Chapter 36

Hermione felt pensive. She hated the knowledge she had in her head. She tried to distract herself by reading and ignoring the people around her. It felt like hours before Draco returned. She felt a sense of relief the moment she saw him. They'd obviously been having fun. His hair was messy in the way that only sea and sand could do. He'd protected himself somehow from the sun, because his pale skin didn't look like it had suffered from hours in the sun.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he put his things down on the sun chair next to her. The sun was going down, so the only point of being there was to be away from the others for a bit.

"It's been a trying day," she said.

"Why?" he said more strongly.

"It's nothing," she said, not knowing how to broach the subject now that he was here. He clearly wasn't buying it. "I saw something that maybe I shouldn't have."

His eyebrows rose a bit. He was waiting for her to explain. She sat up so her back was facing away from the people around the table further away.

"I went to the souk with some of the people here," she said, "and I kind of stumbled across Theo with someone who wasn't Daphne. And when I say 'with', I mean 'with', in a carnal sense."

Draco sat back in his chair a bit.

"I don't know what to do," she said. "Daphne is clueless, running around buying wedding stuff."

"Don't get involved," he said after a while. "It's not your concern."

"How can you say that?" she challenged. "She deserved to know." She didn't even want to go into detail about who it was with because that was another level of untold disturbing.

"They're betrothed. She is better off not knowing."

"No, she needs to know now, so she can make decisions for her own future."

"You don't understand," Draco said quietly. "They're betrothed, it's pretty much a binding agreement. Daphne is Theo's responsibility. It is up to him how he wants to run his household."

"What do you mean its binding?"

"The actual wedding is a formality, the kind of betrothal they have is binding. It would take something astronomical to break it, and him messing around isn't going to cut it. Their union is an arrangement between the families, it will go ahead anyway."

"That is barbaric." Hermione was mortified.

"It's how it is. She is better off not knowing. She is Theo's responsibility and he if wants to crap in his own house, that is his business."

"That's completely intolerable," she vented.

"Tell her if you want, but what good is it going to do?"

Hermione closed her eyes. She felt queasy. On one hand he was right, if it changed nothing, what good would it do? Would she want to know if she was in Daphne's shoes? Hermione looked at her boyfriend. Would she want to know? It would break her heart. Would she rather live in a delusion or know? These awful questions chased around in her head. It would devastate her if she found out that he was lying to her, cheating on her. Not maybe so much the act itself, but because she would know that this thing between them wasn't what she thought it was. It would be something else. Something less.

Please don't hurt me, she pleaded in her own head.

He leaned over and grabbed her hand. "How about, it being my birthday tomorrow, we do something else? Let's do something different, just you and me." She got the feeling that maybe he was trying to distract her from the unpleasantness related to the people around them. And he was spot on, she didn't want this in her brain, she wanted to get away from them and not think about them or their serious short comings. She needed to turn her back on that.

"What do you normally do?" she asked.

"Normally, I get really drunk and have some floosy play with my bits," he said with a wry grin. She just lit up when he teased her. She felt that wicked little grin like a thousand watt lamp coming on. He was so good at distracting her.

"I can be a floosy," she said teasingly.

"Well then, I think this might just stack up to be the best birthday I've ever had."

They had dinner with the whole group, but they were focused on the small world between them, the world where everything was perfect. Even Pansy couldn't intrude, even though she tried. There might not be anything in the world that was better than when Draco was playful. He kept trying to mix in strange flavours into her food just as she tried taking a bite. She had to protect the integrity of her fork. And that was the moment she realised that she loved him.

She wasn't entirely sure what that entailed, but it did change things. She had been holding herself back. There was always that part of her that she wouldn't let him near. It was an invisible demarcation, but it was gone now. And it was scary.

They stayed for a while after dinner. They were in company, but she had completely forgotten them. They just served as torturous anticipation for when they truly were alone.

It was also a bit different later when he touched her. It was sweeter. They spent hours in bed, not sleeping.

"Let's go," he said the next afternoon.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and just closed her eyes while he apparated them. They arrived in another lobby. Polished sandstone everywhere, and huge flower arrangements. Draco urged her to follow him and she did. They were in another hotel. They were going to spend a night away from the others, just the two of them. Hermione felt excitement bubble in her gut.

The horrible feelings from the other day, had evaporated, at least for now. Hermione didn't want it sitting in her mind, destroying her vacation and this absolutely precious time. There was nothing she could do about it and it fundamentally wasn't her fault.

They walked into a room with huge open doors to a balcony. The room was in the same muted sand colours, but the view, there was nothing but pyramids. Three of them, massive. She could see people at the base of them, they looked like ants.

"This is just unbelievable," she said.

"You like it?"

"I love it."

"Good. Now enough of the view. There is a bed here."

"Really? And it's your birthday and everything."

She just couldn't get enough. She wanted to touch him constantly. She almost felt a little distressed when she wasn't. She didn't want to think what she looked like. She'd always rolled her eyes at the ridiculous googly eyed look people had when they were in love. It didn't feel ridiculous, it felt absolutely profound and compelling.

Draco took her downstairs for dinner. He was dressed a bit more formally tonight, he had his black suit on, although it was too hot for the jacket, which he had swung over his shoulder. Hermione just amazed at how damned attractive he was. She'd never, ever, let herself entertain that thought at school, but he just was. His hair was neat, a little off his face so she could see his lovely grey eyes, and the full mouth that made her feel giddy when she looked at it.

There was a lawn outside on the hotel facing the pyramids and there was a wooden structure where they were apparently eating. The sun was just setting and it was warm, but not oppressive. It had a low table and lots of cushions. There were no chairs, just cushions.

The view was spectacular, the setting sun made everything glow gold and warm pinks and reds. The food arrived not long after they had sat down. It was traditional magical Egyptian dishes. Spicy and pungent, and they had to eat with their hands.

"Since it's my birthday, I think some champagne is in order." He filled up her glass.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?"

"Absolutely," he grinned. She couldn't help but smile back. She actually didn't mind being a bit tipsy. The occasion was perfect, the location was spectacular and the company was awe inspiring.

They ate and talked, and slowly the surroundings turned dark, except the pyramids which were lit up in this kind of green light. It was also getting chillier. She had to snuggle in as they sat and talked for a while longer. When it got a bit colder, they decided to go back upstairs.

Hermione put on a jumper. It didn't go spectacularly well with her dress, but it didn't matter. Draco opened another bottle of champagne and poured for the both of them.

"I have a present for you, although I feel like this whole day was a present," she said.

"It's not over yet."

She went to her bag and pulled out a wrapped present.

"It's a muggle thing, I know not your favourite, but it's eminently practical, and when I saw it I thought of you."

"Something muggle, huh?" he asked. He didn't seem angry. She had been worried that he would react badly to being given a muggle present, but buying presents for him was hard. He had everything.

She feld it in front of her for him and he took it and unwrapped it. He opened the long black box to reveal a shining silver pen.

"It's a pen. A muggle writing instrument. It holds its own ink and it last from a very long time. Years. Good for when you need to write on the go."

"A pen? It is pretty." She could tell he liked it. He did like sleek silver objects.

"And it fits in your pocket."

"Quills are a bit awkward in your pocket."

"Do you like it?"

"I do," he said and kissed her. He put the pen gently down on the desk and pulled her towards the balcony. He took her glass of champagne out of her hand and put it down on a table. He threaded his fingers in hers and pulled her closer.

"There was another present I was hoping for."

"Oh?" Hermione said and swallowed. This felt heavy. He massaged her fingers slight, and lifted her hand up to kiss the tip of her index finger.

"You."

"You have me," she said.

"I mean, I want you to be my responsibility," he said. Hermione let the meaning sink in. Oh this really was heavy. She was blinking, trying to get her mind to respond. He pulled her close and kissed her. She melted into it. There was something in the back of her mind that told her to panic, but then there was kissing, and it was just too sweet.

He broke the kiss and stroked the side of her neck with his lips. That was completely unfair, it completely clouded her mind.

"Do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Then say yes."

Her mind was sluggish, it wasn't working properly and he was distracting her by doing that thing he did to her neck. His hands roamed down her side and she felt his strong body tensing as he pulled her even closer. There were warning bells in her head, but she also knew it was true, she loved him.

"Say yes," he repeated.

"Yes," she said. It felt like a release.

He kissed her, harder, possessively. She had done something important and it felt like it. There was a new rawness and a new level of need. His tongue invaded her mouth, but she needed more than his tongue. She needed him to show her that she'd made the right decision.

Her dress was gone, she hadn't noticed it go. Not that she minded, his hands were on her skin and she felt like she needed it. Warmth and sensation radiated from where he touched her. Then his weight on her, they were on the bed. She hadn't really noticed that either, she was too distracted. She loved the feel of him on her, the weight and the hardness of his body.

He lifted off her and trailed kissed own her chest. Her body was on fire, she needed him badly. But his teasing kisses gave her a small respite.

Oh god, she had agreed to be his. She would be doing this with him, forever. That was scary, but on one hand a relief because she wasn't sure she could live without this.

He returned with his face just above her. He was looking her in the eyes as he entered her. He did that when he wanted her full and complete attention. Hermione let the feeling of completeness and fullness take over. She desperately needed him, but he would not be rushed. He drew out every exquisite feeling until she didn't think she could take it anymore. Actually, she couldn't, she came.

"Cheating," he smiled. Her release only lasted until he started moving with more vigour. The tension returned with a vengeance until she could do nothing but strain to more contact. She could feel him tensing up for his release and it was just too much as she joined him.

She slowly regained her senses. He lay on her, his dead weight pushing her into the mattress. She wrapped her arms around him and the reality of what she'd just done started setting in.