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Hermione glared at the three Slytherins before her. Her hands were balled into fists at her side, clenched so tightly that her palms stung from the pressure of her nails.

Blaise Zabini — the most collected of the wizards before her — appeared largely unruffled by either the truly ludicrous discussion topic or her death stare.

Hermione’s best guess for Theodore Nott was he was attempting to plead for mercy on behalf of his friend using only his eyes. She hadn’t said more than six words to Nott in the eight years since they'd started at Hogwarts, so she had no baseline to read his expression, but that was her supposition. Not that she was going to be persuaded by a bloody look in any event.

Not for this. 

Lastly, there was a clearly mortified Draco Malfoy, who could only look at his own shoes at the moment. Far from the sneers of old, the platinum blond wizard was entirely unable to make eye contact with her once he'd finally managed to explain to her what the trio of snakes were referring to as his ‘situation.’

Hermione finished mentally counting to ten. She closed her eyes, drew in a deep breath and exhaled it fully before glaring at the wizards who had interrupted her reading by the lake.

“Or you’ll die. Really.” 

Hermione let all of the derision she was capable of projecting colour those words, allowing it to just hang in the air. The unmitigated gall of this m— no, these three motherfuckers. She put her hands on her hips and glared at them.

“Granger, you have no idea the impact those periwinkle ruffles had on me,” Draco said defensively, before immediately looking at his feet again — the bloody coward. 

She scoffed. “Ha! I think you saw your first exposed collarbone and it broke your brain.”

Blaise turned to Draco. “I mean, she’s not wrong, mate. That’s basically what happened.”

“Shut it, Zabini. Granger, I realise I’m not your favourite person and I understand why this is hard to for you to accept —”

“You just told me that you made an Unbreakable Vow in bloody fourth year — something Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumbass over here helped with — that you would have sex with me before you graduated from Hogwarts. And now if you don’t shag me in the next few days, you'll die. Not just sex with someone, full stop, mind you. It has to be sex with me. Muggle-born, notorious swot and insufferable know-it-all Hermione Jean Granger. Me.”

Draco swallowed. “Yes. It has to be you.”

“I call bullshit.”

His eyes briefly flickered with annoyance before he remembered he was supposed to be convincing her to go along with this lunacy. “Granger, why would I make this up?”

She threw her hands in the air, unable to contain her frustration any longer. “SO YOU CAN FUCK ME!” she yelled at him, louder than she had meant to. 

Obviously. 

Blaise shook his head. Draco and Theo exchanged worried glances. Hermione took the opportunity to get a closer look at Malfoy. And as it happened, he was not looking good. Pale, even for him and almost sickly — like he hadn’t eaten or slept well for a while. The last time she'd seen him like this had been in their sixth year. Her stomach twisted as she felt a dawning realisation of dread. Surely Malfoy couldn’t be serious?

Draco ceased his silent conversation with Theo and turned his attention back to her, his grey eyes looking more defeated than anything else. “We’ve only got 72 hours left, Granger.”

Hermione stiffened her spine. This was a trap. It had to be. The pompous git must simply be a better actor than she had given him credit for — there was no way this was an actual thing. It defied logic on so many levels. Making this sort of Vow was ludicrous to begin with. Making it about something as bloody frivolous as getting laid in the wizard equivalent of high school was preposterous and her bully effectively choosing to put his life in her hands was not something that happened. 

To anyone. 

Ever.

She glared at him. “Not my problem. Personally, I think you lot are lying. Having a go at the Muggle-born before you all leave the castle, return to your manors and never again associate with anyone who isn’t already a blood relative many times over.”

Nott’s expression — a picture of worry since they had interrupted her planned final re-read of the school’s copy of Hogwarts: A History  — had only grown more stricken as Hermione spoke. “He’s been in love with you since you broke his nose,” the dark haired wizard blurted out.

“Theo!” Draco exclaimed, punching his friend in the shoulder.

Theo flinched and rubbed the spot where Malfoy’s fist had connected. “What? You think this is the time to play it coy? You better lay it all on the line now, tosser. You’re not getting a second chance and you have very little time left to not blow your first chance.”

Hermione threw her hands up. “Again, N.E.W.T.s were finished today. We are graduating on Monday. After an entire year of me being here, in the same castle as you, you’ve elected to wait until the last minute to tell me about this ‘longstanding life or death situation that can only be solved by my sleeping with you.’ If anyone — and I mean anyone — came to you with this story, would you believe them?”

“Yes,” said Draco, exasperatedly, the very same moment that Theo and Blaise said “No,” in unison.

Hermione crossed her arms across her chest. “I want the three of you to take veritaserum to confirm that Draco actually made the vow.”

“Why all three?” Blaise asked.

“Why not?” Hermione responded tartly, scowling at him. If she wanted it triple checked, these bloody snakes could just deal with it. 

“You’ll do it then? If we can prove to you we aren’t lying?” Theo asked, his voice full of hope. Malfoy looked like he was about to throw up.

“Then it won’t be an automatic no,” Hermione said, narrowing her eyes as she ignored the butterflies that were manifesting in her stomach.

If they ever got to a then, it would be much worse. Because then she’d have to actually consider it. She wondered if she was about to throw up as well.

“Where can we get veritaserum?” Blaise asked, looking at Hermione as though she was going to produce it from her pocket.

“Steal it from Slughorn? Brew it yourself? Use some of your ungodly wealth and privilege to buy some? I don’t know. As it happens, potion procurement is also very much not my problem. You three figure it out.”

Hermione left her spot by the lake, returning to the library to commune with the books and attempt to calm down. She had no work, of course. No one did anymore — exams were done. The students were waiting for the leaving feast on Sunday night, followed by the graduation ceremony on Monday afternoon for the seventh and eighth year students. If they weren’t lying — and Hermione was less confident it was a merely a prank now, as her mind kept replaying images of the pleading and clearly terrified Malfoy and his anguished friends — then Draco Malfoy had until three o’clock in the afternoon on Monday to live. 

Unless she shagged him.

Hermione let out a bark of laughter, before hastily covering her mouth at the disapproving cough from Madam Pince. Hermione nodded apologetically, before rolling her eyes the moment the older witch ceased observing her. Exams were done and there was no one else in the library. A brief moment of laughter wasn’t going to hurt anyone!

She sighed and gathered up some books to bring to her dorm room. Evidently, she was too discombobulated to be around people just now. Hermione decided on the spot she would skip dinner. She especially wasn’t up for facing any of those three reprobates at the moment. It'd be better for her to hide out in Gryffindor tower while she wrestled with what she would do if  — somehow — Malfoy was actually telling the truth.

The next morning, Hermione left for breakfast before the Great Hall opened, intending to get in and out as quickly as possible. She wanted to finish her goodbye reads of her favourites from Hogwarts’ library. If she hadn’t already skipped dinner, she'd be skipping breakfast this morning to avoid the Slytherins too — she’d rather not be in the same room while they laughed at her over their ridiculous prank. Malfoy usually ate later, so if she moved efficiently enough she was confident she could get back to her dorm room in record time.

It was a solid plan. She had formulated it in the middle of the night as she tossed in her bed, finding actual sleep too elusive after the Malfoy-sized hole that had been blown through her peace of mind. So it caught her off guard when the Fat Lady’s portrait swung open to reveal Draco and Theo asleep on the floor directly across from the entrance to the Gryffindor tower.

“Oh for the love of all that is holy — you two, wake up!” she shouted, kicking at their feet. They both jerked as they abruptly woke up — with Theo grumbling as the pair stood up, with Draco looking at her sheepishly. Hermione glared at the two of them. “Where’s the other miscreant?” she asked.

“Blaise is staking out the library. We couldn’t decide where you’d be and we couldn’t afford to miss you,” Theo explained.

“Well. What is it then? I don’t have all day.” She did actually. But she wasn’t volunteering to spend it on this farce.

“We got the veritaserum,” Draco said quietly. Theo smiled brightly, nodding.

Hermione blinked. So they weren’t dropping the matter. She resisted the urge to hyperventilate as she thought quickly. “I will need to test the potion first, before you take it.”

“You going to take it yourself, Granger?” Theo asked, looking a tad too excited at the prospect. Probably imagining what he could ask her if she was unable to tell a lie or remain silent.

“Certainly not. I’ll use the potions lab to confirm.”

Draco swallowed and looked uncomfortable. “I suppose we can break in there again,” he sighed.

Hermione shook her head. “No need. Slughorn will let me use it if I ask. He quite likes me.” 

It took her twenty minutes to conduct her tests, but she was confident that what she had in her hands was a perfect specimen of veritaserum. Not that she had really doubted it after they had shown up at Gryffindor tower, but she wasn’t leaving anything to chance. Especially not with something this batshite insane.

Hermione sighed as she transfigured three shot glasses and poured out a measure of potion for each of them.

“Bottoms up.”

Theo had retrieved Blaise from his stakeout position, so the three Slytherins exchanged nervous glances as they picked up their glasses and looked at the potion inside.

“What are you going to ask us, Granger?” Zabini asked, looking a bit concerned for the first time.

“Whatever. The fuck. I want.” Hermione spoke evenly, with a vicious smile. Blaise flinched.

“Alright lads, courage!” Theo said as he picked up his shot glass and downed his potion. Draco and Zabini followed suit.

“Who is your most embarrassing crush?”

“Harry Potter,” Theo said, surprising her.

“Luna Lovegood,” Blaise said, also surprising her. She would’ve thought Luna too flighty for someone who was a living embodiment of ‘cool.’

“I only have a crush on you, but I’m not embarrassed by it. You’re perfect,” Draco said, his cheeks turning red.

“Have you three been telling me the truth? Did Malfoy make an Unbreakable Vow so he has to shag me before graduation? Otherwise he’ll die on Monday?”

“Yes” they all answered in unison. Hermione’s stomach dropped like a stone at the confirmation.

She turned to Malfoy. “Why did you make an Unbreakable Vow over this?”

“Because — ah — because I was a stupid, drunk, horny teenager and you were right — your collarbone, along with what you had for tits at the time — all of it looked incredible, Granger. And I bet they look even better now.”

Draco flushed red as he put his hand over his mouth, presumably mortified he had just described his thoughts on her tits at fifteen. Hermione didn’t think seeing Muggle formal wear for the first time was enough of an explanation for Malfoy’s recklessness. As exciting as it must have been to see a real live girl wearing something that wasn’t a shapeless sack, it wasn’t something so revelatory you’d start making life and death decisions over it.

“But why me, specifically? Do you have a weird fetish for Muggle-borns that I should be aware of?”

“Fuck. No, I lo—“ Draco was visibly struggling not to speak.

“He’s going to be so mad about this later,” Theo muttered, as Blaise closed his eyes.

“Fuck it, Granger — I love you. I’ve known I was in love with you since the Yule Ball, but I think it started earlier.”

“Oh at least second year, mate. Remember how freaked out he was when she was petrified?” Theo interjected.

Hermione glared at them all as her mind whirred, thinking through her interactions with Malfoy over the years. None of this checked out. “I remember an awful lot of ‘Mudblood this’ and ‘Mudblood that’ during that time frame. Constant reminders you didn’t believe I was good enough to even breathe the same air as you, actually. None of which seemed compatible with ‘love’ as I understand the word.”

“Granger, my father required me to behave the way that I did. And he checked up on it — making sure I publicly espoused his beliefs at all times. If he was still alive, he’d have killed me for being interested in you, never mind taking the Vow over it. I figured out in first year that I am not better than you. You’re the best person I know. Far too good for me, even if I want you for myself.”

Hermione didn’t know what to do with this. Malfoy wasn’t lying. He couldn’t lie. But it still didn’t make sense to her. None of this made any bloody sense!

“Why didn’t you do something to, I don’t know, get to know me or make friends with me this year? If you love me so much?”

“Because I watched you get tortured by my aunt in my fucking drawing room while I did nothing!” he shouted, his hands clenched into fists as he struggled to regain composure. “I do not deserve to be your friend, Hermione. To know you. Salazar’s sack, I can’t touch you, not after that.”  Draco let out a bitter laugh, the words spilling out of him. “You know, there was a time during the war when I thought this vow would save me. Be my escape hatch. That I’d graduate and I’d just die. I thought about it a lot — especially after Bellatrix got her hands on you.”

The absolute truth of his words almost stopped her heart. “Fine. I believe you.”

“Are you going to — “ the expression of hope in his eyes was so raw, it hurt.

“Yes. I will, but do not look at me like that.” She couldn’t bear it. Not when as far as she was concerned, her whole world had just tilted on its axis. Draco Malfoy loved her. She needed time to think, to recalibrate her own thoughts and emotions, without him scrutinising her while she did it. “I — Malfoy . We can meet tomorrow at breakfast and figure out logistics from there. It can be done sometime tomorrow. Right now, I need to be alone— I can’t process all of this with the three of you looking at me. I will see you tomorrow.”

Draco nodded, looking at his feet, unable to meet her eyes.

“Thank you, Granger,” said Zabini smoothly.

“Yes Granger, thank fuck! Salazar, I’ve spent the whole year thinking I’d killed my best friend. Thank Merlin for you!” Theo made as if to hug her, before withdrawing at the look on her face.

Hermione nodded, turned on her heel and left.

Blaise met her outside of the Great Hall before breakfast the next morning. He handed her a muffin before gesturing out towards the grounds. She accepted the muffin and his silent request that she accompany him somewhere private. Once they were alone, she sat on some stones and began eating. Zabini took out a cigarette and lit it, taking a drag off of it before speaking. “We had to talk him out of making a run for it last night.”

“What the fuck? Is he suicidal now? I thought he wanted to shag me.”

Blaise glared at her. “Granger, he's been in love with you for the past four or five years, at least. Yes we were drunk when he made the Vow, but we weren’t that drunk — he’s always loved you and he was too trapped under the thumb of his abusive father to do anything about it. He thinks you hate him and you're only doing this out of a misplaced sense of guilt. The look on your face when you said you couldn’t look at him — that broke his heart, Granger. Or what was left of his heart anyway — between what he went through during the war and then spending this year thinking he was going to die anyway — the man has trauma.”

“Oh really? What a unique situation for him and only him to be in. It’s a shame he had no opportunities to connect with other traumatised people here at the castle. He might have found that kind of support useful.” 

Zabini glared at her, but said nothing — waiting. Hermione threw her hands in the air. “If nothing else, this would have gone better if I had a chance to get to know him or something, before a hard deadline to bone. Why didn’t he talk to me before now? Why didn’t he start this in bloody September?”

“Because the girl he loved enough to irrevocably tie his fate to was tortured in his bloody home by his aunt while he just stood there and watched! Perhaps someone as brilliant as you can see how in those circumstances, he might’ve thought that asking you to shag him wouldn’t go over well. We spent the whole year trying to get him to tell you! He only agreed because he doesn’t actually want to die and we finally convinced him it would crush Narcissa to lose him too.”

“Is that why he didn't bolt — his mother?”

“That and we told him that you would feel terribly guilty for the rest of your life if he ran away and died. He can’t bear to hurt you. But he’s also terrified of harming you by pressuring you into this, so Theo’s holding him hostage in his room right now. We don’t trust him to make a smart decision at the moment.”

Hermione exhaled a long breath, blowing her curls off of the side of her face. Well fuck. Her historic dislike of Draco Malfoy was largely grounded in his hatred of her, more so than her opinion of the git himself. Him being secretly in love with her? That changed a lot of her priors. Even without knowing that, she'd been worried about his snooty arse practically the entirety of sixth year in fact and then also during the war. It had been manifestly obvious to anyone with half a brain that Draco wasn’t an enthusiastic recruit to the Death Eaters. She had sympathy for his circumstances even before all this insanity was brought to her attention. What she really wanted now was more time to untangle all of her very twisty thoughts about a certain blond ferret who had to be the most infuriating person to have ever lived. 

“All I am saying is that there is a fairly significant chance this could have gone much better under less expedited circumstances.”

“Oh, I know it. But he has been a right mess since the war, if you want the truth. This particular Sword of Damocles — in the form of the girl he loves more than anything, the one he feels too unworthy to even approach — hanging over his head all year hasn’t helped.”

“Right. Let me see if I have this — essentially as far as Draco is concerned, the only thing that can save his life and his mind is my magic snatch. That is what you are saying, correct? Unless I go and enthusiastically fuck him, he’s going to allow himself to die.” Hermione’s ability to filter her thoughts into socially acceptable communication was dwindling rapidly in the face of this madness. She couldn’t quite believe how crudely she was speaking to the wizard sitting before her, his eyes twinkling at her choice of words as he broke into the first smile she had seen grace his face.

“You said it, Granger. Not me.” He took a drag off his cigarette, blowing out the smoke to the right — directing it away from her face before continuing. “But yes.”

Blaise led her through the dungeons to the Slytherin dormitory, knocking on the door for one of the dorm rooms with the back of his knuckles. “It’s Blaise.”  

“Oh thank fuck, you’re back!” came Theo’s relived voice through the still closed door. “Did you get the girl? Because he’s trying to run away — again.”

“Theo, so help me, I will murder you!” Draco’s voice was more muffled. 

Hermione could hear Theo’s answering chuckle. “I don’t think so, my good chum. Either you’ll be dead and unable to harm anyone — or you’ll have shagged Granger, not died and you’ll be too occupied trying to figure out how to make it happen again to bother me at all. Now sit down or I will stun you again.”

There was a sigh from the other side of the door. “And the other thing, Zabini? Did you get that as well?” Nott asked.

“I picked it up first,” Blaise responded behind her. Hermione’s brow furrowed as she frowned. What were those two up to?

Theo let down the ward. Blaise and Hermione entered what she assumed was Malfoy’s room — an unsurprising sea of green and silver. Malfoy sat on the bed, his head buried in his hands. He looked up as she entered.

“Look. Hermione, er Granger. Forget we said anything, alright? It wasn’t right for us, for me to ask you to do this. You — you have no obligation to do anything for me. Ever.”

He looked so lost. Hermione felt her heart clench as she took in the dark circles under his eyes, the anguish etched across his face and the absolute sincerity in his words — he would truly rather die than shag her if she was unenthusiastic about the prospect.

Which was kind of a panty-dropper, if she was being honest.

She didn’t reply to Draco, instead looking over her shoulder at Zabini. “Blaise, can you be my oath binder?”

“What?” Draco dropped his hands into his lap entirely, his grey eyes widening with burgeoning panic.

“Anything you need, Granger,” Blaise drawled.

“Nott?”

“Petrificus totalus.” Theo’s wand movement was quick as he froze Draco — petrifying him in place on the bed, where he could only witness what was about to come next.

“Thank you Theo. I assume you’ll take the oath with me.”

“Naturally.”

Hermione stood in front of him, took a deep breath and extended her right arm. Theo took her hand in his, smiling. “Relax, Granger. I’ve done this part before. What exactly are we swearing today?”

“That I will have sex with Draco Malfoy before I graduate from Hogwarts on Monday.”

Theo looked relieved. “Just needed to confirm.”

Blaise withdrew his wand and pressed it onto their clasped hands. Hermione looked into Theo’s blue eyes as he spoke the words necessary to give effect to her vow, ignoring the unmoving grey eyes she could somehow feel boring a hole into her back. She answered clearly and without hesitation, striving not to be distracted by the thin streams of fire that were wrapping around all three of them, magically sealing both the vow and her fate.

It was awkward in the room after the fire strands had vanished. Blaise stowed his wand, before putting his hand on the back of his neck. Theo coughed.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the pair of them. “Alright. Give me his wand and get out. I’ll take care of unpetrifying him, before we — ah — get down to business.” She assessed her surroundings. She'd really thought she was going to get out of Hogwarts without ever seeing the Slytherin dorm rooms, never mind shagging in one of them. 

The whole weekend had been such a mindfuck.

“Or, if I may offer an alternative?” Blaise said, pulling out a small box as Theo rubbed his hands together gleefully, fairly bursting to explain their surprise to her.

“It’s a portkey that will take you directly to Blaise’s Vineyard in Italy. Just the two of you and house elves. It will bring you back tomorrow just in time for the graduation ceremony. You’ll miss the leaving speech tonight, but I assume you don’t care about that.”

Hermione took the box, genuinely touched by the surprisingly thoughtful gesture. “I do not. Thank you both.”

“No, thank you, Granger. But go easy on him, yeah? It’s his first time.”

Hermione turned back towards Malfoy’s still unmoving form. 

“Of course it is.”

The portkey brought them just outside a lush villa. There was a table laden with food and drinks already waiting for them on the terrace where they stood, with open doors behind it leading to what appeared to be a beautifully appointed bedroom.

Hermione gestured to the table. “I’ve been too preoccupied to eat properly of late. You?”

Draco looked at her, still seeming a bit shell shocked from all that had happened. Once he could move again, Draco yelled at her for two straight minutes for her quote “reckless behaviour in swearing that ruddy vow,” only shutting up after she shouted back he should have thought of that before he had sworn his own bloody vow. They hadn’t said much else to each other since, quietly leaving the grounds to take the portkey as the tension built around their silence. He sighed. “Same. Would you like to join me for breakfast? Or brunch? I have no idea what we’re being served here.”

“Yeah, I could eat — whatever is here will be fine.”

It was brunch fare, complete with mimosas, which was probably the best thing for all of the lingering awkwardness. Hermione sipped away at her third one — bloody thing was mostly orange juice anyway, but at least she could feel fractionally more relaxed by the slight kiss of champagne — and looked over into the bedroom, trying to ratchet down her nerves.

Draco watched her intently. “Um, is this your first time?” he asked, his voice hesitant.

Hermione smiled as she shook her head. “No. I basically recruited a Muggle neighbour after sixth year. It wasn’t a relationship, so much as an experiment in having sex before I went off to fight a war I was pretty sure I was going to die in. What about you? How come you didn’t take a Slytherin girl or two into a dark alcove?”

“Terms of my vow were you or no one.”

“So, what have you done before?” she asked, feeling the need for clarity. 

“I”ve snogged a witch before Granger, please have a little faith in me. But — ah, nothing under the skirt. Or, er, underneath the shirt either, technically. Just on top of one.”

“Oh.” She felt an inappropriate giggle bubble up through her chest and she bit her lip trying not to laugh. The big bad Death Eater had never felt a tit. Draco glared at her — which fair enough, she was clearly amused by his almost total lack of history, but then she couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer. “I’m sorry, but it’s funny you couldn’t have sex with anyone the entire war because you made this stupid vow when you were fourteen! Even I managed to lose my virginity and I had like fifteen minutes to spare between obliviating my parents and going on the run with Harry and Ron. I just can’t believe you effectively cock-blocked yourself through all of it.” She snorted and laughed harder. 

“Glad my torment is funny to you, Granger.” His words were cross, but he didn’t seem like he was actually angry with her. Just irritated.

“It’s not a little bit funny to you?”

“If I ever get a chance to look back on it in retrospect, I might feel differently,” he conceded.

Hermione wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. “Is it a problem for you that I’ve done this before?”

“Of course not. On the contrary I’m relieved that at least one of us knows what they are doing.”

“It’s not like I have vast expertise, Malfoy. But I suppose it’s good at least one of us has had a practical demonstration.” Hogwarts did not have a sex ed component and in her estimation all of the wizarding families were weird about sex and sexuality — but none more so than the Sacred Twenty-Eight. She could only imagine how lost they'd be if neither of them knew how this was accomplished in fact.

Draco swallowed, his eyes darting through the open doors to the bedroom. 

“I want — I want to make this feel good for you, Granger. Tell me what to do.”

Hermione’s mind moved quickly. His willingness to not just take, but seek instruction was very promising. This was a golden opportunity to set a precedent.

“You should make me come first. Before you attempt to actually shag me. With your fingers or your mouth. Or both.”

“Right. I can do that,” he said, almost like it was just to himself. 

“Draco?” He looked at her wide-eyed. She pushed a refilled mimosa in front of him. He took it gratefully, shooting it back. “It’s going to be fine. We’re going to do this. You will make me come and then we’ll have sex and not die when we graduate tomorrow. We can talk about what — if anything — this all means after we’ve taken care of our mutual death sentences, okay? You don’t have to be nervous.”

Draco nodded, nervously.

Hermione stood up and held out her hand to the still seated blond wizard, who had stopped breathing when she moved from her seat. She chewed her lip, tilting her head as she gestured towards the open terrace doors. “You are going to have to touch me to make all of that happen, Draco. So let’s get started.” 

Draco nodded, taking her hand and she led him through the open doors into the luxurious suite, towards the enormous four poster bed bedecked in inviting linens and possibly too many pillows. Having lost her own virginity in the back seat of a car, this setup seemed a bit excessive but nice.

“Um, how do you want me to start?” He asked, clearly nervous.

“Kiss me. And we’ll figure it out the rest as we go along.”

“I can do that. I can kiss you.”

“I’m not sure if you are telling me or asking me, but yes you can.”

Draco strode forward, stepping on her toes before correcting himself, muttering apologies. He reached out a hand and swept her curls away from her face, his breath hitching as he trailed his finger along her jawline, grasping her chin.

“I — Hermione, I am so sorry for how it all came to be.”

“Yeah, I get it but I’m done with apologies. You wanted me. Now you have me. So let’s do this.”

“Fuck, I can’t believe this is happening,” he murmured as he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers as gently as possible — as though he feared she might break.

Hermione rolled her eyes and grabbed his shirt to drag him closer to her, applying her own pressure. Draco responded by sort of smushing back inartfully. Hermione pulled back, frowning. Hadn’t he said he’d at least snogged someone before? Although, she supposed it would’ve had to have been before the Yule Ball, so it made sense that he was rusty. “How about you sit on the bed and let me take the lead?”

Draco nodded, taking a seat, rubbing his hands on his trousers.

Hermione considered her course of action. All things considered, she was a fairly passive recipient during sex in each of the three times she had done it. It took her until the second encounter before she could even look at the penis that had already been inside of her. But if Malfoy was this timid, she was definitely going to have to be bold. Bolder than she might choose to be if this were literally any other circumstance, but she thought she could manage it. Besides, he was so inexperienced that he wouldn’t know if she was doing something wrong anyway. She could bluff her way through this.

Fake it ‘till you make it, she thought to herself as she straddled Malfoy’s lap, ignoring his surprised gasp. She sealed her mouth over his, taking advantage of his already open mouth to gently slip her tongue in and slide it against his. Draco groaned, pulling her closer as he tried to set the pace and their teeth clacked together uncomfortably before they found a better rhythm. Draco’s hands drifted down to her waist and he pulled her closer. It was Hermione’s turn to groan as they broke apart, panting as she rocked against him, his hands pulling her forward with each thrust.

“Fuck, Granger.”

“Um, take your shirt off,” she breathed as she leaned back slightly so she could take hers off as well. 

Draco looked as though he had been petrified for a second time that day as he froze upon seeing her in nothing but her bra, an expression of dumbstruck awe on his admittedly handsome face. Hermione cleared her throat to break the spell and he began frantically undoing his buttons, not taking his eyes off of her — but alternating his attention rapidly between her eyes and her tits.

Hermione moved her hands behind her back and took the longest amount of time she had ever taken to undo the clasp and remove her bra. Draco’s expression was so strained, she briefly wondered if his inability to tolerate the unbearable torment that was her partial nudity might give him an aneurysm. She smiled as she mercifully pulled it off entirely — picking his hands up from her waist and putting them on each of her tits, squeezing her hands over his. 

After all, if he had a stroke before they finished, Hermione would die too. Probably best not tease him too much the first time out. No matter how fun it was.

Draco’s eyes were transfixed on the sight of her breasts beneath his hands. “Fuck, Granger.”

“A couple more times of hearing just that and I’m going to have to stop to make sure you haven’t somehow fried your brain.”

“I think you are doing that just now,” he said, flicking his thumbs over her erect nipples. She whimpered, thrusting her hips against him as he did it.  “Fuck, Granger!”

“Seriously, it’s like you have aphasia.”

“I’m sorry you are the most bloody amazing thing I’ve ever encountered. All I can think is that I was right to nearly die for the chance at being with you. Is that what you want to hear?”

“Honestly, yes,” she said, dragging him into her kiss as she continued to rut against him. He pulled off of her in a minute, holding his hand up. As Draco drew in a breath to speak, his eyes wandered down to her now fully exposed chest and he paused to smile at them for a minute. She cleared her throat.

Draco looked sheepish. “Right. Sorry. I’m going to come in my pants if you don’t stop doing that.”

“Oh!” Hermione stood off of him, taking a step back. “Let’s take off our pants.”

“I’m going to be honest with you. At this point, a stiff breeze might make me come. You’re going to have to stop touching me for a bit — I think — give me a chance to hold it together.”

She pouted. “Fine. Should you leave your pants on then?”

“Probably.” He pouted too.

They exchanged nods and Hermione peeled off her denims before laying on the bed with her knickers still on, reasoning that Draco should probably get a chance to take something off of her. He climbed onto the bed beside her, kissing her again. She reached her hand up to caress his cheek as his tongue explored her. Draco moved to kiss her jawline and her neck, as his hand drifted up to squeeze her breast, circling her nipples with his thumb. His breath was shaky as he trailed his hand down her abdomen until he reached the waistband of her knickers. He stroked his fingers along the edge of the fabric, sensually, purposefully. After it went on for a solid minute without further encroachment, Hermione began to suspect he was nervous.

“Draco?”

He removed his mouth from her neck, licking his lips.

“Yes, Granger?”

“Please put your fingers inside me.”

He buried his face in her neck again, shuddering as he nuzzled her. “If I had already taken off my pants, I’m sure that is when I would have lost it, Granger. So count yourself lucky.”

“Please?” she asked again, and he smirked at her as he moved back and began pulling her knickers down past her knees until they were completely off.

Draco drew in a breath as he looked at her bare cunt — she had used a grooming charm for this last night — before meeting her gaze. “May I?” he asked, his hands on her thighs, putting just enough pressure for her to know he was seeking permission.

“Oh,” she said, spreading her legs for him as she blushed furiously. 

Draco’s eyes darkened with lust. “Fuck, Granger you are so gorgeous.”

“I mean, if you say so.” Hermione didn’t really have any aesthetic views regarding her own vagina. Or any one else’s for that matter. She thought she had nice enough tits, even if they were not particularly large, an adequate waistline and fairly good legs. She never spent any time being concerned about her own cunt. But, to be fair, Malfoy had clearly spent a great deal of time thinking about it and he was getting a closer look than was possible for her to get. She’d have to take his word for it.

He trailed a finger slowly on the outside of her folds, seemingly mesmerised. Eventually, Hermione got bored and lightly cleared her throat. He paused and looked at her face, only to blush at her raised eyebrow. Smirking he moved his hand to her centre, slipping into her wetness and spreading it around with his fingers.

“Fuck you are so wet!” 

She made a small noise, canting her hips up to meet him. “Please tell me you already know what a clit is?” She really didn’t want to have to do a full anatomy lesson if she could avoid it.

“I — ah — yes. I do. Just give me a minute.” He started moving his thumb around — searching. It didn’t feel bad, exactly. More that he was frustratingly close to where she actually needed him to be without actually touching it. She squirmed beneath him, trying to give him time as he got tantalisingly closer, while somehow still missing it. She counted to fifty before she lost her patience with him.

“Malfoy, for the love of Merlin, it’s symmetrical! Find my vagina and then go due north.”

“Oh,” he said, sounding embarrassed.

“Oh,” she gasped. He found it — his thumb finally rolling over her clit. Hermione couldn’t hold back her cry at the sweet relief the pressure on her nub provided her. Draco started making small circles with his thumb, pressing firmly.

She hissed. “Too hard. And go slower.”

He listened to her instructions, slowing his movement and using a lighter pressure. She felt a coil of tension building in her. 

“Faster, Draco.”

“But you said —”

“I am aware of what I said. Now, I am saying something different.”

Draco moved faster. Hermione whimpered as she felt herself grow wetter underneath his attentions and she gasped lightly as he slid his finger into her, his eyes widening. He moved slowly, prodding and stroking her in his exploration of her soft inner flesh. He curled his fingers just so and she twitched involuntarily — the novel sensation catching her entirely off guard. “Oh my God!” she cried.

Draco drew back. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, worried.

“No, do that again.”

He did, his fingers curling, once again striking that elusive spot as he looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

“I think — ah — I think that’s my g-spot, oh fuck.”

Draco smirked at her reaction and she glared at him.

“Don’t get cocky, Malfoy. You haven’t earned it yet.”

“Of course not Granger. I would never,” he responded, still smirking as he added a second finger, flicking his fingertips along the spot. Hermione lost the ability to direct his efforts — consumed as she was in her own mewling cries as she clenched around his fingers when her orgasm hit.

When she stopped twitching, he pulled out of her slowly, watching her still trembling form with awe. When she came back to herself, she smiled at him. “Good work, Malfoy. You’ve earned at least one ‘O’.”

“Thank you, Granger,” he said, smirking at her double entendre before raising his hand and plunging the fingers that had been inside of her into his mouth, sucking her essence off of his fingers as he groaned at her taste.

Hermione’s breath caught in her throat as she watched him literally savour her. It was the single hottest thing she had ever seen. Between that and the afterglow, any remaining nerves she had about this entire ridiculous affair were quickly evaporating. Their Vows were largely a secondary concern at this moment. She was going to fuck Draco Malfoy because she wanted to fuck Draco Malfoy.

“So first fingers and then mouth?” he asked.

Hermione blinked, before carefully schooling her features into a neutral expression. If she could get two orgasms out of him first, who cared if he only lasted for three strokes when it came to the main show? If this worked, any future witches who were shagged by Draco bloody Malfoy owed her a gift basket.

Or maybe she’d just keep him. 

Her voice was solemn as she answered his question. “Yes. That’s how it’s done,” she said, nodding for emphasis. 

Draco moved into position, sliding one of her legs over his shoulder as he settled down eye-level to her cunt. Hermione felt herself blush again and she looked at the ceiling, unable to watch Malfoy scrutinising her in this manner. At least he was in his happy place. So she was caught off guard, when she felt the first brush of his tongue against her slit.

“Oh .” 

Hermione had no prior experience with this, so she was unable to properly assess Draco’s performance as he ate her out with abandon, but she believed it accurate to say he was displaying more enthusiasm than skill. But fuck if the enthusiasm with which his tongue roamed over her folds, before dipping into her pussy and returning to circle around her clit wasn’t enough. This felt whole orders of magnitude more intense than when he was only using his hands. His tongue was soft and wet and it felt fucking amazing to feel him taste her. She risked a peek and was greeted by the sight of his blond head, hair uncharacteristically askew as he feasted on her. She whimpered as Draco slid his fingers inside her again, his tongue staying on her clit as he stroked her from the inside.

If her first orgasm was nice, this one was spectacular. She had almost no warning before she felt something inside her snap and she shattered, clenching around his fingers as her hands reached down to hold his head as she ground her hips into his face. Draco groaned loudly, the sound muffled by her own anatomy and he shuddered between her legs. 

Draco pulled off of her and laid on his back across the bed, trembling. “I just came in my pants,” he announced, after he caught his breath.

Hermione let out a small laugh. “So you really liked doing that, huh?”

“Fuck yes. The scent I could never identify in my amortentia? Figured it out. Your cunt.”

Hermione shivered at his words. “How long until you can go again?”

“Well I’m turning nineteen next week, so like, ten minutes?”

“Okay. I’m going to lay here and try to catch my breath while you work on redirecting your blood flow back to your cock.”

“I’m on it.”

~ Ten Minutes Later ~

“Um, Granger?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m ready to —“

“Oh! Okay.” Hermione reached for her wand and cast the contraception charm on herself. Draco stood up and removed his pants, tossing them to the side, his re-erect cock bouncing slightly with the movement. Fuck, he was big. Again, Hermione didn’t have a vast repertoire of history to draw on, but he seemed thick and large on first view. He was far more impressive than her previous partner — a fact Hermione instantly decided she would never share with Draco because he would only be insufferable about it.

“Are you ready?” he asked, nervous again.

“Yes.” 

Draco moved until he was looming over her. She opened her legs to accommodate him. He brought one hand down to hold himself, guiding the head of his cock to her dripping core. She put her hand down as well, separating her folds to make it easier for him. He slipped the head across her folds, promptly letting it go as he twitched, groaning.

“You need a minute?” she said, with a raised eyebrow. 

“I literally, not figuratively, staked my life on my desire to come inside of this cunt Granger. I will figure this out. I’m not blowing my only chance at this.” 

“I — this doesn’t have to be your only chance.” They hadn’t discussed much of anything when you got right down to it, but the Unbreakable Vow he had taken and the veritaserum-induced love confession had led her to believe that this wasn’t casual.

Draco looked at her, eyes wild. “Would you — after today?”

“I’d like to see what we can make of it,” she said with a grin. The man came in his pants while eating her out. That’s how much he enjoyed giving head. That alone screamed that she shouldn’t let this one slip through her fingers. Also, his naked adoration of her was incredibly endearing.

And his cock was lovely. Honestly, she’d be a fool not to seize the opportunity before her.

Draco’s hands surged to her face, dragging her in for a fierce kiss, his tongue sliding into her mouth instantly, stroking hers. He let her go — grinning —  as he reached down to guide himself to her core once more. His movements were more confident as he dragged himself through her slippery folds. Hermione moaned at the feel of him teasing her.  But after it went on for a bit too long, it occurred to her that maybe he wasn’t exactly teasing on purpose.

Hermione reached her hand down, placed it over Draco’s and helped him guide him to her entrance. Once she got him started, she removed her hand and he did the same. His eyes never left hers as he slowly pushed into her, inch by inch as she quivered beneath him, trying to relax her inner walls to accommodate his size. When he reached his limit, he collapsed down on her, burying his face in the curls at the side of her neck, muttering endearments and epitaphs in equal measure.

“Well. Now neither of us is going to die tomorrow as a result of our Unbreakable Vows, so that’s nice,” she said after a moment, in an effort to lighten the mood.

He laughed into her shoulder. She was unconsciously rutting against him — not that she could do much more than grind given she had his whole weight on her at the moment. Her body wanted him to move and if he didn’t start moving soon, she was going to throw a tantrum. She felt so full. The sensation it provoked was odd, but so good. Then Draco finally moved and the drag of his cock along her inner walls felt bloody amazing. He moved erratically into her, not finding a rhythm at all as he thrust into her wet heat. 

The coil had just started to form in her abdomen again and her toes began to curl, when Draco grunted above her and came — warmth from his spend flooding her as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her as close as possible, incoherently mumbling into her curls — and my God, was he crying?

Hermione rolled her eyes, affectionately. “It’s alright Draco,” she said soothingly, patting his shoulder with her free hand.

“I love you,” he whispered into her ear, his voice thick with emotion. 

“I know you do.”

“I’m sorry. I couldn’t hold off any longer.”

She laughed at that. “It’s fine. I came twice already. It’s not that I’m greedy, exactly. It’s just that I was getting close again.”

Draco pulled back, his eyes bright as he regarded her. “Would you like to go for the third, when I can manage it?”

“Ah, yes please.”

~Fifteen Minutes Later~

“Fuck, Granger! Is it going to be this good every time?” Draco panted, thrusting into her from behind.

“Probably,” she said, her eyes rolling back into her head as his hips slammed into her backside repeatedly.

~An Hour After That~

“Seriously, again?”

“Well, no. Not if you don’t want to, Granger.”

“That’s not what I said.”

~Another Hour After That~

“Okay, this is the actual last time, Malfoy. I’m supposed to speak at convocation in like eight hours and I will need some sleep without you pawing at me.”

“I like it better when you call me Draco,” he said, pouting as his hands roamed over her breasts, his thumb flickering over her pebbling nipples.

“Fine. Draco you can shag me one more time, but then you have to let me sleep for six uninterrupted hours. After which it is your responsibility to make sure I wake up and get to grad on time.”

“I can do that,” he said, his fingers slipping inside of her. At this point she was so overstimulated from their earlier encounters, she wasn’t even sure she could orgasm again. But she was willing to give it a try to find out.

In her experience, the best discoveries were only made through rigorous experimentation.

They arrived on the edge of the castle grounds with thirty minutes to spare before their convocation was set to begin. By the time they walked back, they would make it just in time for the ceremony. 

Draco looked at her and swallowed. “I want to thank you, Hermione. For saving my life.”

“Just for that? Not for the sex?”

“A ‘thank you’ feels grossly inadequate for the sex. I’m torn between commissioning a great work of art or trying my hand at poetry to properly express my gratitude on that one.” 

She smiled, moving her hand up to his face and pushing a lock of white blond hair away from his eyes. He hadn’t slicked his hair back this morning and she vastly preferred it this way.

He looked nervous again as he spoke. “Listen, I know you don’t need to do anything with me anymore. So if you’ve changed your mind about it being more than a ‘one-time’ thing —”

“It was already a four time thing, Malfoy.”

“You know what I mean, Granger.”

“I would like to continue this, Draco.”

He exhaled, relief washing over his face. “Will you be my girlfriend, Hermione?”

“Yes. But only if it’s publicly acknowledged.”

Draco blinked rapidly, as if he was trying to hold back tears. “Everyone will know about it Granger — there’s going to be press at the graduation. So it won’t be just the students, but the whole Wizarding world. And my mother’s here — you should know that she won’t have any objections to you, but I don’t know how you feel about meeting her, er, again. Are you sure? That you want people to know about us, about me ?”

“I’m not hiding anything. If you don’t want to be public, we can just end this now —”

“No! I just didn’t want to pressure you to be publicly connected to me. There are a lot of people who think I shouldn’t be anywhere except Azkaban. That’s if they even think I deserve to still be drawing breath. But we can let the world know, if you want.”

“Oh, I insist on it. Also, heads up — Ron is going to lose his shit when he sees us together.”

Malfoy stood up straighter, already preening at the thought — prat.

“However, I expect my boyfriend to behave maturely about it, even if my friends are not. Which means referring to people by their names, not say ‘the Weasel’ and generally being respectful to them. Especially if you wish to remain my boyfriend.”

“Noted.”

A pause. And then: “Draco?”

“Yes. Granger?”

“I can’t say I love you back yet. But I think I’m going to get there.” She didn’t think it would be that long, either. She needed to spend more time with him when they weren't just shagging each other’s brains out to be certain.

Draco looked off in the direction of the castle, before looking back at her. “What if I told you that I also took an Unbreakable Vow that I would only marry you?” he asked, his voice deceptively casual.

Oh, this motherfucker better be joking. “I would say any talk of marriage is extremely premature and I would point out that particular vow — if it was even made — doesn’t require me to do anything to save your life. It just means that you might never get married.”

Draco blinked, looking a bit worried. “Right.”

“It’s fine. You haven’t been consigned to permanent bachelorhood yet. Ready for our debut?

“Oh, I’ve been fantasising about a moment like this for half a decade.”

“Well then. Let’s go give them a show.”

Draco held out his hand. She took it with a smile. It would appear she had one last battle to fight at the castle before she could officially retire.

Showtime indeed.