CHAPTER 15

September 15th 2001

Draco Malfoy stumbled into Astoria Greengrass' dark apartment, kissing her neck to make her giggle as she closed the door behind her. His assistant tasted like dark chocolate, a little too rich for his taste, but enough to settle his hunger. He pushed the girl against the back of the door, licking her jaw as his hand found its way around her throat. She moaned at the grip, biting her lip to restrain herself.

Draco took his second hand and reached for the zip on the side of her dress, letting the material collapse on the floor. She was left with only black stockings and a green thong. Still with his hand on her throat, Draco ripped the stockings apart at the crotch. Astoria yelped in shock, her mascara running a little under her eye from the heat of the moment.

Draco let his hand drop from her neck, allowing her to catch her breath. As her naked chest rose and fell, he picked her up under her legs, letting her body rest on his lap before he began to suck on both of her nipples. Astoria's fingers ran through his hair, her long nails scraping at the scalp. She gasped at his tongue twirling in circles, and let her head fall back against the door that they hadn't moved from.

The wizard was getting harder by the second, but as he closed his eyes he imagined the woman wrapped around him to be someone else. The thought of Granger in his mouth nearly made him cum on the spot. Frustrated by the picture on his mind, Draco growled and walked Astoria through the dark room to an object he hoped was a couch. Throwing her onto the cushion, he watched her body bounce as he undid his belt.

Astoria crawled over to him on all fours and pulled his pants down to half way down his thighs. He let his knees rest against the arm of the lounge, while she wrapped her sharp fingers around his shaft. Her black eyes stared up at him as she began to stroke him with a weak grip.

"Tighter." He grunted.

She obeyed.

Draco had not been touched by anyone since his trip to Romania. The last few months involved satisfying himself, and the only image that had worked was the thought of Granger. Every night that he layed in bed, or every morning when he had a shower, she was at the forefront of his mind. He imagined the witch's lips to taste like honey, and her skin like milk. How her hair would bunch up in his fists, as he grabbed her neck to kiss her. Most importantly, what his name would sound like on her tongue, as he brought her over the edge.

The grip of Astoria's hand loosened, and he was awoken from his imagination. She went to use her mouth along his tip, but Draco lifted her chin to stop her. Pushing her by the shoulders, he let her fall onto her back. Stepping around the arm, he propped one knee up on the couch and used it as balance to fully rip her stockings open with both hands. Then grabbed her by the ankles and dragged her closer.

Grabbing his wand out of his back pocket, he cast a protection charm upon them both. Then he leant forward and put one hand near her head, and the other slid her underwear to the side. Draco traced his tongue along her jaw and nipped her ear. Astoria squeaked.

"You are not allowed to say my name." He groaned, "Do you hear me?"

She nodded.

"I want you." Astoria whispered. "All of you."

Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley thanked one of their final guests for coming to their celebration, waving with polite smiles as he exited the castle doors. The moment they were in the clear, the two exhaled and hung their heads low, grateful for the night to be over.

"I thought it was never going to end." She groaned, limping over to the stage to take off her shoes. The orchestra had left half an hour ago, and cleaning witches had already begun their late night duties.

"It wasn't that bad, wassit?" Ron tried to reason. No wonder he had a good time, he did not have to walk around in a tight dress and high heels. The party could have gone for another three hours and he would not have noticed.

"I am going to need a very long bath when we get home." Hermione whined, rubbing the soles of her feet. Ron took a seat next to her and lifted her ankles onto his lap, taking over the muscle soothing. "Thank you for such a lovely speech, Ronald. You made me feel very loved." She smiled sweetly at her fiance.

"I may have had some help from Ginny, but I still meant every word. Promise." He looked over to her guilty. She giggled at his confession, knowing full well that he did not come up with something like that on his own.

"Just make sure that your wedding vows are your own words." Hermione threatened.

"Big ask, 'Mione." Ron played, "Did you have fun tonight, despite The Prophet taking over the bloody place?"

Hermione reviewed over the night that just passed. Talking with old friends, answering questions for the papers, dancing with her loved ones, seeing Malfoy out on the balcony-

The memory halted her mind. For a moment she had forgotten that she had seen her newest friend suffering out in the night, and then continued to watch him leave with their shared receptionist. Hermione thought about what they would be doing right now. Did they go to his place or hers? Did they end up sleeping together? Had he had feelings for Astoria the entire time they had been working?

A flashforward crossed Hermione's mind. Newspapers filled the front page exclusively of the story behind the pureblood couple, Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass' dream wedding. A photograph of the blond dipping his long black haired wife at the altar in a newlywed kiss, preceded by the two walking down the aisle, hand in hand, smiling to their adoring crowd.

The thought alone made her angry. Is this what people thought when they imagined hers and Ron's marriage?

"'Mione?" The red-head asked her again, pushing on the sole of her foot to grab her attention.

"Sorry," She apologised, exiting out of her daydream, "I was just thinking back on tonight. It was a lovely evening, I could not have asked for anything more."

"How about I go find Ginny to tell her we are leaving, and then when I come back, we can go home and run you that bath?" Ron propped her feet back onto the ground, kissed her on the cheek and left the room to bid farewell to his sister.

Hermione sighed, exhausted from overthinking everything all the time. She wondered what life would be like for a witch whose mind did not run on overdrive.

"Seeing you like this reminds me of the Yule Ball." A familiar voice echoed through the ballroom. Harry stood on the opposite side of the dance floor. "Only this time, you got the date you wanted in the first place."

Hermione had forgotten about the night of the Yule, how much fun she had with Krum, but wished deep down it was Ron by her side. Only this time, he was. It still did not feel like how she had imagined it would. Where were the fireworks? The butterflies? Had all the romance gone in their relationship?

"How much have you had to drink, Harry Potter?" She eyed the man approaching, taking a seat next to her on the stage.

"I am afraid to say not enough to get me through the vigarious conversation I will have with my girlfriend about what went wrong tonight." He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose under the glasses.

"Did you ever think this is what our life would look like, Harry?" Hermione asked with a melancholy tone.

"During the war or when we were just muggles?" He threw the question back.

"Both."

"I don't really know." Harry started, "Most days I just have to remind myself I am not living in a broom closet anymore, or that my scar actually isn't going to start hurting when something goes wrong. Never did I imagine I would be thrown in the spotlight of a wizarding world, on the cover of a newspaper every time I yawned."

Hermione giggled at the truth behind what he spoke.

"I knew that you would be successful." He placed his hand onto her knee, "There was no denying that THE Hermione Granger was going to strategically and intentionally make her way to the top. Ron, not so much. He has an abundance of brilliant qualities, but where those would have led him, I have no idea."

Hermione leant her head onto her best friend's shoulder. Soaking in his words, she admired Harry's ability to see the gold in people, and yet remain so humble himself. A part of her missed the days of fighting the bad guys, living life on the edge and dreaming of a life in which she lived today. Now she felt like the aspirations of a fifteen year old girl were not all they promised to be.

"Do you ever get days, Harry, where you feel like you are stuck in the mud?" She asked quietly.

"What do you mean?" He questioned, confused by her analogy.

"Some days, I feel like I am stuck in this mud where no matter how hard I pull, I can't get out because I put myself there. I knew that walking into the puddle would mean I would be slowed down, but I did it anyway. And now I am left with my boot stuck in the ground, not able to go anywhere, with no one to blame but myself."

By her friend's lack of response she assumed he did not feel the same way. Lifting her head up off his shoulder, Hermione looked into Harry's green eyes. He was clearly concerned by her confession, but couldn't think of how to help.

"I am sure the feeling will pass." She whispered, hanging her head down, embarrassed by what she had blurted out.

"Hermione, I-" Harry was interrupted before he could finish his sentence.

"Oi, you two!" Ron called from across the room, Ginny standing next to her brother with her shoes in her hand. "Let's get out of here!"

Hermione slid off the stage with the help of the black haired wizard. Walking towards their respective partners, Harry tried to finish what he was going to say prior.

"I think that-"

"Just leave it, Harry." She cut him off with a harsh tone.

"But clearly you-" He tried again.

"Leave it. Please." She urged a second time, watching Harry nod his head in defeat, dropping the subject at hand.

Draco Malfoy rolled off the woman beneath him to lay beside her on the couch, taking a moment to catch his breath. Astoria turned onto her side to lay her head against his covered chest, wrapping an arm around his lower waist. He disapproved of the intimate action, but allowed it anyway out of exhaustion.

"Wow." The black haired witch praised. "That was…"

"Sshhh," He stopped her sentence, "Let's not do the talking thing."

"Oh… okay." She adhered to his demand.

Draco hated that now they were finished having sex, he was going to have to come up with an excuse as to why they could not sleep together, nor speak about this again. He prayed that Astoria did not take this to mean that he fancied her, and that he wanted to pursue a relationship. Oh Merlin, let her not be clingy from now on.

The idiot should not have chosen someone he worked with to distract him tonight. Why didn't he call on Pansy? Why didn't he flirt with anyone else? Why didn't he just go home, for fucks sake?

The memories of Granger dancing around the ballroom with her fiance, replayed in Draco's mind over and over again. It was a never ending nightmare, torturing him to remember what he could not have.

Growing up with everything he ever wanted, resulted in Draco having a warped perception of reality, expecting everything to be handed to him on a silver platter. Only when Voldemort returned, and the future of his family lay in his hands, he soon learnt that the world did not centre around him. But seeing Granger in that dress tonight made him want to forget everything he had ever learnt.

"Miss Granger and Ron looked wonderful tonight, don't you think?" Astoria interrupted his train of thought, tracing circles on his shirt with her finger.

"I thought I said that I didn't want to talk." Draco grouched, hands clasped behind his head as a make do pillow.

"Mr Malfoy, with all respect. You either talk to me, or we go another round. I am not sitting here in silence." She replied, just as frustrated as him.

"Fine. Yes, they looked like a fine pair of bloody heroic Gryffindors. Happy?" He rolled his eyes in the dark, pissed off with the whole country for being on their hands and knees for the couple.

"Were they like that in school?" Dear Merlin, could they not talk about anything else? Why was his world surrounded by the life of Granger and Weasley?

"You were in school with them, you saw what they were like."

"I was younger than your class, I was more concentrated on my own boy problems." She reasoned, trailing her hand down to his waist band on the underwear he wore. Draco sighed, trying to think back to his days at Hogwarts.

"From memory, Weasley was a wanker that made her cry more than I did. Pansy Parkinson would chew my ear off, retelling gossip of how they fought like cat and dog. But I guess it was all just built up tension, and now they're the world's sweetest fucking couple." He spoke in sarcasm with the last few words.

"You say that like it's a bad thing." She laughed, hands playing with the buttons on his shirt.

"I just don't particularly enjoy seeing their smug faces everywhere I turn. I get it, they're happy."

Astoria pulled her hand away from his chest and sat up on her elbow. It was fascinating how confident she was with her own body, very rare to find in a witch these days. Draco enjoyed the view, it made up for the agitating conversation.

"You know," She began, looking him in the eye from above, "Being an assistant to all the department heads may seem like a small job, but I see more things than the minister does." She drawled, lifting an eyebrow to show her dominance over him.

"You have nothing on me, Astoria." He responded calmly, not threatened by her comment. Keeping things secret was Draco's speciality.

"I know that your relationship with Miss Granger is more than you play it out to be."

Okay now he was threatened. Draco squinted his eyes, trying to sniff out what she was trying to accuse him of.

"I am not having an affair with Granger." He gave a straight answer, not wanting to add another spell to the flame. His heart picked up in pace, but he kept his cool.

"Not physically." She counterattacked.

Fuck.

Draco played out all the directions this topic could be going, and none ended up in his favour. With the quaffle being in his hands, he decided to throw it at someone else.

"Tell me, whose dirty little secrets are you keeping?" He grinned, tilting his head in the palms of his hands. Curious as to what cards she was keeping to her chest. A little more curious as to why she was baiting him.

Astoria half laughed out a puff of air, seeing right through his game play. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, taking the hint in his rejection and moved on.

"Who do you want to know about?" She teased.

"McClivert. There is no way that the tosser who runs the Games and Sports department has a clean record." Draco suggested, just waiting for the gambling addiction to be confessed.

"Has a child with a muggle. Pays to support the boy, but never sees him." Astoria answered without hesitation. Very tempting… Perhaps Draco will play this game. Just to see where it leads to, of course.

"Interesting… How about Broadmoor?" He gave a second name, never particularly warming to the bloke. Something was fishy about that wizard.

"A werewolf. Keeps it very well hidden."

"O'Brien."

"Gay."

"Schmidt."

"Has a drinking problem."

"Okay, I have one for you." Draco puffed his chest, "Granger."

Astoria smiled down at him with closed lips. Oh she had something, alright. This is what she was waiting for him to ask. But what was in it for her?

"If I tell you, you are not allowed to share, or I will tell everyone of your little crush." Astoria scowled as she drew a line down the bridge of Draco's nose, and pressed her finger hardly on his lips.

"I do not care for gossip, Greengrass." He gritted through his teeth, unable to open his mouth fully.

"And yet, here we are." She smirked, knowing she had the upper hand.

Drawing her hand away from his face, Astoria flicked her long black hair off her shoulder and rested her head onto the palm of her hand keeping her upright.

"When you were away," She started, "Ron came to visit Miss Granger at work. They had lunch and then left for an hour or so together. When they came back, Miss Granger had very puffy eyes, like she had been crying. Ron had a very blank expression. By looking at her schedule I could see that they had gone to a doctor's appointment, but by the yelling in her office when they returned, I could tell that it was bad news."

Draco frowned, afraid of where the story was ending. He should not have taken part in this game if it was going where he thought it was going.

"As it turns out, Miss Granger cannot have children." Astoria shrugged as she finished her account.

He should not have heard that. The sudden realisation of how intrusive he was being, hit Draco harder than a bludger to the head. If Granger was interested in him knowing such personal information, she would have told him. Merlin knows she tells him everything else that is going on in her life. The witch never stops talking.

"You should not have told me that." He groaned, hands coming from the back of his head, down to stroke his face in anger. The skin on his cheeks pulled.

"No different to telling you about O'Brien being gay." Astoria played it off coolly.

"Yes it is." Draco grunted. "You know it is."

Hermione Granger rested her head against the back of her bathtub, the warm water soothing her skin as the bubbles floated on the surface. Candles surrounded the bathroom, creating a warm orange filter to the white tiles. This was supposed to be relaxing her, but no matter what she tried, her mind would not stop racing.

Different images kept playing in her mind. The speech Ron gave her tonight, Malfoy running out with Astoria, Mrs Weasley pinching her cheeks in excitement over the announcement of a wedding date, and Harry's hand resting on her knee on the stage. Her life was spinning out of her control, and she hated not being in control.

Ron entered the bathroom with puppy dog eyes.

"Feelin' relaxed?" He asked, leaning against the room frame, still in his suit.

"Very." She lied, giving him her fakest smile.

Hermione had been thinking about what Malfoy and Astoria would be doing ever since she left the castle. She wondered what two good looking people like that are like in bed, betting it would be heated and passionate. It was never really like that with her and Ron, very delicate and gentle was more their description.

An idea sparked in her brain.

"Join me." She instructed her fiance.

"What?" He chuckled at the invitation.

"Get in the bath with me."

"Are you sure?"

"Ron. Take off your clothes, and get in the bath. I want you to make love to me in the water, on our engagement party night."

Her fiance looked a little scared at the sudden dominance change, but pursued taking his clothes off and stepping into the hot liquid. His wide frame was lucky to fit into the acrylic tub.

Hermione sat up, bubbles falling off her chest as she crawled her way over to the man on the opposite side. Ron gulped, wide eyes at her wet figure lowering down onto this naked lap. She ran her hands through his hair and nibbled at his lobe.

"What do you want?" She moaned into his ear.

"I want you." He whispered. "I want all of you."