"Neve...Neve,"

Something was nudging my shoulder. I felt irritable. I wasn't ready to wake up yet.

"Lemme lone, Trevor... sleeping..."

But the nudging didn't stop.

"NEVE!"

My eyes shot open in surprise. That wasn't Trevor. Confusion hit me as I blearily lifted my head to be met with a pair of familiar silver grey eyes.

I was still on the train. And above me, trying to shake me awake, was Draco.

"Draco... what-?" I asked, quickly sitting up and wiping the drool off my cheek as the white-blond haired Slytherin looked down at me amusedly.

"I was waiting for you on the platform," he chuckled softly. "Come on, sleeping beauty, let's get you off of here before we end up back in London."

He grabbed my luggage for me as I scooped Trevor up and placed him carefully in my pocket.

I followed Draco out onto the empty platform where darkness had now fallen. He immediately let go of my trunk to turn and pull me to him.

"Christ, Neve, I missed you so much," he sighed as he wrapped his arms around me and leant down to brush his lips against mine.

"I can't believe you came to meet me off the train," I smiled, feeling my heart swell with such love and warmth at being in his arms again.

"It's a good job I did," he smirked as we both watched the train start to pull noisily away from the station. "Otherwise it would be taking you away from me again right now."

"I missed you too, Draco," I breathed, blissfully inhaling his familiar scent, "so much."

"Are you all right Neve?" he asked, his brow furrowed as he looked down at me in concern. "You look like you've been crying."

"I'm just worried about my gran," I confessed, wondering what kind of state my face must be in. "She seemed... fragile. It's not like her, she's always been so strong."

I decided not to mention Harry's warning or the fact that I was worried about his murder mission.

Draco tightened his arms around me, holding me close. "I'm sorry, Neve," he murmured hoarsely against my ear. "If there's anything I can do...?"

He tailed off, both of us knowing there wasn't; that he had bigger problems of his own to worry about.

"I'm just glad to be back with you," I whispered, trying hard to control the frightened quiver in my voice as I clung to him tightly, taking comfort from the feel of his firm hard body pressed against mine.

"Come on," he said after a moment, letting his arms drop to take my hand, "let's get you back up to the castle for something to eat, and then maybe we can, uh... catch up in the Room?"

"Catch up, hey?" I grinned coyly, my stomach already knotting in longing knowing exactly what he meant, "I like the sound of that."

His face creased into a wicked smile as he reached for my trunk and practically dragged me up the hill to the castle.

I couldn't eat fast enough, every now and then glancing up at the Slytherin table where more often than not, a pair of silver eyes glinted hungrily back at me.

"What's the rush?" Hermione asked me, frowning. "Are you that keen to get on with this Charms essay?"

I looked at her blankly, wondering what she was talking about.

"You asked for help on it before we left for the break, remember?" Hermione prompted. "I said we'd get straight to the library as soon as we arrived back to the castle."

"Um... I'm busy," I said, panicking. I had completely forgotten about that conversation. "I've already arranged to meet someone."

"Who?" She asked, frowning, before glancing over her shoulder at the Slytherin table where Draco was looking over. "Oh."

I didn't miss the disapproving tone of her voice.

"Is- is that a problem?" I asked trying to keep my voice light as I poured a glass of pumpkin juice. "We can always go over it in the morning, can't we?"

"It's not your Charms homework I'm worried about," Hermione clucked. "Although maybe you should be more concerned about the fact that you are putting boys before schoolwork."

"So what is it then?" I dared asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not that I buy into Harry's preposterous notion that Draco's a Death Eater," Hermione began, "but his father is currently in Azkaban for his Death Eater activities. And then there's his aunt-"

"Are you a dentist?" I asked, trying not to let my temper rise.

"I- I'm sorry... what?" Hermione asked blinking at me in bewilderment.

"Are you a dentist," I repeated, "or do you have any aspirations to be one?"

"Um, no," Hermione asked confusion still etched on her face. "I'd much rather take a career in the wizarding world rather than follow in my parents footsteps-"

"I rest my case, then." I said, placing my glass down a little firmly as I scraped my chair back and stood up.

I left the hall without another word, my heart thudding in my chest. I'd never spoken to Hermione like that before and I felt awful.

But I was sick of hearing everyone judge Draco based on who his family is. It wasn't his fault he was being made to do all of this. He was just as much a victim of war as the rest of us - if not, more so.

They didn't see the kind, vulnerable side that I saw; the side that wasn't from his father and certainly not from his aunt.

He caught up with me before I reached the seventh floor, grabbing my hand and pulling me eagerly along.

Our clothes hit the floor before we even made it to the mattress; our kisses hungry and frantic in our yearning for one another.

"I've missed you so much," Draco groaned as he pushed into me and slowly filled me up, his breathing uneven and trembling, face flushed with pleasure.

The burn in my abdomen was too much, I wanted him to fuck me hard and give me my sweet release, yet at the same time I wanted this feeling to last forever.

"Please," I begged, raising my hips to meet his, urging him to move faster. I could hear the hitch in the back of his throat as he sucked in a sharp breath.

"Fuck, Neve," he rasped, his voice strangled as his eyes rolled slightly upwards. "You're going to make me cum too soon if you beg me like that."

Before I could respond, his hands grabbed my hips and he rolled us over so that I was now on top, straddling his lap. His mouth curved up into a smile, silver eyes glinting hungrily as my hair fell around my shoulders, falling over my beasts.

"You're perfect," he breathed, his hands pushing my hair aside as he sat up to meet me, his thumbs caressing my nipples causing thrills to zip through me like electricity.

His lips caught mine, claiming my mouth as I began to move. He softly moaned, the noise vibrating against my tongue as I slid up and down his length, my pace slowly increasing.

"That feels so good," he shuddered, clamping his hands harder over my breasts, his grip almost painful. "You feel so good."

I sped up, feeling the mounting pleasure as I slammed down over and over again onto his lap. His hands moved down to my hips and he helped me move, fingers digging into my flesh as he rammed up into me, the sound of our bodies smacking loudly together filling the room.

We cried out into each others mouths, neither of us lasting long; Draco clinging me down hard on his lap as he shuddered inside of me, his sweet release making him emit an animalistic noise from the very back of his throat; sounding very much between a grunt and a cry.

Afterwards, we lay sweating and panting side by side on our backs, staring up at the vast ceiling; the sound of our strangled, gasping breaths the only noise to be heard.

"That was... intense," I summarised when I could finally talk again.

"Like I said - I missed you," Draco chuckled, still breathless as he leaned across to pull me to him, gathering me tightly to his chest.

"You missed me, or the sex?" I grinned up at him as he began to pepper light little kisses down on my face.

"Mmmm... I'm not going to lie - both,"

His silver eyes twinkled down at me and I tried to swallow back the fear at how terrifyingly tired and gaunt he was looking.

I cupped a hand to his ghostly white cheek, delicately caressing his porcelain skin beneath my fingers. He closed his eyes as he let out a little shuddering breath.

"I love you so much, Draco," I whispered.

"I love you too, Neve," he murmured, opening his eyes and looking down at me with such tenderness.

That night I fell asleep curled up in his arms, feeling safer and more content than I'd ever felt  before in my life.

It was just a shame this sweet love was never meant to last forever.

*****