The door shut with a loud bang as Draco walked into the girl's bathroom. To the unseeing eye, this bathroom was like any kind of ordinary bathroom. No one ever used it and its infamy for housing the Chamber of Secrets ensured that no one would find Draco in here.
The snow had continued to settle outside as the night became chillier by the passing hour. The Great Hall was not as full as it usually would be as many students had gone elsewhere for Christmas. Hagrid was joined by only a few students who had stayed watching the Half-Giant set up the Christmas Tree.
However, Draco wanted to escape from all this. He could not bear to have anyone see him cry; he never knew a Slytherin who did. Draco leaned over a sink and began to cry, shaking uncontrollably. His hands began to shake and he turned on the tap to wash his face, but the tears didn't stop. They kept coming and he coughed and spluttered with the sadness. His chest and stomach had become tight and more than anything he felt so alone.
Suddenly, the door opened and shut again. Draco immediately turned around and found himself looking at Hermione Granger. Afraid that she would see him crying, he transformed his face into a poker face so that she would not be able to see anything. However, he could hardly hide his gasp as he was captivated by her unexpected beauty. Her usually bushy brown hair was straightened for the season and she had on a coat along with gloves and a scarf. Her eyes were glowing as ever and her face resonated with the look of resilience and versatility. It was a thrill to even look at her.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Hermione tried to explain herself. She herself was surprised to find Draco here all by himself and not with his usual entourage of Crabbe and Goyle. However, it was not only the discovery of Draco that surprised her but his awfully mesmerizing good looks captured her attention too. Draco had slicked back his hair showing out his prominent widow's peak and his involvement in Quidditch had given him a strong build. However, his eyes were most responsible for captivating her. Those ice grey eyes had somehow brewed a storm within them that was begging for someone to help him escape. Hermione tried to look away but her large brown eyes had already met his gaze.
"What are you doing here," Malfoy asked.
Hermione's gaze did not drop as she stared in surprise that Malfoy did not call her by her usual epithet, "Mudblood".
"I heard someone crying, I wanted to know if they were ok." Hermione responded to him. They remained still, unmoving.
Draco's breathing became lighter as his heartbeat raced. Hermione had heard him; she had come for him. Draco, however, continued to keep up his scowl.
"Well you can save yourself some breath asking stupid questions like that. Mind you, I'm alright, ok?" Draco said, insecurity evident in his quivering voice. Hermione was not so convinced. She stepped closer to him, quietly and steadily, like a lion stalking its prey.
"You don't look alright," she told him. Draco looked down at the floor, cutting off the eye contact. Hermione came close to him and placed her hand on his chin pushing his head up so that their eyes met again.
"Why do you call me Mudblood, Draco?" Hermione asked him softly, barely whispering. Draco looked intently in her brown eyes. His hands instinctively reached for her waist. "Call me my name, Draco," Hermione said.
And as the two looked at each other, a sudden new relationship had blossomed between them. They could not understand it but they acted upon it nonetheless. And in that bathroom, away from everyone else, from Harry, from Ron, the two slowly leaned in, their lips slowly parting.
Suddenly the ghost of a girl came between the two of them. She looked at Hermione. "Myrtle?" Hermione said.
"Snogging again, I see?" Moaning Myrtle whined. Shocked expressions upon both Draco and Hermione. "They're always snogging here! They think no one sees but they always forget poor old Moaning Myrtle!"
"No, no, we weren't snagging, I-" Hermione tried to explain.
"No? No? You were not snogging?" Myrtle yelled at the two of them. She floated high in the air where she stayed as she beat them down with her words. Draco now regretted more than ever coming down here. "Were you not two just about to share a kiss now?"
"No, we-", Draco also tried before quickly being cut off.
"Always! Always! They always snog here! They think I never see but they always forget me! Me! Because I'm dead! Dead!" Myrtle now seemed to be on no end with her rant. "They never think of poor old Myrtle and all the boys she never kissed!"
Before Draco and Hermione could even respond, however, Myrtle quickly floated down and landed next to Draco, much to Hermione's disgust.
"But, you, handsome, I know why you're here." Myrtle cooed to him. Draco gulped, his ears reddening. Hermione's interest too was perked as she began to realize Myrtle might actually know something.
Myrtle nodded knowingly to Draco's fearful expression. "Oh, yes, I know all about you and Pansy Parkinson!" Moaning Myrtle literally spit out her name, making Hermione to gasp in surprise. "Ah, he didn't tell you did?" Myrtle cooed this in Hermione's face.
Hermione shook her head, then turned to look at Draco. "What is she talking about Draco?"
Draco looked down at the floor as both Hermione and Myrtle waited expectantly.
"I, uh, I cut off all ties with Pansy today," Draco said softly. Hermione's eyes narrowed in disbelief and scrutiny. Why would he do that? Him and Pansy had been at him for some time now. Something didn't seem right.
"Why?" Hermione asked him, quietly and softly.
Draco shook his head. "I couldn't take it anymore. The prejudice, the beliefs. After the Battle, I can't think like she does anymore." Draco slowly looked up at Hermione and softly placed his hand on her cheek. She did not flinch, but Myrtle very loudly gasped, almost ruining the moment. Nonetheless, she very oddly kept watching this unexpected turnabout. This was surely something to tell Peeves.
Hermione looked longingly at Draco as he kept his hand on her cheek. Hermione held her breath as he moved closer to her. "I don't call you Mudblood because I can't take it. Pansy can, but I can't. Not anymore." Now Draco and Hermione looked up into each other's eyes. Their breathing had become shallow and they could hardly keep their excitement inside.
"Draco," Hermione whispered as she wrapped her arms around Draco's neck. The two then leaned in and locked their lips into a kiss. It was at this that all seemed to now be forgiven between the two of them. Where there once stood hatred and a prejudice stemming from long-held beliefs, was now bounded through the same weapon used to defeat Voldemort. And that was love.
It was this love that not only brought the two together but had grown between the two of them over the years. Hermione's love for a boy who did not know better. And Draco's love for a girl who was both smart and strong.
When the two had now let go and looked at each other, they both smiled happy at what had transpired between the two of them. Suddenly they noticed that something was different, someone was missing.
"Where's Myrtle?" Hermione asked looking around.
Suddenly they heard Peeves in the hallways.
"Love in the girl's bathroom second floor! Enemies of the Heir, you'll get quite the scare!"