Rinse

Rinse

Hermione Granger had her head down in mourning. She mourned over the dead body of her once enemy, Draco Malfoy. Even in death, he looked full of spite, fear, hatred, and pure evil.

Setting all that aside, Hermione loved him. She'd never told anyone, she never would, but she truly loved him. One small, slight tear slid down her cheek as she stared at his dead body. Murdered by her best friend.

She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye

She knew that if Draco had ever told her he loved her, she would probably slap him. But to get him to say such things... ah... anything...

She would suffer, she would fight, and compromise

Harry wouldn't have killed Draco if he'd had a choice, he said. But the circumstances were suspicious, considering all the dark objects in Malfoy Manor, which now belonged to Draco, after the simultaneous deaths of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Harry had changed, after his Auror training. "Kill first, ask questions later," became a favourite of his. He wasn't brutal, wasn't bloodthirsty. But Hermione still felt that Draco was innocent.

She's been wishing of the stars that shine so bright

For answers to questions that will haunt her tonight

Hermione hated herself for falling in love with him. He had done nothing kind to her, ever. He had never complemented her, had never spoken civilly to her. And she was not a shallow person. She'd never fallen in love with anyone for their looks, and she intended not to.

Furthermore, she knew she wasn't Draco's type of girl. She wasn't mysterious, she wasn't blonde, and she certainly wasn't beautiful. She was just Hermione. Plain old Hermione Granger, caring more about brains than looks. But that was okay with her.

She supposed she could call Draco some sort of monkey wrench in her plans. She'd just grow up, get married to Harry or Ron, become successful...all that fluffy, niceness. By Merlin, she needed to know! Why, why, why? Why Draco Malfoy, for crying out loud? WHY?

She must rinse this all away

She can't hold him this way

She could say that he loved her, as she had done before. After all, something was only a lie if you didn't believe it. That was a load of horse manure. Seriously...as if! The great, silver-tongued Draco Malfoy and his bride...the lowly Gryffindor geek Hermione Granger. It was laughable.

She must rinse this all away,

She can't love him this way

There was no use in loving Draco. He was dead, gone, never to come back! Granted, his ghost might now be haunting the halls of Malfoy Manor, but this was different. Loving a ghost? She almost snorted. She looked down at his casket once more, at that face, so dark and dreary, so old looking... He'd only been eighteen when he died, yet he looked like he was at least thirty.

How she'd be soothed,

How she'd be saved if he could see

If only she'd have told him before he died... but it was too late now. There was no turning back, there was no way to reawaken the dead, and she wasn't about to go and speak with his ghost. If he only knew what had eaten her up for three long years, since the first day of her fifth year.

She needs to be held in his arms to be freed

She wished he could hold her. Just once... she could lay in his arms, feel like she was floating away.

But everything happens for reasons that she will never understand

The vision abruptly disappeared, replaced with one of his dead body. Indeed, things had happened that even she could not understand. Death was a truly a black, sinister crow.

Till she knows that the heart of a woman will never be found in the arms of a man

How many times had he hurt her? She couldn't have counted them on ten hands. Ten of her Mudblood hands, she thought, viciously. If there hadn't been a crowd of people surrounding her, she would have spat on his dead body.

She must rinse this all away

She can't hold anybody this way

She must rinse this all away

She can't love him

She turned to go, whirled back around, and blew a kiss at his coffin. At his cold, dead body. She shivered as she felt a chilling, icy wind playing at her neck.

And as she runs away she fears she won't be followed

What could be worse than leaving something behind?

And she ran. The snow got in her boots, chilling her feet, but she didn't care. She wished that, for once, he would be behind her, chasing her, laughing with her instead of at her.

And as the depth of oceans slowly becomes shallow

It's loneliness she finds

All at once, she stopped. She could almost put her finger on what was happening, had happened, to her. She was lonely, lonely for his mocking insults, lonely for his cold, cruel voice.

If only he was mine...

If only he had been hers, ever. If he had been part of her. She was cold, empty, lifeless, nothing without him. She had just come to expect his insults, they were her other half.

She'd do anything to sparkle in his eye

She would suffer, she would fight, and compromise

She truly would have done anything to get Draco Malfoy to love her the way she loved him.

She's been wishing of the stars that shine so bright

For answers to questions that will haunt her tonight

"Please!" she called out, "Can anyone tell me? Is anyone even listening to me?"

She must rinse him

She must rinse him

She can't rinse him

She can't rinse him

She'd now do anything to get rid of his imposing presence in her life. But there was no way. Draco Malfoy had taken total control over Hermione Granger, whether he knew it or not.

She can't, she won't, she must rinse him

She can't, she won't, she must rinse him

Why couldn't she let go of him? He was just Draco Malfoy... he could be gotten rid of. She had done it before.

She must rinse this all away

She can't hold him this way

She could nearly go insane trying at this. It was like she had no control over her mind, like he was conquering her. And he was dead!

She can't love him this way

She couldn't take it any more. She turned around and ran back towards his open casket, her warm, kind eyes staring into his silvery ones, eyes that were full of hatred.

"I love you Draco Malfoy!" she screamed. And she did. She truly did.