in the rain

Time Signature

Disclaimer: I do not own any aspects of Harry Potter, and neither do I claim keeno's lyrics.

It was a dreary, raining day when Harry Potter, now twenty-two, opened the door of her home (Number 12, Grimmauld Place) to find an unexpected visitor. His handsome face under the umbrella was painted with shadows and tiredness; he asked her if they could start over again from the very beginning, now half a lifetime ago.

Draco Malfoy x female Harry Potter AU in which attraction to any girls never happened, and her only teenage romance was a few crushes. Based on keeno's album "in the rain." Mood best achieved if listened to while reading. The romance is slow.

Track one: dusk

The sky stained a shade of dusk, it connects and echoes…

Harry Potter glanced once more at the Daily Prophet innocently sitting on the table before taking a long sip of her tea from the cup that she had bought so long ago with her best friends, who were now happily married. Although the media had calmed down somewhat from what it had been five years ago when she had defeated Voldemort, it still enjoyed bursting her personal bubble.

A prime example of that was the article on this morning's Prophet, which had boldly declared that she was "one of the most eligible young ladies in Wizarding society at the moment." True, she might be – after all, she had saved the entire world from an impending crisis, not to mention that she was the sole heiress of the prestigious pureblood Potter line and also partially claiming the Black fortune, seeing she was the goddaughter of the eldest son (who had been disowned, but still), but she definitely did not need men pining after her at this moment. She was perfectly happy alone, working for the Ministry of Magic, which had erased most of its corruption now, as an Auror.

Still holding the cup, she walked over to the closest window and pulled the light green curtains aside to watch the gray skies pouring rain against the equally gray streets. When she had gained possession of Number 12, Grimmauld Place, she had remodleled it to be as neutral as possible, but in some places she still had kept the original furnishings. Two such places were Regulus Black's and her godfather's rooms, and she had also retained the hangings and things that she had somehow fallen in love with.

The curtains were one of them – they were the exact same shade of her mother's eyes.

The portrait of Madam Black, however, went away in an instant. (She had given it to Kreacher, who would no doubt have cried if she had thrown it away.) So did the other dangerous items. No 'Permanent' Sticking Charms or other things had stood up to the famed Elder Wand, which Harry had indeed found some use for, despite what she had initially said. It had also helped immensely to clear away any sort of evidence that Death Eaters had been in here.

The house was oddly quiet today, the young woman mused. Normally there would be some rustling or Kreacher cooking or another sound. That did not matter, she supposed, inhaling the scent of bergamot from her Earl Grey, which gave her a sense of equanimity. She continued to look outside, strangely mesmerized by the sight of the clear, beadlike droplets hitting the pavement and the occasional passerby's umbrella, when the doorbell rang loudly throughout the otherwise silent home.

The cup clattered against the saucer in her surprise, the clear brown liquid splashing against the sides. Then she put the cup down on the table next to the offending newspaper and walked to the door.

She had not noticed anyone who might remotely look like they had business with her. After all, they would most likely come back on a better day – not this brumous one, where the sky showed no hints of it being dusk, her favourite time of day…it was just so peaceful and let her escape from the hassles of life. Besides, Grimmauld Place had a Fidelius Charm on it, so it was not possible that the visitor was a "prospective suitor" or a salesperson…if he or she was, Harry would slam the door shut. …No, that day five years ago, Yaxley or whoever it was had accidentally seen the building. The Fidelius Charm was as good as useless.

She peered through the magically enchanted window on the door, but the only thing she could actually tell was that the man, probably, was wearing quite expensive clothes and shoes. Unfortunately, his umbrella prevented her from verifying his identity, and although she had had her fair share of those 'visitors' trying to kill, capture, or interview her, she would not perform magic. It went against her moral code.

Sighing, the woman grasped the doorknob and opened it – she was beginning to feel sorry for the man stuck in the rain.

"Yes…?" she began, before he raised his umbrella.

The first thing she noticed was the shadows on his tired face. And then she saw the mercury eyes that she could identify anywhere, although they were much duller than she remembered. And then she saw the platinum blond hair.

I closed my eyes, thinking that I wanted to tell this to you this moment.

I outstretched my hand, thinking that I simply wanted to touch you.

She still childishly wished to deny it, but there was no mistaking Draco Malfoy. But why was he here?

Quickly morphing her face back from that ridiculous, she knew, show of surprise into what she hoped was a neutral one, she asked him quietly, "What are you doing here?"

His eyes locked onto her for what seemed much too long, like thirty seconds of forever (she'd read that in a book she'd sneaked from Dudley's room – it wasn't like he'd ever read it, so it didn't matter, did it?). She could clearly hear the pattering of the rain on the pavement and the occasional car. Starting to feel uncomfortable, she toyed with the hem of her cardigan and let her eyes wander when he spoke.

"Potter, I…I'd like to…" he paused, lips thinning. When she continued to stare at him, he finished, "…apologize," with a grimace that she could tell he was trying to hide.

She raised an eyebrow at this. The circumstances were much too peculiar – it was raining. Draco Malfoy had come to meet her after – when was the last time she had actually talked to him? Not just pass by in the Ministry corridors, but actually talk to him? About three, four years, she supposed, because she couldn't really remember clearly. And then he had apologized. A part of her still could not believe what she had heard.

She couldn't recall any instance where he had apologized properly.

The man frowned. "Well? I take my time this rainy day to apologize, and you just ignore me in return? Seems like you've never learned your manners, Potter."

Ah, there was the Malfoy she knew. She failed to hide the quirk that upturned her lips.

Taking no notice of the irate expression on his face, she asked him, "But why today? Why not a better, sunny day instead?"

He seemed taken aback at this. Shock flitted across his face for one moment, and then disappeared as quickly as it had come. "No reason, really…I came close by."

"So you'd been thinking about apologizing for quite a long while? But why now? Everything you've said to me, done to me, I've let it go by now," Harry told him.

He did not answer. He seemed to be debating what to say.

"I…" he faltered. "I wanted to ask if…"

His eyes flitted from the entrance hall behind her to the door to the walls and to his umbrella before finally capturing hers again.

"Can we start over, Potter?"

Harry felt her mouth open in stupor.

She looked past him; saw the dusk gray streets of England, the sheets of rain, heard the drops hitting the ground, the sporadic sounds of cars and passerby.

Those were the exact same as before the doorbell had rung. So why did she feel the world spinning?

I can still hear ( ),

I can still hear ( )…

To be continued…

Written for the Album Challenge on the HPFC forum with keeno's "in the rain" feat. Hatsune Miku Dark Append.

Also for the Book Thief competition/challenge #20, "They'd been standing like that for thirty seconds of forever." And also for the fan fiction terms category competition, beta reader. And also for the het pairing boot camp #45, rain. And also for the Star challenge, "capella." And for the Interesting words challenge #12, brumous.

First multi-chapter Harry Potter story, and gender bending at that. I also do not pretend to know what adults are like; I am still a child, and prefer to always be so.

Constructive criticism is always welcome. This is my first time doing anything like this, so advice would be really helpful. Pointing out errors is also appreciated.

Until next time,

Time Signature