Disclaimer -I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros., Bloomsbury, and Scholastic, respectively. All original characters are products of the author. Copyright infringement is not intended.
Draco looked up at Hermione and was met with a face that had fear written all over it. He despised seeing anything except happiness within her dark brown eyes and since their arrangement had started, that emotion wasn't very frequent. However, that wasn't completely his fault, both their lives had got in the way and when they were together they just talked about whatever was happening outside of their hiding place.
In her case, she was fighting for the good of the Wizarding world like a typical Gryffindor. He however was fighting for… well he personally wasn't really fighting for anything. He just tried to do whatever kept him alive the longest. Though lately, he had not really played much of a part from any side.
He felt so powerless. He had so many people to please and they all conflicted with each other. One of those people he knew would be more than happy to take his life if his wants weren't satisfied. That's if you could call the Dark Lord a person.
Suddenly, Draco stood up and snarled in frustration. Ignoring Hermione's startled gasp, he threw a table across the room with great force and stood there. With his chest heaving with anger and emotion, his eyes fixed on the table in the corner which was now broken. Like him.
He felt a hand on his arm and visibly flinched at the warm touch. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a tear fall down Hermione's face as she started to slowly back away in fear. "No… don't." he whispered. He closed his eyes and tried to count to ten. This was what you were supposed to do in these situations, right? One… two… by the count of three, arms had snaked their way around his waist and the familiar frizz of Hermione's hair tickled him against his neck. "Hold me" he said stupidly. She murmured something in response but he wasn't listening. He pulled her tight around him and let the tears fall into her hair. He lost himself in her sweet scent.
When had everything become so complicated?
As he stood there in the embrace, he thought back to before he had come into hiding with Hermione.
He remembered his first day at Hogwarts. The whole of Slytherin was excited to have the Malfoy heir in their house and had been taken in by all his stories on his wealth, his home, his prosperous family and most of all his links to some of the most powerful wizards who existed. None of them knew however that Draco had grown up around the Dark Arts and knew more magic than they could ever hope to know. At the time Draco had thought that this made him impressive and one day he too would be just as great and powerful as his father. How wrong he was. He had thought he was so tough walking round with his own body guards; Crabbe and Goyle were brawny but brainless. He could walk through the corridors hexing anyone he saw and nobody would bat an eyelid. If they dared confront him, they would regret the day they lived. Draco Malfoy saw himself as the King of Hogwarts, the one everyone would fear. Fear of a name creates fear of the thing itself. Everybody feared the name Draco Malfoy. Throughout his time at school, he had slowly become more and more popular, especially with his appointment as the new Seeker on the House Quidditch team. That had been the making of him.
Of course, things hadn't stayed so easy and care free for long. His popularity soon dipped by Sixth Year.
For some reason becoming a death eater, defecting soon after and running into hiding with a Muggle born was frowned upon by some. He was never clear on Hermione's voluntary actions to help him leave the inner circle of Death Eaters, because it was extremely risky to her life. However what he was clear on was that he would be forever in his debt to her and whatever happened, he knew that things wouldn't be the same between them.
Draco wondered what Harry and Ron were doing without their beloved best friend. They weren't the Golden Trio without Hermione. He also wondered if she ever felt lonely without them. She and Draco spent almost 20 hours a day together and he didn't know if it was worth it. They were just both now waiting for the highly anticipated final battle. It was inevitable that it would come soon. This sparring between the Dark Lord and famous Harry Potter couldn't last forever. If things had been different for him, he wouldn't hesitate to fight on Potter's side. The right side. No matter what his family said.
"I wish I'd never grown up." Draco muttered. Hermione only embraced him tighter, as any friend would.
Friends. Granger and Malfoy were friends. The Pureblood and the Muggle born. Since going into hiding with her, they had become increasingly close. But for a while now, Draco admitted to himself he wanted more. All his life he had feared loneliness and he wondered that if the circumstances were different, would he have feelings for her?
Pulling away slightly, he stared at her soulful eyes glistening with tears. He stared at her delicate white hands around his waist, and then he gazed longingly at her lips which were slightly chapped from her teeth biting it in times of worry.
Who cares if circumstances were different?
Draco tipped her chin up gently with his thumb and index finger, leaned in slightly and gently pressed his lips against hers.
Sparks jolted through him like lightning, and all the defensive walls he had built up over the years came down.
Lust created sparks, but only love could make Draco Malfoy become completely undone.
Authors Note -When I was writing this, I was listening to Breathe Me by Sia, Safe and Sound by Taylor Swift and also Innocent by Taylor Swift. Hence all the embracing and tears and what not. Hope you enjoyed it!
