I was looking through some quotes I had and one particular one stuck out at me. This story was pretty much a product of that, my insomnia, and boredom. Apologies if it kinda sucks.
Disclaimer: Definitely do not own. So sad...
The silence of the room was broken by the slight creaking of an opening door. Soft footsteps grew louder with each step closer before the sound of the door shutting was heard and silence resumed.
"You do realize that Potter is doing his best to catch whatever it is that I've been doing, haven't you? It's like repeating my...task from 6th year all over again." A male voice echoed.
His female companion didn't look up from her book and hardly acknowledged his presence, so he patiently stood and watched her, waiting for any kind of response.
They'd been back in school for more than half a year after it's rebuilding from the war and, it was an odd concept that, for the past three and a half months, he had shared this room with someone he should have despised with no questions or complaints. A miniscule amount of dislike of her background probably still lingered, if only because he unconsciously held onto thoughts that were instilled in him at such a young age. Old habits die hard after all, but the insults were practically nonexistant and they had gotten along more than decently enough.
Minutes passed, but finally, after being seemingly pleased with her progress, she marked the page and tucked a brown curl behind her ear.
"Yes, actually, I do know. He's constantly trying to convince Ron and I that you are up to some suspicious business again. Surprisingly enough, Ron doesn't believe it, and I've not been egging Harry on either. He's relentless when it comes to you, I suppose."
It was her turn to look at him. His face was blank, showing little to no emotion, and she briefly wondered if he was taught to keep it that way constantly. His once slicked back, platinum blonde hair was combed neatly to the side, giving him a cleaner, more mature look. It seemed though, that his frown would always stay in place.
The girl motioned to the seat beside her and he walked forward to accept her invitation. Moments later, his head was situated comfortably in her lap while she ran her fingers through his baby soft hair. The brunette smiled as he closed his eyes and relaxed into her touch.
"You must have been a dog or a cat in your past life. It seems you like people running their fingers through your hair." She commented lightly.
"And why exactly do you say that?"
"Because I've seen Parkinson doing this before on the train here to Hogwarts. And I have supposedly taken over her job because now I'm doing it too."
"Jealousy does not become of you Granger." He drawled lazily, opening his eyes to see her reaction.
He was slightly disappointed when she merely smiled at him.
"It's not jealousy, Malfoy. It's called being observant. Besides, Harry's not sly enough to think he can slip away from me to sneak into your cabin area without my noticing. I would say he deserved to get caught by you, had you not broken his nose."
"He had it coming to him. It was all karma." Draco replied sharply, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well regardless, that year was particularly sad. It was like the beginning of the end wasn't it?" Hermione questioned softly.
Her questions was answered with a stiff nod and a clench of a jaw.
They sat in tense silence, remembering that year and the war that followed the next. Both became lost in thought, reliving the worst of the war and thinking of all those passed. Finally, Draco grabbed her hands from the top of his head and gripped them before speaking in a voice so soft that Hermione had to strain to hear him.
"How did you do it?" He questioned, "How is it that you could always smile? Even when everything was about to be taken from you, even if more important things were already taken from you?"
He paused but didn't give her time to answer, continuing on what seemed to be questions that lingered in his mind for so long.
"I always thought it was better to have no heart. I was taught to not let my emotions get in the way. To not think for myself, but to be told what to think instead. But seeing you smile after everything that happened...after everything we've lost...did it really not matter?"
To say that Hermione was shocked would be an understatement.
"Not matter? How can it not matter? It's not that I don't know what anger or fear is. Not that I don't know when I'm being wronged or don't know what pain is. I know all those things and so much more that I wish I didn't!"
"Then how is it that you can endure? How did you survive with so much pain and anger and fear? I felt like it was tearing me apart. Eating me from the inside out. How could you smile despite it all?"
She looked down at Draco as she contemplated her answer. His eyebrows were furrowed in confusion, or maybe even frustration, but despite it all he kept his eyes closed. Had she not known he were awake, she might have thought he was having a nightmare.
Squeezing his hand, she sighed and said, "Because...we need to live."
His eyes opened and he stared, searching through her own for answers. She stared straight back.
"The days when we're living, there's no end point. During that time, I never thought for one second that just because today was bad, my life would end soon. I never thought that all the good moments would be my last. No matter if things were good or bad, we needed to live past it. I couldn't just let everyone's sacrifices go to waste. I needed to live for their memory. I needed to go on despite it all. That's how they would have wanted it."
Draco contemplated her answer, drank it in and, just when she thought he could understand what she told him, mumbled, "Even if I live another hundred years, I will absolutely not be able to understand people like you."
Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock before she registered that he was smirking at her. Smacking his arm lightly with one hand and entwining her other with his, she smiled at him.
"It's over. How about we stop dwelling on the past and think about each of our futures?" She suggested.
"How about one future? Together." He whispered as he lifted himself from her lap and kissed her forehead softly.
"Now that, I'll really have to think about. Your doom and gloom will surely ruin my mood everyday."
He raised an eyebrow at her and she giggled.
"It's just a joke. You need to smile more."
Draco rolled his eyes and she saw the slightest upturn of lips when his eyes fell on her again.
"It seems you underestimate yourself, Draco. You've endured as well. I think you just needed a little help smiling through all the pain and uncertainty." Hermione pointed out.
"But it's okay," She continued, leaning into his frame while he wrapped his arms around her, "we can have you practice on that."
She never did see the smile on his face at that moment. Not that it mattered. She'd have plenty more to see as time went on.
So, there it is. I'm not entirely happy with it, but I didn't know what else to write or edit or add.
Anyways, tell me what you think? Pretty please? (: