The soles of his black shoes made small scuffmarks against the sidewalk as he walked alone. People passed by him, giving him strange looks and whispering behind his back, but he was used to it.
In fact, he just accepted it.
A single tear fell down his cheek as he thought about her. The way she smiled at him…the way her laughter rang like church bells on a clear Sunday morning…the way she just stood there…
Everything about her made his life seem so dull and dreary.
Draco was in love with Hermione.
He always had been and he always will…
The problem was…did she love him back?
She did love him once. In fact, the two of them were so deeply in love at Hogwarts that the day she decided that she was going to leave and become an Auror…
He cried.
The tears fell down his face faster than the rain that fell outside that day. He did not want to leave her so soon…
She was so beautiful…so precious…her skin was so much like a porcelain doll's…soft, but hard to get through.
She loved him then…but did she still love him?
Draco walked past the coffee shop the two of them sat in together…he looked at the piano that Hermione played her soul upon and saw a young boy sitting at it, playing a flute.
It was the little boy whom Hermione spoke to about working hard to achieve your goals. He was still playing his flute and, by the looks of it, he was pretty good.
Draco, determined to bring good news to Hermione that night, walked into the coffee shop, thinking that he could get a coffee to go at least.
But the sound of a beautiful flute solo rang in his ears. The young boy was playing a Mozart concerto, but one just slightly different from the one Hermione played.
"Excuse me, my young lad, but what is your name?"
The young boy looked up at Draco, fear shining in his bright blue eyes. "Jack, mister. My name is Jack."
"Don't be scared…I was with the young lady who talked to you about practicing your flute. Do you remember her?"
"Miss Mozart? Yeah, I remember her…saw her in the Daily Prophet this morning as well. At least, it looked like her."
"You are a wizard?"
"Uh huh. I'm starting at Hogwarts this year. I hear that Slytherin is the worst house to be in…is that true?"
"Well…from personally being in Slytherin, it's not as horrible as it may seem, but 99 percent of the people who are in Slytherin become Dark wizards, so I would suggest going into Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. They are both known for their wits and their bravery…Gryffindor is good for learning to play Quidditch rather well, but that's just because Harry Potter was in Gryffindor."
Jack's eyes went wide. "Harry Potter was in Gryffindor?"
"Uh huh…he was really good friends with Miss Mozart as well."
"Are you serious! He's, like, my hero! I can't believe you actually met him!"
Draco smiled. "Well, if you want to become like Harry, you have to work really hard. Then again, being in Gryffindor wouldn't hurt."
"I didn't know that so many famous people went to Hogwarts…I can't wait to go!"
"Well, I have to get going. Nice to see you."
"By the way, my full name is Jack Weasley. If you know who Ginny Weasley is, then yeah…she's my mum."
Draco paused. "Wait a moment…isn't your dad Harry Potter?"
"Well…Mum and Harry aren't married yet…I'm an adopted child, and their wedding is soon. It's going to be so hard to live with my hero, but hey…at least my dad is famous, right?"
"I see…I was just wondering, because if you were a true born Weasley, you would have hair redder than fire. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about."
"Yup. My mum has really red hair…and I mean REALLY red. It's so pretty though…I really wish I had hair like hers…it's so soft, like a kitten's fur."
Draco smiled. Now that he thought about it, the young woman who was with Jack looked somewhat familiar…
"Well, like I said, I really have to get going now. It was nice to meet a fellow wizard."
"Nice meeting you, sir. I like your hair, by the way."
"Thank you."
Draco waved goodbye once more to Jack, then made his way down the street, humming a gentle tune.
He was humming nonsense music, some of it was the piano solo Hermione played, mixed in with a little bit of just anything that came to his mind. In fact, he was creating his own song as he walked along.
The tears began to fall down his cheeks as he remembered that day when Hermione told him she loved him…and that she would always love him.
No matter what stood in their way.
'I wonder if she remembers her promise,' Draco thought to himself. 'There is always a possibility that she remembers something about it…I'll ask her tonight. Yeah…tonight's a good time to ask her about it.'
The smile that lit up Draco's face was brighter than the moon. He looked up, letting the suns rays heat his entire body for just one moment, and then he turned back, looking at the Ministry of Magic.
"Hermione…I hope you remember your promise, because I sure remember mine."
And with that, Draco began to walk back down the street towards the Ministry of Magic once more.