This is definitely an M rated chapter!!!!
Chapter Twenty-Six
Another Year Gone
October 2006
"Miley, hold still, honey," Hermione said as she tried to hold her daughter still as she was putting on her Halloween costume. She was going to bee a princess, and Hermione was trying without success to get the plastic tiara pinned to her freshly curled (but normally straight) blonde hair in the bathroom.
"I wanna go play, Mummy!" Miley whined. For a two year-old, she sure whined well – classic signs of a daddy's girl.
Draco and Harry had come up with the brilliant idea of dressing James and Tyler as Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch players. Hermione had to admit, they looked adorable even though she discouraged the house rivalry so soon.
Hermione was slightly worried about tonight, going out of the house and letting the twins out of the house and being out herself. At first she didn't think it was such a good idea, but Narcissa insisted to Draco that it was perfectly safe to stay in the neighborhood full of Muggles. Besides, it had been over a year and nothing had happened. Hermione was thrilled to be going somewhere other than the Burrow. At any rate, they were going to be surrounded by Aurors, Harry and Ron included.
"Mummy?" a little voice came from the bathroom doorway.
Hermione turned to the door and saw her son with his straight brown hair and big chocolate eyes standing in the doorway. He was already clad in his green Quidditch robes, brown leather shoulder pads and all. She smiled at him. She always did have a thing for Quidditch players, therefore knew he would be a little heartbreaker when he made his House team at Hogwarts one day.
"What is it, Ty?" she asked.
"Uncle Ron and Auntie Addison are here," he announced, proud that he delivered the message all by himself.
"Okay, love," Hermione said. She turned back to Miley and picked her up off the counter, only to set her right back down on the floor. "Are you all set, Princess Smiley?" she asked.
Miley nodded, her curls bouncing about. Hermione grabbed her daughter's hand, then Tyler's on the way out the door.
When they got downstairs, they saw Harry fastening on James's shoulder pads. He turned around when the twins and Hermione came down the stairs. "Hey, Miles, don't you look pretty!"
Miley blushed.
"Can you say thank you to Uncle Harry, Miley?" Hermione asked, giving her daughter's tiny hand a little tug.
"Tank you," Miley said with a smile that could melt the coldest of hearts, not to mention the adorable way she said "tank" instead of "thank."
"Me?" Tyler asked, feeling left out.
Harry and Hermione laughed and Harry said, "You look like a natural-born Quidditch player, little man!"
"That's because he is, Potter!" Draco said, coming in from the kitchen, Ron and Addison right behind. "And so is Miley. It was Hermione's idea to dress her as a princess." Draco turned to his daughter. "An adorable one, though," he said while holding out his arms to her.
Miley ran to Draco and he scooped her up. Her eyes that were a spitting image of her father's silvery blue ones got huge as he spun her around in a circle and she giggled. "I love you, little princess," he said in her ear.
"I lub you too, Daddy," she said, again unable to pronounce the word "love" and she threw her tiny arms around his neck.
"Is everyone ready?" Ginny asked, coming down the stairs, arms full of a little pumpkin named Albus Severus who was born September 20, the day after Hermione's birthday.
"I think so," Hermione said. "Does everyone have their treat bags?"
James, Miley, and Tyler nodded and held up the proof. Tyler and James had candy buckets shaped like giant Snitches, and Miley had one that looked like a giant pink-tinted bubble to match her pink dress.
"Dean and Seamus are waiting outside," Ron informed them.
"Right," Harry said, putting Al in his stroller, "let's go then!"
Hermione took Miley's right hand in her left, and her other hand occupied Tyler's left. Miley flung her left hand out for James.
Ginny laughed and said, "They're inseparable, I swear," as she took James's free hand.
They all walked outside and across the street where Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan were waiting.
The men all shook hands then Seamus said to the kids, "You all look great!" Then he turned to Harry and said, "But Harry, eh, don't you think the neighbors might ask what the boys are supposed to be? What are you gonna tell 'em?"
"Bloody hell," Harry said under his breath, then louder, "Malfoy!"
"What?" Draco asked walking over. "Finnigan hitting on you again?" He turned to Seamus, "He's married, Finnigan, and get some taste, will you?"
"I could tell Hermione the same," Seamus retorted. "But no, I was just asking Potter what you planned to do when the neighbor's inquire about the Quidditch robes on your sons."
"Shite," Draco muttered and Harry nodded.
"Exactly."
Hermione walked over. "What's going on?"
"We dressed James and Tyler in wizard costumes to go trick or treating in a Muggle neighborhood, that's what," Draco said.
"I've already thought about that," Hermione said. "We'll tell them they're designer costumes. Someone thought that the idea of kids dressing up as plain witches and wizards was tiring, so they came up with a magical sport with balls that fly." She gestured to the giant Snitches.
With no warning, Draco scooped Hermione into his arms and kissed her. "You're a genius, you know that, Granger?"
"For the last time, Malfoy, I'm no longer Granger, and I know I'm a genius." She smiled, "But I'll take another one of those kisses." She closed her eyes and puckered her lips dramatically, tapping them with her index finger.
Draco picked up Tyler and held him out in front of Hermione, putting his face to hers. Tyler kissed his mummy and giggled.
Hermione opened her eyes in surprise then laughed. "Oh, well that one was just as nice!" She held out her arms for her son and Draco handed him over. He then went over to Hermione and took her face gently in his hands and turned it towards him. He kissed her softly, then slowly moved their lips together and pulled away after only a few short seconds. Hermione absolutely melted when he did that. Hermione put Tyler down, who went to Addison's waiting arms.
Draco wrapped Hermione fully in his strong arms now and held her tight to him. She put her hands weakly on his lower back and rested her head with her ear against his chest. "Can I tell you a secret?" he asked.
Hermione pulled away only enough to look into his eyes, and that was his answer.
"I'm terrified, Hermione, I'm absolutely petrified about being out of that house today. I don't have a good feeling."
If possible, he was even paler than usual, and his voice shook, something that never happened to the impenetrable Draco Malfoy. Hermione had only seen him look this utterly weak and terrified once before, and that was the day he told her what his father used to make him do to Muggle-born girls, and what would probably happen to her back in seventh year.
Hermione gripped him tighter and said, "I wish there was something I could say or do to reassure you, but I have no idea what will happen today. All I do know is that it feels so incredibly good to be out of that house."
"It's not worth it, Hermione. I can't lose you."
"I know, baby, but we can't let the kids down. They're so excited."
Draco tilted his head back slightly and looked at the darkening sky. He found the full moon menacing for the first time in his life. He looked back down at Hermione who was staring at him with worried eyes. He leaned down and kissed her again. "Don't let go of me all night, okay?" he requested when they broke the kiss.
Hermione agreed and said, "I love you, Draco."
Draco felt like crying, or puking, one of the two. However, he refused to allow his body either convenience. "I love you too," he managed to choke out. He brought his hands to her face again, and moved them back so they were over her ears and he held her head. "Promise me, Hermione Jean Malfoy. Don't let go of me, for any reason."
"But what if…" she started, only to be interrupted and have a hand put over her mouth.
"There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it, Malfoy," he said, being sure not to call her Granger, "I can't risk it. And Miley and Tyler will be holding hands with an adult at all times, or being carried."
Hermione nodded and he kissed her again, a little rougher than the previous times.
"Are you two ready?" Ginny called.
"We're coming," Hermione answered. "Let's go, Draco. It will all be over before you know it. It will all be over," she repeated, meaning to be reassuring.
Draco put an arm tightly around her shoulders, and she wrapped one around his waist. Ginny pushed the stroller and Harry carried both Miley and James while Ron held Tyler's hand as they all walked to the first house.
A couple of hours and three candy buckets-full later, Ginny announced, "Okay, last house, everyone! Al's sound asleep already, anyway!"
Hermione, Draco, and Harry, accompanied the three kids up the porch steps and Draco knocked on the door. "It looks pretty dark, maybe they're not home," he observed, looking at the front window.
But just then, someone opened the door and Hermione nearly screamed, then remembered she wasn't supposed to be afraid of Lucius anymore.
The night before Halloween, Draco and Hermione were in bed and cuddling, sitting up against the headboard, sometimes talking, sometimes not. This had become their usual routine since fear for Hermione's life had been instilled upon them. Before Grimmauld, Hermione would always read, and Draco would either watch her he'd or read also.
But now, that always felt like a waste of time. Sometimes, they made love, just like they would do tonight. Tonight was different from all the other times, though. Neither of them could explain exactly what it was. It was like they just knew it had to be special but didn't know why.
Draco kissed the side of Hermione's head and said, "Close your eyes, Hermione, and don't open them until I say."
Hermione eyed him suspiciously, but he just smiled, so she did as she was told. She didn't even peek, though one couldn't say she wasn't tempted.
She could hear Draco scurrying around the room, but had no idea what he was doing. Finally he announced, "Okay, Mione, you can open them."
She did just that, and gasped at what she saw. Draco had put pillar candles of different colors all around the room. Some were scarlet, others white, and some were green. The dozens of candles were all that was giving light to the room, and some were floating.
Hermione scooted to the middle of the bed and crossed her legs. Draco joined her on the bed, and knelt facing her, putting his hands on her shoulders. She brought her hands up to cover his and asked, "Does this night feel ominous to you, too?"
Draco closed his eyes for a moment, then looked right into hers, moving his face closer to hers. "The truth?"
Hermione simply nodded, never breaking her gaze with her husband.
"Yes. I know we're not supposed to have a grim outlook on this whole thing, but I can't help it. I don't have a good feeling, and I don't want to waste one single minute with you."
Hermione considered that for a moment, then smiled and said, "An ironic choice of words."
Draco looked confused. "Ironic?"
"Yeah, grim. Having a grim outlook could either mean a negative outlook, or an outlook that foresees death."
Draco rolled his eyes. "For someone who doesn't fall for that Divination shite, that was a pretty Trelawney-ish comment."
"Thanks a lot," Hermione said with a faux pout.
Draco lifted her chin with one finger. "Sorry, love," he said with a laugh. "But seriously, I need to make love to you, Hermione, and I wanted to do this like it was as special as the first time we were together."
Hermione smiled. "I don't want to waste any time either. But let's not spend the time being terrified of losing each other. Let's just…appreciate this night, milk it for all it's worth."
"That sounds like an amazing plan," he agreed. "I love you, Hermione," he said, brushing a hand against her cheek. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes.
She opened them, and was slightly surprised to find his face less than an inch from hers. He kissed her, softly at first, then let his lips move over hers. His tongue traced her bottom lip, and she moaned softly in the way that made him ache. He sought entrance and it was quickly granted. He ran his right hand through her hair and rested it on the back of her head.
Hermione closed her eyes and tilted her head back as Draco's lips traced her chin, down to her pulse point, where he sucked lightly on the tender skin. He kissed back up her jaw line, and moved his mouth back to her mouth. Their tongues danced their usual tango, but somehow, if it was possible, there was more love in that kiss than either of them had ever felt before, and it caused Hermione to gasp.
Draco pulled away from the kiss and put his hands under Hermione's t-shirt and skimmed his fingers along her lower abdomen, still kissing her mouth fervently. He started to pull her shirt over her head, and their lips parted for the briefest of moments. Draco skillfully resumed kissing her as he removed her bra slowly, being sure to take his time with every move he made.
Hermione's fingers, shaking for the first time since their first time, undid the buttons of Draco's shirt, and he patiently let her struggle, for he was in no hurry whatsoever. But, he did put his hands over hers while she worked. His shirt was finally off, and Hermione ran her fingers lightly down his torso, from his shoulders, down over his hard pecs, and finally past his abs.
They explored each other's bodies like teenagers who had never seen someone of the opposite gender naked before, memorizing every single minute detail.
Draco crawled up and lay Hermione gently on her back. He kissed her chest right over her heart, then sat up and put his cold hands on her stomach with the lightest touch. As he inched them down at what felt like a millimeter per second, his thumbs rubbed slow circles on her skin. Finally, he reached the waist band of her lounge pants. He pulled at the string slowly, watching every move he made with deep concentration.
He pulled her purple striped pants slowly down her smooth pale legs, letting his fingers graze her thighs. He kissed one thigh after the other, alternating between the two. He pulled the pants over her feet, and tossed them to the floor. He left her underwear for later, and lay on his back.
Taking that as her cue, Hermione sat up and bent over Draco to kiss him. Her hands started in his hair, and caressed their way down his arms as she kissed him, biting and sucking his top and bottom lips at separate times. They didn't close their eyes as they kissed, but watched each other's eyes carefully.
Hermione put her hands on his pants button, and undid it, then pulled down the zipper. Like Draco, she watched her hands while they worked. Unlike Draco, however, she pulled his boxers down at the same time as his jeans. She ran her fingers down his muscle-toned thighs. She bent down, and didn't put him into her mouth, but just kissed his hard length over and over, as if she would never see him or touch him again.
She moved back up and kissed his lips again as he rolled her back over. He slid his fingers under her black lace knickers and gently pulled them off. When she was completely bare, he stared at her for a few moments, moving his eyes all the way from her hairline, scrutinizing every inch of her body. Inch by inch, he examined her full breasts that were aching for his touch, her flat stomach, her hips and the soft curls over her heat, all the way to her freshly-polished toes.
Finally, he bent over her and kissed each breast tenderly, massaging them as his lips traveled to her heat. His hands kept pace with his lips all the way, and he touched her curls as he kissed them. She separated her legs on her own without his asking, and he let his lips skim her folds, before moving his tongue slowly into her. He was determined to do everything that he only occasionally did. As he caressed her with his tongue, his hands massaged her thighs. When he could tell she was close to the edge, he removed his tongue. And with the little strength she had left in her shaking body, she rolled him over.
This time, slowly but surely, she took him into her mouth, tasting every inch of him she could handle. She memorized the way it felt to touch him.
She lay back down on her back, finally ready for him. He moved on top of her, and entered her, slowly, agonizingly, inch by inch, feeling every second for what it was worth. He examined what every moment meant to him, as did she. He just rested inside her for a minute, before working into a rhythm that was slow and meaningful with long strokes. Strong passion was emitted with each thrust.
He bent down to kiss her, and when she closed her eyes, she felt something wet on her cheek, not knowing if it was a tear that belonged to her or Draco. When she opened her eyes, she saw that his eyes were as full as hers. As he worked his way deeper and deeper into her physically and into her soul, she managed to say, "I love you so much, Draco. Oh my God, I love you."
Draco let out an audible sob and replied, "I love you too, my beautiful princess. Hermione…" He said her name so quietly she wasn't quite sure she actually heard him, but she knew she did at the same time.
They came together not long afterward, and he stayed inside her for as long as he could. He lay down on her as best he could without crushing her. "Hermione," he said again, and then he kept repeating it in a whisper, still crying.
"Shh, I know, baby," she said, stroking his back, his hair, his arms, whatever she could reach.
"Hermione," he said again, this time with more to say than just her name as he regretfully pulled out of her so they could both be more comfortable. He lay on his side, and pulled her up close to him, with no space between any parts of their bodies. Their legs were entwined and their arms wrapped around each other as tight as they could go. "If, God forbid, anything ever happens to you, I want you to know that I'll never move on. I'll never, ever, be with anyone else. I'll never look at another woman, so much as touch one. You're my life and my love, so don't try to tell me you want me to be happy. I'll probably just enter the priesthood." The last part was a joke, but he meant everything else.
Hermione just kissed him breathlessly. She wanted to tell him that he needed to move on, but she couldn't bring her self to. Truth be told, she would be jealous, even from heaven. She didn't think she could stand it. "I won't tell you to move on, Draco. I won't do it if anything happens to you either, so I won't tell you to do something I wouldn't do."
Selfishly, those words meant a lot to Draco. "I love you," he said for the third time that night.
"I love you more," she promised. "I have an idea." She got up suddenly, not bothering to cover up, knowing Draco would be watching her, and she didn't want to deprive him of anything. She went to get the camera from her desk in the corner of the room and went back to sit on the bed. "Remember what Harry and Ginny did seventh year to remember each other?" Draco nodded. "Well, that's what we're going to do."
Hermione was remembering when Harry and Ron were off Horcrux hunting seventh year, and Harry and Ginny had taken a picture of them kissing so they could each have one to remember the other by while they were apart.
She lay back down next to Draco, and they wrapped the sheets around them and kissed him full on the mouth as she snapped the picture. After two photos floated magically out of thin air Draco suggested, "Why don't we take nude pictures of each other too?"
Normally Hermione would have been appalled at the idea, but just remembering the way they were trying so desperately to memorize everything the way it was, why not take a picture? "Together or separate?" she asked.
Not the least bit surprised by her answer, Draco replied, "Both." So, Hermione lay on the bed and Draco took a picture of her in a gorgeous pose, or so he thought, then she did the same to him. Neither of them was able to keep a straight face during this, so they were laughing, which, in Hermione's opinion (and Draco's as well) made them all the better. Then, Draco sat up, and pulled Hermione onto his lap so she was facing him, straddling his hips. She buried her face in his neck and looked up at him. And he took the picture when they were both staring intently into each other's eyes.
"Lucius, what the bloody…" Draco drifted off, as there were children present.
"Just visiting some friends, Draco, Happy Halloween."
"Yeah, yeah, well we'd better be going," Draco said quickly.
"Don't the kids want any candy?" Lucius asked with a devious tone. "They are trick or treating after all, are they not?"
"They don't take candy from strangers. We taught them that ages ago. C'mon, everyone, let's go home."
"Oh, come now, Draco, at least come in and say hello to your mother. Surely she's heard your voice by now."
Draco looked at Hermione, who shrugged. "Just for a minute. I'd love to see Narcissa anyway."
"I have to ask her something about the wedding anyway," Addison piped up. She and Ron hadn't gotten married yet, as Addison had always dreamed of being married in the same church as her parents. Since Draco and Hermione really weren't even supposed to be out of the house now as it was, they graciously put their wedding on hold, since you can't have a wedding without the Matron of Honor, or one of three flower girls.
"Fine, fine," Draco agreed, but only for a moment.
Lucius stepped aside, and Draco pulled Hermione through the door with him as he picked up Miley, making sure Ron still had Tyler, which he did.
What he saw when he walked in nearly made him drop his precious daughter, but he certainly did shout out in horror when he saw Narcissa bound and gagged in the corner of the darkened main room.
If there are any typos, feel free to let me know. I was anxious to get this posted. ONE MORE CHAPTER!! (I think…)