Ten out of Ten by Morriganmercy

Day 10

- NOT MY STORY! All credit goes to @morriganmercy on a03!

AN- Okay, I've done something a little different in this one. I had always planned to write Draco's POV of this story, and I have had several scenes mapped out since the beginning, but due to life things, I'm not sure now that I will have the time to write all of it. Because of that, I'm including a scene directly after the end of the last chapter in Draco's POV at the start here. If you would prefer to just have the seamless Hermione POV then skip to the first set of asterisks :)

Draco watched, numb with shock, as Granger backed quickly out of the kitchen, a bare foot crunching over the remains of the glass. The bond gave an insistent tug behind his ribs as his eyes dropped to the small smear of blood she left in her wake—evidence that his wife was injured.

He brought a hand to his chest and rubbed absently at the phantom pain, willing his feet to stay firmly planted on the floor. Rationally, he knew that she could easily take care of the cut herself, even while drunk, and going after her would do no good tonight.

With a sigh, he crossed the floor and sank into a chair at the kitchen table, burying his hands in his hair. He had tried to steel himself, to remain calm when she returned no matter what, but the sight of the mark on her neck had sent every reassurance his mother had offered spiralling immediately out of his brain.

"How does the core bond impact... fidelity?"

Narcissa's lips parted on a tiny intake of breath before she glanced over to where his father stood behind his desk. Lucius gave a single, curt nod.

"A meaningful romantic connection with another is out of the question," Narcissa explained. "Emotionally, she won't have the capacity for it."

Draco swallowed the bile creeping up the back of his throat. "And what about a meaningless connection?"

Narcissa's brow furrowed. "Draco... did something—"

"Please, Mother," he interrupted, squeezing his eyes shut. "Just tell me."

"Well," she began, glancing at his father again. "When the bond is complete, it will be extremely unlikely that she would... stray. She certainly would not be able to derive any enjoyment from it."

"And while it remains incomplete?"

Narcissa looked tempted to pry again, but she restrained herself. "I won't say it's impossible, Draco, but even at this point, I imagine she would find the touch of another to be quite aversive."

Draco let out a shaky breath. It was better than he had hoped for.

But he had forgotten. The instant he saw the evidence on her, blinding rage had dropped over him like a curtain. It wasn't until he watched the fire fade from her eyes, revealing the hollow, aching despair beneath, that clarity returned.

It was an act. All of it. But her carefully crafted performance had proved more points than one.

A lovebite was not evidence of sex, but it was evidence that she had let someone put their mouth on her even though she likely found it to be aversive. It was evidence that his betrayal had pushed her to that.

He looked down at the cloudy puddle on the floor beneath the chalkboard. He wasn't surprised that she had erased their progress, but her reaction after had been completely unexpected. He hadn't given much thought to the little heart that she left in place in the corner, but now, a vague sense of familiarity was tickling at the edge of his awareness.

He got slowly to his feet and trudged up the stairs, casting a glance at the darkened space beneath Granger's door. He didn't approach it, nor his own room either, but turned instead for the room that had belonged to her parents.