Forbidden
By Leah
Chapter 13
Morning Breaks in the Astronomy Tower
Hermione stared blankly out of the car window at the grey scenery of London as it blurred past.
She was once again on her way back to Hogwarts, and would be arriving at Kingscross in only a matter of minutes. Crookshanks meowed restlessly in his cage and her parents were having a petty argument over what gender her unborn sibling would be. Every now and then she would hear her trunk hit something in the back of the car when they went over a bump or stopped.
But everything seemed muted to her, hushed in a way, like a grey dream she was looking in on. Her fingers ran over the piece of parchment in the pocket of her sweater. A small shiver slithered down her spine.
It was the letter from Malfoy's mother.
She had forgotten to give it back to him, afterall they did become a bit preoccupied after she read it. Her mother had found it in her jumper pocket when she was doing laundry. Luckily it fell out of her pocket as it was to be put into the wash.
Aby had told her daughter that se didn't read it, but for some reason Hermione doubted that. She loved and trusted her mother, but she knew that the woman had a nosy streak that could rival that of Lavender and Parvati's.
Hermione let out a small sigh as the train station came into view in the distance. She was almost back to school, and back to the problems that lay there waiting for her. The letter weighed down heavily in her pocket, just one more trouble.
She would have to return it to him afterall.
Much like her last ride to Hogwarts only a few months ago Hermione spent her time laughing with her friends and boyfriend in their compartment as the same scenery blurred past in the window. It was different now this time though; at least to her it was, underneath everything else, she could feel the difference.
This time she couldn't bring herself to feel as elated at her pending return to the school, nor could she bring herself to conjure the same feeling of contentment at having Ron's arm slung over her shoulder.
But much to her relief, this time she didn't have to go to Heads' compartment to speak with McGonagall, and to be near him. She nearly sighed at the thought of the boy. She was so unsure of things between them now, she was unsure of herself now.
Sometimes she actually felt herself wishing to see him, but at the thought of him being around she felt exposed, open to his penetrating gaze. There were times when she hated him, looking back she felt the hate bubble as she the memories of him talking down to her, insulting her intelligence or her blood filled her mind.
And then there were times when she felt something else towards him, something far from hate.
She wanted to stay away from him, at least until she figured out what was going on inside of herself. But the folded piece of parchment that was now in her possession wouldn't allow that.
She had to return it to him. She couldn't keep something so personal away from him. This time she did let out a soft sigh so as not to draw her friends' attention to herself. Her gaze dropped to the silver trinket clasped around her wrist.
Why was she even wearing it anyway?
Draco massaged his temples in an effort to keep the migraine he felt creeping upon him at bay.
"You really fucked it up this time didn't you Malfoy?" The Italian boy across from him muttered humorlessly. To Draco it sounded as if it had been said at least five times before, maybe it had been.
"Shut up Zabini." The two sat alone in a secluded compartment near the rear of the train. Draco was positive that Parkinson would be looking for him, but he couldn't care less. In fact, the reason they were so far away from everyone else was to get away from the annoying bint.
Blaise let out a mirthless chuckle, drawing Draco out of his tumultuous thoughts. "No. I don't think even you have fully grasped what you've done."
Draco shot his supposed best friend a harsh glare, which was ignored. "You know Zabini, you speak like you're riding an elephant along the tightrope of my patience."
"Clever." Blaise muttered dryly. "Unfortunately, no amount of clever quips will get you out of this. Especially when Granger finds ou-"
"What she thinks and whether she finds out isn't my concern." Draco's sharp voice cut in. "She made it clear that she doesn't want anything to do with me on more than one occasion. So what I do has no baring on her life." The silver haired Slytherin stood abruptly and walked to the door.
Blaise followed suite and stood also. "Bu-"
"We're here." Draco muttered and left.
Zabini sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair, a sardonic smile on his face. "Just a bump in the road then...bloody ass."
"I'll see you in the Great Hall right?" Hermione called to her friends over her shoulder.
"Of course." Ginny said, smiling brightly, though her eyes reflected her worry.
Harry nodded before turning to leave with Ginny to find an empty carriage, but not before sending his friend an apprehensive look.
"I'll save you a seat 'Mione." Ron said brightly and gave his girlfriend a short kiss on the lips before he too disappeared into the crowd of students.
The girl looked around the crowd for a minute before letting out a deep sigh. 'I guess I had to see him sooner or later.' She steadied her resolve before pushing her way through the crowd to the Heads' carriage.
"Where could he be?" She muttered to herself after sitting alone for nearly five minutes. She shot a look out of the window and sighed again.
The crowd had thinned considerably, and only a handful of stragglers looking for an empty carriage remained. But the Head Boy had yet to make an appearance. She felt her carriage jerk forward before beginning to move onward, slowly being pulled by the Thestrials that she -and she was sure nearly all of the students- could now see.
Part of her was relieved as she journeyed to the school, she didn't think she was truly ready to see him now. But another part of her wished that he had shown himself.
She shook her head and shifted her blurred gaze to the window where she could begin to see the shadow of the castle looming in the distance.
Her conflicting emotions were beginning to drive her mad.
The echo of a heavy chair scratching the floor resounded through the crowded room. Everyone in the Great Hall fell silent as the Headmaster stood to address his students, his smile ever present on his face.
It was the same speech Hermione had heard after every Christmas vacation. She knew the words nearly by heart and Dumbledore's voice only faded into a dull drone in the back of her mind. She was focused on something else now, something that had been plaguing her mind since she arrived in the Great Hall.
Her eyes shot to the Slytherin table for the third time that evening. 'Where is he?' Blaise was there, but the seat next to him -Malfoy's seat- remained empty.
She scanned the table once more, but there was no head of silver. Parkinson was there though, whispering excitedly to some other Slytherin girls, looking as if she was on top of the world. 'Guess he hasn't told her that he no longer has to marry her yet.'
The girl let out a sigh and turned back to the front of the Hall, where Dumbledore was taking a seat. "Did he even come back?" She muttered.
"Who?" Ron turned his bright green eyes to his girlfriend questioningly.
Hermione let out a nervous laugh and turned to her plate of food. "No-one. Just thinking aloud." She looked up to meet the green eyes of another Weasley who gave her an understanding look.
Of course Ginny would know.
The remainder of dinner passed quickly and uneventfully. Hermione picked at her food and tried to focus on the conversations around her, but she was soon pulled into her own troublesome thoughts.
Before she realized it, dinner was over and she was already walking mechanically to her dorm. It only took her a few seconds to notice that she had been separated from her friends. It didn't matter much to her anyway, they were going different places, and she didn't feel like talking to them then.
"He didn't!" A loud voice only a few people in front of her exclaimed, it sounded vaguely familiar.
"Yes he did. It's all arranged and everything!" Another voice practically yelled. That voice she knew very well, Pansy Parkinson, so the other girl must have been Millicent Bulstrode, the large oaf-like girl that followed Pansy nearly everywhere.
Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes, she wasn't the type to eves drop -often- but these two obviously wanted the entire school to hear them. They were after all standing naught but three feet away from each other and were screaming as if oceans separated them. She was about to push past the two when Pansy opened her mouth to speak once more.
"As soon as we graduate I will become Mrs. Draco Malfoy."
The Gryffindor held back her urge to laugh. 'So he hasn't even told her yet.'
"He proposed to me on New Years." Hermione's heart pounded loudly in her ears and she froze mid-step. She heard wrong, she was sure of it, he wouldn't- he couldn't... 'No! She must be lying. He wouldn't! Of course he wouldn't.' But Pansy only went on.
"Millicent it was positively lovely! As soon as it hit midnight, he got down on one knee and asked me! Then the next day we went out to look for a real engagement ring, that thing he had originally was much to small." Then the girl pulled out her hand to show the largest diamond Hermione had ever seen sitting on her ring finger.
"This one cost nearly a million..." But her words became fuzzy, distorted, then muted completely. 'He-he wouldn't.' But she couldn't believe herself. She knew her face must have taken on a pallid color, but she didn't care, nor did she care that she had stopped in the middle of a busy hallway.
The world no longer existed to her; every one passing near her was now a malformed blur. Their voices were now hushed and cut off.
'She-he...no. No. No! No! No! No! No!'
And then she ran, the shouts of the people she pushed fell on deaf ears, all she could hear was her breathing and the blood pumping in her ears. She needed to get to their common room. She had to see him. She had to... she had to vomit.
She ignored Kyara's greetings and choked out the password. Her feet carried her into the empty common room. He wasn't there, but she wouldn't have noticed if he were. Soon she found herself hunched over the toilet emptying her stomach of what little food she had just consumed.
'They're getting married.'
Her sobs mixed with the sound of her retching for hours.
Days passed, then weeks, and still Hermione never saw Draco alone outside of class. There were some instances in which she saw him in the halls, but Parkinson was always attached to his arm. But something was wrong with the picture of pre-marital bliss.
There was no bliss. At least none that showed on Draco's face. Pansy was always looking as if she had just won the worlds greatest prize. But even that was more of a triumphant look than a happy one.
But it wasn't her business anymore now was it? Nothing dealing with him was her business any longer. He didn't want her anymore, that much was obvious. But...but maybe she really did want him. She could never bring herself to feel as relieved as she should have. Now she could be with Ron and not worry about what Malfoy thought since he was with Parkinson now.
But that wasn't how it worked. All she could do now was think of him and Parkinson. They were going to get married; they'd have kids, and grow old together in Malfoy's oversized mansion.
Did she want that for herself?
No! Not at all. At least, that's what she kept telling herself. And as the days turned to weeks and time wore on, she started to believe herself. She began to bury her life in schoolwork, and Ron. She promised herself that things with Ron would work out now.
They had to work out now.
He was all she had now.
She was no longer part of Malfoy's life in any way. That revelation hit her one-day when she arrived back to the dorm late from Transfiguration.
Hermione sighed as she rounded the corner to Kyara's portrait. She was back later than usual, but she just had to ask McGonagall one last question after dinner.
"How am I supposed to finish all my work before patrol now. Maybe if I just speed through that Charms essay, no, I need to stop by the library for that- Oh, hello Kyara." Hermione smiled brightly to the portrait that bore an unusual worried look.
"Ah! 'ermione. What a pleasure it iz to zee you. But you musn't go into the-"
Hermione cut her off with a wave of her hand. " I can't chat now Kyara, I really have to get started on my work. Amour dans les bras d'un ennemi."
"But-" Kyara let out a sigh before the portrait opened with a soft creek. Hermione swore she heard the girl mutter something along the lines of "Don't say I didn't warn you."
She was so engrossed in her thoughts of her class work that she didn't notice the two people on the couch until she was halfway to her room. Her head snapped to the chair fast enough to make neck crack, but that didn't matter to her. All that mattered were the two people on the couch, and the feeling of her heart clenching in her chest.
There, Draco was laying with Pansy straddling his waist, her victorious smile still in place. It was obvious what they had been doing, and what they were most likely about to do.
She shook her head in an effort to clear her head. "I-Um..sorry." She muttered, but her voice was soft and hoarse. She quickly spun around and nearly ran to her room, but not before hearing Pansy speaking.
"Silly little mudblood, she's so bothersome."
"Yeah...mudblood."
She cried for hours that night.
"These cupids are so annoying!" Ginny muttered and swatted another one of the bothersome floating babies away from her. It was early Sunday morning of February fourteenth and Ginny and Hermione were two of the few people who were down in the Great Hall that early for breakfast.
"Yeah." Hermione nodded and buttered her scone.
"What's going on with you lately Hermione?" Ginny asked as she looked at her friend out of the corner of her eye. She had noticed Hermione's slump in energy since the girl arrived back from Christmas, and she was sure she could guess the reason why. "Does it have anything to do with Parkinson and her fiancée?"
"He's no longer any of my concern." Was her emotionless response.
Ginny arched an eyebrow. "Monotones don't suit you too well you know." She paused and took a bite out of her muffin before continuing. "And really Hermione, you didn't even give him a chance, he waited around much longer than any other male would."
Hermione slammed her butter knife down on the table and shot a glare to her friend. "He didn't have to go and propose to her!"
Ginny shrugged and opened her mouth before snapping it shut once more. Harry and Ron had just entered the Hall, putting their conversation on temporary hiatus.
"G'morning girls!" Harry smiled brightly at Hermione before kissing Ginny soundly on the lips. "Happy Valentines Day."
Hermione smiled softly at her two friends who were obviously deeply in love. Looking at them she felt a pang of jealously and sadness at knowing that now she could never have that feeling of true love.
"Happy Valentines Day 'Mione." Ron said and gave placed a quick kiss on her lips before sitting next to her and piling food on his plate.
"Yeah." Her obvious lack of enthusiasm was on her oblivious boyfriend.
"Are we still on for dinner tonight?" Ron asked in-between chews, across the table Ginny scowled at his bad table manners.
Hermione nodded and put down her uneaten scone. "Yeah...I'm gonna go, I don't feel that well right now." She muttered before abruptly standing and leaving the Hall.
"I'll go check on her." Ginny mumbled and attempted to run after the girl, but was stopped by Harry.
The boy-who-lived shook his head and motioned for Ginny to retake her seat. "I think she just wants to be alone right now."
The youngest Weasley sighed but sat down anyway. "She's been so depressed lately, I just don't know what to do for her." Ginny whispered so that Ron would not hear her.
"I know, but sometimes she has to sort out things on her own Ginny. You can't always be there to tell her what to do." Harry smiled warmly and pulled Ginny closer to him.
The red-head sighed in defeat and rested her head on her boyfriend's shoulder. "It would make things much easier though," Her head shot up and a sly smile took over her face. "But you're right, I can't always tell her what to do." She smiled broadly to Harry and kissed him before hurrying out of the Hall.
Harry shook his head and looked at his food. Sometimes Ginny was too meddlesome for her own good. But then again that was one of the reasons why he loved her so much.
"What just happened?" Harry chuckled and looked at his clueless friend.
"Nothing important Ron."
"Zabini!" Ginny yelled down an empty hallway as she saw the Italian boy turn the corner. It was purely by a stroke of luck that she found him, afterall the school was huge, and if he was in the Slytherin dorms there would be no way she could get to him.
"Ah, little Weasley. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He said once Ginny caught up to him before bowing very gentlemanly and placing a kiss on the back of her hand.
"I think you know what I'm here for." The red head said without missing a beat, she wasn't one for friendly banter in a situation so serious. Apparently neither was Blaise. He immediately straightened himself and his face took on a rather serious and grim expression.
"I'm afraid I can no longer be of any service to you with the Malfoy and Granger problem." He ran a hand through his hair and let out a sigh. "He's as hard headed as his father sometimes. And this seems to be one of those times."
Ginny let out a defeated sigh and leaned against the cold stone wall. "So there's nothing we can do about this then?"
"Not unless we want to make the situation worse." Blaise said and copied her pose.
"He couldn't have gotten over her so soon, and with Parkinson of all people! Why would he do something like this!"
Blaise shrugged. "Hell if I know. The inner workings of Draco's mind aren't things I'd like to explore. But I'm guessing it's because he's never spilled his feelings to someone. And then to have them thrown back at him, he must have been feeling vulnerable, and of course Parkinson would have sensed that and moved in for the kill like the evil little bint she is."
Ginny couldn't help but smile. "I guess there's little love among your house."
Blaise smirked. "Very little."
"So we have to leave this up to those two now then?" Ginny mumbled, getting back to their original topic of discussion. Blaise nodded mutely.
The red head let out a sigh and pushed herself off the wall and turned to walk back down the hallway. "Then I guess this won't be a happy ending."
Hermione sighed softly as she looked around the cozy restaurant, waiting for Ron's return.
It was a couple's restaurant in Hogsmead that she had never come to, mostly because she was never really part of a couple. And although the wisps of smoke and the soft candle light coming from every table wasn't her thing, it was actually very romantic for this time of year. Ron had definitely picked the perfect restaurant.
And so did half of Hogwarts.
The place was packed with students sitting with their significant others sharing a meal, talking or staring deeply into each other's eyes. Normally it would be enough to make anyone sick, but right now Hermione didn't mind it that much.
"'Mione?" Hermione's eyes snapped up to her boyfriend who was now seated across from her, she was too deep in thought to notice his arrival.
"Oh, sorry." Her cheeks tinged pink and Ron chuckled.
The evening passed by delightfully enough, Hermione smiled and laughed as Ron relayed stories from Quidditch practices, and told her his first hand accounts of their games.
They talked like the old friends they were and for that night Hermione didn't feel any guilt nor was her mind clouded with thoughts of another. That is until Hogwarts' newest married couple walked in.
Pansy was clad in a skimpy skin tight green dress that left little to the imagination, and as usual she was clinging onto Draco's arm as though it were her life line. And then there was Draco, who looked around the place as if it were beneath him, his eyes gliding right over Hermione without stopping.
"Ron, I think we should leave. It-it's getting pretty late and we have class in the morning afterall." Hermione lied but couldn't pull her eyes off the couple. Ron followed her gaze and grimaced.
"Yeah, I don't want to be here with ferret stinking up the air either." Hermione offered a halfhearted smile and stood.
"Can we just go back to the castle?" She asked as Ron stood as well after placing the money for their meal on the table.
"Yeah, whatever you want." He ushered her out of the restaurant and shot a glare to Malfoy as he and Parkinson sat at a table by the window.
The carriage ride back to the castle was a short silence filled one. Hermione really had nothing to say, her mind remained elsewhere as she stared out the window of the carriage.
'He's obviously moved on, so why shouldn't I? He's not worth torturing myself over, I've said it millions of times, he's just Malfoy. Stupid, insensitive Malfoy.'
"Hermione?" Ron said catching her daydreaming for the second time. "We're here."
The girl nodded sheepishly and stepped out of the carriage, taking the proffered hand. Ron was being unusually gentleman-like tonight. 'It is Valentines Day after all.'
"May I walk you to your room m'lady?" Ron joked as he offered her his arm. Hermione giggled and blushed slightly as she took his arm.
"That would be lovely."
The two strolled through the corridors of Hogwarts, smiling and waving to the portraits who bid them hello. Sooner than either would have liked they arrived at the portrait of Kyara and some other French male who the girl shooed off when she realized Hermione and Ron had arrived.
"'Appy Valentinez Day 'ermione!"
"Happy Valentines Day to you too." Hermione smiled to herself when she noticed Kyara peering over her shoulder to Ron. The portrait had seen the boy before, but she had never been introduced to him, and knowing Kyara's talkative and friendly nature, she must have wanted to be introduced to him. "This is Ron, my boyfriend."
"What a pleasure to meet you Ron." Kyara said in her bubbly tone and curtseyed politely, Ron smiled and looked at Jasmine as she hopped into the girl's arms with a quiet meow.
Hermione turned back to Ron and smiled brilliantly at him. She was sure it was time to get over Malfoy now, it had to be.
Ron shuffled his feet nervously and looked anywhere but to Hermione. "So...I guess this is-"
"Would you like to come in Ron?" The boy's head shot up and he met his girlfriends gaze with crimson cheeks.
"Yes! I-I uh mean...if you want me to."
Hermione smiled and let out a small laugh before speaking the password to Kyara who had a sullen look on her face for some reason Hermione couldn't fathom. Nevertheless she took Ron's hand in hers and led him into her dormitory.
He didn't leave for more than an hour.
Hermione rolled over restlessly for what she was sure was the near hundredth time that night. Sleep just would not come to her easily. Her mind was far to troubled for sleep to come to her.
'Is this because of what Ron and I did. No, he's my boyfriend, it's only natural. And-and I love-'
"Why am I trying to kid myself." Her eyes drifted over to the bathroom door that connected her room to Malfoy's. "I need to speak to him."
She pushed any doubt out of her mind and shrugged off her covers before getting out of bed. She quickly grabbed his mother's letter from her vanity and opened her door, intent on finding out why he was doing what he was doing.
Seconds later she found herself outside of his room and pounding on his portrait. The snake had slithered away upon seeing her approach, now as it looked on from a nearby frame it was relieved it moved.
Moments passed and still no answer; Hermione snuck a glance to the clock in the common room and grimaced. It was nearly five in the morning; of course he would be sleeping. But just as she turned to leave, the portrait door opened and she quickly spun on her heel only to have her mouth drop open.
"Parkinson?" Pansy stood in Draco's doorway wearing only his shirt, which reached down to her mid thigh. It didn't take a genius to figure that she wasn't wearing anything underneath.
"Yes Granger." The other girl asked in a sickly sweet tone that dripped malice.
"I-um...nothing. It's nothing." Hermione muttered, her voice so soft it was near inaudible. She turned to leave but Pansy wouldn't let her go that easily.
"Granger, make sure this is the last time I ever hear of you knocking on my fiancée's door late at night." Hermione turned back to give the girl a harsh glare, but didn't say a word. "He's mine now, got it? I won. Don't think I didn't know about you two, and don't think that I'm ever going to allow him to go near to you ever again." Pansy continued with a smug smile. "You were foolish to think that aristocracy could ever lower its self to love a mudblood." She spat the last word with enough venom to make Hermione want to flinch back, but she didn't.
"I guess you're right Parkinson. I was foolish to believe that Malfoy could actually be a human being and break old traditions. I was foolish to believe that he could see filth when it threw itself at him," She paused to give the girl a scathing look. "I was foolish to think that he could love me. But most of all I am foolish to still want him to love me."
Hermione turned to leave but paused mid-step, fighting back the stinging in her eyes. "And congratulations on your future marriage. You two deserve each other."
Before she could even hear Pansy's response she was out of the dorm and heading to the one place she could clear her head without anyone finding her.
The Slytherin sighed and dropped his hand from the door, he had been knocking on the door connecting to Granger's room for a few moments now, but the girl had yet to answer. 'It is almost 5AM.'
His eyes dropped to the little blue box in his hand. He didn't know why he felt the need to give her a Valentines Day present; she wasn't even his girlfriend. Hell, she wasn't even his friend. She was just...someone who mattered.
He let out another sigh and ran his free hand through his hair and turned to leave the room.
Draco scowled as he stepped out of the bathroom, expecting to find Parkinson laying in his shirt on his bed, asking him to "make love" to him. He scoffed to himself; it was impossible for him and Pansy to do anything more than have sex.
"Making love," meant letting in emotions, and unfortunately all his emotions towards her were negative ones. He had to remind himself daily why he was even going through with this stupid marriage.
'It's good for the business. That's what Malfoys do; marry a rich pureblood and take in all the publicity, feelings have nothing to do with it.'
He sighed and reminded himself it was for the best, even though he wished Pansy were someone else.
Draco pocketed the present and with one last sigh entered his bedroom. But when he looked in, the girl was missing from his bed, he wasn't sure whether he should have been confused or happy.
"I-um...nothing. It's nothing." 'Granger? What's she doing- Oh Merlin Pansy!'
"Granger, make sure this is the last time I ever hear of you knocking on my fiancée's door late at night. He's mine now, got it? I won. Don't think I didn't know about you two, and don't think that I'm ever going to allow him to go near to you ever again. You were foolish to think that aristocracy could ever lower its self to love a mudblood."
Draco paused mid-step, anger surging through his body. He was jerked out of his thoughts by Hermione's voice.
"I guess you're right Parkinson. I was foolish to believe that Malfoy could actually be a human being and break old traditions. I was foolish to believe that he could see filth when it threw itself at him, I was foolish to think that he could love me. But most of all I am foolish to still want him to love me."
His forehead creased in thought, and he heard the shuffle of her clothes as she turned to leave. "And congratulations on your future marriage. You two deserve each other."
Pansy slammed the portrait shut. "Damned mudblood." She whirled around to find Draco's piercing grey eyes glaring into her brown ones.
"Draco-"
"What was that?" He cut in, not wanting to hear any of Pansy's annoying cooing.
Pansy smirked as if she were proud of herself. "Just getting rid of some trash."
Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her to him before she even knew what was happening. "Don't you ever" He began, his teeth clenched together in an effort to hold his rage. "Ever, call her that."
He roughly pushed her away from him and left the room in time to hear the entrance portrait shut, leaving a shocked Slytherin in his wake.
Draco tried as best he could to keep up with the girl without drawing any unwanted attention from Filch or that bloody cat. He expected her to run into the library, her home away from home, but she ran past it and up the stairs.
'If she isn't careful she'll get caught.'
It was well past curfew as they both knew, and as Heads any sort of rule breaking would land them in extra trouble. But Draco knew right now Hermione wasn't thinking of that.
"The Astronomy tower?" Draco muttered to himself, of course she had to be heading for the tower, it was the only room on this end of the castle.
He climbed up the last flight of stairs to the tower where the sound of sobbing was resonating. He looked to the ledge where Hermione was leaning; looking to the sunrise as tears flowed freely down her pale cheeks.
"Hermione?" He didn't know why he called her by her first name, but apparently she was as surprised as he was. She whipped around and wiped her face hurriedly with the sleeve of her shirt.
"Why are you- why are you here?" A hiccup broke her sentence as she stared at him with wide teary eyes. She was completely vulnerable to him right then, but it no longer seemed as if she cared.
"I heard you and Pansy." He began, taking a step closer to her.
Hermione let out a dry humorless laugh, her breath turning into a puff of smoke on the cold February air. "Ah, your lovely wife. You two are so fitting."
Draco let out a defeated sigh; he knew where this conversation was heading. "Granger-"
"Why? Why Draco? Why did you choose her!" A few tears slipped down her reddened cheeks.
Draco scowled at the audacity of the girl, the anger he had built up since that December night got the best of him as he lashed out against her. "Me! You were the one who threw me out Granger! You were the one who chose Weasley over me!"
He crossed the distance between them in a flash and gripped her shoulders tightly. "You of all people have no right to ask me why."
Hermione swatted his hands off of her, the silver trinket on her wrist catching the rays of the rising sun. "What do you want Draco?" She asked, using the same question he used to her only months ago.
The boy couldn't help let out a dark chuckle. "You know what I bloody want Granger. You on the other hand, are more confusing than that old coot Dumbledore." Hermione laughed softly at the bad attempt at a joke and turned back to the ledge.
"I come up here to clear my head sometimes." She began after a few moments of silence. "No-one knows about it really. I'm sure everyone thinks that I go to the library when I need to think. But I guess they're right. That is where I go to think," She turned to him and nodded to the spot next to her. He obliged her unspoken wish and moved next to her, his eyes turning to the changing colors of sunrise on the horizon.
"But this is where I really come to escape from thinking. Where I come to listen to my heart."
Draco nodded and smiled to himself. Although he was quite confused at her change from irate Gryffindor to subdued girl, he had realized some time ago that the girl changed moods nearly as much as he did. And for some reason, he guessed that he was the first person she had ever told of this place. He didn't know what that meant, but he felt pleased to know something that others didn't about the strong Gryffindor near to him.
"It's nice here." He began, letting his anger melt out of him also. "Sunrise is your favorite time of day then?" He took in her look of surprise from the corner of his eyes with a bemused smirk.
"How did you guess?"
"You always seem to be up in time for sunrise. And this was the first place you ran too at this time of morning, that says something about you." He smirked at the soft smile that ran along her lips.
"You're quite perceptive Malfoy. I'm guessing it's yours also?" She saw him nod and open his mouth to speak. "You too are always awake in time to catch the sunrise." She said with a cheeky smile, answering his unspoken question.
"You're very perceptive yourself Granger. But I think everyone already knew that." He replied in a joking tone of his own.
Minutes of silence stretched between the two, but neither minded that much. It was a calming moment watching the sunrise shared between...friends?
"What are we Draco?" Hermione asked softly, her eyes still on the colored horizon.
"I was hoping you'd know." They shared a laugh as both thought of how to continue from there.
The sound of ruffling clothes drew Hermione's attention to the boy next to her. Draco was now facing her and held a small blue box in his hand, the present made her remember the piece of parchment she still held folded in her hand.
"What is it?" She asked, staring intently at the box.
He gave her a bemused look, he guessed she would have figured it out. "A Valentines Day present."
Hermione sent him a small smile. "You're a bit late."
Draco rolled his eyes and sent her a halfhearted glare. "Just take the bloody present Hermione!"
All traces of laughter disappeared from Hermione's face in that moment. 'I'm Hermione. And he's, he's Draco. What are we doing?' "No." She whispered softly, her eyes dropping to the floor.
"What?" Draco's brows furrowed at her words. It had all been going so well, he was sure that this time they were getting somewhere.
"No. I'm sorry Dra-Malfoy. This-this isn't right." She quickly unclasped the bracelet from her wrist for the first time since she had received it, and shoved it along with the letter from his mother into his hands. "I just...can't."
She took a slow step back as tears blurred her vision again before turning on her heel and running out of the tower. To where? He didn't know.
He wasn't going to follow her this time.