A/N: And part 2!

Hermione continued to stand frozen in her corner. She could not believe that had just happened. She had left the party to escape them yet, somehow, they still managed to find and haunt her.

Her eyes did not focus, just stared blankly at the floor until her wine goblet was taken from her hand and something was placed in her line of sight. It was a glass of what appeared to be firewhiskey. She looked up to find Draco there, for once not standing uncomfortably close.

"Seems like you could use this."

Hermione slowly took the glass. She brought it to her lips, took one breath and chugged the whole thing down.

Draco chuckled. "Easy there, Granger. This is a three-hundred Galleon bottle of firewhiskey. It is meant to be savored."

Hermione practically choked on her rather large sip, stopping the alcohol before it could go down her throat. She looked at him with chipmunk cheeks.

"Well, it's already in there. You might as well swallow."

She let it down in one large, painful gulp.

Draco lifted his bottle and poured her some more. "This time, try to enjoy it."

"Sorry," said Hermione once her throat stopped burning enough for her to speak.

"What for?" said Draco, turning and walking back towards the balcony. He put the bottle down on a table out there and sipped on his own glass while staring over the edge again.

"For wasting your alcohol," she said, walking over to the dresser and setting her purse down. She really did not feel like carrying it right now.

"As long as you feel better it was hardly wasted."

Hermione looked down at the glass she held. With a deep breath, she took another sip. It really was good. Very smooth going down. Even when splurging, she had never had such expensive alcohol before. She had two children. Even though she and Ron both had decent paying jobs, they were still always on a budget.

"Any particular reason you came running into my bedroom?" asked Draco, slightly turning his cheek towards her.

"No," she answered. Looking around the room, she could not help but notice that it looked very lived in. "Do you still live here?"

"What do you mean 'still'?" he said. "My parents gave me this place fifteen years ago."

"They don't live here?"

"No. After the war, they hated living here. I didn't want it either but Astoria insisted."

"Well, you're divorced now," said Hermione. "Move out."

Draco turned around and chuckled. "I actually like it much better when I'm here alone. I might sell it in a few years, but not now." He turned just his head and looked back over the balcony.

"What are you doing up here?" she asked, taking another sip of her drink. She had already decided that she could not leave until it was finished. Who knew that ridiculously expensive firewhiskey was exactly her taste?

"The same as you, I'm guessing. Trying to get away."

"What do you keep looking at?" Hermione stretched her neck to try and see over the edge, but with little luck.

She could tell by the way Draco's cheek twitched that he was smirking. "I suppose you told me about your dirty laundry. It is only fair that you see mine." He lifted a finger and beckoned her. "Come see."

Hermione had wanted to keep her distance from him, but something about the way he kept looking down there intrigued her, and she knew she just had to see. So she slowly walked over, stopped beside him on the balcony and looked down. Her jaw dropped.

"What the -?"

On a bench just below them sat Astoria, snogging someone mercilessly while he ran his hands up the bottom of her dress. They separated just long enough for her to undo his shirt, giving Hermione a clear view of his young face.

"Isn't that Blaise Zabini's son ?" she said, looking absolutely appalled.

"Oh yes," said Draco, taking another sip of his firewhiskey.

"But he can't be any older than -"

"Eighteen," finished Draco. "That's right. Not to mention one of her son's oldest friends."

"Does Blaise -?"

"Of course he knows. Blaise makes it his business to know everything."

"And what does he think about this?"

"He's proud that his son is able to satisfy a woman far more experienced than he is."

"So this is an ongoing thing?" asked Hermione, pointing downwards.

"I suppose it is," he said. "It first happened during his Easter break. Ironically, they went at it like rabbits for the week but then he went back to school. I thought she was finished with this but it seems she wants to make a very clear point that I don't control her anymore."

"Does she know you're up here?"

"Absolutely. That's why she brought him here. The balcony is charmed so it always appears empty. Poor kid has no idea he is just a bloody pawn."

Hermione stepped away from the balcony and took another sip of her drink. "I don't understand why you're watching them. This is your property. Make them go away."

Draco glanced at her and smirked. "You certainly are demanding," he said. "All right, if you insist. Wimsy!"

A second later, the house-elf appeared. "Yes, Master?"

"Now, I know you don't belong to me anymore, Wimsy, but as a guest in my house I must insist that you turn the water on in the courtyard just below us."

Wimsy smiled wickedly. "As you wish, Master."

He Disapparated. Less than a minute past before Hermione heard Astoria scream. She looked down to see what appeared to be sprinklers spraying on the half-naked couple. The boy grabbed her hand and dragged her away, but not before she looked up at the balcony and angrily shook her head.

"Well, I am certainly glad my daughter is marrying in to a family as dysfunctional as our own," said Hermione, taking the last sip of her drink.

She was about to walk away when Draco picked up the bottle and poured her some more. Of course, she could not waste his money by not drinking it. That would just be rude. So she made an executive decision and slumped into one of the chairs he had out there. Since she was staying until this glass was finished, she might as well make herself comfortable.

"Does your ex-wife hate you that much?"

Draco stepped back and sat down in the other chair out there. "Yes," he answered. "She hates me quite a bit."

"Why?" asked Hermione. "Because you cheated on her?"

Draco's face tensed. "Who the bloody hell said that?"

"It was in all the papers," said Hermione, not wanting to admit that Ron was the one who mentioned reading about his infidelity.

"Don't tell me you read that shit," said Draco, taking out his pipe and lighting it.

Hermione bit her cheek. "I suppose I just heard it around. Is it not true?"

"Of course not," he spat. "Astoria was just angry when she said that. She retracted it later."

"Oh," said Hermione. "Why was she so angry?" She did not know why she cared. She supposed she was just curious about the sorts of problems other people in her situation had experienced. All of her friends were happily married. Not one of them understood what she was going through right now, and that was perhaps the hardest part of it all.

"Because I never loved her," said Draco, being brutally honest.

Hermione froze. She certainly was not expecting that. "Then why did you marry her?" she asked, taking a more generous sip of her drink.

Draco chuckled. "Come on, Granger. All of the work you put in to eradicate pureblood laws and you can't even quote one of the most primitive ones out there?"

Hermione looked at him and blinked.

"Arranged marriages, Granger. My parents had one, as did their parents before them. How do you think someone as fit as Daphne ever ended up marrying fucking Goyle? Blaise's first marriage was one too, but he got rid of her the moment he fathered a child. His duty as a pureblood was done. Looking back, I probably should have done the same."

Hermione's mouth fell open. "But what about Scorpius?" she asked. "He isn't -"

"I told my parents a long time ago that I wanted things to be different for him. They got lucky and actually fell in love with each other. I, on the other hand, suffered the worst possible outcome."

"I'm sorry, I … I didn't realize."

Having finished her drink, Hermione debated leaving. But, after a confession like that, it seemed rude to just walk out of there. Before she had made any decisions, Draco lifted the bottle and poured her some more. And just like that the problem resolved itself.

Hermione and Draco sat silently for a moment while he smoked and she sipped on her firewhiskey, slowly starting to feel the effects of the alcohol. When she finished this glass, she instinctually reached out and poured herself another. Draco held out his, and she gave him a refill, as well.

"So tell me something, Granger, why is it that after six months you and Weasley aren't getting a divorce? From what I witnessed tonight, it hardly seems like you're headed for reconciliation. Why delay the inevitable?"

"I had my lawyer draw up the papers two months ago but Ron won't sign -"

Hermione threw her free hand over her mouth. Shit . She had not told anyone about that, not even Harry. She put her drink down.

"I'm sorry, I should be going." She started to stand.

"Sit down, Granger. We both know you don't want to go back down there."

Hermione chuckled but there was no humor behind it. He was right. She would actually rather sit up here drinking with him than be downstairs at her only daughter's engagement party. And all because of him . Ron. Every time she even considered reconciliation he did something stupid that made her take it all back. Tonight was no different.

"I find it funny that the person here tonight with a date is the one refusing the end your marriage."

Hermione sunk back in to her chair and picked up her glass again. She took a large sip. "He's just doing what I told him to do. Dating ."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "But you're not."

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I haven't found anyone worth the effort."

"Hmm …" Draco put out his pipe and leaned forward on his knees. "So when was the last time you shagged then?"

Hermione's eyes widened.

"When Astoria and I finally split up, it had been a good three months since we had done anything. I can only imagine it was the same for you."

Hermione blushed and turned away. She took another sip of her drink, almost finishing it off.

"Don't be shy, Granger. Out with it."

She whipped her head back towards him. "When was the last time you shagged?" she demanded.

Draco smirked and leaned back in his chair. "Around six months ago," he said before taking another sip of his drink.

Hermione's eyes widened. She was surprised it had been that long.

"I know, shocking," he said. "But I have dated three women since my divorce, and every one of them was convinced that it was going to turn in to something serious, especially after it became physical, so I got rid of them."

"I am sure the wizarding world's most eligible bachelor could find a woman who was willing to jump in the sheets for just one night," she said with slight disdain. Or maybe it was disgust. She was not exactly sure since her head was really starting to spin, so she took another sip and her head felt much better.

"Of course I could," said Draco. "But I had several women like that back in my youth. None were terribly satisfying, and if I am going to shag then I want to do it right. Not to mention the fact that you never know ones true intentions until the morning after."

"Well, there are plenty of willing girls downstairs," said Hermione, finishing off the last of her drink. "You can follow in your ex-wife's footsteps and find an eighteen-year-old. I saw plenty of them crowding around you."

Draco laughed. "Those are girls, Granger. I like women. Ones with experience who know what they're doing. I have no patience to teach a bloody teenager how to shag, nor would I want to."

Hermione reached for the bottle but, before she could grab it, Draco seized her wrist, looked her right in the eye and said, "How long, Granger?"

She gulped, her heart suddenly racing as she met his hungry gaze. "Just over a year," she answered. It was true. The last time she remembered her and Ron doing anything was right before Rose and Hugo came home last summer. And that was only because they had realized it had already been four months since the time before. But that part she dare not mention.

Draco released her wrist. "That's terrible," he said.

Hermione grumbled her agreement. She successfully grabbed the bottle, only to find that it was empty. She looked up at Draco just as he finished his last sip.

"All gone," he said.

Hermione grunted. Then a light triggered. "That's all right."

She stood up and stumbled into the bedroom, kicking off her heels along the way since they were obviously doing more harm than good. She went over to her purse and dug through it until she found what she was looking for. The flask Draco had given her at the graduation. She had not touched it since.

Hermione took out her wand and was just about to return it to its normal size when Draco grabbed it from her.

"Oh no, Granger. I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut you off." He put the flask and wand back in her purse and placed it on the dresser. "We'll save that for another time."

Hermione grumbled. "You're right," she said, turning away from him as she began looking for her shoes. "I should probably get back down there before …"

Her words trailed off as two firm hands grabbed and then started caressing her hips. She leaned in to the touch, feeling hot breath on her neck as someone began to suck on it. It was then that she remembered who the only other person in the room was. She pulled away and turned.

"Malfoy, what are you -"

Draco silenced her with a kiss, but she spun her head away.

"Don't!" she spat, wiping at her mouth.

"All right," said Draco. "Not there." He brushed her hair aside and brought his lips down to her neck again. "But how about here?"

Hermione instinctually tilted her head back as Draco began kissing up her neck until he reached her ear. He moved behind her, his hands back on her hips as he nibbled on the area of skin just below her earlobe.

"Do you like it when I touch you, Granger?"

"N-no," she said, trying hard to convince her mind something that her body was currently disputing.

"I think you're lying," said Draco, moving his hands down to her legs and edging them back up so they were underneath the cloth of her gold dress. "That's why you're still here. In my bedroom. Because you want to fuck me."

Hermione moaned, her body betraying her as he ran his tongue back down her neck. "I … I don't," she insisted. "You're only doing this because you've been drinking, Malfoy."

"No. I've wanted to fuck you from the moment I saw you in that black dress at the graduation. Since then, I've been unable to think of much else."

There was no proper way to respond to a confession like that, so Hermione said nothing, feeling the heat radiate inside of her as he moved even farther up her thighs. And then one hand shifted, trailing up her back until it reached the zipper on her dress.

"B-but … I'm a Muggle-Born."

"If that still bothered me do you think I would be propositioning you right now?"

Fair point.

"Our children!" she blurted out as he started to use the hand underneath her dress to play with her knickers. "Our children will never forgive us if we -"

"No one has to know what goes on in this room tonight, Granger. Only you and me," he said in a deep, drawling whisper. "Just this once."

Hermione bit her lip, running out of arguments as his hand rubbed the highest point of her thigh, his teeth gently sucking on the spot where her neck met her shoulder.

And then, slowly, her zipper came undone.

Draco finally released her thigh and used both of his hands to push Hermione's straps off of her shoulders. Her dress fell to a heap on the floor. Hermione was suddenly thankful that all of her practical knickers were in the laundry, leaving her in a lacy black set. It was a complete accident that her panty's even matched her bra.

Draco stepped back and walked around so he was facing her. He studied her from head to foot, taking a slightly longer moment on the area of her body he fully intended to invade soon.

Hermione did her best to suck back her insecurities as he spent a great deal of time inspecting her. She put her hands on her hips. "Disappointed?" she asked.

"Not at all," said Draco, taking a step towards her. "Just as I suspected." He wrapped his arms around her hips and used her arse to pull her close. "All woman."

Draco went in for her lips again but Hermione turned her head. "I said don't."

"Whatever you want," said Draco, kissing across her cheek until he reached her neck.

Hermione brought up her hands and began unbuttoning his shirt. Once that was done, he helped her yank it off of him and discard it on the floor. Then her mouth found its way to his neck while he was undoing his trousers, letting them fall to a heap beside her dress. Hermione put a hand on his chest and pushed him back, stroking her chin as she scrutinized him in the same way he had just done to her.

"Disappointed?" he asked with a smirk.

"Not terribly, no," she said honestly. Actually, Draco's body was quite lovely. Still chiseled and firm with only a few blond hairs tainting what might as well have been porcelain. And he wore boxers. The older they got, the more Ron seemed to favor plain white briefs, and there was nothing sexy about briefs.

Stepping forward again, Draco put one hand behind Hermione's back and unhooked her bra. The moment it was gone, he attached his mouth to her breasts, sucking hard on the perky, pink nipples.

Between her moans, Hermione looked over at the door, suddenly remembering just what was going on downstairs and how many people were in this bloody house. Including the majority of her family.

"What if someone comes in?" she asked.

"They won't," said Draco, switching from one breast to the other. "I put Locking and Silencing Charms on the room the moment your bloody husband was out."

"That was a bit presumptuous, don't you think?"

Draco smirked against her breast. "I told you already that I've wanted to fuck you, and I'm not one to miss an opportunity when it comes running through my door."

Moving back up to her neck, Draco picked Hermione up by the arse and carried her over to the bed. He tossed her into the center of it and climbed on after. His lips found her collarbone while he began to grind his hardness in to her.

Hermione's head felt light as one of his hands trailed downwards, slipping in to her knickers and rubbing roughly against her clit.

"So wet already," he said, stroking one of his digits into her folds. "I hope you don't mind if we skip the foreplay and go straight into the fucking." He dragged down his boxers. "As I've said before, it's been six bloody months." Followed shortly by her knickers.

Hermione cried out as his thumb pressed a little rougher than she was used to. But she liked it. "Oh, just get it over with already."

Draco froze and so did Hermione. She bit her lip. Merlin, did that ever come out wrong. He pulled back and looked down at her, his eyes no longer filled with the lust from just moments ago, but instead with genuine concern.

"Granger, if you don't want to do this -"

"No!" Hermione grabbed Draco's shoulders and flipped them so that she was straddling his lap. She had come too far to back out now. She needed this. Her body needed this. "I do," she said confidently, grabbing his already hard cock and giving it a few strokes before practically shoving it inside of her.

Both of them gasped on impact. She had not meant to be so rough about it. After all, it had been over a year, and she had been so busy distracting herself from her failing marriage with work that there had not been much time to take care of this growing itch, even on her own.

After giving herself a moment to adjust, Hermione put her hands on Draco's chest and started bouncing fervently on his cock. There would be no taking it slow with him. That was not what she needed. What she needed was to feel wanted, to have someone take control of her body like she was something to be desired. And Draco seemed to understand that because he only let her get a few bounces in before he was roughly grabbing her thighs and flipping her onto her back.

"I'm the one who wants to fuck you. Remember, Granger?"

Draco seized her left leg and tossed it over his shoulder, grabbing onto the headboard just behind her and using it to brace himself while he began to mercilessly thrust into her. Hermione brought one of her hands between them, using it to touch herself while the other crept around to Draco's arse, her nails digging deeply into it to urge him on. She lowered her leg, brought her mouth up and began sucking on any piece of skin of his she could find.

Draco groaned a little louder than he intended when she found the soft spot on his neck. Hermione smiled and focused on there for a moment, but the more she sucked the harder he thrust, and soon Draco was going so fast that she could not control herself. Her head fell backwards onto the bed and her body convulsed as she felt the familiar heat building up inside of her, just about ready to burst.

Hermione removed her hand from her clit, knowing she needed no help to finish this. Right now, all she wanted to focus on was the heat. The beautiful, desperate, scorching heat. Both of her hands flung to his back, squeezing his sweat soaked body against hers, her nails clawing cat-like marks into his perfect skin as she felt herself getting that much closer.

"Malfoy, I … I'm going to - Oh, fuck!"

And, suddenly, all coherent thought left her completely as the heat burst and spread through her body like a tidal wave. Her back arched, her toes curled, and her nails dug so deeply into him that she was positive she drew blood.

Staring down at the beautiful 'O' shape Hermione's mouth made as she came undone, Draco could not contain himself any longer. With three more brutal thrusts, he was coming inside of her, continuing to fuck her through both of their orgasms until there was nothing left.

Hermione fell back, her mind fuddled and her body spent as she felt Draco soften inside of her. He collapsed, breathing heavily into the crook of her neck for a moment before slowly rolling off of her.

"Fuck …" he muttered after taking a long moment to catch his breath. "I haven't had a shag like that in …" He paused and gulped. "… a long fucking time."

Hermione said nothing, not wanting to admit out loud that she had actually never had a shag like that. Ron was the only man she had ever been with and sex with him had always been slow and romantic. Back before it became routine, at least. She could actually count the times she and Ron had been driven by raw passion on one hand, and it had still never been quite like what she had just experienced.

And that was when it hit her.

Ron was the only man she had ever been with … And, now, he was not. She had just slept with Draco Malfoy. Well, she certainly never saw this day coming.

Suddenly wanting very much to get out of that bed, Hermione sat up. Unfortunately, it was a little too quickly and the alcohol still running through her system made her head spin wildly. She paused for a moment and held it, giving Draco enough time to grab her wrist and hold her in place.

"Where are you going?" he demanded.

"Back to the party," she said. "Everyone will be wondering where I -"

"Everyone already thinks that you're gone," he said. "You've been in this room with me for a good hour, and since you managed to wander all the way back here, I can only imagine you disappeared long before that."

Hermione sighed. He was right. Everyone will have thought she left, driven away by Ron and his annoying hussy. So much for not giving him the satisfaction.

"It will look suspicious if you go back now."

"So what do you propose we do then?" she asked, anticipating the answer more than she felt was appropriate.

Draco grabbed her shoulders and moved her so she was once again lying on the bed. He climbed on top of her and brought his lips to her neck, slowly trailing kisses downward until he reached her collarbone.

"Well, we have just this once, right? So we might as well enjoy it as much as we can."

He licked down to the area between her breasts, gently moving over and sucking on the right one, eliciting soft moans from her delicious looking lips. He moved to the left one, giving it a bit of attention before continuing down to her stomach.

"But I'm afraid I don't quite have the stamina I had in my youth and I'm not ready to go again just yet."

He stopped at her bellybutton, breathing his hot breath against her skin and giving her goose pimples as he continued to lower his head.

"But, if you would like, I will gladly make up for the lack of foreplay earlier until I am ready to fuck you again."

Draco did not wait for an answer before he was opening his mouth and hungrily feasting on her womanhood. Hermione threw her arms back and fisted the pillow her head was on. She needed something, anything to stop herself from losing control. Because while it may have been a good year since she had had sex, it had been a good five years since anything like this had been done to her. And, Merlin, did it feel good.

Hermione woke up sometime in the middle of the night, her head pounding and her throat feeling like someone had stuffed an entire pack of cotton balls down it. She needed water.

Slowly opening her eyes, it took her a moment to recognize her surroundings. She was not home, but somewhere completely foreign to her. Then she heard the faint breathing and turned to see the silhouette of a man with his back to her. His hair was light, shining almost silver in the moonlight coming through the open glass doors leading to the balcony.

And, suddenly, it all came rushing back to her.

She had had sex with Draco Malfoy. Lots of sex. How many times they had done it she could not recall, but she knew at least half a dozen orgasms were involved. Maybe more. Probably more.

Her cheeks flushing with shame, Hermione quietly climbed out from under the covers and dropped to the floor, feeling around in the dark for her clothes. She found her dress in the same spot it had fallen, but she had not seen where her bra and knickers had gone. It took her a minute, but she found them, dressing quickly and grabbing her heels from where she had kicked them off and her purse from off of the dresser. She ran her fingers through her hair as best she could and walked to the door, looking back at Draco's sleeping figure one last time before sighing and leaving him behind.

Hermione quietly moved through the house, not exactly remembering the direction she had come from but retracing her steps as best she could. She stopped near the old grandfather clock she liked. It was almost four in the morning. She could not believe she had stayed here so late.

Eventually, Hermione found her way to the small library, feeling slight relief as she realized she was almost out.

She opened the door slowly, peeking out just to make sure the place really was empty. She knew Scorpius was still staying here until he and Rose moved in to their flat next week, but it was late enough that he should be in bed.

Tiptoeing down the hall, Hermione approached the doorway leading in to the drawing room. She looked in, scanning the large space. Everything had been cleaned up and the house was back to normal. The house-elves had done a great job.

Hermione was about to step into the room when she noticed the flames in the fireplace were still crackling. Two heads poked over the edge of the sofa facing it, a blond and a redhead, entangled in each other as the sound of their kissing consumed the large space.

"Won't your mom be wondering where you are?" asked Scorpius between parts of their lips.

"No," answered Rose. "I'm sure she went to bed hours ago. As long as I'm back before she wakes up we're fine." Suddenly, she stopped and pulled away from him, letting out a small sigh. "I still can't believe she left without saying anything. She must have been really angry."

"She seemed all right."

Rose laughed. "You don't know my mom very well yet. She always puts on this brave mask in front of a crowd. She hates showing weakness." She paused. "I don't even know if I've ever seen her cry."

"Maybe she doesn't cry."

Rose laughed again. "Of course she does. She disappeared for like thirty minutes after that stupid homewrecker arrived. What do you think she was doing? She was crying."

Hermione smiled. Her daughter knew her so well.

"I hate my dad."

Her smile instantly faded.

"No you don't," said Scorpius.

"Yes I do," she said stubbornly. "I know my aunt Ginny said he didn't actually invite Colette, but why didn't he kick her out? He knew my mom was uncomfortable. He tells me and Hugo that he wants to win her back, but then he does stupid things like this. I mean, my mom hasn't been with anyone else since they separated, even though that's what they said they were going to do. It's because she still wants our family to be together, because she still has hope that he'll fight for her!"

Hermione leaned against the wall and stared from the shadows at her daughter. A tear dripped down her cheek as she realized how wrong her little girl was.

"That's not the impression I got," said Scorpius a little weakly.

"Well, you don't know her like I do," insisted Rose. She crossed her arms and moved away from him.

"Aww, Rosie, come on, baby. I'm sorry. You're right, I'm wrong and all that stuff that gets you to not be mad at me," he said, leaning over and kissing her cheek. Then he moved his lips to her neck. Rose giggled. "There's still some chocolate cake in the kitchen. Maybe we should go grab a slice and take it to my room before you have to head back."

"With all your bloody figurines?" she joked.

"Yeah. They like to watch."

"And just how many girls have they watched?"

"Only one that counts if we go there now."

Rose giggled some more as he moved to her ear. "Okay, okay!"

Scorpius stood up and pulled Rose with him. They shared one more kiss in front of the fire before running off laughing towards the kitchen.

As soon as they were gone, Hermione tiptoed across the room, stopping by the fireplace and grabbing a handful of Floo powder from the pot beside it. She threw it in, stepped inside and Flooed home.

The house was silent when Hermione arrived. She went down the hall and saw that Hugo's door was open a crack. She peeked in and found him lying on his back with a book flung over his chest. He was fast asleep. She sighed and shut the door.

Once Hermione was in her own room, she put up a Silencing Charm and immediately took a shower, trying to wash off at least some of the shame. Even when she got out she still felt dirty, and her head was still aching horribly.

After chugging two glasses of water and taking a potion for her ever-growing hangover, Hermione finally crawled in to bed, for the first time in a long time realizing how truly empty it felt. She moved her hand over to Ron's side. So cold.

What would he think if he knew what she had done? And then, once again in secret - always in secret - Hermione clenched the sheets that rested where Ron should have been and cried. She had done it. She had finally crossed that line of no return that she had been so terrified of for months now, and all it took was a few dirty words and some expensive firewhiskey. And she had liked it. Merlin, how she had liked it.