"Hermione…" Draco said, as her warm brown eyes met with his. Until this moment, the last two years had almost made him forget how much he missed the way she looked at him. "What are you doing here?" He asked as she reached him.

"I've been staying in the village." She responded. "I saw you outside the pub just now. You knew I was there didn't you?"

Draco glanced at the ground, embarrassed that she had witnessed his internal battle. Instead of answering her question, he countered it with his own.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, still not looking directly at her. "Do you have friends your visiting in the village?"

A soft pink crept across Hermione's cheeks. "No" she said quietly.

"Well then what the hell are you doing here?" Draco snapped, suddenly feeling angry.

"Draco," Hermione started, sensing his rising temper. "I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking. I just wanted to see you."

Draco turned away from her and sighed. "I can't do this. I need to go." He stormed away from her through the snow, wishing he had just stayed home.

"Wait!" Hermione called after him, but he kept walking. She knew that she should just turn around and walk away as he was doing. She had been staying in the village for a week, and had not yet been able to pluck up the courage to go see him. The only thing giving her courage tonight was the three shots of Firewhisky she had taken before running after him into the snow.

The streets were empty, and night had fallen, accompanied by a steady downfall of soft sparkling snowflakes. Draco could see his breath exiting his body in sharp puffs as he angrily trudged on. For a moment, he thought that he would be allowed to return to his home without any further conflict.

Suddenly, he felt a firm hand on his arm, as Hermione pulled him around to face her. He jerked his arm from her grasp, but didn't turn away this time.

"You can't do this you know!" He snapped at her.

"What?" Hermione responded.

"You can't just come see me every time you have a fight with your husband. What do you want from me anyway?" he spat. "You just want me to make you feel better about yourself? You want me to tell you how beautiful you are, and how clever you are to boost your ego? Just so you can turn right around and go back to Weasley?" Draco was shouting now, while Hermione stood there looking completely lost for words. "You have no right to be here!"

"Draco!" Hermione interrupted. "That's not why I'm here!"

But Draco wasn't listening to her. "You need to go!" He shouted. "I don't want you anywhere near me."

Hermione's eyes were filling with tears, as she tried to speak over him.

"Shut up!" Draco shouted. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say! You have no idea what you did to me!"

"Please!" Hermione shouted as Draco turned to storm away once more. "Please, just have a drink with me…one drink…that's all I'm asking."

Draco's feet stopped moving. He closed his eyes and sighed. He knew he shouldn't, but slowly he turned on his heel to face her.

"One drink." He said quietly, trying not to feel anything at the sight of her smile.

Draco followed Hermione back to the bar. They got their drinks, and sat in silence. Draco looked at anything but Hermione. He was so angry with her, but he couldn't explain why. A second round of drinks, and still silence. Finally, as the third round of drinks came, Hermione broke the silence.

"So, uhm…" she began. "I didn't mean to make you angry by coming here."

"Why did you come here?" Draco asked.

Hermione ignored his question, taking a sip of her drink. "Do you remember our last night together?" she asked instead.

Draco smirked at the table. "How could I forget?"

"Do you…uhm…Do you remember what you said to me that night?" Hermione continued.

Draco laughed, a little confused. "I said a lot of things to you."

"You asked me to run away with you." She looked up at him.

"Oh…" Draco said. "That."

Hermione accepted another drink from the bar tender. She took a big gulp of the Firewhisky. She felt it burn down her throat, though after three other drinks, the burn was much less noticeable. Taking a deep breath, she looked up at Draco.

"Run away with me." She whispered, her eyes upon him.

Draco's eyes snapped up to meet hers. What had she said? His heart pounded.

"Do it." She said, her voice only slightly louder. "Run away with me."

Draco closed his eyes, and breathed deeply, willing his heart to slow back to its normal pace. "You're drunk." He said.

"No…" Hermione reached out and grasped his arm. "Well…" she said "Yes, maybe I am…but I'm serious!"

Draco's hand instinctively covered hers, their fingers lacing together.

"That's what I came here for." Hermione pressed on. "I came to tell you that I love you."

Draco closed his eyes as he listened to her.

"I love you Draco, and I always have."

Draco felt her hand brush his hair from his face, and his stomach did a back flip.

"I know that I'm a little late, but you were right. We should run away. We should be together. You're my best friend."

She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Draco couldn't breathe. For just a moment, he succumbed to her kiss, and felt himself pulling her in closer.

"I have to go." Draco said suddenly, breaking their contact. Hermione grabbed his arm as he stood.

'Draco, please!" she said, her voice trembling slightly. She stood as well, stumbling a little due to the alcohol.

Draco detached himself from her, turned his back and exited the pub. As he walked quickly down the snowy road, he heard Hermione call his name, her voice now shaking in a way that told Draco her tears had spilled over, and she was crying, but he kept walking. He needed to get home. He needed to stop thinking about her, and for everything to go back to the way it had been a few days ago, before he had seen her in the shop window.

Hermione's footsteps were now racing behind him, catching up to him. Draco didn't think he could deal with any more of this tonight. Deciding to apparate home, he turned on the spot. Just as he vanished into thin air, Hermione's hand grasped his arm, forcing her to disappear along with him.

As soon as Draco's feet hit the front step of his home, he pushed Hermione off him.

"What the hell Hermione?" He yelled.

"I'm sorry!" She exclaimed, reaching for him once more. "I just…I didn't want you to leave!" She didn't know what to say. It had been a drunken impulse that had caused her to grab him. She was just as shocked as he was to find herself standing at his front door.

"Draco?" came a kind voice from just inside the door. "Is that you?"

Astoria opened the front door of the house. The sight that met her eyes was more than a little unexpected. Draco stood on the doorstep, a crying, and clearly drunk woman clinging to his arm. It only took a moment for Astoria to recognize the woman as Draco's childhood friend, and first love.

Draco looked at his wife with apologetic eyes. "I ran into her in the village." He said. "She's drunk." Draco pulled Hermione off him and walked past Astoria into the house.

Hermione fell to the ground, tears splashing down her front. She knew she was making a scene, but she couldn't stop herself. Astoria looked down at her with sympathy in her eyes. Kneeling in the snow, she gently took Hermione by the arm.

"Hermione…" she said softly. "It'll be alright." She pulled the drunken woman to her feet and wrapped her arms around her, feeling her body shake with quiet sobs.

Astoria led Hermione into the house. Draco had already disappeared upstairs. She knew this situation must be very hard on him, and understood his desire to remove himself from it. Sitting Hermione on the couch, she pulled out her wand and summoned up two cups of tea, offering one to Hermione.

"I'm so sorry." Hermione choked, as she tried to wipe away her tears. "I'm making such a fool of myself!"

"Shh." Astoria said, patting Hermione's arm gently. "You don't need to worry about that now. Just drink your tea."

Hermione took a small sip of tea, hiccuped, and let out one more soft sob. "I think I'm drunk." She said into her tea cup.

Astoria laughed softly. "Maybe a little."

Tears flowed suddenly once more as Hermione broke down again in tears.

"Oh no." Astoria said taking her into her arms "It's alright, don't cry." She took Hermione's teacup from her hands, and helped her to her feet. "How about a bath?" she asked kindly. "Will that make you feel better? It always helps me."

Hermione gave a little nod, still trying to mop up her tears with her sleeve. She allowed Astoria to lead her upstairs and into a bathroom with a large tub. Hermione sat on the cold tile floor listening to the water as it began flowing out of the tap. Her head was spinning a little, and all she could think of was how stupid she was being. She wanted to run away, but the room wouldn't stand still. Gentle hands gripped her arms as she was pulled to her feet. Her clothes were removed, and she was lowered into the hot steamy water.

"Will you be alright here for a moment?" Astoria questioned. "I'll only be a minute."

"Okay." Hermione responded with a nod, and she heard the door close.

"Draco?" Astoria said as she entered the bedroom. Draco was laying on their bed, his hands over his face.

He sighed, rolling over and sitting up. "I'm sorry." He said as his wife took his hands in hers. "I honestly don't even know what to say."

She looked into his eyes, and smiled gently. "She came here to tell you that she loves you?" she guessed.

Draco closed his eyes. The look on his face confirmed her question. Astoria hesitated a moment before continuing.

"Do you still love her?" her voice shook very slightly, but Draco heard it.

He looked into Astoria's eyes. "I love you." He said firmly.

She gave him a soft smile.

Draco continued. "Just send her away. She's staying in the village; she can find her way back."

"No." Astoria said. "We can't send her away."

"Why not?" questioned Draco, surprised by his wife's response.

She sat down next to him. "Do you remember, two years ago, the way you felt about her?" She questioned. Draco didn't respond, so she continued. "We had just been married, and you loved her. You suffered so much during that time…Can you even imagine how she must feel now?" Astoria placed a hand on Draco's shoulder. "We were married because it was arranged. You never betrayed your feelings for her. You married me, knowing that your heart belonged to her…. But her marriage wasn't arranged. She chose to marry another, despite how she felt about you. She betrayed you, and she betrayed her husband the moment she said 'I do.' Can you even imagine the guilt she must feel?"

Draco hadn't thought of it that way.

"If it's too painful for you to be around her, I'll take care of her." Astoria continued. "But I'm not going to just abandon her, and force her to suffer alone." She stood, placed a soft kiss on Draco's cheek, and left the room.

Draco sat stunned. His body was numb, but his mind raced. He didn't know what he felt. At this moment, his compassionate and generous wife was in the next room, caring for the woman that Draco had been in love with since he was 9 years old.