Lost Souls of Nott Castle
Chapter 29 - Mist
Draco made sure she was asleep before he left her room.
The previous sixteen hours had been maddening. A roller coaster of emotions that he hadn't quite gotten a grip on. He wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. He wanted to punch something. He wanted to cry. He wanted to hold her, make love to her.
He wanted to hunt down Harry bloody Potter and beat him to within an inch of his life.
He settled for flying as fast and as hard as he could. He flew drills over and over again, clearing his mind and thinking of nothing but the maneuvers he had learned years earlier during quidditch training.
He pushed himself for hours. Only when his muscles started aching did he slow down and take a few deep breaths. He returned to the castle and found Blaise waiting for him on the roof.
"Feeling better, mate?" He asked as Draco sat down next to him.
"Not really." He accepted the bottle of water his friend offered him and drank half of it in one go.
"How is she?"
"Aside from the fact that she can't remember anything that's happened in the last two months? She's great." He ran his hand through his hair.
"She did it to protect herself." Blaise sat down next to him on the stone ledge.
"I know she did." He sighed and looked out over the lake. "How did she do it, though? If it's as complex as that healer said it was, how did she do it without even knowing what she was doing?"
"She is an extremely powerful witch, Draco. If anyone could do it, it would be her."
He knew better than anyone how powerful she was. He had seen it. He had felt it. If he was being honest with himself, watching her yield her magic was a huge turn on for him. But she had her limitations, just like everyone else.
"Powerful, yes. But not even Hermione Granger can perform magic she's never even heard of before." He shook his head.
"Maybe she has heard about it. It could have been called something different. Hell, maybe she blocked the memory of learning about the memory block." Blaise laughed.
Draco blinked several times as those words settled in.
"Blaise, you are a genius." He laughed. "She's been reading up on concealment charms. A partition to protect your memories has to be a type of concealment charm, right?"
He started to walk away, heading towards the stairway when Blaise stopped him.
"You are one lucky son of a bitch, Malfoy. You know that, right?"
"No, I'm not. Not at all." He sighed as he turned back around. "I'm this close to losing everything."
He held his fingers a few centimeters apart.
"We don't even know what she still knows. What if he succeeded in erasing her memories? She'll never remember our first date or our first night together."
"She's here, Draco. She still loves you. You'll make new memories together." He picked up the broom that Draco had left. "You found your soul mate. Don't fuck it up."
Draco watched him as he took off on the broom. He circled around and hovered next to the railing.
"I broke it off with Pansy, by the way." He said. "Turns out she really is a hateful shrew."
Then he was off, flying the same patterns that Draco had been flying just a few minutes earlier. Draco watched him for a minute, then turned and went downstairs.
He took a hot shower to ease his aching muscles as much as to wash away the sweat he had accumulated.
He wasn't sure what he expected to find when he went back to Hermione's room. He was surprised to find her still sleeping. She had been out for hours, and she was sleeping more soundly than he had ever seen her.
He was just about to wake her, when suddenly she shifted. She arched her back. Her arm stretched above her head. Then she moaned softly.
His eyes widened and his heart raced. He knew that moan. He fucking loved that moan.
"Draco." His name slipped past her lips.
Her eyes were still closed. She was still asleep. Dreaming about him.
She moaned again.
He sat on the edge of the bed. His hand fell across her stomach, resting on bare skin where her shirt had inched upward as she slept. He leaned over and whispered in her ear.
"Wake up, Princess."
His lips dragged against her skin.
Her hand came up to rest on his chest. Then it slid around his neck and pulled him closer. Her lips met his in a heated kiss.
He lost himself in the kiss, relishing the feel of having her in his arms again.
She moaned into his mouth. Using every ounce of self control he had, he pulled away.
Her eyes fluttered open and darted around the room, finally landing on him. Her hand was still around his neck. He was still breathing heavily.
She sat up, covering the distance between them.
"Good dream?" He asked with a smirk on his face.
She swallowed then licked her lips.
"It felt so real," she murmured. Her eyes searched his. "We were in a library, I think. I was sitting on a table and you were..."
She hesitated and her face flushed.
"Yes," he breathed against her ear. "What was I doing, Princess?"
Her lips crashed into his. He didn't hold back this time, pouring every ounce of emotion that he had for her into that kiss.
As they were kissing, their bodies shifted so that she was lying down and he was over top of her.
She arched into him. He trailed hot kisses down her neck to her shoulder.
"Your hand..." she gasped. "Your fingers...were...inside of me."
His hand moved to hover over her clothing covered center.
"Here?" He asked roughly as he pressed against her.
"Oh, Merlin. Yes."
His brain was telling him to stop. To slow down. Not to push her too far, too fast.
His cock was telling him to bury himself deep inside her and make her scream his name as she came around him.
Her hand slid down his chest.
"My hand was here," she told him as she pressed against his cock.
They both moaned out loud as she applied pressure.
"Fuck, Hermione." He gasped as he pulled away. "You are going to be the death of me, yet."
She was breathless beneath him. Her chest heaving. Her face flushed. She was so beautiful.
Slowly he sat back up on the edge of the bed and helped her to sit up as well.
"Why did you stop?" She asked quietly.
"In case you haven't noticed, we tend to get carried away rather quickly." He ran his hand through his hair and chuckled. "You skipped at least one chapter there already. If I hadn't stopped when I did, you would be caught up to me by now."
"I want to be. Caught up to you."
"I know, but we have time. Hell, it took weeks for us to get to that point." He motioned to the bed. "If you never recover your memories, then I don't want you to look back and see that we rushed through to get to the end. We took our time and moved forward when it felt right for both of us. We did it that way once. We can do it that way again."
She looked at him for a long moment, then she smiled and leaned forward to kiss him slowly.
"You are some kind of amazing, Draco Malfoy." The look in her eyes was unmistakable.
She got up and stretched her muscles out. Then she disappeared into the bathroom.
While she was cleaning up, he sat down at the desk and flipped open the book that was lying there. He immediately recognized the writing inside as Hermione's. He flipped through the pages and saw that she had been writing in that book for weeks. If they couldn't figure out how to unblock her memories, that book could be the next best thing.
"What's that?" She asked from behind him.
"If I had to take a guess, it's your memories." He closed the book and handed it to her. "I didn't read it, I promise."
She opened it and flipped through the pages. Then she released a deep sigh.
"At least it's something," she agreed before setting it back on the desk.
"Blaise actually had a brilliant thought, as well." He told her.
"You sound surprised. What was this brilliant thought?" She looked at him expectantly.
"Well, you see, I told you that you cast the charm to make this place unplottable, right?" He turned back to the desk and picked up a different, unassuming looking book. "You found the instructions in a series of books called Advanced Concealment Charms."
He handed her the book and she opened the cover, revealing the tiny bookshelves inside. She smiled and ran her fingertips over the tiny books inside.
"That is genius," she smiled, closed the cover on the book to look it over, then opened it again.
"Yes, well, we like to have never found it at Hogwarts." He rolled his eyes.
"Wait, so is this the book Professor Flitwick was talking about? He told me to keep it as a gift, that I would need it in my studies."
"It must be." He shrugged his shoulders. That part really wasn't important. "Blaise said maybe you have heard of this memory partition before, but then you blocked the memory of it."
Her eyes lit up.
"You think it's in here?" She held up the book.
"How else would you have known about it at all? You had to have learned it at some point in time. It stands to reason that you could have learned it in the last two months."
She shook her head and released a huff of laughter.
"Stupid," she muttered to herself. "Brightest witch of our age, my arse."
It sounded self deprecating, but she was smiling.
She moved to sit down at the desk when he stopped her.
"You have barely eaten since lunch yesterday. Let's get dinner first."
She looked like she might argue with him, then her stomach grumbled. He raised his eyebrow at her.
"Fine. Eat first, read later." She rolled her eyes, but let him guide her downstairs to the dining room.
Blaise was already there. Draco figured Theo was with Daphne, but he walked in just as he and Hermione were taking their seats.
"Blaise! Why did you break up with Pansy?" Theo asked before he even sat down. "I had to cancel my plans with Daphne because of you."
He sounded more curious than upset, and Draco had to admit he had been wondering the same thing.
"She told me to choose between my friendships and her." He shrugged his shoulders. "It was an easy choice."
Draco glanced at Hermione, then back to Blaise. His brow raised in a question that Blaise instantly understood.
A curt nod answered the question.
Blaise had broken up with Pansy because of Hermione. Pansy told him to choose, and he did.
"Sorry, Mate."
"No worries. She was a bitch anyway."
No one argued the point with him.
Hermione watched the way the three Slytherins interacted with each other during dinner. They were more like brothers than friends. Theo and Blaise treated her like a sister.
She wondered how long it had taken for her to fit in so well in this strange household. Was it awkward at first? She had to imagine that it was. Then again, she fell into their banter very easily, so maybe it had been very natural.
After dinner, she returned to her room alone. When the door closed behind her, she released a deep sigh and rubbed absently at her temple. It had been a long twenty four hours.
She hadn't really let herself think about everything. She hadn't even had time. She was just going through the motions, following clues from Malfoy. Acting like she knew what the hell was going on.
But she didn't. Not really.
Nothing made sense.
Malfoy had filled her in, but it wasn't the same.
She wandered into the bedroom and sat down at the desk. Her eyes drifted to the bed and her thoughts turned to the dream she had earlier, followed by making out with Draco.
When he told her they had slept together, part of her hadn't believed it. It had seemed too fantastical. Then he kissed her, and she knew. Her heart and her body knew, even if her mind couldn't remember it.
She sighed and flipped open the journal. Instead of reading what she had already written, though, she flipped to the first blank page and she started to write.
She wrote about how she had woken up in the hospital wing at Hogwarts the previous evening with no recollection of the last eight weeks. She wrote about how Draco had been by her side nearly the whole time, filling her in, supporting her and taking care of her. She wrote about the strangeness of finding her world turned upside down, and he was the one there for her. She wrote about her dream, and about coming to terms with not only her attraction to Malfoy, but her growing feelings for him as well.
When she finished writing, she considered looking back through the journal to see what she could learn that Draco had not already told her. Instead, she closed the book and put it away.
She didn't want to read about her memories. She didn't want to be told what had happened or what she had done. She wanted them back.
She opened the other book on the desk and pulled out the first volume of the advanced concealment charms and started scanning through. She was looking for anything that had to do with memories.
The book itself was fascinating. Several of the charms mentioned just in the first volume she had never heard of.
The book was an instruction book. It gave detailed descriptions of what each charm was for, the uses and drawbacks. It also gave detailed descriptions on the wand movements and incantations needed to perform each charm.
She read deep into the night, but had not come across any mention of memory partitions when the clock struck midnight.
She sighed and rubbed her eyes. Then she decided she needed something to drink, so she left her room and went downstairs.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard talking in the study. She followed the voices and found all three of the guys sitting around the table with glasses in front of them and a bottle of firewhiskey in the center of the table.
Not exactly the type of drink she had been looking for, but it would work. It couldn't hurt, right?
She knocked on the door and instantly the conversation stalled. She wondered if they had been talking about her. Probably.
"Can anyone join this party?" She asked quietly. She didn't want to impose.
"Of course, Princess, but only one glass for you." Draco summoned another glass for her. "Unless you want me to have to carry you up the stairs again, which I really don't mind."
She shook her head as she took the glass and sat in the empty chair next to him.
"Okay. What is up with 'Princess'?"
He smirked and his eyes glazed over for a second.
"You said it was better than Golden Girl."
She raised her eyebrow then chuckled.
"That it is, Malfoy." She took a sip from her glass.
"So Granger," Blaise said with a tip of his glass. "Your turn. Favorite memory from Hogwarts - preferably not one that includes Potter or Weasley."
"Oh. Okay." She had to think for a moment. Then she smiled. "Punching Malfoy in the nose. Hands down."
Draco groaned beside her.
"Really? Punching me is your favorite memory?"
"I could have said watching you get turned into a ferret." She shrugged and winked at him.
"So you take pleasure in my humiliation. Good to know."
"Anytime." She laughed and took another sip of her drink.
"Next topic," Theo said. "Most humiliating experience. Draco?"
"The ferret thing, obviously." He rolled his eyes. "Theo?"
"Marcus Flynt hit on me. Right in the middle of the common room." He shuddered. "I'd like to think that if I were into wizards, I could do better than Flynt. Blaise?"
"The Yule Ball. I was too afraid to ask anyone to go with me, so I went by myself. Granger?"
She chewed on her lip for a moment. She had plenty of humiliating experiences over the course of her school career.
"It's hard to narrow it down to just one," she chuckled as she swirled the liquid in her glass around and around. "One day after class, I overheard my housemates making fun of me in the common room. People that I thought were my friends were mocking me, laughing at me, about my grades, my study habits, my appearance, and even my parents."
She took another drink. That was the day she realized she would never be like everyone else. She would never fit in anywhere. Then she glanced around the table at the horrified looks staring back at her. She might not remember the details, but she knew she had fit right in with this group.
"OK, next topic?" She asked.
They spent the next hour or so asking and answering questions. Favorite professor. Least favorite class. First crush. First kiss. First heartbreak.
Hermione could feel herself getting drowsy, but she was having a good time. She didn't want to be alone with her thoughts. She didn't notice Draco watching her.
"Are you ready for bed?" He asked her quietly, tugging on her hand to get her attention.
"No," she mumbled.
"Come here, Princess." He tugged on her hand again and she moved.
She sat across his lap and laid her head on his chest. It felt comfortable and familiar. She breathed in his scent.
"Don't let me fall," she whispered to him as she drifted off to sleep.
"Don't worry, Love. I've got you." He replied.
"You always say that," she said with a small smile.
She felt him tense underneath her. Then cautiously he asked her, "When did I say that?"
She thought the question odd. Was she confusing him with someone else? The firewhiskey was making her thoughts fuzzy, so maybe.
"Didn't you say it before we went flying? Or was that just a dream?" Her eyes blinked and her brow furrowed. "Wait, did I go flying with you? I hate flying."
She rubbed at her temple. Everything was so cloudy.
"Yes, Granger, you did." He tilted her chin up and looked into her eyes. "We went flying last weekend."
He kissed her. She kissed him back.
"Here we go again," she heard Blaise sigh from behind her. "I think that's my cue to go to bed."
She heard rather than saw him and Theo leave the room, leaving her alone with Draco. She paid them no attention, though. She was thinking back to the dream, to the memory.
She remembered sitting in front of him on a broomstick.
"We landed at the waterfall by the lake?" She pulled away and looked into his eyes. She was starting to see excitement hidden in those gray depths.
"Yes." He held her face in both hands, begging her to keep going, to remember more.
"We went swimming," she said as she remembered diving into the warm water.
"Yes."
She watched as it all played out behind her eyes. Swimming. Splashing. Playing. Kissing.
"Then we...we...did we...?" Her eyes widened and she glanced behind her to see if they were truly alone. When she looked back he was smirking at her.
"Yes?" He was teasing her.
"I remember," she whispered. Her hands gripped his shirt. "Oh Merlin, Draco! I remember!"
Their lips met in a heated kiss.
"So you remember seducing me," he asked roughly against her ear. "And having your way with me?"
Heat rushed through her. Yes, she remembered. It was still murky, but it was there.
At least, this one memory was there.
Draco was kissing her again and his hand was on her arse, and Merlin, they were wearing too many clothes.
She pulled back.
"Why only that memory?" She asked, more to herself than to him. She stood up and paced in front of the table. When she turned back around, she got dizzy and tripped, grabbing a chair for support.
"You are drunk again, Granger." Draco laughed at her, but still came over to steady her. "Come on. That is a mystery we can work on tomorrow."
"Maybe being drunk helps." She leaned into him. "Maybe I just need more firewhiskey, to clear away the mist."
He sighed. Then he guided her out of the study.
"You've had enough for one night." He followed her up the stairs, which she was able to climb on her own this time.
At her door, he kissed her and told her good night.
She wanted to ask him to stay. Something told her that he would say no, though. It was probably better that way.
She closed the door behind her and went to the bedroom. When she laid down on the bed, it took only moments for her to fall into a deep sleep.
AN: Happy Holidays to those celebrating this time of year. For me, it's Christmas and I am enjoying time with my family, a holiday from work, and this very un-Christmas-y warm weather we are having.
Thank you for taking time to read my story, to favorite, follow or review. Bex fixes my mistakes and is incredibly awesome. I own nothing that you recognize.
Hermione is starting to get some memories back….I would love to hear your thoughts and theories.
Stay safe and well.
Until next week - mezy