Chapter 22: Draco

I had no idea what I expected tonight to hold for Granger and me. There was a sense of finality about it, but then my gut refused to believe that this would be my last chance to have her.

I left the office at about 6:00 pm, then proceeded to clock watch, the seconds ticking by agonisingly slow until 8:00 pm when I finally Floo'd my way into her apartment. She was nowhere in sight when I arrived, so I took the opportunity to check out Granger's inner sanctum.

Her living room was warmly lit by a few lamps scattered around the room, small Diptyque candles filling the air with a warm, fragrance of roses. The room was furnished and decorated in soft neutrals; a cream fur rug strewn over the wooden floor. The fireplace I entered through was white, the mantel topped with a small vase of hydrangeas and some photographs. She had music playing softly in the background, and I peered closer at a photo of Granger with an attractive older couple. These must be her parents. Her apartment was stylish yet comfortable, exactly what I would expect from Granger.

I turned around when I heard the sound of Granger's soft footsteps padding into the room. She was barefoot and wearing all black – a laced-trimmed silk camisole and shorts set, with a matching floor-length robe.

"Hi," she breathed.

"Hey," I responded, as my eyes drifted hungrily over her. I'd seen business Granger, with her seemingly inexhaustible range of high-end corporate outfits. I'd seen black-tie Granger, dripping in couture and diamonds. But this loungewear, casual Granger, with her dark curls tumbling down her back, and her lips free of the lipstick she was wearing earlier? This was by far and away my favourite - she was breathtaking.

She was holding two tumblers of amber liquid, and she spared me a shy smile as she handed a glass to me. "It's firewhiskey. I hope it's okay." Her voice shook a little, and it occurred to me that she was nervous.

"Perfect," I answered. I reached out to stroke her jaw, hoping she would catch the double meaning in my response. She closed her eyes and leaned into my touch for a moment. Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed up at me, those enormous golden-brown orbs of hers taking in each of my features before coming to rest on my mouth. Her hand drifted up and she skimmed her thumb across my lips. I pursed my lips and pressed a kiss against her thumb, earning me a sweet smile in return.

"I couldn't concentrate on work after you left," she admitted. "I kept thinking about tonight. And now that you're here, I'm not sure what to do with you."

"I have some thoughts," I replied, and she laughed melodically. I found myself grinning at her girlish giggle.

I didn't know what I felt for Granger anymore. From day one at Hogwarts, she had challenged the very fabric of my beliefs, even though I didn't realise it at the time. I had been so sure of myself, raised to believe in some arbitrary superiority, and never needing anyone's approval except my father's. My only shred of self-doubt came after my father threw me to the wolves in my Sixth year at Hogwarts. After witnessing the husk of a man my father became under the Dark Lord's influence, I swore to myself that I would never seek anyone's approval again. This had worked well until Granger re-entered my orbit and up-ended everything I knew about myself. Suddenly, everything I did, I did it to impress her. I recalled the recent conversation I'd had with my mother after she'd seen the Rita Skeeter article.

I had apparated to the Manor and found my mother reading in her favourite room in the house – the sitting room. Two walls were taken up by floor-to-ceiling windows that flooded the room with sunlight and offered a stunning view of the gardens. She ordered tea from the house-elves (who, thanks to the persistence of Granger-by-proxy-of-Pansy, were no longer working for free) and gestured for me to take a seat.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your presence, my beloved son? As if I don't already know." Mum smiled knowingly, gently stirring her tea.

"You saw the article. What did you think of it?" I asked.

"Darling, it's not the first time you've been on Page 8 with a girl on your arm. At least this woman I respect."

I was surprised. I had expected Mum to be resistant to the very idea of my being involved with the Muggle-born Granger, and I told her so. Mum waved me off.

"That woman was tortured in my house by my sister, and I stood by and did nothing to stop it. Neither did you. Sweetheart, we owe Miss Granger an apology for existing. Not the other way around."

The memory of Granger's screams echoing through the Manor still haunted me. The fact that Granger knew I was in the room when it happened and could even give me the time of day now was a testament to her character and strength. I felt that all too familiar mix of awe and guilt flood my system at the thought.

"Can I tell you something, Draco?" Mum asked. "I'm not at all surprised that you've developed feelings for someone like Miss Granger."

"Who said anything about me having feelings for Granger?" I cried, looking around the room and throwing my hands up melodramatically.

"The mild conniption you just had speaks volumes, dear."

I fell silent, tucking my hands under my thighs to keep them still. Mum smiled, taking a sip of her tea.

"Do you know why our marriage has lasted for so long, your father and I? Aside from love, it's respect," Mum stated. "Your father is a strong man, like all Malfoy men. Every day, he puts on his armour and goes to battle with the world. Some of the battles, he brought on himself, and he hasn't always worn his armour well. But he can be strong because when no one else is around, I challenge him."

I frowned. Didn't do him much good when Voldemort was around, I wanted to say.

"I know what you're thinking, Draco. What about the Dark Lord? Where was I then?" Mum remarked, smirking meaningfully. "I won't lie to you and say that things didn't get ugly between your father and me at times. I shielded you from all of that because I promised that no matter what, I would always give you a solid foundation. I swore an oath to myself that I would never let you see the cracks. Your foundation would stay as solid as it always had been, so you knew you could always come home."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly tight with emotion, and Mum's eyes glistened as she continued. "What you and the rest of the world don't see is that privately, I have always been unyieldingly honest with him and held him to account for his actions, and he values me and respects me for it. There's a lot of truth to the saying that behind every good man is a better woman."

I rolled my eyes at this and Mum chuckled.

"It got hard for a few years, but it got better," she said, smiling wistfully. "Your father has always wanted to be better for me. Your father can be strong because I'm stronger than he is."

I nodded. I looked closely at my mother. Her perfectly coiffed hair was now totally platinum blonde and was lined with delicate silver streaks. Her beautiful face carried on it the wisdom and heartache of the years, but her ice-blue eyes still shone with youth. So poised and composed, she was almost regal, and I thought back to every moment I'd been in my mother's presence during the War. I had never realised until that moment that she had been unfailing and unwavering in her support of my father and me. Calm and courageous when my father was breaking, and I wondered how bad it could've been if not for her. I had a newfound respect for my mother at that moment.

"You're a Malfoy, Draco." Mum's voice broke my reverie. "You won't fall for the girl who lets you get away with everything. You will fall for the woman who sets fire to your world and holds you accountable. You'll fall for the one who makes you want to be better."

Amid my turbulent thought process, it occurred to me: Granger was the only one who had challenged me for the better. I'd had brief relationships in the past, but I grew bored with them. Sure, they had played their part as the dutiful girlfriend in public well, but they were content to be satisfied with my money or my last name and were uninterested in me as a person. Granger simply held up a gigantic mirror and forced me to confront what I thought I knew about myself, and I strived to be better. For her.

Is that what this was? Was I falling for Granger?

My mind travelled back to the present, and the beautiful witch in front of me. Granger put her glass to her lips and took a small sip of firewhiskey. The action reminded me of being with her at my apartment after the benefit, my cock tingling at the memory. The Summer Walker & Drake song in the background faded, transitioning to Joe & Donnie Emerson's Baby. I stepped closer to Granger, and wordlessly vanished the glasses from our hands.

"I was enjoying that!" she protested. "You have no idea what kind of week I've had."

"It's Monday."

"And your point is?"

I chuckled and grasped the front of her long silk robe to pull her close. I pressed my lips to hers and relished in the subtle flavour of cinnamon. Firewhiskey has been a favourite of mine ever since my friends and I would sneak nips of it from the decanter in my father's study in Fifth year. But for me, the flavour of the spicy liquor would now forever be firmly associated with Granger.

"Malfoy?" she murmured against my mouth. "Should we talk before we get too carried away?"

"I honestly couldn't be less interested in anything you have to say right now, Granger," I replied, my hand moving to slip the robe from her shoulder, and I moved my mouth to kiss her tanned skin. A breathy laugh escaped her lips, and her hands reached up into my hair. I kissed a path along her clavicle to the dip of her throat, falling to my knees before her to press a kiss between her breasts through the thin silk of her camisole.

Granger's hands dug into my hair, pulling slightly. God, that felt good. She tugged at my hair to tilt my head back, and she leaned down to kiss me deeply. Our tongues found their rhythms easily and performed their usual dance, slipping and gliding over one another. I slid my hands around her waist and pulled her down to the floor with me, bracing her thighs on either side of my hips, so she was straddling me.

A soft moan slipped from Granger's lips as my erection brushed against her crotch, and she melted against my chest. She kissed and nipped her way across my jaw to my chest, her delicate fingers unbuttoning my shirt, kissing every inch of skin she exposed. Her eyes met mine when she reached my belt; her intentions made perfectly clear. She deftly undid the belt buckle and the button of my trousers, and I raised my hips to help her push my trousers and underwear further down my hips.

My head fell back against the cream rug, moaning when her soft pink tongue slipped out to gently sweep across the head of my cock. She repeated, twice, three times before taking the whole of my length into her mouth. I would've died a happy, happy man at that moment. The view alone was enough to send me over the edge – on her knees with her perfect black-silk-wrapped arse in the air, her silky dark curls brushing against my thighs.

Granger moaned, sending a vibration along my dick that buzzed in my spine. She bobbed her mouth up and down, her teeth scraping lightly along my shaft and her tongue swirling. Her hand slipped lower to my balls, rolling them gently in her palm. She moved her finger lower again to gently massage a spot below, a low hiss emanating between my teeth. The sensations were almost too much but fuck if I wanted her to stop.

I ran my fingers across her jaw, and then through her hair. She looked up at me through dark lashes, pausing for a moment to grin wickedly at me before placing me back in her mouth, her nervousness apparently forgotten. She began running her hand up and down my dick in tandem with her mouth, twisting and bringing me ever closer to the edge.

Fuck, it was too good, and I wasn't done with her yet. Not like this. I ran my hand along her jaw again and sat up. Granger daintily wiped at the corner of her mouth, looking rather fucking pleased with herself.

I reached for her hips and pulled her up to straddle me again. Her tongue invaded my mouth again, her lips swollen from the attention she had just lavished on my cock. I slipped my hand lower and pushed into her silk shorts. She was already wet and ready for me, and I felt my cock harden even further. I brushed my fingers across her clit, and I dipped one inside her, relishing in the pleading moan from Granger's throat. She pulled back to look at me, her eyes like lava.

"Oh, shit," she breathed, her head lolling back. My free arm snaked around her middle to hold her firm, and I added a second finger inside her. Her hips rolled against me, and I bent my head to lick at her nipple through her camisole. Granger pushed my shirt from my shoulders, throwing it to the side before discarding her robe. Her arms wrapped around my neck and shoulders, her hands threading into my hair again. Her nipple was firm and taut under my tongue, and I leaned back slightly to look at her. Her skin glowed in the warm light from the fireplace, her beautiful dark hair tumbling down her back. She was so unassumingly sexy and more than beautiful. She was fucking perfect.

The movement of her hips jerked, and I removed my hand from her shorts to hold myself up for her. She reached down to hold the crotch of her shorts aside and lowered herself onto me. We'd never been in this position before, and her body fit perfectly with mine. Her forehead fell to my shoulder, and I grabbed her hips.

"God, you feel so fucking good, Malfoy," she breathed. "You feel how deep you are?"

My response was muffled against her chest, lost to the rotations of her hips.

"You want it faster?" she asked me, between the tiny sucking kisses she left along my neck.

"Fuck no, you stay exactly where you are," I replied with a quiet chuckle, sinking my fingertips into her hips.

"Oh, fuck yes, mark me," she groaned. I responded by biting down on her right breast, relishing in the way she pulled harder on my hair. She began to work me harder now, filthy utterances from her mouth punctuating each swivel of her hips. Telling me in dulcet, breathy tones how much she loved the feeling of me inside her, how much she craved what I was doing to her. I could feel the pressure building, my beautiful witch writhing above me. I bucked up into her, feeling her grind down harder on me.

"Oh, God, Draco," she moaned, and I felt her spasming around me. I was not prepared for what it would do to me to hear my name falling from her lips, and I followed her orgasm into my own. I groaned loudly against her chest.

Granger went limp above me, and I lowered us both to the floor. I eased myself out of her gently and laid her back where she had collapsed against my chest. We were sweaty and panting and exhausted, and I realised with a satisfied smile that the night was far from over.

A/N: Thank you for the reviews so far! Please PM your thoughts on the Pinterest board. The idea behind the boards was not to provide the exact likenesses of the characters, especially with Theo, Pansy and Blaise, but more just the qualities they embody. For example, in my head, Pansy doesn't really look like Mila Kunis nor Kate Beckinsale but she carries herself with the sass and fierceness of Mila and the poshness and dry humour of Kate.

On another note, this chapter was pure smut and I'll warn you that the next chapter is no different.

Stay safe and well! Xx