Content
I don't own Harry Potter
They were walking along a street in Diagon Alley going opposite directions. Neither paying attention to their surroundings and with a small 'oaf!' ran into each other.
He quickly dusted himself off and helped up the woman he knocked down. Upon seeing her face, surprise and memories flooded his eyes and expression. "Are you… happy?" He asked eventually as he looked into her eyes.
She looked at him and her heart stopped beating. "I am… content." She said looking down at her hands. Finally she met his eyes again and the hidden meaning clear in her eyes. "I haven't been happy, truly happy, in a very long time… and you?"
"Me what?" He asked, knowing exactly what she meant.
"Are you happy?" His eyes never left hers, and they stood less than a foot apart.
"I am… content as well…. Do you-?"
"All the time."
"I haven't forgotten."
"I never will."
"What if we-"
"Ran away together?"
"We could go."
"They'd find us."
"Would it matter?"
"… It would to them."
"So… where does this leave us?" He asked swallowing.
"I suppose… it leaves us being content for the rest of our lives." She looked down then as her heart beat wildly in her chest.
"I suppose it does." He replied looking down as well. They both glanced back up at the exact same time and their gazes held.
"Good day… Draco." She said and began to slip past him, brushing her hand against his as she did.
"Goodbye… Hermione." He replied looking down at his hand. The hand she had touched, and the hand that was still shooting sparks from it.
Their engagements had been announced in the paper on the same day, both taking up equal space on the front page and both equally as well read. Their weddings were planned for the same day, at the same time, and equally attended. Hermione to Ron, and Draco to Astoria. They had done that unknowingly on purpose.
The weddings were to be the social event of the century, next to the wedding of Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley of course. Both were equally as grand, and both the groom of one and the bride of the other were content with the way things had turned out.
Hermione sighed as she looked out the widow of Ginny's room at the burrow. Today was supposed to be the happiest day of her life, but all she could think about was the man all the way across England preparing for his own wedding.
She loved him. There was no getting past that. They had both chosen different paths, and sadly they went in opposite directions. They had both hoped that after the war things would have picked back up, but he had been sentenced to a year in Azkaban and by the time he was out it was too late. The entire Wizarding world had already assumed that Hermione and Ron were dating and though it wasn't entirely true at the time, Draco didn't think to ask Hermione.
She had waited for him that day. And the next. She had waited for a whole month for him to visit her once he was out, but he never did. So she finally accepted Ron's offer. By the time Draco had found out he knew he had lost his chance. His parents had already picked him out a suitable wife that didn't care about his stint in Azkaban, and Hermione had done what was expected of her.
Neither would ever forget the passionate whirlwind romance they had had during their last three years at Hogwarts. Just as neither would forget the first and last time they would ever speak to each other that intimately again.
It was almost time for Hermione to walk down the aisle so she quickly sat down at the vanity in Ginny's room and checked herself once more in the mirror. She would have thought herself beautiful if it weren't for the sad glint in her eyes. Out of the corner of her eye Hermione saw something materialize onto the counter.
She picked up the folded piece of parchment and opened it slowly.
You'll always be Granger to me.
-D
Hermione's eyes filled and a sad smile graced her features. She folded the parchment again and placed it inside the beaten and battered copy of Hogwarts A History she always kept with her.
"What's that?" A woman's voice asked from the direction of the door.
Hermione turned quickly to see Ginny standing there looking at her curiously. "Nothing," she said with a tight smile and placed the book back in her bag.
"If you say so," Ginny shrugged, "It's time by the way. They sent me to come get you."
Hermione nodded and turned to follow Ginny down the aisle to contentness, glancing back only once at the book.
She wished they had run away together.
Thoughts? The reason for this one-shot is that I was in a sort of melancholy and was inspired to write this! Think of it as the extended Dramione epilogue to the Deathly Hallows. The reason Dramione didn't happen in the books (or why we never saw it ;)) Thanks for reading!
~chocoyum4~
