A/N: Thank you Starinthenight, MIDNIGHT-PIXIE and mish-serenity for your reviews! I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm trying for more romance, but I'm new at writing these things down. Please help me out! I'm reading other stories for help. ;) I got some kissing in though:)
A/N: I do not own Harry Potter or the characters.
"But, I'm sure I'll be fine! You don't need to call a doctor." Hermione felt odd, riding in Draco's arms. She felt that he must get tired of holding her and again struggled to get down. Draco just tightened his grip on her and his face became unreadable. Unprepared for that reaction, Hermione stopped struggling. Her face grew warm with embarrassment. "He's just trying to help me," she thought. Finally, Draco spoke.
"If you don't think a doctor is necessary, I'll perform some healing spells." Hermione nodded. His face was still unreadable. "But, I insist that you stay with me until you get better."
"That's fine." Hermione agreed. They continued to the house in silence. When they reached the stairs leading into the hall from the garden, Hermione spoke softly. "Thank you, Draco." Draco's features softened and he smiled, but continued to look ahead as they walked into the nearest room.
There, they interrupted Ginny and Blaise. Thankfully, Draco was too preoccupied to noticed their dishevelled appearance, but Hermione raised an eyebrow to Ginny and tried to hide her giggles.
"Hermione! Where have you been?" Ginny rushed to Hermione's side as Draco put her down on a fainting couch. "We were so worried about you! Well, Draco was pretty frantic," she added, seeing Hermione's look. Hermione laughed.
"I'm fine. I just…" Hermione didn't know what to say. She looked towards Draco. "I just got a bit lost, that's all."
"See?" Ginny looked to Blaise. "I knew that she would be ok." She turned back to Hermione. "But, leaving the ball to go walking in the garden! Come on Hermione!" She looked Hermione over. "Well, at least you didn't ruin your gown."
Hermione looked at herself, surprised. It was true – the edges of her gown were in perfect condition. They even seemed to glow and sparkle a bit more than before. Hermione opened her mouth to question this, but decided against it. "I can ask Draco later," she thought.
"Well, I guess now that you're back, we should head out." Ginny said. She looked disappointedly at Blaise and then back to Hermione.
"Actually Ginny, I broke my ankle in the garden so Draco is letting me stay the night – until I get better." Ginny brightened.
"Really?" She looked to Draco who nodded. "That is wonderful! I mean – that is so nice of you to do that for Hermione, Draco."
"It's really no problem. I feel responsible that Hermione got hurt on my grounds. I would hate to see her suffering at home with my 'special touch.'" Blaise gaffed at this comment, but stopped at Draco's glare. He stood up and moved towards Ginny.
"Well, if that is the case, do you mind if we retire for the night as well?" Blaise didn't wait for Draco's response as he began to led Ginny towards the door. Draco waived to them, distracted as he prepared tea in the corner. Blaise smiled brightly towards Hermione.
"Goodnight 'mione!" Blaise said with a wave.
"Goodnight Blaise. Goodnight Ginny." Hermione replied as the couple disappeared around the corner. She smiled to herself. It was good to see that Ginny and Blaise were getting along so well. She found both to be such good people and liked to idea that she would be able to spend more time around both.
"Here's some tea, Hermione." Hermione jumped when she realized that Draco was standing right next to her. He sat down on the couch with her and handed her a tea cup and saucer. "Milk and sugar?"
Hermione's heart started pounding. "Why? Have I exhausted myself to much?" Of course, she knew better. As she looked up at Draco, her stomach began to flutter to match her heart. She quickly took the tea and cleared her throat. "Yes please. Two sugars and some milk." They were produced and Hermione quickly took a sip of the tea (burning her tongue in the process). She smiled weakly at him. "Thank you."
"Of course." Draco took a sip of his own tea and stayed on the coach with Hermione. They both started around the room for a moment before meeting each other's eyes again. Hermione stared into his steel grey eyes. She felt herself being pulled toward him – toward those eyes. The were so caring, so calm, but underneath there was something else. Something he was trying to repress. Something…
"Ahem." Hermione was startled. Her face was just a few inches away from Draco's. His eyes were closed and she noticed that he was breathing quickly. She straightened and turned towards the intruding person. A small house elf looked up at her. He was an older house elf, one that processed an amazing about of confidence.
"Yes?" Draco asked. His eyes were still closed, but Hermione noticed his fist was clenched on the couch.
"Miss' room is ready sir." The house elf bowed. "Does master need us to bring her upstairs?" Draco opened his eyes and looked at the elf.
"No. I will take her myself." The elf nodded and disappeared. Draco looked again at Hermione and stood up, a bit awkwardly. "Are you ready?"
"Um, sure." Hermione put her cup of tea on a nearby table. Draco reached down and lifted Hermione up again. She rested her arms around his shoulders for better support as they headed into the hall. As they moved through the hall, Hermione noticed a mist that followed them to the staircase. Above the mist, the ceiling turned into a night scene with beautiful constellations and comets. The candles were put out behind them and the great hall went to sleep.
Ahead of them, candles lit to guide Draco through the halls. Portraits of family stared down at them; some smiling and waving hello, other grumpy and trying to sleep. Hermione found this group of portraits interesting. It was obvious that not all of these people were Malfoys – some must be Carneys. At the end of the hall, Draco came to a set of double doors. Across from the door was a picture of a women. She was seated in front of the Carney Estate and looked quite regal in Hermione's mind. Her dark brown hair was pinned back into a loose bun and her green gown was modest, but showed her beautiful figure. Most noticeable to Hermione was that she held her wand in her lap. Hermione guessed that the portrait was very old- maybe from the time of Rauma and it was very odd for women to be shown with their wands.
"Who is that, Draco?" Hermione asked before they could enter the room. Draco looked to where Hermione was pointing. The women smiled warmly at Draco, but didn't say anything.
"That is Rauma, my ancestor. She was a very powerful witch and cast most of the protection spells around this estate." Then entered the room. "This was her private room." Hermione looked around.
The ceiling was enchanted to show a clear, starry night. A fire was lit in the marble fireplace in the corner and a fire screen in front of the fireplace sparkled with green emeralds. A reading chair was nearby with a great bookcase close to that. On the other side, a large, canopy bed was placed. A silk, deep emerald quilt covered the bed while light green and white sheets and pillows were beneath it. The canopy above the bed was a very light green sheet of silk. A window next to the bed let in the soft moonlight and Hermione could hear the running of a nearby river.
Draco set Hermione down on the couch by the fireplace and went to the bed to get it ready for her. Hermione looked at a book that was left on a nearby table. "Secret Magic Passages in Muggle England." Hermione smiled as she looked at the author, "Hermione Granger." She had written the book as part of her doctorate thesis at university. It was very well received in the magical community and gave Hermione a sense of pride at being able to combine muggle and wizard histories.
Hermione looked up from her book to see Draco staring at her. Again, she could see something in his eyes; something she could not understand. The look made her feel nervous; it made her stomach flutter and made her want to feel him – to make him understand that everything is ok. Draco walked toward her and she could feel a bond building with him. Not a normal connection, but something else – something she couldn't describe. Her heart began to beat faster as Draco stopped in front of her to pick her up. As he bent to pick her up, his head came close to her neck and she felt his breath on her skin. It was warm and gave her goosebumps of pleasure. Hermione inhaled and smelled Draco's cologne. It was a combination of woodsy and musk. Hermione began to feel as if she was getting lost in Draco's presence. She felt herself being picked up and brought to the bed. Draco laid her on the bed and helped her take off her shoes. He then began to lift up her gown. Hermione was startled.
"What are you doing?" Draco stopped and looked at her, surprised at the outburst.
"I need to examine you, remember? You didn't want the doctor, but I still want to be sure that you are ok.." He looked a bit flustered, but pressed on. "I need you to change into some night clothes so I can look at you better. You can do it yourself," he added hastily, "but I need to look at you before you go to sleep."
"Oh. Ok." Hermione looked around. "Where are the night clothes?"
Draco walked towards a wardrobe. "Here is a nightgown. Will it work?"
"Yes, thank you." Draco turned around as Hermione moved to get out of her dress. Finally, she had to ask., "Draco, can you please unzip my dress?" Hermione felt her face go red.
"Of course." Draco came over to the bed where Hermione was sitting up. He was in front of her and sat down facing her. Hermione's eyes widened as his face came closer and closer and closer… and then moved to the side as he put his arms around her to unzip her dress. Her face was against his chest as his hands felt her back for the zipper. He touched her shoulders and followed the neck of the dress down to the zipper in the middle of the back. Then, slowly, he began to unzip her gown. Hermione's heart was racing at this point as she felt his fingers touching her back to separate the material as the zipper came undone. When the zipper reached the bottom, Draco's fingers lingered for a minute on her bare skin. She could felt his rapid breath on her neck as he turned his face into her. His hands moved back up her back and she felt her hair being moved from off her shoulders.
A soft moan escaped her lips as Draco's lips came into contact with her skin. He gave her gentle kisses on her shoulder as his hands moved over her shoulder and up to her head. He turned her head toward his as his lips moved from her shoulder up her neck. Hermione closed her eyes and leaned back on the bed, lost in the pleasure. Draco followed her and finally his lips met hers.
Hermione had never had a kiss like this one before. As their lips came together, Hermione suddenly felt as if she could not have enough of him. Her lips parted and Draco's lips pressed against her as his tongue explored her mouth. She moaned and gasped and pulled Draco closer to her; not getting enough of him. Draco was now on top of Hermione and she could feel the weight and warmth of his body. Hermione moved her hands down his back and lightly scratched him as he sucked on her lower lip and moved again down to her neck. Each kiss left Hermione's skin with a tingle and an addiction for more – for him. She brought his face up again to kiss his wonderful lips. Draco complied and again they had a series of whirlwind kisses.
Breathing heavily, Draco stopped and looked into Hermione's eyes. She smiled at him and kissed him gently on the lips. He relaxed and kissed her again; first lightly and then with more urgency. He pulled away again. Breathing deeply, Draco stood up. Hermione looked at him confused.
"I'm sorry Hermione. I don't want to start anything like this. I want you to know that you mean more to me." Draco looked down at her guilty.
Hermione smiled. "I understand." Draco nodded and began to leave the room. Hermione bit her lip, wanting to call him back to her. As he reached the door, she saw Draco pause. Hermione held her breath, but didn't say anything. Draco opened the door and exited the room, leaving Hermione with an overcharged libido.
Hermione left out a deep breath that she had been holding. Her body was shaking in sexual anticipation, but nothing more was to come. She smiled and touched her lips where Draco had kissed her. She began to undress from her gown and felt her stomach flutter as she touched her back where Draco had. Finally, she got into the nightgown and laid down for the night. She turned off the light and feel into a deep sleep, dreaming of those minutes with Draco's body against hers.
A/N: All right! They are getting it ON:) HEHEHEHEHE! I hope you liked this scene! It's my first kind of kissing/love scene so please let me know how it's going!