Author's Note: Wow! Wow! Wow! Thank you for all of your reviews! Don't
worry about the umm. more intimate scenes... I'm just tweaking around here
and there, looking for the right time and place. Although, it would take a
little more time and it is a few chapters away. I'd have to brew the real
conflict first. Anyways, thanks again!
Chapter 15: Breaking Through Fear
Hermione was a wreck. It was only days till Draco's birthday and she was still knee-deep in her plans. She'd enlisted the help of Goyle and Kate with keeping Draco in the dark about all of it. Mathilde had promised with the food and such. Hermione had also asked Draco's men to give him something. They had all agreed.
Now it was her time to make him the perfect gift. Great. How would you get a guy a gift when there's no mall or store to get that gift for him?
"Aaah!" Hermione said aloud in her room. She'd been thinking for the past few hours on what to give him. When she went out of her room early this morning, Goyle was busy asking Draco something about what he wanted. Draco gave him a glare and quickly went down to the stables to check on Starshine as the mare was a few weeks away from giving birth.
Hermione looked out of her window and only saw the snow-covered garden of Draco's castle. Of course, she wanted to give him something super special. Something he knew was from her and from her heart... But what? She didn't even get the chance to give him a Christmas present, now what was she going to get for him?
Turning around, she spied the place where her desk used to be. That desk was now in the sitting room, where she did all her writing. She was already two chapters into her story and she was quite proud that she did all that in long hand. Sure, her hands became numb after writing for so many hours and it was quite a nuisance that sometimes her head wrote faster than her hands... but the two chapters of her story were well written and she was definitely proud of that.
Only, she never showed it to anybody. She feared their misunderstanding when they read between the lines. She never even showed it to Draco, for fear that she might be showing him more than she ought to.
It was exactly that fear that made her absolutely refuse the idea of writing a poem or something for him to give on his birthday. It would be the logical gift after all... but that fear simply hindered her. A knock on the door snapped her back to the present.
"Come in." Hermione called. The door opened and Draco went inside. Hermione smiled at the sight of him. His hair was dripping wet from the bath he'd just taken and he looked very tired. He had just come from tending to the animals in the stables.
"Draco..." Hermione greeted, smiling warmly and coming closer to him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Aye, in fact, there is." Draco said, closing the door behind him. Hermione looked at him expectantly as he looked positively adorable as he ran a hand through his wet hair. "You should sit down." Hermione nodded and walked over to the bed and sat down. Draco went to her vanity chair and sat down on it.
"Well? What can I help you with?"
"Well... Emil de Gervais is betrothed to Olivia Haven of England. He has asked for us to come to his wedding." Draco said, looking at Hermione.
"Really?" Hermione exclaimed happily. "When is it?"
"On the 18th of February. We would have to travel a week before that to get to Aquitaine." Draco paused. "And... I just got a message from him, saying that Olivia would like it if you would be a lady-in-waiting. Would you?"
Hermione was shocked. Whatever it was in Medieval France, she was beginning to like it. People who never even met her were making her a part of the best day of their lives. She sat, digesting all the information.
"Hermione?" Draco asked tentatively. She could hear the worry in his voice...
"Yes! Yes!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping from the bed and colliding into Draco's stunned body. She hugged him tightly for a long time before she drew back with a huge smile on her face. Draco smiled as well.
"You still catch me off guard with all your bursts of joy, Hermione." Draco commented, setting her back on her feet.
"I'll give you a warning next time, alright?" Hermione proposed.
"Fair enough." Draco said, standing up and tucking an errant piece of hair behind her ear. "You should go to Rose to have your measurements taken for the gown to be made for you."
Hermione nodded her head vigorously, like a little child. Draco shook his head.
"I should go now, my lady. I have some errands to run." Draco said, giving a slight nod and heading out the door. Hermione then sank back down on the bed.
Then, with a sudden spark of inspiration and a surge of self- confidence. She finally decided to write that poem for Draco. After all, writing was the only thing she had left from her world, it was the only thing she could think of and it was the only thing she had to offer him... for now. She was determined to share it with him.
* * *
On the dawn of Draco's birthday, Hermione was up and ready to go. She knew of his morning routine of waking up at dawn and she was planning something for him just as he woke up. Smiling like mad and making sure that everything was perfect, she opened the door to her room, only to run into Rose who was holding out a platter of food.
"Oh, Rose. Thank you..." Hermione exclaimed but keeping her voice to a whisper. She didn't know if sound traveled faster through stone walls (Physics was never given another thought during her high school days... and she promptly forgot everything she'd learned ever since her stay in this time period) and she wasn't about to find out through Draco's coming down before he should and ruin her plans for his birthday. "But, bring that up in a few minutes, I'll have to prep Lord Draco first." She added. Rose's brow furrowed with her futuristic language and nodded slowly but she paid it no mind. Draco's birthday was more important than that.
Turning away from Rose and doing a half-run towards the tower stairs, she prayed before ascending the stairs to Draco's room. She didn't need any sort of lighting and she was not nervous of slipping and breaking her neck. She was nervous about her plan.
She reached the landing of the stairs and found that the door to Draco's room was locked. Not worrying, she brought out the key she'd gotten from Sir Goyle and inserted it as quiet as she could with shaking hands and turned the lock. After unlocking the door, she quietly eased it open and hoped that it wouldn't squeak or creak. Fortunately, it did not and she was able to step inside without making a noise.
She hoped to find Draco still sleeping or at least still in bed, but then she was surprised to see him looking out the window. After debating on what to do, she quietly made her way to him. She did her best to keep her footfalls as quiet as they could be on the stone floor and the swish of her skirt to be inaudible; she was going to surprise him. Hermione held out her arms in front of her, waiting to pounce and cover his eyes with her hands. She was only about two feet from where he was standing, still walking as slow and as quiet as she could when he spoke up.
"And what do I owe this intrusion, Hermione?" Draco asked in that deep voice that in any other time would've sounded absolutely melodic and sexy, except now it only caused Hermione to jump, let out a surprised yelp and cover her mouth with her hands. Draco smirked as he turned to her and raised an eyebrow.
"How...?" Hermione asked, after getting over the surprise he gave her.
Draco shook his head in amusement, "Hermione, I'm a warrior. What kind of warrior would I be if I didn't know that you were here?"
"You mean you knew I was here, long before I came close to you?" Hermione asked, impressed with his skills.
"Aye, it's important for a warrior to know his surroundings and the people in it. I know the difference between your footfalls and someone else's." Draco explained patiently, giving her a small smile.
"Amazing." Hermione said, for lack of a better word to describe what she thought of him at that instant. She knew him to be precise with the blade and unforgiving in his ministrations, but never did she have a firsthand experience of his observance of people and his environment.
"I will take that as a compliment, my lady." Draco said as Hermione smiled and nodded her head. "So, are you going to answer me on why you're here in my room at dawn?"
"Oh... that's because-" Hermione started to say when she was interrupted with a soft knock on the door. Gathering up her skirt, she half- ran towards the door and opened it. A few words were spoken and Hermione let Rose in, along with the other servants.
Draco watched in awe as they all had trays occupying their hands. Two servants brought up a table and before Draco's very eyes, the table was donned with a dark green tablecloth and platters of food filled the table to overflowing.
Once everything was done, the servants all left him and Hermione. Draco was confused and he was about to ask Hermione why all of this had been done when she grabbed his arm, pulled him towards one of the two chairs and motioned for him to sit. He looked at her skeptically.
"Sit." She commanded, looking at him and narrowing her eyes.
"Why?" Was all Draco could voice out.
"Because you can't eat standing up. Well, at least not eat properly. Anyway, just sit." Hermione ordered and she all but pushed him down to sit.
The rest of the time was a blur to Draco as Hermione was more than accommodating with her helpfulness and cheer. She refilled his glass, she pushed more food into his plate and she talked animatedly for the past hour until Draco could not eat anymore. When he looked at the table, he saw that almost all of the platters were eaten clean.
"Did I really eat that much food?" Draco asked turning to Hermione who ate only a few bites since she was talking through the whole thing.
Hermione looked towards the table and surveyed the empty platters. She smiled at him and nodded her head. "It looks like it."
Draco groaned as he sat back in his chair and laid a hand on his tummy. Hermione laughed at him. "Now, my lord," She said, standing up and pulling him to his feet. (It was no easy task, mind you) "You just go and sit in one of your plush chairs by the fire and relax. I'll get this cleaned up and I'll come back in about half an hour." She said as he sat down.
He looked up at her as if he had no choice and nodded his head. Hermione smiled at him and turned back to the table and began fixing up. She had a pile of dishes in her arms when she headed down the stairway. Draco actually did not pay attention to the bustling of the servants and Hermione as they cleaned up. If he could, he would have slept, but his stubborn attitude to bathe and ready himself for the day did not let him drift off to sleep.
At promptly half an hour later, Hermione entered Draco's bedroom and saw him sitting by the fire and reading a piece of parchment. Hermione hoped against hope as she neared him that she didn't stupidly leave the poem she would give him... but alas, she did and he was reading it. He looked up at her and smiled when he saw the disquiet evident in her face. He motioned for her to sit down next to him and she did.
"Did you write this?" He asked, holding up the paper and she nodded, lowering her gaze to her hands. She did not look up until he placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his. "Thank you." He said simply.
Hermione smiled. The paper contained a poem she had written for him. Of course, this was a time when rhyme was most revered by people everywhere... but she had written her poem in free-verse. She hated rhyming. But what was more important was that he liked it.
The poem reads as follows:
'All this time I tried to change you,
To make you more caring and considerate
But in actuality, you changed me.
At first I was scared
Too frightened to show and prove myself
And you happened to bring that out of me
Thank you
You make me feel that I'm important
And that everything is better with me
By your side
I don't have enough knowledge on how to repay you
My actions and emotions speak only of glimpses of what I really feel
I cannot express into words what my heart is prodding me to say
But I try
Thank you
For making my soul lift
And making my mouth smile and laugh every time I see you
Or think of you
This is not enough
But I can't think of anything more
You do that to me...
You make me speechless yet so outspoken
You captivate me yet you say that I fascinate you
You make me hunger for your words, your smiles... yet you hunger for mine
For the man that you are
And for the man you mean to me...
Thank you, Draco Malfoy,
My knight, my warrior, my prince.'
"Is this what you've been writing all this time in the sitting room?" He asked.
"Yes..." and no. Hermione added in her head. She wasn't about to tell Draco that she was writing her book, which was almost becoming like her life story with every sentence that she added.
"You're good. You've got talent." Draco said. Hermione was so overcome with joy that that she hugged him impulsively and kissed him on the cheek, not minding that his hair was still dripping wet from his bath.
"You really like it?" She asked as she drew back and examined his face thoughtfully.
"Aye, I really like it." He replied, smiling. Hermione's face brightened up again and she tried to remember what she was going to do next. Oh, right...
"Come..." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.
"Where are we going?" Draco asked as she led him to the bed... Bed? Draco stiffened.
Hermione turned to him and wondered why Draco had stopped walking. When she saw the confusion and apprehension in his face... she realized.
"Oh, not like that. But do take off that tunic and lie down." Hermione said cheerfully. She let go of his hand but Draco was not moving. "Draco? Take off your tunic and lie down..." She repeated.
"Why?"
"Why? Because I said so..." Hermione said as she went back to the couch and grabbed something out of the bad she was carrying when she came in. It was a bottle of some sort. When she returned to Draco's side, she found that he was fully dressed.
"Take off your tunic and lie down... I'm going to massage your back." Hermione explained. (Finally!)
Draco thought about it then started to undo the buttons of his shirt. "Hermione,"
"Hmmm?" She replied absentmindedly, as she set down the bottle on the bed and started rolling up the sleeves of her dress.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Huh?" Hermione said as she looked up at him. She had a hard time trying to remember what he asked and trying to remember what she meaning to do. Draco had taken off his tunic and despite the scars... he was looking really good. Finally, Hermione snapped back and remembered. "Oh... didn't I tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Draco asked, oblivious to how she was reacting at the sight of his bare upper body.
"I told you... Oh wait..." Hermione recalled. "Oh right, I didn't."
"Tell me what?"
"Oh right... Happy Birthday!!" She exclaimed all of a sudden then laughed and smiled at him.
Draco was so surprised and so amused that he gave a half-laugh.
"You laughed!" Hermione exclaimed happily.
Draco could only nod his head. Hermione smiled at him.
"Now, lie down..." She instructed and he did just that. "On your stomach, Draco." She said and he rolled over and stretched out on the bed. She positioned herself on one side on his body, sitting on the bed. Hermione opened the bottle of oil and crushed flower petals she'd made long before and poured some on her hands. Draco jumped slightly when her hands made contact with his back.
"I smell flowers." Draco commented after sniffing.
"Yes, you do." Hermione said as she continued to rub his back.
"If you leave me smelling like flowers... I'll see you'll regret it." Draco warned as he looked over on one side and glared at her.
Hermione momentarily stopped rubbing and looked at him with a playful smile of her lips. "Big threat, Lord Malfoy." She said and continued her massage. "Pretend that I was wearing the stuff and you got it over yourself when you spent the whole morning bedding me."
"Would you want to?" Draco asked, mocking her.
Hermione laughed as Draco turned back to enjoying the whole ordeal. Draco was big man and he had thick muscles that would have been a challenge even for a practiced masseuse. Hermione only stopped when he hands started to cramp.
"All done." She said cheerfully, patting Draco on the head.
"I can't get up." Draco replied. Hermione laughed at him and stretched out next to him, propping her head on her hand.
"There's more food downstairs..." Hermione said and almost immediately, Draco got up. She laughed before getting off the bed and waiting for him to don his tunic. Once he was done, he took her hand and they went down.
* * *
All in all, the day was fabulous, if Hermione could say so herself. The food was overflowing on the table and Goyle had enlisted some entertainers to give life to their party. Hermione never left Draco's side, sometimes feeding him with more food until he couldn't eat anymore.
The men, as Hermione had asked them to, gave Draco a huge gift. It was a shield.
Draco stared at it for a few moments before he took it and examined it closely. The shield bore his emblem, a dragon. The shield itself was so heavy as Hermione tried to lift it but couldn't. But Draco carried it with ease.
What he only noticed of the shield as the party was coming to an end was a small butterfly behind the dragon. It was so small that you needed to stare at it closely to see the outline of a butterfly, if you noticed it at all. Draco looked at Hermione who was busy chatting with Kate and realized... It seemed that his men knew him better than he did. He smiled before setting the shield down, he would take that up later, he had more important things to do.
After politely excusing Hermione from the talk she and Kate were engaged in, saying that she had a tiring day and needed to get to bed, Draco escorted Hermione to her room. Hermione at first protested that she wasn't at all tired, but one warning look from Draco and she agreed that she was feeling slightly tired.
When they reached the door to her room, Draco turned her to face him.
"Thank you." He said simply before bending down and kissing her on the lips. Hermione responded immediately, pulling herself close to him and deepening the kiss.
It was a long time before they pulled away, both breathless and Hermione was smiling.
"I've wanted to do that ever since you came in my room." Draco confessed.
Hermione smiled and blushed. "Well, I'm glad you did."
"Good night, Hermione." Draco said as she opened the door to her room.
"Good night, Draco... and happy birthday."
Draco went back down to do a bit of talking with Goyle as to how his day had been. It had been a long time since he'd talked with his best friend.
Chapter 15: Breaking Through Fear
Hermione was a wreck. It was only days till Draco's birthday and she was still knee-deep in her plans. She'd enlisted the help of Goyle and Kate with keeping Draco in the dark about all of it. Mathilde had promised with the food and such. Hermione had also asked Draco's men to give him something. They had all agreed.
Now it was her time to make him the perfect gift. Great. How would you get a guy a gift when there's no mall or store to get that gift for him?
"Aaah!" Hermione said aloud in her room. She'd been thinking for the past few hours on what to give him. When she went out of her room early this morning, Goyle was busy asking Draco something about what he wanted. Draco gave him a glare and quickly went down to the stables to check on Starshine as the mare was a few weeks away from giving birth.
Hermione looked out of her window and only saw the snow-covered garden of Draco's castle. Of course, she wanted to give him something super special. Something he knew was from her and from her heart... But what? She didn't even get the chance to give him a Christmas present, now what was she going to get for him?
Turning around, she spied the place where her desk used to be. That desk was now in the sitting room, where she did all her writing. She was already two chapters into her story and she was quite proud that she did all that in long hand. Sure, her hands became numb after writing for so many hours and it was quite a nuisance that sometimes her head wrote faster than her hands... but the two chapters of her story were well written and she was definitely proud of that.
Only, she never showed it to anybody. She feared their misunderstanding when they read between the lines. She never even showed it to Draco, for fear that she might be showing him more than she ought to.
It was exactly that fear that made her absolutely refuse the idea of writing a poem or something for him to give on his birthday. It would be the logical gift after all... but that fear simply hindered her. A knock on the door snapped her back to the present.
"Come in." Hermione called. The door opened and Draco went inside. Hermione smiled at the sight of him. His hair was dripping wet from the bath he'd just taken and he looked very tired. He had just come from tending to the animals in the stables.
"Draco..." Hermione greeted, smiling warmly and coming closer to him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Aye, in fact, there is." Draco said, closing the door behind him. Hermione looked at him expectantly as he looked positively adorable as he ran a hand through his wet hair. "You should sit down." Hermione nodded and walked over to the bed and sat down. Draco went to her vanity chair and sat down on it.
"Well? What can I help you with?"
"Well... Emil de Gervais is betrothed to Olivia Haven of England. He has asked for us to come to his wedding." Draco said, looking at Hermione.
"Really?" Hermione exclaimed happily. "When is it?"
"On the 18th of February. We would have to travel a week before that to get to Aquitaine." Draco paused. "And... I just got a message from him, saying that Olivia would like it if you would be a lady-in-waiting. Would you?"
Hermione was shocked. Whatever it was in Medieval France, she was beginning to like it. People who never even met her were making her a part of the best day of their lives. She sat, digesting all the information.
"Hermione?" Draco asked tentatively. She could hear the worry in his voice...
"Yes! Yes!" Hermione exclaimed, jumping from the bed and colliding into Draco's stunned body. She hugged him tightly for a long time before she drew back with a huge smile on her face. Draco smiled as well.
"You still catch me off guard with all your bursts of joy, Hermione." Draco commented, setting her back on her feet.
"I'll give you a warning next time, alright?" Hermione proposed.
"Fair enough." Draco said, standing up and tucking an errant piece of hair behind her ear. "You should go to Rose to have your measurements taken for the gown to be made for you."
Hermione nodded her head vigorously, like a little child. Draco shook his head.
"I should go now, my lady. I have some errands to run." Draco said, giving a slight nod and heading out the door. Hermione then sank back down on the bed.
Then, with a sudden spark of inspiration and a surge of self- confidence. She finally decided to write that poem for Draco. After all, writing was the only thing she had left from her world, it was the only thing she could think of and it was the only thing she had to offer him... for now. She was determined to share it with him.
* * *
On the dawn of Draco's birthday, Hermione was up and ready to go. She knew of his morning routine of waking up at dawn and she was planning something for him just as he woke up. Smiling like mad and making sure that everything was perfect, she opened the door to her room, only to run into Rose who was holding out a platter of food.
"Oh, Rose. Thank you..." Hermione exclaimed but keeping her voice to a whisper. She didn't know if sound traveled faster through stone walls (Physics was never given another thought during her high school days... and she promptly forgot everything she'd learned ever since her stay in this time period) and she wasn't about to find out through Draco's coming down before he should and ruin her plans for his birthday. "But, bring that up in a few minutes, I'll have to prep Lord Draco first." She added. Rose's brow furrowed with her futuristic language and nodded slowly but she paid it no mind. Draco's birthday was more important than that.
Turning away from Rose and doing a half-run towards the tower stairs, she prayed before ascending the stairs to Draco's room. She didn't need any sort of lighting and she was not nervous of slipping and breaking her neck. She was nervous about her plan.
She reached the landing of the stairs and found that the door to Draco's room was locked. Not worrying, she brought out the key she'd gotten from Sir Goyle and inserted it as quiet as she could with shaking hands and turned the lock. After unlocking the door, she quietly eased it open and hoped that it wouldn't squeak or creak. Fortunately, it did not and she was able to step inside without making a noise.
She hoped to find Draco still sleeping or at least still in bed, but then she was surprised to see him looking out the window. After debating on what to do, she quietly made her way to him. She did her best to keep her footfalls as quiet as they could be on the stone floor and the swish of her skirt to be inaudible; she was going to surprise him. Hermione held out her arms in front of her, waiting to pounce and cover his eyes with her hands. She was only about two feet from where he was standing, still walking as slow and as quiet as she could when he spoke up.
"And what do I owe this intrusion, Hermione?" Draco asked in that deep voice that in any other time would've sounded absolutely melodic and sexy, except now it only caused Hermione to jump, let out a surprised yelp and cover her mouth with her hands. Draco smirked as he turned to her and raised an eyebrow.
"How...?" Hermione asked, after getting over the surprise he gave her.
Draco shook his head in amusement, "Hermione, I'm a warrior. What kind of warrior would I be if I didn't know that you were here?"
"You mean you knew I was here, long before I came close to you?" Hermione asked, impressed with his skills.
"Aye, it's important for a warrior to know his surroundings and the people in it. I know the difference between your footfalls and someone else's." Draco explained patiently, giving her a small smile.
"Amazing." Hermione said, for lack of a better word to describe what she thought of him at that instant. She knew him to be precise with the blade and unforgiving in his ministrations, but never did she have a firsthand experience of his observance of people and his environment.
"I will take that as a compliment, my lady." Draco said as Hermione smiled and nodded her head. "So, are you going to answer me on why you're here in my room at dawn?"
"Oh... that's because-" Hermione started to say when she was interrupted with a soft knock on the door. Gathering up her skirt, she half- ran towards the door and opened it. A few words were spoken and Hermione let Rose in, along with the other servants.
Draco watched in awe as they all had trays occupying their hands. Two servants brought up a table and before Draco's very eyes, the table was donned with a dark green tablecloth and platters of food filled the table to overflowing.
Once everything was done, the servants all left him and Hermione. Draco was confused and he was about to ask Hermione why all of this had been done when she grabbed his arm, pulled him towards one of the two chairs and motioned for him to sit. He looked at her skeptically.
"Sit." She commanded, looking at him and narrowing her eyes.
"Why?" Was all Draco could voice out.
"Because you can't eat standing up. Well, at least not eat properly. Anyway, just sit." Hermione ordered and she all but pushed him down to sit.
The rest of the time was a blur to Draco as Hermione was more than accommodating with her helpfulness and cheer. She refilled his glass, she pushed more food into his plate and she talked animatedly for the past hour until Draco could not eat anymore. When he looked at the table, he saw that almost all of the platters were eaten clean.
"Did I really eat that much food?" Draco asked turning to Hermione who ate only a few bites since she was talking through the whole thing.
Hermione looked towards the table and surveyed the empty platters. She smiled at him and nodded her head. "It looks like it."
Draco groaned as he sat back in his chair and laid a hand on his tummy. Hermione laughed at him. "Now, my lord," She said, standing up and pulling him to his feet. (It was no easy task, mind you) "You just go and sit in one of your plush chairs by the fire and relax. I'll get this cleaned up and I'll come back in about half an hour." She said as he sat down.
He looked up at her as if he had no choice and nodded his head. Hermione smiled at him and turned back to the table and began fixing up. She had a pile of dishes in her arms when she headed down the stairway. Draco actually did not pay attention to the bustling of the servants and Hermione as they cleaned up. If he could, he would have slept, but his stubborn attitude to bathe and ready himself for the day did not let him drift off to sleep.
At promptly half an hour later, Hermione entered Draco's bedroom and saw him sitting by the fire and reading a piece of parchment. Hermione hoped against hope as she neared him that she didn't stupidly leave the poem she would give him... but alas, she did and he was reading it. He looked up at her and smiled when he saw the disquiet evident in her face. He motioned for her to sit down next to him and she did.
"Did you write this?" He asked, holding up the paper and she nodded, lowering her gaze to her hands. She did not look up until he placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up to meet his. "Thank you." He said simply.
Hermione smiled. The paper contained a poem she had written for him. Of course, this was a time when rhyme was most revered by people everywhere... but she had written her poem in free-verse. She hated rhyming. But what was more important was that he liked it.
The poem reads as follows:
'All this time I tried to change you,
To make you more caring and considerate
But in actuality, you changed me.
At first I was scared
Too frightened to show and prove myself
And you happened to bring that out of me
Thank you
You make me feel that I'm important
And that everything is better with me
By your side
I don't have enough knowledge on how to repay you
My actions and emotions speak only of glimpses of what I really feel
I cannot express into words what my heart is prodding me to say
But I try
Thank you
For making my soul lift
And making my mouth smile and laugh every time I see you
Or think of you
This is not enough
But I can't think of anything more
You do that to me...
You make me speechless yet so outspoken
You captivate me yet you say that I fascinate you
You make me hunger for your words, your smiles... yet you hunger for mine
For the man that you are
And for the man you mean to me...
Thank you, Draco Malfoy,
My knight, my warrior, my prince.'
"Is this what you've been writing all this time in the sitting room?" He asked.
"Yes..." and no. Hermione added in her head. She wasn't about to tell Draco that she was writing her book, which was almost becoming like her life story with every sentence that she added.
"You're good. You've got talent." Draco said. Hermione was so overcome with joy that that she hugged him impulsively and kissed him on the cheek, not minding that his hair was still dripping wet from his bath.
"You really like it?" She asked as she drew back and examined his face thoughtfully.
"Aye, I really like it." He replied, smiling. Hermione's face brightened up again and she tried to remember what she was going to do next. Oh, right...
"Come..." She said, grabbing his hand and pulling him up.
"Where are we going?" Draco asked as she led him to the bed... Bed? Draco stiffened.
Hermione turned to him and wondered why Draco had stopped walking. When she saw the confusion and apprehension in his face... she realized.
"Oh, not like that. But do take off that tunic and lie down." Hermione said cheerfully. She let go of his hand but Draco was not moving. "Draco? Take off your tunic and lie down..." She repeated.
"Why?"
"Why? Because I said so..." Hermione said as she went back to the couch and grabbed something out of the bad she was carrying when she came in. It was a bottle of some sort. When she returned to Draco's side, she found that he was fully dressed.
"Take off your tunic and lie down... I'm going to massage your back." Hermione explained. (Finally!)
Draco thought about it then started to undo the buttons of his shirt. "Hermione,"
"Hmmm?" She replied absentmindedly, as she set down the bottle on the bed and started rolling up the sleeves of her dress.
"Why are you doing this?"
"Huh?" Hermione said as she looked up at him. She had a hard time trying to remember what he asked and trying to remember what she meaning to do. Draco had taken off his tunic and despite the scars... he was looking really good. Finally, Hermione snapped back and remembered. "Oh... didn't I tell you?"
"Tell me what?" Draco asked, oblivious to how she was reacting at the sight of his bare upper body.
"I told you... Oh wait..." Hermione recalled. "Oh right, I didn't."
"Tell me what?"
"Oh right... Happy Birthday!!" She exclaimed all of a sudden then laughed and smiled at him.
Draco was so surprised and so amused that he gave a half-laugh.
"You laughed!" Hermione exclaimed happily.
Draco could only nod his head. Hermione smiled at him.
"Now, lie down..." She instructed and he did just that. "On your stomach, Draco." She said and he rolled over and stretched out on the bed. She positioned herself on one side on his body, sitting on the bed. Hermione opened the bottle of oil and crushed flower petals she'd made long before and poured some on her hands. Draco jumped slightly when her hands made contact with his back.
"I smell flowers." Draco commented after sniffing.
"Yes, you do." Hermione said as she continued to rub his back.
"If you leave me smelling like flowers... I'll see you'll regret it." Draco warned as he looked over on one side and glared at her.
Hermione momentarily stopped rubbing and looked at him with a playful smile of her lips. "Big threat, Lord Malfoy." She said and continued her massage. "Pretend that I was wearing the stuff and you got it over yourself when you spent the whole morning bedding me."
"Would you want to?" Draco asked, mocking her.
Hermione laughed as Draco turned back to enjoying the whole ordeal. Draco was big man and he had thick muscles that would have been a challenge even for a practiced masseuse. Hermione only stopped when he hands started to cramp.
"All done." She said cheerfully, patting Draco on the head.
"I can't get up." Draco replied. Hermione laughed at him and stretched out next to him, propping her head on her hand.
"There's more food downstairs..." Hermione said and almost immediately, Draco got up. She laughed before getting off the bed and waiting for him to don his tunic. Once he was done, he took her hand and they went down.
* * *
All in all, the day was fabulous, if Hermione could say so herself. The food was overflowing on the table and Goyle had enlisted some entertainers to give life to their party. Hermione never left Draco's side, sometimes feeding him with more food until he couldn't eat anymore.
The men, as Hermione had asked them to, gave Draco a huge gift. It was a shield.
Draco stared at it for a few moments before he took it and examined it closely. The shield bore his emblem, a dragon. The shield itself was so heavy as Hermione tried to lift it but couldn't. But Draco carried it with ease.
What he only noticed of the shield as the party was coming to an end was a small butterfly behind the dragon. It was so small that you needed to stare at it closely to see the outline of a butterfly, if you noticed it at all. Draco looked at Hermione who was busy chatting with Kate and realized... It seemed that his men knew him better than he did. He smiled before setting the shield down, he would take that up later, he had more important things to do.
After politely excusing Hermione from the talk she and Kate were engaged in, saying that she had a tiring day and needed to get to bed, Draco escorted Hermione to her room. Hermione at first protested that she wasn't at all tired, but one warning look from Draco and she agreed that she was feeling slightly tired.
When they reached the door to her room, Draco turned her to face him.
"Thank you." He said simply before bending down and kissing her on the lips. Hermione responded immediately, pulling herself close to him and deepening the kiss.
It was a long time before they pulled away, both breathless and Hermione was smiling.
"I've wanted to do that ever since you came in my room." Draco confessed.
Hermione smiled and blushed. "Well, I'm glad you did."
"Good night, Hermione." Draco said as she opened the door to her room.
"Good night, Draco... and happy birthday."
Draco went back down to do a bit of talking with Goyle as to how his day had been. It had been a long time since he'd talked with his best friend.