A/N:

I do not even need to write a long apology, do I? To make a long story short, I ended up DATING the fool I complained about in the last authors note. We've been together for like ten days.. Anyway, here you go. There might go some time before next update, because it is actually my birthday tomorrow, and loads of other things are happening.. xxx

Chapter twenty-four

The lazy Friday morning sun shone in of the wide glass windows later than usual that morning. It quickly covered the bed, which was one of the very few furnitures in the room. The room was decorated with white furniture; a double-bed, a small wood night-table, a closet that filled up one of the four walls, and a lamp that hung from above. Everything else in the room was white too; the window frames, the wood door, the curtains, the floor and ceiling. It made the room seem wider than it was. The view from the enormous floor to ceiling window was fabulous. The river Thames flooded nearly just underneath the window. You could see The London Eye a bit ahead, and because it was on 8th floor in the apartment, you could also spot Big Ben further to the right. It was probably the most famous, and expensive, view in entire London city, maybe even in the United Kingdom. It had been a very expensive apartment, but it was clearly worth every penny.

The blonde haired guy in the bed opened up his piercing blue eyes, and quickly turned sides. A smile appeared on his lips as his eyes met exactly what he wanted to see. His fingers touched the creature, the woman, next to him. A smile appeared on her lips too, as she felt his fingers on her cheek.

"Morning," she whispered. She still had not opened her eyes.

"Good morning, beautiful," he whispered back. "I'm glad you're still here."

The woman chuckled. "Draco, we've been living together in your apartment for the past year. Why on Earth should I leave?" She opened her brown eyes. Draco felt his stomach turn by the look of them. She was one of the most gorgeous women he had ever had the pleasure of meeting. In many ways she reminded him of her sister, whom Draco had had the pleasure of meeting (and shagging) in 6th year. Draco was unsure whether Daphne had ever told Astoria about that, or not. No matter what it was years ago, and Draco was more than in love with Astoria now. She was younger than him, two years, but it didn't seem like it. She was by far smarter than him.

"I suppose I still can't see why such a beautiful woman as you would be with someone like me."

"Someone like you?" Astoria giggled. "Draco, I am lucky to have you."

Draco smiled. He could not believe his own luck. And he was even marrying her.

Astoria moved her right hand up to Draco's cheek. He instantly spotted the gold and diamond ring that he had given to her just a week ago, when he had popped the question. It suited her finger so well, as was it made for her. He had fallen for it in a big arse jewellery store in New York, when he had gone there for a business trip. He was on a lot of those lately. He worked as a journalist for the magical news paper the Daily Prophet. He basically wrote stories from out of country, and therefore had to travel a lot.

"I don't want you to go away," Astoria said with a sad tone. She tugged herself into Draco's arms.

"Lovely, I don't want to go either. But you and I both know what will happen if I stay at home."

"You will get fired, we'll lose the house, the wedding will be off, and we will be ending our days on the street," she said, rehearsed. She had been told those reasons quite a lot lately.

"Exactly. Now, we don't want that to happen, do we?" Draco asked. Their fingers were intertwined.

"No, that would be a shame. But Scotland, seriously? Your boss could not send you anywhere more dead, could he? And then he does not even bother to buy you a plane ticket!" Astoria complained. Her voice got a bit lighter when she yelled like that.

"Well, he probably meant I would find a lot of memories on a train-trip to Scotland." He was referring to the trips with the Hogwarts Express.

"He should know better," she said. "When will I see you again?"

"Pick me up at the station Monday evening, won't you?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

"Breakfast?" Draco asked. He planted a kiss on Astoria's forehead, and got out of bed. He had slept in black boxer-shorts and a white shirt. He once again looked at the mark on his arm, that would forever remind him of the biggest mistake in his life. He was ashamed of it, but Astoria was okay with it, because she was sure the Dark Mark was the only dark thing about him.

"Croissants, please?"

"Of course, dear."

"Thank you."

Astoria turned her back to Draco, and fell asleep again.

He felt more than lucky. They had met each other through Daphne, and at first sight Draco had known it could be something wonderful. With Astoria he had finally moved on. Though.. it was as if something was not right. It was too perfect. And Draco only knew too well, that if anything is too good to be true, it probably is.

Hermione woke up earlier than usual Saturday morning. She got herself out of bed, and downstairs to the kitchen to make some coffee. Ron was still in bed, sleeping and snoring as always. It was close to driving her insane, but she had found a spell that would silence the noise for her at night.

The old coffee machine slowly poured coffee into the mug Hermione had placed underneath. It was so slow that the drink would be cold before it was finished. She had asked Ron to buy a new one, but he had of course forgotten it – left it behind in his head - just like everything else.

Hermione sighed, and decided that she anyway could take a shower before the coffee finished. She went upstairs again, and locked herself into the bathroom, where she turned on the water, and took a shower. Hermione loved showering. It was the only place in the house where she could let all her feelings show, without anyone knowing it. She could cry, but everyone would just believe it was the water flooding from the shower-head.

She felt as if she cleaned her mind with the water. Every angry thought disappeared. There was peace; the only noise was from the water, but that was a lovely sound that she didn't mind much. Every once in a while she forgot to lock the door, and Ron interrupted her by either joining her in the shower, or just talking to her. It annoyed her a lot, but she couldn't say no to him.

Hermione wrapped her body into a soft towel that she picked up from a shelf next to the shower. She took a peak at herself in the tall mirror on the wall. She had never been completely happy about her appearance, but it had gotten better over the years. She was not quite satisfied about her body; she thought she weighed a bit too much, too big hips, non-existing waist.. But she knew there was not much she could do to change it, so she learned to live with it. That was another thing.. Ron never made her feel pretty. He never called her beautiful, or gave her many compliments at all. He wasn't the best husband you could find. She had believed that once, back in school.. but now she wasn't sure of her love for him any longer.

Hermione went back into the bedroom, and put on some clothes. Ron was still asleep; no sound woke him up. He was solid as a rock.

While searching for a blouse to wear, Hermione accidentally pushed a shoe box to the ground. But the box did not contain shoes, instead it was full of small, meaningless things. Hermione quickly identified them as some wedding presents, that they had never looked at since. There was a drawing from one of Hermione's cousins, an empty notebook, a train ticket to Scotland, a key-chain.. Hermione took another look at the train-ticket; it expired next month. She wondered.. Would Ron mind if she took a trip by herself, just for the weekend? No, probably not. She had nothing to do, and it had been a while since she had last done something unexpected. Her heart wanted to go, but her mind told her not to. For once.. she was listening to her heart, just like all the crappy psychologists always told you to. She had to go. And she had to go now.

It was pouring rain as Hermione arrived at the train station. She instantly got soaking wet, and therefore rushed into the train. She found, what seemed to be, the only empty compartment, and placed herself there. She had brought along a little bag, and used the undetectable extend charm on it. It looked as if she had brought nothing along with her, which made a lot of her fellow travellers turn their heads. She didn't care, she was going away. She had rented a room in a small and cheap hotel, and planned on spending most of the time out in the beautiful nature. Of course, the weather wanted it differently. She had left a note at Ron's pillow, telling him she had gone away for the weekend to get breathe fresh air. She hoped he would miss her just a bit while she was away. It wouldn't surprise her though, if he did not even notice she was gone. He was used to not having her around.

Hermione settled herself down, and closed her eyes. For once, in a very long time, she would take a well deserved nap. And it did not go long before Hermione was deep in her sleep.

A sound of heavy raindrops against the thin glass window woke Hermione up. She had no idea how long she had been sleeping, or where she was on her day-long trip to Scotland. As she looked outside the window she could tell, that they barely had left Sheffield. A few hours she had been passed out, then. She better find something else to do if she wanted sleep tonight. So she picked up a copy of her favourite book, and begun reading it. The cover was torn apart, as had it been lying in a basement for centuries, and she was the first to read it. The pages were stained from coffee, tea and other drinkable fluids. Some of the words were unreadable, but she had memorized them all so well, that she could tell the story in her sleep. She had no idea what made it her favourite; why she preferred it out of all books in the world.. The story was plain and simple, nothing special in fact, but it was special to her, somehow. It made her feel special, like she was something.

Hermione sighed, and begun to read her favourite page once again. It wasn't the most important one in the book, it was just so well written that it always made her tear up.

A tear-drop fell from her eye and rolled down her cheek as she finished the last sentence. It brought back so many memories to her; the memory of reading it for the first time in her Sixth year at Hogwarts, memories from back then, when her life had been just a bit more simple.. She found enough reasons to cry. Ron always questioned it, always acted as if he cared. She knew that he did not, though.

"Oh, Merlin's beard, bloody hell. What are you doing here?"

Hermione took her eyes off the book to figure out who was talking to her. The voice sounded somehow familiar. But in a far distance way. She looked up in fear of who she may found, because the person had not sounded very fond of her.

Her eyes finally reached the only person besides her in the compartment, and.. nothing. Absolutely no memory of the persons face. It was a male, he looked tall, and his eyes were shining blue. Something about him was a bit known to her, but she wasn't able to tell his name.

"Excuse me?" her fragile voice said. It was always fragile in uncomfortable situations.

"Excuse you? No, I honestly think I've apologised enough for my behaviour."

"Wha- you have not at all apologised for bursting into my compartment and talking trash about me as if we knew each other!"

The man's jaw dropped. He looked empty of words to say. He placed his black suitcase underneath the seats, and took place just opposites Hermione.

"Don't know each other?" he said with a much calmer voice. "Who's oblivated you, Hermione?"