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Heavy Rain

Summary: 'He opened the door, the heavy rain already drenching the hallway. And there she stood, the rain having soaked her through. He thought she had never looked more beautiful. And he knew she could not be here for him.'

One-shot, written for Harry Potter Made My Life Magical's Weekly Writing Challenge. Week 1 prompt: the female character must propose to the male character and these words must be included in the proposal - "but I don't care, I just want to marry you."

Main Characters: Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger.

Rating: K+

Warnings: None.

Genre: Romance. Angst. Drama. One-Shot

- Heavy Rain -

He opened the door, the heavy rain already drenching the hallway. And there she stood, the rain having soaked her through.

He thought she had never looked more beautiful.

And he knew she could not be here for him.

'What do you want, Granger?' He bit out around the pain already easing its way across his heart. 'What could you possibly be here for?'

Surprise flickered through her dark eyes, but her jaw firmly set in a grimace of determination announced that she was far too resolute to let this slip away from her.

She glanced down, clearly needing a pause, but Draco had no time for polite mannerisms. Every moment she was standing in front of him inched open the whole where his heart lay wider and wider.

She knew she held it, his heart, in the palm of her hand. She surely knew she had crushed it under her heel that night at the Ministry Ball. So why was she here? To taunt him? To mock his vulnerability?

'Krup got your tongue, Granger? Spit it out. I have better things to do with my time than stand on my doorstep for mudbloods in the rain.'

She visibly bristled at his old words.

'Fine, Malfoy.' She stressed, 'I came here for you but I'm clearly not wanted.'

You are, he wanted to scream at her, And you always will be.

But he knew his words could only fall flat on the ground, limp between the two of them, unwanted and unwelcome.

He settled for a mere shrug, an easy way to hide his pain.

'Well,' She spat, her chin lifting stubbornly into the air. ''Goodbye.'

She turned and stomped off, heading back into the rain, the way she came.

'I always knew you were a coward.' He shouted out into the stormy night after her, knowing full well she would hear him.

He saw her outline stop abruptly.

'At least I can admit what I am.' He continued, unable to stop himself.

She turned her head to the side; he couldn't quite see her face, but he knew she must have been livid. He hated that he knew her inside-out, that he could read her without seeing her face or hearing her voice.

'At least I can hold my hands up and agree with the world that I'm a coward. But you? You'd much rather everyone went on thinking how noble you are, without realising that you're just as fearful and weak as the rest of us low-lifes.'

He watched her shoulders stiffen, her fingers clenching into fists against her hips.

'Couldn't hold that golden halo after all. I guess Weasley will be happy to share his with you. For a price, of course, I'm sure.' He raised his eyebrows suggestively, uncaring that she couldn't see him.

She was inches from him before he'd realised she'd moved.

'How dare you?' She whispered. He could see the torment in her eyes, happy that she was capable of feeling the same pain as himself.

'How could you think that of me? After everything we've been through, everything we've talked about... We planned a future, Draco, together. Does that mean nothing to you?'

He turned away, unable to meet her steady gaze for fear of collapsing the walls he'd painstakingly rebuilt around himself.

'You made your feelings perfectly clear that night.'

She shook her head, confused. 'The night of the Ministry Ball? The day after I'd had yet another threat against my life for "cavorting with a Pureblood"? You knew I couldn't publicly admit my true feelings. It would have been dangerous for the both of us.'

'But I lov-' He began, 'I cared for you, Hermione. I would have protected.'

'You couldn't, we both know that.' She stepped forwards, towards him. 'That doesn't mean to say that I don't love you too.'

His gaze locked on hers.

'But for all that... All that criticism, that hatred. The anger from everyone around us. The resentment and the pain.'

'I understand perfectly well, Granger. We could never have been. You care too much of what other people think.' He looked down, folding his arms tightly across his body.

She stepped towards him, pressing her palm against his cheek in a gentle caress. She tilted his head down to face her own. 'But I don't care, I just want to marry you.'

He could barely contain his emotions. A drop of water slid down his cheek, whether rain or tear neither could tell.

'Draco, I want to be your wife. I want that future for us. I want to be with you, always.' She pressed her forehead against his.

'It's your decision. I will understand...' She trailed off, unable to form the words.

He responded simply by pressing his lips against her own.

A/N: Hello again everyone! It's nice to be publishing back on the site again, and thank you for the wonderful reception this story has received in the first few hours of being online.

I have written this piece as part of a Weekly Writing Contest on facebook fan page Harry Potter Made My Life Magical. It's currently up for voting until this Sunday (26.08.12), so if you happen to be over that way at all please, take the time to vote for my story! It's one amongst several, titled by a key word rather than the title I've given the piece, but I'm sure you'll be able to spot it once you've read it.

If you'd like to vote, all you need to do is comment with the key word given for my story to be in with a chance of winning!

Thanks very much everyone, and as always please feel free to review and check out my other stories!

SimpsonSortia