The Name of the Game

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, unfortunately.

An: I'm sorry for the mistakes, as always.

Hope you like this chapter! And thank you for reading ;)

Chapter Three: A Nice, Whole Bowl of Cocoa Krispies

There was a quietness unheard in the room, a peaceful feeling that lingered like a soft breath of air. It was in the sliver of morning sunshine, light and pleasantly warm, that brushed in a soft kiss their intertwined limbs and in the relaxed way his arm was wrapped around her waist; in the gentle grip of her hand on his forearm, but also in the elegant curve of her hip and in every visible line of his fit abdomen.

They had been lying naked in bed for hours, face to face, the white bed sheets entangled at the end of the bed, talking and talking and talking and kissing – playful pecks on lips and nips on the neck between a I've always loved baking and a I think my favourite film is Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

"Are you hungry?" she asked, tilting her head to look at him.

"I'm a little a scared of finding your friends in the fridge," Draco joked, moving closer to her to rest his chin on her shoulder. "I'd rather starve."

Her brown gaze fell on his blond head, the ghost of a malicious smirk pulling at the corner of her pinkish lips.

"I'd prefer to keep having the chance to fuck you properly," she admitted, stroking his hair. He groaned, rubbing his face on her skin, and she chuckled. "Seriously, are you hungry?"

"Honestly? Yes," he said, as his left hand stroked the curve of her backside, fingers playing dangerously near her erogenous zones. "And physically speaking? A lot."

Hermione hummed, closing her eyes and biting her lip when one of his daring fingers slid against her entrance. She tightened her grip on his hair, thinking she couldn't thank Ginny's crazy mind more than she was doing in that exact moment.

"I'd like to eat a nice, whole bowl of cereal," she said, with a breathless sigh.

He lifted his head and furrowed his brows, deep in thought.

"Cocoa Krispies?"

She let her head fall on her pillow, wavy chocolate hair surrounding her like a halo. "Jesus, Malfoy," she laughed, caressing his pouty lips with trembling fingers. "Cocoa Krispies? Ew… They are the worst! They get soaked as soon as you pour them."

"What did you just say?"

He looked at her for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face, and she thought that maybe – maybe – that was the end of their day together. Extremely childish of him, she said to herself, but then he was on her, kissing the life out of her lips, biting and licking them slowly. And then her hands were cupping his face just to hold him closer, fingertips playing with his short hair, and her leg wrapped around his waist.

"Breakfast can wait," she muttered, fighting a moan as her sex brushed up against his strong thigh.

"Turn around and get that belly down," he said, panting, his throbbing dick hard and hot and ready against her inner thigh. "And keep quiet."

"Do you really think they deserve my silence?" she asked indignantly. "After all that noise?!"

Draco gave her a gentle shove to roll her down and adjusted himself behind her. Biting the crook of her neck, he murmured: "So vengeful."

The feel of his hands gently massaging her butt and the hardness of his length between her arse cheeks nearly made her whimper. The walls of her vagina were beating spasmodically, silently praying for fullness, and her belly was on fire. Never, in her short life, had she felt so needy and sexually excited. Yes, she had had her fair share of satisfying trysts, and her fair share of self-made orgasms, but there was a connection, a thread of immediate understanding between their bodies and minds, that left her speechless – and maniacally curious.

Writhing against him she said, groaning softly, "What about what your two mothers say? Be a good boy, Malfoy."

To answer her question he shifted, and she let out a broken scream when his crotch touched her beating sex. She heard him breathing heavily as his hands gripped her butt tighter.

"Just a moment," he panted as he moved to let the tip of his length brush her sex in circular motions. "This is heaven."

"You talk like you've never had sex," she laughed, mockingly.

"You know nothing, ninny."

"I know a thing or two about sex, thank you very much."

"I'm going to shut your beak, goldfinch," he promised her as he stood to retrieve a condom. "You bossy little thing."

"You know," Ginny said in an amused voice, startling her. "Malfoy must have a magical dick, considering your loud moans and high-pitched little screams."

Hermione closed the fridge, put the orange juice and jam on the table and then turned to glare at her redhead friend. "Oh dear, you're one to talk. It was so embarrassing waking up to your… God, I can't even find the words to describe it!"

Ginny fluttered her eyelashes, feigning innocence. Then she sat on her usual sit and took a bite of toasted bread her housemate had made before.

"In my defence, I can say that I thought you were at his place, because it's what you usually do whenever you decide to let your fanny be, well, funny," she said, leaning back in her chair. "And that I was still a little drunk."

"At seven thirty in the morning?" Hermione eyed her sceptically.

"Okay," Ginny grumbled, with a roll of her eyes. "I wasn't drunk. But, really, I thought you weren't at home."

"I forgive all your sins, Miss Weasley," Hermione said, as she spread some butter on her toast.

Ginny touched her heart and then asked, curiously: "You got nothing to say?"

"Other than I think he's already home safe and sound?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, grimacing. "No."

"Oh, come on!" Her friend snorted. "You're rude. And ungrateful!"

Hermione crossed her arms and chuckled, as she leaned back in her seat. "And why would I be?"

"Because," Ginny almost screamed, but then she lowered her voice, remembering Harry was still sleeping in her room. "Because it's because of me that now you're fucking Draco Malfoy."

"Thank you very much, then," Hermione said, eyeing her nails. "And for your information: fucked, past tense. I don't think this… thing between us will continue."

"How so?"

"Because that's just how it is, isn't it?" Hermione mumbled, looking anywhere but Ginny. She felt her eyes stinging with frustration, so she quickly pinched the bridge of her nose to conceal her current state.

God, one night of mind-blowing sex – and incredibly satisfying conversations – and I'm already here drowning myself with overthinking.

Ginny remained silent, but Hermione could feel her hazel eyes on her. She knew her friend was trying to decipher her expression and the tone of her voice. After several minutes of silence, Ginny talked.

"Do you like him?" she asked, in an earnest whisper.

"Of course, I like him, Ginny!" Hermione let out an exasperated sigh, her fingers running furiously through her hair. There was no point in lying. "Physically speaking, I could – and I certainly would – blow the life out off of him with how much I like him. And you know I don't particularly like giving head. He's a swimmer, for goodness sake! A swimmer, which means: broad shoulders and a strongly built chest, better known as my erotic dream since I discovered masturbation. Of course, I bloody like him."

Ginny hid a laugh behind the cup of her hand, smiling at Hermione's flushed cheeks. "Ok, so you want to blow him. Haven't you done it yet?"

"That's what you have to say?" Hermione asked, with a strangled and tense shriek.

Ginny ignored her question. "And what about his character, his personality, his mind?"

Hermione exhaled through her nostrils, in a very unladylike manner. Her head felt fuller that it had ever been.

"I don't know," she said, contemplating her thoughts. "It's early but, I don't know… I feel a connection. It's easy to talk with him. He challenges me. This morning we talked about books and art and films. He knows Flemish painters. Who the fuck knows Flemish painters?"

"Certainly not Harry," Ginny twitched her nose. "Let alone my dense brother."

At the mention of her best friend and ex-boyfriend, Hermione shook her head, resigned. She opened her mouth to say that she knew just how much Ron knew about Flemish painters, but the buzz of her phone hushed her. Feeling Ginny's searching look on her, she took the phone and read the message.

Guess what? I was walking home when I saw the library on the corner of my street. I found it and I brought it. I had a really a good night and an even more beautiful morning with you.

Have a good day, goldfinch x

Draco had also sent a selfie to prove his purchase. Sat in what she thought was his sofa, he had a big smile on his rosy lips and The Goldfinch in his left hand. His hair was still a mess, but it was slightly dump, and his complexion was a little flushed – both things probably from the shower.

Without realizing it, she let out a dreamy sigh. "Fuck, he's gorgeous."

"Damn, we lost her," Ginny chuckled, but Hermione ignored her.

I think I like you, Draco Malfoy

The power of books…

Hey! I'm serious!

So am I

I'm joking. I HATE you and your dick!

THAT'S A LIE

I've always been good at faking pleasure

Not with me, goldfinch. Not with me

…

What an idiot.

I'd like to get to know you better. Really know you. And I'd like to take you out. Not a fancy date, just a walk around the city. But it's still a date, you know…

"Hermione?" Ginny asked, worried. "Are you ok? You look as pale as a vampire."

"Oh my God," Hermione said in a barely audible whisper, hands on her face and her phone forgotten on the table. "Oh. My. God!"

"What?!"

"He asked me on a date!"

"A date?"

"Not a date… date," Hermione clarified. "Though he said it is still a date."

"You know, you two are probably the weirdest people on heart," Ginny flashed her a grin. "First you flirt, then you fuck like rookie teenagers, and then you go on a date that's not really a date. And the most amazing part is the expression on your face."

Yes, of course. Just a walk around the city. London's beautiful this time of the year xx

What about tomorrow? I'll pick you up, if you want

Yep! We could have lunch together, so why don't you come around midday?

Can't wait x

You're such a sappy idiot

I AM NOT

Yes, you are. Shut up, I'm right.

Now it's my time to say that I HATE you and your eternally wet pussy

That's a lie. And judging by the several times you fucked me and licked me and fingered me… you're a bad liar

Change of plan: tomorrow I'm going to fuck you in my bed, hard and deep.

Ps: + bonus: a post- sex nice whole bowl of cereals (Cocoa Krispies, obviously)

"For fuck's sake, Hermione," Ginny said, as she stood up. "I'm done with you. That scowling prince has bewitched you with his sexual talents! You're scaring me. Your pleased face is way worse scarier than Pennywise."

As a response, Hermione lifted her middle finger as she typed something to Draco.

"I love you too, you little minx," Ginny laughed and reached the hallway, tossing her friend a knowing smile as she went.

I sincerely hope so

"Why are you always in my room?" Draco exclaimed the next day, holding tight the towel that was wrapped around his waist. "I leave you alone for ten minutes in my leaving room and, no matter what, you always find your way to my bloody bedroom."

Theo gave him a bored glance. "Because I love the light... and the smell of your spunk."

"For fuck's sake, Theo!" Draco threw the nearest pillow at him. "You're disgusting."

"You're a little too touchy for my taste, Malfoy," Theo said with a smirk as he got comfortable against the headboard of Draco's bed.

Draco opened his wardrobe and quickly opted for a pair of blue jeans and a white t-shirt. "I'll get over it."

"So," Theo sighed quite melodramatically. "You have a date?"

Draco grumbled as he dressed, then he glanced at his friend and motioned him to remove his lanky self from his bed. Once Theo was standing several feet from it, he made the bed for the second time that day.

"Dear Lord," he heard Theo saying. "What have you done to my favourite wanker?"

"I'm losing my patience, Nott," Draco said desperately, shoving him out of his bedroom. "Get the fuck out or ask me to let you move in with me, once and for all. This way you'll have a reason to always be around."

"Would you do that?" Theo asked, the light in his big blue eyes suddenly serious. "Letting me move in with you?"

Draco shrugged. "I know things with Daphne aren't going well."

"Yeah," Theo nodded, avoiding his friend's eyes.

"And I know that you need your time and space to think about your relationship with her," Draco continued, quieter and more relaxed than seconds before. "If you promise to behave, which means that you'll help me with housework and cooking, well, you can move in tomorrow."

"Not tonight?" Theo asked, rising his eyebrow maliciously.

"No way."

Theo looked at him knowingly and then sighed theatrically. "Pity."

"Get out, Theo," Draco gave him a playful shove. "I have places to be, people to see, and –"

"Got it! Got it!" Theo laughed. "Have fun with your girl, wanker!"

"Stay still," Hermione whispered, holding back a laugh, as the underground took a turn.

"I am no superhero, Granger," Draco said as he wrapped his arm around Hermione's waist. "And staying still isn't exactly the easiest thing to do in a moving Tube carriage with nothing to hold on to."

"I thought you were some kind of Captain England, or something," she pouted, holding her phone in front of them. She took a photo of their reflexes on the doors glasses, a blurred but colourful photo, and then showed it to him.

"Very artistic," he commented, bowing to give her head a gentle head butt. "Social material."

Hermione smiled, rubbing her forehead on his clavicle. "Do you mind if I posted it? Not because it's us, mind you. It's really artistic, just like my feed."

"Of course not," he replied quickly. "You should let the whole world know you're hanging out with Draco Malfoy."

Bringing a hand up to her chest feigning shock, she said: "The Crown Prince of England?"

He leaned down to peck her on the lips and then winked. "The one and only, dearest."

"I knew you were special," she muttered as she signed in on Instagram. She edited the pic rapidly and then raised her eyebrows, hesitant. Writing the caption was always the hardest part, but one look at Draco's outfit and the perfect lyrics came to her mind.

"I'm one of a kind, thank you very much," he said, moments later, glancing at the map above the occupied seats. The next station was Green Park. "What do you want to do now?"

Hermione lifted her head and took a look at the map. They had lunch at a welcoming pub near Shakespeare's Globe and then they had walked along the Thames, talking about everything and nothing, till they had reached Westminster station. She checked the hour on her phone – 15.47 – and bit her lower lip in thought.

"I'd like to see a movie," she said, fingers playing with the hem of Draco's white t-shirt.

He silently watched the way she was worrying her lip, and observed the freckles on the bridge of her nose and the way her wavy – though he suspected her natural hair was curlier – hair brushed her clavicles every time the Tube took a turn.

"Would you prefer to go to a movie or see it while you're comfortably sat on my sofa?" he asked with a laugh, lifting a finger to play with her hair.

"Or mine?"

"No way," he shook his head vehemently, and his horrified expression made her laugh. "I won't survive another loud and embarrassing mating kindly offered by your friends."

"Hey," she scolded him. "They're my friends!"

"C'mon, goldfinch," he said, taking her hand. "Next stop is ours."

At that Hermione let out a small shriek. "You live in Kensington? How fucking wealthy are you?"

"Ok, you're not rich," Hermione pointed a finger at him from her spot on the big l-shaped sofa. "You really are the Crown Prince of England!"

Draco was on the refined wooden floor, sitting cross-legged in front of an enormous white bookcase full of books, encyclopaedias, medical tomes and succulents of various sizes, with his hands busy searching for the perfect film, since she had decided to let him pick.

"Mother is a cardiologist, as were my grandparents," he replied casually, turning his head to look at her. "And father's a member of the Government."

Hermione pursed her lips in thought and quickly connected the dots in her head.

"Lucius Malfoy is your father?" she exclaimed, raising her left eyebrow and crossing her arms. "Are you a conservative?"

He ignored her accusatory tone and shrugged, standing up with a DVD in his right hand. He sat next to her and said, "Both the Blacks and the Malfoys have been members of the Conservative Party for generations."

"Oh God," Hermione closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. "I'm fucking a conservative."

"I'm not a serial killer or a criminal, you know?" Draco said, a little upset by her statement. "Because that's what your tone seems to imply."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, but something in her eyes told him he had let her down. "Sometimes I get too carried away with these things," she reassured him, rising a hand to stroke the blond hair that fell on his forehead. "You know: politics, civil and human rights, women's rights…"

He nodded and gave her a gentle head butt, which stole her a soft laugh that he wasted no time turning into a fiery, long kiss made of provocative, almost non-existent bites on the lips and warm licks and silenced moans.

"Time out. Time out," she breathed deeply as his lips brushed her sensitive neck. "I really want to see whatever film you picked and to finish our conversation."

Draco nipped her jaw in response, and then he took her face in his hands.

"Really?" he asked incredulously, hair messed up probably by her own hands, and lips swollen.

"We can't just fuck, you know?" she said, tugging at his belt loops.

"Why can't we fuck and talk?" Draco pouted a breath away from her mouth. "Talk while fucking? Fuck while talking?"

She rolled her eyes. "It doesn't work that way with me."

He snorted stubbornly and inhaled loudly. "Yes, Granger, I'm a conservative but I didn't vote for Brexit."

"That's almost sexy," she chuckled, fingers caressing his face in circles. "Almost, mind you."

"Okay, I get it," Draco rolled his eyes, pocking her side. "I chose a classic," he nodded, a small smirk playing at his lips, and showed her the DVD cover.

"Are you serious?" Hermione shook her head, crossing her arms. She tried to keep a straight face but the excited, happy expression on Draco's visage only made her chuckle. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory?"

"I told you this was my favourite film," he laughed, exposing his straight and perfect white-teeth. "Don't you like Johnny Depp?"

Hermione clicked her tongue. "He's not exactly my type. I prefer men like Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and the actor who played Roger Taylor in Bohemian Rhapsody."

His smile only grew bigger. "So, you like blonds?"

"I don't like blonds. I also like Jude Law."

"Blond."

"He's not blond!" Hermione said, turning as if he'd insulted her. "He has light brown hair."

"He's sandy blond."

"He's not!"

"He is."

"Are we seriously arguing about Jude Law's hair colour?"

"I like pissing you off," Draco said, ruffling her hair.

Hermione grumbled and took the DVD from his hands. She stood up and went to switch on the DVD player.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory for the annoying Cocoa Krispies obsessed," she said, playfully making fun of him.

"Thank you for the reminder!" Draco exclaimed, hurrying to the kitchen.

When he came back, he was carrying a tray with a bottle of milk, two bowls and a glass container full of Cocoa Krispies in his hands.

"That's so cute," Hermione said, when he heard him, pointing at the bowl with little Simba painted on it.

Draco blushed, but didn't say anything. He put the tray on the table, sat next to her, and poured some cereals in both bowls, which were already filled with milk.

"Thank you," Hermione smiled gratefully at him when he gave her the bowl.

He shrugged as he stirred the cereals. "A nice, whole bowl of Cocoa Krispies. That's what you wanted yesterday, isn't it?"

She grumbled as she lifted a spoonful of milk soaked Cocoa Krispies, putting the movie on. "Something like that."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, lips parting into an amused grin.

"C'mon, Granger," he said, looking extremely happy and – damn, she screamed in her head rather loudly – beautiful with his joyful eyes and laughter lines. "They are the best. You can't seriously despise them."

"Of course, I can," she stuck her tongue out, but then she ate a spoonful of cereals. "Ew… It's like chewing styrofoam."

"Drama queen," Draco shook his head, laughing. "Watch the film. I'll question you later."

Hermione made a face. "I read the book a thousand times, Draco, and watched the film twice."

"Twice?!" Draco asked, looking sincerely shocked. "Only twice? You're a shameful human being, Hermione Granger."

She gave him a little shove and put her index on his parted lips, mouthing shut up.

"It was a gift from my Uncle Ted, my bowl" he said several minutes later, in a soft, full of tenderness, breath, before taking another spoonful of cereals.

The voices of the film characters continued to fill the quiet of Draco's living room, but something in his honest tone made her forget all about the film. She turned her head and looked at him, trying to find something – a worried line on his face, a tremor in his lips, a different light in his stormy grey eyes – that would tell her more. Because, she was certain, there was more behind his words.

"It's a beautiful bowl, Draco," she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder.

He didn't reply. He only moved his head a little so he could kiss her temple.

And that… that was enough.

an: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I must confess that writing this chapter has been hard, because of a small writer's block and the difficult challenge of writing in a language that isn't mine. I always get mixed up with the tenses…

I want to thank all the people who followed and favorited my story. But I'm here to say a massive THANK YOU to Iridescent77, CocoaMoon and lexy0199 for the kind (and helpful) reviews. Thank you. Thank you so much.

Big hugs and have a good day!

franmunier