Chapter Twenty-five: Starting Over

Hogsmeade Village, Scotland

November 16, 1996 (Draco Malfoy's sixth year)

Draco took Hermione's small plate and napkin and put them alongside his on the table for the time being. Reaching into the shopping bag from Honeyduke's, he pulled out one of the silver and green beribboned gift boxes of truffles that he'd earlier purchased.

"You have to close your eyes if you want a surprise," he propositioned his companion, throwing her a naughty grin over his shoulder.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Close my eyes for you?"

"What, don't you trust me, Granger?" he playfully accused.

Clearly she didn't, and he honestly couldn't blame her for her feelings, given what had happened between them. To his delight, however, she did as he'd requested and lowered her lashes. He felt very encouraged by her show of faith.

Quickly crossing over to the couch, he sat beside her again. Taking hold of her hands, he placed the box in them with care. "Okay, open."

A bright smile decorated Hermione's pretty features as she cracked open her lids and spied his offering. "You got me another gift!" she sounded genuinely surprised, "…and another ribbon."

They both chuckled at that.

He ran a finger over the green bow. "So it seems. The last one I gave you was much better, though," Draco stated with a small measure of playful arrogance, leaning back against the couch's soft cushions.

Hermione reached up to stroke the red ribbon hanging over her shoulder. Her eyes became glassy and distant for a moment. "Yes, it is. It's my favorite item in the whole world."

He sat up and at attention in his seat, shocked. Was she kidding? "No way, Granger. Nothing's more important to a witch than her wand."

She took a moment to mull his assumption over, but finally shook her head. "I'd pick the ribbon first. Funny, huh?"

His heart pounded out a fierce rhythm under his chest as he assessed her features and gauged her sincerity to be true. Quickly looking away, he was suddenly embarrassed to let her see how her words had deeply affected him. He didn't want her to think he was a milksop, for Merlin's sake. Still, he couldn't help but feel as if they'd made real progress thus far this afternoon.

The silky swish of the green trimming being pulled free of the box drew his attention, and he tucked away his thoughts and feelings for the moment to simply watch her, enamored by her simple joy in receiving something so small as a gift of candy.

When she opened the lid and perceived what lay beneath, she gasped in childlike pleasure. Lifting the box to her nose, she closed her eyes and inhaled. "Oh, I love chocolate truffles!"

A confident smirk slid into place on his lips. Chocolate was always the way to a woman's heart, he knew. Hell, it was the way to his heart, too, but he'd never openly admit that.

"Don't tell my parents that, though," she whispered in mock conspiracy. "They're dentists."

The word she labeled her mum and dad was foreign to Draco's ears. What was a 'den-tist'?

Before he could ask, Hermione took one of the truffles out of the box and bit into it, moaning with bliss. He felt his cheeks burn hot and his cock jump to attention in his trousers just watching her rose-colored lips wrap around the small, round candy. When her velvety, pink tongue darted out to lick her lips, he felt a wave of heat pass through his loins.

"I'm almost jealous."

She stopped and looked at him, a worry line marring her forehead. "What? Why?"

"Because you've moaned more with that truffle in the last thirty seconds than you have with me in the last two months," he stated, chuckling at the irony.

She blushed and held the box out to him. "Well, they're really good. Try one and you'll see."

He knew what the truffles tasted like, because they were his favorite confection, seconded only by that strawberry gum Nott had turned him onto just yesterday. However, this time, he decided to play along. He reached for her hand, the one holding the half-eaten truffle, and brought it up to his mouth. Being as playfully sensuous as he could, he took the candy from between her fingertips with his lips and teeth, and bit into it.

The look she gave him was absolutely priceless – a mixture of incredulity and a sizzling sexual tension. Like a doe cornered by an apex predator, her breathing sped up and her pupils flared.

Her response triggered his; he was suddenly very aroused. His pulse sped up and his belly tightened with desire as his sexual hunger for her swept through him. The darkness laying in wait in the back of his skull started chuckling, and it was a sinister sound, filled with arrogance and the promise of wicked sex. Mine, it purred, desperately trying to break through his mental barriers to come forward. She's mine. Give her to me!

Caught between his own need and that of the 'other' inside, Draco brought Hermione's hand back to his lips and began sucking on them, all the while holding her gaze. He laved the chocolate from the tips of her fingers with sensual, slow strokes of his tongue. "You're right," he murmured when he'd licked her clean, captivated by the golden glints in her amber-colored eyes and the rosy hue dusking her cheeks. "They're really good."

Hermione began to shiver - that despite the fact she was still wearing her coat and it was blazing warm in the room because of the fire in the hearth. "Your eyes," she whispered, and there was real fear in her tone. "They're darker. Like thunderclouds."

"Are they?"

Moving on pure instinct, he reached out and touched the ribbon in her hair, drawn to feel its softness between his fingers once more for a reason he couldn't fathom. The instant he made contact with it, the wicked personality within his mind fled back into the darkest crevice it could find, snarling in retreat. Draco's mental walls slammed back down into place, and he took a deep breath and let it out, instantly feeling more in control. Relief was heavy in his chest. He feared what the darker half would do were it ever to gain enough strength to overpower him.

"Are you all right?" she asked, concern furrowing her forehead. "You seemed so far away just now."

"You still have your jacket on," he stated, purposefully switching the topic, uneasy with discussing anything having to do with his split personality – especially with the girl he wanted never to scare off again. She'd definitely go running for the hills if she thought him a candidate for the Janus Thickey Ward. He gave one of her cuffs a small tug. "Why don't you take it off?"

That suggestion seemed to jar Hermione. "Oh, yes, you're right! Silly to keep it on indoors, isn't it?" Unbuttoning her jacket, her fingers fumbled with the task. Draco didn't dare help, knowing if he touched her just then, they might not stop at just unfastening her coat.

When she slipped the jacket free, he took it, as well as her scarf, and hung them both on a peg by the door next to his own. Task complete, he turned back… and found his witch was standing again, gazing down into the hearth much as she had when she'd first come into the room. Clearly, she was ill at ease. Her hands rested in the pockets of her dark jeans, her concentration lost in the flames, and even across the room, he could see her erect nipples straining against her cotton, long-sleeved shirt.

His breathing kicked up again, became rough, and he licked his suddenly dry lips, fighting back the incendiary blaze of heat that rolled over his senses. God, everything about this girl made him dizzy with need, and it was getting harder to discipline his sexual responses whenever she was around. Now that he'd had a taste of her – had felt her snug, sweet body take every inch of him in – he wanted more. He burned for it.

But equal to the desire for her body, he wanted her love. He wanted to be good enough to earn such a thing from her, too. She was everything right in the world – everything he was not. Perhaps he could learn to be with her help, though.

In order to do that, however, he first had to stop following his cock, and begin developing his conscience. That meant respecting her feelings before considering his own.

He crossed to her side, and put his hands on her shoulders to turn her towards him, noting the consternation marring her features. "Did I frighten you?" he asked, genuinely concerned.

She nodded her head. "A bit."

Draco could see the lingering flush under her skin, and felt its heat under his hands as he caressed over the sweep of her neck and around to cradle the back of her head. He leaned down and softly kissed her temple, shoving his need firmly to the side. "I'm sorry," he murmured, meaning it. He never wanted to scare her again – never wanted to see her look at him with that gut-wrenching mix of fury and fear, as she had the afternoon things had gone too far between them. "We don't have to do anything that you don't want. I'm satisfied just being here with you."

Her small fingers smoothed up his chest to rest upon his pecs, and he swallowed against the burning rush of blood that accompanied such an innocent act. Christ, she drove him mad with the smallest of touches!

"It's not that I don't want to do… things… with you. It's just that, well, we don't really know each other," she tried to explain, sounding entirely too composed and rational given their close proximity. "We've rushed things."

He nodded in understanding, leaning back a bit. "Maybe we should start over again, then," he offered.

"How?"

He thought about it, and an idea formed. "Come on," he urged, tugging her towards the couch. They took seats next to each other. Turning towards her, Draco took one of her hands in his and shook it by way of introduction. "Good afternoon, Miss. My name is Draco Malfoy, of the Wiltshire Malfoys, and I'm a right bastard."

The tension between them instantly evaporated as his witch let out a full belly laugh, and returned his greeting. "Well, hello, Sir of Questionable Repute. I'm Hermione Granger, born and raised in a small town in Surrey, and I'm… well, I'm considered a book enthusiast."

He huffed. "More like a book extremist to me. I've never seen anyone devour books like you do, Granger."

She lightly pushed against his shoulder with a grin."Psst, we're not supposed to know each other, remember?"

"Oh? I forgot," he lied with a smirk.

Hermione chuckled and then cleared her throat, pretending seriousness again. "So, Mister Malfoy, tell me a little more about you."

Draco sat back against the cushions of the couch, still holding onto Hermione's hand, liking this game they were playing. He traced his thumb over the back of her skin in soothing circles. "Well, Miss Granger, my parents are both purebloods from a very old family. I'm filthy rich and the ladies all love me. I'm in my sixth-year at Hogwarts - Slytherin to the core - and I'm a real child prodigy, magically-speaking."

"Yes, yes. Everyone is aware that you're the genius six-year old who can do non-verbal spells," she grumbled and rolled her eyes.

He gently poked her in the ribs. "Psst, we're not supposed to know each other, remember?"

The saucy bird actually winked at him. "Oh? I forgot."

Laughter burst forth from his lips without thought or concern, and he shook his head in amazement. A week ago, he never would have bet that they'd be here in this room together, much less getting along, enjoying each other's humor. It was surreal.

"And what about you, Miss Granger?" he asked returning to the game. "I want to hear more about you."

She leaned back against the cushions, too, her head near his. "I'm a sixth-year at Hogwarts as well – Gryffindor and proud. I strive to maintain top grades, and I like to read books not just to learn, but because I love the beauty of the written word. I'm Muggle-born, but my family is rather well-to-do. My parents are both dentists, you see."

Ah, here was his chance to ask her more about this particular Muggle topic that he knew little about. "You said that word before. What exactly is a 'dentist' anyway? Is it some sort of special appointment?"

She looked surprised at his unfamiliarity with the term. "But you should remember from Muggle Studies that…" She trailed off, as she seemed to abruptly remember that he hadn't taken that particular class since the last year it was required – their third. After that, he'd dropped it from his curriculum. "Ah, well, 'dentists' are doctors who take care of teeth," she explained.

Draco couldn't hide the wave of disgust that overcame him. "You mean they stick their hands in people's mouths?"

Hermione seemed to find his reaction most amusing. "Well, it's not as if Muggles have access to magical potions or spells to cure their ailments, do they? They have to do everything the old-fashioned way – by sticking their hands in each other's bodies."

"Nasty, Granger," he gagged. "I could have gone my whole life without knowing that."

She did laugh at him then. "You asked. Besides, in the Muggle world, being a dentist is a highly respected profession that pays well. Like a good Apothecary or Healer in our world."

"Our world?"

Hermione tilted her head, confused by his slip of a question. "Hmm?"

Draco cleared his throat, acutely aware that the subject of her birth and being raised Muggle would be too sensitive to discuss. "It's not important," he hastily replied.

She threw him an exasperated look, and waved her hand to encourage him to speak his mind.

He approached the issue with extreme caution. "It's just that, well, you said 'our world' and it set me back a bit," he admitted.

From the look on her face, she was positively baffled by his statement. "Why would it?"

He struggled for the right words to explain his thoughts without offending her."It's just that as a… Mu-Muggle-born," he stumbled, almost calling her the derogatory slur by force of habit, "it's something of a surprise to me that you might consider the wizarding world as being where you really belonged - long-term, I mean."

She removed her hands from his in a quick pull. "And why wouldn't I refer to it as such? I am a full-fledged witch, after all."

Instant regret flashed through his belly. "I didn't mean to insult you," he backpedaled, feeling foolish for having opened his mouth. "I just thought you'd consider the Muggle world, where you were raised, as being more yours, if that makes sense."

"You didn't mean to insult me? Really?" she reproached with angry sarcasm, tears springing to her eyes. "Well, then I'd say you've spectacularly failed, as I am most assuredly insulted! You almost called me a 'Mudblood' again, Malfoy. I caught the fumble, so don't deny it! And worse, you've once more made it clear that I don't belong alongside other magic users simply because I was born to non-magical parents. Never mind the fact that I'm perfectly capable of hexing your rotten, foul mouth permanently shut!" She hopped up, making to leave, her anger rushing through the room like a swarm of angry bees. "Oh, forget it! Forget any of this! Why I even thought I could trust you again is beyond me!"

Panicked that he'd lose her for good should she walk out the door, Draco grabbed her wrist and made his feet, desperate to stop her. "I didn't mean it," he apologized in a rush. "I'm sorry!"

Hermione opened her mouth, clearly intending to blast him with a stream of vitriolic, uncomplimentary insults, but to his surprise, she instead closed her lips and stared up at him with daggers in her sharp gaze. Meeting that hard, chestnut brown stare, Draco was very aware in that moment that she could, in fact, curse him exactly as she'd promised – and she was probably debating doing just that, too. He knew that he had only seconds to fix this mistake.

"Granger, please try to understand. My parents raised me to believe certain… aspects of human nature. They educated me with a specific vocabulary and under a rigorous understanding of society's divisions. The separation of classes was their faith, and they nurtured me to share in their convictions. It's difficult to undo a lifetime's beliefs in only a few months, but I'm honestly trying to look beyond their ways now."

Her anger faltered in the face of his explanation, but still, he could see the wariness in her expression. She was afraid of trusting him again, and could he blame her? He'd hurt her for years with his father's words.

Hesitantly stepping closer to her, he tried to convey his sincerity with gentle stroking over her inner wrist and by speaking from the heart – something he'd rarely done in his life, but was learning to do now because of this girl. "I'm really trying. I want" – he swallowed back his pride – "to be a better man - for you. I need you to help me." Reaching up, he trailed a fingertip over her cheek with tenderness. "I'm honestly sorry that I hurt you again."

He knew he'd won her forgiveness when she let out a small huff and softened. "Apology accepted. Just… don't call me that horrid name ever again. You know – the 'M' word. It hurts, Draco. It hurts enough that it could make me walk away from you… permanently. Understand?"

He accepted her censure with a stiff nod. "I understand."

To his surprise, she stepped into him and placed her forehead on his chest. Her thin arms wrapped about his waist and held on. He returned the hug, laying his cheek on the top of her head.

"I know you're trying, Draco. I see it. I sense it. Something changed in you this year, and I know you want things to be different between us. That's why… I can forgive you – for all of it."

He knew she was speaking of more than just their conversation of the last hour, but of every interaction they'd ever had prior to today. Every awful insult he'd ever slung at her, every bit of emotional, physical, and mental torture he'd heaped upon her and her friends, and for having stolen her innocence… she forgave him for it all, just like that. As if it were the simplest thing in the world to turn the other cheek and let the past rest.

Draco was rendered speechless by the power of her compassion. He'd never known another human being – not even his self-sacrificing mother, whom he'd considered the pinnacle of virtue – to be so pure and good of soul. He held her in a fierce embrace, and pressed his nose into her wild curls to find a measure of peace from her soft, feminine scent, unable to find any words to thank her for her merciful absolution.

They stood like that for long minutes, learning from the silence how to be accepting of each other.

At some unspoken signal, Hermione broke the mood by leaning back in his arms and smiling up at him. A frisky playfulness danced in her bright eyes. "Well, it's not as if you're the only one who owes an apology, I suppose." Now her cheeks were suffused with heat, and he knew it wasn't caused by the warmth of the room. "I did hit you in third-year," she admitted with a repentant expression. "And then there was the hex in fourth-year-"

He chuckled and held a hand up to halt her list of their numerous soured run-ins. "Yes, I'm still traumatized by the violence you perpetrated on my person those times, Granger. I'm not sure I'll ever fully recover being attacked by your proficient wand-aim, you violent harpy."

She laughed, smacked him on the arm for his 'harpy' comment, and just like that, the argument was over. With a spirited tug, Hermione grabbed him and pulled him back down onto the sofa with her, returning to their previous positions. She leaned back against the cushions again, still holding onto his hand, and continued with the charade they'd been playing earlier. "So, what do you like to do for fun, Mister Malfoy?" she asked.

"Kiss girls," he sassed with a huge grin, relieved that the confrontation had been resolved and that she was willing to pick up where they'd left off.

Hermione gave him a coy smile. "Ah. I see. Girls, plural. So, any witch will do, then?"

He shook his head. "No, just one, actually. She's perfect for me in every way." He gave a faux suffering sigh, playing the part of the frustrated lover. "But convincing her that I'm the King of the Good Snog is turning out to be harder than I'd anticipated."

She indelicately snorted, and the sound made him grin. "I suppose you think her a very lucky lady, indeed – kissed by the 'incomparable' Draco Malfoy," she teased, rolling her eyes.

His gaze was unwittingly drawn to her impish, pink mouth, noting a tiny smudge of chocolate powder in the corner crease. "Of course! Not just anyone will do to touch these lips, Miss Granger. Only the best is allowed to sample." With a flirtatious smirk, he angled towards her, desperate to lick the sweet from her mouth. "Perhaps I should demonstrate my skill for you, so you can know just how lucky the girl in question is and doubt me no more. What do you say?"

Before she could curse his arse for being so cheeky, he swooped down and took her lips in a tantalizing, open-mouthed kiss.

He'd meant the caressing of their lips to be a simple contact - quick and fun, and just part of the game they'd been playing - but when Hermione returned the endearment with an eager passion, throwing her arms around his neck, Draco quickly changed his mind. A rapid tattoo of lust slammed into him, and he groaned, low and with unrestrained longing. He deepened the kiss, sweeping his tongue into the heated depths of her mouth, caressing and coaxing her responses, tasting the chocolate she'd eaten earlier. He took it slow, exploring every crevice, lapping across her lips and savoring her lush mouth.

The tiny whimper she made in the back of her throat and the way her trembling hands gripped him got him harder than steel in seconds. It also, unfortunately, began to call to the darkness within him. He felt it insidiously slinking forward, looking for a way past his guard.

I want her! She's mine!

He slammed the wickedness back where it belonged within the cage of his mind, forcibly restraining the compulsions it projected to throw Hermione down and rip into her. He would not let this 'other' hurt her – or dictate the tone of their sexual interactions, as it had last week. He would not let it ruin this second chance she'd given them.

Since they were starting over, and he needed to regain her trust, he decided in the spur of the moment that he would give up the lead this time and allow his witch the opportunity to take control of this session. "Kiss me how you want," he encouraged her between pulls of their lips. "Show me what you want, Hermione."

Her lashes fluttered as they rose to half-mast, and she met his gaze. There was trepidation in her expression, but more importantly, there was heat. He needed only to convince her to shunt the former aside, and to allow the latter its freedom.

"I'm yours," he promised, buzzing her mouth with his own. "Take me how you want me. You set the pace."

It was the absolute right thing to say.

Granger flushed with eagerness and pressed forward, parting his lips with her soft tongue and plunging inside. Draco let her discover this new power that she had over him, following her lead and being careful not to push his own agenda. He kept his hands on either side of her head, palms down on the cushion - just to be sure they didn't wander.

A ragged groan was torn from his throat when her sweet tongue tempted his to come into her mouth once more. He did as she bade, and felt his spine bow when she caught his tongue in a light hold and began suckling upon it. Mimicking the sex act, he slipped it in and out between the seam of her mouth, wishing it were his cock sliding between those reddened lips instead. The idea of her sucking him off had his steely length twitching and leaking pearls of pre-come, wetting the fabric of his trousers.

Damn, but it was time to stop, before he gave into his desire to push for more.

With a final nip at her bottom lip, he pulled back and placed his nose against her cheek, lovingly rubbing against her, trying to control his pounding heart. "That was nice."

To his surprise, Hermione kept trying to nudge his mouth back to hers, clearly wanting more. "You said that last night, too," she reminded him, lightly scraping her fingernails across the nape of his neck, even as she scooted closer. He could feel her taut nipples pressing against his chest.

What the bloody hell was she doing?

Her mouth hovered against his ear, breathing hot, moist breath upon his skin. "You said you were mine. You said I could take you as I wanted. Well, I want more, Malfoy. Give me more."

A flush of sweat broke out over his brow, and his sac tightened up with anticipation. Shite, he wanted to give her exactly what she was begging for, but he worried that if they went even a bit further that he wouldn't have the fortitude to stop them from taking things much too far. He didn't want to be blamed in the aftermath, or to have her run out on him again, throwing curses his way.

Her mouth continued pressing kisses along his jaw and down over the sensitive flesh above his pulse, causing his belly to quiver. When her outer thigh nudged his raging erection, tiny electric shocks travelled down Draco's spine. He shuddered with a violent desire and his breath hitched in his chest. "Hermione, we should stop," he cautioned, his hands clenching into fists as he attempted to curb them from touching her. "My restraint isn't the best right now."

She ignored the advice and bit down, sinking her tiny, white teeth into his flesh. He groaned at the pleasurable sensation. Turning his head into her, he tried to cut off further access to his neck. "Granger, I'm serious," he tried again, but couldn't finish as she simply adjusted her angle and licked the corner of his mouth instead. He jerked in response.

Son of a… she was trying to seduce him!

"If you don't quit doing that," he growled, "you're going to get more than you bargained for, witch. Is that what you want?"

"Hmmm," she unconcernedly replied and moved back to suckling upon his neck. She used enough pressure that he knew she was leaving a love bite upon him.

She was marking him as hers.

The idea made him literally quake with need.

Draco's hands moved of their own accord to the back of her head, gripping the red ribbon that she'd tied in her hair. Scarlet fire burst through his senses, heightening his arousal and strengthening the mental walls he'd erected to keep the dark thing inside of him at bay. He leaned his mouth to Hermione's pulse, expelling hot breaths onto the exposed skin. His dick was so hard in his pants that it was throbbing now, and he knew that he was a bare inch from losing all control.

"Last chance, Granger: I'm going to fuck you into the sofa, right here and now, if we don't stop," he warned.

Hermione boldly crawled onto his lap, straddling his thighs with her own, pressing their cores together. She locked her hands behind his neck, thrusting her fingers into his hair, and kissed him with a desperate quality. He knew then that he was lost.

She is yours, the foreign, mystical woman with the odd accent spoke to him once again within the confines of his head. And you are hers. You belong to each other. It is destiny.

Destiny. The preordained future. He'd always thought Trelawney to be barking mad whenever the woman went off about the concept, as he'd never believed in it. However, something about loving Hermione Granger felt unquestionably foreordained. Being with her in this manner – kissing her, loving her - felt right in a way that nothing else ever had.

She wanted this. He did, too. And they were apparently meant for each other…

Willingly, he let go and obeyed his supposed fate.

Like their first time, the switch in his body that held his sexual restraint snapped off, and his desire flared between them. Throwing an arm around Hermione's waist, and using the other to cradle the back of her head, he laid her back against the cushions of the couch, ravaging her mouth anew. Her lips opened for him as she moaned hungrily. Lust speared through him in a scalding flash. He needed her naked – now. He broke the kiss for only a moment to pull his jumper and shirt up over his head. Both were flung to the floor with a careless toss.

Before he could check the motion, his partner's cool hands were smoothing up his bare chest in a slow glide. "I love the way you look," she murmured, seemingly mesmerized. Her eyes glittered with hunger as she appraised his upper body. "You're perfectly built. Sleek, strong…" Her fingers traced the ridges of his abs, his pecs, and up over the delicate bones of his collar. Her sensual learning of his torso had him shivering, especially when her nails dug into his shoulders. "Your skin is so pale, like the moon." Her gaze met his. "Why hadn't I noticed before?"

The look in her eyes left no doubt - her desire for him was on equal footing this time. They were going to have sex, and neither of them would regret it later.

"You know why," he said in a soft whisper. There was no need to rehash what they both remembered about their negative history. He didn't want the mood killed either, so acting quickly, he yanked her shirt up and over her shoulders, throwing it aside. The centre clasp of her bra was nimbly undone, and he slid the straps and cups aside, baring her to his view. "You have the most beautiful golden skin," he murmured, touching her in the same manner as she'd done him. "And your breasts… Christ, Granger, these are the nicest tits I've ever seen. I love how sensitive your nipples are." He rolled them between his fingers and thumbs, and as expected, she gasped and arched into him.

Too tempted by the feast laid out before him, he dropped his head and took one of the swollen, little points between his lips and kissed it.

"Draco," her cry was desperate as he opened his mouth and sucked the nip deeper, laving his tongue over it. Her nails dug deeper into his skin.

His hands drifted to the clasp on her jeans and he unbuttoned it. The zip was loud as it came down. "Want you naked," he murmured, pulling the waist of her Muggle pants down over her hips, even as he switched his mouth's attentions to her other, neglected breast. Hermione helped him, lifting her bottom off the couch so he could yank the jeans down her legs. He had to pull his mouth from hers to be able to reach as he tugged the cuffs down and slipped the denims free.

"Sit up for me and lose the bra," he instructed, backing off so she could do so.

With a quick adjustment, her lingerie was off and she flung it across the opposite arm of the couch. He noted that her berry-ripe nipples were prominent and begging for his attention. He would give it to them soon, but first… He knelt between her legs, running his hands up and down her calves and thighs, pressing kisses to the dimples of her knees. Hooking his fingers into her knickers, he silently required her to lift her backside one more time with a tender pat to her bum, and when she complied, he slid her panties down and off. With a nudge, her thighs opened for him and he was suddenly staring once more into the centre of her femininity.

"God, you're beautiful," he hummed. He reached up and stroked two fingers between her slick folds. She practically came off the couch at the contact. "So wet for me." He flicked her tiny clit and she gasped. "I want to lick this pretty pussy, Granger. Open wider for me."

Her inner thigh muscles began trembling, but she did as he asked, leaning back further into the sofa. Using his thumbs, he parted the soft lips. Shite, she was so small, the opening so slight. How had they… It almost didn't seem possible. Yet, he knew he'd been in there, held tight by her snug flesh. No one else could ever boast that. He'd been her first – her only.

That was how things would remain, if he had his way.

He dropped his lips to her little nub and suckled upon it, even as he entered her with first one finger, then two, easing the way. Her hands immediately clasped into his hair and she cried out his name in ecstasy. She bent her knees and rested her heels on the edge of the couch, throwing her head back into the soft cushion.

"Draco… oh, God!"

Lapping his tongue through the juices of her sweet, delicious cunt, his fingers burrowed as deep as they could go inside her soft flesh, tickling the inside by curling and releasing, curling and releasing. He established a rhythm then of gentle, teasing in and out motion, even as his free hand brushed over her abdomen, rubbing to soothe her lingering nervousness. He could feel her tension, knew she wanted this as much as he, but it was only her second time. He had to make it good for her to make up for their first encounter…

With his blood thundering through his veins, he ate her out with sensual licks and kisses, and fucked her with his fingers in a manner meant to bring her close to the edge as quickly as possible. Her shaking body and desperate cries soon mounted, until she was begging him to bring her. He knew then that she was ready for him.

Pulling back, he lifted his mouth to hers and let her taste her salty-sweet essence upon his lips, even as he stripped off the remainder of his clothes in a rush. When he was as naked as she, he stood up and wrapped his arms about her waist, pulling her up. "Hold onto me," he directed her, and her arms came about his neck, embracing him as he'd asked. Moving quickly, he shoved the tops of his thighs under hers, raising her up onto the back of couch. "Okay?"

It was the last out for both of them, and they equally knew it. She nodded, moving in for a kiss of reassurance. He gave it to her, even as he held his cock up with one hand, lined it correctly, and then entered her in one swift thrust at the same time as pulling her down onto him.

They both shouted with pleasure at the sensation of him parting her tight quim until he was buried to the hilt.

The feeling of her soft, wet body clasping about his length once again was exquisite. Her channel was pure silk around him, and gripped him tight. The broad head of him was tucked in against her womb in a perfect fit. With shallow surges, he worked his length back and forth a few times to stretch her out. Hermione gasped and shuddered with each withdrawal. "Like that?" he asked, lips pressed to her throat, nibbling upon it.

"Yes," she replied, her tone breathy, her mouth pressed to the bend of his neck. "Oh, Draco… this is… this is how it should have been."

"I know, baby," he replied, the endearment falling from his lips as effortlessly as his own name. "I'll make it so good this time, promise."

She nodded, leaning back to press her lips to his. "I know."

He kissed her long and hard, holding onto her and directing her to move over him. Their pelvises rocked against each other, and she bucked against him as she came down upon his shaft. Her juices were flowing now, coating him, making the way slick and easy. Her legs wrapped about his waist, and she tightened up her lower muscles, urging him to go deeper and harder. Adjusting the angle of his penetration, the wet sounds of flesh meeting flesh grew loud as he held with an almost bruising force to her hips and pounded into her, pushing her deep into the cushions on the back of the couch.

Sinking with each thrust to the base, marrying them together with full, complete strokes, he gave everything he had to Hermione. His heart felt like it was on the verge of exploding within his chest, and sweat gathered in the crevices of his body, and over his lip and brow. The pain of holding back his orgasm was excruciating and sharp, but he refused to let go until she did. He wouldn't cheat her this time.

"Close?" he asked, fighting his body's release with gritted teeth.

"Almost," she gasped into his neck. "I can't… I'm so close, but…"

His hips bunched and rolled as he slammed into her, and he dropped one hand to rub her clit in circles with his thumb.

"Yes," she encouraged him, her voice coming out as a hiss of pleasure. She dug her nails in deeper. "Oooh, I'm… a little more!"

The heat centered in his balls was beginning to pulse up and into his cock. He was seconds from spilling into her. He needed to bring her first. He needed to hear the words from her mouth that he'd been desperate to hear for so long. "Tell me you wanted this – that you won't regret it," he hissed in agony. "Tell me you won't run from me this time. Just… just tell me that you love me like I love you. Christ, please tell me, Granger!"

Hermione began sobbing into his neck, her body shaking as she approached the edge of madness. "Yes, I wanted this - wanted you, Draco, and I won't… I won't run," she confessed in between great, gasping breaths.

He pinched her throbbing, swollen clit and in a tightening rush, her orgasm hit its high. Red fire burst around them both. Her insides clenched, suckled upon him, dragging him into her so deep that he was lodged right against the entrance to her womb again. "I love you, Draco!" she screamed, throwing her head back in bliss, ranking her nails down his arms. "Oh, God, I love you!"

Her release brought him, and in an explosion of scalding feeling, he fell over the edge with her, shouting his pleasure to the ceiling. His seed poured out of him in wave after wave of unending ecstasy as his climax shook him, body and soul. Sweat dripped from his upper lip and down his temple as his body shuddered from the intensity of his ejaculation.

When the pulses tapered off and finally ended, and every drop was wrung out of him and into her, Draco felt utterly drained, boneless, and drifted on a sea of pure contentment. He rode the glow with a happy, silly smile plastered to his face. Fuck, but he'd never come so hard in all his life and he felt good just then.

The two of them stayed like that even after their hearts had stopped racing and their bodies had come back under their control, both so shaken by the experience they'd just shared that words seemed clumsy and inadequate to describe it.

After an indeterminate amount of time, Draco moved his cheek up to hers, lazily stroking across her skin like a great, sated cat. "You can't take it back, Granger," he murmured. "Not ever."

He opened his lids to find Hermione staring at him. Tears swam in her eyes, but she was smiling in happiness. Her fingers moved to stroke over his brow and down, following the curve of his jaw, finishing by feathering over his lips. "I knew it would be like this with you," she whispered, repeating back to him the words he'd spoken to her in September.

Draco's heart knocked around under his ribs at the poignancy of her words, and his chest and throat went tight with emotion. He crushed her to him once more, feeling tears sting his vision.

Fortune. Doom. Karma. Whatever Trelawney wanted to call it, whatever awaited him tomorrow, if it was indeed his lot to die for betraying Lord Voldemort and for loving Hermione Granger, Draco now knew that he could do that. He'd do it willingly. So long as the girl in his arms loved him, he could do anything.

TO BE CONTINUED…

AUTHOR'S NOTES FOR CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE:

Recommended Music selection for this chapter:

"With You I'm Born Again" (Cover song) by Kenny Lattimore & Chante Moore (Draco and Hermione's thoughts about each other)