Hermione and Ginny had a blast shopping all afternoon. Ginny successfully blew her paycheck, but she knew Harry wouldn't mind. Hermione bought a few choice items herself, but she simply didn't have the income to all-out shop like Ginny. It still made Hermione happy to see the girl that couldn't afford her own books last year could now go shopping and be carefree with her galleons, sickles and knuts.
"This was fun," Hermione said, carrying her small shopping bag as they walked down Diagon Alley.
Ginny smiled and said, "I needed some serious retail therapy. I'm happy you got a free weekend. I've missed you."
"My version of retail therapy normally involves books, but maybe Draco will like what I got," Hermione said mischievously.
"Oh I'm sure he will, what with the tiny bit of fabric involved," Ginny replied.
Hermione giggled and nodded.
"Although, I'm sure if you asked, he'd let you have some of his expansive Malfoy fortune to go shopping for more adorable lingerie," Ginny said thoughtfully.
Hermione sighed, "He offers all the time. I've turned him down so much he barely asks anymore. It's bad enough he paid my tuition and room and board up front. I didn't even get a chance to try to pay it on my own."
"How can it be a bad thing that he wants to take care of you? With his parents gone, you're the only family he's got," Ginny said thoughtfully.
"I'm just not comfortable with that. It's not my money and I've done nothing to earn him spending it on me," Hermione said.
Ginny thought for a moment, and then said, "In all honesty, neither has he."
Hermione tossed a pointed look at Ginny and said, "Don't knock my boyfriend. I know none of us were close the first few years at Hogwarts, but he loves me and that should be good enough for you."
Ginny sighed and said, "You're right. I've been trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, and you've earned it, I suppose. I just can't help but think that up until the last 9 months, Draco has never bothered to try to impress us." She paused then said, "I guess I should just take that as his way of caring about you."
Hermione said, "Thank you, Ginny. It means a lot to me for you to say that. I know it hasn't been easy for you to put faith in Draco, no matter what I believe. Just know that I trust him with my life and more importantly my heart. I know he'd never do anything to hurt me."
Ginny nodded soberly and said, "As long as you know that, I'll believe it. Sorry if I haven't given him a fair shake."
"You're my best friend, Ginny," Hermione said suddenly, hugging her with her free arm.
Ginny laughed and said, "Duh! Now let's find the boys so I can stop carrying these bags already!"
xxx
Draco and Hermione arrived back at the apparition point on the quad at St. Augustine's. The sun was just setting behind the ancient trees on campus.
"Wow," Hermione commented. "How beautiful is that?"
She turned to Draco but his eyes were on her. "Pretty much the most beautiful thing I've ever seen." He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her lips to his.
She smiled when pulled back and said, "What was that for?"
"I just missed you today," he said softly.
"We were only apart maybe three hours, tops," she said with a huge grin. "Did you have a good time with Harry?"
"It was fun, but now there's only one person who I want to spend time with," Draco said, pulling her back in. She melted into his kiss. Every time they touched it was like something brand new. There was some sort of spark that she couldn't explain, but every kiss felt like their first. She hoped she'd never have to experience their last. She indulged in the softness of his lips and the delicious sensation of his tongue on hers until a small sound interrupted them.
The sound had been someone clearing their throat, and Hermione turned to see the last person she wanted standing behind her. Cheryl had her hands on her hips, and said, "No PDA on the quad, kids."
Hermione raised an eyebrow, because she'd never heard of such a rule before, but Draco's hand on her waist tightened, so she didn't respond. "We'll be on our way, then Cheryl," Draco said tersely.
"Wouldn't want to interrupt your… date," Cheryl said, but her inflection sounded like she meant the opposite.
Hermione stared at the older girl as she walked back to Petrov house, swinging her hips in an entirely unnatural way. "I can't stand that floozy," Hermione muttered before turning back to Draco.
"What?" he asked, not catching what she said.
"Nothing," Hermione replied, her ears burning.
"Let's just go to your room," he suggested. "I want to get away from Cheryl. She gives me the creeps!"
"Really?" Hermione asked, her face lighting up.
"Yeah, she's always around. I'm surprised you didn't berate me for being disrespectful to my RA," Draco said, surprised.
"Just trying to gauge your feelings, that's all," Hermione replied carefully.
Draco gave her an odd look, but wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they walked to Hermione's dorm in comfortable silence.
When they'd finally climbed the metal staircase to Hermione's room, she paused at the door, holding a finger up to Draco.
"Wait here," she said. "I have a surprise for you." She smiled mysteriously and slipped past the curtain over her doorway, leaving a confused Draco behind. She hurried in and pulled the shrunken shopping bags out of her pocket. Charming them back to normal size, she pulled out the clothing she'd bought in Diagon Alley.
She quickly changed out of her dress and put on her newly acquired lingerie. She jogged into the bathroom and touched up her hair, making sure it was loose and tangle free. Once she was sure the brunette curls fell just so, she went back in the room. She tossed the bags under the bed, cast a quick charm and got on top of it herself before calling out to Draco.
"You can come in," she called lyrically.
Draco took a deep breath before pulling the curtain aside and stepping in Hermione's room. The lighting was odd, and once his eyes adjusted he realized she had a bunch of candles floating near the ceiling. Their warm light was cast down on his girlfriend. As his eyes grazed over her, he realized she looked absolutely gorgeous. She was wearing a lacy emerald lingerie set, and it must have been new, because he would definitely remember if she'd worn something so sexy before. The top was corseted, but it was short and showed off the curve of her hip and the expanse of her stomach and the cute bellybutton he'd grown to love over the past nine months. Her knickers were absolutely tiny, and though he couldn't see the back from the doorway, he was sure it was a thong.
She had done something with her hair, and its curling tendrils made him ache with a need to tangle his fingers in them. He slowly walked to her bedside, his eyes locked on hers. There was a sort of playful twinkle in her eyes, but it did not hide the nervousness that he often found there. She never came out and told him, but he knew she was terribly self-conscious and always worried that she wasn't beautiful enough for him. But he couldn't imagine a more beautiful woman than the one that lay before him.
As he climbed on the bed and joined her, he ran a pale hand through her hair. He buried his face in the curls and inhaled deeply. She smelled like roses and rainwater, just like always. She didn't know what it did to him. That scent had affected him since the first time she bathed in their shared dorm back at Hogwarts. Everything about her was intoxicating and he'd been thinking about nothing else all day.
He brushed his cheek against hers and she sighed happily. Just before he brought his lips to hers, he whispered, "You looked so beautiful today. I couldn't wait to get you home."
xxx
Sunlight streamed through the dorm windows and played against Hermione's eyelids. Her stomach turned painfully, and Hermione remembered they had forgotten to eat dinner in all their bliss the night before. She rolled over to face Draco, but the pain in her stomach redoubled with the motion. Feeling nauseous, she ran to the bathroom, and vomited up what little wine was left from the night before.
Never drink on an empty stomach, a motherly voice in Hermione's head taunted, and she slumped against the cool tile on the wall. She heard stirring in the other room and she knew she'd woken Draco with her heaving. She closed her eyes and waited for the nausea to pass, and soon a cool hand pressed against her forehead.
"You alright, love?" Draco's husky voice said.
"Fine," she replied weakly. "I just should have eaten before drinking that wine I guess."
Draco tutted and said, "If you wanted dinner, you shouldn't have offered me such an amazing dessert beforehand."
Hermione smiled and looked up into his silver eyes. "You're so sweet. Maybe when I feel a little better we can get breakfast?"
Draco ran a hand down her flushed cheek and said, "It's Sunday. You relax, and I'll bring us breakfast in bed."
"You're so sweet to me," she said, before letting him pull her up into a standing position. She felt a little less nauseous, but she wanted nothing more than to lie down. He guided her over to the bed and tucked her in sweetly.
Hermione's eyes drooped again when her head hit the pillow, and he left after giving her a swift kiss on the forehead. "Be right back," he muttered, not sure if she was still awake. It was quite early, but the cafeteria would be open, at least.
Draco jogged across the quad to Petrov House, wanted to change out of yesterday's clothes. When he got there, he hurried up the stairs to his room, only to find someone blocking his door.
"Never thought I'd see Draco Malfoy do the walk of shame," Cheryl taunted. She stood with one hip on one side of the doorjamb and her left hand on the other. Her right hand quickly occupied itself with fingering the buttons on his shirt.
Draco pulled back from her quickly and said, "No rules against not staying in my dorm are there?" Draco replied uneasily.
"No," Cheryl replied, drawing the vowel out seductively.
"Then may I know why you're darkening my doorstep?" Draco asked coldly.
"Oh don't act like you don't enjoy seeing me," Cheryl said knowingly.
Draco scoffed, "Right, because I put off those signals by kissing my girlfriend in front of you, eh?"
"I know your game Mr. Malfoy," she said, running her finger along the neckline of his shirt. "I'm sure that one little know-it-all isn't all you've got going right now. I just want in on the action." She pulled him close and he immediately stiffened. She pulled herself right up to within a breath of his lips and whispered, "See you around."
Draco stood there, frozen in shock as Cheryl sashayed past him and down the stairs. He didn't know what Cheryl was angling at, but he could tell she was trouble.
A/N: Man! This chapter took me all weekend to write! I know all the points I want to hit in the plot, I'm just having trouble getting them there. Ugh. Let me know what you think!