Hermione didn't cry as much as she thought once they were safe and in his room. In fact, it seemed like a nightmare he woke her up from. They rested in his bed, talking all night, which was a first for Hermione. She enjoyed his company more so than she thought she ever would. If someone told her six months ago that she would become a lover of Draco Malfoy's, she would have considered the person loony.
It was in the morning that the soreness peaked. God, was she so sore. "Draco, I don't want to move today," she sighed as she surfaced from sleep.
"Unfortunately, Granger, we have to," he grumbled as his lips kissed her hair.
Her phone rang, and she groaned as she reached for it on the nightstand over Draco. "I am alive, don't scream," Hermione declared as she saw Ginny's name.
"What the bloody fuck, Hermione! My brother found out before me that you are shagging your boss!" Ginny thundered, and Hermione moaned.
"Gin, I said don't scream. I wasn't expecting to see him last night," Hermione murmured, and Draco made a dumb face.
"Good morning, Ginevra," Draco declared, only making Ginny gasp.
"Incredible, you stayed in his bed? All this has happened, and you didn't even tell me!" Ginny growled, and Harry's laugh was heard from the other end.
"Put Harry on the phone," Hermione ordered.
"But Herm-" Hermione interrupted her with a sound of distaste.
"Put your husband on the phone," she repeated, and Ginny groaned.
"Here!" she snapped, and the phone made shuffling sounds.
"Your lovely bestest mate in the entire world," Harry snickered, and Hermione sighed.
"Please calm your wife down. I know what you did last Sunday, and I have it under great certainty that you gave him the approval. We are going to dinner, but we will meet you at your house, so she can get it out of her system before we go to the Burrow. Please do this for me?" She asked gently, and Harry exhaled.
"Alright, but I expect to give Malfoy the whole, I know where my shotgun is kept at all times speech. Just like Sirius would do to scare your would-be boyfriends, Ron included. I don't care if he's your boss," Harry replied, and Hermione smiled.
"Thank you. Now put your wife back on," Hermione ordered, and Harry sounded agreement before the phone sounded.
"Hermione! What are you even thinking?" Ginny snarled, and Hermione sighed.
"Gin, I will let you completely pick my brain when we meet you at your house before dinner. I will bring Malfoy so that Harry can attempt scaring the wits out of him and we can go over the intimate details of the last forty-eight hours of my life."
"Okay, I expect you to be one hundred percent honest and not modest about the juicy details… he can't see so he must be… different," Ginny settled on, and Draco snorted.
"Good, that settles that. I will see you at one," Hermione muttered.
Ginny paused, and Hermione could hear her mumbling to Harry. "You think one is alright, husband?" she asked, and Harry made a sound of agreement. "Okay, one o'clock, Hermione. I love you."
Hermione grinned. "I love you too, Gin. See you then." The phone disconnected, and Draco grunted.
"Your family is always this crazy?" he asked, and she nodded.
Hermione climbed over him, setting her phone aside. "Yes, they are absolutely insane. Are you sure you can handle that?" she asked, and he reached for her cheek.
Draco pulled her closer and kissed her before speaking. "I suppose I have to, right? Weasel is going to be a problem."
"I wish you wouldn't call him that. I know you have little love for Ron, but it was eight years ago, Draco," Hermione sighed gently and ran her fingers over his chest.
He frowned and scrubbed his face. "If he makes you cry, I will punch him. He breathes loud enough for me to hear where he is standing."
"That is fair. Just try to get along? This is going to be a group of people who knew how much you teased and tormented me in school. They are going to ask invasive questions. Things like are you paying for me to act this way toward you. I could see Ron saying that. Be the more charming version of yourself you are with me?" Hermione finished, and Draco groaned with a nod.
"Alright, Granger, I promise I will play nice," he replied, making her leaned close and deeply kiss him.
He grumbled agreement, and she pulled him to sit up, rolling her hips as she straddled him. It was smooth, like a dance. One moment they were talking the next he felt her encase his ready appendage. The motion itself made the Malfoy gasped, and his hands went to her hips. She sighed, leaning her weight on his chest as they rode the path to ruins together.
Draco knew two things after these last few days. The first was that he was already and utterly in love with the woman who brought him utopia between her legs and with her laugh. The second thing, he knew she could do so much better, but she decided to choose him. That spoke volumes to him about just how amazing of a creature she was on all fronts.
Her sighs and gasps were his favorite theme song. "Hermione," he breathed and toppled her to the bed.
"Draco, please?" she begged, and that almost undid him.
She arched under him, and he buried himself in her cries of delight. She squeezed him with a grip of tight spasms as she came, and he melted along with her. Through the haze of leaning to her and catching up, he noted he better start to hydrate if they were going to keep at this.
"My god, I am going to be so dehydrated," she grumbled as he shifted from her.
Draco snorted and flopped on the bed. "I was just thinking that."
"You are probably the best shag I have ever had. Ever dreamt of having. I don't know how we do it," Hermione murmured, and he felt her climb against his slick skin.
"You know why I stopped shagging Astoria?" he asked and could sense she was not happy with that question. "She wasn't remotely attractive to me without my sight. I couldn't even fantasize about her the way I do with you. To hear you. To taste you. Not to sound like a wanker, but you just do it for me, Granger."
Hermione laughed and exhaled. "You do it for me too, Malfoy. It does help that you look pretty damn good without your clothes on," She snickered smartly.
"Ditto, Gryphem Princess," he retorted with a broad grin.
"The benefit if we stay together is you will always see me as how I looked in Hogwarts," she teased which caused him to snort. Hermione groaned, and he felt her roll her hips against his side. "Draco, I request a cease-fire for a few days. I am going to need to see a doctor soon if we don't stop."
"This morning was all your fault, Granger. I did not provoke it," he reminded her.
"Very true, but we need some self-control," she huffed and rested her cheek on his chest.
"Stay with me this week?"
Hermione's fingers ran in his chest hair. "Shouldn't we take this slower, Draco?" her voice was timid.
"Slower? As in you live in your lonely flat for five days when you could be here? I will even pledge not to shag you until the weekend if you stay. It will be hard, very hard, but if that's what it takes to keep you in my bed, I will do it."
"I will stay under one condition," she murmured, her nails etching lines on his sternum.
Draco made a sound before answering. "Which is?"
"You take me out on a real date next weekend. The whole nine. It doesn't have to be lavished or expensive, but it has to be genuine. Think you can do that, Malfoy?"
"Am I still under the shag ban until next weekend as well?" he asked, running his fingers through her curly hair.
"We should be. I doubt we can make it five days, but we should try."
He took her hand in his and shook it. "Fair enough, Granger. I will take you out as a lady should be. I will try to show some more moderation, but I don't think either of us know the meaning of that word."
"Apparently not," she retorted and exhaled. "Time to get ready. We have a long day ahead of us, and I want to stop by my flat to pick up some things. Turn off the timers and such. If I am not going to be there, I want to make sure it is alright. I'll even see if Ginny will run over there when she goes to town just to check on things."
"Good, I like that. I don't want to have to give you up after this weekend," Draco declared with a smile.
"Well, neither do I," she replied and kissed his lips. "Let's go, Malfoy, we have work to do."
O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O~O
Draco was feeling the grooves on his cane as Harry paced in front of him. The Potters' house smelt of fresh laundry, air freshener, and out of the oven biscuits. Draco always loved those smells; he rarely had them growing up. His linen was ever put away. The air always smelt like flowers as a child and the biscuits were always made and set out for him. This felt homely.
"You plan to take care of her and Teddy?" Harry finally asked.
Draco sighed heavily. "I know that's hard to believe but yes. Teddy is family like I said, and I adore her, Potter."
"What are you going to do about kids if you stay together?" Harry's voice was cautious as he spoke.
"Well, there are ways to do that. If she indeed wants twelve kids, I will help her raise twelve kids. It will be bloody madness, and I would tell her that, but I would still stand by her decision."
Harry laughed. "Okay, yeah, she would be insane enough to do that. You aren't going to let this cramp your professionalism with her at work are you?" Harry inquired, and Draco heard him sit down.
"No, I can't afford the insinuation for both of us if that came up. I would be accused of taking advantage, and she would be accused of sleeping up the ladder. Neither one of us should have to deal with that." Draco snapped and scrubbed his face. "Functions outside of the office are fair, but as for the office, it's all professional, Potter. I can hear well and couldn't bear to deal with men thinking she would sleep with them if they helped her rise up the chain."
"Draco, this isn't temporary is it?" Harry asked quietly.
"No, Harry. It has never been for me," Draco replied.
In the next room, Hermione was scrubbing her face furiously and waiting for Ginny. The redheaded Potter was spinning about them stealing her clothes. They hadn't been able to get very far because Ginny kept talking about her work week to examine what changed.
"Are you ready for me to continue?" Hermione asked.
Ginny nodded. "Okay, they stole your clothes and played that silly game. You just went with him inside his room? What happened?"
Hermione then described entering the room, climbing into bed because he looked quite vulnerable and them talking about her losing the baby. The woman described the feeling in the air and then as if a magical force involved itself, they were scrambling to close the distance.
"How was it?" Ginny hissed with a broad smile.
Hermione's cheeks bloomed brighter than before. "It was great. Then fantastic, then mind-blowing. I think we stopped somewhere between life-changing and god worshipping before the morning grew." She murmured, and Ginny's jaw dropped.
"Really, that good?"
Hermione rubbed her cheek and exhaled. "I have to tell myself not to touch him, Gin. I didn't realize that this is what chemistry Sirius used to talk about. The moments of it being so good you just cannot stop. The taste and sounds promoting you to fight past exhaustion and soreness just for more. I don't know what he did to me, but it works."
"Well, damn," Ginny murmured and leaned back on the bed. "Harry and I haven't had that in awhile."
Hermione laughed and shook her head. "Every time you do, you wind up pregnant."
"It is well worth it. Hey, speaking of accidents, are you, ya know?" Ginny questioned with wiggling eyebrows.
"He says slim to none. I think he was being generous about that. I don't think he can, Gin. So, well, I haven't you know," Hermione sighed and tilted her head. "I have to talk to you about something."
Ginny moved closer to her and frowned. "What's wrong? You aren't moving in with him yet, are you?"
"No, nothing like that. It is something I have been thinking about for the last week," Hermione sighed and took her hand. "Regulus asked me to have a Black. He doesn't want to father a child, but he wants me to raise the child. I suppose it would take the surname and be eligible for the fortune should anything happen to him… but what do you think?"
Ginny's eyes grew huge, and her lips parted. "He wants you to raise a Black. Like half a Black and half you?"
"Yes, which brings me to my next step. It would mean because of that; I would be an eligible heir because I would be a matron to the line. You know nobles and their petty rules."
Ginny smacked Hermione's arm. "What are you doing!"
"Ouch, what was that for!" Hermione growled, and Ginny shook her.
"Hermione. You want more kids. Bloody do it! You would be set for life, and your children would be beautiful!"
"There is one problem," Hermione hummed, and Ginny frowned darkly.
"What?"
"It isn't Regulus's… it would be Sirius's."
Ginny nearly toppled on the bed and gasped. "How?"
"Regulus hunted down a deposit Sirius did before he got himself snipped. I would end up raising Sirius's child."
Ginny sat quietly a moment and then nodded. "You are raising Remus's son. Why not raise Sirius's too? It is quite beautiful, isn't it?"
"That was what Draco thought too when he suggested it to Regulus." Hermione sighed and rubbed her face.
"Draco? Draco bloody Malfoy suggested this?" Ginny asked and leaned against Hermione. "I am trying to dislike him, but you are taking away reasons."
Hermione laughed and nodded. "Me too. There is something underneath all his sarcasm and prat behavior that is just- soulful."
They rested against each other a moment. "How sore are you?" Ginny murmured.
"Unbelievably. I think I need to start working out or doing yoga," Hermione sighed and shifted her hips.
Ginny laughed and shook her head. "It only gets worse when you are pregnant. My suggestion is to start now. Did Regulus give you a time limit on your decision?"
"No, he told me to talk to him when I have an answer. I could sense that he was hoping I would agree. I think he is worried about his bloodline ending and Draco believes he can't produce an heir himself."
"What about doing the whole getting his swimmers to swim better. I am sure Draco doesn't want to end his bloodline either." Ginny questioned, and Hermione shrugged.
"Well, maybe if we decide this is a sure thing. I am not going to nominate my womb for him if he is going to turn back into a jerk. When I know this is a done deal, I might suggest it." Hermione said, and Ginny laughed.
"By then you would have yourself a little Sirius. Wouldn't that be perfect if you end up with a whole litter? Three or four Blacks for the price of one. Sirius was a dog in more ways than one. I don't think I have ever seen a man so attached to a stray."
Hermione nudged her and exhaled. "Stop that, don't curse my uterus with your wicked hopes."
Ginny stood up. "Well, if I know you, you want to talk to Harry about this." She told Hermione who bobbed her head.
"You mind sending him in? I don't want him to feel like he has to be macho around Draco when I talk to him about it."
Ginny nodded and disappeared from the room. Hermione inhaled and tilted her head toward the ceiling with her eyes closed. Was she thinking about really doing this? Maybe Ginny was right; it would be a sweet and tender thing. Hermione could usually guess what Harry was going to say about things, but she wasn't sure this time. He could be angry. He could be upset. He could ask her to do it as well… that was scarier than him hating the idea altogether. She would have debated more before ever voicing it didn't speak to her soft side. The side that nursed Teddy through colds. The side that taught him all about his father and mother. The side that loved the Marauders very profoundly for what they meant to her.
"Hermione? Gin says you wanted to talk to me about something serious. Did Draco hurt you?" He asked, and Hermione realized she had a tear lining her cheek.
"No, Harry, come sit a moment."
He frowned and did so, but took her hand. "What's wrong?"
"Harry, what I am about to say maybe be hard to hear, but I want your thoughts on it before I go through with it." She started, and he slowly nodded.
"Okay, take it slow if you have to."
Hermione then started in on the most challenging conversation of her life with her best friend and proxy brother. She wasn't positive the outcome, but all she could do was tell him. He had every right to know before she decided either way. Harry listened, and his eyes grew over time… what a way to start a Sunday dinner.