the day doing their own things, but Hermione was never far out of sight and Harry was always just a shout away. It was an unfortunately common habit among them by now even if they never mentioned it, but when the fireplace roared to life and a familiar redhead stepped through, Hermione was glad Harry was nearby.

"Hermione, I'm sorry," Ron said, hurrying out of the Floo and over to where she was seated. She closed her book sharply and he frowned.

"Ron, I was serious," she told him. From the kitchen, she heard Harry ask who was at the Floo.

"Come on, Hermione," Ron groaned, taking her book out of her hands. He attempted to grab her hand, but she pulled away. "It was one time! It won't happen again, I swear."

"You said that months ago," Hermione reminded him, sliding around him and getting up from the couch. "I meant what I said, Ron. We're done."

Harry came out of the kitchen as Ron's frown turned into a glare.