Draco's POV:
His heart was pounding in his chest – He was honestly surprised Hermione couldn't hear it. His palms were sweaty, and he hoped and prayed that things would go smoothly this evening. Even if they didn't, this little time they actually had together wasn't going to be wasted.
Draco led Hermione deeper into the room – It was darkened, with big, leather furniture filling up the room. There was a fire place on the far wall and Draco had laid out a blanket in front of it. There was a bottle of wine, two glasses and a small picnic basket on top of it. Most of this was easy to gather up, but the wine proved to be a bit of a difficulty. However, Draco managed to convince Madame Rosmerta to let him have just one bottle – After all, he was of age now. When they finally stopped in front of it, Draco released Hermione's hand and took a few steps further, keeping his back to her.
"I wanted us to be able to be ourselves tonight," he whispered, certain she could hear him over the crackling of the fire. Slowly, he turned to face her, a shadow hiding his features. His grey eyes were angled down, away from hers. Her saw her legs as they moved, closing the distance between them.
"Draco," she whispered, her voice so quiet he thought he may have imagined it. Then, she lifted her hand, placing it gently to his cheek. "This is perfect. I love it." Her hand fell from his cheek and slipped into his. She led him over to the blanket, with an almost torturing slowness. Then, with a grace Draco had never seen from her before, Hermione sat down on in front of the diming fire, pulling Draco down with her. The smile on her face was something that nearly took Draco's breath away. It was shy, yet confident, intelligent, yet innocent. She was absolutely beautiful, and in this moment, she was entirely his.
Hermione's POV:
When they were finally seated across from each other, Hermione watched as Draco reached over to pick up the bottle of wine and poured some expertly into each glass. Hermione had only ever consumed alcohol on rare occasion. A butterbeer here and there or a glass of champagne at a wedding. She was almost afraid of how she might act if she consumed too much, but she accepted the glass willingly when Draco offered it to her.
Tonight's all about us, she reminded herself, drawing a deep breath to keep herself calm. She could feel the butterflies building up in her stomach, praying tonight would go as smoothly as she and Draco hoped it would.
"I've never been in this Room before," Hermione mused, looking around and taking in her surroundings. Her nerves seemed to calm when she wasn't looked directly at Draco with his eyes piercing her.
"Me either, to be honest," Draco said softly. Hermione could feel his eyes still on her as hers landed on the fire to her right. "I just thought about what we would need to be together, and this is what it gave me." Out of the corner of her eye, she could see him shrug.
Hermione's eyes lifted to meet his again, and she lifted her glass slowly to her lips, taking a small sip. The taste was sweet, unfamiliar. The nervousness that had overcome her was something she wasn't used to either. Unconsciously, her lip pulled between her teeth as she tried to come up with something to say.
Draco's POV:
Setting his glass on the floor, he reached over and took Hermione's hand in his own. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" Draco asked, his eyebrows pulling together slightly. "You seem awfully quiet."
He noticed the apologetic smile that took over her face. "I'm really sorry. I just… I'm not really used to this kind of thing. Viktor was… more physical. And Ron… Ron was never the romantic type," she admitted, her cheeks flushing red.
This caused a chuckle to erupt from Draco. He smiled at her, shaking his head. "It's okay," he said, unable to wipe the grin from his face. "If it makes you feel any better, I never treated Pansy to anything like this." He shrugged again, and then leaned forward, placing his hand on her cheek. His thumb traced lightly over her bottom lip before he leaned the tiniest bit more, pressing his lips to hers. He felt her intake of breath and he smiled against her lips. His hand slipped to the back of her neck, tangling in her hair. There was something about the touch of her skin on his that sent electricity flowing through his veins.
When he finally broke from her lips, he took the glass from her hands and set it down next to his. However, when he leaned in again, she seemed a bit hesitant. "No one can find us here, remember?" he whispered, his grey eyes meeting her warm ones. His thumb traced circles on her cheek, gauging her reaction in her eyes.
Hermione's POV:
His touch sent shivers through her spine and slowly she lifted herself up from her sitting position, kneeling in front of him. She had to duck her head down to press her lips back to his, her hands resting on his shoulders.
Hermione broke away for a second, resting her forehead against his. "I-I… I'm nervous," she whispered, keeping her eyes closed so she wouldn't have to see his expression.
After just a second, Hermione felt Draco's hands on her waist, his fingers touching the skin that was just barely visible beneath her shirt. His touch caused her a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes opened and met his, all of her unspoken questions being translated to him.
"Have you ever…" Draco whispered, the rest of his question getting lost in the little space between them. Hermione, however, didn't have to hear the rest of the question to know what he was asking.
"Twice," she murmured. "Ron," she confessed, sheepishly. She and Ron had only been together a few months and in that time, she thought she loved him. She thought it was going to be forever for them. How wrong she was.
"Pansy," Draco murmured, his eyes still on hers. Of course, that should have been obvious to her. Draco and Pansy had been on-again-off-again for years. However, hearing him admit it caused Hermione's stomach to clench with a tinge of jealousy. Before she knew it, however, Draco's lips were pressed back to hers and any worries she may have previously had were now washed away.
Hermione moved her hands slowly down over Draco's chest, stopping just at the bottom of his shirt. Without stopping to talk herself out of this, Hermione gripped the thin fabric of his t-shirt in her hands and pulled it up over his chest, pushing it over his shoulders and head before tossing it to the floor beside them.
Draco's POV:
Draco lifted his arms, breaking their kiss for just a second so Hermione was able to pull his shirt from his body. His eyes flicked to hers for just a second, and the warmth in them made him smile. His hands lifted her shirt up over her head, repeating the same actions she had just made. He tossed it to the side before he allowed his hands to travel up over her stomach, grazing over her soft porcelain skin.
With the slightest bit of pressure, Draco pushed Hermione back, laying her gently down on the floor. A grin crept over his lips as he thought about their situation. Never in a million years did he think he would be here, like this, with Hermione Granger.
"You are so perfect," Draco murmured, one arm holding himself above her while his free hand ran up and down her side, caressing her bare skin. He leaned himself down to kiss her again, and the rest of the night slipped away from them…
Hermione's POV:
She was lying on the floor next to him, their clothes strewn across the room haphazardly. The blanket they were sitting on before was now spread out on top of them, covering their bare bodies.
Hermione turned and curled into Draco's side, resting her head on his shoulder. Her fingers idly traced patterns on his chest as she sighed contently. Draco's left arm was draped lazily over his stomach and the large scar on his forearm caught Hermione's attention. Her fingers left his chest and she turned his arm so she could see the scar full on.
When she realized what it was, Hermione sucked in a deep breath. She had forgotten temporarily what Draco had once been a part of. She had forgotten what he used to think of her, only months before. The memories stung at her insides, her heart, but she tried to push them out of her mind.
"Our Marks," Draco whispered gently, his other hand lifting to brush through her hair. "They faded to these scars after Voldemort was killed. It's a constant reminder of the crimes we committed." She felt his shoulder shrug slightly under her, and she shut her eyes, trying to forget the image of the Mark that seemed to be burned into her retinas.
When she reopened her eyes, she lifted her head slightly to look up into his eyes. "I had almost forgotten…" Hermione whispered, allowing a heavy sigh to escape her.
Draco's hand lifted, resting against her cheek with a feather-light touch. Hermione's eyes closed at his touch for just a second and when they reopened, Hermione could see the anxiety in his eyes. She propped herself up on her elbow so that Draco could see the scar that remained on her left arm. "We both have our scars," she whispered, pulling the blanket up to cover herself. "Reminders of what we are."
Her eyes flicked down to the scar on her arm, her skin puckered in the shape of the word "mudblood." She sighed, her eyes meeting his again. She had never dwelled on this mark before. She had always taken it in stride, as something that made her stronger, not weakened her. But now, in this moment with Draco, they were both admitting their weaknesses.
Hermione watched carefully as Draco's hand lifted and traced the lines on the inside of her arm, the pain and regret evident in his eyes. "I… I don't know what to say," he whispered to her, lifting his eyes from her scar for just a second. "Bellatrix… she…" Hermione could see that he was struggling with the words and she quickly lifted her finger to his mouth to quiet him.
"I'm not going to say it's okay," she murmured. "Because what she did… What they all did was wrong, Draco. But, you've changed. And I'm not going to hold you accountable for their actions anymore." Slowly, she leaned down to press her lips to his again, the tenderness of his lips warming her heart.
They stayed like that for hours, just the two of them, entwined in each other, holding each other close, keeping each other company. The company of one another was all Hermione needed in that moment. She would worry about the obstacles she knew they were bound to face when the time came.
A/N: Okay! So I promised I would have a new chapter up tonight, and here it is! I really hope you all like it (: This is the scene that inspired me to write this story! (:
-Xo!