THE LOAN

Chapter 4

'What're you doing?' she asked, as his fingers reached the knot holding her bathrobe in place.

He sighed. 'To be honest…I don't know. I really, really don't know. All I know is that right now, you're sober, and so am I, and there's only one way to be done with this entire ordeal.'

She stepped back, and he retracted his hands.

'I shouldn't have brought up the ovulating thing, I guess,' she mumbled, unconsciously clutching at the material.

'Yeah, probably,' he groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. 'But you do know that we can't keep running away from it forever, right?'

'I know,' she whispered, pushing a wayward strand out of her eyes dejectedly.

'The sooner we're done, the sooner this nightmare is over,' he said, honestly.

'It's not a bloody cakewalk for me either, Malfoy, so don't you, for even one second, try to pretend that this is harder for you than it is for me.'

'I'm not, and if you just opened your eyes and really saw that, instead of judging me with whatever preconceived notion you've formed of me, you wouldn't be accusing me of anything.'

She walked back to where he sat, and bent, so she was eye-level with him.

'You're a Malfoy, probably one of the only few who actually have a say in how this society runs, and as much as I hate to admit this, maybe if you were actually doing something about it, none of us would be stuck in this situation.'

'No amount of money or power is going to change the fact that the magical community is on the brink of extinction, Granger. Every second baby is a squib, and if things proceed the way they have been until now, the probability of a baby being born with zero magical powers is going to become one hundred per cent. And I don't intend for that to happen.'

She scoffed in his face, straightening up, resting a hand on her hips. 'So they're all lies, then, hmm? You don't even care about any of this, as long as you get your magical heir. God, I should've known. I mean, all this fake sympathy, telling your mother off, or whatever, they're all just means to curry favour with me, isn't that right?'

His eyes hardened and he moved off the table, towering over her.

'I'd watch that tone if I were you, Granger. I do feel sorry for you, but you're not at liberty to forget that it's my roof under which you're so proudly standing, today. I'd remember that, if I were you.'

'I didn't ask for any of this,' she replied defiantly, clenching her hands into fists, her nails digging into her skin, drawing blood. 'I just want to go home.'

He took a step forward, and she swayed.

'Only one way for that,' he whispered in her ear, and she nodded.

'I'm going to count till three,' he said, taking deep, even breaths. 'You can choose to stop. Or you can choose to get a step closer to going home.'

She didn't ask him to.

-X-X-X-

She slept, after it was done, a deep, troubled sleep that shone through the crease in her forehead. She woke up to a haunting memory, one she'd consented to, and shuddered. It didn't help that he'd left her a cup of tea, and placed a long-lasting heating charm on it.

One glance at the clock told her she'd missed lunch, and she had no intentions of going down and facing him. That's when the small radio in the room caught her eye. It had been so long since she'd actually sat and done nothing but listen to music.

She hesitantly pressed the little switch, and shuddered as it sputtered to life in her hands. It was the program that played famous Muggle songs, something she'd personally adored. Finally, she'd naively thought back then, we must be moving on from our prejudice.

She recognised the melody that hit her ears instantly, and her knees buckled as she fell, her back hitting the bedpost.

'I love that shirt you're wearing,' he said, pressing a chaste kiss against her lips. 'And you should do something about these, they're chapped,' he chuckled, as she elbowed him.

Their kiss grew more urgent as his roving hands traveled up her abdomen to toy with the buttons on her shirt.

'Ronald,' she giggled, gasping for breath. 'We're in my parents' house.'

'Yes, and they won't be here for another hour,' he shut her up, parting the material to reveal a sensible cotton bra. 'Merlin, you're beautiful.'

He quickly shucked off his shirt and pushed hers off her shoulders, pressing kisses to the skin he exposed. She turned her head to provide him better access, reaching out a hand to clasp the buckle of his belt.

'Hermione, baby,' he whispered, licking her earlobe. 'I've been waiting for this a long time.'

She sighed as he clamped his arms around her knees and hoisted her up in one swift motion, and never before had she been so thankful for Quidditch. He laid her on her childhood bed gently and climbed on top of her, claiming her lips once more, and she complied in sweet surrender, running her hands up and down the smooth expanse of his skin.

He sat up and skillfully popped open the button of her jeans, and she wriggled out of them gracelessly, not caring, because he was her best friend and she loved him, had always loved him. Their pants joined the heap of clothes on the floor as he worshipped her lovingly and she let him, because he was someone she could place all of her trust in.

'Oh, shit, wait,' he suddenly said, bounding up off of her, pressing a quick peck upon her lips. 'I'll be right back.'

She leaned on her elbows, wondering about what the hell he was up to, when he jogged back into the room, with a tape in his hand. He pulled open the door of her closet, fumbled around for a bit, and grinned triumphantly when he brandished a small player.

'Ron?'

'It's our first time,' he explained, as if it was the simplest thing in the world, popping the cassette in. The song came on, and he ran back to her, kissing her with all he had. 'You've got to have music for the first time,' he whispered, and then they were one.

'Just you and me,' he breathed out, pressing his face into her neck, puffs of hot air blowing against her skin.

'And Sinatra,' she giggled, and he laughed, shoulders shaking with mirth, as he lifted his head off her neck and gazed deep into her eyes as he filled every inch of her with his very essence.

'Have I ever told you how much I love you?' he asked, clasping their hands together.

'No,' she breathed out, shakily, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

'Well, I do.'

She allowed herself to sob, then, gut-wrenching sobs, because she'd never feel his touch again - never have his love again.

-X-X-X-

A/N – Thank you to all those who read and review. It means the world to me. Rapidasher, hope your tests went well! Spyrals, thanks for your review!

I think we all know where we went with this chapter. Hermione gave up a big part of herself, and it's one of the things that will further change her dynamic with Draco (joy, as if their conversation wasn't already stilted enough). I would also like to point out that their sex has not been described, not due to any graphic reason, but because when it is, it'll mean something.

Thanks for sticking with me! If you've taken out time to read, please do take time to leave a review!