A/N: I'm sorry I haven't been updating. I haven't heard from my beta for a long, long time. I don't know what happened to her, disappeared maybe. Anyways, this year is a tough year for me. I've got a very important exam somewhere in October. But don't worry, I'll finish this story. Hopefully, it will end by the middle of this year. If you haven't noticed, this story is coming to an end. And to all of you who THINK you know the ending, you don't. It's not the typical "gate-crashing wedding" kinda story. Well... there WILL be gate-crashing but... I'm not gonna spoil this for you! Enjoy!

It's Broken, Twice

11th March 2005

Hermione Granger

I smiled broadly as I stepped inside the gate of the Malfoy Mansion. This was it! I was so excited! I took a deep breath and pushed the large, sinister front gates. Slowly, I strolled through the gardens where everything seemed to be … dead. All the colourful flowers were faded and dying … the trees cold and bare… I shuddered. There was no life at all … not even so much as a butterfly to brighten up that place. Everything looked so gloomy and sad … one could even walk past and feel depressed instantly. I pulled my cloak closer around me and walked to the front door. After my third knock, a tiny house-elf opened the door and greeted me.

"Hi, I'm looking for –"

SLAM!

The house-elf slammed the door. I raised my eyebrow and shrugged, thinking that it was okay to enter. I pushed the large wooden doors open and stepped into the mansion. I gasped. The interior of the house was worse than the exterior! How could anyone live here? There were cobwebs on the ceiling, and the walls were made of stone which made the house seem like a dungeon. There was no fire dancing merrily in the fireplace, and instead of armchairs, there was wooden – and uncomfortable – looking furniture.

"Scared, Hermione?" a voice suddenly echoed around the room, followed by soft footsteps.

"Who are you?" I asked as I eyed a young blonde woman around Draco's age.

"Oh, how rude of me! I'm sorry, my name is Hazel – Hazel Malfoy," she introduced herself, not bothering to extend her hand for me to shake.

My years of living in a racist community told me that she was 'that kind' – the ones that differentiated pure-bloods from Muggle-borns.

"You're Draco's sister?" I asked disbelievingly.

Draco used to talk about Hazel as a kind and warm person – not this cold and arrogant person talking to me.

"Yes, and may I ask what is your business here?"

"I'm looking for Draco."

She smiled evilly and said, "He's in his room. I'm sure you know where it is."

She was right. I knew where it was because I'd been here a few times before. But the mansion had never looked as gloomy on my past visits. I nodded to her, not knowing anything else to say.

"I'm sorry the house-elf slammed the door on you. They've been trained to slam doors on Mudbloods," Hazel said coolly.

I felt my temper rising. I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. I turned around and walked to Draco's room. After a few turns, I found myself standing in front of Draco's bedroom door. I entered without bothering to knock and saw something I probably never want to see again. A woman – with hardly any clothes on – was on top of Draco. It took me a while to register what was about to happen and tears began to flood my eyes – no, I wasn't going to cry over Draco again.

For a moment, there was a long silence. No one said anything, and the woman on top of Draco merely stared at me – well, at least she wasn't on top of him anymore.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt," I heard myself said.

"Hermione…" Draco's voice trailed. "It's not what you think it is."

"And what do you think I think it is?" I snapped at him.

"I'll be outside," the woman told Draco and walked past me towards the door and left.

"I wasn't about to have sex with Lynette!"

"Lynette, huh? Nice name."

"That's not the point!"

"Well, your excuse wasn't the point either!"

"She was going to rape me!"

"Rape you?" I repeated ridiculously.

"Yes, rape me! I'm a victim –"

SMACK!

My hand landed on his face. I could see a trace of a red handprint on his right cheek now. I was just so tired of his excuses.

"Define rape, Draco. I suppose it means 'having sex while I'm engaged to someone else' in Draco's Dictionary, right?"

He was at a loss for words.

"Or… I dunno… 'making out with a bitch'?"

"Hermione…"

"I tired of your lies, Draco," I said, trying really hard to hold back my tears.

I was not going to cry. "When will you ever tell me the truth?"

"I can tell you the truth!"

"Try me, Draco, go on!"

"Lynette and I are getting married," he said bluntly.

SMACK!

Another slap, another cheek. I wiped away the tears that were falling down my face.

I took the ring off my finger and threw it at him. "I was so naïve to think that we might actually work out!"

"I WAS SO NAÏVE TO THINK THAT YOU WEREN'T LYING!" I screamed. "I was so stupid. But not anymore…"

I walked out of the bedroom and Apparated away. I reappeared at my apartment. I sat on the sofa and allowed the tears to flow freely. I contemplated what I saw, but it hurt so badly to think of it.

I heard someone Apparating into my apartment, but I ignored it. I didn't care about anything anymore. Even if it was a Death Eater – well, I fell in love with one, didn't I?

Soon, that person was holding me up and hugging me. I tilted my head and stared at him with teary eyes. He was looking down at me with concern. My best friend was here, and everything would be okay – or so I hoped.

"Why, Harry, why?" I asked him, my heart aching terribly. "Why would he hurt me?"

"I don't know. I really don't know…"

"Why would he do such a thing?!"

Harry didn't say anything. He was probably scared to say it.

"We were going to get married … b-but now he's going to marry s-someone else!"

"I was going to tell you…" he replied. "I'm sorry."

I stopped sobbing and pulled his hands away from me.

"So, you knew about it?" I asked him angrily.

"Yes, I did…" he said regretfully.

I could almost feel my heart stop beating.

"Go on, Harry. Say 'I told you so'!" I shouted at him. "Why are you keeping quiet?!"

"Hermione…"

"Let me guess. I was never going to find out. And by the time I came back from Hogwarts, it would all be too late?"

He kept quiet. No one could blame him for that.

"Harry, please leave," I choked. "Please!"

He looked down regretfully and Apparated away. I sighed and threw myself onto the sofa. I needed to sort out all my feelings. How could I let one man possibly hurt me so much? Was he really worth all the tears? We met when I was fifteen, when I was young, when I was invisible… and a year after that, he told me we couldn't be together. So I moved on… I took whatever I was offered, and at that time, it was Ron. I dated him for five years, but still … he couldn't give me what Draco had given me. He couldn't make me feel wanted … he didn't give me the thrill. But when he proposed, I couldn't stand to see him break. So I said yes.

It was the biggest mistake of my life. But in another way, it was the best decision I'd made in my life. If only I hadn't walked out on him that day at the church, if only I had married him! But I had to choose whether I wanted love … or friendship. I couldn't throw out eleven years of friendship … nor could I forget the man who had shown me what true love was. Draco caught me when I was falling. How could I ever forget his touch? Every time I kissed Ron, I thought about Draco … and I felt guilty for lying to Ron all the time. I was unfaithful – not physically, just mentally.

I remembered saying how I would give anything to have Draco again … but that was five years ago. Now that he is back, what am I going to do? I found myself wondering. In the end, I threw away the two things that mattered the most in my life – an eleven-year-old friendship and true love. So I thought, was it really worth it? Ron passed away; I wasn't cheating anymore. I could be with Draco, but I couldn't. I just couldn't.

I sighed and went to wash my face. My frustrations were killing me. I'd promised myself that I wouldn't cry for a man – ever again. It wasn't worth it. When I stepped out of the bathroom, feeling fresh, I heard the doorbell. I went to see who it was and, boy, was I surprised. It was Derek.

"Hey, Haley," he smiled at me.

Gladly, I threw my hands around his neck and hugged him.

"It's so good to see you," I greeted as I ushered him into the house.

"Haley, is this a bad time?" he asked.

"No, no … not at all. What makes you think so?"

"You look like a mess…"

"Just some problem … nothing I can't handle…" I lied.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

Something about the warmth in his eyes and his caring words, I found myself spilling everything to him. I told him everything – from falling in love with Draco secretly, to almost marrying Ron, to finding Draco with another woman. Derek was a good listener. He listened mostly and spoke only when he needed to. As I spoke, reminiscing about the memories, the tears started to fall once more.

"Haley … do you remember when you told me years and years ago … you said you'd do anything for love," Derek said.

I nodded – unable to speak.

"Now, love is in front of you and nothing else matters. It's only a question of whether or not you're willing to grab it. Of course, you can't run from mistakes. Draco might have made some mistakes; it doesn't mean he can't fix it. Making mistakes is what makes us human."

"Maybe I'm too scared, but is it a crime to be afraid? I'm afraid to be vulnerable with him because he broke me badly before, and I don't want to go through that anymore. I want him, I really do, but I think I want my heart to be in one piece more than I want him," I replied.

"Look, Haley, I just recently got dumped by my girlfriend. I do love her, very much. But she doesn't love me. Now, Draco obviously loves you. Are you just going to waste that?" he said as he held my head in his hands. "Everybody suffers a broken heart sometimes."

He brought me closer to him. Our lips were brushing lightly against each other's. I could feel his breath.

"I've always liked you, Haley…" he whispered.

Our lips touched, and for once that day, I forgot about all my worries. We were both going through a rough time, and maybe – just maybe – it wouldn't be wrong if we helped each other.

My hands raced through his soft brown hair. I could feel the tingling sensation he left on my neck. I ran my hands against his muscular body. I wanted so badly to do to Draco what he did to me. I deepened the kiss.

The both of us stood up and kissed all the way to my bedroom door. I knew where that was heading, but I didn't want to stop myself. I needed to break Draco's heart just as he had broken mine. Derek unbuttoned my blouse, and as I felt it slip from my shoulders, I realised that I wasn't thinking about Derek at all. I was thinking about Draco. I leaned against the wall and slid onto the floor. Derek saw my tears and kissed them off.

"What happened to us, Derek?" I asked in a voice barely more than a whisper.

He slumped backwards in defeat – he couldn't take my mind off Draco and he knew it. He'd failed to do so. I knew we weren't thinking about each other at all. We were thinking about the ones who'd left us. The ones who'd broken our hearts.

"We fell in love, Haley. And at some point, the people we loved forgot to love us back," Derek said. "Haley, can we just … try this? Let me be your shoulder to cry on."

I nodded and pulled his shirt off. I pushed him back on the floor and climbed on top of him. I leaned in and gave a deep and passionate kiss. But no less than three seconds later, I realised I was forcing myself to do so.

I brushed the thought out of my mind and continued kissing Derek. But I couldn't anymore. I pulled back and sighed sadly. I rubbed the place where my engagement ring should have been.

"What happened to you, Haley?" Derek asked in exasperation.

"I'm sorry, Derek. I can't do it, I just can't!"

"Why?"

"I'm not Haley anymore! I'm Hermione! And I was supposed to be Hermione Malfoy! But it's all wrong now! It's all messed up now!"

"Sssh … whether it's 'Haley' or 'Hermione' or 'Malfoy'… it's all just names. What matters is what's in here…" Derek placed my hands on his chest – where the heart was supposed to be. "This is my heart, Haley – Hermione – and it's broken, twice."

Derek stood up to leave. And without thinking I said, "Stay with me tonight.

"We don't have to do anything … we'll just be there for each other," I told him.

"I'm sorry. I can't," he said, and he left the apartment while I sat there in silence.

I got up and walked to my dresser, picked up my brush, and brushed my hair. I do that only when I'm upset. It surprisingly helps a lot. I glanced at my reflection and placed my hands where my heart was supposed to be.

"This is my heart, Draco … Derek … and it's broken, twice."

A/N: I kinda like this chapter... don't know why. Leave me a review! I'm feeling kinda un-loved recently, lol...