"Are you sure you don't mind closing up, Miss Granger?"
"Certainly, Mr. Gybon, this trolley is almost put away. I can lock up. You go ahead." Hermione nearly had to push the Flourish and Blott's owner out of his own shop, into the pouring rain. She needed to be alone. The rote, mindless task of away books was the easiest way to clear her mind; practically meditative. She needed to clear it and fast.
Hermione looked down at the three dozen books on her trolley.. This is where she needed to be. Not wallowing at home, and not as a guest at his wedding.
The silence of the bookstore was deafening. Its usually peaceful ambiance reverberated with the raging cacophony of her thoughts. The deluge of doubts beating against her louder than the rain on the shop windows. . She didn't want to be here putting away books, she didn't want to wipe down the counters, or empty the trash. She didn't want to stand or sit or think or breathe.
I'm in love with you, Draco. I didn't know it until now, but I had to tell you.
Her words echoed in her mind. The look on his face permanently etched in her memory; his shocked surprise of her reckless confession, her selfish admission. Draco was already betrothed to another when she had revealed a secret she didn't even know she had. She loved him more than she had ever loved anyone.
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
Like a worrying grandfather, the clock pestered her to return to her work, grounding her to reality. She grabbed the first book, returning it to the window display. The rain was falling harder now and she allowed herself to drift into the white noise. She placed the book carefully on its pedestal when the door to the shop opened.
"Hermione!"
His black dress robes dripped water onto the carpet of the entryway. He was drenched, as if he'd run through all of London to get here. Breathing heavily he frantically looked around the shop until angry silver eyes landed on her.
Hermione hated the way he looked at her. Though he had every right with how she turned their friendship upside down. She took a steadying breath before trying to tend to the fresh wound that she had created.
"I'm supposed to be getting married." he reminded her harshly.
"Um– okay–"
"No, it's not okay. It's absolutely not okay!" he shouted. "It's actually one hundred percent the opposite of okay!" He'd never yelled at her like this before.
"I get it," she muttered, startled by his temper.
"No, you don't get it," he sneered down at her. "You had no right. No right to tell me–to tell me that you–" he faltered, stumbling over the words she'd used, as if they were vile and disgusting.
The thought enraged Hermione, her feelings weren't some fleeting emotion that didn't warrant honesty. She loved Draco, and in this moment she was not sorry about it. That didn't mean he could just barge into her place of work and scream at her, making a mess all over the floor she would need to clean.
"What? Say it," she demanded. If he needed to get something off his chest then so be it. Hermione could face the music. It's not as if she hadn't gone toe to toe with Draco before.
"I was doing just fine with Astoria. I was happy before you– Everything was going the way it was supposed to be going before you–"
"Hey, I was doing just fine also." Hermione interrupted his poor attempt to get to the point. She rushed past him to the trolly, determined to do something with her hands. "Everything was going exactly how it should have before I found out how you used to feel about me," she grumbled, grabbing three books angrily. "You think it's easy for me to see you with her? Hear her talk about you like some trophy?"
"Then you should have said something before I agreed to marry her!" He pointed a finger at her, as if she was to blame for everything, but she wasn't. Not everything.
"I didn't know before! And how come you never told me that you've had a crush on me since third year? Third year!" She abandoned the books back on top of the pile.
"Right, because that would have gone over so perfectly," he laughed. "Hey, Hermione, I have a blinding crush on you and I can't eat or sleep. All I think about is you, will you go on a date with me?" The mock question was laced with sarcasm. "Forget about the fact that I loathe your friends and be with me. There was never a good time, don't you see that?"
"Never a good time? We've been friends for years now. We've seen each other virtually every day. What were you waiting for?"
"Not–not every day," his demeanor softened. She had found the hole in his reason. There had been plenty of opportunities. "Things got in the way," he defended. "You and Weasley–"
"Ron and I had been over for a long time, I told you that. You were the one who helped me pick up the pieces," she reminded him, their tones shifting, arriving at a summit of something Hermione was too scared to reach.
They both stared at each other now with nothing but the sound of rain and thunder filling the silence.
"I can't do this right now. I'm getting married, I'm happy. It's too late." A calm washed over him and Hermione reeled back from the familiar feeling of rejection.
"So what now? You just ignore how you feel? I ignore how I feel?"
"I've been doing it since I was thirteen. I've gotten damn good at ignoring my feelings." Draco's voice hardened ruthlessly, unapologetically. His contemptuous tone sparked her anger.
"Fine! Go then," she yelled, her tone cold. "Go to your bride and pretend this means nothing."
Draco stood up straight, his empty eyes narrowing as he nodded.
"Fine." He swiftly turned, yanking open the door and stalked back out into the rain. She rushed to close the open door and before he was out of sight she shouted behind him.
"And you know what? Now I got closure!"
Hermione didn't watch him walk away. She slammed the door shut and cast a locking spell for good measure. Storming back into the shop, her emotions consumed her. She collapsed into a seat at the edge of the countertop, burying her face into the palms of her hands.
Anger, sadness, misery, conflict, heartache. Everything all at once was ripping her soul apart. Her chest ached as tears began to flow. Hermione couldn't imagine a life without him, but now she would have to. It was too late.
Steady breaths and the clatter of the rain calmed her as the grandfather clock chimed in her ears once more. A low rumble sounded in the distance when she finally looked up.
She gasped, seeing Draco standing on the other side of the door. His gaze met hers intently. The strands of his platinum hair were dripping water down his cheeks.
Hermione's heart raced as understanding passed between them. As if everything and nothing fell into place. Without meaning to, she walked to the door, their eyes were locked with unsaid sentiment.
Her chest tightened as she twisted the knob to find it wouldn't budge. She pulled harder and nothing. As the door rattled from her effort, Draco placed his hands on the glass pane as if that would help the situation.
"Try your wand?" he offered and a small smile crept up on her face. She slowly reached for her wand.
"Alohomora," she muttered and the locking mechanism clicked. Hermione turned the knob and opened the door.
She looked up at him and it felt like she was standing on the edge of a cliff. Thunder rolled in the distance but it wasn't nearly as loud as the sound of blood rushing to her head from anticipation. Perhaps he just needed to say something else.
That wasn't true. The look in his eyes told her they had already said everything that needed to be said. They had poured their hearts out and all that was left was the next moment. This moment.
Draco swept her, weightless, into his arms and their lips met. She trembled, the cold rain washing over her, yet his soft lips set her ablaze as they dove off the edge of the cliff together.
Her heart had taken flight and yet the touch of his soft lips and his arms securely around her waist grounded her. His tongue traced the fullness of her lips, leaving her breathless.
His fingers pressed into her waist firmly as if to ensure she was real, that this was real. She placed her hands carefully along his jaw, holding onto him, never wanting to let go.
Draco slowed the kiss and placed her gently back on her feet. Her eyes opened slowly as his lips separated from hers but his arms still held her close. Hermione met his eyes and everything fell into place.
"I wasn't doing just fine– You mean everything to me, Hermione," he caressed her cheek. "I love you," Draco affirmed and Hermione's heart was full again.
Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck and they kissed once more, the rain a constant partner in this moment they would remember for the rest of their lives.