DISCLAIMER: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Surprise, surprise.
It Was Raining That Day
It was raining that day. Huge drops of water fell heavily from the sky. The clouds were a somber gray, covering the heavens like a gloomy blanket. Lightning struck violently as if wielded by angry gods. It was dark, so very dark that it seemed that the sun had died.
And true enough, for Draco everything had died. They all passed away with her.
The earth on her grave was muddy, damp with rain and tears. The grasses were like fatal spikes beneath his feet, bent low from the forceful downpour. Surrounding her grave was fertile land, healthy with death and decay but barren of love and memory.
Draco's blonde hair was plastered on his forehead as he looked down at her epitaph.
1987 - 2004
Draco stared intently on the marble, the carved words appearing cold and untruthful. He was looking at them and yet not seeing them at all. He continued to stare for he didn't know how long, as if by merely gazing at her resting place would give her life and bring her back.
The rain continued to fall, its sound reminding him of the din that night when he found out what happened.
The panicked conversations,
The shrill wails,
The racking sobs.
He felt numb, even though the pain was threatening to overpower him once again.
His black suit clung to his body and his robes felt heavy with water but he didn't care. He stood still with grief. Even the squishing of shoes against the mud did not bother him. The footsteps came closer and stopped just behind him. He could somehow hear the person's labored breathing, as though the rain drowned him.
"Malfoy," the person called. His voice was a mere echo to Draco.
"Leave me alone, Potter," said Draco in dull tone.
"Stop this, Malfoy,"
"I said fuck off,"
Harry's hand was on his shoulder in an instant, forcing Draco to look the other way and face him. Draco shrugged him off.
"Don't touch me," hissed Draco, but Harry did not take heed and continued to pull at his shoulder.
Draco's temper rose at this and he fiercely flung an arm out, intent on hitting Harry but the boy was quick and avoided his blow. Draco faced him now.
"What do you want, Potter?" he yelled, his voice mixing with the rain, its bitterness hanging over both of them.
Harry's green eyes flashed behind his glasses. His pale, chiseled face was accentuated by agony and hatred. He was thoroughly drenched like Draco and like him, didn't seem to mind.
"What the fuck do you want from me?" Draco asked again.
"I want you to stop this nonsense," Harry replied, his eyes piercing. "Let her have peace,"
"Fuck you," spat Draco, "I don't need you to tell me that! Do you think I don't want her to have peace? This is all your fault, Potter! You and your fucked up dreams of saving the world!"
"Go ahead and blame me, Malfoy! Curse me! Hit me if you want but that won't make it any better, wouldn't it? She would still be gone. Hermione would still be dead!"
Those words ignited Draco and he swung his fist at Harry and hit him hard in the mouth. Harry staggered backward, clutching his wound.
Draco panted, rain running down his lips. A bolt of lightning struck.
Harry stood up slowly, letting the blood flow freely from his cut lip to his chin.
"Happy now?" asked Harry. "Feel good?"
"What is your problem, Potter? Are you mad?" Draco snarled.
"We're both mad," replied Harry, "we're both mad with grief. We're both mad with the fact that we let her die…"
"We? I didn't let her die, you did!" yelled Draco. "You were there, I wasn't! You were supposed to protect her---"
"What do you think I did?" Harry yelled back, "I did what I could, I risked my life for her,"
Draco smiled bitterly. "It wasn't enough, was it? Your life wasn't enough. You should've died with her,"
Harry's hair covered his eyes but Draco felt loathing emanate from his glare.
"Maybe I should've. At least we would've been together,"
Draco lunged at him again, half-expecting Harry to duck but he let Draco's fist connect with his jaw. He fell back gain but this time, Draco did not give him the chance to regain his balance and instead strode toward him and pulled him up by his collar and shook him hard. Harry gripped Draco's hand with his own.
"I hate you, Potter! I hate you and your selfishness," Draco whispered, Harry's face inches from his own. He then flung him roughly down the muddy earth.
"You really won't stop until you have everything I want, will you? Fame, fortune, her. Well, congratulations, Potter, you won! You won and I lost! She loved you and not me! So leave me alone!"
Harry's head was bent. Draco waited for him to stand up and hit him back. But he didn't. He only laughed. Laughed as if Draco said the funniest thing in the world. His head fell back, his bleeding mouth opened wide. Water ran down his face and neck, mingling with the blood on his chin and flowed down the front his robes.
Draco watched him, the hate in his chest becoming greater until he almost couldn't stand it.
After a moment, Harry stopped laughing and looked fixedly at Draco, all amusement gone.
"You think she loved me?" said Harry coldly. "You think she'd be happy to die in my arms? Then you don't know her enough, Malfoy,"
Harry deliberately stood up, swaying as he did so. Draco went on watching silently. When Harry straightened up, he walked away. At first, Draco thought he was finally going to leave. But he didn't and merely stood six feet away. Near enough to be heard, yet far enough to be touched.
You want to know the truth, Malfoy?? The truth is, you had her all this time. I never owned her. She loved you right from the start. I was just the friend, the brother, never the lover. Yes, I did love her. Damn it, I loved her so much it was hard to breathe without her. I wanted to kill you for it---"
"And why didn't you?"
Harry looked away.
"Because I knew she'd hate me. And I couldn't live with that. I wanted her to be happy, unlike you who only want yourself to be happy,"
"Shut up,"
"Hurts to hear the truth, doesn't it?"
Draco felt his heart contract with pain. Images of Hermione flashed before his eyes. The memory of her beauty was painful to remember but he sorely missed her.
"You're lying," Draco accused. "You're lying and I know it,"
"Am I?" said Harry innocently.
"Yes, you fucking bastard! Don't you play with me!"
Harry seemed to contemplate on this.
"She never loved me, she never did… why would she?" Draco kept on, as though trying to convince not Harry, but himself.
"I don't know, Malfoy," said Harry. "Believe what you want, I don't care,"
Draco considered punching him again, but he spoke before Draco could move.
"Draco," whispered Harry, Draco's name sounding so strange coming from his mouth. "Draco," he repeated, "that was the last word she said before she died. Now tell me, am I lying?"
Draco couldn't believe his ears. He would not believe it was possible. He felt like he was swirling around and around. Everything was a dull, dark blur. Forms, shapes, images, nothing made sense.
"How…why…?" Draco ended up asking.
"You know the answer to that," replied Harry. His voice was filled with bitterness, obviously not wanting to accept what he already knew to be true. "Deny it if you can, though I don't see the reason why you should,"
At that very moment, Draco felt like he was dying from the inside. His heart ached with unbearable longing and so much regret. His energy left him. The rain mocked him and at the same time, shared his woe. It was all so ironic.
"Stop pitying yourself, Malfoy," Harry continued, "You had more than I could wish for, more than what I would ever have…"
The wind blew harder, the rain fell faster. Darkness crept upon them until they were only shadows standing in the middle of all sorrow.
Draco's knees buckled as his sadness replaced his strength. He keeled over, falling on his hands and knees. His fingers dug at the dirt and soil, molding them under his grip. He felt the tears come and tried hard not to let them flow, but it was in vain as they rolled on his cheeks. He looked up and right in front of him was her tombstone. There was another flash of lightning and he once again saw the words…
Hermione Jane Granger
An angel on earth
Draco tasted the saline of his tears and the memory of her last kiss washed over him.
The warmth of her lips,
The sweetness of her mouth,
His tears obscured his vision but he could still see her grave clearly in his mind's eye. And nothing could have hurt him more.
"You're lucky," Draco heard Harry say. "She's crying for you, you know. She's crying for you in heaven…"
Draco felt the coarseness of the earth, the cruelty of thunder, and the comfort of the rain.
Dear Hermione…
May you rest in peace.
A/N: Wow, this is a long one, isn't it? I wrote it because the phrase 'May you rest in peace' came to me. My stories usually start with that. One phrase is all it takes. So, did you like it? I know, I know, I should be writing Pure and Simple but I still have to write and rewrite some parts. But I promise you, I will update it this May. I'm really sorry for the delay. I have summer classes and they consume all of my time. By the way, I took down Whisper mainly because it was lame and partly because I think it insults me. Hehe… So, read and review, people.
PS: By the way, if you want to post comments on my xanga site but you can't since you're not a member, just email me and I'll reply as soon as I can. You can talk about anything you want. I just dig emails. Tata!