Disclaimer: All Harry Potter characters, places, and themes belong to J.K. Rowling
"Don't do this," she pleaded. "Please Draco," her eyes welled up with tears when he didn't lower his wand.
"I have to do this," cried Draco. "It's the only way to protect you," he sounded desperate now, he was shaking out of fear, anger. He felt trapped.
Draco wanted so bad to run away with her, take her somewhere safe and hide until the war was over.
"Don't you love me?" her voice broke at the end.
'Don't you love me?' Of course I love you, you're my world now. Draco was desperate now; he was running out of time. If he let her know how much she meant to him it would make things harder for both of them. He wanted to lie to her, make her hate him again, but he couldn't do it. He had to let her know she meant everything to him before erasing her memory.
"Of course I love you, Hermione," he said quietly, he was crying now as well, still shaking.
"Then why are you doing this?" she sobbed.
"I have to do this," he said through gritted teeth, "I need to protect you!"
"I can protect myself! You don't have to do this, please Draco" she walked closer to him and he lowered his wand for a moment.
"Hermione," he grabbed her face between his hands and kissed her forehead softly, "I love you, please know that." He kissed her deeply then. They pulled apart to catch their breaths but stayed in each other's embrace.
"You don't have to be on their side anymore, you know?" she looked up into his eyes pleadingly, "you can fight on our side."
"Hermione," he quavered, "I need to do this! If they search your mind and see me in your memories they are going to kill you!"
"They will kill me either way, I'm a mudblood, remember?" she said hotly.
He looked at her as if she had lost her mind, and in a sense she did, she was about to loose all her memories about Draco. All those happy memories they shared for the last 2 years were going down the drain, but she was finally accepting her fate. She was ready to forget about the love of her life, so he could be safe. Draco knew she was right, the Death Eaters would kill her either way because of her blood status; but that didn't stop him from trying to protect her, even if erasing her memory only slimmed her chances of getting killed he was willing to do it, just to give her a chance.
"I love you," he said quietly, looking into her eyes.
"I love you, too," she whimpered, "promise me something," she said grabbing his face and bringing it close to hers. Hermione had finally accepted there was nothing she could do to stop him.
"Anything," he answered.
"Promise me you will find me and reverse the charm," tears were streaming down their faces now, "if we defeat him, promise me you'll find me and restore my memory."
"I promise," he sealed the promise with a kiss. Their last kiss. "I love you, Hermione," and with that he stepped back and muttered the spell that would erase him from her memories forever.
"Obliviate."