Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and anything in this story that was in J. K. Rowling's books is hers!
Dodging bolts of green light, Hermione ran through a corridor, casting spells left and right at random targets.
In the middle of the battle, she had lost sight of Ron and Harry, who had been fighting beside her moments ago. Before she could bring herself to worry about them, three Death Eaters had started to chase her. Now she ran flat-out through a maze of halls, trying to loose them.
Hermione ran past bodies and fighters, dead and alive. She saw grotesque wounds that made her stomach churn; burns and cuts in unhealthy colours such as pus-green and bruise-purple. She saw tearstained cheeks as people wept for the deceased, eccentric determination as wizards and witches fought the Death Eaters. Hermione saw destroyed walls and classrooms, diminished doors and stairways. Miscellaneous objects littered the ground; paper and dust, wood and frames. In some of the frames were the remains of the Hogwarts paintings, some with models still moving in the pictures. She saw canvases with people fleeing in between portraits; screaming faces and frightened expressions.
Hermione jumped, startled, as she felt the heat of a spell graze her left shoulder. A sting like fire spread down her arm as the small part of the spell that had touched her spread over Hermione's skin. Ignoring the sharp pain, Hermione quickly glanced behind her as she cast a stunning spell over her good shoulder. She heard a slight gasp and a thump, and Hermione smiled slightly as she silently celebrated the collapse of one of the three Death Eaters that pursued her. The relief was short lived, however.
One of the Death Eaters chasing Hermione shouted a blasting spell, and suddenly a heavy rumble filled the air. The ceiling above Hermione started to shower dust particles all over her as it started to explode. Forcing her exhausted legs to run faster, Hermione dashed over the rapidly increasing pile of dirt and pebbles. She dived to the ground and covered her head just as the ceiling collapsed.
Huge bricks rained onto the floor, creating a scattered pile just behind Hermione. She continued to cover her head, praying that no rocks would hit her and hoping that the dust from the ceiling would have prevented the Death Eaters from seeing how Hermione had escaped being buried.
A few silent moments passed. Hermione lay in a huddled ball, straining her ears to detect any sign that the Death Eaters were going to try and break through the high mound of rubble to get to her. Hermione was shaking; partly from fear, and partly from the pain in her left arm. She could barely move it now, whatever spell the Death Eater had used had been effective in completely making her arm immobile.
After a few more minutes, Hermione was satisfied that the Death Eaters had left, thinking that she had been crushed in the falling ceiling. Relieved, she sat up and started muttering healing spells over her burnt arm. None of the spells were working though, Hermione's arm remained unbearably painful and useless. Frustrated and defeated, Hermione conjured up a sling for her arm. She carefully put her arm in it, and then she stood up to view her surroundings.
Hermione was standing in what she recognized to be Professor Binns' classroom. The room was dimly lit, the only light came from the open window which a cool breeze blew through. Behind Hermione the classroom doorway was blocked by rocks from the fallen ceiling on the other side. Overturned tables and chairs scattered the classroom floor; broken and rotting pieces of wood that had once been furniture. Hermione walked over to where there was a bookshelf against a nearby wall. Cobwebs and dust was all that coated the shelves.
All of a sudden a rough chuckle echoed through the classroom, and it was then Hermione realized that she was not alone.
"Looking for another book to read, Mudblood?" a cool voice said as a figure emerged from a shadowed corner.
Draco Malfoy appeared in front of her, the last person Hermione wanted to meet during this battle. She had not seen him from that tortured night in Malfoy Manner. Hermione had hoped that perhaps he had changed -he had seemed resistant to Death Eater ways in the past- but seeing him now with hatred in his eyes told Hermione all she needed to know. There had been a hope inside of her that maybe Malfoy had changed sides in the past year since she had last seen him, but apparently he was still another Pure-blood raised to despise Muggle-borns.
"Expelliarmus!" he shouted, and Hermione's wand flew out of her grasp and to the other side of the classroom before she had a chance to react.
"Well, well, well. It looks like the Mudblood isn't so capable of defending herself as she appeared in class last year. Tell me, do you find it difficult to block yourself against a simple disarming spell?" Malfoy taunted, starting to circle her. She started to back up, keeping her eyes on Malfoy's wand that was angled towards her. Hermione felt helplessly trapped, captured like prey being circled by a vulture. Malfoy's words stung her slightly, but she made sure to show no emotion to his mockery.
"I don't waste my time defending myself against spells cast by the weak, Malfoy," Hermione said in comeback. A muscle in his gaunt jaw twitched.
"The Dark Lord doesn't tolerate those who talk back to his followers. If I were you I would hold my tongue."
"Or what? You'll kill me? I don't think that you have the guts to do that, Malfoy." Hermione backed up some more, towards the vague direction of where her wand had fallen. If only she could reach it without him noticing…
She needed to keep him distracted and talking.
"What do you know about what I'm capable of? I nearly killed Dumbledore himself!"
"Yeah, nearly. You needed Snape to complete the job, didn't you?" Hermione reached the back wall. She started shuffling her feet, trying to touch what could be her wand.
An almost crazed look appeared on Malfoy's features. "I could have done it," he shouted, "if it hadn't been for that idiot interfering!" He walked closer to her.
Hermione couldn't move back anymore, she was pressed flat against the wall. Malfoy walked up to her until they were nearly nose-to-nose. He was breathing heavily, making an effort to keep in his anger. He stared at her unbreakably; his frustrated grey eyes bore into her frightened brown. Hermione couldn't help analyzing his features; they were standing so close that she couldn't see anything else.
The first thing she noticed was that he was looking as starved as ever; obviously Malfoy was under a lot of strain serving Voldemort. His shirt hung loose off his chest, obscuring what would have been a skinny, ribbed stomach. Malfoy's taunt cheeks stood out and his face was shallow, there were also dark bags underneath his eyes that were filled with lines representing many sleepless nights. Hermione felt a pang of pity for him; even though he was the enemy, Malfoy was still just a teenager who obviously had been forced to do things against his will.
The second thing that Hermione noticed about Malfoy was his eyes. She had never before realized that his silver gaze was remarkably entrancing. Hermione couldn't stop herself from looking into them, and as she did she felt an odd jolt in her abdomen. Hermione shivered slightly. She stared into those reflective eyes; they were glowing orbs like a moon masked by misty clouds. Suddenly Hermione found herself become conscious that his eyes were strangely…beautiful to her. It was all Hermione could do to pull herself out of his containing gaze.
What am I thinking? This is Malfoy, your enemy, Hermione told herself firmly.
A small voice in the back of her brain spoke up, But if you can get him to change sides, perhaps he won't have to be your enemy. Perhaps he can be your friend, or more, and then you will have those beautiful eyes all to yourself.
"Quit staring, Mudblood," a loud voice said, startling Hermione. She realized that she had been intently looking at Malfoy throughout her thoughts. "Trying to find a weakness? You won't. I may have shied away from killing Dumbledore, but I am not going to hesitate in killing you." Cold fear flowed trough Hermione at these words, but through the fear Hermione still felt the strange attraction towards him. He took a step back and pointed his wand at Hermione's chest, its tip just resting over her heart.
"Any last words, Granger?" Malfoy asked with a smirk. He lazily started to twirl his wand between his fingers.
Hermione forced the attraction out of her mind and concentrated on saving her skin. She ordered her lips to form four words. "Just another heartless Pure-blood," she hissed as a last attempt to change Malfoy's loyalties.
Hermione was immensely surprised, but she had miraculously chosen the right words; Malfoy's lips opened into an "o" shape and his face paled even more -if that was possible. His eyes widened, making him look a lot younger and more innocent. To his surprise, (and Hermione's), he dropped his wand. As it clattered to the floor, Hermione wasted no time in taking this advantage to scramble to the ground and grab her own.
She picked up her wand just as Malfoy picked up his. A huge BOOM reverberated in the air as Malfoy's Killing Curse came into contact with Hermione's Shield Charm. Luckily Hermione was exceptionally skilled at shielding -normally nothing can block a properly directed Unforgivable Curse- but it seemed that Malfoy hadn't been completely focused when he had casted the spell. Dust fell from the ceiling from the effects of the spell contact, but nothing big rained down onto their heads.
"Nice shield, Granger," Malfoy sneered, "but you just got lucky. You can't stop me from killing you now, no matter how many tricky words you might say."
"Those 'tricky words' obviously had an effect on you Malfoy," Hermione said. She was gripping her want so tightly that her white knuckles were outlined in blue veins.
"They did not," Malfoy replied quickly, but Hermione saw the flicker of uncertainty in his smoky eyes.
"Did too."
"Did not."
"Did too."
"DID NOT!" Malfoy yelled furiously. He was breathing heavily again. There was danger that her would crack and aim another Killing Curse at Hermione -no doubt it would hit right on target- but Hermione kept attacking that uncertainty that she knew was growing within Malfoy.
"If my words had no effect, then why don't you kill me?" Hermione spread her arms out wide and dropped her wand, leaving herself defenseless. "Go on," she hissed. Hermione was fighting back the urge to waggle a finger at him, but she knew that that may torment him too much.
The pair faced each other in silence. Malfoy was shaking, and Hermione saw that he was having an internal struggle within himself. His face that was normally an emotionless mask revealed all his thought to her right now. Hermione could plainly see what he was thinking; Join the Mudbloods, the side of traitors? Or stay with the Pure-bloods, who will indefinitely betray me in the future? Malfoy had to make a choice, and Hermione was going to make sure that he made the right one.
"Draco," Hermione said softly, using his first name for the first time in her life, "you aren't a killer."
And for the second time that night, Malfoy surprised her.
He slowly lowered his wand, now pointing it at Hermione's feet. A shining tear rolled down his cheek.
"No," he said, his voice unsteady, "but I am a coward."
Draco Malfoy's reputation of a superior Pure-blood was shattered by a single tear and a truthful admittance. A Death Eater's mask of power, fearlessness, and immortality that Malfoy once wore was replaced by the face of a boy who is vulnerable and not unlike everyone else in this war. Hermione now saw a flash of how Malfoy had been manipulated into becoming a Death Eater. She had known the boy since her first day at Hogwarts, and she knew that no matter how vile and cruel he had seemed he would have never chosen this fate of evil. Hermione now felt as if she understood Malfoy's past troubles, and feelings of respect for how Malfoy stayed so strong under the influence of Voldemort for the past two years grew inside of Hermione.
Malfoy had been holding back inside him all his doubts and fears, and all that it had took to break through was someone willing to help.
And I do want to help him, Hermione thought to herself. It was clear that Malfoy-Draco, she corrected herself- didn't want to be a Death Eater anymore. All he needed was someone to help him see that Muggle-borns aren't the enemy: Lord Voldemort is.
"Draco," Hermione said again. She liked that way his name flowed off her tongue. "I want to help you."
"I don't want your help, I don't want anybody's!" Draco shouted. "All my life I have depended on someone, relied on someone, never doing anything by myself. This makes me such a coward, how I have been bullied and pushed around my whole life, forced into doing things that I never wanted to do, but every time something happens that I am against, I hide and shy away from confrontation. I always end up going along with it. The Dark Lord told me to go into the castle and kill all the Mudbloods in sight, and since he will kill my mother if I didn't obey, what choice did I have? And now I have the chance to finally kill you, and I can't. I won't do as he says anymore, as anyone says. Even if it means my mothers' death-," he broke off in a sob.
Hermione felt as if she understood Draco a little better. Anything that he had ever done in the past he has done to protect his mother, and Hermione could see how much he loved her.
"I suppose she is probably the only person you have ever actually loved," Hermione said gently
Draco's watery eyes looked up at her. The tears in the edges of his eyes made them stand out, shining like stars. "She was the only one. But tonight I have come to realize that I also love someone else. Someone who I never, ever thought I would be in love with."
Hermione just stood gaping at Draco for a few moments. She was so surprised; she had no idea that Draco was capable of loving in the first place, but hearing that he has fallen in love…
"Who is it then?" Hermione asked curiously.
Draco looked at her almost casually. "I am in love with y-"
An extraordinarily loud voice suddenly filled the air, cutting Draco off. The cool voice of Lord Voldemort blocked out any other sound.
(Author's Note: Voldemort's words were taken straight from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Chapter Thirty-Six: The Flaw in the Plan) "Harry Potter is dead." the voice sent an instant shiver down Hermione's spine. "He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone."
"The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anyone who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member or their family. Come out of the castle, now, and kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live, and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."
Silence filled the air. Hermione was shaking violently, Harry couldn't be dead, it couldn't be true…
Draco was looking at Hermione, a shocked expression on his face. She saw that he was trembling as well.
"He'll kill me," Draco whimpered. "He's going to kill me when he finds out that I have changed sides. He'll kill my mother too."
Hermione knew that he was talking about Voldemort, but Hermione couldn't find it in herself to react to the fact that Voldemort would kill them all. When He sent Death Eaters throughout the castle to find remaining survivors…well, it was only a matter of time until Voldemort found them.
As if reading her thoughts, Draco said, "We have to get out of this room."
He quickly grabbed Hermione's hand, and then he started to cast spells at the great wall of rock blocking the doorway. All of his earlier tears were gone; they were replaced by fear for himself and his mother. Hermione was too upset about Harry that she didn't even care Draco Malfoy was holding her hand.
After several minutes of non-stop spell casting Draco spoke. "It's no use," he stated. "Spells have been cast on these rocks that can only be penetrated from the outside. We are stuck in here until someone finds us."
"I suppose the Death Eaters cast the spells after they exploded the ceiling," Hermione said shakily. "They probably thought that trapping me in a room was the best way to get rid of me."
Malfoy gave her a slight smile. "They should have known that they had to do more then that to stop Hermione Granger."
Did he just compliment me? Hermione wondered, greatly surprised. And did Draco Malfoy just smile?
"But what about Harry?" Hermione couldn't keep the sob from escaping her lips. She felt drained of strength, power and hope. Harry was dead, Voldemort had won, and her arm was throbbing excruciatingly. Her knees were shaking so much that she could barely stand. Hermione let go of Draco's hand and collapsed onto the floor into a sitting-up huddled ball.
"If Potter is dead, then there's not much that we can do for him, is there?" Draco responded. He walked over to where Hermione sat and he sat down beside her.
Draco's words were harsh, but they were true. Hermione slowly stopped her tears and calmed her sobs. Harry would have wanted her to be strong. And as Draco said, her and Draco were trapped in this room together until someone found them, there was no use arguing that there was something that could be done to help Harry.
For a few minutes there was silence, the only sound that Hermione could hear was her ragged breathing and his deep breaths. The unexpectedly Draco spoke.
"You probably are still not convinced that I have changed sides in this war."
Hermione looked up at him for a moment. Those misty clouds that were his eyes threatened to surround her. The she replied, "I am surprised that I convinced you so easily."
He looked out towards the window. "My mother was always against Death Eater ways. True, she did marry a Death Eater, but she was so in love with him that she didn't see how evil my father and his leader were. By the time she did, it was too late. She already had the Mark." Draco rolled up the sleeve of his white shirt, exposing pale skin. Hermione let out a gasp as she saw the black snake-and-skull that was inked into his skin. "Once you have the Mark, you are in it for life. Only those who are incredibly strong willed can break the connection with Voldemort. My mother was not weak, but she didn't have enough strength to break free. The only time she came close to doing so was when she found out she was pregnant with me. She didn't want to condemn a child to the fate of a Death Eater, because that is what would happen when my father found out her pregnancy. He would sell my soul to the Dark Lord."
Hermione felt the tears in her eyes starting to resurface. She could imagine having a child, but not really having it at all because they would be a slave to Voldemort from birth.
"So my mother tried to rid herself of the Mark," Draco continued. "She tried everything; various herbs and remedies, spells, she even almost cut her arm off." Hermione let out a gasp. "But nothing worked. My father found out about me, and before my mother could put in action her plan to run off with me on the way, my father told Lord Voldemort. He knew that a child would be useful in the future, so my mother was cursed to be trapped in my father's manor until I was born."
"I grew up learning about the Dark Arts and being taught to hate any one who wasn't Pure-blood. My father would torture me if I ever disobeyed him, so I learned that I had to do as anyone told me or else I may die. This made me into a coward, never standing up to myself and never thinking about whether anything I did was wrong."
"But while I grew up, there was one person who actually cared for me: my mother. Behind my father's back she taught me the other side of the story, that Voldemort is the real evil and that everything my father had taught me was wrong. I was mostly influenced by him still, but all the time there has been a little piece inside of me that wanted to be good, and that is why I switched sides now. I realized that it is now or never, and with Voldemort in rule it is time I told everyone who I am. I'm not a Death Eater, and to me this Mark means nothing. Yes, I tried to kill Dumbledore, and yes, I let Death Eaters into the school that led to his death, but you had to realize that I had no choice. I had to protect the only person I loved, and to do that I had to help Voldemort."
Hermione hadn't expected this. It threw her off guard for a moment- why was Draco confessing to her?- but she quickly recomposed herself. She respected and understood Draco so well now; it felt like she had known him forever. She now understood his decisions and why he has done all those things, and now she knew that Lucius Malfoy was to blame for everything that had happened to Draco.
"Oh, Draco," Hermione whispered quietly. "It must have been so hard for you to do all this, always trying to protect your mother."
"It was," he whispered back, still not meeting her eyes. "I nearly died on more than one occasion. But I knew that I had to keep fighting Him, and even as he wins I am not going to be on his side any more. I can't protect my mother with Voldemort in rule. He's too powerful."
"We can get through this," Hermione said. "I want to help you Draco, and whatever happens when the Death Eaters find us, know that… I care about you."
He turned his head towards her quickly, a look of surprise upon his face. A small smile spread over his features after a moment, changing how he looked completely. He looked… like an angel, Hermione thought, with his blond hair and grey eyes, she wouldn't be surprised if Draco suddenly sprouted wings. This was not the Draco she had once hated, this was a changed person who was finally acting like a human and who wasn't hiding his feelings from Hermione any more. She was glad to be a part of his life now, even if it was only until the Death Eaters found them and killed them. Don't think about that, Hermione told herself strongly.
They looked at each other for a few moments, Hermione's brown eyes gazing into his grey. Then Draco spoke.
"I might as well make use of the time we have together; if Voldemort has taken over I will never have another chance to do this."
"Another chance to do what?" Hermione asked, but he was already leaning in.
In that moment time seemed to stop; Hermione forgot that Harry was dead and that she was probably going to die any moment now. She forgot that she liked Ron, not Draco, and that she had kissed the red-head earlier and had loved every second of it. Hermione's brain was frozen in time, in this single moment, her kissing Draco on the night of the war. The connection Hermione had felt towards Draco earlier came back, stronger then ever.
Draco pulled away and leaned in so that his lips were hovering beside her ear. "Remember earlier when I said that I fell in love?" he said softly.
"Yes," Hermione replied, enjoying the way that her beating heart was fluttering beneath her chest in reaction to Draco's kiss.
"Well, it's you I fell in love with. How much you seem to understand and care for me makes me realize that there is no one else I would rather give my heart to."
Hermione couldn't believe it. Draco Malfoy, Pure-blood, fell in love with Hermione Granger, Muggle-born? But there was a look in Draco's eyes that told Hermione he was telling the truth.
Suddenly cheers sounded from the window. The couple glanced at each other briefly, and then they scrambled up and went over to the window. What Hermione saw filled her with happiness.
All of the students of Hogwarts were streaming out through the front doors, dark silhouettes against the rising sun. Everyone was running and cheering, hugging and smiling. Off in the distance, a small area of black was moving quickly across the grounds. Hermione then realized what she was seeing: Death Eaters fleeing. Then that must mean… Hermione wondered unbelievably.
"Hermione? Hermione!" someone shouted on the other side of the rubble blocking the doorway. Hermione knew that voice.
"Harry?!" she screamed. "Harry, we're in here!"
What happened next occurred really fast, but the next thing she knew Hermione was embraced by crushing hugs from Harry, Ron and Ginny.
"You're alive," Hermione whispered as she pulled away from her friends.
Harry smiled. "Yeah," he said. Then he looked over Hermione's shoulder, and his eyes narrowed. "What is he doing here?"
Hermione followed his gaze, and her eyes rested on Draco, who was standing awkwardly next to the window. The old Draco would have responded in a sharp remark, but this one just stared back at Harry.
Hermione was tired of fighting, so she went up to Draco and took his hand. "Guys," she said strongly, "I would like you to meet Draco Malfoy. The new Draco Malfoy."
Originally this story was going to be a one-shot, but now I think that it could be more. Tell me if you think I should leave it or if I should add to it. Whatever you have to say, PLEASE, read and review!