Unrequited

Dear Readers,

I wanted the Harry bit to be sort of unexpected. Hermione is beginning to learn that people have hidden depths and that still waters run deep, so to speak. Harry has always, imho, been one to sort of play his feelings rather close to the chest. Unless, of course, he feels that someone or something close to him is being threatened or in some sort of peril. What with Draco confessing his rather squishy feelings toward her, Hermione\'s discovering that all is not as it appears on the surface. So, who will take off their mask next? (sounds like a silly dime novel) Maybe it\'ll be Hermione? Hmm? Read on to find out.
***********

When I woke up the fire had burned itself down to embers and the torches were the only light source in the room. It was chilly and so I got up to stoke the ashes. It was the first time I\'d noticed the carpeting on the floor. I was glad that it was soft, since I nearly got shagged on it. In my opinion, rugburn is not a comfortable feeling. I took the poker of off its hook and stirred the fire, watching it crackle and begin a slow burn. As it leapt into life, I heard a low wolf whistle behind me.

\"God, Draco. You\'ve got the nicest arse I\'ve ever seen.\"

I grinned and turned to face my bride of a few hours. I saw the look of lazy speculation on her face. \"Do I now?\"

\"Careful.\" She warned, knowing full well that I was fishing for complements. \"Your vanity is showing.\"

\"Along with other things.\"

\"You, my dear Draco, are very naughty.\"

\"Hmmm.\" I walked over to the bed and climbed in. I pulled the covers over both of us and we settled into the crisp cotton sheets. I watched her curl onto her side, hands tucked under her chin. I knew, looking into those serious brown eyes that wantwanted to talk. I took the same position, facing her. \"Alright, Granger, spit it out.\"

She smiled a bit at my use of her surname. \"I was just thinking about all of this.\"

\"And?\"

\"Well, I mean, I was thinking about how truly dissimilar we are.\"

\"Are we?\" I quirked an eyebrow.

\"Duh, Draco.\" That crisp middle-class accent deriding me was amusing and maddening all at once. She threw back the covers and got out of bed. I watched her nicely rounded bum sashay towards a wardrobe and open the doors. To my surprise, there was a full array of nightclothes for the both of us. Pajamas and robes for the both of us, racier things for Hermione.

She pulled out a black silk robe and belted it around her body. Strangely, that turned me on even more. She began to pace the room, gathering her thoughts.

\"If you\'re going to wear a hole in this excellent carpet, I suggest you have a very good argument to go along with it.\" She shot me a dirty look and I only smiled in return.

\"I was thinking, Draco. I was trying to figure out how in the world we\'re going to make this work.\" Her hair swung out behind her, so furiously was she walking. \"We haven\'t anything in common at all. Our backgrounds are different, we have totally different interests.\" She paused. \"You don\'t like my friends, I truly loathe your friends.\"

\"I think dislike is something of an understatement.\"

\"Don\'t make jokes.\" She glared at me. \"I really mean it, Draco. How are we supposed to get along? I know it\'s only for a year, but still...that\'s a long time.\"

I sat up under the covers. \"Hermione, I think you are under the false impression that we really are that dissimilar.\"

\"We are. You can\'t get more opposite than the Prince of Slytherin and the Queen of Mudbloods.\"

\"At least I had the good sense to marry a royal.\"

\"Not funny, Draco.\"

\"And by the by, don\'t ever call yourself that again.\" I kept my tone mild.

\"Why not? You did.\" She gave me a mutinous look.

\"Well, I was stupid then, ok? Besides, you\'re a Malfoy now, or have you forgotten?\"

\"No, I hadn\'t forgotten. It\'s very hard for me to escape thinking about it.\" She sounded very sour and bitter about it.

\"Look,\" I got up from the bed to stand in front of her. \"We\'ll figure it out. And if we can\'t stand each other,'s o's only temporary. Don\'t forget that.\"

\"You\'re right. It\'s just that I\'ve never lived with anyone besides my parents. We need to figure out living arrangements...things like that. I don\'t know if I can even deal with another person in my space.\"

\"Merlin, Hermione. If you can\'t stick it out a year you\'re more gutless than I thought.\"

\"I am *not* gutless,\" she snapped. Her eyes flashed at me.

\"Good. I\'d hate to think that fs res reputation you have for bravery was undeserved,\" I sneered.

\"At least your reputation as a sneering bastard is very well deserved.\"

\"Oh, that\'s it.\" I was fed up with this conversation and I could think of better things to do than to stand here arguing with her. I picked her up and tossed her on the bed.

\"How dare you!\" She squawked at me.

\"Hermione,\" I began impatiently, \"are you trying to make our honeymoon as unpleasant as possible?\"

I could see her brain pause at that question. \"No. It\'s just that I kept thinking and thinking and I couldn\'t find a solution.\"

I sat on the bed and looked at her. She was absolutely delicious with that black satin robe hanging half open, hair all disheveled. \"We\'re more alike than you think.\"

\"Really?\" she scoffed.

\"Really. We\'re both really good students, we\'re passionate about potions. We\'re loyal to what we believe in. Both prone to being impetuous and headstrong...\" I led led off, giving a rua rueful grin.

\"That\'s true. But is it enough?\"

\"It\'ll have to be for now.\"
********

I digested that. I rolled it around and around my brain for awhile. I thought about the right thing to say. And then settled on exactly what I was feeling.

\"If it\'s enough for you, then I guess I\'ll have to be satisfied.\"

An evil grin came over his mouth. \"Oh, you\'ll be well satisfied Madame Malfoy.\"

\"Will I?\" I thought it odd how Draco could make me furious and aroused all at once. I ran my hands up his bare chest and looped them around his neck.

\"Oh, most definitely.\" He pressed me back into the pillows and we kissed.

I could feel the silk slipping over and around me. It felt so smooth, so cool...almost like another lover in bed with us. I wanted to devour Draco and I tried my best. Now was not the time fore the quiet attentiveness he\'d shown last night. I wanted to be taken and I wanted to take. I sent my tongue into his mouth with all the subtlety of a rampaging hippogriff. He pushed his tongue back at me furiously and I was seriously getting off on it.

Draco pulled the robe off of me and I was glad. The thing had become a serious irritant. He didn\'t discard it though. He grabbed up the fabric and began smoothing it all over me. Good lord. The midnight silk moved over my neck and down, lingering at my breasts. Draco slid it over my nipples and I heard, rather than felt, myself moan at that.

That throbbing emptiness I remember from last night was back. Over and around and back again. My nipples were so tight that they hurt. Other parts were beginning to hurt as well. I put my hands on Draco\'s shoulders and pushed hard. He was slightly surprised and I took that moment to flip him to his back. I pulled the robe from his hand and flung it to the floor.

This time it was my turn to be surprised. He grasped my arse and pulled me level with his face. Oh my goodness. I had to grab the headboard to keep from falling over. I felt that talented tongue pry my folds apart and dip in to taste. I could feel the tip of that agile muscle prodding here and there, stopping every now and again to run a complete circuit of me.

Draco settled into his work, laving me from front to back, never quite sending his tongue inside me. I loved it and I hated it. I could feel myself tensing. That weirdo face I make was creeping onto my face and I didn\'t care. He couldn\'t see it anyway. I ground my hips into his face. But my thighs ran into the barrier of his hands. He was wisely using them to brace me. Good thinking, otherwise I\'d have broken his nose. He kept up his teasing, now sending feather light flicks all over my skin. I was twitching madly, feeling it all over my nerves.

\"Ahh ahhhh ahhhh,\" I heard myself say. He chuckled and the vibrations from the laughter ripped through me and that was it.

There were lightning sizzles making their way from my feet to the top of my head. I really did feel like my brain was going to explode. I was so caught up in my orgasm that I didn\'t feel Draco slipping from between my thighs to kneel behind me.

He slipped inside me just in time to catch the last ripples. I could feel myself clenching and pulling around him. Draco leaned over my back and put his hands over mine, gripping the smooth wood of the headboard. He began thrusting in earnest and I, shameless hussy that I was, met him thrust for thrust. God, it had never been this good before, even with Ron.

I felt like I was on fire. Like I was burning at ten-thousand degrees. That noise came fal out out of my mouth again and I arched upwards, like a cat stretching. The most intense orgasm of my life roared through me and I collapsed onto the bed. I could feel him coming inside me, liquid and blazing and I was like a fireball - panting and sweating and heaving.

God. That was just the most...
*********

...intense sex I had ever had, ever. I could feel Hermione trying to roll over off of her stomach and I moto mto my side of the bed. She flipped onto her back, still breathing heavily. She was all flushed and rumpled and shivering and, swear to God, the sexiest damn thing I\'d ever seen.

The biggest smile came over her face and she turned to me. \"Oh man, that was great. That was so fucking great, Draco.\" Pant, pant. \"Oh, God. I think my heart\'s going to come out of my chest.\"

She slithered onto me. She was so burning hot, it was like being next to an oven. Her eyes sparkled and I think I could pick out every single freckle. Damn, but Hermione was gorgeous. I kissed her, wrapping my hand in her hair to hold her close. Despite just having had a heart-stopping orgasm, I wanted her again.

I sat up and eased out from under her. Even as aroused as I was, I was feeling sticky and I wanted bit of a scrub-up. And if something should happen while we were in the bath, so much the better.

\"Come along, we\'re going to get cleaned up.\" I held out my hand and she took it. We went to the adjacent bathroom. A light sprang up in the room. There were no torches, but there was just light. Another door led, ostensibly, to the loo. That was something neither of us had thought about in hours and now the urge had kicked in. Feeling gentlemanly, I turned to her. \"You can go first.\"

\"Thank you.\" She looked relieved, no pun intended, and ducked inside.

I turned to the sink and found two toothbrushes, one green and white, the other red and gold. No great stretch as to which was whose. I heard the toilet flush and she came out and I hurried inside. I heard Hermione laugh as she noticed me run after her. I tended to necessities and came out.

She\'d just finished washing her hands and I did the same. We picked up our toothbrushes and I turned on the taps. We stuck them under the water and when we pulled them out, there were matching stripes of toothpaste on them. It was a charming and sickening domestic scene as we brushed our teeth togr. Sr. Strangely, it felt far more intimate than having did.did. Brushing my teeth was always an occupation I did alone. But now I was forcibly reminded that I now had a wife to share even the most menial of tasks with.

We took turns spitting in the sink and rinsed thoroughly. I replaced the brushes in the holder and thought about the day\'s worth of stubble on my face. Before the thought was fully formed, a razor and shaving cream appeared on the vanity surface. The tub began to fill with sandalwood scented bubbles.

I saw Hermione\'s eyes widen at the display. Apparently the Gryffindor baths weren\'t as rigged out as the Slytherin ones.

\"Get used to it. Most rooms are enchanted to anticipate your wishes.\" I couldn\'t help a tiny smirk at her astonishment.

\"Don\'t be so smug about it.\" A couple of sets of towels appeared on a rack by the tub and she picked up a washcloth and sank into the now-filled tub.

\"I\'ll try.\" She stuck her tongue out at me and I began the process of shaving. I could feel her eyes watching my every move as she lazily soaped herself.

\"You know,\" she began, \"I quite like you with that stubble on your face.\"

I pulled a face. \"Well, I do not.\" And I didn\'t. The cheery sunshine yellow of my beard didn\'t suit me at all.

\"Fine. I was just giving you my opinion.\" She ducked her head beneath the water and began to shampoo her hair.

The scent of strawberries mixed with the huskier smell of the sandalwood. I finished shaving and got into the tub at the opposite end. She looked so absurd and so delectable with her hair and face full of bubbles that I laughed.

\"What\'s so funny?\" She muttered, squinting through one eye, trying not to get soap in it.

\"You are.\"

\"Bite me, Draco.\" She ducked her head under the water to rinse and came up with a nose full of bubbles. Five minutes of snuffling and sneezing later, she gave me a gimlet glare for just sitting there laughing. \"You suck. You could\'ve at least handed me a towel.\"

\"I could\'ve, but I didn\'t. I was far more amused watching you.\"

\"Gah. Such a brat.\" Hermione made a face at me and continued to wash.

\"Be quiet and turn about.\" I grasped her shoulder and spun her about in the enormous tub, settling her between my legs. Taking up the washcloth, I ran it up and down the smooth skin of her back, memorizing the small freckles there.

After awhile I spoke. \"Hermione?\"

\"Hmm?\" she purred. Her head was bowed and her shoulders lax. Apparently she liked what I was doing.

\"Did you know that your freckles are in the shape of a fish?\"

\"Bollocks. They most certainly are not.\"

\"Have you ever seen your back close up?\"

\"No.\"

\"Then trust me. Some of them are the shape of a fish. They\'re really quite attractive.\"

\"Oh.\"

\"Quite so, Hermione.\" I put her hair over her shoulder to kiss her neck. \"Now, it\'s your turn to scrub my back.\"

\"What?\" Her voice was foggy. Gods, she was quick to arouse. \"Come on. I need you to wash my back.\"

I sat her back from me and turned around. I could hear her splashing about as she turned. The noise of the soap becoming lather intrigued me. I was anticipating the feel of the soft cotton loops of the cloth when her soap-slick hands placed themselves on my shoulders. I tensed automatically, liking the silken palms smoothing their way along my back and shoulders.

\"Relax, \" she said. \"You\'re hardly breathing.\"

I let out the breath I hadn\'t realized that I\'d been holding in. \"Sorry.\"

\"S\'alright.\" I knew, somehow, that she was smiling that soft amused smile again. The smile that I loved to see on her face.

She kept running her hands over me, down my arms and back again. Her nails dug in slightly. I adored the feel of her rounded nails rasping my skin. Her touch was light, but had just the right pressure. The hands disappeared to be replaced by the warm bathwater cascading down my back. I heard it splashing as Hermione rinsed me over again. I had no idea what she was going to do until I saw her legs curling around me. I felt her breasts pressing into my back and her hands snaking around to my front. That was more like it.

Hermione began leaving soft kisses on the back of my neck. Her hands roamed lower and lower until they wrapped around my cock. She has incredible hands. Having the both of them working me at once was more than enough to get me harder than steel. Still...the pressure wasn\'t quite right.
********

When his hands closed over mine, I think my head started reeling. I had no idea I could get so turned on by that. Draco showed me exactly how he touches himself when I\'m not there, when he\'s by himself, thinking of me. Or maybe he\'s thinking of some other girl. I didn\'t really care. Every ridge, every bit of skin covering that erection of his was mine for the taking and he was acting as my tour guide. It was really very sexy.

Up and down. Over and under. Round and twist our hands went, in perfect sync. I could feel his shudders beginning. His hands tightened on mine, squeezing in a near-death grip. Harder and harder, faster and faster we went. But of a sudden, his hands pulled mine away. Draco spun to face me, splashing water over the rim of the tub onto the floor.

\"You brazen little witch,\" he growled out. And damn if I didn\'t get wet just from that. I\'d heard that some pregnant women get really pervy. That would explain a lot.

He picked me up and settled me in his lap. I could feel his cock on my thigh. Draco\'s fingers found my clitoris and began to rub lightly, almost tickling. I let my eyes close and I concentrated on the sensations.ore ore long, a moan punched from my throat. I got that queer sensation in the pit of my stomach again. His other arm stole around me to bend me back. I felt those soft lips of his close around a nipple.

The dual stimulation of his finger and that mouth and tongue were quite enough to catch me up to where he was. Draco slipped a finger inside me, then two and then three. I felt so full. They were all moving and when I felt them curl up, that was it. I was off into the stratosphe

I came back down to find his fingers still inside me. His thumb was tracing patterns on that tiny bundle of nerves. \"Oh. What are you doing to me?\" I sighed in pleasure.

He merely smiled and kept working. When I couldn\'t help pressing against his fingers, he took them away and brought up closer. I caught his drift and grasped his shaft in my hand and lowered myself onto him. I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted and I revelled in it. I took my time, drawing it out. And when he was fully inside me I sat still, just feeling him throb. My fingers were itching to touch him and I did. I draped my arms on his shoulders. Draco grabbed my hips and we began the dance.

We locked eyes and I could read his every expression. I knew when to go fast, when to go slow. I knew every move. I teased him...and myself until I couldn\'t take it anymore. I got wild, frenzied and I could feel myself getting sucked into that vortex of pleasure again.
**********

Damn. Granger was a sight when she orgasmed. She clutched at me tighter than a wet fist and I loved it. Hermione began making those little noises I loved to hear. She shimmered all over. Those tiny little convulsions were enough to set me off into my own orgasm. The combination of me and her shaking together only made it that more intense.

Hermione collapsed into my arms and we held each other, gasping for breath. I knew when she\'d come back to herself. Shesed sed her head from the crook of my shoulder and laughed.

\"What\'s so funny?\"

\"Here I was under the impression that we were simply having a bit of a scrub up.\"

I laughed along with her. Hermione\'s sense of humour could be wonderfully dry and naughty sometimes. \"Well, I think I need another bath now. How about you?\"

She grinned with a deliciously dirty smile. \"I could use one.\"
**********

After another round in the tub, after which we drained it and took a shower, we got out and traisped back into the bedroom. To our surprise and delight, there was lunch waiting on a table which was set in front of the windows. I got myself a pair of black pajamas and tossed Draco a set of gold ones. He was under the impression that he didn\'t look well in yellow. I disagreed. He looked very Nordic and lovely to me, I thought. I saw the way his eyes lit up at the sight of me in the dark silk. I rolled my eyes.

\"Come on, no more of that. At lefor for another hour. We both need to eat and I\'m on the verge of not being able to walk.\"

\"Ha. And so I intend to keep you, Hermione.\"

\"Careful there, Draco. You\'re starting to sound like a happy bridegroom.\"

\"And so I am.\" We settled into the chairs and lifted the lids.

There was a cold lunch of lobster salad, cheese, crackers, fruit and a white grape juice. I served and he poured. We tucked into it with relish. I think I could\'ve devoured the whole of Devonshire at that very moment, but half of our lunch had to do.

\"I\'m still starving,\" I complained. And I was. I hadn\'t eaten since our wedding feast and I\'d barely picked at that.

\"So\'m I, actually,\" Draco mumbled around a late peach.

\"Do you want anything in particular?\"

\"Oysters. Colchester oysters.\"

\"Draco.\" I gave him a reproachful look. The aphrodisiac properties of oysters were sure to guarantee that I wouldn\'t be walking for at least the next forty-eight hours.

\"What?\" He gave me that mock innocent look I\'d come to know so well.

I only shook my head. Throwing a pinch of powder into the fire, I called down to the kitchens. An elf named Blinky took my order and within minutes another filled tray materialised on the table. I looked at it askance but kept quiet.

Draco noticed. \"Still going on about liberating the hoelveelves?\"

\"I still think it\'s terrible that they\'re slave labour.\" I sat down opposite him. I was still, physically, very hungry. But my heart wasn\'t in it.

\"At least the Hogwart\'s elves are treated well. And now that father\'s...our house elves are treated decently, too.\"

I was surprised at that. \"Are they?\"

\"Of course they are. A well taken care of house elf is a loyal house elf. They\'re more willing to keep our secrets when they\'re not being beaten on a regular basis.\"

I rolled my eyes. \"Trust even a humanitarian act to have an ulterior motive.\"

\"It\'s only logical, Hermione.\" Draco slurped down an oyster.

\"Gross. Looks like troll bogeys.\"

\"They\'re delicious.\" To prove his point he sucked down another.

\"They\'re disgusting.\" I forked up a bite of that wonderful lobster salad.

\"Don\'t knock it until you try it, Granger.\"

\"No, thank you.\"

\"Ha. Chicken.\"

\"Squawk, squawk.\"

We exchanged grins and kept eating. The both of us conversed and to my surprise, I found Malfoy exceedingly knowledgable on a wide variety of subjects. We actually found ourselves sharing opinions on politics, science, the current music scene and more.

\"I had no idea you were so well-versed in Muggle music.\"

\"Music is music, Hermione. If I like it, I\'ll listen to it.\"

\"Yes, but magicked Muggle object are illegal in the Wizarding world.\"

\"You honestly think that with all the rules we broke that a simple enchanted cdyer yer would cause any distress?\"

\"Not really. I just thought that perhaps it went against the Malfoy creed.\"

\"I don\'t really care about the Malfoy creed.\"

Draco looked particularly steely-eyed when he said that. \"No, I don\'t believe you do.\"

All he did was smile. I felt my insides quiver. What in the hell was wrong with me? How could I go from utter loathing to actual attraction?

\"Unless you want to end up back in that tumbled bed, I suggest that you don\'t look at me like that.\"

\"Sorry.\" I made a face, thinking about how malleable I was in that department.

\"Well, I\'m not. I rather like being the object of your desire, Hermione.\"

\"What? A truly soft comment? I think I\'m going to faint.\"

\"Don\'t be smart.\"

\"I can\'t help it, Draco. You bring out the devil in me.\"

\"And I\'ve got the claw marks to prove it.\"

\"Ho ho ho. Very funny.\"

\"You think I\'m joking? Take a look at my back, you cat.\"

\"You were *well* compensated in return, Malfoy.\"

A slow smile spread on his face. \"And so I was.\"