This Life

Chapter Twenty One

~•~•~•~

The late afternoon sunlight was pouring in through the library window, spilling across the table where Hermione and Harry had their homework spread out in front of them. He was working on his latest Potions essay and she was supposed to be figuring out an Arithmancy equation, instead she was watching the dust motes dance in front of her eyes. She couldn't concentrate on the parchment in her hand as images of Draco and Blaise stepping into the common room, back from Quidditch practice earlier, assaulted her memory.

Seeing them both in their Quidditch uniforms made things lower down in her body clench in admiration. The green jerseys with their names emblazoned across the back, the leather protector things adorning their arms. Hermione didn't know what they were called, she had little time for Quidditch — except for her men in their uniforms. The boots they wore were what really got her going, however. Long brown, leather boots, worn over tight white trousers that covered up firm thighs she could now easily imagine wrapped around her. She sighed and felt Harry nudge her in the arm, with a wide-eyed look on his face.

"Are you daydreaming, Hermione? That's not like you," he inquired, arching an eyebrow that disappeared under his mop of dark hair. "You're sitting there with a far away look on your face. What's got you all flushed?"

"Hmm… oh… umm… nothing," Hermione coughed, realising she had sighed loudly, alerting her friend to the fact she wasn't doing homework — unheard of in her world. It just proved what an effect her roommates were having on her.

~•~•~•~

The last few days had been wonderful for Hermione. Draco and Blaise hadn't let her out of their sight when they weren't in their rooms together, and she was actually enjoying being cared for by them both. Even the day after what had happened with Ginny in the Great Hall hadn't been as bad as she'd expected. No one had given her any strange looks, or made any comment about her scar. She was sure the headmistress must have said something to the student body as a whole because everyone had left her alone. She wasn't stupid though, Hermione was sure that they were whispering about it but she just hadn't heard them. Having her two Slytherins shadowing her everywhere probably helped as well and knowing Ginny wasn't going to pounce helped calm her further.

The only dim spot in the last few days had been Draco's reaction when he'd met her outside the headmistress' office with Blaise. He had not been happy to learn that Hermione had said she was alright with Ginny returning to school following her suspension. McGonagall had wanted to expel the girl, whereas Hermione didn't think Ginny should miss out on completing her education. She had told her mentor that, as long as Rons' sister stayed away from her, there would be no issue with her coming back.

Draco, on the other hand, thought Hermione's decision was an awful one and told her in no uncertain terms that, if the redhead came within ten metres of her, he would hex the bitch to the fiery pits of hell — expulsion be damned. She and Blaise had managed to calm him down enough to see Hermione's reasoning, but he still wasn't happy.

McGonagall had explained what had been said in the meeting between herself, Arthur, and Molly. It was agreed that Ginny should be referred to one of the Mind Healers at St Mungo's and that she had been going in to see someone every day of her suspension for analysis. The Mind Healer would be in touch with a report for the Weasley parents and the headmistress before Ginny returned to Hogwarts. Hermione was more than happy with that news, feeling safe in the knowledge that the younger witch was finally receiving the help she so clearly needed.

Once Hermione had put that out of her mind, she had concentrated on the fledgeling relationship that was developing between herself, Draco, and Blaise. She had sat at their house table for breakfast and lunch everyday during the last week but still remained at her own for dinner. She didn't want her two best friends to feel left out, and Ron was getting suspicious about the amount of time she was spending with the Slytherins.

Hermione knew the time was coming to have a talk with him about things — a talk she was really not looking forward to.

~•~•~•~

"Oooookay," Harry grinned, not believing her for a moment. He watched closely as she smiled back, still with a far away look, clearly thinking about something else.

"Shut up, Harry." Hermione blushed, looking back down at her homework. She had told Harry some of the truth about what had been said between her, Draco, and Blaise the day of the Great Hall incident. She hadn't told him about her suicidal thoughts, though. She didn't want to burden her best friend over that; Harry was still dealing with his own demons following the end of the war.

Hermione had also confessed to her feelings for her roommates, and that they had agreed to be together. He'd been happy for her but did warn — in his brotherly way — that, if they did wrong by her, he would hurt them both. Happily.

"So," he began, waiting for Hermione to look up from the parchment she had been writing on. Harry decided to stop teasing his friend, it was clear on her face where her thoughts had gone.

"So, what?" Hermione asked, chewing the end of her quill.

"McGonagall's exhibition Quidditch match is this Saturday. Which team will you be supporting, Hermione? You know, with Ron and I playing for Gryffindor and your two lovers playing for Slytherin, it'll be a hard choice for you." He winked and laughed as he watched the colour drain from Hermione's face.

"They… what? They're not my… my… lovers," Hermione whispered the last word, looking surreptitiously around her for eavesdropping students, breathing a sigh of relief when she realised they were the only ones there.

"What are they then?" Harry asked, confused.

"We haven't… I mean… we… we—"

Realisation dawned on Harry. "It's alright, Hermione, I was joking," he told her with his hand up. "I don't need to know anyway. I was just teasing."

Hermione exhaled, reprieved from having to explain the situation of her love life — or lack thereof — to her friend. It wasn't that she didn't want to have sex with Draco and Blaise — she'd actually thought about it a lot recently. She just wasn't ready to take that step until she was sure about them. She was sure that she wanted to be with them both, but she felt that the trust needed to be built more before she gave herself to them in that way.

Thankfully neither of her snakes were pushing or forcing her into anything she didn't want to do. Even though the three had found themselves in the same bed every night for the past week, Draco and Blaise hadn't gone further than she wanted; both seemed happy to just kiss, caress, and cuddle her. And even though those kisses and small touches had left Hermione very much wanting more, she'd managed to abstain so far.

"Oh… erm… okay then." Hermione blushed beet red. "As for Saturday, I'm torn, Harry. I'll be sitting in the Gryffindor stand and, even though I would normally want you and Ron to win, it would actually be nice for Draco to beat you… just this once," she admitted, grinning at the shocked look on Harry's face.

"Such a traitor," he hissed jokingly, reaching across the table to pat the back of her hand. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens, won't we?"

Hermione laughed as Harry attempted again to wink at her. He'd never been very good at it. Everytime he tried, the corner of his mouth would scrunch up and make him look ridiculous.

"Idiot," Hermione replied as she began to pick up her things and pack them away.

"Where are you going?"

"Prefects' meeting in an hour, Harry. I thought you would have known seeing as you're a… what was it now—" Hermione mocked, her hand on her chin as if in thought "—oh, yeah… a prefect."

"Haha! Very funny. Yes, I did forget. Don't worry, I'll be there."

"See you soon then." She waved at him over her shoulder as she left the library.

~•~•~•~

Hermione huffed loudly as her head fell back against the sofa, one hand covering her eyes and the other tapping incessantly against the arm of the settee.

"Something wrong?" Draco asked from his spot on the armchair closest to her. It wasn't like Hermione to get so wound up during a prefects' meeting.

She spread her fingers across her eyes so she could peek at the blond from between them, and growled through clenched teeth.

"Bloody, fucking, Lavender. Why does she have to disagree with everything Blaise and I say? Just because the vapid little bitch wanted to host the Halloween ball instead of Christmas, she's making a point of being a difficult little shrew."

"Don't hold back, Cara." Blaise laughed as he sat down next to her, pulling her into the warm embrace of his chest. "Say what you mean."

"She just infuriates me so much, and did you see those sly little looks she was throwing at me? What's her problem anyway?"

"Don't worry about her, kitten. It's done now," Draco remarked, moving from the armchair to sit next to her on the sofa, rubbing his hand soothingly down her arm as she cuddled against Blaise.

Hermione sighed loudly, sitting back up and taking each of the wizards' hands closest to her to lay in her lap.

"I shouldn't let her get to me like that, I know that, but she gives me a bad feeling. I feel like she's watching me and we all know who her best friend is."

Draco shot Blaise a sly glance across their witch, their silent conversation confirming what was really going on.

"Is this what it's really about, Hermione? We know the Weasley bitch is due back on Monday. Are you worried?" Draco asked.

"No… yes… I… I don't know," she replied indecisively. Hermione wasn't worried per se. It was more a feeling of anxiety as she didn't know what to expect. McGonagall had asked to speak with her on Sunday evening, before Ginny returned, and it was making Hermione fret unnecessarily.

"Don't worry about it now. Why don't we talk about how the Slytherins are going to kick Gyrffindor arses this weekend at Quidditch?"

Hermione snorted inelegantly at her wizard's words.

"As Harry said earlier… we shall see." She turned to grin wickedly at Draco, secretly hoping that her boys would win the match; she wouldn't tell them that though.

~•~•~•~

As it turned out, Slytherin did end up winning the match that chilly Saturday afternoon. It had been a tense game with lots of fouls committed on both sides. The commentary was unduly biased as well, as the headmistress had invited Lee Jordan and George Weasley back to commentate on the match.

It had been good to see Lee and George, Hermione catching up with them both as they'd sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast before the start of the game. Lee seemed to be bringing George out of the depression he had fallen into after the loss of Fred at the Final Battle back in May.

As much as the two ex-jokers of Gryffindor had tried to put the Slytherin team off with their funny jokes and slightly risqué barbs, nothing could have put Draco off his focus. He was hurtling towards the Snitch before Harry even realised what he was doing.

As Draco landed and held the tiny golden ball above his head — the Slytherin crowd roaring with delight, clapping and cheering profusely — Hermione had silently celebrated from the Gryffindor side of the stadium. The look of sheer joy was plain for her to see on his face, and she'd almost fainted when Harry, followed by Ron, walked up to him and shook his hand, congratulating him on a brilliant win, jeers coming from the speakers about how it was about bloody time.

After the match Hermione had a quick chat with her friends, consoling them on their loss, hugged Lee and George goodbye with promises of seeing them soon, and quickly made her way back to the dorm she shared with her winning snakes.

Draco grabbed her around the waist as soon as she entered their common room — clearly waiting for her to arrive — spinning her around and soundly kissing her, then releasing her for Blaise to do the exact same thing.

Their happiness at the win was infectious and Hermione couldn't help the huge grin that spread across her face at their celebrations.

"Party tonight in the dungeons, Granger, and you're coming with us," Draco announced as Blaise lowered her back to the floor, his arms sliding around her waist as she felt Draco's hand caressing her hip from behind.

"Excuse me?" Hermione wasn't going into the Slytherin dungeon to celebrate the opposing teams win — no matter how happy she was for her wizards.

"Yes you are, kitten. Pansy will be there and Quidditch bores her senseless as well, so at least she'll have someone to talk to."

"But I… what would I say? What excuse would I have for being there? We aren't supposed to be together publicly, remember?"

"Don't worry about that, we'll just say we dragged you along."

"But—"

"No buts, Granger. We want you there and that's that."

Draco sighed. He knew he shouldn't be so forceful about it but, ever since she admitted to Blaise just how dark her thoughts had gotten recently, neither wizard wanted to leave her by herself. Not because they thought she would actually do anything to herself; it was more for their own peace of mind — knowing she was with them. Plus it would start rumours if either of the wizards didn't attend their own victory party.

Blaise scowled at Draco's forcefulness, knowing Hermione wouldn't be told what to do so he tried to ease the situation.

"Please, Cara," he pleaded. "We don't like the thought of you being alone and bored. We promise we won't do anything obvious to attract attention to the fact that we're more than friends."

How could Hermione refuse the man in front of her when he used those expressive brown eyes to get what he wanted. She sighed. "Alright then. I suppose it would be good to catch up with Pansy. I haven't seen her around a lot recently."

"Oh… yeah… she's been… busy," Draco told her, his grimace obviously meaning he knew something that Hermione didn't.

"Why the look, Draco? What's going on with Pansy?"

"Nothing," he gulped guiltily, before turning and heading toward the shower.

"What aren't you telling me?" Hermione called after him.

"Nothing. Nothing at all, love. Why don't you join me in the shower and scrub my back for me?" Draco joked, trying to change the subject away from Pansy, and the reason he knew why Hermione hadn't seen her around.

If Hermione had been watching closely enough, instead of hiding herself away like she had been, she would have observed just what the Slytherin witch had been up to. It wasn't Draco's place to spill the beans on the little secret he'd discovered.

"Urgh… you're impossible, Malfoy." Hermione told the blond's retreating back.

"But you love me anyway," he shot back over his shoulder.

Hermione blushed beet red before extricating herself from Blaise's embrace and stomping off to her room, muttering about annoying Slytherins and their impossible secrets.

~•~•~•~

Draco and Blaise had been correct again. Hermione had enjoyed herself at the Slytherin party and it had been good to catch up with Pansy. The Gryffindor had indulged in more alcohol than she would have liked while talking with her friend, and didn't realise how drunk she had become until Blaise came over to the sofa she was sitting on with Pansy, holding out his hand for her to take so he and Draco could escort her back to their dorm. She swayed slightly as she stood, Blaise catching her around the waist and pulling her into his arms as she rested her head against his chest. Hermione sighed happily as her nose nuzzled the side of his neck, inhaling that now familiar woody, musky smell of Blaise. Her tongue darted out to leave little licks against his skin before her lips pressed small kisses to the underside of his jaw. Hermione watched his throat bob as he gulped, calling for Draco.

The blond looked round, his eyes wide as he watched Hermione's actions, before making his way over to them to shield her from prying eyes. Some of the students were taking a keen interest in what was going on between the Head Girl and Boy.

"Time to go, kitten," Draco whispered into her ear, pulling her away from Blaise, slipping his own arm around her waist, and guiding her towards the door.

"But Blaise smells so good. I wanna liiick him," Hermione pouted.

Draco snorted at her drunken words and heard Blaise laugh behind him. Both wizards said a quick goodbye to Pansy over their shoulders before exiting the Slytherin dungeon and helping their inebriated witch back to their room.

~•~•~•~

Draco sat Hermione on the end of her bed, kneeling before her to remove the trainers she had on, rolling his eyes at her Muggle footwear. He felt her hands smooth through his hair and lifted his head to look at her.

"You're so pretty, Draco," she hiccuped, followed by a giggle. "Oops."

"And you're so drunk, kitten. Why don't you lie back so I can remove these… what did you call them again? Converse?"

Hermione flopped back onto the bed, her arms above her head, her face turned towards the side as she watched Blaise removing his clothes, his eyes never leaving hers.

"Oooh, Blaise is undressing and Draco's getting me naked. What are you going to do with me, you naughty wizards?"

Both men groaned at the same time.

There was plenty they wanted to do with her — but not tonight. Not in the state she was in.

"We're going to get you into bed. So you can sleep," Draco whispered as he stood and leaned over her, his nimble fingers undoing the button of her jeans and sliding the zip down.

His warm hands pulled the denim down her thighs, Hermione lifting her bum to help him along.

"Well, that seems a waste. We'll all be naked and… and… I want you to touch me. Touch me please, Draco."

"I'm Blaise," the Italian laughed as Hermione watched him slide his shirt off before undoing his trousers and letting them fall to the floor.

"I knoooow that, Blaisey. I like watching you undress but Draco is taking my clothes off and I want him to touch me… here," she purred as her hands smoothed down her body, her fingers resting at the waistband of the lace knickers she was wearing.

"Merlin, Granger, you're killing us. Stop talking," Draco growled, pulling her jeans from her feet and throwing them behind him. He reached for the hem of her T-shirt, rolling the material up her body, exposing the matching lace bra she wore. Hermione moved her arms again to help him remove the offending fabric in the way of Draco's fingers touching her where she wanted.

The blond pulled the shirt over her head and threw that in the same direction as the jeans before covering her body with his own.

Blaise joined them on the bed, lying on his side, his head propped up in his hand as he watched his partners.

Hermione looked up into Draco's dark, grey eyes, his breathing laboured as his hands circled her head. He leaned forward, his lips meeting her parted ones, his tongue sliding into the warm cavern of her mouth. She tasted of the firewhisky she'd consumed and that brought him back to the present.

"There will be no touching tonight, kitten." He breathed against her lips. "We're not going to start something we all know you'll regret in the morning."

Draco removed himself from her body, standing up to start undressing himself.

Hermione whined at the loss of contact with his hard body, before turning her head to look at Blaise.

"He's being a baby. Kiss me, Blaise."

Blaise did as he was told and rolled himself over her body, his lips descending onto hers.

Draco scrubbed his hands over his face and exhaled loudly as he also removed his clothes, down to his tight, black boxers. Watching Blaise lay over Hermione, their mouths locked together, hearing her little pants and moans, had him rock-hard.

He walked around the side of the bed. Blaise, seeing the movement from the corner of his eye, raised his head to look up at him.

"Let's get under the covers, shall we?"

Blaise moved Hermione, while Draco pulled back the duvet and helped his boyfriend settle their witch in the bed, pulling the duvet over them all.

Hermione immediately turned into Draco, her arm coming around his neck so she could pull him forward to kiss him again. He moaned into her mouth as Hermione arched her back, her lace covered breasts pushing against his bare chest.

"I still want you to touch me, Draco. Please," she mumbled against his full lips.

"I am touching you, witch," he answered as his hands rubbed up and down her back. "And this is the most either of us will touch you tonight. You're drunk and we aren't going to take advantage of that fact. If you still wish for us to move forward, then that's something we can discuss in the morning."

"Urgh," Hermione huffed, throwing herself back against the pillows and away from Draco's embrace. "Why do you both have to be so chivalrous?"

"Trust us, Cara. You'll be thanking us in the morning. And we'd rather like it if you could actually remember the first time we make love to you." Blaise grinned against the side of her neck as he peppered, warm, wet kisses down her throat.

"Whatever," Hermione fired back grumpily.

"Now who's being a baby?" Draco smirked. "Go to sleep, Hermione. We'll talk in the morning."

He gave her a quick kiss before pulling her back into his arms, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder as she sighed softly, closing her eyes, breathing in his fresh scent.

Blaise curled his arm around her waist, his cheek resting between her shoulder blades as they all settled down to sleep.

~•~•~•~

Hermione woke the next morning to an empty bed, the smell of coffee assaulting her senses in a delicious way, her head thumping. She groaned as she rolled over, spotting the small bottle of hangover cure her wizards had left on the bedside table. She gingerly sat up, grabbed the bottle and drank the contents down in one swallow. Waiting a few seconds for the headache to start abating, she yawned and stretched, getting up and grabbing her dressing gown, then making her way out of the bedroom to greet her boyfriends.

A devious smirk graced her lips as she entered the common room, walking up to both wizards, placing a kiss on each of their cheeks before taking Draco's coffee from his hand, and walking back towards the bathroom.

"Draco," she called, glancing over her shoulder at the surprised blond who was looking at where his mug had just been. He arched one of his pale blond eyebrows in answer as she replied.

"Just so you know… I'm quite sober now, and I still meant what I said last night." She had the audacity to wink at him, walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.

A/N:

Sorry for the late update! Real life has been a little crazy and a lot stressful recently. There may be a couple or more weeks before the next chapter, but I will not abandon this story. I just need extra time to sort out some other issues right now.

coyg_81