Disclaimer: The characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the song belongs to Death Cab for Cutie.
"A Lack of Color"
Twenty-six year old Hermione Granger sat on a bench in the park, sobbing over the day's events. How could I ever have been so stupid? To go and fall in love with Draco Malfoy. That was practically setting myself up for heartbreak. Why was I so stupid? She thought to herself.
After the final war ended between Harry and Voldemort six years ago, she became closer to Draco Malfoy. None of her friends could understand why. He was an ex-Death Eater; sure, he turned "good" and helped the Order at the end of the war. But people were still skeptical. Hermione was different. When it came to Draco, she was even more curious than she was back in Hogwarts, learning about Blast-Ended Skrewts and Arithmancy. She saw the good in Draco—the kind of good that no one else saw.
Hermione went to the ends of the Earth to befriend Draco Malfoy. She figured since they were both co-workers at the Ministry, this wouldn't be too hard. At first, it was the soft "Hello" and a smile when he entered the room. She remembered his face the first time she had spoken to him after the war. In his eyes, she saw surprise, then the hint of a smile as he nodded back curtly. This went on for about a month and a half until she decided she should do more to make him feel welcome. And so, one day after work, Hermione asked Draco to join her for a cup of coffee. He was quiet as she chatted animatedly about work and the new Death Eater cases they received.
Flashback
"Can you believe there are still thirty Death Eaters out there? Pretty soon Azkaban is going to have to expand. Do you think they're planning something else? I mean, the war just ended… I suppose there's still time to wreak havoc and all that. What do you think, Draco?" Hermione rambled.
"Why are you doing this?" He asked softly.
"Doing what?" She replied.
"This! Greeting me at work! Asking me out for coffee! If you pity me, Granger, I don't need it! You were probably put up to this, weren't you? To see if I'm still a Death Eater?" He raised his voice.
"No! I wasn't put up to it! And excuse me if I thought you were alone and needed friends." Hermione said angrily.
"If I needed friends, then I would've asked now, wouldn't I?"
Hermione scoffed. "Have you seen yourself? You're not exactly the friendliest person in the world, Malfoy. No one would want to be your friend."
"Then why would you?"
"Because maybe I care."
Draco's expression softened when she said this and they continued to sip their coffee in silence.
End Flashback
After that day at the coffee shop, Draco had become a lot friendlier. Every morning, Hermione would say "Hi" to him and smile and he'd smile back. Hermione would never admit this to him, but his smile was handsome and made him even more attractive, if possible. They began to make small talk on their breaks.
One day, Draco surprised her by asking her out for lunch. He took her to a nice restaurant and paid for her meal. They talked about books, among other random things and they found that they had a lot more in common than they had thought. It was only the beginning of a blossoming friendship.
The more time Hermione spent with Draco, the more she found herself falling for his sense of humor and his charm. She enjoyed every moment they spent together. They always had the most intellectual conversations and it seemed as if he always knew the right things to say to make her laugh until her stomach hurt.
For Draco, Hermione was the only who was able to break down his wall that he put up after the war. He had come over to the "good" side in the middle of the war and volunteered to be a spy for the Order. Everyone was skeptical and didn't bother starting conversations with him unless it was about their latest mission. Hermione was different though. She had tried to be friends with him then. But he just blocked her out like he blocked everyone out. He only wanted to be free from the darkness; free from the evil; free from his father. After the war, there was really no point in being social with anyone. Nobody cared.
Then, along came Hermione. And she was the only one who cared enough to make him feel like he belonged somewhere. The more time he spent with her, the more he regretted his past. How could I have ever called this girl a filthy mudblood? He thought to himself. She is probably one of the most perfect human beings I've ever known in my entire life.
Soon, it seemed as if they were inseparable and Draco seemed to have replaced Harry and Ron in Hermione's life. They went out to breakfast before work, they went out to lunch together; they went out to eat after; they spent all their break times together. Harry and Ron weren't too happy about their best friend spending so much time with the "enemy" but they got over it after Hermione ignored them for a month and a half.
Everyone could see that they were in love with each other. They were just too shy to admit it to each other. Not to mention the fact that they were both afraid of rejection. Hermione smiled as she remembered the day they finally admitted their feelings to each other.
Flashback
It was a Saturday afternoon and Hermione and Draco both didn't have work. Draco had owled Hermione, asking if she wanted to take a walk in the park. Hermione owled him back, saying that she'd meet him there in ten minutes. Could today be the day? Hermione thought anxiously. She fixed her hair with a quick spell and looked over her outfit—jeans and a t-shirt. No… too casual. She quickly changed into a nice sundress that fell to her knees and had flower patterns all over it. She put on light make up and quickly apparated to the park.
Hermione made her way to the oak tree where they usually met. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched Draco approach. He looked as handsome as ever—his hair falling into his eyes. His grey shirt brought out the color of his stormy grey silver eyes that always sparkled whenever he laughed. She could see the outlines of his toned body and she let out the breath she had been holding.
"Hey." He whispered softly, giving her a brief hug.
"Hi." She whispered back, thinking only of how wonderful it was to be in his arms. They separated and began to walk on the cobblestone path.
"So… How has your Saturday been going?" Draco asked.
"Oh, you know me, I've been cleaning the house and reading books. I just bought this new one from Flourish and Blotts. It's fantastic, all about wizards in the muggle world and how they adapt." Hermione gushed.
"Typical Hermione" Draco chuckled.
Hermione scoffed. "What have you been doing all day then, Mister?"
"Oh, you know, drinking Firewhisky and having a party with all those rabbit girls." Draco joked. Hermione burst out laughing. She had once described Playboy to Draco and he could not understand why there was a "bunny" as the logo. And those girls in those rabbit ears. Who would do such a thing? Certainly, not my Hermione. Wait… my Hermione? "I've been catching up on some reading as well. Though, my book has nothing about wizards or muggle worlds. I've been reading Charles Dickens."
"There's the typical Draco we all know and love." They both burst out laughing. Does she love me? Really?
"Anyway… uh, Hermione… the real reason I asked you to come to the park with me was because I wanted to talk to you…"
"About what?"
"Umm… about… how I feel… about you… How I've been feeling for the past few months with you." Hermione could've sworn her heart stopped beating. "Go on," She urged.
"Well, the truth is… I've fallen madly in love with you, Hermione Jane Granger, and I'm so scared. I've never felt this way about anyone before. You're the first thing I think of when I wake up in the morning and I fall asleep, thinking and dreaming about you at night. When I'm at work, my thoughts stray to you and I often find myself wondering what you're doing at that moment and if you're thinking about me too. I love you, Hermione."
Hermione let out the breath she was holding. This all seemed too surreal. She had hoped that she was the center of his attention for a while now. And now, it's real. And he was in love… with her!
"Say something." Draco pleaded.
"I love you, too, Draco." Hermione's voice was barely a whisper. His face lit up and he stared into her eyes. Then, without warning, he bent down and kissed her. He felt her smile against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. The scene was perfect—worthy of a postcard with the whole park, green and blossoming, behind them.
End Flashback
They were so in love and so absorbed in each other. They were the envy of their friends. They were perfect for each other and no one would argue against it. They were so similar, yet so different, but it was their differences that made them work.
Two years later, Draco proposed to her. It was so romantic. He took her on a moonlit picnic and had somehow conjured up some stars that spelled out "Marry Me" in the sky. She remembered leaping on him and kissing him until they were both breathless, breaking apart only to whisper, "I'd be honored to. I love you." in his ear. They spent the night at his flat, snuggling on the couch in front of the fireplace, whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears.
They had both agreed to wait to be married. They were young, their futures and careers just starting. Hermione had moved in with Draco. They were practically married. Everything was perfect, or so Hermione thought.
It was earlier, on this day, that Hermione came home only to find all of Draco's belongings gone and a note on the kitchen counter.
"Hermione, my love.
Words cannot express how sorry I am. I'm sorry I left without saying anything. I'm sorry that I can't marry you; sorry that I can't have children with you and grow old with you. Hermione, we are two people from two different worlds. And even though we have survived these past two years together, it just won't work out. You have such a bright future ahead of you. And you don't need an ex-Death Eater like me holding you down.
I will forever be grateful for having you in my life, even for such a short (but at the same time, long) time. You were the only one who could see me as I truly was. You were the only one who actually took the time to break down my walls to find the person underneath. It was so hard to believe that someone as wonderful as you could ever want someone like me. Know that though I am not there with you now, I will always love you. No one could ever compare to you; your bright eyes; your beautiful smile; your grace and your intelligence.
My last request from you is that you marry someone who is worthy of you. Live a wonderful life. Maybe I'll see you around sometime… but you won't know that it's me.
Yours, always and forever,
Draco Malfoy"
Hermione broke down in tears. She had no idea what to say or do. She didn't know where he could have gone. The only thing she knew was that she needed to him to be complete. She didn't know how long she was on the floor. Glancing up at the clock, she noticed it read 7:03. If Draco were here, we'd be done with dinner and we'd probably be laying on the couch together, talking about our day and catching up on some reading. And with that thought, a fresh wave of tears hit Hermione.
After a long, hot shower, Hermione climbed into bed, hugging Draco's pillow against her body. She inhaled, smelling his scent, and drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep. Suddenly, she imagined a pair of familiar soft lips kissing her cheek and then her own lips.
"Draco," she whispered. Then suddenly awoke. "That's not possible. It can't be Draco. He left me. But it was so real."
She turned onto her side and gasped when she saw Draco standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. The moonlight danced over his pale, soft features. His eyes shined and were full of love. Hermione took in his appearance and closed her eyes.
"Hermione, love, what's wrong?" Draco's voice was as perfect and as smooth as ever in this crazy dream of hers.
"I'm trying to remember your face in my mind. And your voice. Once I open up my eyes, you'll be gone. You're just a dream. You left me. You don't love me anymore." Hermione was trying to assure herself.
"Hermione, it's really me. I came back. I realized how horrible even just nine hours is without you. I can't live without you. Whenever I close my eyes, I see your face and I hear your voice and it makes me wonder how I could ever consider leaving you." Draco whispered, reaching a hand out to gently caress her cheek.
"How could you do that to me? Do you know how upset I was?" Hermione whispered back harshly, pulling away.
"I can imagine. I felt the same way. But I realized that I love you so much and that I couldn't bear to be away from you anymore. You are my life now." He took her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes. She saw everything: love, adoration, sincerity, fear.
"Do you mean it?" She asked.
"This is fact, not fiction." He answered, his eyes dancing merrily. She giggled as she acknowledged the corny connection he made to their love of books, one of the many interests they shared.
"I love you, Draco Malfoy." Hermione whispered.
"I love you more than you could ever imagine, Hermione Granger." Draco whispered back. And with that, he pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, letting her know how sorry he was that he ever hurt her and how much he loved her.
A/N: I couldn't help but throw in the Twilight quote towards the end. :P It's not much of a song fic but I didn't want to make it that way. This is my second fanfiction…/ I'm not sure if I like it much or not. So tell me if you did!