Curtains (The Outside Looking In Remix)
Remix of Curtains by Schuyler.
Nobody ever expected us to not end up together. We were always typical high school sweethearts, and if life was fair, we'd have been married straight out of Hogwarts. A big, posh wedding, and Harry'd have been my best man, and we'd have our first kid a year or so later. That's how it was supposed to be.
But life's not fair, and there was this war, see, and that's no time for romance, not to do it properly, to get it right, and she deserved the best. So I settled for just being her friend until the war'd be over and I could buy her a ring, an expensive one, with a big diamond, and then I'd go down on one knee and propose her the way it should be done. That's what she deserved, and I figured I could wait. I never thought she wouldn't.
When the war started, really started, I mean, when we were thrown into it--actually, that's not true. Harry was thrown into it, and she and I followed because he was our friend. But that's when we were paired off in teams, and of course I teamed up with Harry. He was my best friend, right? That's what best friends do, watch each other's backs, no matter how dangerous things get.
I never felt at all jealous when she teamed up with Malfoy. Never thought I had a reason to. I mean, the guy is a slimeball, a complete and utter jerk. Even Harry thinks so, and Harry always tries to see the best in people. So I was sure that Hermione, who was supposed to be the smart one, could see him for the knobhead he really was. Did I worry? Sure; I mean, she was out there fighting Death Eaters and Dementors and Merlin knows what. Course I was worried, just not about anything like that.
Never saw it coming. I suppose maybe I should've, but I still can't remember seeing anything that could've been a sign, not until it was too late. Oh, I saw the signs then, all right. They came back from a mission, had to be rescued from a cave somewhere up north, and she was blushing in a way that just wasn't her. And he had his hand on her arm, and kept it there for the whole time they were waiting to be debriefed, and I really should've just punched him right in his smug, ferret-like face. Slimy git.
Even then, I was too daft to realise I'd actually lost her. I still thought she'd be mine after the war, if I'd just wait for the right moment.
That was six years ago. I'm still waiting.