Nothing Compares To You

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, or anything, but I did use a line or two from the Princess Bride… I don't own that either….

The Great Hall was magical that evening. It was the annual Yule Ball, and the teachers had outdone themselves on the decorations. Enchanted snowflakes fell from the ceiling, creating a small flurry of dust on the floor. There was tall pine trees in each corner of the room, all decorated in the different house colours. Holly garlands were outlining almost everything in the room, from the chandeliers to the tables pushed against the walls. But the most impressive sights were the students themselves, seeing as they were all in their very best dress robes. The students' efforts far out passed the teachers'… they all were simply amazing.

Hermione Granger entered the beautiful room an hour after the ball started, and the Hall took her breath away. Her hand flew to her chest, and she took several breaths to calm herself. She'd never seen something this beautiful, even when she'd been to her favourite place ever… France. She looked simply stunning that night, which was a nice break from her usual drab look. On her birthday, her parents had given her enough money to buy a beautiful dress robe, and she did. Harry Potter and Ronald Weasely, her best friends in the entire world, stood beside her.

"Hermione," Ron questioned. "What's wrong?" Hermione turned to him, tears starting to form in the corners of her eyes.

"Oh, guys," she breathed. "It's so beautiful… and it's our last year. This will never be the same again… we won't ever have an experience again like we'll have tonight." She gave them both a hug at the same time, but they shot her an awkward look and she let go. Hurriedly, they shuffled away to the refreshment table, in hopes of not hearing another speech like that of which they'd heard so many times before.

Hermione regained her composition, fixed her small, beaded yellow flower in her hair, and scanned the crowd. 'Where is he?' she thought. She started to walk around, looking for a certain someone who captured her heart every time she laid her sparkling eyes on him. She stopped every now and then to say a quick hello to her acquaintances, but she wouldn't stop until she found him and demanded one last request from him. Soon, a quiet melody started to play from the enchanted instruments by the teacher's table.

It's been seven hours and fifteen days
Since you took your love away
I go out every night and sleep all day
Since you took your love away

For almost a year, Hermione had been secretly meeting her Prince Charming after dinner almost every night and exchanging quick glances with him across the tables during meals. They'd been completely infatuated with each other, oblivious to anything else that would have gotten in the way of each other. They'd never been able to keep their hands off of each other, whisper sweet nothings in each other's ears, and doing adorable romantic gestures for one another. They remained like this for quite some time, almost to the point of love. Hermione loved the fact that he didn't mock her hair or anything like some other people- he liked her for just the way she was.

Then, a little over two weeks ago, when they'd been sitting on the opposite side of the lake, basking in the moonlight, he'd broken it off with her. She'd been devastated. Sitting there, she cried, and he'd comforted her, until he simply got up and walked back to his dormitory. That night, she swore that she'd never love anyone ever again. She'd tried to keep her mind off of him after a while, by spending more and more time in the library, in her little nook with piles of books. And every night, she'd end up sobbing hysterically into a thick, dusty volume.

Since you been gone I can do whatever I want
I can see whomever I choose
I can eat my dinner in a fancy restaurant
But nothing ...
I said nothing can take away these blues

Hermione picked up her pace. She pulled up her long, flowing ends of her robes daintily, helping her walk a bit faster. Her hair, which she'd spent so long taming into cascading curls, was flying behind her. She had to find him; she had to put her mind to peace. Of course she still loved him, but she needed to see him one last time. But where could he be?

Finally, she spotted him sulking over in a corner, slumped in a wooden chair next to the Slytherin Christmas tree. He looked extremely bored, yet anxious for something at the same time. Hermione's heart started to flutter, and she stopped suddenly. She started to go up to him when a tall, dark-haired girl came up to him. She held two drinks in her hands, and he gave her a clumsy kiss as she sat down next to him. After a while, they got into a deep conversation, and they seemed really happy together.

'Cause nothing compares ...
Nothing compares to you ...

Hermione stopped breathing.

How could he get over her so quickly? He seemed so joyful with that raven-haired girl with him; he seemed as if Hermione had never existed. Sure, Hermione had gotten together with Seamus Finnegan and Dean Thomas a couple of times after he'd left her, but she'd dumped them after she thought, 'He's not as cute as he was' or 'I can't have an intelligent conversation with this boy like I used to have with…him.'

She stood there for a moments, in her pale yellow dress robes that hugged her body just right, and stared at the couple talking to each other. It appeared that the girl was getting upset, and he was holding her arms, talking quietly and quickly, shoving her down whenever she tried to stand up. Hermione cocked an eyebrow at this. What was going on?

It's been so lonely without you here
Like a bird without a song
Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling
Tell me baby where did I go wrong?

Suddenly, they both looked up and saw her standing there gazing at them. The girl he was with looked away, both disgusted and angry, but he stared at Hermione, not breaking their gaze. He watched as the falling snow delicately hit her shoulders and hair, and even though they weren't together, he felt so privileged to even be looking at her. Slowly, Hermione backed away, tears forming in her eyes for the second time that night. She hugged her body tightly, letting all her anger out in her grip.

He looked at the girl he was with, said a few words, and stood up. The girl started to cry a bit, and Hermione turned away in horror, not ready to talk to him just yet. She'd been so prepared, yet fate had something else in store for her, apparently. She started to run towards the door, and she could hear him behind her, trying to catch her. Yet she knew that he'd try to look as inconspicuous as possible, not wanting to give away the secret of their former relationship.

I could put my arms around every boy I see
But they'd only remind me of you

She raced by some boys that caught her eyes, but she hastily looked away, knowing she'd never be happy with them. Finally, she reached the huge oak doors and pushed her way through. She slammed them behind her, and raced as fast as she could away from the... that… torture chamber. She felt tears falling down her cheeks and onto her silk robe, yet she didn't care. Her carefully applied make-up (the only time she'd ever put it on) was probably running down her face, too.

"Hermione!" she heard someone call. It was a deep voice, a one she knew only too well. She panicked, looking around, and hid behind a nearby suit of armour.

Went to the doctor guess what he told me
Guess what he told me?
He said, girl, you better try to have fun
No matter what you do
But he's a fool ...

Hermione clasped her hand over her mouth, shaking violently. She prayed silently that she'd be unseen and unheard. She'd been hurt so badly, and she didn't need to see him after all. It was odd- she didn't want to see him at the moment, but at the same time, it was the one thing she wanted more than anything in the entire world.

No one had known about their relationship, so when she cried, everyone thought it was her 'time of the month' or something, so she had no consolement whatsoever. All she remembered was lying in bed, thinking about him and their wonderful times together. Sure, girls like Lavender Brown had held her in her arms a few times, but eventually just got up and left.

Suddenly, she heard her name again. And she looked up and saw a pair of captivating eyes looking down at her with compassion… and was that… love? She slowly stood up from where she'd been crouching, and he took his hand and put it on her cheek. She looked up at him warily, and he reached and gave her a small hug. And she knew, she knew, at that moment that he was special. But did he love her? Why was he doing this?

'Cause nothing compares ...
Nothing compares to you ...

"Hermione," he said in his thrillingly deep voice. "I don't know how you'll take this, but… I just can't get over you. I've tried, believe me. I tried to get together with Mandy, but I couldn't stop thinking about you. Every morning I saw you with Potter and Weasley, and I just felt something." He took her hand and placed it on his heart. "I love you, 'Mione. I really, truly, passionately do…" And with that, Hermione sighed and kissed him.

There have been five great kisses since the Wizarding World came into being. And the precise rating of kisses is a terribly difficult thing, often leading to great controversy, because although everyone agrees with the formula of affection times purity times intensity dimes duration, no one has ever been completely satisfied with how much weight each element should receive. But on any system, there are five that everyone agrees deserves full marks.

Well, this one left them all behind.

It started off innocent and sweet, but the passion and hunger for each other in the last few weeks led it to be a more intense sign of affection. His strong arms held her back, and he dipped her down ever so slightly so her back was arched gracefully. Her hands played with his hair at the nape of his neck, and nothing could've torn them apart at that moment.

All the flowers that you planted, mama
In the back yard
All died when you went away
I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard
But I'm willing to give it another try

When they finally broke apart, her eyes dazzled with a light that'd never been there before, and he grinned at her with such feeling that she felt like the luckiest girl in the world.

"I love you, too," she breathed. And she really did. Of course they were still young, but they were wise beyond their years, and truly felt a special bond that many lovers have never felt.

They could still faintly hear the end of the song, and he pulled her into a dancing position. She started to giggle, and he nipped at her ear softly. Then, he whispered in a seductive yet heartbreaking tone,

"Dance with me, Hermione." Together, they swayed to the beat of the song in the dingy hallway, she in her immaculate robes, and he in his. The suits of armour and grungy corners weren't as nice as the inside hall, but they didn't care. They had each other, and to them, that was all that mattered.

'Cause nothing compares ...
Nothing compares to you ...

"Hermione, did you know, nothing compares to you?" he whispered in her ear. She pulled her head back so she could get a better look at him, and she decided that she wanted to be with no one else in the entire world. She answered him by giving him yet another kiss, and he grinned into it.

And Draco kissed her so fiercely and lovingly, never wanting to ever let her go again.

There you go, my one-shot fic. I REALLY LIKE it… the ending sort of sucked, but ahh well. It was based on the song "Nothing Compares to You" by Sinead O'Connor. Also, the kissing scene at the end, I stole some of those lines from The Princess Bride.

I think I may make this into a series of one-shots, actually. Should I? It all depends on you… the readers. Thanks a million, this was fun to write. Review!