"So, Draco's being a gentleman, hm?"

Ginny waggled her eyebrows at Daphne. "Too much of one, from what I gather."

Hermione just took another swig of her whiskey, wrinkling her nose with distaste as a charmed Cupid statue floated over their table.

Daphne leaned forward and rapped her knuckles on the tabletop in front of Hermione. "She gathers something. Which means you've told her something you haven't told me. So spill."

Ginny sniggered.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the redhead, then glared at Daphne. "I've told her nothing."

Ginny couldn't hold it in any longer. "The boys have been forgetting to put Imperturbable Charms on the door when they go and drink in Harry's study."

Daphne gaped at her. "Extendable Ears?"

"Right in one," Hermione said, cutting Ginny off. "And you know what he told them? That git."

Daphne winked, her favorite smirk settling on her lips. "There really are only two possibilities when it comes to Draco. Either he's told them all about the dirty little things you get up to together in the bedroom, or he's told them he wants to do things properly."

Ginny's mouth fell open. "How the bloody hell–?"

"For the first option, he's a male. For the second option, recall that I am fluent in posh pureblood. We've been over this." Daphne looked expectantly at Hermione. "So which was it?"

"He wants to do things properly," she grumbled.

Daphne let out a cackle so loud it startled the nearby bartender. "Please tell me he's at least moved past the heavy petting stage?"

Ginny perked up immediately, sensing that she was about to get new information.

Hermione groaned. "Yes, he has. He's excellent with his hands, and even better with his mouth. I mean, I shouldn't complain. The man will go down on me whenever I ask. Sometimes I don't even have to ask…"

"Lucky wench."

"Good man, Draco, good man…"

Hermione swirled the ice around her glass, contemplating the amber liquid. "I truly do appreciate having regular orgasms, but I really just want him to fuck me, already." She expected Ginny to start crowing with laughter, for Daphne to start clucking her tongue. But there was nothing. She looked up, slightly panicked, and found that they were both smiling wickedly at her. "Oh shite, please tell me "properly" isn't posh pureblood speak for "wait for marriage"?"

"No, no. Posh pureblood women are the ones who usually wait for marriage. Posh pureblood men, however, are free to stick their pricks wherever they like." Daphne poured herself another glass of overly expensive red wine, seeming lost in thought. "I think it very simply means that he likes you enough to not want to screw it up."

"You've talked about going further?" Ginny inquired.

"I've told him I'd like to, but he never takes the initiative."

"Then why don't you take the initiative?" Daphne asked, looking as if she were annoyed that she even had to say it out loud.

"I have done," Hermione retorted, "and if you think it's not humiliating to try and ride your boyfriend only for him to cockblock himself–"

Ginny cut her off. "You know who this sounds like a job for?"

"Who?"

Both Daphne and Ginny answered at the same time. "My mum."

Daphne turned to Ginny. "Your mum? But she's so sweet!"

"And yours is so… stuffy." Ginny contemplated Daphne's suggestion for a moment. "But she does speak fluent posh pureblood, and she married one."

"And yours has had enough sex to produce her own Quidditch team," Daphne said thoughtfully.

Ginny sniggered again.

Hermione set her glass firmly on the table top. "Do not speak to your mothers about this."

Her friends just smiled sweetly at her.

She found two pieces of correspondence on her kitchen table the next morning. The first was from Ginny.

Hermione-

Mum was full of suggestions that made me blush. I did not need to know this much about my parents' sex life. The things I do for you.

I figure I'll spare your imagination and give you my top three.

1) Tie him up and have done with it all. He'll like it, in the end. (Honestly, Mum said this. Not me. But I concur.)

2) Go away for a long weekend together.

3) Give him three gift bags. Have different lingerie in all three bags. Allow him to choose one, and then put it on. Send a clear message.

She also mentioned that you could allow him to take his time, because it's rather sweet that he's being a gentleman. But I don't like that one, much.

-Ginny

She read the letter a few times, chuckling at option number one, before setting it aside and slicing open a larger envelope from Daphne. Inside, she found a brittle looking Witch Weekly magazine with a publish date from the late 1950s. On the front cover was a bright pink Post-It note, which Daphne had been obsessed with since she'd won a Post-It dispenser in the White Elephant at Christmas. The Post-It said:

H-

Mum told me all you needed to do was show him you were serious by using some of the tips featured in the article titled "129 Ways to Get a Husband" (which is apparently interchangeable with "129 Ways to Get Laid"). I don't think this will help your cause any, but it's a good laugh.

-DG

Hermione flipped open to the article. She reviewed it with equal parts revulsion and hilarity, and wondered when exactly Daphne would be able to get together so that they could chortle about the article.

Somehow, she didn't think #9 (sit on a park bench and feed the pigeons) would help her situation. She'd already tried #32 (forget discretion every once in a while and call him up). Begging him to take her wasn't very discrete, after all, especially as she'd already called his cock to attention with her mouth at that point…#54 was a foregone conclusion. She told him he was handsome all the time.

Although most of the tips were drivel, she flicked back through the pages and smirked as her eyes landed on #78. It couldn't hurt to try it, after all. He did like when she was cheeky.

On Thursday evening, Draco tossed some Floo powder into the fireplace on the ground floor of the London townhouse he and his mother shared. He was freshly showered following a long day at work, wearing a nicely cut suit, and holding a tiny box containing a pair of pearl earrings he'd purchased for Hermione. It was their first Valentine's Day together, and although he knew she'd protest for a bit at the cost, he still hoped she'd accept the gift.

He was about to call out Hermione's address and step into the flames when he heard his mother calling. "Draco! Wait a moment!" She was holding a light pink envelope, and looking perplexed.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Everything okay, Mum?"

"Yes, dear, of course." She paused and smiled brightly at him. "You look dashing, love."

He smirked back at her. "I try." He gestured to the fireplace. "Did you need anything? I'm about to pick up Hermione for dinner, but if you need me to stay a bit, I'm sure she'll understand."

"I'm fine, I just wanted to ask you to extend my gratitude to Hermione for the birthday card." She gave him an amused chuckle and pulled a folded piece of cardstock from the pink envelope.

His brow crinkled as he stared down at the inscription on the card, written in Hermione's neat hand. Many happy returns on your special day. Draco glanced up, and his mother's amused expression had only grown wider at his own confusion. "I could have sworn I told her your birthday is in August…"

Narcissa waved her hand in the air. "It doesn't matter. Please tell her I said thank you. And try not to correct her until next year, dear. I don't want her to be embarrassed."

"Certainly not."

Narcissa accepted the card back from her son, grinning as he stepped into the fire and vanished from sight, a confused look still etched on his face.

Dinner had been wonderful. They'd taken a long stroll through the thick snow and had a snowball fight on the way back to her flat. When they'd arrived, he'd presented her with a pair of extravagant earrings, and she'd only protested for five minutes before agreeing to put them on because even though they were extravagant, she loved them.

Yes, the date hate been wonderful, but truly, every date with him was wonderful. She particularly liked nights when they stayed in, nights where Draco watched films and she watched his reactions to them. She usually hated Valentine's Day, had told him so every time he'd brought it up. The day was only valuable in its connection to Geoffrey Chaucer, in her opinion, but suddenly she was glad she'd let him cajole her into the night out. Perhaps silly Valentine's Day and all its trappings could help her cause, after all…

Her palms had been sweaty with anticipation as she presented him with three little red gift bags, each labeled with a different word. He seemed to have realized what she was up to as he read them, and she'd been pleased when he played along. He'd chosen bag labeled "classy".

She stood in the bathroom and looked in the mirror, adjusting the slate gray silk negligee to drape correctly around her frame. It looked perfect with the earrings. She then pulled on the matching silk robe and checked her hair in the mirror a final time before looking herself in the eyes. "Don't take no for an answer, Hermione Granger. Be a strong, assertive woman." With a nod to herself, she turned from the mirror, took a deep breath, and strode as confidently as possible out of the bathroom.

She stopped as soon as she reentered her bedroom, immediately torn between giving in to the melting feeling in her chest or the urge to laugh. He'd already changed out of his suit, and instead was wearing a pair of pajama pants, slung low on his hips. His pale, lean upper body was on full display as he wandered the room. He'd placed candles on every available service while she'd changed, and was pulling the air above the wicks, giving the candles a gentle nudge of magic to coax them into burning.

The grand speech she'd been prepared to make about wishing to move forward physically vanished from her head as she watched him moving casually about her space. She noticed that he'd turned down the bedcovers, as well. For a wild moment, she wondered if sending his mother a birthday card had actually worked, after all.

"What's all this?" she inquired, her throat suddenly dry.

"Well, judging by the little number I pulled out of that gift bag, I should think that's obvious." He grinned teasingly over his shoulder at her, and she was distracted by his chest and chiseled shoulders before finally looking up to meet his eyes. He was smirking at the way her eyes had lingered over his torso.

"So, does this mean you're ready to have sex, then?" She felt odd being so blunt about it in this soft candlelight, as if the word was somehow crude, the directness somehow an insult. Even so, it was much gentler than her previously planned soliloquy would have been.

He paused in his candle lighting and turned to face her, his eyes running over her bare legs and her silhouette in the silky lingerie. "I've been ready. But I wanted to do it properly." He reached for her and stroked a finger down the side of her cheek.

She was at once exasperated and awed by him. "Properly? Draco, I told you I didn't need all of this." She gestured around at the candles, the artfully turned down bedclothes, at her earlobes where the delicate pearls still rested. "I didn't need a fancy Valentine's Day. I just wanted you."

He grinned skeptically, pulling her closer and sliding her robe off one shoulder. "Well, you bought fancy lingerie…" He pressed a soft kiss to the base of her neck, and she leaned into him.

"Just to try and persuade you to get on with it and fuck me, already," she admitted, closing her eyes as he laughed. He continued to press languorous kisses up the column of her neck, and his arms settled around her waist to tug her closer.

With his lips against her earlobe, he whispered, "Well, let's try things my way first, and if that doesn't fully satisfy you, then I'll oblige and fuck you as hard and fast as you desire. What do you say?"

She exhaled, felt heat flooding between her legs. "Your way?" she asked, stubbornly trying to keep herself from melting completely for just a few more moments.

"Properly," he repeats. "With some romance." His hands pulled at the tie of her robe. "Because once I made a girl feel like she was worth nothing, and now I want to prove to the woman she's become that she's worth everything."

So much for not melting.

He pulled the robe from her body and let it fall in a silvery pool on the ground. He turned her to face him and admired her. He'd seen her naked plenty of times, but something about the way he looked at her body in its silk and lace wrappings made her feel powerful. It seemed that he found her just as alluring this way as he did when there was nothing between them. His gaze kept returning to her breasts, covered by a nearly sheer white lace pattern that left little to the imagination.

The rest of the candles forgotten, he stepped close to her again, his hands grasping her elbows as he caught her lips with his. As her hands clasped around his upper arms, she tilted her head to the side and sighed against his lips. Maybe doing things properly wasn't so bad, after all.

He sat on the edge of the bed, pulling her into his lap as he continued to kiss trails from her lips and down to her collarbone. Her thighs cradled his hips, and Draco grasped at her waist, framing her ribcage as he bunched her silken gown at her sides. Suddenly, he pulled her higher onto her knees and dropped his head to her left breast, sucking at her nipple through the lace covering.

She bit her lip and carded her fingers through his hair, wrapping her hand around the back of his neck to pull him closer as she felt her nipples peak beneath his attention.

"Eager, are we?" he asked, giving her a quick kiss before switching to her other breast.

"Absolutely," she breathed, leaning her head back and pressing her chest forward into his mouth.

He released her nipple and reached his hands around her body, each hand cupping her bum as he pulled her forward across the bed. Distracted by the feel of his hands on her rear, she grabbed at the headboard to steady herself just as he dropped back onto her pillows. She felt a sudden rush of cool air beneath her thighs as he lifted the lingerie over her hips.

Draco wiggled further down the bed, holding tight to her calves where they remained spread around his torso. "Very eager, I see," he teased, smirking as he caught a glimpse of her swollen folds.

"You're teasing, Draco." She tried to lift a leg so that she could slide down next to him, but he held her legs tight to the bed and within seconds, her eyes popped open in shock as she felt the familiar pressure of his tongue on her clit. As she'd told her friends the other night, she was a lucky woman. Draco had taken the time to learn her body, had spent plenty of nights testing exactly what attentions would make her toes curl. He'd never had her in this position before, though, gripping the headboard as her knees shook on either side of his head.

She'd never been able to achieve one explosive orgasm, but rather was able to have a succession of smaller ones, like waves during the tide. Whereas other lovers had always focused on getting her to scream and failed, Draco had mastered the art of taking her from one tide to another until she was spent. He used that knowledge now, taking her to the edge of orgasm within moments with his deft tongue. She'd once told him that he must really be a snake with a tongue like that, and he'd only given her a wicked grin before starting another round.

"You're still teasing," she breathed, looking down at him and shifting her grip as she felt his fingers pull her folds apart to grant him better access.

"Would you rather I stop?" His gray eyes were dark with desire, and she quivered as he held her gaze while dragging his tongue along her slit. It was like a challenge, and she continued to hold his gaze as long as she could, even as he suckled on her clit and slid two fingers inside of her to press against that spot he knew so well…

The first set of waves broke over her, and her head fell back. Her knuckles grew white on the headboard as she rode it out, her eyes half-lidded with pleasure. She felt him release her calves and pull her right leg over his head, and she slid down next to him on the bed.

Hermione stroked her fingers through his hair and gave him a tiny smile before bringing her lips to his. He opened his mouth at once, and their tongues mingled. At first, he'd been shocked that she was willing to kiss him after he'd been giving her pleasure. Now, she knew that he thought it was one of the most arousing things she could do.

She reached down to tug at the drawstrings of his black linen pajama pants and could feel the weight of his erection against her leg as she pressed her body against his. He reached down and pulled the pants off with urgency, and she broke away from his lips with a giggle. "Now who's eager?"

"Is this the best time to mock me?"

"Not mocking. Just appreciating the view."

Draco caught her lips again and wrapped his left hand around his shaft. He pumped a few times before she knocked his hand away and took over. She loved to watch him like this, with his cock in her hands or her mouth. All his tension faded, and his characteristic reserve fell away.

He reached up to push her hair back behind her ear, groaning against her lips as she teased his frenulum. But when she moved to slide down his body and take his cock in her mouth, he shook his head. "No more teasing tonight, love. I'm too eager for that just now."

He coaxed her onto her side and slid up behind her, spooning her as he wrapped his arm around her waist. Her lingerie was still bunched around her waist, and he made no move to remove it. Instead, he simply lifted one of her legs over his hip and reached forward to test that she was still slick and ready for him.

Her breath hitched as she felt him push inside of her. She'd slept with other men, of course, but no sexual encounter had ever felt as right as it did with Draco. They fit together. It was simple, and exactly what she'd been hoping for.

This position was intimate, and he pushed as far inside of her as the angle would allow. He squeezed her breast as he kissed at her neck, groaning as she clenched her walls around him. Draco released her breast and reached up to caress her cheek as he craned forward, kissing her deeply. He remained still as they kissed, and as soon as they broke for air, he pulled his hips back achingly slowly.

She reached back and grabbed his hip, eagerly guiding him to fill her once again. With each shallow thrust, the head of his member hit that same spot inside of her that he always so expertly manipulated with his fingers, and she could feel the second set of waves approaching.

"Was it worth the wait?" he whispered in her ear, reaching around to trace a circle around her clit as he simultaneously thrust forward more sharply than he had previously. He was rewarded with a low moan.

"Definitely." He pulled out of her slowly again, and she was certain he intended to torture her. Had he planned this particular position, knowing the pressure of the angle would make her mindless?

Her varied his thrusts, moving forward slowly one moment, sharp and precisely the next. As he felt her getting close, he rolled her onto her stomach, using his forearms to support most of his weight as he hovered over her body. He began to roll his hips steadily, retreating and reentering her body in a staccato beat that had her biting her lip and squeezing her eyes shut.

Her second wave came slowly, a back building sensation of pressure that came flooding in all at once, more tsunami than tide. Her walls contracted around Draco's cock, and he buried his face in her neck as he stilled, allowing her to take control as she rocked backward against him, seeking continued friction.

As soon as he felt her starting to relax, he climbed off of her. Hermione instantly threw a leg over him, straddling his legs and pushing him back onto the pillows. It was her turn to bring him to a climax, and she wanted to be able to watch his face when he came.

He watched, seemingly transfixed, as she guided his length inside of her once again. He reached up to grab her hips, urging her to ride him swiftly, but she only smirked wickedly down at him as she refused, riding him slowly. He'd wanted a proper seduction, after all, and they were still doing it his way.

She leaned back, placing her hands on his thighs, and he leaned up to suck at her nipples again. The change in angle made them both moan as she gripped him even tighter.

She pushed him back down again, leaning slightly forward this time, and didn't fight him when he grabbed her hips again. She could feel him reaching that rock-hard point of stiffness that meant he was close. Hermione leaned down to whisper in his ear. "And was it worth the wait for you?"

"Oh, fuck," he groaned, his ability to communicate seemingly erased in a haze of pleasure.

He reached up erratically, one arm holding tightly to her waist as the other pulled her hips down, fully against his own. With a shudder, he let go, and she watched breathlessly he came apart beneath her.

He held her there for a long while before his mind became capable of processing more than just pleasure once again. When he opened his eyes and caught her gaze, she was pleased to see that he looked more sated than she'd ever seen him.

"To answer you more eloquently," he drawled, "it was definitely worth the wait." He reached up to smooth her now wild hair back, groaning at the sensation as she pulled away from him.

She tucked herself into his side, reaching down and pulling the blankets over them. "No more waiting," she warned. "Next time I want you, I'm going to take you."

He raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. "I won't complain about that." With a glance around the room, he sighed and mopped his face with a hand. "Damnit, I forgot the rest of the candles."

"It's okay, Draco. Everything was perfect." Especially the fact that he thought she was worth all the effort to make their first night together memorable.

They basked in each other's warmth, and he traced patterns up and down her arm for some time, enjoying her company even in silence.

Just as she was about to fall asleep, he remembered something and nudged her. "Hey Hermione… why did you send my mother a birthday card this morning? Her birthday isn't until August."

She smirked into his shoulder. "Is that so? Well judging by both her name and the fact that she loves herself so much, I figured her birthday had to be on a day like Valentine's Day."

Draco's laughter filled the room, and Hermione's heart felt full as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. "You saucy little minx."

She lifted her head and wagged her eyebrows at him. "Mrs. Greengrass gave me 129 antiquated tips on how to seduce a good pureblood boy like yourself. One of these tips advised to send his mother a birthday card, so... that's what I did. And I imagine your mother will understand the intent of the birthday card soon enough. They take tea together on Friday afternoons, don't they?"

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Mrs. Greengrass? What… seriously? You talked to Mrs. Greengrass about seducing me? Oh, my mother is going to be insufferable."

"She's already insufferable, Draco."

He chortled again, then pushed the covers off and got to his knees. Settling behind her, he reached down and pulled her hips up. "All right, Granger. Just for that, it's time to do things your way."

"I'm looking forward to it."

A huge thank you to the mods at Strictly Dramione for sponsoring this fest, and to my beta micekmucek! You're amazing, and I'm so glad to have met you through this fest.

This is my first time writing smut, and it was a majorly difficult struggle. I'm incredibly nervous about it, and would greatly appreciate any feedback you readers have!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or make any money off of it.