BrokenUniverse92: We still don't know if Draco is a virgin or not hehe but we'll know very soon. Yes, it's M rated lol but not for now
Magic-Shaphira: hahaha finally! xD
CallaRose4ever: Yes, they're really sweet! But not everything will be like this muahaha
DesignX: I'm glad you're enjoying it!
galaapple12: Thank you :)
AnnaMerteuil: Things happen haha
Green Eyed Lana Lee: Thank u! Stay safe you too
I know it's been a while since the last update. My life has been in total chaos this last month and I haven't had time to write, but I've managed to finish another chapter.
Enjoy :)
Chapter Fourteen
The Willow Tree
The next morning Draco needed no help getting up. He had regained all his strength and felt better than ever.
The two of them went downstairs and Hermione began to prepare breakfast. Draco frowned, glaring at the kettle. He had never tried making tea without magic before. She glanced at him and smiled.
"You have to put it on the stove and wait for the water to boil. Then just put the tea leaves in," Hermione explained, lighting the cooker with a flick of her wand.
Draco rolled his eyes and put the kettle under the tap. He was still in a bad mood from what had happened the night before.
He heard someone's footsteps down the corridor and turned just in time to shoot Ginny a hateful glare.
She stopped in the doorway of the kitchen door, holding up her hands.
"Don't give me that look, Malfoy. It's the way you glared at Hermione when we were at Hogwarts."
Draco narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue, turning his back on her.
Ginny and Hermione exchanged a glance, and Hermione had to look away to keep from laughing.
Harry soon came in and sat down next to his girlfriend.
"I never imagined that one day Malfoy would make me breakfast," he joked, raising his eyebrows.
Draco set the kettle down on the table with a loud thump.
"Dream on, Potter," he muttered, running his tongue over his teeth.
Harry gave him a small smile and he rolled his eyes, sitting down right in front of them.
Hermione levitated the food to the table and sat down next to Draco.
"Are you going to the Burrow today?" she asked, looking at her friends.
They both nodded.
"I have to start packing everything I'm taking to Hogwarts," Ginny said, wrinkling her nose.
Draco snorted and she glared at him.
"Eager to see me away from here, Malfoy?"
"Can't wait."
Hermione sighed, nudging him.
"Don't be rude, Draco."
He pursed his lips, but looked down at his breakfast and said nothing more.
Once Harry and Ginny had left, Draco sighed and leaned back in his chair.
"I'm going to leave the house, too. I want to go home and spend some time with my mother."
Hermione nodded, feeling a small lump in her throat at the thought of spending the day alone.
"Let me know if you need anything," she replied, standing up and waving her wand to clean the kitchen.
Draco nodded and left the room, going upstairs to change his clothes. He came back down shortly after and, when he peeked into the living room, he saw that she was on one of the armchairs with a book in her lap.
"I'm going now, Granger."
"Okay, see you later."
She hadn't even looked at him, something wasn't right. Draco frowned.
"Do you want to come eat with us?"
Hermione looked up instantly.
"Can I?"
"Of course you can, Granger. But I know you don't like my house."
"I told you, as long as I stay away from that room, I don't care."
Draco folded his arms.
"I have some private business to discuss with my mother, but in the meantime you could stay in the library or in the gardens."
Her eyes lit up.
"I love that library."
"I know," he said, smirking.
Hermione smiled back and put the book aside, getting to her feet. She grabbed her coat from the rack and a handful of Floo Powder, tossing it onto the fireplace.
"Malfoy Manor," Draco said, and green flames engulfed them both.
As soon as they appeared in the hallway, he took one of her hands and walked down the corridor to the right, his eyes sweeping over the paintings of his ancestors.
They all had their eyes closed and were pretending to be asleep, except for the last of them. His father.
Lucius Malfoy gave Hermione a look of hatred, but fortunately she didn't notice. Draco opened one of the library doors and turned to her.
"I'll come and get you in a bit. If you feel like going somewhere else, you can. Rinny will help you if you call him."
Hermione nodded with wide eyes.
"Can I go anywhere I want?" she repeated, astonished.
Draco gave her a smirk.
"We've already made it clear that we trust each other, haven't we?"
She smiled, too, and her cheeks flushed.
"About that second date, Granger," he said, taking a step forward.
Hermione had to lift her chin to look him in the eye.
"Yes?"
"You said Monday, but... How about tonight?"
She nodded, still blushing.
"I'll call to book a table at the Muggle restaurant I told you about."
He frowned and her smile widened. She opened her handbag and pulled out something metallic and rectangular, holding it out to him.
"This is a telephone, Draco. Muggles use them instead of owls, and I love it. It's much faster, though it doesn't work if there's magic nearby. For example, I don't have any reception here," she explained, pressing some buttons and making a part of the device light up.
Draco stared at the object with curious eyes and she moved closer so he could see the phone screen.
"You see? I keep Harry's number here, he has another phone. And Ron put a phone in the shed at the Burrow a few years ago so he could talk to Harry, but he hardly ever uses it now."
"So, if I had one... Could I talk to you whenever I wanted to?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"Yes, but it won't work if I'm at the Ministry. Or at the Black's house, or here."
Draco wrinkled his nose.
"Then it's not much use."
Hermione laughed, cocking her head to one side.
"The truth is, I only use it to talk to my parents and cousins."
His eyes searched hers.
"You never told me what happened to your parents, Granger."
She sighed.
"We can talk about them tonight."
He nodded, retracing his steps.
"I'm going to find my mother. Lunch will be served on the porch at the back of the garden at twelve."
Hermione blinked as Draco disappeared through the library doors.
She shrugged and walked down the central aisle, scanning the shelves for some of the books she wanted to read.
Draco had been a little distant since Ginny's interruption, but she hoped he was back to his usual self that night.
"I couldn't resist the impulse, Mother."
"Relax, Draco."
He shook his head.
"I can't lose control with her, but when she touched me..."
"It's okay if you kiss her."
"What if I can't stop?"
Narcissa smiled, holding her son's face in her hands.
"Take a deep breath and listen to me. No matter how much your Veela blood rules you, you would never do anything to make Hermione uncomfortable. Believe me, Draco. Your father lost control a few times at first, but he always stopped without me having to ask him to. You controlled yourself too the day you hugged her, didn't you?"
Draco nodded. He remembered that afternoon very well, when he had stopped occluding at Granger's request.
"You pulled away as soon as you realised she was scared. It'll be fine, don't worry about it anymore."
He sighed and sat down on one of the sofas. His mother was soon at his side.
"Aside from the interrupted kiss, how did everything go last night?"
Draco wrinkled his nose at the thought of Potter's bloody girlfriend.
"Granger said she's willing to give this a try. She wants us to go out for a while first, to see if we're compatible. If all goes well, she'll agree to be my mate."
"That's a good start, Draco," Narcissa said, taking one of his hands and giving him an affectionate squeeze.
He dropped his head back against the sofa.
"I'm trying not to get my hopes up."
"It's been a long time since I've seen you this happy," she commented, smiling.
Draco snorted.
"These last two years weren't hard to beat. Anything is better than having a madman living in your house and threatening your family."
Narcissa brushed one of his blonde locks away from his forehead, sighing.
"Have you read your father's letter yet?"
His face hardened.
"No."
"You should. It's been over a month since he gave it to me."
"I'm not interested in what he thinks of Granger."
"Give him a chance, Draco. Your father just wants you to be happy."
"Is that what he wanted when he decided to follow the Dark Lord and bring him into our lives?" he hissed, lifting up the left sleeve of his black jumper.
His mother winced at the sight of the Dark Mark.
"He made a lot of mistakes, but he's learnt from them."
"You know he was in the battle of the Department of Mysteries. What if he had attacked Granger? What if she had died that day?"
Narcissa clenched her jaw.
"Your father never attacked those children, Draco. He only raised his wand against the Order of the Phoenix that night."
"And he ended up in Azkaban, and I had to accept this mark to keep you and me alive," he growled through his teeth, covering his left arm again.
"You've got a lot of resentment inside you, son. You'll feel better when you're able to forgive him."
Draco stood up, shaking his head.
"I don't know if I can. I need to be alone for a while, Mother. Granger's in the library and Rinny will be serving lunch at twelve."
"I'll go over and say hello," Narcissa replied, nodding.
Draco glanced at her one last time and left the room, heading for the stairs. He needed to think, and there was only one place he felt completely safe in that manor.
"Hermione, dear."
She couldn't help but jump a little, searching for the owner of that voice with her eyes.
"Narcissa! Hello, I didn't hear you come in," she replied, hopping down from the table where she had been sitting to read a book about the first magical war.
The woman smiled, waving a hand absently.
"You can sit there, Draco always does. Seems like anywhere is better than one of the library chairs," she commented, rolling her eyes.
Hermione returned her smile.
"Will you join me outside? Rinny told me everything is ready," Narcissa added, stopping beside her.
Hermione nodded, turning on her heel. She put the book back on the shelf, nibbling on her lower lip.
"You can read more later, or you can take it home and bring it back when you've finished it."
Her eyes widened.
"You don't mind?"
Narcissa snorted softly, clutching Hermione's arm and tilting her head to look at her as they left the library.
"Of course not, Hermione. You saved my son's life and I am forever in your debt."
"Neither of you owe me anything," she said, frowning.
"I only hope you can forgive my past behaviour," the woman murmured, wincing. "I know my family didn't behave well towards you, but if you've been able to forgive Draco maybe you can forgive me as well."
Hermione held one of her hands, looking into her eyes.
"There is nothing to forgive, Narcissa. All is forgotten."
Narcissa smiled again, squeezing her hand.
"Just as kind as Harry, you both are lovely. I wish things had been different and we had known each other better before."
"Everything happens for a reason," Hermione said, letting out a long sigh.
Narcissa nodded.
"I think so too."
The back doors of the manor opened on their own and the two descended the small marble staircase. Hermione saw the wooden porch in the distance, with a huge table in the centre.
"Where's Draco?" she asked, looking around.
Narcissa pursed her lips.
"He's probably in the willow tree, it's his favourite place to think. I'll tell Rinny to call him."
Hermione paused before climbing the two steps to the porch and looked to the right, staring at the great willow tree that was not too far from there.
"No need, I'll go look for him. I'd like to talk to you later, Narcissa. I've been wanting to ask you questions about Veelas for some time."
She looked away, crossing her arms.
"I know, I've been avoiding you for quite some time. Draco asked me not to tell you anything and I couldn't think of any more excuses not to talk to you."
Hermione glanced back at her as she heard her words.
"He doesn't want you to talk to me?"
"He didn't," Narcissa corrected, clearing her throat. "There are certain things only the mate of a Veela should know, Hermione... I suppose you can understand that."
She nodded, feeling the knot in her stomach ease a little. She had been thinking for some time that Draco's mother didn't tolerate her presence and that was why she never saw her when she visited the manor.
"I'll understand if there are things you can't answer."
Narcissa gave her a small smile.
"Then we will talk whenever you wish. I'm sure you'll find my son in one of those branches," she murmured, pointing to the large tree.
Hermione chuckled.
"Yes, I've seen him there before."
Narcissa turned her back to enter the glassed-in porch and Hermione returned to the stone path that snaked through the flowers, following it to the north side of the grounds.
And, just as his mother had said, Draco was sitting on one of the willow branches with his back against the trunk and a piece of parchment in his hand.
His jaw was clenched and he looked angry, but he glanced up when he heard her footsteps and his expression softened. He folded the parchment in half and stuffed it into one of his pockets, hopping down to the ground.
"Granger."
"The food is ready and your mother sent me to fetch you."
Draco nodded, averting his gaze and running his tongue over his teeth.
"What's wrong with you?" Hermione asked quietly.
He shook his head.
"It's nothing. Just a stupid letter my father wrote when he found out I was out of Azkaban."
Hermione gasped in surprise.
"I didn't know they let prisoners send letters from there."
"And they don't. He gave it to my mother and she gave it to me a few weeks ago."
"And you hadn't read it until now?"
His face turned cold again.
"I'm not interested in anything he has to say to me."
Hermione swallowed as she heard the low tone in his voice. He was really angry.
"Hating him is not the answer."
He narrowed his grey eyes.
"You sound like my mother."
Hermione took a step back and Draco closed his eyes, reaching out and grabbing one of her wrists to keep her from moving further away.
"That was very rude. I'm sorry, I'm upset and I shouldn't take it out on you."
She looked him in the eye and knew he was ocludding again.
"Is it harder for you to control your anger as well?"
Draco nodded, taking a step closer and clasping their hands together absently, as if it was something he'd done a hundred times before. Her heart skipped a beat.
"I've been having trouble controlling all my bloody emotions ever since my birthday, but you help me calm down," he mumbled, looking down into her brown eyes and smirking as her cheeks reddened.
Hermione cleared her throat, trying to hide her nerves.
"Why do you like this tree so much?" she asked, changing the subject to distract him.
His grin widened.
"Because it's my tree."
She snorted, rolling her eyes.
"Every tree in this garden is yours."
"You don't understand, Granger. This willow belongs to me, it was planted the day I was born and it's connected to me. It's very similar to the one at Hogwarts, but it's only violent if it senses I'm in danger. When the Dark Lord was living here its leaves turned dark, almost black, and it wouldn't let any Death Eater near here. It was the only place I could be alone during the summers."
Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly, watching the willow tree closely. It was true that it looked like the one at her old school, but it wasn't as big.
"Well, its leaves are very green now," she commented, lifting one of the small branches that touched the ground and examining it.
"It hasn't had such good colour in years," Draco admitted quietly.
"And why do you think that is?"
He arched an eyebrow, giving her a small smile.
"It's influenced by my mood, Granger."
Just as she suspected. Hermione stopped breathing, letting go of the leaves and looking up at him again.
"That means... that means that..."
"That it's been a long time since I've been as happy as I am now," Draco finished for her, taking another step closer and lifting his other hand to catch one of her curls between his fingers.
Hermione held her breath, unable to look away. At that moment, his grey eyes had a metallic gleam around the iris that she found enigmatic.
"And you're the one to blame," he added in a whisper, lowering his gaze to her lips.
He looked like he wanted to kiss her, but he didn't come an inch closer. Hermione bit her lower lip nervously. He had tried the night before, maybe now it was her turn.
She placed her free hand on his chest and heard him letting the air out through his teeth. His minty breath caressed her face and she gathered all her courage, standing on her tiptoes and closing her eyes.
It was as if time had stopped as soon as their lips came into contact. A spark of electricity coursed through her skin, awakening her every cell and making Hermione feel everything so much more intensely. It took him half a second to react, but soon his lips molded to hers and he kissed her back.
Draco released her curl and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her to him to hold her closer. He broke the kiss and gritted his teeth, pressing their foreheads together.
"Fuck. I knew this would happen."
Hermione opened her eyes, gasping at the sight of the giant silver wings around them. She hadn't even heard them. She looked into his eyes with a worried look and saw his silver irises fixed on her.
"Are you alright?"
He nodded, a smirk on his lips.
"Transforming is no longer painful for me."
She looked down at his chest, smiling as she saw that his jumper was still intact.
"My spell worked."
Draco released her hand and lifted her chin, forcing her to look him in the eye again. Her breath hitched when she felt his sharp nails graze her skin.
"Did you feel it too, Granger?" he asked in a whisper.
She nodded and Draco closed his eyes, growling softly. He lowered his head again and claimed her lips in a kiss much more intense than the last. Her heart was pounding, unsettled by all the emotions she was feeling at once.
He took several steps forward, causing her to walk backwards until her back was against the trunk of the tree. She lifted her other hand and buried it in his blond hair, sighing as she felt how soft it was.
She heard him gasp against her lips at the contact and his tongue ran along her bottom lip, asking for permission. Hermione parted her lips and Draco placed his hand on the back of her neck, tangling it in her curls and tugging gently until she lifted her chin a little higher.
When he deepened the kiss, Hermione thought she was going to faint. She couldn't remember where she was or her own name, only that she never wanted the kiss to end.
And Draco felt even more lost. He'd never felt anything like this before when kissing someone, it was as if Granger was everything he'd ever wanted. Her taste was addictive and he couldn't help but sigh between her lips as their tongues brushed. He was sure he could kiss her forever, until the end of time, and even then it wouldn't be enough. His whole body trembled and his wings had wrapped protectively around them both, making her scent much more intense.
But he had to stop. Granger was running out of breath and so was he.
He broke the kiss a second time, snaking his arms around her and gasping softly against her lips. He smiled at her altered breathing and opened his eyes. She still had them closed.
"That was..."
"Intense?" Draco offered, brushing her cheek with his nose.
Hermione nodded, finally opening her eyes.
"Yes, very intense. I've never felt anything like it before."
"I haven't either."
They both smiled and Hermione glanced up at his blond hair, combing it with her fingers.
"Your mother is waiting for us."
Draco growled under his breath, rolling his eyes. His wings moved away, folding behind his back, and he took a step backwards, but he grabbed one of her hands again.
Hermione stared down at their joined hands, surprised at how gentle he could be with his claws. He hadn't scratched her once the times he'd been transformed into a Veela near her, but she could remember the deep wounds he'd inflicted on those two men.
"Come on," Draco murmured, squeezing her hand.
Hermione looked up again, nodding. He pushed the willow branches aside and she stopped walking at the sight of the leaves. They were a very deep light green now, much more so than they had been a few minutes ago.
She looked back up at Draco and saw a grin on his face.
Hermione laughed softly and squeezed his hand, following him down the path back to the porch.
He wasn't able to take his eyes off her until they reached his mother's side. Draco had always thought that his happiest memory was the first time he had ridden a broomstick, but he knew that from now on it would be that first kiss with her.