Remain Nameless

Chapter 47

"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.