"If I can retain my position, I have to stay. I am –" Malfoy's voice breaks slightly and his cheeks darken, he clears his throat and takes a sip of firewhiskey from the bottle he has claimed his. She doesn't know how he is still conscious with the amount he has drunk, and Hermione suspects that perhaps he spent a great deal of his time drinking before her arrival in his life. That would explain the longing looks at the liquor cabinet, at least, and his considerable tolerance to it.