Letter Number 7

July 25th 1998, My London Apartment

Hermione,

See, I told you a letter like this might be called for. I'm sorry for how I treated you at the party last night. I truly am. And that is why you bug me so, Granger! I have been known to do a lot of stupid things, insulting many people gravely and even hurt people. But never before have I felt the need to apologize for those things. Nobody has ever made me feel guilty before. And here you come waltzing by and then you mess up my entire life. It's simply not fair! I feel so bad about the things I said to you, and I feel sorry for calling you the things I did. It was totally uncalled for. But you see, this power that you somehow have over me does not make me like you more than I already do.

Perhaps I should be better at apologizing to you without insulting you in the same breath (or line, since this is a letter). But old habits die hard, you know. And it has become a trusted habit to make your life Hell. So you see my dilemma when that habit suddenly makes me feel bad.

I know that you only did what you did to help me, but try and see this from my point of view (really, I'm not trying to justify how I acted towards you I just want you to try and understand whyI acted like I did). I tell you the biggest secret of my life and then I ask you to keep it between the two of us. But instead you tell Potter about it and ask him to talk to his superiors and get me a job at the Auror Office. I felt betrayed, that's what I felt even when you told me you had gotten me the job. I appreciate what you did and I'm going to take the job (who am I to refuse an opportunity when it stumbles into my lap), but you still betrayed my trust in you. You went against my wishes, and that's why I got mad. Of course I was totally out of line and my fury was far too big for what you had done. Besides you did it for me.

And that's probably another reason why I went out of line. No one has ever before done something like that for me. Not expecting something in return from me or anything just doing it to make me happy. That was something completely new and foreign to me and I was not man enough to cope with it (I swear to Merlin and all above him that if you tell this to anyone you'll never again hear from me!). And that affection you showed for me scared the wits out of me. It showed me once and for all what I have been too stubborn and blind to realise; you really do have genuine feelings for me. That shook me to my core, it did!

That was when I started yelling and cursing at you. I truly regret all the things I said to you. I was totally out of line with everything I said. Your face still haunts me, I feel that guilty. I dreamed about that face last night. When you told me what you had done for me (when we were alone in my room like I told you my mother would make it happen) your chocolate eyes were glistening with pleasure and happiness and your rosy lips were spread in a wide smile that reached your eyes and made them sparkle even more. But when I started cursing the light in your eyes went out and your smile crumbled. You were so brave putting up with all the shit I said without saying anything back but when I used that one, awful world I had sworn to myself would be forever banished from my vocabulary you could no longer stand still and take it in and you ran from my room. I didn't even get a change to tell you that you looked very pretty. I went downstairs to go after you, but my mother told me that you had left with tears in your eyes. Those words sent daggers through my heart and I retreated from the party. It wasn't fun anymore since guilt was all I could feel.

My mother has just left my apartment. She scolded me for treating you so poorly. And for once I didn't argue with her. I know I was a rat. She didn't need to tell me that.

After I came back to my apartment after the party I brought out your letters and reread every single one of them. With the new knowledge I suddenly had (you know the one about your feelings for me being real and not just some romantic girly illusion) and the picture I had engraved of you in my mind (you didn't see it I'm sure but when you entered the Manor I was sort of staring at you and that image of you stuck) the you from your letters suddenly became alive. Perhaps I don't hate you as much as I thought I did.

I actually quite enjoyed our conversation before I screwed it up. I know that we weren't really talking about anything in particular but it was still surprisingly nice and not at all awkward. Well, okay it was awkward to begin with you know, after my mother had left us alone in my empty room, but once the conversation started flowing it was nice. You can easily say that I ruined that moment. How long did we talk before it went wrong; two minutes? Three? It wasn't long that's for sure.

You know my invitation still stands. You know, for you to show your neighbourly generosity with some cookies. I'll even make coffee. But I understand if you don't want to speak to me. I just hope that you can find it in you to forgive me somehow.

Actually I'm quite sure that you'll forgive me. You are notorious for your fairness and you don't seem like the kind of person who holds grudges. And I'm lovable no matter how obnoxious I sometimes am. Just admit it Granger, you can't stay mad at me. I'll bet that not before long you'll be standing at my front door with a basket of cookies (my favourite is chocolate chip – just so you know) waiting for me to invite you in. You'll see. You can't stay away from me and my impeccable charm.

Draco

So, I know this probably wasn't what you were expecting from the party, but it's how I imagined it.

Alright, tell me your thoughts. I simply love reading reviews. It makes my day and makes me want to continue writing.