DISCLAIMER: I have no claim over any of the following except for the plotline which is completely mine. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling and certain lines belong to Hinder.

A/N: Decided to break away from my normal pairings because Sirius and Hermione just didn't seem right for this one. Hope you like it.

Beta: The wonderful moonyNZ checked over this for me since I'm too lazy to check over it myself. :D Last but not least:

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!!!!

Lips of an Angel

Love feels no burden,
thinks nothing of trouble,
attempts what is above its strength,
pleads no excuse of impossibility...
It is therefore able to undertake all things,
and it completes many things,
and warrants them to take effect,
where he who does not love would faint and lie down.
Love is watchful and sleeping, slumbereth not.
Though weary, it is not tired;
though pressed, it is not straitened;
though alarmed, it is not confounded...- Thomas A. Kempis -

Crystallized droplets of ice blue rain fell from the sky above onto the small open field as day faded into night. Two lone people stood outside, not noticing the biting sting of the cold rain. Eyes riveted on the sky above, they stood motionless as the dark cloud hovered over them.

The backs of their hands touched lightly as the wind whipped around them, enveloping them in its embrace. With slow grace, her head turned a fraction to look up at his profile.

"How is she?" The question was posed innocently enough, but it caused him to freeze up instantly, his hands clenching at his sides slightly.

"She's fine," he replied with just the slightest of nods of acknowledgement. He moved his head then, just enough to look over at her, avoiding her eyes. "She's fine," he repeated, but whether to assure himself or her, he didn't know…didn't want to know.

She cocked her head slightly, her eyes scanning his face for some clue. Slightly hesitation, then, "That's good," though her voice stated that she didn't believe herself when she said it.

"Yeah," he responded, shifting from one foot to another, "that is." He pressed his hand up against hers, enjoying the light sensation of her skin against his.

Her eyes met his as rain ran down her face, dripping off of her chin. Her eyes were filled with a foreign substance that he rarely saw in her eyes, a substance she rarely let him see. In a whisper she asked, "How did we get here?"

o-o-o

The war was officially over.

But even as she stood on top of the small incline staring out over the bloody battlefield, she knew that today marked the end of much more than just the war.

Tears for those that she loved and lost filled her eyes but she brushed them away. She would not cry, not today, not now. She would remain strong as the world fell apart around her.

He came to stand beside her on the hill, his hands tucked securely behind his back. Without sparing her one glance, he softly commented, "It's finally over."

She nodded her head slightly, her eyes casting a glance around at the lifeless bodies still littering the ground. "So it is." She drew in a ragged breath, expelling it slowly. "So it is."

He turned his head to look at her, his eyes staring deeply into hers. "Everything is over, it has to be over." His words rang in her ears, wrapping around her as his meaning sank into her skin like knives.

"Yeah," she whispered softly, her eyes shooting back to the darkness, "I know."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him nod once, twice, before turning around and walking away. Only when she knew he was a safe distance away did she turn her head and watch as his form disappeared.

Only then did she allow the tears to fall.

o-o-o

The shrill sound of the telephone woke him from his sleep. Detaching himself from the sleeping form of his girlfriend, assuring her that everything was alright when she stirred slightly, he walked into the next room to answer the muggle device Clarissa had insisted they install.

"Hello," he said, his voice gruff from sleep. His body stiffened automatically at the soft and sweet voice on the other end. Risking a glance into the bedroom at Clarissa, he stepped further into the darkness of the room. "Honey, why are you calling me so late? It's kind of hard to talk right now."

He heard the shakiness of her voice on the other end as she tried to control her breathing. "Why are you crying? Is everything okay?"

There was a slight pause on the other end and then, "Can you talk?"

He hesitated. "I have to whisper because I can't be too loud." He heard a noise and turned sharply, letting out a relieved sigh when he saw that Clarissa was still asleep. He knew he should hang up the phone and go back to his girlfriend, but the sound of her whispering his name was just too tempting for him to turn away from.

And so he listened.

o-o-o

Clarissa stood before him as they swayed slowly to the music at the celebration ball held in honour of the anniversary of the final battle. He really had no choice in coming; the Minister himself had insisted that he be there.

He drew Clarissa closer to him so that his eyes could scan the room without her noticing him doing so. She would ask one too many questions if she noticed.

She was there…with him.

His arm was wrapped securely around her waist in a possessive manner. His hand would occasionally slip lower at which she would reach down and move it back up.

Her eyes met his briefly across the room, hidden emotions being conveyed to each other without the need of superfluous words. He looked away first, closing his eyes and wishing it was her body that he held.

Clarissa drew back just enough to peer into his eyes. "Are you alright, darling?"

He tensed slightly. Had she guessed the turn his thought had taken? "Yeah, well, you know how much I hate these things."

She smiled coyly, running her finger along his shirt collar. "You should enjoy it, darling. After all, you do deserve the attention after everything you did."

His gaze hardened instantly and he pulled away from her. "Please forgive me for just wanting to forget the whole horrible ordeal."

His tone was bitter and mean, he knew it but he couldn't help it. Ever since they had started dating, Clarissa had been trying to get him to step into the limelight and enjoy his fame. She never gave up on it either, not even after the bitter argument they had over the whole thing. She just kept bringing it up.

"I'm sorry," she said with a pout, "I know how much you hate the subject but you really should consider it. I mean, just imagine how much…."

"Not here, Clarissa," he interrupted with a stinging bite. Pulling away, he turned from her and strolled over to the buffet, inadvertently placing himself closer to her.

He began to pick at a few items, tasting a bit here and there as he inched closer to where she stood with him. They were having an argument of sorts.

"What I'm saying is that there is no need for you to do that!" she yelled in a whisper, her eyes alight with unabashed anger as she placed her fists on her hips.

"You're my girlfriend!" was the only response he was able to come up with.

"Maybe so, but you know how uncomfortable that makes me."

"I was just touching you. Is it so wrong to touch my girlfriend?"

"It is if you do it after she specifically asks you not to," she answered bitterly.

"Fine," he cried dramatically, attracting attention from people nearby, "I'll be sure not to touch you again. So sorry to offend her royal majesty."

He watched her watch him walk away. He heard her sad sigh and watched as her shoulders slump. But was it in defeat or relief? She turned away, turning towards him, their eyes locking.

He sorely wished he could just take her in his arms just then. But he knew that he couldn't. Those who still lingered in the room wouldn't accept it, wouldn't allow it.

He acknowledged her with just the slightest nod of his head. The sudden spark of life in her eyes pleased him more than he cared to admit. However, he often found himself depending on her feelings, feeling her joys and pains as if they were his own.

She closed the distance between herself and the buffet. She stood before him, the table the only barrier between them. She kept her eyes dutifully trained on the food.

Picking up a cracker with a gob of 'special' mix on it, she quietly commented, "I have been hearing some rather interesting comments on this." Her eyes snapped up to meet his in an alluring challenge. "Care to add to the growing list?"

His brow quirked as he leaned forward and plucked the cracker from her hand, stuffing it into his mouth. He chewed slowly, allowing the taste to fill his senses. "Delicious," he murmured, plucking another from the tray and holding it out to her, "but you should decide for yourself."

She smiled as she removed the cracker from his hand. "Thank you," she whispered before sticking it into her mouth, chewing slowly. "You're right, it's delicious."

He smirked as one they moved down the table, sampling food and making small talk, nothing suspicious. Occasionally his eyes would search out Clarissa just to make sure she was occupied and wouldn't come over to pester him while he was with her.

When they reached the end, she looked up at him boldly. "How have you been?"

He allowed a smile to grace his features. "Some days are better than others," he answered without really answering, something he knew would irk her.

"You're being evasive and you know it," she replied shortly though the corner of her mouth was twitching upward in what threatened to be a smile.

"Maybe so," he said with a small shrug. He looked to the side and stiffened instantly. Clarissa was approaching with two known reporters. "If you'll excuse me, I think I'm going to need a very strong drink."

As he walked away, he heard two things- Clarissa calling his name and her soft laughter echoing after him.

o-o-o

Clarissa was in the bathroom getting ready for their one year anniversary date. He stood at the dresser staring at the sparkling diamond nestled in the black velvet box.

As the phone gave a shrill ring, he cast a glance over his shoulder at the closed bathroom door. With a sigh, he snapped the lid shut, tucking it away as he picked up the phone.

His blood heated as he heard her sweet voice on the other end whisper his name. He cast another quick glance at the bathroom door before allowing her name to escape his lips in a soft breath.

"Why are you calling here tonight?" he asked, dreading the effect just the sound of her voice had on his body. It was his one year anniversary for Merlin's sake! He should be fantasizing about his girlfriend's body, not a girl who haunted his memories.

"I just…," he heard the hesitation in her voice, "I needed to talk to someone." He felt his heart automatically tune to her. "He just doesn't understand."

There was no need to ask how 'he' was. "Does he know you're talking to me?" he asked softly, walking further from the bathroom after checking to see whether the shower was still running.

"No."

The crispness of her voice hinted at something but he wasn't sure whether he wanted to explore it or not. "Will it start a fight?"

She gave a short laugh. "Probably, if he ever finds out about it." She paused and he guessed at what was coming. "Does she know that we still talk?"

He was the one who laughed this time. "No, I don't think she has a clue."

There was another pause on the line but he could tell she was still clinging to the phone just by the sound of her steady breathing. "Is she there?" she finally asked.

"She's in the next room," he informed her. He smiled slightly at what must be running through her mind then, but he didn't expect the soft question that flowed from her lips. Closing his eyes, he answered, "Of course she's not you."

"He's not you either," she told him softly. "Sometimes I wish he was."

He chuckled, opening his eyes again. "I guess we never really moved on."

"I guess we haven't."

They both went silent after the admission. Only when he heard the shower shut off and Clarissa start singing did he snap out of the trance she lulled him into. "I've got to go." He hung up the phone before she could respond.

Clarissa strolled out of the bathroom just then with a small towel barely covering her seductive body. She gave him a sensuous smile as she sauntered over to him. "Who were you on the phone with?"

"Oh," he cast a look at the phone as his mind kicked into overdrive, "I was just checking on the reservations for tonight at the restaurant."

She allowed the towel to drop as she pressed her naked from up against him. "What do you say about skipping dinner and going right to dessert?"

Even as her lips touched his, he couldn't help but think of another pair of lips that enchanted him.

o-o-o

He opened the paper with a resounding snap and leaned back in his chair. He had just got home from a long day at work and he just wanted to relax and let all his worries slip away.

Unfortunately for him, that wasn't about to happen. On the second page was a small announcement, one that had him up from the chair in an instant.

He proposed to her?

Somehow his mind wasn't able to wrap around that small fact and he just kept asking it. He proposed…she accepted…

No.

Suddenly everything that had once eluded him was now plainly obvious in light of the circumstance. He understood what his heart had been trying to tell him for months.

He couldn't keep to their silent agreement…not now…not ever.

He strolled over to the phone and quickly punched in a number, sending off a silent prayer as he did so. Thankfully, she answered on the second ring, her voice sounding slightly deflated.

"Meet me," he said instantly before she could say anything else. He rushed on, "Tonight, at the old battlefield at nine."

He didn't wait for her to argue, he knew she would try to reason with him. Instead he quickly sat the phone back down in its cradle and stared at it for a few seconds.

Would she call back and tell him no? He couldn't let her.

Ripping the cord out of the wall, he smiled in satisfaction as he went to go get changed. They were calling for rain tonight…

o-o-o

The rain continued to fall down upon them as they stood in the open field. She faced him completely now, her eyes searching his face for some answer.

He looked down at her, determinedly keeping himself from reaching out to her. He wanted to touch her, hold her, kiss her, but he couldn't. He knew what she wanted and he was unsure as to whether he should give it to her.

"Please," she whispered, wrapping her arms around her body. "Tell me that you don't feel a thing and let me move on. Tell me that you love her."

He leaned his head back, looking to the heavens as he rocked back and forth on his heels. He couldn't give her what she wanted, he knew that now, but he could give her the truth.

"Every time I hear your voice saying my name, it sounds so sweet." He turned to her, lifting his finger to trace her lips. "Coming from the lips of an angel, hearing those words they make me weak."

She hung her head and he could see her shoulders shaking as the sobs overpowered her. "Don't say that," she pleaded. 'Why are you saying these things to me? Why can't you just leave my mind and my heart once and for all?"

He placed his finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. "I say it because it's true." When she opened her mouth to protest, he placed his fingers against them to quiet her. "I know all the reasons against us, but tell me you don't want me. Tell me you don't love me."

Instead of protesting, she whispered, "What about Clarissa?"

He smiled as he leaned down and brushed his lips against hers. His tongue darted out to taste her briefly, savouring the taste he had been craving for so long and had been denied. Against her lips he whispered, "Girl you make it hard to be faithful with the lips of an angel."

He crashed his mouth to hers then, holding her tiny frame to his. She fit perfectly against him…just as she had before.

When they pulled apart, she stared up at him with wide eyes. "They won't accept us and I refuse to have a secret relationship."

He smirked as his hand traced circles on her hip. "Love, there is no way I could keep my love for you a secret. As for the rest of the world, screw them. Since when have we conformed to society anyway?"

That caused her to smile. "So, no more Clarissa?" she asked hopefully.

"She's history," he answered without hesitation. "No more Ron?"

She smiled. "Ron never had a place in my heart. It was already occupied by someone else." She touched his cheek tenderly. "I love you, Draco Malfoy."

He pressed his lips to hers. "And I love you, Hermione Granger."

Finis

A/N: Well, I love the song and so I've been wanting to write a short one-shot on it forever but I hadn't had the chance. Here it is. How did you like it?

PS: For any of you who didn't receive the alert cause fanfiction is a pain in my tush, I updated both CY and The Price of Love.

MiZZ AmAyA