Blood Magic

A Taste of Darkness

"Sweetheart?...Darling?...And now Princess?" Hermione shook her head and scoffed.

She was sitting on the grassy hill just overlooking the Black Lake. Her usual spot in her mind where she'd seek refuge from the nightmares that consistently terrorized. But not tonight...or rather today.

Mione could recall her slip into oblivion while up in the Astronomy Tower. In fact, the witch could remember everything that had happened prior to her body collapsing in Draco's arms.

Draco had revealed to having the ability to feel her emotions and somehow coerced her into telling him about her confrontation with Astoria. Well, if one could call what he did 'coercion'.

Hermione pressed the tips of her fingers to her flushed cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut and groaned at the embarrassment that rolled through her. The more she fought to push the feeling away the more she felt the pulsating pressure build up between her legs. Her breathing was heavy and wobbly just as it was before. Only this time there was no handsome vampire readily available to alleviate her frustration.

She snapped her eyes open to focus on the dismal scenery around her. Yes, her safe haven was still colorless; covered in shades of gray, and growing more and more decrepit. The flowers were wilted and the trees had lost their leaves. The lakeside was losing its life force one grim night at a time.

"And so am I, apparently," she thought to herself.

The poor vision of the lake was a perfect, yet horrid, window of what was happening to her. Her very own life force was depleting like a dying field suffering from the ongoing darkness that shadowed her.

But it seemed that with the darkness that was devouring her physicality, it brought on a certain kind of hunger. Her body reacted eagerly to Draco's ministrations and actually wished that he hadn't stopped. The tip of his knee pressed so perfectly against her throbbing nub of bundled nerves that it sent shocks of delicious pleasure throughout.

She wished her body hadn't been so deprived of sleep, otherwise she would have had the energy to withstand the sensations and sudden deprivation of Draco's handling her.

The second he loosened his hold, Hermione felt her body lose its balance. All the lost hours of neglected rest she'd been denying herself had finally caught up to her. However, her body was still yearning for what it never received.

"Something bothering you, Granger?" A deep voice called out.

A sharp shiver raced up her spine and dropped right down to her core. Hermione slowly lifted her head up to find the handsome blond glancing at her through silver eyes and a signature Malfoy smirk.

She bit the inside of her cheek and rolled her eyes. "Just thinking about all the annoying pet names that you- I mean the real Draco had bestowed upon me," she grumbled.

She watched him arch his brow and sneak closer. "Ah, yes. The real Draco," he hummed with amusement. He took his usual spot right next to her. "So, what about the terms of endearment that did not pass your approval?"

Hermione shook her head and sighed. "Honestly, I don't know, the way he called me 'sweetheart' made me feel so insignificant. Makes me wonder how many girls he's called that."

Mione physically felt Malfoy tense up beside her. He cleared his throat and refused to look at her. "Well, I for one can't imagine there being that many other girls in which he would use such a name," he coughed. Draco rubbed the back of his neck and let out a long breath. "What of the other one then?"

Hermione tilted her head, oblivious to the slight pink hue that dotted Draco's cheeks. Instead her eyes rested on the stillness of the lake and pondered the second name he had tossed at her.