𝐄𝐔𝐍𝐄𝐈𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐈𝐀

☾ Chapter 30

☾

It was early in the morning, and Hermione was reading.

The sun had just begun to peer above the mountaintops, flooding the valley with soft orange light.

Draco had left her once again at some point in the night, his bedroom door closed and locked shut from the inside.

It was completely silent except for the soft chirping of birds and the crackling fire she'd set ablaze only an hour before when the sun still hadn't risen.

She was about to flip the page, immersed in the story when the ruffle of bedsheets forced her to look upwards, ragged breathing emitting from his shut door.

Her eyebrows furrowed at the sound of a soft cry.

Shutting her page with a notepad to mark her place, scribbling down a quick summary of the last few lines, she stood from the maroon sofa and hesitantly approached his door.

"Draco?" She knocked against it timidly with her knuckles, the quiet sobs coming to a pause, "Are you alright?"

He didn't answer.

"I know you're awake," she whispered against the hard wood, "If you wouldn't like to talk to me, that's perfectly fine, but-"

The door peeled open, scratching against the uneven floorboards. His cheeks were hollow, deep bags indented beneath his eyes. Remnants of drying tears dripped gracefully down his cheeks.

"Go back to bed, Granger."

He towered over her with a saddened look, almost pleading her to stay. He was simply too stubborn to say so.

But Hermione was far more stubborn than he was.

"I just wanted to make sure you're okay," she muttered, slightly embarrassed at the reveal of her feelings. Slowly she stepped away from him, eyes staring towards her feet as his lingered on her flushed cheeks, "I'll just leave you be, I'm sorry-"

Within the split of a second he was grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards him, tangling his fingers in her hair.

"Don't go," he murmured against her jaw, drowning in her familiar scent. He was growing accustomed to her presence in his house, her silence as she read, the soft snores that would leave her nose as she slept. He found comfort in the little things she did.

The reminiscence of salty tears lingered on his lips as she kissed them clean, biting softly on his bottom lip as he tugged her into the bedroom.

Taking a hold of both her thighs he sat down on the edge of his bed, pulling her on top of him.

Hermione whimpered as his teeth scraped against the skin on her neck, "Draco, you were just.. I just don't think this is a particularly good idea-"

"Shut up," he growled, her eyes glowering in surprise as he softened his tone, "Stop talking. Just — just let me feel you. I — I need you."

His hands hiked up the sides of her light blue t-shirt, nails digging into her hip bones leaving marks that would later bruise as he left soft kisses along her jaw, holding her close to his chest.

She wouldn't let him do this.

"Draco, just tell me what's wrong-"

"Please, Hermione," he begged her, watching as her chocolate curls spilled down her back, a concerned look in her face as she still straddled his waist, "I can't- I need-"