Halloween passes and Pansy is elated with the fact that Hermione has successfully enraptured Draco.

"I told you there was something there," Pansy practically howls with glee as she begs for details of the previous night. "He was basically undressing you with his eyes at work."

"Don't be vulgar!" Hermione squeaks, gripping the strap of her satchel harder. Pansy gives her an encouraging grin, dark eyes coaxing her friend to spill the events of the night before. "He's truly a gift, Pans. I never knew someone that acted so awful in their youth could grow into someone as beautiful as him."

Pansy stops walking, her mouth falling open in shock. "You love him." she gasps, and Hermione considers this proposition.

She had considered it on her own accord many times, almost said the very phrase to him, but something has always made her pause, retract the sentiment like pulling down a kite, the wind of want hard to resist.

"Don't say that," Hermione says, voice dropping to a whisper, and Pansy knows her well enough that it was finally time to drop the subject. "Please just...don't say that."

-

Thanksgiving at the Weasleys with Draco was more uneventful than Hermione could have predicted. After some encouragement from Harry and Ginny, Ron's sour disposition at his highschool bully joining his family for the holidays slowly eased, and the group were able to enjoy themselves. The conversation did however steer away from the second wizarding war and politics, subjects that normally wormed their way in during family dinners, and Hermione was forever grateful that her second family loved her enough to open their home to the unlikeliest of individuals.

"Molly makes a hell of a blueberry pie, but I still think the blueberry scones from that muggle cafe you took me to takes the cake." Draco muses as he walks her to her front door, their fingers entwined. Hermione laughs, squeezing his hand.

"Only you would prefer cafe food over Molly Weasley's baked goods." She giggles, fishing her keys from her jacket pocket. A gust of chilly wind nipped at their coats, and she turned to him, her head leaning to the side. "Care to come in?"

He grins, quirking an eyebrow as he gives her figure an up and down glance, and she blushes. "For tea, I mean." She curses herself for being presumptuous as she opens the door, and gives her wand a flick. The large two candles set on the opposite ends of her living room come to light, and she removes her jacket, Draco following suit as she shuts the door.

Walking to the kitchen, she opens the cabinet, peering closely at its contents in the dim light. "Which tea do you care for?" she calls, placing both hands on the lining of the cabinet door.

"I don't care for tea."

Draco's voice is right beside her left ear, his hands snaking around her waist and the sudden closeness gives her such a fright, she shrieks, flipping around in his grasp. Hands pressed against his chest, she glares up at him, and he laughs, caging her waist against the counter between his large hands pressing into the wood.

"You gave me such a fright, you prat!" she complains, her voice catching as he drops his head to her shoulder. "I thought you were still in the living room."

Hermione gives a light gasp when he presses a kiss to the junction between her neck and shoulder, his lips softly making their way up her neck and to the sensitive spot below her jaw. Hands on her hips, he squeezes lightly, and she cradles the back of his neck to her, breathing in his scent.

"Draco."

He kisses her cheek, right near her ear, his breath deep and warm against her skin, and she drags her fingers through his hair, pressing her eyes shut. She can feel it. The warmth, the desire, pooling in her belly like molten lava, dripping further down and settling between her thighs. Her breathing becomes rigid when his mouth finds hers. His tongue dips in, playing with hers and fighting for dominance.

As his mouth moves against her own, she feels his hand drop to the hem of her dress, his fingers dancing lightly across the flesh of her thigh, moving up further and further. Taking her bottom lip between his teeth, he sucks it softly, his hand now lightly pressing the line of her panties and the feeling is so known yet foreign, so understandingly normal yet terrifying that it takes all her strength to press her hands against his chest feebly.

"Draco, please." She begs, and she isn't sure what she's begging for. She knows she wants this, wants this with him but— words press against her skull, trying to force its way out, but with his hands touching her gently against her panties, she can't remember how to form the words.

It's when he gives a gentle tug to the hem of her undergarments does her brain return to her, and her eyes fly open as she shoves against his chest. "Draco, please, wait."

His absence is almost immediate. His hands retract from her skin as if she's burned him, and he takes a step back, worry painted across his face like make up.

"I-I'm sorry, was that too much?" he blurts, his lips red. His eyes swim in worry as he takes her in, wringing his hands so quickly she instantly feels guilty.

It isn't his fault she feels so scared, and she hates that he thinks it is.

"No!" she exclaims, and he flinches. She pauses, taking a breath. "No, it's not too much. It's perfect. I just—"

Hermione does not know how to tell him everyone before him has taken a piece of her, never to return and never given anything back. She wants to bare it all, but she can't. Over the course of therapy and grieving the souls lost at the hands of Voldemort, she'd fallen so far within herself, she never thought she could find herself again.

Yet here he was, searching for her. Wanting her.

Loving her.

"Draco I- I'm not a virgin." She says, choking on the words. He gives her a quizzical look, but nods slowly.

"Alright, neither am I." He replies, and she shakes her head.

"I mean, I've had sex before." She says, holding her hands. "With people that...didn't care for me. Not the way you care for me. At least I think you do. And yes I've had sex but I've never..." she trails off, her words hanging heavily between them.

Stepping towards her, he holds his hand out, and she gingerly places her own in his palm. "Go on," he encourages. "I'm listening."

She sighs, trying to catch the words flying around her head, unable to articulate them in a way that even made sense to her, until suddenly it hit her so hard she nearly doubled over.

"I've...I've had sex before," she says again, looking up into his face. "But I don't know what making love feels like."

There it was; the clinical truth behind the entirety of her caution.

Draco pauses, his hand warm holding her own, and she feels her breathing stale in anticipation.

"And I-I want to feel that," she rambles, and he takes another step toward her, until they are chest to chest, their clenched hands between them. "I want to feel that with you."

Leaning forward, he gently presses a kiss to her forehead, the light smell of his mint cologne filling her senses. "Let me change that for you."

Dipping his head, Draco claims her mouth as his, hands moving slowly but surely around her torso, squeezing her frame lightly as she sighs against his lips. He bends, scooping her into his arms bridal style and she lets out a laugh of surprise. He gives her a quizzical look as he glances around, and she gestures down the hall with a nod of her head.

He pushes the door open with his knee, placing her on the bed before he pushes her back, straddling her frame, the both of them fully clothed.

"Hermione Granger," he muses, reaching up and slowly undoing his tie, his fingers work at the buttons next. "I have had the pleasure of dating you these past few months, and while it wasn't easy, it was one of the greatest things I could have ever done." Shirt unbutton and open, she watches as Draco shimmies his arms from their confinement, holding her breath as she takes him in. Reaching down, his fingers graze the hem of her top. "May I?"

She nods, biting her cheek as he removes her top, leaving her upper half exposed. His eyes soften as scarlet colors her cheeks, and he gives her a smile.

"Calm down, Granger," he whispers, leaning down to capture her mouth. "I'd rather drown than ever let you be hurt again."

"Again?" She asks when he pulls away, the sentence distracting her as he begins to kiss down her stomach. He pauses his movements just above her belly button, his breath fanning across her skin, and he sits up.

"The Manor." He replies matter of factly. "You were hurting, in my living room as I watched. And I did nothing." He sits on the backs of his thighs and she opens her mouth to stop him, to tell him she forgave him a long time ago, but he holds up a hand.

"I allowed her to hurt you." He breathes, his hands rubbing her sides. "I'll never allow anyone to hurt you again."

Hermione can feel her eyes begin to prick, and she sits up quickly to kiss him, arms circling his neck. She can feel the anxiety and tension in his shoulders as she pours herself into him. He moans softly against her mouth, cupping her face.

"I forgave you, Draco." She whispers, nudging his nose with her own. "We were children. Let's make new and better memories together."

Grasping his face, she tugs him down into a kiss, tongue dipping into his mouth and he sighs against her. As they kiss, she can feel his hands settle on the hem of her skirt, fingers pressing against the zipper nervously, and she moves her hands down to unzip and remove her skirt. Settling between her thighs, he kisses her over her panties. She stiffens the closer he gets.

"Relax, sweet girl," Draco nuzzles his nose against her hip, flattening himself down as his thumbs hook under her panties. "May I?"

She nods, and he maneuvers her legs to pull them off. Grey eyes flick up to meet hers. "My pretty girl." He looks down, his tongue darting out from between his lips and Hemrione clenches her thighs.

"Draco, please," she says, pulling his hair, watching his movements. "Please."

"I'm going, 'Mione." He says before pressing a quick kiss to her mound. "I just want to look for a moment." He brings up a hand, cool fingers collecting her wetness and her muscles contract.

She opens her mouth to complain again, speaking always helps calm her nerves, but then he delves his tongue between her folds and her eyes roll. He repeats the action, groaning against her damp skin.

"You taste like heaven," he hums between gentle licks. "I can't wait to see how you feel."

She thinks he's going to continue, her heart swelling at the pretty words, but instead he laps at her heat, eating her out like he's starving. Her ankles hook behind his head, back arching off the surface, and his hand comes up to grip hers, fingers tangling.

His eyes are trained on her as he pulls back to kiss her thigh, sucking heavily. "Look at me, sweetheart. Keep your pretty eyes on me."

Her chest heaves but she nods.

Eyes still on hers, he reaches up, rolls a nipple between his forefinger and thumb, and when his teeth graze against her clit she keens, coming hard, thighs shaking as lets out a heavy sigh.

"You look beautiful like that," he says, leaning forward to give her swollen bud a small lick. "So beautiful when you come."

Hermione whines, reaching for him. He crawls up between her legs, pressing kisses to her neck and jaw. Together they haphazardly push his trousers down, and then his undergarments, until he's heavy and bare against her.

Blowing air through his nose he looks up at her, white hair falling in his eyes. "You sure?"

She runs her hand down his check, tracking her thumb over his bottom lip. His tongue darts out, wetting the pad.

"I'm sure."

He smiles, before dipping his eyes downwards, stroking himself a few times before aligning himself with her. He grunts against her jaw as he slides slowly into her. Holding her breath, Hermione grips his bicep as he stretches her perfectly, her walls fluttering. When he's settled to the hilt, Draco breathes hard against her neck, his teeth grazing her neck.

"Shit," he whispers, his voice low, before he laps at her skin softly. "You're like velvet around me."

When he begins to move, Hermione's eyes drift shut. He's murmuring against her skin, pretty words decorating her skin, before he leans up to capture her lips with his own.

"Feel ok?" He murmurs against her lips, and she nods, trying to find her voice. His thrusts are slow and deep, taking his time as his hand drifts down to grip her thigh, hiking it up. The new angle hits her deep, and she cries lowly, nails digging into his skin.

"There it is," he groans, his skin slapping against her heavily. "Those sounds you make...mmm. I want to hear them again."

She gasps again when he hits that spot deep inside. Her limbs feel like jelly, warm and loose, and when his rhythm picks up, she feels another wave of pleasure building. Stomach tight, she bites into his shoulder when she comes.

"Good girl," he whispers, tugs on her earlobe. "Good, good girl."

The contraction of her walls triggers his own orgasm and his hips buck into her as he locks onto her frame, finishing inside her. He lies panting, lifting himself so as to not crush her but she grabs his shoulders, tugs him back.

"Draco," she murmurs, nuzzling into him, breathing in his scent. "Draco, please stay."

"You want me to stay?" He asks quietly, brushes her hair out of her face. She knows it must be horrendously unruly but she doesn't care, smiling at him sleepily.

"Yes," she replies. "of course, yes."

He grins, and she gently pokes the dimple that shows. Leaning forward, Draco kisses her again, soft and sweet, his fingers tangling in her hair.

"Mmm," he hums, his tongue swiping against her lower lip. "You taste like honey. Just...so sweet. Sweet as honey."

Hermione giggles, and pulls him to her so that his head rests against her bare chest, and as they drift off to sleep she hopes he always prefers