A Simple Gesture

A Simple Gesture

Saying that the war was anything but pleasant was like saying the grass is green and the sky is blue. Some things are better left unsaid, as Hermione Granger had learned not long ago. The war itself was over, but the survivors found themselves unable to let go of the numerous memories they had. The wounds were simply too deep to ever fully heal. As Hermione sat before her fireplace, curled on her couch with a steaming cup of hot cocoa, she couldn't help but reminisce. The war had taken its toll on everyone, and she certainly was no exception. Her emotional wounds were too deep to ever heal although time was bound to numb them. Both sides had suffered enormous losses. She remembered vividly the deaths of many of her friends and family members. She remembered the terribly close encounters with Voldemort. She remembered Dumbledore... who had never again been able to help them after her sixth year. When he had been hit with the Killing Curse in the Marked tower. The Headmaster who had left them on their own to find the rest of Voldemort's Horcruxes and destroy the cruel Dark Lord on their own. Fortunately, but with Harry's courage and quick thinking under intense pressure, they succeeded in their mission. But it was at such a terrible price.

Hermione stared into the fire. The red-orange flames danced wildly, teamed with occasional jumping embers. Her eyes, now, due to the war, held a deep wisdom behind them. Voldemort's second rising had caused Hermione, along with many of her classmates, to grow up faster than usual. At her young age of nineteen, she had experiences that even some old men and women didn't have. She had the wisdom that not many would have ever acquired in their entire lifetimes. She was no longer a little girl, nor would she ever be the simple, carefree girl who she could have been if it were not for the war. One thing Hermione knew about the war is that it changed things. It changed people. Lives. Even society as a whole. It did not matter which side won and which side lost, for everyone loses when it comes to war. Another thing about war is that it blurred the seemingly definite line between good and evil. Right and wrong. She couldn't get the images of Death Eaters killing innocent Muggle children from her mind. But most of all, she couldn't stop thinking about all the cruel things the Light side did. That she did.

The images were terrible to behold. She remembered what her side did. They, the supposedly good side, frequently had to resort to various forms of torture to force information from their captured Death Eaters. She remembered the torture sessions she was forced to do. Guilt couldn't even begin to describe how she felt.

Her chain of thought was instantly broken by a sharp knock on the door. Her heart racing, she stood up abruptly, almost spilling her hot drink all over her sweater. She set it down on the coffee table, wondering who in the world could be knocking on the door of her flat at this hour. She warily crossed her living room toward the front door. She unlocked the door, and opened the door just slightly. Peering through the gap, she couldn't stifle a gasp quickly enough as her late-night visitor's identity was unveiled.

"Malfoy?" she gasped, unable to keep the shock at bay. "What are you doing here? How did you find out where I live?"

He did not respond, but his steely gray eyes rose to meet her warm, but shocked, brown ones. More memories flooded back to her as she stepped back, allowing him to enter the warmth and comfort of her home.

She was running into the Forbidden Forest, a manic Death Eater at her tails, sending curse after curse behind her. Adrenaline pounded through her bloodstream as her legs pumped desperately, in a hopeless attempt to flee. She sent an Impediment Jinx behind her, knowing fully well that she missed as she heard the Death Eater laugh.

"Is that the best you can do, Mudblood?" he asked his voice full of amused scorn.

He sent another curse at her. It barely missed her, just grazed her elbow. She did not notice the blood seeping onto the sleeve of her robes but ran as fast as she could. Someone, help me, she thought desperately. Oh God. Someone. Anyone. Please. She looked behind her, more panicked than ever. The Death Eater was gaining ground. There was a stream in front of her. There was nowhere else to go and nothing else to do but to wade across. Uncaring, she ran across, ignoring the cold water as it seeped into her shoes and through her socks. She ran on from the other bank, mindless to the slopping sound her shoes were making. There was nowhere she could go and an overwhelming wave of fatigue hit her. She couldn't run anymore. Being the bookworm that she was, she knew that she was lucky to get this far with her obvious lack of exercise. She knew it was stupid, but she could do nothing else as she hid behind a particularly large tree.

The Death Eater was here and he definitely knew where she was hiding. But he decided to play a game with her.

"Where are you?" he said in a mocking sing-song voice. "Where are you, little Mudblood?"

She could feel his feet shuffling as he circled the tree. She slowly inched away, her heart beating so fast and so hard that she felt it would burst in her throat. She swallowed hard as she inched away a little again.

Then she saw him. Malfoy. Just appearing from another thicket of trees. He stood there, immobile. Then, he raised his wand, and aimed it directly at her. Another enemy, Hermione thought bitterly, cursing her luck. Apparently, the Death Eater trailing her also saw Malfoy. She could almost hear him smirking, as he said, "Malfoy. Glad to see you. I brought you someone..."

Both pairs of eyes fixed on her. She could see Malfoy swallowing visibly.

"Expelliarmus!" Malfoy said, and the effect of the spell was instantaneous. Hermione saw her wand being ripped from her grip and fly in an arched trajectory into Malfoy's open hands. She could hear her heart pounding loudly in her ears. Now she was wandless. She had no way to defend herself anymore.

"Now kill her," the other Death Eater said casually, as if talking about the weather.

Malfoy's hand shook. He had a pained expression on his face.

The other Death Eater scowled. "The Dark Lord is already displeased with you and your family, Malfoy," he said menacingly. "Do not disappoint him again. Just kill the damn Mudblood."

Malfoy was silent.

"Just kill her!" howled the Death Eater. "Don't make the same mistake you made a year ago, Malfoy."

"It wasn't a mistake Draco," Hermione said, surprising not only herself but the others as well by her audacity. All eyes were on her again. "You did the right thing by not killing Dumbledore. He was right. You are not a killer. You don't have to do this."

Before her courage faltered, she stepped slowly toward Malfoy. Soon, she was no more than two feet away from him. His hand shook more than ever.

"KILL HER!" bellowed the Death Eater angrily. "The Dark Lord will know about this."

Malfoy steadied his grip and aimed at her again.

"No Draco," she said, using his first name for the second time. It was much more personal than calling him Malfoy. "You don't have to do this," she said as quietly and calmly as she could. She reached out a trembling hand and softly caressed Malfoy's hand. His astonishment was unmistakable. "Don't listen to him. You have every right to make your own choices. If you make the right one, we can help you and your family. Please. Trust me Draco."

His wand lowered. Hermione smiled a little and squeezed his hand. She could see his facial muscles relax slightly, knowing that her actions were not in vain.

"You good-for-nothing little coward," spat the senior Death Eater. "You couldn't kill that old bat, Dumbledore. Now you can't even kill a stupid Mudblood. You're a disgrace to the Dark Lord! Avada Kedavra!""

The jet of green light hurled toward them, and Hermione screamed as it approached. Unexpectedly, Malfoy pulled them both down on the ground at the last minute, as the deadly light zoomed just over his head. Both shaking, they saw the worst of the Unforgivable Curses incinerate the tree behind them. Pointing his wand at the Death Eater, he yelled, "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" The Death Eater dropped to the ground, completely paralyzed.

Standing up hastily, Malfoy grabbed Hermione's hand and tugged at her to move. They both ran from the spot as fast as they could, Hermione's vice-like grip on Malfoy's hand merely tightening as they hurried away...

Later that day, Hermione had lost Malfoy and had returned to Harry to finish the war. When the war was completely over, Hermione had tried to track down Malfoy, but found it impossible. He was in hiding, probably from the Ministry who were rounding up Death Eaters and those who had liaisons with Death Eaters into Azkaban. Malfoy was no doubt fleeing from prosecution for his affiliation with Voldemort. But since Hermione had never found him, she had assumed that he had died. She stood corrected tonight as her eyes locked with his stormy gray ones.

"Mal--Draco..." she said, catching herself just in time. "Where were you this past year?"

He shrugged.

"Look Draco," she said soothingly, "I can help you. Tell me what you need and I will help you."

"I don't need your help, Mudblood," he spat.

All good feelings left Hermione, as she glared at the man before her, seething. "And yet you come to my flat, without a word of greeting, shivering, pale, helpless," she said angrily, her eyes smoldering. "And you dare snap at me, insulting the only one who can help you. I suggest you leave at once." Her arm gestured toward the door.

He didn't budge.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She put as much hate as she could muster into her last word.

"I want you out of my head!" he almost yelled out.

Pause. "What?"

"Ever since that--that... day," he said, "I can't stop thinking about you. I can't stop dreaming about you. What did you do to me?"

"Nothing!" she shouted, indignant.

"I bet you forced love potion in me to weaken me," he said. "I bet you did that, didn't you, Mudblood?"

She would have laughed at his suggestion if she hadn't been so angry. "Of course I didn't, you prick! And how dare you call me 'Mudblood' after everything we've been through?"

"Then how else would you explain this?" He gestured wildly at himself, ignoring her "Mudblood" outburst. "How else would you explain me falling in love with you?"

All her anger dissipated, leaving her feeling empty and hollow. What? She was so taken aback she was speechless. Only one thought kept circulating in her mind over and over again: He's in love with me?

"Draco..." she began softly, but she was interrupted.

"Stop calling me that!" he snapped angrily, dropping down on her couch without an invitation. "On that day, you were so... so..." He couldn't seem to find the right word.

"Kind?" volunteered Hermione.

He shrugged again, and leaned back on the couch, his eyes set on her ceiling. She hesitantly took a seat beside him, and grabbed his hand. His gaze immediately snapped toward their hands. He hastily pulled his hand away, not meeting her eyes. In fact, he didn't even look at her. Hermione scowled, but made no comment. Malfoy was now turned away from her, his gaze wondering everywhere but at her. She gnawed on her bottom lip as she watched him, hoping that he'd turn around and break the silence. She observed his features. They had once been so familiar, but throughout the past months, they had become blurred in her mind. As she became reacquainted to them, she had an insatiable urge to touch his hair. It looked so soft, silky. But she restrained herself by looking at his eyes. He was making an effort to avoid her gaze, she noted. The anger she had felt moments ago resurfaced, and her patience was wearing dangerously thin.

"Malfoy," she said angrily, finally catching his eye. "You've obviously come here for a reason, not to stare into space. You either do what you came here to do or I suggest that you leave before I--"

She was cut off by his soft lips planting on hers. Before she even thought about pulling away, she became entranced by his kiss. She had never thought that Malfoy could kiss this sweetly, yet still with so much passion. Before she knew it, she was kissing back with the same fervor. She reached up and ran her fingers through his hair. It was just as she thought it would be... smooth and silky. She felt him wrap his arm around her waist as he pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss. She had never been kissed like this, she realized. It seemed as though Malfoy was pouring his heart out into the kiss, and she couldn't help but melt under his touch. She felt as if her heart would burst if they didn't stop soon. The tip of his tongue prodded her lips. Unconsciously, she opened her mouth, letting his tongue in. Not long after, their tongues were engaged in a frantic duel.

When they finally broke apart, both were breathless. Draco was the first one to recover from the earth-shattering kiss they just shared.

"I have to go now," he said, standing up quickly.

Hermione grabbed his hand again hastily, and he did not pull back this time. "Stay," she said firmly.

There was a moment of silence. "I love you," he whispered softly.

She beamed up at him, and gave his hand a squeeze, as she led him towards the bedrooms. Me too.

FIN