It was quiet except for the faint Muggle record player that was softly playing.
Her dressing room was dimly-lit, which had fit her current mood. They had decorated the interior with her directions as shown by the eggshell blue wallpaper and the lack of paintings in the room. The only thing that truly garnished her chambers was all the deep-blue roses scattered in bouquets of vases—that her groom-to-be insisted—and of silk. The mirrors that glowed with rays of daylight that somehow didn't dissolve turned the hazy atmosphere of the room into a sober tone.
She stepped into the pristine mirrors, staring at the stranger that she had become over the years. She looked just like the ice queen that Draco had jokingly described: frigid, unfeeling, and cold. The perfect Pure Blood wife. A small bitter smile graced upon her lips.
She found it very funny really.
That a Mudblood like her ends up marrying one of the most prominent Pure Blood families since the son couldn't find a bride due to his 'past' and that the lack of children from Wizarding Families only happened years after the war. So it was just her luck when the Ministry decided to implement the Marriage Law. Now, Draco and her are bound to each other with little to no choice.
She touched the décolleté of her dress as she exhaled; reminiscing for the last time.
Maybe if it happened right after the war, this didn't have to happen.
Maybe she would've been happy instead of marrying Draco due to a Life Debt.
And maybe he would've stayed with her if the law happened sooner.
A pause.
Somehow acknowledging this fact whilst looking at her reflection made her feel self-conscious that she had immediately lifted the veil from its stand and gently placed it on the crown of her head.
There.
She was ready.
There was no use of wishful thinking or in delaying it any longer.
She knew she had to go now.
Her future awaits.
As she was to move away from the mirrors, the soft music that had been playing, halted. Alarmed, she suddenly felt someone staring at her inside the room. Feeling vulnerable without her wand nearby, she was about to call for help when the familiar gesture of clearing one's throat froze her still. Even that subtle hint of a small habit, she could have recognized it anywhere.
"What are you doing here?" She gasped, her body turning quickly at the intruder at the room.
Silently, he emerged from the shadows, looking at her with a facade of calmness that she knew all too well. Despite the many years that had come between them, she had noted that asides from the salt-and-pepper locks that fell from his face, he had not changed one bit. His gaze was depthless black pools filled with silent determination as he glanced at the witch before him.
"I'm here to take you back."
She stared at him. Disbelief and shock evolved into self-righteous anger that threatened to lose her composure but she calmed herself down then arched an elegant brow at the man before her.
"It's a bit too late for that now, don't you think?" She restrained herself from hissing, but had ended up sounding bitter. Her fist had unconsciously tightened around the silk of the bouquet of blue roses as she briefly felt the stem slightly bend from the pressure behind it.
He studied her—face devoid of any emotion—judging the left overs of what used to be his lover over the years. He was quiet as he looked at her cream-colored wedding gown which was embroidered with lace and azure stones that wrapped around the bodice of her lithe frame. Her usual bushy hair with messy tendrils that he had always enjoyed to berate and let his fingers get lost in, was now beaten into submission, crowning her head, having it fastened into an elegant chignon with not a single strand out of place.
Worst of all for him was her face.
Her face seemed to be carved out of fine porcelain melded into shape making her look perfect. Too perfect. A lot of make-up had painted her naturally pretty face making her look artificial. It reminded him too much of those Pure-blooded women who were cold and shallow to the touch.
And that wasn't Hermione.
The Hermione he knew was fiery, filled to the brink with passion, her expression full with warmth, and energetic aspiration. She was made with a bleeding heart and intelligence that made her charms appealing beyond of the norm that no Pureblood could have ever been compared.
She was life itself.
She was not supposed to be this imposter that seemed to have taken her place.
He gazed at her with an unreadable expression that when he spoke in a whisper, she had to look at him to hear him.
"You said you would wait for me."
"Yes," She replied dryly. "I said that ten years ago."
He was quiet for a second before speaking again.
"I'm here now."
Silence ensued.
The witch nearly had to restrain herself from the bitterness that threatened to overcome her. She wanted to scream at him that it was too late and that this was all his fault that if he hadn't had left that they would've been happy together; she wouldn't have had to cried herself to sleep, wondering if she had done something to make him leave without a word nor wait for him for so long that she looked like a fool for rejecting Ronald's offer of marriage all those years ago that now she had succumbed to Malfoy's offer of a sham of a marriage to help pay back her Life Debt that she had accepted.
Now, she learned how to live like a Pureblood through necessity of the Malfoy name.
And then he comes back to claim her like a trophy.
A bubble of familiar ire came beating on her chest, nearly choking and incapacitating her of further speech, creating a crack at the calm facade that she worked so hard to create. No, she can't be angry now... she should have expected something like this. She won't let him get to her, not anymore. She has suffered enough. She let herself raise her chin in defiance, looking straight into his black orbs, the action showing a gist of her former self.
"I retract that offer."
For a second, all was quiet. She watched his face turn from expressionless to pure fury in seconds as his arms grasped her shoulders, hard enough to bruise before the timbre of his voice went deeper in a dangerous tone.
"You swore," he hissed "You promised me that you would always be waiting for me."
"Wait? Wait for what? A man who was never going to come back?" She replied snidely.
He had forced her to look at him by grasping her chin roughly—the action making her gasp that her veil clattered to the floor—as the control of his ire teetered on the edge.
He glared at the bride-to-be while she tried to look indifferent at his proximity.
His eyes glittered malevolently, a deep abyss that she thought would suck her in before she nervously bit her lip, unsure of what was to happen next. In this small gesture, he had paused as his glare abruptly softened somehow while he loosened his grip on her shoulders. His thumb brushed her lips with feather-like reverence—a complete contrast to his fury mere moments ago—before gently removing her bottom lip from its captivity. His other hand brushed away a strand that had turned away from her chignon as his fingers stopped and rested themselves on her cheek. She couldn't breathe. He was studying her so intently that he had petrified her, unable to protest or move away. She could only watch as the man before her silently caress her face.
"Mine." He whispered softly before gently placing his mouth on hers like they did all those summers ago. She knew he should stop him but she remained frozen on the spot. She didn't know how to react. The mere touch of him had electrified yet numbed her all the same. His kisses were feverish as they tasted her lips; the gesture almost as if pleading an unsaid apology as he desperately began to kiss her with unrepressed passion that she had missed ardently all those years ago.
His hand brought her closer to his chest as the other unclasped her hair from its confines, curling his fingers around the unnaturally silky texture of her locks. The warmth that exuded from the man was dizzying and exhilarating, ensconcing her with so much familiar heat that she felt a physical ache that threatened to overwhelm her. His hands shook ever so slightly as he deepened the kiss even more. The desperation he was revealing was not of a man dying of thirst but a sommelier who not only knew how to taste and appreciate but imbibed her in as if she was the saccharine flavour of ambrosia. It was a heady and mind-numbing sensation. When they parted for air, her knees had immediately threatened to buckle that she had to latch herself to the front of his robes lest she fall.
She looked at him once more, knowing fully well that whatever faux attempt of calmness was now completely ruined with her flushed cheeks and messy hair. The dull ache that had remained in her heart over the years were now an excruciatingly painful throb in her bosom that she felt she was now standing close to a precipice, her emotions and feelings about to tip over in front of the wizard who had caused them all.
She stifled a choked cry.
"Severus, I can't do this..." her voice quavered." I—I need to go now..."
"No," his voice was firm as his grip on her became tighter "You said you'll always be waiting for me, I'm here now."
She made a sad smile, wishing she could keep her promise but there was nothing she could do lest she undergoes the consequences of the Life Debt which was not an option. He caressed her face with utmost care before continuing to speak. "You don't have to do this."
She shook her head. "I have no choice."
"One always has a choice."
"Not in this case, Severus."
She removed herself away from his person despite the obvious lingering feeling of wanting to be held in his arms. It didn't help that he tried to keep her in place.
She shouldn't have encouraged him.
"Hermione, listen to me." She ignored him despite her heart screaming in anguish.
"Hermione." His voice had taken a rough edge. "We could still fix thi—"
"There's nothing between us any more, Severus; you could go now." She slowly removed his fingers from her arms and returned them to his person.
He stared at her in disbelief before anger seized his features. His magic began to flare up and crackle in the air wildly, destroying several china vases as azure flower petals exploded violently around the room.
"That is complete bullshit and you know it!" He snarled.
She winced at his venomous tone.
Why was he making this difficult? He was already too late, doesn't he get that? There was no more hope for them. Not now. Not ever again. He had her heart before and he broke it. As much as other women would string him along for revenge despite being married, she wasn't like that. To do so was cruel and they need to cut off all ties immediately so he could still have his own life without her. Her guilty conscience prodded at her as a lump formed in her throat.
That kiss shouldn't have happened.
Going near the mirror, she smoothed the wrinkled lace of her gown. She tried to fix her once respectable chignon but it was completely undone that there was no hope on fixing it in time.
"Hermione, look at me." Pure betrayal and frustration had laced his voice. The atmosphere of the room became tense as his chest heaved with every breath. She could almost imagine his nostrils flare at her as he tried to make her look at him without touching her. For if he did, she was certain that with all his repressed anger, he'd leave visible bruises on his wake.
She sighed resignedly as she placed back the veil on her head.
With a final look in the mirror, she headed toward the door. He made no indication of stopping her but when she was about to turn the knob of the door, he coldly spoke.
"You do realize that once you go out through that door, I will not stop you."
She sadly smiled at him.
"I know."
With that she turned the knob and stepped out. As she was about to close the door firmly behind her, she saw for the first time his unguarded expression.
What she saw inwardly shook her. His contorted face was a fusion of silent agony, pain, and regret. His posture that was always so sure of himself was now hunched and closed, making him look like a little boy that had lost his light and was now embedded permanently in darkness.
His weary eyes shifted around the room, looking at everything and nothing at the same time until he stopped. Their gazes had met. She saw his quiet pleas, his desperation, and it had stunned her. Through all the years that she had known him she had always thought of him as unshakeable, unbreakable, a constant. To see him like this, tore her apart.
Water had filled her vision, but she held them back. She would not let him see her tears for he might think he still had a chance. And that wasn't healthy. They needed to let each other go.
She swallowed as her throat became dry. She could have a good cry after the wedding. Draco would understand once she explained.
Regaining ever so slowly her composure, she left to rush to her wedding.
When she had arrived, all the guests were already there, waiting expectantly at her. She was personally glad that she skipped the wedding march as it would sound too much like a requiem instead of the joyful occasion it was supposed to represent. As she rushed toward the altar, Draco pulled her towards his side and irritatingly whispered, "Where were you? And what in Merlin's name, happened to your hair?"
She replied with only one word. "Severus."
Understanding swept through his features before he quietly said, "You do know that it's too late right? Even if I wanted to, the Life-Debt would call you back to me… "
She numbly nodded her head.
"I know… let's finish this up."
Her mind was filled with buzzing static, as Draco confirmed his vows. When it was her turn, she felt more than saw a familiar pair of charcoal eyes staring at the back of her head. She swallowed down a protest. No, she will not stop now. There was no more reason to, she had let him go. He was nothing to her as she was to him.
She has to do this.
She has no choice.
She took a deep breath.
She looked at Draco with fragile resolve and whispered brokenly, "I do."
...
AN: Not really my best work, but I wrote this one to help get me out of Writer's block. Also, here at does the reply button work? Or do I have to answer messages through my Author's notes? I really don't know how to use this site.
As for Icarus, I'm having trouble on the next chapter since I keep on changing it though the chapter after that is already done.
Also thank you for all the support guys! I really appreciate them. 3
Real Life has just been hell so I haven't been active lately.