All characters belong to JKR

Chapter 18: Competition:

The resort was almost deserted. They crossed the boardwalk to walk along the beach, which was also completely theirs. Draco led Hermione to the bench were on Friday night they shared their first kiss and with her hand tucked neatly inside the crook of his arm, he sat them both down. He pointed to the horizon with his free hand and said, "Just for you, my Granger."

He was speaking of the sunrise, which painted the horizon with orange and pink streaks, below the blue and purple of the night sky. Draco felt the sunset was rather like them: bright, pretty colours, which represented her, coming toward the deep, rich colours, which represent him. They two sets of colours were competing with each other, each trying to claim stake to the day, and come out the winner. Unfortunately, Draco knew that the light colours would win, since dawn was fast approaching. He wondered if that meant that she would win over him. He pushed that thought aside and decided that no matter what, he would have her in the end. He would be triumphant. He would win.

He turned toward her and smiled.

Hermione looked back toward the sea. Draco kept his gaze on her. He said, "You're pretty."

Without looking at him she replied, "So are you."

"I've never been called pretty before." He looked out toward the sea as well, but then said, "But since you're so truthful, I'm sure it true."

"And since you're such a deft liar, I'm sure I'm not," she challenged.

He looked wounded, feigned a frown, and said, "I'm not lying. How dare you; however lying really could solve our problem, if you don't really want to get married."

She stood up and faced him. "That wouldn't be proper."

"Proper?" He said, "Bollocks!" He stood also, and placed his arms around her.

She put her hands over her ears and said with a laugh, "Language such as that on my birthday! The scandal." She turned from his arms and started to run down the beach. He watched her for only a moment, and then he followed. He picked up his pace until he caught her, lifting her off her feet he swung her around as she threw her arms around his neck. He set her back on the ground and bent his head to kiss her. He thought everything seemed perfect until…she pulled away. She seemed sad again. He hated that she was sad on her birthday.

"Are you sad that you're so old?" he asked with amusement, taking her hand again and walking along the shoreline.

"No."

"Are you sad that I'm leaving tonight?"

"No." That one was slightly true, but that wasn't why she was sad at the moment.

"Are you sad that you have sand in your shoes?"

She pointed at him and jokingly said, "That's it." She tried to smile, although she truly did feel sad, and for many reasons.

He turned to walk backwards, still towing her along and said, "The only solution is to take off all your clothes." He seemed serious.

"I could just take off my shoes," she answered plainly.

"But, if you take off all your clothes, I could see you naked, which would be a plus, and also, when we make love on the beach, you won't worry about getting sand in your clothes." He grinned at her and said, "I'm really only thinking of your wellbeing."

"We aren't making love on the beach," she reprimanded.

"The room will be fine, then," he stated back.

"We aren't making love anywhere. That will only complicate matters," she complained.

"If you recall," he began, still walking backwards in front of her, "I started Friday night by saying that you would have a date with me. You said you wouldn't. You did. I won. Then yesterday, I told you that by the end of the day, you would kiss me. You said, 'no kisses, they'll make me worry,' or some such nonsense. Well, you kissed me several times yesterday. I won. Two for me, none for you. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"I see your logic, but I want you to know, if I really wanted to, I would win. I'm very competitive, and when I set my mind to something, I can't be easily swayed," she argued.

"All I have to say to that is - bollocks!" He turned back around and stopped them both when they reached a blanket, with a picnic basket, a short distance beyond a small, rocky cove, which jetted out beyond the main beach.

"What's that?" she asked.

"Breakfast." He let her hand drop to step over a large rock, but then turned to offer it to her again as she crossed.

"When did you plan this?" she asked.

"Last night, after you ran off like a mad woman." They both stretched out, and ate, until they were full and tired. He lay back on the blanket, and she soon reclined by him, placing her head on his full stomach. He absentmindedly began to stroke her hair. It was strange how comfortable they were already around each other. The morning sun had now pushed the remaining night completely to the other side of the earth, and people were starting to impede on their solitude, as the boardwalk and beach began to fill with trespassers.

"I think I could take a nap," she said.

"No, we have other things planned." He pushed her away from him, although he really wanted to pull her to him. He actually pushed her completely off the blanket.

"Hey!" she exclaimed from her place on the sand. He packed up the things, and then pointed his wand toward the basket and it disappeared. She brushed herself off, stood up, and said, "What now?"

He didn't answer right away, since he really didn't have anything planned. Instead, he guided her along the boardwalk. They came upon a sign stating that there was a sandcastle contest. He pointed, smiled, and said, "I thought we could enter into a sandcastle contest, but as a married couple. Are you up for a few more lies?" he asked.

"Why as a married couple?" she prodded.

He had no answer. He just thought it would be fun. He shrugged and said, "If we enter individually, you might win, and I would be embarrassed and devastated to be beaten by a woman." He said it perfectly serious, and once again, she didn't know if he was lying or not, so she glared at him. "Are you good at building sandcastles?"

"I've never built one, but I'm good at everything," she said, as they picked up the pace and headed toward the open beach, where everyone had started their castles.

"And humble, and self-effacing, apparently," he joked.

"And competitive, and I want to beat you so badly right now that I can't stand it, so you better get to work," she answered as she sat on the ground.

He plopped on the ground beside her. A witch with a clipboard asked them their names, and before she could answer he said, "Derek and Heather Malone. We will be entering together."

"No, we will be entering separately, sweetheart," Hermione said. She looked at the witch and said, "What do I get when I win?"

The prizes were merely ribbons, but Hermione was driven to win first prize! After an hour in the hot sun, and with the aid of magic, everyone had wonderful, ornate, intricate castles of every shape and size littered all around the beach. Hermione decided to build Hogwarts. She was roasting in the hot sun, sweat pouring off her, and she was working solo, as Draco was merely resting beside her. Every time she asked him to help, he said, "No, no, you wanted to do it on your own."

Hermione had just finished the long suspension bridge, when Draco said, "Wouldn't it be a shame if a giant came long and smashed your little castle all to bits."

"If a giant came along and did that, I would have to castrate him or something," she said, not looking up from her toil.

"That's a bit extreme," he muttered. Draco merely sat beside her, watching, playing lightly in the sand.

"You better get to work, Derek. Your sandcastle is more like a sand tent," he heard a man behind him say. Draco had been making a pile of sand, and at that moment, he looked up and saw Mr. Johnson, from yesterday. "Your dear wife is going to beat you."

Draco leaned down on his side, propped his head on his arm and answered, "I'm used to her beating me. She's better at everything."

"Not everything," she said, looking at the older man. "He's a better liar than me."

Draco wasn't sure that assessment was true any longer. He was certain she was becoming the better liar, if she seriously thought she could convince him that she could walk away from their relationship at the end of the weekend. He said, "I don't know, Heather, I think you're quite the little liar, if you think you can convince me that I'm not going to come out the winner by the end of the day."

Hermione stared at him and then glowered. When Draco went to sit up, he purposely kicked at one of her turrets, and watched as it crumbled to the ground. Hermione gasped, and Draco grinned. "Oops," he uttered.

She threw herself on top of him and beat his chest with her fists, but lightly. "You did that on purpose!"

"You weren't going to win anyway; I mean, look at all of the other castles. Yours is pitiful," he said, although it was a lie. He was beginning to think she really was good at everything.

She was still lying on top of him, but she turned her head to the left, and then to the right. Hers wasn't as paltry as some of the competition. She looked down into his eyes. His arms were around her, one lightly resting across her bum, one on her back. She did what seemed natural. She leaned down and kissed his lips lightly.

"Okay, let me up now, I have to get back to work" she said.

"Another kiss, please, or the giant might return and destroy the whole thing. I think I see Hagrid staggering about somewhere," he joked.

"People are around."

"I don't want you to kiss them, just me. Another kiss, please."

Mr. Johnson leaned over the pair and said, "Kiss him, Heather, and then get back to work on your castle. I bet on yours to come in third place."

She kissed Draco quickly, smacked his chest, and sat up. "Third place, my foot," she said to herself. "I'm going to win this thing."

Draco leaned over her as she rebuilt the turret and he said, "Your castle does look a bit like Hogwarts."

"It is, at least the way I remember it from when we were in school," she said brightly. She pointed to a tower that he hadn't destroyed and said, "That's Gryffindor tower."

He pretended to peer into one of the little windows she etched out of the sand and he said, "Is this your room. Is little Hermione undressing in there?"

She laughed and said, "No, little Ron and little Hermione are probably snogging in there."

He had a look of utter disgust on his face, looked at her, and then smashed the tower with his hand.

"DRACO!" she yelped.

"Sorry, I hope I only killed Weasley. I hope little Hermione came out unscathed."

Hermione started to dig a hole in the sand and he asked, "Are you digging a hole to bury me?"

"No," she stated. "I'm digging around the dungeons looking for little Draco, my dear. Once I find him, I am going to castrate both him and the mean giant."

He pointed to one of the other towers and said, "I'm in the Astronomy tower making out with one of the pretty Ravenclaws. I always liked them best. Smart, pretty, and able to do wonderful contraception spells."

She gave him a dirty look and then she smashed that tower herself.

Mr. Johnson called out to his wife and said, "I believe I bet on the wrong castle. The Malones are destroying it!"

Hermione said, "Well, over there's the Quidditch pitch and oh yes, I see little Harry Potter beating you to catch the snitch, but of course. That's so sad; you never won anything, did you?"

"I know something I'm going to win," he said under his breath. He stood up and plopped right down on the Quidditch pitch she had erected. She started to laugh. There wasn't much of her castle left. From his place on the ground, Draco pointed and asked, "Is that the Great Hall?"

He crawled over to it and she blocked him with her body, while on her knees, and said, "Don't destroy anymore. I worked hard on that part."

"Where's little Hermione now?" he asked.

"She's over there," and she pointed to a different part of the castle, "in the library." She thought he would destroy that part, if she said she was there.

"Then it shouldn't hurt her if I do this." He stood up and stomped on the Great Hall.

Hermione knew she should be angry, because she had spent over an hour in the hot sun, building this castle, with the help of magic of course, but she was having fun. She stood up too and said, "I see little Hermione now, by the Lake. She's snogging Victor Krum, who came up for a visit."

"Ugh, I always hated that Bulgarian, no neck, Neanderthal," Draco proclaimed. He stepped toward the 'lake' but she blocked him, laughing. He picked up her, to her surprise, threw her over his shoulder, and went toward the ocean.

"Speaking of Neanderthals! Put me down, Draco!"

"I will, once I get to the water," he answered. He patted her bum. The water began to lap around his calves, and he moved her from his shoulder to his arms. He started to heave her into the water, but she held onto his neck.

"If I go in, you go with me," she said, holding tight.

He sighed. "Is everything in life a competition with you? Can't you just let me win at something? Just let me throw you in the water, my Granger!"

She shook her head no.

Instead of throwing her in, he kept her in his arms and started to walk out of the water. She relaxed her grasp around his neck. That was when he turned suddenly and threw her right in the water. He muttered, "Never trust a former Slytherin, my dear."

She sat there, waves crashing all around her, and she was shocked! She looked up at him, but he was looking over at her castle. He laughed and said, "Hey, Hermione, they just awarded the prizes. They put a ribbon on yours."

She got up on her knees, held onto his legs, and peered around him. She said, "What did I get?"

He took his wand from his pocket and accio the little ribbon to his hand. He read it and then looked down at her. He threw his head back and laughed. He said, "You got 'best ruins'," and he handed her the black ribbon and he couldn't stop laughing.

She looked down at the black ribbon proudly and said, "At least I got a ribbon. I need something to help me remember this weekend." He reached down and hoisted her up by her arm. He pulled her into his embrace.

"You mean that ribbon is the only thing that will make you remember this weekend?" He looked at her with a small smile.

She swallowed hard, because his smile vanished and he looked at her with unmistakable desire. He leaned down and kissed her lips and then his mouth made a trip to her ear, where he said, "If you make love to me tonight, I guarantee you'll remember it."

"No." She pushed him away. It wasn't that she didn't want him as much as he wanted her, but she knew that would be too painful. If they made love, she could never let him go. "I would never be able to look upon this weekend with fondness and happiness, because if we do that, I would be too sad that we couldn't continue our relationship." She moved from his arms and then held out her hand to him. "What else do you have planned for my birthday?"

The only thing he had really planned in his mind was to make love to her tonight. He opened his mouth to tell her so, but then he decided to let the day pass by naturally. He knew that by the end of the day, she would want him as much as he wanted her. Hell, she probably already wanted him. She was letting her head rule her heart again. She was also being a fool in his opinion, but he didn't think it would be nice to call her a fool on her birthday.

They walked silently along the beach, and she said, "I'm soaking wet."

"Let's get into some dry clothes, and then I really do have something else planned." He didn't. He hadn't planned any of this so far, and yet, everything was coming together so nicely, as if it was planned. He led her up to the resort, and when they stood outside her door, he said, "Wear something nice. A pretty dress, and I'll be back to pick you up in an hour."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

Hell if he knew. He said, "Let it be a surprise." He started to walk away, turned back, and grinned. She gave him a pleading look. He felt unsteady for only a fraction of a second, and before he could say anything to her, she took two steps toward him, clasped his shoulders with her hands, got up on her tiptoes, and pressed her mouth to his. She felt him shudder slightly, and wondered why, but only for a moment, and then she knew why.

He grabbed her and pushed her roughly up to her door. He pressed her back against the wood as he responded to her kiss. Her head fell back against the door as his mouth traveled down the hollow of her neck, licking, nipping, and kissing along the way. His tongue stroked the sensitive pulse point, and then he kissed the same spot, as his thumb stroked her lip.

He looked down at her, and saw that her expression was a combination of confusion and confliction. "Give in, Hermione," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her again.

"No," she said.

He let her go suddenly and said, "You spout that word entirely too much, Granger, and let me just say this: YOU KISSED ME THIS TIME! Don't start something you can't finish!" Fine he thought. Just fine! He turned to go and called over his shoulder, "I'll still be back in an hour, so you better be dressed and ready for me!"

He now had something wonderful planned. Something even Hermione Granger couldn't say NO to, even if she tried.