Empty

A drabble-y one-shot. It just entered my head, so I had to get it down. Enjoy :)


It has been many months since she has seen Ron last. Many things have happened in those months. Things that she would never admit to Ron, or anyone for that matter. Things with Malfoy that made her skin prickle at the thought of it. Dirty, forbidden things. And even worse than all those things with Malfoy, was the feeling that she felt in the pit of her stomach when she was around him. A feeling she wished she could pretend did not exist.

But now, Ron is back. He stands in the doorway of her office, grinning broadly and Hermione leaps to her feet, closing the distance between them quickly, and throwing her arms around Ron.

"I can't believe you're back! How are you? How's Harry? How's—everything?"

She does not wait for him to answer before her mouth finds his. And she kisses him deeply, as though the past seven months did not exist, as though Malfoy did not exist, as though nothing existed. And it felt warm and familiar and right. She does not even notice that something is off; something is missing in the way it feels. She is too overwhelmed to notice.

In the morning, she awakes to Ron snoring lightly beside her, his naked form covered just barely by the summer-thin sheets of the bed. Hermione grabs a shirt and a pair of trousers before quietly retreating from the room. The morning seems bright, brighter than usual. Perhaps it is just her feelings shining through, she wonders. Ron is back and it makes her feel happy, elated. But as she puts a pot for tea to boil, she is met with a strange feeling again.

This time she recognizes the feeling. It's different, wrong. Something missing. And without meaning to, without even wanting to, she imagines Malfoy sharing morning tea with her instead. It is something that has never happened before in all their nights together. He is always the first one to leave when they are through, though there had been times when she has made a hasty retreat from his bed as well. There was never breakfast. And a part of her aches for it. She pushes the feelings down, willing them to disappear.

She arrives to work later than usual, and is reprimanded for her tardiness. It is very unlike her to be late, but she couldn't manage to leave after breakfast. Something had made her feel as though leaving her home would shatter the good feelings she has with Ron. That seeing him again would make it all different. And she is not wrong. Malfoy is waiting in her office, and her stomach plummets to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" she asks.

"I could ask you the same question; shouldn't you be off making love with your boyfriend?"

"So you know Ron's back."

"Oh I know," he nods, standing from his seat on the top of her desk. "Believe me, I know. I stopped by last night, thought maybe you'd want...you'd want me to. Guess I wasn't needed."

There was pain in his voice. It threw Hermione off guard. She hadn't expected it. In fact, she wasn't even sure she had heard it. Pain in Malfoy's voice was a rare thing indeed.

"You won't tell him, will you?" she says, suddenly very nervous.

"Tell who what? There's nothing to tell."

His tone is harsh. He shoves past her, and she is left feeling foolish. Though for what reason, she is unsure. Was there really nothing to tell? Did she—their time together—mean so little to him? Or perhaps it meant too much. The first option is the easiest to consider, but the way he spoke to her makes the back of her mind scream for her to go after him. That maybe he could explain the empty feeling from that morning. But she does not. She lets him walk away.