Author's Note: Firstly, this songfic was written as a response to the Songfic Challenge at the Draco/Hermione Contra Veritas website. Many thanks to Smashing Sugar for spending many sleepless nights beta-ing this fic.

Warning: Non-consensual sex scenes and extremely graphic sex scenes in general. As there are currently a number of great well-written dark Draco/Hermione fics where non-consensual sex takes place (see the brilliant "Lucifer's Sweetheart" by Mexx and "Monsters in the Closet" by Anessa Ramsey), the plot of this fic arose as a response to a challenge from a close friend to write an aggressive animalistic Draco who claims Hermione by force as he knows no other way, yet in the end, in contrast to the themes of current darkfics mentioned above, is capable of eventually expressing his love in a gentle sweet way. That said, enjoy! :)

The scent of fresh lilacs and daffodils blew with the cool spring breeze towards Hermione as she sat on the grass step terrace which served as seats overlooking the Quidditch field. Next to her, Ginny and Lavender were brimming with joy, cheering loudly between fits of laughter for their fellow Gryffindor Quidditch team members in a match against Ravenclaw. The afternoon sun was high over their head, yet Hermione did not feel hot or sticky with the humidity. The first breeze of spring carried with it a refreshing catharsis that kept her feeling cool and clean among the boisterous loud cheering and sweating crowd beside her. But when she suddenly felt a wave of heat travel up inside her as though someone was slowly torching her alive, causing her to lose concentration on the game, she already knew who it was that had come to sit in the grass step behind.

The final whistle signaling that the game was over blew and the crowd of Gryffindor students stood up and cheered happily, as Lavender and Ginny along with many other fellow house mates rushed off to the center of the field to congratulate their Quidditch team. But the unbearable heat twisting inside her would not leave her alone. And she knew he was still there. She felt a thin strand of her hair being lifted, but instead of feeling cool, the gentle breeze that stroked her neck felt hot and burning.

She did not react. She kept her emotionless eyes on the distant figures of Harry and Ron being thrown in the air by the happy cheering Gryffindor housemates, although she felt tortuously hotter and a single sweat droplet rolled from her temple down her cheek, as the owner of the hand behind her twisted his fingers sensually along her hair. The wind that blew between them suddenly seemed a lot warmer.

�Hermione?� Her heart skipped a beat. Did he just call me by my first name? A slight smile almost crept up at the edge of her lips. But she ignored him anyway.

�What if I told you that�� he drawled slowly, almost seductively. Her heart raced fast within her as she felt him lean in closer and closer behind her, until the warmth of his lips graced her ears; teasing her, torturing her, yet never touching her.

�WHAT, MALFOY?� Hermione shouted in annoyance as she whipped herself to face him. �What the fuck do you want from me?�

Her eyes stared back at him angrily, with greater intensity. She noticed how the corner of his lips began to turn up into a slight smirk.

Draco took her chin into his hand and she froze at his touch. His smile spread across his face gently as he pulled her face upwards towards his, and their eyes locked against one another. His bright silver blue eyes were more beautiful than when she last remembered seeing them.

�What if I told you I�m in love with you?�

The silence between them suddenly seemed to drown out the loud, mad cheering of the students in the Quidditch field below.

Draco took large angry strides towards her as she walked briskly in the Hogwarts corridor late at night after spending too many hours in the library. The sound of her long robes brushed noisily and hastily against the floor as she quickened her pace but did not turn around to face the sound of the footsteps behind her. Her feet could not seem to catch up with the maddening beat of her heart, pounding so loudly within her as if it was echo against the cold stone walls of the empty corridor. Her robe brushed even painfully between her bare legs as she hastened her pace until she felt a sudden loud pang of pain against her back and found herself being pinned against the wall between two strong arms of Draco Malfoy.

�Why are you avoiding me?� he asked her sternly as she turned her face sideways to stop herself from looking back into his eyes.

�When have I been avoiding you?� she answered coldly, not lifting her eyes from the dark stone tiles on the floor, his body locking her tight against his.

�Ever since I told you.�

�Look, Malfoy,� she spat back at him angrily as she turned around to stare hatefully into his eyes. �I don�t have time for your stupid games. Just tell me what the hell you want and get the fuck away from me!�

�You wouldn�t believe me if I told you.� One of her eyebrow rose up slightly to question him.

�Try me.�

�I want�� his breath was hot and raspy against her neck as he pressed her closer against the wall, suffocating her with the warmth of his radiating body through his thin layer of black silk. The vibration of his voice against her virgin smooth skin seemed to have woken all her senses as they tingled wildly beneath her, and Hermione found herself turning her head sideways unintentionally, stretching the soft skin of her elongated neck and allowing his lips greater access to their increased sensitivity.

�I want�� he whispered closer onto her neck, after a tortuous, seductive pause, as his hot wet lips opened against her skin and his hard tongue began trailing forcefully upwards. She grew redder with each touch; hotter as he began crawling his fingers sensually up the inside of her thighs beneath her plaited wool skirt; weaker as his fingers stroked gentle circles at her most sensitive spot at the edge where her long leg met the rest of her delicate figure. She felt her muscles tense under his touches, and held her breath as she quivered with every movement of his deft fingers. They reached higher and higher while his tongue hardened their upward trace against her stretched and twisted neck, which agonized to feel the full impact of his force and the pain he could cause her and to finally release her, until she felt the cool wetness of his tongue against the soft skin below her ear in a lingering last stroke and she shuddered from her head to the tip of her pointed toes.

��You� �

�What do you think you�re doing?� She screamed loudly at him, pushing him off her fiercely. �GET AWAY FROM ME!� Hermione called out exasperatedly, panting from the forceful struggle she had with him, breath disjointed and loud against her hot heaving chest while she kept her hateful gaze fixed towards his own.

�Don�t talk back to me, Granger,� Draco answered nonchalantly as he took longer strides heavily towards her and she moved backwards along the corridor, their eyes caught in an intense heated battle against one another. �There�s no one to help you here�but me.�

Hermione quickly assessed her surroundings and realized that she had wandered towards the dark end of the corridor leading towards the Slytherin dungeons. Black metallic serpent decor lined the ceilings along the walls of the corridor as dimly lit blackened chandeliers squeaked under their rusted chains. The air was much damper, much cooler. The night wind that howled between the thin pillars lining the stone corridor was dank and musty, leaving a chilling taste of stale blood with the air she breathed in. The safe sanctuary of the Gryffindor common room was a world away.

She looked back at his eyes and answered unwaveringly, though sweat had begun to bead themselves along the soft edges of her face, �I can help myself, thank you very much.�

"Don�t be a smart arse, Granger!�

She raised one eyebrow cockily back at him.

�Let�s see if Potty and Weasel will be here to help you now!� He cried out angrily as grabbed her painfully and dragged her noisily down the corridor. She struggled hard against him, but he only pulled her harder; so hard that she felt her shoulders being ripped apart as tears welled up under her eyes.

�MALFOY, STOP!� Hermione yelled out in pain, her voice echoing loudly against the long narrow dark corridor. �Where are you taking me?�

He ignored her tantrums, tightening his grip on both her hands with only hand and quickening the gait of his walk, dragging her even more forcefully behind as she stumbled on her own feet to keep up with his pace. The sound of their footsteps resounded noisily, messily, angrily against one another in the cold silence of the night.

�Where are we going?� she asked him between breathless pants as her heart raced to catch up with her legs.

�My room.�

She pulled against him hard and they stopped in their path. For the first time, she had the strength in her legs to stop him from dragging her further along with him.

�Why are you taking me to your room?� Hermione asked as she bit her lower lip nervously, almost with the naivety of a young girl, except her eyes revealed that she was not that ingenuous and her heart was burning madly within her.

�Why would Draco Malfoy normally take a girl to his room?� He asked her teasingly back, eyebrow raised while his silver grey eyes pierced smugly into her. Hermione made out the first traces of a smirk appearing slowly on the corner of his lips.

�I don�t know, Malfoy�� she answered back impassively, enunciating every word clearly and slowly, ��And I don�t really care�.

�You might care after tonight,� he exclaimed heatedly into her as he pulled her into a passionate embrace, her body pressed hard against his, as his hands violated her, corrupted her, and ravaged her soft frame, now almost limpid in his arms. His lips found their way to her neck and sucked hard on any drop of stubbornness she had remaining. His hands sneaked their way to the naked flesh of her breasts and he pushed and squeezed them vigorously. Hermione let out a loud sudden gasp, her eyes suddenly jolting open as she felt his teeth pierce deeper into her skin below her neck. He sucked even harder, faster, and more savagely against her as if to draw out all life from her so that he could own every trace of her powerless soul.

�Have you lost your mind?� She managed to gasp out breathlessly, arching her neck sideways further to receive the heated touch of his kiss, as her cheeks flushed from the burning sensation that quickly spread across her face and through her veins like an uncontrollable raging forest fire with the quivering hot wetness that seemed to ooze slowly out of her, as his strong hands caressed her tight derriere in firm circular movements.

�Yes.�

His voice was raspy and breathless as he lifted his eyes to meet hers, locking her speechlessly in his embrace. For a moment, she fought hard to keep her own heart beating steadily.

�Well, I haven�t!� She yelled at him angrily as she kicked him and pushed him off furiously. �So leave me alone because you will never have me!�

�And why won�t I?� He shouted after her as he grabbed her wrist forcefully and pulled her back towards him.

�Because you seem to have forgotten that I�m Ron�s girlfriend, have been his girlfriend for the past two years, and am very much in love with him.�

�Oh, I haven�t forgotten�� he answered coldly, teasingly, as his trademark smirk began to form at the corner of his lips. He traced his finger slowly down her jaw line, ending at her chin as he turned her face to look straight into her bright brown eyes, a mere breath from one another. ��But that doesn�t stop me from wanting you.�

�Well, I don�t want you!� She protested loudly as he grabbed each of her arms and drew her closer to him to limit her movements. �I don�t desire you! I don�t dream of you! I don�t want anything to do with you!� She stopped for a moment, panting, to catch her breath and stared intently into his eyes, �I hate you.�

�You know you don�t hate me,� he drawled sexily as his smirk widened slightly and his eyes twinkled briefly against the light from the dim torches lining the hallway. One hand of his wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer towards him, while the other began fiddling with the buttons on her shirt. She raised her eyebrows at him curiously.

�I�ve seen the way you look at me, or rather, the way you try not to look at me,� he continued as he sneaked his slender finger under her shirt, brushing them gently along the curves of her breasts. �...Every time I�m in the room, you wish I wasn�t there, yet at the same time you can�t stop looking at me, hating yourself, hoping that your two mindless entourage won�t be able to read your mind�� He trailed his sharp nails across the hill of her breast, resting them over her nipples which were now erected and pressing hard against their thin cotton bra.

��You wake up every morning dreading to see me again and then fall asleep wondering why I�m always such a prick to you�� He leant closer over her so that his soft platinum blonde hair hung messily over her face, and she took in his scent and the warmth of his words against her ears, as her entire body felt like melting into liquid.

��And everyday the feeling grows and grows, driving you insane until one day, you can�t stand it anymore�� His warm lips feathered soft kisses along her neck until they stopped just under her ear, sending sweet shivers down her spine.

��Seven years is a long time to deny you don�t feel it, Granger�� His low hot whisper almost burned her alive as they left a lingering touch like wild raging electricity which shot like boiling mercury throughout her veins, awakening every one of her senses that have been dormant for too long.

�Feel what?� She asked coldly, unblinking, as she kept her emotionless gaze always at him.

�Feel�this.�

And Draco pushed her against the wall-sized portrait behind them, kissing her passionately and ravenously, sucking every warmth from her soft lips, as his adept hands made their forceful movements along with the hard thrusting of his tongue that searched for all traces of the sweet dripping wetness inside of her. The portrait creaked opened as he increased the force of his kiss against her, closing any space left between the curves of her hard breasts and his firm toned chest, as he reached out for her thigh, lifting it slightly so that it sat comfortably between his strong gripping fingers. A soft agonizing moan escaped from the back of her throat as the portrait swung open like a revolving door, and the two figures laid pressed close and heaving against one another on the ancient painting, messy and tangled, kissing madly, vigorously, savagely, devouring one another as if their lives depended on their ability to suck all life from the other. The portrait door spun slowly, closing them both to the darkness on the other side, yet they laid unwavering in their heated fervor as he ravaged everything she had inhibited from the world.

�Lumos.�

Hermione�s eyes ached suddenly as they tried to fight the sudden brightness that overwhelmed the Head Slytherin�s room, the lair of the dragon. Draco Malfoy�s room was immaculately clean, not as she had once imagined it at all. The satin dark green bedcovers were pulled taut and the black velvet pillows flattened without a single crease. Books were lined in order of height along the mantle case over his well-polished mahogany study table. There were no pieces of clothing or used parchments on the floor. The dark intricate Persian carpet in front of his large bed was free from any trace of dust under the shimmering moonlight. The room smelled of wealth, elegance and ultimate seduction.

�Come,� he ordered calmly as he sat himself on the bed, leaning overbearingly on one elbow, very much comfortable in his position of power. �I won�t bite,� he drawled with a cruel smile as he stopped to look at her expressions. ��And there is no escape.�

Hermione threw a quick glance at the door and saw a large dark iron bolt blocking the opening of the very portrait door that had swung her into her enemy�s arms.

�Don�t you have a password?� Hermione asked with unmoving expressions, remembering that she had not heard him utter the particular word to allow the entrance of his room to open before them. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest defensively, standing as still as she could facing him from across the room.

He looked up at her, quite surprised by her question. �I could if I wanted to�� he paused before getting up from the bed and walked towards her, ��But then, that would mean that you, or any of your stupid minion friends who happen to hear my password would have access to my sacred sanctuary.�

She found her legs weak and unable to step backwards as he moved in front of her, his chest inches from her, though not far enough as she could feel his fingers pulling on a stray strand of her brown hair hanging over her face and tugging it gently behind her ears, as he leant over and whispered, ��And I can�t have them messing around in my personal life now, can I, Granger?�.

�So how did you�� she began to ask, but found herself unable to complete her question, breathless and unbearably hot as he moved his hands firmly down her neck and across her shoulder before stopping where his hands brushed gently against her swollen breasts.

�My voice, Granger,� he continued slowly as he lowered his eyes to his hands that were spread apart and traced across her breasts at an excruciating pace. ��The portrait door has been enchanted to open at only the slight sound of my voice when I touch it. In other words, it will respond only to the sound of its master.� His hands traced upwards as she felt his fingernails cutting into her soft skin, crossing the sore skin on her shoulder blades and up along the sensitive curves of her slender neck until his fingers reached out for her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. ��Just as you will respond to yours.�

She heard her own voice in a sudden loud deafening screech sounding off the walls of the cold dark room, before his words had time to make dreadful sense to her, as he swept her off her feet, and she felt her heart suddenly slipping fast through her body. Hermione protested loudly as he carried her and finally threw her forcefully onto his bed, trapping her under his own powerful beautiful frame. Catching her breath loudly, she looked up at him as he lay directly over her, his mesmerizing steely grey eyes conquering her dark brown eyes. Hermione felt the soft slight movement of his heaving chest on her as he pierced his eyes more intently into her, as if to declare war on her, wanting to eat her alive, penetrating deep where no one had entered.

Draco smiled at her � Was it genuine? Hermione couldn�t bare to look at him further because she was caught between blushing bright red under his alluring gaze and wanting to slap him hard, except that his hand held both her arms over her head and she hated being weak and powerless under him even more than hating the fact that he was making her melt under his hot touch. She turned her head sideways and stared blankly at the large figure length mirror on the wall, seeing him lying on top of her, as he forced her legs apart to receive him. She hated the look of excruciating desire in her dark eyes and the way her cheeks were flushed in pink streaks. He turned to the mirror and smiled at her again as she watched their reflection, seeing him take his hand slowly up to his mouth and wetting it seductively, drawing his index finger from his mouth slowly as a trail of saliva sparkled under the dim light and his own tongue sensually licked his finger from its base to the tip. And he watched her blushed even redder as she turned further sideways to escape his seductive gaze, only to find herself trapped with his dark velvet pillow beneath.

�Malfoy, please�� She moaned out softly, begging him to stop as he bent down and pressed further over her, watching her reaction in the mirror as he began to sneak his wet fingers under her skirt, searching for her wetness between her thighs. Her body ached to explode as his fingers caressed her heated wetness dripping with desire, and she hated even more the way the she tilted her head slightly when he pushed his fingers harder against her, hated how she arched slightly when he pressed himself closer against her, and hated how her eyes glinted with joy momentarily before closing for a brief second as she felt indescribable pleasure where her hot flesh met the tip of his wet finger swirling circles madly as they sneaked into the lining of her sticky cotton panty.

�Don�t be afraid,� he whispered softly into her neck, the warmth of his words sending her shaking uncontrollably with burning desire. She turned back to look at him hatefully as he leant down, his face touching hers, and felt the hot sticky sweat from his face on her own. She opened her eyes wide and watched as he lifted one hand to stroke her face gently with the cruel cold smile on his face, the smile of a victor before he devours his hunted prey, and almost as if to reassure her that resistance is futile.

�You will enjoy this�� he continued as he reached for her underwear and pulled it off her painfully in one quick forceful stroke.

��And it will all be over soon.�

�NOOOOOO!� She screamed loudly upon feeling her nakedness under her skirt, and with only one of his hand now holding her arms, the adrenaline rush in her helped her succeed in wriggling from his tight grasp and she elbowed him under the jaw forcefully before rushing breathlessly from his embrace, clutching hard to her chest as tears began to brim under her eyes, only to find that the locked portrait door was the only entry to the room.

�Mudblood bitch!� He called out to her, as she turned back to look at him rubbing his sore red cheek with hatred boiling behind his eyes. �I was trying to be nice. But if you don�t like it nice, then I�ll be rough!� He walked up angrily and loudly towards her as she watched with shocked expressions, feeling every drop of sweat oozed out of her and trickled along the skin he had just made sore.

�HELP! Somebody help!� Hermione yelled furiously, knocking madly against the bolted portrait door. �Somebody get me out of here please! Somebody please! Please!� She turned back to see him walking closer towards her as she hit the portrait door even harder, hitting the door so hard that her hands chafed and left splattered red marks against the dark wood, tears streaming wildly down her face, her heart beating so fast she thought she would die any moment. �Is there anyone out there? Oh god, help me please! Anyone get me out of here! Somebody plea � �

�That was a bad move, Granger,� he said sternly against her ears as she froze upon his touch and he grabbed her by her waist ferociously, carrying her hysterically screaming and crying figure away from the door. �You can�t run away from me. Nobody can.�

�GET OFF ME, MALFOY!� She shouted so loud her throat hurt, kicking him madly as he carried her. She protested vehemently as tears streaked her wet flushed face, hitting him furiously with her fist, wrestling against his arms which only tightened their furious hold on her. �Don�t touch me, you asshole! Let me down now!�

He dropped her down on the floor with a loud thud, her legs still shaking with the force of its sudden impact on the carpet floor. She looked up at him angrily, panting; her breathing ragged, she was exhausted after her series of hysterical screaming, and looked straight into his eyes, wringing his neck so hard in her mind.

�I said if you don�t like me being nice, I�ll be rough.�

And he grabbed her with ever more force as he threw her over his shoulders, her legs kicking and dangling in the air, tears flowing down to the space below, wetting his shirt with her hair hanging over him. Her waist hurt at being hung over his broad shoulders in an uncomfortable position as he grasped her legs, grabbing so hard to make her still that she was sure she would have rows of purple bruises on her thighs the next morning. She hit him unrelentingly on his back as hard as she could, as hard as the voice that screeched out of her, hitting him faster and stronger than her heart was beating madly against his strong firm chest.

�Why would you want anything to do with a dirty Mudblood, Malfoy?� She finally asked in an exasperated soft whisper when she had drained all her energy and collapsed onto his shoulder, her tear-stained face hanging loosely over his shoulder, and her long disheveled hair swinging with the force of his walk.

�Because,one, Granger, Draco Malfoy does anything he wants to do,� he answered firmly as he continued his steady pace towards his bed, holding tight to her legs so that she could not wrestle under his grasp. He tossed her higher over his shoulders as they finally approached his bed whose dark green satin bedcovers were now rumpled and wrinkled from their earlier heated interaction.

�Two, the Mudblood unfortunately happens to be you.�

They reached the side edge of his bed and he paused as he took a deep breath before throwing her, her back facing towards him, roughly onto the bed.

�And, three, I can�t keep running away from you.�

He pushed himself lustfully on top of her as he ripped her shirt ruthlessly from behind, the sound of her thin cotton shirt tearing loudly in his angry hands. He said he would be rough, and he had not disappointed his own words. She screamed out in pain as the edge of the shirt chafed painfully against her smooth skin as he tore them away furiously, hurtfully, hungrily. He kissed her nape behind her ferociously, sucking on her soft sore skin, piercing into them with his hard strong teeth as he sucked in the hot air that seemed to radiate from her skin beneath, while his one hand undid the clasp of her bra and the other found their way under her to fondle her breast savagely. When she was bare and naked under him, he shifted his weight higher over her so that his wet lips had better access to her ears and licked all the curves inside her ears madly, sucking the air out of her ravenously, as the hand which had unclasped her bra flipped her skirt over her right tight derriere, revealing their perfect bare smooth curves to the nakedness of the dark hungry night.

At some point, she must have run out of tears because she could not cry out anymore even though he was hurting every part of her, yet at the same time, awakening senses in her she had never knew existed. The sensation of unbearable pain which shot through her from her thighs to the tip of her erected nipples pressed hard against the soft dark green satin covers which felt cool beneath her hot sweaty flesh. His one hand massaged her firm hard breasts arduously. Each time she felt him squeeze her there, electric spasm seemed to be electrocuting her alive where they met the burning wetness beneath her, now leaving dense sticky pools of pearl under her. He breathed into her neck hard and hot, as he traced his firm fingers down her back, across the small of her back and the tight curves of her buttocks until they soaked in the dripping heated wetness between her thighs.

At some point, she must have stopped screaming loudly along with the tears, knowing that they were useless. She knew that Ron would not be here to help her tonight. Neither would Harry. Neither would Professor Dumbledore. She was alone. All alone except the lust and burning desire scorching in the depth of her heart and being released by the one person she hated most. His fingers were the key to the flaming sins she had promised to lock away from the world. And Draco Malfoy was uncovering her, layer by layer, until he read every movement of hers, every slight quiver, every soft gasp of moan, like he read an opened book. He knew where to kiss her � just beneath her ears - to make her aching body arch upwards to receive him, though her mad conscience was protesting restlessly against her treacherous body.

At some point, her silence gave way to a series of soft throaty moans as she felt the heat from his hot hard thighs pressed over her and she wondered when he had taken off his own trousers. Their two naked bodies laid over one another as she remained powerless against his force, weak against his will, fragile under his hard savage hands. He grabbed her round behind forcefully and pulled them up fiercely from the bed, spreading her legs apart aggressively with his hand, his hot musky sweat splashing onto her own curved back. And as he fumbled forcibly with her sweating breast dangling under her, he pressed his hardness against her wetness as her breathing hastened its pace, and she looked up suddenly and breathlessly at the cold wall before her. He arched her like an animal, needing to enter her right then, right there, to devour everything in sight, to hurt each and every one of her living senses, or he would soon burst and die from a violent explosion.

Hermione gave out a single piercing agonizing scream as he entered into her forcefully and painfully, consuming all the tight hot melting wetness that was waiting for him deep within her. Her heart shook with unbearable pain as it beat fast against her, against the new pounding sensation that was racing with it from his forceful thrust. Her eyes shot with tears again as he pressed her arms uncaringly and pinned them to the bed so that she could not wrestle against him, as he knelt on his knees and pushed into her from behind, plunging himself faster and faster, deeper and deeper, hotter and harder into her each time. She felt like she was being ripped apart on the spot into a thousand pieces except that the constant quivering in all her muscles released a groan of exquisite pleasure which she never knew existed with each of his violent thrust, and she arched further and further to receive his full hard length. A single teardrop rolled down her flushed panting face as her entire body shook with the force of his hard firm thighs hitting forcefully so close behind her each time he entered into her hot moist flesh, her hard breasts jiggling in the empty air below furiously with each hard thrust. As she let out another loud exasperating moan of desirable pain and ultimate release into the cold silence of the night, Hermione Granger felt her thighs explode uncontrollably like fireworks had been lit all inside her, and every one of her muscles suddenly felt weak as her own knees collapsed onto the bed with him still thrusting vehemently onto her. And she knew that he had unleashed what had always been there.

�Why didn�t you tell me?�

His voice was calm and questioning as he traced the curves of her delicate figure gently as she lay on her side with her back to him, staring aimlessly into the darkness before her. He trailed his fingers from her neck along her shoulders as far as his hands would take him. He had had his explosive release eventually, gushing heatedly into all of her like he had never felt before, quenching his long burning desire that was unfathomably deep within him until she came along, and leaving him in a state of complete exhausted bliss. He looked at the dried dark stain of crimson blood left on his crumpled dark green bed sheet.

�Why? Would it have mattered?� She answered coldly without a single movement.

"No. Not really,� he replied before taking a moment to pause. �I always figured Weasley was impotent.�

�He�s not, Malfoy,� she turned angrily to look at him, her eyes red and swollen, still bright with the thick layers of tears in them. �But I wouldn�t expect someone like you to understand.� And she turned away from him again, lying silent for a short while until he heard her quiet ragged, sniffling.

�What are you doing?� Hermione asked sternly, irritated, as she felt him wrap his arms gently around her waist and pull her towards him so that their two sweaty naked bodies lay against one another, their curves perfectly fitting with the other until they became one. �Haven�t you done enough tonight?� She felt him trace his fingers along the curves of her waist with a gentleness she never knew he possessed. �I�m tired, Malfoy, I want to go back to my room.�

�No, not yet,� he whispered softly onto her neck as he flipped her over to look into her tear-stained face, the bruises along her neck beginning to show against her pearl white skin. She opened her eyes wider in exasperation and gazed deep into his eyes at his words, as he leant over so that his face brushed directly over hers.

��Not until I make it up to you.�

And his lips touched hers in a gentle soft kiss, without prying them open forcibly with his tongue as he had done only hours earlier, while he kept his intent eyes against hers.

His kiss was ever so gentle and so sweet. She found it hard to believe that the man who had brutally raped her only minutes before could be the same guy feathering soft butterfly kisses along her neck, along the trail of light purple bruises he himself had left on her. She kept her eyes opened, feeling his gentle lips tracing her lower and lower. Her heart still melted with his touch, no matter how they came -- rough or soft -- against her smooth skin. He had pushed her to the point of no return. Hermione knew then that her aching body had just realized what her heart had always known and denied. She had wanted him all along. Every day. Even on days he had called her a Mudblood. Yes, especially those days. And now her heart was wet and crying inside because there had been too many words left unsaid for too long.

She let him kiss her and she did not resist this time. She had already succumbed to the will of the dragon.

Draco moved so that he laid fully on top of her with her hair spread out in a messy fan beneath her, their eyes locked in silence against one another. He leant forward and kissed her eyelids tenderly as they closed under the soft touch of his lips, which tasted the salty wetness of her tears beneath.

Hermione opened her eyes and he was still there. Her eyes were brighter this time, sparkling and clear, reflecting more light in the dim darkness of the room. The new tears dancing behind her eyes were as bright as the surface of lake on a night of full moon. He kissed her other eyelid this time and tears of silent happiness escaped gracefully down her cheek like slowly fluttering snowflakes on a calm winter morning.

�Do you hate me?� He asked softly as he rested his head on her chest, listening to her heart beating steadily beneath him. He did not waver - not even his eyes - when he felt a slow lingering drop of her tears splashed gently on him.

�Yes,� she answered almost remorsefully as she hesitated for a brief moment, ��But I hate myself more.� He thought he heard her let out a soft almost indistinguishable sigh. Except he was close to her, so close that he heard everything, even the sound of her hitched breathing and her excited heart.

�So is this it?�

�Can there be anything else?� she asked back. A long moment of silence hung in the air.

�I want to see you again,� he added forcefully as he lifted his head from her chest and looked straight into her eyes.

�You see me every day.�

�I want to see you like this.� There was a slight flicker in her eyes. �I want to be able to hold you, to kiss you, to make you mine.�

�You can�t.�

�What are you scared of, Hermione?� The second time her name rolled off his lips, it carried with it a gentle sweet melancholic yearning that left her suspended as if lost in space with a time bomb ticking away furiously at the sound of her own heart.

�Everything.�

�No one will know,� he whispered against her ears, the warmth of his breath still sending her shivers down her spine as she closed her eyes to take in his scent and his words.

A long silence passed between them until she trailed her finger slowly, gently, sensually down his back as he lay naked, still on top of her.

�I wasn�t intending to tell.�

He raised his head suddenly to look at her, her face still bearing no emotions. She thought she saw the corner of his lips lifted as if to begin to form a slight smile � or smirk, she wasn�t too sure.

But then he kissed her in a soft, sweet manner, his tongue gently stroking her sore swollen lips he had himself inflicted on her earlier. He pressed his weight against her, leaning on one elbow so not to hurt her with the full impact of his weight, while the other hand slowly caressed the soft curves of her gentle shape. His lips moved tenderly against her without any pain, filling the delicate curves of her own mouth as they massaged against one another ever so sensually, ever so softly, ever so completely. Hermione closed her eyes and draped her arms gently over him, pulling him closer towards her, feeling the sweat on his body from their intense activities earlier cooling against the airy night breeze that wafted into the room. She felt him spread her thighs apart gently with his hands as he pressed himself between her legs, sliding back down to position his hardness against her, though he kept his intense passionate gaze at hers, the glimmer in her eye illuminating the darkness in his heart.

She did not protest this time. No loud screaming and wailing. No mad kicking. No vicious clawing. She laid limp in front of him like a bruised and battered doll, her hands hanging loosely on her side, unmoving on their own, remaining in the position that his hands had moved them, too weak and exhausted to fight him and her own burning heart any longer. He fluttered trails of gentle butterfly kisses along her neck as she turned her head sideways to stare at her own reflection in the mirror once again and saw her lightly blushing cheeks, their two beautiful bodies resting against one another. Yet her eyes were cold and forlorn at the same time, as she hated herself even more. His lips stopped at her nipple to take them in fully with his soft caressing warm mouth, as she arched her back slightly and let a light moan of soft pleasure slipped out.

�So you�ve won,� she whispered exasperatedly as she fell back on to the bed, and his tongue began to trail the lines of cleavage along her breast.

�It�s not about winning,� he whispered back into her breasts without lifting his tongue of her soft pearl skin as his hand searched for her soft warm gentleness between her thighs.

�That�s a surprise,� she said sarcastically, keeping her impassive eyes on his reflection tracing his warm tender tongue slowly down her sensitive curvaceous shape. �Draco Malfoy doesn�t want to win.�

�I don�t want to win,� he answered back as he lifted his eyes up to meet hers, his hands spreading her knees gently apart as he shifted his weight so that he laid directly over her warm wet entrance.

�You want to own,� she added smugly.

�No�� he replied as he gasped softly, breathing into her neck as he arched himself and pushed his hardness gently into her, slowly penetrating into her so that she felt every hard length of him reach out for her deepest dripping wetness burning inside of her that slowly opened to his warmth like a blooming flower. And he pushed himself forcefully further into her so that her eyes opened wide with a soft moan of pleasure as all the petals of the flowers in her came undone.

��I want to feel.�

Days had passed into weeks and weeks into months, until she had forgotten how it all started. But it didn�t matter anymore. All that mattered was the exquisite pain erupting into ecstatic pleasure inside of her, as he thrust frantically harder and harder into her, their naked sweating bodies upright against one another, her erratic moans sounding against the sound of her hot hard flesh hitting against his thighs in her room. Yes, in her room, among the many places they had had their secret trysts. But he liked coming to see her in her room most. Even more when he knew she did not want to see him. Perhaps because of the greater thrill that her Gryffindor best friends might walk in any minute. Perhaps because she became even more forbidden, more alluring, turning him on as he took her furiously between the golden red bed sheets of the Gryffindor quarters. Or perhaps because he simply liked to be at the center of her world, among her favorite books and favorite toys, ripping her shirt apart on her bookcase as he devoured her hungrily on the crumpled Gryffindor school robe beneath them. It was only a matter of time before he learned how to Apparate into her room anytime of the night, when he wanted to and when she wanted him to without ever asking � after all, he had had seven long years to dream about his conquest.

Nothing was ever planned though. No dates, no appointments, no set times. Draco would grab her after dinner as she was walking back to her room into some dark obscure corner of Hogwarts and ravish her. Then there was that time she went to the Spring Fair with Ron at Hogsmeade and as they kissed and danced by the night campfire, he watched her from a distance. And he tracked her down on the train back to Hogwarts that night, and pulled her into an empty carriage and made her dance to the night blaze of his desire instead. And she let him. She had never asked what they were doing. And he had never told her. Just unspoken words and exchanges of heated lust against one another told her that they were alive and breathing, and in inexplicable need to scorch their sins. Every time their flesh meshed into one against their blazing desire for one another, away from the eyes of the world, there were just him and her in solitude of hunger and lustful desperation. Nothing more, nothing less.

But that night he had come to her room, like countless time before. And right then she was dying in his embrace as her naked hot, hard breasts pressed against his firm toned chest, as she sat messily over him on her crumpled bed and he moved her furiously over him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she rocked wildly on top of him, faster and faster, deeper and deeper, like a savage queen of the night, till she felt like exploding. She panted and moaned exquisitely into his ears as she sucked the wind sloppily out of his ear. He closed his eyes in unbearable pleasure, letting out a series of low agonizing moan escape from the back of his throat, as he grabbed her derriere tightly, forcefully, painfully, squeezing them between his strong slender fingers, as he moved her up and down and sideways ferociously over his throbbing hardness. She rocked faster and faster over him, fresh glowing sweat trickling down her smooth curved back and between the cleavages of her tight breasts which were pressed against one another against his naked chest in their heated ravenous embrace, her moans echoing louder and louder against his ears, becoming less distinguishable and just a series of erratic animalistic grunts of desire and heat, as her hot blazing wetness dripped down into his legs wildly, each of her senses crying out to be hurt, ravished and to be pleased.

In the climax of their heat, she heard sounds of fast running footsteps thudding against the wooden stairs running up to her room, and she turned around breathlessly to look at the door. Draco looked up at her, lowered his soft moaning against her, but did not stop his hard thrusting into her.

�Ron?� She called out, gasping between pants, her breasts still jiggling forcefully against his upright hard tanned chest with him driving into her ever more aggressively.

�Yeah. Were you sleeping?� He answered her as his footsteps echoing became louder against the wooden steps.

�No,� she answered coolly although she was dying to explode and cry out in exasperation as Draco swirled his hot hardness inside of her, and she felt all the muscles of her thighs quivered uncontrollably and wildly as her heart beat loudly within her.

�I was just getting ready for bed,� she added with bated breath as Draco lifted his head from her shoulders to look at her and smirked gently. She returned his gaze with fierce intent eyes as she clawed against his naked sweaty back and he bit hard into the sore skin beneath her neck as if to make his claim, keeping their hard brutal thrusting against one another.

�Harry and Ginny and a few others are having a midnight barbeque by the lake. Do you want to come?� Ron called up to her from behind closed door decreasing the pace of his footsteps as he approached the last few steps. Hermione kept her passionate gaze against Draco, their hot sweat mixing against one another as they trickled down the flushed flesh of their bodies pressed tightly, viciously against the other. She opened her mouth slightly to breathe in and to allow some cool air to enter her, as he penetrated his gaze deeper into her own, as if in some secret acknowledgement to increase the tempo of their mad senseless deep thrusting of one another. �You wouldn�t happen to have some of those Muggle marshmallows left to toast by the campfire, would you?�

Draco opened his eyes wider, raised one eyebrow and smiled at her. She hated the way he smiled at her and wanted to see him with unbearable pain, and leant forward further against his chest, shifting her weight against his hardness, pushing him back onto her bed as she wiggled her moist flesh over him. She took only a short moment to challenge his gaze back before she begun to rock furiously, crouching over him, with his strong hands holding on to her fast moving behind, giving them an added push as he moved with her. And she saw the look of indescribable pain on his face as the muscles on his face twisted into unrecognizable shapes and he closed his eyes, sweat beading all over his face as they turned a glowing shade of red, and released a soft ecstatic moan. And it was her turn to smile as her sweat splattered onto his face, rocking wildly, ferociously over him.

�Yes!!!� She shouted out suddenly, exasperatedly, as he arched upwards to enter her deeply and the abrupt rush of pain spread to her like liquid fire, jolting her eyes wide opened. She quickly turned around to look at the door at the sound of the door knob being turned.

�I�m getting changed, Ron!� She called out loudly between excited soft pants and the sound of the door knob turning suddenly stopped. ��I�m coming in a second!�

�Are you?� Draco asked teasingly with a smug smirk across his devilishly handsome face as the sound of Ron�s muffled reply disappeared into the heated silence between them with the sound of footsteps rushing back downstairs.

�Asshole,� she replied back, squinting her eyes and biting her own lips as a smile started to crept up along the edges of her thin pink lips, whilst keeping her intense gaze towards him and bent down to kiss him hungrily.

And so she moved fiercely faster and faster against him as her lips wrestled his in a passionate battle, letting out a long heated scream into the night as she shuddered with his hot hardness plunging deeper and deeper into her, burning her soul, killing her alive. His own thighs tensed against her flesh slapping loudly against his own, as she pointed her toes in agony, biting painfully onto her own lower lips as he moved her forcefully and viciously over him faster deeper, faster deeper, faster, harder, harder, faster�All the muscles on her legs and on her stomach seemed to contract into a tight solid wall, as she felt her insides explode with an electric spasm that quickly shot to her head and made all her muscles limpid over him, hot milky liquid flowing out of her between her hot stinging swollen thighs onto his own burning trail of wetness that had erupted together with her. She fell onto him, panting and breathing heavily against one another, their hearts pounding furiously over each other in a tangled mess of exhausted sticky dripping wasted desire.

�This can�t go on.�

He raised his head and rested it on both his elbows to take a closer look at her. She was waiting for his gaze with deep dark serious eyes as he sat upright, bringing her with him so that their eyes leveled against one another. She enunciated clearly after letting out a long soft sigh, �It�s wrong�.

�You didn�t seem to mind a few minutes ago.�

She pushed herself off him and reached under her bed for her underwear and bra which was thrown on the floor in their previous moment of lust. Hermione took a long time slipping her long slender legs into her intimate lingerie as he watched her. She clasped the bra behind her with both her hands, her back facing him, before slipping her long dress over her.

�I can�t do this. I can�t go on living like this.�

�It�s Ron, isn�t it?� he asked indignantly, grabbing her wrist painfully.

�No, Malfoy, it�s not about Ron!� She protested, reverting back to his last name which she had not said in their private vicinity for so long, as she tried to free her wrist vehemently from his grip. �It�s not about Harry! It�s not about Pansy! It�s not about anyone else!�

�So what is it, Granger?� His voice rose conspicuously.

�We graduate in two weeks,� she said in a soft sigh, looking across the room, trying to calm the situation before the storm, as she wrestled her hand from his grip and rested them on her lap.

�And I�m very much looking forward to that,� he drawled in his sexy lazy tone as he laid naked on his side next to her, his soft platinum blond hair falling lightly across his face, resting his weight on one elbow. She turned around to eye him angrily, and he thought he saw a second of hurtful flicker behind her eyes.

�Do you realize you might never see me again?� She asked coldly in a low stern voice, keeping her intent gaze against his.

He let out a loud series of laughter. �Is this what this is all about, Granger?� He laughed some more, much to her annoyance. �Of course not,� he answered her playfully. �We�ll always keep�� he paused to trace his fingers seductively down her naked back, sending her shuddering slightly, ��in touch�.

�I don�t want that,� she answered bluntly, swiping his hand off her back angrily in irritation. He remained silent watching her stare blankly at the wall on the other side of the room. The night air seemed thick and heavy as he listened to her steady breathing before she finally broke the silence between them.

�Ron has asked me to marry him.�

A cold draft suddenly seemed to sweep through the room and the unbearable silence between them.

�Congratulations.�

�Is this all you have to say?� Hermione cried back loudly, pushing herself angrily off her bed and stared at him, catching her breath as fresh sweat emanated from beneath her flushed face, and tears of incensed exasperation began to brim under her large brown eyes.

�What, Hermione? What do you want me to say?�

�I don�t know!� she spat angrily back at him, as she pushed herself forcefully off the bed to stare at him.

�Something! Something else!�

�When�s the wedding?�

�GET OUT!� She cried out furiously, as she threw his clothes at him. �I don�t want to ever see you again!�

�You know you don�t mean that,� he replied nonchalantly as he calmly slipped into his dark blue shirt.

�I mean every fucking word I said,� she answered angrily, fuming in her place, shaking inside. �So leave before I throw you out!�

�Well, won�t Weasley have quite a surprise when he sees me leaving your room�� he said, trailing his voice off slowly as he walked towards her, having dressed himself. �I�m sure you�d like that, wouldn�t you�?� He asked seductively as he stopped in front of her and traced his finger slowly up along her neck until they rested just under her face.

�How the hell would you know what I want?� She asked coldly, keeping her angry challenging gaze fixated towards his.

He turned to look at the crumpled bed sheet behind briefly, then turned back to look at her, a devilish smirk creeping along his lips.

�What do you want me to do, Granger?� He asked in his low stern voice, keeping his steely grey eyes against hers as he moved his warm strong hand against her face.

�I can�t live this lie anymore!� She brushed his hand off her face. �I don�t even know who I am!�

�Do you love him?�

�What?�

�Do you love him?� He repeated himself slowly and clearly.

�What if I do love him?�

Draco thought the room had suddenly become a lot hotter. He never noticed how Hermione arranged her books on the shelves according to their colors before. He never noticed how unique and special and beautiful she was until he was about to lose her.

�Then you�ll be very happy.�

And all she remembered was the warmth of his lips that pressed ever so tenderly against her forehead, lingering to taste the last warmth on her before her heart shattered into a million pieces.

She slapped him as hard as she could.

�FUCK YOU, MALFOY!� She yelled angrily as she pushed him off. �Fuck you!� She paused to catch her breath as she glared at him hatefully, biting down hard on her lower lips to hurt herself so she won�t feel the pain in her heart squeezing all the air out of her, killing her alive. �How dare you tell me to be happy when you know that I can never be happy without�� She could not finish her sentence as she panted heavily, thin trail of tears beginning to brim along the edge of her angry eyes, and watched him take a large confident step closer towards her.

�So what do you want me to say?� He asked her loudly, grabbing her wrist forcefully, pulling her towards him so viciously that every sense in her suddenly seemed to come alive.

�Oh yes, my Dark Lord, I am so in love with a dirty rotten Mudblood that I want to marry her, but please forgive me anyway and make me your heir as you once promised?� He shouted furiously back at her, gripping so tight onto her wrist she can no longer feel any blood in her hands, bitter sarcasm in his words. She had never seen eyes that looked so vicious before, as if he could kill her right then.

�You�re such a fucking hypocrite!� She yelled back at him with tears she could no longer hold on to rushing rapidly down her face so she could taste their acrid sourness on her stinging lips.

�Why am I a hypocrite?� He asked her angrily, raising his voice so loud her body shook with their vibration.

�Because you always tell me �don�t be afraid�, �don�t be scared��� she paused to look deep into his eyes, searching for any small trace of a soul behind those silver grey eyes, ��Well, now here�s your turn and you�re too scared.�

�What am I scared of, Granger?� She watched a drop of sweat follow slowly along the solid curve of his face until it fell into the air beneath, with a brief sparkle from his sweat catching her eye as they passed the line of candlelight behind him, as if all time on earth has slowed.

�The way you feel, damn it!� Hermione screamed so loudly it felt like someone had pulled out her larynx, leaving her an unbearable stinging pain that scorched all the way down her throat. Tears streamed down her face as she cried out exasperatedly, pounding furiously against his chest. �That you love me! That you need me! That you can�t live without me!�

�I can�t love you.�

She looked up at him, feeling as if she would wake up from the nightmare any time soon. But she didn�t. And the hot tears on her face seemed to have suddenly frozen on her cheeks, suspended in time.

�Thank you,� she whispered coldly, her eyes devoid of emotion and her voice shaking, as she finally broke the long silence between. She saw the question behind his silver gray eyes. �I finally understand,� she added softly with a melancholic sigh as she took in his scent so close to him.

�What do you understand?� He shouted angrily, squeezing her arms tighter so that the tears that had stopped on her face began to trickle down her face again. Her eyes became blurred with all the tears in their way, as she stood paralyzed in front of him, unable to move even a muscle, unable to even keep breathing.

�That it was all just a game, Malfoy!� She cried out angrily, tears rushing down her hurtful eyes as she tried to free herself from his tight grasp. ��That I was stupid enough to let you use me. And now that you have me �� she paused to catch her breathe, panting loudly as she stared hatefully into his eyes, ��Have everything of me�You are just going to break my heart and walk away, because it never meant anything to you�� She stopped as she freed herself from his grasp and took a step away from him, never taking her large sad eyes away from his, ��And I was a fool to think that it did, even for a second.�

�I never wanted to hurt you!� He called out after her, as he started to walk towards her.

�Do me a favor, Malfoy, and please leave,� she pleaded to him in her shaking soft voice, as her body gathered its last drop of energy as one does for their last gasp of air. �I don�t want to see you. I don�t want to know you. I don�t want to have anything to do with you ever again!� She cried out furiously as she stepped backwards towards the wooden door, her dress now soaked with the tears that had streamed down her face and down her neck like blood that had been slowly drained out of a butchered animal.

�You don�t love him!�

�But you can�t love me,� she replied back, tears stinging in her eyes.

�What do you expect, Granger?� He asked her, blood shooting rapidly through his veins like fire that was consuming all of him. �Will you stand by my side as I kill your Mudblood parents? Are you going to hold my hand as I torture your two best friends? Are you willing to spend the rest of your life with someone who could possibly be the next Dark Lord? Are you?�

�No,� she answered him, her face devoid of the pain which was slowly squeezing all the blood out of her heart, quickly numbing her of all sensation.

�When I return, I expect you to be gone,� she said coldly, as she turned away from him to turn the door knob and opened the door, fighting hard to hold back the fresh waves of tears that were pushing against her eyes, waiting to release all her sadness into the world.

�Hermione�?�

She stopped for a second at the sound of his voice so beautiful and sad against the solitude of the night, lingering in the room as if to call her back to his embrace. He had only mentioned her name, yet the way he had melancholically called after her meant the world to her. But she still did not turn to look back at him, keeping her eyes resolutely at her hand that was holding the door. She closed her eyes as a single tear drop began to flow down gently from one eye, the sorrowful eye he could not see and would never see again. The gods must have lifted her heart out of her body at that very instant.

�The wedding is in two months.�

And she slammed the door shut behind her as she rushed downstairs crying more than she had ever cried in her whole life.

�Hermione!� He called out after her.

But only the silence of the room answered him. There was a brief flicker behind his steely grey eyes as the candles in the room began to fade into the darkness. If she had been in the room and looked close enough, she would have seen the slight moisture under in his eyes against the dim reflection of the dying candles gasping for their last light. But she wasn�t. And for the first time in his life, Draco felt his own heart collapsing within him.

She was crying heavily as she rushed down the stairs, sobbing loudly, not caring if anyone heard her or saw her. Every part of her felt like their purpose of existence had been stolen from them, and she did not have any idea how she could go living. Her chest was hurting from all the loud heaving of her crying, and her eyes were red and stinging with the hot tears that never seemed to end as it burned the skin they came into contact with. Her knees felt so weak she wondered why she had not fallen and tumbled down the stairs. If she was lucky enough, she might even break her neck. And she would not have to spend the rest of her life thinking about him. Hermione could not breathe as the endless tears seemed to suffocate her. But there was no greater pain than the excruciating pain piercing through her heart.

�Hermione? Are you alright?� Ron asked, shocked to see her crying so heavily as he waited for her at the bottom of the stairs.

She threw her arms around his shoulder and wept uncontrollably onto him, her heavy tears quickly wetting through his shirt.

�I�m sorry, Ron! I�m sorry!� She kept crying out into his shoulder, unable to stop the pain in her heart.

�What happened? You were alright a few hours ago,� he whispered gently against her, tenderly stroking her head as she continued to weep madly onto him.

�I�m scared,� she answered breathlessly, tears running down her eyes as she hugged him tighter.

�There�s nothing to be scared of, Hermione,� Ron reassured her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. �I�m here. And I promise I�ll never let anything or anyone hurt you.�

He cupped his hand around her chin and pulled her face up to look at her, her eyes still wet and red from all the crying. He whispered to her, as he kept his bright blue eyes against her, �You know I love you.�

�I know! Oh god, I know!� She wailed even louder as she hugged him tighter, squeezing him so hard he wondered where her delicate arms found their strength. Hermione cried even harder against his comforting chest, weeping like there was no tomorrow, the pain in her heart only growing in the arms of another. She did not think she could possibly hate herself even more than she did now, as she cried like she had never cried before. But even all the tears in the world would not wash away the pain inside her. She knew then, at that very instant, that the day she walked away from him would be the beginning of her death.

�It�ll be alright, Hermione,� Ron comforted as he pulled her towards the warmth of the fireplace. �Everyone knows we�ll be happy together.�

When Hermione was seven years old, she imagined that a dashing young prince would rescue her from the evil dragon that locked her in a tower and sweep her off her feet, carrying her into the sunset as they rode on a beautiful white stallion.

When Hermione was thirteen, she dreamt that her wedding would be held in a large church packed with all her friends and families, as she wore a beautiful white wedding gown with a flowing skirt and a long floral train like a princess, walking towards the love of her life.

When Hermione was eighteen, she was standing inside a very large church with the organ music resonating against the white marble walls in a beautiful white wedding gown that had a high laced collar and long-sleeved laced bodice wrapping conservatively around her slender figure. Her hair was ornately tied in a chignon interlaced with white lilies and a long white veil draped onto the floor where it met the shiny satin floral train trailing far behind her. The church was bustling with her friends and relatives, and the Weasley male siblings were standing happily in the other end of their hall in their best suits, recently discovered in their great-grandparents� trunks in the attic at the Burrow. The summer sun seeped its way into the church through the rose window, giving the inside of the church a tinted glowing pinkish hue as if it was a magical wedding blessed with happiness by all the fairies and angels from heaven. It should have been the happiest day of her life, the long-awaited wedding of her dreams. As Ginny grabbed her arm and led her to the walkway leading towards the altar, Hermione looked up and saw fiery red hair and bright blue eyes smiling at her from across the distance. Hermione was his virgin princess, pure and virtuous as she was led towards him. Except she was not a virgin. In fact, she was anything but pure and virtuous. Her heart was calling out to be corrupted and violated again and again, as the sins within her were slowly burning her alive. And though the dashing young prince had come to rescue the princess, she had fallen in love with the dragon.

�Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today��

As the wizard priest began to declare the wedding vows, Hermione thought she was going to faint any time soon as she was being led slowly down the carpet walkway leading towards the altar. She was hot and sticky inside her laced bodice, irritated with an itch she wanted to scratch but couldn�t. As she moved, the lace would rub against her soft skin which was now red, sensitive and itching under the summer heat in the crowded church. The organ music was too loud, giving her an intense, pounding headache as she walked passed the rows of guests. Her eyes swept quickly through the room looking for the familiar glow of platinum blonde hair she wanted and hated to see at the same time. Hermione felt nauseous as she stepped up in front of the altar with all her insides twisting and turning, as she forged a smile beneath her veil. She looked up to see the blinding stream of sun rays shining through the glass ceiling of the church onto the altar and she longed for her salvation.

�Are you nervous?� Ginny, her bridesmaid, asked as she leant closer to whisper to her friend, seeing how uneasy Hermione looked.

�No, Ginny, I�m just --� Hermione paused to take a deep sigh and looked askance over to Ron who was fidgeting with the edge of his black blazer. �Have you ever wondered if you�re making the right choice?�

Ginny looked at her with wide opened eyes then smiled sweetly as she placed a warm hand over Hermione�s arms reassuringly.

�Hermione, trust me,� Ginny whispered as she leant forward and whispered, her gentle lips brushing against Hermione�s ear, �You�re the luckiest girl in the world.�

Hermione stepped upwards before the altar where Ron waited for her, facing the priest before them. But she did not turn to look at him. She could not bear to look at his face and see the happiness in his eyes. She felt as though she was in a whirlpool that was quickly plunging her to her death, and there was no escape. The high laced collar of her wedding gown seemed to suffocate her.

�Should there be anyone here today that has just cause as to why this couple should not marry �� the priest began his ceremony.

Hermione felt unbearably hot as her heart palpitated madly within her, racing with the pounding headache. She could feel every drop of hot sweat oozing through her laced bodice from her sweating sticky arms. Her heart beat even faster and louder as the audience simmered down to absolute silence.

��Speak now or forever hold their peace.�

Silence.

The church was so still she heard the faint creaking of the wooden benches in the back row when a guest shifted his weight.

But she could not hear his voice. She could not hear his footsteps.

He had not come.

Why should he come?

And Hermione felt this great pang of pain pierce through her heart, as if ripping her painfully piece by piece, until there was nothing left to tear apart.

�Ronald Weasley,� the wizard priest continued in his firm voice as he turned to look at Ron, �do you take Hermione Granger to be your wife?�

Ron looked at her and took her hand, replying steadily, �I do.�

She looked back at him, unwavering in her gaze as her heart beat faster. She had never seen how deep blue his eyes actually were, like the color of the deep ocean from a cliff on a clear afternoon.

�Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?�

�I do.� For a brief second, Hermione thought she saw him look beyond her eyes and through her.

�Hermione Granger,� the ceremonial wedding vows continued as she turned to look at the priest, �do you take Ronald Weasley to be your husband?�

She did not look at the groom but kept her eyes on the ornate priest before her, as her throat felt unusually dry. Say it! Say it! Just say it!

�I do.� Her voice was unsurprisingly calm, even cold, although her heart was aching with unimaginable pain.

�Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?�

Her mind suddenly drifted off to him. Hermione turned red as she remembered how she screwed her face in exquisite pain and pleasure when he had thrust hard and fast into her�How he kissed her neck and sucked out all the blood in them until she was powerless to his whims�How she moaned out his name again and again when their bodies released their desire onto one another�

Hermione found her heart becoming heavier, as if with regret, rapidly sinking into the floor, as someone chained her every movement. She envied the little sparrow that flew past the glass ceiling, casting its shadow onto the marble floor across the hall.

�I do,� she finally replied as her heart skipped a beat at her very own words.

Her hand felt uncomfortably hot and sticky against Ron�s sweating palm.

�I, Ronald Weasley,� the groom began to profess, �take thee, Hermione Granger, to be my wedded wife. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health��

Why do wedding ceremonies take such a long time? Hermione found herself suddenly thinking in irritation as the heat got to her. She wondered how everyone would react if she suddenly threw her veil in the air and ran through the church door, never looking back. But she couldn�t do it. She couldn�t do it to her parents. She couldn�t do it to Ron. Of course, she couldn�t do it�And she fought hard to stop her tears from flowing out into the world with the unspeakable sorrows she carried alone.

��For richer and poorer,� Ron continued, ��And I promise to love you forever.�

And she knew right then that she loved him.

She could no longer fight the tears as they gathered beneath her eyes, hidden from the world. All that separated her from doing what is right and doing what her heart cried out for was a thin layer of translucent white chiffon veil.

�I, Hermione Granger, take thee, Ronald Weasley, to be my wedded husband,� she repeated, her voice sounding so cold and foreign to her, as if watching someone else�s wedding. Tears amassed heavily under her eyes until she could no longer hold them there, and they began to trickle slowly down her face, the pain in her heart so excruciating as if strangling her at that very moment, as her lips continued to profess words of undying devotion for another. ��To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, and I promise to love you forever��

She had crossed the bridge of no return and carried with her a baggage full of painful memories.

The priest stepped forward towards them and placed his hand over both their hands. He was so close to her she wondered if he saw the sins beneath her veil.

�I now declare you to be husband and wife,� the priest announced. �Congratulations! You may now kiss your bride.�

Ron bent down to flip over her veil and kissed her, and his lips pressed tenderly against her, prying them open gently with his tongue. Hermione had never known a greater sadness than the one that was drowning her now. She closed her eyes and let the cool wind blowing through the church sweep out the tears that carried her sadness. But the cool wind that reached her seemed to turn instantly hot as if scorched by the hidden aching desire burning within her. With her lips locked in a passionate kiss with Ron, Hermione stopped believing in miracles at that point.

�Weasley, I believe you�ve got the wrong girl!�

As always, Draco Malfoy made a grand entrance in his long black coat and his platinum blonde hair neatly combed back, as the church door that had been suddenly swung open slammed shut loudly against the terrified shock of the guests.

It had snowed in summer that year after all.

�What are you doing here, Malfoy?� Ron asked furiously, breaking their kiss, agitated that their wedding had been rudely interrupted by an uninvited enemy.

�Just paying some old high school friends a visit,� Draco answered smugly as he took a leisurely stroll down the aisle towards them. ��And to make a few minor corrections.�

�There�s a reason why you�re not invited!� Ron yelled back angrily. �For once in your life, why don�t you do the right thing?�

�Actually, Weasley, you stole the words right out of my mouth,� he replied cockily as he approached them.

�What are you talking about?� Ron asked loudly, as his face turned as red as his hair from all the anger rushing through his veins.

The whole church sat in silence, literally shocked and frozen at the intrusion. Hermione was no different when she saw the painfully familiar dashing blonde walking towards her with his smirk across his face. She quickly turned her back against him, her heart pounding madly with the sound of his footsteps walking closer towards the altar. Panic swept through her as her eyes searched frantically for an answer, finally ending their gaze at the stream of sunlight streaking over her. She had never felt this nervous or this scared before. And for the first time in her life, she wished harm upon others as she prayed for an earthquake at that moment which would send everyone in the church plunging to their doom.

�I just want to inform you, Weasley,� Draco continued in his nonchalant seductive voice, ��Since it�s obvious that you�re too ignorant to notice, that that�s my girlfriend you�re attempting to marry.� Somebody had suddenly shot her straight through the heart when his words ended.

�What the fuck are you saying?� Ron cried out, raising the tone of his voice. �I always knew you to be stupid, but not blind, Malfoy! Everyone knows I�ve been going steady with Hermione for the past two years.�

Draco laughed so loudly the entire church seemed to shake with the echoes of his laughter.

�I don�t really I think I should be telling you this, but�� Draco drawled arrogantly as he walked closer towards the altar, although she kept her back towards him, shuddering with each step he took closing the distance between them. �I don�t think I�m the blind one here.�

Hermione felt her cheeks flush suddenly with the heat rapidly rising within her as she held her breath.

�YOU INFURIATING GIT!� Ron screamed furiously as he pounced onto Draco and pulled him by the collar.

�Ron, don�t!� Harry interrupted, stepping in to hold Ron�s arms which were now strategically placed in front of Draco�s calm and perfect features. �What do you want, Malfoy? I don�t think today is a good day for any of your antics.�

�I just want what�s mine, Potter,� Draco spat back sternly, brushing Ron�s arm away from his face. �So stay out of it, if you�re smart enough!�

�Why do you keep on ruining someone else�s happiness, Malfoy?� Harry asked as he stretched his arms across Ron to prevent his furious best friend from attacking the Malfoy heir. �Is it because you have a serious complex?�

Draco raised one eyebrow and let out a series of cynical laughter.

�I am surrounded by fools!� He declared exasperatedly as he pushed Harry aside, turning to Ron. �Weasley, you should really get out of this habit of using other people�s hand-me-downs!�

�Take that back!� Ron screamed madly, jumping furiously onto Draco so that the two men were punching the blood out each other on the altar steps. Ron exploded as he threw a series of punch after punch towards Draco, who adeptly avoided each and every one of them. �How dare you say that to her! Who do you think you are?�

�Someone who deserves her more than you!� He shouted back so loud the walls of the church seemed to reverberate with his force, as he pinned Ron down on the floor with one quick powerful whip of his arm and pressed his weight hard to lock Ron under him.

From the floor, Ron was panting loudly with a thin trail of blood seeping on his face, staring hatefully back at Draco who pushed himself off Ron and wiped the sweat from his face with his arm, his platinum blonde hair now disheveled and dripping with sweat.

�What�s this all about?� Arthur Weasley asked in annoyance with the sound of his own angry footsteps thumping loudly towards them.

�Why don�t you ask her?� Draco asked back in his firm voice, as he spun Hermione around to face him, her own heart beating fast with his force. When his steely grey eyes locked against hers again, which were now blurred with messy trails of tears streaming down her face, Hermione realized that she had never wanted anything so much before.

�Malfoy, let go of her!� Harry shouted protectively, sweat beading madly under his brows. �Please don�t ruin this big day for her and for everyone else.�

�Oh yes, Potter the savior, Potter the hero,� Draco mocked as he pulled Hermione into his embrace so that her back was pressed hard against his chest and her tear-strained face stared out into the rows of guests who gasped out in horror, many of whom had got up from their seats and were rushing to the front of the church towards them.

��Will Potter save the day again?� Draco asked sarcastically as he breathlessly whispered into her ears, bringing his strong firm hands up to ravish her breasts which remembered his touch so well. The warmth of his breathe and his lips as they caressed her ears sent warm shivers all throughout her body, hardening her breasts under his tight grasps, as he brutally grounded them with his hands, squeezing them at their tips so that her hidden desire were now awakened as if oozing out of her erected nipples. As his hot lips moved down her neck, her eyes closed in exquisite pleasure her friends had never seen before, twisting her neck to allow him better access, the heat inside her quickly spread like molten lava that just erupted. Draco kept his eyes cold as he looked smugly at Ron and Harry and many of the audience now watching agape, his fingers continuing to move savagely against all her tender curves.

�LET HER GO NOW!� Ron screamed out, drawing out his wand and pointing it hatefully directly at Draco�s face. �If you don�t let her go, I�m going to send you to Azkaban!�

�Drop your wand, Weasley,� Draco answered keeping his cold gaze out towards his audience, moving his lips lower and lower down her arching neck as his fingers traced the curves of her hard breasts which were now dying to explode under her tight laced bodice. ��And save it for something useful like satisfying your girlfriend.�

�I never thought a Malfoy would stoop as low as stealing other people�s wives,� Ron commented, raising his voice angrily, the wand trembling in his angry hand. �What do you really want? Voldemort needs a Mudblood to mother his heir this time?�

Draco raised one eyebrow mockingly.

�Really, Weasley, such vulgarity! I would never have expected that from you,� Draco retorted as he moved one hand slowly down Hermione�s slender curves. She almost died of the excruciating shame of turning red in front her friends and families, of falling weak in the arms of her known hated nemesis when, at the same time, her entire body was quivering with his every touch.

�Let her go, Malfoy!� Harry called out, stepping in to help his best friend. �She doesn�t want you touching her.�

�How do you know what she wants?� Draco snapped back. �Do you know who she is?�

�Yes!� Ron answered unhesitatingly.

�Do you know who she really is?� Draco repeated as he stopped for a moment to look at the crowd of shocked faces before him. �I do.�

And the entire room watched helplessly as he kissed her ravenously. He pulled the veil from her hair and threw it furiously behind, as his tongue thrust deep and hard into her warmth, his hands ripping away at the collar of her laced bodice so that the tear revealed the cleavage of her hard firm breasts hidden beneath. His lips moved furiously against hers, sucking every drop of sweetness that emanated from her, as a soft moan escaped from the back of her throat and she closed her eyes against the world, opening them only to the fiery sin burning on her lips. Hermione felt every curve in her body whimpered under his hard touch, as if she was a molten iron waiting to be cast by the firm strong hands of her master. She opened her legs slightly under her full skirt to allow some air to come between her legs and the dripping hot wetness that was blazing between them. Only he can light her heart her on fire, burning her painfully on the spot. Yet she had never felt more alive.

�Draco�� she moaned his name breathlessly on him, as he arched her back and pressed his lips further against her. ��Let me go, please,� she pleaded in his arms.

He dropped her at her words and she stepped back away from him to catch her breath. Ron and Harry were still in shock upon hearing his name escaped from her lips.

�I�m a married woman now,� she continued, covering her ripped dress with her arms across her chest, ��So please respect that.�

�You don�t love him!� Draco called out angrily across the distance to her.

�I don�t see how that�s any of your concern, Malfoy!� Ron shouted loudly, stepping up towards them.

�Shut up, Weasley!� Draco yelled back, turning around to look hatefully at Ron. �I�m doing you a favor. Why would you want to marry a girl who�s been lying to you?�

�What are you saying?� Ron asked, feeling his blood boiling just beneath the surface of his skin now.

�Why don�t you tell him, Granger?� Draco directed the inevitable question towards her.

The walls of the church began to spin as if she was losing conscious. Except she wasn�t that fortunate. Draco�s words replayed in her mind, ringing like the resonating church bell that should have happily announced their marriage to the world. The church was silent as if waiting for her response. And she took a deep breathe.

�Ron�� she called out softly, turning to face him with melancholic eyes. ��I�m sorry,� she finally said with a soft sigh. It was like someone had suddenly ripped her heart from her body and at the same time she felt strangely released.

�Why are you sorry?� Ron asked, stepping up to grab her wrist fiercely as he pulled her towards him.

�Because � � She hesitated to search for the right words. �Because it�s true.�

�What�s true?� Ron asked her, his eyes widening with rage.

�He�s right,� Hermione continued then paused to take a deep breath. �I lied to you, Ron. I lied to everyone.�

The whole church seemed to erupt in a series of gasp and loud chatters despite the sudden unbearable silence between them. Hermione bit her own lips as hard as she could. If only the stinging pain on her lips would take away the pain in her heart.

�If you could turn back time, would you do it again?� Ron asked, keeping his intense gaze towards her, fighting hard to stop his voice from breaking with the great rage trembling through his veins at that moment.

Hermione turned to look at Draco and her heart still skipped a beat.

�Yes.�

�Hermione, you can�t let him play you for a fool like this!� Ron protested as he shook her, choking to keep his own tears down. �I don�t care what he�s done to you. I�m not going to sit still and watch you make the biggest mistake of your life!� Tears streamed down Hermione�s face when she could no longer hold them back.

�You will be the biggest mistake of her life, Weasley!� Draco added angrily.

�Stop it, Malfoy!� She screamed back at him. �I don�t need your comments! It�s too late now! You had your chance and you missed it. I told you before I don�t want to see you ever again!�

�You can�t live without me!� Draco cried out to her.

�Why? Why are you telling me this now?� Hermione yelled hysterically back at him, tears rushing down her face.

�I had an epiphany,� he answered her.

�What? You expect me to believe that one day Draco Malfoy woke up and decided to forgo his rights as the Malfoy heir to join Dumbledore�s crusade against Voldemort?�

�I never planned it! I never planned any of this! But I do know one thing� I�m not going to let you walk out of my life for anyone!� Draco proclaimed loudly, not caring how everyone was reacting, sweat beading intensely on his face as he kept his gaze intensely at her.

�You just don�t want to lose me to Ron!� Hermione cried back exasperatedly. It was as if time had stood still and entire congregation seemed to have faded into darkness. Even Ron was paralyzed with all the anger and shock.

�I don�t want to be scared anymore!� Draco shouted vehemently with such intense determination she has never seen in his eyes before.

�Are you saying you�re willing to give up everything for me?� Hermione screamed back so loud that her voice broke with the tears that never seemed to end.

�No! I don�t know what I�m saying!� He answered her forcefully, stepping up towards her. �I don�t know how it�s going to be! I don�t know what tomorrow will bring! And I don�t really care! Because right now...you�re everything to me!�

�Nothing you say will change anything now!� Hermione screamed out, the pain inside her so unbearable as if strangling her alive. The uncontrollable tears that flowed out of her were like tainted blood on her beautiful white wedding gown.

�Hermione, I love you.�

�HOW DARE YOU!� Ron shouted furiously as he jumped on Draco and pulled him to the floor, hitting him madly with all his force with such hatred in his eyes. The volcano in Ron had erupted as he hardened his fists, bit his lower lips and threw punch after punch at Draco who was wrestling to free himself from Ron�s grasp.

�Ron!� Ginny called out as she ran noisily through the crowd. Hermione had opened her mouth but Ginny�s voice had been faster.

�Get off me, you filth!� Draco protested, shoving his hands into Ron�s face to push him off, as he tried to use his force to overthrow Ron to the ground.

�Don�t ever�� Ron called out as he punched Draco straight in the face, ��ever�� he punched Draco again as his own face turn bright red with all the hot blood shooting inside of him, ��ever�� he punched again, as hard as he could, sweat glistening bright on Ron�s hot face dripping all over Draco, ��come near Hermione again!�

�Ron, stop!� Hermione called out, panting breathlessly as she rushed down the steps by the altar towards the two vicious men fighting over her.

�Why, Hermione? Why do you go on protecting this asshole?� Ron asked as he lifted himself to look at her, thin pools of tears gathering under his red eyes. �Why?�

Hermione�s heart was beating so fast she thought she would explode any minute. She was clutching onto her chest, covering the rip through her dress with her arm. She could feel every movement of the bare flesh of her breast heaving, pressed against her hot sweating arm. Why, Hermione? Why? His words resounded in her madly like a battle drum that warned of an impending enemy troop.

�I said get off me, you git!� Draco repeated, gritting his teeth angrily as he elbowed Ron from under his chin. Ron�s jaw turned bright red as he felt the impact of Draco�s elbow against him.

�Shut up!� Ron called out loudly, pulling Draco buy the collar so forcefully so that red chafed marks appeared on Draco�s flawless skin. Ron�s eyes were as red as all the fiery blood that shot through them.

Why? Hermione thought as she stood motionless, watching the chaotic brawl in front of her, unable to move as if someone had performed a paralyzing spell on her.

�You can�t make me!� Draco yelled back breathlessly as he brought his knee up to kick Ron powerfully on his stomach.

Ron released a loud groan as he felt the strong force of the kick in his stomach choking. He flew backwards knocking himself on the wall with the sound of the velvet wedding ring box that had fallen out of his suit pocket crashing on to the floor beneath. The velvet box swung open with the loud sound of the golden ring rolling on the hard marble floor, echoing in the silence as everyone watched the ring rolled off until its final flat vibration against the cold hard floor.

Hermione watched the golden ring that should have been on her finger lie motionless against the white marble floor.

Why, Hermione?

�If you have enough decency, Malfoy, which I believe you actually do, then this would be an appropriate time to leave,� Harry said sternly, stepping in front of Draco who was lying messily on the floor. Harry gripped his wand tightly with fierce determination, pointing the wand straight at Draco�s steely grey eyes.

Draco watched Ron got up breathlessly to pick up his wedding ring lying on the floor.

�Have you ever been in love, Potter?� Draco asked as he turned back to face Harry and he got up from the floor, not caring that a wand was pointed a breath away from his face, dusting the dust off his long black coat.

�What kind of a question is that?� Harry asked, taken aback slightly as he raised his wand higher to follow Draco�s eyes as Draco now stood tall and graceful before him.

�Have you ever been so in love that nothing else matters anymore?� Draco continued asking as he took a dauntless step towards Hermione, brushing Harry�s wands aside and disregarding the fact that it was pointing at his head as he walked.

Draco�s determined silver grey eyes locked against her limpid dark brown eyes as he took large confident steps towards her. Her heart was beating faster with every step he took closer to her. His eyes were so mesmerizing that she could not see anything else but the perseverance and power in them as he kept his intense gaze at her.

Why, Hermione?

Why?

�Malfoy, if you don�t leave her alone, I will � � Harry called out after Draco, his wand trembling slightly as his hand radiated with sweat.

�So in love that nothing else scares you�� Draco continued willfully, walking unwaveringly towards her, his eyes never having left hers.

Why?

Why?

��I will make sure you never leave out of here alive!� Harry threatened exasperatedly, his voice rising loudly to match the anger seething within him.

��Except for the fear of losing her,� Draco finished his sentence firmly as he continued his resolute step towards her, his gaze piercing so deep into her that it hurt.

Why?

�Expelliarmus!� Harry shouted out the disarming spell as a flash of light escaped from his wand.

I love you.

And the whole church broke out in gasps of horror as they watched the green beam hit the wooden altar table, incinerating it on the spot until all that was left were scattered piles of charred remains against the red carpet. Hermione Granger, in her beautiful white wedding gown, had jumped in front of the ray of the curse, without any hesitation, not knowing � or caring � whether the curse could be fatal and pushed Draco Malfoy away from its path. She fell onto him, kissing him ravenously as the world watched their declaration of love for one another. Her lips moved forcefully and viciously against his, closing their eyes to the world, as all the desire and passion between them spilt out to the witnesses before them. Her hair was disheveled and spread all over his face when her tight chignon had come undone, as the white lilies in her hair now laid trampled and torn apart on the floor.

There was a loud clink against the white marble floor. Ron Weasley had dropped his wedding ring back onto the floor, watching helplessly as his wife kissed his worst enemy desirously and hungrily against one another.

He had never seen her with so much passion, so much desire, so much thrust to feel alive. So much that she was willing to jump in the line of the spell to save him.

Ron wondered if losing his first game of Wizard Chess would ever hurt as much.

This was one game he had never intended to play - and had lost.

Draco sat up and picked her up in his arms as he carried her gallantly through the crowd who were watching in silence with shock and awe. She wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing her face closer to his, not wanting to see the eyes of the people who made way for them as he carried her through. Hermione felt every beat of his heart pounding against her own, leaning against his strong firm chest so warm and safe against her.

�Draco, wait�� she whispered into his ears as he looked at her and let her down. She could not just walked away without saying something to the people who have always stood by her side.

She walked up slowly to Ron who had his back towards her, facing the burnt altar, fighting hard to keep his tears from flowing with the unbearable pain stabbing through his heart.

�What, Hermione? What do you still want?� Ron asked coldly as he heard her footsteps walking towards him.

�I�m sorry, Ron�� Hermione said softly with real sadness behind her words.

�I don�t need your sympathy!� Ron roared as he whipped angrily to face her, his eyes wide opened with rage.

�I know you won�t ever forgive me, but�� Hermione continued hesitatingly.

�Forgive you? After you humiliated me in front of everyone?� He shouted back loudly.

��But I hope that one day you will understand.�

Ron slapped her so hard that tears immediately came down her flushed stinging face.

�How dare you say that to me, Hermione?� Ron yelled at her bitterly, his own face as red as hers.

She looked up at him without saying a word, as she felt the sting on her cheek spreading all over her.

�It�s alright, Ron�� she finally replied softly with a sigh. �I can never be mad at you.� She paused to take in a deep breathe. �And one day, you may actually be thankful.�

�Why should I ever be thankful for this complete utter mortification?�

�Because you don�t love me.�

�How can you say that, Hermione?�

�You merely want to be in love with me, Ron. You want things to turn out how everybody wants them to turn out�But you never loved me.�

They stared at each other in silence as the warm summer breeze succeeded in finding its way into the church.

�Goodbye, Ron�� Hermione finally said with a genuine smile creeping slightly along the edge of her lips.

�Goodbye, Harry�� she added melancholically with a sweet linger in her eyes, as she turned to say goodbye to the dark brunette who was her best friend and had been watching all this time. �I�ll miss both of you��

And Hermione was sure she saw Harry giving her a slight nod before she turned and walked back towards Draco who held his hand out waiting for her.

The platinum blonde swept her off her feet and carried her in his arms again as he walked down the aisle towards the grand church door. Everyone watched without as much as a whisper as he carried her across the hall. Her hair hung messily over his arm, her wedding gown crumpled and torn as they revealed her smooth naked skin beneath, its long floral train draping dirtily on the floor as they walked passed. Yet her eyes had never been this bright and beautiful before. Hermione smiled at him sweetly, never taking her gaze away from his, as she wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and pulled herself closer to his face.

�Draco, do you�� she began to ask.

�I do,� he replied unhesitatingly, his voice low, warm and confident, without ever waiting for her to complete her question. It didn�t matter what she actually wanted to ask anymore, or what the original intention of her question had been. He looked at her as he carried her out as if waiting for her response. She watched strands of his blonde hair fall gracefully over his sharp, delicate features; how beautifully they framed his face. She noticed the rosy hue of his lips against his flawless skin and how beautiful they brought out his silver grey eyes.

�I do,� she whispered softly against him, as tears of joy began to rim the edges of her eyes, and he carried her through the opened church door and out into the warmth of the summer sun.

It was a beautiful day.

�Does this mean I just officially became a Malfoy?� She asked him teasingly with a smile across her face as he carried her through the grass field.

�Hell, no, Granger!� He replied in usual arrogant tone. �I�m just going to ravish you until you get tired of me.�

�Well, then, Malfoy,� she answered him, enunciating his last name in a familiar cynical manner, �I think you�ll have to wait in vain�Because I�ll never get tired of you!�

�Never?� He asked her, raising his eyebrow cockily.

�Never.�

�Well, I guess I�ll just have to try harder!�

And she squealed as he leant down to kiss her and his strong fingers tickled her forcefully, following the gentle soft curves of her body that were now his and his alone.

Although there may be obstacles and a long journey ahead, on that warm summer afternoon, the wind carried the sound of their playful laughter and happy frolicking without a care in the world.

And as long as he held her hand, the fire in her heart will keep her alive.

Ron stood by the terrace outside the church, fighting hard to hold back his tears as he watched Draco carrying his bride away in his arms across the grass field. But his eyes became wet anyway with the dust that the wind blew into them. Yet, despite the pain in his eyes, he kept watching them disappearing into the distance, watched how her hair blew messily in the wind and her beautiful white wedding dress dragged messily along the dirty earth. And he wondered.

He wondered if Hermione ever knew that it was the dragon that came to rescue the princess.

He wondered if she ever imagined that one day, she would lose her heart to the boy who called her a Mudblood at eleven.

And Ron wondered if she ever dreamt that she would love him so much � so much that she was willing to leave all her friends and lover behind - and still walked away with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

Ron looked up to the bright blue sky above and sighed. There were too many questions in need of answers. Perhaps life was never meant to have answers. Perhaps life was never meant to be simple. Maybe, in the end, all that we can do is just to keep living. To take things as they come and never look back.

And as he wondered, he saw Ginny in her beautiful peach dress, long red hair and white ribbons dancing wildly in the wind, as she stood by the tall stone pillar across the terrace watching him. His deep blue eyes locked against hers, eyes as vivid and blue as his own. And he finally realized, at that very moment, that he had understood what Hermione had meant all along.