Chapter 20: Three Words

Hermione never thought that she would ever want to die.  The idea had simply never crossed her mind before.  However, this was the first time that she had ever been hit by a Cruciatus curse

Given that the strength of a Cruciatus curse depended greatly on the power of the person who cast it, and given that Narcissa Malfoy was, if anything, a bit out of practice, Hermione's experience should have been much less painful than if it were cast by someone else.

But Hermione still wanted to die.

She had suffered the spell for so long.  She could feel the pain tearing at her, coursing through her, breaking her to pieces.  She had screamed until her voice was hoarse; until she had lost the ability to move, let alone utter a sound.

In her heart, she had still held on to the hope that perhaps, just perhaps, Draco would come back to save her.

But he didn't.

She had waited in vain. 

She didn't know for how long she had been put under the curse, but it seemed like an eternity.  Every breath she took was pure torture, the blink of an eye sent pain coursing through her.  She had cried, she had even begged, but nothing made the pain stop.  It just grew, more consuming by the minute, until she could almost feel her mind being sent into oblivion.

And then it would stop, only to start again once she was further from the edge.  Narcissa Malfoy wanted her to experience every ounce of torture sent to her, and she had succeeded.  Now, the only thing Hermione wished for was for her to cast the Aveda Kedavra and finish her off. 

That was the only thought in her mind, the only thought she could hold on to.

'Make it stop! End it!  God, please end it!'

But it didn't end.  It never ended.   Through her tortured daze she could see Narcissa's face; it was the face of a madness, of hatred. 

Hermione could feel herself sinking, distancing her from the pain.  The only thing holding her back from the abyss was her memories of Draco.  His laugh, his smile, his embrace, his kisses.  They held her back, but their hold was weakening.  He hadn't come for her, he didn't choose her.  Why?  Why did she still love him even after all this?

***

Narcissa was no longer concerned with why she was torturing the girl in front of her.  All she could feel was the delight as she heard the girl's pained whimper, as she saw the tears streaking down the girl's pale cheeks, as the girl's body shook with pain and despair.

She didn't want to end it.  She had long forgotten why she had cast the spell, or that if she did not kill the girl soon, her son may come back in time to save her.  All she wanted was to savor the girl's torture, to laugh mockingly at the girl's imploring eyes as her victim begged her for death.  Death was too easy, too quick, too simple.  Pain could last an eternity.

The Cruciatus Curse had consumed Narcissa as well.

She was jerked out of her reverie as the door behind her splintered into a million pieces and her son came charging through it.

"Stupefy!" he roared, as Narcissa screamed.

This couldn't end!  She needed to see more pain.  She needed to inflict more pain. 

In her madness she broke the spell and turned against her son.  Not seeing, not hearing.  He ducked as she aimed the Cruciatus Curse to him, seeing only the need to cause pain. 

But her aims were that of a mad woman, seeking only destruction and not protection.  She did not see as her son leaped at her, knocking her wand out of her hands.  She raged, her voice that of a monster, as the power to inflict pain was taken from her.  Her entire body was bound, stopping her berserker's rage from causing any more damage.

***

Draco ignored his mother's still form as he grabbed Narcissa's wand and rushed to Hermione.  Her eyes were closed, her body limp, but she was still breathing.

"Hermione, open your eyes.  Please, sweetheart.  Please don't tell me that I'm too late."

He brought his arm about her shoulders and lifted her.  Her head lolled to one side.

Draco quickly picked her up, ready to apparate to St. Mungo's hospital

"No!!!!!!!!!!!"  his mother screamed.  Although she was bound, he had not silenced her.

"The girl is mine, she belongs to me!!! Pain!!! I need to give her pain!!  I need her to feel pain!!"

Draco stopped, his feelings warring inside of him.  Despite his anger for what she did to Hermione, Narcissa was the only family he had left.  Taking Hermione to St. Mungo's would mean sending his mother off to Azkaban forever.  Narcissa had cast an unforgivable curse, and if anyone found Hermione, they could trace it back to her.

He glanced down at the body in his arms.  Blood was draining from her face, her body was going colder by the second.  Hermione needed, help, and fast!

He turned to Narcissa.

"You forced me to make this choice, Mother.  You wagered, and you lost.  Now you must take the consequences.  There's nothing that I can do."  He said bleakly.

"How can you choose that Mudblood over me?!!!!  You are my son!!! You are a Malfoy!!!  Leave her here!!! She is mine!!"  Was Narcissa's crazed reply.

Draco stood there, transfixed for a moment.

Narcissa almost believed that she had succeeded.  Draco won't go to the Hospital, he would give the Mudblood to her!  She would be able to do with the girl as she wished!!! And there was so much she wanted to do!!. 

However, Draco said softly.

"Yes.  I can mother.  I love her, and I'm a fool for not realizing it before now."

With those words, he turned around, and disappeared.

~~~***~~~

"Hermione!"

"Hermione, Listen to me!  Please, sweetheart, listen to me."

"You need to come back, do you hear me?  You're safe now!  There's no more pain to face here.   You're safe!!"

"Hermione please!  Come back!  I need you here, I need you with me!  Open your eyes!!"

"Do you remember Floppy?  If you don't wake up, I'll turn her out on her ear.  I'll starve her to death.  You can't let that happen!  All you need to do is leave the darkness and come back to me."

"Hermione, you can't just leave and let Jane Putini take your place beside me.  Do you want me to live with her for the rest of my life?  Are you going to let her fill your shoes as my wife?  Yes, you heard me right.  I want to marry you!  I want to see you walking down the aisle towards me.   And to do that, you need to come back."

"Hermione, I love you."

~~~***~~~

"Draco, you need to get some rest.  I'll stay with her."

Draco didn't move.  It didn't seem like he heard a word of what Harry said.

"You're not doing her any good here.  It's been three days, the healers say . . ."

"I don't give a damn about what the healers say.  She'll come back!  Now leave!"

Harry shook his head and walked out of the room.  The healers had given up hope.  Hermione was too far gone.

Draco clasped Hermione's frail hand and touched it to his lips.  She looked so small, so pale, so weak.  Did she have the strength to come back to him?  Would she ever?

"Hermione, are you forcing me to say goodbye?"  he asked softly.  She hadn't responded to any treatment, and nothing was making her better.  It as almost as if she wasn't there.

"I don't know if you can hear this, or if you're even there.  I don't even know if you're even listening to me.  I made so many mistakes, and now, I know that I'm paying for it."

He sighed.

"But you shouldn't have to pay for it.  You haven't done anything wrong."

He thought he saw her eyelid flicker, but when he stared at her face, it was no different.

"Hermione, I need you to come back.  I need you here, with me.  I've lost everything else, and I can't stand loosing you."

Again, he saw a flicker.  And then her lips moved.

"Are you trying to say something?"

He couldn't hear her words.

He bent down to her, placing his ear right in front of her lips. She murmured softly to him.

And then, Draco sank back into his chair, and laughed.

~~~***~~~

Harry and Ron rushed in, thinking that Draco had finally lost it.  His shoulders were shaking with mirth, his eyes watering.

He looked up at them, and after another long laugh, finally said –

"Potter, Weasley,  Hermione thinks that Jane Putini . ."

Draco laughed once again a he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Hermione thinks that Jane Putini has big feet."

~~~***~~~(A/N: reread the italics if you don't understand that remark)

When Hermione woke up, she saw Draco's frame silhouetted in front of the window.  She couldn't remember seeing a more beautiful sunset in her life.  Then, he turned to her, and she frowned.  His face was tired, worn, and he was tense.  He was afraid of something.  Slowly, he walked towards her.

"Hello."  She said softly to him.

"Hello."

He sat down next to her.  His expression was grim.

Hermione furrowed her brows.  She distinctly remembered hearing him saying something along the lines of 'I love you' while she was unconscious, but looking at him now, she was more inclined to believe that she had dreamt it.

"I guess you would like to know what happened."  He said, his voice devoid of emotion.

Hermione didn't particularly want to hear the details right now, but she nodded, fearing that he would break if she did otherwise.

"My mother told me that she was ill and that she couldn't attend my wedding.  I believed her.  No, I just didn't want to take the trouble of arguing with her."

Hermione failed to see how this was important, but she remained silent. 

"I went to the wedding.  And I was about to get married."

She tensed.  Was he married?

"Then the ring you cast the spell on glowed red."

Hermione had to use all her will power to stop herself for shouting ' I don't care about that, are you married?!!!'

"I hesitated.  It was my duty to marry Jane, and I thought that perhaps, you could defend yourself."

Underneath the blanket, Hermione wagged her foot impatiently.  Get to the point, damn it!!

"But then, the ring continued to glow red, and Potter reminded me of a few things."

Now you're skipping details?  Hermione thought. 

"And I left the wedding, to save you."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.

"But then, I was almost too late.  You were too far gone when I finally got to you."

Hermione tried to protest, but he waved for silence.  She acquiesced.

"You've been unconscious for a week now.  Only four days ago did you show some signs of life."

Hermione tried to get up, to touch him, but found that she was too weak to move. 

"I hesitated too long.  And I would understand, now, if you wouldn't want any thing to do with me from now on."

What?!!!

"I always put my needs over yours.  I forced you into a position that you should never have been put in, all so that I could have you in my bed."

Hermione winced at those words.  She could feel tears creeping into her eyes.  He was saying that he did everything only so that he could sleep with her?!

"And when my duty to the Malfoy name was weighed against your life, I hesitated.  I actually thought about leaving you to die.  I should never be forgiven for that."

Hermione let her tears fall.  After all this, he was trying to shove her out of his life!!  How could he do that? How could he just ignore how much she loved him?

"I realized too late that I loved you."

Hermione's train of thought ground to a halt.

"I would understand if you never forgive me for that.  But if you do, I will make sure that you'll never question that fact again."

With those words he got up, and walked towards the door.

"Wait!"  Hermione called out between sobs.

He turned back.  Could it be?  Could she have forgiven him?

"Don't stop now!  You were just getting to the good part."  She said, barely audibly, between sniffs.

Draco's breathed a sigh of relief as he walked once again to her bedside.  This time, he sat on the bed.  He reached out a hand to wipe the tears from her cheek.

"The good part?"  He asked.

"Well, you started off really badly, making me all jumpy about whether you're married or not."  Hermione sobbed out.

"And then you acted as if you were going to shove me out of your life."

Draco bent down and kissed her forehead softly.  Their faces inches apart, she whispered –

"Then you got to the good part."

"I did?" 

"Can you say it again, just so I can be sure"  she asked softly.

"I would understand if you don't forgive . . "

"No, before that . ."

She held up her fingers and whispered

"Three words." 

He looked into her eyes, and felt his own tears threatening to fall.

"I love you."

He saw her face light up moments before he crushed her lips with a searing kiss.  As he kissed her tears away, he finally realized how blissful succumbing to temptation could be.  She loved him, and he loved her.  And that was all they needed.

Disclaimer:  I don't own any of these characters.  And some of the lines in this chapter may have come from the novel Something Wonderful by Judith Mcnaught.   It wasn't a conscious decision, I don't think, I just read that book about a hundred times and some of its lines are stuck in my head.  And it really fit with this ending.

A/N:

Dear All,

For those of you who are a bit sad that this story's ended you can check out the other Romantic Comedy that I'm writing, which is called "How to Marry a Malfoy."  Like this one, it's based on a Julia Quinn Romance and will be more or less the same style.  Of course, it's still a Draco/Hermione, but the Hermione in that one may be a bit feistier (more backbone, would be nice) and Draco somewhat nicer.  (He's more of a rake and less of a rogue, if you know what I mean).  The story should be (crosses her fingers and hopes) less angsty than this one.  (I tried, really I did, but angst still slipped into this Romantic Comedy somehow, I'm sorry.)

Anyway, I thank you all for bearing with me until the end.  It's been a pleasure writing Temptation and all of you have written very helpful and encouraging reviews.  I still would like some feedback on the entire story, since it is the first time I wrote something that was (hopefully) predominantly happy.  It would be useful to know the strengths and weaknesses of this one so that I can improve on my other writings.   So, even though the story's now over, please to continue review.  I assure you. I'll still be reading them.

Best Wishes and Happy Readings,

Romantic Fool