I Don't Want to Miss a Thing
Disclaimer: Still don't own it…
A/N: Enjoy this one! Remember Amelia from Chapter 3? No? Might want to read it again…
Chapter 10: A Week Before
Hermione
Ron visited about a week before Valentine's Day to discuss the plans he made. I put the ring on my finger just to make it seem like I wasn't conflicted.
"I was thinking we could see a Muggle foam-"
"Film," I corrected quietly.
"Whatever," Ron laughed, "We could see a film, then we could go out to eat somewhere-"
"Not the Palomar," I said out of habit.
"What?" he asked, evidently confused.
"Nothing," I recovered. Phew.
"Then after we eat, maybe we could just spend the rest of the day here."
I put a wide smile on my face and nodded. "Sounds great, Ron."
Ron smiled back at me. "Are you okay?"
That question sounded oddly familiar. Oh, wait. When Draco asked me. I put my hands up to my face and groaned. Everything comes back to him. Not Ron.
"'Mione?" Ron asked, taking my hands down from my face. "If you don't like what I have planned, we don't have to-"
"No, Ron, it's something else. Don't worry about it. I'm fine."
I hated lying to Ron, but I couldn't tell him that I didn't want to marry him. That would break him. Then it would break me because I broke him and I really couldn't afford to be broken again.
"Awesome," he said, though it didn't sound like he meant it. "I should be heading back now-"
"Oh, Ron," I said, shaking my head. "Just stay. I'll make us something."
"Hermione, you really don't have to-"
"Yes, I do," I said quickly.
I had to get my mind off Draco. Cooking dinner for Ron and I would do just that. Or so I thought. Once I made it to the kitchen and started getting ingredients out for steak and kidney pie, memories started flooding.
Flashback
"Draco," I called to him from the restroom, "get two onions out of the cupboard, and a carrot out of the refrigerator please!"
I could hear him groan in the kitchen. "Fine," I heard him say.
"Thank you!"
"Whatever, Granger!"
…
I taught Draco how to bake a scone that night. He did not want to do that, so when I opened the flour, he reached in and threw a handful of the white powder at my face.
"So you want to play it that way?" I challenged, scooped out my own ammunition, and threw the flour at his face.
Draco wiped it from his hair. "I just washed my hair, Granger," he said, but I knew he wasn't mad.
We spent the next ten minutes chasing each other around the flat, throwing handfuls of flour at each other. I had only ever done that with my parents before I moved out. By the end of that ten minutes, Draco and I were both covered in the ingredient and out of breath. Promising to myself I would clean the mess up later, I collapsed into the couch and Draco sat next to me. We both laughed. Really hard.
"That was fun," Draco said. "I'd never had a flour fight before."
"Really?" I was shocked. "Nice of you to finally have one. Everyone needs a flour fight."
Draco laughed, "You're right."
End Flashbacks
I made steak and kidney pie for Ron and I that evening. And I baked scones for pudding. When he asked why those specific foods, I just told him that I felt like making a nice dinner and pudding. I didn't need to tell him that I always made it for Draco.
Draco
I sat against the wall of my flat, listening to Weasley at Granger's. They were laughing, making it sound like they were having a good time. I banged my head against the wall a few times because I was getting too caught up with them. Granger was happy, wasn't she? Weasley was making her happy, wasn't he? I was jealous, wasn't I?
"Haters only hate the people they can't have or the people they can't be."
I didn't want to say I hated Granger. That wasn't it. It was the exact opposite. It was jealousy. I could never be the "good guy." No matter how much I've changed or how much I try, I will always be the person everyone sees as the "bad guy." The Death Eater. The almost killer of Albus Dumbledore.
Almost-killer. People asked me why I didn't kill him. Was it fear that I would be broken forever? Was it that I couldn't kill the man who had always trusted me? Always believed I could be better? Was it that I didn't want to end up like my Aunt Bellatrix?
It was a yes to those questions but they weren't the full reason. It was love, Dumbledore's answer for everything. My love for my mother. My father-son love for Snape. I was broken when I heard he died in battle. My brotherly love for Theodore and Blaise. My (then, not now) love for Pansy. Not anymore. Merlin's beard, no. My love for Granger.
Granger. Salazar knows I fucking love that girl. She was phenomenal. I found that intelligence of hers so attractive. The hair I always thought was bushy? I loved it the way it was, even though it was currently wavy. Her hazel eyes were extravagant. I became lost in them every time I looked into them. Her attitude every time she was around me. I loved it. I loved myself better when I became friends with her. And now she's gone. And now I hate myself again.
Who was it that Granger hated with a passion? That list was endless. But who specifically did she despise when I was around? Amelia fucking Baker.
…
I knocked on the door to flat 21. The same young boy, David, opened the door.
"Mister Malfoy!" he exclaimed. "Come inside, come inside."
David stepped away from the door, and I walked in. Their flat was… clean. The walls had no pictures, there was no "telly," as Granger called it, not a scratch anywhere, or even a window. The walls were a yellow-brown, and the floors were wood. Not a bit of carpet. There were three doors in the back: probably leading to David's bedroom, Amelia's bedroom, and the bathroom. There was a couch and a recliner in the main room, but nothing to do once you sit down.
"David," I said, standing in the middle of the room. "Where's your sister, Amelia?"
The boy went over to the door on the right and knocked.
"What?" came a very annoyed voice. But it was Amelia's voice.
"Draco Malfoy is here to see you."
Silence. Then the door opened to reveal a girl with raven-black hair that went to her elbows. She had dark eyes that looked almost black. She wore royal blue pajama bottoms and an oversized black shirt.
"What can I do for you?" she groaned. "Didn't that Granger girl-"
"This has nothing to do with Hermione Granger," I said sharply. Fucking lies. This is everything to do with Granger.
"Then what are you doing here? I am fucking busy."
I hadn't expected her to swear. I stood in surprise for a few seconds before I finally shook out of my trance and remembered why I was there. I straightened my back, stared at her in those dark, dark eyes, smiled, and spoke without hesitation.
"Amelia Baker, would you like to go out with me?"
Note: Chapter 10! I think that deserves a bit of a celebration, don't you?
Brits say "pudding" instead of "dessert" just so you know!
So many reads for Chapter 9 in less than 24 hours is so exciting! Y'all must be happy I'm back! Please R&R.