Swapping Places


Battle of Hogwarts

The screams were everywhere. Spells flew by in mad bursts; a morbid shower of color. Bodies of the fallen were everywhere. The castle walls were crumbling, as if the magic of Hogwarts itself was dying.

He was blind to it all. His liquid silver eyes were locked onto hers. Stunning honey orbs that stared back unseeing. His fingers clutched desperately at her tattered robes, as if clinging to her would bring her back to life. A green flash swooshed by them, but he did not notice the icy heat that brushed his cheek. All he felt was her, growing cold in his arms.

His voice was caught in his throat, and he felt as if the air was becoming uncomfortably thin.

Shattering voices incoherently pounded on his ears. Her name. Calling her name with every bit of desperation he himself felt.

Suddenly someone else was beside him, grasping at her, brushing those wild brown locks aside.

"Hermione! Get up, Hermione!" The newcomer howled with desperation, brushing her cheek.

"NOOO! I need you! 'Mione!"

Her honey eyes just stared forward. Forever blind.

"Malfoy!" That was his name, wasn't it? His throat was dry, cracked. He could not speak. He could not look away from those honey colored eyes.

A new set of eyes suddenly appeared in his vision as his shoulders were shaken violently, forcing his head to roll slightly. Bright green eyes full of unshed tears. Draco stared into those eyes, still gripping the girl's robes. Potter did not say anything, but gently loosened Draco's grip, and scooped up the body of Hermione Granger. Refusing to leave her behind.

"Malfoy, get moving! We have to run! Come on!"

He could not move. He was paralyzed.

"Malfoy! NOW!" Potter's voice once more cut through the fog, and he lifted his head slightly to see The Boy Who Lived standing there with the girl's body in his arms. Her left arm hung limp, and Draco could see the scar on her arm. Mudblood.

Draco just stood in that spot where she died, feeling numb. A mudblood had saved him. A mudblood that he had hated for 7 years had died for him, her tormentor. He stared forward, watching the madness unfolding before him.

For the second time in his life, he realized what a coward he was. For the second time in his life, he wished with an insane desperation that clawed at his very being that he could swap places with her.

For the first time, Draco Malfoy knew what love truly felt like.

"Don't make Hermione's sacrifice mean nothing, Malfoy!" Her best friend pleaded as he clung to that tiny body, tears still shining in those vibrant green eyes. "Don't make her die in vain!"

He took one hesitant step forward, then another. Everything had changed, he realized. One more step, then he dashed forward desperately, to Potter. To Granger.

To redemption.

For the rest of his life, she would haunt him. For the rest of his life, he would recall her screaming his name as she leapt in front of him, as a Death Eater declared him a blood traitor.

For the rest of his life, he would dream of the light fading from those honey eyes as she took the Avada Kedavra for someone who had hated her. Hated her just for being.. well.. her.

He wanted to steal this death from her.

He wanted to swap places.


A/N: One-Shot Inspired by "Running Up that Hill" by Placebo.
Disclaimer: All characters and locations are property of JK Rowling and WB.