Better Ridiculous Than Boring (Drabbles)

Ten years of misery, and every single minute of it was entirely her own fault. Of course, she’d had to research that particular ancient witch, and of course, she’d dragged the only auror that was willing to follow her wherever she asked him to into that entirely unexplored cave. Of course, she’d taken the cube they’d found there back to her lab, even as it glowed ominously and sent red runes flying up into the air, dancing around her. The second that she’d realised it was a container, and a deteriorating one at that, she’d locked herself in said lab and warded the door. That bloody stubborn, bloody capable auror who had promised to follow her anywhere broke through them after four and a half hours of trying and had got down on his knees to beg her to reconsider, placing his hands on the glass that separated them, the glass that even his stubbornness couldn’t break. They’d find another way, he’d implored her, she didn’t have to sacrifice herself to whatever unknown darkness she’d unwittingly awoken. To Hermione, it had been rather obvious that it had to be her. She’d made the mistake, she’d been careless, and so she would face the consequences. 

“I’ve scanned it, taken the magic apart as much as I can. It doesn’t have the power to kill me. I don’t know exactly what’s going to happen but I need you to promise that you’ll just go.” She’d said, unable to have the decency to look him in the eye. 

“No.” He’d snapped immediately, thumping his fist against the glass. 

“You have people that need you, Malfoy. People rely on you, people that have no one else. If the choice is you or me, it has to be me. Nobody needs me, not really.” She’d replied, watching as the final edges of the box flaked away. 

“I need you. How can you not know that? How fucking dare you pretend to not know that.” He’d all but growled. “Hermione, I’m begging you. Get out of there.” 

“I can’t. Whatever it is needs a host. I won’t release it on an innocent stranger.” 

“Gods, why do you have to be like this?” He’d rested his head on the glass. “I’d sacrifice a thousand innocent strangers before I’d sacrifice you.” 

“I know. That’s why I locked the doors.” She’d smirked despite herself. Then her face dropped as she recognised the curse.

“Is that-“ Malfoy had started. 

“Curse of eternal separation.” She’d breathed out. “It’s badly formed. Whoever did it didn’t know what they were doing.” 

“How long?” He’d asked, resigned somewhat to the reality before him. 

“Ten years, max. As a guess.” She’d mused, looking at the inky black tendrils reaching out for her. She then, finally, had looked at Malfoy. “Don’t you dare wait for me.” 

Despite everything, he’d smiled. “Since when do I do anything you tell me to?” 

“You do everything I tell you to.” She’d shot back. “Don’t wait for me. Don’t sit and fester and do nothing with your life. I’ll never forgive you if you waste your potential, Draco.” 

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want with my life in the next ten years, thank you. One thing’s for sure, though. I will wait for you.” His eyes had felt like they’d drilled down into her soul with how intensely he’d looked at her. She’d huffed. 

“I hate you.” 

“What’s ten years compared to a whole lifetime?” He’d asked. 

“I want you to be happy.” She’d insisted as the tendrils wrapped around her, searching for her most deeply hidden secrets. 

“And I wanted you to leave your lab before it was too late, but here we are. Neither of us get the things we want.” He’d tossed back, somewhat flippantly. “You’ve just told me that I mean something to you, Hermione. I cannot begin to explain to you how long I’ve waited to hear you say that. Ten more years? Fucking child’s play.” 

“You cannot spend ten years alone, Malfoy.” 

“I won’t be alone. Our family will be there, waiting right along with me.” 

“You are a bastard.” 

“I’m your bastard, though.” 

The tendril plunged into her heart and she’d met his gaze again. “Be happy. Go after the things you want. Build something to show me when I come home.” 

“Now that, my love, I can promise.” He’d smiled. 

Then she, along with her tentacled passenger, had promptly disappeared. Disappeared to where? She didn’t know. She did, however, know one thing. It was decidedly wherever Draco Malfoy was not. 

And then, just like that, ten years had gone by. Ten years in some kind of shapeless void that always kept her as far away from Malfoy as possible. It was a uniquely cruel curse, as it constantly reminded her of him. It ensured that she felt those ten years, even if she wasn’t traditionally aware of them.

As such, she knew where she needed to go now her time was up. She didn’t know why, or how, but she wasn’t particularly concerned about any of that as she stood in front of the Granger-Malfoy Apothecary, 17 Diagon Alley.

The bell above the door dinged as she entered. She was still in the same clothes, she realised distantly as she looked around the well-stocked shelves. She had told Malfoy exactly once that she sometimes wondered about opening an apothecary one day. She felt a little foolish as she thought about the time they’d wasted. Not just the ten cursed years, either, but the years before that, where’d they’d been friends that worked hard to ignore the way they both wanted so much more than that. 

“Hello, love.” Draco smiled at her, leaning on the counter as if she was just back from popping to the shops. 

“What if I didn’t want to hyphenate?” She asked. 

He shrugged as he wandered around the counter, leaving no barriers between them any longer. “I wanted to, and about ten years ago now, a very lovely witch told me to go after the things I wanted.” 

“She also told you not to wait for her.” Hermione smiled. 

“And I told her that I don’t do everything she tells me to.” He looked at her, reaching for her hands. “You look exactly the same.” 

“You look…” She appraised him quickly. “Wider?” She frowned, and he huffed out a laugh. 

“What a compliment that is. How are men not breaking down your door for a piece of whatever the hell you are?” 

“I don’t think I have a door for them to hammer on. Unless you’re willing to share yours?” She tilted her head. 

“I’ll share the door, but I won’t share you.” He said immediately, and she smiled. 

“It’s a deal.” 

“Fuck, I missed you.” He leant his forehead against hers as she nodded. 

“I’m never going that far away from you again. I need you too much.” 

“Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.” He promised. 

“Wherever you are, that’s where I’ll be.” She repeated, before he wrapped his arms around her and crushed her in what may as well have been the only hug she’d ever been given. It was certainly the only one that had ever mattered.