Author's Note: Yep, I know that my posts have been few and far between, compared to how often I posted in the past. But I'm in the middle of midterm season. I just had two midterms this week (one of them was yesterday, and the other was the day before), and I have another one next week. It's really difficult for me to find time to write, and when I do have free time, I hardly have the energy to get psyched up and creative for writing this story. Yeah, it sounds like a bunch of excuses, but it's true.

Anyway, enough of my whining. Here's the chapter!

Chapter 76

"I want you to take me, tonight. I want to be yours, and I want you to be mine."

Holy. Bloody. Fuck.

I back up slightly and watch as her large, brown eyes open up to look at me. Her pupils are dilated, making her eyes look darker than usual. She leans forward to kiss me again, but I turn my head to the side. Undeterred, she kisses my jaw and trails her lips down my neck. My breathing quickens, and blood rapidly rushes south.

"You're not allowed to protest or resist," she murmurs against the base of my neck.

"Granger—"

"Shh."

"—don't you think you should—"

I cut myself off with an involuntary gasp as she bites down hard at the base of my neck.

"If you're about to tell me I should think this through, my answer is that I don't want to," she says. She backs up so that she can see my face and continues, "I want you, Draco. Only you."

I feel like I can't breathe. This can't be happening—it must be a dream. I'll probably wake up in a few minutes, lying alone in bed.

"Granger, we shouldn't—"

She frowns at me. "I don't care what we should or shouldn't do. I almost lost you because of that idiot, and because you thought that there was a possibility that I could change my mind about you."

"Of course I thought there was a possibility. I'm a Death Eater. We are trying to kill you."

She groans at this. "Don't you think the title, 'Death Eater', hardly applies to you?"

As she finishes speaking, her fingers start lightly running through my hair. I wish that she'll never stop. Bloody hell, this won't end well.

"Granger, I—"

"Did you know that it stings when you call me that?" she interrupts.

I narrow my eyes at her. I don't believe her.

"I can call you Draco. Why can't you call me Hermione?" she continues.

I close my eyes. "Fine. Hermione, I don't think I can…" my voice fades.

I don't want to take this step. I don't want to go too far. If I leave her now, I'll still make it out intact. If I let her have this part of me, I won't be able to go back.

Merlin, I sound pathetic.

When I open my eyes, it looks like she's struggling with herself.

"Do you not want me, then? Is that it?" she finally asks.

I restrain the part of me that wants to tell her how wrong she is to think that, how stupid I am for letting her come to that conclusion. It'd be best for both of us if I just… if I just nod, right now.

I nod once. "That's it."

She glares at me, and I realize that that was just a test, a test that I apparently failed. She takes a bold step forward, pressing herself against me, and I bite back a groan. Her arms tighten around my neck, and it takes all of my self-control not to wrap my arms around her.

"Granger—"

"Don't lie to me, Draco."

"I'm not—"

She kisses me again, harder this time, forcing her way into my mouth. It's impossible for me not to respond—I fleetingly consider biting her tongue to warn her off, but I just can't help myself. The darker side of me craves more of her, wants to take her up on her offer and make her irrevocably mine.

My arms wrap around her, pulling her even closer to me.

Her hands slide around and begin to unbutton my shirt.

Fuck.

I release her and grab onto her hands, holding them still.

"Stop," I say, breaking the kiss.

The beast in my chest rails against my decision, demanding more of that intoxicating kiss.

She presses her forehead against mine, and I see that her eyes are still shut.

"Why? I don't want to," she murmurs.

She gives me another quick kiss, and the creature inside me rages again for more.

"It's just not… not a good idea," I say tightly. "If you keep this up, I won't be able to control myself."

"I don't want you to control yourself."

I let her brush my hands off, and she continues slowly unbuttoning my shirt. This has to be the hardest thing I've had to do in my life. Reject Hermione Granger.

"Don't you think you need to relax, Draco?" she asks me in a soft voice.

I'm still struggling with myself—I can't let this get too far. I'm sure that she's getting close to the boundary between the part of me that is safe and the part that is… insane.

Granger lowers herself to stand flat on her feet and lifts her eyes to my face. Avoiding her gaze, I decide to shut my eyes, but the loss of sight makes me even more acutely aware of her small fingers working so slowly at the buttons on my shirt.

"You've been stuck working for someone you couldn't possibly control for so long that you think you have to control every aspect of your life that you can," she continues. "But you don't. Not in front of me. I really care about you, Draco."

She pushes my shirt off over my shoulders, and then I feel her lips caress the top of my scar.

I shake my head stiffly. "I can't do this, Granger."

"Hermione," she corrects me.

I sigh. "I can't—"

"Then let me do it for you," she says. "Let go."

Her hands trail up my sides, and where our skin comes into contact, I feel like I've been burned. I take a small step back.

How can I do this? How can I deny her something that she seems to want so much? That I want so bloody much? Fuck.

She clearly isn't giving up—she steps forward right with me.

"No protesting or resisting," she says.

"That isn't right, Granger."

"Hermione," she reminds me again. "And how is this not right? You said I could ask anything of you as long as your work with the Order wasn't put in danger. Seeing as you've already been exposed, I don't think that'll be a problem anymore."

Her hands are slowly exploring my torso, and I'm hopelessly distracted.

"Tell me why you're so sure that this shouldn't happen. I want to know," she says.

"I don't want you to regret it," I say.

She looks up at me and smiles, and I curse myself for having opened my eyes. Why does she have to be so beautiful? It'd be so much easier to say no to a hag.

"Then you have nothing to worry about," she says, leaning up to kiss me again.

Her statement does nothing to alleviate my concerns. She may not think that she'll regret it now, but she can't speak for herself in the future. I keep my lips pressed together. I can't cave in.

She sucks my lower lip into her mouth and bites down, drawing a groan from me. Her hands finish their exploration at my shoulders, and she pulls away from my lips briefly.

"I said that I wanted you to take me, Draco," she says in a low voice. "That'll require a bit more participation on your part."

"Are you… sure?"

Why am I so fucking weak? Say no, goddamn it!

Meanwhile, the other side of me is poised to take over, just waiting for an opening.

No. I'm staying in control.

She rolls her eyes at me. "No. I just like to tease men because I can."

"I'm being very serious."

She frowns. "Draco… are you all right?"

Instead of replying, I yank her into my arms and kiss her. She stiffens at first, surprised, but melts into my arms readily.

I'll just steal this moment, so that I'll be able to keep it with me. After she knows all that I've done, she won't be able to accept me, no matter how forgiving she is. It'd be better for both of us if I could stop myself now, if I was just strong enough to tell her no.

But I'm not.

I'm too weak and selfish for that.

My hands slip under her shirt, and the feel of her soft, smooth skin under my palms makes me want to moan. I break our kiss to get some air and kiss my way down her neck. She lets her head fall back, giving me easier access.

I explore her neck and collarbones with my lips and tongue, paying attention to the motions and places that make her gasp or tense up.

Then she pulls my head back up to hers and kisses me.

I slowly walk her backwards toward my bed, and when the backs of her legs hit the mattress, she sits down. I crawl forward, forcing her to lie on her back.

Is this really happening?

I brace myself above her and look into the beautiful brown eyes that have owned me, on some level, since fifth year.

As long as she's sure, I'll go through with this. But part of me can't help hoping that she'll chicken out and change her mind.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" I ask.

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Call me a tease. I didn't include more in this chapter because I know that you people don't like the repeated scenes, and I've already decided what I'll be repeating and what I won't. And I wanted to switch back to Hermione's point of view while maintaining a continuous timeline. I'll try to post again soon.

PS- Yes, I know this chapter may seem a bit short. Seeing as I'm the author, I'm typically aware of how long my chapters are (in fact, chapter length is one of the factors I consider when I decide where to cut scenes off). I decided from the beginning that the chapters in this story were going to be shorter than the ones in Vengeance, and I set the range for about 1500-3000 words. Most chapters in this story, therefore, fall in that range. I've actually gone over that 3000-word limit in about 15 chapters. There's only been one chapter that didn't hit 1500, and it was way at the beginning—Chapter 4, if you're curious.

Oh goodness. Rambling, rambling, rambling. Sorry. School is turning me into a nut.