Pleasure | By : Eloise Downbadde & Eloise Downbadde Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 4995 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: My stories are works of fan fiction. It is not affiliated with JK Rowling/WB and I'm making nothing off of this. It IS however based off a real life relationship I had a few years ago, back when I was a single pringle. :) |
Chapter 8
Annabel
She tries to focus in class the next morning but it's proving more and more difficult as time ticks by. She kept staring at the clock, wondering if he has been released yet or if he was in bed resting. She was anxious for Draco to return.
She and Ginny had tried to change the password the evening before but the merfolk refused to change it without the 8th year Head Boy present. She spent the evening in Draco's bed, positive Ron would never come into the Slytherin's room and hoping he wasn't foolish enough to come back into her room again. Draco would understand.
By lunch time she had decided to call it a day and return to the common room. She grabbed a plate of food to bring with her after scribbling a note to send to her three teachers who's classes she would miss.
She came in through the portrait and suddenly hesitated at the bottom of his stairs. What if he is sleeping? What if he wants to be left alone? She doesn't want to overstep whatever was happening with them. She hears a throat clear and finally notices Blaise by their kitchenette. He was stirring cream into a cup of tea, only one, so she assumed Draco was asleep.
"Wondered when you would get here." He held the mug from the top with one hand, his fingers long enough to grip it without the handle. "He's been asking after you. Being insufferable." He gives her a small sideways smile from the corner of his mouth.
Hermione smiles back. "Insufferable seems to be his default."
"What are you doing, Granger?" His smile dropped, she noticed his jaw clench momentarily. She furrowed her brows, placing the plate of food onto the coffee table and casting a quick stasis on it.
"How do you mean? I live here?"
"No, not that. It's only just. Draco has been different. Not necessarily bad but he doesn't change. He never changes. Not for anything. Yet he's been focusing in class, he suddenly has aspirations for the future and he's being...a decent friend for once. So," he looks her up and down, "what are you doing?"
She twists the hem of her skirt, embarrassed and overthinking as usual. "I'm- I don't know. Maybe he's finally moving forward now the war is over. It's a good thing to want more in life, Blaise."
Blaise moved to meet her at the steps up to Draco's room. He handed her the tea cup. "Maybe. Maybe not. He only took the Head Boy position because you were Head Girl. He won't admit it, but I know. So, please tread cautiously if you're unsure what box you're opening. He isn't an easy bloke, he rarely shows his hand." She nods and feels the warmth in her hand from the overly hot tea. "The nurse said he needs to take it easy too. Do you think you can avoid pouncing on him tonight?" He smirked at her and Hermione expected him to ask if she wants him to stay. She doesn't. She felt like she could handle herself.
"Thank you for your help." She said.
"Thank you. For bringing him back from the dead." Blaise gave her a serious look before moving past her and out the door. She took a deep breath and noted the smell of his cologne was similar to Draco's scent. She checked herself over, wanting to be presentable in her flawless uniform before she walked up the stairs and lightly knocked.
"You don't need to bother knocking. I'm resting, not wanking." His voice was sleepy and when she opened the door, he was knuckle rubbing his eye. His face brightened and he beckoned her in, taking the mug from her and sipping it. The pleased hum he makes stirred feelings in her gut. "I'm very glad to see you."
"I'm glad to see you are doing better. Blaise said you were driving him bonkers." She smiled at him, sitting by his feet. He was propped up in the bed with the blanket over his lap. She realized his chest was bare, his scars obvious, including a substantial amount over his dark mark. It had faded but it looked like he had tried to carve it out, no doubt a painful attempt to clean his soul. She averted her eyes, mostly because she felt like she was staring.
"Ah, he likes to be dramatic. I told him I didn't need looking after." He took another drink of the tea and made another pleased sound.
"Do you think you can get up? I need you to help me change the portrait password. They won't let me without you there." She slipped her fingers into her stockings and replaced them over her knee perfectly. She didn't want to meet his eye since she knew telling him why she urgently wanted to change the password would anger him.
But he asked anyway. "Why do you want to change-" he paused, observing her uncomfortable shifting and the realization dawned on him, making him frown and set his tea down. "Oh. Yeah, we can do that right now." He pushed the blankets down and she turned away again, not wanting to embarrass him in just his pants but he snickered at her when she moved away from his bed.
"You're embarrassed by me like this? We've been starkers together, Granger. This is nothing."
She stood by the door, focusing on the wood grain while he slipped his joggers on. "This feels intimate and I'm only being polite." She tries to scold but it doesn't deliver the same when she's staring at a door instead of him. He places his hand on the small of her back to turn her to see him.
"I like intimate moments with you. They always feel sacred somehow. Special." He's so close he kisses the tip of her nose and she wipes it with her sleeve, trying to hide her smile and opened the door. They follow one another down the steps and out the door to the merfolk. They look pleased to see Draco up and moving and the female even winks at the two of them. Hermione paused, they hadn't discussed a new password.
"Any ideas for a new one? I'll only tell Ginny, I promise." He shrugs with one shoulder and she sees the silver scar on his chest catch the afternoon light.
"I read your fairy tale book this morning. Is 'Cinderella' alright? I can't imagine anyone else would crack it."
Hermione smiled brightly, pleased he would read a muggle book because she said it was her favorite. "That would be excellent."
"Are we changing the password, children?" The merman asks, his tail twitching as his partner swam around him, placing her hand on his shoulder and looking at him like he was the most precious thing she had ever seen.
"Yes please," Hermione chirps, feeling like she was intruding with how affectionate the merfolk were being to one another. Draco looks at her and places a hand on her shoulder, pulling her closer to him.
She flushed at the close contact with the bare chested man and he spoke to the portrait for her. "We both have decided on the password being 'Cinderella'. The early password has been exposed and it isn't protected any longer."
"Sure thing, lovely." The mermaid brushed her partner's hair from his forehead. "I won the bet, dearest." She nudged him with her elbow and he shook his head and rolled his eyes.
Draco looked at Hermione, both confused and the two in the painting laughed delicately to match their regal appearance. "Head Boy and Girl sometimes get along and sometimes don't. The ones who don't get along almost always end up together." Her ruby lips curled up into an enchanting smile. "We've not been guarding the 7th year Head's quarters but you two managed to prove me right in no time." Hermione blushed and mumbled some denial as Draco dropped his arm from her shoulder.
"Yes, well. The only person to have this new password is the red-headed girl. Weaslette. If the male red-head tries to enter, please notify us immediately. He's no longer welcome inside." He cleared his throat of the nasty tone.
Hermione twisted the hem of her skirt again as she quietly said, "He's proven to be dangerous. Alert the headmaster if you must." Draco's head swiveled in her direction and she noticed he shivered or maybe he shook with anger. His fist had clenched. "Let's get you back inside," She said and carefully took his arm to tug him, confirming the new password and putting her hand on his lower back to guide him back upstairs. She noticed he didn't seem to mind her being overly careful and nurturing to him. He must like the attention from her.
Draco settled in his bed again, moving to one side and patting the other for her to join him. She shyly stood in the doorframe and shook her head. "You're supposed to take it easy tonight." She smiled slightly, "I imagine joining you would promise anything but."
He chuckled at her, sinking down onto the pillows and propped his head on his elbow. "Tease. My pillowcase smells like you. So you sleep in my bed only when I'm not here?"
"I felt safer here after-" she trailed off but he caught her hesitation. He must have realized it wasn't because of Ron fighting with him that made her feel unsafe because his face turned serious.
"Granger. What did he do? Are you okay?" She moved to the edge of his bed, hoping to keep this under control. To keep him under control. She faintly realized that trying to tamp down another's emotions is something she did with Ron and that Draco was completely different. He shifted up and crawled to her, wincing when he slouched his body over; his ribs must still hurt.
Hermione glanced to the side, seeing the small pain potion on his bedside and moved to open it for him, avoiding his penetrating stare as he waited for her answer. When he realized she was stalling, he tried again. "Tell me, princess. What's happened that's made you feel unsafe?" He takes the potion she offers but holds her wrist, stroking with his thumb to tell her he was with her, grounding her.
She swallowed nervously, not meeting his eye and instead looking at his arm that held her still, watching his thumb gently brush against her sensitive wrist. "He came into my room on Saturday night. I'm so relieved Ginny was there and I wasn't alone." She felt tears in her eyes again and looked up to try to stop them from falling. "I was in here because I couldn't sleep but he- he got into my bed. I don't-"
"He did that?" Draco winced, his eyes flashed dark and she glanced away. She hated that she felt embarrassed for someone else's actions. "Let me guess, he was half-cut?" She finally met his gaze and was surprised to not see anger but irritation and a hint of sadness. She shrugged lightly as he put the potion back down. She gasped when he pulled her forward into a hug, his arms locking around her body and his face burrowing into her hair at her neck. She let her hands sink into his hair, squeezing him closer, thankful for the support instead of rage.
"We've all decided to get him help. A mind healer and somewhere to help with his sobriety. I can't believe it's come to this." She gently scratched at his scalp, the soft feeling of his hair feeling soothing.
"I'm sorry. It's difficult when your friend falls beyond your reach." The way he spoke made her feel he had a similar experience and she remembers that Vincent Crabbe died in the Room of Hidden Things. Her blood turns cold when she remembers he had been trying to kill her when the spell backfired and she wonders if Draco had tried to convince him she wasn't a threat.
Hermione then remembers the note on his desk and the name he called her in his disoriented state. "Draco," she felt him stiffening at her tone but instead of pulling away, he gripped her harder and tilted them both back onto the bed. She squealed and tried to push her skirt down, trying to stop it from flying up. She scolded herself, 'I should have known a skirt wasn't the best idea around him.'
He chuckled at the sound she made, putting his hand against her wild mane and patting her head. "We don't need to talk about him. I'm content to lay here and rest if you don't mind." He rolled them slightly to their sides and brushed his nose against hers, not letting go but relaxing his tight grip on her. A smile quirked the corner of her lips.
"I actually wanted to ask about Annabel." His eyes closed and he took in a deep breath. "You called me by her name twice as we took you to the infirmary. Who is she?" She tucked her hands under her cheek against the pillow, hoping she looked open and curious and not judgmental.
He let out his deep breath through his nose slowly and opened his eyes. She noticed they were a little glassy, like the mention of her was enough to bring tears forward. "She was the daughter of my father's business partner, a neighbor. When I was 7 years old, she saved me from drowning in the lake on our summer property. And she was only 9 but a great swimmer." He brushed some of her hair over her shoulder as he spoke, trying to not hold her gaze.
"What happened to her?"
"They told me she drowned in the same lake a week before her 11th birthday. I still don't know. She-" he choked on his words and harshly cleared his throat.
"I'm so sorry. You don't think they told you the truth?"
Draco shrugged, "She was stellar at swimming. I don't know how she couldn't make it back to shore." His voice had gotten quiet and Hermione reached to touch his cheek. She was surprised to feel the wet streak of a tear on his face.
"It happens sometimes. You said she loved you. It must have been hard to know love then tragedy so young." She leaned closer to him and pressed a kiss to his forehead. "I'm sorry I brought it up."
He gave her a sad smile and laced his fingers with hers, kissing her knuckles back. "She liked to tease me because my room in the summer house had dragonflies drawn on the wall. I guess I really liked them as a child. We would have a picnic by the water and there were so many dragonflies all over. I wanted to be one. So when you said it-"
"Oh...wow, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was connected to such painful memories. I won't call you that anymore." He rolled on top of her, pressing his lips to hers gently.
"Please, it's not painful. It felt like it was meant to be you somehow." He kissed her again, longer this time mumbling against her mouth. "Written in the stars."
She laughed a little, remembering that he was taking a silly star-gazing class along with Arithmancy, which was used in conjecture with Divination. "Speaking of- I didn't know you were taking Divination. What else do you see in the stars?"
He pondered for a moment before dipping down for another peck at her lips. "I see," another short kiss. "That it's always going to be you." He shifted his weight to one elbow and stretched out next to her, his eyes that beautiful storming color. "Like I've kissed you a thousand times in a thousand different worlds. My story always comes back to you somehow. It's almost like I either love you or hate you, kiss you or kill you in other realities and both change my life entirely."
Hermione was silent, absorbing what he said. While he never specifically said anything about feeling emotional toward her, he definitely never said anything about love. Hate was a topic they broached in the infirmary and she was pleased to have settled that; feeling like she understood him much better than before. The finality felt too deep, too serious for her to fully wrap her head around.
There was stillness as he let a long exhale out and stared up at the vaulted ceiling, he tucked both hands behind his head and she noticed a little smile on his face. "Apologies, I heard how that sounds but for the record, I'm glad I don't hate you in this world." She rolled to settle against the side of him and he tipped his head to see her.
"I'm glad you don't either." She huffs a little laugh though, "I can't say I ever expected things to be this way, though."
"I'm more glad you don't hate me. I've been making myself crazy this year, hell, you've been making me crazy." She shifts closer to him and sets her head on his bicep and he wraps the arm around her, his fingertips grazing her shoulder. After all they had done together, they didn't spend time like this; dressed in bed, soft touches and gentle words and openness. He felt drowsy and unburdened, a feeling he hadn't felt since he was a child.
"I made you crazy?" She felt the smile on her lips but let her eyes drift closed, surrounded by him and his comforting scent and warmth.
"Hmm," he hummed, letting his hand play with her curly wild hair. "This hair. I see it in my dreams. It makes me crazy. About you. For you."
"It is quite a mess-"
"Shh," he hushed her, his timbre voice rumbled with sleep. She risked putting her hand on his chest, her fingertips just against his pectoral muscle to feel his heartbeat. The steady rhythm comforted her further. "It's perfect, Granger. Quiet now, I need to rest."
She woke around dinner time, her face pressed against his ribcage and she felt a blush creep up her cheeks when she tried to move but his arm was solid around her waist. She tugged her arm free from under her and shifted his hand, the threat of overheating just on the cusp and she rolled free of him. Her heart beat heavy in her chest as she stepped off the bed, staring at him, waiting for him to wake. He barely stirred, his breathing deep and even. She straightened her skirt and tucked her shirt into it. She tugged her socks up and slipped her shoes back on, having kicked them off at some point in their little nap.
The Great Hall was still buzzing as dinner ended. Hermione slinked in through the door to grab a bit of food to take back up, knowing she was risking the bubble her and Draco had been in by leaving their rooms. She was so used to the temperature of her relationship with Ron going from hot to cold that she felt an urgent need to return before the 'good part' ended.
As she gathered several bits of food onto the plates, she felt a familiar presence next to her. Harry, with his eyes bloodshot and his green dulled, he stared at her. Not speaking. She held his gaze, her hands stilling halfway back to the plate, a spoon of potatoes hovering. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it and dropped his gaze to his feet. She set the spoon down, wiped her hands on each other and held her arms out for him to fall into.
Harry exhaled a shaking sigh, his forehead pressed to her shoulder. "Oh, 'Mione. How did it get this bad?" she heard him choke on the last word and rubbed his back gently. A wave of relief washed over her followed by more guilt. She was glad Harry wasn't blaming her but again felt terrible no one did anything but watch Ron decline. She thinks they both will need more therapy after this. Maybe a healer can track out why they both sidestepped the confrontation with their friend for so long.
"I don't know but we aren't going to ignore this. Not anymore." A sob comes from Harry and over his shoulder, she spies Ginny sat at the table. She looks over at them and Hermione lifts a few fingers in a motion that says, 'it's okay.' and she squeezes Harry tightly, his glasses pressing into her collarbone painfully. She ruffles his hair and leans back away.
"I love you. I'm so sorry." He grips her shoulders and rubs them affectionately as Ginny appears behind him. She wraps her arms around him from behind and smiles, pressing her cheek to his.
"I love you too, Harry." a big grin eked onto Hermione's face and she turned back to piling food onto a second plate. She stacked one on top of the other but pauses before she leaves. "I don't want to push anything on you guys but..." She shifts the food plates to the other hand and brushes hair from her shoulder. "It would be nice if you could talk with Dra-Malfoy at some point. He's practically a different person and it would mean a lot if you both could get along."
Harry didn't say anything but turned to look at Ginny. She nodded her head and spoke for the both of them, "Let us know when. We can go to Hogsmeade or something together. A double date?" She flicks her eyebrows up in a teasing way and Hermione laughs a little.
"He's still quite out of it so maybe next week? I better get back and check on him. Oh, Gin. We've changed the password so just knock," She glances at Harry, still not positive he would keep it to himself if Ron asked him for it. No, Ginny was the only one she felt she could trust right now. Her and Draco.
She ponders on the way back up how strange this year is to now trust her bully more than her best friends. Sometimes, life is funny that way. She expected to move into a flat with Ron after graduation, since he seemed so set on pursuing the Auror training courses with Harry. She wonders if she should join them. Ron might not be capable of starting when Harry does and maybe he would need her as backup. But she shakes her head, she can't make decisions for her future based around them anymore. All of her choices need to be hers and only hers from here on out. She wonders what Draco might do after he graduates and decides to ask him when he wakes up.
For now, she sits downstairs, brewing tea and plopped down on the floor at the coffee table. Her classwork and books strewn about and her quill scratching nonstop. It's easy to forget sometimes that she's at school and her main focus shouldn't be the boy upstairs.
Alexa, play Fire Breather by LAUREL <3
I'm trying to keep my schedule of uploading a chapter every weekend but that does mean they'll be shorter. Hope you all don't mind. :)
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