Death was inevitable.
From the moment you're born, you're destined to die.
You are going to die in either minutes, hours, days, or years.
It's something you can't escape no matter what precautions you take.
No matter how carefully planned every moment of your life is.
No matter what you have planned.
Death is imminent.
Even those who fight to achieve immortality eventually meet their own sticky demise.
It's inescapable.
Everyone knew this.
Hermione Granger knew all of this.
She knew that her death was as unavoidable as the sun rising.
She knew that at any given moment, something could happen that would cause her heart to stop its beating.
There was a War raging on and it had been present for the majority of her childhood.
She was long since resigned to the fact that she may not survive past her 21st birthday.
So many people before her had died at that age or younger.
From her best friend's parents to so many of her friends that she'd lost in the many battles she fought.
But as the dagger currently imbedded in her stomach sunk in deeper, she felt shocked and cheated.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
Not yet.
Not like this.
She had thought she had more time.
All their plans centered on time.
And she was out of it.
They were out of time.
She could feel it all slipping away as the blade severed more of her flesh and thick crimson blood seeped out of her rapidly.
She was shocked at how painful it was and disgusted by the vile person responsible for her gaping wound.
Draco Malfoy wasn't one to show his emotions.
He never wanted to be perceived as that man that wore his heart on his sleeve.
Those type of men were usually the ones that were hurt the most.
Ron Weasley was a prime example.
But in that moment, as he watched her life slowly slip away, tears streamed from his eyes.
Her legs buckled and he snaked his left arm around her to support her weight like he'd done so many times before.
This time she wasn't scoffing and telling him that she could walk on her own.
This time, her head fell forward and rested on his shoulder as she desperately gasped for air.
The strangled sounds tore at him like razor blades.
He was helpless.
There was nothing he could do to save her.
The one thing he was supposed to do and he had failed.
His one and only job was to be her protector - he swore to her and to those that loved her almost as much as he did that he would never let anything happen to her - and she was dying right in front of him.
Holding her close, he felt her trembling and wished to every deity he could think of to let them trade places.
Let him take the blade in his gut.
Let him be in pain with collapsing lungs.
Let it be him that dies in her arms.
He was selfish.
He would rather put this heartache with her than suffer the loss of her.
He had watched so many cry for those they loved, those they watched slip away.
He watched people hold their loved ones and gaze into their empty eyes, begging for them to breathe again.
He never expected to be one of them.
He never planned on it.
He was supposed to go first.
He was prepared to go first.
But now...now he was the one being left behind.
She was leaving him.
She was targeted and as hard as he may, he could do nothing to stop her death.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he focused on fighting the pure evil that was causing this.
He tried and tried and tried to free himself from the Imperius curse.
But he wasn't strong enough.
The voice - his voice - whispered in his head to go deeper, make it hurt more, make her cry out in pain, watch her die.
He wanted so desperately to disobey.
But the caster was so powerful that he could only do as he was told.
He felt bile rise in his throat as he pushed the blade into her even further, causing her to gasp for air again.
He knew in that moment that that image of her would never leave him.
It was imprinted into his mind for eternity.
To torment him for years to come.
"I'm so sorry!" He sobbed while she slowly lifted her head to gaze into his eyes - one last time.
She bloody smiled at him and reached up with a trembling hand to stroke the side of his face.
He wished he could close his eyes so he wouldn't remember her like this.
So he wouldn't remember the blood staining her teeth as it trickled out of her mouth and down her chin.
And it was all his fault.
He wasn't strong enough.
"It's o-okay...It's not...n-not your fault." She reassured him with shaky breaths. "It's h-his."
He wanted to argue.
He wanted to scream at her to just hold on and not leave him alone in this world.
He wanted to remind her of all the plans they had made together.
But he knew it would be a waste of their precious time.
They had mere seconds before they were separated in the most brutal way possible.
She was dying.
He was losing her.
And it was by his own hand.
"We'll... I k-know we'll...see e-each other...again, I promise..." She stuttered and gasped as her arm fell to her side. "I l-love you..."
Draco squeezed his eyes shut again from the sheer pain that her words caused him and shook his head in denial.
"This can't be happening!" He cried out. "Please don't do this!" He begged and leaned forward to kiss her - one last time.
For a brief and beautiful moment, she kissed him back with all the strength she had left.
"Finish her!" The booming voice sounded from behind them, obviously disgusted by their display, and the shout forced him to open his eyes and pull away from her.
She met his gaze with tired eyes.
There was no fear held in them anymore.
No pain.
Just love and he felt it stab him in the heart.
Her eyes began to flutter closed and she was becoming heavier in his arms.
"No." He choked out and watched her succumb to her injuries.
When she sighed her last breath, he felt his whole world collapse.
All he could do was sink to the ground, clutching her to his chest, and cry.