TWENTY
Wednesday, 6 April 2005
Hermione reappeared in her shower at the Manor. She didn't even bother to check on Riddle before she turned the taps on and scrubbed herself raw. A part of her wanted to collapse in a heap beneath the showerhead; to cave to her seven years of repressed emotions and sob until she broke, but she didn't. If she gave in, she wasn't sure she would be able to maintain the hold on her memories the way she needed. So instead, she let the heat of the water calm her down as she reinforced her mental library.
By the time she was done, the water had gone cold. After drying herself off with a simple wave of her hands, slipped into the bed beside Riddle. After a brief assessment to his current state of health, she turned her back to him, curled up on the edge of the bed, and let herself fall asleep.
When she had woken next, she found herself in the middle of the bed; alone. It took her a moment for that fact to sink in and when it did, she bolted into an upright position and looked around. But her panic was quickly eased as Riddle emerged from the bathroom. She tried, but she couldn't stop herself from watching a few stray droplets of water fall from his still damp hair; tracking them until they broke free from his skin. Whether he hadn't gotten to the drying charm yet or had decided not to use one, she wasn't sure.
"Lucius caught me up to speed on everything while I was out."
She nodded and ran a hand through her hair in an effort to tame it. She did a double take when her head turned towards the window to see darkness beyond the panes. "What day is it?"
A flicker of concern darkened his eyes; enough to worry her as he approached. "You were out all day yesterday. I woke shortly after the sun rose. I had a healer come check on you, but I was informed you had exhausted a fair bit of your magical core and to let you rest."
Her eyes widened at that.
He sat on bed, his back to the headboard and then drew her against him. She shivered at the warmth of his chest at her back, but couldn't help the way she relaxed as he wound his arms around her and held her tight. "Breakfast will be brought up for us soon."
At the mention of food, her stomach gurgled. He said nothing as he brought up one hand to move her hair across her other shoulder. As his hand moved back, cupping her breast from behind, his lips fell to her skin gently. She squirmed as she felt his cock twitch against her back; the action making him harden even more.
"Thank you."
She stilled in his arms. "F-for what?"
"For saving me," he murmured, his lips continuing their gentle assault on her skin. "You could have let me die; could have walked away, but you did not. You chose to stay." She shivered at his words as well as the way his lips dragged up the column of her throat. At the way his right hand began to slide down her stomach. "For using your magic to heal me and filling in as the queen you were destined to be."
"Y-you're welcome," she stammered as his fingers brushed over her clit.
She bit her lip as his fingers went lower. They circled her entrance to collect her budding arousal before moving back up to wet her clit. "You have exceeded my expectations, Hermione," he whispered, his breath hot on her flesh. "Here I thought you would have run with the Resistance the moment you saw you were free. I am almost inclined to believe you care for me."
"What will you do?" she asked, swallowing hard as he made lazy, unhurried circles around her clit.
"They should consider themselves lucky if there is a Resistance left when I am through with them." His teeth grazed her flesh as he dragged more of her arousal to her clit again. When she tensed, he chuckled against her and pinched lightly at the sensitive bundle of nerves, making her whine. "Your precious Draco will remain untouched; just as I promised."
At the mention of Draco, her hips bucked towards his hand. Immediately she winced, knowing there would be repercussions. To her surprise, not only did he keep going, but he sped up just a touch. On instinct, she moaned and moved her hands to his thighs, gripping lightly to keep herself from moving too much.
"Perhaps when he is the only one left I could bring him here," he murmured. Her hips jerked again and her hands dug into his skin to the point where her knuckles turned white. "Would that make you happy?"
"N-no."
"No?" he questioned. "We could keep him in the cellar. I believe the days of you running off with him are behind you. He would be a reward; a gift for your loyalty."
He didn't need to say his true intentions; that it would serve as a never-ending punishment should she ever slip up. That if he were kept as a prisoner in his own ancestral home, there would be no chance at escape. No chance at starting another Resistance.
"I am sure his family would love the chance to reconnect with him after so long." His voice was low and it sent vibrations up and down her spine. "You say no now, but I believe your mind will change when you see him again."
He wasn't wrong; her mind had definitely changed upon seeing Draco again. Especially after their last encounter.
Pleasure rippled through her as he brought her arousal to her clit once more. Her head tipped back, resting on his shoulder. He brought his other hand up, wrapping it around her throat and angling her face towards him so he could capture her lips. He swallowed every moan and sigh that his touch brought forth as he continued his steady rhythm. Her hips began to cant upwards in search of more, but he carried on as he was. As if determined to draw it out of her slowly and make it last.
And just as she felt herself beginning to crest, a sharp knock on the door sounded throughout the room. She whined into Riddle's mouth as he stilled, leaving her on the cusp. He brought his hand up to her mouth when he pulled away and she parted her lips so he could slide his fingers over her tongue. He nuzzled the shell of her ear with his nose and sighed deeply before dropping his hand. "When I return, I will make this up to you."
She shuddered with anticipation and her inner walls clutched with desperation to be filled. She would be on the edge until he returned whether she liked it or not. When he slipped off the bed, she laid back down, clutching the sheet over her chest as she watched him dress. "When will you be back?"
He smirked at her on his way to the door. "Well after dinner. You are to stay in here and rest," he ordered.
She gave a minute nod of her head and watched him slip out the door. A moment later, a House Elf appeared with breakfast for one. With a soured expression, she reached for a piece of fruit and popped it into her mouth. She paused after her first bite; a plan forming in her mind. Riddle had told her when he would return and ordered her to be alone for the day. He had given her the perfect opportunity to slip away and once she was done with breakfast, that was exactly what she intended to do.
Draco was on the verge of losing his mind. He had tracked Neville down to a safe house in Kent with Luna and Theo after Hermione's departure from Grimmauld the day before. Since it had been far too early, he waited downstairs, helping himself to their supplies when his stomach began to growl.
Luna was the first to wake and joined him for breakfast. He tried to make conversation with her, but it was hard. Nothing she said made much sense and he wasn't in the mood to deal with reading between the lines. Luckily he didn't have to wait long for the other two to join them. Draco waited for them to eat and wake up a bit before asking Neville about the sword. A part of him had hoped he still had it in his possession, but he knew better than to think it would be that easy. He wasn't all that surprised to hear how it had been knocked out of his hand trying to escape Hogwarts and he hadn't seen it since.
The castle had been repaired after the battle and even now, it remained a school. He was sure the curriculum was different from when he had been a student. Truthfully, he hated thinking about that place for a plethora of reasons; one of them being how students were faring nowadays. For all their sakes, he hoped it was nothing like his own Seventh Year. Either way, it meant finding the sword would be quite difficult. There weren't any allies he could turn to for help on the inside.
When Neville and Luna took their leave to make their usual rounds, Draco turned to Theo. He tasked him with procuring Basilisk venom. He left with instructions to make inquiries only to those he knew could remain discrete. The last thing he needed was for word to spread that someone was looking for that particular commodity.
The rest of the day Wednesday was spent at Devon going over the plans they had started for their takedown of the lab at Manchester. For hours, he tweaked them in an attempt to perfect them. He thought that if he could wipe that out, he would weaken Riddle. Realistically, he knew it wouldn't be much, but it was something. They had been scouting the lab for nearly a year; long before Hermione's help. But now that she had given her input, they were nearly ready to move forward with the plan.
He wasn't sure when he had fallen asleep, but the sun had been set for quite some time. When he did wake next, the sun was up, but it was that wasn't what did it. It was the wards at Grimmauld being activated that had jolted him from sleep. Leaping up from where he'd fallen asleep slumped over the desk, he Apparated home; wand clutched and ready to use the moment he reappeared in his living room.
At the sight of Hermione pacing in front of the couch, he lowered his wand and dropped his defensive stance. She took a half step towards him when she noticed him, but then stopped as if she thought better of it. Instead, she offered him a small smile as she wrapped her arms around herself. He stashed the wand into his pocket and strode forward, smirking at the way her eyes widened and her arms began to drop back to her sides. With one hand on her hip and the other cupping her face, he drew her forward and slanted his mouth over hers. She melted against him and wrapped around his waist as she returned his kiss with equal fervor.
When they parted, it felt like a mutual decision. She dropped her head to his shoulder and his hand slid back to cradle the nape of her neck as his chin rested atop her head. "Riddle's awake."
He let out a small sigh and held her tighter.
"He knows it was an attack from the Resistance and he's planning on bringing all of you down."
He snorted at that. "He's been trying for years."
"He's more determined this time," she said, pulling away from him.
"Did he see me there?" he asked quietly.
She shook her head and fidgeted with her hair while staring at the floor. "I was able to look inside his head. I intended to erase any trace of you, but there was none."
He studied her for a moment. "What did you see?" he asked.
Her answer came too fast. "Not much. I didn't stay long."
"Hermione-"
"Drop it, Draco," she pleaded, finally looking up at him with wide eyes. "Please."
"How long have you known?" he pressed, taking a step towards her.
"Known?"
"How much he cares for you."
"Draco-"
"He Apparated across countries to get back to you when he thought you died, Hermione." She closed her eyes and tried to turn away, but he reached for her and cupped her face, keeping it tilted up towards him. "I saw the way he looked at you back then and I've seen the way he looks at you now. He-"
The words died on his tongue and he lifted a single brow at her as he recognized the sensation of having been silenced. She looked at him then and met his gaze with tears in her eyes. "Don't." He heard her swallow; could feel her throat constrict against his hand.
When she relinquished her magic, he risked being silenced again by saying, "We can use that to our advantage."
The look she gave him was a mix between disbelief and exasperation.
"He's made it clear on more than one occasion that he'll do anything for you. We just need to test his limits."
"Can we table this discussion for some other time?" she asked, pulling away from him. "I came here to let you know that he's off planning his revenge with your father. How are the plans with the lab?"
He hesitated a moment before giving into the change of subject. "They're nearly finalized. I have a few loose ends to tie up, but we should be able to move within a week or two."
She nodded in approval, but he saw the way she gnawed on her lower lip as her nerves about the situation took hold. "What if-"
"Everyone knows what they're risking when we move against the lab. It isn't our first time, Hermione. It is the first time I'm optimistic about the outcome and we have you to thank for that." That only made her sigh and he tipped his head to study her again. "I'm surprised he isn't including you in his plans to take us out."
"He locked me in our room and told me to get rest," she said, oblivious to the jealousy that coursed through him at her words. Her reference to his childhood bedroom being used as hers and Riddle's didn't sit well with him. "I slept nearly twenty-four hours. During that time he woke up and had a healer look me over." She snorted as she added, "He thinks I burned out my core saving him."
The jealousy dissipated slightly as he smirked. "I'm pretty sure it was when you nearly took the entire building down screaming at me." His smirk widened. "Screaming for me," he corrected. When she had the decency to blush, he reached out and pulled her to him again. "How long do you have?"
"Until dinner," she replied, a quiet moan falling from her lips as he leaned in to plant tiny kisses to her neck. "I told the House Elves not to disturb me with lunch or anything else when they took breakfast away."
"Good," he murmured, tugging her towards the couch. "Then we have plenty of time."
By the time he sat on the couch, drawing her over his lap, she had vanished their clothes. And with a quick check to see if she was ready, he sheathed himself inside of her and spent the rest of their time buried between her thighs.
A/N: HELLO LOVELIES! I'M BAAAACK!
So...if you're in my FB Group or following Unexpected as well, you already know, but for those of you that aren't, fear not, I have not abandoned anything in the slightest :)
The day after I posted chapters 18 and 19, I woke up to a call from my dad telling me my grandmother's condition had worsened and she didn't have much longer. So we spent the day packing and getting our shit in order. The next 36 hours were spent on the road (Dad refuses to fly...) driving from Arizona to Florida. Within six hours of our arrival, she passed on. She had been sick for quite some time so I was able to say a true goodbye a long time ago, but a final goodbye was said on Saturday, 18 July 2020. We stayed the next week (hence the slew of oneshots) and just returned home last Thursday.
Now that I've caught up on all the chores I had to leave in the middle of, I'm back to my normal posting schedule of M/W/F for this one.
Thank you ALL for your kind words and sending all the love and good vibes my way. It helped a great deal and I'll forever be thankful for you!