A/N: This is the last chappie that has been pre-written. My thought is to update when possible, with an idea toward mid-week until it is finished. I am hoping for around 20 chapters but who knows if that will be the case. Anyway, please R&R. I would definitely appreciate it. Thank you.

Once the young couple (Were they a couple?) finished their meal, and Hermione had cleaned up, the pair retreated to the silence of her living room. She found herself unsure of what he would now expect and even more unsure when it came to what she wanted from their next exchange. Without a conscious decision, Hermione settled herself on the room's only chair and watched him as he settled his lean frame on her couch.

"Why are you so far away, kitten?" HIs words were a goad, she could tell, yet she made no motion to correct the situation. "I want you closer."

"What about what I want, Draco?"

"What do you want? I thought you'd know your own mind better than I could, Hermione. It is, after all, your mind." He allowed one golden brow to arch, his lips set in a faint sneer while his eyes bored into her own. "You like to be pursued, I understand, but even a wolf gets tired of the chase if he is chasing alone."

Hermione glanced down, her honeyed orbs taking in the twisting of the hands she'd placed so lightly in her lap. What did she want at the end of it all? What could she get? She looked at the man who sprawled on her couch and allowed herself to really see him. He looked...tense. Had she caused that? Made him as unsure as she felt? MAybe she had, with her running hot and cold and her inability to say what she wanted. She was a Gryffindor, rash behavior should be second nature!

But it wasn't. She didn't work that way. She plotted the pros and cons. She made plans.

This was anathema.

The young woman sighed and then stood. Heat touched her cheeks and she could feel the slight trembling in her hands and knees but she ignored it. She would at least get closer, even if she never told him outright that she'd chosen him. She craved his touch, his presence, and she couldn't have either of those, not when she'd sat so far away. With that thought uppermost, Hermione skirted the coffee table and settled herself just beside him and then turned slightly so that she could see him in profile.

"I," The wild-haired female paused, breathed in and returned her gaze to her lap before she continued on. "I want to know you as you are now. I want to feel safe, protected. I want to be needed. Desired." Her voice was but a murmur and she hoped she didn't sound as hesitant as she felt but he had told her of his interest. Shouldn't she do the same? She glanced up, only to be caught in the silver glow of his gaze, as he had turned to look at her as she spoke. Hermione dropped her gaze once more but resumed speaking.

"I've only been with one person, once or twice, while we were in school." She heard his growl and her hands ceased their twisting. "But it was comfortable, not passionate, not all consuming. I want that," She sighed, quietly. "I knew you could give me that, back in November. I thought that Blaise could do the same. Either path would have ended up there, I think."

He released another low, rolling growl and without thought, she reached out to place one small hand on the leg that was closest to her. "Hush. You asked and I am trying to tell you." That sounded almost like the girl she'd been before she'd gotten confused by life. "This Omega thing, the bump that goes away and then comes back when I spend any time with you? It adds confusion to my thought processes. How am I to know if my desire for you is wholly that? With Blaise, there was never a question. He was Alpha but not overwhelming."

Her hand continued to rub and stroke but she chanced a glance into his eyes anyway and was shocked to see the mix of gold and silver held within their glittering orbs. She forced herself to continue even though she knew the wolf, his wolf, was listening. "You, you...overwhelm me and all I can think about is being with you, all the time. When you are near or far away."

He had pulled her into his arms, settled her on his lap so that her legs rested on the soft expanse of her couch and his mouth, that sinful thing, found her ear.

"You think telling me about why you wanted to choose Blaise, what happened before me, was the right way to go about this, Hermione? You are meant to be mine and I am meant to be yours. Others should not, do not, exist. Not for me, not for you. They don't exist until you tell me that you do not want me. Can you say that?"

She shook her head but that did not seem to be enough for him. "I can't decipher head shakes, woman. Use your words." Those statements were softly spoken yet she felt the intent behind them. He wanted the words and she knew that she did not want to give them, not yet. However, she no longer believed that she had any choice. Either she told him and kept him or she said nothing and watched as he faded away.

"I told you. I want to know you as you are now, not the boy I remember. Not the boy who picked at me until I had to hide away and cry, so you wouldn't see, so my friends wouldn't know. Not the boy who made the wrong decisions and then had even more choices removed for fear of the repercussions to his family. Not the boy who told me I did not belong here, in this world." Another pause, the next words a tumbled rush. "You, as you are now, make me feel safe and yet, not. You could make me deliriously happy or break me. Why would I want to rush into that, Draco?"

He forced her to meet his gaze. "That is not what I asked you. I asked if you wanted me. Yes or no."

"Yes," she all but whispered. "But I will not be rushed into things and if you try, I will walk away." She spoke faintly but her words were sure.

The young man nodded and released her chin, allowed her to look away. He could handle that if he knew the end would be worth it and he did. He did. She had conceded in the only way she knew how, with addendums, with finality. He was unhappy about her revelations but not enough to release her, to push her away. He had not known that she'd chosen another for her first but he should have. He had not known that another person could make her want but he should have. He had thought that her status would keep her but when he looked back at their interactions, he should have deduced that would not be the case

She had always known her own mind. This welter of emotions would not be something she'd take lying down. He should have known and made allowances for her choices, not tried to seduce her into giving him what he desired. Manipulate her? Maybe. Taken his time? Possibly. Not rush her? Definitely.

"Okay."

She allowed herself to relax against him, finally, her body soft and giving. His hand stroked her back, her hip, her nape, encouraged her to settle closer. HIs chin nestled against the top of her head while he breathed in her scent and felt himself lose the tautness he'd carried since she'd made him walk away. Deep inside, he felt the watchfulness fade. His wolf was not a separate entity, not in the way most saw it, and even if he was classed as both Being and Creature, he only held one true designation~ an alpha.

He knew when she fell asleep, safe in his arms and that made him smile. She knew, her body knew, that he would never hurt her, not really. He might cause her emotional upset, he might react to things with his emotionless mask firmly in place, his voice cold as winter's snow, but he would never try to break her. She meant too much. He needed her too much. She knew it, in her heart, even if her head did not, could not, admit it.

His eyes opened a few hours later, once he felt her shift and stretch, the cropped green sweater showing the flat expanse of her stomach. She did not stiffen, hadn't acted shocked, hadn't smelled scared. No, she'd only stretched and then curled into him, her small hand resting over his heart. He smiled, soft and sweet, as her curls haloed her head, in every direction, tickled his nose, blocked his vision. Still, when she spoke, he wasn't expecting it.

"Would you come shopping with me before Twilfitt and Tattings closes? I need new work robes. Plus, I have two dress robes that I special ordered from there. I have to pick them up." Her voice, groggy with sleep, politely requested an answer.

"Yes. What else would you like to do? It is almost six, little one."

"Don't call me that," she practically snarled. "I hate it. I am short but I am not a child." Hermione forced herself to sit up and glare at the gray-eyed male who still cradled her against him.

He smiled. "I would apologize but I do not understand why that bothers you yet kitten gets a pass."

"Because one sounds like a put-down and the other sounds like a personal nickname, one that you chose for me. Plus, I like it much better than 'Mione," she responded, her own gaze locked to his.

He nodded. "Okay. Kitten it is then." He paused and then grinned. "So, are you going to get up?"

She blushed and the scent of her rising blood, her enveloping heat, made him dizzy and caused his groin to tighten, immediately. The whimper that she slowly exhaled only made that hardness, worse. With no further ado, Draco lifted the curly haired female and set her on her feet, in an attempt to avoid embarrassment on her part. After all, he knew he had nothing to be embarrassed about.

A few minutes later, the couple was dressed for the weather and headed out since Hermione had decided a walk would do them both good. The blond male had no issues with that, especially since his body temperature ran just a bit higher than most people and he found the cooler air, perfect. Somehow, they ended up with their hands joined and after a bit of thought, he broke their companionable silence.

"If the trials go the way that you plan, do you have any other plans for a new potion? Or should I be ready to move you into Charms?"

"I haven't thought about it, really. The improved Wolfsbane was the only thing I wanted to accomplish there. The lateral move into Charms would be best if things go the way I think they will. After all, my next feat will be in that department though that may require more time and research, " she murmured as her light brown eyes darted over and up to gauge his reaction.

Draco nodded, a slight smile gracing his face. "Of course. The move would net you a hundred more galleons a month as there would be other work beyond your hoped-for charm. He glanced quickly in her direction. "And before you protest, trust me, that extra money is definitely compensation you would need as there would be no need of additional funds for works of magic unless you can add the charm to a bracelet or something."

She shook her head. "I think the thousand a month was too high but I won't protest until I see the sort of coursework your charms department already has, foundation wise. Time trials would be different though as my idea would only need to work on the night of the full moon, not the day before or after unless the wolf in question was alpha and could change all three days."

They soon reached their destination and stepped inside. A young woman, auburn-haired and green-eyed, greeted them as her gaze latched onto Draco. "Hello. I am Audrey. How can I help you, Sir?"

Hermione moved to stand before the blond male, her eyes a dark chocolate hue. "He doesn't need help, Audrey. I have a special order under Hermione Granger and I need some heavier robes for work."

The auburn haired beauty's attention slid to Hermione and the smile that had graced her features disappeared. "Oh, I am sorry Miss Granger. If you could give me a moment?"

Draco could feel the curly haired female's annoyance at being so rudely ignored, so he controlled his own entertained laughter and allowed his left arm to encircle the slight female's waist. Of course, the clerk noticed when she returned with a package wrapped in plain brown paper. Her voice, when she spoke, was completely businesslike. "Now, what else did you say, miss?"

"Work robes, something in a heavy fabric for winter wear and fitted to me. Off the rack won't do. I need something in both black and dark blue. Maybe wool with a silk lining to match the color of the robe?"

Half an hour later, the robes were chosen, all of them paid for, address given for delivery for the robes that had yet to be properly fitted. Draco grabbed her package with a smile for the young shopkeeper and before either woman could properly blink, he had the door open and was guiding Hermione outside.

There was no reason to wait around, was there?