Disclaimer: The characters etc. are J.K. Rowlings, the song the fic is based on is by the Cranberries, I own nothing.

Linger

Hermione sighed, falling to the small and lumpy bed within the dank little flat she had just moved into in an honest attempt to get rid of any memories left from him in her old home. A crumpled piece of parchment stay tucked inside her hand, a letter from Draco. It was the typical letter:

I'm sorry, it was a mistake. I'm coming back to London tomorrow morning, please let me take you out for breakfast so I can explain. I can make this up to you. You know you're still in love with me so stop making this hard for yourself-

Asshole. He really was but he was right, as cocky as he was, he had some reason to be.

-Let me take you out for breakfast tomorrow so we can talk. I'll pick you up at eight.

Draco

She mulled over in her head whether she should let him know she had moved. He'd be furious; she had left half of his things at the old place. It had been such a perfect flat for the two of them, very metropolitan right in the thick of the city, a large stretching flat with a perfect view and set up. A prime piece of real-estate it hadn't been on the market long before someone had snatched it up. A young couple, in love and ready to take advantage of the city the same way she and Draco had when they had moved in two years prior. Had she known what those two years would bring she may have passed up on the offer. Draco had been out of their flat as much as he had been in, visiting a friend or a business trip or visiting his family, whom he still clung to for status even though they despised Hermione for obvious reasons.

Hermione being a smart woman had figured out about the other girls pretty easily. She thought it was a phase, a fear of commitment that would eventually pass. She could forgive him his first transgression. Denial helped her ignore his next few but he gave up on hiding them after a while. Now he'd been gone for four and a half months, the longest stretch they'd ever been apart for. The flat had been the first thing for her to get rid of; she couldn't stand walking into their room and sleeping in that king-size bed by herself. It was so cold and vast, the opposite of when Draco was in there with her, together it was almost too hot a burning that both excited her and scared her. A sensation she had learned to loath since it was his burn that kept her locked within his cage.

If you, if you could return, don't let it burn-

Without his burn, smoldering a peachy orange like the tip of the cigarettes he smoked when he was stressed or upset or mad, he was the perfect boyfriend, sweet and caring- for about three seconds until the last ounce of heat had slipped away and he faded into someone else. That mean cocky little boy that had called her names and looked down on her would return. Was it a coincidence that all of his other girlfriends were all pureblood? When his burn faded away he was the same old person underneath.

don't let it fade.

Hermione pushed herself off the small bed, tossing the crumpled note into the rubbish bin in the corner and grabbed herself a fresh sheet of parchment. It was too complicated; she couldn't deal with those three seconds of perfect medium, where he was still warm but still soft to the touch.

Draco,
I'm sure I'm not being rude, but it's just your attitude,
It's tearing me apart, It's ruining everything.
I swore, I swore I would be true, and honey, so did you.
So why were you holding her hand? Is that the way we stand?
Were you lying all the time? Was it just a game to you?

She knew that it was but somehow playing that game seemed better than sitting here by herself in flat that smelled like mildew and cheap perfume. She started to write about how she had moved and was halfway through her address before she stopped. How did he get her to do things like that, like practically inviting him back into her life, giving him her address… Hermione pushed the letter aside running a hand through her curly hair, frustrated. How did she dig herself so deeply into this mess?

But I'm in so deep.

She was such and idiot when she came to him. Thinking back to their dicey childhood she couldn't imagine how she could be such a fool as to even give them a chance.

You know I'm such a fool for you.

She hated herself for being such an idiot, he was playing with her and using her like usual. She hated not being in control.

You got me wrapped around your finger,

She couldn't understand why he had to keep doing this to her, why couldn't he let her go?


Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to,
Do you have to let it linger?

Hermione raised her quill again restarting her letter under the scribbled out address.

Oh, I thought the world of you.
I thought nothing could go wrong,
But I was wrong. I was wrong.
If you, if you could get by, trying not to lie,
Things wouldn't be so confused and I wouldn't feel so used,
But you always really knew, I just wanna be with you.

Hermione cursed herself for the last line. Why did she want to be with him? What masochistic tendency demanded that she keep going back for more? How much torture did she have to deal with before she would learn? A part of her regretted passing up the other options she once had. Before Ron had gone off with Luna, they had, had a real chance but she threw it away for this. Solitary confinement in a mildewy, depressing little flat.

Hermione didn't even bother signing the letter she just folded it up and sent it out. It didn't matter, whether she tried to fight it, he'd keep drawing her back in. He didn't have her new address but she knew he'd find it and when he did she'd fall back into his games,. She'd let him burn her and use her until the tension faded and then he'd leave and she'd be alone again, lingering on the good times, few and far between.

I'm in so deep. You know I'm such a fool for you.
You got me wrapped around your finger, ah, ha, ha.
Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to,
Do you have to let it linger?

A/N: Thanks for reading, if you like it let me know, maybe I'll take the time to write a sequel or another chapter or something