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"Hermione, look at me."

She shifted in his arms so that she could tilt her head upward and look into his eyes. Her cheeks grew warm again as he looked into her brown eyes and she tingled at the feel of his warm breath dusting over her skin. He just lay there holding her for several minutes, and then kissed her forehead. Her eyes went to his again and she felt a knot forming in her chest. What was that about?

"Hermione, what do you think about leaving here? I could help you find your own place again." he whispered, looking intently at a spot just above her brow. She sucked in a breath and scrunched her face up slightly.

"I don't- I'm not- what I mean..." She sqeeuzed her eyes shut, frustrated by her inability to form a complete thought. Clenching her fist into Dracos' shirt again. she opted for calming breaths while he watched her. She felt another soft kiss, on her temple this time.

"Hermione, look at me." he asked gently. She obliged. "I just... I don't want this life for you, stuck here in this dump. You deserve palaces as far as I'm concerned." She smiled timidly at his words. He brushed a curl away from her face and looked deeply into her eyes. "Let's go find somewhere for you. Somewhere nice, with a library you'll love, and maybe a park nearby that you can enjoy. Come back to life, Hermione. It's really quite a lovely thing..."

Hermione felt tears stinging her eyes again and quickly wiped them away. He grasped her wrist gently and lifted it to his lips, placing a delicate kiss to her pulse.

"You have so much left to offer the world. You have incredible strength, and love flowing through these veins. Please just think about it?" he finished, his voice a deep rumble now, and she could feel the knot tightening in her chest. She just nodded, unsure what she could possibly say. She wasn't even sure if her mouth would cooperate to be perfectly honest.

"I'd like to lay here all day, but I've got some things to take care of. You are welcome to remain here." he said, lifting up a bit to lean on one elbow. He was looking at her again, and she swore she could see something new swirling around in his beautiful silver blue eyes. It confused her, but before she could attempt to decipher it, he was placing a lingering kiss on her forehead again and then moved to leave the bed and head over to the bathroom. When she heard the door shut, she blew out a deep breath she hadn't noticed she held, and turned to lay on her back.

After around twenty minutes, Draco emerged from the bathroom and Hermione was convinced in that moment he was indeed trying to kill her. She stared, eyes wide, as he walked to his dressor with a towel tied lazily around his waist. How in Godrics name was that staying put? Magic, had to be... He didn't even have the good sense to dry himself properly. There were trails of water drops falling from his hair, down his back and disappeared into the fabric of the towel. She slowly sunk down into his pillow and raised the blanket to hide half her face, blushing severely as she watched the muscles in his back and shoulders contract and flex with his movenents. Once he'd pulled out what he needed, he turned around, eyes falling on her mid stride to the bathroom. He paused, smirking at her from across the room.

"Granger?"

"Y-yes?" she replied feebly, still unable to avert her eyes from his slender form.

"You okay?" he asked, but his smirk grew a little wider and she knew he was finding her reaction to him amusing. He could only see her nose and above from behind the blanket, but she scowled at him nonetheless. He breathed out the smallest laugh, and Hermione was completely caught off guard by it. He looked so relaxed, so easy going. How could this really be Draco Malfoy? She found she asked herself that question far too many times lately.

He unraveled the shirt in his hand and pulled it over his head and torso. She watched him smooth away any wrinkles before casting one more glance her way, then heading to the bathroom. She heaved out another deep sigh.

"Heart attack. That's the way he's going to do me in... can't be traced..." Hermione was mumbling quietly as she continued to bury herself further into the mattress. She hadn't noticed Draco step beside her until he placed a hand on the blanket that was shielding her thigh. She quickly peeked out at him.

"When are you going to stop thinking I am going to assassinate you?"

"When it's over with." She mumbled, and he actually laughed. It lit his whole face up, and she tilted her head up slightly to see him better. He had the smallest crows feet at the corners of his eyes, and his face naturally flushed a light shade of pink. The thing that stood out the most was the way his eyes were sparkling down at her. She'd never seen that before, and all she could think was how absolutely stunning this man is. He was always so much more somber around her, and now she supposed it's because she herself was constantly so downcast. He had no reason to be jovial at all in her presence, until now. She felt a tug on her heart and decided she would try to make him laugh like that more often.

"I'll see you later, pretty girl." He said quietly, and kissed her cheek before leaving with a soft click of the door behind him and the locks magically clamping into place, along with the thrum of his own personal wards. She was free to leave, but no one else would be able to get in or out if they tried. She stared at the door for a long time, thoughts swirling her mind so quickly she almost felt sick from it all... What was Draco doing to her?

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Hermione decided to shower and change while Draco was gone, and she even popped over to her room to clean up the mess she'd made during her emotional outburst the day before. She found a new food tray on her night stand, and after a moment, she picked it up and took it into Dracos' room. Placing it on the little table by the window, she settled herself and began to eat.

She thought about Draco before he left, and how he looked so confident in his body. She used to be the same way, but now she wore baggy clothes to hide her frailties. The more she thought about him, the more she became ashamed with herself. She allowed her emotions to lie dormant somewhere in the back of her heart, but Draco caused them to stir, and she no longer wanted to fight it. Whatever happened, would happen.

She wandered over to his dressor once she'd finished eating, and noticed some papers laying on top. Glancing at them, she saw they were various verses in poetry. She read through some and was amazed he had them, as they all seemed to be muggle in origin. They spoke of love unrequited, loss, epic devotion and romantic endeavors. She felt herself blushing while reading aloud one in particular...

And when I left you, I was so on fire

with all your brilliant ironic humor

that after dinner I was still excited,

and sleep refused to touch my eyes with quiet.

In bed totally unstrung by passion,

tossing in agony, I prayed for sunrise,

when I could be with you in conversation.

But when my limbs, exhausted by their labor,

lay on the bed in nearly fatal stillness,

I made this poem for you, my beloved…

"Do you like that one?"

Hermione jumped and whirled around, the papers in her hands gone flying about the room. She had not noticed Draco's arrival back to the room, and he'd spoken in the most sultry low tone right next to her ear, completely catching her off guard. Her eyes locked onto his and she could see them darken before her.

"I, uhm, I... Uh, it's..." She stuttered, unable to respond properly through her embarrassment.

"I meant to put all of these," he waved his hand gesturing to all the pages which immediately flew into his open palm,"away before I left. Slipped my mind, I suppose."

She only just became aware of his proximity to her. She could feel the heat radiating off his body and mingling with her. She could feel her magic sizzle at her fingertips, as though through her, it was trying to make contact with him. She felt herself shiver and noticed the glint in his eyes return. He spoke quietly again, quoting the next passage of the poem, all the while his eyes locked on hers.

"So you could take the measure of my sorrow.I beg you to be kind to my petition, darling," he leaned forward and she stepped back, and he placed the papers on top of the dressor behind her,"for if you aren't, if you're cruel," she bumped into his dressor, and with one arm already blocking her in, he moved the other hand to rest on the other side, effectively caging her against the piece of furniture,"then Nemesis will turn on you in outrage."

She felt that tingle again, but this time it was spreading from her fingertips, through every vein in her arm, shooting into her heart and around her lungs and brain and knew without a doubt, he could feel it, too. She felt dizzy being so close to him like this. She couldn't pull her eyes away from his, either. They were unmistakably burning with the fires of passion and lust and she didn't know what to do.

His face was inches from hers, his breath lightly falling onto her already warm skin. She trembled. Was she afraid? Nervous? Anxious? Upset? She couldn't even tell. Her mind was a daze. He turned his head down and placed a tender kiss to the dip of her shoulder and neck. She gasped quietly. He placed one more kiss slightly higher, and her heart was not the only thing throbbing at this point.

"Draco..." She whispered, unable to form the words she wanted to say. He remained motionless for a moment, his lips hovering above her flesh. He lightly grazed them up her neck to the curve of her jaw, placed a hot, open mouthed kiss to her pulse point, his tongue lazily sliding over it and sent shocks through her entire body. She shivered involuntarily, a labored gasp escaping her lips, and then he stepped back.

She was breathing unevenly, face red as a rose and shaking from the sensations flowing through her. He watched her a second more and then turned to the table at his window and sat down.

He gestured to the chair across him, and rather unsteadily, she made her way to it and sat down as well. He took a knife and scone from the food tray, coated it with preserves and took a bite. In an attempt to regain her faculties, she busied herself with pouring a cup of tea for him, and sat waiting for him to speak. He thanked her, took a long sip, finished his scone and turned his eyes to the sky outside.

"I got a lead on your parents killer today."

End Chapter 7Poem read by Hermione and quoted by Draco was by Catullus