Author's Notes: Please be kind, this is my first posting. Reviews are more than welcomed. If there is any little tidbit to be corrected, please don't hesitate to drop a note! :)

Reckless Freedom

Heat. There it was, the feeling of flames scorching her back, burning her when in reality there was nothing there. The intensity of it all, the heat on her back, caused Hermione Granger to look sideways, and sure enough she saw the silvery gaze of one Draco Malfoy trained on nothing else but at her.

His eyes were intense, silver drops of moonlight on his face, hard and steady as diamonds. His expression always home to its resident sneer, he made sure that he kept her eyes to where it rightfully belonged – at him. He wasn't disappointed. She gazed back at him, her stare never faltering, meeting his pride with her own. That was her greatest weakness, but sometimes it can be her greatest strength – her inability to back down from a fight, her inability to be a coward. Sure enough, even though he knew that she knows she might as well be staring into the eyes of the devil, she never cowered or gave in. In fact, there was no trace, not even in the slightest amount, of fear in her lovely, flashing brown eyes.

Hermione blinked as she saw the corners of his mouth twitch in what seemed like an affirmation towards her. He cocked his head to one side, and instantly his expression deepened into something else, but all the while his eyes never changed. It still trapped her gaze, enchanted her even, as though it had power over her and made her unable to look or glance away. As if she was gong to, she thought! This insufferable git sure had never expected this one coming. The challenge in his eyes too tempting to ignore, she raised her chin up and unknowingly upped the level of war they were currently in.

Draco found the look of contempt on her lovely face too damn attractive. Her eyes were two stones in their rigidity, her lips thinned to almost a single line. And her cheeks! Rosy and colored it were, such the effect of her anger at him. And only over a stare, as it appears! His mind began weaving thoughts too naughty to put into words, and he grinned suddenly – the expression on his face shifting yet again, this time containing a hint of malice. She appeared to be completely taken aback by the change in his face, but Malfoy wasn't quite finished yet. His eyes still refusing to relinquish their hold over her, he allowed the tip of his tongue to peak out and touch his lower lip.

Cheeks flushing and pride immediately damned, Hermione forcefully tore her gaze from his captivating eyes and looked down on her hands, which were curled and twisted around each other. Thankfully her friends were too caught up with whatever it was they were talking about to notice how red she was! She lifted her hand and was unsurprised to see them shaking. Hermione then grabbed her goblet and brought it to her lips, drinking in an effort to vanquish the sudden dryness in her mouth. But still, after finishing the suddenly tasteless drink in one single gulp, she could still feel the insides of her lips as parched as it was before. Clearly, her thirst was for something else, for someone else. Muttering some poor excuse, she then stood up and left the Great Hall in a hurry, heedless of the concerned voices of her Gryffindor friends calling after her.

Her acts didn't go unnoticed. Draco felt some sort of male satisfaction feeling him up as he watched the once-confident Head Girl leave the hall in such great haste. Was she fleeing from him? He just had to know.

He stood up and left, never pausing even once to leave some few words to his housemates. As Slytherin king, he has his privileges – which included doing what he want whenever he wants it. No one, no intelligent Slytherin would want to get in the way of a pureblood Malfoy. They'd have to be more of a fool to even try it.

Was it because he was good at finding her or just plain good, he didn't know, but Draco was grateful that he always seemed to know where she was. He flung the door of the once forbidden room – the one at the third floor, the one that once were guarded by the three-headed dog named Fluffy. Sure enough, she was there.

There came no words in her mouth as their stares met again. His eyes, diamonds once more, quickly consumed their feast as he gazed at her. She, too, took her fill as she looked at him. There he was, looking too beautiful it was almost a sin, looking too good to be evil. The muscular build of his body was the fruit of years playing as a Seeker, and the once scrawny, thin boy was now a lean, well-developed man. The dryness in her mouth ascended into something more, something so unbearable she almost cried out at the burden of it.

This time, as Draco drank her sight in, there was no stopping him from stepping towards her. There were no barriers between them, no tables or students or even houses that divided them. She looked so beautiful – the barest amount of sunlight streaming from the lone window in the room managed to illuminate her hair, making it seem like gold. And her eyes, her lovely brown eyes were still flashing at him, but this time it had nothing to do with fury or contempt. Only… desire. That was what he saw in those eyes of hers, and it made him only want her more… for desire was what was also flashing in his.

He quickly cleared the distance between them, and soon she was feeling him against her, his powerful body wickedly brushing against her softer one. She raised her face and offered her lips, which he was very willing to take. Hermione lifted her arms and her hands rested on his shoulder as she held him, and she felt his hands encircling her waist as he held her. His insistent lips felt wonderfully erotic as they danced against her, and they deftly nudged hers apart in order for his tongue to make its presence felt. A sound much like a moan escaped her lips as he devoured her, making her forget things, making her feel as though nothing was as important as what he was doing to her.

She felt glorious in his arms, her smaller form wonderfully contradicting his larger one. His hands, no longer content at staying motionless on her waist, started to seek out places to find and conquer. His fingers crept under her clothes and touched her sensitive skin, which elicited another moan from her. Realizing it was too dangerous for him to continue, Draco began to go to other more covered areas of her body. One hand went on her arm and ran it from her shoulder to her hand, the other found her neck and he pulled her face into a closer contact with his as he continued to love her through her mouth. He then lowered both his hands and cupped her behind, and brought her into a more intimate position against his hip.

It was unfair, Hermione thought. If he had the power over her to make her go weak like this, has she not the same over him? A surge of adrenaline burst through her as she boldly lifted her hands off his shoulder and ran it over his expansive chest, pausing briefly to tease over his more sensitive areas. Female satisfaction filled her as he growled when she brushed her hands over his flat breasts. Yes, she thought. She definitely had power over him as well.

Soon these two parted reluctantly to breathe. Both of them were breathing deeply from the encounter. Draco rested his forehead against Hermione's as they panted, their breaths the only sound in the room.

And then, as though in an act of gentleness almost out of place in a Slytherin king, he brought his hand up to cup her face, and then kissed her once more, but this time on the cheek.

Even without any word exchanged between them, she nodded at his silent message. Hermione stepped away from his arms, and began to leave.

Then, just as she was to pass him by, Draco caught her hand in his. "Tomorrow?" was all he can ask.

"Tomorrow." was all she can reply.