Chapter Text
Four years earlier
Hermione woke up with a smile and pleasant butterflies in her stomach. She slowly opened her eyes and turned to her side, where she saw Draco Malfoy.
He was lying with his mouth slightly open, snoring a little, his blond hair tousled. Hermione admired him and, with a smile, realized that she didn't want to let Draco go. She wanted to be his, and for him to be hers.
Hermione reached out her hand to run it through Draco's soft hair, but she pulled it back when she heard her phone vibrating on the nightstand.
She grabbed one of the blankets and wrapped it around her naked body, getting up and picking up her phone.
She smiled when she saw the caller ID say 'Dad.'
"Yes?" she answered happily but in a whisper, making her way out of the master bedroom.
With a flick of her wand, she cast a Muffliato charm around herself to avoid waking Draco. She went to the kitchen and with horror realized that her father was crying.
"Dad? What happened?" Hermione asked, worried.
"Your mum… Please fly to Australia." Richard sobbed.
••••••••••••••
Draco reached out to the empty space beside him in bed and realized it was vacant. He groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes.
"Granger?" Draco called out loudly, trying to get her attention.
Silence... Odd, Draco thought. Usually, if Hermione wasn't in bed, she would be in the kitchen making breakfast for them both. Because, brilliant as Hermione Granger was, she had insisted on giving Draco’s elf some time off and had taken it upon herself to prepare their meals.
Draco reluctantly got up and walked over to the dresser. He pulled out a pair of boxers and quickly put them on. With bare chest and only in his boxers, he lazily made his way towards the kitchen.
Draco's smile reached his ears; these past three weeks had felt like a fairy tale. He had never imagined that his school nemesis would turn his life upside down. Before meeting Hermione Granger, he had viewed life through a dull lens. Nothing seemed quite right, and nothing felt worth living for.
But Granger had brought color to his life. And for the first time in three years since the war, he felt like a person who wanted to savor life rather than just exist, not to disappoint his parents with his death.
Draco arrived in the kitchen and realized that nothing had changed. Granger wasn't there, and it seemed that breakfast hadn't been prepared either.
He glanced at his grandfather's clock and realized it was already past noon. It was very strange that she wasn't here.
Draco reassured himself with the thought that she might have gone to the nearest store to buy groceries.
But she wouldn't leave without telling him... She promised she wouldn't. Draco didn't want to believe it, and instead, he called for his elf.
"Pippy!"
With a soft pop, Draco's elf appeared before him. "Master Draco!" The elf bowed and clicked his fingers again. In his small hands was a book. Hermione's favorite book. "Miss Granger left this book for you and asked me to deliver it."
Draco's heart began to pound, and he reluctantly took it from the elf's hands. Opening the first page, he saw a sentence written in Hermione's handwriting with a Muggle pen.
One sentence that made Draco realize she was truly gone. One sentence that made tears well up in Draco's eyes. One sentence that turned his world back to gray. One sentence that broke his heart. One sentence that signified the end of everything between them.
'I think I love you, Draco Lucius Malfoy, please forgive me!'