Forever and EVER

DISCLAIMER: Me no own HP.

Life Is a Beautiful Thing...

I had the world on a string, I was sitting on a rainbow...then I fell in love, and my life was turned upside down. What a world, what a life, I'm in love.

I felt silly, self-conscious, and worried most times. What happened to the cool, debonaire, sly Draco Malfoy I used to be before all this happened?? He was changed, that's what happened

. I had the world on a string, I was sitting on a rainbow, yet...I still felt empty. Then she came along and gave "living" a whole new meaning to me. My life was perfect, and if she had never come along, I would've been perfectly happy. That's because I wouldn't know what I would've been missing out on. Lucky she did. I wouldn't trade the time I spent with her for anything. As sad as I am to say, "spent with her" is correct. She is no longer mine to hold, no longer mine to kiss, no longer mine . . . period. I've never talked so fondly of someone who'd broken my heart before, so this is a completely different feeling for me.

Heartbreak that is. That's the feeling I was referring to. Or maybe it's heart-ache. Because I still long for her. Well that's quite obvious. I find it quite ironic actually, the Heartbreak Prince of Hogwarts, heartbroken by . . .well a muggleborn. You've obviously figured who it is I'm talking about now right?

Yes, her, Hermione Granger. She taught me how to love. How to feel. She's amazing. . . at least in my mind she is. Absolutely perfect and beautiful, too. It all began so quickly, and every moment I cherish just as much as I do her. Yes, even now she is the only one that I care for, even more than my dear old mum.

My MUM. All I have to say about her is. . . that she is the reason I'm in this horrid state of. . . sadness I suppose. ALL HER FAULT. She had so kindly requested that I not turn out like my loving father.

The poor bloke happens to presently be a rotting shell of a man in a ward in Santa Oerida Ublanca Lorenzo, or S.O.U.L. for short. He had been admitted there after he had received a kiss from a dementor. The dementor was then killed shortly after all of the death eaters were caught . . . actually ALL of the dementors were "put away", shall we say after the whole ordeal over blood and power was settled. I remember my father fondly.

Now my mother, convinced that she was doing the best for me, she went straight to the ministry and paid a hefty sum of money to have my arranged engagement to Alicia Morag, a very beautiful, very important descendant of some notorious duke known for something menacing I can't really remember at the moment, and a very, very, very RICH woman. That's all that really mattered to my father when he had arranged my marriage to Alicia, and that was all I really cared about until, well. . . . Hermione came along. A few meetings here and there, and all of the sudden I couldn't touch my inheritance. Dearest mum explained it quite clearly to me. Marry a nice muggleborn witch and I could have the whole of it. I was shocked, angry, and a lot of other emotions pertaining to my situation. So that's where Hermione came in.

I was having my . . . ninth pint of some really strong alcoholic beverage when she came into the small pub I was getting wasted in. I'll never forget the words she said to me that..day? Afternoon? The time of day's not quite clear to me anymore. Those lovely words that sent me crashing to the ground.... "My, my, how the haughty have fallen." All I could do was smirk. My signature smirk of course. That's when that horrid plan formed in my head.

I asked her to be my girlfriend. I asked her to put up a facade to trick my mother into lifting the ban on my inheritance without actually getting married. I figured she was a smart girl, so she would know a way around that little matter of legality. Unfortunately there wasn't, so I felt like all hope was lost, but thankfully she accepted my offer and in exchange for charming my mother, I would stay out of her life forever and ever. What a fool I was for thinking that I was getting the better end of the deal. Now, all I have is a shit-load of galleons, sickles, and knuts, and no one to share it with. All I have left of Hermione, are memories of our time spent together. Not even a piece of clothing, or remembrance of her perfume.

Nothing. Well there is something. A ring. An engagement ring I planned on giving her the night she so graciously "set me free."

Eight months I spent with her. My mother was so proud. "Her little Draco was all grown up," she would say. She would gush about us to her friends, she would talk about how we were such a cute couple, and that she was sure that we would end up together. I think she jinxed us. Damn her.

Perhaps I'm a better person having known Hermione. If so, I'm being quite petulant then, blaming others for my pain, everyone except for myself. I already know what she would say about my behavior....

"That's quite selfish of you Draco," she would say.

To that, I would reply: "You're someone I don't particularly intend on sharing."

She was THAT amazing. And I'm rambling, but that doesn't matter.

I'm pretty sure I fell in love with her completely that time I fell ill. She spent a lot of time nursing me back to health. Fever, shivers, the whole nine, you name it, I probably had it. One morning it was bright and sunny, and I was feeling much better, and to my surprise there she was on the side of my bed fast asleep.

Now the old Draco would've said something along the lines of: "Mudblood's finally found her place."

But the new Draco, he had thought, "Whoa, where am I? And who's this poor little thing?"

Pathetic. After realizing that it was someone I had degraded all of my school years, I felt horrible. She could've left me to the hands of the other trained doctors at St. Mungo's, but she took me into her own home and nursed me back to health. Talk about special treatment. I thought she . . . .loved me too. What a fool I would've made of myself had I proposed to her. Some fairytale ending that would have made.

No, another fool has taken my love's heart. At this very moment would be their reception. Which would've made her wedding this morning. That's why I'm so bloody pathetic, because I never made a move to stop her. I never pursued her affection. I took her for granted when she was my "girlfriend" and now I sit alone in this manor thinking about what could have been.

It's been two years since that awful night. Two years since that night she said her final good-bye to me, and like a fool I kept my part of our deal. I'm staying out of her life forever, and ever, and ever, and ever. If only she would stay out of my mine. Thinking about her consumes the greater part of my day. Thinking about her doesn't help, I need her most when I do, I've romanticized the thought of her. Not a very healthy thing, but I'm a risk taker.

KNOCK! KNOCK!! BANG!!

I stood up in shock! That's not the sound a house elf makes when walking through the manor. Then it came again. . .

BANG! BANG!

I looked out the window then to the clock. Half past midnight, and it was raining. No one in their right mind would come calling at this time of night unless they were in need of something. So I concluded that it was some muggle, a really impatient muggle, entreating entrance into my home. I took my wand and headed down to meet with the persistent person, or persons, the house-elves would have let them in by the time I reached the bottom of the stairs.

I walked into the drawing room where I did most of my entertaining and spotted a gloomy figure in a white dress, sitting by the fire. The all- too-obliging house elves had provided the girl with a blanket and a mug of steaming hot tea. The girl was soaked to the bone. I started to approach her, I'm sure she heard me coming because she turned quite suddenly and made me stop in my tracks.

"Hermione," was the inquiring word that escaped my lips.

She stood up, even soaking wet she was a beauty, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Draco," she said. My mind was spinning. I wanted her to speak some more, I wanted to keep her here forever. I had so many questions, but first things first.

"Mippy," I called, soon a house elf was standing in front of me waiting for instructions. "Get one of mother's old plain dresses from her wardrobe and bring it back here immediately." The house elf nodded and was gone. I looked to Hermione and said: "We'll talk when you're dry." and as much as it pained me to go, I left her to change into dryer clothing.

I sat in my private office and waited for Hermione. It seemed like ages, waiting for her to come up, despite the fact that it was probably more like fifteen minutes. She stepped into the room wearing a faded black knee length dress, she took my breath away just the same. She gave me a small smile and crossed the room to where I was standing.

"Hi," she said weakly. It took all the strength in me not to take her into my arms and kiss her till she couldn't stand, but I restrained myself from it. After all the girl had just ran off from her...wedding? reception? I sat her down on the couch and poured her some tea.

"Alright," I said, "fess up. What's wrong? People don't normally turn up on my doorstep doused to the bone wearing what obviously is a wedding dress. Talk Hermione."

She met my eyes quickly before she took a sip of her tea. "Well..I don't know how to start," she began, "my head's all mucked up right now Draco."

I merely nodded showing her that I wanted her to go on talking. I could've listened to her talk for ages on anything, but I wanted most for her to say my name again. Over and over again. She took a deep breath and started her story.

"Draco," she said anxiously, "I've run away from my wedding. I- I- don't know what to do. I always know what to do!! I feel so useless. I..I don't like feeling useless, Draco. It's weird, and I don't like it. I..."

I cut her off, "Hermione calm down. You're not useless. Tell me what went wrong. Why did you run away?"

She took another sip of tea to calm herself and spoke again. "I don't love him. I don't think I've ever loved him." I would be lying if I said that my heart wasn't soaring at these words. "I was walking down the aisle, in this beautiful church. Everyone was there, I knew that they were happy for me, but...I wasn't happy for me. I wanted to stop walking and scream inside that church. I wasn't in love with the groom." She took another sip of tea. All these years I still knew how she liked her tea, one sugar no caffeine. After all these years, I still knew how to put her mind at ease. We sat in a comfortable silence for a moment.

"Why don't you love him," I asked. I wanted to find a glimmer of hope that she loved me, a guy can dream right? She looked into her tea cup and thought for a moment.

"He isn't who I thought I'd spend the rest of my life with. I mean, he was great. Dependable, loving, you know nice and all other good stuff. But he was...boring. I guess I'm not ready to settle down yet. I guess I'm still looking for Mr. Right. Tell me I'm making a huge mistake and that I should go back to him and--"

"No," I found myself saying.

"What," she said her eyes sparkling. I found the courage inside myself and decided here and now that I wasn't going to let her get away this time. I was going to take advantage of her wavering loyalty to her fiancee and make Hermione mine. It was cheap, and it was low, but I'm in love, and that's all that really matters.

"Hermione, you're hardly ever wrong. And when you know that something's wrong, you get yourself out of that situation one way or the other. And you have. That man, he'll probably never get over you, because you're such an amazing person. But if you go back to him, you'll always be thinking 'What if.' You wouldn't be completely happy because that nagging thought will always be in the back of your head. And the Hermione I knew never would've taken second best." I took her hand in mine, and looked into her eye and I saw it. She knew.

"D-dr-draco..you..you..I-I thought.." she stuttered, "when I left two years ago. I thought that you were done with me. You had your money. I thought I was doing you a favor by sparing you the trouble of doing something so tedious as breaking up with me..."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. She was doing me a favor? How could I have been so blind not to see that she wanted to stay. It was then that I noticed the ring I had been looking at earlier that night on the table we sat in front of.

"Draco you never said anything, I thought you– I well..I don't know what to say," she said leaning back on the couch. I took the ring in my hands and examined. It was if I had escaped into another world. The ring wasn't any different, so I don't know why I was taking such a close look at it. I looked over at Hermione and saw that she was focused upon the painted ceiling and didn't see me acting so strangely. I pocketed the ring and looked over at her.

"Hermione," I began, "I really don't know how to say this, but I should at least try to get it out. These past two years I've believed that you didn't care about me at all. And because of that belief, I kept my part of our bargain and kept myself away from you, thinking that you didn't want anything to do with me. Now. . .did you feel something for me, that time we spent with each other as a pseudo-couple? Or am I making a really big fool out of myself by exposing my feelings to you so openly?"

She gulped, twice. "I did Draco," was her reply.

My heart leapt. "One more question," I whispered, "do you still?" My world stopped. It all depended on Hermione now. I looked into her eyes and saw almost every kiss we shared flash before her eyes, saw every intimate moment we spent with each other flood her mind, and I saw the exact moment she came to her conclusion.

She looked me squarely in the eyes and nodded. "I do," she laughed, "wow, that's pretty damn easy to say." I couldn't help but chuckle along with her.

"Guess we're both just big idiots," I said getting up and helping her up as well. I held her at arms length, then pulled her into an incredibly tight embrace. I buried my nose into her damp hair and smelled the rain and remnants of perfume on her. I let her go, then kissed her. Something I've been longing to do for the longest time. I kissed her with so much passion and yearning that it took her by surprise, but she soon found herself kissing me back. I've still got it. I broke our kiss and got down on my right knee. I pulled out the wedding ring I had bought two years ago and took her by surprise.

"Will you marry me," I asked. She only stood there, shocked.

"Yes Draco, YES! YES! YES," she squealed in delight getting down on her knees as well and kissing me on the lips, nose, pretty much anywhere her lips landed on my face. I was so happy at that very moment. She was mine, mine, FOREVER , and yes, forever and ever.

END.

kicks lap top HOO HA! Review this fic or else! shakes fist and glares No not the laptop! YOU!!