A/N: If you've been following my Author Page on Facebook, you know that I said I wasn't going to update each chapter as I finished it, but I was going to work on whole plot arcs that spanned several chapters. I'm still doing that. But I accidentally wrote this short interim chapter that really belongs to more of the plot from Chapter 25, so I just thought I'd include it here and not make you wait for the other 5 chapters that are in process. (If you're still waiting for Chapter 25 on H&V, it's posted there…but the site is down temporarily and it might be a while before it comes back up. You can still PM me on Facebook for the PDF of Chapter 25.)
Chapter 26
It couldn't have been the sunlight slanting through the open window that woke her, because from the look of it, the sun was well into its daily trek across the sky. Hermione blinked sleepily into that bright morning light, a wonderful warmness engulfing her body.
She felt good. Surprisingly good.
Her body ached a bit, as if it had been well-used. She smiled to herself, thinking that was definitely the case, and felt a glow course through her body at the memories of the night before.
With a yawn, she started to stretch, only to jostle the warm body behind her, which groaned and sent one hand sliding lazily up her thigh.
She bit her lip, her body suddenly alert, and waited to see what else that hand would do. It squeezed her hip, just once, and then stilled. From behind her she could hear even breathing again. He'd fallen back asleep.
Instead of feeling disappointed that they weren't in for another bout of fantastic sex, she giggled quietly. She felt really good.
It had been ages since she'd felt like this. Calm, peaceful, happy. Relieved.
She'd been afraid for nothing. Sleeping with Draco had been nothing at all like sleeping with Ron. Gone was the unsettled, shameful feeling that always lingered afterwards like a slick layer of oil on the surface of an otherwise clear lake. For the first time, sex didn't leave her feeling dirty, empty, guilty, defective.
Instead she felt…wonderful. Is this what it was like to feel comfortable in your skin, in just your own skin? She held back another giggle at the unusually decadent thoughts that flitted through her mind, not wanting to wake Draco up again.
Slowly, she turned, repositioning herself so she could look at him.
The covers had settled around his waist, so she had a good view of what she'd only barely glimpsed the night before. He was…very fit. Her eyes wandered over his smooth skin, noting the muscles that even in sleep were firm. She wanted to touch, but refrained, enjoying instead the swirling of feelings inside her at seeing him like this.
His pale hair was a tousled mess, confirming her belief that even Draco Malfoy woke up with bedhead. With a gentle finger she moved the shock of hair that was covering his eyes, remembering again the tender way he'd looked at her the night before.
Those intense eyes made her feel all sorts of things, the way they looked at her, the way they seemed to look into her. Part of her wished he would open them, so she could look into them again, see if everything looked the same in the morning.
Another part of her was pleased to see how peaceful his face looked in the gentle sunlight. He seemed younger. More like the boy she'd known, and less like the man who walked every day stooped with the burden of his mistakes weighing him down.
She knew that feeling. She'd seen those expressions too many times on the war veterans she worked with every day. Along with what she saw in the mirror.
But she'd never seen Draco without that hardness, that knowingness, in his eyes. She liked him this way.
She basked in the warmth of the morning and she wondered if he would feel the same thing she did today—if she gave him that same feeling of lightness and hope.
Her words from the night before came drifting into her mind, and an echo of anxiety caused her to sit up.
Still thinking not to disturb him, she looked around for something to put on, and grabbed Draco's black shirt from the floor.
Carefully, she tiptoed out of the room, not quite shutting the door behind her, and made her way into the living space.
The high vaulted ceilings and the large windows made the room airy and bright, and she smiled again as she saw the books lining the shelves, no longer hidden behind a charm.
Out of habit, she trailed her fingers along the spines. The familiar feel of covers beneath her fingertips was soothing, and for a moment she pushed the anxiety away, concentrating on the book titles as she passed them.
One familiar title stood out, and she pulled out the timeless tale of Miss Bennett and Mr Darcy, noting that it wasn't the one she'd given to Draco. Idly, she wondered where he kept that version, and why he hadn't mentioned that he already had a copy.
She carried it over to the couch, settling into a patch of light, letting the rays of morning sunshine remind her of that lovely feeling she'd woken up with. She opened the book to the first page, knowing she had no intention of reading it, but she always did her best thinking with a book in her lap.
After a few minutes of flipping through pages, skimming through text she almost knew by heart, she determined something.
She still felt good.
Her limbs were loose, her heart was light. She felt terribly comfortable on someone else's couch, reading someone else's book, wearing someone else's shirt. Possibly because that 'someone else' was Draco.
Yes, she still felt good. She just also felt…a tad embarrassed.
She'd said some words that were much too early to be thought, let alone spoken aloud, in this fledgling relationship. She'd been surprised to hear them coming out of her mouth. And then horrified to think how trite it sounded, like a young girl who equates sex with being loved.
She knew better than most that the two didn't necessarily have anything to do with each other.
Draco had quickly distracted her from her embarrassment, and she'd let him, grateful he wasn't going to make a big deal out of the unintentional words. Grateful that he didn't push her away for being too forward. Grateful that he didn't turn it immediately into a commitment she might not be ready for.
But it did make her wonder.
She ought to be feeling much more anxiety right now. She'd revealed a very personal thought that could give Draco a lot of leverage over her. He could exploit her feelings, he could try to manipulate her. Ron would have. Ron did, several times.
She'd told herself she would be more careful, more wary of giving her heart away.
But … she was afraid it was too late. Whatever this was she was feeling—that she hesitated to name—was very strong. It rolled through her—powerful, magical—every time he looked at her, touched her, every time she thought of him.
Could it happen again so quickly?
And what could she even do to stop it, supposing she wanted to?
A loud thump jolted her out of her reverie. She heard scrabbling sounds coming from the bedroom, and then the door yanked open, and Draco came rushing out of it.
He looked like he'd dressed hurriedly; his shirt was half open, his hair still in his eyes.
He came to an abrupt halt when he saw her sitting on the couch.
Concerned, she sat up. "What happened? Did Harry call you away?"
For a moment he just stared at her, at the book she had just put aside, at her bare legs curled on the couch cushion.
"No," he said, slowly, carefully putting one hand into his pocket. "I thought—I thought you'd left."
She saw the uncertainty on his face, and for some reason that made the glowing feeling even stronger. For all he always appeared so confident, he was just as unsure as she was with this…whatever this was.
Taking in his unkempt appearance, she said, "Where were you going?"
He hesitated, his eyes on her face, before saying, "After you."
"Pardon?" she said, not sure she'd heard correctly.
"I was going after you," he clarified, his voice suddenly defiant, echoing off the walls.
She couldn't help the ridiculous smile that came to her face. He was going after her, even though he thought she'd left him alone in his bed without even a goodbye.
She laughed, delighted. "Looking like that? You were going to come woo me with one shoe on and one shoe off?"
He scowled at her as she laughed so hard she fell over onto the couch, but he couldn't keep the smile off of his face.
She hadn't left after all. She was sitting on his couch with a damn book in her hand, instead of lying in his bed, and was that his shirt? And she was laughing her head off at him on top of it. But he couldn't even be mad.
She hadn't left.
For a panicked moment, Draco had thought he'd pushed her too fast after all, and that she regretted having the spent the night with him.
Waking up to the empty bed had sent a twinge of pain shooting straight through him. Rejection, self-loathing—a hundred other emotions he was all too familiar with. They'd never hurt like this had, though. To be so close to what he wanted, to have her scent still hanging in the air, the feel of her body still on the sheets—for a moment, he was devastated.
He'd sat in the bed, staring, wondering what he could possibly do next. If he'd thought seeing her at the Ministry had been difficult before, it would be near impossible now that he knew how she tasted, how she felt moving beneath him.
Her words came to mind, then. The way she'd lain in his arms and sleepily said she might possibly love him. Just the memory of the words sent thrills up and down his spine all over again.
She must have freaked out and run away, he thought. She was just scared. She'd come out of a bad relationship, and she'd accidentally jumped them a few levels forward, so of course it was understandable.
That was when he'd darted out of bed, frantically thinking maybe he could catch up with her before she'd talked herself out of this…out of them.
And as he'd yanked on his shoes (or just one, apparently), he'd reflected on the fact that just the possibility that she might love him, was something he was absolutely not willing to give up on. He'd waited silently for too long, hopelessly watching as she wasted her love on another. If this didn't work out between them, it wouldn't be for lack of trying.
But she hadn't left.
Instead she was rolling on his couch, tangling her already messy hair on the pillows in her mirth at his expense.
And he was insanely pleased to see her there.
He watched her a moment more, before he leaned down and took off his remaining (only?) shoe.
Her head popped up, looking at him curiously, her eyebrows rising when she caught the glint in his eye.
Before she could blink, he'd climbed over the table, and had her body pinned to the couch with his own, the easiest chase he'd ever had.
She didn't even try to resist. Her body was soft and pliant, warm and yielding, as he settled over her. She leaned her head back so he could easily capture her lips, and he felt warmth flood through his veins.
One hand came up to touch her face, stroking down her cheek as he pulled away to look at her. Her eyes were glassy and dazed from the kiss, but there was still a hint of humor and the touch of a smile on her face as she brought her hand up to his wrist.
He smiled down at her, noting the way the sun brought out the gold flecks in her brown eyes. Then he said, very seriously, "Don't run, Hermione."
Her eyes flickered on his. "I wasn't."
He kissed her again, reveling in the soft sighing sound she made. "I know," he said, quietly. "But you might want to. One day, another day, you might think to run. And if that happens, just…don't. Please. Don't run."
She leaned her head into his hand, her tone suddenly as serious as his. "I won't." Then she grinned at him, "You'll just come after me, anyway, right?"
The last of the tightness in his chest that had been there since he'd woken up finally dissipated at her words.
"Exactly right," he said as he bent his head to kiss her again, and his hands worked to take his shirt back.
A/N: Special Announcement.
My time has been taken up with a lot of extra projects. I'm sorry Draco's Bad Day has been put to the back burner. One of the extra projects is I launched a Dramione Review blog. You can find it at MalReviews (dot blogspot dot com). My plan is to give honest and useful reviews for readers for new and popular Dramione stories. Please check it out when you get the chance.
Also, please look at the section on The S&R Movement, which is a new movement that is helping Authors and Readers to get the most out of their interaction with each other. Whether you are a fellow writer, or one of my lovely readers, I encourage you to read up on this movement (you can find it on my blog), and how you can participate and show your support for the authors. It's an extremely important topic, so please do take a little time to look at the articles on how to leave constructive criticism, or encouraging comments, and why authors sometimes make the choices they do on how they receive their feedback. There's a Tumblr for the movement you can follow, also.
You'll notice that I've updated all my story summaries to show I support the movement, and that my personal Author preference is that I'm happy to receive reviews that include constructive criticism. So if you are so inclined, I'd love to hear from you!
Keep your eye out on my page, also, as I should have two more short stories coming out this October 2017.
S&R Movement: Constructive Reviews Welcome (CRW)