The Letter That Was Never Sent.
By Time and Life 21
Draco couldn't stand it.
After Hogwarts had been rebuilt, the new Headmistress of Hogwarts, Minerva McGonagall, had sent out letters to those who have missed their year of Hogwarts because of the War.
He took that chance and wanted to finish his schooling. He had an idea of what he wanted to go into, but wasn't sure if he might make it. But he was determined. Being a Healer would take a while. He just had to get through the prejudice that was against him.
That first week when he was back he knew that many of the younger and same age students gave him a wide berth.
Very few of the older Slytherins had come back from the war. Blaise Zambini was one of them. So was Daphne and Astoria Greengrass. Theo Nott came back after defying his father last year when he got out of the county to get away from the war. And there were very few that were sorted into Slytherin this year.
He would keep an eye on the younger years in his house and give them guidance and protection against the other houses who might pick on them. Many people in his house didn't have a choice like him to become death eaters or death eater sympathizers.
He wore long sleeved shirts now. He refused to wear short sleeves that would show his dark mark. Though faded to a very faint grey color, it was still there.
After that first week, something caught his eye in the library as he studied for his ancient runes homework. A head of bushy curls was in the corner of the library and he felt his heart beat faster.
Hermione Granger.
She was pretty much a hero in the Wizarding world now. The Golden Trio's status has left them with a status that was pretty much untouchable.
Memories came flashing back to his home…the drawing room where he was forced to see her tortured by his insane aunt. If he could change things, he would have stopped her…but he couldn't.
For the longest time, he was curiously attracted to the bookish and brave Gryffindor. But he knew that she would always be out of reach.
He remembered back in first year, before the sorting, on the train, she was just as wild haired and the buckteeth that she had was one of her flaws. But she was someone who he wouldn't mind being friend with, but he didn't know if she was pureblood or not.
He knew he lost a chance and anything with her the moment the sorting hat put her in Gryffindor.
His malice and animosity covered what feelings he had for her on the inside. He would have walked up to her and asked if she would like to study together, put the past behind them, but he noticed something. One her left hand, was a ring. An engagement ring.
He stopped breathing all together.
He wished things were different. He wished that he wasn't a Malfoy. He wished that he wasn't raised with the pureblood ideals that his father had taught him. All these years of picking on her, hexing her, and teasing her…he knew that it was never meant to be.
He hid himself at the far end of the library, hiding away. His fists were clenched and he knew he lost. Weasley must've asked her to marry him. Then again, it was better off this way.
"You haven't told her." A dreamy voice spoke quietly to him.
He opened up his eyes and looked to his side and saw Luna Lovegood. The girl who was stuck in the dungeons of Malfoy Manor. He remembered visiting her to make sure she wasn't dead or worse. He tried to make it easier for her and some other prisoners, but just enough so that he wasn't caught.
"Told who?" He muttered.
If there was one thing about Luna Lovegood, she was perspective. She knows things that not very many people would take her word for.
"You haven't told Hermione that you love her?" She smiled at him.
"Tch, you don't know what you are saying Lovegood. Going a bit Loony there? I don't love Granger. She still the insufferable know it all." He sneered at her.
But that didn't deter her.
"Oh I see…you are still pretending that you don't love her?" She spoke softly.
That broke his heart.
He leaned against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. Tears gathered in his eyes and they leaked out.
He had to. He had to pretend that he never had any feelings for Hermione Granger. Because he knew that he was a lost cause. It was never to be. A Slytherin and a Gryffindor? Forget it. A Pureblood from a prestigious family and a MuggleBorn from a different world? Ha.
The name Malfoy was dragged through the mud. It will be a while before he could bring it back to light.
"What do you want Lovegood?" He croaked.
"I'm sorry that you never told her. Perhaps some things are better left unsaid." She said as she reach out for his hand and held it.
Not romantically, but as a comfort to know that she would stand with him without judgmental eyes or actions.
"Not like I have a choice in the matter. She would marry Weasley after we graduate anyways." He said as he closed his eyes letting the last of the tears out.
After that the two blonds stood in silence. Never speaking more.
Later that night, Draco took out a sheet of parchment.
It was a letter that he knew he would never send. But it was something that would give him comfort that she would be in good hands.
Dear Hermione Granger,
Though this letter would never see the light of day, I thought it it would something that would hopefully have you see what feelings that I have for you.
I love you, Hermione Granger.
You may think that I must be crazy. You must be thinking that I must've still hated you after all this time. But I don't. To be honest, I didn't thing that the feeling I had for you were real. a small crush suddenly exploded and I couldn't help BUT notice you after all these years. Maybe I realized my feelings for you after you punched me back in Third year. Or maybe when I saw you at the Yule Ball on Viktor Krum's arms. You were beautiful that night…I couldn't look away. Or maybe sixth year when I could over hear you defending me against Potter's accusations that I was up to something. He wasn't wrong.
But I was too cowardly and proud to even admit it all. I never wanted to be a Death Eater. I never wanted to be part of a Legacy that lead me down a road of ignorance, pain, and servitude. It was either me or my family to die at the hands of a madman.
When I saw you bleeding on the floor of the Manor, I saw your blood. Just as red as mine. Everything I had been taught had been a lie. I may have changed too late for you. And we would never be together. It breaks me that you would never know what I have been feeling for you all these years.
I wish things have been different. I wish that I would have been yours, instead of Weasley. But you can't change the past. I hope that he treats you well. I hope that he would never turn his back on you. I hope that he showers you with love and you have a happy life with him. I may not like him, but he is a better man than I ever will be.
Perhaps…things are better this way.
Perhaps it is better to know that my love is unrequited for you. I hope you have a good life, Hermione Granger. I hope that I will too.
Love, Draco Malfoy.
8 Months Later...
It was a painful process. Letting Hermione Granger go. The only other person who knew of his struggle to let her go, was Luna Lovegood.
She became a good friend to him. Helping him get through a lot of things during the school year. They may not have hung out, but it was nice to have a friend on his side. Eventually, his love for Hermione Granger started to become a ghost of a feeling for him. It would have poisoned him for the rest of his life if he held on to her.
In the Slytherin common room, he was up late finishing his request to become an apprentice healer to St. Mungos. He was hoping that he would be accepted.
He heard something coming down the stairs and he looked up to see who it was.
It was Astoria Greengrass. she was wearing a large heavy robe that looked like it would swallow her up and she looked tired. She noticed Draco on one of the couches and nodded at him.
"I didn't think anyone was down here this late." She said as she took a seat across from him.
"I don't get much sleep." Draco said honestly.
"Well you are not the only one." She said as she lifted her right arm and pushed her auburn fairway from her face.
He noticed something. Something was stitched on her arm.
"What happened to your arm?" He asked.
She froze and looked at him with a look that could have vaporized him then and there, but it eventually softened when she realized that he was just curious.
"It was something that happened in the war. It's not that big of a deal." She shrugged.
At the mention of the war, he grimaced. He also felt ashamed. After everything that has happened even the neutral family's like the Greengrass's were targeted.
"I'm sorry." He said looking blankly down at the paper.
"It's fine…I mean, we're all alive right? I mean…yeah, the war was bad, but for those who were on opposite sides…well from what I've heard you were not exactly willing were you." She pointed out.
She was blunt, he'll give her that.
"You didn't have a choice." She spoke again. "But at least you are still alive. Marked…but alive." She said as she rolled up her sleeve of her right arm and showed him what it was.
He was shocked at the words that was on her. Stitched there were the words "Blood Traitor." It was gruesome. Like something that shouldn't be there on her skin.
He unconsciously looked at his dark mark.
"So were were both marked in the end. But at least…we learn from the past that something like this should never happen again." She spoke wisely.
"What are you? Slytherin or Ravenclaw?" He asked lifting up an eyebrow.
"Actually, the Hat wanted me in Gryffindor." She scoffed. "There was no way that I was leaving my sister alone in Slytherin. No matter how well she can defend herself." She smiled.
"It was worth it though. My family defied Voldemort and one of the Death Eaters used me as an example. Oh well, that is the past." She smiled painfully.
"I'm sorry." He said honestly.
"Don't be. I'm rather glad that this war is over. We can start clean. We could work for a better tomorrow." Astoria sighed. "I'm hoping to be a curse-breaker. Daphne thinks its a waste of time, but I'm up for the challenge."
She smiled at the fireplace. She was rather optimistic for going through such a war. He never thought that she would think of things this way.
"That's a tall order for you to get the job. You sure you can handle it?" He asked.
"Well, I did use some runic based curses to protect some of the younger students from battle last year. I'm sure I can handle some more." She smirked.
After that simple conversation, the two of them settle into a comfortable and companionable silence.
Eventually Astoria and Draco kept meeting up at nights to talk about things other than the War that has happened. They talked about hobbies, their likes and dislikes, their dreams.
Draco had come to enjoy Astoria's company. She was brilliant in her own way, ambitious and determined to work hard and become a curse-breaker after she graduates and nothing was going to stop her. She was also kind. He saw a soft side to her as she comforted some of the younger Slytherins who were picked by other students who were from other houses. It was then he realized that he like Astoria a little more than just friendship.
Eventually the two of them got together. They married in the spring of 2004.
After that, things went smoothly on from there. He had become a Healer in the pediatrics ward of St. Mungo's. Astoria became a curse breaker and she was proud of her job.
In the year 2005, She was also pregnant with his child. She had announced it just when he came home from work. She was blushing and shy about it, but he was elated that he was going to be a father. He was going to make sure that his child was never like him. A spoiled brat. He would teach this child that there are always choices and that he would raise this child with affection and love that the child should deserve.
One day, Draco was up in Malfoy Manor's attic looking for a book that contains many older healing spells that might assist him in his career when he came across his old school trunk.
He was filled with nostalgia as he opened it up and looked through it. His old school books were dog eared, his quidditch uniform was folded neatly and still smelled of the outdoors, the books he read, and the letter.
He took this letter out of it's envelope and looked down at it.
After reading it over a few times, he realized that first loves, however unrequited will always have a place in his heart. He has heard that Granger and Weasley have been a very happy couple and he had wished them the best of luck. He then took his wand and used it to set the letter on fire. He has a life with Astoria now.
The past was pass. It doesn't do well to hold onto it. One must stay in the present and work toward the future. It was for the best anyways.
Little did he know that his future son, Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy when he went to Hogwarts, he would become best friends with Albus Severus Potter and Rose Weasley. And his son would eventually date Rose Weasley.
Sometimes fate was funny like that.
TAL21: Okay, I'm a hardcore Dramione shipper, but something caught my eye on pintrest about Draco writing a letter to Hermione about his feelings to her, but never sent it to her. So I decided to make a one-shot about it. Even though I'm not too big of a fan of Ronmione, I can understand that Ron is very loyal and brave in the books. Even if JK spoke that with a little bit of counseling their marriage is a success. I still think Hermione should have went with Draco though. XD Luna was unexpected actually, but I liked her placement in here. I wasn't sure how to work out Astoria but I wanted her to be a bit clever and ambitious for her personality and she has her own share of battle scars from the war. And Of course, Fate comes around and brings Scorpius and Rose together too. I hope that you liked this one shot. Please read my other one shots and stories as well! Please leave detailed reviews and opinions about this story. I really enjoy hearing from my readers. :)
KEEP ON READING AND WRITING! :D