Chapter Text
His Greatest Weakness
Chapter 1
Weasley’s screams echoed around the hospital corridor, making Draco grit his teeth.
He shook his head and focused on the unconscious witch lying on the bed, fresh blood soaking her black Auror robes and a deep wound on her side. A dark curse was devouring her flesh, slowly eating her alive.
Granger had ended up hurt in a mission with her two idiotic friends. Again.
After wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve, Draco occluded enough to forget about the shrill voice of the weasel and started casting the complicated counter-curse. He muttered the Latin words slowly, twisting his wrist as he had learnt years ago when he was one of the Dark Lord’s puppets, and sighed in relief when her skin stopped melting.
Draco ensured her pulse and blood pressure were stable before turning to the door with a scowl.
“I want to see her!”
Weasley was still fucking screaming.
“Ron, wait-” Potter’s voice was shaky, but at least he was trying to reason with the moron.
Draco opened the door just a crack and peered outside.
“You can’t.” Blaise was standing in the middle of the corridor with his back to Granger’s room. “A Healer is with her right now.”
“What Healer?” Weasley’s face turned red, and his nostrils flared in anger. “Malfoy?”
That was enough.
Draco stormed out of Granger’s room, his eyes burning with rage and his lime green robe fluttering around him as he walked towards them.
“What the fuck do you want, Weasley?”
Potter stiffened, and Weasley glared harder, folding his arms at the sight of his old enemy.
“I just want to see Hermione.”
“Well, thanks to you two, Granger is unconscious right now,” Draco hissed, taking a step closer as he cracked his knuckles. Only Merlin knew what he would do to punch that face again like he did back in Hogwarts. “And you can tell your boss that she will stay here for at least four days. I don’t want more Aurors coming to the hospital.”
“Four days?” Potter repeated in shock. His gaze fell to Draco’s hands, and he took a step back, his face turning pale. “Is that blood?”
Draco looked down at himself. He hadn’t even noticed his hands were covered in blood.
“It's hers,” he clarified, narrowing his eyes at Potter and Weasley. “The curse was eating her from the inside and attacking her organs.”
Potter looked like he was about to faint. Weasley’s jaw clicked shut, the blood draining from his face.
“This is a hospital with wounded people recovering, Weasley,” Draco snarled, approaching him until there were only a few inches between them and holding his stare. “You can’t fucking scream here.”
His blue eyes narrowed, but Weasley said nothing, his jaw tight.
“Will she be okay?” Potter asked in a low voice.
Draco took a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his hands. He stepped back, putting some distance between the weasel and himself, and turned to Potter.
“She needs time to recover, but yes, she’ll be okay.”
A strangled sound left Potter's throat, and he sniffled.
“Thank you for saving her life, Malfoy.”
Draco glanced at Weasley with a sneer and turned his back to them.
“Now get out of here and let us work,” he muttered, retracing his steps and leaving Blaise to deal with their nonsense.
A hand on his shoulder stopped him before he could return to the room. He glanced up and found the dark eyes of his best friend studying him.
“Do you need help, mate?” Blaise asked in a whisper, gesturing to the door.
Draco lifted his chin, his gaze turning as cold as ice.
“No.”
He ignored the hurt expression that crossed his friend’s face and opened the door, locking it once he was inside.
Blaise shouldn’t keep asking him those questions.
Granger hadn’t moved, her still body lying on the white bed and her long curls spread over the pillow.
She looked pale. Too pale.
Draco conjured hospital clothes for her, vanishing the blood-stained uniform he hated with all his heart and making sure she was comfortable.
He glanced down at the wound and cast a few spells to seal it once he confirmed that the curse was gone. The skin stitched itself together with a precision he was proud of, leaving a scar that could have been so much worse if any other Healer had been assigned to her.
Draco summoned a jar of dittany and applied it to her side carefully. He placed the almost empty jar on the bedside table and stared down at her face, a shaky breath coming out of his lips.
It was the third time Granger had ended up in St. Mungo’s fighting for her life, and he was tired of it. He knew it would come the day that it would be too late to save her.
Dread pooled in his gut at the thought. Just imagining her limp body, the light going out of her expressive eyes…
Draco noticed he was gripping his wand too tightly and tucked it in his pocket, working his jaw while he brushed a loose curl away from her face.
Granger may be out of danger, but she was still too pale for his liking. She needed a blood-replenishing potion.
All the vials he always carried with him clinked together when he pulled out the red one, sitting down on the edge of the bed.
Draco held her head with his other hand and muttered the reviving spell. Her eyes snapped open, all her muscles tensing as she gasped for air.
“Granger.” His voice got her attention, her eyes widening when she noticed how close their faces were. “You’re in St. Mungo’s and you’re safe. Take a deep breath.”
She blinked away the fogginess, staring up at him while her cheeks turned pink.
Draco almost smirked. He loved how she always blushed around him.
“I need you to drink this,” he added softly, holding the red vial in front of her freckled nose. “And then you can sleep a little more.”
Her lips parted, and she cleared her throat.
“What happened?”
Her voice sounded raspy and raw. Draco conjured a glass of fresh water and offered it to her. He let Granger take a few sips before placing it on the bedside table, next to the jar of dittany.
She sighed heavily, her nose scrunching up.
“Does it hurt?” Draco asked, his eyes flickering between hers.
Granger blinked.
“Just a little.” She glanced down at her body to hide her flushed cheeks and winced. “That’ll leave a nasty scar.”
He squared his jaw.
“Not if I can help it.”
She looked up at him again with her big doe eyes, tugging at her bottom lip with her teeth. Draco just wanted to lean in and kiss her worried expression away.
But he didn’t.
No, he was mad. So mad at her for risking her precious life like that.
“You are lucky to be alive, Granger,” he said, his voice husky.
Draco pressed his lips together and stood up. He needed to stay away from her alluring scent if he wanted his brain to work properly. Her closeness and the sweet smell of her hair made his mind go blank.
Sometimes, he felt like a teenager when she was around, trying to control his reactions and be the professional she deserved and not the horny and desperate man who couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Granger furrowed her brow, confusion flashing in her eyes.
“Are you angry with me?”
Her trembling voice made his resolve shake, but Draco forced himself to say the words he had been thinking since he saw Potter in the hospital entrance carrying her bleeding body in his arms.
“I’m furious,” he hissed, his hands trembling at his sides. “You can’t keep protecting them forever, Granger. You’re not their bodyguard, for fuck’s sake.”
Her guilty expression told him all he needed to know.
“Harry was distracted, and Ron didn’t see the curse coming at him. I didn’t have time to think, I just jumped in front of them.”
She had been saving their lives since they were eleven years old, and fifteen years later, she continued to do so. Those two fools relied too much on her.
Draco folded his arms and took a step closer.
“I want you to promise me something, Granger.”
She clenched her jaw, swallowing hard.
“Promise me you won’t risk your life like that again.” Draco crouched down until his breath feathered through her curls, and he saw goosebumps on her skin. “Ever.”
One of the diagnostic charms above her head turned red. Her pulse was racing.
“I thought I was going to lose you today, Granger.” His tone was gentler, softer, and one of his hands cradled her face before he could stop himself. Her breath hitched, and she stiffened. “I wasn’t so scared since the Dark Lord threatened my mother’s life.”
Granger looked him in the eye.
“Why do you care so much about me?”
He had to bite down hard on his tongue to avoid replying to that question.
Why, indeed. If only she knew…
Draco gave her a half-hearted smile and pulled his hand away. His fingers ached to touch her again, to pull her closer, to never let her go.
“If you end up hurt because of those two morons again, I’m afraid I’ll have to kill them.”
Granger stared at him with a blank face and burst out laughing. He cocked his head at her.
“Do you think I’m joking, Granger?”
Her laughter faded abruptly, and she looked away, a slight blush creeping up her neck.
“I can take care of myself.”
Draco huffed, his gaze falling to the almost invisible scar he knew she had on the left side of her chest. Her ribs had almost crushed her heart a few months ago, and that had been Potter’s fault.
Clearly not.
He approached the bed and showed her another vial filled with purple liquid, lifting it to her lips.
“Drink this. You need to rest.”
Granger frowned at him but obeyed, drinking it up until the last drop. Draco vanished the empty vial and turned to the door.
“Sleep now. I’ll come back in a couple of hours.”
Cold fingers circled his wrist, holding onto him. Draco turned his head, his heart clenching at the vulnerability he could see on her face.
“Can you stay with me for a little while?”
Draco sighed. She could ask anything from him, and he would do it.
He took her fingers in his, holding her trembling hand, and sat in the same place he was when she woke up.
Her grateful smile made his heart flutter happily. She was always pretending to be strong, and Draco liked that she felt safe in his presence, letting him see her most vulnerable side.
“Close your eyes.” He squeezed her hand, a smile tugging at his lips when she did so, and her breathing slowed.
Draco couldn’t help it. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, his mouth lingering against her skin for a few seconds.
“I’ll be here when you wake up, Granger,” he promised, pulling back before he could do something he regretted, like kissing her soft lips. “I’ll always be here.”
━━━━━━ ◦ ❖ ◦ ━━━━━━
A week later
Draco wiped the cold sweat from his face with the back of his hand, sighing heavily.
It had been a dreadful morning in St. Mungo’s.
A new werewolf was out of control in and around London. He had bitten three men and two women the night before, all Muggles. Even if there wasn’t a drop of magical blood in their veins, the venom would turn them into beasts the next full moon.
Draco and Blaise had spent the day explaining to them everything they needed to know about the illness and making sure they would receive a dose of wolfsbane every month from that moment.
He plopped down on his chair and closed the door to his office with a flick of his wrist.
Treating Muggles was the bad side of his job. They were always scared, and it was hard to gain their trust.
The faded mark hidden under his sleeve made him feel like a liar. Those Muggles would never let him touch them if they knew who he was and what he and his family had done.
Draco groaned, pressing his palms to his eyes. Self-hatred and shame never helped.
And the worst part was that he was worried sick about Granger. Luna had told Blaise that she and the other two incompetent twats were the ones in charge of finding the werewolf.
He would lose his shit if Granger were bitten. He’d murder Potter and Weasley with his bare hands and go to Azkaban with a proudly raised chin if that ever happened.
Tea. A hot drink would help him calm his nerves.
He waved his wand, and the teapot levitated to his desk, filling itself with hot water. Draco picked up his favourite herbal tea and poured it into the liquid.
He needed to breathe and relax. Just one more hour and he could go home, though Draco wasn’t sure he wanted to.
What if she needed help?
He took a long sip, glaring at the door when someone knocked.
Of fucking course. He couldn’t have a minute of peace.
“Come in.”
Blaise peeked his head into his office.
“Are you busy?”
“Not really.” Draco glanced longingly at his tea and placed the mug on the table, looking up at his friend. “What’s wrong?”
“Granger is here.”
His left eye twitched, and the muscles in his back tensed.
“What happened now?”
Blaise gave him a knowing smile that he wanted to wipe from his face instantly.
“She’s okay, just a minor injury. I can-”
“No,” Draco cut him off, getting to his feet and shrugging on his lime green Healer robes. “Granger is my patient.”
Only he could touch her. Blaise knew better than that.
“Stay.” His friend lifted a hand, and Draco paused, his wand in his left hand. He shoved the right one in his pocket, checking he had all the potions he needed with him. “I’ll tell her to come here.”
Draco's brow furrowed.
“But-”
“Your wand will be enough to heal her,” Blaise insisted with a tired sigh. “Sit and drink your stupid tea.”
Draco rolled his eyes when Blaise closed the door, leaning on the edge of his table. He picked up the mug and took another sip.
A minor injury. She was fine.
Two minutes later, a soft knock interrupted his spiral of thoughts.
“Come in, Granger.”
His breath caught in his throat at the sight of her beautiful face, although his eyes widened once he saw the cut on her temple. Draco was at her side in a second, wand ready.
“What happened this time?”
“It was an accident,” Granger explained, looking around his office curiously. “Ron was running behind me while we tried to catch the werewolf. He stepped on me, and I landed on my head.”
Draco shook his head, closing the door behind her.
“For fuck’s sake, Granger.” He pushed a blood-stained curl away from her forehead and stared at the wound, his brow furrowed. “Why do you keep hurting yourself?”
“It’s nothing, really,” she said, shrugging one of her shoulders.
A muscle in his jaw twitched. She always played it down.
“Your boyfriend is too clumsy to be an Auror,” he replied through gritted teeth as he cast a diagnostic charm around her head.
No concussion, no internal damage.
Granger looked up at him, her eyebrows drawn together.
“Boyfriend? Ron and I are not dating.”
A fluttery feeling filled his stomach at her words. Draco suddenly felt dizzy, and he shuffled back a step, adrenaline tingling through his body.
He cleared his throat, taking control of his racing mind before it was too late and he panicked.
“Sit down.” He shook his head and pointed to his chair with his chin when Granger moved towards the patient's chair. “Mine is more comfortable.”
Granger hesitated but sat on it, staring up at him as he cast a more specific diagnosis charm on the wound.
“There’s a shard of glass inside your forehead.” His eyes narrowed, and he crouched down, holding her chin and tilting her head back. “This may hurt a little.”
She nodded, her eyes fixed on his.
“Your tea smells great.”
“I just made it.” Draco placed the tip of his wand on her temple, pretending not to see how Granger was wrapping a curl around her finger and tugging at it nervously. “You can have some later if you want.”
Granger reached out, picking up his mug. He froze as she took a sip and hummed.
Draco blinked, fixing his gaze on the wound again while he felt his cheeks turning hot.
“I had already drunk from there.”
She shrugged and took another sip.
“I don’t care.”
His fingers trembled, and Granger hissed, her eyes falling shut.
“Sorry.” Draco winced, locating the shard of glass and vanishing it with a quick flick of his wand. “Almost done.”
She drank again as he sealed the wound. Draco put his wand back in his pocket and leaned against his desk, his gaze never leaving hers.
“Promise me you’ll stay away from trouble for the rest of the week, Granger.”
She chuckled, a smile curving her lips.
“I can’t promise that.”
He wrinkled his nose in disapproval. He straightened his back, and Granger placed a hand on his when he tried to step back.
His body stiffened.
“Malfoy.”
His gaze fell to their joined hands on the table and then returned to her face. She was no longer smiling.
“I think we should talk.”
Draco’s shoulders slumped. He leaned back and let out a bitter laugh.
“Right.”
“Right?” repeated Granger, looking doubtful.
He knew what she wanted to say. He’d been expecting it since that day.
“You don’t want me to be your Healer anymore.” Draco rubbed the back of his head, looking away as shame coated his tongue. He shouldn’t have said those things. He shouldn’t have kissed her forehead. “I understand, Granger. Truly. I know-”
“Draco.” His given name rolling off her tongue was a shock. He froze, lifting his eyes until he met her gaze. “Shut up.”
Granger shook her head, her hand grabbing his.
“There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time.” A faint blush spread across her face as she spoke. “And I don’t want you to interrupt me.”
Draco swallowed thickly.
“I have… feelings for you.” His world turned upside down, butterflies exploding inside of him while he remained rooted to the spot. Granger took a deep breath before continuing. “And I think you feel the same way about me.”
Fuck.
Had Granger felt it, too?
Draco gaped at her, speechless. He had never imagined that someone like her could feel something for him, an ex-death eater who was trying to clean his family name.
Someone who had loved her for longer than he cared to admit.
Granger’s blush deepened, and she pulled her hand away, chewing on her lower lip.
“Am I wrong?”
How could she doubt it?
Draco was sure all of St. Mungo’s knew how he felt about her. Shit, even Potter had to know about it.
Not Weasley. He was too dumb to notice anything.
“I’m not good with words.” He took a hesitant step towards her and kneeled, their faces only a hair's breadth away. “But I can show you.”
Draco tapped his temple with two fingers, and Granger tensed.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded gravely. She deserved to know the truth, if she wanted it.
“I trust you, Granger.”
Her eyes looked glassy. Her throat bobbed as she swallowed, and Granger pulled out her wand, placing the tip on his head.
“Legilimens.”
Her presence slipped into his mind smoothly. She scanned his thoughts, pausing when she found the ones about her.
Her brown irises were the last thing he saw every night, and the freckles on her nose were the first thing on his mind whenever he opened his eyes.
His memories shifted. He was now whispering sweet nothings to her while she was injured and unconscious, staying in her room until he was sure she was okay, and visiting her every night until she was discharged.
His lips against her forehead. His constant worry about her. His jealous thoughts whenever he saw Weasley.
Draco almost fell backwards when Granger’s lips crashed into his, her wand clattering to the floor. He groaned, and all his blood turned to fire when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in and kissing him roughly.
“Grang-”
“Don’t talk.” She buried her hands in his hair, pressing her chest to his and biting down on his lower lip. “Just kiss me.”
That was his undoing.
Draco lifted her in his arms, turning around and pushing all the things on his table away. The blue ink spread across the white and black tiles, destroying his patients' files, but he couldn't care less about it.
He placed Granger on his desk, and his arms snaked around her body as he took possession of her mouth.
The kiss turned deeper, hungrier. Draco nibbled hard on her lips, tracing the lower one with the tip of his tongue before dipping it inside. She tasted like all the forbidden things he could never have.
Her back hit the wood when he leaned over her, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to her throat and shuddering at the soft moan that came out of her parted lips, her thighs snaking around his waist and pulling him closer.
Draco let out a shaky breath and shook his head, pulling back a few inches until he could see her eyes. Granger cupped his face, his lips still brushing hers when she spoke.
“I’ve wanted you for so long.” She smiled and ran her thumb over his cheek. “I thought you knew.”
He wanted to scream. Was he the biggest idiot in the world?
Months, years dreaming about her. Thinking about how her lips would taste, how her soft skin would feel under his fingertips.
Draco stared down at her and squeezed her thighs.
A wave of pleasure rolled down his spine when he felt his signet ring pressed against her skin. He wanted to do that all over her body, to come inside of her, to mark her in every possible way.
His.
He had been hers for two years, and now she would be his as well.
“Someone may come here.”
Granger rolled her eyes and flicked her wand at the door. It glowed purple.
“Fixed.”
Her lips were on his again, sucking softly. Draco groaned and placed his hands on her hips.
“Fuck, Granger…”
“Hermione,” she corrected as she unbuttoned her robes, letting them fall to the floor.
“Hermione.” Draco shut his eyes when her fingers tugged at his belt, his hands travelling down her body and pausing at the hem of her skirt. “I can’t think with you this close.”
“Stop thinking, then.”
He broke the kiss and looked down at her, groaning when he saw that her blouse was open.
“You’re so fucking beautiful.” Draco took it off, frowning when he saw the faint scar on her left side. “Are you still putting Dittany on this every night?”
Granger giggled, pushing down his trousers until they fell to his knees.
“Turn off the Healer in you, please.”
He gazed into her eyes, dark with lust. His own probably looked worse.
“I made you a promise, Granger,” Draco murmured, kissing her jawline as he unclasped her bra. “And I want that scar gone by the end of the month.”
“Hermione,” she corrected with a smirk.
He hummed, pressing his naked body to hers and groaning when his cock twitched against her thigh.
“My sweet Hermione,” he purred, his fingers tracing the curve of her waist as he lifted her skirt.
She was warm and wet for him, better than any of his dreams. Draco let his forehead fall on hers as he pushed her knickers aside and pressed his thumb to her centre.
Granger's breath hitched.
“I need you,” she breathed, her nails digging into his back. “Please.”
Draco needed her as well, more than anything. He pushed into her, and his mind went blank once he felt her walls clenching around him.
His mouth found hers, and they shared a deep kiss, their hips rolling together and their breaths mingling as he thrust harder and harder, holding her in place while he fucked her on the table.
The delicious whimpers coming out of her almost made Draco lose his damn mind. He waited until her moans were louder and lifted her trembling thighs to his shoulders before he sank deep into her.
Three strokes of his fingers later, she was coming undone around him, her cries of pleasure filling his office and making Draco see stars. He pushed into her one last time and let himself go, marking her as he’d always dreamed of doing.
They were both panting when Draco opened his eyes. Granger was staring up at him, her face flushed and her lips swollen.
She had never looked more beautiful. And he had never felt better.
“Draco.” She blinked up at him when he slipped out of her, his forearms still around her face. ”What now?”
He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.
“I want to take you out on a date tonight, if you're agreeable.”
Her beaming smile was answer enough. Draco pressed a kiss to her forehead, her cheek, and the corner of her mouth.
“A date, you say?” Hermione lifted her brow. “Everyone will see us together.”
Draco shrugged.
“I don’t care,” he whispered against her skin, kissing her on the lips and feeling her smile against his. “My heart is yours, Hermione. Do with it as you please.”