The soft linens were all around me. I breathed in the minty lemon scent of Hermione still held in the covers. It took a few blinks for me to remember the note Dracula had sent and that deep sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach returned. I reached over to touch Hermione, but she wasn't there. My heart jolted and I sat up. Relief washed over me. She ws pulling on the same pink skirt she wore yesterday and standing at the foot of the bed.
Light streamed in through the windows, casting a bright shine over the messy bed, the grey dresser and vanity and the small bookcase.
"You're still here." I smiled and climbed from the bed. I searched the floor for my boxers. They were a few feet away. I slipped them on slowly. Hermione stole a glance.
"Of course I am." She tucked her hair behind her ear. She was now fully dressed. "We should get back to the orphanage before Mrs. Cole asks too many questions. Elliot said he'd make up an excuse but that's only going to work for so long."
Guilt sank into my chest. As I pulled on the rest of my clothes I said, "I'm sorry."
"For what?" She tugged on her high heels.
I took her hands and pulled her to face me. "I never should have left Wool's. I should have stayed with you. I was just – "
She gently touched my face. I bit the inside of my cheek as my heart beat faster. "I know, Tom. I know."
I waited a moment, but couldn't stop myself from saying, "I've been thinking." And I had been thinking, ever since what happened with my father...
"About what?" She ran her fingers through my hair, sorting it into place.
"You can say no. I'll understand if it makes you uncomfortable given...everything...but I was thinking I'd like to go to Brax's wedding."
Hermione kissed me on the cheek, warmth radiating out along my skin. "I think that's a wonderful idea."
I pulled back. "Really? It doesn't bother you? I mean what happened between us doesn't upset you." Nerves tickled my neck. I scratched it away.
She shrugged. "It's kind of hot actually."
Hot was word I'd only heard Hermione use in that context, but I knew what she meant. I laughed. "You're perfect, you know that?" She really was. Most girls would be upset by what we'd done, but she just looked at me, love shimmering in her eyes.
"Just noticed?" She raised an eyebrow.
Worry knocked suddenly on my chest. What if Brax had given up on me? "You don't think he'd mind? He might not want to see me. I mean I wasn't very kind to him last time we were together."
"I know he wants to see you."
"How do you know...for sure?"
She rolled her eyes and looked at me like I was being silly. "He told me. We've written to each other this whole time. He is one of my closest friends."
Heat rushed to my ears. "You guys didn't talk about-"
She put her hands on her hips and stared at me. "Of course we did. He was rather graphic about it. Diagrams and everything. I'm about to write him a letter about last night so we can compare notes. Come up with a strategy for you to improve your form."
I narrowed my eyes and stepped toward her. My arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her body flush with mine. "My form is excellent." I breathed in her ear.
She released a shaky breath. "Yeah...it really is."
I slammed her against the wall, pressing my leg between hers. Our mouths met, hard and fast. She grabbed my shoulders and spun us around so she was in control of me. My shirt was still open. She worked kisses down my chest, slowly, covering every inch of skin she could find.
The world exploded around us, a million colors I'd never seen before. Every time I was with her the feeling grew, overwhelmed me. Dark and grey things became brilliant, beautiful, arrayed. She ran her fingers over the world, over my world, and made it good.
After we got dressed and cleaned ourselves up, we apparated to an alley a few blocks away from Wool's where no one would see us. Hands locked together, we walked the rest of the way through London. The sun burned bright above us as yellow as an egg yolk, glistening off the building windows. Pigeons cooed in the buildings eaves and few children laughed in the streets. The London bombings of last summer had ended and a new hope settled over the city, and over me as well.
The front door of Wool's opened and Elliot, his dark hair mussed, wearing shorts and a striped shirt, rushed down the steps. He hugged Hermione. "Hermione you're back."
"Hey Elliot." She squeezed him back.
He lifted his head away from her and glared at me. "I covered for you."
"Thank you." I smiled at him. He just turned away and looked at Hermione.
"I'm going back inside to play," he said with a huff.
"Okay, El." Her lips pressed together in a smile. Elliot jogged back inside without looking back.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked.
Hermione shook her head. "You left him. He looked up to you and you left with no guarantee you'd be back, Tom. He's angry."
"I didn't think he cared." My voice was low.
"Well he does. Your like a big brother to him and he has no family. You left without any real explanation. Just a note. You're going to have to make it up to him."
"How?"
Hermione squeezed his hand as they ascended the concrete steps and pressed open the door. "Start by apologizing."
I groaned. Apologizing was not my forte. It wasn't something I did at all until recently and I still didn't like it very much.
"Go on." Hermione pushed my back.
As much as it bothered me, she was right. I never should have left them and gotten involved with those muggles. Elliot reminded me of myself, angry and alone. But he didn't have to be alone anymore.
Elliot sat in a circle with a few other boys, playing cards in the center. They were laughing, but Elliot was stone faced.
"What are you playing?" I knelt down beside Elliot.
He leaned back and whispered, "Quidditch."
Great...sarcasm..."Can we talk for a moment?"
Elliot shook his head.
"Fine. I'll talk, you listen." I grabbed his arm, pulled him to his feet and dragged him into the other room. "I'm...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have left. It was a stupid thing to do. The people I care about are here...not there. It was a mistake, okay?"
Elliot looked down at his feet then back up at me. "You actually care about us?"
I sighed and touched Elliot's shoulder. "I might not be the best at showing it. I've never cared about much, but you and Brax and Hermione. Yes, I do. I care about you."
He tried to look cross, but I could see the smile on his face. "Gross."
I leaned against the wall. "If you want, you can come with Hermione and me to Brax's wedding? He lives in a mansion. You ever been in a mansion?"
His eyes lit up. "A real mansion? With butlers and servants and golden hallways?"
I didn't know. I'd never been in a mansion either. "Um...sure."
After that, Elliot was in a much better mood. For the next two weeks, we were all in good spirits, though sometimes I'd have nightmares of what happened at the Riddle place. He played with other kids, came with Hermione and me to the park. Sometimes, at night, we'd sit up and talk about other favorite kinds of magic. I'd never had someone like that in my life – someone who I had to look out for. It was strange. I never thought I'd be good at it, caring for others. It was stupid, a waste to think of others...that's what I'd always believed. Had I been wrong?
I had asked Hermione not to say anything to Brax about us coming to the wedding, just in case I backed out. I didn't want to get his hopes up and then let him down. So our coming to Brax's wedding would be a surprise for him.
We weren't sure it was a good idea, but Elliot wanted to try side-along apparation, so we allowed him. He was sick afterwards, but in a few minutes, his stomach calmed and we were able to walk up to Malfoy Manor.
My hands were sweating and my heart was thrumming. Hermione held my hand, brought it to her mouth and kissed it as we walked to the front door.
Malfoy Manor was a tall, black mansion with sharp spires, and an expansive lush green lawn dotted with tall leafy trees. To the left sat a garden of blossoms, all fresh, crisp white, their floral scent permeated the air.
I held my breath as we stepped to the front door and knocked. A few moments later the door squeaked open.
A wide-eyed house elf in the traditional burlap sack stood, shadowed in the frame. "Hello Sir, Hello Miss. How can I help?" The house elf looked up at us with his big glossy eyes.
"Dobby?" Hermione's mouth slacked open.
The house elf's head turned slightly. "Miss knows Dobby's name?"
"We're here to see Br- Abraxas Malfoy," she said.
He nodded. "Yes, yes. Of course." The elf disapparted.
My hand slipped away from Hermione's, all but our locked pinky fingers. I heard rubber soles squeak on black hard wood and then Malfoy's lovely face came into view. His eyes were wide with surprise, his mouth smiling. He had a bit of scruff on his face and looked much healthier than when I had last seen him. As Brax hurried down the hall toward me, I swore I was going to shatter into a million different pieces.
"Tom?" He put out his hand.
"Hello, Brax." I took it and held it, his skin rough and warm against mine. I couldn't help but pull him into a tight embrace, an emptiness in the corner of my heart filling up, pushing back the darkness.
His voice was shaky. "I thought –"
"I was wrong." I whispered against his ear, breathing him in.
Brax broke away from me and reached over to muss Elliot's hair. "Hey kid, glad you're here."
Smiling, he pushed past Brax. "Where are the golden hallways?"
"What?" Brax raised an eyebrow and I just laughed.
He reached out an arm and pulled Hermione into him. She hugged him back. "Hermione. It's wonderful to see you.
"You too," she said into his shirt, holding him tight.
I jumped back and pointed at a grey and black bird waddling across the floor. "Brax, is that a goose?" What in Merlin's name was going on in this place?
His shoulders slumped as he let out a sigh. "Leila!" he shouted.
A few moments later, Leila came sliding out a room down the hall. Her hair was pulled up into a newsboy cap. She was wearing pair of Brax's rolled up trousers and a white button down shirt, splashed with paint. She looked harried, like she'd been running around mad for three days straight. "There is a perfectly rational explanation for that."
"Which is?" Brax crossed his arms as she approached us.
"His name is Clem. My mother ordered doves for the wedding, but these showed up instead."
Brax's looked stunned. "These? There are more?"
She nodded curtly. "Fifteen in total"
"So now we're having geese at our wedding?"
Hermione was eyeing the geese, concentration on her face. "I could transfigure them into doves."
"You can?" Leila gasped.
Hermione flicked her wand at the goose and transformed into a beautiful white dove.
Leila squeaked and grabbed Hermione's arm. "What are you waiting for then? Come with me." Leila dragged Hermione down the hall. Elliot was inspecting the corridor closely as if checking for flecks of gold.
"There are some others outside. Leila's cousins and a few of mine. If you wanted to join them. You might know them from school," said Brax. Elliot nodded and hurried down the hall to the glass door.
I glanced down at the new dove whose head was moving back and forth, looking disoriented. "Poor Clem."
Brax laughed and shook his head. "It's been...interesting here, but it's better than I thought."
Hermione spent most of the day transfiguring doves with Leila. Brax and I used magic to hang lanterns on the trees in the garden. Brax took a break to play some quidditch with the younger cousins. I had to stop myself from staring as Brax's lithe frame moved nimbly on the brooms.
Elliot and I were set up in a room near Brax's and Hermione was staying with Leila after Leila kicked her sister out of the room and into the broom closet. Apparently, she'd been the one to order the geese instead of the doves.
I enjoyed the warm days at the manor, sneaking off when I could to kiss Hermione in dark alcoves and run my hands along her sides. She was beautiful and I realized it more and more each day.
A few days before the wedding, Brax and I were in a dressing room together, trying on our dress robes. They'd been fitted earlier, but now we were just making sure they looked right.
I forced myself to avert my eyes as Brax pulled into his white trousers and buttoned up his shirt. He was all dressed in his three piece suit except for the tie.
Brax turned around and smiled. "What do you think?" The dress robes were crisp and bright, they fit his body perfectly. A heat burned in my cheeks and in my chest. I swallowed.
"That looks...damn, Brax. I'm probably not the one to do this." Because I'm about to tear all those clothes off...
Brax held up two ties, examined them in the mirror, then picked the regular silver tie over the white bow tie. "You're the perfect one to do this." His eyes lingered over me. "You should try yours on."
I tugged off my shirt and trousers then pulled on the ones for the wedding. My dress robes were black. When we were dressed, Brax and I stood in front of the mirror.
"Not bad." He straightened his tie. There was an awkward pause. "You and Hermione...you're together? I never asked."
I nodded, my heart picking up speed. "Yes."
"Are you happy?"
I sighed. Happy wasn't a strong enough word. Complete for the first time in my life. "I love her, Brax."
He ran his hand over my cheekbone, igniting my skin with his touch. "I know. You always have."
"I love you too. I don't know how that's possible, but it is." I stared down at my feet. It wasn't something I should say, but it was true.
Brax lifted my chin so I looked him in the eye. "I know that too. And my feelings for you, they haven't changed."
I couldn't go down this road again. It would kill me.
"This isn't helping anything." I moved away from this touch. I had to.
"No." Brax swallowed.
"So what's Leila like?" I changed the subject.
Brax laughed. "I'm not entirely sure there are words in the English language...but she's not that bad. If I had to be forced to marry someone I didn't love to make my family happy and stop a vampire from killing them, I'm glad it was her."
"Romantic."
He stuffed his hands into his pocket. "I really am happy for you and Hermione. She loves you. Together, you two, it's like a magical power explosion."
"It's not her magic...that's not the reason."
He half smiled. "I didn't mean it like that."
The door squealed open. Leila and Hermione stood in the doorway. They were both wearing lavender dresses for the party the women were holding tonight. Leila examined her future husband.
"Abraxas. White? Really, who are you fooling?" She bounded into the room, her skirt bouncing.
"Leila!" Brax shouted.
My heart sank to my feet. I leaned over and whispered. "Does she know?"
Leila smirked, "Yes."
"How?" I snapped.
Brax just shook his head, apparently defeated. "She knows everything."
"It's true." She smiled confidently.
"Did you need something?" he asked his fiance.
Leila shrugged, then flashed a look to Hermione. "I think Hermione was hoping to catch you two in a compromising position. It turns her on-"
My girlfriend's eyes widened. "The hell?"
"Oh yeah that's not going to get annoying for the rest of your life," I whispered to Brax. There were many thoughts in my head better off private.
"Is that all?" Brax touched her shoulder, half smiling.
"Actually the cake has arrived."
"That's good," he said.
"There's been a snag though. My sister was trying to charm it so it had no calories. Instead it sprouted limbs and is now running around the foyer, flinging frosting at the house elves." She jogged to the door where Hermione was. "Well, come on." She waved us forward.
I laughed and said to Brax, "At least you know your life is never going to be boring."
We ran out behind the girls and sure enough in the front hall of Malfoy Manor a cake, as tall as I was, with arms and legs, and newly sprouted mouth was painting the walls with frosting and juggling crystals vases. It would have been impressive magic if the caster would have known how to control it.
Hermione and I managed to corner the wild cake, its candied eyes gleaming at us. We both cast an immobilization hex at the pastry. It exploded in blue light, frosting and cream. We were all covered head to toe.
Thank Merlin for scourgify – and Brax's charming personality and wizard bakers who could make a new cake in day.
The night before the wedding, following the rehearsal, Elliot was off playing with some of Brax's cousins and Brax was with Leila shooing off the lingering guests from dinner. Hermione was somewhere fighting with Leila's sister so Leila didn't have too. Alone, I returned to my room, and undressed except for my boxers a t-shirt. I sat on a small sofa by the window, looking out over the moonlit grounds. Tomorrow Brax would promise himself to someone else beneath the flower in that garden. There was an empty hole in the pit of my stomach.
The door squeaked open. It was Hermione wearing a tight black dress that exposed most of her back. My eyes lingered on her curved frame, mouth getting dry. I couldn't manage to say anything.
"You okay?" Hermione sat down beside me. I put my arm over her shoulder and pulled her into my chest.
"I'm fine." I sighed.
Her deep brown eyes looked into mine. "It's okay if you're not. I understand."
My thumb ran over the split in her lips. "It's you, Hermione. I want you." I really did. I wanted her as much as person could want another person, but being back here with Brax. I ached for him too.
My lips met hers. She opened her mouth for me so I deepened the kiss. The way she tasted, the way she felt. The breath was sucked from my chest. Such lovely perfection.
She broke the kiss and whispered, "You want us both."
I kissed her forehead. "Does that matter?"
"Not to me."
Slowly, I pulled her into my lap, her weight against me."We're meant to be together, Hermione Granger. Me and you. You've had to have noticed by now?"
She nodded. "Yes. It's hard, though. We're so...different." She grabbed her head suddenly and gasped.
My hand stroked her face. "Are you feeling well?"
"Just a little tired – and a bit dizzy" She yawned, her fingers still held to her temple.
I grinned, pushing her down on me. My fingers traced up her bare back. "Too tired to fool around?"
She giggled. "Just a little, Tom."
My hands ran down her arms as I pushed her back on the couch, hovering over her. My lips touched her neck, her ear. She kissed me back, just as hard, in all the same places. I picked her up and tossed her on the bed. Hermione laughed.
"How am I here?" she breathed.
"What do you mean?" I asked as I slid down on top of her.
"Nothing. It's just – a year ago – I never would have thought. Not in a hundred million years."
I thought of the things that used to matter to me. They still did. I was still ambitious, still obsessed with powerful magic. I couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts for my final year, but I wasn't certain what I wanted to do with my life. The Ministry was nothing but a bunch of old wizards patting each other on the back for being adequate. Hermione and I were destined for something more...I could feel it, but what?
"Me either," I finally said.
She flipped me over and started kissing my chest, her mouth tracing its way down my body. Hermione grabbed my boxers and tugged them off. Her tongue and mouth kissed and licked all the places she never had before. I gripped the sheets, looking down at her, amazed, perplexed by her beauty, her intelligence, and how we ever found each other.
I loved her so damn much.
Brax's wedding day had finally arrived. The wedding wasn't until the afternoon. Leila, Hermione and the rest of the girls had spent the whole day apart from us. Brax and I had breakfast with Elliot and then played a little quidditch, though I looked rather ridiculous. I'd only seen his parents in passing. They never spoke to me and mostly glared at Hermione. Apparently they'd heard she was a muggleborn. After the wedding though, Brax's parents were moving to their chateau in France, leaving the Manor to Brax and Leila. But, they had assurred him, they would be there to check on him often and make certain he wasn't disgracing the name of Malfoy.
We returned to the small changing room when it was time to dress for the wedding. I was doing my best not to think about it, that it meant losing a part of Brax to someone else.
Brax was shaking. Trying again and again to put on his tie, but failing. "Sorry I'm really nervous."
"Let me." My hands gripped the fabric and I started to tremble. The nearness to him was always too much. Holding my breath, I tied his tie like I had all of those years in school.
"Thanks," he whispered in my ear. I shuddered.
His hand fell on my neck, the pad of his thumb stroking back and forth. "There's something I need to ask you. I shouldn't...it's wrong."
Heart tripping, I stepped back. "What is it, Brax? You can ask me anything."
His breath shook, he ran a hand through his hair. "Kiss me." His voice was dark, serious.
My gaze snapped up, my insides lurching. "What?"
He grabbed the lapel of my dress robe. "I just want you to kiss me one last time."
I want to. I want to. I want to. I shouldn't want to. I won't.
I shook my head. "I can't."
His hands slowly dropped away, disappointment painting his beautiful features. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."
"I'm with Hermione. I couldn't do that to her." I touched his hand, a part of me wanting to bring his fingers to my mouth.
"I know, Tom. I'm sorry." He sounded desperate.
"Kiss him, Tom." It was Hermione. She shut the door behind her. The red dress that hugged her curves made my whole body go numb. And the words she'd said they were...
"What?" My voice broke on the word. She couldn't be serious?
"Kiss him." Hermione took a step forward and nodded. I could see it in her eyes. She meant what she said.
Holding my breath, I closed the distance between Brax and me. He tensed as I lifted his chin and covered his mouth with mine. My heart stuttered in my chest as I ran my tongue along the seam of his lips. They parted and I gently pressed deeper. He groaned, one hand on my neck the other on my arm. Both my hands were on his chest where I could feel the rhythm of his trembling heart.
Hermione watched the whole time, her gaze intent on us. I never thought I'd get to kiss Brax again and here we were, his lips meeting mine, my girlfriend just steps away. My hands forced us apart. Breathing heavily, we both looked at her.
Hermione eyes were wide, her mouth slightly open ."I was right. That was hot."
We both just laughed, unsure what else to do. Brax and I still stood close, the backs of our hands touching.
She pulled a case of butterbeer out of that magic bag of hers. "I brought something. Remember?"
"How could we forget?" Brax smiled. My mind flashed back to the time I was in the hospital wing after we fought the vampires.
I cast a spell that popped the tops of each of the drinks. Brax handed one to each of us.
Hermione smiled and spoke, "It all started here - with a vampire and three butterbeers. We've disagreed, fought, made mistakes. We've broken each other's hearts. Somehow we've still managed to do what's necessary – and if we stick together, the three of us, we'll keep doing it because..."
Brax glanced at me, then Hermione. "We belong together."
She touched his hand and smiled at me. "Yes."
Something changed in that moment, something new, stitching us together. Not just me and Hermione. Or me and Brax. Or even Brax and Hermione. It was all three of us, a private, unbreakable bond.
I lifted my bottle, suddenly remembering his wedding. "Let's toast to Brax – "
He shook his head. "No, to us."
Together we all said, "To us."
When it came down to it, when I was standing by Brax's side, listening to the harps play and watching the dove's flittering in the trees, in a world where it couldn't be me, I was glad it was Leila. She wasn't stupid like we'd believed in school. She just liked to hide her skills so she could surprise people. I mean, she was nuts, don't get me wrong. Certifiably crazy, but the right kind of crazy.
Her dress was long and elegant, lacy and glittery, like a muggle movie star. I still clenched my fists when he leaned in to kiss her and when the officiant said the words, "I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Abraxas Malfoy." My eyes met Hermione's who was sitting in the front row.
The boy who'd been my friend when everyone else was afraid, the boy who loved me in secret, the boy who was the first person I ever loved. He wasn't a boy anymore. He was a man and I loved him more in that moment than I ever had before.
After the ceremony, the Malfoys threw a huge party in back of the Manor. There were entertainers, food, drinks and an enchanted swing band where the instruments played on their own. Crowds of fashionably dressed witches and wizards danced beneath the glimmering lights of lanterns I had hung in the trees.
Hermione and I were walking through the crowd, holding hands. I stopped beneath a tree and leaned down and kissed her gently. "Thank you for being there for me," I whispered.
She pulled away and smiled when she was tackled away from me by a flash of white. When I saw Brax standing there, hand in his pocket, his dress robe jacket open, I knew it was Leila.
"I don't know what I would have done without you this week." She hugged Hermione.
Hermione hugged her back. "It's was my pleasure, Leila." Even though they'd never spoken much at Hogwarts, they'd become something like fast friends here.
Leila turned to me. "I'm not sure she stopped for more than fifteen minutes. She basically took over the Maid of Honor duties because my sister's a horrible shrew."
I wasn't sure what to say to her shrew comment so I just said, "You look beautiful," which was very true.
She smiled and her face glowed. "Thank you." Leila extended her hand to me. "What would you say to a dance with the bride?"
I had forgotten that she once had feelings for me. Not that I assumed she asked for that reason, but it just came to mind in that moment. We all had past and feelings and lives that were changed.
I stepped back. "I don't really dance."
She wagged her finger at me. "No one, not even you Tom Riddle, denies a bride a dance on her wedding day."
Brax grabbed Hermione's arm and spun her around. "Don't worry. I'll dance with your date while you dance with mine."
Hermione laughed. I shrugged and followed Leila onto the dance floor. The enchanted big band played a beautiful, slow song. It sounded something like "Moonlight Serenade" but was just different enough that they could claim it wasn't a muggle song. I held Leila in my arms but as we danced, I kept looking over my shoulder to Brax and Hermione.
It was an incredible sight. The two people I loved more than anything in the world, holding each other. He'd whisper something and she'd laugh. His hand was low on her back, her hand was holding his.
"You're staring," Leila whispered.
"Sorry." I tugged her a little closer, hoping she wouldn't continue with her comment.
"You know one of them is my husband."
"One of them is my girlfriend. Maybe I'm staring at her."
Leila shook her head with a quick eye roll. "You're staring at both of them."
My shoulders slumped. "Seriously, how do you do that?"
"It's a mix between the sight and leglimancy. My great grandma had it too."
The music to picked up to a fast swing beat, the sound of happy saxophones in the air.
"I'm not sure I know how to dance like this," I admitted. She shook her head and gestured to Hermione and Brax who were dancing like they had all those months ago at the Slug Club, like they could get paid to do it for a living.
"Those two will do the dancing for us." She laughed, took my hand and we walked out of the way.
While they were dancing with all their bubbly enthusiasm, Hermione stumbled forward. Brax caught her waist. "Hermione? What's wrong?" he asked. I was already rushing across the room. She let out a gasp and collapsed to the floor, pulling Brax down with her.
"Hermione!" I shouted and ran to her side.
No. This could not be happening. Not now. Not ever. I needed her and we needed each other. She had to be okay. She had to be...
A/N: Pretty sure this is the longest chapter yet. A lot happened in there so I hope it didn't move too fast. Thanks for reading! Please review and leave your thoughts. It means a lot to me!
