AN: Next fic may be a one shot. It may not ever exist. Who knows. We're rolling up to the climax so world building will be getting sparse. I will still expand on other things in the section as I see fit.
QA:How did they get out?
The forest isn't totally heartless. Or well... perhaps literally it is. Once the magic was sure the dementors were gone they were ported out of the place. Places that old do not want humans wandering around, dead or alive.
They landed with a light tap. Hermione was so spent she could barely stand but her adrenaline came crashing back as she felt the wards squeeze past them. Her body remembered what happened the last time it had been here and she quivered in fear in spite of herself, the last leaf on a tree caught in the autumn wind.
"Merlin you're heavy." Draco slid to the ground with her as the last dredges of the pepper up potion wore away. Thankfully they had not landed in the dining room but instead had arrived just inside the gate, a grayish white drive stretched before them. It looked like they would be camping out after all. At least it was probably a degree warmer in the UK.
"Daisy." Draco called out to the air. Suddenly a house elf appeared with a crack. The creature looked young with barely any wrinkles or hair. It had ice blue eyes and was dressed in a very fine lace tablecloth. Hermione wanted to find the outrage to be upset but couldn't really be bothered. The tablecloth was nicer than some of her clothes anyway.
"Daisy has passed. I am Filly! You must be Master! Filly is so happy to serve!" The house elf bowed, a difficult process considering they were already collapsed on the front lawn. It resulted in the creature basically lying flat on its face.
"Hello Filly. It is unfortunate to meet you under these circumstances." Draco muttered politely, raising his hand to his head. Hermione dug around in her potions bag for a headache tonic without being asked. She had started carrying them a few months ago- a pained Draco was a snippy Draco. At first it was only so they could still work, then it was because he was her friend. She started to do it naturally, like most things with him.
"It is always fortunate to see the Master! The house misses you, it does." Filly responded with a nod. Hermione was grateful that her first aid potions were right at the top and she pulled out the tonic without having to accio it. If she even could. She handed it off to Draco after ripping out the cork and he threw it back without a second thought.
"We need to rest." Draco responded.
"Shall Filly take you inside? The Master's bedroom has been kept in perfect repair for the Master and his Lady." The house elf nodded towards Hermione with something akin to awe. She felt discomforted by the stare and flushed.
"No. Not the manor." Draco responded not bothering to correct the creature on her status. "The guest house in the back garden. The one with the irises."
"An excellent choice Master!" Filly purred, holding out her hand. Draco grabbed it, tightening his hold on Hermione's shoulder as they whipped across the grounds. They arrived in a cheery bedroom with pastel purple walls. A thick oak four poster bed was strung with sky blue linens and looked so remarkably soft and welcoming Hermione almost cried. The fireplace leapt to life with a roaring blaze instantly heating the room. She stumbled towards the bed even as she felt the weak pinch of a scourgify bounce off her.
"Fuck." Draco muttered.
"If the Master allows?" Filly responded with a snap. Hermione felt the cooling water of Draco's magic wick away the stagnant water and sweat from the day. Even her hair barely smelled of burning as she hit the bed, the sheets pulling over her automatically.
"Thank you Filly." He muttered leaning on the mantle with a groan.
"If the Master does not require anything else?" Filly questioned. Draco shook his head and she apparated away with a crack. He stumbled toward the door unevenly. She hated the pathetic whine that escaped her throat but it was enough to stop his retreat.
"Are you alright?" He questioned hurrying over to the bed clumsily. "I forgot to check if you were injured. Let me get Filly back."
"I'm fine." She rushed out tiredly. Resting her hand gently on his for courage, tracing light circles around his wrist. He shivered lightly but didn't pull away. She wondered momentarily how they had gotten so comfortable with touching each other. "I just thought you should come straight to bed. You are as exhausted as I am."
"I am. The room just across the hall…" He trailed off as she stared at him meaningfully. She was much too tired to be dealing with silly boys and their propriety today.
"Don't make me say it." She murmured out suddenly very aware they were back in Britain, where he had a public life and she did not. But she had spent her whole life being altruistic and she could blame it on being tired. Just this once she would be selfish. He dragged his hand through his hair, staring pointedly at the door.
"Hermione… I can't-"
"Stay. Sleep." She pulled him lightly down next to her, the sheets folding back. With significantly less effort than it should have taken he collapsed with a sigh. He lazily threw an arm over her pulling her lightly against his body. Through the open neck of his shirt Hermione became aware of the exhausted muscles twitching in his chest and set about lightly rubbing them into stillness.
"I'm sorry I got you into this mess." She murmured staring up at the face. His hair was still greasy but dry and fell against his forehead haphazardly. He had closed his eyes, deep vibrations of pleasure reverberating through his chest as she worked.
"Well I suppose I better get used to it." He murmured lightly. Hermione watched his lips move, still managing to look delicate and graceful. The implication in the words drew forth a happy purr from her throat. The guilt at the small nugget of joy was overrun by a desperate need to explain herself.
"About what…. You saw." She began as the last vestige of wakefulness began to edge away and she stilled. Draco's eyes cracked open, half lidded and dull.
"We will talk later." He mused softly, his eyes meeting hers. There was a small spark of fire in them of protectiveness and a flame to dangerous to mention. Had that always been there, even the past week? How had she not noticed? The thought burned through Hermione willing the exhaustion and shame away before it was swiftly quenched by her aching muscles.
"Okay… " She whispered, still staring up at him, all sated possession and quiet understanding. How long has he known? He had to have known. He couldn't be looking at her like that and not have known. How long had he been looking at her like that? Merlin.
He was so beautiful in the glittering sunlight, even with the small thorn scratches on his cheeks and soot stains on his lashes. Her eyes drifted to his lips somehow familiar to her. He smirked lightly, raising a soft hand to her cheek. Oh, he definitely knows.
"Finally caught on then?" She quivered at his voice, thick with the trials of the day and implications that stood unspoken. It melted around her in a sultry silk not unlike the feel of his magic.
"Well you see. I'm considered quite clever." She murmured faintly, leaning into his hand and looking up. Her lips brushed against his palm and she felt him shiver even as his eyes burned into her. "Night Draco."
Her heart jumped wearily as he slowly pressed his lips against hers. It was just a moment, demanding nothing but laying bare feelings she had missed completely. Merlin she was dense. He pulled away with a deeply satisfied smirk. Hermione would have remarked on it if she hadn't been so tired. Instead her body relaxed in a rush of warmth and happiness as he nuzzled into her hair, closing his eyes.
"Night Granger."
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Draco woke with a groan,his body forcing his consciousness to the surface even as he screwed his eyes shut. Slowly the world around him was becoming more pervasive, from the bird song to the sandy shifting of sheets. He was still exhausted and the muscles in his arm burned with the after effects of Fiendfyre forcing it to twitch randomly, rubbing the blankets against his tender skin. The astringent scent of medical balm told him that Filly had already snuck in this morning. He threw his good arm out lazily, wholly unsurprised to find no one there. His mind flicked through complicated thoughts that he had no business addressing right now.
He sat himself up, leaning against the headboard, and glanced around the room in the early morning light. There was no sign Hermione had been there at all. He cast a quick tempus charm, placing them at a far too early 7:00am. Not that it meant anything to him, they could have arrived yesterday afternoon or in the middle of the night for all he knew. He was in the middle of working up the resolve to go look for her when the bathroom door swung open silently.
He quirked his brow as she exited wrapped in a shamefully long towel and a cloud of steam. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding he sighed, causing the witch to jump and conjure her wand from...somewhere? Possibly somewhere very interesting.
"Jesus Christ." Her voice was gravelly with sleep and probably not lacking damage from the amount of water she had inhaled. Rowana only knew what was in it. Her eyes flew to him with a wave of relief that warmed him slightly. She slid her wand back into the floods of cotton. He still wasn't sure exactly how it was held up though.
"No, just me." He smiled pulling his knees up to drape his arms over them and allowing the blankets to pool over his lap. He cocked his head to the side with a smirk wondering when exactly she would realize the situation.
"It's too early for this. I almost hexed you!" She hissed casting a weak drying charm on her hair, just enough to stop the dripping.
"Well if I were asleep I would still be here." He reasoned throwing in a devilish wink. Finally she seemed to adjust to his presence enough to process her state of dress. Surprisingly she didn't squeak and dive back into the bathroom as he thought she might. A high colored blush did tinge her cheeks before she set her lips into a firm line. She strode forcefully over to the side of the bed she had slept on, rummaging around for her clothes.
"They won't be there Granger." He called over the larger bed, a damp mop of reshaping curls floating listly in view. The towel wrap easily hit her knee and seemed to be stuck in place. Pity. "You think my house elf would deign to allow such filthy things lying around such a pristine room."
Her answering glare was enough to shock him out of the careless pose. He was already regretting the words before she spoke. "Do you want to try that again Malfoy?"
"No." He shot back pushing himself out of bed with a groan. "It was poor phrasing but I stand by the sentiment." His pants had tangled around his legs at some point in the night and he went to work on adjusting them. His shirt had been vanished and he made a point to catch eyes as he stretched, appreciating the blush sprinkled across her cheeks.
"Am I expected to wear this towel all day?" Hermione questioned as she gestured wildly. He was sure if the damn thing wasn't secured by magic it would have fallen off by now. Again, pity.
"I am not opposed to it." He ducked before he had finished the sentence, a thick pillow flying past his head. "But if you insist."
He meandered toward the bathroom, noting the fair bit of distance Hermione was keeping from him. A part of him was wounded that she thought he may attack her or something, the other part figured that if he was already guilty of it in her mind he might as well. Any action was saved by the very obvious appearance of two sets of towel and a matching pair of thick dark emerald bathrobes. He continued onto the pastel green and white tiles to snatch up the smaller one and held it out to her.
"These weren't here earlier." She murmured lightly.
"Maybe you didn't look hard enough." He responded with a yawn. Merlin, why was he even up at this hour?
"Yes. I can see how I would miss something that was right in front of me."She rolled her eyes, a light smile teasing at the corner of her mouth. Her skin was still flushed from the steam and while her eyes looked tired they were distinctly less hollow than yesterday.
"Glad you see it my way." She smacked his chest lightly. "It's probably because you aren't the master."
"I don't need your clingy house, I found my own towel." She huffed and gestured down to the thick black cotton that was currently wrapped around her. It took him a moment to recognize it.
"Where did you find that Granger?" He questioned with a wide grin.
"... the closet." She responded suspiciously. "Next to the kitchen."
"The one with all the horse tack?" He raised an eyebrow, leading her.
"Yes?"
"And you didn't find that strange at all?" He crooned, watching her squirm. "Do you store your horse tack with the linens?"
"I don't know. Maybe your family is into that sort of thing. Which, for the record, I am NOT!" She huffed shaking out her hair. Draco tried to be annoyed when a few droplets of water hit his face but he was unable to overpower the sweetness of the action.
"You are rude and uncultured." He remarked leaning against the cool tile of the wall. His skin barked in protest but he chose to ignore it. "That is a riding blanket…. As in for horses not people. Not that I should have to clarify."
Hermione paused for a moment, her next retort dead on her lips as she looked down abruptly. He saw her cheeks flushed before she looked back up with a devious smile. "The house probably thinks anything more is above my station. "
"Oh don't be like that." He responded to her back as she began to flounce out of the bathroom. He was prepared for a long and awkward breakfast of cold shoulder when she turned her shoulder, a teasing smile on her face.
"It was a joke, Malfoy. Loosen up." He caught himself beginning to smile when his eyes flicked down to her shoulder. An angry faded splotch of purple stained her skin from her collar bone down past the trim of the towel. In a single step he was next to her, his hand tracing lightly around it while he swore.
"I thought you said you weren't injured." He hissed. Her hair must have hidden it earlier and judging by the way she trembled it hurt quite a bit. Insolent, know-it-all chit. He may have been able to keep it from scarring if he treated it right away, now...
"What?" She questioned honestly, her breath hitching slightly. He flicked his eyes back to hers only to be met with a curiously glazed look. Following his finger she glanced down to her shoulder and sneered slightly. "Oh... That."
"Yes. That." He responded, pulling his wand to run over it with his magic. He felt her shiver as it touched her, seeping through the skin and looking for any damage. She batted him away gently.
"It's old. Just a scar from when Dolohov hit me with that mystery curse back in fifth year." Her eyes flicked back to him cautiously. "It doesn't hurt anymore, honest."
"It looks awful." He growled angrily. Fifth year. She would have been fifteen. Dolohov cursed a fifteen year old with a hacking curse. He couldn't repress the shudder of the more public memories of that curse attached to the dining room in the manor proper.
"Yeah." She laughed weakly, as she stepped away. "I'm pretty torn up aren't I. I won a war and all I got were these ugly scars, right?"
"I didn't mean-"
"I know." Hermione finished with a firm nod, pulling her hair over the mark. "I'll make some breakfast."
"No let me-" He tripped over the words trying to cover up his thoughtlessness. It was inelegant, clumsy. The whole thing was out of character for him. He was supposed to be suave and charming. Fuck. He really needed more sleep, why was he even up right now?
"No. Seriously Draco. I am fine."
"I can at least help." He crossed his arms indignantly but he was most definitely not pouting.
"You can help by getting in that shower, you smell like death." She crunched up her nose in an adorably cute scowl. He ran his hand through his hair in an effort to hide his smile only to be horrified when he touched something slimy that fell apart as he pulled his hand away.
"Fair point. I'll be out shortly."
World Building with Om
House elf magic:
House elf magic is keyed to their owners. Without a bonded owner house elves have much weaker magic. As a result of this, Filly's magic will feel like Draco's.