Happy 25th chapter! QUATER QUELL! (hunger games reference anyone?)

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I awoke the next morning confused and strangely warm. The bed I was on was large and plush, and all around me was a red and gold comforter. This was definitely not my bed or my room. My first thought was a memory of when I was little and would fall asleep on the couch, and then magically wake up in my bed the next day. Of course it was Severus who moved me, but at the time I couldn't help but think it was simply magic.

My second thought was the realization that there was someone wrapped around me.

Suddenly my confusion lifted and last night's events came crashing back to me. I had been running through the halls when I ran into Draco...he fixed my nose...and I fell asleep? I must've fallen asleep on him. But I clearly remembered that happening in the hallway, not in this room! Then a bleary whiff of a dream came back to me. I had been in this room and had asked Draco to stay with me...

Oh shit. That wasn't a dream.

Though I still had no idea what room this was exactly, I remembered that I had asked Draco to stay and he had more than willingly obliged. Hence the fact that he was curled up beside me now. What was I thinking? I thought I had been dreaming! In dreams it would have been perfectly acceptable to beg Draco for attention. In reality, not so much.

From the sound of his slow breathing, I assumed he was still sleeping. His arm was loose around my waist and I felt his mouth very close to my ear. I had kissed him last night! I cringed, worried to what else I had allowed considering that fact that I thought I had been dreaming. In my actual dreams we were always very, very close...oh god. Oh god.

Slowly, I scooted out of his grip. He grumbled but did not wake. I sat up and leaned against the headboard, observing the boy in bed with me. He looked...happy, with a slightly triumphant smirk to his features. It was the first time I had seen him look happy in weeks. I couldn't exactly feel empathy, since I was the one who caused his unhappiness in the first place. His blonde hair was messy around his face and I had to resist the urge to fix it.

He wasn't mine. I closed my eyes and hugged my legs to my chest, resting my chin on one knee.

I had stupidly and pitifully begged him to stay with me, even if I wasn't truly awake at the time. Him, being the good person he was, gave in and stayed. Why couldn't I just stay away from him? My life would be so must easier without the knowledge that I was threatening his life by just being near him. What if my father invaded Hogwarts without notice? If Draco tried to protect me, he would be killed. I would have his blood on my hands, always. I couldn't do that to him; I couldn't do that to someone I loved.

But I was so close to breaking and I knew it. Everyday it became harder to resist him, harder to say no. It didn't matter that I was very aware of all the reasons to stay away from him. I wanted him.

"Grace?"

My eyes snapped open and fell on the now-awake Draco who was staring at me with a concerned and guilty expression. He was leaning on one elbow, his shirt wrinkled and his hair disheveled. What did he have to feel guilty about? Before I could say anything, he started talking all at once.

"I'm really sorry Grace, I never meant to- I mean I didn't think this would...You asked me to stay and I know you probably don't remember that but you did, so I stayed. I'm sorry, you fell asleep in the hallway so I brought you here. The Room of Requirement you know," He babbled, looking stricken, running a hand through his hair over and over again. "And I'm sorry I kissed you. I just...I don't know. I thought maybe-"

"It's okay."

"-you wanted me to. And I know that we...what?" He asked, stopping his stream of apologies.

"I said it's okay."

He stared at me. "What?"

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I don't blame you. I was one that asked you to stay. You had the decency to bring me here instead of just leaving me in the hallway. So thanks."

There was a long silence that was a little more than a bit uncomfortable. He was still staring at me and I couldn't find anywhere to look, so I settled for fixing my gaze on my hands in my lap.

"I miss you Grace," He whispered desperately. "I don't understand."

"I'm trying to protect you." I said, raising my eyes to meet his stony blue-gray ones that were bridled with emotion. "Don't you see how dangerous it is to be with me? I just want you to be safe."

He scoffed. "Don't you think it's a little late for that? Your father already knows that I betrayed him. He'll kill me either way."

"Well do you expect me to do nothing then?" I said a bit loudly, holding my hands out in front of me. "Do you expect me to be happy that I could get you killed? Just ignore that fact? I had to do anything I could!"

"Why do you even care?" He growled, standing up and beginning to pace across the room. "You don't care! You have Potter now and that's all that really matters to you isn't it?"

My mouth fell open in shock. "You know I don't think of Harry that way!"

"Sure you don't." He stood with his back to me, shaking slightly from anger.

"I don't!"

He whirled around to face me again. "Well he certainly thinks of you that way! You should see the way he stares at you, the way he hangs on your every word, the arrogant smirk of his whenever he's with you! He's in love with you!"

I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest. "Oh please. You're delirious." I said, even though I secretly harbored a suspicion that he was right. I did see the way Harry looked at me, I just chose to ignore it. Besides the fact, it was completely off topic. "What does Harry have to do with anything anyway?"

He clenched his hands into fists and looked like he was trying to resist hitting something. "He has to do with everything! He's a prick!"

"You're just jealous!" I spat.

Just as quickly as his rage had come, it left. His shoulders slumped and he leaned against the wall for support, looking defeated. A prickle of guilt went through me. I had hit the nail right on the head and Draco knew it. He had been jealous of Harry his whole life, now more than ever. It was like Snape with Lily; the ultimate low blow in any argument.

I sighed. "I'm sorry Draco. I shouldn't have said that."

He didn't reply, and remained slumped against the wall, his eyes downcast. He was stung by my words and I knew it.

Against my better judgement, I left the bed and walked to where he was standing. Unable to resist any longer, I wrapped my arms around his waist, trying to offer any comfort I could. I pressed my face into the soft light green shirt he was wearing. He was warm, like always, and sighed again at my embrace.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He asked, stepping out of my arms.

"I.." I stuttered, at a loss for words, momentarily stunned by his beautiful, heartbroken face.

"Tell me something." He said, brushing my hair back from my face gently. "Do you still love me?"

"Draco I-"

He cut me off. "Because if you do, I don't care about anything else. I don't care about your father. I don't care that I could die with you, I would die for you. So please, just tell me."

I swallowed my frantic heart beat and tried to focus. Hadn't he been the one who encouraged me to be selfish? Well I hoped he was ready to live with the consequences because I was going to give in. "Of course I love you," I admitted. "I never stopped."

"Then let me love you."

His mouth was on mine then, I was powerless to stop him. Not just because he was stronger than me, but because my mind was so incoherent that I doubted I would've been able to control my body if I had wanted to. He pinned me against the wall and I shuddered when he slipped his hands under my shirt. I hadn't realized how much I had missed this contact. He was grinning as he kissed me, whispering words of ultimate adoration.

"I love you." He said over and over again, making me tingle with happiness.

Before long, he tossed me on the bed and climbed over me with a smile, placing his forearms on either side of my head; forming a cage around me. I laughed and didn't protest. His desire was written all over his face and I gladly welcomed it.

Draco had been right. Being selfish never felt so good.

Clothes were quickly discarded and we both gasped at the feeling of bare skin that had been missed for so long. I reveled in the feeling of holding him close again, of his lips tracing patterns of want on my neck, of finally, finally being able to love him again. The only thought in my head was why I hadn't realized my stupidity a long time ago. I shivered and cried out under his touch, running my hands over the hard muscles of his back, trying to pull him even closer to me, though I knew we were as close as two people could get.

"Say you're mine." Draco commanded possessively, giving my lips time to breath.

"I'm yours." I promised, thinking back to the dream where I had said those exact words to him.

He brought his lips back to mine with a growl and I surrendered to him fully.

...

Afterward, we laid together tangled in a mess of sheets, waiting for our heart beats to slow. He held me close, despite the raging heat that ignited wherever we touched. I smiled. Draco seemed unwilling to let go of me at all, which suited me just fine.

What the hell just happened?

I wasn't entirely sure if this was real, or if I was just locked in one of my dreams. Draco and I were back together again all because I fell asleep in the hallway. I chuckled, what a weird thing to think. Yesterday we were ignoring each other completely and now we were in bed together. The suddenness shocked me, though it did not feel bad or wrong. Being in his arms felt entirely right.

"Hey, Grace?" Draco said, lips brushing my ear.

"Yes?" I asked, snuggling closer to his snowy chest.

"Why me?" He asked.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean why me. Why did you pick me? You're beautiful, you could have any guy you wanted. So why would you pick the damaged death eater?" He wasn't looking at me so I couldn't gauge what his exact emotion was in asking this. I decided to answer truthfully.

"Because we're the same kind." I said simply. "The kind that has been kicked to the dirt and judged and hated and feared, yet still tries to make things right. Because you understand without me having to explain it to you. You've been there. So have I."

I shrugged. "Not to mention you're not too bad looking yourself."

He laughed lightly and tightened his grip around me. "I don't think you can possibly comprehend how much I'm in love with you."

I just might be able to, I thought. Because I'm just as much in love with you.

"Hey Grace?" He asked again.

I smiled. "Yes?"

"I'm not letting you leave again. You're stuck with me for life." He said, planting a kiss to my temple.

I grinned and stretched up to touch my lips with his. "Forever."

... ... ... ... ... ... ...

hey guys...

well in honor of the Quarter Quell I decided to give you something that you all wanted...Draco and Grace together at last!

WOOP review por favor! I'll love you forever!

:D