A/N

This Chapter and Chapter 17 will be the last two of this story on this site. The rest will be on adultfanfiction.net with the same user name because I think it may cross the line into NC-17 territory

Chapter 16 (aftermath)

Hermione ignored the rest of the world after class. She was hungry, but didn't feel like going to the Great Hall. Harry saw her leave and wanted to walk with her, but she seemed to have this, 'leave me alone' look about her, so he went to dinner. Hermione noticed that he didn't follow her and wasn't surprised; her moment was over. She looped around the hallways and as she passed the Great Hall a second time she saw Harry and Ginny sitting close together, so she continued to wander the halls. She wished she could cry again, but felt her tears had been used up that afternoon. After passing many of the classrooms and places that seemed to hold far more 'ghosts,' from the past 6 years than just the spirits that haunted Hogwarts, she decided to return to her new room. There weren't that many memories there yet.

The shared sitting room was empty, so Hermione spread her homework out on one of the tables and studied. She focused on her assignments non-stop until Draco entered the room at about 8:30. He plopped down on the chair opposite her and didn't look like his usual carefree, arrogant self.

Hermione decided to see if he wanted to talk about it. "What's up?" she asked.

"You knew all along that prefects had the right to decline the slavery position, didn't you?" Draco asked. He didn't seem angry about it, just thoughtful. Hermione nodded which surprisingly made Draco laugh. "I'm impressed."

"What's the big deal, it was in the handbook very clearly?" Hermione wondered.

Draco explained it to her, "That you noticed an important detail in our handbook is of no consequence. I'm more interested in the way that you used the information."

Hermione was curious. "What do you mean?"

"I find it hard to believe you have to ask that," Draco stated. "It's why you had no fear about me selecting Ron for a slave before you had decided to break up with him. Or at least I think it was before you made that decision."

Hermione wasn't sure what he was getting at, so she tried to explain what she did. "You were trying to manipulate me by threatening a friend..."

"And then you manipulated me by omitting important details." Draco explained.

Hermione smirked for a moment, but then got very serious. "I guess. But I see a big difference. You were trying to force me into doing something I would have never consented to. In both the Muggle and magical worlds, that's called rape."

Draco shrugged off her commentary. "I finally had my meeting with Snape and Dumbledore about the gifts. They're certainly more limited than we were lead to believe. I'm also still not sure why you tried to talk me out of selecting Ginny, she's not available either."

Hermione thought for a moment. "What would you have thought if I hadn't? I knew something you weren't aware of and it was a way of keeping track of what you knew." Hermione felt like she was smiling for the first time that day. "I have to admit, you were fun to watch when you were so confused by my lack of reaction to your threat of selecting Ron! I had fun watching you squirm!" She laughed at the memory.

"And I had fun making you literally squirm later on that evening." Draco grinned suggestively.

Hermione looked down at her homework not wanting to catch Draco's gaze. She spoke simply and honestly. "I don't know why I went along with that. I know you have no real feelings for me. I certainly have none for you..."

"Oh...I don't know, I can think of plenty of words to describe my feelings for you, Granger." Hermione grinned while Draco spoke. He was being matter of fact rather than menacing. "They might not all be as bad as you think, either."

***

By Thursday evening, Hermione was starving. She just wasn't ready to talk to Harry yet about their afternoon by the lake, and he seemed like he had been haunting the door to the Great Hall during all of the meal times. She had been able to avoid a discussion during their classes easily enough; she didn't see a way to avoid him at meals. She hoped Malfoy had something stashed away or perhaps she could hit the kitchens later that evening.

She opened the door to the suite and immediately smelled food. Maybe she was hungrier than she thought. She looked across the room and saw that Draco had dinner for two set up in their sitting area. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spoil your plans," Hermione apologized, but was pleasantly surprised when Draco pulled out the chair closest to her and gestured for her to sit.

"What are you up to, Malfoy?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

Draco was surprised, "So I'm Malfoy again? And I was being nice to you. You had a long day today, I thought you might appreciate something special."

"I'm sorry, Draco. Old habit." Hermione apologized with sincerity. "This does look really good."

"May I get you something to drink?" Draco asked. Hermione was confused; there was already pumpkin juice on the table. Draco explained, "I mean something with a little bit more of a kick."

Hermione deliberated for a moment but decided that maybe she could use a drink. Adults seemed to indulge in that after a hard day, maybe there was something to it. "I'm not the type to ever have anything stronger than Butterbeer, except for maybe champagne for something special, but I think I might take you up on the offer. What do you have?"

Draco thought for a moment, "We have a cold storage area you might not have found yet over on the south wall. I think there might even be a bottle or two more of that champagne from the other night if you fancy more of the same. There's also some special iced Butterbeer that has more of a kick to it. Have you ever tried it?"

"No, I haven't. That sounds nice." She stated and tried to make a joke, "It's not like I have to fly home or anything."

Draco assumed she was making some sort of Muggle reference that she and the other Muggle borns or half bloods would find amusing, so he decided to ignore it. Draco went to the storage area and got two bottles of the stronger Butterbeer and for a moment wished love and/or lust potion ingredients weren't so hard to come by at Hogwarts. All well, he'd have to depend on Butterbeer Xtra, smooth talking, and her emotions to get what he wanted.

He opened the bottles and handed one to her before joining her at the table. Being used to regular Butterbeer, she took a huge sip before Draco could warn her of the consequences. She swallowed and thought, 'this isn't much different from regular Butterbeer...' but next thing she knew she was grabbing a hold of the arms of her chair so she didn't fall over.

Draco was amused, "I should have warned you to sip it slowly. It's got quite a kick!" He took a more reasonably sized drink of his own Butterbeer. "You also better have some dinner and get something other than alcohol in your stomach."

Hermione's wave of dizziness subsided and she started on her dinner. She had no complaints about the usual Hogwarts food, but this was even better than their banquets. Since she was already feeling a bit silly from the Butterbeer, she decided, 'the hell with the tiny fork' and began eating her Prawn Cocktail with her fingers. She didn't think she had ever seen prawns that large before! The sauce was lovely, but it was just a touch hotter than she preferred, so she found herself taking sips of her Butterbeer Xtra between each bite having forgotten about the perfectly good non-alcoholic pumpkin juice near her plate. The more she drank, the sillier she got, "You can't get away from me, you nasty prawn, I'm just going to have to eat you up!" and she dipped it in the cocktail sauce, held it over her and tilted her head back. First she sucked the sauce from the prawn, then, still with her head tilted back, she nibbled on the prawn a little bit at a time and then placed the tail neatly on her plate. She then realized eating the sauce by itself had been a bad idea, so she took another deep drink of her Butterbeer, finishing up the bottle.

Draco had never seen anything more erotic involving food than Hermione eating prawns with her fingers. He got her a second Butterbeer Xtra and opened it up for her before she noticed her pumpkin juice. He would never tell her just how calculated this meal had been. He found out from the house elves about her taste in spicy foods, and he made sure the cocktail sauce had been mixed slightly hotter than her preferred range. If it were too hot, she would have avoided it all together, but with it just crossing the line, she still ate it, but it forced her to drink more between each bite.

By the time Hermione was ready for the main course she had finished her third Butterbeer Xtra and was officially drunk. When dinner was unveiled, Pheasant Under Glass, she was wondering how she would be able to manipulate her knife and fork to eat something so delicate. Eating shrimp with her fingers had been fun and even appropriate in some situations, but this would be tricky. Draco watched her attempt to manipulate her knife and fork and enjoyed her little drunken show for a bit. After a few amusing minutes, he got up and moved his chair and his plate next to her. He then took the knife and fork from her hand, sliced into the pheasant. He speared a bite-sized piece of the perfectly cooked flesh on her fork, and fed it to her. She started on her forth Butterbeer Xtra as Draco continued to alternate between feeding himself and feeding her.

She caught him taking two bites in a row and decided that just wasn't fair, "Hey, it was my turn!" she admonished him.

He teased her. "It's my food I'm sharing with you, I should make you beg for each bite." He then gave her his trademarked evil grin, but there was the light of mischief dancing in his eyes.

Hermione played along, "Please Sir, May I have some more?"

Draco didn't know much about Muggle culture, but he was aware of Dickens. "No more gruel for you, it's time to send you out to work in the sweat shop. Or maybe go run away and become a pick-pocket, I'm not sure." He speared another piece of pheasant on his fork and pretended to offer it to her, but took it away and ate it himself at the last minute. Draco then sliced a leg from the pheasant, but instead of using a utensil, he picked it up and held it to her mouth. "Ok, you poorhouse peasant, you can have more, but on my terms."

Hermione looked at Draco and noticed that he was smiling. It appeared to be a real smile. He was actually having fun. Hermione giggled and ate the meat of the pheasant leg off the bones. She decided to play back. She reached for an asparagus stalk dripping with a creamy hollandaise sauce, picked it up and hand fed it to Draco. From there, it became a feeding frenzy with each alternating turns feeding each other with their hands. They giggled like children. Hermione hadn't slowed down on the Butterbeer Xtra, so she wasn't sure, but she didn't think she ever remembered seeing Malfoy so relaxed and happy.

Their plates were just about empty, so after wiping his hands on his napkin, he moved the dinner plates to the other side of the table and brought the dessert. It was a rich chocolate mousse with whipped cream and a cherry on top for each. Hermione grabbed her cherry and made sure it was covered with whipped cream, and then turned and fed it to Draco. He returned the favor with his own and was enthralled by the way she licked the extra whipped cream from her lips. Draco was glad he was wearing pleated slacks that gave him a little extra room, because watching Hermione eating a cherry had been erotic and more sexual than any actual physical encounter he had taken part in before.

Draco looked at the delicate sterling dessertspoons resting on the saucers beneath the cut crystal dessert dishes, but instead of picking one up, he stuck two fingers in the mousse and then allowed Hermione to lick the dessert from his fingers. Hermione echoed him and fed him dessert from her fingers as well. Draco's aim began to slip, and he found himself having to make sure to wipe the chocolate smears from her face, but that soon changed to licking up and kissing away and mousse that missed her mouth. It took them almost fifteen minutes to realize they had long since run out of dessert, but were continuing to, "clean each other up."

They were both out of breath and looking into each other's eyes. Hermione wondered what would happen next. She was so very, very drunk, but she couldn't keep it out of her head what it had been like to be in Harry's arms earlier yesterday afternoon and to melt in his kisses. She always dreamed he'd be her first, even if he was still with Ginny and it was a one- time thing, but maybe it was time to give up her dream.

Draco lifted her from her chair and carried her to her room. He laid her on her bed, and walked to her door. Hermione assumed he was going to shut it, but he continued to leave. She called to him, "Where are you going, Draco?"

"You hadn't invited me to stay, I didn't want to presume..." he started, but was interrupted.

"Stay." Hermione said simply.

Draco did shut the door, but remained inside the room. He didn't talk. He carefully undressed her. First her shoes and socks, then her robe, sweater, and he took his time undoing her tie. He then unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it off followed by her skirt. He unfastened her bra in a matter of seconds, it was something he had quite a bit of experience in, and added it to her dirty clothes bin. Draco stood there, totally dressed, looking at Hermione wearing nothing but tiny blue panties and did something unexpected. He grabbed the summer nightgown that was on top of her dresser, and helped her put it on and then he helped her get into bed.

He started to leave the room. "I thought you were going to stay?" she asked, very confused.

"I'll be back in a few minutes, I'd like to wear something more comfortable as well."

Hermione waited and wondered why he was bothering with clothing. She knew his reputation and the extent of the signals they had been sending throughout dinner. She might be drunk out of her mind, but she couldn't be that mixed up about the situation, could she?

Draco finally returned and Hermione thought to herself, 'doesn't this guy own anything other than green silk? I'm proud to be a Gryffindor, but I own pajamas, nightgowns, panties, bras and bathing suits that aren't red and gold!' She had been thinking about what to say when he returned, but though the intent was the same, the words came out stronger than she intended. "Fuck me, Malfoy!"

Did his best to hide his surprise that she asked him that fast. He had expected her to beg for him sometime that evening, but not that soon. As exciting as the offer sounded, he had prepared himself from becoming overwhelmingly aroused too early by jacking off in his bathroom before returning to her room. After all the erotic food play, he figured he must have taken less than a minute. He lay down next to her on her bed and said, "Not yet, pet. What's your hurry?"

"Where is that arrogant, 'I can have any woman any time I want' Slytherin asshole, Malfoy?" She taunted.

He put his arms around her and pulled her on top of him. "He's right here, and he would love to fuck the living shit out of you right now, you little perfect-prefect Gryffindor. But he's not going to."

Hermione very carefully swallowed a huge belch from all the Butterbeer Xtra and looked down into his eyes and asked in a very puzzled way, "Why not?"

Draco rolled over and lay next to her. He propped his head up on his hand and looked at her in her cute summer nightie before answering. "Because right now, at this moment, it's more fun to fuck with your head. You know, you are adorable when you are drunk!"

Hermione thought to her self, 'I must have been drunker than I thought and I've already passed out and this is some wacky dream.' She finished her thought out loud, "this makes no sense."

"Yes it does, Princess. If I'm the one that gets to deflower you, I want you sober enough to remember it in the morning and the rest of your life. If I do you right now, if by some chance you remember it, you'll always be able so say it was a mistake you made because I got you drunk." Draco explained honestly.

"Then why did you get me this drunk?" Hermione asked.

Draco laughed, "I was intending to loosen you up a bit with a drink or two, not a whole bloody six-pack. You got yourself snockered, I just started the process."

Hermione thought for a moment. "Why do you keep calling me things like that? And I only had five, not six!"

"Like what?"

"Princess, Love, Pet..." were the three she could remember.

Draco smiled, "Would you prefer mudblood? I think you heard that loud enough from the Weasel yesterday morning." She gave him a look that could kill, and he did the best he could to soften it by kissing her.

"You still didn't answer the question."

"So I didn't, maybe the 'Slytherin asshole Malfoy' is being deceptive about something." Draco grinned and raised his eyebrows.

He noticed her grab a hold of the bed and for a moment he thought she was angry, but her comment told him otherwise, "The bed is spinning!"

"Here," he said and handed her a small potion vial. "This won't really sober you up, but it will make sure you don't have a hang over in the morning and it will get rid of any reflex impairment so you won't be dizzy anymore. If I understand your comment from earlier this evening, it would allow you to 'drink and fly' if you wanted to."

Hermione swallowed the potion and smiled, "So I don't need a designated flier?"

"Something tells me if I were from your world, that might have been quite funny, Miss Granger." Draco commented. Draco also knew that the potion had a side effect of making one very honest because it didn't do anything to counteract lowered inhibitions. Deception was still possible; its action wasn't anything like Veritaserum, but that took awareness of the effect and he doubted if Hermione had ever decided to study hangover treatment.

Hermione looked at him, "Why do you call me by such sweet nicknames? Is it sarcasm?"

"You're not going to let that drop, are you?" he asked and she shook her head no. "You intrigue me, pet. Beyond the whole good side bad side, and some other differences I've taunted you about over the years, I don't think there are two people more alike at the school."

Hermione didn't want to hear him out on this, but curiosity got the better of her. "Why on earth do you say that?"

"For one, is there anyone else at the school that is an intellectual equal to either of us, including anyone from Ravenclaw and even the teachers?"

"No. Sometimes there are people with similar test scores in some subjects, but no, there are plenty of ways we both outshine all of them overall." She continued, confused at her brutal honesty; she was always much more humble when asked directly and usually attributed her success to nothing but hard work. She figured it was still the alcohol talking. "I've run into times where certain adults have life experiences that allow that person to seem to know more, but none of them really come close overall. That damn life experience knowledge can nail you if you aren't careful! Not the Headmaster though. I'd never presume to be Dumbledore's equal." Hermione paused for a moment, "I don't buy the 'Hermione gets special nicknames because I think she is as smart as I am' bit."

Draco fluffed up the pillows behind him and pulled Hermione to his chest. They cuddled like that for a moment, and he kissed her on the head. A tear ran down Hermione's cheek as she remembered Harry kiss her like that the yesterday afternoon. "The world is changing and with my father and so many of his friends out of my life for the past year, my view of it is changing as well. I know I already told you that I'm not a Death Eater, I never intend to become one either. That is the truth. I also know that Snape isn't one anymore either and hasn't been for a long time. If I wanted to become a Death Eater, I would have handed Snape over to them a long time ago to prove that I may be young but I'm worthy."

Hermione was still letting this all sink in and under the influence of the alcohol and hangover cure, forgot to use discretion about Snape's role, "Why haven't you, what changed?"

"A lack of having to suck up to my father on a daily basis for one. The other is that Voldemort is nothing. His most powerful supporters are already back in Azkaban. Even in his prime all he knew was a few overly strong spells and curses and how to manipulate a crowd of influential followers. I really should tell Snape to quit wasting time on me, I know what's up."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, "I don't trust Snape. I think he's playing both sides of the fence and he's going to stick with whichever side wins. Dumbledore trusts him though." She thought for a moment. "What side are you on then?"

"That's easy. My side. I'm sure you noticed I dropped the goon squad last year. I have more than enough money in so many different places and sources that I'm set for life, as are any descendants for generations to come. I gave up being the leader of a bunch of losers, and I certainly don't want to be a follower. I like nice things, I like learning, I love to read and fly, and I want to be able to have and do anything I fancy. I've learned that I don't need Voldemort or Dumbledore for any of my goals."

Hermione looked scared. "You've decided that I fit into your goals in some way, haven't you?"

Draco tried to be evasive, "Then why didn't I take you when you asked me to?"

"Would you answer the question this time, please?" An exasperated Hermione asked.

He pulled her aside so she was lying down next to him and looked into her eyes. "I'm not completely sure yet, but I think the answer is yes. I think I could love you." Hermione's jaw dropped, but she didn't have anything to say. "I know that in the rare cases when our defenses have been down, I've adored talking to you. Over the years in class when we've debated concepts I always looked forward to taking you on because when I did win, it was the only time I had to do anything to earn it. I'd love to have you in my home with me, and I'd love to talk about the books we've read and issues from the paper. I'd also like to see you always dressed in the best money can buy and diamonds at your throat and on your hand. I'd also like to give you anything you dream of."

Hermione had to admit that she was incredibly flattered. Her view of Draco had certainly changed in just a few days. She also trusted Dumbledore and she knew that he wouldn't have picked a Head Boy that was about to join Voldemort.

"What do you want, pet?" Draco asked.

Hermione thought for a moment. "I want to continue learning. I'm not sure exactly what I want as a career yet, but I'd like to do something involving a lot of research."

Draco then asked a more difficult question, "Who do you want? Is there someone you love?"

Hermione spoke before she could stop herself. "Harry. I've been in love with him since I first saw him. He's in love with Ginny though." Damn alcohol!

"I saw you two yesterday by the lake. He seemed interested enough." Draco commented.

"He was just comforting me because of Ron." Hermione sighed and this time, Draco noticed her eyes starting to water. "It was the best two hours of my life and now it's over."

He gave her a quick kiss. "Take him, 'Mione. You and I are more alike than you realize. You have the power, use it."

"Please don't call me that." Hermione requested. "What power are you talking about?"

Malfoy smiled, "Ok, love. Select the Slytherin gift and chose him."

Hermione was confused again, "But the Ravenclaw gift is so tempting, and Dumbledore and McGonagall are pushing me toward the Gryffindor gift. And besides, first you say that you might be in love with me, now you're giving me advice on how to get the man I want?"

"That hasn't changed. Didn't I say I wanted to give you anything you dreamed of? This wouldn't be me handing you him on a platter, but I'm helping you see your options." Draco explained. "I think you want him in your bed at night no matter how he gets there."

Hermione wanted to deny this, but she couldn't. "Why do you think that about me?" was the best she could do.

"Do you even begin to understand what that little game we played the other night was?" Hermione raised her eyebrows as a way of asking a question. "You let me torture you all night. I bet you even thought you were in control." Hermione didn't answer because she did think that. "I didn't need whips or chains anything else along those lines, and you even were the one to make up the rules. But I saw that look in your eye. You had to stop me once so you wouldn't beg me to go any farther, and then the second time you let me taunt and tease you till you almost gave in. I could have taken you just about any time and you would have thanked me and begged for more, isn't that so?"

Hermione couldn't lie, but she did have to look away when she answered. "Yes. I wanted you so bad it physically hurt."

"And you want to have that much control over Harry, don't you?" Draco asked.

Again, Hermione couldn't lie. "Yes...actually no come to think about it. I'd prefer him to have that much control over me and to use it."

Draco was amused by what she had admitted, and it was all very confusing for Hermione. It would have been much easier for her to remember that she was drunk if she actually still felt 'drunk,' in some way. The whole lack of inhibitions without other impairment was almost more disorienting than how she felt before she took the potion.

Hermione looked concerned. "What happens when the school year is over? The Slytherin gift doesn't last forever."

Draco laughed. "It's up to you to make sure he wants you when the year is up. Unless he has extreme hatred for you or what you ask, once the year is up, he'll remember it as consensual. I'll even give you an alibi. Let it be known that you selected Harry to stop me from doing it; I'll back you up."

"What's in it for you?" Hermione asked. "Even if I buy into you thinking you might be in love with me and wanting me to be happy, there has to be something."

"No, not really. I'm going to select Ginny; we've already had some good times together." Draco noticed her starting to protest.

Hermione shook her head, "Draco, Ginny is a prefect."

"So?" Draco responded. "I'm aware of that. We both know that the prefects aren't told which head they'll be serving."

"That's what this is all about?" Hermione asked. "Some big plot for you to get back together with Ginny?"

"It crossed my mind that you might come to that conclusion." Draco admitted. "She's a known commodity to keep me occupied while you find out if Harry lives up to your fantasies, nothing more."

He reached over to Hermione and pulled her on top of him again and began to kiss her passionately. "It might be a lot easier for us both to just admit we belong together and take a different gift. I know we both are almost more excited about the Ravenclaw gift as we are about a personal slave."

"Almost," Hermione answered. "I want Harry. I need him to know how frustrated I've been over the years that he never noticed me as a woman. I can't stop thinking about it."

"There are a few things I ask of you, Princess. Actually, they are closer to demands." Hermione raised her eyebrows and looked at Draco. Now would she find out what he was up to? "If I'm wrong and the conflict doesn't just fade away and there is a war, please promise me you'll make sure the proper authorities know that I'm not a Death Eater."

"If I still believe that is the case, you have my word." Hermione promised.

"Next, if you are able to convince Harry that you are the woman for him but there is a war he doesn't make it, you'll let me provide for you in any way you need."

Hermione looked into Draco's eyes, and then nodded. "I don't understand what has happened, but I believe you for some reason. We should get some sleep. Would you like to stay?" They rolled over and lay next to each other.

"I'd like that, Princess."

Hermione turned out the lights.

"I'd like one more thing from you." Draco requested.

Hermione yawned and asked, "What's that?"

"I'm going to be a good boy and let Potter be your first, the lucky bloke. But after that, I want a weekend with you sometime during the year. If you do get him to fall in love, I want a chance to show you what you're missing and even perhaps to change your mind about him. If you two don't fall in love, I want a head start to show you what our life could be like in the future." If the lights had been on Hermione would have seen the good- natured smile on his face. She could hear it in his voice though.

"It's a deal," she said as a large yawn spread across her face. "Do you promise this isn't some big game you are playing?"

"Princess," Draco whispered in her ear, "If I were playing a game, you would have already lost count of how many times I had been inside you by now."

Hermione shivered.

Draco continued in a more normal tone of voice, "I am taking a calculated risk that once you get a taste of what you think you've always wanted, you'll find the fantasy doesn't live up to reality, and then at that point, I'll take you away."

"But why?" Hermione asked, "That's so complicated?"

"So if... no... when we do get together, I never have to spend a moment thinking that you're pretending to be with Potter and not me." Draco admitted.

Hermione drifted off to sleep with one final comment, "Jealous much?"

Her deep, regular breathing told Draco that she wouldn't hear his answer. He cuddled close and started to fall asleep himself. He thought, 'Jealous more than you'll ever know, Miss 95% Muggle, 5% Pureblood, not that I'm keeping score or anything...'