She stood in the middle of the courtyard, thinking, hoping, wondering. Tears were silently creeping down her cheeks. He wasn’t coming.
Still, she stayed. Hermione enclosed the silver charm bracelet in her ice-cold hands. This was the gift she hoped to give to Draco. This was the gift she thought would bind their love forever. Draco swore he loved her, and she believed him, because his eyes told her to. But why wasn’t he here?
An owl swooped down and perched itself up a tree branch. It watched her with shiny amber eyes. She stared at those lovely eyes. If only they were a misty silver-green. If only it was Draco’s eyes she was staring into. Then she would be assured. It would mean Draco was watching over her.
She had come to the place when the sun was high up in the sky, hoping to surprise him with an early visit. She waited until the time when they should meet, but Draco still wasn’t there. Trees swayed, the winds blew, and the sun was about to set. But he never came.
“Where”Where is he?” Hermione choked out to no one in particular, on the edge of a breakdown. It was a relief to her that the leaf-strewn courtyard was deserted. No people. No witnesses. Especially, no Harry and Ron. “I shouldn’t have come. He was just”just playing around. He didn’t love me.”
The thought made her heart break. (As if it wasn’t already broken, shattered, crushed, and ground to fine particles!) She had given her heart to Draco. The second the magic words touched her ears, she believed him; believed that he loved her to death. The words were what she longed to hear, and she had heard them. But now, Hermione realized that she didn’t want just the words, she wanted something more. She wanted Draco to actually mean the words. She wanted to feel it. Hermione thought she had, but did he feel it too?
A rustling sound pulled her out of her melancholy thoughts. It was like rough stones dragging across gravel. Hermione looked at the creature, and it almost made her scream.
It was a green-gray snake, with a scale shining with a sticky, liquid thing. The animal would have looked beautiful if not for the small pebbles, leaves, dirt, and twigs clinging to it as if they were magnetized. The sticky substance, Hermione realized with horror, was its own blood. There was a gash on its right side, and little streams of blood trickled down from it. The serpent left a bloody trail as it moved. But these traits are not the ones that enchanted Hermione. It was the snake’s eyes. They were green and shimmering with either magic or tears.
It slithered over to a tree trunk and hid behind it. More rustling. Ignoring the snake, Hermione kept watch for Draco. Silence reigned again. Nothing but the sound of trees and the wind.
Hermione’s cheeks were red from the cold. Winter was approaching. She could feel it. The sky was turning a beautiful, elegant purple with a tinge of lavender and pink. She imagined herself with Draco, his tingling touch keeping her warm.
He loves me, and nobody can change that, she thought. Her tears had dried long ago. She struggled to stay positive. Nothing can stop our love. Right? she struggled to convince herself.
She pictured married life with Draco. There would be two kids, Jennylyn and Andrew. One would have her hazel brown hair, and another would have Draco’s gorgeous blond locks. She’d tell them how she and their father fell in love. Tell them how he never left her side. How nothing could stop them from being together. A happy couple. A perfect couple.
If only these thoughts, these dreams, were true.
Hermione’s eyes started to well up again with angry, bitter tears. “Are you coming or not?” She screamed at the top of her lungs. “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.” She screamed again, just as if he could hear her. Then, quietly, she murmured, “I’ve been waiting for you. Waiting for you to come. Waiting for you to see. Waiting for your love. Waiting for those words." Drawing breath, she began again. "But I’m tired of waiting! Please don’t tell me that I waited for nothing. Don’t tell me that you didn’t love me at all! Please”Please tell me that you meant those words. The words I love you.”
She cried. First, a few tears, coursing down her pale but rosy cheeks. Then more tears came, along with her angers and frustrations, her hopes and her dreams. Dreams of love. She shook with either the sobs, or the desire for him. For his love. It was hard to tell which.
The snake from behind the tree watched her sorrowfully. It was tears, and not magic, that sparkled in those eyes. He wanted to hug her, and kiss her tears away. He wanted to assure her that everything was all right. He wanted to do those things desperately. But he could not. The price of Hermione’s assurance was unbearable. It would cost the snake both his and her life. It was better this way.
Finally, Hermione stopped. She looked up at the star-studded skies wistfully, and started to walk away. But she paused and stooped down. She laid the silver charm bracelet down on the ground carefully, as if afraid that the heart dangling from the chain would break.
“I’ll love you forever,” Hermione whispered. “Goodbye, Draco.”
She ran away.
When the snake was sure the courtyard was deserted, it slithered over near the bracelet. In one moment, it was gone. In its place was a young man, a little older than Hermione, with blond hair sleeked back. He had the same gash as the snake. Blood had long stopped flowing, but he still hurt. Less from the pain in his side than the pain in his heart.
Draco picked the bracelet up with loving hands. He had tears in his eyes. “I love you, too, Hermione. Always. It was just not meant to be.” If Hermione saw those pained eyes, she would have fallen in love for him all over again. He would mean those words. He would have said he’d rather die than toy with her feelings. But she wasn’t there. All he could do now was hope. Hope that he’ll be ready to defend his love for her. Hope that later on, Hermione would still love him. Hope that Hermione would know that he kept it. Know that he kept his love for her, and the silver charm bracelet.