THIRTY

Saturday, 11 October 1944

Hermione had done nothing but toss and turn throughout the night. Her waking moments had been filled with worry about the future and her dreams were nothing but nightmares in which Riddle tortured Malfoy in new and creative ways. By the time she woke up, she looked worse than before she'd gone to bed.

Luckily for her, she had magic. After the hottest shower she could stand, she used every charm she could think of to hide the purple bags under her eyes and removed the redness from them as well. When she was dressed in a simple dress she had borrowed from Kalista and then charmed red and gold, she let her roommate do her hair. The style was simple, much to her liking. Kalista had pulled the top half away from her face and braided it over the bottom portion, leaving enough curls loose to frame her face.

"Did you and Draco make up?" Kalista asked as she finished her charms on Hermione's hair.

She nodded. "It'll still be a bit before we're back to normal, but for the most part, yes."

"Good," she said, giving her a smile. "It was hard to see you like that. I'm here, you know," she stated, opening the door. "If you ever need to talk."

"Thanks, Kalista," she said and followed her to the common room.

The moment she stepped into the corridor, she prepared herself to find Malfoy with Riddle and the others, but it was still jarring to see. Riddle noticed her first, but she refused to look at him, concentrating on Malfoy only. Kalista parted towards her own friends as Hermione continued forward until she was standing at Malfoy's side. He wasted no time in sliding his arm around her waist to pull her close. She looked at him in surprise, but quickly put a smile on face.

"Good morning."

"Morning," she returned.

"Are you really cheering for the Gryffindors?" Avery asked, sneering at her dress.

"Why not?" she returned. "We're all at the same school and it's just a game. Besides, there is nothing wrong with the Gryffindors."

All of them snorted at the same time to which she rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised Draco isn't decked out in the same colors," Lestrange said, smirking at Malfoy.

For a moment, she openly gaped at the man before turning her head to Malfoy. He did a double take at the sight of her amusement. "Oh no. Do not put ideas in her head like that."

"Just for the game?" she questioned.

He groaned and glared at Lestrange. "I think that's enough of you lot this morning. If you'll excuse us," he said, pulling Hermione away.

As she went, her gaze briefly connected with Riddle's. "We will see the two of you in the stands, yes?" he asked.

Malfoy's arm tightened on her waist for a split second as he looked up at Riddle. "Of course."

Riddle nodded in approval and Hermione finally pulled her gaze from his, letting Malfoy guide her out. When the common room entry closed behind her, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and smiled at Malfoy when he canted his head at her. He dropped his arm and reached for her hand instead, pulling her further down the hall. When she realized his intention was to pull her into the secret passage, she yanked her hand from his and took a large step back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, staring at her intently.

She cleared her throat and nodded. "I'm fine. It's too stuffy in there."

He studied her for a moment and shrugged, even more curious when she relaxed and bolted away from the passage towards the Great Hall. "How did it go last night?" he asked, falling to step beside her.

She shrugged her shoulders, trying her best to school her features. This was the worst part of being a Gryffindor. She often wore her heart on her sleeve and she had been told multiple times she was a shit liar. She would definitely need to up her skills in the Slytherin cunning department if she wanted to keep him safe.

"He demanded I tell him what I know of him. That if I don't let him see, he's just going to make me."

He stopped walking and Hermione saw the way he flinched slightly. "I know firsthand how awful he can make Legilimency; regardless how willing the recipient is. Are you going to let him?"

"I don't see why not," she stated. "He's already seen more than I thought and since the Single Continuum theory dictates that nothing will change…" She shrugged again.

"What if that ends up not being true? In that case, you've practically handed him victory on a platter."

"Nature always has a way of balancing itself out. Grindelwald was defeated and Voldemort will be too. Maybe giving him what he wants extends the war, but he will be taken down at some point. There will always be Light to balance out the Dark."

Malfoy's upper lip curled at that. "Where did you get that tripe from?"

"I probably read it somewhere," she mumbled, moving past the threshold into the Great Hall. "At any rate, the faster I give him the information, the faster I'll become useless. He can do whatever he wants with it once he has it. I've been able to redirect him so far. I just have to practice more. He doesn't need anything personal, just facts."

They took their seats at the end of the table and began digging into the assortment of food before them. "I don't like it."

"I know you don't, Malfoy, but the more I resist, the worse he'll get."

"I know, but-"

"Can we not talk about it right now?" she asked. "Please? I just…"

"Alright," he conceded, his hand coming to cover hers and squeeze it lightly for a moment.

"Thank you," she said and then turned in her seat to eye his clothes. "I think Lestrange had a rather good idea back there."

He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "You are not putting a dash of red or gold anywhere on me, Granger. I will lock you in a broom closet after I put you in a full body bind if I have to."

"And make me miss a Quidditch game?" she teased and then smirked more. "I could always get that lion hat after all…"

He shuddered and turned to glare at her. "You promised."

She reached over to lay a hand on his thigh, smirking as his gaze dropped to it and then back to her. "You know, I always have wondered what you would look like in red," she said, her voice low.

He cleared his throat and glanced around them, wondering if anyone else heard them. "Fine, but you owe me."

She gave the smallest of shrugs and withdrew her hand, choosing to focus on her breakfast rather than the way he was staring at her and shifting in his seat.

Quidditch was pure torture.

She hated crowds. And flying. And sports.

At least in her own time she had brought a book or was surrounded by a few other people who weren't into the game and just came to support. Not here. Here she was surrounded by soon to be Death Eaters, their eventual leader, and her enemy turned boyfriend. And the only one who could rival her complete disinterest for this game was Riddle. She felt his eyes on her more than Malfoy's were on the game itself.

Despite the fact that he had let her charm his tie into being red and gold for the afternoon, he was taunting the Gryffindor players at every turn. Most of his complaints were how they didn't see the Snitch and until he had pointed it out on several occasions, she had almost forgotten how good he was at the sport. If Harry hadn't been playing against him, Malfoy surely would have been the best.

She smirked to herself at that thought. No wonder he had hated them for so long. He came in second academically to an outsider and second in his favorite sport to his rival; also an outsider.

Watching him be so engaged in the game was surreal. She had never seen this side of Malfoy and she quite liked it. He was having fun and enjoying himself; it made her smile.

When the game had surpassed the half hour mark, Hermione had grown tired of Riddle's eyes on her and his proximity. She wanted to put some distance between them and knew that the only way she could do so without him following her was to get Malfoy involved. And to do that without letting him know her true intentions, she had to come up with something other than the loo.

When the thought occurred, Hermione bit her lip and looked up at Malfoy. He was enjoying himself immensely, but she wondered if she could make him enjoy the day just a bit more. He did a double take when he noticed her staring at him and he tipped his head to the side in question.

She reached for his hand and then moved forward, dragging him behind her. He didn't resist. He tightened his grasp on her hand and followed in her wake. When they exited their portion of the stands, he pulled her to a stop to question her, but she pushed up on the tips of her toes and brushed her lips over his. When she pulled away again, his eyes had darkened a little and she smirked.

She led him further down the rickety stairs until they reached a landing halfway down. She glanced around to make sure they were alone and then pushed him up against the wall. His hands fell loosely at her waist while hers went up to bring his face down to hers again. This time, she pressed her lips firmly against his and swiped her tongue against his bottom lip.

He pulled his head up sharply and stared down his nose at her. "What are you doing?"

"You looked like you were having a good time so I thought maybe…" she let her voice trail off as her right hand slid down the length of his body until she cupped him through his trousers. His eyes widened and his cock twitched beneath her hand, immediately starting to grow. "Maybe I could make it even better."

He looked around them and then back down at her. Heat rose to her cheeks as doubt crept into her mind. She was sure rejection was coming and she took a large step back. Without saying anything, she turned and made her way down the stairs, muttering curses to herself as she went.

Draco watched her walk away, left in a momentary stupor before he took off after her. He caught up with her near the bottom and pulled her to a stop by firmly taking hold of her elbow. "Last night, I tried to kiss you and you turned away from me. Today, you're offering to-" He felt his face warm a little and he shook his head. "Your signals are all over the place."

Granger's cheeks turned pink and she cast her gaze to their feet, gently removing her arm from his hold. "This was a bad idea. I'm sorry. You can go back-"

"Hermione, don't," he said reaching out for her hand when she started to turn and walk down the few remaining steps. He could tell that he startled her by the way she tensed up at the sound of her first name from him. She didn't look up or turn back to him, but she stopped trying to get away. "I'm not rejecting your…advances, I just want you to be ready for-"

She yanked her hand from his and her head snapped up to glare at him. "Until I'm ready or until you decide I'm ready?"

Well that wasn't what he had been expecting from her.

Draco found himself stepping back as she advanced angrily. "You know, if you're not ready, you can tell me; just as I told you. If you want to reject me for any reason, just bloody tell me, Draco, but do not reject me on the premise you don't think I'm ready."

When his back hit the wall, he scowled at her and reached out to grip her shoulders to keep her at arm's length. "Fine, you're ready. You've made yourself very clear on that, but do you realize where we are, Granger?" he asked, spinning to put her between himself and the wall. "We're in public. I never pegged you as an exhibitionist."

She bat his arms away from her shoulders, making him press against her even more. She smirked up at him and dropped her hands to his trousers, making quick work of his belt. "Guess you better cast some charms then," she said before sliding down the wall to her knees before him.

With one had braced on the wall, his other scrambled for his wand in his pocket. He barely had enough time to cast a silencing charm and a disillusionment on them before she was stroking his fully hardened cock. He hissed as he slid his wand back into his pocket and used the now free hand to pull up his shirt a little.

A guttural groan escaped his throat as he felt her tongue dart out and trace the head of his cock. Her touch was experimental at first, but it didn't take long before she became more sure of herself. It was all he could do not to lose it right then and there when she took him into her mouth as far as she could, her tongue moving against him. He looked down at her and knew that, no matter what happened, he would be wanking to this very moment until the day he died.

She hummed around him and he felt the sensation in the form of vibration. Her head bobbed up and down while she put one hand on the base of his shaft and pumped him readily. She hollowed her cheeks here and there, adding more suction and driving him wild. Her mouth was hot around him and her tongue felt like velvet as it coated and flicked when it could. But none of that compared to just how much of him she was able to take. He was nearly all the way in her mouth; to the point where he was afraid he would hit the back of her throat and make her choke. Yet, she kept drawing him in.

The crowd above them erupted into cheers and he vaguely heard the announcement that the Snitch had been caught. His fingers detached from his shirt only to reach down and sink into her hair. She hummed again and he jerked his hips, driving himself even deeper into her mouth. His head fell back slightly and his fingers tightened in her hair. He inhaled sharply and squeezed his eyes shut.

And then her other hand came up to play with his balls and he shoved her head forward, making her take his entire length. She made a light choking noise and sputtered, but otherwise kept going. His eyes opened and he tensed up at the sound of the crowd beginning to empty the stands above them.

"Granger-" he warned, his voice turning into a moan as he bucked his hips again. He ground his teeth when she increased her ministrations and he realized she had no intentions of stopping; a crowd of people around them or not. But whatever she was doing was working like she had been doing this for ages.

"Hermione, I'm- Fuck."

His nails dug into the wall as he pitched forward, his legs trembling as his seed shot down her throat in spurts. She kept her mouth on him and he could feel her throat moving as she swallowed every last drop of him.

Finished, she stood up, wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, staring up at him with fire in her chocolate eyes. He hastily redressed himself as the crowd began to descend on them and the moment he was decent, he grabbed her face and crushed his lips down on hers.

She parted her lips for him immediately and they groaned at the same time. He could taste himself on her tongue as his slid over hers. He pressed himself against her tightly, not caring if his charms were still there or if anyone could see them if they weren't.

Granger roughly pulled her lips away and his head fell into the crook of her neck. They were both panting hard for air at that point and he dropped his hands to her waist.

They both froze at the sound of whistles and chuckles, turning slowly to see Riddle and his group crowding around them while others trickled down the rest of the stairs. "We were wondering where you two had run off to," Avery said, smirking at them.

Draco tried his best to act nonchalant, but it was no use. Especially with Granger at his side with her eyes down and face as red as her dress. "And to think you weren't there to show support when your other house won," Lestrange teased.

Granger's head popped up at that and she smirked at their classmate. "Of course Gryffindor won; they always do."

Draco watched as her gaze slid to the side and felt her body go tense again. He followed her gaze and found Riddle staring at her intently. His jaw clenched when he realized Riddle's eyes were darkened in anger. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her tight to him, the action causing her to break her gaze from Riddle and turn it to him instead. She smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes and she shuddered.

Riddle turned and walked away from the rest of them.

Draco and she followed and walked back to the castle with them. He kept a tight grip on Granger's hand, his eyes never leaving the back of Riddle's head as the others filled him in on how the game had come to an end.