"Draco," whispered Hermione, finally breaking the silence.
Draco just hummed into her neck where he had resumed peppering kisses.
"Draco, you're crushing me…"
"Oh!" Draco shifted the majority of his weight to his forearms on either side of her and Hermione took a few deep breaths he looked so genuinely sad it only made Hermione giggle again. "You should have told me, love. I'm twice your size."
"It's fine, I liked it. I just couldn't hold out any longer," she said, lifting her head to kiss him.
She felt him smile against her lips, and then he was shifting to lay beside her, pulling the sheet up to cover them from the waist down. The loss felt significant, not having him above her anymore, but he soothed the emptiness by laying his arm across her stomach as he kissed her again.
"How do you feel?" She asked once he laid his head on the pillow next to hers.
"Honestly?" He said with a raised brow. "Bloody amazing."
His face broke out in the most boyish smile. Border lining on innocent. Which was ironic given they had just finished an act that broke several of his pureblood traditions, his leader's rules, and certainly pissed on a variety of religious vocations.
"You?"
"Same. Quite a bit sore though." She admitted.
"Can I get you something?" He asked, propping himself up on an elbow. "I've got a relief potion, if you'd like? I can fix it in some tea?"
Hermione winced as she moved her legs. "That would be lovely, actually. Do you mind giving me a few minutes? I'd like to shower I feel a bit- well..." The pain was bothersome but the fluids leaking out of her were adding an extra layer of discomfort.
Draco sat up, grabbing his wand off the side table, waving it towards the bathroom to start the water.
"Here, let me carry you. I don't mind." Draco grinned as he pulled the sheet off them.
"That is completely unnecessary..." Hermione's voice trailed off as she took in Draco's shocked expression. Looking down between her legs, there was a mixture of blood and semen staining the sheets.
"Hermione, I…" Draco ran his hand through his hair before grabbing her knee. "Fuck. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine."
"It's not fucking fine. I hurt you."
"Most women bleed their first time." He grabbed her face, searching her eyes for any hint that she was lying. "Honestly, I am only a little sore. I promise."
He surveyed her for a little longer before nodding. "You certainly are not walking now."
Draco crawled over her to get off the bed, but Hermione followed right behind him and stood, not playing into his antics.
"Granger!"
"Malfoy," she mocked. "I can walk just fine. Though you certainly think rather highly of yourself."
Draco laughed, the mood between them too good for anything to bring it down. "Oh, you have no idea, Granger. I quite fancy myself king for the day."
"Oh my god," she said while walking to the bathroom, not wanting him to notice her laugh and encourage him even further.
When she finished, the sheets had been changed and her tea sat on the bedside table. and Hermione took a few sips, blowing away the steam to cool it down and drink enough for it to take effect. Draco pulled back the covers so she could climb in, and with a quiet mutter of nox, the lights were turned out again. Hermione cuddled up next to him, her back to his chest and he draped an arm around her to hold her in place. As with every other night in his arms, sleep was coming easily.
"Granger?" Draco whispered softly in her ear.
"Yeah?" She whispered back.
There was a hesitation, Draco burying his face further into her hair.
"There are some things… I don't want to talk about them. I can't talk about them. And- There is no way for me to bring them up without there being a million questions."
"…Okay"
"If one of these things- If I don't want to talk about it, but I just want you to know… would that be alright?"
Six months ago she would have said yes, and then riddled him with questions anyways. But she has learned so much in her time there.
"Yeah." Hermione answered. Trying to convey how much she meant it.
"Okay."
Hermione wiggled to get closer to him, and he tightened his arm around her as they again started to drift away into sleep.
"Granger?"
Hermione smiled; her eyes still closed. "Yeah?"
"My mother is in Azkaban."
"That is the dumbest shit I've ever heard Zabini," Goyle criticized as he took another drag. "Lucius is just as devoted as our fathers."
The boys had come up to their study in the early afternoon at Draco's request. Once arrived, he gave them an out, allowing them to leave before he went into the details. All the boys had done their part to slow down Voldemort's progress, but up until that point they had been merely stalling. Dragging their feet with the hopes that the Order could catch up and end it for them. This would be the first time they made a true move to the offensive. To truly defect as much as Draco had. Hermione was thrilled, if not a bit shocked, that they were all for it.
"I don't think I am going to rate the intelligence of my suggestion against the opinion of someone who unironically uses the word 'dumbest'," Blaise threw back. "Lucius has every reason to be hostile. Look at his home, overrun with wolves just the last full moon."
Goyle wrinkled his face at the mention of the werewolves. The group may be the only one ranking below muggleborns in the pureblood hierarchy.
"What did you and Theo do with the detained ones anyhow?" Goyle asked.
The night of the full moon, the injured and unconscious wolves were not able to flee the grounds with the rest of their pack. Draco hardly mentioned it, but it appeared there was more revenge inflicted than what he originally suggested.
"Werewolves aren't in control of their impulses during a full moon. They can't help it if they happened into Malfoy territory unknowingly." Hermione argued, feeling chills around the faint scars on her back. How she became the one sticking up for the beasts that attacked her was lost on her. "What happened to them?"
Goyle and Zabini shared a look, and Goyle simply shrugged lamely before taking another drag. "Nott can be rather efficient when he wants to be."
Hermione furrowed her brow. Draco informed her that the wolf she killed was one of Greyback's favorites, a wolf responsible for killing and infecting children across Europe. His death on her hands she could handle. But the wolf that was stunned was a current Hogwarts student, at least two years younger than them, who was infected with lycanthropy as a punishment for disobeying the Carrows.
"He was a child," Hermione croaked.
"He was a beast," Zabini countered, unforgivingly. "They are letting the wolves run freely on the full moon now. Anyone who crosses paths with them, magical or otherwise, is getting mauled or turned. And just think to yourself, Granger, how well the muggles are holding up against them."
"How can they allow that? They can't explain that many attacks to the muggle world. Surely the Statute of Secrecy-"
"Werewolves don't give a fuck about secrecy, Granger. Or modesty. They care about adding to the pack. About blood. Nothing else matters."
"Now, that is the dumbest shit I've ever heard you say, Zabini." Hermione quipped at him, and he smiled faintly around the joint in his mouth. "Remus Lupin was more loving and caring-"
"He was an exception."
"You lot and your bloody exceptions. Is it too hard to admit that you might just be wrong?"
Blaise took an exaggerated drag, "If the time comes when I am ever wrong, I guess we'll find out."
"I still think assuming Lucius would be willing to defect is mental," Goyle insisted, throwing the butt of his joint in the ashtray on the coffee table. "Draco knows anything he does anyhow. I don't see what there is to gain by risking exposing us to him."
"Draco doesn't have full authority of the grounds."
"He will soon, enough."
Zabini flicked his eyes to Hermione as Goyle's statement, them both understanding what will happen once Draco is granted authority over the wards.
"We start with the recruits, like we discussed earlier." Hermione shifted the conversation.
The plan had two parts. First, Hermione would listen in on new members and recruits, trying to find those who's loyalty lacked or who only joined under threat or coercion. From there, the boys would approach them with an option to leave, dwindling Voldemort's numbers. Not in their true form, but under the guise of polyjuice potion so as to eliminate the risk of getting turned in themselves. Without a mark, they could take one of the refugee portkeys out of England. For those that wanted to fight, they would deliver them to the Order.
The second and more gruesome part was to manipulate the missions to diminish Voldemort's inner circle. For the truly cruel and devoted death eaters, they would charm their robes for the Order to target.
Zabini pulled out his notebook, the corner of his mouth turning up in the corner before he snuffed out his own joint and stood.
"They got it. Malfoy is on his way back now. You leave with Nott tomorrow, yeah?" He said looking at Goyle who nodded in confirmation. "Brilliant. Looks like you and I will have quality time together over the next few days, Granger."
"Where are you going? Don't you want to see how it went?"
"Nott is meeting me at mine. I'm sure he'll give me the important details."
Goyle scoffed, "Clever way of saying Granger will catch you up tomorrow."
Zabini made a rude hand gesture over his shoulder as he exited to the hall. Hermione had never been alone with Goyle until that moment she realized. The silence between them was growing more awkward until Hermione made her first attempt to break it.
"Read any good books lately?"
"I don't really read."
"Hm."
Goyle laughed under his breath at her discomfort. "Want to see something cool?"
Hermione blinked her eyes in surprise, eventually nodding dumbly. "Alright."
Goyle stood and pulled his wand out of his cloak, pointing it in the direction of the piano on the other side of the study.
"Expecto Patronum," Goyle's wand movements were more practiced than before, and the light rippled out of the end of his wand. It was far from perfect, and nowhere near being fully corporal, but it was enough to fend off at least a handful of dementors.
"Goyle, that's fantastic!" Beamed Hermione.
Goyle smiled and tried to shrug it off, but she could see how proud he was of his progress. "It's quite easy once you get the hang of it. The memory bit is the hardest part."
Hermione smiled at him sweetly, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I think that part has been rather challenging for us all as of late."
A pop got her attention and she spun to find Draco had apparated into the study. Goyle cleared his throat, taking a step back, but Draco's eyes were only on her.
"I assume Zabini left the moment Nott wrote him?" He said finally looking at Goyle.
"No modesty, those two."
"Trollops, the both of them."
The boys had created a haze in the study with their smoking that Hermione had gotten used to, but Draco pulled out his wand to cast a cleaning charm immediately.
"Did you get them?" Hermione asked as he walked towards her. Draco held up a glass vial, inside several strands of hair.
The boys would be taking the form of different Order members in an effort to get the recruits to trust them enough to go along with them when the time came. He and Theo broke off from their mission today to meet with a connection of Draco's. He didn't reveal who it was to the group. But Hermione had hope that the name would make its way to her during one of his late-night confessions.
"These are from aurors that have passed since working with the Order," Draco told them. "Their deaths are not public knowledge, so we should be able to imitate them without putting any of the others in danger."
He kissed Hermione quickly on the cheek as he passed, Goyle's back still to them, and put the hairs next to the potion. Goyle handed him a drink as he walked back to take a seat on the chair to the left of the couch where Hermione sat. Goyle surprised her by offering her a drink as well before taking the seat opposite of Malfoy. The three sat in silence, ice clicking against the glass as they stirred their drinks.
"Are we mental?" Goyle finally voiced.
Draco looked from Hermione to his friend, "Completely."
Hermione was on the first floor about fifteen minutes before Draco. She saw Anthony was standing alone in the hall and tapped his shoulder to make him aware of her presence. He immediately signaled for them to meet, and Hermione followed him into the hidden alcove by the front door.
She had the protective and silencing enchantments up before Anthony even pulled out his wand. When she removed her hood, she startled Anthony and then waved her wand in explanation.
"Alright?" She attempted to say innocently.
"Have you lost your mind?!"
Right into it, then.
"It's not that big of a deal-"
"You're shagging Malfoy?!"
"That isn't any of your business!"
"He's a death eater, Hermione!"
"So are you!" She shouted back. "We discussed this before, it's not so black and white. Besides, Draco wants to help take down Voldemort same as us."
"You told him about me?!" Yelled Anthony.
"No! I haven't but- you can trust him, Anthony. He's not like who he presents himself to be."
"Do you know how quickly he will kill me, personally, if he thinks I know something that can be used against him?" Anthony was starting to go into a panic. "You can't tell him I am in the Order. The moment something comes up he will throw me to the wolves to save himself."
"He wouldn't-"
"Hermione. Whatever is going on between the two of you- this is my life, alright? You told me not to tell anyone on the outside where you are, and I have kept true to that. I have. And now I need you to do the same for me in here." Anthony looked at her desperately.
"Alright, I swear it. But you can't provoke him like that again," She agreed. "We both know your little outburst has less to do with me than whoever the member is that you fancy, so either do something about that or get over it."
The tips of Anthony's ears reddened. "That's not- she has nothing to do with this."
"Mhm. Then why are you blushing?"
Anthony pursed his lips into a small line, trying not to crack. He managed to sidestep the conversation into more official business, and Hermione took pity on him to not press who this person was any further.
"Here," Hermione said, handing him her notes. "The Order should pull back from the York attack, it is mostly just there as a diversion so that no one interrupts their meeting in London."
"Cheers. Malfoy really paying mind to potential defects?" Hermione nodded in confirmation. "I'll get you an updated list."
Hermione clued Anthony in on his role, and he appeared more energized when they concluded their meeting than when they started. There was finally a plan that could make a tangible difference rather than saving a handful of lives here and there.
The drawing room felt less foreign now that there were two people there aware of her presence. As she walked in, she put a few extra inches between herself and Daphne Greengrass, now having more respect and fear for her han ever before. The meeting was rather stale. Most talks about the upcoming Yuletide Ball at the manor and the various ways they could continue to kiss Voldemort's arse.
Draco headed down the corridor that led not to his room, but the library. Hermione followed him, careful to keep her feet silent as she walked through the library door he held open for her. The doors locked with a loud click, and Draco stood a few feet in the room, expectantly.
"Boo," Hermione spoke near his ear, and he flinched slightly before turning in her direction. He reached out with caution, gripping the hood of her cloak before pulling it back to reveal her.
"You're such a creep," He mused. "I assume you have become familiar with this room on your own?"
Hermione shook her head, pulling off the cloak and hanging it over her arm. "Only a glance."
Something clicked in Draco's eyes, and he tilted his head in understanding. "I guess I get to give you a proper tour then?
"That was my hope," she said, walking past him towards the shelves. "Not terribly proper of course."
"Thank Merlin," he breathed as he grabbed her face and firmly pressed his lips against hers.
He weaved them through the stacks, his arm around her shoulder and let her choose any book she wished to take up to their study. The only ones unattainable to her were those containing the Malfoy history, the text charmed to only appear to those of the bloodline or adjacent.
They stopped in front of a tall shelf towards the back of the library, the door now completely hidden from view. Malfoy pulled out a book and handed it to her.
"If we start researching now, we should be able to attempt transfiguration shortly after the New Year. If you still want to?"
Hermione grabbed the book and smiled, wanting to get started on the potion right away. Excited to begin on yet another monumental thing her and Draco were going to do together. She flung her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly as he coiled his arms around her in return. A moment later, he was apparating them into their bedroom and dropping the books and her cloak to the ground.
Hermione only had the thought for a moment before she vanished his robes, gasping in surprise.
"I didn't mean to do that," she apologized, and he just smiled as he walked them back towards the bed.
"S'okay. I have more." He shoved her lightly and she toppled back on the bed.
He pulled his shirt off and then was crawling on the bed and stopping short. He pushed her shirt up, revealing the buttons on her denims. Kissing down her stomach and hips as he revealed them, he pulled her pants and knickers off in one go and dropped them on the floor behind him.
He leaned over her to kiss her again and she ran her fingers through his hair as his tongue entered her mouth.
"Yours too," she muttered against him and pulled at his belt for him to remove his pants and trousers. He laid down on his side next to her, sliding his hand up the back of her shirt as she turned to face him.
"Sore still?" His hand pulled one of her legs over him and ran his hand down her leg to her bum, squeezing her gently.
"Only a little."
Draco let his fingers travel between her legs. He barely brushed his fingers against her opening, and she took in a sharp breath. He kissed her and moved his fingers up to rub her clit. Her leg draped over his hip allowed him plenty of room to slide his fingers between her folds, and she could feel her body reacting immediately. The soreness giving way to the ache that had appeared anytime he touched her.
She pulled herself tighter against him, changing their angle but now feeling him hard against her thigh, wetness already dripping from the tip. Draco's arm that she laid on tangled in her hair as he slid a single finger inside her.
"How's this?" He breathed.
Hermione shook her head. "Not enough."
He removed his hand instantly and gripped himself, rubbing the tip against her entrance as she pulled him tighter to urge him in.
"I thought about you all day," he confessed as he started to slide inside her, moving his hand to her ass to help pull her the rest of the way. "Everyday. It's always you."
She moaned as he started to stretch her, the pain hardly noticeable against the fact that her and Draco were together again. Both on their sides, they moved slowly. Draco controlled her movements, pulling her tighter as he thrusted into her.
"Only you." He professed again with a kiss.
The feeling was still new but less shocking, she was more aware how deep he felt once he was all the way inside her. How sometimes he grabbed her tighter to help with his pace, and other times he did it just to hold her.
They continued to move, their bodies getting hotter and Draco's skin starting to taste of salt on her tongue. The sound between them grew louder and more crude as Draco continued to snap his hips against hers. His thrust was hitting against her in the perfect spot and Hermione whimpered into his mouth as the world started to fade away.
Draco leaned back slightly, and Hermione opened her eyes at the loss to see him looking down, watching as his cock disappeared inside her. She grasped his shoulders, trying to get the angle back that she just lost and moaned in relief when she did.
"Oh my god," she breathed as she kept moving, feeling herself tight around him.
"Fuck- keep doing that." He groaned as his eyes were locked on her eagerly meeting his thrusts. His voice was shallow and she nearly missed it. "You feel so good, don't you?"
"Yes," she moaned, wanting to tell him how good she felt but lacking the words. "Don't stop."
She gasped as the hand in her hair tightened, Draco's lips crashing on hers as he devoured her mouth.
"Please. I need-I-"
Draco rolled them the next moment, hooking one of her legs with his arm as he started to pound into her. Her back arched off the bed as her orgasm consumed, crying out sounds and words that only Draco would hear.
She watched his face as he came, eyes closed and lips separated and the most lovely sound escaped them. She caressed his face with her hand, and he tilted head to lean into her touch even more.
Her shirt was sticking to her and she noticed that she never took it off. Draco kissed her cheeks down her neck until he sat up to pull out of her slowly, and she felt the warmth rush out of her.
Draco was looking down at them intensely, and Hermione felt herself start to get self-conscious. "What? Am I-"
"No, you're fine," he said, rubbing his thumb across her upper thigh.
"Then what are you staring at?" She said shoveling him lightly and he just looked away and shrugged.
He finally grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it over her head. "Shower?"
"Why does Dolohov keep lingering around the cellars?" asked Draco, looking over the map. She was sure he could keep himself occupied with it all day if needed.
"Neddy has set up dinner, sir," Neddy said.
"Brilliant, thank you. Before you go," Hermione heard Draco continue through the wall as she finished getting dressed in their bedroom. "Have you noticed anyone wandering the grounds where they shouldn't? Dolohov for example."
"Many wizards try to go into restricted areas, sir. But none have gotten past the doors."
"Hm, any area in particular?"
"Mostly the cellar doors, sir. But Neddy has also seen young wizards trying to get into sir's potions lab."
"Probably trying to steal liquor or supplies. Keep an eye on it for me?" He asked her and Hermione could practically hear Neddy nodding through the wall.
Neddy had never behaved like other house elves Hermione had seen. While she has a natural nervousness to her presence, she never seemed out of place. Malfoy also spoke to Neddy like she was more than just a servant when no one was around to question him. She was on the receiving end of Draco's ramblings more than Hermione. She wondered if he knew he was doing it. If Malfoy had a safe space in the corner of his mind to be alone with his thoughts, or if he didn't trust himself enough and has grown used to always turning towards Neddy.
"Of course, sir. Brilliant map mistress made, sir."
"Isn't it?"
Hermione walked out and thanked Neddy for her help before she disappeared. Draco sat in his usual seat and Hermione walked past him to take her own when she found herself pulled onto his lap.
She squealed in surprise but then laughed as she reached for his wine glass. "Whatever happened to proper manners?"
"You've already ruined me. I might as well lean into it." He took a sip as she offered it to him.
"I did nothing of the sort," Hermione insisted lightly.
"I got my orders to leave next week. I'll be in Vienna for three days."
"Oh." Hermione said, turning to look at him. Being separated from each other would be brutal enough, but now the missions included the additional risk of coordinating with the Order.
"You good to keep up with things here until I get back?" He said, pressing his forehead to hers.
"Of course."
"That's my girl," he said playfully before kissing her cheek. She turned back and started picking at the salad. No longer hungry.
"I should have trusted you with all this from the beginning," he told her before taking a bite of salad off her fork. "You are the only reason Potter even made it past first year, anyhow."
"I helped," Hermione shrugged.
"I just, I'll do my best." His tone was getting more serious and unsure. "But I'm not Potter or Weasley."
"No," she smiled, kissing his pouting lips sweetly. "Not at all."
"Well, I bloody hope so. Can't imagine being oblivious to how lovely you are," he said starting to kiss down her neck.
It was the worst time for Ron to pop in her head.
Draco reeled back, "Granger?"
"What?" She said too quickly.
"Did you have a crush on the chosen one?" He laughed.
She nearly choked. "No."
"Your blushing says otherwise."
"I am not."
"Are to."
Their meal appeared a moment later and Hermione tried to put all her concentration into cutting a piece of chicken. Draco's hand was now possessively grabbing her bum and between her embarrassment and his touch her face continued to heat.
"I have never looked at Harry that way. He is like my brother." She persisted with a flinch at the thought of being intimate with Harry.
Draco sat back in the chair. "No…"
Hermione started to reach for a roll but Draco's hand grabbed her face and turned her to look back at him.
"Weasel?! You used to fancy the Weasel?!" He nearly shouted.
"Shut up."
"Hermione, gods I - have you seen you?!"
"Shut. Up."
"I blame myself. I should never have been so cruel to you. But in my defense, you never should have believed it." He proclaimed with false sincerity.
Hermione laughed and pushed his hand off, but he then used it to maneuver her to straddle his lap facing him.
"Are you two- were you, together?" His voice was starting to sound unsure, and it was the last thing she wanted him to feel. Hermione took a deep breath and braved herself to look at him. His fringe was falling over his eyes and she traced his pout.
"I don't want to talk about that right now." She said honestly, and then he descended his lips onto hers.