Rated T for language and slight graphic content that may be present in future chapters.
All Harry Potter characters belong to J.K.R, I own only the plot and a few OC's of my own imagination.
(But of course, why would I want to write fanfictions of a story that I've created with my own originality?)
Any relations to a living/dead person or event is purely coincidental.
Draco returns to London to find himself in a puzzle of sorts regarding Hermione.
I couldn't help but to gape in shock. What happened over the years? What went on while I had left to go on my trip around the continent?
Everything seemed a bit slanted, yet perfectly fine at the same time…
And I don't think it had anything to do with me being at Potter's flat.
No, I wasn't there to raid the place, nor was I there to kidnap the bloke. Harry had invited me to his house, for lunch.
An accident? A plan to kill me?
Hardly.
During the War, I chose his side, and ended up saving Potter's hide more times than he had mine, so it was okay to say that we were quite alright with each other. It took awhile for Weasley to warm up to me, but Gr- No… Hermione had welcomed me with open arms, and a tear streaked face.
The Dark side was defeated, Voldemort killed, and sadly, both of my parents were as well. And a numbers of significant others were sent off to Azkaban, or just disappeared, like Pansy for example, thank Merlin.
A few years passed after graduation, three in fact, and I had found that Harry was on his way to becoming an Auror. Weasley had been invited to join the Cannons, and Hermione was undecided between being a muggle and wizard lawyer, a journalist for the Daily Prophet, a doctor at St. Mongo's and a muggle nurse at St. Jude's hospital, or a promising business owner.
Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if she could have went and taken all the bloody damned courses and still be able to be everything else she had always wanted to be, and pull them all off successfully. In the end, she ended up being only two out of the four she wanted to be: A business owner, and a lawyer, and like I said, it didn't surprise me to know that she still took up medical and journalism courses.
And what of my handsome self? Well, I decided to give myself a trip around the world… Well no, not really. I just had to clear up a few business issues, retrieve some papers, and then I would give myself a vacation around the world.
I was in Spain when I heard that Ron had proposed to her, and that she accepted. I admit, I felt quite angry that one such as Ron was to marry such a fine young... Beautifully smart woman, but I was also happy knowing that she would've been happy with him also. After all, they seemed to be the expected couple.
It was fate that decided to bring them together in the first place.
I was proud of her, and hardly a week went by without her being somewhere in the first five pages of the Prophet, mainly on the second.
She wrote to me by owl often, nearly three times a week. But then she started talking about things like E-mail, and how it was so much faster. She was the only reason I even bothered with that impossible contraption of plastic, metal, and wires they call a computer. But defined as I was, I chose a quaint and expensive laptop.
A year went by, I stopped seeing her in the papers, she had stopped writing to me, and things were quite hushed for a while. I figured that the Prophet had tired of her many successes, and she no longer had time to write considering the amount of work she had to go through.
So of course I understood and let it go, though I missed seeing her writing terribly, but she still sent gifts. I was already in awe at her still finding time to remember me through the holidays and my birthday. She always seemed to know where I was at.
She sent me books, a photo album detailed to the max of the past years, I felt my heart sing out for her when I saw the wedding pictures, and I couldn't help but to laugh when I saw the picture of the overly large wedding cake blowing up all over Ron, thanks to his devious twin brothers.
But the pictures I cherished most were the ones of her alone, walking along the park, dancing around in the snow… She was so beautiful, she always was… I was just so filled up with blind and undeserved pride to realize it too late.
After a number of months in Rome and Venice, I returned to London.
When I went to Harry's flat and saw a flash of bushy brown… I couldn't conceal my shock. She was there in the kitchen, sipping a steaming cup of tea when I went in (the bloody door wasn't locked and I have absolutely no reason to knock,). But there she was, leaning on the counter, head turned to look out the window where snow fell down in a nice meaningless pattern. It wasn't until I shut the door behind me that her head turned and she looked at me with her large chocolate colored eyes.
A minute passed, maybe more, then she set her mug down beside her and walked over to me in a casual way. Her eyes looked at me calmly, and I wondered if she remembered who I was.
She took me completely by surprise when she just suddenly jumped and threw her arms around me.
I nearly fell over backwards from the shock.
"Draco!" she exclaimed, looking up at me through the embrace, her eyes bright and sparkling, "I wasn't expecting to see you for at least another year! Not that four years wasn't enough, but- What a surprise!" she exclaimed.
I looked down at her, and smiled as I hugged her back, the gesture sending a wave of heat through me, despite the snowflakes on my coat, "And I wasn't expecting you to jump me, nearly gave me a bloody heart attack. I thought Harry must've told you." I said.
She frowned and pulled away, though I felt quite disappointed at being deprived of her touch, I didn't protest, "Harry hasn't told me a thing," she said with a huff, "though he did leave about an hour ago to fetch some things…" she told him, turning back towards the kitchen to retrieve her cup of tea, "Should've known something was up."
I watched her lean back on the kitchen counter with the ease and grace only she could've performed, and it sent shivers down my spine. Then, I couldn't help noticing that the couch was empty, there was no one else to greet me, and the place was devoid of anyone else's voice, "No one else is here? What happened to Ron?" I asked, putting up my coat in the closet near the door after I shook it out.
I walked into the kitchen and Hermione looked up at me, full lips on the rim of her mug , and she shook her head slowly as she continued to sip.
Oh, to be that mug.
I couldn't blame her for not answering with words. It was freezing outside, and Harry's flat wasn't exactly a warm place considering the fact that there was hardly any furniture around to fill up the space there.
The walls were beige with the floor being a creamy marble color. The living room was wide and vast with only one large 'U' arranged grey suede couch facing a large flat screen TV (I had the delight of learning how to use one when I went to America,) on the wall surrounded by an entertainment center dammed up with a series of electronic boxes. The kitchen was tiled in neat little patterns of blue and white from the floor to the wall, with a set of stainless steel appliances, including the fridge, stove and oven… All the appliances were stainless steel.
No wonder it was so damn cold in the kitchen.
"No, Ron is out on a national country game, and he the family out with him, so it's been pretty quiet." She told me, putting her mug down in front of her with those slender hands wrapped around it.
"Why didn't you go with him?" I queried, "Ron I mean." I would have thought that she would be considered family as well, since the sodding bloke married her.
She stared at me blankly for a moment then I laughed, "Oh, right, I forgot that the Griffindor Princess is not really much of a Quidditch fan." I said, still laughing as she pulled the mug back up, "But what about Harry? How come he didn't go?"
She shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the name, "The Ministry won't let him off, Christmas is, after all, a pretty dramatic holiday, so I'm over here, seeing as we haven't anyone else to linger around with like sad puppy dogs."
I smiled as I leaned on the counter next to her, "So what if I added myself into the mix?"
I watched her smile, and she laughed, "Well, I suppose that's alright, I wondered when you'd stop being such a loner."
I reached over and poked her side, making her jerk as the motion tickled her, "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, feigning insult, "Are you trying to tell me that you don't think I can get a woman?"
She was laughing a bit softer now and she looked into my eyes when she spoke, "No, I just figured that you'd have gotten yourself a wife already." She said with a shrug, "I mean, with you traveling around, I'm surprised you haven't found yourself a proper woman yet, Draco. But then again… Back at school you really were such a playboy," she looked at me, one brow raised, "I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if you still are one."
"Now that's just hurtful!" I exclaim just before I smirk at her.
She rolled her eyes at me then shook her head, "I knew it, he hasn't changed a bit."
I stared at her, and I was just about to ask her again what she meant, even though I knew, but I wanted to hear it from her mouth. Then the door suddenly opened.
"-Damn! Sorry I took so long, bloody damn traffic's going on all around London and-" Harry looked at us in the kitchen, and he smiled brightly, "Oh, welcome back, Draco, looks like 'Monie has you at home already." He said with a smirk.
Hermione rolled her eyes once more and pushed herself off the counter as she hugged Harry after he put up his coat, "You're insufferable," she said, laughing.
Then Harry grinned, "So why're you living here in my flat for the holidays?" he asked.
"Because I know you're lonely." She said smoothly, though it looked like she was about to bust out in laughter.
He looked down at her, "Need I remind you that I'm not the only one?"
I couldn't help but to smile. They seemed like perfect siblings. I couldn't think couple because, after all, last I heard, Harry had a foreign friend he was seeing, and she belonged to Weasley. Though, it wouldn't have hurt her to maybe treat me in the same way she treated Potter… But then again, she had hugged me not but a moment ago… I suppose that could do for now.
But then if she was this close and open to Potter, then how much more so was she with Weasley?
I felt my hand twitch involuntarily, and I looked down at it in confusion. What was I getting so worked up about?
Am I so selfish to be jealous over just a trivial bit of affection?
Yes.
"Come on, Draco, are you going to stay there in the kitchen all day? I know it's freezing in there." Harry's voice called from the living room.
I smiled and walked into the living room to see Hermione had moved and sat at the corner of the couch at the junction of the U-shaped formation. Her knees were curled up in front of her, hands still wrapped around the mug as she rested it on one knee while she stared at Harry, who looked like he was setting up a stack of take-out on the coffee table.
"I haven't anything to eat here, so when I remembered you were coming, I went out to buy us lunch." Harry explained, "And a few select movies."
I sat near Hermione, though not close, then I leaned back into the comfort of the sofa and stretched my arms out on the back, "Is that just an excuse for saying that you can't cook to save your sorry life?" I asked with a grin.
I watched as Hermione sat up with a start as she nearly spat out her tea. I stared at her in shock.
"What the bloody hell's gotten into you?" I asked, quite confused.
She looked at me then shook her head as she settled back into the couch, "Actually, Harry is one of the best cooks I've ever known, and he can make a really good meal when he isn't too lazy to buy the ingredients for it." Then she stared at him pointedly.
I then stared at Harry in shock.
He turned away and scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Yeah well, as much as I'd hate to admit- You'd have to thank my Aunt Petunia for that…"
I shook my head, "I had absolutely no idea."
I heard Hermione laugh, and I smiled at her. Chocolate brown eyes sparkling, brown bushy locks bouncing just so slightly as she smiled while trying to keep her tea from spilling…
So beautifully captivating.
She wasn't even aware of her beauty, her grace. I would gladly bite off all my fingers to watch her for hours like she was now, and not a sliver of me would be bored from it. But, the loss of extremities would be in vain, for now, I had perfect front row seats.
Then, there was a small muffled crash, and I stood up and turned around quickly to see a puff of ash burst out of the fireplace, that I just realized was there in the far wall behind/beside us, depending on where you sat.
A few moment's passed, and it wasn't long until I could make out a tall figure with a mess of fiery red hair.
"Ron?" I asked tentatively, looking down at Hermione, who just sat there, sipping her tea still, though I noticed that she had sulked a bit more in to the couch. I turned to Harry, who was standing up straight, his expression grim.
"Harry?" Ron asked once the ash settled, then his eyes flickered over to me, and he nodded, "Draco."
I nodded in return, and was about to say something, but Harry beat me to it.
"I thought you'd be at the game," Harry said then nodded at the young man's uniform, "or… You're already at the game and took a bit of a break to floo."
Ron nodded, his fiery hair bouncing a bit, "Yeah, I should get back in a minute… Have you seen her yet?" he asked, worriedly.
I stole Hermione a look, and she shook her head, her form too small to see over the couch's back frame. Ron hadn't noticed as his full attention was on Potter.
"Ron, you know that if she ever came over to me, I'd tell you immediately." Harry lied, though he was looking quite earnest.
I turned to look back at Ron, who just nodded, "Yeah… I know… Just wanted to make sure. Well, I'll be leaving then." he said, turning back around.
"Good luck at the game." I called before he threw a handful of dust into the fireplace. Bright neon green flames sprung to life, and he turned to nod at me, then muttered a few words and stepped into the inferno, shooting up instantly as the flames flickered out.
I then looked down at Hermione, "What the bloody hell is going on?" then I look at Harry, "What the hell was that?"
...End of Chapter One...
Wish for more?
Then please review and tell me what you think about it, your critiques would be immensely appreciated.
=^.^=
