The next morning, Draco awoke first. His eyes opened slowly to the
chirping birds outside the glass-paned window. He looked at Hermione who
still lay asleep. His eyes were transfixed on the angelic figure lying
peacefully next to him. Last night had been extremely exhausting for her,
not to mention slightly shocking. It made him wonder in awe how she
managed to sleep to so soundly. He massaged her stomach slowly with his
thumb for a few minutes.
"Mmmmm...Draco, that feels good."
"How are you doing this morning?"
"Alright I suppose. I'm just glad nothing serious happened."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have let it happen. I'd die if something happened to you."
Hermione rolled over and smiled at Draco. His eyes were full of sincerity and passion. They glistened in the sunlight.
"Draco...I love you."
"I love you too Hermione."
Draco brushed his lips against hers lightly at first but soon deepened the kiss. Passion unfolded itself into each movement of his lips and his tongue found its way between her lips. Hermione threw her arms around his neck and he pulled himself onto her. His lips kept hers occupied while his hands massaged her breast.
"God that feels so good" she said between kisses. She let a low moan escape her throat.
Draco continued to kiss her until she pushed him away.
"As much as I'd like to continue this...we really ought to get up."
"Damn you" he said jokingly.
"Hey, I'm enjoying this as much as you are...but we have to go to the police station today and we really ought to get going."
Draco sighed with resentful agreement and allowed her to get up. Hermione slid her bath robe on and went into the bathroom. Draco went outside and listened to the lullaby of the vast ocean, the waves pounding against the protruding rocks. The wind blew gently threw his hair and the nearby palm trees swung lazily in the wind.
Hermione slid on a pair of denim shorts, size 8 and a tight peach tank-top. It was vertically ribbed, complimenting her curves to a degree. She piled her hair on her head and wrapped a pony holder around it, letting each billowing curl cascade around her head.
Hermione emerged from the bathroom and found Draco on the small patio overlooking the ocean. He had changed while she had been in the bathroom. He wore a light blue t-shirt with black cargo shorts. Hermione approached him and he drew her into his embrace. Hermione's hands snaked around his waist and her faced remained buried in his chest for the next few minutes.
"Hermione, can I meet your parents?"
"W-w-what?"
"Can I meet your parents?"
"Um...sure."
"You don't sound too excited to have them meet me."
"To be honest...you already have, a long time ago."
"I have?"
"Well...let's sit down first." Hermione locked her fingers with his and led him inside. They took a seat on the couch. "Well...you've always known that I'm Muggle-born, right?"
"Yes...but what does that have to do-"
"Let me finish...and you know how Voldemort hated Muggles..."
"Yes, but-"
"Well... he for some reason saw me as a threat...I was never sure why. Maybe because I was always venturing off with Harry Potter and he knew that he was a threat to his existence, but anyway, he did. The year after I graduated, he knew there was no one to protect me or my family anymore, in terms of wizards or witches, so, he and five of his Death Eaters came into our house one night and tortured my parents to death with the Crutacius Curse. I only narrowly escaped due to my discreet use of magic. I camouflaged myself so as not to be seen."
"Oh my God! I had...no idea."
"Draco, I remember that night so well. It haunts me in my dreams some nights. I remember seeing the look on my parent's faces as they lay there writhing in pain, twitching wildly. I remember looking into my mother's eyes that night and promising myself that one day I would avenge my parents for what he did. That image has been impressed upon the very contours of my brain ever since. I remember seeing the green flashing light of the Avanda Kadevra spell as it hit my father and he fell crumpled to the floor. The last thing I remember that night was looking into Voldemort's cold eyes. I could see the pleasure he got out of watching my parents die, the evil smirk that marched across his face. I heard him laugh maliciously with pleasure as my mother screamed. I remember blaming the whole thing on myself too. If I had never insisted upon attending Hogwarts, they would have never been killed. I've never forgiven myself for that." Draco saw tears roll down her cheeks and he wiped them gently away with his thumb. Draco pulled her close to him and her face was buried in his chest. His hand massaged the back of her head soothingly.
"You can't blame yourself for something like that Hermione. It wasn't your fault. They would have wanted you to be happy and safe and...and healthy. They wanted you to do what would have made you happy and going to Hogwarts did, am I right?"
"Yes" came a muffled answer.
"Alright then...you can't blame yourself for something like that. That still doesn't explain how I met them though...I think I would have remembered."
Hermione sat up again and took a deep breath to calm herself. Her diaphragm was contracting spastically from crying and her breaths became short, abrupt, and rapid.
"Well, I also considered the ordeal a blessing as well." Draco shot a perplexed look at her. "After they were gone, Voldemort and his goons I mean, I cried for hours continually. I lay my head on my mother's chest hoping that her heart might leap back into its normal state, but it never did. The next day, I got a visit from a very special man...Dumbledore. I remember looking into his pure blue eyes and I remember him embracing me, comforting me. Ever since then, he has called me his own. Every couple of weeks or so I go to visit him. He's quite old now, but he still remains as one of the most powerful wizards in history. Voldemort, said to be defeated, still survived and still fears Dumbledore's very being."
"That's...wow. I had no idea. I'm sorry for bringing the topic up...if I had known it was going to upset you...."
"No, Draco, thank you. I needed to get that out. I've never told anyone that but Dumbledore. All I care about right now, all the family I have right now...is Dumbledore...and you."
Hermione looked into his awe-stricken eyes and smiled. She had now calmed down and the tears ceased to roll down her cheek.
"Come here Hermione."
Draco drew her into his embrace once again and the two remained motionless and silent. After a few short minutes Draco began to speak.
"Would an ice cream make you feel any better before we have to go to the station?"
"Can I get anything I want?"
"Sure."
"Let's go." A smile danced across her face.
"I love it when you smile."
"I love you."
Draco's eyes clouded over, deep in thought. Anxiety was building and pulsing through his veins.
"Draco?"
"Mmm...sorry. Let's go."
"You ok?"
"Yeah...yeah, fine."
Draco's arm draped around Hermione's waist and the two walked silently toward the ice cream parlor. When they arrived there, Draco opened the door for Hermione and the bells clanged together as it shut behind them.
The two sat down at the bar and waited only a few minutes before their waitress came over. She had a mindless expression on her faces and her eyes appeared blank. Hermione took no notice of it until she began to speak.
"What can I get you?" she said, emotionless and robotic-like.
Hermione looked slightly surprised but ordered a banana spilt for the two of them to share. As the waitress receded to the kitchens, Hermione spoke to Draco. She glanced quickly around the room and then into his eyes.
"Draco...what's going on?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. It's strange."
"I know. I'm very suspicious now." An expression of confusion planted itself on her face.
A few minutes later, the waitress arrived back with their order.
"Here you go. Enjoy" she said in the same robotic tone.
"Thank you."
The two ate in silence. When they were done, they paid and tipped the waitress, then stepped out of the threshold. As they stepped onto the streets of Honolulu, passers by displayed the same expressionless face as everyone in the ice cream parlor.
"Draco...there's something not right here."
"I know honey...I know."
"I'm a little bit scared right about now."
"Take a look at that."
"What?"
"Those hooded figures over there" he said as he pointed to them.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know. Let's go to the police station now..."
He trailed off and pulled Hermione with him, glancing over his shoulder briefly every few minutes or so. As the approached the station, he held the door ajar and both went in. The police officers displayed the blank looks as everyone else in Honolulu did. They knocked softly on the detective's door.
"Come in" said the robotic voice.
The two entered the office and closed the door behind them as they took a seat directly across the desk.
"So, what exactly happened?"
"Well..." she said hesitantly. "I was sleeping and Draco, here, went out to get something and I heard someone come in....I knew it wasn't Draco and the next thing I knew, he flipped the light on and rummaged around the room, keeping his gun at hand. He slapped me when I wouldn't unlock the trunk for him and that's when Draco came in and knocked him unconscious."
"I see. Why wasn't your door locked?"
"We figured it wasn't necessary. Just because its locked thought doesn't mean he couldn't have gotten in another way. If he had really wanted to and the door was locked, he would have found another way."
"Yeah, that's a possibility as well. Well, there's going to be a small trial held. I suggest you call a lawyer and be prepared to present your case in two weeks."
"We're not going to be here in two weeks" said Draco.
"Well, you're going to have to be."
Draco shot the detective a menacing glance and tightened his jaw.
"That will be all. Have a...nice day."
"Thank you."
Draco's jaw was still clenched as they left the office building.
"Draco, this is getting too weird."
"I know it is. We're going to leave tomorrow."
"Already?"
"Yes, I don't like what's going on. I will not allow something to happen to you."
"But-"
"We're not staying after tonight."
Hermione nodded and Draco drew her into a hug.
"What time is it?"
"Four o'clock."
"Let's go back to our room and start packing and then I want to take you to a special place tonight before we leave."
Hermione him suspiciously but nodded and the two proceeded to walk towards the room they had been occupying.
When they arrived, Draco allowed Hermione in first and followed her in.
"We can use our wands in here...there's no one around to see it."
"I agree."
"Wingardium Leviosa!" said both of them. Each of their belongings flew from the place they sat at rest to the suitcases. The clothes were one great heap in the cases, cluttered and wrinkled. Both kept one clean outfit out for their trip home and lay them on the bed. As Hermione closed her suitcase, she felt Draco approach her from behind.
His hands slid along the curves of her body and closed themselves around her waist. Draco began kissing her neck and Hermione giggled at the feel. She then whipped herself around and pushed him against the wall.
Her lips moved roughly against his and they're bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Draco pushed her away for a moment.
"Grrrr...I like you like this."
"You're the first one to see this side of me."
"Don't I feel special?" he said sarcastically.
"You should."
Draco then turned her against the wall and kissed her roughly. A small moan escaped Hermione's throat as he parted her lips with his tongue. Passion consumed both bodies and pulsed through both of their veins.
Draco then began to let his hands roam her body. He began to pull her shirt off slowly, his hands gliding effortlessly over her fair skin. They stopped kissing each other only momentarily to rid each other of their shirts. Draco slid his hands behind her back to unlatch her bra, doing so excruciatingly slowly. When it was unlatched, he discarded it on the floor. His hands then began to massage her breast. What delicious torment! A low moan escaped Hermione's mouth again.
"I know Hermione."
Draco reached down to begin to unbutton her shorts but she stopped him. He shot her a look of disbelief but it faded as she reached for his pants. She pulled him back toward her and pressed her lips against his hard and her tongue explored his mouth wildly. She began unbuttoning his pants and then moved to undo the zipper. As they fell to the floor, she pulled his boxers down, they too falling to the floor. Her fingers traced the outline of each abdominal muscle and slid down over his smooth, now saturated skin. She began to finger Draco and long low moan erupted from his mouth.
"You're such a tease." he said through pants of breath.
"Oh, but it's so much fun" she replied. She kissed him again and he began to undo her pants. He pulled them and her panties down over her narrow hips and Hermione was sandwiched between the wall and Draco. She brought one leg up and put it just above his hip and he brought the other one to his other hip. He thrust into her and she screamed his name. Their hips rocked together as one, both panting for air. Draco screamed Hermione's name as he came to his climax and both collapsed on the floor. Draco lay on Hermione, both gasping for air.
"Draco, lets go to the bed."
Draco nodded, picked her up gently and laid her down on the bed. Her crawled on top of her and kissed her neck gently.
"Can we have another go at that?"
"As much as I'd love to, I have something else I want to show you before we leave" he said lifting his head to look into her eyes.
"Oh God, but it felt so good!"
"I know, but this is more important. We can do this any time. This is really special."
Hermione looked into his grey eyes, full with emotion, and nodded.
"Alright...let's get dressed" she said reluctantly.
The two got up and put their clothes back on. Hermione took a little longer than Draco, but when both were ready to go, Draco led her to the docks.
"Why are we going here?"
"You'll see."
Draco maneuvered the boat out of the docks and headed out from them toward the endless sea. The boat jumped off the waves as they rolled in towards the shore and the sun began its descent over the horizon.
"Ah....perfect timing."
"What?"
"You'll see."
Draco slowed the boat down and dropped the anchor near some rocks.
"Come here and close you're eyes."
"Why?"
"It's a surprise."
She closed her eyes and he lifted her up in his arms. She put her arm around her neck in reaction.
"I'm not going to drop you."
"I know, I just wasn't expecting you to pick me up."
He stepped off the boat and walked over the rocks into a small cove overlooking the ocean.
"Okay, you can open now."
Hermione opened her eyes and gasped in awe.
"It's so beautiful!"
"There's more."
Draco put Hermione down and she absorbed her surroundings. He walked about ten feet and picked something up. Hermione's eyes were drawn to the beautiful symphonic sunset. The sky was stripped orange and pink and the sun shone a beautiful gold reflecting off the water.
Draco came back and stepped in front of her.
"Look at me."
Hermione looked into his deep grey eyes and listened to each word emitted from his mouth.
"Hermione, before I met you, my life had no meaning, no purpose at all. It became one monotonous joke and I needed something to spice it up. Then I met you. I remembered back at Hogwarts how I was so cruel to you and I regret every word I ever said to hurt you." A tear emerged from Hermione's eye as she continued to listen. "I have met the girl of my dreams and nothing means more to me than you. I want you to be a part of my life always, until the day I die and even after. If I don't tell you how I feel right now, I know I am going to regret it for the rest of my life. Hermione, I love you." Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out an oyster shell. He got down on one knee and opened it to her. Inside was beautiful diamond ring, set in white-gold. "Will you marry me?"
"Mmmmm...Draco, that feels good."
"How are you doing this morning?"
"Alright I suppose. I'm just glad nothing serious happened."
"Yeah, well, I wouldn't have let it happen. I'd die if something happened to you."
Hermione rolled over and smiled at Draco. His eyes were full of sincerity and passion. They glistened in the sunlight.
"Draco...I love you."
"I love you too Hermione."
Draco brushed his lips against hers lightly at first but soon deepened the kiss. Passion unfolded itself into each movement of his lips and his tongue found its way between her lips. Hermione threw her arms around his neck and he pulled himself onto her. His lips kept hers occupied while his hands massaged her breast.
"God that feels so good" she said between kisses. She let a low moan escape her throat.
Draco continued to kiss her until she pushed him away.
"As much as I'd like to continue this...we really ought to get up."
"Damn you" he said jokingly.
"Hey, I'm enjoying this as much as you are...but we have to go to the police station today and we really ought to get going."
Draco sighed with resentful agreement and allowed her to get up. Hermione slid her bath robe on and went into the bathroom. Draco went outside and listened to the lullaby of the vast ocean, the waves pounding against the protruding rocks. The wind blew gently threw his hair and the nearby palm trees swung lazily in the wind.
Hermione slid on a pair of denim shorts, size 8 and a tight peach tank-top. It was vertically ribbed, complimenting her curves to a degree. She piled her hair on her head and wrapped a pony holder around it, letting each billowing curl cascade around her head.
Hermione emerged from the bathroom and found Draco on the small patio overlooking the ocean. He had changed while she had been in the bathroom. He wore a light blue t-shirt with black cargo shorts. Hermione approached him and he drew her into his embrace. Hermione's hands snaked around his waist and her faced remained buried in his chest for the next few minutes.
"Hermione, can I meet your parents?"
"W-w-what?"
"Can I meet your parents?"
"Um...sure."
"You don't sound too excited to have them meet me."
"To be honest...you already have, a long time ago."
"I have?"
"Well...let's sit down first." Hermione locked her fingers with his and led him inside. They took a seat on the couch. "Well...you've always known that I'm Muggle-born, right?"
"Yes...but what does that have to do-"
"Let me finish...and you know how Voldemort hated Muggles..."
"Yes, but-"
"Well... he for some reason saw me as a threat...I was never sure why. Maybe because I was always venturing off with Harry Potter and he knew that he was a threat to his existence, but anyway, he did. The year after I graduated, he knew there was no one to protect me or my family anymore, in terms of wizards or witches, so, he and five of his Death Eaters came into our house one night and tortured my parents to death with the Crutacius Curse. I only narrowly escaped due to my discreet use of magic. I camouflaged myself so as not to be seen."
"Oh my God! I had...no idea."
"Draco, I remember that night so well. It haunts me in my dreams some nights. I remember seeing the look on my parent's faces as they lay there writhing in pain, twitching wildly. I remember looking into my mother's eyes that night and promising myself that one day I would avenge my parents for what he did. That image has been impressed upon the very contours of my brain ever since. I remember seeing the green flashing light of the Avanda Kadevra spell as it hit my father and he fell crumpled to the floor. The last thing I remember that night was looking into Voldemort's cold eyes. I could see the pleasure he got out of watching my parents die, the evil smirk that marched across his face. I heard him laugh maliciously with pleasure as my mother screamed. I remember blaming the whole thing on myself too. If I had never insisted upon attending Hogwarts, they would have never been killed. I've never forgiven myself for that." Draco saw tears roll down her cheeks and he wiped them gently away with his thumb. Draco pulled her close to him and her face was buried in his chest. His hand massaged the back of her head soothingly.
"You can't blame yourself for something like that Hermione. It wasn't your fault. They would have wanted you to be happy and safe and...and healthy. They wanted you to do what would have made you happy and going to Hogwarts did, am I right?"
"Yes" came a muffled answer.
"Alright then...you can't blame yourself for something like that. That still doesn't explain how I met them though...I think I would have remembered."
Hermione sat up again and took a deep breath to calm herself. Her diaphragm was contracting spastically from crying and her breaths became short, abrupt, and rapid.
"Well, I also considered the ordeal a blessing as well." Draco shot a perplexed look at her. "After they were gone, Voldemort and his goons I mean, I cried for hours continually. I lay my head on my mother's chest hoping that her heart might leap back into its normal state, but it never did. The next day, I got a visit from a very special man...Dumbledore. I remember looking into his pure blue eyes and I remember him embracing me, comforting me. Ever since then, he has called me his own. Every couple of weeks or so I go to visit him. He's quite old now, but he still remains as one of the most powerful wizards in history. Voldemort, said to be defeated, still survived and still fears Dumbledore's very being."
"That's...wow. I had no idea. I'm sorry for bringing the topic up...if I had known it was going to upset you...."
"No, Draco, thank you. I needed to get that out. I've never told anyone that but Dumbledore. All I care about right now, all the family I have right now...is Dumbledore...and you."
Hermione looked into his awe-stricken eyes and smiled. She had now calmed down and the tears ceased to roll down her cheek.
"Come here Hermione."
Draco drew her into his embrace once again and the two remained motionless and silent. After a few short minutes Draco began to speak.
"Would an ice cream make you feel any better before we have to go to the station?"
"Can I get anything I want?"
"Sure."
"Let's go." A smile danced across her face.
"I love it when you smile."
"I love you."
Draco's eyes clouded over, deep in thought. Anxiety was building and pulsing through his veins.
"Draco?"
"Mmm...sorry. Let's go."
"You ok?"
"Yeah...yeah, fine."
Draco's arm draped around Hermione's waist and the two walked silently toward the ice cream parlor. When they arrived there, Draco opened the door for Hermione and the bells clanged together as it shut behind them.
The two sat down at the bar and waited only a few minutes before their waitress came over. She had a mindless expression on her faces and her eyes appeared blank. Hermione took no notice of it until she began to speak.
"What can I get you?" she said, emotionless and robotic-like.
Hermione looked slightly surprised but ordered a banana spilt for the two of them to share. As the waitress receded to the kitchens, Hermione spoke to Draco. She glanced quickly around the room and then into his eyes.
"Draco...what's going on?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing. It's strange."
"I know. I'm very suspicious now." An expression of confusion planted itself on her face.
A few minutes later, the waitress arrived back with their order.
"Here you go. Enjoy" she said in the same robotic tone.
"Thank you."
The two ate in silence. When they were done, they paid and tipped the waitress, then stepped out of the threshold. As they stepped onto the streets of Honolulu, passers by displayed the same expressionless face as everyone in the ice cream parlor.
"Draco...there's something not right here."
"I know honey...I know."
"I'm a little bit scared right about now."
"Take a look at that."
"What?"
"Those hooded figures over there" he said as he pointed to them.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know. Let's go to the police station now..."
He trailed off and pulled Hermione with him, glancing over his shoulder briefly every few minutes or so. As the approached the station, he held the door ajar and both went in. The police officers displayed the blank looks as everyone else in Honolulu did. They knocked softly on the detective's door.
"Come in" said the robotic voice.
The two entered the office and closed the door behind them as they took a seat directly across the desk.
"So, what exactly happened?"
"Well..." she said hesitantly. "I was sleeping and Draco, here, went out to get something and I heard someone come in....I knew it wasn't Draco and the next thing I knew, he flipped the light on and rummaged around the room, keeping his gun at hand. He slapped me when I wouldn't unlock the trunk for him and that's when Draco came in and knocked him unconscious."
"I see. Why wasn't your door locked?"
"We figured it wasn't necessary. Just because its locked thought doesn't mean he couldn't have gotten in another way. If he had really wanted to and the door was locked, he would have found another way."
"Yeah, that's a possibility as well. Well, there's going to be a small trial held. I suggest you call a lawyer and be prepared to present your case in two weeks."
"We're not going to be here in two weeks" said Draco.
"Well, you're going to have to be."
Draco shot the detective a menacing glance and tightened his jaw.
"That will be all. Have a...nice day."
"Thank you."
Draco's jaw was still clenched as they left the office building.
"Draco, this is getting too weird."
"I know it is. We're going to leave tomorrow."
"Already?"
"Yes, I don't like what's going on. I will not allow something to happen to you."
"But-"
"We're not staying after tonight."
Hermione nodded and Draco drew her into a hug.
"What time is it?"
"Four o'clock."
"Let's go back to our room and start packing and then I want to take you to a special place tonight before we leave."
Hermione him suspiciously but nodded and the two proceeded to walk towards the room they had been occupying.
When they arrived, Draco allowed Hermione in first and followed her in.
"We can use our wands in here...there's no one around to see it."
"I agree."
"Wingardium Leviosa!" said both of them. Each of their belongings flew from the place they sat at rest to the suitcases. The clothes were one great heap in the cases, cluttered and wrinkled. Both kept one clean outfit out for their trip home and lay them on the bed. As Hermione closed her suitcase, she felt Draco approach her from behind.
His hands slid along the curves of her body and closed themselves around her waist. Draco began kissing her neck and Hermione giggled at the feel. She then whipped herself around and pushed him against the wall.
Her lips moved roughly against his and they're bodies fit together like two pieces of a puzzle. Draco pushed her away for a moment.
"Grrrr...I like you like this."
"You're the first one to see this side of me."
"Don't I feel special?" he said sarcastically.
"You should."
Draco then turned her against the wall and kissed her roughly. A small moan escaped Hermione's throat as he parted her lips with his tongue. Passion consumed both bodies and pulsed through both of their veins.
Draco then began to let his hands roam her body. He began to pull her shirt off slowly, his hands gliding effortlessly over her fair skin. They stopped kissing each other only momentarily to rid each other of their shirts. Draco slid his hands behind her back to unlatch her bra, doing so excruciatingly slowly. When it was unlatched, he discarded it on the floor. His hands then began to massage her breast. What delicious torment! A low moan escaped Hermione's mouth again.
"I know Hermione."
Draco reached down to begin to unbutton her shorts but she stopped him. He shot her a look of disbelief but it faded as she reached for his pants. She pulled him back toward her and pressed her lips against his hard and her tongue explored his mouth wildly. She began unbuttoning his pants and then moved to undo the zipper. As they fell to the floor, she pulled his boxers down, they too falling to the floor. Her fingers traced the outline of each abdominal muscle and slid down over his smooth, now saturated skin. She began to finger Draco and long low moan erupted from his mouth.
"You're such a tease." he said through pants of breath.
"Oh, but it's so much fun" she replied. She kissed him again and he began to undo her pants. He pulled them and her panties down over her narrow hips and Hermione was sandwiched between the wall and Draco. She brought one leg up and put it just above his hip and he brought the other one to his other hip. He thrust into her and she screamed his name. Their hips rocked together as one, both panting for air. Draco screamed Hermione's name as he came to his climax and both collapsed on the floor. Draco lay on Hermione, both gasping for air.
"Draco, lets go to the bed."
Draco nodded, picked her up gently and laid her down on the bed. Her crawled on top of her and kissed her neck gently.
"Can we have another go at that?"
"As much as I'd love to, I have something else I want to show you before we leave" he said lifting his head to look into her eyes.
"Oh God, but it felt so good!"
"I know, but this is more important. We can do this any time. This is really special."
Hermione looked into his grey eyes, full with emotion, and nodded.
"Alright...let's get dressed" she said reluctantly.
The two got up and put their clothes back on. Hermione took a little longer than Draco, but when both were ready to go, Draco led her to the docks.
"Why are we going here?"
"You'll see."
Draco maneuvered the boat out of the docks and headed out from them toward the endless sea. The boat jumped off the waves as they rolled in towards the shore and the sun began its descent over the horizon.
"Ah....perfect timing."
"What?"
"You'll see."
Draco slowed the boat down and dropped the anchor near some rocks.
"Come here and close you're eyes."
"Why?"
"It's a surprise."
She closed her eyes and he lifted her up in his arms. She put her arm around her neck in reaction.
"I'm not going to drop you."
"I know, I just wasn't expecting you to pick me up."
He stepped off the boat and walked over the rocks into a small cove overlooking the ocean.
"Okay, you can open now."
Hermione opened her eyes and gasped in awe.
"It's so beautiful!"
"There's more."
Draco put Hermione down and she absorbed her surroundings. He walked about ten feet and picked something up. Hermione's eyes were drawn to the beautiful symphonic sunset. The sky was stripped orange and pink and the sun shone a beautiful gold reflecting off the water.
Draco came back and stepped in front of her.
"Look at me."
Hermione looked into his deep grey eyes and listened to each word emitted from his mouth.
"Hermione, before I met you, my life had no meaning, no purpose at all. It became one monotonous joke and I needed something to spice it up. Then I met you. I remembered back at Hogwarts how I was so cruel to you and I regret every word I ever said to hurt you." A tear emerged from Hermione's eye as she continued to listen. "I have met the girl of my dreams and nothing means more to me than you. I want you to be a part of my life always, until the day I die and even after. If I don't tell you how I feel right now, I know I am going to regret it for the rest of my life. Hermione, I love you." Draco reached into his pocket and pulled out an oyster shell. He got down on one knee and opened it to her. Inside was beautiful diamond ring, set in white-gold. "Will you marry me?"
