Beauty From Pain

Chapter Twenty-Nine

When Hermione finally woke the second time, she wanted to go right back to sleep. Or remove her head from her body, whichever was easiest, because the migraine that she woke up to was absolutely skull-splitting. Groaning and pulling the blankets over her head, Hermione considered staying in bed for the rest of the day, but the growl of her stomach made the kitchen sound a bit more appealing. A hangover potion and breakfast, she decided, was exactly what she needed.

She sat up and tried not to move too quickly. The room around her began to spin, and she closed her eyes until her nausea eased. Merlin, her mouth tasted terrible. Had she eaten an entire box of cotton balls? Shoving her hair out of her face and immediately deciding it was a lost cause. Stripping out of her clothes from the night before, she basked in the feeling of the cool sheets on her feverish skin. She was never letting a drunk Harry plan their outings again. Finally giving in to her appetite, she wrapped the sheet around herself and slid to the edge of the bed. Hermione finally caught sight of the note and flower on the side table.

Draco's romantic side was something that had surprised her. She knew he was a gentleman, he had made that much very clear during the beginning of their relationship, but he was slowly revealing a romantic side to her that she greatly enjoyed seeing. A rose on the nightstand was so at odds with his playboy reputation from Hogwarts, but it made Hermione's heart flutter.

"Such a melt." She smiled and held the rose to her nose as she read over the note he'd left her. It was fairly short, just telling her he had to step out for a meeting and would hopefully be back before she woke up. Setting the rose and note back on the nightstand, Hermione shuffled out of the bedroom in search of breakfast.

She stepped out into the living room and felt a hand touch her shoulder.

"Sweet Morgana!" Hermione scrambled not to drop her sheet and immediately reached for a wand that wasn't there. Spinning around, she found the intruder was none other than a very confused Theo. Smacking his hand away, she shouted, "Fuck's sake, Theo! You scared me half to death!"

Theo tried to look apologetic, but it was difficult when he was laughing so hard. "I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't mean to startle you."

"How could that not startle me?" She pulled the sheet more securely around her and demanded, "What are you even doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Theo glanced toward the bedroom and smiled knowingly. "But I think we both know the answer to that is pretty obvious."

Hermione glared at him. "And yet, I'm still wondering why you would be in Draco's flat when he's not here."

Theo held up a book she hadn't realized he was holding. "I needed to return a book I borrowed."

"You could have just owled it."

"I could have," Theo slid the book onto the shelf and smiled at her, "if Draco knew I had borrowed it."

Hermione watched him pluck another book from the shelf and shook her head. "Slytherins."

"It's not theft if you return it."

"Sure it's not." Hermione walked into the kitchenette and was disappointed to find there was no coffee nor a coffee maker. "It's a little bold of you to just waltz into his flat without knowing if he was here."

"I knew he wouldn't be." Theo motioned to her disheveled appearance and said, "You lot partied pretty hard last night, so I assumed he would either be out in search of the nearest caffeine source or completely unconscious and dead to the world."

Hermione closed the cabinet she had been digging through and frowned at him. "How do you know we were partying last night?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "You weren't the most discreet group. That many war heroes and celebrities were bound to be noticed." He shrugged. "And I was at the same restaurant last night."