All characters created and owned by JK Rowling. I own nothing. I won't be benefiting financially from this work.
Beta love goes to LastBornSlytherin
Cover love goes to coyg_81
This was written for the Halloween oneshot competition in the Strictly Dramione facebook group.
Draco couldn't believe his rotten luck. He was dead. His untimely demise was the result of his having had agreed to be a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix. Granted, he'd done it for a selfish reason: To get close to Hermione Granger. But selfish intentions aside, he'd agreed to work for the good side, nevertheless.
And just look at where that got me, he thought bitterly. Not only am I dead, but I never had a chance to tell Hermione I love her. Though it's not like I had a chance in Hell with her anyway. She's too in love with Weasel-Bee. With this thought, Draco's gaze zeroed in on where Hermione was sitting. She was where he knew she would be, seated between Potter and Weasley. While he expected Ron and Hermione would be sitting together, he wasn't prepared to see Ron's arm wrapped around her and her head resting on Ron's shoulder. Jealousy burned in the pit of Draco's stomach at the sight of them together.
Trying to distract himself from thinking too much about Hermione and the Weasel, Draco started to listen to Kingsley Shacklebolt's eulogy:
"We are gathered here today to pay our last respects to the fallen. They fought bravely and paid the ultimate sacrifice in ensuring that good triumphed over evil. May we always remember these heroes may our actions moving forward honor their memory."
After Kingsley finished speaking, the crowd started to disperse. Draco watched as Ron stood up and helped Hermione to her feet. Draco's eyes narrowed when he saw that Ron's arm was wrapped possessively around her waist, slowly guiding her towards the exit.
This was an innocent enough gesture, but it was enough for red to cloud Draco's vision and set his teeth on edge.
"My damned corpse is barely cold in the grave and he has the nerve to make a move on my woman!" Draco seethed. "It should be Weasel in the ground, not me."
Draco was so upset that he didn't hear the sound of someone walking up behind him. He jumped when he felt a hand grip his shoulder. He jumped but breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his mother say, "It's only me, Draco. There's no reason for you to jump clear out of your skin."
Draco turned around to see his mother looking at him with concern. "How long have you been standing here?" he asked suspiciously. "
Long enough to hear you pining over your little mudblood," Narcissa answered simply. "You're dead, Sweetheart. She shouldn't be driving you crazy like this anymore."
"Hermione's not driving me crazy, Mum," Draco protested.
"Oh really?" Narcissa's eyebrows rose in disbelief. "I'm sorry. I must've confused the manic look in your eyes for sanity."
"Sarcasm doesn't become you, Mum."
"I could say the same about that obsessive tone in your voice, Draco," Narcissa countered. "You're supposed to be resting in peace, not obsessing about some filthy mudblood."
"SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY FILTHY MUDBLOOD!" Draco screamed.
"Calm yourself, Draco," Narcissa said soothingly.
"How can you expect me to calm when I have to spend all of eternity dealing with the fact that she's with him, Draco ground out between gritted teeth.
Narcissa pondered her son's predicament in silence for a moment, and then said, "Well, if the mudblood is the only way for you to be happy…"
"Yes, what is it?" Draco asked impatiently.
"There might be a way for you to have her," Narcissa finished. She looked around the room nervously. She seemed to be afraid that someone would overhear them.
"Sensing his mother's anxiety, Draco asked, "What do you have to be worried about, Mum? We're dead, remember? It's not like we can get in trouble."
"That's not entirely true," Narcissa said. "There are rules even in the afterlife."
"Since when have the Malfoys played completely by the rules? Use any ends to justify the means, I always say."
"Spoken like a true Slytherin," Narcissa said dryly. "Listen carefully, Draco. I'm only going to say this once."
"Go ahead then. I'm listening," Draco said. His curiosity was piqued at what she had to say.
Looking around the room again, Narcissa lowered her voice and said, "Come closer. Even the walls of Purgatory have ears and what I have to say is for your ears only.
"Draco came closer to his mother, inclining his head towards her for her to whisper in his ear. As Narcissa whispered her plan to him, a smile spread slowly across Draco's face.
Draco was careful to slip into Flourish and Blotts undetected. He knew that even though he couldn't be seen by just anyone unless he chose to reveal himself to them that he could still cause little disturbances most people would notice.
Draco had been spying on Hermione for a couple weeks now, getting a feel for her day-to- schedule. She was so predictable. Every Tuesday she could be found in Flourish and Blotts browsing the shelves for something new to read. Usually, Ron accompanied Hermione wherever she went, except for when she made her weekly book run.
Draco headed towards the History section, as it was the section where Hermione always started her shopping and waited for his target to make an appearance. Ding-a-ling. Right on time,Draco smirked when he saw Hermione enter the shop. He frowned when he saw that she wasn't alone: Ginny Weasley walked in right behind her.
Damnit! What's Weasellette doing here? A fine day for you to decide to have a Witch's Day Out, Hermione, he fumed silently. What the hell am I supposed to donow? He took a deep breath to try to calm himself. According to what his mother had told him, he mustn't allow himself to be seen by anyone but Hermione. The unexpected appearance of Ginny had thrown a wrench into his plan. If he wanted any time alone with Hermione, it looked like he was going to have to start taking a few risks.
Draco needn't have worried so much because it wasn't long before the girls split up and walked towards opposite ends of the shop. He breathed a sigh of relief, when Hermione walked towards the history section.
Granger, you're so bloody predictable, he thought with a smirk. He watched as Hermione started browsing through the titles on the shelves, finally settling for the latest edition of Hogwarts: A History. She took it from the shelf and started flipping through the pages. Draco knew that the time to act was now. He took a deep breath and moved out from the shadows until he was standing right behind Hermione.
Hermione was so lost in the words on the page that she didn't notice anything strange happening until she felt a sudden chill in the air, and the feeling of someone breathing down her neck. The hairs on the back of her neck rose when she heard someone whisper in her ear. "
Hello, Granger, no time no see."
The book Hermione had been holding fell to the floor. She whirled around. When she saw who was standing behind her; her eyes widened and her face drained of color.
"Wha- Wha-," she stammered.
"What am I doing here?" Draco finished for her.
Hermione's lips were pressed into a tight line; she nodded.
Draco leaned up against the bookshelf, arms folded across his chest. His lips curved slightly upward. "I'm here to see you, Granger. I thought we could get reacquainted." He approached her slowly, trying not to scare her 's thoughts ran in frantic circles around her mind. There's no way this is real, Hermione. Your mind is playing tricks on you. Draco's just an illusion. That's all he is, just an illusion. She took a deep breath, trying to keep her heart from pounding out of her chest.
"Oh, I'm no illusion, Granger," Draco said quietly, I can prove to you that I'm real." He reached forward and grabbed her arm to pull her towards him.
Too frightened to put up much of a struggle, Hermione soon found herself in Draco Malfoy's arms. He held her firmly against him. He was just about to kiss her when she summoned up the strength to push him away.
"This-This can't be possible," Hermione croaked. "You're – you're…"
"I'm dead," Draco supplied.
"Yes," Hermione whispered. "I watched you die. I saw you get hit with the Killing Curse. I was at your funeral."
"I know," Draco said. "I was watching you."
"That can't be possible," Hermione repeated. You were lying in the casket. There's no way you could be watching anything, much less your own funeral.
" "My body was in the casket. I was watching from somewhere up there," he gestured towards the ceiling.
"So you're a ghost then?" Hermione asked. "That's the only logical explanation."
"Didn't you feel me touch you just now?" Draco asked. "If you did, that should be proof enough that I'm real."
"I don't know what I felt," Hermione snapped. "
"Oh, come on Granger! You know, for someone so bright, you sure are acting stupid!"
"I'm not acting stupid! I'm trying to be logical!" Hermione retorted.
"Not everything in life can be explained by logic," Draco said. "God, woman, does everything have to be about logic with you?"
Hermione stuck her hand out and said, "Hi. My name's Hermione Granger. Have we met?"
Draco took hold of her hand, lifted it to his lips, and kissed it. He looked up in time to see color flood Hermione's cheeks. "You felt that, didn't you Granger?"
"So what if I did?" Hermione asked. That still doesn't explain how this can be happening. What you're doing here or why. "Do you have some unfinished business I don't know about?"
Draco looked directly into her eyes and answered, "Yes, actually, I do have some unfinished business."
"What is it?"
Never breaking his gaze, Draco answered, "You."
Hermione's lips moved but no sound came out. Draco would've loved to have stuck around and kept chatting, but he heard the sound of footsteps coming in their direction. He knew he couldn't allow himself to be seen. With a snap of his fingers, he seemed to dissolve into thin air.
Hermione stared openmouthed at the place where Draco had just been standing. This was how Ginny found her when she entered the aisle. Seeing how frail Hermione looked, Ginny hurried over and asked, "Hermione, are you feeling Ok? You look like you just saw a ghost!"
When Hermione didn't respond right away, Ginny snapped her fingers, trying to get her attention. Hermione shook her head to clear the fog from her mind and answered, "I'm sorry, Gin. I think I'm going to have to cut our day short. I don't seem to be feeling well."
"Do you want me to apparate you home," Ginny asked concerned.
"No, thank you. I'll be fine getting home on my own," Hermione answered. I just need a little extra sleep and I'll feel good as new."
"Alright, but I'm going to walk with you to the apparition point," Ginny said. Hermione nodded and followed Ginny out of the shop. Neither of the women was aware of the pair of gray eyes that were following their every move. This isn't over, Granger, Draco thought. You'll be mine and soon.
"I see your time with whats-her-name did nothing to cheer you up," Narcissa noted as she walked into the room to find Draco pacing back in forth. His face was twisted in an angry expression and he was muttering unintelligibly to himself. "What's wrong? Did you not get what you wanted?"
Draco quit pacing, looked up, and answered, "Her name is Hermione and, no, I didn't get what I wanted."
"Oh, so you're on a first name basis with the mudblood," Narcissa said. "Well, that's progress, I guess. What happened? Did you lose your nerve?"
"I didn't lose my nerve," Draco growled. "We were interrupted."
"Interrupted by whom?" Narcissa asked. "You told me she goes to Flourish and Blotts alone."
"She usually is," Draco replied. Ginny Weasley was there with her this time. I had time alone with Hermione, but it wasn't enough. It's never enough!" Draco punched the wall angrily, frustrated at his failure.
Narcissa saw her son's eyes were wild with fury. She walked over to him, wrapped an arm around his waist, and tried to guide Draco over to a chair. Draco put up a fight and tried to slip from her grasp, but her grip only tightened, making it impossible for him to escape.
"You need to calm down!" Narcissa said sharply. She finally managed to force Draco into a chair.
Draco crossed his arms and glared at his mother sullenly. "I don't get how my being calm is going to help matters."
"It'll help a great deal if you shut up and listen!" Narcissa snapped.
Looking properly chastised, Draco kept quiet. Seeing that her son was going to cooperate, Narcissa said, "Now, as I was saying, you need to keep a calm, level head in order for this plan to work. You can't afford to screw up with this one.
" Draco sat forward eagerly in his seat. "Well, Mother, out with it!"
"You really want this mudblood, don't you?" Narcissa asked.
"Yes!" Draco exclaimed. "You'd do anything to have her?" Narcissa was enjoying the power she had over son.
"Yes! I'll do anything!" Draco cried desperately.
"Well, in order to have her forever, you're going to have to…"
"I'm going to have to what?" Draco interrupted.
"… Kill her," Narcissa finished.
Draco sat back with a puzzled look on his face. "Kill her?"
"Yes. In order for Hermione to be yours, she'll have to join you in death. It's the only way."
"How am I supposed to pull this off?" Draco asked.
"With a couple drops of this," Narcissa dug out a small vial of shimmering, green potion out of the pocket of her robes and handed it to Draco.
"What is it?" Draco asked curiously.
"A love poison," Narcissa answered.
"Don't you mean potion?"
"No, I meant poison," Narcissa assured him, an evil gleam in her eye."One sip of this and not only will your little mudblood die, she'll already be hopelessly in love with you when she awakes in the afterlife."
"Mother, I don't know what to say."
"Just say, 'That's brilliant, Mum,'"
"That's brilliant, Mum," Draco parroted.
"I know," Narcissa laughed.
"But how am I supposed to get her to drink this."
"That's for you to figure out, "Narcissa answered. "Oh, and one last thing, She added as an afterthought. "You have until midnight of Halloween to administer the poison, if you don't, it loses its potency. It won't kill her. It will just make her sick enough to wish she were dead."
"But Halloween is tomorrow," Draco said. "That's not nearly enough time!"
"That's not my problem, is it?" Narcissa asked. With these final words, she left the room. Draco stared after her. When he was sure she wasn't going to hear him, he said sarcastically, "Thanks for all your help, Mother. NOT!" He got up and started thinking of ways to carry out his mother's crazy scheme.
This better be worth it.
The next morning Hermione woke up feeling better than she had felt the afternoon before. Her brain no longer felt foggy, and when she stood up, she didn't feel like her legs would collapse out from under her.
"See, Hermione, I told you were just seeing things. Malfoy's six feet under and all is as it should be." Not bothering getting dressed first, Hermione went out to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. While she waited for it to finish brewing, she went over to the table, sat down, and pulled that morning's copy of The Daily Prophet towards her. She'd flipped to the Politics section when a piece of parchment slipped out from between the pages and onto the table. She picked it up and quickly scanned the message written in Ron's familiar, messy scrawl:
I have something important that I want to talk to you about. Meet me for dinner tonight at six. I'll be waiting for you right outside the Three Broomsticks. I love you, and can't wait to see you. - Ron Hermione folded up the note and laid it aside. I wonder if Ron's finally going to ask me to marry him, she wondered with a smile. She went back to reading her paper, completely unaware that someone was watching her.
Draco breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Hermione smile. She bought it. He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. Tonight, my little witch, you're all mine.
Hermione was excited about her evening with Ron. She had been waiting so long for Ron to pop the question, and now the day seemed to finally be here! She took special care in choosing her outfit and even took the time to tame her usually flyaway curls into soft waves that fell halfway down her back. Before she knew it was time to leave. She took one last one look in the mirror before apparating to the Three Broomsticks.
She arrived right outside of the Three Broomsticks like she had been instructed. She took a quick glance around to find that Ron hadn't gotten there yet.
"Late again, as usual," Hermione sighed.
"Actually, Love, I'm right on time," a voice whispered behind her. A chill crept up Hermione's spine. Not even bothering to turn around, she asked with a slight quiver in her voice, "Wh- what do you want, Malfoy?"
"I've told you what I want," Draco answered. "Won't you turn around? I want to have a good look at you."
"No. Not before you tell me what you've done with Ronald," Hermione answered.
"Weasel-Bee is fine, and no harm will come to him as long as you do as I say." Hermione felt Draco breathing down her neck. "And if I don't?" "Then, let's just say, that this will be the Weasel's last Halloween," Draco said.
"If you hurt him, I'll…"
"You'll what?" Draco laughed. "Kill me? I'm already dead. I've got nothing to lose, but you do. The choice is yours, Hermione. Come with me and your precious blood-traitor lives, or refuse me, and he dies."
"Why you little ferret!" Hermione ground out between clenched teeth.
"It's not been five minutes into our relationship, and you already have a nickname for me? Not sure I like it, but I'm sure it will grow on me. Kind of like your love will grow for me."
"I will never love you!" Hermione exclaimed.
"We'll just see about that," Draco hissed. "Now turn around."
Hermione slowly turned around to face Draco. His eyes traveled up and down her body, taking in how her red dress clung to her form in all the right places. His gaze lingered a little too long on her chest before he finally forced himself to look into her eyes. He didn't like the fear that filled her eyes, or that he had put it there.
Hermione tried her best not to squirm under Draco's scrutinizing gaze.
"Do you like what you see?" She whispered nervously.
Without answering, Draco grabbed hold Hermione's wrist and apparated them to the outer edge of the Forbidden Forest.
"What are we doing here?" Hermione asked.
"You'll see soon enough, Draco said. Now hurry! We're running out of time." Never letting go of her wrist, Draco roughly dragged Hermione behind him. She struggled to keep her balance; he was going so fast.
They soon came to the middle of the forest. Draco finally slowed down long enough to push a few low-hanging branches out of the way, allowing Hermione to finally catch her breath.
"How far are you taking me?" Hermione asked.
"We're almost there," Draco answered. "Just a few steps more." He pushed aside one last branch, revealing a clearing Hermione had never seen before. A table and two chairs were set up underneath an arch that was covered with strings of little orange lights. Draco led Hermione over to the table and pulled out a chair for her before seating himself on the opposite side.
Once they were both settled, plates of food magically appeared before them, along with two glasses of shimmering, green liquid.
"You must be curious why I brought you here," Draco said. He fingered the stem of his glass, his eyes never leaving Hermione's.
"That would be an understatement," Hermione said sarcastically. "Why exactly did you bring me here?"
"I told you before, I have some unfinished business."
"Yes, as I recall, you said, you're unfinished business was me," Hermione replied. "What I don't understand is why?"
Draco slammed his fist down hard on the table, causing Hermione to jump and the poison to slosh dangerously near the edge of the glasses. "Don't play games with me, Granger," he snarled. Seeing the fear flicker in her eyes, he said calmly, "You know I've always loved you." He reached across the table and took hold of her hand. She flinched at his touch.
"You don't have to be afraid of me, 'Mione," Draco said softly.
After a moment of silence, Hermione asked, "If you really had feelings for me, why didn't you ever say anything?"
"You were too caught up in Weasel-Bee to pay any attention to me," Draco said sadly.
"Well, you should've had the nerve to say something anyway," Hermione said. "Merlin knows what could have happened if you'd had the nerve to tell me."
"You would've laughed at me, I'm sure," Draco replied."
"I would not!" Hermione exclaimed.
"Really?" Draco asked uncertainly.
"Yes," Hermione answered. I would've punched you in the nose again and kept right on walking," she said with a smile.
Draco laughed and said, "How very Slytherin of you, Granger. If you weren't already dating Weasley, I think you and I could've been a good match."
"Maybe we would've," Hermione agreed. "I guess we'll never know, will we?"
"I guess not," Draco agreed.
They had been eating in silence for a while when Hermione suggested, "How about a toast?"
"A toast to what?"
"A toast to you wrapping up your unfinished business, of course!" Hermione lifted her glass and said, "To Draco, may you finally be able to rest in peace."
"To Hermione for giving me the closure I needed."
They clinked their glasses together, just as a far-off clock chimed midnight, and Draco knocked backed the poison, watching while Hermione did the same. It didn't take long for the poison to have the desired effect. Hermione's pain-filled scream broke the silence. The glass fell from her hand and shattered on the ground. She crumpled to the ground, her body wracked by convulsions. The poison burned through her veins, setting her nerve endings on fire.
Draco hurried over and knelt down beside her. Through the excruciating pain, she gasped, "What did you do to me?
" "I did what I had to do," Draco answered. "In a minute, it will all be over, and then you'll be mine forever!"
He watched as Hermione continued to struggle, her body shuddered with a final spasm, and then she lay completely still. Draco closed her eyes and covered her still-warm lips with his. I always knew you'd be mine, Granger, he thought with a smirk. He gathered Hermione's body into his arms and returned with her to the afterlife.
Narcissa watched from up above as Draco claimed what was his. She watched with delight as the mudblood tried fighting the effects of the poison flooding through her veins. An ugly, twisted smile spread across her features, as Hermione's screams rent the air, and her body was wracked by convulsions. After a few moments, Hermione's body lay completely still. It won't be long now, she thought. Narcissa hurried over to the place where all the spirits entered the afterlife.
She arrived just in time to welcome Draco and Hermione as they entered the portal into eternity, hand in hand, ready to begin their twisted happily ever after.