"I hate you but I love you," he whispered in her ear.

She tried to ignore these words, tried to push them away. She didn't know what worried her more, the hate, the love, or the fact that she could repeat those words just as truthfully as he could.

It wasn't supposed to happen, but it had. And neither her nor Malfoy knew what to do about it.

The only thing she knew was what they were doing right now was not the solution.

But neither she nor he were ready to stop.

Sometimes she wondered would she ever be able to stop.

Sometimes she wondered would he let her.

All she knew was that he had given her something special, but he had taken something from her. He'd taken away her innocence and laced all her goodness with doubt and shadows. Now everything seemed like a façade, a play on a stage. Everything she did with Harry and Ron was false, as fake as the ever-present smile on her face.

What was she going to do?

Love had screwed her. She hated love just as much as she hated him, with his sneer and his coldness and his complete indifference to everyone…

Everyone except her. His cold eyes could soften sometimes into a liquid grey and that sneer could transform into something beautiful…Those harsh features could express emotions he hadn't even known about until recently. That cold, deriding face could show so much concern and hope…

"I hate you but I love you too," she replied, with just a touch of irony.

They shared a grim, ironic smile. He kissed her. The kiss was harsh and heart breakingly sad. So much like their relationship.

"What are we going to do?" she cried quietly, after the kiss.

He didn't have a reply.

He never did.

The only reply he ever had was the hand on hers, slowly pulling her back when she turned away. The only reply he ever had was that light in his eyes when he looked at her, when she could see herself in his eyes, the only light in a tunnel of darkness. He'd never let her go, or so he promised now.

But one day he'll go, she knew. One day the hate will become too much for him. And, when he does, she will be too weak to stop him.

When he does, she will realise that, maybe, she had loved him a little more than hated him.

Then she will wonder that, if she'd told him that, would it have made any difference, anyway.

On the opposite side of the world, living some life that completely excluded her and alluded her, Draco Malfoy will be thinking the exact same thing.


The opposite to love is not hate; it's indifference.


Just a couple of extra sentences added in, as way of revision.

Concerning reviews, thanks to:

Seghen, PinkTribeChick, Crazy-White-Rabbit, illyria-light, Ardent-Entity, and slyswn28.