Irredeemable (Harry Potter fanfiction)

15. Study Break

He was early at Granger's again, but she didn't seem to mind, just ushered him in and greeted him with a soft brush of her lips against his. The familiarity of it made Draco smile as he followed her down the hallway.

"I just need to hang out some washing and then we can get started," she said over her shoulder, heading into the kitchen.

She's eager, thought Draco, then realised that she was talking about studying instead of anything more enjoyable. Mind out of the gutter Draco! He followed her out the back door to the washing line, automatically stooping to help her peg the sodden items to the line.

After a couple of minutes he noticed Hermione giggling to herself, and couldn't help but ask her what was so funny.

"It's silly really," she said. "I just wish I could have told my 13 year old self that one day Draco Malfoy would be hanging out my dad's pants!" she giggled again and Draco found his own lips lifting in response.

"How the mighty have fallen, hey?" he said, raising his eyebrow.

"Yes," she said, suddenly gripping his arm and pulling his to face her. "And I am very glad they have." She reached up and stroked his cheek, before pulling his head down to kiss her. Dropping the laundry, he wrapped his arms around her and deepened the kiss, enjoying the press of her body against his.

"Let's finish this quickly," he murmured, suddenly desperate to get her inside the house and out of her clothes.

They pegged out the rest of the clothes as swiftly as possible and were soon heading into the living room. Wasting no time Draco had led Hermione to the sofa and was kissing her again, sliding her jumper off over her head and slipping out of his own shirt.

"We should be studying," she told him breathlessly, but making no effort to move away from him.

"We will," he said, kissing her again. "After."

He kissed her throat, his light growth of stubble scraping the delicate skin there and making her gasp. He continued downwards, across her collarbones and down to the tops of her breasts above her bra. Deciding that now was the perfect time to repay her for her actions in the car on Saturday, he continued kissing a path downwards, making her squirm as he circled her navel and nipped at her hip bones.

He undid her jeans and peeled them slowly down her legs, snagging her knickers with his thumbs on the way down so she was bared to him. He slid off the sofa so he was kneeling between her knees and she seemed to realise what he was intending.

"Draco, I'm not sure…" she was blushing furiously, and she made to sit up but Draco just leaned in and kissed her thigh.

"Trust me," he murmured, and without waiting for a reply he began to pleasure her. Any protest she may have had seemed to have disappeared as she groaned at the first contact of his tongue against her c**t. He set a teasing rhythm, brushing the small bundle of nerves lightly with his tongue over and over again until she was panting.

Her hand had found its way into his hair, and he could feel her thighs begin to shake against his shoulders. He glanced up her body to her face, and saw that her eyes were closed, head thrown back in abandon. He felt like his c**k could rip through his jeans it was so hard, and he was getting desperate to be inside her. Trying to speed things up, he pressed harder and felt her start to come apart, her flesh spasm against his tongue and an incoherent cry was torn from her throat.

In one swift move Draco shoved down his jeans and thrust up to sheath himself inside her. He needed this; how was he going to go without this once they were back at school? He felt a sudden need to possess her, to make sure she knew that she was his. He barked "impervia concepta" then, grabbing her hips to anchor her, f****d her with all his strength. He knew at once that he was probably being too rough but felt powerless to stop himself. It didn't last long; it seemed he had lost all control of himself as he came hard, shuddering and gasping as a wave of pleasure rolled over him.

It wasn't until he was spent and drenched in sweat that he properly looked at her, expecting to see some form of censure in her eyes. He had been rough and thoughtless, holding her down when he knew she hated it. Instead he saw her gazing at him with apparent satisfaction, a slight smile on her lips. Still, he felt he should apologise;

"Are you ok? I shouldn't have been so…" Rough? Selfish? He didn't really know how to finish that sentence.

"Draco, I'm fine!" she replied. "I'm better than fine." She shifted over so he could get up onto the sofa with her, then nestled into his side. "That was really good," she said softly, keeping her head down, "I hadn't ever had, um, you know… before…"

"You mean Weasley never…"

"Not like that." She said, with a hint of a smile in her voice.

Merlin's beard, thought Draco, the Weasel really was utterly inept! "I'm glad you enjoyed it," he said, thinking how endearing it was that she was so embarrassed talking about something so natural. "But was that ok? I mean afterwards, when I was on top of you." Now he was feeling tongue-tied and embarrassed!

"Yes," she said, then paused to think for a minute, suddenly serious. "I don't know if it was the fact that I was on the sofa, or maybe just because it was you, but I didn't get the feeling of panic that I normally do."

Draco took this in, feeling a little bit smug at this admission; she trusted him more than she had anyone else before! Also, this opened up some more possibilities in the bedroom too…

"Shall we head upstairs…" he said, running a hand down her side to squeeze her hip.

"Draco!" she admonished. "We have to study!" She slid off the couch and grabbed her clothes from the floor. "I'll be back in a minute." She headed in the direction of the bathroom.

Draco stood and pulled up his jeans; in his haste to be inside her he hadn't managed to get them any lower than his knees. She was right, they should study, but he would much rather spend the day in bed whilst they still had the chance!

By the time Hermione returned, Draco was fully dressed and setting out his books onto the coffee table.

"What shall we start with?" asked Draco, as she settled herself beside him on the floor.

"Let's start with ancient runes…" She selected a book from the table, and for the next couple of hours they tested each other on ancient runes until they were both translating even the most complicated texts confidently.

Draco was impressed; he had known Hermione was clever but her memory really was exceptional. Draco knew he was intelligent, but next to Hermione he felt more like he had the intellect of Crabbe or Goyle; she just seemed to know every single rune!

Arithmancy was next; the subject that Draco found most challenging. Again, Hermione's knowledge was impressive. She spotted a mistake Draco had made then showed him how to put it right, giving him an insight as to how Potter and Weasley had gotten decent marks during the past six years at Hogwarts.

About 1ish they took a break for lunch and Hermione made them bacon sandwiches.

"What time are your parent's home?" Draco asked, thinking about what time he had left to persuade Hermione to go upstairs with him…

"They won't be back until 7ish. Well mum will be slightly earlier, but we won't eat until about 7."

"Oh, I don't know why, but I just assumed they worked together." He said absently. Great, he had a good few hours left alone with her yet!

"They used to, but sold their practice over here when they moved to New Zealand. They really love it over there, they often talk about how the lifestyle is so much better and of course, the weather is better! I think that they will go back once I have finished my education, I can't imagine that they are keeping their business running out there if they are not planning to return."

"Would you go with them?" Draco asked, experiencing a sudden feeling of horror at the thought of her leaving the country and him never seeing her again.

"I don't think I would. I really want to establish myself in a career before I make any life-changing decisions, and I wouldn't know how to even begin integrating myself with the magical community in New Zealand. Also, it's not like it is for muggles taking a full day's worth of travel to get there to visit them, I could just take a port key."

Draco inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, although her not making 'life changing decisions' comment was still slightly worrying. Not that he had any intention of… anything towards Granger, he reminded himself but his protest seemed feeble even inside his own head! Maybe he should try and move things along a little?

"My mother has asked to meet you." He told her, taking a bite of sandwich.

"Your mother has already met me." She said with a wry smile. "I don't think we got along all that well…"

"I mean my mother wants to meet my girlfriend." He said.

"And she doesn't know it's me?" said Hermione, raising her eyebrows.

"No." said Draco, pausing to choose the best way of putting it. "I thought that it would be best not to tell her who you are, as like you say, you don't get along all that well…"

Hermione's eyebrows were still near her hairline, as if daring him to say that he was ashamed of her.

Draco carried on, hoping to salvage the situation. "I wanted to ask you if you minded me telling her, and if you would mind coming to dinner or something if…" Here he tailed off; his mother would have a total s**t fit when he told her who he was seeing.

"If she hasn't disowned you for consorting with a mudblood, you mean?"

Draco winced at her angry tone, but couldn't contradict her. "yes." He said lamely, wishing he hadn't brought it up. Hermione obviously saw something of this written on his face as she seemed to take pity on him.

"Tell her who I am. If you can guarantee she won't hex me the second I put a foot over the threshold then I will come to dinner." Hermione smiled at him and Draco was relieved that she wasn't angry with him.

"That's fair," he replied. "What subject do you want to tackle after lunch?" He asked eager to get back to safer ground.

"I don't mind, but I think that there is not much point in trying to do much with charms or transfiguration as we can't actually do any magic. We could do theory for potions, but I don't have a space set up for anything practical, and only minimal ingredients here too." Hermione finished the last bite of her sandwich and got up from the table. "Do you want a coffee?" she asked, moving towards the kettle.

"Yes, please." Draco replied. "So we're left with Defence against the Dark Arts or Herbology realistically then. I feel I'm probably ok on defence." (Having seen way more dark magic than he believed had even existed, and performed a fair amount too.) "How do you feel on that?"

"Pretty much the same as you. Although I would like to run through some counter curses, and also practice my patronus." She had her back to him, adding milk to cups.

"Patronus?" asked Draco, surprised. "I didn't think that would be on the test!" He couldn't recall a patronus being mentioned previously in the syllabus.

"It hasn't been taught yet, but I think it will be soon due to the situation with the Dementors at the moment. It's only going to get worse, isn't it?"

He had obviously missed something! "What do you mean?" He asked, bewildered.

"Haven't you been reading the prophet? You know that after the battle for Hogwarts the Dementors were banished for their collaboration with Voldemort, to one of the islands in the Outer Hebrides?"

"Yes, I remember." Only vaguely as he has been awaiting trial at that time.

"Well, the island is devoid of people so the Dementors are slowly starving. Consequently they are coming back to the mainland in desperation to feed and attacking muggles and wizards alike. It was a ridiculous plan in the first place of course. Whoever was in the department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures must have known that they were basically passing a death sentence to the Dementors by banishing them there. I just cannot believe that they thought the Dementors would just quietly go away and not try to save themselves. It sickens me the way wizards treat other magical creatures, they really need a total overhaul of that department, and a thorough examination of outdated and unjust laws!"

Draco was confused; on the one hand he could clearly see her distaste for Dementors, but on the other she was declaring the treatment of them unjust!

"Is that what you want to do after Hogwarts?" He asked. "Go into the ministry?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I want to go and make a difference, but all the departments apart from Law Enforcement are totally antiquated! It's all 'old boy network' and dead men's boots!"

Draco was really lost now; old men's boots?!

Hermione saw his confusion. "Sorry, they are muggle expressions! I mean that they all know each other of old, no one new or unknown gets a position with any influence, and the only opportunity for promotion is when someone retires, or as is more often in the wizarding world, dies. I don't think I want to spend the next few years of my life being a secretary to some archaic dinosaur of a minister in the hope that I may get a better position when he pops his clogs!"

Draco supressed the urge to laugh; he had never imagined Hermione Granger could have such a contemptuous view of the ministry of magic! She loved rules and order, or at least she had for the past six years or so. She was intriguing and surprising, he thought. No wonder he was in love with her…

"Sorry," she said again, realising that he was standing dumbstruck at her outburst. "It just makes me angry all the bigotry in the magical world."

"I could tell," said Draco quickly. "So, Patronuses?"

"Yes, I have always had difficulty with them. Apparently it is because my chosen memory isn't strong enough. I just can't seem to find a memory that works. I know it's a very personal thing to ask, but what memory do you use?"

"I don't." He said shortly. "I have never cast a patronus."

"Oh," Hermione looked rather taken aback. "I just thought that being allied with them you would have been taught how to control them."

"Like you say, we were allied with them, and I think that the Dark Lord quite liked having the threat of them looming over us too. I know a lot of the older death eaters would know how to cast them, but no one ever seemed to think it was important for me to learn. It was Occlumency that was pushed on me; I suppose that was the defence judged most useful."

"Well, I will just have to teach you then! Although not here of course. Maybe you could help me with occlumency? I have a very basic competence, nothing that would stop a skilled Legilimens." She plonked a cup of coffee in front of him, then returned to the seat opposite him with her own mug in her hands. Draco took a sip; milky with two sugars, just the way he liked it.

They decided to do some Herbology revision next, testing each other on the appearance and uses of various plants, only getting the occasional description incorrect. It had been a couple of hours, and Draco was getting fed up. He was determined to make the most of the time he had with Granger before they returned to school, and rather keen to make up for his rather hurried and less than careful finale' earlier.

He tossed his book onto the table, causing Hermione to look at him in askance.

"Come," he said, taking her hand and pulling her to her feet. "We need a break."

She allowed him to lead her up the stairs, hesitating at the threshold of her bedroom. "Draco, if we keep this up we won't get anything done!"

"We'll do three subjects a day," he said, leading her to the bed. "That will be enough to keep us on track for our NEWT's."

He captured her mouth, kissing her deeply, melding her body to his own. With a groan she surrendered, allowing him to steer her to the bed and push her down. He stood over her and shucked his clothes until he was wearing nothing but his boxers. She lay passively watching him, as if she knew that he wanted to make it last this time.

He took his time undressing her, touching and kissing her until they were both naked and under the bedclothes. He was determined to make this about her, preparing her carefully and enjoying watching her cheeks flush and breaths quicken under his ministrations. When he finally entered her he held himself above her, holding her gaze to see the trust in her burnished brown eyes.

This was more than s*x, this was making love. The words were on the tip of his tongue; the phase he had never said out loud before. He almost said it, but at the last minute something held him back. What if she didn't return his feelings? What if she didn't believe him?