Author's note: Hey guys, sorry for the wait! I started a new job a while ago and it's taking up most of my time. Don't worry, I won't abandon this story! As always, please read and review!

Chapter 15

Draco knew he had no right to be angry, but he couldn't help it. Hearing her proudly say that she had prevented the consummation of their marriage had ignited a fire inside his stomach. If she really found him that terrible, then why did she agree to marry him? How could she just cast the idea in the wind without even talking to him? Granted, he didn't want to have sex in front of an audience either, but at least the idea of having sex with her didn't appall him. She was standing on the other side of the room, fidgeting. He ought to save her from awkward conversations with people she never met, but still, he felt she deserved everything that came her way at this point. He knew he was acting ridiculous.
"Shouldn't you be with your bride?" a voice whispered in his ear. Draco spun around and found James, smirking at him.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed.
"Oh, I returned today, just in time for the wedding." Draco snarled at him.
"Well, you're too late to do the whole 'I object' thing, you know." James smirked.
"Yes, apparently." Draco didn't trust the boy standing in front of him. This was the same guy that slammed him into a wall after Hermione announced her engagement.
"I won" he hissed, staring James down.
"So it seems" the boy agreed. He turned around and started walking away from Draco, but he only took a couple of steps before looking back. "Of course, nothing is ever as it seems here."

Draco narrowed his eyes as James walked over to Hermione and took a bow. He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss on it. Draco quickly made his way over to them and took his rightful place next to Hermione.
"I wanted to congratulate you both." He smiled sweetly.
"I'm sure" Hermione answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. Good girl. James smirked and walked away from him.
"Ugh, we should've known he would be back." She hissed. He nodded.
"There is nothing he can do, we're married now." He smiled. They just stood there, next to each other, awkwardly, for a couple of minutes.
"Draco, I'm sorry for the whole consummation thing." She finally whispered. He looked up at her.
"There is nothing to be sorry for, I'm sorry for acting like an insecure little boy." He answered and wrapped his arms around her.

After spending some more time at the feast, Hermione and Draco were escorted to their chambers by some of the nobles as well as the clerics. They shut the door on them and left them in the room by themselves. Apparently, not being able to watch them have sex, they would settle for listening by the door.
"Are they going to stay out there all night?" she asked, pressing her ear against the wood of the door.
"Well, I don't know, this isn't how it usually works." He smirked.
"No, I guess not" she smiled, resuming her eavesdropping. Draco mimicked her movements and they both listened to the hum and drum of their audience. After a little while though, he got bored and started wandering around the room.
"Hey, Hermione?" he asked. She turned towards him, still slightly startled when he used her given name in such a kind manner.
"Yeah?" he looked at a trinket in his hands.
"What would happen if we got back to Hogwarts?" he asked, afraid to look at her.
"What do you mean? I thought it was clear that we were never going back?" she asked.
"Yeah, I know, but what if?" he insisted. Hermione looked at him. He was fidgeting and avoiding looking back at her. She walked over to him and grabbed his face in her hands.
"Nothing would change" she whispered.
"What?" he asked, frowning.
"Everything that started here, would still be the same if we went back" she clarified. He smiled at her explanation. He tried to absentmindedly replace the glass trinket to free his hands for other endeavors but he completely missed the table and the thing crashed to the floor. Shining pieces of glass flowed all over the floor.
"Fuck" he hissed. Hermione bent down and started picking up the pieces, gathering them in her hands. It didn't take her long to accidently cut herself on one of the pieces.
"Ah, crap" she hissed, dropping all the glass.
"What happened?" he grabbed her hand. "It's nothing, just a little cut" she whispered. Her hand was dripping with blood. Draco stared at it and for a moment, he didn't know what to do. His instincts were telling him to reach for his wand to heal the cut and clean the blood, but he didn't have his wand. Hermione grabbed a piece of cloth and started wrapping it around her hand. She looked at him.
"What's the matter? I thought I was the one who cut my hand and yet, here you are looking troubled?" she smirked. He stood up and grunted.
"Seriously, Malfoy, what's wrong?" she asked as she finished wrapping her hand. There was some blood staining the fabric. He walked over to her and grabbed her hand.
"I feel so useless here" he hissed.
"What?" she looked up at him.
"If we were home, I could just fix this in a second. I could protect you from almost anything." He continued. "out here, I'm useless, I don't have any power. I am nothing" He shook his head. Hermione placed his hand on her cheek and he looked up.
"Malfoy. I don't need you to be powerful, I don't need you to have magic. I like you exactly like this. Besides, it's just a cut." She smiled at him. He didn't say anything. "You really don't know how much I care about you, do you?" she whispered before grabbing his face in her hands and kissing him. He gasped and this time, it was her turn to take this chance to carefully invade his mouth with her tongue. Draco was slightly taken aback by her brazenness but it didn't take him long to regain control of the situation. He wrapped his hand in her hair and pressed her closer, his other hand residing on her hip. She was still in her wedding dress and Draco started kissing her neck as he was carefully unbuttoning the back of her dress. As his hands touched the bare skin on her back, he stopped for a moment.
"We can just stop, right now, we could just lay down and kiss or do nothing at all" he whispered against her lips.
"Don't be stupid, I want this" she answered breathlessly before reaching behind his neck and pressing his lips to hers again. She, in her own turn, started on his shirt, dropping it to the floor before he even realized she managed to unbutton it. Her delicate fingers traced patterns on his skin and he shivered. She stepped away from him and her golden eyes sought out his silver stormy ones. They were both panting. Hermione reached for the shoulders of her dress and carefully let it slide to the floor. Draco gasped. She was standing before him looking absolutely perfect. There wasn't a blemish on her skin, it was perfectly pearly. Her brown curls reached over her breasts and he could see every breath she took in the movement of her chest. It took him a minute to regain his voice.
"You are so beautiful" he whispered breathlessly before pulling her into his arms again. He lifted her and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He loved the feeling of her curls cascading over his face as she towered over him, her lips pressed on his. He places his hands on her ass and walked them over to the bed where he carefully laid her down before stepping out of his trousers and climbing on top of her. He let his hands slide over her body, pausing at her breasts to play with her hard nipples. After that, he trailer further down, grabbing her knee and bending her leg up.
"You're sure about this?" he whispered. She grabbed his face in her hands and looked at him.
"I've never been more certain of anything my entire life" she answered, sounding determined like only Hermione Granger could sound. He pressed his lips to hers and carefully pressed himself inside of her. She gasped as the sting of pain as her entered her. He paused for a second, letting her get accustomed to the feeling. After a couple of seconds she kissed him again. He could sense the hunger in her kiss en carefully started moving. She moaned his name into his ear and this drove him to madness. He quickened his pace and wrapped his arm around her back to lift her into his trust. He bit down on her collarbone to stop himself from falling over the edge too soon. Her fingernails were raking red scratches over his back. He could feel she was close as he felt her tightening around him. He pressed his lips to hers as he himself toppled over the edge, growling against her lips as she bit back a moan. He collapsed on top of her. They were both struggling to catch their breath as they lay there, naked against eachother. He repositioned himself next to her and pulled her into his arms. She looked at him and smiled. They heard talking on the other side of the door.
"I believe they are satisfied." She smirked.
"Not as satisfied as I am." He whispered.