Challenge #90: Bathroom
Title: Best Time of Day
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Characters/Pairing: Hermione/Draco
Summary: After the war, Hermione and Draco live together, and Hermione wonders why they broke up.
Word Count: 575
Registered purchases?: Both
"How are we ever going to move on from this relationship if we continue to use the same sink?" Hermione asked irritably, scrubbing at a bit of black ink that had spilled on the shirt she'd been wearing earlier that morning. She knew it was hopeless - it was ink spelled magically permanent. Still, she had to try. Maybe if magic couldn't remove it, good old-fashioned muggle ways might suffice.
Draco huffed, reaching around her to set his bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on the counter. Hermione glanced up into the mirror just in time to catch him rolling his eyes.
"We are just friends now," he said, stressing the friends and smoothing down his hair. "It's normal for friends to be in the bathroom at the same time as each other, provided one of them's not naked. This situation is purely platonic."
Hermione bit her lip. She was still uncertain about the whole affair - after their break-up (both had agreed at the time that it was for the best), they'd decided to continue living together while they were still in school. They'd actually moved in together a few months ago, before they'd even gotten together.
Draco had posted an advert in the Wizarding Times looking for a housemate. After the war, the Malfoys had been stripped of most of their property, and his inheritance was, Hermione supposed, subsequently quite limited. Still, it had been a surprise when the door to the brick townhouse had opened, and there had stood Draco Malfoy, looking as blond and pointy as ever. He wasn't, however, the same as ever. He didn't sneer at her or call her a mudblood and tell her to leave - instead, he'd just simply said, "Granger," calmly stepping aside to let her in.
She'd quickly assessed that the building must be enlarged by magical means: from the outside, she'd been a little disappointed with how small it looked, but the place itself was surprisingly spacious. She'd surveyed the light beige walls, the modern, wood-panelled floor, the well-lit living area (the windows must also have been magicked, Hermione guessed, for there should have been buildings on either side of the house, but out the scene presented was a pleasant one of green grass and sunshine). The kitchen was rather small, but the bedroom being offered was more than adequate and would easily fit both a desk and bookshelf, and the price was modest, and by the end of the week, she'd moved in.
They hadn't gotten together until a couple of months later. They easily fell into a routine of having dinner together a few times a week, and one Friday evening they'd been sitting on the sofa eating slices of pizza and watching a film (a bit like a wizarding picture, Hermione had explained, only with a story and sound), and Draco had leaned over and lightly kissed her temple. Hermione had stared at the screen stiffly, not quite certain what was going on. Then he'd kissed the side of her forehead, and then she kissed his lips, and the film had been forgotten.
Hermione thought about all this with numb nostalgia, now scrubbing blindly at the black smudged stain on her blouse. Draco had long-left the bathroom, and as she glanced up at the mirror, she was glad: she looked about to cry. What had gone wrong? When had they fallen apart?
"Right - friends," she muttered, and she quickly spell-dried her shirt and set off about her day.
575 / 30 = 19
+ 10 = 29 points for Slytherin
Rating/Warnings: G/PG
Characters/Pairing: Hermione/Draco
Summary: After the war, Hermione and Draco live together, and Hermione wonders why they broke up.
Word Count: 575
Registered purchases?: Both
"How are we ever going to move on from this relationship if we continue to use the same sink?" Hermione asked irritably, scrubbing at a bit of black ink that had spilled on the shirt she'd been wearing earlier that morning. She knew it was hopeless - it was ink spelled magically permanent. Still, she had to try. Maybe if magic couldn't remove it, good old-fashioned muggle ways might suffice.
Draco huffed, reaching around her to set his bottle of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion on the counter. Hermione glanced up into the mirror just in time to catch him rolling his eyes.
"We are just friends now," he said, stressing the friends and smoothing down his hair. "It's normal for friends to be in the bathroom at the same time as each other, provided one of them's not naked. This situation is purely platonic."
Hermione bit her lip. She was still uncertain about the whole affair - after their break-up (both had agreed at the time that it was for the best), they'd decided to continue living together while they were still in school. They'd actually moved in together a few months ago, before they'd even gotten together.
Draco had posted an advert in the Wizarding Times looking for a housemate. After the war, the Malfoys had been stripped of most of their property, and his inheritance was, Hermione supposed, subsequently quite limited. Still, it had been a surprise when the door to the brick townhouse had opened, and there had stood Draco Malfoy, looking as blond and pointy as ever. He wasn't, however, the same as ever. He didn't sneer at her or call her a mudblood and tell her to leave - instead, he'd just simply said, "Granger," calmly stepping aside to let her in.
She'd quickly assessed that the building must be enlarged by magical means: from the outside, she'd been a little disappointed with how small it looked, but the place itself was surprisingly spacious. She'd surveyed the light beige walls, the modern, wood-panelled floor, the well-lit living area (the windows must also have been magicked, Hermione guessed, for there should have been buildings on either side of the house, but out the scene presented was a pleasant one of green grass and sunshine). The kitchen was rather small, but the bedroom being offered was more than adequate and would easily fit both a desk and bookshelf, and the price was modest, and by the end of the week, she'd moved in.
They hadn't gotten together until a couple of months later. They easily fell into a routine of having dinner together a few times a week, and one Friday evening they'd been sitting on the sofa eating slices of pizza and watching a film (a bit like a wizarding picture, Hermione had explained, only with a story and sound), and Draco had leaned over and lightly kissed her temple. Hermione had stared at the screen stiffly, not quite certain what was going on. Then he'd kissed the side of her forehead, and then she kissed his lips, and the film had been forgotten.
Hermione thought about all this with numb nostalgia, now scrubbing blindly at the black smudged stain on her blouse. Draco had long-left the bathroom, and as she glanced up at the mirror, she was glad: she looked about to cry. What had gone wrong? When had they fallen apart?
"Right - friends," she muttered, and she quickly spell-dried her shirt and set off about her day.
575 / 30 = 19
+ 10 = 29 points for Slytherin