A Modern Tragedy

Summary: After the death of her child and her failed marriage Hermione finally had enough. ONE SHOT.

After reading a couple of miscarriage/heartbreaking fics and cleotheo's fanfic called Serendipity I got really inspired to write this. Hope you enjoy.

Hermione stood, on the place where two lovers used to meet, away from the friends and family that refuse to accept their love. A place of solace and fond memories now turned into a place of misery and regret. They were after all the modern day, Romeo and Juliet. Hermione was wearing a long-sleeved cross body, pale pink flowing chiffon dress that was cinched at the waist with a matching chiffon ribbon. She had just come from a ministry party to celebrate summer solstice, where she saw him and the blonde beauty on his arm that she will never compare to. Behind her, a large alder tree that should be a symbol of endurance and strength now meant pain. Hermione turned away from the gleaming moon and dark waters and stepped closer to the tree before kneeling at its base. She slowly took her shaking hand and placed it upon the worn etchings engraved on the bark forever, DH. Hermione broke into a sob, in this world those letters would survive the test of time, but apparently, that does not apply to their love.

Hermione knew that letting him go was the worst thing she could have ever done. Especially, let him believe that because of him, their baby that had been nestled inside her for seven months bled out inside her womb due to blood-purists who couldn't let a mudblood ruin a pure line. No, she shouldn't have let others poison his mind, but Hermione was too much into her own grief to do anything. If anything it had to have been her fault, she was the baby's mother, she had been the one the baby relied on for safety. But what was done is done. She would gladly use a time turner to go back and fix things. But Hermione knew what ramifications and consequences that came with it. By going back in time, the lives of her friends and family—and the entire wizarding world could change. She couldn't be selfish, she was a Gryffindor after all.

She pushed herself off the trunk of the tree to stand back up. Hermione slowly bent down and took off her nude coloured sandals and dumped them beside her wand. She felt the soft grass beneath her feet and then proceeded to take off her small heart-shaped diamond necklace while emitting sobs of the anguish and pain that had been with her for four years. After she took off her necklace, she took off the platinum charm bracelet her parents had given her on her birthday after the miscarriage, which had three charms on it. A small dangling pink rattle, a gold lion head, and a dangling charm of the Cassiopeia constellation. It meant a lot to Hermione when her parents gave her the charm bracelet, she would at least had something that was attached to her precious little girl that she could wear every day. She decided to leave on the diamond stud earrings Draco had given her. That was the only thing she had left of him anyway since she had been forced by his parents to return her rings.

She looked over the horizon with tears flowing like a river down her face. This was it. She couldn't live anymore. She didn't want to move on. The man she loves, the man she probably only ever will love, will be marrying someone else in a fortnight and she didn't want to—couldn't ever—live through that. Hermione inched forward to the edge of the cliff that was pointed out like the bow of a ship. The water crashing on the rocks below, and the wind gusting towards her played in tune with her heart-wrenching weeps of agony. Tears for her little girl that she would never be able to see grow, tears for the number of times people in her life had tried to sever the love she and Draco had, tears for the pain her attackers caused, and tears for the love of her life marrying someone who his parents thought ideal. Hermione couldn't live the life she was living, she wanted it to end. What better place than to end it near one of the most sacred places to her and Draco's relationship.

She kept inching closer and closer as she cried to the moonlight shining on her. Every part of her senses was activated. The grass beneath her bare feet, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves of the alder tree, the cold sensation on her face from her hot tears becoming cold due to the cool breeze. Hermione stared ahead to the horizon focusing on the stars, hoping to be among them soon enough.

Hermione stepped closer.

And closer.

And closer to the edge of her mortal salvation.

Draco was in the elaborate gardens of his ancestral home. He didn't want to go to bed yet. Not today. It would have been his daughter's fourth birthday. He walked through the manicured yard and into his favourite area of the massive estate, the secret garden. The little secluded garden had always been his sanctuary since he was a small boy, it gave him a sense of calm serenity and peace. He needed that right now. He approached the wooden door covered in vines that made it blend in well in its surroundings. He walked through and made his way to the sitting area with intricately designed cement benches. When he drew closer to where he wanted to go, he noticed a little girl with platinum blonde hair and grey eyes sitting on his usual spot swinging her feet back and forth in opposite directions looking out into the large pond that was reflecting the moonlight.

"Excuse me who are you?" Draco questioned the girl in an A-line satin dress with embroidered organza and capped sleeves.

The little blonde girl turned to him and said, "I'm Cassie" she smiled.

"Alright, Cassie," Draco said looking at the little girl skeptically. "Why are you here?"

"I was waiting for you" Cassie replied. Draco tensed awaiting any danger that could befall him.

"And please tell me why you were awaiting my arrival?" Draco questioned.

"My mummy need help" Cassie replied hopping off the bench she was sitting on.

"And why is it that you must come to me?" he asked. Draco was really getting tired of these one sentence answers, but what else could he expect out of a little girl?

"Because mummy is sad, please come with me?" Cassie came closer and looked up at him. Draco finally had a good look at her face. Her features were much like his own but softer, and she had cute little chubby cheeks. She was probably the most beautiful little girl he had ever seen. Cassie reached a hand out for him to take.

"Cassie, I don't know your mummy," Draco said as he crouched down to meet her shining grey eyes.

"Yes you do," Cassie answered.

"No, I don't think so," Draco argued.

"Of course you know her, you made me together" Cassie finally dropped the bomb and made Draco's eyes go wide. "Excuse me? I don't think—"

"No time daddy! We need to go" Cassie cut him off and took hold of his left hand in her right hand. Instantly they were at the alder tree overlooking a cliff, the one he and Hermione used to come to for picnics together. Draco started to look around for Cassie, and demand why he had brought her here. As he looked around he finally noticed her. The love of his life, inching closer to her death. His eyes grew wide, he wanted to will himself to move—to pull her back from what she was doing, but he couldn't move a muscle he was too shocked. Draco called out to her but she could hear him. He heard the sobs she was emitting, dreadful sobs full of pain and sorrow. Suddenly Cassie appeared in a glowing light near Hermione's skirt.

Cassie tugged on the skirt to get her mother's attention. "No mummy," Cassie said sadly to her mother. Hermione turn her head to look down onto the beautiful little girl.

"We'll be together soon, my love" Hermione tearfully replied. She turned back towards the path ahead.

"Daddy, help mummy!" Cassie cried out to Draco which snapped him out of his shock and rushed towards Hermione on the cliff. Hermione just kept walking forward getting dangerously close to plummeting to her death.

Right in the nick of time, Draco caught up to her right before she would jump off.

"Please don't Hermione," Draco pleaded "I can't live without you"

His voice made Hermione stop.

"You managed just fine for four years" Hermione retorted. "Please let me go Draco, I can't keep living like this. If I can't have you in this lifetime, I don't see it worth continuing to live" Draco's heart broke, he never realized how broken she truly was. He always saw his Hermione as a source of strength and he believed that after their daughter died she healed. But here she was, at the cliff ready to jump down to the frigid waters below because she couldn't handle the grief and pain she had been feeling for four years…alone.

"Hermione please, don't end it like this" Draco cried. "I love you, if you die I would die too" he softly said to her as he sobbed.

"Love, I died a long time ago," Hermione said sadly. "It's just that no one noticed, they all celebrated when our baby died, they also celebrated my heartbreak when our marriage failed," she wept. "I love you, here, now, and forever" And with those final words Hermione leaned back free falling down, ready for the afterlife. Ready to be in a place where she can truly be at peace.

"NO!" Draco sobbed aloud. Every cell in his body felt grief, he looked over the edge of the cliff and there laid the bloody and distorted body of his soulmate being violently crushed by the waves of the dark sea water. Draco's heart broke ten times over at seeing Hermione's unmoving body below on the rocks. He emitted cries of deep sorrow blaming himself for letting her being driven to the point of killing herself to rid of the pain that plagued her life. At that moment, Draco didn't care if no one was left to carry on the Malfoy line, he didn't care about what his friends felt, and he certainly didn't care about his parents or Astoria. At that moment all he thought about was joining his family in the afterlife. Hermione and Cassiopeia were awaiting him, and he didn't want them to wait too long. They were who he belonged to, not Astoria or any pureblood girl his parents pushed his way. So with a tearful face, he took a deep breath and willed himself over the edge to be with his girls.