Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.
Title: Schadenfeude
Ship: Draco/Hermione
Part 1 of 5: Prologue
I thought life wasn't worth a fight,
I was wrong.
I lied.
Now you're gone,
And I cried.
Her hand touched the dark marble that lay at the ground. It was cold, just like the lingering winter air brought about by the approaching December. Her fingers slowly traced the beautifully-crafted script on the smooth stone.
"Aperrio," her small voice whispered, and immediately the words engraved swirled under her fingertips and rearranged themselves.
Noble. Loyal. Loved, the words on top said. She chuckled ever so lightly as a small smile curved her lips.
"Arrogant. Stupid. Bastard," she muttered under her breath. "That's what you are."
Her hand fell limply on her thighs, fists clenching and unclenching from time to time. She finally dropped all her weight onto the ground, her head shaking, and the smile from before disappeared as she began to sob.
Tears fell freely onto the stone, and the wind blew on her face, sending shivers from her nape down to her spine. It was a wonder how the salty liquid that kept coming from her eyes never turned into ice from the cold.
She reached her hand over the stone once more, her palm flat and still on it.
"I'm sorry," she choked out in between sobs. "I'm so sorry."
She sniffed, and just then, a small hand clamped on her shoulder.
"Hermie?" a voice comparable to the size of the hand said. Her body clearly tensed, and her shoulders straightened. She hastily wiped her tear-stained face using both her hands, tucked all her loose chocolate curls behind her ear while continuing to sniff, and feigned a smile on her face. She finally bobbed her head in recognition of the presence she has forgotten during her melancholy.
"Yes, Ana?" she asked sweetly, and the kid smiled.
"Hermie," the child just repeated, her glimmering teeth lighting her face up despite the darkness of the night.
"Do you want to leave?" Hermione motioned to stand, but the girl merely pressed her hand harder down her shoulder and shook her head.
"You don't want to leave?" confusion was apparent on Hermione's face. Ana didn't answer, nor looked at her. She just stepped forward and kneeled by her sister. She caught Hermione's hand with her small ones and pressed them over the marble. She slowly moved both their hands over the script impressed in the middle of the stone, then she smiled, showing off her teeth again.
"I'm sorry," she said, Ana's minute voice copying her sister. "Hermie's so sorry, too, Drakie."
Hermione's eyes started to water again as she stared at the little girl by her, continuously following Draco Malfoy's imprinted name on the gravestone.
Word count: 454
Word count after beta: 444
A/N: I will totally appreciate it very much if you leave a review. I'd like to know if you enjoyed it, so I could decide whether to continue or not. So please review.:)
**First four lines are part of the song Why by the Rascal Flatts. Aperrio is Latin for appear.
