The Tapestry of the Red Horse: Chapter 11

[rons_pigwidgeon]

-March 22 - 1998 - Seventh Year -

Crabbe and Goyle had got to Justin again and I was panicking as I watched him from across the chessboard. His lip was cut in several places and his left eye was a dark indigo. He had been grumbling about why they'd suddenly decided to torture him and my mind was racing a marathon. I hated keeping things from him, especially things that so obviously hurt him, but how was I supposed to tell him that Draco had a vendetta against him that would only stop when I stopped seeing him and started letting Draco have his way with me again? I don't think even a Hufflepuff could forgive my affair. My only feasible option was to leave Justin, not because I wanted to, but because I wanted to keep him safe. I would not give in to Draco, but at least if I let Justin go, Draco would have no more reason to harm him.

"Justin, can we talk?"

I bit my lip nervously as he looked back at me and reached across the table to take my hand. "Of course, love, what is it?"

I avoided his eyes and looked down at the hand still in my lap, "I um… I've been thinking and… er, well… I don't know if it's exactly safe for us to be seeing each other."

"What? What do you mean it isn't safe? Is this about the Slytherins? They aren't doing this because of our relationship. I'm just their muggle-born victim of the week." He squeezed my hand for reassurance, but I just shook my head at him. If I was going to break things off, he at least deserved to know the truth.

"No, you're not. Their attacks have everything to do with our relationship. I was afraid to tell you before, only Harry knows about this, but you deserve to hear it and judge it for what you may." He was looking at me quizzically and the guilt was making my stomach swirl in an uncomfortable manner than made me want to search out a loo. "Before we started dating, I was in another relationship… well, a relationship of sorts anyway… We had a row and I left him and now he's angry and he's been doing everything he can to get me to go back to him. For a while he only worked with presents and jealousy, but when I started dating you… He started threatening. When I kept refusing him, he sent his henchmen to hurt the one thing he knew would hurt me the most… you."

I ventured a look at his reaction and he was staring at me in stunned silence. He slowly withdrew his hand from mine, "Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"

"I've been sleeping with Malfoy, yes, for a long while. It was a bit after a year when I ended it."

"But… you hate him and he hates you…"

"Yeah, I know. I was repulsed the first time he kissed me. It was such a shock. I got so angry I punched him a couple times and kneed his bits. And we had this huge row about it with screaming and punching, slamming against walls, a few hexes… And right in the middle of it we started snogging and it just kind of felt natural, like it was another way to get out our aggression towards each other. After that we started meeting in secret and it just kind of escalated…"

He was glaring at me now, "Are you going to go back to him, then? Is that why this is ending?"

I shook my head adamantly. "No, I broke up with him because he was with someone else and I don't want to be with him anymore. I'm doing this because I care about you and I want you safe. The only way he'll stop is if you aren't with me anymore. He'll have no reason to hurt you anymore."

"Right." He looked down at the table with this forlorn disappointment in his eyes. I looked down as well and began to fiddle with a fray in my robes. Time passed in silence. I didn't hear him get up, but when I looked back up his chair was empty and my heart sank into my stomach as I melted into my chair. It hurt worse than I thought it would, but there was nothing I could do to change the situation. He was safe now and that was all that mattered.

- April 10 - 1998 - Seventh Year -

Care of Magical Creatures was turning into my worst subject. Ironic, indeed, considering one of my favorite people taught it, but it was one of the few classes I still had with Malfoy and the only one he had a chance of getting close to me in. He stood directly behind me almost every class and, using the pretense of making derogatory remarks in my ear, he'd press himself against me, whispering lewd things that made me shiver and tingle and want to turn around and devour him. I managed to hold my ground, though, usually, and only elbowed him or shoved him away once every week or so. Instead of shoving him/devouring him, I did my best to listen to Hagrid, who'd moved from Squirplicks to Sphinxes, although he was still unable to find one (thank Merlin). Unfortunately, my best listening usually ended up being a few words of Hagrid's and a whole string of sexual uses for hot wax and chocolate sauce.

That's why it was a relief one Tuesday morning when Malfoy was blissfully missing from my hind quarters. Until I noticed that Harry was not on the other side of Hermione like he was supposed to be. Glancing around, I saw the glimpse of a human shadow peeking out from the side of Hagrid's hut and slipped out of the crowd to investigate, avoiding the reproachful look of Hermione.

I could hear Harry's voice as I approached the edge of the shack, angry and frustrated. Then there was Malfoy's voice in return, his usual mocking tone, biting into Harry. I glanced to make sure no one was watching and rounded the corner to hear Harry spit a comment about Azkaban and Lucius Malfoy. His back was to me, but Malfoy was in full view and I saw him sneer as I approached, unnoticed.

"I don't know if I'd mention Azkaban if I were you. Didn't your precious Godfather live there for thirteen years? Quite a bit longer than two months, I'd say."

I watched Harry's fists clench and begin to shake in his fury. "Fuck you, Ferret! You don't know anything about Sirius! Leave him out of this."

"You're the one that brought up Azkaban, Scarhead." Harry seemed too angry to respond. Draco's smirk widened, "You know, Potter, I don't think you have the right to chastise me for my association with Weasley. You're the one that's managed to have everyone you care about die. Perhaps you're the one who should stay away from him? For his own safety, of course."

It wasn't until the flash of blue that sent Malfoy scrambling that I noticed Harry's wand. I was surprised that he used it, knowing Malfoy would have no problem retaliating with something infinitely worse if provoked to. And it wasn't as though it would take a lot to provoke him against someone like Harry. Personally, I'd have punched him, but of course, I knew what got to him a bit better than Harry did. I stepped up beside Harry, deciding that the situation needed to be stopped. Malfoy was cradling his lower abdomen as he straightened, visibly mustering any sense of dignity he still had. Harry's wand was still at the ready.

"Put your wand down. He's not worth your effort." He looked surprised but did as I asked. Draco sneered at me.

"Stay out, Weasley. This is between Potter and me."

"No, this is between us. Stop dragging Harry in just because he knows about it." In the middle of speaking, I'd stepped in between them, and was slowly inching closer to Malfoy.

Draco had his wand raised to point at my chest while his other hand still rested protectively over his stomach. "Weasley, I'm warning you. I will hex you into oblivion if you don't step out of this."

"Go ahead, I think I can handle it."

"Ron, maybe you should go back to class…" He was turning the hero again; I could hear it in his voice. I waved a hand in his general direction, not turning from Draco. If it meant that he was going to hurt me a little (it wouldn't have been a lot in the open air), then that was fine. I would not have Harry dueling over me. Draco had caused enough problems without hurting Harry.

"This is between me and Draco, Harry. You go back to class." I had an inclination that Harry wasn't going to listen to me, but I'd managed to get close enough to Draco to make contact with his wand, still pointing at, and now poking into, my chest. Draco hadn't moved even a centimeter nor had he blinked for several seconds. "I want you to leave Harry be. He's got enough to deal with without you reminding him of every horrible thing that's happened in his life."

"Why should I do that?" His lips turned up into a defiant smirk, almost challenging me with his eyes. I grinned. Not a happy-go-lucky-Justin-grin. No, this was a malicious grin that told Malfoy something that made his eyes widen and his shoulders stiffen slightly. "Why are you looking at me like that, Weasel?"

"Like what, Draco?" I batted my eyelashes at him and knocked my head to the side, trying my best to look the picture of innocence.

"Like…" And then his eyes turned into saucers and he looked around me to Harry with a certain haughty fanaticism only he could muster. "Potter, get the fuck back to class! Now!" I smirked to myself before I felt arms around me and his lips were crushed against mine so hard I thought they might bruise. It was like a room full of the twins's fireworks had gone off in my head. Happy my message had got through, I momentarily forgot all about Harry and wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair. He groaned into my mouth and edged me back until I was sandwiched against the wall of Hagrid's hut. Merlin, he felt good. Mental beratements for having deprived myself of his touch and his lips and those hips pressed so firmly against mine ran rampant and I was so elated to have finally shut myself up and given in that I didn't even notice the shingles digging into my back. He let go of my waist for a moment to slide his hands inside my robes, under my un-tucked shirt to scratch lines down my sides. I moaned and pulled him tighter to me, wanting to be closer, so much closer. His clothes needed to be burned, ripped to shreds, destroyed. He had no right to walk around in them when his silky skin could be pressing against mine.

I was nowhere near ready to pull away when he left me, panting and reaching with nothing to grab. I was brought back into the present by the sound of chatter coming from my right. Draco was smoothing out his hair and glancing at our classmates, passing by without noticing us. I moved away from the wall and tried to pretend we hadn't been snogging the life out of each other. Harry was staring at me with a look of transfixed horror and I felt my ears go red as I scratched my head. What was I to say? Was there even a phrase you could utter in a situation like this?

I'd only managed to mumble a few incoherent words before Draco had me pinned to the wall again, mouth determined to devour mine. He apparently did not care that Harry was watching us, but my ears had become molten and I put hands to his biceps, gently pushing him away. He only acquiesced when I stopped responding to the kiss, pulling back enough to press our foreheads together, panting slightly. "What is it now, Weasley?"

"We can't do this now. Not in front of Harry."

"Sod Potter, it's his choice to be a voyeur, isn't it?" His hand had snaked into my robes again and had managed to slide all the way down the back of my trousers to fondle my opening.

I squirmed a bit and stifled a moan, glancing at Harry only to freeze. Harry was no longer standing there. He was already half-way up to the castle. Draco's lips were attached to my pulse point, nibbling softly, entirely distracted until I pushed him away so that I could catch up to Harry and explain. Unfortunately, Draco had other ideas, and before I could take two steps, my arm was clenched in his grip and I was slammed against the wall. "I don't think so, Weasley. Do you have any idea how long it's been? Any idea at all?" he growled in my ear.

I watched Harry disappear from sight before sighing and looking at him. "I know that, but we can't exactly do it right here in the open, with Hagrid and Fang not far away, can we?"

"Yes, well, we'll just have to meet behind the tapestry in ten minutes, won't we?"

"But we have class…"

His eyes flashed anger, "Fuck class. What do you have? Muggle Studies? All you need to know about muggles is that they are vermin that need to be removed."

I glared at him, "That isn't true. Let go of me, I'm leaving." I struggled against him, but he just pressed against me even harder.

"No, Weasel. I am not going through this again. You started this and you are going to finish it." He was growling again, his face contorted into a snarl.

I closed my eyes momentarily against the onslaught of screaming, frustrated voices in my head. "Please, Draco… I can't do this. Not… not now. Harry is going to be so angry with me…"

"Bloody fucking hell, Weasel! Since when does Potter have a say in our sex life? Is he coming too, or something?" his face flashed horror and he took a step away. "He's not… You're not…Fuck, Weasley, he is fucking touching you! Is that why you ended it with that filthy fucking Mudblood and yet won't fuck me? You're fucking Potter?" He was shouting by now and I went into a panic, wondering how Hagrid was not hearing him.

"Keep your voice down. Merlin…" He gave me a seething glare and I sheepishly looked at the ground. "You say 'fuck' a lot, do you realize that?"

"You didn't answer the question." His voice was ice cold and he looked to be trembling with rage, his fingers twitching over the pocket he'd put his wand in before accosting me.

"No, Harry and I are not sleeping together. We've already covered the fact that I don't think he's attractive. And he certainly isn't you."

"Yeah well, you were shagging that Mudblood for practically forever, how am I supposed to know who you're shagging now?"

"It would be you if you'd relax enough to let me go talk to Harry and explain before he stops speaking to me again."

"Don't speak to me that way, Weasley. I've already lost my patience with you. Besides, it's too late anyway, he already thinks we're going to fuck. He won't believe you if you go off and tell him different. No point in disappointing."

I shook my head, my bottom lip crushed between my teeth. Draco gave an indiscernible whine and rubbed the bridge of his nose, almost looking tired. "I really didn't want to resort to this, but you've left me with no choice." His wand flashed and suddenly my mind was like an empty room, silent except for echoes of his instructions. I was walking without looking back and, once in the castle, I took the most direct route to the tapestry. I sat in my chair and stared blankly at the entrance as I was instructed. His smirk was triumphant as he made his way down the steps and over to me a few minutes later. I only stared up at him without moving. Until 'Finite Incantatem' left his lips and all thought surged back into my brain, along with a searing anger at having been manipulated. I tried to stand as I opened my mouth to yell at him, but was abruptly shoved back into the chair, and he leaned over me with a knee resting on the chair between my legs. He only made me angrier, "I can't believe that you would be thick enough to put me under another Unforgivable and then think you are getting anywhere with me after the last time you did something like this to me. You're completely mental. I'm not touching you."

His eyes were glittering and he had that malicious little smirk that always infuriated me. His fingertips traced my jaw as he spoke. "Now, now Weasley, I did warn you. If you'd just cooperated, we could have been here a lot sooner." His fingers trailed down my throat to my collar and he grabbed my tie, pulling me up to meet his mouth. The kiss was luxurious, hot, needy; his tongue insistent on gaining entrance to my mouth. When he pulled away, the smirk had disappeared but his eyes still glittered down at me. "See how nice that was? How good it felt? Doesn't it make you want to play?" he purred, one hand trickling down to rub against the outside of my pants.

I closed my eyes against the moan I was fighting to utter and managed a 'no' instead. Further pressure was applied to my groin and he growled just a little bit. I was beginning to get lost in him again, in those eyes that had stopped glittering and begun to smolder with pent up anger and lust. He leaned down again and bit down on my lip hard enough to break skin before sucking the blood out. I moaned despite myself, and felt his grin as he kissed me, leaning further into the chair. I was so wrapped up in his feeling that it took his cool hand wrapping around me for me to realize he had been pulling at my clothing. All thoughts of protest immediately left my head. My hands were fumbling with his clothing, but they were trembling so hard from desire that unbuttoning his demented shirt was nearly impossible and I had to rip a few buttons to get it off. Tugging open his trousers, I freed him from the black silk that encased him and he groaned into my mouth, pushing farther into me.

Apparently, that last push was one too many and the two back legs the chair had been balancing on gave way underneath us, forcing us back onto the ground with a great crash. We were a little too caught up in what we were doing to care, though, and only continued to stroke and grind into each other, our lips permanently sealed together. I tugged harder on him and he growled into my mouth, leaning up a bit to pull my trousers and boxers entirely off. I grinned and leaned up into him, allowing him to pull my ankles up to rest against his shoulders as he positioned to enter. At that point, I didn't even care that he was going to rip me open like some hapless virgin being fucked by a mutant zucchini without even precum to smooth the entrance. I welcomed the tidal wave of sweet, sweet pain as he tore into me, calling out and gripping his hips to pull him further inside, relishing in being whole again and so full of him I could burst. Our pace was furious and frantic and so infuriatingly amazing that I'd abandoned all coherent thought, muttering babble as we moved as one. He kissed my lips, my cheek, my jaw, bit down on my Adam's apple and nibbled on my collar bone, all the time making me almost insane with the force of him. It was a battle of wills to see who could come first, who could reach that ultimate precipice of life-altering, unending bliss. And when it finally came, we were screaming and groaning and biting at each other and so lost I didn't think we'd ever be right again, and I certainly never wanted to be.

Afterwards, he collapsed onto my chest, panting and shaking and kissing every spare centimeter of skin his lips could reach. I wrapped my arms around him and fought to breathe, my body alight with the tingling sensation of perfection. He was muttering, but his voice was muffled in my shoulder and I didn't catch it until he'd made his way up to my ear, "What were you thinking? I can't believe you would ever give this up, you stupid, thoughtless, stubborn fucking ponce. The best fuck of your life and you'd give it up to maintain some rubbish idea of morals. You're so thick, sometimes, you know that?" I giggled as his teeth nibbled on my earlobe and I stopped listening to his rant, opting instead to run my fingers through his hair. He continued on for several minutes before finally settling down with his nose in my neck.

"Hey, Draco?" I was answered by a moan of acknowledgement. "Can we move to the couch or something? The chair back's kind of digging into my back." And it was, with my hips still on it and my shoulders on the floor, it was sticking right up into my lower back, pushed even further by Draco's weight on top of me. He lifted his head to look at me, sighing before sitting up, pulling my up with him. My arms were wrapped around his neck and I did the same with my legs around his waist as he stood up and headed over to the couch that was nearly a chair again. He groaned when he saw it and set me in his chair before turning to find his wand. After he'd re-lengthened it, he fell onto it and I went over to crawl on top of him. I fell asleep to his fingers combing through my hair.

- April 16 - 1998 - Seventh Year -

Another week in limbo. Another week of Hermione poking and prodding at us like some persistent mother hen. I was nearly ready to tell her to shut her bloody mouth, but then I found myself alone in the dorm with Harry and my opportunity to amend the silent treatment stood shaking me in frustration. "Can we talk?"

He didn't look at me, rather at his old, balled up pairs of dirty socks as he prepared his laundry. "Nothing to talk about. He's practically destroyed you, nearly killed your boyfriend, and yet, you're still running right back to him like some kind of masochist. I don't want to stand by and watch you crumble again."

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Look, I know you're trying to protect me, but believe me, I can handle myself. You don't understand this, and maybe you never will, but I'm in love with him. No matter how much I fight it and how much I hate it, I can't stop. When he touches me, it's like the entire world falls away. I know everyone says that and it sounds stupid and all, but it's true. I feel needed when I'm with him. I'm not just the throw-away or the forgotten. Sure, he pretends not to care, but when we're together, I'm the only thing he sees. I love that. I need that."

He paused his sorting and met my eye for the first time in a week. "You are not a throw-away. You're needed. You're loved. I need you. Hermione needs you. You're family needs you. None of us would be able to function without you. Don't you know that?"

"I know, Harry. I know you need me. It's just… It's different with Draco. I feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be when I'm with him. Like I'm home."

"How? He's an evil git who's horrible to you."

"I can't explain it; it's just the way I feel. Can you accept that? I thought you said you would."

He looked back at his laundry and glared so hard that I was shocked that it hadn't erupted into flames yet. We stood there in that silence that was so thick my chest felt heavy and my eyes watered. And then he looked back up at me with eyes so dull with sadness that it made me ache. "No. I thought I could, but I can't. I love you too much to sit back and let him hurt you. I'm sorry, Ron." And then he abandoned the laundry and left quietly without looking back. My heart clenched and I felt myself break into a thousand pieces like shattered glass. I fell to my knees and began to cry for the first time in almost a year.

-April 20 - 1998 - Seventh Year -

"Ronald Weasley, if you don't tell me what's wrong, I am going to hex you and Harry so badly they'll be working on transfiguring you back to your original state a week later!" Hermione yelled as I sat down for lunch the Saturday after our fight. We were late so hardly anyone was still eating and only a few second-years sat at the opposite end of our table. Harry was 'in a meeting with Dumbledore', which actually meant he was sulking in the pool of the prefect's bathroom. I would have to remember to ask Dumbledore to change the password so the bastard was denied access. Hermione pulled my plate away from me with a look of determined anger.

I sighed and rubbed my temples, "'Mione, you don't want to know, trust me. It's private."

"Private! From me! I'm your best friend right now, Ron! Harry won't even look at you! What did you do!" She was yelling so loudly that the first-years at the Ravenclaw table were staring at us, let alone our own second-years. I glared at them and threatened house points if they didn't mind their own bloody business, and then turned back to Hermione.

"I didn't do anything, at least not to Harry. If you'll give me my food back, I'll tell you what's wrong." It was time she knew, no matter how badly I wanted to keep her from it. I'd rather have her hear it from me than an infuriated Harry. She relaxed a bit and put the plate back in front of me. We began to eat again. "Promise no matter what I say, you won't yell? You can hate me all you want, but you can't yell. I don't want this getting around school."

"I won't yell, Ronald. Now tell me."

I hesitated for a second, sighed, and went on with it, making sure my voice was low enough to not be overheard, "I've been sleeping with Draco Malfoy for over a year."

She just stared at me for the longest time, but then her eyes narrowed. "What you do mean you've been sleeping with Draco Malfoy for a year? He's a fowl, disgusting, little ferret. How could you even let him touch you?"

I looked away from her and shoved a sandwich in my mouth. "I can't really explain it. I just… Look, I know he's a horrible person and he's treated us terribly our whole school lives, and I usually want to kill him myself, but… I don't know. When I'm with him and we're alone, it's like I'm home. I feel safe and needed and wanted and it's like nothing I've ever felt before."

"But it's Malfoy! And you could you not have told me?"

"I didn't want you to hate me or stop talking to me."

"But you told Harry!"

"No! Harry found out all by himself. He walked down the wrong hallway and caught us."

She didn't say anything for a long while, chewing her food thoughtfully. "Well, at least you told me of your own free will. Too bad I already knew." She fixed a glare at me and I dropped my fork in shock.

"What? How could you possibly have known?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Honestly, Ron. You, Harry, and Malfoy all missing from class? I watched you go behind Hagrid's. Like I was going to let you two get hexed to death without trying to stop it. I waited to see what you were talking about and when I heard, I stayed hidden to find out what was going on."

"Oh… So you er… You heard the whole thing, then?" I bit my lip and didn't look at her, but I could feel her eyes on me.

"He put you under the Imperius Curse, Ron. How could you be okay with that?" Her voice was soft and almost pitying.

"I know he shouldn't have done it. I yelled at him as soon as it was off, believe me. But I don't now, 'Mione. I have a hard time getting angry with him for those things. He's from a different world than we are. He used to talk sometimes after we were… together. He'd tell me things about his family and the Deatheaters."

"Like what?"

"After he got the Dark Mark, when he'd go to meetings, he'd tell me sometimes about his father or Snape or even him getting the Cruciatus Curse for doing something wrong. He talked about it like it was nothing, like everyone does the same thing when they're angry. It kind of made me feel bad for him almost. I don't know…"

"But how does that make what he did alright?"

"I can't explain it. It's not right, necessarily, but it's something that's ingrained in him. I can't exactly tell him to stop, especially since he's still under the influence of Lucius and Vold-Vol-You-Know- Who. And it's not like I've ever had any control over his actions whatsoever. Besides, it isn't as though he used it to force himself on me. It was the only way he knew how to get me to our room. He took it off as soon as we were both there. And even more, it's kind of a good thing that he did it because I wasn't about to go with him, and quite frankly, he gave me the most mind-shatteringly amazing orgasm of my life. And he cuddled afterwards. We slept on the couch together until… what? Midnight? Is that when I came back to the Common Room?"

"Good sex justifies total loss of bodily control to someone who would sooner kill you than look at you?"

"No, he would never kill me."

"How do you know?"

"I just do, okay? Look, are you going to be like Harry and end our friendship because I made a choice you don't like or can we drop this?"

"What are you talking about? Harry didn't end your friendship, he's just upset."

"No, it's over. I tried to talk to him about it, but he told me he couldn't accept it and walked off. I don't know what to do now." I felt tears sting my eyes for the second time in three days and looked down at my plate only to discover that I had lost my appetite and shoved it away. "Please don't be like him. I couldn't handle it if I lost the both of you."

I heard her sigh and then she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into hug. I buried my nose in her neck and fought my tears. "You aren't going to lose me, I'm just upset. I don't understand what would possess you to want to be with someone that hurts you."

"People do a lot of stupid things for love." She remained quiet as she rubbed my back. "I'm sorry I never told you. I was afraid I might hurt you, especially with the whole thing with the entire student body and half the teachers thinking I was in love with you. I should have told you when I told Harry."

"I thought he just found out?"

"About Draco, yeah, but I told him I was gay after Christmas holidays last year. I should have told you, too. It wasn't fair to leave you in the dark like that." I straightened so that I could look her in the eye and she gave me a pensive look.

"It's alright. You were trying to protect me. I can't hate you for that."

"So you aren't mad?"

"Oh, I'm plenty mad, but mostly at Malfoy." I nodded. I couldn't really stop her from hating him, and she had many reasons beyond me. I was just happy to know that I wasn't losing both my best friends. "Do you want to go to the library to study for a while with me? I think Professor Flitwick is going to give us another quiz on Monday." Not having anything else to do, I agreed and we went to get our bags from the dorms before heading down to the library. If anything else, I could just read about Quidditch.

The library was almost empty when we arrived, only a few Hufflepuff fourth-years huddled at a table in the back, giggling about something. We chose a table at the other side of the library and Hermione went to find a few books. I was fiddling with a quill and thinking about Harry when the doors opened and in walked Draco with Crabbe, Goyle, and Blaise Zabini. Our eyes met for a second before he sat with his group a few tables away. Hermione came back with a stack of books, looking apprehensively over at their table. "No Parkinson? I'm surprised. She usually follows him around like a lost puppy."

I smirked and took one of the books from her stack. "He's been avoiding her since we got back together. I think he's worried I'll cut him off again."

"Cut him off?"

"We weren't together after he started all that public stuff with her. I told him he couldn't touch me if he was with anyone else. It took him a while, but I think he's finally realized that I wasn't bluffing."

"How do you know he's not sleeping around secretly?"

"He doesn't have time. He's been with me every night this week." Her eyes turned to saucers and she grabbed a book.

"More than I really ever needed to know, Ron."

"Sorry." We settled into a silent reading for a while. I was reading about the benefits of a certain wand movement, but quickly got bored. My eyes wandered over to Draco and I was surprised to see him looking back at me. He glanced to a back alcove and back to me before saying something to his group and heading in the direction he'd indicated. I waited about a minute, told Hermione I'd be back, and followed him. He was absently thumbing through an old tome, but put it back as his eyes flicked to me.

"Out with Granger? Study date?"

I rolled my eyes and walked up to him. "Damage control. She insisted I tell her why Harry and I aren't speaking."

"You told her?" His eyes narrowed and his voice was dangerously low.

"I had no choice. She knew anyway. She overheard the other day during class. She isn't happy with you."

"Am I supposed to give a fuck? They're your friends, not mine. As long as she doesn't tell anyone…" His hand reached up to twist around my tie.

"She won't."

A slow smirk emerged on his lips and he pulled my tie (and subsequently me) to him. "Good." And then our lips met and I forgot about everything but him for the time being. I came back to the table ten minutes later looking thoroughly snogged, I'm sure, but Hermione only raised an eyebrow at me before turning back to her book.