Chapter 18:
Draco had a plan for exactly what he wanted to do. He prepared their boat on the lake, and didn't notice her sneaking up on him.
"Hey, Draco."
"Oh hi," he said as he clumsily fell over into the boat.
She giggled at the sight of him trying to get up without flipping it over. He stood and said,
"I thought we could go on a little boat ride to the other side of the lake."
"You really like doing things the muggle way, don't you?"
He shrugged at her statement and they boarded the boat. Hermione watched as he rowed the boat, his muscles flexing back and forth. Ron doesn't have muscles like that, she thought. He noticed her watching him and said with a smirk,
"Like what you see?"
"What? Oh no, I was just..."
"Right...we're here."
The boat bumped onto the land and Draco held her hand as she got off. Even the smallest touch made him go crazy. They walked side by side and she mumbled,
"Still, with the surprises?"
"Yes, because I know how much you love them," he said sarcastically.
"I do not!" she objected. Yes you do, the voice inside her head said.
He pulled out a bag from his backpack and opened it. It contained...apples?
"What are these for?" she wondered.
"For them," he said throwing one of them, and being caught in the mouth by a creature.
"Woah!" she yelped, taken back by the sudden appearance of these creatures.
The creatures were bony and black, it gave somewhat of a horse appearance. It was eerie yet the way they moved made them look majestic and overall beautiful.
"What are they?" she asked.
"Thestrals," he answered, "I found them here a few weeks ago."
"I've never seen anything like them," she said putting a hand on its head.
"I've heard that a person can only see them if they have witnessed death...and our generation would know all about that," he muttered.
Hermione understood, it wasn't healthy for people their age to have witnessed so much dead bodies. She winced at the thought of seeing her friends so...lifeless.
"Why are they here? Most creatures live in the Dark Forest." she asked.
"Honestly, I don't know. It's like they never leave."
Hermione fed the littlest one an apple, and he took it in one bite. She chuckled at its delight, and Draco laughed as well.
They headed back to the boat and on the way to the cottage, it began to rain. Well not rain, more like pour.
Draco laughed in amusement as Hermione tried to cover herself with her coat, himself not even trying. Giving up, she put down her coat and laughed with him, soaking in the raindrops.
She's never looked more beautiful, he thought.
Upon returning to land, Hermione couldn't help herself. The millions of questions she had built up inside of her poured out of her, more so exploded.
"Why didn't you write to me?!" she yelled.
Draco knew that she would start yelling eventually, but he couldn't seem to understand what she was talking about.
"Why didn't you write? I waited for you, but not a single letter came to me!" she repeated.
"I wrote to you, I practically wrote you everyday you weren't with me! And I never got anything back!"
She had a mixture of anger and confusion on her face. She didn't expect that as an answer.
She began to sob old tears she hasn't shown in a long time, she yelled,
"I thought it was over! I thought everything we had was over! So when I found Ron, I couldn't help it!"
"It was never over," he said, "and it still isn't."
With that he grabbed her and brought her in for a passionate kiss. A kiss he has been waiting for all this time. What was he thinking? Having Astoria try to replace her? Never.
Hermione had waited for this moment for the longest time. She thought she was happy with Ron, but there was a reason why she never forgot Draco. Because with Draco, it was real.
He kissed her furiously and carried her into the house. The emotions they had held back all this time exploded in fireworks inside them. They would never forget that night, the night everything returned to the way it was meant to be.