21st-22nd July 2002
Hermione hadn't been lying. It was definitely three full days of potions and fucking. On the morning of the third day, however, she'd finally allowed him to summon an elf for real food. He was starving, even though he'd been taking nourishing potions. He'd lost his mind for hours at a time over the past few days, and it hadn't helped that Hermione seemed to lose hers when he'd regained his. He'd bitten into her neck so many times that he'd be shocked if the bruise faded within the next few weeks.
Despite all of that, it was the most incredible weekend of his life. He was even more in sync with her wants and needs than he had been before, and he had been fulfilling all of them. It made his heart swell with pride to know he was the one bringing Hermione hours of pleasure. In fact, she was so well satisfied that she'd spent the majority of the morning sleeping between rounds of shagging.
While she was sleeping, Draco got up and thrown on a pair of shorts to make his way down to the kitchen. He needed a moment to himself, one where she wouldn't just feel his emotions and wake to soothe him. He'd known the heat would make them both want to conceive a baby, but his brain was truly filled with images of her pregnant that morning. Somehow, knowing she'd taken the contraceptive, he felt a sense of loss knowing that she wouldn't be carrying his child at the end of the weekend.
Ridiculous. They had just gotten back together. It wasn't time for that yet, and magic had evolved enough to give them a choice. Hermione wasn't ready. They needed to be settled. Since May, their lives had been like a high-speed broom ride through an agility course. Or like riding on the back of a dragon — intense and uncontrollable. For now, Draco was willing to settle for claiming her, and he'd certainly done that. He could feel her deep in his chest at all times — her emotions, her well-being — everything about her. It was both terrifying and amazing at the same time.
The little witch had owned his heart for years, and now she truly shared his soul, as well. While this was significant, he would've given it to her if she'd asked, regardless of the circumstances. The reciprocation was what he cherished. For every bit of himself that he gave to her, she gave back parts of herself in equal measure. They were blending, morphing into one inseparable bonded pair.
After years of coming to terms with the fact that he'd never have her, Draco was almost unprepared for the feelings that came along with claiming her. Even if they'd been living together for almost two months, the reality that she was actually his hadn't hit him quite as hard as it was now. He knew he'd give anything to keep her, to protect her.
Just as the emotions were calming, he felt Hermione waking. She felt a small measure of panic, likely because he wasn't there beside her, so he grabbed his glass of water and started heading back up the stairs to the bedroom. When he walked in, she was standing beside the bed, wrapped in a sheet and looking scared.
"Love, I'm right here," he announced. "I just went down to eat something and get some water. Come here and drink some."
She obeyed, and he figured this was the type of order it was okay to give her. After all, she needed to stay hydrated. Her hair was, well, it was a tangled mess, but it didn't make her any less attractive to him. In fact, it started to turn him on because he knew why it was in such a state. His fingers had tangled in it and pulled it, and it had been against the mattress while he shagged her over and over again.
Hermione looked up at him after she finished the water, setting the glass on the nightstand. "I missed you. I was worried you were gone."
Draco pulled her into his arms. "Now that's just ridiculous. I'm not going anywhere, love. Especially not now. Can't you feel it?"
He picked her up and sat her back on the bed. "I do. I know. I just got nervous."
Draco grasped the edges of the sheet and opened it, revealing his perfect witch completely bare underneath it.
"I'll show you, love. I'll show you I'm not going anywhere," he said before leaning down to kiss her.
Hermione's hands scrambled to the waistband of his shorts and pulled them down. He stepped out of them, kissing down her throat and working his way up the side of her neck. A whimper left her lips when his finger dipped into her slit.
"Oh, my little Omega, are you ready for me already?" he asked, whispering against her ear.
She panted her response. "Always, Alpha. Always."
He ran his tongue over the side of her neck, soothing the place he'd bit her over and over while mad with lust, and she leaned into his attention. Her scent, still slightly different than just the usual strawberry, quickly brought his body to life again. He heard her inhale deeply, and he figured he'd just released pheromones, as well.
Draco placed a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back so she was laying flat, her hips still at the edge of the mattress. He magically raised it so Hermione was at the perfect height while he dipped his fingers inside of her, making sure she was truly ready for him. She bucked at the contact, and he let her set the rhythm. Once she was on the edge, he withdrew his fingers and slid his cock inside of her slowly, causing her to cry out in frustration.
Slowly, he picked up speed, increasing the pace of his thrusts. He felt more in control today than he had on Friday night or Saturday, so he took his time, proving to her that he wasn't going anywhere. Draco wanted her to slow down and realize there was no need to rush; they could savour the last day of her heat, getting lost in each other. Her needs would be met, but it didn't have to be done frantically. He hooked a hand behind one of her knees, wrapping her leg around his waist before he leaned down to kiss her.
Oh, Hermione, you taste so good. Your mouth, your quim, your skin. Every part of you is delicious.
Draco, Alpha, please, make me come. I need to come. I need you.
I'm right here. You can feel me, can't you, lioness? I'm so deep inside of you right now. I'm kissing you.
Hermione's other leg wrapped around him, and he felt his prick slide even deeper. This was heaven. Her body was warm and wet and needy, and it was his.
I feel you. Gods, I feel you. I'm so close. Please.
Her silent pleas made him speed up, her need commanding him to give her what she wanted. Despite being the one who could put her under, to drop her into subspace, Draco was powerless to deny her. Whatever she wanted, he would give her without question. Like he had realized before, she was the center of his universe. His happiness, his life simply circled around her, like the earth around the sun. She was the warmth and the light, the driving force behind all life.
She also held the power to destroy him, but he trusted her not to.
For the hundredth time in the past two days, Hermione came, squeezing him tightly and releasing more slick, keeping her body ready to withstand a rut at any time. Her eyes opened and he felt her desire.
I need you to come. I need it, Alpha. Please. I need your knot.
Draco was unsure of why she was communicating silently, but he didn't dislike having her inside his mind — it was just more proof of their connection, made it feel more solid. He pulled back, sliding out of her even though she tried to hold him in place with her thighs. Climbing onto the bed, he settled his head against the pillow, and Hermione climbed on top of him, straddling his hips and sliding down onto his cock. She began to move quickly, bouncing on him, and he grabbed her hips, forcing her into a steady grinding rhythm that nearly had his eyes rolling back in his head.
"Fuck, Hermione, yes! Keep moving like that. It's so good. So fucking good," he grunted, keeping his hands in place.
Her only response was a gasping moan; she was clearly enjoying this type of movement, as well. She rode him like that until she came again, and then he took over, driving up into her hard, making her cry out and pant continuously. When he finally swelled inside of her and came, she let out a sound akin to sob, and he felt anxious.
"Are you okay, Hermione?" Draco asked.
She nodded, nuzzling against his chest. "It's silly, really, but I knew this would happen. It happened the morning after the first night, too."
He thought he felt tears on his chest and grew even more concerned. "What would happen?"
"I just wanted to beg you to get me pregnant. That's all. I know I took the contraceptive and it's not possible, but those times… I don't know, it felt like it would've happened if I hadn't prevented it. That's why I told you I needed you to come," she responded, shocking him.
Draco carefully considered his words before speaking. "Is that… Did you want me to get you pregnant before you went into heat?"
"No!" she cried. "That's why it's silly. The heat just makes me want to get pregnant. I know it's bizarre and not what I actually want. I'm not ready for all of that, Draco."
He felt disappointment settle over him, even though he knew she was right. It was far too early. He wanted her all to himself for awhile, even if that meant denying the more primal side of himself that wanted to see Hermione carrying his baby.
"See? It's happening to you, too. I know you're more sensible than this, Draco. But we're going to feel it every time," she explained. "It's just in our nature, so if I voice it during the heat, I just want you to ignore it, okay? I will talk to you about it before a heat when I'm actually ready."
"Sounds like a plan, love," Draco replied. "I'll just ignore it when you beg me to impregnate you with my powerful little witches and wizards."
"Thank you," she said dryly.
By the next evening, everything between Draco and Hermione had calmed. They had slept a good portion of the day, waking every few hours to sate their bodies as her heat slowly came to a close. They were both exhausted, and Draco wasn't sure he'd be getting an erection again for at least a week. His body was spent.
Hermione rolled towards him and snuggled into his side, causing a contented sound to escape from his lips. The sheets smelled like a mixture of their scents and sex. While he loved it, he was slowly becoming more aware that they should probably clean up and move into the other bedroom, where there was clean bedding. He kissed her lips gently, testing to see if he could wake her without shaking her.
She made a soft "mmmm" sound and slowly reciprocated.
"I'm still tired, Draco. I don't want to get up yet," she whined.
He sighed. "I don't know about you, love, but I need to clean up. I love smelling our scents together, but I'm starting to come back to my senses. I'm covered in sweat and slick and my own come, and—"
Groaning, Hermione rolled away, swinging a leg over the edge of the bed and trying to sit up. "Now I'm thinking about that, too. I guess a bath couldn't hurt. I can sleep in the tub."
Draco laughed and stood from the bed, stretching. He walked around to her side and lifted her when he noticed how unsteady she was. "Thank you. My legs are weak after all of that," she said, gesturing to the bed. "I don't think I'll be able to shag you again for days."
"I was actually thinking the same thing," he answered. "So I'm glad we're in agreement."
Hermione directed him to the master bathroom, and he set her down in the tub before turning the taps on. She reclined back and he cast a Cushioning Charm under her head. She smiled and relaxed, letting the hot water cascade over her legs. Draco watched her doze off, blissful in the bathtub. Once it was full, he shut off the water and started towards the shower, wanting to get cleaned up without his little Omega pressed against him, tempting him into something he wasn't sure he had enough energy to handle.
When Hermione finally climbed out of the bath, she wrapped herself in a towel and headed for the bedroom. Her hair would need to be thoroughly washed and detangled, but figured that could wait until morning — she was still exhausted.
When she entered the bedroom, Draco was standing near the window, his blond fringe sticking up all over the place and a towel wrapped low around his hips. He was just drinking a glass of water, and she found him incredibly sexy. Sure, his chiseled Alpha body probably had a lot to do with that, but she didn't just fall to pieces for any man.
No, he was perfection, and he was hers . Her Alpha. Her soulmate. Her Draco.
Despite all of that perfection staring her in the face, she knew she couldn't possibly shag him again. She pulled back the covers on her four-poster bed, the one he'd bought for her, and crawled in. Draco met her eyes and she grabbed the sheets on his side, pulling them back as an unspoken invitation. He dropped his towel and climbed into bed beside her, rolling across the mattress until he was spooned behind her. His lips landed on her neck, in the spot where he'd bitten and claimed her over and over again, and he kissed the marks he left.
"I'm sorry about this. I didn't mean for it to happen so many times," he whispered. "It's really bruised. Does it hurt?"
"Not much," she replied honestly. "I loved it while you were doing it. I thought it would just be once."
"Me too. Maybe it's because it took us so long to get here," he wondered aloud.
"Mmmmm… maybe. I'm falling asleep," Hermione stated. "Love you."
Before she fell into her dreams, she heard him reply, "I love you, too. So much."
Hermione woke the next morning, half expecting Ron to be barging into the bedroom with her sports drink and muffin. She had just come down from her heat and that was the normal routine. However, her memories started coming back quickly. Draco. The claiming bite. All of the sex. Merlin, so much sex. He'd carried her to the bath last night to clean up and curled around her in bed afterwards.
She rolled over, expecting to see him there, but he was gone. Before she could panic, he came into the bedroom, a breakfast tray levitating beside him. Water, juice, tea and more food than she could possibly eat were set down in front of her.
"I don't know what you usually like the day after," he admitted sheepishly, "so I asked Darcie to bring a little bit of everything you like to eat in the morning. She notices all those things."
Draco settled himself down across from her, taking a piece of bacon and picking up a fork. He hovered over the plate, looking to her.
"What?" she asked, grabbing the glass of orange juice.
"What do you want to eat? I'm here to feed you breakfast," he replied.
He's seriously going to feed me? Physically? That's just… Why do I want him to?
"A bit of everything, I suppose. But not all at once."
He smiled and fed her small bites of everything. It was definitely not what she was used to, but she found herself soaking up his attention. Everything he wanted to do for her was sweet, almost sickeningly so, but she wanted to be cared for after her heat. It felt amazing to have him there with her after it since she was so used to going through it alone.
"I'm full," she stated, not able to eat another bite. "I might sleep for another eight hours after eating like that."
Draco laughed. "No, love, you won't. I'm surprised you're not up and getting ready for work yet."
"I'm not going in today. I never do the first day after my heat. It's too much," Hermione answered truthfully.
She saw his grey eyes sparkle. "So, I get you all to myself today? We can just spend the day together?"
Hermione nodded, unsure of why he looked so bloody smug about it.
"Good, because I was going to try to convince you to skive off anyway. Now I don't have to waste my very limited energy doing that."
He vanished the tray, likely sending it back to the Manor, and climbed back into bed beside her.
Draco let out a sigh and said, "There's something I wanted to talk to you about now that we've regained our senses."
Feeling his anxiety, Hermione snuggled into his side, hoping the contact would reassure him. "Okay. I'm listening."
Holding her close, he began to speak. "I need you to listen, Granger. Please don't interrupt. What you did… staying away for so long and sending back the gifts, it really hurt, and I know you likely know that. I really, really didn't expect that from you. You're always so forgiving towards others—"
Hermione couldn't help it. She spoke up. "Draco, I really didn't mean to—"
"You did, Hermione. You were staying away from me and making sure I couldn't get to you on purpose to punish me. I could feel how upset you were, so I know you could feel me, too," Draco responded. "You hurt me on purpose, and you were hurting yourself. I understand you were upset with me, but I can't figure out why you can forgive everyone in your life so easily, but not me."
I don't know. I don't know why I'm like this, especially with you. I love you. I loved you before.
"I don't need you to answer right now, but you did exactly what you did after the war. You hid yourself away and shut me out. I understood it back then, even if I didn't like it, but now — now you know how I've always felt about you, and you know when I'm hurting. There was no reason for you to keep your distance for so many days, Hermione."
Hermione tried to swallow past the lump in her throat, not sure of what she could say to Draco to explain her actions. The truth was that she was still having trouble coming to terms with being part of a codependent pair, her mind still fighting it even though Draco was always there. She struggled against the bond, trying to be the independent woman she'd been for years. Ultimately, she had known it was futile; all of her instincts screamed at her to go to Draco.
She cleared her throat. "You're right. I shouldn't have done that to you when I could feel how much you were hurting. But, Draco, what do you mean I'm so forgiving towards all the others in my life?"
"The whole Weasley brood knew what marrying Ron would do to you. They kept a secret from you that resulted in years of unhappiness for you—"
Hermione whipped her head to the side, meeting his eyes. "Draco, they thought Ron would've told me!"
He scoffed. "They all should have spoken to both of you, preferably at the same time. I'm not looking to argue about this, love. I just want you to see my side of things. You also forgave Weasley numerous times, I'm sure. I can't imagine he was always kind and generous towards you."
"What does Ron have to do with this, though? I thought we were talking about us," Hermione said.
Draco ran a hand through his fringe. "When we talk about us, Weasley will always be involved. You will always compare our relationship to the one you had with him, and I'm sure you never hid yourself away from him for days at a time."
"Well, no," she admitted, "but he also didn't just… do the complete opposite of what I'd asked him to do. He didn't go and spend tens of thousands of Galleons on something I'd already paid for."
Letting out a groan, Draco said, "We're getting off topic. I don't want to fight about the bloody house again. What's done is done. I want to talk about what happened after the fact, how you made sure I couldn't get to you."
"Okay. I think… I think I was scared, Draco. You know how hard it is for me to let anyone do anything for me. I told you before, I'm used to being the thoughtful one. I'm not used to my happiness coming first to another person—"
"Now that just infuriates me," he snapped. "Your happiness should have come first from the moment Voldemort was defeated. If Weasley couldn't do that — put you first — he never should've married you. And you never should've stayed with him and accepted that kind of life."
Hermione could hear his unspoken words in her head.
Not when I would've given you more, given you everything you ever wanted or needed. I would've made you happy every single day.
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I know I've said it before, but I've just gone and done the same thing over again. I pushed you away, and I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that, just like I shouldn't have just fallen into things with Ron. I can't change the past, though."
Draco let out a breath. "I'm not asking you to change the past, Hermione. I'm asking you to keep this in mind in the future. Please don't push me away. If you need some space, tell me and I'll give it to you. But don't make it impossible for me to get back to you so we can talk things through and fix them."
"I think I can do that," Hermione replied. "But you have a lesson to learn here, too, Draco. You can't just make decisions like that without my agreement. I don't care if you were trying to make me happy or what. We should've discussed it more."
"I agree to include you on all major decisions in the future unless they involve your wanker of an ex-husband," he said.
Hermione wiggled in his arms, trying to free herself. He just held on more tightly. "Why in the name of Merlin would you say that, Draco?"
"Because, when it comes to him, you're still not thinking clearly. I don't understand why, but it's like you can't see what's right in front of your face. On the plus side, we should never have to make a decision involving him ever again," he answered smoothly before kissing the top of her head. "I love you, Hermione, and I know you love me. I don't doubt you do, but I also know you will likely always have a blind spot when it comes to him."
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Hermione gave in. "You're probably right. Theo and Padma both said something similar to me, and I'm guessing that blind spot is what's preventing me from understanding your point of view. I won't fight you about this, and I will try to stop myself from shutting you out when we do fight."
"That's all I ask, love. You're mine and I'm yours and nothing will be changing that, especially now. You're stuck with me, I'm afraid," he teased.
Hermione snuggled deeper into his side, leaning her head against his chest, and summoned her bag. She pulled out a book, and Draco leaned in to see what she was reading.
"What's this? Angels and Demons ? Is this some sort of Muggle book?" he asked.
"Yes, it's a best seller. I've been trying to catch up on my popular fiction," Hermione answered.
"Can I read it along with you? Or do you think I'll be too slow?" Draco asked.
She looked up at him, surprised. He had never asked to do something like this, usually choosing to read his own book or work while she read. "Tell me when to turn the page," she replied.
They spent the whole morning, and part of the afternoon, in bed reading the Muggle book. Draco was enthralled, blown away by the creativity of the writer. He loved history and the symbols deciphered made him think of Ancient Runes back at Hogwarts. Hermione had allowed him to summon Darcie again around lunchtime, unwilling to break away to cook something during a critical part of the story. To her credit, she didn't get annoyed with him, even though he couldn't keep up with her reading pace. She simply waited the extra twenty seconds or so before turning the page. Draco felt like he could spend every day like this.
Every so often, he dropped a kiss on the crown of her head, letting her know he cherished her and this lazy day they were enjoying together. After awhile, she moved between his legs, reclining against his chest. Her hand found its way up into his hair, and she ran her fingers through it while they read, the book held up by magic. It was all so perfect. Everything about it was just… right.
However, midway through the afternoon, she got up to shower, saying she needed to tame her hair back into submission. Draco snickered and she grabbed a pillow, hitting him in the head with it. Once his initial shock wore off, he pulled her back to the bed again and pinned her down, kissing her hard on her lips and then moving to her neck. Ultimately, he surprised her by grabbing the same pillow and hitting her in the arse with it once he had let her back up.
It was one of the best days Draco had ever had in his life. All of the stress of the past few months was gone. The bond was fully formed and functional. They'd made it through a heat cycle together. He'd claimed her, and that would keep her safe from other Alphas. Everything had fallen into place, and there were only two issues left to wrap up — the Wizengamot hearing and making her his wife.
Author's Note: Next week... Theo gets his day in court.
Guarding the Dragon has taken a backseat. I've started writing the next chapter, but I've been trying to perfect everything I can with this. Like I said Thursday, I rewrote and revised the heat chapter a few times this week. I don't mean to neglect my other baby, but this beast has taken me so long that I want it to wrap up well. I'm hoping to get an update written for next week, but no promises.
Love to all of you!