Chapter 21:
Hermione sat on the park bench in muggle London, the same place where they had first seen each other that night at the carnival. She examined the letters, and there was well over a 100 in the stack. she pulled the first one out of the pack and opened it, it was dated only a few weeks after their fight.
Dearest Hermione,
You not being next to me is one of the hardest things I've ever had to go through. Everything about you lingers in my head, and I have never stopped thinking about you. I know that things are difficult and our love seems impossible, but if you really feel strongly about me, we can do anything. We will get that cottage by the lake and we will live there together. We could have kids and watch them play in the water, and you could read your books on that window seat, and I could have my own study, where I could pursue that writing career I always wanted. I know it may seem beyond our reach, but we could do it. I just need to know that you still love me. It's like what that fellow in your book once said, oh what was his name...Shakespeare! We're star-crossed lovers, baby. I know that sounds incredibly tacky and uncouth, but nonetheless I really want to make things right. Please come back to me, baby.
Forever yours, Draco
She cried at that last sentence. If she were to find this letter months ago, they would have been together right from the start. Every moment she had spent with Ron have been shattered, and only memories of Draco filled her head.
With her final decision, she walked back home.
Upon entering her house, she saw Ron sitting on the couch, with his head in his hands. Her parents took one look at her and left the room, giving them privacy.
"Ronald?"
He looked up and you could see the distress in his eye.
"Hermione, I need to know. Who were you staying with? And don't tell me it was your grandmother, I know she's dead."
She sat next to him and put her hand on his back, but he quickly moved away.
"It was him. The guy I was seeing last summer."
"Did you cheat on me?"
Hermione couldn't look at him, not wanting to shed anymore tears. Her response was clear to Ron.
"The way I see it, I got two ways: One, I could kill him, or two I can let you be together. But none of those options get me you."
She continued to look away, as his heart was slowly breaking.
"Do you love me, Hermione?" he asked.
"Yes, but not in the way I should."
"And what does this mean for us? I never see you again and we stop talking?"
"What? Never! Ron, it isn't fair. You are my second best friend, and I'll never forget that."
"I love you, Hermione."
"I love you too, Ron."
Draco laid awake in bed, but curled up under the sheets. He didn't know if she would come back, but he knew it could never be over. Just then, he heard the sound of footsteps approaching his front door. He looked out the window and saw the other half of him carrying a luggage and coming up to his door.
Without warning, he opened the door and ran to her. She dropped her bags and kissed him, with the sound of Crookshanks yelping at the sudden drop. They kissed as if the world had stopped and there was no place left to go. They were each other's gravity, and that was all that mattered.