Lost Along the Way (Dramione)

Chapter 12

DRACO'S P.O.V.

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"Granger?" I asked, stunned. I didn't want her to hear the shock in my voice, she'd use that against me; she was smart.

"Draco, please," she sounded like she was trying to keep a tone of desperation out of her voice. "I know this is going to sound crazy but I need you to listen to me for just-"

"Since when do you call me by my first name, Granger?" I cut her off coldly.

She began fiddling with her hands and looked down at the floor, like she didn't know what to do.

"I know what you're about to do Draco," she spoke quietly.

I froze. How could she know? She didn't. She was just trying to scared me. She didn't know; she couldn't. It wasn't possible.

She looked back up at me, and I was surprised to see a tear running down her face.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but whatever it is, it sounds like a personal problem, and I'm not getting involved in it. So, if you'd please go back to where you came from, I have some unfinished business to attend to," I said coolly, turning on my heal.

I was sure that she would leave. Why would she talk to me anyways?

What happened next I remember to this day in absolute, complete detail. It was indescribable.

She spoke my name.

Just my name.

Her voice broke and it sounded like she was speaking the name of a loved one who she had just discovered dead.

And that's all that it took; that's what triggered it.

Suddenly, I was, or so it seemed, no longer standing in front of the Room of Requirements.

In one moment, I stood outside, in front of Hermione Granger, who was looking back at me, stunned. She took a nervous step back, tripping over her robe. I caught her by her elbow.

She looked at me for a moment.

"Looks like those seeker skills came in handy," she mumbled, blushing slightly.

And then it was night time, and Hermione's face was centimeters from mine. One of my hands were wrapped around her's, while the other one lay gently on her waist.

"You're a terrible dancer," she breathed.

Next, I had both of my arms wrapped around her, as I tried to teach the hopeless girl how to skip a rock across the lake. After she finally achieved this, she turned and beamed at me, our faces closer to each other than ever.

Another flash and Hermione was sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree, looking up at me with an expression of worry mixed with a bit of fear. She opened, her mouth, about to speak, but I cut her off.

"I'm sorry I called you a mudblood," I said, just loud enough for her to hear.

In the next second, the sunlight was shining down on us. Hermione stood in front of me, looking irritated. She rolled her eyes.

"Malfoy, honestly?" she was saying. "NO ONE is going to hear us! You don't have to whisper whatever it is you want to say when there isn't-"

I closed the gap between us, kissing her first the first time, my heart becoming as light as a feather.

And then we were standing in an abandoned alleyway. Hermione's wand was pointed directly at me; her hand was shaking.

"Hermione, please..." I begged her.

I saw a tear slip down her face.

"Obliviate," she whispered.

And then I was back, standing in front of the Room of Requirements. Realizing what had just happened, I gasped, and nearly dropped my wand.

I turned back around as fast as I could and saw Hermione still standing there, searching my face.

•••

HERMIONE'S P.O.V.

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Draco turned away from me. That was it. All hope was lost.

"Draco," I said, my voice breaking.

He suddenly went completely still. I waited.

A few seconds went by, and then he gasped. He flew around to face me. I looked at his face hard.

And I could tell that he was back. I wasn't sure how he was back, but he was, And I wasn't about to complain about it.

I held my breath.

"Hermione," he whispered weakly.

Dropping the invisibility cloak on the ground, I ran towards him, throwing my arms around his neck, and I cried into his shoulder, mumbling his name over and over again while I sobbed.

He grabbed me by the shoulders and pushed me back slightly, just enough for him to look at me.

For a moment he didn't say anything.

Then he spoke. "Never erase my memory again," he said quietly, but very firmly.

Then he pulled my back into his arms and hugged me tightly.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there, but eventually I pulled away from him.

"How?" I asked in astonishment.

"How what?" Draco responded, confused.

"How were you able to break through my spell? I didn't perform the counter-course; I don't even know how to master that yet."

He considered it.

"I'm not sure," he replied, "but it was you saying my name that did it. After you said it, I-I just remembered everything."

I wrinkled my forehead.

"But how-"

Draco pulled me in close, so that our noses almost touched. "I guess that...there are some things more powerful than magic," he smiled knowingly.  

I looked at him, deep into his hypnotizing eyes.

"I love you, Draco," I whispered, feeling like I was about to fall apart right there in his arms.  

He smiled.

"I know," he responded jokingly.

He leaned in, as if about to kiss me, placing his hand softly on the side of my face-

And then, from somewhere in the distance, a clock rang. Draco's hand dropped from my face and he pulled away slowly, looking at the direction of the sound.

"Draco?" I asked. "What's-"

"Hermione," he spoke quickly, "you said that you knew what I was doing, right?" I nodded once, confused. "Well...I still have to do it Hermione. I still have to bring them into the castle and..." he glanced over his shoulder, at where the door to the Room of Requirements was hidden.

He looked back at me. "Hermione...get out of here. Go back to your common room," he said seriously.

"But-"

"Please Hermione," he begged.

He sounded exactly the same way as he did right before I had erased his memory.

"Okay," I whispered.

Turning without another word, I walked back to the invisibility cloak and picked it up off the ground.

I turned to face Draco one last time.

But he was already gone.