CHAPTER 39
October 18th 2001
Draco Malfoy had been in and out of sleep with the woman he loved for several hours. They laid tangled amongst the bed sheets, never separating. By the look of the darkly lit room it was past midnight and into the next day. But time did not matter tonight. Time never mattered when he was with her.
His chin sat upon Hermione's curls. Every now and then he would take a moment to rest his lips against her forehead, and she, his neck. Draco relished in every moment of their affair, never wanting to stop making love to her. It was everything he had desired for and more.
If he was going to fuck it up, he was going to fuck it up. For now, he wanted to have memories so he could die happily knowing he lived.
Hermione woke sweetly with a soft inhale. Her eyelashes fluttered against his chest before turning to look up.
"Hi." She greeted.
"Hello." He returned.
Her warm hand fed its way up to his jaw, pushing herself up to kiss him. He sighed into her touch, feeling guilty for giving into his temptations and yet oddly grateful that he did.
Their legs crossed over as she deepened their kiss. A moan passing through her lips and into his. It was a sound Draco wanted to hear everyday for the rest of his life.
The hand that rested on his face slowly fell to caress his chest. She traced circles around his torso, twirling her fingers along his skin until she reached the inside of his thigh. Draco sucked in a breath at the ticklishness.
His tongue danced around the inside of her mouth, hand caught in the curls of her hair. Hermione was soft as she handled his cock, but firm when her palm wrapped around its base. She twisted her wrist in an up and down motion, just as tight as Draco needed.
He bit down on her lip in order to hide his immediate arousal. She chuckled, pumping faster until he had to pull away from her mouth to groan.
"Fuck me." He spat, throwing his head back into the pillow. "Don't stop."
Hermione moved so that she sat in between his legs, hands doing all the work while she kissed his chest. Draco collected her loose hair and bunched it behind her head, wanting to look her in the eye as she lowered down.
Her tongue ran along his muscles. Bed sheets falling away to reveal the scars along her back. Draco hated every single one, but loved the woman that bore them.
Pulling away from his torso, Hermione repositioned herself to lay at Draco's side with her head closest to his cock. Her legs spread slightly open, enough for him to sneak his hand in between and feel how wet she was.
He slipped a single finger inside, feeling himself twitch at the sight of her pleasure. She returned the favour by wrapping her mouth around him, hands still twisting at the base. Both working together to please each other equally.
Draco pushed his luck by adding a second finger. Hermione's groan vibrated against his cock while her tongue swirled at his tip. It took everything in him not to cum here and now.
Wanting to distract himself, he focused on the workings of his hands. One finger curled to touch the sensitive spot of her insides while the other moved back and forth. His speed picked up as hers did. He knew what he was doing made her wanna scream, but he also knew she was trying to be top of the class right now, hiding how good she felt.
"You feel so good, Granger." He praised, feeling her smirk as she bobbed.
Layered with a burning desire to love, if sex with Hermione Granger was forever going to be filled with trying to one up each other, then Draco knew he could never be satisfied by anything or ayone else.
"I want you to cum for me." He teased. "Cum for me right now."
He knew she would never back down from a competition. So he used his thumb to do the winning for him.
Rolling circles around her clit, Hermione released his cock from her mouth to gasp. Her brows creased while biting her lip at the multiple sensation running through her body. Draco grinned as he watched her pant.
Her wrist grew to slow down, loosening her grip, distracted by his fingers. He could feel her edging to a finish. But just as he thought he brought her to a close, Hermione tightened her palm along his base and drew his cock back into her mouth.
The resistance made Draco hot, so hot that he had to hold onto the pillow behind his head for restraint. Hermione's tongue was nothing he had ever known before, she knew exactly what she was doing and what he wanted.
His fingers pumped back and forth, quicker and quicker until her thighs quivered against his arm. Her chest rose and fell, orgasming onto and around his fingers.
The look of relief spread across her face with his cock in hand made Draco finish instantly. Cum spilling across her breasts. Their bodies shook beside each other, both collapsing from their jobs into the sticky skin of the person next to them.
It took minutes for Draco to collect himself before he removed his fingers. Hermione lay still with her head against his legs, still tracing circles along his torso.
"I don't know who won there." He laughed.
"I'll let you have this one."
"Oh you'll let me have this one, will you?"
"I have room to improve."
Hermione pulled herself off the bed and walked to lean on the bedroom door frame. He admired her body from head to toe, taking a mental picture so he'd never forget. His cum was still splattered across her chest, but she rubbed every spot with her thumb and licked it clean.
Draco sat up on his elbows, raising an eyebrow at the confidence he didn't know she had.
She tilted her head and gave him a sinister smile, "Shower with me." And no more words needed to be said for him to follow her to the bathroom.
The water was on the cooler side as it ran down them, yet steam still filled the room quickly. Droplets fell to the ground as he laced her in soap, bubbles forming along her coffee coloured skin. Draco cleaned every inch and she did him.
No sexual intent, just two people washing away their built up passion.
They laughed together while he rubbed shampoo into the mess that was her hair. Teasing words tossed between them and his tongue rolling along her shoulders as the foam circled the drain. It was bliss in it's finest form.
The strands of her wet fringe stuck to her forehead. Draco pushed it back under the stream, kissing the tip of her nose ever so gently. She smiled, chocolate covered orbs shining through damp lashes and puffed red lips curved at the corners.
"Hermione…" He smiled, cupping the back of her head into his hands. "I'm so in love with you."
"How long?" She asked.
"How long, what?"
"How long have you been in love with me?"
It was a curious thing to ask someone, but Granger was a know-it-all at the end of the day.
Draco scoffed, unable to contain the laughter at the back of his throat. "I've known for sure since your engagement party. Seeing you and Weasley up on that stage made me want to be sick, so much so that I went out on the balcony to breathe again."
"I saw you that night out on the balcony. You were crying."
"I don't know about crying so much."
"You were!" Hermione pinched his sides. "I thought you were upset over your father dying… But that… was for me?"
Through the waterfall, Draco spoke in her ear. "In a room with everyone I know in this world. You would be the only one I would look for."
His face was close to hers when he pulled back. Hermione turned so that her back was facing him once again, scar tissue resting against his chest. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist.
"Where do we go from here?" She intertwined her fingers into his.
"I feel as if I am stealing you, Granger."
"You're not stealing me. I am chasing you."
Rolling his eyes, Draco resisted the urge to mock her Gryffindor optimism. He chose to pick his battles with this one.
"How do I know this isn't just some favourable way out for your marriage to Weasley?"
Hermione clutched their held hands closer to her stomach, pressing down on his grip to reinforce the seriousness of what she was about to say next.
"You are anything but favourable, Draco. From here on out I am choosing a life full of heartache and unacceptance, more so than I already know. I am certain what true love looks like, and it can't get much closer than what I feel for you."
"What if you grow tired and sick of me?"
"I already am sick of you. I don't think I've ever not been… But it's you that I want."
Hermione turned back around to face him once more, water falling across her perfectly soft skin. Draco kissed every droplet falling from her lips.
"You are your own worst enemy, you know that?" She spoke into his mouth.
"Hmm?" He hummed in response.
"So self-deprecating."
"Self-deprecating is better than people pleasing."
He grinned, just waiting for a bomb to go off.
"You are much more of a people-pleaser than you believe."
"Is that so?"
"In school you would do anything to please your father, including being a death eater. You continued to sleep with Pansy despite it destroying you, and I know you could have easily gotten out of pretending to date Astoria. But most importantly, you never told me how you felt in fear of thinking you would hurt me."
Draco snapped away to stand tall. He frowned down at the witch beneath him, terrified of how scarily accurate she just summed up his life.
"How did you know about Astoria?" He asked, irritated.
"I had my suspicions by the lack of guilt that came over you when we first snogged. You just confirmed it now."
"I shag you a few times and you just know my life inside out, don't you Granger?" The sarcasm was playful in his speech.
"Shag me some more and I'll be convinced Slytherin is superior to any other house."
"Ugh." He threw his head back. "Don't tempt me like that."
The witch and wizard kept company in the shower until they noticed the sun coming up through the bathroom window. Each had gathered enough broken sleep over the night to summon the strength to carry on the day finding answers to a problem they had almost forgotten about.
A feeling at the pit of Draco's stomach made him question whether he should have indulged in sleeping with Hermione, feeling like he had given his unknown enemies more reason to bring tragedy to those around him.
But the flutter in his chest that came when he watched Hermione dress from the laziness of their mattress, conquered any and all doubt. Nothing could stand between them now, and Draco was willing to die before she was hurt anymore.
It was nearly 8am by the time Potter arrived back at the safe house. He brought a basket full of food that was gifted by Weasley's mother.
Draco and Hermione had agreed that they did not feel the need to share their newly adopted situation until both of them knew it was safe enough to do so. Therefore, the silence was heavily awkward by the time Potter was gifting them the baked goods.
"I'll take it that you two sorted out your differences then." He asked, eyeing the way Draco and Hermione kept a distance in the kitchen.
"Don't fucking start." Draco grunted. "Why is Weasley's mother sending us food when Granger broke up with him? I know you lot are Gryffindors but this is just fucking pathetic."
"Ron actually hasn't told anyone anything yet."
"What?!" Hermione spat, uncrossing her arms to lean against the kitchen table.
"Yeah…" Potter scratched the back of his head. "I may or may not have advised him to keep things as they were until the investigation is over."
"Well that sounds logical." Draco reasoned as he took a bite of a bread bun.
"So Molly and Ginny and everyone else all think that we are still engaged?"
"Yes."
"And they're all still planning the wedding?"
"Yes."
"How do you not see the issue with this?"
"Is there a reason why they should know otherwise?"
Draco felt like Hermione was going to blurt out something she was going to regret later on. Feeling awfully heroic, he answered before she got a chance.
"No." He replied deeply, avoiding eye contact with either of them.
Potter shook his head, probably suspicious of something that was very clearly true and chose to not comment on it.
"I just think it is silly having money and time wasted on a wedding that is not going to happen." Hermione calmed herself.
"Trust me." Potter held a hand up. "If anyone wants the wedding planning to stop, it's me. I am very sick of my moody wife complaining about organising a ceremony that she is not even the bride for."
"Why is Ginny moody?"
Draco's eyes widened ever so slightly as Potter met his gaze. In all the chaos of his own life he had almost forgotten that he was one of the only people to know that Ginny was with child. A weird secret to hold solely to himself.
"She's pregnant isn't she?" Hermione jumped to conclusions.
"How the hell do you know everything?" Potter raised his voice. "Did you tell her?"
Draco threw his hands up in defense. "I did not tell anyone shit."
"He knew?! MALFOY KNEW AND I DIDN'T?!"
Potter gave a guilty smile and shrugged, unsure whether to duck for cover or hug his best friend. Hermione chose for him with a slap across the top of his arm.
"Harry Potter, how dare you not tell me you are having a baby!" She yelled followed up with a very tight embrace.
Standing awkwardly by the sink, Draco continued to chew his bread and look around the room. If he was hoping for the best days of his life, he had better get used to the sappy shite that came with being with Granger.
"How come Draco knew?"
"He was the only person I knew who wouldn't say anything to anyone. I trusted him."
His sentimental words made Draco want to vomit, but it was a nice thing to know he wasn't considered to be the most horrible person in the world. Hermione turned to look at him with her back facing Potter. The secret look of pride painted across her face made him want to be the good guy all the time.
With a somewhat puffed chest, Draco smirked back at her. A mental note crossed his mind to reward her for the giddy feeling later on.
"Okay, we need to start actually making a plan." Potter changed the subject.
"How long do we have before the Prophet starts to suspect that we're actually not in Milan?"
"I'd say we have three more days. People will get sceptical once we follow all the fake leads and have to release the news that there actually isn't any news."
All three took a seat at the table, mindlessly chewing through the food basket throwing ideas across, hoping one would be rational enough to lead with.
"I don't get it." Hermione huffed. "Crawford does not seem like he was the one controlling Lucius, he would have instructed him to kill me when we were in his castle. They both ran away."
"Yes but he never wanted to actually kill you, Hermione. Whoever is doing this is only doing it in order to fuck with my family's mind."
Potter cautiously threw a first down on the table. "So they hate you enough to want to toture you and yet you said that they were pureblood by their handwriting. It should not be that hard to narrow down the sacred families and see who cracks first."
"What if we don't have to track them down?" Hermione offered. "What if we trap them by trapping ourselves?"
"Offer ourselves up as bait and wait to see who bites?"
"It's not the worst idea." Potter sighed.
Draco ran a tired hand through his hair, "How would we do that?"
"Once the investigation in Milan comes up with nothing, we announce to the papers that we are returning from America. Photographs can be taken of me back at the office, and we will just wait until someone pounces."
"You will get hurt." Draco spoke through clenched teeth. Trying to secretly warn Hermione that he can't risk anything happening to her.
"I can take it." She reassured him. "You said it yourself, they're not going to kill me. All we have to do is capture the person trying to attack and trace them back to whoever sent them."
"It won't come easy." Potter warned, "Both of you will have to pretend like you are living your old lives before you went away. Ron and Astoria will need to be in on it."
Draco bit the inside of his cheek, an acid burning at the back of his throat. Hidden from above, Hermione placed her hand on the inside of his thigh. His heart beat at a thousand miles per minute.
"We will do what we have to."