Hello All,
I just want to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed, it is highly appreciated and I cannot believe this story has gotten a hundred reviews. I am so thankful to everyone who has also followed and favorited the story as well. It's good to know that even if you don't review, that there are people out there reading the story.
I am very nervous about this chapter and you'll see why towards the end. There's nothing bad I promise, it was just my first time writing something of that substance. So PLEASE give me some feedback about what you'll read towards the end. I'm a first time writer and I have no idea if it is any good or not.
Sorry if I'm being a little cryptic, I just don't want to spoil the fun. ;)
Now, onto the story.
I own nothing.
Chapter Fourteen
When Hermione woke up the next morning she didn't feel quite like herself. She had a dream about her friends and family back home. They were all laughing around the dinner table at Grimmauld Place over a home cooked meal. It felt all so real to her, but then when she woke up it took her a while to realize where she was and how she had gotten there. She hadn't seen the people she loved in over two months and today it hit her hard. She missed everyone back home so much. She knew she had people here in this time that cared about her, but it just wasn't the same.
As soon as she showered and dressed for the day, she went down to the kitchen to eat some breakfast. When she looked through both the refrigerator and the pantry nothing looked good enough for her to eat. She scowled with frustration and slammed the door to the pantry shut.
Today she felt sad. Sad and somewhat alone. She had felt this way months ago when she first arrived, but she doubted a run would make her feel better this time. Feeling that same harsh tension rising inside her as it did before, she took off outside to see what she could find.
She needed to relieve the feelings that were filling her with such sadness. Back home, she and Draco would fight dummies in the Auror training room at the Ministry to relieve stress. She decided that maybe that's what she needed and set about finding something to transfigure into a dueling dummy. She grabbed the cushions off one of the couches and brought them to the grassy area of the backyard and transfigured them to form one human like dummy.
She charmed the dummy to an intense level of dueling and watched as it raised its wand in her direction. She took ten steps back before it started its attack on her. She was ducking and shooting spells back and forth at a quick pace. Hoping that she didn't trip and fall over anything hidden in the green grass.
She was only fifteen minutes into her duel, but was too focused on her assault on the dummy to notice Abraxas calling out for her in the house. Nor did she hear him stride outside and stop dead on the porch at the scene he was witnessing.
She blocked one disarming spell wandlessly as she spat out a curse that made the dummy hurdle backwards. As quick as it was it went down, it got back up. This time it took menacing steps forward firing spell after spell. She blocked them all and eventually abled to disarm it.
She started to skillfully punch and kick the dummy in the way she was instructed by her mentors during her Auror training. She got in a few good punches and kicks before the dummy got a good punch of its own and she landed on the hard grass.
Abraxas watched, with his mouth agape, in shock as he watched his witch fight the dummy with such force. He had seen her fight against Jack, and that was stressful enough. Now he watched her move with skill and grace, but couldn't help his anxiety heighten at watching her fight the relentless dummy she had obviously charmed.
Hermione recognized that the dummy was starting to learn her way of fighting. It began to throw her attacks that were above her skill level. She began to feel sweat forming on her brow and quickly wiped it away while countering another spell thrown at her.
She kept fighting on and ignored the heat she began to feel course over her body. She knew she could stop the duel at any time, but wanted to fight until she couldn't fight anymore. She wanted the feeling of loneliness completely expelled from her body.
Abraxas watched her continue to duel with her dummy counterpart. It impressed him how showed no fear or fatigue. She had been fighting for at least twenty minutes, possibly more since he had shown up mid duel.
The dummy started dishing out spell after spell until Hermione was retreating backwards while she effortlessly wiped away the spells with both her hand and wand. When she was able to find a break in between the spells the dummy was casting at her, she shot a jinx that would end the duel for good, but it was counteracted which threw her backwards.
She groaned in pain as she landed on the hard grass and yelped when the dummy cast a stinging jinx that hit her in the chest.
Abraxas winced at the scene and cast a spell at the dummy that turned it back into the couch cushions it once was. He was furious that Hermione actually let the dummy cast spells that caused her harm.
"Poppet, what were you thinking? You let that thing cast unfriendly spells at you, are you mad?" He growled while jogging over to her to make sure she was okay.
Grey met brown and he saw a myriad of emotions flicker through them. He knew she must be out of sorts from dueling such a lively dummy, but he didn't know why she felt the need to have something willingly attack her. The last time he saw her like this was that morning she decided to go running.
She gave him a small smile before trying to hide a wince as she tried to raise her torso off of the grass before deciding that she wasn't ready to sit up just yet. Hermione's mind was racing. What is he doing here so early? How am I going to explain why I was out here? What does he think now that he's seen me fight so ruthlessly?
She tried to sit up again, wincing as she felt the pain in the middle of her chest along with the pain in her back from her fall. She met his gaze again that was filled with concern for her. "Abraxas, what are you doing here? It's a good two hours before noon." She said as she checked her watch.
He cocked an eyebrow at her as he came closer. "Jack stayed at my house last night, so he forced me to get up early with him. I came over to see if you wanted to have breakfast together. I yelled for you in the house, but when I got no response I came out here."
"Oh. Well that sounds great. Sorry if I snapped at you." She said sheepishly. Great, all he wanted was to have breakfast and I've given him a whole bowl of crazy.
He bent down next to her. "Are you okay? What did you charm it to shoot at you?"
"I'm fine. I had it shoot defensive spells at me like stinging jinxes and disarming spells. I think the longer we dueled the more it began to learn about my fighting style. I've never battled a dummy that was so aggressive." She said thinking of the way it sent a jinx at her after she was already down.
He frowned at her. "Why would you let it shoot anything that would cause you pain? Better yet, why are you out here dueling at all?"
She sighed and winced when the pain struck her again at the movement. "I needed to clear my head and I didn't want to go running so I figured this would be the better thing to do. Back home, my partner and I would do this to relax for lack of a better word." She said smiling.
Abraxas cocked his head at her, bemused at why she thought that dueling was relaxing in any shape or form. "Why did you need to clear your head? Is everything okay?" He asked trying not to sound worried. Please don't tell me something has happened to her as well.
"Everything is fine. I just had a bad dream is all, I'm sorry if I scared you with the dummy." She apologized with a lie. She had seen the look of worry in his eyes and heard it in his tone of voice, but didn't know what he had to be worried about.
His face remained impassive as he took in her apology. Why is she apologizing? He wasn't scared about the damn dummy, he was scared about the reason she was fighting the dummy. After last night with Jack, he would now make sure she was always safe. Especially since he was going away for a week and wouldn't be around.
He gave her a forced smile, trying to convey that they had nothing to fear. He just hoped she bought it. "Do you need some help getting up?"
"Yes, my chest and back hurt from the attack." She said inwardly wincing at the thought of moving again.
His eyes raked over her form. She was wearing sneakers, jeans and a red cutoff t-shirt. It was when his eyes reached her shoulders and arms that he noticed several faint marks on her skin that he hadn't seen before. Are those from today? His brow furrowed, as he looked closer and realized that they were scars. "Poppet, why haven't I seen these before?"
Hermione looked to where his eyes were currently staring and cursed inwardly. He was looking at the marks on her shoulders and upper arm. In the midst of her morning depression, she had forgotten to place the glamour that she usually applied before seeing him. She met his eyes and gave him a small smile. "I usually glamour them before you come over. I'm sorry if they bother you."
"They don't bother me at all. What bothers me is that you have them and you felt the need to glamour them. What have you done to get those?" He asked willing himself not to growl. Whoever caused her harm get's to die. She's obviously not very clumsy, so I know these aren't mere accidents.
Hermione tried to not balk under his gaze. She couldn't tell him the truth, but she really didn't want to lie to him. So she tried to come up with something that was the truth by omission. "When I was a kid, my friends and I got into some mischief. I didn't come out of some things totally unscathed. Then when I went into Auror training, I got a few cuts and scrapes from that."
He knew she was withholding information from him, but she obviously didn't want to talk about it. He nodded and let it go for now. He was sure over time that she would trust him a bit more and let him in. Everyone had their secrets so he would let her have hers until she was ready to tell him.
He stood up from the grass and reached down to help her stand. Once on her feet, she felt the pain from both her back and chest hit her. She closed her eyes and tried not to groan at the pain. She faltered and almost fell onto the grass.
Abraxas caught her by wrapping his arm around her waist and brought her hard against his chest. It was the feeling of her breasts against him that made his breath catch in his throat. His cock instantly hardened at the feeling of her well sized breasts rubbing against him.
Feeling her nipples harden against his chest made his brain shut down as desire coursed through his veins. In that moment he didn't care that she was hot and sweaty or that she had been hiding scars from him. He just saw the beautiful woman who, in a day's time, he would be leaving for a week. So he lowered his head and kissed her.
Hermione felt her heart beat faster as his lips descended upon hers while the familiar fluttering in her belly emerged. They had kissed every day since her birthday, but today felt slightly different. She felt an emotion she couldn't place radiating from him along with the passion he was evoking.
When his tongue slid over her closed upper lip, she let out a small moan of satisfaction. She felt herself melt against him as she opened her mouth to grant him access. Their tongues danced together in harmony as he crushed her body harder against him.
His mouth slanted over hers, as his tongue was no longer dancing along with hers, but warring against it. Their mutual desire taking them over.
A soft mewl of approval left her as his hands slid down to cup her bottom as he pulled her tighter against him. Her hands rose from his shoulders to comb them through his inky black hair. She found it to be soft and enjoyed the feeling of his silky locks against her hands. He groaned as she softly massaged his head as they continued to kiss feverishly.
It was the feeling of his growing erection pressing against her belly that caused them both to slowly pull away. Abraxas wanted nothing more than to kiss her again, but seeing her reddened cheeks as she looked at him made him control his urges.
Licking his lips he bit back a moan as he found the taste of her still on them. He looked at the little witch in front of him and gave her a crooked smile. "Poppet."
"Yes?" She said trying not to blush at the smile he was giving her. She still couldn't believe the feelings that came over her when they kissed. Every time they kissed she melted against him and felt some wanton part of her take over. She was embarrassed at her behavior, but he never seemed to mind.
"You taste divine." He purred while planting a kiss on her forehead and chuckled when he pulled back to see she had blushed even more. So very innocent.
"Come on, I don't know about you, but I'm starving. Maybe you can teach me to make those delightful pancakes with the faces on them." He said offering her his arm and smiled as she giggled at his joke.
Hermione and Abraxas spent the rest of the morning making breakfast. She did indeed teach him how to make pancakes and laughed loudly when he said it wasn't a real pancake unless it had a smiley face on it. She complied and together they enjoyed their meal.
Thanks to Abraxas she had momentarily forgotten her earlier sadness and was now enjoying his company immensely. He always knew what to say or do to bring a smile to her face and she was grateful for his presence in her life. Even though she knew that one-day she might have to leave him.
Now Abraxas was leading her through the house to the porch out back. It had started to rain while they were eating, so Abraxas's flying lesson had been put to a halt until tomorrow. He cast a spell to keep the rain from getting them wet while they sat on the couch and watched the rain pour down around them.
He had his arm wrapped around her shoulder while his other hand held hers. To him it felt so right sitting with her like this. Her warmth and smell comforting him as they sat comfortably listening to the pitter-patter of the falling rain. He knew when he was gone he would miss this comfort she brought him terribly. She calmed him without really doing anything at all.
He knew he needed to tell her about his impending departure and decided that now would be as good as any time.
"Hermione, there's something I need to tell you." He said nuzzling the top of her head and inhaling her sweet scent.
"Oh?" She asked while a pleasant shiver ran down her spine at the affection he was giving her.
He sighed. "After tomorrow, I'm going on a business trip to France with Jack."
"How long will you be gone?" She asked while turning in his embrace so she could see his face. She was inwardly saddened by the thought of him leaving and was desperately trying not to show it. Get a grip Hermione. What's going to happen if or when you have to leave him? Ugh! Why does this have to be so difficult?
"For about a week. I wish I could take you with me, but the person we're meeting with only agreed to meet the two of us." He said looking into her saddened golden brown eyes and felt his stomach tighten. Seeing her trying to mask her sadness made him want to call off the whole thing, but Jack needed him. Plus after last night, he knew he couldn't let his best friend down.
She tried to shrug nonchalantly. "It's okay. I guess I'll just see you when you come back." If I'm still here when he gets back.
"Poppet, you don't have to put on a brave face for me. I'm going to miss you very much while I'm away." He said while cupping her chin with his free hand.
Hermione looked into his slate colored eyes and saw that he was telling the truth. "I'm going to miss you too." She said softly.
He angled himself to give her a light kiss on her lips and then one between her eyebrows. He knew it was only going to be for a week, but he didn't want her to be alone while he was gone. He thought about asking if she could stay with her cousin at Hogwarts, but had a suspicion that she would tell him that she could take care of herself.
"Will you promise me something?" He asked as she nestled herself back into his embrace, this time with her head laying on his shoulder while her denim clad legs were draped in his lap.
"Depends on the promise." She mumbled while looking down at their intertwined hands.
He chuckled. "Promise me that you won't leave the house, unless it's to visit your cousin or McGonagall. Even then, use the floo or make someone that you trust walk with you to and from the front gates."
"Why?" She asked bemused at his request. What isn't he telling me?
"Because it's not safe for you to go anywhere unescorted. Times are becoming darker and it isn't safe for anyone to be without someone else by their side. I just want you to be safe while I'm gone and I don't think I could ever forgive myself if something happened to you. So will you please promise me that you'll do as I ask?" He questioned while rubbing circles into the side of her hand that he was holding while his other arm was secured around her waist.
She thought silently for a moment. What he was asking of her wasn't a big deal, but the fact that times were as he said 'becoming darker' made her worry. He was clearly scared about something since he hadn't asked to have an escort to the castle or anywhere else before. Hermione knew that something must have happened for him to be making this request and decided it would be best if she agreed to do as he asked.
"Okay I promise." She said and released his hand so she could cross her pinky with his and held their hands up to her lips and gave it a kiss for good measure.
He looked at her confusedly as she readjusted her hand within his. "What was that for?" He asked and became more confused as she laughed.
"It was a pinky promise." She said with a cheeky grin at his confusion.
"Come again?"
"Oh Abraxas, please tell me that you are really not asking me to explain what a pinky promise is to you." She said now giggling at his expense.
He shook his head. "Is it like a Wizards Oath? Are you going to die if you break the promise or lose the pinky?" He asked as his eyes widened at her. What the hell did she just do?
At the sight of his eyes and the questions he asked her, she could hardly contain the laughter that was pouring out of her. The poor man clearly had no idea what the gesture meant and it was hilarious to see his handsome face so confused at the mere problem of a pinky promise.
Abraxas heard and felt the laughter that was coming from his witch and couldn't help but feel annoyed. "Are you quite finished?"
"Sorry, sorry. I just haven't had someone not know what a pinky promise is. It's just a thing that typically children do to emphasize that they want their promise to be upheld. It's not binding so I'm not going to die or lose my pinky." She said biting her lip to stifle another round of laughter that threatened to surface.
He nodded his head in understanding. "Well, why didn't you just say that instead of leaving me sitting here in suspense?"
She shrugged and giggled when she heard a frustrated growl erupt from his throat. "Cheeky witch." He mumbled.
"What business are you hoping to acquire?" She asked changing the subject.
"Jack is hoping to run his own apothecary with the help of one of his friend's he met down there. So we're going to check out the space for the shop and possible flats." He said looking off to watch the rain that was still coming down hard.
"So he's going to move there?"
"Yes and no. He'd still have his house here, but have a flat there. He'd balance his time both here and there." Abraxas said trying to keep the wariness out of his voice. He still didn't like the idea of going back and forth, but supported Jack's decision regardless.
"I'm assuming your going to buy a share of his shop or will you be business partners?"
He nodded. "Business partners from what I understand. I have no desire to make the potions or run the shop, but I am good with money."
"When do you leave?" She asked looking off to view the rain.
"Sometime tomorrow. I'll come by here first and then if it's alright with you, Jack will stop by to retrieve me when it's time to leave." He asked giving her hand a small squeeze.
"That's fine, I trust Jack. I'll just have to change the wards." She said honestly.
She and Jack had become friends over the weeks that Abraxas took her with him to visit him at Hogwarts. He was an excellent Potions apprentice and she enjoyed helping him with his brews. They had tested out the effects of the Polyjuice potion and he was quite impressed in the results. He even managed to make an antidote that took a while to take effect, but it was worth it in the end.
She didn't know much about Jack personally. When the conversation was about him, he usually steered it around so the spotlight was on somebody else. She knew that he was very sarcastic, narcissistic, and hated people. But when the sarcasm wasn't aimed at her it was quite funny, his narcissim was something she could easily ignore, and his hatred of people amused her. He reminded her of someone back in her time, but she just couldn't put her finger on whom it was. She had grown to consider him a friend and hoped that he found a friend in her as well.
"Really?" Abraxas asked. Well that was easy.
"Of course, he's your best friend and a good man. I consider him a friend." She said nuzzling his neck and planted a kiss on his soft skin.
He let out a content sigh and pulled her tighter to him as they watched the rain descend around them.
After spending a few more hours with Hermione on the couch as the rain stopped coming down, Abraxas made his leave to go home. He had to pack for his trip and had promised to eat with Jack for dinner. So he left Hermione with a long kiss goodbye and promised to stop by tomorrow.
He apparated home, and landed in the living room so he could review the owls that had arrived while he was gone. He picked up the mail and walked to his room absentmindedly flipping through it until he found one from his parents who were away on vacation.
He read over the letter and was pleased to find that they were doing well and gave him their blessing to go on his trip with Jack. He climbed up the stairs and travelled to the large door with his name on it.
He opened the door to find Jack packing a suitcase on his floor. His clothes strewn all over the room and Abraxas stood in the door frame, waiting for Jack to notice his prescense.
It only took Jack a couple of minutes to look up from his packing and gave Abraxas a cocked eyebrow in response to his stare. Abraxas looked to the name on the door and then back to the mess Jack was making in his room.
"That's funny. I could've sworn this room belonged to Abraxas Malfoy. Strange typo." He said folding his hands in front of him.
Jack shook his head. "You must be mistaken, try the next door on the left." He said gesturing for him to exit the room.
He chuckled. "Should I start asking you for rent or will you be checking out of Hotel Malfoy tonight?" Abraxas said while stepping over various things across the room. He put the mail on his dresser while going into his closet to retrieve his own luggage.
"We will be checking out tomorrow evening. I assume you told your parents and Hermione where we are going." Jack said while folding a pair of jeans and listened to Abraxas rut around in his closet.
"Sent an owl to my parents, who are off visiting friends in Germany, and I told Hermione today." He said pulling out a large black trunk and levitated it to his room.
"How did they all take it?" Jack said looking for his black dress shirt that he could have sworn was just to his left.
Abraxas guided the trunk to sit at the foot of his bed and began to pack his own things for the trip. He hated using house-elves or magic to pack, because it was never quite done just the way he wanted.
"Parents, don't care as long as I'm safe. Hermione was sad and said she'd miss me." He said looking over to his friend who seemed to be looking for something.
"We'll we be safe and back before she knows it. Did you ask about me coming over after I'm done at Hogwarts tomorrow?" Jack asked distractedly and shouted in victory as he found the shirt he was looking for. Apparently, he was sitting on it and had no idea.
Abraxas nodded. "Yes, she said she'd change the wards to allow you in."
"Just like that?" Jack asked in disbelief. She's only known me for a couple of months, why on earth would she allow the wards to grant me access? I could be a Death Eater for all she knows, maybe she's not as smart as I thought.
"Yes, apparently she trusts you." Abraxas said with a frown as he noticed a scowl appear on Jack's face. He had been off since last night, but that was no excuse to be making that face at the mentioning of Hermione and her trusting him.
Jack snorted bitterly. "What have I done to deserve her trust?"
Abraxas rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up. You're completely nice to her when your snarky to almost everyone else, you let her help with potions that usually you prefer to do alone or with me, and instead of being offended by your narcissistic tendancies she laughs them off. She trusts you because you have found a friend in her and vice versa."
"She just does that for your benefit." Jack said shaking his head and folding some socks.
Abraxas clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Bollocks. The first time she agreed to meet you was for my benefit, now she is just doing it because she enjoys your company as I do. I also know you do not keep asking to see her for my benefit either." He said sternly as he packed a combination of outfits into the large trunk.
Jack sighed heavily and wiped a hand over his face. "You're right, I'm sorry. This whole Death Eater thing is fucking with my head." He said apologetically. He had been on edge all day, taking it out on whomever he interacted with. Now he was doing the same to Abraxas and he knew he was being an ass, but he just couldn't help it.
"Well, we will be in France before you know it. I'm sure by the time we get back, they'll have forgotten about you for the time being." Abraxas said trying to take the blonde's mind off of what was bothering him.
"I hope that's true."
"So did you find where Slughorn snuck off to yesterday?" He asked changing the subject, hoping that the topic would focus his negative energy on their former Potions Professor.
Jack growled as he rose from the floor to grab the rest of the items that littered the floor. "Don't even get me started. I had to teach his first three classes before lunch since the bastard didn't show up." He said throwing a hairbrush violently into the leather suitcase.
"How did that go?" He asked trying to keep his laugher in check. No one was funnier when they were angry than Jack Hawthorne.
"How do you think it went? The first three classes are first through third years and they were all horrible. It's like the dunderheads want to blow themselves up. I swear if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were suicidal." He said stomping around the room like a petulant child.
"Come now, Jack. I don't remember us being that bad as children." Abraxas said while walking into his bathroom to retrieve his toiletries.
"That's because we weren't!" He said loudly as he sat back down on the floor to continue folding clothes and organizing his suitcase.
Abraxas let out a small chuckle. "True. So I'm assuming that the man did show up."
"Yes, the prat showed up at lunch and acted as if everything was right as rain. Never in my life have I wanted to hex someone so badly." He sneered. Could have had a clean shot too, if it weren't for McGonagall. Stood right in front of him when I tried.
Abraxas shook with laughter as he went to his closet to grab some shoes. "He just acted like you didn't have to teach his morning classes?" He asked looking over to him.
"Yep, even tried to make small talk. I just informed him, in the politest voice that I could manage, that I was taking a few days off and he said okay." Jack said zipping up his suitcase.
"Well, that wasn't so bad."
Jack scoffed as he made his way over to sit on the bed next to Abraxas' trunk that was on the floor in front of him. "For you, maybe. He's probably just letting me go since I didn't go complain to Dumbledore."
"Perhaps." Abraxas said finishing off his packing by closing the lid of the trunk shut and plopped onto the bed beside Jack.
"So how was today with Hermione?"
"It was good." Abraxas said while lying back on the bed putting one arm over his eyes.
He turned his head to look at him. "What did you two do today?"
"The usual."
"So flying and cooking with a side of snogging." He said with mock cheer.
Abraxas chuckled and lifted his arm off of one eye to look at Jack. "Yes, but no flying today since it rained."
"So what did you two do for exercise?" He asked waggling his eyebrows at him.
"Well, when I first got there she was dueling a makeshift dummy so I figured she had enough exercise for the day." He said smiling at the confusion that washed over the blonde's face.
"Why was she dueling?" Jack asked bemusedly. Do they want her as well? Has she been asked to join those monsters?
"She said she had a nightmare and that was what she did back home with her partner to clear her head." Abraxas said moving to a sitting position.
Jack scrunched up his nose. "Odd. Wait which one was her partner? Henry or Drago?" He said trying to search his brain for the things she had mentioned about her friends back home.
"It's Draco and I found it odd as well."
"Did she beat the thing?"
"No, but trust me it wasn't for lack of trying. She was relentless, but that dummy she made seem to be learning as the duel progressed." He said remembering how vindictive it seemed to be.
"Interesting. You know, I'm thinking about asking her to give me a few pointers." Jack said hopping off of the bed and motioned for Abraxas to follow.
"Why?" He asked quizzically as he walked behind Jack and suddenly stopped. Where are we going? Wait, why did I even get off of the bed. I'm not a puppy following its' master.
Jack heard the footsteps behind him stop and he turned around to see Abraxas giving him a pointed stare. "Because clearly I am not as good as I thought I was at dueling and now that I have Death Eaters breathing down my neck I want to be ready for anything. Tell me, do you think she could go up against one of them and win? And don't give me that look, we're going out to eat, and I'd rather fly to Muggle Scotland than apparate. Can't fly inside now can we?" He asked while shoving his hands into his jean pockets.
"Fine, and based on what I saw, yes. If she didn't win she would die trying." He said thinking about how relentless she was fighting the thing. It made him wonder why she fought so harshly. What if something happened to make her that way when it comes to fighting?
Jack nodded in approval. "Good, because I need that kind of teacher." He said harshly.
"As long as she doesn't get hurt in the process and she agrees of her own free will, then I'm okay with it. So where are we going?" Abraxas asked as he and Jack began to walk again.
"I was thinking we just fly there and then wander around until we find something." Jack said when they reached the stairs.
He rolled his eyes. "Lovely, you know with our luck, it will start raining again." He said bitterly as the man beside him chuckled softly.
The next day it was raining again when Abraxas apparated over to the house. He just knew that she was relishing in the fact that she didn't have to go out and attempt to fly.
He found her stretched out on the sofa in the living room reading the book he got her for her birthday. She was clad in a comfortable outfit consisting of sweatpants, t-shirt, and bare feet. He noticed that she had lit a fire that illuminated the room.
Taking his seat, she moved her legs to the floor, as he plucked the book out of her hands. He lifted her legs to settle on his lap and saw the small smile in the corner of his mouth at his actions. He started to read aloud from where he thought she left off.
They were only twenty minutes into the book when a thought crossed his mind as he read about dueling at Hogwarts. Pausing his readings, he turned and looked over at her and she simply quirked an eyebrow at him as if to say 'why did you stop?'
"Hermione, did you hold back that day you dueled Jack?" He asked as he recalled her dueling the dummy yesterday.
Hermione gave him a sheepish smile. "I held back a little. I didn't want to hurt him and when you've had as much training as I have, I could've hurt him easily. Why do you ask?"
He shrugged. "Well, I was just wondering how you would fair up against me."
"You want to duel me?" She asked with a smirk. If he was anything like Jack, she knew the duel would be over before it started.
"Maybe."
She chuckled. "Why are you all of the sudden so interested in my dueling? If I remember correctly, you were the one that was trying to talk me out of dueling Jack."
"Yes, but that was because the man is ruthless and a horrible loser. If it were just us, I know I wouldn't cast anything that might hurt you. You're obviously very good. I'm just interested to see if maybe I could stand my ground against you."
She laughed and voiced her earlier thoughts. "If you are anything like Jack, you would go down just as fast as he did."
"Are you insinuating that I don't stand a chance against you?" He asked amused.
She smirked with mirth dancing in her golden eyes. "No, I'm not insinuating. I am saying that you don't stand a chance."
"Oh really? You're awfully cocky for a woman who was defeated by transfigured sofa cushions." He said smugly and watched the fire ignite in her eyes.
She shot off of the couch in outrage. "I was beating that bloody thing until it slowly started predicting my next move! It was like playing against myself! Plus, I'd love to see you out there dueling with the thing." She said poking him in the chest.
"Just name a time and place Poppet. I'll show you what defeating a dummy looks like." He said giving her a toothy grin.
She guffawed. "Who's being cocky now? This coming from the man who didn't know how to work the toaster until two months ago." She said biting her lip from letting out a laugh at the look he was giving her.
He couldn't believe she brought up his former inability to work a toaster. "Why you little …" He started to say before a devilish smile graced his face.
His arm shot out and grabbed her leg, pulling her down to the leather couch. She yelped in protest as she lost her balance and fell on him.
Hermione felt herself being rolled over and his long fingers found every tickle spot she had. She was laughing loudly and desperately tried to escape his clutches. But he was relentless.
"Abraxas stop, please!" She begged while laughing against her will.
He was grinned down at her. "Not bloody likely. I will not have my witch mocking my cooking skills or lack there of." His fingers still working over her more ticklish areas as he tried to keep her within his grasp as she thrashed about on the couch.
Hermione shifted, still wriggling uncontrollably and he felt her upper thigh brush up against his cock and his hands froze. His whole body reacted instantly to the light brushing and writhing she had done. His body began to fill with an overwhelming fire. Fuck!
He quickly moved off of her as she lay taking deep breaths next to him. Hermione rose to sit on her knees and gave him a playful glare. She was thankful that he stopped, since she was almost positive that if he continued she would have wet herself.
"If that is how I am tortured when I make fun of your cooking skills, I will never do it again." She said giggling as he stared back at her.
Hermione saw his gray eyes were glittering with emotion, but she waved it off as adrenaline from tickling her mercilessly. Let's just see how he likes it when it's the other way around. She moved forward to try to get her hands at his sides, but he stopped her by lowering his head and kissing her.
She felt her pulse race as his tongue skimmed her top lip, begging for entrance into her mouth. She complied, but rather than one of the easy kisses they had been sharing over the last few weeks, this kiss grew passionate instantly.
Her heart was practically beating out of her chest as her whole body heated. A moan left her while she reached up and cupped the sides of his neck. His arms moved to her waist and he dragged her onto his lap. Her legs straddled his hips as he deepened the kiss further.
This was what he had been waiting for. He knew he had wanted her since the day he saw her at the bookstore, but this all encompassing heat was something new for him. For weeks he had wanted nothing more than to take the next step with her, but wasn't sure if she would appreciate it. Now all he could think about was burying himself in her heat and never leaving it.
She moved her hands up to rake through his soft hair and responded to his passion with equal fervor. His arms slipped around her lower back, and one hand slid down to cup her bottom as he pulled her tighter against him.
He freed his mouth from hers and moved to trail his lips down her neck. When his teeth nibbled at her neck, she moaned and pressed her chest tighter against him. He felt her nipples against his chest tighten and groaned in approval.
His left hand moved its own accord and felt it grasp her breast. His fingers explored he soft mound as his lips sought hers again. She arched at his touch as he continued to grope her. She had never allowed a man to touch her this way before, but with Abraxas she hoped he wouldn't stop.
Feeling her arch against his ministrations and knowing that she liked it, his fingers shifted against her breast and he stroked her nipple again. This time she gasped at the contact as a tiny shock went through her system.
His lips nuzzled her neck again while he rolled her tight bud between his thumb and forefinger. She squirmed in his lap and tried to press herself harder against his hand.
The hand at her rear, glided under her shirt to rub the silky skin at her back. It stayed there for some time before he moved it to her side, then running his thumb across her stomach and venturing farther up to where he could feel the indentions of her ribs.
She felt his hand move up, but didn't stop him. She brought his mouth back to her own as his tongue slid along with hers. His hand finally felt the lace of her bra as he slowly gripped her. His other hand quickly followed, slipping under her shirt to join the other as it cupped her other breast.
Hermione barely noticed when her shirt was ripped from her, leaving her body as it was tossed to an unknown destination. It was his mouth tracing a path over her newly exposed skin that made her fully aware of the missing garment. However, she was too lost in sensations to care for its removal.
She wanted him to continue his assault on her body. The kissing, the tasting, and the caressing of her skin was causing a heat to build inside of her that only Abraxas could put out. She had touched herself before, but this was nothing compared to what she had done in the past. She had also never done much with any man before, because she had never felt inclined to do anything with them. But now her body was begging for what Abraxas was doing to her and this time she just might let him.
Her fingers massaged his scalp as she arched against him again. His mouth was kissing and sucking at a patch of skin on her chest as his hands moved around to her back. She felt the clasp on her bra release and sat up enough to let him pull it from her skin.
His gray eyes admired her naked chest as he saw a few more faint scars on her body, but was too aroused to ask about them. His eyes trailed over her tan skin again before his mouth continued his earlier assault.
When his lips closed around one of her nipples she moaned loudly. His arm slipped around her back to support her as she arched in abandon. He circled is wet tongue around her pink nub and she felt him growing hard against her bottom.
His teeth lightly closed around the bud and she inhaled sharply and pulled his hair slightly. When he smoothed over the bite with a wipe of his tongue, he heard a sigh leave her lips.
Hermione was desperate to touch him, but she couldn't get her fingers to work the buttons out of their holes on his shirt. Frustrated, she waved her hand and divested him of his shirt. Abraxas chuckled at what she had done and was surprised that she could think clear enough to manage a spell like that at this moment. He knew he would have probably ended up vanishing her, rather than the shirt if it had been the other way around.
His thoughts faded into the back of his mind as he released one nipple and licked his way to find the other one. She tasted delicious. So sweet and new. He couldn't stop himself from touching her and kissing her. He wanted to taste every inch of her and claim her as his own.
He had been with women before her, being who he was had it's advantages. He didn't have to do much but say his name and give them a smile, before they took him back to their place. However, those women had nothing on Hermione. He would have gladly given up those women if he knew that she would enter his life.
Her moans and sighs were driving him positively mad and making him want her more than he had wanted any other woman. The feeling of her hands rubbing his skin was only making it worse. Her touch reached his bare shoulders, then up to his hair, her nails scratching and massaging his head. He was practically purring at her actions.
Her gentle touches and her surprised sounds made him wonder again if she had ever done this before. The thought of her being innocent an untouched made his heart warm. He liked that he might be the first to touch her and taste her soft skin. He knew he wanted to be the first to make love to her as well, but just because she hadn't had sex with her ex, didn't mean she hadn't had it at all. He knew if she hadn't, he would make sure that she wanted him just as much. He would hate it if she had any regrets about them going to far too soon.
He pulled back to see if he was taking this too far and was relieved to see her eyes glazed over before she leaned in to kiss him again. He felt her shift, she started to move away, and so he loosened his hold on her hips, thinking that she wanted to stop.
She leaned back, turning her body and surprised him by slipping her arms around his neck and pulled him down with her down to the couch cushions. He thanked Merlin that she wasn't stopping, but merely changing positions.
Hermione pulled him down until his body was flush against hers. His mouth still moving with hers as he shifted so he could reach her lips easier. She brought one of her legs and shifted the other leg and made a small cradle for his hips between her thighs. He felt his erection press against her warm center and knew he needed to ask her if they should stop.
Her hands were gliding down his back as he slipped his mouth from hers. "Poppet, do we need to stop?" He desperately didn't want to, but he didn't know what she wanted.
Hermione brought her hands back up to his hair. She didn't want to stop, but she wasn't ready to have sex with him just yet, but whatever they were doing was unraveling her. "No, please. I don't want to have sex today, but can we please keep doing this?" She asked before pulling him down to her again.
His answer was a loud groan as he kissed her. He couldn't believe she wanted to continue, but who was he to argue? He wanted this just as much as she did and since he was allowing her to have the control in their intimate relationship, if she said she wanted this, then by Merlin he was going to give it to her.
She should have been mortified to realize that she was grinding herself against him as he rubbed himself against her, but she was too lost in what he was doing to her with his lips, teeth, and his skilled tongue. She knew she would bare marks when they were through, but as his mouth sucked each nipple in turn, she couldn't begin to care.
"Abraxas." She moaned, nearly pulling his hair out.
He left little love bites all over her naked torso needing to mark her, claim her. He would be gone for a week after he left her today and couldn't help himself from getting carried away.
Following the pulling of his hair, he pressed himself closer to her and kissed her passionately as something in each of them broke. Hermione was whimpering beneath him as he thrust against her. He slowly realized that the combination of her sweat pants and the seam on his jeans were rubbing just about where her clit was. Shit, she's getting off on me!
The thought made his cock throb. He knew he could bring her to orgasm and secretly hoped he would come along with her. Her body felt amazing under his as she continued to buck underneath his thrusts.
She tore her mouth from his and burrowed her face in his neck while moaning his name repeatedly. She had never felt so wanton in her life as she met him thrust for thrust. Deep in the recesses of her mind she was screaming to stop because of what might happen if she were to go back to her own time, but right now she was feeling too good to care. She was going to live in the moment.
Abraxas grit his teeth as he began to grow closer to his own orgasm. Oh fuck, I'm so close. His jeans slid down farther as his underwear grew sticky and wet with his fluids. Doing this with her felt wonderful. Her hot breath on his neck, her hard nipples digging into his bare chest, and the sound of her moaning his name spurred him on.
Hoping to bring her to completion, he kept grinding himself into her. His lips worshiping her neck, her ear, and his cock throbbed while his balls tightened. Just as he thought he would fail, Hermione arched in his hold, moaning his name breathlessly. He pulled his head back to watch her and saw that she was just as beautiful in the throws of pleasure. Her eyes were slammed shut, her head tipped back, and her dark curls were splayed everywhere.
Her sudden climax set off Abraxas' own; he buried his head in her neck and his hands fisted her curls as he let out a feral moan. His cock throbbed and pulsated hard as his seed spurted out into the confinements of his underwear.
When the tremors from his orgasm finally subsided, Abraxas lifted himself off of Hermione's body with a small groan. Looking down, he saw her chest was still heaving and her skin was covered in their mingled sweat.
Still panting himself, he reached out to run his hand across her face. Brushing back the damp curls from her forehead, and frowned when she didn't respond to his touch. Abraxas chuckled when he realized she had fallen asleep and in no way took it in offence.
Coming down from the high, he felt his eyes grow heavy and knew that all he wanted to do was take a nap right along with her. He knew Jack wouldn't come around for a few more hours and once they got to France it would be straight to business. So after righting the pillows on the couch, Abraxas slid his arms beneath Hermione's body and positioned her on her side.
Shifting his body in place next to hers, Abraxas casted a cleansing spell on them both and another spell to put their clothes back on. He summoned a blanket and covered them both. He then wrapped a possessive arm around her waist pulling her close until her behind pressed against the front of his jeans. With his lips nearly brushing the back of Hermione's neck, he fell asleep breathing in her sweet scent.
Lemony enough? First time writing smut, so PLEASE REVIEW! :)