Hello again! Thank you all once again for being so supportive! I was loaded with stuff to do these past few weeks and wasn't able to do much of anything else. Regretfully, this included the review-replies, but I will get to them as soon as I can. It's been two weeks already and I really don't want to disappoint further. Thank you all again, I love and adore you all. Really, I do, did you know? Enjoy the chapter.
I do not own any of J. K. Rowling's work, solely the plot to this story.
They say that darkness is an ambiguous tear where anything can happen, and in its glorious way of keeping out any judgment, lies it's absolute perfection. So perhaps it was this exact state of being that inspired the two seemingly 'unfriendly' teens to arrange themselves from far apart at one end of the king-sized bed to right smack-dab in the middle, pressed against each other's own as if their lives depended on it.
Draco woke, but it was the kind of wake where everything is still blurry and dreams fade seamlessly into reality. Such was his state of mind, anyway. He noticed first the unusual pressure along one side of his arm, and the way soft hair cushioned the arch leading down from his chin and to his chest. And speaking of his chest …
There was a girl resting there. He could feel her quiet breathing playing warmly against his skin. It was a pleasant sensation, and he instinctively brought about his other arm to pull her closer to himself, if that was even possible. And then—
"Draco?"
He heard her say his name. Granger? No. No way. He had to be dreaming, she would never allow him to hold her like this. And he would never have instigated such a position anyway. So surely he was dreaming.
And like in most of these sorts of dreams, he responded the only way his muddled mind would allow him to.
"Sshh." He whispered, stroking her hair whilst tilting her face up ever so slightly. He couldn't see them, but he knew what awaited him upon looking down. Those big, brown eyes of hers would be watching him, misted over with uncertainty. And oh, how he liked that about her. Not like most girls, whose bottomless depths revealed what lay behind them: nothing. No, Hermione was something else. And those eyes, that doubt, there was intelligence. Among other things, of course, but right now there was no time to dwell on that. Dreams had the annoying habit of ending right before the best parts, and Draco wasn't about to let that happen this time.
As if relinquishing to his wishes, he felt Hermione relaxing into his embrace, a soft sigh escaping that tempting little mouth of hers.
There was no escaping now.
Closing his eyes—though it didn't really matter as he couldn't see for lack of light—Draco captured her lips, as if he had seen them all along. And because this was a dream, she kissed back. Hesitantly at first, but it was returned nonetheless.
But unlike other dreams, Hermione then did something else.
It was tentative, dainty fingers skimming along his side, but before he knew what was happening, her hands were moving more confidently, and applying more pressure. Not only that, but they didn't stop at his ribcage. No, she'd maneuvered them up underneath his pajama top and onto his back, and then down again, feeling every inch of his torso. A sensation so utterly erotic and sensual that Draco began to question whether it really was a dream or not.
But it was only for a second. Because as soon as she started, it was over too soon. He felt her body snuggled closer, but she was asleep again. Dreaming, no doubt.
Ha. How strange, a dream within a dream. Surprisingly, Draco found that having her in his arms was just as satisfying. She fit just right, too. No awkward detaching of fingernails from his limbs or pushing away of overly-hairsprayed hair. Nothing. Because Hermione was just right.
Wrong …
Shut up. Let me enjoy my dream.
And with that, Draco fell back into a peaceful slumber.
If he was being perfectly honest with himself, he couldn't think of another night that he'd slept more at ease.
Maybe it was that dream I had …
What did we dream about?
I don't remember.
It was the warmth. That had to be it. He was used to sleeping between silk sheets, after all. Not between heated skin and—
Wait. Between her skin? He chanced a cracked eyelid and—
Yes. Between was definitely the right word. Apparently sometime during the night, Hermione had decided Draco was much more comfortable than the thousand Galleon-worth pillows. And as a result, Draco was very, very warm and—
Cozy.
Shut up! Malfoys don't use words like 'cozy.'
Malfoys don't cuddle either.
I'm not—you know what, just shut up!
It was true. Horribly true. And the fact that said warmth was coming from the brown-haired, and still slumbering girl—Gryffindor!—next to him …
Grrr …
Are you really growling? May I remind you that Malfoys also do not resort to such primitive noise—
I know! I know!
Just saying … She's snuggly, isn't she?
… Yes.
And even though he was hardly cold at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to move her away.
Better make sure she doesn't snuggle into your lap.
Why not—oh. Ah, shit.
Draco turned his head away and sighed. Of all the mundane incidents ...
Mundane? But that happens every morning—
Not like this!
As if to further torture him, Hermione suddenly shifted against him, turning over completely so that her back pressed along the length of his front.
Not good. Nope definitely not good—or very good, depending which perspective he considered—and it was getting worse with each second. A literally growing problem.
And so Draco did the first thing that came to mind.
So comfortable.
And then—
"Aah!"
She was suddenly thrown onto the floor. Hard.
Her eyelids flew open and her head seemed to go into overload. She was still disheveled and felt somewhat woozy from having just woken up, and in the midst of somewhere completely unfamiliar. Not to mention the joyous greeting of hardwood floors plastered against her face.
And then it all came back to her.
Malfoy Manor. Portkey. Muggle-poison. Groping and making out at night—what! No, it must've been a nightmare. Draco—
Draco!
And as if to prove her point, said Malfoy suddenly snarled at her from the bed.
"Dammit Granger, can't you do anything without yowling like a mangled cat?"
She found her voice, which was still saturated with morning grogginess. "But I—that's not fair I—hang on a second." She turned heatedly towards the blond teen glaring at her from above and realized something. "You. Git."
Draco had the decency to at least look somewhat surprised. Though it was a fleeting moment. His features immediately twisted into one of haughtiness. "Your point?"
"You pushed me off the bed!"
"No, I didn't."
"Yes you did!"
Draco seemed to think about it, using his elbow for leverage to lean slightly over the edge of the bed. He peered at her and then sent her cocky grin. "Now that you mention it, I guess I did shove you over a bit."
"A bit? Malfoy, this is a king-sized bed. You had to have pushed me—"
"Hey," he retorted hotly, "if you hadn't decided to use my body as a damn pillow then maybe you wouldn't be in that predicament."
Despite her current state, Hermione felt herself flush. Had she really done that? And if she did, did that mean that they'd also made out—"I most certainly did not!"
"Yeah, right. Tell that to Draco Jr. then."
Her face contorted into one of confusion. But then—"Oh God, Malfoy, ew!" She quickly looked away, her cheeks painted a bright red now, whilst simultaneously getting to her feet and as far away from the blond Slytherin as her the room space would allow.
Draco, who had purposefully shoved the covers aside to reveal the dilemma in his pajama bottoms, smirked at her evilly. "Anatomy doesn't lie."
"You are the foulest, most disgusting, perverted—"
"Relax, Granger. It happens every morning—"
"Ugh! I don't want to know what you do—just—ugh!"
Something suddenly occurred to Draco. For despite how awkward the situation could have easily escalated, she seemed to be taking this … ordeal, quite heavily. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he'd say she probably wasn't even aware that most men had—
"You don't know, do you?" His previous taunting abruptly changed into one of incredulity. And when she neither glanced nor replied, he began to laugh. "Holy shit, little miss-know-it-all doesn't know about morning wood!"
At the final word she shot him a murderous glare. "If you're referring to your—your—" She sputtered and only managed to point an accusing finger at said stimulated body part. "Well, you know what I mean. But no, I do not know about that nor do I want to know. In case you weren't aware, Malfoy, some girls know the significance of common decency—"
"Yeah, all the prudes."
"I'm not even going to bother. You're insufferable."
"Thank yo—"
Knock knock.
"Young Master Malfoy, sir! Your mother and father await you at breakfast!" A squeaky but muffled voice sounded through the door, successfully interrupting the disheveled teen. He wouldn't admit it, but the knock on his door had almost caused him to leap from the bed, raging hard-on or not, and shove Hermione into the closet.
Fortunately it was only Jessie. And as if to enunciate the tedious obligation of breakfast—
"Oh. Right. You're probably hungry."
—Hermione's stomach growled.
Hermione, still visibly upset over the very visible problem in Draco's pants, veered again in another direction. "I'll be fine for another while, don't worry about m—"
"Will you just shut up already? Dammit, you Gryffindors and your 'might'." Draco huffed, getting out of the bed at the same time.
Hermione remained looking adamantly away.
Narcissa Malfoy had just finished putting on the finishing touches of a particularly delicate silk-wrapped headpiece when movement in one of the portraits caught her attention.
In most cases, it would be no reason for inquiry, but because this flash of movement was coming from that particular photo …
Lady Serena.
It was one of her husband's most preferred portraits. Because despite how beautiful Narcissa might appear to most men, to Lucius Malfoy, it was never enough. Nothing was enough, and so why should one woman be? Not only that, but beauty was proportionate to age, and age was something Narcissa would never victor over.
And Lucius knew this. He reminded her every so often after all.
Lady Serena, however, would remain young forever. Such was the nature of wizards and witches in portraits. And Lady Serena was beauty incarnate.
And if her husband's healthy sex drive was anything to go by, Lady Serena would reside in Malfoy Manor forever. Because even though she lived between the realms of all wizard portraits, there were ways. Ways to provoke her kind, ways to hurt. And Lucius Malfoy, ever the selfish bastard that he was, knew every which way.
And so, even though she knew Lady Serena was much more beautiful and younger than herself, Narcissa did not hate her. No. In fact, there were times when she even felt sorry for the poor thing. Rape came in many forms, after all.
Lady Serena had been a victim of such rape. Narcissa had even walked in once to find her husband threatening to curse her should she refuse to remove all her clothes.
Vile pig …
And so whenever possible, Lady Serena would leave, to reside in her counterpart at Hogwarts. It was only when Lucius summoned that she was forced to make an appearance here.
Thus arose her shock at finding the beautiful Lady sitting idly in her frame, staring meaningfully at Narcissa Malfoy through big, green eyes.
Glancing once at the doorway, Narcissa sent a silent spell in its direction before making her way across the room, and met the younger woman's gaze head on. There was a furrow of concern etched in her forehead and, Narcissa noticed, a nervous flicker of her eyes towards the closed door.
"Lady Serena," she began, and though there was an elegant coldness to her tone, by no means did it reach her bright blue eyes, "do be quick. I cannot promise my husband's absence for longer than a few minutes."
"Thank you, Madame. Malfoy. I will explain as fast as possible. But you should make haste once I am finished."
And she talked, jumping into an explanation that creased the edges of Narcissa's mouth and wrinkled the space between her brows. When she was done, Narcissa spoke, a calculative and stony voice. "And why should I help you, Lady Serena. Tell me."
"Because, Madame," the younger woman finished, "it is evil. Think about it. Would you want your son to see you allow something so cruel?"
At this, Narcissa rose to her full height, a livid expression on her face. "Draco is not directly involved in any of this. I know that for a fac—"
"But surely you are not as inhumane as your husband—"
"This is his business. Not mine."
"You don't understand," the other witch interrupted hastily, "this poison. It is fatal—"
"Yes, I believe my husband was determined for it not to be otherwise."
Lady Serena stopped, her mouth parting slightly. She closed it then, and pursed her lips. "Fine then. If you will not help me, then I will find another way."
And with that, she left.
Narcissa stayed unmoving, her pulse suddenly racing and her mind whirring. How dare that wench! How dare she use her son against her! Draco had nothing to do with this. Nothing at all.
"What do you think you are doing? Breakfast has already been served."
The voice of her husband caused her to turn around, and immediately she fell into her expected role. "Nothing, dear. My deepest regrets. Lead the way. I'm famished."
As soon as the door closed, Lady Serena peered out cautiously. "Dammit, she's not going to budge." But she had discovered something nonetheless, and she was more than determined to use it to her advantage.
"Her son. Draco Malfoy. That is her weak spot."
Hello all! So now you may be able to predict a bit more, no? As I said before, I will get to the review-replies asap! I did manage to do the anonymous ones though, so here we go. And don't worry, I won't let this happen again.
Review-replies:
Coolgems- Hello again! I'm sorry about bellatrix lol, but she was just so perfect for the role, I'm afraid. And you know what, now that you mention it, Luna would be a strangely compatible parallel to her haha. Thank you for reviewing!
Roni2010- Again, my dear, thank you so much for reviewing! Yes, we found out who the mystery girl was, but can you unravel the other mysteries? Lol thanks!
Korra1sg-hi! Bah, you don't have to apologize for reviewing late, at least you did, right? Lol, although I am missing you at our gigs, hurry up and come back to us! Lol, jk no pressure. You're right, Dumbledore is really hard to write. I guess because he's like this super bad-ass wizard who really doesn't have all that many lines in the books. Plus he's very mysterious towards the end so yeah lol. Thanks for reviewing!
Sephra- Le gasp indeed lol. Yes, you are very good at your predictions heehee. Did you like? I thought putting in that little perverted moment would be pretty funny too haha. And I couldn't help but not put Bellatrix in. She's just so evil! As always, thanks!
Binotaurs-I was totally laughing when you said you didn't feel too bad cuz I hadn't posted a new chapter lol. But it's all good, I know what you mean. Nonetheless, thank you so much for reviewing again. You are, ever after, one of my most loyal readers, thank you!
SophiaMartinez- Omg! Thank you for such kind words! I wouldn't say I'm the only one out there though. Trust me, there are so many good dramione stories out there, you just have to look for them lol. Thank you for reviewing!
Review please :)