Above the white covered, frozen ground was the blackest of skies to contrast it. Stars strew the clear sky like someone had reached out their hand a sprinkled glitter everywhere. The moon was in a waning crescent, the entire atmosphere was perfect. If only he had someone to share it with.
Looking back at the castle, the windows that shielded the house common rooms from the bitter air outside them blazed from the fires lit in their places. Inside were people he could be with, but couldn't bring himself to associate with. The people in his house looked up to him, but for what? Because his father had associations with one of the most powerful wizards in all the world? To him it was nothing to be proud of. The wizard his father followed was an evil man, condescending to even his most loyal of followers, and Draco wanted nothing to do with that life. Just like he wanted nothing to do with the people that looked up to him because that was the life he was bound to live.
Turning away from the castle, away from the warm, inviting light and the promise of companionship it brought with it, he looked back up at the sky with a sigh. If only there was one person in the world who could understand, someone who could look past the cold, frozen exterior that was so similar to the earth's terrain at that moment, and see the soul that blazed beneath it all. If only….
If only….
Behind him the crack of a twig under the pressure of someone's foot echoed through the dense air, making the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Alert, he turned his head slowly to the left, then to the right, trying to see who it was that had caused the disturbing noise on such a peaceful night. A feeling of fear rose inside him, though he knew the chances of one of his father's associates getting to him here were nearly impossible. The cover of the trees made it hard to see the shadowy figure that stood frozen near the trunk of one of the tall trees.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you. I tried to turn and leave quietly," a voice issued from the shadows, a familiar, feminine voice that usually had an angry tone to it when directed towards him.
"Looks like that didn't quite go as you planned, did it Granger," Draco said back, looking out over the surface of the ice covered lake. "Does that happen to you much, your plans not going as expected?"
He heard her sigh and shift her body weight around a bit. He pictured her leaning up against the tree, one arm wrapped around the body, the other lifting up the hand that supported her head as she covered her eyes, trying not to just snap at him. For the first time in his life since he had known her, he hadn't meant to insult her. And for the first time in his life, he felt a twinge of guilt that he had. He lowered his own head into his hands, rubbing them over his face. He wanted someone to understand, and he was pushing away the only person in the entire wizarding world who probably could. Hermione Granger wanted to believe the best in someone, even of that someone was Draco Malfoy.