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Title: Who'd you be today?
Summary: Draco fell in Love with Hermione and she was killed. he goes crazy. will a certain red head be able to snap him out of it and get him to love again?
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, Romance
Rating: PG13
Sunny days seem to hurt the most
Draco Malfoy walked along the lake on the grounds of Hogwarts. The sun was shining bright and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The flowers were all in bloom. It was the perfect day, but Draco noticed none of it. All he could see was her face. Everywhere. Instead of the sun, which was shining brightly, he saw her smile, which seemed to light up the room whenever she was around. Instead of taking in the smell of fresh flowers, all he could smell was her. Her special smell of strawberries, with a hint of chocolate. And instead of feeling the warm breeze, he felt her arms around his waist. Her passionate kisses.
I wear the pain like a heavy coat
Draco walked a few more steps, before falling to his knees, on the ground. The tears, which he’d been holding back ever since she died a few hours earlier, finally found their way down his cheeks as he grabbed fistfuls of grass and sobbed.
“Draco…” Draco’s head whipped up and he let go of the grass. “Draco…” Draco stood up slowly and turned around. There was no one there, just like he’d known, at least deep in his heart, there wouldn’t be. Draco looked up at the sky.
“WHY!” he screamed. “Why?” His voice dropped to a whisper and he fell to his knees again.
I feel you everywhere I go
Draco felt a light touch on his arm. He closed his eyes tight and choked back another sob. The touch was so much like hers, and even though he knew it wasn’t, he let his mind and body imagine it was.
“Draco…” the voice whispered again.
“Hermione,” he said softly.
“Come on, Draco,” the voice said softly. “You need to come inside now.”
“Hermione,” he whispered again. He threw the person off and stood, before staggering away from her. “HERMIONE!” he screamed. “HERMIONE! COME BACK! YOU CAN’T LEAVE ME!” He fell to his knees once more. “Hermione,” he whispered. “Come back.” He felt her arms around him again.
“Come on, Draco,” she said softly, but firmly this time. “You need to come inside before it begins to rain.” He tried to get away again, but she roughly led him inside the castle.
I see your smile, I see your face
Draco stumbled to the Great Hall the next morning. His robes were rumpled, as though he’d slept in them and never bothered to change. His hair was uncombed and his eyes were bloodshot, from crying. He stopped in the doorway and let his eyes sweep around the room. They stopped on a girl sitting at the Gryffindor table, across from Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Hermione’s spot.
Without thinking about what he was doing, he sprinted across the hall and stopped before her. He was breathing hard and his hair was even messier.
“Hermione?” he questioned, not noticing the pitying looks from everyone in the Great Hall. All he saw was the way her smile brightened and everyone else seemed to just vanish. He slowly reached out to touch her cheek, but all he felt was air. His face crumpled as she disappeared. “Hermione?” he said in confusion. “HERMIONE!” he screamed frantically before spinning around and running out into the pouring rain.
I hear you laughin’ in the rain
Draco ran down to the lake and threw himself on the ground, letting the rain wash over him. He didn’t care that his clothes were getting completely muddy. He didn’t care that it was now freezing and he would probably get sick. All he cared about was how much Hermione had loved the rain.
“What are you doing, Granger?” Draco asked, startling her. She spun around. “What are you doing out here in the rain?” Hermione smiled gently.
“I love the rain, Malfoy,” she said, turning away from again and tilting her head to catching the falling raindrops on her face. She closed her eyes. “It feels really refreshing. Like everything is starting new.” She held her arms straight out and began twirling around, laughing, not caring if her worst enemy was watching her. And, for the first time in his life, Draco Malfoy smiled a real, genuine smile.
“Come on, Malfoy,” she laughed, pulling a very reluctant Draco behind her. “It’s raining!” For some reason, this perked Draco up and he was a little more willing to follow the Head Girl out into the pouring rain. He was just standing there, head tilted to the sky, enjoying the “refreshing” rain, when something hit him and tackled him to the ground. Looking up, he saw Hermione on top of him, grinning. She quickly got off of him and began running, with him chasing her. He finally caught her around the waist and this time, he was the one who tackled her to the ground. They began rolling around on the ground, laughing, until both of them were too exhausted to move another muscle. Draco ended up looking up into Hermione’s bright chocolate brown eyes and she stared into his liquid silver-gray eyes. Slowly he raised his head as she lowered hers and their lips met. It was a short, simple but sweet kiss that left both of them confused, but happy.
“Can we start new, Hermione Granger?” he whispered against her lips.
“Like the rain,” she answered and they kissed again.
Yes, Hermione loved the rain. That was when she would smile the brightest and laugh the most. When it was raining.
I still can’t believe you’re gone
Draco raised his hand in the middle of Professor Snape’s lecture on a potion they were about to make.
“Yes, Mr. Malfoy?” Snape question. Draco looked straight at Snape.
“Where is Hermione?” he questioned innocently. The class gasped but as they all turned to look at Draco, they knew he was perfectly serious. “She should be here,” Draco went on. “Hermione Granger never misses a class. Never. Where has she gone?” Snape and the rest of the class just looked at him.
“Hermione is gone, Draco,” Snape said quietly. “She’s dead.” Draco began shaking his head.
“No!” he shouted. “She can’t be gone! She can’t be!” He jumped up from his seat and ran out of the classroom. Professor Snape didn’t bother to stop him, but he couldn’t seem to go on with the lecture either, so he dismissed his class early. Draco sprint down the corridors until someone grabbed his arm and stopped him, spinning him around to face them. He couldn’t seem them clearly, because of the tears that blinding his vision, but he could tell that whoever it was was crying also.
“Draco, talk to me,” they said softly. “What is it?”
“I can’t believe she’s gone,” he whispered, collapsing in their arms. Their arms wrapped around Draco’s waist and hugged him tight. “I can’t believe she’s gone.”
It ain’t fair: you died too young
Like a story that had just begun
But death tore the pages all away
“…and Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini,” McGonagall finished the pairing. Draco’s face scrunched up.
“No,” he said stubbornly. “I want to be partners with Hermione.” And he picked up his things and plopped himself down at an empty table. Everyone was shocked into silence as Draco turned to the empty chair and just began talking.
“Hey, Hermione,” he said with a smile. He began to arrange his things. “Isn’t this fun, us being partners like this?” He just went on and on. Finally, McGonagall swept out of the room, returning a few moments later with Dumbledore and Pomfrey. She pointed at Draco and they both just stared.
“He’s insane,” Pomfrey whispered frantically. “Hermione Granger’s death made him insane.”
“Hermione’s not dead!” Draco turned around and yelled at them. “She’s right here. Can’t you see us having a conversation?” He turned back to “Hermione”.
“You are quite right, Pomfrey,” Dumbledore said sadly. “The boy has lost his mind. I will go call St. Mungo’s right now.” And he swept out of the room.
God knows how I miss you
All the hell that I’ve been through
Just knowin’ no one could take your place
“I’m not crazy!” Draco shouted, trying to break free from the two men that were leading him away from Hogwarts. “Hermione! Tell them I’m not crazy!” The two men gave him sympathetic looks as they walked towards Hogsmeade, where they could apparate with him to St. Mungos. Once there, Draco was admitted to the criminally insane ward. Draco sat on his bed, staring at the wall, muttering under his breath, “I’m not crazy. I’m not crazy.”
“Mr. Malfoy, you have a visitor,” a Healer told him and Draco turned to see a pretty girl, of about sixteen, with long, flowing, auburn hair.
“Hi, Draco,” she said softly.
“They took Hermione away from me,” he whispered, tears welling up in his eyes. The girl hurried to his side and knelt down, taking his hands in her own, and looking into his eyes.
“Hermione Granger is dead, Draco,” she told him firmly but still in that soft voice. “She is not coming back. And in order for you to get out of here and live a normal life, you are going to have to accept that.”
“Who are you?” he asked, confused.
“Ginny Weasley,” came the reply.
“You’re the one who keeps helping me whenever I think Hermione is there, right?”
“Yes, Draco, and I am going to keep on helping you. But the help will only work if you accept Hermione’s death.”
“Hermione’s dead,” he said slowly. Ginny nodded. “And she’s not coming back.” Ginny shook her head. “I have to accept it and move on.”
“That’s right,” Ginny said. “And I will help with that. You can talk to me about Hermione anytime you want to. You can even pretend I’m Hermione, if it comes to that, but you cannot keep talking to the air and holding one-sided conversations with Hermione.”
“I don’t want to pretend you are Hermione,” he said firmly. “But I do want to live a normal life. Help me.” She did and two weeks later, Draco returned to school.
Would you see the world? Would you chase your dreams?
“Ginny?” Draco inquired softly. They were lying on their backs, under the stars. It was the day before Draco’s graduation.
“Hmmm?” she murmured. Draco turned onto his side to look at her.
“What do you think Hermione would go on to do?” he whispered. “If she was graduating tomorrow, what would she do with her life?” Ginny was quiet for a moment as she turned on her side too and they stared in each other’s eyes.
“She’d probably get a teaching job,” Ginny told him with a soft smile. “She once told me that nothing beat teaching. She loved it. But more importantly, she would probably marry you sometime this summer. She told me that besides teaching, all she wanted to be was your wife. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with you.”
“I loved her too,” Draco said, turning on his back once more, looking up at the stars. He blinked back the tears. “I wanted to love her…forever and for always.”
“I know, Draco,” Ginny told him, still staring right at him. “And you still can love her…forever and for always. All you have to do is keep her memory alive. Remember her, and she will always be with you. Always.” If she said anything more, Draco didn’t hear her for is thoughts were elsewhere. At the funeral held several weeks earlier.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Dumbledore announced, the twinkle in his eyes gone. “Hermione’s classmates, friends, and family; we are gathered together to mourn the lost of one of the brightest witches in over a century. Hermione Ann Granger was a model student, an example to all. She was the picture of courage and excellence. She was the perfect Gryffindor. I would now like to call up a boy, a boy who knew Hermione well. Who loved her. Draco Malfoy.” Dumbledore sat down and Draco walked up to the front. His eyes were already filled with tears and he wasn’t sure if he could get through this without breaking down.
“Like Professor Dumbledore said, I loved Hermione,” Draco began. “I loved her with my whole heart. Its funny how things change. For six years, Hermione and I were enemies. We fought constantly, and even cursed each other occasionally. I still remember the day in third year when I said something inappropriate to her and she punched me. For a girl, Hermione Granger sure could pack a punch.” He paused and there was a slight ripple of laughter. “Well, everything changed this year. In the beginning, we both thought that Professor Dumbledore had totally lost his mind when he put us together as the Heads of this school. As a result, we had to live together and at first, things didn’t get better. Instead, they got worst. We fought even more and there were a few times when, in the midst of our anger, we actually had a fistfight or two. The change happened one evening in the rain. After that evening, we no longer fought. We became friends and that friendship led to a romantic relationship and we fell in love. When I found out that Hermione had cancer, I was devastated. And then when she died, well, it felt like my world had completely ended. If it wasn’t for Ginny Weasley, I probably would still be in St. Mungos.” He stopped talking and turned to the coffin, kneeling.
“Hermione, I love you,” Draco whispered. “I never thought it could happen, but it did, and there is no going back now. I hope you’re happy wherever you are.” He slowly stood, placed a blood red rose on her coffin and turned away. Once he was off the stage, he collapsed in Ginny’s arms, and sobbed like there was no tomorrow.
Settle down with a family I wonder what would you name your babies
“Ginny?” Draco said. It was the morning of his graduation and he was walking with Ginny along the lake once more before going to get ready. “Did Hermione ever tell you her dreams? Of a family?” Ginny stopped, turned to face him, and smiled. He stopped walking too.
“Yes, she did,” Ginny told him, pushing her long hair out of her eyes.
“What did she tell you?” Draco wanted to know.
“Well, she wanted a family with you and only you,” Ginny began. Draco nodded. He knew that already. “She wanted a small, cozy house in the country with a lovely garden. And she wanted six kids. Three girls and three boys. She even had them all named.”
“She did?” Draco asked in surprise. “She didn’t even have any kids yet and she had them named?” Ginny nodded. “What were the names?”
“Alexandria, Jasmine, Gabriella, Leon, Jordon, and Draco Jr.” Ginny ticked off the names on her fingers. Draco smiled when she got to the last one. He and Ginny fell silent and just stared at each other for a long, long time. Finally, Draco slowly lowered his head and kissed Ginny gently on the lips. When he realized what he had done, Draco pulled back in shock, before spinning around and running inside. Ginny just stood still, taking in what had just happened.
Some days the sky’s so blue
Draco sat with the rest of the graduating students in his house. When his name was finally called, he slowly walked to the front. When he accepted his diploma, he looked out across the sea of people and swore that he saw her, standing in the back, smiling gently at him. Draco stepped down from the stage, but instead of going back to his seat, he headed to the lake. Even though he was Head Boy, Dumbledore had excused his from giving the speech and had gotten Harry to do it instead.
Draco stopped beside the lake and stared up at the sky, closing his eyes, letting the breeze kiss his cheeks. He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to talk to talk to her.
I feel like I can talk to you
An’ I know it might sound crazy
“Hermione,” he whispered. “I wish you were here right now, to tell me what to do. I love you, still. You know that and that will never change. But lately, I’ve been getting awfully close to Ginny Weasley. You remember her, your best friend? Anyways, this morning I kissed her. But then I ran away because I felt like I was cheating on you, even though you aren’t here anymore. But I also realized something else, Hermione. I think I’ve fallen in love with her too. Is that okay? I mean, would you care if I was with someone other then you.” Draco fell silent.
“Draco…” he heard a whisper. He turned around, slowly, and saw her. And this time he knew he wasn’t seeing things.
“Hermione,” he breathed. She smiled and walked closer to him.
“I know you love me,” she said softly. “And I know you will never stop. But it is okay to love again. I want you to be happy and Ginny is perfect for you. She understands you. She also keeps you sane. Go to her. Be with her. I will be waiting for you.” She kissed his cheek gently and vanished. Draco stood there another moment before heading to the graduation party in the Great Hall. He found Ginny sitting by herself, smiling but he could tell it was a fake smile.
“Ginny,” he said. She looked up and smiled brightly and Draco felt the same flutter in his stomach that Hermione used to cause. He held out his arm. “Would you like to take a walk with me?” She nodded, took his hand, and they walked outside together. Once again, they walked down to the lake. Draco stopped and turned to her. “Ginny,” he said again. “When Hermione died, I thought my heart had shattered for good. That I would never find love again.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I was wrong, Ginny. I have found love again.” Ginny smiled up at him and her smile took his breath again.
“Really?” she questioned softly. He nodded. “Who?” Draco bent down and kissed her on the lips.
“You,” he said simply. Ginny smiled and kissed him back.
“I love you, too,” she whispered.
It ain’t fair: you died too young
Like the story that had just begun
But death tore the pages all away
Draco and Ginny were planning on getting married the summer after her graduation, when it happened happened. Draco was at the manor, eating breakfast and reading the Daily Prophet. Suddenly, the paper fell from his limp fingers. He looked up slowly to see his father standing, holding the cane which he had just his son with.
“Father?” he said slowly. This wasn’t right. His father wasn’t supposed to be here. He was in Azkaban, right? Obviously, not.
“A Weasley?” his father sneered. “You are marrying a Weasley? And before that, you were in love with a mudblood? You have disgraced this family for the last time, boy!” Draco had no warning before his father raised his wand and muttered, “Avada Kedavra!” Draco fell to the floor with a gasp.
“NO!” the scream echoed inside the Great Hall. In fact, he sounded to every corner of the castle. At the Gryffindor table, a red-headed girl was shaking, tears streaming down her cheeks. “First Hermione, now Draco,” she whispered before running out to the lake. Their spot. She couldn’t believe it. Draco had finally been happy. He’d finally been able to stop seeing Hermione everywhere he looked. He’d stopped hearing her. Feeling her touch. They’d been in love and now, because of an angry father, Draco was also dead.
“I HATE YOU, LUCIUS MALFOY!” she screamed as loud as she could. “YOU HEAR ME! I HATE YOU!” She collapsed on the ground, kind of like how Draco had when Hermione had died, and sobbed. “It isn’t fair,” she whispered to herself. “It isn’t fair.”
God knows how I miss you
All the hell I’ve been through
Just knowin’ no one could take your place
Everyone looked on with sympathy as they watched Ginny. She didn’t go insane like Draco had. But she did look horrible. Her clothes were always rumpled, her hair messed up, and her eyes bloodshot. Everyone could tell that she cried herself to sleep every night, just by the way her eyes looked every morning.
She hadn’t really realized, until now, how Draco had felt. Yes, she had loved Hermione but not the way Draco had. But she had loved Draco deeply and now she realized how hard it had to have been for him to accept Hermione’s death. Because she just couldn’t accept Draco’s death. And even though Draco had been able to love again, she knew that there was no way she would. She had given Draco her heart, and he’d taken it with him when he died, instead of giving it back.
Just like Draco had done, she did talk to Draco. But it was different. She was not insane. She knew Draco was dead. But she would sit back the lake and just talk to him. It helped her get through. If she hadn’t been allowed those one-sided conversations by the lake, she knew she would completely break.
An’ sometimes I wonder
Who’d you be today
A year passed. Two years. Five. Ten. And Ginny still remained unmarried. She held a successful job, teaching Transfiguration once McGonagall retired, but there still wasn’t a day that passed that she didn’t think about Hermione and Draco. She wondered what both of them would be doing. If they had both lived, Hermione would probably have the job teaching Transfiguration, instead of Ginny, and she and Draco would be happily married with those six kids.
If Hermione hadn’t lived, but Draco had…well then he and Ginny would be happily married, with maybe three kids (that’s all Ginny would have wanted). They would have had a great life. Ginny dreamed about that life every night.
Today, today, today
Today, today, today
Another twenty-five years passed. Ginny was still teaching, still unmarried, and still dreaming of Draco, though the dreams now occurred a couple of times a month instead of every night.
Sunny days seem to hurt the most
Draco Malfoy walked along the lake on the grounds of Hogwarts. The sun was shining bright and there wasn’t a cloud in sight. The flowers were all in bloom. It was the perfect day, but Draco noticed none of it. All he could see was her face. Everywhere. Instead of the sun, which was shining brightly, he saw her smile, which seemed to light up the room whenever she was around. Instead of taking in the smell of fresh flowers, all he could smell was her. Her special smell of strawberries, with a hint of chocolate. And instead of feeling the warm breeze, he felt her arms around his waist. Her passionate kisses.
Ginny woke up with a start, breathing heavily. She didn’t understand. Why was she dreaming of Draco, right after Hermione died? Especially now. It didn’t make any sense. She climbed out of bed and walked to her window, looking out at the stars.
I wear the pain like a heavy coat
Without stopping to think what she was doing, Ginny grabbed her cloak and ran outside. It was raining. She held her cloak tighter and ran down to the lake. She sat down and stared up at the stars.
“Why do you like the rain so much, Draco?”
“Hermione loved it. It’s what changed our lives.”
“It is.”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
“Hermione said that the rain was refreshing. Like everything was starting new.”
“I think she’s right.”
“She always was.”
“Yes, she was.”
Ginny blinked back the tears and continued to look up at the stars.
“Well, Draco, it’s been about thirty-five years since you died,” she whispered, the tears making their way down her pale cheeks. “But I still love you like I did back then. I still think about you. I hope you and Hermione are happy. You guys always were the perfect couple. But I am also grateful for the short time we had. For the love we shared.” Ginny laid back and closed her eyes. “I love you Draco.” And she fell asleep, under the stars, in the “refreshing” rain.
The only thing that gives me hope
Is I know I’ll see you again someday
Someday, someday, someday
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