Forgiveness

By: Takara R. M.

(This One)

Summery: Draco is in critical condition after using his body as a shield to protect Harry during the final battle.

Author's Note: One-Shot; Angst; Character Death; This One does not know where the inspiration came to write this short fiction, but it fitted This One's mood perfectly when This One decided to finish it.

Disclaimer: This One does not own Harry, Draco, or Hermione…JKR does! This Onewould not mind owning Harry and Draco…definitely Draco! hehehe…

Harry stood over Draco's bed. The nurse came in to check up on the blond boy's condition. Harry watched in silence as the nurse went about her business and left only to come back a few minutes later with a large comfortable looking chair, placing it next to the Slytherin's bed.

"Mr. Potter?"

He did not reply.

"Sir?"

"Hn."

The nurse sighed. "If you plan on staying the night again, you might want to sleep on this chair instead of on the floor like last night."

Again, he did not respond.

Shaking her head, the nurse left the emotionless Gryffindor alone with her patient. Harry stood there for ten more minutes before maneuvering his stiff body into the chair, his eyes never leaving Draco's immobile form.

Silent tears slid down the raven-haired boy's cheek and fell into his lap. The sight of Draco in a bed of pure white sheets and rubber tubing attached to the life-support machines, that the doctors said were the only things keeping the boy alive, was heart wrenching.

Harry closed his eyes and muttered Draco's name repeatedly under his breath. Soon, Harry's entire form was violently quaking with sobs as he relived the final battle in his mind.

:Flashback:

Voldemort, half covered in shadow and fully covered in blood, watched Harry's form as the young wizard fought off his dark followers. Seeing his chance to finally bring an end to the hero of the wizarding world, the Dark Lord raised his wand and sent a slow tortured death aimed at the boy.

Draco was fighting side by side with Granger when he saw Voldemort prepare his attack. Without thinking, Draco raced over the many scattered bodies of the dead and around flying curses and wounded wizards of both sides. The only thought in his mind was Harry.

He reached Harry just as the curse was a foot away and slammed his body into the other boy's. Harry went sprawling on top of a random carcass and watched as the curse skimmed right next to Draco's left side near his ribs.

Harry turned as a loud anguished cry of outrage range out and saw Voldemort recovering from an attack from a Ravenclaw boy and promptly sending the said boy to a quick death. That is when Harry saw it: his chance to defeat Tom Volo Riddle and end the war.

Voldemort was literally standing in a pool of blood and Harry had been reading and practicing a few spells of concealment that required blood sacrifices. One spell was quiet powerful and Harry decided to use it. It was simple in that the words were not too hard to remember, but was only rarely preformed since it required so much blood.

Harry stretched out his body so that he could touch the puddle with the palm of his left hand and started to mutter the spell. Harry cut the palm of his hand and submerged it into the thick red liquid. He could feel the magic building up and until it was ready to explode.

Voldemort also felt the build up and turned to find Harry at work to kill him. Sending yet another slow dieing curse to the Boy-Who-Lived, both Riddle and Harry Potter were shocked when Draco's body came flying into the path of the curse effectively shielding Harry from certain death.

Harry nearly did not get the final word out to finish off Voldemort as the Slytherin's body fell on top of him. After he finished casting the bloody spell, Harry shifted Draco so that he could see the boy's face.

The Dark Lord, knowing that he was about to die and wanting to take the golden boy out with him, directed one final death sentence at Harry. Draco with what was left of his strength leaned into the boy, letting the curse hit him square in the back. Right before the curse hit, Draco confessed his feelings for Harry, in words, for the first time.

"Forgive me… I love you", he gasped, blood filling his mouth, throat, and lungs.

Harry cried out in shock, fear, and pure agony as Draco's lean body went limp in his arms.

:End Flashback:

He looked so peaceful when he slept. If only he were really sleeping. Harry brushed some stray platinum-blond strands of hair from Draco's face, his smile sad and loving.

"Forgiveness granted, my love." A single tear fell on Draco's sickly pale skin. "I will not waste the life that you gave so much to protect."

:Three Weeks Later:

The chilly wind blew his hair out of its hold and sent his cape out in flares behind him. Harry held pure white roses rimmed in silver, a very rare flower that only grew in one garden in the entire world and was his favorite.

Harry sighed in sadness. Before him was the grave of one Draco Harry Malfoy. Draco had taken Harry as his middle name a month before the war had officially begun. Harry wiped his eyes as tears threatened to descend.

Harry placed the roses in front of the tombstone as he whispered to the wind in hopes that it would carry his words to the one he loved.

"My love, I gave you my forgiveness, but I had not been able to ask for yours. I ask now." Harry ran his fingers over the engraving on the tombstone. "Will you forgive me?"

The wind picked up as Harry stood up to leave. He watched in wonder as flowers started to sprout around the tombstone and over the grave rapidly. They were roses, all black and white with silver rimming. Taking a step back, Harry noticed an engraving on the edge of the stone tablet.

To love is to forgive. I will always forgive he whom I love.

Harry fell to his knees in tears. How was he going to live, knowing that the only one he will ever deeply loved was now gone, having sacrificed his own life so that he, Harry Potter, could live.

"Wait for me, Draco, my love."

Hermione left one grave and moved to another, leaving a flower in her wake. She came to a stop as she gazed upon a man not a few yards away. Hermione watched Harry holding himself, rocking back and forth next to a grave completely over grown with flowers. The sight shattered her heart and tore at her soul.

"Who ever said that love guaranteed happiness?"

The End

Special thanx to my very good friend Shereen, who is closer to me as a sister than anyone! She did the beta for this one! I hope you all like it! If you read it... please leave a review! Any commentary would be nice! If you plan to flame me because I killed Draco... go ahead. I was crying when I had him die. :sniffles: I do deserve flames for that... but if you have other flames and you have evidence to back them up... go ahead. It's yer opinion and I'm not one to tell you what you should like or what you should read. Besides all that, I would LUV reviews! So please... REVIEW :bows: Thank you!