Author's Note: Hello. I am amazed I even have readers anymore because of the amount of time I make you all wait for updates. Honestly, I have been so busy what with my crazy show I'm in and what not… yada yada yada… it's just a bunch of excuses. Okay, so just to warn you, there is only one chapter after this. And then it's over. Okay, so once again sorry and thanks for all your comments on the last chapter.
Miss Mills: Yeah, that chapter was much needed. Even I was beginning to question exactly where the relevance was.
ThousandI: No no, please don't abstain from PAMS. I promise I don't mind. I was just a little confused. And thank you for your comment on my characterization of Dumbledore. He's a hard cookie to emulate.
Natty123: Wow. Thank you.
Alenor: I seriously think we are the same person… either that or you have the ability to read my mind. No, I'm afraid the lollipop Dumbledore gave Hermione was not meant to be significant, even though now I wish I had thought of something to use it for.
Perfect By Nature: Which website, just out of curiosity? Oh, don't worry about not reading in a while, just so long as you're caught up now I'm happy.
Samantha Cameron: Well, goodness. Your review made me smile to say the least. I'm sorry to elicit such hysterics.
Kaiba3: Then I'm sure you'll be thrilled with this chapter.
Elvenwicca: Goodness, thanks.
Chapter 24: ReunitedHermione was weary. The constant thinking of Draco and worry of his safety, along with regular schoolwork and managing Harry and Ron was nearly unbearable, and by breakfast the next day she felt exhausted. Three days. It had been three days since the treacherous night with Lucius and Draco Malfoy; and those three days had been the longest in Hermione's life.
She ate very little, picking at her eggs as if they were some sort of experiment rather than a source of nutrition. Harry and Ron chattered incessantly of nothing, and she did not remotely bother to pay attention. Instead, she allowed her mind to wander to the blond, gray-eyed man who had stolen her heart.
She nearly winced at the sappy romanticism of the thought. And yet, this blissful, inexplicably warm feeling of love had consumed her and even the sappiest of sentiments seemed to fit perfectly. Her Leander.
And then her thoughts suddenly veered a different direction. Yes, Leander… and his doom. She sighed and lowered her eyes even further to her eggs in thought of how to save Draco from his end. Her plan of telling him not to come had worked thus far, but it had only been one day since she had even written to him. It was very likely that he had not even seen the note yet. What else could she do?
'Well,' she thought, 'at the very least I can love him.' The thought made her smile.
She took a bite of eggs, satisfied and considerably comforted.
"Pass the salt, will you Hermione?" Harry asked suddenly, rousing Hermione from her thoughts.
She reached to give Harry the salt over the table.
"This'll be what it's like, huh," he continued as he thoroughly salted his potatoes, "after we get out of Hogwarts. Just less people…" he took a bite and continued with a stuffed mouth, "I guess I never thought about it that way."
Hermione stopped short of her fork at his comment and nearly gagged. Oh God, she was still married to Harry. It was a fact that she rarely remembered.
The flawless resolution she had had to simply love Draco seemed to have one vital flaw- her husband. How was she supposed to love Draco with her whole heart when legally she was bound to Harry? 'Of course,' she reasoned to herself, 'a piece of paper doesn't define how you feel about a person.' And yet she couldn't get away from the thought. Finally, once and for all, she had to end this marriage.
"Harry, can I speak to you?" Hermione said softly, glancing at Ron. He took the hint.
"Umm," Ron said, standing from the table, "I think Seamus owes me money. I'll see you two later."
"Seeya," Harry called. He shoveled a bit more toast into his mouth before saying, "Yeah, Hermione?"
"Do you really think this whole thing is going to work?" He looked back at her in a glazed, unresponsive stupor. "I mean," she continued, "I realize that we just keep going back and forth about it, but I really want to address it. Once and for all. Do you seriously think we can keep a marriage up after graduation?"
Harry swigged his pumpkin juice.
"Yeah, Hermione. We're best friends. That's what husband and wife are supposed to be, aren't they? I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my life with."
Hermione jerked a bit. This was going to be much harder than she had anticipated. The whole issue had never been quite so relevant before, and all their previous discussions had been in honest consideration of the other, while now Hermione felt guilty for thinking only of herself.
"See," she said gently, "that's just the thing. Wives aren't just supposed to be a person's friend. We're supposed to be more than that."
"Hermione," Harry straightened, his voice taking on the seriousness of hers, "We're not just pals. We're best friends. If that's not love, I don't know what is."
"Yes," Hermione nodded, desperation leaking into her voice, "We love each other the way we love Ron, Harry. It's not the same as the way…" She suddenly didn't know how to end the statement.
"Not the same as what?"
"Nothing. It's just not the same."
"Not the same as the way you love Malfoy?"
Hermione gasped. Of course. Harry had suspected her of having feelings for Draco for months. He had hit it right on that night they had gotten back when he had accused Draco of stealing her from him. Hermione hardly noticed that she hadn't answered.
"Hermione, you want to tell me what's going on?"
She still couldn't quite find the words, especially after being so abruptly confronted about the whole thing. There were two choices. The first, most appealing, was to deny everything, laughing at the idea. The second was to come clean and tell him everything. While this terrified her, it also gave her some relief. It would be a chance to get it off her chest and lighten the burden. And besides, what was a best friend for?
"Harry, you really won't believe what's happened…" she trailed off, desperately thinking of how to approach the incident on the roof.
"Try me." He stared ahead at her, almost daring her not to continue. After a few moments, he added, "Just start at the beginning, Hermione. What's wrong?"
"You remember the Valentine's Day Ball?" she asked hurriedly. She supposed this was a good enough beginning.
"Vaguely," he chuckled a bit, "It was, after all, a full two days ago."
It seemed like such a longer time than that.
"Well," she continued, "I told you afterwards that I had just gotten tired and gone to bed early, but I hadn't."
"I'd figured. Go on."
"When you went to get punch, I sat down by the wall and suddenly, Draco pulled me back behind some curtains."
"He didn't do anything to you, did he? Is this why you're so upset?"
"No!" she hadn't even thought of this assumption. It made her laugh a bit, "Of course not. Now, where was I?"
"Behind the curtain."
"Oh yes. Well, he informed me that Lucius Malfoy was in the building and, to protect ourselves, we tried to escape. The only place we could hide though, was in this closet out in the hall and there was a ladder in the closet."
"So, naturally, you climbed it."
"Naturally. And it seemed, for the time that we were safe…"
Now came the difficult part. The lovely moment that Draco had told her he loved her, the kiss they shared, and Lucius attacking.
"Well," she continued hesitantly, stuttering, "when we were up there…" She shut her eyes and plunged forward determinedly, holding her breath, "He told me he loved me and I told him I loved him and then Lucius came and tried to rape me again after putting him in a full body bind but then Draco got out and started fighting him off of me and then Lucius fell off the side of the roof and died, and Draco felt guilty and knew people would suspect him so he flew away and left me a note saying he would return to me but now I'm afraid for his safety because we're just like Hero and Leander."
She took a deep breath and opened her eyes, amazed that she had actually spoken coherent words. She looked at Harry, waiting for some kind of response.
Harry looked very solemn for a few moments before spluttering out laughter. Hermione gave him the most exasperated look he had possibly ever seen, sobering him a bit.
"I'm sorry, Hermione. It's just…" he fell into a laughing fit again, "Do you realize that you just fit an entire night into one breath? It sounded like you were about to hyperventilate any moment."
"Well, excuse me for spilling my guts to you," Hermione tried hard not to laugh herself, "I mean, you could have at least given me some advice before teasing me."
"Oh, what do you want me to say?" Harry took Hermione's hands over the table, still smiling, "I'm very happy for you both."
"No, you don't understand though," Hermione said, trying to regain her seriousness, "We have to get divorced because I love him."
"I know," Harry kissed her hands and put them back on the table. "I will speak to Dumbledore this afternoon. Don't worry about it."
"You're not hurt, are you? I mean," Hermione said as Harry stood, "you did just get done arguing that we'd be perfect together."
"Hermione," Harry sat again, "I've seen the way you love Draco. There is no argument."
He stood and walked to the head table, throwing her a reassuring smile on the way.
Hermione made it through one class that morning before calling it quits. Her mind was rattled and her concentration was shot. Ron was the one to suggest her going up and taking a nap before doing anything else, and, quite uncharacteristically, she took him up on his suggestion.
She made her way to her dormitory, removing her scarves and cloaks as she ascended the stairs to her room. Upon opening the door, however ready she had been to take a peaceful nap, she was suddenly in a mood that was anything but peaceful.
Her journal lay open, shining ink still wet upon the page. She cautiously walked to it, as if it was a sleeping beast, lying in wake- ready to attack. The words were even more frightening.
Tonight. Be my Hero.
Those four words were all, and her heart had nearly stopped. Tonight? Where? Only one place would fit, and there could only be one thing he had meant by being his Hero.
Panicked, Hermione gathered her scarves and cloak and ran as fast as she could down the stairs, into her common room and then down to the Great Hall, where she stopped short at a certain cubby in the wall, in which she entered into, climbed the ladder and made her way onto the windy, icy roof of Hogwarts. Noticing that it was still mid-afternoon, Hermione curled up in her cloak and closed her eyes, content with the idea of taking her nap in the place she would await Draco.
A swift whoosh awoke Hermione.
It was dark.
She suddenly straightened and held out her wand, frantically muttering "Lumos," creating a shaft of light filtering up into the sky. She wondered briefly if the sound had been made by a broom swooping low, looking for her beacon.
She waited a bit longer.
Suddenly, it seemed out of nowhere, Draco had landed and was before her, walking towards her. She was caught so off-guard that she staggered back a few steps and nearly tripped.
He laughed and ran to catch her, and she took the moment to become a bit more limp, only to be held by him a moment longer.
"Hi," she whispered, a smile broadening on her face.
"Hi."
He set her firmly on her feet and whispered "Nox," the only light now present the illuminating torches from the halls beneath them, shining through frost-covered windowpanes.
Draco's face was covered in shadows and Hermione spent a moment running her thumbs along his cheekbones and combing her fingers through his hair. She lifted her face slowly, pausing just a breath away from his lips, before pressing hers gently against his.
He pressed back, enfolding her in his arms and cradling the back of her head in his hand. Hermione pulled back slowly, breathing slowly.
"Draco," she whispered, still so close to his face, "You have to go. It's not safe…"
He lifted his finger and placed it against her lips.
"I know."
He pulled her in and kissed her again, thoroughly and passionately, wrapping his arms snugly around her waist and allowing her arms to wrap around his neck.
Hermione stroked his shoulders and neck as his lips explored hers, and as she felt his tongue push gently and then more fervently against her own. She suddenly couldn't breath and pulled her face from his, breathing in sharply.
"It's getting warm, isn't it?" she panted.
He nodded, lips upturned slightly and gazing at her now swollen lips. He stepped back, putting his arms out at his sides and said, cocking an eyebrow slightly, "Help yourself."
Hermione laughed and stepped hurriedly toward him, unbuttoning the clasp of his cloak, and allowing it to fall to the ground at his feet. She then stepped back, similarly motioning with her open arms. Draco met her, unbuttoning the clasp on her cloak and allowing it to similarly fall at her feet.
Then, after a moment, and as if on cue, they both reached for the other's tucked-in shirt, pulling it loose and simultaneously starting on undoing the buttons. Midway down, their lips caught above, and, with a bit of subconscious effort, they discarded of each other's shirts and kicked off their shoes while maintaining a solid deep kiss.
With skin exposed, their bodies seemed to magnetize to each other, and their arms were soon wrapped about each other again.
Hermione shivered convulsively and giggled, "We'll die of hypothermia, Draco."
Draco shook his head and smiled, picking up the articles of clothing and putting all of them in an organized pile in the nook of the roof they both recognized very clearly.
"You'd be surprised how effective body heat is, dear."
She laughed and squeezed his hand as she looked over their carefully made nest. Slowly, her hand moved to her own belt, slowly undoing it and pulling it loose and letting it fall beside the pile, before sliding her skirt off and adding it, shivering in the nearly unbearable cold.
Draco silently undid his pants as well, completing the heap, and smiling at Hermione as he too shivered in the cold.
"Well…" Hermione sighed, as she could feel a blush rising in her cheeks, suddenly very aware of how close to the event she was. She shuffled uncomfortably, crossing her arms over her stomach.
Draco, clearly sensing her unease, put an arm around her and kissed her forehead, stroking her hair.
Hermione lifted her face to look into his eyes and muttered quietly, "What now?"
Draco smiled and tilted her chin up towards him, closing his lips over hers once again. Hermione moved close to him, flattening her nearly naked body against his, and slowly feeling a sensation travel up her spine and fill her with a new kind of heat.
Hermione tingled. Her skin prickled and yearned in a new way and her body became frantic, her hands running over his arms and chest and around his neck again as her lips became more urgent.
As understanding as ever, Draco's hand, previously planted on her waist, slowly crept up her side, his fingers running against each of her ribs and then resting on the side of her bra. His thumb slowly moved out along the front, making first large and then slowly smaller and smaller circles until it was rubbing directly against her hardening nipples.
Hermione moaned at the contact and pressed her chest against his hand as well as she could. "Please, Draco," she muttered between kisses, her voice low and thick with lust, "Please get it off."
He nodded, and moved his hands around her back to the clasp of her bra, his eyes moving to join hers as he dropped the undergarment onto the ground. Hermione slowly lowered herself onto the pile of clothing, pulling him by the hand to join her, and flattening herself out, continuing to guide his hand to her still straining breasts.
Draco leaned over her, kissing her lips briefly as his fingers continued to stiffen her nipples, then moved to kiss her jaw and neck, moving down in steady, rhythmic presses against her skin until he was directly between her two breasts. He kissed first to her left breast, and quickly replaced his thumb with his tongue, sucking in and arousing a low moan from Hermione, whose back was arched against the stone even through all the layers of clothing.
After attending the right nipple, Draco moved down her stomach, kissing down and down until reaching the edge of her only remaining undergarments. He observed the article for a moment, looking up at Hermione, whose eyes were clenched shut and whose chest was rising and falling in pants and moans, causing the bulge between his legs to harden even further.
He dipped his fingers beneath the edge and slowly pulled them down her legs, kissing her thighs and knees along the way. After discarding his own underclothes, he rejoined Hermione, stretching himself along her and kissing her long and softly on the lips, before she opened her lips and hungrily welcomed him into her mouth, also positioning herself beneath him, nervously awaiting the act.
A revelation overwhelmed Hermione. It was not nearly the first time she had done this. So, she rationalized in these matter of seconds, why was there this hesitation and anxiousness. Because, she realized, this meant something. It was not an empty act of survival or obedience this time- it had meaning and depth and significance. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the pure feel of him at this comforting thought.
Draco pulled his face away for a moment and whispered, his lips against her ear, "I love you, Hermione." A moment later, he had filled her.
As their slick bodies ground against each other in the night, their rhythm quickening and their cries filling the air, both Draco and Hermione had the thought that never before or in the past would there be a more perfect time.
With time, they had returned to merely lying side by side, a cloak wrapped tightly around their close-fitting bodies. They faced each other and kissed once in awhile, sometimes talking, sometimes simply being silent, knowing the other was there.
"You're shivering," Hermione gathered the cloak closer around Draco, "Are you that cold?"
"No," Draco whispered, holding Hermione closer to him.
"Then why are you shivering?" she laughed, reaching up and kissing him on the forehead.
"I don't know…" Draco closed his eyes and rolled Hermione around, so that she was reclining back against his chest and his arms were crossed across her front, and he whispered in her ear, "I'm happy."
Hermione smiled and closed her eyes, nuzzling her face against his arm and falling asleep, truly and wholly happy for the first time in a long while.
End Note: Pretty please review. I'm a bit nervous- this is the first thing I've ever really written like this.