Hermione awoke feeling warm and happy. Draco's arms enveloped her possessively and his body felt so good against her naked skin. She felt him stir, tightening his grip on her. She snuggled closer to him and sighed when she felt warm lips on her shoulder.

"Sleep well?" he asked, his voice croaky with sleep.

"Very." She arched her neck to make it more accessible for his attentions. His teeth lightly grazed the hollow where her neck met her shoulder. She moaned at the sensation of his tongue flicking across her freshly awakened skin.

"So did I," he whispered into her ear, nibbling the lobe. "You exhausted me."

She giggled. "You were the one who—hmmm." He silenced her with a sensual kiss. She melted into it and relaxed her body as he moved above her and massaged her left breast. His lips left trails across her cheekbones, her jaw, her neck. She bit her lip as he moved south towards her breasts and rolled her hips into his, eliciting a groan from the blond man.

"Sweet Merlin," she heard him faintly whisper against her collarbone. Her eyelids fluttered at the pleasure of the skin-to-skin contact and the expertise of his lips, nipping and sucking the sensitive flesh. She almost didn't register the gaggle of house elves gathered around the crack in Draco's bedroom door.

"Oh my god, Draco!"

"Mmmm, Hermione," he groaned, sucking a nipple into his mouth.

"Get off!"

"You first, love." The horny man didn't realize Hermione's distress.

Hermione adopted her classroom voice. "Draco. Your house elves are watching us."

Draco went slack jawed. "Merlin's tit, are you serious...?" He turned towards the door and the house elves scattered as his eyes fell on them. He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose, squinting his eyes shut. "I don't even know how to begin to apologize for this."

Hermione chuckled. "It's fine."

"No, it's not." Was it too much to ask that the Fates, those vindictive bitches, just leave him alone long enough to have morning sex with Hermione? Without classes of brats to teach and nosy house elves ruining everything? He sighed. "I'll go have a talk with them." Hermione stifled a giggle as he pouted, throwing on a pair of trousers and a robe. He turned to her, smirking slightly at the sight of her disheveled state.

She was a fucking vision. Her wild, curly hair was rumpled all over the place in a pattern that screamed "freshly-shagged". She held a thin sheet over her breasts to cover her nudity. And she was wearing a crooked smile that beckoned for him to just say "fuck it" and jump back into bed so he could have his wicked way with her. "Don't you go anywhere. We're not finished," he quipped as he made for the door.

Merlin's ballsack this is awkward. How do I say, "I'd like to fuck my girlfriend in peace without you lot perving on us" and not offend them?

The house elves were gathered, per Quincy's instruction, in the servant hall. Draco did not enjoy addressing them as a group. Looking down at about twenty or so pairs of enormous, unblinking eyes simply reminded him how outnumbered he was. He cleared his throat. "As you all know, I have a guest staying with me in my room. A female guest. And she…we require privacy."

No reaction.

"I realize this is somewhat unprecedented, but I ask you all to try not to gawk at her too much. Give her some space. But treat her as you would any distinguished guest of mine."

Whimsy, the elegant pillow-case clad elf, was always a bit bolder than the rest. "Will Master Draco be bringing Ms. Hermione here lots more?"

Merlin, yes, I hope so. "Most likely, Whimsy. Now, as I was saying—"

"Is Ms. Hermione as pretty as they says?" This time the question came from a younger house elf.

Draco flushed. "She…she's lovely, yes. And I understand that most of you are not accustomed to having a young woman in this home. But please respect our boundaries."

The house elves continued to gape at their master. He was half tempted to yell And you'reallset free, just to provoke a reaction from them. He wasn't comfortable with the whole children-of-the-corn tone they were giving off.

"Thank you. You can all…go about your regular business."

As they bustled through the hall, Draco turned to leave only to find Quincy with his arms folded in front of the door. "Might Master Draco spare a moment to speak with Quincy?"

Draco didn't dare turn him down. Quincy had been at the Manor longer than he had and, house elf or not, Draco was raised to respect his elders. Especially intimidating elders like Quincy. "Of course."

"Quincy is concerned that Master Draco keeps a mistress in the house of Master Draco's fathers. Where does this Ms. Hermione come from? Who is she?"

Draco was a bit taken aback. He hoped Quincy didn't mean what he thought he meant. The last thing he needed was a racist butler sneering down his nose at his girlfriend. "Hermione is hardly my 'mistress', Quincy. I haven't brought a woman to this house since Astoria, if you'll remember. So it should hardly come as a shock to you that Hermione is important to me. As for where she 'comes from', I don't know exactly what you mean by that but I hope you do not mean her parentage. She's considered by many to be the brightest witch of her age. She's also a war heroine and I can say with utter conviction that there is no one more worthy—"

"Quincy hears that Ms. Hermione is the reason Master Draco wishes to 'pay' us monies."

No other house elf would dare interrupt their master. But standing here with Quincy now, Draco had a fleeting impression that this conversation was a toned-down version of the one he would have had with his father if he were alive today. There was only ever one way to earn that man's respect. "Quincy, I am your master. I realize you've been here at the Manor since my grandfather Abraxas was a boy, but that does not give you the right to question who I choose to spend my time with. Hermione is a charming person who I am proud to know, and I will bring her here as often as I wish. This is my home and you will treat her with the respect she deserves."

Quincy seemed rather surprised that the young Malfoy was speaking to him like this. But he appeared to soften somewhat. "Master Draco is right, of course. Quincy will speak to the others and make certain Ms. Hermione has everything she requires—including Ms. Hermione's privacy."

Draco nodded and turned to leave the servant hall. The initial high of his newfound courage had subsided and now he just felt as though he would vomit into the nearest vase. Merlin, he never even heard his father speak to Quincy like that. He somehow made his way to his room and his heart lightened at the sight of the naked beauty in his bed.

She quirked an eyebrow. "That took a while. Everything alright? You look a bit ill."

He collapsed onto the bed and answered her, his voice muffled by the sheets. "I think your Gryffindor is rubbing off on me."

The three Slytherin boys left the Great Hall, noting once again that Professor Granger was absent from the faculty table.

"What d'you reckon Professor Granger's getting shagged by your dad right now, Scorp?" Simon asked, tactlessly.

Scorpius shrugged. "Don't care."

Albus clapped him on the shoulder. "You know what would cheer you up?"

"I'm not proofreading your Star Trek fan fiction again, Al."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Fine. But I was going to say, my cousin…you know my cousin, Rose, right? Red hair, bossy, broomstick permanently lodged up her arse? Anyway, my cousin is standing right over there staring at you and she looks like she's either thinking about coming over to talk to you, or she's about to piss her pants."

Scorpius turned to find a very anxious Rose Weasley leaning against a column. Both teens instantly straightened their posture the instant they made eye contact. Something in Rose won out and she approached Scorpius.

"Hi Scor—um, I mean, Malfoy."

Scorpius lowered his voice. "Hey, Weasley." He ran his fingers through his hair to draw attention to his disheveled blond locks. "What's up?"

"Um…nothing. Just…there's sort of a party? In Gryffindor tower? Tonight? Aaaand…I thought you might want to come?" Rose was not normally an uptalker. But something about the blond Slytherin boy tripped up her usually perfectly articulate tongue.

Scorpius's heart stopped beating for approximately two seconds. Rose Weasley just asked him to go to a party in Gryffindor tower. What does this mean? "Um…yeah. Sure. That sounds good."

Rose released a breath she seemed to have been holding in. "Alright. Good. Nine o'clock." She turned and walked away so fast she nearly ran into a Ravenclaw second year.

Scorpius didn't notice. He stood there, manically staring at the wall, contemplating whether the interaction had only happened in his head.

Albus came up behind him. "Look, it's perfectly acceptable to stare at the wall. I do it all the time. But it seems rather out of character for you."

"Rose Weasley just asked me to go to a party tonight," he said evenly, eyes still staring at a spot on the wall.

Albus raised his eyebrows. "Well it's nice to see one of you has the gonads to make a move."

Scorpius finally blinked. He turned to Albus with a wild look in his eye. "You've got to go with me."

Albus narrowed his eyes slightly. "Um…generic excuse."

Scorpius grimaced. "Did you just say 'generic excuse' to get out of going to a party?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you expected something more elaborate."

"Al. You're going."

"Or, OR—now hear me out—" Albus waited a beat. "I could take a long, relaxing nap and not interact with people I don't know or like."

"Come on, Al. I don't know any of the Gryffindors that well. I'll look like a freak."

Albus was unmoved. "If she really loves you, she'll accept you for who you are."

"How are you ever going to make any new friends if you don't put yourself out there?"

"I don't need another friend. I've already got two."

"I would do it for you."

"And I appreciate that. But luckily for you, I don't make eyes at prissy little Gryffindor swots. Your services would not be needed."

"Al. You're my best friend. I'm asking you to do this for me. Please."

Albus huffed. Scorpius just invoked the "best friend card." Shit was sacred. "Well you've got me there. I will go with you."

Scorpius fist pumped the air. "YES!"

"On one condition."

"Name it."

"I want you to admit you like Rose."

Scorpius's face fell. "Is that really necessary?"

"Just say the words Scorp. I already know. You already know. Maybe you've never actually said it out loud before. But if you want me to party in the big ass lion tower with the Gryffindorks so you can chat up my cousin, you will say those words."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Fine." He exhaled. "I like Rose. Happy?"

Albus smirked at him. "Twenty thousand points to Slytherin."

Scorpius glared at his friend. "It's at nine. Shall we leave at ten to?"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Oh, look at the little posh boy with his impeccable manners. 'Shall we leave at ten to?' You can leave at ten to if you wish. I, on the other hand, will continue to not be a nerd and arrive fashionably late."

"You're going to make me show up alone?"

"Think about it, mate. Do you really want to show up with a bloke? Don't you think my brother bullies you enough?"

Scorpius narrowed his eyes. "Just don't be too late."

Albus was late.

But surprisingly, things were actually going pretty well so far. Scorpius arrived precisely at 9 p.m. and found Rose immediately, as they were the only two people obsessive enough about punctuality to arrive on time. The two had been chatting easily for the past three quarters of an hour about schoolwork and what books they were reading now. It was surprisingly easy to talk to her (although part of that might have been the butterbeer). And she looked so pretty with her hunter green jumper and her red hair falling down her shoulders. He wondered if she wore green for him and smirked at the thought.

"What?" Rose blushed at Scorpius's sudden smirk.

"Nothing." He shrugged. "I like your jumper."

She bit back a grin. "I never thought I'd see the day Scorpius Malfoy liked something I wore."

"Green looks good you." He surprised himself when he reached out to brush a lock of hair from her shoulder and graze the soft fabric of her jumper. Where the bloody fuck did that come from? Did I inherit my dad's ability to seduce women? Am I actually good at this and just didn't know it?

It took Rose by surprise too. "Th-thanks, Malfoy. Um…it…looks good on you too." She took a long sip of her butterbeer to hide her blush.

"Oi, isthat my baby brother? What are you doing here Albus? Come to join your poncy little blond boyfriend? Well, go on, let him in for fuck's sake."

Scorpius flinched at the grating voice of James Potter. He'd never understand how he fit into Al's family. The Potters were such a nice couple and Lily seemed alright. Albus of course was like a brother to him. How James Potter, the most obnoxious person in the whole of wizarding Britain, was born into such a loving and cool family was beyond him.

Rose spoke up. "Is Albus here? Why? He doesn't know anyone in Gryffindor."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "He knows you. You're his cousin.And his brother, James. And his sister. And what about me?I don't know anyone here either, except you." He didn't mean to sound so irritated, but he never liked it when people tried to oust Albus.

"I didn't mean…" She sighed. "Albus is just…you know. He's not like you. He sort of…I mean he's a social vacuum. He brings every conversation to a screeching halt."

"He's my best mate," Scorpius said with a note of finality, perhaps a bit more hostile than he meant to.

As if on cue, Albus arrived to the scene, wearing a white tee shirt that appeared to have large amounts of dried blood up and down the left side. The shirt read in neat black text, "I'm Fine".

"Sorry I'm late," he said as he stood next to Scorpius.

"What happened?"

Albus raised an eyebrow. "Nothing. I just really didn't want to come."

Scorpius motioned to the entrance. "Did you have some trouble getting in?"

Albus rolled his eyes with casual boredom. "Haven't you heard? My brother's the Gryffindor King. His little minions had to let me in once they realized who I was."

Rose nodded. "James can be a bit of a shit."

Scorpius and Albus regarded her with interest. Scorpius smirked. "Did you just say something bad about someone else?"

Albus put a hand to his chest in mock surprise. "And such language from a young lady of good family."

She rolled her eyes. "If the two of you are going to stand here, thenplease don't embarrass me. After all, I'm the one who invited you."

Albus smirked. "Yeah,about that. Why exactly did you…ouch, Scorp, what the fuck?"

Scorpius pinched Albus in the ribs to keep him from pointing to the elephant in the room—namely, that he and Rose liked each other but neither had addressed it.

"So what are you doing here, baby brother?" The intoxicated slur of the Gryffindor King joined their group.

Saved by the Git, Scorpius thought.

"Oh, you know me. I justlove to party. Party hardy, I say."

James snorted. "Nice, shirt by the way. I guess I should just be glad you didn't wear a black hoodie and stand over there in the corner jerking off while you watch everyone."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Do Ilook like I would own a hoodie?"

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Right now, mate? Yeah, kind of." Rose giggled.

"This shirt is a conversation piece. It keeps me from having to make actual conversation."

James laughed. "Why not just resort to your old stand by and start screaming as loud as you can until people go away?"

"One time. I did that one time and I wasseven."

"And what are you doing here, Malfoy?" James turned his attention to Scorpius.

He learned a long time ago not to engage James when he was at his most git-ish. "Rose invited me."

James smirked. "Daw! Did you really? That's just fucking precious."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Shut up, James."

He ignored her and sipped from a red Solo cup that, from the smell of it, probably contained Firewhiskey. "I knew it was only a matter of time before you and that freak got together."

Rose screeched. "We're nottogether. We're just friends."

Scorpius felt useless and more than a little awkward standing there in between the two bickering cousins.

"And he's not a freak." Rose added. Scorpius shot her a grateful smile.

James cackled. "Maybe compared to my brother, but really, that's hardly even fair."

Scorpius looked around for Albus, who had long since tried to extradite himself from the whole lotta "Nope" that this conversation had become. He now stood next to a fourth year Gryffindor girl, attempting to make conversation. "Hello. There is weather." The girl rolled her eyes and walked away, leaving Albus alone. He shrugged and muttered, "Psshh. Gryffindor girls are so basic."

James continued rounding on Scorpius. "But you can't tell me this one's not a freak too. I mean his dad's a piece of Death Eater scum who should probably be in Azkaban and his mum snuffed it because her inbred family didn't have the sense to stop having children who would just die anyway from some stupid curse."

Scorpius saw red. And not the good kind like when Rose would blush at something he said and it clashed with her hair. He turned on James. "Don't you ever" he punctuated the word with a shove to James, "talk about my family that way, you fucking douchebag."

James got in his face. "I'll talk about them any way I want, Malfoy. What are you going to do about it? Get Daddy to come down here and crawl up the Headmistress's skirt? Oh no wait. That's what he does to my godmother, isn't it?"

Scorpius's lips thinned. Rose spoke up in his defense. "Leave him alone, James. And you're wrong about his dad and Aunt Hermione."

James scoffed. "Wake the fuck up, Rose. Everybody saw them at the Quidditch match. Pretty boy's poncy daddy couldn't keep it together and had to be saved by a Gryffindor. As per fucking usual. I heard some people saw him in Hogsmeade the next morning. I'll bet anything Aunt Hermione fucked him. She always did have a soft spot for lesser—"

Scorpius's fist pounded him in the jaw before he could finish that sentence. He immediately had two thoughts. One…fucking ow! Nobody ever told you when you punched someone that it bloody well hurt. And two…get the fuck out of Gryffindor Tower before he got his arse handed to him.

"I got your back bro," Albus assured him as they charged their way through the Gryffindors.

Albus was not a fighter. Well…at least not in the traditional sense. He preferred to outsmart his opponents. So he let loose in a blood-curdling wail like a banshee in hell. It rang through the Common Room and seemed to go on forever. The half-drunk Gryffindors were all so startled by the sound, they darted out of his way to avoid the mentally unstable boy.

By the sheer force of his personality, Albus had parted the Red Sea.

Before opening the door leading out into the castle, Albus turned to the Gryffindors, all clad in their ugly red robes, and gave them the Vulcan salute. "WOO! Live long and prosper, motherfuckers!"

When the two boys were safely back in the Slytherin dungeon, Scorpius turned to his friend. "Thanks for that."

Albus waived him off. "Any time."

Scorpius shook his head forcefully. "Al, you…you don't get it. What you did back there... and you showing up tonight at the party…I know you didn't want to, and…" he sighed. "You really are the best friend a bloke could ask for."

Albus clapped him on the shoulder. "Right back at you."

The two boys hugged it out—one and a half-seconds worth of hug. Any more would have been overkill.

Scorpius smirked. "Sorry for socking your brother in the face, by the way."

Albus rolled his eyes. "Bitch please. I've been dying to do it for years, myself. And what the fuck are you talking about? You're my brother, mate."

There was a moment of silence between the two boys. They each nodded in understanding, releasing as much emotion as their fragile, thirteen-year-old masculinities would allow.

Scorpius exhaled. "You're my brother too." He smirked. "Just so long as that doesn't make Rose my cousin."

Albus grimaced. "You two are painful to behold."