A/N: Dramione fic, because I got bored. It's kind of non-magic because there isn't a mention of magic, but I didn't think writing bout magic was necessary. I wrote this because it's snowing in England and I'm as bored as Hermione and hoping Draco will come and have a snowball fight with me! Please review, it helps me progress as an author!
24-year-old Hermione Granger breathed in the crisp, chilly January air and smiled slightly. It had been snowing tenaciously for three days now, and Hermione was bored of being stuck in the house. She hadn't been able to go to work but she had done all the work her boss had asked her to complete. She had finished it on day one, actually, leaving two tedious days filled with nothing but reading and taking increasingly long baths to stay warm. Seeing as her boiler had broken and the British Gas man couldn't come to fix it until after the snow had gone, she had had to boil the kettle and use that water instead, and to be quite frank, she was bored out of her skull. Bored, bored, bored.
After reading five books that weren't exactly short, she decided that she simply must do something, and she had run out of milk earlier this morning and would have had to go to the shops sooner or later. She had jumped out of bed and ran to her wardrobe, frantically pulling out different jumpers and trousers that she could wear outside and down to the shops. She eventually found a pair of warm, waterproof trousers that she had worn last year when she went skiing with her parents and she knew they still fit her. She pulled on two pairs of tights, one pair of thermal leggings and some tracksuit trousers, three thermal vests, one long sleeved shirt, a woolly jumper, a hoodie then eventually the waterproof trousers and a waterproof jacket. She looked about three inches fatter than she usually was, but she was extremely warm and that was all that mattered. She wouldn't want to get a cold when she had to go to work as soon as the snow stopped. She got her hat, scarf and gloves from the tumble dryer and hugged them tight to her face, relishing the small amount of warmth they still held. She managed to hunt her purse down in the organised mess that was her handbag and pulled out a twenty pound note and stuffed it in her pocket.
Fast forward five minutes, and Hermione was ready to leave. She opened her front door and breathed in the bitter air, enjoying the feel of fresh air seeping into her lungs. Her nose tingled with the temperature and she hesitantly stepped forward onto her front step. The snow crunched, and she remembered with a jolt of happiness that the crunch of fresh snow was one of her favourite sounds, next to birds singing in the morning and the sound of waves crashing against the shore. She stepped forward again and broke into a laugh when snowflakes started landing on her eyelashes and she breathed in a huge clump of them. She closed her front door and walked down her garden path to the gate and the honeysuckle archway. She waved at two children running past carrying sledges, shouting and laughing and throwing snowballs at each other whilst their mother hurried along behind them, warning them that the pavements were slippery. Hermione nodded to her then recognised her.
"Oh, hi Fay! It's been a long time! How are you?" Hermione called out to her old school friend Fay Dunbar.
"Hello Hermione! I'm great thanks, but I don't think I've rested since it started snowing. The kids certainly haven't! They just want to go out sledging and have snowball fights all the time." Fay laughed. "Have you met the kids yet?" Fay asked.
"No, I don't think I have! How old are they?" Hermione replied, brushing some unruly hair that had escaped its ponytail from her face.
"They are 5 and 6. Do you want to meet them now? You aren't in a hurry are you?" Fay enquired, raising her eyebrows.
"I was just popping down to the shops to get some milk, but it can wait. What are they called?" Hermione loved children but she probably wouldn't have a child of her own.
"Daisy! Ollie! Come over here please! Don't run away or we won't go out tomorrow!" Fay threatened and the children turned and sprinted back towards their mother, nearly knocking her over with hugs.
"Mummy can we have an ice cream?" Daisy asked. She looked the youngest, with bright blue eyes and long curly black hair similar to her mothers.
"Yeah! Can we mummy? Can we please have an ice cream? Please?" Ollie asked, stepping back to survey Hermione. He had blue eyes as well, but dark blonde hair and freckles. "Who are you?" He asked.
"Oliver! You know that's not how you talk to new people. Of course you can't have an ice cream, if you haven't noticed, it's snowing! Far too cold for ice cream you silly sausages!" Fay scolded Oliver for being rude. "This is Hermione. We used to go to school together when we were younger. Say hello to Hermione." The kids obediently said hi then started a snowball fight.
"So, Fay, seeing as you have two little kids, I'm guessing you are married now?" Hermione asked casually, drawing little shapes in the snow on her garden wall.
"Yes, actually, I got together with Seamus Finnegan a couple of months before we left school, and little Oliver here popped out not so soon after. What about you? Any children? Married?"
"Oh that's so nice to hear! I always thought Seamus deserved a nice girl." Hermione tried avoiding the question of her current marital status.
"Oh, he's wonderful. I love him so much. He adores the kids and always makes sure to look after them if I need a lie in. He's happy to look after me too!" She winked and Hermione laughed. "So, you avoided my question." Hermione cringed.
"Well, I haven't got any kids yet, but I'm not saying no." She replied, still looking away from Fay. She made a small snowball and passed it to Daisy, who promptly threw it at her brother. "As for me being married, well, no, I'm not married but I'm dating Ron Weasley. Well, I think I am, but we've been having some problems recently. I was also planning on meeting him today but I don't really want to." Hermione admitted.
"Why not? You do know that not talking will only make it worse?" Fay frowned. "That's how Seamus and I nearly split up a few months ago. I moved into my mum's house with the kids for a week, it got so bad. But we eventually decided it would be best to talk about it, and it's sorted now. He was more than happy to make it up to me." She pointed at some sparkly earrings that looked like diamonds. "He made it up in other ways too." Fay joked, and Hermione laughed with her.
"Oh Fay, you are wicked. I know I should talk to Ron, but I just don't want to. I don't know. I'm angry at him and don't want to wound my pride by being the one that patched it up." Hermione shrugged.
"Goodness me, Hermione Granger doesn't know something?" Fay teased. "Why don't you just go to his house to talk to him? If you patch it up then you become the bigger person. It's fun getting them to make it up to you as well."
"Yeah, I guess it does make me the better person. Well, maybe I should, it's not far from here. So, it was nice seeing you again. We should meet up for a coffee or something. Invite a couple of the girls from school. Have a catch up." Hermione suggested.
"Oh, that's a good idea! Did you know that Parvati has gone to America with Padma for this film deal? It's apparently this massive film that's expected to win some Academy Award or whatever it's called."
"Wow, that's amazing! Now, I really have to go and buy some milk before the shops close. It was nice seeing you. Bye Daisy, bye Ollie." Hermione waved to the kids and hugged Fay quickly then carried on down the road, slipping and sliding on the snow that had been compacted into ice. At one point she did actually fully slip and fell over. Luckily all the layers she was wearing protected her from any injury. She slowly got up and slowed down her pace, holding onto walls and hedges as she walked down the road. She passed the road that would lead to Ron's flat and hesitated. She had the key to his house attached to her own. Even if he wasn't there she could wait until he got home. She paused and thought about it. The shops would be open for a while now. She pulled out the bunch of keys and slowly flicked through them, trying to find the key to the flat. By the time she reached the house she had the right one and she triumphantly started opening the door. She pushed it open and was startled by the sounds of moaning and heavy breathing. She froze, and listened closer. She could hear bed springs creaking as well.
"He-" Hermione started, but then changed her mind and started walking towards the room the noise was coming from, hoping it was coming from Harry's room, as Ron and Harry shared a flat and Harry often brought his girlfriend and also Ron's sister round for the night. She paused outside Harry's room and pressed her ear against the door. Nothing. She stepped forward slightly, making sure to be completely quiet. It definitely wasn't coming from Harry's room. She paused and mentally calmed herself down, before carrying on towards Ron's room. She took hold of the door handle and tried opening it but her hands were too sweaty, so she wiped them on her trousers and tried again. The creaking stopped suddenly and Hermione stopped again.
"What was that? Did you hear that?" Hermione heard someone whisper. The voice sounded quite high and girly.
"Stop imagining things and keep going." Hermione heard a second, harsher whisper. The voice was a lot lower. Hermione raised her eyebrows and flung the door open, shocked to find what she saw.
"What the-" Hermione shrieked. Ron was on top of Lavender Brown and Hermione immediately realised why she could hear those noises.
"Hermione! What are you doing here?" Ron exclaimed, shocked. He jumped off Lavender and quickly pulled the duvet around him to hide his body, leaving a nude Lavender lying on the bed.
"I think the better question is what are you doing here, Lavender Brown?" Hermione snarled. What had started out a good day was beginning to get bad.
"Surely the way to phrase this better would be who am I doing? The answer would, of course, be your boyfriend. He loves me more, because I can satisfy him better then Little Miss stapled-at-the-legs Granger." Lavender smirked. Hermione ran forward and slapped the horrendous smile off Lavender's ugly face then burst into tears. She back away swiftly towards the door, and Ron grabbed her arm.
"'Mione, it's not what it looks like. Please, why don't we all sit down and talk about it?" Ron mumbled. Hermione jumped and pulled her arm away from him.
"Really? Because to me, it seems exactly what it looks like." She sobbed, stepping away from him. He reached out to her and she slapped his hand away. "Don't touch me! I don't want you to touch me ever again after your hands have been on her." She jerked a thumb over to where Lavender was still lying with seemingly no shame. "I have to get away, and bleach my eyeballs, but even that won't get rid of the image." Hermione was steadily growing hysterical. "I need to get out of here!" She screamed, turning round and running out the door and down the corridor. Harry had been woken by the racket and was walking out of his bedroom in his boxers, rubbing his eyes and yawning.
"Is everything alright here? I heard shout- Hermione! What are you doing here? Why are you crying?" Harry attempted to stop her but she was already out of the door. He turned round to face Ron's bedroom and jumped backwards when he saw Ron and Lavender running out of the room. "Jeez, what were you doing in there? Why was Hermione hysterical?" He asked. Lavender still hadn't covered up so Harry grabbed a blanket that was on the radiator opposite. She grabbed it and slowly put it on, shooting Harry a dirty look. "What the hell happened here?" He demanded.
"Well, Hermione came round and saw me. And Lavender." Ron started.
"I told you that you would get caught sooner or later! You idiot! I told you to end it with her and you said you did! What about Hermione? Do you ever think about anyone but yourself?" Harry roared. Ron started talking but couldn't think of anything to say so he shut up. "I've got to go find her, she could do something stupid. Why couldn't you use your brain for once, if you even have one?" Harry stormed back into his room and started getting ready, but stopped when his phone started ringing and the caller ID showed to be Hermione. He picked it up.
"I heard you shouting, and I wanted to let you know that I'm fine." Hermione assured him. "A bit angry, but I suspected something was going on. I wasn't really shocked. I have to go now." She said and cut off the phone before he could reply. He tried dialling her back but she didn't pick up. She had turned her phone off and was running down the road, to where, she didn't know, but she was running as far away as she could possibly get from this mess. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Now that she had told Harry she was okay she could cry and let the real feelings come out. Yes, she had suspected something was going on, but it still felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She stopped and vomited into a nearby bush, hating the mess Ron had turned her into. She looked up and saw an old woman walking her dog staring at Hermione with a concerned look on her face.
"Are you alright, love?" The woman asked. Hermione ignored her and kept running, not quite sure where her legs were taking her, just away. She kept running until her feet hurt and when she looked up, she saw a pub. How the hell had she managed to get there? She walked in and asked the woman behind the bar for a whole bottle of the strongest spirit they had. The woman shook her head and passed her a glass of vodka and coke.
"Everything alright, sweetie?" The barmaid asked. She stopped cleaning the machines and leant towards Hermione.
"I didn't come here to speak to anyone. I just want to be alone. Can I have something alcoholic that will warm me up, a brandy or something?" She muttered, drinking the vodka and coke that the barmaid had offered her in 4 gulps. The barmaid walked off and came back with a cup of coffee. "I don't want a coffee, I want something else. I want to get drunk." Hermione hissed. She had never got drunk before. The barmaid rolled her eyes and poured a small bit of brandy into the steaming cup of coffee. Hermione snatched the cup from the barmaid's hands and held it close to her, warming up her hands and face. Even though her gloves set her back £30, they didn't keep her hands warm at all. She growled and tore them off, chucking them into a nearby bin. She felt someone sit next to her and without looking up she told them to go away.
"Charming. But I think I can help you." The person sitting next to her spoke with a familiar drawl like he was better than everyone else. Hermione's head snapped up and she turned to face him with fire in her eyes.
"I don't want you anywhere near me, Malfoy. I'm sick of guys playing their games and I just want you all to leave me alone!" Hermione shouted. People were staring at her but she didn't care, she was too furious at him arriving when she looked her worse and was a complete mess.
"Goodness gracious me, Granger, I'm just offering to help. You look a mess." He replied coolly.
"Way to state the obvious." Hermione grumbled. "I don't want your help, I just want you to leave me alone." She slid down two bar stools but he followed her. "Leave me alone, Malfoy." Her voice rose slightly.
"But what's wrong? I will leave when you tell me why you're so upset."
"I have to go now." Hermione replied, getting up and throwing a £5 note across the bar to the barmaid. "Keep the change." She mumbled and hurried off out the door. She was so occupied with her own thoughts she didn't hear the other pair of footsteps crunching through the snow behind her. She jumped when someone grabbed onto her arm. "Get off me!" She shouted.
"Granger, calm down, I'm only trying to help. You're crying." He said, reaching up to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She slapped his hand away.
"You don't think I know that?" She snarled.
"Why are you crying, Granger?" He asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"None of your business, Malfoy." She replied, trying as hard as possible to keep her composure. "If you don't leave me alone right now, I'm going to do what I did to you in our third year." She threatened.
"Ouch. I'm only trying to help. Please tell me what happened." He lowered his voice slightly. "I don't want to worry about you."
"Fine, if you really must keep asking. I broke up with Ron." She gulped, and two big fat tears escaped and rolled down her cheeks. Before she knew it, she was sobbing loudly.
"Hey, hey, don't cry. I hate seeing people cry." He tried soothing her. She just sobbed louder, and eventually her knees gave way and she slumped onto the floor. He bent down next to her and hugged her awkwardly. She tried pushing away but eventually gave in. She didn't have the strength to fight with anyone any more. "Why did you break up with him?" He asked, stroking her hair.
"H-h-he was cheating on me. With Lavender Brown!" She replied, like it was the most disgusting thing on the face of the planet. Which, to be honest, it was.
"I always hated that girl, and Weasel. He must have been a complete idiot to cheat on you. He must have been blind too." He whispered. Her sobs stopped suddenly and she looked up to face him questioningly. Her eyelashes were soaking with tears and her eyes were red. "Shit, did I say that out loud?" He said. She smiled.
"Yes, you did." She lifted her shaking, icy fingers to her eyes and rubbed the tears away.
"Forget I said that will you?" He replied uneasily.
"Why would I want to do that?" She whispered, suddenly aware of how close they were. She looked down to his lips and back up into his steely grey eyes. He started to lean back but she closed the small gap between them. Both were thinking 'What on Earth am I doing, I don't like them, we're enemies!' but neither pulled away. Hermione suddenly thought up something and slowly grabbed a handful of snow. She lifted it up and made as if she was going to put her hand on his neck, but quickly pulled his collar away and dropped the small clump of snow down his back. He jumped and let out a rather high pitched scream and Hermione burst out laughing.
"You little-" Draco laughed and Hermione jumped up and ran away from him before he could get her back. "I'm going to get you, don't you worry, Hermione Granger!" He jokingly threatened and she stuck her tongue out at him. He stood up as well but not before grabbing a huge handful of snow. He quickly compressed it so it would stay in one piece and threw it at her. She sidestepped neatly out of the way and laughed again. He loved her laugh. It was beautiful- just like her. He loved the way her face lit up and her eyes twinkled, how small dimples appeared on her cheeks, so small you wouldn't notice them without looking closely. He sometimes used to watch her with Harry and Ron, hiding behind things, making sure she could never see him. He used to love it when she laughed, but hated that it was always Weasel or Potter that made her laugh. He wanted it to be him that made her laugh, him that she kissed, him that she loved. Ever since that time when she punched him in the face, all those years ago when they were in their third year at school, he had loved her. Maybe that made him a masochist, but he didn't care. He just wanted her to notice him, love him in the way he loved her. But he knew it wouldn't happen, so he was mean to her and bullied her instead, trying to bury the feelings he had for her. Nothing ever worked, and over the years he just started loving her more and more. That's why he got together with Pansy Parkinson. She wasn't too bad looking, but at the end of the day, nothing compared to Hermione. He used Pansy to help get over Hermione, and thought at one point he had got over Hermione when she disappeared for all that time. However, when she came back, he realised that he was more in love with her now than he had ever been. He dumped Pansy, feeling slightly bad for her, but his love for Hermione made him blind to just how much he had hurt Pansy.
He was so caught up in thinking about his love for Hermione that she had created a snowball the size of her head and had aimed it at his face- and fired. The freezing ball of snow hit him right in the face and exploded. He managed to breathe in half of the snowball and swallow the rest, causing him to have a coughing fit. She started laughing until she realised he wasn't faking and her face fell. She walked towards him and patted his back slightly. He paused coughing for a little bit and grabbed her and fell to the floor, pulling her down with him but making sure he landed underneath her so she didn't get hurt.
"Got you." He laughed. She was shocked but then started laughing too. They kissed again, but quickly this time. She rolled away and stood up, offering a hand to help him up too.
"Let's build a snowman." She grinned and ran off to a section of fresh snow. He followed her.
"Aren't we a bit old to build a snowman?" He teased.
"You can never be too old to build a snowman! How about we build a whole snow family?" She started before he could agree with her, but he wasn't going to disagree even so.
Half an hour passed and they were adding the finishing touches to their snow family. They had a snowman, a snow woman and a small snow child. They were now finding twigs to make the family look different from one another. Draco went off to a nearby bush to collect some branches and perhaps stones for eyes, and when he came back he saw Hermione building a new addition to the family- a snow cat.
"My parents and I always used to build snow cats! Every year we used to build them, since when I was about three years old!" She replied, finding some pine needles to make whiskers.
"My family never used to go out into the cold. I used to get forced to stay inside with nothing to do for hours on end. It was the most boring thing I've ever done." Draco said solemnly. "Did you know I've never built a snowman before?" He asked.
"How can you not have built a snowman? What must you have been doing that made you never build a snowman? So you seriously have never built a snowman?" She asked in disbelief. He shook his head. "But not even at school?" He shook his head again. "Wow, I mean, wow! You missed out! Apart from the cold hands." She looked down at her own red hands. She rubbed them together in a vain attempt to warm them up.
"How about we go warm up somewhere?" Draco asked. "I'll buy us both a hot chocolate or something."
"I would like that very much." Hermione grinned and took his hand. He accepted it and they walked away from their little snow family, back to the town they lived in and back to civilization. After spending at least two hours out in the silence with only the crunch of snow, they were shocked to hear cars again. "I think, if what happened today meant something, which I hope it did, blossoms into a relationship and we end up living together, I think we should live in the countryside." She said thoughtfully. "But this probably didn't mean anything, and you probably don't want us to become a couple, and you probably won't want to move so far away. I'm not even sure why I'm already thinking about this." She burbled, and Draco held a finger to her lips to silence her.
"I wouldn't mind living anywhere if I got to be with you."