Title: That Old Feeling
Author: Mirabiledictu21
Disclaimer: J.K.Rowling owns all that is Harry Potter. I do hope they are mine, however… who doesn't?
Rating: K+
Genre: Romance/Drama
Pairing: Hermione and Draco
Time Written: Shortly after release of Half Blood Prince
Summary: She realized too late just how much she truly loves him.
A/N: This story is supposed to be a long one-shot but since I finished this a year ago (I was so busy that I was not able to stay long enough in front of the computer to post anything) I have to check everything again and decided to post it in chapters… so, early apologies if it's anticlimactic or if there's no element of surprise. I'll do my best to cut them in a way that it will be.
On with the story….
Chapter 1 : After Dumbledore
"Are you alright?" a voice asked from behind. Hermione knew exactly who it was.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Hermione asked Ron who was looking thoroughly at the Daily Prophet. The death of Professor Dumbledore left the wizarding world at the edge of their seats and scared for their lives. Human traffic immensely decreased. Nobody dared go out on their own, relying largely on the Daily Prophet for information about everything beyond their secured walls.
"You've been staring at your cup of tea for a pretty long time," he answered finally looking at her.
"I have?" she asked dumbstruck.
"Yeah. Is it about Harry? He promised he won't go off without us. He's just visiting the Dursleys. Don't think about it so much."
She sighed. "To be honest, I don't know what is wrong with me," she lied. But the reality was, she knew perfectly well what was wrong with her. It involved a certain someone running off to join the dark side. At first, when she learned about it, she was shocked. She didn't know what to think. But it didn't take long before anger settled in. She couldn't believe that he had left. She hated him beyond reason and couldn't wait to get back at him for all the chaos that was happening. And then, denial took over. She wouldn't accept that he had gone for good. She thought that maybe, just maybe, he was under the imperius curse. That maybe, he'd come back. That maybe, if only…. Eventually, a couple of maybes exhausted all her hope and hardened her into indifference. She couldn't care less whatever might happen. And then, in the midst of nothingness waiting for something to happen, which had been for a few weeks now, she drowned in confusion. "I'm alright, I promise"
"If you say so," he finally gave up. "I'll be in my room if you need me"
"Yeah" She said as she nodded, her eyes falling back to her cup of tea.
A/N: What do you think?