The Price of Knowledge

The Price of Knowledge


Disclaimer: Ahh, don’t sue my poor ass! I\'m not maing any money!!!




Chapter Seven


I swallowed hard. “What do you want, Malfoy?” It couldn’t be good, I knew it couldn’t. But…how did he know it was me?

He smiled at me, a smile so full of smugness and innuendo I could have melted if my blood wasn’t running ice cold. “Tsk, tsk Granger! All in good time. I think we need a moment to digress further into your peeping Tom habit.”

“I do not have a fetish!” I cried, folding my arms under my breasts. “How did you even know I was there? Unless…why were you there? Were you watching them?”

Draco rolled his eyes. “Gryffindors! Thick like a brick and twice as stupid. You think Potty is the only one with one of these?” He reached into his robes and pulled out a piece of worn parchment. My eyes widened as I recognized it.

“The Marauder’s Map! How did you get that?” I reached for it with no avail – Draco held it over his head.

He pushed me back with one hand, and then grabbed his wand. “I solemnly swear I am up to no good,” he said, pointing his wand at the parchment. Before my eyes I could see the layout of the dungeons below, see the seventh-year girl’s dorm room, where both Pansy and Millicent’s names were still on top of the other, and Tracey’s was still in the bathroom. Invisibility cloak or not, Draco would have seen me there. But how would he have been alerted to my presence?

“You shouldn’t have put your foot out,” he confirmed my suspicions. “Tracey was tripped, any one paying attention would have seen it. They just wouldn’t have seen the little foot that did it. All I had to do was check the map and there you were. You are rather sneaky for a Gryffindork, I must admit. But you’re not very stealthy for someone who is supposed to be so intelligent.”

“And in the library, how did you know it was me?”

“Hmm, let’s see how well developed my detective skills are.” Draco smirked. “I saw the light on in the library after curfew and seeing how Madam Pince is usually in bed at eleven…” He counted each point on a long, graceful finger. “Never mind the fact who else can call the library, of all places, their second home? I just didn’t expect that person to be so perverted.”

“Did…you see me?” I didn’t want to know. I really didn’t. My face had to have been aflame, but he continued to look at me evenly.

“In the shadows, barely. But I could feel you. And yes, you did moan. I heard you. No matter how hard you tried to cover it up, I know what a woman sounds like when she comes, stifled or not,” he said as he brushed imaginary flecks of lint off the collar of his robes. “Obviously, when I heard a muffled moan in the library, what other conclusion could I have drawn but Bookworm Granger getting herself off?”

I didn’t like the fact that I had underestimated Draco’s sense of observation, I was usually pretty accurate in my assumptions…until I realized I could smell a load of bull shit. No way did he hear me. No male could be that perceptive, and I would know, all my best mates were blokes. He must have… “I left my books out, didn’t I?”

His cheeks blushed slightly. I was right. “Yeah,” he nodded, although his tone was still smug. “Although I was only bluffing. I had no idea you were wanking until you confirmed it.”

Well played on his part, I was impressed. He was clever. I had to be careful. “So I was,” I admitted without reservation. “But we both were. And you have no proof that I was anywhere tonight, let alone watching anything I couldn’t see. So if you are trying to blackmail me, it really won’t work.”

“I don’t want to blackmail you, Granger.”

“Then what do you want?” I hated repeating myself.

“You.”

At first, I wasn’t sure if I had heard correctly. I must have blinked, because he repeated himself again.

“Yes, I want you.”

I was quiet for a while, as my brain attempted to absorb what was said. “Why?” I managed after a small pause. “You hate me.”

“Yeah, and? You fingered yourself watching me wank. Don’t you hate me, too?”

I still was confused. Draco Malfoy, the sex-god-of-the-entire-wizarding-world was propositioning me? Was it a dream? Did I secretly make a wish that this would happen…and now it was?

It didn’t seem real. Maybe this was some sort of cruel joke at my expense. Could I trust him? What if he told the entire school? Worse yet – what if Harry and Ron found out? They would be so disappointed and hurt. I had to think this through before I made the decision based on my hormones. My heart and my hips were saying, yes, yes! but my brain said, hold on, we need more information.

“You want to have sex with me,” I said it aloud. Verbal confirmation, if anything else.

“Basically, yes,” he answered. “And I’m pretty sure you want to shag with me, too.”

Egotistical prat. He was right, I did want to savor the Draco special. But I needed terms, I needed conditions. I needed… “Accio parchment! Accio quill and ink!” I cast, taking a seat at one of the desks.

Draco was confused. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Granger?”

“Making a contract,” I answered, matter-of-factly. “I need to make sure I don’t get figuratively screwed over by you. I need some protection in case you betray my trust.”

“Trust, trust…. I only want to fuck you, not fall in love, Mudblood. And of course we’ll use protection. I don’t exactly want to be a father anytime soon,” he retorted.

I was writing almost as fast as he was talking. “Rule number one, no name calling. That includes the ‘m’ word. Rule number two,” I continued, although I heard him groan. “No magic. No hexes or curses or anything. Aside from this agreement, of course. Rule number three, you can’t tell anyone.”

“I wouldn’t want to ruin your pristine reputation,” he added dryly.

“Good. Rule number four, we need to go slow. That requires patience on your part, so I can learn as much as I can.” He seemed surprised by this. “It will be an informative experience, whether you like it or not.”

“Only you could make shagging educational.”

“Well, I only just started learning. That night in the library…that was my first time masturbating,” I admitted, finding the last word to come out easier than I ever would have dreamed.

Draco was surprised. “Really? You are a late bloomer.”

I blushed slightly, feeling slightly inadequate that there would be others knowing more about sex that I did, especially younger ones. “Well, I’m not a virgin anymore, I just need some more experience.”

“Then you picked a very worthy partner,” he smirked again. Was he always so smug?

I narrowed my eyes and cast the appropriate charms. “Sign here. Failure to meet the terms of this contract will result in the betrayer suffering from anal bleeding and warts all over their genitals.”

“Ouch!” Draco’s eyes widened. “Where did you learn that?”

“Ancient Revenge Practices in Modern Times, Volume Three,” I answered.

“This seemed a lot of writing for just a shag, Granger. I don’t think this is all worth it, after all,” he admitted skeptically.

I rolled my eyes. “You are such a coward,” I baited him.

“Look who’s talking. Do I only have to sign once or do you need blood too?”

“No, a signature will suffice,” I tell him, handing him the quill after I signed my name.

He looked at me, then back at the parchment. Maybe I wasn’t making this easy for him, but I had to be sure I was safe. I knew the only way to protect myself from him was to make sure I had crossed every t, dotted every i. If this was going to happen, I needed some order, I needed some control. If I was going to sleep with Draco Malfoy, I had to pretend I had some control over the situation, even if losing some was the price of the knowledge he would give me.

“I think we should officially seal it with a kiss,” Draco said.

“But it is official with our signatures.”

He shrugged. “Could you play along, Granger?” he rolled his eyes. “If I’m going to sign, I at least need a preview of what’s to come. Call it a taste test.”

I frowned. “Where did you learn that expression?”

“Muggle studies,” he answered. “So kiss me already.” He stepped forward, motioning for me to do the same.

I stood up and stepped forward, looking up at him. He reached his hand out and snaked it around my waist, pulling my body flush with his. Then he dipped his head low and pressed with warm lips against mine.

I had only had two other kisses in my life; a muggle neighbor when I was ten that barely counted and Viktor. I had been old enough to understand what a kiss was when we did it during my fourth year, but to young to know how to do it properly. It had been sloppy, wet and I almost lost a tooth. Viktor had a very large mouth and it just seemed to suck my face in. That, however, was not the case this time. In fact, this was very different.

I was being very thoroughly kissed by Draco Malfoy. Maybe his reputation wasn’t as overstated as I first thought.

His mouth was soft and inviting; he gently stroked his tongue against mine, exploring my mouth. His lips and teeth gently nibbled, tasted, savored. His mouth was so wet and promising I felt my knees buckle – but he held onto me. It was like he was kissing me with his entire body, his belly flush with mine, his hands firm on my hips without inflicting pain. One of his legs slid in between mine and we seemed to move even closer. He didn’t break the kiss right away, instead he lessened it gradually, sliding his tongue from my mouth, and gently placing little kisses down the side of my mouth and jaw.

On a scale of one to ten, the kiss had to be an eleven.

I met his hard gaze with my own, raising my chin to a defiant notch. I wanted him to be challenged, and to find the challenge worthwhile. The look he gave me seemed to accept. He pulled away momentarily.

I watched him scribbled down his name beside mine. The ink turned gold and I knew the spells were in effect.

“And so the deal is struck,” he said, capturing my mouth again.

If his ability to manipulate the female body was anything like his ability to kiss, I didn’t think it was such a bad thing after all.




AN: Thanks Michelle for playing beta. She wrote back: \"I need a cold shower! I need to be kissed like that – soon, often, and regularly!!!\" (I had to include it, it made me laugh)