a/n: It has been MONTHS since I've updated, I'm sorry! As always, thanks to my alpha, Helene, for all the help and guidance. And a big thanks to all of you for your patience! I hope you enjoy this update :)

Chapter Twenty-Two: Together

Hermione was quick to call dibs on the washroom first, sending Draco a smirk as she shut the door and locked it. She hiked up her dress and pulled the wand out from its secured spot against her thigh. Turning it over in her hand, she let her magic connect with it despite their incompatibility. Before pointing it at herself to dispel the makeup and hair glamours, she practiced using it again on the bar of soap. She transfigured it into a duckling, then a raven, then a lion's head. While its teeth were razor sharp, the mane was lackluster at best. Hermione waved her wand at it again, resulting in a melted, evil twin version of Draco from fifth year. She quickly changed it again and was staring back at a simple pair of round glasses. Hermione gasped at the sight.

"Are you alright?" Draco asked from the other side of the door.

"Yes," she said hurriedly.

She flicked the wand and the soap was once again just soap. Looking in the mirror, Hermione pointed the wand at her face and murmured a finite to rid herself of the mask of makeup. She turned the water on in the sink and splashed herself with the cold, mainly just to get the feeling of something refreshing. Another finite whispered and her hair was released of its pulled back coiled curls, back to her naturally frizzier state; one that she quite liked.

The washroom was large and decorated in the same high-class Italian villa style as the rest of the home. She brushed her teeth and took the bag of supplies out from the bosom of her dress. In the bedroom, Draco was folding his shirt neatly. With his bare chest in full view, Hermione's heartbeat quickened. She was acutely aware of the fact that neither of them had overnight bags. They easily could have transfigured their clothes, especially with their skill levels, but he wasn't making any move to do so. So she stayed in her dress for now.

"How are you feeling?" Draco asked. He walked over to her in just his socks and trousers.

She lightly touched her fingers to his and looked into his eyes, his pupils wider than usual. "I'm ready," she said.

Something shifted in his expression; darkened.

"You know," she quickly continued. "For everything ahead…"

He looked into her eyes for a beat before his gaze shifted to the floor. "I don't know if I could ever be ready for what's in store for us," he said, his voice almost a whisper. "You're brave…truly a Gryffindor at heart." He shook his head once. "That's not me."

"Bravery isn't about a lack of fear. It's about facing something despite the fear," she said. "You do that every day." She placed her hand on his cheek and prompted him to look at her again. "And as awful as I find most Slytherins to be, cunning and ambition are not bad qualities." She smiled playfully.

His expression mirrored hers before he leaned down and pressed his mouth to hers with unrelenting passion. It grew as he deepened the kiss, parting her lips with his tongue. She opened up for him. Her body curved closer to him, melting at the way his arms wrapped around her and snaked further down, touching every part of her back over the thin fabric of the scarlet gown. She slid her hands along his shoulderblades and gripped his shoulders when he intensified their connection. The warmest feelings whirled within her.

One moment, she was in sweet bliss, no distractions from the world daring to interrupt. The next, he pulled away and muttered a breathy, I should freshen up, before disappearing to the washroom, and a cloud of reality covered her. She could suddenly hear the faint, distant sounds of scrambling voices and Apparition. Here she was, locked away from it all. There was nothing she could do to help. Nothing she should do to help. She was on the inside again and had a way to contact the Order with the communication coin Lev gave her. They needed her here for now and although she hated being idle, she was right where she needed to be: in this idyllic bedroom with a half-naked Draco Malfoy.

She lifted her hand to her shoulder and pushed the strap of her dress off. Then the other one. And then the dress was in a pile on the floor. And her chest was exhausted from the increased pounding of her heart. She would let the rest of the world and all the horrors she'd faced and the sadness and pain she'd experienced fade away for tonight because, like her fear, it was all still there…she just did things despite it all. And she was brave for that.

All that was left on her was a skimpy pair of knickers that Lottie had sent with the dress. She was sure it was so she could wear the gown without showing any lines but maybe the elf sent it as a bit of encouragement. Doubtful. But, whatever it was, Hermione stood there in a solid pink thong. It was not the kind of underthing she would purchase for herself. In fact, the only other time she had worn anything even remotely similar was the night of the Yule Ball. She'd had her usual white and yellow patterned knickers on underneath the robe she wore to get ready. She had done her hair and added a bit of mascara to her lashes before approaching the hanging periwinkle blue gown by her four poster bed. When she had dropped the robe, Lavender Brown squealed and giggled, admonishing her for her choice in knickers. She had tried to quickly get the dress off the hanger and step into it but before she could, Lavender had laughed through a transfiguration spell they'd hardly practiced in class and Hermione's knickers were shredded up her entire bum until just a sliver of fabric was left at the top and connected through her thighs. She remembered screaming at Lavender as the girl laughed. Hermione had thrown the gown on over her body and shuffled into it before rushing out the door and adjusting as she muttered curses under her breath.

Kicking the dress into the corner of the room, Hermione exhaled, threw back the covers of the bed, and climbed in. The cool sheets grazed against her bare breasts. Under the blankets, she unhooked the makeshift wand holder on her thigh and took hold of the wand, flicking it at the lightswitch to turn it off. It was too dark. She swished the wand again, pointing it at a candle on the nearest nightstand. The flame that started was a soft shade of purple. Close enough. She would get used to Mulciber's wand soon.

Tucking the wand and its holder under her pillow, Hermione shuffled around, trying to find the best spot to be in when Draco finally emerged. She heard the shower still going and knew she had at least fifteen minutes. Should she be on her side? She turned onto her left side to face the washroom door. No, that would be weird. He would come out and face her and pull back the covers and he would see her staring back at him as she lay nearly naked, waiting for him to take her. That's what this was leading to, right? The flirting, the confessions, the snogging, and the look they shared when Norny told them they would be here, safe and alone, for the night. This was it. So, she shifted to her back and instantly felt too exposed. No, no. Other side, then. It felt safer when she could curl into herself and she didn't have to look him in the eyes when he would find her bare back and arse on full display.

She stared at the flicker of the candle's shadow on the wall. It was soothing and had a cadence to it that made her mind focus on the patterns, or lack thereof. Her eyes drifted closed and she was dancing; spinning in swift circles that somehow had a pattern, yet had none at all. Like the shadow on the wall. Moving with her - leading her - was Victor Krum, his sharp features hard in the orangey glow of the light that engulfed the two of them. His eyes were a deep, mystifying brown, and as they smoothly stumbled to a beat in the vision in her mind, she wasn't convinced she was envisioning the moment accurately. She continued spinning in rhythm with a distant song that had no title she could place and no melody she could recollect. Brown eyes shifted to green and before she registered a pair of familiar glasses, the eyes shifted again and landed on icy grey ones. They were beautiful and cold and sad, and they were the only things she could see as everything else spun and spun. This time around was confusing; it was smoother than last time and she didn't trip, yet the movements were more intense; more intentional. Maybe it was the song that played: a succession of minor chords and a stronger tempo. Or maybe it was the way neither of them led; how they both held each other purposefully as they moved in time with the tune. She didn't need to think about the time they spent dancing; didn't search for a clock on the wall or wander in her thoughts. She only thought about him.

Hermione stirred when she registered that the bed moved.

"Sorry," came Draco's voice in a whisper.

"Mmm." She shuffled until she felt a warm arm wrap around her. A few seconds passed and Draco's body met hers, his chest resting against her back. It had been a while since she'd felt that level of pure comfort; since her mind had been unoccupied by the state of everything, instead swimming in contentment.

It may have been a minute or an hour later when Hermione woke and felt a hardness resting against her arse. Draco's arm was still wrapped around her stomach. She couldn't believe they'd fallen asleep before anything happened, but thinking back to the few nights they had spent together previously, they had both slept so well then. She could feel that level of peacefulness by his side now.

The flame from the candle had either fizzled out or Draco had killed it, so she was immersed in complete darkness. There were no distant sounds anymore; all was quiet save for Draco's gentle breathing behind her. She carefully shifted around to face him and as she moved, he made a little sound and settled his hand on her hip.

Hermione's eyes started to adjust to the darkness and she could see the outline of his ear. She tried to feel for his chest and landed a little lower than she'd expected, catching his shorts, and feeling that he was at least somewhat hard. Nerves caught her.

He let out a sleepy "hmm?"

"Hi," she breathed.

"Mm," he moaned.

Hermione scooted a little closer to him and let her hand form more of a grip on him over his shorts. That woke him up.

Draco let out a more intentional "mm" this time. "Hey," he said gruffly. "What're you doing?"

"It isn't obvious?" she said playfully, flutters still prevalent in her stomach.

He huffed a laugh and let his hand slide up along the side of her body. She arched her back so she was closer to him and he responded with a press of his hand against the small of her back to pull her into him further.

She wondered if she should let go of his growing erection, but decided to leave her hand resting where it was.

He shifted until his nose was pressed against her neck, below her ear. He slowly started trailing kisses down her neck, his hands running up and down her leg in sweeping motions, from her thigh up to her breast.

"For a bit there, I thought you didn't want this," he said when he took his lips off her skin. "I came out here and you were sound asleep." His voice was low and husky.

"Well if you didn't take forever in the shower…" she said. She kept her tone quiet and seductive, in a way she'd never spoken before.

"It was not that long," he said.

She lifted her lips to his ear. "Whatever you say."

He groaned. "Don't say things you don't mean," calling back to the time he'd had her pushed up against a wall.

Something within Hermione throbbed. "Oh, I mean it," she said before kissing him. She arched her back more, pushing her chest into his, burying her hands into his hair. His cock pressed against her stomach through the layers of his shorts and her knickers.

Draco's hands halted on her hips as he slowed his movements, kissing into the dips below her neck. He rolled her onto her back, gently pressing her into the bed. He worked his lips further down and as he brushed them against her breast, she looked down and her eyes connected with his. Her body flushed with the heat of his gaze and she quickly threw her head back again, letting out a sigh.

Hermione's hands gripped his shoulders and after a moment, she realized she was unintentionally pushing him down, her mind fixed on the time at the Zografs' when she'd dreamt of this very thing.

Draco chuckled. "Is there something you want?"

She looked down at him again and hoped the dark room hid the embarrassment in her cheeks. "Sorry- I-"

He let go of her and steadied himself on the bed, quickly cutting her off with a kiss before smiling and lowering himself to her stomach. Kiss after kiss, he moved further down, pushing the sheets down as he went, looking up at her along the way.

When he had nowhere to go but there, he stared up at her. "Is this it?" he said, his voice low and purposeful.

Hermione tried to say any form of God yes, but her mouth hung open.

"Hermione, you don't need to apologize for what you want."

She released a breath and nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" he said, quirking his eyebrow.

"Yes," she said. "Yes, I want you to…to do that." When the words left her mouth, she heard how awkward she sounded and scrunched her nose in embarrassment.

"Okay," he said, playfully mocking her word. He tugged her knickers off and his mouth was on her.

Every bit of cringe left her body and she was immersed in bliss. She let herself release a quiet moan. His hands slid down her thighs and gripped behind her knees to pull them up higher, letting his arms wrap under her after he'd readjusted. Whatever he'd done made the feeling that much better. He changed his pace and his position every so often, licking up, flicking back and forth, and sucking. All she could do was lie there, overwhelmed by the sensations he was bringing forth from her. She knew she was moving with him, riding his tongue, but she was singularly focused on the feeling building inside of her. She let out a breathy moan, fisting the sheets, arching her back when his tongue touched a particularly sensitive spot. He sucked that spot again, testing her, learning her body.

Just before she went over the edge and lost herself to the pleasure of it all, he'd change it up again and keep her right there where she could savor the feeling; enjoy the experience a little longer.

She lifted her hips off the bed and slightly moved them side-to-side to prompt him to return to the flicking motion that she'd found she liked the most. When he obliged, she kept her hips in the air and twisted them to the right, finding the point where his tongue hit the perfect spot. Seconds of that and she felt everything tense up before her whole body let go as she rode the pulsing between her shaking legs. She moaned as her hips landed back on the bed, her thighs twitching around Draco as he sat up, a smug grin on his face.

"Fuck," she breathed. "Yeah, that's exactly what I wanted."

Draco rolled over and disappeared for a moment as he bent over the side of the bed. When he sat up, he was wiping his face with his dress shirt.

She laid there unwilling to move and unable to be embarrassed by it.

He threw the shirt down and laid on his side, propping his head up with his hand.

"That was the hottest thing I've ever seen," he said.

Hermione met his eyes briefly and smiled as she shifted her gaze to his bare chest. She shifted to her side, as well, and propped her head up with one hand, letting the other trail down his body. When her hand passed the sheet, she found he was fully naked and the waves of pleasure that she'd been coming down from sparked again. She swept her fingers over the V of his hip bones and met his gaze again the moment she gripped his erection again.

"You don't have to," he said. "I would not expect-"

"I want to," she said. Hermione moved her hand up and down as she got to her knees and faced him, pushing him lightly with her free hand to get him onto his back. She held his gaze almost the whole way, even as she lowered her lips to his cock. The look on his face was unforgettable. His eyes widened and she smirked before wrapping her lips around him. She lowered more and took him as fully as she could in her mouth, loving the way his hips jerked upward in response. She let her hands roam over his stomach and hips while she sucked, flicking her tongue over the tip.

He twitched, "Merlin, no, you have to stop."

She instantly felt his entire body recoil and panic hit her with the thought that she'd done something wrong or he didn't like it. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, sitting up.

"No, I just cannot last with you doing that," he said. "Come here." He sat up and grasped her waist, guiding her on top of him.

She was settled in his lap, straddling him and hovering above his cock. Draco didn't take his eyes off her as he reached over to the nightstand and grabbed his wand. She gave him a questioning look.

"Contraceptive charm," he said.

"Not with your wand." She reached over to the nightstand on her side and took Mulciber's wand, muttering the charm on herself.

"Always one step ahead," he said ruefully.

They both tossed their wands aside. Hermione gripped Draco's shoulder with one hand and took his cock in the other. She lifted herself and positioned him in the right spot as she looked into his eyes, asking him in that look for some sign of encouragement; a go-ahead for them to solidify this next chapter in their journey. There were distant sounds of shufflings and rumblings, but none of that mattered. All she cared to focus on was the way he studied her for the briefest of moments; the way they studied each other until he tilted his head back ever so slightly, the action coupled with a small lift of his hips. She responded with a move to lower hers, his cock - hard and eager - sinking into her. She was so aware, yet sent into a fog of pleasure and desire that let loose any remaining inhibitions. There was no room for thoughts of worry or insecurity or shyness to glide through her mind.

She knew her lips were parted and her breaths came faster than usual as she used both hands to hold onto his shoulders. Draco's hands lightly squeezed her hips, guiding them up and down as he moved in and out of her. They quickly found a tempo in both their breaths and the movements of their bodies, and after a minute of this, she could feel the way he gave into her fully. Draco closed his eyes and moved more freely. His hands left her sides and wrapped around her body, arms pulling her tighter to him, making him quicken his pace and shove himself deeper into her. She let out all the air in her body in one quick sigh, her mouth dropping open even more when it happened.

"You okay?" he asked in an uncharacteristically shaky voice.

"Better than ever right now," she said back, her voice just as shaky as his.

In one swift move, Draco pulled her onto the bed and rolled them over until Hermione was on her back. She let out a surprised huff as it happened, which was met with a cocky smile by him as he planted his hands on the bed on either side of her and lifted himself up to grind against her harder.

She touched him everywhere: her hands caressed his chest, fingers grazed over his back and down his arse; they swept over his neck and up his cheek, all while he fucked her sweetly.

"Fuck." The word was breathy and almost imperceptible, but Hermione heard it fall from Draco's lips. He sat up on his knees enough that he could move one of his hands to grip under her thigh as he thrust into her.

Hermione pushed against him as he pushed against her, sending him into a state of heightened bliss. She opened her eyes long enough to see his mouth open and his face scrunch as he clearly struggled to enjoy the experience without ending things just yet. In her movements, she slowed the pace, leading them into a more intimate cadence.

He touched his forehead to hers and said softly, "You're incredible."

She sighed, the tension throughout her body idling at the perfect stage. "You are," she breathed.

He kept pushing into her as he angled his head down to connect their lips. She opened for him and let her tongue slide against his in a rhythm. The pulsing within her body grew, and she moaned into his mouth. He moaned, too, and then sat up fully on his knees, grasping both her thighs as he thrust his cock into her harder and faster again. Hermione let her arms fall above her head, touching her fingertips to the wall. She arched her back and took a fistful of sheets in her right hand above her head as she reached her peak.

"Draco." She wasn't sure if she'd actually said it and she didn't care if she had or not.

He groaned.

Hermione spread her knees wider apart and watched as Draco fell forward a bit, catching himself with one hand on the bed and wrapping his other hand around her back. His head fell back and his pace slowed, and she could feel the pulse of his cock against her walls as he spilled into her. She couldn't miss the way he tried to stifle his moan. She released the sheet and placed her hand on his cheek. He lowered his forehead to hers again and attempted to slow his breaths. She did the same to little avail. He slowly pulled out of her and when he collapsed onto the bed beside her, she turned to rest her head against his sweaty chest.

Her breathing may have steadied, but she still felt the overwhelming sensation of pleasure coursing within her. She was again aware of how naked she was; she felt so vulnerable, yet so safe next to him. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his heartbeat; loved it. She focused on it for a long time while they both lay there in comfortable silence. At some point she felt him shift under her and raised her head, moving away from him as she felt him slide away from her. She felt the bed dip as he got up and went to the washroom. She heard the tap come on, and then stop. He returned to the bed, holding a damp warm washcloth, which he offered to her.

"I thought you might like to clean up." he said a bit awkwardly.

She smiled softly, taking the cloth from him, and used it to wipe away the remnants of their activities. When she was done, he took it and put it in the bathroom before he returned to bed. She turned onto her other side and felt him curl up behind her after a moment.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight," she whispered. She lay there for a long while unable to sleep, not at all unhappy about it.

A loud bang jolted her awake. It was pitch dark in the room save for the stream of light from the window that cast perfectly on Draco's sleeping form. Another bang. It was coming from the other side of the door. Hermione's heart pounded in her chest.

"Draco," she whispered. When he didn't stir, she tried again. "Draco." Nothing. He didn't move. She tried nudging him, but when that, too, did nothing, she shoved at him. He wouldn't budge.

Another bang, this time coupled with a sickeningly familiar voice. Mulciber was on the other side of the bedroom door muttering curses under his breath.

Tears welled in Hermione's eyes. "Please, Draco," she pleaded with him, violently shaking him. He was completely limp and she couldn't turn him over for the life of her.

Another bang.

"Draco!" she screamed. Her sight was blurry with the streams of tears that fell from her eyes. "Please, please! Wake up!" She sat there in the bed shaking him, but he didn't move. "Please," she cried.

Another bang and the door was knocked off its hinges.

A rush of cold air blew through the room, and Hermione felt it everywhere on her body. She was naked; no sheets, no covers. Somewhere within her, Hermione knew she should move; she should try to run, but she couldn't. She screamed through her tears as her gaze met Mulciber's. He was grinning with self satisfaction and carnal desire.

"Draco, please!" she screamed again.

Mulciber laughed in front of her as he grew closer to the bed. His steps were slow and slinky.

"Please," she said to Draco's lifeless body, exasperated.

Mulciber's eyes roved over her bare chest…over her legs…over the most intimate part of her.

She wanted to throw up. "Draco," she choked out.

Mulciber shook his head, mocking her as he got only a step away.

"'Mione?"

Hermione awoke abruptly to the pitch dark room. To her left was Draco, sleepily looking at her with knitted brows.

"Bad dream?" he asked.

She nodded. "Mulciber…" she whispered.

"It's okay, I've got you," he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and kissing her forehead.