Her chocolate locks whipped at her face fiercely as the wind roared around her. Droplets of water blew onto her, stinging her deep coffee eyes. Her skin had paled horribly as the cold winds attacked her, numbing her senses from the world. Her usually rosy lips were turning a horrid blue colour as the vicious wintry weather penetrated into them.
Behind her, at the castle which she lived in for most of the year, her housemates stared down shocked at her behaviour. She was dressed in a simple pair of jeans, sneakers and a small t-shirt. Her closest friends had left for the holiday due to return that night and those who had remained were too terrified to enter the freezing realms of outside the warmth of the castle.
She opened her mouth, teeth chattering ferociously. "What did I ever do wrong to deserve this? Why did all this happen to me?" Unknown to her fellow students and peers, her last few weeks at her school had been horrifically terrible. Not to mention the multitudes of work she had, her ex-boyfriend had disappeared.
Despite their painful break-up, she loved him. She knew that she did and that she would always. He was the only one that had understood her truly and understood the struggles she had at home. He had always been there for her until the day she had found him in that room.
Two tears slipped down from her eyes, mixing with the salty water on her cheeks in the memory of him. Everything in the castle reminded her of him and caused her to breakdown; the potions room in which they had first been paired for an assessment, their heads room which they shared, the Great Hall where they had shared secret glances and even the Quidditch pitch in which she watched him fly in glory and praise from his friends.
She snapped out of her thoughts as a slight shadow, caused by the moon, fell over her. Her small hand slipped down to her pocket and reached to the oak wand.
A twig snapped, crunching under the foot of someone. Her fingers curled around the top, gaining a firm grip on it. Silence followed for seconds; seconds in which her heart pumped feverishly.
"Hermione?" A gentle, tentative voice reached her ears. Her hearts movement seemed to stop for a good few seconds. It was himIt was the one that had broken her heart.
She whisked around, staring at the man she had thought gone. "Draco..." The winds whipped his white blonde locks in front of his eyes. His eyes were a bright aquamarine colour, the type that made you feel like the owner could read your every thought. His rosy lips seemed so inviting to her, a slight purple tinge to them. His usually pale skin was reddening with the frightfully coldness of the air.
Hermione's eyes trailed down his body, his firm stature seeming so close yet so far. "Hermione…" His voice reached out once more, trailing off at the end. He seemed so gentle, so caring yet she remembered what he had done.
As she stared into his eyes, as she had done that night, memories flashed back to her.
.:Flashback:.
Hermione was quickly walking through the hallways of the school, a bright smile on her lips. Draco had asked her to meet him in the Transfiguration classroom after they had all returned from Hogsmeade. Hermione knew that this was the day. She was finally going to tell him that she really did love him.
She came to an abrupt stop outside the room, hastily checking herself in the mirror and smoothening out her robes. Gradually she opened the room and smiled at the young man who was waiting for her. "Draco!" She raced to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Much to her surprise and hurt, he didn't reciprocate the action. "Draco?" Her repeated word was more of a question now. "Is everything okay?"
She looked into his eyes in search of an answer or a glimmer of love but instead she found a cold glare staring back out at her. She stepped back startled. His face was formed in that vicious sneer she had hoped she would never need to see again.
The harsh reality of her situation hit her as she stumbled back in desperate hopes that this was all just a nightmare. She spun around to quickly leave but a voice stopped her. "Don't you move, Granger." Draco's voice was once more hard and distant, emphasising his last word. It echoed around in her head, tears springing into her eyes. "We need to talk, Granger."
Hermione once more turned and faced the one that had captured her heart. "Sit." His voice commanded. She quickly complied, seating herself behind a desk. "What happened, Draco? Why are you suddenly so reserved?"
His icy blue eyes whipped to face her as his lips formed his hurtful smirk. "Did you really think I cared, Granger? Did you really believe that I would want to do with a Muggle-born like you?" He let out a short yet heartbreaking bark of laughter. "Oh, you are wrong. It was merely a small bet but then I realised that I could find out Potter's dirty little secrets. The blackmail would be fantastic not to mention, against you. I could break your every strength, take away your friends and crush your petty heart in one shot."
Hermione gasped with pain. "B-but I love you…" She choked out through her anguish.
"I cannot believe that you could think that I, Draco Malfoy, would fall for someone like you?" His rich laughter resonated around the chamber. "Listen up closely, Granger. There had never been and never will be anything between us…Mudblood."
With that he swept out of the room, his cruel laughter audible from the room. His final word echoed around her head, as she screamed with distress. Tears cascaded down her cheeks as she tentatively stood up prepared to run away from this room, filled with his cruel smirk and that horrifying word. Yet her anguish overcame her and she fell to the ground, a blinding white light taking over her senses. She screamed once more before grabbing anything she could to release her torment.
Outside the classroom, Ginny Weasley was returning to her common room. Her pretty face was scowling after her small encounter with Malfoy. As she passed the Transfiguration corridor, she heard a pained scream come from one room. Grabbing her wand she raced down the corridor to the source of the noise. There in the middle of the classroom lay a brunette girl, droplets of blood lying on the ground beside her.
.:End Of Flashback:.
Every time she thought back to that painful night, one part of her couldn't believe how stupid she had been to attempt to take her life. The other part of her, on the other hand, reasoned that her heart had been broken by the man she loved and always would.
Draco felt his heartbreak as he saw the tears falling from her eyes rapidly. It was almost as bad as the night he had left her. He hadn't meant one word of it yet had to, for her own safety from his father.
.:Flashback:.
Draco sighed as he turned into the small hotel where he was to meet his father. It was finally Hogsmeade weekend and he had been anxiously waiting so that he could spend time with his Hermione yet his father had written to him on Friday stating he had to meet him. "You're early, Draco. I'm glad." A cold, sneering voice rang out from the corner.
Draco turned to meet the man who seemed to be an older version of him. "Yes, Lucius. What was it that you wanted?"
The older man glared heavily. "I've heard a few rumours Draco, and I'm not too pleased with them." Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh really. How horrible." He replied sarcastically. He winced as he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. "I don't appreciate your attitude, boy." His father shouted angrily. "Miss Parkinson has informed me that you are courting a lowly Mudblood!"
Draco glared back at Lucius. "Don't you called her a Mudblood. There's nothing important about bloodlines and there is no way I am going to break-up with her so screw you and your bloody ethics."
Lucius smirked cruelly down at his son. "Oh really, son? What if I were to tell you that she would be no longer if you didn't comply?" Draco's eyes widened with shock. "Oh yes, Draco. That's absolutely right. If you want your precious Mudblood safe, you are to leave her this instant. And I don't want some petty, soft affair. I want you to crush her, break her heart and I want her to hate you with her life. Leave now, fool."
.:End Of Flashback:.
His father had been the cause of his torment and pain. After he had broken-up with Hermione, he hadn't thought he could survive the remaining year. Everything reminded him of her and her beauty. He had missed that sparkle in her eyes, the smile she had reserved for him and her wondrous scent.
The pain and agony in her eyes had torn him in two. It was this and his loneliness that had driven him to the belief that his father could be no longer. It was for this he had disappeared. "What do you want?" A meek, tired voice interrupted his thoughts as he looked up into Hermione's eyes.
He stepped forward, hand stretched out as he placed his palm on her cold cheek. Hermione glanced at it before hitting it away and turning from him. "Answer me. What the hell do you want?"
Draco's eyes filled with tears at her action. He had done what his father had wanted. He had driven her so far away that she hated him. "You…" He hoarsely choked out.
Hermione laughed coldly at his statement. "You didn't seem like you wanted me when you called me a Mudblood. You didn't seem like it when you told me that it was all a game to crush me. You didn't seem like you wanted me for the past few weeks."
He turned her around and cupped her face in his hands. "I didn't want to do it, Hermione. I had to."
Hermione stared at him with disbelief. "You really expect me to believe that!" She yelled with anger. "You expect me that you didn't mean it after you crushed me, you broke me and you left me!"
Draco's tears spilt down his cheeks at her words. He opened his mouth and managed a whisper through his tears. "I'm sorry…I had no choice. It was either to leave you or my father would murder you."
Hermione snorted derisively. "I'm sure, Draco. Yet for some reason I don't believe you. As much as I want to, I can't; not after what you did."
Hermione spun on her heels but a hand flew out and held her back. "Wait, Hermione!" Hermione sighed and faced him once more, wincing at the pain in his eyes. "Read this. It…It's my diary from the past year…read…this one…" He whispered softly. He had taken a small book out of his robes and opened it to a particular page before handing it to her. Hermione glared heavily before looking down at the words and reading, noticing the blotching of the words from liquid.
Dear Diary,
I know that I have had many days in which I express that it was the worst day yet I am almost positive that this is the worst that I could possibly have. As you know, my father requested…or rather demanded…my presence in Hogsmeade to meet him. I don't know why I went but perhaps it was the knowledge that he would be murderous if I didn't.
Well, I met him and he delivered me the worst news of all. That conniving pig, Parkinson, had informed him of my relationship of Hermione. When he told me, I was sure I was going to murder him but right now, I wish I could kill myself.
He told me that, and I quote, 'If you want your precious Mudblood safe, you are to leave her this instant. And I don't want some petty, soft affair. I want you to crush her, break her heart and I want her to hate you with her life.'
As I left, these words repeated in my mind. I felt like breaking down then and there but what if I didn't do it instantly like he ordered? Would he not give me a day before taking Hermione's life?
I couldn't take any risks…so I complied. This is my reason for wanting my own death.
I had asked her to a Transfiguration room and I did what my father did. I am almost certain that Hermione hated me with every fibre in her angelic body.
The look in her eyes tore me apart. She was truly crushed. On top of all that, she told me that she loves me. I felt my heart soar yet crack at those words. I love her with every inch of my broken heart. I was so delighted to know she loves me yet I was broken to realise that I would be ruining her.
The pain I feel at the moment is something I cannot describe. All I want to do is jump from the top of the highest tower of this castle. Nothing can describe my pain.
Her eyes portrayed her feelings and I couldn't believe that it was me causing them. As I left, I heard her scream with pain. I cannot stop crying at the memory of her pain.
And a few minutes before, Blaise entered the room staring at me worriedly. He knew that I loved her and he knew what I had to do. He told me that he passed the youngest Weasley on his return to the common room and elevated behind her was Hermione, blood stains over her robes and arms. The one I love has taken an attempt on her wondrous, exquisite life…why couldn't I have just thrown myself off the tower instead?
The remaining words were far too blurred out for Hermione to understand yet it was all that she needed to know. Tears cascaded from her eyes as the meaning of the words sank into her. A soft hand touched her chin and lifted her head to face Draco.
"Hermione…what can I do to show you I care?" His soft, loving voice filled her senses with a joy she hadn't felt in what seemed to be years. "Mya…don't cry." He whispered softly, wiping away her tears with his thumbs only to have them replaced with more.
"Anything, Draco, anything." She whispered back, her longing to be in his arms overtaking her.
He smiled down softly at her before capturing her lips in a soft kiss. Hermione moaned softly as he did so, glad to have her deepest wish fulfilled. Despite the numbing cold in them, his lips seemed so warm and inviting.
Draco pulled back slowly and smiled before leaning in again once more, running his tongue along her frozen lips. Hermione gasped at the warmth before happily welcoming him.
They pulled away, gasping for air yet grinning widely. Draco leant down, placing his forehead against hers. "Hermione…"
"Mhmm…" Came her soft, content reply. "I love you, Mya." Hermione's eyes shot open as she stared at him with shock. "I understand if you don't feel the same way…but I do love you. I have for a while and I always will."
Hermione smiled softly before leaning it. "As do I." She whispered to him before joining their lips together.
It was like this that Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Ginevra Weasley saw their friend after their return. "Ron…leave her be." Ginny whispered fiercely. "Let her be happy for once."
"He bloody broke her heart, Ginny, if you haven't forgotten!" He spat angrily ready to rush and beat Draco to a pulp yet an arm flew out and stopped him.
"She doesn't seem to mind, Ron. Ginny's right. Let them live happily ever after."
With that, they turned and returned to the castle while Hermione and Draco did just that; they lived happily ever after.