Amid the Falling Snow

-Draco brushed a hand through his hair and threw his cloak on his bed. He had a rather trying day, as he was moving out of his parents' mansion and into his own flat. He had spent the day lugging boxes and boxes of old papers and useless items that had lying about in his room to his new apartment. He frowned with displeasure. His mother had begged him to stay, saying that he wouldn't have to pay rent any longer.

It was his father's idea to make him pay rent, he knew that. He told Draco it'd teach him the ways of the world. Draco, quite disturbed by the fact that he had to pay to live in his own home, scowled at his father to shove off-- for lack of a better word-- and left. He stayed with a friend for a few days and finally went back, but only to retrieve his belongings. It was then his mother told him that his father would change his mind, that he would let him stay.

Draco realised that he rather enjoyed not being around his parents all the time, and came to like the thorough silence that awaited him everyday. He bought a small shop in Diagon Alley, as well. Draco was rather gifted with Potions at Hogwarts, thus created potions such as antidotes at his shop.

He had long since abandoned Crabbe and Goyle, as they were two of the most imperceptive human beings he had ever met. He went about things alone, never socializing with anyone.

He glanced about the flat, filled with boxes of all sizes. It was a mess. He attempted to clean up a bit, but felt a growing hunger inside him. He needed food. Badly! He hurried out the door, and went on his way to a coffee shop he remembered seeing near by. He quickened his pace, and accidentally bumped into a girl with her face behind a book.

The girl flew to the ground, saying, "I'm so sorry. Really I am. I wasn't paying attention."

"Maybe you should be more careful of where you're going and wait to read until your brain starts to come of use to you," he sneered as he brushed off the dirt on his expensive black attire.

"Malfoy?" she spat.

Oh, God. Granger.

"What's it to you?"

"What are you doing around here?" was all she managed.

"The last time I checked, there weren't any laws against me strolling about London. Perhaps I missed that bit of news," he replied, smirking.

Hermione glared at him. "Shove off, Malfoy."

"I believe I was on my way anyways. So long, mudblood." Draco strolled away, and into a coffee shop.

***

Hermione hadn't seen Draco for years. Ever since they all left Hogwarts, he had disappeared into the darkness. He was just as rude and horrible as he had always been. She never understood why he was so malicious. There were many factors it could have been, from distant parents to being a spoiled brat, but whatever the cause, he never changed.

One thing was for sure...he was just as gorgeous as he had ever been-- that, she resented. If he were vile inside and out, it would have been easier to forget him. Still evil on the inside, but his facial features were somewhat nice to look at, if she did say so herself. And his figure. His shirt formed to his body, and he looked amazing. No, get a hold of yourself, Hermione, she thought to herself. He could never be the man you want him to be. He's disgusting and cruel.

She sighed to herself. She had forgotten him for a time, but when she was moving into her own place, she had stumbled upon some old letters from him. She sat in her flat for hours reading and rereading his letters, completely forgetting about unpacking. She had tried to move on, move on from the secret love they shared. She dated numerous times, but no man could compare to him, and she hated him for it. For not letting her get on with her life. She was stuck in his love forever.

If she had known he was so seductive, she would have stayed clear of him. Damn Malfoy! She should have dated Harry when she had the chance, before Malfoy swept her off her feet! Now Harry was married to Ginny. Hermione was always secretly envious of Ginny. She had the looks, the attitude, and the personality to win over anyone's heart. She just happened to choose the man that Hermione had loved with every element of her soul, but lost. She had her chance, but she had turned Harry down.

And then there was Ron. He loved Hermione, but she turned him down as well, because she loved Harry. Now Ron was dating a woman she hated with every essence of her being. Helena Pearl. Ron met her on holiday in the states, and she was absolutely horrible! She always had to be perfect and it made her sick! She was all he spoke of for weeks. Helena this, Helena that! How many times can one woman be mentioned in one sentence, for MERLIN'S sake?! Hermione thought. He was oblivious to Hermione's annoyance with Helena, but, well, that was Ron.

Where did Draco come into this love triangle? It was during their seventh year at Hogwarts that Hermione had really started to notice him. One day, Hermione had been in the library alone, studying as usual. She realised how boring she really was, and it made her wonder how she even caught the eye of anyone! Anyways, she had been reading and someone snuck up behind her.

"You're studying late," the voice mused.

So what if she was studying late! And whose business was it anyways?

"Your point?" she snapped.

"I was merely pointing it out. Care for a drink?"

Of course, it was Malfoy!

"No thank you. I don't drink," she answered without looking up.

"Why, you must be dehydrated! You never drink even an ounce of liquid?"

"Shove off, Malfoy. I have work to do."

"Don't get all snappy. I was just offering you some pumpkin juice," he told her, placing the glass next to her and sitting down.

She turned to him and was going to tell him to go away, but couldn't seem to get the words out. He looked striking, and she couldn't look away. Seductive bastard!

"I-Thank you," she said uncertainly.

He nodded and gazed into her eyes. She turned away, determined not to be hypnotised by his mysterious eyes. She was about to take a sip of pumpkin juice, but a strange thought came to mind. What if he did something to it?

As if he could read her mind he said, "I did nothing to it. Check it yourself."

Should she trust him? Part of her wanted to, but she wasn't sure. She decided to take her chances, for if Malfoy wanted to kill her, he probably would have by now. That was a bit far fetched anyhow. She took a sip. It seemed to be fine.

"I told you. I can't believe you'd think ill of my intentions, Granger!" He pretended to be shocked.

"Yes, I'll admit I was wrong," she said, forcing a smile. What was he still doing here?

"Ah, very well. Where are Potty and Weasel?"

"Stop calling them that! They have names!" She had found a reason to be angry with him.

"Sorry? I wasn't under the impression you really enjoyed their company," he replied.

"Well, I do!" she insisted.

"So is it Potter or Weasley you're shagging?" he asked casually.

He really enjoyed testing her patience.

"That's none of your business!" she snapped.

"Au contraire. It certainly is. I need to know!"

"And why is that, Mr. Perfect?" she demanded. He was indeed getting on her last nerve!

"I thought you knew," he told her, leaning closer to her.

What was he doing? Malfoy was moving too close to her. Should she move away? No, maybe he would move.

"Knew what?"

"Why, this." He leaned in and snogged her, leaving Hermione in shock.

After realising what he had just done, she pushed him away and smacked him across the face. He didn't seem hurt at all, and raised his eyebrows.

"Quite a snog, Granger," he whispered.

"Why did you do that!" she hissed.

"Do what?"

Merlin, he drove her mad!

"Snog me, you git! WHY!"

"I love you, Hermione."

He must have been drunk or something. Taken a love potion, or been put to a dare! Never did she imagine hearing those words coming out of his mouth.

"No, you don't," she countered.

"Yes, I do." He wasn't backing down.

"No, YOU DON-" He interrupted her with another snog.

"Yes I do," he persisted when they broke apart.

"You do?" He snogged her again. Oh, so he did. Wait, had she gone mad? What was she doing? Snogging her best mates' mortal enemy! Harry and Ron were going to kill her! Well, it was her turn to enjoy herself. She and Malfoy had spent the rest of the night talking and snogging. It was the best thing that had ever happened to her.

The knock on the door brought her back to reality. She hurriedly stood up and ran to open the door. She wished she hadn't, for a tall ginger man was standing in the doorway with his girlfriend. Oh, for Merlin's sake! Not now! She put on a fake smile and invited them in. Ron had a giant smile on his face and Hermione could only guess that it was bad news...for her anyways.

Ron and Helena sat down on the white sofa, grins still on both their faces. Hermione had half a mind to smack their bloody smiles right off!

"What a pleasant surprise, having you two arrive on my doorstep in the middle of the day! How are you two?" Hermione falsely greeted.

"We have some great news!" Ron started, teeth bearing. "I asked Helena to marry me, and she said yes! We're getting married!" Oh, bloody brilliant! Just what she needed. To see Helena even more than she already did!

Hermione couldn't fake a smile this time. She frowned, shocked.

"Hermione, dear, is everything all right?" asked Helena sweetly.

"I...er...could you give me a moment?" Hermione hurried out of the sitting room and into the kitchen. She rummaged about the kitchen, making as much noise as she possibly could. If Ron didn't get it, then, he really was as thick as everyone said he was. Ron came in, glancing around at the mess Hermione had made.

"Alright, Hermione?" he asked uneasily. Was she all right? No she was bloody not all right! He was about to ruin his life by marrying the bloody stupidest, dim-witted girl she had ever met! She was going to watch her FRIEND throw away his life and ruin hers at the same time!

"Yes, I'm fine. Just doing a little spring cleaning," she answered.

"Er, Hermione? It's the middle of December," he said slowly.

"Oh, silly me. Lost track of weather, I suppose. It was beautiful outside this morning."

"It's been snowing for two days."

"Let's go back into the sitting room, shall we?" she said, changing the subject.

They both went back into the sitting, where Helena had conjured herself and Ron some tea. Bloody stupid witch!

"So when is the big day?" Hermione asked, pretending to be interested.

"We're hoping sometime this spring. After the snow, you know," Ron answered, happy she seemed happy for them.

"Oh, lovely," she replied carelessly.

"So, Hermione, who are you dating currently? Anyone?" Helena asked pryingly.

"No one, at the moment. I've been really busy with work and moving, as you know."

"Yes, of course. How," she started, glancing around at the messy room, "is the unpacking coming along? It's been two months, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it has. I just haven't gotten around to it," Hermione replied hastily.

"I see," Helena replied, looking doubtful.

Hermione didn't really want to have a conversation with this woman, and part of her wanted to just kick her out.

Turning to Ron as to ignore Helena, she said, "Have you spoken to Harry yet? Does he know?"

He shook his head. "You are the first person we came to. Helena insisted!" He smiled at Helena and grabbed her hand. "Hermione, we love you dearly and we wanted you to be the first to know! You're her favourite, after all."

Hermione was Helena's favourite? She didn't want to know what happened to her enemies then.

"Hermione, would you be my maid of honour?" Oh, for Merlin's sake! Honestly, does no one have common sense any more? Hermione asked herself.

"I-I don't know what to say!"

Helena nodded understandingly. "I know, it's so overwhelming! You don't have to tell us now! Just keep us informed, alright?"

Ron looked over at Hermione. "We must be off. I've got to tell Mum and Dad!" He stood and gave her a hug. "It was nice seeing you, 'Mione. Keep in touch, alright?"

Hermione nodded and they left. Phew. What in Merlin's name was going on with the world? Harry married the wrong woman and now Ron? She always knew they were a bit dense at times, but not to the point that they'd marry horrible girls! Maybe she was just jealous. No, not her. She was never jealous! Oh dear...She glanced around her sitting room. There were boxes all over and it was an absolute mess! She decided it was due time she unpacked and put everything in its proper place. It wasn't like her to leave a mess about.

For the rest of the day she unpacked, rearranged, and cleaned her entire house, even the nooks and crannies! It actually helped keep her mind off of everything. Before she went to bed, she drank some hot tea and fell straight to sleep.

***

Draco woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache. He had just drunk the night away, and it was a horrible feeling. Why did he do that? If you were to ask him, he'd blame it on being an idiot, but inside he knew it was because he had seen Hermione the day before. She made him remember things he wanted to forget, and had done a good job of doing so. That is, until he bumped into her on his way to the coffee shop. He had a lurching feeling in his stomach and ran into the bathroom to vomit.

Bloody firewhiskey. He just had to drink, didn't he? He just had to drink when he was depressed. Why didn't he just find a hobby like normal people? Because he was a bloody alcoholic, that was why! He tried so hard to break the habit, but his father had made sure he made drinking a habit to begin with. He didn't mean to blame his father, but he had done so many things to influence Draco there wasn't any way around it. Maybe if he didn't get depressed he wouldn't drink. No, there was no way around that one either. The memories were cemented into his mind; he couldn't escape them even when he was asleep. Day and night they haunted him, appearing at any moment, causing him to break down. He wouldn't cry; that wasn't the way of the Malfoys. The ways of the Malfoys, of course, was to drink away their worries.

The Malfoys were too proud; they wouldn't date or marry mudbloods, or associate with anyone "below" them. Through those seven years at Hogwarts, everyone had loathed him, thought he was a spoiled git. They never knew what really happened at Malfoy Manor. They had never known what his childhood had been like--or the lack there of. His father hardly spoke to him and only did so to give him money. His mother was too busy shopping and gossiping to notice what the hell he was doing. He had no real friends; Crabbe and Goyle hardly counted. Everyone wanted something from him; usually possessions and money.

That was, until Hermione came around. He had just noticed how pretty she was becoming. She was starting to grow into herself, and was the most amazing person he had ever met. He knew that she went to the library every night, to study in silence. At first, he stayed back and just watched her. Not in the creepy, I'm watching you, kind of way, but just noticing her. Then he started to bother her, taking any chance he could to speak to her. This seemed to grab her attention, as she stared at him a lot more. They argued a lot more than actually speaking and he knew that he had to have her as his. He eventually did get her and they had an incredible last year at Hogwarts. In secret, of course. They both didn't want anyone to know about them and Draco thought it was rather fun that way.

Over that summer, they wrote to each other, their letters extended page after page-- declaring their love for each other. He thought everything was fine. That was, of course, when Hermione thought different. She told him that they couldn't be together any longer, that it'd ruin everything. She wanted them to go their separate ways, as it wasn't meant to be. He went to her house, argued with her, made her cry, and he thought everything would get better. He thought she was just having a phase. More like, he had hoped. He hoped with everything inside him that he'd be with her forever. They were meant to be and nothing could change that! She wrote him one last letter, breaking it off for good. Draco drank then too. For a month he stayed in bed -

his mother worried about him for one of the first times in his life.

He thought many times that his life should end, that he should just kill himself. That honestly wouldn't do much good. He couldn't ever get himself to do it. He knew it was meant to be, that they would be together! Over time, he started to realise that it wasn't happening, and moved on. But those haunting memories never left him, they just faded. He hadn't dated since that happened, but he didn't care. He just didn't find who he was looking for. He knew who he wanted, but that didn't mean a thing, did it? He supposed he'd just die a lonely man. If that was the price he had to pay for the best year of his life, then he'd gladly accept it.

His mother threw many girls his way, telling him how lucky he'd be if he married one of them, but he just couldn't. They weren't the one he wanted. She often informed him of how lonely it must be without anyone, and he usually snapped at her. His father still didn't care, but he knew it was better that way. He thought back to when he bumped into Hermione. He wondered if she was married, where she lived, and how she had been. He supposed she probably was married, being her. She was too hard to pass up.

Draco brushed his teeth to rid himself of foul breath. He made a special drink his father told him about that helped hangovers. He guzzled it down instantly and slumped on the sofa. His head, at least, had stopped pounding. He turned on his muggle device, the television, which he impulsively bought. As usual, there wasn't anything on and he turned it off again. He stood and decided to take a shower. The steaming water crashing down on his body made him feel a bit better. Draco stepped out, drying himself with a towel. He dressed and grabbed his bag to go for a breath of air. He hurried down the stairs, not really paying attention, and bumped into someone. Merlin, not again!

He apologized, just now looking at who it was.

"Granger?" he asked unbelievingly.