True Love
“I hate you”
“I Love you”
Hermione snorted while gesturing to her surroundings, “Does this look like love to you Draco?”.
Draco didn’t need to look around to know what the room looked like. Shattered porcelain, scorch marks on the wall, splintered wood. It looked the way it always looked after they fought, which these days, was pretty much all the time.
Sometimes I hate every single stupid word you say.
Sometimes I wanna slap you in your whole face.
Yes, they fought, and most days it turned ugly. But he loved it, just as much as he loved her, and she would never understand. Love was considered weakness in his family, and affection was nonexistent. So, to him, the passion that drove her to raise her voice and throw curses directly at his head, felt like declarations of love.
But I hate you, I really hate you,
So much, I think it must be true love.
At the same time, I wanna hug you,
I wanna wrap my hands around your neck.
And boy did she make him mad, she was bossy, loud, unfiltered, and uncouth. She was everything his family wasn’t, and while at times it made him want to wrap his hands around her neck, it had also insidiously caused him to fall unequivocally head over heels for her. He would follow her to the ends of the earth, and he would do his damnedest to get under her skin the entire way, because by God was she a sight to be seen when she was angry.
All hair and venom, she would say horrible things, always going straight for the jugular. And he would let her bait him, because he knew when the fighting was over; when she had said her fill and felt better whether she would admit it or not, he would get to pick her up and fuck her over the closest surface.
And the sex, oh lord the sex; when she was angry, there was nothing quite like it. She always liked it when he was rough with her, who knew the golden girl like to be held down and fucked into next week? But when she was mad, really mad, Hermione Granger liked to fight back. She would give just as hard as she was getting, and Draco was known to start a fight or two just to get her to that point. Both would shed blood before the night was over.
Draco Malfoy was going to marry this fucking woman, even if he had to drag her down the aisle kicking and screaming.
“I saw you touching her Draco, I saw you putting your hand on her shoulder, and you gave her that look!” Hermione screamed at him.
Her face was tinted pink with exertion, and her eyes were alive with that sparkle they got when she was met with a challenge.
“What look?”
“Don’t play dumb with me Malfoy, we both know you aren’t dumb”.
“Thank you.”
“You’re infuriating, you know that?”
“Only because you make sure to remind me every day love.”
“Your deflecting, you were flirting with her, and you know it” she spat at him, visibly bristling.
“I was” Draco responded with a ghost of a smile.
His smile dropped as he barely dodged the plate that came flying at his head. He gave her a warning look.
“So you admit it?”
“Yes! I was flirting with her! Everyone in our department flirts with her! Do you know why? No don’t answer that, you don’t know why. And you know why you don’t know? Because you never asked. You automatically jumped to the worst possible conclusion, just like you always do” Draco growled.
“What kind of conclusion am I supposed to jump to when I see you touching her shoulder and laughing with her?”
“Regardless of what it looked like, you should trust me enough to talk to me first. For your information, Ivy oversees the sealed files in my department, and she’s been known to let a file or two slip when someone strikes up a particularly stimulating conversation with her, which to somebody in my position, as you know, is sometimes the difference between me closing a case or losing a case”.
Hermione scoffed, “for someone in your position” she repeated in a mocking tone, “and no, I don’t trust you”.
God she was fucking beautiful. When she was mad her magic poured out of her in waves, her hair would take on a life of its own, and the air around her crackled. She was so full of life, and every day he spent with her, he felt like she was breathing more and more of that life into him.
Draco walked up to her and was ashamed to see her take a step back.
“You don’t trust me?” he repeated her own words back to her.
“No, you’ve never given me a reason to” she breathed.
“I’ve never given you a reason not to.”
“It’s not enough” she said with a sad nod of her head.
Draco stared into her honey eyes and knew there would never be a better time.
“So, marry me”.
Hermione laughed incredulously, “what?”.
“Marry me” he repeated with confidence.
She shot him a doubtful look, “but, all we do is fight, I’m pretty sure you hate me!”.
“I love you Hermione Granger” he said with conviction.
“Why?” she challenged.
“Why what?”
“Why do you love me?” she asked, and Draco didn’t miss the wobble of her bottom lip.
Was this it? Was this the reason she challenged him on everything? We she always refused to believe him? Because she didn’t think he truly loved her? Or was it because she didn’t think she was worthy of his love? Either way she was wrong, so so wrong.
He grasped her face in his hands and locked eyes with her, “I love you because you make me feel alive. There’s no one quite like you, you push all my buttons, but in the best way. I love the way you put your hair up when you’re taking a bath. I love the way you sing along to Queen when your cooking breakfast. I even love the way you talk with your mouth full, which mind you would have my father rolling over in his grave if he knew I tolerated such behavior. Your rude, and messy, and good god woman your aim with a plate is fucking impeccable, but you know what? I would spend a lifetime fighting with you, as long as it meant I get to call you mine”.
Hermione stared at him with astonishment. “Yes”
“Yes what?” he scoffed.
“Yes, I’ll marry you” she whispered.