PART SEVEN

The Desire to Give In

Hermione sighed. It was late…in fact, too late. She should've known Malfoy wouldn't show up tonight. And she'd wasted her whole night here waiting for nothing. She might as well have taken up Harry and Ron's offer to visit Hagrid tonight. It had been a long time since she'd paid him a visit in his hut, plus she felt kind of bad having to lie to Harry and Ron about her Head Girl duties, when all she was doing was having another session with Malfoy.

But she was just too worried about him to care. What on earth just happened? When did she suddenly become obsessed with Malfoy's welfare? Even at dinner today, when he'd left without even touching his food (goodness, she even knew that?), she'd been worried to death, wondering if he was okay or where he was going. It was just too weird now, even for her. Did being attracted come with being so concerned?

She shook her head and stood up. She was going to have to return to the common room. It was already late, and she was going to reach the student curfew soon. She didn't want another detention; that, she was sure of.

She walked to the entrance and said the password, but she gasped as soon as the doorway opened.

Malfoy was right there in front of her, leaning against Wendelin the Weird.

"Oh, god! Malfoy, what happened?" She immediately stepped back into the study, watching him as he limped his way inside as well.

"None of your business," he said, and she noticed that even his voice sounded pained. She looked at his state: his hair was tousled, his robes were a mess, and the bandage on his right hand was soaking with dried blood. Even the way he walked was injured. What in the world happened to him?

She followed him as he reached the desk and sat down on one of the chairs. He leaned against the table and buried his head into his hands, and she saw that even his left hand had bruises and a few small cuts.

"Malfoy, are you okay…?" She reached out and touched his shoulder, but he immediately shrugged it away. He looked up at her coldly and her heart wrenched, seeing the bruises on his face.

"Look, I don't even know why the hell I decided to show up here tonight, so let's just—" he stopped and covered his mouth as he coughed, and she saw even more blood. "Let's just get this over with, and fast."

Hermione didn't want to protest because she knew Malfoy meant what he'd just said. But she just couldn't leave it at that. She knew something happened, something bad happened, and she was going to figure it out sooner or later. For now, she was going to have to give him what he wanted. Later tonight, she swore she would definitely find out.

She sat down across from him and opened her book, watching as he opened his as well with his shaking hand. She winced as she saw the pain in his eyes, and her heart ached to reach out and try to ease his pain. This was too much. Seeing him suffer like this was definitely torturing her.

They both sat in silence for a while, with Hermione casting worried glances at him from time to time. Soon, she saw him bow and rest his forehead on his right hand, and she looked back at her own book. After a few more minutes, she glanced up at him again, and saw that he hadn't moved.

Hermione straightened up in her seat, looking at him warily. "Malfoy…?" she said in barely a whisper. When he didn't respond, she leaned closer. "Malfoy?" she asked again, and soon realized that his eyes were closed.

Her hand flew to her mouth, and for a split second she actually thought that he might be dead. But the steady rise and fall of his chest told her that he'd merely fallen unconscious, probably from exhaustion.

She pushed her chair back and walked to his side, kneeling down. She reached out tentatively, afraid he might wake up, and gently caressed the wounds on his left arm where the robe ended. The cuts and bruises were fresh, she could tell, but at least they had dried and weren't bleeding anymore. But still, she knew that the wounds needed cleaning, and the bruises needed tending to.

She withdrew her hand as the touch of him sent shivers through her, and for a moment she wanted to touch him again. She shook her head as her face felt hot, and she swallowed heavily. What was she going to do? She couldn't send for Madam Pomfrey or any of the professors; it was already past their curfew and she and Malfoy would be caught dead in detention again; not to mention she'd be asked a whole bunch of questions about Malfoy's condition, which of course, she didn't know herself. She couldn't call for any of her friends either, knowing that this tutoring thing was supposed to be a secret.

And she knew perfectly well that she couldn't just leave him here like this.

She took a deep breath as a decision came to her, and all at once she felt tensed again. But there was no other choice; it was all she could do.

She stood up before she could change her mind and started heading for the common room, hoping against hope that she wouldn't be seen.

***

Pain…

Too much pain…

White-hot pain…

It's all over me…everywhere…around me…

Please…

Somebody …

Help me…

Make it stop…

Let me rest…

Let me die…

In peace…

Someone…

Anyone…

Help…

…me…

All of Malfoy's senses came flooding back to him as he opened his eyes, and all at once the pain all throughout his body rushed through, making him let out a soft cry. It was then that he realized that he was lying down on something soft…a couch…specifically…the study room's couch.

And it was also then that he realized he wasn't wearing any shirt.

He immediately jerked up and the blanket covering his torso fell to his hips. A shot of electricity seeped through his veins, and he winced again.

"Thank goodness you're awake."

His eyes widened as he recognized the voice. He turned to his side and his horrors were confirmed. "Oh, sh*t! What the bloody hell did you just do?!?"

Hermione frowned from the desk and chairs, which she had pushed to one side of the room, and walked towards him, sitting down on a chair she'd pulled up next to the couch. "I just saved you, Oh Ungrateful One," she said. "But seeing how you're so thankful, now I'm wishing I should've just left you here in your condition."

Malfoy frowned. "I don't need tending to, Granger." He clutched his right hand and saw that the bandage was replaced. "And where the hell are my robes?"

All of a sudden Hermione flushed like a tomato. "I—er—had to remove them so that I could treat your wounds."

Malfoy looked down at himself and noticed the bruises on his body. He blushed at the thought of Granger having seen him half naked. Thank heavens that he was still wearing his pants.

"Anyway…" Hermione cleared her throat. "You're not all that well yet, and I haven't finished treating you. So stay still for a minute, won't you?"

He watched as she moved closer, holding up some cotton balls in her hand. He edged away instantly. "What's it to you? Just leave me alone." And he began to shuffle out of the couch.

But Hermione grabbed his arm and held him back. "Just stay put for once! You need this whether you like it or not."

He pushed her hand away. "There you go again! Damn it, why do you care so much, Granger? Haven't I told you to stop freakin' fussing all over me?"

"Will you lay off your pride for just a second???" Hermione raised her voice. "I don't care whether you're Draco Malfoy or even if you're the Queen of England! You need help and that's what matters!"

He glared at her. "What matters is that you're a filthy Mudblood and I don't need anything from you!"

At that, she raised her hand and slapped him hard across the cheek, surprising him. He stayed that way for a while—his face turned to one side—in silence.

"I can't believe that's all you ever worry about!" Hermione shouted, and he couldn't help but notice the trembling in her voice. "I…I don't know what's gotten into me these past few days, but all I seem to care about is you and your damn condition! I've been fretting about your grades and I've been worrying about you ever since you failed! And now…you come to the study and I find you like this…and I treat your wounds and do everything I can…" she trailed off. "But still all you can think about is how much of a dirty blood I am to be doing all this for you…you should be ashamed of yourself!"

Malfoy slowly turned to look at her, shocked at her confession, and saw that angry tears were flowing endlessly down her flushed cheeks.

"It doesn't matter if a person is pureblood or not, but to you, that seems to be the only thing that matters in this world," she continued, holding back a sob. "How dare you tell me that you don't need my help, when that's all I've been doing for the past weeks!" She paused, closing her eyes to let the tears fall, breathing heavily and trying to gain control over herself. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again and glared hurtfully at him, the tears still streaking down her face. "You know, I actually thought that there was a chance you might—you just might—appreciate it all. But I was very wrong." She started to sob and stood up.

But he caught her wrist and stopped her, watching as she broke down and began sobbing even more, the crystal tears flooding her eyes.

And right then and there, he leaned towards her and pressed his lips to hers.

Her eyes widened as her sobbing was forcibly stopped. She wrung her wrist away from his grasp, but his grip was just too tight. She struggled to push him away, but his other hand found its way to her back, pulling her closer to him. As soon as she felt the gap between them close, all she could think of was how this was all so wrong…but felt so right.

She closed her eyes and found her body relaxing, although her heart was still going crazy. She then felt the tip of Malfoy's tongue on her lips, and she, by instinct, parted her lips to give him way.

All thoughts of protest left her mind when she felt his tongue plunge into her, exploring her depths. She heard herself moan in pleasure as he pulled her closer, and she felt the hunger inside his mouth. Soon, she herself entered his mouth as well, and she found that he tasted…perfect.

She moaned again as he continued teasing her, and her hands automatically crawled to his bare chest, causing him to jerk suddenly and then pull away from her. She moved away, panting, blushing like crazy as she looked at him looking at her.

And then all sense of reason came rushing back into her. The first one that popped into her mind was: what had she just done?

Malfoy, too, seemed to return to his senses. He reddened and looked down. "Damn it…" he muttered.

And from the way he said it, Hermione somehow knew that he was thinking of her blood again. That was the last straw.

She stood up angrily as she began to find it hard to breathe. The air around her seemed to thicken and her sight began to blur with the brimming tears. She knew she wasn't just attracted to Malfoy anymore; there was something more than that. She knew it when they'd kissed, but it seemed like he only did that just because he felt like it, and she knew he was regretting kissing a Mudblood more than ever.

She heatedly grabbed her belongings and all the materials she had brought from the common room, her hands shaking with hurt and anger. She started marching towards the entrance when she heard a hurried shuffling sound behind her.

"Hermione, wait."

She closed her eyes and swallowed, trying not to let the fact that he'd said her first name make her stop. She continued on her way, until she felt his bandaged hand take hold of her arm. "Please listen—"

"What's there to listen to?" She turned around and looked at him through the tears in her eyes. "All I'll ever hear is how much of a disgusting Mudblood I am!"

"No, that's not it," he replied, and she saw the sincere look in his eyes that hadn't been there before. "Look, I'm sorry I said all that…I'm sorry if I hurt you, many, many times. I grew up thinking that way, and it's hard to just change that in a snap."

She jerked her arm away from his hold, but still she stayed to listen, because she couldn't help but notice a sense of helplessness and pleading in his tone. He was actually…apologizing to her…?

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I'm just really…so damn confused and I tried to keep being mean to you…I tried to keep pushing you away—but ever since our last night in detention, I've been thinking about you a little too much. And I keep having these damn questions in my mind…I didn't really want to accept it, and I don't really know why…" He leaned closer to her. "But now I do…"

Hermione stiffened as she watched him raise a finger and trace the path of wet tears down her cheeks, slowly moving down to her chin. "I know why the thought of you always seems to comfort me…" he whispered, making her tingle all over. "I know why I can't get you off my mind…" his finger continued to move down. "And I know why your presence at the Quidditch practice made me lose all the concentration I had…" She swallowed as his finger moved down to the valley between her breasts, his gaze never leaving her face. "Because you, Hermione Granger, are the most beautiful angel I have ever seen."

And she dropped all the things she was holding and closed her eyes as he claimed her lips again, this time more passionately. Her mind shouted out that she shouldn't have been fooled by his sweet words after all they've been through, but his tongue just made it impossible for her to do that. All her anger and hatred and all the hurt in her heart just disappeared as Malfoy continued tasting her, and she let out a throaty moan when his hands traveled to her hips and pulled her to his body.

Her hands found their way to his neck again and she pulled him close as well, and then she heard him make a sound into her mouth. His right hand immediately crawled up her belly and clutched her breast, squeezing it in the most erotic way she'd ever imagined. She moaned again and felt a hot wetness between her legs, a feeling she'd never felt more than ever.

Malfoy let go of her lips and she whined in protest, but was soon rewarded when he started kissing her neck. She leaned her head back to give him more skin, and she realized that his hands were slowly removing the upper buttons on her robes.

Her eyes flew open and she was just about to say something, but then Malfoy hit a sensitive spot on her neck and she heard herself groan again. She never noticed that he'd successfully rid her of her robes.

She felt him fumbling now for the buttons of her blouse, and it was then that she found the strength to speak, though weakly. "Malfoy…" she sighed. "Wait…we shouldn't…" she trailed off when he opened his mouth and started licking her skin. She closed her eyes and whimpered helplessly, entangling her fingers in his uncombed hair.

He undid the last button and slid her blouse off her, then slowly kissed his way to her ear. "I know," he whispered, his hot breath sending a tingling sensation between her legs and in her chest. "But I can't stop." And his hands cupped her breasts.

At the first touch of his warm, rough hands on her skin, Hermione finally abandoned all the remaining control she had left and succumbed to him. Right now all she could think of was the attraction she had for him…his face…his touch…his body…and the heated desire and hunger within her that she just wanted to quench so much. She leaned into his body and felt nothing more than lust, which her raging hormones just made impossible to resist. Her knees gave way when his other hand crawled down beneath her skirt and clasped the growing wetness between her legs, and they both fell to the carpeted floor in front of the fireplace, Hermione lying on top of Malfoy. He kissed her yet again, and she drowned in his taste as he rolled her onto her back.

And when he finally tugged at her skirt and exposed her underwear, pressing her against the floor, she groaned out loud in pleasure at the feel of his arousal above her, thankful, for once in her life, that the study was bewitched with a Silencing Charm.

Okay, that was the most pathetic lemony chapter in the history of mankind ever hehehe! Like I said…I don't want to offend the rating…I know, I know; it's totally unsatisfactory and bitin, but hey, it's censored :D There are a few more steamy moments in the future, though…and if I get the guts to go past the rating a little…I'll try to add a teeny bit more spice than this one hehehe…although don't expect too much, okay? :D But tell me if I'm holding it back too much or writing too cautiously. Do you guys think it's okay to really show explicit scenes here in fanfiction.net? I hate not being able to release my full lemon capabilities hehehe!!! :D