Breathtaking Moments in Fanfics
They walked in companionable silence until they reached the familiar destination of their weekday morning rendezvous. Draco brought them to a stop in front of the darkened windows, and his determined and solemn reflection stared back, even as his pulse quickened. Hermione unwound her arm from his and approached the windows to peer inside.
“Hmm, the bakery case looks empty. Guess you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
She turned toward him with a teasing smile, but Draco could only stare back at their reflections stoically, trapped both by her beauty and the fluttering anticipation of the impending act he’d rehearsed countless times inside his head. Part of him wanted to freeze the two of them here and now; encased in the simple comfort of her presence, forever watching her smile, a bright beacon against the dark backdrop of the night as the occasional sparkling snowflake dusted her hair and cheeks.
The soft, swirling snow trickled down around them in that singular way winter snow tended to deaden all earthly sounds in a thick blanket of silence. The natural stillness of a dark January night surrounded them in the sort of lush quietude that could convince you that nothing else existed but for that which lay in the immediate vicinity. The reflected couple cut a fine picture of magic, draped in full robes and cloaks they appeared ethereal; belonging to another world entirely, but always belonging together.
But moving past this moment was a necessity, even as the trepidation of his mind warred with the certainty of his heart. Just as Hermione’s brow furrowed in concern at his solemnity, Draco finally found his voice.
“This meaningless Muggle café saved my life on more than one occasion.” He stepped closer to the windows, fingers poised just an inch from the glass before falling back down to his side.
“When I needed a routine, a simple task to get me out of bed in the morning, I could come here. When I needed to just begin my day without the awful reminder of my horrible past written on the scowling faces of the public, I knew I could seek refuge here.”
Draco swallowed and turned to face her instead of the reflection.
"And when I needed something good in my life, in you came to steal my favorite table and disrupt my carefully crafted control.” His lips quirked briefly. “But I was so… numb. I thought that’s all life could be, that numbness would keep me alive and that would be enough. And didn’t you burst into my world to prove, and not for the last time, how very wrong I was.”
He gave a low chuckle. “I really should have seen you coming, but Merlin, I don’t even think Trelawney would have predicted you barreling your way into my life the way you did.”
Draco took her hand. “Because I’ve always seen you, Granger. Even when I was young and stupid you drew my eye.”
Hermione’s blazing eyes held his, and Draco could see she knew exactly where this disjointed monologue would go. Because of course she could, clever witch. This woman would always be several steps ahead of him, and Draco didn’t care so long as she allowed him to continue trailing after her.
Though Hermione had completely seen right through him, her natural intelligence was only outshined by her capacity for compassion. She’d let him say all the words he needed to say.
“Not only are you impossible to ignore, you are simply an impossible person,” Draco stated quietly, unable to speak louder even as part of him wanted to shout for the entire street, the entire world, to hear.
“You love me. Do you know how ridiculous, how improbable that is? No, love—” he shook his head and gave her a wry smile when he saw her mouth open furiously, a defense of him and their relationship on the tip of her tongue. “I’ve accepted it as fact, but you’ll have to indulge me when I say it’s improbable.”
Hermione squeezed his hand instead, a glossy sheen already forming over her eyes as he ploughed on. “You deserve more than I could ever give to you, but what little I do have to offer is yours and it is yours forever.”
Steady on, now. Keep breathing.
Draco sunk down on one knee in the snow before her, not caring that his trousers will come away cold and soaked. He’d wait down here forever if she wanted.
Hermione only took in the sight for a brief moment before she swiftly lowered herself down onto the wet pavement too. The look in her eyes was clear as day: we are equals in all things. Though Draco would happily prostrate himself before her, she would not accept any sort of elevation of her at the expense of him.
Draco pulled the small jewelry box from his breast pocket and propped it open to reveal the ring inside, and though the creak of the hinges echoed loudly around the empty street, Hermione only had eyes for him.
“If you’ll have me, there is nothing I desire more in this world than to call you my wife. Hermione Granger, will you marry me?”
A few tears tracked down her pink cheeks, but her smile stretched wide with unrestrained joy. She swept her gaze over his face, focusing in on different features in turn, as if she wanted to memorize the whole of him; a thrilling and flattering manifestation of her overly studious nature as Hermione took mental notes and categorized Draco as something important, something to be remembered and reflected upon later. It was an intense scrutiny done in love, and though she had yet to answer his life-altering question, Draco felt no reason to fear a rejection. Finally, she exhaled shakily but replied firmly.
“Yes, Draco. Yes, I’ll have you.”
He yanked her towards him so quickly he almost toppled them both backwards onto the icy pavement. Hermione responded eagerly to his enthusiastic kiss and Draco’s heart soared at the mind-boggling fact that he was kissing his fiancée.
His future wife.
Author: HeyJude19
Title: Remain Nameless
Rating: Explicit
Timeline: Post-Hogwarts
Chapters: 51
Words: 312,290
Paring: Draco x Hermione
Point of view: Dual POV
Summary: How did it feel? It felt like he was barely holding it together. She, of all people, should shun him. Or yell at him. Curse him. Spit at him. Take out her wand and blast him off the face of the earth. It was crushing guilt and relief and confusion all at once when he looked at Hermione Granger. The monotony of Draco’s daily routine had become both a lifeline and a noose. But this new habit of grabbing coffee with Hermione Granger is quickly becoming a reason to get out of bed and is unfortunately forcing him to re-evaluate his inconsequential existence. Hermione is living her life in fragments, separate pieces scattered about, and she can’t find a way to step back and let the full picture form. Why are morning meetings with Draco Malfoy the only thing that make sense anymore?
https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13566416/0
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How did it feel? It felt like he was barely holding it together. She, of all people, should shun him. Or yell at him. C...