A big thank you to Bree and Ella for betaing this chapter. They are the reason we are getting an update on time so THANK YOU! Also all the comments y'all write are just amazing. I love you all for taking the time to leave them! Thank you, lovelies.
Soundtrack- "On My Knees" by RUFUS DU SOL and "Run Baby Run" by The Rigs (Thank you Tina for this suggestion that you made I think in November? Anyway, I remembered!)
NINETEEN
.
Granger was ignoring him. She had agreed to the deal for when Potter died, but now she was doubling her efforts to keep him alive.
It was infuriating, how smart she was. How many thoughts she had in her head that she didn't share with him and how she always found a way to think her way out of everything.
Draco would be impressed; if it wasn't him she was doing it to. If it wasn't the only thing she was doing to him. He thought after the other night, he wouldn't be able to get Granger off his dick, but now he couldn't even get her attention.
Granger kept herself busy with Order bullshit, sitting on the floor with her books open around her and pieces of parchment covered with tiny notes. She could probably write her own damn book at this point, but Granger kept on. Like a dog with a bone.
Except it wasn't his bone.
Whenever he tried to touch her or pull her away from whatever boring ass book she was sticking her cute nose into, she merely waved him off and gave him some excuse.
"I'm trying to concentrate."
"Let me finish this passage."
"This is important, Draco."
Yeah? So was his cock. And… their… relationship, he supposed.
His heart ached just as much as his balls.
Maybe more.
Draco snatched the book from her and snapped it shut.
Granger glared at him, holding out her hand and waiting for him to give it back. "I'm working, Draco. You know this."
"Well I'm bored. There's nothing to fucking do here when you're reading."
She reached for the book and he held it up higher.
Granger unhappily got to her feet. Not that it mattered much, Draco was a good foot taller than her and his arm didn't hurt as much as it used to. Probably had something to do with the fact he hadn't cursed it in over a month, but it also meant he could hold this book up for a long time.
Although… she could just start reading another one and go back to pretending like he wasn't important like precious fucking Potter was.
"You could help me," Granger suggested. "Some of these books have runes in them. Having to translate is one of the things slowing me down."
Draco groaned.
"Your constant interruptions are another."
She had crossed her arms over her chest and it made her tits push together a little. Granger had gained back the weight she had lost on the run and in his Manor and it resulted in her tits getting a little bigger.
Draco grinned.
She noticed what he was looking at and dropped her arms, scoffing.
"Is that all you ever think about?"
"No, they're not all I think about." He grazed his eyes over her body. Slowly, enjoying every inch. He wondered what sort of knickers she had on today. And if she'd let him find out.
Granger swiped for the book again, but Draco's old Seeker reflexes kicked in and he pulled it out of reach.
"Kiss me."
She rolled her eyes. "Draco…"
"Kiss me and you can have your book back, Granger." He held it teasingly in between them.
She bit her lip and Draco grabbed her around the middle, making her gasp and capturing that lip for his own. Biting down on it, he felt Granger slide her arms around him.
Only to grab the book.
He groaned again as she pulled away, flipping through the pages to find where she left off.
Draco threw himself down on the bed next to her and sighed dramatically.
She didn't even bother to look at him. "You could always play chess with Ron if you're bored. He's actually quite good."
Chess made him think of Blaise. He didn't want to think of Blaise. Or how much he missed playing chess with his… friend.
Weasley was the furthest thing from that.
Draco's lip curled. "I'd rather translate runes."
"Great!" Granger shoved a pad of paper and a heavy book into his chest. "Start on page 567."
.
Hermione watched Draco pull a white shirt over his head, slipping easily over his scarred chest. He used to never let her see it. Even all the months she had slept in his bed, Draco had kept a shirt over himself almost every night. He didn't anymore. She wasn't exactly sure what caused him to change his mind or if he had just gotten more comfortable with the way he looked now, but she wasn't complaining.
She loved how he felt, scars and all. She actually thought they were a bit… sexy. Not that he needed anything else to make him attractive. Draco still looked like a marble statue come to life. Hermione didn't believe in any of the Pureblood breeding rhetoric, but she had to admit, Draco had inherited some very nice genetics.
His body was long and lean, but under the scars and pale skin were defined muscles. She caught her last glimpse of them as he tucked the shirt into the back of his trousers and grabbed the black sweatshirt, slipping it over his head in a fluid movement.
He turned his back on her, looked into the mirror and frowned. His hair had grown out a little, but he still ran his hand over it, trying to flatten it out to make it appear longer.
Hermione couldn't help but smile.
"What are you laughing at?" Draco snapped as she watched him from her position on the bed.
"You look good with short hair," she answered, biting her lip to try to keep from smiling too much.
Draco's brows lowered. "You're making fun of me."
"I'm not." Hermione did her best to adopt a serious expression, but failed and grabbed the pillow to hide her face.
"Come here!" Draco grabbed her ankle and pulled her down the bed. Hermione yelped, trying to hit him with the pillow, but he easily blocked it, letting it fall to the floor. "You think I should just let you get away with that? Huh?" he asked, climbing on top of her.
Hermione was laughing and pressing her hands against his chest. Goodness, he was solid. Marble, indeed. Draco rested his weight on top of her; the smell of mint washed over her and she felt her nerves alight.
"Yes," she said, still smiling. "You should let me have anything I want."
Draco grinned at her, briefly touching the tip of his nose to hers. "And what do you want, kitten?"
Hermione could feel her body stirring in response to him. She loved how he felt, the weight of him holding her down and the feel of him against her. It could be a day or a year, but as soon as Draco was back on top of her, Hermione's body responded to it like she was trained to do so.
She didn't even have to think.
It was bliss.
And without a dozen dizzying trains of thought running through her mind, Hermione could feel what she actually wanted, really wanted. Deep down. Inside.
She wasn't even scared when she said, "I want you to chase me." Draco's grey eyes were trained on hers. "In the woods, near where we have been practicing." Her heart was hammering in her chest, but she wasn't nervous. Hermione was… excited. "I used to dream about it. You… finding me and chasing me and…"
Draco raised one brow. "And…?"
Hermione felt herself blush a little. Even though there was probably nothing she could say that would make Draco think she was… depraved. He'd probably be into it. He'd probably be really, really into it.
She took a breath, tasting mint on her tongue. "And you'd pin me down like this. You'd tell me I was yours." Draco's eyes shone like polished silver as she spoke. "And… I was. In my dreams I was completely and totally—yours."
His body had gone still, muscles tensed, strained, controlled. Hermione watched as the heat in his gaze cooled and a small smirk pulled at his lips.
"The woods across the field?" he asked, his voice a little rougher than normal.
She nodded and bit her lip again.
"Let go of that, Granger," Draco ordered. Hermione promptly obeyed. His eyes shone again. "It's going to be sore once I'm done with it. All of you is."
She shivered underneath him, desire already coursing through her. Until… Draco stood up.
Hermione propped herself up on her elbows, disappointed a little that Draco didn't rip her clothes off of her. More than a little. But it disappeared when he leaned down to pull on his black boots.
"I'll give you a head start."
Hermione watched him lace them up. She still had his wand, but it wouldn't be long before he would be asking for it back. Draco looked up at her as he started on the second one. "I'd start running if I were you."
Oh, goodness.
Hermione jumped up, adrenaline and excitement coursing through her. She watched his fingers move for a second longer, but when he pulled the laces tight, she darted out of the room and down the stairs.
Hermione scooted around the kitchen table, bumping into Bill and quickly apologizing as she glanced behind her. Still no Draco. She headed for the door.
Ron appeared in front of her. "Hey! I wanted to ask you—"
"Not now!"
"What's wrong?"
Hermione tried to dive under his arm.
"Hermione?"
She heard something heavy on the stairs.
"Sorry, I have to go!" Hermione pushed past him.
"Go?" Ron called from behind her, but she didn't even look over her shoulder. Hermione ran fast for the field up ahead they used for training. Her blood was moving now and she pressed on hard, trying to get to the other side and into the trees as quickly as she could. Right as she made it to the shade, Hermione stole a glance behind her.
Draco was walking out of the cottage. His eyes scanned the open field and then narrowed in on her. It was hard to tell from this distance, but… he looked like he was smiling.
Hermione allowed herself one second to watch his body turn from casually aloof to a pointed, primed hunting machine before she started off again.
The spring wind whipped at her face, catching her hair and blowing it back off her shoulders. Hermione drank it down as she plunged forward. She brushed back low branches until the trees grew wider, older, and the ground opened up a bit more. The roots here were thick and twisted. Hermione sprang over them, feeling an odd sense of deja vu as she ran.
It had been snowing the last time she had run like this and she had been burning up with fever, but now, the heat in her body was from something else entirely. She couldn't stop smiling. The sunlight filtered in through the leaves and Hermione started down a steep ridge, arms waving to help her keep her balance. She stumbled a little as she reached the bottom and paused.
Birds. Wind. And her own heavy breathing.
Hermione's head turned right from left. Which way should she go? To the right was a bit flatter land; she would be able to move quickly over it. But to the left were a pile of large rocks… she could climb those and come out on the other side on higher ground. She might even be able to see Draco from there.
He was faster than her, and knew how to track. Hermione let her mind spin, running through different scenarios as to how this could go. Her heart beat faster, pumping hot blood into her brain as she gulped down another gust of wind. God, it felt good to figure something out again and not have a million contingencies to worry about.
There were dead leaves on the ground. Draco could probably tell which way she had gone and it wouldn't be long before he came upon her. She looked around for… perfect.
An old branch laid not far from her and Hermione snatched it up, swishing and scattering the leaves to her right. She threw the branch as hard as she could away from her, hoping that Draco would spy the leaves and head that way.
Hermione turned and started climbing the rocks. At least she wouldn't leave a trail this way. With only one goal in mind, she used both her hands to steady herself as she scrambled up the pile of granite and heaved herself onto the other side, quickly pushing herself back to her feet.
"Where are you, pet?" Draco called out.
She froze at the sound of his voice.
Hermione tried to tell what direction it was coming from, but the woods were confusing her. Sounds seemed to fill the empty spaces between the trees and surround her.
He laughed a little. "I'm going to have to put you on a leash if you keep running away like this."
She could hear the playfulness in his voice and felt her blood thicken. Yes. This. This is what she wanted. It was wrong, but honestly, that had never stopped her before when it came to Draco, why should it now?
Should she let him chase her around the woods and play out some weird, and probably a little unhealthy, fantasy she had concocted in her head while running for her life last fall? Probably not. Certainly not. Was she still going to do it?
Hermione started running again, her arms moving with each step and her legs burning as she rushed through the forest. She listened out for noises of Draco's pursuit and when she thought she heard something, quickly changed directions.
She could understand why her legs were cramping, but couldn't think as to why her face hurt too. Oh. She was smiling. She was smiling so much that her cheeks had started to ache.
Good Godric, when was the last time that happened? Who cared?! Hermione wanted to feel it. She wanted Draco to make her ache all over. Inside and out.
Hermione slowed. She had been running for a while and he still hadn't caught her yet. With a swooping feeling Hermione realized why. Both times Draco had chased her before, in the Restricted Section last year and when he caught her in the Forest of Dean, he had herded her, almost tricking her into going where he wanted.
She stopped running and pulled out Draco's wand. Panting and feeling the muscles in her legs twitching, Hermione looked around. She couldn't see Draco anywhere. Maybe… maybe she was wrong? Draco had been hurt, maybe he couldn't run as fast as he used to. He hadn't looked out of shape this morning though…
She heard a thud behind her and instinctively turned only to see a streak of blond on top of black before she crashed into the ground. They rolled for a moment and Hermione felt Draco's body trapping her. Hands on her wrists, knees against her hips until she was being pushed back into the leaves and looked up to see Draco grinning wolfishly down at her.
"You didn't really think I would let you get away, did you, kitten?" His voice was smooth and mischievous. "Not when you promised me such a sweet reward."
She squeezed her legs together making a shiver run up her spine. Thank goodness the earth was firmly beneath her or she felt like she'd never stop falling. Draco pressed her into it, leaning over her and running his tongue along the side of her neck.
"Mmm." He smacked his lips together and released her wrist only to pluck the wand from her closed fingers. "You should know that running triggers a predator's instinct." He leaned on his forearm beside her head and pressed his lower body into hers. "Do you know what those instincts are telling me to do now?"
Oh God… Hermione could barely breathe and what she could get all smelled like him. Draco was all over her. Everywhere. His mouth locked onto her neck, kissing and sucking, steadily getting rougher. His hand ran over her body, grabbing and pushing her breast back into her chest, fingers digging in through her shirt.
He rolled his hips and Hermione moaned out a gasp. His cock was hard and pressing into her. God, it was… She was shaking, trembling, with exhilaration. This was incredible. It was like her dream, only somehow better. Draco's teeth bit into her and Hermione turned her head to the side, giving him more skin to mark with his mouth.
Draco growled and took advantage of the new area. He dragged his teeth up behind her ear, lips trailing and kissing the inflamed skin. Her eyes were falling closed, she knew what was coming next; she could feel it in her core.
Draco pulled back, sitting up on his knees and straddled her waist. He pulled the black sweatshirt off over his head, dropping it to the ground next to them before starting on his belt. His eyes ran over her body, darkening as he pulled the leather through the metal buckle. "You're so fucking hot. Just… fuck…"
Hermione covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her beam and blush.
Draco grabbed her arms and pulled her hands away. "Oh no you don't. I want to see all of you. Especially this." He pulled on her arms until her upper body had left the ground and captured her lips with his. Hermione's eyes flew open wide right before he laid her back down. "You're beautiful, but so are your tits. Get your shirt off. Now."
He was unbuckling his pants and Hermione got an idea. A crazy, insane, incredible idea. She wiggled her legs out from in between his. Draco stopped moving, his trousers hanging open as his eyes followed her. Hermione jumped to her feet and was off running again before he had even gotten off the ground.
"You little—"
She laughed, letting the sound carry on another gust of wind back to Draco as she sprinted through the trees. He would catch her again and this time probably pin her face down and rip her jeans off her ass, smack it and then shove himself inside her.
God, she couldn't wait.
Hermione saw a stream of light shoot past her head and looked back to see Draco chasing her down. She squealed happily and darted behind a tree. Her chest was heaving and she carefully peeked around the side. No Draco. Hermione ran to another tree, flattening herself against it.
Maybe he would find her here instead, push her against the rough bark and haul her up and fuck her hard. Her legs felt weak at the thought of it. Hermione bit her lip and looked around. Where was he?
She moved out from around the tree, walking into an area a little partially cleaned by a fallen trunk. Was he hiding from her?
"Draco?" Hermione called out.
No one answered.
"I'm sorry I ran. You can come out now."
She spun around, but only felt another gust of wind blow her curls back from her shoulders. Hermione took a few steps and stopped. She was out here Godric knew how far from the cottage and didn't even have a wand to signal her location.
"Come on, Draco! It's not funny anymore!"
Getting slightly annoyed that he hadn't shown up yet, and hadn't given her what she wanted, Hermione huffed and thinking that back the way she came from was as good of a direction as any, turned.
And then stopped dead in her tracks.
There was a girl. On the other side of the small clearing. She looked to be a little older than Hermione, maybe by a year or two and was dressed in a thick fur coat that looked much too big for her. She lifted her head and sniffed the air with a long, straight nose.
She was very pretty.
Her eyes, a lighter shade of brown than Hermione's, locked onto her.
"Who are you?" she asked, a slight accent to her words. Scottish, perhaps?
Hermione hadn't even thought about moving. She had been so stunned by the arrival of this person that it hadn't even crossed her mind to run.
The girl took a few steps toward the fallen tree between them. "You… Do I know you?"
Fear spiked in Hermione, shooting down her nerves and filling her veins with ice. Hermione had no idea who this girl was, but she knew Hermione and soon, she would figure out from where. Hermione needed to be far, far away before that happened. Something about this girl unnerved her.
"You should know that running triggers a predator's instinct."
Draco was right. If she ran, she would look guilty. Even if this girl didn't recognize her, she could tell someone what she had seen and they might come looking for her. Her picture had been in the Prophet's next to Harry's after they broke into the Ministry. And the Death Eaters needed no explanation who she was.
Hermione watched as the girl took another step forward. Her hair was tangled and there was dirt matted into some of the fur on her coat. She looked tired and must have been out all night, maybe longer. Most importantly, the girl didn't have a wand. At least they were matched in that.
The girl sniffed again and Hermione could see she was working to place her. Hermione had to think fast, throw her off the trail, so to speak. Or just buy enough time until Draco was able to find her.
But before Hermione could say anything the girl's head jerked to the side so violently, Hermione thought she might have hurt herself.
"Draco."
Hermione copied the girl's movement and there he was. Draco was standing at the edge of the clearing, clothes back on and wand in his hand.
"Kenna."
Kenna? Hermione blinked, looking between them. Draco… Draco knew this person?
"Draco!" The girl bounded over to him and threw her arms around his shoulders. The icy anxiety in Hermione turned hot and boiling in a second as Draco just stood there. With another woman's arms around him. "I can't believe I found you! Where have you been? Oh, Draco!"
She hugged him tighter and Hermione felt like she was going to be sick.
Smoothly, he pulled her arms from around him, but the girl—Kenna—clasped onto his arms, holding onto him.
Draco looked her over and Hermione felt her jaw tighten in displeasure as he reached and touched the collar of Kenna's coat as if he was… familiar with it. "Are you here alone?" he asked.
Kenna nodded, her hair somehow still bouncy even though tangled. Hermione's curls would have twisted themselves into knots by that point.
"Yes, I—" she hesitated. "It's just me."
Draco nodded calmly. How he was calm right now when he flew off the handle at every little thing these days, Hermione had no idea. In fact, she had no idea who this girl was or how she knew Draco or why with everything Draco had said about his time as a Death Eater, Kenna had never come up.
And she didn't know how much longer she was going to be able to stand watching someone else slide her hands further up Draco's arms.
He didn't push her back this time.
"Does anyone know you're here?" he asked, his voice low and cool.
The girl shook her head.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded. Hermione found it… odd, that this… very pretty girl Draco had failed to mention to her followed his orders so well.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" It was Draco's commanding tone, but… it was lacking the smoothness he spoke to Hermione with.
"I… I'm here to save you."
Hermione was sick again. She was sick and feverish and burning up and this wasn't actually happening.
"Save me?" For the first time Draco sounded unsure.
"Orders came down, said you were being held hostage and we were sent out to hunt for you and bring you back."
No. Hermione's anger turned into a stone inside her. Draco wasn't going back, he couldn't. They'd kill him.
Wouldn't they?
"Whose orders?"
Kenna finally looked away from his face and Draco took the opportunity to cut his eyes to Hermione. Something flashed in them, sharp and dangerous, but it was gone and they were back on Kenna before Hermione could get a proper read on him.
"Kenna," Draco said her name and Hermione felt her nails dig into the flesh of her palms. "Answer me."
A flush of heat ran through Hermione, fury mixing with something like shame making a noxious combination of jealousy burning under her skin.
Kenna looked up at him. "You smell like…" She sniffed his chest and Hermione didn't realize she had started walking forward until Kenna's head turned back around in her direction. "So that's who you are. You're the girl."
Hermione had no idea what possessed her to say it, but her voice didn't shake at all as she stated, "His girl."
Kenna released Draco and Hermione felt like it was a little easier to breathe. She filled her chest with air and started forward again.
"Go."
She had no idea who this girl was to Draco, but couldn't say she wasn't glad that he was telling her to leave. Especially after she had her hands all over him.
"Granger, go."
What? Her? But… "No."
"I'm not fucking asking. Go."
Hermione stayed put. She wasn't going to leave him out here, not alone and not with Kenna. Who was she?! Why did she think it was okay to hug Draco like that? Had they… Oh God… The feverish chills were back, blazing over her skin, tingling where his mouth had latched onto her neck and chilling the blood under the surface.
"I swear on Salazar's watery grave," Draco growled and stalked over to her. For a moment she thought he might imperius her again. He looked almost as desperate now as he had that fateful night in the castle. It made her nervous; Draco was never more dangerous than when he was backed into a corner. Except now, he had a way out. He wouldn't have to wait on Harry anymore.
And he could make her come with him.
And Kenna.
Hermione glanced down at his wand when he stopped in front of her and was surprised that he shoved it roughly into her hand. He forced her fingers closed around it. "If you don't get the fuck out of here—"
"Who is she?"
"Granger—"
"Why do you want me to leave?"
"Fucking hell." He ran his hand over his hair again.
"Draco?" Kenna called from behind them. Draco looked over his shoulder and Hermione took this opportunity to skirt around him.
Draco made a noise deep in his throat, but Hermione was tired of being bossed around by him. Draco hadn't answered any of her questions when he held her captive and she wasn't going to stand for it any longer. If he refused to answer her, then she'd start asking someone else.
"How do you know who I am?" she asked.
"Your smell. He had us… hunt you."
"Smell? How can you…" Hermione's mouth popped open in a small o. She wasn't sure how she missed it before; maybe she had just been so surprised to see someone else out here that she didn't connect it with what she already knew.
Draco had employed werewolves to hunt Muggleborns and… her.
Draco grabbed her elbow and hauled her back. "Granger, go back. Go. Back!"
Hermione tried to jerk her arm away, but Draco held on tight.
"She's a wild one." Kenna winked. "I like her."
Draco's grip tightened until Hermione winced. "Let go of me, Draco."
"Granger—please."
Draco looked like he was barely holding it together. The muscles in his neck were strained and his lips were so tightly pressed together they were almost white. She looked at Kenna and then back to him. He had done so much to keep her safe, maybe, just maybe, he was doing this for the same reason.
He wouldn't leave, not without her. Hermione knew that as a fact. So if her going back to the cottage meant he would return too, then… she'd do it.
It didn't mean she had to like it though.
"We're going to talk about this, I hope you know that."
Draco's face was unreadable, but his eyes were troubled. He dipped his chin down in a nod. Hermione glanced at Kenna one last time. She was watching, head tilted to the side a little and looking Hermione up and down.
Hermione lifted her chin and met Kenna's gaze unapologetically. Then, in the spur of the moment, Hermione touched Draco's cheek, lifted herself onto the tips of her toes, and kissed him. Short and sweet, but it made her point.
Draco stared down, then slowly sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, tasting her again.
Hermione held his wand tightly in her hand and started walking back towards the trees.
"Granger."
Hermione turned.
Draco clenched and unclenched his hand.
"Will you tell Bill where we are?"
Whatever hesitation or nervousness she had about leaving Draco fell away. He was asking for Bill. He was asking for the Order. He… was trusting them. And she trusted him. That's what they did now. They were in a… committed, loving, trusting relationship.
She just didn't really trust this Kenna girl. Or like her and her overly familiar way of touching Draco.
Hermione nodded. "Be careful."
Draco's lips twitched. "You know me."
She did… Didn't she?
.
As soon as Granger disappeared, Draco grabbed Kenna by the throat and shoved her against the nearest tree.
Kenna whined, the high sound reminding him of his hounds.
"How the fuck did you find me?"
"I… Wind…" Her voice was raspy and Draco loosened his hold on her neck just a little. She coughed and wheezed in air. "Could smell you… on the wind."
Draco clenched his jaw and hissed through his teeth, "And you just happened to be here? In these woods?"
Kenna coughed again, her eyes filling with tears. "Quiet here. I've been looking… They said trees…" She struggled to speak and Draco struggled against the ache under his mark. "Wet trees."
He was going to fucking kill Potter, the stupid four-eyed fuck. If Granger got hurt because of him—
Draco pressed his hand harder against Kenna's throat and she went still. Like a dog who had been told to sit.
She wasn't even fighting back. In fact, if he wasn't pinning her against the tree Draco was pretty sure she would just… fall down. She was skinnier now, and trying to hide in her brother's coat, but it was clear the past few weeks had been hard for her.
She smelled like a wet dog.
"Why are you really here? Huh?" He pushed his face close to hers. It was an intimate position, one he had been hoping to have Granger in, not a fucking werewolf.
Kenna was breathing heavily, tongue resting on her bottom teeth. She could do damage with those teeth, even out of her wolf form. Draco had seen Bill's scarred face enough times to think twice about being this close to her, but he didn't have a choice. He had to find out what she knew.
"Did Greyback send you after me?"
She shook her head, hair catching on the bark of the tree. He wanted verbal answers.
Kenna knew this. Draco squeezed her throat a little harder.
"Who."
Her tongue slid out a little farther and she choked out the word, "Parents."
His grip went slack.
His parents?
His fucking parents?
"They're your," Kenna gave a small cough, "next of kin."
Fucking werewolves and their weird obsession with packs and families. He didn't understand it.
"You are not my son."
"I will strip the Malfoy name from you if you do not honor it!"
"Fuck the Malfoy name."
Some family they were. Except… they were. As much as he didn't want to be Lucius Malfoy's son sometimes, he still was. Giving back the signet ring hadn't stopped him from being a Malfoy.
What if the only reason his father wanted him back was to trade him for his Master's mercy?
But now his mother knew he had been telling her the truth about Granger. Maybe… she didn't hate him anymore. She wouldn't let his father do something like that.
Or maybe she just hated him even more for loving a Mudblood.
The thought hurt more than it should have. He didn't want his mother to hate him. He didn't… hate her. Draco had taken the mark for her, gotten his father out of prison for her. He hadn't felt bad about leaving her behind in the Manor because he knew his father would take care of her but if she was looking for him because she needed him… If she was in danger then…
He needed to know.
Draco pushed Kenna back against the tree, locked his eyes on hers, and forced himself into her mind.
No walls like his and no tall, curving shelves full of organized thoughts and memories like Granger's. Most importantly, no red eyes like Potter's.
Draco pushed deeper.
He could feel the wolf, stronger this time than it had been before. It was snarling, guarding its territory, but it didn't try to force him out. Draco was careful as he moved through Kenna's mind, making sure not to threaten the animal, but also to get where he needed.
Her memories came bounding at him, rushing pictures of color and sound and above all, smells. Being a werewolf was disgusting.
He wanted to be out of her mind as quickly as he could. He just needed to get what he came for first.
Draco saw Donovan, curled up and whimpering on the floor as Bellatrix shot another crucio at his chest.
"Where is he?!" she screeched.
Kenna was crying, trying to get to her brother and struggling against Greyback. Draco saw his face, or, what was left of it. His tongue hung out of a loose jaw, lolling to the side like a dog. His mouth didn't close properly anymore and a set of silver teeth, some elongated into fangs, shone from the back hole of his mouth.
He had done that. Draco had done that. He didn't want to see it.
Not that watching Donovan get tortured was any better. They were questioning him, asking the wolf where Draco was, where he would have hidden… They were asking about Granger.
Draco felt Kenna's wolf snap and he realized he was pressing her too hard into the tree again.
He lifted a bit of the pressure when he saw Donovan die. Then Fergus. Then they were hauling Kenna down in front of the Dark Lord.
"My Lord," Lucius interrupted and Draco was a little surprised to find how much seeing his Father's face upset him. "She might be able to… help us."
The three wolves had pledged themselves to him and he hadn't given them much thought when he disappeared. But if their loyalty had held, they would have deferred to his Father in Draco's absence.
He watched Lucius bend down over Kenna, getting the first glimpse of his mother from behind him. She was crying, silent tears streaming down her face. The sight of it wrenched his heart. He hated seeing his mother cry, but couldn't look away. He was vaguely aware of Lucius ordering Kenna to find him, to bring him home.
"Please," Narcissa took a step forward, clutching a handkerchief, pulling it nervously through… fuck. Through bitten-down nails. Granger might have picked hers, but it left the same short, sharp nails at the end of her fingers. "He's my son. My only son. My… only…"
His Mother covered her face with the handkerchief and Draco saw Lucius wrap his arm around her, comforting her. No, he was… pulling her away from the Dark Lord. Protecting her.
"Draco is loyal, My Lord."
"Is he?" Draco felt his nerves twist at the sound of the Dark Lord's voice. "Where is my loyal servant then?"
Lucius glanced at Narcissa, mouth hanging open. Lucius had the same silver tongue as Draco, but now it lay still and stained with Madeira wine. Useless.
It was his mother who spoke for him. "He hunts Potter for you, My Lord. He… followed when we were attacked."
"LIES!" Bellatrix cawed. "He fled from me with his filthy Mudblood whore!"
That bitch was going to die.
"Shut your mouth, Bellatrix!" Narcissa pushed against her husband's arms. "You know nothing about my son!"
"Silence." The word was hissed. The Dark Lord's lips pulled back, baring his teeth. "You squabble like children." Those blood red eyes were trained on his mother and Draco watched her shrink back, trembling against her coward of a husband's chest. "Your family tree has lost limbs to rot before. If another falls, the infection must be pulled out."
Draco's fingers went numb around Kenna's neck, the coldness started to creep up his arm.
"From the roots."
His mark burned and for a moment, it was the only part of his arm he could feel. Draco pulled out of Kenna's mind and shook his arm, moving the blood into it as it slowly warmed again.
Kenna sagged against the trunk of the tree, hands digging into the bark to hold on. He couldn't wipe her memory without his wand and even if he did, memory charms could be broken and Kenna's mind was weak.
"They'll kill me if I come back without you."
He looked at the red mark around her neck. It was a solution. Or…
His parents had sent Kenna to collect him, to bring him home in hope they could twist their lie into truth. And if the Dark Lord had seen him with Potter, he'd expect Draco to return with another prisoner in tow.
He could bring Weasley too. For fun.
Any slight or stumble would be forgotten if Draco handed over the Chosen One to his Master. His eyes were hard as he watched the tears run over Kenna's cheeks and into the ruff of her brother's coat. Her dead brother.
His last hunting wolf was right here. It would be like it was before, his family safe, Granger secure with him. All he had to do was… lie.
And break Granger's heart possibly to the point where it could never love him.
His arm twinged with pain again.
Fuck.
"Malfoy?"
Bill Weasley was crossing the clearing. He stopped halfway across, eyeing the position Draco and Kenna were in. Close. Touching. Alone.
Draco placed a hand on the tree next to Kenna's head. "Listen to me, look at me." He grabbed her face in his other hand and held it still as he bore down on her. "You can't tell them anything about me. Got it? Nothing." Kenna tried to nod, but he was holding her still. She gave another small whine as his fingers dug into her cheeks harder. "If you do, I'll fucking kill you myself. And it will be a lot worse than the quick curse that's waiting back there for you so you're going to do exactly as I say. Do you understand me?"
"Yes," she breathed out as Bill reached them. "Yes, sir."
Draco dropped his hand to her arm, grabbing her and turning her towards Bill. "She's a werewolf. Knows a bit about Fenrir's pack and might be able to give some information on them."
Bill looked between them quickly, jaw hanging open and scar stretching across his face. Kenna was shaking next to him and Draco didn't dare let go of her. He knew how quick she was. If she got spooked and decided to make a break for it and someone else found her before Draco got his hands back on her…
"The Death Eaters can't find her. Can the Order hide her?"
"Yeah," Bill said softly then cleared his throat. "Yes. Yes, we can. We have a—"
Draco shoved Kenna at him and Bill latched onto her, more to help her stay on her feet than anything else. He needed to think. Alone. And once he sorted himself, he'd sort things with Granger too.
Kenna reached back out to Draco, but he shrugged her off. He moved past them both, heading back into the trees and called without turning, "Get her there before sundown. It's a full moon tonight."
.
It was dark by the time Draco made it back to the cottage. The moon had risen and glittered across the dark waves of the ocean. He could hear people inside; talking, laughing, and really fucked wished he could be just about anywhere else right now. Draco looked up and saw a faint golden light coming from a familiar window and sighed.
He passed by everyone else sitting down to dinner and found Granger waiting for him in their room. At least she wasn't ignoring him this time, but oddly enough, that fact didn't make him feel better about this. Draco took a deep breath and closed the door behind him.
"Who was she?" Granger's lids were so tightly drawn he could hardly make out the chocolate of her eyes between them.
Draco ran his tongue over his teeth. Granger wanted the truth from him? Fine. She'd get it. "Kenna was one of the wolves who worked for me."
Granger's head tilted slightly. "She helped you hunt Muggleborns?"
"She helped me hunt you. If we happened to find… suspected persons while we were out, I had to turn them in. What true Death Eater would let one of yours walk?"
He could probably say what he needed to in a… nicer way. Probably should have too. Granger was clearly upset and once again, he wasn't making it any better.
Her arms slid to her sides. "One of mine?"
"You know what I mean."
"I do," she snipped. "Mudbloods, right?"
Draco's lip curled in distaste. He didn't like hearing that word come from his Aunt's mouth and he really didn't like it coming from hers. "You asked me to stop calling you that and I did. Now I'm going to ask you to stop calling yourself that."
Granger faltered, just for a moment, but it was enough for him to strike again. "I know what I did this last year. And what I did before that. Granger… there is no way I'll ever be able to make it right. There's not. I'm not good. I never will be."
Wandering around the woods, Draco had accepted that about himself. He could have asked the Order for help rescuing his parents, his mother had never taken the mark. They might… but it was pointless. His father would never let his mother go anywhere without him and the Order wouldn't accept him, even as a prisoner.
Lucius belonged to the Dark Lord, not out of loyalty, but out of fear. Minds could be changed, but hearts couldn't. Not that his father had much of one anyway.
Draco's only consolation was that his father would die before he let anything happen to his wife.
Draco didn't blame him.
He'd just made the same choice.
And… he had to admit, he was glad that his father was there to take care of his mother. It made what Draco had done to break him out of Azkaban not feel as… useless.
"Weasley's right. I'll never change. I'll always be… this." He curled his fingers into his palms. "But it doesn't mean I want to be."
Granger's cinnamon eyes widened, listening to him and… finally paying him some fucking attention. Now that he had it, had her, Draco knew exactly what to do.
No more lies. She wanted the truth. And he always gave her what she wanted.
"I know I don't treat you right. I don't treat you… like a person. But that's because you aren't to me. You aren't this person, you're… you're a part of me and I don't—fuck, Hermione… You're all of me. You're mine."
Granger stood in front of him, mouth open and eyes big. She was beautiful. Inside and out. Draco's heart hurt as it beat. Things were complicated between them and he wasn't making them any easier, but that was because he didn't want easy. He wanted her. Hermione Granger and all her fiery pride, her relentless striving, her good, pure nature.
She watched him for a moment and he could see busy thoughts crossing her face, tensing her brows, pursing her lips, narrowing her eyes.
"Draco," she said slowly and he felt his palms dampen. "I am a person. You talk about me like I am some… prize that you won, but, that's not true. I choose to be with you. Time and time again. I don't know why you think you have to order me around and tell me that I shouldn't fight. I did it plenty of times before you came along. I don't need you for that and… I'm not going to change either."
She bit her lip, tucking her caramel colored curls behind her ears. Gold light from the lamp and silver rays from the moon casting combating shadows across her face.
"This is who I am, what I am, and I want to be with you, Draco. I want to be yours. But being yours doesn't stop me from being me. I… I love what you said about me, honestly, I do, but… You have to let me be me."
No. No no no. If he loosened his hold on her she would see that what a fuck up he really was, see all the ugly scars, not the ones on his skin, but the ones on his soul. What would she think if she knew the thoughts he had been tempted by in the woods? He had to keep her, control her.
Or he'd lose her.
"You have to let me be me, Draco. So I can be yours."
He blinked.
Huh.
He'd never thought of it that way. And… today when they were running in the woods together, it had felt like it did before. Is that because Granger felt more like herself in those moments? She had been smiling when he caught her, smiling as he pinned her down, smiling up until he started ordering and cursing at her to leave him there with… another woman.
He'd have never left Granger alone with some creep in the woods, even if she had screamed until she was blue in the face. Maybe… maybe that wasn't fair.
But none of this was fucking fair! It wasn't fair that Granger had finally said she'd leave with him and then devoted all her time to saving her precious Potter so she wouldn't have to. It wasn't fair that she got everything she wanted and the only thing he wanted was her and that it seemed like everyone on the face of this goddamn earth was trying to keep them apart.
Including her.
"Are you?"
"Am I what?"
"Mine."
Granger scoffed. "What sort of question is that?"
"You ran from me," he said in a low voice.
Granger looked at him like he was out of his mind. He was starting to feel like he was, having her so fucking close and not actually having her. It had been almost a week since he'd fucked her and their little game in the woods had only made everything… harder. Now, even his own thoughts weren't making sense, like he didn't have enough blood in his fucking head to keep them straight.
He watched her face turn from incredulation to apprehension. "I thought… I thought you wanted… to. I-I'm sorry if I overstepped—"
"Granger, no!" Draco closed the distance between them, grabbing her upper arms and feeling her muscles twitch nervously under his hands. "Kitten, no, that's not what I meant at all. Of course I wanted to!"
She sagged a little in relief, but her mouth flattened as she looked up at him. "Then why did you say that?"
He had to choose his words carefully. "I… You… Granger, you don't know what it's like to be with someone like you." Shit, she wasn't going to like that. "I keep fucking up and I don't know how to stop. And when I do you get so pissed at me and you storm off and run to your friends and I know the shit they must say about me when I'm not around—"
"Draco, they aren't trying to break us up!"
"They bloody well aren't trying to keep up together either!" he bellowed.
Fuck. Fuck. Everyone in the house must have heard them. Just more fuel for their fucking fire to burn him on.
And of course, Granger had read too far into what he was trying to say.
"So you think you have to control me or my friends will. You don't think I can make decisions for myself now?"
"I think you care too much about what other people think."
"And I don't think you care enough."
Right again. It was getting really fucking annoying how she always did that. He didn't care enough about other people. If he did, maybe he'd do something to help his mother instead of leaving it up to his father. Or at least had been a little nicer to Kenna; she'd just watched her brother die for fuck's sake. Maybe then he wouldn't be alone and friendless, clinging to his girlfriend because she was all he had left in this fucking world.
"I care about you. That's the best I can do." He had said something similar to her, months ago as he left her chained in his bed. Shit, he was lucky she was still even speaking to him after everything he'd put her through and here he was arguing with her again. "But… I'll try, Granger. If that will make you happy, I'll try for you."
And maybe a little for himself too. He had closed himself off to his friends and family and it resulted in him killing one of them and abandoning the rest. If he fixed things with Granger, maybe he could fix them with other people too.
Something softened in her face and Draco was surprised by it. He thought they were going to stand here and fight for the rest of the night until one of them got upset enough to march out. Instead, Granger lifted her hand and placed it against his cheek. He took a deep breath, leaning into it.
"Are you sure it's just me you care about? Kenna looked very… comfortable around you." She didn't sound upset, a little curious maybe, but that was normal for Granger. She had to know fucking everything.
Draco slid his hands down to her hips, grabbing onto them. "I never touched her. Or anyone. You know that."
Granger bit her lip again and Draco felt a familiar pull behind his navel.
Her eyes sparked like burnt cinnamon and he could have sworn a little smirk twisted on her lips. "Really?"
Just like the other night, she knew the answer. Granger just wanted to hear it again, the dirty girl. She always did like to hear all the depraved things he fantasized about in his head. He hadn't been able to give her what she wanted this morning, but now he could. "I spent all those nights in that big bed, alone, thinking of you in different positions, different outfits. Many of which didn't cover much." He grinned and glanced down at her body for a moment.
Her cheeks blushed in his hands as her nipples hardened through her shirt.
"But only you, Hermione." He called her by her name again. It felt strange, but… not… bad. Maybe he could do this, maybe he could change for her. "Only ever you."
Draco lowered his head, resting his forehead against hers.
Granger placed her hands on his sides and fuck, it felt good when she touched him.
"Let me be Hermione," she said. Said, not asked. "And then when we're alone, I'll let you put me in whatever clothing or position you want."
Oh, shit. He wanted to slam his mouth on hers, but she was smiling again and he didn't want to miss a second of the way her pink lips spread or how her cheeks lifted, or how her eyes shone and sparkled—looking at him.
"No more lies, Sweetheart," Draco said with a knowing look. "Don't promise anything you don't plan on delivering."
Grang—Hermione held her hands out, wrists pressed together. The scarred M glowing silver in the moonlight. "You can hold me to that." Her big doe eyes went wide. "Sir."
.
Hermione didn't have to wait to fulfill her promise; Draco was already pushing her down, trapping her between him and the wall with nowhere else for her to go.
He slid smoothly into the controlled demeanor she loved so much. His face turned stoic, but deep in his storm grey eyes she could see something slithering. Only, she wasn't unnerved by it this time, but… comforted. Draco was still in here, her Draco. Hermione peered up at him and tried to fight against a smile.
"No fucking laughing, slut. Your mouth is for sucking my cock, nothing else."
A cool wave of excitement passed through her, making the heat in her lower stomach increase by comparison.
Draco tore at the button on his trousers, pushing and pulling them out of the way. Hermione ran her hands up his legs, stopping at his upper thighs while he grabbed himself and stroked his length quickly a few times. She was about to offer to do it for him when he dropped it against her face.
Hot and heavy, Hermione was overwhelmed by the feel of him from her chin up to her hair. She opened her mouth to run her tongue along it, but gasped instead when Draco gathered her wrists in his hands and pulled them up over her head.
He shoved them hard against the wall, pinning her in place with his growing cock in her face.
His pupils expanded as he looked down his nose at her, pushing her head back against the wall with his free hand until the tip of his cock rested on her lips. She knew he needed this, needed her on her knees for him as proof that she meant what she said. Hermione remembered how Draco had sealed his promises to her and placed a soft kiss against the underside of his head, looking up at him as innocently as possible.
Draco's eyes glazed. "Suck it like you love it."
Hermione did.
She closed her eyes and leaned into him, knowing that Draco was holding her steadily by her hands, she let everything else fall away. She did exactly what he told her because she needed this just as much as he did. These times when it was just the two of them, indulging in each other, she was able to leave everything else behind. No more worrying about her friends, or making plans, or if they would all die tomorrow.
There was only this. Only him.
"Oh fuck, that's good," Draco groaned, rocking his hips in time with her movements, driving her on—faster, harder. "You do love it. You love being on your knees, having your face filled with my cock don't you, kitten?"
Hermione moaned in response, tilting her head back just a little so he could push deeper. He hit her throat and Hermione felt his hand tighten around her wrists.
"Open your eyes." Draco was staring down at her, mouth open and breathing heavily. "You want to get your throat fucked, you dirty whore?"
Hermione felt a tightness coil in her and she squeezed her knees together as she moaned again, unable to form words.
"Of course you do," Draco cooed. "Because little sluts always want to get their throats fucked, don't they?"
He pulled out of her mouth and Hermione gulped down a breath. Her lips were sensitive as she licked them, already wet and watched Draco drag his fist up and down the length of himself.
She knew he wanted her to answer, to say it. It wasn't enough to show him, Draco had always needed to hear it too.
Hermione strained forward, feeling him holding her hands pinned above her head against the wall.
"Please," she panted. "Please, Draco."
"Please what?" He cocked an eyebrow up, enjoying himself.
"Show me that I'm yours."
His facial features shifted, ever so slightly, but the effect was instantaneous. Draco looked strong, powerful. Dominant.
Hermione whined as he lifted her hands up and crushed her wrists together in his hand. Her knees were just barely brushing the floor now. She was practically hovering, hanging there, waiting for what they both knew was coming.
Hermione opened her mouth.
Draco drove himself in, pushing past the tightness at the back of her throat and stretching it as he slid himself farther. Hermione did her best to hold her breath as the back of her head collided with the wall. Her arms felt warm and numb and she squirmed a little, knees scuffing the floor as Draco let out a long, grateful stream of expletives.
He was forceful, but not overly so; just enough that the pain mixed with the pleasure and saliva dripped down her chin to pool on the ground in front of her. Tears slipped from her closed eyes, but she made no movement of protest, she was doing this for him, with him. She wanted this as much as he did.
"Fucking take it." Draco's voice was raspy, as if he was barely able to form words. "Take my fucking cock, whore. Choke on it. Swallow it. Love it."
She did it all, finding herself moaning along with him when she got the air to do it.
Draco's hips snapped quicker, losing any sense of rhythm or pattern and just giving into the need surging through him.
She could feel him growing warmer and expanding in her throat. Hermione softened the muscles in there as best she could so he could easily move in and out of her.
"Fuck, Granger, yes," Draco got out. "You're mine. You're mine. You're mine," he chanted with each thrust.
"Say it."
Draco retreated from her mouth, leaving her messed and gasping for breath.
"Say you belong to me. With me."
His cock was dark and swollen, looming over her face like an inevitability.
"I'm yours," Hermione said softly, throat too sore to summon much else. Draco groaned weakly, pumping his fist. "I'm always going to be yours."
If he squeezed her wrists much harder he was going to snap something. But Hermione knew he wouldn't; Draco had control, over himself as much as over her.
A thick drop of come landed on her cheek and Hermione went on, knowing what he needed because it was what she wanted to do. "I'm yours. Just yours. All for you, Draco."
Draco came over her face, covering it as she spoke. Some of it fell in her mouth and she let it slide down her tongue to the back of her sore throat, coating it as she stuck her tongue out to swipe up more.
Draco was panting, working his hand and draining himself into her open mouth.
"Tell me you love me."
Hermione's heart fluttered in her chest. "I love you. I love you more than anything. I'll always love you. I'll never stop."
Draco cried out as the final streams shot from him, warm and thick. Hermione hummed happily, keeping her head back so he could stare down at his work on her.
Draco let out a heavy breath. "You are the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen," he said in an awestruck voice. "Fuck, I love you, Hermione."
Hermione. It wasn't often he called her that and even rarer when he said it not in anger, but there were no silver shields over his eyes right now. Draco and Hermione; she could get used to hearing that. And this was Draco, her Draco, staring down at her with an expression of pure adoration.
Gently he let go of her wrists. Hermione whimpered and little as he took her numb hands into his and guided her to her feet.
Draco had been sated and the calm composure descended over him again. She was shaky on her legs, but that didn't stop Draco from carefully running his hands down her arms, massaging them slightly while he placed them at her sides again. Without missing a beat, Draco's hands moved to her jeans and he had them unzipped before Hermione really knew what he was doing.
"Sit."
She sat on the bed and Draco pulled them off of her legs.
"I need to clean this—"
"No." It was the deep, commanding voice again. "I want it on for this." He was pushing her back on the bed, making sure the pillow was supporting her head as he laid down. Draco climbed in between her legs, hands on her thighs, and pulled them apart.
"Oh you dirty girl," he said with a smirk. "You've made quite a mess down here in your knickers."
Hermione felt her face heating up under the warm come covering it.
"I love how sucking me off gets you wet." Draco's voice was a little softer now. "My perfect little slut."
Her knickers were sliding down her legs, past her knees and then off. Hermione felt the bed shift as Draco positioned himself between her legs.
He stroked her slit with a single finger and Hermione shivered under his touch. Draco chuckled and kissed the bruise on her inner thigh.
"Relax, Granger. I'm not done enjoying myself."
"What?" Hermione lifted her head and started to sit up.
Draco's hand was on her chest, pushing her back down.
"I'll clean you up when I'm done, but I want to watch you come with that on your face."
Hermione's whole body was shaking with anticipation. Draco chuckled and kissed the lips in front of him, teasing her as he licked without opening them.
"Just relax now, kitten." She could feel the words against her folds, his breath warm and cool at the same time. "Let me really show you that you're mine."
Hermione gave a high pitched gasp as Draco's mouth closed around the bruised mark on her thigh. She expected to feel his teeth bite into her, but this time she was gifted a soft kiss, light licks and sweet sucking until she felt the blood heat and rise underneath the bruised skin.
"Draco…" Hermione reached out and brushed her fingers through his short, silky hair.
"Hermione," he moaned and turned his head to continue the same actions against her slit. His tongue dove into her, lapping and licking. He eased it up to her swollen bud and then covered it with his mouth, groaning as he pressed down on her hips to keep her in place.
She did her best to do as he asked and relax, but her body was singing with every touch of his tongue. Draco focused his attention on her clit, calling forth an orgasm without muttering a single word. She pushed her head back into the pillow and felt Draco heft her legs over his wide shoulders.
It didn't take long. She responded to him like she was made to. Hermione was gasping, her muscles tightening, and Draco showed no intention of stopping. As the pressure rose up in her, cresting and crashing, Hermione lifted her head and looked down her body.
Draco's eyes were shining, watching her with such intensity that the sight of them pushed her on, her body quaking and shaking as his tongue flicked over her, extending the riot of pleasure pulsing through her.
He emerged grinning, smiling, and licking his lips. His eyes were as bright, reflecting the light of the full moon from the window behind them when he said, "Now we match."
She couldn't help but laugh as Draco crawled over her. He reached back to pull his shirt off over his head and gently dabbed at her face, wiping off the worst of it before cleaning off the rest with a simple charm.
It was… tender and sweet and Hermione found that she enjoyed being taken care of and cleaned by Draco. He hadn't done things like that last year, only enough to make sure no one knew what he had done with her and nothing about those actions had been… intimate.
He leaned down and kissed her. "I love you. You." Draco caressed her cheek. "And… I want you to be with you. You're… You're all I have left, Sweetheart."
She thought her heart might burst. She slid her hands up the side of his body, feeling his muscles tighten as she trailed them over his back. It was still smooth, one of the last places on his body that hadn't been touched by violence. Her eyes moved up to his forehead. The wound there had healed, barely even visible now and once his hair grew out it would be hidden again. It hadn't been a cursed wound, but she wondered if it had hurt more than the others because of who had given it to him.
"Your parents—"
"I don't want to talk about them."
"Draco…"
"No, Granger." His voice was unusually steely. "That's a hard line. I mean it."
The last thing she wanted to do was fight with him. Again.
Draco's expression softened a little and he kissed her again. "You need to get some rest."
"So do you."
He shook his head. "You were up at dawn. I slept until lunch."
"Lazy."
"Not when it matters." He smirked and began to move down her body again. "Lay back, kitten." He kissed between her breasts, over her stomach, past her navel. "I'll just lick you for a while. I want to be the last thing you think of before you fall asleep. I want you to dream of me eating your pretty pussy all night."
.
"Draco…"
Draco's left arm twitched, the movement stirring him even in sleep.
He could see scales, twisting and turning. They coiled around him, constricting his movements so he was staring into a pair of grey eyes, paler than his own.
He glared back, the muscles in his arm clenching as he wished for a wand in his hand to send a curse right in between those eyes.
The eyes turned black and he was staring into a skull. The scales around him tightened, cutting off his breath. Unable to move as the black pits turned into deep, bloody holes, a slit of a pupil cutting through them.
"You pledged yourself in place of your father. Return."
Draco jolted awake. Coughing and gasping for breath against a closed throat. His efforts pushed his body up, disrupting Granger who had been curled up next to him, as he struggled to fill his empty chest with air again.
"Draco?" she mumbled quietly, pushing her tangled tawny curls out of her face as she sat up with him. "Are you okay?"
His head was pounding, his heart thundering in it and a low, bruised ache radiated up his arm and sweat broke out over his back, a single chilling bead ran down his spine. Turning his hand up, Draco's eyes landed on the scorched mark. It was moving, the snake twisting just like it had in his dream and the black eyes staring up at him expectantly.
One.
Two.
Fuck, that hurt.
Three.
He took a breath and held it, releasing it slowly and taking control of the muscles in his chest again.
Granger threaded her fingers into his, her small hand pressed against him.
She didn't say anything, just held his hand until he caught his breath. Draco closed his eyes, not wanting to see the stain of ink on his skin.
Those crimson eyes were waiting for him the second his lids closed. He opened them back up, feeling as though they could see right into him if he stayed in that darkness.
"Fuck."
"Are you alright?"
Draco nodded and focused on her. Her crinkled curls, half wild and half flat from the pillow and her big doe eyes, searching his face for a sign. He had to keep his face still because any hint of what he was thinking and she would pick up on it.
Too bloody smart.
Sometimes he wondered how he had gotten away hiding his mark from her for so long. How could she have not known? Not figured it out?
Granger glanced down at his lap and her lips curled into a small smile.
Oh. That was how.
"Good morning," she said in her sexy little voice and Draco started to forget all about the scales and the eyes as her hand began to move up his leg.
"It's about to be." He smirked and slid his hand over her waist, intent on pulling her on top of him so she could—
A sharp cry and the deep sound of wings flapping tore his attention from Granger.
Draco's head turned sharply towards the bright window where… fucking hell—Calix was sitting on the ledge just outside, stretching his wings out to balance on the small slip of wood.
"Is that—" Granger didn't even get to finish her question before Draco had thrown his legs over the side of the bed and shot up, his long stride carrying him to the window in a second.
He nearly broke the latch trying to open it and Calix flew inside. There was no perch for him so he flapped awkwardly on the small table beside the bed, knocking the lamp over as he screeched again. Draco fumbled with his clothes, pulling his trousers up his long legs ad Calix folded in his wings.
"How did he find you?" Granger asked, scooting to the edge of the bed and pulling on a robe.
Draco didn't care. He didn't have a single thought in his head besides getting the small pouch tied to Calix's leg. Adrenaline pumped through him and as he untied it. There was a small part of him that seemed to already know what was about to land in the center of his shaking hand.
The heavy silver ring embossed with the Malfoy crest tumbled out. For some reason, it felt heavier this time.
Draco stared at it, eyes wide and dry.
The ring. His family's ring.
There was only one reason it had been given to him.
Calix gave a soft hoot in consolation.
"Draco?"
Granger sounded very far away and a light ringing replaced her voice in Draco's ears.
He closed the ring in his fist.
One.
Two.
Three.
He threw the fist through the window, shattering the glass and sprinkling it across the floor.
"Draco!"
He ignored Granger. Sucking in heavy breaths through his nose, Draco pulled the door open and headed down the stairs, taking them two at a time.
"Draco!"
He could hear her running behind him, but Draco didn't stop.
Couldn't stop.
Not until he made it to the kitchen scanning his eyes over the room quickly, looking for the one person who could confirm what Draco already knew to be true.
But he had to hear it. He just… had to.
Weasley was standing, eating… something. Draco didn't even let his gaze linger long enough to find out. At the table in the center of the room was the person he had come to find.
Potter was sitting there, as if he was waiting for Draco to come down to him.
Self aggrandizing prick.
Draco stopped at the opposite end of the table, barely daring to breathe.
"Is it true?"
Potter lifted his gaze from the parchment in front of him, green eyes guarded and hard. He was already prepared for an invasion into his mind, to find the evidence, the answer…
Granger landed behind Draco, still tying her hair up. "Draco, what is—"
Potter stood up and Draco could see Weasley falling into a defensive stance out of the corner of his eye, food forgotten on the counter beside him.
Potter met his gaze, holding it with a strange look in his eye. Draco was about to start shouting when he said in an annoyingly calm voice, "Yes."
Draco didn't hear anything else. He barely even felt Granger pulling on his arm, trying to get him to look at her.
All he saw was his wand in her pocket.
Draco snatched it.
"Oi!" Weasley.
The plate he was holding broke, scattering sharp pieces and beans on the floor.
Draco gripped the ring so hard it hurt.
Good. This should hurt.
Everything should hurt.
"Draco!" Granger was pulling on him again.
"Get OFF!" He shoved her back. She stumbled into the table and Potter was at her side. Weasley was not far behind him.
Her friends. Her family.
Not his.
His was… dead. Or at least his father was.
His mother… His mother needed him.
Draco turned to the door.
"No!" She was heading for him again. "Draco, what happened?!"
"Stay here," he snarled over his shoulder. He didn't want to look at her.
"Where are you going?"
"Hermione," Potter was reaching for her. His hand on her shoulder. Touching her.
Draco paused, his heart beating like a war drum in his chest.
"Draco, don't…" She looked so small. Her pink robe falling off her shoulder. Potter's hand sitting there. "Don't leave."
Stay here. With her. With them.
He didn't belong here. He was a goddamn Malfoy.
He knew where he belonged.
The ring seemed to burn in his hand, echoing the sensation deep in his throat.
He opened his hand and her eyes widened as she saw what was sitting there.
"Oh goodness… Draco…" Her voice was nothing more than a hushed whisper and he wished more than anything that they were not in the kitchen with Weasley and Potter watching them right now because he was afraid if he kept looking at her big doe eyes, wide with fucking pity, he was going to fall right into them.
"You… You don't have to," she said in that same small voice. "I know you think—"
"I have to try," Draco bit out, not realizing how fucking tight his throat was until he tried to speak. "She's my mother."
He turned back to the door, opening it as a gust of wind blew against him.
"Draco!"
Her footsteps stopped short. Someone had stopped her.
"Let him go, Hermione."
Fucking Potter. He'd deal with him later.
Draco didn't even bother to close the door behind him.
.
A/N: The chapter soundtrack takes on a bit of a different meaning now, doesn't it?
Also if you follow me on twitter or instagram you might have seen that I think we are going to have a total of 23ish chapters and then an epilogue. Hopefully we will have TBE done by the end of August!