Peter Pan
She decides to grow up, to move on. He chooses to remain the same. And he loses her in the process. [Inspired by the relationship between Peter Pan and Wendy.]
X
They meet at the young, tender age of 11 years old.
He's a boy. She's a girl.
He finds her where she always is: the library. She always looks so comfortable, so content and free among her books and the solitude of the shelves that house them – more so than anywhere else in the school. This is where her books – where the stories she likes to read – come to life. This is where she's happiest. And this is where he watches her. Every night, from behind the closest bookcase through a gap between two books.
She fascinates him. Fascinates him in a way nobody else has ever held his attention before.
Her frizzy, brown hair. Dark, chocolate eyes. Freckles sprinkled across the bridge of her nose.
The way she knows every answer to every question. Her confidence. Her passion for knowledge.
Tonight is the night he's finally going to speak to her.
His shadow casts itself over her, enveloping her – and her book – in the sudden lack of light. She looks up at him – all pure and innocent – and he smiles. "Hello," he greets her kindly.
"Hi," she whispers back shyly, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"My name's Draco. Draco Malfoy-"
"I know. Everyone talks about you, you're popular."
He smirks.
"I'm Hermione Granger," she says.
He looks smug. "I know."
She smiles softly. "Would you like to sit down?"
"I'd love to," he replies, sitting down in the chair across the table from her. "What are you reading?"
And just like that they fall into an easy conversation full of playful bickering and care-free giggles.
[Unbeknownst to both of them Draco's best friend, Pansy Parkinson, watches from a distance.]
X
She giggles as he chases her around the courtyard and screams blissfully when he catches her and twirls her around playfully. He laughs, setting her back on her feet.
Pansy rolls her eyes, sitting back with Blaise Zabini, Theo Nott and a few of the other Slytherins. "Honestly. How pathetic is she?"
"I like her," Blaise says, taking a large bite of his licorice stick.
"Yeah, she's not so bad," agrees Theo.
She glares at them both, crossing her arms over her chest. "Oh, what do you two know anyway?"
X
"C'mon, Granger," he says coaxingly, cocking his head to the side. "It's just a broom-"
"It's not just a broom, it's a death sentence!" she protests.
He smirks, rolling his eyes as he leans against the book case next to her, broom in hand. "What if I promised you you won't fall?"
"You can't promise me that."
"What if I promised you that if you did fall I'd catch you?"
She sighs, "Draco-"
"Do you trust me?"
"Of course I do."
"Then have a little faith," he grins.
She looks at him for a moment, her head falling to the side as she smiles, defeated. "Fine. I'll fly with you."
He grins, leaning down to kiss her cheek softly. "Great, c'mon."
She giggles as he takes her hand and pulls her excitedly out of the library.
X
He plays a prank on her friends – Potter and Weasley – and for the first time since they became friends, she stops talking to him. She's mad at him, frustrated with him for being an "immature prat".
Pansy tells him she isn't worth it – that if she really cared about him, she wouldn't accept him just the way he is. But he knows it isn't like that, that Hermione isn't really that mad at him. Only just mad enough – the way a sister would be mad at her brother for ripping the head off her favourite doll; the way a mother might be mad at her child for breaking the rules.
He approaches her in the corridor outside the Potions classroom but she turns away from him. He groans. "C'mon, you can't still be angry at me."
"I can. And I am," she says, crossing her arms over her chest.
"You have to admit though, the look on Weasley's face was priceless," he says smugly.
She rolls her eyes but is unable to contain the short giggle that escapes her lips. She covers her mouth quickly with her hand before turning back to glare at him. "It a mean prank, Draco. You can be so childish sometimes-"
"Only sometimes?" he wonders cheekily.
"I'm serious."
"So am I – it's what we are, Granger. We're kids. And I personally wish to stay a kid forever and never grow up."
"That's a silly wish, Draco," she replies softly. "Everyone grows up eventually."
"Not if I can help it," he says smugly, grinning at her. "Care to join me in staying young forever?"
She can't help but smile, the expressions in her face softening for him. "I can try."
X
The end of the year comes all too quickly and the second the train pulls into King's Cross Station Hermione's chest feels tight. She looks across the compartment to see Draco gazing out the window just as she's been. All around them was their friends – Pansy, Theo, Blaise, Crabbe and Goyle, Harry and Ron – who are all incredibly excited to be returning home. While Hermione is more or less neutral to the whole thing, Draco looks sort of...disappointed.
As everyone jumps up to collect their bags, Draco is a lot slower and procrastinating. Hermione joins him. "Aren't you excited to be going home?"
He shrugs. "Sure. I guess."
"My parents are taking me on a trip to America next month," she says, smiling excitedly.
He blinks. "To America? For how long?"
"Three weeks."
"That's a long time," he mutters.
"I know, but it'll be so much fun."
They're the last ones to get off the train and while everyone else is running around saying goodbye and waving as their friends leave the platform with their parents. Hermione sees hers waving at her and she waves back, grinning from ear to ear. She turns to face Draco, who's gaze has fallen on his own parents. "Well, I guess this goodbye for now-"
"Not goodbye," he says, shaking his head. "Never say goodbye. Goodbye means going away and going away means forgetting."
She smiles softly, tilting her head to the side. "See you later, then," she offers.
He grins. "Yeah. See you later."
[Pansy watches, jealousy coursing through her veins, from where she's standing with her mother and father.]
X
Part way through third year is when Pansy's jealousy gets the better of her. Hermione has been stealing her spotlight – and her best friend – ever since she got here and the Slytherin girl is sick of it. And every time she complains to somebody about it – to Theo or to Blaise or to Crabbe or Goyle – they wave her off like a pesky little fly; telling her she's "over-reacting".
So she devises a plan. A plan to humiliate the Gryffindor Princess once and for all - and get Draco to see that the pesky little lioness isn't worth his time or his affections.
And the plan almost works until Draco catches her in the act – and boy, is he livid.
"Answer me, yes or no," he demands, folding his arms over his chest as he stands protectively in front of Hermione. He glares into the eyes of his cunning and deceitful best friend. "We were trying to humiliate Hermione."
She sighs, rolling her eyes. "Yes, but-"
"Why?" he barks. "How could you! What the bloody hell is your problem anyway, what's she ever done to you-"
"Done to me? You want to know what she's done-"
"Why do you hate her so much?! She's been nothing but kind and friendly to you."
"She's trying to-"
"Stop – shut up," he says, holding up his hand suddenly. She clamps her mouth shut, staring at him in confusion. "I banish you," he whispers.
"Banish?" Pansy asks, wide-eyed. "What does that even mean?"
"It means that I never want to speak to you again."
She blinks, flinching as though he's just slapped her. "Wha-"
"Draco," Hermione gasps, placing her hand on his arm. "Don't do that."
"And why not?" he huffs.
"She's your friend. And never is an awfully long time," she says softly.
He frowns. "Fine. For one week then," he says easily.
Pansy looks from Draco to Hermione – sweet, innocent, disgustingly kind, Hermione – and sighs. "Very well."
X
She takes a long, deep breath as she stands at the top of the stairs; nobody has yet to notice her and she hasn't yet begun her descend. She's nervous, having never done anything like this before. She fiddles with her fingers before smoothing down the front of her ruffled, periwinkle dress and making sure her curly-haired updo is still in place. And then she takes her first step down the stairs and it's like the motion alone captures everyone's attention - Harry, Ron, Blaise, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle. And Draco.
Draco grins up at her and steps out ahead of the group to take her hand.
She smiles back as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and slips her hand into his.
"You look great, Hermione," he says softly.
"Thanks," she whispers back shyly.
"C'mon, the Ball has already started," he murmurs, pulling her towards the Great Hall double doors, their friend trailing behind.
Later than night, after the Great Hall has been mostly cleared out – save for the few straggler couples canoodling at their tables – Hermione drags Draco out through the back door onto secluded grounds, under dark skies and fairy lights. Here, they are hidden from the rest of the world.
"What are we doing out here?" he asks, chuckling softly.
"I want to give you something."
He perks up, his eyebrows raising in excitement. "A gift?"
"Something like that," she giggles, clasping her hands behind her back. "Close your eyes."
He blinks, confused for a moment, before doing as he's told, pushing his hands into his pockets.
She bites her bottom lip nervously as she leans forward slowly. She closes the gap between them and her eyes flutter closed just before her lips come into contact with his.
He gasps, his eyes snapping open in shock. He sees her eyes closed and feels her soft lips move tentatively against his and his own eyes flutter closed as he responds.
All too quickly she pulls back and opens her eyes to find his still closed. His tongue pokes out to wet his lips, then, and he breathes a sigh of relief. She watches him quietly as he opens his eyes to look at her.
"Um...what was that?"
She smiles shyly, tucking a stray curl behind her ears. "My first kiss," she whispers.
He blinks, a pink tinge creeping its way up his neck and into his cheeks. "Mine too..."
X
"Where are you taking me?" she giggles, fingering the blindfold over her eyes as he pulls her along behind him. The smell of freshly mown grass and the sound of birds tells her she's outside.
"You'll see – hey!" he yells, turning to slap her hands away from the blindfold. "That's cheating."
"How much further? I'm getting impatient."
"You're always impatient," he chuckles. "We're here-"
The words are barely spoken and she whips the blindfold off her head. They're at the Black Lake – along with a number of other Fifth Year students just like them. Mostly girls in teeny-tiny bikinis, sunbathing and frolicking in the water. She looks at Draco, who's standing before her in a pair of grey and silver swimming trunks. "I don't have my bathing suit."
He smirks. "You're a witch, are you not?"
She smiles, rolling her eyes as she pulls her wand out of her pocket.
"Draco!"
They both turn their attention to where the voice had come from – to a group of Slytherin girls in matching green bikinis – waving at him by the water's edge. He waves back, cocking his head to the side with a grin.
A blond-haired, fair-skinned witch steps forward, her hands on her hips. "Come for a dip, Draco! The water's marvelous," she gushes, completely ignoring the curly-haired Gryffindor.
Draco nods, turning to face her. "Hurry up, get changed and then join us," he tells her, winking at her before jogging off the group of Slytherins.
X
She laughs at Ron's lame joke before taking a sip of her gin and tonic and glances around the room. Everyone's having a good time so far, which is probably in part due to the unlimited amount of alcohol. It's an InterHouse party in the Room of Requirement – it's Astoria Greengrass' birthday. She's a year below Hermione and her friends, but has turned 16 today; her older sister Daphne is their year as well.
Her gaze lands on Draco, who's standing across the room with some of the boys from the Quidditch League. He's nursing a glass of alcohol in one hand, his other shoved into the pocket of his trousers. He looks at her then and their gazes lock; she smiles at him, raising her glass in a silent cheers and he does the same. Someone whispers into his ear then – a Ravenclaw boy – and she follows Draco's gaze as it flickers across the room and lands on the birthday girl.
Hermione's chest tightens as she remembers the rumors she's heard. That Astoria fancies him.
And then Draco's moving, walking over to talk to her. He says "Happy Birthday" and leans down to kiss her cheek – and her stomach churns – and when he pulls back, Astoria grabs him by his silver and green tie and kisses him hard on the lips – snogs him in front of everyone.
Everyone around them is cheering and hollering. Everyone but one.
Hermione blinks back tears, her hand covering her neck as she begins to back away from the crowd of Fifth and Sixth Years. A sob gets stuck in her throat and she bolts, whirling around and then running for the door.
X
Hermione exchanges glances with Draco's latest fallen conquest – a Hufflepuff girl. The girl, dressed in black and yellow robes, glares at her and then shoots daggers through Draco, who seems completely unfazed. It's happened five times now. After Astoria broke up with him over the summer to be with a Muggle bloke, Draco had taken to bedding as many girls as possible and playing with their hearts in the process.
Hermione sighs as they continue on their way to the library. "You can't keep playing these games with these girls, Draco," she mutters, shaking her head.
"Games are meant to played, Granger," he drawls, trailing alongside her.
"Girls' emotions are not meant to played with."
He snorts. "You're blowing it out of proportion-"
"Am I?" she wonders rhetorically, stopping in her tracks in the middle of the corridor to face him, hands on her hips. "So if, say, McLaggen were to play with my emotions, that would be okay with you?"
"Of course it wouldn't!" he scoffs. "I'd beat him to a bloody pulp and then hex his bullocks off."
"Exactly." She narrows her gaze at him as she resumes her trek.
He sighs, following her. "Look, it's different-"
"How is it different?"
"The girls know it's not serious."
"That doesn't change the fact that you're hurting them, Draco! You're playing games-"
"And so what? I'm just trying to have fun-"
"You're always trying to have fun."
"I'm a kid, Hermione. It's what we do."
She raises her eyebrows, stopping just outside the library doors to face him with her arms crossed over her chest. "You're 17, Draco. You're practically an adult."
He screws up his face in disgust and shudders dramatically. "Don't say that word, it makes me feel old."
She sighs. "You can't stay a 'kid' forever. You certainly can't spend the rest of your life breaking girls' hearts."
"It's not my fault they get overly attached," he says defensively.
Hermione stares at him for a moment before pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes in frustration. "You're not understanding me-"
"Maybe you're the one not understanding me," he says stubbornly, folding his arms over his chest.
"You're right. I don't understand you," she whispers. And then she leaves him alone in the hallway as she disappears with her books.
X
She's on her way to the Great Hall for breakfast when she hears familiar voices from around the corner. Upon peering around the corner into the other corridor, she sees Draco struggling to keep up with Pansy.
"Pans," he groans, "Pans, c'mon."
"The only time you want to talk to me is when you need something and I'm sick of it, Draco Malfoy."
"That's not true and you know it."
"Do it?"
He grabs her arm and pulls her around. "You mean the world to me, Pans. You're everything to me."
She huffs, folding her arms across her chest. "What about Granger?"
A sad, distant look flashes on his face. "Hermione's...Hermione," he breathes, his voice thick.
"Do...do you love her?"
Hermione gasps, pulling herself back and pressing herself against the wall.
"It doesn't matter," he says.
X
A silver snake pendent hanging from a silver chain dangles in front of her face, drawing her attention away from her book. She looks up, into the guilty, apologetic, captivating eyes of Draco Malfoy and frowns. They haven't talked in days; weeks.
"I'm sorry," he whispers, sitting in the chair across from her.
She takes the necklace from him. "I'm sorry too. But what's this for?"
"Think of it as a token, that way I'll always be with you."
She smiles.
"So graduation is in a few weeks."
"Yeah," she breathes, closing her book to give him her full attention. "Excited?"
"I think we both know the answer to that," he mutters, looking down at the desk separating them.
"Congratulations on the job at St. Mungo's by the way. In the nursery, right?"
"Thank you, yes," she says happily.
He licks his lips. "I wish it didn't have to end."
"But it has to," she whispers, knowing exactly what he's thinking. "We have to grow up, whether we want to or not. Whether we're ready or not."
"And if we're not?" he questions, gazing up at her. There's a kind of fear swimming in his eyes she's never seen before.
She shrugs helplessly. "I don't know. I guess that's up to you to find out."
X
Today is the day. Today is the day he's going to lose her; he knows it. He can feel it. She's going to grow up, going to move on. Going to leave him behind.
The graduation ceremony has come and gone, the parents have come and left and everyone who's just graduated has gone to pack their things one last time. Everyone but one.
Draco finds his way down to the library, back to where it all began. He doesn't know how long he's been there when he hears her voice.
"I thought I'd find you here," Hermione whispers.
He whirls around to face her, a ghost of a smile playing on his lips. "Found me."
"I got you something," she says, taking his hand and placing something in his palm.
He looks down at a silver lion pendent on a silver chain identical to the one he gave her a few weeks ago.
"Consider it a token."
He smiles, closing his hand over it. "Thank you."
She smiles back, blinking back tears. "So I guess this is it..."
"Yeah, I guess so," he mutters.
"It isn't too late to change your mind, you know," she says hopefully.
He bites his bottom lip, shaking his head slowly. "I can't, Granger. I just...I cant."
She looks down at the floor. "And I can't not."
He reaches for her hand, pushing his fingers gently through the cracks between hers and rubs his thumb over the top of her hand. "Maybe next year."
"Yeah, maybe."
He takes a deep breath and lifts her chin with his other hand, his silver necklace still clutched between his fingers and his palm. "This isn't goodbye, right?"
She smiles, shaking her head. "Never goodbye."
"You won't forget me?"
"I promise," she whispers.
And then she's gone.