A/N: Okay this is a Valentine oneshot. I was going to make it into chapters and I might still but this is it for now. It's Draco and Hermione though I think Draco's a little OOC. Sorry.
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. FMI, do we have to do these things or is it just for legal purposes? (FMIFor My Info)
Love Eternally
Who would've believed it? Certainly not the two parties involved. It was so small, so miniscule, that nobody could have predicted what it would lead to. One kind act on somebody's part. It happened all the time, right? Well, this time was different, but no one knew how different. It was going to reveal a secret that could destroy the whole of Slytherin house and maybe even Voldemort himself. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
With Valentine's Day coming up, everybody had been preoccupied, excluding Hermione of course. She believed Valentine's Day was silly, just an excuse for people to snog the day away. She couldn't help but think of last Valentine's Day, though.
Viktor Krum had owled her during breakfast, but she didn't open it then, knowing how Ron and Harry would react. Making an excuse, she gathered her things and hurried to the library. She knew the common room would be crowded and Lavender and Parvati would be getting ready for their dates in the girls' dorm. The library was the only quiet place where she could be alone. After all, who came to the library on Valentine's Day? Apparently, more people than Hermione thought.
When she pushed open the door, she was shocked to see Draco Malfoy at her normal table. It was almost like he was waiting for her. But that was silly and Hermione shook her head to rid herself of such thoughts. She focused her attention on him and noticed that he was staring at the letter in her hand.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Hermione demanded. The way he was staring unnerved her a bit, and Hermione hated not being in control. He kept staring and Hermione was starting to get annoyed. A few minutes passed, and Hermione noticed a book open on the table. She assumed Malfoy had just been looking at it.
Finally, fed up with his staring, Hermione repeated her question. Draco shook his head, like he had been in a trance. "Nothing, Granger," came his reply, as he started to walk past her. Hermione's look had softened with his tone. It was not his normal haughty, biting one. It was soft and, well, gentle, almost. Before Hermione could ponder this further, Draco walked by her and she stiffened. She could have sworn that she just heard him say in an ever softer voice to her "Act five, Scene one."
She turned her head, but Draco was already at the door to the library and he didn't look back. Turning back to the open book on the table, she slowly approached it. Not sensing anything dangerous about it, she flipped to the cover page and read the title, Much Ado about Nothing by William Shakespeare. Hermione was shocked. Since when did the pureblood Malfoy read plays written by Muggles?
Shaking her head, Hermione flipped in the book till she got to Act 5, Scene 1. Reading through it, she noticed one line in particular was highlighted. "'And if she did not hate him deadly, she would love him dearly.'" Hermione read aloud. As she read, the highlighter came off the page, so it looked like that part of the book had never stood out.
Hermione sat back, confused. Why had Draco wanted her to read that one line? What did it mean? And since when did she refer to him as Draco, even in her own head? Picking up the book, Hermione put it back on the shelf and walked out of the library, her letter from Viktor Krum forgotten.
It was now a year later, and Hermione still could not get that day out of her head. Draco went back to his mean, annoying self, but only Hermione noticed that he no longer called her mudblood. He didn't even really insult her anymore. It was strange and something Hermione couldn't figure out.
Thinking back onto that day, Hermione remembered how soft his voice had sounded. Try as she might, she couldn't get the sound of his voice out of her head. And despite everything he had done, Hermione had found herself trusting Draco more and more since that day.
Her rational side argued that she couldn't, it was Dra-Malfoy for cripes sake. He had done nothing to earn her trust. He had insulted her and her friends every chance he got, until recently. Her rational and logical side still argued, but they were drowned out by a stronger voice in Hermione. It was a voice Hermione didn't hear much, but know it was there and louder than the rest. It was the voice of her heart.
Her heart was telling her that she should trust Malfoy, should give him a chance. But a chance for what? To turn to the good side? To be her friend? Or something more? This was what her heart was screaming about. That maybe Draco had changed and maybe he was in love with her. But that was ridiculous. Hermione always listened to her logical side, and her logical side was saying that it was ridiculous. However, Hermione couldn't get those words from Shakespeare out of her head. 'And if she did not hate him deadly, she would love him dearly.' Looking across the Great Hall, Hermione locked eyes with one particular male Slytherin. Looking into his eyes, Hermione realized the truth. 'If her brain didn't make her hate him deadly, her heart would make her love him dearly.'
