Claiming Hermione

Draco blinked.

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

Hermione was every bit as stunned as Malfoy looked. Like someone else had control over vocal cords and had spoken against her will, or at least her better judgment. Under no circumstances had she ever intended to utter those words.

But now they were out, hanging palpably in the air between them, and all she could do was remain fixed in place, with her cheeks flaming hot, staring back at him, waiting for him to say something. Anything.

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

In those moments that Draco stood there, gaping at her with the note raised halfway in the air, he tried to formulate an appropriate reaction. But as laughing, leaving, or pretending he didn’t know what she was talking about were all equally stupid, he said the one thing that was repeating over and over in his head.

“Are you out of your mind?” A very real possibility considering the lump on her forehead.

“No.”

No. That’s it. Just a plain old ‘No.’

It was too much. Draco didn’t know how to deal with this on top of everything else. He put the note in his pocket then stretched his fingers out, palm down in front of him, examining his hand. His knuckles were bruised badly and had blood smeared on them.

“We need to go to the infirmary.” He said matter of factly, like she hadn’t just asked him to take her virginity.

“Okay.”

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

Madame Pomfrey was up and seemed to be waiting for them. The walk down had been surreal, with neither of them saying anything and not daring to look anywhere but straight ahead. The busy attentions of the Mediwitch were a welcome distraction from the weight that had settled between them. Hermione looked around the room while Draco was having his hand fixed up and saw what she thought were Parvati’s shoes tucked under a curtained bed at the far end of the room. Well, at least that had actually been true.

By the time Madame Pomfrey was done with them, neither appeared worse for wear, aside from being a little tired looking. When they walked out into the corridor Hermione looked in the direction of the dungeons, then up the main staircase. She told Draco that she was going to go to bed and he nodded solemnly, biting the inside of his cheek. He then proceeded to walk with her to the fourth floor and to her dorm. She didn’t protest, though she thought she should. It was a slow, silent walk, both of them lost in their muddled thoughts and feelings.

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

That night, Draco lay on his bed with his arms behind his head, staring at the canopy.

He was deeply shaken by seeing someone – someone he knew, a sort of friend – attack Granger. The image of her head turned too sharply to the side with her cheek bleeding seemed stuck in his brain, along with the finger shaped bruises on her neck.

He had heard about his father’s attack on the group of fifth years at the Ministry. He wondered now if it had been like that. If his father had been like Zabini. If he had ever wrapped his hand around the girl’s throat. Or any girl’s throat. It made him feel sick to his stomach.

He thought of her taking her anger out on Zabini, and then later drinking chocolate in the common room. He knew she was going to be fine, but he couldn’t help thinking that if she had been someone else, someone less strong, that probably would not be the case. He wondered briefly, if he had anything to do with the thick skin she had built up, but it wasn’t something he could be proud of he did. Thinking back to those early years, he concluded that her strength was all her own. Granger seemed to have an unbreakable spirit.

He dug into his pocket and pulled out the rumpled note. Running his finger over her words, he knew it was true. Sort of. He doubted they’d be chatting it up in the halls after classes. The thought made him smirk a little. What would Pansy think if he told her that he was friends with Granger? Heh, what would Potter think?

Friends. What the hell did that mean anyway?

Her first... It was wrong. It was wrong on so many levels. Something must have gone awry in Granger’s brain. Was it supposed to be her twisted way of thanking him? Was it some way of getting back at purebloods? Did she think she needed to prove Zabini wrong?

As his father’s son, as Zabini’s friend, as a boy who had spent the better part of five years trying to crush her, there was no way he was worth of such a thing.

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

Hermione rubbed the wrinkled green fabric she had stuffed in a corner of her trunk over her lips slowly and began a thorough examination of her thoughts and feelings about being attacked. In a way, she felt as though she had been mentally preparing for a situation like this since she was twelve years old and had first been called Mudblood. Prepared or not, she was extremely relieved that Zabini had not been successful in his supposed goal. That would have been awful. She still had a hard time believing that some purebloods could hold such extreme views. It went against logic. And it hurt, she wouldn’t pretend it didn’t. But, somehow, being so violently defended by the epitome of purebloods himself, took all the power out of it.

She brought the tie up to her face and buried her face in the scrunched up fabric, squeezing her eyes shut. She wasn’t sorry that she had said it, but she had definitely surprised herself – and Malfoy too for that matter. His absolute change of topic made that clear. She wondered what things would be like between them now. The idea had snuck up on her, as if it had been brewing in the back of her mind all this time, and had revealed itself (to both of them) at the worst time. But, it was true; she did want to him to be her first. Her stomach wriggled severely and she wiggled her legs in response.

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

Draco stared hard into wide brown eyes. He was only an inch from her face and his body pressed into hers. He watched her expression change from familiar indignation to fear. He could feel the ridge of her trachea against his palm as she tried to swallow. His father’s voice was whispering to him, “Do it, Draco. Now.”

Draco sprung up and blinked into the dark room, breathing hard and fast. He looked around the room, trying to get his bearings. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him. It wasn’t him.

He brought his hands together over his mouth and nose, breathing into the crevice and said a silent prayer of thanks. It wasn’t him. He didn’t do it.

It was six in the morning, and despite not falling asleep until almost three, Draco was now wide-awake. A few things had occurred to him during the night before and he was anxious to get them resolved. He showered and dressed quickly. Luckily, the person he needed to talk to would likely be awake. Dumbledore was a morning person.

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

Draco sat stiffly in one of the wing chairs in the Headmaster’s office. The Headmaster sat across from him, behind his messy desk, looking thoughtful.

“You couldn’t have had much rest, Draco. I assume you want to discuss the events of last evening.”

Draco noticed that the Headmaster had called him by his first name and couldn’t explain the bubble of relief he felt. “Yes Sir. I was wondering what will happen to Zabini?”

“Well, that will depend on Miss Granger, but he has already been removed from the school.”

Draco let out a breath. “Will he go to Azkaban?”

“Well, he is of age, so it’s a possibility, but we’ll have to see how Miss Granger wants to proceed.” The old man repeated.

“Sir…” Draco began tentatively, “Will she be okay?”

Dumbledore smiled. “Oh, I’m sure of it. Miss Granger is quite a powerful young witch. Over the years she has borne great hardships with grace and an indomitable strength of character.” At this he looked pointedly at Draco with a bit of a smirk of his own.

“Even so,” he continued, “I imagine she is currently feeling rather grateful that you showed up when you did. You, Mr. Malfoy, are developing quite a habit of getting the Head Girl out of sticky situations.” And there was that familiar twinkle.

Draco stood to leave, trying to hide how uncomfortable he felt about that topic, among other things. He turned halfway towards the door and hesitated a moment. Dumbledore took the invitation.

“Was there something else you wanted to discuss with me Draco?”

There was a persistent buzzing in Draco’s chest and he took a deep breath that seemed too loud in the quiet office.

This was it. He was going to jump over the fence. For Good.

“I’d like to help fight Voldemort.”

Dumbledore only smiled a little, but his eyes were warm and welcoming, almost…fatherly. He nodded a little, like he had been expecting it all along.

“Your help would be invaluable. I’m sure you are aware, via your father, of Mr. Potter’s role in defeating Voldemort?” Draco nodded. “Have you discussed this at all with Harry?”

“I don’t think he’d be too likely to believe me, Sir.”

Dumbledore lowered his chin to look at Draco over his bifocals.

“Ah. Well, it is true, Draco, that you may catch him off guard, but Mr. Potter might just surprise you as well. You will have to take the chance.”

Draco didn’t know what to say to that, so he nodded and thanked the Headmaster before leaving.

Dumbledore sat back in his chair with his fingers steepled under his chin, looking contemplative and smiling with satisfaction at the closed door of his office.

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

Hermione decided not to tell Ron or Harry. Not because she was ashamed or anything ridiculous like that. But, rather their over-protective behavior towards her – especially concerning her “virtue” – was something she didn’t want to deal with. And even more than that, she was concerned that Harry especially had enough on his plate at the moment. She hoped they would be understanding of her reasons when she did eventually tell them. Plus, she liked the way it felt to treat the whole incident like it was no big deal. It made it seem like…no big deal. Hermione was not prone to dramatics. And last, she didn’t fancy the idea of having to tell them that Malfoy had saved her – again. So, for now, she kept it to herself.

She did wonder what was going to happen with Zabini and she worried that people would start asking questions about his absence, so as soon as breakfast was over, Hermione told her friends that she had some Head’s business to take care of with Dumbledore and wouldn’t be in their first class. She glanced briefly at the Slytherin table before she left and saw Draco with his eyes glued to his bowl.

The Headmaster talked at length with Hermione about how she was feeling, possible courses of action and what she, and Zabini, could expect with each one. One thing was decided for sure, and that was that he would not be returning to Hogwarts. Azkaban was not high on Hermione’s list as it seemed ludicrous to put a mentally unstable person behind bars, in the daily company of dementors, who would only make them more crazy – Lucius Malfoy comes to mind. And Zabini was so young. Though she believed he should be punished, she also believed in the possibility of redemption – the younger Malfoy comes to mind.

Hermione told Dumbledore about her history with Zabini and the threats he had made over the years. In light of that, along with the extreme nature of his opinions about the Head Girl, relayed to him by Draco, Dumbledore suggested that perhaps it was less an ideology issue and more of psychological one. Hermione agreed.

An Auror arrived from the Ministry and took Hermione’s story. A locked ward at St. Mungo’s where he would receive help for his condition seemed the best solution to Hermione.

When the Auror left, Hermione turned to the Headmaster and asked, “Professor, what are you going to tell the students?”

“Pomona has informed me that Mr. Zabini did indeed spend the better part of the evening in infirmary, so I think the truth wouldn’t be too far fetched. That Mr. Zabini is ill and is at St. Mungo’s until further notice.”

The answer seemed to satisfy the Head Girl and Dumbledore broke into a smile. “Now… I believe we have a Yule Ball coming up in about a month and I thought you and Draco might like to use some of the decorations we’ve kept over the years. No sense reinventing the wheel.”

The Headmaster gave Hermione directions and the password to a small room on the sixth floor that apparently held many years worth of holiday decorations. Hogwarts was an odd place.

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

Draco sat in the back of the potions classroom, eyeing the empty chair between Potter and Weasel. So much for not missing any classes. He scrutinized the backs of the two Gryffindor’s heads. He wondered what she did when she was with them. Did she spend her time with them, the way she did with him? Curled up in front of a fire with their noses in books? Draco scoffed. Doubtful. The wonder twins were not known for being studious. Did they know about all the time she spent with him? Did they question her about it? What would she tell them?

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

Hermione wondered the same thing, and it seemed that she might have to answer sooner rather than later, if the suspicious looks Harry kept giving her were any indication.

“Did you and Malfoy kiss and make up yet?” he asked her over dinner. Hermione almost dropped her fork. She knew it was just a turn of phrase, but really.

“Why yes, we did, Harry.” Hermione responded smugly to cover up her embarrassment.

“Tell me you did not just mention Malfoy and kissing in the same sentence,” Ron groaned. “I might lose my appetite.”

Harry and Hermione both snorted. “That’ll be the day, mate,” Harry laughed.

Ron suddenly launched into a story about the last time he’d lost his appetite after walking in on his red-faced parents in a rather compromising position on the kitchen table, thinking he was in Diagon Alley at his brothers’ shop. “I couldn’t eat a meal off that table for a week!”

Everyone within earshot was laughing and Hermione thanked Merlin Harry was distracted enough to drop his questioning. She had a feeling the topic would be revisited soon enough.

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

Silver eyes narrowed on the boisterous Gryffindor table at the eruption of laughter. She was positively beaming, easy and relaxed with her friends. It wasn’t what their friendship looked like.

He pushed his uneaten potatoes to the side of his plate and after a minute of batting around the one remaining broccoli floret, he dropped his fork and stalked out of the hall.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco stand up. She also Harry’s head swivel towards him, curiosity plainly written on his face. She laughed brightly at Ginny’s account of also catching the elder Weasley’s “in the act,” pretending she hadn’t noticed either of them.




A/N: I've officially decided to stop apologizing for not rushing into sex (LOL. I sound like a teenage girl telling her boyfriend to back off). It WILL happen. And hopefully you will think it was worth the wait. That said.....

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WOW!

Thank you to EVERYONE who reviewed! That was overwhelming and awesome! All these peeps totally EFFIN ROCK: Gryffindor_Slytherin, kittycat30, DrpnBlood4U, Jennypenny, Phoebejs, LittleMissPrincess, Crescentmoon, vilasgirl, crissy, Anon, Jeje, Cobalt Glass, Jessysgirl, imperfectionist, Texas Peach, Vixen, Mrs.Malfoy, omelove, wicked, tootsie, PyroAngel, T Stevenson, leValkyrie, dyllan, and Amaya! Seriously, thank you all for your encouragement.

luv2cusmile
Okay, either someone else asked the same question or I replied already and am about to repeat myself. Sorry if it’s the latter. Draco was mad, or rather frustrated – which he takes out on other people – because he did admit he wanted her, but he really doesn’t see the possibility of anything happening. Thanks for still being here and for all the great reviews!

yeniferr
So, you liked it then? ☺ LOL. Thanks so much!

Dani
Death threats don’t work on me luv, but I do apologize for the wait. It wasn’t as long as some authors, but it was longer than usually for me. I’m glad you like it enough to resort to violence for updates though! Thanks!

chickacherrycola
LOL @ defenestration – masterbation. So yeah. defenestration means to push someone out a window and it is my MO when someone tries to steal my man. Or in this case, reader, but your cute little boys are safe for now. For the record, I didn’t learn the word until last year and I’m a just a little older than you. It’s a totally obscure word. I completely forgot about Dumbledore’s burned canopy. Must have been resting in my unconscious. That rocks. I officially proclaim it to have been Dumbledore’s burned canopy. Thanks!

Dreamweaver
Damn woman, I love your reviews. Yeah, so I didn’t want the thing with Blaise to be too gory or go to far. We don’t need a broken Hermione. But they needed an impetus to cement their friendship or whatever it is. And I needed to get rid of Blaise. He’s been lurking in the shadows too long. And it turned out to be an impetus for a few other things too (namely Hermione’s confession and Draco’s offer to Dumbledore). I love that I caught you off guard at the end too! And no one has complained to me, and if they did, well, I like your reviews, so keep on keeping on! And, hey, thank you!

Winchiwitch
Oooh, DO start writing if you have the urge! As for the torture, I know….it’s a problem. I wonder if there is a cliffhangers anonymous. I like a cool, collected Blaise too, but well, he decided to be an ass in this story. Thank you so much for the review and start writing!

HarryGinny4eva
“the need to do nothing to rock the boat, the desire to do everything to rock the boat” What is simply perfect is your description! Thank you!

Snape_Goddess
I would never abandon this! And I really appreciate the review. It’s always kind of a jolt for me when an author that I adore (that would be you my dear) reviews my story. Thanks!

gabby1234
Hey girl, I’m really glad you were able to still enjoy the chapter. There won’t be anymore of that. Thank you as always for all the great reviews!

sugypunk
LOL @ Something hot and slutty. Yes, that would be fun, but Draco hasn’t unleased his wicked, wicked, wicked tongue on her yet (except for the word game, but that was tame in compasrison to what our boy wants to say to her). Thanks lady!

ichi.ruki
I hate getting drunk dialed, but it would be funny as hell. But only if you do it – no one could pull that off like you. What if Draco and Ginny’s (or someone’s) number was almost the same, and Hermione keeps mis-dailing Draco (okay, I see you pretty much wrote that). Holy shit that would be great. I see her as a bit of an armchair philosopher when drunk. Actually, she could behave differently at different times….whoa, I’m suddenly seeing a whole story… I’ve never co-authored a story, but I might propose it later (as neither of us have time right now). But if you want to tackle it, it’s all yours. Anyway, it can live in the subconscious for now…. LOL @ *le sigh*

kazfeist
YAY! It worked, it worked! Seems there are only a few of you out there who “know” and I’m SO glad it’s working for you. Yes, I am definitely going to incorporate, with minor changes, and YES, there will be lots of story afterwards. I think we are currenly a little shy of half way. Thanks!

hate2luv
Squeal away my dear. It makes my muses happy. Yes, the one shot will be in here though with some slight modifications. I’m thrilled you liked it so much. Thanks!

Sara
Love the “PHWOAAARRRR”. It’s totally flattering that you went to that trouble let me know that you think it’s HOT! ☺ Who recommended it to you?

OCHIT
God, don’t you love/hate when you get caught up and have to read a story straight through? I do. Well, I’m tickled that you did! “something more profound than friendship” – I like that. Thank you so much!

BeautifullyMalicious
Hee hee heee.

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Please keep sharing!