Chapter 38
Out by the lake in their own little hidden alcove Hermione and Draco continued to laugh with each other, their transfigured cloaks providing a blanket against the hard ground. Their laughter soon ceased though, as he leaned over her and his lips ghosted over hers lightly for a moment. When she sighed and lifted her hands to slide them under his arms and around his back to pull him closer, he deepened the kiss, his hard body lying across her softer one.
Kissing Draco was like coming home after a very long day; she felt more centered, at peace. She was very happy that the nervousness had faded over the past few weeks. She no longer felt like she didn't know what to do with her hands. She no longer wondered if he wanted her to touch him or if he would mind if she did. She was no longer self-conscious about the way she kissed or the sounds she made. He seemed to like it all, so she'd stopped worrying and started enjoying.
Each time she told him she loved him; she got to see him light up from within. And, she felt the echoing glow throughout her entire soul. He was right for her. She was right for him. They were right.
"Do you love me?" she asked softly.
"I do. You know I do," he answered with a smile, his eyes almost glowing with it.
"I'm ready for more," she said even as a blush crept up her neck.
Draco's face held confusion as he asked, "What? More how?"
He continued to stare at her and felt a bit of relief as he realized she wasn't upset with him for going too quickly. But, when she moved away a bit further and kneeled next to him he wondered what was going on in her head.
Hermione swallowed back her nerves, looked him in the eye and pulled off her shirt.
"Hermione, you…now?" he squeaked.
"No! Not everything yet. Soon, I think, but not quite yet," she laughed softly. But, then she took a breath and moved closer, "But, I…I want to do more than we have. I'm ready for that."
He cleared his throat and sat up, "Are you sure?"
She nodded, but looked down uncomfortably, "Unless you, uh, don't want to. With me, I mean."
Draco's breath whooshed out, "Are you insane?! Of course, I want to! Let me show you how much," he whispered.
He leaned in and captured her lips with his and she let the feelings sweep her into a place of bliss. "Merlin, you're beautiful," he breathed as he once again reached out to touch her more intimately.
Hermione could only smile as she moved to lie down on her back on the blanket, giving him permission to rest his body on top of her. "Kiss me," she whispered.
Draco kissed her with everything he had, but his hands continued to dance across her body. When her hands came up and wound in his hair to hold him closer he moaned and lay across her more fully.
Their lips continued to meet in a fiery kiss as their hands moved to wander and explore, each learning the likes and sensitivities of the other. Hermione sighed as his body half covered hers and his weight pressed her into the blanket and she sought out new parts of him to learn.
Hermione wasn't quite ready to take the final step, but she, and he, enjoyed moving to a new level of intimacy with one another. A while later, as they lay content in each others' arms, cooling down from their heated play, Draco watched her face and held back a laugh. He could read her so clearly and almost answered the question before she posed it, but held his tongue to wait her out.
Hermione rested her head on his chest and looked up into his face as her brain took control once more. She didn't want to ask, as she felt it would make her look silly. It was obvious he had enjoyed himself. But, a part of her wondered if she should have done something else; something more. She knew he'd had previous experiences and she wasn't sure if it was jealousy or competiveness that made her so unsure of herself. But, she had to know.
"Was it…was I…"
"A perfect O, Ms. Granger," he teased with a light laugh. "In fact, I would say an O+++."
She blushed, smiled, and put her head back down on his chest as he continued to run his hands lightly over her back and shoulders. They were then content to lie quietly in each other's embrace, their thoughts following a similar path to the next time. Draco, wanting to ensure there was a next time, and the possibility of even more sooner than later, finally broke the silence.
"I love you."
"I know," she smiled playfully as she lifted her head to look at him.
"And?" he prompted with a raised eyebrow.
Hermione grinned and rolled off of him as she reached for her shirt, "And, what?"
She squealed when he reached for her and pulled her back against him to tickle her sides until she responded properly. But, when his hands landed on her chest, they both stilled and fell into a kiss that she felt all the way to her toes. When the kiss broke she looked up at him and smiled tenderly as she pushed his hair out of his eyes.
Draco looked at her and waited to hear the words he'd grown addicted to come from her deliciously swollen lips. He ended up growling and attacking her once again though, when she instead grinned cheekily, "I guess I might like you a fair bit, too."
xxxxx
Two days before the ball, everyone once again entered Potions class and quietly took their seats. Their silence was, in part, because of Snape's menacing figure standing in front of the room with his arms folded across his chest as he stared hard at each student that made any noise. But, the other reason was that everyone was busy chancing glances back at Draco and Hermione. No one had forgotten their last class, or the declarations of the school's most unexpected couple, and most waited to see if they could add any more information to the gossip mill. Everyone snapped to attention, facing forward, when Snape began his directions for the day.
"As our last class was disrupted," here he sniffed disdainfully and his eyes flicked to Draco and Hermione in the back corner. "I have decided that today, instead of making a potion, we will test your knowledge."
When murmurs of complaint began, he simply glared at the room at large and very effectively silenced the lot.
His sneer remained as he continued, "Headmistress McGonagall has instructed all of your professors to show more examples of the muggle world in our teachings. As such, we will begin to mix into this class two things I have found to be useful enough. The first we will begin after the holiday break. You will begin to add to this class some of the information from the muggle counterpart to this class, known as chemistry."
The muggle born, as well as some of the mixed blood students almost smiled in anticipation. This was not the worse news they could have heard. Many knew of the subject from friends at home, and were actually looking forward to learning some of it. The pureblood students looked confused, but as none of the other students seemed to be freaking out about it, they figured it wouldn't be too awful.
Snape's next words wiped the tentative smiles off of everyone's faces.
"The other item I have chosen to utilize in this class is not one I have tried before, as it didn't seem relevant. But, as Professor Mills has explained the benefits of it to us, we have all come to believe in its merits."
The smile that lit his face was one of the more horrifying things the students had seen. When Neville let out an involuntary groan, a sound that normally caused laughter and derision, it was proof of the level of fear in the room that even a few Slytherins looked at him in pity.
"As of today, we will begin having what is most commonly called a pop quiz."
For the pureblood students, this statement conjured pictures of enlarging potions and bodily explosions, and they looked at their Professor in horror. But, it soon became clear to them that none of the other students were upset. Even Neville had let out a breath of relief.
Snape saw the looks pass from student to student and almost yelled in frustration. When Peyton had explained the idea of the pop quiz, she had given the teachers, most especially him, the idea that the students would quake with fear upon hearing the words. She'd led him to believe it was akin to a muggle teacher's torture device. He would have a word with her after the class about what constituted torture, but just then he needed to finish the class.
He let his displeasure with the class' reaction show on his face and be heard in his voice when he hissed, "Everyone stand and move to the back of the room."
No one questioned him as they scurried to the back; they didn't want to draw his wrath. They stood quietly as their professor quickly levitated the cauldrons and desks to the sides of the room and then lined the chairs up in straight rows facing the front of the class.
"Each of you will get three chances to answer and one point will be awarded per person for each correct answer. Wrong answers will lose your house two points each. All partners who have sat on the left side of the table will sit on the left side of the room. The rest of you on the right. Move!"
He waited until they had all taken a seat and then pointed at one student on each side, "Ms. Patil. Mr. Thomas. Stand!"
When both lurched to their feet he continued, "As Ravenclaw has one less student, for this round only, you, Ms. Patil, will earn 4 or lose 8 depending on your answer. The first person to touch their wand to the stone on the table in front of you gets to answer. The other will lose one point and have a seat. Questions?"
No one uttered a word and he took that as consent. "So, we begin. In what potion would one use knotgrass?"
Padma's wand beat Dean's by less than a hair and she answered, "Polyjuice Potion."
Snape barely nodded, but her smile bloomed in victory and the other Ravenclaws in the class let out squeaks of joy. Dean realized he'd just lost the Gryffindors a house point and accepted the pats on his shoulder with an upset shrug.
"Oh, one more thing," Snape hissed over the growing chatter. "The order each house finishes in today will be the grade you receive for the day. Each student in the house with the highest number of points won will receive an O for the day; second and third, an E and A, respectively. And, everyone in the house with the lowest number of points won will receive a P."
He smirked when several of the happy smiles fell from the students' faces. "Granger. Zabini. How EXACTLY would one cut the ginger roots in a Wit-Sharpening Potion?"
Blaise's wand hadn't even left his side when Hermione's tapped the stone. She heard his huff as she gave her answer, but refrained from looking in his direction as she went back to her seat with a small smile.
Questions continued with each house gaining and losing points throughout the first two rounds pretty evenly. But, by the third round the questions had gotten more complex, more reflective of their upcoming N.E.W.T.S., and the tension rose dramatically. By the time they'd gotten through the first of the five rows, the winning house had dropped to third and the losing house was in first place. Even Ginny, Hermione and Draco's confidences had been shaken by having only received a half a point for their last answers.
Then, as Neville, having lost his first two rounds, stood quaking in front of Snape waiting for his final question, the inevitable happened. His arm shot out before Snape had even opened his mouth to voice the question, and a spark shot out of his wand directly at the teacher.
Snape's shock was complete when, before he could raise his wand or attempt to dodge the spell, he felt himself enveloped in a protective warmth and watched the spell bounce off of the shield and burn a whole in his blackboard. He quickly looked to those of his house to see who had achieved such a perfect Protego spell, but his eyes found those of Harry Potter as the younger man lowered his arm.
The class held its breath when Snape ended the spell and stared at Harry.
The words the professor uttered next would still be talked about months later, as the shock had yet to wear off of anyone who had heard them.
"Mr. Potter! Ten points to Gryffindor. Class dismissed!"
xxxxx
"I was there, remember? Potter got points from Professor Snape. Yippee. Give it a rest already!" Draco grunted from his place at the table in the all house common room. As their friendships had grown, most of the group had taken to meeting after dinner there to study and talk about their days.
The hot topic for the remainder of the day, as it was passed from student to student, was how Snape had actually awarded points, not only to Gryffindor, but to Harry Potter. As it was a first, even some of the teachers had been heard talking about in the halls between classes. As the day had progressed though, some of the students, mostly Slytherins and Ravenclaws, had gotten very tired of hearing about it. Even without Harry in the room, everyone seemed to be talking about it.
Hermione knew Draco was reaching the end of his patience, so despite her own exuberance, she reached over and put her hand on his knee.
"Sorry, hon," she answered softly near his ear. "But, honestly, I don't think it's near over. Whether you like it or not, it's pretty big news."
"Yeah, whatever," he answered sullenly. Then he kissed her on the cheek and asked, "How about I meet you back here in a couple of hours? We can finish studying then."
Hermione nodded and helped him pack up his bag as she asked, "But, what about you? Where are you going to go? Back to your room?"
Draco laughed at her rapid-fire questions and then silenced her with a kiss that earned them catcalls from their friends. When he pulled back and looked down into her flushed face he smirked and winked.
Then he grabbed her hand, "Walk me out?" When she nodded he led the way through the room to the doors and outside.
No sooner had she cleared the doorframe than she found herself pressed against the wall beside it, Draco's lips once again on hers. With a happy sigh, she slid her arms around his waist and held on for the ride.
Minutes later, when Draco felt himself getting too into things, he pulled back. He smoothed her hair out of her face as he whispered, "Two hours and we pick up where we left off."
Hermione moaned at the loss of contact, but straightened with a nod. "You never answered my question. Where will you be?"
Draco smiled as he traced her lips with his finger, "I've got some family stuff to do."
"Like what?" she answered as she kissed his fingertip.
Draco rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed, "I promised Tonks I would come by again sometime this week. She said Teddy misses me."
Hermione smiled, "Oh. How swee…"
"Don't," he cut her off with a laugh. "Just meet me back here in two hours."
Hermione tried to turn down the wattage of her smile and nodded.
Draco shook his head, gave her a quick peck and turned away to go see his cousins.
Hermione watched him walk away and smiled at the pep in his step and the contented smile on his face.
xxxxx
Harry, never one to like notoriety, had fled the main halls as soon as possible after class. He had planned to go back to his room and get some studying done. He was a bit hungry, but didn't want to hear his story retold over and over and figured one missed meal wouldn't hurt. Besides, they kept snacks in the common room kitchenette and he could make a meal of them. Halfway back to his room though he ran into Remus who invited him to dinner with their family. Harry had accepted and the two had gone to find Tonks and Teddy.
Dinner had been filled with laughter as Remus regaled them with tales of his adolescence with Sirius and James. Plus, it was fun to watch Teddy try to maneuver his new spoon around in his peas and mashed potatoes.
After dinner Remus took Teddy to the bathroom to clean him up a bit and Tonks made some tea for the three of them. Harry accepted his cup and leaned back against the sofa as Tonks sat in the chair across from him.
"So, The Great Bat, finally cracked, I heard," she laughed into her tea.
Harry, who had avoided the conversation all day, finally laughed freely, "I would guess so. He was so shocked that Neville almost killed him that his eyes were almost as big as his nose."
Tonks giggled with him, but Remus' voice interrupted from the bathroom, "Would you two show a modicum of respect. He has earned it, don't you think?"
Harry laughed into his sleeve when Tonks yelled back, "Oi! Who was starting fights with him at the dinner table just yesterday?"
When only silence was heard from the bathroom, both she and Harry dissolved into laughter once again.
A knock on the door to their suite interrupted their laughter and Tonks got up to answer the door. Using her wand she performed the spell to reveal who was on the other side of the door and without thinking flung it open.
"Wotcher, cousin!"
"Hey," Draco answered with a grin. "You said I should come by this week."
"Of course," she smiled. "Glad you did. Come on in. Harry and I were…"
An awkward silence filled the room and Draco stilled half in half out of the doorway.
Before anyone could say another word, Teddy squealed from the bathroom doorway and clapped his hands. Remus held onto the squirming child as he began to chant, "Dwake, Dwake, Dwake," and tried to wriggle out of his father's arms.
Despite the circumstances, Draco smiled, "Hey Teddy."
Tonks put her hand on his arm and pulled him further into the room, "I asked Draco over."
Remus nodded stiffly and walked over to sit next to Harry as he spoke, "That's fine. Harry, Teddy and I will just stay out of your way then."
"No, I can go," Harry said as he made to get up.
"No, stay," Remus urged. "We can go in the other room and play a game of Wizard's Chess."
Draco took a step back, "That's okay. I can come back another time."
Harry tried to pull out of Remus' strong grip, "No. It's fine. You're family and I should…"
"You are my family!" Remus grunted.
Tonks huffed loudly and put her hands on her hips, "Oh, grow up all of you! Teddy, who is chewing on his own fist at the moment, is acting more mature than the three of you."
When all three men had the good sense to look chagrined, she continued, "We've been dancing around this for weeks, boys. Remus, you're the adult, start acting like it! Harry, Draco is Teddy and my cousin, he will be around, deal with it! And, Draco, Harry is as much a part of this family as Remus, Teddy and I are, so you deal with it! Now, everyone sit down. You will not bring Teddy into your fights! My son will grow up knowing his ENTIRE family and not with the prejudices of the past to mar it! Now, I am going to make more tea."
No one spoke as she stomped out of the room; even Teddy stared from one man to the other in confusion. Finally, both Harry and Draco spoke at the same time. "Sorry."
"Same," Remus sighed as he fell back on the sofa.
Harry sat back down next to him and Draco sat in the chair Tonks had vacated. None of them looked at the others until Draco cleared his throat and looked at the professor.
"Um, Professor Lupin? Does she always pick green?"
"Remus. Call me Remus, at least in here," the older wizard sighed. Then he nodded, "Yes. When she's angry it's green, happy is pinkish red, hurt white or yellow, depending on the level of pain, and orange, which I rarely see, seems to be fear or worry."
"Don't forget black and brown," Harry laughed a little to ease the tension.
"Oh yes, mustn't forget those," Remus grinned with a wink. Then he seemed to notice that he and Harry were leaving Draco out of the conversation and turned to the blonde man. "At our wedding she was very nervous; excited, but nervous. Her hair was brown most of the day."
Draco couldn't stop the question that followed, "And, the black?"
Remus blushed a bit, but Harry looked at Draco with a smirk, "Started the moment she remembered they would have a wedding night."
Tonks came back in to see the three of them laughing and smiled, "Better not be laughing at my expense."
All three sobered a bit, but when their eyes met, they broke out laughing again. For the first hour Harry mostly played with Teddy and let Draco spend time with Tonks. Remus sat quietly drinking his tea and grading papers. The second hour, by silent agreement, they switched places and Draco got down on the floor with his cousin, while Harry and Remus played a game of chess and Tonks went to straighten up and then take a long bath.
When she came back out, Teddy was sprawled across Draco's chest and slept with his tiny thumb in his mouth. Draco was softly rubbing the child's back as he silently watched the end of the chess game. Not too long afterward, Harry and Draco were saying goodnight, making promises to come by again soon, and walking down the long hall together.
Neither spoke, but both had a lot of thoughts running through their heads about where this left their mutual dislike. As the question seemed to be too big to answer or resolve in one evening, they simply continued to the main corridor in silence. When they reached the point where they would part company they stopped and faced each other.
Harry was the first to straighten his shoulders and offer a grunt of, "Bye, Malfoy."
Draco nodded, "Potter."
Uncomfortably, they both waited to see if the other would speak. But, when neither did, they simply turned and walked away. Uncertainty and confusion warring in their bodies.
xxxxx
Author's notes – Thank you once again! There were a couple of people that wrote to say they were disappointed in them declaring their love so soon. I am sorry for that. I guess I see it two ways. First, I wrote this story over an 8 month period, so it didn't seem sudden to me at all, plus I was already planning the sequel. Second, they've known one another (whether they liked each other or not) since they were 11 years old. Many of the things that happen during the "in lust/infatuation" portion of a relationship, they skipped. Also, they have been circling this for almost two months at this point; and at 18/19 years old that is forever. Sorry, if it seemed I let you down and I hope you still enjoy the rest of the story.
anon.: Thank you for reading. :-) I am glad you are enjoying the story. I know both Harry and Blaise need to get their heads out of their butts, but this was a start. lol Neither realizes how immature and selfish they are being, nor how hypocritical. But, they will be okay eventually. Thank you also for the review.
Laendra: Thank you for the compliment. I am really glad it felt natural for them to be, in a very strange way, on the same side of things and see eye-to-eye. It was also quite funny to me personally. lol I am really glad you liked the reverse psychology bit. That was taken from a friend of mine who I watched act a lot like Blaise over something and another friend who did the same to him. I am also really happy you liked Orla's reasons for not liking Hermione. In the books and every fic I've read, the only two reasons to not like Hermione have been her blood or her know-it-all-ness. In real life there are some people we don't like for a multitude of reasons and I felt like Orla would feel that way. Thank you!
Rebecca: Thank you very much! I am glad you liked it.