A/N: I'm back again! Ha ha, writing is really addictive. Even though not many people really appreciate it; I don't mind! It's fun, and a great way to… express myself? I don't know how else to say it.
This is just a little one-shot that popped into my head. Big thanks to anyone who reviewed any of my works; they all made my day! I was surprised anyone even read them!
Again, obviously I don't own anything, or I wouldn't be writing fan fiction would I? I'd be J.K. Rowling, locked up in my room writing book 7, hiding from angry fans who want me to hurry up and not keep them waiting.
Like my other fan fictions, I look forward to reviews. They would be very, very much appreciated. Thanks!
Oh, and just to let you know, this story has absolutely not connection with 'One's Path', my other story.
Without any further ado, read on!
Magic
Biting his lip, Draco Malfoy walked up to the deepest corner of the large yard, hesitated for a moment, and then knelt down right next to the large oak tree, feeling her comforting presence. He breathed out softly, not bothering to look up, and just stayed that way a while.
Overhead, a few sparrows chirped, without a care in the world, and a couple of bright yellow butterflies chased each other across the yard.
What Draco was waiting for was unknown, but soon he began somberly, with pain in the silvery windows to his soul.
"I've missed you." Was his first simple sentence.
Seconds, maybe minutes, passed silently until he started speaking again. He began uncertainly, as if unaware of where he was going.
"You know, everyone has magic in them."
Forehead furrowing in concentration, he began again, this time more confidently.
"Everyone. Maybe they can't make teacups walk, or turn a turtle into a pincushion. Maybe they can't make the most precious things disappear with the flick of a wand, or kill with a few simple words, but everyone, every boy, girl, woman, man; every beggar, socialite, soldier, doctor… has magic in them. They do. It's right here"
He slowly gestured towards his heart. His hand lingered there for a while, and then fell down to his lap again, grasping his robes until their knuckles were white.
"It's the strongest kind of magic there is. You'd be shocked of its power. It can tear apart families, lives, and friends. It can make life seem so pointless; the world so big and empty. Lonely. But it can also make you feel so special and un-replaceable. So needed. It can brighten the darkest night, cheer up the gloomiest day."
He smiled to himself, as if in remembrance of something beautiful, all the while fingering a silver locket containing a single brown strand of hair.
"And when you find that kind of magic, like we did, that love, nothing else seems to matter. All prejudice is blown away, and reality seems so unreal. Life is perfect; there isn't a trouble in the world. Petty things like blood, reputation, status, race… they disappear…"
His sentence drifted off, and he looked off into the distance, the hint of a sad, longing smile on his lips. He looked down again and continued, in a barely audible whisper.
"But all that can be taken away in the blink of an eye. You feel like you can't go on any longer. Like your whole world has just… collapsed inside of you, and you're trapped. Trapped and dying. You really do feel like you can't go on any longer."
"But you always heal eventually. That's what's so wonderful about life. You always heal eventually. You never forget, oh no. You can never, ever truly forget, and you don't want to either. But you heal and move on and realize the stark truth behind those famous, so often repeated words. That when one door closes, another one always opens."
He choked on his tears; ones that the man hadn't even noticed. He blinked, trying to hold them back, but to no avail. They flowed freely down his face, like little rivers of shining crystal.
"There were days when I felt myself drowning in pain." He sobbed.
"I felt so… so alone. I couldn't bear to look at him at all. I just couldn't do it. I - I'd sort of… convinced myself that it was all his fault. Unthinkable, I know, but it's a natural thing to do in these terrible situations I suppose."
"But then, that's when I realized that I wasn't alone, and that I never would be. And I found love again. Not the kind that I found in you of course. That'll never be replaced. But another kind just as wonderful. And I came out of my hole and began living again."
"There are times when I still mourn, you know. I'll stare out the window of our bedroom and look at that cherry tree we planted last spring."
"Remember how you got so frustrated when it didn't bloom that year? I told you to be patient; that it would grow on its own time. And you know what? It has. It's blossomed to its full extent, with so many beautiful white cherry blossoms. Its fragrance scents our whole house. And guess what? The first blossom bloomed on our anniversary of the day I first told you that I loved you."
Draco dug his hand into his pocket and fished out a handful of delicate white cherry blossom petals, letting them slowly drift down onto the grass.
"I knew that would make you smile."
"But it's true, how I sometimes still spend nights crying over you. How I wished I were with you. But then there's days like this, with the Sun shining so brightly, the birds singing so joyfully, and big fluffy clouds, the ones you used to daydream about sleeping on, covering the bright blue sky. Or days like his first smile. The first time he started crawling. It's days like that that I'm glad I'm here."
The tears seemed to have stopped. For now. He lovingly stroked the soft hair of the little baby boy snuggled in his arms, and tightened the blankets around him, shielding him from the gentle morning breeze.
Those little tendrils of hair, so soft and silky like his, yet a brilliant hazel, like hers. His delicate features were also Draco's, but the rosy cheeks, and that smile that charmed everyone who was blessed with it, those were his mothers.
He turned to her again.
"Here's our little boy." He murmured to her in a soft voice.
"I know you've missed him just as much as we've missed you."
The baby hadn't fidgeted or uttered a single cry since arriving here. Perhaps it knew the importance of this visit. Or perhaps it was just one of those things all babies seem to sense.
Taking a deep breath, he continued, not even trying to stop the flood of new tears this brought.
"Your spirit will never leave me."
He softly chuckled through the tears.
"The strangest thing happened the other day. I was just sitting there, feeding him and thinking of you, when I felt you. I felt you and smelled you. It was like you were there, just there, right next to us, looking after us, and protecting us, and I felt so safe. Safe and happy. I know the baby felt it too. He stopped drinking and just froze, looking at me with those large, beautiful eyes. Your eyes. And then, as suddenly as it came, the moment passed; was gone, and I felt as if I'd lost you all over again."
He paused, contemplating the memory with a faraway look in his overflowing eyes.
"Sort of like when the medi-witch came out of the hospital ward with those dreaded, fateful words: "I'm so sorry. We lost her." Everything, all the shock and pain, just came flooding back again…"
He stopped again for a while, then said, voice thick with emotion,
"4 months. I can't believe it's been 4 months already. I never thought I'd survive without you. I guess you'll be happy to know that I'm on good terms with your friends now. They've finally accepted me as a changed man. All because of you."
"Come to think of it, there so many things that are 'all because of you'. Remember years ago when I was struggling between the light and dark side? It was you that made me see the right path to choose. A lot of people around me whisper about how lucky I was to be 'saved' before it was too late but… they don't know just how lucky I really was. To be saved and to have found you at the same time… that's lucky. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive now. Either slaughtered in the war, or killed in the hands of Voldemort, my father, or myself… I wouldn't be alive. Definitely not. You've changed me so much, in such a good way; given me a whole new future."
"Which really means, I guess, that the old saying stands true, even after so many centuries. 'Better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all'. It's timeless."
"Tonight we're all getting together to celebrate you, all of us that have cared for you at some point. Doesn't that make you feel like the special person that you are? I know you'll be there tonight; we'll all be waiting for you."
He wiped away the last of his tears with the arm of his robes. Getting up to his feet, he stepped back and gazed at the engravings on the tombstone.
Hermione Anne Granger-Malfoy
Beloved Daughter - Wife - Mother
1982 – 2007
"I brought so much wonder and joy to the world, that the last, most precious one, took me away"
He had read those words so many times before. It would forever be impaled into his memory. He sighed, and then switched his piercing gaze to the small clump of pale blue wild 'forget-me-nots' that had grown next to the gravestone, and gave them a watery smile; deep grey, silvery eyes shining.
What a coincidence; so ironic. Maybe there were such things as miracles after all. But then again, he'd always known there were.
"Don't worry, I'll never forget you."
And with that, he slowly turned and staggered away through the maze of graves, holding the baby close to him. Right before he turned the corner, Draco looked back, and blew one, final kiss goodbye.A/N: Wow…so much angst and romance. Never thought I had it in me.