I'll Be There For You *Love Song Challenge Post*

Title: I'll Be There For You
By: Mrs_Helene_Snape
Warnings: Angst, Lang, M/F, DM/HG

Disclaimers: The characters belong to JKR and the song is property of Jon Bon Jovi and Ritchie Sambora. I am making no money from this story. No copyright infringement is intended.

Song: I'll Be There For You
By: Bon Jovi
Year: 1988

A/N: This is NOT the theme song for the tv show Friends. I can't tell you how many times I have run across that misconception at the title of the song. Regardless, I hope you enjoy and please review.

Premise: Draco reflects on his relationship with Hermione and how it all went wrong.
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I guess this time you're really leaving
I heard your suitcase say goodbye
“I can't be with you anymore Draco” Hermione told me tersely as she approached me after closing her bulging trunk.

I placed my hand on her trunk, as if to impede her process. “This can't be goodbye Hermione. Please tell me why.”

And as my broken heart lies bleeding
You say true love it's suicide
I honestly didn't want to hear her reasoning. I knew it was my fault. I could see the end coming towards us like a runaway train and I was powerless to stop it. The beginning of the end was when I told her that I loved her and she didn't immediately return the sentiment. She had told me hundreds of times prior to my declaration that she was falling in love with me, but at the time I was unable to say the same. Damn it! I just wasn't sure if I was ready to admit that I loved her. The Slytherin in me wouldn't let me. It was screaming at me to hold out, to see if there was something more to be had...now I have fucked things up beyond all recognition.

Her admission that she was leaving me, our flat, and the life we shared devastated me. At the time, I was in complete and total shock. Now, as I remember how it all went down, I am kicking myself in the arse for taking her feelings for granted.

“Was this all a mistake Draco?”

I shrugged my shoulders and replied “I don't know.” All I did know was, at that very moment, I wanted to die.

You say you're cried a thousand rivers
And now you're swimming for the shore
“You're emotionally closed off to me Draco. I can't begin to tell you how much that hurts me” she said as her voice started to crack and hesitate. “ I have tried to help you move past the horrors of the war. I've even attempted to comfort you when you lost your mother. I've lost both of my parents, so I can empathize with your agony. But now that your father has given you the ultimatum of being the Malfoy heir or disowning you, I know that our relationship is over. I can't compete with your father and I won't let myself cry anymore over a decision in which you had no control. I need to leave so you can live the life your father wants for you.”

You left me drowning in my tears
And you won't save me anymore
The tears started flowing steadily down her face as my eyes filled with their own wet misery. “I'm not doing this to hurt you Draco. Honestly I'm not. I'm merely trying to do what's best for the both of us in the long run. I can only hope that you won't hate me for this.” She kissed me gently on the lips, took her trunk and apparated out of our flat.

Now I'm praying to God you'll give me one more chance, girl
“I'm sorry Hermione!” I yelled at her vacated space. “Please give me another chance to prove it to you” I pleaded. I fell to my knees in agony over the situation I currently found myself in. As I am quietly crying over the place Hermione had just disappeared from, I reflected on the inadvertent oath I made to Hermione on the night I asked her to move in with me.

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for you
I should have know better than to say the word swear when my speech was emotionally charged. I said those five little words prior to saying swear to you. The oath magic swirled about us and sealed the deal. Now I am well and truly fucked! A vow broken that was originated during an emotional moment has a way of literally breaking your heart instead of outright killing you. As I remembered my unintentional vow, I could feel the dull ache begin to resound in my chest.

I know you know we've had some good times
Now they have their own hiding place
In the beginning of our cohabitation, things were great. We would go out. I even let her drag me to the muggle cinema. We would also cook together on the weekends, as we were much too busy during the week with my University courses and her Potions apprenticeship. Eventually, we would go so far as sharing a bed. That was a stipulation of hers prior to moving in with me: separate bedrooms until we both felt sleeping together was right.

But all of that was overshadowed when my father demanded that I take my position as the Malfoy heir.

I can promise you tomorrow
Before she ever moved in, whilst we were beginning to date, I told her that I wanted things between us to be different than they were when we were at Hogwarts. “I want to move past the” I shuddered as I thought of the vulgar word “Mudblood-Ferret dynamic. I want to know the real Hermione Granger. Not the know-it-all of the Golden Trio. Will you allow me that?”

“Only if you allow me to know the man behind the ferret” she said coyly.

I raised an eyebrow at her statement. “I thought we were going to move past ferret-boy?”

“But you were such a cute ferret” she said in jest as laughter began spilling from her lips.

“And you are such a beautiful know-it-all, but that is beside the point. I want to start fresh with you.”

And that was how our relationship tentatively began.

But I can't buy back yesterday
I never outright apologized for what I said/did to her at Hogwarts, just as she never hinted at regretting punching me in Third Year. We just left all of that in the past.

And Baby you know my hands are dirty
(I want you to know my hands are dirty)
We also never spoke about Voldemort or anything surrounding the war. When she was brought to the Manor during her capture in Seventh Year, she seemed to realize that my involvement in the Dark Side was not by choice. She somehow knew it was either go along with the Dark Lord's bidding or face certain death. So we never spoke of our deeds during the war. We both did what we had to do to survive.

But I wanted to be your valentine
I first became attracted to her during the Yule Ball of Fourth Year. It was wrong, so very wrong, for me to even notice her. If father had found out, I would have been dead before the Yule hols were over. I was subconsciously desiring the forbidden fruit. She looked positively stunning in her periwinkle blue robes.

After the ball was over, I dreamed for weeks on end that I took Hermione instead of that slag Parkinson. After the war and the Dark Lord's defeat, I was finally free to do more that just covet Hermione from afar.

I'll be the water when you get thirsty, baby
We had been seeing each other for about a month when Hermione finally invited me into her flat for some post-date conversation.

After she made us tea, we settled ourselves on the sofa. I could tell that she was nervous about something. As she held her cup and saucer her hands shook ever so slightly, rattling the porcelain wares.

I took her cup, set it on the coffee table, and held her hands stroking and soothing them. “What's wrong Hermione?” I asked as I gazed at her beautiful face.

“I am nervous because I want more than just a goodnight kiss, but I'm not ready to go too far beyond that. I'm afraid of how you'll respond to my advances, such as they are.” She shifted her gaze away from me as her face flushed slightly.

I pulled her closer to me and whispered “You only need to be afraid of my responses being over enthusiastic. We'll only go as far as you feel comfortable, alright?” She nodded in agreement and I pressed my lips to her, thus beginning our foray into a hot snogging session. I never wanted it to end. I had never felt such willingness and passion from a witch. I felt that I could have kissed Hermione forever, if she would have only let me, but alas we had to curtail the evening's activities before we both did something we weren't ready for.

When you get drunk, I'll be the wine
I never expected Hermione to make the first move to let me know she was ready to make love.

I came home from my half day of classes at University to find her spread all wanton and scantily clad across my bed. When I walked into the bedroom, I dropped my bag on the floor. She looked at me with hooded eyes when I asked her “Are you certain?”

“More certain about this than I have been about anything before in my life.” She crawled to the edge of the bed nearest to me, grabbed me by my tie and pulled me close to kiss me deeply.

I knew it was her first time, that she had never been intimate with anyone before me. That is what made her all the more perfect in my eyes. I had wanted and waited for her for so long, and now she was going to give herself to me completely without distraction or hesitation. I was both honored and astonished. I didn't want to just fuck her senseless, although some primal part of me had no qualms with that suggestion. I wanted this to be special for her. I wanted to make love to Hermione Granger.

At that very moment I decided that if I was to be her first, I wanted to be her last...her only. No other wizard would touch her after me because we were moving so far beyond the point of no return. I told her in no uncertain terms “Once we do this, you are my witch. I cannot and will not share you with anyone.” I looked deep into her eyes, trying to bore my way into her soul to uncover her feelings and intentions.

“Only if I can expect the same of you. I was raised an only child, so I never had to learn how to share” she told me as she began to unbutton my robes.

“I am yours for as long as you will have me” I told her before I kissed her again, effectively ending any continuing conversation.

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for you
As I recalled those precious few months I had with Hermione, the dull ache in my heart became more intense. I honestly felt as if I were dying. These feelings spurred me into remembering the downfall of our relationship.

And I wasn't there when you were happy
(I wasn't there to make you happy)
My father began sending me on business trips when he saw a picture in the Daily Prophet of Hermione and I exiting a restaurant together.

I couldn't be with her when she accepted her Potions Mastery Certificate because of problems Malfoy Enterprises was having overseas. I was so bogged down with work, I didn't have a spare moment to send her a congratulatory bouquet of roses. I was in such a remote part of South America that owl service was dodgy at best. I made up for my neglect of her immediately upon my return.

I wasn't there when you were down, were down
I was once again sent out of the country in a remarkable stroke of coincidence during Hermione's disappointment in the Ministry's Potions lab when her attempts at improving the Wolfsbane Potion repeatedly failed. While I was away, she sent me almost daily owls about her troubles with the potion and some of her subordinates. Many of the lab techs resented such a young Muggleborn being appointed as the head of the department. They were so displeased that they resorted to sabotaging Hermione's trials. These interferences resulted in an explosion of monumental proportions, forcing the department to evacuate while leaving Hermione to fend for herself. She slipped into a mild depression while the Ministry's labs were being repaired. She couldn't believe that her co-workers would be so unfeeling as to leave her to fend for herself in the middle of the chaos.

I didn't mean to miss your birthday, baby
The final straw in my father's interference was when he sent me to Paris for two weeks the day before Hermione's 21st birthday. “If I could get out of this, I would. You know that Hermione. I have to go oversee the final phases of the Paris acquisition.” I looked at her, stroking her face as I said “I don't want to miss your birthday. Please believe that.” I kissed her before I shrank my bags.

“I'll see you in two weeks. I promise. I love you Hermione.” That was the first time that I had said those words to her. I expected some sort of reiteration on her part, but I was only met with stunned silence. I gave her a quick nod and apparated to the Ministry to catch my international portkey.

I wish I'd seen you blow those candles out
I resented my father more and more with each day that extended beyond the original two week deadline. It was approaching the third week when I was finally able to finish the deal and portkey back home.

It was when I arrived after my three week absence that I found Hermione packing her things.

After she left, I allowed the words of my vow to truly sink in.

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for
The pain in my heart was becoming excruciating. I had no choice but to go to her and try to fix things between us. I was dying of a broken heart.

I knew that Potter had extended Hermione an open invitation to stay with him and Weaslette so I apparated to Grimmauld Place.

When Potter let me in, he showed me to the library where Hermione was quietly crying in a chair by the fire. “If you ever hurt her like this again, I will kill you. I just want to make that clear. Understand?” he warned.

“Understood Potter” I said before he turned to exit the room. I approached her chair, knelt down before her, and rested my head on her lap as I spoke the vow again.

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
As the oath magic swirled around us Hermione look at me sharply and asked “What the hell have you just done?”

I didn't respond directly to her query. I merely continued my pledge to her.

When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
“I never want to be without you again” I said quietly before I spoke the rest of my original oath to her.

I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
“I will do anything you ask of me Hermione. Please give me another chance to prove myself to you” I begged before I concluded with the final words of my vow.

Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for you
“What do you want from me Draco?” Hermione asked as she sobbed quietly.

“I want us to be together. My father can bugger himself if he doesn't like it. I don't care if her disinherits me. I'd be better off penniless if he doesn't truly care about my happiness. I am miserable without you Hermione. PLEASE!” I pleaded as I looked into her eyes.

“Please what?” she whispered as I noticed a look of apprehension and fear in her eyes.

“Please come back home. I want you to be with me for always. I promise I won't let you down again. You already have my vow.”

“But do I have your heart?”

“If only you'll take it as it is...broken shards and all.”

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I'll Be There For You by Bon Jovi

I guess this time you're really leaving
I heard your suitcase say goodbye
And as my broken heart lies bleeding
You say true love it's suicide

You say you're cried a thousand rivers
And now you're swimming for the shore
You left me drowning in my tears
And you won't save me anymore

Now I'm praying to God you'll give me one more chance, girl

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for you

I know you know we've had some good times
Now they have their own hiding place
I can promise you tomorrow
But I can't buy back yesterday

And Baby you know my hands are dirty
(I want you to know my hands are dirty)
But I wanted to be your valentine
I'll be the water when you get thirsty, baby
When you get drunk, I'll be the wine

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for you

And I wasn't there when you were happy
(I wasn't there to make you happy)
I wasn't there when you were down, were down
I didn't mean to miss your birthday, baby
I wish I'd seen you blow those candles out

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for

I'll be there for you
These five words I swear to you
When you breathe I want to be the air for you
I'll be there for you
I'd live and I'd die for you
I'd steal the sun from the sky for you
Words can't say what a love can do
I'll be there for you