Drabble Reading #10: Searching For Draco Malfoy
Title: Searching For Draco Malfoy
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 498
Written for Challenge #10 at dramione_ldws
Out of the UK: must set outside the UK
Searching For Draco Malfoy
She wanted to remember this.
All of this.
The biting cold laced with wood smoke, the fuzz from her scarf stuck in her mouth, the wet black asphalt layered with broken leaves - pumpkin, mustard and ketchup colored. She wanted to fix these things in her mind, to remember the slow heavy pounding of her heart that marked the close of a long and twisted journey.
She had found him. Here. In this sleepy New England town.
Four years of searching had finally ended.
Hermione stood on the sidewalk across the street from a small café, a knot of apprehension twisting her stomach. She stuffed her hand in her pocket and fingered the worn parchment that had started everything.
It was the blood that had caught her attention. A tiny smudge of dried brown-red blood in the corner, next to a black fingerprint.
Can we be done now?
Unsigned. And at the time, meaningless. But the blood, and the sense of despair and exhaustion had stayed with her. It was the day someone saved Neville from a killing curse.
The second letter arrived three months later, when Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy were both found dead in Hogsmeade. She recognized the handwriting.
I’m sorry.
Draco
Two weeks later, the war was over. And Hermione’s search began.
There were other letters. Longer ones. Full of secrets and secret hopes. Anguish. Loneliness. The little failures and triumphs of daily life. She supposed he felt a certain freedom knowing she couldn’t write back.
She scoured the letters for clues. Names of buildings, a food he thought was dreadful, a description of a view - the coast, the desert, or mountains. Leaves changing color. She had fallen in love with his handwriting.
Hermione couldn’t explain her need to find Draco Malfoy. It started casually, her eyes searching dark corners wherever she went, but over time it had turned into an obsession. She was consumed with her need to find him. She gave up her job, ignored her friends, and searched. Everywhere.
Australia, Barcelona, Portugal, Japan, Chile, California. And finally, here.
In a way, she was sad that it was over. Four years and a stack of letters later, Draco had become the most important person in her life. She had no idea where they went from here. Maybe he didn’t even want to be found. But she needed to do this. She needed to stand there, in front of him, and say something. Acknowledge…something.
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Hermione crossed the empty street. A bell tinkled when she opened the door and Draco looked up, pinning her with serious gray eyes.
Her heart smacked against her ribs as she neared the booth he sat in. When she got there, when she was finally close enough to touch him, she didn’t know what to say, and for a long time Draco just looked up at her, his eyes searching hers, until finally, he spoke.
“What took you so long?”
Rating: PG
Warnings: none
Word Count: 498
Written for Challenge #10 at dramione_ldws
Out of the UK: must set outside the UK
Searching For Draco Malfoy
She wanted to remember this.
All of this.
The biting cold laced with wood smoke, the fuzz from her scarf stuck in her mouth, the wet black asphalt layered with broken leaves - pumpkin, mustard and ketchup colored. She wanted to fix these things in her mind, to remember the slow heavy pounding of her heart that marked the close of a long and twisted journey.
She had found him. Here. In this sleepy New England town.
Four years of searching had finally ended.
Hermione stood on the sidewalk across the street from a small café, a knot of apprehension twisting her stomach. She stuffed her hand in her pocket and fingered the worn parchment that had started everything.
It was the blood that had caught her attention. A tiny smudge of dried brown-red blood in the corner, next to a black fingerprint.
Can we be done now?
Unsigned. And at the time, meaningless. But the blood, and the sense of despair and exhaustion had stayed with her. It was the day someone saved Neville from a killing curse.
The second letter arrived three months later, when Bellatrix Lestrange and Lucius Malfoy were both found dead in Hogsmeade. She recognized the handwriting.
I’m sorry.
Draco
Two weeks later, the war was over. And Hermione’s search began.
There were other letters. Longer ones. Full of secrets and secret hopes. Anguish. Loneliness. The little failures and triumphs of daily life. She supposed he felt a certain freedom knowing she couldn’t write back.
She scoured the letters for clues. Names of buildings, a food he thought was dreadful, a description of a view - the coast, the desert, or mountains. Leaves changing color. She had fallen in love with his handwriting.
Hermione couldn’t explain her need to find Draco Malfoy. It started casually, her eyes searching dark corners wherever she went, but over time it had turned into an obsession. She was consumed with her need to find him. She gave up her job, ignored her friends, and searched. Everywhere.
Australia, Barcelona, Portugal, Japan, Chile, California. And finally, here.
In a way, she was sad that it was over. Four years and a stack of letters later, Draco had become the most important person in her life. She had no idea where they went from here. Maybe he didn’t even want to be found. But she needed to do this. She needed to stand there, in front of him, and say something. Acknowledge…something.
Swallowing past the lump in her throat, Hermione crossed the empty street. A bell tinkled when she opened the door and Draco looked up, pinning her with serious gray eyes.
Her heart smacked against her ribs as she neared the booth he sat in. When she got there, when she was finally close enough to touch him, she didn’t know what to say, and for a long time Draco just looked up at her, his eyes searching hers, until finally, he spoke.
“What took you so long?”