This Subdued Fire

All the s fro from the first part apply here.
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Draco turned to see Pansy lounging on the satin coverlet. He regarded her haughtily. \"And just *how* did you manage to slip past my wards?\"

\"Don\'t you worry your pretty little head about that.\" The always accommodating Pansy he\'d once known had disappeared. In her place was the hard-faced girl of his first year. \"The Dark Lord was *not* pleased with your little stunt, Draco. Neither was your father. I must say, of the two of them, I\'d be more worried about Lucius than the Dark Lord.\"

\"You\'re so kind to be concerned with my well-being.\"

\"Someone\'s got to be if you\'re not. Lucius and Narcissa have formally disowned you. You\'re cut off without a knut to your name. And they\'re out for blood. Yours and everyone else\'s that was there. Lucius was especially angry after the beating you handed him - not to mention what the Dark Lord handed out after the five of you Disapparated back here.\"

\"Well, it\'s about bloody time that he\'s become someone\'s whipping boy. I\'d held that post for far too long.\" Draco looked a bit triumphant.

\"Stop your smirking. I just wanted to tell you that the Dark Lord is willing to be generous if you come back and atone for your traitorous actions.\"

\" \'Atone\'? Are you completely barking, Pansy? I wouldn\'t go near Voldemort - \" Draco had the pleasure of watching Pansy flinch at the use of Voldemort\'s name. \" - with a ten-foot pole. If you hadn\'t noticed, Hermione slipped through his fingers and I\'m sure the next convenient mage would do. I\'m not in a mood to be eviscerated and made to eat my own heart whilst I bled to death. If that\'s what you think then I\'ve got a nice little padded room in St. Mungo\'s I can show you. Right next to that blithering idiot Lockhart. I\'m sure you\'ll have a lot to talk about.\"

\"Well.\" Pansy rose from the bed in a huff. \"They can\'t accuse me of not having tried to talk some sense into you. You could\'ve been a martyr for a glorious cause, Draco Octavian Malfoy.\"

\"Yes, well, forgive me if being alive seems to be the better option right about now,\" he sneered.

\"You\'ll be sorry, Draco.\"

\"Like I\'ve never heard those words before. Get out of here before I thump you, Pansy. Oh, and try for a bit of originality next time.\"

Pansy opened the door and flounced out. Draco rolled his eyes and immediately changed the warding on the entrance. That finished, he dressed and concentrated on making his hair shorter than he normally wore it. The gelled look was so done in his opinion.

He left the room and climbed up to the common room. A few third and fourth-years were lounging about the green tinited space, conversing quietly. Some gave him nasty looks and others just ignored him as he went by. Casting his House-mates a jaundiced eye, he swept from the room and onto the first floor, making his way to the grand staircase for a bit of breakfast.

Hermione was seated at her usual place between Potter and Weasley. Draco felt a tug to go join her in her breakfast. But he stayed where he was. He buttered a scone calmly, feeling her eyes on him. Draco surreptitiously observed Hermione and he hummed with silent approval at her attire. Her dress was a near echo of his, except that she wore a midnight blue v-necked jumper and a pair of grey and blue trousers. Her hair was pulled up into a tidy knot on top of her head. She looked as if she were to the manor born, a true lady. Which, he supposed, she really was.

He noticed that she had kippers for breakfast. (Yuck. Absolutely disgusting creatures. How can she eat those things?) he thought sourly.

She finished the last piece of fish and downed a swallow of pumpkin juice. Hermione scooted her chair away from the table and went to join Dumbledore in his office. Her brisk pace was a signal for Draco to follow soon afteracoraco finished his scone and bacon and set off after Hermione. Harry, Ron and Ginny were not long behind him.

The five of them travelled to the Headmaster\'s office, Ron being completely in the dark about what had and was now transpiring. However, the red-headed man decided that discretion was the better part of valor and kept quiet. He was burning up with curiousity though. Why was Malfoy there? And where had Hermione, Harry and his sister been? He\'d not really seen them outside of classtimes or mealtimes. True, the respite from their company meant that he had time to press his case with Lavender and they now got along magnificently.

Once in the presence of Dumbledore, they sat and waited for the old man to explain why they were there. Uncustomary to the Headmaster, he didn\'t keep them waiting.

\"I\'ve summoned you all here today to make you members of the Order of the Phoenix,\" he stated without preamble.

They had been expecting this. Ron, however and most predictably, had a few reservations about it.

\"I don\'t mean to be presumptuous, sir, but do you think that *he* should be hearing about all of this?\" Ron gestured to Draco.

\"He, of all people, is the one who needs to hear about this. Draco has overcome quite a bit to get to this point, Ron.\"

\"But...he\'s a *Death Eater*. How do we know he won\'t go running back to You-Know-Who and blabbing all over the place?!\" Ron\'s face had begun a slow flush.

\"He\'s not a Death Eater anymore, Ronald.\" Albus spoke softly, but strongly and with great authority.

\"He could be lying to you. Malfoy\'s a sneaky, lying slithering bastard and I wouldn\'t trust him with my toenail clippings, let alone my life!\" The next to youngest Weasley was nearly shouting.

\"It\'s true, Weasel. I\'m not a Death Eater anymore.\" Draco spoke from the depths of his chair and rose to stand in front of his longtime antagonist. \"Look at this.\"

\"I don\'t want to see your Dark Mark, Malfoy.\"

\"Oh stop being such a self-righteous prat and look, Weasley!\" Draco pushed up the sleeve of his jumper and thrust his forearm beneath the other man\'s nose.

Ron, having older brothers who were well-versed in the attributes of Dark magic, knew well what the Dark Mark was supposed to look like. This most certainly wasn\'t it.

\"What is it?\" Ron asked.

\"It\'s the Mark of the Rose. And we,\" Draco swept his hand to indicate the other three sitting in their chairs. \"All have it. Professor Snape also has one. It\'s our allegiance, our binding to Hermione.\"

\"Binding? Why would any of us need to be bound to her?\" Ron\'s visage was riddled with conon. on.

\"That is a story best saved for another day. Suffice it to say that having this imprinted on me is why I am not a Death Eater anymore.\" Draco pulled his arm back and rolled down his sleeve.

Dumbledore interrupted then. \"The four of them engaged in a bit of heroism that went awry.\" His blue eyes sparkled a bit. \"So I and the other members of the Order, your brothers included, felt that it was necessary to induct them before they got themselves into more trouble. You included, Mr. Weasley.\"

\"You mean Bill and Charlie knew about this?\"

\"Fred, George and your parents as well.\"

\"Bloody wonderful. Why am I always the last to know?\"

\"If I could answer that question, Mr. Weasley,\" Albus\' expression was imbued with barely suppressed amusement. \"I\'d be God, not the Headmaster of Hogwarts.\"

\"Ho ho ho,\" Ron rejoined sourly.

\"Now now, Ron. No sour grapes here. Unless they\'re candy. Speaking of which, would you care for one?\" Dumbledore levitated a crystal dish filled with the deep purple sugar orbs over to where Ron sat. The young man mumbled a hasty thanks and scooped up a handful of the candies.

Dumbledore looked at him and shook his head, smiling. Ron was extremely tall and lanky, yet he\'d oved ved the boy eating mass quantities of food. This morning was no exception. Albus often wondered where he put it all. \"Are we all sorted?\"

Ron nodded, face stuffed with Sour Grapes.

\"Good. Finish those up and we shall get started.\"

The red-head ate the last of the candies and sat in his chair contentedly. Albus was surprised that Hermione hadn\'t felt the need to jump to Draco\'s defence. But, he supposed, Draco was far more than ready to defend himself.

\"Virginia Weasley, come forth.\" Ginny got up, a bit of hesitancy on her face. Albus came to stand in front of her. He gave her a \'buck-up\' smile and the caution drifted away from her features. \"Your hand, if you please.\"

Gin extended her palm and Albus took it lightly within his own. He clasped it and the two felt the light pulse of blood in their fingertips. When Albus let go of Ginny\'s hand, the girl could see a very tiny phoenix tattooed in brilliant color just below the smallest finger.

\"Just as you are bound to Hermione, so are yow bow bound to me, Virginia. Just as you are bound to me, you are bound to the other members of the Order,\" Albus intoned solemnly.

Ginny nodded once and she retook her place on the sofa by Harry\'s side. Dumbledore called Hermione to him. The same clasping of the hands and she, too, bore a tiny phoenix on her hand. Yet Dumbledore felt an answering tingle along the skin of his palm. Etched into the calloused skin of his hand there was a Rose Mark, the tiny phoenix having transferred itself into the center of the blossom. Dumbledore nodded in satisfaction. There was only one more person to recieve the bloom, he being the sixth. Hermione held her head high, like the queen she was and Albus felt like kneeling at her feet as a supplicant for her favour. She gave him a knowing smile and took her place in the great wingbacked chair next to Draco. Albus called Slytherin\'s prince to him and left the phoenix imprinted in Draco\'s soft, unworked hand. Harry was next and Ron, being the eldest of the five students, was last.

\"Now that that bit of business is done, the next meeting is to take place tonight at no. 12 Grimmauld Place. I trust you know how to get there, Draco?\"

\"Oh, yes.\" The blond grimaced. \"When Sirius was put into Azkaban, mother used to take me \'round there to visit with the old lady. Something about keeping her family ties intact, regardless of blood traitors. I suppose it paid off. The old witch left me a bit in her will.\"

Harry was incensed. \"Look, you may be on our side, but I won\'t have you rambling on incessantly about your ill-begotten galleons. That money rightfully belongs to Sirius.\"

\"Well, Sirius isn\'t here anymore, is he? It\'s got to pass to someone. Being that I, Nymphadora and Commodus are the last, it\'ll all come to me, in the end. I suppose that Nymphadora could get a bit of it, if she put in a claim to the Ministry. I highly doubt it though. Being that she isn\'t even recognised as being a Black...\" Draco trailed off, seeing the at ext expressions on Harry\'s and Ron\'s faces.

\"All you ever think about is money. You disgust me.\"

\"Harry.\" Hermione\'s voice cut through like a hot knife. \"Leave him alone.\"

\"I think Harry\'s entirely correct, Hermione.\" Ron spoke up. \"He\'s a money grubbing little *pure-blood*. He probably only switched sides because it was for personal gain. Didn\'t want to end up dead anot being able to enjoy all those lovely coins, Malfoy? And why are you defending him anyway? You can\'t stand him.\"

\"I can\'t?\"

\"Unless he\'s got you under Imperius or sommat, I can\'t see how you could. Look at him. He\'s pathetic, never done a hard day\'s work in his life.\"

Draco leapt from his chair once more. \"Sod off, Weasel. You don\'t know a damned thing about my life and I won\'t sit here and be insulted by the likes of *you* any longer.\"

Ron got up to stare Draco down. The blond was discomfited to realize that Ron was several inches taller than h"I\'"I\'d rather be dirt-poor and have a soul than to be an empty, rich soulless little git.\" With that, Ron left Dumbledore\'s office in a huff. Harry followed, Ginny close behind.

Draco seemed to slump a bit at their departure. Hermione got up to slip a comforting hand onto his shoulder. \"They\'ll come around, love. It just takes time.\"

\"Maybe. Maybe they\'re right.\"

Hermione spun Draco around to face her. \"They\'re not right. They don\'t see you as I do. I\'m sure that you never would\'ve been given this,\" she laid her hand on his cashmere covered mark, \"if you weren\'t at all worthy.\"

\"You give me too much credit.\"

Hermione smiled and twined her fingers in his shortened strands. \"Sometimes I don\'t think that I give you enough.\"

Draco\'s cheeks bloomed with subtle color. \"Er...uh, thanks.\"

\"Ahem.\" Dumbledore spoke from where he sat at his desk. \"As much as I enjoy observing young love and all of that, I think that this is a conversation best finished in private. Off with you.\"

Making their farewells to the Headmaster, the pair set off at a leisurely amble down the still deserted corridors. Nigh onto ten o\'clock, most students didn\'t think of peeking their heads above the cotton percale of their sheets until noon, at the very least. May Day was a lazy affair. None of them had had the opportunity to light the dawn fires or go gathering the Beltaine dew. Still, Hermione felt that she should mark the day in some fashion. With that, she pulled Draco into a secluded corner.

\"What\'s this all about?\"

\"I want you to come with me...to my room.\"

Draco was rather floored. He\'d only been there the one time and she\'d never extended the invitation to him. After all of their painstaking avoidance of personal spaces, here she was, luring him in. It sent a deep, burning sensation in the pit of his heart and Draco smiled. Not a thin, sardonic smile, oh no. A real, open and genuine smile.

As one, they became invisible and went back into the corridor. Draco and Hermione nearly ran up the stairs, which obliged them by not shifting so much and making them lost. Reaching the seventh floor, they crept along the corridor and Hermione made herself visible before the portrait of the Fat Lady. \"Orange Zest.\" The painting swung open and Hermione and the transparent Draco went inside.

He looked around the commone room avidly. Everything was so warm, so comfortable and squishy and filled with sunlight. And their fireplace was absolutely huge compared to the Slytherin one.

\"Stay here,\" she whispered to him. Hermione went up the short fligf stf stairs to her room. She came back down holding something in a tightly clenched fist. \"Floo powder. When these two leave,\" the two were Neville and Parvati, ensconced in a corner, \"come on up.\" She gave him a wink and went back upstairs.

If Neville and Parvati noticed Hermione going in and out of the common room, they gave no notice, so wrapped up in each other they were. Their very openness inspired a bit of envy in the confines of Draco\'s heart. He wished that he and Hermione could let the world know that they were an \'us\', a \'we\'. He was becoming tired of the constant sneaking around and the secrecy. Still and yet it was an added attraction that he was not quite ready to dispense with.

The pair that canoodled in the the large armchair got up and left the room and it was empty at last. Draco stepped into the fireplace and flooed into Hermione\'s room. He became visible in a wink. She was nowhere to be found. He peered into the bathroom, no Hermione. He went looking into the armoire that stood against the wall. No Hermione. Draco even looked under the bed. Only Hermione\'s mean yellow-eyed feline was there. Crookshanks hissed and batted at him a bit before Draco withdrew. As he backed out from under the four-poster, a feminine chuckle caught his ear.

He sat back on his heels and regarded this creature that he loved so much. She was prone, leaning on her elbows, laughing above him. The delight he saw in her face at the apparent dislike her familiar held for him was enough to take his breath away. Never had he seen her so carefree and enjoying herself. War was hard on the queen, as it was for her pawns.

She cocked her head to the side, regarding him as seriously as he looked at her. \"Do you like what you see?\" she inquired saucily.

\"Not really, no.\"

Her mouth fell open, obviously affronted. \"Bastard.\" Hermione rolled over and grabbed a pillow and began swatting at Draco with it.

\"Hey now. That bloody hurts, you wench!\"

\"It\'s supposed to, you prat!\" She began attacking him even harder.

With a yell, Draco got up from the floor and tackled her onto the mattress. \"You\'re as vicious as that cat of yours!\" He wrenched the pillow out of her hands and tossed it aside. Malfoy grinned maliciously. \"Someone needs to teach you some manners.\"

\"It certainly isn\'t you. Your manners are about as refined as a pig\'s in slop.\" Hermione gave Draco a little raspberry.

\"My manners are fine! My manners are exactly the same as everyone else\'s!\"

\"Nonsense. You\'re terrible some of the time.\"

\"But not most of the time?\" He grinned cheekily at her.

\"No. Most of time you\'re bloody umbearable.\"

\"You\'ve asked for it.\" And then he did something which was most un-Draco like.

He began to tickle the daylights out of her. Draco held her pinned between his broomstick hardened thighs and enjoyed the sensation of her wriggling madly between them. They begin to wind down as they both feel the mild irritation turn into something quite different. He swooped down to plant an incendiary kiss on her mouth.

\"You did that on purpose, didn\'t you?\" Hermione accused.

\"No! Did I?\" He batted those strangely dark eyelashes of his. \"I wasn\'t aware.\"

\"Little liar.\" Hermione wound her arms around Draco\'s neck and pulled him to her.

His slenderness provided a comforting weight along her length. Their skins beneath the matching cashmeres burned with a welcoming and familiar heat. A few whispered words and they were both completely divested of their clothing. Draco felt the need to worship her completely. He rained kisses from the top of her head to the soles of her purple polished feet.

\"Mmm.\" He looked up at his lover\'s face and found a beatific grin plastered across her mouth. Draco chuckled a bit, pleased to have pleased her.

And Hermione was pleased. She was near to purring under his ministrations. There always seemed to be something of a give-and-take, of submission and dominance to every encounter with Draco. This was entirely different. For once it was just the two of them in bed, all baggage left outside of bed.

She could feel his hands stroking lightly but insistently along her thighs, parting them. And then there was his talented tongue tracing patterns amid the soft petaled flesh. She let out a serrated sigh. Then the pleasure spiked and sent her spiraling up to another plateau. Draco was supremely conscious of every moan and gasp. He sent his moutvingving in accordance to every shiver. He could feel the tension in her legs, her hamstrings tightened rock-hard. A faint silvery green sheen appeared at the edge of his skin, moving up and around to entwine with the glittering red aura that surrounded Hermione. The two colours clashed and mingled to form a golden-brown that sparkled and fizzed. Satisfied that he had paid enough tribute at the shrine of her femininity, Draco moved up, feeling her writhe impatiently underneath him.

He couldn\'t resist teasing her a bit, rubbing himself against her wet and pouting slit. In retaliation she dug her nails into his shoulders, eliciting a grunt. A lightly whispered charm and he eased his shaft into her, finding the fit as fine as a sword sliding into a well-made sheath. She opened her eyes and her golden orbs locked onto his silver irises and they rode out the storm, rocking against one another as if they\'dn lon lovers for a millennium. High and higher they went and the antiqued gold light around them lightened until it became a sun-bright coruscation and they were gone.

In the aftermath, they slept as velvet red petals dripped down to coat them in love.