First and foremost, I do not own Harry Potter. Such a sad life. (x
But other than that, this story kinda played on my mind a bit after reading some stories on this site. That, and the fact that Draco is in fact a constellation. Inspiration just kinda struck me after that, so here it is. Not sure if anyone posted a similar story, so sorry if it sounds familiar! Oh, and please don't forget to review and tell me what you think of it! It's greatly appreciated. (:
After seven years of what seemed to be endless adventures and unforgettable memories at Hogwarts, it was time to say goodbye. It was odd, to say the least, to be leaving after such a long time. She thought back to the first day, thinking of anyone and everyone she had met. Amusedly, she grinned as she remembered hearing Malfoy's name for the first time. The smile grew as she recalled seeing him for the first time as well.
It seemed that fate always had to be ironic in the way it worked. But because of this, Hermione never would have guessed that at the age of five, she would have already foreshadowed what, or more specifically who, would be giant piece of her life.
You see, when Hermione was five, she wanted to know anything and everything about space. Be it the moon, the stars, the planets, or black holes. You name it, she wanted to learn it. But what she really loved the most about space was the constellations.
Looking for constellations was like being able to connect-the-dots in those blasted coloring books her parents always seemed to want to buy her. But rather than dull and boring, it was absolutely amazing.
Unlike other kids her age, instead of asking her parents for a bedtime story every night, she'd ask her parents to point out constellations to her. The Big Dipper was one of the first ones that her parents had shown her, followed by Cassiopeia, ironically again, Sirius, and her all time favorite, Draco.
There were tons of stories behind the dragon constellation. There were stories that came from Egypt and China, and even one where "Draco" was depicted as the serpent that tempted Adam and Eve. But none of those were the reason why that was her favorite constellation.
To be honest, she simply loved the idea of dragons. How these, once thought to be mythical, creatures could be construed as merciless beasts in which breathe fire, how they could be revered and worshipped as higher beings, how they could live in the air, or the sea, rivers or lakes. There was just so much that could be learned about it.
To her parent's surprise, and utter relief, she did not became a lover of all things serpents and such afterwards. Dear Merlin, no. Snakes scared the living daylights out of her, and to be honest, she just didn't like reptiles.
Suffice to say that rather than asking for a pet that could be related to dragons, she settled for collecting drawings, books, jewelry, much of which she still had, and few of which she wore, and to add to that, Hermione had even painted her ceiling to resemble the constellations on nights when she was unable to see the stars.
Fiddling with a recently acquired serpent ring, she brought herself back from her memories and remembered where she was. Standing in the red and golden Gryffindor common room, she wondered how different life at Hogwarts would have been if she'd been sorted into Slytherin.
Contrary to popular belief, she would have had no qualms about being sorted into the house. In fact, if she hadn't truly wanted to know what house the sorting hat felt she would do best in, she would have personally asked to be placed into Slytherin, for obvious reasons known only to her at the time.
But imagine her surprise when, before even taking one step into the Great Hall, the name of her favorite constellation was spoken.
"...name's Malfoy. Draco Malfoy."
Spinning to face them, her interest went unnoticed as the boys' conversation seemed to heat up. She quietly observed the boy who has spoken, his face now tinged pink at something Harry Potter had said.
She noticed how his platinum blonde hair shone, and how his grey eyes flashed, and instantly she seemed to think his name fit perfectly. Those heated eyes reminded her of all the stories she heard of dragons, fierce or not, and also reminded her of the twinkling stars in the sky. Since that day, she carried a small torch for him, only slightly dimming every time an insult from him was directed towards her.
Again, she was brought from her reverie as everyone began filing out to leave the common room for the final time. Hermione sighed, shrunk her things, and waited for her boys so they could leave together. Before she knew it, the three of them stood in front of the Hogwarts Express.
"Can you believe it? We're done. After everything, we're done. I feel as if life will never be the same." She told the boys.
Harry and Ron glanced at each other before turning back to face her.
"Well, we've known this day would eventually come 'Mione, and sure life won't be the same, but that doesn't mean that we still won't get into loads of trouble." The redhead told her, grinning ear to ear.
She rolled her eyes at him.
"That I have no doubt about. After all, somebody has to tell the both of you when you've gone completely mental."
"Speaking of mental Hermione," Harry started, nudging Ron to look behind their friend, "it seems that your momentary lapse of judgement is here."
Hermione raised an eyebrow in question. Her curiousity was sated when a familiar male voice spoke behind her.
"Oh come off it Potter. Granger is not going mental because of me. In fact, she's simply come to her senses, albeit a few years later than everyone else." A familiar voice drawled lazily.
Turning around, Hermione glared playfully before dragging the boy forward by his arm. Her two friends grinned at her before making their leave.
"We'll let you two have a little time before the train takes off. We'll even save you a seat if you decide you don't want to get stuck with Malfoy the whole way back 'Mione!" Ron called out playfully.
She waved to him in affirmation before turning to the boy whose arm she currently had in her grasp.
"No more Hogwarts." She heard him say.
"Are you sad about that?"
"Not particularly. Hardly any good memories came from this place. In fact, most all of them are pretty bad."
Hermione eyed the blonde boy, mentally comparing and contrasting the differences between the first time she saw him up until this moment. To her, he would probably always be that stuck up little boy she saw the first day of school. Not that she'd ever let him know.
"I suppose you're right. I mean, being turned into a ferret isn't exactly something I'd say was my best memory here." She told him as he glared at her lightly.
"Must you bring that up?"
The brunette only smiled at him innocently before changing the subject.
"Can you imagine your reaction if we were still first years and someone told you that you'd eventually be dating a muggleborn?"
Draco snorted.
"I'd have had them checked in at St. Mungo's. That's for sure."
"It seems that the only thing that remained constant throughout our years here was the school itself. Everyone else has changed, wouldn't you agree?" She asked him, looking up into grey eyes she came to love at first sight.
"Perhaps. But I know there's one thing that definitely has not changed since the very first day you stepped into the wizarding world."
Hermione looked at Draco questioningly as he linked their fingers and made to board the train, tugging her along.
"And what exactly would that be?"
"You loved me before you even met me."
Surprise found its way on her face and it was obvious that she wasn't expecting that answer.
"It would seem," she said, pausing to think about what to say, "that not only has the wizarding world proved to me that dragons are real, but it brought my constellation to me in the form of one Draco Malfoy."
"And it would seem, that in exchange for your ever so precious constellation, the wizarding world was given the Goddess of Harmony, to help with the removal of evil, given in the form of, of course, one Hermione Granger."
She shook her head at his mockery and settled comfortably into his side as they sat in a fairly small compartment on the train.
Looking out the window as the scenery began to change, she was eternally grateful that she was never like the kids who loved coloring books and bedtime stories. After all, who else could say that at the age of five, they had unconsciously found their soulmate?