UNEXPECTED TURN AROUND
CHAPTER ONE: LEAST EXPECTED
It was the perfect day. Rainy and quiet. She had always loved the rain. It had the power to make everything clean and quiet. She loved the still of rainy days. It was the cosmic pause button and she hoped it would get stuck. When she woke up, she just knew… today was the day her life would turn around, be healed. This was the universe telling her everything would be good. She did not know exactly how right she was when she got out of bed.
The roads on the way to the gym were deserted. She had expected this. Not many people went to the gym at 6 am. That was why she did. She liked the peace. It was easier to think. She spent a lot of time at the gym. As a result, she worked off the weight that had plagued her throughout her time at Hogwarts; though, despite what most people thought, this was not why she spent so much time there. She was addicted to the clarity her morning workouts brought her. She felt free and happy; a rarity in her life lately.
She shoved her gym bag into a locker and smoothed her long curls back into a ponytail. She headed to workout, but froze in the doorway of the locker room. She blinked to make sure she was not hallucinating. He was still there, blond hair, clear gray eyes. But what was Draco Malfoy doing at a Muggle gym?
His eyes caught hers and he smiled and – okay, she was for sure hallucinating – WINKED at her. Her jaw dropped as she realized that his chest was bare, and very well defined.
"Hermione." He said as he walked into the men's locker room.
Her mind exploded. So many questions and zero answers. She couldn't very well waltz right into the men's lockers to interrogate him.
Completely distracted, she picked an elliptical machine and set it to the most intense setting. She needed the most clarity she could get, especially now.
True to form, her head was now clear and, though she had not forgotten about seeing him, she had decided she was not going to analyze it. His being there was probably just a coincidence. Come to think of it, she had heard he moved to this area. Right?
She tried to put him out of her mind completely as she showered, dressed and went to class. Surely she would not see him anywhere near the campus of the Muggle university she had been attending in an effort to collect data for the Ministry of Magic.