Cruel and Beautiful World

Chapter 34: A Day in the Life

Draco and Hermione woke up the next morning to the sound of people bustling about. Opening her eyes a crack and noticing that everyone in their room was getting ready for the day, Hermione tried to roll away from Draco, but he was quick to pull her back, stealing a kiss before finally letting her climb out of bed.

Hermione immediately went over to their small dresser and began brushing her hair. She had no wand to dry it with the night before, so it had become exceptionally wild. In a pathetic attempt to tame it, she tied it back in a braid, but it did little use. She grunted.

Draco laughed as he watched her from the bed. He sat up and used a finger to summon Hermione towards him. She sat on his knee and he used his wandless magic to tame the frizz as best he could. Hermione whispered a 'thank you' to him and kissed his cheek before getting back up and grabbing her toothbrush. She went to a basin in the back of the room and began brushing.

While she was gone, Draco stood up and lifted his arms in the air, giving himself a good, beyond necessary stretch after sharing that ridiculously small bed all night. It was only then that he realized he must have taken off his shirt in his sleep. He got incredibly hot at night and was not used to wearing so much clothing.

Draco began searching for it but, while he did so, he could not help but feel a set of eyes on him. He looked up just in time to catch Cormac's floozy checking him out. The moment his eyes locked onto hers, she turned bright red and whipped her head in the other direction. Cormac, who had been standing right next to her, immediately noticed her reaction. He looked over at Draco and then at her again.

"The hell was that?"

"Nothing," said the girl.

Hermione, who had been watching the entire thing, smirked as she spat her toothpaste into the basin. "I think your girlfriend, or whatever she is, was just checking out my boyfriend, Cormac," she said before rinsing out her mouth. "You know, the Death Eater."

Cormac looked accusingly at his girl. "Lucy, tell me you didn't fucking look at that scum."

"I didn't, Cormac! I promise!"

Draco chuckled. "Actually, I believe you did, and I don't appreciate being ogled like a bloody piece of meat. I am a person and you should treat me with respect."

Hermione rolled her eyes as she walked back towards Draco.

Cormac and Lucy began arguing while Draco grabbed his toothbrush and headed back towards the basin, purposely keeping his shirt off. When Lucy's eyes strayed again, Cormac went absolutely berserk. A few people left, not wanting to be around the drama, but Dean, Terry and Michael were having a grand old time, sitting on one of their beds and sharing Every Flavour Beans while they watched. Susan was still getting ready and trying to ignore them, but when Lucy burst into tears, she got a small, satisfied smile on her face.

Hermione was starting to tune them out as she chose some clothes for her and Draco. After grabbing some clean knickers and hiding them in her neatly folded shirt, she turned and briefly locked eyes with Cormac, who was bright red and looked like he just might spit at her. She smiled and went behind the curtain to change.

Draco had just finished brushing his teeth and was heading back to their space when Cormac pushed past him, nearly knocking him over. He was about to storm out of the room when his eyes fell upon the curtain Hermione was behind. Without another thought, he moved quickly towards it and tugged it down.

Hermione screamed as she moved to cover herself. At the moment, she was completely topless and her clothes were lost somewhere in the sprawled out curtain.

Cormac looked her over and immediately noticed the scars covering her body. "Did your Death Eater boyfriend and his friends give you those marks, Granger?"