It was over.
The war was finally over. Yes, it was won by Potter's side but it didn't matter. What mattered was that the war was finally over. No more fights, no more deaths. It was all over.
And he was alive.
But his mother wasn't. His father was dead as well. Hell, even his Aunt Bellatrix was dead. He was all alone now. Just him. In a world full of people who despised him. Great. Just, great.
"No!"
A voice in the background screamed, snapping him out of his reverie. Draco turned around to look at what had been causing the noise. A look of disbelief crossed his face as he saw it.
"No, Hermione. Wake up!"
Potter was shaking Granger with Weasley staring at them with his mouth agape. Granger's body was pale and unmoving. Her eyes looked straight forward to nothingness with her brows knitted. In fear or worry, he didn't know.
Granger was dead.
Draco knew he was supposed to feel delighted that the mudblood had finally been eliminated from the world. Or even just happy. But he felt no joy, not even satisfaction. His mouth couldn't even manage a smirk to hide his shock.
Draco tried to deny it, but he knew that he could never be happy for Granger's death. Yeah, sure, he had slightly expected that his family might not survive… because, well… they're death eaters. But Granger… it had never crossed his mind. And a feeling of emptiness filled his mind. Now, he really had no one. No mother. No father. No aunt. And now, no Granger.
He closed his eyes and let the haunting memories of the past flash in his brain.
"Malfoy?"
Draco whirled around as the voice reached his eardrums, gripping his wand tight with shaky hands. By the door of the men's bathroom stood Granger. She was looking at him with curious and worried eyes as she cautiously entered the bathroom. "What do you want, Granger?"
"What are you doing here?" She asked softly. "You should be in your dormito-"
"It's none of your bloody concern, Granger!" He spat at her, refusing to lower his wand. "Get the bloody hell out of here or I swear, Granger, I'm going to hex you."
He expected her to turn around and leave him for good, but she didn't. Instead, she took another daring step towards him. "Malfoy…" She whispered.
"Go away, Granger!" He yelled at her. He wanted to be alone. He needed to be alone. "I swear, Granger, if you take another bloody step towards me, I'm going to hex your mudblood arse out of here."
Thankfully, Granger didn't move anymore, but she didn't turn around and leave as he had expected. Why the hell was she being so bloody difficult? "Malfoy…" She started. "Lower your wand. I'm not going to hex you or something…"
He snorted. "And why the hell should I believe you?" He snapped. "Why won't you just go away, Granger?"
"Why aren't you in your dorm?" She asked, ignoring his question completely.
He didn't answer her question. As if he bloody could! As if he could simply say, "Oh, nothing… I'm just freaking out because You-Know-Who just ordered me to murder the headmaster, who is, apparently, the wisest wizard ever known. If I failed to do so, he's going to kill me. My parents as well, perhaps..."
Draco could feel Granger's eyes roaming him but he stood exactly where he was, his wand still pointed at her. He heard her gasp, and he instantly looked at where she was staring at with wide scared eyes. His dark mark. "No…" He whispered as he reached to roll down his sleeves to cover the hideous mark that had branded him evil.
"Malfoy…" She finally blurted out once she had recovered from her shock. "Malfoy, you took the mark?"
"Does it look like I didn't?" He fumed at her for asking such an obvious question. "Yes! Now you know that I'm one of them." He said, letting his rage take over him. "Now you know that- that I support You-Know-Who! Now y-you know… Now you know that I'm evil! Now, just go away, Granger!" He spat.
"You know that's not true, Malfoy…" She said softly. "You can still do the right thing. You can still join us." She extended an arm towards him. "Dumbledore would be happy to protect you."
Upon hearing the headmaster's name, his rage returned to him. "You have no bloody idea what you're talking about." He hissed. "Just go."
"Malfoy…" She looked at him, almost desperately. She still had her hand extended to him. Why was he even refusing? He could just take her hand and he would be saved. He could just take her hand and he could straighten all the mistakes he had done in the past. He could just take her hand and his life would change. But what about his parents? Oh, his parents were going to be in big trouble if You-Know-Who knew that he was in the Order's side. You-Know-Who would take out his anger on his parents. And that would be cruel and selfish of him. He couldn't let that happen. He just couldn't.
And she was a mudblood. She was a bloody mudblood! Why the hell would he accept the help of a mudblood? Hell, she could even be just tricking him. She could laugh at him once he'd taken her hand. Or she could make him spill out secrets about You-Know-Who or something and throw him in Azkaban or some other prison once they'd gotten what they wanted from him.
But what if she wasn't? What if she was genuinely sincere? What would happen then?
No. This was stupid. Why was he even considering the mudblood's offer? He knew his answer right from the start… Why did he even stop for a minute and think about it? The answer was no and there's nothing that anyone could do about it.
He bowed his head and whispered, "No." He lifted his head and glared at her. "No!" He shouted. "Now, you have my answer! Now, go away!"
And with that, Granger turned around and left.
Draco opened his eyes and felt it stinging with the tears that were yet to fall, but he held them back. He couldn't let anyone see him affected by someone's death. By a Gryffindor's death. By a mudblood's death.
He wondered what could have happened if he took her offer. He wondered if he would still be alive. He wondered if his parents would still accept him. He wondered if Granger would have survived the war.
Draco didn't want to admit it, but he might have had developed some unwanted feelings for the Gryffindor after that incident. The fact that she had tried to help him made him reconsider his feelings towards her. And also the fact that she didn't despise him, well, despise him more than she already had, or accuse him of being evil for taking the dark mark. She was the only one who seemed to care about him. She seemed to be the only one who would ever accept him.
But now she was gone. Forever.
Draco Malfoy was alive, but Hermione Granger wasn't. And he just wished he was the one who had died instead of her. If one could just give away his life to save another, he would have done it for Granger. Because he knew, and the whole Wizarding World knew, that Granger's life was more meaningful and important than his own.