Love Hurts - Sequel to Love Happens [A Draco/Hermione Love Story]

The Day After

HERMIONE'S POV

I woke up to the scent of pancakes. It was a nice way to wake up. I rolled around in the bed smiling slightly, thinking about how nice it was of Draco to make me breakfast. I stretched and felt my back crack. Slowly I opened my eyes and then reality hit me. I was not at Malfoy Manor in the bed I'd shared with Draco for months. I wasn't with Draco anymore. I had ended it when I left him at the altar with no other explanation than a sorry note.

I had asked Caleb to take me away. I needed to get away from Draco. The panic I felt was not because I was getting married, but because I was getting married to him. Each time I looked at him I felt a strange absence. Caleb didn't question me once, he just brought me back into my room, where I changed into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and then wrote the note for Draco. We were about ready to apparate when we heard a knocking on the door. It was cracked open and Draco spoke from the other side of the door.

I was crying by the end of the conversation, and I continued crying for a while after we left. We used side-along apparition and Caleb brought me to his apartment. I was surprised when he didn't immediately throw me out. I must have annoyed him immensely. But he just made tea for me, and sat quietly with me as I cried. Still not questioning me. At the end of the night he offered me his bed, saying he'd sleep on the couch in the living room instead.

I hadn't been hungry when I went to bed, but I felt and heard my stomach growl as soon as I smelled pancakes. I got out and put on my pair of jeans keeping on the huge t-shirt Caleb had leant me to sleep in.

Caleb stood in his kitchen, only wearing a pair of pyjama bottoms leaning over the kitchen counter reading the Daily Prophet. He didn't look up when I entered. I just sat down at the table he'd set up for me with tea, orange juice and pancakes and started eating. After a while Caleb sat down across from me, letting the paper fall down on the table.

"Did you know Rita Skeeter was at your wedding?" he asked, pushing the paper towards me.

"Oh no, what did that awful woman do this time?" I groaned looking at the page Caleb had opened on.

Granger dumps former death eater.

It had a picture of Draco standing very still with my note in his hands and his mother on one side and Ginny on the other. I felt teary-eyed again as I crumpled up the paper and threw it across the room.

"Did she absolutely have to say he was a death eater?" I shouted, "That horrid woman!" Caleb rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He didn't mind me getting angry, as long as it wasn't with him.

"Don't you want to know what she actually wrote?" he asked curiously.

"No. That woman can't tell the truth if it was to save her life." I sneered.

"Whatever, I just thought you might want to read it."

I shook my head silently as a response. Right then I did not even want to think about it. The longer my thoughts lingered on the prior day and on Draco, the sadder I seemed to get.

"Hermione, you do realise I don't expect you to be all happy and ready to take on new challenges right? You need to mourn and get through this in your own time. I really don't care if that means you crying for a week straight. I told you yesterday I'd do anything to help you and I meant it. If you need anything tell me." Caleb babbled, making me smile slightly.

"I just need you to keep my mind off of everything Draco-related okay? I just need to think of anything else. Can you do that?"

He stood up again to get some more coffee. "Yeah, that shouldn't be to difficult." He said with his back still turned to me. "So..." he sat down again, "what are we going to do about your, uhm, clothing situation?"