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The Dare	By : Tassanaburrfoot Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 82898 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 11
Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter. Don't own any of the characters. Am not making a profit.

Chapter List
- 18
- 19
- 20
Mouths clashed with one another as Draco pushed her through the bedroom door. Following her inside without breaking their kiss, he kicked the door shut with his foot and buried his hands in her hair. That marvellous hair that had to be a gift straight from Merlin himself! She tore open his oxford and he found that he didn’t care as much as he did the same to her. Neither paid attention to where the buttons flew, though there was little doubt that Hermione would try to find them the next morning. He followed her to the bed, running his hands along her sides and fiddling with the clasp on her skirt before pushing the fabric down. She kicked it off of her and worked on his belt and trousers. They fell onto the bed together in a tangle of limbs and kisses.

Hermione did not know how they managed to get to this point, but at the moment she didn’t really much care. She moaned as he ripped his mouth away from hers to send kisses along her jaw to her neck. Raising her arms above her head, she arched her spine so she pressed even more closely to him. He laved at her neck, nipping and licking as he went along until he began trailing his kisses further down her body. Hooking his arm under her knee, he wrapped her leg around him as he gently pushed her up. He took a moment to tease one of her nipples with his teeth before sucking it into his mouth to relish the taste and feel. Her moan was his music as he lifted his free hand to rub her other nipple between his fingers.

“Draco…” she moaned as he released her nipple, his mouth dropping it with a loud pop.

Grinning, he turned his attention to her other nipple as he rubbed his hard-on against the thin cloth of her knickers. His hand ran along her bare leg and his fingers brushed against the fabric, teasing her clit. Her gasp was his siren’s call and he lifted his head up. Silver eyes met gold and he rubbed against her again, grabbing her hips and pulling himself back up.

Hermione didn’t know what happened to her panties. All she knew was one moment he was kissing her lips again and the next, she felt him push himself inside her. “So wet for me,” he breathed against her lips. “My sweet princess, tell me how much you want me.”

“I want you so bad,” she said breathlessly. “Please, Draco. I love the way you feel inside me.”

His grin did not leave his face as he moved against her, ploughing himself into her in a delicious rhythm that had her in tears, begging for more. He gritted his teeth to prevent himself from coming too early as he wanted her to finish first. He always wanted her to finish first.

Breaking the kiss, he sat up and wrapped his arms around her to pull her up with him so that she was sitting in his lap. “Ride me,” he implored.

Using his shoulders for leverage, she did as he said, throwing her head back at the feel of the new angle. She sped up the thrusts, wanting him more and more with each one. It wouldn’t take her long.

He lifted her leg up and over his body, becoming dislodged in the process. She hissed at the loss of him and he flipped her around, thrusting back into her from behind. Holding her hips so she was on her knees, he pressed his hand on her back so that she fell forward onto her chest. “Keep going,” he urged her as he continued to thrust into her.

“Oh god,” she cried as she fisted the blanket. “Oh, please…”

“Tell me, princess,” he growled. “Tell me who’s making you feel good.”

“You are,” she whimpered.

“Who always makes you feel good?”

“You do.”

“And to whom do you belong?” he questioned as he felt himself build up.

She could feel her orgasm crashing over her as she shouted, “You!” As she began climbing down from her high, she moaned, “You, Draco. I’m yours.”

Tightening his grip on her waist, he gave one final thrust and spilled his seed inside of her, filling her up. He slumped over her body, careful not to put his wait on her. “Yes, my love,” he whispered as he rolled off of her and pulled her into his embrace. “Yes. You are mine. Always.”

They both drifted off to sleep in a cloud of euphoria. Well, the better thought was, he had fallen asleep.

She lay there for a few hours, not wanting to move as she had no wish to disturb him. She thought back over the conversation they had had earlier about Voldmort, Dumbledore, Harry, and horcruxes.

She would definitely have to research horcruxes more as she knew, well, nothing about them. And according to Blaise, Voldemort had seven of them? Well, no, she supposed he didn’t. Harry had destroyed the diary back in their second year and the assumption was that that had been one horcrux. And then Dumbledore had destroyed another, right? So, that left five more.

What they really needed to do was figure out what it was Voldemort had valued in his youth. Hermione made a face as she glared up at the blackened ceiling. The idea of Voldemort being young made her cringe, but clearly he had been. Going by what Ginny had told her about the Tom Riddle in the diary, he had been a handsome boy as well. The Muggle born shuddered.

Even more perplexing to her, though, was also the way Draco had convinced her to stay in the dormitory with him. She denied that anyone would really bother her simply for being Merlin’s heiress. Sure she had gotten a bit of press at the bank and the Ministry. But this was Hogwarts. No one would be dumb enough to bother her here, would they? Not truly, that is. And the bit that came from the owls, it seemed Dumbledore and McGonagall had it relatively under control, though Hermione did hate the idea of others taking the brunt of what she felt was her own labor.

Horcruxes. They could be anything. The one Dumbledore had destroyed had been a ring, right? So, it was safe to think small… And the ring had belonged to Salazar Slytherin. It had been an heirloom. What if he had more heirlooms?

To say that Hermione didn’t get much sleep would have been an understatement. As she turned onto her side and stared out at nothing, her thoughts were in a whirlwind. She needed to help with these horcruxes, which meant she would have to talk to Harry. She also needed to find a way to put Draco’s mind at ease with all this Merlin’s heiress hype. She could feel the weight of the world pressing on her shoulders, but she was strong enough. She could, and would, carry it.

(II)(II)

About a week later, Theodore leaned against the archway on the bridge and lit a cigarette as he watched his two friends approach him. Luna was by no means a fan of the wrapped tobacco, but she didn’t really complain about it, either.

As Blaise and Draco met up with him, he took a drag from the cigarette and offered it to them. Blaise smirked as Draco took it and took a drag himself. “Hermione will have your balls if she sees you with that,” the dark Slytherin warned.

“’Snot mine,” the blond argued as he handed it back to Theodore. “She can’t bitch because I took one puff. And my father’s not around to rat me out now, is he?”

Theodore chuckled as he took another drag. “So, why did you want to meet us here, Drake?” he asked, looking at the blond sombrely.

Draco wiped a hand over his face. “Astoria,” he told them both simply. “I needed to find a quiet spot where we can discuss her without anyone else being the wiser.”

Blaise shrugged. “What’s there to discuss? You know she’s not going to say anything.”

“No, I don’t know that,” Draco pointed out, giving the boy a glare. “We may have cowed her to a point, but it won’t last, especially not with her sister being dead now. Her entire family, everything, now rides on her to regain whatever prestige she can. And you both know her father will start pressuring her.”

“So? She’s a slag, Drake,” Theo growled in irritation.

“She hasn’t always been,” Draco argued.

“You’re worried about Hermione asking her questions and her coming clean,” Blaise guessed as he lit up his own cigarette. He shrugged at Theodore’s glance. “Don’t tell Padma?”

The lanky boy shook his head. “I still don’t get why either of us should be worried. We never did anything to the bitch. We didn’t rape her and, hell, the one time she blew Blaise, it was consensual.”

“But we were there,” the blond Pureblood stressed. “And I had ordered the rape to begin with, in case you’ve forgotten. I know Hermione. And I am this close to marrying her.” He held his fingers close together for indication.

“No, you aren’t,” Blaise stated. “She doesn’t want to get married until after we graduate.”

“But we’re betrothed,” he argued. “And I know her. I can’t take any chances. We need to make sure that Astoria cannot link us to her rape. See? That’s the other thing. Even though I am betrothed to Hermione, the two of you seem to forget: Theo, you aren’t betrothed yet, and while you’re married, Blaise, marriages can be broken.”

Blaise’s eyes flashed and he growled angrily, “Is that a threat?”

The blond rolled his eyes. “Not from me, it isn’t,” he said, calmly. “But let Astoria tell Hermione the two of you were present and had jacked off while she was being raped and you’ll see how quickly things dissolve.”

Theo looked at his friend thoughtfully as he took another drag. “What do you suggest?” he asked. “We can’t kill her. Fact is, I doubt either of us could do it anyway.”

Draco shook his head. “As much as I want to… no. Killing her isn’t the answer,” he admitted as he ran a hand through his hair. “I could care less about her family name, but Father owes her father. It would be bad business if we let the family suffer another tragedy.”

“Obliviate her then,” Theo suggested.

Again, the blond shook his head. “Too suspicious,” he commented. “That would have worked had we thought of it that night, but now…”

“What about modification?” Blaise questioned, furrowing his brow. “She’ll still remember what happened, but maybe we can replace how it started and take out any indication that we were involved.”

Draco thought this through. Modifying her memory could, in fact, work. But… “Do either of you know how to modify someone’s memory?”

Blaise opened his mouth to answer and then snapped it shut. “No,” he replied.

Theo shook his head as well. “But I’m sure we could figure it out,” he surmised.

Draco inclined his head. “You mean I will need to figure it out.” He frowned for a moment as his mind went through the idea. “I will need to research it. Perhaps I’ll ask my father if he has any books on the subject. Hell, he might even be able to do it for us,” he said. “If we don’t do this, though, we could lose all three of them. And I have no interest in losing Granger.”

Neither Blaise nor Theodore disagreed as they finished their cigarettes and began casting the necessary spells to cleanse away the stench.

As they began trekking their way to the dungeons, Theo asked, “So how did you manage to get away from Hermione?”

Draco shot him an annoyed look. “You make it sound like I wanted to get away from her. If I had my choice, she’d never leave my side,” he confirmed with a scoff. “No, she practically begged me to let her go to the pitch to watch her Gryffindork friends practice.”

“Be careful,” Blaise warned. “You know she doesn’t like it when you call them that.”

The blond Pureblood glanced around. “I don’t see anyone,” he commented and gave the dark Slytherin a roll of his eyes. “And she’s busy enough watching them practice to concern herself with me. I told her I was meeting up with my own team to go over strategy.”

Theodore snorted. “Yeah, we were definitely talking strategy.”

The three Purebloods paused, glanced at one another, and then laughed. “What’s so funny?” they heard a feminine voice interrupt them.

Turning, Draco watched as Pansy and Millicent approached. The girls reminded him of a panther and a bear, respectively. He smirked as Pansy kissed him on his cheek. “You can’t do that anymore,” he reminded her, looking down at her sweet face.

“What? We’re best friends. Damn near siblings,” she defended herself. “There’s nothing wrong with me kissing you on the cheek.”

Draco rolled his eyes again. “Either of you ladies seen Greengrass?”

Pansy frowned at that. “You three can’t honestly be thinking of shagging her? Somehow, I highly doubt your girls would approve of it.”

“Not shag,” Theodore admitted as he draped an arm around Millicent’s shoulders. “We needed to have a chat with her about some things.”

Pansy gave each of them a suspicious glare as she glanced at Millicent. The heavy set girl shrugged. “I saw her with Vince earlier,” she claimed as she eased herself out from under Theodore’s arm. “She seemed to be talked rather animatedly with him about something.”

“Except the whole time she’s talking, he’s staring right at her chest,” Pansy pointed out. “I highly doubt he retained anything she had said to him.”

“I’m not worried about any of that,” Draco spat as he waved them off. “Where did you see them at and do you think they are still there?”

Millicent shrugged. “They might be. Last I saw, they were in the Common Room.”

(III)(III)

“Please, Vincent!” Astoria shouted. She earned a few glares from around the room and hushes from other students. Lowering her voice, she looked up at Vincent as he tore his eyes away from her chest to look into her eyes.

“What do you want from me, Tori?” he asked, his face contorted in a look of annoyance.

She bit her bottom lip. “You know what happened that day. You also know that my sister is now dead,” she ground out a bit softer. “I have no prospects. I’m tarnished and my father has even offered to allow any suitor to have Daphne’s dowry as well as my own.”

Vincent frowned. “What’choo want me to do about that? You ain’t askin’ me to marry you, are you?”

She looked at him hopefully, desperately, and his face contorted even more in disgust. He shook his head. “You’re only fifteen,” he stated.

“Yes!” she cried and got shushed again. “I’ll be seventeen in two years. My father even said that he found out from the Ministry that I could get married even earlier if I wanted to if he gave his consent.”

The boy took a deep breath. “What’s with all you witches and getting married so early in life?” he asked. “Heirs are important, sure, but you got so much time for that.”

“You know our families want us all to get married as soon as we graduate,” she argued. “We have to continue our lines…”

“Tori, I am not marrying you,” he stated, firmly. “Even if you really wanted to marry me, which I know you don’t, I ain’t got no interest in marrying someone right outta Hogwarts. I don’t wanna get married until I’m in my thirties, at least. With luck, my pop’s’ll be dead and gone by then. Or in Azkaban at least.”

She stared at him in shock as the dungeon door opened and the Princely Trio entered the Common Room. She opened her mouth to continue, but he had turned his attention away from her and was looking at his friends.

Vincent walked away from her and exchanged pleasantries with the trio. Patting the burly Slytherin on the back, Draco strode past him to continue to Astoria. “Good afternoon, Greengrass.”

Irritated, the girl pushed past the older blond Slytherin to walk towards the door. “I have nothing to say to you,” she snapped.

“Whoa, whoa,” he said as he grabbed her arm. “Easy there, pet. I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Pet?” she repeated scathingly as she glared at him and snatched her arm from his grasp. “Is that what I am to you? A fucking pet? Is that what you called my sister before you murdered her?”

Draco’s eyes hardened as he held his hands up. “Where the bloody hell did that come from? I didn’t murder your sister,” he growled. “Nor would I have.” He pointed his finger at her. “Our families go back for generations and I’m not stupid enough to ruin that and you know it. You also know that I didn’t have anything to do with your sister’s death and that Hermione and I have been trying to get to the bottom of that ever since it happened.”

“Get your finger out of my face before I bite it off,” she threatened. “Look. I don’t know what happened at that party…”

“You’re right, you don’t,” the wizard interrupted. “And you don’t know the aftermath of it either. My father was brought to Azkaban because of it and they almost didn’t release him.”

“How did he get out anyway?” she asked, folding her arms. “Wasn’t he part of that failed Ministry coup last year? Oh, wait. I forgot. You’re the bloody Slytherin Prince, aren’t you? And if you’re a prince, that makes him a fucking king. Which means, he had already had a plan in getting out. I wonder how much money he had to give them to bribe them to letting him go. Or, maybe he just agreed to give Fudge head. We both know your father’s doors swing both w –“

He jabbed the tip of his wand into her throat. “I dare you to finish that fucking statement,” he snarled. “You don’t know a damn thing about my father and if you spout bullshit like that again, I will destroy you.”

She tried to step back from him, but had collided with Vincent’s chest. The heavy Slytherin grabbed her arms to hold her in place. Glancing around quickly, she saw the tell-tale signs of magic and knew the older Slytherins had done something to keep the others in the room from noticing. She stared back up at him, trying to maintain his gaze. “If you hurt me, Granger will find out,” she warned. “And I wouldn’t even have to tell her anything.”

Blaise placed a hand on Draco’s shoulder. “She’s right. Besides, harming her isn’t going to get us anywhere.”

“Besides, she’s already destroyed, isn’t she?” Theodore reasoned as he leaned against one of the armchairs. “I mean, she’s already slept with most of Slytherin, so getting her a husband is going to be next to impossible.”

She tore her eyes away from Draco and glared at Theodore. “What do you know of it?” she demanded.

“What? That you turned slag after you got raped?” the lanky wizard asked with a shrug of his shoulders.

Astoria made a face of disgust. “Been listening to Granger, have you?” she spat. “Look, I’m telling you what I told her. I don’t know who raped me, I was drugged.” She glanced back at Draco. “Your bloody father came here asking me questions about it, too, and I’m getting tired of it. All I remember is people leaving the room and me finishing my drink and blacking out. So, unless you have information regarding that, then I don’t know how to help you.”

Draco frowned. “What were you talking to Crabbe just now about?” Draco asked, lowering his wand. “And when did my father come here and for what?”

Astoria sighed. “Not that it’s any of your business, but I was asking Vincent…” she paused and glanced up at the Slytherin in question. He, in turn, pressed his lips together and shook his head slightly.

Taking a deep breath, the young witch sighed and turned her attention back to Draco. “Look, ever since I was raped, my prospects have all but diminished. I had sent an owl to your father to see if he may have had any sort of advice to give me. He agreed to give me council if I pleasured him. Disgusting, but what was I supposed to do? I met him in the Three Broomsticks, had a few drinks, and we shagged. In turn, he managed to convince my father to double my dowry by adding my late sister’s to my own and he assured me that if I were unable to procure a husband by the time I graduated, then he would help me find one himself.”

Draco pocketed his wand and looked away in repulsion. Leave it to his father to take advantage of a young girl’s desperation. And there was no sense in telling his mother about any of it as she would just turn a deaf ear to it, as she always did. “And Crabbe?” he asked, his anger deflating.

“Told her I wasn’t interested ‘til I turn thirty,” Vincent answered as he took a step back and released his hold on her.

“Really, Crabbe?” Blaise questioned, staring at the boy as if he didn’t know him. “How’d you get your parents to agree with that?”

The burly boy just shrugged. “Hadn’t gotten ‘round to tellin’ them nuthin’, ‘ave I?” he retorted. “Too busy wit’ school work.”

Draco groaned, “Which translates into, I better make damn sure you pass all your classes with Acceptables at least. Damn it, Crabbe! Why did you have to say anything? I have enough on my plate as it is…”

“But I didn’t say nuthin’!” the wizard insisted. “I ain’t talked to ‘em since I came back from the hols and I ain’t said nuthin’ to ‘em when I was ‘ome.”

Blaise growled, “Come off it, Crabbe, and speak proper? You sound like a bloody Muggle when you talk like that.”

Crabbe glared at him and opened his mouth with a retort, but Draco cut him off, looking at Blaise. “I’ve met some Muggles. They don’t all speak improperly,” he admitted.

Draco turned his attention back to Astoria, who stood there looking dejected. “So, my father came here and you don’t remember what happened the night you got raped?” he asked, staring at her for assurance.

She sighed. “I remember bits and pieces. And I believe Daphne knew more. If I remember right, she had even told me that she had been there, though why, I couldn’t tell you. I believe she was going to tell me, but then Christmas night happened, and…” She trailed off at that, swiping a single tear out of her eye.

(IV)(IV)

Spring was in the air. Birds were singing their happy songs and bees were busy pollinating the flowers. Hermione had told Draco that she was going to go to the Quidditch pitch to watch her friends’ practice one final time before the weekend match and he shrugged her away. He had wanted to go with her, but he had taken to letting her go so he could spend time with his own teammates. Besides, as much as watching the Gryffindors seemed like an advantage, he knew that Hermione wouldn’t want him there as well.

“Are they gone yet?” Hermione asked as she leaned against the stall door.

“Hang on,” came Ginny’s voice as Hermione heard her cross the bathroom and open the door.

She could hear a fight going on outside and the bushy haired Muggle born paled. She had been approached by McLaggen and his small gang during the Gryffindor Quidditch practice. At first, she thought they were harmless. Cormic had always been something of a flirt. But when he produced his grandmother’s ring and knelt down in front of Hermione, she knew there would be trouble.

She had no idea where Draco was and could only assume that was where the bravery to approach her with such a ludicrous proposal had come from. When he didn’t take ‘’no” for an answer, she feigned needing to go to the restroom and before she knew it, he was following her. It was complete madness when he almost followed her into the bathroom as well! Ginny had tried hexing the boy, but the seventh year had dodged it and threw one back at her. That had alerted both Harry and Ron to what was going on and they flew down to defend the ginger haired girl.

“I don’t understand it,” Hermione breathed as she heard Ginny shut the door back.

“It’s simple,” the girl replied. “You’re all the rage now. Being Merlin’s heiress and all. It’s lucky that Draco has you staying in that dormitory with him now. Lavender tells me that every morning your old room is filled with owls and flowers from suitors from all over the world. From what I know, Parkinson was saying the same thing about Draco’s old room, though it’s worse there. He’s been getting all sorts of Howlers filled with death threats if he doesn’t leave you alone. Poor Crabbe and Goyle and Pucey have all been having their hands full.”

With a gasp, Hermione put a hand over her mouth, her eyes widened in terror. “Not even a week ago, no one gave a damn about who I was,” she demanded angrily.

Hermione opened the stall door and looked at her friend who stared at her with eyes filled with concern. “Maybe Draco and I should announce our betrothal sooner,” the Muggle born stated.

Ginny shook her head. “I don’t know that it’ll matter either way in the end,” she said. “Although, I do think you should follow Lucius Malfoy’s suggestion. Put up a block. McGonagall told you several people have already owled her wanting to proclaim that they are heirs as well. It’s going to get worse before it gets better, but you can end it. Just Floo Remus and tell him…”

“And then what?” Hermione huffed. “If I put up a block, I risk the chance of any other heirs getting anything.”

“Exactly!” the ginger insisted. “Then all you will need to deal with are the suitors, and those will get taken care of the moment you and Draco say ‘I do’.”

A loud bang interrupted the girls’ conversation and they both stared at one another with wide eyes. “What was that?” the bushy haired heiress whispered.

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!” they heard the boom of Draco’s voice.

Ginny looked at her friend as relief washed over both of them. “That would be your knight in shining armour,” she joked as they both looked at the bathroom door.

Cautiously, they left the bathroom to find a pitch nearly blown away. Dirt and grass flew everywhere and Hermione felt as though they had entered a warzone. Harry and Ron both held wands pointed at three other boys, who looked both angry and fearful. Theodore trotted over to Hermione and Ginny as Draco and Madam Hooch squared off.

“Mr. Malfoy! Explain yourself this instant!” she barked.

“Explain myself?” the boy snapped back. He waved his wand wildly at the scene. “I came here to pick up my fiancée to find her trapped in a bloody bathroom with these idiots scraping like a bunch of first years. If anyone should explain themselves, it’s them!” He pointed at Harry and the bespectacled boy shook his head.

“We were just practicing for Quidditch,” he said as he wiped his sweating forehead with the back of his hand.

“Yeah,” Ron agreed, not taking his wand off the three boys. Hermione could see McLaggen near the lot. They had managed to restrain him and, somehow, knock him out. “Next thing I know, I look down and these jack offs are attacking my sister!”

“We weren’t attacking her,” one of the boys said defensively. “She was trying to hex McLaggen.”

“Because he wouldn’t leave Hermione alone,” Ginny spoke up as the girls approached them. That was when Hermione spotted Katie Bell and the rest of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Thankfully, no one looked too hurt.

Madam Hooch turned to Hermione. “Miss Granger?”

Hermione bit her lip. “I told Draco that I wanted to come watch practice. I’ve always done it before and I didn’t see a problem in doing it now. Being Captain of the Slytherin team, Draco had taken the opportunity to seek out his own teammates to discuss their own strategies while I caught up with my friends,” she explained quickly. Taking a deep breath, she continued, “I didn’t see Cormic approaching me immediately, however, I didn’t say anything when I did see him. It’s my fault really. I shouldn’t’ve come, but I really wanted to watch my friends practice. I had forgotten that Cormic had owled me earlier in the week asking for my hand. I had turned him down and thought that’d be the end of it. It’s my fault that I didn’t take his request more seriously.”

“No one is blaming you, princess,” Draco said as he crossed to her. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he cupped her cheek. “And you shouldn’t either. McLaggen’s actions are his own, not yours. You told him no. You turned him down. He should have respected that.”

“Yes, he should have,” Hooch agreed, looking at the stunned boy sternly. She waved her wand and he jostled awake.

Jumping to his feet, Cormic took out his wand to continue the fight when he looked around and realized the defeat. He turned his attention to the Quidditch coach and his eyes widened. “I… uh…”

“You,” Hooch snapped, “have lost Gryffindor 50 points and you will serve detention for the rest of this school year. You are also banned from Quidditch.”

“But, Madam Hooch…” he complained.

“And I will be writing to your parents and informing Professor McGonagall and Professor Dumbledore of what happened,” she continued, ignoring his interruption. “Your actions have brought shame to your House.” She glanced at the rest of his friends. “And I will be docking another 30 points from each boy who decided that harassing two girls was a smart thing to do.”

She turned to the rest of the Quidditch team, Hermione, and the three Slytherins. “As for you,” she stated. She hesitated as McGonagall approached them all. “You are all lucky things didn’t go worse than they could have.” She turned her attention to the Transfiguration professor. “Professor McGonagall, I cannot have such personal business bleed into practice or onto the field. I won’t make any suggestions on what to do about Miss Granger, but I will say that this won’t happen again.”

“Oh, I assure you it won’t,” McGonagall stated as she looked at Hermione with concern. “Mr. Potter, please take your team to the lockers to clean up. After, I wish to have a word with you, Mr. Weasley, and Miss Weasley. Mr. Malfoy, if you and your friends can follow me, I would like to speak to you all. Miss Granger? Come along.”

Hermione could feel the tears threatening to fall as she hung her head. She leaned into Draco and allowed him to lead her off of the field and to McGonagall’s office.

(V)(V)

She didn’t know why she had felt ashamed, but as Hermione sat in the Headmaster’s office between Draco and Theodore, she bowed her head and twiddled her thumbs. Fact was, she hated being in trouble and for some reason, she felt like that’s what was happening. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and raised her head. She was going to face whatever this was head on. She was tired of acting like the shy, timid girlfriend who sat beside Draco and remained silent.

“Professor,” Hermione began, “I really don’t understand…”

“Isn’t that just it, though, Miss Granger?” the Transfiguration professor questioned as she sat behind her desk. She glanced at Draco. “I didn’t think I had to tell you this, Mr. Malfoy, but you understand the severity of Miss Granger’s predicament. You know what is expected of her and what she will be going through for the next few months. As such, I would think that you would have taken it upon yourself to ensure that she was well protected and warned.”

Draco opened his mouth to respond, but Hermione cut him off. “I don’t need to be protected, Professor,” she argued. “I had a momentary lapse in vigilance. It won’t happen again.”

“It will,” the blond snipped, giving her a bored look. “You’re smarter than that, Granger. I know it and you know it. The moment you get wrapped up in reading one of your books or caught in an intense conversation with one of your little friends, you’ll lose track of your surroundings. It’s happened before.”

She scoffed as she glared at him. “I am more aware of my surroundings than you think, Malfoy.”

“Be that as it may, Miss Granger,” McGonagall interrupted, “as your betrothed, it is imperative that he help you…”

“It shouldn’t be Draco’s responsibility,” Hermione countered.

“Damn it, Granger,” Draco snarled. “Do you not see what McGonagall is telling you? What I’ve been telling you? You’re not some run of the mill Muggle born schoolgirl anymore. You’re an heiress. Do you honestly think McLaggen was only proposing to you because he thinks you have a nice set of honkers? The McLaggen family would do virtually anything to get their greasy paws on the sort of riches you currently have.”

“Mr. Malfoy, there is no need to be so vulgar,” the older witch reprimanded.

“But he does have a point, Professor,” Theodore said as he leaned forward and touched Hermione gently on the arm. He gazed at her, and gave her a wary grin. “Boys like McLaggen aren’t the only ones you need to watch, Granger.” His smile faltered as he glanced at McGonagall and then at Draco. “That person, whomever they were, who is responsible for Daphne’s death, do you think they have anything to do with Granger?”

“Me?” the Muggle born gasped with a hand on her chest. “Are you accusing me of Daphne’s murder?”

Theodore shook his head. “Remember that night at dinner? I just had a thought.” His frown deepened as his brow furrowed. “What if someone saw Daphne as a threat? What if they thought she would come between you and their goals?”

“What on earth kind of goal would cause someone to murder an innocent girl over me?” Hermione asked. Then her face paled as she realized what he was saying. “But…” She shook her head. “No. There were only three people who knew of my heritage that night, Mr. Malfoy, Draco, and myself. I am already dating his son, so I highly doubt Lucius would want to get rid of Daphne for that purpose. And Draco was with me at the time of her murder.”

“Father’s already been through the interrogation process,” Draco pointed out. “He had nothing to do with Daphne’s murder.”

“Who’s accusing Lucius?” Theodore asked with a shrug. “Blaise had already stated…”

“Not this again,” the dark skinned boy said, throwing his hands in the air. “How many bloody times do I have to say it?” He looked at the Muggle born witch. “Hermione, I adore you, you know I do, but I have no interest in you beyond friendship. Never have, never will. I’m not interested in your money, I have more than enough on my own that I could never even hope to spend in ten lifetimes. You’re beautiful, but you’re simply not my type.”

The young witch gave her friend a rueful smile. “And I believe you,” she told him. “I always have.”

Theodore shook his head. “I’m not talking about you personally, mate,” he said. “There isn’t a doubt in my mind that you have no interest in Hermione. However, there was someone who continued to attempt to push you to her.”

“And my mother has been interviewed,” the dark Slytherin argued. “Despite what she’s done in the past…”

“Which no one has ever been able to prove…” Draco pointed out.

Blaise’s eyes narrowed. “I can’t believe you are going to sit there and accuse my mother, Draco.”

The blond shrugged. “What’s the Muggle saying? If the shoe fits?” He rolled his eyes. “Fact is, Zabini, your mother has never been caught, but even you have stated that you believe she had killed her own husbands in order to gain her inheritance. The only man she had ever really loved was your father, God rest his soul. Even the bloke she’s dating now: how long do you reckon he’ll last? Point is, Zabini, do you really put it below her to attack Daphne if she believed that the end goal was to get you and Hermione together?”

“If that was the case, Drake, why hasn’t she attacked you?”

Draco raised an eyebrow, momentarily stumped. Even Hermione looked troubled at that thought. “Do you think Draco is in danger?” she asked Blaise.

The wizard shrugged. “Who knows? If a person really wanted to get to you, the only logical thought would be that they would have to get through Draco, wouldn’t they?” he reasoned.

She nodded. “Yes, and he’s not leaving me and I’m not leaving him. So they would have to do something drastic.”

“No one is going to be foolish enough to attack Draco,” Theodore stated. “Aside from the fact that both he and Lucius are former Death Eaters with plenty of friends of the same ilk, he is also a member of a Noble and Most Ancient House. Two Noble and Most Ancient Houses. For all intents and purposes, he is also the last surviving heir. Narcissa can’t reproduce anymore…”

“But Tonks can,” Hermione stated. “And Harry inherited the Black House in Grimmauld Place as well as all of the money from that estate.”

“Tonks?” Theodore questioned, looking at Draco in confusion.

The blond shook his head. “My mother’s niece from her estranged sister,” he explained and Theodore nodded in understanding. “She wouldn’t inherit the Malfoy estate anyway, and neither would Potter as they are not recognized as potential heirs.”

“Only a fool would attempt to go after Draco,” the lanky Slytherin surmised.

“Only a fool would have killed Daphne on Malfoy property as well,” Blaise pointed out. “And yet it was done and they succeeded.”

McGonagall caught the students’ attention when she straightened her throat. “As you can see, Miss Granger, there is a lot going on here,” she said, as she looked at the Gryffindor. “I don’t want to bar you from spending time with your friends as I don’t think it prudent to punish you for something that isn’t your fault. Be that as it may, I will ask you to be even more vigilant than you have been. If you wish to attend a Quidditch practice, I must ask that you do not attend alone. I would also urge you to send a letter to Mr. Lupin and request that he put up a block…”

Hermione gasped and opened her mouth only to have the professor hold up a hand to silence her. “Until these matters can be resolved,” the older witch continued louder, “you must protect yourself, Miss Granger. Today alone I have received several owls not just from suitors, but from people falsely claiming a relation to you and Merlin with no evidence to back it up. It’s getting to the point of ridiculousness.”

The Muggle born snapped her mouth shut and glanced down at her lap as she thought through it all. Biting her lower lip, she glanced back up at the professor with determination in her eyes. “The Easter holidays are a week away and Draco and I are scheduled to go to the Manor to enjoy the festivities there. We will be announcing our betrothal at the banquet.”

“And these people claiming to be related to you, Granger?” Draco asked in annoyance.

The bushy haired girl glanced at her boyfriend for a moment and, for a moment, she genuinely felt like telling him that she would let it continue, just because she could see how annoyed he was by it. But, honestly, it really wasn’t fair to McGonagall. And, after all, no one had shown any proof thus far that they could possibly be related to either Hermione or Merlin. “After our announcement, I will speak to Remus about putting up a block,” she told him, her shoulders slumping in defeat.

“Good,” the Pureblood said. “And I will set you up with people who can watch over you when I cannot.”

Hermione groaned at his proclamation, knowing that she wouldn’t be able to deny him.

(VI)(VI)

Turned out, Draco’s idea of “setting people up to watch over” Hermione, included mostly just Crabbe and Goyle and himself. The only real place she could go to get away from them was the bathroom, and even then, Draco had kept egging her to only go in their dormitory.

“Draco!” Hermione finally snapped in the middle of the hallway on Wednesday afternoon. “You have to stop! You’re driving be bloody insane!”

Ginny covered her mouth as Theodore snorted, looking away. Draco glared at the Muggle born witch. “Do you want another incident like that with McLaggen to happen? Do you get off on that kind of bullshit?”

The frazzled witch stared at him as if he had suddenly grown a second head. “You’re joking, right?” she asked.

He threw his hands up. “What do you think, Hermione? Every second since that bugger had cornered you in the bloody girl’s bathroom, I’ve been doing my damnedest not to hex his arse! You’re my girl, princess, and it is my right and duty to keep you safe. I can’t do that if you won’t bloody let me!”

“I’m not some delicate flower, Draco,” she hissed. “Ever since we learned I was Merlin’s bloody heiress, everyone, including you, have been treating me as if I was made a fucking glass. I’ve been doing bloody well without you for the past seventeen years.”

“Sixteen,” he corrected.

“Seventeen!” she snapped. “My birthday is in September, have you forgotten? Which means that I was twelve when we were in our first year here at Hogwarts. You didn’t take an interest in me until this year, for whatever bloody reason.”

He paused, staring at her. “For whatever bloody reason?” he echoed. “I’ll have you know that not a day has gone by since I met you, princess, that you weren’t on my mind. I’ll admit, at first, I was jealous and pissed off because you kept beating me at everything except riding brooms. But I grew up, and I realized that I might just fucking like you, but what the fuck could I do about it? The Dark Lord was knocking on my fucking doorstep and my lecherous, power-hungry father was letting him in! And what did I do the moment he was gone from our lives? Think about it, Granger, for one bloody minute! Ever since the night of that party I have done everything for you. I even managed to successfully convince my bloody parents to accept you! Even more, they’ve even given me the go ahead to marry you if I want. And I do, Granger!” He shouted the last sentence.

People had stopped for a moment to stare at the couple, but neither one had seen anyone but one another. Hermione could feel her eyes burning with unshed tears and she bit them back. “But he’s not gone from our lives. Not yet,” she pointed out softly to him as she felt some of her anger leave her. “But it doesn’t matter right now anyway. My point is, there is going to come a time when you can’t protect me. Where you can’t be there. And it won’t matter because I know I can handle it. I don’t need you crowding me every chance you get and I certainly don’t need to wait to go into the dormitory to use the loo, or worse, have you follow me into the girl’s bathroom.”

He squared his jaw. “At least don’t go in there by yourself,” he insisted. “There’s Ginger, Pansy, Padma, and Luna. Any one of them you can take with you, but going alone is just asking for trouble.”

“Why does he do that?” Ginny asked Theo out of the corner of her mouth. “Everyone else he calls by their correct name, but me? What’s with the ‘Ginger’?”

The dark haired Slytherin shrugged. “Maybe it’s ‘cause you’re Scarhead’s girl. Or maybe he just likes calling you ‘Ginger’?” he answered, watching the quarrelling couple with interest.

Ginny frowned at that and turned back to the couple. “Don’t call him that,” she said absently.

“If I agree to bringing girlfriends into the loo, will you drop it?” Hermione asked.

Draco folded his arms. “If you bring someone with you, yes, but should you fail to do so, then I reserve the right to go in with you myself, or you can just hold it until we get to the dormitory.”

“God,” she huffed in exasperation. “You’d think I was five years old!”

“Also, I want you to start spending more time with Pansy,” he told her as they resumed their walk to Herbology.

“What? Why?” Hermione asked, her brow wrinkling.

Draco rolled his eyes as he ran a hand through his hair. “Because you’re the heiress of Merlin, princess. Father told me that you’d be viewing your property this summer and I would like to go with you. Also, you’ll need to learn how to host parties, luncheons, and other social gatherings. Not to mention proper etiquette and how to socialize with Purebloods, the elite, and you’ll need to learn who the Sacred Twenty-Eight are, both in family names and individually. You already know some of the children, thanks to Hogwarts, but there’s more to it than that. From what Father has told me you are nothing short of a real princess. Or at least the closest to a princess anyone within the Wizarding World will come. With that comes responsibilities that, whether you wanted them or not, are now yours.”

“Let’s not forget the horcrux hunting,” Ginny chimed in as she trotted along with them.

Draco shrugged her off. “Yes, yes. Hunting horcruxes,” he agreed. He gave the ginger-haired Gryffindor a look. “Aren’t Potter and the Weasel working on that?”

“Yes, but do you really think they’ll get anywhere without Hermione’s help?” she asked.

“But there’s also Dumbledore, too, right?” he countered.

“There’s only so much he can do from his in, isn’t there?” Theo argued. “And besides, push coming to shove, it’s going to be Potter who’s going to have to take the Dark Lord out in the end. Dumbledore won’t be of much help there. And do we really trust him to give Potter the tools he’ll need to finally snuff the despot out?”

“Are you saying we shouldn’t trust Dumbledore?” Hermione pressed. Ginny bid them good bye as they continued towards their lesson and Hermione continued to stare at the dark haired Pureblood.

“Granger, think about it. He’s kept this information relatively secret for how long? Potter didn’t even know he was a wizard until Hagrid went to fetch him, right? If he’s willing to keep crap like that secret, what other secrets are there?” Draco questioned her. “He’s being helpful for now, because the information is still new, even to him. But don’t, for a moment, think he’s telling you everything.”

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Not going to give an excuse, but I would like to thank everyone who's given such kind reviews. Thank you so much! I really do love it when you all love my stories and give me such wonderful love in return. Please don't forget to give me a review of this chapter. I actually went back and added a couple things, but I really like how this one turned out.
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The Dare