Recap of Chapter 11

'Well that went better than expected,' Theo rubbed the back of his neck.

'I owe Blaise 50 galleons,' Draco grumbled. 'I was convinced she'd hex you.'

'I'm lucky she didn't,' Theo said wryly.

Once in her room Hermione began to flick through the book. Her face was still flushed with mortification but she couldn't deny her interest in the contents. She noticed the marked page, turned to that section and began to read the chapter on masturbation.

A/N: okay so I missed doing the shout-outs last chapter, it made me sad so I'm starting them up again, hurrah! Shout-outs to repeat reviewers pgoodrichboggs, Rissa1986, BadWolfJiggy, xchloee, LullabyTales, Snowflake Dazzle, Virginie Cires, Lena2244, kimbclar, Nichole87, Marissani, GeekMom13, riaroo400, Green Eyed Lana Lee, coyg81 and Meuba.

Special shout-outs to new reviewers Sarzie, MotekElm and my anonymous guest.

Today's story / author recommendation is Not to Me by naaran. If you like Werewolf Draco stories then you'll love this.

Chapter 12

That evening when they returned from dinner Hermione announced her intention of having a bath and an early night. The Slytherins looked at each other and with great difficulty they managed to restrain themselves from making any remarks on what she might be planning on getting up to with her new book. Draco in particular had to bite the inside of his cheek for a full minute until Blaise nudged him and tilted his head slightly in the direction of Hermione's room, giving him a pointed look.

'I'll be up in an hour to read you a story and tuck you into bed, Princess,' Draco said casually, as if it was a nightly ritual. She gaped at him and her cheeks went scarlet.

'What? Why would you…? I'm not a little girl…I…' Hermione stuttered, unable to articulate the mixture of dismay and embarrassment at this suggestion. A tiny part of her felt thrilled, but she didn't have time to examine that just now. They each moved close to her: Blaise stood behind her and wrapped his strong arms around her; Theo took her hand in his and held it firmly; and Draco held her face between his large hands.

'There's a part of you that's still a little girl, Hermione. A part of you that needs to be a little girl. You've had to grow up far too fast, fight battles that no young woman should have to, and lose too many people before their time. You've laboured so hard to prove yourself in the magical world, always being top of the class, spending all your time studying or saving Potter's arse, and in doing so you've repressed part of yourself. Who looks after you, Princess? Who takes control for a little while so that you can let go? Who cherishes you?' Draco's voice was unrelenting but gentle and his thumbs brushed away the tears silently falling from her eyes. 'We will,' he said simply.

'We want to cherish you, dolcezza, and we intend to, with or without your permission,' Blaise murmured in her ear.

Theo nodded and brought her hand to his lips, turning it over to kiss her palm before placing it over his heart. 'We're going to look after you little mouse,' he promised. The moment was spellbinding and magic hung heavy in the air, adding weight to their words. Hermione felt overwhelmed and couldn't speak but she closed her eyes in silent acquiescence. Her hand pressed against Theo's chest, she leaned back into Blaise and tilted her head into Draco's palm.

Later that evening Hermione emerged from the bathroom in a waft of orange blossom scented steam to find Draco lounging on her bed flicking through The Modern Witch's Guide to Pleasure. She couldn't hold in the giggle that escaped. 'Looking for tips? I thought you didn't need any assistance in that area?' She said teasingly.

His eyes slowly looked her up and down and he smiled, 'I already told you that I don't, do you want me to prove it to you?' He was rewarded with rosy cheeks and a mumbled rebuff. Draco wanted to tell her in great detail just how much pleasure he could bring her but was mindful of Blaise's experience that morning. He laughed and pulled the covers back, 'in you get then.' Hermione climbed in and lay on her side facing him, having missed him turn down a corner before replacing the book on her bedside table. He tucked the covers in around her, sat down on the bed and reached for the other book lying there. 'Is this what you'd like?' He read the cover, it was a tattered copy of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

'Yes please, it's an old favourite. You might like it actually, even though it's a muggle book,' Hermione said shyly.

'You'd be surprised, Princess. I've developed quite the appetite for muggle literature over the summer. I'm reading 1984 at the moment, and I've also read The Thirty-nine Steps, The Great Gatsby, Howard's End, Oranges are not the Only Fruit, The Handmaid's Tale, Never Let Me Go and Lady Chatterley's Lover,' he winked as he said the last title.

'Wow, I'm impressed. What brought that on?' She asked.

'Severus suggested I find out a bit more about the muggle world and I visited Flourish & Blotts. I wasn't expecting them to have anything, I thought I could simply report back to him that I'd tried and he would leave it at that. But it turns out that they have a muggle section right at the back and one of the assistants, Cuthbert, is a bit of an expert. I bought everything he recommended and I've enjoyed most of them,' Draco explained.

'No need to sound so surprised,' Hermione returned.

He rolled his eyes, refusing to be drawn into a debate and began to read to her, '"Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again."' When he had finished the first chapter Hermione looked drowsy so he made sure the covers were snug around her, stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. 'Goodnight Princess,' he whispered.

'Night night Draco,' she said and closed her eyes. He turned the light off and left the room, feeling an odd tightness in his chest. Theo and Blaise looked up from their game of wizard chess as he went downstairs.

'How did it go?' Theo quizzed him.

'Well, really well in fact. She liked it,' he replied.

'Why do I sense a but coming?' Asked Blaise.

Draco swallowed. He wasn't sure how to put it into words. 'Hermione wasn't the only one who liked it. I enjoyed reading to her, it felt…I don't know, natural….affectionate even,' he couldn't quite bring himself to use the word loving. Draco rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke, feeling uncomfortable talking about his emotions. He was a Malfoy, he wasn't supposed to do affection, dammit!

His fellow Slytherins smirked knowingly. 'I'm looking forward to my turn tomorrow,' admitted Theo.

'You might want to catch up on Chapter One before you read her the second one, it looks like it's going to be a good story, lots of suspense,' Draco advised.

'Speaking of turns,' Blaise commented, 'if she decides to accept a relationship with us, how are we going to work out the logistics?'

Draco snorted. 'Have you seen Granger at exam time? Not only will she put us on a schedule, but it will be colour coordinated and timetabled to the nth degree!' There was silence for a moment before they all erupted with mirth.