Chapter Three

He recalled having been under the rain when she tugged at his sleeve, closed her eyes, held her breath and finally screamed out that she loved him. Her unkempt bangs were plastered onto her forehead and she was drenched from head to toe; despite all the cold and drenched feelings, she laughed afterwards, no longer awaiting for his response, for all that mattered to her was that she told him… telling him was freedom for her. He remembered her laughing, shouting that she didn't care if he didn't feel the same way; all that was important for her was that he finally knew.

She had begun to skip all the way back to the castle, when he pulled her back to him, embracing her from behind. She gave an audible gasp, and his hold on her grew tighter. He rested his chin on her shoulder, and she placed her hand onto his, grasping it tightly. They stood still and silent for quite a time, under the beautiful gray sky and rain… He knew that was enough for her to know how he felt.

That memory was why he had grown to love rain.

The rain was his to enjoy, just as she was his to love.

"It's raining awfully hard." The girl beside him remarked, and she glanced at him, smiling.

Draco smiled back slightly and turned back to look out of the window. Rain was pounding against the glass, and the sky was a dark gray. He pulled back and turned to look at the girl. She was nothing at all like her. The girl who stood by him had short black hair and suspenseful blue eyes, looking beautifully pale in the darkness which enveloped the empty hallway.

Without warning he took her hand in his and began to walk down the hall.

"Where are we going?" Pansy Parkinson asked as he pulled her about the corner.

Draco looked back and gave her a cheeky grin. "You'll see."

And there they were before they knew it, under the blessed rain. He let go of her hand, running about the damp grounds and spreading his arms wide as if to welcome the rain falling heavily down upon them.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Draco?" Pansy screamed. "You know we'll get sick under this damn weather!"

"It feels good, doesn't it, Pansy?" he shouted back, chuckling to himself as he closed his eyes and faced upwards towards the heavens. "Don't you like it?"

"I absolutely do not!"

He laughed, and craned his head to look at her. There she stood, a few meters away from him, her robes soaked wet, her usually perfected hair drenched because of the rain. As he gazed at her, his brief joy ebbed away, and the familiar longing for another had resurfaced once again. No faint glimmer of childish delight was there in Pansy's intense blue eyes, no blush marred her fair cheeks, no gentle smile crossed her burgundy lips.

The grin that had once emerged from his face vanished, and was replaced then by a heartbroken scowl. He watched as Pansy turned her back on him, trying to wring the water from her black robes. He gazed at her as she motioned to go back inside the dry castle…

And before he knew what had come over him, he had run to her and enveloped her in his arms, embracing her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder and whispering to her to just keep silent for a while.

Pansy nodded, and brought her hand to his, grasping it gently.

There they stood for a few minutes, in each other's arms, under the darkness and the rain. In that little time, he had realized such a thing. He slowly opened his eyes and whispered inaudibly, I can't ever replace you, can I, Hermione?

"Library?"

Hermione glanced at Ron and went back to packing her books inside her bag. "Yes, I just need to check out a reference book to complete my Ancient Runes homework," she replied offhandedly, slinging her bag on her shoulder. "Why, would you like to accompany me, Ronald?"

Ron waved his hand absentmindedly without looking up from his Divination homework. "No, no, you go ahead, love."

Hermione smiled. "How about you, Harry?"

The raven-haired boy shook his head in reply. "Nah, will be needing to finish Charms after this, sorry."

"Alright then, see you later," she answered. A pleased smile played on her lips; it wasn't as if she didn't want her friends' company – it was just that, she needed time alone for now. Besides finishing her schoolwork as she initially planned to do, she wanted to think things over. Forget some things – or rather, someone – and begin another chapter of her life.

Hermione steadily raced to the library, taking the back end of the castle, which was normally lacking in humans and ghosts alike. More windows and more passageways were present in this side of Hogwarts, where the outside scenery could flaunt its beauty to the inhabitant of the castle. Today's view, Hermione noted, was almost synonymous to sadness, what with all the colors gone but gray and rain cascading incessantly from the skies. Still, she thought, stopping in her tracks in front of a huge window, it's as breathtaking as it usually is on a sunny day.

She looked down below and took in all the mundane magnificence Nature had to offer her today. The sound of rain was usually calming in its effects on her, and for a moment, she believed that she could hear nothing but its monotonous tone – the plops and splashes, the plips and the splatters.

Hermione smiled, and looked about. Trees everywhere were evidently soaked and everything outside seemed to be refreshed because of the rainfall. Utterly lovely, she thought approvingly. Nothing out of place, everything all right.

But somehow, there was a figure outside which had caught her attention. Before resuming her trip to the library, she turned back and observed it keenly.

Tall, lean, and with… blonde hair.

Standing outside in the rain was…

Hermione dropped her belongings, her hands coming over her mouth in shock. Without a second thought, she sped down and reached the exit.

And sure enough, he was there outside, his head hung low, drenched from head to foot.

"Draco Malfoy, come back into the castle right this minute!" she screamed, stomping her foot in anxiety.

The boy looked up at her, his expression bewildered. From this far a distance, Hermione could still see the perfect gray of his eyes, and how they were so alive a color in comparison with the grayness which shrouded their surroundings. Not a moment too soon, his answer came in a shout.

"I believe this is none of your business, Granger!"

His stubbornness and snide remarks never failed to frustrate her. "Why in Merlin's sake, are you there, Malfoy?"

He turned away and looked heavenwards. He closed his eyes calmly and scowled. "I was trying to remember something. Or rather, I was trying to relive that something." There came a pause, wherein Hermione could no longer hear anything but the rain and could no longer see anything or anyone but the boy who seemed rooted on the damp grounds of Hogwarts.

She watched him as he stood still, the rain running down his face, and his expression nonchalant of the present conditions. Then slowly… cautiously, she stepped out of her dry shelter and into the rain. A surge of… something ran through her as she neared Draco step by step. Her heart beat painfully in her chest, but she kept her head high and her steps unfaltering.

He continued on further on his reply. "I distinctly remember a rainy day like this, when someone of importance came and told me the most important words I've ever heard…

"As much as I used to hate rain, I loved it like anything when that day passed. I held that someone under the rain and because of that, I thought that rain was undoubtedly warm and cozy, unlike what other people think of it.

"But I think I've lost that someone and together with her, I lost that warmth… and now I think that the others were right; rain is cold and harsh."

He glanced at her.

"I brought Pansy with me out here today, and thought it possible that she could give back that warmth when I held her. But do you know what, Granger?" He laughed heartlessly and ran a hand through his damp hair. "I'm pretty sure I still feel cold."

Hermione watched as he turned around to face her. The sky was darkening second by second; the air was getting chillier.

The rain began to fall harder. Neither, however, seemed to care, for they just stood motionless, gazing at each other in silence. Gray eyes bore into mahogany eyes, exchanging unspoken emotions neither could dare to bring up.

And finally, he was the one who broke the uneasy stillness. Without a word he brushed past her, heading back towards the comforts of the castle ahead.

Hermione watched his retreating figure helplessly, unable to scream the words which she longed to tell him. She yearned to say how much she loved him…

And before she knew it, he had run to him in desperation, locking him in an embrace just as he once did to her. They were still under the peril of rain, yet neither cared…

There was no need for an exchange of words, no need for loving looks.

All that it took was that one embrace…