Authors note: Thanks for reading! I don't know why I called this story what I did, because it has nothing to do with the story. Sorry about that! Please let me know what you think. I know it's a little short and you may find it is rushed. Reviews are much appreciated, good or bad. Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter books or movies, and anything you recognize such as places or characters are also not mine. No copyright intended! Songs (which are not mine) are: Boulevard of broken dreams- Green day, A case of you- Joni Mitchell. Thanks!
Draco's P.O.V.
Draco walked slowly down the narrow corridors of Hogwarts, thinking about where his life had gone wrong. It was his parents, he thought. If his father hadn't gone and joined the death eaters, he would never have had to sacrifice his life for evil and discrimination. He could be happily finishing up his final year at Hogwarts, instead of preparing to flee to some completely off-the-map town in the middle of nowhere to escape the hoard angry death eaters that were after him and his family. Whatever, he thought sadly. There was nothing he could do about it, after all.
He started to quietly sing:
I walk a lonely road,
The only one that I have ever known.
Don't know where it goes,
But it's home to me,
And I walk alone.
I walk this empty street,
On the boulevard of broken dreams.
Where the city sleeps,
And I'm the only one,
And I walk alone.
He suddenly started, upon seeing none other than Hermione Granger, the famous Gryffindor mud blood {of course, he didn't care about blood status anymore}, blushing and flirting with a Ravenclaw! Feelings surprisingly like anger and jealousy surged through him. Wait, why did he care? It wasn't like he cared about her, right? Right. Of course he didn't like her, she was the buck-toothed, bushy haired bookworm. He turned and stalked away, muttering to himself. Back at his dorm he sat on his bed, thinking about Hermione. He was fighting with himself, but he knew deep down that since the end of the war, he had been hiding his growing feelings for her. He could no longer pretend he didn't like her. At least not to himself. Cursing himself and his stupidity, he decided to make the most of the last few days he had at Hogwarts. Why not, after all?
The next day, Draco tried to get Hermione alone so he could talk to her. She always seemed to be with a crowd of Gryffindor's, however. Finally, after almost two hours of following her from a distance, she parted from her friends, and began to walk slowly towards the lake. He followed slowly, wanting to make it look as if he had come upon her by chance.
Hermione's P.O.V.
He walked slowly towards me, deliberately not making eye contact. I had known for the last hour that he had been following me, I just didn't know why. But I did know that he had changed since the war. We all had. He was no longer the ignorant, selfish boy he had been. He was a better person now. I considered calling out to him, but decided against it. I was curious as to how he would start a conversation with me. We had never talked without hate and status getting in the way before. I sat down by a large tree that looked out over the glassy lake in front of me. He came up to the tree, and seated himself beside me.
"Hello".
He said it so quietly I hardly heard him.
"Hello" I replied.
I don't know how, but before I knew, the dinner bell was ringing. I started, unaware of how late it had gotten. Wait, did I really just have a two-hour conversation with the famous slytherin prince? I hardly remembered it. After he said hello, I just couldn't seem to stop talking. I chatted consistently about everything that popped into my mind. It was nice. I felt like Draco actually cared about what I was saying. It was so easy to talk to him, so natural. Hang on. What am I doing? What is he doing? We were enemies, for Merlin's sake! Then again, why shouldn't we talk? I mean, all that slytherin-Gryffindor rivalry was supposed to have been lost after the war. Why shouldn't she talk to him? Heck, why not be friends with him, even? He had proved that he was only fighting for the dark side in order to protect his parents and himself. And he was kind and interesting throughout their conversation… Yes. I would make friends. There was no reason not to, after all. Hmm… but, what would my other friends think? I would worry about that later, I suppose.
Draco's P.O.V.
All throughout dinner, I couldn't stop staring at Hermione. The way she moved and laughed. The way she subconsciously played with strands of her hair… Merlin, he was going crazy! Why did he feel like this? I guess it wasn't that surprising. After all, she was beautiful, kind, intelligent, amazing, and quite frankly, supermegaawesomefoxyhot. Whoa. Hold on, where did that last one come from?
Draco's P.O.V. She threw her head back and laughed, a sound like a thousand sweet raindrops hitting a crystal vase. He smiled at her, and then sighed. A feeling of regret and remorse rose in him. He had only two days left, and he had yet to tell Hermione that he was leaving. He supposed that now was probably a better time than any.
"Hermione…"
She smiled at him, and their eyes met. For one breathtaking second, he thought she might kiss him. But then the moment was gone, and she looked away.
"Yes, Draco?"
She had started using his name the day they had talked by the lake.
"I-I'm leaving."
She looked startled, and for a moment, he thought he detected a shimmer of regret in her eyes.
"Why?"
He wanted to tell her everything. Every single thing he had done, and every reason he was being forced to leave. But all that came out of his mouth was a simple "I have to".
She nodded, as if she understood, and then looked into his eyes.
"When?"
"Two days."
She nodded again, and to his surprise, she simply turned around and walked away. He stood there, shocked, and eventually headed back to his dormitory, wondering what had just happened.
The next two days passed quickly, and Draco had seen neither head nor tail of Hermione. He supposed she was hiding from him, although he was not entirely sure why. Now he was standing in the great hall for what was to be the last time, and a feeling of regret grew in him. It was so easy to fall into the pattern of what-if's. What if he had been kinder at Hogwarts, what if he hadn't idolized his father so much, what if-. Here he stopped. There was no time. He was leaving in less than 10 minutes, and he was hoping someone would come say goodbye to him before he left. It wasn't likely, as the only person who knew he was leaving was Hermione. She clearly wasn't planning to talk to him anytime soon, and yet he still glanced frequently at the door, hoping to see her. He now had only five minutes left. He heard the door creak open. Then he saw her. They didn't speak, but her eyes told a thousand words. He walked closer and held her close to him, obtaining from her a silent permission. Gently, he brushed his lips against hers. He whispered in her ear;
"Love is touching souls,
Surely you touched mine,
Cause part of you pours out of me,
In these lines from time to time"
And he turned and walked out of the hall.
And as the tears slid quietly down her face, she realized what love was.
As watched him disappear from the hall, she heard the crack of thunder. She tried to let go, and as she did so her lips quietly sang;
"Oh you are in my blood like holy wine,
And you taste so bitter but you taste so sweet,
Oh I could drink a case of you darling,
Still I'd be on my feet,
Oh I would still be on my feet."
And she turned and walked out of the hall.
THE END
