I Don't Want to Miss a Thing

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter characters, places, spells, or anything else. I own the plot.

AN: 29+ reads in less than 24 hours for Chap 6? Thanks guys! Do the same for this one! This chap is only in D's perspective. You'll see why.

Chapter 7: Superstition

Draco

Straightening my tie as I went over to Granger's four hours early, I took a breath and opened her door. Thankfully, she had her bedroom door shut. I kicked back on the couch, staring at her door.

She came out, evidently just finished a shower because her hair was wet and I saw beads of water still trickling down her leg under her bathrobe.

"Draco!" she exclaimed in surprise.

I stood up, adjusted the dark green dress robes from Potter, and looked at her hair.

"Get ready," I said. "I'm taking you to dinner."

Her look of surprise was something I would never forget. Her hazel eyes went wide, her lips parted in a small "o," and her cheeks turned pink. I pretended not to notice.

"Is my best friend asking me out on a date?" Granger asked, placing a hand on her hip. I loved it when she did that.

"No," I answered quickly. "Can best friends not go to eat?" Yes, you could say I am.

She shrugged. "I suppose. Wait here. I'll get ready."

Granger walked back into her bedroom, shut the door, and I sat back down on the couch. I stared at her door, not knowing why, for I-don't-know-how-long.

When she finally came out almost half an hour later, I had to work hard to prevent myself from doing anything beyond stupid. She was beautiful. The red dress widened from her hips down to her feet. The straps went off her shoulders, so they were bare. The dress didn't cut too low on her chest, which was something Granger would definitely have looked good in. Her hair was pulled up into an elegant bun in the back of her head with a diamond-encrusted headpiece. Very few curls hung down to frame her face. Her pumps matched her dress. I didn't need to look at her makeup to make the conclusion that she was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen.

I stood up, staring at Granger up and down. She was smiling, her perfect, straight teeth sparkling. I couldn't stop watching her. I realized I was doing something beyond stupid. I hadn't said anything yet.

"You're remarkable," I said to her. More like mumbled it, but… whatever.

Granger fluffed her skirt. "It's not something I'd usually wear, but-"

"Don't act so modest," I fired. "You know you're gorgeous, Granger."

"You look quite dashing yourself, Draco."

I looked down at my robes. Yes, I did look good. But, I felt hideous next to Granger. I held my hand out to her with a small bow.

"Would you like to go to dinner? As best friends, of course."

"Yes, I would," she replied with a laugh, taking my hand.

I Disapparated to Hogsmeade. It was snowing (of course, right?), and Granger started shivering. Not caring how cold I was going to be, I took off my robes and put them around her.

"T-t-thanks, D-D-Draco," she chattered.

"Sure. Where do you want to go?"

I watched as Granger looked around Hogsmeade. I found that her eyes settled on The Three Broomsticks. Without her having to say anything, I linked my fingers with hers and walked to the restaurant.

Madam Rosmerta took one look at us, sat us immediately, and asked for our orders.

"A large order of Shepherd's Pie and a butterbeer," I said.

"That order is huge!" Granger exclaimed. "I'll just share it with you. A second butterbeer," she added to Rosmerta.

The older witch nodded, and scurried off to the kitchen.

"It's warmer in here," Granger said, taking off my robes and handing them back to me across the table. "I don't need these."

"Not right now," I reminded her. "You'll need them when we go back outside."

"Not right now," she repeated.

Madam Rosmerta came back with a large tray of Shepherd's Pie and two glasses of butterbeer. She set them down on the table, told us to enjoy, and left for another table.

Granger and I ate most of the meal in silence, only speaking when there was something to say.

"Who exactly is going to be at the party?" I asked.

The curly-haired witch swallowed. "I think just Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Harry, and Ginny."

"Not your ex?" I teased.

Granger hit my arm and I bit back a growl of pain. "No, Ron isn't coming. He doesn't even know we're friends, Draco. George and Angelina want to spend their first New Year's by themselves."

"Was that necessary?"

"Was what necessary?"

"You hitting me that hard!"

"I suppose not," she laughed, "but, come on, Draco, that was funny!"

"It was not," I fired back.

"We are not arguing over something this stupid."

"Fine," I gave in to her.

…

When it was close to nine, Granger and I Apparated to the Burrow. It was bigger than I thought. My father always told me it was a one-room house where the Weasleys slept in that one room. It was a seven floor building, staying up only by magic. Granger must have seen the shock on my face because she laughed and pulled me to the door. She knocked.

A plump, redhead woman opened the door. It was Mrs. Weasley. She wore orange robes underneath an apron.

"Hermione!" the woman said. "And you must be Draco. Lovely to finally meet you."

I shook her hand and she led us into the house. This woman had a clock that showed where every member of the family was at that particular moment. Most names said HOME, but the others said either QUIDDITCH or TRAVELLING. That must have been the youngest Weasley brother and George and Angelina Weasley.

Granger and I continued following Mrs. Weasley into the main room. The oldest brother, William (Bill) and his wife, Fleur Delacour, were sitting together on the large couch, playing with their daughter, Victoire, I believe her name is. Percy, a young man with horn-rimmed glasses, was sitting with his father, Mr. Weasley, talking about work at the Ministry. Potter and she-Weasley were sitting together, just simply talking or playing with the child. Mr. Weasley had gotten up to go over to his wife and give her a quick kiss.

"Our guests are here!" Mrs. Weasley announced.

I wished she hadn't said that. Because I knew not a single one of them were staring at Granger. They were all looking at me. The Malfoy. The almost-killer of the greatest wizard in history. The ex-Death Eater. The boy who bullied everyone in this room. The boy who called Granger a… Mudblood. I couldn't stand being the one who could never be forgiven. So, ignoring the fact that no one was staring anymore, I turned around and walked away. I saw the clock on my way out, noticing that there was a tag named HERMIONE GRANGER. She was part of the family. They didn't know about the youngest Weasley son's ending of the relationship with Granger. I knocked the clock off the table.

I walked out the door, not knowing where I was going or if I was going to Disapparate. I just walked. I could hear Granger telling the family to stay, then I heard her footsteps following me.

"Draco!" she called. I completely ignored her. I just walked. "Draco, please! Stop!"

I couldn't hear her footsteps. She must have followed her own instructions. Then I heard them again. They sounded different this time.

"Draco, stop! Please stop walking away from me!"

It sounded as though she was crying. I knew I could never walk away from her. I could never stay away from her that long. So I stopped, but I didn't turn. She must have been surprised, because she ran into me and we both fell over. I put my hands out to stop myself. I detangled myself from Granger, stood up, then pulled her up by the elbows. She was barefoot. That's why her footsteps had sounded different. Granger had taken her shoes off. I had come a long way from the house. We were almost by the grass field. I didn't look at her face. I knew she was crying. Instead, I stared at the ground by her feet. Then Granger shoved me away, her movements weak from her crying. I continued to stare at the ground.

"Why would you just leave, Draco?"

I started counting the rocks I saw.

"Draco?" she asked, trying to get in my line of sight, but I continued to dodge her.

"Draco, you're going to have to tell me."

Twenty… twenty-one… twenty-two…

Just then, Granger put her arms around my neck and buried her face into my shoulder. I tried to count the rocks still, but her stunning body was in the way. I left my arms at my sides.

"Draco," she said again. "What did I do wrong? What did I do to make you leave-"

"Shut up, Granger." That was way too quiet.

"What?" she asked, bringing her head away from my shoulder and looking at me. I was glad her hands were still around my neck.

"It wasn't your fault," I said, trying to bring my voice louder. "It was mine."

"Draco, you didn't even do anything. You just walked out-"

"Because of what I did. They weren't staring at you. They were staring at me because I was a fucking bully at Hogwarts. You know that. I bullied you."

"I told them that you've changed," she said. "I told them that you're not the same as your parents. You're not the same as your Hogwarts self."

"They'll never forgive me, Granger. Not all the way like you have."

"Listen to me, Draco. It doesn't matter what they think. They haven't been your best friend since May. I have. I know you've changed. Do not take their stares as a way that makes you feel that you haven't been forgiven. Because you have. By me."

I put my hands around her lower back. I knew she was right. Hermione Granger was always right.

"Come here, Granger."

She sighed sadly, tears still staining her cheeks, and she rested her head against my chest. I put my head on top of hers. I saw that her shoes had been discarded twenty feet away.

"Do you want to go back to the party?" Granger mumbled softly.

"I think I've made that answer quite clear."

"Okay."

She held me closer to her and Disapparated the pair of us to her flat. Granger let go of me and walked away, driving her hands through her hair. I just stood where I was.

"Do you need anything?" she asked hurriedly.

"No. Look, Granger, I can just-"

"No!" she yelled. Then she realized how loud she was. "I mean, no. You don't have to go. We can just celebrate New Year's here."

…

I stayed at Granger's. At midnight, she had opened a bottle of champagne and poured a couple glasses. We clicked glasses and took a sip. Then she held her glass to the side and drew her mouth over mine.

I stood in shock. I didn't do anything. When she pulled away, I just stared at her.

"What was that for?" I said. I probably snapped it because she looked hurt and embarrassed.

"It's a Muggle superstition," she said.

"What the hell is a super-"

"A superstition is a belief that isn't true, but people do it anyway."

"And kissing someone on New Year's is one of these superstitions?"

"Yes," she admitted shamefully.

"What does it mean?"

Granger shuffled her feet. "It means… It doesn't mean anything important."

"Come on, Granger, what the hell does it mean?"

She stepped away, grabbed a piece of parchment, scribbled something down, came back over, handed it to me, and left for her bedroom. I looked down at the parchment she gave me.

It means I want you in my life for the next 12 months

I smirked, put the parchment in my pocket, and opened the door to leave her flat.

Before I left, I realized Granger still had my robes. But I didn't care.

When I had dressed in pajama bottoms and gotten into bed, I took out the parchment and looked at it again.

It means I want you in my life for the next 12 months.

She wanted me in her life. Just like I wanted her.

AN: See? This had to be in Draco's perspective. Doesn't it make so much sense that way? Hope you liked it. Chapter 6 got the most reads in the fastest amount of time than any of the others! I am so happy you guys liked it! But please, please, review! I would love to read them! I want to read them!

Next chapter should be up tomorrow since I'm not busy! Keep reading, enjoying, and start reviewing!