Remember
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Hermione jumped up in her bed, and looked over at her clock which flashed the numbers 7:00. Outside sirens could be heard throughout the city, and she groaned and wondered why she had picked New York City to live in. Suddenly, someone stirred next to her.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" A male voice called.
"Nothing, Joe. I just had a bad dream." She said, and yawned. "I'm going to get a glass of water."
She turned on the faucet and began to fill her glass. "It's been two years since we graduated… and he still haunts me? God, whenever I close my eyes I feel that he's here… I can still feel his gentle caresses… his sensual kisses…" She was awoken from her thoughts as the tap water overflowed and spilled onto her glass.
"Shit." She cursed, as she irritably shook her hand and wiped it on her flannel pants.
Suddenly someone wrapped his arms around her waist, and she giggled. She turned to face Joe, the most recent man to fall for this 20 year old journalist. They had met only a couple weeks before, when they had been set up on a blind date. She smiled at him playfully and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Morning, Joe." She said pleasantly.
"Morning, Herm. Ya know… I have to go in a couple hours." He said plainly.
"I know, I know. And you want me to drop you off at the airport at yada yada. We went over this already!" She whined.
"That's not exactly what I wanted to say…" He said and kissed her softly. "I was going to say that I have to go see if everything's ready to go."
"So you have to go? So early?" Hermione asked.
"Yes, but I'll see you at 9. K?"
"Fine, I'll meet you there."
He turned to grab his clothes, and she playfully smacked him on the butt. He turned around and tackled her to the ground, tickling her until she was screaming with laughter. He took advantage of the situation, and kissed her deeply. Then he reluctantly stopped and let his tiny victim go.
"I-I can't believe you did that!" She squealed through short breaths.
"Well, you were the one he started it." He said and winked at her, only to have her giggle once again. "Now, I really have to go."
"Fine." She whined, but allowed him to leave.
~*~
"Bye, Joey! Have a good flight, and remember to call." She said quickly and hugged him.
"Yeah, you want me to call long distance?" He asked.
"You little cheap ass!" She said sharply and narrowed her eyes, "If you don't call, at least email me, k?"
"K, Herm." He said and pecked her on the cheek.
She watched him board the plane from the airport window, and sighed. He was gone for two months now… Yeah, she still had feelings for Draco. But that's why she had decided to move to the US, so she could put him and Hogwarts behind her. She had given up witchcraft and had become a successful journalist. Joe was the first guy she had been seeing since Draco… and he was starting to help her forget, but with him gone the memories of her first love came flooding back.
She walked over to a little Starbucks coffee shop and ordered herself a mocha and pastry. She sat down, and couldn't help the tears, which welled up, in her eyes. Quickly brushing them away, she cursed hersef for being so stupid. There was no way she was going to start sobbing in front of millions of strangers.
She looked up, and gasped. That blonde hair… that same muscular frame… no she had to be hallucinating. What would he be doing in a Muggle airport? And in America too? She quickly gathered up her things and started to get up…
"Hermione? Hermione Granger, is that you?" He asked.
"Oh god… that voice… it had been so long. She could almost feel him holding her again. She could feel his eyes making her melt again…"
"D-draco?" She asked quietly.
"So it is you." He said and sat down beside her.
"Oh god… oh fucking god…" She whispered to herself nervously.
"You sound distressed. Why so?" He sneered.
"Don't give me your attitude, Malfoy." She said, angrily.
"So in about 10 seconds I've gone from a 'draco' to a 'malfoy' how long till you tell me to come with you so we can talk… alone?" He said.
"Fine… umm let's go over here." Hermione says quietly and leads them to a quiet corner of the airport.
"I can't believe she's here! Of all the bitches in this entire world I find her! I must be living once cursed life… but that's ok. She broke my heart, and now she'll pay. She will pay for causing me pain for these past two years. Lord, two long years, which I had to suffer through,… she will know my pain."
His hand lightly grazed hers, and she felt sparks fly through her entire body. It was amazing how the same fire, the same yearning for him to hold her was still alive this very day.
They sat in utter silence, as his eyes bore into hers and consumed her as a predator does his prey. She couldn't speak, she still felt the guilt of seeing his broken expression those two years ago… when she had left the one and only man she would ever, truly love.
She had matured well over these past months. He saw a young, sexy woman sitting in front of him… but had she forgotten him? No. He felt her shiver as his fingers simply caressed her soft skin. What would she do if he kissed her once again, when they once again shared their moments of sheer passion? Would she tremble like a young child? He was sure of it, how he wanted her to fear him… how he wanted her to beg him to take her back. Although, not now, not yet. He would wait… he would manipulate her. He would have his dear sweet revenge, but first, he must make gain her trust.
"What's wrong?" He asked softly.
"D-Draco…" She said quietly, and stared at him blankly.
"Yeah, that's me, I haven't changed my name, you know." He said, and smiled at her. "You still think I hate you don't you? Don't you think I've moved on yet?"
"I-I don't know… it's just… God, I've missed you Draco." She whispered, as tears glistened in her eyes.
"What?" He asked shocked.
"Did she still love him? This may indeed be easier than expected. He mocked her silently. Those tears, that flushed face… but my dear, this is only the beginning…"
"Shhh… Herm, it's ok." He said quietly and hugged her. "Why are you crying?"
"Draco, you know why I'm crying! I shouldn't have…"
"Stop, just stop." He said menacingly. "We're not going there, ever. I've moved on… you should too."
"But!"
"No buts 'Mione. I want to start over with you… even till this day no one knows of our romance at Hogwarts, I want to leave it at that."
"So you want to forget everything that we had? Everything that we had shared?" She whispered sorrowfully.
"No, no of course not." He said soothingly. "But, if we're ever to get back together… if we're meant to be together, shouldn't we be friends first?"
"Well… maybe… I guess so." She said, and lowered her head.
"You were always so emotional…" He said and, gently raised her head so she was facing him, "I haven't given up on us. But we can't just meet now and pick up where we left off you know…"
"You're so… so calm. Have you forgiven me?" She interrupted.
"Yes, 'Mione, I have." He said and smiled at her.
"You really are a fool. Others expected better from you, my dear. And you trust so easily? Don't worry, I will teach you not to be so faithful. Even those who you think are yours may not be…" Draco thought quickly.
"Do you want to go out to dinner tonight, Draco? There's this nice restaurant on the corner of 3rd and main." She asked hopefully.
"I'll meet you at 7."
~*~
Hermione rushed to her Brooklyn apartment, she hastily searched through her purse for her keys. Her hands were trembling, her whole world was spinning, this couldn't be happening! It was too early, she wasn't ready to have seen him again.
She finally took out her keys and opened her door, and rushed in – collapsing into the nearest chair. He had forgiven her? But how? She had known… or at least thought that this man would never forgive her. Something was wrong. All those nights pondering him, reminiscing over his whole personality, his attitude… she thought she knew him.
But, God, to see him again! Memories flooded through her mind of the love they had once shared. She only became more hopeful of the future they may share… would life finally let her be happy? Would he finally soothe the ache she had felt for hurting him that one night two years ago?
But then… wait… Joe! What would he say? She hadn't even told him about Draco. She hadn't even uttered a single syllable to him about her past relationships…. How could she do this to him? Yes, he was gone for two months, but she couldn't hurt him, could she?
"I don't need this. Lord, I don't need this right now!" Her mind screamed constantly. "No, it's ok… all I need is a little bit of sleep, I'll get up at 6 and head over to that restaurant."
And that was when she dreamed it once again… she relived the past she had tried so hard to forget…
"Draco Malfoy… you broke my heart and now you want me to take you back? Give you a second chance? After I saw you wit.. with her…" Hermione sobbed, "Jerk." She whispered as yet another tear spilled down her cheek.
"Hermione, I told you that it was just an act. It was just a bet I made with Goyle…"
"A bet? I can't believe you! Did you think I wouldn't mind you making out with that tramp!"
"Pansy is not a tramp! And what was I supposed to tell Goyle? That I'm going out with Hermione Granger so I can't kiss Pansy?"
"So now you're defending Parkinson? And why didn't you just tell him? They were going to find out sometime! I even lied to Harry and Ron when they asked why I was crying that day… because of you I had to lie to my best friends!" Hermione screamed.
They were standing by the lake, the moonlight shone down on them… it was; this very place was where they had shared their first kiss. Now, I seemed that this was the place they would end it all. A six-month romance, which they had hid from the entire school, they're supposed undying love was to come to an end. Hermione broke down to tears at the very thought of this, and to know it was a reality she couldn't stop… she thought she would die.
"First, I don't give a shit about Potter and Weasley. Second, you wanted me to tell them that I was going out with you? Do I have to remind you that you asked me to keep it a secret, so you could have time to figure all of this out!" Draco yelled furiously. She was impossible. She was stubborn, and his love was now acting like a pure fledged bitch.
"If I had known that you were going to kiss another girl I wouldn't have told you that!" She screamed, and finally faced him… "Didn't you realize how much it would hurt me? Didn't you care?" She whispered to him, her voice pleading for him to just take her into his arms and make things better.
"I did know, love, I did know. I didn't have any choice though…" He said softly, his heart softening when seeing her tears.
"You did though. You had a choice, Draco. And if I can't even trust you with something like this then…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish.
"Then what Mione? What?" Draco yelled, wanting an answer.
"God, Draco… don't make this harder than it already is… I love you, and I can't see you doing these things…" She said, as she started to cry again.
He walked up to her, and embraced her. Gently stroking her hair… he wanted so badly to change the past. To erase that entire day, one little mistake was causing his love so much pain. How could he have been so stupid?
"Shh. baby, please don't cry, you know I can't see you crying." He whispered into her ear.
Suddenly she laughed…
"Do you remember, last September? When we came out here and you kissed me? I had a fit… but then I realized I liked you…" She said recalling the memory.
"Yeah, I remember." He said quietly. "Mione, can't we just forget this all? Isn't there anyway I can just make it up to you?"
"You think you can just make it up to me like that? Just by a little snap of your fingers or something?" She screamed. "You really are as ignorant as everyone thinks, aren't you?"
"And you're just as stubborn and bitchy as they all say!" Draco concluded irritably.
"Damn it Malfoy! Damn you! You couldn't even understand how I felt could you? Was this all just another game for you? A way to hurt Potter and his little friends?"
"What the hell, Hermione? What did you just say?" He yelled furiously as he pushed her away roughly, "Yeah, I you think I would have wasted my time on you just to hurt Potter? And you think I don't know how it feels to be hurt by the one who you love? How about when I saw you with Weasley at that dance last week? You had told me you weren't going! And you say I don't know what it feels like to be hurt by someone you love…" He yelled.
"I said I wasn't going with a date, we went as friends. Wait… you never told me you loved me… last week, when I told you… you were just quiet… but I didn't think you felt the same way…" She said slowly.
"Well, now you know." Draco said with a flirtatious smirk, "I love you, Hermione Granger."
"I'm sorry, Draco… I'm sorry." She whispered, and looked up at Draco.
"What do you mean, Hermione?" He asked, confused.
She held placed both her hands on his face and kissed him gently, wanting the world to stop right then. Why couldn't they go on kissing like this forever? Why couldn't everything just be perfect?
"I love you, Draco… but… goodbye." She whispered hoarsely.
She turned around and began to walk away, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back to him gently. He looked into her auburn eyes, and wiped away a couple stray tears. Then, suddenly he shook his head.
"It doesn't make sense. I don't know why I did kiss Pansy… I just didn't know what to do." He rasped quietly.
"Draco, it doesn't matter anymore… we can't be together." She whispered.
"You can't just end it like this! You can't just end it all, and deny that nothing ever happened! As if we didn't share this-this incredible passion." He said angrily, his grasp on her wrist tightening.
"Draco, I don't want to… but you've left me with no other choice. I've been enduring this type of pain for months. We couldn't tell anyone about us, because I wasn't ready to face them with the truth. But you didn't have to always parade around with other girls, did you? You made me seem like your night time mistress or something!"
"How could you even think that?" He yelled. "You knowI loved you, you know that I would never hurt you."
"I thought I knew, Draco. But today… when I saw you kissing her… damn it Draco, you make it seem like I was just another one night stand or something!"
Suddenly, he pulled her around, and slammed her against a tree. Pinning her to the trunk, he held her arms over her head. She let out a cry of shock and pain, as she felt the fool impact of the trunk against her back. She could feel him heaving with anger, and she almost cowered under his anger.
"If you were just another one night stand, I would have left you that first night we were together, Hermione." He hissed savagely, "You know what I've done to other girls before you. You know how I am…"
He turned her around quickly, twisting her arms behind her back. He felt her gasp out of pain, but he didn't care anymore. He would show her, how dare she think that he didn't care for her?
"Granger, you always had a big mouth and see where it's gotten you?" He whispered into her ear threateningly.
"Draco, get off. Get off!" She cried out, only to be pushed further into the trunk of the tree.
"Did I say you could talk? Bitch! You think you were just a one night stand? Well if you want to be reduced to my mistress, that can be arranged…"
"So now the truth comes out! You never loved me! You lied to me! Bastard."
"Funny, you still have such spirit when you're in this type of situation. But I could kill that spirit of yours within seconds, is that what you want, Granger?" He mocked her.
Suddenly, she was quiet. So she had been right… all those doubts that had played around in her mind were true, he didn't care for her. She was just being used, and now he was about to… Tears started to appear in her eyes again.
"So I was really right… you didn't love me… you just… and now you're going to…" She sobbed.
He turned her around quickly, and hugged her. He immediately cursed himself, how could he have let his anger take him over like that? He had just hurt her… and what he had just done was sick. He had almost taken advantage of her sensitive state.
"God, Mione… I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that…" He whispered multiple apologies as she clung to him.
"You always have to be angry, Draco. Why? I thought you were going to actually… that you would…"
"I didn't mean that. I would never do anything to hurt you, Mione. You know that!"
"Draco, I don't want to leave you… I want us to stay together forever…" She said softly, and looked up at him. "But how can I know that you won't betray me again?"
"Like this…" He said quietly, and then got down one knee. "Hermione, for as long as I've lived, I've never been as happy as when I've been with you. I really do love you… and so will you marry me?"
She silently took his hands in hers, and brought him to his feet. Staring into his eyes, she took a deep breath as if to breathe in the courage she needed to say her next few words…
"I do love you, Draco. But… I can't marry you."
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A/N: ok here you go guys! Pleassee give me lots of reviews! I need em… kind of like a way to make me right. I have please my readers =D.