"Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that."
― Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches
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"You should cover that bushy hair of yours if you're going to spy on someone, Granger."
Hermione seemed too shocked to move. She's been there, watching him wept at the sink for about thirty minutes and he just noticed her now? Or did he just pretend not noticing her all these time?
"I- I'm not spying on you, Malfoy!"
Well she's been telling him the truth. She just walked down the hallway when she heard a noise that nearly sounded like a sob. Blame it to her Gryffindor courage for what she did next. She simply followed the sound and ended up to her present situation.
"Then what the heck are you doing here?"
His voice is raising up but not intimidating. In fact he hasn't turned around to face her. He just looked down the empty sink.
"Well I heard a noise.. Sounds like a sob, I followed the sound and end up here.. I didn't exp-"
"Oh you should've heard Myrtel's.."
"Malfoy, don't lie to yours-"
"What? What do you want?"
"I don't know.. I don't want anything.."
She took a step closer to him.
"Bollocks, Granger."
"Potter sent you, didn't he?"
She took a step away from him.
"What? You're being delusional, Malfoy! Harry has nothing to do with my presence here!"
She heard Malfoy snort dryly at her words.
"Then what are you doing? Go away! I thought half of an hour being there watching me wept like a bloody first year is enough to satisfy your curiosity!"
He turned around, facing her with two red eyes still fresh with hot tears.
"I- I didn't mean that.."
She took a step closer.
"Then what is your sodding meaning, Granger?"
Though the bitterness in his sentence, his words just seemed empty. He looked just simply tired.
"May- Maybe.. Maybe I can help.."
Never has she heard in her life a laughter scarier than the laugh she's hearing now. Draco Malfoy's broken laughter.
"You don't know a thing about this whole situation and you're offering to help? Get the fuck off, Granger!"
That's it. She had had enough. She took a step closer.
"Well if you could just tell me what this is all about, then maybe I can help! Maybe I can.. Maybe I can help you off of all this situation.. Maybe I can stop you from crying.."
Damn. Now what her real intention of being here is revealed. She was not just here to watch Draco Malfoy crying, pitied himself in front of the sink mirror. She was here for - goddamnit! - She was here just to stop Malfoy from crying! How much she had hated him didn't mater now when she realized what she hated more. Seeing Draco Malfoy crying. Merlin please make him stop! Seeing him like that just break her heart into pieces. And she didn't even know why that could happened! He's Draco fucking Malfoy!
"Tell you? I don't even trust the dead to hear this!"
He looked at her right in the eyes. And in that moment she swore that his eyes are full with emotions. Anger, confusion, determination, sadness, and emptiness. Merlin, she could tell that he's lost! Lost in his own little world and all of all, he just looked tired, fucking tired that he couldn't even kept his eyes fully open.
"Maybe you should try to tell the living.."
She took a step closer.
"Then do tell, Granger! Do tell why I should bloody tell the living?"
He said with a bored tone. No, it wasn't. It was a tired tone.
She didn't know what was she doing, she just took another step forward and so on and on until she just a mere step away from him. She look trough him, lifted her palm to his cheek, and the words just escaped her mouth without asking for permission.
"Then.. Then the living could help."
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"Get your filthy hand off me, Granger."
He said in a harsh tone. But honestly he didn't mean it to sound that harsh.
Granger's hand still linger in his cheek. Whether she didn't care about what he just told her or she just couldn't get her hand off him.
"Get off me, Granger."
This time, it nearly sounded like a whisper. In a fragile tone. He didn't even know how could he speak in that such tone. That just not him. Or not the Draco Malfoy he thought he knew.
"Let it out, Draco.."
He nearly cringe at the mention of his first name. He wanted to reply her with a hundred harsh words he had been thinking that time. But he chose not to. He didn't even fight back the tears that escaped his eyes.
He looked at her. Her round brown eyes just simply showed him one emotion. Concern.
How in the world did Hermione Granger show a concern in her eyes for her life-time enemy? Maybe she's just too noble. Just like what everyone else told him. Or maybe she's not.
He felt another hand touched his other cheek. At first he had the urge to fought it. But he just too tired to lift his hand and push her hand away. He just trying to accept the fact that both of her palms are now covering his cheeks, and he felt warm. The warmth from her body transferred trough her palms to his dead-cold cheeks. And for the first time in his life. Draco Malfoy felt comfort. And what more important. He felt comfort in Hermione Granger.
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He felt her palms moving in his cheeks. Then realize that she was wiping his tears away. Hermione Granger is wiping the tears of Draco Malfoy off of his cheeks. The world must have turned upside down.
"Granger.."
"Hmm?"
She hummed silently as if anybody would caught her if she hummed too loud.
"What are you doing?"
"Errmm.. I'm.. Err.. Wiping your tears?"
What sounded like a question has he took as a statement. Granger's statement.
"No. What are you doing?"
He pushed the 'doing' word to let her know what his real intention was.
Her brows furrowed as he let his words out of his mouth. And suddenly her palms stop moving. Stop wiping his tears away. Then the palms on his cheeks suddenly gone. Too soon, he thought. Or perhaps not too soon at all.
"I.. Umm.. I-"
"I haven't got all night for you, Granger."
His tone now was rather playful, but not too playful. After all he's Draco Malfoy, what did he know about a playful tone?
"I just want you to stop crying."
"Well.. Seemed like you've failed that."
True. He's been crying since she lifted her palms up to his cheeks. He's been fucking sobbing in front of her! And he's not embarrassed for it! Merlin forbid! He even liked it! The last time he remember crying was when he was 11, right before he left the manor to catch up his very first Hogwarts Express. He had had kind of mixed feelings that time. He didn't want to leave his parents. And for the first time in his life. He's afraid of what other kids might do to him in Hogwarts. He knew he's a Malfoy, that no one will ever dare to touch or hurt him. But that's not what made the tears streamed down his little self face. It's the thought of no one will like him made him wept for the very first time after those baby ages in front of his parents.
He felt really uncomfortable that day. Father had looked at him as he was such a disgrace for the Malfoy family. A disgrace. Even his stare on that day still haunted him in nowadays nightmares. Instead of calming him and telling him that everything will be alright, he just said something that broke his innocent heart ever since;
"Malfoys don't cry. Whether you're not a Malfoy or want to get that Malfoy name off of your name, stop crying."
Her mother on the other side had hushed him and hugged him at the exact moment his father spat another harsh word.
"Weak."
"Malfoy.."
Granger's voice cracked him up into reality as soon as he realised she had stared at him since his last reply.
"What?" He spat bitterly. Now that the tears had been wiped out, he has gone back to the old arrogant Draco Malfoy.
"How are you feeling?"
He think for a lie for a moment. But then he realised, telling her the truth couldn't hurt.
"Better."
She send him what has looked like a smile. But he quickly doubted that.
"Good then."
After telling her the whole situation he had been facing lately in his sobs. He felt better. Much better.
"What now?"
She somehow seemed nervous. He can tell by the time he saw her bit her lower lips.
"What now what?"
"What are you going to do?"
He think for a moment. But hell, he couldn't!
"What do you suggest?"
First time in his life asking for a suggestion from Granger. Well, she's the brightest witch of their age, so.. No. It was wrong. He shouldn't have asked for a suggestion. Draco Malfoy shouldn't ask Hermione Granger for fucking everything in this lifetime or perhaps every other lifetime! He just shouldn't. He cursed himself instantly.
"Follow the light."
Draco snorted abruptly at her answer, knowing what she meant.
"Follow the light? As in jump-in-your-little-group-with-saintpotter-and-weaselbee? You gotta be kidding me, Granger! I may have wept in front of you but I haven't lost my mind!"
"No."
"Then what? What light?"
"Your light."
"My.. My what?"
"Your light, Draco! You've been trying to get out of the darkness and follow the light. Yet it still confused you the definition of light and darkness. It's not that following him is the darkness nor is that following Harry is the light. You have to escape from your own darkness and follow your own light! The darkness I see might be your light and vice versa. So I can't give you any suggestion better than that."
"Take your time to think."
With that, she turned around and started leaving him before his mouth called her name faster than he could even think about it. She turned to him with a questioning look in her eyes.
He wanted to say the 'T Y' words but he just felt he couldn't. He has never used that words in ages. Last time he remember is when he was only 5, his mother told him to say those words to his aunt for the sweets she had given to him.
"I really appreciate your presence."
That was the closest he could get.
He looked at her and finding she flashed him a smile. A genuine smile. A smile that she had sent to her fellow Gryffindor mates. A smile to an acquainted. A smile to a friend. Friend. He cringed at that word. They're not friend. Hardly an acquainted. They're enemy. Or were they?
"You're welcome, Malfoy."
Well, seemed like she got what he was trying not to say.
And before she turned around and leave the room. She said something that made an instant nausea in his stomach.
"It's because I don't like to see you cry, Malfoy. I hate it. More than I hate you."
With that she left the room with a speechless Malfoy in front of the sink.
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"Thinking about something?" Hermione asked as she leaned closer to her husband.
"Yes." He replied instantly.
Hermione looked up to meet his gaze full with memories.
"Oh that one." She just know what he had been thinking about, because of that gleam on his eyes everytime he told her he was thinking about that 'memory'.
"Our meeting was rather awkward after that." He grinned sheepishly at the memory.
"Well, no doubt. Draco Malfoy showed up in front of the Gryffindor common room asking to meet Harry Potter was dreadfully odd! You couldn't deny that!" She poked his husband's nose with a little chuckle.
Draco just laugh with the memory. Alongside with her own little laugh.
"Seemed like our definition of light was rather same that time." He looked deeply at her with a genuine smile plastered on his face.
"Our definition of light had always been same from the very first day we met on the train, Draco." With that, she felt his lips touched her forehead softly before he whispered something in her left ear;
"Thank you."
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FINITE