The warm glow of the afternoon sun lit up the abandoned side of the Ravenclaw Tower, a secret alcove Draco Malfoy discovered two years ago. He was here again today, smoking an illegal Muggle cigarette and contemplating his life thus far. Although, technically it was not his to begin with, but hers.

FLASHBACK:

The winding staircase seemed as long and endless as the one leading to the Divination classroom. Even with his Quidditch training and strict physical regime, Draco was out of breath climbing the thousands of bloody stairs. Not to mention the staircase was without working torches, being in disuse, and he kept banging into the tightly twisting steps and catching armfuls of cobwebs gathered on the grimy walls. Yet he was still determined, and curious, to find out where this particular stair case led to, seeing that he spotted goody Gryffindor, Hermione Granger, heading up just a few minutes ago.

He cursed as he found the trapdoor at the top by banging into it with his head. He was careful to remain quiet as he lifted the hatch just a crack, to peek at what might possible be up here, and surprised would be an understatement.

It was possible the most magnificent sight he had ever witnessed. The tall ceiling, the flowing curtains, the bay windows, the spacious room, it was absolutely beautiful. And on top of that, there was one scantily clad Head Girl with a Muggle camera photographing the sunset. 'Apparently, the Gryffindor liked to pursue her hobbies free of material restraints,' he thought, smirking. Quickly, his Slytherin mind churned and he had a purely evil and potentially delicious idea.

He barged into the room and whipped out his wand, preparing to take her down, but he didn't even need to bother as she was so surprised by his appearance that she fell over her tripod. He took her vulnerability to his advantage as he pressed her smaller body to the ground, wand focused at her pulse point, and smiled.

"My my Granger, half-naked? I'm sure the Daily Prophet would love a picture of you for their front page, won't you agree?" He stared pointedly at her fallen camera for a second, so that she would understand what he was about to do.

Getting over her initial shock, she stuttered, "Y-y-you wouldn't dare…!" He gave her credit for trying to look brave, but how difficult would that be when one was half-naked and pinned under one's enemy with potential evidence for blackmail present? He almost felt sorry for her for one un-Malfoy-like moment before he steeled his nerves and concentrated on his tormented subject instead.

"Smile pretty, Granger," he purred at her as he grabbed a hold of her camera and snapped several shots of her in the compromising situation they were in before pocketing the small device with a mental note to have it developed and copied later. He sat up on his haunches but she still made no move to get up.

"You wouldn't want to have those photos everywhere now, would you?" She shook her head mutely. "So, you will agree to meet all my demands, and I will agree to withhold them from the general public." He would pat himself on the back for his ingenuity if he could at this point. "Now, the first thing I want is…"

He pulled one of her bra straps off her shoulder and brushed his lips over her exposed collarbone. "Now, it wouldn't quicker if you're as stiff as a board, Granger." He nipped her clavicle sharply and bit into her neck. "If you don't relax, I'll force you anyway, and it wouldn't be more pleasant for either of us." Finally, she responded and moved her hands to touch his back, underneath his shirt. "And if you're good, I might keep you around…" were the last words he said to her that day.

END FLASHBACK

That was two years ago.

Their first meeting had been heated. There was no denying the chemistry that had flared between them, even if it was by force on his part, she still responded like a firecracker.

He drew another puff of the cigarette before tossing the butt down and grinding it into the floor with his heel. She was late. There would be retribution for that.

After the first incident, they met again, very frequently most weeks. Whenever he wanted her, he turned the moveable hand on the statue guarding the door to the staircase, and every time he requested her, she came at the same time as their first encounter, without fail. She was reluctant to engage in sexual intercourse with him, and he felt empowered as he pushed her into giving up and letting him have use of her body. It became a game of sorts, each time, to see how long she can hold out, or how quick he can control her.

But today was different.

Over the past few weeks, he had been feeling different. No longer would he secretly rejoice when her eyes glazed over and she surrendered herself to him, nor would he cherish the agony of her screams as he inflicted pain upon her. He couldn't name the small itching of his innards when she would lay down willingly and stared up at him with her brown doe eyes, and he didn't want to. This was supposed to be an emotionless, business-like transaction; him blackmailing her. Yet he was still beginning to feel as if he was losing power instead of gaining.

So he was here today, with a secret stash of two years' worth of photos of her. He was going to return them to her and end this. He was the Slytherin Ice Prince for a reason, and it wouldn't do to begin feeling anything, especially for a Mudblood Gryffindor.

She knocked on the door and entered after a heartbeat. She sat down at the single chair at the small table in the room as per usual, quietly awaiting his attention.

She was confused when he tossed a heavy manila envelope at her, and even more taken aback as she unearthed the photos inside. "What…?" She began to question.

"Take them and leave." He said, voice drained of emotion.

"Why?" What? Why didn't the stupid bint just leave? He was giving her a free pass from being blackmailed and she wasn't taking it? How stupid could she get?

"Take. Them. And. Leave." He spat each word out, still turned towards the window and refusing to look at her for fear of faltering.

He was startled to hear a sob from behind him and almost turned around to see why she was crying when she started to speak. "I… The past two years… were painful and unbearable… but… but…" Her sobs were genuine now and he would hear the tears in her voice. He could feel his shields melting and closed his eyes, struggling for composure. She finally got a grip and finished her sentence, "but I thought it would become bearable if I fell in love with you… and finally…" She left it hanging, and the weight of that phrase sunk in.

Instead of the calm he had felt a moment ago, he could feel his hackles rise and blood boil. "Finally? Finally what? Fallen in love with me? FALLEN IN LOVE WITH YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE?" He lunged at her, pushing her over in the chair and pressed her to the ground again, hands on either side of her head. She looked up at him and shivered. "AREN'T YOU SCARED EVERY TIME I TOUCH YOU? AREN'T YOU GLAD I'M GIVING YOU A WAY OUT? WHY THE BLOODY FUCK AREN'T YOU RUNNING AWAY?" He smacked her sharply across the face and she whimpered, curling in on herself.

"Please… don't…" She begged. "It's too late now," he growled, thrusting his pelvis into hers, "you're going to satisfy me a final time then." He whispered a wandless spell and they were instantly both naked. She tried to move away but he pressed her down harder. "Stop squirming and take what you wanted, bitch! Or do I have to tie you up again like last time?" She stopped moving and meekly looked up at him through her lashes. He stared back into her hazelnut eyes and almost contemplated stopping at her request. 'Damn it to hell, I can't do this if she's looking at me,' he cursed mentally. He grabbed her by the hair and flipped her over so he wouldn't have to look into those melted pools of chocolate fudge and thrust into her without warning.

She shrieked once before he covered her mouth with one hand, only her muffled screams ricocheted off the walls as he pounded frantically into her body. She had prepared herself before coming here so that he could go as rough on her as he wanted, and he wanted, badly, to take her. Except he no longer felt the power that he had once felt for deflowering and claiming the Gryffindor Virgin, now he just wanted her. Only her.

His other hand groped her breasts and moved down to rub at her clitoris as he bit into her neck, leaving a visibly red mark. A small voice in his mind cheered as he marked her as his and his strokes grew even more violent as he neared his peak. His fingers fondling her moved faster and she crested with him, both screaming out their passions before collapsing onto the cold floor. Draco didn't push her away for once, or feigned disgust at her tainted blood status. He rolled over as to not crush her and held her back against his chest. It felt so strange being intimate but it was also extremely warming, and he wished he could freeze that moment, although he would never admit to having such a wish.

After a few minutes, the sweat on their bodies dried, leaving the room a bit cold as the cool draft blew in from the open window. He reluctantly pulled out of her and cleaned them both up, not a word passed between them about the intimate moment. He re-conjured their vanished clothing and they dressed, still silent. He was about to slip out the door before she called.

"Draco!" He froze. No one called him that. Not his father, not his teachers, not his friends. The name was always something he repeated to himself, late at night, just so that he wouldn't forget it. Then he felt thin arms enclose his waist from behind and her head tucked into his shoulder. A wave of what can only be called affection hit him and he turned around to embrace her. For the first time, willingly.

She looked up at him and offered a tentative smile, unsure of his reaction to her proximity. When she sensed that he wasn't about to attack, her smile widened and she tiptoed and leaned up, gently brushing her lips against his. He was the one stunned this time, first by her smile which he had never seen this close up, and then by her daring kiss. He had never shared a kiss with anyone. Sex, yes, but kisses, never.

He tightened his hold on her and leaned down so she wouldn't have to tiptoe and continued their kiss, a gentle exploration of tongue on tongue and into each other's' mouths. He drew away when they were out of breath and looked at her. Her hand was on his cheek and he leaned into her caress, closing his eyes and shutting out the indignant pureblooded, Slytherin voice screaming in his head. How could it have been her that made him turn this way, molding him into something other than his destined path?

As they walked out of the bottom of the staircase, she timidly asked, "M-maybe we can be a bit gentler from now on? Like how a couple would make love?"

He spun around and glared at her, so she quickly retracted her request, "I-I'm s-sorry, it was stupid to mention it." She looked down at her hands.

He reached for her smaller hand and enclosed it in his. "Maybe making love like a couple wouldn't be too bad…" She smiled at him and he at her as they walked down the hallway hand in hand.

A/N: Wrote this a while ago and forgot about it. Dusted it off and decided to publish! R&R please! :)