Chapter 4: Desire

They were in her room at her home in London…except it was different than Hermione remembered. Usually cramped with overflowing bookshelves and cloaked in shades of Gryffindor red and gold, it was now open, airy. The room was decorated in shades of blush, white, silver and black. The window was open and a light breeze blew through the window, carrying with it the sound of the children yelling and laughing jovially outside. Warm sunlight filtered through as blush colored sheer curtains blew lazily about.

What was even more absurd than the new version of her room was who was in her room with her. Draco Malfoy was currently grasping her hips to himself, his fingertips pressing into her through a flirty white dress. He was wearing a white buttoned shirt and a pair of black dress slacks. It was strange—she could comprehend that she was dreaming in some level of her subconscious, but everything about it felt so right—the breeze ruffling his hair, the sound of children playing in the bright sunshine, the airy feel of the bedroom, the romantic hues adorning the room.

She could feel the backs of her legs pressing against the bed behind her as he gently urged her toward it, bringing his hands from her hips to cup her face. He dipped his face to meet hers and he tasted like strawberry ice cream—sweet, sugary. Draco suckled her bottom lip and teased her lightly before she felt the heated tip of his tongue beg for entry. She granted him access, her mouth opening in perfect sync with his as he kissed her, slowly, sensually.

Hermione could feel the sinewy muscles that ran under his shirt, not cut but firm all the same. She could feel the soft hairs that fell across his forehead and brushed her own as his face tilted to fit hers. He brushed his thumbs across her jaw line and she brought her fingers up to unbutton his shirt. She felt him smile into her mouth as he shrugged out of the fabric. She pulled back to look at him and his skin was all smooth porcelain and milky warmth. No scars, no Dark Mark—definitely dreaming.

Draco backed her against the bed and she allowed him to push her back into the soft down of the bedspread. He landed on top of her gently, their kiss never breaking until he broke it to look down at the hand that ran up over her thigh, toying with the hem of the dress. Even in her semi-conscious dream-state, she could feel her heart thrumming in her chest.

Hermione deftly unbuckled his belt and pants and slid them down. He stepped out of them and climbed onto the bed, his knees holding her thighs his shoulder length apart. He slid her dress up and she lifted to allow him to drag it up and over her head. Her curls fell around her head and tickled the bare skin of her shoulders as he ran nimble fingers through her hair. Those same fingers ran scorching paths down over her clavicles, the soft swell of her breast, the ridges of her rib cage as her chest heaved in anticipating breaths. Draco leaned over her, resting on his blemish-free forearm next to her head, his right hand clutching her hip. His nose nuzzled into her neck, his breath tickled across her skin, raising gooseflesh that made him smile into the front of her shoulder. His body was heavy and pressed her into the plush bedding, his body heat a searing blanket against her own.

Hermione moved beneath him and he groaned. "Granger," he growled, nipping her earlobe as his own hips matched her movement.

He brought his hand down to the hem of her knickers—

Hermione was startled awake by a tapping on the window. Her eyes shot open, and she had a thin sheen of sweat over her brow. It was just turning dawn outside, but when she looked at the window closest to her bed, she saw Hades the owl tapping his beak against the glass. She looked around the room and made sure the noise hadn't roused any of her dorm mates.

She crossed to the window and cracked it. Hades dropped a single orange rose, tipped in shades of crimson on her sill. He gave her an impatient hoot and she ran her knuckles over his smoky feathers. "I don't have any treats…ask Draco for two when you see him," she whispered and the owl gave her a gentle nip and took flight.

Hermione drew the curtains around her bed and plucked the bay leaves from her pillow—she didn't need another embarrassing venture into the dream world. She bit her lip as she thought of the feel of his hands touching her, his lips nipping at her…a shiver ran down her spine at the thought. The single rose had a simple square of cayenne and cinnamon infused chocolate tied to it with a red, thin ribbon. She had to untie the ribbon to retrieve the card. It was folded in an origami fashion, just as the rose had been days before. She tapped it with her wand and watched as it carefully unfolded itself. A tiny red dragon flew out and breathed a puff of translucent fire before he flapped his wings and flew around her bed twice before disappearing.

The sweetest dreams of you

Ignite a fiery desire

Within me.

DM

He'd dreamt of her, too? It was awfully early in the morning, so he clearly had trouble sleeping if nothing else. The thought that he could have been dreaming of her just as she dreamt of him made a blush rise over her skin in the dark morning. Would he have dreamt of the same activities she did? What would his perception of her look like in his dream world?

The thought made her suddenly feel self-conscious. She'd never lain with a man before and none had ever seen her as the Gods had made her. The thought of someone thinking of her in the way she had thought of Draco made her heartbeat quicken, the blood pulsing in her neck erratically. The thought of Draco Malfoy thinking of her in the way she'd just dreamt of him made her entire body tingle.

o-o-o

Hermione hadn't seen Malfoy all day. He wasn't at breakfast or lunch. The Gryffindors didn't share a class with the Slytherins on Thursdays. She couldn't stop replaying the dream in her mind, every detail vivid, her senses heightened. It was increasingly difficult to concentrate as the day wore on. She longed to see his grey eyes staring at her from across the Great Hall, the scent of his cologne when he walked close to her, the brush of his hand on hers in the halls, the sweet kisses.

Hermione was overthinking every reason why he hadn't sought her out all day. She was walking the familiar path to the far corner of the library that evening when a hand shot out from between two aisles and took hold of her school bag. She whipped her hand to her robes pocket where her wand was stowed and the same hand grabbed her wrist. "It's just me, Granger. Don't get your knickers in a twist."

Just the husky sound of his deep, rumbling voice made the hairs on her arms stand up. He had pulled her into the restricted section and drew the velvet curtains, placing a sealing and silencing charm across the area. "Malfoy, what—"

He cut her sentence off with a deep kiss, backing her against the bookshelf and knocking a few books around them. Her bag fell from her shoulder to their feet and she thrust her hands up into his hair to tug at the nape. Draco braced himself against the shelf with one hand, his other flat against the small of her back as she arched up into his own chest. She ran her hands from his hair, over his shoulders and chest and then she tucked her fingers into the belt loops of his trousers to pull his hips closer to her.

When he broke the kiss, both were panting heavily and he dragged his lips ever so delicately over her jaw, his rapid breaths hot against her neck—suddenly slow and sensual after the harsh bruising of lips. "I missed you today," he murmured against her skin, moving from the animalistic stance he'd taken and he stepped back, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into him.

"I thought you were avoiding me," she replied, noticing for the first time that he was wearing his Quidditch jersey.

"I could never do that…not purposely, at least. Quidditch practice at every spare moment," he told her, tightening his arms around her waist and lifting her into the air.

She laughed as her feet dangled a few inches above the ground and swatted his shoulder. "Draco Malfoy! You put me down this instant!"

"Or what?" he challenged, spinning her around once.

"Or I'm going to hex you senseless!"

He tightened his grip ever more and spun her through the air twice more. "I suggest you settle for snogging me senseless," he quipped playfully, raising his grinning face to meet hers.

Hermione gave into him, gripping either side of his jaw with both hands and kissing him fervently. The tips of her toes brushed the tops of his shoes as she locked both arms around his neck. They settled into a comfortable rhythm and Draco set her down on the edge of the restricted section's desk. He stood between her knees and braced himself on either side of her hips as he leaned into her kiss. "I'm sorry…" he kissed her jaw "I'm usually not this…" then the soft hollow below her ear "animalistic…" then down to nibble on her ear "But you awaken something…" long, lingering suckles down her neck "positively feral in me…"

"I-I dreamt of you, too," Hermione managed to gasp.

He pulled back and looked into her eyes, his lips puffy and hair mussed. "The old folk trick work then?" he asked playfully.

She hummed and pulled him closer to her once more. "For you, too," she accused.

He traced her kiss-swollen bottom lip with his fingertip. "No, gorgeous girl. Remember, Professor Sprout only gave those to the ladies…I don't need such tomfoolery to dream of your beautiful face."

When he dipped his face to hers once more and kissed her sinfully slowly, Hermione felt like she was in a dream all over again. Except this time, it felt so much more real. She was shamelessly snogging Draco Malfoy in the restricted section of the library, her sanctuary. He was kissing her, hugging her, caressing her, calling her beautiful. How did they get to this point? She couldn't quite remember. She could barely remember her own name as his lips assaulted her own.

o-o-o

A/N: Please review! I can read them again! Huzzah! I'd love to know what you think! This chapter wasn't particularly romantic but the next three will be. This is the extent of anything close to M rated…