Chapter 21

Hermione marched out of the restaurant. Adrenalin was pumping through her, enough to make her hands shake. Shake badly enough, it probably wasn't a good idea to apparate home until calms down enough to hold the wand steadily.

As she marched down the street. She could hear purposeful strides behind her. He was following her. If she had heckles, they would be standing on end right now.

A hex of some kind shot past her and hit the wall of the building ahead. She whipped around with her wand at the ready.

"We're not finished." He yelled.

"Really Draco?" she spat back. "Is there anything left to say?"

He stood about five metres away, still brandishing his wand at her.

"You don't get to just walk away." He said.

"Come on Draco. Its been a year now that you have harassed me."

The awkward silence continued. Hermione could see his anger, the sparkle of his eyes in the dark street.

"I'm out, ok." She continued. "I am out of this world. You got what you wanted. So why aren't you leaving me alone?"

He took an uncertain step forwards then stopped. After a while of silence, Hermione started to walk away, but stopped when Draco leaped to block her. Hermione tightened her grip on her wand. She wasn't angry anymore, just exhausted and weary.

"You're not making sense Draco. You have to let me go. We've played this game for a year now. Where is this going to finish? Where do you want this to finish?"

He still didn't say anything. She tried walking away again, but he stepped in her way again.

"What do you want Draco?" She yelled.

"I want you to hurt." He said quietly.

"Why?" She cried.

He was standing much closer now and she could see his face in the moonlight. His eyes seemed to be boring into hers while he tried to formulate what was on his mind.

"This is all your doing Draco. You have dragged this out, kept it alive. Why couldn't you have just let it go and move on?" She was genuinely curious now. There was obviously some unfulfilled need in that twisted mind. "Are you looking for vengeance? For what?"

"You threw me away like I was nothing!" He yelled.

Hermione was shocked at the statement and force behind it.

"No I didn't!" She yelled back. "I was ready to fight anything for you. I would have gone to the fucking line. But what's there to fight for if you won't even acknowledge me."

"You knew the situation I was in." He said. "I couldn't just do what I wanted. You don't understand, I was born to a specific purpose and there are no alternatives."

"We had this conversation a year ago. I sympathise, but I can't live my life according to the Malfoy family traditions. Its not my family, Draco, and I don't...can't live by its archaic not to mention idiotic rules." She pleaded. "I need to live my life Draco. It was a mistake us ever getting involved. But it was what is was, now you have to let it go."

"Do you think I haven't tried?" He said. "I can't."

He stepped a little closer. Within reach. Hermione felt a panic rise as he came closer. Not from any threat, but just from the rawness.

"And how is making me hurt going to help?" She said, trying to get the conversation onto a more detached track.

"Because you can't just walk away and leave me like this."

"You attacked me on the street. What exactly were you planning."

"I didn't have a plan. I just needed to do something to get me out of the hole I was in."

"You're so angry with me." She said, feeling tears well up behind her eyes.

"I can't get you out of my head. I think about you the last thing at night and the first thing when I wake up. I thought if you left, it would fade but it hasn't." He said. He was standing so close now, she could smell him. His scent in her nose brought back charged memories.

"I'm sorry." She said and took a step back. "But I can't live in some kind of purgatory. I wish the best for you but I can't have you shift your hell onto me. Stand by and watch while you got on with living a life, just because there is a piece that you have tied to me."

"You would leave me to suffer, while you walk away?" He asked.

"I have to."

She made another move to walk away, but he was practically on her now.

"How Slytherin of you." He said, close enough so she could feel his breath on her face. She felt completely uncomfortable. Walking away from someone's suffering wasn't in her nature. Particularly one she was partially responsible for and one she could so easily alleviate. To her own complete and total detriment. But the call to alleviate his pain was so strong.

Hermione felt the chill of the air on her cheeks where her tears had trailed. She hadn't realised she'd been crying.

"Come away with me." He whispered. "We'll go back to Cuba. Like it was. Stay there forever just you and me."

Hermione wanted to shake her head, but he was so close now. She could feel his breath on her lips. Her mind was screaming at her to run, but somehow her legs wouldn't comply and her part of her mind was completely fixated on his lips.

The contact welled up every emotion Hermione had in her. There was pleasure, fear, lust, anger, love, spite, joy, hatred, plus some more she probably couldn't identify if she tried.

As the kiss deepened, she felt like she couldn't breath, while at the same time feeling like she was breathing for the first time in a long time.

A flash to the side broke the spell and broke the kiss. Draco turned his head to deal with whatever it was. Hermione should have too but she could only see him. He was saying something to whatever/whoever it was.

Hermione renewed her hold on her wand and apparated away.

Hermione cried for most of the night. The encounter had shook her. No matter what happened she ended up crying.

She felt awful when she went downstairs for breakfast the next morning. Her parents were staring at her, before nodding towards the morning copy of the Daily Prophet. There was a photo of her and Draco kissing, with a large caption detailing how the younger Mr. Malfoy seems to be reconciling with his estranged wife.

"Is there something you need to tell us?" Her mother asked.

"Nope." She said and folded the paper over so the picture wasn't showing. She had to inform her parents of the false marriage assumption that Draco had perpetuated at and after her engagement party.

"Guess this mess isn't quite sorted yet." Her father said as he gave her a supportive pat on the shoulder before leaving the kitchen.

Ginny and Harry came around about five minutes later.

"What the fuck? Are you insane?" Ginny demanded. Harry positioned himself in a corner for this one.

"I believe that might be the case." Hermione responded deflatedly. "I think I might need to be committed."

"You kissed him." Ginny continued.

"It's not what it looks like."

"Really are you sure? The picture on the FRONT PAGE of the Daily Prophet was fairly descriptive."

"What were you thinking?"

"It's complicated."

"And going around kissing him will make it less so?"

"It sort of came to a head last night." Hermione tried to defend herself.

"So what, you're together now?"

"No!" Hermione continued.

"Then what. You're not?"

"I kind of ran away." Hermione admitted. "After... you know. You saw."

"Are you sure he's not playing you?"

"I'm not sure of anything." Hermione said sinking down on the couch.

"What the hell happened?"

"I..." She started. "Can we please not talk about it?"

"Because we know he likes of mess with you. He likes it when you're confused and uncertain." Harry finally piped in.

"I am starting to wonder if you are just as guilty as him in this whole thing." Ginny said.

"How can you say that?" Hermione defended herself. Shocked at the accusation.

"Have you seen this photo?" Ginny said, turning over the Daily Prophet and studying the photo. "I doesn't exactly look like you're running away. I would go as far as to say that you look like you're exactly where you want to be."

"That's not fair. You don't understand." Hermione said. "He is having trouble letting go." She knew that trying to explain that he was in pain and it hit her like a punch in the gut would sound beyond sappy. She knew exactly the expression she would get from both of them. Part of her wanted to say it, just so she could prove herself right.

"From the looks of it," Harry said, "many might say that's understandable. That's some kiss."

"Who's side are you on?"

"It just looks like you're stirring things up. You were supposed to stay away from him."

"He obliviated my date!"

Ginny and Harry gave each other a knowing look that infuriated Hermione. They were dismissing this as some kind of sick game between them. Ok, so some of it kind of rung true, but she was the innocent party here. How dare they dismiss her like this.

"You two should just get a room." Ginny finally said.

"You suck as a friend." Hermione said, shaking with anger.

"Get in touch when you've worked it all out. We'll go do lunch or something. Love you." Ginny said as she and Harry rushed for the door.

"How dare you leave me on my own to deal with this. I hate you!" She yelled after then.

Unbelievable, she thought, didn't they realise how serious this was. Can't anyone be relied upon for anything?