Title: A Lover's Alibi
Author: Lily,
Pairing: Draco/Hermione
Rating: PG-15, death.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the mere ideas and thoughts that roam my mind.
Summary: Never did they think that their eyes would meet again, for too much had happened since he left her burdened with a sadness that could only be numbed by war. But there, they stood facing each other in the forest where it all began, a love affair like no other, and feelings, emotions, and utmost desires, would finally be released after being held captive in both their beings for much too long.
Authors Note: Please read and review, because reviews are love, and I'd love to hear what you think! :D
A Lover's Alibi
Her breathing was malicious, heaving her chest in cruel rise and falls, as she could feel all breath leave her body, failed attempts to inhale more aching at her core. It was difficult for her eyes to believe that amongst the ever-growing war around her, she could only focus on the man before her. Her eyes were unbelieving, blinking again and again, for this had to be an illusion, a sick game her mind was playing on her. But the man before her did not disappear, and she felt as though she had fallen into another dimension of some sort, a masochistic nightmare.
"Hello Granger," His voice was raspy, as it floated from his throat into her unwilling ears. The sound of it was too much, and it was hard for her to remain in command of her body, as she could feel all control, seeping surely from her pores. But her wand was in front of her, aiming, all the same. Her lips did not move, her body seemingly paralyzed, and she could not speak.
"I thought I'd never see you again,"
Her breathing hitched, as she let in a sharp breath, every nerve ending sparked to life. His words were raw, a sincerity that she barely recognized surrounded them, and she suddenly felt something crash inside of her. Her voice was lost, cowering somewhere inside her being, somewhere she did not dare reach for.
And she could not respond, merely continuing to stare into the stormy grey eyes she had lost herself in more times than she dared to remember. Her wand shook in her hand, and she could not help but feel embarrassed by her lack of demeanour. The war continued to rage around them, but all she could hear, all she could see, and she could sense, was the presence of Draco Malfoy in front of her, slumped almost pathetically against the trunk of an Oak tree in the forest. His eyes gave nothing away, anything and everything she had once been able to see in them, hidden, and disappointment fluttered unexpectedly inside of her body. A gorgeous grey they have once been, so beautiful that it had almost physically hurt to look into the waves of a silver ocean. Her throat tightened as she forced herself to speak, say anything in return.
"Me neither," She managed to breathe out, the gentlest of breezes running through her honey curls. She could no longer hear the screams of war all around them, nor the cries of victory or pain ringing through the air, as her eyes did not pull away from his. It was just them, in the sanctuary of the magical forest – just like it used to be.
"Do you remember, Granger?"
She swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat, and once again she found it hard to breathe.
She merely nodded in reply, as her eyes suddenly burned, the distinct feeling of tears on the verge of overcoming her.
A smile ghosted upon his lips, as the memory floated from both their beings, and fell between them, replaying the event that began something like no other, something they could never forget.
"What are you doing out here so late, Granger? Picking roses for Weaslbee?"
His loud voice startled her, as she let out a scream of fright, grasping at her wand inside of her robes, and whipped around, her eyes wide.
"Jeez, calm down a little. No need to point that stick in my face." He raised a hand to her wand that had found its way to point at his neck, pushing it lightly away from him.
A rush of relief engulfed her body, as let out a breath that she did not realize she had holding.
"Draco! You scared the hell out of me! What do you think you're doing out here so late?!"
"Didn't I just ask you that? And you failed to give me a reply," A smirk found its way onto his lips, curling the edges in a way that was both evil, and mocking, but horribly attractive, all at the same time.
"Well – well," She stammered, evidently flustered by his question. "It doesn't matter. Don't you realize that you're breaking about ten school rules at the moment?"'
He only shrugged at her words, placing his hands into the pockets of his trousers, and continued to stare at her, that smirk, almost mocking her in itself.
"Why so secretive, mud –" He paused to correct himself. "Granger? I promise I won't tell."
Now, he was mocking her, as she rolled her eyes at him, and he let out a small chuckle, that floated effortlessly into the air. She turned to walk away from him, her chestnut curls whipping around her shoulders. Suddenly she felt his warm fingers circle her wrist, pulling her back to face him, surprise flashing in her honey eyes.
"You over react a lot, you know that?" His tone was light, his eyes probing into hers, and she immediately felt her insides squirm almost nervously. She pulled her arm away from him instinctively, because if Draco Malfoy was willingly touching her, something was wrong.
She furrowed her eyebrows at him in confusion, unable to comprehend his actions and words; for they were too kind, too different.
"What's up with you, Malfoy?" Her tone dripped with suspicion, as her eyes probed his for the hidden motives he was sure to be hiding from her.
He simply rolled his eyes at her, and let out a sigh that only made anger spark at the edges of her emotions for how did he just make her feel so stupid, so daft, for asking such a question. But she stayed silent, awaiting his reply, which failed to float from his lips. His only response to her was a mere turn on his heel, as he walked away from her, leaving her to drown in his silence. But she was not having it.
"Malfoy, are you deaf? I just asked you a question!" She cried after him, an anger that he so often sparked within her, appeared on her features, furrowing her brows in frustration.
He suddenly stopped, and turned back to her. That smirk (more gorgeous than she had ever seen), sent her heart pounding against her rib cage, and she was almost certain that her bones would break from the force.
"Are you coming, or not?" Was all he said, before turning back away from her, and stepped further into the mass of trees before them.
She did not think, did not have time to consider anything else, except for the fact her feet were moving without her consent, and her heart banged nervously in her chest, as she followed him into the woods, and never once did she look back.
They figured that they each had nothing to lose, for surely, nothing could come of this. So, it came as a startling shock, when they both found a love in each other like no other. It was difficult to believe, because never would anyone think that his lips would ever brush hers ("Kiss me." She whispered); or would their bodies melt against each others as perfectly as they did (his hands roamed all over her body, caressing every crevice, every curve, claiming them against his skin). It was considered impossible, but only by them, for it was kept a secret, hidden so deep inside of them, that no one could penetrate why her studying sessions always seemed to run late until the wee hours of the morning, or why he served so many detentions by nameless professors when the moon would grace the sky with its presence. They were perfect liars, as no one ever suspected anything else other than what they spoke as truth.
Everything changed as the air they breathed seemed to grow heavier, darken, and a burden of the greatest evil fell upon the shoulders of the man she had fallen so deep and completely in love with.
"I have to do this!" His back was to her, his shoulders slumped, as his hands rested against the windowsill, pressing against the concrete with a burdened force of much more than just his own weight.
"No, you don't, Draco! There has to be another way! Let me help you –"
"You can't!" He shouted at her, whipping around and bringing his slouchy body to its full height. Though it was dark, and the moon only shone with a dull glow, his grey eyes were visible to her, and in them, she saw a heart wrenching pain, the kind that would surely break the bearer of it, the kind that hurt her so much (more than he could ever know) to see him possess.
Her eyes pricked with the too familiar sensation of tears, as she could feel her heart crack with overwhelming defiance.
"I can, Draco! I can!" Hot, stinging tears spilled across her flushed cheeks, but she did not notice, for all she could think about was the one that mattered the whole world to her, the one slipping away from her like sand through her fingers. A sob raked at her throat, clawing at it for its release, until finally she could no longer hold it in, and it tore through her body with a thunderous force. She took a step closer to him, and she felt so pathetic, desperately pleading for him to take her help, and never had she begged ever, until now.
"Please, Draco! Don't do this, please. I can help, just let me!" She managed to cry out in between sobs that heaved her chest terribly, as she gasped for air.
He backed away from her almost immediately, tearing his eyes (that were so beautiful, too beautiful) away from hers, and said the one thing with the cruellest voice she had ever heard, that broke Hermione Granger into pieces.
"I don't need your help."
With that, he left the room, slamming the old, wooden door behind him with a bang, and she couldn't help but wonder if that was the sound her heart made as it shattered.
She did not know what they were facing at the time, did not know about the dangerous and horrible internal struggle he was going through, until it was much too late. She was too broken, and he was too weary.
He could not breathe, his chest heaving too frantically, desperate for air to fill his lungs once again. He followed the others out of the astronomy tower, only by instinct, for he could no longer bear his surroundings any longer. When he reached the bottom of the metal stairs, something caught his eye, and took every breath that he had managed to breathe, out of his body. It was her (and she was beautiful), her eyes, honey and still innocent as they have ever been, pierced his, and time stopped.
I'm sorry,
A sad smile (no where as magnificent as the smirk that had long last graced his lips) formed upon his features, burdened with much more than she could ever know, and he was gone.
That was the last time his eyes had pierced hers, and to have them do it again, was too much for her to handle, but she could not bring hers away. He had chosen to fight for the dark, while she fought against everything he was fighting for. And look where that landed them now. Him, slumped on the forest floor, evidently wounded (but of course he refused to show it), and her, a wand in her hand, pointed at the man she had loved for so long, the man every Auror would love to have a chance to kill. The wizard everyone was after and sought to murder. And he was at her mercy.
"Is this how it ends, Granger?"
His words broke through her reminiscent daze, and she was returned to the battle field in front of her. Something burned at the back of eyes, and she refused to acknowledge what it was, for it was much too familiar. She swallowed hard, and finally found her voice.
"Did you know that you meant everything?" Her voice was soft, and raw, and spoke the truths she barely let herself admit.
She dropped to her knees, letting the tears brim over the edges of her eyes stream down her cheeks, burning in their trail, as she squeezed her eyes shut, for she wanted nothing more than for this moment to disappear.
His reply was quiet, and breathless, "Did you know that you still do?"
Her eyes snapped open in surprise, as she looked to at him through blurry vision, and she knew that he was not lying.
A sob rose from her throat, as it burned with the question she had wanted to ask him for so long.
"Why did you leave me?" She asked, as her hand clasped at her hand even tighter, in hope that the shaking would stop. It didn't.
"Because it was the right thing to do,"
His voice was husky, and even quieter than before, as he could feel his heart beating wearily inside of him, and he swallowed, continuing.
"Did you think that I had never thought of letting you in on everything? Did you think that I only left you because I didn't care? Did you know how much of a target I would've put on your back if you were involved with me? I could never live with that. So I lived without you."
She took in his words, and he pierced his eyes at her for what seemed like eternity.
"You know what I have to do," She said plainly, and she winced as he nodded back at her.
And there before her, she saw a much younger Draco Malfoy. The one who had called her Mudblood countless times, threw her snide comments dripping with terrible tones meant to hurt her beyond repair. The one who had bullied her two companions into an odious sphere of utter hatred of him, and anything he was associated with. The terrible boy that she had fallen in love with, fallen so hard and fast into him that she did not have time to consider anything else.
The one she would have to live without, for the rest of eternity.
She steadied her wand in front of her, as a sad smile graced against her lips, matching the one upon his. She squeezed her eyes shut with as much force as she could, and slipped the two words that would forever burden her soul.
What she did was hard, but what he did was much harder.
How easy would it have been for him to raise the wand in his right hand and mutter a blocking spell, and keep the unforgivable from hitting him in the chest. But he didn't. For he knew that his time was coming to an end. He was fallen at the nearest tree when she discovered him, and he hoped that it would act as support to his weakening body, and that she would not see the blood trickling ever so slightly from the great wound in his side. He had been hit with a jinx he knew would spread throughout his whole body. He knew he was about to die.
And he knew that she would be forever known as the one who murdered the most evil wizard who still roamed the Earth after the Dark Lord fell, if he did not fight back. She deserved praise, she deserved glory. She deserved much more than his love. He had let her down far too many times, and the devastation he had evoked in her body was evident in her brown eyes, no longer innocent but still as breathtaking as ever.
Somehow, they knew that this was not the end for them, they would be reunited, and hopefully the love that they each possessed would wrap around them, surround their beings, and cradle them in its arms. That was his reason for letting the events unfold as they did, his alibi, for all he could do was hope that in another place, in another time, they would get what they had always wanted from each other.
Their love, though thought ceased when he walked away from her that eventful night in their sixth year, was there between them then, now and forever, even as life fell from body, even as his arctic eyes froze solid, and he left Hermione Granger for the last time.
A green haze still roamed through the air, basking in the moon's milky glow. Later, when they would find his lifeless body, no longer slumped against the trunk of a tree, but sprawled on the cold forest floor, cries of victory would fill the air. And amongst that, a smirk had replaced the sad smile upon his lips, as Draco Malfoy waited for the love of his life to return to him.