FORTY-SIX
Friday, 28 November 1944
Draco had understood Hermione's break down in the Room of Requirement. Disappointment had run rampant through his body upon the discovery that they still weren't able to return to their time. Granted, he still had his reservations about going back to uncharted territories, but he was ready to be done with Riddle. While he was mad at her for making him seek help, he understood her reasoning. Since he had survived, Draco was just counting down until he did something to retaliate. He didn't like the constant cat and mouse feeling he got whenever Riddle looked their way.
Draco watched Hermione closely the following day. He noticed her eyes had sunken in a little more and her aura was filled with nothing but gloom. He tried his best to cheer her up. He constantly reminded her how much he loved her whether it be with the actual words or conveying it via a kiss, a touch, or a look. The fact that it eased only a small portion of her worry made his heart ache.
He had promised to protect her and he was failing miserably.
Friday morning, she had seemed a little better. She had brightened almost considerably when she was reminded that she didn't have to go to the Astronomy Tower that night. As it was, Riddle was tied up in preparations for the Quidditch game the following day. It was Hufflepuff versus Slytherin and if they won, there was going to be a party in the dungeons. Being Head Boy and a Slytherin, he had seemed to take it upon himself to make sure the party went off without a hitch. Everyone knew the party would be held regardless if they won or not.
Instead of parting ways down their separate corridors, Draco tugged her towards his dorm. She stopped short and tried to tug her hand from his grasp, but he refused to let go. He proceeded to pull out his wand and cast the necessary charms. "Draco-"
"He won't bother us," he said, turning to see the pure panic on her face. "I promise. I won't let him hurt you."
He watched as she reigned in her emotions and gave him a short nod. He was half impressed at the fact she had learned to school her features after a few short months in Slytherin and half suspicious as to how she had learned so fast. Her fingers tightened around where they laced with his and he continued to lead them towards his dorm.
They were quiet upon entry and continued to make as little sound as possible as they took off their shoes and climbed into bed. All signs pointed to Riddle being behind the curtains pulled around his bed and Draco resisted the urge to make their presence known in some small way. But he had promised Hermione they wouldn't be bothered and let it go.
He drew the curtains of his own bed around them and watched as she cast a few charms. He assumed they were silencing charms and he quirked a brow at her. "I thought-"
She cut him off by laying her lips over his after yanking him closer from where they knelt in the middle of the bed facing one another. "Don't think," she whispered against his lips, her hands moving to his shirt to undo the buttons. When she reached the last one, she placed her palms flat on his abdomen and began running them up until they curved around his shoulders. Gently, she pushed his shirt back until it pooled behind him.
Her lips sought his jaw and then traveled down his throat. He shivered under her touch, reveling in the way his skin warmed in the wake of her skimming fingers. She traced along his scar, the planes of his chest, and thread through the trail of curls that disappeared beneath the waistband of his bottoms. She shifted closer, her hands undoing his fly and reaching for his cock at the same time her lips latched onto his neck and sucked at his skin.
He hissed at the sting of her love bite and at the feel of her hand wrapping around his cock. He only let her stroke his length a few times before he pulled her head up. She tilted hers to the side and moaned softly as his teeth scraped her skin; her hand tightened around him and he thrust against her palm. He wasn't sure if he would have the resolve to keep this pace, but he was determined to try.
He brought his hands up between them and began to undo the buttons on her shirt in kind. His hands sought her breasts, pushing the material away as best he could given she was still stroking him. He had yet to see her in a bra and as he traced her scars, he wondered if it hurt her to wear one. She moaned as he rolled her nipples between his fingers, a hum of approval coming from him as they pebbled from his touch.
When his hips began to jerk more than he could stand, he extracted her hand from him and vanished the rest of their clothes. He drew her over him and moaned as he brushed between her folds, her slick coating him instantly. She reached between them and moved his cock into position before promptly sinking down on top of him. They both moaned in pleasure as he filled her to the brim.
He placed one hand on her hip as the other sought her clit, rubbing as she began to ride him. Her head tipped back and he watched the way her breasts bounced from her movements. The sounds of her moans and whines combined with the sound of sweat slicked skin was enough to make him shatter right then and there, but he was determined to give her what she needed first. He moved the hand on her hip up to her breast and began to knead it, increasing the sounds of her moans. He took over the pace, thrusting up beneath her at record speed.
It never ceased to amaze him how glorious she looked when she came undone for him. Especially in this position. He could see every detail of her face, the way her eyes closed and rolled back behind her lids. The way her nose scrunched slightly and her lips parted in various stages of a scream for pleasure. The wildness of her hair. It reminded him of Sixth Year when her Draught of Living Death had gotten the better of her.
The best part was as she was coming down from her high. When she would pitch forward and her palms would smack against his chest. She would stare down at him, her eyes blazing golden fire and the tiniest of smirks on her lips.
Had he not been so intent on memorizing her this way, he would have missed the way her eyes flickered to the left for a moment. The shadow of fear that crossed her face as well as the fresh spurt of slick that coated his cock inside of her.
She gave a squeak of surprise as he flipped them over, reaching down to hike one of her legs up and push it towards her chest as far as it could go without hurting her. As she closed her eyes and ground her head against the pillows, he dared to look where she had and found Riddle's gaze fixated on them. There was a small part in his dormmate's curtains and just enough light where he could see the glint in Riddle's eyes. There was a gap in theirs as well, allowing him to see in.
And had Riddle's gaze not been focused so intently on Hermione, he would have seen the murderous rage in Draco's eyes.
But his focus was redirected as she clutched around him and cried his name over and over again with her second release. When she opened her eyes again, she reached up to touch his chest, a small smile on her lips. "You're mine, Hermione. Say it."
She nodded. "Yours. All yours."
"Your heart," he said, slamming into her harder. "Your soul." She moaned his name loudly. "Your body." He grunted as his hips began to jerk. "All of it belongs to me."
"Yes! Draco, all- Yours!"
Her third orgasm brought on his release, but he continued snapping his hips, his cock slipping in and out of her with more ease. "Mine," he repeated. "Just as I am yours."
"I love you," she said, clawing at his chest as a fourth, but much less powerful orgasm wracked through her body.
"I love you too," he echoed, collapsing on top of her after chasing her last release with another one of his.
Completely spent, he rolled off of her and held her tightly in an embrace, not caring that her hair did everything it could to choke him. He risked a glance towards Riddle's bed once he caught his breath only to find that the curtains had been redrawn. With a satisfied smirk, he tightened his hold on Hermione and closed his eyes.
Saturday, 29 November 1944
Hermione was pretty sure it was the snow, but she was twice as miserable at this Quidditch game than she had been the last one. A small portion of it may have been six years of rivalry with her new house that she couldn't let go of and the thought of them winning still left a sour taste in her mouth. But, for as much as she tried to stay away from parties at all costs, she was glad to back inside the castle. As was par for the course, there was no time wasted in turning the dungeons into absolute chaos. Pretty soon there wasn't any drink that hadn't been spiked and celebratory charms were flying around left and right.
She spent some of her time with Draco and then some time with her roommates and other classmates that had stopped by the dorm when they heard of the party. She forced herself not to think about her homework assignments or the solitude of the wards around her bed. Instead, she focused on the moment and the escape the constant fun and games provided her. She missed this with her friends back home.
At one point, Kerus and Avery approached Draco and asked him to join them on a replenishment run from the kitchens. She knew his glance around the common room was for Riddle's whereabouts as he hadn't crossed either of their paths since coming back from the game. She smiled and waved him off, making sure to stick close to her roommates.
There was far too much commotion for him to try anything.
Wasn't there?
When a group of girls from Ravenclaw approached her roommates, Hermione felt that awkwardness settle over her and stepped back. She found herself leaning against the wall near the fireplace, watching the party take place around the rim of her cup.
"May I offer you a drink?"
Riddle slid between her and the party, forcing her eyes up to his with the movement. He held one hand out to her with a full cup. She stared down at the near empty one in her hand and then back up to his eyes, holding his gaze as she tipped the cup towards him. "No thanks. Already got my own."
"A refill, then."
Her lips tugged into a half smile. "No thank you," she said, her voice a bit harsher. "I've reached my limit anyway."
"I assure you it is not poisoned."
She couldn't stop her eyes from rolling at his comment. "And why not? Because poison is a woman's weapon?" She finished the contents of her cup and vanished it before snatching the one he offered her out of his hands. "How very nineteen-forties of you."
His lips curved into a smile; one that was so genuine she was taken aback. It shocked her almost as much as the two times he had apologized to her. "When in Rome."
She sobered as he took a half step closer to her, the stone wall biting into her back through her dress. Her eyes darted around the room, searching for Draco in the hopes that they had returned. Her heart skipped a beat as she wondered if Riddle hadn't set it up and arranged for Draco to be removed from the common room. Panic began to settle in and she pressed a hand to her chest when she was unable to catch her breath.
She flinched as his mind slipped into hers. She had gotten so used to him being there that most days, she didn't mind the warmth that he provided. She had refused to acknowledge why he was able to calm her nerves when he was usually the one that frazzled them. However, after their last few encounters, it just made her skin crawl. She slammed up her mental walls and pushed him out, chest heaving with effort. "Get out."
Anger flashed in his eyes and warning bells sounded in the recesses of her mind. Gooseflesh erupted all over her body, but she held her ground against him. "I thought we had a deal?" he asked. Despite the noise level of the crowd around them, his voice reached her ears as if his lips were against her skin. "Anything I wanted."
She winced at the pain of her inability to catch her breath. "Not now… I-"
"Perhaps Draco's claim from last night has you in need a reminder of who you truly belong to."
As he advanced again, Hermione reacted on instinct. She lashed out with the hand that held the full cup he had given her and tossed it in his face. From the time it took for the cup to slip from her fingers and clatter to the floor, she had realized what she'd done and took off, but not before she saw the rage tinting his eyes red. She sprinted through the crowd, ignoring the stitch in her lungs from the lack of oxygen and the pain in her chest from the way her heart hammered in fright.
She knew he was following her like a snake in the grass stalking its prey. She just had to reach her room and slip behind her wards. Once she was there, she would be able to catch her breath.
But she never made it to her dorm.
Hermione was just a few steps away from her door when she felt one arm loop around her waist and a hand clamping over her mouth. His palm silenced her screams; screams that were lost over the music of the party anyway. He dragged her across the hall and into a common bathroom. Once behind doors, she heard the locks click into place and felt him take her wand and toss it away. She struggled against him, but she knew what was coming; knew that it was inevitable. She had provoked him until he snapped.
She had been wrong before. This was what he wanted from her all along.
She cried out as he slammed her, face-first, towards the counter. She coughed and sputtered as the force knocked what was left of her already low oxygen from her lungs. Her vision blurred as he shoved her upper half against the counter, her head cracking against the edge of the sink. She felt something trickle across her forehead and didn't have to see it to know it was blood.
He kicked her feet apart and his hands hiked up the skirt of her dress. She continued to struggle despite having no means of escaping in this state. She felt her knickers being tugged from her body at a hurried pace. Her voice was muffled against the counter where his magic pinned her down, making her involuntary noises more inaudible than they would have been anyway.
She squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to cry as he brushed his cock through her folds. He hummed in approval at finding her sufficiently wet and ready for him. A shiver coursed its way down her spine at the way her body responded to this type of behavior. She didn't want to want him. She didn't. Not like this. But as he buried himself all the way to the hilt, she realized she didn't have a say. Then again, she never really had.
She heard him hiss at the feel of being surrounded by her inner walls. They were clutching and fluttering around him as her body adjusted to his. "I had thought with the amount of time Draco spends between your legs, you would not be so tight."
She whimpered at his comment and felt a tug below her navel when he began to draw back out of her. Betrayal licked up her spine as the sound of her body's reaction to him sounded through the room. When Riddle slammed back into her with full force, he was fully coated in her slick. He groaned at the sensation and she felt him shudder at her back.
"I should summon him back here," he threatened. "I should make him watch as you take my cock like the whore that you are. Repay the favor of last night's little performance by showing him that you belong to me. Not him."
One of her sobs broke into a moan as he hit a spot inside of her she didn't know existed. The sheer force of his pace was giving her all the right amount of friction in almost all the right places. She kept her eyes squeezed shut as she tried to clamp down on the sensation building at the back of her mind.
A strangled cry left her throat raw as he wrapped a hand in her hair and yanked her backwards so she wasn't completely bent over the counter. She stared at the mirror before her, catching Riddle's gaze in the reflection. The look on his face was pure primal need as he continued to pound away at her. She flattened her palms along the edge of the counter to provide some resistance, to keep it from jabbing into her stomach again.
He tipped her head to the side by her hair and she hissed as his other hand slid in front of her. She cried out in a mix of pain and pleasure as his finger swiped across her swollen bundle of nerves at the same time his teeth lodged into the curve of her neck, closer to the shoulder. The sensation had her coming in a way that she had never experienced before and when she came back down from the high, she was both numb and boneless.
She sagged against him, no longer struggling in the slightest. Instead, her pants were more like mewls as he continued to rut behind her. She heard him inhale sharply as his rhythm fell out of sync and a moment later, his release was mixing with hers inside of her. He collapsed against her, shoving her into the counter again. They both panted for air, remaining joined until he softened and slipped out of her, their combined slick immediately dripping down onto her thighs.
She remained in place, her body trembling. She heard him redressing behind her and when he was done, he gently turned her towards him and handed her her knickers, fully repaired, as well as her wand. She reached for her wand first, but he held it back for a moment. "Leave it."
Hermione's trembling worsened as fresh tears pricked at her eyes. Not only had he forced himself upon her, but now he was making her wear the evidence between her thighs like a scarlet letter on her blouse. She hadn't really considered that she was capable of getting pregnant and panic settled in as she realized he could have very well knocked her up. And that her chances would increase the longer he forced her to leave his essence on her skin.
"Please, I-"
"When you remember who you belong to, there will be no need for such reminders."
With great difficulty, she redressed, wincing uncomfortably at the pain and the dampness between her thighs. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and stared at her reflection with horror. There was a small cut on her head from hitting the sink and a bruise forming on the curve of her shoulder from his bite. Not to mention the tear stained face, bloodshot eyes, and wild hair. She was a right mess and felt nothing but guilt, shame, and disgust by the sight of herself.
"You can cover these up on your own tomorrow," he said, aiming his wand at her. She was too wrapped up in her emotions to even bother being frightened by the action of him casting disillusionments on her head and neck.
She brought up her own wand when he dropped his and used it to tame her hair. She then splashed water on her face and then dried herself off before cowering with her back against the sink. When she thought it was over, that he was going to leave, he caught her off guard and captured her lips with his. She stilled and tried to shrink back as much as possible. It was brief and he pulled away a moment after initiating. He cupped her jaw lightly and gave her that signature smirk of his.
"You really have put things in perspective for me, Hermione. I hope you come to appreciate my sacrifices."
Her saliva turned to ash in her mouth as his words twisted her gut like a knife. The irony of his talk of sacrifices made her want to vomit right then and there. But before she made it worse for herself by saying what was on her mind, he stepped back and opened the door. He crossed the threshold first and she took a moment to pull herself together before following him out into the hall.
They both stopped short at the sight of Kalista coming out of their dorm. She stared at them with surprise, but soon her eyes began to narrow with suspicion and the smile that graced her lips was tight and full of judgement. Hermione dropped her gaze to the floor and prayed to all the gods that she wasn't thinking what she knew she was.
"Everything okay?" she asked, looking more at Hermione.
"She had a little too much to drink. Almost did not make it to the loo," Riddle answered for her, his voice a tone that didn't allow for arguments. "As Head Boy, it is my duty to ensure everyone's safety. Miss Granger was in need of an escort and Draco was not around."
Kalista nodded and smiled again. "Are you okay now?" she asked, looking at Hermione.
"Yeah, I just needed a break from everything."
"Draco came back and asked where you were so I volunteered to check our room. I saw you come this way," she said and pulled her hair over one shoulder. "I'll let him know you'll be right out," she said and walked away, leaving Hermione in a state of panic.
She gripped Riddle's arm and gestured after Kalista. "She thinks… She's going to tell Draco what she saw. Riddle-"
He grabbed her hand and removed it from his arm, that cold smirk on his face again. "That, Hermione," he said, his voice low as he dipped his head close to hers. "Is not my problem."
She stared at him with her jaw dropped in awe as he walked away from her as well. It took her a moment to pull herself together and rejoin the party in the hopes that she got to Draco before Kalista did. As it was, she didn't seem to be near him yet, but when she entered, he gave her a once over and picked up on her duress.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Nothing, just a little overwhelmed."
"Hermione-"
"Please, Draco. I'm fine. You're here now. I'm fine." She wrapped her arms around him and melted into him as he crushed her to him in return. For the rest of the night, she spent it as though she were an actress playing a role.
And by the end of the night, she had almost convinced herself.