A/N: At the end of the chapter, I had this urge to write Malfoy yelling, "fucking magnets! how do they work?" Just saying.

Chapter Nineteen: The Long, Hard Truth

..

I wove my hands into her thick hair and she grasped me around my neck. I deepened the kiss, placing one hand on her behind and cocking my head to kiss her lightly on the lips, pulling on her mouth with my teeth. She sighed into my mouth and snogged me lightly on the lips, then on the cheek, then trailed down my chin and onto my neck. "You taste sweet," she said quietly.

"No girl has ever called me sweet before," I muttered into her ear.

"I didn't call you sweet, Malfoy. I meant your breath was sweet," she chortled in a hushed voice, and planted another kiss on my lips. She began to push through my lips with her tongue and I moaned. We French-kissed for a few seconds, and I pulled her backward to her bed where I sat on the edge, holding her hands.

"Thank Merlin," I said. "I would've puked if you had called me sweet." She looked back and forth as if contemplating something and then sat atop my lap, weaving her hands through my bangs again. "Merlin, Granger—I want you… I've been thinking about you when I touch myself— Do you ever think about me?"

She went red and put her hand to my mouth. "Don't talk," she instructed bossily.

"Are you embarrassed?" I taunted. "Oh, let me guess? Perfect Granger never masturbates—"

"No more talking, Malfoy. I mean it," she said in a low voice. "If my parents wake up, I'll make sure I get you back at school—I'll point out every foul thing you do. I'll report you to every professor for your comments, for the fights you pick." I opened my mouth to retort but she kept right on talking. "Not to mention you have a way of ruining everything with your running commentary of how you envision the world. Can't you just keep silent for a bit?"

I leered at her as though she'd suggested I could win a contest just by blinking. But the real truth was that this was going to be the biggest challenge I'd ever faced.

Truth be told, my entire game was built around put-downs, bantering, and power-plays. I was constantly filling the awkward tension with hurling insults and chattering, crass compliments, and quipping witticisms. Not once had I had sex quietly. When Pansy and I had lost our virginity to each other, we'd fought and shouted the entire time. With the Ravenclaw girl I'd hooked up with, I'd chatted her up, pressured her for the passwords to Ravenclaw tower and tested her on her intelligence by asking her difficult trivia (she only got eight out of ten). With Tracey, it had been endless arguments and bickering, ending in her crying or hollering and me laughing at her.

With Granger, only blissful, hateful distance. Until now. Suddenly, I was ever so slightly apprehensive.

Granger knocked me out of my thoughts by pressing into my chest, pushing me downward so that I was lying on the bed with her bestriding my lap. She ran her hand down the front of my trousers vigorously and then undid the buttons on my shirt one by one while sitting up in my lap. I wanted to say a thousand things aloud: how she was about to crush my boner, how she'd better take off her top or I'd be bored any second, how I'd obviously come overdressed and how bad-mannered of her not to tell me it was a pajama party. But she'd challenged me to be quiet and so I had to win. I stretched out with my hands behind my back and smiled up at her, giving her a sultry wink, willing her to dissolve into laughter. But she just looked away from my face and pulled my shirt off me. Noiselessly, she ran her warm hands over my smooth chest and lightly scratched my stomach with her nails. I bit my lip and closed my eyes. I felt her weight shift and heard the bed squeak. I waited, eyes shut, for the next touch, the next stimulation. I waited what seemed like forever and finally, I opened my eyes. Granger was no longer in front of me.

When I turned around, my mouth fell open slightly. With her pajamas in a heap beside her, Granger was naked behind me. She was sitting up against her pillows, her hair falling wild over her shoulders. I was truly at a loss for words in that moment as I surveyed her body. This was my third time seeing her naked but I was still lost in appreciation for how she looked without clothing. Her smooth legs were crossed and her small, round breasts were as nice-looking as always. I instantly wanted to be inside her, to pull her hair, to fill her. She was gazing back at me with a look I did not understand; she was wide-eyed and serious.

"You look…" I stopped myself right then, afraid of where I was going with that sentence. I'm deeply sorry to admit it was going to be a confession of attraction, one without any crude words or gibes. That just wouldn't do.

"I look what?" she whispered, and her thick, dark brows furrowed.

"You said I couldn't talk. I'm going to abide by your rules, Granger," I said quickly, with a shrug and a smirk.

"I look what, Malfoy?" she demanded quietly and uncrossed her legs.

I felt my tongue inadvertently run across my bottom lip. "You look like it would do you well to be fucked," I muttered and crawled toward her. I held one of her legs in each hand and spread them further apart.

She leaned her head back on her headboard and shivered. "That's not what you were going to say," she replied.

"You're right, Granger. I was going to say, you look like you want me to finger you until you're so wet, you beg me to shag you." I leaned over her torso, my bangs falling over my eyes as I watched her face.

She trembled, but kept her gaze fixed upon me. "That's not what you were going to say either," she whispered stubbornly.

"You look like you want my face in your twat and my hands all over you until you're good and ready for the fuck of your life," I said in a hushed voice.

"Please," she whispered.

"Please what?"

"All of the above," she managed to get out, her eyes shut tight.

"Very well," I replied and ran my hands down her thighs. Her breathing quickened as I trailed a fingernail down the length of her leg. I slipped my hand between her legs and felt her, warm and wet, against my hand. "I want you," I said, but Granger shushed me again.

"No words," she voiced. "Please—just—"

I was slightly annoyed at being silenced again, but put it out of my head as I fingered her on her most sensitive spot. She put her hand over her own mouth to muffle a cry of pleasure. I grunted approvingly as I moved my hand up and down her slit, enjoying the feeling of wetness against the side of my palm. I pushed in a finger, watching her out of the corner of my eye as she alternately smiled and breathed heavily. I stuck in three more and then finally, shoved my hand inside her.

"Yes," she exclaimed in a quiet voice, nodding and biting her lip. I moved in and out of her as fast as I could and watched her legs tremble on either side of me. "Malfoy, use your tongue, too! Please—"

Craning my neck over her, I spread the top of her lips and sucked her clit, slowly keeping up the in-out motion of my hand. When it got to be too difficult to keep up, I removed my hand in full and she gasped, apparently at the friction of my hand leaving her body. Ravenously, I stuck my head between her legs and filled her in a different fashion. I lapped her hole vigorously, drawing my tongue in and out of her and trailing the line up to her clit. She was moaning quietly and raising her hands above her head to grasp the headboard. My nose knocked against her as I ate her out and then I switched again to sucking her off. She moaned, bringing her hips up so that she was bumping against my face as I went. This went on for several minutes until she lightly stroked the top of my hair, grabbing me gingerly by the bangs.

"Now," she said in a muted voice. "Please—now—Malfoy—"

"Now what?" I asked her, raising my head to see her face.

Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at me expectantly. "I want you," she said breathlessly. "All of you."

"That was fast," I remarked scathingly, wiping my face. "Not that I'm surprised. Only the second time eating you out and I can make you so randy that you can't help but—"

"Stop rambling," she said, but in her voice was a certain gentleness I hadn't heard her use to address me with before. "Are you still shaking?"

"I probably caught a chill outside and will likely be dead in the next hour so take me while you can," I kidded her, though she was right. My arms and shoulders were trembling slightly, likely from bending into such a compromising position.

"It's almost like not insulting me is making you nervous," she said with a quiet laugh. "Do you often get the shakes when you're deprived of being horrible?"

"Don't you laugh at me!" I warned, tensing up, and she reached and touched my arm.

"You are, you're shaking," she said and I glared deeply at her. "Don't get upset—just come here." With that, she scooted over to me and put her arms around my shoulders. I was just about to tell her to stop treating me so strangely when she pulled her right hand over my chest and undid my trousers. She slipped her palm into my briefs and grasped my shaft, massaging it up and down in a firm grip. "Speaking of fast," she chortled as I hardened in her hand.

"Yes, just another achievement for you to brag about," I replied cuttingly but as soon as she began to kiss my neck from behind, I shut my mouth in an instant. She swiped her finger over the tip of my erection and I shuddered slightly. Her mouth and teeth on my tender neck and her well-placed fingers were all almost too much. "I'm ready, Granger. Let me inside you."

Granger assisted me in taking off my trousers before lounging back on her pillows, lying on her side and rummaging through the chest of drawers by her bedside. I kicked off my briefs and massaged myself while staring at her arse as she bent over. "Here," she said, ripping open a condom and handing it to me. I put it on at once. "And this." She grabbed out a bottle of lubricant and squeezed some into her palm.

"We don't need that, Granger—" I said but she shook her head.

"Trust me." With that, she rubbed it onto my hard-on and I drew in a breath. It was slightly cold and sent a jolt through my body. She lay back on her pillows and used the same hand to lightly grope herself, her eyes blinking open and closed slowly.

"Okay, Granger. Let me give you the Christmas shag you've been waiting for all your life," I grinned lasciviously, crawling on top of her. She rolled her eyes and then rose her hips up to meet me as I brought myself to her, entering her all at once. With the lubricant, I slipped inside her straight away. "That feels amazing," I exclaimed, but she shushed me again.

"My parents," she reminded me in a whisper. "But yes, yes, it does—"

I rocked my hips back and forth on top of her, burrowing my erection into her as deeply as I could. I gripped her by the hair and scooped my arm underneath her back. Her bed shook and squeaked loudly as I thrust into her harder and harder. After an ear-splitting creak she seized me by the torso.

"Slower, Malfoy," she urged, "quieter!" Despite my eagerness to get off from pounding her hard and fast, I took her advice. After all, I absolutely did not wish to be walked in upon by two straight-laced Muggle nutters.

I pulled in and out of her with a several second long pause in between each thrust. It did well to keep the noise from getting out of hand and it felt amazing but we were face to face and it was so damned quiet. Honestly, it was a bit uncanny shagging slowly without words and looking down upon Granger. I found myself watching her every eye movement and using her facial expressions as cues for what to do next. I was actually admiring how good she looked in the soft lamplight. In short, it was a bit too much of an intimate experience. This was why I needed insults! Without insults, life was unbearably confusing. I continued to shag her while attempting to keep a poker face until I happened to see her cat out of the corner of my eye, watching us with wide eyes from the blue chair to the side of her bed.

"Bit of a pervert, is he?" I asked with a sly sneer.

Immediately, Granger followed my eyes. "Crookshanks!" she burst out but I held her arms down.

"Relax, Granger. I like an audience," I sneered in a low voice and put my hand on her face to turn her back toward me. I was actually glad something ridiculous was happening to break me out of the extreme weirdness in my head. After all, this was the strangest fuck I'd ever had. She put her arms around my neck and thrust herself up to meet me.

"You feel really good tonight," she muttered into my ear, her hands trailing over my face, weaving into the front of my hair. I felt my heart pounding in my chest with want for her. Being inside her didn't seem like enough. And then she had to continue talking: "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm happy you're here—"

My eyes widened and I very nearly toppled off the bed. Happy? Happy? Ew. No. No. No! "You weren't my first choice, you know," I responded instantly to offset her words. "I could have had a number of girls tonight."

"Obviously you're not with anyone else, so it seems your plans didn't exactly pan out for you," she replied matter-of-factly but removed her hands from my face as we continued fucking.

"Who says I didn't shag someone else before I got here?" I said, but it unintentionally came out in a high, stupid sounding voice.

She snorted. "Malfoy, I'm beginning to wonder whether even you buy into your own delusions—"

"Delusions? You should feel lucky! I picked you, I picked you out of a handful of willing girls who were dying for me to shag them senseless—"My voice was rising and I stopped thrusting into her, a sour look forming on my face. It occurred to me I had never once been on this side of things before and it felt like utter shit!

"Be quiet!" she instructed.

I scowled at her and instantly pulled out. "You really want me to be quiet? Fine. I'll be going—"

"SEE? This is why we can't talk," Granger whispered in a terse tone. She sat up and crossed her arms over her tits. "You're good in bed but it just might not be worth it to me unless you can stop running your mouth for once! It's like you can't hear anything nice, even if it's a compliment to you! You're foul!"

"How foul, Granger?" I murmured silkily and leaned back toward her to kiss her but she ducked away.

"Oh my God," she whispered, shaking her head. "You really are unable to shag without insults. Is that what's wrong? Does it cross some sort of boundary? Are you afraid I actually fancy you just because I said I was glad you're here, because I didn't laugh that your mother was crying all Christmas? Newsflash, Draco! The absence of cruelty doesn't automatically mean I'm infatuated with you. I wanted to get shagged so I asked you over. And now, now you're making yourself look SO STUPID!"

"I don't look stupid! Do I?" I asked frantically, searching for a mirror.

Granger grabbed me by the neck and stared at me with her eyebrows raised. "I'm going to speak very slowly so that you can get this through your very one-track mind. If you walk out of here, it's completely your choice. But I'd rather you stop making this strange and just shag me. I want you inside me, Malfoy! I want you to get me off and I want you to come inside me! But if that's too much for you to handle, I respect your choice—"

I was en route to full-on moping mode but also did not want to blue ball myself. Truth be told, I didn't want to go home. I wanted to stay here and pound Granger even though it was terribly awkward and her cat was still staring at us with undivided attention. Actually, now it was licking its own arse but that was beside the point. I wanted to snog her and touch her and banter with her. I could have sat and weighed my options forever but she was looking at me expectantly with a sort of annoyed expression. "Spread your legs, Granger," I whispered. "You're definitely not too much for me to handle."

She said nothing but wore a small smile on her face as she lay down again and drew her knees up. I put my finger on her clit and massaged it quickly until she was moaning and wriggling slightly beneath me again. Her moans became gasps for air. She pulled at her sheets and shut her eyes, her body convulsing slightly. I kept going until her body started twitching and her breathing was ragged. "I'm close," she whispered. "I want you inside me."

"Good, because-" was all I managed to say before she stopped me with a kiss. I got off the bed and grabbed her legs, pulling her to the end of the bed so that she was halfway off. I tugged her long, smooth legs over my shoulders and she uttered a soft moan. It was the perfect angle for fucking her. I sloped myself downward and entered her, sighing hoarsely. "This is even better than before," I gasped and slammed my hips forward. She covered her mouth to hide a long moan as I pulled back, nearly coming out of her. I slammed into her again. And again. And again.

"Fingers on my clit, please," she instructed in a hushed voice. "Fingers on my clit, Malfoy. I'd like to come with you inside me—"

I eagerly brought my thumb and pointer finger back down on her and touched her there with a fast motion, listening as she panted and breathed hard. I continued to bang her and with each thrust I felt myself getting closer. I swiped her clit quicker and adjusted myself inside her as I bit and licked both of her silky legs in turn. She hummed a moan of contentment and I brought my hips to hers again, slamming my cock inside her.

"God, yes, Malfoy—it feels so good—" she said. "You're so good, keep doing that—"

"I can't hold off any longer, Hermione," I mumbled, kissing her leg and groaning softly. "I need to come—"

She gave me an odd, wide-eyed look for a reason unbeknownst to me and I was momentarily worried she was going to find something else to rag me about. Thankfully, she immediately closed her eyes again and moaned as I quickened the friction on her clit. "Yes, Draco, do that! I like that, I like that—I like—oh my God, I'm coming—" she whimpered strongly, thrusting herself onto my cock and holding herself there. She moaned and moaned.

It was too much. I came right then as well, biting her ankle (no, not her foot! I hadn't turned into Theo!) and grinding myself into her. "Ungh, ungh, ungh—yes," I grunted and thrust her twice more, feeling myself releasing hard and hot inside. It felt so amazing, like it was never going to stop. Finally, I knew I could release no more. My shoulders trembled slightly and I sighed. I cast her a proud expression before I pulled out slowly and slumped next to her on the bed.

"What's that look for?" she said with a breathless laugh.

"What do you think? That felt incredible," I replied and sighed, stretching my arms behind my head.

"Yes, it did. And you even—" she trailed off and went silent.

"I even what?"

"Never mind. I was going to say something stupid. I'm just glad you got over yourself and stayed." At my darkening expression, she added: "So that we could shag. It was well worth it, wasn't it?"

"Obviously," I declared. I sat up and rolled off the condom, tossing it into the trash can by her dresser. My legs were wobbling slightly. It was no use. I wasn't going to be able to go anywhere soon. "Can I just relax here a bit? I'm completely used up. If I try flying, I may fall off and perish and then who'd be giving you such brilliant orgasms?"

"Ugh, Malfoy," she chortled. "That's actually fine. I don't want your blood on my hands… As long as you're out of here before my parents wake up." She gestured to a very bright clock on her bedside table. "It's three in the morning now. I'm going to set an alarm for seven and you can leave at that time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to wash up. Don't touch anything!" she warned, but her tone was pleasant enough. She pulled her pajamas on and threw a smile back at me before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

I managed to pull on my briefs and had every intention of spying around her room but my exhaustion set in almost instantaneously. Her room was warm and my body was still tingling. I fell to her bed and cozied up with her pillows. Minutes later, Granger settled in next to me and pulled the comforter over us. I would have told her not to get any romantic ideas from this but I was too tired. Besides, she seemed to make a decided effort to place herself as far from me as possible. I passed out almost instantly.

What seemed like minutes later, an extremely obnoxious beeping sound went off. Groggily I opened my eyes, adjusting to the new environment. I was comfortable but my stomach was panging dully. I remembered I hadn't eaten anything since toast yesterday afternoon. As went my life lately, I'd managed to power through hunger without so much as a second thought but now I was starving. I groaned sleepily and yawned. I suddenly recognized I was tangled up with Granger's warm body, my arms wrapped around her waist and my head pressed into the crook of her neck. She was nestled up with her pillows and had her arse pressed against my groin, her arms woven through mine. The cat was purring loudly next to my head. But almost immediately, Granger snapped awake and released me from her grip as if I carried some disease.

"Okay, it's time for you to go," she said in a hurried, bossy fashion.

I smirked, moving away from her as fast as I could. "Good morning to you, too. Don't worry. I'm going. I'm going." An extremely obvious erection was throbbing in the front of my briefs and Granger's gaze shifted uncomfortably from me as soon as she noticed.

"Er—the toilet's on the first floor. And then you can leave out the front door but just be quiet," she offered in an awkward squeak, rubbing her eyes sleepily. "And be quick about it. My parents will be up soon."

"Nice hair, Granger. It quite reminds me of first year," I grinned.

"Ha ha," she said dryly and ran her hands through it, making it look even crazier.

I quickly pulled my clothes on and grabbed my Firebolt. "I had… fun?" I offered. "See you at school."

"Yes, yes," she said, nodding hastily. "Have a good rest of the holiday."

"Right. You too," I said and hesitated. I wasn't certain if I should make some statement about how me spending the night was only out of necessity. I also wasn't certain if I should give her a last kiss or perhaps make some mean remark about her tousled appearance.

"Do you need something?" she asked, pulling her blankets around herself.

"No!" I tersely. "Goodbye, Granger." I turned on my heel and headed out of the room. That was certainly an odd experience and to top it off, my heart was still pounding in my chest. It must have been some good shag.

"Have a safe trip home, Malfoy," she said behind me. I smiled before shutting the door.

Granger's house was quite well-decorated. Muggles who worked on teeth must have had the same sort of salary as wizards in politics. Or perhaps she was old money. Maybe toothwork was a sort of ancient skill, like alchemy. I'd never given much thought to it aside from the fact that she carried herself better than flea-bitten commoners like the Weasleys but now it seemed like Granger was fairly well off (of course, nothing could top my extravagant home). I noted the well-kept carpets and Persian rugs, and admired the glass and porcelain collectible dishes that lined the walls on smooth wood shelves. I finally located the toilet once I was downstairs. It was just off the cheery yellow kitchen that was somewhat blinding. A toilet was normally just a toilet. At least that's what I thought until I actually stepped inside and closed the door.

As I had a long, satisfying pee, I noticed trinkets and gadgets I'd never seen before in my life. For one, Muggle light fixtures and fans were quite fascinating. I'd only heard about them in passing. The toilet had very blue colored water and it flushed by way of a button on the top. As I washed my hands, I noticed strange, large toothbrushes unlike any I had laid eyes upon before. They were plugged into the wall with long cords. Curious, I pushed the button on one. Immediately, it came to life and started whirring loudly. I jumped backward and then turned it off at once. Interesting. I searched through the drawers and found a very odd object that also had a cord. Feeling in the mood to experiment, I plugged that one into the wall and flipped it on. Extremely hot air blew out of the mouth of the device and it was loud as hell. I shut it off and tossed it back in.

I flickered the lights on and off, wondering how the hell they worked. I asked my father about Muggle electricity once. He told me it was simply "dumb luck" and made me vow never to inquire about it again. Perhaps Granger could explain it to me. Not that I was terribly interested but it wouldn't hurt to know. Curiously, I pulled open the medicine cabinet and gawked at what appeared to be a large stash of items from the apothecary. On closer inspection, I realized they were what I think was referred to as "medicines". Labels with things I'd never heard of in my life filled the tiny shelves: TYLENOL, MELATONIN, ADVIL, THROAT SPRAY. I wondered if "medicines" were like candy. Just as I was about to try a few tablets of something called EX-LAX, there was a loud rapping knock on the door.

"Hermione, honey, is that you? We're just about to make breakfast," said a man's voice pleasantly.

Oh, holy snakes! THE MUGGLES! I stuffed the pills back into the cupboard and slammed it closed. What do I do? What do I do? I ran through a handful of options in my head. It was either dying of starvation whilst hiding for centuries in a Muggle toilet or being courageous and crafty.

I quickly adjusted my collar in the mirror and drew in a deep breath as I opened the door. Two Muggles, who I'm assuming were Granger's dentist parents, were standing there gaping at me.

I cleared my throat, mustering up the courteous tone that made my mother and her friends smile with adoration while calling me a "charming young man".

"Good morning," I greeted with my most professional of smirks, "How do you do?"