Chapter 14
Hermione
Time flew and it was April already when Hermione lay next to Draco in his bed. It had come naturally that they had started sleeping in the same bed sometime in the beginning of February. After laying cuddled up together, reading, talking or studying, they had just stopped going to their respective other bed to sleep. True, they hadn’t been together for long, but it still felt right and as a bonus, they were both sleeping much better and if one of them did have a nightmare, the other was always right there for comfort.
While Draco had some sexual experience, he didn’t try to rush her into anything. As none of her previous relationships had been anything close to serious, she hadn’t yet had sex and they took it slowly and Draco seemed perfectly content with that. But despite them waiting with having actual sex, Hermione had never felt closer to anyone and she couldn’t have been happier.
Today, however, Draco was very quiet. They usually talked before going to sleep, but while he had an arm around her and his fingers gently stroke through her hair, he didn’t initiate any conversation and when he answered to something she said, it was very monosyllabic.
Considering he had received a letter from one of his parents this evening, she was slightly worried. She knew that Narcissa wasn’t feeling well most of the time. Her letters had been short lately and while she had explained it away with a bad case of morning sickness, she knew that Lucius, too, was worried. His letters had been shorter than usual as well, even with topics she knew he would usually dig deep into.
Hermione knew Draco was worried and she knew that he blamed himself for not having brewed the potion before he had left the Manor. That was, of course, ridiculous. He couldn’t have known that this would happen and Lucius and Narcissa couldn’t have known that something was wrong with the potion despite it tasting and looking the same as when they had bought it. If anyone was to blame, it was the Ministry. They should have been able to order potions at the very least. But it most certainly wasn’t Draco’s fault.
“Is anything wrong?” She asked quietly and turned to her side to be able to look at her boyfriend. There was a small fire in the fireplace, the nights were still cold, so it wasn’t completely dark.
He hesitated for a moment before hugging her closer. His voice was quiet. “The letter I received earlier was from father. Mother is on bedrest. She had pretty strong bleedings. Her and the baby are alright for now, but only because the healer was there fast enough.”
Hermione wasn’t going to tell him not to worry, she had always thought that was a stupid thing to say, especially when there was legit reason to worry, nothing she could say would change that. Even she, who had never had a personal conversation with Draco’s mother, was worried.
Instead of coming up with empty clichés, she wrapped her arms around him and held him close.
Devon McNair
“We did it!”
Devon laughed and shook his head. “Easy, it most certainly looks like it, but there’s one more step before we can be sure.”
“Testing it.”
“Exactly.”
Draco shrugged. “It’s full moon tomorrow.”
He had expected that, but he wasn’t happy with it. “Look, Mr Malfoy, I’m pretty sure our Headmistress will be more than unhappy with me, if I test new potions on her students.”
“But it wouldn’t be dangerous. The poisonous qualities of the wolfsbane is eliminated by the other ingredients, otherwise it wouldn’t have taken that colour.”
Devon sighed. “That is true. But what if the potion doesn’t work the way it should for some reason we don’t see right now? You would be a danger to yourself and others.”
“You could stun me.”
“And keep you stunned the whole night?”
He shrugged. “If necessary. It has to be tested on a werewolf, doesn’t it? Why is it better, if it is some random stranger?”
“Strictly speaking it’s not. But you’re still a student.”
“I’m of age, though. And I volunteer. We could talk to Headmistress McGonagall.”
Devon considered this. Strictly speaking, Draco was right. The potion definitely wasn’t dangerous and he was reasonably sure it would work the way they hoped or at the very least like a normal Wolfsbane Potion. The question was whether Minerva would see it that way.
However, with Minerva involved, it would be even saver. Even if the Wolfsbane Potion didn’t work the way it should, she could keep him company in her Animagus form. It was well known that werewolves got along with Animagi and didn’t attack them. Being in the company of an Animagus also kept them from hurting themselves out of frustration of not being outside and in a pack.
“Alright, I’ll talk to her. But we won’t do it without her permission.”
xxx
“Absolutely not!”
“Minerva, there’s no risk for him. The potion is definitely not harmful. The only question is, if it works the way it should. And if it doesn’t, we’ll make sure he doesn’t harm anyone, including himself. He’ll be absolutely safe or I wouldn’t even consider it.” Devon smiled a little. “And you know how werewolves react to Animagi. He’ll be perfectly fine. And if all else fails, I will stun him. If all goes well, it will be a painless or at least considerably less painful transformation.”
He had her, he could see it.
Draco
“I’m sorry she didn’t allow you to be present.”
Hermione was sulking a little. He had finally told her about the potion they had been working on and she knew of the plan for this month’s full moon, which was tonight, and she was happy for him. However, she had wanted to be present when they tested the potion, which Headmistress McGonagall had strictly forbidden.
“It’s alright. I guess.”
He grinned a little and kissed her cheek. “If it all goes well, I’ll be back here sometime during the night.”
Under the guise of working on the potion, he would leave the common room in half an hour and meet with McNair and McGonagall in McNair’s office. There they would see, if the potion worked and if it did, he would stay there until everyone else was in their room and he could return to the room he shared with Hermione.
Now smiling slightly, she stroke his cheek. “Alright. I really hope it works. I don’t mind you being a wolf once a month, but I really wish it wouldn’t be so painful for you.”
He knew that and it still baffled him how fully she accepted him in this form. She treated him perfectly normal – except for embarrassing photos she liked to send his parents, but at the very least his mother seemed to enjoy that immensely, so he didn’t protest much. Hermione even seemed to enjoy full moons, especially the night they had spent outside during the Christmas holidays or all the times they were cuddled up together. She was amazing and he still couldn’t believe how lucky he was that she had not only decided to give him a second chance but also that she had come to see more in him than just a friend.
Now she gave him the small, mischievous smile he loved so much. “When you’re back, no matter how late it is, there will be a photo shooting with you and Crooks. It will cheer your mother up and it’s a suitable punishment for you for not telling me that you were working on Wolfsbane Potion.”
Draco sighed dramatically, but couldn’t help but smile.
xxx
Weasley looked at him perplexed as he walked through the common room and told them he’d be working with McNair that night. “At night? It’s almost curfew already.”
Draco heaved a sigh. “Weasely, if you still don’t know that some ingredients can only be worked with during full moon, seven years of magical education have been truly wasted on you.”
Ginevra snorted. “And you realised that now?”
“Hey!” He shot his sister a betrayed look.
Grinning, Draco left the common room and walked through the empty hallway. The grin vanished pretty quickly, though. He did hope it would work, it would change so much. With his parents, his friends and Hermione, the only people who had to know, accepting him for what he was, he didn’t mind so much being a werewolf, but he still dreaded the transformation and the exhaustion of the day after. If the potion worked, it would take the last truly negative aspect full moon nights still held for him away.
And it would also change the lives of so many others. He knew that Greyback had liked to bite children and there were far too many children out there who had become werewolves during the War. He, basically an adult, dreaded the pain of bones breaking and taking different forms, of flesh warping, hair sprouting – it burned on the skin like bloody hellfire – and teeth growing into fangs. It was awful, no matter how often it happened, and he couldn’t imagine children going through this. And most of them wouldn’t even have the benefit of Wolfsbane Potion, so full moon was just a nightmare, not the overall enjoyable night he usually spent with his girlfriend and her cat. The ingredients were expensive and it was hard to brew, which was why a single vial cost a small fortune on the market. Few could afford it, Draco knew that. And he wanted to change something about that and he would talk to McNair about it. But for now, he just hoped the potion would work.
The Headmistress and McNair already waited for him and the older witch looked at him sternly. “Are you absolutely sure you want to do it, Mr Malfoy?”
“Yes, Headmistress, I am. Thank you for allowing this … little experiment.”
“I’m far from comfortable with it, just so you know. But Devon assured me that there is no risk for your health.”
He nodded.
“Well, we don’t have much time. You take the potion now and Devon and I will remain in the room with you while you transform. I will be in my Animagus form, Devon will be ready to stun you, if everything else fails. Do you agree to that?”
Draco nodded, although he wasn’t comfortable with anyone seeing the transformation. Sacrifices had to be made.
He took the potion, which tasted just as awful as regular Wolfsbane Potion, and turned back to his teachers. He already felt the familiar tingle, the restlessness. It was almost time.
“If the potion works, please stay as calm as possible, so I don’t mistakenly think you want me for dinner,” Devon said with a smile and Draco snorted.
“I’ll do my best.”
McGonagall turned into a cat and sat down on a chair close to where Draco stood, McNair kept his distance and his wand ready.
Usually, Draco would get naked for the transformation, because of course any clothes he wore would tear, but he didn’t do that now with his teachers as an audience. He could spare a pair of trousers and a relatively old jumper.
The transformation began and Draco was shocked. He kind of felt what happened, but it wasn’t painful at all. His body changed, he found himself on all fours, but still no pain, just an overall feeling of numbness. He hardly comprehended when the transformation was truly over and just stood there, baffled.
At first, no one said anything, then the tabby cat jumped off the chair and slowly approached him.
That was when he understood that it was truly over. No pain, no pain at all. Not even the aching in his bones that preceded the transformation and always woke him up in the morning, so he could go to the bathroom to transform had not been there.
He sat perfectly still while McGonagall approached him and when she was close, he tried for a small tail wag to indicate that he wasn’t hostile.
Then he looked at McNair who slowly lowered his wand and smiled. “It looks like it still works.” More tail wagging in reply. “Did you feel any pain?” He shook his head and saw his teacher’s smile widen. “None at all?” He heard the excitement in his voice and shook his head again, getting up now, tail wagging furiously.
McNair chuckled, approached him slowly and knelt down before him. McGonagall had a careful eye on them, but Draco didn’t move closer but waited for McNair to reach out and briefly stroke through his fur. “It looks like someone already made a name for himself in potioneering circles, even before he graduated.”
McGonagall returned to her human form with a small smile. “So you will include him in the publications?”
“Include him? His name will come first, mine will be an afterthought. The whole approach was his idea, I made a few adjustments, that’s all. I’d feel like a bloody thief, if any publication would make it seem like it was my idea or even mention my name first.”
Draco stared at him in awe.
Hermione
Of course she believed McNair when he said that the potion wouldn’t do any harm, but she was still worried that anything would go wrong.
When her friends had all gone to bed, she returned to the common room, waiting for Draco to come back, trying and failing to study.
Then she took a book she had borrowed from the library earlier. Draco telling her that McGonagall would be present in her Animagus form had given her an idea. She had loved spending that one full moon outside with Draco and Crooks, but of course she hadn’t been able to keep up with them and by the time they had returned inside, she had been shivering with cold. The book she held in her hands now contained the information as to how to become an Animagus. She hoped there would be many nights of him enjoying the outside once he was back home in Wiltshire and she hoped to be a part of them and wouldn’t it be fun, if she managed to keep up with him and Crooks? Well, with her luck she would probably become a slug, but it was worth a try.
Before she could really focus on reading, however, the door to the common room opened and Headmistress McGonagall came in. She had a look at the common room, then turned around. “You can come in, Mr Malfoy.”
The long familiar wolf came in, followed by McNair, and she immediately saw that it had at the very least been a small success. Draco’s steps were bouncy, his tail wagging and she could have sworn he was grinning.
“I suppose it went well?” She managed to ask before he jumped on the sofa and licked her face. Giggling, she gently shoved him away. Crookshanks, who lay on the other side of the sofa, let out a hiss, just to make sure he wouldn’t be next.
Still grinning, Hermione turned to her teachers. “I assume it went well?”
They both, but especially McNair, were obviously in a rather good mood themselves. “It went great,” he said. “As far as we could make out before he can speak again, he wasn’t in any pain at all. That’s even better than I realistically expected.”
“That’s amazing!” She hugged her still excited boyfriend. Hopefully transforming back would go just as well. But even if it didn’t, this was a huge improvement.
“Can you two come to my office before breakfast tomorrow?” McNair asked.
“Of course!”
She expected them to say goodnight, but McGonagall’s gaze was on the book she had put on the table in front of her just before Draco had jumped her. “I’d like to talk to you tomorrow, too, Miss Granger. Please come to my office at four.”
Oh well, she had wanted to keep her little project a secret, but what was the harm in getting advice from someone who had mastered being an Animagus decades ago? “Of course, Headmistress.”
“Very well. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
Draco made a noise between a bark and a grumble and followed Hermione to their room … where the camera lay on her bed.
Maybe it was the prospect of cheering his mother up - and Narcissa did indeed enjoy the photo ideas Hermione came up with and she had the sneaking suspicion that Lucius did, too, even if he didn’t admit it as openly – but he didn’t make a fuss this time. Crooks did, but since he didn’t have any intention of cheering anyone up, that didn’t come as a surprise.
xxx
The next morning, she woke up earlier than Draco. That wasn’t unusual in itself, because Draco was everything but a morning person. But it was unusual the morning after the full moon. The pain of transforming back woke him up and he usually fled into the bathroom to spare her the sight of the transformation and secretly, she was grateful for that. Hearing him scream was bad enough, the thought of seeing him in so much pain in addition to hearing it was not exactly pleasant.
But it took her a moment to even remember it was the night after full moon, because she was cuddled up against his human form, just like any other morning. And then she noticed something else: He was naked. They had never been completely naked when falling asleep next to each other.
And then it came to her that it had indeed been full moon, that she had fallen asleep next to a wolf, not a man.
Hermione slowly, carefully sat up and studied him. He was still deeply asleep. Could it be that he had slept through the transformation? Was that really possible? “Draco?”
Like any other morning, he groaned when she tried to wake him, pulled the blanket away from her and over his head.
She smiled; he had no idea how endearing she thought that was. But today other matters were more pressing. “Draco!” A little louder this time. “Wake up!” She pulled the blanket away and earned herself a sleepy glare.
“Did you sleep through the transformation?”
That woke him up.
He realised he was human and sat up. She noted that he looked fit. He had started flying regularly again since he had received the broom and often played the Seeker’s Game against Harry, Ron and Ginny. He was still slim, but not too thin anymore and due to the flying, he had developed some musculature once more. There were very faint scars across his chest and stomach and Harry would again feel exactly what she thought of using unknown curses against anyone. But they did not make it any less pleasant to look at him, not even the Dark Mark on his forearm had that effect. It was fainter than when Voldemort had still been alive, but clearly visible against his pale skin. She had thought it would disturb her more and had steeled herself for not showing him, but it didn’t. If anything, it made her a little sad that he hadn’t had a choice but to take it in order to protect his family. Her gaze was on his chest again before she noticed that she was staring.
Focus, Hermione, the fact that your boyfriend is hot is not relevant right now.
Thankfully, he hadn’t notice and now turned his head to face her. He didn’t look as pale and tired and miserable as he usually did after the transformation. He looked perfectly normal. “I have. At least I can’t remember waking up.”
“Draco, that’s brilliant! You’re brilliant!” She threw herself at him and kissed him. He caught her in his arms.
xxx
They kissed and Hermione couldn’t quite keep her hands off him … until he drew back and looked at her with a sheepish smile. It took her a moment to realise why that was, but then she noticed that he had had a perfectly natural reaction to the close physical contact.
She grinned at him. “Can I try something? I never have before, so please tell me, if I’m doing it wrong.”
He looked puzzled, then his eyes widened in realisation. “You really don’t have to.”
“I know, but I want to. If you want me to.” He swallowed and nodded, apparently at a loss for words. She crawled down the foot of the bed and, hands on his hips she hesitated only for a moment before she took his penis into her mouth.
She heard him draw in a sharp breath and encouraged, she started moving up and down, using her tongue to stimulate him further. She didn’t take him fully, she didn’t want to gag and ruin things, but she did her best to make it enjoyable for him. She had read novels, after all.
Draco’s breathing became faster, she felt his hands in her hair and found herself wishing that he wouldn’t be quite so careful not to pull at all. Her tongue circled his penis and she began to move faster as she noticed that he was trying hard to keep his hips from bucking. “Hermione, I’m going to come.”
‘Good,’ she thought, digging her nails into his hips, not drawing back to finish with her hands. She wanted to taste him, she wanted it to be good for him. And then he came with a “Fuck, Granger!” that would have made her grin – he hadn’t called her Granger in quite a while – if his hips hadn’t bucked after all, pushing his dick deep into her, making her gag and spit his semen all over her chin and pyjamas.
He looked up, still breathing hard. “Sorry.”
And then they were both laughing as he pulled her into his arms. “It’s ok,” she said, still smiling and nestling into him. “Was it ok? I’m sure I’ll get better with a bit of practice.”
His smile was so fond that she almost wanted to cry. His thumb brushed over her chin, wiping the semen away, and then he kissed her forehead. “You were amazing.”
xxx
It was rather late considering they still wanted to go to McNair, so they shared the shower – another first. Hermione hesitated just a moment before unclothing herself. She had never been naked in front of a boy, but Draco, while he obviously enjoyed the view, didn’t make it awkward. As they stood under the warm water he leaned into her, his mouth directly next to her ear. “I’ll make it up to you whenever you want me to.” Despite the warmth, she shivered in anticipation. Then he took her shampoo to wash her hair.
xxx
Draco had told their friends that he needed to check on the potion he and McNair had worked on last night before coming to breakfast and no one was surprised that Hermione came along.
When they entered McNair’s office, their teacher smiled.
“Good morning. You look well.”
“I feel great!” She loved how enthusiastic his voice was. “My muscles feel a little sore now, like after a long Quidditch practice, but it’s not painful exactly, as it usually is. And I slept through the transformation this morning!”
That made McNair pause. “You slept through it? Really?”
“Yes, I woke him up and he was already human,” Hermione chimed in.
“I have to admit I didn’t expect it to work that well.”
“Neither did I.”
“And during the transformation you were awake for … you didn’t feel any pain at all?”
“None. It felt numb, but the feeling came back once I was in wolf form.”
Still smiling, McNair shook his head. “Then it’s time for the big reveal. I know the editor of ‘The Practical Potioneer’ and I suggest we have it published there.” Even Hermione knew that one, it was a renowned potions magazine. Draco nodded. “I meant what I said yesterday, you had the idea that worked out and that will be the focus of the article. That’s a pretty big discovery, especially since Lumière told everyone it couldn’t be done.” He chuckled. “I’d pay good money to see his face when he finds out a mere student did it. Anyway, they’ll want an interview and I’ll tell them that they can have it, if they come to Hogwarts. Is that alright for you? You’ll need to explain your thought progress, otherwise most will believe that I did the main work and just give you the spotlight.”
“Of course that’s alright with me. But I couldn’t have done it without you.”
McNair shrugged. “Maybe, maybe not. The point is, in the end it was your idea that led to success and I’m not in a habit of taking credit for something I didn’t do.” Hermione respected him even more for that. He could easily have claimed the main credit. Everyone would have believed it. Since had arrived at Hogwarts, Draco had told her about his achievements and among them there had been many groundbreaking discoveries. The man had single-handedly revolutionised potioneering. But other than Lockhart, he was fair enough to give credit where credit was due. He even seemed happy that it was mainly Draco’s achievement. “I’ll write the letter today and I’m sure they will want it in the next issue, so expect the interview this week.”
xxx
“Oh no! I forgot something.” They were among the last students to arrive at breakfast when Hermione came to a halt before they entered the Great Hall.
“What?”
“I didn’t clean up my pyjamas! Do you think the house elves already took them?” The Hogwarts house elves went through all the dorms each morning to take clothes that needed cleaning.
Draco laughed and she glared at him. Which made him laugh harder. “Come, I’m hungry. Do you think the house elves have never seen anything like that? I’m pretty sure they clean up Weasley’s bed each morning.”
“Prick!”
They were both still laughing when they sat down at the breakfast table and earned themselves some curious looks. They did not give them any explanation.
~tbc~