Part XXXVI

Crying over you:

Draco had been crying for so long that he had no more tears. He was lying by the doorway of the little cell where Hermione was dead on the floor. He couldn't even reach her body, to hold her one last time. He tried to leave the anti-chamber once, to find that he could not leave. He told no one he was coming here, and Dean Thomas said he couldn't recall the way. Anyway, Dean wouldn't be able to locate the room without a Ravenclaw or a Slytherin, since it would only reveal itself to a member of one of those two houses. Dean also wouldn't know the password, to be admitted entrance in the room. Would anybody at the school know how to get to this room? Would anyone know the password if they did find the room?

It didn't matter. He didn't want to live without her. Was this the way she felt when she thought he had died? If it was, he felt even more remorse than he did before, for making her go through such anguish and pain. He turned to look at her once more. She hadn't moved a muscle since he entered the space. He had not seen her chest rise or fall once. She was dead. That bastard killed her. He started rocking back and forth, and tears, which he thought had long since dried, started flowing again.

"Granger! Please, please, come back to me. I love you, don't be dead. Why are you dead?" He continued crying, and calling her name.

Hermione didn't know if she could abide one more second of his tears. If a person's heart could break, her heart had shattered in a million pieces. She tried to communicate with him with her mind, but he was too anguished to be open to listening. She would continue. If only he would quiet down, and calm down, she was certain she could make him hear her. Hermione knew their connection was strong. Please listen, Draco.

Many hours had passed. He finally fell asleep. She could hear the even sounds of his breathing. She had to try now. She had to communicate with him somehow. She thought of him, and nothing but him. She pictured his face, his voice, his body. She thought of the moment she knew she loved him. She thought about their first kiss. She concentrated intently on the first time they made loved. She was ready. She was ready to communicate to him. She told him, in her mind, that she was not gone. She was alive. Please, try to listen.

She was becoming exhausted, with her thoughts as her only company. She just couldn't do it. She couldn't make him hear her. She was crying inside. She was also dying inside.

Draco awoke and for a moment forgot where he was. He had been dreaming. He dreamt of the first time he knew he loved her. He dreamt of their first kiss, and then of the first time they made love. In his dreams, she was not dead. In his dreams, she told him that she was still alive. Looking over at her now, at her dead body on the cold stone floor, his dreams turned to dust and he was once more faced with a harsh reality. While he was sleeping, he actually dreamt that she was communicating with him. Now that he was awake, he knew that was impossible.

He thought of her. He tried to narrow his thoughts to only her. If he could just let her know, one last time, how much she meant to him. How much he loved her. Even if she was no longer there in body, if he could just reach her mind, her spirit, or her soul, and tell her the one thing he wanted the most for her to know, he could die content. He closed his eyes and thought this one thought over and over and over. 'I love you, I love you.'

He sat back against the wall, no longer looking at her body. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on that single thought once more. It gave him some comfort. Maybe somehow, she would hear him and know what her living meant to him. Maybe she would know how much she had changed his life and how her love had changed him for the better. He spoke to her in his mind, and from his heart, as if she could really hear.

'I love you, Granger. You were the best thing in my life. If I die in here, at least I die with you, and with the knowledge of what your living meant to me. You were everything to my light, my saviour, my future, my past, my whole life and me. Please, hear me. I will love you forever, and when my life passes from this world to the next, one thing will remain, one thing will be constant, and that's my love for you.'

He finished his thoughts, but kept his eyes shut. He had his wand, and he contemplated taking his own life. His wand was of no other use to him. He had already tried and exhausted every spell he knew to try to get to her, or to try to get out of the room. Now, maybe his wand at least could reunite them in death.

He took out his wand, and held it in his fingers. Suddenly, he heard a small voice, somewhere deep in his soul, and it said, 'I love you too, please, hear me. I'm right here. I'm not dead. Please, hear me.'

He opened his eyes and sat away from the wall. He could have sworn the voice he heard in his head was hers. He turned to look in the cell once more and saw her in the same position she had been in since he first entered. She hadn't moved. She still appeared to be gone. He tried to quiet his mind once more. He closed his eyes again. He thought, 'if you're there, tell me, talk to me again, I want to hear. I want to listen.'

'Draco, I'm here. I'm not dead. Please, believe me. We need to get out of here. Please, don't cry any longer. I promise you, I'm here. I'm inside my body. Please, please.'

He knew he heard it. He opened his eyes, looked back at her, and said aloud, "Dammit, Granger! If you're there, you had better show yourself! I don't know what kind of dark magic is at work, but show me you're there! Move, damn you! Breathe! Do something! Move your hand, your eyes! Bloody hell, show me that you're still alive!"

He stood up. He was becoming hysterical. Was he going mad? Was she really in there, or was he yelling at a corpse? He put each hand on either side of the doorway and yelled again, "Either show me you're in there, or I'll be very angry with you. I will think you don't love me! If you love me, move!" Maybe if he threatened her, she would move.

She wanted to move. She wanted to show him. She was trying very hard. She tried to communicate with him, but it was to no avail. He was too upset now. He wasn't focusing. She lost the connection. He was absolutely calling her every bad name he could think. He even threatened to kill her if she didn't come back to life. She wanted to laugh at that one, but she couldn't even do that.

He sat back down, apparently defeated. Well, Hermione thought, he could give up if he wanted to, but she wasn't going to be that easily discouraged. He sat outside the door, separated by the invisible barrier, and he kept muttering incoherent things. She wished he would just shut up so she could think!

'Just shut up, Malfoy!' He heard inside his head. That one was real. He knew it was.

"I'll shut up, Granger, if you'll move your bloody hand. Just a finger will do," he said aloud.

She concentrated on moving her thumb. She thought of nothing else. Hermione blocked out all thoughts. She blocked out his voice. She willed her thumb to move with every inch and fibre of her being. Just move her thumb. He was finally quiet and he stared at her for many long moments. It was no use. She wasn't going to move. She was dead.

He almost moved back to lean against the wall, when he saw it. He knew he saw her thumb move. Just a fraction. The smallest, most insignificant movement, but still, a movement all the same. She moved her thumb.

No one should underestimate Hermione Jean Granger:

Thomas Mankin had always been a smart and deliberate sort of man. He always planned everything. The events of today he hadn't planned. Draco Malfoy was alive, but not for long. They had tricked him. He would find them and make them pay. He was certain that the Boot brothers were behind this. They always were self-righteous do-gooders. Yes, he would find them and make them pay for their sins as well.

He found a hidden passageway out of the castle. He saw Aurors stationed everywhere. He needed to get far enough away from the castle grounds so he could disapparate. For now, there was no way he could leave by the main gate. He ran toward the forbidden forest. He would hide there until he felt it was safe to venture outside the grounds. There was a cave that was used by The Brotherhood during his school years at Hogwarts, for all of the student initiations. Surely, he could still find it, and hide there. He need some time to think. He just hadn't planned on this. He hadn't planned on Hermione Granger finding out the truth.

All of the Aurors, Professors, and Hermione's friends were in the dungeons, searching for the secret room. Even Professor Flitwick, who was the Ravenclaw head of house, said he had never heard of its existence. Bill told them all they might need to wait until Don Boot and his brothers arrived. Surely, they would know how to get pointed out that by that time Hermione could be dead. Harry was also concerned for Malfoy. They had been down in the dungeons for hours, and he was nowhere in sight. He thought they would have come across him by now.

Back in the hidden chamber, Draco knew he wasn't imagining things. He knew he saw her thumb move. It moved faintly, almost not at all, but it moved. He said, "Hermione, please, move again. I know you aren't dead. You're in there somewhere. Move. Fight whatever spell he has you under. Move for me. If you love me, please, move."

Hermione was trying. He would never know how hard she was trying. Hermione knew that the human brain was a very powerful thing, and that the average person only used the smallest part of their brain. Its powers and wonders were yet to be discovered. She tried to reason to herself that her mind was stronger than any potion Mankin could give her. If she concentrated hard enough, she could do anything. Hermione had spent her whole life believing that hard work and diligence and perseverance could get her anywhere in the world, and she wasn't about to give up on that notion just because some lunatic gave her a bloody potion. She would wake up!

Draco was quietly staring at her. Maybe she needed more time. Maybe he needed to be quiet for a while. Maybe she would move again any moment. "HERMIONE GRANGER GET YOUR ARSE OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!" he finally yelled. So much for quiet.

That seemed to do it. For some bizarre reason, that seemed to influence her. She moved her thumb again. She moved it back and forth. He was beyond happy, beyond ecstatic. He yelled again, "GET OVER HERE NOW, I NEED YOU!"

This time her head moved just a fraction. He got down on his knees and leaned toward the doorway. He forgot for a second that he couldn't enter the room. He tried to cross the threshold and was unceremoniously knocked down on his bum. He knelt outside the room and said, softer this time, "I love you, please, move again."

Her head moved again. It moved slightly to the side. Hermione worked harder at trying to move than she had ever worked for anything her entire life. She wanted this more than she had ever wanted anything, as well. She let out a little moan. He felt close to tears again, but for completely different reasons. "Come here, Hermione. Come to me," he said with a crack in his voice.

This time the arm that was out of his sight, the one on the other side of her body, moved up to rest on her abdomen. Her head moved completely to the side. She seemed to be coming around. Should he say anything else? What else was there to say? He wanted to reach out for her in the worst way. He said, "I believe in you, Hermione. I know you will come to me. Please, come to me. I need you so much."

Hermione rolled completely onto her side. He was so keyed up that he stood and jumped up in the air once and yelled out, "Yes!" He bent at his waist and put his hands on the sides of the doorframe again. He commanded, "That's good, Granger, but now I need you to open your eyes. Open your eyes for me. If you love me you will open your eyes."

All Hermione could think was, 'does he think these are words of encouragement?' She willed herself to open her eyes. She needed to see him. She needed him. She slowly opened her eyes. She couldn't see anything yet. Everything around her was dark and murky. As if Draco could sense what she was thinking, he took his lit wand and held it up, holding it above his head. She saw him. She couldn't speak yet. Could he see her? He looked her right in the eyes. He looked a right mess. His face was dirty and blotchy and his eyes were red.

"That's so great, Hermione. I thought you were dead. I need you to try to get up and crawl out of that room. I can't come in and get you. Come out to me," he said, putting his wand on the floor and holding out his hands for her.

Lying on her side, she reached out with the arm that was under her body and she tried to crawl to him. She really, really tried. She made it about a couple of centimetres, but that was all. She fell back down on the hard flagstone floor. She needed to rest, for just a moment. She shut her eyes again, and became still.

He started shouting again. All sorts of things; he called her a quitter. He questioned her love for him. He said she was lazy and stupid. What? He was crazy. He should try to come out of a vegetated sleep someday, and see if he needed to rest. It was harder than it appeared.

Draco finally stopped shouting. Now he was almost in tears again. He felt ashamed. Why was he yelling at the poor girl? He didn't even know what type of curse or hex the man used on her. Maybe she really was at death's door, and here he was calling her all sorts of names. He sat back down against the wall, no longer looking at her. It was no use. They would both die in here, of that he was certain. If only he could have held her once more, then at least he would have died happy. Now he will die alone, sad, and without a lick of dignity, for he had yelled at her and called her all sorts of names, everything he could think of, short of calling her Mudblood. Now she would die thinking he hated her.

He closed his eyes and prayed for a quick and painless death. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough, he would hear her voice inside his head, one last time… "Draco," he heard. He opened his eyes. That wasn't inside his head. That came from inside the small dark cell. He moved away from the wall and looked inside and she had moved herself almost completely to the doorway. She was still on her side, but her eyes were opened again.

He said, "Hermione, I thought you were dead."

What was she to say to that? "Now we're even," she managed to mumble. He wanted to hold her, but he was still separated from her by the invisible blockade.

"Hermione, you need to crawl out into the hall. I can't come in and get you," he required.

"I can't, I'm so tired," she said, closing her eyes once more. He didn't yell at her this time. He would let her rest, for at least now he knew she was alive. He watched her breathing, in and out. He knew she wasn't breathing before, but now she was. He didn't know what sort of miracle just happened, and he really didn't care. She wasn't dead, and that's all that mattered to him. He would never ever again underestimate Hermione Jean Granger.

After at least twenty minutes, she opened her eyes again. He was the one that had not moved a muscle this time. He was staring right at her the whole time. He said, "Have you gotten enough beauty rest, Granger, because we really need to get the hell out of here."

"Fine," she said resolutely. Hermione took a deep breath and got up on her arms and dragged her body some more. Now she was at the doorway. Moving just a little more, she crossed the doorsill, and as she did, he grabbed her arms and pulled her the rest of the way out into the hall.

He held her up to his chest, as he knelt on the floor. Her body was still limp and flaccid, but her eyes were open and tears were falling from them. He was crying as well. He rocked her back and forth in his arms. He kissed her forehead, and her hair. How could he have let something like this happen to her? He almost lost her. He put her back down gently on the floor, took off his robe and put it over her body. He lay down beside her, put one of his arms gently under her head and the other over her body. He cradled her in the safety of his arms, and kissed her lips gently. She looked up at him, and a tear rolled down her face. He kissed it away and said, "You're safe now. I won't let anyone hurt you."

"Take me out of here, Draco," she implored.

"We can't leave. We need to wait for someone to find us. I've tried to get out all evening, and I can't," he explained.

"No, if there's two people in here, two must leave, unless you know the password, so that's why you couldn't leave, for you didn't know the password to leave," she told him. "But, you should be able to leave now, with me."

"How do you know this?" he asked curiously.

"Mankin told me," she said, somewhat affected. "Draco, he's the one. He was always the one, with the help of Dean. He killed Terry, he blew us all up, and he even had Professor Stephens under the Imperius curse. Stephens wanted revenge on you, but he didn't want you dead. Mankin and Dean are brothers, and they wanted you dead because Death Eaters killed their real father."

He held her up to his chest, and said, "I know all of this, little one." He stood up, lifted her from the ground as if she didn't weigh a thing, and started toward the door. It magically opened for them, recognizing that there were two of them, and that one of them was a Slytherin. He ran away from the evil little space as quickly as he could. He turned a corner and saw Don Boot.

Draco and Don:

Don ran up to the duo. He didn't remember a time when he was more relieved, and he said, "I was told by Dean Thomas what type of room you were in, and I immediately thought of the Ravenclaw/Slytherin room. Thank goodness you're both alive." He reached over for Hermione, and took her from Draco's arms. Normally Draco would have resisted, but he was so tired and weak. He felt completely drained.

"Where are the others?" Draco asked.

"Somewhere down here," Don explained, "Listen, Malfoy. I don't know about you, but I want that bastard Mankin dead. If the Aurors catch him, he'll be sent to trial, and then to prison. Prison is too good for him. He took my little brother's life. I love my family more than anything, and I want him to pay. I think I know where he is. He cannot possibly leave the school grounds, since it is crawling with Aurors. I want you to take Hermione upstairs, and then promise me you won't tell anyone that I found you. I have to go find him, and I don't want anyone to know."

"I'm coming along," Draco implored. "I have as much reason as you do to kill him. We'll both take her upstairs, and then we'll leave. You might need help."

Don nodded. He still had Hermione in his arms. They started running down the hall, when they saw Bill, Harry, and Mr. Weasley. Hermione looked so small and still. The first thing Harry said was, "She's not dead, is she?"

"No, but I'm not sure what kind of black magic he used on her, but she appeared to be dead for hours. She wasn't moving, or even breathing," Draco told him. They rushed her upstairs to the Hospital wing.

Once there, Madam Pomfrey could not fully revive her. It was as if she was in a deep sleep, and a deep needed sleep at that. For all other intents and purposes, she was fine. The Medi-witch told everyone to leave her alone, and let her sleep. She didn't know what was wrong with her yet, but sleep cured many ills.

Draco and Don stood in the corner, plotting what to do next. They decided they would find Mankin, tell him that Don rescued Draco, and that Hermione was dead, not even knowing if he would believe them or not. They didn't care what he believed. They just wanted him dead.

"We'll wait until the morning. We can't leave the castle undetected tonight," Don said, "Besides, you need some rest and food. It's only a few hours until daybreak. Go get some sleep. He's not going anywhere tonight. He'll still be there, waiting for us. He'll wish he was never born," and with that said, Don left the hospital wing.

Harry and Ron sat at her beside. Draco decided to let them sit with her. He reclined on the bed next to hers, and closed his eyes. Don was right, he needed some sleep.

He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but he heard her calling his name. He sprang up so suddenly he almost fell off the bed. He noticed that all her friends had left. It was still dark in the Hospital wing. He quickly glanced out one of the windows. The sun would be rising soon. He needed to wake up anyway. He bounded over to her bed and said, "Did you call for me?"

"Yes, come here," she said as she reached for him. He grabbed her hand, put it to his mouth, kissed it gingerly, and placed it on his chest. He sat down on the bed and put his other hand on her forehead, and then her cheek.

"Did you hear me when I tried to communicate with you?" she asked.

"Yes, and I heard you tell me to shut up, also," he said, with a slight grin.

"I just needed you to be quiet so I could concentrate," she explained.

"I really thought you were dead, and I'm so sorry," he said softly.

"Why are you sorry, it's not your fault," she reminded him.

"I'm sorry, because you thought I was dead for over a week. I only thought you were dead for a few hours, and I almost went out of my mind with grief, so, I'm sorry." He bent down and kissed her forehead.

"I know what you went through, and it broke my heart. I heard you the whole time," she said. She continued to explain everything she went through while under the potion. She told him about how Mankin explained she would eventually die, but that she would be fully aware until the end. She told him what Mankin told her about Professor Stephens, and about the explosion, and everything else. She told him how she went to the Archival wing, to search for Mankin's file, for she had suspected him for a long time.

Draco was the first person she told everything. He was more incensed than ever, after she told him what that bastard did. He wanted him to pay. After she told him her tale, she said, "I heard you and Don Boot down in the dungeon. Please don't go after him by yourself. Please tell someone, I can't lose you now, not after everything." She started to cry. "Please, Draco, don't leave me. I don't want you to die."

He didn't know what to say to her. He didn't want to lie to her, so he wouldn't promise her he wasn't going to go find the man, because he was. That was something he needed to do. "I have to do this. He'll never let us be. He'll always be out there haunting us. It needs to end now." He tried to console her with his reasons, which had the opposite effect.

"Don't go." She cried even harder. She was almost beside herself. "If you go, take me with you. I want to go with you."

"No, it's probably better if he still thinks you're under the influence of the curse, and if we pretend that we believe you're dead. When we find him, we'll tell him that Don rescued me from the room. He need not know that you're safe."

Hermione said, "Draco, this makes you no better than him, and you are better. You are a much better man than he is. If you go after him, to exact your own brand of justice, you are lowering yourself to his level. Let the Ministry punish him. He will probably get a death sentence, since he took so many lives. He even told me he had used that potion on people before. He's a sick and twisted man, and men like that are not to be trifled with, so please, don't go. Have you learned nothing from Voldemort?"

"Yes, he's a sick and twisted bastard, but I'll tell you what, Granger, he had better not underestimate me. A man, who almost lost the love of his life, is as much of a threat as he. I will kill that bastard, and make sure he will never hurt another living soul as long as he lives, which hopefully won't be long!" Draco stood over her bed now. He was so angry that his face was red. He released her hands. He wasn't angry with her. He was angry with Mankin. He was glad for the anger. That would make revenge that much sweeter.

Hermione reached out her hands for him. "Draco, please don't leave. Stay for me! If you truly love me, stay."

He started toward the door, just to come back and sit on her bed. She wasn't relieved for long, because he said, "It's because of my love for you that I go!"

Just then, Madame Pomfrey came into the ward. She had heard Hermione crying. She went over to the bed, and said, "She doesn't need to be upset, Mr. Malfoy, so you should leave. I will go get her something to calm her down."

She went back to her office to get an elixir. Draco stood up again and said, "Sometimes people have to do what they have to do. I promise I won't die." And he started to run out of the room, turned back once to glance at her crying body lying weakly on the hospital bed. He turned back toward the door and ran to find Don Boot.

Hermione screamed for him. Harry Potter, who had been outside the Hospital wing the whole time, sitting on the floor, just outside the door, came running in the ward when he heard her scream. She called him over to her and told him the whole story, about the potion, the hidden chamber, and what Draco and Don were planning. Harry went to get Bill. He didn't know where they were going, but he had to find them. He couldn't let Draco go from the frying pan, into the fire. He had to keep Draco alive, if only for Hermione.