Lust, War and... Love?

Sounds of Draco’s steps bounced off the vaulted ceilings as he descended the stairs to the kitchens. His desire was growing in anticipation of Hermione’s warm body. He was going to get straight to business before Granger would have time to start rehashing her issues. She was so much prettier when he kept her busy shagging and didn’t let her talk too much.

The corridors grew darker. He was entering the parts of the castle travelled exclusively by house-elves and ghosts. They never cared about the lack of proper lighting. Suddenly, a figure detached itself from the wall and stood in his way. Draco halted in his tracks.

“I knew it!” Pansy’s shrill voice pierced Draco’s ears. “You’re sneaking off here again!”

“So?” Draco was on the verge of punching her in the face but he restrained himself.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m going for a bite,” he scoffed. “No one has prohibited the students from visiting the kitchens yet.”

“I know what kind of snack you’re having here!” Pansy advanced at him. Draco could see her mouth twitching in the dim light. “I think I’ve just seen the girl you’re noshing with.” She laughed mirthlessly.

“Oh? What’s her name, Pansy?” Draco planted his hands on her bosom. “Merlin, you’re so soft and sweet. Say hello for me to that girl if you see her, okay?”

Pansy paused, apparently taken aback a little. Draco squeezed her breasts lightly, then ran his hands down her sides. “You’re beautiful in this light, Pansy. Your eyes, your lips…” he drawled on, praying that she wouldn’t pounce on him and force him into lovemaking.

“Ahem…” Pansy’s brain was apparently busy processing her fiancé’s response. Then, without as much as a word she pressed herself against him and her lips reached for his.

“I love you with all my heart, Pansy. You’re my only one…” Draco whispered huskily and planted a guarded kiss on her lips. It was very much like hypnotizing a cobra with gentle sounds of a fakir‘s flute.

Pansy’s lips and tongue splayed all over his mouth, which almost made him cringe. His fiancée was never too sophisticated at snogging. Worse even, he felt her hand creeping under his robes. He had to do something before the torrid visions of Granger overwhelmed him.

“I’m starving, sweetie…” Draco caught her wandering hand and brought it to his face, effectively disengaging his mouth from Pansy’s. His lips touching the back of her palm, he murmured, “What kind of muffins do you want me to get from the kitchens, Pansy? Cinnamon or blueberry?” He was certain he looked like a mushy hero from soppy romance novels. The kind of books that he had noticed in some girls’ hands, including Pansy’s. But it worked. His fiancee’s hand relaxed considerably, and he was able to detach himself from her eager body.

“Let’s go and get the muffins. Then back to the Common Room, okay?” He walked around her towards the kitchens.

She caught his arm. “Let’s cuddle somewhere in here, Draco…”

“I’m not freezing myself to death here!” Draco raised his voice a little. Pansy got the hint and scurried after him.

******

Hermione was sitting on a chair she had conjured from a part of the desk wreckage and leafing through The Magical Joys of Kama Sutra distractedly. Two muffins were set on the former desktop. Cinnamon and apple muffins, the kind that Malfoy liked. It was her favourite too, something on which both of them agreed. Not that there were many things that they were in accord on.

She mulled over her conversation with Ginny. The wizarding world was still largely foreign to her, no matter how many books she read about it. At the same time, Hermione was an oddity in her parents’ Muggle universe. Many Muggleborn students still preserved their ties to their non-wizarding origins. Muggle siblings, friends, and even plans to return to the Muggle sphere after Hogwarts. Hermione had none of that. Worse even, she frequently was bored with the Muggleborns because they were much less versed in all things magical than her. Hermione loved magic, and her inquisitive mind rejoiced in discovering new realms of it. It was very much of a solitary pleasure for her, because she often was awkward with the students of wizard ancestry, who absorbed the magical lore from the early age. Her Muggle notions and lack of ingrained sense of wizarding subtleties kept getting in her way all the time. Where did she belong, after all? Where ought she go after graduating from Hogwarts?

Hermione sought her refuge from the tormenting questions in her closest friends. She was much more at ease with Harry because he was on par with her talent wise. He came from the Muggle world too, but wasn’t too attached to it either. She cleaved to the Weasleys because the old wizarding family accepted her wholeheartedly and didn’t mind her Muggle differences.

Draco Malfoy… He was her closest glimpse of something that was apparently considered as one of the most powerful pureblood Houses. Hermione detested the Malfoys’ depraved morals but she also was drawn to the great magical lore they purportedly possessed and which was beyond reach for many ordinary wizards and witches. Hermione and Draco both were competitive and kept watch on each other’s successes and failures from their first year at Hogwarts. It was one of her innermost secrets, not known even to her best friends. Unlike Harry or Ron, she did not want to fight Malfoy. She longed to excel over him, to prove herself by being a superior magician, and to make him and other purebloods accept her as an equal or even more than that. Was such a thing ever possible?

Hermione glanced at her watch. Malfoy was running very late. Irked, she pulled out the enchanted parchment and shot off a note. Where are you? HG.

An eternity had passed but no answer arrived from the wretched Malfoy whatsoever. Hermione was now seething with anger. It was almost dinnertime. He stood her up, and her plans for the evening bombed. Hermione devoured a muffin. She picked up the other one and glared at it, as if it was Malfoy himself. Her anguish choked her, she swung her arm and hurled the pastry at a wall. It splattered over the stones and a few cinnamon-scented shreds ricocheted at her. She flung her bag over her shoulder and stomped out of the dungeon chamber.

The moment Hermione filled her plate at dinner, her enchanted parchment went off in her pocket. Hermione had charmed it to produce a sort of a mental alarm, which came on in the recipient’s mind without any outwardly noticeable effects like noise or light. Cautiously, she eyed the note under the table:

Granger,
Couldn’t make it there. Let’s meet in the far end of the third floor corridor after dinner ASAP.
DM

When she lifted her eyes, the first thing she saw was Malfoy strolling up to the Slytherin table with Parkinson draped over his arm. Now it was clear. Draco opted to frolic with his fiancée in lieu of her. The last thing Hermione wanted to do was to be at Malfoy’s beck and call. Mad with fury, she blindly pointed her wand at her parchment under the table and hissed her reply into her plate with corned beef and mashed potatoes.

DM,
I’m busy after dinner. See you at 8:30 pm in the Room of Requirement.
I hate you!

******

The Gryffindor Common Room was crowded, and the noise annoyed Hermione no end. Harry and Ron were absorbed in a game of Exploding Snap with Seamus, leaving Hermione to her books and parchments. Lavender and Parvati hovered near the boys, watching them play and giggling.

How could she be so stupid? If not for her hasty answer in the heat of the moment, Hermione could have had her fix with Malfoy and still made her patrol with Ron tonight. She absolutely had to ruin her plans with her own hands…

“So…” Ron came up to the table and poked around Hermione’s parchments. “What’s about the patrol?”

“You’re doing it with Thornton,” Hermione mumbled. “I’m sorry… It didn’t work out. Maybe next time?”

Ron did not look too happy. He fiddled with Hermione’s parchments again. Then he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked on his heels back and forth. “Aren’t you crazy to study all day long, Hermione?”

“I’m not crazy, Ron!” Hermione was losing her temper again. From the corner of her eye she saw Lavender strolling across the room and placing herself in Ron’s sight. Hermione glanced at him: his head turned in Lavender’s direction.

“I think I need to check something in the library,” Hermione muttered and stood up. “Ron, could you help me find that book on Advanced Charms there?” She tugged on his sleeve. The same minute she had to make an effort to block a Malfoy visage out of her mind.

“Don’t you have it in your pile right here?” He pointed his finger at her books.

“No, not this one,” Hermione almost pleaded. “The other one - you remember.”

Ron shot an odd look at her, shrugged, strode back to the chairs by the fireplace and joined Harry with Seamus there.

It was only half-past seven, but Hermione couldn’t bear it anymore. She desperately needed to be alone right now. Hermione stuffed everything in her book bag and climbed out of the portrait hole.

The cosily appointed Room of Requirement was an welcome respite - at least until Malfoy made his appearance. Hermione hoped he’d be late. She did not want him to think that she was so eager for the date to come early. She settled in one of the green velvet chairs, unloaded her books on the table but didn’t feel like reading anything. Instead, she sank into her thoughts.

******

Draco bounded up the stairs before Pansy changed her mind and chased him all the way from the library to the seventh floor. Although it was only quarter to eight, Draco was very much ready to retire from the turmoil of this world. He craved solitude to get his wits together and figure out how to proceed with Granger before she arrived. Her looks in the Great Hall were far from friendly.

The first thing that came into his sight upon entering the Room of Requirement, was Granger curled up in a chair, her eyes half closed and her fingers twisting the folds of her robes. Draco swallowed hard, not sure what to make out of this. Was she preparing to pull some sort of a trick on him for missing the date? He coughed.

Hermione gave a start and her eyes shot up straight at Draco. The Slytherin’s physiognomy was the last thing she wanted to see at the moment. It was still before eight in the evening. What a pathetic day it had been for her... Everything that could, went awry indeed.

“How nice - you’re early, Malfoy!” Her tone wasn’t just cold. It was Arctic. Draco conjured his best smirk and resolved to let her do all the talking. In the meantime he could try to decide what to do with her.

“So…” Hermione straightened up and crossed her arms on her chest. “What was so important that you couldn’t make it?”

Draco drew a breath, strolled to the table and dropped his bag near it. “Pansy ambushed me in the dungeons. She suspected I was dating someone there.”

“Should I believe it?” Hermione snorted. “Of course, she’s your fiancée!”

“Here.” Draco waved his wand and summoned his Mum’s letter. He dangled the page with her comments on his infidelity in front of Granger’s eyes. “Did you ever notice Pansy hanging around the kitchens?”

“No. Nothing of that kind.” Hermione’s face became slightly worried. Her voice softened a bit, “Does Pansy know it’s me?”

“She didn’t tell me the name. I had to appease her so she’d let me off after the dinner.”

“Poor pureblood wizard!” Hermione said sarcastically. “Your family picked a fiancée for you, and you ended up cooking Heorte Lustbaere to help yourself!”

“Can’t you stop rubbing the potion thing in my face?” Draco snarled and plunked in the other chair.

“Well, just think of it, Malfoy. Isn’t it ridiculous?” Hermione snickered. “You purebloods are all bound by your clans and your family magic codes, right? All sorts of binding contracts like your engagement!”

“That’s none of your business, Mu -Muggleborn!” Draco got up and took his robes off. He was too tired for a full-blown verbal duel.

“As a Muggleborn, I’ve got lots more freedom than you.” Hermione kicked her shoes off. “I can live in the wizarding world or choose to go back to my Muggle life, for example!” In reality, she felt more like being trapped in her situation, but Malfoy didn’t need to know it. “What’s going to happen to you now that you’ve breached your engagement?”

“I don’t know, really.” Draco sunk back in the chair and watched Granger pull off her dark grey tights. Her calves were smooth and he wanted to touch them. “I hope nothing too bad.”

Hermione hesitated for a few seconds. “Was your contract sealed by blood?”

“No. Father only pronounced a couple of incantations. We signed the parchments and then kissed.”

“I don’t think anything is going to happen to you,” Hermione declared.

“Why so?” Draco looked at her curiously.

“Well, the blood magic is the strongest, and it overrides all other contracts not sealed by blood. Except the Unbreakable Vow, I think. I’ve been reading a bit on the love magic today.” Hermione rested her head against the chair back. “Evidently, Heorte Lustbaere cancelled your engagement because you put your blood in the potion.”

“Good, I don’t have to worry then,” Draco prodded his bag with his foot. He hoped Granger was right about it. “Were all those books on the love magic that you read in the library today?”

“Most of them. Heorte Lustbaere seems to be such a wicked thing. In every case I came across, it always was the wrong person who drank it. Like Tristan and Isolde.”

“Tristan and who?” Draco leaned towards Granger.

“Isolde. She was betrothed to marry King Mark of Scotland. He sent a ship with an envoy to her place in Ireland, and his nephew, Tristan, was on it too. Isolde took the lust potion for King Mark to have it on the day of her wedding. But Tristan ended up drinking it accidentally before they arrived to Scotland.”

“I bet she liked the young bloke better than the old king,” Draco scoffed.

“Did you know that Queen Osburga was a victim of Heorte Lustbaere too?” Hermione began unbuttoning her robes.

“How?” Draco’s eyes followed the movements of Granger’s thin fingers.

“Osburga was getting old and King Aethewulf was losing interest in her. She made the potion with her husband’s blood in it. But another woman drank it by mistake. Judith of Flanders, a Muggle princess who was visiting their castle at the time. The king cast Osburga away and married Judith. There are a few more cases like this in the books.”

“That Osburga, who wrote the Treatise?” muttered Draco. Granger was probably correct that the potion was rather odd. “Snape said something about Heorte Lustbaere having a mind of its own.”

“Did he?” Hermione’s deep brown eyes peered into his face. “That’s interesting… What were you thinking about when you brewed the potion? I mean any specific person, maybe?”

“I don‘t remember… I was very hungry because I missed the dinner to make the brew.”

“That’s really strange. Are you sure you didn’t think of me at the moment? Not romantically but maybe like a passing thought?”

“I don’t recall anything in that kind, Granger.” Draco pondered a little. “Maybe it just gravitated to the first girl who happened to be walking by? I told Crabbe and Goyle to take it to the dungeons after I brewed it in the Room of Requirement. They poured it into you the minute they left the Room!”

“Well, the books say that the blood component in potions can add a so-called “pull” element. It directs the magic in a certain way in some situations. You weren’t horny that night?”

“Not that I remember. How about you?” Draco smirked at her. “Who were you thinking about that night?”

“Definitely not about you,” Hermione chortled. “Sorry to disappoint you, Malfoy.”

“Were you dreaming of shagging someone, Granger? Just any bloke?” Draco grinned.

“Of course not. It’s boys who are obsessed with sex, not girls!” Hermione got up to take her skirt off. “I’m going to search for more information on the potion. By the way, thanks for the book. It was fun to read, actually.” She pushed The Magical Joys of Kama Sutra on the table towards Malfoy.

“So what’s the choice for today, Granger?” Draco flashed a wide grin at her again. He got to his feet and unbuckled his belt.

“Let’s just do it easy. I’m exhausted tonight.”

“Me too.” Draco was glad that Hermione wasn’t in a state of war anymore.

They got under the covers, and Draco’s lips were on Hermione’s instantly. She teased him with her tongue. Malfoy or not, she could frivol a bit with him. They already perfected their snogging over the past two weeks. Hermione savoured the sensation of the tip of his tongue caressing the insides of her lips. Then she reached with her tongue to catch his, the way he had told her he liked. Their tongues danced together, and she closed her eyes. His warm arms draped over her torso. Hermione felt so lazy in his embrace.

Draco pulled away from her sensuous lips and threw the duvet off her body. His mouth travelled down to her soft round nipple. When he licked it, he felt it harden and it turned him on more. He sank his face into her warm bosom, and then he nibbled and tugged at her tits. Hermione’s petite hands stroked his shoulders and back languidly, and it felt so good to him to go at it slowly. The feminine scent of her skin enveloped him. His erection was lodged between her thighs. She squeezed it lightly between her legs. Merlin, she could be such a sweet tease to his senses…

Hermione watched his blond head nestled in her breasts. Her body was dissolving in his fondling. He was so mellow this time, and it was heavenly. His back felt smooth under her palms. She trailed her fingers through his hair. He groaned slightly, then bit her nipple. The sharp sensation made her body arch a little, and another bite followed immediately, making her emit small moans too. She slid her hands down his chest and flicked his nipples hard with her fingernails, and he attacked her tits in return. They played back and forth, their bodies getting more aroused. Hermione felt his cock getting stiff between her thighs but she was still a little too lazy to make the move. His tip poked at her mound, and Hermione parted her legs a bit to let him deeper between them. He was not in a hurry either, and she delighted in their languorous foreplay.

Draco soaked up her deft caresses, and now he ached to sink into her completely. He rolled on top of her. She wiggled to pull out from under him. Draco gave her a questioning look, then remembered that it wasn’t her favourite position. He breathed in the vanilla-like scent of her hair, not sure in his mental haze what to do. He craved to mould into her warm body, to sink into her and to feel all of her under him. He stared into her face again and she smiled at him beguilingly. Then Hermione placed her palms on his chest, and pushed him up gently, rubbing his nipples at the same time and giving him a new surge of pleasure. He hovered on his arms over her and watched her put pillows under her round loins. The care with which she positioned her body captivated him, and he relished her unhurried deliberation.

Hermione watched his eyes follow her movements. His fascinated gaze enthralled her. Being open to him aroused her so much now. She swivelled her hips mischievously and brushed her mound over his hard tip. He growled and thrust his member at her. Hermione flung her arms around his shoulders as he found her eager cunt and slid into it, half kneeling, half lying on top of her.

Hermione ground herself into him and locked her legs around him, her heels rubbing his buttocks. Draco answered fervently, pumping into her hot, moist flesh. Nothing else existed for them both at his moment, only their lusty bodies, their roaming hands and their hungry lips. He pressed his head against her cheek and his thrusts grew rougher. Hermione inhaled the scent of his skin and hair, slightly sweaty and salty. She moaned when her tender nub rubbed against his skin, and pushed herself further onto him. More, more, harder, harder! A wave swirled through her body and her loins bucked, her cunt clamping around him.

Draco jerked his head up as her convulsions sent tremors through his insides. Her hand pulled him down on her face and her lips found his mouth. Then her slender shoulders shook, imprisoned in his hands, as he shouted her name and spilled himself inside her.

He lay with his eyes closed and his arm around her waist. Hermione pulled the duvet over them. Her body felt so light and relaxed. Perspiration glistened on Draco’s forehead in the soft candlelight, and she gently wiped it off with her fingers. He pressed her closer to him. Hermione let out a small chuckle.

“Let’s skip Hogsmeade next weekend, ” Draco whispered into her soft hair.

“What for?” Hermione lifted her head.

“I’ve got that detention with McGonagall. C’mon, think of it, Hermione.” Draco looked into her brown eyes. “Everyone would be gone from the castle, and we could have a good shag.”

“But you’d have to do your detention still,” Hermione said incredulously.

“It’s just a couple of hours, and then we could do whatever we wish.” How he wanted to keep her away from Katz…

“I am not skipping my Hogsmeade trip only because you neglected your Transfiguration homework!” Hermione was getting a little cross. “Why didn’t you do it?”

“I don’t know,” muttered Draco. “Well, I started on the essays but I didn’t finish them. I got them done today. The book on the Cross-Species Transformation wasn’t in the library anyway, and I had to do without it.”

“I could loan you the book - I got it a good while ago.”

“Could you look at my essay then?”

“Do you have it now?” Hermione propped herself on the pillows.

Draco reached for his wand, and in a second the parchment landed on the duvet. He pressed his cheek against Hermione’s warm side, his arm draped over her stomach, as she began reading his essay.

“Ditch the trip, Hermione. Think what fun we could have in the castle when everyone is gone.” He put a little whine in his voice, hoping to soften her up. “I’m going to miss you, honestly.”

“I’m not going to give up my life with my friends!” Hermione said firmly, her eyes still on his homework. “This paragraph about the manticores isn’t relevant to the topic at all.”

“Delete it then. My essay is already half a foot longer than McGonagall asked for.” He snuggled against her. Being in a cosy bed with Granger was so good. The nude Granger looking over his homework was even better. If only he could persuade her to stay at Hogwarts next Saturday… “The weather’s going to be nasty next weekend. Rain and wind for sure.”

“The rest of your essay is all right.” Hermione waved her wand at Malfoy’s parchment. “And please stop nagging me about the Hogsmeade trip, Draco. I already missed my patrol with Ron because of your troubles with Pansy today!”

“Since when do you have patrols with Weasley?” Draco didn’t like the news.

“He’s having a hard time patrolling with a Slytherin. I was going to swap with Thornton.”

“Weasley is a dumb nitwit. Thornton is really pretty.” Draco was glad he made Granger scrap her plans with Weasel.

“If to listen to you, everyone’s stupid in this castle. Only you’re smart,” Hermione retorted. She directed Draco’s parchment to his open bag and slipped back under the covers. “Did you do your DADA essay for Monday?”

“Almost.” Draco yawned. “And you?”

“I wrote it, but I’m at loss what exactly Snape wants from us in it. He never approves of my homework.”

“Let me look.” Her parchment landed on his face and slid down the duvet. He caught it before it fell to the floor. “You took everything from the standard textbooks, Hermione.”

“What else are we supposed to do?” Hermione pressed his cheek against his shoulder to peek at her homework.

“If you want to impress Snape, go beyond the textbooks. He likes creativity. Think outside of the box.”

“What kind of books should I use?”

“Here.” Draco waved his wand and two books plunked on the bed. “Those are from the Manor. Did you know we got one of the best private libraries in Britain?”

“You never miss a chance to brag, Malfoy.” Hermione leafed through one of the volumes. “You know, half of it looks like a Dark Magic…”

“And you never miss a chance to get at me. For Snape the darker the better. He’s that type of a wizard.” Draco yawned again.

“Well, thanks a lot.” Hermione sent the books to her bag and covered her big yawn with her hand. “I guess I’d go back to the dorm.”

“Let’s sleep here. Do you really want to bump into Weasley on patrol?”

Hermione gazed into his drowsy grey eyes. She didn’t feel like climbing out of the warm bed. To be honest, she expected it. Hermione summoned her alarm clock from the bag and set it for six in the morning. No one would be out in the corridors that early on Sunday. She settled back under the covers and let Malfoy snuggle against her.

“Skip Hogsmeade next Saturday, Hermione…” His voice drifted into her ear. She ignored him and closed her eyes.

Draco raised his head and studied her fragile features. A thought of Katz made his heart sink again. He absolutely must coax her to stay at Hogwarts. He‘d give it a try again tomorrow. Draco whispered a couple of incantations. The candles went out, and the curtains closed around the bed.