On the Nature of Daylight

Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Maybe she should have been embarrassed or worried about the fact that she had just lost her virginity not to someone she cared about and loved but someone who made her blood boil, but all Hermione could think of was the wonderful light feeling inside of her that was stemming from deep down and bursting up like rays of sunlight.

There was an unusual bounce to her step as she made her way to the Great Hall the next morning for breakfast and she felt childish that she couldn't stop her lips from curving up and turning into a bright smile every five seconds. Her loose curls moved with each step she took, tossing back and forth on her shoulders as she skipped down the stairs from the Gryffindor common room.

Even Lavender's stony glare had not defeated the warmth Hermione had woken up with. Her blonde dorm mate had watched her with careful eyes as Hermione stretched and offered a cheery, "Good morning!"

Lavender was looking at her like she had done something personally wrong to her, but Hermione was used to ignoring her and easily fell back on that habit, too busy with other thoughts to give many to the cold expression on Lavender's face.

"What's on your arms?" she finally sneered as Hermione slipped out of her sleep shirt, pulling a crisp white button down from her dresser drawer.

It was then that Hermione noticed the dark purpling around her wrists. Flashbacks of Malfoy's rough grip on them, squeezing tighter as his mouth hungrily sucked on her neck... his teeth biting into her, making her gasp-

"Devil's Snare," Hermione said quickly. "I was helping Professor Sprout replant some of them and-" she stopped as she saw Lavender shared a bored look with Parvati. It wasn't uncommon for her to help professors for extra credit and for the first time, she was glad that they just thought of her as a boring little bookworm. Hermione quickly slipped her shirt on and checked herself in the small mirror on the dresser.

Her eyes widened slightly. It wasn't just her arms, it was her neck too. Malfoy's marks were scattered across her skin; undeniable proof that she was not the good girl everyone thought her to be anymore. And deep down, maybe she never really was. Hermione quickly buttoned her shirt up and slid her tie in place. Along with her bushy hair, the marks were covered fairly well. Anyways, who would suspect there was anything underneath her clean appearance?

There wasn't much she could do about the slight swell and redness to her lip though. She ran the pad of her finger over it. The delicate pink skin had been obviously been treated roughly, but as Hermione pulled it into her mouth and sucked on it she thought of those few soft kisses Malfoy had placed on it after and her lip slipped out of her mouth as it pulled into a smile.

She slowed as she neared the large double doors to the Great Hall and suddenly the thought occurred to her that she was going to have to see Malfoy in just a few seconds. How should she act? Should she look over at him? They certainly exchanged many glances over the past few weeks so would it be odd if she didn't seek him out? She took a deep breath, remembering those eyes boring into her as he plunged himself inside of her and Hermione paused before entering.

She just had to act normal, like everything was fine. It was fine. It was more than fine. The smile crept back onto her face and she bit her lip to stop it before she felt the tenderness there as well. Had he done that on purpose? Marked her up so he would be in her thoughts? Well, little did he know, he was already in her thoughts enough. Hermione breathed out. But of course, he did know that.

She ran her fingers through her hair, making sure that it was pulled around her neck inconspicuously before holding her head high and marching into the Great Hall.