Disclaimer:
I do not own anything about the Harry Potter book series. Not the plot, not the places, not the characters, etc. They all belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling and I do not any in way, shape, or form intend to pass them off as my own.

Author's Note:
Inspired by the song 4 in the Morning by Gwen Stefani.
If you have any questions and/or comments please leave them in a review. Beneficial criticism, whether it is good or bad, is welcome. If you spot any grammar errors please notify me as well; I'm not the best whenever it comes to proof reading. Thank you for reading! =]
- Kelly

4 in the Morning
~** A Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger One Shot **~
As told from Hermione's point of view…

I was living a tragic burden; many girls like me usually go through it once in their life. I was too trusting, gullible, and patient. And as if what seemed to be the cause of all issues in the world, love was the key word of my worries. I was at that certain part in my life of which I was practically torn in two.

My heart told me to stay. We were made for each other. He was my knight in shining armor, my light in the dark, my everything. He loved me and I loved him…. Right?

However on the other side of the story my mind told me to go far away and never come back. I deserved better than him. I needed a man who would be beside me no matter what and take me as I am. I gave him one hundred percent of me and I felt he should do the same in return.

The tricky part was deciding what to listen to – my unyielding emotions or my reliable common sense? I was split between two separate choices. I needed help figuring out which one to choose and I needed that help quickly before I lost all of my sanity.

His late nights supposedly 'out with the boys' were making me lose my mind. He would always come home at ungodly hours wasted to the point of where he couldn't even remember his own name. What was worse was that he smelled of French perfume – something I never sprayed on.

Tonight wasn't any different. Why should it be?

I was still awake when Draco came home early the morning. I wasn't up roaming around the house but rather neatly tucked into our bed pretending to be fast asleep. Once he relocked the door and made it up the stairs, he stumbled across the room murmuring a few curses, and stripped down to his white undershirt and boxers. Typical. He placed himself beside of me, his back facing mine. It was like he didn't even know I was there in our house.

I let a single tear fall down my cheek and didn't bother to wipe it away. Even though we weren't anywhere close to touching, I could still smell the lingering stench of alcohol and Lancôme off of him. The odor burned my nose and made me want to be a thousand miles out of his reach... yet I longed to be right there.

I wish we could go back to the good old days – the days when Draco truly loved me and only me. He would spend the nights cuddling me, whispering sweet compliments into my ears. How times have changed.

I knew that things would never be perfect between Draco and I, and I never really expected us to be flawless. Every relationship will always have its ups and downs in life; no one could ever avoid them. However seeing that my boyfriend was Draco Malfoy only made things much worse that what they could have been. He was a Pureblood, all time Slytherin frantic, what felt like less than half the time a lover, and an everlasting sex symbol since 5th year at Hogwarts. That combination really isn't too good for a serious relationship.

I was told that if I wanted our affiliation to last, I would have to trust him. That I did indeed. Believing each word he said, I would let him do his own thing not wanting to be too pushy or bitchy. People also warned me about the media Purebloods put up with, which I already knew was going to be hell itself. I ignored all of the nasty rumors and shunned all of the horrible criticism thrown upon me for being a "Mudblood" once we became an item.

By doing everything that a girlfriend of a Malfoy should, people weren't as harsh on me as I expected them to be. When Draco would take me to the balls of parties of his rich friends, they never said anything rude to me (or at least to my face). Normally they simply acted like I wasn't even there. I was shocked at first thinking that they would stick their noses up and think they were better than me. I'm sure some of the people did but they must have done a wonderful job at keeping their disturbing thoughts to themselves.

Even when Draco would take me to have brunch with only one or pair of his friends, the host or hostess would always put a smile on their face for me. Though sometimes the smiles were fake might I add. Blaise once asked me something along the lines of,

"Hermione, how does it feel to be Draco Malfoy's girlfriend? I mean you are the woman who tamed him from his usual promiscuous ways. How on Earth did you ever get him to calm down?"

As a response I replied with, "Oh I have no idea. Draco is the most amazing person I have ever met. I'm honestly not for sure why he is even with someone like me."

Then Draco being a sweetheart said, "I am with you because I love you."

That was the queue for Blaise to give Draco a smirk and murmur in a mocking tone, "Aww."

Draco and I would look at each other and grin while he gave my hand a quick squeeze.

On the outside we appeared like Barbie and Ken, and we thought that we were. Only later on I swiftly realized that Ken doesn't always want to hold Barbie in their Dream House. He sometimes preferred to be with other women out and about in only God knows where.

I would basically (not literally) kill to have Draco say that he loves me again. I don't believe I have heard those words in months. And I fear I will never hear them another time soon. He's always too busy for me either with his job at the Ministry or with his friends.

I don't mean to sound needy or anything, but hasn't he spent enough time with the guys lately? Where is my alone time with Mr. Drakey Malfoy? Oh that's right, I don't have any time alone with him. Even though I am his girlfriend I only get about two full days out of a month to be with him.

What made me even more furious with Draco was that I had caught him in a lie before. Not once and not twice but multiple times he would tell me false things. When I would ask him to watch a movie with me, he would use his friends or his job as an excuse to leave me alone. Two hours later Draco would still be somewhere in town and Blaise would call asking to speak with him. Draco was alone or in other company, not with Blaise like he told me.

It broke my heart each time when he left the house for some whore, even though I should be used to it. Yet I shouldn't need to get used to the fact that he is a cheater. It shouldn't even happen in the first place.

My friends and family (even Blaise) would hint for me to leave him. That I needed to dump his sorry ass. Yes it wasn't a secret that Draco slept with other women when he claimed to be entirely devoted to me. I was looking for true love and the blonde beauty knew that before we even made our bond official. I will forever wonder why he doesn't have admiration for me anymore. Was it my new haircut that turned him away? Is it because I have two best friends that are males? Possibly.

Once I heard Draco's peaceful snores, I sat up in the bed careful not to wake him. Moving my pillow from behind my head down into my lap, I leaned against the headboard. I rested my cranium onto the dark washed wall sighing heavily. Now pitiful single tears were not rolling down my rosey cheeks, but instead a full gushing river. The water from my eyes bathed my hands as they descended down. I glanced to the clock on my nightstand.

4:00 A.M.

I needed my sleep but I pointlessly misused my precious hours thinking about him. Turning my attention to Draco, I watched his chest gently rise and fall as he rested. He rolled over and placed an arm around my waist not opening an eyelid in the process. The gesture made me feel like I should stay and give him another chance; like he was begging me for my forgiveness. When he slept was the only time he gave me affection like this. I missed it and needed it more often.

Maybe Draco was torn in two as well. Part of him wanted someone new every other night, and the opposite side wanted me to stay. Maybe we would never find a ground in which we were both happy with.

Damn you Draco Malfoy for making my life so difficult.