Disclaimer: Sadly, I do NOT own Harry Potter. J.K Rowling does.
Draco Malfoy never wished to be a Death Eater. He never wanted to follow in his father's footsteps. Draco just wanted to excel in school, work in the Ministry and live a life without people being suspicious of his intentions.
Draco Malfoy wanted his freedom.
Now in his sixth year, and with his father in prison, he was more pressured to satisfy the Dark Lord. Anything he does from day one of his initiation into the Dark Lord's circle of Death Eater would bring about his mother's death, not to mention his own.
Yet here he was, sitting in the shadow of a tree near the Black Lake, worrying about his present and future self.
"Don't you have something to repair?" a familiar voice broke his reverie. Draco looked up to see his the bushy haired Gryffindor he called friend, staring down at him with her concerned face.
She knew him too well. For nearly three years of being secret friends, she could easily read and understand him like Hogwarts: A History. Hermione Granger was the last person he thought he would friends with, moreover, best friend. Nevertheless, she was now standing over him, concern written all over her face, waiting patiently for his complaints. He sighed, turning away to watch the merpeople jumping in and out of the water.
Hermione stayed patient when she received no reply, "Stop making me cover for you for prefect duty. Everyone's becoming suspicious." Draco chuckled. He was thankful that the brightest witch of their age had literally knocked common sense into him in their 3rd year. If not, he would not have made a real friend.
"I never asked you to in the first place," he finally replied.
Hermione puffed up her cheeks. She picked up a small pebble and threw it lightly to his feet, "Well, I'm just trying to be a good friend! Would you prefer to be expelled?" "Will expulsion help me escape the Dark Lord and minions?" Draco asked flatly.
Hearing this had softened the Gryffindor's face and heart. She sat beside him and placed a comforting hand on his knee, " if only that was the case." The young Malfoy released a heavy sigh. His life was harsh. All the choices he made could be the end of his life.
"Draco, why don't you just tell Dumbledore the truth? The Order could protect," Hermione suggested, knowing very well he would not agree.
Draco shook his head, "you know I can't. Not when mother is surrounded by Death Eaters and the Dark Lord."
In assurance, Hermione took his hand in hers, and with a warm smile, she said, "You are as smart as me. I'm sure you will find a way around it. Just do not get killed, please. I do not want to lose a great friend."
The blonde smirked, "I think anything we do from now on will have great risks." Hermione looked towards the lake as she replied, "That is true. Any of us could die any day."
Her voice came out as a whisper as she stared into the distance. Draco watched Hermione's expression changed from scared to concern to determination. Her courage was admirable; then again, that was why the Sorting Hat placed her in Gryffindor. He continued watching her contemplate the possibilities of death and slowly, he smiled. She was an interesting witch to watch.
Whenever he saw her in the library, he would observe the way she studied. He admitted he loved the way she would bite the end of her quill as she thought of the right words for her assignment or the way she screamed silently as she stumbled into a dead end in her Arithmancy task.
If he were to die, he would miss so many things about her. He would miss the way they fake (but believable) fight in hallways and classes. He would miss their secret meetings and the many ridiculous ways and excuses that they would have to come out with. Draco smiled sadly, squeezing her hand lightly. He would miss everything about her.
Grasping all this, he realised he might end up being a ghost because of Hermione Granger.
"Erm..Draco, are you…alright?" the bookworm asked, concerned for Draco's sanity. The said guy laughed a little bit longer before calming down, "I just realised, if I do die, you might have to wear some sort of amulet or charm to get rid of ghost me." Hermione looked confused. Draco smiled sadly at her, "I'm not ready to leave the world yet. I have so many things to do before I die."
Hermione raised an eyebrow in curiosity, "Oh, and what would that be, Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco stared at her for a moment before looking up at the twinkling stars in the dark sky, "for starters, I'd like to beat Potter in another Quidditch match with a difference of 300 points." Hermione rolled her eyes at this and mumbled, "Boys."
"I want to be Head boy and send Weasley every week to detention with Filch or Snape." This had earned him a glare from the Gryffindor princess, "That's abuse of power. You are not allowed to send students to detention for groundless reasons."
Draco decided to ignore her and continued, " but what I want to do most…is to just always to be by your side." He watched her from the corner of his eyes, and note that she was at loss of words. He looked back towards the night sky, "I want to talk and laugh with you in the hallways without having your idiotic duo trying to cast an unforgivable curse on me. I want to hold your hands in broad daylight and…" he paused momentarily before letting out a quiet sigh, "and kiss you senselessly under the sun and blue sky…and wake up every morning with you beside me."
Draco was now leaning against the tree trunk, running his hair through his ungelled hair. He refused to face Hermione and as she pulled her hand away, he felt he made the biggest mistake of his life.
"Draco…what are you saying?"
The Slytherin refused to answer the young witch.
"Draco Lucius Malfoy, answer me this instant," Hermione demanded through gritted teeth. She frantically searched his eyes for the truth, and when he finally met her gaze, she gasped quietly, "Draco…"
He swallowed his saliva, plucked up the courage and finally spoke up, "I love you, Hermione Jean Granger. Without you…I..I wouldn't be able to see what's really happening in this world of ours. I really am grateful that you punched me in our 3rd year." Hermione was confused. She couldn't understand what she was feeling that moment, "Draco…I..I….."
The said boy shook his head, "Don't say anything. I'm currently a Death Eater sent to Hogwarts to do the Dark Lord's dirty work. I could be killed any day. I rather you're not burdened by my troubles or death. As much as I hate to say this, you are a better off with Weasley than a scum bag coward me. So, just don't say anything about my confession. It's better for both of us. Less pain if any of us end up at the bad end of the deal."
With a hitched eyebrow, Hermione said, "Are you done blabbering?" Draco was startled at her reaction; nonetheless, he gave a curt nod.
Hermione frowned deeply and jabbed a finger into his chest, "you have no right to tell me who I should be with. Fine, I won't say anything about your so called confession. I'll ignore that you told me that you love me. But I will not let you die." Draco noticed the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes.
He lifted a hand to wipe it but was slapped away, harshly. Hermione quickly dried the tears with the back of her hands, "letting you die is the one thing I will never let you do. Both of us will survive this stupid war and we'll have dinner after that and laugh about how we NEARLY died."
She could not wipe away the heavy flow of tears. She had so much more to say to him but her voice had died in her throat, and all she managed was a whimper as Draco pulled her into his arms. She cried onto his shoulder, as he gently stroked her soft brown hair, "I'm sorry for saying all that. We'll survive this war. We'll win unscathed."
They stayed like that for a few more minutes before Hermione finally calmed down. She quickly cleaned away any traces of tears before she murmured, "I better go. Harry and Ron are most probably rushing to finish their Charms assignment and waiting for me to save them at the last minute."
" I should go too. Need to read up about Vanishing Cabinets. You go first. I'll watch your back," Draco said, pulling her up from her seat on the ground. Hermione nodded, "Good night, Draco." She turned around and slowly took her leave. The blonde Slytherin carefully watched her every move, making sure she safely arrived the castle.
However, worry washed over him as Hermione suddenly stopped moving as if she was petrified. "Hermione?" when he received zero response, he quickened his pace towards her, "Hermione!"
The loud call of her name had snapped her out of the trance she was suddenly in and swiftly turned around. Draco halted in his tracks when he noticed his friend's determined face, "Mione?" Without any warning, she walked back towards Draco, grabbed his shirt and tugged him down towards her lips.
The Slytherin Prince stood dumbfounded. His crush's soft cherry lips were on his. Finally accepting her actions, he placed both hands on her jaw, pulling her deeper into the kiss.
Hermione slowly pulled away, slightly panting for air. They rested their foreheads against each other, as they grasped the situation. After a few seconds of silence, Hermione let go of Draco's shirt, but allowed her hands to linger on his chest as she tried to find the right words, "I hope kissing me senselessly under the stars is good enough for your wish list."
Draco nodded slightly, a small smile adorning his pale face, "It's way better." Hermione tiptoed, pressing her lips to his cheek, "Stay safe, Draco."
Without another word, she ran towards the castle, leaving Draco Malfoy, standing at the bank of the lake, and a new reason to stay on living.
-FIN-
Hope you guys like it. Read and Review. It's good motivation for me. :D