Author's Note: Here's the next chapter, in our dear Draco's point of view (:

Chapter 36

There's a loud moan. Suddenly everything feels too real, and I open my eyes.

Holy fuck.

I'd just been dreaming about fingering her. I can't believe that I actually…

I freeze, two of my fingers still pressed in that slick groove, and her body goes rigid. She knows I'm awake, which means that she's awake.

For the love of God, Draco, what are you doing?

I pull my fingers out of her and roll onto my back.

"Fuck, Granger," I groan. "Why didn't you stop me?"

I silently cast a Scouring Charm on my fingers—even now, I'm tempted to lick them, just to get a taste of her. I pull my right hand out from beneath her head and cover my face. I don't think I can look at her right now. Why didn't she stop me?

"Malfoy… does your body just… do that… on its own?" I hear her ask tentatively.

No! Fuck, no! I only lose control over my own actions when it comes to her. But I can't tell her that.

"Do what?"

"You know what I mean," she says quietly.

I can't just lie here. I get up and take a few steps away from the bed, running a hand through my hair. I should probably apologize. After being almost-raped just a few hours ago, I'm sure the last thing she'd want is to be touched in that way. Yet I can't get the words to come out—she didn't stop me.

I turn around and notice that her eyes are fixed on me. Just seeing the way she's looking at me makes me want to take her right here. I force myself to think of less pleasurable things to subdue my erection. An image of the giant oaf Hagrid surfaces in my mind, and I feel a lot better.

But she's still looking at me. I can practically feel her eyes raking over my torso.

"Granger, you're staring."

I watch as her cheeks redden, and her head turns away.

Then I notice the bezoar still sitting on the dresser and step over to pick it up. I sit on the bed, and she turns her face towards me.

"Is that a bezoar?" she asks, looking at the stone.

I nod in response.

"Why would I need—"

"The spell that hit you completely severed your carotid artery," I explain. "I repaired the damage with the countercurse, but I did it in a hurry. I'm not taking any chances, so you're going to have to swallow this."

She shakes her head, looking at me as though I've gone mad. "That's such a waste!" she protests. "Bezoars are very rare, and they can undo most poisons. I wasn't even poisoned."

"They're not only used as antidotes, Granger, you know that."

"But I—"

"Humor me," I say firmly.

She sighs and sits up, but I know she won't be able to stay upright for long on her own. I shift behind her and use my shoulder to support her weight. Fuck, I should have conjured a thicker robe for her. The part of me that comes into contact with her is burning, and I wonder what she would do if I thrust a finger into her right now.

My cock twitches at the thought, and again I try to think of something else—anything else. The thought of Macnair quickly subdues any physical excitement that had been stirring inside me, and I feel relieved.

I open my hand and show her the bezoar sitting in my palm. I'm not going to give in.

"Well, I can't just swallow it as is," she says quietly.

I smirk. I knew she'd cave eventually. I shrink the bezoar to the size of a small pill.

"Better?" I ask, looking at her.

She nods, but I can see that she's thinking hard. I wonder what exactly is going through her head.

Then her eyes shift to the miniature bezoar in my palm, and I notice that she's lifting her arm. I shake my head. Her arm falls back to her side, and she opens her mouth. I place the bezoar in her mouth and reach behind me to get the empty glass that I'd used for the potion last night. The glass fills with water at my command, and I hold it to her lips to help her swallow the pill.

After she swallows it, I put the glass back on the nightstand and help her lie down. Then I reach out to pull the covers up and over her. She'll be all right, but my chest still clenches with worry at how weak she is. Another bezoar ought to do it.

I look at her face in time to see her quickly turning her eyes away. Before I can comment, she speaks up.

"I have to go. I have to get back to Grimmauld Place."

"No," I say. "I haven't made sure that it's safe. If Mundungus got away—"

"You got my message," she says, sounding surprised.

I nod. "If he got away, then your headquarters could be compromised."

Yeah, I'm just using that as an excuse. I'm sure Mundungus couldn't have gotten away with all those people watching over him. I just don't want Granger to leave, now that she's here.

"Oh, and this mysterious place is somehow safer?" she asks. "The Death Eaters won't come knocking?"

"No," I say. "No, they won't."

"How can this possibly be safer than—"

Bugger secrecy. "It's under the Fidelius Charm," I say.

"Oh, and you're a Secret Keeper. Is that it?"

"Yes, actually."

"How many other Secret Keepers are there?"

"None."

"Then… how many people have you—"

"None. I've never taken anyone here, other than you."

Maybe I shouldn't have told her that. But I'm so tired of keeping secrets. And it's about time I let her know that I don't want to hurt her. It's absolutely critical if I still want to maintain any sort of a friendship—my chest clenches painfully at the damned word—with her, especially after being forced to torture her.

"But…" she says, looking away. "How do you expect me to believe you? You tortured me!"

I sigh. I'd expected that. I'm actually surprised that it took her this long to bring it up. But the words, as prepared for them as I was, still hurt me much more than I'd anticipated. Fuck.

"Frankly, I don't care whether or not you believe me," I say. My words come out harsher than I'd meant them to, but it's easier to hide my emotions this way. "But you're not leaving here until you've made a full recovery. I don't think one bezoar was enough. Don't you feel how weak you are?"

"One bezoar is enough," she says, glaring at me. "And that was already a waste."

"Well I don't mind wasting another one. I've got plenty extra," I say irritably.

I walk out of the room before she can say anything. I don't want to fight, but I can't seem to help it. She's got me on the defensive. I'm too distracted to hide anything right now. Fucking hell, I used to have so much control over myself.

I stand still in the living room, glaring at nothing in particular. She doesn't seem to be as angry about being tortured as I'd expected her to. I hope that it's because she understands my situation, but that seems too good to be true.

Then there's a loud crash, and I rush back into the bedroom. She's sprawled on the floor, wincing in pain. She looks up, and our eyes meet for a moment. I immediately turn away, afraid that my eyes will give me away.

I start to exit the room, but her voice stops me.

"Malfoy, wait. I'm sorry. Please, help me."

I resist the urge to hang my head in defeat. Just two words. One simple, two-word apology, and I can't muster up one ounce of anger to convince myself to just leave this room. I'm fucking doomed. I turn back around, hating how much power she has over me.

I squat down and slide my arms beneath her small body. It's too easy to lift her up. She's so light… and then I realize that she must not have eaten for some time. I wish she'd said something.

I put her down carefully and pull the covers back over her again.

"Stay put."

"Where are you going?" she asks me.

"To your headquarters. I'm going to tell them that you'll be staying with me for the next few days."

"Next few days?" she repeats incredulously. "I never said—"

"Don't argue with me. You just stay right there. Don't make me Stun you," I say, pulling my Death Eaters robes on.

She looks at me quizzically. "Malfoy, can you Stun me?"

I frown. Yes, yes I could, if I really wanted to. It's my charm, so I can force it to make exceptions in my presence. "I'll be back," I say, avoiding her question.

"We're going to have a long talk when you get back," she says.

"No, I don't think so," I say. "Bye, Granger."

With that, I Apparate to the doorstep of Grimmauld Place.

Blaise is the one who answers the door when I knock.

"Draco," he says. "Where's Hermione?"

I spot Potter approaching and say, "Otter."

"What?" Blaise says, confused.

"Potter told me to choose a word to prove that it's really me. That was the first one that came to mind," I say, shoving past him and into the grungy house.

"Did you get Hermione out of there?" Potter asks.

"Yes. She's pretty badly injured, so she'll be staying with me for a few days."

"Who says?" the weasel demands, appearing from the kitchen.

"I do. She's too hurt to go anywhere. I came to let you know that she's safe."

"Safe? How can she be safe if she's with you?" Weasley says angrily.

"Well, she's staying with me whether you like it or not, and there's nothing you can do about it."

He reaches for his wand, furious, but Potter shakes his head.

"Would you look at that, Weasley's exercising some self-control," I say.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Weasley mutters.

"Can we at least visit her?" Blaise asks, moving to stand in front of me so that he can see my face.

"No."

"Why not?" Potter asks, frowning.

I don't want to let you into my home, that's why!

"You just can't," I say. "I'll bring her back when she's recovered. You'll have to be satisfied with that. It's the most I can promise you."

"What about Lupin? And have you heard anything about Alicia and Lee?"

"Haven't heard anything," I say, shaking my head.

Then I feel the burn on my left forearm, something I haven't felt for a while—Voldemort hasn't summoned us with the Mark in a very long time.

"I have to go."

"Wait. We want to see Hermione," Potter says.

I look at the three men facing me and shake my head.

I've always known that Weasley was interested in Granger. But the last time I mentioned him in front of her, she said that he wasn't her 'dear Ronald'. Potter I know is interested in the She-Weasel, but he and Granger are best friends. Blaise… it seems that he's developed some feelings for her.

"I'll bring her back later. Now I really have to go."

I start to turn away, but a hand grabs onto my upper arm, and I turn to see that Blaise is the one stopping me from leaving.

"Let go," I say.

"No. Take us to Hermione."

"There are some things that are more important than you getting to see your friend, all right? If I blow my cover, people are gonna die," I say calmly.

"How the fuck does taking us to Hermione have anything to do with—" Weasley begins.

I tug up my sleeve to show them the Dark Mark, jet black against my pale skin.

"I have to go," I repeat. "Understand now?"

Blaise releases my arm, and I leave the room without another word.

Outside on the doorstep, I curse mentally and Apparate to my room in the Manor. I'll give myself a minute to settle my thoughts and prepare to meet with Voldemort. He'll want to know what happened in that dungeon.

I'm certain that Blaise is seriously interested in Granger. Weasley isn't much of a threat—she doesn't seem interested in him at all. But Blaise… I remember the concerned expression I saw on her face through the Spying Charm when he was hurt. She cares about him. If she knew that he wanted her, would she reciprocate those feelings?

A wave of envy washes over me as I realize that she probably would. He stayed with the right side, was so adamant about it that he gave up his best friend and his family. Meanwhile, I chose to join my parents in serving the Dark Lord. I handed Theo to the Death Eaters, made him into one of us. I killed Seamus Finnegan, and a number of others before him.

She would never choose me.

Author's Note: I don't remember exactly how the Dark Mark worked in the books, or the movie, for that matter, but I decided that in my story, it's only used for summoning all Death Eaters at once; to contact specific Death Eaters, Voldemort has to use other methods.