Chapter 12
The Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare
"Do you have a House Elf?" asked Hermione.
They were laying on their backs staring up at the many shelves of Quaffles that lined the walls and ceiling of the Quidditch shed. Their hands were joined, and he was absently stroking her thumb with his. He'd been in a dark mood ever since the week before, when he'd failed at his latest attempt to assassinate Dumbledore, almost killing Ron in the process. During Potions class, when they'd both been at the front of the classroom to gather ingredients, he'd jostled her so hard she'd dropped her bloomfish roe, earning a severe scolding from Snape. Hermione had tried to catch his eye afterward to find out if he'd done it intentionally, if she'd angered him somehow, but he was ignoring her gaze and speaking to Pansy Parkinson in his familiar haughty voice.
She'd almost thought he wouldn't come to the shed to meet her. She'd stood at the entrance to the shed waiting for nearly twenty minutes and was just about to give up when his blonde head came into view. He'd been quiet, but after she shut the door behind them, he conjured the mattress and collapsed onto it.
"Er, yes," said Draco. "We used to have four."
"Why would a house with just three people in it need four House Elves?" she asked.
"I don't know," said Draco. "They were there when I was born. Potter freed one of them in our Second year. Father was livid."
There was a tension between them that day that she couldn't break past.
"Did you know Dobby was passing information to Harry about what your father was up to? He tried to stop Harry from coming back to Hogwarts that year," said Hermione. "He knew your father wanted the Chamber of Secrets opened."
Draco laughed derisively.
"I guess Dobby was closer to my father than I was," he said.
Hermione rolled onto her side, lying next to him. He wrapped an arm around her, and she ran a finger down his thin, straight nose and then cupped his face. She brought her lips down to his. They kissed gently, almost reluctantly, but the feel of his soft lips still sent jolts of electricity through her body. She found herself pressed against him, his hands grasping her tightly.
"Are we okay?" she whispered.
Draco let a half-smile ghost across his lips. He kissed her, and they let their bodies release the tension their words couldn't.
It was less urgent now that they'd been having sex for a few weeks, but that didn't stop them from pulling at each other's clothes feverishly. Hermione sighed as her breasts were exposed and Draco's mouth descended on one of her nipples. Draco groaned when Hermione reached between his legs to massage his erection through his boxer shorts. He tugged them off and lay on the mattress with her on top of him, and she crawled down his body, kissing his firm abdomen as she went, until her mouth was level with his cock. She lifted it off his belly and wrapped her mouth around it, earning a satisfied whine from him. She couldn't help but smile to herself. How was she getting that sound out of Draco Malfoy?
She swirled her tongue around his erection, sliding her mouth up and down. His hands fisted in the soft sheet that encased the mattress, and his legs tensed. She could feel him growing harder in her mouth.
"Please. Let me fuck you," he said.
Hermione grinned, removing him from her mouth. She was about to roll onto her back, but his hands grasped her firmly, arranging her so she was straddling his lap. He licked his hand and wiped his saliva onto the head of his cock before positioning it against her entrance. Hermione bit her lip and began to push down on him. His eyes rolled back in his head, and his grip on her hips tightened. She rolled her hips experimentally, and he groaned.
"Baby, you feel so good," said Draco.
It took a few moments to find her rhythm, but soon, she was bouncing slowly on top of him, her hands on his chest for leverage, his grip lifting her and slamming her down. Gasps and whimpers were leaving her lips as she rode him. She watched his face. His grey eyes were clouded with lust, his teeth biting his lower lip. His eyes swept to her breasts, to her stomach, to the place they were joined, and then back to her face.
"You're so beautiful," he whispered.
Hermione moaned and increased her pace. He was gripping her tightly now, and she could see in his expression that he was close. She leaned down over him, thrusting him in and out of her.
"Come for me," she commanded.
Draco's face screwed up tightly and he let out a primordial groan, his cock spasming inside her. He held her in place, deep inside her, as he came. Then, he pulled her face to his, kissing her deeply. They broke the kiss, looking at each other with satisfied, mischievous grins. Slowly, Hermione lifted herself off him, their mingled fluids dripping out of her center onto his abdomen. He grabbed his wand and cast a quick Scourgify, and she rested beside him, kissing his cheek.
They lay naked together, basking languorously in the feeling of intimacy and satisfaction. The tension between them was gone. Hermione propped herself up on one elbow so she could look at him.
"Who was your first?" she asked.
"Hm?"
"Your first," she pressed, and he flushed a bit.
"Do I have to tell you?" he asked.
"Yes," she said with a mischievous grin.
"Gemma Farley," he said, not meeting her gaze.
Hermione gave him a curious look. She didn't recognize the name.
"She was a Prefect," said Draco uncomfortably.
"She's not in our year," said Hermione.
"No, she wasn't," he said.
Hermione's eyes widened and a grin stretched across her face.
"Wait, Gemma Farley? She was a Prefect in our second year!" said Hermione, a horrified laugh exiting her lips. "Draco, she's a lot older than you!"
Draco folded his arms over his chest.
"Like I said, Slytherins use sex for power," he said with a shrug and a devious grin. "It was a good time."
Hermione laughed and nudged him with her elbow and then rested her head on his chest. She listened to his heartbeat for a long time, hearing it slow as he breathed deeply. His hands were tracing patterns on the skin over her ribs.
"Harry's trying to figure out what you're up to," said Hermione. "He's set two House Elves to follow you around."
"He has?" asked Draco. "I haven't seen them."
"No, he told them to make sure you didn't," she said. "One of them is Dobby, in fact."
"Ugh," he groaned. "Traitorous elf."
"Don't say that," she scolded. "He just wanted an employer who didn't treat him like a slave!"
Draco laughed.
"House elves are slaves!" he said.
"No, they're not!" she said hotly. "They're sentient living creatures just like we are!"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, bemused.
"I'm just saying we could all stand to treat House Elves with a little more kindness," she said. "I mean, Dobby hated your father. And now, he'd do anything for Harry. Dobby might have been more loyal if he hadn't been abused!"
"He wasn't abused!" said Draco.
"He said he used to have to shut his ears in the oven!" she cried.
"That barmy elf did it to himself!" said Draco. "I never told him to do such a thing! And what's with the House Elf obsession?"
"Oh, I just… I have this organization called S.P.E.W.," explained Hermione, blushing a bit embarrassedly.
"Spew?!" roared Draco.
"Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare!" she said crossly.
Draco was snorting loudly as he laughed. Hermione sat up, her arms folded in front of her chest, turning so that she was facing away from him. His laughter died down and he reached out to pull her back against him. He gave her a kiss on her temple.
"You're cute," he said with a grin.
"Shut up," she said, and he laughed again.
They lay quietly for a moment.
"So, what will Dobby find out?" asked Hermione. "Following you? What will he learn?"
"Oh," said Draco. "I expect he'll find out I'm using the Room of Requirement."
"Oh," she said. "For what?"
"I haven't quite figured it out yet," he said. "But I've got an idea."
"I won't like this idea, will I?" said Hermione.
"Nope," said Draco.
She sighed and looked at him. She decided not to ask. She didn't want to know. Not today. Hermione brought her lips up to his and kissed him, coaxing his tongue from his mouth and feeling his hands wrap around her waist.
"What if we used the Room of Requirement?" said Hermione quietly.
"Hm?"
"We could use the Room of Requirement instead of the Quidditch shed," she said. "It's bound to be more comfortable for… this kind of thing."
"But the Vow wouldn't apply," said Draco, his brow furrowed.
The tension between them seemed to snap back up like a wall. Hermione sat up on the mattress.
"Why does that matter?" she asked.
Draco looked at her with an expression of disbelief, like he couldn't believe she was stupid enough to ask such a question.
"Because none of this would be a secret anymore," he said, as though it were obvious.
"So is this even real?" said Hermione, her voice rising. "Or is this just your escape?"
"You want this to be real?" spat Draco in a hostile voice she hadn't heard from him in months.
Hermione recoiled like she'd been struck. She reached for her bra, pulling it over her arms. She was dressing herself in silence while he glared at her. Hermione wasn't even sure why she was so angry at his words. It wasn't like she wanted this to be a real relationship, did she?
"What the fuck did you expect?" said Draco in a very Malfoy-esque voice. "That we'd start sitting together in the Great Hall at dinner? That I'd shake hands with Potter and Weasley before we headed off to the Three Broomsticks? That we'd ever be anything more than just a quick fuck in the Quidditch shed once a week?"
"No, I get it, you're just using me," she said as she pulled her shirt over her head.
"Who's using who, Granger?" he snarled, and she flinched at his use of her last name. "You get to feel all noble and honorable, like the proper little Gryffindor you are. Talking the big scary Death Eater out of serving the Dark Lord. Not doing such a good job, are you?"
Hermione felt like her throat was swelling.
"You said you loved me," she said in a quavering voice.
"I love you in here," he spat.
She stood from the mattress, tugging her jeans up over her hips. Without even looking back at him, she crossed the shed and flung open the door, slamming it behind her as she marched off into the darkness toward the castle.
