Hermione loved the ocean, it was the one thing that no one could take away from her. It was her only constant, soothing in her most troubled moments. But for the first time it couldn't do anything for her. Nothing could, not even his presence, normally the thing to make her forget everything, now it only made her want to cry, knowing that everything would soon end. With trembling hands she sealed the envelope in her hands, kissed it lightly and folded it into quarters, and placed it inside her favorite shell, one of those that you put up to your ear and you could hear the sounds of the ocean. She ran her delicate fingers over the smooth edges of the shell and placed it in the pocket of his jacket draped over a nearby piece up driftwood. She looked out at her beloved ocean again, and with a faint smile on her lips and tear running down her cheek, she remembered every moment she ever spent with him, every kiss, the night not too long ago spent in each others arms. She remembered the feeling of his arms wrapped around her, the way he smelled, the sound of his voice, of his laugh, that little smirk, the way his hair always seemed to fall into eyes. She remembered the night he told her he loved her, his beautiful grey eyes filled with love and warmth, how he had picked her up and twirled her in his arms when she told him that she loved him too. How his lips had felt on hers, the sheer bliss, the feeling that it would never end and everything was going to be okay. And as she lay on the beach all alone, propped up by a piece of driftwood, recounting all her precious memories, she fell asleep with him in her dreams, closing her eyes for the last time.

As he walked along the beach that she so loved, still in the clothes from the funeral, he fought the urge to cry. He had not shed a tear since he had heard the news two days ago. He had walked into her house the day after her walk to find a room full of somber faced family and friends of hers, he had asked what happened, where she was. Potter walked up, tears in his eyes, "Malfoy, I hate to say this but…she's dead. We found her on the beach last night, we thought she was sleeping, but…she had been sick for a while…" there were more words but he didn't hear them all he could think was the Hermione, his Mione, was dead? No, it couldn't be, this isn't happening, he had held, kissed her, just yesterday, there's no way she's dead, no, no, no, she was only seventeen, so vibrant, so full of life, she couldn't have been sick, she would have told him. He turned around and ran, ran until he couldn't breathe, until he was standing, struggling to breathe in the middle of an empty road, and after getting back his breath, he turned around and walked back to his house, not leaving his room until the funeral. He swallowed hard at the memory, and the tears that threatened to spill from his eyes, he was a Malfoy and Malfoys didn't cry. She was just another girl right? She didn't really mean anything to him, he had only wanted to sleep with her. Even as he thought this he knew it wasn't true. He had loved her, still did in fact, it still wasn't real to him that she was gone. Today at the funeral everyone was in tears, her parents, Potter, Weasel, even relatives who had probably never met her before, who had no idea who she had been or what was lost. Why hadn't she told him? Did he do something wrong? Why had she kept this a secret? He was guilt ridden and grief stricken, he felt like his heart had been ripped in two. He hadn't been able to save her, he should have gone with her when she went for that walk on the beach, he should have stayed to wait for her. He could have sent someone to find her when she didn't come back, maybe he could have gotten there in time, maybe she would still be there. He dropped onto the sand watching the waves crash on the beach, leaning back against a chunk of drift wood where he noticed a jacket, awfully familiar, draped on a log next to him. He picked it up, and realized it was his. She had borrowed it to go on her walk, and he had completely forgotten about it. He clutched the soft material and brought it to his nose, breathing in the scent of roses and rain water, her scent. Cradling the jacket against his thin frame he noticed something in the pocket, it was her favorite shell, he remembered coming her accidentally as she sat in the hallway late one night her ear pressed against the shell, a smile playing at her lips, he had watched her for a few moments and left, not having wanted to disturb her. He put it up to his ear hoping to hear the comforting sound, even though the real thing was right in front of him. As he did so he noticed something in the shell, a sealed envelope, with one word written upon it in her distinct handwriting: Draco With shaking hands he opened the envelope, pulled out a letter and read the neat script sprawling across the page.

I'm sorry

Maybe it was a mistake not telling you

But I can't help but think things would have been different if I had

And as much as I wish I could feel your presence next to me

I know that it's impossible

If you're reading this then I'm gone

It wasn't my decision to leave and by now you know that

I wanted to tell you so many times but I couldn't

I didn't want to lose you

I didn't want you to treat me any differently

And don't deny it

You would have

You would have been extra careful with me,

You would have treated me as a piece of glass

Ready to shatter at any second

We wouldn't have done half the things we did if you had known the truth

And no it didn't do me any harm

In fact it did me good

You kept up my spirits, and gave me the will to hold on

I didn't want to see you to look at me with pity and sorrow in your eyes

I wanted me, us, to be normal

I wanted your looks filled with love, lust, happiness, anger even, not pity, never pity

I hated that feeling of being looked at only with pity

Knowing that that person couldn't help it, or didn't even know what they were doing

To be looked at with pity for something I could not change,

Only made me feel damaged

Pity is the last thing I want from anyone

All I could do was make the most of my time left

And so I did, and you helped me

I wanted so desperately to be normal

You made my life better than I could have ever imagined

You made my last time the best of my life

I was happier than I ever was before, and that was because of you

Never forget that

But most of all I couldn't lose you, I wasn't going to take that chance

Would you have stayed with me knowing

Knowing it would never last and that I would only leave you?

So if I've left you heart broken I'm sorry

If I've left you alone I'm sorry

I hope you can understand

I hope you can find it in your heart to not be angry with me

If you went around from this day forward hating me…the thought alone makes me sadder then I could ever imagine

You gave me comfort on my darkest days,

Do you remember when I was crying and wouldn't tell you why?

I was thinking about us, and how I wouldn't be here and wishing things were different

I never had a reason to hate god before, but you gave me one

He is taking me away from you and I can do nothing to stop it

And I can't help but despise him for that

I hope you can forgive me for keeping this from you

There was nothing else you could have done to change the out come, or the timing

Just consider us lucky to have had the time together that we did

I'm not sorry I met you

I never will be

And I will be watching over you

I'll see you mourn and want to be by your side

Knowing that it isn't be possible is going to stay with me until you're by my side again

But I'll be there when you find someone new

And when you finally have the family I know you've always wanted

Even if Malfoys aren't supposed to care

Never be like your family, never believe that love is overrated

But I know you're different

You're better than them

And if you go and change back into the Malfoy I once knew

The one whose eyes held only hate and malice

Then I'm going to come down and scare the hell out you, don't think I won't

I know who you really are, no matter how you try to hide it

I know

I love you, I never stopped, I always have, I always will

Love is not something that can be broken apart by distance, or time

love is everlasting, Nothing less

I will never forget you Draco, please don't forget me

I will love you until the end of time

Until we meet again,

-Hermione

He reread the letter over and over and finally let the tears fall. Sobs ripped through his slender frame as he let it all go, the grief, the anger, the despair. He cried for what seems like hours thinking of her, her smile, her laugh, the way she chewed her bottom lip when she thought, the way her body had felt pressed against his, the way she always understood, with out his having to say a word. Slowly the tears dried from his cheeks. A faint, slightly waterlogged smile tugged at his lips as he thought of a quote he had once read, he had no idea who had said it, but the words would always stay with him. "we only part to meet again" and deep down, he knew that no matter what happened, she would always be there, if he would only look hard enough. He loved her, and she loved him, and nothing, not even death could come between them. At that moment he knew this wasn't a goodbye, or a farewell, it was simply, as Hermione had said, until they meet again.

Our love it was stronger by far than the love

Of those who were older than we--

Of many far wiser than we--

And neither the angels in heaven above,

Nor the demons down under the sea,

Can ever dissever my soul from the soul

Of the lovely Hermione G:

For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams

Of the lovely Hermione G:

And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes

Of the lovely Hermione G:

And so, all the night-tide, I lay down by the side

Of my darling--my darling--my life and my bride,

In the sepulchre there by the sea--

In her tomb by the sounding sea.

A/N -ok guys, please, please ,please review, this is my first fic and i want to know what you think, do you love it? Hate it? Constructive criticism is encouraged but please don't just tell me it sucks, tell me why, any advice to improve I would love

Poem except from the wonderful Edgar Allen Poe's Annabelle(sp?) Lee, with a few minor changes