Last Embrace
Author's Notes: I would love all feedback. I hate being cheesy, so please let me know if this is lame! Also, this is meant to be vague, so please don't think I am leaving out some major plot. This is meant to be a one-shot. It could possibly become more in the future. Again, ALL feedback is appreciated, especially if you are critiquing it! Thanks a lot.
Disclaimer: I don't own Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, the Burrow, etc. I own NO Harry Potter personnel or anything affiliated with such.
He flew in from the South; his body leaned close against the broom. He hated apparating; she knew this, so he had arranged to meet her here by broom, at nine that evening. She was waiting for him, her sweater keeping her warm against the autumn breeze. As he landed, her heart skipped a beat. It had been weeks since they had the opportunity to meet again, and until this moment she didn't realize how much she had missed him. He casually walked to her, stern face and a meaningful look in his eyes. He approached her and he cupped her cheek with his cool, slender hands and brought his face to hers. She received his kiss graciously and pressed her lips firmly on his, wanting him to understand her passion for him. He kissed her mouth and his hands moved to her hair, running his fingers through the tangled mass.
As the two embraced, troublesome thoughts crept into her mind. The secrets, lies-suddenly, at this moment, she knew this couldn't last. His kisses stopped and he looked at her concerned, for his face was salty wet from her tears. He took his hands and wiped them from her face, but they continued to pour.
"Hermione," He started, but she shook her head and taking a step away she gently pushed his hands away.
"We can't do this, this can't last," she said through choked sobs. "You know this" With this statement he grabbed her roughly and pressed her against his chest, holding tightly. She felt his heart beat, slow and steady.
"It doesn't have to. I can't let that happen, Hermione." He again grasped her form and made her look at him. "I love you. Nothing can change that, you understand? As long as we love each other, nothing can happen to us." His piercing gray eyes gazed into Hermione, bore into her soul. As he said those words another sob racked her body and she fell to the ground, sitting on the dewy grass. He crouched beside her, now looking confused. "You love me, don't you?"
Hermione loved him dearly. She loved him with all of her heart and soul; living without him was not possible. He completed her. But…
"Yes, Draco, I love you! You know I love you. But Harry, Ron…"
"What about them?!" Draco replied, cutting Hermione off. He was angry now, his mouth was tight and his eyebrows scrunched. "What do they have to do with us? I love you!!"
Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head once again. "You know they have everything to do with us. They hate you-if they knew about us they'd…"
"WHAT- HURT ME? I DON'T CARE ABOUT ME. NO, YOU'RE WORRIED THEY'LL LEAVE YOU!" He had stood up again and was towering over her miserable figure. By now he was shaking with rage and she had again begun to cry.
"No…it's not that…you don't under-"
Draco put his hand up to stop her. He looked at her with revulsion and said with control, "Hermione, I understand completely. I should have known this would happen. I think I always did, I just blocked it out. You have to choose between your life now and a life with me. And it looks like you have made up your mind."
It was Hermione's turn to stand up and get angry. Her hair was as wild as ever and she had venom in her stare. "How dare you doubt me! How dare you act as if this were an easy decision! Choosing between you and the people I love is not something I ever wanted to do!"
"WHAT KIND OF FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE IF THEY WON'T ACCEPT YOUR HAPPINESS?"
"THEY DON'T WANT TO SEE ME WITH THE BOY WHO CALLED ME MUDBLOOD ALL THROUGH SCHOOL! YOU'RE THEIR ENEMY. YOU TRIED TO KILL DUMBLEDORE; YOU HAVE THE DARK MARK ON YOUR ARM!" With this statement Hermione knew she had gone too far. Draco's eyes were wide and his face was contorted into a look of what Hermione saw, not anger, but as disappointment.
He walked closer to her and very quietly replied, "Of all people I thought you would have understood my past, and the fact that it is my past. You're just like them, Hermione, you still see me as a crazed Death Eater, blindly following orders. How stupid was I to believe you could have seen me as anything different? I was willing to give up everything for you and you can't even abandon your Gryffindor pride long enough to defend our relationship. I did my part, Hermione, and it looks like you don't want to do yours. "
Hermione wept at this response, at her shame. Here was Draco Malfoy, sacrificing his family's name and his lifestyle for her and she couldn't do the same for him. Through her tears she said the only words she could, "I'm sorry Draco, I'm so sorry."
Draco looked down at her and heaved a great sigh. He slowly sat down across from her and grabbed his head, his face contorted in pain. Arguments always caused him headaches. "I know you are." He reached over and grabbed her chin, lifting her head to face his. "I know you are Hermione." She stifled her tears and stared at him. He was so beautiful. His silver hair gleamed in the moonlight and his pale skin seemed to glow. Hermione didn't want to let him go.
He continued, "Maybe I expected too much. It would be easy for me to leave. You, you have a stable life without me. You have people who care about you and I can't be selfish and expect you to abandon that. I have none of that to offer. I can't offer you stability, prestige. I can't ask you to live the life I lead. I am an outcast Hermione, and you deserve more than that." As Draco said these words he averted his stare from her and looked absently into the woods.
Hermione, hearing these words, turned her head sharply to look at the man she loved. He was giving up! He was leaving her. But, a small voice in her head spoke, isn't this what you knew was going to happen also? You know he's just doing this for you. He's giving you a way out. And Hermione knew she was going to accept it. After all, she was known for thinking with her brain, rather than her heart.
"I love you Draco, you know that don't you?" Hermione responded. With these words Draco closed his eyes Hermione saw him try to conceal his own tears. She crawled to him and threw her arms around him and buried her face in his warm body. He held her tightly, and they sat there for some time until Draco let her go and stood up.
"I love you." He bent down and kissed her hard on the mouth one last time. She grabbed his neck and pulled him to her and his tears mixed with hers and as he pulled away she knew this would be their last embrace.
Hermione's gaze followed him as he walked away to his broom, rose in the air, and sped away, not once looking back.
Hermione lay in the grass a few moments more. She cried freely and openly, her sobs drowning the noises of crickets and frogs in the woods nearby. She beat her fist on the ground and cursed herself. She had let him go. But now, Hermione could return to the life she had traded; Harry and Ron would be there waiting, her ministry job beckoning her to work, and all the while her heart breaking every day. She stood up, sauntered back through the woods and approaching the Burrow she took one look into the sky and realized she had just made the biggest mistake of her life. She let Draco Malfoy go, and she would never get him back.