FORTY-EIGHT
Thursday, 4 December 1944
Thursday, Hermione had tried to contain her relief when Professor Daedalus informed everyone that he was cancelling their observation night for this week. That he was going to be using the Astronomy Tower for First and Second Years. Something to do with the shooting stars or alignments of the planets. Hermione had stopped paying attention.
"Good thing it's not a new moon," she muttered as they were packing up to leave.
The look Riddle gave her made it clear he did not share her relief or sentiments. "Yes," he drawled. "What a relief." She slung her bag over her shoulder and gave him a nod before she turned to leave, but he grabbed her wrist and tugged her back. "Restricted section tonight. Midnight."
Her throat tightened and her mouth went dry, but she gave a curt nod. He released her wrist and she didn't hesitate to leave the classroom again. Draco was waiting for her across the hall and she resisted the urge to fling her arms around him and never let him go. Instead, she thread their fingers together and tugged him towards the stairs. He said nothing as she led him to the Room of Requirement.
When they stepped inside to find Draco's bedroom at the Manor, he quirked a brow at her and reached for her bag, setting both of theirs by the door. "Didn't think you'd want to see this room again."
"I really like your bed," she said with a half smile, walking towards the piece of furniture.
He came to stand beside her at the foot of the bed and curved a knuckled under her chin, tilting her face up. "What's gotten into you lately?" he asked, his eyes searching hers.
"I'm sorry, am I too much for you?" she teased.
"Hermione," his voice was soft, drawing away her humor.
She wet her lips and reached up to place her hands on his chest, her fingers playing with the buttons on his shirt. "I love you," she replied. "I like making love to you. It's the only way I can clear my head and forget about everything else." And she desperately needed to forget. Forget what she had done so far; what she would continue to do for the foreseeable future. For each encounter she had with Riddle, she was determined to erase his touch and replace it with Draco's.
He stared at her intently for a moment before his lips tugged upwards. "Well, when you put it that way…"
She smiled in return and closed her eyes as his lips descended upon hers. His kiss was slow and sweet. With each move of his mouth, each caress of his tongue, she felt her body come alive with need. For a moment, Riddle's face danced in her mind, but she surged forward mentally and clawed at it, tearing it down and forcing it away. Instead of shoving up her defenses, opened her eyes again and sighed with relief at the sight of Draco.
Painstakingly slow, they began to undress one another. It was as if time had stopped for them to have this moment and they carried on like there was nowhere they had to be. Like there was nothing else they had to do. When every layer had been successfully peeled away, Draco pulled back from her and led her around to right side of the bed. He sat her down on the edge and gestured for her to scoot back. As she laid herself back among the pillows, he crawled in after her and knelt by her feet.
He took his time devouring every inch of her skin. He started with her ankles and worked his way up her legs, altering back and forth between the two sides. He smiled wickedly up at her as he purposefully skirted the place she craved him most and she whimpered with need. He tsked her and continued kissing his way up to her. By the time he reached her lips again, she was soaking, her core clenching at the emptiness, begging to be filled.
Not wanting to rush, she pushed at him until they rolled and he was the one on his back. She smiled down at him, nipping at his bottom lip before copying his actions and doing the same to him. She wanted to commit every inch of him to memory. The scars, the curves, the taste; everything. She wanted to be able to close her eyes on any given day and picture him as if he were right there beneath her touch.
"Do you trust me?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered, despite the mischievous gleam in his eyes as he asked.
He grinned and gestured for her to straddle him, but as she moved to do so, he pushed at her hips, guiding her to turn her back to him. "Lean forward."
"Draco-"
"Please?"
She swallowed hard and leaned in, resting herself on her elbows near his hips. His cock twitched near her face and she let her tongue dart out to taste him. He groaned and reached for her hips, pulling her back to where he wanted her. She cast a glance over her shoulder and saw her knees near his head. She saw the way he stared at her core with delight and she felt his hands on the globes of her rear.
Realization that he was going to taste her at the same time she sucked his cock made her shiver with pleasure and she relaxed ever so slightly. She wet her lips and adjusted herself so she could reach out and take his hardened length into her hand, her fingers curling and stroking lightly. He groaned again and she joined him as his tongue darted out to taste her.
He pulled her closer and she leaned in to take him into her mouth. She moaned around him and he cursed into her before sucking hard at her clit in response. She closed her eyes and hollowed her cheeks, bobbing up and down. There was something wickedly sinful about what they were doing. She had never thought she would be this person, but with each flick of his tongue lapping through her folds, she found that she cared less and less.
She could feel herself cresting and knew from the way his hips kept coming off the bed as he tried to bury himself deep in her throat, he was close too. In a flurry of movement, she found herself pinned beneath him with her legs around his waist and his forearms caging her head in. His lips lowered to hers as they tasted one another again and before she knew it, he was stretching her core and filling her to the brim.
It only took a handful of thrusts before she was screaming his name into the ether as all of her senses became overridden with pleasure. He picked up the pace, his pubic bone grinding against her in a way that prolonged her high. When she could see straight again, she pushed forward and rolled so she was on top. He hummed in approval and he reached up to cup a breast in each hand, watching as she tossed her head back and rode him.
He surged forward so that they were both sitting. Her arms wound around his neck as he gripped her hips and dropped his head to the curve of her shoulder. She thread her fingers through his hair and pressed his head closer to her skin. The sounds of skin slapping against skin along with their moans permeated the air around them, spurring on their lust filled haze.
"I love you," she moaned as he sent her over the edge for the second time.
"I love you," he echoed between nips at her skin as he followed her release with his own.
Sated, he leaned back, pulling her with him until they collapsed on the pillows. His hand splayed over her scars and his nails skimmed over them with the faintest of touches. The rest of their night was spent wrapped up in one another in whatever position they could manage. By the time they drifted off into sleep, Hermione had all but forgotten Riddle's demand that she meet him. Instead, she stayed right where she was; at ease in Draco's embrace.
Friday, 5 December 1944
The following day, she could feel Riddle's anger. It rolled off of him in waves, but he barely looked in her direction. She kept her eyes off of him as well, not wanting to further her anxiety and fear. The more she ignored him, the easier it was to pretend everything was fine. As the day wore on, she was more than thankful for the fact that Professor Daedalus had cancelled their observation for the night. Even though it meant it would prolong whatever Riddle planned to do in retaliation for her not showing up to the library the night before, she had at least another night for Draco to make her forget about it all.
But if Riddle wanted to meet elsewhere that night, he never reached out to tell her.
With Riddle on patrol, they had used Draco's dorm. She had meant to head back to her own bed that night, before Riddle returned to the room, but Draco had put her in such a state of deep bliss that she fell asleep before she had even caught her breath.
She had woken with a start in the middle of the night. It took her a moment to realize that she was in Draco's dorm with him lying on his stomach, face turned against the pillow. He had one hand underneath the pillow and his other arm was stretched out over her stomach. She had been lying on her back with her head turned towards him and her hands resting on top of his arm. His arm had kept the sheet wrapped around her top half, but as usual, he had managed to wrap it around his own lower half, leaving hers exposed to the chill in the room.
She felt his presence a moment before the curtains parted at the foot of the bed. She inhaled sharply as stared at the two of them with anger in his eyes. He knelt down to crook his finger at her, demanding that she come closer. She shot a worried glance at Draco and shook her head, the slight movement causing Draco to tighten his told on her.
Now or I wake him.
He could wake up on his own and-
Then I suggest you be as quiet as possible.
Bile threatened to rise from her stomach, but she choked it back and turned her gaze to Riddle. How do you want me?
Like this. Closer.
She slid down as best she could, making sure that she didn't wake Draco. As it was, his arm remained draped over her, but in moving the sheet had tugged and exposed her breast. As she slid into her final position, Draco's hand moved to cup her breast, her nipple pebbling beneath his touch. His fingers flexed and she stifled a moan. She lifted her head as much as she dared and saw Riddle staring up her body. Despite the tremble, she bent her knees and planted her feet on the edge of the bed, her knees coming together.
Riddle placed a hand on both of her knees and slowly nudged them apart until she was fully open to him. Only then did his dark gaze travel down her body, stopping only when it reached her nether lips. Hermione's hands went to the sheets and dug her nails in the fabric as she dropped her head to the pillows and closed her eyes. The last thing she saw was Riddle wetting his lips and then she felt his mouth on her.
Reflexively, her hips jerked as his tongue licked a trail of fire from the bottom to the top, flicking at her clit at the end. He groaned against her, vibrating her body and stoking the fire of desire below her navel. She turned her face away from Draco's as Riddle repeated the action time and time again, taking his time in tasting and teasing her. She hated that her reaction was what it was. She shouldn't be enjoying this. She wanted desperately to just lay there and stare at the canopy above, but no matter what she did to try and stop it, she was hit with wave after wave of pleasure that she reacted to each and every time.
Her face flamed with shame and desire as she felt him press two fingers inside of her at the same time his lips closed over her clit. Her moans were harder to suppress; the fear of Draco waking up was the only thing enabling her to keep them back.
Riddle moaned as she began to clutch at his fingers. She knew she was close from the way her hips continued to buck forwards, chasing the friction he kept shying away from. He picked up the pace of his fingers and crooked them, hitting that spot just behind her pelvis. There was no holding that moan in and she went still as it sounded around them. In the silence of the room it was too loud, like a bomb going off.
She went still as Draco's hand palmed her breast, squeezing a bit more. Riddle lifted his head and they both looked at Draco as he whispered, "Hermione." She held her breath as she looked at him, praying to all the gods that he wasn't waking up. That he was just having a dream.
Her gaze moved to Riddle as his fingers swirled inside of her, biting her lip. Her mind was beginning to fog as her release began to build. She as close to the tipping point and she wondered if Riddle was going to deny her since she had skipped out on his demand to meet her the night before.
I should deny you, he said, echoing her thoughts. I detest being lied to. Stood up.
He lowered his mouth back to her, his tongue dancing along her clit like a feather. She wasn't sure which was worse; being denied again or having him set off her release in this position. She would never be able to decide between the two, especially when Riddle resumed fucking her with his fingers.
I want to deny you, but then I would be denying myself. You taste even sweeter from the source.
Her knuckles went as white as the sheets she clutched at.
Your punishment will have to wait.
Stars began to dance behind her lids as her body descended toward the heavens. Her pulsed with the need for release, alternating between feeling as though she were being lowered into a volcano or standing in the middle of a blizzard. His ministrations were relentless and she could no longer control the gasping pants that tore from her lips as her body bowed off the bed.
"Hermione," Draco whispered again, his hand kneading her breast again, only adding to the myriad of emotions that ran the course of her spine. And just when she was beginning to think she couldn't feel any worse when it came to her guilt, Draco spoke again. "I love you."
Riddle lifted his head again and quelled the movements of his fingers inside of her, but it was too late. The moment Draco uttered the words in his sleep, she shattered. She clutched around Riddle's fingers hard enough she wondered if they might break. Otherwise she felt weightless as she closed her eyes and gave in.
As she started to come back down, Riddle removed his hand from her core and rose to his feet. He stared down at her, his expression one of contempt as he slid his gaze to Draco.
One day he will discover what you really are. His voice was cold inside of her head. Who you really are. And when that day comes, he will never love you again.
Hermione's trembling intensified as she stared up at him. And that is? she asked.
His smile was cold and triumphant as he stared down at her. Mine.
With that, he pulled back and readjusted the curtains around Draco's bed again. She flinched as she heard the door to the bathroom slam shut.
Feeling completely disgusted with herself as her body continued to tremble with the aftershocks, she pushed herself away from Draco and summoned her clothes. With tears of self-loathing blurring her vision, she dressed and fled the room. Once behind the safety of her wards, she pushed her face into a pillow and screamed herself raw. What had started as intrigue in the guise of learning had been warped. Warped to such a state where she felt trapped. She needed to tell Draco; something she should have done long ago, but she feared it was too late. He would hate her. She deserved to be hated. But she didn't want to be.
She screamed again at her selfishness and sobbed until no further sound came out. She had never been this girl before. She had just been the bookworm; the friend who cared about her studies. Nothing like this until Riddle had come along. It was sick and twisted; something she didn't understand, but she was too paralyzed with fear to go to anyone about. Until she came up with a way out, she was stuck. She had made her bed. Now she just had to lie in it.