Draco felt guilty about the entire episode, the fact that Granger had lost her memory, and the fact that he couldn't tell her the truth. But that wasn't going to stop him from trying to make it up to her. In his mind, if he made it up to her, he would make things right, even if she didn't know what he was doing. So that day he took her down to the Great Hall and had her sit down with him at the Slytherin table.
"Don't tell anyone I let you do this." He said, smirking a little as he sat across from her. They both picked up a cup of hot chocolate off of the table. "My friends would never let me live it down, you know."
"I know." She said, smiling a little. Draco looked down to the table, up to Hermione, down to the table again, before resting his eyes on the fireplace across the large room.
"I'm sorry about your father."
"Hmm?" Draco asked, averting his gaze to her. "Oh. Uh... thank you. Don't mention it. Really. He was nothing but a jerk anyways." He didn't even leave Draco any money! Again, he stared at the fireplace. "I..." He tried to say the words, but they wouldn't come out. She tilted her head slightly, and this made him frown as he concentrated more at the fireplace. "I... umm... want to tell you something... but its hard." He gripped his hot chocolate cup harder.
"Well... whatever it is, you can tell me." She said. "I promise I wont judge."
"Who said you were going to judge?" Draco snapped. "Do you plan to?" He felt so guilty the guilt was making him irritable.
"No, I..."
"Because, you know, just cause I was worried about you doesn't, like, mean that I'm, you know, soft or anything or hiding anything." He mumbled out the words before he knew what he had said, and after acting like a complete prat, he looked down into his mug of chocolate.
"Oh." Hermione glanced down into her cup as well. "That's nice." There was a pause. "You worried about me?"
Draco looked up at her. "... Yeah. I did." He took a sip from his mug. "I... erm... I thought you getting sick was... was... my fault."
"Why would it be your fault?" Hermione asked, glancing up at him. When he didn't answer, she asked again. "Why would it be your fault, Draco? You'd never hurt me." This caused a giant pang in Draco's stomach.
"Well... it wasn't my fault. But I thought it was." He bowed his head in shame. "Hermione... I can't believe I'm saying this... but you're better than me. And you deserve more than me insulting you and snapping at you all the time." He chugged down the rest of the hot chocolate. "So I'm going to work at it."
"What brought this on?" Hermione questioned.
Draco wanted to answer 'guilt.' Instead, he said, "I... um... you know, after all we've gone through these last few weeks I... I thought it'd be... good... bonding between houses." He nodded, but it wasn't enough to convince himself, let alone her.
"What's the real reason." It was more of a command than a question.
Draco sighed. "Look, I just feel guilty, okay?" He didn't feel like he had to go on, but Hermione did.
"Guilty about what?"
"Look, what is this? 20 Questions? I just feel guilty about all that I've put you through, alright?" He stood up. "But if you don't want me to stop insulting you all the time..."
"No, no. I... I like the idea." Hermione nodded, and Draco sat back down. "I won't mention it anymore, I promise." She placed her hand on top of his. "I want us to get along."
"Me to." He smiled a genuine smile for once. He noticed what he had done, though, and changed it quickly to a smirk.
Over the next few days, Draco and Hermione did almost everything together. Hermione taught Draco a few new words out of her dictionary (like philander and seraphic), and Draco took her down to the Slytherin dorms where they played wizard chess and collaborated little drawings of Crabbe and Goyle in tutus. Sure, it was all a little childish, but the bonding they did was something more amazing than anything else. Every time they'd walk by Potter, Draco would be sure to grab Hermione's hand and look challenging. Madam Pomfrey didn't like the idea of Harry going back to the Weasleys so soon, so Draco had to put up with Golden-Boy the rest of the break.
The night before the last day of vacation, the two fell asleep on the Gryffindor common room sofa. Hermione was lying softly against Draco's chest, him leaned back against the arm rest. Harry walked in on the two at three in the morning. It took him a moment to rub his eyes and put on his glasses, but when he realized that what he was seeing was not a mirage, he shook his head and woke Hermione up.
"Wha...?" She asked, but Harry put a finger to her lips to shush her.
"Shh, Herms. Can I talk to you for a moment?" She nodded reluctantly, and he helped her up without disturbing Malfoy. They walked over to the other side of the room, and Harry started in. "Look, Hermione, I know you've been through a lot..." He yawned. "But don't you think you're clinging to Malfoy just a little too much?"
"What d'you mean?"
Harry sighed. "It's Malfoy, Hermione. I know you don't remember who he was before your accident, but I can tell you he wasn't this... humble. He was a bad man, Hermione. His father, before he died, was in Azkaban. Do you know what that is?"
"A wizard prison, right?"
"Right. Azkaban is for the lowest of the lows. The murderers and crooks, just like Lucius Malfoy. He was a Death Eater." Hermione looked confused. "A follower of the Dark Lord?" Hermione still looked confused. "Don't tell me that prat hasn't told you a thing about Voldemort." Hermione shook her head. "That little..." Harry got a giant sneer on his face. "Well, Voldemort's a bad man, and Malfoy's father worked for him. I don't think anyone's told you this, Hermione, but we're at war here. Voldemort killed people... innocent people. People who wanted nothing more than to raise their son in peace." Harry clenched his jaw. "And I'm on the good side. You were on the good side. Ron was too. Blaise, Pansy, Crabbe, Goyle, they were on the bad side... and I'd watch my back if I were you, Herms. Draco's most likely not on the good side." He put his hands on her shoulders. "I love you, Herms. You're my best friend. I just don't want to see you hurt. I know you don't remember a thing about me, but I remember you. And I know you're better than him." He motioned to Draco, asleep. "Just be careful."
Harry then leaned down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "G'night, Herms." He then retreated up his staircase and back into the boys' dorms, leaving Hermione alone in the dark.
-The next morning...-
Draco awoke in the morning after a very explicit dream that didn't help his guilty conscience much, but no Hermione was in sight. He shrugged off his weary tiredness and sat up on the sofa to find a set of green eyes staring at him.
"Potter?" He asked, rubbing his eyes to focus.
"G'moring, Malfoy." Potter answered, though it wasn't very pleasant in the least. "If you're looking for Hermione, she left."
"No shit." Draco yawned. "D'you know where to?"
"Nope."
Draco got up from the sofa and followed Potter out of the dorms without another word. Potter went in the direction of the Great Hall, and Draco went in the direction of the library. Sure enough, he found her in the restricted section of the library. The librarian wouldn't let him in, however, because he didn't have a pass.
"Look... That girl over there is under my supervision for this winter break." Draco tried to explain. "And if I don't get to her, she could run a muck on the school."
"That's Hermione Granger." The librarian said. "She would NEVER run a muck."
"You do know that she lost her memory recently, right?" Draco asked. "That she has no idea who she is." The librarian looked from Hermione to Draco.
"I thought that was just a rumor."
"Don't get out much, do you?" Draco smirked, which put the librarian off. "Look, just let me in so I can get her and take her back to Madam Pomfrey, okay?"
"Very well." The librarian nodded. "But you better be out of there in two shakes of a dragon's tail, otherwise I'll call Filch." Draco gave the lady a wave of thanks and entered the restricted section in haste. When he found Hermione she was stooped over a book, much like the old Hermione. "Hey." He said, trying to see what she was reading.
"Hi." She said, though the air in her voice was nothing short of rude. Draco looked very confused. Why was she all of a sudden putting him off? "Tell me something..." She continued. "Did you purposely not tell me about the war?" This caused an icy chill to set upon the room.
"What?" He asked, as his voice boomed through the library.
"You heard me. Why didn't you tell me about Voldemort? About the Death Eaters? About Harry Potter and his quest to save all of humanity?" She picked up the book in her arms. "I've been reading, Draco."
"That can't be good."
"And I've learned all about Harry Potter. He's not a bad man, as you've made him out to be. If anybody is the bad man here, its you." She glared at him. "Are you a Death Eater, Draco?"
"What?" Draco sounded insulted. "Excuse me?"
"Harry said that your father was one."
"Oh he did, did he?"
"Yes. He said that he followed He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named."
"Wait. So you're going to judge me based on what my father did?" Draco crossed his arms in vain. "How dare you, you little muggle-born scum. You're going to listen to Potter, who really is just a poster child for hope. I can't believe you... you actually... I just... argh!" He kicked the side of a shelf, causing it to sway dangerously. "So Potter got to you, did he? Figures. Figures you'd be nothing more than just a little bookworm who'd believe anything she reads."
"You didn't answer me."
"Look on my arm, Hermione! Does it look like I have a giant tattoo with a Death Eater symbol on it? Or did you even read that far?" He lifted up his shirt sleeve to prove his point. On his arm was nothing. "Did Potter forget to mention to you that if you follow Voldemort you have one of those tattoos on your arms? Did he forget to mention that my father was a decent man who was only doing what he thought was right? And did he even mention that I'm not my father?" He pushed his sleeve down. "No, I'm not a follower of the Dark Lord. He took everything I had -everything I thought was precious." He took the book out of her hand and put it back on the shelf. "I no longer have money. I no longer have a place to live. This is my home for a while... and when I graduate..." He shook his head. "So go on, believe Potter. Voldemort now owns my house, my money, and my mum. But he doesn't own me."
Draco scratched his head in realization. Without another word, he picked up Hermione's book bag that was sitting on the floor, handed it to her, and began to walk out of the restricted section. "Draco...!" Hermione followed him out and all the way to the Slytherin dorms. "Draco, please. I... I'm sorry. I didn't--"
"Oh yes, you meant to." Draco snapped at her, as she followed him into the common room. "You meant it." He sat down on the sofa and rubbed his head with his hands.
"Okay, I did." She confessed, sitting down next to him. "But I didn't know... you had a lot of points against you..."
"Whatever, Granger. I thought we could actually get along, but I guess I was wrong."
"No, no. Please, I'm sorry... I am." She cuddled into his chest, but he didn't react back. "It's just that... after reading about Harry and all..."
"Memories came back?"
She looked up at him. "How'd you know?"
"Just figured so." Draco became uneasy, hoping that other certain memories would not come up. "Look, Granger, I won't lie. I was supposed to be a Death Eater. But when the time came for me to become one I..." He drifted off.
"You...?"
"I... didn't pass the test." He looked down to the floor. "That's why my father died. That's why Voldemort owns my mum."
"You mean..." Hermione thought for a moment. "Your father's death... wasn't a suicide?"
"It was a murder." Draco nodded. "Yeah."
"Oh, Draco..." Hermione hugged Draco very close now, kissing him lightly on the neck every few seconds. "I'm so sorry... I didn't know... I just... oh, I'm sorry..." Draco took in a very deep breath, and exhaled just as deep.
"You didn't know. I'd hate me too." Especially for what I've done to you... Draco closed his eyes and leaned back on the sofa as Hermione continued to softly kiss his neck, right at the spot where he liked it most. "Mmm... Granger, you better stop it... I'm serious... you're pushing it..." And when she continued to push her limits, his hands had a mind of their own. First, they traveled to her sides, and then to her thighs. This must have been a good thing, he assumed, because she moved her legs around so that she straddled him, and began nibbling on his ear. "Oh, not the ea-- oh, Merlin..." Obviously, the ear was a very sensitive spot to Draco. "Oh, fuck, Granger... so you're all grown up now, huh?" He bit his lip when she nipped his earlobe.
"What do you think?" She whispered in his ear.
"I think it would be fun to find out." He grabbed her ass playfully.
"I agree." She drew a line with her tongue from his ear to his lips before giving him a soft, tender kiss.
"I feel like you just called my bluff at a poker game." Draco raised an eyebrow, pulling back slightly.
"Well then, you shouldn't bluff, now should you?" Hermione gave him a very lustful look that made Draco become very aroused. But Hermione didn't stop from there. Her hands were busy moving to his belt buckle, little fingers wrapping around the leather buckle, and in one quick movement, she had it undone and slipped off his waist. Draco found it ultimately a turn on, but had to ask. "What brought this on?" He took the belt from her hands.
She gave him a very sensuous kiss. "You want this, don't you?" She guided his hands to the bottom of her shirt.
"Well, yeah, but... I never counted on you saying yes." Draco admitted, and slowly lifted her shirt over her head and cast it to the side with reckless abandon. His eyes set on her breasts, hidden beneath a lacy blue bra. He wanted to rip every inch of her clothing off... to just take her right there. But the guilt from the rape made him do differently. Instead, he gave out a tremendous sigh and said, "Wow, for once in my life I'm going to have to say I can't do this." He looked up at the gorgeous brunette sitting on his lap who was craving him as much as he was craving her.
"Why?" Hermione asked, traveling her fingers down his chest, before lifting up his shirt over his head. He didn't object. "Why can't you?"
"It's not right, Hermione. I - you - we can't do this." He made a motion to move, but she sat him back down with a firm grip on his shoulder, still straddling him.
"Why not?" She sounded frustrated.
"Because it wouldn't be right. I-I'd be taking advantage of someone who can't remember who they are." He tried to cross his arms, but she grabbed one of his hands and set it on her right breast. Knowing he couldn't resist a temptation like that, he massaged her breast and closed his eyes, before catching himself and opening his eyes back up. "It wouldn't be right," He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself, "if you knew what I put you through before--"
"I don't care." Hermione cut him off as she put a finger to his lips. "I want you now, Draco. I don't care what you did to me before. I want you now." The intensity in her eyes overwhelmed him, causing him to lean up and capture her in an alluring lip-lock. Before he knew it, Hermione on top of him again, her bra across the room on the floor. He trailed light, sensual kisses down her neck before he reached his destination; her breasts. He cupped one with one hand and sucked on the other. His lips enclosed around her nipple as he sucked, flicking his tongue every now and again to make her moan. And moan she did. First it was a slight gasp. Then when he cupped her breast harder, she gave out a soft purr. He alternated breasts, and this made Hermione arch her back. Nothing, in his opinion, was better than turning a girl on to the point that her nipples were hard even in a smothering hot room. And she had perfectly round, hard nipples.
"Mmm... Draco, please..." Hermione gasped. "Please..." Draco knew what that please was, and he grabbed her hands to undo his zipper. She looked a little taken aback, but he helped her as she undid his button and then slid his zipper down. Draco did the rest, un-tucking and letting his cock feel the cold air outside of his pants. Hermione looked down, blushed, and looked away. "What's the matter, Granger?" He asked, trailing his hand under her skirt. "Want that inside of you?" He slid a finger underneath her panties and felt just how aroused she was. She gasped as he inserted a finger inside of her, and he was pleased at how easily it went in. She was very turned on. "Hmm?" He thrust the finger inside of her again. "Want that big cock in you?"
"Draco..." She closed her eyes, shuddering as he repeated his motions again and again, adding another finger in the mix. "God..."
"Yeah?" He whispered, leaning up to touch her ear with his breath. "Do you?"
"Yes." She murmured back. "God, yes." That was enough for Draco. He slipped his fingers out of her and licked them clean before saying, "Hang on." He searched around in his pockets for something - it was a condom. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. "What? I'm always prepared." It took him a few moments to get the condom on, but after he did he positioned her above him. He steadied himself with one hand, and with the other he moved her panties to the side to make room for him. She gave a slight intake of breath when he began to insert himself inside of her. Draco could feel how hot and ready she was, and his senses went wild when he moved her down and was all the way inside of her. Hermione only gave one slight sign of pain, but it went away when he grabbed her hips and moved her just the right way, slightly up and forward. They exchanged lustful glances as he leaned back and positioned her all the way on top. Hermione ran her fingers up his chest, closing her eyes when he rolled her hips again. "Mmmh..."
And so they rode each other in the Slytherin dorms, on the last day of winter break, in a very open part of the campus. At any moment a fellow Slytherin could walk in on Draco and Hermione, and to Draco that fact made everything more exciting. He especially enjoyed the way she arched her back whenever he thrust hard inside of her, exposing her breasts from underneath her hair. He could tell she enjoyed raking her fingers along his chest and stomach, because she did it quite often, sometimes leaving nail marks. His skin was just about raw when they began to fuck in earnest. "Whoa... slow down..." He said, feeling himself almost release. He caught himself in time, though, and relaxed. "Okay. Who's up for a new position?"
"Was there something the matter with this one?" Hermione panted out.
"Nothing. That's the issue." He said, wanting to make the sex last. He pulled out of her and they both sat up on the couch, sweat dripping off their cheeks. He thought a moment, before a devilish idea came into his mind. "Take off the rest of your clothes and stand over near the armrest." Hermione gave him a raised eyebrow, but did what she was told and slipped off the rest of her clothing. Draco became hard again when he witnessed it, and discarded his clothing in an instant. "Wow, Granger, did anyone tell you that you have quite a sultry body?" He could tell Hermione was slightly uneasy, but he promised to make it well worth her while. "Turn around and face the armrest, okay?" He asked. Hermione reluctantly did what she was told. "Alright, see the belt on the sofa? Lean over the sofa and get it."
"What?"
"Just do it."
"But it's a belt. I--"
"Just do it."
And so she did. Trusting him, she leaned over the sofa and extended her arm for the belt. What happened next she did not expect. She suddenly felt two hands on her waist and someone VERY close to her. Nervously, she picked up the belt and handed it to him. He grabbed it up with one of his hands and kept a firm grip on her with the other. "Trust me?" he asked. She looked back to him, but he just gave her a look that made her blush, and she nodded. "Spread your legs." She did. Draco smirked one of his famous smirks and pressed into her, causing her to lean more on the sofa as a new wave of pleasure washed over her. It was an amazing feeling she had never... Draco was good.
He easily made the process ten times more exciting with this position. He rode into her hard, knowing he was hitting just the right spot because she started to moan quietly. "You like that?" He asked, taking this one painfully slow, then quick. It was frustrating and exciting, and Hermione's head arched back a little. "Hmm?" He moved hard when he said this. "Yes?" She gave a tremendous gasp. He took the belt in his hand and gave her ass a slight smack with it. Hermione bit her lip and held back a scream.
He grabbed her hips relentlessly as he smacked her ass harder with the belt, making her arms almost collapse as she tried to hold it together. The were now definitely fucking each other hard, and Draco could feel the intensity. He leaned over and pressed his stomach to her back, taking the hand that had once held the belt (now discarded to the floor) and grabbing her breasts with it. She sighed, then gasped, then screamed. Hard. Rough. More. Softer. Faster. Harder. "Yes... God... uh..mmmhn... Draco..." Now Draco could sense the fact that Hermione was about to peak, and he kept a steady rhythm, wanting it so bad... When she came, Hermione's back arched and she gave a tremendous moan. Draco smirked happily to himself. "Oh, someone just came, didn't she?"
"Shut... up..." Hermione panted out. He sped down on his thrusts, because he wanted her to feel the orgasm to its full content. It was all about the in-the-moment feeling. When she finally quit gasping for breath, he leaned over and whispered, "My turn." And he began fucking her hard again, rough, passionate. It wasn't long before Hermione came again and Draco soon afterwards. They both collapsed on the sofa, Draco on top of Hermione, sweat dripping as skin touched skin. It was perfect, in Draco's mind. He pulled out of her and they both sat up on the sofa, shaking from the afterglow. It took him a few moments, but Draco took the condom off and discarded it in the trash can before grabbing up his pants from his ankles. Hermione still halfway laid on the couch, her breath shallow and in ecstasy. After Draco put his pants back on, he stood back and stared at the sight before him.
"Mmm," He said, "Now that's a fucktasmic sight." Hermione glanced up at him and tried to cover herself up. Draco laughed and gave her clothes back. She was shaking so much it took her a few moments to get her clothes fully back on. "How many times did you come?" He asked, smirking.
"I told you to shut up." She said as she blushed, though her eyes were laughing. Draco reached down to pick up his shirt when a laugh was heard and two boys came in with a box in each of their arms.
"Wow, we really scored today," One said, catching Draco and Hermione off guard. "The house elves didn't even know what hit 'em." Hermione glanced up at Draco, who gave her a look like 'damn, that was close.'
"Whatcha got, boys?" Draco enquired as he tried to inconspicuously put his shirt back on. His voice sounded interested enough, but his eyes were searching around for his belt. Hermione reached over and got it, poked him, and handed him the belt.
"We've got two dozen chocolate cupcakes and nine mini-cakes." The other boy explained. "Want one?"
"Well, I do work up an appetite." Draco smirked, winking at Hermione. He grabbed two cupcakes out of the box and said, "Go on. I'm not stopping you." The boys preceded to the boys' dorms, laughing and high-fiving each other. "Here." Draco handed one to Hermione. He sat down with her on the sofa and laughed. "Wow... that was close."
"You're telling me." Hermione said, looking rather embarrassed. She took a bite out of the cupcake. "... Thank you."
"For what?" Draco asked. "The sex or the cupcakes?" They both laughed. Hermione leaned over and gave him a very soft kiss on the cheek.
"For everything." They exchanged interesting glances at each other that said more than words could ever say, and he put his free hand around her.
"So... um..." He began. "I..."
"You don't have to say anything." Hermione said, looking down in her lap. "I already know."
"Know what?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I know you did this just for fun..."
"... Well, yeah it was fun..." He gave her a reassuring smile.
"Does that make me a bad person?" She asked.
"Why would it?" He blinked.
"Because... I read that people who... um..."
"Have sex..."
"Yeah. That people who- do that- do it because they're in a relationship..."
"Granger, do you know what friends with benefits are?"
"Friends with benefits?"
"Its people who are friends who do it just for fun." He explained. "Now, you're a friend, are you not?" He looked as if he were trying to convince himself as well.
"Well, yes..."
"Then no. You're not a bad person." He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "You're an F.W.B. Friends with benefits."
"But I..." She shook her head. "I don't want to be a friend with benefits, Draco. You... we... what we just did... I lo--"
"I love you, too." He took a bite out of his cupcake as he leaned back on the sofa. "I love you, too."