Another update! Time for some emotions and feels from our favourite young wizard.
Thanks for your prompt reviews last night/this morning. Your enthusiasm for this story really keeps me going as I press on forward towards a conclusion (which is still a few chapters away).
I actually have an idea for another story formulating as well - which I will get started on soon. Trying to keep my focus on this and finishing some of my others first! Damn this addictive fanfic writing.
As usual - M for adult content and I don't own Harry Potter or profit from this (other than the warm and fuzzies I get out of it).
Theo was struggling to keep his wits about him as he ran his teeth down Hermione's neck. She had told him that she couldn't stay, that she had something she had to attend to – and he knew that something was Draco Malfoy.
He was not a naive wizard. He knew that Hermione was attracted to him, her beautiful brown eyes with gold flakes would dilate when they met his, but he also knew Draco was not lying about her being in his bed either.
Theo had not lied to Draco, he didn't care that she was there. It was before their date. That's not to say that he didn't find it threatening.
He was deeply attracted to Hermione and had wanted her for years, but he was not going enter into a pissing match with Draco Malfoy.
Like Draco, Theo was a master of strategy. It was clear that Malfoy was trying to provoke some kind of reaction in Hermione, and given the black look in her eye when she got back from the bathroom earlier, he guessed he had been successful.
Theo's strategy was going to be simple. He was going to let Draco fuck it up himself. Then, when the path was clear – he would have her all to himself (which is what he really wanted).
On the off chance that Malfoy won her affections, Theo would simply live with it. At least he would still be walking away with his dignity. Or perhaps he would try and steal her away later (but he tried to tell himself he was better than that).
Dignity aside, Theo could not resist one little jab at his oldest friend. When he found himself once again, with the enigmatic witch on his knee he could not resist sucking and biting on her neck to leave marks all over to needle Malfoy with later. He also made sure that the scent of his very distinctive expensive cologne had permeated her skin and hair.
He knew if Malfoy got close enough to her to notice either of these things he would have a coronary. Theo couldn't help but smirk just thinking about it.
"Thank you for an amazing night lioness," he said softly, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. She smiled and ran her hands through his hair.
She rose to leave, but kept her hand protectively on his arm. He smiled to himself knowingly. She did like him, that much was obvious.
He turned to face her before she left via his floo – committing the moment to memory in case he never got to see her look that way again.
She blew a kiss - and with a smile, she was gone.
Draco sat by the light of the fire, whiskey in one hand and wand in the other.
He knew that he had possibly pushed it too far with Granger and was absolutely ready to deflect hexes. The fire whiskey was for courage.
Draco Malfoy was not afraid of many things in life but he had come to realize he was afraid of Hermione Granger. He was afraid of the way she made him feel. Afraid of the things she made him want. Afraid of the fact that he knew damn well she was undoubtedly the most powerful witch in generations. There was a small part of him that wondered if she would Crucio him, another part that reasoned he would deserve it if she did.
Mostly, he felt insecure about the reason that she did not come to him right away. Where had she been? Was she with Theo? The image of the two tangled in Hermione's sheets made him sick to the stomach.
A loud commotion pulled him from his moody thoughts as his study door blew clean off, taking some of the wall with it.
"How dare you, you fucking bastard!" she exclaimed. Hermione Granger sure did know how to make an entrance.
"That door was an antique made from imported timber Granger, it certainly did not deserve such an undignified end," he responded, his carefully constructed mask of indifference firmly in place.
Hermione stood, observing Draco like a wild animal stalking her prey. His wand was drawn and his stance was defensive – he clearly knew she was a threat.
She knew exactly what she was going to do. She was going to get some fucking answers.
Why was he provoking her so? Why did he seduce her? What did he want? What game was he playing? She was sick of all the bloody questions and doubt. She was not one for uncertainty of doubt. She was Hermione Granger and she was in charge of her destiny and in control of her life.
He deflected the first onslaught of her hexes quite impressively. If she was not so furious at the time she would have been rapt with how competent he was at dueling, especially with a glass of fire whiskey on the other hand. Then again, he was a Department Head for Dark Arts at the Ministry so logically he must be a talented wizard.
Not more talented than her though, and certainly not more angry. Eventually Hermione disarmed him, but not before destroying half of his office in trying to do so.
She stood panting, holding both wands. He stared at her, eyes on fire.
"What now Granger?" he spat, "Crucio? Curse me to dagger myself? Are you going to kill me?" he smirked.
"Don't be so ridiculous ferret," she said, more calmly than she thought possible given her current mental state.
He seemed thrown by the sudden change of tone.
With a flick of her wand he was restrained on his desk chair. He looked at her with a mixture of fear and curiosity. She wondered what was going through his mind.
"Where are my memories?" she asked gently, closing the gap between them.
"I have no idea what you are talking about," he said smirking. Did the wizard have a death wish?
She exhaled loudly. He wanted to do this the hard way.
She pulled a small vial of her own from her pocket. His eyes became wide with realization. She was going to force the truth out of him.
"I am not taking that," he spat angrily at her. He realized he was being a hypocrite of course. He had violated her privacy but was livid at the idea she was about to invade his.
Her response was only to laugh bitterly before raising her wand. The volatile witch from the memories he had seen had been pulled from her and he regretted being the one to do the pulling.
He felt the cold liquid slide down his throat. He wanted desperately to spit it out but he realized she had used Imperius to force him to comply. He could have her thrown in Azkaban for this, but somehow he knew his father would never allow it.
The Veritaserum took effect instantly. Well, you're screwed now Malfoy, he thought to himself.
He felt the binding around his wrists tighten as she sat on his lap. The first thing he noticed was the pleasure of her weight on his body. He yearned to touch her, despite the severity of the situation.
The second thing he noticed was a familiar scent. She smelt strongly of Theodore Nott. His heart sank. She was with him that night. It's why she had taken hours to come to him. Not even his clear violation of her privacy had dragged her away from the handsome wizard.
He felt something inside of him crack when he also noticed the love bites littering her neck and collar bone. Had Theo already had her? He closed his eyes and tried to compose himself.
"You are insane," he told her.
"You knew that and you still kept provoking me, why?" she asked.
He wanted to lie. He wanted to play it cool. Sadly, he couldn't. The potion was far too powerful to overcome.
"Because I wanted to see you again," he replied, a pained expression written into his handsome features.
Hermione looked a little taken aback. It was not the reaction he expected. He thought she would have worked it out for herself.
"Why did you want to see me again?" she probed.
"Because I liked touching you," he replied, feeling positively distraught at this point.
Her eyes widened. Surely he had been obvious about how much he enjoyed her in that shower, and the time they shared in bed afterwards? Was it possible she really thought she meant nothing to him and he was just playing games with her?
"Are you sorry for what you did?" she asked.
"I am sorry for taking your memories but I am not sorry for seeing them," he replied, still hating that he was compelled to be honest. He hated being honest. Malfoy's found honesty distasteful. He far preferred to control the narrative.
"Elaborate," she demanded.
"That's not a question," he responded with a smirk. He thought she might slap him.
"Why are you not sorry for seeing my memories," she asked, putting emphasis on 'why.' He frowned. When will this wear off? he wondered, still compelled to answer her honestly.
"Because I like knowing you better," he finally replied.
"Why do you like knowing me when all you have seen is the worst of me?" she asked.
He was using every ounce of strength he had to fight the potion. He was making a damn fool of himself, but it was useless.
"I like you as you are..." he choked. Her eyes softened a little but he could see she had her own internal struggle going on.
"Where are my memories?" she asked, clearly gaining control over whatever internal chaos she was experiencing.
"In the top drawer of my desk," he answered. She leaned over and opened the draw, removing the sparkling vial. She made eye contact with him as she threw it hard onto the tile floor, smashing it into a million shimmering pieces. She then turned her unyielding attentions back to the distraught young wizard.
"Is there anything else you want to tell me but have held back Draco?" she asked, absentmindedly straightening his tie. He realized that his usually immaculate appearance must have been dismantled in the earlier confrontation.
"I want to apologize," he began, flinching at the candour he had no control over.
"For what?" she asked.
"For what I saw in your memory. How I used to treat you as a child and a teenager – it was as disgusting as it was wrong. I would love to just blame my upbringing, which is of course partially responsible - but I was an intelligent boy. I read almost as much as you, you know. I was smart enough to think for myself and conclude that blood purity was garbage – I just wasn't brave enough…. And you suffered… and others suffered..." he wanted to cry. He was livid that she extracted this from him so unfairly but he was somehow relieved to finally get to say it.
"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness for that, but you should know that when I had you in my bed and you trusted me with your body so completely…I felt forgiven, and it was the most freeing of my experience of my life," he said, looking away ashamedly, his face a brilliant shade of pink. Honesty was the worst.
He wondered what would happen next. She was silent and he did not dare look at her. He had once again, made a mess of things and probably blown his chances.
He was stunned when she snaked her arms around his neck and gave him a warm embrace, exhaling loudly as she did so.
"Oh dear Draco…" she whispered softly. "You are forgiven."
When he sensed her weight lift from him he felt empty in her absence. He watched her walk away before turning abruptly and releasing his bindings. She looked at him sadly before disappearing with a crack.
Lucius stared intently at the pocket watch he used to keep track of the young witch's movements. He noticed that she had been in Draco's office for some time now and the dot marked Draco and the dot marked Hermione were almost on top of each other by the window – where he knew his sons desk sat.
Lucius smirked. He identified a number of things he would like to do to her if he were a young unattached man and had her alone over a desk - and he hoped his son had it in him to be doing them right now.
A light chuckle escaped his lips. Narcissa looked up from her book and smiled at her husband. He smiled back and reached out to stroke her face lovingly.
Lucius felt disappointed when turned his attention back to the watch a few minutes later to find that she was gone, now back in her own apartment alone – leaving Draco in his, apparently walking in circles.
He let out a groan, when would the boy get it together? Hermione was a woman of action and if he kept dancing around the issue he knew that Draco would lose her.
There was little more he could ethically do to influence their coupling and the vow kept him from doing anything dark (worst luck).
Lucius just had to hope that his son could get it together long enough to demand the beautiful witch's attention – and keep it.
I had been missing daddy Malfoy so had to throw some in at the end. Don't worry - we will be addressing "A." soon enough - Hermione just isn't ready to deal with the other woman just yet! I don't think Draco is going to let her run away quite so easily either... ;) - stay tuned!