Can't Stand Losing You.

The End.

Chapter One – The End:

"Hermione, please."

As painful as it was, Hermione never once looked back at him as she strode away along the platform. Try as she might to restrain herself from crying, she could already feel the tears stinging her eyes. Her face felt hot and her clothes clung uncomfortably to her peaches-and-cream skin – frustrated, hideously so, she unbuttoned the periwinkle blue cardigan she wore, scrunched it up into the smallest ball she could manage and stuffed it inside the Hogwarts trunk she pulled along behind her. After slamming the lid back down, she began fumbling with the clasp, trying to lock the case once more, but it appeared that, in her haste to open it, she had torn half of it clean off. Huffing angrily, she pulled her wand out of the pocket of her jeans and pointed it at the case. She opened her mouth to mutter the necessary incantation but, remembering that their fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry had now officially ended, stopped herself – she didn't want a warning from the Ministry regarding her use of magic away from school adding to her growing list of problems. Instead, feeling extremely helpless, she sat down on top of her case, her head in her hands, and gave herself over to the storm that was raging in her eyes.

She heard footsteps rapidly approaching – she knew who it was, the only person it could be right now, without even looking up. He knelt down beside her; she turned her face away, not wanting him to see the tears flowing down her cheeks, not wanting to reveal quite how much he had hurt her.

"You know I never wanted it to happen like this," he murmured, pulling a hand through his silver-blonde hair and craning his neck in an attempt to see her face. "Hermione..." He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder.

"No," she said flatly through her tears, shrugging off his hand.

"Please, please don't hate me. What I said was for the best. You know what I think. I'm..." He sucked in a sharp, shallow breath, as though he too was fighting back tears. "I'm not good for you."

Hermione wiped her eyes roughly on her sleeve and finally turned to face him.

"Draco Malfoy." She dragged his name out slowly, her chocolate brown eyes boring into his own stormy grey. "When I have I ever agreed with the fact that 'you're not good for me'?" She made quotation marks in the air with her fingers. "When have I ever cared? At which point, during our entire year-and-a-half-long relationship did I insinuate that I didn't think you were good for me?"

"You didn't need to," he retorted, looking down at the ground. "It's obvious."

A raucous giggle sounded from somewhere over Draco's head. Hermione glanced up – Pansy Parkinson, a vile Slytherin girl with a ghastly personality and a face to match, had laughed in her usual attention-seeking manner, and was now whispering to her friend Astoria Greengrass. Astoria was slight and willowy with dark brunette hair and a constant sarcastic smirk on her face. While Pansy muttered away in her friend's ear, Astoria stared pointedly at the scene going on between Draco and Hermione. Hermione's brow furrowed as she glared up at Astoria. Draco turned in her direction, presumably to see what she was looking at and, from where she was sitting, Hermione was sure she saw him gesture and shake his head cautiously at the pair. Pansy giggled again, while Astoria winked at Draco. She looked him over for a few moments, before turning back to Pansy and continuing their conversation. Hermione's eyes narrowed as she gasped in realization.

"Astoria Greengrass?" Draco flicked his head back around to face Hermione and gaped at her. "Well?" Hermione demanded. "For your sake, I hope that wasn't what it looked like."

The Slytherin girls standing nearby seemed to have noticed Hermione's outburst – all of them, excluding Pansy who smiled mockingly, were now glaring at Hermione. For an endless moment, Draco did nothing but stare at her, his expression partly embarrassed, partly excruciatingly apologetic. His pale cheeks flushed. A loud screech of metal on metal suddenly pierced the air and Draco and Hermione looked up to see the scarlet profile of the Hogwarts Express rolling to a gradual halt on the platform, ready to take the students back to London for the summer holidays. Despite the warm, sultry afternoon, the air suddenly felt cold against Hermione's skin. Her jaw clenched and she stood up.

"Well, Draco. I think you've made your point quite clear," she told him icily, reaching down to pick up her trunk.

"Hermione, you've got to hear me out," he pleaded, walking around her, forcing her to look at him.

"I really don't think so," she heard herself say, feeling tears welling up in her eyes once more. "I think you're right. Maybe it is time we stopped seeing other. You've obviously given up on me. I guess that's just proof that I need to give up on you."

She turned around as the sliding train doors magically all opened in perfect synchronisation. Feeling his eyes on her back, she began climbing the steps, wheeling her trunk behind her.

"Hermione, please." She turned. Draco was stood one step down from her, his skin brushing against hers. He stared imploringly into her eyes. "Let me sit with you, let me explain..."

"I don't think that will be appropriate," she told him, a single tear escaping. She moved ahead down the aisle, into the first carriage she came to. "Please don't follow me," she said flatly, not even looking around at him. "You said it yourself – it's over. Goodbye, Draco."

And with that, she locked herself in a compartment, quite alone, and lay down on the bench, curling in on herself in attempt to mask the pain that felt like something had been ripped out from inside her. Her heart was breaking – the feeling was almost tangible. She groaned, tears now streaming uncontrollably down her cheeks. She didn't care anymore. She rolled off the bench onto the floor and leant against the wall of the compartment, hugging her knees. She tried to wonder where her friends Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville were, she tried to wonder how long it would be until the Hogwarts Express would be departing... but she couldn't seem to make her brain work properly. For once in her life, Hermione Granger, the cleverest witch of her age, couldn't force her mind to come up with answers. All she could think about was that her first crush, her first kiss, her first and only true love didn't want her anymore.

It was going to be a long journey, a long night and an unbearably long summer.

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