Iris - Harry Potter

A Strange Kind of Encounter - Chapter 1

Draco Malfoy sat alone at a small, lopsided table in Muggle London. He rotated the silver ring around his large finger, something that he had done so many times that the skin beneath the ring was red and raw. He missed her. She was all he ever thought about. It had been three years and yet she was still the only person he ever had on his mind.

He looked around out the window which was iced over. It was late November and the streets showed that. There were lights hung along the outer rims of the buildings. Snow was falling down and he frowned at that. She loved the snow. He knew that she would have been so happy if she were with him at that moment.

"Can I fill up your cup, love?" Draco looked up at the plump waitress standing next to him with a cheery smile. She looked tired and ready for a night of rest.

"No thank you. I actually better be off. How much is it?"

She smiled as she saw him look back at the snow outside obviously pondering something. "Oh it's on the house. Have a happy holiday."

She flashed him another smile before turning around to finish cleaning up all the other tables. He nodded as he stood up leaving a twenty on the table. It was getting close to Christmas and a nice gesture like that deserved something extra. Besides, she always told him that a nice deed deserves something even better in return.

He stood up in his black suit and walked past the waitress. She went back to his table to clear up his cup when she saw the twenty. Her mouth dropped as she turned around and saw the blonde-haired man walk out the door.

The snow was cold and he trudged along it like he was crushing leaves. She use to love those long walks in the snow and that was why he continued to do them. He felt like it made him closer to her. He missed her so much. Every time he closed his eyes, all he ever saw was her.

He looked around and stared at all the happy couples. They were holding hands or embracing each other in the snow. There were kisses being exchanged and laughter could be heard everywhere. Draco kept walking wishing he could go back to what he had.

"Malfoy?"

Draco turned around and saw a face he remembered very well. Hermione Granger stood there in front of him. Her long hair was down with bits of snow between each strand. She had a red and green scarf wrapped loosely around her neck in front of a black sweater. She had jeans on which were covered at the bottom by black boots. She had changed since the last time that he saw her.

"Granger." stated Draco alerting her that he remembered her. She nodded at him and walked through the snow towards her old enemy.

"I'm sorry if I bothered you, but you are the last person I ever expected to see here." she said looking down at her shoes.

"Why?" he asked, actually confused by her statement.

"Well come on. You're the pure-blood prince who ruled Hogwarts. Now you're in Muggle London?" He nodded at her understanding her confusion.

He sighed and said, "Yeah well I live here so…"

She looked up at him unsure if she had heard him right. Draco Malfoy lives in Muggle London? Now I have seen everything. "You?"

"Yeah."

"Wow. Well I'm sorry I bothered you." she said slightly at an angle preparing to turn away. She stopped when she heard him say, "You didn't." She looked back at him a little confused.

"What?" asked Draco taking in her lost expression.

"I'm just surprised you haven't said Mudblood or at least something harsh to me." Draco laughed out loud which Hermione found to be refreshing. She couldn't remember the last time she actually heard Draco Malfoy laugh. Maybe she never had.

"We graduated about nine years ago. I grew up Granger."

"Did that happen before or after the dark mark?" she asked in a harsh voice. He nodded his head not expecting anything less from Hermione. He knew perfectly well that Hermione would still hate him from his antics when he was younger. She didn't understand that he was a changed man and he wanted no affiliation with the brand on his wrist.

"After." he uttered in a low voice. He looked down, away from her stare, as she looked him up and down. He definitely didn't look the kid she had grown up with. She decided to soften her voice.

"So what do you do now if you don't mind me asking?"

He smiled at her. It had been so long since he'd spoken to really anyone and it would have been lie if he said that he expected that person to be Granger.

"I mean I figured you'd own all of Diagon Alley by now." she said with a smile.

Draco shook his head at her and said, "I don't do much magic anymore." Hermione's mouth dropped which Draco smiled at. "I never needed to. After everything that went down…" He frowned remembering his dark past. "I lived a muggle life. It's been nice."

"Are you sure you're Draco Malfoy?" she asked to which Draco nodded at her.

"Yeah. I'm sure I am Draco Malfoy."

She smiled at him. That's when he looked at her yet again. He noticed a cut across her hand and one on her forehead. He was a little confused why they were there. He also saw a bruise on her cheek that she seemed to have tried to hide with make-up. He didn't know what to think of it.

"Wow. Something really must have changed you." she said. Draco looked down.

"Or someone…" He looked away from her and she took notice.

"What's her name?"

"Look I've got to go. I've got a lot to do tomorrow for work so I really should be heading back home. It's pretty late anyways." He took a step back.

"But it's barely six o'clock." she pointed out.

"It was nice seeing you." he said with a genuine smile.

"You too."

He nodded and turned around. Hermione bit her lip as she watched the Slytherin Prince walk in the snow towards, what she assumed, was the direction of his home. She watched him head out of sight before turning towards her own destination.

Draco turned the key and opened the door of his house. He locked it and then threw his keys down. He took off his black jacket and hung it in the closet. He kept his clothes on the far left and never touched her clothes. They still had that sweet scent on them that he loved and he never wanted to be rid of that special memory.

He went up stairs to his bedroom which would have made some people dizzy. Half of the room was orderly with everything in its proper place while the other side had clothes and empty liquor bottles scattered all over. He undressed quickly and crawled into his bed after he tripped on one of the many bottles. He hit his pillow and closed his eyes wanting nothing more than to sleep. Her face was all he saw. He looked at her side of the bed; empty. He looked back up at the ceiling. He missed her and he turned off the light knowing that she wasn't coming back.

Draco woke up to the sound of wind hitting his window. It was frosted over with ice and he wiped his face. He got out of bed and went to the washroom not bothering to make it. He got into the shower and turned it on letting himself become lost for a few moments. The steam fogged up the window as the hot water hit his back warming him to the core. He leaned his forehead against the tiles as he let the water cascade down.

He shook his hair out once he got out spraying water all over the mirror. He wrapped a towel around himself as he went to his closet. He put on a black shirt and black pants which was his usual attire since bright colors had become a thing of the past for him. He went downstairs and skipped breakfast yet again. He hadn't had breakfast since she left. She always made the best breakfasts that it hurt him to eat one anymore. He went into the living room and made a fire heating up the room from the cold. He sat on his couch and stared at it. He had no decorations around the house and no tree was up. All he had was that fire.

"Good Morning Darling…" he whispered.

Her cat jumped on his lap and he rubbed his ears gently. That cat was all he had left of her. He remembered when they first got that cat. He hated it. He didn't want to get it knowing that it would be merely trouble and an annoyance, but she fell in love with the gray fur-ball. She pouted at him and he was unable to ever say no to her when she gave him that look. They brought that cat home and he grew to like Snowball as well.

The day was long and he did very little. He just stared at the burning fire knowing that the hardest day of the year was coming up for him. It was three years ago on Christmas day that he lost her. It was three years ago on Christmas day that he lost himself.

He put on a green jacket and went outside. He decided to walk through the park because that was what he did with her nearly every night. There were lights, but nobody was around. They were either at home or out shopping in the various stores preparing themselves for the Christmas holiday. He looked at all the snow on the walkway and took in a deep breath. That's when he saw it. He saw the bench that he proposed to her at. He walked over and sat down wanting the feel her body next to his, her head resting on his shoulder. He closed his eyes and thought of her.

"Draco Malfoy yet again."

Draco opened his eyes to see Hermione Granger standing in front of him with a smirk on her face. "Are you following me Granger?"

"Well you would probably be an interesting person to follow if you spend all of the November holiday working, but no." she said with sarcasm in her voice.

"Then you're here because?" he asked not really caring.

"Cause it's nearly Christmas and like you, I'm married to my work," she said noticing that he was looking away from her, "Mind if I sit down?"

He took in a short breath looking at her spot before muttering, "Sure."

She sat down next to him and smiled. She never expected Draco Malfoy to ever be this way. She could tell by merely sitting next to him that he had changed and she liked this new him.

"So was work intriguing?" she asked noticing that he was staring forward blankly.

"Today? Oh yeah, tons of fun." said Draco with sarcasm in his voice.

"You sound as though work is all you do, but don't want to."

He looked at her with a soft smile and asked, "You always have to be right don't you Granger?" She could not help, but giggle.

"Force of habit."

"Well then yeah, I guess you could say that."

"I would have thought you would have been off married to Pansy." He laughed whole heartedly like he had the night before only with a bit more amusement in his face.

"Yeah that didn't work out."

"Didn't you have an arranged marriage?"

"Yeah well let's just say I went against a lot of things that were set up by my family. Pansy bored me so much in school that I doubt I could have lasted being married to her."

"Well did you ever get married?"

He looked down at his finger and was quick to cover it with his other hand "So what do you do?" She was smart enough to know he didn't want to talk about it.

"I still do magic. Work for the ministry doing this and that. It's as though I'm not even there since I work so much."

"Wow. Congratulations." he said. Hermione couldn't help, but think he meant those words. There was a sincerity in his voice that she found incredibly appealing, almost friendly. Friendly was not a word affiliated with Hogwarts Draco Malfoy as she began to call him.

"Thank you. It took a lot of work, but I managed to get there."

"Well if you're here working a case on me, don't. I have nothing to do with the dark arts anymore."

"Even if I were working a case on you, I wouldn't be doing it on holiday."

"Then what are you doing here?" asked Draco looking at her. He noticed she still had that bruise on her cheek, which she had not covered up as well as she had the night before. She knew he saw so she quickly spoke turning her head slightly to block his view of her bruise.

"I love Muggle London. Growing up here did that to me and I like spending Christmas here." He nodded at her and she asked, "Why do you walk here? I mean two days in a row? Come on that can't just be coincidence."

"It's on my way home from work." he replied, his voice tight as though it were guarded.

"Yes, but you came in the other direction yesterday." she pointed out making him look at her funny. "Are you sure you're not stalking me Granger?" asked Draco.

"I just notice things. So?" She looked at him with those big brown eyes he remembered very well. They did not have a lot of interaction at Hogwarts, but what little they did, he always thought that her eyes stood out. He actually found them attractive then and he did now.

"I like walking here. It's nice to normally be by myself here." He noticed that she looked down somewhat sad. "Shut up. You're not offended." he said making her smile.

"Well are you having a big Christmas celebration this year?" she asked in a perky manner.

"No. It's just me so…" He broke of looking away from her.

"So you aren't married?" she asked. He looked down at his ring and then shook his head. She nodded at him and replied, "Me either."

"What about that guy…Weasel?"

"You mean Ron Weasley? No sparks between us. He was more interested in getting me to have sex than anything that I was. Not too appealing you know. Besides, I'm far too ambitious for that. The housewife thing wasn't for me."

"Only certain girls can do it." he breathed looking down at the silver band around his left ring finger.

Hermione- You sound as though you know.

"What was her name?"

"Don't do that. Don't ask that."

"You've been staring at that ring since you've been here."

"And maybe it's all I can do!" he barked instantly reminding Hermione of the boy she use to know. He stood up and she leaned back as his harsh tone came back to him, "I've seen you twice in two days and you have to press this matter don't you?! You know nothing about this!"

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not! You always have to know everything don't you?!"

"I didn't mean to upset you. I'm really sorry." She said as he was breathing heavily with her staring up at him. Her eyes were watery and the last thing that he needed was for emotional Granger getting upset. He looked away from her and steam was emitted from his mouth. He shook his head.

"Merry Christmas Granger."

"You too." she said sadly.

He turned around and walked back towards home. Hermione watched him disappear into the night as a tear slid down her bruised cheek. Why does he have the effect on me? He always managed to make me cry at school and now he is doing it all over again. However, this was the first time that he apparently didn't mean to do so.

He opened the door of house and locked it. He went back up to his room and undressed shoving after he had grabbed a bottle of scotch from his kitchen. He walked in his boxers to his bed taking a gulp of the liquid which burned his throat all the way down. He got under the covers and looked at her side of the bed yet again. He kissed his hand and planted the kiss on her pillow.

Draco took a few more swigs before putting the cap back on and setting the drink next to his night-stand. He turned out the light and closed his pale blue eyes, the same eyes that once mesmerized her. He expected to see her, but for some reason, he saw Hermione's sad face. He opened his eyes quickly and shook his head. Why the hell did I see Granger? He looked at the picture by his bed and saw his beautiful wife. He closed his eyes and saw her face as usual. He fell asleep to that sight.

A/N: Alright so this is the start of my second posted Fanfiction. I started writing this last year, but never really finished it. I have no idea where this story is going so I probably will not be updating it that way that I have updated Afraid To Close Her Eyes. I already have several chapters written, but so far my ending is sketchy so we'll see how it goes.

Just so you know, I did base it off of the song "Iris" by the band the Goo Goo Dolls. That happens to be one of my all time favorite songs by one of my all time favorite bands. The story is going to follow the lyrics plot wise in a general manner. If you don't know the song, I highly suggest it. It's amazing!

Iris is a work of fanfiction. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling, but the featured story is mine.