A/N: This fanfiction is written by myself and my fabulous co-author, Alexandria, who writes for the role of Hermione. Warning: This fanfiction includes a lot of Ron bashing. I personally love Ron, but for the sake of this story and for the plot, it was needed for him to be abusive (So sorry, Ron lovers! I understand the pain!).

Thank you for reading~

Draco Malfoy. The lawful husband of Astoria Greengrass. A woman, he absolutely hated. They were married for business, not for love, that much had always been certain. The woan had made it clear on the very first day that she was never going to love it. Not that he was at all surprised – he felt the same way about her. This whole pureblood arranged marriage was ridiculous, so ridiculous that for once he envied the damn Weaseleys who didn't have to go through it. But, alas, he had to, and he did. He had been married for Merlin knows how long, and it was absolute shit.

Worse was, he couldn't even prodive an heir to his family. Now, he had just learned that Astoria was pregnant, and with someone else. Bloody someone else! He had thus arrived to the bar, in order to forget about his life that he wished he could trade. And now, he had drank far too much. He was in the middle of his third scotch when he noticed a familiar figure enter the bar.

Granger.

Hermione Granger had always tried so hard to keep her life as perfect as possible. She had helped fight the good fight, graduated Hogwarts at the very top of her class, even gone to Muggle uni as well. After graduating there she and Ron had married and that's where all of the trouble had started.

She and Ron had never really loved one another, well not as more than friends anyway, but with the entire Wizarding World watching you and expecting for you to date and get married it was hard not to follow others expectations. So they had gotten married and Ron had turned into a raging alcoholic. Haunted by his visions and "married to a bitch he didn't even love," according to him.

So here Hermione was, completely miserable with her life. Tired of being taken for granted and hit once he got drunk but unable to leave because Ron had made her make an unbreakable vow after their wedding.

She thought about killing herself that night, just throwing herself off of a cliff as she walked into the umpteenth disgusting bar as she looked for Ron, being snatched from her thoughts whenever she heard a sneering voice from the past.

"Granger. What brings you here? Interesting place to cross paths, I'd say. Never thought I'd see a prude like you in this place. Don't you have a book to read?"

"Still a child I see, Malfoy. Never mind what I'm doing in here, nurse your drink and leave me alone," she said curtly before getting the bartenders attention and asking if he had seen Ron; a frown forming on her lips before she laid her head hopelessly on the counter for a moment.

"Ouch." he replied. He clearly was too drunk for his own good. He snickered at her words before he shook his head, bringing the scotch to his lips. He raised an eyebrow as he heard her next words to the bartender, making him roll his eyes. She was still with the Weasel?

"He left half an hour ago." he said, before putting his glass back on the counter. "With someone else." he added, which was true. Considering how the idiot had been snogging that woman, Draco had assumed that Granger and Weasel were over. Of course, he should have known better. Not that he cared, but being that Draco was alone at this very moment, he had all the night to observe his surroundings.

Hermione's face immediately fell as she heard Draco speak; she knew Ron had been unfaithful to her but she hadn't expected him to be so public about it. Instead of retorting to the blonde two seats down from her, she decided to sit down and have a drink for herself. She sat down two seats away from Malfoy, trying her best to ignore him.

"I'll have a scotch, no ice with a glass of water," she said softly to the bartender, thanking him as he handed her the drink. How could Ron do this to her? No they weren't in love but she had always remained faithful to him. And even thanks to her unbreakable vow they couldn't divorce because that would be an embarrassment to Ron's job at the Ministry.

"Are you ignoring me, Granger?" he then asked as he tilted his head towards her. Clearly, had he been sober - as she was right now - he probably would have avoided talking to her like she was. But, alas, he wasn't, and he was far too devastated by the fact that his bloody wife was impregnanted by another man to even care what he was doing that night, or whom he was talking to. Granger might have been his nemesis back in Hogwarts, but that had been years ago. Even if she did not seem to believe it, he had matured. Somehow.

"Please shut up, Malfoy," Hermione asked him, her voice pleading as she glanced over at him. It was obvious that he was knackered, otherwise he wouldn't even be talking to her. She sighed softly as she took a sip of her drink, following it with a sip of her water.

"If it can make you feel better, she was ugly." he said, truthfully, before he took another sip of his scotch.

She sighed again and a tear slipped out as Draco made his comment. "No it doesn't make me feel better, Malfoy. My husband is cheating on me while I'm out looking for him," she said in an emotional tone, quickly steeling her emotions again whenever she realized.

"Are you crying?" he asked, a bit louder than expected. "Oh for the love of Merlin, Granger!" he said, refusing to call her 'Weasley', even if that was now her last name. "Stop it at once. You won't be sobbing in front of a drink while your husband is shagging someone else. Yeah, it sucks, but he's an idiot, and you should know better than to feel sorry for yourself. Act like it doesn't matter, at least." he said before he finished his drink, immediately asking for another one.

"Fuck off Malfoy," Hermione spat, not caring what he thought of her cursing. She was already having a bad enough night without his help. She immediately downed her drink and ordered another, not wanting to deal with him. "Why don't you just leave me alone and stay in your seat?," she asked at him, placing her head in her hands.

"Hm. Cursing already at this hour. Not bad." he said as he took a swig. "I'm staying in my seat, Granger, don't you worry about it." he added. He wasn't quite sure why he was so intent on talking to her.

"You are insufferable," Hermione murmured, her voice still weepy as she turned her attention back to the drink in front of her. She sighed and ran her finger around the rim of her glass, a frown on her lips as she thought about ways that she could break the Unbreakable Vow she had with Ron without losing her magic.

"Why thank you, Granger. Of course you would say that." he replied, rolling his eyes. "Anything else?" he said, not insulting her back, like his high school self would have. As much as it was hard to believe, Draco had changed, somewhat.

Hermione had to admit that she was a bit surprised whenever he didn't insult her back; he hadn't called her a mudblood yet either. She glanced over at him for a moment before turning her attention back to her drink and taking another long sip of it. "Why are you talking to me, Malfoy?," she asked suddenly as she placed her glass gently back down on the bar, "I thought that I was beneath you."

He snickered at her words. ''Would you prefer I treated you as such, Granger?'' he spoke, before snorting. ''Things have changed after the war. Hell, during the war even. We're not in Hogwarts anymore.'' he said. They weren't Gryffindor and Slytherin, Mudblood and Pureblood anymore. To Draco now, they were simply two wizards.

"Yet you're still as arrogant as you were during school," she murmured, sighing as she polished off the rest of her second drink. Hermione pinched the bridge of her nose as she though, thanking the bartender with a nod of her head as he sat another drink down in front of her. "Besides, you wouldn't even be talking to me if you weren't drinking. So just go ahead and make jokes at my expense. Tell me that I deserve to be slept around on or whatever because the sooner you're done, the quicker you finish talking to me."

''Some things don't change.'' he replied, before taking a swig of his drink, observing her. ''You don't drink often, do you?'' he spoke. ''I'm not here to make jokes, Granger. And fair, I might be in such a mood to speak to you because I'm drinking, but that doesn't change anything. Who would I be to laugh of you? My wife is pregnant with another man.''

"No I don't drink often. I don't really like alcohol and I'm around enough with Ronald," she replied softly, finally figuring that she might as well give in and talk to him; maybe he would keep her mind off of her husband's infidelity. She couldn't help but chuckle as he admitted that Astoria was pregnant by another man.

"Excuse me, that was rude. I wasn't laughing at you. I was just...well Astoria never had a reputation of being a faithful woman, so I can't imagine that such a big character flaw would change."

"Rude? Oh please go ahead, laugh. At least it's making someone laugh." he grumbled, shaking his head in dissapointment - towards his wife, of course. "Her reputation is worse than that, I can assure you. She's vile and pathetic. Had it not been for the family, never would I have married such a woman." he confessed. "Say what you might, but you Muggleborns are lucky to be able to choose who to marry. Not saying you made a great choice, but..."

"You had all of the choice in the world, Malfoy. You didn't have to follow your family's plans for you, but I guess money talks and you wouldn't know what to do without your inheritance," Hermione commented as she sipped at her drink.

She placed it gently back on the bar and ran her finger absentmindedly around the rim, frowning at his last sentence, "I didn't really choose Ron. We never loved one another, not in that way, but after the war and we helped Harry defeat Voldemort...our fame kind of forced us to get in a relationship. We both felt as though it was expected of us and we couldn't disappoint anyone. Besides, Ron's mum would have been heartbroken if I had said no. Sometimes I think we would have been more heartbroken had I declined than she would be to know what a monster her son is whenever he's drunk and we're behind closed doors."

He squinted. "How can you pretend you think you know anything about my life, Granger?" he snarled. "You don't know what it's like to be a Pureblood. I was enough of a disgrace already, I wasn't going to become worse by marrying as I please. So cut your Know-It-All act, especially when you did the same stupid thing. You marry someone because his mother would have been heartbroken? Oh, get over yourself. You're not the only perfect daughter-in-law in the world. She would have gotten over it. I decided to get married to Astoria because other options were unthinkable. Becoming a disgrace to my parents, getting no inheritance. No one wants to hire me, Granger. No one. I would have lived homeless?" he snickered. "Yeah, no thanks." he snapped. "You, on the other hand, marrying because of "fame." he snorted, shaking his head in dissapointment before he gave her a sideway glance. "I always took you for the kind to want to find your one true love. I am dissapointed, Granger."

Hermione was a bit taken aback with his sudden speech, blushing as she realized that the words he spoke were true; she was no better than him. She took a sip of her drink and averted her eyes, studying the wood grain of the countertop very closely. "You're right. I apologize for what I said, Malfoy," she said very softly. "I do want to find my true love, but...well I can't, not unless I want to lose my magic," she whispered very quietly, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I-I need to go find Ron," she stammered, sliding out of her seat and stumbling once she got up, her two glasses of whiskey catching up to her. She turned to Draco once she steadied herself and looked into his eyes, "I hope you find happiness one day, Dr-Draco. At least one of us stands a chance," she murmured before slowly making her way out of the bar.

He was rather shocked but he fact that she said 'You're right', it sounded awfully odd to hear. Granger, telling him he was right? Of course he was right, but never would he think she would admit it. He was agreeably surprised, the blonde staring at her, stunned, as she kept talking. He then squinted, her next words making him realize what she meant. She made an Unbreakable Vow. How could she be so foolish?! Even Draco would never do such a thing in the name of real love, if such a thing existed. To do it when you didn't even love someone...Clearly, he couldn't understand her.

"Granger, wait." he said before he stumbled away from his stool, annoyed that he couldn't walk as fast as he could when he was sober. He at least was able to grab her arm and drag her out of the bar. When he saw the tears in her eyes he sighed. "Alright, since you're about to cry again, I will say this. But just this once, so you best listen because I will not repeat myself. Although it was incredibly stupid to have made the Unbreakable Vow, and mark my words, it was incredibly stupid, it only pertains to the marriage. You know how Weasley sleeps around. Hell, he may had even fallen in love with some other girl. Who knows. The Vow doesn't stop him. And so it shouldn't stop you. In the world we live in, the ones who marry for love barely even exist anymore. If you find your true love...or whatever, if it's real, it won't matter whether you're married or not." he said, before he smirked. He, of course, had to be prat. "Besides, if you do want to get rid of Weasley, give me a call, I'll gladly do so."

She grimaced slightly as she smelled the liquor on his breath but listened to him nevertheless. She couldn't help but be afraid of what he was going to do to her, so used to Ron's abuse over the years. "Are-Are you suggesting that I sleep around? I-I couldn't. Ron would kill me if he ever found out and I don't think I could regardless," Hermione replied softly, her head hanging in shame. "I didn't want to make the Vow, Malfoy, but I really didn't have any choice," she whispered, shuddering slightly as she thought about how she had been bruised for weeks after the night that Ron had forced her to make the vow with him. "But all of that aside, no one wants to sleep with me. Not unless they think that they could get something out of it. Ron says that I'm lucky that he even married me to begin with, regardless of our fame. I'm just a buck toothed, bushy hair prude," she whispered as silent tears spilled over her cheeks.

Draco rolled his eyes. "He would kill you? You think he would actually kill you? Oh come on, Granger. You know yourself the git has nothing on you. You could make him dissapear with a snap of your own fingers. The man is not stronger than you are. Physically, perhaps yes, but with your magic, he has no chance against you. And don't you think he knows it? Whatever he said are empty threats. He's obviously feeling as miserable as you are, if he's drunk all the time and sleeps around." he said, knowing well the feeling. After all, he too, was miserable in his marriage and was drunk most of the time and slept around as well. Of course, he wasn't excusing the Weasel's actions, after all at least Draco wasn't abusive towards Astoria - if anything, it was the opposite -, but there was still reasoning behind the redhead's actions.

He wanted to snort because she said no one wanted to sleep with her. Had he been sober, and back in Hogwarts when he was and absolute twat, he probably would have laughed and areed with her just to see the look on her face. But that Draco was no more. He had aged. Plus, the fact that he had so much alcohol in his blood made his inhibitions - and the part of his brain telling him to walk away -, lowered at their minimum level. "And cut it off, Granger. Is Weasel your mirror? I don't think so. Perhaps you should take a look at yourself in the mirror without him yelling stupidities through your brain before you say those words. No one wants to sleep with you because you're crying about your husband and it's hard to get on when you feel bad for someone and when someone is weeping." he admitted, after all, he knew he was right. "Even if you don't believe it, Granger, walk around as if you were the most beautiful witch in the world, and people will treat you as such. It's all about appearances. Nobody falls in love at first sight with your brains. Nobody decides to sleep with someone because of their personality. Trust me. You may not want to, but you know I'm right. If you're able to look that pretty with tears in your eyes and your face all red, imagining just how beautiful you would be if you pretended to act confident."

She blushed profusely, she had never really been all that confident in her looks, and it was because of people like him. He had been one of her biggest tormentors when she was younger, so whenever Ron had started yelling at her and calling her all of those hateful words, it just seemed natural to believe him. She was snapped from her reverie by the sudden realization that Draco Malfoy had just called her pretty. She shook her head profusely, reaching up and wiping her tear stained cheeks with the back of her hand as she looked at him. "Don't say things that you don't mean, Malfoy," she insisted, sniffling a little as she tried to compose herself, looking up at him with a confused gaze.

She couldn't believe that Draco Malfoy was standing here giving her a pep talk of sorts and trying to convince her to cheat on Ron. She then frowned at him, saying what she knew might make him stop telling her that Ron had no chance against her. "He has my wand. Keeps it locked up at home," she said with a frown, moving her gaze from his eyes and fiddling with the hem of her shirt. His gaze was too intense and it was making her uncomfortable; she felt like those steel grey eyes were staring into her soul.

He was shocked by her words. "What the fuck?" he snapped. "And Potter is okay with this?" he said, hoping that Scarhead would have the decency to be against this kind of fuckery, even if the Weasel was his best friend. Quite frankly, Draco had always took Weasley for a bloody idiot, but that was it. He never thought he could become this abusive and this...mad. It was shocking him, to say the least.

"It's not because I'm drunk that I blabber things I don't mean, Granger. For someone clever, I would believe you know the effects of alcohol, no? It only says whatever I am thinking of at this very moment. Granted, it may have been things I wouldn't have said when I was sober, but it doesn't mean they're not true. Now, how the bloody hell did he keep your wand locked up at your home? You know what, this is bloody ridiculous. I have my wand, and let's go get yours.

Now."