You're Beautiful

She was right in front of me. It was a beautiful ceremony, brilliant in fact. The skies were blue, the day was cool and the hot burning sun was nowhere to be seen. It was a small gathering, she had wanted it simple. Like what she was, a plain ceremony to the man that she loved. I was a coward; I had not fought for what I wanted, only to find it was slipping away.

The wedding march had started as she glided gracefully down the aisle to the red-haired man that was both my ally and my enemy. Her brown hair was piled messily on the top of her head and whipped around her face in the strong wind, and her veil attached to the bottom of her bun. Her eyes sparkled with joy and regret. The joy I could comprehend, but the regret just reminded me of the countless opportunities I have missed.

A slight smile adorned her regal face, her nose prominent and proud. Her cheeks were rosy and her lips tinged pink. She held a bouquet of Irises and Lilies, her favorite flowers on her slender hands. The pattern of Fleur-de-lis decorated her gown in lace. As she turned to peer at me as she approached my seat, her false blissful expression cracked and she looked at me with an expression of pain. No one but me caught it.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.

I watched as she reached the end and the red-haired man took her hand tightly in his. The priest was saying some words of peace while I remained silent, observing my surroundings quietly. The venue was yet in itself plain yet immensely beautiful. We were on a cliff viewing the sea in its solitary beauty. The rhythmic crash of the waves on the rocks below proved perilous yet peaceful. The strong wind and smell of the sea air was fresh enough to cure a dead man.

You're beautiful, it's true.

"If anyone has cause for objection," the priest said, "speak now or forever hold your peace." I wanted to object, to stop this ceremony, to claim her for mine. She must have hoped so too, for she turned her head and stared at me blankly. But I could not, I could not ruin her wedding day, the man loves her, and however how selfish I was, I would never break that.

When I failed to object and the time for that is past, she returned her gaze to the priest with disappointment. Disappointment, the emotion she had felt for the past few years due to my cowardice. The priest continued to ramble on while I interrogated myself. What have I put myself into?

I saw your face in a crowded place,

I saw her face in the crowded Hogwarts hall. She had been the target of many of my insults and the target for many of my affections too. And also the person from which I made the decision to tread on which path. She was my light; she was the one that always led me on the right road. No matter whether she knew she was doing it or not.

The red-haired guy had said his vow. All we needed to end this terrible event was her lips and voice to utter the fatal words to my heart, "I do".

She had paused; there were tears in her eyes from sadness of joy, which I did not know. She bit her lip as a tear slid down her smooth fair cheek. Why was she crying? She was going to start a whole new life now. Free of darkness, mystery and danger, now that the Dark Lord is finally vanquished.

"I do"

It was barely a whisper yet I could hear every syllable, every texture, and every pitch of her voice as she said those two words. I had anticipated this; I knew she would say yes. If she had said no, she was not the woman of my affections.

And yet even though I knew it would end like this. It still stung. Daggers seem to pierce my heart, my stomach doubled in pain and fire gripped my throat. She had just crushed my hopes, what little that was left of it. I was ridiculous even to imagine any other scenario but this.

Guest stood up to congratulate the newly-wedded couple; the skies had suddenly turned grey, which was expected as this country was known for its unexpected weather. The guests ran to the large three-storey house near the vicinity for cover.

I made no such dash. For all of my life, the rain, the gloom, the darkness had soothed and numbed my pain. And no doubt it will do so now. Except the pain that I experienced now is too great, it's swallowing me up. And I had to take drastic measures. It had all began with a drop. Now the heavens had released their dams on me as I sprinted over to the brink of the high cliff.

I could hardly see through the heavy downpour and yet I could still sight the crashing waves and rocks smashing violently below me in the storm. I had a weird temptation to just fall into the fatal demise below me. And I had no intention to stop it.

'On three,' I thought.

1…

2…

"Draco!"

I could recognize her voice anywhere. The one who screamed at me, insult me, chastise me. The first ever woman who ever dared do that. I turned around to look at that beautiful heart-breaking face, perhaps for the last time. Her hair was down and wet. It clung to her face. Her eyes were brimmed with tears and rain. And her lips were still shouting my name.

And I don't know what to do,

"Don't, Draco!" she screamed. "You can't do that! Come back, you coward!"

My legs suddenly started to move myself towards that beautiful being. Then, he grabbed her back. The red-haired man who was now her lawfully husband. He too, looked at me with a worried expression and helped her in persuading me through the disastrous rain. Guests were starting to crowd around despite the weather and a black-haired man with a lightning shaped scar had a strange knowing look on his young face, like he had predicted this all along.

But still, the difference was that her husband was there. A living reminder of what I had lost and what he had gained. The searing pain now begun again, strong as ever before, it seemed to eat up insides.

"It's all too late now isn't it, Hermione?" I asked sardonically, smiling sadly through the rain, desperate to not let my tears fall. The moisture in my eyes clouded my vision and I wiped it away, determined not to let that obscure my vision of Hermione.

"Is it a little too late to tell you I love you?" I asked, she collapsed at her knees, dirtying her beautiful wedding gown which was soaked through by the rain. She turned her face away and held her head in her hands, crying.

I nodded understandingly and turned back to peer curiously at the rocks below, with a curiosity I had not possessed for a long time. I was not going to chicken out this time. Gathering my courage,—which was not much—my emotions. I closed my eyes and leapt…

'Cause I'll never be with you.