Chapter Text
Wednesday 3rd March 1999
Draco had no idea how long they’d been locked up in their little paradise. He’d lost count of how many times he’d made Hermione come. He had no concept of how many times he’d knotted his perfect omega. He just knew that their time of bliss was coming to an end.
Hermione was gradually becoming more lucid, the gaps between waves getting longer. The plus side of this was that she was starting to scream his name when he made her climax, rather than just Alpha. The downside however was that she’d made him tell her everything he could remember about his breakout, and was now trying to plan for the inevitable consequences.
“Draco, the Aurors will be waiting for you when your rutting wards finally let down. You’re stupid to think they won’t know exactly where you are. Harry works for the DMLE, for Merlin’s sake!” Hermione huffed, pushing his hand away as he tried to feed her some cheese and crackers.
“You’re right and I’ll go with them quietly when they come for me, like a good little boy. I didn’t hurt anyone trying to get to you, just made a few threats, no big deal. You were the one that nearly mauled Potter when he pushed me. Maybe you should be the one locked up,” he said with a smirk.
Hermione rolled her eyes and giggled at him, leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek. “I think we might be done now, Draco. I don’t feel warm anymore, and I’m not having to fight the omega off. I was also very present for the last couple of orgasms…”
Draco tackled her back to the bed, licking and kissing her neck, making her squeal. “Oh, I’m not sure, maybe one more wouldn’t hurt, just to be sure…”
A loud knock on the bedroom door halted them in their tracks. They pulled back to look at each other, panic across their faces.
“Well, looks like you were right, as per usual. Our time is up,” he grasped her face in his hands. “This heat with you has been absolutely perfect and I wouldn't change it for the world. I’m just glad I was able to be here and that you didn’t suffer too much.”
He pressed a final kiss to her lips, before grabbing his Azkaban uniform from the nest. He borrowed Hermione’s wand again, to cast a quick scourgify on the dirty items before redressing.
“Please put some clothes on, darling. I don’t want these Aurors getting an eyeful of my witch when I open this door,” he pleaded. Hermione grumbled and started to dress in an oversized t-shirt he’d spent the night lying on. He held out a hand to her. “Come on, sweetheart. We’re a united front. Show them you wanted me here, and I didn’t come uninvited, right?”
They both stood, squaring their shoulders as they stared at the door, another knock rumbling through it. Hermione reached for the door handle, took a deep breath, and opened it to the hallway. Potter stood on the other side, wringing his hands and trying not to look either of them in the eye.
“Look, this is awkward for me too, but the Aurors have been here since Monday, and they’ve set up camp in the library, and I don’t think you can avoid them forever. I just wanted to make sure you were decent before they realise your wards have lowered.”
“Oh, thanks Harry, umm, I’m sorry for- you know,” Hermione gestured to the healing scratches on his face.
“It’s fine, ‘Mione. I know you weren’t yourself. All forgiven. Now what are we doing about this war criminal in my home?”
“Psh, your home Potter? And since when are you an ancestral Black?” Draco grinned, Potter’s feathers obviously ruffled.
“Sirius left th- nope, I’m not getting into this now. You’re stalling, Malfoy. Get that skinny blonde arse downstairs willingly, or I’ll hex you there myself.”
Hermione giggled. “It’s definitely not skinny. Not with the workout he’s been getting the last few days.”
“Enough! I’ve heard quite enough the last few days, I don’t need to hear anymore.”
“Hey, I warned you, Potter. I refuse to apologise.” Draco smirked at the Boy Wonder, but moved past him to descend the stairs, Hermione following closely behind him.
The trio made their way to the library, which was a hive of activity. Aurors rushing back and forth, papers flying everywhere, owls swooping in and out of the windows. It took a moment for anyone to even notice Draco.
Draco cleared his throat. “Good morning everyone. I believe you’ve been waiting for me?”
Suddenly, every wand in the room was pointed at him. Draco raised his arms in surrender as Hermione moved to stand in front of him, arms outstretched in protection.
“Stop, don’t you dare hex him!” She screeched. “Draco is here because of me and I will take full responsibility! In the haze of my heat, I made the foolish decision to send him something that I suspected might trigger his Alpha instincts in the hope that he’d come to me. It did exactly as I suspected. Now, I know that thanks to some ridiculously outdated laws, Alphas cannot be held accountable for any actions they take when they are trying to protect their omegas. He is coming with you willingly. He’s done nothing wrong.”
An older man standing to Draco’s left stepped closer, wand still raised. “How do we know that? What on earth could you have sent him that would make him respond so strongly that he’d make a break from Azkaban?”
Hermione went bright red. “Umm, you see- that’s the thing- It’s a little awkward actually-” she stammered, while Draco looked down at her with love in his eyes.
“She sent me her knickers, ladies and gentlemen.” He reached into his pocket and found the scrap of lace still there. He held them aloft for the room to see. “Here you are, still in my pocket. I’d like to see any of you Alpha’s try to resist your mate’s sodden knickers. You’d all have done the same as me.”
The atmosphere in the room changed immediately, suddenly everyone was very interested in their shoes, and a couple of the younger wizards had begun clenching their fists and grinding their teeth.
The older man spoke up again. “Okay Mr. Malfoy, we get the picture. Put them away please, before something drastic happens. Now if you are, as Miss Granger says, ‘coming willingly’ then you won’t mind if we get you straight back to your little cell, while we run a full inquiry into what happened here.”
Draco held out his hands, wrists pressed together. “Arrest me, cuff me, blindfold me if you have to, sir. My omega is safe, so I’m all yours.”
“Okay, enough of the dramatics, kid. Say your goodbyes.”
Draco turned to Hermione, just as she ran into his arms. Her face nuzzling into his chest, he pressed a kiss onto the crown of her head. “Hey, it’s alright. Make sure they don’t lock me up for too long, okay? It’s thanks to you I got such a short stint anyway. I’m sure you can do it again. Get in contact with my lawyer, he’s a waste of space, but he’ll want to liaise with you while I’m locked away.”
He pulled back, placed his hands on her cheeks and leant down for one final kiss. Slipping his tongue into her mouth, he felt the vibrations of her groan, just as Potter pushed in between them.
“Okay, that’s enough. Time to go, Malfoy.”
“Oh, for goodness sake Harry, just let me just say goodbye! I’ll write Draco, as soon as you’re gone I’ll write a letter straight away. I’ll see you soon. You’ll be out in time for my next heat, I’ll make sure of it! I lo-”
He quickly placed a finger to her lips, stopping her before she got carried away. “Shh, tell me next time I see you.” He turned to the Auror, waiting with an outstretched arm to take him back to his cell. “Well everyone, what a pleasure it’s been. And I mean pleasu-”
Draco didn’t get to finish his sentence before he was apparated back to the dingy lobby of Azkaban. The Auror dragged him back up through the prison, refusing to accept that Draco was actually going willingly and would have walked just fine, before shoving him back into his cell and locking the door.
“Hope you enjoyed your little taste of freedom, you filthy Death Eater. It’ll be the last you get for a long time,” he sneered at Draco, walking away and leaving him in the dark once more.
Oh well, Draco thought to himself. At least they let him keep her knickers.
Wednesday 10th March 1999
Draco,
I have been talking back and forth with your solicitor and attended many meetings at the Auror office and I believe we have been able to essentially sweep your case under the rug. All thanks to The Alpha Protection Act in 1356, brought in when an Alpha escaped custody to help his mate through her heat. His testimony states that the idea of her in pain clouded every thought he had and his body acted on autopilot, his alpha instincts taking over any rational thought. After doing some research I found that it happened again in 1498 and once more in 1527.
While it isn’t an oft used law, it is what is going to get you the preferable outcome. As long as you complete the rest of your sentence with no further issues, they will chalk up your actions to your Alpha protecting his mate and no consequences will be delivered.
I hope this helps,
Hermione
Draco placed the letter down on the bed beside him and leaned back onto his pillow. On the one hand, the relief coursing through his body from the knowledge that he more than likely wouldn’t face any consequences for literally breaking out of prison was palpable. On the other hand… why did it feel like he was receiving a letter from his lawyer and not the person he had just broken out of prison for? Why did it feel like three months ago when Hermione had first reached out to him?
It had been seven days since the end of her heat, seven days since he was thrown back in this cell. Did she not miss him too? Was he the only one dreaming about how she felt beneath his hands and what it was like to sleep beside her? Would she think him insane for keeping her used knickers underneath his pillow at night to help him sleep?
Had he read too far into this entire situation? Draco felt wrong-footed. How was he supposed to respond to something like that? “Thank you, hope you enjoyed our sex as much as I did!” or “Amazing, are we still together or…?”
Maybe it was just because she’d been busy advocating for him. She was the type to over exhaust herself for people she cared about. Yes, Draco thought, that had to be it.
Hermione,
Thank you for letting me know. I’ve been told no information from the guards and the letters from my solicitor have been vague. I would have fought it tooth and nail if they tried to keep me in here longer because of what happened. Six months is already hard enough to endure as a newly presented Alpha, I can’t imagine what longer would do to me.
I hope the Aurors haven’t been too pushy, you deserve some privacy and rest after the whole ordeal.
Yours,
Draco
Tuesday 16th March 1999
Hermione,
I hope I’m not coming on too strong, or that I seem too clingy. I’m just confused. If there’s anything you have taught me, it is to be forthcoming with your feelings and accept the outcome with your head held high so that’s what I’m doing. I’m facing my anxieties head on.
Did I do something wrong? The day the Aurors took me away from you was hard, but I felt so unbelievably happy because of the time we got to spend together. I finally felt like I belonged for the first time in my life. It’s been almost two weeks since that day and the only word I’ve received from you is legal jargon about my sentence.
If you need space from me, I understand. Maybe I overstepped by thinking you needed me just as much as I did you. I just hope that you are able to tell me if that is the case.
Draco
Draco curled up into a ball on his side and stared at the wall again, his ribs feeling like they were cracking in his chest. He pulled the blanket up over his head and blocked out the sounds of Azkaban around him and let himself go numb.
Friday 19th March 1999
Draco,
I’m not going to lie and say I’m fine, because I’m not. However, you’re right. I should have written to you and faced my problems head on. It’s what I would typically do, so why am I faltering now, when it matters most?
Firstly, I’m incredibly embarrassed by my actions. I’m not the type of person who sends their used knickers to people. Could I blame it on my heat? Sure. But that didn’t mean that I didn’t want to send them. I just can’t believe that I have had to talk about what I did, what we did, in detail, to countless Aurors. I wonder if it’s possible to die from mortification.
Secondly, I truthfully don’t know where we stand after my heat ended. The urge for you to bite me, mate me, was so overpowering it felt like it was choking me. I can only imagine it was the same for you. But you didn’t bite me. You didn’t even let me tell you how I felt about you. Do you not want that kind of future with me?
I’ll admit, maybe it’s my bruised omega ego speaking. Maybe I’ve always looked too far into what we are. I just can’t stop myself from spiraling every time I think about it, about the months I’ve spent getting to know you and falling for you, while I’m unsure if you’ve felt the same this entire time.
Hermione
Hermione,
Darling… I want that future with you more than I want anything in this world. I wish we could have had more time after your heat to talk about what happened but I will explain it to you here and now.
You were already well into your heat by the time I made it to you. Yes, you were saying you wanted me there but was that you, Hermione Granger, talking? Could you truly consent to me being there to help you through your heat if it was your omega that was begging me to help you?
Given all of that, I couldn’t mate you there. Not only for the fact that we had not previously discussed it but also because that is not how I see myself mating you, tying your life to mine and mine to yours for as long as we live. It would not be on Potter’s spare bed with the threat of Azkaban looming over our heads. I’m a Malfoy, I do have standards.
As I said, I want a future with you so badly that it physically hurts me some days. You say you are warring with your own mind about this? I can promise you I have been feeling the same since we began speaking.
Is Draco Malfoy, notorious Blood Purist, failed murderer, marked Death Eater, good enough for Hermione Granger, the Golden Girl, the Brightest Witch of her Age, and one of the saviours of the Wizarding World? No, absolutely not. My reputation precedes me no matter what I do to counteract that. Is that something you want following you for the rest of your life?
I couldn’t make you my mate until you’ve truly weighed the pros and cons of being with me.
I know it’s not an easy decision but the selfish part of me hopes that you like a challenge.
Yours, no matter what you decide.
Draco
Draco handed that final letter to the guard with shaking hands. All of his cards were on the table and maybe this time he’d be dealt a winning hand.
Wednesday 24th March 1999
Draco Malfoy,
You listen to me right now. In no way, shape, or form, am I better than you and here are my reasons for stating such:
- You have shown so much growth from who you were to who you are now that it’s astounding. You are not the same boy from the war. You are a man who takes responsibility for his actions. A man who wants to do better to the world than what the world has done to him.
- You came to me when I needed you. Maybe it was a touch dramatic on both of our parts… but it was good. It was fantastic. It was everything I needed.
- As you said in your previous letter, you didn’t mate me because you did not have full consent. Since you aren’t an omega you have no idea how rare it is for an Alpha to do something like that, to go against their baser instincts.
- There are so many things I want to list! Like how I leave mugs of tea everywhere, I lose quills constantly (sometimes in my hair), I often say things without thinking about them first, I’m stubborn, I’m a know-it-all!
There are so many things in life that you are probably better at than me. That doesn’t mean one of us is lesser than the other. We are equal. Our magic says we are equal.
If you want a future with me like you say you do, then I want to be made yours, officially. I want you to bite me and I want to have those children you’re terrified of and I want to have tea with your mother and I want you to be able to throw your own snowballs at Harry on Christmas.
If you agree, then I truly can’t wait for your release day.
Maybe to pass the remaining 64 days you can explain to me how you will mate me? You know, when we aren’t in Harry’s spare bedroom and have all the time in the world.
Yours, forever.
Hermione
She was his, forever. He got to keep her. Despite everything he had done in his life, all of the wrong choices he made, he got to keep her. He could see a happy future as long as she was involved, he could see him getting out of Azkaban and making something of himself, becoming someone he was proud of.
There was a prickling sensation in the back of his eyes and nose, indicating that he was genuinely close to tears. How ridiculous. He laughed out loud at himself, his smile so wide it hurt his cheeks, the crinkling of his eyes causing a few tears to fall down his face.
Draco wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffed a few times. The future that he had thought was an impossibility had become so clear, so tangible, that he could almost reach out and grab it.
His release couldn’t come fast enough.
Hermione,
If you are willing to accept me for who I am then I guess I can accept you even when you leave tea cups everywhere. It is a sacrifice I am willing to make because I am desperately in love with you. I never thought I would be lucky enough to experience a feeling like this but I won’t waste the opportunity I’ve been given. I love you and I plan on loving you for as long as you’ll have me.
You want to know what I think about when I dream about mating with you? (Any Ministry officials reading this may want to stop here… unless you’re into some kinky shit then please, by all means, read on)
In the dream where I mate you I’ve thought of many different scenarios. You could ask me to mate you on the fucking floor and I would do it (just as long as it’s not Potter’s spare bed, let’s be clear). I just want to be with you.
However…
In the perfect scenario here’s what would happen. I would leave Azkaban and arrive at the Ministry to you waiting for me. You would run into my arms and apparate us back to your place for some privacy, as it will have been a couple months since I last saw you and there’s a good chance my pheromones would throw you into another heat.
This time though, this time you wouldn’t have to weather the storm alone.
I’d be there while you built our nest, I’d be there to cool you down with a cold cloth when the heat started to get more intense. I’d be there when the need started setting in and you begged for my mouth to take the edge off.
Your Alpha would be there. There would be no need to beg for my knot (but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t want to hear it), I’d give you anything you needed.
I wouldn’t fuck you hard and fast this time around. By this point I’m hoping I would have sated you in other ways so we would have the opportunity to take it a bit slower. I want you to be aware of who I am, who you are, when I finally bite you and you bite me too. I know having an omega give a mating bite as well isn’t conventional, but you already own me in every possible way, you may as well take my soul too.
I don’t want to go into too much detail because there’s no possible way that I could even get close to how life-changing the real thing will feel like. Just know that I am also counting down the days until I get to see you again.
Love,
Draco