A/N: I took inspiration from a scene in the HBP movie in this chapter so obligatory disclaimer- I don't know anything but this sweet, sweet plot.

Chapter 19


"She fucking cheated on me!" Draco slammed his closed fists into the wall of stalls, the faded green paint chipping and sticking to his hands.

Myrtle was floating a few feet away, hovering nervously up and down. She drifted to the side, twirling one of her pigtails around her finger.

"I thought she wasn't your girlfriend."

Draco rounded on her. "She's not. I'm fucking done with that bitch," he snarled. Cold corrosion was creeping deep into him. Draco could hardly see straight. He felt like his blood was about to burst through his skin. He felt like puking. He couldn't get the image of that fucking piece of shit Blood Traitor on his girl out of his head.

"But… she was?" Myrtle asked in a small voice.

"Haven't you been listening?! Or are you deaf as well as dead?!" He glared at her, grey eyes shooting daggers into her glazed ones. "How could I ever love a dirty fucking Mudblood like her?!"

She blinked her glassy eyes behind her stupid fucking frames, face dropping with disappointment. "Mudblood?" she gasped. "You… you love her?"

He threw his fist into the side of the stall and the wood cracked and splintered. Hot rushing pain shot up his arm. Fuck.

He couldn't breathe. It was happening again. His chest felt tight, his heart beating too fast. Muscles contracted and wouldn't relax, constricting painfully. He couldn't stop seeing Weasley leaning in closer and closer and closer.

Then pretty boy McLaggen replaced him. Granger in her pretty pink dress showing off her tits and McLaggen's fucking hands on them. Goddamn it! He threw his fist into the broken wood again and felt it bite into his skin. His heart was beating so hard it was going to burst.

"I don't," he hit the ruined wood again. "Love-" and again. "HER!"

Draco sunk to the floor, gasping, unable to hold himself up anymore. Myrtle drifted slightly closer, but kept her distance. He pressed his hands onto the cold stone floor, arms shaking uncontrollably as he tried to suck air into his broken chest.

"Fuck her," his voice broke. "Fuck her."

Myrtle settled her ghostly body next to his. "Are you okay?"

He closed his eyes, burning with the images of Krum spinning her around, McLaggen feeling her up, and Weasley leaning closer and closer. She was his. His alone. No one else could have her. She. Was. His.

"Get the fuck away from me," he growled.

Myrtle reached out a transparent hand and placed it on his bloodied one. It should have been cold, but it was the same temperature as his.

"Don't fucking touch me, you dead bitch!" Draco shouted, ripping his hand away from her.

She pulled back, floating up and away from him. He heard her sniffle before she dove into a toilet, wailing as she flushed herself down the pipes.

Water splashed onto the floor, soaking his knees and running over his hands. His blood trailed away in it as it pushed farther and farther out. He was still shaking as he made it back to his feet.

Draco forced himself to take a step, then another. He couldn't take this. He had let that filthy little cunt fuck him up when he had a goddamn job to do for the Dark Lord. He was going to die. He was going to fail and then he was going to die. Because of her. It was all because of her.

He walked out of the bathroom, dripping water and blood behind him and down the stairs to the dungeons.

"Fucking Mudblood bitch," He muttered as he wrenched his trunk open, pulling out clothes and his father's walking stick, tossing them to ground. He shoved his bloody hand into the bottom on his trunk and it closed on the cool glass. "I'll fucking show her," he growled and pulled the cork out of the bottle.

Draco chugged down as much as he could before he spluttered and coughed. Fuck, he might puke. No… no he was keeping it down. Good. He only had the one bottle for now and he had to make this count.

He was going to get stone cold drunk and make himself forget all about Granger and her little sweet smile and big doe eyes. After that, he was going to fix that piece of shit Cabinet and kill Dumbledore so he could get the fuck out of here and far, far away from her.

"Draco, what the fuck?" Blaise said from the doorway.

He swayed as he turned around, leaning on the dark wooden frame of his bed.

"Mate, you're a fucking wreck!" Blaise's dark eyes moved over him, brows knitted together in concern. His clothes were soaked with water, blood smeared over his hand and a bottle in the other.

Draco laughed. There was no joy and levity in it; it was a cold and mirthless laugh. "I'm going to fuck her."

Blaise's brows shot up. "Who? Draco, who the hell are you talking about?"

"Granger," he growled and took a shaky step forward. Blaise eyed him nervously. "I'm going to fuck that bitch up."


Hermione sat still, looking down at lunch as everyone else chatted happily with their friends around her. She was doing her best to keep to her routine. The routine gave her something to do, someplace to be because she couldn't stop the memories of Draco looming over her, speaking those words over and over.

"I'm fucking done with you."

Her chest hurt. She had known, all along, that one day this would happen. It would be over. But she never thought it would be like this. Not because of… Well it wasn't really her fault. It had been wrong of her to tell him about Cormac like that, but it was so long ago and they had barely been anything then. It had been that night that changed things. And Ron…

She glanced down the Gryffindor table to where he was sitting with Harry and Neville. He didn't look as cheerful as he normally did this morning, but he looked better than she did.

She had tried her best to swallow it down, not to let it bother her. Draco- no, Malfoy had slithered in deeper than she had realized. It had been hard, seeing Ron with someone else before, but it hadn't been like this. Maybe because she and Ron had never had anything and she and Draco- Malfoy had. Or maybe it was because she cared about him more than she ever had Ron.

Her hands felt cold despite the May heat and she scanned the paper in front of her. The front page was full of names of people who had been attacked or were reported missing and she felt the coldness move farther in. Things were getting bad. Fast. It was alarming how quickly things were devolving and she glanced back over at her friends, worried for them, Harry most of all.

She hadn't had many friends before she came to Hogwarts and she had been thrilled when Harry and Ron had adopted her, for lack of a better term. But that's what it felt like. They were their own little family here and she was scared for what the future held for them. Especially because she was falling for Draco.

The feelings she had tried to explain away were now all too real and she was paying dearly for ignoring them for so long. It wasn't a little crush or teenage lust that she felt for him. This was real. This was… she didn't even want to think the word. Not now. Now that it was over.

"I like you."

"I've never met a girl like you."

"You don't know what you are to me."

It had been real. Everything she had told herself- that it was just what he needed to hear or a part of the game or… whatever excuses she had made up in her mind to justify being with him, doing those things; it had all been real. And it had been real for him too.

The ache in her chest intensified.

If it had just been physical he wouldn't have reacted like he did. Granted the way he reacted was completely ridiculous. Her back had been to him and maybe all he saw was Ron leaning down, but either way, he should have listened to her! She tried to tell him, she tried… Hermione sighed and sat her paper down. She couldn't focus.

She just kept seeing the anger and hurt in his stormy eyes last night. She didn't like that he had yelled at her. She didn't like that he had accused her of… well, not being unfaithful because they weren't really together, but how could he think that she would do something like that? She had told him she liked him. She had never told a boy she liked him before. It had meant something to her. He meant something to her.

"You're not eating?" Ginny asked, light brown eyes clouded with worry. "Hermione, you didn't eat breakfast either. What's going on?"

She just shook her head. "I don't have much of an appetite today." She folded the paper up and dropped her hands to her lap. Normally she would be picking at her nails, but… today she just didn't have the energy for it. She'd barely slept last night. At least she hadn't had one of her nightmares. Would the Death Eater in her dreams have shouted at her too?

Draco hadn't been in classes this morning and she didn't know if that made it worse or not. What would it be like when she finally saw him again? Saw his white blonde hair, his piercing grey eyes. Would he even look at her?

What was he doing now? Was he holed up somewhere with another girl? Oh God, the thought made her sick. Her eyes moved without her consent and she looked over to the Slytherin table across the hall. A quick scan let her know that his white blonde hair was not there, but surprisingly she did meet a dark gaze.

Blaise Zabini was watching her carefully, deep thoughts in his dark eyes. He seemed to be trying to figure something out and he didn't flinch when her eyes landed on his. Her lips parted slightly as a thought occurred to her; Zabini was Malfoy's friend. Well, as close to a friend as he got. And the way he was watching her... did he know?

Zabini dropped his eyes back to his food and she could see his cunning mind working on something. If he didn't know before, she was almost sure he knew something now. He had never looked her way before, in fact, he mostly pretended like she didn't exist. The only thing that had changed was her relationship with Draco.

Pansy's bark-like laugh sounded sharply as Nott fed her a chip, smiling broadly. At least he's not with her. But there were dozens of girls he could be with. Or he could be passed out drunk. He had only stopped drinking because she had asked him to and before that he had been well on his way to making the habit a compulsion.

"What's going on with you?" Ginny asked quietly. "You're never this quiet. Is it… Ron?"

Hermione's head turned in her direction at the mention of him. Ron. Even though he had said he was done, would he still go after him? It wasn't like Draco- Malfoy to be forgiving and he still thought she had kissed him. Oh God, Ron!

Quickly she looked back down the table, as if she thought the stormy sky was going to open him up and strike him down. No, he was fine, just sitting there as Neville brushed some crumbs off himself and waved goodbye to him and Harry. Harry bent his head low with Ron and pulled out the Map.

The Map!

Hermione stood up quickly.

"Where are you going?" Ginny called out but she ignored her.

Hermione sat down beside Harry. "Are you looking for Malfoy?" she asked and was surprised at how raspy her voice sounded from disuse.

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, clearly surprised that she was interested and not berating him for it.

"Where is he?" she demanded.

Harry unfolded the Map under the table and she bent forward, searching for a black dot labeled Draco Malfoy.

"He's in his dorm," Harry explained. "Been there all morning."

Hermione took a deep breath. He was alone. At least he was alone. But alone in bed? He must have been drinking. Concern strummed her heartstrings and she glanced up, meeting Zabini's charcoal eyes again.

"Hermione-" Ron started.

"I have to go." She stood up.

"Wait, can we-" He grabbed her hand and she quickly jerked it away from him.

"Stop, Ron!" She shouted. A few heads turned in their direction. Ron's blue eyes widened. "Just… stop." She shook her head, messy curls falling in her face. For some reason she met Lavender's piercing eyes and quickly looked away. She didn't have time to deal with whatever accusation her dorm mate would throw at her. Hermione grabbed her bag and headed out of the Great Hall.

"Hermione!" Ginny was running after her.

She took another large breath and turned around. "Ginny, I really don't-"

"I just want to make sure you're okay. I get that whatever it is you aren't ready to talk about it. But, I'm here when you are. If it's Ron or it's not, it doesn't matter. I'm your friend. I'm here for you."

She felt like falling into Ginny's arms right there in the Entrance Hall and telling her everything. Draco, what they'd done, how she felt… everything. It was a lot to handle on her own and now that Draco wasn't there for her… but he had never been her friend. Not like Ginny.

She won't be your friend once you tell her.

Hermione closed her mouth and blinked a few times, looking into the loving, caring eyes of Ginny Weasley. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Hermione, I know you're not."

"I… I just have t-," Ron appeared, walking out the Great Hall, looking around. His blue eyes landed on her. "I have to go."

Hermione turned and headed up the large marble staircase. Behind her she heard Ginny start to fuss loudly at Ron who was yelling back.

"I didn't do anything!"

"You obviously did! She's clearly upset over something!"

Hermione leaned against a suit of armor. Now she was causing problems in the Weasley family. When would this end?

Then the voice in her head sounded again. Last night. It ended last night.


"Get. Up."

Snape was standing next to Draco's bed and he lazily lifted his head off of the pillow and looked up with bleary, bloodshot eyes.

"Now."

He let his head fall back into the soft pillow. He knew eventually he would have to rise from his self imposed exile and face the world above, but he was hung over as fuck and today was not the day for it.

"I will drag you from his bed if I have to."

Draco opened his eyes only far enough to glare at his Godfather. "I'd like to see you try," he sneered.

Snape raised one brow. "You have a job to do, Draco. Part of that job is maintaining your position as a Hogwarts student. Students," he pulled the covers back and Draco groaned. "Go to class."

"I told you, I'm almost done." Draco seethed.

Snape grabbed his arm, digging his fingers into the mark making it flare to life with pain. Draco cried out, his arm on fire, his head pounding and his stomach churning with the liquor still left in it.

Snape jerked him up. "You reek of alcohol," he snarled. "If your father could see you now…"

"Well he can't!" Draco shouted, causing his head to throb. "He's in a prison cell, dying."

Snape's black eyes narrowed. "And you're acting like a spoilt little boy. Now get up!"

Draco spilled unceremoniously onto the floor in a tangle of sheets. He pushed himself up, scowling darkly. He opened his mouth to tell Snape to go fuck himself when a spill of vomit came out instead.

Snape jumped out of the way, cursing and swearing. "You're a louche, indolent, man-child who will end up getting us both killed if you do not get yourself together!"

Draco heaved in breath, tasting the foulness that he had brought forth. "You think I give a shit about you?"

Snape's lip curled. "No. No, Draco, I do not. But I do think you still care for your mother and if your own impending doom is not enough to move you, know that the Dark Lord's anger knows no bounds."

Draco leaned back against the side of the bed. Snape was right. He couldn't spend the rest of the year locked up in here hoping to drink Granger away. Fuck… why had he pushed her away in the first place?

It hadn't even been a full day and he already couldn't stand the thought of facing another one without her. He couldn't picture his life without her now. He needed her. Needed her more than the whisky he was trying so hard to replace her with. He lov- No. He was still drunk. Once he sobered up some these feelings would be set right. It was just the liquor talking.

Snape moved to grab him again and Draco jerked his arm away. "I'm getting up," he grumbled.

Snape looked down disapprovingly at him. "Clean yourself up. Get dressed. And get to class, Draco."


Hermione finally gave in at dinner and ate a few forkfuls of peas and half a glass of pumpkin juice when she heard his name being called on the other side of the Hall. Nott was waving him over with open arms and laughing loudly, saying something that sounded like, "Finally made it out of bed!" before Draco slumped into a seat next to him.

She couldn't stop staring. His clothes were finely pressed, but that was the only thing on him that looked put together. His white blonde hair was still wet from a shower and he looked even paler than usual. He threw Theo an empty, flat smile and took a long drink straight from the flagon of pumpkin juice on the table.

Well, at least he seemed to feel just as bad as she did. A small part of her thought he deserved it. If he would have just listened to her then none of this would have happened. She would have calmly told him that there was nothing going on between her and Ron and that he hadn't kissed her. That she had stopped it. Because- because she liked him. Really liked him.

Oh, Hermione, what have you gotten yourself into?

He leaned over and said something to Crabbe whose expression fell, but he nodded. She wasn't sure, but it looked like Draco slipped him something under the table. Gold? What was he paying Crabbe for?

Oh no… Ron.

Was that what he had done to Cormac? Paid someone like Crabbe or Goyle to beat him up? That was it. She might not be happy with Ron, but she wasn't going to let anything happen to him. She had to set this right. She forced down another mouthful of peas and opened up her Transfiguration book so no one would bother her while she snuck little glances at him to see when he was done.

Draco stayed in the Great Hall until almost everyone else had left. Nott and Pansy had headed out, but Crabbe and Goyle were still eating when he stood up with Zabini and started making their way out of the Hall. Hermione snapped her book shut and shoved it back in her bag before quickly following them.

She didn't like the fact that Zabini was with him, but if they were done then Draco could just make up some excuse as to why he was talking to her. He'd probably said plenty of awful things about her to Zabini before, this wouldn't be any different. But she couldn't help but have a small glimmer of hope that Draco might feel differently once he knew the truth.

"Malfoy!" Thank Godric she remembered to call him Malfoy this time. Hermione was a higher up on the stairs when he and Blaise turned towards her.

Draco's eyes widened ever so slightly and his brows lifted millimeters up. That was the only indication that she had that he even recognized her. She glanced over at Blaise who was looking between the two of them, dark eyes calculating and lips pressed thinly together.

Hermione stopped a few steps up from him and took a breath. "Can I speak with you?" It felt so strange to address him like this, as if they were strangers.

Draco didn't say anything for a few uncomfortable seconds and then he leaned over to Blaise and muttered, "Set it up. This won't take long."

Blaise nodded and eyed Hermione again before descending down the stairs. Draco waited then turned back to her, grey eyes unreadable except for the small twitch in the left one. He folded his arms over his chest.

She realized she hadn't been breathing and started to feel lightheaded. Or maybe that was just because she was here with him again. It seemed impossible that this was the same person who had flown her into the Forest and set up the chaise in the Room of Requirement. He was so cold…

Malfoy was staring at her with that emotionless expression on his face. She wished she knew what he was thinking, but on second thought maybe it was better that she didn't.

He needed to know what she was thinking though. That's why she was here. "He didn't kiss me," she blurted out. "I know what it must have looked like, but he didn't kiss me. I stopped him."

Draco's eye twitched again.

"I wouldn't have let him. Draco, I-" she stepped down another stair and stopped talking. "I wouldn't do that to you."

She wished he would say something. Anything. Well, maybe not anything.

"Look, I know you hate me now-"

"Never stopped." His eyes were as hard as iron.

Hermione's mouth dropped open. "Yes," she blinked a few times. "I know." This wasn't going at all the way she wanted. "Draco, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for telling you about Cormac like that, but the only reason I didn't tell you before was because it didn't mean anything to me. It wasn't… it wasn't like… well you know."

She glanced up at him and he was still staring at her with those cold grey eyes. This was stupid. She was stupid for trying to talk to him. Draco was stubborn and selfish. He wasn't going to give an inch even if it meant he got her back. He didn't even want her anymore.

"Nothing happened. I swear." He still gave nothing away. Hermione bit her lip. "So you won't touch him?"

Draco's lip curled. "I'm not touching another filthy Gryffindor for as long as I live."

The wounded animal in her chest yelped, then growled. "I understand." She stood up a little straighter. "So you can call off Crabbe and tell Zabini he doesn't need to set anything up." She let her frustration ring clear in her voice, even if it was a little lighter than normal.

Draco blinked, making the stone expression on his face waiver for a moment before he leaned his face in close to hers. Hermione sucked in a quick breath and caught a whiff of his mint and parchment scent. "You don't know what you're talking about." His eyes bore into hers and Hermione stopped breathing. "And curiosity killed the cat, kitten," he sneered at her and turned, taking heavy steps down below.


Sweat was beaded on his forehead as he meticulously twisted his wand inside the Cabinet. Hours upon hours he had spent in here over the past few days. He tried to fill any down time with chess games with Blaise, but his friend frowned on his drinking. And he asked too many questions about his 'mystery girl' telling him to fix it already because he was an asshole without her.

Draco did his best to ignore him just like he was trying to ignore Granger. But as always, it was impossible. It would have been easier to try and block out the sun than keep himself from noticing every little thing about her. Granger kept to herself, and away from Weasley. He was happy about that, but she was sad. And he had done that.

He had worked so hard to earn those few little smiles from her and in one night ruined any chance he had at seeing them again. He had tried to drink her away, but doused in the depths of a bottle all he could think about was how he had made the only thing that was worth watching the sun come up go away. All that helped was drinking and even that didn't help much.

Borgin had kept him well supplied in Ogden's and he was careful not to drink too much while he was working lest he damage the Cabinet further. Just enough to get him by.

Once he stopped working however… Click.

Draco blinked and exhaled sharply. He did it. He had done it. It… He pulled his wand back from the dark recesses of the Cabinet and opened the cage next to him. A yellow canary sat in there and gently he wrapped his hand around it. The fragile bird chirped loudly and batted one wing against his fingers, trying to get free. He placed it in the Cabinet and closed the door.

Closing his eyes he whispered, "Harmonia Nectere Passus" and the chirping stopped.

He opened the Cabinet and… it was empty. His blood pumped a little faster as he closed it back. After a moment he opened it back up and… Holy fucking Salazar.

A single pale yellow feather sat there, shifting slightly with the movement of the air around it.

It worked.

It fucking worked.

Animate objects could pass through.

Draco smoky eyes opened wide and his lungs emptied of air. He picked up the little feather and held it up.

It wasn't completely ready yet, but it was on its way. Magical objects were harder to pass through than mundane ones and simple animals were easier than a human would be. There was still work to be done before he could use this as his escape, but… he was close. Very close.

He ripped a piece of parchment and quickly scrawled a note, folding it and writing his aunt's name on it. Sealing it with his Malfoy crest ring, he knew Borgin was smart enough not to peek inside. He placed it in there and picked up the empty bottle at his feet and placed it next to the note along with a small stack of silver coins.

Closing the door he murmured the incantation again and waited a few moments before opening the Cabinet again.

His father would be allowed to come home. His mother would cry with joy. His Lord would be thrilled with him, praising him for a job well done. All he had to do was… was kill a man.

Draco grabbed the replacement bottle out of the cabinet and opened it. He stared at it for a moment before turning it up and taking a quick swing of it. It burned. God, did it burn.

Fuck, he had missed this. He missed… he missed her. He couldn't pretend he didn't and no matter how much he drank he couldn't stop the image of her eyes burning into his as she came unraveled underneath him out of his head.

He knew he had a temper and she swore nothing happened. He replayed that night so many times- Weasley leaning in close to her and then… she had stepped back. Granger had stepped back.

But he had just been so… so angry that he hadn't even bothered to register that Granger had stopped it. And McLaggen… Merlin, how could he be mad at her about that when as soon as she had left he had gone straight to Pansy and made her suck him off?

Fuck. Blaise was right. He was an asshole.

But she was a bitch too. She could have fucking told him. Or at least not told him like that. But the bitch had beaten him to the punch and apologized for that already. Merlin fuck, if he would have known McLaggen had his fucking hands on her he wouldn't have just broken one, he would have fucking cursed it off. One finger at a time. But she would have been even more upset over that. He rolled his shoulders and took another drink.

And Weasley? Well… that Blood Traitor already had it coming. It was a shame the poison hadn't finished the job. At least then he wouldn't have worry about that grimy ginger trying to move in on his girl. Weasley wasn't his intended target, but Draco didn't mind that piece of shit being a casualty either. He scowled darkly. He wanted to at least crucio him a couple of times and then when he was prostrate on the floor grab Granger and remind her who she really belonged to.

Draco tipped the bottle back again.

Him. She belonged to him.

The whisky was hitting his brain now and he blinked heavily, trying to make his vision focus. Granger… he wanted her. So fucking bad.

It had taken everything in him, every fucking ounce of self-control, every mental block, to not pull her down those stairs with him and right into his bed. Fuck he hated her, he… no. He didn't hate her. He hated that he didn't hate her. He hated how he felt about her, that he might even lo- Stop. You're too drunk to think about this right now.

But, he wasn't too drunk to act on those thoughts. And now that he was close to repairing the Cabinet he didn't have much time left.

He thought he could just leave her behind, but he couldn't. Fuck, he couldn't. He couldn't even stop thinking about her. Draco leaned against the Cabinet for a moment and gathered himself. He glanced up at it, dark and towering. Would he be able to leave her behind when the time came?

He swallowed another mouthful and set his mind. The time hadn't come yet and neither had he. Finding his balance, Draco moved forward. He knew a few of her haunts, he'd check those first. And if he couldn't find her… well, he had the rest of the bottle for that.


Hermione wrung out her hair with a soft white towel and then wrapped it around herself. The past few days without Draco had been some of the hardest she'd known since coming to Hogwarts. But she hadn't cried. She was proud of herself for that fact alone. She had promised herself that she wouldn't be another one of those girls and so far she wasn't. Although each day was a challenge not to.

The night after following him into the stairwell had been the hardest so far. She laid in her bed, eyes wide and open and warring with herself over her feelings. She had done everything she could to make it right, at least for her part in this. She had explained to him what happened, told him how she felt, and tried to protect Ron.

A reasonable, rational person might have listened, but that wasn't Draco. Draco was obstinate and always wanted everything his way. She had let her melancholy roll through her, but now felt… angry. She was mad at him. Mad for being too much of a coward to admit he was wrong. Mad for being able to shut off his feelings when hers were roaring. Mad that he seemed content drinking away his problems instead of being a man and talking to her.

God, no one got to her like he did. No one.

And she knew why, because no one made her feel anything as much as he did.

Why? Why did it have to be him? Of all people, why did she have to fall for Draco Malfoy? The air was cooler now that she was out of the bath and Hermione adjusted the towel over her and pressed her arms in closely to her sides as her body tried to heat back up.

At least she still had her schedule to cling to. She had already finished all her coursework that had been assigned this week, working late on it to try and distract herself from thoughts she shouldn't be having. But tonight Harry, Ron, and Ginny were all at practice and she with no homework to keep her busy, Hermione had taken the evening to soak away her troubles in the Prefect's bath.

It hadn't really worked. The warm water did soothe her sore muscles, but did nothing for the hurt in her heart. She just couldn't stop thinking about him.

"You're a bloody curse! I can't get you out of my head, can't think, can't fucking breathe!"

She took a deep breath and her heart beat a little faster.

"You're burning a hole in me!"

She felt it too. Or at least something akin to it. Draco hadn't burned her, but he had come in and plucked a part of her out, taking it with him when he left. She wasn't sure, but it might have been her heart.

Her own fire burned brighter for a moment as she gave in to her frustration. This was his fault. He was jealous beyond belief, he had overreacted and not listened to her either of the times she tried to talk to him, he was the reason they hadn't soaked in the bath together tonight. Him and his stupid Slytherin arrogance.

She wanted to slap him. She wanted to kiss him. She wanted… him. Despite everything, Hermione wanted him.

Hermione brushed her darkened curls back and tightened the towel around her then looked up and saw him standing there.

Hermione jumped back and slipped on the wet floor. "Oh!" she cried out and her arm waved out, trying to find her balance.

A strong hand grabbed it and he pulled her to him. Hermione latched onto the front of his black shirt, clinging to him so she wouldn't go crashing down. His other arm snaked around her, holding her up and against him.

Hermione looked up hesitantly, eyes wide. He was staring back down at her with those hard grey eyes. Was this real? He hadn't even acknowledged her existence in days and now he was here, and she was in his arms again. Oh God it felt good. Too good.

His fingers flexed and he gripped her tighter. Hermione was stable now and released his shirt only to spread her fingers across the black fabric of his shirt, remembering the way his chest had felt against her hands, her skin…

He let out a low breath and she smelled the sickly sweetness of whisky on his breath. He was drunk. Of course he was. That's probably why he was here, he'd never be here if he was sober. Would he? Had he missed her too? Goodness, if he had missed her half as much as she had missed him…

"Granger," he breathed out and the smell of whisky mixed with his mint invaded her nostrils and she closed her eyes, breathing it in.

Then he was kissing her. Hard and deep and rough. Hermione let out a little moan and Malfoy growled deep in his throat, tightening his hold on her. They were stumbling backwards; his hands moving over her, down her back and up into her hair, controlling her. Hermione gave in. She wanted this. Wanted him. More than anything.

His mouth moved down her jaw and to her neck, nipping at the skin there. The sensation was overwhelming but she couldn't shut up the little voice in her head that kept screaming don't let him get away with this!

Hermione gasped as he latched on to the sensitive spot right below her ear. "Draco, Draco stop."

His lips stopped moving immediately, but they didn't leave her skin. She could feel his body tense on top of hers. He was waiting.

She had half a mind to make him wait as long as he had made her wait, but truth be told she wanted this just as badly as he did. Even if she wants to make him pay first.

She pushed on his shoulders and gradually he pulled back until she was looking up into his eyes, the whites tinged with red and the pupils expanded, almost taking over the smoky grey.

"You said you were done."

"I lied." It came out so easy, like he just told her that the grass was green.

Hermione blinked her eyes wide at him. "You did all that just to, what? Teach me a lesson?"

His expression didn't change. "I meant it," he said tonelessly and Hermione thought she might sink through the floor. "When I said it. Things changed. My cock never agreed with my mouth anyways." He smirked and leaned down close to her again, lips hovering above hers. "I can't stay away from you. And you don't want me to, do you, Sweetheart?"

Hermione stopped breathing. How did he always seem to know what she was thinking? Maybe he feels the same as you. She frowned in thought. Was this just physical for him right now? And also, did she even care?

"Oh, Granger, if you stick that lip out, it's fair game. And I play dirty." His mouth was back on hers, tongue slipping in and sliding against hers, swirling in her mouth and filling it with the mint and whisky taste of him. He sucked on her bottom lip before grazing it with his teeth, threatening her with the bite she knew would soon come.

She pulled her head to the side. He was drunk. She hated when he drank. It always ended up with them fighting and how could she know this was real if he was wasted right now? Would he still want her in the morning? Would she still want him after tonight?

"So you get horny and come and find me," she snapped. "What if I'm not in the mood?"

Draco gave her a knowing look. "Want me to get you wet?"

"I want you to beg me." Hermione was shocked by her own words, almost as much as Draco seemed to be, but she didn't let it show on her face. She held his grey gaze in her rich brown one.

"Beg?" He asked as if he didn't understand the word. "I think you've forgotten how this works."

Hermione gave him a seemingly innocent smile. Two could play that game. "There must be something you can do to… convince me."

Lightning struck in in his stormy eyes and his lips parted slightly as he sucked in a quick breath. She was proud of herself. It wasn't often that she rendered him speechless. In fact, Draco always seemed to have a well-timed quip to everything she said. He could go toe to toe with her and hold his own. Time to see if he could hold anything else.

Draco leaned in close to her, running his hands up her arms and pushing them into her. "You're all I thought about," he breathed out. "Every waking moment- you were there. Here." His lips moved over her jaw to her neck to her ear, his breathing hot and heavy in it. "I could beat off, I could drink myself stupid, but I couldn't get you out. You're in my blood, Granger."

She… had not been expecting that.

"And I don't want you out."

Oh dear Godric… her legs were weak. Actually weak. She felt frozen and alive all at the same time. He could be lying, saying what he needed to for her to sleep with him again, but it didn't sound like he was lying. And he had mentioned he told the truth when he drank…

"So let me in. Let me in, Granger, let me back in."

"Yes, Draco, yes," she gasped out and he picked her up, wrapping her legs around him. Hermione moved her hands up, grabbing the back of his neck and holding herself up on him. She whimpered a moan into his mouth and Draco swallowed it down, probing her for more with his tongue.

He knelt down and laid her back on the cool tile floor, kissing her again, his lips showing no mercy and she asked for none. Her fingers knotted in his hair, pulling it, letting him know how much she wanted this. Needed this. Loved this.

Draco sat up, breathing heavily. Hermione looked up at him, a little nervous. He wouldn't just leave her here again, would he? He had left her gasping in the Library and breathless in the Room of Requirement, she didn't think she could take it if he left again.

Draco pulled her towel open, flinging it off her body. His eyes darkened with lust as he gazed down at her. She lay still, waiting for him to make a move. He traced a finger from the dip of her throat down between her breasts to her navel, his eyes following it. Then they cut back up to hers.

"Mine," he growled.

Hermione nodded. She was. And more than that, she wanted to be.

He was back on her, hands scouring every inch of her. Hermione moaned into his mouth. Yes yes yes. Her body tightened and she felt him pulling at his trousers.

"Please, Malfoy," She gasped as he grazed his teeth down her neck. "Take me. I'm yours."

He filled her. She cried out, clasping her hands to him. He didn't ease into her this time and start slowly to build up, no, this had already been building up and now he was giving it to her. All of it.

She gasped and panted, wincing as he stretched her. Draco grunted with effort, driving himself deeper and deeper. He grabbed her face, turning her head up and making her look at him as he plunged himself inside her.

"You want me?" He panted.

Hermione whimpered and nodded.

"Say it."

"I want you. Oh God, Draco, I want you."

He sunk himself in and Hermione's mouth opened up as she gasped.

"And Weasley?" he growled.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Now? He was asking her this now?

She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her. "Only you."

Draco growled again and pulled her hand from his soft black shirt, gathering her other hand and pushing them above her head, holding them with one of his large ones like he had their first time.

He groaned loudly and pulled her leg up higher, hooking it in his elbow and thrusting himself back into her. Hermione's head fell back as her body was alight with the bliss rising in her. She knew she was loud, but didn't even care. Nothing mattered now except him.

He sucked at her neck viciously. She'd have to cast another glamour charm, but it felt too good to make him stop. Maybe it was wrong, but she liked having his marks on her. She liked that he wanted to give them to her. His grip on her wrists tightened and he pressed them into the hard tile floor. Hermione gasped and Draco sunk his teeth in, just hard enough to make her clench pleasurably.

It was fast and demanding. The passion was burning, raging, turning into an inferno. One that she would gladly walk through if Draco was on the other side. She had thought it was over, that she'd never have him again, never feel like this again. But Draco was here now, he hadn't been able to walk away either. The emotions in her chest, pumping in her blood, didn't seem foolish now. She could feel the same ones in him; pressing, pounding into her.

She felt him speed up and knew he must be getting close. It had been long enough and they both wanted this desperately. Draco was being rough, claiming his territory. He turned his urgent lips on hers and he held her face up to his, making her look at him as he thrust himself in her.

"Come, Draco," she moaned. "I missed this so much. You so much. Please… I want you to come." His hand tightened around her wrists again and sweet pain shot down her arms, through her body, and between her legs, making her clench hard around him as it exploded there. Hermione let loose a high pitched moan and pressed her hips up into him as he bore down on her.

He made a weak noise as he pushed himself back and she felt him release on her thigh. "Goddamn, Granger, what the fuck…" he said hoarsely and for a moment she thought he was angry until he turned his eyes back up to hers and they were shining like polished silver.

"Did… did you just beg me to come?" He asked, a little slurred, like he wasn't sure this was real.

Hermione bit her lip and nodded, feeling herself blush a little. He still had her hands in his and she squirmed a little on the towel under her, her body still coming down. He was hovering over her, expression changing from dumbfounded to… was he nervous?

Draco's mouth crashed back onto hers and she moaned into it again. His fingers dove into her hair and wrapped around the back of her neck, pulling her up against him, controlling their kiss. She arched her back, pressing her chest against him, loving this feeling she had missed so much.

"Fuck, I love-."

The shock of those words shot through her and she froze, her entire body stiffening and feeling the same stillness she had when she had been petrified. What was he about to say?

Draco's grey eyes went wide and fearful. He was still on top of her, holding her hands above her head, staring down at her like she might attack him.

The floor might have turned upside down or maybe just they had. Had he really been about to say-

"That. I loved that. Shit, I'm wasted." He released her and sat up, still watching her warily, waiting to see her reaction as he rubbed his hand through his pale blond hair and over his face. Returning it to its usual apathetic arrogance.

Hermione slowly wrapped the towel back around her and looked at everything that wasn't him, trying to keep the shock off her face as she processed this. She had no idea what to say or what to do… Did he mean to or was he just drunk? Really drunk. Did she want him to say it? Did she…?

She sat up and pulled her legs up to her chest and Draco sat back on his heels, fixing his trousers back closed. No… he couldn't have meant that, could he? Anyways, he had corrected himself. And he did let things slip when he drank. But the question now was what had slipped, his tongue or his heart?

"Why… why were you drinking?" She asked. She had to say something. If he left before she did…

He glanced up at her, looking much more sober than he had a moment ago. The shock must have gotten to him too. But he seemed grateful at her slight change of subject.

"Celebrating," He said as he buckled his belt back.

"What were you celebrating?" She chewed on her lip, wrapping her arms around her knees.

Draco studied her for a moment and then leaned in and kissed her, softer this time, but still enveloping. His hand stayed on the side of her neck and his thumb brushed over her cheek and down her to her throat as he pulled back and smirked at her.

"I've decided to forgive you."

Forgive her? But she didn't do anything wrong! Maybe now was not the time to point that out though. Letting her pride run away with her was what got her in this mess in the first place. But, that didn't mean she had to roll over. She did enough rolling with him.

"I've decided to forgive you too."

Draco cocked a brow up. "Oh?"

She nodded. He grinned. He was in a good mood. Well, who wouldn't be after that?

"Good girl."

"Draco-" Hermione called out as he made to stand up. He glanced back at her. It was risky, but… she had to. "You're not going to go after Ron, are you?"

His face turned cold and emotionless. "You think he should get away with that, huh?" He pretended to adjust his belt again.

Hermione got to her feet, pulling the towel around her again. "It won't happen again. I promise. But… he is my friend. You can't hurt him."

Draco's expressionless features were impossible to read and she waited, hoping, praying, that he would agree.

"What if I do?"

Hermione's heart sank. They were negotiating. She was negotiating Ron's safety. At least they were talking about this. It might not be the healthiest thing to have to discuss, but for the first time they were communicating instead of just reacting.

"That would be a hard line." She wanted to put this in terms he would clearly understand.

"That's not really how that works," Draco smirked, as if he knew something she didn't.

"If you cross that line, I won't be able to forgive you."

Draco seemed to consider this, testing it out behind his silver eyes.

"If he touches you again-" He started.

"He won't."

"Well, let's just say McLaggen got off easy."

"You said you didn't do that to him."

"I say a lot of things," he shrugged.

"So it would seem." She hugged her arms around herself.

She felt his grey eyes studying her.

"What's that mean?"

"Nothing."

"You sure about that?" He asked, almost taunting her. Should she mention it? She had a feeling that once he left tonight he wouldn't let her bring it up again.

"No. You've told me you don't mean what you say when you've been drinking."

He leaned close to her, the whisky heavy on his breath. "I mean it when I say you're mine, Granger, and I'm not letting you go."

Fireworks burst in her chest and Draco grinned down at her. She realized that she was smiling broadly up at him. The smell of the whisky that had carried him here tonight filled the space between them and her smile slipped.

"Stop drinking," she snapped. "I mean that. If you come near me drunk again, I won't have you." Things had been good, for a while, when he stopped drinking. She wanted that back. Tonight… she wasn't sure what tonight had been other than some sort of reconciliation, but if they were to have any kind of chance of continuing this, he had to stop abusing alcohol.

"Stop kissing other guys."

She glared at him and found the mischievous gleam in his eyes again. Somehow, beyond all reason, Draco was happy. She couldn't say her own spirits hadn't lifted either.

He smirked down at her. "How much of body count do you want me to rack up, Sweetheart?" He kissed the top of her head and let his hands move down her arms. His touch was cool and he rubbed her wrists a little, taking away a bit of the soreness there.

Draco intertwined their fingers together and pushed a few half dried curls back from her face. The fireworks started again. He was holding her hand. Draco was holding her hand.

"I mean it, Granger." He placed a soft kiss against her swollen lips and then breathed out, leaning his forehead against hers. "I'll stop drinking, okay? Will that make you happy?"

Hermione frowned a little, and she wasn't sure why. Maybe because she had been hoping it would have followed that up with something different. She nodded and Draco released her, placed another soft kiss on her lips and then turned and left her standing there for the second time in one week.


A/N: Look at you, getting an early update! It's like I love you or something. Anyways, it's my birthday month so I decided to be generous. I will accept thanks in the form of reviews lol.