A/N: From HP Fairy Tail Fest, a story in the same universe: "True Loves' Kiss"
All three of their bed rolls were now placed together when they stopped for the night. Theo's back arched in pleasure as Draco's hand strayed into his pants. Hermione's lips tasted of the berries that they'd picked earlier in the day by the river. Their colour stained her lips and Theo moaned into her mouth and couldn't believe that this was his life now.
Draco winked at him and then descended, disappearing beneath the furs that were spread over them to keep the cool of night in the forest from seeping into their bed. Draco's mouth on his navel sent Theo to another world and Hermione swallowed all his sounds of pleasure. Theo was lost in the touch of his prince and his sorceress, his rescuers, his lovers, his sun and his moon.
A crone cackled in the morning light and crows were sent flying. An apple tree was surrounded with a dark aura as it sat in the center of a meadow, the sun shining brightly on the bright green fruit that hung there. There was a cottage where smoke curled from a chimney. The fence and gardens were covered in dozens of cats of all colours and sizes. The forest was silent as though it was in mourning.
In the pre-dawn darkness , Theo woke up groggily with Draco's long pale hair in his face from one side and Hermione's curls like vines over his chest. He couldn't help but smile. Since they had rescued him from his tower weeks ago, he couldn't believe how much his life had changed from his isolated life in the tower. Their bed smelled of sweat and sex and spices. And Theo rolled over and curled back into their embrace. He'd grown used to sleeping on the forest floor and, as there was no plan for today except to journey further southward, Theo was content to get a few more hours of sleep.
Draco woke when his stomach growled in the morning and was surprised to discover Theo and Hermione still sound asleep. He had kept the two of them up most of the night with his lovemaking.
Hermione was curled around Theo like a snake and it made Draco smirk. He rubbed her back slightly and wondered if he'd finally managed to put his son in her belly the night before. They only had another twelve or thirteen weeks before they reached Belar Berdea and he had no intention of marrying their younger princess. Bringing a pregnant concubine with him would certainly derail marriage negotiations and by the time Draco returned home, Hermione would likely be nearly ready to give birth. Maybe he could convince her to marry him before the baby came so that his firstborn would be a legitimate heir.
He hummed softly to himself at the thought, kissing Theo lightly on the temple before rising, tucking the blankets. He rekindled the fire and pulled on another couple of layers. They had some things in their pack that he could use to put together a breakfast for the three of them. He wandered down to the riverbank and scooped water into a small cauldron full of water before putting it over the fire to warm.
Perhaps there were more berries nearby like they'd found on their ride yesterday, Draco left the water slowly warming and decided to take a quick peek about in order to see if he could find anything to forage to add to the oats he was planning to make to break their fast. He pulled on his boots and gave another look over at his two favourite people in all the world.
He'd be back before they woke up.
They'd never know that he was gone at all.
It wouldn't take him long.
Hermione sat up suddenly, something was burning. Theo was asleep next to her, but there was no sign of Draco. The fire was going, low and steady and their small cauldron was on it and it was smoking. She hopped up and levitated it off the fire and into the dry earth next to the flames. Someone had let it boil dry.
Where was Draco? She couldn't see any sign of him.
Her blood ran cold.
Something was terribly wrong.
She could feel it.
Draco was approaching the apple tree with a smile on his face. The green apples looked appetizing and he reached forward to pull one from the branch.
"Theo! Theo, wake up." Hermione was shaking him. "Draco is missing. Help me look."
Theo sat bolt upright, jumping from their bedding. The dream. Oh no. "He saw the apple tree. It had a curse on it. He couldn't see the evil radiating off it. I don't know why."
"Were you dreaming?" asked Hermione, grabbing her wand and a few other magical implements to aid them in finding Draco or healing him if he had been hurt.
"Always, but just now when you woke me, I was dreaming of Draco picking a green apple from a tree with a curse on it. It's in the middle of a meadow that's near the river and beyond the meadow is a thatched roof cottage. We may be able to see the smoke." Theo looked towards the sky frantically.
"It can't have been the way that we came from, so it must be to the south. Quickly come." Hermione took off through the trees with Theo on her heels.
It did not take Hermione and Theo long to find Draco.
At first glance he appeared to be simply asleep, but Theo knew that wasn't the case from his dream.
A green apple, with a single bite missing, was clutched in his hand.
Draco had seemingly fallen into an accursed sleep not more than ten steps from the cursed tree. Hermione fell to her knees next to him plucking the apple from his hand and tossing it with fury across the meadow.
She cast some healing spells over Draco causing circles of various colours to float above his body. Theo wasn't sure what any of them meant, but it was certain that all the yellows and oranges weren't good.
"Did your dream tell you how to wake him?" Hermione asked, fear making her voice harsh.
Theo shook his head regretfully as he too went to his knees. He ran a hand over Draco's cheekbone and winced when his prince did not react at all.
Hermione frowned and pulled a potion from her bag. "Please work. Please work," she whispered as she poured it into his mouth, lifting his head a little and rubbing his throat so that he would swallow it.
Draco didn't so much as flicker an eyelid.
"What was that?" Theo asked.
"A universal poison antidote," Hermione replied. "So it's clearly a curse then, but what could be the counter curse?"
Hermione cast several spells in close succession, but Draco remained unchanged. Her frown grew.
"I wish I was tired," Theo sighed. "I could nap and then my dreams would probably tell us."
Hermione looked excited at that idea. "Do you dream if you take a sleeping draught?"
"I don't know. I've never tried, but I'm willing to attempt it," Theo offered.
"We'll save that as a later option. If it doesn't work I'll be stuck here in this cursed meadow watching over two enchanted princes. I can't think of anything more likely to summon a monster or one of the fae, and honestly I'd rather not deal with that while both of you are unconscious." Hermione tapped her hand on her thigh as she considered the possibilities.
"It couldn't possibly be that simple," Hermione mused. "Could it?"
Theo looked at her in confusion.
"Kiss him," she commanded.
"Me? Are you sure?" Theo blushed.
"Completely positive."
Theo leaned down and kissed Draco softly on the lips and the sleeping prince continued to slumber, but his eyelids flickered and his breath caught. Hermione looked disappointed when Theo sat back, but Draco remained asleep. Hermione sighed and then leaned forward and kissed Draco as well and this time he made the tiniest of noises, but there was no fluttering of his lashes.
"Let's try together," Hermione suggested.
"Alright," Theo replied, licking his lips. They had never kissed all three at once; he wasn't quite sure how the logistics would work, but if it saved Draco then Theo was willing to give it a shot, even if he was positive that his nose would be in the way.
The two of them kissed the two sides of Draco's lips and then somehow Theo was kissing Hermione, and then his tongue was in Draco's mouth and then Hermione was nipping his lip and Theo could taste blood. Their kisses grew frantic and suddenly Draco was an active participant as well, his long elegant hands tangling in two sets of brown curls.
Theo let out a shocked sound pulling back to the sight of Draco opening his eyes.
"Hmmm," Draco murmured as he stretched his arms. "You two can wake me up like that any time."
Hermione yelled in absolute fury, punching Draco hard in the arm.
"You absolute blithering idiot!" She screamed, hitting him again. "Do not eat fruit from cursed trees, are you a fool? Did you never get an education!? Your tutors would be besides themselves! What would King Lucius say if I had to bring you home in a glass coffin?"
"He'd probably ask why you didn't just kiss me?" Draco smirked as he sat up, rubbing his arm. "Must you be so violent though?"
Theo started laughing and couldn't stop. Draco and Hermione looked on in concern and the crows in the surrounding trees took off into the air. Their caws echoed through the woods.