The Baby Project

Chapter Twenty Seven


'We Live in a free world,
I whistle down the wind.
Carry on smiling,
and the world will smile with you.
Love is a flower,
so precious in your hand.
Carry on smiling,
and the world will smile with you'


Little men were chiseling away at her brain, she was sure of it.

Her mouth was dry and tasted like something had died in it, and to make it
all the more worse, she could feel her eyes already hurting from the feint
light that had entered the room through the curtains.

She tried to turn over to avoid her eyes hurting anymore, but found that she
couldn't.
Something was blocking her space.

Her half-asleep brain hadn't even concentrated as her arms shoved out to hit
the offending object.

It groaned.

Her eyes flew open instantly and she sat bolt upright in her bed.
It was only then that she could feel a pair of arms snaked around her
midriff.

Hermione closed her eyes and counted to ten, hoping to calm herself down.
But it didn't help matters that she knew exactly whom those arms belonged
to.

"Oh dear god..."

Hermione opened one eye and slowly peered down at the body in her bed.

Draco Malfoy.

Lying there with no top on.

This was not usual.

Not unappealing, but definitely not usual.

Hermione felt the need to poke him awake and ask him exactly why he was in
her bed half naked...when she looked down at her own state of dress and
cringed.

Only wearing her bra and knickers...for shame!

But then...why was she only wearing her-

She paled.
There wasn't a chance...no, Malfoy wouldn't sink that low...would he?

Unluckily for her, Malfoy chose exactly that moment to open his eyes.

Funny how things like that seemed to happen, wasn't it?

"Mornin'" He said groggily, unwrapping an arm from about her waist and
wiping his eyes with it.

Hermione couldn't looked at him.
Instead, she lay back on the bed and pulled the covers up to her chin.

Draco glanced over at her.
Didn't he even get a 'Good morning' after all that he had done for her last
night?

Not only had he fallen asleep...but he had also been woken up by the sound
of her barfing allover herself, and down the side of the bed.
After cleaning that up, removing the dress that she had wore that night,
making the room smell nice again AND getting the sick bucket from underneath
the kitchen sink, Draco had then needed to get up to feed Airyn at six this
morning.

He didn't see the point in going back to his own bed.
But at the moment, that point probably would have made more sense.

"What-" Hermione began, closing her eyes and willing the welling sickness
to go back down again "- what happened last night?"

Draco glanced at her.
Was she that drunk?

"You got shit faced and I ended up putting you to bed"

Literally?

Hermione could remember the faintest things...the one thing that she couldn't
put her finger on was exactly why she had decided to drink in the first
place...
Maybe it would come to her later.

Right now, her biggest problem was the fact that both she and Malfoy were
half-naked in her bed. God help them if her Mum and Dad decided to enter the
room.

"Where is my dress?" She asked him quietly, still not looking at him.

"Over there on the chair" Draco told her casually, sitting up next to her
and leaning his head against the headboard.

He really should have left for his own bed last night, rather than be asked
all sorts of questions this morning.
But for some reason his body wouldn't let him leave.
He kept telling himself that it was because Granger was ill, and therefore
he needed to stay with her and make sure she was alright...but then there was
that other part of him that liked the way Granger's hair smelled when he lay
next to her, and the warmth of her body when it was inches away from his...

A few times he had woken up with her spooning against him, her bottom curved
into his thighs and his arm over her waist, being held there by her hand
possessively.

He closed his eyes and tried not to think of that image...no good came from
thinking about that image...

"Why are you shirtless?" she asked him again.

Draco thought he could see a blush on her cheeks.
He felt like telling the truth; that he had woken up in the night and she
had decided to be sick allover his chest...but for some reason he thought
better about embarrassing her.

"Because this is how I sleep" He told her casually.

Hermione wished he wouldn't.
That chest should not be put on public view...it was far too dangerous.
She knew it wasn't from Quidditch; Quidditch didn't do that sort of things
to your muscles...Ron and Harry had been playing for years and they didn't
have a chest like Malfoy's...

Maybe it was defined through careful breeding and daily workouts at a gym -

'Hermione!' She scolded herself. 'Stop thinking about Malfoy's
chest and concentrate on why your seeing Malfoy's chest!'

And that's when it hit her.

Being drunk.
Not remembering.
Malfoy putting her to bed.
Her body aching allover.
Him being naked from the waist up.
Her being naked...besides her underwear...

"Is there..." She began, sounding awkward. "...I mean, what did...erm...you
know...did we-"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her.
For someone who usually used logic to figure things out, she certainly
wasn't using any for this situation.

"Did we what, Granger?"

Hermione blushed again.

Draco automatically realised the reason for her discomfort.
She thought they had shagged each other.

Draco's first instinct was to laugh and tell her not to be such a stupid
bint...
but then he realised that doing that would only cause her to react far
worse...

Draco's second instinct was to tell her the whole truth and nothing but the
truth...
but where was the fun in that?

So his third instinct kicked in, besides his better judgment.

"You know..."Hermione started.

Draco put on a hurt face.
" But don't...don't you remember?"

Hermione looked at him for a few moments, the cogs turning in her brain to
try and figure out exactly what she should have remembered.

"I-I can't think" she told him, lying back on the bed again. She closed her
eyes tight and hit her forehead with the palm of her hand repeatedly.

She didn't see Draco smiling like a lunatic.

"How could you forget?" He asked her, faking an angry tone in his voice.
"You said I rocked your world"

"What?!" Hermione shouted, louder than necessary.

Both teenagers looked over at the crib to make sure that Hermione's mighty
mouth had not woken Airyn...the longer she slept, the more time they had to
discuss their little 'problem'.

"What?" She whispered, her eyes looking directly into his now,
looking for the trace of a lie.

However, Draco happened to be very good at lying.

"In other words Granger; we went at it like rabbits for a good fraction of
the night" He told her, lying back down in the bed and turning sideways
whilst using his right hand to prop him up to get a better look at her face.

"We couldn't have..." Hermione said quietly, more to herself than Malfoy.
she stared up at the ceiling hopelessly.

"Oh, but we did..." Draco answered her, his voice taking on a lower tone. He
looked over her profile as she lay there, noticing that she looked too small
to be in the double bed. "...over, and over, and over and over-"

"Stop it" She moaned, taking a pillow from underneath her head and putting
it over her face.

Draco chuckled besides his better judgment.
"You were doing that last night so you wouldn't scream your lungs out-"

"Malfoy" She said warningly, muffled by the pillow. "I don't want to
know...I can't remember and I think I would like to keep it that way"

Draco felt slightly stung by her comment, even though the truth of the
matter was the fact that they had both done absolutely nothing.

"So you don't want a reminder of what it felt like, then?" He asked her, all
the while his free hand came to rest on her abdomen that was covered by her
bedsheet.

She lay still for a moment.
Draco knew full well that she was trying to work it all out.

"I wouldn't mind showing you exactly what happened..." He continued, drawing
little circles on the fabric with his fingers. "...the way you pushed me
back onto the bed...or the way you took off my clothes before I had a chance
to-"

"I DID NOT!" Hermione shouted again, flinging the pillow at him and then
looking at him accusingly. "I would never do something like that!"

Draco smirked.
"Then it must be me who brings the animal out in yo-"

He didn't have time to finish his sentence.
For some reason, Granger was taking great offense to his little joke and had
seemingly had enough.

The next thing he knew, he was on his back in the middle of the bed and
Granger was sat directly on top of him, one hand holding his chest down, and
the other covering his mouth.

"I can't remember anything, and would like to keep it that way" She told him
matter of factly, her face coming closer to his own. "If you choose to
remember what happened then so be it, but- Oh my god!"

Was that...could she feel...did Malfoy have an erection?

"Early morning glory" He told her with a smile through the hand that covered
his mouth.

Hermione continued to stare at him, almost as if she were in a trace. He
could see the feint sign of a blush begin to creep up into her cheeks...

Draco took the opportunity to slide his hands up her waist and rest them
just below her breasts.

"Stop it" She said, in a quieter voice than before. Hermione had closed her
eyes and was suddenly gasping for air.

"Why?" He asked her curiously, making little patterns there with his
fingers, much like he had done with the bedsheet.

Well, at least he was getting some kind of physical response to her now. He
was starting to think that she was somehow immune to his touch.

Her eyes suddenly shot open, and she hurled herself off of Draco and out of
the bedroom door.
For some reason, Draco felt the urge to follow her.

Her tracks stopped outside a closed bathroom door.
And the sounds inside were making him feel nauseous.
This had got to be one of the worst hangovers that Draco had ever bore
witness to.

He tapped on the door lightly.

"If it's any consolation" He told her, leaning against it. He thought the
time called to be truthful.
"I didn't shag you"

'But you have no idea how much I want to'

__________________________________________________



She still wasn't talking to him.
He had tried numerous times to apologise to her, but she wasn't having any
of it.

After she had re-appeared from the bathroom, she had taken the time to tell
him what a spineless little in-bred he was, and how much of a shit-bag he had
turned into, and then decided to chorus the fact that he was so gutless that
she felt the need to stamp on his head to get his brain working...

Such a sweet girl.

And yet, he couldn't help but admire it all.
No one ever spoke to him like that, so he knew that the first person to do
so would have his admiration for the rest of his life.
Trust it to be Granger.

After stating her opinion and waking up the whole house with her rather
large gob, Granger stomped into her bedroom and slammed the door behind
her...allowing Draco to hear a scream erupt from the bedroom. Obviously
Airyn had now been woken up.

He gave up and decided to go downstairs, which was where he was at this
present moment eating a bowl of mushy cornflakes.

Mr. Granger had wondered downstairs about ten minutes after Draco, and bid
him a good morning.

"Is it?" Draco asked sarcastically, stuffing another spoonful into his
mouth.

Paul gave him a smirk.
"Well, maybe not for you"

Draco half-wondered if Paul knew what had gone on.
But then again, it wasn't like he had overheard a conversation or anything,
he probably just heard Granger yelling and shouting all the names under the
sun at him.

He couldn't help himself.
The look in her eyes...the very fact that she was even ASKING him if they
had slept together...
How could he resist in telling a little white lie?

Okay, so more than a little one...more like a few big ones, but none the
less...
It was fun whilst it lasted.

"How did last night go, Draco?" Paul asked from the toaster and kettle in
the corner.

Draco sat and thought for a moment.
How did last night go?

"It was alright" He answered finally. "Not too sure how everyone got home-"

"Myself and Janet ordered taxi's for everyone" He told the boy casually. "It
seemed that they had decided to have a little too much to drink"

Draco smirked. If only he knew the state of his own daughter.
"Yeah, just a little"

"The little Weasley girl informed me that you had gone up to check on our
Hermione, and hadn't come back downstairs again" Paul added, still keeping
his tone casual and keeping himself facing the kettle, which now had steam
protruding from its spout.

"Yeah" Draco said quietly, deciding to shove another spoonful of cereal into
his mouth.
He didn't like where this conversation was going.

"Was there any reason for why you didn't come back down, Draco?"

Draco gulped.
He had to think fast.

"I fell asleep"

Yeah, thats a bloody good excuse Draco.

"You fell asleep?"

"Yes"

"Where?"

"In bed?"

"Whose?"

"What?"

Paul turned around to see him then.
Paul thought as much; Draco looked oddly flustered, and his cheeks were
showing the barest hint of blush.

Mr.Granger was fearing the worst.
Don't get him wrong; it wasn't like he could preach to Draco because he was
doing the same when he was the boy's age...but this was his daughter they
were talking about.

"I believe that you are probably aware of contraception?"

Draco choked on his cornflakes.
"Excuse me, sir?"

"Contraception, Draco" Paul answered. "Even you Wizarding folk must have
some kind of form of it?"

Draco nodded numbly, feeling the blush increase in his cheeks.
"There's a spell you can use for it"

Paul nodded.
"Then let's hope that you are taking care"

Draco said nothing, he was still too dumbfounded by the fact that he was
even having this conversation with Granger's Dad, let alone a Muggle.

He was about to let the man know that there was no reason for him to be
using contraception, when Granger came floating down the stairs with Airyn
in her arms...in a better mood than she had been previously.


______________________________


Hermione attempted to gather her wits as she sat on the edge of her bed.
She knew she was still nursing a hangover, of that much she was sure. But
the rest of it? Well, she was positive that there were still a few pieces of
information still missing from her antics of last night...

How could she be so stupid?
What right did she have to get angry and jealous over a few silly little
glances from Malfoy and Parvati from across a room?
No right, at all.
But the pangs of jealousy had hit her deeply, and for some reason she had
decided to punish her body for feeling that way...and that was why she had
drank the alcohol unnecessarily.
After that it was pretty much a blur.
Every now and again, something would swim into her memory and haunt
her...but she still felt that there was something missing.
She could just about remember Ron helping her up the stairs, and she could
definitely remember Malfoy helping her into her room...but the parts where
the two boys changed places with one another still confused her a little.
And then there was this morning...
Dear God, she felt like she was going to die from embarrassment.

How could he play a trick on her like that?
And worst of all...how come she didn't find it as repulsive as she should
have?

Then again; the answer to that question stuck out like a sore thumb.

She didn't think she could deny herself the answer for much longer.
Her body was fully aware that she liked him...her mind was just a little bit
slower to catch up.

'Either that, or I am in a hell of a lot of denial...'

But it was a lost cause, wasn't it?
From his reaction last night, Hermione thought she could see the sadistic
pleasure on his face when Parvati AND Pansy had brought up the fact that
they had both been with him. Maybe he just liked the attention? Maybe he
liked the way girls fawned over him all the time? Maybe he loved the fact
that girls were more likely to remember his name in the morning, than he was
to remember there's?

This was doing her no good at all.
Especially when the thought of actually sleeping with him had made her feel
an odd sense of elation, rather than the expectant feeling of terror and
guilt...
And then when he had told her that they had not shagged each other (through
the bathroom door, of all things!), Hermione hadn't expected to feel
so...angry?
Angry with him for playing with her feelings and thoughts, and angry with
herself for allowing him to manipulate her in that way...whether she wanted
to believe it, or not.

Hermione walked over to Airyn's crib, where she looked down to see her
daughter wide awake and looking around with her big baby blues, staring at
her Winnie the Pooh teddy and bouncing her tiny legs in the air.
Hermione smiled at her warmly and cooed at her, telling her what a beautiful
girl she was.
Airyn obviously didn't understand, and shoved her fist into her mouth as her
eyes fixated on the necklace around Hermione's neck.

"Morning, Sunshine" Hermione said happily, picking the baby out of the crib
and placing her into her arms. "Do you want some breakfast?"
So what was she to do?
Smile and put on a happy face? Face the fact that Malfoy meant it as a joke
and forget about it, like he probably had already?

What was it she had said about living in denial?

'Well...it's better than being where I am, right now...'

And with that thought in mind, she made her way out of her bedroom, and down
the landing towards the stairs.

______________________________

"Morning" She said out loud, taking a seat opposite Draco. "Dad, can you pass
me Airyn's bottle, please? She's due her feed"

Paul said nothing, but passed his daughter the bottle that had been warming
up in the lukewarm water of the pan on the stove.

Draco smirked at her from his cereal bowl, and Hermione stuck her tongue out
at him playfully, showing him that she could take a joke as much as the next
man could.

"What happened to breast feeding?" Draco asked curiously, deciding to take
their banter in a different direction.

He noticed Paul giving him a strange look from his place by the kettle, as
he now poured himself a cup of boiling water.

Hermione shrugged.
"For some reason it feels strange." She told him. "It's like my body is
telling me that Airyn is getting too old for breast milk..."

Draco frowned.
"But babies can breast feed for as long as they like"

Hermione nodded.
"I know, but I don't know what it is..."

Draco thought for a moment until the answer came to him.
"It won't be long until our two months of sleepless nights are over" He
answered. "Is it February when Airyn changes?"

Hermione realised what he was talking about.
"Oh, of course! She's going to change" She said happily. "I'd forgotten all
about that!"

Draco smiled to himself when he saw Airyn taking the teet of the bottle into
her mouth.
He hadn't really noticed before, but her hair was slowly turning into a
light brown colour on top, with the slightest of curls sprinkled every now
and again across her tiny head.

Draco was about to ask if it was just him, or if Airyn actually felt
heavier- when the group were disturbed by a knock at the window.

"It's one of those bloody birds again" Paul said, standing in front of his
buttered toast protectively, remembering what had happened to his breakfast
the last time one of those bloody owls had got to it.

Hermione recognised the bird at once.

Pigwidgeon.

Something crashed into her.
She hadn't remembered before, but now that she was reminded, the full scale
of last nights events suddenly collapsed on top of her, and she was suddenly
finding it hard to breath.

Ron had almost forced himself on her.

The memory was still coming back to her, and she closed her eyes, trying to
will the images within her brain to subside.
She could remember being pressed to the floor, his lips smothering hers
while his tongue tried to seek entrance...his hands seemed to be everywhere
- sliding up her sides, hovering over her breasts - and his legs were
entwining with her own -

"It's for you, Hermione" Paul told her casually, attempting to pull the
small scroll from the tiny owl's leg and putting it onto the table for her.

Hermione didn't want to read it.
Not right now, anyway. She needed to give herself sometime to calm down
before she decided to open the letter and read.

"I'll have a look later" She said quietly, still looking at the scrolled up
parchment.

She could feel Malfoy looking at her curiously from across the table,
obviously seeing the odd expression that she was currently harbouring on her
face.
Yet, she still neither looked at him, or gave him any piece of evidence of a
clue to say what the parchment might be.

"Will you finish off feeding Airyn?" She asked him instead, looking up at
him smiling slightly. She got up from her seat and made her way around the
table towards him. "I have to go and get dressed".

Draco tried to make eye contact with her, wanting her to tell him with her
eyes that she was okay.
But she didn't look at him once, she just planted Airyn into his arms and
walked out of the room.

After she had gone, and Airyn was safely in her Daddy's arms, Paul sat
opposite him instead.

"You'll learn that women are funny creatures" He said with a knowing sigh,
taking a sip of his tea.

Draco nodded slightly, his eyes firmly fixed upon the letter that was still
lying there on the table, begging to be opened.


"You're not wrong there"

He really wasn't.

__________________________________

Mione,

I know that you will probably remember last night by the time you read this.
My mind hasn't been able to keep itself from thinking about it since it all
happened.

I overstepped the mark, and all that I can do is apologise.
I thought this was what you wanted, because for so long I have felt the same
way.
But I was obviously wrong, and now I am regretting everything about what
happened,
because I know that I have hurt you, and you will probably never forgive me.

I didn't mean to force myself onto you like that, I guess I just didn't
realise that you
weren't in the same place as me...physically, I mean.

I haven't told anyone because I don't have the guts,
but I wouldn't really blame you if you decided to tell everyone what I tried
to do.
Please know that I didn't do it intentionally, and I thought that it was
what we both wanted.

Hopefully we can get past this and still be friends,
but I just need you to be able to forgive me for everything.
I really hope you can, we've been friends for so long, and I don't think I
could stand not being
around or seeing you everyday.

See you in school.

More sorry than you will ever know,

Ron
x


Draco crumpled the paper in his hands.
He didn't say a word as he walked up the stairs and placed Airyn in her
crib, saying goodbye.
He didn't make a sound as he walked back down the stairs, hearing Granger in
the bathroom with the shower running.
He didn't even draw a breath as he opened the front door and stepped out of
it, closing it once again behind him.

But he did let out a low growl when he heard the words Ron Weasley
penetrating his skull.
__________________________________


The first thing Hermione noticed was the small whimpering noises coming from
her bedroom as she entered.
Not big crying whimpers, but small noises coming from her daughter.

There she was, lying in her crib kicking her legs and waving her arms
in front of her face.

Hermione frowned.
If Airyn was in here, then where was Malfoy?

She quickly got changed and then took herself and Airyn back downstairs.
Her Mother was in the living room watching 'Boxing Day' television, whereas
her Father was seated in his study, reading a rather dusty tomb.

Janet looked around at her daughter.
"Your Dad told me you were incapacitated with alcohol last night"

Hermione looked bashful.

"And he also told me that Draco stayed in your bed"

How the hell did he find that out?

Janet gave her daughter a knowing look.
"I know you are of legal age now, Hermione" She began, giving a lecture.
"But I don't expect that sort of thing to go on under my-"

"I'm not having sex" Hermione said quietly.

If she was, she would probably be a lot happier.

Janet frowned.
"Then what-"

"I got drunk and Draco took me to bed" She told her mother honestly,
hoisting Airyn onto her shoulder. "He stayed with me so I didn't choke on my
own vomit"

Janet wrinkled her nose.
"Lovely image"

Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Have you seen Draco?" She asked, needing to change the subject.

Janet shook her head and looked back at the TV.
"Your Dad said he popped out before. Didn't say where he was going..."

Hermione found this very strange.
Malfoy, touring around Muggle London? It was practically unheard of.

The Gryffindor quietly left the living room and made her way into the
kitchen, daring herself to try and force some food into her empty stomach.

Hermione looked over at the kitchen table.

That was the first thing she had noticed as soon as she had walked
in, sitting there all crumpled...
And then was the fact that It had been opened...

Hermione bit her lip and closed her eyes.
Both fury and panic gripped her at the same time...

He had read the letter.


___________________________________

He had spent most of the day going from shop to shop, looking at the odd
thing in the window and criticising it to his full intent.
After that, he had wondered into a little backstreet Muggle pub and
befriended the barman, who gave him free drinks for the remainder of the
day.

Anything to take his mind from that stupid fucking red-headed monster who
actually seems to think that he is more of a human being than Draco was...
But Draco had never attempted to force himself onto a girl...
Ever.
End of.

His knuckles went white as his squeezed the pint glass in his grasp.

"Fucking prick" He said quietly. "Arrogant twat...dirty, filthy little
bloodstained tyrant..."

"I'm not that bad" The barman told him, joking.

Draco smirked at him, his vision only slightly blurred. But his aim for the
day was to get absolutely shit faced, and then worry about the consequences
later.

"Not you" Draco answered, knocking back the rest of his pint of lager as the
barman poured him another from the tap.

The barman nodded knowingly. "You mean that Weasley fellow you keep talking
about?"

Draco nodded, pointing at the man as though he had got the answer right to a
quiz question.
"Right you are, mate"

"Well" The barman began, pushing his long hair from his face with one
tattooed arm. "If you ask me I think he deserves a beating; no man should
step onto another man's territory"

Draco nodded.
And then looked at him.
"She's...she's notmyterritory"

The barman laughed.
"Well, thats what you say now...but you've got a baby with this girl, so
theres obviously something there that you never realised before..."

"Aye" Draco agreed, taking his next pint from the barman's hand. "Never
realised it...not until they insemdinateded her..."

"You mean, Inseminate?"

"That's what I said; insemdinateded"

The barman shook his head.
This guy had been sitting here for the best part of four hours. At first he
didn't speak, he just kept a watchful eye on his surroundings and accepted
the offer of a few drinks from the bar. But as time went by, the boy seemed
to relax a little, and soon he began to make conversation with the barman,
telling him all sorts of mindless crap.

The drink flowed and the boy opened up almost literally, talking animatedly
about some lad who had tried it on with his girlfriend, and the boy was
going to kill him.
Not that the barman blamed him, as it sounded like this girl meant a lot to
him, although he tried not to show it too much.

And now here he was;
Spilling his heart out to anyone who would listen, especially about the
bastard who had tried to take advantage of his girlfriend.

"I'll have dis one and den go..." Draco announced, downing the pint in one.

The barman winced, knowing that the boy would wakeup with rather a nasty
hangover in the morning.

_____________________________

Hermione looked out of the window impatiently.
Nothing.

It was now six in the evening...Malfoy had been gone for almost seven
hours...
She knew she shouldn't worry, but she felt that the situation called for it,
seems as though he didn't know where the hell he was, or how to be able to
get back.

Paul and Janet had told her not to worry; he was a big boy and he could take
care of himself.
Paul had told her that this is what he used to do; get out of the house and
clear his head if things were getting on top of him.

Hermione wasn't too sure how to take that.
Malfoy had nothing getting on top of him...only that stupid letter...that he
had no right to read anyway, because the letter had belonged to HER.

She wanted to feel angry and really have a blazing row with him when he did
eventually come through the door.
But for now, all she could do was secretly worry for him to come back.


__________________________


He had only walked out because he needed to take his anger out on something.
Its funny how it worked out; the only thing he seemed to take his anger out
on was himself.

But the letter did explain a few things;
Why Granger was on the floor crying.
Why Granger was not in her bedroom.
Why that fucking bum-nut was nowhere to be seen upstairs when he had gone
up.

He knew very well that he had no right in reading that letter, but Draco
Malfoy was Draco Malfoy...you could take the boy out of his arrogance...but
you can't take the arrogance out of the boy.

So what?
He was glad that he had read it. At least he knew now what Weasley was really
like.
But then why did Granger like him so much?

'She can't like him now if he's done that to her...' He thought to
himself, stumbling down the street and turning the corner into another
tavern. 'The bastard should never be forgiven for trying something like
that...'

Where the hell had his morals come from?
He'd noticed that more and more over the past few weeks, it was almost like
he was growing a conscious...

That would be the Granger side of him showing...

Dammit.

Draco pushed the tavern door open, squinting as the bright lights hit his
eyes.
He readjusted to his surroundings and kept walking towards the bar.

Irish music?

"Look, it's Malfoy!"

Draco looked around; his vision still slightly blurred.
Then he felt a hand on his arm, and he was being dragged by a strangers grip
all the way to the far end of the pub.

"He was there at Hermione's last night, Ma'am"

That voice was familiar.

"Get 'im a drink if 'es you friend, Seamus!"

"Aye, Ma'am!"

Draco was pulled into a seat by another hand.
His vision seemed to swim for a moment, until he could see a pair of dark
brown eyes looking at him.

"Hello, Draco"

_______________________________


Hermione shut her curtains and got into bed.
Airyn had been in bed for about three hours already, and was probably due
for her feed within another three.
It was now almost eleven o'clock at night. When Malfoy got back she was
going to skin him alive...possibly literally!

How rude to go wandering off all day, without telling anyone what you're
doing.

Hermione was beginning to doubt those times when he had hinted at having the
slightest feeling for her.
She was beginning to think that Malfoy never meant what he said.

And to think; for a moment today, she had thought that she had lost her
virginity to him...

And for a moment; she let herself feel proud of that fact.


_____________________________

Parvatil Patil was a very beautiful girl.
She had long, dark flowing hair and a beauty spot just to the side of her
right nostril. She smelled of exotic flowers, and her out of school clothes
were so colourful that he felt like a bee being attracted to honey.

Her eyes could tell you stories that her lips could not...but her lips could
give you a hell of a lot more that her eye's couldn't.
She spoke with her hands, and her face lit up animatedly when she spoke
about things that she liked.

Draco could understand why he was so taken with her when they had been fuck
buddies.
But obviously, the good came with the bad.
She was overly possessive, and wouldn't think twice about confronting another
woman for even brushing past him in the corridors.
When she didn't get her way, she would whine.
And when she did get her way, she would whine some more just to prove her
point.

But on the whole; she was a very fine specimen of a female.
And her sister was, too.

"Where's Jenny and Boon?" Draco asked, shooting his second tequila shot down
his neck.
He sat there in the little booth in the corner, just himself, the Patil
girls and Seamus.

Parvati rolled her eyes.
"Oh, they're with Ron"

Draco sneered.
Both at the name, and the way she just brushed off her kids, as if she
didn't care.
He hated that.

Draco decided not to cause an argument, and to look around him instead.
"Why is it all Irish?"

"It's an Irish pub" Seamus answered, drinking Guinness.

"But we're not in Ireland"

Seamus couldn't help but laugh.

Draco looked at the Patil twins. "So what are you doing in here?"

Padma shrugged.
"Our family are good friends with the Finnigans" Parvati answered, swirling
her straw around in her cocktail slowly, stroking the tip of the straw.
"They invited us and we said we would come"

"Why are you 'ere?" Seamus asked him curiously.

Draco shrugged, not really wanting to get into it.
"Needed the air"

"But this is a Muggle pub" Padma told him, observing him curiously. "We come here once every year to meet up with our non-magical sides of the family"

Seamus nodded. "Well, I don't come here for that" He said happily. "Me Ma and Pa just like to come and get drunk with the Muggles every now and again"

"Amusuing" Draco answered, but he couldn't help the small smile on his lips, despite his brain telling him not to.

Seamus observed the blond Slytherin in front of him.
This time six months ago, he wouldn't have even given the bastard the time
of day...but for some reason he seemed worth knowing lately...something
about his aura had changed, and it had made him more approachable.
So when he saw Draco enter the tavern, he had to drag him over to the table
out of principle...that, and the fact that he was stumbling around, which
looked a little dangerous to be doing when you were on your own.

"Where's Hermione?" Parvati asked him curiously, crossing one leg over the
other and baring part of her right thigh to him generously. "At home playing
'house?'?"

Draco nodded.
"Doing her own thing, probably" He took another tequila shot, the liquid
burning his throat slightly. "Airyn doesn't really do much...sleeps and
shits, mainly"

"Amen to that" Seamus said with a laugh.

"Love her, though" Draco added.

He glanced sideways at Parvati, and then noticed that there was something
traveling the length of his thigh.
A hand? How strange...

"How are things with you and Hermione, then?" Parvati asked him curiously,
her hand gently squeezing his leg.

Draco shrugged.
What could he say when he didn't know himself?
He was mad at her...for some reason that he seemed to have forgotten in the
middle of his drunken haze...
It wasn't the fact that she hadn't told him about Weasley...and it wasn't
the fact that she didn't seem repulsed by what had apparently happened last
night...

It was the fact that Weasley had touched her.
Ah, yes...there was that anger that he knew he still had left inside of him.

He held up his tequila shot glass and took another, drowning out the false
memory of Weasley's lips allover Granger's skin...kissing her...caressing
her...

The hand on his thigh was steadily rising higher...
And he didn't care.
If Granger didn't care, then neither did he.
Fuck it.
Fuck Weasley.
Fuck Granger.
And later...he would probably end up fucking Parvati.

Draco noticed Finnigan leaving the table quietly, obviously seeing something
going on between Draco and the Patil twin. He was saying something about
finding his Mum when he disappeared from view.

Draco looked at Parvati with fire in his eyes.
Why not? Why not fuck her brains out?
He was drunk and it wasn't like there was anyone holding him back...Granger
was stuck in the 'Let's be friends' stage.
Confusing bitch.

Padma kicked Parvati from under the table, realising exactly what her sister
was up to.
But she soon took off in a huff after her twin shot her an evil look.

Then her attention was solely on him.

She leaned over and whispered lightly in his ear.
"I knew I would have you all to myself again, one day" She told him, her
hand still stroking his thigh. "All those nights that I have thought about
having you; all the times I've had to remember how powerful you are, and how
your hands felt when they were touching me...it gets me off every time..."

Draco closed his eyes, remembering all too well.
They were good together; he knew that.
But so were him and Pansy. Never lasted long enough, though. He always ended
up disinterested.

"...the things you used to do to make me come...the way you would touch me
in places that I didn't even know existed...you were an animal..."

Her hand had slipped further up, and was now stroking his groin.

"...If I could have you again, I would show you exactly what you've been
missing..."

He felt her lips against his neck.
He knew all too well that they could be seen if anyone were to look over at
them...but he knew all too well that Parvati thrived on the thought of
getting caught.
It was her little game.

"...Do you want me like I want you?" She asked him in a husky whisper.

Draco looked at her for a moment.

The answer was in the kiss.


___________________________


A/N:

Sorry for yet another cliffy...but i live for them lol!

So many people i want to thank!!!
You are all too kind, and im really flattered that you are continuing to read this story, even with the lack of smut (so far, anyway...*sniggers*)

Jamieblye:
I just have to tell you I'm totally inlove with 'from venice, with love'! Im really into it at the moment, and im really sorry that i haven't read it before now!!
Its a highly recommended read!!!!

Orchidrain:
Love your fic 'times of surrender', too!!!
I love how it is all coming along!!!

i hope you enjoyed this chapter, and theres a nice little surprise waiting for you in chapter 28...its just a pitty that you will have to wait a week for it!!! :-D hehehe!

Keep reading and reviewing, and YES: eventually smutty goodness WILL become a hermione and Draco phenomenon...and how could you possibly miss that??? :-D

Thanks again!!!!!
xxx

P.S - if you still want me to email you with an update, then review with your email addy somewhere on the review, otherwise i cant get intouch!!!
Either that, or contact me on;

shelliebob@hotmail.com

im always ready to answer!!!!!

Cheers!!
xxx