A/N: Hey everyone! Don't ask me where this came from- popped into my head in the middle of the night when I had nothing better to do! It's the first time I'm attempting Dramione, so go easy on me, yeah? Enjoy! I shall meet you again at the bottom of the screen. =D

Disclaimer: JKR may own harry Potter, but I don't like her later characterization of Draco. So humph! I've taken it into my own hands. XD

The late November wind lashed cruelly, the jungle of chocolate curls whipping around her shoulders quite as violently as the boughs of the bare trees that were thrashing around on the hilltop. Her fingers struggled pointlessly with the tangles, trying to tame them, but her efforts were futile; the wind was too strong. She scanned the clearing carefully, trying to spot me through the deluge; I wondered why she did not simply cast the Impervius charm to shield herself from the water. Maybe she enjoys the rain, suggested a small voice in my head. I was surprised- I hardly heard voices in my head. But I understood what it meant. I raised my face towards the raging clouds above me; I could distinguish each of the tiny droplets of water that pounded on my face, my neck, my chest- I felt as though it washed away the scars of the battles I had been fighting for so long, the stains from those sins that I had been committing for a long time now.

I returned my gaze to the woman who stood not ten yards from me, unaware of my presence. She had gained scars, both visible and mental, from the battles she had been combating as well. She had fought just as long as I had, and possibly harder. Her posture showed it- defensive, distrustful and self-protective; her face showed signs of tension- always watchful, conscious of danger; her teeth were tugging away at her bottom lip in a habitual way, her eyes darting incessantly around the clearing. From where I stood, and from what I knew, she was not free of sins either. I was fully aware of one she had committed a very long time ago, one that she had possibly learnt to ignore; this meeting with me might refresh her memory. I smirked slightly in spite of myself as I removed the Disillusionment Charm and revealed myself from the behind the tree.

'Granger,' I uttered smoothly, keeping all emotion from my voice as I saw the relief wash over her face, replaced by something I could not quite place before it was chased away by a calm, composed and impassive façade. She could not quite pull of the same with her voice, which trembled slightly as she spoke.

'Malfoy,' she nodded, her head jerking slightly.

As stiff and indifferent as she seemed to be in stance and poise, her eyes told the true story. A miasma of emotions spilled uncontrollably from those chocolate irises, and I named and reasoned them, one after the other: uncertainty, probably as to why I had called her here; insecurity and fear, possibly of what I may do to her- or worse, ask her to do; there was a glint of what could be called defiance and daring, as if she knew that she may be doing something that did not necessarily fit the image of the Brilliance of the Golden Trio that she managed to maintain; glee, perhaps because of that slight disobedience to her "moral principles"; one more reason I felt more akin to this woman, who was as different as me in birth as she was in appearance. Her dark, tumbling, wild curls were in sharp contrast to my sleek fair hair; her chocolate eyes were distinctly different from my metallic ones, which closely matched that of the steely thunder clouds above our heads; she was small, petit, delicate, while I stood at six feet two. We were different in all ways visible to others- Gryffindor Head Girl and Slytherin Head Boy, idols of the opposing sides- she was the hope of the Light, and I was her sworn enemy, the rising star of the Dark.

And yet… yet, there was something so…familiar, something that seemed so…similar to me, that it had lured me towards her previously, and it was doing so, quite reluctantly, once again. The several, most fascinating facets to her personality drew me in her direction- her belief, like me, that the world was not all Light and Dark; she like me, understood the areas of shadow, and those who resided in it; she understood that the world was not as simple as it seemed to some- there were so many reasons for every action, and so many actions that caused further reactions, slowly building up into a succession of, perhaps accidents, or maybe even deliberate incidents that shaped people and situations into being; her knowledge, her insight, her ability to guess, deduce, to look past my smokescreen of a personality and discover… she was amazing, alluring, intriguing. Initially, she had been merely a conquest, another trophy to add to the display cabinet of the Draco Malfoy- but that was a fit of childishness and immaturity in the eighteen year old Draco that had gained me what was possibly the most cherished treasure and the heaviest burden of my life.

All of this had occurred in a long, silent moment, when we simple stood gazing at one another, the storm continuing to take out its wrath on us. My breath hitched unwillingly in my throat as she looked away, shifting her gaze towards the ground. She was beautiful, mystical, and even after the seven years in which I had not seen her, the look on her face pulled me in like a poor, helpless fish hooked on to a fishing line. The last emotion I caught in her eyes before she looked away was strangely familiar, something I had seen on people several times before, but was unable to quite name it.

She shuffled her feet nervously as she spoke again, carefully looking anywhere except directly at me. 'Why have you called me here Dra- Malfoy?'

'Not so fast, Granger,' I said. What was the rush? This may be the last time I would see her- I'd prefer to draw out an experience like that. 'Tell me, how have you been?'

She spared a sharp glance at me before directing her gaze very precisely at the tree behind which I had been concealing myself. 'And why would you care about a Mudblood like me, Malfoy?' I knew she would not require an answer to that; predictably, she continued. 'It's been…a difficult few years.'

'I heard about the death of your best friend. I am so very sorry for your loss,' I sneered.

'My best friend?' Her eyebrows knit together in incredulity. 'Oh…Ginny. It tore Harry and Ron apart. They haven't been the same since. I feel like I'm the only one with the will to fight anymore. But you, Malfoy, know as well as I do that she was never my best friend,' her glance was reproaching.

'Oh I know,' I smirked. 'You should thank that sneaking bitch Parvati for passing the Dark Lord the information that allowed him to hunt the Weasley girl down.'

'Parvati?' Her already furrowed brows rose further up her head. 'Oh my God…so she's the spy…that bi- hold on,' suspicion revisited those gorgeous eyes. 'Why're you telling me all this?'

I cleared my throat. It was time to end this happy little chat session. 'I'm here to do my duty.'

'Excuse me?' Her voice was gaining the sharp, higher pitch it acquired when she became worked up.

'I believe none of your friends are aware of our… past relationship?' I smirked slightly as I saw the line of her lips tighten as she pressed them together. She nodded.

'So your new… husband doesn't know about it?' I saw her eyes narrow with some repressed emotion as she opened her mouth, undoubtedly to start an enraged rant. I quietened her before she could begin. 'I don't care about what you say to Weasley, or what you don't. It's none of my business.'

'Then why bring it up now?' she enquired, brushing the hair back from her face as she looked up at me. 'It's the past- it's gone! Ron is my present.' She seemed slightly abashed, mortified as she said it, losing some of the fire that burned within her.

'And I'm sure you love him a great deal. After all, I'm confident he's fully aware of the fact that you are standing just a few miles away from him on a hilltop, meeting up with his sworn enemy, who, by the way, you slept with continuously for about a year about seven years ago. But, of course,' I tilted my head to one side mockingly, 'it's a very honest, truthful relationship.'

'What is this really about, Malfoy?' she enquired, blushing furiously.

I sighed melodramatically. 'Obviously about the ardent passion that burns through my veins for you till this day,' I sneered mockingly.

I saw her eyes soften for a moment before the furious glare returned. 'What the fuck is your problem, you fucking bastard? Why have you made me lie to my friends and my husband, put my life at risk and meet you here, in the middle of a thunderstorm?' She gestured wildly at our surroundings, which seemed to approve of her words; lightning blinded me momentarily, followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Wonderful, I thought; this is getting quite as melodramatic as those things Muggles watch- what was it- tevelisions? Time to bring an end to it.

'Granger, I'm here to warn you.'

Hermione, who had folded her arms resolutely across her chest, looked at me in shock. 'Warn me? Why're you warning a filthy little Mudblood like me?'

'Do not bring your blood into this, Granger,' I said, gritting my teeth at her obstinacy. 'I am trying to a do the decent thing for once, so help me God.'

'Oh really? And from when does the decency and manners of a Malfoy extend to a-'

'Enough!' I heard myself shout. She glared at me, but remained silent. I closed in on her and she stood her ground as I spoke in a perilously low whisper. 'I have had enough of your interruption! It is so typical of you to bring up your birth in everything, no matter how much I try to disregard it!' I was panting and checked myself mentally. I could not let this get out of hand. 'The Dark Lord has recently learnt of our… past relationship. He has asked me to… rejuvenate it. He wishes for me to seduce you once again and lure you into a trap. Those are his orders for me. You are to be used as bait for Potter. He also believes, quite rightly, in my opinion, that that idiot Potter and his sidekick Weasley will no longer be able to function properly once you have been removed from their side.'

She opened her mouth, but no sound escaped her parted lips. She had paled visibly, and I doubted whether it was from the wind that was cutting into our skin like ice-cold carving knives.

'I suggest you go into hiding. It would be best if you hid alone, somewhere away from those two dimwits, Potter and Weasley. Maybe you could go abroad. It would be safest for you there.'

She finally seemed to regain her ability to speak; but what she said shocked and scared me in equal measure. 'But… what about you?'

We stood staring at one another for another long, silent moment as whole vistas of information opened before her insightful eyes; she did not seem to approve of any of them. 'You…he'll kill you!'

'Maybe,' I said, trying to sound indifferent, camouflaging the fear and misgivings in my voice.

'But… you… why… you're going to die for me?' she asked, her voice as soft as her the look in her eyes.

'I wouldn't put it quite so… theatrically, but yes, in essence, I suppose so.' Her eyes widened with wonder, and my heart skipped a beat as she drew closer to me. I recognized that unfathomable expression in her eyes as the admiration I had seen mirrored in the eyes of so many girls before but… this time, it seemed so genuine, so true…never before has it caused my stomach to churn before, or my heart to pound unevenly in the region of my Adam's apple.

'Draco…' She raised her hand to my cheek and passed it along my face. My eyes closed at her touch and savoured the feeling of her silken skin against mine.

'Don't, Hermione,' I whispered, finding my face reflected in her watering eyes: pain was screaming out from every inch of the image of my face- even I was not able to disguise my potent emotions for so long. The reflection was lost as the bead of water slid down her cheek, past the faint scar she had received from the hands of my deceased wife, Astoria. I looked into the face of the woman who had killed my wife- Hermione Granger; she was the one woman who I had not only desired, but truly loved, in my life, and saw the agony I felt reflected in her expression.

She placed her palms on my chest. 'Draco, don't…don't leave me,' her breath hitched in a sob, and she began crying in earnest. Her head rested against my heart, and I'm sure she could hear its irregular thumps; it did nothing to soothe her. Gently, I placed my arms around her shoulders rubbed them, trying to calm her. My throat was searing. My eyes were as desperately dry as my mouth …

Hermione looked into my eyes; her breathing had evened slightly. 'I love you, Draco.'

I reached deep within those eyes that laid her soul bare and saw that not a word of those four were false. 'As I love you, Hermione,' I replied quietly. I felt her stretch upwards and her soft lips brushed against mine, first gently, but they became fiercer each time the passed over mine. I tried to transfer as much emotion as I could as I kissed her back hungrily; my lips, my mouth were still as dry as before, but she quenched my thirst. Despite the downpour, the waging war of the nature, there was a fire that burned within me, consuming all that I had left, all fear, all feeling except one- Hermione. She was everything that was real, everything that was true, and everything that I needed, everything that I wanted, but everything that I couldn't have. I tried to put not only the lost seven years' worth of love into my kisses and my touches as my arms tightened around her waist, but the lifetime that I would lose- that we would lose together. Her fingers tangled in my hair and I was intoxicated by the sweet smell of her, her tumble of curls tickling me…

The Dark Mark on my arm burnt raw into my arm- it could only mean one thing. I heaved Hermione off me.

'You need to go!' I shouted. She looked perplexed, bewildered, hurt… 'He knows! Hermione, go now! Leave!'

She looked around wildly. 'No! Draco! I don't want to live without you! I'll- I'll-'

'You will go now!' I stated, gripping her in my arms one last time, memorising her softness, the feel of her body against me… I pulled her away to commit to memory the particulars of her features, her large eyes, her untamed hair, her rosebud lips, the smooth plains of her cheeks… 'Remember, I love you, Hermione.'

'I love you Draco,' she replied simply, before hooded and masked figures descended on us. She Disapparated with a shriek and I turned, satisfied, to meet my death.

*Ducks* Liked it? No? Yes? Depressed? Tragic? You want to hurl things at me, I know. I cried when I wrote this. *sniff sniff* Well, review and fire all the curses you feel I deserve!