Title: It's always been you.
Summary: For Hermione Granger it's always been Draco Malfoy. For Draco Malfoy it's always been Hermione Granger. They've just never told each other that. It takes one curse and one reunion for everything to change.
Pairings: Ron/Hermione. Draco/Hermione.
Warnings: Violence and strong language.
Rating: Rated T just to be sure.
A/N: Set during the big battle of Hogwarts in the 7th book, just so you're not confused about why there are bangs and shrieks and explosions going on all over the place.
A/N: Woke up this morning and thought to myself 'I haven't written a sad story in a while' and then straight afterwards I thought 'I haven't written a Harry Potter story in a while'. I wonder what happened next, I hear you all ask. Well read on and you'll find out;)
The door was blasted back off it's hinges, Ron grabbed Hermione's hand and they backed into the far corner of the potions classroom. The dust started to clear and Hermione's breath caught in her throat. Although they still could see whoever it was properly, Hermione knew that sillhouette and white blonde hair anywhere. It was him.
'Draco.' Hermione whispered faintly, at the same time that Ron hissed under his breath, 'Malfoy.'
Draco's eyes scanned the room quickly from left to right. He finally noticed them in the corner of the room. His breathing hitched and his heart skipped a beat. She was back. It took him a while to realise who was stood next to her, guarding her as if she was some innocent little lady that needed protecting. Bastard, Malfoy thought to himself before muttering, 'Weasley.' to himself quietly.
Ron started to stand up from his crouch, Draco clenched his fist even tighter around his wand. Prepared for a fight. Not daring to look towards Hermione for fear of being unable to look away, Draco raised his wand and pointed it at Weasley's chest. Ron did the same. The two started to move and circle each other, Ron's wand hand was shaking a little but Draco's was as steady as a rock. He knew why; it was revenge. Not for any of the obvious reasons. It was revenge for taking what he wanted most. For taking her.
The two danced around each other a little longer, until they came to a complete stand still. Ron couldn't help but notice how close Draco and Hermione were to each other. Jealous erupted within him and he felt it coiling in his stomach. He didn't like the way Hermione was staring up at him, as if the guy held some kind of beacon of light to her that nobody else, not even Ron himself, could give her. Hermione had stood up from her crouch and was backing away slowly from Malfoy, her wand at the ready. It gave Ron some satisfaction knowing that that would probably hurt Malfoy more than the curse he was about to give him.
Draco tried not to let it sting when he saw her back away from him out the corner of his eye, but it still caused him hurt knowing that they could never even stand near to one another again. He saw her poised with her wand pointing in his direction, and looking as if she was about to take action. Draco gulped softly, trying to force down the hurt that was coursing its way around his limbs now.
He's distracted! Ron thought to himself, and he only allowed himself half a second to think before: 'Avada Kedavra!'
The curse that left Ron's wand vibrated through his entire body and he staggered backwards from the shock of it. He saw Malfoy's eyes widen and Ron knew that he hadn't seen it coming, a smug feeling crept over him.
'NO!' Hermione screamed. She saw the curse coming, saw it heading for him, and she didn't think twice about what she was doing. She dove and everything seemed to go in slow motion. She didn't make a noise as the curse hit her in the shoulder and slumped to the floor in front of Draco's feet.
'Hermione!' Draco yelled, dropping to the floor beside her. 'Hermione, are you still here?' He lifted her head up onto his knees. 'Herm?'
Her eyes fluttered and she looked around, seeking one face and one face only. And there she found it, right above her like an angel from above. She'd always thought him as her angel. She lifted up her hand, daring touch this time because she knew it wasn't another of her dreams. He was there, with her, they were together. Together at last. She smiled and touched his face his with her fingers. She felt one of his hands enclose around her own.
'Herm.' He whispered. 'How are you still awake?'
'The killing curse didn't hit me directly. I only have a few seconds left.' She murmured, Draco closed his eyes and felt as if every bone in his body was breaking.
'Oh God, Hermione. I didn't mean for it to end up this way. I'm sorry, I am so sorry.'
'I didn't know angels could talk.' She smiled, her voice was starting to slur now, Draco knew what was coming next.
'No, Herm. Wait! Stay with me, Hermione. We can fix this, this can't be real...it can't be happening...' He looked around frantically, trying to locate something in the potions classroom that would be of use. There was nothing and Draco knew he was too late.
'It's you.' Hermione said, her cold hands playing lazily with Draco's long, thin fingers. She looked directly into his eyes. He seemed distant, too far away, but she knew it was him. 'It's always been you.'
Her head slumped sideways into Draco's body and he knew she was gone. He felt as if he was in a dream. He knew that there was stone cold floor beneath him, but he couldn't really feel it. He knew that Ron, Hermione's murderer, was stood less than five feet away from him but he didn't really think about it. He knew that he was crying, that tears were pouring down his face and dropping onto Hermione's limp frame, but he didn't nothing to stop them. He felt as if his chest was going to collapse in on him and every breath was a struggle.
Ron, who was stood at the other side of the room using a cabinet as support, was in complete shock about what had just happened. His breathing was shallow and quick, and the room was spinning around him. He gulped. And then gulped again. He'd killed her. Hermione was dead. And it was all him...it was his fault. He...he didn't understand. He couldn't understand.
Ron saw but didn't really watch as Malfoy stood up, supporting Hermione in his arms and placed her across the teacher's desk - the only thing that was still standing the room. He could hear the crashes and bangs from the battle outside, and wondered how nobody was up here with them.
After Draco had placed her down on the table he brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her once on the lips. Then he turned, heading straight for Weasley.
Ron saw Malfoy turn sharply and head his way. He closed his eyes and turned his head to the side, wondering what death would feel like but not really caring at the same time. He heard Malfoy's footsteps on the stone floor stop and Ron braced himself for the mutter of the Killing Curse. But it never came, in it's place was the sound of a broken whisper:
'Kill me.'
Ron opened his eyes and looked round. At a first glance the room was empty but when Ron looked down he saw him. He'd never seen a man look so broken, so empty. Knelt on the floor, Draco was just a shell of his former self. And Ron himself had been the one to cause that.
'What?' Ron stammered.
'Kill me.' Draco repeated, more forcefull this time. He opened his eyes and looked up at Ron, pleading with him. Begging for death.
'I...I...'
He grabbed the Ron's hand and directed his wand towards him. 'Do it now.'
'I can't, I-'
'KILL ME!' Draco's cry was like nothing Ron had ever heard. It was raw, animalistic. Like the sound of a wolf that had lost it's mate. It sent a chill down his spine. He cringed, trying to back away.
'JUST KILL ME YOU COWARD!'
Ron wrenched his wand hand out of Draco's tight grip and sprinted from the room. He knew he shouldn't have left Malfoy alone but he couldn't be in there any longer.
Draco watched him leave and didn't try to stop him. Standing up took too much effort, and as he searched the room he did it only half-heartedly. Finally he came to rest upon what he had been searching for. He didn't feel anything when he located it, not joy or fear. Nothing. Just...emptyness. Dragging himself across the room he lay down next to Hermione.
'I'll be with you soon, Herm.' He whispered to her, before kissing her gently.
Flipping the lid of the vial, he downed the poison in without a second though and then cast the bottle aside - he thought he heard it smash on the floor but took no notice. He heard the distant cries and shouts of battle, but none of the matter. All that mattered is that he would be with her soon. The waiting it took for Draco's body to welcome death was the longest Draco had ever had to wait.
So there they lay, two star-crossed lovers with nothing in common except each other. Like Romeo and Juliet, they died that night.
A/N: Reviews make my world go round;)