Ordinary Just Won't Do

"Ordinary Just Won't Do"

Ch. 4

 +Four Weeks Later+

            Draco was furious. He had paced the floor of his room continuously for the first couple days. Then he started working out, then he started throwing things, and now four weeks after the horrid dinner date he was left with a deep sense of failure.

            He was out, in his thick English robes, looking around the small town deciding that he rather liked it. It reminded him of a Muggle village near the Manor. The town was constantly baked by sun unlike England, which was lucky to get three full days of sunshine.

            Still, not even the golden rays could cheer Draco up. She had totally broken him down and took him back to a time he wanted to forget. The moment Hermione walked out of that Dining Hall she took him back five years to an angry, brokenhearted, wizard who was a hazard to himself.

            Five years ago, when Hermione had disappeared, Draco had dug a hole inside himself. No one, except his mother, could understand the importance of his loss. He thought he had lost his world, his savior, his reason for not being in Azkaban or dead with his father. No one understood how one 'death' out of millions could affect him like it did.

            Narcissa had been there for her son, just like a good mother should be, but it was at an even greater magnitude than her own loss. Losing her husband was only a small personal loss but years ago she had lost a secret love about which only her son and his fiancÉ had known. However, her son's fiancÉ being 'dead' evoked more emotion out of him in one day than losing her husband and lover, ever had in her.

            Draco made his way into Miriam Hoddies shop, with a scowl on his face, "A Crispy Chunky Chocolate Cake Owl."

            "With Ice cream or without?" Miriam asked smiling at the young man who was standing in front of her counter scowling at nothing.

            "With," he replied watching the Owl shape cake come floating toward him.

            Miriam smiled at him, she could see right through him, "For you eight knuts."

            "Just eight knuts?" he asked his eyes widening in surprise.

            "Yes, sir, I hope it helps." She smiled as he handed her the coins and started toward the door.

            "Helps what?" Draco asked turning halfway around to look at her.

            "No need for me to say what you already know but remember, tomorrow is always another day," Mrs. Hoddies replied her ice blue eyes taking on a faint glow and Draco could swear he could hear her voice in his head.

            "Thanks, have a nice day," Draco mumbled as he stumbled out into the Louisiana heat.

            Before he knew it, a second body was walking beside him, "Morning Mr. Malfoy."

            Draco looked over at the petite young woman, not even attempting to smile, "Morning."

            "How have you been? It's been awhile since I've seen you," Ella asked as she fell in step with the much taller man.

            "Fine, I'm fine," Draco replied biting the head off his Owl.

            Ella looked up at the man, her eyes looking over his disguise, "You don't seem fine. Have you spoken to Hermione lately? She took sick leave from work last week and I haven't seen her lately, I've Owled her but I didn't get a reply."

            "Why would I know anything about Hermione?" he asked biting the wings off the Owl Cake.

            "I thought you were old friends," Ella replied as they crossed a busy street.

            "You thought wrong, maybe I'm more of a friend to her than she is to me. I don't know where she is, I haven't heard from her in a month," Draco replied finishing off the snack.

            "So her excuse about a cold was a lie huh?" Ella smiled, she knew that already she had been to visit her friend earlier and it wasn't a pretty sight.

            "Humph, a lot of things said by Hermione have come back to me as just a lie," he mumbled still looking straight ahead, his eyes narrow slits, and his hair flying behind him. At that moment he was Lucius Malfoy for the first time in a long time.

            "Hermione told me, a lot, well, everything," Ella replied as they stopped at a cafÉ; with tables outside and sat down.

            "She told you everything huh?" Draco asked, raising an eyebrow.

            "Everything, from those men to everything about you," she whispered ordering a Chocolate Butterbeer.

            "Mmm, so you know what happened four weeks ago?" he asked trying to look startled, or at least surprised.

            "Stop trying to act so startled, right now you look as though a Cruciatus couldn't move you," she smiled as the waiter sat a Butterbeer in front of each of them.

            "I've been through plenty and I'm pretty sure they couldn't make me flinch at this point," Draco mumbled drowning himself in his alcoholic Butterbeer.

            Ella smirked at the sarcasm that just dripped from his voice, "You think none of this has affected who Hermione is?"

            "I didn't say that. Don't you think all of this has changed me?" Draco asked as if the young woman would know.

            "I wouldn't know that, I'm not a friend from way back. But I do know that all of this is hurting both of you," she replied, finishing her Butterbeer.

            Draco didn't reply right off, he stood up, laying some galleons on the table, and said, "My treat. Look I have a visitor coming and I need to go greet him, so I'll see you later."

            "Yeah later," Ella replied watching him cross the street but stopped him before he walked too far.

            "What?" Draco asked turning toward the woman who had called his name.

            Ella stayed silent for a moment before pulling him into a hug whispering, "The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time."

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            Draco nodded toward Mrs. Hoddies as he headed for the back hallway at which Blaise would be arriving. Before he reached it, a deep voice reached his ears.

            "Draco!" Blaise smiled walking toward his friend. His robes thin and perfect for the heat.

            For the first time that day Draco smiled, "Blaise, how are you?"

            "I'm cool, I should be asking you that man. Your letter sounded bad," Blaise replied as they walked back out into the heat.

            "Yeah, well, she's not who she used to be," Draco replied as they walked down the street.

            "Harry really wanted to come but I told him if you were having a hard time imagine the experience he'd go through," Blaise replied as Draco guided them to a bar that he had discovered right after that dinner date from hell.

            Blaise stepped into the dark bar sitting himself right in front of the bartender, "Alcoholic Butterbeer, flavorless."

            Draco sat next to him thinking his decision over. "Just Whiskey."

            Blaise looked at his best friend with a raised eyebrow, "You haven't drunk Whiskey since . . . ya know. It's that bad?"

            Draco drank Whiskey almost nonstop when Hermione had 'died,' no one could tell he was drowning in his drink until the day he couldn't get up and they took him to St. Mungo's thinking he had OD'ed on a potion but it was just alcohol poisoning. Everyone had tried to stop him from drinking for good but no one could, so they just took comfort in his 'occasional' indulgence, "It's that bad."

            "How much have you drunk Drake?" Blaise asked as the Bartender sat their drinks in front of them.

            "Not much, I haven't been here since that night," Draco replied downing half his glass.

            "So tell me what happened?" his best friend asked, reaching over and lightly pushing the glass away from Draco's hands.

            "That morning I found out her friends didn't know anything about her, for some reason that didn't sit right with me. I didn't say anything, then later I bought her this robe that almost cost me 187 galleons for dinner. We then proceed to have an argument over dinner, eat silently, then we try dancing. Which I had to force her to do. Then in the middle of the dancing she says she's not the woman I believe she is and then tells me she doesn't know who she is," Draco replied reaching out to savor the burning taste of Whiskey going down his throat.

            "Draco you can't keep doing this," Blaise replied turning toward his blonde companion.

            "Doing what?" Draco asked as the Bartender filled their glasses again.

            "Letting her tear you to pieces. You need to step back and let her go," Blaise said placing a hand on his full glass but not drinking out of it.

            "Don't you think I've tried?" he mumbled again turning his glass up this time finishing with a loud sigh.

            "I know you have but this time you have to do your job. Get these criminals off her back, ask her to return to England, if she refuses you come home and live your life. You need to take your life back Drake," Blaise replied matter-of-factly, waving the returning Bartender away.

            "Has it leaked yet?" Draco asked pointing a finger at the Bartender then at his glass.

            "It leaked a month ago, when I sent you those files. The whole Wizarding world is in an uproar,‘Hermione Granger: Alive & Kicking’ has been printed in more than fifty different languages. Harry showed me a French Headline that was the entire paper for one day, it's big news, hell, you're big news," Blaise replied watching his friend down his third glass of Whiskey.

            "I love her Blaise and she thinks it's a crime! She treats me like some second rate stranger she met last summer at a Muggle Barn Dance," Draco mumbled angrily, as the Bartender poured him another glass.

            "Then leave her, you are better than this! It's been five years, if she doesn't want you, her loss! Merlin, Draco I can remember the days when you changed girls more than you changed underwear. Think of Hermione as just another conquest, think of her like Pansy, Tracey, Sarah, Chloe, Padma, and all the rest. She's just a girl," Blaise tried to reason, taking the cue from his friend and finishing his glass.

            "Just a girl? Just a girl? Not to me, she left the ranks of them years ago," Draco mumbled holding up the glass in front of his face, he was holding his liquor well but the emotion was seeping out between sips.

            "She is NOW Draco, she doesn't care about you any more so why should you care about her? Sure she saved your life in more than one way but just be grateful, no need to waste your life on her," Blaise replied downing his last glass as he asked the Bartender not to serve his friend anymore.

            As the Bartender picked up their glasses Draco straightened up and he became the vision of Lucius that he had been earlier, "You are quite right, she is just another Muggle born and I will do my job and return home."

            Blaise smiled as they paid and stepped back outside, "That's my boy always the positive one."

            "Yes, yes, always positive," Draco mumbled as they walked toward the hotel.

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            The moment the men walked into Draco's room an Owl met them. She was sitting on the windowsill staring at Draco.

            "Oh a letter," Draco drawled as he pulled the letter from the Owl.

            "Who is it from?" Blaise asked as he started a fire, it maybe hot but they were still English and having a fire was just customary.

            "Hermione," Draco whispered as he opened the letter.

            Dear Detective Malfoy,

                        I am writing you for several reasons. Reasons in which I'll never be able to completely explain. I feel like I owe you so much Draco, in some instances I owe you my life, I owe my strength, I owe you my love. But I don't want to owe you anything! Let alone my love! I want to give you my love, not owe it to you by default. I wish I could explain this whole mess away, I know you can, and will, protect me. Still, there is nothing to protect you Draco and I've been doing it for five years. Now you are here after years of praying to God: "Please keep him safe while he's searching for me, please keep my love in him, please lead him to me God. Please let him find me." Now I am angry with myself for acting like we never were when you were all I had.

            Now there is something you need to know. I ran because of you. Draco, you need to live, without me. You need to see things without me, and you need to truly find the love of your life. It hurts to say this but Draco I'm not the woman for you. I can't live loving you another minute without saying this. Lucius was right, I'll never be a Malfoy, I'll never be a socialite like you. I'll never be as good as you and though I'll never be able to look you in the eye and tell you I don't love you, Draco you need to let me go.

            I don't know what you have been through these last five years but if I could take back any hurt and any pain that I've brought you. I would. I would take it all away from you in a nanosecond. I wish I could hear what you've been through but it's best to keep the past in the past. It's best to let me lie there dead in your heart, it's best this way, you deserve better. Because what we had was just a momentary thing, it was crucial at that moment, but it couldn't possibly last forever. After five years I've put it all into one plain and simple sentence.

            When all you've ever wanted is to be loved, it's too easy to become a victim of misplaced trust.

            Draco, dearest, I'm so sorry for taking advantage of you, I really am, I wish you all the luck. I am ready to begin work again but I will not be returning home. See you tomorrow.

            All my love,

                        Hermione M. Granger

            Draco was stunned, she hadn't said that many words to him since he'd arrived. She had been wrong, she was the woman he thought she was, because only his Hermione could write a letter like this and honestly believe it.

            "Draco? Draco you OK?" Blaise asked walking over to his seriously pale and stunned looking friend.

            "She . . . she . . . she," Draco mumbled tears in his eyes, she didn’t think she was good enough. She ran because of him? He was dumbfounded and confused.

            Blaise read the letter with a raised eyebrow, when he finished he looked at his friend, "Leave it to Hermione to make me waste a perfectly good pep talk."

            "What?" Draco asked looking over at his dark-haired friend who looked as surprised as he was confused.

            "She's so wrong, and yet she doesn't even see it, you two are supposed to be together. Drake, I was wrong, she's not justa girl. She's special Draco and you would be a fool to let her go," Blaise replied handing his friend the letter, laying a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.