"Fuck Granger." Came the raspy voice of Draco Malfoy as he stared down at the witch. "Why did have to be you? You're supposed to be the smart one. Why did you stay behind?" choked Malfoy as he started to hyperventilate.
"I – I had to... Someone needed to hold off the Death Eaters. The world needs Harry and the Weasleys couldn't survive losing another child. I'm just the bookworm, no one will miss me." said Hermione with a sad bittersweet smile.
"Don't say that. Don't ever say that. You are everything, everything…" growled Draco as tears started to well in his eyes.
She tried to reach out, to grasp his hands, but the soft clinks of manacles dispelled any illusion of their present situation. This was not Hogwarts. No longer 2nd year when he begged on his knees for her forgiveness and swore to her the word "mudblood" would never leave his mouth again. Not 3rd year when Draco nearly sacrificed himself to save her from a rogue dementor, she noticed then that his patronum was an otter. Not 4th year when she noticed how striking the silver of his eyes were, nor when he shocked the school by asking for a dance at the Yule Ball. Not 5th year when he risked expulsion to warn her that Umbridge was coming. Not 6th year when she stroked his platinum blonde hair while he cried into her lap, showing her the brand on his arm, as he confessed the impossible task Voldemort had tasked him with to save his parents.
"Voldemort wants you to kill me." Said Hermione softly. It was not a question, as Draco squeezed his eyes shut but stiffly nodded.
"He wants me to drag it out. Make an example of you. Wants to break Potter." Said Draco forcing the words out even as he wiped the tears away, looking everywhere but at Hermione.
"Draco. Draco, look at me." Whispered Hermione. Tortured grey eyes met kind brown ones. "Draco you have to. He'll kill you. He'll kill your family… I – I'll be fine." The lie hung like a guillotine between the two.
"No… No. Hermione I won't. I can't. You told me that you didn't blame me for doing everything to save my mother and father. This time, I choose you." Said Draco as he waved his wand and the manacles fell free.
"Drac – " started Hermione before he crushed his lips against hers. Momentary surprised melted away almost instantly as she pressed herself against him. He wrapped his arms around her. He had missed the way she smelled, the feeling of her bushy hair against his face. The warmth that she radiated. He had always been broken but whenever she was around, he felt whole. She was the sun, the light, everything good about the world. He desperately tried to memorize this moment.
"Draco I won't leave you. We can escape. The Order can hide you." Begged Hermione as she held his hands.
"I don't have a future Hermione. I'm a Death Eater. All I can do is save you." Said Draco with a sad smile of his own. He slipped off the Malfoy signet ring and gently pressed it into her hands. "I love you. I love you so much. Please don't forget me." At his words Hermione began to quietly sob.
"You saved me Hermione. You saved me from the darkness. Let me save you just this once." Said Draco as he brought his lips to her brow.
"I love you, Draco." Said Hermione as the tears ran freely.
"Thank you for everything Hermione. Portus." Said Draco with a smile as he pointed his wand at the signet ring. Brown met grey one last time.
"What is the meaning of this Draco?" came the deadly soft whisper of Voldemort. What had meant to be a public spectacle broadcast to all of Magical Britain was now teetering on the edge of becoming a very different sort of spectacle.
"I let her go." Said Draco with a soft smile. He had thought he would be afraid, terrified, but at the end he felt at peace. He was finally ready for this nightmare to end. "You wanted me to torture her, kill her for the world to watch. I refuse. I've been a coward for too long and no longer." Said Draco as he leapt aside to avoid a roar of green light.
"Are you insane?" whispered a furious Voldemort.
"On the contrary, I have never been more sane." Said Draco as he stood and raised his wand at Voldemort. With a flurry of motion, the Death Eaters in attendance all pointed their wands at him.
"Stop! He is mine." Shouted Voldemort as his lips curled in a sneer. "I'm disappointed Draco. So much potential and you throw it away all for a mudblood."
"Hermione Granger saw more in me than you ever did. She treated me like a human being and I will always love her for it." Declared Draco even as Voldemort snarled.
"Love! What will love do for you here? You will die Draco and I will make sure it is as painful as possible."
"I will die," admitted Draco as he smiled again. " and yet, here I am."
All of Magical Britain watched as the man known as Draco Malfoy stood and fought for love. A Pureblood Death Eater dying for a muggleborn witch. He fought bravely. Dueled with the greatest Dark Lord the Magical World had ever known for longer than anyone thought possible. They watched as he fought to the bitter end. Watched as he stood tall without his wand. They watched as he refused to scream even as the Cruciatus was applied to him. How he smiled even as green light flashed one last time. Never once did a set of tear-stricken brown eyes turn away. She owed him this much.
Draco Malfoy blinked as he looked around his white surroundings. The last thing he remembered was a flash of green light through a haze of pain.
"I thought I might find you here." Came a soft voice from behind him. He turned around and found himself face‑to‑face with Dumbledore.
"Draco Malfoy. You amazing, wonderful man." Said Dumbledore his voice thick with emotion.
"Professor. I'm so sorry. I never meant to – I didn't know what to – " started Draco as Dumbledore motioned for his silence.
"You have not to apologize for, there is nothing to forgive." Said Dumbledore in a kindly voice.
"I'm dead, aren't I?" asked Draco as Dumbledore gently nodded.
"How is she?"
"She is safe thanks to you. She found her way back to Harry and the rest of the Order." Said Dumbledore as Draco let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.
"You-Know-Who is still alive."
"That he is."
"What if he finds her? What if she's captured again?"
"Draco Lucius Malfoy. No act of love is meaningless. I can assure you that Voldemort and his Death Eaters will never be able to harm Miss Granger again." Reassured the former Headmaster as Draco nodded slowly.
"I miss her already." Admitted Draco. "She made me who I am. She brought out what little light there was in me."
"Miss Granger may have nurtured the better traits in you, but those traits were always there to begin with. She simply helped you see who you were all along. You are a good man Draco."
"Will I see her again?"
"You will. I promise."
"You were right about him." Said Harry softly as he walked up to Hermione. If she heard him she gave him no sign.
"I loved him Harry." Said Hermione quietly. "I wanted to wake up next to him, fight with him, have a family with him, grow old with him…" choked out the witch as Harry gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
"I saw him when I died." Said Harry as he continued to comfort her.
"Y – You did?" asked Hermione as he nodded.
"He wanted me to tell you that he loves you, that he doesn't regret anything, and that he can't wait to hear about everything you accomplish when he sees you again." Hermione managed a small smile as she looked up at the statue of Draco wand outstretched, with a smile on his face, that had been erected in the Hogwarts courtyard.
"…That sounds like him…" She said softly as she rubbed the Malfoy signet ring that sat on her ring finger.
Harry and Hermione looked down at the plaque.
In loving memory of Draco Lucius Malfoy
June 5th, 1980 – September 19th, 1997
He showed us that light can be found in the darkest of places,
He showed us that love is more powerful than blood,
He showed us that there is always hope.
"I love you Draco. I can't wait to see you again."