Light My Way – A story of two people lost in the sea of night.
A/N – All characters belong to JK Rowling, and in no part are owned by me. All writings are in appreciation of the original creations, and are not for profit.
It started with a boy in a dark blue pea coat.
Let's take that back a notch, it started with a man in a dark blue pea coat three years ago. That's how all of these stories begin, right? A girl is waiting outside a train station in lower London when a man approaches her in a dark blue pea coat. He asks to sit next to her, and she gently moves her bag to her lap proceeding to make room for the man. As the time passes, she flips a page in her book only to notice his consistent staring.
Days pass into months, months into years and she has now been with the man in the dark blue peacoat since he handed her his number that day on the platform. Three years can pass before one's eyes in the amount of time it takes to extinguish a candle. She lies there, listening to his breathing in the desolate dark of night. She watches his chest rise and fall with each slow breath, and thinks to herself why she continues the façade. Why does she need to be wanted by this man? Night is her escape though, unbeknownst to him. This is when she feels the most safe, and yet the most afraid.
Hermione Granger, age twenty-two and thankfully still counting. She looks towards the clock on the nightstand, and then back to the ceiling above her. The warmth of her tears roll down her face, but she doesn't care. Night is the only time she can allow herself to let the river escape the mental barricade and freely flow. She will escape in the light of day, but she had to plan it just right.
He mumbles something and turns to lie on his stomach. Yes, she had to get out. When she did get out though, who could love her? She was broken, and men didn't want a broken woman. They wanted pristine and perfection. He told her that many times, before the impending punishment.
She rolls to her side now, and looks at the clock once more. Daylight would approach soon and she needed to get her rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~In another part of London~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco Malfoy laid there for what felt like eternity. Night was always the hardest for him. He mind tended to always drift back to his school days. He could never shake those haunting images of Dumbledore's face from his thoughts. Night was the hardest part of Draco Malfoy's existence. The unforgiving cold of night, always inviting the haunting images into his clouded, sleep deprived mind. He wished for a miracle to take away the images, and bring him some salvation from his punishment.
He rolled to look at the clock and thanked Merlin for the approach of dawn's embrace. Draco loved the breath of sun over the horizon, and in some way he felt akin to morning's arrival. The birth of a new day made him hope for the birth of a new man inside himself. This task he had been trying to accomplish for three years. Every day inching closer to success, and every day brought the promise of that new man's emergence from within.
Yes, the dawn would bring him salvation and rejoice from within. He would soon become this man, and in due time prove to her that he was worthy. He hated the bloody git she had chosen those years on that train platform. He supposed it was his fault though, he had his chance. He saw her again a year ago at a charity event. Her demeanor destroyed, and spirit broken. Draco Malfoy had never seen something so depressing. The worst part, she was trying to hide the bruising already forming on her wrists when she shook his hand. He would save her, much like she saved him.
Come morning, and bring with it the salvation desired for Draco Malfoy.
This was the calm before the storm.