Author's Notes: Hello everyone! First of all I'd like to apologize for not updating in well over a year, but life and other stories got in the way. Still, I've kept thinking about this story and I know I want to finish it. Towards that end, I'm glad to say I've got three whole chapters ready to be posted! I can't promise that I'll update with much regularity now because I've also got other WIPs (including Seven Souls which is also dramionarry, and Summer that just needs and epilogue) but I will continue to write new chapters as much as I can and in the mean time if you want to interact or read more of what I write, I'm always on tumblr (amaliabones)

I hope you like this chapter, and the really juicy ones are just about to come! Thanks for reading 3

Thirteen

Hermione was vaguely aware that she had been asleep for longer than usual. Way longer than usual.

She woke up completely disoriented, begging her eyes for some focus before she recognized the dark color of the wooden furniture in Harry's bedroom. She remembered going with him to help him buy new things for Gimmauld's Place since he didn't care for the old pureblood decoration style. They were in the store for over an hour just deciding on the bed.

All the events of the night before started coming back to her, specially the completely unsuccessful attempt at surprising Harry.

Hermione sighed deeply into her pillow. She was still at the edge of the bed, facing away from Harry and Draco. She could hear a light snoring but was unable to identify who it was coming from.

She knew Harry had bad dreams about the war. She knew better than anyone the complicated relationship he had with sleep, ever since he was little. She had seen him wake up crying and shaking, she had heard him tell her about what happened in his dreams, and she had helped him get better, slowly, but effectively.

Still, she had insisted on climbing through his window unannounced at nearly five in the morning. Of course he was going to react exactly the way he did. She couldn't believe how insensitive and thoughtless she had been.

When she finally decided to roll over, she was surprised to only find Draco there, curled up under the blanket, his mouth hanging slightly open. His pale skin and hair blended delicately with the white sheets and soft sunlight, and Hermione allowed herself to stare at him for another minute before slowly raising from the bed, careful not to wake him up. As soon as she was up, though, she immediately left the bedroom in a hurry, slightly worried about Harry. For all she knew, he might not have slept at all after what happened.

Hermione searched the bathroom and study room, but Harry was nowhere to be found. Her stomach dropped as she descended the stairs, the creaking loud under her bare feet. This house was always too big for her liking, even though she knew it wasn't meant for only one person, least of all someone like Harry. He wasn't meant to live alone in a place like this.

She made it to the kitchen, expecting Harry to be sitting down, drinking coffee and reading the Prophet, but he was met with another empty room and even more concerned feelings.

Just when she was about to turn around to keep looking, a pair of hands covered her eyes from behind. She gasped and froze, her own hands wrapping around the wrists of the person behind her. She calmed down almost immediately, though, as she logically knew that there was only one person who'd do that to her, and he was exactly the person she was looking for.

"Harry," she exhaled in relief as he lowered his hands and wrapped his arms around her. "You scared me."

He leaned his head against hers. "I thought you liked surprises?" he said in a particularly sarcastic tone.

Hermione huffed a humorless laugh. "I meant when I didn't see you in bed." She was holding onto his forearms that were wrapped just above her chest. "But since we're on the subject…I'm sorry. Again, it was a very, very stupid thing to do and I promise it'll never happen again."

Harry nodded softly into her hair. "It's okay, I know you didn't mean it."

"No." She shook her head, relaxing into his body. He was warm and still not wearing a shirt. "Where were you?"

Harry shrugged behind her, sending goose bumps down her spine. "In the bathroom."

She was so comfortable being held like this that her eyelids started feeling heavy. "I checked the bathroom."

"Hermione, there's like eleven bathrooms in this place."

Suddenly and very urgently, she remembered that she had been so worried that she forgot to go to the bathroom herself. "Sorry," she said, slowly extricating herself from Harry. "Now I need to go."

"Wait." Harry grabbed her by the crook of the elbow and pulled her towards him, not wasting another second as he held her steady by placing his other hand on her shoulder and leaned in to kiss her.

Hermione melted against him, her hands coming up to his face, feeling the light stubble on her palms as she forced her body to forget she had more important needs. Harry only kissed her for a second, though, pulling away when he felt she was about to deepen the kiss. He smiled down at her and she hoped she didn't look as affected as she felt by being kissed for less than thirty seconds. She couldn't resist giving him a quick peck on the lips before turning around and heading for the bathroom.

.

Harry heard Hermione's footsteps entering the kitchen again just as he was finishing setting three cups on a large tray, along with some marmalade, butter, and biscuits.

She eyed the food and frowned.

"I thought we could take the food up to the sleeping beauty over there and…" he trailed off when Hermione's eyebrows shot up in surprise, a teasing smile playing on her lips.

Harry blushed slightly. "That was meant as an insult, but I guess there's no way to convince you of that," he said in defense, focusing his attention on retrieving the toast from the toaster. Thankfully, Hermione only chuckled and didn't say anything else.

While they got breakfast ready, Hermione filled him in on the details of her date with Draco. Harry was surprised at how much Hermione seemed to trust Draco.

"Do you regret it?" he asked, heating up water for tea. "The pill?"

Hermione considered for a moment, but in the end she shook her head. "Not really. The scary part seemed to be over as fast as it came, so I can honestly say that I enjoyed most of it. I wished I could blame it for what happened in your bedroom last night but…I was barely feeling anything by then. It was plain old me."

She sighed, looking into the steaming water. Harry knew Hermione had a hard time forgiving herself. Sure, it had been pretty terrifying waking up to two people bustling into his room in the middle of the night, but Hermione had helped him overcome most the trauma and feelings left after the war better than anyone, so he wasn't about to blame her for a small slip up.

Harry reached across the table where she stood, holding her hand. He knew she understood him perfectly without having to say anything, and her soft smile confirmed it, so he left it at that.

As they walked up the stairs, Harry with the food tray as Hermione carried the tea, he remembered what he had wanted to ask ever since he woke up.

"Hermione," he started, clearing his throat. "Yesterday with Draco…did you, um…do anything?" He wondered if it would ever stop being uncomfortable talking about this with her, and he very well hoped so, because the more days went by, the more he wanted to do more than just talk.

A particularly graphic dream that he had had last night came to memory.

He noticed how she slowed her steps upon hearing his question. Hermione looked over her shoulder at him without any hint of blush of awkwardness. "Nothing more than kissing," she replied easily.

Harry nodded, not knowing if the relief came from her easiness about the subject or from the fact that nothing had happened between them. He hated the prospect that he could still be jealous, even when he had trusted Hermione when she said she was attracted to him. He had spent the last few days trying to sort his feelings on the matter, and the thought of Hermione and Draco together didn't make him feel jealousy per se, in fact, every time he conjured up images of them in sexual scenarios he felt the furthest thing from upset or angry. He just wondered if he and Hermione were going to be able to have that.

Draco was already awake when they entered, sitting on the bed and looking absently at the window.

"Good morning," Hermione greeted him as she placed the tray carefully on the bed. Draco looked back and forth between them with suddenly wide eyes.

"Is it someone's birthday?" he asked, and Harry didn't miss the worried edge on his tone.

"No," Hermione answered. "Why?"

"Oh," Draco relaxed. "Nothing. It's just, we always did this when it was someone's birthday."

It took a second for Harry to understand that by 'we' he meant his family. It was a strange but endearing image; young Draco and his parents eating together in bed, lounging happily in their silk pajamas while they celebrated like any other family. Harry knew Draco probably hadn't meant to share that, but he was glad that he had.

They began to eat silently, sitting cross-legged on the bed while each made their tea the way they liked it. Harry tried hard to come up with something to say, but in the end Draco beat him to it.

"How long have you been up? Did you talk about our date?" He directed the last question to Hermione, who nodded, her mouth full.

"Yes, she told me. We should all go to that club some other time," Harry said, buttering up a piece of toast.

"Did you tell him about the shag?" Draco asked and Hermione choked on her food, coughing loudly with one hand over her mouth and the other over her chest. Harry stared at her with shock not really sure of what to say. Had she…lied to him?

Draco tried to help Hermione by patting her on her on the back but she immediately slapped his hand away with a dirty look. Draco turned his eyes to Harry, who was still trying to figure out how to feel about the situation.

Hermione composed herself enough to talk. "We didn't shag! What the hell are you talking about?"

Draco suddenly broke into laughter and Harry had to send him the same dirty look that Hermione had.

"I was just testing the water, no need to get your knickers in a twist!" he exclaimed, raising his hands defensively. "You wanted to work on your jealous feelings, right?"

Harry would have hit him if it wasn't for the fact that he was so relieved Hermione hadn't lied to him.

"I already told him we didn't do anything," she explained, still not pleased with Draco.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. Look, I'm always at a disadvantage here, you two know everything about each other, I think it's time you dish some of your secrets so we're on equal footing."

Harry laugh at that, knowing exactly how Hermione would react at such a request. She crossed her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at Draco. "What type of secrets?"

Draco shrugged, sipping some tea before answering. "I don't know. Who was your first? How many people have you slept with? Have you two done anything before this?"

"So basically you want outrsexual history," Hermione asserted.

"If it makes you feel any better, here's mine; three blokes, four girls, two of them at the same time. I was nineteen my first time."

Harry frowned. "You were nineteen?" He never would have guessed it took Draco so long to lose his virginity.

Draco scoffed. "Well, not all of us have been with our school sweethearts since we were eleven. Besides, former Death Eater isn't exactly a dating ad."

Hermione grinned. "I never thought I'd beat you to that. I was eighteen."

Draco put up a hand and wrinkled his nose in distaste. "That's as much as I need to know about your sex life with Weasley."

"You were the one who asked!"

Harry shook his head at Draco's antics and the other man sent him a pointed glare.

"How old were you? Fifteen?" Draco asked Harry, who looked up from his plate to find them both staring at him expectantly. He had told Hermione many things, but he had never talked about Ginny with her, at least not in that much detail.

"Sixteen. Room of requirement," he announced, not really knowing why he added that last bit. Draco nodded, apparently approving. Hermione didn't look like she had received any new information. At his questioning eyes, she shifted.

"Ginny told me the next day," Hermione admitted, a faint pink on her cheeks. For a moment Harry had forgotten they were friends too. How would Ginny react to them? To all of this?

His stomach lurched uncomfortably at the thought of facing not only her, but Ron too.

"Well? That's it? Neither of you have strayed from the Weasley household?" Draco asked sounding honestly disturbed.

"I have," Harry said. "One girl in Amsterdam, one in Germany." He had told Hermione about them when he got back, as they had been pretty much the only people he met during his trips.

"Thank Merlin," Draco exclaimed, turning his eyes to Hermione, who looked uncomfortable, picking apart a piece of toast with her hands.

"I haven't, unfortunately," she said, not looking up. Harry was surprised by her words, and Draco seemed too, raising a blond eyebrow at her. "Not like…I mean…ugh, whatever," she stammered. Harry had to stifle a smile. It didn't feel so weird discussing this with her anymore, not when Draco was there.

Harry looked at him as he stared at Hermione with an amused expression. The light coming in through the window seemed to make Draco's already pale skin almost glow, and Harry had the sudden urge to touch it. He compared it to Hermione's darker skin, which glowed in her own way and contrasted beautifully against Draco's. Harry's was somewhat in the middle, not as dark as Hermione but nowhere near Draco's iridescent paleness. The thought of their different skin tones made him think about their different bloods as well; Draco a pureblood, Hermione a muggleborn, and Harry a half-blood. Not that it mattered in the least to him, but it seemed like sn interesting coincidence.

Draco was currently teasing Hermione about her sexual inexperience and she, having nothing to retort, decided to attack him by tickling his sides, making Draco laugh and giggle in a way that would probably embarrass him later. He started getting his revenge by pushing Hermione down on the bed and taking a hold of her wrists with one hand as the other tickled her stomach. In her struggle she knocked over Draco's cup, black tea splashing all over the bed. They both stopped immediately, guilty looks on their faces as they stared at Harry, as if waiting for him to tell them off.

Harry paused for a second before he threw himself over Hermione, helping Draco keep her in place as they both attacked her with relentless tickles. He knocked over most of the tea and food in the process, but he didn't mind.

What was magic for anyway?

.

The past few weeks of Draco's life had been completely absurd and unexpected, but still he couldn't help but be constantly surprised at finding himself between two Gryffindors, usually comfortable and mostly happy.

After the disastrous breakfast cleanup, Hermione had insisted on watching a new movie she had apparently found on the internet, and Draco couldn't believe he really had nothing better to do than hang around Harry Potter's home with them, but apparently his life had come to that and he couldn't find it within himself to complain.

They had moved to Harry's sofa to watch the movie, and Draco barely noticed what it was about, because as soon as he settled in between Harry and Hermione with a blanket and very little light coming in from the windows, he let himself be dragged to sleep by the warmth and comfort of their bodies. Apparently he hadn't slept off last night's exhaustion just yet.

He awoke a couple of hours later, if the black TV screen was anything to go by. The other two were asleep at his sides, Hermione with her head on the arm rest while Harry had let his fall on Draco's shoulder. Draco looked at him; his slow breathing and almost drooling mouth, and couldn't help but smile. A couple of days without shaving had made Harry look fantastic, and he wouldn't have guessed that he'd like him to grow a beard, but the thought made Draco's breath hitch.

He was distracted by his stomach suddenly growling. They must have been asleep for longer than he imagined.

He tried to move, planning on ordering some food while they were still asleep, so they could wake up to a nice hot meal.

When had he become such a Hufflepuff?

He ignored the thought as he carefully moved Harry's head away so he could slip from under him. Unfortunately, the other man's eyes fluttered open, so Draco stopped his movements.

"Sorry," he whispered, not wanting to wake Hermione too. "Go back to sleep."

Harry sighed contentedly as he closed his eyes, snuggling even closer to Draco, making it impossible for him to escape. Draco decided to wait until he fell asleep again so he could attempt to leave after, but Harry's breath was now very close to him, their faces almost level with each other, and Draco found it next to impossible not to lean down and kiss him.

Harry kissed him back immediately, their lips moving lazily against each other. Harry draped one arm over Draco, landing on his waist and drawing circles there as Draco's own fingers came up to Harry's jaw, tracing it up and down and enjoying the rough feeling of his stubble. Draco had not been able to help comparing Harry's kissing to Hermione after having had both a few times, and he had been surprised to find that Harry's was way softer and more delicate than Hermione. Not that she was always rough, but Harry had a tendency to keep things more tender and delicate, even if passions were running high. His lips seemed to caress Draco's in a way that no one had before, and it made Draco want to melt into him and let him do it for hours.

That is, until his grumbling stomach betrayed him.

Harry breathed a laugh into his mouth and Draco opened his eyes to look into deep green.

"Should we wake her up and get something to eat?" Harry asked, his voice low and rough from sleep and kissing.

"I don't feel like moving so much. Let's just order in," Draco suggested and Harry nodded.

After fifteen minutes or so of more kissing, they did exactly that.

.

Hermione couldn't believe they had wasted an entire day just sleeping and eating. She hadn't done that since… Well, she couldn't remember ever doing that.

Before she knew it, it was night again, and their only accomplishments had been making a mess in Harry's bed and ordering so much pizza that the delivery person must have thought they were having a party.

She hadn't even showered the whole day, despite feeling the need to as soon as she awoke that morning. She took the chance after eating, while Harry and Draco started discussing the latest Quidditch game.

Despite knowing there were several bathrooms, she chose the one in Harry's bedroom as it was the one she always used, and she scourgified her own clothes as much as she could in order to be able to use them again after the shower.

She walked out of the bathroom minutes later, feeling infinitely better and glad that at least she had managed to shower during such an unproductive day.

Hermione had not been prepared for the sight that greeted her right outside the bathroom.

Harry was sitting up on the edge of his bed, legs apart as Draco stood between them, leaning down and kissing Harry with deep concentration. Hermione smirked, thinking that they might have planned for her to find them like this.

She took slow and deliberate steps closer, trying not to let them know that she had seen them, but Harry's eyes opened and he noticed her. Hermione immediately placed a finger to her lips, asking him to play along as she crept behind Draco, pressing her body against his back and startling him momentarily.

He broke the kiss with Harry and smiled, straightening up and reaching behind his back to take a hold of Hermione's arms and wrap them around his middle. Hermione tightened her arms, laughing when she made some of his breath leave his body. Harry started kissing Hermione's fingers that were curled around the fabric of Draco's shirt, and moved up, placing small kisses along her arms. He slowly stood up, switching from Hermione's arms to Draco's chest and neck until he was level with the other man. Or, as level as he could be, since he was shorter. Hermione could now feel Harry's body against her arms, pressed between his and Draco's middles, and she took the opportunity to take a hold of Harry's shirt and pull him closer to both Draco and her.

Harry dedicated himself to kissing Draco's neck as Draco tilted his head back to give him more access. Hermione removed one of her arms from between the two men and reached to caress Draco's hair at the nape of his neck. The joined attention made Draco groan softly, his hands resting on Harry's shoulders.

Hermione could barely see from her position, Draco's broad back blocking her view, so she started to shimmy her other arm out and move around them until she could really take a look at the way Harry's mouth was attached to Draco's neck, feeling her whole body heat up at the sight. She felt at a disadvantage for not being tall enough, so she carefully started to push them back, hoping they'd get the hint and get on the bed.

She suddenly wanted nothing more than to see Draco straddling Harry's lap.

Harry sat on the bed and Hermione motioned Draco to get on top of him, which he did with a smirk and a suggestive glance that let Hermione know that he could see how much she wanted this. She couldn't help but blush.

Harry seemed slightly surprised that Draco was climbing on his lap, but Hermione didn't miss the way his breath quickened or how his hands came to rest over Draco's hips immediately. This time, though, Draco was the one attacking Harry's neck, right after biting Harry's bottom lip and making Hermione want to moan out loud, even though no one was even touching her. She could not tear her eyes away; she knew she could be participating but honestly she was content just watching.

That is, until Draco took a hold of her wrist, not even turning his head to look at her, and pulled her closer. He took Harry's glasses off and threw them to the other side of the bed before pushing Harry down with a hand on his chest, making him lie back.

Draco moved to the side to straddle one of Harry's thighs instead of both, and he pulled Hermione over so she could straddle Harry's other thigh, her left leg and Draco's right touching in the middle. Hermione looked down at Harry, who looked like he couldn't believe his own luck, one hand over Hermione's thigh and one over Draco's. Her heart was beating wildly and for a moment she remember the overwhelming feeling that made her run out last time, but she was prepared now, and she wouldn't let her nerves get in the way of what she truly wanted.

Draco's hand moved to the back of her neck, making her look into his darkened grey eyes. She felt goose-bumps all over her skin as started to pull her closer, his eyes locked on her lips, and she noticed Harry from the corner of her eye, scrambling to find his glasses before putting them on, earning a small chuckle from both Hermione and Draco. When he kissed her, Hermione couldn't believe it was barely yesterday that they had gone out, because she had missed this feeling like they hadn't been together in weeks.

Harry's sharp intake of air was like music to her ears and one of her hands traveled down, sneaking under his shirt and dragging her fingers across his chest. His skin was hot and she could feel his rapid heartbeat, which only made her feel even more excited. Draco's hand caressed the sensitive hairs at the back of her head and she leaned into it, her other hand coming up to hold onto his arm to keep herself balanced between the two men. Hermione couldn't see what Draco was doing with his other hand, but then Harry suddenly made a sound deep in his throat, his chest vibrating under Hermione's fingers, and she broke the kiss with Draco, determined to watch what was bringing Harry so much pleasure. She was not disappointed to see Draco feeling Harry through his trousers, his hand rubbing up and down over the tight fabric.

All her heat and desire were pooling together between her legs, making her squeeze her thighs hard, gripping Harry's, who apparently enjoyed the action just as much as her, if the heated look he gave her was anything to go by. She turned to look at Draco then, who was staring at Harry determinedly, as if deciding what his next move was going to be.

She would later wonder what made her focus on the wall beyond Draco and notice the time on the clock; maybe it was intuition, maybe pure coincidence, but the fact was the her eyes grew in size and a small gasp escaped her lips when she noticed how late it was.

Both men stood still, frowning at her reaction and waiting for her to explain.

"I have to go," she whispered, her voice barely working.

"What?!" Both Draco and Harry exclaimed at the same time, Harry even sitting up from the shock.

Hermione gulped guiltily, trying desperately to ignore how unbelievably gorgeous they looked right then. "I have an important meeting tomorrow and I didn't prepare, I…"

Draco seemed positively offended. "Hermione, you can't be serious. Call in sick, use your vacation days, I don't care, but for once in your life please have the decency to miss work."

Harry was simply speechless.

"I can't. If it was any other day, I swear I'd do it," she started, but was rudely interrupted by a scoff from Draco. "But this is important, they can't have the meeting without me."

Draco looked like he was about to say something but decided against it, snapping his mouth shut and looking away from her.

"If you don't feel right about what we're doing, you can tell us," Harry had found his voice and his hand found hers.

She smiled sadly. "It's not that, alright? I promise. I want to stay, I…definitely wish I could but…"

Her chest felt tight at the disappointed look Harry was giving her, as well as Draco's complete indifference. She could see how they would think she was lying, as she had done it once before, but now she didn't know how to convince them she was being honest.

Draco removed himself from his position, standing up and heading for the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

Hermione sighed, her hands rubbing her temples for a second before she too stood up. Harry was still looking at her strangely, as if trying to get her to tell him the truth.

"I'm not lying, Harry," she promised, running a hand through his hair affectionately. "I really liked what we were doing and I want to do it again, but now I need to leave."

Harry nodded and Hermione could see that he knew that there was nothing he could say that would make her stay when she had already made her decision. He gave her a half smile and that was enough for her.

Hermione picked up her wand and purse that had laid forgotten on Harry's nightstand from night before and stopped again in front of Harry. "You have no idea how sorry I am. Please tell Draco that." She leaned in to kiss him and felt a small relief when he kissed her back.

"Goodnight," she said, pulling away with a sad smile before disapparating with a crack.