Out of the Ashes

AN-Thanks for the reviews cpetnm and lexiatel! I\'m so glad you like it so far.This story is actually finished and will be five chapters long. Here\'s number two!



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“What?!” Draco snorted and Hermione frowned confusedly. “Like I care what they think. You’re far more important to me than any of them, ‘Mione.” He reached out and cupped her cheek in his hand, forcing her to look at him. He had a very intense look on his face that suddenly made her heart beat faster. “What I’m trying to say is...I don’t...I don’t want to be just friends with you anymore.”



Hermione froze. “What?” She asked dazedly, staring into his eyes as he smiled nervously. 



“Hermione, I brought you out here to tell you I-I’m...in love...with...you.” He finished softly. Hermione felt her jaw drop slightly and stared at him in disbelief as a loud ringing began in her ears. She wondered if maybe this was what it was like to go completely insane. She must be hallucinating... “Gods, this whole thing is all kind of creepy and stalkerish and wrong, isn’t it? Dragging you out here...” He was biting his lip and peering worriedly at her. “You don’t think of me like that at all, do you? Merlin! I’m such a prat.”



Joy suddenly shot through her when his words finally sank in. She hadn’t imagined it. Just when he started to look like he might bolt, she grabbed the front his cloak in both hands, pulled him closer and kissed him firmly on the lips. He froze for a moment, then relaxed and gently kissed her back, sliding his hand from her cheek to the back of her head and holding her to him. “Draco...have I ever told you that you talk too much sometimes?” Hermione whispered teasingly when he finally let her go.



“You may have told me to shut up a few hundred times.” He started to grin as she leaned forward again, her eyes zeroing in on his lips. He ducked his head, meeting her halfway and capturing her lips in a searing kiss. Being careful not to crush the kitten on his lap, he wrapped his arms more tightly around her and tilted his head, lightly running his tongue over her lips until she parted them slightly, tentatively slipping her own tongue out to slide against his. At the same time, she slid her arms around his neck, pulling him closer. After a few minutes, they separated in order to take in some much needed oxygen. Panting, Draco rested his forehead against Hermione’s. “So, um, I take it you don’t object to changing the nature of our relationship?” he asked, smirking, when he’d finally caught his breath..



Smiling foolishly, Hermione snorted and smacked him on the arm. “Idiot.” She shook her head fondly at him.



“What?!” He demanded, staring at her.



“You have to ask after...you know...” She gestured vaguely, feeling her cheeks warming at the memory of their kisses.



“Alright, fine.” He rolled his eyes. “But you didn’t actually answer my question.” He added quietly. 



Hermione frowned confusedly. “Yes, I did.”



“Not exactly.” Draco argued, shaking his head. “You called me an idiot, but you didn’t really say that you want to be my girlfriend.” He shrugged one shoulder slightly. “You do, right?” He sounded completely serious, and she realized he really did need to hear her say how she felt about him. It was only fair, since he’d been the one to put his heart on the line first.



“Of course I want to. I love you, Draco.” Finally saying it out loud made her feel almost as giddy as kissing him had. “Wow, if someone had told me, say, second or third year, that I’d ever say those words, I’d probably have slapped them.” Noticing that his face had fallen slightly, she quickly added, “But I do love you. It’s just weird saying \'I love you\' because I’ve never said it to anyone before. And you have to admit that it’s ironic that we, of all people, would end up together,” she gestured back and forth between them, then sighed. “Bloody hell, I’m shutting up now before I choke on my foot.” Shivering, she snuggled closer to him and put her arms around him beneath his cloak.



Draco chuckled and gave her a squeeze. “Let’s get you back to the castle, hmm? I’d hate to lose you to hypothermia the same day I found out you actually love me back.” He smirked slightly and gave her a quick kiss before putting the sleeping kitten back in the basket at his feet and standing up. Offering Hermione a hand, he said, “Shall we?”



“I still hate flying.” Hermione complained after he’d pulled her to her feet and picked up the basket. “How are we going to carry her back on that stupid broom?”



“That is not a stupid broom.” Draco gaped at her jokingly. “That is a very fine broom, I’ll have you know. Top of the line...er...just a few years ago.” 



“It’s still a stupid broom.” Hermione rolled her eyes, but gently squeezed his hand, knowing how hard it was for him to be an orphan and virtually penniless at nineteen after years of being coddled by his parents. His father had received the dementor\'s kiss a few months after the war ended and his mother was murdered by a rogue Death Eater shortly after she and Draco had been pardoned. The Ministry had claimed most of Lucius\' assets when he died, leaving Draco with basically just the contents of his school trunk when he was finally discharged from St Mungo\'s. “I felt like I was going to fall off the entire way here. I don’t know how you can stay on when you play Quidditch.” 



Draco thought for a minute, then looked around. “Just a second...I have an idea...” Handing her the basket, he walked over to a nearby tree, and broke off a piece about a foot from the end of a branch that forked near the end. Breaking off a few smaller sections from each point of the forked end, he murmured a quick spell and the branch turned into a smoothly polished piece of wood shaped like a T.



“What’re you going to do with that?” Hermione frowned confusedly, following him to where he’d left his broom lying on the gravelly shore of the island. 



“You’ll see.” He grinned teasingly. Moving so he was blocking her view of the broom, he crouched beside it and murmured another spell. “Up!” He ordered the broom as he stepped aside. The broom hovered a few feet off the ground, as usual. However, the T shaped branch was now stuck to the top side, about a foot and a half from the bristle end of the broom. Hermione raised both eyebrows in obvious confusion. “It’s a handle! For you. I’ll still be behind you; you can put the basket on your lap and hold onto this...” He tapped the handle. “I thought you’d feel safer. We’ll tie Miss Kittenface’s basket down nice and tight, too.”



“I am not naming her that,” Hermione giggled, still eyeing the broom skeptically. “How do I know that thing won’t fall off?” 



“Because I’m not some bumbling first year.” Draco rolled his eyes. “Or Ron.” He smirked slightly and wiggled his eyebrows at her. His affection for Hermione did not extend to her two male friends, though the three boys were no longer as hostile as they\'d been during the war. Most of the venom had vanished from their insults, but she was still a little glad that Ron and Harry had decided against returning for their seventh year...Merlin knew how they\'d get along if they were actually forced to interact on a regular basis. She didn\'t even want to think how they were going to react to the news that she was now dating Draco. 



“Shut up,” Hermione giggled again, rolling her eyes as she pushed the unpleasant thought aside. “Fine, but if I fall off, I’m pulling you with me.”



“Of course, Luv,” He beamed at her. “I told you, I’m not letting you get away from me now.” Frowning, he said, “That still sounds stalkerish. I need to work on that.” 



“Maybe a little,” Hermione shrugged. She kind of liked this new possessive streak he\'d developed, not that she\'d ever admit it. Clutching the basket to her chest, she said, “Let’s get this over with. I can’t wait to get back and change into something more comfortable.”



“Oh really?” Draco cocked his head and slowly looked her over from head to toe, “Like what?” He asked hopefully.



“Like sweatpants!" Hermione chuckled, "My legs are freeeeeezing!” She whined. When he pouted slightly, she smirked. “Once I get warmed up, I’ll change into something slightly less comfortable for you.”



“Really?” He asked again, looking hopeful again. “You don’t have to...”



Hermione nodded slowly, grinning at him. “Definitely.” Stepping closer to him, she murmured, “I have had a crush on you since sixth year. I’ve been in love with you since...well... before we left St. Mungos.” She cleared her throat and looked down at her hands. “Anyway, I love you, and I’m twenty years old...” She trailed off, blushing slightly. 



“Sixth year?” Draco smiled at her curiously as he threw his leg over the broom and gestured for her to hand him the basket. “Why sixth year?”



Hermione bit her lip. “That’s when I realized you were actually human, and not just a pretty face.” 



“Um...You do know what I was up to that year, right?” He paused in the middle of tying the basket to the broom’s handle and stared at her.



“I do. And I also know what it did to you,” Hermione leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “You didn’t want to do it, right?”



“I had to,” he sighed unhappily and finished tying the basket to the broom.



“That’s not the same as wanting to...” Hermione eyed the broom nervously one more time, then climbed on, wrapping her cloak around her legs and tugging experimentally on the handle, which she grudgingly admitted seemed pretty sturdy.



Draco murmured under his breath and expanded his own cloak, wrapping the thick cloth around both of them and his arms around Hermione’s waist as the broom began to rise.



“What are you doing?” Hermione yelped. “You need to hold on!”



“I am holding on.” He murmured teasingly, giving her a squeeze. Taking advantage of their position, he began nuzzling her ear then kissed her neck.



“No, I mean hold on to the broom. You have to steer!” Hermione practically shrieked as she clung to the handle for dear life.



“How many times have you seen me fly without holding on during a game?” Draco chuckled. “Steering a broom is more a matter of will than anything...it’s a little like riding a horse. The broom can tell where I want to go; trust me. Come on...lean against me. You’re fine.” He kissed her neck again and she shivered, then relaxed slightly in his arms. “See? Everything’s okay. I’ve got you.” Letting go of her with one arm, he pushed her hair away from her neck and began kissing his way down her neck to her shoulder, then nibbled lightly.



“Draco...” Hermione sighed dreamily and tilted her head to the side to give him better access. 



Draco chuckled and licked the spot he had just nibbled before kissing his way back up to her ear. She went almost limp in his arms and he hugged her close to him. “You smell so good. You feel so good in my arms,” he whispered. “Do you have any idea how much I love you?” Growling softly, he nibbled on her earlobe, and she sighed happily, snuggling into his embrace. For the first time in a long, long time she felt perfectly happy as he continued to lick, kiss and nibble on her neck and shoulder.



Then, she opened her eyes and blinked. “Draco, you’re gonna make us crash.” She said in an oddly flat tone, still feeling almost drugged by his kisses.



“I’m not going to make us-” He began to say, sounding distracted as he licked her earlobe.



“YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE US CRASH!” She yelled insistently, letting go of the broom with one hand to point ahead of them. “DRACO!”



Draco looked ahead and snickered. Easily stopping the broom a good two meters from the broom shed they\'d been flying toward, he calmly replied, “It’s alright. I told you, the broom knows where I want it to go.” 



As soon as her feet touched the ground, Hermione struggled out of his arms and cloak and jumped off the broom. “I hate flying. Don’t ever make me do that again.” She seethed as she struggled fruitlessly to free the kitten’s basket. 



“Hermione, I’m sorry...please don’t be mad.” Draco sighed, trying to step in and remove the basket for her.



“Leave me alone!” She growled, swatting futilely at his hands for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh and stepping aside. Draco quickly untied the basket and handed it to her. “Show off!”



“All I did was untie-” He began defensively.



“I meant the flying!” She growled. “Maybe other girls like making out on a broom, but, for the record, I prefer to do it on solid ground.”



“That wasn’t making out,” Draco argued. “You weren\'t even kissing me back,” he pointed out.



“Ugh!” Hermione grunted, spun on her heel and began stomping toward the castle. 



“Mione!” He called after her, obviously trying not to laugh. When she continued to walk away without acknowledging him, he quickly shoved his broom into the storage shed and took off after her. “Hermione, please...I didn’t mean to scare you. I was just trying to distract you a little so you wouldn’t be scared. I was in control of the broom the whole time. You saw how easily we stopped, right?” He paused for a moment but she continued to ignore him. “Hermione, you’re overreacting!” He finally blurted out impatiently.



“I know!” She screamed as she suddenly whirled to face him and he nearly ran into her. To her horror, tears were now streaming down her cheeks and her lower lip stung where she had nearly bitten through it. “I know,” she repeated with a whimper.



“What’s wrong, Luv?” Draco pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, gently rubbing her back. “I know you’re not crazy about flying, but we weren’t even that high up. What’s going on?”



“It’s...today’s the first time I’ve flown since...you know...the Room...” She trailed off, refusing to look him in the eye. Draco lowered his arms and she saw him clenching his fists to keep his hands from shaking. “When I looked up and saw us heading toward that shed, I flashed back to all of us f-flying to get out the door b-before...” 



“I-I’m sorry,” Draco gulped. Putting his arms around her again, he crushed her to his chest. “I’m so sorry.” Hermione relaxed against him and wrapped her own arms around him, and they stood in silence for a moment, until the kitten began complaining in it’s basket. At the same time Draco finally noticed that Hermione was shivering and her legs were covered in goose flesh. “Lets get back to our rooms, get you and Miss Kittenface warmed up and go grab some dinner, alright, Luv?” He suggested, wrapping his arm around her waist and taking the basket from her cold fingers.



“Sounds lovely,” Hermione smiled sheepishly at him. “I’m sorry I freaked out on you, Draco.”



“It’s alright,” He smiled briefly back at her. “Let’s just try to forget about it. I’ll never make you fly again,” he promised.



“Alright,” Hermione slipped her arm around his waist under his cloak and they quickly made their way from the Quidditch pitch up to the castle.