A/N – Hey another oneshot here. Please read and review, you'll make my day if you do.
Disclaimer – I do not own Harry Potter JK ROWLING DOES.
Staring out onto the muddy wasteland that most people once knew as The Forbidden Forest in the Hogwarts school grounds, Draco Malfoy knew this could be the very last time he saw the people he knew from his year in Hogwarts. The trees were gone and in their place lay hundreds of bodies, those of Aurors and Death Eaters. The atmosphere was unbearable; screams were coming from all directions, coming from those who were dying, coming from those whose friends were dying, coming from those who were screaming for no other reason than they were scared. Yes this battle was truly terrifying.
He carried on towards the middle of the battle, where the death eaters met the auror's, in the distance he could see Neville Longbottom screaming and writhing in agony from the Cruciatus curse that one of his fellow death eaters had placed on him. He mentally apologized to him. He had to keep reminding himself of why he was on this side of the field, and once he did he knew it was all worth it. Hermione.
Hermione was the reason he had joined, not wanting her to be a victim of his Fathers or even worse Lord Voldemort. Yes, she was the reason he was doing this, he would kill anyone for her. He would die for her, just as long as she was safe. God, how he loved her, he wanted to tell her, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, but it was too dangerous. If his father ever found out about the two years in Hogwarts they had spent together, he would kill her and probably him. It didn't matter to him if he killed a muggle born, they were no better than trash in his eyes.
Draco would have given anything to see her one last time, smiling or laughing again. He had a mental image of her in his head, he had memorised everything he could in the last week of school, knowing that he had to break up with her if she was to live. Yet still it wasn't the same, he would have loved to have gone and visited her at the Burrow where she was currently living but she would have shut the door in his face. She didn't know that he still loved her. He was tiring quickly; he had managed to avoid killing anyone he knew so far. Looking up into the distance he could see the castle that he had called home for seven years of his life. He knew that in there were the terrified first and second years and that it was Voldemort's plan to kill them all once they had defeated the order.
In the distance he could make out Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, they were fighting off what looked like Crabbe and Goyle. Harry struck down Crabbe with a powerful stunning spell; it looked like he didn't want to kill anyone.
"Hermione!" Harry called off to his left. Even though Draco was standing a good hundred metres away, he could still hear him and the tone that he used. Hermione. She was in danger; he could tell by the way Harry went off running, leaving Ron with Goyle. His eyes followed him as he gathered speed walking towards him. What the hell was she doing here? This was the exact reason he had turned, to keep her safe and yet she decides to come and fight anyway. Harry finally reached her, she was in bad shape, Draco could tell that straight away from the position she was laying in. She was lying with her arms brought into her chest. She was obviously protecting her wand, her legs were spread out and she was lying on her left side. Draco could see her right was injured with blood running from the wound down into the mud.
Harry lifted her up to lean on his lap. He was smoothing back her hair whispering to her, which was what Draco was meant to be doing. He could feel his blood boiling. Hermione pushed herself off of Harry and tried to stand but failed she collapsed back into him. Draco was only fifty feet away now and could hear their conversation.
"Harry, I'm fine!" she yelled, trying to make him understand. She was leaning heavily against him.
"You need to go and kill Voldemort," she said trying once again to stand but this time she fell to the floor. Harry immediately bent down to hold her again but she swatted his hands away.
"Go!" she cried.
"No, you're injured." He told her.
"I'll be fine." she stated.
"I won't leave you!" he shouted amongst the screams coming from Draco's fellow Slytherin, Marcus Flint who was being tortured by Fred and George Weasley.
"Harry, what will you do if hundreds of innocent little children die because of you wanting to save me," she yelled back just as loud.
DRACO!" a voice called to his right, he ignored it at first carrying on towards Hermione and Harry.
"DRACO!" the voice screamed again, this time much louder. He could recognize it this time, his father was calling him. He spun around; his father was standing dragging Ginny Weasley behind him.
"Here, you kill her," he said pushing Ginny to the floor and holding her down with his foot, "I'm sure you'd enjoy killing her much more than I would. Ginny was glaring up at Draco.
"Malfoy," she spat. He noticed that when she spoke blood came pouring out of her mouth. He couldn't understand why she was her; surely her family wouldn't have let her. Her brothers had always been fiercely overprotective of her.
"Certainly Father." He said plastering his famous smirk on to his face. His father beamed down at him.
"Make sure you hurt her lots." he sneered. Draco nodded and watched as his father walked away over to where Tonks and Lupin were battling with Pansy Parkinson and her parents. He bent down to Ginny's level.
"Stay here," he whispered. Ginny glared at him not quite understanding what he meant by this. Draco made his way over to where Hermione was now laying alone. Draco stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his father beat him to he her. She tried desperately to stand and walk away but her injuries were too bad. Ducking behind a nearby tree to stay hidden from his fathers view, he listened to what he was saying to her.
"You're the Mudblood in Draco's year aren't you?" he asked looking disgustedly at her. She gave him a look just as bad back if not worse.
"Ah, well when he finishes the mini weasel off I'll leave you in his hands." Draco could have sworn she saw a glimmer of hope in her eyes when he said this but id disappeared as soon as it had come, she had obviously remembered that Draco didn't love her anymore.
"I hate you," she cried into his face. Lucius seemed quite shocked at her confidence in front of him. He hit her and she fell to the floor.
"You'll pay for that you filthy little Mudblood," he sneered, drawing out his wand. He pointed it at her and said the curse that Draco had become used to in his years growing up at the manor.
"Crucio." he said simply. Hermione's body became rigid and she started shaking uncontrollably. Silent tears were rolling down her cheeks. It broke his heart into a thousand pieces watching this but he knew that if he went out there and defended her, his father would kill her.
"Ah, not strong enough I see," he said. The curse had been broken once he said this and her body's shaking calmed until she was merely trembling.
"Crucio!" he said this time with much more hate in his voice than before. This time Hermione cried out in agony. The tears rolled down her cheeks faster. It was at this time Draco noticed that he was crying too. Hermione's screams became louder and this time Harry heard them. He saw Lucius and came running over, but someone was beating him to it. Before Draco knew what he was doing he was closing the distance between him and his father holding his wand out. Hermione's screams were becoming unbearable to hear.
"HERMIONE!" Harry's voice called across the field, he thought Draco was going to kill her. He was running as fast as he possibly could.
"Avada Kedavra" Draco muttered behind his fathers back. The jet of green light soared from the tip of his wand into Lucius's back. Lucius gave a cry of surprise before turning around to see his own son holding the wand that had killed him. He fell gracefully to the floor, lying eagle spread next to Hermione who was still shaking. Harry stopped in disbelief. Draco ran forward to where Hermione was laying on the floor. He picked her up and placed her on his lap. She opened her eyes.
"Draco," she whispered weakly. He stroked her cheek and smoothed back her hair, the way he had seen Harry doing it a while ago.
"I'm here Hermione." he said, tears streaming down his face. Harry had managed to reach them.
"Malfoy?" he breathed. Draco looked up at him. Harry shook his head and sat down beside him.
"You killed him." Hermione said.
"Yeah, Yeah I did."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because I love you." he said smiling down at her, he repositioned her so she had her head leaning against his chest rather than his arm. He kissed the top of her head.
"I love you." he repeated over and over again.
"I love you too." she said.
"Hold on Hermione, we're going to get you back to the castle." he told her, lifting her easily off the ground. He kicked his father out of the way and started to make his way back to the school. Ginny looked on in wonder, as many people did. The sight of Draco, who was clad in death eater robes carrying back the girl he hated more then anyone in school was quite a sight, to both the order and the death eaters.
"Draco?" Blaise Zabini asked hurrying up to the trio.
"What are you doing?" he asked surprised.
"Taking Hermione up to the school."
"Why?"
"So she can be treated."
"No, I meant why would you take the Mudblood up to the school?" Draco turned on him as fast as anything, a look of death painted on his face.
"Don't you ever call her that!" he growled. He felt Hermione fall limp in his arms. He looked down at her to see her eyes wide open, she wasn't moving.
"Hermione!" he cried falling to his knees, Harry bent down to check her pulse, and his mouth fell open when he couldn't find one.
"Hermione, wake up, come on love you need to wake up so Madame Pompfrey can sort you out." he said shaking her lightly. He heard a cry of outrage and looked up to see Harry lunging at someone.
"You idiot, you killed her!" Harry screamed. Draco gasped, he felt for her pulse, frantically searching the whole of her neck. He couldn't find one. She was dead. Who killed her wasn't his main worry at the moment. He was in shock. He couldn't speak, move or do anything.
"Hermione," he whispered gently, stroking her cheek. It was then that everyone gathered round, seeing the boy who's father was Voldemort's right hand man and the girl who was the best friend of The-Boy-Who-Lived together. Wrapped around one another. Draco buried his face in her bushy hair sobbing lightly.
"Avada Kedavra," he could hear Harry say. The body fell on top of Hermione, he jumped out of the way and looked down to see the face of Ron Weasley. He choked on his own tears. Her best friend had killed her! Harry fell on his knee's crying.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." he was repeating.
"W-w-why?" Draco sobbed clinging to Hermione as though his life depended on it. Harry just shrugged his shoulders. At that moment Professor Dumbledore came running back from where he was in battle to see his former students crowded around the bodies of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.
7 Years Later.
It was a sunny spring day when Draco Malfoy came down to the Forest. The thousands of tombstones, lying side by side. Each of them having a stone Hogwarts emblem on them. He reached the one he was looking for and bent down and laid the flowers he had brought on the grave.
"Hey Hermione, sorry I haven't been down in a while, I was kind of busy with all the wedding plans. I would love to still be married to you; you know that, she'll always be second best to you. God, I still love you, I still love you so much. We still don't know why he did it. He probably thought you were someone else; I know he wouldn't have killed you on purpose. I don't think Harry was thinking straight when he killed him." he said.
He looked down at the head stone; he had her buried right by the entrance, where they used to come and sit of a night in seventh year. The headstone read:
Hermione Granger
Fought Bravely In the War That We Won
You Will Always Be Remembered
Loving Friend of Harry Potter Who Defeated Lord Voldemort
Wife of Draco Malfoy
Died Aged 18
You Are In Our Hearts Forever
No one knew of their marriage until the day of her funeral, when she was being buried. The minister announced it. He would have wanted everyone to know anyway.
"Are you done love?" his fiancée called. He turned to see her. She was great, she really was but nothing compared to Hermione. She knew this.
"Are you done with Ron's?" he asked. She nodded; before they went she went over and bent beside Hermione's grave.
"We love you Hermione." She walked back over to the man she was getting married to. She loved him and she knew he love her but not as much as Hermione. She couldn't blame him either. Walking hand in hand, heads together, red hair mixing with his blond, he thought of the woman he loved most, the one he would have died for, the one that broke his heart.
And so they married, loved each other, had children, became grandparents, grew old together, but not once did Ginny Weasley compare to his first wife, Hermione Granger Malfoy.
THE END