I'm in a bad mood today and as such I am thoroughly unimpressed with my own work. Hrmpf. Oh, well, if you can find nothing else to comment on, do comment on my pretty commas. I've actually worked hard on the commas in this chapter using new info from a grammar book I just bought.
... What?
Oh, all right then. Go on. Read it if you must.
Draco knew the moment Hermione woke. He could feel it. It was strange… He didn't know if it was the physical proximity, or the fact that they had worn the ring and bracelet for a couple of weeks now, but he was very much aware of even small changes in her. Usually, it had to be strong for him to sense it but now he apparently even knew the difference between her being conscious or unconscious.
Of course, he also both felt and heard her breath hitch as she realized where she was.
She didn't really make a move to get away from him, though. This surprised him. He had allowed her to sleep against him because he honestly didn't know what else to do. She was physically and mentally exhausted, and she had had more than her fair share of firewhiskey. It wasn't a wonder that she was out cold. She had slept for a couple of hours before she woke. It must be because of the unusual surroundings that she finally came to. She couldn't be that comfortable either, even though that while she had slept she had snuggled up in a way that was definitely too close for comfort – for him.
Having a female pressed up against him, her breasts brushing him with every breath she took, her thighs across his, and her hair tickling his neck every time he moved… It was definitely promoting thoughts that he shouldn't be having. Unfortunately, there were parts of his anatomy that didn't care much about blood status or whether he actually liked the girl or not. Those parts solely recognized that there was a soft female snuggled into him, and that every once in a while she would utter a small contented sigh, and he would remember what she had looked like asleep on his bed. The thought of Granger on his bed, combined with the feel of her body pressed against his, really didn't make him think of Quidditch.
Still, he had expected her to jump away as soon as she woke, but she was hardly moving a muscle. He tried to focus on any feelings coming from her, to see what prompted her passivity, but all he got was drowsy contentment. Maybe she wasn't as awake as he'd thought.
He knew she was still exhausted, and he supposed he should get her back to her dormitory somehow.
He said goodnight to Baddock and turned to look at her only to find her much closer than he'd expected, gazing at him with her big golden eyes in sleepy wonder. It startled him. Somehow, their whole position suddenly seemed much more intimate. She lowered her eyes and shifted slightly, making him clench his jaw as he fought down a most forbidden reaction.
Preoccupied with his internal battle to deny his physical awareness of her, he didn't actually realize that he was rubbing her back until his hand automatically shifted to find another sore spot and she moaned. He felt the burst of pleasure as the muscle was coaxed into relaxing, and he shivered as his heart sped up. It felt so good. The ring must be magnifying her emotions, because there was no way that a simple rub could feel that good.
Ignoring the voice in the back of his mind telling him to make her move off him, he moved his thumb in slow, deliberate circles, applying pressure where needed, and her eyes drifted closed on a sigh. He rapidly found that this was addictive. He didn't want to stop in spite of the voice growing more insistent that this would end badly. He really should be tormenting her, not rubbing her back, but this felt much better than the constant unhappiness that was nagging at him during the day and keeping him awake at night.
He shifted his hand again, and, this time, it was he who couldn't stifle a moan. It wasn't only feeling good, it was feeling… extremely erotic. He shouldn't be entertaining this with her, but it wasn't as if he was really doing anything. It was just a couple of his fingers rubbing her lower back. It didn't really make sense why it would seem like such a forbidden thing to do. He had endured several hours of her on his lap, snuggling against him, without any side effects that couldn't be fought down, so why did now seem different?
Then he realized – it was because she was aroused by it. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and her lips slightly parted as she dreamily enjoyed his touch. The realization almost made him moan again. His touch was promoting these feelings of pleasure and a slowly building need.
How come?
He didn't voice his question. Instead, he did the unthinkable; he bent forward and pressed his lips against hers. He didn't know what prompted him to do so, but he couldn't seem to help himself. He didn't know what he was expecting, either, but it certainly wasn't the explosion of sensations that he felt. She gasped, and he expected her to pull away, but she didn't. She pressed into him and returned the kiss with a fervor that left him breathless.
He had never been so aroused in his whole life. His own enjoyment and hers mingled until he didn't know or care who felt what anymore. It went beyond anything he'd ever experienced and he hadn't even tasted her yet. He continued to gently rub circles on her lower back with the one hand while he steadied her with the other hand on her thigh, and then he carefully used his own lips to pry hers apart. She was so willing, so accommodating, and her lips immediately parted under his. He tried to stifle his moan at her enthusiasm, but wasn't entirely successful. Before either of them had a chance to have second thoughts, his tongue darted in to stroke hers.
There was another burst of feelings, almost like a blinding light, and he couldn't keep his lips and his tongue from getting more demanding, couldn't keep his control from slipping at the intensity of it all. She didn't back down. He was losing himself in this sensual vortex, his heart pounding in his ears, deafening him to anything but the little sounds and sighs she made.
He slowly stroked the outside of her thigh. From her response, he suspected that she liked this kind of subtle petting much more than groping, even if she was in the same place as he was, trembling with unfulfilled need. He didn't dare grope her. He didn't dare touch the places he wanted to touch. He would lose the little control he had.
She whimpered and eagerly responded, driving him insane, urging him onwards. He reveled in every little sensation coming from her. He didn't need her little whimpers and sounds to know just how strongly she felt everything. He could feel it for himself and that, too, spurred him on.
As her hands came up and caressed his chest before she tangled them in his hair, holding him to her, he drew her even closer if that were possible. He knew she could feel the proof of his own need – she had to be able to feel it – but it didn't matter to him right now. Nothing mattered but the searing kiss and how to get more of it.
Suddenly, he was yanked back by his shoulder and the kiss was broken.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Blaise hissed.
Draco blinked, momentarily disoriented, but then it slowly dawned on him what he'd been doing and, as he regained some of his senses, he was appalled. Was the girl part Veela or something, since she was able to draw even him in like this?
He chanced a glance at her to see that she had come to her senses as well, her eyes big and horrified and her mouth forming an O.
Well, at least she thought it was a bad idea as well.
He was suddenly feeling inexplicably annoyed.
"Please let me go," she finally whispered.
"Go!" he growled, and she got up and half-ran a few steps before stopping dead in her tracks.
Draco followed her stare to see that Theo was standing just inside the entrance, his face completely emotionless. Granger took a step towards him, but he turned his face away from her and stepped around her. She both looked and felt stricken.
"Hey, Theo!" Draco called out, but was ignored as the other boy made his way to his room.
No hoping that he hadn't seen what happened, then. Draco hadn't quite planned on pissing him off this badly.
Hermione rushed out of the room, feeling shocked and mortified at what had just happened. He didn't feel sorry for her, he was sure that, in some way, she was to blame for the whole thing.
Belatedly, he checked who had seen this little incident and he had to suppress a groan. A good handful of people that he didn't know particularly well had seen, as well as Theo and Blaise. A quick scan of the room told him that at least Pansy wasn't present.
"Pansy saw," Blaise interrupted Draco's perusal in a tight and angry voice. "She ran off to her dormitory. Why would you be doing that to her?"
Draco blinked. "She ran off?" he mumbled. "That doesn't sound like her…" The Pansy he knew would have castrated him on the spot.
"You didn't answer my question!" Blaise sharply said.
Draco glanced at his friend. Furious seemed to be too mild a term for what Blaise was feeling. He sighed.
"I don't know, Blaise," he said. "But I don't think you should worry so much about Pansy. I think we just broke up."
Not even she would tolerate this. He tried to feel guilty, but mostly he just felt sorry that he'd accidentally hurt her again.
Blaise looked like he was hard pressed not to punch Draco. "Why would you do this to her?" he asked again. "Why string her along when you will disrespect her enough to snog a Mudblood in public?"
Draco winced. He'd really rather just forget what had just happened. "I figured she'd tire of me on her own," he confessed. "Whenever I've tried to… She always comes back. I figured at some point she'd realize…"
"That is the most spineless thing I have ever heard, even from you!" Blaise spat.
"I didn't want to hurt her, Blaise," Draco muttered. "I really thought she would… I thought she would eventually get tired of me and just find someone else."
"This is not hurting her?" Blaise asked, frantically pacing in front of Draco. "And why are you getting snuggly with Granger, anyway? I didn't say anything all night because it seemed like it might be another one of your little tricks. But this? I'm not sure any amount of firewhiskey can explain this."
Firewhiskey? He glanced at the table to see a few glasses deposited there, including the one he had confiscated from Hermione. He wasn't about to enlighten Blaise to the fact that he hadn't been drinking himself because he had wanted a clear head.
The 'clear head' part had obviously failed him.
The realization that Granger, however, had been more than a little tipsy inspired another inexplicable flash of annoyance in him. So what if she hadn't been exactly sober, she had certainly seemed like she knew what she was doing. And she should know what she was doing; after all, she'd had plenty of practice just this week! He scowled at the thought. This was nauseating.
"Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Blaise demanded.
Draco went for brazen and shrugged. "Granger's reputation is shot now, isn't it?"
Blaise's eyes widened and he grabbed the arms of Draco's chair, looming over him. "Tell me that you didn't just say that you hurt Pansy like that for the sake of your petty little vendetta!" he snarled. "You be glad that there weren't more people around to see and that most of those who were around were too tired or too drunk to notice the implications of that kiss. I noticed it, Draco. You bloody liked it. If you had liked it any more than that, we would have had an entirely different show on our hands."
Draco couldn't prevent the color rising in his cheeks. Blaise was spot on. He hadn't really had any self-control. It didn't mean that he had to just take these accusations, though.
"Who are you to talk?" he retorted. "You're still sneaking around with Davis, aren't you? Snogging in broom closets and empty classrooms when you think nobody sees it, and then preaching to me over one little episode?"
"It doesn't compare!" Blaise sneered, not even bothering to refute Draco's statements. "I don't have a girlfriend that I'm hurting. I don't spend my entire waking moment planning on new ways to torment, abuse and humiliate Tracey. She is only half-blood and not a Mudblood…"
Draco's eyes were caught by a movement behind Blaise. It was Tracey coming down from the dormitories. Her eyes lit as they fell on her handsome lover, and a fond smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. He wondered why she would be coming down at this hour, but then his ears caught the next bit of Blaise's tirade.
"… I have never kissed her in a public place, because I know my standing, and I know that it's simply not acceptable. We are purebloods, Draco. Why would we want to taint our names like this? The only thing worse would be if we actually married one of them. We have obligations to our names and our blood!"
"Blaise," Draco interrupted warningly, as he saw Tracey stop and stare as if she had been slapped. Fuck. He had no desire to make tonight any messier than it already was.
"Don't you 'Blaise' me," Blaise growled. "Have your fun with her, if you must, but for Merlin's sake at least keep it quiet! Don't let it ruin your good name. It's not like it's that hard to keep quiet, you know, and sooner or later you'll be done with her—"
"Blaise!" Draco interrupted more sharply, finally getting through to his ranting friend.
He nodded towards Tracey, whose eyes were filling with tears, her trembling hand clamped across her mouth as if to hold in a scream.
The change in Blaise when he spotted her was instantaneous. "Tracey…" he whispered.
This seemed to bring the girl out of her shock and she took off towards the exit at a dead run, tears streaming down her face.
"NO!" Blaise called out, panic clear on his face and in his voice. "Tracey, wait… You misunderstood! I didn't mean it like… I didn't mean you! I wasn't talking about…"
Before Draco knew what was going on, his friend had disappeared out the door after his… whatever she was. He was stunned. If he didn't know better, he'd think Blaise actually cared about Tracey in a way that was entirely inappropriate.
What in the name of Merlin was happening to the good House of Slytherin?
... This time I deemed it more evil to NOT give you a preview! Mwahahaha.
