Scars | Dramione One Shot

Scars

"Granger?"

Draco began, as he held her hands delicately, pulling her closer. Her head rested on his beating chest, just listening to every pump as her eyelids began to flutter close.

She grasped his hand tightly, never daring to let him go. The war took almost everything from her, and Draco Malfoy was the only thread that linked her to sanity.

Things were never the same again. Everyone was lost, in the past, in their own worlds, to escape the painful reality. The war left scars in each one of them, and they knew very well that those scars will leave a hole in their souls forever. But somehow, in the twist and turn of events, in time's riddle and fate's game, here they are in each other's arms. A Gryffindor and a Slytherin, fixing each other.

It was them against the world.

"Yeah?" She hummed, trying to restrain herself from being lost in the world ran by Draco's heartbeat.

"How did this happen?" He whispered, his platinum blonde hair falling to his eyes, as he looked down at the peaceful girl resting quietly on his chest.

He smiled to himself. Even after so many months of seeing every angle of her beauty, Hermione Granger is always, always breathtaking. He reminisced the times she was absolutely carefree, and in those little moments, he saw the happiest girl alive, free from the ghosts of her past even just for a few minutes, and he would do anything just to keep her that way forever. And as time made them grow into each other, more into a lovely friendship, and maybe, just maybe, into something beyond that, he realized that there is more to Hermione Granger that he would ever know. How she furrowed her eyebrows when she was reading a book she has read a million times, how she looked in different directions when she was disturbed, the way she battled the infamous Malfoy smirk when she was being sarcastic, being oblivious to the foam of butterbeer on her upper lip, and the way her chocolate orbs would glisten when she talked about her parents? All these he noticed, appreciated, and these made him cherish her even more.

"What do you mean?" She breathed, almost inaudible.

"Back on all those months, when everyone saw me as a monster," he paused, Hermione's eyes opening as she was greeted with warm, silver eyes, staring intently at her. "Why didn't you push me away when everybody did? Why did you stay?"

Hermione smiled softly, looking back at the ever beautiful sunset that was vast before them. They would do this everyday - Draco and Hermione - climb the hidden rooftop they found on the east wing, sit beside each other and think about the life they had ahead of them. Thinking if their monsters would ever go away. Just feeling each other's presence, the warmth that radiates through their skin, seeping down to their bones as though their souls could feel it too. Maybe it was each other's silent agreement, an intimate agreement they never dared say out loud, that they needed to feel each other - breath each other, as if to assure one another that they were there, they were alive, their hearts still beating.

Hermione sat up, held his right cheek and continued to stare at the silvery gray eyes she grew fond of. She never thought those once cold eyes that she resented before will give her so much warmth, the reason for her strength, and the purpose for her to continue living.

Gazing at those gray eyes gave her so much to live for.

Her mind flew back to those broken times when people would fear Draco, despise him, and worse, act like he was invisible. People started to drift away from them, Draco especially, for even his best mates ignored him like he was a piece of filth. He was feared like he was the Dark Lord himself. She looked at those eyes, and she saw so much pain, so much hurt, and Merlin, if she could take it all away, if there was a way, she would.