A/N: Oh it makes me happy…Reviewers at last! Keep 'em coming!
((I think that I have run out of stupid things to put here))
Chapter 7
Weakness of Strength
I didn't sleep that next night. Instead, I paced my room, the sound of my muted footsteps comforting. The rhythmic step…step…step made my thoughts fall into an orderly pattern.
No matter the order, however, they all reached the same point. I was weak. This woman with her rare and enchanting smile and inquisitive eyes had made me weak.
And yet that same thought also led me down a different direction. I didn't want her to see my weakness. There I paced, torn between my need to be strong no matter the cost, and my sudden need to be strong for someone else – this someone else who intrigued me. Fascinated me. Who carried more pain and personal torment than she let on. Perhaps it was time to repay the favor I owed her. I was tried of being prideful, tired of losing myself among habit
When dawn broke the sky, streaking it with pink and blue, I rushed downstairs. I changed as I walked, knowing I looked a mess. But I just needed to see her. To comfort her as she had done with me. I wanted her to know that I trusted her. That every word I said to her was wrong. I felt this instinctive need to be near her.
A few hours and a few pulled strings later, I had her address. She lived in a heavily Muggle – concentrated area, so I would have to be careful Appareating there. Find a nice alley. Wait half an hour…walk out.
Hermione lived in a beautiful neighborhood, the lawns perfectly cut and the hedges trimmed just right. A good place for a perfectionist to live. I found her house easily enough. I'm not sure if it was the name on the mailbox…or the company car with all the teeth on it that gave it away.
As I stepped onto the driveway, it occurred to me that I still had no idea what I was going to tell her. "I'm sorry," seemed too trite and meaningless a phrase. Especially coming from me. What if she didn't believe that I had changed? That I was a different person than even the one she had caught a glimpse of last night? I reached her door and knocked twice. Might as well just plunge right in. A few heart stopping moments of silence came before the door was gingerly opened partway.
"Hello Hermione," I said softly, my former bravery melting away.
"Draco? What are you…?" She stopped and the door opened fully. Her hair was tamed back in a messy bun, stray curls framing her face. She was wearing loose pants that ended right above her ankles and a long t-shirt sporting some environmental organization's name. In that moment, she had never been more beautiful.
"I didn't mean to wake you," I looked down, thinking of what I could possibly say. "There was just…something I forgot."
She raised a brow at that, following my gaze to the porch and then I met her eyes when I looked back at her.
"And what could that possibly have been?" I noted the sarcasm in her voice. She must not be much of a "morning person." This fact just made her all the more wonderful to me.
I had wanted to tell her everything then, but the words wouldn't come out. My pride had reared up again, but I wasn't going to let it stop me from what I knew I needed to tell her. So I settled for showing her what I felt.
As I had done the night before, I leaned in, but this time, I took her hand in mine, just to feel her warmth and to make sure that she wouldn't leave me this time.
She didn't pull away when my lips pressed against hers. She almost seemed to fall, and I had to wrap my other hand around her waist. There was no razzle dazzle of sparks at our touch, no big sign proclaiming heavenly messages. There was only the feeling that this was…right.
Suddenly aware of where I was again, I pulled back. Sometime in all of that, I had closed my eyes and, opening them again, I realized how close I was to her. I could see the light in her newly opened eyes, the astonishment. She couldn't seem to keep my gaze for long, as she looked away for a brief moment. Real fear that I may have just lost her overcame me and I stepped away, releasing her.
"Draco, I…"
"Yes, well…" I cut her off, turning away and walking off the porch. There was silence as I descended the steps and then I felt a soft touch on my arm. I turned to the source and saw her smile briefly before she closed her eyes and kissed me again.
"I'm sorry," I muttered breathlessly just as she whispered the same thing. I gave a small laugh before I shut my own eyes and closed the gap between our lips again.
