Um, so hi. If you weren't aware, I didn't abandon this story. I was on hiatus. I technically still am. It's been a long month full of self doubt, and struggling to write just about anything, but I finished this chapter so I'm putting it up. This story has one more chapter to go, and then a short epilogue. When I started this I never planned for it to be a serious story. Considering the support it got, I'm considering writing another A/B/O when I have the inspiration for one. (I'm also rushing to finish this so I can upload my new dramione. It's a Muggle AU. Hermione is a stripper, Draco is her boss, and the best part? It's 40k and complete. So I'll hopefully finish this in a week or two!) Thank you for the support and I can't wait to see what you think if you're still out there!
Chapter Eight
Being in a solid - she considered it as such given they were partially bonded, and knew exactly where they were headed - relationship was jarring, to say the very least. Hermione had been added to the apparition wards, and had her floo connected to Draco's flat. It had been her idea, one prompted by her asking him if he would like access to hers. Things had just escalated into having a drawer at the other's flat.
Actually he had cleared out a closet for her, but semantics.
It was a weekend, a Saturday to be exact, when he had her pinned against the sofa in his living room. And whilst he was kissing her, he wasn't fucking her. Neither of their clothes were scattered over the floor, but it was a knee jerk reaction when the floo roared to life, that she shoved him off of her.
"Mother," he groaned. Draco lay on the floor, grinning when Hermione peeked over the edge to look at him. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Of course she knew that she would eventually be meeting Narcissa Malfoy, but she'd been narrowly wiggling her way out of it for little over a month. There was something incredibly intimidating about the witch. Yet Hermione had only seen Draco's mother in passing during their years at Hogwarts, and occasionally in Diagon Alley.
She was well put together, prim and proper with her freshly styled hair, and a dash of lipstain that brought out the fullness of them. Looking up at Narcissa, who leaned over the couch with as much of a smile as she ever bothered with, Hermione couldn't remember why she'd been so nervous. The woman looked delighted to see her.
"Miss Granger, it's so nice to meet you formally." She said. "Draco, there will be house elves popping in with supper, but would you go pick up my favorite tea from the manor?" She asked her son, taking a seat on the far end of the couch from Hermione as she sat up straight.
His eyes narrowed in suspicion, looking from his mother to her, and then back to his mother. "You'll forgive me if I think you left it there on purpose," Draco drawled.
"And just why would I do that?" Narcissa smirked, and it was a near carbon copy of the one Hermione saw on a daily basis. "Go on, Draco." She shooed her son away. "I'm not going to run your girlfriend off."
When his eyes fell to her, Hermione cleared her throat. "Draco, it's rude to keep your mother waiting." A smile curved her lips, which were still red from all the snogging, and she hoped there were no visible marks on her neck. What an awful way to meet his mother - caught snogging as if they were a couple of teenagers.
As the floo activated, with "Malfoy Manor," being called out, Draco was gone, and Hermione found herself in an awkward silence.
It didn't last long. If there was anything Narcissa could do, it was apparently talking enough for both of them. "I assume my son has told you it's my doing that the two of you have a soulmate bond?"
She nodded, picking at her frayed jeans. "I think he told me the day after he found out. He was going to tell me after he returned from - what?"
A grin that seemed too wide to even fit on her face properly had spread across Narcissa's face. "Oh, nothing, darling. I just heard the most wonderful rumor from a witch in Germany." There was an airy lift in her voice as she took in the way Hermione paled. "I heard it from a friend, who actually heard it from a maid, that there was a sound coming from Draco's room. I've always worried about him because of his father's dalliance in the Dark Arts, so it gives me peace of mind knowing he's safe. Nevermind that, the maid heard what sounded like a portkey, and laughter."
"Oh," Hermione mumbled. It wasn't like she didn't know at least some of the details, like the fact they'd had sex. Given their designations, Hermione didn't think she ought to be embarrassed. "How odd."
"You make him happier than I've ever seen him." Narcissa took her hand in hers, squeezing it. "I know he won't tell you what it meant to him, but thank you for not searching for a way to undo the bond."
Hermione's eyes widened. "Undo it?" She shook her head at the ridiculousness of it. "I could never"
Draco was already back, stepping out from the floo, and brushing powder from his hair. It was already tousled from running her fingers through the soft strands. "Litte told me she had already packed your tea, Mother." His gaze settled on their hands, which Narcissa hadn't let go of yet. "Just what were the two of you talking about?"
"Nothing!" Hermione said quickly, but she giggled to herself.
At the same time Narcissa said confidently, "We were discussing how badly I want to be a grandmother."
Hermione snorted, but she didn't miss the way his eyes lit up at all.
Since supper with his mother had gone so well, Draco offered to meet her parents. It decidedly, did not go so well. Not for any awful reason like her parents loathed him, or that her father was the overprotective sort.
As they sat around the table, Hermione squeezed his thigh from beneath the table. But not once had Draco smiled, and she was beginning to worry. After the sixth sideways glance from her mother, she tapped on Malfoy's shoulder, and pulled him from the dining room. Her former room was right off from the dining room. Yanking him inside, she drew her wand, and silenced the room.
On the off chance he had something nasty to say about her parents, they didn't need to hear it. "What's wrong with you?" She asked accusingly. "You've been scowling all night, and my parents must think that you hate them!"
He put his hands up. "No, I think your father is hilarious, and your mum is -"
"Then why are you scowling at them as if they're going to kill you? Malfoy, I swear on all that is holy if this is about Muggles versus Wizards,"
He vehemently shook his head. "Gods, no." He gasped. "Potter had just told me not to let them see my teeth."
She blinked. "What?"
"He told me all about dentists, and how they pull your teeth out. I'm not one to judge your parents for their professions, Hermione, but that's a bit much."
"They don't pull your teeth out for the fun of it, Draco!" She couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up. "They extract teeth when they can no longer be salvaged, and it hurts you to have the tooth in your mouth. Harry just wanted to make you look like an idiot."
He blinked. "Of bloody course he did."
"Why did you ever listen to him anyway?" Hermione giggled, pressing a kiss to his cheek. "You must have known he was going to trick you, but he's right. They'll love your mouth."
"I happen to think that you love it just a bit more," he murmured, dropping his head to kiss her. Hermione shoved him off before he could show her how much she loved it between her legs.
He still traveled often, and the distance was still akin to having her heart torn from her chest. The more time they spent together made it easier, even though she was only going to have complete relief when he'd claimed her. She knew it was coming, and it was going to come to pass sooner rather than later.
If she could feel it as if it were something lurking below her skin, Hermione knew it must have been so much stronger for him. The urge for an Alpha to claim his must have been barely fighting it off because she knew all she could think about was grabbing him and begging.
It was another day of work, one she'd started with him between her legs. Tearing the covers off, Hermione moaned as he moved her legs over his shoulders, his tongue sliding against her clit. "Draco," she gasped, bunching the sheets between her fingers. Her head rolling to the side in pleasure, she noticed the time that was projected from him wand in a faint blue light.
Reality crashed over her, and she was out from under him in seconds. "Don't you dare pout at me, Malfoy. We're both going to be late! I still have to shower, and-"
He cut her off with a searing kiss, picking her up easily as he'd crawled out of bed. "You're too wound up, Granger. You're not going to be late. You're a witch; apparition will take seconds, and you'll be clicking across the atrium in those ridiculously high heels of yours."
"You love my heels." She pointed out, whimpering when the head of his cock brushed against her clit. "Still twenty minutes simply isn't enough time. I have that meeting today, and I have to persuade for-"
"Rights for werewolves," he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "And you're going to win, sweetheart."
She relaxed against him. "Alright," she mumbled, looking right at him. "We'll shower together - you desperately need one."
"Rude," he snorted.
She rolled her eyes. "You're still sweaty, and no one wants to smell sex and sweat." At the rising of his eyebrows, she added, "Except for you. You have approximately five minutes to fuck me."
His eyes narrowed on her, and slid into her. "That's hardly enough time."
She moaned, her head falling back as he slammed into her, walking toward her bathroom. Draco bounced her on his cock, and she was a mess. "I have to get ready still," Hermione whined. "You know I"d rather stay with you."
"Maybe I can persuade you to take an extended lunch break with me." He purred, turning on the hot water in her shower wandlessly. "You've been working an awful lot, and it's my job to take care of you, sweetheart."
"Lunch break," she nodded. "Yes!" She moaned as his thumb swiped across her clit.
They had a tradition.
Whenever he was due to leave again, they would spend as much time as they could together the night before. They had only gone on a date in public once, and it had ended with him buried inside of her against the bar under a Notice-Me-Not, which was still the most exhilarating experience of her life. And while they hadn't been caught, she wasn't keen to do it again in the middle of an upper class restaurant.
Tonight she was curled up beside him on the couch. He'd bought takeaway before showing up at her door. The cartons of chinese food were now empty on her coffee table. Nuzzling his shoulder, Hermione asked, "Can you believe it's only been a few months since I sent you that letter?"
Draco shook his head. "It feels as if I've lo - been with you for years." He swallowed hard, and the arm was wrapped around her shoulders twitched.
Her heart pounded in her chest. "What was that, Draco?" She asked playfully, her fingertips skimming his sides while she tickled him.
His laugh echoed throughout her apartment, scaring Crookshanks out of his spot in front of the fireplace. "Nothing at all, Granger. It just feels like I've been with you for years, rather than the last three months."
Hermione crawled into his lap, straddling his waist while she arched an eyebrow. "I think you know exactly what I was referring to, Mr. Malfoy." Her hands settled on his shoulders as she tilted her head to the side. "Shall I ask again?" Hermione smirked, and she was almost certain she had him when she rolled her hips against him.
"I have no idea what you're referring to, Miss Granger." He murmured, his lips slanting against hers when she leaned down. His fingers tangled into her messy hair, which still had traces of flour in it after she'd tried to bake something earlier in the night. "You'll never get this out of your hair."
"Well if you hadn't pinned me to the floor in the middle of a pile of flour to snog me, it wouldn't have happened." She replied, rubbing slow circles in his shoulders. "You're always so tense, Draco."
"Am I?"
She nodded, biting her bottom lip. "There's a chance I might make that worse." Hermione whispered, and he pulled back to look at her curiously. "I think you were going to say it first, but I'm not all that patient."
HIs grey eyes widened, focusing on her as if it were the first time he'd looked at her all over again, and if she didn't just blurt it, she was never going to say it. "I love you," Hermione whispered, and he crushed her to him.
A growl tore from his throat as he shifted their weight, laying her against the couch. "I love you." He bit out, tugging her shirt over her head, and pressing his lips against her collarbone, nipping the skin there. "So fucking much, sweetheart." Draco groaned when she ground her hips against him. "I could stay," his voice was muffled, and his thumbs swiped across her nipples.
Her back arching, she shook her head even though she wanted to agree. "No," she gasped, "you need to - fuck." Hermione's head fell backwards as his hand slid to the apex of her legs, pushing her soaked knickers to the side. The edge of the lace tickled the inside of her thighs. "You need to take your trip. You can't count on," she shuddered as he slid down her body, pressing his lips against the soft skin of her stomach.
Already too sensitive to take much teasing, she came within three strokes of his tongue, her legs squeezing together as she tugged at his hair.
Draco apparated from the inside of her flat before she could tell him that his tie was askew. Smirking to herself, still clutching the sheets to her naked body, she supposed someone would tell him before he got to the conference. And really even though her stomach was already sinking the further he got away from her, it was only two days.
Forty eight hours that were already barely creeping by. Dragging herself out of bed, Hermione took a long bath, but it only lasted half an hour. She even used the traditional muggle methods of drying her hair, and styling it so she didn't look like she'd been fucked in too many positions for her to count. Yet even then, only a full hour had passed.
She was irritated, glaring at the floo as if she expected for Malfoy to step through just because he knew she didn't want to be alone. If it was this bad for her, she could only imagine what it must be like for her other half.
Grabbing a book from the shelf, she curled up on the couch, the program playing on the telly making for white noise. It was a romance novel that Ginny had gifted her. It wasn't the sort she'd read, with a cover that depicted a woman caught in the embrace of muscular warrior. Rolling her eyes at the cheesy euphemisms, the first hundred pages flew by in hardly any time at all.
It's how she spent the evening, with a blanket pulled over her knees, and with a steaming cup of tea beside her. The shoddy romance novel was entertaining enough, and it made her think of the interesting sex positions, and Draco Malfoy.
Around eleven o'clock, there was an owl perched on her window sill. Tapping on the glass impatiently, sharp little sounds at the sound of his beak. Hermione padded across the carpet, his old quidditch jersey resting against her skin mid thigh. She laughed when his owl gave her barely any time at all to retrieve the letter before flapping wildly to make it to the kitchen.
After the incident with the jar that had been her grandmother's she opted for plastic. It was harder to break even when an owl wrestled it to the ground. Stifling a laugh, and holding the parchment to her face to hide her grin with the owl stared at her indignantly, she bit down on her bottom lip, and sat on the couch.
Hermione,
I can feel how tense you are from here, sweetheart. It's so fucking boring here. You're all I can think about - what would it be like if I returned to my room, and you were there? Or if I'd just brought you as my companion? Merlin knows you would have been more competent than Potter.
Speaking of, he hasn't quite let me live down the fiasco that was meeting your parents. He's mentioned it to four other wizards so far.
X
Hermione giggled, hurrying to her room to grab a quill.
Draco,
I told you that it was an awful idea to take Harry. I know the options weren't great, but really, I'm sure Kingsley would have approved Neville to go with you. It's just a fundraiser; all you have to do is dine with other wizards who have a vested interest in our auror department.
You probably should have brought me as your date, but if you had, I'm sure we would be off in a broom closet like a pair of teenagers. Not that I'm complaining.
Also - I miss you.
Extra also - your owl is going to get too fat to fly soon.
X
Hermione let the letter go with the owl, who had a treat in his mouth as he flew out the window. Laughing, she turned to the television set once more. It was only a short while - she knew because she was still counting down - when her skin grew hot.
It happened gradually, the heat over her skin creeping up on her until it was impossible to ignore. "Oh, fuck." Hermione hissed between her teeth.
She shouldn't have had another heat quite yet - it should have taken another two months at the least for it to fit in with the bi annual trend. Except there was no denying the tight bundle of nerves in her lower belly.
Her fireplace crackled to life, bright green embers sparking up as a familiar face appeared among the flames. His eyebrows were drawn together, his jaw clenched, and she noticed a crowd behind him. "Hermione?" He called out, and the sound of a party was unmistakable. "Are you alright?"
What awful timing, she thought. Swallowing, and resisting the urge to drag him into her flat a country away, she shook her head slowly. "I'm -" she stuttered, taking a deep breath and starting over. "I'm okay. Why do you think something is wrong?"
It wasn't okay to lie to her alpha.
"I just knew you needed me." He said hesitantly, eyeing her closely. "Did something happen?"
She laughed, an awkward, forced sound. "It was nothing. I heard strange noises in the hallway was all. It had me in a panic. Is the party almost over?"
Draco nodded. "Yes, I'll be back in my hotel room in a half hour. I'll call you then, alright?" Hermione agreed, smiling. "If you need anything.." he trailed off, laughing as if it was almost comical to worry about anything, "there's an emergency portkey in your dresser. Potter approved it."
The connection cut off abruptly as he was in the middle of saying goodbye.
She debated it - she honestly did. Surely she could wait another day before he was home. But then she thought of just how good he'd been to her the first time, and she grabbed the port key.
Hermione landed in a hallway, in front of a door that must have been Draco's and it was as she lifted her hand to knock on the door that it swung open.
"Hi," she said weakly.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I knew there was something wrong."
"I'm in heat." She admitted quietly, rubbing her legs together as he looked over her, his eyes growing dark before he ripped her out of the hallway.
