A/N: Please remember as you read this chapter that there is a reason it is rated "R" (hint hint) The end of this chapter does contain scenes of sexual content so anyone uncomfortable with that, please skip the final section (started by )
Chapter 12: A Halloween to Remember (part two)
Ginny joined Hermione in the Head girl's dorm room to get ready for the party together. Ginny had bought a beautiful dark sapphire colored gown. It was a modest cut with a fitted bodice and slightly off the shoulder and flowed gracefully down to the floor. She had piled her bright red hair up on her head in an elegant French twist-type do. Hermione had decided to pull her hair up slightly as well, after performing a straightening charm on it to make it more manageable. She placed it in a very loose clip at the upper back part of her head so that it was hanging dramatically in ringlets that Ginny had very kindly added to it for her. She left a few stray ringlets in the front of her hair as well, so that they fell sweetly around her face. Hermione's "perfect gown" was a deep crimson. Hers too was off the shoulder, the bodice of it in a deep velvet that hugged her upper body to just below her chest. From that point, the fabric turned into a shimmery satin, flowing down to about two inches past her feet (so that it was hanging on the floor slightly, but she wasn't wearing her shoes at the time either). Both girls applied a simply amount of makeup, just to accentuate their natural glows. Hermione finished off with a coating of deep red lipstick, to match her beautiful gown. Ginny waved her wand over herself and Hermione muttering some charm that Hermione hadn't heard and instantly both girls were covered in a soft and subtle sparkle. Hermione grabbed her long silvery gloves that came with her gown and slipped them on. When both girls were finally ready, they donned their magical masks (which were charmed to fit perfectly to their faces without having to hold them in place--after all it was Halloween so of course there would be masks right?) and made their way down to the main staircase leading to the Great Hall where all the girls were gathering. The prefects had decided that the girls would enter individually while the guys waited patiently inside the hall. Ginny and Hermione decided to walk down together and as they entered through the double doors they heard a collective gasp from most of the boys waiting inside. They were about 10 feet inside the hall when someone wearing a black and deep blue suit with raven hair came up and offered his arm to Ginny. It wasn't hard to figure out who it was so Hermione simply smiled at the loving couple as they moved off to go dance. Hermione walked over to the punch bowl and poured herself a cup, wondering silently when Draco would notice it was her. As if he could read her thoughts, she suddenly felt two strong arms slide themselves around her waist and felt the warm breath on her neck.
"You look radiant tonight, my love." Draco whispered in her ear and kissed her delicately on the cheek before turning her around to face him. He held his hand out to her and she took it, allowing him to lead her onto the floor where everyone was dancing. It had to be obvious who he was, even with the mask on. Not very many, in fact there were no other boys in the whole school with his hair color. Immediately, Hermione heard people whispering about Draco and wondering who he was with. They could tell she obviously was not Pansy Parkinson, the pug-faced girl with the short jet black hair, and it seemed strange to everyone that Draco Malfoy was there with anyone else but her. Ginny, however noticed the couple straight away and rushed to Hermione's side, grabbing her arm and muttering something about needing to talk to her right away. Ginny pulled Hermione over to a secluded spot near the refreshments and gave her a serious look.
"Hermione Granger, please tell me what in the bloody hell you are doing with him?", Ginny spat at her, pointing across the room towards Draco, who was now talking with a black boy about the same height, who Hermione recognized as Blaise Zabini…a good friend of Draco's who shared the same views as the rest of the Death Eater wanna-bes. Hermione gave her friend a questioning look when she suddenly remembered that no one, including Ginny, knew about her and Draco. Ron and Harry knew a little from over the summer but they didn't know that the two were dating now. Hermione sighed heavily and realized that she may as well tell her friend everything since it would all be revealed later that night when everyone de-masked.
"Ginny, okay, listen. Draco and I are dating. Shh! No one knows yet but everyone will at the end of the night because we've decided that it was time to let our secret out." Hermione said quietly, just in case anyone was listening nearby. "We got to know each other over the summer. You know he's not that bad. You also know that he's a member of the Order now so why are you making such a big deal about it?"
"Because, 'Mione. Just because he's "one of us" now doesn't change who he is. He's still MALFOY for crying out loud! What about everything he's said and done to you over the past six years? How can you forget all that?"
"No, Gin, I haven't forgotten. But you guys don't know him the way I do. If you just gave him a chance to make it up to you guys I'm sure you'd see him like I do. He sincerely feels awful for everything that he's done in the past and I've forgiven him for it. Please, Gin. Please just trust me on this one okay?" Hermione asked her friend pleadingly. Ginny looked at her friend for a few moments and then finally she sighed and gave Hermione a hug.
"Alright, 'Mione. I'll take your word for it for now. But I swear, if he ever hurts you I'll kill him." The girls giggled and then went back over to the other side of the room where Ron and Harry were sitting and talking about what else…Quidditch. They joined the boys and began talking and laughing like old times. Draco looked over at the group and caught Hermione's eye. He nodded towards floor where everyone was still dancing away and she nodded her head and got up from the table, telling everyone she'd be back in a few. Ginny gave her a wary look and then smiled and returned to her conversation with Harry and her brother. Hermione joined Draco on the now crowded dance floor and allowed him to put his arms around her and pull her close. The slow song that was playing ended and a more up beat tempo began. Draco twirled Hermione around the dance floor dramatically, causing the two of them to become the object of everyone's conversation. Draco twirled her again towards him and elegantly dipped her slightly backwards and back upright again, ending it with a small kiss. Another slow ballad began but before the couple could move, a hand gently touched Hermione on the shoulder. She turned around to find herself looking into the piercing green eyes of her best friend. Smiling at her, he calmly asked her for a dance and, looking at Draco who nodded, smiled back at Harry and graciously took his hand. Her arms found comfort around her friends neck as he slipped his arms around her waist.
"You look beautiful tonight Hermione." Harry whispered to her quietly. And even quieter still, "It's a shame that you are here with him though."
"Harry, I'm surprised. I thought that you had gotten over all that crap from the last six years? I thought that you were alright with Draco by now." Hermione replied.
"I am over it and I am alright with him. Its just that I'm still not thrilled with the thought of you two being so…close."
"Why Harry potter….dare I say that you are jealous?" Hermione asked, giggling innocently. "And here I thought you were getting "too close" to a certain best friend's little sister?"
"Gin and I are just friends now, 'Mione. I thought you remembered that we broke up about a month ago. We decided that it was just a bit too strange seeing that we've known each other for six years and she was always like my little sister. Besides, I thought you were supposed to be the smart one. I cant believe you never picked up on my true feelings."
Hermione couldn't speak. She just looked at her friend curiously. His brilliant emerald eyes were sparkling and she could tell what he was thinking about. It was true, up until the middle of fourth year, she'd always believed that Harry had feelings for her but then those thoughts seemed to vanish when Ron came into the picture more. Sure, she had always had feelings for Harry as well but they were never really acted upon because she never wanted to cause any problems. She hadn't really even thought about those feelings in the last year because of everything that had been happening in their lives…what with Dumbledore's death, the fight at Hogwarts the end of the previous year, her non-existent relationship with Ron and now all the feelings that were going between her and Draco. But in the last few moments, it seemed like all the thoughts she'd had towards Harry all came spiraling back into her mind. She couldn't be right though, Harry wasn't really saying what she thought he was saying…was he?
"Um what exactly are you saying Harry?" she asked her friend cautiously, not wanting to be too presumptuous. Harry's eyes seemed to smile back at her from behind his own deep green mask. She'd always loved how his eyes seemed to sparkle when he was happy.
"Would you like to join me for a walk, Hermione? Perhaps we could talk about some things." Harry asked, pulling away from her and motioning towards the doors. Hermione nodded and walked with Harry out the Great Hall doors and then again through the front doors and out into the grounds. The walked towards the lake slowly, neither really speaking or looking at each other. They finally stopped walking and sat down on a large rock by the waters edge. They continued to sit in silence for a few moments, both looking out over the calm water. Finally Harry broke the silence.
"'Mione, you know that you are my best friend. I would never want to lose that friendship for anything. I cant bear to think what my life would be like without you." Harry said, turning to look at her. She seemed to be glowing in the soft moonlight reflecting through her golden brown locks. The water seemed to be reflected in her honey colored eyes, making them seem deeper and more sensual.
"Harry, you would never lose me, you know that." She replied, still questioning the real reason her friend brought her out here on this little excursion. While, sure, she was happy with her new relationship with Draco, she couldn't deny that she still loved Harry. But she had always assumed that he only thought of her as a friend or a sister.
"Ever since the issue between you and Ron last year, it's made me think about things. I never said anything before because I knew how much Ron liked you and I didn't want to intrude. He is my closest friend after all. Now that whole mess seems to be over with, I felt the need to finally tell you how I really felt all these years, 'Mione."
"And exactly how do you feel, Harry?" Hermione asked curiously, deep down hoping that he would tell her what she'd been wishing he would since third year.
"I like you Hermione. I mean really like you, not just as my best friend. I could say that I even love you, but given that we've never tried to look at each other as more than friends, I don't feel like I should call it that yet. I've felt that way since I saw you petrified our second year. Ever since that moment when I saw you lying in the hospital wing, I knew that I could never live without you in my life. I backed off though because I saw the way that Ron looked at you. And then in fourth year I noticed the way you looked at him so I never said anything. But now, I feel that if I don't say something, I might never get another chance and with everything that has happened in the past year, I don't want to go through whatever time I may have left knowing that I never told you."
At that moment, all Hermione could do was smile. All of her thoughts about Draco seemed to escape her mind as Harry poured out his heart to her, telling her the words that she'd wanted to hear for so long. Sure, she loved Draco, but she'd only really and truly known him for a few short months. She'd loved Harry for years and now she was learning that he returned those feelings.
"I have a confession to make then too, Harry. I feel the same way. I've loved you since our third year but I never thought you felt anything for me more than a friend or a sister so I just let it go. You're right, I couldn't imagine my life without you in it either." Suddenly, she was cut off by Harry's lips on her own. The feeling was magical, exactly how she'd always imagined it would be. She felt his arm wrap around her pulling her closer as their kiss deepened and she reached her hand up instinctively and cupped the side of his face. All conscious thought seemed to leave her as they sat there embracing each other. They parted and looked into each others eyes, as if they were seeing each other for the first time. She leaned her head on his shoulder as the two sat there looking out over the water again, simply enjoying the night. After what seemed like hours, Harry got up and, taking her hand in his, they made their way back up towards the castle.
They were about halfway to the front steps when suddenly Draco flashed back into her mind. She had been so caught up in the night's events that she had some how completely forgotten that they were supposed to announce to everyone that they were together. She stopped suddenly.
"Oh my god." she said, startling Harry.
"What is it?" He asked.
"Draco. How could I have forgotten about him?"
"What? What about him?" She remembered that Harry still was unaware of what was going on between her and his once enemy. She couldn't hide it, she had to tell him.
"Well, we sort of started seeing each other again. The night before we went to the ministry we talked about some things and decided to try. We were going to show everyone tonight at the unmasking." She suddenly began crying and sat down on the front steps. What was she going to do now? She really loved Harry, but she also had feelings for Draco and Draco had feelings for her as well. She didn't want to hurt Draco but she really wanted to see how things would work out with Harry since she'd had feelings for him for so long. Harry sat down beside her and put his arm around her shoulders.
"I'm sure he'd understand, 'Mione. I mean, you two have only really known each other for a few months right?"
"You're right Harry. I just really didn't want to hurt him. He's been hurt so much for so long. I need to go find him and talk to him. I'll see you tomorrow okay?" Harry helped her to her feet and nodded. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. She turned from him and rushed back into the castle to find Draco. She only hoped that he would understand but she had to be with Harry. If she didn't see how it would work then she'd be wondering about it for the rest of her life and that wouldn't be fair to anyone she was with. Little did she know, however, that Draco had been looking for her after she had left with Harry and had walked outside just in time to witness their kiss.
She ran towards the Great Hall looking around desperately for the blond hair. She couldn't see him anywhere so she hurried over to where Ginny and Ron were sitting. Ron looked at her innocently and winked at his sister. They both knew that Harry was planning on telling Hermione his feelings tonight and both were excited for him. Ron had gotten over Hermione and was trying to hook back up with his ex-girlfriend Lavender and Ginny had been eyeing some cute Ravenclaw seventh year.
"Hey 'Mione…how's things going?" Ron asked, smiling excitedly. They had seen Hermione and Harry leave the hall together an hour before.
"Um well ask me in the morning Ron. Have either of you seen Draco by chance. I need to talk to him about something." Ginny looked at her best friend and comprehension struck her. She had forgotten that Hermione had told her that she and Draco had started seeing each other. And she was sure that Harry had taken Hermione somewhere to tell her about his feelings.
"I think he left awhile ago Hermione. Yeah, about half an hour ago I think." Ginny told her, giving her a sympathetic look.
"Thanks. Look, I'll see you guys at breakfast…I need to go find Draco." Hermione said, rushing across the hall and out the double doors. She ran up the stairs, hoping that Draco was in their common room, but as she got there and muttered the password, completely breathless, she found that the common room was empty. She hurried down the short hallway to his room but found that he was not there either. She had to find him so she ran back to the portrait hole and climbed back out. She had just started around the corner into the corridor outside their rooms when she ran right into someone. Looking up, she saw it was Draco. The look on his face was of a cross between hurt, anger, and annoyance.
"Oh Draco, I've been looking for you. Where have you been?" She asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible. He glared at her and walked right past her, not even answering her question, and right through the portrait to the heads dorms. Following him curiously, she heard the door to his bedroom slam shut, rattling the entire dorm. She knew he was angry about something and that it was probably best to let him cool down but she had to tell him about her and Harry and it couldn't wait. She tossed off Harry's cloak which was wrapped around her since he'd given it to her outside because of the cool night and proceeded down the hallway and knocked on his door.
"Draco, please can I come in?" she asked timidly to the closed door. She waited a couple minutes and when she didn't hear anything she knocked again, louder this time. "Draco please. I need to talk to you." This time she heard footsteps from behind the door and suddenly the door flew open, showing a still very upset looking Draco still wearing his black pants and black silk shirt he'd worn to the party, but his shirt was now untucked. His silver tie was undone now and hanging loosely around his neck and the first few buttons were undone on his shirt showing off the upper part of his well defined chest. His hair was hanging in his eyes and he had a half drunken bottle of fire whiskey in his right hand.
"What do you want, Granger?" he asked, accentuating her last name. "Come to humiliate me some more or just to throw your new boyfriend down my throat?"
His words struck Hermione like she was being slapped in the face. How could he have known? Then it suddenly dawned on her. He must have went looking for her when she left with Harry. Oh my god, she thought to herself. He saw us.
"Listen Draco…please can we talk for a minute?" She asked softly. He looked at her for a moment, pushed the door open wider and walked back to the bed, throwing himself on the pillows. She entered his room, cautiously because she'd never seen him this way before and to be honest it scared her, and pushed the door so that it was almost closed. She walked hesitantly to where he was lying on the bed and slowly sat down beside him.
"Look, you know I love you, Draco…" Hermione began but was cut off.
"You love me? You don't love me. If you did then you wouldn't have snuck out of the party with Potter to go have a little make out session by the lake." Hermione looked down at her hands. He had seen them. She never wanted to hurt Draco, she really cared about him.
"I do love you. It's just….I'm just…confused. I don't know what to do right now." She said softly. She did love Draco, she wasn't lying about that. But she loved Harry too, and she'd loved him for much longer. She couldn't just walk away from that….she needed to see if the feelings were true. But she really didn't want to lose Draco either. " Harry asked me to go for a walk. He told me he loved me, that he'd always loved me. And I've loved him since third year, Draco. I've tried to get over it. I never in a million years imagined that he'd actually returned those feelings. I just don't know what to do now." She started crying softly. "I don't want to hurt you, I'd never want to hurt you Draco."
"Don't." Draco said quietly through clenched teeth. "I loved you so much. I risked everything for you. I turned my back on Voldemort for a second time…FOR YOU! I KILLED MY OWN DAMN FATHER! And it was all for YOU!" He was standing up now, yelling at her with his back towards her…not able to look at her. He had never felt so hurt and betrayed in his entire life. Here was the first person he'd truly opened himself up to. The first person he'd truly loved and how did she repay his love? By running off with fucking Saint Potter.
Damn Potter, he thought. He's always getting in my way. He's always flaunting it in my face how he has so much more than I do. True friends, something I've never had. And now he's taken away the only person I've ever completely trusted…the first and only person I've ever loved. Well not this time. HE'S NOT TAKING HERMIONE FROM ME!
He calmed himself down for a moment and turned around to look at Hermione who was now holding her face in her hands and sobbing loudly. He walked back over to her and grabbed her hands, pulling her up to him. He let go over her hands and placed his hands on her shoulders, pulling her even closer. He looked deep into her now bloodshot eyes and kissed her deeply and hungrily, trying desperately to show her just how much he loved her. How much he wanted her….needed her. After about a moment, he realized that she was not kissing him back. He pulled away from her slowly, feeling the sting of tears swelling up behind his eyes. He couldn't cry….he never cried. Looking deep into her eyes, he felt a lone tear escape his eyes and trickle slowly down the side of his face.
"Please, 'Mione." He pleaded with her quietly, still looking deeply into her honey eyes. "Please don't leave me. I need you. I love you so much. I don't want to lose you again."
It was at that moment, looking into his eyes as he pleaded with her not to leave him that she realized just how much she loved him. She loved Harry so much, but something about this was different. It was as if her entire being was breaking just watching him cry…because of her. When she had rushed back up to their dormitories, she thought she'd been so sure about what she was going to do. She was going to tell Draco that she was going to try things with Harry, that she had loved harry for so long. But at that moment, looking deep into Draco's eyes, which were now spilling over with the warm tears of hurt, she couldn't do it. She didn't want to leave him. She wanted to hold him, to have him hold her close and never let go. She wanted to feel every inch of his body as it wrapped itself around her own. She wanted to show him every fiber of her soul, every ounce of the love she felt for him. She had made her choice right then and there, that she would stay with Draco because, and it was a strange feeling, it felt like it was where she truly belonged. She flung her arms around his neck and pulled him closer to her.
"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I don't want to lose you either." She mumbled into his shoulder. She couldn't believe that she was about to throw this away, all after a single kiss from another man. "I love you so much." She pulled away from the embrace and kissed him passionately. As he began kissing her in return, she felt something ignite inside her.
Like a hunger that she'd never experienced before. She pulled him back towards the bed, never breaking the kiss, and they both sat down on the edge of his bed. Kissing passionately and hungrily, like they'd never kissed before, Hermione found herself fumbling with the buttons on his silk shirt. Unbuttoning the last button, she found herself pushing it off of his shoulders, revealing his bare chest. Breaking the kiss, Draco began kissing down her jaw line to her neck, his hands finding their way on instinct to the zipper on the back of her dress and pulling it down. Sliding his hands up her arms to her shoulders, she allowed her head to fall back as he continued to kiss her neck and shoulder hungrily. He began to slide her dress off of her bare shoulders, revealing her black strapless bra, covering her soft breasts. Kissing along the tops of her breasts, he slid the dress the rest of the way off of her arms, pulling her gloves off as well. Pulling her up off of the bed for a moment, he kissed his way back to her mouth, sliding his tongue in deeply and allowing the gown to slide the rest of the way off her toned body. Breaking the kiss, Hermione stepped out of her dress and kicked it to the side. Not taking her eyes off of his and breathing heavily, her own hands found the buckle on his pants and fumbling for a moment undid the buckle and the button on his pants, sliding them slowly off of him. Wrapping his arms around her soft, toned, body and pulling her into him, he kissed her again passionately, and almost motionlessly, stepped out of his own pants leaving him in nothing but his black silk boxes detailed with silver dragons. Holding onto her back with one arm, he gently guided her back onto the bed and inched themselves up to the pillows, Hermione's golden locks sprawling beautifully over his deep green pillows.
Draco pulled himself back slightly to gaze at the beautiful sight below him. Her body was exquisitely beautiful. Not too thin, nicely toned in fact. He leaned down and began placing light kisses up her body, from her waist to her shoulders. He watched her as she closed her eyes, sighing softly in pleasure. He reached behind her and unhooked her crimson colored bra and slid it from her body, revealing her soft, ample breasts. They were perfect sized…not too little but definitely not too big. He licked lightly down between the two of them, rubbing his hand over the right one gently caressing her soft skin, feeling her shudder slightly from his touch. Taking her left nipple in his mouth, he gently sucked on it, making it erect into a hard tip, pulled back and blew slightly causing her to shudder and moan softly and then turning to the other one and repeating the same process. Draco kissed his way back up her chest, placing his body on hers gently. Looking into her deep honey colored eyes, which were now full of pleasure and love and excitement as well as a little fear, he kissed her soft lips gently, probing at her lips with his tongue, requesting entrance. Hermione parted her lips slightly and felt his tongue invade her mouth, massaging hers gently. As their kiss deepened, their tongues fought for dominance. He cupped her cheek in his hand, continuing the kiss while his other hand slid softly down her body down to her hips where her silky panties rested. Her hand, following his lead, slid its way from his neck down to his waist as well and rested on the border of his boxers. She moaned softly, feeling his arousal against her warm entrance through her panties. Hermione used her hand to gently push down his boxers, his hand taking over after she reached the end of her arm length. They continued to kiss and rub their hands on each others bodies while Draco allowed his hand to push her own panties down and off of her silky legs. After throwing the undergarments aside, he pulled his deep green satin comforter over their naked bodies and snuggled down beside her, but still half on top of her. Propping himself up slightly on one elbow to help keep his balance, but never breaking their kisses, he allowed his hand to explore down her body, sliding gently and lovingly over her soft breast, her trim stomach and down her upper thigh. His hand then slid between her legs, rubbing her warmth gently (which he noticed was almost completely hairless…he loved that feeling). Licking his finger slightly, he rubbed her sensitive spot teasingly as she moaned in pleasure from this new feeling. Smiling, he kissed her again more deeply as he slid his finger slowly deep inside of her, hearing her cry out softly in pleasure. He continued to probe deep inside her gently, then inserted another finger into her now wetness, caressing her inner walls, loosening them for his entrance. She sighed heavily and moaned deeply in pleasure.
"Are you sure you want to do this baby?" He whispered to her, knowing that she was a virgin and wanting to be fully sure that she was ready. She smiled at him and nodded her head. "I love you" they both whispered at the same time. Draco propped himself up on top of her, his arousal feeling her wetness and sitting at her entrance. Draco leaned his head down kissed Hermione passionately as he plunged slowly into her for the first time. She cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure as he broke through her wall. She had always heard that it hurt the first time but she never realized how much it would hurt. She felt the tears swell up in her eyes and gasped in pain as he slowly began sliding in and out of her. The tears slid softly down her cheeks as he stopped for a moment, asking her if she was alright and if she wanted to stop. She shook her head…she didn't want to stop. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck as he continued to probe deeper inside her with every thrust. After a few minutes, the pain finally began to subside and Hermione was struck with an immense feeling of pleasure.
"Oh, Draco…" Hermione moaned deeply as he sped up his thrusts.
He thrust into her deeply and lovingly, both of them moaning pleasurably. She ran her fingers into his blond locks, pulling him down to her, and kissing him deeply. She felt herself getting closer to her peak and she wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, forcing her deeper into her wetness, her moans becoming in sync with his deep thrusts. She cried out his name as she felt her orgasm and came with a shudder as he continued to plunge deep inside her, moaning her name in his own orgasm moments later as she felt his warm seed fill her. He slowed down his pace for a few moments, both breathing heavily and rapidly. He finally stopped movement, pulling out of her very gently and collapsing heavily beside her, wrapping his arms around her sweaty body and pulling her close to him.
"I love you Draco." Hermione whispered through her shallow breaths.
"I love you too, 'Mione." Draco whispered back, kissing her forehead lovingly. He pulled her closer and she rest her head into his chest and closed her eyes happily. She'd never felt as happy as she did in that moment. She drifted off to sleep in his arms. Draco leaned his head on hers and kissed her forehead again softly, feeling his eyes get heavy with exhaustion. He finally closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep, holding her close into the night.