GWTPT 16
{ 16 }
Saturday morning the first frost of the season settled over the grounds. The vast majority of students bundled up and headed to Hogsmeade anyway.
Someone had decided it would be a good idea to have a Hallow's Eve Ball, which would take place in only two weeks. Nearly every witch in the castle fifth year and up was talking about dresses and hair and make up. It was nauseating.
As the Hall emptied out, I noticed a certain black and red haired witch remained seated at the Gryffindor table. She kept her eyes down as her classmates left her sitting there one by one until she was alone.
She finally looked up. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at me from across the room.
Well. That can't be good.
"What did you do to piss off Granger?" Theo chuckled.
"Don't tell me. You forgot to ask her to the Ball, didn't you?" Blaise smirked.
My brow crinkled. I did not ask her to the ball. Should I? Would she even want me to?
"Oh, Merlin. You didn't?" Blaise' eyes widened and he laughed sharply.
I groaned to myself. I never even thought about it. I just assumed…what? What did I assume?
Fuck. I don't even know what I assumed. This dance is a stupid idea. I have no intention of going. All those people moving around. Brushing up against each other. Merlin, what if someone other than Hermione wanted to dance with me? What if someone other than me wanted to dance with her?
It just has 'bad idea' written all over it.
Still…should I ask her anyway? Give her the opportunity to tell me how bad of an idea it is? Then we could do something else, spend the evening together without other people around.
She would be beautiful in a ball gown.
I groaned to myself. How did I not even think about this before now?
Movement caught my eye and I realized I had been staring at nothing. Hermione wasn't even in her seat anymore. She was standing across the table from me. Her arms were crossed over her chest. Her foot tapped against the floor.
"Malfoy." Her tone was cold. My head tilted to the side. She is well and truly pissed. Surely she is not that upset about a silly dance. "We need to talk."
"Granger." I lifted my brow and gestured for her to sit. "Care to join us?"
Her eyes darted to Theo, then Blaise before returning to me. She sat down in front of me and tapped her fingernails on the table.
"Would you care to explain why Neville would not leave me alone for two minutes last night?"
Oh!
I cringed as Blaise snorted in laughter. She turned her glare towards him for a long moment before returning to me.
"I swear, when I went to the bathroom, he stood outside the door until I was done."
At least I know he can follow directions. I relaxed a bit and shrugged my shoulder.
"Maybe he was trying to work up the nerve to ask you to the ball?" My lip quirked up on one side as I tried to lighten the mood.
Her fingers stopped tapping. Her eyes narrowed dangerously. She is not amused. At all.
"Yes. I'm sure that was it." She resumed tapping her fingers on the table. "Do you actually think that Neville wouldn't tell me what he was doing and why?"
I did tell him to be discreet, didn't I? I rubbed at my temple. I knew that stunt was going to come back and bite me in the arse.
Her hand curled into a fist. She stood and placed both hands on the table.
"I can take care of myself." Her voice was a low growl. "I've been doing it for a very long time. I promised that I would ask for help if I needed it. I don't break my promises. And I do not need you to assign me a babysitter."
She turned and took a few steps before turning back.
"You didn't have any right to tell him what happened." Her voice was still angry, but the hurt she felt was bleeding through.
"I told them what I had to in order to impress the severity of the situation." I walked around the table so I could stand in front of her. "I was worried that my patronus may come too late next time."
Her eyes glistened with tears. She shook her head.
"As sweet as that is, you are going to have to trust me." She closed her eyes and rolled her shoulders back with a deep breath. When she looked at me again, her walls were back up. "It is not your responsibility to protect me twenty four hours a day. Don't go behind my back like that again."
She brushed past me as she walked away. This time, she didn't stop. She kept going until she disappeared through the entry doors.
I watched her go. What else could I do? She was right.
Fuck. I knew I made a mistake by talking to those imbeciles.
"You might as well go after her." A light, airey feminine voice startled me. I turned to see Luna Lovegood standing beside me. I took an involuntary step back.
This was another witch that had been an unwilling guest of Malfoy Manor. Taken to keep her father in line, she had escaped relatively unharmed.
"Or don't." She shrugged her shoulder. "It's your choice, really."
I blinked at her a couple of times. She merely smiled at me. Then she followed Hermione out of the Hall.
I could hear Blaise and Theo snickering behind me. Of course they would think this is funny. I didn't look back at them as I headed towards the entrance hall.
I thought I would have to track her down, but she hadn't gotten very far. She was standing near the stairway with Lovegood.
"I'm quite looking forward to dress shopping." Luna was telling her. "Would you like to join me?"
"Oh. I'm not planning on going to the dance, Luna." She pushed her hair back nervously. "Who are you going with?"
"I don't expect anyone to ask me." She twirled her hair around her fingers. "I thought you would go with Draco?"
I cringed. Hermione's eyes met mine over the blonde girl's shoulder. Her lip curled up on one side.
"I hadn't actually thought about it."
My heart raced in my chest.
"You could get a dress anyway. Just in case." Luna smiled and started walking towards the front doors. "Come on. We better go or all the good ones will be gone."
"I'll be right there." She kept her eyes locked on mine.
I approached as Luna walked away.
"I'm not going to apologize." I'm not.
Her shoulders sank and she rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
"But, I won't do it again." Because it was a shit move and I should have trusted her and all that.
She sighed and nodded her head. She accepted that it was the best she would get from me. But she hasn't forgiven me for it. Not that I asked for her forgiveness.
"Luna's waiting for me." She started to turn away.
"Wait." My breath caught in my throat. Anxiety clawed at my chest. She paused, her eyebrow rose and she waited. "Do you want to go to the ball?"
Her eyes searched mine.
"I…I don't know." She fidgeted with her fingers, stared down at the floor. "There will be so many people there."
My concern as well. I would rather spend the evening with just her. An idea flitted through my mind.
"What if we had our own ball? On the third floor." I whispered in her ear. Her breath caught in her throat.
"I think I would like that."
I released a deep breath. Yes, I think I would like that, too.
She leaned in and brushed her lips over mine, then pulled back just as quickly.
"I'm still mad at you, Malfoy." Her lip tilted up in bright contrast to the scowl she tried to pull off. With one final look, she followed Lovegood out the door.
"Very smooth, Mate." Theo laughed from behind me.
"Really, Theo? Have you asked anyone yet?" I punched his arm while Blaise laughed.
"Of course he hasn't. You know Theo is afraid to talk to girls."
"I am not." He rolled his eyes. "I just need to find the right one. That's all."
Blaise laughed again. So did I. We both knew that there was some truth to what Blaise had said, though. Theo did not have any good experiences when it came to asking out witches. Tracey had turned him down flat. Daphne's sister had laughed in his face. A Ravenclaw girl had mocked him, then her friends had teased him for months. He had all but given up on finding anyone. Then the war happened, and he had stopped trying altogether. He didn't think he would live to see the war end, so why bother?
I knew that feeling well.
Morning bled into afternoon. We spent most of the morning flying. After lunch, we set up a game of wizard's chess in the courtyard.
Halfway through the second round we started to notice people trickling back in from Hogsmeade. At first it was only a few people now and then. Then a few more. I kept an eye out for Granger. Group after group passed us by with no sign of her.
I had just lost to Theo for the second time when I spotted Luna wandering through the courtyard by herself. I scanned the groups of returning students until finally I saw her. She was walking up the stairs with Potter on one side of her and Weasley on the other.
It looked so normal. Like that was where she belonged.
At the same time, she seemed to be extremely uncomfortable. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her eyes darted back and forth from one to the other.
She said something to them. They were still too far away for me to hear what. They laughed. Her shoulders relaxed just a little bit.
Her eyes darted around the courtyard until they landed on me. Her lip tilted up on one side. I fought the urge to close the distance between us.
She left them behind anyway. Instead of coming towards me, she caught up to Luna. I never took my eyes off of her.
"Are you just going to sit there and stare at her like some crazy stalker?" Theo asked, drawing my attention away from Hermione as he punched my arm.
"That was the plan." I scowled at him. I'm not a stalker. I'm just admiring how great she looks in those skin tight, ripped jeans and fitted black sweater. And I haven't seen her all day. And she was mad at me when she left this morning.
If she reconnected with her friends, she won't want anything to do with you anymore.
I swallowed the lump in my throat and tried to ignore the pain that lanced through my chest. If that was her choice, it would hurt. More than it should.
I should be worried about that.
When I looked again, she was walking towards me with Luna right next to her. My anxiety calmed as she neared. She calms my soul. There is no other way to describe it.
"Ladies. Have a nice time shopping the day away, did you?" Blaise winked at them as they came up to the chess table.
"Oh, it was wonderful." Luna answered with that dreamy smile of hers. She then turned towards me. "Wait till you see the dress Hermione picked. It's lovely."
Hermione's cheeks tinged pink and she bit her lip.
"Stop. Your dress is amazing." She pushed her hair back as she deflected the topic away from herself.
"It is quite beautiful." Luna agreed with her. Her blue eyes landed on me, then Blaise. Lastly, she looked at Theo, who was paying no attention at all to any of us as he set the chess board up for another game. Her eyes lingered on him for a few seconds.
"Here. These are for you." Hermione handed me a bag from Honeydukes. I opened it and found cauldron cakes, chocolate frogs and sugar quills.
"Wow. You got me your favorite sweets." I pulled the box of sugar quills out of the bag. "Thanks."
"Actually, those are mine." She laughed and reached for the box. I pulled it just out of her reach.
"But you gave them to me." I smirked. She raised her brow and stepped back.
"Do you really think you're going to win this one, Malfoy?" She tilted her head to one side and placed her hands on her hips.
"Not at all." I handed her the box. She smiled at me. A full smile. Her eyes even sparkled. That damn warmth in my heart was back.
She sat down next to me and pulled one of the sugar quills out of the box.
"You had a good time?" I asked as I opened a chocolate frog. I flipped the card over in my hand and nearly choked on air. An image of the very witch sitting beside me stared back at me.
"I guess. Shopping is not one of my favorite pastimes." She shrugged her shoulder and continued sucking on the sugar quills between her lips.
I flipped the card in my hand over and cleared my throat.
"Hermione Granger is credited with assisting in taking down Lord Voldemort when he returned."
"What the…what is that?" Her head snapped around to face me.
"She worked alongside Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley to track down vital information and destroy items of dark power and significance to the self named Dark Lord."
Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed the card out of my hand.
"You have got to be kidding me." She scanned the remaining text. "Good Godric. They could have found a better picture than that."
I took the card back and focused on the picture. She was wearing her school uniform. Her hair was brown and curly as ever and fell nearly to her waist. Her wand was in her hand. She looked fierce. She looked sexy as hell.
"I disagree." I put my arm around her shoulder and whispered in her ear. "This image will tempt wizards of all ages. Including me."
She looked at me in surprise. As she turned, I captured her lips. She smiled against me before returning the kiss. She tasted like blackberry sugar quills.
After several moments, she sighed into my mouth and reluctantly pulled away. I had gotten so lost in kissing her that I forgot we were sitting in the courtyard, in broad daylight, for anyone to see.
Whilst I had been lost in kissing Hermione, Luna had sat down across from Theo at the chess board.
For the next hour we watched the most interesting game of chess I've ever seen. Luna seemed to be disinterested in the game altogether, chatting away with Hermione about nargles and wrackspurts as she nonchalantly moved her pieces one by one.
Her strategy was like nothing I've ever seen before. More importantly, though, it was like nothing Theo had ever seen before. At first it seemed he was going easy on her. As the game progressed, I could tell that she had the upper hand. Even if her king fell, we all knew who the winner would be.
Theo was getting more and more frustrated as she thwarted his every offensive. When her melodic voice stated "check", he stared at the board. His eyed darted back and forth, landing on each remaining piece.
From what I could see, he had two possible moves. Either one would only delay the inevitable. Hermione squeezed my hand. She saw it, too. Blaise' eyes met mine. His lip tilted up in a smirk.
"Fuck me." Theo ran his hand through his hair. He saw it, too. With a deep sigh, he moved his knight to block his king. That cleared the path for Luna's rook to safely put his king into checkmate.
Theo's king fell.
His eyes met Luna's for perhaps the first time throughout the whole game.
"Good game, Lovegood." He held his hand over the board.
"Thanks, Nott. That was fun." She smiled sweetly at him as she shook his hand.
"Re-match?" He asked, already setting up the board.
"Oh. No, thank you. I'm actually quite hungry." She stood and turned towards Hermione. "Thank you for going with me today."
She gave a small wave to our group. Then she was gone.
"Such an odd witch," Blaise observed.
"Luna isn't odd." Hermione rolled her eyes. "She just looks at the world differently than most of us."
She stood and stretched her arms over her head.
"I'm getting hungry, also." She noted. "I suppose it is dinner time."
The sun had indeed started to set behind the forest. I rolled my neck and stood as well.
"Come on, then. Let's go see what the elves have prepared for us tonight." I took her hand and together we crossed the courtyard.
Blaise fell in step beside me with Theo not far behind. Around the courtyard, various groups of students gathered, enjoying the remnants of a nice Autumn day.
By and large, most had stopped staring when they saw Hermione and I together. It felt to me like someone was watching us, though. I let my eyes wander when we parted ways. As she moved towards the Gryffindor table, there was one wizard that kept his eyes on her.
MacMillan.
And that reminds me…
"Which one of you wants to tell me what MacMillan did in Defense yesterday?" I asked just loud enough for Blaise and Theo to hear as we took our seats.
Theo paused with his hand halfway over his plate.
"Nothing we couldn't handle." He answered vaguely before pulling his plate close and filling it with food.
"That did not answer my question." I kept my eyes on Hermione. She was in a much better mood than she had been that morning. She smiled to herself as she ate and listened to whatever Potter and Girl Weasley were talking about.
"He implied that the reason she couldn't cast a patronus was because of us. Tainted by Slytherin evil, he said." Blaise answered after several long moments.
"Us, or me?" The metal fork in my hand bit into my flesh as my fingers tightened around it.
"Us. The whole house, actually." Blaise responded.
"I don't think she even heard him. If she did, she did a great job ignoring him. I wasn't about to let him get away with it, though. Wanker." Theo picked at the food on his plate.
Makes sense. Theo had been defending Slytherin house as much as he was defending her.
"He's been asking to get his arse kicked all semester. Don't fall for it. He wants one of us to take the bait."
Because what he had said was true. One wrong move and any one of us would be in Azkaban before the sun set.
We finished our meal in relative silence. I was contemplating exactly how precarious our situation truly was. At any point, anyone could make an accusation against us. Would we even be able to defend ourselves?
The plan coming in to the semester was to keep our heads down. Stay off the radar.
One painted witch had ruined that plan on day one.
I scanned the Gryffindor table again and found the witch in question watching me. She lifted her eyebrow and tilted her head towards the door.
Yes. I'm ready to get out of here. I pushed my plate back and stood. Her lip tilted up on one side as she did the same. We met at the doors.
There seemed to be an unspoken understanding that we would spend the evening together. There wasn't any hesitation for either of us as I took her hand and we started up the stairs.
As predicted, the stairs took us to the third floor and dropped us off. I held the door for the office open and motioned her to go in first. She didn't even hesitate to step through, but once inside, she turned and leaned against the desk.
I closed the door behind me, locked it and placed wards before turning to face her. Two steps and I was directly in front of her.
My hands settled on her waist. Before I could dip my head and capture her lips, she put her hand on my chest and pushed me away.
Well, fuck.
"I wanted to talk to you," she said with a laugh in her voice. "Talk, Malfoy."
I groaned dramatically. Talking is the last thing on my mind. Especially right now, with the last remnants of the sun setting behind her and the sparkle of amusement in her eye.
"Fine. Talk."
Her hand remained on my chest. She stared at her own fingers for a moment. She chewed on her bottom lip.
"I talked to Luna today." She looked up at me through her lashes. "I told her. About this week."
Oh. Wow. That was…huge.
"I was still angry with you for telling Neville to babysit me. So I was rambling and it all just kind of came out while we walked to Hogsmeade."
Every muscle in my body tensed. Is she still angry? She kissed me when she got back. That had to be a good sign, right?
"Anyway, we talked it through and I just, I want you to know that I'm still not happy that you went behind my back like that, but I understand why you did."
She can't possibly understand.
"I was worried about you." I cupped her face in my hands and stared into her eyes. "I am worried about you."
"I know." Her voice was barely more than a whisper. She blinked quickly. Unshed tears glistened in her eyes. "I'm worried, too."
My lips brushed over hers quickly.
"I am not ready to lose you."
I did not mean to say that out loud. I held my breath, waiting for her reaction.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Right, then. That was enough talking.
I kissed her. She smiled against my mouth, then tugged me closer as she slid her tongue through my lips.
I love kissing her. Her soft lips moving against mine. Her breath mingling with my own. Her body pressed against mine. The soft moan that slipped through her lips.
Her head fell back. My lips trailed along her skin, following her jawline to her ear, then down her neck to her shoulder.
"Fuck!" She moaned softly as she pulled me closer, her hand slid through my hair, and pressed my lips further into her shoulder.
That had to be my cue to stop, right? Before we go too far?
I sucked in a deep breath before pulling back. I turned and sat on the desk next to her. Outside, the sun had set beyond the horizon. The office had settled into dark shadows.
How long had I been kissing her?
Not long enough.
Hermione sighed. She laid her head against my shoulder and laced her fingers in mine.
"Draco?" She ran the fingers of her other hand over my wrist.
"Yes?" I turned my head just a little. Just enough.
"Why did you stop? Did I do something…?" She sounded so uncertain. Worried. "I just…I need to know so I don't do it again. You know?"
I held my breath for a long moment. She thinks I pulled away because she crossed a line. An image of Tracey sliding her hand across my shoulders and my subsequent panic attack flashed through my mind. An involuntary shiver ran down my spine.
"You didn't." I squeezed her hand and released a deep sigh. "I stopped because I know you aren't ready, and I don't want to push you into something you are not ready for."
Her hand gripped mine for a moment, then she released her hold and stood quickly, pacing away from me, then back again. She stopped directly in front of me and placed her hands on her hips. Her mouth opened as though she was going to say something, then closed again. She turned, paced away, and returned again.
My eyebrow rose and I waited for her to sort out whatever the hell she was thinking.
"You have to stop doing that." With a quick wave of her hand, several candles sprang to life, lighting the room in a soft glow. She crossed her arms over her chest and popped her hip out on one side.
"What?" My eyebrow crinkled in confusion.
"Stop trying to protect me from myself, Draco." She threw her hands up in the air and turned away from me yet again. "You are the one that told me to trust my instincts."
I did say that. She took a deep breath and released it slowly, then faced me again. She was as close to me as she could get without touching. Fire flashed in her eyes.
"Right now my instincts are telling me that you didn't want to stop any more than I wanted you to."
I searched her eyes. Lust and determination. Dammit.
"Hermione, don't you see? That is exactly why we needed to stop. Before we cross that line between what we are ready for and what we are not."
My hands settled on her waist and I drew her forward. We had reversed positions. Now I'm sitting on the desk and she is standing between my knees. In this position, her eyes are level with mine.
"How are we going to know where that line is?" Her hands slid around my neck.
Fuck.
Her fingers slid through the hair at the nape of my neck. A warm shiver made its way down my spine. I can feel my resolve slipping away.
"Just like a Gryffindor. Jump headfirst into danger and deal with the consequences after the fact." I pulled her closer, pressed my forehead against hers. Yes, my resolve is definitely fading.
"Just like a Slytherin." She was so close to me that her lips brushed across mine as she spoke. "Over analyze everything before you make your move."
She isn't wrong.
I just want to protect her. Is there something wrong with that? What if I cross that line without knowing it? Any progress we have made will be gone. We'll be back to square one, scared to death to even hug each other.
"Draco," she whispered in my ear. "What is stopping you right now? Is it your mind, or your magic?"
My hands tightened around her waist. She was repeating back to me the same words I had used weeks earlier in the library, when she was ready to run away from me, from us, because she didn't trust herself.
Am I doing the same thing now? Running away because I don't trust myself?
You are a coward, so it is highly likely.
She's too close to me. I can't breathe without inhaling strawberries and vanilla. And fuck me, I want another taste.
I dropped my head to her shoulder. My fingers were digging into her waist as I battled with myself between what I should do, and what I want to do. What she obviously wants to do.
My lips brushed against her neck. She inhaled sharply and held the breath in her lungs.
I pressed my lips more firmly against her skin. She released the breath slowly.
"You'll stop me if I get too close to that line?" My voice was barely more than a whisper against her skin.
She nodded slowly.
"Yes." Her voice was no louder than my own. She swallowed hard. "And you as well?"
This time when I kissed her neck, my tongue darted out to taste her sweet skin.
"Oh Gods." The sound she emitted was almost a whimper. Then her lips were on mine.
This kiss was not slow. Nor was it gentle. Her fingers dug into my scalp as she pulled me closer.
Any semblance of self control I had dissipated.
My hands spread across her back, pulled her as close to me as I could. My tongue swept through her mouth.
Oh, fuck! She sucked my tongue further into her throat. I moaned into her mouth.
We battled for control of the kiss. Giving. Taking. Until finally we broke apart, breathing heavily.
My lips trailed along her jawline. My hands slid around her waist. She wants to push the boundaries, I can push boundaries.
My fingers skimmed bare skin. She shivered beneath me. I kissed her neck and she gasped.
She likes that. When I kiss her right there, below her ear.
My hand spread out across her back, under her sweater, skin to skin.
Fucking hell. She is so damn soft and warm.
She gasped louder and went completely still. Her fingers dug into my shoulders.
Somewhere in my lust induced haze, I recognized her sudden discomfort. I pulled back, lifting my hands from her and holding them out to the sides.
"No." She said quickly. "It's okay. You don't have to stop."
We were both breathing heavily.
"I think I do, actually." I huffed out a short laugh. I wonder if she can tell how unbelievably hard I am at that moment. I put my hands on the desk beside me. My head rested against her shoulders. "Just give me a minute."
"Oh Gods, Draco." She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. "What the fuck?"
She was still gripping my shoulders, but her hands were shaking.
"Are you okay?" I pushed too far, too fast.
Dammit. I knew this would happen.
"Um…I am…it's just, I feel…uh…I feel strange."
Strange? What does that mean?
"Define strange."
"I don't even know." Her face was flushed and her hands were starting to shake. "I think I need to sit down."
She stumbled slightly as she stepped back. I moved quickly. In a heartbeat I was beside her, with my arms around her to help keep her steady.
Something was off. She was not acting like she had a panic attack. It was more like…
Oh! Fuck.
My lip quirked up on one side when the realization hit me. It wasn't a panic attack at all.
Wordlessly, I guided her into the sitting room. She sat on the couch and dropped her head into her hands. I lit a fire quickly, then sat beside her.
I put my arm around her shoulders and pulled her against me. She rested her head against my chest.
"Have you ever had an orgasm before?" I asked her quietly, though I'm sure the answer is no.
She huffed out a laugh and closed her eyes. Her cheeks darkened and she bit her lower lip.
"No." Her voice was low. Almost a whisper. And she confirmed my suspicion.
My lip curved up on one side. I pushed her hair back over her ear and tilted her face up so I could search her eyes.
"Are you okay?" I asked again. She bit into her lip, this time trying to hide a smile.
"I am." She nodded slowly.
Merlin, she's beautiful. Her eyes sparkled in the dancing firelight.
"Did you…?" Her face flushed again.
"Almost." I huffed out a short laugh. Truth be told, I'm still painfully hard. But that's my problem, not hers.
Her hands were almost steady when she placed them on my chest and slowly slid them around my neck. Her lips brushed against mine.
"What are you doing?" My voice was strained as I tried to hold back.
"Picking up where we left off." She brushed across my lips again.
"Hermione." This witch is going to be the death of me yet.
"Shut up and kiss me, Malfoy."
"So bossy." I smirked at her. The look she gave me in return was a cross between amusement and desire.
What the fuck was I supposed to do? Walk away?
Fuck that.
My lips crashed into hers. She gasped against me before molding her lips against mine. My hand slid around her waist and pulled her closer. She shifted. Next thing I knew, she was straddling my lap.
She moaned into my mouth as the proof of my arousal ground against her inner thigh.
I think I could kiss her for hours. Hell, maybe I did.
Her head fell back and she took a ragged breath. My hand slid against her skin, under her sweater once again. I pulled her closer as my lips skimmed over her neck.
"Fuck." I swear I could feel her wet heat beneath her clothes and mine.
"Draco." She carded her fingers through my hair.
My hips snapped forward. Intense pressure, followed by euphoria as I came undone. I buried my face in her shoulder as I tried to catch my breath and calm my racing heart.
Her hands clutched my shoulders. She was breathing as heavily as I.
I'm not sure how long we sat there, holding onto each other as if our lives depended on it. When her breathing had somewhat returned to normal, she moved off my lap and sat next to me on the couch.
I stared into her eyes while she stared into mine. I kissed her one more time, a gentle press of my lips against hers.
She sighed against me. Her hand found mine and held tight for several seconds.
"I need to go clean up." She squeezed my hand once more, then she stood, picked up her bag and disappeared into the bathroom.
While she was gone, I cleaned myself up the best I could. When she was finished, I took her place in the bathroom.
I stared at myself in the mirror for a good long moment. What the fuck is happening to me?
Hermione Granger.
I closed my eyes.
The witch I despised through sixth year. The same witch I came to admire during the war. The witch I developed an understanding with, followed by a tentative friendship. And now…
You are falling for her.
I opened my eyes and stared in the mirror once again.
Like hell I'm falling.
I found her on the balcony, smoking a cigarette. The night was crisp and cool with a heavy mist settled over the grounds.
She looked back at me and smiled. I settled in the lounge chair and she sat in front of me. I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her back against my chest. The sigh I released could only be described as content.
She relaxed against me. For several long minutes, we simply sat there together, listening to the night.
"Hermione?" My quiet question broke through the silence. She tilted her head back to look at me. "I need you to promise me something."
My throat was dry as she shifted in her seat to look me in the eye.
"What?" Her brow furrowed and she held her breath waiting for me to continue.
"I don't want to ever do anything you aren't ready for." I lifted my hand and pushed her hair back. "Promise if I ever go past that point, you'll stop me."
She studied me for a moment, then nodded her head.
"I promise." She laid her head against my chest and I held her in my arms. My lips brushed against her forehead.
"I wish we could just stay here tonight." I muttered against her hair.
"I told Theo I'd stop keeping you out after curfew." She sounded drowsy, like she was barely staying awake.
I froze. Wait. Did I hear her correctly?
"When did you talk to Theo?"
She held her breath for a moment before releasing it.
"Yesterday. During Defense." She shifted again and looked up at me. "He said you could be sent to Azkaban if you are caught out after curfew or if you skip classes or break any other school rules. He asked if that was my plan, to get you thrown in jail."
My jaw tightened. My hand curled into a fist.
"Theo needs to learn how to mind his own business."
"But is he wrong?"
No, he isn't wrong.
"That isn't the point." I rolled my eyes.
She studied me for several heartbeats. Then she tilted her head to the side and looked up at me through her eyelashes.
Does she know how fucking distracting that is?
"If you are sent to Azkaban, we'll both be alone." She skimmed her fingertips along my jawline and cupped her hand around my neck.
My breath caught in my throat. My heart pounded against my chest. I hadn't even thought of it that way.
"I need you here, Draco." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I can't explain it. You…you're like my patronus. My light in the darkness."
I searched her eyes, memorized the absolute trust that I saw there. She trusted me enough to bare this piece of her soul to me. She deserves the same from me.
"When you look at me like that, like you think I'm worthy. This warmth spreads throughout my chest." My voice matched hers, barely a whisper. I skimmed my fingers across her jaw, just as she had done, and cupped my hand around her neck. "That look. That warmth. That is what I think of."
I pulled my wand, closed my eyes and whispered "Expecto Patronum"
When I opened my eyes, my cobra patronus was coiled next to us, waiting for direction.
Her eyes darted between me and the silver serpent.
She licked her lips and cleared her throat.
"All the more reason." She settled back against my chest. "From now on, you are following all school rules, Malfoy. I'm going to make sure of it."
I released a sharp laugh that seemed to echo through the mist that surrounded us.
"You mean, we are following all school rules, don't you Granger?"
She laughed against me.
"Well…not the dress code." I could hear the grin in her voice and I laughed along with her.
"Of course not the dress code." I held her a little tighter.
We stayed there for a little while longer. As curfew neared, we both sighed, knowing our evening was coming to an end.
Hermione stood and stretched her arms over her head. I kissed her one more time on the balcony in the mist, then we wordlessly left our little safe haven hand in hand.
At the end of the corridor, we waited by the landing. Staircases were moving, but none of them swung over our direction.
"What is going on?" Hermione asked anxiously, checking her watch for the third time.
"Maybe Hogwart's wants us to stay here tonight after all." I shrugged my shoulder. It wouldn't be the first time the castle had stranded us here.
The clock was ticking, though. Less than ten minutes. I wouldn't be able to walk her to the Tower.
Five minutes.
We would have to sprint to make it to our common rooms on time.
Four minutes.
Hermione paced back and forth across the corridor.
Three minutes.
I caught her arm as she paced past me again.
"Relax." I put my arms around her.
Two minutes.
Un-fucking-believable. The castle is actually going to leave us here.
One minute.
She carded her fingers through my hair as I leaned down to kiss her.
The clock chimed. Lanterns throughout the school dimmed.
"Shall we?" I smirked down at her and motioned towards the private chambers that I had come to think of as ours.
"So much for not breaking school rules." She scoffed.
A few minutes later we were settled on the couch side by side, with a fire in front of us and mugs of hot chocolate in our hands.
For the next two hours, we talked. Nothing emotional. Nothing consequential. Just mundane topics that were anything but mundane.
She told me about some of her favorite muggle inventions that wizard's don't use. I told her about the museum of magickal artifacts that I visited as a child.
We talked about the future - plans after graduation. Which proved to be a short conversation as neither of us actually have plans that far in advance. Get through the next seven months, then we'll see what happens.
I did not mention that whatever happens, I want her by my side. It's far too early in the relationship for that kind of declaration.
I could sense she was starting to doze off. It was on the tip of my tongue that she should go to bed. Instead. I shifted so she was leaning against my chest.
"Good night, Hermione." I whispered against her forehead, followed by a gentle kiss.
"Good night, Draco." Her sleepy voice returned on a sigh. She snuggled further into me and drifted off.
AN: A lot going on in this chapter. Hermione does not like when people make decisions for her. I can't blame her on that one. She did confide in Luna, though. And its getting a little steamy on the third floor for these two.
I'd love to hear your thoughts! Please leave me a review.
Also, I can't believe we are a year into this story. Thank you to those of you that have been with me from the beginning. And to those that have found this story along the way.
I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season, whatever holiday you happen to celebrate. For me, it's Christmas. One of my favorite gifts was a plush blanket with the Slytherin crest on it. Love it.
Until next time.
-mezy