"To Have & To Hold" - Part Three - Draco/Hermione
Title: To Have & To Hold
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco/Hermione.
Summary: Draco is getting married. The only problem is, his intended bride is not a virgin and he doesn't love her.
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 13 800
Spoilers: AU.
Author's Note: Thanks to my beta shag_me_draco.
Distribution: Link only please.
Written: August 2011 - For the deflower_draco's Prompt Challenge. Prompt used is at the end.
To Have & To Hold (3/4)
A hard knock sounded throughout the small flat and Hermione looked up from the table she'd been in the process of cleaning. She put down the pile of news papers she was holding as well as the dusting rag, glancing down at her ensemble; flannel pajama bottoms and spaghetti top, contemplating a quick change, before deciding that whomever had come to her door so early on a Saturday morning must be someone she knew and they had better not have expected her to be dressed for the day so early.
Looking through the peephole almost as an afterthought as she reached for the handle, Hermione almost reconsidered her decision not to change; outside stood Draco, shifting from one foot to the other as he glanced down the hallway and back at her door. Hermione stood frozen, undecided, when he knocked again, louder.
Hermione threw the door open. "Hi," she said.
"Hi," he returned. They looked at each other. "Can I come in?"
Hermione moved back and he stepped over the threshold, his hands in his pocket one minute, then mussing his hair the next as he shifted.
"I wasn't expecting company," Hermione told him, "or else I would've changed."
"What?" Draco seemed to notice her state of dress for the first time, his eyes lingering on her chest as he looked her up and down. "That's- that's all right."
Hermione closed the door; suddenly realising it had remained open and walked back into the living room. "Can I offer you tea? I just made some."
"No, that's- thank you, but I can actually come here to- to-" he broke off with a frustrated sigh. "I'm not good at this," he said, hands in his hair. "I don't know what to say." He looked at her, his eyes intense and imploring. "I-" he tried again, before giving up and instead moving forward, to show her.
Their lips met in a kiss; fierce and intense as their passion spiraled higher and higher.
Hermione found herself pushed up against the door to her bedroom, Draco's hands under her top and his tongue in her mouth.
"I need you," he told her, pushing his hips into hers. "I need you now."
Hermione moaned and nodded, not even pausing to think, to consider what might happen afterwards. "I want you too," she whispered.
Draco grinned and rewarded her with another kiss. "Bed?"
"Uhu, yeah," Hermione agreed, kissing his neck. They made out against the door for several more minutes before Hermione realised what he'd meant.
"In here," she said after she'd managed to pull away from his intoxicating lips and twisted the door knob.
The room was lit by the late morning sun and the bed was still unmade, but Hermione thought nothing of it and Draco paid it no mind.
They fell onto the bed locked in an embrace, and Draco, feeling bold by need and desperation wasted no time in undressing Hermione of the few items of clothing she had on. His clothes took longer, but quickly joined hers on a pile by the bed.
Skin to skin, they kissed and caressed, groped and nipped. Draco left a suction mark on Hermione's ribs as he touched her wetness with now sure fingers, before she tugged him back up.
Their eyes locked as Draco hovered above her. "Are you- I mean - do you- ?" he asked, swallowing.
Hermione touched the side of his face. "Yes," she said, entirely certain.
Draco lowered himself closer and carefully pushed inside of her. Hermione winced and he stopped, biting down hard on his lips to keep from shouting.
She moved her hips under his and Draco groaned, unable to keep from pushing further inside.
"Wait," Hermione breathed, a hand on his pounding heart, "wait, just a second."
Draco waited, his teeth biting down hard on his lip as he hovered above her. His eyes were squeezed shut; knowing as he did that if he opened them and saw her there, naked beneath him, he would lose it entirely.
"Are you okay?" he ground out between his clenched teeth.
"Yes," Hermione replied, moving her hips again experimentally. "Actually, I am better than okay."
Draco opened his eyes and met her brown ones instantly; Hermione smiled up at him and Draco leaned in to kiss her as he hesitatingly moved his hips.
When Hermione arched up into him, moaning into his mouth, Draco groaned and pushed in deeper, harder.
Hermione touched his back, holding him to her with her arms and wrapping her legs around his hips as Draco thrust into her. Their laboured breath mingled as they kissed.
"I'm not gonna- I can't stop-I-" Draco suddenly breathed, "I'm gonna- I can't-- Hermione."
He collapsed on top of her, his body spent. Hermione caressed his back gently as Draco kissed her neck.
"I'm sorry," he said after catching his breath. "I didn't mean to- I just couldn't-"
"It's okay," Hermione said quickly. She made a move as to push him to the side and Draco frowned.
"Hey." He touched her cheek and her eyes flew up to meet his, her cheeks as red as his. "I had planned on making it up to you."
Hermione smiled shyly, her innocent face a complete contrast to the rest of her. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." With a groan, Draco pulled out of her, giving her a hard kiss on the mouth before moving down to her breast and lavishing them with his tongue.
"Draco," Hermione called after a moment, "I don't think I want that right now, not after-"
He looked up at her, a slight frown of confusion marring his forehead. "What?"
"I mean-" Hermione's eyes widened with implication, "that. I mean, not that you're not good at it, but it's just- we just had sex and it's a bit... gross-"
"Oh!" Draco's cheeks reddened further as he glanced down. "I hadn't thought- I mean I wasn't gonna- I just wanted to lick your brea- I mean I just, um-"
Hermione laughed, all sign of her previous nerves gone. She grabbed a hold of his head and silenced his ramblings with a kiss. Draco pressed down on her, covering her body with his as they kissed; and Hermione only pushed him away to glance down in surprise.
"I thought you needed a bit more recovery time than that," she questioned.
Draco caressed her cheek before pressing a gentle kiss to her mouth. "When I'm with you? Not likely."
He kissed her again and moved above her. Just before pushing into her once again, he pulled back and looked down at her with a guarded expression.
"You are not too sore?" he asked gently.
"Draco, I would tell you," Hermione assured him, lifting her knees up to rest on either side of his hips and placing a hand on his lower back. "I promise."
"All right."
It took him longer the second time to find the right rhythm; far more gentle and hesitant now than he'd been the first time, when he had been unable to keep from seeking his own pleasure.
Hermione urged him on and with the help of his fingers on her clit and his lips on the most sensitive part of Hermione's neck, Draco made her come.
She threw her head back, arched her breasts into his naked chest, their slick skin moving against each other - and then she'd groaned his name and Draco came again, producing only a guttural sound which was supposed to be her name.
Afterwards, they lay side by side, breathing hard.
"That was-" Draco started, turning to face her, "amazing."
Hermione laughed, kissing him as he moved closer to hold her.
"It was," she agreed.
In silence they laid as the morning sun continued to shine in on them and outside the streets filled with Saturday strollers.
"Are you sure you're not too sore?" Draco asked quietly, a hand caressing up and down her stomach; from her throat, in between her breasts, around her navel and down to just where her dark thatch of hair grew.
"I'm fine," Hermione said, looking at him. "And besides I- wait, too sore for what?"
With a smile, Draco moved over her again. Hermione laughed as he kissed her. "We have all the time in the world," she said, smiling.
Draco's heart tugged, but he ignored it, kissing her again instead.
-----
"Good morning," Hermione smiled as Draco wrapped himself around her from behind, burrowing his nose into her hair. "Coffee?" she held up the pot of newly brewed beverage, leaning into him as one of his hands slipped in under the shirt she wore, dragging it up and exposing her knickers.
"You're wearing my shirt," Draco said, his voice rough with sleep. "It's very sexy."
Hermione put the pot down and turned, unable to contain a small yelp of surprise as Draco grabbed her and put her on the kitchen table. A knife clattered to the floor, but neither paid it any mind as Draco kissed her.
In the two weeks since their first time, Draco had learned a lot and he now used all of his knowledge as he touched her. Impatiently, he ripped open the shirt, scattering the buttons all over the kitchen floor, as his mouth closed in on an exposed nipple.
Their sex was frantic; as their time was unknowingly to Hermione coming to an end, and it made Draco desperate.
Breathing hard, Draco held her down on the table, kissing any place he could reach as he thrust into her hard and fast, using the floor for leverage as he stretched and filled her again and again Hermione arched her back and simply let him, enjoying the feel of him so desperate for her he hadn't even fully removed his pants before he'd entered her.
After they both came, with a grunt and a cry each, they remained on the table, Hermione's legs wrapped around him and Draco's upper body covering hers.
I love you, he thought, but knew he couldn't say so. Instead, he whispered, "Volo consumo ceterus of meus vita vobis," into her skin before kissing her hard.
"What was that?" Hermione asked when he moved away, sitting up and wrapping the now ruined dress shirt around herself.
"Nothing," Draco lied, smiling and kissing her. With a smirk, he held up her knickers. "Mind if I keep these?"
Hermione blushed brightly, but made no comment, so Draco took it as agreement. He kissed her again, before glancing at the clock.
It was still early, but soon the Prophet would be out - complete with an engagement notice for him and Astoria.
"Hermione-" Draco started, hating himself not just a little, watching as she walked back to her bedroom.
"Hey, do you want to come with me to the British Museum? They have that new exhibit I mentioned earlier, and I think you might like it."
"I- I can't," Draco said, following. "My mother has a lunch," to discuss the finishing touches of the engagement party, "that I can't get out of."
Hermione turned and smiled, coming up to kiss him. "That's ok, maybe next week?"
Draco tried to smile as he wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, maybe."
"Do you have to leave right now, or are you staying for a shower?"
"I would love to stay, but I really have to go," Draco said, regretfully. "But hey," he held her head in his hands, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. "Never forget that I- that I really want you."
Hermione frowned. "All right." She crocked her head. "You all right?"
No. "Yes." He leaned down and kissed her, slow and deep, until they were both completely breathless.
-----
Draco glanced nervously towards the door. When his mother had said only important people had been invited he had never expected so many of his friends. For though they were important to him, save for perhaps Harry Potter, none of them could further the Malfoy family's standing in the Wizarding World.
When Neville and Luna had shown up together with Blaise, Draco had been shocked and terrified, but he'd comforted himself with the knowledge that his parents had invited important people who still, secretly, held onto the importance of pureblood. And however much his mother might like Hermione, they wouldn't risk inviting her as well.
But then the Weasley's had shown up, and Draco had had to escape the ballroom in a panic, because he knew then Hermione had been invited too.
Only then, when everything was about to crash down around him, did the consequences of his selfish actions hit him, of what it would mean not just his relationship with Hermione, but with all of those friends he now had that had once been only hers, and who would surely stand on her side.
None of their friends looked at him like they might know - not even Ginny; they all congratulated him, sincerely, though with varying degrees of surprise.
When Hermione showed up - if she showed up - everything would come to light and he would lose her completely.
He groaned as if in physical pain, leaning back against a nearby wall for strength.
Only that morning they had been together and now... What she must've thought, how she must've reacted when she read the wedding announcement.
Through the open doors, Draco saw his mother; she was smiling. He hated her then, just a little even though he knew he was really the one to blame.
If she had not pushed him to agree to marrying Astoria, or allowed her to insist they wrote up a formal contract, or never questioning why she wanted to wait with the announcement, he wouldn't have been in this mess.
It was no wonder really, that the sorting hat had refused to put him in Gryffindor; he was a coward. Only pursuing Hermione when he had nothing to lose if she wasn't interested back, and then blaming his mother for the mess he'd put himself in.
The front door was thrown open and Draco startled at the sound. Hermione stormed in, immediately catching sight of him and even across the distance he could see her eyes narrowing.
"Miss, Miss!" cried the house elf appointed to checking the invitations as it scurried after her. "Miss!"
Hermione waved the invitation in its face, releasing her grasp on it as soon as the creature took the notice.
"Welcome, Miss!" it cried enthusiastically once it'd assured itself she had in fact been invited, before turning back to the door.
"You," Hermione hissed, coming closer.
Draco tried to back away, but only managed to step into the wall.
The ballroom doors were open and, not wanting anyone to witness the confrontation he knew would follow, before Hermione had said another word, Draco grabbed her arm and moved her further down the corridor.
"What are you-? Let me go!"
Draco threw open a small door next to the portrait of his great-great aunt and pushed Hermione inside of what had once been a coat closet hiding an entry to the dungeons. The light switched on automatically.
He closed and locked the door before turning to Hermione. "Now-"
She slapped him hard across the face, the sound echoing within the small empty space.
"You miserable son-of-a-bitch," Hermione said, her voice low with hurt. "How long did you think it would take before I found out? You selfish bastard. You should've told me."
"I tried to tell you once-"
"You tried to tell me once? You should've tried to tell me everyday." She laughed hollowly. "So what was I then? A last fling? Someone to teach you how to please a woman? You certainly wanted to study often!"
"No!" Draco cried horrified. "It's never been like that. I- I just wanted my first time to be with someone I lo-"
Hermione reeled back as if slapped. "Don't you dare," she hissed, reaching out to slap him again.
Draco, noticing the movement, grabbed her wrist, pulled her to him and kissed her. For a moment all was well as their mouths mated as they had only hours ago, before.
Hermione moved back. Draco followed, until Hermione stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"Don't," she whispered.
"I just thought we could-"
"No." Hermione let out a wry laugh. "I thought things too. But I guess I thought wrong. First time for everything, right? Just like me to be wrong about this, about you."
She looked up at him, hurt shining in her eyes.
"You're not wrong about me."
"But I am. I was. I thought we- I thought-" she shook her head. "I guess it really doesn't matter what I thought."
Draco stepped closer. "Hermione, I-"
She held up a hand, halting him. "Save it," she said, her voice hard and cold. "Don't talk to me again."
She pushed him to the side and left, slamming the door behind her. Draco quickly followed. "Hermione."
"There you are, sweetie," Astoria cried from the doors of the ballroom as he walked past. "Come here." She held out her hand, a strained smile on her lips as Draco made no move towards her, staring instead unseeingly after Hermione.
"Draco."
He turned towards Astoria, plastering a fake smile on his face as he noticed the many faces watching them with curious expressions. He took her hand and led her back into the crowd.
-----
Note: Volo consumo ceterus of meus vita vobis means, according to my Google Translator; I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
Additional Disclaimer: "I tried to tell you once-" "You tried to tell me once? You should've tried to tell me everyday." Is more or less paraphrased from Sex and the City, Movie One.
Part Four
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Draco/Hermione.
Summary: Draco is getting married. The only problem is, his intended bride is not a virgin and he doesn't love her.
Rating: NC-17
Word Count: 13 800
Spoilers: AU.
Author's Note: Thanks to my beta shag_me_draco.
Distribution: Link only please.
Written: August 2011 - For the deflower_draco's Prompt Challenge. Prompt used is at the end.
To Have & To Hold (3/4)
A hard knock sounded throughout the small flat and Hermione looked up from the table she'd been in the process of cleaning. She put down the pile of news papers she was holding as well as the dusting rag, glancing down at her ensemble; flannel pajama bottoms and spaghetti top, contemplating a quick change, before deciding that whomever had come to her door so early on a Saturday morning must be someone she knew and they had better not have expected her to be dressed for the day so early.
Looking through the peephole almost as an afterthought as she reached for the handle, Hermione almost reconsidered her decision not to change; outside stood Draco, shifting from one foot to the other as he glanced down the hallway and back at her door. Hermione stood frozen, undecided, when he knocked again, louder.
Hermione threw the door open. "Hi," she said.
"Hi," he returned. They looked at each other. "Can I come in?"
Hermione moved back and he stepped over the threshold, his hands in his pocket one minute, then mussing his hair the next as he shifted.
"I wasn't expecting company," Hermione told him, "or else I would've changed."
"What?" Draco seemed to notice her state of dress for the first time, his eyes lingering on her chest as he looked her up and down. "That's- that's all right."
Hermione closed the door; suddenly realising it had remained open and walked back into the living room. "Can I offer you tea? I just made some."
"No, that's- thank you, but I can actually come here to- to-" he broke off with a frustrated sigh. "I'm not good at this," he said, hands in his hair. "I don't know what to say." He looked at her, his eyes intense and imploring. "I-" he tried again, before giving up and instead moving forward, to show her.
Their lips met in a kiss; fierce and intense as their passion spiraled higher and higher.
Hermione found herself pushed up against the door to her bedroom, Draco's hands under her top and his tongue in her mouth.
"I need you," he told her, pushing his hips into hers. "I need you now."
Hermione moaned and nodded, not even pausing to think, to consider what might happen afterwards. "I want you too," she whispered.
Draco grinned and rewarded her with another kiss. "Bed?"
"Uhu, yeah," Hermione agreed, kissing his neck. They made out against the door for several more minutes before Hermione realised what he'd meant.
"In here," she said after she'd managed to pull away from his intoxicating lips and twisted the door knob.
The room was lit by the late morning sun and the bed was still unmade, but Hermione thought nothing of it and Draco paid it no mind.
They fell onto the bed locked in an embrace, and Draco, feeling bold by need and desperation wasted no time in undressing Hermione of the few items of clothing she had on. His clothes took longer, but quickly joined hers on a pile by the bed.
Skin to skin, they kissed and caressed, groped and nipped. Draco left a suction mark on Hermione's ribs as he touched her wetness with now sure fingers, before she tugged him back up.
Their eyes locked as Draco hovered above her. "Are you- I mean - do you- ?" he asked, swallowing.
Hermione touched the side of his face. "Yes," she said, entirely certain.
Draco lowered himself closer and carefully pushed inside of her. Hermione winced and he stopped, biting down hard on his lips to keep from shouting.
She moved her hips under his and Draco groaned, unable to keep from pushing further inside.
"Wait," Hermione breathed, a hand on his pounding heart, "wait, just a second."
Draco waited, his teeth biting down hard on his lip as he hovered above her. His eyes were squeezed shut; knowing as he did that if he opened them and saw her there, naked beneath him, he would lose it entirely.
"Are you okay?" he ground out between his clenched teeth.
"Yes," Hermione replied, moving her hips again experimentally. "Actually, I am better than okay."
Draco opened his eyes and met her brown ones instantly; Hermione smiled up at him and Draco leaned in to kiss her as he hesitatingly moved his hips.
When Hermione arched up into him, moaning into his mouth, Draco groaned and pushed in deeper, harder.
Hermione touched his back, holding him to her with her arms and wrapping her legs around his hips as Draco thrust into her. Their laboured breath mingled as they kissed.
"I'm not gonna- I can't stop-I-" Draco suddenly breathed, "I'm gonna- I can't-- Hermione."
He collapsed on top of her, his body spent. Hermione caressed his back gently as Draco kissed her neck.
"I'm sorry," he said after catching his breath. "I didn't mean to- I just couldn't-"
"It's okay," Hermione said quickly. She made a move as to push him to the side and Draco frowned.
"Hey." He touched her cheek and her eyes flew up to meet his, her cheeks as red as his. "I had planned on making it up to you."
Hermione smiled shyly, her innocent face a complete contrast to the rest of her. "Oh yeah?"
"Yeah." With a groan, Draco pulled out of her, giving her a hard kiss on the mouth before moving down to her breast and lavishing them with his tongue.
"Draco," Hermione called after a moment, "I don't think I want that right now, not after-"
He looked up at her, a slight frown of confusion marring his forehead. "What?"
"I mean-" Hermione's eyes widened with implication, "that. I mean, not that you're not good at it, but it's just- we just had sex and it's a bit... gross-"
"Oh!" Draco's cheeks reddened further as he glanced down. "I hadn't thought- I mean I wasn't gonna- I just wanted to lick your brea- I mean I just, um-"
Hermione laughed, all sign of her previous nerves gone. She grabbed a hold of his head and silenced his ramblings with a kiss. Draco pressed down on her, covering her body with his as they kissed; and Hermione only pushed him away to glance down in surprise.
"I thought you needed a bit more recovery time than that," she questioned.
Draco caressed her cheek before pressing a gentle kiss to her mouth. "When I'm with you? Not likely."
He kissed her again and moved above her. Just before pushing into her once again, he pulled back and looked down at her with a guarded expression.
"You are not too sore?" he asked gently.
"Draco, I would tell you," Hermione assured him, lifting her knees up to rest on either side of his hips and placing a hand on his lower back. "I promise."
"All right."
It took him longer the second time to find the right rhythm; far more gentle and hesitant now than he'd been the first time, when he had been unable to keep from seeking his own pleasure.
Hermione urged him on and with the help of his fingers on her clit and his lips on the most sensitive part of Hermione's neck, Draco made her come.
She threw her head back, arched her breasts into his naked chest, their slick skin moving against each other - and then she'd groaned his name and Draco came again, producing only a guttural sound which was supposed to be her name.
Afterwards, they lay side by side, breathing hard.
"That was-" Draco started, turning to face her, "amazing."
Hermione laughed, kissing him as he moved closer to hold her.
"It was," she agreed.
In silence they laid as the morning sun continued to shine in on them and outside the streets filled with Saturday strollers.
"Are you sure you're not too sore?" Draco asked quietly, a hand caressing up and down her stomach; from her throat, in between her breasts, around her navel and down to just where her dark thatch of hair grew.
"I'm fine," Hermione said, looking at him. "And besides I- wait, too sore for what?"
With a smile, Draco moved over her again. Hermione laughed as he kissed her. "We have all the time in the world," she said, smiling.
Draco's heart tugged, but he ignored it, kissing her again instead.
-----
"Good morning," Hermione smiled as Draco wrapped himself around her from behind, burrowing his nose into her hair. "Coffee?" she held up the pot of newly brewed beverage, leaning into him as one of his hands slipped in under the shirt she wore, dragging it up and exposing her knickers.
"You're wearing my shirt," Draco said, his voice rough with sleep. "It's very sexy."
Hermione put the pot down and turned, unable to contain a small yelp of surprise as Draco grabbed her and put her on the kitchen table. A knife clattered to the floor, but neither paid it any mind as Draco kissed her.
In the two weeks since their first time, Draco had learned a lot and he now used all of his knowledge as he touched her. Impatiently, he ripped open the shirt, scattering the buttons all over the kitchen floor, as his mouth closed in on an exposed nipple.
Their sex was frantic; as their time was unknowingly to Hermione coming to an end, and it made Draco desperate.
Breathing hard, Draco held her down on the table, kissing any place he could reach as he thrust into her hard and fast, using the floor for leverage as he stretched and filled her again and again Hermione arched her back and simply let him, enjoying the feel of him so desperate for her he hadn't even fully removed his pants before he'd entered her.
After they both came, with a grunt and a cry each, they remained on the table, Hermione's legs wrapped around him and Draco's upper body covering hers.
I love you, he thought, but knew he couldn't say so. Instead, he whispered, "Volo consumo ceterus of meus vita vobis," into her skin before kissing her hard.
"What was that?" Hermione asked when he moved away, sitting up and wrapping the now ruined dress shirt around herself.
"Nothing," Draco lied, smiling and kissing her. With a smirk, he held up her knickers. "Mind if I keep these?"
Hermione blushed brightly, but made no comment, so Draco took it as agreement. He kissed her again, before glancing at the clock.
It was still early, but soon the Prophet would be out - complete with an engagement notice for him and Astoria.
"Hermione-" Draco started, hating himself not just a little, watching as she walked back to her bedroom.
"Hey, do you want to come with me to the British Museum? They have that new exhibit I mentioned earlier, and I think you might like it."
"I- I can't," Draco said, following. "My mother has a lunch," to discuss the finishing touches of the engagement party, "that I can't get out of."
Hermione turned and smiled, coming up to kiss him. "That's ok, maybe next week?"
Draco tried to smile as he wrapped his arms around her. "Yeah, maybe."
"Do you have to leave right now, or are you staying for a shower?"
"I would love to stay, but I really have to go," Draco said, regretfully. "But hey," he held her head in his hands, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs. "Never forget that I- that I really want you."
Hermione frowned. "All right." She crocked her head. "You all right?"
No. "Yes." He leaned down and kissed her, slow and deep, until they were both completely breathless.
-----
Draco glanced nervously towards the door. When his mother had said only important people had been invited he had never expected so many of his friends. For though they were important to him, save for perhaps Harry Potter, none of them could further the Malfoy family's standing in the Wizarding World.
When Neville and Luna had shown up together with Blaise, Draco had been shocked and terrified, but he'd comforted himself with the knowledge that his parents had invited important people who still, secretly, held onto the importance of pureblood. And however much his mother might like Hermione, they wouldn't risk inviting her as well.
But then the Weasley's had shown up, and Draco had had to escape the ballroom in a panic, because he knew then Hermione had been invited too.
Only then, when everything was about to crash down around him, did the consequences of his selfish actions hit him, of what it would mean not just his relationship with Hermione, but with all of those friends he now had that had once been only hers, and who would surely stand on her side.
None of their friends looked at him like they might know - not even Ginny; they all congratulated him, sincerely, though with varying degrees of surprise.
When Hermione showed up - if she showed up - everything would come to light and he would lose her completely.
He groaned as if in physical pain, leaning back against a nearby wall for strength.
Only that morning they had been together and now... What she must've thought, how she must've reacted when she read the wedding announcement.
Through the open doors, Draco saw his mother; she was smiling. He hated her then, just a little even though he knew he was really the one to blame.
If she had not pushed him to agree to marrying Astoria, or allowed her to insist they wrote up a formal contract, or never questioning why she wanted to wait with the announcement, he wouldn't have been in this mess.
It was no wonder really, that the sorting hat had refused to put him in Gryffindor; he was a coward. Only pursuing Hermione when he had nothing to lose if she wasn't interested back, and then blaming his mother for the mess he'd put himself in.
The front door was thrown open and Draco startled at the sound. Hermione stormed in, immediately catching sight of him and even across the distance he could see her eyes narrowing.
"Miss, Miss!" cried the house elf appointed to checking the invitations as it scurried after her. "Miss!"
Hermione waved the invitation in its face, releasing her grasp on it as soon as the creature took the notice.
"Welcome, Miss!" it cried enthusiastically once it'd assured itself she had in fact been invited, before turning back to the door.
"You," Hermione hissed, coming closer.
Draco tried to back away, but only managed to step into the wall.
The ballroom doors were open and, not wanting anyone to witness the confrontation he knew would follow, before Hermione had said another word, Draco grabbed her arm and moved her further down the corridor.
"What are you-? Let me go!"
Draco threw open a small door next to the portrait of his great-great aunt and pushed Hermione inside of what had once been a coat closet hiding an entry to the dungeons. The light switched on automatically.
He closed and locked the door before turning to Hermione. "Now-"
She slapped him hard across the face, the sound echoing within the small empty space.
"You miserable son-of-a-bitch," Hermione said, her voice low with hurt. "How long did you think it would take before I found out? You selfish bastard. You should've told me."
"I tried to tell you once-"
"You tried to tell me once? You should've tried to tell me everyday." She laughed hollowly. "So what was I then? A last fling? Someone to teach you how to please a woman? You certainly wanted to study often!"
"No!" Draco cried horrified. "It's never been like that. I- I just wanted my first time to be with someone I lo-"
Hermione reeled back as if slapped. "Don't you dare," she hissed, reaching out to slap him again.
Draco, noticing the movement, grabbed her wrist, pulled her to him and kissed her. For a moment all was well as their mouths mated as they had only hours ago, before.
Hermione moved back. Draco followed, until Hermione stopped him with a hand on his chest.
"Don't," she whispered.
"I just thought we could-"
"No." Hermione let out a wry laugh. "I thought things too. But I guess I thought wrong. First time for everything, right? Just like me to be wrong about this, about you."
She looked up at him, hurt shining in her eyes.
"You're not wrong about me."
"But I am. I was. I thought we- I thought-" she shook her head. "I guess it really doesn't matter what I thought."
Draco stepped closer. "Hermione, I-"
She held up a hand, halting him. "Save it," she said, her voice hard and cold. "Don't talk to me again."
She pushed him to the side and left, slamming the door behind her. Draco quickly followed. "Hermione."
"There you are, sweetie," Astoria cried from the doors of the ballroom as he walked past. "Come here." She held out her hand, a strained smile on her lips as Draco made no move towards her, staring instead unseeingly after Hermione.
"Draco."
He turned towards Astoria, plastering a fake smile on his face as he noticed the many faces watching them with curious expressions. He took her hand and led her back into the crowd.
-----
Note: Volo consumo ceterus of meus vita vobis means, according to my Google Translator; I want to spend the rest of my life with you.
Additional Disclaimer: "I tried to tell you once-" "You tried to tell me once? You should've tried to tell me everyday." Is more or less paraphrased from Sex and the City, Movie One.
Part Four