Sleepless Nights

CHAPTER FOUR


Hermione sat at the end of the Gryffindor table in the main hall, alone. She glared at Ron and Harry who were taking turns throwing peas at her from down the table, calling her a party pooper and generally making asses of themselves. She filled her plate, though she wasn’t really hungry, and sat there wondering if Draco would actually show up.

“Sorry I’m late love, had to issue a detention to a Ravenclaw.” She didn’t have to wait long. Draco climbed onto the bench beside her, thrilling at the pleased smile she sent his way.

“Thank you for coming, Dragon.” She said softly.

“When you call me that, I want to kiss you.” He growled, reaching for a plate as he began to fix his dinner. He hadn’t had much of an appetite lately, but tonight he was completely famished.

“Feel free to do so at any time….Dragon.” She said with a naughty smile on her face. Draco narrowed his eyes as he watched her, amazed at the easy flirtation they had settled into.

“Oi, what the bloody hell is going on here?” Draco and Hermione both turned to see Ron and Harry standing behind them.

“Supper?” Draco answered, causing Hermione to laugh.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve Malfoy, you are not wanted here.” Ron said through clenched teeth.

“You better stay away from Hermione as well if you know what’s good for you.” Harry said, his voice low and even. Hermione stood and faced them, her best friends, two of the people she loved most in the world.

“Draco is welcome here because I asked him to be here. As head boy and girl, we have to work together, and he and I are friends.” She said as she glared at her friends.

“What? He almost killed you Hermione! He’s called you a mudblood at least a hundred times! What do you mean you’re friends?” Ron was shouting, his face as red as his hair. Draco stood beside her and laid his hand on her shoulder.

“Don’t, I’ll have dinner in our common room, we can talk later.” He said.

“No Draco, I’ve had enough of this.” She said to him.

“Hermione, he’s a death eater.” Harry said with a sneer.

“Technically he is not, he never took the mark. But that’s neither here nor there.” She said as she went about setting them straight. “Draco has made amends, and I have forgiven him for his past. He did what he was told because he was loyal to his parents and knew only what they told him, but you yourself saw his struggle Harry. He has made peace and wants only to get on with his life.”

“But Hermione…”

“But nothing Ron! You do not determine my friendships, or whom I chose to offer my forgiveness. Now you can both shut up and leave us be, or never speak to me again!”

Ron and Harry were looking at Hermione with wide eyes. Even Draco was shocked as he watched her rant against her friends.

“Um….okay Mione….uh, we’ll just go sit down then.” Harry said, moving slowly away from her.

“Thank you.” She turned to Draco and smiled. “Now, let’s finish our dinner.”

“You are truly frightening at times Hermione.” Draco said as they resumed their seats at the table. Everyone in the room had gone silent, watching them, even the staff was completely baffled by their behavior. Draco and Hermione opted to ignore them all as they settled in for dinner.

“Goodness, can you believe the way everyone is behaving?” She asked him, scooting closer so others would not listen in.

“Yes, they are probably waiting to see us pull our wands on each other.” He was listening to the whispers around them with an odd sort of pleasure. It was kind of fun to shake them up a bit, to not give them the satisfaction of doing what they expected.

“I told you we would set tongues a wagging, didn’t I?” She was smiling as though nothing at all was taking place in the great hall, as though every set of eyes in the room were not focused directly on them.

“You really don’t care what they think do you?” He asked, amazed at how easily she let their judgment roll off her shoulders.

“No, I really don’t care Dragon.” She smiled. How he wished he could be the same. He felt a tightening in his belly when he looked at her. The sharp bite of desire and admiration for the young woman who just went for what she wanted, the world be damned. What would his parents say if he walked up to them and said ‘Hey mum, father…I spent my afternoon snogging that muggleborn Granger. Slept in her bed last night, in her lap the night before.’ Would they curse him? Disown him?


When they had finished their meal, they left the hall together, well aware of the curious stares that followed them out. They began their nightly patrols of the hall, making certain that everyone was in their common rooms by curfew. As they patrolled the halls, Draco would occasionally reach over and stroke her arm gently, and at one point he clasped her hand in his as they walked through the dungeons.

When their bed checks were finished, they entered their common room. Draco turned to close the door and set the wards as Hermione stood in the center of the room and removed her robes, and sweater tossing them over a chair as she waited for him.

“Alright, locked and warded.” He said as he stepped out of the entryway and into the common room. Hermione said nothing, she simply walked to him, put her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Draco was still for a moment, shocked by the sudden embrace. He got over his surprise quickly however and slid his arms around her waist, holding her close and tight as he kissed her back.

Their lips and tongues met in a heated, wet dance that had them both moaning and pressing closer. Draco walked her slowly back until her legs hit the sofa and he was able to lay her back on the velvet cushions, settling his body over hers as he continued to kiss her sweet lips. Hermione reached between them and grabbed the hem of his school sweater and began to tug impatiently.

He released her lips with a soft chuckle as he stood, one knee resting between hers on the sofa, and one foot on the floor. He reached behind his head and fisted the sweater in his hands, pulling it up and over his head before tossing it across the room. He loosened his tie and sent it flying in the same direction as Hermione attacked his buttons. Things were moving fast, and Draco suddenly was hit with a wave of guilt.


“Hermione, wait a second.” He said as she tugged his shirt tales from his trousers.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, breathless. Her face was flushed and her lips were swollen from his kisses.

“Nothing is wrong, I just…this is moving really fast, we should slow it down.” He said, despite the fact that he was growing even harder as she stroked her hands over his chest.

“But it feels good Dragon.” She whispered as she pulled him down for another slow, wet kiss.

“Gods, you are killing me.” He groaned as he pulled back. “I think if we do this now, it would be a mistake….we need to take this slow….” He could feel her foot sliding up the outside of his leg before her thigh hooked over his hip and she pressed up against him.

“But I need….something…” She moaned against the side of his throat as she rotated her hips against him.

“Hermione, have you done this before?” He asked.

“No…have you?” She asked, her lips nibbling along the side of his neck.

“Yeah, a little….I cant…wont take your virginity on the fucking common room sofa Hermione.” He growled as her little teeth bit into his shoulder.

“There are two beds right up those stairs, take me to one of them.” She panted as she continued to press her hips up into him, whimpering softly as she tried to assuage the need building between her thighs.

“No, not yet….I wont have you regret giving yourself to me, and if you do that tonight, before we have figured out what this is between us, you will regret it.” He said as he pushed off of her and fell into a flushed and panting heap at the end of the sofa.

“Do you always get a girl going and then back off?” She asked petulantly as she continued to lay on the sofa staring at him.

“No, this is a first for me.” He said with a slight laugh.

“Why me?”

“You’re the first girl who mattered.” He said softly.

“Oh…you don’t know how nice it is to hear you say that Dragon.” She whispered as she sat up and moved closer to snuggle into his chest.

“It’s the truth.” Draco slid his arms around her and pulled her into his lap so that she leaned against the arm of the sofa with her bottom nestled on his thighs and her feet on the cushion beside him. Hermione squirmed in his lap slightly, biting her lower lip.

“I still feel like I need something…I haven’t felt this before, I don’t know what to do…” She whimpered, burying her head in his shoulder.

“You uh….haven’t done any heavy petting….or even touched yourself?” He asked, blushing slightly.

“No, I’ve been a little busy, you know, fighting off an army of death eaters led by a raging ego maniac.” She said, embarrassed slightly by her naiveté and lack of experience.

“Fuck.” He swore under his breath. The idea that he could be her first in every way was feeding his deflated ego. “I could…um….I could help you with that, if you want.” He said, swallowing hard.

“But you said you didn’t want to….”

“We can do a lot, without going all the way.” He said, smiling rather arrogantly and she could see a little of the old confident Draco she once knew.

“Show me.” She said softly. Draco lowered his head and took her lips in a searing kiss. He gave no quarter as he ravished her mouth. His tongue licking and stroking against her lips and tongue, darting in and out to tease and taste as his hands moved over the buttons on her shirt. She gave back with as much passion and enthusiasm as she could. Her fingers were tangled in his hair, tugging him closer and opening her lips wider beneath his.

Draco opened the first several buttons on her shirt, enough to gain access to the full, ripe mounds of her breasts covered by the stretchy lace of her bra. He tugged on the clasp between her breasts, moaning softly when it released and he could cup the soft globes in his hands, his fingers worrying the nipples until they were stiff and flushed, and she was writhing and moaning in his arms.

He broke the kiss and looked down at her, smiling as he gazed on the dark, caramel colored nipples. He pressed his hands against her upper back, arching her up as he lowered his head and sucked one firm little bud into his mouth. He suckled gently, his tongue and teeth lashing the sensitive nipple until she cried out, her nails digging into his scalp.

“Amazing.” He whispered as he returned his lips to hers, kissing her slowly, his tongue lazily exploring inside her mouth as he slid his palm up her thigh and beneath her skirt. She jerked slightly when she felt his fingers brush over her through the barrier of her panties, then opened her thighs wider to give him easier access. He tugged the cotton garment down and off, helping her lift her hips so he could remove them completely. She let her legs fall open as his fingers slid through the damp curls crowning her sex.

“Draco…” She whimpered as his fingers parted the plump folds and plundered the sensitive flesh. Her head fell back and she cried out as he slid one finger inside her virgin channel.

“Damn, you are so fucking tight, so wet.” He was beginning to think he made a mistake, but the lure of being the first to make her come was too much to resist. He slid his finger deep into her as he stroked his thumb back and forth over the engorged nub nestled at he top of her folds. He kissed and sucked on the tender flesh of her neck and he moved his fingers slowly over and in her. The feel of her wet, hot sex sucking at his fingers was killing him, and the more he stroked her, the more her sweet little ass wiggled in his lap.

“Oh…” Hermione gasped softly, the tight walls of her sex beginning to pulse around his finger. “Draco....what…..”

“Shhh, just let it go.” He whispered hoarsely against her neck as he pumped his finger faster inside her. He closed his eyes and sighed in relief when she screamed softly and convulsed around his finger, whimpering incoherently into his chest as she rode out the orgasm.

“Gods, is it going to be like that every time?” She asked, panting softly as he removed his hand from between her thighs and lifted her into his arms.

“I will damn sure do my best.” He chuckled as he carried her up the stairs and into her room. He laid her gently on her bed and kissed her lips softly.

“Where are you going?” She asked as he pulled away.

“I’m gonna go take a cold shower, love. Goodnight.” He smiled before he slipped out her door, leaving her exhausted and sated lying in her bed.


Hermione smiled when she heard her bedroom door open several hours later as Draco crept inside and crawled into bed beside her. She rolled over onto her back as he laid his head on her chest. She stroked his hair softly and kissed the top of his head.
“My Dragon.” She whispered as she drifted back to sleep with him snuggled against her.