Chapter 11: Heaven

A/N: evil grin HA! The cliffhanger! I couldn't help but write it that way, believe me, the last chapter was supposed to be longer but I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF! And so everyone knows how evil I am, I did have this chapter written last night, but that would have spoiled all my cliffhanger fun! Sorry! lots of evil laughter Oh yeah . . . WARNING! SEXUAL CONTENT! Ok ok, so here goes . . .

I woke up to the loveliest smell. The smell of violets.

It was what I had always wanted to smell when I was in the afterlife. Violets.

I was dead. I knew I was.

But . . . my lungs hurt worse than any pain I had ever felt. And one is not supposed to feel pain in the afterlife.

But . . . I had to be dead. I smelled violets. I sat up.

I was dead. I had to be. Because . . . there was Draco, asleep next to me.

He stirred as I moved about. His beautiful storm cloud eyes opened and looked at me.

Suddenly, his arms were around me, and he was sobbing.

"Merlin, Cynthia, I thought I lost you!" he cried. I stared down at his hair. "But . . . I'm dead, aren't I?" I asked, confused. Draco held me at arm's length. "No, stupid. Of course you're not dead!" I blinked, wondering what to think. "Are you sure?" I asked him. He laughed and pulled my head to his chest. "No. But you almost died."

I pulled away. "Draco, I tried to kill myself." He nodded. "I know, Cyn. I saw you." "You did?" I stared, still confused. "Yes," Draco said, his tone pained. "I was at the lake, watching the sunset. I looked across it, and I thought I had to be dreaming, because I saw you standing there at the other end. I saw you throw yourself into the water . . . and I knew what you were trying to do." He smiled and caressed my cheek. "But I saved you," he whispered. "I saved you and thank all the gods, you're alive!"

I was sure he was lying.

But I knew that Draco would never lie to me.

I closed my eyes, all at once remembering why I had chosen death over life.

"I wanted to die," I whispered, falling down onto the covers.

His arms came around me once more. "You can't die," Draco said. "How could I live if I knew you were dead?" I opened my eyes to see him staring down at me. "How have you lived since . . . what happened with us at Hogwarts?" I asked softly.

I saw pain in his eyes. Horrible, horrible pain.

Draco nestled down next to me, my head in the crook of his arm.

"The moment I knew Pansy hadn't succeeded in killing you was the happiest moment of my life," he said, his tone echoing the pain and worry he had suffered. He was silent for a long moment. "Cynthia, I never told you . . . I am a Death Eater." I stroked his arm. "I knew it," I whispered. "How?" Draco asked incredulously. "I'll tell you when you're done," I said, patting him.

He cleared his throat before continuing. "I was given a mission by the Dark Lord. I was to . . . to kill Dumbledore. And although I did succeed in finding a way to allow Death Eaters into Hogwarts, I was . . . unable to fulfill my mission." I felt his body shudder. "Then what happened?" I asked in a soothing tone. Draco swallowed hard. "I was punished, by the Dark Lord himself," he whispered. "The only pain worse than what he inflicted on me was the pain of knowing I was to never see you again."

My heart skipped a beat.

I didn't know what to say to this. Such sentiments were nothing like the Draco I had known.

I was touched by his words, more than I can express.

"But you have me now," I said, cuddling closer to him. His hand reached up and touched my cheek. "I know," he said softly. "How did you get here?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. He shuddered again. "This is my punishment," Draco said harshly. "This forest is full of werewolves. Every fortnight they come here to report what they have found out about various insignificant missions. Every full moon, I must place at least a hundred charms on this cottage or else they can get through. I have no desire to be a werewolf, you know."

I laughed at this, but immediately grew sober.

"I know, Draco, but I don't think they had the desire to, either," I said. He was silent. "I don't know, Cyn," he said after a while. "The way they act . . . well, sometimes I think they really, really like it. I believe that if they had the choice of being human again, or remaining a werewolf, most would choose to stay what they are."

We lay there, each thinking our own thoughts, for what seemed like hours.

Finally, Draco got up and said he would fix something for us to eat. He refused to let me help, or even get out of bed.

In less than a minute, he had conjured up some eggs, bacon, and toast. I devoured it like I was never going to eat again. Draco laughed at my appetite, saying playfully that it was unladylike. When we were finished eating, I insisted on going out and washing in the lake. There was no bathroom in the one room cottage.

I was happy to see that he followed me out.

I pulled off my robes, standing naked in front of him, and with a smirk, I stepped into the water and began to wash with the small hunk of soap he had given me.

I didn't care about how horrible I thought I looked anymore. I was bound on living life to its fullest, since I had been given a second chance.

Draco didn't seem to mind, either.

I smiled at him as he handed me a towel.

Then suddenly, I was in his arms and his mouth was on mine.

Draco kissed me hard, his tongue edging its way into my mouth. His strong arms tightened around my body, his calloused hands running down my back, sending shivers down my spine. His mouth trailed down my cheek to my neck, and then down my neck to my breasts. I cried out as his tongue lapped at my nipple, his warm breath soft and warm and teasing. Draco took my hand and pulled me down with him, laying me gently on the soft grass of the bank of the lake.

His mouth and hands were all over me. I don't know how to describe the feelings I felt at that moment. Draco moved his mouth down my stomach to my opening and lapped at me until I screamed. Then his mouth was on mine again, and he was lying on me . . . I felt a sharp pain . . . and then the most fulfilling pleasure.

All too soon, it was over.

We lay there for several minutes, the warmth of the sun caressing our bodies.

Then we went indoors and did it all again.

We did it again and again, every day for a week.

If I had been in Hell before, then this was definitely Heaven.

But the reality of the situation was . . . it wasn't Heaven at all.

After I had been in the cottage for a week and a half, Draco mentioned that soon was the appointed time for the werewolves to come and make their reports. We made plans for me to hide in the wardrobe when they came. I put a charm on the wood so they wouldn't be able to smell me.

Two nights later, we heard a popping noise that told us someone had arrived. I started to get into the wardrobe.

Merlin . . . all the gods . . . why . . .

Why didn't . . .

There is no use to think about 'why'. There isn't even any solace in writing this down, but it must be told.

The door burst open before I could get in the wardrobe.

It wasn't a werewolf.

It was my Father.

He took one look at me, his eyes burning with red flame.

He raised his wand, and uttered those fateful words.

"Avada Kedavra!"

I wish it would have been me.

Me.

Me.

But it wasn't. It was Draco.

The last time I held my love in my arms was when he was cold and unfeeling. He didn't even know I was there, because my love . . . my life . . . my Draco . . . he was gone.

Father watched me sobbing over his body for several minutes, and then grabbed my arm and Apparated back to the manor.