This is the Prequel for another story of mine called "Letters For Rose". I highly recommend reading that piece before this one so that it will make sense.
This prequel will have four sections, each featuring Rose and another character from the story. In order they will be: Draco, Ron, Scorpius, and Hermione. Enjoy!
Part One: Draco
"People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humor, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in the ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic."
― Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale
Every day that Draco woke up, he felt as though he was missing something. Like he had forgotten to do something that urgently needed his attention. He would wake with a start, veins pumping adrenaline to his muscles, and then stop. And every morning, in the fogginess of his mind as he moved from sleep into consciousness, he remembered. It was her that he was missing. It was always her.
Hermione Granger was a permanent fixture in his mind; affecting his thoughts and actions. It had been so long since she passed, and yet her presence was still all around him. Her warmth, the way he felt when she smiled or laughed, the fresh spring smell of her, her thirst for knowledge; it all stayed. It was left between the pages of the books that she had read, the garden that she started, and the habits that he still had from spending so much time with her. It was all in his mind, fresh in his memories and dreams. Before her, he hadn't known it was possible to miss or love someone as much as he did now.
Sunday Mornings used to be a time when they would take the children to the market in Diagon Alley. Together they would pick out the freshest vegetables and breads to make a delicious dinner that evening. I was his favourite day of the week. And if he hadn't been lost in the memories of those Sundays, he might have heard the footsteps that came closer and closer towards him.
"She wanted me to thank you."
Draco turned around as the sound of the small voice behind him. He was so taken off guard that he almost dropped his bag. Behind him stood Rose Weasley.
"Miss. Weasley! Pleasure running into you. Uh-"
"I was you, all this time?"
Draco took a weary look around him. A busy street in Diagon Alley was not the place to have this conversation. "Rose, how about we have this conversation a little more private, yes?" Taking a still stunned Rose's arm and guiding her to a quite coffee shop off the strip, Draco began to race. He knew that this moment would come, and though it had been years down the line, he was suddenly left blank with all the things he had prepared to say.
Rose seemed to get her never back after the barista had brought them a pot of tea. "I know that it was you who gave me all the letters. Mom, told me… In the last one."
It was not Draco's turn to be nervous. He had kept his word and delivered every one of the letters that Hermione had written to her children. And along with his promise, he did not read as much as a word of any of them. He had no idea what or how much Hermione had told them. "I suspected she would."
They sat in silence for a moment, neither one knowing what to say to the other next.
"She wanted me to thank you, for keeping your promise." Rose nodded along with what she was thinking, biting her lips afterwards to try and keep her emotions under control. "Thank you, for everything. For making sure that I got to know her. Those letters meant the word to me growing up. Sometimes knowing that I would be getting another letter from her was the only thing that kept me going."
Overcome with so many emotions, a few tears slipped out of Rose's eyes which she hastily wiped away with her sleeve. Draco's chest gave an uncomfortable squeeze as she did.
"You look just like her you know, except for the hair." They both gave a small chuckle at this. "I don't really know how this is supposed to go, or what to say. I don't even know what she's told you or-"
"Everything. Or at least everything that was important for me to know. She told me about how she got sick, and how they couldn't heal her. She told me about you; how you two met, how you grew up together, how you changed, and how you were there for her in end. She told me that you weren't the reason that her and Dad broke up. She told me that sometimes it just happens. She told me that you made her so very happy... I'm so sorry, I don't know why I can't stop crying."
Draco laid his hand on top of hers and squeezed it, "It's alright, Rose. It's alright."
Rose took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. This isn't how she pictured this meeting would go. She had so many questions and things that she wanted to say but all of a sudden they were all jumbled in her head and she could get her thoughts straight. Truly, she missed having a Mom, someone to guide her through complicated times such as this.
"Do you miss her?"
"Every day."
"Why didn't you ever contact me after she died? In her letters, she talks about how we used to do things together."
"Losing your mom was hard on both of us, Rose. And I wanted to give you Dad time to grieve and be with his children without feeling like I was trying to intrude on his responsibilities as a Father. It was hard. Scorpius missed you and Hugo like crazy, and kept asking when you were coming over to play again. Your Dad didn't want me or Scorpius around afterwards. It didn't matter what I said or did, he didn't seem as anything other than a slimy school bully that took away his wife. But I don't want you to go and blame your Dad, losing someone that you love is the most painful thing that you can ever experience, he was just doing what he thought was best for you two."
"He had no right to keep you two from us."
Draco had learned that sometimes it was better to keep your mouth shut. He certainly did not agree with Weasley's choice, but now was not the time to bring that up. Times like this were meant for keeping his mouth shut and letting Rose think for herself.
"Did you love her?"
Rose didn't miss the tears that began to pool in his eyes. She could feel her own eyes begin to water in return. Not trusting his own voice to form his answer, Draco simply nodded and tried to compose himself. This was hard enough for Rose, he didn't need to be making it harder on her just because he couldn't keep his emotions in check.
"Your Mom, was the kindest, strongest, most forgiving woman that I have ever had the pleasure of having in my life. She taught me so much about myself, about life. I wouldn't be the man that I am today if it wasn't for her. I know that you probably don't remember much of her but, I hope you know that she would be so proud to call you her daughter. She loved you and Hugo more than anything."
Fresh tears began to fill Rose's eyes as she absorbed everything that Draco was telling her. She didn't realize that it would hurt so much to talk about her mother with him. "I just…. I miss her more than anything in the whole world. It's like every time I think about her, my chest caves in on myself and I can't breathe, that's how much I miss her."
Draco knew exactly the feeling that Rose was describing to him. He had been carrying that same feeling for the past twelve years.
Thank you so much for reading. If you have a moment please take a second to send me a review. Please be constructive in your criticism, no one likes reading a plain old rude review.
