Driven

Disclaimer: I do not own the world of Harry Potter, but Blessings to JKR for creating it





Chapter 14: Revelations and False Rites of Passage





Hermione was tucked away in the restricted section, to which she had been given free reign along with her head girl badge. Her table was piled high with so many books that she couldn’t see over it, her cocoon completed by the mellow music streaming through her head phones.



The surface of the table, was littered with books and parchment, she had ink smudges on her forehead, chin and elbows, and was writing furiously. Jumping when she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up, with a glassy eyed expression reminiscent of a fifth year the week before O.W.L.s., Blaise and Draco were standing behind her, and Blaise gently removed her headphones.



“Mya, what are you doing? This seems a little excessive even for you,” Blaise asked gently.



“I’m getting as far ahead as possible, just in case….” She stood and walked to towards the window without finishing the thought, catching her reflection in a mirror she used the sleeve of her black jumper to scrub at the ink smudges on her face without making much progress. She sighed, knowing that lust alone had given her a reprieve from Draco's badgering the night before.



“In case what?” Draco demanded.



“Love….” Blaise warned putting his hand on Draco’s suddenly tense shoulder.



Draco shrugged his hand off, “In case what,” he growled.



“Draco, I’m not going to do this with you again. So please leave off! In fact why don’t you just stay the hell away from me until you can behave like an adult?” Hermione ranted. With a flick of her wrist the books on the table returned to their shelves and the parchment arranged itself into neat scrolls which she shoved into her bag before storming out.



Draco started to go after her but was restrained by Blaise, “leave her be. You’re making the whole thing worse. She deals with stress by throwing herself into her school work, even though we both know she could take NEWTs next week and blow us all out of the water. You know it’s not in her nature to hide.” Blaise studied Draco’s belligerent expression for a moment before adding, “Maybe you’d better sleep in your own room tonight tesoro, give her a breather.”



On that note Blaise left a gob smacked Draco standing alone in the middle of the library.

*********

Harry signed the note he had written to Ginny and placed it on the pillow beside her. He stared down at her, the sunlight streamed through the charmed window, her hair fanned out behind her looking for all the world like liquid fire.



He smiled and bent over brushing a kiss across her forehead, and lips careful not to wake her. They’d only gotten to sleep a couple of hours ago, but he had woken, unable to go back to sleep and unwilling to wake her back up for another go. She’d been boneless and exhausted when she’d succumbed to sleep in his arms.



He crept silently from the room stealing one last glance at her before closing the door behind him. He wrapped himself in his invisibility cloak and strode out of the castle, he was not in the mood to answer any questions that morning. Once he was outside the gates he disapparated with pop.



Ginny rolled over and reached for Harry only to meet with his empty pillow. She felt a scrap of parchment under her fingers and sighed. She glanced at the clock before rolling back over, realizing she’d slept half the day away.



Ginny,

I couldn’t bear to wake you after keeping you up most of the night. You look like a fairy goddess and I couldn’t get enough of you. I had to leave for training or Moody would have my arse. I think we’re both rather fond of my arse so I’ll keep it intact for now. Leaving you this morning is one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do (no really) but seeing my ring on your finger makes it a little more bearable.



I am going to try and slip away on your next Hogsmede weekend. I’ll send Hedwig when I know for sure so watch for her. How do you feel about turning the Shrieking Shack into the Moaning Shack?



I love you more than you’ll ever know,

Harry



She was laughing and crying at the same time as she pulled herself out of bed. The room of requirement had kindly folded her costume neatly and provided clothes and shoes for her to change into. She dressed quickly and left the room headed for the dorms to take a shower before sneaking down to the kitchens to try and find something to eat.



As she rounded the corner by the Gryffindor portrait hole she ran smack into Luna and Colin Creevy, his ever present camera draped around his neck. “Morning,” they all said simultaneously.



“Where’d you disappear to last night Ginny?” Luna asked with a wink.



Ginny felt heat rise into her face and she dropped her head forward, her hair falling in a curtain around her face. Luna looked down and noticed the ring on Ginny’s finger and grabbed her hand, “Is there something you’d like to tell us?”



Ginny looked up still blushing furiously, “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” She said cheekily before brushing past them down the corridor. She pressed her hand to her mouth to smother her giggles as she heard the pair humming the wedding march behind her.

*********



Ron sat on the cliffs in Dover, cigarette in one hand and bottle of fire whiskey in the other. Moody had business near Stonehenge and had left him to his own devices, with a very stern warning not to stir up trouble. Harry was due back today and they would resume training tomorrow.



As he stared out at the water he thought about the celebration he’d missed the night before. Harry had invited him to go along, but he hadn’t though he’d be all that welcome. He had to hand it to Harry; he was really trying to give him the benefit of the doubt even though he was still pissed about what he’d done to Hermione.



He admitted he’d overreacted but his blood still boiled at the thought of her with Malfoy, ‘Bloody ferret’ he thought to himself. He took a drag of his cigarette, ‘she’s too good for him’, he laughed at the though, rubbing his hand over his face careful not to burn himself, ‘she’s too good for me too.’



Ron flicked the ashes off the end of his cigarette as he drank from the bottle. If he kept this up he’d end up an alcoholic but he just couldn’t bring himself to care. He heard a pop behind him and turned to see Harry stride up beside him and sit on the cliff to his right.



“Morning, mate,” Harry said carefully. Ron couldn’t put his finger on it but there was definitely something going on with him.



“Morning,” Ron replied, “How was the ball?”



“Um, it was good mate. Uh, Ron, I need to tell you something and you may not like it.” Harry said quietly staring out at the horizon.



Ron didn’t think it was a good sign that Harry couldn’t look him in the eyes, “Out with it Harry,” Ron said taking a long draw on his cigarette, it was almost to the filter so he stubbed it out on the ground and pulled his pack from his back pocket.



“I proposed to Ginny last night. She accepted. I asked your father for permission last week, he said we were a bit young but under the circumstances he understood why I would want to do it now.” Harry said neutrally, he didn’t fancy having to hex Ron if he lost his temper.



Ron’s reaction caught him off guard, “whatever,” he said in a voice that held no emotion, “if that’s how you want to justify fucking my baby sister. If that will help you sleep at night,” Ron stood up looking at Harry with malice filled eyes; he cupped his hand over the lighter so he could light his cigarette. Putting his lighter back in his pocket and walked away.



Harry sat with his jaw in his lap. He was afraid that his best friend was well and truly gone, leaving a virtual stranger in his place. Harry stood and apparated to their B&B near Stonehenge, he was hoping to catch up on his sleep before they started training again the next day.



Ron drained the remainder of the bottle and smashed it on the ground, he disappeared with a pop headed for the pub to start on a new one.

*********************




Hermione flew through the halls intent on getting back to her room. She was in desperate need of a fag and a nice shot of Ogden's sounded pretty good too. Muttering the password she stepped through the portrait hole and dumped her bag on the sofa, grabbing her pack of cigarettes off the coffee table as she headed for the window seat.



She propped open the window, flicked her wrist to light the fire, and accio'd her blanket from the couch. Burrowing under the blanket, she lit her cigarette and inhaled deeply exhaling on a sigh. She dropped her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, trying hard not to dwell on Draco's behavior.



"He's only acting like an arse because he loves you and is scared shitless Cara Mia," Blaise said quietly. Hermione hadn't heard him come in. He inserted himself behind her by picking her up and placing her in his lap. He gently took her cigarette and inhaled before giving it back to her.



"I know," she sighed, "but it's draining. I've got enough to worry about without having to placate my fully grown boyfriend. It's done, decided, I'm going and that's the end of it. Sometimes I just want to shake him. I've had to settle for throwing things at the walls.” She smirked, “because I know he'd have no qualms about taking me over his knee if I ever hit him again," she finished, leaning her head back on his shoulder and taking another drag.



"You'd probably enjoy that too much Mya." Blaise teased her, plucking the cigarette from her fingers again.



"Mmm. Probably, who knows?" Hermione replied.



In a flash he'd flipped her over his knee, "Shall we find out Cara?"



Squealing she tried in vain to get off of his lap, "Blaise!" She wailed.



He flipped her once more so that she was straddling him on the window seat. He pushed her disheveled hair off of her flushed face and kissed her forehead. "Sorry, love I got carried away."



Shaking her head she bent down and kissed him gently, "Don't apologize." She kissed him again passionately, when she pulled back they where both breathing hard. "Gods I've missed you Blaise," she whispered leaning her forehead against his, "I can't talk to Draco, it's like talking to a beautiful blond wall."



"I understand. He's always been that way when he gets his mind set on something." Blaise agreed.



Hermione was fiddling with the buttons on his shirt, and he leaned in and sucked her earlobe into his mouth causing her to gasp. He stood up wrapped her legs around his waist and headed for his as yet unused room, kicking the door closed behind them and setting her on her feet.



She finished with his buttons and pushed his shirt off of his shoulders. She hadn't noticed his weight loss the night before and she frowned, running her thumbs down his now visible ribs. She bent her head and kissed her way up his rib cage before taking his nipple into her mouth.



Blaise growled and gripped her hair pulling her head up so he could capture her mouth. He pulled her jumper off and pressed her back onto the bed, reaching for the clasp of her jeans and yanking them off along with her knickers. Kneeling beside the bed he pulled her legs up over her shoulders and buried his face between her legs.



Hermione bucked up off the bed, moaning at the onslaught of sensations. She ran her fingers through his hair, wanting to yank on it but worried about hurting him. As if he sensed her dilemma he looked up at her and grinned, his expression said 'I dare you'. She gently gripped his hair in her fists, pulling tight and crying out when he suddenly sucked her clit into his mouth. As she was coming back down he stood and shucked his trousers and shorts, pushing her further up the bed he crawled up after her and rested his elbows on either side of her head, lowering his mouth to hers as he slid home.



He held perfectly still as he kissed her, he was buried in heaven and in no hurry. Hermione obviously had other plans though, he thought to himself as her hips bucked up into his. "Calm down love, we have all afternoon, all night even," Blaise murmured in her ear, as he gripped her hips and tried to slow her frantic movements down.



She shoved at his hands and nipped at his collarbone almost desperately, "you were lying there in that hospital bed, so pale. And, we didn't know if we were ever going to get you back."



Blaise gasped when he realized that tears were streaming down her cheeks, she was grabbing at him as if he might vanish before her eyes. He rolled them onto their sides without disconnecting from her and wrapped her more securely in his arms, "Shh love, I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere," he crooned. He started moving again as she quieted, realizing that she needed this for reasons other than simple randiness.



Hermione buried her face in his neck and held on tight as he made love to her with such care and tenderness that she fought another wave of tears. It felt as if they had been rocking for hours before she felt her orgasm building. It wasn't the fireworks that she was used to but a wave that washed over her and forced the unshed tears from her eyes. She felt Blaise shudder against her and looked up to see that he too had tears in his eyes, "love you," she murmured. "Love you too, Cara Mia" Blaise replied.

*********



Blaise woke to an empty bed and the sounds of retching coming from the bathroom that separated his and Hermione's rooms. He jumped out of the bed and ran to the door which was locked from the inside. He flicked his wrist and wandlessly opened the door.



He dropped to his knees beside Hermione and took over the job of holding her hair back, “Mya, what’s wrong love.” The way she looked at him led him to believe she really didn’t want to explain, and then she tensed again and leaned back over the toilet. Realizing she hadn’t eaten that day he wondered how there was anything for her to puke up in the first place.



When she appeared to be over the worst of it she flushed the toilet and he helped her to her feet so she could rinse her mouth out, then scooped her up into his arms and brought her back to bed, “Please tell me love. Do you need to go see Pomphrey and get a potion?”



A choked laugh escaped her and she slapped her hand over her mouth, “Maybe if I’d gone to see Pomphrey and gotten a potion I wouldn’t be in this mess.”



It took Blaise a couple of minutes to catch on and then his eyes went wide with shock, “Merlin, Mya. How? When? Which one of us?” He babbled.



“First of all you know how. Secondly, I believe it was the night before you left and no one used a charm. Lastly, I’ve no idea, and I’d almost rather not know. I love you both.” Hermione explained.



“Does Draco know yet?” Blaise asked wearily.



“Are you mad? If I tell him now he’ll lock me away and I’ll not see the light of day again till after the war. No he can’t know until I get back. You have no idea what he’s been like while you’ve been gone. Overprotective would be putting it lightly. Up my arse 24/7 would be more accurate.” She scoffed.



“Well who does know then,” he asked.



“Pomphrey, McGonagall, Ginny, Lucius, and Severus; Lucius agreed with me about not telling Draco. I thought that he and Severus should know because they’re taking me….” Hermione left that thought unfinished and looked away.



“Love, I’m not going to lie to you, the thought of you doing this fucking terrifies me. And you being pregnant doesn’t help, but I won’t try and stop you. I trust you Mya, I know you wouldn’t be doing this unless you had though it through from every possible angle. Remember, I wasn’t willing to go into hiding either.” Blaise said tipping her chin up so that she was looking at him.

*********************************



One week later…..





Hermione gritted her teeth against the pain; she refused to give the bastard the satisfaction of hearing her scream. She almost couldn’t believe that he had bought it. Her Occlumency lessons had paid off big time. She’d been able to lock everything that could get her killed away in a dark corner of her mind and keep it safe.



She wasn’t sure what hurt worse, his probing of her mind or taking the mark, though she was starting to feel a bit light headed so she decided that the mark won. She knew it wasn’t over he was sure to have something humiliating in store for her to complete her initiation.



When the pain receded to a dull burning sensation she slowly looked up as if to say “what’s next?” A cloaked and masked Death Eater stepped out of the shadows, and something about his stance made her shudder inside, ‘this is going to be bad’, she thought.



As he advanced on her she used what she had been taught while preparing for this mission. She separated herself from what was going on around her. She pictured herself with Blaise and Draco in their London flat, sitting on the floor around the coffee table, drinking fire whiskey and playing Exploding Snap till the wee hours of dawn, before falling into bed and making love until noon.



When she became aware of her surroundings again she was lying naked on the cold stone floor and Snape was wrapping her in a blanket and scooping her up in his arms. His expression was unreadable but his eyes were sad. “Well done Miss. Granger,” he said quietly. He walked out of the chamber she saw Lucius standing in the foyer; she figured she must really look bad because his eyes got really wide.



Hermione tried to smile reassuringly at him but she was so numb, she could barely lift one corner of her mouth. They walked down the crumbling steps of the decrepit castle and into the forest before apparating to Hogsmede. Hermione noticed that Professor McGonagall and Mme. Pomphrey were waiting for them before she drifted off again.



When she woke up again she immediately realized she was going to be sick and rolled with great difficulty onto her side to avoid choking. Mme. Pomphrey rushed over to her with a bucket and made it just in time. She held her hair and rubbed her back soothingly. As soon as she was able Hermione looked up at her, “the baby?” she asked.



“Is fine my dear.” Poppy replied.



Hermione sank back against the pillows, everything hurt. She felt much worse than when Ron had slammed her up against that wall if that was possible. She was starting to remember snatches of what had happened. Emotions warred within her, anger was predominant but revulsion and embarrassment weren’t far behind.



“Mr. Zabini is outside with a very agitated Mr. Malfoy, physically preventing him from getting in here until I give them the okay. Should I let them in?” Poppy asked.



Hermione, curled herself into the fetal position and whispered, “I don’t want to see them.”



“I expect they know more than you do, as I hear you were pretty out of it. Severus and Lucius debriefed them along with myself and McGonagall as soon as we got you stable and settled in for the night. You are pretty beat up, but they’ve been prepared for that.” She replied not having heard Hermione’s response.



Hermione sat up, grabbed the first thing she came into contact with on the bedside table, which happened to be a water glass, and threw it across the room, “I don’t fucking want to see them,” she yelled, “in fact I’m leaving right now.” She threw the covers back and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Her knees buckled the moment her feet touched the floor and she was caught by Blaise and Draco who had stormed into the room when they heard the glass break.



“You are not going anywhere Hermione,” Draco said in a low even tone that lead her to believe he meant business and would restrain her if she tried to leave the infirmary one moment before she was released.



She didn’t care for his tone of voice at all and with a flick of her wrist Draco flew across the room and landed on another bed. She didn’t want to hurt him [much] but she did want to send him a message. Blaise backed away with a look from her and she again set her feet on the floor, using the bed to balance herself while she waited for the wave of dizziness to pass.



Grabbing the robe that was draped across the end of the bed and slipping her feet into her slippers she slowly made her way out of the infirmary. She just couldn’t manage the storming gait that she desired.



Draco had hopped off the bed and crossed the room in record time, the glint in his eyes told Blaise that he was more than pissed off. Blaise stopped him at the door, “Draco, before you go ape-shit on her there’s something you need to know.”



Draco turned his head to face him with a look that said ‘get on with it then’. Blaise swallowed, and closed his eyes for a moment, “Hermione’s pregnant,” he said opening his eyes and looking directly into Draco’s. Something unreadable flashed behind Draco’s silver eyes before pissed off settled firmly back into place.

***********



Hermione slammed the door to her room and barricaded it with every ward she knew. She went into the bathroom and warded the door to Blaise’s room too, she was going to be sick again and she didn’t want to be caught off guard. She slumped over the toiled and emptied the nonexistent contents of her stomach into the bowl.



Crawling to the sink she used it to drag herself up and rinsed her mouth out. Her shoulder blade was itching fiercely and she stripped of her robe and nightgown, turning around she looked over her shoulder to see the bandage which she then peeled off.



‘Cute,” she thought, His Sliminess had decided to be creative with her mark and she now had a tattoo of a snake coiled into a pentagram over her left shoulder blade. It started to sting as the cold air wafted over it and she grabbed her wand hoping to numb the pain with a charm.



Hermione jumped as the pounding on the door began, shaking it on its hinges. “Hermione, you let me in there this instant,” Draco demanded at the top of his lungs. She heard various charms and curses flung at the door and knew it was only a matter of time before he broke through her wards.



With a whisper she dropped the wards and he stumble through the bathroom door, Blaise hot on his heels. They both came to a halt when they saw her standing there in nothing but her knickers, bruises covered her body standing out in harsh contrast to her pale skin. The mark had scabbed over on her shoulder.



Hermione turned to them, arms wrapped protectively around her chest, in a poor attempt to preserve some sense of modesty. Her eyes were brimming with tears which spilled over as she dropped to her knees and hung her head sobbing.

*****************************



A/N: So there it is. Sorry this has taken me so long but I am severely internet limited right now and my office is going through mass re-organization so I have been fairly exhausted in the evenings. Please let me know what you think, I value emails and reviews; they often help me move forward. Isa, Love thank you so much for your love and support, your suggestion really helped me get through this chapter!