A/N: Hi there! This is just a random one-shot I thought up. If you're waiting for my other fic, Tears of the Night, I have the next chapter coming up soon. But I'm so busy at the moment that I decided to give you guys this story for the wait.
It's kind of long though…If you all notice, I'm really fond of writing long, long chapters. They tend to be a bit boring though…I just love explanations and descriptions. I think they make a story more interesting. And I just love to write in the 3rd person POV.
It's just a random story, no plot really. Just something that I thought of… If you guys want something from me, just mail me ok? Or put it in your reviews or something…don't worry I don't get mad easily…
Oh yeah…the moon is an actual character here, so when I use the word it, I can actually mean that it's the moon…
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and whatever things that are connected to him.
On with the story!!!
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Winter Eve
Once upon a winter eve, the moon looked down at the world. It saw many things, both happy and sad. Families were together but there were those who had none. It sighed, seeing so many different things in the world at the same time.
But there is something different, it said. For it saw a young girl sitting underneath a snow-crusted pine tree. Aha, it exclaimed. It seemed that this night will hold interesting events…
And interesting it proved to be indeed. The girl sat quietly under the tree, until she broke down in tears, apparently at a memory she had just recalled. The moon pitied her—she was just a girl—but could do nothing. It just watched as the girl cried her eyes out because that was what the moon does. It watches over people. It watched as the girl tried to control her tears, but to no avail. It seems that her problem was too deep to be forgotten so easily.
As the night wore on, the moon kept its silent vigil over the girl. All it could do to comfort her was to shine bright for her. It traveled slowly across the sky but it still watched her, its beams softly illuminating her delicate body, passing through the leaves of the tree. All that can be seen of her was her bright red hair and her white skin, glowing with the light from the moon.
But she was not to be alone. A young man came towards the tree, from a direction where the girl couldn't see him. He walked quietly, but swiftly, as if he was hurrying towards his destination. As he approached the tree, the moon watched as he ran his hand through his hair, clearly frustrated. The action made light scatter off his hair, giving it a soft, shiny look. Not that it needed it, since it looked so soft and shiny already.
He sat under the pine tree, still quietly, and looked up at the moon. The moon looked straight at him, and was astonished at what it saw. The boy's eyes were a shade of gray, a shade that was so rarely seen that you can't help to stare at them. His eyes are capable of hiding everything under different masks, yet they were vulnerable to anyone who cared to look. Right now, those eyes are filled with regret, pain and surprisingly anger. But the anger there wasn't violent, it was hopeless. It was anger that projected obvious hopelessness.
The boy sat still, oblivious to the girl at the other side of the tree. His movements were still so silent, that the girl didn't notice him. But he was so deeply buried in his own problems, that he didn't hear the soft cries of the girl.
The moon looked sadly upon them, feeling helpless. It can't do anything else to comfort the two suffering people but watch. But maybe he didn't need to do anything else…
By this time, the girl had regained back a bit of her composure. She leaned back against the tree, settling her gaze on the moon. Her soft, brown eyes glittered in the moonlight, clear and full of the emotions she had inside. Like the boy's eyes, hers was full of pain and anger too. But the regret was replaced with disappointment and anguish. She sighed loudly, revealing her presence to the boy. She seems determined now, her eyes still the same, yet there was a trace of hope in them…
The boy jumped at the sound of her sigh. He stood up, and started to peek around the tree. He had grabbed his wand from his pocket to protect himself when…
"Malfoy??!"
"Weasley??!"
It seems as if they both had the same idea when their eyes met, faces just inches from each other. They jumped back, surprised at the presence of each other. Oh, said the moon. So the two people know each other. Maybe they can help each other—or maybe not. The moon had just seen the girl slap the boy soundly on his left cheek. It seems more likely that the two would kill each other rather than help.
"What are you doing here?" the girl said angrily. Her eyes flashed with emotion, both anger and embarrassment, probably at being seen at such a state. Her hair was tangled, her hands were dirty and she had tear stains on her face.
But it seems that the boy didn't notice or if he did, he didn't care. He shrugged, looking away from the girl.
"It's none of your business Weasley." He said tiredly, as if he was too exhausted to fight with her verbally. He sat down again under the tree, not caring anymore about the unexpected presence of the girl there.
The girl was surprised. It seems as if this wasn't what she expected. She stared at him with what seems to be awe, and finally decided to sit down, a good way from him.
The moon was confused. It thought that the two really hated each other, but here they were, treating each other civilly, it that's what it was called. Maybe there is hope for help…
The two sat there in silence. It seemed that they would spend the whole time there, just sitting in silence. But then one of them broke the silence.
"Why are you crying?"
The girl was startled. She didn't expect him to speak. She turned around to stare at him before finally answering, "It's none of your business, Malfoy."
The boy just stared back at her before retorting, "Well, I'm sorry if I just wondered why someone would cry their eyes out under this tree. But why am I asking? It's you then isn't it? You're probably crying over some dumb thing that happened in school."
The girl didn't answer. She just buried her head between her arms and ignored him. This didn't bother the boy. In fact, it seemed that he couldn't care less if the girl decided to do a crazy dance in front of him…But you could see a flicker of concern in those gray eyes of his…
They stayed like that again, in silence. But this time, it was filled with overwhelming curiosity. Any outsider would have felt their obvious curiosity about the presence of each other.
"The moon is so bright tonight." The girl commented softly. She lifted her gaze from between her knees up to the sky where the moon was smiling down at her. Not that she could see its smile but still…
"Yeah. It's very unusual though…It's winter so this place is supposed to be full of fog but tonight seems to be awfully clear…" the boy said, also lifting his gaze to the moon.
The moon, happy at the attention it was getting, decided to shine brightly for the two of them. It was all that it could do for the couple below anyway… So the moon glowed even brighter, almost making some stars near it disappear with its brightness.
The girl smiled at the sight. It seems that the moon was encouraging her to say something, anything, to the boy. Nothing personal, mind you, but something to take their awkwardness away.
"I heard that Harry and Ron had a fight with you today."
A snort was heard.
"Yeah, sure. If you want to call it that. Personally, I would describe it as a verbal exchange with some physical contact. Nothing really happened though…"
Another snort was heard.
"Physical contact? A bloody nose was just physical contact? Good one, Malfoy."
"Thank you."
Silence.
The girl stared at the boy as if he was a creature that is a crossbreed of a flobberworm and a hippogriff.
"What?"
Still more silence.
"Are you going to tell me what made you shut up or are you just going to sit there and stare at me like I'm some disgusting crossbreed?"
A giggle was heard. Then it turned into a chuckle, then to a full laugh. The girl was laughing so hard that she was clutching her stomach and tears were in her eyes.
The boy then realized that he wasn't going to get his answers then, so he just resorted to waiting for the girl to stop laughing. It was much easier anyway. He'd rather stay there and wait than to shout at the girl to shut up and possibly make her laugh even more.
"It's just that—gasp—it's the first time—gasp—I've ever heard you say the words—gasp—thank-you." The girl gasped out, still clutching her stomach.
The boy was speechless. All that laughter was just for his two words? He shook his head at the girl. She was weird alright.
"Maybe it's just because you've never really talked to me before…" he said quietly.
The girl was dumbfounded. She never talked to him, unless she absolutely had to. It was kind of hard to talk to a person whose main idea of his conversations with your family included Mudbloods and poverty. But she realized, maybe she had underestimated him a little. She never knew the great Draco Malfoy anyway.
"So it's your habit then?" she asked slyly. She knew how the boy loved to brag about his evil deeds.
The boy frowned. "Don't get me wrong. It's just that I do say those things. I am human after all…" he said.
"Well what do you know, you're human after all." The girl said, smilingly.
The moon smiled even bigger at this scene. They were getting through each other! Finally!
"So what are you really doing here? It's nearing Christmas. Shouldn't you be thinking about what presents you will give? Especially to your dear beloved Potter?" He smirked, hinting the obvious. But at the mere mention of the name, the girl's eyes filled up with tears.
"Why did you have to mention his name?" she said angrily. Her eyes were too full now, so tears were flooding down her face.
"I'm sorry—"
"Why does everyone think that I'm supposed to be obsessed with him? He's just a guy! So he's famous so what! And he's got a girlfriend now, who's funny, pretty, and smart. He doesn't need someone like me!!" she said, tears still streaming down her face. Every time she said the word he, she would gesture angrily at the air, as if trying to show the boy someone who's not there.
The girl buried her head again between her arms, her sobs clearly being heard by the boy. Since the boy didn't know what to do in these kinds of situations, (it was obvious since he just kept staring at the girl with a dumbfounded look on his face) he just patted her on her back. The girl seemed to accept this act of comfort and soon calmed down.
"Potter rejected you?" he asked softly, trying to place the question upon her carefully, so she won't burst out in anger again.
"He did. He knew about my huge crush on him ever since I was in first year. For 3 years, I tried to get his attention, but to no avail. I watched him as he tried to get the attention of the Cho Chang, wishing that it had been me he was after. If it was, then he wouldn't be worried and nervous anymore." She said. She took a deep breath, steadying herself before continuing, "But this evening, he told me that I had to keep away from him. He told me that Cho was feeling insecure about him, since I had a huge crush on him. He said that she wouldn't go out with him until she was absolutely sure that she was the only one for him. So he had to get me away. Just to be with Cho. WITH CHO! With that stupid Ravenclaw girl!" she finished angrily, tears threatening to fall gain.
The boy didn't seem to know what to say. Finally he said flatly, "He doesn't deserve you."
"What?"
"I said he doesn't deserve you. You're too selfless and generous for him. He would rather throw all that away to be with someone who's obviously possessive."
The girl said nothing. She thought about his words for a long time before finally saying, "Thanks, Malfoy."
There was no reply. The girl leaned back to the tree, somehow closer to the boy. When she laid her hands on the ground, her hands touched his. By the look on her face, she was shocked. She grabbed his hand before he could say a word.
"Malfoy, what's this?"
The boy tried to take his hand back, but he couldn't. The girl's grip was too strong. Not that he was weak, but he was really too tired to fight her. But he didn't say anything.
The girl lifted his hand up to the moonlight to get a better look at it. Pale white skin glowed in the darkness. But there were things that destroyed its beauty…Dark scars covered his hand. The scars looked deep and dangerous, caused by curses and sharp objects. There were many of them. It seems as if he was tortured with his hands…
"What are these?" she asked again. She looked determined, as if she wasn't going to go away without some answers.
"They're scars, Weasley."
"How?"
A sigh was heard. It seems as if the boy was readying himself for a hard task.
"My father gave them to me. As part of my training he said. My hands were just part of the instant training. Some of the scars are much deeper…"
"Why?"
"He wants me to be the greatest Death Eater in Voldemort's league. So during the holidays, he would spend time with me, training me for my future career." He answered flatly, talking as if this were everyday events.
The girl softly stroked the scars, careful that she might hurt him.
"Do they hurt?"
"No."
"Why don't you make them go away?"
"So I can remember what am I supposed to do. I keep these scars as a reminder of who I really am. They remind me that I am also human, a person with his own life. A person who has a choice in life."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's my destiny."
"But you can change that right?"
"I can't. I would be going against my father, who controls my life. Without him, I am nothing."
"That's not true! Every person is his own! Your father can't control you! You have your own life and choices!"
The boy suddenly stood up. He glared at the girl, disbelief showing in his eyes.
"So you're saying that I should fight my father? Is that it? Don't you know how it feels to go against something that you have always believed in and in the process, turn away from the only people who seems to care for you even for just a little bit?" the boy said angrily. His eyes were full of hopelessness and pain, the emotions that can rarely be seen from a person like him.
"Other people care for you." The girl said timidly.
"Like who? Potter and his friends? The other Slytherins?" he laughed mirthlessly. "Think about it Ginny. No one cares for Draco Malfoy."
The girl was shocked. She never thought about it before but his words rang true. But still…
"People do care for you. You just won't give them a chance. You're always shutting yourself out from the world that no one can reach for you anymore. Please, don't do that." The girl said pleadingly, genuinely concerned about the boy. She didn't seem to know where that came from but all that matters now is that it's there.
The boy's eyes widened at the words of the girl. So someone cares for him, really. As he looked at the girl, he found there the care that he was looking for. He would never had thought that he would find his solace in a girl who's supposed to be his enemy.
The next thing that happened shocked all three people in the scene. One was the moon, whose years of experience in these kinds of situations didn't help it predict what was going to happen. The other two, of course were the boy and the girl.
The boy had suddenly kneeled in front of the girl, who was still sitting on the ground, and hugged her. Not the bear-type hug, just a hug full of gratefulness. The boy was genuinely grateful.
After a few moments, the two people separated. The spark of something new was in them now. The girl stood up, looked at her watch and found that it was almost midnight. She tried to talk but her voice wouldn't come out.
The boy also stood up and looked at his watch. He was surprised to find that it was almost midnight.
"I'll be going then."
"Me too."
"Bye."
"Bye."
And the couple went their separate ways, though their thoughts remained with each other. The moon smiled at the conclusion of the events of that evening. It seems that one has finally let go, one has finally learned get and two had learned something special that night. The moon sighed. It was normal as a winter eve in our little planet.
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A/N: How was it? Tell me! Don't forget to review!! I'm sorry for all typographical errors though…I'm too lazy to check them…
This is dedicated to all those D/G fans out there! You know who you are!
Wait for the next chapter of Tears of the Night okay?
Till next time!
snow-baby