Archive of Our Own ^beta

Draco hated the attention.

There was only one exception and this wasn’t it.

Still, Blaise had conjured a birthday party out of his arse faster than Draco could tell him not to bother.

“You only turn 30 once, mate. Plus, I need a chance to ask Gin out. I’m sure she can’t keep refusing me,” Blaise grinned rakishly as he dragged Draco to what was supposed to be a party to celebrate his birthday. The celebration turned into more, of course, and Draco was forced to endure an evening with old and new friends mingling as he tried to avoid the only person he wanted to spend the day with.

He endured for several hours.

He caught sight of her six times, one of which she looked at him too.

By the seventh time, he deemed the centre of attention was no longer his birthday celebration but more so the drunken cahoots everyone was up to (including a very flirtatious Pansy dancing on a table).

Draco made his way through sparkled confetti that littered the floor among the dozens and dozens of balloons someone had conjured. Once he was away from the boisterous mingle of people he felt it was easier to breathe.

To pretend she wasn’t there.

Wasn’t with him.

“You never opened your present.”

Draco stopped breathing.

Of course, she had followed him. Even when she wasn’t near him, her presence haunted him.

Slowly, he turned to see her with an arm outstretched, holding a wrapped present. For him.

Her cheeks were tinged pink, either from being alone with him or from the few Butterbeers he’d caught her drinking throughout the party.

He hadn’t kept count.

He just couldn’t forget things like that about her.

For instance, three butter beers made her cheery and overtly flirty. Five butterbeer made her sensitive and prone to tears. Seven had her pass out in his arms as he carried her to their bed.

He shook his head from those memories.

“I hardly think presents were required for tonight, seems you’re the only one who thought of it,” Draco mused, stuffing his hands in his pockets to keep them from touching her. She still held out the present for him to take.

When he didn’t, she dropped her arm back to her side.

“It’s your birthday,” she replied evenly. She blinked more than usual. Draco guessed she was onto at least her fourth butterbeer of the night.

“Granger, you don’t-“

“It’s your birthday and you should have a present.” She marched up to him, pulling on him to stuff the poorly wrapped thing into his hand. He knew instantly that it was a book, he could probably guess which one it was, too.

Thanking his quick reflexes, he grasped her by her forearm, keeping her close. She froze under his touch as he closed his eyes and breathed her in. The wrapped book fell to the floor with a thump amidst loose confetti that whirled around them.

She still smelled like Granger. It was all vanilla and floral mixing in his nostrils, shooting directly to his brain and other parts of his body he made sure to angle away from her.

“I only ever wanted one thing for my birthday, Granger,” he murmured close to her cheek, feeling her gasped breath dance along his jaw. She didn’t move when he grazed his nose along her jawline and further up towards her temple. His other hand moved on its own, clasping the back of her neck to angle her head back. Her eyes were closed but her lips were parted.

“I’ve only ever wanted one thing in my life, Granger, I’ve told you this countless times.”

“Draco…” Her voice sounded pleading but for what he wasn’t sure. He watched her eyelids flutter, yet they didn’t open.

It was too much and he was a weak man. He always had been for her. It was with little effort that he ghosted his lips across her cheek to stop right on the edge of her mouth.

Still, she never moved away from him.

He sensed the way her fingers dug into his wrist that she didn’t want to either.

Couldn’t.

“I know you said I should try, Granger,” he lingered just shy of her mouth. Her breath tasted like a burnt fire tinged with alcohol. The heat of her skin singed his cheek but he refused to step away.

“I have tried, Granger,” switching to cup her face, hoping she would look at him, he continued in earnest. “I have tried not to love you. Always in vain. I have tried not to want you. Always in vain. I have tried again and again. It never works. Everything I am, everything I want in this life always returns to you.”

She blinked so fast that he nearly missed the change in her gaze.

“It doesn’t work that way. You can’t just tell me I need to stop loving you and expect me to do it. When have I ever listened to you anyway?”

“Hardly ever,” she scoffed, unable to keep a smile from her inviting lips. Draco licked his to keep himself from kissing her, which he very much wanted to do.

“How do you expect me to continue my life without you in it? These past four months have been hell-unimagined. I would rather take the Mark again than live without you.”

“Please, don’t say that, Draco,” she whimpered, trying to pull away. Draco ignored the rising sounds of music from the next room along with the jeering cries for someone to join Pansy on the table. It was no doubt Luna or Longbottom, whichever took Pansy’s fancy for the night.

Draco couldn’t care less.

The only thing he cared about was right in front of him.

“Why do you care what they think, Granger?”

“I don’t, but Draco your parents-“

“I don’t care about my parents. All I care about-“ he inhaled deeply, widening his stance to better look her in the eyes without towering over her. He brushed his thumbs across her cheeks, feeling them damp from silent tears.

“-Is you.”

He saw her expression soften, her lips pinch together to keep from crying and he couldn’t take it anymore.

So he kissed her.

And she let him.

She was his. He felt it in every stroke of his tongue as it found hers and entwined, seeking the familiar taste of her to steal to the back of his throat. Tonight, she also tasted of butterbeer and honey. Draco wanted all of it. He carded his hands into her hair, twisting it in his fingers to hold her closer as she melted in his arms. She held herself upright with surprisingly strong arms around his waist as she whimpered against his lips.

He was hers. He felt it in the way she fit into his arms perfectly. There would never be anyone other than Granger for him. He’d known it for a while and had allowed her time to see this for herself. Time apart caused him more pain than Voldemort ever had.

He deepened the kiss with vigour, even more so when her nails dug into his back and she let out a little moan.

The only reason he had to break the kiss was to kiss more parts of her.

Across her wet cheeks to erase her tears.

Down her throat to feel the flutter of her pulse.

Across her collarbones to feel the shiver in her bones.

Down her sternum to sink to his knees before her.

Across her hipbones to let her know he was serious.

Down her abdomen to find a resting place on the apex of her thighs.

Still fully clothed, he ached to claim her right in the middle of the dimly lit hallway, however, he wasn’t going to. Not yet. He had more things to say.

“Hermione Granger, I do not doubt in my heart that you are the love of my life. I would steal every sugar quill from Honeydukes for you if you wanted me to. I would even try to befriend Weasley for you even if he chews with his mouth open like great baf…” He shook his head as he was getting off-topic. On his knees with his hands wrapped around her hips, he rested his forehead against the low curve of her stomach.

“This year for my birthday, I only wished for one thing. The same thing I’ve wished for every day for the past four months. That you would return to me for my life to feel complete again.”

“Draco, your mother-“

“Can do as she pleases, I don’t give a rat’s arse. Granger, I am on my knees begging you. You are the only woman I would do this for, you know this, right?”

“I do.” Her fingers brushed his shoulders, lightly steadying herself with him.

“I know, Draco but I can’t- I won’t tear you from your family like this.”

“You’re not.” He rose to his feet again, wanting to speak to her directly. He cupped her face in his hands, keeping their gaze locked.

“It’s already done.”

“What?”

“Four days after you swept away with my heart I spoke to my parents. I haven’t seen them since. I told them if they couldn’t accept you in my life then I couldn’t accept them in mine.”

“What?” She tried to pull back, but he wouldn’t let her. Not again.

Never again.

“I’ve tried to tell you so many times. I’ve burned too many letters. Annoyed Potter more than I care to think of.”

“Harry knows?” Her voice rose as her eyes widened.

“I assume so. It surprises me that he has never told you.”

“He’s said things, but I never-“

“Granger?”

“Yes?” Her voice was back to being only a whisper. The music from the next room sounded louder with each beat of his heart. But he only felt the beating of her heart against his fingers as he slowly slid them from her cheeks to lightly graze her throat.

“Can I be yours?”

Her lashes fluttered for a moment. Her lips parted, exhaling a small puff of air.

“Only if I can be yours again?”

“For fucking ever, Granger!”

He surged for her lips again but the kiss was cut much too short when someone bumbled from the room almost crashing into the opposite wall.

“Oops,” Blaise chuffed, righting himself again. His grin was far too smug as he witnessed Granger hide her face in Draco’s chest.

“Happy fucking birthday Prince Prat,” Blaise laughed before slouching his way back to the part that Draco still didn’t care a flying fuck about.

He stole several more minutes alone with her in the hallway, loomed over by his brattish self from the horrendous poster his supposed friends had charmed to wink at anyone who passed by it. Draco wanted to steal her breath for the rest of the night. He was loathe to return to the party, that no longer focused on him as the birthday celebration.

With his attention on Granger, he could still hear the jeers and cheers that meant someone was much too drunk and others who were cheering on for something stupid to happen.

“We have to get back to the others,” Granger whispered against his lips as he kept on kissing her. Her mouth was shaped into a smile since they had agreed to belong to each other.

“We really don’t,” Draco murmured, tracing his thumbs along the column of her throat as he gazed into her amber eyes.

“I do,” she stressed before blowing out a sigh. “I promised Gin I would save her from Zabini’s advances if he got too close. I came with her and I-“ she sighed again. Draco dropped his hands from her neck to just below her shoulders.

“You’re leaving with her tonight.”

“Yes,” she grimaced and he could tell how much she hated her promise to her best friend at that moment. “I did, I promised to come and go with her. To avoid anything uncomfortable, but that was before I… before we…” She wrapped her fingers around the front of his shirt. Draco inhaled as he pulled her close, wrapping her tightly in his arms. Bending his neck, he breathed in her scent from the top of her head. She still used the same shampoo as he remembered.

It smelled of lilacs.

“It’s all right, Granger.” He kissed the top of her head. Another deep breath to seal that scent in his lungs.

“Find Red and leave this train wreck of a party. When can I see you again?” It wasn’t what he wanted to ask. He wanted to ask when she would come home to him. But he knew not to push her. He’d only just gotten her back. He would be damned if he ever lost her again.

“I-“ her expression crinkled and to his utter amazement, she then let out a small curse.

“I’m leaving tomorrow for a conference in Madrid. I’ll be gone for a fortnight.”

Then it was Draco’s time to curse, to which she smiled timidly.

Granger leaned into him again, her arms strong around his middle. He suspected she was breathing him in as well.

“When you get back, Granger, I’ll be waiting.” He stroked her hair, running his fingers through the loose ponytail atop her head. He wanted to pull the elastic to free her curls. But he didn’t.

“Where will you be waiting?”

“Home.” He kissed her softly. She kissed him back, clinging to him as she let out a soft whimper.

“Are you sure?” Her eyes were wed and shiny with tears about to spill. So he kissed her on the sides of her eyes before a final kiss in the middle of her forehead.

“Granger, go be brilliant for a fortnight. When you get back, come home to me?” He cupped her face to look her directly in the eyes, stating the seriousness of his words.

She nodded, the movement squishing her cheeks in his hands.

“O-okay, I will.” Then she pressed up on her toes to kiss him one last time before she darted from his hold. Draco watched her turn around the corner where someone tackled her further into the room. After a few more minutes spent controlling his breathing, Draco forced himself to reenter the main room where the party was still much too lively.

Granger and Red were nowhere to be seen.

This was just as well since Pansy seemed to have stolen any scrap of attention for the night with none other than Luna Lovegood beside her, the two of them dancing on the table so closely together that it was difficult to see where one witch became the next.

“Bloody good show, mate,” Theo approached, clapping a hand on Draco’s shoulder as they watched Pansy slide her fingers through Luna’s hair right before she slipped her tongue into her mouth. Luna sighed into the kiss, her body relaxing visibly as her fingers grappled to hold onto Pansy.

“Isn’t that your girl up there?” Draco drawled, crossing his arms as he looked around to see who was still left at what was meant to be his birthday party.

Blaise was passed out under the table Pansy was snogging Luna on. The Patil twins were deep in conversation with Daphne and Weasley, who seemed to leave his mouth open as his brain no doubt struggled to think of things to say that would impress Daphne even more. Draco snorted and hated the fact that as far as Daphne was concerned, the poor wanker just had to smile at her and she would take him home. From the way Wesley looked at her, he seemed to know but still wanted to impress her. Draco shook his head, returning his attention to Theo beside him, who only stared in amazement at the two witches still locked in a fierce kiss atop the table.

“Yeah, it is. But we’ve never declared anything exclusively, not like you and Granger ever did, so maybe I’ll take the two of them home and show them a nice time tonight,” Theo winked, pinching Draco’s shoulder with a wicked grin.

“Happy birthday, mate,” Theo declared and then he was off. Draco watched him climb onto the table and gently break the two witches apart. One would have thought they would react offended by being interrupted but they both just grinned at Theo before including him in their little erotic dance. Theo whispered something to both of them in turn and Draco saw almost identical smiles spread on both witches’ faces. Less than five minutes later, Theo left with Luna and Pansy through the floo.

“Christ almighty,” someone muttered once the noise died down and Draco turned to come face to face with Harry Potter. They weren’t friends as such, but they weren’t sworn enemies either. Not anymore.

“Enjoying your party?” Potter raised his half-empty tumbler in Draco’s direction. He just inclined his head, having no drink to toast.

“No.”

“Hmm, you look in a better mood than when you stepped out earlier.” Potter looked him up and down briefly. “Did Hermione give you her present?”

“What?”

“She said she was going to give you your present and then she and Gin would leave. They’re not here, so I assume she gave you her present.”

“The Aurors are lucky to have you on their team, Potter.”

“True.” Potter shrugged, smirking. Draco hated that they could read each other in tiny ways these days.

“She did but I, ah, left it in the hallway.”

“Well, what are you standing here for?” Then Potter barked a command at Longbottom and Bones to get a room, diverting everyone else’s attention. Draco smirked before slipping out of the room.

He found the present where he had left it earlier. A corner was torn but it didn’t matter. He already knew what book awaited him under the wrappings.

’Much Ado About Nothing’ was not the worst piece of fiction Draco had ever read, but Granger loved it and had kept forcing him to read it to her before these past four months. The cover screamed at him to be tossed in the bin, but instead, he grinned at it before flooing to his flat. Their flat.

Draco spent the next fortnight trying to read the worst book imaginable. Or so he thought. Once he got past the initial stages of the silly side of the love story, the damned thing got interesting with the scheming lords and two lovers who failed to just speak their minds about their feelings. Turning the last page, he suddenly better understood why Granger loved the story so much.

In all honesty, it could have been a story about them.

He made a show of leaving the book out in a spot he was sure she would notice, a small bookmark hanging from the corner of it.

Fourteen days were even bigger torture on his part because he knew what would arrive at the end of those two weeks. He invited Pips over to clean the entire flat, swearing the little elf to secrecy about doing so after he had stocked the muggle cooler Draco had never gotten rid of after Granger moved out.

When day fourteen passed and he still hadn’t heard from her - not even an owl to inform him she was back - he grew pensive before he grew sullen.

While mulling in his worries about her abandoning him once more, he suddenly heard the knock on the front door. He was just about to wage a verbal war on whoever it might be when he flung open the door to a shy-looking Granger.

Her hand was still raised as if she had been about to knock again, but she quickly dropped it to clutch the bag held in front of her.

“Hello, Draco.”

“You’re here,” he breathed and it struck him how relieved he was. He hadn’t realised how worried he was that she wouldn’t return to him until that moment when she was there again.

“Why didn’t you just come through the floo?” He asked, as he gently beckoned her inside. She stepped past him and he had to close his eyes as her scent washed over him.

“I didn’t want to assume anything, you could’ve blocked your floo and-“

“It’s always been open to you, Granger. This is your home, too.”

“Is it? Even now?” She turned to him after setting her bag on the floor. Her eyes darted around the place, no doubt taking in everything that was still theirs.

Draco hadn’t dared get rid of any of the knick-knacks she had brought into his previous rather cold bachelor flat. Her many plaids still adorned the sofa (he had applied stasis charms on a few to contain the lingering scent of her), and picture frames still hung or stood mismatched throughout the place (even if the objects in the pictures had chosen to vacate their frames for the time being), pots held plants that looked near death and in a corner was one of those stupid toys her cat loved but Draco always hid because it made too much noise.

“Granger,” Draco stepped closer to tug her into his arms, afraid to let her go again. He wasn’t letting her go ever again.

“This place has been cold and barren without you here. I’ve spent most nights at Blaise or Theo because, for a long time, I couldn’t sleep in our bed without you.” The admission burned through his throat but he needed to say it, to make her understand how much he longed for her.

“I’m sorry, Draco, I thought-“
“It doesn’t matter anymore, you’re here now.” He ducked his head slowly, nearing her mouth and his heart skipped a beat when she pushed up on her toes to meet him.

The kiss was soft and familiar.

Their kisses at his birthday party had been but a small sample of the life he knew and yearned for. A life where he could wake up with her kisses each morning and taste her each night before he drifted to sleep. She kissed him back, her fingers wrapping around the front of his shirt, the way she always did to keep him close.

“This is still your home. If you want it to be.” He kissed her forehead and felt her shiver in his arms.

“I don’t want to rush things again. I don’t want to ruin this again, Draco, I-“

“I know. I know, Granger, we’ll-“ he sighed as he gestured for them to move to the sofa, her bag forgotten on the floor.

“I know we should talk about things, why you thought you needed to let me, let us go, but I don’t think I have the heart for it tonight. I’m just so fucking happy to have you here again.” He pulled her into his lap, burrowing his nose into the crook of her neck. Slowly, her fingers found their way to his hair, running through the pale locks as her breathing eased around him.

“I don’t want to leave again. I meant what I said, if you’ll let me, I’m yours.”

Draco nearly banged his head on her chin from the speed with which he raised his head to gaze at her.

“I’ve always been yours, Granger.”

“Please kiss me again, Draco.”

So he did.

Fervently.

Passionately.

Vigorously.

“Don’t ever stop kissing me,” she pleaded, running her hands across his shoulders, his back and back up along his spine. He shook under her touch but kept on kissing her.

“I couldn’t,” he said between kisses to her mouth and her skin.

“What about, ah, about food and drinks?” She arched into him, tilting her head a little to grant him access to her slender neck. He suckled on her skin before speaking again.

“I can live off of you, Granger. If you’ll allow me to feast on you morning and night, you’re all I need.”

“Draco, yes,” she breathed as he shifted their position for her to straddle him. She wound her arms around his neck, arching into his touch as he slid his palms up her back, lifting her blouse as he went.

“I missed you so fucking much, Granger,” he hissed the words into the valley between her breasts when her blouse came off to reveal a lacey lavender bra. He felt her fingers working the buttons on his shirt before she pushed it from his shoulders. When her nails ran along his shoulders, he drew back to look at her.

“Granger, I’ve been without your touch for close to five months. I’m close to bursting here. I don’t know what else to tell you to prove to you how much you mean to me. That my parents are inconsequential when it comes to us. You are the most important person in my world. I should’ve told you every day. I never should’ve let you doubt how much I love you, because I do. The past two weeks have been brutal on me.”

“I know, Draco, gods, I know now. I’ve been so stupid, I never should have listened to your mother but I just-“

“Granger.” Draco steadied her on his lap, holding back from pushing her down on his aching cock that burned to touch her. His hands were on her shoulders, his gaze hot and intent on her.

“Hermione. I love you. Don’t ever listen to a word from my mother. You only have to remember that I love you and that’s all that matters.”

“I love you too, Draco, but I still feel-“

“Please, stop.” He shifted them to give her the space she needed while he attempted to explain. He pulled her hand to rest on his chest, right above his heart.

“The only thing you need to feel is this.”

Her lips parted as his heart beat steadily underneath her palm, her eyes tracking up his chest until they locked. Slowly, he shifted his free hand to rest above her heart. Her pulse was faster than his, but he was certain that was only going to last for a short while. She was so warm. He leaned forward to kiss a patch of her skin.

“The only thing we need to feel is each other.”

“I feel you, Draco, I do, and I-“ she tipped her head down for his lips and he caught them swiftly. Their hands shifted across their skin, desperate to touch more of each other. Draco slipped his fingers under the straps of her bra, slowly pulling it down her shoulders before pushing one cup down her breast. Her dark nipple called to him yet he still looked at her face for confirmation.

“Please,” she gasped one second before he placed his mouth on her. He suckled the hardened peak into his mouth, letting his tongue swirl around it to taste as much of her as possible.

“Please, Draco, I want to feel you,” her voice was breathy as she pushed against him, pressing her chest into his face. He removed his mouth only to hurry to take her other nipple into his mouth. He would grant her request, of course, he would, but not yet. He needed to feel her too.

“Please, Draco,” she whimpered, her fingers running through his hair as he kissed, licked, sucked, nipped and mapped her breasts with his mouth.

“Granger,” his voice came out all husky when he looked up at her while his hands roamed down her sides.

“I’m going to feel you come on my cock now and then-“ they both moaned when his fingers ripped her knickers to pieces under her skirt. “-then I’m going to make love to you all night until we’re both gasping for air.”

“Draco.”

He loved the way she moaned his name, it almost made it impossible for him to work himself free from his trousers. There was a rush of cold air before he notched himself with her wet core. He didn’t even have time to catch his breath before she pushed herself down, sheathing him inside her.

“Oh gods, Draco,” she rasped, her fingers digging into his shoulders as she started to ride him. He clutched her hips, helping her to move on his cock.

“I missed you, Granger,” he groaned, thrusting up. She was so wet, so hot and just the way he remembered. He felt the way she clenched around him, the way she was already too close.

“I missed you so much, Draco,” she pinched the hair on the nape of his neck, making him arch back for her to kiss him. He opened to welcome her warm tongue as she rode him for her pleasure. Her hips shifted and ground harder into him. With every grind from her, he pushed up and she gasped into his mouth.

It only took another minute before she was gasping for air, clenching the life out of his cock. Draco nearly bit his tongue to keep from spilling inside her. That wasn’t the plan. He needed to feel so much more of her.

She struggled for air and speech when he kissed up her neck as she came down from her high.

“I missed that, too,” Granger whispered, kissing him again. “But it kinda ruined the extra belated birthday surprise I had planned for you,” she grinned.

“Oh, yeah?”

“I know you probably didn’t like my other present so I wanted to get you something I was sure you would like, but-” That was when she spotted the book on the coffee table and her brows arched.

“You read it?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“And I didn’t hate it as much as I expected. I also think I understand why you like it so much?”

“You do?”

He kissed her nose, shifting her hips to allow his still hard cock some friction inside her.

“You think we’re Benedict and Beatrice. But the truth is, based on these past four months and everything else, we’re Hero and Claudio.”

“Oh.” She blushed.

“You see, Granger, we were meant for each other.”

“I’m glad you liked it then since my other present was…”

“Was what?”

She glanced sideways, and Draco followed to find she was looking at her ruined knickers.

Granger shrugged through a cheeky smile.

“I put a bow on it,” she giggled.

That was the moment Draco knew he was going to marry Granger.