Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: Sorry for taking so long with this final one. This is number three in a trilogy. The first one was "Please Remember Me" and the second one was "She Ain't You" so I suggest that you read those two first before you read this one, that way it will make a lot more sense. I promise.
The Winner Takes It All…
It was the day of Draco and Pansy's wedding and the air was buzzing with excitement. Every wizard of pure blood had been invited to join in the festivities which were about to commence. People were talking and laughing and telling hilarious antidotes about both the bride and the groom, both of whom would absolutely flush in the face if the could hear what was being said about them at that very moment. Pansy exhibited every possible emotion which would usually be associated with that of a beautiful bride on her wedding day. She was nervous and happy and excited all at the same time. She hardly could keep still while her house elves were dressing her for her big day.
However, there were two individuals who were not happy on this joyous day. In fact, they were feeling quite the opposite. They were miserable beyond comparison. One of these sad individuals was, in fact, the groom. Draco felt his gut clench as every second ticked by, his pulse running and his nausea threatening to kick up at any moment. It was not that he hated Pansy. He just did not love her. He loved another woman, one whom he would never be allowed to marry because she was not a pureblood. He had tried to think of a million reasons why loving her would only do her harm, and yet the only reasons he could think of were reasons to the contrary. He could only think of things which made her more desirable to him as a possible match. And however hard he tried, he could not seem to find one thing about Pansy Parkinson which could make his marriage to her all the more bearable to him.
The second individual was, indeed, the woman in question. Miss Hermione Granger had loved Draco, despite all reasons to believe otherwise. Although she had, indeed, loathed Draco Malfoy in her first years at Hogwarts, she had eventually grown to respect him. And that respect had ultimately led to care, which led to friendship, which thus led to love in its deepest form. True, she had not let a single person realize it, but she knew that she could not. There had been the war with Voldemort, but then that had ended. Just when she thought that she could have told the world about her love for him, she soon found that he was meant to marry another under the rule of his father, mother, and the Parkinsons. And there was not a single bloody thing that she could do about it. She hated not having control over the situation; especially since it concerned the man she loved. She had always prided herself on the fact that she could control her foolish girl crushes, but this was no crush. This was love and just when she had felt that she could finally experience it without feeling sorry about it, she felt it being ripped away from her. She had not even been able to hold his hand in public and now he was gone and she was once again left feeling horrible about her wanting happiness.
And now, here she was, on the day of Draco's wedding, doing something so pitiful that she could not believe that she was doing it. She had borrowed Harry's invisibility cloak and snuck in. Sure, it was demented by all accounts, but she was desperate to see Draco just one more time. She had also brought upon her person some Polyjuice potion so that she might change her appearance to that of a house elf, should she need it. And now, she stood, just outside the room which she knew Draco to be getting dressed in. Looking around from underneath her cloak, she took a deep sigh and entered without knocking. She closed the door and turned to see Draco, standing in his trousers, shirtless, staring at the door in horror. He grabbed his wand and pointed it at the door, trying to mask his emotions.
"Who's there?" he demanded. Quickly, Hermione pulled the Invisibility Cloak off of her and stared at him, holding her breath. Draco immediately relaxed and let his arm fall loosely to his side. His hand was so relaxed, in fact, that he almost dropped it. "Hermione? What are you doing here?" Hermione immediately felt the stupidity of her rash decision to come see him.
"I needed to come see you before you got married," she said quietly.
"I am happy to see you, Hermione, but you shouldn't be here," said Draco, though he really did not want her to go.
"I know I shouldn't be here, but I had to see you one last time."
"To talk about us? Our past?"
Hermione shook her head.
"I don't want to talk about the things we've gone through. Even though it's hurting me to not talk about it, it's history. I just came here to give you this back." She walked towards him and stretched out her arm. He held out his hand and felt her drop something into his hand. He looked down and felt his heart wrench.
In his hands, he held the locket he had given to her for their one month anniversary back at Hogwarts. On the front, it had her initials. But if you adjusted it just so that the light hit it just right, you could also see his initials intertwined with hers. He looked up at her.
"Why, Hermione? Why?" He saw tears resting heavily within her eyes.
"Because as much as I hate to admit it, Pansy is the one you must marry. She is the winner, and the winner takes it all. The loser is left standing small. I am the loser and I do not like it. Not one bit! I am forced to face my destiny as the one who cannot be there for you as I want to be."
"Hermione, please…" Draco looked at her pleadingly. "Please don't give me anymore of a heartache than I already have." He held out his hand in an attempt to give the necklace back to her, but she backed away, refusing to take it from him.
"No," she said, shaking her head. "If I keep it with me, then I will never be able to move on with my life. And that is what we both need to do now." She looked up at him and allowed two of her tears to finally spill over. "We both need to move on now." Draco looked at her, and although he never said it, he knew that she was right.
Ooooooooooo
Hermione watched sadly from a distance as the wedding commenced. The Polyjuice Potion was already wearing off and she knew that she would have to leave soon. But even with the knowledge that the wedding would soon be over, she could not seem to tear herself away from where she was, standing behind a tree not too far away. It was an outside wedding, and the day was beautiful. But Hermione noticed none of it. Not the birds in the trees or the smell of the freshly cut grass. She was rooted to her spot, her eyes never leaving the almost married couple at the front of the alter. Or, rather, the groom standing at the alter.
If she had been any other woman, she would have made a fuss. She would have thrown up her hands and kicked her feet and made a scene. But she was not any other woman. She was Hermione Granger, and she would not give anyone… even Pansy Parkinson… know that she was quickly spiraling out of control.
Even as she stood there, she could not help but wonder about Pansy. Was she good for him? Hermione knew that Pansy would never be good for him, but could Pansy ever be good enough? Did she have a gentle touch about her? Did she love him as he deserved to be loved? Hermione had not been away from him long, but she missed him horribly.
As she watched Draco lean in to kiss Pansy, Hermione finally tore her eyes away and ran from the wedding. It was all just too much to bear. It was official. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger were officially friends, and it was absolutely killing her inside.
At the wedding, Draco was feeling horrible. Just as he had pulled away from Pansy, he looked past her and saw Hermione running from the spot he knew she had been. She had been there ever since the ceremony had started and now he felt like an absolute jerk for not going to her. But what could he have done? There was nothing he could have done to make the outcome of the wedding any happier for either one of them. He knew it, she knew it… There was no hiding the fact that he was now married to someone and that someone was not Hermione Granger.
Ooooooooooo
"Hermione?" Ginny knocked on her door. No one had seen her in over two weeks and everyone was concerned for her. She knocked again. "Hermione, please come out!"
"Go away!" Hermione screamed. Something hit the door on the other side, but no one was quite sure what it was.
"Please, Hermione, we really want to help you!"
"You can't help me! No one can." Now, she was sobbing…
"Well, if you would just tell us, we could help you." Ginny looked back to Harry and Ron, who were also there. "Come on, Hermione. Talk to us."
"I don't want to talk." And she meant it!
"The winner takes it all," she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek, and she didn't even bother to wipe it away. "The winner takes it all…"
A/N2: Sorry. Not only has it been forever but this isn't my best work, to be sure. Please forgive me, but I am trying to do a lot and I'm already two days late with this. I love you all for being so patient. This is the third and final one shot in this trilogy. Read long and prosper. Always Hopeful