Chapter 6

The next morning, when the sun was already up high, Hermione woke up, finding herself on the floor in front of the transformation room. She had a book on her stomach, and her back hurt from the hard floor—and she was holding Draco's hand, their fingers intertwined. He was lying on the other side of the open door, his hand poking through the spells. Her mind felt groggy; she couldn't remember for the moment how she had ended up in this position, but she was glad that he was back to normal. Or at least as normal as he could be. Even she felt far less irritated now that full moon was over, as if she had regained the control over her senses and emotions—she hadn't figured that she would be affected like this, and she could only guess how much more difficult it was for him to fight the constant irritation and rising anger. She took a deep breath, and laid the book on the floor to turn around; she wanted to have a closer look at him. The scars visible all over his body still shocked her, each of them a painful reminder of what he couldn't escape. She carefully turned the hand he was holding so that she could have a better look on the scars on his arm. Unlike the others on his body, those looked like he cut himself with a knife or something similar. It made her sad to realise once more how utterly despaired and alone he must have felt to attempt a suicide. She was just glad that he didn't succeed—finding his grave would have broken her heart. And then she felt his thumb brush over hers, just a gentle touch. She watched him stroke over her skin for a moment, and then finally looked up to find him awake. "Hey," she whispered softly.

He flashed a soft, sleepy smile. "Hey..."

"How long did you watch me?"

"Only a few minutes. Your fingers running over the scars woke me. You're still curious about them, but you look sad..."

She nodded. "It breaks my heart to know that you tried to kill yourself."

"Yes, I tried." He gently took her free hand, and guided her over the various scars. "This one, though, is just from trying to get it out. Bleed it out, you know? And this one..." He guided her finger to another scar on his wrist. "This one was my first attempt, just before a full moon, but the beast stopped me from going through."

"And this one?" She asked, brushing over another scar that suspiciously looked like a cut. Her mind, however, was focused on his touch rather than his words.

"That was my last attempt. Then I figured that it wouldn't let me die..."

"Are you still thinking about killing yourself? You still want to...?" She didn't dare finish her second question, it pained her too much. But to her relief, she saw him shake his head.

"Not anymore." He squeezed her hand softly. "You gave me something worth living for."

She smiled broadly at that. "I'm sorry about the fight, you know? I think I didn't trust myself anymore in that moment, and didn't trust you either. I should have hexed him, not you."

"I would have loved that." He pulled her closer.

"Maybe next time," she replied with a teasing voice. She of course had noticed that he was pulling her closer. "Wait," she whispered and let go of his hand, the spells still needed to be revoked. When she was finished, she moved towards him, completely ignoring that her hip started to hurt from the hard floor. All she could think of were those pale grey eyes of his, and how he looked at her. "You remember that moment when you pulled me closer during our fight? When I told you not to touch me like that?" she then continued, her hand now on his waist, slowly dipping lower.

He nodded. "You were so tempting in that moment. You have no idea how much I'm drawn to you, how much I want you. It was almost impossible then not to give in to that. But I didn't want to–"

Hermione stopped him from finishing his sentence by kissing him deeply, wanting to feel that need, taste it in every corner of his mouth. "You're not the only one having to fight temptation," she breathed moments later between kisses. "I didn't trust myself in that moment when you touched me. But right now, I want exactly that."

"Hermione, I hurt you the last time." He framed her head, his fingers playing with the soft curls. "I don't want to do that again–"

"You won't," she countered, and kissed him again, hard and with abandon. All she wanted right now was his mouth on hers, and his body on hers. "Help me out of these clothes." She pushed him backwards so that he came to lie on his back, and smiled when she felt him tear at her house shirt; the accidental touch of his fingers on her uncovered skin sent shivers throughout her body, leaving her aching for more. So, catching her breath moments later, she sat up and pulled the shirt over her head, revealing her breasts covered in her comfortable bra which, however, didn't stay on for much longer either. She let out a deep, hungry moan when he let one of his hands stroke over them, pinching her already hardened nipples, only to follow the outlines of her dark pink areolas.

"Gods, you sound bloody delicious. More." He let his hand run down her stomach until he arrived at the seams of her pyjama bottoms she had put on for the night, and tore them down.

"Yes," she hissed in response, "don't stop." She spread her legs as far as the bottoms allowed and bent down again for another deep kiss. Gods, this was exactly what she needed—his fingers knew exactly what they were doing, rubbing over her clit, and stroking along the length of her folds. She moaned into the kiss, and let her hands wander down his body until she reached his cock; it was already fully erect, and she could feel him moan deeply when started to just play with its head, letting her fingers brush around its edges. Oh yes, this was a wonderful tease, and from the way he was kissing her in response to it, he absolutely loved her doing it. "Oh gods," she let out with a gasp when she felt his finger pushed inside, sending a first wave of pleasure through her body. "Don't let go," she whispered and broke the kiss off to finally remove her pyjama bottoms from her legs, and then rocked her hips against his hand, while teasing him once more by stroking the head of his cock, but this time also following the fraenulum down to the cock's base with further teasing strokes. His moan in response was delicious, and in combination with his continued pushing inside her made her shiver hard. She bent down again for another kiss, and then lifted one of her legs to climb over him. After adjusting his cock, she basically slammed down on him until she was fully seated, taking him this time like he had taken her the last time. "Fuck yes!" Finally! She had missed that connection all month! She sat still for a moment, just enjoying the sensation of his cock filling her out, before she started rocking her hips back and forth. "This feels... so good!" she moaned, and felt him pull her down for another kiss. He wanted her just as much as she wanted him in that moment, his hands all over her body, leaving marks where he was rough enough to scratch her.

"You're all I want," he rasped when she pulled away once more for air. "All I ever wanted."

"And you're all I ever want," she whispered hungrily in his ear, then started kissing her way along his jaw down to his neck. "All I ever need." And with that, she bit him hard until she could taste blood.

"Hermione!" he gasped in a moment of surprised pain, and thrust involuntarily deep into her in response. "Oh gods!"

She saw stars for a moment from his deep thrust, and repeated the bite on the same spot, then licked gently over it, while starting to ride him mercilessly, and repeatedly slamming down on him as well, each time seeing more stars from the sensation. A slight change in the position of her legs made it even more intense, and she could soon feel the heat rise through her body. "Fuck me," she whispered, and devoured him with another kiss. "I need it."

Draco pushed her hips down, leaving marks on her skin, and thrust into her with all the strength he had. "Bite me again," he demanded between kisses.

Already too lost to pleasure for any coherent thought, she wandered down his neck, where she kissed the wound; she moaned at the increased pressure of his thrusts in response, as it pushed her farther into that wave of pleasure that was now starting build up between her thighs. And then she bit into his neck once more, deepening the wound until she could taste the blood on her tongue again. The taste of his blood in combination with his hard, deep thrusts into her made her finally lose it—completely lost to the blessed relief of pleasure rolling through her body, she collapsed on him, while her hips continued to rock, squeezing him tightly. She didn't notice in this moment that it was enough to send him over the brink as well, letting him thrust into her so deep and hard that she was going to be bruised for several days.

Draco kissed her gently when she opened her eyes, his arms wrapped around her. "Hey, you okay?"

"More than okay." She licked her lips. "I just couldn't hold back anymore. I needed to feel you after everything."

"I noticed. You do remember that you bit me, right?" he teased, letting his hands run gently over her back as if he wanted to soothe the scratches. He smiled when she nodded. "And you did it deliberately, marking me."

"Yes, I did. And you asked me to repeat it, I think."

"I did." He nodded. "I was surprised the first time, but you just hit the right spot, you know?"

She blushed, but her tongue flicking over her lips betrayed her."Liked it then?" she teased, and her smirk grew wider when she saw him nod, even felt him thrust gently, which caused her to moan. "I figured it was you, Draco," she continued after a deep breath to keep her focus, "you marked me as yours, not the beast. I could find nothing in any book I read."

"I'm still sorry about that–"

"It's okay. You're now just as much mine, as I am yours. I'm not going to let you go ever again."

"Hermione–"

"No." She propped herself up to look at him. "You're mine." She pressed a soft kiss on his lips. "You could say that, in our own way, we're bonded now. And I love how you feel inside me, it's perfect."

"It is." He kissed her just as softly, letting his tongue run over her lips. "Thanks."

Hermione,

I know you're probably rather occupied with Malfoy right now, it being full moon and everything... But I received a rather weird letter today—Narcissa Malfoy contacted me because she couldn't reach you directly with an owl. She would like to make a visit and see Draco, but she doesn't know where you live.

In addition, I'm still sorry about that slip to Ron, it was a careless moment after work... I hope he wasn't too stupid... He wouldn't tell me anything, he only repeats that you definitely lost it. Maybe we should have a proper talk, just the three of us. I promise I won't judge, I just want to know you're okay and how everything is going.

Hugs,
Harry

(PS: I wish you would answer the device)

Narcissa was allowed to visit Hermione and Draco a couple of days later, the condition being that she came alone because Hermione didn't want any negativity in her house. Plus, they were both still feeling a bit exhausted so shortly after the full moon—they had actually spent the rest of the day straight after mostly in bed, sleeping and cuddling against each other, only getting up to eventually eat something in the evening.

"Mrs Malfoy, welcome to my place." Hermione welcomed the older woman as she stepped out of her fireplace. And Hermione even put on a friendly smile, as the other had surprisingly been friendly enough in their chat through the Floo Network to fix a time.

"Thanks for letting me visit, Miss Granger." Narcissa stepped inside, and took a look around. "This looks cosy," she commented politely.

"Thanks. I had to make a few rearrangements for Draco able to live here, but he seems to like it."

"Yes, I see why. Is he not here?"

Hermione beckoned the other to follow her into the kitchen. "He's still a bit exhausted from his last transformation, and is sleeping right now."

"Did you watch it?" Narcissa asked, sounding rather curious, and sat down at the small table.

Hermione nodded, and started the stove with the previously filled kettle on it. "It was heartbreaking to watch, it must be an extremely painful experience. But I made sure that he couldn't leave the room he was in as long as he was in his transformed state—I have developed a spell that keeps him in. Plus I kept watch, ready to render him unconscious should he have been able to leave the room somehow."

"You're cautious, that's good."

"I learned my lesson, Mrs Malfoy." She noticed that Narcissa looked rather tired, sad even. "But I know the risks of living with a werewolf, yet I'm more than willing to take them."

Narcissa nodded, looking down on her hands which followed the outlines of the table. "You may not believe me due to our past, but I'm relieved to hear that. And despite our different views, I'm glad that my only son is in such capable hands."

"Thanks," Hermione replied quietly; she knew that this wasn't easy for Narcissa to say. Then the kettle finally whistled, and she could fill the mugs.

"You do a lot of things the Muggle way?"

"Some things. I like the tea better this way, but that's probably just a question of taste." Hermione brought the mugs to the table and sat down, opposite her guest.

Narcissa poured in a few drops of milk, and then stirred for a short moment. "How is my son? I mean besides being exhausted from his last... you know?"

"He's doing better. Starts to look more like he used to, and he's accepted my help so far."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"I hope I don't sound rude, but I get the impression that your husband hasn't changed his mind yet?" Hermione then asked, before taking a sip from her tea while closely watching Narcissa.

Narcissa shook her head. "He doesn't want to disown him any longer; I could convince him of that at least, but otherwise? He doesn't want to have anything else to do with him. He's disappointed that he has a werewolf for a son now–"

"Draco told me that he always felt like a failure to his father."

"Draco shouldn't feel like that. He did everything he could to save his family—and as he told me after the War—a whole lot of other people as well. I'm very proud of him as a mother. I just miss him, that's all."

"Mother?" a low voice came from the door.

Narcissa turned her head, and a big caring smile instantly lit up her face. "Draco!" She got up to join him at the door, and then pulled him into a tight embrace. "I missed you so much! Where have you been all that time, my dear?"

Hermione saw the relieved expression on Draco's face as he responded to his mother's tight embrace, it showed a hope he hadn't dared to show when she had told him that his mother wanted to visit them. That was why he had waited upstairs to hear what his mother would say before he would join them. The tenderness in their interaction surprised Hermione, as she had never expected his mother to be such an openly caring person, if at all. Yes, Hermione was relieved that his mother seemed concerned about his well-being, not caring about his condition.

"I missed you too, Mother," Draco whispered, still holding her tight. "It's been lonely all that time."

Narcissa nodded. "I was always worried about you, every day, fearing that one day someone would come to us to tell us that you died, all alone."

"I was so afraid you'd reject for what I am."

"Never. You'll always be my son. No one can take that away from me."

Still sitting in her chair, Hermione thought she could see a few tears glistening in Draco's eyes. Yes, he had been afraid of their rejection, it had been a constant struggle to fight against that thought in particular, and Hermione was just glad that Narcissa was reacting the way she did, accepting her son. Supporting Draco to find back on his feet might just have become a bit easier with his mother on their side...

"You shouldn't listen to your father right now, he's just being stubborn. All Malfoy men are, even you to some extent, my dear." Narcissa finally let go of her son, brushing the shortest of motherly kisses on his cheek. "You'll see, I'll talk some sense into him, or he'll sleep alone forever." Then she noticed the scar on his neck. "What happened there?" she asked, all worried about him.

"Mother, it's okay." Draco gently grabbed her fingers that were following the outline of his scar, smiling softly, barely able to hide his slight embarrassment that his mother of all people would notice it.

"Did you hurt yourself?"

Draco shook his head. "No, mother. That was Hermione, I'm afraid."

Narcissa turned around, looking at Hermione in surprise. "You did this?"

Hermione nodded, and finally got up to join the little family reunion at the kitchen door, revoking the Disillusionment Charm on her own neck in the process. "Yes. And that was him," she added with a teasing wink towards Draco.

"Draco? You hurt her?"

"Mrs Malfoy, please," Hermione intervened, as Draco still looked rather embarrassed to have done it. "There's no need to be mad at him. It's more like a sign of commitment to each other," she started to explain, hoping that the older woman wasn't going to freak out completely.

"I'm not mad, just surprised that you both seem to be into this kind of thing. What does your generation say nowadays? Whatever makes you happy? Seriously, I'm just glad you're not alone anymore, my dear." Narcissa shortly laid her hand on Draco's shoulder. "But why don't we sit down to talk? I do want to know more; maybe we could figure something out..."

Hermione smiled broadly at Narcissa's suggestion. "There a few things I want to discuss anyway, things that might help," she said and beckoned them back to the table.

Draco sat down next to Hermione, even moved closer; he grabbed her hand and intertwined his fingers with hers. "You're already help enough," he whispered.

Hermione leaned in, smiling teasingly. "You're going to like what I want to tell you..." She pressed a short, but heartfelt kiss on his cheek, and then started telling the two Malfoys in her kitchen about everything she had researched and done, all in order to help Draco.

On the day of the new moon, Hermione met up with her friends in the Leaky Cauldron. The place had been her suggestion; Draco had agreed to it as it was a somewhat neutral zone for all of them. He wasn't going to take part in the conversation, knowing that his presence wouldn't help them resolve their problems—yet, he was still going to listen to them from the neighbouring table, disguised as an ordinary wizard, sipping a Butterbeer.

"You look better," Harry said when he arrived at Hermione's table, smiling friendly. He sat down on one side of the table, while she occupied the head side, glaring at him.

"Where's Ron?" she asked coolly.

"He should arrive in a few minutes."

"Good. Then I can get something off my chest that I've been thinking about a lot. And be grateful that today is new moon..."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, already ducking.

"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING TO LET SOMETHING SLIP TO RON?"

Draco at the neighbouring table had to chortle at her outburst. Oh yes, she was still angry about that, and Potter could really be glad that it was new moon, or she would have hexed him by now. He remembered the hex he had received on that day she had thrown him off Ron, just before they had their own huge argument. Oh yes, Potter could be really glad that it was new moon...

"I didn't do it on purpose, I promise. I told you I'm sorry."

"Sure. Careless moment, my arse... You knew exactly what would happen... Ron still misses me, you idiot. Have you ever read through the messages you let him write on the device?"

"Occasionally, I did. And I told him enough times that it was useless to hope you'd come back to him–"

"Never."

Draco then saw that the redhead arrived at the table as well, and he couldn't help himself but stiffen at the sight of him. That annoying git still lurked around in the background as he still had the smallest of hopes to get back with Hermione—little did the Weasel know that this was useless, the scar on his neck was proof enough of her commitment. Yes, her promise of commitment to him had given him a new perspective in life—she was his salvation, but just not in the way he had expected back then in Hungary.

"Sit down, Ron," Hermione greeted him rather icily, her arms crossed. Draco knew that she was only playing her part because she really wanted to make her two friends suffer a bit for their rather stupid behaviour; however, she was still dangerous as hell, even if she was only playing it, so he'd definitely think twice about daring to sit down next to her if he were in Ron's situation...

And Ron sat down very reluctantly indeed. Apparently he knew the danger as well; yet, he figured it even more dangerous to defy her. His reluctance just made Draco smirk at the neighbouring table. "Hi," the redhead whispered, waving shortly. He sat at the edge of the table, as far away from her as he dared.

"You idiot," she growled. "This is the talk I promised you, and believe me, Harry already got a load from me about slipping information to you he shouldn't have."

"She did. My ear is still ringing," Harry added, nodding.

Draco's smirk grew wider when he saw the cold stare she was throwing her messy-haired so-called best friend just for saying something. They could really be glad that it was new moon, and that he just found it highly amusing to watch her; he wouldn't have been so patient otherwise to just sit at the neighbouring table. And when she threw him a look he could see an amused glint in her eyes; he realised that she was enjoying the little show as well. He raised his mug of Butterbeer in a silent toast.

"So, first of all, I want an apology from both of you. And not just a mumbled one, Ron. Yes, especially you, Ron. What the hell were you thinking coming to my place unannounced and insulting Draco like that? Have you really sunk that low?" She glared at him, and Draco thought he could even hear her growl lowly. "You called him a filthy worthless creature—YES, YOU DID!—I can't believe that you would actually insult someone suffering from that condition, after having worked so closely with Lupin–"

"It's Malfoy, 'Mione!"

"Just stop it, okay? It is Malfoy, yes, but that doesn't give you the right to insult him like you did. Do you really think you're better than him? He helped us win that war, so treat him with some respect!" She took a deep breath, and then shortly raked her hand through her hair on the side of her head. "Look, he told me what happened, and I believe him when he says that he told you to leave as politely as he could so close to full moon. You utter idiot!"

Ron ducked, apparently fearing a slap from her; Draco knew that she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction, her stares were lethal enough. "I told you I was worried, Hermione," Ron then started quietly. "First you disappear on that trip, and gave that device to Harry... And when you're finally back, you didn't let me know. So, when Harry told me that you were back, a-and had a bite mark on your neck, I really was worried. He hurt you–"

"It still doesn't give you the right to act like you did. And believe me, you were incredibly stupid, but thinking has never been your strength, now has it? You showed up three days before full moon, and I'm sure you knew that Draco is a werewolf—Harry surely let that slip as well—and can't control himself completely this close to the transformation."

Gods, seeing those two heroes duck so anxiously before her was bloody brilliant! If she had been sorted all those years ago into Slytherin, she would have ruled that House with just her stare. Draco let his finger run over his neck, where the Disillusionment Charm was hiding his scar. She had bit him there two weeks ago, claiming him as hers. It was a reminder that with her, life had started to be rather different ever since. When his mother had visited them, he had been absolutely astonished to hear that she had the Wolfsbane Potion brewed for him to help him cope with the transformation, something he was eager to try out during the upcoming full moon; they also discussed other options that could help him, like a meditation technique Hermione came across in an ancient looking tome about Asian lore. Besides that, they had also discussed the option of helping other victims of werewolf attacks during the war, though they didn't discuss any details. But Draco had to admit that her idea of helping others with the same condition cope did resonate with him.

"Okay, Hermione, I am sorry!" Ron finally let out, throwing his hands in the air defeated. "I shouldn't have come over without letting you know. I shouldn't have said the things I've said... Is that good enough?"

"For the moment, it is. I won't let you get off that easily next time," she replied coolly, glaring at him; her eyes were blazing with anger that she could have set Ron on fire with.

"But I'm still worried, you know? He bit you, after all." Ron sighed, avoiding her gaze now.

Hermione's expression softened a bit after hearing that. "I know. That's why I wanted to tell you on my own terms, not like that, okay? You would have deserved that, I just needed some time to figure out how to organise things with Draco... And how to tell you without making you feel like you needed to save me from a monster. Plus I've talked to Bill about what I might have to expect. So, you see? You don't need to worry, I'm okay. I can handle myself, and I can definitely handle Draco."

Oh yes, Hermione could definitely handle him, Draco smirked; she knew when to be soft, yet she also knew when to be hard with him, not giving in a single inch. She did it out of care and—he was sure about it—love for him. He definitely loved her for everything—her support, her strength, and for never even wavering in her belief in him. Yes, he loved her for all that, and he wasn't going to let her go again.

"So, what do you want us do to now?" Harry asked, sounding relieved that the storm seemed over. "I mean it's still Malfoy. It's weird that you want to stay with him of all people."

"You worked with him in the Order; there is no need to keep that old rivalry up, Harry," Hermione reminded him, and sighed. "But yes, he is going to stay. I told you... Everything he did back then he did for me. I'm the reason he did all this."

Now Draco curiously watched Potter's reaction; she had apparently told him when he had come over on the day of their return. But it seemed that Potter only now realised that yes, he had done it all just for her, disregarding all the beliefs about purity he had been raised with, because with Hermione it just didn't count. Weasley, in contrast, only stared at her in disbelief—gaping at her even—probably slowly realising that he just lost against him, that there was now absolutely no chance he could ever get her back. Was probably for the best anyway.

"All I want from you is some acceptance and help, should I ever ask. I don't ask you to become best friends, just treat each other with enough politeness and respect to have a decent enough conversation whenever coming together," Hermione continued, rising her voice slightly to make sure that Draco at the neighbouring table didn't miss it either.

"I think I can manage that," Harry said, sounding defeated and willing to cooperate to get back into her good graces; Weasley just nodded in agreement.

"Thank you both." Hermione finally showed that bright smile that Draco had come to love. "Now, if you want, I can tell you some juicy stories about my trip, I had my fair share of adventures in those villages... Like that old woman who probably wanted to adopt me as a daughter, and who didn't let me go without giving me what felt like half her pantry for provisions."

With that, Draco emptied his mug and got up to leave the pub. The talk was over, and he knew most of her stories already; he would wait for her at her place, looking forward to another night of cherishing each other—these days, it was all about deepening their bond, and feeling connected anew every time. Oh yes, she was his salvation. And maybe he was hers.

END

Author's Note:

First of all: Thanks to everyone who left a comment! :-) I hope you enjoyed the read!

Second: It seems I have to clarify a few points raised in the comments...

Yes, it is my story, very well noticed. I wrote it the way I saw fit. In addition, I have several people who are either willing to discuss ideas openly with me—and provide constructive criticism in the process—or who proof read everything. I trust those people to let me know if something needs to be changed and/or expanded, or if it's not plausible for a character to (re-)act that way.

I write for myself, mostly to cope with certain things, or play with others, and I'm always happy to hear if my stories were entertaining enough for you to leave a comment.

Otherwise, you might do better to either follow the well-known rule of "Don't like? Don't read!", or contact me in private if there is something in my stories that really utterly bugs you, and I might explain why I've written it this way...

Happy holidays! ;-)