Hey!
Here's the second part of the story:D
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or the wonderful books…I wish, though.
Enjoy!
The next day, she noted that he was still sitting on the bench, staring blankly at the house she lived in. She didn't know what to do. She didn't know if she should let him tease her to his heart's content so he could leave her alone, or call the police, or even do anything at all.
She, for the first time, wasn't sure.
7 days, he realized. 7 days ago, he had sat down on this very seat after finding her address. With much difficulty, he thought. She had hid herself very well from the wizarding world.
He wasn't exactly sure why he had stayed for so long. He didn't feel like moving. It wasn't as if he couldn't, he just didn't. Something about the girl was very intriguing, and his mind wasn't ready to move away just yet. He must have a motive he knew. But it hadn't been clear until the moment she walked out of her house.
She was slightly short. But, by the way she walked, talked and acted, she seemed like she had confidence in everything she did, and height didn't matter. Her face expression was unreadable, for the long years against Voldemort had naturally given her the self-defence she needed.
She had a way with words that would leave even the smartest man speechless, taking note of her confident, no-business tone of voice. She held herself high, with the type of aura that could leave people around her in a state of silence and respect.
In other words, she was beautiful.
"Malfoy? Unless you have a reason to be here, you should really get going."
Her face was indifferent, as if it didn't really matter if he stayed or not. But he knew better. Hermione Granger was confused.
"I do have a reason. In fact, Hermione, I just realized it."
Hermione was startled when her first name was rolled out of his tongue. It seemed so foreign and…different.
"Are you planning to tell me?"
"No."
His answer infuriated her. She huffed, annoyed, "Malfoy-"
"I won't tell you. It's one of those facts that even you, Hermione, will never know."
So the days passed. Countless times that Hermione would look outside her window and see the familiar blond, almost white, hair with the deep gray eyes staring back at her. She would then walk outside her house and towards the man sitting on the bench. Their conversations always stayed on one topic. Why he sat outside her house.
She would demand, bluntly and straight to the point, the reasons. Nonetheless, he would always reply, "No.", making her irritated to the point for her to stomp back inside, slam the door and forget about him.
But behind the confident complexion, there was always the confusion behind her eyes, bordered by a layer of worry.
Which, of course, delighted him.
He wondered, for hour's end, if he should carry out with it. It was, indeed, the reason he stayed outside her house. But it was too risky. It was almost like playing with fire while walking on ice. This was Hermione Granger, after all.
Like every other day, after the flutter of curtains by her window, she emerged from her house, walking carefully over to him. It was a beautiful summer day, with bright, fresh colors surrounding them. She stopped in front of him, like she had the day before, and the day before that, and so on. Today, she was wearing a light blue flower print summer dress, with a thin white belt around her waist. She was barefooted, and looked carefree and happy.
Again, in routine, she asked, "Are you going to tell me today?"
He grinned at the woman before him, and shook his head.
No.
Like always.
She sighed in frustration, shifted her weight onto her other foot, and bit her lip in thought.
It was too perfect. It was as if fate had given him this day to fulfill his reasoning. So he did something out of the ordinary.
He stood up.
Hermione hadn't noticed how tall he was until then. He was a whole head taller, with broad shoulders and long arms. He had grown quite a bit since they were in Hogwarts. He was looking down at her, his eyes unreadable. But then she stepped back and his eyes looked like they had awakened from a daydream. He sighed and then sat back down.
She was puzzled on his actions, but didn't question them. Instead, she frowned and walked back home.
Damn, he thought.
I was so close.