New Beginnings

Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to JKR.

A/N: Many thanks to my awesome beta, Southern_Witch_69.

This is my response to LOTM's YLC challenge. For rules see the end of chapter one.

Chapter Ten

New Beginnings

Hermione was busy catching up on her much neglected work Monday morning when she heard the knock on her door. Not wanting to take the time out of her paperwork to actually hold a conversation with Mr. Wimple, she irritably called out, "Enter!"

"Is this a bad time?" Severus smirked at her surprised expression. "I don't wish to disturb you; I am here for my ingredient approval."

Of course that's why you're here! What other reason? Certainly not to see me! She still had not decided what to do about the fact that she found herself in love with the arrogant man in front of her. She worried about it for the rest of the weekend, tossing and turning both nights. Inevitably, whenever she thought of being in love with Severus, she was reminded of her YLC letter. I am going to have to contact them. I have to let my match know something, one way or another.

"No, it's fine. I have everything ready for you. This approval is good for the next six months. Should you need anything else after that for the changes you are making to the Wolfsbane Potion, it won't take hardly any time at all to approve you. Are you ready to start the altercations?"

"Thank you, Hermione. Yes, I am finally ready to start, though it has been a trial trying to revise here and modify there. I swear I have a whole journal of notes written. I wish I had kept more abreast with my Arithmancy skills."

"Oh, I agree. I have found that when trying to alter just about anything, Arithmancy really comes in handy!" Hermione's face lit up, as it always did when speaking of academics.

Severus studied her a moment, as if he was trying to decide something. I wonder if she would care to come to my lab sometime and... Shaking his head, he simply started, "I had intended to invite you to dinner this weekend but--"

Suddenly, all of the excitement and happiness deflated from Hermione. He doesn't want me after all. How could I have been so stupid as to believe that he did? "It's no problem, Severus. Really. I understand. Thank you for escorting me to the past three balls. I have no doubt I will not be demanded to bring a date again!" Hermione looked down at the papers on her desk to avoid his penetrating black stare.

"If you would be so kind as to allow me to finish? I was saying that I had intended to invite you to dinner this weekend, but I don't think I want to wait that long to see you again. Would Wednesday night suit you?" He folded his arms over his chest and raised an eyebrow at her in question.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Hermione still could not bring herself to look him in the eyes. She simply nodded her acceptance and told him, "I'd love to go to dinner with you Wednesday."

"Good. Would seven be an acceptable time to pick you up?"

Finally looking up from her papers, she smiled at him and said, "Perfect."

Before Severus could speak again, they heard two swift knocks on the door. Before Hermione could call out, the door suddenly opened, and her boss stuck his head in. "Hermione! You will be pleased to know that the Aurors have picked up Mrs. Nott."

"They did? Did she actually admit to sending me the threats?" Hermione found it difficult to believe the woman would admit to such a thing.

"Well, no, not at first, but after a couple hours of interrogation and three drops of Veritaserum, well, she had to tell the truth, didn't she? She started talking and didn't stop until the whole story came out about how you refused her an ingredient, and she would not tolerate being told no by a lowly Mudblood! " Mr. Wimple suddenly started when he realized just who was in the room with Hermione.

"Severus," he greeted. "I must say this is quite a surprise. To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?" Looking at the form in his hand, he said, "Oh, yes, your ingredient. Hermione told me just last week you were going to be approved for it! I remember signing the approval now. Jolly good!"

"Yes, I did need these forms, Wimple, but my main reason for stopping by was to see Hermione and confirm dinner plans with her for this week. Now that I have done so, I will take my leave." Turning to Hermione, he picked up her hand and lightly brushed his lips over it. "Until Wednesday, my dear." Before she could reply, he turned and walked out the door, leaving a flustered Hermione in his wake.

Shaking his head in a disapproving manner, Mr. Wimple said, "My, that man sure has a certain..." He trailed off, unsure as to what adjective one would use to aptly describe Severus Snape.

"Flair," Hermione finished for him. "The word you are looking for is flair."

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Tuesday afternoon found the Wicked Wazzock Warriors team on the coast of Northern Ireland to play against the Ballycastle Bats. Ginny snorted to herself. Bats made her think of Professor Snape, which led her to thoughts of Hermione and how Ginny knew she was falling for him, if she hadn't already. Surprisingly enough, he seemed to care for Hermione as well.

A loud scream brought Ginny out of her musings. Looking up, she gasped and put her hand to her mouth. Hanging fifty feet in the air, barely holding on to her broom, was Katie Bell. Apparently, she'd been hit by a Bludger and knocked from her broom. Just as her hands started to slip, Marcus caught her and put her safely back on her broom. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

As the game resumed, her gaze predictably turned to Draco. He looked so handsome and confident while flying. She'd heard a lot of the other witches talking about him while she was in the loo. He will definitely have his pick tonight, Ginny thought sourly. Stop kidding yourself. He has his pick every night! Sighing, Ginny told herself she would not worry about it.

She cringed as she remembered how she threw herself at him in the locker room. All she knew at that moment was that she had never had a need or want so powerful. Had he asked, she would have shagged him right there on the floor. He made it clear he does not want anything to do with me, so why can't I get him out of my mind?

Suddenly a cheering crowd caused Ginny to look back towards the pitch. Deep thoughts had caused her mind to wander away from the game. She looked up to see a very proud Draco Malfoy holding the little Golden Snitch. She smiled brightly.

After the team had cleaned up, Fred and George informed everyone that they had gotten each person a room at the local pub, and they wanted everyone to celebrate the victory.

It was a tiresome day for Ginny, so she opted to just go to her room and forego the festivities. Tired my arse! You just don't want to see all those groupies fawning all over Draco!

She had only been in her room about twenty minutes and had settled down with a medical journal when she heard a knock on her door. Assuming it was one of her annoying brothers, she flung the door open and yelled, "WHAT?" before seeing whom it truly was.

Grinning and still high from the win, Draco stood there holding up a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in the other. "If Miss Weasley won't come to the party, then the party will come to her."

Smiling, but just a bit wary, she opened the door to allow him entrance. "I am surprised you were able to tear yourself away from your groupies, but I thank you just the same."

"Groupies? Well, It was only a matter of time really," he teased. "What with all my charm and good looks, you can't really blame them."

Laughing, she said, "You're right. How did you slip away unnoticed?"

"Claimed I had to use the loo. Works every time."

"I see," she smiled. "Well, have a seat and pour me a glass. Was your mum here today? I didn't see her. I figured she would want to see your first professional game."

Draco unknowingly frowned. He had spoken with his mother via Floo earlier. He'd wanted to go home, but she had adamantly refused, claiming she did not need a babysitter. "She was unable to attend. She is... sick."

"Oh, Draco, I'm so sorry. I hope it's nothing serious."

Eyeing her intently, Draco came to a decision. He decided to tell her everything. He wasn't sure why he suddenly felt the need to talk with Ginny about his personal life, only that he desperately wanted her to know everything.

After he was finished, Ginny felt waves of guilt remembering the things she had said to him during that first day. She had been so horrid to him. "Blimey! And you have taken care of her all these years?"

"Well, she's not a burden...not really. The Wolfsbane keeps her docile during her transformation. It's just that I have always been there during, you know? I worry."

"I am sure you do. Tom Riddle sure messed up a lot of lives, didn't he?" she observed sadly.

"Tom Riddle?"

Ginny looked at him with surprise. "Tom Riddle was Voldemort. He almost killed me during my first year at school, as I am sure you know, and he would have succeeded had it not been for Harry."

Fighting the jealously he felt at the mention of Potter, he asked, "Why would I know that he tried to kill you?"

"Oh, please!" She shook her head disbelievingly. "You know your father gave me that diary. You were standing right there when he did." He really has that innocent look down pat!

"I honestly don't have a clue as to what you are talking about. Would you tell me?" Draco was fighting a ball of dread that had formed in the pit of his stomach. Part of him didn't even want to know.

Looking into his eyes as if trying to see if he was telling the truth, Ginny started, "Well, do you remember the year that Lockhart came to teach?"

He nodded that he did and then rolled his eyes. Like I could forget that nancy boy!

"Well, do you remember that day in Diagon Alley? The day our fathers fought?" Again he nodded that he remembered. "Well, when Mr. Malfoy picked up my book to throw it in our face that it was second hand before fighting with my dad, he slipped a small diary inside of my Transfiguration book. That diary belonged to Tom." After she finished telling Draco the whole story, he looked devastated.

"I don't know what to say, Ginny. I mean, you were eleven! How could he do such a thing?"

"Because, to him, I was just a Weasley, but please don't think that I hold you responsible for what your father has done. I don't."

Draco nodded. He wondered if his mother knew. It doesn't matter if she did or not because that git would not have cared if she disapproved.

Suddenly, Draco jumped up. "Oh, no! I forgot! I was supposed to meet Amber thirty minutes ago!" He was stunned to realize that he had been talking with Ginny for a little over two hours. "I have to go."

Highly disappointed but trying not to show it, Ginny simply said, "All right. I really enjoyed talking with you tonight. Perhaps we can do it again sometime."

Torn between going and staying, he told her, "I would really like that. I hate to, but I really need to go."

"I understand." She smiled weakly. "I will talk to you later. Bye."

After he'd left, Ginny felt very depressed. She really had been enjoying herself and hated to see him go. Resigned, she made her way to the bathroom to soak in a bubble bath. She had barely gotten out of the tub and dressed when she heard a knock on her door.

She was astonished to find Draco standing there. "Draco?"

His mouth watered at the sight of her. She'd obviously just gotten out of the tub. Her sweet smelling skin was flushed, and her hair was still damp. She was standing there wearing his Ferret Boy jersey and white socks. He vaguely remembered throwing it in her face the night that she gave it to him. She had nothing else on. "Tell me it matters, Ginevra."

"What?" She was genuinely confused.

"Tell me that it matters to you that I went off to meet with another witch." Please tell me it matters!

Regarding him for only a moment, she whispered, "It matters. More than I want it to."

That admission was all it took. Draco suddenly pulled her into his arms and kissed her with all the pent up passion he'd had for her. He admitted, "I couldn't stay. She's not you. When she started to kiss me, I looked into her eyes. They were blue, not brown. Her hair was black, not red. She didn't have any freckles! Everything thing was all wrong, you see. She wasn't the witch I wanted to be with."

Ginny pulled him back into her arms and quickly began kissing him just as passionately as he'd kissed her, backing into her room, pulling him with her.

Draco kicked the door closed with his foot and pulled back a bit to look at her. It was overwhelming how much he wanted...needed...her. Above all others. She was the one who haunted his dreams.

She was all shades of fire and heat against his ice, and he knew he was about to get burned. He relished the thought. He barely had enough thought to perform a Contraceptive Charm.

He had wanted to go slow and easy, but he knew he was too far gone with need. Fisting his hand into her blazing hair, he roughly jerked her head back and began to feast on her mouth once again. She whimpered with need of her own, and he almost lost it.

She pulled his shirt from his trousers and placed her hands under the fabric to have contact with his skin. She began to rub his chest and stomach, just barely grazing the tip of his erection through his trousers, which caused him to shiver.

He stopped long enough to pull the jersey over her head, and she stood before him in only her tiny red knickers and white socks. He couldn't move. "Please, Draco. I need you. Don't pull back now!"

He pounced on her, dragging her to the floor. He wanted to taste every part of her. He wanted to kiss every freckle. He wanted to make her scream his name. He wanted her to belong to him. Wait! Not belong to me! 'Yes,' another voice conceded, 'belong to me.' He wanted to own her.

He kissed his way down her stomach, nipping and biting. He marked her possessively just above the navel. I want her quivering with need for me and only me!

Ginny cried out in ecstasy and kicked away her knickers. More! was all she could think. "Don't stop; please, don't stop!"

Draco had no intentions of stopping. He lightly nipped the inside of her thigh before plunging his tongue into her moist heat the instant her legs parted a little more. He was too far gone to show any finesse. Delicious! The more she groaned, the faster he went. He was torn between allowing her to orgasm or plunging into her burning heat. Suddenly, the decision was taken out of his hands as she grabbed his hair, bucked her hips, and hissed, "Ahh, Draco, yesss!"

Quickly moving up her body, smug in the fact that her mind was full of only him, he jerked his shirt off as she began fumbling with his trousers. She had barely gotten them down his hips when he immersed himself into her...completely oblivious to the clothing he hadn't managed to get completely off.

He took her fast and hard, only just able to please her once more before he spilled inside of her. As she cried out his name a second time in orgasmic bliss, he called out her name simultaneously. Barely able to hold his weight, he collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily.

She was rubbing mindless patterns on his back, basking in the after-effects when he found his voice. "Incredible. You are simply incredible."

"Mmmm. Would you like to move this to the bed? And perhaps completely remove your trousers?"

Suddenly, he looked at her with a mortified expression. He couldn't believe he had taken her like an animal right there on the floor! "Oh, Gin, I am so sor--"

"If you apologize for this, I will not be responsible for my actions! This was amazing, Draco!"

"Yes," he agreed. "But you deserve better than to be taken on the floor!"

Ginny giggled. "I don't think it gets much better than that."

"Oh," he promised, "it does."

Looking into his eyes, she challenged, "Prove it!"

After getting up and completely removing his remaining clothing, he lifted her into his arms and said, "With pleasure," as he carried her to the bed and began showing her just how much better it could be.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Mr. Livingston, President of the Yenta Livery Company, sat in the chair behind his desk and regarded the woman before him carefully. "I am not quite sure what to make of your request, Madam. It is exceedingly unusual and has never been done here before. We are a respected company!"

"Oh," she waved her hand in front of her nonchalantly, "I highly doubt that it's never been done before, sir. I am willing to make it worth your while. All you have to do is make sure that my form matches his...one hundred percent...and make his real match disappear."

Eyeing her intently, he asked, "How much worth my while are we talking?"

"One hundred thousand Galleons. You can have half now, but you won't get the rest until he gets his form stating that I am his match."

He wiped the sweat from his forehead. That was a lot of Galleons. "Fine, I'll do it. I will have the documents matched and--"

"No, you fool! Do it yourself! The less people who know the better." Calming down a bit, she said, "I will add another ten thousand if you tell me who his true match was."

"Why? Neither he nor his match will ever know." He didn't like the thought of this woman having that information. She seemed dangerous.

"Because I want to know!" She lifted a bag off of the floor beside her chair. "This bag contains sixty thousand Galleons. Should I remove ten of those?"

Sighing, he said, "No. That won't be necessary." He picked up Draco Malfoy's file off his desk and told her, "His true match was Ginevra Molly Weasley at ninety- seven percent." Looking farther down, he smirked. "When you contacted me, I ran your form against his. You were only twenty-nine percent. Are you sure you want this bloke?"

She suddenly stood and looked down her nose at the man. "Obviously, there is a flaw with your system. A Weasley? Please!" With her dignity holding on by a thread, she turned to leave. "You will get the rest when he gets the form. Good day."

Crikey! That witch is off her broom! I pity Mr. Malfoy, but the Galleons will come in handy.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Hermione and Severus sat in the restaurant, barely touching their dinner. They were both somewhat nervous and didn't know what to say. Suddenly, Severus said, "This is ridiculous! The purpose of this dinner was to get to know one another and see if we want to go any further. We can't do that unless we talk."

Laughing nervously, Hermione said, "You're absolutely right. It's just that this is different. Before it wasn't an issue. Now, well, it just is."

"Yes, it is. Why don't we start by stating our expectations?"

"Well, the main thing with me is this: If we are truly going to give," she waved her hand between herself and Severus, "this a chance, I think we should be exclusive."

"Okay, agreed. But know that this is new to me. I am not going to answer to you for every little thing, nor will I continuously inform you of my whereabouts." He cringed inwardly at he thought of Arthur Weasley and even Remus Lupin...both always cowing to their witches. He would never be that type of man.

Hermione bit her lip in thought. "What would it hurt to let me know where you will be? I think of it as a courtesy. Besides, if you are seen with another witch, I may jump to the wrong conclusion if I am not informed beforehand."

Severus raised an eyebrow at this. He was highly annoyed by this statement. "I suppose, Hermione, it all comes down to trust. You are going to have to trust me." Seeing the skeptical look on her face, he was angered even more. "You cannot punish me for the things I have done before you, nor can you punish me for the things Weasley did. You will either trust me or not, but I won't bend on this."

Sensing that he was getting angered, she agreed. "Okay, Severus. You're right. Trust is the most important thing. Without it, we may as well stop things now. So, we won't inform each other of every little thing. I will trust you until I have reason to do otherwise...just as I expect you to trust me."

He nodded. They were adults starting a relationship, not each other's keepers. "I find that I do enjoy your company, quite more than I expected to actually. I would like to see you again this weekend if it's agreeable."

"You don't have to sound so surprised, you know!" She grinned broadly. "I enjoy yours as well, and yes, this weekend would be lovely."

They continued their dinner, talking about their interests and the Wolfsbane project until the last bite was eaten. She shyly asked, "Would you like to come back to my flat for a drink before you head back to Hogwarts?"

Smirking, he told her, "Yes, I would."

After they had Apparated to her flat, Hermione took his cloak and poured them both a glass of brandy. Severus started a fire while she was pouring their drinks.

Sitting on the couch next to him, Hermione leaned her head back on the couch and closed her eyes. She all but purred, "Mmmm, this is nice." Stretching, she asked, "Tell me what you think of Greg and Luna?"

Watching her stretch unabashedly, he said, "I was very much against the union at first, but after speaking with Greg, I find that I cannot have anything bad to say about it. He seems very smitten with her. What about you?"

"I think it's wonderful," she sighed dreamily. "I was really worried about her after Neville died, but then, BAM! Greg is certainly not what I expected."

Folding his arms over his chest, he spat, "For a Slytherin, you mean?"

"NO! For a Draco Malfoy crony who made my life hell in school. You have to admit that he was nothing but a big bully! However, he has certainly changed, and I can tell that he really cares for Luna."

Somewhat mollified, he said, "Yes, a lot of people have changed since school. I am finding that I like those changes."

"Oh? Can you be more specific?" she teased.

"I can be very specific," he told her as he leaned in to take her lips in a slow sensual kiss.

Before she knew what was happening, Severus laid her back on the couch and was grinding his hips into hers. This was still going too fast for her. "Severus," she said regrettably. "We need to stop while we still can."

"Why? We both want this!" He felt like he would explode if he didn't bury himself within her soon.

"Yes, but I have to be sure. This is only our second date after all."

"By my calculations, it's our fifth."

Smiling, she said, "No, the balls that we attended don't count. You were... coerced into those. This is only the second date that you actually wanted to be with me." Suddenly, an idea came to Hermione. "Is this your weekend off?"

"Yes, I am off from Friday at five p.m. until Sunday at eight p.m. Then I have to make my rounds. Why do you ask?" He was very curious what the little witch had in mind.

"Why don't you plan to spend the weekend here with me? I have a spare room. Since we are both in the wedding, we could just go together. You could even go to the Burrow with me for Sunday lunch!" Hermione was really starting to like the idea of having Severus in her life.

"Well, I don't know about the Burrow on Sunday, but I would enjoy spending the weekend and attending the wedding with you. I shall return here on Friday evening. Seven okay?" And I don't plan on staying in the spare bedroom.

"Yes, that's perfect. It will give me time to get off of work, come home, and cook for you. Does that sound good?"

"I don't know. Can you cook?" he needled.

"You will just have to come and find out."

He leaned in very close to her ear and whispered, "I am looking forward to it, my dear." I do hope to be coming this weekend, indeed. He smirked when she shuddered.

Gently cupping her face, he kissed her once more. After making sure her brain was foggy, he pulled back. "Until Friday."

"Right. Friday."

He smiled to himself, satisfied that he had so thoroughly addled her brain with only a kiss. Just you wait. I can do so much better!

After he left, Hermione went to soak in the tub and began to ease the ache between her legs that he had caused. She knew she had wanted him and had been fantasizing about him, so when they kissed, it brought other images to her mind, which made her want more than kissing. She knew that pleasuring herself was not the same, but it would have to do. For now anyway!

Later, as she laid in her bed and thought of the evening's conversation, all she could think was, Friday cannot come soon enough. I know I will give in this weekend...and I would wager he knows it to. For some reason, that thought did not bother her in the least.

*** *** *** *** *** ***

Greg and Luna sat exhaustedly on the couch. They had just finished moving his things into her house. "I am glad that's done!" Greg said. "Now, how about I take my best girl to dinner?"

"Would you mind terribly if we just ordered in? I am too tired to even move from this couch." Luna yawned while Greg laughed.

"No, love, I don't mind. What would you like? Pizza?"

"Yes, pizza sounds really good right now.'

After Greg took care of the ordering, he went back to snuggle with his ladylove.

"Greg?" Luna asked.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we are rushing into this marriage?" Luna looked up at him worriedly.

"Not at all. Do you think we are?" Greg was getting a sinking feeling in his chest.

"No, actually I don't, but I know other people will likely say that we are. I am just ready to begin my life with you. Are you upset I want to wait until after we are married to make love?"

Greg let out a relieved sigh. "No, I'm not. Don't get me wrong. I want you more than I have ever wanted anyone, but it's only a couple of days. I can wait for you, love."

"There's really no need for you to sleep in the guest bedroom. I want to wake up with your arms around me!"

Greg chuckled. "Um, if you really want to wait until after the wedding, then there is a definite need for me to sleep in the guest bedroom. I only have so much willpower, you know."

Blushing, she stammered, "Right. Sorry, but it's important to me. Thank you for being so understanding."

"I love you, Luna. There is nothing I would not do for you or give to you if it's in my power to do so."

Kissing him softly, she whispered against his lips, "I love you, too. So much."

Just as he started to deepen the kiss, there was a knock on the door. "Looks like our pizza is here." When Luna started to get up, Greg stopped her. "No, I'll get it. You just sit here and relax."

After they ate, they both got ready for bed. It had been a long day, and they were both in need of some sleep. Kissing her, Greg told her goodnight. He went to bed thinking that he only had a couple more days to wait, and then she would be his in every way. He went to dreamland a very happy wizard.

Christy's Notes: Up next: Luna and Greg get married, and Severus stays the weekend with Hermione! Draco gets his mysterious YLC letter.

Southern's Notes: I wonder what Draco and Ginny will do now? I hate that Snape refuses to let Hermione know about his whereabouts. I'm just a suspicious person though. Hehe! Greg and Luna are definitely moving too fast, but I doubt they'll have problems. Love at first sight anyone?