Title: Back to December

Pairing: Hermione/Draco

Genre: Romance/Hurt/Comfort

Rating: T or M prolly

Summary: Hermione and Draco got together when they returned to Hogwarts in June after the war, but she ends it just before graduation in December. What will happen when they meet again a few months later? Based off of the Taylor Swift song of the same name. Mostly DH compliant (aside from the epilogue of course).

Disclaimer: I am not J.K. Rowling or Taylor Swift, thus I do not own any of the characters or song lyrics I am playing with. But thanks to them for letting me mess with them

Back To December

He looked just the same as she remembered him. All sharp angles and soft edges. He's the only person who she could describe in such a contradicting yet correct way. His face held traces of a noble heritage, yet she could see the softness in the curve of his lips and the light of his silver eyes. His body is long and lean, muscular yet soft, draped in a black cloak, perfectly highlighting his pale skin and white-blonde hair. Hair gelled into careful disarray, and yet still so silky and natural.

All of this flooded back to her in an instant as they locked eyes on that warm June evening. Diagon Alley was busy, so they were jostled as they both froze on the cobblestones. She could see him debating what to do as she began moving slowly towards him.

"Hello, Draco." Her tone was casual, but her eyes were conflicted.

"Hermione." He responded with an equally cool tone.

It was silent between them for a moment longer before she spoke again. "You look well… Listen Draco, I know this may be uncomfortable, but I really think we should talk. I'm on my way to a meeting now, but could we meet later. Maybe get a drink at the Leaky Cauldron?"

Draco thought for a moment and replied, "Ok. How about we meet there around seven?"

"Great!" She answered with a smile, before checking her watch and hurrying on with a hasty "See you then."

Draco watched her go wondering why he had agreed to meet with her. They had barely dated half a year, but their breakup had been hard on him. He had fallen in love with her in that short time and watching her walk away had almost killed him. He thought back to that fateful night as he moved on towards his office.

He had been waiting for her in the Astronomy Tower after their graduation ceremony. Their harried makeup semester had been hard and had left little time for a blooming love, but, somehow, they had always found the time. Now they had all the time in the world. He was fingering the small, velvet box in his pocket when she arrived.

"Hello love," he had greeted her, wrapping her in his arms. He brushed a kiss to her lips and was confused when she pulled away rather quickly. He recovered quickly, drawing roses from the air and passing them to her. Her smile was sad as she took them.

"Good evening, Draco." He could tell by her tone that something was wrong. "I… I have something to tell you, and I am afraid it's going to hurt."

"Ok…" He'd replied slowly. Then, he'd pulled her down to sit with him on the window ledge.

She'd played with a rose petal for a moment before taking a deep breath and beginning. "Draco. These last 6 months have been amazing, but it can't go on. I need my freedom right now. I've been fighting evil since I was eleven. Now is the only time I will have to let loose and be crazy. I don't want to be tied down for that. I deserve my liberation, and you deserve better than waiting at home while I work out my wild streak. I love you, I really do, but this is what I need. I've been caged up for seven years and it's time for me to break free."

He hadn't known how to respond. She waited a moment before kissing him lightly on the cheek, laying the roses at his side, and leaving slowly. The only mercy in the situation was that she left before he began to cry. The tears rolled down his face silently before he stood abruptly and screamed, tossing the flowers out the window and sobbing as he watched the petals fall.

He snapped back to reality as he entered his office building. No one there knew of his heartbreak, and he didn't intend for that to change. He nodded quickly to his secretary and entered his office, locking and warding the door behind him. He tried to focus on his work, but it was difficult. He kept thinking of her. The scratch of his quill reminded him of the many nights they would study together. The subtle scent of strawberries floating in the air reminded him of waking up with his arms around her, smelling her shampoo. He gave up work entirely when a lone rose petal floated through the open window and lighted upon his parchment. He dropped his quill and stared at it before he brushed it away and stormed from his office. Soon, he found himself in a booth at the Leaky Cauldron. He was almost an hour early but he was eager to get the torturous conversation over with so he could get drunk and try to forget her.

All the while, Hermione was fighting a similar battle in her meeting. She pretended to pay attention as she thought back to a special September night. The first time they made love. And the first time he saw her cry.

They had just finished a long joint essay on the proper preparation of the Wolfsbane Potion for Professor Slughorn's class. She was resting against his chest, staring into the fire as he lightly traced patterns on her arms with his fingers. She didn't know when exactly she started crying, but, before she knew it, tears were flooding down her cheeks.

Draco had noted this with alarm. "Mione! What's wrong, my angel? Why are you crying?" He turned her to face him as she continued to cry. After a moment, she calmed down enough to speak.

"It's been a year to the day since my parents died. Taken by the damn war. I miss them so much. Especially my mum. This is the time when I need her most. I should be laughing with her, talking about my boyfriend and her giving me the sex talk. And I should be defending you to my dad, waiting to see if you could win him over. But I can't. The closest I can come is a visit to their graves, and that's not nearly close enough."

"Oh baby…" he'd cooed, showing the side only she ever saw. He held her close and waited for the tears to stop, knowing that there was nothing he could say to make it better. Finally, her tears stopped but she stayed curled against his chest.

"I feel close to you, Draco. It's healing me. I love you, Dray."

He'd frozen for a moment, never having expected the conversation to take this turn. Then, he'd smiled down at her and replied, "I love you too." Then, he's kissed her. There was something different in that kiss. It was a question, with an edge of demand. He knew what he wanted but didn't want to push. He wanted her to say yes without his nudge.

And she did. She answered him silently, pressing her body closer to his, trying to mold her body into his. He remained slightly hesitant; as though he was afraid she was just a dream. So she took control. She forced him down on the carpet and ran her hands up his chest, dragging his shirt up with her nails. He closed his eyes and moaned slightly into their kiss, reaching up to remove her shirt as soon as she had his all the way off. It slid off her shoulders like water, cascading down her back and pooling around her thighs. She reached back and flicked it away. Then, in the same smooth motion, she unclasped her bra and let it fall from her body. It landed on his face and a small giggle escaped her lips.

Frustrated and unused to being submissive, Draco growled as he shook the bra from his face and flipped her onto her back. He hovered above her, smirking sexily. He leaned down and attached his mouth to her neck, suckling and biting, marking her as his. Next, he kissed down her throat until he reached her breasts. As he tormented her flesh, Hermione had had enough thought left to reach down and undo his pants. She was moving faster than she had originally intended, but she didn't care. She needed him. Now.

Draco released her breast from his mouth as he felt her hand wrap around his hardened member. He groaned at the touch. He looked at her in surprise when she began guiding him up under her skirt, towards her wet sex.

"Mione…"He breathed, "Are you sure? We don't have to rush. We have all night. This isn't the romantic first time I had planned for us…"

"Dray. Please. This is exactly what I want. You. Right here. Right now. Just like this."

He looked her in the eye for a moment before positioning himself at her entrance. Then, he began pushing himself slowly into her, moaning.

"Hermione." The Draco of her memories moaned her name just as her boss called to her.

She snapped her head up, not realizing she had dozed off. "Oh my Merlin! Mr. Quincy! I am so sorry!"

Her boss leveled a concerned gaze at her. Hermione had never fallen asleep at work before. "Are you feeling well, Hermione? Perhaps you should head home and rest."

Normally, she would have refused and insisted she was ok, but today, she was just anxious to reach the Leaky Cauldron. Perhaps if she got there early, she could have a drink to calm her nerves before Draco arrived.

"You know, sir, I have been feeling a bit under the weather. Perhaps rest is what I need." Then, she excused herself and hurried towards the pub.

Despite her being 45 minutes early, she spotted Draco in a back corner booth. She slowly picked her way over towards him.

"Hello."

He didn't respond, only motioned for her to sit down across from him. A waitress came over and took their order as she sat. They stared at each other silently for a moment after the waitress delivered their drinks. Hermione wasn't really sure what to say. Draco was waiting for her to make the first move.

Finally, Hermione quietly cleared her throat and stated simply, "I'm glad you made time to see me."

His only response was to nod slightly and take a sip of his drink.

'OK… so he's not going to make this easy for me…' she thought. Then, aloud, "How is your mother?" She only asked as a formality and icebreaker. Narcissa had reluctantly accepted their relationship but they had never grown to particularly like each other.

"Mother is very well, thank you." His guard was up. She knew why.

"Listen, Draco. I've been thinking a lot about us. I haven't been sleeping. There's just too much going on in my head." She sighed then continues, "A lot happened in that semester. It started out as fun, but by the fall, I loved you. Then, the real world came closer and closer, and I got scared. But the truth is, I miss you."

"What about your freedom?" he asked, his voice sharp. For a moment, Hermione saw a flash of the cruel boy the man before her used to be.

She shook off the image and replied, "It turns out freedom is nothing but missing you and wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine. I miss you so much and, well… you know how hard this is for me, but this is me swallowing my pride and saying I'm sorry for that night."

There was a very pregnant pause before he spoke. He seemed to be choosing his words carefully. "I'll be honest with you, Hermione. You killed me that night. I was ready to propose to you. Hell, I had the ring in my pocket the night you left me. I won't lie and say that I don't still love you, but I don't want to get hurt again. I spent the last few months piecing myself back together, and I don't know if I can trust you not to break me apart again."

Draco had always been a very blunt person, and Hermione was thankful for that, despite the slight pain his words had caused. She thought for a moment and said, "Well, why don't you just think for a while. But please remember, if we loved again, I swear I'd love you right."

Draco nodded in response, tossed enough galleons on the table to pay for both their drinks, and began to leave. He paused only long enough to tell her that he would owl her in a few days and left without another word. Hermione left soon after.

The next few days passed slowly for the witch. She owled her work to tell them she would be taking the rest of the week off, using the excuse that she was still ill. Having never missed a day of work, her boss was happy to allow her the time to "recover". She spent the better part of her days thinking. She cleared her mind and tried her best to compartmentalize everything she had going on in her head. This method had always brought her peace and clarity in the past; however, it didn't seem to be working this time. Then, three days after their meeting in the Leaky Cauldron, his letter finally came.

Hermione,

I have thought a lot about you and about us, and I have come to a conclusion. We have a lot in common and you are the only person I know who can make me laugh when I want to cry and can calm with the barest touch of your hand. However, we are also both stubborn and temperamental and will probably drive each other crazy. We might even drive each other away; however, I'm willing to give us another try. What do you say, love? Wanna pick up where we left off?

Meet me downstairs,

Draco

Hermione read the letter through twice before dropping it and bolting from her apartment. She sprinted down three flights of stairs, unwilling to wait for the lift in her haste, and rushed outside. There, on the sidewalk before her, was her love, with a smile on his face and his arms wide open. She launched herself into them and vowed to never again let him go.