Chapter 31:
She kissed him deeper then ever, saying all the things she couldn't with words. She caressed his shoulders, massaged his neck, and pushed herself closer to him; eliminating all the spaces between them.
Little by little, they pulled away from the kiss, breathless. Draco placed his hand on her chin, and raised her head for her eyes to meet his.
"I love you." he said, looking at her sincerely.
Hermione felt tears threatening to escape her eyes, she couldn't believe she actually heard those three words.
"I love you too." she replied, seeing his face shine immediately.
Draco hugged her, and kissed her hair.
"My baby." he said into her hair, feeling complete happiness.
Hermione cried into his shoulder silently. They weren't tears of hurt or agony. They were tears of happiness, tears of love.
Draco felt his t-shirt get wet, and raised her face once again, worriedly.
"Why are you crying, my love?" he asked, looking very concerned.
"Because, I love you so much, and I'm happier then I've ever been." replied Hermione, flashing a blissful smile.
"Aww, don't cry." said Draco, as he gently pressed his lips against her eyes, and kissed her tears away.
He then started moving his lips lower and lower down her face until they reached her lips. He started kissing her lips, not moving in yet, teasing her, making her want him harder then ever.
She placed her hands on his chest, and replied to the kiss. Starting slow at first, but then taking charge, making it fiery and causing a reaction from Draco.
He picked her up and placed her on her bed, placing himself on top of her, kissing her harder. He pressed his body against hers, moving up and down, showing her just how much he wanted her.
He tore away from her lips, looking into her eyes once again. Fire and passion looked back at him. He gave her a sexy smirk, and started nibbling down her neck, moving up her jaw, and coming close to her ears.
Hermione thought her body would literary explode. She felt so many emotions at the same time, she couldn't place her mind as to what it could be. Her body started shaking with want, her insides getting eager, waiting patiently for what she knew must come.
She wanted to moan, to scream, to tell him just how much she wanted him, how much she wanted to be completed.
He nibbled around her ears, and whispered "I love you, my angel." into her ear. She smiled to herself, still shocked that their relationship had moved that far, and not only has she felt comfortable with it, she was thrilled beyond belief.
"I want you." she whispered, loud enough for him to hear.
He stopped kissing her right away, and looked up at her to make sure his ears weren't fooling him.
"Are you sure you're ready?" he asked, still shocked by her words.
Hermione just nodded her head, and brought her face closer to him, pulling him into a passionate kiss.
She kissed him, moving her body against his, feeling every single part of his body wanting her, needing her.
He pulled his lips away from hers, and quickly found the skin of her shoulders. Kissing her shoulders tenderly, and moving on to the skin on her upper chest, caressing her with his lips, sending electricity through her senses.
He kissed her upper chest further, moving his hands to her PJ shirt, starting to move it up little by little.
His caress was disturbed by a loud knock on the door.
"Who the hell could it be?" asked Hermione, upset at the distraction.
"Whoever it is, they have horrible timing." said Draco, getting up from the bed with a frown.
He walked towards the door, and opened it angrily.
The face that greeted him didn't make him feel any better about the whole situation.
"What are you doing here?" Draco asked, obviously annoyed.
"How is it any of your business?" Ron replied with a question, pushing Draco aside and walking inside the house.
Ginny walked in, flashing Draco a "What were you doing?" kind of smile.
"I see you still live here." said Ron, glaring at Draco.
"I see you're still poor." Draco shot back.
"Shut up." Ron replied, ready to fight him.
"How about you make me." said Draco, moving closer.
Ginny stood in between them and told them to break it off. Draco just turned away, muttering that if it wasn't for her, he would have broke Ron's big nose. Ron decided to ignore that comment and looked towards Hermione's room.
"Hermione." called out Ron looking for her.
"What did you do with her?" he added after a few seconds, glaring at Draco.
"Nothing I shouldn't, she's going to be here in a minute." replied Draco, smirking at Ron, and winking at Ginny.
"Oooh." was all Ginny said, winking in reply.
Hermione walked into the foyer, greeting her friends.
"Oh, you guys, what are you doing here out of the blue?" she asked, happy to see her friends, but upset that her other plans were disturbed.
"I owled you yesterday that we were going to come, didn't you get it?" asked Ron, giving Draco a suspicious look.
"I got the letter, I just never read it, and I forgot to give it to you Hermione; you know, with everything that happened
last night." said Draco, smirking in Ron's direction just to piss him off further.
"Oooh, sounds juicy." exclaimed Ginny smiling.
"What exactly happened?" asked Ron, his ears getting red.
"Nothing Ron, I'll give you the details a little later." said Hermione motioning for them to enter the living room.
They all sat on the couch, and discussed life. Occasional glares from Ron were seen towards Draco's direction, but other than that, everything seemed peaceful.
"So what did happen yesterday?" asked Ron, bringing the subject up again.
"Knowing Draco, it's probably something hot." said Ginny smiling.
"Yeah, you would think so, wouldn't you?" asked Hermione, glaring at her friend jokingly.
"But unfortunately it wasn't." she added.
"Thank god." said Ron a little louder than he wanted.
"Hey, why unfortunately?" he asked once he realized what his friend just said.
Hermione just blushed in reply, and started telling her friends everything about yesterday's events.
She started at breakfast, when they decided to disguise themselves, all the way to the Death Eaters, and the Crucio.
She told them of the horrible pain she experienced, and how grateful she was to Draco, for treating her well.
Ron almost exploded, and threw himself at Draco, telling him it was all his fault, and yelling at him for not taking her to St. Mungo's.
Hermione stood behind Ron and grabbed him by his arms before another fight broke out.
She told Ron that Draco shouldn't be blamed for anything, he was the one who suggested they apparated away all along, it was her foolishness that got her that way.
"So how come you're feeling better right now?" asked Ginny, with a worried face.
Hermione explained to her how Draco brewed her a special potion, fed her, and supported her throughout the whole day.
"Aww, I want a boyfriend like Draco." said Ginny.
"No you don't." Ron yelled, glaring at his sister.
Draco smirked in her direction, and told her he could hook her up with Zabini later on if she wished.
Ginny just smiled mischievously in reply, and told him they'll work something out when the time comes.
"You guys, I didn't cook anything, you must be starving. What do you guys want to eat?" Hermione asked her friends, angry at herself for her poor hospitality.
"I really don't care." said Ginny, shrugging her shoulders.
"Same here." answered Ron, still glaring at Draco.
"Love, neither do I." replied Draco, smiling at his girl.
Ginny just sat and looked at the coupled with awe, while Ron was getting redder and redder at the tips of his ears.
Hermione decided to order some Japanese Sushi, and see how much they would like the exotic meal.
They chatted some more, mainly about the war against Voldemort.
About 20 minutes later the Sushi arrived.
Draco told Hermione to stay seated, and he went outside to greet the delivery guy, while Ginny excused herself to go to the bathroom.
Ron was left alone with Hermione and decided to take his chance and talk some sense into his best friend.
"Hermione, I know you care for Draco, but I honestly think he's not for you." he started looking at her hopefully.
"Why would you think that Ron?" asked Hermione, obviously hurt by his words.
"Because, I don't think he's innocent, something doesn't seem right. This can't be the Draco we know." he said, looking at her sincerely.
"Ron I know this is not the Draco we used to know. But you have to understand, he has changed; more likely, he is showing his true self right now. Why can't you just trust my judgment, and be happy for me?" she asked, a couple of tears escaping her eyes.
"Hermione, people do not change overnight. Besides, if you say it's his true self, how come he acted different for all those years, it's impossible to be such a great actor." added Ron stubbornly.
Draco walked into the foyer, and heard Ron and Hermione speaking. He decided to stay behind the door, and hear the rest of the conversation before he was seen.
"Ron, I love Draco, I really do. If you cannot accept that fact, do as you wish, but if you are a true friend to me, you will live with it, and be happy for me." said Hermione, sobbing lightly.
"Hermione, please don't cry, I'm not trying to hurt your feelings, but I feel like I must protect you from getting hurt. You're my best friend." said Ron, gently wiping the tears from her cheek.
"Ron, what makes you so sure he would hurt me? How do you know he doesn't make me happier then ever before? How do you know he's not the one for me? The one that loves me?" asked Hermione, trying to show her best friend his accusations were misplaced.
"Hermione, I don't know. I'm just trying to make sure, for you own safety. You have to understand I'm not doing this for myself, it's you I'm worried about." said Ron, getting a little agitated.
"Don't be worried about me. I'm just asking you to be happy for me, like a true friend would be." she said, getting up to check on Draco.
"I don't know if I can." Ron whispered to himself, praying to God, that Hermione was not making a mistake.
Draco walked into the house, seeing Hermione standing upset.
"What is it love?" he asked, coming closer to her.
Although he knew exactly why she was upset, he had to hide it from her, he didn't want her to think he was snooping around.
"Nothing." lied Hermione.
Ginny walked back into the living room and looked quizzically at everyone.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Nothing, we're about to eat." said Hermione, walking into the kitchen.
Draco helped her set the table, and they all sat down to eat.
There was an uncomfortable silence at the table, and everyone were deep in their own thoughts.
"This tastes good." said Ginny, trying to break the silence.
"You like it?" asked Hermione, trying to look cheerful.
"Yeah, I do. It's very different." said Ginny, smiling.
"I know, it is. Do you guys like it?" asked Hermione, addressing Draco and Ron.
They both agreed with Ginny, and continued eating.
The rest of the meal went by with the same silence, and occasional ice breaking minutes from either Ginny or Hermione.
Once they were finished with dinner, Draco and Ginny got up to clean up the table.
They didn't want Hermione to over work, after all, her body didn't recover completely.
Soon after Ron and Ginny left. Hermione was still hurt, and Draco was pissed off about the fact that nothing he did seemed to be good enough.