Author's Note and Disclaimer: The song belongs to Bon Iver while the characters belong to J.K Rowling. This is a songfic and I hope you enjoy it. Also, this is my first songfic/fic so please be kind but I do appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks!
I Can't Make You Love Me
_
I've been so many places in my life and time
And I've sung a lot of songs, I've made some bad rhymes
I've acted out my life in stages, ten thousand people watching
But we're alone now and I'm singing this song to you
Rain drops hung to his pale eyelashes, blurring his vision. The rain had gotten so hard that it was making it difficult to see the pavement in front of him. At this point, his shirt was completely soaked, his jacket was doing little to protect him from the cold. But he could not stop walking. Not when he was so close to his destination. Especially not when so much was at stake.
He reached the door in a few short minutes and instantly regretted coming at all. I'm going to fuck this up. If I fuck this up, I'll lose her forever. He rested his knuckles against the door frame, unsure of whether he should knock. However, as if on it's own accord, his wrist made a swift movement and he could hear himself knocking against the wooden door. It opened without pause.
"What are you doing here, Draco?" The slender female asked as she leaned against the door frame. Her features tired and soft. Her brow furrowed and her tone full of agitation. Her eyes shiny and red. This was his fault.
"I came for you." He explained.
"Why now?" He knew she had every right to ask him that question. After all the tears he had caused and all the fights he had started, she deserved more than he could offer but the fact was that she belonged with him. Hermione Granger belonged with Draco Malfoy and that was the end of it.
"I've always loved you, Granger. It just took me a while to realize it." He answered as truthfully as he could.
"Well you're too late."
I know your image of me is where I hope to be
I treated you unkindly, darling, can't you see
There's no one more important to me, darling, darling, can't you just see through me?
We're alone now and I'm singing this song to you
The world had stopped rotating on its axis the moment those words were spoken. He knew it was true. Deep down, he knew with his entire being that she was right. He did not cherish what he had until he lost it. Typical Draco Malfoy, always neglecting to realize the true meaning, the true value of something until it was no longer his. But she did not belong with someone else. He had to make her see that.
"You're too late, Draco. I'm tired of playing this game with you." Her voice was soft now. Vulnerable.
He sighed as he pinched his eyebrows, unable to form a coherent thought. "I-eh.."
"I'm done here. You should leave." She spoke, her voice much louder than before. Her body beginning to angle away from him.
"No. You need to listen to what I have to say, Hermione."
Hermione Granger stopped. Her body halfway through the doorway. Her head tilted away from Draco. He took her silence as a cue to continue.
"I know what I did, Hermione. I know how I've treated you and I don't want to tell you something ridiculous like I've changed and I promise I will never hurt you again because that's just who I am. I've always been greedy and careless. I've taken everything in my life for granted. But I will get better. I will always try to be better for you. I'm not asking you to forgive me because if I know you as well as I know I do, you won't forgive me easily. You're stubborn, as am I. So you must know that I will never give up. I will never give up on you."
"Draco-"
Tell you what, darling
Turn down the light
Turn down the bed
Go on, turn down these voices
They're inside my head
Lay down with me
Go on, tell me no lies, no lies
Just hold me close
And don't patronize me
Don't patronize me
"You can tell me to leave and never come back but I will come back. You can tell me that you do not wish to see me ever again but I am telling you with the purest honesty, from the very bottom of my cold heart, that it will cause me physical pain to stay away from you. So please, Hermione, just... I love you."
She turned to face him now. Her eyes redder than before. Her cheeks a soft tinge of pink from her broken breathing and the tears that were beginning to well up in her clear brown eyes. Her nose was pointed to the floor, making no attempt to lift it.
"I.."
She began to speak but did not finish the thought. He had not expected her to breathe one word of forgiveness towards so when Hermione Granger threw her arms around him, he was shocked. But the shock did not last long for he wrapped his arms around her waist immediately. He held her close, breathing in her familiar scent of lavender, feeling at home once again.
Hermione Granger had always been his home. Whether he had been aware of this fact or not, she had always been the light at the end of his road. The light to his dark life. She was his strength.
Draco wished they could remain this way and forget everything that was weighing down on them at that moment. Though he knew the peaceful silence would not last long.
'Cause I can't make you love me, darling
If you don't
You can't make your heart feel
Something it won't
Oh, here in the dark
In these final hours
I will lay down my heart
If you feel the power, but you won't
Oh, you don't
They had remained in delicate embrace for a few moments before Hermione broke away from him. She wrapped her arms around her chest as she began to speak.
"You don't know how to appreciate me until I'm gone, Draco Malfoy. You couldn't see what I was giving to you until I stopped and that is not what I want our relationship to be. I need you to need me as much as I need you, all the time." Her voice had returned to soft tone it had been earlier.
This time he could hear the tears in her voice. He could hear her breaths coming in as broken fragments. He could feel her body trembling as her soft tears turned into sobs. If only she knew how badly this was killing him on the inside.
She continued once her breathing had returned to normal. "This relationship has always been about you. What you want and need whenever you want or need it and I'm through with trying to make you happy. You're not a kid anymore, Draco. This world does not revolve around you. My world does not revolve around you anymore."
"I'm not asking-" Draco began but was quickly cut off by a determined Hermione Granger.
"No, don't. You will let me finish."
'Cause I can't make you love me
If you don't
If you don't find love, darling
Oh, on your own
'Cause you know that I found love, darling
On my own, on my own, on my own
I found love, darling, darling
Right, right, right in the knick of time
She let out a soft breath before she resumed to speak. "I want to believe you with all of my heart, I truly do but... how can you expect that of me at this moment? I can see that your intentions are true but how long will it last before we're back at this point again? We- I need some time away from you."
Before Draco could protest the unfathomable suggestion, she continued.
"I am not saying that I will need time away from you permanently, I just... I need a few weeks, maybe even a month to get back to being me before I can even think about trying to be with you."
"I-" He looked away from her then, trying to form the correct words. "I can understand that. But I meant what I said. I can not stay away from you. Sooner or later, I will be back to show you what I can be for you. I will earn your trust."
She nodded, willing herself not to cry. "Until then."
"Until then." He agreed.
Draco Malfoy turned to walk away at that moment knowing that if he y longer he was sure to lose all of his dignity. But before he could reach the end of the hall, he heard the brunette speak once again.
"Draco."
He turned his head slightly, hoping that she would not see that his eyes were already colored and wet. "Yes, Hermione?"
"I love you." Her words were almost inaudible, but he heard them loud and clear. She closed the door quickly after. The click of the door settling into the door frame was confirmation that she was no longer there. Though that did not stop him from replying.
"As I love you."
I found love, darling
Love in the knick of time