Author's Note:
Ah, my dears, my dears. Unfortunately, my work load of school is tightening its strangle-hold on me, and I might not be able to update for a while. Know that this hurts me much more than it hurts you. *hangs head* Usually I try to write another chapter before posting one, but time and my damnable muse have been absent, and it has not gotten done, and possibly might not get done in the near future, as I have several important tests very soon. Ergo, I ask your forgiveness and will try to wrangle out the next chapter as soon as I may.
Yours in exhaustion,
Ailleann
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Draco was pulled from his dreams by the feeling of being watched. He cracked his eyelids cautiously and found himself staring into his wife's steady brown eyes. His lips curved and he slid his arm around her and felt her wriggle beneath his touch. Then in a smooth move he rolled and pinned her beneath him. He grinned down at her, and for a moment his face was open and boyish.
Hermione's heart suddenly ached with love for him. He kept his emotions so bottled up all the time, even with her to an extent. He looked so young and happy that she hated to have his face darken. But the issue of the secrecy of their marriage was too important to put off.
"Draco--" she began, but he cut her off by kissing her exuberantly. For a long minute she let herself luxuriate in the feel and warmth of his body against hers. Then she drew away and looked at him with serious eyes. The smile faded from his lips within moments. "What's wrong?"
"We can't tell anyone," she blurted out, and watched as his eyes shuttered.
"Why?" he asked emotionlessly, his face blank.
Hermione bit her lip. "Because of what your father would do," she whispered.
His jaw tightened so hard she was afraid it would break. "I told you that my father wasn't an issue," he said, his voice hard and clipped.
She reached up to lay her palms against his cheeks, her gaze intent. "But he is an issue, Draco. That doesn't change just because we don't want to think about it." His face didn't soften beneath her hands as it usually did, but neither did he pull away.
"I'll take care of it," he said shortly.
She sighed, determined not to lose her temper. "Draco, you can't take care of him. What are you going to do, kill him?"
He just stared at her, and she felt a chill sweep through her. "I could," he said softly, and Hermione's arms tightened around him.
"No," she said fiercely, forcing him to meet her eyes. "Swear to me, Draco, that you won't."
"I won't promise that," he said steadily.
She felt panic bubble in the pit of her stomach. "You have to," she said desperately. "Draco, you can't kill him!"
"Why not?" he said mercilessly. "Wouldn't we all be better off? I don't want to have to hide our marriage, Hermione. I want to see my ring on your finger. I want other men to know that you're mine."
"I want that too," she said, fighting back tears. "But we can't. It's not just your father, Draco. What would people say?"
"When did you start caring about what people think?" he snapped.
She bit her lip. That was true--she didn't care what people thought about her most of the time. Instead she just stared up at him with anxious eyes. "Promise me," she whispered. "Promise me you won't do that. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you because of it, Draco. What if they sent you to Azkaban? What would I do?"
"They're not going to send me to Azkaban," he muttered, but his face had softened somewhat, and he absently started twisting a curl of her hair around his finger.
She rapped her fist gently against his bare chest. "That's why they send people to Azkaban, you dolt. And I think patricide would get you a quick ticket there. It wouldn't do much good for us to be able to announce our marriage if you're in prison."
He sighed. "True," he muttered reluctantly. Finally he heaved a big sigh. "Fine, I won't kill him." When she relaxed, he qualified, "I won't kill him unless he directly threatens me or you."
Hermione nodded. "That's reasonable." She stretched her neck to press a kiss to the soft underside of his jaw and smiled slightly at him. "Good morning, husband," she murmured, demurely lowering her eyes.
Draco's smile was reluctant, but it was there. He touched his lips gently to her cheekbone. "Good morning, wife."
She smiled up at him, perfectly content to lie with him. He glanced at the clock, then swore. "Damn. You need to go, honey."
Startled, she followed his gaze and saw that the clock was flashing 'You're going to get caught'. Right beneath the words the time was displayed. Swearing softly to himself, Draco rolled back over on his side of the bed so that Hermione could scramble up and put on her clothes. As she frantically searched for her discarded dress, Draco propped his head on his hand to watch her, his eyes warm.
When she couldn't find her dress, she stopped briefly to glare at him. "You could help, you know!"
"Why? I'm just sitting here enjoying the view," he drawled, and Hermione huffed at him before she got on the floor to look under the bed. Draco's smile curled as he watched her. She emerged from beneath the bed, her wrinkled dress clutched in her hand. She quickly pulled it on, then found her white robe and pulled it over her head, then clasped her black cloak around her throat. Then she skirted the bed to lean over to kiss Draco. She had planned to give him a quick kiss, worried about how long it would take her to get back to the Gryffindor common room. Instead he slid his hand into her hair to press her close as he took possession of her mouth.
Minutes later, Hermione blinked as he released her, and found that her hands were tangled in his hair, and he was looking distinctly pleased with himself. "Beast," she muttered, but her eyes were soft. "I've got to go."
"I'll fly you back," he said lazily. "I don't want you walking the corridors on your own."
She huffed indignantly at him. "I'll be fine, Draco."
He felt too mellow to snap at her, so he only said mildly, "You're my wife. That makes your safety of utmost importance to me. Indulge me."
She huffed out an impatient sigh and tapped her foot. When he appeared not to be in any hurry, she strode over to his dresser and quickly withdrew a pair of jeans and a shirt and threw them at him. He caught them reflexively, then raised his eyebrows at her. "Dressing me already, darling?"
"Hurry up," she muttered. "I don't want to get caught."
"Calm down," he said soothingly. "We won't get caught. If anything, it will be me, because I'll still have to fly back." When he saw that that thought distressed her, he rolled his eyes. Merlin's beard, the woman worried over everything. "Don't worry," he said again. "Just sit down. You're making me nervous with all that pacing. Relax, baby."
She hesitated and relented enough to stop pacing rapidly across the room. Instead she watched as Draco pulled the sweater over his head and pulled on the jeans. She swallowed hard at the picture that he made--his face relaxed, feet bare, a warm red sweater and jeans. Unable to resist, she stepped quickly toward him and kissed him fiercely. He responded immediately by closing his arms around her to press her close.
When they drew apart, they were both panting. Draco's eyes were hot, and Hermione felt a little dizzy. "We need to go," she said weakly. "Really need to go."
Draco hesitated, then nodded. He quickly shoved his feet into shoes, then drew his Firebolt out and opened his window. The cool pre-dawn air slapped him hard as he stood on the sill, and he muttered a quick curse at the chill in the air. He mounted the broom, then held out a hand to Hermione to steady her as she seated herself behind him. Her arms went around his waist to clutch tightly, and he waited a moment to enjoy the sensation. Then he kicked away from the window, thinking in annoyance that the room would be freezing by the time he came back.
He quickly looped around and swooped upwards to the Gryffindor tower. He knew her windows by sight now, and quickly stopped to hover in front of them. Hermione extricated her wand and pointed it at the lock. "Alohomora," she muttered, and they both heard the lock snick quietly open. Hermione reached out, one hand still around Draco's waist for balance, and pushed the windows open. Draco ducked his head as he floated into the room, then landed. He turned and saw that Hermione's cheeks were flushed from the cold air, and her hair was in a wild halo around her head. Her lips looked bee-stung from his kisses. She had never looked more beautiful.
When she met his eyes, she stilled from closing and locking the windows behind them. One side of his mouth kicked up into a smirk. "I can be a little later," he murmured.
Hermione smiled. "Sure you can," she agreed. "The clock was a little fast, that's all." She took a long step forward and into his arms.
*******
Pansy looked down at Sean and smirked to herself. It had been almost too easy. He had been frightfully eager for any attention that she threw his way. It had only taken a week to completely wear down his resistance. The blowjob in the closet might have added to that, she mused as she rose soundlessly from his bed. She pulled on her clothes as she looked down at the sleeping boy. So innocent in his sleep, she thought in dark amusement. So innocent in life. The poor child had been a virgin. She was stunned that he had been untouched, but it hadn't deterred her one bit. Virginity was so highly overrated, she thought in disdain. It had been a pleasure to educate him. Then her lips curled. He had caught on fast enough, she thought, pleased. Her body bore the marks to prove it. She bore a perfect set of teeth marks on her breast, and soft bruises on her hips from where he had gripped her with iron fingers. She welcomed the aches in her body.
She glanced down at him for another moment, then turned and immediately dismissed him from her mind. She threw her cloak over her and drew up the hood to hide her appearance. Hopefully no one would be awake, but if they were she didn't want them to recognize her. She crept out of the boys' dormitory and up the curving stairs to the girls' side. Now where would be little Miss Know-it-All's room? she pondered, her eyes glittering coldly from the recesses of her hood. She knew that the idiot girl would have her own room--she was a prefect. Which made it that much easier to incriminate her. The items wouldn't be mistaken for anyone but hers.
Pansy crept to one door and cracked it open. Immediately she saw that there were four girls all sleeping peacefully in the room, and closed it again. She sighed deeply. Damn. She was going to have to look in every room. Being the wife of the Dark Lord better be so worth this, she thought sourly. She made her way down the hallway, peeking into each room as she went. She was near the end of the hallway when she opened a door and saw a pile of books. She felt a spurt of excitement. She withdrew swiftly from the room and then dug in the pocket of her cloak. She pulled out a small vial of potion and uncorked it, then tossed it down her throat. She grimaced at the foul, musty taste. This better work, she thought. If it didn't, she was going to murder Blaise. She waited five minutes as he had told her, then cautiously cracked open the door again.
She crept into the room and closed the door again, peering towards the shadows that surrounded the bed. She bit her lip. The potion she had taken didn't make her invisible, just harder to see. It made her blend in with her surroundings. But if someone looked hard enough at her, they would see her. She tip-toed closer to the bed, her eyes narrowing with the suspicion that there were two bodies entangled in the bed.
She suppressed her soft gasp when she came close enough. Why that little slut! she thought in outrage, conveniently forgetting she had just risen from the bed of another man. Hermione and Draco were tangled together, both naked. They both seemed to be dozing rather than deeply asleep. Pansy fisted her hands furiously. She wanted to snatch up Hermione and slam the other girl's head against the wall. Instead she forced herself to calm. That little bitch would get hers, she thought viciously as she turned to survey the layout of the room.
Still moving quietly and checking every few seconds to make sure that the pair was still asleep, she carefully planted her evidence. Just as she tucked the key to one of Snape's tests into the pages of Hogwarts, A History, she heard someone in the bed stir. She froze like a deer in headlights, and slowly turned. Hermione had opened her eyes, and as Pansy watched in furious impotence, she rolled over to plant kisses along Draco's chest.
Pansy gritted her teeth as Draco woke to kiss Hermione. The little whore, Pansy fumed. She'd show her to infringe on Pansy Parkinson's territory, Pansy thought in malicious glee. She edged closer to the door, her eyes still on the pair who were happily oblivious to everything but one another. Pansy reached behind her to slowly turn the doorknob and open it. To her relief, it opened soundlessly, and neither Hermione nor Draco seemed to notice her. She slipped out, then closed the door behind her. Only then did she allow herself a breath of relief. Then she scowled. Bitch, she thought coldly. We'll see who wins in the end. Then she hurried down the stairs and out of the Gryffindor tower.
Minutes later she dashed up the steps to Blaise's room. He woke to her roughly shaking him, and he blinked sleepily up at her, then scowled when he saw who it was. "What the hell do you want, Parkinson?" he snapped, his voice scratchy from sleep. "Why the fuck are you bothering me?"
She stared down at him with furious eyes. "It's done," she snapped.
Blaise snarled at her. "You woke me up for that? You could have told me that later." When several other occupants of the room woke long enough to snarl "shut up", Blaise lowered his voice. "Look, Parkinson. Let's talk about this later."
Pansy lowered herself to her knees beside Blaise's bed. "Let's talk about it now," she hissed. "I just watched him kiss her and fuck that little bitch. I want to know now."
Blaise gritted his teeth. "You're a total pain in my ass, Pansy," he snarled.
She snarled back at him. "Likewise, Zambini. Now tell me. I'm not going to just follow along with your mastermind plan. I'm not your puppet."
Blaise curled his lip at her. "I don't feel like hashing this out with you right now, Parkinson. Get out of here, and we'll talk about it later."
"But--"
"Get out." The words were quiet and softly spoken. But they held a world of menace. Pansy hesitated before the danger, then rose to her feet and exited the room with all the dignity she could muster. Once she shut the door behind her, she fisted her hands. So, she thought furiously, Zambini thought she was just going to be another pawn in his little game. Well that wasn't the way it worked. Pansy was no one's pawn. Least of all Blaise Zambini's. She owed him no allegiance and no loyalty. She'd make her own plans against the usurper in Draco's bed, and she'd make her own plans against Zambini. Because no one told Pansy Parkinson what to do. She'd see him damned in hell first.
With those thoughts, a cruel smile stretched across her lips and she sauntered back up to her own room, feeling infinitely more cheerful.
Reviewers:
Dragon-femme-fatale~ Actually this isn't in response to anything you've said--yet--but I just have to say that I adore your penname. *grins* It rocks my socks. :D Anyway--to be relevant to your review--there are so many fics that get me misty-eyed. *sniffles* One of them I sat there and bawled my eyes out. *sighs sadly* It's Just Little Ginny, by Green Fairy of Doom. If you haven't read it, you must read it immediately. I wept. *sniffles again* Indeed I did.
Charli~ I know! Isn't Draco just the cutest thing ever? It makes me just want to pinch his cheeks--either pair. *coughs* Umm....stopping now.
Uh. . .I have no name~ Didn't you just love Ron? I re-read it before I posted and I was like--aww, Ron you're so cute. *cuddles Ron* hehe.
Fairylightbabe89~ Well I'm glad that you read it anyhoo, even though you don't usually read R fics. ^_^ And really, there's not that much in it to be R--at least in my opinion. But just to be safe I made it that way. :)
Krisitna~ Draco does bear quite a few similarities to Spike. *grins* Which I'm pleased about because I adore Spike. If Spike was real, I would snatch him up. :D *laughs* Are you talking about the endearment when he calls her 'pet'. If that's so--yes, that was taken straight from Spike's mouth to my story. I think it's such a cute nickname, and so I just had to include it. :)
General Author's Note:
*hugs you all* Oh, I'm so glad that everyone liked the wedding! It was a hard scene to write, because I didn't want it to be something shady, to be done in haste and without emotion. It was their wedding, for goodness' sake, and I wanted it to be special. Also, I've never been to a wedding, so it was even more difficult, as were the vows. *rolls eyes* Ye gods, those darn vows. Pain in the butt, they were. Anyway, the picture in my head of the wedding was romantic and gorgeous, and I'm glad that came through in the writing.
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Disclaimer: All characters and ideas associated with the Harry Potter universe belong to J.K. Rowling.
