A/N: I am participating in Project Team Beta's massively awesome Writing Challenge 2013. Woot! All prompts will be revealed at the end of each chapter, and if you'd like to learn more about the contest, the link will be on my profile (because FFn is ridiculous and won't even let me write the word "dot").

The first chapter is a bit of a scary coming-of-age event set in everyone's favorite wizarding world. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Challenge 01: Rocky Horizons
Posted 01/6/2013

Fandom: Harry Potter
Rating: T
Genre: AU
Content Descriptors: Drama, Romance, Teen
Characters: Draco/Hermione

Everything is perfect. Candles float idly above our heads, an enchanted radio is playing one of my favorite wizard love songs, and there's a sweet aftertaste on my tongue from the chocolate frogs and champagne. I'm still not sure how Draco conned a bottle away from the house elves, but he has held nothing back. Everything is perfect, I tell myself again. Then why is my stomach tied up in knots?

We're lounging across the pillows and blankets he has laid out on the classroom floor, kissing and nipping slowly as his hands explore my body with determination. All his pleading and pushing, not-quite-patiently waiting for me to be ready, has led to this moment. Draco wants to take my virginity and I've promised to let him.

I bite my lip and groan as his move to suck on my throat. It's not that I don't want Draco in the same way he wants me, it's only… couldn't we wait a bit longer? I do want him to make love to me eventually, but I like the kissing and the way his fingers play. It never sat well with me that what we had was never enough for him.

"You taste delicious," he whispers in my ear. It makes me squirm in a really wonderful way, but the feeling is tempered when begins removing my robes. "You're going to feel just as good, I know it."

I might, but he won't. He will hurt. Doesn't he care at all that I'm not comfortable going that far? I think, perhaps, I should stop this and be honest with him. I should tell him I'm not ready, that I don't want this yet, that it will ruin what we have and we will never be the same. I tug him back to my lips and distract my tongue with his to stop myself from speaking my fears. That's all it is—fear. Afterward, I will glow, and everything will be glorious. I've read about it in many books.

With my acquiescence come Draco's undulating hips. The only things stopping him from taking what he wants are our underclothes, and a new sensation adds itself to the knots as our speed increases and our breaths turn to pants and gasps of pleasure. I'm familiar with this feeling, though I have never been quite so conflicted about it before. Every time Draco drops his fingers below my waistline, he sets my world on fire and then cools me with his sweet words and sweeter kisses. The fire is here, burning me and exciting me, but I am leaden, unable to either escape the flames or enjoy them.

Draco grunts and slowly pulls away, smirking down at me over a heaving chest. "We've got to get you out of these," he says, playfully snapping the lace hiding my most private parts.

I don't want to! my mind screams as my fingers help to slide the flimsy coverings away from my body. Draco stares at me for a long while, swallowing and licking his lips.

"Damn, you're sexy," he says, and I smile in spite of myself. I love how honest he is, never coating his words with flowers and honey, only ever saying what he truly thinks.

He drops his pants and orders me lie back. Looking at him hovering above me, everything on display…. He's beautiful. I should want this. I want to want this, so much so that I'm willing to lock away my logical mind for the first time in my life and focus strictly on the sensations of my body. It's a hard thing.

We kiss once more, languid yet intense, while Draco brushes his fingers back and forth across my stomach, easing them lower as the seconds pass. This part is nothing new, though my robes had most assuredly been on before tonight. Draco knows exactly which buttons to press and when to press them, and soon I am flying, trying to muffle my cries but not quite managing. Draco's smile is cocky and prideful, mixing attractively with the excitement and love in his eyes. I should want this. I should….

His next kiss is hard but chaste as he positions himself between my legs. "Are you ready? Did you do the spell?" he asks, biting and sucking down my neck to my breast. It's hard to concentrate when he does that.

Am I ready? No. No, I'm not ready at all. I've told him a million times, out by the lake, in dusty broom closets—I'm not ready. He thought all I needed was a bit of romance, that I didn't want to be cramped or come upon by others. And he was right, to an extent. I certainly did not want my first time to be in a broom closet. I don't want my first time to be now, either, though. The room is beautiful and he is beautiful and everything is absolute perfection, but I don't want to do this.

I'm on the edge of a cliff being pulled in two directions. From the watery depths below I hear Draco's bewitching voice calling to me, urging me to jump. From behind me, far away from the rocky ledge, is a little girl in muggle clothes with a muggle doll and an innocent smile, reaching out a hand for me to come toward her. She is me, as a child. Draco is everything I want but am not yet ready for. The girl is everything I know but am ready to leave behind. There is no in between. I must choose, despite my fear, despite my desire, and despite my comfort.

If I step forward, I will forsake my innocence and give up my girlhood for something I cannot see and do not know if I will like or understand. Below the endless blue waves could be vibrant and magical, teeming with sparkling hopes and dreams; or it could be dark, cold, and lonely, a mistake I will always wish to reverse.

If I step back, I will lose sight of the powerful sea, and oh, what a lovely sea it is. I will be embraced by the feelings and actions I've known all my life, never moving, never changing. I will be stagnant, but secure, and I will never know the sea's passionate embrace.

Draco's eyes are soft, but they gleam with anticipation. He has wanted this for so long. My body trembles, but I know which direction I will step.

I answer his second question: Did I perform the spell to prevent pregnancy?

"Yes," I say, and I jump.

A/N: This is not meant to be sexy or encourage teens to have sex before they are ready, but I wanted to depict what so many girls go through: the pressure and then the giving in. Draco and Hermione may very well end up just fine and live happily ever after. Or they may not. It's up to you to decide.

The prompt this week was a picture of a girl on a cliff. I hope you liked the less-than-literal approach I took. Thanks for reading!