A/N: Hello lovies! I wrote this fic with inspiration from Stanaj's song, "Ain't Love Strange", which I'm pretty sure is Dramione canon. If you haven't heard it, you should definitely YouTube his EP. It's amazing and worth your time. Thank you for reading! I'd love to talk to you all, so feel free to leave review and comments! I hope your days are full of glitter and flamingos. Much love. xo E
Baby, I know I've been here before
Ohh, something feels familiar
Strange, that when I gaze at you, it's deja-vu
Strange, I never thought I'd feel the way I do
Like my future and my past
Got the same name, got the same eyes
Got the same smile
Maybe in a past life, you were queen
Maybe in my past life, I was king
Maybe we were made eternities ago
And maybe we didn't know
- "Ain't Love Strange", Stanaj
Hermione walked through Hyde Park, wandering aimlessly, unsure of why exactly she felt the need to be there today. She hadn't spent much time there, it didn't hold a particular sentimental value, but when she woke that morning, there was an unexplainable burning desire to visit. She walked for close to an hour, enjoying the beautiful summer day, when she decided to settle on a bench overlooking a small pond. Children were playing around her, the sun was shining, a light breeze rustled her hair. She sighed contentedly and searched in her purse for her current reading material, glad the feeling of urgency had been satisfied. Opening to her bookmark, Hermione stretched her legs out on the bench, soaking up the sunshine, delighted her skin would turn a lovely golden color. After a long stint with her nose buried in a book, she looked up and glanced around, when a familiar shock of blond hair caught her attention. It was partially obscured by the water featured that graced the middle of the pond and she narrowed her eyes in examination. The party in question shifted slightly and raised their head causing the pair to lock eyes. Granite met brown. An unfamiliar flutter disrupted her stomach, but she couldn't look away; she was stuck in a vortex, a universal weight had comfortably settled on her chest. He rose slowly, making his way around the path, straight for her.
"Granger," he stated.
"Mr. Malfoy," she replied, "What brings you to muggle London?"
He paused, "I'm not quite sure, just felt the need for some fresh air."
She offered him a smile. "Me too."
He smiled back.
XXXXX
The duo met on the same bench every day they could feasibly scavenge for the remainder of the summer before sixth year. They took walks, read, lounged, and enjoyed the sunshine, but most importantly, they laughed. Dark times and ominous feelings hung in the atmosphere like toxic gas, they were each other's antidote, fending off reality with smiles and happiness. An unrepentant joy settled in their souls, untainted and unstained. The one happy spot in an otherwise dangerous game.
Hermione lay on her stomach atop a blanket, feet swinging in the air with a book propped up in front of her. Draco lounged beside her, his own book in his right hand while his left fiddled absentmindedly with a loose curl that feel past her shoulder. They rested beneath an oak tree beside their pond. She carefully placed a bookmark and laid the novel to the side, her head dropping down to cradle on her arms. She looked up at him, a small furrow creasing her brow. "We start school again in 2 weeks," she stated.
He looked up from his book, "We do," he conceded. "Are you worried?"
"Yes," she admitted. "What will we do?"
"It's nobody's business but ours. I don't want this," he gestured between them, "to become a spectacle."
"We would be on display like zoo animals. Everyone would have opinions and expectations."
"Maybe we should be," he paused, searching for the right word, "discrete."
After a moment, she nodded her assent. "I suppose that would be best."
"One day, when the war is over, we won't need to be discrete," he said, running his fingers through her hair, tucking a piece behind her ear. "We'll be together, our friends will know, our families will know. We'll marry, buy a house in the country, have babies. We'll have a good life."
She smiled at the thought of spending her life with him. A wedding, a marriage, a beautiful family. All the happiness in the world, a normal life. That's all they really wanted. "Promise?" she asked.
"Forever," he answered, leaning forward and pressing a lingering kiss to her lips.
XXXXX
The reality of sixth year was harsh. A threat hung over Narcissa Malfoy's head and Draco was struggling with the task set forth by the Dark Lord. Hermione was dealing poorly with the threat Draco was facing and Harry's destiny, that really felt more like a life sentence. The couple struggled to find time to be alone, stealing moments in between classes, frequenting secluded alcoves, and sneaking out after curfew.
They found themselves in a dark corner of the restricted section after midnight. It was the first moment they'd had to themselves all week. Clinging to each other, pressed as closely together as possible, the couple whispered. Promises for the future, loving words, thoughts from the week; completely absorbed in the other. They kissed passionately, desperately, shoved against a stack of books. Not knowing when they would have another opportunity; the completion of Draco's task stalking ever closer.
A pair of ebony eyes watched the couple from afar, contemplating the repercussions of this new development. Silently, he exited the room, intent on finding a way to rectify the problem.
XXXXX
Several days later, Hermione knocked on the dungeon door. It swung open and she walked forward. "I received your note, Professor. What can I help you with?" she asked.
"This way, Miss Granger" he drawled, as he lead her into his office. Startled by the intrusion, Draco Malfoy spun around in his chair and looked at his mentor, a nervous pit settled in his stomach.
"What's she doing here?" he snapped, attempting to keep up appearances.
Severus Snape gestured to the chair beside Draco and Hermione settled herself. She looked between the pair apprehensively, unease seeping into her bones.
"Every person in this room is above average intelligence, so please, spare me your pitiful attempts at theatre. I'm aware of your…escapades. This cannot continue."
"I really have no idea what you mean, Professor, though I am sure I do not care for your implications," Hermione answered. Draco sniffed and crossed his arms defensively across his chest.
"Godfather, I do not-" Draco started, but was abruptly cut off by Snape.
"As I stated previously, I do not have time for this nonsense. Draco, you have a task to complete and I cannot protect you if you insist on placing yourself in danger with a child's folly. You are not capable of learning occlumency quickly and thoroughly enough to conceal your true thoughts from the Dark Lord. The plan must continue." He sounded hard, but there was a swift glimmer in his eyes that left Hermione curious.
Draco growled, displeasure evident on his face, "This is not your place, Godfather. I believe we will be leaving now."
He stood, turning to reach for Hermione's hand, but instead hit a solid wall of air. Alarm flashed across both of their features.
"Ah, I thought we might hit this snag," Snape replied. "You cannot leave."
He walked from behind his desk and strode toward Draco, "There are things that must be done, plans that cannot be disturbed, promises that won't be broken."
"Professor, what are you doing?" Hermione asked tensely, a steel edge to the timbre.
"What must be done, Miss Granger."
Draco backed away from Snape, eyes wide, he reached for his wand. Snape disarmed him before he could remove it from the pocket of his robes. Hermione was nearing outright panic, her hands trembled, adrenaline and fear coursed through her veins. "Professor! Professor, please stop this! There is no reason for it!"
Snape continued on his path, Draco backed literally into a corner. Hermione was becoming desperate, banging her hands on the invisible wall between them. Everything was happening too quickly, but each second felt like an eternity; a slow motion hour glass that could not be righted. "Draco! Sweetheart, you have to do something!" she sobbed, tears running freely down her face. "Professor, stop! Please!"
Upon hearing her pleas, Draco swung into action. He hurled himself at his godfather, but again, Snape was faster. A quick flick of his wand and Draco was subdued, frozen in place, eyes widened at the attack he knew was coming, but was powerless to stop. Snape came closer, resting a hand on Draco's shoulder in a fatherly gesture that looked out of place in the moment. He pointed his wand at Draco's temple, and whispered, "Obliviate."
Hermione let out a blood curdling scream, eerily reminiscent of the night Snape saw Lily's corpse in Godric's Hollow, and she fell to the floor in a heap. She felt as if her insides were freezing and on fire simultaneously, despair like she had never felt before, even during the effects of a dementor, overtook her. She had seen him hit with an irreversible spell. There was no fixing or repairing. Her relationship, her love, was gone. Her life was dimmed once more. She didn't fight when Snape stepped towards her, she sat on the floor and sobbed, fat tears staining her robes as they fell off her face. "I love him so much," she choked out, her hands moved to hug herself, as if trying to keep her shattered heart from falling to pieces. Her eyes rose and focused on Draco's unconscious form across the room, the last moment she would look at him with love instead of contempt.
"Obliviate," was Snape's answering word.
XXXXX
When Harry, Ron, and Hermione were drug into Malfoy Manor, she felt a strange sense of relief knowing he was there. She couldn't explain it. They'd always hated one another; the Slytherin Prince had no interest in the brains of the Golden Trio.
He locked eyes with her across the room, glad to know she was still alive, that her soul was still on this plane. He didn't give an answer to his father's question. He knew who they were, he had seen them every day at school since he was eleven, but it felt right to lie. He didn't want them to die, he wanted this to end, to know that she would be safe. He couldn't explain the feelings and thoughts, he'd never liked the trio, but the feeling of correctness after it was over was enough to know he had made a good choice.
Hermione screamed as Bellatrix drug her knife across her forearm, but it didn't hurt as much as she would have thought. Her arm felt…numb. Her eyes flicked across the room to him, while Bellatrix took a short break to taunt her, and he gave her an almost imperceptible nod. She knew what he had done and she was eternally grateful. He couldn't save her, but he could help. She continued to scream and thrash while Bellatrix continued her crazed laughter, carving more letters into her arm.
Harry grabbed her from behind, hauling her out of the path of the falling chandelier. They ran several feet, meeting Draco Malfoy. Harry lunged and Draco practically threw his wand at the pair when the disarming spell struck him, 'go' he mouthed, glancing around frantically.
He lay panting on the floor after the latest round of the Cruciatus Curse, and knew deep in his soul that he had done the right thing. She was safe. He was not sure why it mattered so much, but it did. A pair of warm, kind eyes floated across his mind in a pain induced haze, an echo of a genuine laugh rang through his thoughts. He held onto them like a lifeline when wave after wave of torment swept over him.
XXXXX
Two days after the final battle, Hermione made her way through Hyde Park. The war was over, Voldemort was dead, and she felt empty. She had given too much, she knew, but this felt different. There was a hole in her heart that she didn't know how to fill, wasn't sure what caused. The feeling was unsettling. She situated herself on a bench beside a small pond with a fountain in the center, something familiar about the surroundings lured her in. She felt as if she had been there before. She shook off the feeling and grabbed her book, elated to be able to go in public, resume her life. Some time later, she looked up, startled to see a familiar blond head walking, as if in a daze, in her direction. He didn't see her, intent on his path.
"Malfoy?" she called after him. He stopped in his tracks, revolving slowly on his heels to face her.
"Granger?"
Their eyes met, both widened. A chord of magic was palpable, almost visible, between the pair. Suddenly, it snapped. She wasn't sure when she stood or when they began walking toward each other, but they were standing a hairsbreadth apart, gazing into each other's faces.
A hand ghosted across her cheekbone, "Draco," she said breathlessly.
He pulled her into a hug, holding her desperately, her face was buried in his chest, both soaking in the other's essence like a balm for their souls. "Gods, I didn't think that was possible. I missed you so much and I didn't even know."
"I missed you too, sweetheart," she murmured, pressing a kiss to his chest.
She raised her eyes to meet his, they started for a moment before she pulled his face down desperate to taste him. They kissed passionately, fiercely, making up for months of lost, unknown time, bodies molded together like opposite sides of the same moon. Tears streamed down their faces, uninterrupted by their passion, a raw magic pulsated invisibly around them, creating a torrent of warmth on their skin.
The comfortable weight in her chest was satisfied for the first time in months. Fate was pleased. Hermione didn't know what kind of magic broke an unbreakable spell. Ancient, she suspected, but she didn't particularly care, he was back, he was familiar, she remembered.
"I love you."
"I love you, too. Forever."
"Forever," she smiled back at him.