Prologue pt 3

6th year

Draco sat in an alcove situated in one of the east wing's corridors, far removed from the center of student activities. He twisted the object in his hand, caressing its velvety texture with the tips of his fingers absently as he gazed out the large window. The sun was hiding today, casting him in shadows to keep him well hidden. The perfect place for a young man battling dark thoughts.

He sighed heavily, letting his eyes drift closed. He focused all his mental strength on creating a wall around his mind, disassociating himself from his emotions. As if on cue, his finger twitched against the object in his hand, reminding him that no matter how much he may protest, he'd never be really and truly free.

Free from the darkness…

Free from the light…

Free from his family…

Free from her

He opened his eyes, letting his gaze fall on the soft, purple shoe he had taken almost two years back. He dragged his knuckles against the texture of the fabric, allowing the memory to intrude, if only for a moment. The way she felt against him… the taste of her innocence like honey on his tongue… how her moans had dripped into his mouth as he kissed her…

Fuck… he internally screamed. He tossed the shoe aside, running his fingers through his blonde hair in anguish. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the hard wall. He'd give all his wealth for the world to swallow him whole.

A girl's voice rang out, shattering his peaceful solitude. He was on his feet in a flash but when he saw the source, he stopped dead in his tracks, choosing to hide behind a column and just watched her.

She was carrying too many books, as was given with her. It prevented her from protecting herself as two Ravenclaw youths harassed her, using their wands to pull at her skirt, flipping the pleated material to reveal her shapely thighs.

Draco felt his hand clench into a fist, bile rising in his throat as his anger flared. He didn't even realize he had drawn his wand until his hand tightened on the Hawthorn.

Hermione stumbled as she juggled the tower of heavy volumes in her hands while also pushing her skirt down and desperately trying to walk away from the two halfwits. It was only a matter of time before the books fell, cascading with a heavy thud across the stone floor. The boys laughed, high fiving one another as if they had just won the Quidditch Cup.

With a slew of curses, Hermione lowered herself to the ground to collect the small library. She glared up at the youths and Draco felt a small smile tug at his lips. She was going to hex the hell out of them, deservedly so.

Unless Draco got to them first…

Draco stepped from behind the column, casually leaning one shoulder against the stone as he crossed his arms over his chest, positioning his wand in front of him. He cleared his throat.

Three sets of eyes turned in his direction. Recognition was immediate; the boys taking a step back from Hermione as they eyed Draco's wand. He was tapping it on his shoulder as a warning. Draco held their gazes, his eyes cold and devoid of all emotion. He purposely refrained from looking at her… afraid his Occlumency would fail him if he did.

"Apologize," he stated firmly.

The boys' eyes grew wide with fear. "S-sorry...Malfoy.." they stuttered, almost in unison.

"Not me, you gits ...to Ms. Granger."

Their mouths fell open in surprise. They swallowed, then turned to Hermione, "S-sorry...just having a bit of sport...that's all."

They didn't wait for her to answer, turning to look at Draco for confirmation their penance was complete.

Draco waved his wand in the direction of the books, "Pick them up."

They scrambled to the floor, practically fighting over who was going to stack the tomes. Draco took the opportunity to cast a sideways glance at Hermione. She had risen to her feet and backed away from the situation, chewing on the edge of her thumb in concentration.

It was a mistake to look at her. Now he couldn't seem to drag his vision away, his eyes slowly roving down her body, drinking in how she more than adequately filled out her school uniform.

"Malfoy?" one of the boys questioned.

"Leave," he ordered, his eyes lingering on her thighs now.

The boys quickly obeyed.

He saw Hermione release a breath, briefly glancing at him. Then she walked over to her books, lifting them into her arms.

The gentlemanly thing to do would be to go to her, take the books and carry them to their next destination.

Thankfully, he was no gentleman.

Draco returned his wand and turned, walking back to the alcove. He reclaimed his seat in the shadows, drawing his knees to his chest to rest his forearms there. He closed his eyes.

He knew she had followed him even if her footsteps had been so quiet. He could practically taste her smell as she drew close.

"Malfoy?" she softly called out.

He didn't move. "Granger."

"Are-are you all right?"

This got his attention. He opened his eyes, his body straightening when he saw how close she was, having seated herself next to him.

"Why do you ask?" he demanded.

She shrugged, "You-you don't look so well…"

He cringed, "Gee, thanks, Granger." His eyes closed again, and his head fell back against the wall. He wished she would just go away and leave him to his dark thoughts.

"C-can you believe Slughorn and that love potion? As if creating something so potent around all these teenagers was a smart thing to do…"

He opened his eyes and gave her an incredulous look. "What are you doing?"

She swallowed, "Being your friend…?"

He sneered, "This again? I have friends."

"Oh." She looked down at her hands twisting in the folds of her skirt. She seemed so defeated that for one moment he almost felt guilty. Almost…

His hand jerked against his knee involuntarily and he dug his fingers into his bones to keep from touching her.

She abruptly rose to her feet and he realized she was leaving. He thought it was what he wanted… he'd finally be able to breathe if she wasn't so close… but something deep sliced through his gut at the possibility.

He twisted his head to look out the window, avoiding her presence. If she thought he was no good for her before, now he was just evil incarnate. It was best they kept their distance.

Hermione stood there, nibbling on her bottom lip as she considered something. Then she turned towards him, hiked up her skirt and straddle his lap.

Draco practically leapt out of his skin, his hands falling to his side. "What the hell, Granger?"

"Shut up, Malfoy," she stated. Then she leaned forward, brushing his mouth with her lips.

It was a tentative kiss… which strangely overjoyed Draco. It meant she hadn't been practicing with other boys… boys like Potter and Weasley. She was still his

He sat forward, his hands gripping her waist so hard he was sure he would leave bruises. He deepened their exchange, his tongue prying her lips open with a shattered gasp.

Her hands travelled to his hair, her nails raking through the soft locks. It felt so good… to finally have her hands on him after so many sleepless nights spent wanking to the fantasy.

She let one hand drift to his cheek in a gentle caress, now more sallow from the stress and humiliation of the task that had been laid before him by the Dark Lord.

Fuck, the Dark Lordhis mission… It slowly drifted back to the forefront of his mind now. He couldn't do this. She was a distraction.

Hermione shifted against him, grinding her hips against the tight bulge there in his trousers.

Draco's mind went completely blank, everything else forgotten as the world melted away. It was only the two of them… and this

"Malfoy…" she whispered against his ear.

"Malfoy…"

"Malfoy!" one of the Ravenclaw boys yelled in his direction, pulling Draco from his reverie.

Draco snapped his head around to look at Hermione. She was giving him a confused look. Then her eyes drifted down and her cheeks blushed deep, her gaze lingering on his trousers for longer than was necessary.

Fuck, he was hard.

Without looking at the boys, he pointed at them with his wand, "Leave. Now."

They didn't hesitate, fleeing away from the scene as quick as their legs could carry them.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she crouched down, gathering and stacking the books. She stood and glanced in his direction.

"You look awful," she surmised.

"And you are the epitome of beauty, Granger," he replied sarcastically, giving her a mocking bow.

She snorted, "Same old Malfoy." She took out her wand and whispered an incantation, floating the heavy books before her. She started to walk away from him down the corridor.

Something vile crept inside him at her quite obvious dismissal of him. Before he knew what he was about, he had cut her off, cornering her against the wall. The books tumbled at their feet.

She gasped, "What do you think you are doing?"

He placed his palms against the wall on either side of her head, pinning her in his embrace. His eyes immediately fell to her lips.

She scoffed, "You are not going to kiss me again."

His anger seethed at her remark. "What? Saving it for Weasley?"

She met his anger, matching it with her own. "Who I am saving it for is none of your concern," she bit out.

He slammed his open palm against the wall, causing her to jump. "What's the matter, Granger? Afraid?" He was baiting her.

She laughed, "Afraid? Of you? Hardly…"

He leaned in close, relishing in how her breath caught. "Not of me…" he whispered, his breath hot against her cheek, "...afraid of how I make you feel…"

He let his gaze wantonly travel down the length of her. Her breath had picked up tempo...matching the racing beat of her heart.

"Gryffindor's Golden Girl… Slytherin's bad boy… Weasley would cream his shorts if he saw us together," he chuckled low at the thought.

"You're vile!" She attempted to punch him in his stomach but he caught her wrist, pinning it to her side with only the subtlest of pressures. She wasn't really trying to fight him. If he thought for a moment she wanted free of him, he'd let her go with nary a thought.

He interlaced their fingers. Then using his free hand, he brought his wand to the bare flesh of her throat, tracing a path down the center of her body with just the tip, dancing around her full breasts, the curve of her hip, the length of her thigh. He stopped just short of the hem of her pleated skirt. He licked his lips in anticipation, watching as he guided the wand beneath her skirt, slowly lifting the heavy fabric to reveal soft unblemished skin.

She released a shaky breath, drawing his attention back to her face. Her head had fallen back against the wall, her eyes squeezed tight, and she was biting her bottom lip again.

"Look at me, Granger," he commanded.

To his surprise, she complied. Her brown eyes were filled with an unmistakable heat. He had done that.

He leaned in close, his lips a breath apart from hers now. "Tell me, do you still think of me when you touch yourself?"

"Never," she spat at him.

He pressed himself against her now and there was no mistaking the moan that escaped her. "Liar."

His eyes travelled down again, his fingers aching to touch her bare skin beneath her hiked up skirt. "I've thought about you…" he admitted. "Every hour of every day since you punched me in the face during third year..."

He started to tremble… from an indescribable want only she could sate.

"Draco," she whispered, her free hand settling on his cheek, "are you well?"

"I rather think not," he confessed.

He sank to his knees before her, wrapping his arms around her thighs and burying his head against her skirt. He shook uncontrollably.

"C-can you just hold me, Hermione?" he pleaded, his voice sounding so alien to himself.

Her hands drifted to settle in his hair, her fingers running lightly though his soft locks, gently caressing him. He cringed, feeling the wetness staining the plaid fabric.

He was crying against her, the silent tears pulling tremors from his body as he mourned the inevitable death of all the goodness he had left.

The death of any possible future he may have had with her…

She remained standing for as long as she could, back pressed against the stone wall, arms cradling him or caressing his hair or massaging his shoulders. Then, once her legs gave out and she slumped to the floor, she pulled him against her, her hands drawing patterns on the back of his jumper to comfort him the way he had once done for her.

He lifted his head to meet her gaze. With a courage he didn't know he was even capable of, he leaned in and laid a tender kiss to her lips.

He pushed himself to his feet then, grabbing his wand from the floor to shove into his waistband before turning from her and walking away.