The Protector Returns

Hermione stared at the man before her. She couldn't believe what she had just heard leave his mouth. Was it possible that her once sworn enemy was apologizing to her?

"You're…you're what?" she said, confusion and disbelief eminent in her voice. He looked so sad, and regretful she felt a pang of pity within herself. Waves of remorse hit her, and she wasn't sure how she felt them.

He looked away, unable to hold her gaze. It hurt him too much to stare into her soft honey brown eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For hitting on me?" She said slightly confused. Could he be apologizing for their years at Hogwarts where he treated her like mudblood filth?

"No," His head dropped and his eyes shut tightly, afraid of the tears that had formed and now brimming his silver eyes, "For everything that I've done."

His words seemed to be weighing down on her shoulders, making it almost impossible to stand. She leaned against the wall and slowly slid down it as he continued his speech.

"In the past, I was controlled by my father. I was his mindless minion, hanging off his every word. Knowing his beliefs and living them, I was the perfect example of a wanna-be Death Eater. But the truth was I never really wished to be one. Always in the back of my mind I knew that it was the wrong path and eventually someone helped me realize it. What I did to you for all those years was wrong, and I apologize for it. My actions were rash, rude, and completely out of line. I'm sorry."

Hermione stared straight ahead of her, looking at nothing, but thinking about everything. Why was he apologizing to her now? Maybe he really wanted to set things straight with her. Maybe he had really changed.

"Or maybe…"

"You're just saying all of this to shag me, aren't you?" She said jumping up and walking towards him. "You just want sex! I should have known you would never change! You're just like you were at Hogwarts, going from woman to woman. Well let me tell you something Malfoy, I'm no slut." She was inches from his face now, glaring at his now, confused and angered face.

"That's not it all, I really am sorry!

"Right, whatever. If it's not that it's something else…" She paused thinking while he stared at her in disbelief. He surely hadn't planned it going this way, but Hermione was obviously full of surprises.

"I know! You want me to release you. Draco Malfoy handcuffed to a bed without his wand and too headstrong to beg so he tries to trick the brightest girl of their time. Right. Good luck on that boy!" Laughing she went and sat on the end of the bed.

"I'm not apologizing to get out of this situation. Why can't you just except the fact that I'm sorry!" He said look at her pleading.

"You're just trying to weasel your way out of another bad situation. Besides, I always more thought of you as a ferret, then anything else." She smiled smugly.

"What the fuck is your problem? Can't you just accept that I'm sorry for my wrongs and let it be?"

"What do mean what the fuck is my problem! What's yours! You spend all these years harassing, tormenting, and just straight out hurting me and my friends and then just say sorry and expect me to believe, let alone forgive you? Life's not that easy."

"I know life's not that easy Granger. Lucius killed my mother right in front of me, for Merlin's sake. I know."

She opened her mouth to say something, but paused. She had never heard about how his mother died. Sure, it was in the papers that Lucius had killed his wife, but there was no real description about it, just a little article in the corner of the quibbler.

"I'm so sorry." Hermione's voice was full of understanding. Though she had never witnessed her parents die, learning that they were related only by some legal documents, made them practically cease to exist. Her life had been a lie. Her adopted parents had lied to her, her entire life and Merlin did it hurt.

Plus, she had seen how Harry had reacted to Sirius's death. How he had almost let himself rot away in his room, drowning in depression and woe. It had scared her so much that she had invited him to stay at her house with her, while her family went on their vacation to Jamaica.

Her parents never knew about it though. They had been gone two weeks and Harry had been there since an hour after they had gone and left an hour before they returned. It had been a very…interesting visit.

He looked at her once more, seeing if she was truly sorry about his mother. Wondering if she really did care that she had died. Her face was as solid as a rock, not giving way any emotion. But her eyes glistened with tears that wanted to break free. Was she crying for him? He felt his eyes begin to water and looked away sharply.

"Besides, I wasn't asking you to forgive me. I just wanted to throw that out there." He said quietly.

Silence drifted over them in a thick blanket. It was an awkward silence, where neither could think of anything to say, or had the courage to speak. Both looking away from each other. Two idiots in love, but afraid confide in the other truth.

Finally Draco spoke in a quiet but harsh voice still looking away, "Will you take these cuffs off me or are you just going to leave me like this?"

Hermione stared at him for what seemed like forever, contemplating what she should do. Obviously uncertain about the whole ordeal, she decided that if she let him loose, she might not be able to control herself. Even if it was Malfoy, she knew she wanted him, and had wanted him since their 3rd year.

"I'm going to leave you like that," she said standing up. "Hope you don't mind too much." She walked over to the couch and laid down, her head closest to the bed. "For now I'm going to take a nap, I suggest you do too. We have a long flight ahead of us."

"Oh, hell no. You're not going to leave me like this. Let me go damnit!" he said angrily. She couldn't do this to him. They were fine a second ago, he was she sure she would let him go. "What the fuck brought this on?"

"I don't have a key. Sleep well." With that she smiled and rolled over, quickly falling asleep.

Draco just stared at her. Did she just snub him? Snub Draco Malfoy! Sure, with her family's last name she could ignore anyone she pleased, but he was not used to being ignored and he did not tolerate it. This girl was turning his world upside down, and he had only been with her for an hour. Damn, she had changed.

"She's so beautiful just laying there." He thought to himself pleasantly. Her face was calm and clear, like nothing in world was wrong, which technically was true. She knew so little right now about the troubles beyond their world that it made him laugh aloud. As he did she stirred so he abruptly stopped, not wanting to wake her.

He leaned over her, his dragon pendant hanging right above her head. The diamond in it began to glow a beautiful white, then changed to a deep crimson. He bent over and kissed her lightly on the forehead. In her sleep she smiled and ran her tongue over her lips.

"Draco…" she said softly, almost moaning his name. He smiled happily. She was dreaming of him, and by the sound of it, it was a dream that he would like to make a reality. He decided to have fun with the situation that had arisen.

"Yes, Gra-Hermione?"

"Say it…" He tilted his head to the side still smiling, kissing her once again on the forehead. "Say what, darling?"

"Tell me you want me."

His smile drooped slightly and he could feel his emotions rising from within the depths of his heart. This was really going to be interesting. "I want you more then I've wanted anything, or anyone else."

"Tell me you need me."

He kissed her again and rested his forehead on hers. "Without you I would die."

"Tell me you love me."

He paused. Could he even say it? "I…I love you, Hermione. I love you. More then life itself."

She smiled and snuggled against the couch.

"I love you too."

He stared at her in amazement. He felt like jumping for joy, but remembered it was only a dream. "If only…If only it wasn't a dream. If only I could say it to her conscious face. If only she would love him back."

"But 'if only' is just regret trying to hold to the present." (A/N: You can quote Aften Pankiewicz for that one. I am personally very proud of it. It just came out! ...Sorry, back to the story)

He looked back over at her. She looked peaceful but her eyes were moving quickly beneath her eyelids. She rolled over, so she was lying on her back and her hands were making a circle in her lap. She chin tilted up and he lips parted slightly. She started muttering three words, over and over.

"Ne'ro rae levendti…(A/N: nee-row ray leh-vehnd-tee)." Her eyes opened and they glowed a pitch black. Within her palms, a small purple black spark appeared. It formed into a ball, making the room turn dark as all the lights went out. It began to grow getting larger and larger every time she repeated those words. Little bolts of what seemed like lightning shot from it, hitting random objects in the room, leaving them slightly burnt or melted. A loud sound was pounding through the room, like thunder with explosions every once in a while.

"It can't be her power…can it? She's so powerful…What if she draws out too much? Could she really be here?…Oh shit. She'll kill us both."

"Damnit," he said. He quickly scooted back to get slack from his restraints. He needed to reach the necklace around his neck. As soon as it was in his grasp he yelled aloud, "In the name of Guardian and Instructor of the 13th Enchantress, I command you to cease!"

The ball of power in her hands faded and disappeared as did the loud noise that had filled the plane's main cabin. Her body became limp and her eyes closed.

"She needs to start her training…immediately."

"It really is her…she has finally returned," he said almost disbelievingly. He laid back onto the headboard so his hands could rest on his stomach and stared at the ceiling. It really was her. It was rae levendti. The protector…

Closing his eyes he soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

There was silence. Complete and utter silence. Opening her eyes, Hermione looked around the cabin. She could no longer feel the strum of the engine beneath her and rose slowly. She walked over to where Draco was sleeping and snoring lightly. She reached over and tapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Malfoy?" He didn't move. She tapped him again. Nothing. She put both hands on his chest and shook him. "Wake up! The plane's stopped."

He flinched lightly at his her touch and she smiled. She reached in towards his stomach and drew her fingers softly over his bare skin. He flinched and laughed in his sleep.

"So the all powerful Draco Malfoy is ticklish?" She quickly thought of an idea.

She left him lying there and walked down the hall, taking a left and found herself in a small kitchen. The walls were black and everything seemed miniature. She began opening cabinets and drawers looking for the needed items. Opening the small, black fridge, she saw her much desired weapons. Pulling out a can and a small container, she shut the fridge and went back to the main cabin.

Draco was just how she had left him. She placed the container on the edge of the bed, uncapped and shook the can of whip cream hard. With a huge smile plastered to her face she squirted some into his open palm and again drew her finger across him.

This time, his hand rose and smacked down on the place she had touched him, making a squishing sound. He pulled his hand off his stomach and placed it back on the bed, leaving a long smear of whip cream across his pail skin.

Hermione giggled quietly and refilled his hand. This time, skimming her fingertips over his lips, he slapped his face with his hand and let out a yelp of surprise.

"What the fuck…" He stopped and rubbed the white fluff off his eyes. Opening them he saw Hermione, laughing uncontrollably. "What was that for?" he asked frustrated, but all she did was keep giggling.

"You….should…have…seen…your…face," she said through fits of laughter. "Priceless."

"You want to see something priceless?" He grinned mischievously, and his eyes sparkled with danger. "I'll give you priceless." With one swift movement he had snatched up her abandoned whip cream can and had spewed it all over her face.

Hermione screamed playfully and went to wrestle the can from him but to no avail. With his strong physique he easily pulled her on top of him smashing the cream that was one his stomach between them.

"You got it on my clothes!" She laid her chin on his chest, looking up at him annoyed and highly surprised.

"Yes I did. What ya going to do about it?" He said smirking the famous Malfoy smirk.

"I could seduce you again." She said in a come-hither voice. "Then leave you wanting more."

"You think you can seduce me?" It came out jokingly, almost in a laugh.

"I did it before." She slid up his bare chest sexily, letting her body rub against him. Her face was now mere inches away from his, and his eyes were turning a vibrant blue.

"You caught me off guard," he said quietly, concentrating on not getting aroused, "It won't happen again."

"You know what gives you away?" He tilted his head to the side, a silent gesture for her to tell him. "Your eyes. They change color with your mood. Blue is obviously horny. Green, I believe is sad. And all those years at Hogwarts with grey eyes, I know its hatred maybe even resentment."

He looked at her face as it seemed to sadden with the past. "What color are they now?"

She smiled enticingly and dipped her head to kiss his chin to answer his question. After doing so, she slowly licked up his face, creating a line of clear skin down the middle of it. Over his lips and nose, between his eyes and over his forehead she went. She made sure to linger on his lips, circling over them with her tongue several times.

She heard a light moan escape his lips and she smiled proud of herself. Pulling back, she stared into his eyes.

"Seducing me again won't hurt anyone," he said softly.

She leaned down and her lips met his lightly. She moved up his body even more so she was sitting directly in his lap. She could feel his arousal against her inner thigh which turned her on even more.

Breaking the kiss, she pulled her shirt over her head. She reached over to the container that she had brought with her, and pulled out a cherry. Pulling out the stem, and placing it on her tongue, she winked at him. He smiled at her and cocked one eyebrow up.

"Naughty, Granger, naughty and Merlin, do I love it." She dove back towards him, crashing onto his lips fervently, passing the cherry into his mouth. He smiled in the kiss.

"I guess I'm not the only one turned on here, am I Granger?" Her reply was a passionate kiss as her hands roamed over his chest and up into his hair. He lightly drew his tongue over her bottom lip, asking for entrance once more. This time, she parted them and he gratefully dove into her mouth.

He tasted her, and loved the cinnamon flavor she seemed to possess. Massaging his tongue against hers, she moaned into his mouth. He never wanted that moment of hot passion to stop, but all good things come to an end. Unfortunately, this one sooner then expected.

Unnoticed by them, the door to outside opened, and their escort walked in. "Sorry I'm late…" Hermione's head shot up and turned towards the very familiar voice. She saw a tall, tan man in a long, red wizarding robe. His jet black hair was shooting at all angles and his face contorted in anger and disgust. She looked back at Draco, with a look of guilt and sexual frustration on her face.

"Fuck."

A/N: I love anticipation! Please read and review! And no, Hermione is not the goddess Pele, or any of her decendents...