Summary: "You could have been something. You could have been someone. But you blew it."-When Hermione Granger finds Draco Malfoy crying in the girls' bathroom, she decides to find out what's wrong. With only the girl who he despises willing to help him, things are going to change. DM/HG. Compliant up to Order of the Phoenix

Mature content and themes, explicit language.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Any character you may or may not recognize belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter 19: Finish

He woke up feeling exhausted. He'd stayed up incredibly late the previous night, working away in the Room of Requirement. He needed some rest. He needed to blow some steam. He needed sleep.

Climbing out of bed, he slipped his feet into his slippers, as he found Blaise opening the curtain of his bed.

"You came in late last night." he exclaimed, with a yawn.

"I went to the Astronomy Tower."

"To do what?"

"To...look at the mountains."

Fuck.

"What?"

"I just needed to get some air." he brushed off.

Blaise gave him a skeptical look, but changed the topic of their conversation.

"You know, I was thinking, you look good with Astoria."

"What?"

"She's pureblood. You're expected to marry and produce an heir. You could very well end up marrying her."

Draco took a deep breath in, not knowing how to reply. He looked at his friend, who seemed to be waiting for his answer.

"I think marriage is the last thing I need to be worried about. When time comes, mother will pick someone for me. As for now, there are other, more important things to be concerned about."

She still hadn't spoken to Ron.

As time passed, she felt like she was growing farther and farther apart from Ron. Just when she thought they'd be okay, everything was fucked up again. A part of her wondered whether she made a mistake in not waiting, but the more dominant part of her said she was absolutely right in the decision she took. She couldn't spend her entire life waiting for Ron. She had to move on.

She waved goodbye to Harry, as she rose out of her seat to make a trip to the library. She needed to be apart from everything for a while, just before the Ball. She just needed a few hours to herself, just to escape to a completely different world, even if it was imaginary.

She was about to exit the Great Hall, but couldn't help but stop to glance at the Slytherin table, where she immediately found the head of icy blonde hair she was searching for. She was close enough to hear him, but far enough to be camouflaged by the crowd of students. She saw him sitting with Astoria Greengrass, a pretty Fifth Year Slytherin.

"You're receiving me from the Great Hall?" she questioned.

"Yes." He said, pointedly.

"Very well, I have to go now, I'll see you tonight."

She ran her hand along his back as she left, making sure to touch his bare skin, which was barely visible.

He was going to the Ball with her.

She didn't know why it hurt when she saw the Fifth Year so close to him, but it did. She certainly wasn't jealous…

She realized that she was staring, and immediately began walking towards the exit. She needed to go to the library. Get lost in a book.

Pretend the world wasn't unfair.

"Hermione!"

The red headed witch had practically jumped on her friend, as she walked through the entrance and into the Gryffindor common room.

"Woah, what's the rush, Gin?" Hermione said, as she was forcefully being pulled up by her friend.

"You're late! We have to get ready!"

"But the Ball doesn't start until two hours later-"

"Exactly! Come on, we don't have much time!"

He pulled on his dress robes, as he stared at himself in the mirror.

They had been slightly loose when he had purchased them, but they fit him perfectly now. He had a white collared shirt under his black robes, which went down right to his ankles. They were the finest robes in the world, purchased from a shop in wizarding Paris. His mother had bought them from him when she had taken a trip to France. He involuntarily smiled as he remembered how happy his mother had been when she'd shown him them.

"Draco! I've got you something!"

He walked into her room, as he found her shuffling a bunch of bags, looking for something with a glint in her eyes. He made his way to her bed, and seated himself beside her.

"Found it! I was shopping in Paris, when I saw this!" she said ecstatically, pulling out a pair of dress robes. "They made me think of you."

He took the dress robes in his hand, as he leaned in to hug his mother.

"They're great, mother. Thank you."

She smiled the biggest, warmest motherly smile at him, before proceeding to pull away, planting a kiss on his forehead.

"We love you, Draco."

His world had been so simple when she'd given him his robes. It was just the three of them, him, his mother, and his father.

Now, everything was complicated, and he felt like he was falling into a deep, bottomless hole.

He ran his fingers through his platinum, blonde hair, before putting in the effort to put a bow tie around his neck.

Taking one last look at himself, he finally set off, on his way to the Great Hall.

"Are you done?"

"Almost."

She sat in her seat, waiting for her friend to finish up her hair. It was crazy to her how they took so much time in preparing themselves for something so small as a Ball, when there were so many other important things to deal with. Voldemort was getting stronger and stronger by the day, yet here she was, getting her hair done.

"Done."

Snapping out of her thoughts, she turned to her friend, giving her a smile.

"How do I look?"

"Hermione...you look breathtaking."

She shook her head playfully, as she got up to walk to the mirror.

She took a deep breath as she saw her reflection, not being able to recognize the witch she saw.

She looked like herself, yet looked so different. She insisted on minimal makeup, so was only wearing a slightly pink tinted gloss. Her cheeks were graced with a natural red hue, while her hair was let down, with her coffee coloured curls cascading down past her shoulders. Her eyes twinkled, even more so than her beautiful crystal earrings.

Her dress fit her body perfectly. It was modest, yet flaunted her curves in the right way. She ran her fingers along the lace sleeves, which stopped right at her elbows. The dress flowed down and stopped right above her ankles, where her silver heels could be seen. She paused to touch the crystal belt on her waist, which sparkled against the light.

"I…thanks Ginny."

"No need to thank me. The beauty was always there, I just highlighted it a bit."

She smiled, lighting up the entire room.

"You're embarrassing me. Let's head down to the Great Hall, Harry and Seamus must be waiting."

He walked in to find Astoria already waiting for him, beside her sister, Daphne. She was wearing a black halter dress, which stopped midway along her thighs. She had her hair up in a messy bun, and was clutching a golden purse.

"Shall we go?" questioned Blaise.

Nodding his head, they made their way to their respective dates, greeting both of them curtly.

His date tried to grab his attention, but he constantly brushed her off. He kept glancing to the entrance, waiting for someone else to make an entry. He hadn't found her, so assumed that she wasn't there yet. He wondered who she would be coming with...

He saw Weasley with one of the Patil twins, but hadn't seen Potter. He expected him to come with his girlfriend.

So who was she coming with…

"Mate..." called his friend from beside him. "Look.."

Time had seemed to stop as the doors had opened to let in three more people.

Everyone around them had dropped everything to look at her. It seemed like no one in the room was breathing, as if they were afraid it would ruin the moment. He heard Blaise suck in a sharp breath, as he too stared at the girl entering the hall.

"Who the fuck is-"

"Granger." he breathed out.

He recognized her from her coffee curls alone. She walked in with Potter and the youngest Weasley, laughing, looking like she didn't have a care in the world. Her smile seemed to light up the entire room, and her eyes shined brighter than the most valuable diamonds.

She looked beautiful.

Salazar, she really did.

Her emerald green dress swayed as she walked, as she ran her fingers through her hair. She seemed to be walking toward a crowd of Gryffindors, where she met...Finnigan?

He greeted her with a hug, and she responded with a smile. He didn't know why, but suddenly, he gripped his glass of pumpkin juice much more tightly. Not Weasley, but Finnigan?

Their eyes met for a second, and time seemed to freeze once more.

That one second had felt like an eternity, and when she'd looked away, he wished it had lasted longer.

Mentally slapping himself, he turned back to his date, and tried his best to not look in Granger's direction again.

"You look beautiful, Hermione."

"Thank you, Seamus."

She kept glancing back at him, unable to stop herself. She felt childish, but she couldn't help but look.

"Fuck this."

"What?"

"I have to go."

Just as she was about to turn back to Seamus, Draco stormed out of the Great Hall, leaving his date alone.

"Hermione…" Seamus said, touching her arm.

Suddenly she felt nauseous. She needed to get out. She needed to go.

"I'm sorry...I have to leave. I'm sorry."

He rushed out of the Great Hall, needing to get out of her presence. He couldn't endure another minute of Finnigan brushing up against her.

As he was on his way to his dormitory, he suddenly heard footsteps in the empty hall. He turned around immediately, looking to see who it was.

Granger.

She was an arm's length away.

"Granger." he stated, calmly.

"I...I don't know what I'm doing here." she breathed out.

He took two steps towards her, and was now breathing the same air as her.

"I...I should go back-"

"Don't you fucking dare."

And finally, he closed the distance between them, with a searing kiss.

He pushed her against the wall, as he latched onto her mouth, as though he would die if he pulled away. She responded almost immediately, wrapping her arms around his neck, and closing her eyes.

They nipped, sucked, and tasted, with a raw desperation, both trying to get as close to each other as possible. He needed this. She needed this.

His mouth moved from her lips to her neck, biting down on a certain fleshy area, coaxing a moan from her. He wrapped his arms around her waist, as he moved back to her lips, when he heard her mumble.

"Need...a room."

Pausing to kiss her one more time, afraid she would finally come back to her senses and run, he replied.

"Come with me."

He took her hand in his as he guided them both upstairs. They both climbed as fast as they could, desperate to resume what they were previously doing. They finally reached the Seventh Floor, where Draco let Hermione's hand go for just a second, until a door appeared.

He grabbed her again, latching back on to her lips, as he guided them both into the room.

Inside, they found a grand, king sized bed, right in the centre of a dimly lit room, with two sofas, and a coffee table. The room was accentuated with both green and red, representing both their houses.

Draco shrugged off his robes, leaving him in his trousers and white shirt. He found Hermione fumbling with his bow tie, and he immediately helped her to pull it off.

He went back to her lips, wanting to feel a connection for as long as possible. Before they both came back to their senses.

She began to undo the buttons on his shirt, as he found the zipper on her dress. He shrugged off his shirt, revealing his toned body, a result of playing quidditch for years. She paused to admire him, before he attacked her mouth once more.

Hermione's dress pooled at her feet, leaving her clad in her underwear and bra. He lifted her up, and she shakes her legs slightly to get rid of the dress.

They were on the bed, kissing again, as Draco's hands roamed up and down her body, as her hands rested on his chest. He quickly began to unbuckle his belt, wriggling out of his pants, leaving him only in his boxers. She could feel it right there, against her thighs.

Pulling her on top of him, he undid the clasp of her bra, and pulled off her panties, as he took a moment to admire her.

She was even better than he had imagined.

He noticed she had become slightly self conscious, and began to cover herself with her hands. He couldn't let that happen. Not when he'd come that far.

Quickly, he pulled her back underneath him, and kissed her again, wiping away any seed of doubt she have had in her head.

He pulled down his boxers, and positioned himself right above her. He was hard.

She saw it now, as it pressed up right against her abdomen. He used his hand to grab it, and position himself right at her entrance.

"Draco...wait." she finally got out.

"What...you're a virgin? I thought-"

"I'm not. I just haven't...not for two years…"

Pressure…

He gave himself a moment to collect himself, and stare into her honey coloured eyes. She was giving him so fucking much.

"I'll be gentle. I'll hold your hand, squeeze it as hard as you need to if it hurts."

He looked back into her eyes, as she nodded her head, and only saw one thing in her eyes.

Trust.

With one final look st her eyes, he finally entered her, and allowed her to completely engulf him.

She immediately squeezed his hand, as she closed her eyes. He dropped his head to her neck, as he slowly began to push in and out.

"It's okay…" he cooed.

Slowly, her grasp on his hand slackened, before she had completely let go of it. He began to thrust into her more roughly, as she let out a moan against his lips.

He was thrusting now with a sense of urgency, and a need to reach the end. He hadn't done this in months, and he needed to reach the end.

She felt something building up behind her navel, as she heard him let out a growl. She'd never felt this way in her life, and she needed more. She rocked her hips to match his thrusts, making sure he went in as deep inside of her as he could.

She bit down on his lip, as she was coming close to her finish. She saw beads of sweat form on his forehead, as they moved even faster.

Suddenly, she felt a bubble of pleasure finally burst, as she rolled her head back, her eyes hazy. Still living in the moment of her orgasm, she looked at him, close to his own finish.

He finally looked into her eyes, and with one last thrust, he spilled into her, as he hid his moan in the crook of her shoulder.

They simply laid on top of each other for a moment, before he finally pulled out. Reaching for his wand, he quickly muttered the contraception charm, and dropped down to lay beside her.

Everything was silent except for the thuds of their heartbeats and their breaths. They were silent for a few minutes, before Hermione finally spoke up.

"Draco…"

"Not now, Granger." he muttered quietly from beside her.

Everything had been so perfect. It had gone so well. It would be a shame to ruin it all right then.

"Okay." she replied, as she allowed her eyes to shut, as sleep slowly took her.

a/n: ahhhhhhh! Finally got this chapter done. I have NEVER written a sex scene, so please let me off the hook if it's not what you expected.

It's 5:39 am right now, and I'm OUT of coffee! I've been really excited about finishing this chapter, so I thought, why not. School still hasn't opened, but will open in a week, so wish me luck. I have no clue how that shit's gonna work, but I opted to learn virtually. Still have to attend in person for two days a week, but I guess that's better than going for five.

My phone's about to die, so I have to post this RIGHT NOW. Once again, pleaseeeeee review.

Love you guys,

Sydney.