Disclaimer in Chapter One
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Chapter 11: Better NEVER Than Late.
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Hermione could feel the heat from Draco's lips against her skin. She hadn't thought about the consequences of her actions, she had just reacted to Draco's inept comments. Once again he was being an uncharacteristically blabbering idiot. She had reacted as she would have if Ron or Harry had been making a mess of things.
Feeling all the hair rise on her body made her snatch her hand back quickly, holding it to her chest as if she had been burned. Draco seemed to light up more than usual, and his eyes were shining a strange silver. She could hear his breathing quicken, a soft groan escaped his lips. His eyes shone boring into her, scaring her with their intensity. She held completely still not sure what to expect, they were locked here together, if she raised his Veela instincts could he control them? A shudder of fear ran through her.
Draco wrenched his eyes from her face and took a deep breath. Leaning his head forward he took more calming breaths, then got up from the bench and moved to the opposite side of the room panting.
"I'm sorry." Hermione stated breaking the awkwardness.
Draco turned to look at her worried face.
"Nothing to be sorry about Hermione." He took another deep breath. " I know I sounded like an idiot, I'm only thankful you stopped me before I could dig myself in deeper." A conspiratorial wink at her accompanied the words.
He shook his hands and arms like a runner before a race, and then moved across the room to sit back next to her.
"Its no wonder you are unwilling to accept being my mate. I can't even form complete sentences anymore, I would be an embarrassment to be around." He smiled a genuine smile at her.
Hermione felt a bit uncomfortable with him talking about her being his mate. Of course since they were trapped together, what else would he talk about.
"You aren't an embarrassment Draco." She muttered half under her breath.
"What was that? Granger? I couldn't quite hear you." Draco turned to her and smirked.
"You aren't an embarrassment Draco, as you well know." She crossed her arms over her chest and attempted to stare him down.
It didn't work. If anything his smile got broader.
"So I am not an embarrassment. Then I suppose it must be because I'm so deformed, hunchback and all."
"Yes Draco you're hideous that's the reason." She rolled her eyes at him, and then surprised herself by laughing.
They smiled at each other in the dark of the room for a few minutes and for the first time since coming back to the castle Hermione didn't feel uncomfortable in the least. They both dropped their eyes and sat quietly.
Silence reigned for a few minutes in the room, neither of them wanting to break it. It was finally Draco who cleared his throat and turned to her.
"Hermione I know we had our differences growing up...I was a prat. Consider who my father is." He grimaced, "but can't you try to forget all that?"
The earnest look on his face put a lump in Hermione's throat. It would be so easy if she loved him, but she didn't!
"Draco, I can't just..." She trailed off, not knowing how to finish.
"I'm not pretending that you can fall in love with me just like that." He snapped his fingers, "But can't we start over, try to be friends?"
"Draco..."
"Hermione, I don't want to pressure you, but its not as if either of us has any choice."
Hermione made as if to interrupt him.
"We don't!" He put up one hand. " I know you have been doing your studies, and I know what you will find too. I didn't think that I was going to come into my inheritance at all, and it was a shock to me when I started to manifest all the symptoms. I sat in the library for weeks hoping for some way to counteract the effects, or a cure, any way out." He shrugged.
"But I don't want to marry ANYONE." She finally blurted out.
He looked at her for a moment, his face deadly serious.
"I had no intention of turning my own life upside down, let alone yours Hermione. I wish that we had a choice, I wish that I could have done this whole thing better." He breathed a deep sigh.
Hermione didn't really know how to respond to any of it.
They sat for a few more minutes.
"Draco, I would like to try to start over, but I just can't stop my research. Do you understand?"
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"I do understand." He said seriously, trying to keep the smile off his face, it was better than he had thought. Whoever had trapped them in the room together may actually have done some good. Not as much good as he would have liked, he thought wryly, but he would take what he could get.
"I feel like I am so close. If I were able to find something then we wouldn't have to marry each other or anything." She turned hopeful eyes to him.
"Hermione, I may not have wanted to marry anyone, but now I very much want to marry you and everything that comes with that." He stopped her from interrupting and continued. " I can't separate the reasons why. I don't know even if you did cure me if I would feel differently. Right now I can't tell the difference between what I feel for you and how love without the Veela side of me would feel." He wanted her to understand that this was not something that they could just wave their wands and it would all be gone.
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Hermione didn't have anything to say to that. She had assumed that when she found the elusive 'cure' that things would be back to normal. No more marriage, mate talk. His last words put a new tack on things. She was still going to look though, and until then she supposed they would try friendship.
Friendship with Draco Malfoy? The thought should inspire fear or disgust, but instead Hermione could feel a warmth curling inside herself.
Before she knew it she and Draco were talking like old friends. Hermione wasn't sure how long they had been talking when she heard a sound from the door.
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"Do you hear that?" She had placed her hand on Draco's arm stopping him mid sentence.
He breathed in her scent and smiled. Hermione touching him, on purpose, for any reason, was enough for him.
They both sat straining their ears and finally heard it again. A click sounded in the room. Someone was unlocking the door? She tightened her hold on Draco's arm and gave him such a bright smile that for a moment he couldn't breath.
They both sprang to their feet and headed for the door.
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Ginny had finally reached South Tower and stood for a moment trying to catch her breath. She was hot and sweaty from her run. It had been a few too many years between her Quidditch training and this sort of physical activity.
She was pretty sure that Draco and Hermione would be long gone by now if they had ever come at all, but she still had to see.
She approached the door and found it closed. Touching the handle she discovered that it wouldn't turn. What was going on here? She had checked it earlier in the day and the door had been standing wide open. Blast, probably Filtch trying to keep students from using this as a trysting place. Busybody old man!
She looked closer and could see a small key still in the lock a couple inches below the handle itself. Shaking her head she took the key and pulled it from the lock.
"OUCH! Blast!" She dropped the key as it flared green and burned her fingers. She stood looking down at the key that someone had charmed. That left Filtch out. Why would someone put a spell on the key? She put her stinging fingers in her mouth and bit them lightly to stop the pain, and thought for a moment.
She was still standing thinking when the door was wrenched open, causing her to nearly jump through the roof. She put a hand to her heart.
"Ginny? What are you doing? How did you know we were locked in here?" Ginny's mouth dropped open at the sound of Draco's voice.
"I didn't know you were locked in there." Ginny hastily denied. "I was just walking by." She made walking movements with her hands. "And I heard a noise. Yes, a noise, that's what I heard. Sort of a high pitched....well in any case I didn't know you were locked in there... " She trailed off when she noticed that Hermione was standing behind Draco, both of them openly watching her struggle to make her excuses.
What did this all mean, she knew she hadn't locked them in there, together. And it certainly wasn't an accident with a key that had had a spell put upon it. Where did this leave things?
"Night Ginny." Hermione said to Ginny who was still standing completely nonplussed by the events of the evening.
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Draco had slipped Hermione's hand through his arm and she hadn't removed it. They continued talking as they had been before Ginny let them out. Small talk, words that meant very little in the grand scheme of things in their importance, but meant everything thing to Draco. There was no awkward feeling of distance between them. No taut moments fraught with uncomfortable silences. Draco could feel the blood rise with elation in him. It seemed that Hermione was truly going to try. The night couldn't get any better. He practically floated along beside her.
Now that they had things more or less sorted out between them, it was time he started courting her in his own way. Which was why he was now walking her to her door, as a gentleman would.
It took them a few minutes to reach Hermione's room, and they continued talking together. He noticed the smile on Hermione's face.
"Well here we are." He removed her hand from his arm and moved to one side. "May I walk you to breakfast tomorrow?"
Hermione blinked up at him then nodded.
"See you in the morning then." Draco turned to leave, a smile on his lips.
"Thank you Draco." Hermione's hand on his arm stopped him and he turned around to face her again.
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She would never be sure why she had decided to do what she did. She did know that she had meant only to place a small kiss of thanks against his cheek. But when she had touched his arm and leaned up on her toes he had turned to her and she found her mouth not pressed to his hard cheek but to his lips instead.
Even though the fire had flared through her when her fingers had touched the warmth of his lips earlier, it in no way prepared Hermione for the moment when her lips touched his for the first time.
His mouth was soft and the heat of his breath fanned over hers, gently he covered her mouth with his own. He brushed lightly back and forth teasing her, building a strange friction between them. She gasped aloud at the sensation that rolled over her.
Any shiver of excitement that she had felt before when she had touched him, paled in comparison to the stinging tingle of pleasure that flowed between them at this touch.
The Veela instincts roared to life between them, engulfed them both, making every thing else fade to black. There was nothing but the heat rushing from their mouths to the other points of contact along their bodies. The sharp ache in her chest made her groan a soft vibration of sound from her open lips. Draco took quick advantage of her parted mouth to deepen the kiss, and sucked her lower lip into his mouth. Suddenly they were devouring each other like starving creatures. With tongues and teeth they fought for dominance over the other.
The fury of feelings overwhelmed her and her hands clutched his sleeve, when it felt as though her knees were going to fail. Draco pulled her closer and cradled her in his arms, moving his mouth from her lips to press along her neck, sucking her salty taste onto his tongue. He breathed her into his open mouth and she could feel his lips form a savage smile against the pressure point. Her mind grappled to create some sort of meaning out of the pure sensation. Her clouded intellect was screaming at her to just feel. She gave up her last shred of coherent thought and twined her fingers through his hair.
A deep sound rose from Draco's throat making her arch toward him, closing the already minute gap between them. Pulling his head fiercely to her, she let out a sigh of utter contentment, when he groaned into her skin. His lips played along sensitive nerves of her shoulders, marking her with nips of his sharp teeth. Her spine seemed to melt and she would have fallen if Draco didn't have her trapped so firmly in his arms.
She bent her head back in supplication allowing him further access to her throat.
A sharp pain brought her back to her senses.
She had hit her head against the closed door of her room. That one moment of pain had immediately broken the connection between them. It felt as though ice cold water had been thrown on her and rushed through her veins. She shivered. What had she been thinking? She stood slightly stunned in his embrace, struggling for breath.
It only took a moment for Draco to notice her lack of participation, and he quickly released her, turning his back to the wall so they both stood side by side gasping for air like runners who had just finished a race.
Draco seemed to compose himself faster than Hermione thought possible, because one second she was looking at his flushed face and the next she was inside her room leaning against the closed door. Her hot cheek pressed against the cool of the wood, as her mind raced.
The ramifications of tonight were so far reaching she didn't even want to think about it.
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Draco had no idea what had just happened except that it was the most remarkable thing that he had ever had happen to him in his life. Hermione was certainly not the first woman he had kissed, but Merlin willing she would be the last. That was what kissing his mate was like? He had no idea how he was going to keep his hands off of her now that he knew it could be that perfect. His body was still on fire, the Veela instincts in him raging.
It took a couple of minutes of deep breathing before he could calm himself enough so that he would be able to make it back to his rooms. The majority of his thinking processes were caught up in going back to Hermione's room and finishing what they had started.
When he could think logically again, he thanked the 'self preservation mode' part of him that had the control to stop from ravishing Hermione when she had pulled away. He didn't think he had completely ruined things.
A spring in his step, he made his way towards his rooms, never noticing two black angry eyes watching him.
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Severus Snape had to close his eyes and rub them before he finally believed what he was seeing. Draco Malfoy, out of the South Tower and poncing along the hallway like he had any business doing it! He should be locked up in the blasted tower with his INFERNAL mate, Hermione Granger.
His black brows slid together to meet over his eyes. What in Hell had happened? Where was Granger? Was she alone in the room? He hadn't thought to look inside before locking the blasted thing. Damn! Damn!
One could be forgiven for thinking that the potion's master was running down the corridors of Hogwarts, (so great was his speed) if it weren't for the well known fact that Professor Snape never ran. He perhaps was moving briskly and with purpose, but never would he lower himself to the ridiculous urgency of running...anywhere. Or so he told himself as he turned on his heel and stormed his way through the halls.
The door to the South Tower was standing wide open when the Professor turned the corner. How in Merlin's name had that happened. He had charmed that key to withstand any sort of spells from inside. Someone had to have come and let them out! He could feel his fury rise. Turning to leave he heard a sound coming from the room. What?
He silently sneaked toward the door. Looking inside he saw something that made his blood boil. GINNY LUPIN! Blast her. Standing in the room with his key in her had. The key he had carefully placed in the lock to KEEP THE DOOR CLOSED!
"Colloportus!" he muttered in fury and the door slammed shut with a squelch. Serves the chit right! With a bit of a lighter heart (and step) he strode down to his dungeons for bed.
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The next morning Hermione was attempting to do something with her frizzled hair, when there was a knock on the door. With a sigh, she turned and tripped over Crookshanks, which caused her to stumble against the edge of her bed frame banging her leg. The pain made her eyes water, lowering her mood even further. Swearing silently and clutching her leg she swung the door open.
"What!" She demanded before she even saw who it was.
"I thought that I could walk you to breakfast, unless you have other plans." Draco looked past her and into her room.
She felt her face flame in remembrance of the night before, but Draco seemed to have forgotten all about it. He was standing looking completely innocuous.
Well she wasn't going to be the one to bring it up.
"Fine, let me get my wand." She shut the door in his face and scrambled around the room putting items in a study bag, then deciding at the last minute to re-comb her hair. Not that it seemed to help much. A twinge from her shin made her sit down and inspect her leg. Great there was a bruise starting. Glaring at a completely bored looking Crookshanks she grabbed her wand and opened the door again. Draco was standing where she left him. He didn't seem to be put out by her slamming the door in his face. He was smiling down at her like her best friend.
Well if he could try then so could she, she supposed.
He took her hand and settled it in the crook of his arm and they started toward the Great Hall. Draco kept up a steady stream of conversation, before Hermione knew it she had been charmed out of her bad mood. Charmed by Draco Malfoy? Who would believe that?
That morning set the pattern for the next week, Draco would show up to walk her to the great hall for meals, they would talk. The first couple days Hermione was on edge waiting for the other shoe to drop, but never once did Draco bring up the kiss.
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Ginny had decided that maybe she wasn't cut out to be a matchmaker. Of course she had had some help deciding that. Remus hadn't been amused when he had had to rescue her from the South Tower that morning. In fact he had been so intractable that she hadn't even been able to shame him into getting her way. Her "look" hadn't made any difference. He had told her in no uncertain terms that he was not going to fall prey to it ever again, nor had she been able to use to her advantage that that LOOK had been the thing that had gotten him to do the right thing and go to Harry's wedding. Harry who was practically his Godson now that Sirius was gone. None of her wheedling or pointed guilt tripping had done even an ounce of good.
Ginny loved her husband, and for all that he was a werewolf it took a great deal to get his back up. Once irritated however he was so mulish that there was nothing to be done for it but for her to give in gracefully. It had taken her a few years of marriage to realize what battles she wanted to fight and which she would let die.
It looked like Hermione and Draco were on their own. Well as far as she was concerned. There was after all still the mystery of the locked door.
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It was at breakfast a week later that five owls flew toward Hermione, each of them jockeying for position to give her their packages. What in the world? She gave a bit of a treat to each owl then set forth to open the first box, it was small with green wrapping and orange bow. She pulled on the bow string and the package popped open. Inside nestled a small box of chocolates. She looked around and noticed that the room had come to a halt and was watching her carefully.
She glared at Draco, this better NOT be his idea of wooing her. In public like this, he had offered her the friendship card and she had intended to play it for as long as they could.
She turned the card over in her hand and opened it. There in neat green handwriting she found a message that told her immediately it wasn't from Draco, and that most likely that some first year had spent the whole of his/her allowance on the offering.
Dearest Professor Granger,
You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, also I love what you have done with your teeth, very white.
Please agree to be my mate so I will stop being such a prat to all my students.
If you love me you will kiss me right now, in the great hall. In front of everyone, I dare you.
LOVE,
Professor Malfoy
She laughed and put the parcel aside. The next was a bigger box wrapped in yellow tissue and tied with a silver bow. Interesting combination.
She removed the paper and found a strange stuffed animal that resembled a blast ended skrewt. Hmm, interesting, someone's idea of romance? Or a recycled gift? There was no message, she assumed she was supposed to think it was from Draco. Not even in her worst imaginings of him did she consider he was this hopeless.
Next was a letter, on pink paper.
Dear Hermie,
Shall I compare thee to a summers day?
For thou art, at least, 2 times as fair.
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And ruffle up your frizzy hair.
With April's first-born flowers, and all things rare
And those gold candles fixed in heaven's air,
Then please believe my love's as fair
I greatly love your fluffy hair.
Your Draco
Hermie? Creative plagiarism inspired by her hair? As impossible as this whole Draco's mate thing was, this was funny! She looked around the head table to discover that everyone was looking at her and then Draco, it was clear they thought he had stepped up in his courting of her. Ginny's mouth was open and she looked surprised to say the least.
She would have given into her laughter if only Draco hadn't been glowering, his skin slightly luminescent.
She turned to the other packages and put them to the side, picked up her fork she started eating. Time to look at the rest later.
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What in Merlin's name was happening here? Hermione was getting gifts? She was smiling? Draco didn't like it. She was smiling! Why hadn't he thought of that? She was HIS!
He could feel the jealousy rise in him. He wanted to pick her up and take her away from this, and teach her to whom she belonged. That thought dragged him out of his anger and he pushed his chair back. He strode from the room to get himself under control. That was not the way to deal with Hermione, not now, not when everything was going so well.
He left the castle and walked, breathing in deeply trying to calm his Veela instincts, which were still raging in him. He took another long even breathe and counted slowly.
Suddenly something dawned on him, completely cutting through his anger, leaving him clear headed. Could this be the work of their matchmakers? Maybe 'almost' killing him, and locking them in rooms together was not enough. This brought a whole new light to what happened in the Great Hall. But wait, Oh no, would Hermione think he had sent that stuff? He had seen that stuffed skrewt. That couldn't be helpful to his case, but it was funny.
With a sigh Draco turned back to the castle and headed for his first class of the day.
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Hermione let out a long breath when Draco stormed from the room. Well we were back to that again it seemed. A moment later she was thanking her lucky stars he had left when he did because two more owls flew toward her and dropped small scrolls at her place, before winging off again.
She decided she had had enough breakfast, and enough gifts.
She grabbed up the packages and went to her room, not stopping or making eye contact with anyone.
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There was no twinkling of eyes, or benign smiles. If someone didn't know better they would have thought that Professor Dumbledore was brooding. He was sitting very quietly behind his desk, thinking.
He was never unaware of what was dong on in his school, but generally the Headmaster let things take their course, this, however, was getting to be a bit much. The whole school was in an uproar. He had had a decidedly enlightening discussion with a mischievous poltergeist this morning. And wasn't amused to hear that the general consensus was that if Draco was harmed in some way Hermione would suddenly become interested in him. Where did people get these ideas? These contrived matchmaking attempts were only going to get someone seriously hurt, or killed if Peeves had had his wish.
It appeared that some helpful hands had already been at work. Clearly it was time he called a halt to all the games. It was time for Professor Dumbledore to put his two sickles worth into this.
He popped a lemon drop into his mouth and savored the taste while he thought of what he was going to say to Hermoine.
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TBC
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A/N Thanks a million all that review. You all are fantastic. :)
Once again any spells are from the Harry Potter Lexicon, which ostensibly takes them from the books. I would not even try to be cool enough to create my own spells.