Chapter 40-Not Without Cost.

Draco hardly dare ask, he knew that taking on the persona of a Death Eater was not something done lightly and he understood better than anyone that it did not come without a cost. He did not need to imagine what might have been required of her and he knew that she was too good to bear too many of those horrors.

"Tell me!" He encouraged.

"The children, Draco," was all she could manage.

Oh Merlin no! Draco thought, how had that not broken her?

"They rounded up the muggle children, they were going to kill them all, he would have given them to Greyback, I had no choice," She rushed out leaving herself breathless.

So this was why he had felt her pain, Draco said to himself but he knew that there were no words he could use to console her if this was what she had been made to do.

"I couldn't save them all," she concluded, there was such desperation in her eyes.

"It isn't your fault," he began by way of comfort but she was too conflicted to accept his words.

"I should have done better, I should have done more." She spit out with vitriol.

All he could think of to do was hold her close, to enfold her in his arms and offer the safety and reassurance of his love.

Draco held her for so long and so tightly Hermione almost wanted to believe his whispered words when he told her; 'it will be alright,' but deep down she did not believe anything would ever be alright again. Some part of her had been lost and Hermione knew, with absolute certainty that it was never coming back.

As they had sat there Draco had jostled her into his lap, her head resting against his shoulder. She could hear the reassuring rhythm of his heart.

"I want it all to be over," she suddenly rushed out, "I want to see an end to it."

Draco prayed she meant the war, but he suddenly worried she might mean her own life. Panicked he demanded;

"Promise me; promise you won't ever leave me."

She didn't answer.

"Promise," Draco demanded almost frantically, "that you will stay with me in this life, not abandon me to the next."

She stared at him, slivers of tears clouding her eyes.

"Please," he begged, "promise me!"

Finally she spoke;

"I can't promise you that Draco, no one could, we are at war we risk our lives daily but," she paused then for emphasis, "I will promise that I will never choose to leave you and that no matter where I might be, in this world or the next, I will always love you."

Draco cried. He pulled her into him suddenly overwhelmed by how precious she was to him. He would give up every knut he owned if it would protect her. His wealth was as nothing compared to her love and she had promised him that love for ever.

Tenderly Draco leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. She reached up to brush away his tears before she leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on his lips sealing the promises she had made him. It wasn't enough, Draco deepened the kiss and she let out a moan which was all the encouragement Draco needed.

She hadn't held him in weeks but she had not forgotten the feel of him, the scent of his skin. The smooth almost translucent porcelain flesh that stretched neatly across his toned muscle. She had not forgotten the beauty of him and she wanted to loose herself to his touch.

As if he had read her mind he kissed her neck, feather light touches like the brush of an angel's wing, teased her senses and she sighed tilting her neck to the side to allow him more access. As his lips touched her throat Hermione's core was already aching, she could barely articulate what she needed from him.

Taking his hands she weaved their fingers together, lifting them to her breasts telling him wordlessly that she needed more. He understood, massaging her through her clothes, his ministrations growing more insistent as his own blood heated.

Draco had felt that familiar twitch in his groin the moment her lips had touched his but now with his hands caressing her breasts he was painfully engorged. The tenderness of a few moments ago was quickly replaced by an urgency that they both felt.

Hermione clawed at his clothes tugging and pulling to get at his manhood. When he sprang free she had to resist the urge to take him in her mouth and bite him. So powerful was the need to possess that part of him, she licked her lips, salivating with desire, he looked delicious and she couldn't resist. Freeing her hand she grasped his hardened length then, releasing the pressure, she ran a gentle, caressing finger from his tip to his base. She thrilled to feel him shiver at her touch but she was not done with him. Moistening her lips she lowered her mouth to his throbbing member, Draco let out a primal sigh of pleasure as her tongue traced his pulsing tip.

"Hermione," he shuddered grasping her hair to steady her as she sucked him in. Draco felt barely capable of salient thought as her wet warmth engulfed him but they had been apart too long and he could not bear her teasing. As she pulled back breathless he flipped them over on his bed pinning her beneath him. He was all but naked but Hermione was still largely dressed;

"Unfair," he managed to articulate indicating her clothing but he couldn't wait. Running a shaking hand along her inner thigh he felt her shiver and arch her back towards him. He knew she would be ready for him.

"I need you," he told her breathless in his urgency. She smirked under him giving him a delicious little 'hmm'. Draco knew she was egger as she writhed grinding her hips against him too needy to wait any longer. He pulled the seam of her knickers aside positioning himself at her cusp. He knew her patients had reached its limit too when she grasped his behind and urged him forward.

Hermione thought this might be her favorite sensation, the tightness she felt as he plunged into her, filling her to the brim. She gasped with delight at the feel of him and when he pulled out again she felt bereft, her aching core already mourning his loss until he pushed forward again. He went deep, hitting that sweet spot that made her want to sing out his name.

Draco knew there was no way he would last, he wanted her too much. He was almost cross eyed with the effort of his restraint when she began to pulsate around him. He thought he might die from the pleasure she gave him as she tightened around him. It was too much one more powerful thrust and he too careered over the edge into bliss.

Drunk on the endorphins she had released Draco cradled her, reluctant to pull apart even as he softened, but if he had hoped she would spend her post coital bliss in his arms then he was quickly disappointed when he became conscious of an insistent hammer on the bedroom door.

The door was shattered by a sudden blast, Draco rolled off the bed scrambling for his wand from his pocket.

As the debris cleared Theo took at the scene before him, Hermione's dishevelled appearance, Draco's state of undress and he levelled his wand at the blond a snarl curving his lip.

"I ought to kill where you stand," Theo ground out between tightly gritted teeth, "after all no one would know because you are already dead."

Author's note

okay so it was Draco not Lucius-Hermione recognised his scent. Even though I despair of asking please review:)