(AzT: You better be ready to flame or to cry. This is the damned sappiest,
mushiest and by no doubt whatsoever the MOST PATHETIC thing I've ever
written. I don't even know WHY I posted this here in the first place, but,
oh well, I guess I did.)
1 Chapter Three: Emptiness Inside
It was a clear, cool Saturday, the kind that would mark the end to the month of October. The weather was nice and cloudy in the late afternoon, with a comfortable breeze that would blow freely in your face the minute you went outside to the Hogwarts grounds to laze around under a tree beside the lake, where the giant squid was probably having a good nap.
Draco chose this day to do exactly that, and leave himself to his thoughts. A fruit-giving apple tree grew in autumn near a large, smooth, half- submerged boulder in the lake, covering the hard surface of the rock with a pleasant shade from its leaves. In Draco's opinion, that was the very best place to sit down and think matters over. These days, comfort and solitude were what he needed the most.
"And here I am, alone again,
What wouldn't I give to be beside you?
I loved you but I couldn't say the words
And I didn't know if you felt the same way too…"
"Hi, Draco."
Draco jumped, startled that someone was actually standing behind him and listening to him sing. He looked up and saw Hermione smiling at him in a very friendly way. He grinned back, surprised that only a few days ago this girl was his worst-ever enemy.
"Hi. You want to take a seat?"
He patted the empty space on the rock beside him.
"OK," she said brightly. "Can we talk for a while?"
"Yeah, sure." She sat down beside him, and for a few seconds, both watched the sun set in the pink-shot golden sky, and neither had much to say for a while.
"It's beautiful," said Hermione finally. "The sunset."
"Yeah," said Draco, still gazing up.
"Has something been on your mind, Draco?"
He hesitated. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Would you like to talk about it? Maybe I can help you out."
"It's just bullshit," he protested. "You don't want to hear it."
Her hand fell on his. "Yes, I do. Go on, tell me."
Draco sighed, and bowed his head.
"It's been a while now, actually," he said, and he felt that Hermione was silently egging him on. "I just live with my father at the Manor. Most of the time he's really cruel to me. Sometimes when I don't do something right or say something wrong, he beats me up or uses a whip on me."
"That's horrible," said Hermione sincerely.
"Yeah," said Draco dejectedly. "I'm used to it, though."
"What about your mother? Doesn't she love you?"
Hermione wanted to take the statement back when she saw that it had hurt him. He bowed his head even lower, so that his bangs covered his eyes, hiding them from view.
"My mother died two years ago, from Father's abuse," he whispered very softly. "She couldn't take it anymore. She killed herself before I could stop her."
A tear fell silently from Draco's eye, but he took no notice of it. Hermione did, however, and held his hand even tighter.
"After that, I faded away," said Draco in a hushed voice. "There was no use for insults or showing people up anymore. I started to think that what I'd gotten was a kind of payment I was getting for all the sins I committed in the past."
"No one deserves that, Draco," said Hermione. "Don't think of it that way. Even you don't deserve what's happening to you."
"I do. Every minute of it is meant for me. And now everyone hates me, including myself."
"I don't hate you," whispered Hermione, brushing back his white-blond bangs so she could see his eyes again.
"After what you did to me yesterday, how could I hate you?"
"Doesn't everybody?" said Draco.
"No," she said putting an arm around him and holding him close to her. "Not everybody. I know how you feel."
He stared at her again. His eyes were full of an innocence and endurance over the pain that had washed over him, and Hermione sensed that it had probably been there for a long time-she would have noticed, had she seen it before.
"I've been pressured to have good grades ever since I was a little girl," she explained, while Draco, in his turn, listened on attentively. "If I had ever gotten a poor grade, I would be beaten until I could compensate for it. My parents weren't too pleased when they found out that I was a witch. I can still remember my father yelling at me in my room when he received the letter." She smiled grimly and Draco could see her tears flowing silently down her cheeks. He gently wiped them away, and in a kind tone asked her to continue.
"I've been working hard, Draco," she said. "I've been going the extra mile with my grades, and I'm proud of it. But not a lot of people really care if I'm smart. They consider it a pain in the ass." She hinted to Draco, who laughed, but still looked sad. "And so not a lot of people like me either."
"You're a really nice girl," said Draco, and he smiled sincerely at Hermione. "Who ever knew that we would be talking to each other about these kinds of things?"
"I didn't," said Hermione, shining expressive brown eyes at him. She now knew that everything would be alright.
"Hermione, I really don't know how to thank you for everything," he stuttered. Hermione only grinned.
"You forget that you saved my ass there yesterday, dummy."
"That's not enough." Draco paused to think. "I've been so cruel to you over the past six years. I want to make up for it to you. I'm serious." He suddenly had an idea.
Hermione watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a very small, felt-covered box. He opened it with utmost care, as if it were as fragile as a glass droplet.
He pulled out a shining silver chain and showed it to her, holding it with both hands. Hanging from the middle of the chain was a beautiful locket of very precious silver, with elegant trimmings of white-gold.
"Open it," he whispered, giving it to her. Hermione opened the locket without any difficulty, and peered silently at the words imbedded in the center of the inside. She gasped, and tears immediately filled her eyes again.
" I will always love you."
"My mother gave it to me before she died, but when she knew that her life would pass her by." He took the chain in his fingers and very carefully clasped it around her neck. "She told me to give it to the person whom I truly loved." He looked at her, smile upon his face, eyes wet with unborn tears. "You deserve nothing lesser, Hermione."
They looked into each other's eyes and gazed at them for a second that seemed like an eternity. Then, knowing what to do next, they put their faces closer together and kissed passionately. When they opened their eyes once again, he smiled at her, and she returned it.
"I love you," he said softly, gently grabbing her shoulders and letting her lean upon him, caressing her body, while she put her head on his shoulder and held her arms around him.
"I love you, too."
It was then, while there beside each other and just watching the moon and clouds drift lazily across the sky, that there was no more empty feeling inside of them.
They realized what had been missing all along.
Each other.
(AzT: *bursts into tears* I can't believe that I've written something so damn—mushy. Please, don't ask me where I got this, I wrote it at a time when I was feeling especially cruddy. But no tears here ^-^. At least I don't think so…
Reminder: If you don't wanna write **** like this, never, EVER overdose on other super-sap D/H fics.
I think that's how I got the idea…)
2
1 Chapter Three: Emptiness Inside
It was a clear, cool Saturday, the kind that would mark the end to the month of October. The weather was nice and cloudy in the late afternoon, with a comfortable breeze that would blow freely in your face the minute you went outside to the Hogwarts grounds to laze around under a tree beside the lake, where the giant squid was probably having a good nap.
Draco chose this day to do exactly that, and leave himself to his thoughts. A fruit-giving apple tree grew in autumn near a large, smooth, half- submerged boulder in the lake, covering the hard surface of the rock with a pleasant shade from its leaves. In Draco's opinion, that was the very best place to sit down and think matters over. These days, comfort and solitude were what he needed the most.
"And here I am, alone again,
What wouldn't I give to be beside you?
I loved you but I couldn't say the words
And I didn't know if you felt the same way too…"
"Hi, Draco."
Draco jumped, startled that someone was actually standing behind him and listening to him sing. He looked up and saw Hermione smiling at him in a very friendly way. He grinned back, surprised that only a few days ago this girl was his worst-ever enemy.
"Hi. You want to take a seat?"
He patted the empty space on the rock beside him.
"OK," she said brightly. "Can we talk for a while?"
"Yeah, sure." She sat down beside him, and for a few seconds, both watched the sun set in the pink-shot golden sky, and neither had much to say for a while.
"It's beautiful," said Hermione finally. "The sunset."
"Yeah," said Draco, still gazing up.
"Has something been on your mind, Draco?"
He hesitated. "Maybe. Maybe not."
"Would you like to talk about it? Maybe I can help you out."
"It's just bullshit," he protested. "You don't want to hear it."
Her hand fell on his. "Yes, I do. Go on, tell me."
Draco sighed, and bowed his head.
"It's been a while now, actually," he said, and he felt that Hermione was silently egging him on. "I just live with my father at the Manor. Most of the time he's really cruel to me. Sometimes when I don't do something right or say something wrong, he beats me up or uses a whip on me."
"That's horrible," said Hermione sincerely.
"Yeah," said Draco dejectedly. "I'm used to it, though."
"What about your mother? Doesn't she love you?"
Hermione wanted to take the statement back when she saw that it had hurt him. He bowed his head even lower, so that his bangs covered his eyes, hiding them from view.
"My mother died two years ago, from Father's abuse," he whispered very softly. "She couldn't take it anymore. She killed herself before I could stop her."
A tear fell silently from Draco's eye, but he took no notice of it. Hermione did, however, and held his hand even tighter.
"After that, I faded away," said Draco in a hushed voice. "There was no use for insults or showing people up anymore. I started to think that what I'd gotten was a kind of payment I was getting for all the sins I committed in the past."
"No one deserves that, Draco," said Hermione. "Don't think of it that way. Even you don't deserve what's happening to you."
"I do. Every minute of it is meant for me. And now everyone hates me, including myself."
"I don't hate you," whispered Hermione, brushing back his white-blond bangs so she could see his eyes again.
"After what you did to me yesterday, how could I hate you?"
"Doesn't everybody?" said Draco.
"No," she said putting an arm around him and holding him close to her. "Not everybody. I know how you feel."
He stared at her again. His eyes were full of an innocence and endurance over the pain that had washed over him, and Hermione sensed that it had probably been there for a long time-she would have noticed, had she seen it before.
"I've been pressured to have good grades ever since I was a little girl," she explained, while Draco, in his turn, listened on attentively. "If I had ever gotten a poor grade, I would be beaten until I could compensate for it. My parents weren't too pleased when they found out that I was a witch. I can still remember my father yelling at me in my room when he received the letter." She smiled grimly and Draco could see her tears flowing silently down her cheeks. He gently wiped them away, and in a kind tone asked her to continue.
"I've been working hard, Draco," she said. "I've been going the extra mile with my grades, and I'm proud of it. But not a lot of people really care if I'm smart. They consider it a pain in the ass." She hinted to Draco, who laughed, but still looked sad. "And so not a lot of people like me either."
"You're a really nice girl," said Draco, and he smiled sincerely at Hermione. "Who ever knew that we would be talking to each other about these kinds of things?"
"I didn't," said Hermione, shining expressive brown eyes at him. She now knew that everything would be alright.
"Hermione, I really don't know how to thank you for everything," he stuttered. Hermione only grinned.
"You forget that you saved my ass there yesterday, dummy."
"That's not enough." Draco paused to think. "I've been so cruel to you over the past six years. I want to make up for it to you. I'm serious." He suddenly had an idea.
Hermione watched as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a very small, felt-covered box. He opened it with utmost care, as if it were as fragile as a glass droplet.
He pulled out a shining silver chain and showed it to her, holding it with both hands. Hanging from the middle of the chain was a beautiful locket of very precious silver, with elegant trimmings of white-gold.
"Open it," he whispered, giving it to her. Hermione opened the locket without any difficulty, and peered silently at the words imbedded in the center of the inside. She gasped, and tears immediately filled her eyes again.
" I will always love you."
"My mother gave it to me before she died, but when she knew that her life would pass her by." He took the chain in his fingers and very carefully clasped it around her neck. "She told me to give it to the person whom I truly loved." He looked at her, smile upon his face, eyes wet with unborn tears. "You deserve nothing lesser, Hermione."
They looked into each other's eyes and gazed at them for a second that seemed like an eternity. Then, knowing what to do next, they put their faces closer together and kissed passionately. When they opened their eyes once again, he smiled at her, and she returned it.
"I love you," he said softly, gently grabbing her shoulders and letting her lean upon him, caressing her body, while she put her head on his shoulder and held her arms around him.
"I love you, too."
It was then, while there beside each other and just watching the moon and clouds drift lazily across the sky, that there was no more empty feeling inside of them.
They realized what had been missing all along.
Each other.
(AzT: *bursts into tears* I can't believe that I've written something so damn—mushy. Please, don't ask me where I got this, I wrote it at a time when I was feeling especially cruddy. But no tears here ^-^. At least I don't think so…
Reminder: If you don't wanna write **** like this, never, EVER overdose on other super-sap D/H fics.
I think that's how I got the idea…)
2
