“Excuse me?” Harry burst out laughing. “My Hermione? With him?” He pointed a finger at a very calm looking Malfoy.

“Harry,” Hermione whispered, closing her eyes.

“You’re joking, right? Because you know that she would never let him get close enough to touch her, let alone sleep with him!”

“Harry,” she begged. He turned to look at her, his smile fading when he saw the pain on her face.

“No,” he said, the blood rushing away from his head. “No, I don’t believe it.”

“It’s true,” she whispered, turning her eyes away. He looked back at Malfoy, who simply shrugged.

“You filthy bastard,” Harry spat, moving towards him. Natalia stepped between them, reaching out to trail a scarlet fingernail lightly down Harry’s arm.

“Now, now,” she purred, her eyes bright. “There’s no need for name calling, unless you’re going to apply it fairly,” she added, glancing at Hermione. Harry turned to look at her.

Hermione was sitting in an armchair, looking defeated, her face cradled in her hands.

“Why, Hermione? Why him of all people?”

“It just happened,” she sobbed, shaking her head. “It wasn’t something that either of us planned.”

“How many times?” she flinched at the question, but lifted her eyes to meet his anyway.

“Six or seven,” she guessed.

“Try ten,” Draco said, his eyes meeting Hermione’s for the first time. Harry’s jaw dropped open in surprise, and he stared at her.

“Ten? Is that right?”

“I suppose,” she said, her entire body trembling. Why had Draco kept count?

“Just once tonight?” Harry asked, his voice deadened.

“Why does that matter, Harry?” she asked miserably.

“Because yesterday was the first day that we decided to make a go of things, and I want to know how many of those ten times you’ve slept with him since you told me you had feelings for me!” he demanded, his face set in determined lines.

Her shoulders sagged even more.

“Five,” she whispered. His eyes narrowed, and he turned to the blonde man for confirmation.

“Is she right?”

“When has the woman ever lied to you, Potter?” he asked coolly.

“So half of the times that you slept with him, you did after we’d decided to be together?”

“Maybe if you hadn’t left the woman in such a frustrated snit, it wouldn’t have happened that way,” Draco drawled calmly. Harry was wooden as he glared at him.

“And what exactly is that supposed to mean?”

“It means exactly that you never tried anything with her.”

“I kissed her and held her hand,” Harry said defensively.

“How very primary school of you,” Draco quipped, rolling his eyes. “In case you hadn’t noticed, Potter, grown women tend to have a yen for more substantial touches. It’s no wonder she-“

Draco didn’t get to finish his sentence, however – Harry’s fist connected with his jaw, silencing him. Draco touched pale fingertips to the corner of his mouth, and when he drew them away, he saw blood on them. He gave Harry a grin that made his flesh crawl.

“What’s the matter, Potter? Afraid that I finally bested you at something?”

“Sleeping with my girlfriend does not constitute beating me at something,” Harry breathed, his chest heaving with anger.

“Perhaps not if it was only one time,” Draco conceded, his eyes drifting towards Hermione, who looked to be frozen in her chair. Her eyes locked with his, but they were unreadable. It chilled him to see her looking so emotionless, when she normally wore her heart on her sleeve.

“So I guess I’ve beaten you as well, since I slept with your girlfriend, is that it?”

“You can have her, for all I care,” Draco said, disgust dripping from his voice. Natalia glared at him, and Hermione’s mouth fell open.

“You care so little for her that you’re just going to toss her aside?”

“I was about to get rid of her anyway.”

“You can’t date Hermione, Malfoy. Surely you know that?” Harry asked, disdainful laughter in his voice.

“I never intended to,” Draco answered coldly.

“Then why string her along like you’ve been doing?”

“Look,” Hermione said, rising from her chair. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her in surprise. “He never promised me a relationship, and I never expected one. It was just sex. Is that so difficult to accept?”

“Sex with Malfoy, Hermione,” Harry snapped. “And yes, it is a rather bitter pill to have to swallow! You were just telling me yesterday that you were upset that you weren’t dating someone, weren’t you? And now you’re telling me that you were having sex with him with no hope of a relationship?”

“What are you implying, Harry?” she asked bitterly. “That I was stupid enough to think he’d grow to care for me?”

“He doesn’t care about anyone but himself!” Harry proclaimed vehemently.

“You can say that again,” Natalia muttered. Draco blinked.

“Since when has this turned into a game of belitting me?” He asked. “The last I checked, we had all cheated on our significant others, not just me.”

“Yes,” Natalia reasoned. “But Harry did it out of frustration over her, I did it for revenge on you, and she-“ she gestured towards Hermione as her voice died. “Well, I don’t know why she did it, but we all know that you were only looking out for your own desires. You’re all about self satisfaction.”

“I suppose that makes me no better than him,” Hermione sighed. “Because that’s why I did it, too.”

“You didn’t,” Draco retorted bitingly.

“What?” she asked him, her bottom lip beginning to tremble.

“You never wanted anything from me,” he snapped, his eyes hardening. “I accosted you in the bookstore, remember? I’m the one who kept visiting you here. I’m the one who approached you in the dressing room, not the other way around.”

Harry was getting paler by the second, and Natalia could do nothing but gape.

“The dressing room?” Harry squeaked. Hermione’s cheeks went scarlet.

“That may be, but I didn’t refuse you,” Hermione said, her eyes steadily on Draco’s.

He snorted. “You mean like last night, when you’d returned from your date and asked me if you could beg off for the night? You most certainly did refuse me, Granger.”

“Why are you doing this?” she cried, her eyes brimming with tears. “You’re making it sound as if I had no part in it at all, when I’m just as guilty as you are!”

“Why are you defending him if you don’t care about him?” Natalia asked interestedly.

“Because I’m guilty too, and he’s making it out to be only his fault!”

“Do you know what kind of impact this information would have on the Wizarding world?” Harry asked quietly. “What kind of impact it would have on you, Malfoy, if you continue to make yourself out to be a rapist?”

“He’s not!” Hermione shouted. “I went to the Manor tonight willingly!”

“The Manor?” Harry exclaimed. “You took her to your home? Won’t your father roll over in his grave, or something?”

“I lifted the wards,” Draco replied angrily. “Not that it’s any of your business!”

“Is that why you lifted the wards?” Natalia asked disbelievingly. “So you could bed her in the comfort of your own home?”

“If you hadn’t come-“ he started. Hermione gave a bitter laugh, and they all turned to her.

“Don’t lie to them, Draco,” she said. Harry’s eyes widened at her use of his first name. “You’d just kicked me out. She wouldn’t have interrupted a damn thing.”

“Why did you kick her out?” Harry asked curiously.

“Yes, why? Go ahead and tell them,” Hermione challenged. “Tell them how-“

“How I admitted that I cared for you, and you didn’t return my affections?” he asked, his voice quiet. She was startled into silence. “And how you told me you could never care about a monster like me? Is that what you mean?”

“That’s not what happened, and you know it!”

“I don’t know what you recollect, but I remember every word,” he said, his voice stronger. “I distinctly remember telling you while we were in bed that despite my efforts not to, I had developed feelings for you.”

Her breath hitched in her throat. Was he simply defending her, or was he trying to send her a message?

“You care about her?” Harry asked coldly. Draco didn’t respond, just continued to look at Hermione. “If you cared about her, why would you just visit her when you wanted sex?”

“As if she would accept anything else from me,” Draco sneered at Harry. “I was lucky enough that she allowed me to sleep with her. How could I expect more than that, when she had you?”

“I hope you’re not buying this,” Natalia laughed at Harry. “She sees through his façade, and I see through it. Surely you can, too.”

“I think we’ve said everything that there is to say,” Harry said coldly, ignoring Natalia. “Hermione, I think that tomorrow, after we’ve gotten some rest, we have a lot to talk about.”

Without another word, he went into her room. She heard the pop of his disapparition, and closed her eyes.

“I think you two should be going as well,” she murmured. Natalia shrugged.

“This party was getting stale anyway,” she said. “Draco, I’ll leave you to your goodbyes, and then I’ll expect you back at the Manor so we can finish discussing this.”

When she was gone, Hermione glared at him. “How could you do that?”

“What, protect you?” he snapped.

“I’m not some damsel in distress, Draco! And I’m not the innocent you made me out to be, either!”

“You told me at the start of this thing that if we were ever to be found out, you would be made out to be the innocent.”

“I never said that you had to be the one to do it!” she exclaimed.

“In any case, you’ll be fine. Potter will accept what I’ve said, and he’ll forgive you, and the two of you will be able to get on with your nauseatingly perfect lives.”

“And Natalia?” she challenged. “Will she forgive you as well?”

“She’s guilty of the same transgression.” He shrugged. “I expect she’ll forgive me, if she thinks it will earn her a wedding ring.”

Hermione turned her back to him.

“You’d better go.”

Several moments passed, but she heard neither the sound of the door nor the sound of his disapparition. “Aren’t you leaving? She’ll be looking for you.”

“She gave me leave to say my goodbyes,” he said, his voice laced with bitterness. She half-turned to look at him as he stepped closer. “And since they’re likely to be permanent, I’d like to make them memorable.”

“As in?” she asked, her heart pounding.

“As in, once more, for old times’ sake?” he asked softly, his hand touching her shoulder. “You didn’t expect me to be able to resist you in that, did you?” he asked, indicating her t-shirt. She smiled weakly at the teasing.

“I wasn’t quite thinking about what I was wearing when I got home,” she admitted, letting him wrap his arms around her and turn her to face him. His hands moved down to tug up on the hem of her shirt, leaving her standing in nothing but the royal blue knickers.

“You look good in blue,” he said, the teasing note gone from his voice. She let him capture her lips in a kiss, fairly melting against him when his fingertips lightly stroked her bare back.

“You look good in jeans,” she murmured as his mouth began to move against her neck. He stilled, then met her eyes. The amusement that danced in them brought the stain of a blush to her cheeks.

“Do I?”

“And with your hair down,” she said, nodding.

He kissed her hard then, letting his hands roam over her body. She shivered and began undoing the buttons of his shirt with trembling fingers, pushing it off of his shoulders when she was finished.

He picked her up and carried her bride-style to the bed, laying her down gently before removing the rest of his clothing. He lowered his lips to hers, kissing her languidly. After a while, his kisses began to make her feel dizzy.

“Are you going to-“ she began.

“In a minute,” he whispered, capturing her mouth again.

Minutes turned into an hour, and by the time he stopped kissing her, her lips were swollen and her breathing was ragged.

“Draco, please,” she begged. He caught her earlobe gently between his teeth, and his hot breath in her ear made her shiver.

“Say it again.”

“Please.”

“Not that part – my name.”

“Draco,” she whispered, gasping when his hand found her wetness through the knickers. “Draco, please.”

His mouth moved down her neck, sucking hard on her collarbone. She bucked her hips against his hand, clutching his shoulders when his fingers slipped beneath the silk.

“I’ll beg,” she whispered brokenly, stars appearing behind her closed eyes as the first wave of her orgasm washed over her. “I’ll beg if you want me to.”

“I don’t want you to beg,” he replied, withdrawing his fingers. He pulled the knickers down her legs and tossed them to the side before kissing her again. He positioned himself on top of her and slid in slowly, his jaw clenching as he did.

She moaned as she felt herself stretch to accommodate him, then arched her back. He swore softly, the words escaping him in a rush of air.

“What do you want?” she breathed.

“I want you to want me,” he responded. Her eyes flew open. “Just for tonight.”

She reached up and drew him down for a kiss. “You know I do,” she whispered, her eyes closing as he began moving inside of her.

She was riding out her second orgasm of the night when he spilled himself inside of her. “Hermione,” he breathed, collapsing on top of her. Her eyes flew open and her arms tightened around him.

Her name had sounded almost like a prayer falling from his lips, it was spoken so reverently.

When he finally withdrew, tears filled her eyes.

“Are you leaving now?”

“I’ve stayed too long already,” he said, turning his back to her. “Potter may return at any moment with a mob, ready to lynch me.”

“Don’t go,” she pleaded, sitting up behind him.

“Hermione, I have to go.” Her heart felt as though it was ready to break inside of her chest.

“I know.”

She watched as he pulled his clothes back on and ran his fingers through his hair in an effort to control it. When he had finished, he turned and smirked at her.

“I knew you’d never be able to resist me.” She smiled through her tears and threw a pillow at him, but he had disapparated before it reached him.

She pulled her quilt over her naked body and shook with the force of her tears.