Us After This

by RZZMG

Theo Nott & Draco Malfoy want Hermione Granger. When she deals with one to teach her about sex, how will the other handle it? How will a Time-Turner,a fatal illness,an ex-,an Azkaban breakout & some old spells change the future? A/U 7th yr. HOT SHAGGING!

6. Chapters 11 and 12

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THINGS I'LL NEVER SPEAK OF…

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland

Thursday, November 13, 1997 – Friday, November 14, 1997

Hermione's bedside was a flurry of activity for the next two days, as well-wishing teachers and students alike came to visit in between classes; the side tables of her small hospital space were filled with their get-well cards and presents.

Thursday morning, Dumbledore arrived first, during breakfast hours. The Headmaster inquired as to her health politely, and asked her how the planning for the Yule Ball was coming. She used the opportunity to pin him down about her idea for having the press cover the event, and he enthusiastically agreed that it sounded like a good solution overall. Reaffirming a great confidence in her abilities, he agreed to leave the planning and execution in her hands, and dropped off a bag of lemon-cherry drops on his way out.

Draco showed up minutes after, reminding her that his schedule on Thursday mornings was clear; he had afternoon classes only today. He stayed by her side for hours, reading through the cards and notes for her, and at her bidding, he opened up the gifts. They shared some walnut fudge that Molly Weasley had baked the night before and sent by owl to her immediately, and found Fred and George's gift of a backwards clock (the hands moved counter, and when one tried to fix them, they would get a light shock) to be quite amusing. Harry, Ron and Ginny came in at lunch and took over for her boyfriend, who left for a quick bite before his three-hour afternoon D.A.D.A. Lecture-Lab and one hour N.E.W.T. Prep class.

"Things seem to be going well between you and ferret-boy," Ginny slyly commented. "He seems sort of head over for you, 'Mione."

Hermione could feel her face heat-up. Her friends had no idea that the relationship between she and Draco was only temporary, so it was natural for them to assume that it was a typical boyfriend-girlfriend romantic pairing. She was loathe to tell them the truth, knowing that they would think badly of Malfoy again – which was something she absolutely didn't want. And if she was completely honest with herself, her ego couldn't handle telling them that she was, for lack of a better turn of phrase, "selling herself off" to Draco in exchange for his expert sexual tutelage, in some kind of licentious business arrangement.

That thought stopped her cold. Godric's heart, she hadn't actually considered it quite that way before. Could she be considered a… a hussy, then? After all, she'd bargained her virginity away for a price. Unexpected shame washed through her and she felt herself pale.

"'Mione? You okay?" Harry asked, his voice heightened slightly with concern.

She swallowed and rubbed a hand tiredly over her face. "I'm… I think I just need to rest for a bit," she stated, her fingers slightly trembling against her skin.

"Should I get Madam Pomfrey?" he asked, and she heard his chair scoot back quickly.

She shook her head firmly. "No, it's okay, Harry. I think… I just need to lie in quietly. It's been an exhausting week."

Her friends were still for a few seconds following her inferred request for them to leave, and she had the feeling that they were trading looks. "Well, then, we'll be off," Ron commented, clearly uncomfortable. "See you later, yeah?"

"Sure, and thanks for coming to see me," she replied somewhat distractedly, her mind already fretting over her revelation. She snuggled down under the covers and turned her head to the side.

"See you tomorrow," Ginny promised and patted Hermione's hand comfortingly.

"Rest well, 'Mione," Harry offered, and then she heard three pairs of shoes moving off towards the exit.

When her friends were gone, Hermione's mind started turning over, as it was wont to do whenever she was alone. What she was doing with Malfoy felt right. If it hadn't, she wouldn't have come out so openly about it to the whole school. And yet, she couldn't shut off the conservative voice in her mind that reflected on how everyone would think differently if they only knew the particulars of her arrangement with him.

"It's okay, Granger. Every girl falls in love with him eventually."

Teddy had inadvertently warned her; she was falling into the same pattern as all of Draco's other conquests. And yet, she couldn't help herself. Her heart wanted what it wanted.

"…after he moved on to Anna Mirfield and then Julie Parkes, I realized that he hadn't really felt much of anything for me… I felt used... Be careful, Hermione."

Megan Jones' advice rang in her head, and she couldn't help but wonder that once it was over between them in December, who would Draco move on to after? Which girl in school would catch his eye? The thought of him touching anyone else as he did her, of him whispering to some other woman in that dark, low voice of his split her heart in two. She tried to hold back her tears, but could not.

"Miss Granger, what's happened?" the Medi-Witch's voice came rushing towards her from nearby. "Are you in pain?"

Hermione quickly snuffed out her self-pity party and sat up, wiping at her face. "No, no, it's nothing like that, Madam Pomfrey. I'm sorry to worry you. I was just… frustrated because my eyesight hasn't returned yet." The lie slid off her tongue and she mentally crossed her fingers, feeling guilty for it.

The nurse's cool hand rested on her brow for a moment, obviously feeling out her temperature. "Oh, I wouldn't worry, dear. The brain's inflammation should already be lessening, and I predict you'll start to see sometime tomorrow or Saturday." She felt her eyelid on her right side stretched out by two fingers. "Your pupils already shrink somewhat in response to the light." The eye was released and the left side was given the same quick examination. "Yes, yes, very good," she tutted. "However, if you continue to stress yourself in such a manner, young lady, you will impede progress," the witch informed her somewhat firmly. "I am therefore going to give you a light sleeping draught to give your brain the rest it needs for its recovery. The less outside stimulation, the more healing can be done by the body naturally."

Within five minutes, Madam Pomfrey had retrieved the potion in question and Hermione had consumed it. Within seconds of that, her brain could no longer turn over any thoughts of her relationship with Draco, as the draught took effect and she fell into a deep sleep that lasted for several hours.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

Teddy missed classes on Thursday, his illness particularly awful that day for some unknown reason, spiking his temperature high enough to cause him to sweat and shake for most of the night and clear into morning.

As he lay in misery, he was very careful not to open the curtains around his bed as his roommates got ready for their day, letting them think that he'd decided to simply sleep in. It wasn't until five o'clock in the evening before the trembling ceased and his fever broke, and he had the strength to pull himself out of bed. Grabbing his shower kit, he made for the communal baths and stripped down, throwing himself under a lukewarm shower head. He scrubbed his body well, trying to get rid of the salty perspiration on his skin, trying to keep his tears at bay.

After toweling off and returning to his room, dressing in fresh clothes made him feel almost normal again. He tossed his dirties down the laundry chute, grabbed his wand, put his kit away and made for the Great Hall for dinner.

He comforted himself with the thought that at least he hadn't vomited his guts out. Hell, he even had an appetite. He sat in his usual spot at Slytherin's table, alone, and had two servings of cheese ravioli in a mushroom cream sauce, three warm rolls and a cucumber and tomato salad – a very filling meal, which helped his rather sour mood immensely. He was just digging into the cherry and lime gelatin when he noticed that Draco and Hermione were absent in the hall. Curiously, he turned to Gryffindor's table to see Potter deep in serious conversation with both Ginny and Ron Weasley. Chewing down his dessert quickly, he made his way over to them to inquire over Hermione's health.

"Hey," Potter greeted him with a nod and a wave at the seat across from him. "Join us?"

Teddy was a little shocked by the inclusive gesture. However, old habits die hard; he was used to being an outsider. He hesitated over accepting the offer. Noting this, Potter tried again. "I've got some news about 'Mione," he stated, his piercing green eyes locking onto Teddy. The guy seemed anxious, so Teddy took the bench next to Ron, a nervous flutter going through his stomach.

"She's okay, isn't she?"

The look on the three friends' faces told him that no, clearly, Granger was not okay. "As soon as we got to the Medi-ward yesterday, 'Mione had a second attack and was given another dose of the Alihotsy antidote," Harry explained calmly. "She had a bad reaction to it and… she's temporarily lost her sight."

Teddy's heart started beating madly in his chest. "What? But… Alihotsy doesn't do that to a person. What happened?"

Next to him, Ron sniffed and turned his head away. "It's my fault."

Across the table, Ginny threw a roll at her brother's head. It softly bonked him and bounced off onto the floor, rolling under the table. "No, it isn't, so stop talking stupid."

"Hermione was exposed to Sneezewort before the incident in the greenhouse, but she never got treated for it," Potter filled him in.

"It's my fault!" Ron insisted, his face blotchy, as if he was about to launch into a round of tears. "If I hadn't been mixed up with betting on Quidditch, Boot and Corner wouldn't have tried to poison me and Hermione wouldn't have been vulnerable in the first place."

Ginny sighed. "Quit being so melodramatic, Ron. You couldn't have known what would happen."

Ignoring his friend's outburst, Harry continued on with the details. "'Mione and Madam Pomfrey believe that it caused her brain to swell when combined with the Alihotsy."

Teddy thought about what he knew of both plants. "Giving her another doze of the mood altering Treacle would only have worsened the Sneezewort's effects."

Potter reached up and adjusted his glasses over his nose and nodded. "She was finally given the Calming Draught to counter the Sneezewort, but by then… thankfully, like I said, they think it's temporary and she'll regain her sight as soon as the inflammation in her head goes down. Madam Pomfrey thinks she'll be fine by the end of weekend."

Teddy took a deep breath and nodded. "Thanks for telling me."

"Thanks for saving her, man," Ron intoned, clapping a hand on Teddy's shoulder. He and Weasley were the same height so they looked each other in the eye as he turned to the ginger-haired guy. "Harry said you acted brilliantly to get to her in time. If it wasn't for you, she might have been worse off."

Secretly, in his heart, Teddy felt a teensy swell of pride, but he was careful not to strut about his part in Granger's rescue. That wasn't his style. He shrugged instead. "Can she have visitors?" he asked Potter.

"Yeah," the bespectacled wizard replied. "Until the ward closes tonight at nine."

Teddy stood. "Think I'll go see her," he explained. "Thanks for the heads-up. I owe you."

As he stepped over the bench and took a step towards the door, Potter's voice stopped him and he turned back to listen fully. "Hey, tell Malfoy I said to stop fussing over 'Mione so much. She hates being coddled." The message was subtle, but clear: first, expect Draco to be there with Granger, and second, don't mother-hen Hermione to death, because she'd resent it. Play it cool, in other words. He nodded once in thanks, and the two traded a knowing look, then Teddy moved on his way, once more thinking that Harry Potter just might be the kind of guy Teddy could hang with on occasion.

On his way up to the Medi-Ward, he passed by Daphne Greengrass leaning against the corridor wall somewhat provocatively, with her newest suitor, the Seventh year Ravenclaw Stephen Cornfoot, leaning casually close, one arm propped next to her head. The guy looked as if he was swooping in for the kill as he spoke in a quiet murmur to Daphne, his lips smirking somewhat arrogantly. As Teddy moved closer, his ex-girlfriend's shrewd eyes tracked Teddy's approach. "Didn't see you in Muggle Studies today, Theo," she greeted, her face impassively gazing at him, as usual. "Need notes?"

He stopped only long enough to accept the offer with a polite nod. "Thanks, Daph. Can I get them from you later? I'm needed elsewhere at the moment."

The girl he'd almost lost his heart to once upon a time measured him up carefully and then acquiesced with a nod of her own. "I'm going back to the Common Room in a few minutes to study. Catch me before lights out." With that, she returned to her interrupted conversation with Stephen, a smile teasing up the side of her stunning Pureblood features, and Teddy knew he'd been dismissed. Unconcerned, as this was always the way he and Daphne interacted, he continued on his way towards Granger.

When he got to the hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey directed him to the second floor to see Hermione. He signed in on the parchment as a visitor and then went on up. As expected, Drake was sitting at Hermione's bedside. They were talking, and even from the end of the row, her tinkling laughter filled the quiet room with cheer, turning a usually morose location into a place tolerable for visitation. As he stepped closer, Malfoy turned his head in recognition of someone approaching. His blond friend's face was haggard, but his grey eyes sparkled with something akin to profound relief. He held his hand out and they shook. "Wondered when you were coming by," he addressed Teddy warmly.

"Figured there would be a lot of people crowding around at first. I didn't want to tire her out," he made the excuse, which was mostly true. He turned to his lady love, careful to keep his facial features neutral. "Hey, Granger," he greeted, taking a chair from the next bed area over and bringing it to sit by Drake. "How're you doing?"

Her face moved in his direction, but her eyes looked blindly somewhere off to his left. Her welcoming grin was bright and cheerful. "Hi Teddy! Thanks for coming to see me. I'm okay."

Teddy drank her smile in, let it warm his heart and ease his worry for her. "I won't stay long. I know you need your rest," he made his prearranged apologies. "Just wanted to make sure you were doing all right."

Hermione nodded and tapped her forehead lightly. "I'm getting better. I can feel the pressure has gone down since last night."

Teddy snickered and crossed his legs Yank style, one ankle resting on the other knee. "Yeah, 'cause your head definitely looks smaller now to me," he mocked, trying to keep things light.

Draco lounged back in his chair as well, his own grin crawling up the side of his face. "Her hair doesn't match, though. If anything, it's even poofier than normal."

Granger giggled. "Poofier? Is that even a word?" she asked Teddy playfully, her head turning in his direction more.

"I just made it up," Drake conceitedly pronounced. "Inventing witty colloquialisms is one of my better talents, you know."

Teddy cleared his throat, trying not to choke on the laughter that bubbled up from his center. "Too bad there's not a N.E.W.T. for that. Maybe then you'd pass at least one class with an 'O'."

Draco leered, his smirk positively wicked. "Oh, I can think of a few subjects where I rate at least an 'Outstanding," wouldn't you say, Granger?"

The blush that stained her cheeks was rather telling; Teddy didn't need to guess what they were referring to. He coughed behind his hand uncomfortably. "So, do you need anything?" he asked Hermione, trying to shift the conversation to 'safer' ground.

Granger shook her head, and reached out for Draco's pale hand. Her boyfriend met her fingers half way and took her in his grasp gently. "No, I've got everything I need, thank you, though."

Teddy's heart splintered at the intimation that Drake was all she'd ever require, but he held his unflappable mask firmly in place despite the momentary crushing pain in his chest. "Well then, I'll come by with copies of my notes from Potions lecture and Transfig lab tomorrow night for you. Also, I got the notes from yesterday's D.A.D.A. lecture. I think your class is on the same chapter as mine, so you can borrow my notes for that, too."

"Thanks, Teddy, I really appreciate it," she smiled sincerely. "Oh, I almost forgot! The Heads-Prefects weekly meeting is tomorrow at noon. Can one of you find Ernie Macmillan between now and then and ask him to conduct the assembly without me? Tell him I hope to be well enough for the Saturday morning Yule Ball update, though."

Feeling a wave of nausea suddenly overtake him, Teddy stood abruptly. "I'm going to get moving now, so I'll do it." He shook Drake's hand again and then made to go rather quickly. "Rest well, Granger. See you tomorrow."

"Good night, Teddy," Hermione called after him. "And thanks for coming to see me!"

As he made his way to the exit, Teddy strolled out at a normal pace, but as soon as he was out of sight of his friends, he dashed to the nearest bathroom and vomited his entire dinner into the first loo he could get to. A slick, queasiness in his guts caused his throat to swallow convulsively and the rush of adrenaline as the nausea ran its course left him shaking in its wake. When he flushed his mess away, he scrambled over to the wash basin and rinsed his mouth out.

What the hell? His symptoms were definitely more intense today. What could have caused that?

Maybe it was just stress after everything that happened yesterday in the greenhouse. Or maybe he had been pushing himself too hard lately, trying to keep ahead in classes so he could win his bet with Granger. Whatever the cause, he physically felt absolutely horrid.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

At Madam Pomfrey's insistence, Granger was given a particularly strong sleeping draught at eight o'clock that night, and was out in seconds. Draco was told the effects would last at least twelve hours, so he debated sneaking back in later and staying with her throughout the night, but he was physically exhausted and had a lot of homework to catch up on. Not wanting his girlfriend to get on him about falling behind in his studies – which he knew she absolutely would do – he decided to go to the library to get his work done, before returning to his dorm for a good night's rest in his own bed.

Taking Hermione's favorite spot by the back corner window (he knew this because he'd been stalking her for weeks before they'd gotten together), Draco set down to work on his Potions essay, which was due the next morning. In the middle of writing a three hundred word treatise on why using Aging Potions was dangerous to one's body, he was interrupted by Blaise's approach.

"Can I talk to you?"

Still a little pissed at his friend regarding his inappropriate comments regarding Hermione, Draco hadn't really said but two words to his roommate over the last week. "What is it?" His voice came out harsher than he wanted, but he didn't take it back.

Blaise pulled over a stool and sat down, his wide-shouldered frame taking up most of the space in between the desk and the tall bookshelf. "I wanted to apologize for what I said to you about Granger. I was out of line."

Draco raised an eyebrow at him and nodded hard, not intending on making this easier for his friend. He'd pushed too far, and needed to know he couldn't do it again. "Yes, you were."

Looking seriously uncomfortable, Blaise raised a hand to his neck and began rubbing the back of it. "I guess I never thought about her as anything but Potter's right hand, and as the bossy Head Girl Gryffindor, you know?"

Draco put his quill down, sat back in his chair and folded his arms, setting his face into a neutral façade. "And now you think of her differently?"

Blaise shrugged. "When I realized what she meant to you, I started really looking at her. She's… not so bad." He paused, frowned. "Actually, she's scary smart and nice on the eyes, so I get the attraction. And, you seem… different around her. She makes you… you look damned happy, man. We all see it." His friend glanced up at him, locking eyes. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm glad you found someone. Granger's a good match for you. And I'm sorry. Yeah, just… sorry." He ended that last by looking back down at his large, but elegant hands, then glancing back up for his sentence to be rendered.

Draco deliberated for a moment over what his friend had just said. Blaise's words only confirmed in his mind that his feelings for Hermione weren't just misplaced hormones; other people were seeing the effect she had on him, and apparently it was a good one. He nodded once, accepting the apology. "You and Pans seem to be going well," he noted nonchalantly.

Blaise's telling grin lit up his face. "She's… all right."

Draco gave him a knowing look. "She thinks you're pretty damned good in the sack."

Blaise sat up straighter with an edge of nervous anxiety. "She tell you that?"

That slow smirk wound up Draco's left cheek. "Yep. Same morning. Ran into her at our door." There was no need to explain which morning exactly he was referring to, as Blaise understood it to mean the same one they'd had their row. "Said you certainly knew how to 'kiss' and wanted to know why I'd never cued her in before."

A light gleamed in Blaise's eyes. "What'd you tell her?"

Draco grinned wickedly. "That you never gave away your patented lip-lock secrets to me." They shared a chuckle. "So you dig on her, then?"

Blaise quickly looked down at the floor again. "Yeah, but her father will never go for it, seeing as it's come out that I'm Half-blood."

Draco waved his hand away. "You think my mum and dad will go for Granger? Who cares about the parents anyway? You want her, don't let anything stop you."

His friend seemed immensely cheered that someone was on his side about this issue. "Guess you're right." He shook his head and ran a hand over his face in sudden frustration. "Problem is I can't tell if Pans wants me the same way."

"You're Mr. Charming of the fucking month," Draco scoffed. "Court her. Take her for tea in the village and to the Yule Ball and show her a good time outside of bed." He tilted his chair back onto two wooden legs. "We've been friends since we were kids, so trust me when I say that Pans secretly wants to be swept off her feet. She just won't tell you that. She likes to play hard-to-get."

Blaise considered his friend's words sincerely for a few moments, and then he smiled. "Good idea, mate. Thanks." He hopped off the stool and dragged it back to where he'd acquired it initially. Obviously, their conversation had come to an end, for which Draco was thankful, since he wanted to finish this essay quickly and go to bed. His eyes were starting to ache from exhaustion.

Just as he was leaving, Blaise turned back to him, his face serious. "Drake, I've got to warn you … Nott's got it bad for your girl, too."

Draco didn't look up as he retrieved his quill off his parchment, but he felt his heart skip a beat as a pang of jealousy ran through him. "Yeah, I know." He also knew that his girlfriend sort-of liked his friend back; he had spent weeks astutely watching her, after all. He wasn't going to say anything about that to Blaise, though. Zabini was, first and foremost, a Slytherin, and no matter how close they were, Draco was careful about how much to reveal of his private thoughts to his friend. "I'm not worried about it," he lied. He dipped his quill tip into his inkpot and tapped it. "Thanks, though."

With a 'see ya!' thrown over his shoulder, Blaise left him to his peace. Unfortunately, it never came. Recollections of Teddy's intense, eager eyes watching Granger across the dining hall came back to haunt him… followed by a clear memory of her glancing over at Nott and blushingly turning away. For the first time, Draco wondered if Granger was going through with their deal just so she could learn how to please his best friend later. He shut his eyes and swallowed the painful lump in his throat that thought conjured.

Fuck, he was an idiot.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

On Friday, half of Hermione's House showed up again to check on her progress, and Teddy dropped off his notes that evening before dinner, as promised. He didn't stay long, which was fine with her, since she was still lingeringly uncomfortable around him, feeling as she did. Ginny unwittingly helped to take her mind off of her troubles by sharing some of her favorite red licorice over a good, old fashioned gossip session about what Lavender and Ron were up to (among others).

Late that night, once more, Draco stayed with Hermione until he was told that visiting hours were up at nine p.m. He left, but slipped back in to be with her again after Madam Pomfrey retreated to her bedroom on the first floor. "Back, baby," he whispered, returning to her side within an hour of his departure.

"Hi again," he shyly greeted him, and she heard him shuffling around. His weight shifted onto the cot's mattress and he indicated that she should scoot over with a tap on her legs. She did and he lay down on his side next to her. His warm breath tickled her cheek, so she knew he was face-to-face with her, even though she could not see him.

To her immense relief, when she had awoken today, Hermione was greeted with a pinprick of white amongst the seemingly endless darkness. It was just a small, hazy glimmer of color, but it was there, and it signaled that her sight would return. She earnestly thanked the Four Founders for even that little progress. For a day there, she'd despaired of the possibility of being permanently blind, despite Madam Pomfrey's reassurances.

Truthfully, not having control over her body was absolutely the most terrifying thing she ever experienced – even more so than being held captive by Voldemort, or facing off three Death Eaters in a duel for her very life during the final battle at Riddle Manor. She willed her eyes to see, but to no avail, and that was both frustrating and frightening. What made it worse was light's complete absence; to be unable to see danger coming was a primal horror engrained into the hominid condition itself, fostered and ingrained into the very fabric of humanity's collective soul from the days before fire was discovered. As Hermione had discerned today, when she was all alone in the quiet of the Medi-Ward, without sight, her overactive imagination ran wild with strange fancies of Boggarts and Dementors and other such monsters lurking nearby, stalking her, perhaps even closing in for the kill. It was completely ridiculous, of course, but it was the reality of her situation. Her logic had fallen to the wayside of unadulterated animal instinct. Also, when she'd been alone, the crushing bleakness had conjured despairing thoughts. It was only when another person was near – especially Draco - that she felt more solidly grounded to reality; when there was no human contact, she'd spent those hours lost in a nebulous drift, where time disappeared and every sound was confusing.

Her boyfriend was here with her now, and with her returning sight, her courage began to rebound as well. The terror was abating, thankfully. And the niggling doubts that had crept in about her relationship with Draco were hushed up and set aside for now; she would deal with them later. Right now, all she wanted was to be with him and not feel any negative emotions. Reaching between them, she placed her right hand on Draco's chest, working it up to his jaw and cheek, where she let it stay for the moment. "I wish I could see you," she confessed, feeling strangely vulnerable at the moment. "I like looking into your eyes."

She felt his lips quirk in amusement. "They're just boring grey. Nothing special there, Granger."

Hermione firmly shook her head. "The color changes depending on your mood. It's really fascinating to watch."

"Hadn't noticed," he commented offhandedly, his voice whisper soft against her lips as he'd moved in for a kiss.

When Draco's lips pulled away from hers and moved to her throat, she tried to explain her feelings on the matter. It was difficult, as what he was doing – licking and nipping over her pulse – was distracting. "Sometimes, when you're happy or pensive, they're like winter skies. Ahhh!" she gasped, as he nibbled on her earlobe. She cleared her throat and tried again. "You know the light grey color that's calming and reflective. And sometimes, when you're angry, they're dark like violent storm clouds. Oooh!" she groaned as he bit at her pulse, and her hand clenched over his chest, digging the nails in unconsciously. She pushed a little against him, but he wouldn't be deterred and kept up his seductive assault on her throat. "And when you're kissing me… Mmmmm…" she shuddered and took several fast breaths as his tongue bathed the whole side of her neck in a long trail back towards her ear, "they're silvery like moonlight." She giggled and pinned her neck with her shoulder when he nuzzled her ticklishly. "Really, Draco, you're insatiable!"

He breathed hot air against her ear for a second or two before replying. "Only for you."

Something deep in Hermione's chest ached and her tummy flip-flopped at his words. Careful, the rational voice in her head cautioned her. Don't be fooled by this moment. She shut her eyes and leaned her forehead against Draco's shoulder as he pulled her over on top of him very slowly and then he rolled her onto her back, shimmying them into the middle of the small cot so he was leaning over her, lying in the middle of her legs. He supported himself on his elbows and his fingers tangled themselves into her hair once again. He pressed soft kisses all along her jaw, chin and neck, and brought his mouth up to her ear again.

"I'm glad you're going to be okay, Hermione," he whispered tenderly. "I've been… concerned." He paused, nuzzling her skin with his nose gently. "Don't worry about the meeting tomorrow. Just get better."

She chuckled. "You just want me well so we can get back to our lessons," she joked.

There was a strange pause and he tensed up, and again, Hermione wished she could see him to know what her words had changed on his face. "I was only playing," she murmured, raising a hand to his face to touch his lips. There was a definite frown there. "You know? Teasing." He let out a deep sigh and lay his forehead on her collar. Her fingers moved to the back of his head and hesitantly began stroking his silky hair. It was awkward between them all of the sudden and she wasn't sure why.

Without warning, Hermione felt the gold chain around her neck pulled up by his fingers. "What's this?"

Merlin's false teeth! She wasn't supposed to tell anyone about her little secret, per Professor Dumbledore's instruction, but she'd forgotten entirely that she'd been wearing the magical piece of jewelry when she'd been admitted to the hospital ward. Caught, she sighed and fessed up. "A Time-Turner."

Draco whistled low. "How did you get something like this?"

"I asked for it, from Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall," she explained. "I'd planned to take a lot more classes this term, but after falling into the Head Girl duties, I realized how crazy that idea was. I didn't want to exhaust myself again, like I had in Third Year when I last used it. But, I haven't had time to give it back yet. I plan to soon, though."

Her boyfriend carefully put the device back down on her chest. "So that's how you were getting around then," he murmured under his breath. "I wondered how you'd suddenly just pop up unexpectedly from thin air without using apparation. Clever."

She reached and tucked the Time-Turner back in between her breasts. "I wasn't aware anyone noticed."

He chuckled. "Of course I did. I've kept my eye on 'The Golden Trio' since First Year."

Hermione blushed, very self-conscious all of the sudden. He'd watched her for years. What had he seen, exactly? How many childish things had she done in all that time that she might be mortified by now? She hadn't exactly been aware of being studied by anyone so closely, so it wasn't like she'd checked her behavior very often. Had he seen her smack Ron around when the boy was misbehaving? Had he seen her grouchy while she was on her period, or looking like something the cat had drug in after a night of indulging in too much reading and getting very little sleep? How many times had he caught her staring at Viktor Krum… or Ron? She inwardly groaned. Godric's bane, how embarrassing! "And in all that time, you never once considered me like this?" she asked daringly. "Not once?"

There was a telling pause. "I'm a guy, Granger. Of course I'd noticed you'd grown up. I just never allowed myself to think about you sexually before. You were always Potter's sidekick first and foremost."

"I see," she commented, and she really did get where he was coming from - because she'd noticed Draco Malfoy before this year, too. What girl in school hadn't? He was a gorgeous boy, with those penetrating eyes and that shining, platinum hair, and that tall frame with its strong hands, and his commanding presence. But she hadn't actually thought of him as a sexual being, despite all of the wild rumors about him, because he was first and foremost to her a bigoted Slytherin git. That was, until she'd seen him half naked on a beach in France, with his pale, flawless skin exposed to the sun, and she'd actually touched – grabbed! - that powerful musculature which had lain hidden under his school robes. Only then had she noticed that Draco was a man.

Just thinking about it now made her fingers itch to touch his bared torso again. And really, why couldn't she? He'd touched her breasts – done more than that, actually. Fair was fair. "Can I feel your chest?" she hurriedly asked before she lost her courage. "I know I can't see you, but I've got my memories of what you look like from over the summer."

He kissed her on the cheek. "I'd love that," he purred and hitched himself up on his elbows. "Want help with the buttons?"

She shook her head stubbornly. "I can do it."

His hand played with the curls near her ear as she reached up and unfastened his shirt. Her hands, amazingly enough, weren't shaking and she wasn't the least bit nervous about doing this. Excited, was more like it, actually. By feel alone, she pulled his shirt tails out of his pants and got to the last button, then glided the shirt off his shoulders. She felt him move about, and then heard the fabric slide to the floor next to the bed.

"Touch me," he whispered against her face hotly. "Run your hands all over me, Granger. Anywhere you want."

With both hands eager, she started at his shoulders and felt the rounded curves, moving in towards the collar, where she spread her fingers out and touched her thumbs against his larynx. From there, she slowly descended, caressing the soft skin over his clavicle and then his pectorals. His skin was warm velvet, smooth and well developed. When her index fingers swiped over his small nipples, he hissed in pleasure, and against her thigh, she felt his penis harden. She smiled. "I like that I can make you react like that," she admitted bashfully. "I still can't believe that you find me… well, desirable." And she honestly couldn't; she wasn't fishing for a compliment. Hermione sincerely didn't believe that she was half as pretty as the majority of girls in the school. In her estimation, she didn't compare to the likes of Draco's other lovers, like Megan Jones, Fay Dunbar, Marietta Edgecombe and even (and she hated to admit this) Pansy Parkinson, with her long, shapely legs and C-cup breasts. No, Hermione was only passively attractive in her mind, and then only because she'd gotten her teeth fixed and used potions and magic to tame her naturally unruly hair.

Draco didn't seem to agree, however. He bent his head to her lips and kissed her slowly, longingly. "You're bloody sexy, Granger," he commented in a low growl, pulling back and placing kisses on her jaw, working up towards her ear again. "You're the most beautiful witch I've ever known. I want you all the time." Pushing himself up at the hips, he pulled her left hand down gently to his pelvis and brushed her against his hard length with a low groan. "Believe it."

Her heart slammed into her throat in response. Even though being admired for her intelligence, personal ambition and skill were extremely important things to Hermione, secretly she also wished to be thought of as physically attractive, too. It was a little vain and shallow, but it was the truth. Hearing her boyfriend call her the "most beautiful witch" he'd "ever known" made the pixies in her stomach flutter around riotously.

Keeping her left hand in place over his pants, cupping his shaft against her palm, Hermione's right hand continued its exploration of his chest, enjoying how he uncontrollably twitched against her fingers. The skin of his abdomen was tightly drawn over the ridges of muscles, and she moved from left to right, then down the side of his waist where his pants stopped her from further journeying south. She moved across and located his bellybutton, circling it with a fingertip and lightly dipping in to test a tickle. He sniffed in amusement. "Back of the knees only, I'm afraid." He dipped his mouth over hers again. "But then, you already know that secret, don't you?"

Merlin, but Draco could make her heart pound with the simplest of questions. His voice was as smooth as melted chocolate, and as warm as glowing embers in the hearth. Everything about him was enticingly sinful.

His erection jerked lightly against her hand at just that moment, and she twitched in surprise. Had he done that on purpose, or was the reaction just like his chest muscles – uncontrollable response to stimuli? None of her reading on the subject of the male anatomy had told her that it was possible for a man to actually move his member without moving his hips at the same time. "Can you… do that again?" she breathed the question, the academic side of her mind coming forward in curiosity. He did and she swallowed in edgy excitement, and then she actually giggled. "I didn't know," she admitted, a smile edging her lips. "That a man could do that. Move it, I mean."

He chuckled low and kissed her pulse. "You can squeeze your muscles down there, too, you know," he informed her. "Try it."

Hermione blinked in confusion. "You mean now?"

His soft hair brushed against her cheek as he nodded. "Yes. Try it," he coaxed again, his tone deliciously wicked.

She bit her lip in concentration and turning inward, willed her vaginal muscles to contract and they pulsed under her control. It felt… interesting. "Wow. That's… I've never been aware of actually doing that consciously before, although I'm sure I must have," she acknowledged, her mind processing the feeling.

"You have," he confirmed as he continued to press wet, sucking kisses to her throat. "Every time you've come for me."

Hermione's face felt like it was on fire. Well, yeah, that should have been obvious to her, as that's where the pleasurable rippling originated from at that moment when she climaxed. She hadn't actually considered the mechanics of her orgasms before, and it was strangely arousing to discover how her body worked. "Oh."

Draco kissed her sweetly. "Don't be embarrassed," he bid. "I love that you come for me. I love…" he hesitated, and for an instant, she held her breath expectantly. "…that you want me as much as I want you." To emphasize this, he thrust his hips lightly against the hand that was still cupping him and moaned in between another blistering kiss. "I'm going to teach you everything I know about sex," he buzzed above her lips as he pulled slightly back, and leaned again into her ear. "Naughty things, Hermione… things that you wouldn't even dream of."

She shivered in growing longing, and her breath sped up in anticipation. She licked her lips. "Like what?" she dared to ask.

Draco's smile stretched across her skin and he placed a small kiss against her temple, his fingers trailing over her breast again, circling slowly, driving her mad. "I'm going to pleasure you with my fingers and my mouth, starting at your lips and moving down to your sweet pussy." His hand lightly trailed down her stomach, and crawled under the blanket to stop between her legs following the path he obviously planned to take when he fulfilled that promise. "I'm going to bathe you with my tongue and thrust up inside your body, and you're going to come all over my face. And I'm going to watch you the whole time." One of his fingers circled above her clit, and Hermione could feel the pleasant pressure deep inside her womb unwind. She sighed in sincere yearning, and the hand she'd rested on his stomach moved up to grab onto his bicep, gripping him tightly.

His lips ran butterfly caresses up and down over the shell of her ear as he continued his relentless explanation of his plans for her, opening up her world to whole new ideas at the same time. "I'm going to teach you how to stroke my cock with those wicked, little hands of yours, and then show you how to get me off with your mouth. You're going to suck me hard and take me down your throat, Granger." He jerked his hips again into the palm of her hand, and she squeezed lightly, marveling again at the size under her palm. Draco moaned, biting her gently over her pulse once more, his fingers stroking her nipple over her hospital shift again. Her right hand clenched over his arm of its own will, and she dug her fingernails into his shirt and gasped as he kept up the assault on her senses.

"I'll dress you in sexy clothes, and then I'll take them off of you," he promised next, breathing on her overly sensitized skin. "Or maybe I'll have you strip for me slowly while I stroke myself off for you... Yeah, I think I like that idea much better." He moved across to her untouched side and began sucking on her other ear, and she pressed her face into his neck, in between his strong body and the soft pillow, to give him freer access. "I'm going to massage oil into every crevice of your skin and rub my naked body against yours." She began shivering, caught in the grip of feverish desire, her upper thighs slippery from her arousal already; she rubbed them together to try to alleviate some of her need. "I'm going to lick sweet cream and sweets off of you, and make you do the same to me."

Draco bit down on her bottom lip hard and pulled away in a sucking motion before continuing. She whimpered in response. "I'm going to fuck you in every position I can think of, Granger, and I'm going to fill you with my come."

Merlin, he was so explicit! But then, he'd told her from the very beginning he liked to be this way, hadn't he? He sucked on her breast through the gown, and without a bra on, gods, it felt wonderful. He ran his tongue over her lips, tracing them seductively and she lightly tongued him back. He pulled away and nipped her chin, and she moved her right hand over his chest to touch his nipple once again, rubbing it lightly up and down. "I'm going to take away your freedom," he continued, grabbing her left hand and moving it off of his crotch, resting it next to her head, pinning it there with some pressure, "and then I'm going to teach you to obey me." Under her other hand, his heart was pounding as fast as hers and the rhythm made things in her core flip. He moved his roaming hand over to her hip, tilted her slightly and gave her a small pat on the bum. "Then I'll let you do the same to me."

He buzzed her lips again, shivering now, too. "You're going to love fucking me, Hermione. You're going to love it all, I promise." He thrust his tongue into her mouth possessively, sucked on her lips, and claimed her mouth as his own.

Caught up in Draco's verbal seduction, Hermione was helpless to do anything except experience the moment. In those long minutes of such intimate kissing, she would have given him anything, let him do anything he wanted to her. This loss of all rational control… it was heady, made her dizzy. She loved it. She loved him for making her feel this way. And she didn't once think about what the consequences would be for being so imprudent and indulgent.

They came up for air eventually, and she knew he was looking down into her eyes. She wished with all her might that she could see him back in that moment. His fingers ghosted her cheek and his voice was reverent when he spoke to her. "I'm going to make your first time good for you." He exhaled a short breath and she felt his eyelashes flutter against her cheek as he pressed in close. "I can't wait to make you mine, baby."

Hermione wanted to tell him that she already was his, but she was afraid to be so bold. Her breathing was rasped, her throat tight, her heart fluttering like a wounded bird behind her rib cage. "Draco…" She reached up and stroked his cheek back. "I…" She bit her lip, terrified to speak because the three words she wanted so much to say to him were guaranteed to destroy this between them. Instead, she reached up and tentatively brought her lips back to his. "I want that, too," she finally whispered in between kisses. "All of it. I can't wait either."

He said nothing, but she could sense there was something he wanted to say as well. Was it good or bad? She didn't know, as she couldn't see his eyes to know his emotions at the moment. She hoped she hadn't given too much away right then.

Draco shifted then so that he lay mostly on his side, his cheek pressed down on her collar, nestling his face into the crook of her shoulder and throat. He entwined his free hand with hers and let out a deep shuddery breath. "You should rest now," he murmured. "I want you well soon, Hermione… yeah, so we can get back to our lessons."

She closed her eyes, willing her body to relax, holding onto the man she loved as she eventually drifted off to sleep once more.

---

CHAPTER TWELVE: Heating Up

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Scotland

Saturday, November 15, 1997 - Sunday, November 16, 1997

On Saturday morning, Draco was gone from Hermione's bedside. She knew this not from the lack of his warmth or the feel of his body next to hers, but because she could see that he was not there. The room was covered in a hazy, milky gauze, but her eyesight had definitely improved overnight. When Madam Pomfrey came by at eight o'clock to check on her and deliver her tray full of breakfast goodness (and a packet of Stringmints to freshen her breath and clean her teeth), the elder woman's face beamed down at her.

"Yes, wonderful, you're coming along quite nicely," the nurse cheered. "I won't give you anymore of the sleeping draught until tonight, but I expect you to rest and take it easy until then." With that, the Medi-Witch was gone to do "gobs of paperwork," as she termed it.

Ernie Macmillian came to see how she was doing at eight-thirty while she was in the middle of finishing up her spiced tea and currant scone, and she explained that he'd have to handle the Yule Ball meeting without her, and requested he fill her in later. He agreed, and rushed off to the library to meet up with the Prefects for their updates while she took out a Stringmint and cleansed her mouth. She then pointed her wand at her hair and spoke the charm for combing it and smoothing it down. Finally, she Scourgify'd herself to clean up her body, and added a freshening agent to give her skin a clean smell while she was at it. It wasn't the same as a shower or bath, as it had none of the relaxation properties associated with such rituals, but it did the job nicely in a pinch.

Draco came in around ten a.m. He was dressed in his black casuals, his hands in his pockets as he sauntered up to her bedside. Her weak eyes tracked him. "Hi, handsome," she greeted him before he could make his presence known to her. "You look yummy."

He blinked at her with surprise and smiled. "Your eyesight's back then?"

She tilted her head. "Sort of. I can see, but everything's under a thin white film."

He took a seat next to her on the cot, reached out and stroked her hair gently. "That's definitely an improvement. How are you feeling?"

She glanced around carefully. "Is there anyone else nearby?" she whispered.

Draco looked around the small privacy curtain that had been erected for her, and shook his head. "Nope. Just us, baby."

Hermione felt her mischievous smile stretch across her lips. "Good. Come closer." When he did, she kissed him for all she was worth, and dragged him down on top of her as she lay back. They enjoyed each other's taste and smell and feel for long minutes. Finally, Draco moved his lips off of hers, trailing a hot, wet path towards her ear. "You're frisky in the morning, then? Good to know." He nibbled on her lobe to her hushed squeals of delight.

Around noon, Draco took his leave to grab a quick bite to eat before heading out to the Quidditch pitch for the next four hours when Ernie showed up with notes on the morning's Prefect meeting. She and the Head Boy went through the progress that had been made on the Yule Ball plans, and everything was going smoothly, much to her delight. Pleased with the success, Hermione asked Ernie to pass along her congratulations to everyone, as well as her wishes for them to keep up the hard work. She sincerely thanked him as well and he shyly accepted her praise before ducking out to go start in on the correspondence with the newspapers.

Left to her own devices for the rest of the afternoon, Hermione called in Madam Pomfrey and requested a sleeping draught. She wanted her brain to rest and not to do what it typically did when she was alone, and the progress with her eyes only encouraged her to continue with the proscribed treatment. She wanted to be able to see fully by tomorrow.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

Hermione slept until eight that evening, and awoke to find Draco sitting by her bedside, reading his Advanced Potions Seventh Year text. She didn't cue him in that she had woken, watching him silently as his eyes skimmed the pages. After several minutes, he blinked, his face crinkling up and then reached up with two fingers and gripped the bridge of his nose, as if he were in pain, rubbing it.

"Headache?" she asked quietly in concern, not wanting to startle him.

His book snapped shut and he sat up, moving his hand away and looked over at her with a smile. "You snore terribly, Granger," he stated teasingly. "It's enough to give anyone a migraine."

She looked at him, cursing the haziness, wishing she could actually see him clear enough to know if he was fronting, which she suspected him of doing. "Seriously, I know you've been exhausting yourself coming here so often in between trying to keep up with studies and Quidditch. You don't have to sit with me tonight if you need your own bed."

She actually saw his smile drop off his face. "Are you saying you don't want me here?" he asked cautiously.

Shaking her head, she smiled tentatively at him to smooth away any potential misunderstanding. "I'm just as worried about your health as you are about mine. I don't want you to end up in here because you're pushing yourself for my sake."

Draco put his book down on top of his satchel, which was lying at his feet on the floor, and then joined her on the cot, leaning over her once more. "I didn't know you cared, Granger," he joked, pressing a light kiss to her lips.

Touching his cheek lightly, she bit her lip, debating on a safe way to say what she wanted to convey to him without giving too much away. "I'm… fond of you, Draco," she finally chose her sentiment with extreme caution. "And I've come to regard you highly over the last few weeks. I'd like to think that we've become… very good friends. Am I wrong?"

He considered her words, his face gone serious. It took him more than a dozen trembling heartbeats before he replied. "I'm fond of you, too, Granger," he gently tucked one stray hair behind her ear. She couldn't be sure, but he looked a little sad as he spoke. He leaned his head down into her shoulder so that she couldn't see his face, but she felt his breath on her collar. "Friends it is then."

"Good friends," she corrected softly, feeling suddenly very emotionally exposed. Her fingers reached around his neck to play with his hair on the back of his collar nervously.

He nuzzled her throat and chuckled. "Very good friends," he purred and bit her over her pulse with light teeth. He lathed where he had nipped her and it made her breath catch.

"Yes," she sighed in pleasure as his mouth continued its tender assault on her neck and earlobe. "Very good… very… ooooh!"

Draco proceeded to ravish her with gentleness, even going so far as to push up her hospital gown and suckle her naked breasts and let his hands roam the rest of her body, even over her knickers. He pressed very lightly on her covered clit and her legs fell apart for him automatically. He shushed her increasingly loud moaning, and she pressed her lips against his shoulder to muffle the sounds of her cries as he stroked her slit over her knickers, continuing to run his tongue over her nipples until she came to flashing white bursts behind her eyelids. He stopped then, hearing Madam Pomfrey shuffle around her desk at the end of the long hall, and replaced her gown and covers as if nothing were amiss. Then, he took his seat back at her side and picked back up his textbook, pretending to read as Hermione feigned sleep… just in time for the nurse to round the private curtain and harrumph at them both suspiciously. Hermione did her best to keep her smile from showing on her face and giving them away, even as the nurse pointedly cued Draco that there were only fifteen minutes left until the ward closed for the night.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

On Sunday morning, Hermione's eyesight was completely restored to normal. Colors, shades, and sharpness had returned, and Madam Pomfrey deigned her fit to be discharged. Draco had left her around five a.m. and was now no doubt at his regularly scheduled Quidditch practice until one that afternoon, so she dressed in her school uniform (which had been sent to be laundered while she'd been laid up) and left the medical ward for the Gryffindor Common Room, hoping to catch her friends up.

As she hurried down the hall, she crossed paths with Teddy, who had been on his way up to visit her. They stopped half a meter apart in a patch of rare winter-time sunlight streaming through the tall, cathedral windows in the hallway and Hermione had to tilt her head up to look him in the eye. "Hi!" she greeted him enthusiastically with a wave of her hand and a bright smile, feeling humongously better for being out of bed and walking around again.

"It's good to see you're back to health," Teddy greeted her, his own white smile lighting up his handsome face. His mismatched eyes sparkled with obvious relief. "You're eyesight's one-hundred percent then?"

She nodded excitedly, and indicated with a nod that they should walk together in the direction she had been initially heading. Teddy fell easily into step by her side, his attention riveted on her. "Yes, thank Merlin. I was beginning to get cabin fever, as the Americans so aptly term it. I hate being unproductive. And now I'm behind in my studies."

Teddy chuckled. "Looks like you'll never catch me now, Granger," he teased. "You might as well thrown in the towel and admit to second place."

Hermione shook her head firmly. "Oh, no, absolutely not!" she declared fiercely. "I plan on catching up this week." She waggled a finger at him. "I don't give up so easily, Mr. Nott."

Her friend laughed. "Glad to hear it, Miss Granger. The challenge will only make my win all the sweeter in the end."

"I'm going to need brain food soon. I'm starved," she admitted, holding her growling tummy in embarrassment. "Think I'll ask the house elves to whip something up for me quickly. Did you eat?"

Teddy shrugged and grinned. "I've already had breakfast, but the company is too delightful to pass up on." He indicated for her to step in front of him as they headed down the stairs towards the Entrance Hall and towards the kitchens. "After you, miss."

She faux curtsied quickly in jest, playing along. "My, what a gentleman you are, sir."

"Only for you," he snickered.

Instantly, Hermione flushed, and moved past Teddy, hoping he hadn't noticed her reaction to his specific choice of words, which had mirrored her boyfriend's sentiment the other night, and which once more keenly reminded her of the decision she had made between them. She liked Teddy a little more than a friend should, but she was in love with Draco, and no matter her attraction to the tall, dark Slytherin, her heart had already settled the matter for her.

Deciding to switch the subject to avoid making anymore a fool of herself, she grabbed at the first thing to pop into her head. "So, have you received the Yule Ball invite yet?" Teddy made an affirmative noise between his pursed lips, but didn't say anything more on the subject. "Parvati and Anthony worked hard on those. What did you think?"

"They were nicely done," he replied, but didn't elaborate, clearly distracted by some other thought. She patiently waited him out, and within a few seconds, he voiced what had been bothering him. "I guess you're taking Drake then?"

The question was put out there simply, but Hermione could hear the undertones and felt a little uncomfortable. "I assume so. He hasn't asked me yet, though."

Teddy's eyebrows jerked up in surprise under the fringe of his long bangs. "Why don't you ask him?"

Hermione bit her lip, not really wanting to explain the reason to Teddy. The truth was that she wanted Draco to ask her formally because it would make her feel a little more confident about their strange relationship. If he would give even a little confirmation that he was interested in her for more than just the sex stuff it would somehow be permission, of a sorts, for her to let her heart relax and possibly even to tell him the truth of her feelings. "I… I'm old fashioned that way," she lamely explained. "Call it silly, but I was raised by a somewhat conservative set of parents." Teddy made no reply to this, for which she was somewhat thankful. It allowed her to turn the conversation around. "Who do you want to take?"

He shrugged and his face closed down, moving smoothly into that typical Slytherin mask of indifference that she'd seen them all wear at one time or another. "Hadn't actually thought about it." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, if Drake doesn't ask you, what are you going to do?"

The idea made her stop dead in her tracks. What would she do if Draco didn't want to take her to the Yule Ball? Oh, gods, what if he wanted to take someone else? They hadn't exactly verbally agreed that they were officially boyfriend and girlfriend; she'd just been taking that position for granted, since he hadn't been seeing anyone else, as far as she knew. But what if he was? What if he had a girl he already liked outside of their arrangement?

"Granger?" Teddy concernedly tried to get her attention, his voice coming to her as if from down a long tunnel. "Hey, breathe, okay?"

She snapped to and took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart, a plan already formulating in her overactive mind: she'd just have to ask Draco to the Ball before someone else did and hope he said yes. "I'll… cross that bridge if I come to it," she decided, refusing to be hurt by imagined ideas.

Teddy looked gravely chagrined. "I'm sorry, Granger. It just came out all wrong. I didn't mean it badly." He looked downright remorseful. "I'm really sorry."

Determined to move forward, she put her right foot in front of her left and forced herself to continue on her way towards the kitchens. "It's okay, Teddy. I know how you meant it." And she did. He hadn't meant to imply anything negative about the state of her relationship with Draco, only to inquire as to whether she had plans to ask Draco instead. It was an easy misunderstanding.

They walked to the Entrance Hall together, where Teddy bowed out of joining her for a bite, opting for the opposite stairs down into the dungeons, and back to his Common Room. He apologized again for hurting her feelings before he left, looking like a dog that'd just been kicked one too many times by its master, and Hermione did her best to reassure him that no harm had been done. Still, when he'd left, she'd felt a little sad for him. Teddy clearly liked her, but his loyalty to Draco was also obvious. She knew that he was feeling as torn as she had been, and she felt guilt for causing him pain, even though there wasn't anything she could do to prevent that. This was something Teddy needed to work out on his own.

Her stomach gave a loud growl once more, and she hurried on her way to see Yellie, her favorite kitchen elf, already formulating plans for how and when to ask Draco to the Ball.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

Teddy made his way back to his room, hurrying through the Common Area with only a quick glance. As he entered, he noted a flurry of activity in the room (just another typical Sunday during winter): Pansy was parked on Blaise's lap in one of the high-back, dark green upholstered cozy chairs and they were snogging lustily; Daphne was tutoring her younger sister, Astoria, in Fifth Year Charms work; two Third Years were in the corner playing Wizard's Chess; there was a group of male underclassmen gathering in the front corner of the room with broomsticks, loudly talking about checking out the Quidditch pitch for a friendly game once the official Slytherin team was done that afternoon; Jeremy Stretton and Adrian Pucey were sitting across from each other in separate chairs playing with a Weasley Wizarding new invention: The Ever-Bouncing Bubble – a magical soap bubble that could be hit back and forth between them like a ball, with the claim-to-fame that it would never break or pop no matter how hard you hit it, or what you smacked it with or against. He bypassed all of them in seconds with his long, hurried strides and made for the safety of his room.

Luckily, his three roommates were out and about today, so he shut the door behind him and made for his satchel, which he'd left lying perpendicular next to his bed. Rummaging into the hidden pocket inside, he grabbed one of the potions he'd stored there and downed it fast, wiping his sweaty brow with shaky hands. The effects were instantaneous, thankfully and he let out a huge sigh of relief and threw himself down on his bed, clutching the empty vial to his chest and trying to relax his trembling body. The nausea had come upon him just as he and Hermione had passed by the open doors of the dining hall, the lingering smell from lunch earlier turning his stomach. He'd made his apologies to Granger, and hoped she didn't question the speed at which he'd parted from her side.

"What's the potion for, Theo?" came a familiar voice from his door.

He shot up into a sitting position in horror to find Daphne staring pointedly at the glass container in his hand. Think of something quick, dummy! He opened his mouth and nothing came out, his mind having gone completely blank. His ex-girlfriend glided into his room, closing the door behind her and sat on the edge of his bed as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She looked him dead in the eye and he knew the next words out of her mouth would be his doom.

"I know you're sick," she admitted, her face passively neutral, her emerald green eyes unwavering and enigmatic. "I just don't know from what."

Teddy considered denying it, but the look in her eyes said she knew the undeniable truth. Instead, he shrugged, feigning indifference. "It's a nasty bug I caught over summer break," he lied outright. "It's hung on. That's all."

Daphne Greengrass did something then that she hadn't done to him since he told her he was breaking it off with her: she raised one perfectly arched, golden eyebrow up at him and smirked. "You're fibbing to me, Theo," she admonished him. "And there's no point denying it. You always look down and to the left when you lie. It's your tell."

Anger boiled in his chest suddenly. "It's none of your business, Daph. Back off."

Her smirk dropped off her perfectly angled cheek as if it had been magically erased. "I'm making it my business, Theo."

Teddy jerked back a bit. "Did you… did you just growl at me?" He laughed in amazement. "Frankly, I didn't think your vocal chords registered any sound other than sarcasm and cold detachment."

Her jaw tightened visibly, indicating she was clenching her teeth together. "And the occasional moan. You've forgotten that, apparently."

He felt his eyes narrow in suspicion a second before he registered actually having made the motion. "What the hell do you want, Daph? I'm not in the mood for your games."

Her smirk was back in an instant. "There was a time you liked my games, Theo. Very much, if I recall."

He shot up off the bed, feeling completely uncomfortable with where this conversation was going. "I'll ask you one more time before I throw you out of my room: what do you want?"

Her delicate arms came up and crossed her chest as she stared at him for a moment, and he could see her contemplating how to reply to his demand. Finally, as he had just reached the limit of his patience, she spoke, her voice softer than he'd heard it in a long time. "I'm just… concerned, Theo. I've seen you get shaky in class, and once, I saw you race for the bathroom and heard you vomiting. You're thinner this year, too, and paler. Something is definitely off." She sighed and stood up, heading for the door, but stopped with her hand on the brass knob, staring at the oaken panel in front of her. "I know you're not going to tell me anything, but… if you need help… you can call on me."

"Why?" The question was thrown out coldly, with as much doubt and misgiving as he could muster behind a single word.

She did look at him then, but he could read nothing from her features as her mask of indifference was carefully crafted back in place. "Because you helped me once, and I always pay my debts back." With that, she left, closing the door gently behind her.

Teddy stared down at the vial in his hand, and then back up at the spot his ex- had been standing. What debt? He didn't recall ever helping Daphne out; just the opposite, in fact. He'd only recently started talking regularly to her again, and then it was always school related. This was the first personal conversation they'd had since Fifth Year. If he tallied things up, he currently owed her for the borrowing of her class notes the other day. He had absolutely no idea what she was on about, and that worried him.

He spent the remainder of the afternoon in his room, considering everything he'd gleaned from his less-than-ten minute encounter with Miss Rich Bitch, and decided that he'd have to be more careful around Daphne Greengrass. She was a Slytherin, after all, and he knew her heart to be a manipulative shade of red.

x~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~x

At seven o'clock that evening, Draco knocked on Hermione's door. He only wanted to check on her – that was his excuse anyway. She answered in her pajamas, with her toothbrush in her mouth. "Sorry," he apologized immediately, scratching the back of his head in chagrin. "I heard you'd been discharged. Just wanted to see if you were all right."

She beckoned him to come in and returned to the bathroom to spit out her mouth of paste and rinse. He waited in front of the fireplace, standing, not expecting to be there very long. It wasn't one of their nights, after all.

When she was finished, she came back into the bedroom and greeted him with a warm hug. His arms automatically wrapped themselves about her and he tilted his head down to nuzzle her hair, inhaling her wonderful honey-cinnamon-amber scent. "I'm glad you came by," she shyly admitted, pulling back slightly to look up at him. "I get to actually see you without haze or inky shadows in the way." With an impish grin, she reached up her right hand and trailed her index finger down his nose and then over his cheek, where she feathered his skin lightly. "Much better."

He couldn't help but smile back, noticing how natural it felt to run his fingers up and down her spine in soothing strokes. "Do you need anything?"

She opened her mouth, then shut it quickly, and he had the strangest impression that she'd been about to answer his question with a "Just you," reply. Instead, she changed tactics quite unexpectedly. "I dreamed about you last night," she admitted as a slow blush crept up her cheeks. "About doing some of the things you promised we'd do. It's been on my mind all day long."

He paused, feeling his smirk overtake his face again and moving on automatic, he walked her backwards to the couch where he immediately laid her back into the soft cushions and leaned over her. "Like what?" he murmured alluringly against her cheek, feeling his cock wake up in his pants.

She reached up and kissed him sensuously, her tongue twining around his and pulling away very slowly, making him moan and unconsciously shiver in response. "That you wanted me to take your clothes off of you a piece at a time," she explained in between wet kisses. "You didn't help; I did it all by myself. I undressed you slowly, and you just watched me the whole time. And then you pressed yourself into me again, this time all the way."

His breathing picked up pace significantly, and he felt his heart hammering against her lips as she ran them down his neck. "What position did I take you in?" he asked, his right hand trailing over her thin, cotton top. She wasn't wearing a bra and he hummed in appreciation, pinching her nipple lightly in reward. She gasped, and her legs came up on either side of him to cradle his hips against hers. She wiggled her pelvis against him, and his erection sprang into full-on hardness – and that was before she'd even told him the answer to his query.

Placing her lips right next to his ear, she licked lightly and answered him in a breathy whisper. "You were sitting in a chair and I straddled you."

He groaned at the visual. Everything she was doing was quickly melting his resolve; he'd wanted to respect her request for them to stick to their scheduled visits for this kind of thing. But, if things kept up… What the hell? He decided to give it a good nudge and see what happened. "Did I fuck you hard, baby? Or was it slow?" he appealed in that low, come-hither voice he knew she loved.

Hermione ran her fingers over the back of his neck, through his hair as she pressed her mouth to his ear again, biting on his lobe this time. "Slow at first, but soon, you grabbed my hips and took me hard and fast. We came together. I could feel you up inside of me."

Draco knew then that he absolutely had to know the answer to this next question or he'd die...

"Did you come in your sleep?"

Hermione nodded, clearly embarrassed to admit it, but yes, she'd had her first official wet dream, complete with an orgasm that woke her body up with blissful palpitations. When she told him this, he pressed his lips to hers tenderly and gave a lust-filled growl that reverberated deep in his chest. His left hand moved from her breast up to the back of her neck, capturing her head as he turned his for another blazing kiss. "Keep talking to me like this, Granger, and I'm going to throw our lesson plan right out the window," he promised. He pulled her left hand from around his neck and placed it in between his legs. His erection was painfully hard. "I want you so badly right now." He let her stroke him through his pants for a few more seconds, before he pulled her fingers away with a deep sigh. "We need to stop, though."

She actually bit him quite hard on the neck and made a negative appeal with a cute snarling noise in the back of her throat. The sound combined with her punishing act made his penis jump and his whole body jerk in reaction. "Wait, I thought… but this isn't one of our nights," he lamely tried to explain, moving to sit up, but she had her hands tightly wrapped around his neck and wouldn't let him go. And her mouth was doing delicious things to his neck to keep him in place. "You won't be mad if we fool around tonight then?" he asked, and mentally cringed at how anxious and desperate his voice sounded. She shook her head again and continued nipping him right on top of one of his serious turn-on points. "You're sure?" He needed to be absolutely positive. He didn't want any misunderstandings between them. Hermione dug her fingernails into his shirt, gouging his shoulders and thrust her hips against his forcefully in response. "Well, okay, then," he caved with a smirk and proceeded to ravish her.

Very soon, her pajama top was shucked, as was his shoes and his shirt was unbuttoned, and he was suckling her nipples slowly, savoring the flavor of her skin against his tongue and stroking the small rosy bud between her legs, over her bottoms. Hermione's hands were everywhere; she even went so far as to unbuckle his belt, unbutton and unzip his pants and stroke him over his boxers. Draco thought he'd gone to heaven at the first tentative touch she gave against him, despite the cloth between them.

With her free hand, she pushed him away to catch his attention. "Can I touch you… there? Without clothes on?" she asked him timidly, her breath coming in short respires, her fingers trembling against him.

He brushed his nose against her cheek on his way towards her throat. "My body is yours," he whispered hotly in her ear, giving willingly to her the only thing he truly had of value aside from his family's name. "Touch me as you want, baby."

Hesitantly, she pushed his dark slacks down his hips to mid-thigh, and did the same with his shorts, and then she touched his naked length for the very first time. He was so solid and stiff that even the light brush of her exploring fingers caused an ache to travel all the way down to his balls. "Be very gentle," he instructed her. "It's extremely sensitive – especially right now when I'm so hard for you." Even in the very dim light from the fireplace, he caught the blush that traveled over her face at his words, but she kept up her exploration of his cock, moving her hand down to the bottom of the shaft and then back up, running a finger around the crown and pressing against the tiny slit at the very top. He jerked in reaction, and a drop of pre-come appeared at the tip. "That's me getting wet for you," he explained with a moan when she rubbed her fingertip over it, smoothing it across his skin. He licked his lips and shivered at the deliciousness of the sensation as she gently enclosed her hand around him fully.

"You're… larger than I thought you'd be," she admitted shyly, her petite fingers unable to fully wrap around him without forcing it. "Bigger than average."

It was Draco's turn to blush and he coughed a bit in embarrassment, knowing how he compared to most other guys (nothing was really private in the men's dorms or shower rooms, and a man with an almost 21 cm erect dick was often the brunt of sexual comments and envious stares by his mates). "A little bigger," he admitted, but then stopped flat. "How would you know that?" He seriously wanted the answer to this one.

"Human sexuality books," Hermione admitted, continuing to touch up and down him as if they weren't talking shop. "I've done some reading on the subject. I wanted to be prepared."

Draco tried not to laugh, but he couldn't help it. It figured that his girlfriend would check up on that kind of thing in a text. "You are such a bookworm, Granger," he joked and kissed her lips lightly. He stroked her cheek with his fingertips. "Don't worry, we'll fit when it's time." He hoped, anyway. Only one girl he'd been with had been able to take him fully into her without the pain of hitting the cervix, but then Fay had wide hips, she'd been fully broken in by the time Draco had hooked up with her, and she liked a little pain with her sex, anyway. He hoped that Hermione wouldn't be too hurt by him when they finally did start having sex. He'd love to be sheathed all the way up inside of her.

That thought rolled a wave of lustful longing through him, and he removed her grasp from his person for a moment as he sat up in between her legs and pulled his shirt off, tossing it to the ground. He yanked his pants and boxers completely down and off his legs, too, until he was fully naked for her for the first time. "Lesson five," he whispered in the hush, leaning over her and resting his hands on either side of her head, "learning how to please your partner with your touch alone." His face was mere centimeters from hers as he looked down at her. He reached out and took her right hand in his left again. "Stroke me like this, baby," he led her, and began moving her on his shaft with a little bit of pressure. "Not too tight, and be sure to go all the way up and down." He guided her expertly with one hand, and when she got the rhythm and pressure correct, he let her go, and grabbed her free hand with his right, guiding it towards his sack that hung down below, widening his stance at the same time. "Cup me like this," he taught her and then rolled her fingers over his balls, gasping as they moved together. "Lightly there. Those are wicked sensitive." He taught her all about the little vein that ran underneath, and showed her that when pressed just right, it did for him what her clit did for her. Then, he let her go and let her do as she pleased to him.

They didn't talk, but stared at each other the whole time, their breaths exhaling over each other's faces faster and faster. Hermione's face was an adorable mix of intense concentration and amazement and once more, her penchant for learning quick was quite unbelievable; she had him tightening up his lower muscles and making desperate grunts as she worked him towards climax quickly. His pre-come made the path between their skin slick and warm, allowing her fingers to slip over him easily, and the wet slapping sound of his flesh being pumped by her heightened the experience a thousand fold. When she rubbed her thumb up and over his tip on the upstroke, he heaved, shut his eyes and let out a quick breath suddenly. That familiar hot build-up centered near her hands was now reaching the point of no return. "Do you want me to come for you? On you?" he asked desperately, snapping his lids open once more, his breathing rapid. If she said no, he'd have to pull away immediately.

Hermione simply nodded, apparently unable to speak, her eyes very wide in the shadow of his big body, her lips slightly parted in rousing tension. It was all the permission Draco needed. In a rush, he pressed his hips down near her bared abdomen, panting deeply now. He swallowed hard, his eyes slamming shut and clamped his teeth down, tightening his jaw at the same time. He clenched every muscle, forcing his body to drive towards that one, single-minded goal of finding bliss without any thought to pain. After a dozen or so more passes of her nimble fingers, he forced himself to open his eyes. "I'm coming, Granger," he bit out tensely, straining with everything inside as the inferno within burned him up. "Grip me tighter and watch."

She did as he bade and looked down between them, and his penis jerked violently as he thrust his hips between her fingers hard. Fire erupted through his cock, his balls contracted and pulsed, and he shouted her name as his hot, liquid seed shot up through him and out all over her hands and belly. He continued to pump himself though her small fingers several more times as more come gushed out of him, and he hissed, his breath exploding across her face as he let himself go fully.

When the wave passed over him, he knelt above her weakly, gasping for breath, and when she loosened her grip on him, he exhaustedly collapsed to his side next to her. It was a good minute or more before his sanity returned. He looked over at her, but Hermione's focus was on her abdomen. He glanced down in curiosity to see her running her left hand over her tummy, rubbing his ejaculation into her skin. She seemed utterly fascinated and confounded by it at the same time. "Did you like that?" he asked, kissing her shoulder. "Do you like the feel of me on you?"

She reached for his right hand, which was resting lightly across her thigh, and entwined their fingers, then ran them together over the cooling stickiness coating her skin. She smiled. "It feels… soft." She turned her head to him. "I loved touching you. I loved watching your face and feeling your silky skin between my fingers, and knowing you were coming because of me. Can we do it again?"

He tiredly laughed. "You'll have to wait for me to recharge," he admitted. "Give me half an hour."

He and Hermione moved to her bed and she jerked him off two more times that night before he was finally knackered around one a.m. "I spent hours at Quidditch this afternoon," he yawned into her shoulder, snuggling against her. "You're lucky I could get it up at all, baby."

She'd Scourgify'd the mess off of both of them with her wand, then snuggled with him under the covers together, setting her wand to buzz them awake at six o'clock. The last thing Draco was aware of was his girlfriend's hands lovingly stroking his hair and her soft, tired voice wishing him sweet dreams as he snuggled his head against her naked breast.