Poison

Chapter Eleven – Decisions


“Are you absolutely out of your mind?” Ron yelled his face red.

They had managed to keep Ron in control until they could make their way somewhere less public. The five of them were now in the Head Common Room. Draco looked at the four Gryffindor and wished he could be anywhere else. Maybe he could just leave. He began to inch his way towards the door.

“And you, what did you do to her?” Ron asked, pulling out his wand and pointing it towards the blond.

“I didn’t do anything to her, Weasel,” Draco snarled.

“Well, that’s not entirely true,” Hermione said, looking at him.

“What did he do, Mione?” Harry asked, reaching out to Ron. He grasped his friend by the wrist and forced his arm down. He shot Ron a warning look.

Hermione paled. She didn’t want to tell her friends about the night Malfoy had attacked her in her room. She was afraid if she admitted to them that their relationship had started because he had tried to rape her, they would definitely kill him.

Draco was watching Granger’s face. He knew right away what she was thinking, and he knew that she was right.

“It’s not what you think, Potter,” Malfoy said, crossing the room to stand behind Hermione. They wouldn’t hex him if she was standing between them.

“Then what is it?” Harry asked.

“It doesn’t matter, Harry. The point is, I like being with Malfoy,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. Draco looked at her in surprise. She was going to protect him. Why would she do that?

“How can you like being with that slimy ferret?” Ron asked, almost losing his fragile hold on his self control.

“Is it so hard to believe that I would like to be treated like I’m beautiful, sexy even?” she asked, “I most certainly never got that feeling from either of you.”

Harry shook his head.

“Hermione, he let Death Eaters into Hogwarts, is probably one himself. Because of him, Dumbledore is dead,” Harry said softly.

“Don’t you think I’ve thought about that, Harry?” she said.

“Mione, we are just worried about you getting hurt, and not just emotionally” Ginny said.

“Rubbish we are,” Ron jumped up, “Mione, you can’t be friends with us and keep on…doing whatever the hell it is you are doing with him,”

“Are you asking me to choose?” she said, her eyes wide.

“You’re darn right I am,” Ron said crossing his arms over his chest. Hermione looked at Harry and Ginny in turn. Neither of them disputed Ron. She looked at Malfoy. He held up his hands in surrender and took a step away from her.

“This is ridiculous,” she said turning back to her friends. She walked over to Malfoy and grabbed his arm. She rolled up his sleeve to expose the flesh of his forearm. She repeated her movements with his other arm. She stepped back.

“Show them,” she ordered. Malfoy held up his bare forearms to show their unmarked skin.

“He’s not a Death Eater, Harry,” she said.

“That doesn’t change what he did,” Harry said, his green eyes looking straight at Malfoy. Draco was thankful that looks couldn’t kill.

“Potter, Dumbledore chose his own fate. Nothing I did could’ve changed that.”

“Don’t you dare say his name,” Harry hissed.

“What’s it going to be, Mione?” Ron asked.

She looked at Malfoy again, and he read the answer in eyes. It wouldn’t be him that won this battle. He could almost see all the different scenarios playing out in her mind.

“Don’t ask me to do this?” she begged her friends.

“Do you love him, Mione?” Ginny asked.

“Well, no.”

“Do you love her Malfoy?” Harry asked.

He shook his head.

“Then the answer seems pretty obvious to me,” Ron said.

“Ok, you win,” she said softly, defeated.

“Let’s go get something to eat,” Harry suggested. Hermione nodded. Her friends moved off towards the hall. In the doorway, Hermione stopped and looked at Draco. She gave him small smile and left.

He watched after her. No, he didn’t love her, but he had needed her. He felt cold, and alone. He walked slowly back to his room, shutting the door behind him.

* -* - *- *

The rest of the term passed quickly. They occasionally saw each other in the common room, but their conversation was awkward, so they soon gave up on trying. He would sometimes catch her looking at him in class, but for the most part she hid amongst her fellow Gryffindors or in the library. He felt more isolated now than he had before their affair had started, because he now knew what he was missing out on. It wasn’t just the sex, it was her. She was feisty and fun. She challenged him, whether it was in class or one of their famous battles. He started to wonder if he had answered truthfully when asked if he loved her.

To be honest, he didn’t know what love really was, but it hurt like hell not being able to be with her.

She missed him too. His strength and his wit. The way it felt when he collapsed onto her after taking her hard and fast. She immersed herself in studying for exams, as she found that was the only thing that could keep him from her mind.

Soon enough the students that were left were taking exams. The halls were filled with students discussing which answers they thought were right, and which ones they were sure they had failed. They wouldn’t find out for sure until after they were already at home. For the seventh years, this was bittersweet. They wouldn’t have to return to Hogwarts next year, but they would have to face the world outside of the safety and comfort of their school.

Hermione closed the lid on her trunk, and look around her room. It looked bare, and a tear rolled down her cheek. She wiped it away and sighed. It felt strange to be spending her last night here without her best friends. Harry and Ron had stayed only one night those weeks back, but had made her promise them that she would really finish her relationship with Draco. She had promised that it was over. She was sure that Ginny would be keeping an extra watch on her, so she had kept her resolve to stay away from him.

True to his word, he had made sure Pansy didn’t keep spreading her filthy lies. She wasn’t sure by what method, but she had received a very formal apology in the Great Hall one evening, that guaranteed that all the rumors were quashed.

She supposed she should go and hang out with the rest of the Gryffindors tonight. She opened the door and headed out into the Common Room. As usual, she couldn’t help but glance over at his door. If was ajar, and through it she could see him sitting bed. He was dressed in a pair of black slacks, but that was all. Her gaze drifted hungrily across his chest before she noticed that he was staring at something hidden from her view.

Curiosity got the better of her and she crossed over to see. It was his empty trunk. She tilted her head to study him. He looked utterly down trodden. As she studied him again, she noticed that he’d lost a lot of weight since the last time she’d seen him shirtless. She suddenly felt very guilty, taking at least some of the responsibility for his current state.

“Malfoy?” she said softly. He started out of his day dream and looked up at her.

“Can I help you with something?” she said taking a tentative step into his room.

“You can’t give me what I need from you?” he said bitterly.

“I’m so sorry, Malfoy,” she said crossing to him and placing her hand gently on his shoulder. He shivered at the touch and tilted his head so that his cheek touched her hand.

“I think that my heart has been corrupted by evil and hate,” he said pulling away from her touch. She watched him stand up and cross to the window. He looked out.

“I’ve never felt at home here,” he said, “But at least this year, for a time anyway, I felt safe.”

“You’ll be safe at home, Malfoy.” She took a step towards him.

“No, I don’t think I will be. I failed the Dark Lord. He doesn’t forgive either. Potter and he have more in common than they know.”

“You can write me, if you’d like?” she suggested, taking another step forward.

He chuckled dryly.

“Lucius would most likely kill me if he knew I was being offered pity from a Mudblood. He’d probably die himself if his son admitted that he may actually love one.”

She gasped. He turned to watch her face.

“Malfoy, I don’t know what to say,” she said.

“Can you say the same?” he asked stepping toward her.

She shook her head sadly.

“Then call me Draco”

“Ok, Draco. Please write me. You’ve meant a lot to me over this past year. I’d hate for us to lose all the ground we made up.”

“I could never settle on being just your friend, Granger”

“Oh!”

He reached out and trailed his finger down her shoulder to her hand. Their fingers linked and with a gently tug he pulled her to him. His other hand stroked from her temple down her cheek and across her jaw, and then he softly pressed his lips against hers.

“I’m sorry for ever thinking you weren’t good enough for me,” he whispered against her mouth, “You are a great deal too good for me. But one day, I'll prove to you that I can be a better person than they one you know”

She lifted her hands to his shoulders, and he deepened the kiss. Her hand slid up and into his hair. He groaned into her mouth.

“One last time, Granger,” he said between kisses as he started to move her back towards the bed.

“Oh, yes,” she moaned. Once they reached the bed, he hooked his arm around her waist and lifted her. He gently eased her back onto the bed, following her. He kissed her again, more deeply. His fingers run down her jumper and pulled it up a little, exposing the flesh of her stomach. He kissed down her jaw to her ear. He sucked her lobe into his mouth and then kissed down her neck to the hollow of her throat.

He slipped down the bed, and rained small kissed across her bare tummy, poking his tongue into her belly button. She giggled and slid her fingers back into his hair.

He shifted himself lower and staring up into her eyes playfully, he inched her pants down. Once they were removed he dropped them onto the floor, and rose up her body. He grabbed her jumper and pulled it up slowly, easing it over her head before tossing it to join her pants. He moved behind her, until she was lying back in his arms. He kissed her neck as eased the straps of her singlet top off her shoulder and then pressed his lips to them both. His hands slid down her sides until he reached the hem of the top, before he brought them back up, pulling the shirt with them. He reached around and cupped her breast, rolling the nipples between his thumbs and forefingers. She sighed as she pushed herself into his bare chest. He hissed at the contact of skin on skin and dipped his head to kiss her neck again. She turned her head so he could claim her mouth.

He slid on hard down her body, and inside her panties. She moaned and pushed her hips into his hand. The dipped on finger into her, finding that she was already wet for him. He ran his thumb over he clit and she gasped. The ran his bigger digit over it whilst he pushed two fingers into her passage. The other hand was still massaging her breast and teasing it’s pink peak. It didn’t take long for her to come apart in his arms. He eased her back on to the bed, and moved down the bed. He pulled her underwear down and cast it aside.

“Now, I want you now,” she said squirming underneath his touch.

He flopped onto the bed next to her, unzipping his pants before shimming out of them and his boxer shorts. He got up on his knees again and moved between her legs. He leant over her and as he entered her, he pressed his lips against her again. She groaned into his mouth as he began to move insider her. She hooked her ankles around his calf muscles and wrapped her arms around her shoulders.

She loved the way it felt to have his whole weight on her. He was so warm. He was shifting his hips a lot softer and slower than he used to, but she found that she was enjoying the feeling just the same. His tongue was busy sweeping it was along her gums and exploring the roof of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she felt the pressure building deep within her. She cried out his name, his first name with abandonment, and at the sound he felt joy.

He let his control go. He closed his eyes and just felt his way. Before too long she was trembling in his arms again, and he filled her with his come.

They drifted off to sleep in each others arms.

When she awoke the next day, he and his things were gone.

It was four weeks later, when she was violently ill at the party the Weasley’s threw for her, on account of her getting all O’s on her N.E.W.T.s, that she realized she was pregnant.