Draco
The forest
May 1998
For months, each night, Draco would have the same dream. The scene could be different, but she was always there. His arms around her, the touch of her finger tips over his jaw, her honeyed eyes looking at him as she used to.
Waking was an act of torture. They felt so real, so much that he swore he could feel her against his skin for seconds after blinking away the dream.
That morning was different, though. The dream had bled into reality. Despite it being nearly improbable for it to be true, she was there, held tightly in his arms, her hair brushed lightly against his face. He filled his lungs with her.
The events of the past twenty four hours still did not make any sense. He was beyond confident in the memory charm he cast a year prior, but something about it had failed.
As she moved softly in front of him, her nude body like velvet against his, he cheerfully noted that he wasn't complaining in the slightest. He placed a kiss by her ear as she continued to stir.
"Did you sleep OK?" his question was whispered inches from her ear. He felt her shiver under him.
She squirmed around in his embrace until she was facing him. He remembered her doing this before, never satisfied with not being able to observe him. His heart threatened to give out.
She nodded with big eyes and a warm, sleepy smile. He couldn't help it, he kissed her straight away.
Her lips met his eagerly. They laid there in each other's arms, slow laps of kisses passing between them, like there was no war, like they had been like this forever.
When she broke away, she maintained close proximity, her lashes fluttering against his cheek.
"Tell me a memory." her inquisitive warm eyes took him in, leaping between each of his irises.
His fingers trailed her left arm until it landed on her wrist, and brought it in between them.
"See this faint line connecting these freckles?" his thumb brushed over the spot. She nodded and stared at her forearm. "This is a morsmordre mark. You cast it on yourself to get past the ward at the entrance of the Astronomy Tower to get to me."
Hermione's eyes narrowed on his before shifting back to the mark on her arm.
He pulled her wrist into his lips and kissed the mark. "We spent the night in the Room of Requirement the night before the attack on Hogwarts. That morning, I told you these freckles reminded me of the Draco constellation."
She inspected the freckles with an academic overlay. A quirk of a smile formed at her lips.
"I suppose it does resemble the Draco constellation." Her attention remained on her arm. "Quite impressive I managed the morsmordre spell, don't you think?" She smirked cheekily.
Pushing his hand through her hair, he pulled her neck until her face was hovering in front of his, gently easing her lips onto his.
When they parted, Hermione looked dazed. He smirked back.
"Yes, I dare say it was quite impressive, Granger."
She fought off a fierce blush which made him want to ravish her. She pressed on.
"Tell me another one."
He hummed into her cheek in thought. Leaning in, he brushed a kiss softly near her ear. "How about I tell you something new? Something I had only come to figure out in the months away from you."
He pulled back, inspecting her reaction. When she looked keen to hear more, he schooled his expression.
"I think I was meant to love you," his voice was sharp and serious. "There were signs well before last year that it would only ever be you."
She pulled back, looking quizzical.
"You hated me before last year," she corrected him, but he shook his head.
"I was fixated on you," he rubbed the edge of her jaw, his chin angled so he could watch her. "You were exceptional. Always top of the class, exceedingly competent which is a dreadful turn on for me." she giggled as he pulled her in closer. "Anyone with half a brain knew Potter and Weasle would be dead by year three if not for you."
He paused and her eyes sheepishly flickered away from him. He used her distraction to sneak a glimpse of her bare breasts and naked torso, perfectly coiled in his arms.
"And anyone with eyes would have been lying if they said they wouldn't have burnt down Hogwarts to be with you," her eyes widened, and her silken body twitched under his grasp. Against her leg, he felt his length grow hard. "I was a stupid boy. I thought I hated you. Those urges I felt towards you, I buried."
Her eyes went dim, casting him furtive looks through her lashes. She slowly adjusted her hips, grazing his hard on gently above her core. His breathing hitched.
"I find this all exceedingly hard to believe," she said, but her tone was changing. Dare he say, her voice turned sultry.
"If I hadn't been raised in a society that taught me to hate muggle borns, you would have been mine for years by now."
She pursed her lips at his audacity. "You assume I would have fallen for you and all your little tricks?"
He bucked his hips into her, sliding himself against her with more friction. Her eyes grew to orbs, and a betraying gasp slipped past her lips. A devilish grin formed at the blonde wizard's lips as his hand deftly snaked through her hair, holding her so she had no option but to look at him.
"Admit it Granger," his voice was gruff and he could feel her coiling under him. "You'd have fallen for me too."
She tried to find some bravado in her voice. "You'd have gone for me…" he nipped at her jaw, making her hiss "...even though I was a Gryffindor?"
"Yes, Granger," his lips lingered on her skin, "I don't think even that would have stopped me."
Her chin turned abruptly until their lips met once again. She hummed deeply with satisfaction, the vibrations passing from her lips to his.
They took their time, their movements teeming with desire. The feeling of her body gliding over his, her core moving over his length and hearing her small whines of anticipation was threatening his intention to take things slow, to stretch out their time and fully enjoy himself.
The mounds of her breasts pressed against his chest, and her tiny hands wrapped around his back, her nails dragging over his back, sending his brain blissful signals of pain. When her hips bucked into his length once again, his tip nearly entering her, a low primal growl escaped him.
He pulled back, seeing her cheeks flushed with arousal. The visual nagged at the responsible part of his brain, the part in charge of maintaining order, and not succumbing to never leaving this tent and ravaging her until this bloody war was over, and for long after that too.
Her eyes were determined. She wanted something, and he knew first hand she was rather persuasive when she set her mind to a task.
"Will you go slow?"
He didn't think she meant it to sound as sexy as it did, but it almost undid him.
He lingered a soft kiss across her lips. "I will do anything you want, Granger."
She gave him a dazzling smile which he covered with a kiss, opening her mouth to his until he was deftly exploring again with his tongue.
Her lips broke free of his in a gasp. "You were right."
"I'm sure I was, but about what, in this particular case?" his lips tried to distract her, but she was determined to carry out her thoughts. That focus did waiver when his hand reached her core.
"I would have fallen for you," the admission was throaty as he circled her. He smirked.
"Even though I was a Slytherin," he prodded her, feeling how she was ready under his touch.
Her eyes burned into him and she gasped, "nothing would have stopped me."
It earned a genuine Malfoy smile, which made her beam. He took her lips back as his own, and proceeded to have the best morning of his life.
Later in the day, after the two were finally capable of prying themselves away from one another, they discussed their real world challenges.
First was an essential: They needed to eat.
He recalled an abandoned orchard on the estate which likely had fruit. He was gone for only a few minutes, coming back with a handful of apples, but Granger greeted him like he'd just returned from war.
It was excessively pleasant. She rushed him the second he had reappeared, grasping his neck and yanking him into her with surprising strength.
He assured her he was fine, but all the same, it made him feel like the luckiest man alive.
Offering her reassuring, but restrained kisses (they should likely make a plan and not have sex all day, though, would that really be the worst plan?), and some apples, they eventually moved onto her agenda.
"As I see it, there are two orders of business we need to discuss," she crossed her arms and cocked her hip to the side while he sat on a bench in front of her. He couldn't fight off the amused smile forming at his lips.
"One, we need to get back to Ron and Harry. The four of us can work on the rest of the horcruxes so we can get rid of you-know-who."
He took a leisurely bite of his apple. "I'm sure Weasle will be pleased as punch to hear I'm now an official member of the group."
She glared at him, which only widened his smile.
"And the other order of business, my dear?"
She moved herself close enough so she could place her hands alongside his propped leg, hitched by the ankle at his knee.
"I don't think we should try and restore my memory, not yet at least." She gave him a sad sort of look. "We can't risk taking me out of the fight until we get rid of you-know-who."
As much as he wanted to bring back each of their memories together, he was deeply relieved.
"I agree," reaching out, taking hold of both her hands with his. "I do want to try, eventually, if that is what you want. But I wouldn't feel comfortable reversing the spell until I can get my wand back. This wand doesn't feel quite right"
Hermione took a seat next to him as he pulled out his wand.
"I noticed it when casting the fiendfyre. I could control it, but it was more difficult than I could remember it ever being." she took hold of the wand, wanting to inspect it herself.
"Harry still has yours, right?" she handed his wand back after a brief look over. He nodded and pocketed the unfamiliar wand. "Why didn't you take yours back at the cottage?"
Draco shook his head, honestly unsure as to why he hadn't. At the time, Granger was all he could think about, so he could suppose it wasn't a priority. At the cottage, the extent of what he cast were lumos or nox spells, and those were solely to sneak around at night, hoping to run into Granger. It wasn't until Gringotts that he realized he had a subpar wand.
"Since the second order of business is settled, shall we discuss the first? How should we go about tracking down Potter and Weasle?" his voice was intentionally haughty when mouthing the red head's nickname. She elbowed his side and narrowed her brows into a formidable glare.
"You've shared a room with him, you've broken out of bloody Gringotts with him!" she sounded incredulous, which only delighted him. Merlin he missed winding her up. "You can call him by his surname instead of some dreadful schoolyard nickname."
His head bowed theatrically, casting her a devastating look. "I'm sorry Granger," he feigning a pout, "it'll never happen again."
After a second, her lips twitched. "Like I believe that."
He stole a quick kiss in their close proximity before leaning back. "So, what's the plan to find them?"
"Harry said the next target was at Hogwarts."
He pinched the brow of his nose, a trait he had acquired which suddenly happens each time the Golden Trio proposed something mental.
"Ah yes, perhaps the one place harder to break into aside from Gringotts."
"Not necessarily," she smiled as she popped to a standing position. He hitched his ankle back on his knee and watched on.
"See, Harry had this enchanted map. It would show him where everyone was in the castle at all times"
Draco sighed. "Of course he did."
"Anyway," she went on, hiding a smile. "The map had secret passages in and out of the school. I think there is one on there we can use."
"So we take this secret passage in, then hide out somewhere in the castle?" she nodded at his summation. A thought occurred to him. "The Room of Requirement may be a good bet."
"Yes! Not many people know about that room."
"We can hide out there and check in periodically to see if Potter and Weasley found their way in," he asked, articulating Ron's surname carefully, demonstrating his ability to follow her earlier command.
"Precisely, and thank you." she chirped happily, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek, rewarding his quick behavior adjustment.
"So, where would we enter from?"
She pursed her lips. "You may not like it."
"I would expect nothing less than to be horrified," he mocked, dropping his leg and reaching out for her hand, pulling her to stand between his knees. His hands moved to hold her possessively by the waist.
"The best path will be through the Shrieking Shack,"
His head tipped back reluctantly.
"But you should know, it's not actually haunted. Professor Lupin was sent to the shack as a student each month when he would transform to a werewolf. That's where the rumors came from."
Draco's head snapped back. "Excuse me, what?"
"Yes, Lupin was quite young when he turned, so Dumbledore set up the shack for him to transform without harming himself, or anyone else. The horrendous sounds were Lupin," Hermione explained, Draco's face going more slack in surprise. "It was in our third year we found Sirius Black there with Lupin. They were good friends growing up, with Harry's father too. Of course, that was all before we helped Sirius Black escape…"
"You what!" He squeezed her hips like he thought there was imminent danger in the tent.
Her face squished together. "I'm sorry, I forget you don't know these things yet," she told him, sliding her hands casually around his neck. "It sometimes feels like there wasn't a time before we were like this."
"While I agree with you, I'd like to request, when we have a spare moment of course, to be informed of this story on how you helped Sirius Black escape from the Shrieking Shack."