BE WARNED…THIS CHAPTER HAS A BIT OF SMUT IN THE BEGINNING.
IT'S TIME DRACO AND HERMIONE FACE THE MORNING AFTER, THEIR FRIENDS, AND EACH OTHERS. MUHAHA. ENJOY.
Draco's lips claimed her own with such precision that Hermione could only sigh into his mouth where she stood before him, bent forward to feel him drifting a motion towards the edge of his seat. His fingers were trailing slowly against the gentle curve of her neck, letting his lips break his kiss away from hers while he moved to lift up against his height, rising from the chair silently as he watched her watching him. Hermione felt her back involuntarily arch into him while he stood up to that height of his but he left his face close to her own, brushing her lips with the gentle curves of his own, tempting himself and her alike to feel them again in the silence that remained around them.
He stood so close to her she swore she could feel his pulse beating beneath his flesh but it was his words, so low in the air that did nothing to ease the bass through her own body. "We better talk…" It wasn't what he'd said that had Hermione fighting the urge to lift her sights up to him but the way he'd sounded so strangled to force them out of his mouth, like they'd been trapped on his tongue and it was the best he could do. Quite frankly, he sounded like a man attempting to keep his composure when he was moments away from losing it all.
"Are you sure you want to have this conversation, Malfoy?" Hermione cursed herself mentally when she felt herself arch further in against his chest when he moved his hand to brush along the bend of her hip, smoothing his feather light touches around to rest at the low of her back. She was the one that got off the couch and moved over to him in the first place and now he had her fighting the urge to sigh out when he moved his mouth away from her to brush along the crescent shell of her ear, whispering smoothly against the shell with that classic smirk of his lacing into his words.
"I wasn't planning on having his conversation for another three months or so but you always have to be ten steps ahead of me, Granger..." Velvet lined words drawled lowly in against her, sending every miniscule hair against Hermione's skin standing on end but they shook entirely when he brought his lips to press down in the small space of skin just behind her ear as he breathed out, "You haven't exactly given me the time to lay the groundwork down here."
"Oh so you've had this all planned?" Hermione's eyes strained not to watch him as he drew an agonizingly slow trail of kisses down against her flesh, leaving a burning wave of heat to sink in against her in their wake while they slid down the column of her neck.
"No, I had a plan…you've made me revise. A lot." Draco's hand tightened while it splayed along her back, drawing her into him so easily she almost forgot she was the one allowing him to do it. He was touching her like a man who'd just been released from a forty year stay in an Azkaban cell, so entirely responsive to her body's small movements and her subconscious sighs of breath that she simply let herself rest against him, being pulled into the hypnotic energy that was Draco Malfoy. "Don't pretend to be angry. I know you want…"
"Doesn't matter what I want." Draco's words paused short, finding himself scoffing back a bit as she interrupted him, drawing her head back to stop his small exploration that was doing such a wonderful job at clouding her senses. "No one will understand. Hell, I'm still not sure I understand here, Draco."
"What can I say here, Granger?" Hermione swore she could almost see the storm in his eyes brewing but it was the storm, the actually storm that was raging on just outside the large, glass paned doors looking out into the city that really wasn't helping the dramatics of the situation as each crack of lightening flashed to illuminate Draco's chiseled, pristine features where he stood before her. "That I will brutally and savagely kill anyone that ever harms you? That I'll keep you safe, if that's what you want?" Hermione's small frown had yet to leave her face as he spoke to her softly, the rain outside beating heavily around the wide barrier he'd set over his balcony, "I would. I have been, I should say."
"Draco…"
"Tell me what I'm supposed to say here, Granger. I am horribly unprepared for this by your accord."
Hermione's slender fingers fell light on the sides of Draco's face, reveling in the simple dips as he spoke to her so sincerely but she couldn't help but tilt her head in the tints of that sad smile forming rigidly along the side of her mouth as she answered him. "I don't believe in promises, Malfoy."
"I'm not promising you anything, Granger…I'm telling you." That look on her face was beginning to make his own scrunch with the sight of it, lifting his single hand to run his thumb over the swell of her bottom lip as he sighed out, "I'm not promising to fix what he did to you, I can't, but I can tell you that I'm not him, thank Merlin, and I would devote my time to proving that to you. I'm telling you that I would do everything in my power to be what he couldn't…for you."
The skies were growing darker in the heat of the storm still raging strong as it sent its flashing booms of thunder cracking the sky just beyond them but Hermione felt pretty locked on the one before her. Her small hands slid down against the side of his neck, stretching her arms around them as she lightly pulled herself further into his taut frame, tilting her head up in the slightest. "What if I don't want that? What if I can't handle being in another…relationship? That is what you're getting at, aren't you? You want to be my boyfriend?"
"You want it too, Granger." Draco took an affirmative step back from her, leaving Hermione to gasp softly at the cold air rushing against her in his absence. Alright, this certainly was not going the way that he had intended but he hadn't intended any of it in the first place. At least not tonight! This conversation was going against everything he'd been raised into but even beyond that, he was still a Malfoy, and standing here practically begging this muggle born witch to be with him was leaving a rather putrid taste in his mouth. "You want to be with me. I know it, you know it, hell, and half the wizarding word knows it or at least suspects it now…"
Hermione only smiled at Draco's obviously rising irritation to her questioning but he was the one that said they should talk in the first place now wasn't he? She offered him an indifferent shrug before she let her hands drift behind her back, moving her fingers upward to take hold of the clasp of her dress. "What if I just want something less serious right now?" Draco's finger was pointing outright at her as she slid the length of the zipper down, feeling the material fall slack against her shoulders as either of his brows inched upwards, frozen in his distance.
"Hold the front door…" Ginny Weasley had a rather perplexed look etched on her face as her hands clasped around the nearly empty glass of wine that was swaying lightly against the barriers, "Beep beep…backing it up now…I'm following you on the whole friendship thing with Malfoy and I'm even following you up to the point that he's trying to date you but Hermione Jean Granger!" Her teeth flashed, unable to stop the bit of laughter spilling from her lips as she shook her head.
"Oh my God, Ginny, I know! I didn't know what to do! I mean…it's me and I've never really done anything with anyone except for…"
"And moving on again…" Ginny abruptly lifted her hand shaking it to quickly avert the subject as she set to lifting the glass to her lips. Auburn lashes fluttered down while she tipped her head back, smoothly taking a sip of the rich red liquid sweetly making its way down her throat. "I think I'd rather hear about you and Malfoy than anymore about you and Ron right now."
Both Ginny and Harry alike had been keeping a careful eye out for Hermione since she'd disappeared two nights ago but they'd waited patiently to let their friend come back in her own good time, with much persuading from Ginny that was. Two long days later, failing for any real answers from her slowly recuperating brother, Ginny had nearly jumped over herself when Hermione finally answered back her thirtieth owl. When she'd asked her to come for a drink, even at ten thirty in the morning, Ginny had not truly prepared herself for the things that Hermione had intended to spill but she rushed at the moment to understand just as much as she was sure Hermione was trying to do.
"I think I was just trying to see if he was serious." Hermione attempted to justify her rather seductive nature that seemed to fling forward in tempting Draco two nights ago but she wasn't sure who she was justifying them to: herself or Ginny. It'd already taken a bottle of wine for them to get to this point and they were both sitting a bit lopsided in their chairs, facing each other in Hermione's parent's kitchen with their elbows propped up and their hands clutching their liquid courage.
"If he was serious?" Ginny let out a strange laugh, doubling in the chair a bit with her volume echoing into the room. "Oh baby gremlins, Hermione…I'm pretty sure everyone knew he was serious about you the second he bounced Ron's head off the linoleum tile."
Hermione let out a wince at the remembrance, brushing her fingers up to comb through the unruly bun of curls she's attempted to loosely pin on the top of her head. "I'm sorry, Gin. I didn't mean for that to happen. I didn't want any of that to happen."
"Hermione, shut up." The pale toned red head still laughed through her words, uncrossing her long legs while she reached a crossed the table to clasp the neck of the wine bottle, pulling it into a better radius. "No one thinks you did. Well, I think you should have considering…" Ginny moved swiftly, just like the expressions on her freckled face as she poured the remaining liquid out into both her and Hermione's glasses, resting the bottom of the bottle down before she sighed out honestly, "…what Malfoy did won't compare to what Harry's going to do when he finds all this out."
When Draco had practically forced Hermione to get off of her butt and answer at least one of the nearly three dozen owls she had littering the ground in front of his fireplace, she'd found it far too hard not to analyze just which owl would be less…hostile, for lack of better words, for her to answer back but it seemed that Ginny was the outranking being, even if it was just a small margin in difference of points. She had expected Ginny to be upset with her, undoubting, but she knew that underneath all that surface rage of hers she'd find a way to hear the things she was saying, even if they didn't sink in right away but lucky for her, Ginny was mostly all ears.
Hermione expected that Ginny would be angry with her for breaking up the friendship all at the root of her and Ronald splitting up and she even expected that she'd be angry as hell that she'd been seeking friendship with Malfoy for comfort through it but Ginny just wasn't. She may have been a little confused, definitely disturbed but she wasn't angry. Hermione expected she'd be beyond upset with the way Draco had stuck Ronald in St. Mungo's for a night and she expected that she'd be hurt and bitter over the fact that Hermione had disappeared for over two days without so much as a 'How's he doing' or an 'I'm alright' but again, Ginny just wasn't. Ginny Weasley was simply outraged but she was a smart woman and her normally blood tied blinded eyes were wide open and finally pointing in the right direction, even if that wasn't Hermione's intentions.
In truth, Ginny wanted to be angry at the accusations that Hermione had first cracked a bottle of wine to unveil about her closest brother but the more Hermione talked, and the more wine the two of them downed, the worse Ginny's heart sank. How could she have been so blind? The words had burned into her head, crossing her signals between complete and utter anger directed to Ron and sheer heartbreak for her best friend but Ginny sat still, swallowing hard at her drink and prompting her on, trying to get everything out in the open now before they ever had to have a conversation like this again because at the end of the day it was Ginny that felt like complete and utter shit after this.
Ginny had completely awaited and prepared for Hermione to be angry with both her and Harry alike, not the other way around, when she'd set to come. They honestly deserved her to be angry with them, at least that's how Ginny felt. They'd thought she was lashing out and with the fragmented clues Malfoy had given them, both Harry and Ginny were afraid it was partially their fault but whose side do you run to first when this happens? How do you draw the sides and choose your supporter? None of that mattered now though because upon the Merlin's honest truth that had leaked from Hermione's eyes and lips, Ginny had already taken her spot beside her and she did not plan on abandoning her again when she'd already let her down so severely.
"So the amazing Hermione Granger goes on a mission to seduce the Slytherin Sex God…" Ginny lifted a slid smile onto her full lips, tilting her head with her attempt to shift the conversation once again from her wayward thoughts of moments she couldn't take back.
Hermione nearly choked on her wine at the title, swallowing hard before she could laugh a bit, trying to clear her throat all the while as she tried to make out, "Noo! I told you…it was strategy." She laughed again, settling her glass to the table while she wrapped her fingers along the stem as Ginny cocked her head, sending the long, straight waves of crimson down along her shoulders.
"So how did said strategy pan out, pray tell?"
"What are you doing, Granger?" She certainly had his attention.
"Answer me, Malfoy. What if I just want you? Not a boyfriend."
"Stop playing games." His tone was far more solid when she eased her arms out of the sleeve and straps of her dress, lightly holding it a crossed her chest as she watched him with that easy smile soft on her lips, mocking him with such feigned innocence as she once again commanded his response with that coy tone of hers.
"Then answer me."
As irritated as she knew Draco truly was beneath it all, he waved a smirk against his hard features for her with a small shake of his head, lifting a single hand to drag along the scruff against his chin, scratching it absently before settling an answer against her. "Sorry, Granger. As much as I'm sure I would greatly enjoy being your little rebound fuck while you put yourself back together, I can't do it. Well, I'm not going to do it I should say."
"Oh my fucking god!" Ginny's normally high pitched voice fell out more of a gasp then an actual sound but Hermione got the gist of her thoughts from the way she was seated with both of her elbows pressed into the table while she weaved her fingers into her hair. "This is time number two now?"
"Yes." Hermione nodded in confirmation, laughing as she literally held up two of her fingers to keep track of the count that she had indeed been rejected physically by the one and only Draco Malfoy but for none of the reasons he so previously would have in the last six or seven years.
"Man…and I thought the tabloid stories about you two were good. Ok, ok, ok, so what'd you say? Tell me you punched him again."
"Why not?" She sounded a bit incredulous that he was so adamant against the idea but she never lost that sweetness she'd painted on her face, swaying on her hips, allowing the open fabric to rest low along her hips, just threatening to fall and truly reveal herself in any real way to him. "If you didn't want me, Malfoy, then you wouldn't be standing all the way over there. Fighting it."
Draco's eyes drifted down to his feet before really noticing the distance he'd moved back from her gravitation but he only frowned at the implication when he'd realized she was correct, never daring to lift his eyes to her as he admitted coarsely, "Because I. Want. You. What part of that do you not understand?"
It wasn't supposed to happen like this. She was supposed to have been long since over the moron Weasley by the time he'd set out to talk to her. Weasley wasn't supposed to put his filthy hands on her and Draco wasn't supposed to be in the position to be a jealous asshole and beat the living hell out of him in anger but like he'd said, she was always ten steps ahead of him, leaving him scrambling over his feet just trying to catch up. Everything with Granger was like being on speed. Everything moved at a hundred miles a minute when she was in his presence and to him, it felt like he was still looking for the safety belt three seconds before impact.
She didn't laugh, she didn't giggle…she simply smiled that coy little smile of hers when her arms fell to her sides, letting the dress slip to pool against the bottom of her bare feet, quirking her head to eye him with the waves of her hair sliding down against her shoulders to cover the bare swell of her breasts. Draco groaned out loud, dropping his head forward to a single hand before shaking it at the ground, "That's not playing fair here, Granger."
"What's the matter, Draco? Afraid you're making the wrong decision here?" Seduction may not have been Hermione Granger's strong suit nor was it something she had ever really attempted to put herself in charge of before but she certainly seemed to be holding her own at least by the reaction Draco was having trying not to look at her. Hermione slowly stepped from inside the ring of fabric at her feet, placing a single pad of a foot down to slide it back and away from its hindering, watching him in subtle amusement as he downright refused to look at her now entirely. He just stared at the space on the floorboards between their feet, rubbing his temple numbly as she motioned closer to him, her steps pausing at his words starting up.
"Do you understand how long…No." By the time Draco lowered his hand to his side, lifting his gaze upwards, she was still standing with a few feet in front of him with her hands resting low along her hips, staring at him in challenge but unfortunately for Draco, she was standing there clad in nothing but a pair of thin, pale pink knickers, toying with its band with her fingertips as she watched him completely losing his rant. Draco sighed out a harsh breath into the room, lowering his face down to her to ensure she understood before he continued, "Granger, I'm going to need you to put some clothes on now. I am trying to talk to you here."
Hermione only laughed at his statement, the lengths of her curls bouncing over the bronzed span of her skin while she too shook her head at his discomfort. "You have my attention, Draco…I'm pretty certain I have yours."
This was not going as planned in the least. "You have had my undivided attention for years, freckles." If she really, truly wanted to have this conversation now, like this, then so be it. Draco was not a fan of her interrogation techniques but what could she honestly do to him right now that hadn't already been done? "I have wanted you for a very long time."
"Let me get this all straight. You wake up one day and decide that you want me but continue treating me like scum? This has a familiar ring to it."
"No, Merlin, Granger, would you let me talk?" Hermione lifted her hands defensively, rolling her eyes at his raise in temper. "I've watched Weasel trip over himself to get close to you and I've watched you wait…I found it all so childish that someone who was so obviously in love with someone else could stare at them every day and never say a word."
Hermione was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable all of the sudden. She really wasn't honestly sure what she had expected to come out of his mouth but he never failed to surprise her. "I'm not really following you here, Malfoy, but you're starting to sound like a stalker."
"I pretty much have stalked you, Granger." His voice almost laughed out, almost, as he held his palms out to her, watching her shoot him that look of mocking disbelief as she slid her back to him, moving her feet forward through the room as he continued. "For a long time I thought I just wanted you, that he was just a coward who would never deserve you because he didn't have to guts to tell you in the first place and you would see that but you never did." Hermione's small hands slid up the smooth glass panes making up his large balcony doors when her feet slowed in front of it, feeling the cold sensation filling her palms to cool the heat racing in her body but she never turned her head to him as she spoke to the nothingness outside.
"Draco, I'm sorry you didn't fancy the way Ronald and I got together but so far you're not making a very good case here. Ron and I should have nothing to do with you and me." That sounded way too strange.
"Granger…" His voice fell in the room with warning, the scowl in his face evident long before she'd angled her head over her shoulder to gaze loosely at him. How exactly did he explain this to her? Hell, how did he say any of this to her sober? He knew he was doing an awful job getting a crossed what it was he was trying to say here but he never really wanted to say it in the first place. He hadn't wanted to admit it to himself in the first place!
Everything he had said so far was true, however. He had watched her. The entire time that idiot ran around making a mess out of her life, telling himself that even she was above that and then she went and proved him wrong by becoming what everyone always said they would be. At first he was angry for the sheer fact that he wanted her, physically at least, because he was a man after all and that was simply natural…or whatever but she went and flipped the script, changing everything the night that still remained lodged in his brain.
Draco had wanted to plead for her that night. He wanted to save her. He wanted to take her pain away while she screamed in agony but he stood paralyzed, doing nothing, just listening to her try not to break in his own home where he'd been born and raised to hate her. It was the single worst thing he'd ever done. Standing there, understanding for the first time in his life that his feelings for Granger weren't about making her a notch in his belt, realizing the underlining root for his border line obsession and not being able to do a fucking thing about it.
"I've been the coward." Draco scoffed a bit at the words leaving his lips but they had Hermione turning slowly on her heels, her eyes locked against him. "I don't deserve to be with you anymore than he did, you're right about that."
Draco was spouting out a lot of things but unfortunately they were a bit hazy to her while he attempted to fragment his thoughts together out loud and it was leaving Hermione with far too many emotions. Draco wasn't looking much better off as he ran his long fingers through the short strands of peroxide blonde hair for the hundredth time, turning his eyes coldly from her own as she moved to face him. "When did all of this dawn on you?"
He gave a short chuckle, almost amused but so darkly and deeply not at the core but he shrugged out his answer to her none the less. "Listening to you cry. In my house. Under the hands of my family… because I watched him cover his ears. That's when it all dawned on me, as you put it." Hermione wasn't sure exactly if Draco was referring to Ron but she had a sick feeling in her stomach it was at the sneer on his face as he turned away from her, moving off into the room in search of something to distract himself with. "I realized that if I were him at that moment that I would have lost my mind but I would have removed every single one of their organs in alphabetical order at the first moment's chance. I realized I was angry that I wasn't him and that I, knowing how I felt, still could do nothing to save you. It wasn't my place to take vendetta for you. I had no right and no power."
Did Draco Malfoy just admitted he had no power? Was this the apocalypse? Hermione nearly turned an eye back to the balcony to check for horsemen but she stood eyeing him instead. As much as she could see his side of things, Draco still had no right to be angered by her being with Ron nor did he have any right to be angry about a situation that was long since over. As much as her situation with Ron had failed miserably, she still loved the man and despite Draco finding their courtship so pathetically immature, Hermione still found it all sweet and a bit innocent. They were each other's first love. Those were, after all, some of the only decent memories she had of that relationship to hold on to.
"If you would have told her to stop she would have only made it worse…"Hermione answered absently, not really sure why she was attempting to comfort him at the moment.
"I know that, doesn't mean I'm not a coward. Had I admitted my feelings for you long before that, you wouldn't have been there in that situation in the first place. I imagine that is one of the single worst moments of your life, Granger, and I hate that I was a part of it because it certainly is one of mine."
The thoughts of Bellatrix always left a horrible chill lining her and she'd be lying if she didn't say that she wasn't haunted by the woman once in an odd night. It truly had been one of the worst things she'd ever had to face, alone, waiting to die but she'd spent a lot of time trying to move past it with the reaffirming thoughts that she was dead and Hermione certainly was not. It didn't stop the memories but it was enough for her to move on. Draco, however, looked like he wanted to hang himself with the thoughts passing his mind, finally turning to face her with his wand and an unlit cigarette loosely clad in his grasp.
"It would drive me to the point of insanity to watch you grow wounded over another fucking jack ass, Granger, so the only solution I can draw from that is for me to be that jack ass. Only way I can control the jack assery…" Draco thrust the butt of his cigarette into the part of his lips, giving his wand a small shake to ignite the tip in a fierce red glow, lifting it with the intent to light the stick as he mumbled out, "I don't expect that to have made any sense to you."
The end of Draco's cigarette sparked with a heavy glow flashing up inside the darkness of the room, inhaling slowly in a rush of burning embers. His lips parted around their hold to ease a thin line of silver smoothly into the air before he moved to toss his wand back off into the chair he'd previously occupied, scoffing a bent look her way as she countered, " What about my friends? They don't trust you. They'll never trust you."
"You trust me so what does it matter?" Just because he cared about her didn't mean he suddenly gave a fuck about her whole blasted crew. Draco easily slid the cigarette from his mouth, waving it lightly with a turn of his wrist, "If they're really your friends, they'll figure it out and accept it because they're your friends, no?"
"The paparazzi will be on us like flies on honey…" She'd tilted her head to the glass before she'd moved her body to face it once again, watching the rain slowing over the balcony from her split distance between Draco and the outside.
"More like vultures on a corpse but what's new?" The tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as she felt him nearing her long before his hand moved to brush over her hip, sliding over top the bone to rest flatly over the surface of her bare stomach as he stepped in behind her. "Probably the nicest article anyone's written about me in years. Besides, I think you look rather nice on me."
Why was she honestly surprised that he had an answer for everything she'd said? This was Draco Malfoy, after all, but that was the problem here wasn't it? He made everything seem so simple, so easy, so capable but the reality was not so sweet and deep down she knew that. Draco made her feel easy, relaxed, and even able to numb herself to her normal annoyances a bit but this entire thing that he was asking of her was not remotely that simple and she swore that all his debating here was his own way of talking himself into it as well.
"What if I say yes? What if I say ok, what then?" Draco's fingers stretched a bit when she placed her hand down against his own, feeling him lace them into her own fingers before he rested his chin against the crook of her neck, speaking that dragging tone into the bend.
"Then we can be like this, freckles. Just like this."
"It's not that simple."
"Yes, it really is." Alright, he knew it wasn't but he was pretty sure it was going to take a lot more than himself to take Hermione Granger, and the Golden Trio down in a ball of fire. "This isn't a school romance, dear; this is a real life relationship we're talking about. We go out, we have dinner, we socialize, and you have a password to my loft…we go on holiday, Christmas with the family…This is not sneaking around after curfew and charming bed posts here. This is not where Hogsmede is the only place you frequent to be alone. Again, real life here."
Hermione had to laugh a bit at the scowl on his face as she watched his reflection blurring in the glass where he stood behind her tightly. He was right, unfortunately and perhaps that was why Hermione was so attached to spending the amount of time she had been with him in the first place. She'd loved Ron all through school but it was adolescent in the plain sense. Yes, they'd had sleep over's for lack of better explanation but mostly a long list of sneaking around and always looking over their shoulders. Things were a bit different now, at least people saw them all differently, after the war. They were adults in the eyes of the triumphant side of the wizarding world and you couldn't exactly step back from that.
"I'm not giving you an ultimatum here, Granger." Without warning, Hermione pulled her body, hand and all, away from him, the pads of her feet moving her swiftly to the door. She pressed her palm down into the curved brass handle with ease, pushing it open and into the noise that echoed above her as she stepped out onto his green oasis, sighing a much needed breath out into the fresh air. Chocolate orbs waved up to watch the peaceful destruction of the storm still raging on, sending waves of rain down on the barrier around her so loudly that she'd entirely missed Draco stalking out onto the balcony after her, not that she was too surprised, however, but she spoke first before he had his chance again.
"You are too. Either I say I'm yours or you're gone. That's pretty much a great example of an ultimatum. As a matter of fact…I'm going to write to have that used as an example in the next detailed encyclopedia."
Draco never bothered to shut the door behind him as he trailed out after her, standing before her as she watched the flashing lights sparkle along sky, speaking to him without a glance. "No…I am asking you to say you'll be mine but regardless of your answer, I'm not going anywhere." Hermione was fully and well prepared with a haughty response as she folded her arms with such disbelief over her chest but he was much quicker to reiterate what he meant. "I can be your friend and attempt to take a back seat there but I can't be physical with you unless I know it's something more…to you. I know where I stand."
"And that's really what you want?"
How many times did he have to tell her before she finally got it through that curly little head of hers? For the brightest witch of their time and probably many before, as much as he hated to admit, she was sure having a hard time with this concept. He had never wanted the things he wanted from Granger with anyone before and he had never wanted the things that he wanted to give to Granger before either so standing here trying to convince her to let him felt very much like being alone in a foreign country without knowing a single lick of native tongue. No, it was a bit worse than that. It was more like an alien planet. Yes, that sounded much more fitting to him. "I've spent my whole life doing whatever it is I please. No restrictions…I go out when I please, I come home if I want, and I've shagged and dated whoever I decided…"
The life of a bachelor…Hermione had only read or watched others enjoy its benefits before she met, truly met, Draco. Draco had lived his entire lifespan like a twenty five year old millionaire playboy and all before the age of eighteen. He was so independent and open to everything and she couldn't help but admitting that she loved the taste of it, well, minus the playboy part. Hermione too could be a completely carefree adult when she found herself in his presence. He allowed her the open space to do and be whatever she felt like without guideline and restrictions…that is, aside from the major one that they were so scantily debating. "Not exactly understanding why you want to give that all up."
"No, no…" Draco shook his hand and head simultaneously as he plucked the lit cigarette from his mouth, huffing a thin line of silver smoke eerily through the space, "I am quite content with my life but I seem to be happier sharing it in your company while living it versus the alternative so yes, in answer, that is really, truly what I want."
Why couldn't this have been Theo Nott or even Blaise Zabini that she was talking about here? Why couldn't this man be Ron? Why couldn't Ron have been the good man in this? Ginny fought the urge to sadly sigh out, shaking the thoughts from her head. "Tell me that you said yes."
"Ginerva Weasley!" Hermione's wide grin pulled a slight tinge of pink over her cheekbones, watching the dreamy look lost on her best friends face while she was unable to hide the romantic in her. "Remember this is Draco here."
"Don't care right now…too awesome…"
"Ok." She said it just like that. Flat and absent of any real vibrant emotion like she so normally was. Hermione simply gave him a nod of the head, her arms still strewn over her chest with her weight shifted along a single side of her hip while it jutted out at her side.
"Ok? Was that a yes, freckles?" The ash from Draco's cigarette fluttered down to the stone tiles that made up the floor of his balcony as he took a hesitant step closer to her with the both of them drawing their brows in careful deliberation while Hermione eased around to face him.
"Yes, ok, Draco. I'll be your girlfriend." Draco moved another step, watching her ever still beneath his careful eye as her spine lifted, straightening her posture as she boldly strung out, "...but I won't be made a fool of."
"Would have been a fool to say no." Within seconds of the words leaving his lips, Draco was on her. Hermione let out a short gasp as he moved to press her back into the stone railing, his hand bracing around the edge with his other clutching into her hair as he stole the sound from her mouth with his kiss. Draco silenced any more discussion on the matter with the intoxication of his mouth pressing into her own, leaving her shuddering at the contact of his tongue brushing softly over her lips to beckon entrance.
What was she doing? She had just agreed to be Draco Malfoy's new woman and now she was standing in nothing but her knickers on his balcony, practically purring under the sensations he was sending through her body as she attempted to claw at his shirt. Hermione should have felt embarrassed, she really wanted to, but she couldn't think of a single reason why with the way Draco was tangling his hands in her hair, his breath heavily panting beneath the bone of his chest against her while he let his mouth fall a trail of open mouth kisses down the column of her neck. Her entire body felt like it had been set on fire, burning against the wake of his hands that seemed to roam her skin everywhere except where she truly needed him.
The pearled rows of Draco's teeth brushed the against the bare skin of her shoulder, growling lowly from the back of his throat as he bit the tender flesh softly, listening to her soft moans lacing the air around them. Draco rolled his shoulders; reaching back to jerk the material of his shirt off, aiding Hermione with the task that was growing so difficult for her with his mouth on her like that.
It hadn't been like this with Ron…Hermione remembered every awkward smile and blush creeping over her every time he even touched her in the remotest way but now she wrapping her legs around Draco, straining to feel the hard length of him pressing against her center while she half perched herself on the ledge, dipping her head back when she felt his mouth fall along the exposed curve of her breast. His fingers didn't quiver like Ron's had the first time he was close with her nor did he apologize repeatedly for fumbling nervously. Draco simply clung to her, wrapping her legs around his waist, savoring the taste of her, lost in the touch of her, feeling her squirm with the anticipation he left flashing her nerves on end with a bizarre composure considering his stance only minutes before.
This woman had damn near been running around half naked in his apartment for half of a week. She'd cuddled up in bed beside him, pressed her body against him, touched him far closer than any normal friendship really should allow and even attempted to kiss him at one point prior to this and the entire length of that time Draco had managed to say no all for the bigger picture. Now…well, now he had no excuses to hide behind. Now Draco had no reason to say no to the witch who was dragging her nails down the expanse of his back, leaving him hissing against her mouth and along the heavy pants of breath she was emitting back.
Draco honestly couldn't imagine, nor did he truly want to, what Weasley and Hermione's sex life had been but he couldn't quite understand why anyone would feel the need to slag around with scum with the way Hermione was moaning into his mouth. Her tongue pressed against his rhythmically as she molded her mouth into his kiss, her small fingers fighting with the button of his pants between their bodies while she clutched at the short platinum blonde strands. He thought of this moment more times than he'd honestly liked to admit and he'd been fully prepared to take every amount of time necessary to let his hands fully explore the unbelievable body that his eyes had been staked on for far too long but she was making things a bit difficult for that.
Hermione's chest was pressing hard into his own, feeling that terrible rhythm in her chest beating back against him, her hips grinding against him with those slender legs wrapped around him fully but Draco couldn't help but smirk against her mouth as she became so frustrated over her failing attempts to rid him of his pants with all of the commotion. Draco's pants fell to the floor at his feet with a soft thud when he wrapped his arms tightly along her, jerking her atop of him and off from the railing in one swift movement.
Hermione let out a small yelp, wrapping her arms around Draco's neck, her thighs wrapped tightly around him, shivering at his ever wandering touch. Every touch he made against her, every motion, and every sound was completely precise. He moved his hands against her so slowly she swore her flesh would melt from the bone in their absence and all she could do was lower her lids and let her head tip back as his mouth and hands moved against her in a way she knew she hadn't been truly touched in a long time…if ever. She needed him in a way she was sure she'd never really been aware of until now but she swore she'd die if he didn't do something soon.
He'd never stopped touching her, never stopped kissing her, when he somehow managed to toss over the large wicker couch he'd had resting upright against the back railing, never bothering to watch the cushions cascade themselves in a littering heap on the floor in front of them before he'd tossed them both on top of them. Again, not where he'd intended on this happening but he really wasn't about stopping at the very moment, especially with the way her hair had fanned around her face, her face flushed with those dark eyes staring at him so heatedly.
Ginny's hand was fanning in front of her face; her arm strewn over the back of the metal chair with her body slumped in the seat as she whistled out a long breath. "I don't even have words right now." Hermione didn't have words then either but she was pretty sure that Ginny listening to her talk about sex with Draco was pretty similar to Ginny talking about sex with Harry: Horribly amused and completely disturbed all at the same time. "Tell me it was amazing. It was amazing, wasn't it?" Hermione could offer her nothing more than the same slightly blushed, awkward smile she was already holding pinned on her face, leaving Ginny to drop her head with a small shake as she softly muttered, "Of course it was amazing."
Ginny remembered all too well her first time with Harry and she also remembered all too well Hermione and Ron's first time, much to her distaste. First kisses were always one thing but someone's first time together always said a lot, at least to her. There were a lot of questions to ask yourself afterwards in Ginny's opinion and while Harry was and would be, if she had anything to do with it, the only man she'd ever be with, she'd been the lending ear for far too many stories not to draw any conclusions. Were you nervous or were you excited? Was he passionate or scared? Did he whisper to you or did he mumble to you? You know…little questions that seemed so tiny but ones that seemed to make the difference.
"Harry almost went back to Malfoy's apartment to look for you that morning…Merlin, am I happy he didn't right now."
"Yeah, two Gryffindor's and a Slytherin in the ward before school is even in session might not look so well on my term sheet as Head Girl." Leave it to Hermione to always think of her marks, even as she attempted to make her way through what was the morning disaster that followed the night of confessions.
The sun was stretched high over the city long before Hermione had felt her body begin to stir. A soft sigh slid from her lips at the warmth of it basting down on her skin, leaving her limbs stretching out, feeling much like a cat waking from a rather peaceful slumber but the hindering of her body being practically weighed down left her cocking an eye open much sooner than she would have liked.
"Draco..." She really didn't know why she'd said his name but the moment it left her lips she'd wished it wouldn't have. Either eye sharply darted open, her body shifting to sit up a bit to take everything back in. No, it certainly hadn't been a dream…because Hermione was still lying, completely naked, on a pile of cushions and pillows next to a very much also naked Draco Malfoy who was still tangled against her body. His head was buried in the crook of her neck, the arm that had been wrapped a crossed her chest sliding slack down against her waist in her quick movements.
"What, freckles?" Hermione flinched once again, her attention moving down to him, startled by his low words but he never moved a muscle, never even bothered to lift his head up or move a finger while she stared. Damnit. He was awake.
"Is the world ending?"
"What?" Again, Draco didn't move a muscle, his breath warm against her collar bone, leaving an involuntary shiver creeping up her flesh as he cleared his throat and tried again.
"Is the world ending?"
"No…"
"Are we under attack?"
Hermione scoffed back a smile, shaking her head despite the fact he wasn't even looking at her, "No."
"Is Potter here?" At that she had to stifle a laugh, cocking her head as his slender digits curled against her waist, his body relaxing further into her.
"No, Draco, it's just you and me."
"Mm…then shush, freckles. Back to bed with you." The entire conversation could have been had in his sleep, as a matter of fact, Hermione wasn't entirely sure he hadn't had it in his sleep because he never once opened an eye to her even when he ignored her groan of protest while he slid her body into the pillows, wrapping her arm around himself comfortably.
She wanted to feel ashamed of herself a bit, laying there, feeling his legs wrapping against her own but she couldn't. Draco's hands were splayed flatly against her skin, holding her against him far too different than the way she was getting used to with him. As much as she wanted to fear the real Malfoy rearing his ugly head, she wanted to remain completely blinded and subdued by whatever he was now. Before last night, lying with Draco was calming, unlike lying with Ron which always felt suffocating and then always distant, but now he held her like he'd meant every word that had fallen from his lips in the night hours.
Hermione let out a soft groan while she stretched once again, lengthening herself where she rested on her side pressed against him, resting in his arms, "Draco I think I need a shower…and coffee…definitely a shower."
"Definitely coffee." Draco conquered with a small nod into the crook of her neck, feeling a much needed urge for caffeine if she was going to keep on with it. Without warning, Draco's ever bright eyes shifted open as he popped his head up, moving to narrow his gaze down against her with a sudden question forming on his face, "You want to go to a bistro? I know this place…what?"
Hermione couldn't help the awkward expression forming over her tired face. It sounded like a great idea but…"I don't think giving the paparazzi more reason to print about us right now is such a good idea." Draco's arms slid their warmth from around her, lifting his body a bit to lean back against his palm pressing down into the cushions so he could address her better while he attempted to rub the strain from his eyes.
"So I can get you to agree to be mine but only in secret?" She offered a small wince to him, shifting her body up onto her elbows while he shook his head at her nonverbal answer, moving to toss his arms over his knees as he sat up entirely. "You're killing me here, Granger."
"Draco, come on…" If she had any doubts formerly that Draco was insincere about wanting to be with her before, well, she was retracting them all now. He was acting like a sullen child, a bit bitter while he attempted not to look so downright annoyed with her. Hermione found herself sitting upright with him when he moved to climb to his feet, letting her voice calmly slide into the air, "Not a secret, ok, well maybe a little secret but I need a little time to explain things to my friends. They're already suspicious enough."
"Yes, your precious friends…Well, whatever then." Draco barely offered her a glance of expressions a crossed the broad span of his shoulder back at her as he dismissively waved a hand, stalking inside of his apartment through the doors they'd never bothered to shut in their destruction last night.
"Draco!" Hermione called after him but he never said a word, moving into his kitchen with that same shake banging his brain around like it normally did when he was around the witch who was now stomping her way after him, completely nude, with a halo of unruly curls framing her wild look. "Can't you just give me a little time? Are you really that big of a brat that you can't understand this?"
A little time? He'd given her years already…"I said whatever, Granger. Have your bloody time. Tell your bloody friends." Those pale tiers of his were pursed into a hard line as he attempted to busy his hands while she stared holes into his back. "So fucking difficult…I was serious about the instruction manual. Seriously, look into it."
"They are my best friends, Draco and I need to explain to them in my own words before things get really out of hand." Draco had a feeling everything with her was always out of hand. As a matter of fact, he really couldn't recall many situations where she wasn't causing, solving, or creating trouble.
"I said ok, Granger. I told you I want to be with you, don't think I don't understand that it comes with certain…baggage." Draco had been busy moving around the kitchen, finding a cigarette and setting to make the coffee while Hermione stood rigid with her fists buried in her hips, watching him as he agonized over that last word.
"Then why are you being so moody?" Draco let the kettle fall with a loud clank to the stove, never watching the flames ignite as he tapped his fingers to the burner, turning slowly to scowl against her for her choice in words.
"I am not moody, dear. I am annoyed."
"Then why are you annoyed, dear." Hermione's folded her arms against her chest as she slowly drew out the pet name he'd just dawned on her.
"You're like a shiny present for me, Granger." Hermione rolled her eyes fiercely, shaking her head at his poor choice in explanation but he held his finger up in attempt to continue before she turned and ran like he was so used to her trying to do. "I know what's inside you; I know what you are because I've been staring at you in the window for a long time, wanting you. For a week I've had it and I haven't even been able to touch it!"
Hermione moved around him with little amusement, moving towards his cupboards in attempt to find a couple of cups, praying the coffee would hurry before she felt the need to throw the boiling water on Malfoy but he was bent to continue.
"Now that I've finally gotten to open my present, and I do mean finally, and play with my toy, you want me to put it back in the box, wrap it up and hide it from everyone else? I think that's a bit unfair of you, don't you think?"
Ah, finally! Hermione plucked the glasses from the cupboard quickly, slapping the door shut before she clanked either cup down on the counter. "It's not like we can't be seen together, Draco. I just meant that I didn't think it wise to go out being too dramatic."
"Would you quit underestimating me, for maybe like a second? That'd be super swell of you." His hand once again smoothed over her stomach but his body was a bit behind, moving to grab the kettle and set to finishing them up a cup. His breath was subdued in his half slumber, tossing a few packets inside the kettle where he'd rested it on the counter beside him, trying to beckon her to face him as he moved to slide between her and the counter."I can…behave I just don't know how long you expect me to wait here without punching a hole in Weasel's head again."
"I'll tell them before we leave for Hogwarts."Those ever pale brows of his rose swiftly at her response, satisfied as she turned to face him fully, resting her arm along his chest with a single shoulder shrug, "Can you not be a prat for three days?"
"That was two days ago?" Hermione laughed a bit as she glanced over her shoulder to Ginny as she tapped her finger in a line backwards on the table, trying to keep everything straight in the story that was so entirely twisted that she was having a hard time keeping it together.
"Yes. First morning after."
"Meh, could have went worse, I suppose. I mean, it is Malfoy. He could have set you on fire." Hermione let out a loud laugh, covering her mouth to stop the fit of giggles leaving her wide grinning lips while she completely ignored her task of opening another bottle of wine. "So you two hid out and shagged for two days straight?"
"No, no, yes but no…" Hermione was still laughing quite uncontrollably, holding her stomach as it cringed in the humor of it. With a few deep breaths and a few minor laugh spurts, Hermione managed to calm herself enough to make it through a complete sentence or two. "I mean, we did what we usually do when we're together. We just…hang out."
"Except now you hangout and shag."
"Well, yeah…stop saying it like that. You're making it sound so dirty!" Ginny laughed and held either of her hands out at Hermione's scowl as she made her way back to the table, holding the freshly uncorked bottle out to Ginny to inspect. "It was all different before…I don't know, Gin. It's like I told you, Draco wouldn't even remotely get intimate with me before that night but he was still always close in a sense. He's much of the same way now it's just he knows he can actually get…close to me so he just seems so much more relaxed about everything."
Ginny's attention was shifting between the red parchment labeling the bottle and Hermione as she slid into her seat but she spoke either way even before she moved to grasp for Hermione's glass to fill it, "Witch Weekly said that you aparated to Malfoy's after you left the restaurant that night with Blaise and Malfoy but only one of you left. I really, at the time, thought it was a bunch of hoopla but good lord are those people thorough."
"Did you read the one where they actually posted a photograph of one of Draco's order in slips?"
"That was real?" Ginny's small hand smacked the table, her eyes widening as she sent a vibration to shake the contents of either of their full glasses now, nearly toppling the liquid straight over the rim. Hermione could only laugh, clasping her hand over the top of her own glass in efforts to keep the wine inside.
"Oh hell yes it was real. They took it from the trash. What? I really wanted noodles!"
Ginny motioned forward in her chair, carefully sipping the wine from the top to try and lower its contents while she gripped the edge of the table, "So where the hell is Malfoy now?"
At that Hermione frowned a bit, scrunching her mouth to the side as she sighed out, "Probably with Blaise. We have plans for dinner later but we leave for Hogwarts in a bit so I figured it was time to stop ducking my head and pop out with some answers."
"What's the matter?" Ginny cocked her head from behind her wine glass, brushing her hair from being such a nuisance on her shoulder as she watched the saddened expression wave over Hermione's face.
"You're my best friend, Ginny…it was hard enough trying to explain this all to you but I don't know how the hell I'm going to tell Harry."
Oh yes, that little detail…Ginny reached along the table and placed a reassuring hand over Hermione's while she cupped her other over her own cheek in thought. "I think its better that I tell Harry. It might give him a chance to take it all in before acting to rashly."
"Gin, you don't have to do that. It's my responsibility because this is all due to me."
"I think I should, Hermione. I owe you this much."
"Trouble in paradise…Draco Malfoy not out of the dark side just yet? Page seventeen for details." Pansy cleared her throat before Blaise drawled on.
"Wait, wait, I like this one…Former Death Eater woes War Heroine." There was a weak smirk dazing on his face before he slid out, still letting his dark eyes fall over the words, "Sounds so catchy. Really draws the reader in."
"I despise you both greatly at this moment."
"After suffering the pangs and break of an adolescent relationship, it seems that Hermione Granger had opted out of the grieving period and jumped straight into the arms of another! Ooh so spicy…" Pansy had to laugh a bit as she settled her issue of Witch Weekly down on the table, moving her hands to cup around her glass with a rather large smile tugging her full lips wide as she continued to skim through one of the many articles in the large stack of papers and magazines littering their small table. "After spending a controversial week being photographed with the infamous, recent Azkaban releasee, Draco Malfoy, the two continued to dodge this reporter's effort to get a comment whether or not they were romantically involved."
"Not one time did that hag try and contact me." Draco scowled as he too skimped no particular words, mildly gazing at a picture of Hermione bundling beneath the arm of Weasley with a sick fascination before he stamped his finger down on a rather large article on the page over from the one they'd all been previous chucking through. "No, wait, this is a good one…Malfoy on the run from Potter…again!" He raised his hands and shook his fingers for dramatic energy only to earn a low scowl from Pansy seated just around from him before she went right back to glancing for her personal favorites through the pile that never ceased to speak words about the big complicated mess he'd gotten himself into.
Almost everyone in the wizarding world has heard the rumors of the famous Hermione Granger and infamous Draco Malfoy allegedly dating and the huge secrecy around the pair in the last few weeks but we didn't have to wait long for some answers.
While having dinner with friends, the one and only Harry Potter and Ginerva Weasley, Hermione Granger was surprised by not only her just recent ex, the love of her life, Ronald Weasley but also her new beau and current mate, Draco Malfoy!
"I was just sitting there having dinner with my sister and Malfoy just came in and bent berserk. It all happened so fast." Say Pavarti Patil, a classmate at Hogwarts.
Onlookers say that Mr. Malfoy became enraged upon seeing Miss. Granger chatting privately with Mr. Weasley when he arrived. A few words were exchanged but it was the many fists thrown after that which might just end the recently released Azkaban prisoner back into hot water.
"I did not go crazy…" Draco protested lightly.
"Draco…" Pansy let out a curt laugh, flicking her bangs from her eyes as she gave her head a slight tilt, "Says here you fractured his eye socket…I didn't even know that was possible, to fracture an actual eye socket."
"Cracked it really. Took a pin and quite a bit of potions to keep his eye in but the swelling helped. Really not a fun healing process." The rather unfamiliar, but oh so familiar, voice left an uneasy pause at the table. "Malfoy…can we have a word?"
"Potter…wow, great timing." Leave it to Pansy to be ever so eloquent as she drew her sharply arched brows up with a curt nod in greeting to him where he stood awkwardly behind Draco, speaking to him with that intense gaze of his boring into the back of his head. Draco didn't say a word, letting his arm rest to the table surface as he slowly moved to angle himself, and his chair alike, to face Harry.
"We're both dressed this time, Potter so I can't see why not." Harry looked anything but amused, his lips firmly pressed together in a fine line, his face set firm but Draco remained easy, shrugging at the same motion Blaise mimicked back before he slowly pressed up from his chair. A single pale brow lifted upright while he set his eyes down from his height over Harry, "Shall we?"
Harry couldn't help but keep those emerald eyes locked against Draco's casual smirk, never wavering a bit, when he made move to stalk a little further through the tavern, stepping a move or two beyond the large staircase before he rounded back with a simple question leaping from his lips like he'd been dying to say it for an eternity, "What are you playing at here, Malfoy?" Draco had barely finished following him, absentmindedly watching the walls and glancing back to Pansy and Blaise as they leaned from their chairs to watch before Harry sharply whirled with the third degree, leaving him halting a bit on his heels.
"Playing at? You asked me for a word, Potter. What are you playing at?"
"You know what I mean. With Hermione! What are you trying to do?"
All he could do was laugh, lifting a hand with a small shrug as he admitted so unconcerned with the words, "Date her I suppose. Your turn. What's your favorite color?"
"Malfoy knock it off! Tell me the truth!"
"I bet it's Gold, isn't it?" Harry looked like he was ready to have an aneurysm with the way that vein was bulging in his forehead. Yes, it seemed this did come with its perks but at whose expense? Draco sighed wearily, scratching the pads of his fingers against the peroxide white strands, "Give me the serum and be on with it then. I'm not lying to you…this time."
"Why?"
"Why what, Potter? Why am I not lying to you now or why am I trying to date her?"
"Both you wanker!"
"Firstly, have you seen her? I mean really, Potter, have you ever looked at her?" The look on Draco's face was dumbfounded to say the least, staring at Harry as he counted through his fingers, placing one up at each phrase. "Secondly, have you ever met her? Had a real conversation with her? And again, back to number one…look at her!"
Harry wanted to smack the words out of his mouth but the awkward twitch at the corner of Draco's mouth had him holding back his rising anger for a sheer moment longer. "Look, Potter, I have no motives here and I don't really have a reason to lie to you but I've told you all this before. She is the only thing I have to gain from this. She's the only thing I have to lose."Harry shook his head harshly, unable, or unwilling to grasp the words that Draco was unveiling with such nonchalance that he could have been telling him the weather forecast. "I really could give a flying fuck what you and your lot think of me, Potter, but she does so therefore I'm telling you the truth."
"You broke up a perfectly good relationship to get your own selfish needs off?"
"Watch your mouth." Harry flinched his expressions back at Draco's sharp reprimand for even hinting to Hermione slagging around with him before he narrowed a finger and his gaze against him, "There was nothing good and pure about the so called relationship between Hermione and the Weasel but as much as I would have loved to be the reason she left his sorry ass, alas, I am not." Well, Draco didn't mean that part one bit but he figured what Potter didn't need to know and wasn't going to be told wouldn't kill him.
"Then why, Malfoy?" Draco sighed rather abruptly, shifting his weight on his heels as he suddenly felt the strain weighing in on him. Harry was starting to sound like a record on repeat and he was wishing it was more of a background noise than the stereo it was playing in. With one hand planted firmly on his hip, Draco made motion to a passing waitress for a round of drinks he was sure he was going to need before he roughly scraped out his words over his shoulder to the hard emerald glare emitted back at him.
"Because Weasley's been shagging Lavender Brown every which way since Sunday for about a year now." He opened his palm to Harry, his blonde brows rose as he questioned, "There, are you happy?" Harry didn't look happy. No, Harry looked truly shocked but so did the waitress who was quickly averting her eyes after taking the order and ducking her head to slink off as quickly as she could muster.
"Hermione said that Ron left to be with Lavender…not that he was with Lavender." There was a rather curious look on Harry's face as he pondered out the statement to himself more than to Draco. He knew the whole thing sounded far too off but for the sake of Hermione, he let her quietly mumble her way through her side of the break up.
"I bet she did…" Draco rolled his eyes with a bit of a scoff, moving to fold his arms along his chest with a quick wave of irritation bubbling beneath the surface. "She's ever so polite, that one. Sure she didn't tell you about the nights she spent sobbing in a corner either in that perfect little romance but hey, what do I know? I'm the big bad liar over here."
The moment Draco said it; Harry felt a heavy weight fall to the pit of his stomach. He wasn't exactly sure what he meant but he had a sinking suspicion he knew far too well exactly what he was saying. "She doesn't need to be saved."
"Don't want to save her. Don't need to but I will if necessary if you morons won't. Again." Where the bloody hell was that waitress?
"Why'd you do it, Malfoy? Really…"
"Listen to me, Potter…" Draco gave up his absent minded search for an alcoholic relief and took a looming step forward as he narrowed his words against his rival for years, "Granger and I have nothing to do with Weasley but I will cut him, you, and anyone else down that stands in the way of that. We clear there?" Harry hadn't said anything, watching Draco darkly in an all too familiar stance under the dark rim of his glasses. "I have no more reason to fight with you but I will gladly destroy everything you know and love if you stand in my way. It's your move…"
"No really, Hermione…Let me do this much for you." Hermione was fully prepared to move down the list of more reasons why Ginny didn't need to feel obligated to do such a tremendously stressful task but the sudden clicking sounding loudly erupting into the room stole her away from her denial completely. The two girls jumped from their seats, jerking up to their nearly wobbling feet at the first intrusion of noise, alert, and prepared for any action. Out of the silence echoing back came the sharp clanking noise once again, banging like a faint knocking somewhere far off in the room, leaving them both to glance around in answer to the disturbance .
"Oh lord, Hermione…it's the bleeding post." Ginny let out a curt snort at their quick movements all for nothing before she stalked forward to the sill over the kitchen sink so she could attempt to stop the racket. It took her a moment to unhinged the old locks but she managed to press the windows open, moving back swiftly as a rather lengthy owl stretched its purely white wings wide, dipping inside in one swift, eloquent movement to drop the rather large package down against Hermione's table directly between their glasses before slipping back to the sill to tuck it's wings around itself like it'd never moved a muscle.
As much as Hermione should have rushed to thank the bird like she normally would, she couldn't help but eye the cascade of black paper that wrapped the box so tightly where it was resting a few feet from her grasp. Thankfully, Ginny was far more abiding to Hermione's normally strict guidelines on the well treatment of animals and creatures because as Hermione stood rigidly watching the box, waiting for it the ignite, blow up, of spew, if not all three, Ginny was trying to get the stubborn owl to take a bit of cookie she'd swiped from inside one of the Granger's jars shoved in all of the corners of the counters, growing frustrated by the minute at its snooty demeanor.
"Who's it from?" Ginny finally managed to cram the bit of cookie down it's break, cocking her head over her shoulder to ensure she hadn't been witnessed by the wrath of the savior of all things fuzzy and cute before she shooed the blasted bird out.
"Hm?"
"The package!" Ginny laughed out, slapping her hands to her thighs as she stepped a crossed the room to observe what it was Hermione was gawking at so unsurely.
"Oh, uhh…" Hermione drawled out, trying to swallow down her nervous, paranoid thoughts that Bellatrix was going to jump out the second she untied the large, lace ribbons that held the entire thing shut. Those almond shaped hues of hers, so rich in their deepened shade, glanced over her shoulder to Ginny where she'd stopped to watch carefully on her tip toes to see over Hermione's shoulder while she pulled the thin piece of parchment from on top. She knew that she was procrastinating the moment she paused to run her fingers over the paper, feeling its subtle groves but she could feel Ginny growing impatient as she practically bounced on her heels behind her so Hermione bit the bullet and plucked it open, sighing out a breath that she hadn't even been aware she was holding before she set her eyes flatly to the words inside.
Hermione-
I TOLD you that I would replace your dress.
I do realize it is not the same one but I thought, like me, it'd look nice on you.
Pick you up at eight?
Draco
Hermione's lips twisted at the corners, unable to stop the schoolgirl blush befalling her as both she and Ginny read the small note written in his unbelievably pristine hand writing. Really, it was strange…Draco Malfoy had better hand writing than most women she knew, herself included! It was not something she'd think to go around bragging about him but it was definitely a head scratcher. "Apparently it's one of my I told you so's instead of one of Draco's promises." He honestly hadn't written anything too sweet, hadn't even signed it with anything but his name, not that she wanted him to have, but she still felt a small gush of emotion wave into her at his attempt.
"It's like you're dating the evil Harry right now. You're dating evil Harry…this is so weird." Hermione was staring at her friend completely and utterly lost before she'd turned her mutterings over to glance at her, jumping a bit as she moved to explain at the notice of Hermione's face blankly washed onto her. "He did that with me, you know, the whole trying to prove himself to me thing, the buy me everything thing…Uh!" Ginny squeezed her fists together as she let out a harsh grunt at the thought of it, "Oh man I hated that! I know he was trying to be sweet but you know me. I would so rather play in the mud than in shiny gems and sparkly things."
Hermione really wasn't one for either gems or mud but she was pretty sure whatever Malfoy got her wasn't lingering on the dirty side. Oh god…at least she hoped it didn't. She carefully went about untangling the package with more nimble finger work than she would have liked to use with the amount of wine she had lingering in her still but she gave it her best efforts none the less. While her hands busied with the thin, raven black, lace ribbons, Hermione distractedly spoke to Ginny with small glances over her shoulder, watching as her friend complexly thought back on her courtship with Harry from her hunching position over the box. "Yes except this is Malfoy so I feel it's so much more…what's the word I'm looking for…" With a firm scrunch of her brow, Hermione tapped her forefinger to her mouth, deliberating hard for the right use here.
"Normal?" Ginny laughed, nudging Hermione, trying to keep her on task to satisfy her own curiosity and to finally pull the tissue paper wrapping the contents that were hiding away whatever Malfoy had bought for her as she attempted to debate what she wanted to say silently in her brain.
"No, prat. I was going to say reserved. Harry didn't tell you because he couldn't. Draco didn't tell me because he wouldn't. Big difference there. Harry equals open, Draco equals reserved." Hermione gave herself a good, affirmative nod but Ginny was sure it was more of a mental pat on the back for figuring out just how she wanted to explain this. If there was ever a job invented for a person to be a walking dictionary for all things magical and likewise…Ginny was sure Hermione would be the first to apply with such an extensive resume that they'd have to hire her for fear they'd never get through it.
"I really, truly hate to say that I think he's trying to make that right now but damn you for making me say it…Hermione…Draco Malfoy is trying to make it all right now to be with you." Ginny was so sidetracked at the thought that she hadn't even bothered to turn her head a few inches down to glimpse inside the box she was so interested to see in the first place so she could witness the dark fabric that Hermione was running her fingertips down as she eyed what laid inside just waiting for her to place on. Ginny's face, freckles and all, scrunched tightly as she was finally unable to keep the mild shudder from remaining at bay, "I kind of want to hurl now…no offense."
"I kind of want to hurl too…I think this is going to take some getting used to…by all of us." Lord did Hermione not know what an understatement that really was.
SPECIAL THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO POSTED SUCH NICE REVIEWS AND EVERYONE WHO HAS ADDED MY STORY TO THEIR FAVORITE LIST!
SORRY THIS CHAPTER IS WAYYY TALKY AND NOT MUCH ACTION BUT I NEEDED KIND OF A FILLER CHAPTER SO I CAN GET TO ALL THE FUN TO TWIST AHEAD. MUHAHA. :D
ANYWAYS, THANKS FOR READING!
