Author's Note: I own no person, no place, no thing – except the plot! If you recognize it, it probably belongs to Ms. Rowling or some other awesome super-human.
IN RESPONSE TO SOME REVIEWS: Hi Guys, I know this story I'm writing is a somewhat different from typical Dramione, but I want to make sure none of you are getting the wrong impression about it. This isn't a religious story, it's not a sweeping bodice ripper, it's not a comedy either. It's about two displaced people trying to learn how to live a regular life – thus the title. J There will be sex and violence and cursing, and God and babies and puppy dogs, and arguments and mistakes and food and work and music and friends. That's why I'm enjoying writing it so much, and hopefully you'll enjoy it too!
ajc
Chapter 10 One Good Snog Deserves Another
"Well," Hermione mentally went through the contents of her fridge after they said their goodbyes to the Fraser's, Renny and, less cordially, Sutton. "I have some stuff at home, and you did say you wanted to learn to cook. How about I teach you to make chicken salad?"
Draco raised an eyebrow. Go to her flat and learn how to make chicken salad? All alone in the privacy of her home? Yes, please! Getting Hermione alone in her flat suddenly became his new life goal.
"Unless you have something else to do, I mean, or…" Hermione started rambling, and Draco realized he hadn't responded to her at all.
"That's all right Hermione, chicken salad sounds fine. And no, I don't have anything else to do. Once again, I am at your disposal." Draco's voice lowered as he said those last words, putting as much meaning as he could into them. Wild horses couldn't drag him away from this woman at this point. They had so much unresolved tension between them he didn't think he'd be able to function in society again until they had settled it, one way or another.
When Draco saw her tremble in response to his words, he smiled slowly.
He was definitely in.
He reached out and took her hand, which he knew she would have done already if she hadn't been so gob-smacked by him. Instead of simply holding her hand though, he wound their fingers together, sealing his claim on her. Let that ponce Sutton try to touch her again, Draco dared him. As far as anyone around them needed to know, Hermione was officially HIS, whether she understood that yet or not. Draco tugged her outside into the sunshine and hurried her the short distance to her flat.
Standing at Hermione's flat entry, Draco released her hand and handed her the day-bag. She took it, frowning down at it.
"Keys?" Draco prompted.
Hermione was panting slightly from having hurried over here so quickly. She looked up into Draco's eyes in slight confusion, and saw his burning expression. Her mouth popped open wide as a wave of desire washed over her.
'The hell with this,' Draco thought. He pulled her gig-bag off her shoulder, and placed it and her day-bag on the ground. He placed one hand on her belly, gently pushing her backwards until Hermione had backed into the brick side of her building. Draco cupped her face with his hands and kissed her soundly.
It wasn't a long kiss, but it was an honest, sincere kiss full of curiosity and frustration and lust. She tasted like honey and coffee and the warm Autumn sunshine. Heavenly and delicious and sweet. He opened his eyes as he broke away from her lips, and found her two green eyes, wide as saucers, staring back at him. He sighed, letting go of her, and took a step back to allow her to stand fully upright again. She was still staring at him.
"Um, sorry. Hermione. You're a bit of a force of nature, I just needed to try…" Draco rubbed the back of his neck.
Hermione's face flooded with heat, and she squeaked, then coughed and cleared her throat before saying, "Wow." Then she smiled at him. So Draco smiled back at her, and then he leaned down and kissed her again.
Hermione's heart leapt in her chest. Draco was kissing her! And it felt so good, perfect really, like their lips were designed specifically to fit with each other. She'd never felt anything so… RIGHT… in all her life. Dear God, she was made for kissing Draco Malfoy!
Her arms rose, and her hands smoothed their way up to his shoulders and then inwards to rest under his neck at his collarbones. She felt him shudder a little at her touch, and she flicked her tongue out to lick his lower lip. He tasted so good!
She may have moaned a little, but the next thing she knew for sure was that Draco had broken off the kiss and was staring down at her. His face was a little flushed as he stood there for a moment with his hands on each side of her face, just looking at her. Then he bent down to pick up her day-bag. She watched as he fished out her keys and handed them to her, then he bent down again to pick up her gig-bag.
"We need to go inside," he said quietly.
"Uh huh." Hermione nodded. Then suddenly she became very conscious that she and Draco had been standing on the side of a busy street snogging in the middle of the day for the whole world to see. Yes. Right. Get inside.
She unlocked the deadbolt and the doorknob, then beckoned him in. At the next door she unlocked the second set of locks, and then Draco followed her up the two flights of stairs to her flat. At the top landing, there were two doors, and Hermione turned towards the one on the right with the keypad to the right of the door frame. She punched in a six-digit code as she turned yet another key in this door's deadbolt, then turned to face Draco as she opened her door and backed into her flat.
"Welcome to my Fortress." She said.
Draco was a little shocked at the security measures she'd gone through to protect herself. No wonder she called her flat a Fortress. He hadn't seen any measures of security like this in a Muggle home or business before. What the Hell was she really doing in here? Selling guns and growing cannabis? Hiding dead bodies? He doubted the Weasel, Rita Skeeter or any Death Eater thug had enough Muggle sense to figure out how to break through her locks, and was comforted by the thought. She really was a clever girl, his Hermione.
His. Yes, he needed to work on that right away. Draco knew beyond any doubt that he and Hermione would be good together. Like, really, really good. Maybe even amazing. That kiss downstairs had been everything he'd imagined and more. Hermione's lips had molded perfectly to his. It took no great leap of the imagination to guess the rest of her body would feel the same way.
When he walked through the threshold, he saw a low ceilinged, brick sided, wide open space interspersed with brick columns that must have taken up half the floor of the entire building. There was a sheet-rocked wall off to the left with doors in it that he assumed were bed and bathrooms, and to his right was a lovely, wide, wood and stainless steel kitchen that would have made his family's house-elves squeal with joy. Straight ahead was a wide open area with a sprawling living room centered around a wide fireplace, surrounded on one side by an eating area, and on the other by no less than four massive floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. There were windows ahead of him, and windows to his right, letting in just enough natural light that the space didn't feel gloomy, but not too much to blind him.
Draco looked for a place to put down Hermione's stuff, and noticed some large nails sticking out of the wall to his right. His jacket was hanging there that he'd let Hermione borrow the other night. He hung the gig-bag and her day-bag next to it, but left the jacket hanging. He certainly didn't need it, and rather liked the way it looked there. Like it belonged.
They stood there staring at each other for a few seconds, then Hermione reached for his hand and pulled him towards her couches. He went willingly enough, and sat next to her as he watched her closely to see what would happen next.
"You kissed me," she said suddenly.
"Yes, I did. And I'm not going to apologize for it again, Hermione. I liked it. A lot." Draco turned toward her and laid his arm across the back of the couch.
"About that…" She said hesitantly. Her knee was pressed against the side of his leg. She had just unconsciously moved her legs forward just to get closer to him! 'He's like a freaking magnet,' she thought. "Well, it's given me a lot to think about." Hermione said quietly.
"Like what?" Draco could practically see steam coming out of her ears, the gears in her head were turning so quickly. Gods, did she ever stop thinking?
"Like, I don't know… Can I trust you not to hurt me? Are we going to start dating instead of being friends? Are you going to go all cave-man on me and get jealous of every other man in my life like Shaun and Renny? Will you protect me from Sutton the Slimeball? Do I want you to? Will you go with me to Renny's son's wedding next weekend? And then, is that a date, or are we just friends? What if you meet some other girl? Would that be the end of our friendship too? I just-"
Draco put a hand over her mouth.
"Enough, Hermione. That was entirely too much thinking for five minutes," he commanded. Hermione's eyes widened.
"Come on, Hermione. You're a ridiculously smart and intuitive girl. You know where we're heading with this you-and-me thing. I am absolutely one hundred percent uninterested in playing games with you. So please don't over-think right now. Just relax and be happy, all right? I have no ulterior motives, I also have no desire to hurt you in any capacity. You are my new favorite person in the whole wide world, remember? Yes I will absolutely be stepping in between you and the Slimeball, and no I will not get jealous of your other mates, because I'm not a jealous person by nature. Yes I will go with you to Renny's son's wedding, yes it is most definitely going to be a date, and no it doesn't mean our friendship will end. I like you, Hermione Granger. You might not be able to hex me anymore, but I imagine you're smart enough to figure out a way to kick my arse if I were to start messing around with another girl. Consider me well warned and…. um. Completely infatuated."
Draco had released her mouth and waited. His face felt hot, but he was glad he got all the words out. He was glad, because in that moment, Hermione beamed at him.
"Really?"
"Really." And he beamed right back at her. His right hand was playing the ends of her hair, and she relaxed her head against it. Draco felt her head lean into his hand. He paused in his finger curling through her strands to cup the side of her head, cradling it. She looked him in the eye, and he saw her hesitation, and her desire. Slowly, he raised his other hand and tugged her shoulder to bring her closer to him, as he leaned into her.
"I don't want to mess this up," she whispered.
"Neither do I," he said, and then Hermione felt his lips on hers for the third time that day. She instantly felt the difference. Where earlier she'd felt heat and lust and curiosity, now she felt his lips gentle against hers, seeking warmth, providing comfort, and… companionship? Acceptance? Friendship. His kiss was the kind of kiss shared between two people who were friends and lovers.
In other words, perfect.
When she and Ron had fallen into each other's arms, their friendship had been swept to the side. He'd gone from best friend to boyfriend, and a very jealous one at that. It was like Ron forgot all about who she was in light of what he expected out of a girlfriend. Her independence, her closeness with Harry, her Gryffindor bravery, all served to eat away at his love for her. He twisted everything she said, every action she made, into a direct reflection on him and her love for him. When things got physical between the two of them, it all went downhill. Any fool could see that Hermione and Ron weren't compatible, but it took her months to end it. In the end she knew it was best that she leave the Wizarding world. Staying in the same region with Ron, with the spotlight on them and everyone wanting to raise them up on a public pedestal, was intolerable at the least, soul crushing at the most.
This thing that she was starting with Draco, though, had her soul flying. A true friend, and a sexy as hell one at that… Well, dragging him to the coffee shop Friday afternoon might be one of the smartest moves she'd ever made in her life.
Hermione's stomach growled. She realized that her hands had moved up to his chest, and were creeping up to wrap around his neck, and he was slowly bringing her body into closer contact with his own, his arms wrapping around her waist as his lips and tongue melded with hers. She opened her eyes and saw his deep slate ones looking down at her. She could feel that he was smiling, so she broke away from him, grinning back. Hermione kept her arms wrapped around his neck though. It felt good to be this close to him.
"Hungry?" he whispered.
"A little," she whispered back. Then she crushed her mouth against his as she crawled onto his lap, running her tongue along the edge of his teeth and straining her body as close to him as possible.
Draco's body burst into flames as she settled herself on him. He was shocked by her sudden and obvious enthusiasm. It was almost like she'd just decided she wanted him, wanted this, and was now pouring herself into this inevitable seduction with one hundred percent of her massive arsenal of feminine charm. His wits were rapidly flying out the nearest window when she settled her thighs onto him, just so, and instinctively rocked her hips. He gasped, and grabbed her hips with his hands.
Hermione couldn't believe what she'd just done. There was no doubt in her mind that she and he were both enjoying each other, but she was no slag. She assumed that loneliness and frustration had a lot to do with why she'd just attacked Draco so wantonly. Her body felt super-charged, and so damn tense. She felt like she needed…something. Something to burst all this tension coiled inside her. Rocking her hips had, at the time, seemed like just the thing to get that itch taken care of, but Merlin, how completely loose he must think she was now!
Draco looked at Hermione, who was blushing dark red and attempting to scramble off his lap. He held her waist, and waited until she met his eyes, which she could barely do.
"Hermione, please don't panic. I may be an arse, but I'm not a jerk. I'm not going to push at you for my own nefarious purposes just because of one little hip twitch." Draco kissed her on the forehead, the tip of her nose, and then on her mouth. She relaxed a little, and then she started babbling.
"Draco, I'm… I'm so sorry, I don't know what got into me. I mean, I like you and all, but I'm not, in any way, ever, ever, like…THAT. I just got swept up in the moment and…"
Draco cut her off.
"Never ever?" He said teasingly. She was still straddling his waist, but her legs were incredibly tensed as if she was balancing herself so she wouldn't actually have to touch his lap. He ran his hands up and down her sides. She shivered, but seemed to tense up even more, as if trying to regain her self-control, so he removed his hands from her torso.
"Never ever, really. I don't jump on random guys, I swear." Hermione was so ashamed of herself.
"I wasn't implying that, I know you well enough to know THAT, Little Girl." He took her hands from where they were propped on his chest, clenched in defensive fists. He held her hands in his, against his chest.
"What I meant was, haven't you ever gotten caught up in a moment? Instinct is instinct, Hermione, it's not un-natural or dirty. And I certainly don't think badly of you for it, no matter how much you are obviously beating yourself up." Draco pulled her closer, and let go of her hands to wrap his arms around her.
"Hermione, you and I, we go a long way back, and most of the memories aren't good ones. How we both ended up here, in an entirely different place and state of mind, completely blows me away with its irony and its potential. You are my new very best friend, my guide and confidant in this All-Muggle, All-The-Time lifestyle I'm leading. I absolutely am not going to judge you or do anything that could potentially send you away from me. Besides, I'm the one that kissed you to start with, remember?" He pulled back from her to look in her face again, and noticed that she looked more relaxed.
"Thank you," she whispered. She couldn't believe she was in this position, wrapped around Draco Malfoy of all people in the entire universe, and so damned grateful for his presence she could cry.
"Thank you, Ms. Granger. For finding me, for helping me learn how to take care of myself, and for allowing me to become a part of your new life. Now, damn it woman, enough of this heavy shit. We've been around each other for two days and I swear we've gone through more emotional relationship crap than I ever dealt with in my entire life. Feed me or I will be forced to eat you instead!" He picked her up and set her in front of him.
She grinned at him. "Oh really?" she asked, and then she clapped her hands over her mouth when she realized how completely forward that sounded.
Draco's eyes danced as he watched Hermione flounder around. It was obvious, she wanted him. She couldn't help herself.
"Oh, my little minx, you really don't want to try me," he winked down at her, and then dragged her by the hand towards her kitchen.
"Come on, woman, you promised a cooking lesson and lunch. Now please, stop flirting with me and get in that kitchen!" Draco popped her on the bum as he pushed her forward into her kitchen. She squeaked, and giggled. Gods, she was adorable.
/…../
Three hours, two chicken breasts, an onion, half a cucumber, a generous scoop of mayonnaise and a squick of mustard, a bottle of wine, two apples, and two Radiohead albums later, Hermione and Draco were back on the couch, snogging passionately. He ran his hands up her sides again to feel her shudder beneath his touch, and broke away from her mouth to trail kisses down her jaw and along her neck.
Hermione moaned in sweet agony. This felt so damn good, there was no way she was even thinking about stopping –
He bucked his hips against hers, and she felt, really felt, how interested he was in NOT stopping.
Draco sensed they were moving quickly into out-of-control territory, and as soon as he felt her tense up after his own instinctive hip twitch, he knew it was time to put the brakes on their afternoon together. He kissed her once, twice, and lifted her off of his lap and onto the couch next to him. Her hair was a mess, her face red, her lips swollen, and her eyes were glassy. 'Nice to know I haven't lost my touch, at least.' Draco thought smugly.
Not that being a Sex God was that big of a priority when he was younger, but Draco had run around quite a bit in school. Girls were just so much damn fun that he couldn't help but take what was offered freely, and so abundantly. Of course, sixth year had been a bit more grim, but he'd still managed to keep the female population busy.
The last two and a half years, on the run and fighting for his life to bring down the Dark Lord had certainly curbed his appetite, as well as his available opportunities. Out here in Little Whinging, he had at first been too traumatized and later too determined to maintain his safety and privacy to even consider chasing after any of the pretty Muggle girls who frequented the Library. There was no way he could get involved with a Muggle girl, even for the most casual of sex, because there was no way he could carry on a conversation when his whole history would have to be lies, lies, lies. It would be like dating an alien from outer space, except he'd be the alien. No thank you. A quick wank in the shower every morning kept him from getting too desperate. But Hermione? Well that was entirely different. But he couldn't go diving in, so to speak, because she just wasn't that kind of girl, and that wasn't what kind of relationship he wanted from her anyway. Of course, they'd probably get there pretty soon anyway, but not tonight.
"My dear Ms. Granger, if you don't mind, I think it might be a good idea if I take my leave from you before I end up dragging you to your bedroom and taking advantage of your small and ravishing body." Draco said in his most aristocratic voice possible.
"Oh, my dear Mr. Malfoy, what makes you think you'd have to drag me?" Hermione shot back at him.
Draco's eyes went from slate to black almost instantly, and his hands ached to reach out to her and pull her underneath him. With a groan and a deep shaky breath, he stood up and walked away from the couch to help him reign in his self-control.
Hermione watched him pacing back and forth, hands pressed against his eyeballs as he took deep, calming breaths. This was funny, Draco Malfoy was half-crazed with lust for HER, and was determined, apparently, to regain his composure for the sake of culturing and maintaining a healthy friendship/relationship WITH HER.
"You know, Draco, I really appreciate what you're doing," Hermione said as sincerely as possible.
"I'm going to go home and take a very, very, very cold shower, Ms. Granger. You'd better appreciate this," Draco groaned.
"I do, I really do. As much fun as I was having with you, I don't think I am ready to jump into… well, sex." Hermione blushed when she said 'sex' because it was right then that Draco took his hands away from his face and made eye contact with her. It took every ounce of her willpower not to leap over the couch and wrestle him to the ground. Good Heavens! What was WRONG with her? She'd never gotten this hot and bothered before, not with Ron, nor when she was younger with Viktor.
Draco watched the word 'sex' fall off her pretty, bruised and roughed lips, and almost lost it. He needed to get out of here, now.
"I've got to go, Hermione. I'm sorry, I don't want to mess this up," Draco apologized, and mentally cursed himself for not simply ripping her clothes off and shagging her senseless on the couch, or her kitchen counter, or against one of those brick columns…
"Walk me out?" he said roughly, dragging his hands through his hair and down his face as he paced to the door.
Hermione tripped after him, grabbing her keys off the counter as he tried to open the front door.
"Flip the lock, yes, that one." Hermione explained as he tried to open the unyielding door.
"All the doors automatically lock, so I always have to be sure to carry my keys with me. My biggest fear right now is accidently locking myself out of my flat, and being stuck in the stairwell. Sure, I can get out, but then I'd have to replace all of my locks because the only keys are inside my flat. It's really terribly irresponsible of me to not have copies… Oh, hey I know! I can get copies made and leave them at your flat, that way I can get them if I ever do lose mine or get locked out. Um, would that be OK?" Hermione chattered away as they made their way down the stairs and through the doors to the street.
"Of course, Hermione. You can certainly trust me to not give them out to passing strangers. But are you sure you want me having such free access to your Fortress?" he teased.
"Oh, you wouldn't be able to get in with them, I have a color code system in my head for the all of the keys to the locks, and you don't know the access code to the front door." Hermione smiled smugly.
"Why do you live in a Fortress again?" Draco asked. "Are you sure you're not hiding dead bodies or manufacturing illegal narcotics?"
"Ha ha ha, Draco. You're just jealous you didn't think of this first."
Draco looked up and down the street to see if a cab was available, but not seeing one, turned his attention back to the girl in front of him. She was shivering slightly, it had definitely cooled off in the afternoon. She needed to get back inside, the sun would be setting soon and she didn't have a jacket on.
"So, what are you doing tomorrow?" Hermione shifted on her stocking feet, back and forth, back and forth.
Draco smirked. "My usual. Absolutely nothing. From the time I get off work until the next morning when I go back in to work, for the next five days until the weekend comes around again. At that point I am available twenty-four hours a day. Feel free to join me at any point, if you wish." He pulled her into a quick hug and kissed her forehead. He'd just caught sight of a cab coming around the corner and wanted to wave it down and get home before he gave up and followed her back upstairs.
"Meet me at the Library at five?" he asked as the cab stopped next to them. Hermione nodded and dropped her arms back to her sides. She and Draco grinned goofily at each other for a second, and then the cab pulled away, taking her… best friend? Boyfriend? Taking Draco away from her for the next twenty-four hours.
Draco Malfoy.
'Holy Merlin! Draco fecking Malfoy! The single hottest guy - albeit he'd been a prat then - in our entire school, and he is completely in lust with me!' Hermione crowed to herself in delight. That he had stopped them from going further, despite the fact that it was written all over his face how badly he wanted to get into her knickers, made him more irresistible than she'd thought possible. She could trust him, she could share her life with him, and she was thrilled that he wanted to share his life with her. Hermione giggled and spun in a circle, then noticed the cars driving past and people staring, so she fished her keys out of her pocket and started the process of getting back into her Fortress.
To Be Continued.