Two Years Later.
Draco finished unpacking his bag before wandering over to the window that overlooked the beach. For the last two years Draco had avoided visiting the coast, it reminded him too much of the time he had spent with Hermione. He had once even considered selling the beach house they used to meet up in, he hadn't set foot inside since that last day he had been there with Hermione. Eventually he decided to keep it, figuring one day he might pluck up the courage to visit the place that held all his best memories.
Looking down at the gorgeous beach, Draco relived the pain of losing Hermione. Deep down he knew it was his own fault that he had lost the witch he was so in love with. It had taken him so long to accept that he loved her that he hadn't had the courage to tell her to her face, instead he had whispered it as she apparated out of his life and he had no idea if she had even heard him.
Draco also knew he should have gone after her right there and then, instead he had gone home and gotten sucked into more wedding plans. It had taken him another three weeks before he realised that he couldn't marry Pansy, he wanted to be with Hermione regardless of what his father would say. Breaking the engagement had been messy, especially dealing with his irate father, but it was something that Draco didn't regret for one moment. He did however regret taking so long to end his engagement.
By the time Draco had called off the wedding and gone to see Hermione she had disappeared. Draco was so desperate to find her he even threw himself on the mercy of Potter and Weasley, practically begging them to tell him where Hermione was. According to Hermione's two friends the witch had gone travelling and they had no idea where she was, Draco wasn't sure if he believed them but for two years they had stuck to exactly the same story.
As Draco watched the people strolling on the sand his eyes fell on the back of a brunette woman with long, curly hair. Instinctively his heart sped up at the sight and with great effort he turned away from the window. Since Hermione's departure Draco had felt the elation often as he thought he had found Hermione, only to have his heart shattered again when the woman in question turned around and he didn't recognise her. By turning away he was stopping his hopes from building up too high, he knew he wasn't going to find Hermione, but that didn't stop him from wishing.
Trying to forget all about the woman outside Draco turned his attention back to the reason he was staying in a muggle hotel for the weekend, he was trying to close a business deal his father had spent ages setting up. Lucius had spent months dealing with the wizard, who was in the potions business, as he looked to extend their own line of products.
At the last minute however the wizard in question had announced he was off on his summer holidays for a month and if Lucius wanted the contract signed he would have to come to him. Lucius was fine with the idea until he learnt the wizard in question was married to a muggle and always holidayed in the muggle world, specifically Shanklin on the Isle of Wight. Lucius wasn't comfortable with spending time around so many muggles so he had passed the buck onto Draco. Draco had argued vehemently against the trip but Lucius was adamant they needed the contract so Draco had found himself booked into the most expensive hotel in Shanklin for the weekend.
Realising he should be getting ready for his meeting Draco headed into the bathroom where he took a quick shower, he then got dressed before leaving his room and the hotel. Draco had directions to get to the wizard's house, which would apparently take him less than ten minutes if he walked. Checking the directions and thinking they seemed clear enough Draco set out to walk to his meeting.
As he walked to his destination Draco couldn't help but look at the scenery, it really was a beautiful place and he was seriously considering extending his stay. Since Hermione had left Draco had worked practically every day to take his mind off things, but he now thought that maybe he needed a break. Before he could even think about taking a break however he needed to get the contract signed for Lucius. Putting all ideas of holidays from his head Draco settled into business mode as he arrived at his destination, finding the wizard he was meeting waiting for him at the door.
After a long meeting, trying to get the contract satisfactory to both parties, Draco returned to his hotel. He had another meeting the following day to actually sign the contract but overall he was pleased with the days outcome.
After checking the time and discovering it was too early to eat Draco decided to have a walk along the beach. Draco walked for quite a while, his mind pre-occupied with the past. Eventually he headed back towards the hotel, he had decided he wasn't going to stay any longer then first he intended on the Isle of Wight, instead he was going to go somewhere more private for a week or two.
Draco had just arrived back at the hotel and was debating whether to visit his own beach house for a while when he caught sight of a brunette women out the corner of his eye. Turning his head fully Draco realised it was the woman he had seen earlier that morning, only now she was heading in the opposite direction. Like that morning Draco couldn't help but think about Hermione as a small part of him began to hope he had found her.
Stopping himself before he approached a total stranger Draco turned away and quickly hurried into the hotel. As he went up to his room Draco knew it was time for him to take a break, he couldn't carry on the way he had been. He couldn't keep thinking every woman he saw with curly, brunette hair was going to turn out to be Hermione. It was time he faced the truth, unless his former lover returned to the wizarding world he wasn't going to see her again.
00000
Draco was sitting on the beach, eating an ice cream. Earlier that morning he had signed the contract he had come for and sent it off to his father. There was no real reason for Draco to still be in Shanklin, he really should check out of the hotel and either go home or go away like he had been planning on doing. Draco however was in no hurry to do either of those things, for the moment he was content to sit on the beach as he watched the waves.
Nearly half an hour later Draco left the beach and headed towards some nearby shops. As he wandered through the shops he couldn't help but enjoy the anonymity that came with being in the muggle world. In the wizarding world everyone knew who he was and most people had an opinion on both him and his life. Some people were perfectly friendly, accepting that he had changed and was trying to make amends for his past. Some people however couldn't get past the fact he had been on the dark side during the war, all they saw when they looked at him was an ex Death Eater who had managed to avoid going to Azkaban.
As Draco left the last shop and turned back in the direction of the hotel, a flash of curly, brunette hair caught his eye again. Once again Draco found himself staring at the back of the woman he had nearly approached yesterday, at least he thought it was the same woman as the previous day, while her clothes were different there was something so very familiar about her. Draco was just about to turn away again when the woman moved her head, giving him a quick glimpse of her profile before she disappeared into a shop.
Draco stood frozen at the sight, while he had just caught a quick glimpse of the woman's face, he had recognised her. The mysterious woman was Hermione Granger. For eight months she had been his lover and she had haunted his dreams for the past two years so there was no way Draco was mistaken.
Somehow Draco had managed to find the woman he loved without even trying. For months after her disappearance Draco had scoured the wizarding world looking for her, he'd even bribed several officials around the world into confirming that she wasn't registered as living in that particular country. Eventually Draco had given up his search, he had come to the conclusion that if Hermione was living in the wizarding world she was covering her tracks pretty well. He also knew that if she was living in the muggle world he had no idea how to go about tracing her.
Draco was still standing frozen in shock when he spotted Hermione leaving the shop. Any miniscule doubts about her identity were banished the second he got a good look at her from the front. Two years hadn't made much of a difference to Hermione's appearance and Draco instantly recognised the witch he had missed so much.
Draco was still so surprised to just randomly find Hermione that she had headed into the next shop before he had time to approach her. While Hermione was in the second shop Draco pulled himself together and approached the shop doorway, ready to speak to the witch when she emerged. When Hermione did emerge Draco paused only momentarily before approaching her from the side.
"Hermione."