Title: Only The Weak Cry
Genre: Romance, Angst
Characters: Draco Malfoy/Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley
Rating: K+
Word Count: 2071
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and this story was simply written for fun. I don't make any money with this.

Summary: He had wanted to scare her with his closeness and tight clutch, but when he looked into her eyes the situation changed completely. It was as if something had shifted between them, pushing them closer together and changing their entire chemistry.

A/N: I was inspired to write this when I saw the sixth movie. Tom Felton was awesome and heartbreaking, especially in the bathroom scene. But I really would have loved to see Hermione, instead of Harry, finding him, so that's what I wrote.
I really hope that you will enjoy it! :)

Only The Weak Cry
© July 29, 2009

*

His hands were clinging onto the sides of the sink tightly, his knuckles turning white as if holding onto the cold china was his only life support. As he stared at himself in the mirror he saw a frightened young boy who had the weight of the world resting on his shoulders. How was he supposed to carry it, let alone go on with it?

Salty tears, which had blurred his vision while he had held them back, now rolled down his pale cheeks, leaving only small traces of the sadness he felt. His mother had once told him that tears would ease the pain someone felt, but when he looked at himself again he was only reminded of his father's harsh words.

Only the weak cry.

He was weak. Pitiful. Not worth the task he had been given. He was supposed to feel honored and follow his orders fast and dutifully. And all he was doing was messing up his plans and crying in some bathroom.

But he couldn't help it. The pressure of his task was too much for him to bear and the thought of having to finish it was only encouraging more tears to spill onto his cheeks. People were counting on him, trusting him to be brave and strong enough to do it, but he would only disappoint them. And that would be even worse than the given orders themselves. Disappointing his mother, his father and the Dark Lord would have consequences he didn't even want to think about.

But he thought about them. Draco Malfoy knew that people who disappointed the Dark Lord would be punished and he also knew that this man, or creature, would not be satisfied with ridiculous punishments like detention. After all, his task wasn't something absurd like homework. It was more important and definitely more dangerous than writing an essay. Therefore, failing would not be sentenced easily and the young man knew that a lot of pain would be involved.

This meant that he had to succeed. He had already messed up twice and people started to suspect him now. They knew that something was going on and if he didn't finish fast, they would eventually find out. Maybe he should just accept the help he had been offered by Snape, but his pride didn't want him to. He needed to do this alone and prove that he was actually worth the trust they put in him.

But how was he supposed to do it? Every idea or plan seemed to be flawed, especially after the first two attempts had ended up being horrific disasters. He really couldn't afford another repeat of such a failure, but thinking of something that would work out was nearly impossible.

He closed his eyes, not willing to look at himself any longer, being disappointed in his reflection. But when he saw nothing but blackness and his other senses sharpened in return, he could hear someone breathing behind him. Knowing that he was no longer alone, he opened his eyes again and turned around in a fast movement, looking directly into the eyes of Hermione Granger.

The young woman was shocked to see Draco Malfoy standing in front of her. When she had been on her way back to the common room and had heard a faint sobbing when walking past this bathroom, she had not expected to find him. But now confronted with him, she wasn't sure anymore whether she still wanted to offer the help she had decided to give to the crying person.

"Don't you dare to tell anyone about this, Granger. I'm warning you." He spat at her before she could even say a single word. It was bad enough that she had already seen his tears, but he wouldn't be able to tolerate her pity as well.

"Why should I tell someone?" She asked and looked at him with wide eyes, while he raised an eyebrow at her question.

"Oh, I can just imagine you running to your two little friends, telling them how the big bad Malfoy cried like a little baby. But I'm warning you, Granger, if you tell anyone, I will make you regret it for the rest of your poor life."

His words were harsh and his voice cold, but the sadness was still visible in his silvery grey eye, now accompanied by fear and anger. Just the mere thought of Hermione Granger telling her friends about what she saw was nearly worse than the thought of being punished for failing his task.

"Are you ashamed?" She asked and stepped closer to him, hoping that her quiet whisper would soothe him a little bit.

"Just go away, Granger. I don't need your sympathy." He answered sourly and turned away from her, looking at himself in the mirror again.

"You are ashamed."

Again her words were whispered softly, but the truth behind their meaning pierced him painfully. She was right. After all, she was Hermione Granger – the girl who was right about everything. If this had been a situation in a classroom and she had known the answer to a difficult question, he would have joked about her relationship with books, like he always did to conceal his surprise. But the fact that she had seen right through him only made him grab onto the sink again without answering her statement.

"But you do know that tears are good for you, don't you? They'll ease your pain."

Again he was reminded of his mother's words, but thinking of her also brought back the memories of Lucius Malfoy and his beliefs.

"Only the weak cry." Draco said and repeated his father's words for her to hear, also trying to imitate the man's harsh voice. Carefully Hermione stepped closer to him again and placed her right hand on his left shoulder. He had to know that he wasn't alone and that, whatever he was feeling so bad about, everything could take a turn for the better.

"Tears are a sign of strength. Only people who know how to express feelings and actually handle them are strong. Not those who suppress them and take them as a sign of weakness."

But her touch and soft words provoked a completely different reaction from the young man. He wasn't used to this kind of touch and being comforted, so her behavior shocked him. Not knowing how to handle it, he only turned around and grabbed her wrist, not caring whether he might hurt her or not.

"What the hell do you want, Granger?!" He shouted at her.

"Maybe I want to help you." She answered and showed no sign of fear despite his tight clutch, while he laughed bitterly at the absurdity of her statement.

"And how does a little mudblood like you want to help me?" He asked, pulling her even closer to him. Due to this, their faces were only a few inches apart now, letting them feel each other's breath on their skin. "You don't even know anything about my problems."

"Then tell me and maybe you'll be surprised at what I can actually do." She whispered in return, imitating his clipped tone though.

"That's some weird muggle-thing, isn't it? Telling odd people about your problems and everything is fine afterwards. Believe me, Granger, that won't work for me. And to be honest, I really don't see me getting help from a little mudblood."

Hearing his rude words, made all sympathy disappear and the brunette became angry at the boy standing in front of her. She remembered a situation in her third year and it felt right to repeat it. Angrily she raised her left hand, as her right was still in Malfoy's grasp, and lunged out to hit him. But this time he was faster than her and grabbed her other wrist, pressing her body against his.

He had wanted to scare her with his closeness and tight clutch, but when he looked into her eyes the situation changed completely. It was as if something had shifted between them, pushing them closer together and changing their entire chemistry. Her breath was warm on his skin and he couldn't stop himself when his eyes moved towards her lips. Would they be as soft as they looked?

Breathing somehow became a difficult task for her as she looked at Draco Malfoy and realized that the tingling in her body was no anger anymore. When she saw him looking at her lips and realized that his face was coming even closer towards hers, she simply closed her eyes and forgot everything around her.

He interpreted her closed eyes as a sign of mutual understanding and let his lips meet hers. The first touch was like kissing fire and he flinched back immediately. But his shock only lasted for a small moment and he found himself craving for more of her.

When he let his lips touch hers for the second time, he didn't break the contact again. Instead he slowly started to move his lips against hers, trying to provoke a reaction from her. Maybe she would try to hit him again or to run away, but maybe she would kiss him back.

And she did.

Their lips moved in a slow but demanding rhythm while their bodies pressed closer against each other. Soon Draco wasn't happy anymore and wanted to taste more of the girl he claimed to hate. He touched her bottom lip with his tongue, asking for entrance politely, although he knew that he would force her lips open if she wasn't fast enough. But there was no need for any enforcement as she parted her lips compliantly and moaned when their tongues met. Knowing that she was as willing as he was, he let her hands go and only wrapped his arms around her waist. In return, she threw her arms around his neck.

Neither of them knew how long they were actually kissing until they slowly parted. Instead of opening her eyes, Hermione hid her face in the crook of his neck and enjoyed his strong arms around her body. And just like the girl he kept his eyes closed and lay his head on top of hers, quietly listening to her uneven breath.

She wanted to stay like this forever, never returning to being enemies again, but she could already hear someone disturbing their moment of peace. The voices were faint, but over the years she had grown accustomed to them so that she could understand them even though they were still distant - Harry and Ron.

"She is in there with Malfoy, Ron, they are on the map. We have to get her out before he can hurt her."

Knowing that it was time to end their little moment before her friends would come into the bathroom, she freed herself from his embrace and told him what she was hearing.

"Leave it to Potter and Weasley to ruin my day." He snorted, but silently agreed with her that it was better, if these two didn't see them like this. "You know that this will never be mentioned nor repeated once we leave?"

She nodded and took a few steps back to build a distance between them, but Draco pulled her against him for a last time, pressing an urgent kiss on her lips. Hermione was tempted to lose herself in his kiss again, but when the voices became louder she pulled back again.

"Let her go, Malfoy!" Ron shouted immediately, coming into the bathroom and seeing them standing close to each other.

"Don't worry, Weasel, I won't hurt your little girlfriend."

Ignoring Draco's words, Hermione walked to Harry and Ron, who both pointed their wands at the blonde boy.

"It's alright, Ron. Harry. He didn't do anything. We should just leave." She told them and both of them nodded in approval. He looked at her back while her two best friends pulled her out of the room, asking her what the hell she was doing in a bathroom with Draco Malfoy.

Turning around to look at the mirror again, he realized that he still had no answers and solutions. Kissing Hermione Granger wouldn't help him fulfilling his task, but he couldn't help feeling a lot better than before. Somehow she had made him believe that he wasn't as weak as he felt and maybe he was worth the trust after all. Maybe he would succeed.