In the Rain

She looked out her tower window to the sky outside and the ground below. There was nothing there to cheer her up. The sky was deep grey and clouds covered everything. Heavy rain fell noisily against her window and she sighed, leaning her forehead against the cold glass. It feeling of the cooling window against her heated skin made her relax slightly. But not nearly enough for her liking. She closed her eyes, tried to savour the feeling of the glass and forget everything else. But when she opened her eyes again she hadn't forgotten. The memory was still fresh in her mind and it didn't look like it was going to fade anytime soon. Right, this was a bad idea, she decided. She had hoped that the beautiful view from the dormitory could make her feel better, but the rain only made everything worse. No, it wasn't working at all. She was just about to give up and go to sleep when she realised something she hadn't seen before. Someone was out there. Out in the thick, cold rain. And it wasn't just any someone. It was someone she knew. Without a second thought she grabbed her umbrella and headed out into the rain.

It wasn't cold even though she wasn't wearing anything else than her school uniform. The weather had been nice all day so the rain had absorbed some of the heat. That was the beauty of a summer shower. It was almost quite pleasant. She slowly made her way to the little bench near the Black Lake, careful not to trip and land face down in all the mud. That would be so embarrassing. And really not cool. As she came closer and closer to the person on the bench, she knew she had been right in her first assumption. But something was different. His pale blonde hair hadn't been ruffled by the rain and hang loosely down his neck. But his hair wasn't the main difference. The difference was in his posture. Normally he held himself high, his back was straight and his head could almost bounce against the clouds. But this man, because he was definitely no longer a boy, in front of her was very, very different from that. His back was hunched and he had his head in his hands. He looked like someone who had given up completely, and the sight scared Hermione. She was used to him being so strong and fearless but clearly something had brought him down. She might not like him, but she didn't want him to be alone when he was feeling sad. Yeah, such irony.

"Malfoy," she whispered softly and watched as he suddenly stiffened. Silently she cursed herself. This was not the time for last names, she realised. "Draco," she added just as softly.

He didn't seem to register her advance further until she was standing so close that her umbrella was covering him. When the rain no longer fell on him and pounded against his wet skin and close he turned slightly to face her. They stared at each other in silence, neither saying a word, and Hermione realised that she had been foolish coming out here. Clearly he wished to be alone, and was most definitely the last person on earth he wanted to be with – feeling bad or not.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled hastily. "I saw you from my window and… I don't know… I brought you my umbrella." Okay, so that was a lie, but what was she supposed to say when he looked at her like that, all scrutinizing and serious? Hermione chewed on her lip and tried to avoid his eyes. Finally she cleared her throat and started her retreat.

"Okay, then I'll just be going," she said while blushing deeply, but just when she was about to turn her back on him, he called out to her softly.

"Stay, Granger."

The words were just as bleak as his appearance and Hermione instantly knew that something was very wrong. Usually he would never ever let her stay anyway near him, but more importantly he wouldn't show any weakness in front of her. According to him she was inferior and not allowed to see his real emotions. But that was up until this point. Hermione was too shocked to say anything and just did what she had been asked. She sat down on the bench next to him and arranged so that the umbrella covered both of them. They sat in silence. Hermione enjoyed the view of the lake and loved how the rain drops splashed against the surface of the lake and made new drops erupt. Slowly she became aware that Draco was still watching her from the corner of his eye. She turned her head slowly and made his gaze in a challenge. He didn't bulge.

"I'm guessing that you didn't just come here to offer me your umbrella," he spoke the words slowly and carefully with a little mischievous gleam in his eyes. Hermione felt herself blush, but she didn't let him intimidate her.

"Perhaps not," she said "but you know what they say, misery loves company."

Draco frowned and quirked his head.

"Who says that?"

"You've never heard that saying before?"

Draco shook his head.

"Well that's probably because it's a Muggle saying." Draco huffed but Hermione ignored it. "But no matter who said it it's still true. Else we wouldn't be here together."

"Who said I was miserable?" Draco asked instantly defensive.

"You did," Hermione answered calmly, brushing of his useless defence, "when you asked me to stay."

Draco didn't answer and Hermione knew she had been right.

"Tell me what's wrong." She finally dared to voice her thoughts, even though the words were only a faint plea.

Draco kept staring at the lake but eventually opened his mouth to speak.

"I'm just not really feeling like myself these days," he said with finality to let Hermione know that there was nothing more to be said on that matter. Then he changed the subject. "You tell me what's wrong with you."

"Ron and I broke up," she whispered staring at the hand in her lap. Suddenly she saw Draco's hand entering her view and it took a gentle hold of hers.

"I'm sorry," he said and startled Hermione even more than before. She snapped her head up to meet his eyes. He was watching her again with true sadness and pity in his grey depths but there was also a hint of triumph. "What happened?"

His sudden sympathy startled her and even angered her slightly. She rose quickly, brushing his hand of hers and dropping the umbrella. Within seconds she was drenched and her long hair clung to her face, no longer a ruffle of curls but flat and framing. She curled her hands into fists as she watched Draco and breathed heavily to once again gain control over herself. He didn't seem affected by her change in mood. He was still as sympathetic as before if not more. Hermione was totally thrown off and confused.

"Why do you want to know?" she threw at him.

He remained still as he answered, "Why did you ask me what was wrong?"

She didn't have a comeback. He had said the one thing she couldn't answer because there was no possible answer. Why had she asked him? Hadn't she even felt sorry for him just as he now felt sorry for her? But there was still something that wasn't quite right. Perhaps she wasn't cold-hearted but the Draco she knew surely was. Or at least she had always thought so. Could she have been wrong? Still fighting her internal battle she sat back down next to Draco and avoided looking at him even though she could feel his eyes on her face.

"We just lost the magic," she explained. Draco nodded but didn't comment further. "The spark disappeared and we decided that there was nothing left but friendship. So that was it."

Again Draco reached out and took her hand. His thumb gently brushed over the back of her hand. Instantly she felt comforted and even strangely safe. Who knew Draco Malfoy could do that to her with only his thumb? As that thought went through her head she had a new one; if only his thumb could do that to her, then what couldn't his arms do? Or even his lips? The thought was completely ludicrous but it still made her heart beat a little faster than before and she got butterflies in her stomach. She took a deep breath before she slowly turned her head and looked at Draco. He was smiling slightly and his eyes looked beautiful when they were filled with warmth. Hermione couldn't help but smiling back.

"I think you're better off without him," Draco whispered and his voice was husky with indefinable emotions. His hand that was holding hers came to her face and brushed away a raindrop from her cheek. Of course it didn't her much good, there were already ten other raindrops on her fair skin, but when his hand lingered on her face and went to cup her cheek she felt sated and happy. She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, beating away all thoughts that screamed at her that this was wrong and bizarre. How could something that felt so right and beautiful be wrong? Out of nowhere she suddenly felt a pair of lips gently brush against her own. She froze for a second, but then decided to give up her silent fight. She wanted this and as his lips carefully moved against hers she realised that she might even have wanted it for a long time. The kiss was soft and tender, their lips moulded together perfectly and it was as if her cheek was made for his hand to hold. Neither spoke when the kiss ended. They knew there was no need for words. Instead Hermione leaned her head on Draco's shoulder and together they sat in the rain, silently enjoying their newfound happiness.

Hey there everyone!

I know you were probably all hoping for a update on 'Alone in the Library' but I didn't really feel like I had the time necessary to really make a great chapter. So instead I decided to give you a one-shot.

Tell me what you're thinking – it feels good to something good.