CHAPTER TWO: Slow and Sweet

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The playlist has become the only way I can focus while writing. The ending to this chapter was done with many thanks to Dashboard Confessional's "Currents" and James Blunt's "Carry You Home." It explains all the fluffy yet angsty bits. Lol. Forgive me.

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Hermione didn't realize she wasn't breathing till Ginny ran up behind her and helped hold her upright. It wasn't quite the horror of seeing Draco standing over a dead body that left her so pained. It was the blood. It looked… tantalizing.

"Draco?" Hermione whispered. He turned to her for the first time but his eyes weren't golden or feral in the least. He looked terrified, like the day he'd arrived at the Weasleys' after being tortured. His clothes were intact though so he hadn't shifted and the blood only seemed to cover his hands and knees as though he were trying to resuscitate the boy.

"Hermione, I didn't—" he began but his hands were trembling before him. He thought he was losing her every second she stood before him, seeing the blood staining his hands. He couldn't bear to have her think him a murderer, a beast. She'd forgiven him for a lot of things. This was the last straw.

She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the shock and the lure. "Is he alive?" she asked timidly, gulping down the rest of her bloodlust.

"Yes, but I can't get him to wake."

Ginny, sure that Hermione could stand by herself, rushed to the boy's side on the floor, uttering the spells Hermione had taught her. Draco took a step towards Hermione but she just stepped back, licking her lips. She tried not to show emotion but that only made it worse.

"Oh God, 'Mione!" called Ginny from the floor. "It's Colin! Colin Creevey!"

Hermione gulped, shut her eyes tightly, and turned her nose away. "Hermione, I didn't do this. I promise," he said to her cheek from across the hall.

"Ginny, try to close the wounds. I'll go get Pomfrey and McGonagall," she answered in the calmest voice she could muster. It sounded eerily dead and Draco began to wonder if she cared at all, if she always saw him as the beast. She looked to him. "Stay here, Draco. Don't move and don't do away with the blood. It would only make you seem guiltier."

He nodded and watched her go, her eyes fixed on the floor to avoid the sight of blood. He walked over to the wall and slid down against it till he could easily hug his bloodied knees.

"Don't let him die, Ginny," he mumbled into his sleeve, wiping his brow as cleanly as he could. "If he dies, I think I'd lose her."

Ginny was too busy shouting spells to really notice. Every time she closed one gash up, another gushed out. "I'd start praying if I were you," she answered briskly, her voice low and menacing. Unlike Hermione, Ginny wasn't quite so sure of Draco's innocence.

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Hermione didn't have to convince Pomfrey she was telling the truth. As soon as she mentioned Draco's name and a mauled child, the old nurse was running for the door towards the Great Hall. Snape was already at the hallway, keeping the doors to the dining hall closed so no one might see.

Pomfrey knelt down and said a spell which sent bandages flying every which way. Ginny had sealed most of the gashes but, in her haste, she may have left him with a few scars. The blood was everywhere and he still wouldn't wake. Knocks were sounding on the doors of the Great Hall, threatening to tear it down.

A loud booming voice rang through the hall and the knocks stopped. The students' feet could be heard pitter-pattering away and everything went silent.

"Step aside, Severus!" shouted Dumbledore from within the hall. Draco moved out of sight of the students as the doors opened and McGonagall, Dumbledore, Flitwick, and Slughorn stepped through, looking annoyed and a little worried. As soon as they saw the body on the puddle of blood on the floor, McGonagall shut the door behind them. "What's happened here?"

"It's Colin Creevey, Professor," answered Hermione, stepping forward since Pomfrey was too busy with the body. "He was attacked by some sort of animal."

All eyes turned to Draco who stood against the wall, his head lowered in thought. He caught their eye and shrugged. "Don't look at me. I just found him."

Flitwick scoffed. "How convenient that it should be the only werewolf in school who finds the mangled body."

Snape, Ginny and Draco's eyes flew to Hermione. Of course Draco wasn't the only werewolf in town but Hermione didn't have a drop of blood on her. She made damn sure of it. Dumbledore needed an answer and he knew he wasn't going to get it with the ignorant Flitwick in the room. So, he turned to the little man and said, "Professor, if you would excuse us please. We have some delicate issues to discuss."

Flitwick happily went back to his dinner, giving no answers to the students waiting silently inside.

"What happened?" asked Snape through clenched teeth. He looked to Draco as though he'd betrayed him, a father ashamed of his son. Lucius was not capable of this look. He never cared about Draco the way Snape cared for him. Lucius would never have cared that Draco broke his own rules of conduct, the he . He would only have cared that Draco embarrassed him and his family's name.

"I just came down the hallway on the way to Pomfrey's because Weasley stabbed me in the thigh. I got really dizzy suddenly and I smelled the blood in the distance. I ran to him and I tried to see who it was but he was barely breathing and—and—" Draco stopped to catch his breath. His eyes were wild. He couldn't do it, couldn't continue.

Hermione's protective instinct kicked in and she said, "And I came down the stairs with Ginny because I got the same dizzy warning and saw him. Ginny can vouch that he hasn't shifted and I was with her mailing a letter so neither of us could have done it. It wasn't us."

Draco let his shoulders drop, relaxed. He shot her a smile but she could barely look at him. Dumbledore gave a nod and told them in a much calmer tone, "No one has died today. For this we can be thankful. Professor McGonagall, please alert the staff that we have some sort of animal loose and that the students should be escorted to their dormitories until further notice."

"You believe us?" asked Draco, honestly confused.

McGonagall went on her way into the Great Hall and Dumbledore cocked his head to the side and stared at Draco curiously. "Should I not?" he asked innocently. "You've been truthful so far and Ms. Granger and Ms. Weasley would not lie about something so heinous. The evidence is in your favor, Mr. Malfoy, unless there's something you'd like to tell me."

Draco shook his head. "It's the truth. I didn't do it, sir. I'm just not used to having my word so easily accepted."

Dumbledore laughed lightly and helped Madame Pomfrey levitate Colin's body towards the hospital wing. He turned and gave the three students a look and a nod that in no uncertain terms said, "Go to your rooms too and stay there."

Ginny nodded and started herding the two off, up the stairs. As soon as they were out of earshot, Hermione stopped walking and gripped Ginny's arm, turning her so they'd be face to face.

"Ginny, I need you to get to Gryffindor Tower. The boys will be there soon. Tell them they need to search the castle. Tell them to check the map, use the cloak, do what they can to get—"

"I understand," said Ginny quickly. "Just take care of Malfoy. He looks like he's just had a stroke. Both of you."

Hermione looked back up at Draco, whose bottom lip had started trembling. He extended a bloody hand out for her but she only saw the blood on the surface, her eyes turning gold with desire. The wolf was knocking at her shell, begging to escape. She shook her head and walked past him on the stairs towards their rooms. His heart felt like it was shrinking to the size of a walnut.

"Ambergris," she told Liam and the portrait swung open. It opened into Draco's room, since that's where they usually slept. Her bed was always overflowing with books and they were always too tired to clear it. Tonight, she crossed the bathroom without a word and started clearing the books. He understood.

He followed her, stopping at the bathroom door. He called her name softly. "Don't do this—"

She stopped fixing up her books and faced him, her face stern. "Draco, I believe you. I beg you. Just take a shower and go to bed. I can't stand the smell of blood. I just can't!"

Her eyes began to water and his weakened heart couldn't stand to look at her anymore. It didn't matter how many times she said it, whether she believed him. Something was different between them. So, he gave a nod and closed the door behind him. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower, setting the water practically to boiling. He scrubbed and scrubbed until he couldn't get at it anymore.

Two hours passed before he left the shower. He hadn't even noticed the bathroom door open. Hermione stood against the wall, the mirror behind her, with a towel draped across her hands. Her eyes were softer, apologetic.

"Hey," she whispered. "How are you feeling?"

He stretched an arm out to take the towel, afraid to get closer. Did she not want him to touch her? Is that why she had banished him to the other bed? She took a deep breath and smiled, finally free of that horrid smell. She took two large steps forward and wrapped the towel around him, rubbing his arms up and down to warm him. His skin was on fire from the bath and the cold air of the castle sent him shivering uncontrollably.

She hugged him, trying to keep him in one piece. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart," she whispered, kissing his neck softly, swiftly. He relaxed, practically collapsing. He was freezing. She realized this and led him to his bed, sliding his naked form under the sheets. She rushed to the closet in her room and pulled out more sheets to cover him with, smothering him to the neck and rubbing him to warm him. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…"

"What the bloody hell are you sorry for?" he asked, his voice high. He gave a small laugh, just happy to have her touch him again, even through four layers of thick cloth.

"I'm sorry. I just saw the blood and it made me so…"

He stopped shivering and sat up against the backboard. He furrowed his brow at her, interested. "Made you what?"

"Hungry," she responded deep in her throat, terribly ashamed.

He relaxed further, pulling an arm out of his cocoon to caress her cheek. "I should be sorry then. I'm the one who made you like this."

"Just… shut up and go to bed, please."

He laughed. "Are you crazy? There's a monster out there like us, 'Mione, probably sent by the Dark Lord himself! No one's sleeping tonight."

She sighed and stood up off the bed. She reached for the zipper on her skirt and started to undress. "Fine," she said, practically ripping off her clothes. "Don't sleep, but we're not leaving this place."

He shook his head. "No no no no…" he muttered, ripping the sheets off. "You are not doing this. You are not going to distract me, Hermione. We have to find this thing. What happened to the girl who jumped into the middle of a massacre last September? Huh?"

How dare he question her courage? She was a Gryffindor. "I did that for you. And I'm smart enough to know when to stay indoors. This thing, if it is what we think, it's trying to set us up, Draco. Can't you see that? Please! For me! Just go to bed."

He was restless but he was no fool. He slid back into bed and patted the spot before him, gesturing for her to join him. She sighed with relief and gladly went to bed. He didn't sleep but she was too exhausted and drifted off soon after.

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Hermione awoke, too late and too tired to get out of bed. Classes would of course be canceled and everyone would be put on house arrest until further notice. She, for once, did not mind. She didn't feel quite up to sitting in lectures. She turned in bed, only to find it empty except for a note on his pillow.

She cursed his stubbornness and read:

Dear Hermione,

I couldn't sleep and I didn't want to bother you. So, I've gone flying where no creature can get me. I'm sorry to leave you and I'll be back before lunch. They should have found whatever it was by now, hopefully.

Yours always,

Draco

She rolled out of bed and slipped on her nightgown and flimsy robe. It was going to be freezing out there but she didn't care. Her fury was enough to keep her warm from the falling snow. She cursed his name all the way out the portrait hole, through the empty castle, and to the Quidditch field, muttering like a crazy woman all the ways she was going to castrate him and post him up on a pole in Hogsmeade so the townsfolk could ogle till their hearts content.

She reached the field and kicked the last bit of snow off her slippers. She was luckily thin enough not to fall through the snow, not that the worst had fallen yet. Winter had barely begun. She saw him wooshing about in the sky as soon as she cleared the field gates. She knew that, without a wand, she'd never call him down so she sat herself down on the stands and watched.

An hour passed and the cold was starting to get to her but she didn't move. She just watched, the mutterings subsided and replaced by awe. She never tired of watching him zip through the sky so effortlessly. The wind was blowing his hair about, those manly tufts which only served their purpose in the sky where the wind could force them back. She smirked, suddenly remembering the ferocity in his eyes as he defended his choices.

She stopped muttering completely and quietly watched as the sun hit him, causing her to chase his silhouette across the sky towards the Forbidden Forest. She held her breath as he neared the edge, then let it out as he took a wide swerve back towards her. The sun got in her eyes and she didn't notice him swerving straight for the high stands above her. He finally saw her, sitting there in her own bubble of melted water. She was radiating heat around her, even as she calmed.

Blinded, she didn't notice he'd spotted her till he landed on the stands high above her with a loud crash. She jumped to her feet and ran to meet him but he was perfectly fine, smiling brightly. She wrapped her arms around him, nearly pushing him back off the field.

"Whoa whoa whoa, 'Mione!" he shouted, sitting them both down.

She pulled away from the crook of his neck and slapped him clear across the face. "When I say don't leave the room because there's a monster out there, I bloody fucking mean don't leave the room because there's a monster out there!"

He laughed and kissed her quickly, to shut her up more than anything. "Come fly with me," he begged, taking both her hands in his and ignoring her words completely. His puppy dog eyes and jaunty smile were too strong to ignore.

"What, are you Frank Sinatra all of a sudden?" She stopped and thought about it. "Acapulco would actually be really nice right about now."

He shook his head and pulled her to her feet. He always had this glisten on his face after a good, long flight and his smile was always at its purest. She loved noticing these little things because only she was privy to them, only she got close enough to him to notice and only she saw the beauty in the little things. It made him a little bit more… hers. It made them intimate.

"Draco, you know I hate flying," she groaned and looked down as he reached for his broom. She was still in her flimsy nightgown and had no idea how to even mount a broom. She hadn't been required to do so since her disastrous lesson in first year. She remembered that, as much as she and Draco had in common intellectually, he was of a different spirit. He was fearless, down to the bones.

"Don't be afraid," he said with a moan. "I'm here."

He settled the broom and mounted it, waving her over. He clutched her wrist and mounted her before him, clutching the handle between her legs. She yelped as he lifted them off the ground gently and she slid into his body behind her.

"Draco, for the love of Christ! Put us down!" she shouted, shutting her eyes tight, her hands over his on the handle. He only laughed. Their feet were barely a meter off the stands. "We need to get back home!"

He leaned closer, if that were possible, and whispered lovingly in her ear, "You're my home, Hermione."

She whimpered uselessly and opened her eyes. She remembered Narcissa's words, detailing Draco's adventures through the sky from a young age. If she wanted all of him, she was going to have to penetrate this world too. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Alright…" he began. "Take the handle and hold it strong and steady but try not to jerk about too much. Just slow and sweet, aye?"

She disguised a terrified whimper in a laugh. "Slow and sweet," she echoed, nodding. It sent the broom forward a bit and she yelped. He held her waist with sturdy, sure hands. She had no idea how the boys and Ginny could do this! She felt like she was riding a rather unsteady feather. In her nightgown!

"That's it," he cooed, nuzzling his face in her neck.

"Aren't you looking?!" she shouted. "Who's driving this freakin' thing?"

The broom jerked a little but they still hovered gingerly over the stands. He gripped her waist and she felt steady again. She knew if this thing went crashing down, he was going to come crashing too and no amount of gentle prodding was going to put their bones back together.

They hovered for a few more minutes and Hermione was sure he'd fallen asleep in her neck. She whimpered again, her voice unusually high and squeaky. "Draco," she whispered gently, afraid he'd jerk awake and topple them. "Please get me down off this thing."

He gave her neck a sweet, slow kiss and she relaxed, involuntarily letting her head fall back. The broom tilted backwards too and they started to fall but she didn't care. His arm wrapped around her waist, the other gripping the handle and steadying them again. After that, she was sure they weren't going to fall. His reflexes were amazing as though he were listening to her heartbeat for any shifts.

"I can't do this in a day, Draco, and we have to get back. Come on. Set us down."

"You do it," he said in that eerily calm, careless voice. As terrified as she was, she liked this Draco. He was so light, so fearless as though he'd left all his monsters on the ground.

She couldn't believe she was doing this but she called upon her one untimely lesson all those years ago. She leaned the broom slightly forward, back towards the ground. A turtle could outfly her but she landed nonetheless, hyperventilating as soon as he let go of her waist and they dismounted.

"Don't do that to me again!" she scolded but his eyes were dreamy. He seemed… high? She drew closer and lifted his chin so she could see into his stormy gray eyes more clearly, looking for dilated pupils but remembered that most magical drugs hid those effects. "Draco, have you had something to drink or… What did you do?"

He gave a scary laugh and pulled her towards him by the waist. She remembered this was his favorite spot to hold her when they stood in class or a hall. It was his claim on her to the other animals in their wake.

"Don't be silly," he lied, but it was too late. She'd seen.

"Draco… are you even… awake?" she asked but his nonchalance gave her the answer she required. Suddenly, she wasn't so sure of his innocence, or his state of mind. She played into his delusions and gently ushered him back to bed through the snowy field. She didn't know how she could go from being his lover to being his caretaker in a matter of minutes but she didn't like it. In the morning, he was going to have a lot of explaining to do.

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No, the monster—whatever or whoever it is—does not attack again for a bit. Poor thing. But, as we all know, when it comes to monsters, one must always see Hagrid first. More is explained from the boys' search of the castle and more flying lessons later.

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Reviews are better than manly tufts of hair.
Yes, I'll come out and say it. I am one huge review whore. Can you blame me?