(A/N)

Hello,

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE!
And with that here is a reallllllyyyyyyy long chapter with a realllllyyy long lemon. Consider it a new year gift! ;)
Please don't read it if you are underage. It's not meant for innocent eyes.

Review, vote and promote!

Mili

P.S. I will indicate the beginning of the lemon with some ~~~~ and the same for its end. You won't be missing any major plotlines if you skip the lemon.

The Malfoy family had more secrets than anybody could imagine. More than Harry's mind could conjure and definitely more than what the Ministry knew. One such secret was a hidden alcove in the library. It was right behind the fireplace and its entry was open in plain sight, thus no one imagined it to actually be anything that might contain anything precious.

Yet, the alcove consisted of the most shrouded Malfoy secrets. It had a Pensieve and memories of significant moments in the lives of each and every Malfoy. Moments that might be of significance to the successive generations. Also present were the diaries and journals of more controversial or important Malfoy ancestors.

Draco had recalled that he had come across Silvius' journal during the war while the Dark Lord had made the Manor his madhouse. Draco had had nothing to do and he needed a distraction from all the torture and misery he saw around himself. Learning new skills was something he could not put his mind to, so he took up reading about the past, instead. He had picked up the journal at random, from the shelf on the wall. When and how did it manage to land up in the Alcove, Draco did not know.

He was almost sure it was stolen, but he had to check the Alcove, to be sure. And he needed to do it in Hermione's absence. He couldn't exactly just share the family secret with her after all.

Much to his relief, the journal was right there. Lucius might have hidden it from the Death Eaters. He probably did not want anyone to know of the little splotch on an otherwise spotless lineage of Malfoy purebloods. Draco grimaced at that thought.

Granger was at the door, punctual as always, exactly at nine. Draco had owled her to be there at nine instead of eight. A man did need his fair share of sleep at the end of the day.

They had breakfast while going through some other books about the Marshlands and previous case history that Hermione had managed to procure from the Ministry. They decided to save the journal for the last. Draco had flipped through it and had marked the relevant portion to study in detail.

As the fire crackled in the fireplace, and the storm clouds gathered outside the Manor, the two seemed busy making notes and trying to find anything that might help them solve the case. Truth was, they were hyper-aware of each other. Draco would steal occasional glances whereas Hermione would discreetly look at him over her book, from her place on the rug, that she had now claimed as her own.

They would catch each other's eye and then turn a shade of crimson that would put a tomato to shame.

Hermione could not stop looking at his sinewy arms that were on show under his rolled-up sleeves. Draco Malfoy was one impeccably dressed gentleman. There would never be a single unwanted crease on his clothes. He believed in power dressing. Rolling his sleeves, when he was working passionately was the only time when Hermione had ever seen the blonder haired man change the appearance of his clothes from anything less than perfect. However, she knew the truth. What those sleeves and the man in the shirt did to her nerves, only she knew.

Hermione had been constantly biting away at her lower lip. The more she did it, the more irritated Draco felt. It was making her lips more plump and red. Making that smart mouth of hers even more tempting. Hermione probably never realised that all her sensible dressing had a rather opposite effect on the Slytherin Prince. All he wanted to do was bite that plump bottom lip of hers and rip off her dainty silk blouses and pencil skirts that she preferred over the robes. He wanted to ravish her with every glance; instead, he had started applauding himself at the amount of self-control that he had been exhibiting lately.

He did not know where was all this pent-up sexual tension coming from. He had always respected her, even back in his Hogwarts years. Though he would have never admitted that to anybody. Over the years, after the war, he had come to admire her for her resilience, passion and ability to take charge. Now that blood purity bigotry did not cloud his mind, he had even admitted it to himself that she was rather pleasant to look at. And there was a certain warmth to her and strength in her character. If you knew she was on your side, you could be assured that she would make sure that you would succeed. Maybe that is what fed Potter's hero complex for all those years.

He really needed to get laid, he thought with a sigh as he got up to summon an elf to bring in their lunch. Food would do as a distraction for now.

"So do you want to start looking over the journal after lunch?" Hermione said as she sat down at the makeshift dining table that the elves had set up in the library for their benefit.

Draco simply nodded in approval. He did not wish to talk. His thoughts betraying him and turning towards the naughty lanes, each time he looked at Granger.

"Did you find anything of interest last night when you looked it over?"

He mentally groaned but knew better than to ruin the companionship the two had somewhat established. "I just read the part where he starts his journey to the Marshlands. I didn't read further. It took me rather long to find the book so I was tired by then."

"Where did you find it eventually?" Hermione was being rather chatty that day. She was a curious person, but for her to be engaging in a conversation with the Malfoy heir was very unlikely of her. It made Draco wonder what was on her mind. She often looked for answers to unnecessary things when she wanted to distract herself from unpleasant thoughts. This was something Harry had explained to Draco long ago when they had first become friends.

"What's on your mind, Granger? What are you thinking?"

This seemed to confuse Hermione. She gave him a puzzled look. "Well, the diary of course. And the case. What do you think is on my mind, Malfoy?"

"You are lying. You are trying to ask me questions so that you can keep that overflowing grey matter of yours preoccupied."

Hermione seemed taken aback and asked in a shocked tone, "Why will I be lying!" Malfoy decided not to push his luck. He knew he had crossed a line with his bluntness so, he decided not to tick her off any further.

"Sorry. I was just trying to take a rise out of you." Draco sighed, finally and decided to indulge her. Hermione gave him an irritated nod and went on questioning him about the library and its books. The girls really did love to ask questions.

Once they were through with their lunch, they stood next to each other at the table; going over the notes they had collected since morning. Draco caught a whiff of something that reminded him of cookies and cakes. A scent of vanilla with something that made him feel warm inside. Their meal was long gone and taken care of by the elves. He could not understand where the smell could possibly be coming from. He turned around to have a look when he realised that it was Hermione. She stood closer to him than normal as they went over the parchment. Draco whipped his head so fast that he bumped his nose on the back of Hermione's head.

"Ouch! Shit."

"Oh, Merlin! I am sorry! How did this even happen?"

Expect Hermione to go all mother hen over you and still manage to ask questions, Malfoy thought. He was currently holding his nose in place and trying to not think about the pain. Hermione was trying to pry his hands away from his face so that she could have a look and estimate the damage.

Suddenly they heard the click of a door. They both turned around to see the Malfoy matriarch standing in the doorway.

"Oh, I forgot you would be here! I am sorry for interrupting. Go on, carry on you two." She gave them both a knowing smile as she tried to leave.

"No, it's not what you think it is!" Both of them said in unison.

"Clearly." Narcissa Malfoy said with an amused smile.

"Mother, it is not what you think it is. This is Hermione Granger, the war heroine. Harry Potter's best friend. We were working on the case I told you about. I would not date her."

Narcissa moved towards the two who now had at least a distance of two feet between them, having jumped away from each other. She reached Hermione and gave her a smile. "Oh yes, of course. It completely slipped my mind. Nice to meet you, Miss Granger. I hope Draco has extended good hospitality towards you. If not, I can always ask the elves to make something for you."

"No, that won't be necessary." Hermione was genuinely trying to be nice and to give her a smile. But she could not forget how she was tortured by the very witch's sister in the drawing room of this very Manor. The memories were too powerful to overcome. She knew that Narcissa was just a prejudiced pureblood but had meant no harm to anyone. She just wanted her family safe from harm. Hermione was still grateful to her for lying to Voldemort about Harry being dead and saving the Wizarding World in the long run.

"Well, in that case, if my son gives you any trouble, you can ask any of the elves to come fetch me. I will make sure he gets an earful. I did not mean to interrupt the two of you so rudely. As you can see, the clouds have gathered and it would start pouring cats and dogs any moment now so I could not go for my daily walk around the gardens. Thus, I decided to visit the library instead. But you two carry on. I will go find something else to entertain me." She smiled warmly at the two of them as she left.

Narcissa Malfoy was a lady of strength and poise. Even with the weight of the war and the Dark Lord running a freak circus in her home, Narcissa has always held her head high and looked out for her loved ones. She might have been a product of the years of pureblood prejudice, but she now knew the error of her ways. Of course one couldn't expect her to mingle and become best friends with muggles and muggle borns witches and wizards, but she was now more open minded about sharing the Wizarding world with them.

As they moved back towards the parchment, Hermione could not help but think about how Draco had said that he would not date her. His words had not only stung, but also made her enraged. How dare he reject her without even knowing her! It must be the blood. No matter what he said or did, she would always be a mudblood to his kind.

"We should start with the journal. I can finish the remaining documents while you look over it." She said in a clipped voice as she made her way to the other side of the sitting area, the area furthest from the Malfoy and next to the glass wall. She slammed her pile of books on the coffee table as she tried to look for her quill.

"What's gotten into you, Granger?" Draco looked at her with scrutiny. He had noticed the sudden change in her behaviour and could not understand what had happened to make the witch so enraged.

"What's gotten into me? Nothing. You must be imagining things." She said in a nonchalant voice with an almost convincing sweet smile. Draco would have let it be on any other occasion, but the fact that her demeanour changed only after his mother visited them by chance irked him a lot. His mother was perfectly nice and even inviting towards the curly haired brunette so he could not fathom what had antagonised her.

Draco put down the parchment and started walking towards her. "Come on Granger. Something has set you off. If it was my mother's sudden visit that upset you, then I am really sorry. I did tell her we would be here, but she hasn't been keeping well. She suffers from memory loss at times. Or it simply must have slipped her mind." He was now beginning to get irritated with her because she was not even gracing him with a simple glance let alone acknowledge what all he had just said.

"Granger, look at me. I really am sorry, okay? I know it might have triggered some memories from the war. I did not mean for it to happen. But my mother does have a memory loss condition!" he said as held her by her shoulders and turned her around to face him.

"Oh, so that is why you had to remind her who I was and why you wouldn't be dating me?" She said in a seethed tone.

"What do you even mean by that?" Draco asked.

She put away his hands that were still holding her by the shoulders and could feel the moisture pool in her eyes. Hermione repeatedly reprimanded herself for acting so foolish in front of Malfoy. She simply could not cry and let herself be so affected at his off-hand comment. Or at least, she could not let him know how much it had affected her. So, she tried to control her anger and her unshed tears that were beginning to form.

"I mean, I know am probably the best brains that you could find to work with. And probably one of the most well-known names to associate with. But I would still always be the mudblood to you. Won't I? That is why you had to remind your mother who I was and why you wouldn't date me. Mother meet Hermione, the mudblood princess that won the war alongside Potter. But of course, I know I can't date her or anything, her lineage is nothing like our bloody pureblooded Malfoy family's."

Hermione was now raging with anger. It took Draco a moment for to register it all. He could not imagine that a simple statement would affect her so much. When he had made that statement, he was reminding his mother who she was, but not because of her being a muggleborns! She was taking this completely out of context! Such rash behaviour was never expected from her.

"Have you completely gone bonkers? I meant nothing of that sort Granger! I was, in fact, reminding mother who you were, but not for your blood ancestry you daft witch! Whatever has gotten into you!"

Draco wanted to literally shake some sense into her. He took a step closer as he tried to calm himself down. He knew two agitated people would never reach any conclusions.

"Okay, listen. I did not mean that, okay? I really did not. What I believed in earlier was what I grew up with, it's not who I am! Even my mother does not believe in all this. That was just my fath…eh Lucius. I am not shameful of being friends with muggleborns just because of their bloodlines. I am not that person anymore."

Hermione, then, looked straight into his stormy grey eyes that matched the clouds looming outside. It had started to drizzle and soon it would be a raging storm. Her own chocolate orbs seemed to be set ablaze with the fury that she felt. Years of torment and being bullied by him and numerous others due to her bloodline or rather lack thereof had made it a sensitive issue with her. She had built defences strong enough for the crudest of insults to not affect her at all. She knew it was the best to simply ignore them and wait for her tormentors to simply get bored and move on. But somehow, she had started to see Malfoy as a close acquaintance over the years, even as friends if she would be bolder, over the past few days. His words had cut a deep gash into her defences. They had reminded her of his years of bullying and she had felt a pang of betrayal with those words.

"Of course you do not mind being associated with our kind. It brings goodwill back to the Malfoy name of course. But dare you to be caught in a relationship with one, such disgrace!"

Malfoy could feel his temper soaring now. "How do I explain it to you! What I meant was that it's not that I wouldn't want to date you. It's just that you have someone. I know you have Ron, even if you two did break up long back. I thought you still have feelings for him so how can anybody date you, let alone me?"

Hermione moved away towards the glass wall. "Don't you dare drag Ron into this Malfoy! Don't you dare. I do not have feelings for him so don't try to hide your bigotry with assumptions about my affections for one of my best friends. Don't give me such an excuse. I thought you respected my brains at least!"

"Oh, you infuriating woman! Why won't you believe me!" But before he could explain further, he saw the resolve in her eyes. He knew that she had decided about what she understood the situation to be and nothing he said would persuade her otherwise so he did the only other thing he could think of to make her believe him.

In a second, before Hermione could react, Draco was in front of her. He pushed her against the glass wall and as the storm reached its peak and the droplets hit the glass, Hermione's back was slammed against the very wall and Malfoy's lips were on hers in an enraged passionate kiss.

Before she could stop or understand what had happened, it was over. He was still cradling her head in his hands and had her cornered against the wall.

His expression had softened and he looked at her in wonder. Suddenly there was a clap of thunder which brought Hermione back to reality.

"How dare you!" she screamed as he put a finger against her lips and whispered a "Shhh.."

He looked at her, his left palm, still cradling her face, and said in a hushed voice, "If I didn't want to date you, I wouldn't even touch you or kiss you. Or want to ravish you right here like I feel like doing right now. Do you know how infuriating you are, woman?"

Draco was surprised at his own bluntness but did not show it. He saw Hermione's chocolate pools turn into dark chocolate orbs as his words left his lips. She definitely seemed to like the idea of being ravished by him and she was also not trying to get away from him. So he decided to take another chance while he was at it.

He closed his eyes and leant in for a kiss when, he was met by her lips crashing onto his, halfway. He was surprised, but what shocked him the most was the jolt of pleasure that immediately ran throughout his body and to his nether regions. Soon he was plundering her mouth with his tongue and nipping and biting at her lower lip. "I have been wanting to do that for a while." He growled in between kisses. Hermione could not have enough of him. They were just kissing and she was already feeling heady. He gave her a last bruising kiss as he made way towards the juncture between her collarbone and her neck. He lightly grazed his lips there as she sighed.

Then, as if testing the waters, he flicked his tongue at the pulse, which made her whimper with pleasure. He soon blew a breath over the wet bit of skin that seemed to have delighted her. He almost chuckled at how she had turned into putty in his arms. He was regretting not having tried anything sooner. Then he was giving her butterfly kisses and sucking on her earlobe when suddenly he felt her hands feel him over. She was trying to feel him through the shirt and was grazing her hands across his torso and back.

Draco suddenly felt as if there was too much space between them. He pushed her against the glass wall, their passionate interlude as raging as hard as the storm outside. He used his strong Seeker arms, that she always admired, to pick up her legs and wrap them around his waist. And as she tightened her grip around his waist, she felt his arousal against her hot wanton core. She unwillingly ground her hips against his which made him hiss in pleasure. Such a Slytherin he truly was, hissing with pleasure.

This made Draco increase his ministrations grow ten folds and made him feel bolder. He looked at Hermione as his hands moved over to the top button of her shirt as if asking for permission. She put her own hands up his shirt in return. That was all the permission he needed. Both the shirts were discarded in less than ten seconds as Hermione's hands grazed his well-defined torso while he kept kissing her curves; all while their cores were constantly grinding against each other's. He was surprised that the no-nonsense Granger was a minx under all the professional clothing. He had almost growled in appreciation of her lacy black bra. It was the kinds which were pure sheer lace; which meant he could see her rosy nipples peaking from within. He grazed his thumb over the sensitive peaks as his tongue plundered her mouth. The sensation was something she had never felt before. She had had sex before but no guy had ever appreciated the lingerie or used it to arouse her in return.

Draco flicked her nipple through the bra and watched her whimper in pleasure with her eyes sealed shut. She had a frown and her perfect little mouth formed a perfect 'O'. He raised her a little higher and licked her nipple through the lace. He knew he was driving her mad with his ministrations. He smirked as he took the other nipple into his mouth and started to suck and roll his tongue over it at the same time.

Hermione grabbed his hair and moaned, "Oh..Draco!"

He pulled down one strap and then the other until he had managed to pull the bra down to her waist. Both her rose tipped breasts now hung in front of him and they were his to ravish. He automatically cupped both of them and started to knead them and roll and pinch her nipples. Hermione was panting and if he kept going, she would soon be orgasming right there without him having to even touch her dripping core.
Almost as if he had heard her thoughts, he started kissing her again as his hands started grazing her thighs. She loosened her grip on his waist a bit to be able to spread her legs further. Her skirt was now bunched up around her waist. He could see matching lace panties peering from under the skirt. He looked at her and she nodded. He knew what that meant and he wasted no time in pushing the skirt further up.

The rain was falling against the glass wall, and the tempest was raging on. Hermione was flush against that very wall with Draco between her legs. If anybody had dared to cross the Malfoy fields in this weather, they could have easily seen their young Master enjoy a very passionate encounter with the Gryffindor Princess up against the wall.

Draco's fingers hummed across her inner thighs and then he slightly touched her heated core. He skimmed his fingers, lightly against her covered dripping wet slit. The anticipation was killing her. Hermione was on a one-track mind now. Never before had she received so much pleasure on one go, not even after orgasming. "Draco, please." She pleaded.

That was all the encouragement he needed. He lightly cupped her core through the lace and squeezed, as soon as she moaned, he pushed aside the fabric and felt up her slit with his index finger.

"Spread yourself for me, Hermione." Despite her state of undress and her wanton requests, she blushed at his words. She spread her legs further as he felt her dripping wet. He spread the liquid all over her core and then settled for the bundle of nerves right above her entrance. He flicked it lightly when she almost came undone. Then he ground it with his finger and started to massage it in a circular motion, slowly.

"I am going to come, Draco!"

"Not like this. Not yet." He said as he removed his right hand and used his left hand to probe her entrance. "So wet." He whispered against her ears. He put his middle finger inside her in one clean sweep and moved it inside her. She stated writhing in pleasure in his arms. Soon he started massaging her clit again while his other hand plundered her wet spasming core. She was on the edge but he wasn't letting her go over it, when suddenly he kissed her and then, against her lips, he said, "I want to see you come for me, Hermione." And she felt herself giveaway as her entire body spasmed and hummed with orgasm. He used his arms to hold her up because she now had no strength left in her. It had to be one of the most intense orgasms that she had ever had. Once he was sure she was well supported, he looked into her eyes and licked his finger clean of her juices. "Hmm. You really taste delicious Hermione." She had never been this turned on in her life.

He wanted to taste her in more sacred places and their current position against the wall was proving pretty restrictive. So, he picked her up as it is, with her legs wrapped around him and settled her on the coffee table where she had previously set her research material.

As soon as he set her down, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Draco! Mate?" Blaise Zabini stood on the other side of the door. Their bubble burst and they crash-landed into reality. They haphazardly put on their clothes and avoided making any eye contact or touching each other in any way possible. With a few spells, their hair and clothes were in place.

Hermione was still reeling from the orgasm, but she could not understand what just happened. It had all felt like a dream to both of them. They were so detached from the reality.

"Why is this door locked? Draco?" hollered an impatient Blaise from across the gilded doors. "Coming." Draco ran for the door while Hermione settled down to look as if all she did in the past one hour was research.

"What are you doing behind locked doors in a library? With Hermione of all people, hello, by the way." said the Italian with a smile towards the brunette. Everybody knew that he was a charmer and could get away with almost anything.

"Just the confidential Ministry work I had owled you about. Have to keep it locked. Sorry, the elves kept you waiting." Draco did not want to even look at Hermione.

"Strange that you have such a weirdly shaped clearing in an otherwise fogged up glass window...eh wall." Nothing missed his eye, and this case; it was the impression of Hermione's back against the wall that they both had missed. Thankfully it was actually absurd in shape and there was no way for him to figure what was the cause of it.

"Oh we were trying to look out of the window to check the weather, so had to clear it up a bit. Anyway, I will see you later Draco. I was leaving in any case. See you around Blaise!" She fibbed as she smiled at the duo and ran for the Floo.

"That was rather random, but anyway. So any progress with the case? And she has access to your private Floo? Wow."

"Now there will be none now that you called in unexpectedly and that too in this weather. Not like I would tell you anything anyway. And it's just easier and less hassle if she has access for now."

"As you say." said Blaise as he settled down into an armchair near the fireplace with a knowing smirk.

Draco was really annoyed that they had been so rudely interrupted but he was even more annoyed at what were they thinking! They had not thought of repercussions their actions might have! And now he knew it would be awkward for the till the end of time. And as much as he would love to relive the moments in his head, he had a friend to entertain and raging a hard on in Blaise's presence was definitely not on Draco's bucket list.