FOR THOSE WHO HAVE READ THIS BEFORE PLEASE READ IT AGAIN. THIS CHAPTER WAS EDITED!

-Summary: Draco is dying, he only has a year left to live and no amount of magic can save him. Now Draco promises to change- to make his few months of living filled with laughter instead of tears. Will be D/Hr, sooner or later. R&r please.

Title: Last Kiss

By: mya14

Chapter 1: The Shocking News

"Mother! What are we doing here? This is a Muggle hospital!" 16-year old Draco Malfoy asked Narcissa, while trying to get away from her at the same time. Narcissa, with a determined look on her face was dragging him through the hospital towards a door with a sign hanging on it that read "Dr. Simms' Office."
"What are we doing here?" Draco stomped his feet. "Will you just shut up for once!" Narcissa snapped. "And please don't ask too many questions, I can't concentrate!" Her voice lost all anger and irritation, and she simply sounded scared, scared of what might happen to Draco. When they finally reached the office, Narcissa knocked sharply on the door, and someone called from inside, telling her to "come in, the door's open.".
With shaking hands Narcissa pushed the door open and she and Draco entered the room.

"Mrs. Malfoy! Draco! Come in!" A man with sparse hair on his head, and a white Muggle doctor's coat on his body motioned for them to sit down on two chairs in front of his desk. " Okay.." Dr. Simms said as he took his seat. "What brings you both here?" He looked from Draco, who was rather pale, to Narcissa, who was shaking.
"W-well…" Narcissa started to speak, her voice a little shaky. "Dr. Agushen t-told me to sh-show you…" She fumbled inside her purse for a parchment and handed it to Dr. Simms with a worried look in her usually cold eyes. "-this." she finished.
The doctor took the parchment in his old hands and began to scan the official-looking lines. "The findings were…" The doctor continued reading, nodding his head every now and then. "And then the results were… What?"
He shot an alarmed look at Narcissa, who was sitting rigidly in her chair. "Is this yours?" Narcissa shook her head.
"Whose is this then?" Dr. Simms asked urgently, and a tear fell from Narcissa's eyes. "Draco's."

"Huh? Wait… what's happening?" Draco asked confusedly, as Dr. Simms immediately began examining him, checking his pulse, his tongue, ears, temperature… It was strange because he just had a check up with Dr. Agushen.
"What are you doing? Back off, you- you Muggle… Mudblood!" Draco shouted. "Sorry, I can't back off and I'm not a Mudblood! I'm a pure-blooded wizard, so there's no reason to call me names. The reason you're here… well, I'm the only wizard who knows the Muggle's medical customs and based on Dr. Agushen your case is horrible! So horrible…" Dr. Simms said as he continued examining Draco. "So behave yourself!" he said sternly.
Draco frowned angrily. "What is that supposed to mean? Dr. Agushen is one of the best mediwizards ever… and why did he recommend me to this… Dr. Simms?" Thousands of other questions were swirling around Draco's head, but he just couldn't seem to ask any of them.
"Lie down!" Dr. Simms commanded. Draco grudgingly obeyed, lying down on the hard, white bed behind the desk. "Okay, be still, this is going to sting a bit…" Dr. Simms rummaged around in his coat pocket, and brought out a large syringe. Draco immediately sat up, the blood draining from his face. "Oh no… you are not sticking that bloody thing in me… you're crazy… I'm getting out of here." "I can't believe Muggles examine their patients like that!" He thought angrily as he hauled himself off the bed.
Behind him, Dr. Simms sighed and pulled out his wand. "You asked for it…Slipitus Anesthasius!" he shouted.

Draco felt his body going numb… he was getting drowsy, and he couldn't seem to keep his eyelids open. The brightly lit office was getting dimmer and dimmer… he could feel himself sliding down to the floor…

Moments later Draco woke up. He felt very tired and his eyelids were still heavy. He blinked, lazily sitting up and glancing around at his surroundings.
He was still in the Muggle hospital, but he was now in a private room. He looked around then he realized there was a plastic container full of liquid beside him, it has a long tube which was connected to his veins. Draco tugged gently at the tube, and a pricking feeling in his hand made him drop it.
"What's this? Why is it here? Why am I here?" Draco felt the beginnings of panic. Just then the door opened.

Dr. Simms came in with Narcissa Malfoy and this time Narcissa was really crying. Draco looked up.

"Why are you crying, Mother?" Draco asked Narcissa gently. Suddenly, she rushed forward and hugged Draco tight. "Why does it have to be you…" She whispered. Draco felt his mother's tears as warm dampness on his shoulders. "I love you so much…"

Draco felt strange... it's not that his mother never told him she loved him but it was not like her to say that when someone was watching them and it was in public, which made it feel so unusual. Unsure of what to say or do, he whispered back into his mother's ear. "I love you too..."
Narcissa pulled away and wiped her tears away. "We have to tell you something." She said as another tear slid down her cheek. Dr. Simms took out his wand, muttered something and the dextrose that was connected to Draco's veins disappeared.
Narcissa looked at Dr. Simms meaningfully, as if she was signaling him to speak. Dr. Simms nodded reassuringly at her, then he turned to Draco. "Well… Draco…" Dr. Simms began. He paused and took a deep breath, his face looked so sad, his news was obviously going to be terrible.
Draco stared up at them. "Well?"

The doctor looked away. "You're dying…" he said softly as he breathed out.

Then, there was silence. It took Draco a while before he understood what Dr. Simms had just said. "It can't be true." He thought. "It's a joke!"
Draco laughed out loud. "Good one Doctor!" I almost fell for that!" He laughed again, coldly, mocking. His mother looked at him, and spoke.

"It's true Draco…" His mother whispered, "and there's nothing we can do." Draco stopped laughing and looked at his mother, she was crying so hard. He could see it in her eyes, all the pain he was causing her, he can see in her eyes that she was telling the truth, he can see in her eyes how much she loved her son, in her eyes he could see how much it hurts her that Draco was dying, her only son, the only person who cared for her more than anyone else in this world.

Draco had no idea what to do. Part of him said that it was true, how could his mother be crying so hard? But he simply refused to believe it. "No, this just can't be true. They haven't even told me why… or how…"
He glared up at Dr. Simms. "How could this happen? This is impossible… I'm perfectly fine!" His voice was getting louder, shaking with anger. "No! You're not healthy!" Dr. Simms raised his voice. "Look at you! Just look at you, you're so pale!"
"No, no no! It's impossible. You don't even want to tell me why you're making all this fuss over me." He looked at his mother, who was crying into her handkerchief. "You're wasting your tears." Something was prickling at the back of his eyes… tears… Draco realized. No, I won't cry. I can't, not until I found out if I'm really "dying", or if this is all some kind of joke.
Narcissa and the doctor stared at Draco, unsure of what to say to his unbelief. Draco glared at them, and spoke, mockingly, still treating this all as a joke. "How much time do I have left… doctor?"
The doctor's face fell. "A year, but I don't know exactly when… Draco, there can still be a chance that you might get well so please don't lose hope. But, if it's really your time, please, use this year wisely. In this one year, you may be able to finish Hogwarts 6th year, and also…" Dr. Simms sighed. "One year is enough to make your mistakes right, enough to make your life meaningful, enough time to think, enough time to do all the things you want to do and-"

"What?" Draco asked him, surprised that the doctor actually took his mocking question seriously. "One year is enough to make it up to the ones you love…"

Draco felt nothing but an overwhelming of shallow annoyance and anger. "What kind of fool do they think I am?" He stood up from the table and ran out of the room. "I need some time alone." He ran out of the Muggle hospital, onto the unfamiliar streets, simply wanting to get away from all the confusion and annoying lies that they were telling him.

It was the same day, a beautiful Monday afternoon.

Hermione Granger sat at her desk, writing a letter to Ron and Harry, explaining why she wouldn't be able to come around to the Burrow that summer. Her parents wanted her to stay and spend more time with them, as she was already beginning her sixth year at Hogwarts. Hermione, because she missed her parents so much, didn't argue, and she did agree to stay.
"It's been a while…" She thought as she stared around at her small but very comfortable room. She had missed the place so much. It hadn't changed a bit, it was just the way she liked it. She had missed everything in her Muggle life, her parents, old neighbors and friends, her room, her house. "It is beautiful." She thought, contented and happy.
She sighed as she wrote the finishing touches to her letter, and finally signing her name. Hermione stood up and stretched her arms... she was a bit sleepy, but when she heard a tap in the window, she jumped up and went to unlock it.

"Good timing!" she said to Hedwig as she removed the letter Hedwig had brought. She pocketed the letter to read later, and then tied her own letter to Hedwig's leg. She patted the owl, and soon it had flown out of sight.

Yawning, Hermione made her way to her bed, and was just about to lie down for a doze when her mother suddenly called to her from downstairs. "Hermione!" her mother called out from downstairs. "Do you mind if I ask you run an errand for me?"
Hermione sighed again. "Okay! I'm coming down!" she shouted back. She pulled on her sandals and went down the stairs, the letter still in her pocket.

Draco was still walking briskly along the roads, angrily trying to escape from the muddling thoughts in his head. He just couldn't take it all, he couldn't believe it. "Why of all people why does it have to be me? Why of all people, does my mum suddenly go crazy and starts telling me I've got one year to live? I mean, is it even true?" He asked himself, frowning, and bumping into Muggles without even stopping to apologize to them.
"What is this? The payback of all the things I've done or is it really my time? Or is this all one big, stupid joke?" He was going crazy… he needed someone to talk to. Draco just couldn't handle all the questions on his own.
He needed someone, but there was no one to talk to at all, who could understand? Even if Crabbe and Goyle were there, they still couldn't help him, they were just too slow.
Draco continued stalking down the busy streets, angrily pushing people aside. "I am so pathetic…" He thought. "I am so pathetic."

"Flour… sugar… and syrup." Hermione placed the three ingredients in front the cashier. The girl rang up the purchases, accepted the money Hermione held out, and waved goodbye as Hermione walked out the door with her shopping bags in her arms.
Hermione yawned... she was really sleepy now. "I could go home and read my letter now… I wonder what Ron and Harry are doing." She thought, walking down the street. "Maybe they're having fun right now." She sighed… she missed them both.

On her way home, Hermione decided to take a shortcut so she can rest and read her letter. Just then, when she was about to turn the corner, someone who was walking so fast and didn't see her collided with her and they both fell onto the grass with identical angry gasps of surprise.
"Ouch! Watch where you're going! Next time, would you please be more… Malfoy?" Hermione stared at him. Draco stood up and pulled Hermione up. He grabbed her spilled groceries and pushed them at her, avoiding her eyes. "I didn't see you, and you should watch where you're going, too." He growled, anger in his face. "Watch it." And he walked away.

Hermione stood there, shocked. "What's his problem? I've never seen him that angry!" She thought. "He must be really off his rocker, he actually helped me up…" Hermione frowned. "Oh, well. Strange as he is, I haven't seen him this strange yet." Similar thoughts chased each other around her head as she continued to walk home.

A/N: Sorry guys, I have to end this chapter right here. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. J Please leave a review. No flames.

Btw, this chapter is dedicated to Archangela. Thank you for beta-reading this chapter. You've been a great help. J

Mya