Authors Note: Just a short one-short based on the song by Hinder. Please review and let me know what you think about it. It'd be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Honey why are you calling me so late
It's kind of hard to talk right now
He was on his balcony staring at the stars above when his cell phone rang. It had been a gift from an old girlfriend. She had insisted that he have one of his own, so that no matter where they were in their lives, or they were with, they'd always be able to keep in touch without anyone knowing. He had initially resisted the idea, thinking the miniature phone to be a strange little device indeed, but he would now admit that it had its uses. He picked it up and answered, knowing without even looking at the number who it was.
"Draco?" the voice on the other end of the phone sent a shock of shivers down his spine. It had been over a month since they had spoken, and just the sound of her voice nearly paralyzed him.
"Mia, what is it? Why are you calling me at such a ridiculous hour? Do you know how late it is?" Even to his own ears, his voice sounded cold. It was the same tone he had used when he was younger, and thought he was above everyone else.
"Draco," her voice was quivering and he could tell she was close to crying. "Draco, I . . . I just needed to hear your voice. It's been so long since - ." She was quiet for several moments and he could hear the deep breaths she was taking to try and calm herself. "Oh, I take it Pansy is there with you?" She silent again. "Of course she is. She's your fiancée. Where else would she be?" He could hear the anger and bitterness in her voice now, and it was pulling at his heart more than he would ever admit.
"Yes, of course Pansy is here with me. She always is. You know the wretched woman never leaves my side." He looked over his shoulder into his darkened bedroom, where his soon to be bride was sleeping peacefully in bed. He had to admit that she was beautiful. Stunning really. Exactly the type of witch he was expected to marry. Attractive, wealthy in her own right, and most importantly, at least to those in his family's social circle, a pureblood.
Honey why are you crying? Is everything okay?
I gotta whisper 'cause I can't be too loud
"Mia, baby, please tell me what's going on. I can hear you crying. You sound like your heart has been completely shattered." And it did. If there was one thing he was good at, it was reading people. And she had always been the easiest. She wore her delicate heart on her sleeve, visible for all to see, and for anyone to shatter, should they so desire. "Did Ron do something to you? Please tell me. I'll bloody kill him…" The thought of anyone hurting her, made him absolutely livid with rage. He knew that Hermione had been with Ron for almost two years now. And he also knew that as much as pretended and tried to be happy, that she wasn't. He could hear it in her voice whenever she spoke of their relationship and had been able to see it in her soft brown eyes, before she broke off all her contact with him.
Well my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
"If Pansy's there with you, then why did you answer the phone? She could hear you, you know. We both know there'd be hell to pay if you were caught talking to me. After all we can't have the wizarding world's golden boy talking to a lowly and no-good mudblood know-it-all, can we?" Her voice was angry now and full of scorn. "But then, I guess it's good to know that some things will never change. You'll always be Draco Malfoy, and I'll always be your dirty little secret, won't I?"
"Don't!" he said loudly. "Don't ever say that bullshit again. Do you hear me? None of that's true and you know it. You're not a mudblood, you never were. And yes, sweetheart, you were my little secret. Make no mistake on that. But you were also the best thing to ever happen to me. You still are. You have to believe me."
I guess we never really moved on
"Merlin, if only you knew how hard this is on me. I just want to run as hard and as fast as possible to you, and never let you go. Every time I look at Pansy, all I can see is you. It's your voice that I hear whenever she opens her mouth. It's you I'm fantasizing about when we have sex. It's always you, Hermione. It always has been, and it always will be. Please trust me. Yours isn't the only heart breaking here." He was getting worked up and he knew it. But he had no control. He had never had any control when it came to her.
"Draco," she tried, but stopped again. Unsure of what to say to him
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak
"Say it again," he demanded harshly.
"Wha- What?" she stuttered. "Say what again?" The utter confusion he heard made him smile. She had no idea the effect she had on him with just her voice.
"My name. Say my name again for me. No one says it like you do. Even when you're pissed and calling me Malfoy again, it still sounds so sweet." He sounded like a madman, but he didn't care. Right now, to him all that mattered was Hermione saying his name again. He had to hear it.
"Draco. . ." she sighed quietly. "Draco, you're something else, you know that don't you? Are you happy now? Draco, Draco, Draco. I said it. Satisfied?"
And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel
Oddly enough, he was. No matter what was wrong with them, he'd always been able to hear her love for him in her voice when she was saying his name. Anger, hate, regret, guilt, sadness, but every time, beneath all the pain was love. "Happy, love? No. Because I don't know if I can stand to say goodbye to you again. It's nearly killing me, not to apparate to you, hold you and love you."
It's funny that you're calling me tonight
And yes I dreamt of you too
"Why tonight?" he asked. "You've ignored all my attempts at communication. You made it clear that you wanted out. What changed?"
"I had a dream of you last night. That's what changed. Silly isn't it? A dream sends me right back to you. But I couldn't help it. I had to hear your voice. I had to know if what I felt in it was real or just my imagination."
She was openly crying now, something that she never did. And there had been plenty of times when it had been expected of her. In seventh year, when she learned that her parents had been butchered at the hands of Voldemort and his Death Eaters, she hadn't shed a single tear. She went back to the muggle world to settle her affairs, and then returned to the wizarding world. When Harry had died defeating Voldemort, she hadn't cried. She buried herself deeper into her work as an auror in training, and grimly moved on, accepting Harry's death with the knowledge that her world was now safe and free once and for all. So yeah, he found it a touch bizarre that a dream had driven her to tears.
"What'd you dream baby? What drove you to tears?"
"You wanna know? It was you and me. We were getting married. I was walking down the isle and you were looking at me like I was the most beautiful and precious thing in the world to you. It was you and me. We had children. Beautiful little girls who looked exactly like their daddy. We were so happy together in that world. We didn't have to hide our feelings. We were free to love each other and be together without fear of judgment. It was you and me. Living the life that we'd planned on having. We were in love. Happy. Together."
He listened to her talk, and let his silent tears course down his face. The pain in her voice was devastating. "That sounds beautiful, love." And it did. She had just described absolute paradise. "So why are you so upset?"
"I'm upset," she replied, "because I woke up. And it still felt so goddamn fucking real. Then I read the Daily Prophet. And do you know what I saw Draco? Do you? I saw the announcement of your marriage in three days time. And my world came crashing down. Reality is a total bitch, you know that? I just wanted to go back to sleep, back to the only place I'll ever be able to have you again. My dreams. Do you dream of me Draco? Of what we had? Of what we're missing?"
He thought back to all the times that he'd woken up in a cold sweat because she wasn't there with him. To all the fantasies he'd had of making her his wife and giving her the world. Did he dream of her?
"I've never stopped dreaming of you love. I don't want to. If a dream is all I have left… I'm never letting go. I can't," he told her honestly.
And does he know you're talking to me
Will it start a fight?
"Does Ron know that you're calling me?"
"No," she said. "But if he found out. . ." she trailed off, leaving the thought unfinished. But she didn't need to say anything, because they both knew what would happen if they were found out. The war had hardened Ron, made him cruel in many ways. Even though Draco had proven himself to be a follower of the light and fought with the Order, Ron still didn't trust or like him. If anything his hatred of Draco had only intensified from what it had been when they were still in school. Ron had caught Hermione talking to him once before, and it had proved to be a painful lesson – for Hermione anyway. He had lost control of his temper, and hit her across the face with a closed fist, splitting her lip and fracturing her jaw. It was then that they had gotten Draco the cell phone, knowing that the risk of meeting in person every day was too much to take. "Let's just say that this would probably be our final conversation if he found out. He scares me Draco. I don't feel safe with him, not like I did when I was with you."
No I don't think she has a clue
"What about Pansy, does she know that you're talking to me?
"No," he said. "Although I wish that she did. She'd know then where my heart truly lies, and that it's not with her. If there's one thing that I about her, it's that she can't stand coming in second place. If she knew about you, it'd be over between us faster than you can say quidditch," he said.
Well my girl's in the next room
Sometimes I wish she was you
I guess we never really moved on
"It's tempting, isn't it?" he asked.
"What is?"
"To let Pansy find out. To just come right out and tell her the truth. That I'm in love with you. And I have been for years. You know that I love you, right? This sham of a marriage I'm supposed to enter into with Pansy is strictly a business arrangement. One that was made between our fathers. I don't love her. She's a good friend, has been for years, but that's it. With Lucius and Mr. Parkinson both dead, there's no one to force the marriage through."
"Draco, I don't know. What about Narcissa? Doesn't she want to her only child married?"
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak
"Yes. Yes, she does want me married. But she wants me to be happy even more. She was the one person who knew about us Mia. And she didn't care that you were muggle-born. She cared that I was happy, and that you loved me. I think she was just as hurt and disappointed when you ended things with me. She knew that you were involved with Ron, and she knew that I was involved with Pansy, but she was such a big supporter of our relationship, it's unbelievable. She couldn't wait for the day that we ended things with them, and openly came out about our relationship. I think she's still holding out for that one day."
She laughed quietly. "What makes you think that ferret-boy?"
He smiled broadly at the ferret-boy comment. It had become a term of endearment from her. And it thrilled him to hear it again. It meant that she was warming to the thought of being with him again. And that gave him hope.
"Because so far, our wedding arrangements are pink and silver." She could hear the grimace in his voice, and had to laugh at him. "She keeps pushing for black and silver, because she knows that they're your favorite colors. She's forced Pansy into a wedding dress she hates, changed the reception to that quiet little Italian restaurant you love, and cancelled the planned honeymoon from Paris and New York, which Pansy wanted for the shopping, to Rome and Ireland – your two favorite places in the world."
"She did all that?"
"Yes. She would have been to see you personally but didn't want to force you into anything you weren't ready for."
And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel
"Oh," she said. "I don't know what to think. I just, I just need some time to think and process this. Can we talk later today? It's just I called you, because I needed you, needed to hear your voice, I've missed you so much. I thought that we would never be together, and now you're telling me that everything I've wanted and needed is right in front of me for the taking? I just don't know Draco. What about Ron? He'll be enraged. And I'm so scared of what he could do to me. And what about Pansy? You said she's a good friend, but she's in love with you. Has been for years. I don't think that she'll give up that easily."
"I'll give you time Hermione. But not much. When we get off the phone, I'm waking Pansy, and I'm telling her the truth. I owe her that much at least. And then I'm coming for you. If you hadn't called me tonight, I would have married her. I would have gone through with it, knowing that you didn't want me. But the fact is, you called. And I can hear the pain in your voice, I can hear the anguish that being apart has put you through. And I can hear the love. You love me. And I love you Mia. I won't let you go this time. We deserve this."
It's really good to hear your voice say my name
It sounds so sweet
Coming from the lips of an angel
Hearing those words it makes me weak
"I've missed hearing you call me Mia. You're the only one I ever let do that you know. I do love you. You're the only one that I've ever loved. But I don't think that I can tell Ron. He'll probably kill me. Especially when he finds out that I want you instead. So I need you to do me a favor. When you've talked to Pansy, don't call me. Just apparate to our park. I'll be there waiting. If you're not there in a few hours. . . then I'll go back home to Ron, and never contact you again. Please be there. I can't do this anymore. One way or the other, us, our relationship, it's decided tonight."
With that she hung up.
And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel
Draco closed his cell phone and put in his back pocket. He had been on the phone longer than he thought. The stars in the sky were starting to dwindle and the far horizon he could see the beginnings of daylight. But all that mattered was that he was going to be with Hermione again. And soon. Just as soon as he talked to Pansy. He really didn't want to hurt her. And dumping someone three days before their wedding wasn't exactly kind.
And I never wanna say goodbye
But girl you make it hard to be faithful
With the lips of an angel
"Looking for me?"
He turned around in shock. Pansy was standing in the doorway, a forlorn expression on her face. "I couldn't sleep. You know, I've been doing a lot of thinking lately Draco. You and me, it's been set in stone since before we were born hasn't it? And I've always kind of accepted that. And it wasn't hard to do. You're gorgeous, rich, and everything I've always wanted in a husband. I think that I've loved you since we were kids. Remember how'd I always tag along behind you and those goons you called friends? I just wanted your acceptance. But then a few years ago, I realized something. You didn't love me. Not the way that I loved you. And that was okay. I thought that maybe given time you would learn to, but you didn't. And eventually, I accepted that too." Tears were running down her face now. And it was saddening to know that he was the cause of those tears.
"I'm sorry Pans. You have no idea how sorry I am. I do love you. But you're my best friend. I swear I never meant to hurt you," he said.
"I know Draco. I know everything. I know about you and Hermione, and oddly enough I'm okay with it. Because you were right about something tonight, I won't be second place. I deserve to be number in someone's heart. And it's not yours."
"Tonight," he questioned "what do you mean?"
"I mean that conversation you had with her on that little device, a cellular phone I believe they're called? I heard everything. I know you love you. You love her like I love you and I know how painful it is for you. So, at least do me this one favor. Go to her. Go to her now, and show her that you love her and need her. I know how worried you are about Ron hurting her. Go to her and never let her go again. When you come back here, I'll be gone."
"Will you be alright?"
"I'm a grown woman Draco. I'll be perfectly fine on my own. I've know that this was coming for a long time now. And to be honest, there's a wizard I've been wanting to get to know better for a while," she smiled.
"You are amazing Pansy. At least let me help you pack your stuff? And you know you're not getting rid of me that easily right? I'm gonna want to check out this new guy you've got your eye on."
They both laughed and headed back into Draco's bedroom. Several hours later they were done. The sun was just rising and a new and strong friendship had been forged between the two.
Honey why are you calling me so late?
His cell phone went off just as he finished changing, and with a grin and a loud popping noise, he apparated to the park and to Hermione.
She was sat on bench, knees drawn up to her chest, her cell phone clutched in her hand and tears coursing down her face. He had never seen a more beautiful sight.
"Honey why you calling me so late?"
