A/N: This Story was first posted on as a response to Snapes_Goddess Halloween Challenge. I have been thinking about posting it here for quite some time, and finally decided to do it. Please forgive me all typos or bad grammar that might still be in it. It's all my fault, my great beta and friend werewolfhime did her best to find them all!
All Souls' Day
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco Malfoy couldn't help but watch Hermione Granger. 'Has she always been that beautiful?' he wondered to himself. She was thin – too thin in his eyes – and looked fragile, almost translucent. Brown eyes dominated her small, pale face; the dark circles underneath gave evidence of many sleepless nights. But to him, she was still the most beautiful witch at the table.
He could tell the brunette woman was doing her best to seem at ease and as cheery as everybody else. This was the Halloween feast, after all. The first feast had taken place the second year after the Battle of Hogwarts. It had become a tradition ever since to gather the heroes of the war (and the members of the wizarding high society – war-heroes or not) on Halloween. This was the first time Draco participated. He was no war-hero after all. He had no illusions that the only reason he had been invited was to honour his late mother. If it hadn't been for his father's insistence, he might not have come at all.
Now, he was glad. Since he was shunned from polite conversation anyways, he took his time to closely watch the young witch.
Although he sometimes saw Hermione from afar at the Ministry, he never really had the possibility to observe her like that. She was chatting with her friends and laughing at the right moments. There was an air of sadness around her; one the blonde wizard could not really place. Also, she was pushing the little food she had on her plate around instead of eating it.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione smiled weakly at the comment Ginny made.
"Obviously you would think I should get a guy and get myself laid," she joked. "You're a newly wed. You two are going at it like rabbits! But you know, some people are happy without a relationship. I have a very demanding and satisfying job, good friends, and not to forget, permanent access to one of the nicest and biggest libraries in the wizarding world...what reason could I possibly have to want a man?"
'Liar!' the voice in her head shouted 'You know very well that a book will not warm your bed at night!'
The redhead pouted, "Well, you know, it's actually healthy to have an active sex life! See, semen has a lot of proteins, that's good for..."
At that point Hermione interrupted, "Hush... Gin, that is creating images in my head I don't actually want to see! You know that I love both of you, but..."
"You're in for a threesome, then?" the younger witch laughed.
Hermione's face burned in embarrassment. It was incomprehensible to Draco how her friends could not realise how uncomfortable she was with this conversation.
"And die from your jealous rage? Never!" the brunette tried not to let her discomfort show. "I don't think you're ready for sharing your husband yet..."
"As if you would consider sharing anyways. 'Mione..." Ron Weasley threw in.
A deadly silence fell over the friends who had previously been engaged in playful banter. Every head turned to the youngest Weasley boy who blushed furiously.
"Right," Hermione stood up abruptly, "I need to go to the loo."
For a few moments the silence at the table was deafening. Then a very angry Ginny Potter could be heard, "Smooth move Ronald. Congratulations. What is it with you? Do you want to hurt her?"
Her brother cringed, "Sorry..."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When Hermione wasn't back after half an hour, Harry went looking for her. When he came back, he had a sombre look on his face.
"She's over at the memorial," he told the others.
His wife sighed, "I guess she wouldn't come with you?"
"No," the wizard replied. "She told me she would go to bed soon. She said that she didn't want to ruin our evening, but that she didn't feel like celebrating."
"I wonder why that is," Ginny mumbled.
"Don't be unfair. She has been kind of different for a while!" her brother whined, "Not everything is my fault..."
Draco had listened to the exchange for the whole time. Not that he had anything else to do. Nobody would talk to him if it wasn't strictly necessary. Although he had been cleared of all charges, and although his father had served his sentence of five years in Azkaban, things had never been quite the same after the war. His mother had been publicly forgiven – after all she had saved Harry Potter in a way – but the good name of the family hadn't been restored.
The wizard had experienced first hand that money could buy a lot of private forgiveness, but nobody wanted to be seen with him in public. Now he wondered what the Weasley had done to Hermione (apart from that comment) to deserve his friend's treatment. Not that he minded the chastising of the annoying git...
The redhead attended the festivity with a brunette girl who looked slightly familiar to Draco, but he couldn't quiet place the face. She was clingy and all over the boy, not that he seemed to mind. Nobody really paid attention to her. She was an outcast, almost like Draco himself.
Draco decided to follow Hermione and got up from his place silently. If she was over at the memorial like Potter had said, then she was all alone, and the sun would be setting soon. Not that there was any danger since they were at Hogwarts' grounds, but she shouldn't be on her own on a day like that. He wondered why none of her friends had insisted on keeping her company. She was quite the stubborn witch, he supposed. Probably they had all learned to bend to her wishes.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
He went over to the memorial. 'Quite the euphemism,' he mused. 'A graveyard would be more appropriate.'
Between the tombstones he could make out the small form of Hermione Granger. She had sat down and was leaning against the white marble heading of one of the graves. The wizard lowered himself next to her without asking and stared out over the quiet waters of the lake with her.
The young woman watched him closely from the corner of her eyes. The last time she had had the time to take a good look at him had been at his father's trial almost 7 years prior. He looked nothing like he had in school. He had filled out a bit since then, although he was by no means fat. His shoulders had become broader, and from what she could see, his arms seemed well defined and muscular. She wondered if he worked out. Hermione smiled a bit. The image of Draco Malfoy lifting weights in a muggle gym was too funny. The arrogant sneering had long been gone from his face and was replaced by the serious expression of a young man who had had to grow up too fast.
'He's good looking,' she concluded, 'but he seems to be sad...'
"What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she finally asked.
"Keeping you company."
'Keeping me company? My arse...' she thought but only said: "I don't need company, I am fine. I like the silence."
"We don't have to talk if you don't want to, Granger. You were the one starting this conversation," Draco responded evenly without taking her bait.
The witch did not respond to that. What was there to say anyways? He was right, after all. Hermione shot tiny glimpse at the blonde next to her. What in the name of Circe was he doing here? It wasn't as if they had become friends. They were on a polite notion when they met each other, but that was it!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They sat together quietly for some time.
Draco couldn't refrain from asking, "Why are you sitting out here in the dark all on your own?"
The young woman's face wore an expression of contempt. When he thought that she would not answer, she quietly said "I am waiting."
"Waiting for what, Granger?"
"The spirits."
"Spirits? You are waiting for ghosts?"
"No. I am waiting for the spirits. You are a wizard. You should know the difference between the two. It's All Hollows Eve, Malfoy."
The blonde wizard was struck. He knew that it was All Hollows Eve – thus the feast. And he knew that spirits were NOT ghosts. "You must be joking."
"I assure you, I am completely serious," Hermione answered.
"You DO know that the story about spirits rising the night before All Souls' Day is largely considered to be a legend, right?"
"On Samhain the boundary between the alive and the dead dissolves. The Souls' of the deceased rise to greet those still wandering on earth..." the witch cited an old source he knew only too well to the man sitting next to her.
"You must be joking," he repeated unbelievingly.
"I am not. But if you think that I am, nobody's forcing you to stay with me. Go, I won't be devastated. I promise."
Draco could clearly hear in her voice that she was now.
"I am sorry. It's just... Most purebloods don't celebrate it, and I am not even talking about believing in it. They consider Samhain simply a tradition to follow and then you, a muggleborn witch tell me that you're waiting for the Souls' of your Loved ones? It just seems so – bizarre."
"So this is about me being muggleborn? Again?" she spat venomously.
Draco groaned, "No, not that! Not at all! It's just that this is a very old and traditional belief. Even most wizards and witches consider it superstition. I actually thought that the Malfoys were the last family in England believing in it."
Hermione shrugged, "I am a very traditional woman. I believe in marriage for life, the old way of life, and the ancient Gods. And I have a degree in History of Religion, even if it's only as a minor."
The young witch rose and opened a bag Draco had not seen before. She took out a candle, which she placed on the grave they had been sitting next to. With a flick of her wand, Hermione lit the candle and proceeded on to the next grave.
The blond wizard followed her. "Erm... What exactly are you doing, Granger?" he asked.
"Putting candles on the graves of those I lost?"
"The sun is setting..."
"And?"
"You are raising the dead?" Draco asked in disbelief.
"Malfoy! I am not trying to raise the dead! It's a muggle custom."
"To raise the dead?" the wizard repeated stupidly.
"No! On All Souls' Day the Catholics go to the graves of their beloved ones and light a candle there. It is to show that they are not forgotten, even when they are dead."
"Catholic? You are following a catholic tradition? Catholic as in witch hunts? Catholic as in witch trials and burnings?"
Hermione bit her lip, "Yes."
"You are a witch! Why would you follow this tradition?"
"My mum was Catholic. It was her religion, and I was brought up with it. My dad belongs to the Anglican Church, but he isn't very religious. It was my mum who took me to the masses with her. 'Religion can bring out the best or the worse in people', she always told me. It brought out the best in her. She was caring and generous and funny. Religion gave her strength when she was tired. She believed in God. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't a fanatic. My mum went to church quiet regularly but not every Sunday. She didn't think that you had to follow everything that's written in the Bible to be a good person. But she considered it her guideline."
The witch paused and looked at Draco pleadingly "It's all that I have left... I go and light a candle on her grave on All Souls' Day. I feel like I belong when I do it..."
"These are not your mother's grave?"
"No. I will go to my mother's grave during day with my dad. But I loved those people, too. It's my way to remember and honour them."
"It's not All Souls' Day yet."
"Oh, but it is. For the church, a day begins with the setting of the sun. Well, I am not sure it's like that anymore. But it used to be..."
She continued putting candles on, followed by her former classmate. A candle for Fred Weasley, Draco's cousin Nymphadora Tonks, and her husband, Remus Lupin. The Creevy boy whose full name Draco didn't remember, Albus Dumbledore. He stopped at one grave. The headstone read Vincent Crabbe, and Hermione did not seem to want to put a candle at this one.
When she saw him standing there she hesitated. She reached in her bag and held one of her candles out for him "You want to..."
"Thanks, Granger." he said with a choked voice. He lit the candle for his dead friend and continued his slow walk with her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Why are you waiting for the Souls?" the young man asked when they were seated once again next to the headstone of Fred Weasley.
"They keep me company..." Hermione whispered and added, "I saw them first after my mother died."
"How long has it been?" Draco asked, sympathy clear in his voice.
"She died over five years ago. Six, in May. I was so lost when she died. So lonely."
They sat in silence for a while until she continued, "It was the worst year of my life. In February I had separated from Ron. Not long after my mum fell ill and died. I still miss her so much." She drew a shuddery breath.
"Why did you separate from the Weasley?" Draco asked quietly.
"Ah, that's the question I was waiting for. The answer is simple. Did you see the girl he's here with?"
Draco nodded.
"Well, you remember Lavender from our year? That's her sister, Dahlia Brown. She's a year younger than we are and attended Beauxbatons. I didn't even know her until I caught her in my apartment, in my bed, fucking my fiancé."
"Uh..." the blonde didn't know what to say. "He wasn't a match for you, anyways..." he finally said.
Hermione shrugged, "It's okay, really."
Draco could tell that it wasn't. Her eyes betrayed the hurt still lingering under the surface. She was biting her lower lip, and her hands were restless. She drew her knees up, hugged them, and rested her head on top of them.
"Where are they?" the witch wondered "They usually come when the sun has set. They should have been here half an hour ago..."
Draco wondered what she was talking about until he remembered that she was talking about the Souls.
"I don't know." he answered standing up. "But I am a bit hungry. Do you want me to bring something for you, too?"
Hermione hesitated but nodded. She hadn't eaten a lot today. She never did these days. Food made her want to throw up. It eating seemed so petty to her when she was so lonely anyways.
The wizard reappeared with two plates shortly after.
"I brought you some Barmbrack. I thought it would fit the traditional witch you claim to be..." he smiled at her.
Hermione took the plate from his hand and took a bite of the fruit cake. She loved the traditional Irish Halloween dish. Her grandmother had always made it when she was a little girl. After a few bites, she bit on a hard object and choked. She cleaned it with a tissue and smiled sadly when she showed the small ring to the blonde next to her.
"Seems as if you're getting married within the year," he drawled unimpressed.
"Not very likely," Hermione replied, put the ring on the small finger of her left hand. "You have something in yours?"
He shook his head and continued eating. They finished their cake in silence, until Draco cried out in pain.
"I broke my fucking teeth..." he swore loudly.
The witch reached for the object in his hand and started to laugh heartily. "The sixpence... My, a Malfoy getting rich, who would have thought that!"
"Hey, give me my fortune back!" Draco cried out jokingly and launched himself at the petite witch. "Give my sixpence back, or I will tickle you till you give up resisting!"
He tickled her mercilessly until tears of laughter started streaming from her eyes.
"Draco, stop it! Stop it!" she screamed.
The wizard stilled and stared at her. Hermione thought that he was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen. His hair all mussed up, mischief gleaming in his eyes. And then there was something else she couldn't really define. Shock and – what? Tenderness?
"What?" she asked innocently.
"You called me Draco."
"That's your name, right?"
He nodded his head, "Yes, but I don't remember a single time you called me that. You called me Malfoy or Ferret. Never Draco."
"It just seemed... inappropriate..." she hesitated. "If you prefer me calling you Malfoy, I can do that..."
"No, heavens no! It was just unexpected. I love it, - Hermione."
His head was still so close to hers. By all the Gods, he wanted to kiss her so badly. Her face had a delicious flush, and her lips were full and inviting. Draco cursed himself 'You shouldn't be thinking of her that way! It's already such an achievement that she doesn't hate you anymore... There could never be more! Don't fool yourself!'
Hermione stared up at him. His eyes had the loveliest steely grey colour and shimmered with barely contained emotions. He had the lips slightly parted, as if he was inviting her to kiss him... Without thinking she threw her arms around his neck and pulled him close. She pressed her lips against his – almost waiting for him to pull back and shout at her.
To her surprise, he completely surrendered by opening his lips a bit more and allowing her timid tongue entrance in his mouth. Draco sighed. He was dreaming or in Heaven. Or both. But it didn't matter... The woman he hadn't spent a single romantic thought on until today (but he found the most beautiful and enticing being he had ever seen since the beginning of the feast), was kissing him.
Her taste was pure and sweet, and all he could think was that he wanted more. He wanted her whole, to taste every inch of her body... She sighed innocently into his mouth, and that was his undoing.
"Come... with me ...guest room... Hogwarts..." he panted.
The attendants of the feast usually stayed in the guest rooms Hogwarts provided. This, too, had become tradition. Hermione nodded her head yes, and he pulled her up and walked slowly with her up to the castle. Every now and then they would stop to kiss each other thoroughly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione looked at her reflection in the mirror. She looked dishevelled like a woman who had spent the last few hours kissing like a randy school girl would kiss her secret crush. She giggled, that was exactly what she and Draco had been doing.
'Draco,' she thought, 'after all these years, I finally call him by his given name!' Hermione flicked her hand to extinguish the candles and the bathroom was dark.
Just then, there was a timid knock on the door.
"May I come in?" Draco asked.
"Yes, no problem..." the witch answered, not moving from the position she had previously been in.
"Why is it dark in here?" he asked, and he approached her slowly.
"I was just ready to leave," Hermione answered without moving.
The wizard appeared behind her, already shirtless, his arms circled her waist and he stared at her in the reflection. Hermione held her breath at the thought of the stories her grandmother had told her every year on Halloween when she was still alive...
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Draco trailed sweet kisses all along the base of her neck. He sucked the soft flesh in his mouth and then caressed the sore spot lovingly with his tongue.
"Come to bed with me, Hermione..." he whispered while his hands glided tenderly under her shirt.
All he got as an answer was a helpless sight from the witch, but that was enough for him. He scooped her up, cradled her to his chest, and entered the adjoining bedroom. He laid her down on the bed carefully.
The wizard took in the delicious sight before him like a starved man would. He hadn't seen something so lovely for quite a long time. Draco certainly wasn't a saint; he had had his fair share of women, but no one before had awoken his wish to protect her as much as this little, muggleborn witch.
She looked so fragile and thin lying in the large four-poster bed. He wondered what had happened to make her lose so much weight. From school, he remembered the girl was petite but never thin. Her dark curls fanned out on the sheets, her eyes searching his.
"You're beautiful. Do you know that?"
Hermione's cheeks coloured pink, and she sat up.
"Come to bed, Draco, please?"
He didn't need to be told twice. He sat down next to her and started unbuttoning her shirt slowly.
"Too much clothing, Sweets," he murmured and pushed the fabric from her shoulders when he had finished with it. Underneath she wore a light rose bra with a floral print.
Draco caressed her breasts tenderly through the soft, see-through material and smiled when her nipples hardened in immediate response. Hermione arched her back and into his hands; her flush became deeper and her breathing irregular. He was amazed at her strong response to a few almost innocent touches.
The blonde placed small kisses in the valley between her breasts and then further and further down, dipping his wet tongue into her belly button. His hands opened the button of her trousers and slid the zipper down. He buried his face in her belly, inhaling her scent before his lips tailed to the place where her knickers peaked out of the opened trousers.
With a last confirming look into her face, he hooked his fingers under the hem of her trousers and slowly slid them down her hips. Hermione lifted her bum from the bed to help him, and since she had taken off her shoes and socks earlier, she was soon lying on the bed only in her underwear.
Draco stared at her, trying to memorise every detail. He would have preferred that she had a bit more meat on her bones. It was obvious that she would have beautiful curves then. Even though, he was positive that Hermione was the loveliest woman he had ever seen.
While he toed off his shoes and socks, the witch sat up to help him with the last offending pieces of clothing still left on his body. When he finally stood in front of her in all his naked glory, she sighed contently. His cock was hard, and ready to go, the tip glistering from a little drop of pre-come. Hermione leaned forward, her tongue lapping out and feasting on the proof of his desire...
"Witch!"
Draco groaned when Hermione's tongue touched his cock for the first time. When she closed her lips around his length and slid slowly further down, he trembled with desire. With his head thrown back, his hands restlessly caressing her back, he was a sight to behold, Hermione thought. She caressed his cock with her tongue, amazed of the softness of his skin...
"Stop it, please Sweets, stop it..." Draco finally panted. "If you don't stop now, you might have to wait for a little time until we can..."
Hermione looked coyly up at him ceasing her passionate ministrations. The wizard took her by the shoulders and turned her around rather forcefully. With one hand he unclasped her bra and threw it across the room. Finally he had undisturbed access to those firm and small breasts taunting him. He lowered his lips to hers one hand playing with the nipple of her right breast and the other one venturing further south.
Her knickers where damp from her arousal, and Draco did not hesitate to slide his hand into them. He carefully made his way down to her clit, which seemed to be waiting for his touch. When his fingers brushed only so slightly against it, Hermione let out a throaty moan that vibrated through her kiss straight through his own body and to his groin.
This was Draco's undoing. He ripped away her panties, parted her legs and buried his head between her thighs. His tongue slid all along her slit, caressing the smooth skin of her pussy. Only a small patch of dark curls just over her clit was left; the rest was charmed to stay hairless. He teased her clit with his tongue, provoking another moan and heavy breathing from his witch. Then he carefully parted her pussy lips, already glistering from his saliva and her arousal. He took in her unique scent and the beautiful view of her sex waiting for him to continue. Hermione was trembling with desire and need at this point, so he gave in to both of their longings and lowered his mouth once again on her womanhood. His tongue dove in and out of her wet core lapping up her nectar and driving Hermione closer and closer to the edge.
"Draco... I want to feel you inside of me, please!" Hermione all but cried.
She was so close to orgasm, but she wanted him inside her body so much. Wanted to feel his hard cock buried deep inside her and come with him. Draco looked up from his place between her thighs. She held on to the sheets as if her life was depending on it, her hair in a total mess, her breathing heavy. He slowly climbed up her body, and when he was lying next to her, he answered in a husky voice.
"You want to feel me inside of you, Sweets? Then get yourself what you want, witch!"
And with that, he turned on his back, pulling Hermione over to straddle him. He helped her guiding his weeping cock to her entrance, and she lowered herself slowly on it. She threw her head back when he finally entered her. Draco held his breath; she was beautiful in her abandon. Her hair curled down her back in wild disarray framing her face like a dark halo would a dark angel. Her eyes closed, her back arched, and her fingertips caressed his body ever so lightly.
She stayed still for a second before she started riding him with a passion he would not have thought within her capability. Draco thought this was a fantasy coming true. One he hadn't even thought existed. Hermione Granger's pussy clenched tightly on his cock sliding up and down. He sat up and sucked her hard nipples into his mouth pulling her even closer to his body.
His hips jerked up to meet her aching to enter even further into her hot, wet womanhood. When he felt his climax approaching, he flipped her over on her back. She had her eyes closed, and he could tell from her breathing that she was quiet close, too.
"Look at me, Hermione. Sweets, look at me. I want to see your gorgeous eyes when you come! When I come..."
She opened her lust fogged eyes. Hermione looked up at the wizard above her, his hair sweaty and a mess. She had never seen him in such disarray. He seemed so much more approachable when he looked like that. It might help that he had currently buried his cock deep inside her pussy but nevertheless.
Draco slid his hand between their bodies and slightly brushed her clit with his thumb. That was all it took for Hermione to come apart with a loud moan. The walls of her pussy clamped tightly around Draco's cock and made it impossible for him to resist any longer. He came deep inside of her, spilling his seed in her womb. After a few erratic thrust his arms gave way, and he crumbled on top of Hermione.
Breathing and panting heavily, the two of them stayed like that for a few moments. Then Draco rolled to the side pulling the witch securely into his arms in the process.
"Mine," he whispered before he fell asleep, "my witch."
Hermione only smiled and snuggled closer to him as sleep claimed her, too.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Hermione shivered in her sleep. Her bare shoulders were exposed to the coolness of the air. A translucent figure smiled at the sight of the two of them cuddled together under the blankets. She approached the bed without making any noise to take a closer look. Her smile grew even wider when she saw the tiny ring at Hermione's little finger.
"Be happy, my baby... You don't need us anymore..." she said as she faded away with the first rays of the sun rising.
A/N: What do you think? Please Review...