Chapter Three

This Could Be Heaven or This Could Be Hell

Draco stared at Hermione with a look of shock on his face. Hermione had just agreed to a no strings relationship with him. Draco had not actually expected her to say yes so easily. He had not even mentioned it since that night. He was planning to soon, but Hermione beat him to the punch.

Now that the opportunity was before him, he almost felt…guilty. He felt guilty for possibly taking her virginity, for he knew she was a virgin. He shook the feeling off quickly and looked at Hermione. She had a look of confidence on her face. He stared into her eyes, looking for a trace of doubt, anything that would prevent him from sleeping with her.

He found none.

She had no doubts about her decision.

"Malfoy? Are you going to say anything?" Hermione asked cautiously. He had been staring at her for nearly 5 minutes. Draco smiled slightly. It wasn't the bright, wide grin that dream Draco gave her, but it made her smile in and of herself.

Draco was smiling because he had her right where he wanted her.

"How soon would you like to start our little hobby?" Draco asked her, leaning back and putting his hands behind his head.

"I don't care. It's up to you, I suppose." Hermione said quietly with a hint of hesitation in her voice. Draco decided to push her limits.

"How about right now?" He asked smirking. Hermione looked at him with a slightly frightened expression before responding.

"Alright."

Draco and Hermione laid in Draco's bed panting slightly. Hermione pulled one of his sheets up around her body. A blush crept up on her cheeks as she realized what she had just done. Her perfect, unseen body had been seen and touched and…pleasured by the most unlikely of people.

Draco lay next to her with a satisfied smirk on his face. He had not thought Hermione would give in so easily, nor did he think Hermione could ever make sounds like the ones she did while he shagged her.

Yes, it was shagging.

He didn't love her or even like her, so it was not making love. He shagged her and shagged her good. He didn't think that the know-it-all virgin could get him off as well as she did.

Draco noticed her pull the sheet up around her body. It wasn't due to the fact that she was cold. Sweat formed along her brow and his room had a fireplace that was crackling and casting a dim light around the room. She pulled the sheets up around her body out of complete and total shame.

"Don't be ashamed, Granger. Your body is probably the only positive point about you." Draco sneered, turning his head to face her.

"I'm not ashamed, Draco." She replied unconvincingly. Draco turned his body and propped himself up on one elbow.

"Oh, so it's Draco now is it?" He replied cockily. Hermione's face went even redder, a feat that could only be achieved by a Weasley.

"Sorry." She muttered quietly.

"Do not apologize for things which you are not truly sorry for." Draco snapped. She pulled the sheet even tighter around her. "And you may continue calling me Draco. Just, for Merlin's sake, don't do it in public."

Hermione stared at him with wide eyes. She had not believed that she had made such a slip-up as to call him by his first name, nor did she believe that he had just told her it was okay.

"I would hope you would return the favor and call me Hermione." She replied. Draco nodded. He sat up and grabbed his boxers off of the floor. He stood up and pulled them over his hips.

"I'm going to sit by the fire for a bit. If you want you can stay here or go to your own bed. It's up to you." And with that, he was gone. Hermione laid in bed for a few more minutes before leaning over the side and picking up her clothes from the floor. She put on her undergarments and her school shirt. She took the rest of the clothes and went into their adjoining bathroom. Shame prevented her from looking at her sex frazzled hair and she continued on to her bedroom.

Draco heard the bathroom doors open and close and he knew Hermione was in her room. He continued to sit by the fire as he thought about what he had done. He had deflowered the Gryffindor Princess. It was another conquest to him. It was something to keep him sane during the year. He would not fall for her. He was a Malfoy. A Malfoy never falls in love. It is not one of their capabilities.

Hermione curled up in a ball in her bed. She felt dirty. She felt like a slut. She threw back the covers and went back into the bathroom. She turned the shower on and stripped off what clothes she had on. She stood under the too hot water and let it practically burn away the germs on her body. She grabbed her wash cloth and scrubbed whatever part of her body she could reach. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was raw. When she was satisfied with her cleaning, she allowed the washcloth to fall to the shower floor. Tears spilled over her cheeks and she fell to the floor and wept.

Draco was walking back to his room when he heard sobs coming from the bathroom. His first instinct was to go in and see what was wrong. His hand rested on the doorknob yet he did not go in. Draco shook his head, clearing his thoughts and went back into his room.

After several more minutes, Hermione stood up and turned off the water. She stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She still refused to look at her reflection in the mirror.

She went into her bedroom and locked the door. She pulled on her nightgown and crawled deep into the crimson sheets of her bed. She grabbed one of her many pillows and crammed her face into the feathery abyss and cried herself to sleep.

Draco sat up in his bed, his back resting against his emerald pillows. A book rested in his lap as the fire roared in his private fireplace. He had just put a few more logs on instead of letting it die down. He opened the book to its previously marked place and let the author paint a scene for him. He immersed himself in a different time and place than the one he was currently in. He loved books. He loved them almost as much as Granger did.

He read well into the night. When his eyelids refused to stay open, he marked his page and laid down, pulling his comforter up across his chest. The fire was dying down and Draco let the final cracklings of the logs lull him to sleep.

Woot…sorry the update wasn't as speedy as before…but hey…shit happens so deal with it. My grandmother has recently returned from a hospital stay and someone needs to be there with her….that someone being me. Lucky for you lovely readers, I have my laptop with me and I will be constantly writing. Yay! Soooo…yeah. Review if you love me or this story….or both. Please and thank you!