Love times 5
Cedar1
Inspired by the French film 5 times 2 by François Ozon. It's an amazing film and my story is of the same lay out and some of the plots and ideas are also from it. So this is a BIG DISCLAIMER to them so please don't sue me.
Oh and of course one to JK Rowling for the characters
Important note: There will be five parts. Each part detailing a time in Hermione and Draco's relationship starting from their divorce to when they first met. i.e. going backwards.
Warning: This is not a fluffy fic and will not have a happy ending as ultimately it's a deterioration of their marriage. But there will be bits of romance, comedy, and drama so if you decide to give it a chance I hope you enjoy it...
Cedar1
Love times 5
Chapter 5: I can't keep loving you. It hurts too much
"Do you agree with the terms? Miss Granger?"
"Yes"
"Mr Malfoy?"
There was a pause, and the room was plunged into an awkward silence. Mr Taylor's eyebrows were raised in question, eyes staring at the man who sat beside her, waiting patiently for an answer. Hermione stole a quick glance at him from the corner of her eye. His eyes were glazed over, a mist covering the normally sharp grey pools. His chin was resting on his right palm, which in turn was on the chair rest. He hadn't shaved a first. A dark shadow underlined the area beneath his mouth. It was good to see it was affecting him as well, and not just her. She looked down at her hands. Nails were bitten to death, leaving behind a jaggered, unruly edge. Her clothes weren't much better. Crumpled, stained, and looking like they had been submerged under a pile a crap in a forgotten cupboard. Which of course they had been. She had been caught behind in her washing and had nothing else to wear. His hair was longer then when she had last seen him. It was pulled back and tied with a black ribbon. She didn't like it. He had wanted to do it for ages but only went for his daily trip to the barber because she had said she would hate it, for it would make him look too much like his father. It was probably a show for her. A finger in the air, telling her how free he was without her restraining him and restricting him. Blaise doubtlessly had no problem with it being the gold digging whore she was, the smell of money was probably too strong for her to risk sharing her thoughts on his hair, or for that matter anything that wasn't concerned with jewellery or clothes. Hermione's hands curled up into neat, tight fists by her side at the very thought of that anorexic bitch.
"Mr Malfoy?"
This time he answered.
"Sorry I was in a world of my own. Yes. Yes I do agree to all the terms."
Her hands relaxed, all that pent up stress, hatred, collapsed in one swift blow. So it was finally over.
"If you could sign these papers."
What could only be described as a pack of crisp white sheets was pushed in her direction. Draco had his own set. Typed in large bold, underlined letters, so there could be no misunderstanding, were the words 'Divorce settlement.' It wasn't that long ago that she was signing one that said 'Marriage agreement'. She felt faintly guilty as she picked up the biro and the pads of her fingers felt slightly wet and slimy against its hard plastic coating. She felt like she was betraying that eternally naive and innocent girl that lived within her, that had images of a lasting marriage and an old couple who loved each other just as much on their sixtieth wedding anniversary as the day they wed. She turned to glance at him once more.
"A signature on each page should do it. Just to clarify on signing you shall no longer be man and wife from this day forth."
She watched as he placed the tip of the pen on the paper, lift it off, and only then put it back down again and sign his name with a flourish. In a second she had done the same.
Mr Taylor quickly swept up the paper work that littered his desk and placed them on a pile that was precariously close to tilting, and falling on to the floor.
"Well I'm sure you don't want to be here any longer. It was nice seeing you again and I wish you both luck in the future."
Hermione wanted to smack that patronising smile off his face. Luck? As if! You could practically see the galleon signs reflecting off the white of his eyes. She had noticed on her entrance the queue of people waiting to see him. The line of unhappy couples who wanted this little, red- faced man to end their personal tortures. She could practically see him planning the next state of the art broom he was going to buy, the house in the country. She stood up, offered him no such politeness and made a brisk stride to the door. She just wanted to get out of here. She was beaten to the punch by Draco whose long fingers were already curled around the door handle. They made eye contact for the first time that day. Looking within those beautiful eyes she instantly began to regret her decision. Perhaps she could just shred those condemning signatures into pieces, drop them into a bin and burn them till they were nothing more than charcoal bits. She closed her eyes tightly and looked away. No. She had been through enough. They both had.
As if he was able to read her mind Draco opened the door and paused to let her pass. She didn't trust herself to look at him one last time and instead gave a nod of thanks before she walked away. Her heels clacked against the wood flooring. Each sharp sound followed by one dull thud his heavy size 11 boots made. They continued in that fashion all the way down the corridor. She tried to quicken the pace to put some distance between her and her now ex-husband but he only seemed to want to irritate her more by keeping up with her. She could see the shiny metal door of the lift getting nearer and she slowed down, not surprisingly so did he. She pressed the button to call the lift down praying it would arrive before he did. Alas luck was not on her side and the damn button was still lit red when she could feel his presence by her side. His shoulder was very lightly touching her own or was that perhaps her own hallucination? She could smell his cologne. Still using the one she gave him last Christmas, the one that made her want to kiss him and lick him all over. Against her better judgement her heart began to quicken underneath her layers of cotton and silk and breathing was becoming increasingly hard.
Concentrate.
Concentrate.
She urged herself. She determinately watched the dial on top slide from 20 to 19 to 18 to 17... Her lips were pursed together, teeth grinding against teeth, desperate to not let one traitorous word from her sub conscious slip out. Her neck was starting to hurt from forcing it to look up and not to turn it to its side. Finally the button turned green and the doors in front of her began to slide open revealing an empty lift. Damn it! Fuck it! It was only 10 floors down and no way was she going to walk it. She was just going to have to be strong. She could do that. She was that, she scolded inwardly. About to step inside he had to break her resolve by saying her name.
"Hermione."
No she couldn't do this and she lifted her foot off the carpeted interior of the lift and turned on her heel. There was a fire exit somewhere around here. She had seen it when she had first entered this blasted building. But before she had a chance to find it a strong arm grasped her wrist and a force yanked her into the last place she wanted to be.
Angry and pissed off she watched as the doors shut, trapping her with the only person she hated as much as she loved.
"What the hell do you think you are doing?"
"You're beautiful when you're mad." He closed in on her and tenderly caressed one of the hundred curls that had escaped the prison of her hastily tied up bun. She was temporarily shocked by his proximity and his intimate action, and for a second lost herself to it. Leaning into him, feeding off his powerful aura. But she caught herself and pushed his hand away from her hair. She lunged for the knob and pressed five. She was going to get off as soon as she could and as six had just past, floor five was the next best thing. She couldn't play this game with him, not again, not ever. She was too old for games, too tired of losing. However no sooner had she pressed five that he pushed the STOP button.
"Get the fuck out of the way Draco."
He was blocking her only chance of an escape with his tall, lean body.
"I need to talk to you."
"Don't you have Blaise for that?"
He had enough humour to laugh at her insult.
"As you can guess that isn't her strong point."
His lips had tilted to an all-knowing smirk.
"You make me sick you know that. What sick fuck would talk about how good a shag his mistress is in front of his ex- wife?"
"Blaise was never my mistress. She is however my girl friend. I never cheated on you when we were married."
And for that tiniest moment she believed he was telling the truth. That part of her that was never-endingly optimistic. But then she remembered what she saw...
"Girl-friend. Mistress. It's all the same to you pureblooded bastards. You know what I'm happy for you. Go and shag her as many times as you want I don't want you. I can't even recall what I saw in you in the first place."
"Don't lie to me. You saw plenty of things in me."
It happened again. He had inched his way into her personal space and had successfully forced her back against one of the three walls of the lift. His arms were planted rigidly at either side of her head, giving her no option other than to partake in this little charade of his. Well fine and she stared resolutely into his eyes.
He leaned forward.
"Do you not remember how good we were together?" His breathe tickled the hairs on her neck as his lips grazed against her left ear.
"How we just seem to fit so perfectly?" A slim finger skimmed against her breast, took a winding path to her stomach, before sliding down the coarse material of her skirt and then slipping under it and onto the smoothness of the skin of her upper thigh. Her eye lids fell closed as he began to stroke her leg. Big circles, edging closer towards the boundaries of her knickers. It would have been so easy to continue. To have him take her right there in the lift however something clicked deep within her, unlocking all that pain, all that misery which he had helped to create. It flooded her body and her mind. Everything was cramping, screaming.
"Stop it. Stop it! STOP It!" She was yelling now, her hands slapping his own eager ones. She pushed him away and stumbled onto the opposing wall. With a lunge of desperation she pressed the STOP button and the lift juddered into life, opening on the fifth floor. A wave of fresh air hit her hot face as she practically fell out of the lift. This time Draco chose not to follow her and remained leaning against the wall.
She looked at him, really looked at him. The mouth that had kissed her a million times, the arms that had wrapped around her waist during those many nights and the hair she had clutched during those times of passion. The doors began to close and he started to disappear in front of her very eyes. He was slowly exiting her life, leaving her alone standing in a deserted hallway.
"You still love me Hermione. It's not too late"
"I can't keep loving you. It hurts too much."
On those words the lift doors shut marking the end of their love affair.
One gone four to go. Have already written two so updates should be fairly fast. But of course reviews always help...
so let me know what you think by pressing that little blue button.
Cheers Cedar1