Though this city was many miles away from home, it was nearly as gloomy and gray as London had been, though the air seemed different somehow. Draco surveyed the small, enclosed courtyard in which they had appeared. No one was around at the moment. He kept his hand firmly grasped around Hermione's and led her through a nondescript doorway and into an apparently deserted building.
"Where are we?" Hermione asked, just as they rounded a corner of the dark hallway and nearly ran into the security guard stationed at a little desk near the door.
*Wands, please," he said in an American accent, holding out his hand.
Draco proffered his wand immediately, so Hermione followed suit. They were directed to walk through an odd archway, which buzzed and beeped as they did.
"Day pass?" the wizard asked.
Draco confirmed with a nod of his head.
"Where are you two headed?"
"The library," was all Draco said.
The wizard at the desk nodded and handed back their wands, along with a small, silver pin for each of them. Hermione examined hers curiously.
In very small lettering, it stated her name and the word "VISITOR" underneath.
"Exit through that door," the wizard informed them in a bored, practiced tone, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder. "And cross the street. Library's on the left. Elevator code is 1776 to get to the lower basement. If you want to visit another building, you'll have to submit to another security check. Make sure you return your pins here when you leave. Enjoy your time in Washington D.C."
Hermione's mouth fell open. Draco suppressed a smile as he put a hand on her back, gently coaxing her forward and out the door.
"We're in America?" she hissed at him.
Draco grinned wickedly at her, saying nothing as he led her across the street. She gaped at the buildings around her, taking in the foreign architecture and the many people walking along the street.
"Do try not to look so much like a tourist, Granger," Draco teased her.
To his amusement, Hermione snapped her gaping mouth shut.
Ahead of them, the huge, blocky shape of the library loomed. Hermione's eyes went wide.
"Draco, you didn't!" she said, clutching his arm in excitement.
He looked at her, enjoying the brightness that had been missing from her face for days now.
"I did," he said simply.
"The Library of Congress?" she squeaked. "The biggest library in the world?"
Her excitement was palpable as they walked. He was almost surprised that she didn't break into a sprint for the doors.
"I've been here several times on Ministry business," Draco said before they reached the doors.
"The library has always been my favorite bit."
He led her inside and to the lift with ease, stringing Hermione along as she gaped and bounced with excitement. Perhaps it was because of the holiday, but very few people were in the library at the
moment. at least compared to the usual rush. Only one muggle was on the lift with them. and once they had exited, Draco drew his wand and used it to punch the numbered buttons in the sequence the security wizard had given to him. The lift began to lower, to the basement and onward, down past every floor that was accessible to muggles. Finally, the doors of the lift opened, and Hermione let out a gasp.
The Library of Congress was indeed the largest library in the world, both for muggle and wizardkind, though only wizards were able to access the lower floors. The cavernous room in the depths of the library appeared to be carved into the earth like a cave, with several levels winding in circles along the perimeter, until the lowest floor spread out far below them. Above, the ceiling had been enchanted to mimic a skylight, the soft gray sky illuminating what seemed like millions of shelves, all stuffed with books.
Hermione looked as if she had walked into a dream. Her delight fed Draco's soul. Some primal, inner part of him roared with triumph at the knowledge that he'd brought her here before anyone else, and had the pleasure of witnessing her amazement.
"Well then, Granger," he said, "Where shall we go first?"
She looked at a loss for words.
Grinning, he took her hand and brought her to a wooden podium that was stationed near the
banister
"This is the catalogue," Draco explained, pointing to the huge tome that was propped up for them to peruse. "If you tell it which book you're looking for, it will open to the page that shows its location. Or, if you don't have anything specific in mind, we can simply wander and browse."
Hermione wasted no time. She immediately began to recite the names of several titles, bouncing happily on her toes as Draco quickly noted the locations of each volume on a pad of paper. He quickly realized that she was trying to stump the catalogue by naming the most obscure books she could think of, but one by one, the catalogue found them for her. By the time he had written a dozen titles, he stopped her.
"Hermione, don't you want to see the actual books now?" Draco said, holding back a laugh.
"Yes!" Hermione said, snatching the paper away from him and practically dancing off to find the
redrest one.
Draco trailed after her, good-naturedly keeping quiet as she told him all about the books she was most excited to find. Draco conjured a cart for her, proclaiming that if he had to carry all the books she picked out, his spine would snap in half. It wasn't long before she settled into a seat by an enchanted window and became absorbed in the pages of a comically large tome. He'd explained to her that she needn't take the time to read here, that they would make a trip to the replicator before
they left (a clever device that spat out perfect copies of the pages you needed from each book, which anyone was free to bring home with them). Still, she seemed happiest with her nose in a book, so Draco didn't stop her.
"I need to find a few things for work," he told her quietly. "T'lI come back here when I'm done."
She nodded absently, murmuring a brief farewell.
Before he left, he glanced back, and suddenly stopped.
The image of her, lounging with her feet tucked under her, completely mesmerized by her book, the enchanted window light streaming in behind her and causing a few strands of her hair to glow...it was like something out of a painting. Draco wished he had a camera, wished he could capture her like this, and carry this moment with him in his pocket wherever he went.
She turned a page. And, reluctantly, he left.
He hadn't been lying; he really did need to find a few books for work. The section on alchemy was familiar to him, and it wasn't long before he found what he needed. Knowing that Hermione wasn't supposed to see what material he'd selected, he made a special trip to the copy machine before going back to her, shrinking the replicated pages and stuffing them into his pocket as he
MenT
When he made it back to the window she had occupied, he stopped short. She was nowhere to be found. Instead, a middle-aged librarian was levitating several of the books Hermione had left behind, gently sending them floating back to their shelves
"Excuse me, have you seen my friend? Woman with curly brown hair?" Draco asked the witch.
She smiled and nodded, pointing to shelves beyond Draco.
"She's in that fiction area, just over there. She let me know she was done with these," the witch said, indicating the books she was levitating.
Draco thanked her and strode off to find Hermione, annoyed that she had wandered off while he was gone. He quickly combed through the shelves the librarian had indicated, searching for Hermione with growing panic. This place was endless. If she wasn't in this section anymore, he didn't have a hope of finding her.
As he passed what felt like the hundredth shelf, he glimpsed a shadowy doorway. It broke off from the section, quietly leading beyond the bright light of the main hall. Draco checked behind his shoulder before peeking into the room.
It was another circular room, though much smaller, and the shelves were arranged confusingly, as if to form some sort of maze. Torches lit the room, casting flickering shadows that reminded him of the Hogwarts library in the evenings, only it looked somewhat vacant. Suddenly, he felt certain he would find Hermione here.
He wound through the oddly-positioned shelves, noticing books with strange and vague titles like Witches of the Night and Manacled. Draco was beginning to wonder if he was in some sort of weird, dark magic section when he spotted her.
She was at the end of the shadowy row, facing away from him as she lifted herself onto her toes, reaching for a book on a high shelf.
Smiling to himself, Draco crept up behind her and grasped the book she'd been trying to get, pulling it from the shelf as she jolted in surprise and turned around to face him. Her quiet little,
"Oh!" of surprise as she discovered him behind her had him grinning down at her with wolfish satisfaction. She was flushed, he noticed, even in the dim light of this room. Was it possible he'd caught her doing something embarrassing?
"Well, well, well," Draco crooned. "What have we here?"
He lifted the book she had been grasping at to check the title, but before he could make it out, Hermione screeched "No!" and knocked it from his grasp. It thunked to the floor at their feet.
A beat passed, during which the two of them simply stared at one another.
Then Hermione drew her wand.
"Stupe-"
Draco slammed into her, pushing her backward into the shelf, causing books to rain down from the other side. Her wand was jolted from her hand, tumbling onto one of the lower bookshelves. She turned to catch herself as she fell, and as soon as she did, he had rounded his own wand on her.
"Baculum!" he cast, and a spark of yellow light fused her hands to the bookshelf. Hermione struggled to free them, but she was stuck to the sturdy, unmoving wood of the shelf.
"Let me go!" she hissed at him.
Draco smirked, enjoying the sight of her struggling for a moment.
"All in good time, Granger. That spell wears off pretty quickly," he teased.
Hermione's eyes widened in shock as she realized he truly wasn't going to free her. She heaved at her hands, panting, desperately trying to unstick herself from the shelf. While she wrestled with the sticking charm, Draco leaned down to grasp the book she had knocked out of his hands.
"Now, let's see," he drawled, noting with slippery delight that Hermione had become even more frantic when she saw he now held the book again. "What is it that you were so desperate to hide from me?"
Draco peered at the cover of the volume, making out gold lettering embossed on black leather.
"Keeper of Hearts," he read aloud. "By S.K. Scarlet."
Hermione had stopped moving now, choosing instead to bury her face in the books of the shelf, moaning and sinking into what was clearly deep mortification
Draco flipped the book open to read the summary aloud.
"Marie Heart has finally become captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and she's certain that her team will bring home the cup this year. There's only one thing in her way: Selvin Price, the cutthroat Keeper of the Slytherin team who's been her rival since their first year. Can she get past him and bring her team to victory, or will the handsome Slytherin bring her to her knees instead?"
Hermione was now trying to sink herself through the floor.
"My my," Draco said silkily, unable to keep the predatory grin off his face, "What an interesting book, Granger."
"I wasn't reaching for that one," she said, her voice breathy and panicked.
The obvious lie made Draco chuckle.
He turned and leaned his back on the shelf, just next to where her hands were still stuck in place.
Crossing his arms and grinning down at her beet-red face, he made a point of looking her up and down. Her glare was murderous.
"I had no idea you wanted to read a story like that, Granger," he said. "You should have just told me you fancied having an affair with a Slytherin. I would have been happy to oblige you." Hermione only yanked at her hands again.
"Let me go, Draco," she spat again.
"Mm,'
" Draco hummed ruefully, looking her over once again. "I could, I suppose..
"Stop messing me around and let me go, or I'll-"
"You'll what?" he taunted quietly. "Write a stern letter to my mum?"
Hermione let out a strange, feral growl of frustration. She looked over her shoulders wildly, searching for someone who might be nearby. She inhaled deeply, as if to scream for help, but Draco stopped her with his wand at her throat.
"Ah ah ah," he said. "This is a library. If you don't keep quiet, I'lI have to silence you."
Hermione's eyes bugged out with fear.
"You wouldn't. " But she seemed to decide that he indeed would, for she abandoned her plan to yell for help.
"You know," Draco said, flicking his wand harmlessly away from her. "It occurs to me that someone who would read a filthy book like that might rather enjoy having their hands bound.
Wouldn't you agree, Granger?"
Hermione kept her eyes away from him, her mouth shut tight. He saw her breathing hitch slightly as he spoke, the only clue that his words had struck home. The knowledge caused him to harden, his trousers made uncomfortably tight. Could it be that she might enjoy this as much as he did?
Tucking that little tidbit away for later, he continued.
"If you and I were in that book, what do you think we would be doing right now?" he rasped in her ear.
He watched as her whole body tensed, not with fear, but with something Draco recognized deep in his gut. Her eyes finally flicked to his, and he caught sight of it there, clear and bright as moonlight: desire.
Light as a feather, he brought a single finger up to her face, drawing a lock of hair away from her eyes. As his finger stroked down to her neck, she shivered, arching ever so slightly into his touch
He had to be careful. Had to keep himself from crossing the line before she did. But just because he had promised not to make the first move, that didn't mean he couldn't have a bit of fun with her.
"So many times," he said, his voice near a whisper, "I saw you in the Hogwarts library, so absorbed in your books that you never noticed me watching you."
Hermione's eyes were locked on his, realization battling with lust inside them.
Draco continued.
"I can't tell you how many times I thought about doing this. About pushing you against the shelves and forcing you to notice me," he murmured. "And now here you are. At my mercy."
Her breathing was shallow and labored. She seemed incapable of speaking, her soft mouth gaping in a small O that made Draco want to haul her close and ravish the pink lips. Again, he held himself back, jaw set hard.
"Tell me again to release you, Granger," he whispered close to her.
Running a soft finger down her spine, he savored the way she arched her back, practically offering herself to him at the barest touch. She panted, her chest heaving hard.
"Tell me again that you just want to be friends," he said in a low growl.
She trembled, leaning closer to him. A tiny whimper escaped her as she saw him inch away from her, unwilling to let their bodies touch. Yet.
"Careful, Granger. Someone might see us. I didn't realize what an exhibitionist you are," he teased.
"I'm not," she whispered, but her words were hardly believable when she was shaking and begging for his touch in such a public place. She leaned her head back, as if she was trying to tempt him to
touch her neck again
Instead, he brought his lips to her ear and breathed into it, "Tell me that you don't wish I would shove you against this bookshelf and push my hard cock into you. Tell me you don't want me to fuck you, right here, right now, where anyone might pass by and see us."
She gasped. Her whole body shook at his filthy words, and it took every drop of Draco's willpower not to touch her, kiss her, do every possible thing that might earn them both a lifetime ban from the library.
Footsteps clacked on the stone floor, several shelves away by the sound of them. The other library patron wasn't close enough to see them, but it was enough to break the spell between them. Draco smoothly slid away from her, smiling with satisfaction.
"By the way, you might try letting go of that shelf again," he said lightly, not caring if the other patron heard him. "The charm wore off ages ago."
Hermione's fingers slowly unclenched themselves from the shelf. She stood for a moment, getting her breathing under control.
Draco dipped down, deftly snatching up her wand and holding it out for her, a smile of mock
graciousness on his face.
With a tight jaw and a blush of such a deep scarlet Draco might have mistaken her for a Gryffindor scarf, Hermione ripped her wand from his hand and stalked away.