Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

In the Arms of her Dragon	By : Wolf.Blossom Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 101559 -:- Recommendations : 8 -:- Currently Reading : 50
Disclaimer: JKR owns Harry Potter and all characters. I am not making any profit form this fiction.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
In the Arms of Her Dragon
"Why're you crying?" Draco whispered, sitting down beside Hermione in a deserted Great Hall. Looking up at him with puffy eyes, she admitted what happened earlier at the Gryffindor Tower. Without a moment's hesitation, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said: "Come on, you're spending the night in the Slytherin dungeon. With me."
.xx.
Hermione gaped at Draco. She was sure she heard him, but she wasn't quite sure she heard him correctly—did he say that he was the heir of Thaczil?! Hermione's knowledge in the, what she thought to be, fantastical world was limited to what she read in the book penned by Isadora Gryffindor. She hadn't really read the book in its entirety as she was busy with preparing for their NEWTs as well as trying to navigate her way through their potions and dark arts projects.
"Repeat that?"
Draco inhaled deeply and did as his girlfriend requested: repeat his statement but in a much condensed fashion. "I'm the generational heir to Thaczil. Blaise has abdicated and, as such, the title has been passed down to me." There was a tense pause before Draco added as an afterthought: "Lest I abdicate."
For the second time in a matter of twenty-four hours, time was at a standstill. Draco had forgotten his biological instinct to exhale and awaited Hermione's response with heavy anticipation. His heart was pounding dangerously against his ribcage and he was half a heartbeat away from suffering cardiac arrest; does Granger intend on killing me with his prolonged silence?! He endured the painful half-a-heartbeat and continued to look into his girlfriend's eyes. She was expressionless, something that Draco had never seen before.
The woman always had some form of expression, be it disdain, exasperation, or utter glee. Fear gripped him for a split second and he was quick to grip her shoulders to give her an urgent shake.
"Hermione?!"
"Can we… solid ground?"
Draco nodded and whipped himself around to guide Lightyear to the farthest part of the grounds to allow them seclusion and privacy. Hermione's grip was deadly tight around his torso during the descent and he was beginning to wonder if she was even aware of how firmly she was holding onto him. His news clearly was a shocker–as anticipated–and he was very worried for Hermione's reaction.
The back of his mind kept chanting to him that if she were to go into a catatonic state, he'd turn the heavens inside out to bring her back to him.
Lightyear barely touched down and Hermione disembarked. Draco didn't miss a beat and was quick to follow her; Lightyear retreated to rest upon the ground not too far from them. After a dozen or so sauntered steps, Hermione whirled unto Draco.
"You're a dragon?"
He nodded, not knowing what else to say or do.
"And you just found out after Blaise abdicated?"
Again, he nodded.
"Why did he abdicate?"
Draco frowned. He hadn't expected that question. "I presume he is upset at his parents for hiding his lineage from him and doesn't want such responsibilities thrust upon him." Really, he didn't know exactly why Blaise abdicated. It's something to look in to, that's for sure, Draco filed it away in his to-do-in-the-near-future pile in his brain.
Hermione went onto her next question in the quick-fire round she was forcing Draco to go through. "And you aren't upset?"
"I'm quite livid actually." Draco tentatively took a step towards Hermione. When he saw that she did not retract, he quickly closed the gap and pulled her into his arms, effectively burying her face into his chest. "Beyond livid, but I, unlike Blaise who just does not want to listen or try to understand his parents predicament, understand why my parents hid it from me: the Zabini Clan has ruled Thaczil for many millennia—they did not expect one of them to abdicate during our lifetime."
Draco heard Hermione mumble, "But he has."
Her retort muted him so he opted to just nod; he wished he knew what she was thinking.
"And what are you thinking?" Her face was pressed against his chest. He wanted, so badly, to pull her back and see the expressions colour her face but Draco fought temptation. He wanted Hermione to feel how near he was to her, to understand how much she had become part of his life—how integral she was.
Draco's shoulders sagged and he pulled her away, just slightly enough to tilt her head back, and looked her dead in the eyes. "I… don't know…"
Hermione bit her lower lip and took a reluctant step back. "Tell me everything…"
And so he did.
Draco told her of Blaise's father entering his life, of Blaise abdicating out of anger and spite for his father, of the Transferral of Power initiating, of his upcoming coronation (at which point he could still abdicate), and of everything else in the middle. Hermione listened, never once interrupting, with a look of concentration on her face. Draco revealed that his father and Blaise's father requesting their audience in McGonagall's office. He, however, did not tell her about him choosing two wingmen and a Lady of Eternity, as well as two members to join his council; those were details that would come as her questions poured in.
At the end of his extended soliloquy, Draco fell silent. He wanted Hermione to respond and he was at the edge of his proverbial seat. It was then Draco realized just how much he needed Hermione's approval in all that was going on; without her support he would not be able to tackle the trials and tribulations that were looming ahead.
He needed Hermione by his side, abdication or not.
"In conclusion, you are the last heir and if you abdicated all the dragons would have to engage in war to see who will come out victor?" Draco nodded at her assessment.
"In essence… but I don't think it's all the dragons, just the ones eligible to become Kapral."
"Kapral means emperor, right?" Hermione was recalling what she read in Isadora's book.
"Yes."
Hermione nodded and bit her lower lip. "I see… and what do you plan on doing?"
Sometime during his story they both sat down on a giant boulder strategically placed at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Draco had propped Lightyear up beside him and conjured up a simple shield spell to hinder any creature that should attack them unsuspectedly. Hermione's hands were on her knees, both fisted and bunching her fabric of her jeans. Draco noted that she seemed confused.
That's a first…
"I don't know," he revealed. "I don't agree with Blaise abdicating without adequate reason, but the deed is done. I can't abdicate without a good enough reason, lest my conscious forever nag me, but I can't accept without acceptable knowledge on the role… but that knowledge won't be passed down until after my coronation."
"I… am at a loss for words."
Deciding that it was time to crack a joke, Draco smirked and said, "Has this Marcus Flinted you?"
Hermione's jaw dropped. "Did you just turn my reaction to Professor Flint's corrected jawbone structure into a verb?"
"I did indeed."
Without warning Hermione smacked his shoulder. "You loathsome blond cockroach." There was a teasing undertone in her voice.
Laughing at his own expense, Draco wrapped an arm around Hermione's shoulder and pulled her against his body. He hated having her so close yet so far. Draco had yet to discover whether she was reacting to the news positively or negatively, so he opted to keep her physically close to calm his own bloody nerves.
"Honestly Hermione," the way he whispered her name caused her hairs to stand on end. Her body tingled with unknown anticipation much to her discontent; she was in a state of confusion and anger (towards Blaise), she had no right to be aroused by the simple way he drawled her name! "I have never been this confused in my life."
Hermione turned her head to look at his profile. Draco was staring into the sky, seemingly unaware of his surroundings any longer. A light wind picked up and tousled his hair slightly, but that was the only disturbance to occur. Shifting slightly, Hermione pulled away from Draco's hold and turned to face him, crossing her legs on the rock.
"What are you confused about?"
"Everything." Draco turned and looked at Hermione and she was blown away by the unnatural amber shade his eyes had taken on. She had become so accustomed to and so in love with his stormy grey that this new shade had caught her off guard.
It must be his inner dragon. She reasoned. Her eyes were locked with his and, slowly, she saw his orbs revert back to their natural colour. Strange…
"I cannot, in good conscious, abdicate. What reason do I have? If I claim that I was not aware of my lineage and cannot adequately fulfill my duties, my father and Maximus will argue with at neither did Blaise. If I say I don't want it, I'll regret it for the rest of my life because I made the decision without the proper research and knowledge required to make such a conclusion…" Draco exhaled slowly and brought his left hand up to cup Hermione's cheek. She instantly leaned in to his touch.
"And what about you?" His last question came out as a breathless whisper. "Maximus had to leave Aurelia in a different realm while he ruled Thaczil…"
Hermione closed her eyes for a brief moment. "Let's rationalize through this?"
Draco nodded, dumbly, and retracted his hand.
"You have until coronation to abdicate?" She saw him nod and proceeded. "It gives me enough time to research and finish Isadora's book so you can make an informed decision. You're more rational than Blaise so I don't expect you to abdicate willy nilly—" she cocked her head and threw him a very Malfoy-esque smirk. "Besides, sacrifices have to be made for the greater good."
Her latter quip resulted in Draco groaning. "Do not impart Dumbledore-esque knowledge right now, Granger."
With a small giggle, Hermione continued her rationalizing: "So that solves the problem if you having inadequate knowledge on the world you could potentially take over. I can have a report written out by the end of—"
"No report." Draco was prompt to interrupt. "Just summarize in your own words and tell me. I'm not a professor."
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I know, but I need to put my thoughts and research on paper and organize them in an eye-pleasing fashion that seamlessly flows from the thesis to the—"
"Alright, alright!" Draco covered Hermione's mouth. "Write me an essay!"
Her eyes twinkled as if she were extremely pleased with herself for making him change his mind. Draco withdrew his hand and Hermione continued. "So that covers points one and two: you are not abdicating for the sake of abdicating because you will be making an informed decision."
"Fair. And point three?"
Hermione shrugged painfully. "Easy." But is it easy? Her heart tugged. "We've only been dating for a few weeks; you cannot base a decision that will affect you for thousands of years over a new relationship." It pained her to say what she was saying, it really did, but she was being rational and when rational Hermione spoke, she saw no end. "There is no guarantee—"
She had missed the tick in his eye.
She had missed the clenching of his jaw.
She had missed the fisting of his hand.
Draco stood up abruptly and whirled unto Hermione. "Do not finish that statement."
Hermione's jaw dropped and she gawked at Draco, totally caught off guard. She was not anticipating him blowing up on her! She was sure that he was agreeing with the rationality behind her words; she had no idea that he was getting angrier by the second. "Pardon me?"
"Do not finish." He repeated, his voice beginning to take on a gravelly tone and his irises beginning to ignite. "Do you not have any sort of faith in our relationship?"
"I do!" Hermione stood up so she didn't feel tiny in front of his towering frame. "But neither of us has had successful relationships, so based on historical facts—"
"To hell with historical facts!" His voice reverberated throughout the forest, almost dragon. Hermione took an involuntary step back but was met with the boulder she was sitting on not too long ago and fell onto her butt. Draco matched her step and took one forward.
"Did you think I was dating you for the fuck of it?"
"I didn't—"
"If all I wanted was a fuck, I would've gotten it from any girl in the bloody school Hermione." He was slowly losing his human and embracing the feral beast that lived within him. Hermione's heart began racing; she was not accustomed to dealing with a dragon that was also her boyfriend.
"Draco, that's not what I meant."
Her words went in one ear and out the other. "If you don't think we're going to last then why the hell are you wasting our ti—" his words were abruptly halted when a large winged body slammed into him, pushing him to the ground. Hermione screamed and withdrew her wand from her pocket, pointing it at the creature that caught them off guard.
"Run!"
She frowned when she heard the creature instruct her to run.
"Go before it gets too dangerous."
Hermione scowled. "No! Let him go!" She wasn't about to listen to an unknown thing that tackled her boyfriend out of the blue.
"Go before he loses his human senses!" The creature – man – turned to look over his shoulder and Hermione recognized him as Blaise's father, Maximus. That caused her to halt and lower her wand slightly. She saw Draco thrashing about and heard him shout profanities.
She wasn't going to leave her boyfriend there, especially not while he was not in the right state of mind. "I can't leave him…!" The precise moment the words left her mouth, Draco screamed. Hermione shrieked slightly and stumbled back when she saw black essence shoot from his mouth—fire? No, it wasn't fire… it was destructive.
"Run! Nobody is safe from the Kapral's Wrath of Chaos."
Hermione's eyes widened. Chaos? He's breathing Chaos? But she refused to leave. "No! I won't leave him!" And, true to her Gryffindor trait, she sprang forward and crouched on the ground beside Draco. He had stopped breathing chaos, but he was thrashing about violently. His eyes were fully aflame and she noticed charcoal grey scales peppering the length of his left arm and the left column of his neck.
"GO!" Maximus screamed but when was the last time Hermione listened to an adult? She pressed her hand against Draco's cheek and leaned forward. She had to get him to listen to reason, to her voice… she knew that whatever he felt was amplified due to his dragon lineage; his awakened dragon blood. When her fingers touched his skin, Draco calmed down just enough for her to reach for him both physically and spiritually.
"Draco," she whispered as she pressed her face against his ear. He grunted and tried to thrash but with Hermione's calming aura and Maximus's monster body, it was quite difficult. "Draco listen to me." Her heart was thudding against her chest, but she knew she had to do whatever it took to bring him back to her. "I'd never leave you, you know that…" Tears gathered behind her lids. "I can't… I never would… If we were ever to end, it'd be because of you not wanting to be with me…"
Draco tensed and tried to thrash about, again. He opened his mouth and released a blood curdling roar; Hermione fell back and Maximus tightened his hold on him. "Do not speak of leaving him!" Maximus commanded.
Hermione hurriedly sat up on her knees again and looked at Maximus before looking down at Draco's calming figure. His eyes were almost fully alit and the grey scales continued to comb along the length of his arm, forming a triangle vertex point over the top of his hand. The scales did not grow along his fingers. "Draco," she brought both of her hands forward and cupped his face, forcing him to look at her. "Come back to me, please!" The tears that gathered behind her eyelids unleashed, one tear managing to land on Draco's cheek.
"Please!" She pressed her forehead against his as she clenched her eyes shut. Draco, however, flickered his fiery eyes in her direction and his breathing became extremely laboured. "I… I don't know what I'd do without you… I…" Hermione opened her eyes, tears causing her vision to become blurry.
The words tumbled out of her mouth before she could even register what she was thinking. "I love you…"
A lash of power hurtled Maximus off of Draco, but Hermione was unaffected. Draco gripped either of Hermione's arms and flipped her over so that she was underneath him.
"Rasvim…" His voice was no longer his but the echo of the dragon soul that resided deep within him. He brought his right hand up and trailed his index finger along her cheek.
"Sia rasvim…"
Draco pressed his lips against Hermione's with urgency and another lash of power unleashed from his body. Within seconds his body became limp and he collapsed on top of Hermione. Gasping for air, Hermione struggled to push Draco off of her but was eventually successful; she noticed Maximus recovering from the blast of power as she was pushing herself up off of the ground.
"What happened to him?!" She demanded when she saw Maximus stand up. "Why did he become like that? What happened?!"
Maximus studied the unconscious boy for a brief second before turning his attention to the soon-to-be-Kapral's girlfriend. "Did you say something that triggered his anger?"
Hermione's eyebrows shot up. "Pardon me?"
"Did you say something that made him upset?" Maximus repeated with the same calm. He watched as the girl's posture sagged considerably. She must've said something that triggered him. Maximus thought with utmost confidence.
"I… must've…"
"What did you say?"
Hermione's eyes widened. "I would never disclose—"
"I am sure he's mentioned the whole dragon thing to you, so let me repeat what he must've already told you: I am the present emperor and his state and wellbeing is the most important thing to me right now until his coronation," Maximus crossed his arms and glared at Hermione, "so I repeat: what did you say to him?"
Hermione crossed her arms, matching Maximus's stance. "I told him that he cannot base his decision on abdicating solely on the fact that you left Aurelia on Earth while you were in Thaczil because our relationship is only but a few weeks old."
Maximus nodded slowly, understanding Draco's anger. If Draco had gone so far as to declare her his Lady of Eternity, which entailed her living for as long as he would to ensure he remained grounded and sane, then she must've been somebody of extreme importance to him. Hearing a potentially Lady of Eternity doubt the strength of the relationship would be enough to unleash the dormant dragon within any future Kapral.
"I see… but you say you love him? That seems contradictory, my dear."
Her eyes flashed. "That is none of your business, Mr. Zabini. And with all due respect, I have a bone to pick with you and your son—"
Whatever Hermione was going to say was halted when the two heard a groan escape from Draco.
"Draco!" Hermione fell to her knees beside Draco and anxiously watched him. He was not coming to consciousness, but he was definitely making noises of pain. Hermione cast a glance over her shoulder at the elder Zabini.
"We need to take him to the hospital wing."
Maximus nodded and ushered for her to step aside. With swiftness and ease, Maximus picked Draco up and threw him over his shoulder. "Lead the way."
And so she did.
.xx.
Three nights had passed since Draco was admitted into the Hospital Wing with no sign of recovery. Maximus would visit for the day and retire to Hogsmeade for the night – Hermione had found out that he was in Hogsmeade after the meeting with McGonagall because he was afraid Draco's powers would get the best of him… and he couldn't have been more right.
Hermione hadn't left Draco's side at all, getting special permission from her professors to miss classes to give Draco all of her support. As their relationship was no longer a secret, it was a feat much easier attained. On the third night, while sitting beside Draco's bed, Hermione quilled a letter to Gabriella.
Gabriella,
Is it possible to be in love without knowing it and then having an incident occur that has you realizing that you are so hopelessly in love? Logic would tell me no: you cannot feel something you are not aware of, but experience would tell me otherwise.
I love him.
I can't go into detail withwhathappened, but he was in a state of… emergency, let's say, and in that split second I realized that I love him. I even told him but given the circumstance, I don't think he remembers…
Well that's all I can say right now. Looking forward to your reply.
Hermione.
Scanning the letter twice, Hermione folded it and pocketed it just as Maximus entered the Hospital Wing. The wing was deserted, save Madam Pomfrey (who was in the farthest corner away from where she and Draco were, putting away potions and bandages), Draco, and herself; it allowed a private enough space to have private conversations, should she need to have any.
"Maximus," Hermione nodded and he returned the greeting.
"Hermione. Has the situation changed?"
Hermione shook her head, a ghostly look of sadness etched into her features. "No… Madam Pomfrey is saying his vitals are looking good but—"
Maximus halted her update. "I am going to call for my motzu – doctor – in Thaczil. Perhaps his prognosis would help Draco better than a witch. He succumbed to a state of fueryon, meaning beast, and it is something that only a dragon can understand." Hermione chewed on her cheek but nodded, nonetheless.
"I suppose asking your motzu for their opinion isn't a bad idea… does Mister and Missus Malfoy know of his state?"
"No, I'd rather not worry them right now. They're already concerned with Blaise abdicating, Draco unleashing his fueryon would only worry them further. He's alive and breathing," Maximus studied Draco as he spoke, "so we must take that as good news."
Ahh yes, that. Hermione had almost forgotten that Blaise Zabini was the reason Draco was in the Hospital Wing. Not really, Hermione, you did trigger his anger… she couldn't berate Blaise for something she said. He had been in and out of the Hospital Wing with the other Snakes for the last three days, clearly very concerned with the wellbeing of his best mate.
"May I ask you something?"
"Go right ahead."
Hermione subconsciously brought her hand up and held Draco's near lifeless hand. "He said something to me when I told him I loved him…" She looked up to catch Maximus's eyes. "What did he say?"
"Rasvim," Maximus murmured, "means treasure in our tongue. Dragons are known to be treasure seekers—it is the highest form of endearment for our kind, and all dragons know this innately. Sia rasvim translates to 'my treasure.' He was calling you his treasure."
Hermione's felt her hairs stand on end with the new piece of information she learned. His treasure?
"Is that all, Hermione?"
Dumbly, she nodded.
"Very well. I have a few words with Minerva so I will take my leave early today. I shall return tomorrow," he tipped his head, "if his state changes, please do let me know."
Hermione nodded and waited for Maximus to leave the wing before bursting into tears. She buried her face into Draco's chest and let her feelings pour out uncontrollably. Had she known that he would've reacted the way he did, she never would've tried to rationalize his concern of leaving her. She should've taken it for what it was… he doesn't want to leave me because he wants to be with me. Why was I so stupid that I went to place rationale behind why leaving me was okay?!
She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. Looking up and over, she saw Neville and immediately threw her arms around his torso. She continued to sob uncontrollably against her housemate and friend. Hermione missed that Harry, Ginny, Kellah, Blaise, Theodore, and Adrian were also present in the hospital wing, entering not long after Maximus had left.
"It's my fault," she murmured but only Neville heard her.
"Hermione," he ran his fingers down the length of her hair, "crying won't help Malfoy. You're the same girl that saved us from the basilisk after you were petrified. If you can do that, you can do anything!"
He's right. She thought, her tears beginning to slow down. Crying won't save him. I have to do something. I have to research! The book… Isadora's book!
She pulled away from Neville abruptly. "You're right!" Hermione looked around and saw that her wand was tucked neatly under Draco's pillow, the hilt poking out just slightly. She grabbed it and pointed it at the door of the Hospital Wing.
"Hermione!" Adrian took a step forward, preparing to stop his best mate's girlfriend from doing anything crazy but she already called out her spell.
"ACCIO ISADORA'S DRAGON BOOK!"
All were dumbstruck, except Blaise. He heard her say dragon book and only assumed that she had, somehow, found a book that spoke of their lineage. Heck, he found out most of his information from the books his mother gave him, he wouldn't put it past Hermione Granger to find a book about Thaczil and its people.
"Hermione Granger! We do not cast spells in the Hospital—AHH!" Madam Pomfrey dodged a flying thicker-than-a-textbook book by the width of her hair. "That is absolutely unacceptable! Behaviour like that will result in being kicked out from the Hospital Wing, hospitalized boyfriend or not!"
Harry muttered an apology on Hermione's behalf before whirling unto his friend. "What the hell was that, Hermione?! If you needed a book you could've just…"
"She's not paying attention, Harry." Ginny placed a hand on Harry's arm. Indeed, Hermione Granger was already flipping through the pages of the book as if her life depended on it. Well, perhaps Draco's life depended on it but none of them actually knew if it really did or not.
"I think its best we leave her to her devices." Blaise took a step forward. He knew Hermione was looking for something related to their dragon blood and, since none of their friends knew, he wanted to give her the space and time she needed. "Let's go."
"But—"
Blaise cut Kellah off. "Now."
Quickly bidding Hermione adieu, the group left. Hermione studiously flipped through the pages of Isadora's book and missed the slow twitch in Draco's left hand…
And the flutter of his eyelids.
.xx.
Edited: September 24, 2016
Well then… nobody saw that coming now did they? *muhahaha*
- 26
- 27
- 28
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

In the Arms of her Dragon