If I Could Turn Back The Hands Of Time
How did I ever let you slip away
Never knowing I'd be singing this song some day
And now I'm sinking, sinking to rise no more
Every since you closed the door
Draco was sat in the corner of Blaise Zabini's living room, the only light coming from a small candle. He brought the glass of fire whiskey to his lips before putting it down again. Drinking wouldn't be able to help him; it didn't make him feel any better and it never made him forget, no matter how drunk he got; he would always remember.
The way he treated her was unforgivable; she hadn't done anything to deserve it. But he was so angry and hurt and any little thing just seemed to have set him off. None of it had been Hermione's fault. No, it was all His fault. He was the cause of Draco acting the way he had, He caused him to drive Hermione away and her to leave him. Draco should never have gone to see Him that day.
If I could turn, turn back the hands of time
Then my darlin' you'd still be mine
If I could turn, turn back the hands of time
Then darlin' you, you'd still be mine
Draco wanted so much to have Hermione back. To go to their - her - house and just kiss her, with more passion than he had ever had before. She was always supposed to be with him. Draco wondered if she would want him. If he apologised to her and told her everything right now, would she take him back right there? Or would it take time? He often though what would happen if she moved on. He knew she hadn't; Blaise was still good friends with them, he saw them regularly and told Draco any news. But still, it had been a year since they broke up, he couldn't help but think about it.
Funny, funny how time goes by
And blessings are missed in the wink of an eye
Why oh why oh why should one have to go on suffering
When every day I pray please come back to me
A year. Draco couldn't believe time had gone that fast. It seemed only yesterday she had kicked him out.
"goodbye Hermione."
Goodbye. That had been the last thing he had said to her before she shut the door on him. From the moment those words had left his mouth, Draco regretted them.
And you had enough love for the both of us
But I, I, I did you wrong, I admit I did
But now I'm facing the rest of my life alone, whoa
To Hermione, it must have felt like Draco had stopped loving her. He wouldn't blame her if she thought that. If she hated him, never wanted to see him again or wanted to him, Draco would let her because he knew he deserved it. Now he was alone; he deserved that too. This was Draco's punishment for going to see Him, for letting the man's words effect him.
The light came on, "why are you sitting in the dark again?"
"The light switch was too far away."
"Do you forget you're a wizard?" he asked sitting down.
"Do you forget I lived with Hermione, the woman who likes doing things the muggle way because she thinks that people who only rely on magic are lazy?"
His friend shook his head, "how could I? Are you never going to talk to her again Draco?"
"Do you want this fire whiskey?" Draco was choosing to ignore him.
Blaise took the glass from Draco's hand and placed it, rather forcefully, showing he was getting angry, on the coffee table. "you cant keep doing this to yourself Draco. You are going to ending up killing yourself if you keep acting like this. You have to go to her."
Draco kept looking straight ahead, "and say what? It was a year ago, I should have talked to her a year ago but I was angry and I was upset and I was scared Blaise. I've left it too late and everyday it gets harder, even now."
"Better late than never. I've tried more time than I can count to get you to talk to her on her own but I've had enough Draco. If you don't talk to her I swear to God, to Merlin, I swear on my own life, that's how serious I am, that I will drag you to her myself. Because as much as she tries to hide it, she tries to make us think she's alright, but we see right through it. She misses you Draco. Hermione loves you and she needs you. And you need her just as much."
If I could turn, turn back the hands of time
Then my darlin' you'd still be mine
If I could turn, turn back the hands of time
Then darlin' you, you'd still be mine
Tears were flowing freely down Draco's face and he didn't bother to wipe them away. He hadn't had such a long heartfelt speech from Blaise about him and Hermione since a few days after he had been here. Blaise had left him alone for a few days, but when he had come back from visiting Hermione he went straight to Draco to tell him to go to Hermione. The day Draco came though, was the most emotional they had ever had. They both remembered the day Draco came here…
- Flashback -
Blaise was in his kitchen, trying to find something simple and easy he could make for dinner. He really needed to learn how to cook real meals, he couldn't live off of take outs and microwaveable meals all his life. His search was interrupted by a loud, continuous banging on his front door.
"Hang on! I'll be there in a minute!"
The banging continued.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" He got to the door, "what do…"
His friend was leaning against the door frame, arm raised to continue knocking and tears streaming down his face.
"Draco?"
"Can I stay here with you?"
"Of course you can for as long as you like. Draco, what's wrong?"
"Hermione left me," it came out as a whisper, "and it's all my fault."
Draco didn't elaborate and Blaise didn't ask him too. The two friends rarely comforted each other with more than an arm on the shoulder, but for once they didn't care. Blaise didn't hesitate to pull Draco into a hug and Draco was more than willing to accept it.
Dinner wasn't important to Blaise anymore, his best friend was. Learning to cook could wait; he could deal with a take out for one more night.
- End -
"You have to talk to her Draco."
Draco nodded. He would talk to Hermione.
xXx
Hermione was sitting on her own in the Burrow, her eyes closed. The house was full; the Weasley's -Molly, Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. Even Percy - then there was Harry, Remus, Tonks and Blaise. Her family. But even with them all here, she felt alone. Because Draco wasn't here.
Hermione heard footsteps coming towards her and felt someone sit down next to her but she didn't open her eyes.
"Hermione?"
She opened them and turned to face him, "yes Harry?"
"Are you alright?"
Everyone was always asking her that question and she wished they would stop. She couldn't tell them she wasn't, she was meant to be the strong one. They couldn't know it still hurt, "I'm fine. What were you and Blaise talking about?"
Harry sighed, "nothing important."
Hermione knew that look on Harry's face, in his eyes. A mix between disappointment and anger. "Harry what's wrong?"
He looked directly into Hermione's eyes, "I want to know something"
"What?"
"I want to know when you're going to stop lying to me." Hermione visibly stiffened and opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off, "don't even try to deny it Hermione. We all know. You smile, you wave, you laugh, you talk when you need to, nod when you have to, and every time someone asks if you're alright you lie and say you are fine but not you're not. You still miss him and you probably always will. Are you waiting for him?"
Hermione thought before speaking, am I waiting for him?, "no, I stopped waiting awhile ago. But I still hope he'll come back." From no where music started playing, making everyone stop what they were doing.
Harry chuckled softly, "I think it's you Hermione."
Hermione put her hand in her pocket and pulled out her mobile phone. She stared wide - eyed at the message before turning it to face Harry.
Meet me at the lake please
Draco x
"Are you going?" Harry asked her.
"Of course she is," Blaise had been looking over his shoulder.
"It's not for you to decide Blaise, it's up to Hermione."
"I'm going."
Blaise gave Harry an 'I told you so' look before turning to Hermione, do you want us to drive you there or do you want to go alone?"
"Us?"
"Yeah, me and Harry. Harry's your best friend; I'm Draco's best friend. We will be background moral support only."
Harry nodded, "yeah, we'll drive you there then we'll stay in the car while you talk to him. If it doesn't go so well, we'll be the first to hurt him and be your shoulder to cry on…"
"And if it does we'll be the first to congratulate the re-new happy couple and kick him out my house." Hermione genuinely laughed for the first time in a long time. She didn't know if it was because of what Blaise said or because she was going to see Draco but she liked it.
"Ok, lets go."
xXx
Harry stopped the car a little away from the lake to let Hermione out. Him and Blaise wanted to be there but they didn't want to pry in things that were none of there business. Hermione looked out the window; Draco was not there yet. She stepped out of the car and turned to face the boys. "I'll be back soon," she said then she shut the car door and walked to the lake.
This was were her and Draco used to come whenever they got the chance. They would come to talk and just be together, sometimes they brought food with them and had a picnic. She walked to the bridge in the middle, leaned on it and waited. She didn't have to wait long before she had a feeling that someone was behind her. She turned.
I'd never hurt you (If I could turn back)
Never do you wrong (If I could turn back)
And never leave your side (If I could turn back)
If I could turn back the hands
After a year apart, they were finally looking at each other. They both looked the same, yet different somehow.
Hermione spoke first, "When did you get a mobile? I dint think you'd ever want or get one, it took me ages to teach you to use it, you were that stubborn."
Draco smiled a little but didn't say anything for a while.
"I'm so sorry, for what I said, for what I did. I should never have left you. You said you couldn't believe I was actually packing my stuff, neither could I. if I could go back, I would have done everything you said; I would have told you why I needed to stay and I would never have left no matter how many times you would have told me to get out."
They had unconsciously been walking towards each other, both with a fresh set of tears, and were just millimetres apart from each other.
There'd be nothing I wouldn't do for you (If I could turn back)
Forever honest and true to you(If I could turn back)
If you accept me back in your heart, I love you(If I could turn back the hands)
"I love you so much Hermione. Leaving you was the worst mistake I had ever made and I regretted everyday. I wanted to go back to you so many times, from the moment I walked out the door, but I was so angry, I had to calm down. Then I was scared that you hated me and kept putting off coming to you and I shouldn't have. Everyday got harder because I didn't know if you were angry with me, if you hated me."
"I could never hate you," she whispered, "I love you."
"Even after how I treated you?"
Hermione remembered a question she had wanted to ask him for a long time now, "why did you change? What happened?"
Draco took a deep breath before answering. He had been waiting for that question. "I went out that day, but I didn't tell you were. I got a letter a couple of days before, someone wanted me to see them. I didn't want to go. We hadn't talked in so long, but I was curious to know what he could possibly want to talk to me about. What was so urgent he couldn't put it in a letter? My curiosity got the better of me and I went to see him."
"who?"
"My Father. I went to Azkaban that day."
"What did he want? He must have said something to upset you if it changed you."
"He said he would have talked to me sooner, but it took him nearly three years to calm down, apparently he'd been so mad he'd caused a lot of trouble in prison. He said he needed to talk to me calmly. He told me to end things with you. When I told him no, he said I was a disgrace to him, our family and the Malfoy name. He told me that the only reason I could still be a Malfoy was because he couldn't disown as the Malfoy fortune, the Manor, everything went to me when I was seventeen. He…"
A lump was caught in Draco's throat and he had to stop, this part of the story was the hardest. Hermione took his hand and laced their fingers together so he knew it would be alright. "He told me I meant nothing to him. I was nothing. He said he had no son."
Hermione gasped, no wonder Draco had changed.
"I told him I didn't care what he thought. But I did. It hurt me more than I realized, it was slowly getting to me and I had no idea. I told him to go to hell like it was casual, not letting him see how angry and hurt I really was. I told myself I wouldn't let his words effect me, but I was wrong."
"Of course they were going to effect you Draco, he is - or was - your Father."
"I spent so much time going over his words that I hurt you and pushed you away. In the end he got what he wanted."
(If I could turn back)
That would be my will
(If I could turn back)
Darlin' I'm begging you to take me by the hands
(If I could turn back the hands)
Hermione didn't know what to say. She had wanted to know what had happened to Draco from the day he changed, but now that she had heard it she wished she hadn't. Lucius was a cruel, heartless man, Hermione knew, but to say all that to his own son was unforgivable. It was inhuman. Lucius Malfoy deserved to be in Azkaban Prison.
I'm going down, yes I am
(If I could turn back)
Down on my bended knee, yeah
(If I could turn back)
And I'm gonna be right there until you return to me
(If I could turn back the hands)
"I'm so sorry Draco."
"Why?"
"It must have been horrible for you to hear that. If only you'd told me from the beginning. Why didn't you tell me? We tell each other everything."
"I was afraid you'd go over and kill him. I couldn't have you in there too now could I?"
Hermione rolled her eyes and laughed dramatically, "Merlin, I forgot you were so funny."
He shrugged, "I try."
It was good that they could still laugh, neither of them had laughed in so long, but all too soon things became serious again.
"I came here to tell you everything Hermione. I can here to apologise, to tell you I love you and hope you take me back. I didn't come to ask if you would because I don't really expect you to after everything. But I do hope because honestly, I cant live without you."
Hermione looked down to gather her thoughts. She wanted Draco back so much, even though he hurt her. But how could she. She decided to tell him what she was feeling and hoped it would make sense, "I still love you Draco, I always will. But you hurt me. I don't know how I can trust you, that you wont hurt me again."
"I swear Hermione, I will never hurt you ever again. I never hurt you before my Father and I'm going to see him again. He cant hurt me, he cant hurt us anymore."
Hermione looked directly into Draco's eyes and she saw how much he meant what he just said, "there's only one thing we can do Draco; start again," she held out her hand, "Hermione Granger and you are?"
Draco laughed before taking her hand, "Draco Malfoy; it's very nice to meet you." He pulled her to him then and kissed her. They put everything they had into that kiss, showing each other how much they had missed the other.
xXx
Harry and Blaise were watching from the window. They were confused as to why Hermione held her hand out to Draco like they had just met. Then they saw them kiss.
"I guess they made up then," Blaise said, turning to Harry.
"Yeah. Thanks, by the way, for telling me Draco was going to talk to her. I hated him for what he did but Hermione loves him."
Blaise nodded and they both sat back in the car. They couldn't look at the couple anymore. They had a very good feeling they would be sat there for a while.
A/N yay a happy ending