Hello!
I know I shouldn't start a new fic, but this idea has been in my head and will not go away, so I had to get it out there.
As always, its a DMXHG pairing. Its pretty one sided. But hey, There is always later.
It can be considered canon or AU, I wrote it as a companion to my other short fic, Unseen. but its not necessary at all to this fic. both stand on their own fine.
This chap feels so melodramatic. The next two won't be. I'm planning on this being about 4 chapters long.
All characters belong to JKR. I am borrowing them.
DESTINY
Chapter 1: The Last Day
"Time grows short. You know we must leave. You do realize what this means, don't you son?"
The voice of Lucius Malfoy cut into his sons ears like a paring knife.
On countless other occasions, his father's voice had been a constant comfort. He
knew that a lot of the ideas his father put forward were riddled with fallacy, but it
didn't matter. But it DID matter in the end, didn't it? There was one thing he had
never lied about. That one thing was on a chain around his neck and pressed
coldly into his flesh, a constant reminder of his fate.
But today...
Today was the last day...
"Yes, I...I do. But, I..there's someone I need to see first. It will only take a few moments,"
Draco swallowed hard. His father nodded his consent. The young man did
not wait for a verbal approval. He took off with a noticeable speed. His pale blue
eyes scanned over countless students in identical robes looking for the one person
he wanted to see one last time. He had to tell them something...something
important and it was the only time he could. It was the only time his father would
not have spies around him. Draco had agreed to go with him, to fulfill his father's
promise to...to him! He shuddered at the thought.
But he couldn't think off such things now!
He didn't have much time left. He just had to find her!
He had to because this was his last day!
For everyone else, it was Tuesday. Just Tuesday, that's all.
The last day he would walk the halls of Hogwarts Castle, the last time he'd
hear his shoes make contact with the cold stone floors. They always did make
such an echo. It was funny what you would think of when you realized it was for the
last time.
There!
He saw a flash of long, slightly frazzled hair. Draco stopped dead in his
tracks, his icy, calculating eyes analyzing every aspect of the scene.
There she was...Hermione Granger. The very concepts of beauty and pain
incarnate. Beautiful because of mind and talent. Pain because she made him feel
a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach whenever he looked at her.
He had always known of his destiny. However, before today, he hadn't
given it a second thought. It was always far off. It was never today. But it was
today. There was no future for him...for them together...EVER.
She was talking, smiling and laughing with her two shadows, Harry Potter
and Ron Weasley. Draco bit his lip and ground it softly between his teeth as he
contemplated how he might draw her attention away from those meddlesome
companions of hers. Ha! No need! The two were distracted by Longbottom's
runaway toad, Draco thanked the Lord for the perfect timing of the usually
annoying amphibian.
Not wasting an instant, Draco quickly grabbed Hermione's arm (perhaps a little too harshly) and pulled her aside.
"I need to talk to you...alone," he said sternly, but barely above a whisper.
Hermione shot him a venomous look of disbelief.
"I'll bet you do! just long enough to curse me! Really, Draco Malfoy! You're a seventh year! Aren't you a little old to be-"
"Its not like that. Just...please. Please come with me,"
Something about the way his eyes shifted back and forth and looked glassy
made her feel uneasy. Hermione swallowed and momentarily pondered the pros
and cons of the situation. It was Malfoy. He was alone. A quick glance around the
room confirmed the fact. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be warming up to another
Slytherine seventh year and seemed to be treating the boy the same way they had
been treating Malfoy. Well, until today that is. The sheer surreal nature of the
situation made Hermione comply with her nemesis' request.
"Alright," she said in a voice that quivered ever so slightly.
Without another word, she followed the cloaked young man through through
various forgotten hallways and secret passages. The way Malfoy was walking
frightened her. His cloak billowed around his legs as he sped through the castle.
Hermione looked around anxiously. They were completely and utterly alone.
There were no students, no teachers, no ghosts, there weren't even any pictures in
this part of the school. She pulled slightly, as if trying to escape. Malfoy let go
instantaneously. The poor girl had to stumble two or three steps before she caught
herself.
"What on earth are you doing?" she demanded sharply.
Draco did not respond immediately. He seemed to be rather preoccupied
with jabbing at bricks in the wall. His efforts paid off, as the wall faded away,
revealing a secluded walkway among the towers of Hogwarts. Draco stepped out
onto the path and motioned for her to join him. The way he was acting was so
uncharacteristic of him that it did not seem to be the same Malfoy she had loathed
for seven whole years. No, this Malfoy was uneasy, and strangely tragic. His eyes
seemed to beg for something, yet they would not disclose what.
It frightened her. Hermione despised the unfamiliar and there was nothing
more unfamiliar than a Draco Malfoy who lacked the arrogant confidence that had
become a staple of his personality. Nonetheless, she followed him, wondering if
such an action was indeed a good idea.
"I'm sorry for being so rude earlier," Draco said with an earnest
Something exploded inside Hermione's skull. No matter how forlorn he looked, this was still Malfoy.
"You're sorry? Sorry? For earlier? How much earlier? You've been at it for-" she was interrupted once more.
"I'm sorry for ll seven of those years. I truly am but, I could only say hurtful
things to you. Up until now. This very day, as a matter of fact. All I could do was
say all those terrible things. It was either that or nothing. I just stand the thought of
not knowing you at all. I wanted you to remember me. Because...because I have to
go away and I would rather have you hate me than have no recollection of you at
all,"
The chilling pendant that hung around his neck pressed into his flesh a little
more than usual. Time was running out. Draco inhaled sharply and grasped the
girl's shoulders in with his sweaty hands. Hermione could not help but stare
directly into his fierce eyes. She could not remember a time when they had flared
as they did now.
"Hermione...you must not listen to anyone. You're so talented, you are
practically a genius and so many of the blind fools cannot appreciate you for what
you are. Just know that I always have...and always will,"
Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Draco had leaned in and
placed a gentle kiss on her lips. Hermione's face turned a brilliant shade of scarlet.
Draco smiled a soft and kind smile that seemed out of place on a face that had so
often held a look of cold and vile hatred. He looked so...nice. Nice? He had just
toted her a genius and the only word she could come up with was nice?
She was jolted back to her thoughts when Draco released her shoulders.
He brought a finger to her chin and rested it against her. He spoke again, trying to
sound cheerful, but sounding eerily melancholy.
"Now be a brave girl. Be strong and stay just as you are. If you remember
anything at all about me, let it be this moment and know that you are never alone
and that you are loved,"
The pendant around his neck cracked. It was almost as though he felt it, as if
it was connected to his being. But it was, wasn't it.
He looked at her a final time. Poor Granger, she looked so confused, he had
taken her entirely bur surprise. He wanted to hold her forever, but he never had a
future and therefore, could not have a forever, not even with her.
He leaned over a moment and kissed her forehead tenderly. She was still
staring at him. Her mouth moved, but she seemed unable to summon any words to
her. maybe that was for the best.
"Goodbye now," he said softly.
With that, Draco Malfoy turned around and exited the way he came. leaving
Hermione alone on a secret pathway hidden somewhere amongst the towers of
Hogwarts.
It was the last time she ever saw him.
She managed to collect herself after a moment and made her way after him, but there was no trace of him anywhere. It was as if Draco Malfoy had been spirited away.
END CHAPTER 1
Next chapter will be a flashback. It WILL explain the pendant theme here.
Thanks for Reading!
