"Good morning love," she called, walking into the room.
Her smile faltered. Her boyfriend was standing with another girl, his back to the door.
She walked closer and saw a smile on the girl's face. Astoria Greengrass. Her breath hitched as she caught sight of Astoria's hand in his. They seemed oblivious to her presence. Astoria nodded her head slightly at him.
She froze mid-step as Draco swiftly knelt in front of Astoria, her hand still in his.
"Will you marry me, my love?"
She couldn't breathe. She tried to speak but her tongue felt like lead and her treacherous mouth wouldn't open. Her vision grew hazy as she glimpsed a ring, sparkling in the sunlight from the window. Someone caught her as she fell.
She was dimly aware of being conscious, but her senses had stopped working. Awareness grew slowly.
She heard a voice. She couldn't understand it. She struggled to grasp the voice and hold onto it. Maybe it could lead her back to full consciousness. But a part of her mind rebelled at that. It didn't want her to wake up. It wanted her to stay in this protective cocoon where she was safe from thought and feeling and pain.
But soon she heard her name.
"Hermione." The voice was urgent. Her eyes stayed firmly shut.
She became aware of pain. Her hip hurt. When the figure holding her tried to shift her, she thought she heard broken glass moving in her chest. That was absurd!
Her eyes opened and she looked into concerned grey eyes...no, that wasn't right. She blinked her heavy lids. Once. Twice. The third time, she saw familiar brown eyes.
"Hermione? Are you alright?"
She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
"Hermione, I can't hear you. Please, try to get up."
The girl kneeling at her side helped her sit up. And she saw them. Kissing. Right in front of her.
There was a roaring sound in her ears as her heart thudded madly. Vaguely, she heard Pansy calling to her again. Trying to pull her up. But her limbs were heavy with shock.
His arms were wrapped around her waist. Her hands were behind his neck, her fingers curling into his silky blonde hair. Their lips were locked together.
Now she understood the sound of broken glass. Her heart was shattering. The splinters were burying themselves into her chest, poking into her lungs, gouging holes in her veins. She could hear the blood dripping. And still they kissed, oblivious to that shattering heart.
"Come on Hermione, get up." She barely heard Pansy's anguished voice.
Something glinted in Draco's hair. Astoria moved her hand and Hermione could see a ring, the ring Dracohad put on her finger. Fury coursed through her. She stood up so fast that she nearly knocked Pansy over, but she appeared unaware. Crossing the short distance between them, she grabbed the back of Draco's robes and yanked, her fury giving her inhuman strength. He flailed as his hands and mouth were viciously removed from Astoria.
"What the...?" He paused. Astoria still had her hands out, a bright spot of blood on her lip.
Hermione looked into his eyes and memories assaulted her mind. Flashes of images passed before her eyes... Draco smiling at her...Draco kissing her...Draco hexing Theodore Nott for teasing her...Draco holding her as she cried...Draco making her laugh...Draco pulling her into his lap...Draco telling her he loved her... Draco Draco Draco...
Her mind whirled and she nearly succumbed to darkness again. But his hand on her arm reminded her why she wanted to kill him.
She felt for her wand. Unable to find it, she panicked, but his words drove it out of her mind.
"What are you doing here G-Granger?" His tongue tripped over her name.
Her eyes narrowed. "So it's back to surnames now Malfoy?" she spat.
"Of course. Did you expect me to call you Hermione forever?" His tone was vicious, inflicting fresh wounds that drained her fury.
"Why?" She asked pathetically.
"It was never you Granger. It was her, always her." He pointed behind him to Astoria. "I've always loved her. I just wanted to make her jealous. Granger, I used you!" His soft voice was lethal, a blade driving into the broken remains of her heart, rendering it irreparable.
She was dying, she was sure of it. Her heart was no longer functioning, no longer pumping blood. Voice quavering, she asked, "Why me?"
He looked away from her, shrugging. "It was fun. You were the last person who'd ever fall for me...or so I thought." He looked back at her with a malicious smirk. "You made it dreadfully easy Granger."
"How could anyone be so gullible? How could yoube so gullible?" He looked almost angry.
"You were a fool in love," he said softly, looking out over her shoulder.
He looked back at her, his voice hard. "I've wasted enough time on you Granger. Leave now. I'd like to celebrate my engagement in private."
With the last of her strength she turned and fled the room, not knowing where to go, not even caring what happened to her. Her heart was broken now. Nothing else mattered.
Draco's shoulders slumped in defeat and tears, long waiting hidden, coursed down his cheeks. Pansy and Astoria both moved towards him.
"Draco..."
Their tears slid unchecked at their friend's grief. All they could do was support him on either side before he fell to the floor under the crushing pain of grief. Pansy vaguely noticed a wand in her hand, but didn't dwell on where it had come from.
All he could do was whisper, "I'm only protecting her...she can't be hurt because of me. He'll kill her for being my weakness."
He reached into his pocket, withdrawing a thin silver chain. Shehad given it to him. He ran his fingers over the clasp, a tiny D hooking into a tiny H.
His own words mocked him. "...a fool in love."