The Second Time Around

Chapter 1: Goodbye

It was there seventh year in Hogwarts and they were graduating. Hermione was walking through the corridors, she was going to go back to the Gryffindor common room when somebody grabbed her and pulled her into a dark hallway. The person slid his arm on her back and pulled her closer. They were about an inch apart from each other. It was Malfoy.

"Hey!" he asked, not noticing how they were only inches away from each other

"Hey! You know you shouldn't do that what if somebody saw us." she answered in her matter-of-fact way.

"Congratulations on getting a medal!"

"Thanks! I can't believe that we are graduating tomorrow."

"Yeah" his expression turned dead serious "I'll miss you."

"You'll miss our sneaking around?" she was trying to lighten up the mood

"It would be hard to do that when we finish here."

"I bet you'll love graduating. Dating a dozen of girls at the same time."

"Hey, don't be like that. I've come a long way"

"I know you had." Running her fingers through his hair

"I did it for you." He slid his arm on the back of her neck and kissed her.

Ron was with Harry and they were looking for Hermione who said was going to meet up with them at the Gryffindor common room but never showed up, when he saw a guy with a girl. He was going to mind his own business and walk pass them when he saw the familiar hair. He looked closer and saw that it was Draco and Hermione.

"What in bloody hell are you doing to my girlfriend?" Ron said while he grabbed Draco's collar and punched him on the face.

"Ron stop it!" screamed Hermione trying to stop Ron's fist from hitting Malfoy

"Hey! Break it off!" Harry said while trying to hold back Ron

"Asshole!" answered Malfoy who recovered from Ron's blows and gave him one.

There were a lot of screaming and punching going around when Hagrid passed by and saw it, he pulled both boys apart and asked for information on why in the world they were trying to knock each other out.

"What are you kids trying to do?"

"Ask that moron!" said Ron, his nose bleeding from the punch that Malfoy gave him

"Go to hell!" answered Draco, wiping the blood from his busted lips

"Hagrid, it was just a misunderstanding we'll handle it." Said Harry

"Ron you're bleeding." Hermione rushed over to Ron and looked at his nose "Your nose is broken."

"Both of you better go to the hospital wing and get those fixed, it's your graduation tomorrow and you shouldn't look like you that." Hagrid said leaving them

"C'mon!" Harry said pushing Ron to the hospital wing

"You better get that fixed." Said Hermione to Draco

At the hospital wing Madam Pomprey was suspicious at the reason that they gave on how the boys got injured, but nonetheless she agreed to fix them up she said it was easy to heal those and should just take awhile.

"Harry, I'm just going to check on Draco."

"Okay, I'll stay with Ron and try to calm him down."

She made her way to Draco who was still bleeding, "You okay?"

"I guess." He answered still breathing hard from the blows that he received

Hermione leaned over and whispered "I'll meet you at the garden on midnight." Then she left and went back to Ron. Ron's nose has now started fixing itself, and was looking quite strange.

"Ron, I need to talk to you."

"Yeah, you've got some explaining to do." He answered still mad and confused at what he saw.

"I better leave and let the two of you work it out."

"No Harry, stay." Ron said,obviously mad "Let's go to our room." He said standing up and walking away

When they got to the room Harry asked the others to leave, and made a charm to soundproof the whole room so their conversation won't be heard.

"So tell me, what I just saw." Said Ron, impatient and angry

"Ron, remember when you told me you love me and I agreed to be your girlfriend, I meant that; sort of. I like you Ron, but it's just not as much as you like me." She answered her voice desperate.

Harry couldn't help but ask "What about Malfoy?"

"That was…..nothing." she stammered

"So you're dumping me. That's it. It's over?" answered Ron with such pain in his voice that Hermione couldn't help but cry

"I'm so sorry." She said, before leaving them there.

Hermione went back to her room and just kept crying. She was too screwed up with everything. She spent the next hour thinking of what to do. When it was a quarter before midnight she made her way out of the castle and went to the garden where to her surprise, Draco was waiting.

"You're early." She said "And your lip is okay."

"Yeah." He answered, taking a cigarette and smoking

"I thought you said you quit smoking?"

"I thought so too." He answered, as if he didn't care.

"I told Ron."

"About us?"

"No, I couldn't."

"That's okay."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be sorry about anything. We knew what we were doing. And no commitment remember."

Hermione remembered how she got herself into this mess. School has just started and her life was so screwed up. Her dad is dying, they had financial problems and her grades were down. She couldn't handle it anymore and decided that she was better off dead. She went to the school garden and brought a blade with her, she decided to slit her wrists.

"I can't take it anymore." She sat on the rock and placed the blade over her wrist

"What the hell are you doing?" Draco said in surprise

"Leave!" she answered, almost as a cry.

"Yeah, go ahead and kill yourself, Granger. So Potter and Weasley can mourn your untimely death, so your parents can grieve over you, that's better for me there would be one less mudblood in this world."

SLAP! Hermione stood up and slapped Draco on the face "You don't know what you are talking about. I have problems and I can't handle them anymore. My Dad is dying, we have financial problems and my grades are slipping. So don't tell me anything because you do not know my problems." She said, crying.

"Do you seriously think that you are the only one who has problems? At least you have a family, my dad treats me like shit and my mom just died. And to think she's the only one who cares for me in this fucked up world. At least, you will have people come into your grave when you die, I don't. They'll probably come just to make sure I was dead." He said, breathing hard. He takes the blade and places it on his skin, pearcing it and making it bleed. "You want to die, c'mon. I'll show you how to die, if you still want to go ahead." He was about to slit his wrist.

"Stop!" she grabs the blade and throws it away. She sat on the rock and just cried.

Draco sat on the rock and to Hermione's surprise also started crying. "I never thought I would see the day Draco Malfoy cried."

"Me too." He takes out his cigarette and smokes

"That's going to kill you."

"All the better."

Hermione grabbed the cigarette and stepped on it.

"What did you do that for?" asked Draco

"You saved mine, I'm saving yours."

That was how it started, how she started sneaking with Draco. Nobody knew that they dated. They still bickered in public, but they shared a look that only the two of them understood. Hermione's thoughts were interrupted by Draco.

"I have to go."

"I'm really sorry."

"Me too." Draco stands up and leaves.

The next day there graduation was held. Harry, Ron and Hermione received awards for saving Hogwarts not once, but for several times already. When these were over Hermione told Harry that she would be leaving them so they could avoid the awkwardness, anyway she decided to stay at 'muggle land' for the next year just to relax.