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Always Mine	By : RynStar15 Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 11545 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to the Harry Potter world or characters which belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Bros. I intend no copyright infringement by using the characters therein.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
I took one last pull of the amber liquid and snapped down the empty decanter with a dull thud. Tossing a couple of galleons on the bar, I nodded at Tom and slipped out the front door of the Leaky Cauldron and into the ceaseless blizzard. Ducking into a deserted alley, I Apparated to my empty flat and looked around.
When I'd found the cozy loft, I'd had Hermione in mind. The soft ivory carpet, the oversized fireplace in rich mahogany, the ample kitchen, the deep claw-footed tub. My own tastes would have preferred something a little sleeker perhaps: black marble, hardwood floors, high ceilings. But I thought she might appreciate the homey space overlooking the park where couples walked hand-in-hand beneath the now barren limbs of trees laden down in foamy white. So I lived with it, such as I lived with the ache of missing her.
I had to admit that the thick carpet was quite pleasant between my toes after a long day and the quiet neighborhood suited my need for solitude. In the end, it didn't matter whether I lived here or in a mansion or in a hovel under the bridge. I'd lost her.
Dropping my sodden cloak on the lone chair I kept in the dining room, I padded to the kitchen and threw together a dry sandwich, having forgotten to run to the store for more mayonnaise. The contents of my cupboards were pitiful, but I ate out most nights anyways so I couldn't be bothered to care.
Leaning against the counter I gazed out into the dark night and watched the fat white flakes of snow slash across the window over the sink, the view beautiful. A lonely cityscape of London lay out beyond the park, beautiful and cold, lights winking from the skyscrapers towering in the distance. She was out there somewhere. Somewhere in the mass of buildings and people, she was there, living. Without me.
It was my own fucking fault. I had no one else to blame. I'd spent so much of my time and energy pushing her away it was no wonder she had turned me down. Who was I to think she would wait that long for me without explanation? And yet she had known where I had gone anyways…
Who had told her? Potter? Remus? I had never asked, it didn't really matter. It was no one's fault but my own. She had done everything right. She had been patient. She had been understanding. She had helped me through the hardest time of my life. She had saved my fucking life more times than I could count. And still, it hadn't been enough for needy, greedy ol' me. I'd wanted more, always more. I'd wanted a life of my own, something to be proud of. She could wait. Isn't that what Hermione did best? She would understand, she would come crawling back into my arms as soon as I strode through the doors and we would make a life out of the one I had carved for us and she would follow unquestioningly, desperately happy.
I chucked the meager contents of my sandwich across the room irately and leaned my arms heavily against the counter. Gods, she was fucking right. I was an ignorant, lying, selfish little boy. I hadn't seen that what she'd offered for so long was everything I needed. I had tossed her aside time and again, ignoring him words, figuring I knew best.
And then she had handed me my resolution on a silver platter and I had promised her I would stay with her. Shattered that one, hadn't I? She'd been right there, in my arms, waiting for me to show her…then I'd walked away.
All I thought about everymotherfuckingday was about what I needed. What about what she needed? She had needed me and I'd turned from her. I'd finally had a chance to prove to her that I was deserving of her love and I had thrown it right in her face while she lay in a hospital bed, recovering from wounds she'd sustained trying to save me. I had left her, broken and begging. And now I would reap the consequences of my actions.
In the light of my loss I had tried to change. Everything happened for a reason, didn't it? I tried to think about something other than myself once in a while, tried to open my fucking eyes to the world and its opportunities. But it was hard to forget what I'd lost and I spent most of my time wallowing in the memory of her feel, her touch, her taste…
Knowing she would hate if I left a mess, I cleaned up my pathetic meal and made my way through the barren flat, scrubbing my face as if I could erase the image of hers.
The only other room in the sad dwelling with any furniture at all was the bedroom where a massive bed awaited, cold and dark. I could just see her there, spread across it, flushed and waiting for me to take her, to fill her as only I could. Was someone else out there right now, taking what was mine?
She's not yours, you gave her up, I reminded myself. But it didn't matter what I tried to tell myself. I felt it, so deep it was ingrained. There had never been anyone in the world made so perfectly for me as she was. She was everything I hadn't even known I'd wanted. And I'd lost her.
Growling at the empty bed, I turned and made my way back out the door, snatching my cloak on the way out.
I didn't know where I'd go but I couldn't stay in the lonely house tonight. I had sworn I'd seen her today, her thick hair gleaming beneath thousands of lighted orbs as she'd made her way through the Ministry where Charlie and I had been to see about breeding permits. We were having trouble securing the area I'd picked out for our new colony and were just leaving, the elation of winning out against those wizened Muggle Relations crones putting a new bounce in Charlie's step. But I had been focused on one thing and my heart had stopped when I'd found her, trailing after the new Chief Warlock Dreydus Duggard, quill in hand over a long parchment looking harried and worn. Was she eating? Sleeping? Where was she staying? Was she warm at night, curled up next to that Weasley prick?
She'd disappeared among the hordes without even glancing up and I was forced to plaster on a smile when Charlie went on about which eggs would be the best to start with, which lines they should mix this season.
It wasn't that I didn't care. I enjoyed my work with the dragons; the labor was satisfying and kept my mind off…other things. At the end of the day, however, I was always back to square one.
She didn't answer my owls. Potter refused to tell me where she was. After numerous attempts to reach her, I received a very angry Howler from Mrs. Weasley warning me to leave her alone. I'd stopped writing anyone after a while, stopped confiding in Charlie. All that mattered now was my work, which was fine since it took up a good portion of time. I even took extra night shifts so I didn't have to spend those hours tossing and turning, the repercussions of my mistakes like an anchor on my chest.
There were other witches out there, good women who could keep me warm at night, even to share an amicable conversation with. I was young, not unattractive. Heir to a fortune no one really knew was gone. I should get out there, explore, enjoy my youth.
These were all excellent reasons to be sure. Not that any of them mattered. The thought of being with anyone other than Hermione was contemptible. What woman could match up? They all seemed so spineless, so fake. Even with their gobs of makeup they couldn't match the natural beauty of Hermione's warm smile. Nothing could replace her annoying habit of always being right or her incredible wit and vast intellect. Who else could utter soft words of comfort and with the same mouth insult with the skill of a hardened warlock? Whose lips could light a fire in me as hers had or soothe that consuming flame of anguish as it tore through me, bringing me back from the brink of death?
It had been nearly six months, each day as long as the last. The suffocating heat of the summer had been drowned out by autumn's downpour and then swallowed up by the white of winter. Bitter cold stung my exposed fingers as I jogged down the icy steps of the building which led out to the quiet lane, especially at this time of night.
Which is why I was more than a little surprised to see a lone figure standing in the middle of the cobbled street, the white deluging around them, looking as lost and forlorn as I felt.
I didn't need to squint, to step forward or call out to be sure. I knew it was her. She stood with her hands at her sides, her eyes on me, her hair painted dark by melted snow, indicating she had been out for quite a while. She wore no cloak, no outerwear of any kind even though puffs of mist swirled up into the garish orange light of a streetlamp above with each exhale. It looked as if she had come straight from the Ministry, her Wizengamot robes plastered to her body.
I stopped where I was on the stairs, my heart in my throat, watching her practically drown out there in all that white. She didn't come closer, didn't call out to me. She simply stood there.
Curiosity won out over my pride, a trait I had once lived my life by, one I had quickly learned could destroy it. I made my way slowly towards her, feeling as though I was treading across a thinly iced-over Black Lake. At this point I would prefer it. The giant squid seemed a less formidable adversary.
As I stepped off the curb she started forward, stopping just before me, her hands coming up and then stilling, dropping lamely to her sides. She looked up at me, wretched, snowflakes clinging to her eyelashes.
"Draco," she whispered, as if to make sure. My heart bounded to life right there in my larynx making my voice tight and weak.
"Hermione."
"I didn't think you would…I mean you never have before…"
"Taken to stalking me?" I sniped scornfully, anger I had pressed so deeply down beneath the hurt and disappointment suddenly bubbling up as I gazed upon her shivering form.
"Of course not," she breathed, looking down at her twisting hands before glancing back up at me, tears leaking from the corners of her eyes to melt the flakes that had settled upon her cheeks. "I tried so many times…I wanted to see you, to talk to you-"
"I believe you made it very clear that you wanted nothing to do with me," I said harshly, taking the tiniest pleasure in watching her jerk as if I'd slapped her.
"I know, I know what I said, what I did…I was so angry!" she cried, her fists coming up to shove at my chest and I was forced to take a step back to keep my footing on the slick ground. Fire and fury flared to life in her eyes as she glared up at me accusingly. "You left me! You left without a word, without any…what was I supposed to think?"
"If you had let me explain-"
"It wasn't good enough, Draco, don't you see?" she sobbed, shaking her head. "I didn't c-care that you needed to find yourself, I w-would have understood! Didn't you trust me to understand? D-Didn't you think I'd wait? Because I would have, I did! I waited and waited for you to say something, any little thing, one single reason why you had to leave. But you d-didn't! After e-everything you still didn't trust me! I was hurt and I was mad and I hate you so fucking much!"
I was taken aback at her words, at the pain that hit like a punch to the gut. But I finally understood the reason for her anger. How could I have been so stupid, so blind? Didn't she always understand? Didn't she always know what I needed, even before I did? And hadn't she always been there through every awful, selfish mistake? I opened my mouth to tell her this but she went on, as Hermione Granger was wont to do.
"I hate you for ruining everything, for never letting me in, for never trusting me! After e-everything I did for you it still wasn't enough! I wasn't enough! I hate you for making me care so much, for making me love you even after all of the h-horrible things you did and said. I'm so sick of thinking about you all the time, of missing you so much it hurts. Why do you have to do this to me? Why?"
"Because you make me fucking insane!" I screamed, grabbing her arms, dragging her up so she could see the same anguish reflected in my eyes. "Don't you see? I can't fucking function around you! You're always so goddamn caring and understanding, how am I supposed to respond to that? I'm a fucking Death Eater-"
"You're not!"
"What do you call this?" I roared, ripping up the sleeve of my robe, thrusting the fading Mark under her nose, watching her flinch away.
"That's not who you are and you know it!" she cried, slapping my arm out of her face and shoving at my chest. "Stop using it as an excuse for everything, Draco! One day you're going to have to own up to your feelings and stop hiding behind that damn Mark!"
She whipped around, her hands flying to her mouth in shock while I tried to capture the breath she had stolen from my lungs. We stood in silence, flakes of white swirling around us as I absorbed her words. Was she right? Was that what I had been doing? Using the fact that I was born to be an emotionless drone to get in the way of what I felt for her?
Of course she was right. Dammit, how had I never seen…?
I stared at the back of her head at a loss for words. I tried several times to speak but nothing came out. I didn't know what to say, how to make her realize that I didn't mean to, that I didn't know how to handle the emotions she wrought within me. That I was so sorry I was such a fucking mess, that I hurt her when there was nothing in the world I wanted less…
She shook her head slowly, hugging herself, seeming a thousand miles away even though I could reach out and touch her.
"I shouldn't have come here," she murmured, her words sounding pained. "It's obvious nothing has changed-"
"You're right," I growled. I knew I was losing her again and I had to act fast. I stepped forward, wanting to grab her, to hold her, to keep her here, but I didn't touch her, not yet. "Nothing has changed at all. I still feel the same for you as I did the day you dragged me off that battle field. The same I felt the first time we made love. The same I felt the day I left."
She huffed sardonically, her head dropping even further, her words no more than a whisper. "And what exactly do you feel?"
"You know what I feel," I muttered lowly, my voice husky beneath my emotion.
She turned to me, her face begging my words to be true. "How can I ever trust you?"
"I don't have an answer to that, Hermione," I said honestly. "But look me in the eye and tell me I'm lying when I say I never wanted to leave you. I never meant to hurt you. Everything I did, the good and the bad, was for you." I cupped her cheek with a shaky hand, the words barely audible above the pounding of my heart.
"It's always been for you."
I lowered my head slowly, hovering above her own but not making contact. I would give her the choice, I wouldn't force her, I would simply lay my heart out for the taking if she so chose. I could see the indecision swirling in her bright eyes, her lips parting in shock at my words. The moment stretched out endlessly and I held my breath in anticipation.
My heart skipped a beat when her expression changed, as I watched her walls coming down. Her brow still furrowed in fear, she reached up her small hands to cup my face and I shuddered, both from the chill of her icy digits and from the elation of feeling her touch once more.
Then she was rising onto her toes, closing the distance, watching my eyes until the very last second before her lips met with mine. She whimpered. I broke.
I grabbed her then, drawing her up, taking her cold lips harshly in one last, desperate attempt to show her why I did the things I did. She melted instantly and I groaned in pure bliss, tugging her closer. I splayed her against me, wrapping my arms around her waist, hers coming around my neck. I lifted her off her feet and held her as the flurry leapt around us, unnoticed as our aching hearts sobbed in utter relief. Her legs wrapped around me and I nearly shattered with happiness, the feel of having her enveloped around me better than every single image I'd thought up in her absence.
She pulled away slightly and traced my face with warming fingers, the storm continuing to batter us from every side, whipping her long hair between us.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!" she breathed and I kissed her again, trying to tell her it didn't matter; nothing mattered but that she was here, in my arms. She yanked away. "I shouldn't've-"
"It's not important, I deserved worse," I growled, holding her so tightly against me we were in danger of simply melting into each other's skin. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you-"
"I know why you didn't, I stole all of Harry's letters."
I eyed her curiously. "Did you now? How did you know I was-?"
"Well, you weren't exactly secretive, using Charlie's owl."
I chuckled, leaning my forehead against hers. Of course she would figure something like that out, I'd never even thought… "Damn brainy witch. If you knew then why did you-"
"I was scared, you never seemed to want to talk about me and when you did I wasn't sure if you were just trying to placate him so he didn't leave your body in the Great Hall-"
I snorted and she furrowed her brow. "And then you were there with no warning and you made me feel all these things and I couldn't think, I was so scared you would leave me again and after that-gods, that sex-I couldn't stand it if you-so I did-and-"
I quelled her insistent rambling by kissing her again, the smile on my face making it hard to do so proficiently. Everything I'd ever felt for this slip of a witch was building inside me, warming me from the inside, and I knew what I had to do, what I had to tell her, finally, to keep her.
"I love you," I murmured, tucking her white covered hair behind her ear, watching her face fall in utter disbelief. "I've loved you since before I can remember. You are everything I ever wanted to be, everything that's ever meant anything to me. I can't possibly explain how in love with you I am. But if you'll give me the chance, I will spend the rest of my life showing you. I love you, Hermione Jean Granger."
The tears doubled and she sniffed, her hands picking at flecks of white on my now sopping cloak. She laid her head against mine for a moment before reaching into her pocket, drawing out her wand. My eyes widened, wondering wildly if she was going to curse me, not even hearing her words as she flicked her wand, a blue-white dragon bursting from it, taking wing, whipping around us as my heart leapt at the image, at the unspoken admission.
Her eyes met mine and she let out a heart-wrenching sob before nodding, kissing me hard and deep. I groaned, dipping her, reveling in her consent, in the knowledge that she chose me.
I whipped around so quickly she giggled against my lips, the sound so beautiful I swore to myself I would do anything in my power to hear it as often as possible. Never breaking away from her lips, I carried her back to the flat I'd bought just for her, the flat which was now ours, the one which would see the start of our future together.
I should have known better than to second guess myself. A Malfoy was always right, wasn't he? It was only a matter of time before things worked out as planned.
Because I had always known, somehow, that she was always mine.
...
A/N: There, see? I'd never leave you hanging! Our stubborn couple just needed some time to smooth things out. It was quite the tumultuous beginning, after all. But they made it in the end!
I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for sharing this journey with me. I sincerely hope you loved it as much as I did. And never fear, if you are sad because this story is over, there is ever more Dramione to be had! My new one-shot The Promise is sure to tug on some feelers and guess what, I am about to post a new WIP you can follow along with! It is slow in the first couple of chapters, but it is probably my smuttiest and one of my more action-packed fics. Hope to see you all there!

SheWolf4025: The BIGGEST sadist ;) and yes, teenage boys are idiots. Hopefully this made up for it! Thank you so much for reading and reviewing, it honestly means more than you know!
KittyFiveTatts: Haha, I hope this will prevent my untimely death! Thank you for your review and for reading my story, I hope you enjoy my others just as much!!

Humbly yours,
XOXO
RynStar15
- 7
- 8
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Always Mine