"You never really leave a person you love, part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind." - Unknown
The boy held the trembling girl in a strong embrace, consoling her. She buried her tear-stained face in his chest, clinging to his warmth and his arms. As she wept, he wiped the tears from her red eyes and spoke. His voice shook as he choked back wet tears.
"This is for the best. We knew this couldn't continue forever. If we stayed together, everything that we hold dear would be torn apart. We have to move on. You have someone that will love you endlessly, and I have someone who will care for me. I know this is hard, but we will both endure this." The girl lifted her head to meet his sad grey eyes.
"I know", she softy said, "I am going to miss you will all my heart. How will I live without you?" He pulled the girl into one last embrace, his tears spilling onto her soft brown curls.
"I will always love you Hermione. A part of my soul belongs to you."
"I will never stop loving you Draco. Promise me that you'll never forget-"
"Hermione! For the third time, what color should the tablecloths be in the reception hall?"
Hermione Granger's memory suddenly vanished as her head snapped up to face the impatient eyes of her fiancé and the frustrated stare of the wedding planner.
"Oh, sorry, um green will look nice."
"No, Hermione, green isn't one of the color options," spoke Ron, obviously irritated, "Ms. Pemviord just told us we can have lavender, red or gold."
"Red will look nice, don't you agree Ron?" Hermione questioned.
"Yes, make it red Ms. Pemviord," Ron said sweetly to their wedding planner, after rolling his eyes at his fiancé.
"Well the planning is going quite well. That should be enough for today, loves. I think we shall go forward with food tasting later in the week," chirped Ms. Pemviord, scribbling notes into her planner, "Have a splendid day you too!"
Ron and Hermione graciously thanked Ms. Pemviord and hurried out of the small office. After walking out the front door of the office building, Ron grabbed Hermione by the arm and faced her.
"What the bloody hell happened in there Hermione? Your mind was off in the Canary Islands! Hermione lowered her eyes to the ground as guilt she began to fill up with gilt.
"I'm really sorry Ron, My mind was just thinking about, well, work. I've been terribly busy lately," she replied. I honestly have been busy at work.
Hermione raised her head to meet Ron's and gave him a wide grin.
"Even you have to admit its terribly boring Ronald!" A smile spread across his face.
"I know it is Hermione. I'm sorry. I guess this whole wedding thing is stressing me out," he replied. Hermione wrapped her hands around his waist and planted a kiss on his lips.
"I'm sure the wedding will be wonderful! We just have to get through the planning stages," Hermione reassured him.
"You're right Hermione. Let's put today behind us. How about getting a bite to eat?"
"Sounds perfect Ron," she replied, kissing him again. They turned and began to walk hand in hand down the pavement, with Hermione's mind refocused on the present.
What a day! thought Hermione. First having breakfast at the Weasley's, then planning the wedding for hours, and finally having a romantic dinner with Ron. As she opened the door to her small two-bedroom flat, she threw down her bag immediately surveyed her living room. Oh, what a mess! Papers were strewn all over the carpet, wedding invitations were scattered on every single piece of furniture, and pictures of wedding dress after wedding dress were visible in piles covering the area rug. Hermione had no idea the mess had elevated to his degree. With a flick of her wand, papers flew into the air, invitations were stacked into neat alphabetical piles, and the wedding photos were organized into tidy rows on her coffee table. That's better.
Between Hermione's important job at the ministry as Head of the Regulation and Control Magical Creatures Department and planning a large wedding with Ron, the mess in her living room hadn't had much of an effect on her.
After approving the tidy room, Hermione went to the kitchen to make a pot of warm tea. After she had a steaming cup in her hand, she went over to the heap of papers on her desk, and began to look through them. Being the Head of the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures Department, it was Hermione's job to monitor activity throughout Britain and the rest of the wizarding world. The mass of papers contained minor muggle sightings of various creatures whose minds had to be erased, applications from wizards to apply for various creatures, and the activity of the magical creature populations throughout the world. Nothing looked too serious today, however. Maybe the most worrisome was a man who claimed his muggle neighbor had caught him giving a package to his owl, but nothing too serious.
After what seemed like hours of sorting through stacks of reports, Hermione stood up from her desk, ready to get a well deserved rest. However, on her way to her bedroom she caught a glimpse of an opened Daily Prophet on her kitchen table.
She grabbed the paper and fell into a chair. The moving pictures on the front page of the Daily Prophet seemed to tell no stories of any interest. Hermione flipped through section after section, stopping briefly at a story that caught her interest. Halfway "Simple Spells to Success at Home," Hermione noticed the note that had been laid next to the paper. In scribbled handwriting, the note read,
Hermione! Here's a Prophet from yours truly! Take a look at section G!
Love, Ron
Having no idea what Ron was referring to, Hermione flipped to section G. Horrified, Hermione came face to face with a large portrait of herself, smiling with Ron. Bewildered, her eyes came across the title:
Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger Engaged!
Long Time Couple, Auror Ron Weasley and Head of the Regulation and Control of Magical Department Leader Hermione Granger are engaged! The couple, along with their friend the famous Harry Potter met at their first year of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The three stayed friends throughout all seven years, and remained together on their mission to defeat Voldemort. Having been official since Voldemort's demise, the couple is still together and madly in love. "It's been great, having your mate as your best friend, it really is." His fiancé was not present at the interview. Both famous for their aiding Harry Potter in his killing of Voldemort, fame has not seemed to affect their relationship. "We still get the occasional; you are Harry Potter's friends! But it doesn't bother us at all." Newlyweds Harry Potter and his wife Ginny Weasley, who happens to be Ron's sister, proclaim their happiness for their friends. "We are ecstatic! We've all been waiting for a wedding for ages!" says Potter's wife Ginny Weasley, who is a close friend of Hermione Granger. "I so happy for them!" A date has not been officially set, but Weasley claims that they discussed a summer wedding. Best wishes to the happy couple!
Hermione nearly dropped the paper. Seeing her face take up an entire section of the Daily Prophet came as a shock. She was not one to have the entire wizarding word to read about her romantic personal life. Hermione just wasn't expecting a giant picture of her and Ron plastered in the Prophet! She wouldn't have minded the article, if the picture was a tad smaller and the writer didn't go on and on sounding like her and Ron were a bunch of lovesick teenagers. She could see the wizards and witches coming up to her at work tomorrow, offering their congratulations and saying how in love they were. Oh Ron! You knew I would hate this!
Standing up, Hermione grabbed the paper and headed straight for her bedroom. She desperately needed sleep. Hermione threw herself on her bed, tossing the prophet on the floor. She laid face up, staring at the ceiling and replaying the article again in her head. Madly in love? Oh, it sounds just as if we were at Hogwarts again…
After contemplating the article for some time, Hermione reached to turn off her lamp. Just as she was about to flick the switch, something caught her eye in the Daily Prophet. A small article in the corner, with a moving image of tall, slender man shaking hands and grinning with another plump one grabbed her attention. Cameras were flashing, people were clapping, and writers from various papers were trying to wedge themselves in to talk to the pair. Adjacent to the slender man was the Minister of Magic, Terence Fletcher, and a beautiful woman with flowing waste-length blonde hair. Hermione's eyes widened at the bolded title.
Head of The Department of International Magical Cooperation, Draco Malfoy, Makes Treaty with Bulgarian Minister Ivan Karnov
Hermione almost fell out of her bed. The sound of his name caused her stomach to twist.
There he was, standing just like she remembered. He still wore the same smirk, and his silky blond hair still hung by his piercing grey eyes. He hadn't changed at all. Hermione had barely seen him since Hogwarts. She knew of his position at the ministry, and caught an occasional glimpse of him at conferences and meetings, but she hadn't spoken with him since their departing.
Him. Draco Malfoy. Her first true love.
He was the one who had made constantly bring a smile to her face. He was the one who had comforted her when her fears of what was to come overwhelmed her. He was the one who she had held as he cried for the mission he knew he could not complete. It was he who had taken half of her soul with him when he left after Dumbledore's death. He became her reason for living when she was on the mission to defeat the darkest wizard of all time. He was the one who had pulled her closer to him when the both came to the realization that their love had to remain a secret, and they could never be together.
The memories felt like daggers stabbing her chest. All the effort to forget them seemed to wash away. She became overwhelmed, feeling like she was drowning, deeper and deeper into the past.
Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger had a secret love affair at Hogwarts. They had met in secret, unknown to anyone. They remained together through the tragic events of the Triwizard Tournament, and during Umbridge's reign at Hogwarts. They had made a public display of hatred by day, and had held each other by night. Everything had fallen apart during sixth year. Draco began to change in front of Hermione's very eyes, turning cold, and becoming distant. He would cry often, but would not tell Hermione why. It was that devastating night where he had told her what he had to do, and that he would be leaving her for some time. As they held for one last embrace, Hermione watched through tears, as he left her to perform the task that Voldemort had instructed him to do. She remained as strong as she possibly could while her, Harry and Ron had searched the horcruxes. Once Harry had defeated Voldemort, they knew that remaining together would cause too much devastation to their friends and family.
Hermione had gone with Ron, for she did have feelings for him. Maybe not the same feelings, but feelings nevertheless. Draco had hundreds of gorgeous pure-blood women to choose from, and they went their separate ways. Hermione had repressed every single memory and thought that she had of their time together. She went on, living a happy and fulfilling life with Ron, and had enjoyed every second of it.
But something was happening that she had not expected. Hermione was constantly getting flashbacks and memories in her head. It was occurring more frequently, and she had no way of controlling it. The thoughts came like an unseen storm, unexpected and unplanned. She would find herself lost in memories that had repressed for years.
It had happened today, at the wedding planning session, a memory of their departure. Emotions had flooded her body, and she was brought back to the painful moment.
As these thoughts took over her mind, Hermione picked up the paper and read over the article.
Yesterday, The Head of the International Magical Cooperation Draco Malfoy signed a negotiations treaty with Bulgarian Minister Ivan Karnov. Both sporting smiles of a successful meeting, the two shook hands, and discussed their decisions with British Minister Terence Fletcher. The two discussed relations of the two Wizarding nations, and decided that the nations would be close allies, and come to each other's aid when needed.
It is not a secret of Mr. Malfoy's success in his head position, or of his close relationship with Minister of Magic Terence Fletcher. Rumors have circulated that when Fletcher retires, Malfoy will be given the position. Malfoy was accompanied by the beautiful Daphenne Albertine, daughter of the French Minister of Magic. Malfoy has been seen with various beauties over the years, and this meeting was no different. He just announced last month, that he had ended his brief relationship with Ukrainian Auror Trina Belenoff. Malfoy's success is no secret and the signing of this treaty is just another example of more greatness to come.
Hermione stared blankly at the photo. He had moved on, and was living a very successful life. She couldn't think about the past. Not now. Not when she was planning her future at this very moment with someone who loved her completely. Throwing the paper to the floor, Hermione switched off her light and buried herself in her covers.
This has to stop. He moved on, so should I.
And with that, Hermione Granger drifted off to sleep, leaving all memories, and thinking of pleasant responses to all the charming wedding congratulations that she would receive tomorrow.