A/N - Hey, thankyou so much to everyone who reviewed. I have two new Harry Potter oneshots so please check those out, until then here is the next chapter of Two Months To Live.
Two Months To Live
Chapter 2
By Coral Candy
"Sir, please, let me go. I'll do anything." Draco pleaded. His eyes held a look of helpless desperation to them.
"I know Draco, I really would let you go, but Hermione doesn't want you to visit." The headmaster said, shaking his head as though he thought the idea was ridiculous too. Draco looked down at the floor, he was defeated, and he didn't know what to do. He wasn't ready to give her up, not yet.
"You are excused from all lessons on Monday, your fellow students can bring your homework up to you," he told them grimly, "I would just like a word with Mr. Malfoy before you leave."
Harry and Ron who were still in a state of disbelief, nodded mutely and staggered out the door. Once Dumbledore heard the Gargoyle entrance snap shut he turned his attentions back to Draco.
"I know Mr. Malfoy that you will attempt to leave the school, and I can do nothing to stop you if you succeed, but please remember that Hermione asked you not to visit her for a reason, she is probably hurting just as much as you are right now." he said wisely.
"Is there absolutely nothing that St Mungo's can do?" Draco asked, the tears in his eyes threatening to spill over at any point.
"No, I will check again this evening, but they are working on new potions all the time."
"Thankyou sir," he said quietly before turning his back on him and exiting.
He walked back to his dormitory in a state of shock. The place seemed so empty without her; there were no longer books scattered all over the floor, or paper on her desk. It seemed oddly darker as well, it was as if she was the light of the room and now she was gone, and the light had too.
"Hermione! Dinnertime!" her parents had called up the stairs a half hour later. When she hadn't come down after a good ten minutes had passed they went looking for her.
"Hermione? Hermione?" they had whispered in order to make sure that they didn't wake her if she was asleep. They needn't have bothered, she was perfectly awake and didn't intend on sleeping. She had a felling that it would stay that way until the end. The sight that met her parent's eyes broke their hearts. She was curled up on her bed, facing away from them, clutching her pillow desperately.
"Hermione? Are you alright love?" her mother asked carefully. Hermione did not turn around or reply; in fact her mother had no knowledge that she had even heard her.
"Is this about Harry and Ron?" her father asked. He really did like Harry and Ron, despite their tendency to get his daughter into sticky situations. They had always looked out for her and he was thankful to them. Hermione gave a sob at hearing the names of her two best friends. Mr. and Mrs. Granger looked at one another sadly.
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore will let them come and visit sweetie." her mother told her reassuringly.
"No." Hermione said sitting up, "I don't want them to come, I'll look awful soon and I don't want to scare them."
"Darling, you won't look awful!"
"I will!"
"I don't want anyone to come!" she cried, turning over and sobbing into her pillow.
"Okay, if that's what you want." her father agreed.
"Hermione, what if that boy comes?" her mother asked, the truth was she had been dying to know what that boy meant to her as soon as she saw him. She had recognized Harry and Ron instantly but had trouble placing Draco, she had of course never seen him before and that was why. Hermione was silent for a while, neither of her parents wanting to ask again.
"I don't want to see him either," she announced shakily, in all honestly, she would have given anything to be in the head's common room right now with him.
"Who was he Hermione?" her mother whispered.
"I told you, his name is Draco." She said.
Her father recognized this name as the name of someone who had tormented his daughter mercilessly over the years. Tormented her about her heritage, tormented her about them.
"The boy who bullied you?" her mother asked, clearly shocked that her daughter would let someone like him come and say goodbye and in the way he did. She hadn't missed the kisses he had given her, or the look in both their eyes as she had left, she was her mother after all. It was the look of someone that was in love.
"He changed Mum."
"The one who was very rich, very famous in the wizarding world?" her father asked. She nodded, lying back down onto her pillow.
"Why was he there?"
"He wanted to say goodbye," she shrugged, not really wanting to discus the details of her relationship with Draco, with her parents.
"Why?"
"Jeez Mum, he just wanted to, now can everyone please leave me alone!" she cried, the hurt becoming too much to bear inside. Her eyes were brimming with tears; her parents saw this too and were not going to give up until they found out why this boy had made their daughter so unhappy.
"What did he do to you Hermione?" her mother asked clearly. Hermione looked at her confused.
"What did he do to you Hermione that is making you cry now?" she asked, this time with a much stronger tone.
"HE MADE ME FALL IN LOVE WITH HIM!" she yelled as she fell back exhausted, openly crying onto the sheets. Her Mother who was prepared for such an outburst did not look quite as shocked as her husband did.
"I love him, I love him," Hermione whispered to herself, turning from side to side, trembling. She curled back into a ball before her mother folded her into her arms and rocked her back and forth whispering to her.
Her daughter had fallen in love at last, she smiled to herself knowing how happy she must have been a few days earlier and then to have it all taken away from her, she couldn't even imagine how she felt. Mr. Granger who's shock seemed to have worn off looked down at his wife cradling his distraught daughter and even though he hated the boy for making her so unhappy when she was younger, he couldn't help but wonder what he had done to make Hermione miss him so much. He awkwardly sat down next to his wife and stroked Hermione's hair while she sobbed into her mother's blouse.
"Please don't cry Hermione," Mrs. Granger said through her own tears, "You know how I hate to see you cry." This didn't seem to have much effect. She just sat there holding her daughter while she broke down. She couldn't bear to see her like this; normally she was so lively, witty and strong willed.
"You're going to make yourself ill Hermione," she said pleading with her to make her stop. Hermione took a great shuddering breath.
"I am ill." She stated, "I'm going to die, remember Mother, or had you forgotten!"
She got up and ran out of her room and down the stairs until her parents heard the slam of the front door. Her mother got up to follow her but her husband stopped her.
"Leave her for a while, she'll hopefully calm down while she's out," he told her.
"I didn't mean- I forgot-" she stammered over her words. Her husband just pulled her into her embrace while she cried, wishing he could do the same with Hermione, instead of having her cry alone in a dark park somewhere.
Draco sat alone in Hermione's room on her bed with all the lights off, fidgeting with the ring he was supposed to give her with her parent's permission on their graduation, and now he knew that Hermione wouldn't even be alive when he graduated.
KNOCK KNOCK
He slowly got up and made his way to the portrait hole.
"Who is it?" he asked weakly.
"It's me," came a voice from the other side.
"Who's me?"
"Ginny."
He opened the portrait and squinting from the light that was pouring in was able to make out the silhouette of Ginny's form.
"Weasley?" he asked.
"Malfoy!" she greeted. She was one of the thousands that still didn't know the real reason for why Hermione had left. He had a feeling she was there to find out. It was indeed the reason she came, Harry and Ron had muttered something about it not being there place to tell, an answer she was most unhappy with. At this point in time, she neither noticed nor cared that his eyes were red and swollen, due to the past three hours he had spent sobbing lying on Hermione's bed.
"What do you want?" he asked sleepily for in truth of the matter, he was exhausted. Spending three hours pouring your heart out to a photo and a ring did nothing for your health.
"Why did Hermione leave, and don't give me the reason that you don't know, because I know you do." She said.
"What makes you think I know?"
"You're Head Boy Malfoy, of course you know! You spent the past nine months living with her!"
"Well I don't."
"Whatever! Tell Me! Now!" she yelled. Draco was quite surprised that someone so small could be so scary and fiery.
"Go pester your brother, or your boyfriend." He said turning around, Ginny took this as an invitation to come in. She followed him down the stairs and sat herself down on one of the armchairs.
"I've asked them and they won't tell me." She said, "Why are you undressed?"
"Because, in case you haven't noticed it's ten o'clock." He said pointing to the clock on the wall.
"Exactly, don't you have somewhere to be?" she asked.
"Like where?" he was in no mood to argue or torment her as he usually did. He didn't hate her as much as he made out he did. It was mostly show, to keep people from working out about his relationship with the former head girl. But right now he didn't care if Ginny worked it out.
"Like out with a girl."
Draco's head shot up; was it possible that she knew already.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you know, you have a reputation…" she trailed off awkwardly. Draco chuckled; it seemed as if their cover story had worked.
"Well, why did Hermione leave?"
Draco wondered about telling her the truth, Hermione after all had planned on telling her but she was so wrapped up in talking to him as long as she possibly could, they had forgot.
"She's gone back home," he whispered.
"Yes, I gathered that." Ginny snapped, but she immediately realized it was the wrong thing to do, Draco could change his mind about telling her.
"She's ill."
"Oh, so she'll be back," Ginny said, her voice carrying a lighter note. Draco shook his head, he could feel the tears forming and he had no intention of holding them back.
"She has Cancer." He told her.
"Cancer?" Ginny asked looking puzzled, she had heard about it before, she was sure she had.
"Muggle disease." Draco explained.
"So she'll be okay?" Ginny asked, unsure. The tears in his eyes over spilled as she asked this. Ginny looked incredulously at him, not quite believing that Hermione's worst enemy was crying over her leaving.
"Malfoy?" she asked uncertainly. He looked up at her, making no move to cover the tears he had shed, "You okay?"
He smiled at her worry; even though he had taunted her the six years he had known her, she still felt the need to make sure he was okay, much like Hermione.
"No, not really," his answer made Ginny become scared. Malfoy had always shown a brave front.
"Why not?"
"Hermione's gone?" he answered. She looked at him, her head turned at an angle, looking at him puzzled.
"She has two months to live," he said. Ginny gasped tears filling her own blue eyes.
"What?" she whispered.
"She left this evening; her parents wanted her at home."
She collapsed against the back of the chair, grabbing the arm rest for support. They sat like that for a few moments, neither of them moving, neither of them speaking. All the while Ginny observed Draco's expression, after a while she had come to a conclusion as to why he was looking like that.
"You were in love with her, weren't you?" she said, as more of a statement rather than a question. Draco looked up at her astounded that she had worked it out so quickly. He nodded his answer.
"Did she love you too?" she asked.
"I think so." He said shakily, she had said she did enough times.
"I think she did too."
Looking back on her sixth year she had realized the times when she had caught them glancing at each other and dismissed it without a thought had actually been times when they were falling deeper in love with one another.
"Yeah, but I'm never going to see her again am I."
"That depends." Ginny shrugged.
"Depends on what?"
"Depends on whether you fight for her."
"Fight for– For Merlin's sake, she said she didn't want to see me."
"And you're just going to let her slip away, just like that are you?"
"No, you don't understand, how am I supposed to see her, she's gone home!"
"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would let you go and visit her."
"He's already said he won't."
"He might make an exception."
"An exception for what?"
"A special circumstance."
"Like what!"
"Think Malfoy!"
He did think long and hard about what on earth she could be talking about, special circumstance? He thought this whole situation was a special circumstance.
"I can't think of anything!"
"God damn it, THINK!"
"I am thinking Weasley!"
"Special Circumstance, think of one!"
"I think this whole bloody situation is a special situation!"
"You say you love her…" she coaxed.
It hit him like a ton of bricks, of course, he still could, there was still time. His eyes lit up and Ginny smiled. He could go down there the next day, no tonight. Ye tonight, he would of course ask her parents. He bolted towards the door before either one of them could break the truce they had going.
"Malfoy, you need a ring," she reminded.
"Oh yeah," he said, turning and running towards his room. He came back out with it, a simple delicate design, Hermione didn't like fancy. It was classy, elegant and very sophisticated, very Hermione as he put it.
"You already have one!" she asked.
"Yeah, I got it weeks ago," he called running out of the portrait with Ginny following closely behind.
They made it to Dumbledore's office in a record time of five minutes, Draco was sure no one had ever done that before. He held his side as they said the password and climbed into the gargoyle staircase. Ginny was in pretty much the same state.
"Draco, Ginny," he greeted, not seeming surprised in the least to see them here at this time of night and more to the point, together.
"Professor, I want to propose to Hermione!" he blurted out.
TBC
A/N – Alright, well I know this is really, really late but I couldn't think of what to write, I had it all planned out but I couldn't start the chapter. I deleted about five! Anyway this is the finished document; I am quite pleased with it as it is VERY long. I had so many reviews. I have this story planned out from beginning to end and in all there are going to be six chapter, so four left and if I get enough reviews, I might even think about writing an epilogue. That is IF I get enough reviews, so if you want an epilogue, review. Simple, eh?
Review Responses
Chalindra – They aren't going to be told until later so wait and hear for that!
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Well, I'm going to add another author's note here to make this total 3000 words, ooh I can put a disclaimer in, I don't own Harry Potter. Flames are welcome, so if you don't like it please make a suggestion! Alright so after this it is, 3028 words! But there are more now!
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Coral Candy – Laura xXx