Draco watched as Hermione hugged her friend. The blonde smirked at him over her shoulder, and he knew she'd tuned into his thoughts. He took a deep breath and waited for her to tell Hermione everything.
The witches broke apart. He waited for accusing eyes to turn his way, but they never did. Hermione squeezed her friend's hand and headed toward him with a smile on her face.
"Isn't your friend coming with us?" Draco looked back at the blonde witch as he took Hermione's hand and laced his fingers with hers.
"Tabitha has to be at work tomorrow, and it is our wedding night." Hermione blushed and looked down at their joined hands. "We need to consummate this bond before I take you to your father."
"Let's leave my father out of this." Draco pulled her closer and tilted her head up with free hand. "What's between us isn't part of a chore list."
He lowered his lips to hers and felt her smile against him before she returned his kiss. Her free hand slid up from his waist to rest just above his heart. He was sure she could feel it beating through his flesh, through his bones. The thrum of the ocean and the rustle of wind through the leaves faded away as he reveled in the joy of kissing her.
He felt her breath flutter across his cheek in a warm caress and pulled back to look down into her face. She blinked up at him and smiled shyly. Her lips were flushed and full from his attentions and the brisk sea air had played havoc with her hair. She looked as he'd always imagined her to be, wild and winsome.
"It's a bit cold to do this here." He nuzzled his head into her shoulder and nipped her ear. "I'd rather take my time worshipping you."
"I have a portkey for you. My cottage isn't as grand as your home, but I hope you'll be comfortable there." She pulled at her sleeve and slid out another exquisite carving. This time it was a small shield made of blue grey stone with an otter and a dragon forming a circle carved into it. The whole thing was hanging from a leather cord. "You will be able to come and go as you please. You can't apparate to my home. It's warded against that."
"Why?" Draco took the necklace from her. "Isn't that rather limiting?"
"I need a place where I feel safe. Most of my friends have no idea where I live. I maintain a flat in London for appearances." Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "You and I have the only portkeys to my real home. They can carry up to six people if we should ever feel the need."
Draco nodded as he took in this information. He'd never considered having a flat for appearances. His mother would have seen right through such a ruse, but perhaps her Gryffindor friends accepted what they saw without looking too closely.
He heard her mumble something and felt the familiar tug behind his navel as he was wrenched, swirling through time and space, to land on unsteady feet.
He blinked up into the full dark of night and looked over at Hermione. There was the sound of water falling and the distinct scent of a forest in the air. Her hands moved and blue white lights poured through the night toward them. He saw a path and a building that rose up along the rocks above them. That patroni guarded the place was strange. That there were foxes and otters and small dragons amongst them was mind boggling.
"You have more than one patronus?" Draco looked over at her and raised a brow.
"It depends on the memory I use." She shrugged. "Most people don't know about it, but I'm not keeping secrets here. This is my safe place. She flicked her wrist and lights lit in the windows. Warm amber light shone from windows that rose above them.
"Where are we?" Draco looked up trying to determine how big this supposed cottage really was.
"Wales." Hermione shrugged. "It's more impressive in the daylight."
Draco nodded, but didn't comment. This wasn't the kind of place he'd imagined. He'd thought they would be living in a decidedly muggle environment.
"The goblins sold it to me after I paid my debt to them." His wife smirked. "They gave me a great deal. It turns out that having a witch with my skill set on retainer is worth quite a lot to them."
"Skill set?" He grabbed her hand. "I thought you were a bounty hunter."
"I do that, too." Hermione chuckled and the warmth of the sound called to something in him. "I have three elves. They are bound to me. I didn't realize how hard it was for an elf to be without the bond when I was younger. They're a bit skittish. They were all abused. Just be kind and they will warm up to you eventually."
Draco listened to her talk with half an ear as the wonder of the place gave way to the knowledge that Hermione was nervous. She was nattering on to avoid moving forward. He didn't need to know where the potions laboratory was at the moment. He stroked her wrist with his thumb and considered what to do with his witch. Tossing her over his shoulder and carrying her off to the nearest flat surface would satisfy the magical demands clawing at him, but it wouldn't ease whatever was causing Hermione to rattle off facts and observations at an alarming rate.
"It's a lovely place." Draco cupped her cheek with his free hand. "When can I see the inside of it?"
She blinked up at him and blushed. It wasn't comely. Her cheeks blazed with her reaction. She looked feverish. He fought back the urge to chuckle because this witch was so damned compelling and so perfectly beautiful that he'd expected her to be lovely in all things. It was a relief, really, to find a flaw.
"I'm nervous." She looked just past him. He knew the trick well. If the person you used it on wasn't watching you, it worked, but he was watching her intently.
"Do you think I won't like the decor?" Draco tilted his head. "I imagine a fair amount of bookcases."
"I have a library." Hermione rolled her eyes. "I've never had anyone here with me like this. I've never shared my home. Luna and Harry have visited. Tabitha has been here once or twice. I'm nervous."
"That's a pretty small group." Draco followed as she took tiny steps up the path toward her home.
"They understand." Hermione shrugged. "After the war, when my magic didn't have to sustain me. I started having flares of accidental magic. Most of them weren't pleasant. Ron wanted me to allow the healers at Saint Mungo's to bleed off the extra power and cauterize my core."
"That's torture." Draco felt his magic flare in response.
"It was a practice used to force witches into obedience at various points in history. My issues were severe. I wasn't handling anything well. The healers thought it was my best option." Hermione shook her head. "Luna saved me from it. Harry listened to her about what would happen to me. He went to Kingsley, and they managed to help me. Ron brought up my fitness to serve as an auror. He made our superiors wary of me. He didn't see it as a betrayal. He was trying to protect me from myself."
Draco rolled his eyes, but kept his thoughts to himself. He stepped closer to her and wrapped a arm around her. The reality of what she went through in the war would have pushed most witches and wizards into insanity. He knew enough about what magic could do from helping the obscurials to imagine the horrors of her experiences. He watched their breath escape in foggy gasps into the early morning air as his mind filled in the information his wife was hesitant to share.
"Powerful witches tend to spend their lives alone. I've told you how things went for me." She frowned and looked down at their feet. "I want this so much, Draco. I want this to work. I said this was to protect you, but I had ulterior motives. I saw the life you were leading, the good you were doing. I know how intelligent you are. When we were saying our vows, I wanted more than a year and a day. What if my intentions made this permanent? If we consummate these vows, you might very well be trapped."
Draco took a deep breath because Hermione was nervous, and he didn't want her upset. He wanted her very much in the moment with him. He licked his lips and decided that honesty was his best course.
"I want this to be forever, too." Draco smiled as her head snapped up and he took in her wide eyed appearance. "Even if I didn't want forever with you, I'd pick being trapped with you over being trapped with Astoria Greengrass."
Suddenly, his arms were full as his witch kissed him. He was vaguely aware of the stone steps they walked up. He heard the slam of the front door against a wall. He noticed the scent of lemons and beeswax as they made their way through rooms filled with warm wood and bright colors. Another door opened and Hermione broke away from him.
Her lips were swollen and her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath.
He wanted to sink his fingers in the wild tumult of her hair and ravish her mouth again. Kissing his wife was his new favorite pass time. She moved her hand near her throat and he heard the sound of fabric sliding on fabric as her outer robe parted and slid to the ground. The gossamer silk underneath it was embroidered with tiny flowers at the hem and cuffs. He dragged in his own ragged breath.
She was radiant.
The traditional gown covered her completely, but there was something deeply erotic about it. The thin fabric wasn't sheer. It didn't cling. He'd seen her in less. Her school uniform had been more revealing, but seeing her in this state of dishabille made this moment the most fervid and meaningful moment of his life.
In her home, surrounded by warm wood and sumptuous fabrics and the biggest bed he'd ever seen, with the sound of falling water and tinkling bells filling the air, he was going to strip her bare and make her his. There was no doubt in him. He waved his hand and vanished most of his clothing. Her fingers rose between them and gently settled on him. The tingle of her magic slid along his skin in the wake of her delicate caress. He felt her tracing the scars from Potter's flirtation with darkness, and he didn't mind. They were both covered in scars. They were warriors. For the first time in his life he felt no shame as he bared himself. She knew the worst of him, and he would spend the rest of his life trying to be his best for her.
She pressed a kiss to the skin of his shoulder. He felt the glide of her tongue against his skin and reveled in it. The rush of her warm breath across the skin she had dampened was bliss.
He'd done this before. He'd been with other witches and even a couple of muggles on his post war sojourn of self discovery. He'd always enjoyed it, but there was something more in this moment. He felt his magic stir as hers played along his skin. He felt the surging darkness and the incandescent light swirl within him. He settled on hand on her hip and let his magic flow out around her. She hummed and her head fell back baring her throat to him. He kissed the skin over her rapidly beating pulse and let his thoughts go. He didn't need to analyze this.
The seductive opacity of her undergarment has reached its end. He gathered the fabric up in his hands inch by inch. Her shapely calves have way to toned thighs. He took a deep breath and looked into her eyes as he gathered the fabric up to her waist. She nodded and he pulled the gown free from her body and sent it floating carefully to the window seat across the room.
She was blushing again. He stroked the flush below her clavicle with his fingertips. There was no need to rush this.
"You're beautiful." He stepped closer to her and cupped one of her breasts in his hand. "I'm the luckiest man alive."
"I'm not." She blinked rapidly and looked beyond him. "I do have a mirror or two."
"You are beautiful." Draco closed the distance between them and pulled her against his chest gently. "Your hair is all wild and wind blown. It beckons to me. I want to drag you to my lips with my fingers buried in it. Your skin is soft and marked with reminders of the strength that dwells within. I want to press my lips to every inch of it."
"If you tell me how lovely my smile is or how perfect my eyes are..." Hermione glared at him as he pressed his fingers against her lips.
"You're beautiful." Draco grinned at the power of her glare. "Just accept it."
Dropping his hand, he replaced it with his mouth. Their magic pulsed around them as he slid his tongue along her lower lip. He backed her up to the bed and tumbled them onto it. It wasn't smooth or suave, and he didn't care. They bounced on the mattress. She giggled up at him, and he smiled back.
"I wasn't expecting this." Hermione cupped his shoulders and ran her palms along his skin until they rested on his biceps.
"My manly physique?" Draco kissed the tip of her nose.
"I thought we'd get it done without much fuss." She blushed deeply again. "I didn't expect it to be like this."
"I'm glad we've exceeded your expectations." He pressed a kiss to her temple before lowering his head and nibbling on her earlobe.
She undulated beneath him as he continued his gentle assault on her ear and neck. He listened to each breath and the inarticulate sounds that escaped her when he hit a sensitive spot. Each deep breath, each tiny utterance was a victory for him.
Their magic flowed through and around them weighting the air with anticipation. He gasped as she clutched his head and dragged his mouth away from her delicate collarbones. Her eyes were sparkling with power again. He raised a hand and stroked his finger along her cheek. His magic sparkled along her skin in bursts of silver, blue, and green light.
He felt something bloom in him. Even when he'd experimented with sex based magic in those desperate years at Hogwarts, he'd never felt anything approaching this. His power felt renewed and brighter as it flowed through him, but he simply didn't care. He wanted to remember this moment always. She was beyond lovely and willingly in his arms.
He let his fingers slide along her skin he felt the ridges of her scars. They pricked at his magic. The urge to protect her grew within him. He knew she was capable of dealing with most threats, but it didn't matter to this instinctual side of him.
His magic swirled around the room. He felt hers dancing with it. The definition of his and hers began to blur. Their magic cradled them and flared with every touch.
He quit dwelling on what was happening and gave himself over to the moment.
Luxuriating in her passion, he kissed her deeply and joined their bodies together.
