It seems that a few of you felt unhappy with the way that the last chapter played out, feeling that it was too rushed/that Hermione would have been upset that Draco was 'tricking' her-I'm sorry that you felt that way. By way of explanation, I think that Hermione wouldn't have felt that it was rushed once she realised that Draco and her Secret Admirer were the same person, as she had fallen in love with her Secret Admirer, the 'real Draco.' It was also the only thing that Draco could do, as Hermione wouldn't talk to him. Hope that helps, and thank you for the feedback, I certainly took it into consideration when deciding where to go with this chapter !
Hermione and Draco weren't the only couple who had survived the test. Harry and Ginny had naturally, as well as Luna and Theo-that was a bit of a surprise, though not as much of a surprise as the fact that Theo seemed relieved, and actually flashed Luna a quick smile. Luna patted him on the arm and returned his smile dreamily. Hermione would have sworn that there was definite chemistry between the two. As she continued to study her classmates looking for new matches, she realised that she wasn't finding any. No sooner had she thought this then Percy was providing an explanation.
"Ahem - attention please!" He began importantly, in typically pompous Percy fashion. "You may have noticed that you were all re-matched-with your initial partner. This is because this alleged 'test' was proving you, not the Sorting Hat, wrong. You all have things in common. You all have chemistry, and the possibility of a very happy relationship. But you are all letting prejudice cloud this potential. The sooner than you realize this, the better."
At these words, Draco shot her an adorable conspiratoral wink and grin and squeezed her hand. His actions sent the flock of butterflies in her stomach into a mad frenzy as she returned his eager grin.
Some of their other classmates did not seem as pleased. Ron and Astoria were alternating between sending each other nasty grimaces and sending them Hermione and Draco's way. Feeling slightly spiteful, Hermione reached over and gave Draco a peck on the cheek. He looked surprised but happy, almost ratified. Leaving over in a conspiratoral fashion, he whispered, "We'll continue that later," returning her kiss on the cheek.
Hermione nodded and tried to look happy, though inside her stomach was in knots. She knew that Draco was quite experienced in that department, something that she was not. She and Ron had only ever kissed, passionately at times, but not more than that, and they had certainly never had sex. What if Draco had high expectations? What if she did something wrong? She was sure that he wouldn't expect more than a kiss right now, but on their wedding night... Hermione never liked feeling rushed into anything, and certainly not something of this magnitude. Sure she liked Draco, maybe even loved him, but her virginity was never something that Hermione had planned to take lightly, to throw away callously.
Hermione was quiet the rest of the class, clearly deep in thought. Draco chalked this up to the test that they had had and what it had revealed; it was a certainly a lot to process. Besides, Hermione was always deep in thought! She was also quiet all the way back to their pods, and once they had gotten back to their room. This was fine with Draco, in fact, he had an activity in mind that required very little talking.
"So," he said walking over to her. "About that promise of mine back in class."
Backing up slightly, Hermione reached her bed and sat down. Misinterpreting this as flirting, Draco followed her and carefully sat next to her. He senses her nervousness, but not her reluctance. Cupping her face gently with his hands, he whispered,
"I've been waiting a long time for this."
"Me too," she breathed back before she could help herself, so distracted was she by his calloused hands on her face and his penetrative gaze on her.
Smiling softly, he leaned in and slowly, carefully, brushed his lips against hers. Her response was instinctive, immediate, lead not by her mind. Roughly, she threw her arms around his next and took control of the kiss, making it passionate. She loved him, she wanted him. Bodies and sheets became tangled as they fell back on the bed and the kiss deepened. Both shed the others shirt and began exploring each others bodies. Only when Draco unhooked her bra did Hermione get hit with a dose of cold hard reality and she pushed him back firmly.
Undeniable hurt marred Draco's face - never before had he been rejected, nor had he ever had emotional attachment to the object of his affection. "What's going on?"
Hermione's voice was small, meek. "I can't do this."
Draco's answer was cold. "You don't trust me." It was a statement, not a question.
"No! It's not that ! I'm just not ready...I-I'm a virgin," Hermione confessed.
Draco chuckled. "I had assumed as much."
"I want to - I'm just not ready yet. "
"On our wedding night?" Draco asked softly.
Relief washed over Hermione at his understanding. "On our wedding night."
"Speaking of which, we should probably get planning - we need to pick a date and get cracking!" Draco exclaimed.
"Oh my goodness your right!" Hermione exclaimed. "There's so much to do-I have my dress of course but we need to get flowers and a band and we have to send out invitations...I wonder if the ministry will instill a limit on how many guests we can invite. We'll either have to get married at a venue other than Hogwarts or find a way to let my parents in because they really must be here-" Hermione stopped short. "Oh, I'm so sorry."
Draco tried to brush off the topic that Hermione had inadvertently brought up with a display of bravado. "Nah don't worry about it. It's not like it's a loss - as far as I'm concerned, they can rot in Azkaban. I owe them nothing, certainly not a wedding invitation, even if they weren't in prison."
Hermione studied him for a moment before continuing as though nothing had happened-she had correctly deduced that Draco wanted nothing more than to have a change of subject.
As Draco watched her chatter on, he shook his head in disbelief, wondering how someone could possibly be as geeky as her.
"...I found several books on wedding planning and on the comparison of muggle-wizard traditions that I've been reading. I can lend them to you..." So geeky. Such a bookworm. -His bookworm, he thought fondly.
xxxxx
Lucius bit back a cry of rage in his cell as he read the page of upcoming wedding announcements published by the Ministry in The Daily Prophet as this week's update on their trial project His son was ruining any chances the family had of redeeming the Malfoy. Not only was he marrying a muggleborn AND a Gryffindor, but it had to be the most vile one of all- that bitch Granger. No. It couldn't be. Lucius would have to do something about this very serious problem.
