Sang Sacré

Chapter 16

Days turned into weeks, and still, Hermione had not heard from Harry.

At Draco's suggestion, she had given him a few days of space before trying to reach out to him, but after five straight days of owls returning unanswered, she began to really worry.

She'd been locked out of his Floo, the wards had been adjusted to restrict her apparition to Grimmauld Place, and she hadn't seen him anywhere. The longer they went without speaking, the more it ate at Hermione and the more desperate she became.

She and Draco were also dutifully ignoring what almost happened in the Zabini lab, and to Hermione's both relief and disappointment, nothing of that nature had happened again. If anything, Draco had become more hesitant to touch her aside from when they climbed into bed every night.

Due to the anxiety she felt about Harry, and her anger with Ron for being so scared to talk to him that he thought it better to ignore the situation entirely, she both craved and needed Draco's comfort at night. She was pleased to find he was more than happy to oblige her, always chuckling into her hair as she eagerly tangled herself in his arms.

Their bond was steadily strengthening every day, and they'd even shared a few more dreams.

Hermione's heart did somersaults during a dream where she took him to the stables she used to ride at and watched him interact with the horses. He eagerly conjured apple after apple to feed them, talking to each horse softly and sweetly. When she expressed interest in going for a ride, Draco insisted on helping her into the saddle and her pink cheeks betrayed how much she enjoyed his hands on her waist.

Draco had even taken her to one of the Malfoy estates in Spain where they swam in the ocean and lazed on the beach. Every time she caught him checking out her bikini-clad body she got more and more emboldened. That confidence rarely translated outside of their dreams, however.

Today was not one of those days. Hermione woke up feeling hot and wanting to feel desired. She slid out from his arms slowly and knew that no matter how careful she was that he would wake soon. They slept soundly together, but when one woke first, the other followed shortly after. The witch padded to the attached ensuite and grabbed a fluffy white towel from the closest, humming softly to herself as she turned the shower on.

She made sure the door was cracked just the right amount. As steam rose to the ceiling, Hermione studied her reflection in the mirror and watched behind her as Draco stirred, stretching out his arms above where he lounged, buried under the duvet.

Hermione gulped in a breath to steady herself as she gazed at her reflection. You can do this, it's just a little tease.

In the mirror, she saw as he sat up and looked for her, knowing that when he saw her through the open door that her top would already be off. She felt rather than saw his eyes on her as she dropped her shirt to the tiled floor and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her shorts. As she slid her bottoms down her hips, she looked back up at the mirror and watched as he blushed furiously and looked away, scratching the back of his head.

"Good morning," she called cheerily as her shorts and knickers joined the pile on the floor. Her voice drew his attention back to her, and she smiled confidently at him as his silver eyes roved her appearance, his jaw falling slightly slack.

"Yes it is," he croaked back at her, yanking uncomfortably on the fabric of his shorts. When their eyes met, she tossed him a cheeky wink before climbing into the shower.

Draco was gone when she got out of the shower, a note in his perfect script waited for her next to a steaming cup of Earl Grey under a stasis charm. It reminded her that he had a meeting and that he'd be back around lunch.