Written for The Houses Competition, Bonus Round 3
House: Hufflepuff
Theme: First experience or first time doing something.
Prompt: [prompt] Saying goodbye to the love of your life.
Word Count: 2090
Beta: Aya
Note: Songfic, wrote to "The Scientist" by Coldplay
Draco ran as fast as he could, dodging as many people as he could. He quickly apologized as he ran into a woman and knocked her to the ground.
He had to hurry.
Before she was gone.
The sounds of King's Cross station were loud, almost enough for Draco to forget where he was going. He hadn't been here in years. It was almost nostalgic.
Almost.
Because whenever he would think of this place, he would think of Hogwarts. Then, he would remember about the arse he was during school, especially to her. Then memories of the war and the battle showed themselves.
He would then remember her face after the battle.
And how they comforted each other in the years following.
And that would bring him back to where he was now.
He rushed faster as he glanced at the clock. He had to see her before she left and tell her that he was sorry.
He doubted that she would forgive him. He didn't care. He still wanted to say goodbye.
His eyes landed on where she would be. Platform 16. Her train would be leaving for Northamptonshire in a matter of minutes. His eyes scanned the crowd for her.
He remembered the day that she said she was leaving.
She touched his cheek affectionately as she told him the news.
"Draco, love, I'm so sorry. I have to do this." she had told him.
"Why? Why do you have to go? Can't you just Apparate? Or Portkey? Or something?" he had asked.
"I need a break from the magical world. I must go. I have family up north that will let me stay with them. I hate to do this to you, love, but you know how hard it's been for me," she had said to him, sincerity in her voice.
He had choked back tears and nodded. "I understand." She had kissed him before getting up and leaving the room, leaving Draco alone with the emotions that threatened to show themselves.
He scanned the crowd for her bushy hair. The people around were grumbling at him and shoving him as they passed by while he stood in the middle of the platform.
As her brown eyes locked with his grey ones, it brought him back to the night that ruined everything.
It was two days after she told him that she was leaving. He finally brought himself to see her. To spend the last few days before she left with her.
Her eyes had lit up at the sight of him. Their lips locked as they moved from the front door to the hallway, kissing passionately. As clothes flew off, they had stumbled into the living room, throwing themselves on the couch.
After they had engaged in a passionate session of love-making, the two had snuggled on the couch, talking about their futures. They knew the end of their relationship was near. They would never rekindle once she returns, if she returns. They both knew they would end up finding someone else in the years that they would be separated, but refused to believe it.
In a matter of moments, the mood had changed dramatically. He said something that he would never forgive himself for saying.
He asked if she was leaving because she was embarrassed being with him.
She had stared at him like he was insane and shrugged it off.
What was she implying?
"Well, are you?" he snapped. The look on her face caused Draco to worry about what the truth was.
"It's none of your business." she sneered viciously, causing Draco to jump in surprise at the amount of venom in her voice.
"Well, tell me! Why are you leaving me? Why are you leaving us?" he shouted.
"I thought you'd understand! Out of everyone I know, you're the only one who's been where I've been! You know what I've gone through!" she had yelled at him, causing him to flinch at the harshness of her voice.
Soon, she was using her wand to fling dishes at him as he yelled at her for being an inconsiderate, selfish, careless woman.
Then he called her a word that he had not used in years.
"You filthy Mudblood!" he shouted at her at the top of his lungs.
She froze in place, and stared at him, surrounded by broken ceramic and glass. The room was silent as he realized what he had said.
"Oh, Merlin, 'Mione, you know I didn't..."
"Get. Out!" her voice was strong and full of venom. Draco stared at her in shock at the amount of spitefulness in her voice.
"Get out." she repeated, pointing her wand at him threateningly. Tears of guilt streamed down his face as he walked out the door and into the cold November air.
She looked away in disgust as she saw his grey eyes filled with sincere shame.
It had been two months since that day. He'd been hating himself every moment since.
How could he be so stupid?
The love of his life was gone just because he had said that word.
Like she hadn't had it hard enough. She had worked hard to get to where she was at in her job, and was almost certain to be the next Minister for Magic. After her painful divorce from Ronald three years ago due to the fact that she had a miscarriage and falling into severe depression, she deserved it.
Until that weasel let it slip that him and Hermione were dating.
Their relationship started when Draco received an owl from a depressed Hermione, wondering if they could meet up for coffee sometime. The letter came to him as a complete shock. Why in Merlin's name would she want to talk to him? He replied with a yes and the two met up in Muggle London, Hermione requesting to stay away from the wizarding world. As it turns out, Hermione needed someone to talk to and a shoulder to cry on.
It took some time, but Draco one day came out of his shell and confessed everything about his time as a Death Eater. He sobbed uncontrollably into her shirt one afternoon as she rubbed his back and comforted him. They became closer and started trusting each other. They eventually fell for each other and started dating a year ago. They would spend countless nights together talking about their futures, about moving in with each other, getting married, even having kids. But it was all a fantasy that would never become reality now.
It didn't take long for Draco to realize that he'd never loved anyone more than he loved her.
Unfortunately, the Malfoy name had lost all its respect and superiority and was now thought of as a no-good, evil, disgraced family, and once Ronald had spilled the beans about their relationship, Hermione was sacked. Despite her many years of protesting about this unfairness, even while she was married to Ron, they ignored her and Draco was treated in the same manner as he used to treat those "below" him. He remembers Hermione coming home in tears, telling him the news about losing her job.
Since she left Weasley, she had been distancing herself from the magical world.
Every time she would enter Diagon Alley, hounds of paparazzi seemingly came out of nowhere and started flocking her, asking her the most personal questions they could ask, when all she needed to do was go to Gringotts or some other place for a small errand.
When she would finally break free from the press, she could never go far without stopping herself in her tracks nervously as she reached Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. She knew Ron would be working in there. In fear of getting spotted by him or catching a glimpse of red hair. She would carefully go through the crowd to the other side of the street, but almost coincidentally, Ronald would be stepping outside of the store for Merlin-knows-what reason. Once she saw his face, she would always hightail it out of Diagon Alley before she broke down in the middle of the street.
The stress of the Wizarding World was getting to her every single time she stepped foot there.
Whereas in the Muggle world, she could go out in public with most people not even acknowledging her. She could go run errands without the press flocking around her. She and Draco could go for dinner without fear of being judged or everyone treating Draco unfairly.
She could be a normal person.
Draco walked through the crowd that was standing, waiting for the train and to her. She avoided eye contact and picked up her bags as she prepared to move away from him, but he grabbed her arm before she could leave.
"What do you want?" she snapped. He looked at her with as much love and sincerity as he could, and as she noticed this, she relaxed and her expression softened.
"I'm sorry," he confessed. She stared at him for a minute before struggling against his grip on her.
"I'm sorry, 'Mione. I really am," he repeated. She continued to try to escape, but to no prevail.
Merlin, she had no idea how lovely she was when she was angry.
"Please, Hermione. I need you. Don't go," Draco begged. In a split second, she went from trying to escape him to weeping on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her as she cried into his chest.
"I-I don't know what to think. My mind is c-conflicted. I want to be with you but yet I don't want to at the same time," she weeped softly. Draco glanced at the clock while holding her. It was around ten minutes before her train was to depart.
"I-I forgive you, Draco. I know you didn't mean it," Hermione sobbed.
"Please don't go. Let's go back to the start. Tell me your secrets. Ask me your questions. Trust me. Love me," Draco said. He looked into her eyes before kissing her with more passion than ever before. When their lips parted, they held onto each other longer before Hermione looked at the clock. She separated from him before picking up her bags hurriedly.
"I have to go, Draco. I wish you the best." She gave him one last kiss and rushed towards the train, giving him one last glance.
She had made up her mind.
And she didn't choose him.
"No, 'Mione, please don't! We can make this work!" he shouted after her.
"I love you," she shouted back at him before boarding the train.
He stared in shock as she disappeared into the train, but soon re-appeared through a window as the train got ready to depart.
Draco tried his hardest to stop the tears that were threatening to escape his eyes, but failed as they streamed down his face as she waved goodbye out the window. The train slowly lurched out of the platform. He followed her window as the train pulled out, running as fast as he could before she was out of sight.
He was sure he'd never see her again. The tears fell down his face faster than ever before.
She was the love of his life. He was sure that she felt the same.
How could she do this to him?
As he stood there, slowly weeping to himself, watching the train fade away in the distance, he wished that they could go back to the start.
Nobody ever said parting would be easy.
But yet, nobody ever said it would be this hard.
He felt himself experiencing something that he'd never felt before.
Heartbreak.
He'd never had his heart broken before. It was an emotion that was unknown to him.
He'd read about the empty feeling you get after someone you love stops loving you, leaves you, or cheats on you.
He thought it was made up, fiction, only in the stories.
But there's always a first time for everything.
He stood there, in the middle of Platform 16, allowing people to ram into him and give him nasty looks. He really could care less.
He just lost the only one he'd ever loved.
He wiped away his tears as he started walking away.
He's going back to the start.